Echo of the Beavers (Ninjago story)

Escape

Echo sat in silent protest as the raven wheeled his cage to a building. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He'd always vowed to find the good in everyone and everything, even if the situation looked grim, but this was a  whole nother level of wrong. But perhaps the thing that was bothering him most was WHY he was being treated the way he was. They called him a machine. That's all they saw him as... just some compiled mass of metal built to serve those who wanted it. That couldn't be right though- that wasn't correct. He was alive. Right?...

"Alright, here we are!" The raven squawked. "Your new home!" The bird gestured towards a ramshackle building they'd stopped in front of. The nindroid glanced up at it, almost feeling bad that someone had to live in such a dark, trash filled place. Unlocking several locks on the door, they pushed it open and tried to drag the cage inside. It soon became very apparent that the cage wouldn't fit, so plan B it was. They opened the cage and let Echo out into the shack. The little robot stepped out cautiously, taking in the dusty atmosphere of the small interior cluttered with random objects; particularly shiny ones. Or, at the very least, somethings that used to be shiny; the place was covered in dirt and dust. Before Echo could say anything even remotely sympathetic, a broom, washcloth, and an empty bucket were shoved in his arms.

"Alrighty friend," the raven began, "looks like you've got everything you need. I'll be out doing some shopping while you clean this place up, sound good?"

Echo frowned. "No... um. I think you misunderstood the situation. I'm afraid I wasn't that guy's property to sell. I'm not anybodies property, actually. I am not just a machine- I'm a nindroid. I'll be glad to assist you, but I cannot stay."

The raven tilted its head. "Of course you're a machine. You may not be from Chima, but that doesn't change the fact that you were for sale and I bought ya."

Well, darn. Echo understood to some degree their reasoning, but it was still wrong.
"Well, you've most likely never seen a nindroid before, but I-"

"Look rusty-" The raven interrupted. "Do ya bleed when ya get hurt?"

Echo tilted his head in confusion. "No?"

"Do you have a beating heart in ya?" The raven pressed.

"No-"

Then the bird scoffed, standing back up from the wall he was leaning against. He told him that he was made of metal; he wasn't a living creature. No matter what code was programmed into his little head to make him believe he had emotions, he didn't. It was just ones and zeros. After the claims he told Echo what to clean and left. The sound of the several locks locking him in was the last thing he heard before the room went silent. With a sigh, he started on the cleaning. Sweeping brought him back to the days at the lighthouse- the days where life felt so simple. It was just him and Gizmo, the little assistance robot. It wasn't super effective when it came to cleaning large areas, but it tried its best. Remembering his old friend brought a smile back to Echo's face; even if it was small. He hummed a little song as he worked, one that he'd heard Dr. Julian sing a handful of times. He'd started singing it while doing chores after the inventor disappeared from the lighthouse. As time went on, he started making up more verses to the melody just for fun. He never wrote anything down, but the base of it that his father sang he remembered clearly.

'Built to protect, a heart of steel,
But my love for you, is truly real.
Though you're made of wires, with eyes so bright,
You're the sunshine of my day and night...
I crafted you with loving hands,
To face the world, to understand.
The world can be a dangerous place,
But I know you'll always find your grace...'

Before long, a knocking came from the back window, catching Echo's attention. He slowly walked over and drew aside the curtains. A smaller figure in a cloak stood outside looking in through the dirty window. Echo opened it and questioned if they were looking for the person that lived there.

"Sh! Not so loud!" He whisper yelled. "I overheard your... conversation before. About you being alive. Do you.. actually believe that you're a real creature?" They inquired.

The nindroid didn't know how to respond with that. Of course he was real!..... He WAS alive.. right? "Yes. I do. But these others-"

"HEY! Don’t you dare listen to them! I was asking about how you feel. Now, you want out or not?"

Echo's eyes lit up as he agreed. The figure pulled out a crowbar and broke the window open a crack, pushing it fully open manually. After helping Echo climb out through the window, the two made a break for it. Escaping into the jungle foliage, they finally reached an area far enough away to be considered safe. Echo happily turned to the cloaked figure and smiled gratefully.

"Thank you for helping me out of there! I appreciate it." His head tilted curiously. "What's your name?"

The figure seemed a bit taken back by the robots' friendly demeanor. They looked away, almost embarrassed.

"No, really." Echo pushed. "You don't need to be frightened of me. I don't bite."

The creature looked almost offended. Scared!? Of THAT?! No way. They started getting uncomfortable and walking off, but Echo happily followed. After a few minutes of the robot clearly NOT reading the room, the figure stopped and sighed. They made Echo promise not to mention who they were, and once he did, the hood was taken off. It was an eagle! Wait. No. A raven? No... were there such things as partially white ravens?...

"The name's Exel." He said with a sigh. He was mostly white, but certain parts were black, like his right leg and the top of his left. Spreading them out, one wing was dominated by black feathers while the other was mostly if not all white. The black wing also appeared to be slightly smaller. His beak and hand talons were the shade of silvery grey the ravens typically had, but his feet were the same color yellow the eagles sported. On his face he wore a simple scarlet red metal mask most ravens wore, except unlike them, there wasn't any gold or silver detail. Around his waist was a belt in the same color with a gold buckle, and finally, his lower legs were protected by armor of the same colors. Nothing too intricate again, but it was still pretty to Echo. All he had were green shorts after all.

Echo's eyes lit up as he admired this creature standing before him. "You look incredible! .....What are you?"

The bird suddenly looked like a lump got caught in his throat. "WELP! See you around!" He said before abruptly turning and flying away. As he did, his balance occasionally wavered, presumably due to the two different sized wings. Even if it was only a miniscule difference. Well, he was gone now. But Echo did sincerely hope to see them again.