More Human Than Me

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Lloyd watched alongside the ninja as Zane was deep underwater, attempting to beat his score. "What's so impressive about holding your breath underwater, I bet I could hold it twice as long."

"Ten minutes! He just broke his own record!" Kai cheered, ignoring the child. Lloyd pouted, watching as Zane emerged from the water

The ninja cheered and congratulated the ice elemental, helping him onto the bounty.

"Perhaps we have reached our full potential." Zane states. "Eh, I don't think you guys did anything that cool." Lloyd disagrees.

"Uh, did you forget how I walked on boiling hot coal?"

"Or how I was on top of the highest building during a thunderstorm."

"Or the fact that I can carry things triple my size."

The ninja all defended, Lloyd only giving a bored look. "(Y/n) could do all that." He mumbled.

"Why are we trying to fight with a kid about this?" Cole asked aloud. "Let's just go ask Sensei.

The four ninja, plus Lloyd, made their way to their Sensei's bedchambers, finding their master drinking tea with Nya and (Y/n).

Though, (Y/n) looked as if she was only holding her cup rather than drinking.

"A foot apart." Kai hissed, pointing at the two girls. Nya looked at him with confusion, while (Y/n) just scooted away.

"What can I help you four with?" Sensei Wu asked, with a light smile.

"Sensei, we think we have already reached our full potential, we've done every training we could possibly think of." Cole says.

The Sensei took a small sip of his tea, looking back up at the four.

"Peek physical potential, perhaps, but that is only part of the journey you must take." He says, taking another sip.

"Each and every one of you has something stopping you from reaching your goals, only when you take control of that fear will your hearts be free, only then will you truly be on your way to reaching your true potential."

He set his tea down, standing from his spot. "Only then, will you be able to stop the Serpentine from releasing the Great Devourer."

There was a long silence, apart from the tea (Y/n) was pouring into Nya's cup.

"Sensei, there is more to the Great Devourer than you've led on, isn't there?" Zane was the first to break the silence.

Their Master gives a heavy sigh, turning away from the ninja as he takes out the katana that was wrapped in an article of clothing. "I, too, have obstacles in need of facing."

Wu sees his own reflection in the sword before it flickers to images of his regretful past. "There's a story I never told you."

"Oh, it's story time!" Lloyd chirped, making his way to sit on (Y/n)'s lap. She had an annoyed expression on her face but didn't protest.

Wu gave a small, saddened smile to his nephew. "Long ago, when I was just a boy."

~~~

"I don't think we should be playing with Father's katanas." Garmadon adviced. Wu only waved the sword towards his brother, giving a sly smirk. "But here you are, holding it anyway."

Garmadon rolled his eyes, hitting the sword away from him. "One round, and that's it."

Wu let out a large smile, getting into a stance before striking at each other.

But they didn't stop after finishing their round.

They continued to strike at each other, suppressing their laughter so as not to alert their father.

"You're losing Garmadon." Wu teased, his brother only giving him an annoyed look. "Be quiet, I can still win this."

"But you're not going to." He mocked, Garmadon growing annoyed. "See, this is why I'm father's favorite."

Wu felt a heavy blow to his sword, knocking it out of his hand. The two brothers watched as it flew out from the Monastery grounds.

They both looked at each other. Wu felt slightly nervous under his brother's deathly glare.

"Go retrieve it." He demanded coldly. Wu shook his head, suddenly feeling fearful. "L-Let's just get it tomorrow." His brother only gave a disapproving look. "Never put off tomorrow what can be done today."

Garmadon climbed over the wall, spotting the katana. As he reached for it, a sharp pain shot through his hand.

His vision began to blur, and the last thing he saw was the snake that had bitten him.

~~~

"A great evil had found its way into my brother's heart, for the snake's venom could turn the purest of things wicked." Wu regrettably states. "It was... The Great Devourer that took my brother away from me." He says hesitantly.

The atmosphere in the room turned sour. Nya looked as if she were on the verge of tears, the ninja gave a silent look of pity, and the child that sat on (Y/n)'s lap gave a small frown.

"It's your fault." He muttered, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "It's your fault I don't have a dad! It's your fault my mom isn't here! Everything was all your fault!" He yelled out, running out the room with tears in his eyes.

"I-I'll go check up on him." Nya said, getting up to follow the boy.

(Y/n) was lost in thought for a bit. She wondered what would have happened if her Lord hadn't been bitten.

Maybe she wouldn't be here right now? Or maybe the results would have stayed the same. Expect Lord Garmadon wouldn't have been banished. Meaning she never would have met Kruncha and Nuckal.

There was also his vision in recreating the world. Was that also caused by The Great Devourer, or was it always an idea that bounced in his mind?

"I am going to find aid to help in defeating the Serpentine." Wu says, now standing.

(Y/n), not wanting to stay in a vulnerable position, also stands, leaving the room.

She bumps into Nya on the way out. (Y/n) tilts her head, confused at the worried look that was on the water elemental's face.

"Hey, so, Lloyd is crying pretty bad." She starts, fiddling with her fingers. "And I think he'd feel a lot better if you went in there to comfort him."

(Y/n) gave an annoyed sigh. "No, comfort is not something I am specialized in." Especially with those she didn't care for. But she would keep that thought to herself. "I will only worsen the state he is in."

Nya gave a frustrated sigh, going back into the room Lloyd isolated himself into.

___

The group was now in Jamanakai village, hanging missing posters for the fangblades.

"How useful is this going to be?" (Y/n) questioned, turning to Nya, who only gave a shrug. "Trust the process, I guess."

"Hey, you think Sensei is going to ask the Samurai for help?" The blue ninja asked. Nya panicked, rambling out excuses on why that wouldn't be the case.

"Hey, weirdo, you're making a mess on my store front." A man hissed out to the white ninja.

(Y/n) held her hand in front of the man's face, a burst of purple light flashing him. Once the light dispersed, the man was found knocked out on the floor.

"She does stuff like this, and I'm still the crazy one for not wanting her around?" The fire elemental questioned in annoyance. "Psh, it's not like she killed him, he's just napping." Nya stated.

(Y/n) followed the ice elemental, seeing his attention was focused on a bird. A familiar looking bird. But she didn't want to focus on that.

"Nya, what's with the fal-"

"Oh my gosh! It's the falcon!" The blue ninja screeched. "Every time we follow it, it leads us to good fortune."

Well, that answered part of her question. Doesn't explain why the white ninja has a link to it or that familiar feeling she gets with it.

"Maybe it'll lead me to the fangblade." She muttered to herself, giving chase to it once it took off.

One by one, the ninja tired out.

The first to go was Jay. While his stamina was higher than anyone in the group, he didn't have the strength they possessed to continue climbing the mountain.

Next was Cole. Who ran out of that stamina when they reached the bridge made of a fallen tree.

Lastly was Kai, who was tiring out but used the excuse of waiting for the rest of the team to catch up.

"And make sure you keep a close eye on her." He hissed, his glare piercing into her skin, causing her to shift uncomfortably.

While the two continued to follow the bird, (Y/n) caught a sign that warned them of Treehorns. It greatly confused her. Treehorns were docile creatures. They didn't attack without reason.

"Where are we going, my mysterious friend?" The white ninja questioned, right before the falcon shocked itself and fell to the ground.

The ninja ran to it immediately, (Y/n) staying just a few feet back.

"You're a... a robot?"

Oh? Was that the connection they both shared, why the ninja was so drawn to it? Another question answered, now she needs to figure out what was familiar about it.

Another machine approached the pair, the white ninja giving (Y/n) the falcon to protect while he fought off the robot.

Usually, she wouldn't care for another person's valuables. She should have tossed the bird and walked away to find what was important.

But looking down at the falcon, she didn't want to throw it away. She didn't want to abandon it. And it was irritating her.

It makes her question back to the darkly's school. The white ninja was the one to board her onto the ship, he carried her there. She was still conscience at the time. She remembered he was patching her up. Why did she allow all that?

It wasn't trust. She doesn't trust him. She knows she doesn't trust him. Was it safety? Did he make her feel safe? That didn't make sense, either.

The battle was over, (Y/n) lightly flinching when she noticed the ice elemental in front of her.

He gently took the falcon from her, turning it over to see a symbol. That was familiar to her, too.

The ice ninja goes up to a tree, opening it to reveal a bunker. They both enter, stopping in front of a work bench. He picked up the blueprints for a falcon, working to fix it.

Once done, the falcon sprung to life, flying around the bunker before landing to rest on the girl's shoulder.

"It seems my falcon friend has taken a liking to you." He smiles, (Y/n) frowning slightly.

"Zane?"

He tilts his head to the side, his smile slightly falters, but is still there. "Ah, yes, that is my name." He says, turning to look at the rest of the blueprints.

A flood of blocked memories resurface, and as hard has she tries to keep them blocked, they overload her.

She tries to keep a steady mind, but she can feel her breathing quicken.

He was supposed to be dead, that's why she blocked him out of her memory. Nuckal said he was dead. Was she glad that wasn't true? Why is she panicking? Right. His father. She took him to an island. Would it be right to keep that from him? But if they ever meet, then his father would die weeks later.

Breathe

Breathe

Breathe

Breathe

"NO! THIS CAN'T BE! NO!"

(Y/n) looks over to Zane. He was on the floor, holding the blueprint that helped create him.

"D-Did you not know?" She questioned, slight relief. What else did he not know? What else could she get away with?

He didn't answer her, just keeping his head low. She took the blueprint from his hand, looking it over.

She's guessing his saddened mood comes from him being a robot. Maybe. Is he sad he isn't human.

That unlocks a new memory, one where he questioned if he even had a soul. Is it similar to this?

"I... do not see you any different, if that helps." She whispers, but she knows he hears. "The vessel you are in does not make you less alive."

Those were the exact words she told him in the past. And when he finally looks up at her, his sadness is lighter, but not completely gone.

She didn't like this overwhelming feeling, she hated it, she didn't like seeing him sad, she didn't like caring about him. She didn't like the thought of having to hurt him if ordered by her Lord.

Letting go of the blueprint, she awkwardly makes her way out of the bunker, only to find the ninja being tossed around by the treehorns.

(Y/n) gave a deadpanned look.

"Much more useless than the Skulkin." She sighed out. They must have gotten frightened and attacked the treehorns.

She walked in the middle of the fight, the Treehorns ignoring her presence as they kicked around the ninja.

Treehorns functioned sort of like ants, but are more affectionate than the insects. Maybe if she were to cover the ninja, they would stop attacking. There was the off chance it would backfire and end with her bones broken. Her thoughts get interrupted by shurikens

"Leave my friends alone, Ninja go!"

Zane begins to attack the treehorns, knocking most of them onto the floor. The rest of the group watched in awe as Zane continued to fight off the treehorns.

(Y/n) still did nothing, holding out an arm as she noticed the falcon fly by to land. She let it prance its way to her shoulder, nesting comfortably in her cloak.

She watched as the treehorns began to back up. As their queen entered to finish the fight. As Zane began to glow, freezing the queen in place as the rest retreated.

That's the first time she's seen Zane use his powers. Now, really thinking about it, has she ever seen any of the ninja use their elements?

"This must be what Sensei meant about unlocking our hearts, I remember now, I remember everything."

Though a fear ran through (Y/n), it was quick to dissipate. Zane wasn't looking at her with any familiarity

"I remember my father and how he cared for me, I remember where I came from, I feel stronger for knowing."

The ninja all circled him, admiring his newfound powers. (Y/n) awkwardly stood to the side, letting the falcon rub it's beak to the side of her face.

Zane finally looked over to her, giving a smile. "Thank you, for your encouraging words." He bowed to her, the three ninja giving him a strange look along with (Y/n).

"N-No need for that, it's degrading, get up." She scolds, placing a hand under his chin to lift him back into a stand. Before she could back away, Zane clasped his hands into hers.

"I understand we are on opposing forces, but still you had enough heart to help me, if there is any way I could repay this gratitude to you, all you need is ask." He finishes, his hand still holding hers.

He was still the same, she only said a few words and he gladly kept it by his heart. She couldn't understand it, and she couldn't stop that smile from forming on her face. "You nursed me to health, I think that's enough."

The red ninja butted in, pushing the two away from each other. "Alright, Zane unlocked his true potential, there was no Fangblade, I think we should be heading back to the bounty."

(Y/n) followed behind them, a few feet away as to not anger the fire elemental more.

Kai let out an annoyed sigh, returning his attention to Zane. "I'm not blaming you are anything, you don't know these things, but Nya is still kinda dating her, and you were getting a bit touchy." He explains, gagging at the dating term.

"Apologies, I did not mean any romantic intent."

The red ninja patted his back. "Yeah, I know buddy."

A few minutes of silence before Zane had suddenly remembered something.

"Ah right, the reason for the falcon bringing us on this journey."

His teammates looked at him with mild curiosity before almost fainting at the sight of his chest opening, showing all the gears and switches.

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Author's Note
Ice ice baby

♡Current List♡

♡Kai

♡Nya

♡Cole

♡Jay

♡Zane

♡Lloyd

♡Morro

♡Skylor

♡Harumi

♡No one