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The first time Zane visited the grave, he brought white roses. It’s right after the funeral. Still in his black suit and with damp eyes, he waited until all of the guests had left, even his fellow ninjas.
“Are you sure?” Lloyd looked at him with worried eyes. “We’re here for you, you shouldn’t be alone.”
Zane nodded. “I am sure. I just… I need one final goodbye. A private one.”
“If you say so…”
Now, it was silent. No chatter, no one Zane didn’t even know giving their condolences, just Zane and the grave. Well, not exactly a grave yet, the tombstone had yet to come. For now, it was a pile of dirt with flowers on top. Yet, looking at it made Zanes eyes water again. He balanced his voice and spoke.
“Hello father.”
No answer, obviously, but Zane wan’t waiting for one. He just had to process the fact that this was how they will communicate from now one. One-sided.
“I know you said I had to prepare. That when Garmadon was defeated, his magic was gone and you wouldn’t have long left to live. But- But it feels so…unfair!”
Zane sighed. “I had accepted that you were gone. That I wouldn’t see you again. And then, I did. You came back into my life. It was a dream come true! We rebonded, and you taught me things about myself I never knew. After the ultimate battle, peace enveloped us. But then, only eight months later, you found yourself in a hospital bed. The doctors said they couldn’t do anything. And then you were gone. Ripped away from me, again. Only this time, I didn’t experience it as a memory, but lived through it. Saw the monitors beeps fade, watched your chest fall and never rise. That will for sure haunt me forever.”
The nindroid looked up. The saying ‘It’s a good day for a funeral’ was cruel, but Zane couldn’t deny that it was true. The sky was a beautiful blue, only small dots of pearly clouds here and there. A mild breeze flew through the air, gently rocking the leaves on the trees. The weather Dr. Julien would’ve loved.
“You know,” Zane gave a weak chuckle. “People talked about your wonders during the whole day. Including one of the wonders, me. I lost count of how many people I’ve spoken to. I doubt you knew all of them, maybe not any of them at all! One of them I had a rather long conversation with, he said his name was Cyrus Borg. He’s actually the one leading the rebuilding of the city, which is almost done! Borg was a big fan of you, and told me you inspired many of the things he’s planning to do with the city. Quite interesting. But dozens and dozens of other scientists, doctors and inventors came to honor you father, honor ‘the man who built the impossible’! I’ll also honor you forever, I swear to that. Even if you’re not here anymore, I am. And your memory will not die until I do.”
Saying that left a weird taste on Zanes tongue. Could he die? Witnessing his fathers death had made him question his own mortality ever since. Was he able to pass away? Would he live past everyone? If he did die, would the Departed Realm even accept him?
No. Zane shook those thoughts away for another time and rose from the ground. “I’m gonna leave now. I’ll be back, that I swear! We’re gonna open an academy, so time won’t be frequent, yet I’m gonna come here to visit you. For now, bye father.”
Zane put down the roses, then smiled before walking away.
*
*
The second time Zane visited the grave, he brought purple tulips. The tombstone had arrived. A gray, classic, vertical stele, with words delicately written on it.
- Doctor Samuel Julien, son, inventor and father -
Zane smiled as he put down the flowers. “I promised I would be back, didn’t I?”
The white ninja sat down and found a comfortable position.
“I have decided,” he said. “That I will try and come here once a week. We have gotten a good start on the academy, and are looking forward to open soon. While the others aren’t too happy about being teachers, I’m actually looking forward to it! Teaching is such a beautiful thing, to see younger souls get interested in learning! Well, if they have the capacity to learn after being in Kais P.E. class.”
Zane laughed before looking down, fiddling with his fingers. “I wish you had gotten to know them more father. Learned about Kais short temper, but big care for others, Coles heart of gold, Lloyds smiles and joy, and of course, Jay and Nyas love for technology. I fully believe you three would get along well. Jay actually told me once that I was the most advanced thing in the world, and that you were a genius. I will say I agree with that.”
It was quiet for some time, the only sound coming from the birds chirping above.
“Well,” Zane said. “The academy still misses bits and pieces, and I have to go back. Missing you forever father. See you next week!” With that, the nindroid gave a warm smile before he rose and left.
*
*
The third time Zane visited the grave, he brought pink baby's breath. He wore a blue grandpa vest and beige pants. His teacher outfit.
“Hi father.” Zane started, sitting down and placing the flowers. “Only a week has passed, but so much has happened! We opened the academy, and whew, being teachers is a hard career! All credits to those who work as one. I think my classes went kind of well, but trying to teach math and physics to kids who are not interested at all isn’t easy. It might not be that nice to say, but recess is really one of the best times of the day.”
Zane chuckled. “Kai and Jay are frustrated, and sometimes complaining about Lloyd being on victory tour while we are stuck here. But I think that deeply inside, at least Jay likes the job. I mean, he gets to teach about technology, his favorite thing! I’ve caught him grinning after lessons.”
“But,” Zane furrowed his brows. “Something has happened between Jay and Nya. Now, I am no romance specialist, but I think they are having a so called break from each other. Maybe that is smart, I don’t know. I just hope they won’t get any bad blood amongst them. Hm.”
Zane shook his head. “Gah! What am I doing, talking to you about my friends relationship!” The ice elemental laughed quietly. “I’m sorry.”
He then looked on the watch on his wrist. “It looks like our time is up, I would love to stay here more, but we have a strategy meeting about the upcoming lessons. You know the drill though, see you next week! Bye father.”
Zane got up and walked away.
*
*
The fourth time Zane visited the grave, he brought daisies. The nindroid got a big smile on his face as he sat and put down the flowers.
“Hello father, I have some quite exciting news to tell you today. The academy got green flag for a field trip tomorrow, and guess where we’re going? Borg Tower! The tower owned by Cyrus Borg! I’ve heard that he has shaped the city in an astonishing way, with lots of modern technology. And guess what? Plenty of it is inspired by you!
Jay is thrilled we’re going,” Zane continued. “He’s like, Borgs biggest fan! I think Nya is excited too. As for me, I am curious for what I will see there. Is it a completely digitalized place? Will it be flying cars and hologram watches like in the movies? And will it…”
Zane paused. “Will it be people like me there? Other droids? Cyrus did say you inspired him a lot, so does that mean he’s gotten inspired by me too? I don’t know what to think of that. I hope that if there is, they will be like me and have their own minds, not just a hollow shell with programming. That’s what made me so unique. You created me, a robot, that is human enough to not even notice his own robotic nature. You gave me the gift of life. I am eternally grateful to you, for life is something so beautiful. I hope those potential droids will experience it too.”
Zane rose. “I will update you next week father, see you then!” And the white ninja walks away.
*
*
The fifth time Zane visited the grave, he brought a bouquet of hyacinths. Three weeks had passed and he wore a new gi. He placed the flowers and sat down.
“I am so sorry father!” He exclaimed. “I would’ve never expected so much to happen! Believe me, I didn’t. How could anyone? Let me cut to the chase, the Overlord came back. Yeah. We all thought Lloyd had finished him off in the ultimate battle, but no, he came back nine months later, as a computer virus. ”
Zane sighed. “Let me tell you, it started when we went on that field trip i told you about…”
The nindroid spilled the whole story, from how they had visited Borg Tower, turned off the power, Lloyd getting kidnapped, and them getting digitalized.
“But then, inside the Digiverse, we managed to defeat him, and now theres no trace of the Overlord. But theres no trace of Cyrus Borg either, Pixal is devastated.” Zane gasped. “I have to tell you about Pixal! You remember how I wondered if there were droids like me in Borg Tower? Well it was, and Pixal is one of them. She is the most…beautiful girl I have ever seen. Her hair shines like the moon, and her eyes are like emeralds! She was connected to Ninjagos power source, so when we shut it off, she got shut down too. But my own powersource wasn’t connected, and I… I couldn’t lose her. So I gave her half of my heart. I’ll never regret it.”
Zane smiled for himself. “I hope that when this is all over, she will stay in contact with me. I really hope to get a deeper connection with her. But first, we have to get all done with the problems at hand. Get Pythor, defeat the evil nindroids, get Cyrus back. Then, we can go to the next stage.”
Suddenly, Zane paused. He twirls a piece of his gi between his fingers, and speaks in a quiet voice. “Those evil nindroids… Were made of your blueprints. My blueprints. It feels weird, I don’t know what to think of it. I’ve fought and defeated plenty of them, but something doesn’t sit right with me. They are like me, droids, but with different programming. I can’t help but feel bad, if they had only had different lines of code, maybe they would be their own people. Though, I can’t dwell by this.”
Zane looks up at the sky, which is blue with lots of clouds. The sun peeps out from behind one of them. “The team has some personal problems too. It’s so stupid, but Jay and Cole fights over Nyas affection. Nobody on the team is happy about that. I just wish they would sort it out.”
“But,” Zane sighs. “I’ve rambled enough. I have to get going anyway, we are still looking for Pythor. Love you forever dad, now that the Overlord is gone I’ll come see you next week. Goodbye!”
The ice ninja rose and walked away.
*
*
Zane didn’t come next week. And the tombstone wouldn’t get new flowers in a long time.