Zane’s eyes fluttered. He was back in the cave underneath the monastery. P.I.X.A.L.’s green eyes were staring at him.

“I monitored your systems while you were exploring your memories,” she said. “There was a marked fluctuation in your stress levels. Were you able to figure out how to recover your Elemental Powers?”

“Negative,” Zane said. “However, the experience was helpful. In the past, I learned that I needed to face my fears. But I do not believe that is what I need to do now.”

“Would you like to try again?” P.I.X.A.L. asked.

“I would like to try something different,” Zane replied, rising from his chair. “Your program was very successful in implanting me inside a memory. I remembered learning how to manifest my Ice Dragon. Perhaps, to connect with my power of Ice, I must return to ice. I would like to return to the Frozen Lake.”

“I hope you succeed,” P.I.X.A.L. replied.

“Thank you, P.I.X.A.L.,” Zane said.

He climbed onto one of the cycles in the hangar bay and sped through the tunnel leading out of the Samurai-X cave. As he sped through the winding roads of Ninjago, his mind drifted back to P.I.X.A.L.’s experiment.

I am not afraid of anything—or am I? he thought. Perhaps meditation can reveal what my memories could not.

He finally stopped in front of a lake capped with a thin layer of ice—the Frozen Lake. He smiled. As a young man, before he knew he was a Nindroid, he had impressed people with his ability to hold his breath underwater. That was where Master Wu had found him and invited him to become a ninja—meditating at the bottom of the lake.

Zane climbed off the cycle and dove through the ice. He swam down, down into the freezing water, his circuits protected by his titanium frame. When he reached the bottom, he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

At first, he just enjoyed the ice-cold water as it hit his temperature sensors. His childhood memories were sketchy, but he did remember that cold always made him feel calm.

His mind began to drift…. What is Cole doing right now? Do I have enough fuel to get back to the monastery? Why does Master Wu love tea so much? Then he tried to bring his thoughts back to his purpose.

What is it I need to learn to recover my Elemental Powers?

He tried to clear his mind of all thoughts and concentrate on the feeling of being cold. Cold like the ice skimming the top of the lake. Cold like the wind coming down from the mountains. Cold like the ground after a fresh snow…

Suddenly, the ice water began to spin and whirl, and once again Zane felt like he was falling. The scene around him changed, and instead of the bottom of the lake, he found himself in a snowy forest, surrounded by tall birch trees.

“Birchwood Forest,” Zane said. “But how—how did I get here?”

Then he heard P.I.X.A.L.’s concerned voice inside his head.

“Zane, something has happened to launch the memory program remotely,” she informed him. “The memory sensors have all been activated. I have a theory that your meditative state might have triggered it somehow. Would you like me to end the program?”

Zane gazed around the forest. “No,” he replied. “If my meditation brought me here, then perhaps this is a memory I must experience.”

He walked down the path, hearing the snow crunch underneath his feet. He stopped at a very large birch tree with a round door carved into the trunk. He opened the door and stepped inside Dr. Julien’s hidden workshop. It was a simple space, with a creaky wood floor, a potbellied stove to keep his father warm, and a large worktable. Dr. Julien’s tools hung from hooks on the walls.

The workshop had been his home for years. And now here he was, reliving a memory that his father had tried to bury.

There on the cot lay Dr. Julien, old and taking his last breaths. Zane’s younger self, in a body that looked more human than Nindroid, held his father’s hand.

“You were always the son I never had,” Dr. Julien said in a weak voice. “It’s time you begin your next stage in life. And the only reason I’m about to do this is because…I love you.”

Dr. Julien took off his eyeglasses and smiled at Memory Zane, who smiled back. A tear fell down Zane’s cheek as he watched the memory unfold before his eyes.

Dr. Julien opened Memory Zane’s control panel.

Zane knew what was about to happen. “No! Don’t do it!” he yelled.

But Dr. Julien could not hear him. He shut down the young Nindroid’s memory banks. A blank look came across Memory Zane’s face. With no memory of his father, or his past, he walked out of the workshop and into the snow.

Complicated feelings bubbled up in Zane as he watched his younger self leave. The first time he had relived that memory was when he, Cole, Jay, and Kai had traveled to the Birchwood Forest together. Zane had discovered his memory switch and learned the truth about his past.

He now remembered that he had been built to protect those who cannot protect themselves. His father had empowered him to unlock his True Potential by recognizing the obstacles holding him back. That allowed him to tap into all of his Elemental Powers to become the strongest ninja he could be. Unlocking True Potential was a goal of every Elemental Master, and that moment in his past had filled him with confidence.

But now he felt defeated.

What would have happened if Dr. Julien had not turned off my memory switch? he wondered. Would my life have turned out differently?