~ Ninja Stories From the Heart ~ Ninjago Oneshots and Fun!

The Realm Above--Part 2/4 🥷

*Back to right after Cole found part of Zane's face in INSBIB...*

Cole POV

"Cole! What did you find?" Lloyd was yelling at me, but I didn't hear anything. Everything else had faded away as I looked at the small piece of metal in my hands. All I could think was, "Why Zane? It should've been me. It should've been me. It should've been me..." over and over again. I held Zane's panel in my hands, and I didn't even realize I was crying until a tear landed right on the fake eye.

Lloyd came running over to me and saw the panel. "Is- is that part of him?" He asked me, pointing to it. "Yes. It's the only piece I found so far." I answered through my silent tears.
I looked up from the metal piece when Lloyd put his arm around me and squeezed me a little. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. We understood each other in that moment.

Sensei Wu, Kai, Jay, and Garmadon came over to us and I handed Sensei the panel solemnly. Sensei Wu had a single tear on his face as he held it close. He drew a small sigh and passed it to Kai. We were silent as the panel made its way around the circle, each person making some kind of movement with it before passing it on.

Sensei Wu suggested we return to the Bounty. "Wait, we aren't going to try and find Zane?" Kai said angrily. "It's like you think he's gone!" He jabbed a finger to the piece in Garmadon's hand. "He could still be alive and we just don't know it!"

"That kind of explosion has happened only once before," Garmadon told him.

"When Wu and I were younger, we battled an enemy called Zalin. The only way we could defeat him was if a certain Master fought him, but because of the magic Zalin possessed, actually killed both of them in the process. The one that died was a good friend of ours, the Master of Light. Her name was Oralee, meaning 'light in the dark'.

"When she died, her powers went to her young son, Lukas, who ran away after her death. The boy's father is a man called Jax, and he is still alive in the city of Halami, across Ninjago on the very edge of the sea. He is an old man now, but still very smart and agile. Nobody knows for certain where Lukas is now, but we are almost certain he is still alive." {A/N: I don't really remember why I added this, but I'm re-editing it and since it's here I clearly wanted something out of it. I'm leaving it either way}

Kai's face had softened a bit during the short story but tensed up again when Garmadon stopped talking. He started to speak again but I interrupted him. "Kai." I stared into his fiery eyes. "Leave it. He's gone. There's nothing we can do. Let's...let's just go home."

I gulped and turned to leave, and Nya walked up and joined the group. "P.I.X.AL. is really upset. I tried to calm her down, but I think she just needs some space." She told us. Now that Kai had taken a breather and calmed down, (which was very unlike him) I could see that there were unshed tears in his eyes. I knew he wanted to drop the tough-guy act, but he wouldn't in front of us.

We might be his friends, but his ego wouldn't let him show his softie side, even though we all know he secretly has one. I started trudging to the outskirts of the city, where the Bounty was, with my team following behind me in a solemn line.

P.I.X.AL. POV (skip back to a little bit before)

As Zane glanced my way while traveling towards the Overlord, I gasped. "No!" I yelled, desperately stretching my arm out towards him."Zane!"

Nya grabbed my arm and pulled me down, yelling "Duck!" A piece of hail the size of my hand had just come flying towards us and crashed on the wall behind us. When I peered back over the edge of the building towards Zane, he yelled, "Go ninja-- GO!" as he released his full powers on the Overlord. A few seconds later, there was a giant explosion. The pure force of it threw me and Nya back against the wall where the hail had just crashed.

I closed my eyes and my sensors started overloading. I shouldn't be able to feel this emotional pain. Any physical "pain" can be tinkered with until it's gone, but not what I felt in my...my heart. I loved Zane and now he was gone. No, I still loved him! He couldn't be gone!

Wait, what about Nya? Was she okay? I opened my eyes and pulled myself up. Nya was a few feet away, rubbing her head but otherwise seeming fine.

I walked over to her and crouched down, and from force of habit asked her, "Permission to scan for injuries?"

"Sure, whatever." She grimaced as I helped her up. "Commencing scan. Please remain still."

She leaned up against a wall, and I quickly scanned her for injuries. "I have found a small crack in your left wrist. It will not require a full splint, only a bandage wrap. That is all."

"Thanks P.I.X., I'll fix it later. Are you okay?" I scanned myself, and said, "Physically, yes. But... I still feel something that I don't know how to fix. Is this what it feels like when someone... someone you love dies?"

"Yes." Nya whispered. "I know that feeling too well." I couldn't cry, that wasn't in my coding, but I could go where nobody could find me, where I could be alone. "I-" I didn't finish my sentence. I just turned and ran. I got inside and turned around, only to find Nya gone.

Then, I had an idea. It was risky, but it could work.