ninjago oneshots

trust ( zane )

trust was not an easy subject for you and the notorious "snake jaguar," more well known as the ice ninja. and perhaps it was even less so now.

maybe it was because you were both androids of some kind, you sometimes thought. but that didn't make sense. zane had something about him, an aura of something so human it confused you. what made him so different?

you had met him at a sons of garmadon meeting, where he used the alias "snake jaguar." it was strange that no one else realized he was faking his appearance, but you didn't say anything. better to watch from the sidelines.

you did, however, engage him in conversation as his friend was singing onstage.

"hello," you said, and he immediately looked on guard. "your friend's singing doesn't seem to be quite up to par."

snake jaguar cleared his throat suspiciously, looking down. "well," he replied, "he's, you know, working on it."

tilting your head, you studied him for a split second, then smiled. "of course. it was a pleasure to meet you, then. zane, was it?"

you left him completely bewildered.

now you wondered, how did he not know you were an android? you were perfectly aware that he was a robot, and yet he didn't have a clue as to who was human and who wasn't.

much to your regret, you didn't see snake jaguar again until he was brought to the sons of garmadon base. this time, there was a flicker of recognition behind those robotically empty eyes.

"i've met you before," said zane, looking extremely wary. "i forgot to ask you - "

"how did i know your name?" you cut in brightly, smiling. "that's a secret, i suppose."

zane frowned, his eyes darting around. "you won't - you won't give me away, will you?"

the smile dropped off your face as you looked at him seriously, calculating your next move. it was useless to calculate, you knew, because you had already made up your decision. 

it was strange how you had the ability to run through all the scenarios when you already knew what you wanted to do. running scenarios never changed anything.

"i guess you'll have to trust me," you said.

long story short: he didn't.

zane approached you right before the initiation race, pouncing on you ( much like a jaguar ) and locking you up behind bars he had somehow gotten control of. it was funny, you thought, since you hadn't even been planning to give him away.

but he hadn't trusted you, and you didn't blame him much for it. only a bit.

the sons of garmadon found and unshackled you from the prison, but it was already too late by then. "snake jaguar" had been found out, and the ones in the race were on his tail. so you did the only thing you weren't supposed to do. you went out to follow snake jaguar.

you found him battered and in bad condition just as mr. e left. zane lay there, his systems struggling to keep him online.

"hello," you said, leaning over him. "do you know, i'm a nindroid too?"

he didn't say anything, but there was a flash of shock in his eyes.

"there's something so strange about you, you know," you went on, now pacing around him. "i found it very interesting, actually. the thing is, ice ninja, you are so human. so human that i find it unsettling."

you stopped, glancing down to see if he was still listening.

"but you know what's funny, ice ninja? i kind of like that."

zane turned his head slowly to face you, his eyes dimming by the moment. "are you going to let me die?" he asked, but you knew that he had heard what you had said.

and here was another decision, with you calculating all the possible solutions. everything logical inside of you said no, your chances were better off with the sons of garmadon. but something so small but so irresistible said, don't you want his trust? 

"let me say it again," you replied, meeting his gaze. 

"i guess you'll have to trust me."

this time, he did.

originally written march 21 2023