Authors Notes: I'll be blowing through this chapters pretty fast. One chapter a day. Unless ffn won't let me post them again...

Twisted Cogs

Chapter 1

In the Making

It was just an idea on paper. Nothing was supposed to come of it, just a dream of his. Dr. Julien was a brilliant man and no one could deny it. He was the best in his field, and it was quickly getting noticed. He went from the tiny corner office in the back without windows, to having a floor to ceiling window on the top floor pretty fast. He even was offered a lot more money by different companies to have his ideas. He wasn't to sure why it kept happening. He didn't believe himself to be good at much...just tinkering.

It was summer when his boss walked into his office while he was just looking over some notes to his little pet project. The man named Dr. Christopher walked over and looked over his shoulder. Dr. Julien was in his own world imagining this little thing being alive and playing at his feet.

"Dr. Julien...what is this?" Dr. Christopher asked. Julien jumped and spun around covering the piece of paper back up and blushed at his boss.

"Sorry I was taking a small break." He said and cleared his throat. His boss took his paper and turned it back over again looking over it with a smile.

"You truly are brilliant. This looks well thought out. Are you going to build it?" He asked. Dr. Julien sighed thinking to himself and shook his head.

"I don't have the funding for something as massive as this. As much as I'd like to, I just can't." He said.

"What if I told you...we could build it? Would you? The whole idea is just...wonderful, and I know just who would fund it." He smiled and clapped Dr. Julien on the back. His heart skipped a beat, was this it? Was he going to be able to build his pet project? The project he had been dreaming of and designing for years?

"I'll get started right away." Dr. Julien said quickly looking around his office.

"Excellent. I'll get them on the phone right now and talk it over with them."

That...was the first problem. The funding...Julien should have asked where it was coming from.

It was a few weeks later when he arrived in the R and D lab ready to start work. Julien smiled as he set the things he had procured over the years onto the lab table. He loved this room, it always smelt clean, but with a hint of a brand new basketball. Yes it was a weird smell, but it was like coming home to him. It would be in this room where he created the boy he secretly dubbed Zane. To everyone else it was just project Z-01.

"Good morning Dr. Julien." Dr. Christopher walked into the room smiling as bright as a man like him could.

"Good Morning Dr. Christopher. I trust the funds have been procured?" He asked rooting around in his pocket and pulled out a pen to sign the funding papers as per usual. Dr. Christopher pulled out the manila envelope and set it down on the table.

"All ready for you to sign." He said. Dr. Julien opened the folder and read the name.

"Dr. Samukai? Never heard of him. Is he new?"

"Very new, but he's got the backing of his fathers computer company to help him. He's always looking for new science to better Ninjago." the man said. Julien shrugged his shoulders having heard those lines a million times before. He signed the papers and handed the envelope back.

"Ready then?"

"Finally...I can finish this damned project." Julien said and turned around to get started.

He had a few assistants in the lab helping him throughout the next week gathering pieces of materials, fetching things, creating software, building hardware. Finally after so much hard work on everyones part. What lay in front of them was a young boy robot with white hair, and loose limbs. Julien watched as the assistants left to go to lunch. He himself looked down at the robot boy and smiled. That was him, the little boy from his dream, someone...finally he had family. He pulled out his own lunch and began to eat it as he went over the calculations once more to insure that everything was perfect. Thats when he realized a flew...it was a flew he didn't create. He narrowed his eyes and swallowed hard. This software wasn't Z-01's intended software...this was something...far more drastic. This...was a weapon. Quickly Julien stuffed his Peanut butter and jelly sandwich into his mouth and began to tap at the keys very quickly. He had to mess things up greatly. He had to keep this software from working.

"Finally he was finished. If he had did his codes properly this hard drive was a brick now. It wouldn't have worked at all." Finally lunch break was over. When the assistants came back into the room they saw Julien looking back over his notes with an apple in his mouth. He looked up and smiled.

"Back already? That was fast. Or maybe I'm just working to hard?" He chuckled and put his apple back into the bag. "Are we ready?" He asked. Dr. Christopher walked over to Z-01 and smiled.

"Ready…" He flipped a switch. Juliens heart clamped down hoping his plan worked. He secretly pleaded that he didn't just create a monster.

"Damn...why won't this blasted thing work?" Dr. Christopher flipped the switch on and off several times before clicking the box and leaving.

"Ah well...perhaps there's something wrong with the code. I'll get right on it sir." Julien said sitting down behind the desk with a new hard drive and got to work. No one was going to hurt his Zane and get away with it. He as a smart man, very smart.

"Julien...if that robot isn't alive by tomorrow...I'll have your job." Dr. Christopher said. Julien smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Doesn't matter to me. I've got loads of people wanting me to work with them. I'll just go to the highest bidder and do this project." Julien looked up over his laptop. "Oh and...Dr. Christopher...if you tamper with my hard drives again I'll go higher then you." What Dr. Christopher didn't know, was while Dr. Christopher was off getting the funding. Dr. Julien was promoted above him. It was slightly hilarious, and a little scary.

"Julien...are you threatening me?"

"Of course." Julien said and kept tapping at the keys. "You may leave now. I have a long night ahead of me thanks to you sabotage." Julien watched Dr. Christopher grow red in the face but he did leave.

Later on into the night Julien stood over the boy once again and pushed the hard drive into the chest piece and picked up a box and sighed.

"Now this...is yours." He said opening the box. " Only one like it in existence and I will not make another." He said. He reached in and pulled out the glowing disk shaped piece and set it into the middle of his chest where a human heart would have been. Once inside the whole being began to wake up. Toes twitched, legs twitched, his fingers and arms. All of which were coming online for the first time. This...was the birth of his son. Finally after about five minutes of the systems checking all the pieces to ensure they worked properly. The eyes opened and locked onto his.

"Hello Zane." Dr. Julien said to him. "I am Dr. Julien. But you may call me father." He told him. Zane opened his mouth to speak, but kept moving his lips into little movements. As if mimicking works, without sound.

"F...Father?" He finally said. His voice was so small sounding, as if it were that of a child. Dr. Julien smiled down at him and nodded.

"Yes. That is correct." He said smiling down at him.

"Where...are we?" He asked.

"This is the R and D lab at Digital Cogs. Its kind of a big corporation in the very heart of the city.

"City?" Zane asked.

"Its a big place where lots of people live. Its big, and loud."

"Loud…" Zane smiled

"Yes very. Now if you don't mind I'd like to get this shirt on you. No one should see you naked. Its not proper." He told him putting a long shirt on him, and pulled on some underwear and pants on him. The shirt was a bit to long on him.

"I am...shorter than you." Zane said. Julien chuckled and nodded.

"Yes you are, you are a child. As you grow I'll create replacement bodies for you to exist in that way your brain can grow too. Bigger hard drive space and all that. Just tell me before you hit your limit of space and we'll get you a new body. I've guessed this hard drive will only got a few years before I have to get you a new one."

"Dr. Julien I was wondering if you needed me for anything before I le…" The woman stopped and looked at Zane. Zanes eyes grew wide at the woman whose hair was bright and red.

"I am Zane." He told her. The woman smiled down at him.

"I'm Judy." She said holding out her hand for him. Zane looked at her hand wondering if she was holding something out to him. She giggled.

"Its a handshake." She said and took his hand and shook it.

"What is this...function?" He asked.

"It is a greeting Zane. You do it with people you meet."

"Oh…" He said and shook her hand a little harder. Judy giggled and looked around at her bag and pulled something out. Bright construction paper and some crayons.

"This will keep him busy while you do your paperwork Doc." She said. Dr. Julien thanked her before watching her leave.

"What is that?" Zane asked. Julien smiled putting the paper down on the table and began to draw a tree.

"This is a tree. They're everywhere outside the city and they even have some at parks." Julien said and yawned.

"Father...you are tired." He told Julien who nodded his head.

"Yes I am. I think its time to go home." He told Zane. He walked over and picked up Zane.

"What about your paperwork?" Zane asked. Julien chuckled and smiled at Zane. he was glad he had introduced words to his hard drive but he didn't have time to do a lot of definitions. Oh well he'd enjoy teaching him as if he were a real child.

"I do my paperwork as I go." He said and waved to the security officer.

"Hey you finished your project. Neat...does he do anything special?"

"No I'm afraid not yet." He put his fingers to Zanes lips stopping him from saying anything.

Once at home Julien took Zane to a room he had set aside for guests. The house was huge and it was across the street from a park he would introduce Zane to one day.

"This is your bedroom." He told Zane. Zane looked around at the plane walls, a dresser, and a bed. It was all very plane and white. He liked it. He was placed down on the bed and watched as the blankets were pulled back and he was placed under them.

"Alright lets power you down till 6 am alright?" He told Zane. Zanes optics blinked.

"Inputted 6am wake up time confirm?" Julien chuckled and roughled his hair.

"Confirm. Good night my son." Zane yawned as he seen his father do before turning over and put his cheek to his hand. His eyes offlined.

"Good night...father." He whispered before fully offline.