The Enchanted DVD Player (Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 9 - Truth & True Potential

Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane are all practicing their swordsmanship, but Sensei had instructed me to spend some time with Lloyd. Apparently he wants his nephew to have a friend that's not an evil gremlin child from Darkley's.

"Do you think my uncle will let me train with the rest of you?" Lloyd asks as we play a board game in our shared bedroom. 

"Probably. But you should enjoy your childhood while you can."

He scrunches his nose. "You're one to talk. You train with the team, and you're the same age as me."

"That's true. But training is fun! And I'm good at it. I've never been good at anything before."

Lloyd moves his game piece a few spaces forward. "You're lucky. I haven't found anything I'm good at yet."

"Well, you're good at board games," I say. "And reading comic books."

"That doesn't count."

"Sure it does!"

Cole pops his head into the room. "Y/n, we gotta go. Zane's gone."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't ask questions! Just get dressed!"

"Can I come?" Lloyd asks.

"Sorry, little man," Cole says, ruffling Lloyd's hair. "Maybe another time."

I shake my head. "What do you mean Zane's gone?" 

"He was here one minute and now he's not. AKA, he's gone."

"I can help look," Lloyd says. "I'm good at stumbling across things. Like Pythor, the tombs..."

Cole and I just stare at him. 

"What, too soon?"

Cole tosses me a sweater and I hastily throw it on. He risks one more glance at Lloyd, who's making puppy dog eyes.

"Okay, fine," Cole groans. "You can come. But no wandering off. Got it?"

...

We search for Zane in the woods for hours, but we don't have any luck. It's snowing, so any trace of Zane's footprints would have been covered up by now. The only sign of life is a falcon soaring above us.

"Is it just me or is that bird following us?" Jay asks.

"Maybe it knows where Zane is," Lloyd says.

Jay frowns. "Okay, whose idea was it to bring the kid?"

"No, I think he's right," I say, then look straight up at the circling falcon. "Hey! You up there! Have you seen Zane??"

The bird does a U-turn and flies east of us. Lloyd and I are quick to follow, with the rest of the team not far behind us. 

The falcon brings us to a giant tree with a door it. The door is already open, so we all step inside. There are soft sobs coming from below us, so we follow the staircase all the way to the bottom. On the floor is Zane, surrounded by blueprints, with his head in his hands.

"Zane? What's wrong?" I ask, running over to him.

"I... I'm not..."

Cole slides down in front of him. "Breathe, buddy. Hey, look at me. Breathe."

Zane sits up with his hand on his chest. He unzips his hoodie, and traces a square over his ribcage. The shape he traced starts to glow, then pops open to reveal a hollow interior full of metal gears and switches.

"You-you-you're a robot!" Jay cries, pointing and gapping.

"Stop that," I hiss, swatting down his hand.