Chapter Text
The quiet whirring of the electric cars zooming below relaxed the young inventor as they stepped out onto their balcony. A quiet night in the city, Borg Tower off to the distance as they sat down. The development of Borg Towers had been a little slow, around 2 or 3 years before it was complete. Now it stood beautifully as the pillar against darkness. And last they heard, the ninja who saved Ninjago had settled down, save for the golden ninja who went on tour every so often to accept awards and give speeches. Soon they were turning 19, and likely going to be working at Borg Tower in a few months once they graduate. They may not be super gifted like Samurai X or Cyrus Borg, but still had ideas and a means of getting through to them.
“Wonder if they even accept human employees anymore,” the inventor chuckled to themselves as they watched the lights flicker, not making much of it. Ninjago hasn't had a power outage since the development of Borg Towers.
After a while, they grew tired and inside, crashing on their comfy bed and sleeping the night away. They’ll send their application and resume to Borg Towers tomorrow, but tonight was owned by the stars and their bed.
<~>
The ninja had finished preparing for the new semester, the four ninja (minus Lloyd), Nya, and Wu splayed over the teacher’s lounge, exhausted out of their minds. It was always rough for them to readjust to a new school year, between trying to keep Zane safe from their students abusing new technology.
Zane stared off into the distant Borg Industries tower, wondering what the bright bustling city was like. It was odd for him. Not living in the outskirts of Ninjago, no, that was always a part of his life.
It was just too quiet, too quiet for any of the Ninja, but especially so for Zane… Fighting was built into him. He was built to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. Kai and Nya could always go back home and do blacksmithing, Cole could always start a dance career like his father intended, and maybe Jay would go into show business. But Zane? His father made him to protect, to fight for what was right, and now that everything was well in the world, was he even needed anymore?
And even with his final updated processor, he was still old in comparison to all the developing technology. The old inventor taught Jay and Nya how to repair Zane in case things go into disarray, drawing up new blueprints for Zane’s new interior for emergencies. So really, Zane could fully perish, and they could just rebuild him. He was replaceable. And it begged the question: Was he the same nindroid he was at the start of his adventure? With every malfunction and new repair, his original parts crushed, rusted over, shorting out, he had to get replacements. If every part of him was changed and swapped out, was he even still the same droid? The paradox confused him. For the most part, he could be the same nindroid, the same one who was able to manifest ice powers. But to him? It definitely didn’t feel like it.
Zane shook his head, looking back at the glowing tower. Maybe one day there would be someone who could answer his question. Maybe one day someone would understand his little situation.
<~>
In a different part of Ninjago, while Lloyd was riding his dragon, he was reminded of his early childhood. His mother left him at Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys to go research the prophecy, his dad, the lord of evil, absent as always. He grew up pretty lonely, with Darkley expelling him since he was too good in comparison to the other boys. Leaving him to wander Ninjago with no food and no shelter.
He didn’t know what to really make of his childhood. Just three years ago he was still 9, and now with some magic tea, he's about to be 20. Somehow it all seemed like a blur to him. Growing up, fighting his dad as the legendary golden ninja, saving his dad, and now flying around as a revered hero. It’s hard to imagine that he was the same kid who set off the entire Serpentine in the world after his dad and uncle worked so hard to seal them up. It was odd.
Lloyd chuckled a little at his realization, he really had grown up, no longer the immature kid who wanted to sit and play video games all the time, caring for his friends, looking forward to the next adventure, who knows, maybe Uncle Wu would open a tea shop instead of the academy where Lloyd’s childhood started.
But deep down, he knew something was wrong. It was weird for Ninjago to be so silent. There had to be another emergency somewhere, a loose end that was never tied up, but they might also be waiting for the best day. And it just wasn’t tonight. So he set off to the next campsite he was going to stay at.
He missed staying on the bounty, the old ship sailed its last trip a few years ago before the final battle against the Overlord. He missed staying with his friends. He missed Cole’s shitty shitty cooking. He missed Zane and being able to prank him every so often. He missed training with Kai. He missed Jay’s jokes, always cheering him up when he was left with the reality of his age. He missed Nya, the inventor spending the most time with him even when he was a brat. But most of all, he missed his parents. He hasn’t seen them since the final battle.
It was weird, how do you miss someone you barely spent time with? His mom, gone for nearly 10 years of his life, his dad, showing up for a few months, but once he got them back, he was attached. Like sure, he really liked comics when he was little, but this attachment was nothing like that.
He felt so alone. His dragon, not even being a true dragon but a representative of his element, didn't have emotions like the ultra-dragon. It was just him again. Him and a little map, taking him around Ninjago, smiling at people he would never see again, another trophy or medal that would collect dust in an archive somewhere.
“Maybe I should head home… just to see everyone again,” Lloyd mumbled to himself as he flipped off his mask and got comfortable under the stars. Sleep took over his body as a lone tear fell.
<~>
Deep in New Ninjago City:
“Download Complete,”