Echo Zane sat alone in the top floor of the lighthouse, curled up in the corner. He had been there for what felt like ages. He had already cried out all of his tears, so now he just sits there with Gizmo, excepting that this is his fate. He had heard nothing but the sound of crashing waves and seagulls for years, so when a new sound was made, he startled up to look out the window. A vehicle sped across the ocean towards the island. It came to a splashing halt as it reached the sandy shore. Gizmo let out a series of unsure beeps while backing into the corner again. Echo watched intently as a boy dressed in blue jumped out of the boat. His feet landing on the sand made a satisfying crunch. A second person remained in the driver’s seat. The two appeared to be talking to each other, with the driver seeming concerned for the other. Then Echo Zane could finally make out a bit of the conversation.

“But here I feel closer to her… I think I’d like to stay here for a while.” Said the blue ninja.

“Then do it, if it does you some good! Rediscover your smile!” Said the black one in the boat.

“Take care Cole!”

“You too Jay! Whenever you want me to come pick you up, just call!”

With that, the boat left, and the blue one started to walk up the stairs leading to the front door. The rusty nindroid panicked as he scrambled to try to hide both himself and Gizmo. He heard the door creak open as he threw the last bit of rubble and trash on top of them in an effort to hide. The sound of footsteps grew louder and louder until it stopped in the room. Right next to him. The robot could feel the ninja’s presence looming over them. Gizmo wiggled around to try to get Echo Zane to loosen his hugging grip. The movement caused the trash to slide off, revealing their presence to the ninja. The two made eye contact for a long while before the blue ninja knelt down to the droid’s eye level. He gave a tired chuckle.

“Echo Zane! Long time no see! It’s me, Jay! How have you been?!”

The rusty nindroid sat up with a confused look on his face. Jay immediately understood that he too, had completely forgotten about the time-line with Nadakhan. It was probably for the best though…
Echo stood up and tilted his head.

“I have no memory of ever meeting you. Are you sure we have been acquainted?”

Jay didn’t really know how to respond to that, nor did he feel like explaining it, so he shook it off and reintroduced himself. Echo did the same for both him and Gizmo. The two sat down at the table in the middle of the room and talked for a while. After the long conversation, Jay realized how depressed Echo Zane seemed. He wasn’t smiling nearly as much as he did back when they fought the sky pirates. Jay put his hand on the nindroid’s shoulder.

“You’ve been stuck here for a long time, huh?”

Echo Zane nodded as he turned his head away and stared at the floor.

“How about we get you out of here? I could call one of my vehicles to come pick you up. The autopilot could take you to the nearest land mass!”
The nindroid began perking up.

“Really?! You’d do that for me?”
Jay happily agreed; stating that he’ll try calling for his jet in the morning. That night, Echo Zane was genuinely happy for the first time in forever. He and Gizmo slept by Jay to keep the ninja company. Jay had previously mentioned about having recently lost someone dear to him, and that the events made him sad. Echo did not like to see his new friend sad, so he figured keeping him company was the least he could do to help him feel less lonely. It made him feel less lonely too. So that night, for the first time ever, Echo Zane fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The sun rose over the horizon, practically blinding the two while they woke up. Gizmo had somehow managed to escape his friend’s hug, and was already up and making tea. It was one of the rust bucket’s many talents. After enjoying one of the best cups of tea he’d ever tasted, he kept his promise and called in his jet with the long distance remote. It wasn’t long before it arrived at the lighthouse, but to Echo Zane, it felt like forever. Jay guided him into the back seat of the cockpit and closed him in.

“Remember, don’t try to get out until the jet has completely landed. When the window opens, THEN you’re free to leave and do whatever your little steam-powered heart desires. Ok?”

Echo Zane nodded in agreement while he excitedly positioned himself in the seat, hugging Gizmo. Not going to lie, he was extremely nervous about flying for the first time, but his excitement about finally leaving his prison overpowered that fear. He was finally about to be free! They said their final goodbyes, then the jet took off. A few hours passed, and it finally touched down on a small, hidden beach. Echo Zane’s eyes lit up like a million stars all burning at once. He hopped out, and started walking up the trail that led up the cliff-side and into the woods. He was in awe while walking through it. He had never seen a forest before!

“Gizmo… This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! These giant wooden things with the green on top are gorgeous!”

He had never seen a tree before either. So he wasn’t sure what to make of them. Being a forest, these wooden giants were everywhere. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t somewhat intimidated by their enormous presence. The nindroid wandered through the lush forest for what felt like ages, holding his little companion close to him. Finally, they could see lights in the distance. As they ran closer to the source, Echo Zane’s little mechanical heart felt as if it was beating a mile a minute. His emotions overflowed the second he busted out of the foliage and laid his eyes on the village. He froze there; looking down at the town at the bottom of the hill. Gizmo made a series of beeping noises to snap Echo Zane out of it.

“Sorry for being so hesitant, I just… I’ve never seen anything like this before, and it’s honestly all a bit overwhelming.”

The cold wind blew by and smacked them in the face. Echo Zane shivered.

“I suppose we SHOULD head down there and say hello. I assume it would be rather rude not to.”

With that, they headed into the village. His eyes filled with wonder as he excitedly wandered the streets. At one point, he had tried asking a bicycle for directions, and was upset when he realized it wasn’t going to answer. He explored the streets until the cold began to slow him down. He carried Gizmo into an alleyway and sat down by the dumpster. The nindroid cuddled his friend for a while until a young boy walked by and happened to notice them.

“What are you doing out here without a jacket?” he asked.

“I do not own one. Or anything else, I suppose. I am Echo Zane. What is your name?”

The boy smiled while he helped them up. “Nathan. But you can call me Nate! So, where do you live? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

Echo Zane explained that he had no idea what he was doing yet. And at the moment, he didn’t live anywhere. Nate offered him to come join him where he lived. And with such a kind offer, he couldn’t possibly object. The nindroid followed the boy until they got to a large brick building with a gate. There was a sign above it, but Echo Zane couldn’t really read, so he had no idea what it said. He was led into the main room where he was sat in front of a large fireplace. Nathan gave the guests a blanket to help them warm up. Echo smiled warmly.

“Thank you for your kindness! I really appreciate it.”

“Hey, I said, not a problem.”

The kid was about to say something else, but was cut off by a surprise hug from behind. The two children giggled as they hit the wooden floor. A girl with fluffy red hair and a purple sweater got playfully knocked off of Nathan while he got back up. The girl made immediate eye contact with the nindroid when she too stood up.

“Woah. What is this thing?”

“It’s NOT a THING… It’s a HE. Riley, this is Echo Zane and his friend Gizmo.” He explained.
Echo Zane seemed to be happy to be receiving so much positive attention.

“Very pleased to meet you Riley. Are you two siblings? Is this your house?”

Riley burst out laughing; which confused Echo. He didn’t think that he said anything funny. She calmed down and explained that they weren’t related at all, and as for the house part-
“You could call it our house, I guess. But it’s not supposed to be permanent. This is called an orphanage.”
The rusty droid tilted his head in confusion. “An orphanage? What is that?”

The two kids looked at each other, scanning the other to see if either had a delicate way of wording it. Riley sat down next to Echo Zane and started defining what the word meant.

“It’s a place for children to live when their parents aren’t around anymore. Like, either they died, or in some cases… they abandoned them.”

Echo Zane looked arguably saddened, but still curious. “Abandoned?”

Nathan sat down on the other side of the robot.

“It means that someone tells you that they’ll be back, but they don’t. They leave you alone where they told you to stay, and leave forever. With no intention of ever going back for you. They abandoned you.”

Echo Zane looked like he had just seen a terrifying ghost. If his face could turn white, it would be. He stared down at Gizmo who was now in sleep mode. “I was abandoned…” he quietly whispered to himself. Realizing this broke his heart more than ever before. Riley asked him if he was okay, and he replied by explaining his story. The two kids watched his explanation turn into rambling, and then into a vent that he was now crying over. They gave him a big hug while trying to comfort him.

“It’s alright Echo, we know how you feel. We reacted the same way when we found out. But it’s not all bad, we get to stay here! And I bet Ms. Grayson would let you stay here too!”

Nate smiled at them. “She’s ultra sweet, I bet she totally would! Let’s go see her now! She’s probably in her office!”
The two children giggled as they pulled Echo Zane along through the hallways. They all arrived at a red door at the end of a hallway. Not gonna lie, it looked pretty intimidating. Nate knocked on the door until he was told by a voice from the other side to come in. The three walked up to the desk where a lady in her late twenties was sitting. She peered up from her paperwork and was shocked to see a rusting robot in front of her.

“OK… Do I dare ask what it is that’s standing with you two?” she looked sorta freaked out by Echo’s presence.

“This is Echo Zane!” started Riley.
“He’s an orphan too! So we figured that it wouldn’t be too much trouble if he could maybe… stay with us?..” finished Nate.
The director looked at the two children giving her puppy eyes, and then back at the nindroid who was now mimicking them. She smiled and sighed.

“I suppose if he doesn’t cause any trouble, and we can get him something to wear, it shouldn’t be a problem. BUT! He has to stay with you. From now on, he’s your responsibility, alright?”

The three excitedly agreed and went in for a group hug. Echo Zane smiled like he had never smiled before.

“I thank you Miss Grayson, I promise to be as helpful as I can to make it up to you!”

“It’s really no problem! Besides, it’s my job to help out children. Now. It’s getting late, you three should be headed off to bed.”

A variety of agreements came from the trio while they rushed their new friends to their room.
It wasn’t long before the three were all in their pj’s and about to get into their beds. The room they were in had three beds. There was another kid that used to share the room with Nathan and Riley, but he had just recently been adopted, so the bed was free. Echo looked very concerned about getting in the bed for some reason, and the others took notice.

“What’s wrong Echo?”

“I- I, um.. I’ve never been in a bed before. I do not know how this works. And I suppose I was slightly afraid to ask.”

Nathan and Riley looked shocked. They both darted over to help the nindroid. Once they got him tucked in, they asked how it was. Echo felt himself sink into the soft mattress. His aching, rusted joints felt relaxed for the first time in forever. He smiled.

“It feels… very pleasant. Thank you.”

Riley giggled as she and Nathan hoped into their own beds.

“Well, I bet you had a long day, Echo. Tomorrow is going to be just as awesome, I promise!”

Echo stopped them from turning the lights off to ask them a final question.

“Earlier you mentioned that living in this place was only temporary. What exactly did you mean by that statement?”

Riley giggled. “Oh, well I meant that I hope that I’d get adopted.”

“Adopted means that a family can come in and pick you to be a new member of their family! That way you can finally have a home and family that loves you.” Nathan added.

Echo looked enchanted by the description. The lights went off, and the kids said goodnight to each other. Meanwhile, all Echo could think about was the concept of being adopted. The idea that someone could come in and choose him as their own son was exciting. But it was also really rather depressing. It made him think about his actual father. Why would Dr. Julian abandon him? This entire time he never loved him or cared about him? It broke his heart to think about it, so he tried not to. The nindroid fell asleep thinking about how exciting tomorrow would be. He fell asleep happy.
The next day was great. It was a day dedicated to helping Echo learn the names of different objects, people, and places. The following weeks were for teaching him how to read and write. The next few weeks after that were dealing with numbers and basic math. Spending all this time with all the kids also helped increase his confidence and social skills. Within a few months of hanging out and living at the orphanage, he had completely forgotten what it felt like to be alone in the lighthouse. The constant emptiness in him no longer existed. Miss Grayson had also had him taken to the local mechanic and got him fixed up; they even replaced many parts of him that were rusty beyond repair. He was eternally grateful for the repair and replacement job. Even though he didn’t need to, he insisted on helping around the shop as a thank you gift. Months passed by, and Echo became known as the biggest helper in the town; always assisting in any way that he could. But right now, he was just enjoying some quality time with his two best friends. Echo, Nathan, and Riley all sat in front of the television in the play room watching cartoons. Strangely however, it was interrupted by an emergency message. The kids sat up and listened intently.

“Attention citizens of Ninjago-“ the voice from the TV started. “I interrupt your program to bring you an emergency message! A giant floating island accompanied by an army of crystal warriors are making their way through the country to Ninjago City. We advise everyone to stay inside and lock your doors. If you’re hearing this message too late, and they are already attacking your village, DO NOT TOUCH THEM! We have received word that if you touch the crystals, you will be turned into some type of crystal zombie. I repeat- DO NOT…”

the message was cut off as the television screen filled with static.

“Oh dear!” exclaimed Echo. “That sounds absolutely awful! We have to assure that everyone stays safe!”

Nathan and Riley agreed. They ran around the town and told everyone what they heard about on TV. The message was received loud and clear; and just in time. The sound of marching invaded the town along with a full fledged army of crystal warriors. Echo and his two friends were still standing in the streets after telling everyone to run inside. Echo’s heart sank as he realized the danger they were in as the army marched toward them. In a panic, he grabbed Riley and Nathan, and rushed into the orphanage; locking the doors behind them. They scrambled to close all the blinds and covering them with other random objects. Miss Grayson ran around the corner to see them barricading the door with a sofa.

“What are you all doing!? Come on, get to your room! Now!”

So they did. They hid it the closest; hugging Echo and Gizmo. Echo hugged them back. Even though he was just as terrified as they were, he couldn’t shake some weird feeling he had. It was almost like a hidden instinct. An instinct that was telling him that if anything were to burst through the door, he would be the one to jump out and fight it. That regardless of his fear, he had to protect those he cared about. While trying to ponder the feeling in his soul, he instinctively whispered a quiet phrase. It felt natural as it came out.
“I was built to protect others who cannot protect themselves.”
Just then, the sounds of banging erupted from the door. Their hearts all sank the moment they realized that the orphanage was invaded, and a crystal warrior was in the room with them. Echo had no clue what he was about to do, but he pushed the children behind him and slowly peaked out the door to see where the goon was. He grabbed a broom from the side of the closet and looked back down at his friends. He gave a little smile before something kicked in. A part of his programming that had previously been hidden. His eyes narrowed while he got into a fighting position. The creature approached the closest, and the nindroid sprung out; beating the crystal brute with the broom. He fought with it like he was a highly trained ninja with a silver staff. The kids watched in disbelief as the seemingly harmless nindroid wailed on it like a mad man. Finally he wacked it so hard that it went flying out the window and breaking apart from the 4 story fall. Echo unclenched the broom handle as his expression faded from fighter mode back to normal. He turned around to face his now shaking friends.

“What. Was. That?” nervously asked Riley.

Echo shrugged. “I have no idea. I saw that you were in danger, and I acted. I felt the need to protect you, I suppose. You’re not hurt, are you my friends?”

They shook their heads no.

“Oh, thank the First Spinjitzu Master. I am truly grateful that you-“

he was cut off by an explosion outside. A white jet darted overhead and started shooting at the warriors. Some of them didn’t break, but it was enough to anger them to the point where they all chased after it, and left the village behind. Echo watched the white and blue aircraft intently as it flew away. He couldn’t seem to explain it, but something about the jet gave him a strange feeling. Something in it was expelling a feeling of connection. It was so bizarre, but he chose to ignore it and go back to doing what he loved best- helping people. About a week later, Echo, Nathan, Gizmo, and Riley were back to flipping through the channels on their television. They usually liked to avoid the news channels at all costs, but this particular report caught their attention.

“Gayle Gossip here, live from Ninjago City. It’s been a few days since the crystal catastrophe has ended! The floating island has been destroyed, along with all the crystal warriors that came with it. At the moment, the city is working to rebuild the damage caused by the Crystal Council. On a happy note, we will be holding a celebration in two weeks in honor of our heroes- the ninja, and those who stood by them.”

Gizmo turned the TV off and began cleaning it and the area around. They laughed at how sudden and random the action was.

“Well at least that’s over.” Sighed Nate.

“Ya, it was pretty scary, but we had Echo to protect us!”

The nindroid blushed.

“It was nothing, I promise! I just love to help out!”
Gizmo angrily beeped at them to move, because now it wanted to vacuum where they were sitting. Nathan suggested that they should just hang out outside for a bit. So they all sat in the front yard and just talked for a bit. While they were talking, Riley trailed off as something caught her eye. She kept her eyes glued to it as she tapped Echo on the shoulder. The nindroid looked down at her.

“What is it my friend?”

“Hey Echo? Why are there two of you?” She sounded rather weirded out.

Echo tilted his head. “What are you talking… about…..?” the robot froze when he noticed what she was staring at. It was another nindroid! It looked almost identical to Echo, except for the fact that he was silver, not bronze and copper colored. Then it happened again. The same weird feeling that he got from the jet. It was coming from HIM! The lookalike seemed to be in the town looking for something at the shop across the street. He picked something up off the shelf and examined it, only to lower it and freeze. It looked like he was realizing something important. He put the objects back on the shelf and reached up to grab his head. Echo watched as the feeling grew stronger and gave him a pain in his head as well. The lookalike started looking around for the cause of the sensation he was clearly also feeling. Echo instinctively got up and walked closer to him. The silver replica stood in shock as the twins made eye contact. They stood there staring at each other for a solid minute before the silver one started approaching Echo. He backed up a few feet before stopping himself and letting the other approach him fully.

“Who… Are you?” he asked.

“I was about to ask the same question.” Replied Echo.

“I am Zane. And you are?”

“…… That is most odd. I used to be called Zane as well, but he started calling me Echo Zane after a while. Now I just go by Echo.”

“HE? You are referring to the person that made you? May I ask his name?”

Echo thought for a moment before speaking up.

“Dr. Julian. I was built by him at a lighthouse. Why do you ask?”

Zane looked like his head was about to explode. “Echo. Right? I think we need to talk.”

The two sat on the front steps of the orphanage and both explained all that the other needed to know. There was a LOT of back and forth, but they both landed on the same conclusion at the same time.

“-if father made both of us…”

“..then that means..”
“…that makes you my..”

Both of them lit up and yelled in unison- “BROTHER!!!”

They both excitedly talk to each other for hours while walking around the town. For two people who had never met, they had a lot in common. Zane found it very difficult to believe that Dr. Julian never mentioned Echo, let alone straight up abandoned him. But unfortunately, both sides of the story have hard evidence that point to that being the case. You think you know someone….
But the sun started to set, and Zane had promised he’d be back already. So he really had to start going, but finding a long lost brother was a huge deal. Zane felt awful about just leaving him here, but he looked more than happy to be in the town. Eventually, he made a decision.

Echo sat in his bedroom thinking about how absolutely amazing the day was. He should’ve been asleep by now, but he was SO happy, he couldn’t. Eventually, he did finally go to sleep.
The next morning he was woken up by Nathan and Riley standing over him; looking rather sad.

“Echo.. There’s been something we’ve been meaning to tell you……”

He looked around the room to see all of their stuff was gone. He questioned what was going on.
Nathan gave a sad smile. “Buddy, we’ve been trying to tell you, but we couldn’t. Echo… We got adopted. Our parents are waiting for us downstairs right now.”

“That’s great for you two! I’m so proud of you!” Echo gave them a hug. 

“Can I come see your house later? Where in the town is it?”

The two kids looked at each other then back at Echo.

“We aren’t going to live here anymore. Our parents live in Ninjago City.” Nathan said sadly.

Echo’s smile dropped. “Oh. So this is goodbye?...”

“Looks like it.” Said Riley.

They gave Echo an enormous, long goodbye hug.
The rest of the day, the nindroid didn’t know what to do. His best friends were no longer here to play and hang out with. So Echo curled up on his bed and just thought. A child named Bernie walked into the room to check on Echo. The nindroid was friends with all the kids at the orphanage, but he felt a special connection with Nathan and Riley. Bernie walked over and sat on the bed next to the robot.

"You alright?"

Echo shrugged and then sighed. "Nobody is ever going to want to adopt me, are they?"

Bernie looked confused. "What makes you think that?"

The robot turned to the kid. "I am a nindroid. Not a child like the rest of you. Why would someone want to adopt a piece of scrap metal, when they can pick someone like you?"

"Oh, come on! Don't say that! I'm sure there's someone out there who's gonna take one look at you, and fall in love. They're gonna immediately get that feeling, and so will you! Who wouldn't want to adopt a robot?! That's awesome!"

The talk cheered Echo up a bit, so they talked until it was time to go to bed again. A week passed, and Echo was woken up by Miss Grayson's voice talking over the speaker.

“Mr. Echo, may you please come downstairs to the front desk?”

He slowly got up and headed down the stairs. His tired expression was immediately replaced by overwhelming joy when he saw what was waiting for him at the desk. His brother.

“Zane!?! What are you doing here?!”

“What does it look like silly? I’m here to bring you home.”

Echo’s eyes lit up. “Home!? I… I’m being ADOPTED!??...”

Zane laughed. “If you want to call it that, yes.”

Echo tackled his brother in the biggest hug he could muster. “I love you!”

Zane smiled while ruffling up his twin’s hair. “I love you too, brother. Now, go pack up your things. We have a long day ahead of us. Everyone else is excited to meet you.”

"EVERYONE?! I'm getting a whole family?!"

Zane smiled. "Yes! And you don't want to keep them waiting, we have brunch planned."

Echo excitedly ran upstairs and packed his things into a duffel bag, while his brother sighed some paper work. The nindroid happily skipped down the stairs and held his big brother’s hand; looking up at him lovingly.

"Ready to go home?"

Echo's eyes filled with tears of joy.  "Yes. That sounds wonderful."

And with that, the two brothers left to go home. The whole jet ride there, was full of questions and excitement. The two walked into an apartment building that was mostly repaired already. While the monastery was being rebuild, they temporarily lived in the city. They didn't even have to pay to live there, it was the owners way of saying thank you for all you've done. The group split into two per apartment, but at the moment, all of them were waiting in one. Zane knocked on the door, which caused them all to hurry up to it. The door swung open and all the ninja jumped into position and yelled- "SURPRISE!!!"
Echo startled and hid behind Zane.
Well, now everyone just felt bad.

"Hey, we didn’t mean to scare you bud. It's okay." Said Cole attempting to  comfort him. The robot peaked around his brother at the ninja.

"Don’t worry little guy, we're not gonna hurt you. We're your new family." Added Lloyd.

Echo cautiously walked towards them and introduced himself. They already knew who he was, since Zane had previously filled them in, but they let him anyway. Then they all got to introducing themselves to him. Finally, they got to Jay. Before he could say anything, Echo excitedly gave him a hug.
"JAY! I know who you are already. YOU'RE a member of my new family!? I'm the luckiest kid ever!".

Zane glared at the ex master of lightning. "You two have met before?"

Echo didn't pick up on the tone in the room, and smiled happily. "OF COURSE! Jay is the one who got me off of the lighthouse island to begin with!"

Jay nervously giggled. "I can explain..."

Zane grabbed the collar of Jay’s blue tee-shirt. "You better."

A whole lot of back and forth went on in the following minutes, but apologies were said, and things inevitably got forgiven. Mostly.
The rest of the day was spent hanging out at Laughy’s Karaoke Bar. They had a little "welcome to the family" party over there. Dareth was more than happy to spend a day back behind the counter, and NOT be doing physical labor at the monstrosity. He figured he deserved a break anyway. They all did. At one point he pointed out that Echo was shorter than Zane, which he found odd.

"Isn’t he supposed to be an exact replica? Why would he be shorter?"

Zane thought about it for a second before coming to a conclusion.
"Well, he was an exact replica of my old model. That version was indeed shorter than my titanium body. So I suppose it does make sense."

Dareth let out a little laugh. "So you rebuild yourself TALLER?"

"Well, yes. The others were going through growth-sperts so I figured I’d not lag behind..." Zane looked embarrassed now. Echo and the others couldn't help but laugh.
At one point during the party, Cole told someone to "knock themselves out" and Echo’s reaction was rather funny.

"What!? Why would they do that?!"

Jay grabbed Echo’s shoulder. "Wow. You really are just like your brother! And I am NOT dealing with what we had to deal with, with Zane when he was younger. Tomorrow is a full day dedicated to teaching you the wonderful things called 'expressions'..." Jay laughed at how excited Echo looked about it.

The day came and went, and the ninja returned home. Zane shared an apartment with Kai, and they each had a separate bed. Zane let his brother sleep with him tonight. The ninja said goodnight to each other, and it didn't take long for Echo to fall asleep. He was happier than ever before. He found himself in a loving home with the ninja and his brother. The nindroid couldn't possibly hope for more.

AND-

Guess who lived next door?!
Nathan and Riley.
Goodbye aren’t always forever, I guess. Reunited with his family and friends, Echo finally felt at home.

Echo WAS home.

He was finally where he belonged....