Other Side of Ten // Ninjago Echo Zane

Sand Days

Every step he was careful. This was far more stairs he'd done without falling. How afraid he was to fall. The stony, steep steps could slip under his feet leaving him crashing down. Not only could he break, but he would feel it all.

It was too late to turn back now. He was already more than halfway down.  The sand was so close.  The wind occasionally gusted, bringing a cooling sensation to his skin. It was refreshing.

When he paused, he looked at the ocean, the waves getting louder. Still, he didn't see The Leviathan. His theories were correct so far. He was in the clear.

Turning to look behind him, the lighthouse door was very far. He wondered how he would get back up.

Before he knew it, the sand was at his feet.

Looking at it close, it was grainy. He'd only seen specks of sand dragged into the lighthouse, but this was full of millions of specks. The bottoms of his feet started to heat up from the sand. Wiggling, he sunk a little deeper.

Bending down he picked up a mound, letting the sand fall between his fingers. Every step he took the softer it felt.

His foot sank deeper than expecting, making him jolt forward. His ankle felt like it slipped at the joint, the ground clamping down. Quickly catching himself, he sighed in relief. Although this sand was softer than stone, Zane was fragile like glass.

But this was his life to live. Not even the constraints of his frame should dampen his experience. So, he kept walking along the shore.

Each wave brought seafoam and seaweed. He never noticed how tasty looking the fizzing foam looked. It bubbled and dissolved as it folded into itself before repeating at the next wave. Although he never ate human food, he had soft impulses to want to consume something tasty. Now heightened with his new emotions, it was a craving.

Cupping his hands at the water, he realized what he was doing. Father said he was prone to water damage. He didn't even have a digestive system. Surely it wouldn't hurt to just taste a small amount of the foam and spit it out.

The foam didn't come easily, but he caught some, pressing it to his lips.  Holding the ocean water in his mouth, his body forcefully coughed it out. It was so salty, the oil behind his eyes started to water. Uncontrollably, he wheezed, the force of his body straining him.

Shuddering at the after taste still in his nose, he laughed at himself. He'd never do that again. It was awful; but the fact he even felt drawn to the seafoam was amusing. Why was he feeling that way?

Even though it tasted like pure agony, he was starting to understand why pain was worth feeling. Either it led to something to laugh about, or it was something new to experience. Already, he was feeling the effects and the differences to who he was before the change. He was less naive, and driven by variety. Even a mouthful of seafoam was better than sitting in the basement, wasting away, not knowing anything else.

From the ocean, yellow eyes appeared on a blue pillar- or rather a tentacle.

The Leviathan.

Stumbling back, he tried to gain distance, but The Leviathan was too large. Falling down, sand fell into his knee joints. He scraped his shins, and yelped in pain. Trying to run away again, his range of motion was too great to stand straight. One of his ankles was loose and limp, making it impossible to run without significant pain.

The tentacle backed away, the creature making a noise.

Through his wincing, he noted The Leviathan was looking for something, but not at him. That was a blessing, as he was heaving through the burning of his ankle, the pain creeping up to his knee.

The creature slipped a piece of driftwood, a stick long enough to be used as a walking stick. Was it helping him?

"Thank you." He gingerly said, propping his weight on it to stand from the ground.

Daring to try his foot again, he yelped as he placed the slightest amount of weight down. Shaking, he tried all his might to stay standing using the stick. This felt awful.

Watching Zane stand, The Levitation trilled. It waved him off before swimming away.

It swam away.

That meant it was freed from its chains like he originally suspected. Did it travel back here to check on him? Watching it duck beneath the water, far from him, he felt an odd connection with the creature.  It seemed intrigued by him but not dangerous.

___________________________________

After sitting on the sand until dark, Tai-D must've known something was off. He fought his own fears and traveled down the stairs with screws and supplies. While down on the coast, he got a careful look at his injury. It was simple at least. Just needed a screw tightened. But he couldn't imagine how painful doing that would be.

Holding the wrench Tai-D passed him, he held it to the loose bolt for a few minutes, too scared to start.

Tai-D squeaked.

"I know I know," He got the wrench closer than psyched himself out. "I'll do it soon I promise."

Pointing at the moon, Tai-D's message was clear.

Breathing uncomfortable for a while, he set down the wrench, and put his hand to his pain switch. If he were to turn off his pain, this would be much more bearable and then he can go right back.

Tai-D didn't seem to like this plan. Vigorously he shook his head.

It was too late, he flipped the switch. His heart pounding out of his chest, the burning in his ankle, and the excitement of his rebellion on the beach washed away. Now he could do this.

Holding the wrench to his ankle, he tightened. It felt like a faint movement, but wasn't painful.

"See, turning off my pain is necessary sometimes." Zane said while turning the knob.

Tai-D waved his attention, snapping back to his ankle, he realized he tightened way too tight, his metal starting to crack.

    He gasped, realizing what he'd done. That crack was permanent. By the looks of it, he'd be lucky to not have the whole metal shell up to his shin fall off, leaving his hydraulics and gears exposed to the air.

    "I-I" Zane stammered. "This is fine. I'm fine. I can still walk with one leg. Yes. I can do that."

    Using his walking stick, he got up. Limping carefully not because he felt it, but because he knew it was severely damaged. After a few steps his other ankle gave out and he slipped.

    Assessing, it was probably fine. Visually nothing came undone, but he needed to turn his switch again to walk now that he only had one usable leg. But he did not want to feel pain again, especially not now. That crack running up his ankle was bound to feel terrible.

    Tai-D intruded on his contemplation pointing at his chest.

    "I know! I know I need to turn it back on. " He shook his head. "Look, I'll turn it on now." Without taking another hesitating second, he flipped his switch.

    Air screeched through the crack on his ankle. It was both hot and cold, blending into agony. Shaking and gasping, he tried to pretend he didn't feel it. But it was obvious from tears pooling at his eyes just how excruciating he was feeling.

    If he hadn't turned off his switch again, then he would've felt when he was tightening too far. Now he was more injured than before. He shouldn't have been so weak.

    Leaning on the walking stick The Leviathan gave him, he got up and looked across the long stretch of stairs. He gasped through every wave of pain. This was going to be difficult.