Where did it all go Wrong?

Chapter 3

(It's the Winter Solstice today! I wish a happy day to all who celebrate it, and to those who don't as well. Here's another chapter, I'm not sure whether it's just me reading my writing back or whether it's actually that bad ._.
Enjoy... I think...)

After returning from that day in the forest, Zane and Lloyd seemed to resume their normal routine; Zane cooking delicious meals for everyone, Lloyd joking around with the others and playing video games - their schedule was pretty much back to normal. Pretty much.

"Dinner is served!" Zane announced gleefully as he placed a roasted duck, a plate of wheat wraps, three bowls of assorted sizes full of hoisin sauce, salad and egg-fried rice onto the center of the table. The Ninja practically drawled at the sight of such a sumptuous meal.

Cole, already digging in, announced with a mouthful of food, "Thish ish sho good Shane! I gwive thith fwour-humdred ou' ov ben!"
Kai slapped Cole at the back of the head, "What in Ninjago did you just say! I couldn't understand a word!"
Cole swallowed hastily and began choking. After finally managing to swallow the food he replied, if a little harshly, "I said, 'This is so good. I give it four hundred out of ten.' Was it really that hard to understand, Kai?"
"Yes!"
"I give it ten squillion!" Jay shrieked proudly after trying some, slapping his hands down onto the wooden table.
"That's not a word, Mouth of lightning!"
"Yes it is, Boulder Brain!"
"Fine! Then I give it fourteen quantillion!"
Kai facepalmed at the scene, while P.I.X.A.L and Wu shook their heads and Nya groaned audibly. In the end, Zane finally spoke up, spewing knowledge like a broken tap,
"I'm afraid that isn't possible, Cole. If one wanted to rate something out of ten, the number they responded with would have to be within the perimeter of one to ten. Therefore-"

"It was a joke, Zane. After all fourteen quintillion isn't an actual number!" Cole teased, prodding Zane in the chest that was currently obscured by a white shirt and a bright, pink flowery apron with frills and delicate embroidery.
Zane furrowed his brows and grabbed Cole's outstretched finger, pushing it back towards Cole, "Actually, it is a real number," The ninja looked at Zane, befuddled, "Fourteen quintillion is the number fourteen with exactly eighteen zeros attached."

Cole went bright red at being proven wrong, and he quickly changed the subject, "Well - uh - I - Did you see the -uh- weather today?" Nya rolled her eyes as Cole continued, "It's -uh- supposed to...um snow tomorrow!"
"Oh no! No!" Kai screamed dramatically, clutching at his hazel, spiky hair, "I can't go through snow again, it's only just turned summer! I'll freeze."

Freeze. Freeze. Freeze.

"Winter started five days ago - not Summer." Nya stated bluntly at Kai, while splashing water at his face.
Eternal Winter. Eternal Winter. Eternal Winter.
"Well, at least somebody will be cheerful about the snow, right Za-Zane?" Zane was standing stock still, unresponsive, "Hey, bud?"

Ice. Ice. Ice.

Lloyd, who had stayed silent for most of the dinner, shot up, his seat crashing to the floor. He walked up to Cole silently and grabbed him by the shirt, and to everyone's shock - punched him in the face.

Emperor. Emperor. Emperor

Cole howled in pain and clutched his cheek where a red mark had began forming.
Enemies. Enemies. Enemies.
"Lloyd!" Sensei Wu shouted in surprise.

Green. Green. Green.

The one in green.

He grows closer everyday.

Lloyd was shaking with fury, "Cole, you- you- oni! How dare you! Do you know how long it took to get Zane back - back to how he was? Do you?!" Cole stayed silent, "No! Of course you don't! Your just an ignorant lump! You don't deserve Zane's friendship!"
Lloyd turned towards Zane, putting a hand on his shoulder and whispering comforting words into his ear. Whatever he had said, it seemed to relieve Zane from his daze and he nodded nervously.
Sensei Wu had had enough, standing up he commanded, "Lloyd! My office - now!"
Lloyd started walking into the hallway with the nindroid in tow. He looked back to Sensei and met his eyes.
"No."

—————

"How are you doing Zane?" Lloyd asked from his position on his armchair. They were currently situated in Lloyd's spacious bedroom. Zane, after much persuasion, was sat on Lloyd's wooden desk chair while Lloyd had slumped onto his bright green armchair.
"I am fine." Zane replied, almost out of instinct. Whenever anyone asked him about his feelings his first reply, whether he was on the verge of death or happily skipping through Ninjago City, he would always use those three words, 'I am fine'.

It was clear to Lloyd that at this very moment, Zane certainly was not fine. His usually immaculate hair was once again a scruffy mess, his eyes were red and his face ached from crying, his shoulders were slumped and he was bent over, his forehead laying on the cool, oak surface of the desk.
"Zane," glowing blue eyes met green, "Answer me again, but the truth this time, okay?" Lloyd said slowly, trying not to make the nindroid anymore uncomfortable or upset than he already was.

Zane breathed an extremely long sigh, the sound carrying through the empty room and echoing off the painted walls. His sigh seemed to say it all, the emotions that came from his being all were projected into that one breath. When he finally did speak, his voice was...different. It sounded like his voice was made of gravel and the pain it exuded made Lloyd feel like he was walking barefoot across the grit, gaining feet that were littered with cuts that bled a substantial amount more than they should. His tone was clear, yet it had a deep heaviness that seemed to grab at ones throat, pushing them below water and keeping them there making them wish to come up for oxygen. Lloyd felt like he was choking in Zane's sorrows, experiencing the pain and suffering he had felt first hand. It hurt so much. It seemed to rip Lloyd's soul to pieces - tearing it up again and again until all that was left was blackness and emptiness. Lloyd had gone through pain and loss before - but never like this.

"I am...not sure what to feel," Zane's breath caught in his throat, "After...what happened...I do not think I will be able to go back to who I was before - and it scares me." He sat up a little straighter, "I do not know who I am anymore. I spent more time in the Never Realm than I ever have in Ninjago, and when I returned back through the portal Ninjago was the same as when I left. Everyone apart from you and I believes I have been gone little more than a week or two. None of the others understand me anymore. Despite the fact that I left the frozen throne chamber where I sat for so long, I still feel like there is a wall between me and my other brothers. Despite them being so close to me, I can not reach them. I can still feel the power of the scroll flooding through my veins, the things the scroll convinced me to do, the taunts and suggestions it whispered in my ear. I feel so alone." The nindroid flopped on to the carpet, curling into a tight ball, his voice was slightly muffled,
"Is their something wrong with me, Lloyd? Is it natural, or am I in need of repairs? Will the others abandon me if I told them the truth?"