{In which I find my first ever oneshot from eighth grade... enjoy the cringe! I copied and pasted exactly as it was when I posted it on AO3 on March 2, 2018. My writing has changed a whole lot since then!

...okay, yeah, I edited it. Still cringe though...}

~ Zane POV ~

I opened my eyes and stretched. My eyes flew open as I realized what today was. My birthday! (Well, technically the day I was brought to life, but whatever!) I went downstairs and Kai was at the counter making pancakes. "Hello, Kai!" I chirped, sitting down at the table. "Anything going on today?" 

He shrugged and said, "Nothing much. I was thinking of going down to Jamanakai Village to pick up some supplies though, and then Cole was going to go scout around a little..."

As he droned on about the "exciting" things going on that day, I started to worry. Could the team have forgotten about my birthday? Surely not, but the way Kai was acting, it seemed like that is what happened. "... and then we need to make repairs, but by then it should be time to eat and then bed. Is that enough for you?" He asked as he turned around to face me. "I made pancakes. Care for one?" 

I sat back when he shoved the plate in my face and I asked, "Are there any jalapeños in it this time?" He was a fan of hot things, and the last time he had made breakfast pancakes, there had been peppers in them. They were not fun to eat!

"Maybe..." he replied, "Probably..." He continued, "Yes..." he finished. 

"Thought so," I told him, pushing my chair back from the table. "Well then, I guess I'll, um, go train or something..." I told him. 

"Wait! You have to go help, uh, Jay, with his, uh... ship upgrades! He's downstairs! Go- help him I guess!" He was almost yelling at me as he pushed me down the stairs. 

"Uh, okay Kai," I replied, more than a little confused. I decided to go check on Jay anyway.

When I got downstairs, Jay was fiddling with the engine while biting his lip. "Hey, Zane!" He shouted as I got closer, "can you come help me with this thing? I don't know what's wrong with it..." 

"Of course," I replied as I got down under the engine with him. "Ah, here it is..."

~~~

I was washing my hands in the kitchen when Lloyd popped in the door and asked me to come down to Jamanakai to grab some stuff for lunch. "I thought Kai was doing that," I told him.

 "Yeah, well, um... he's a little busy right now. So are you in or not?" He replied, seeming more than a little anxious. 

"Uh, okay." I shrugged as I thought to myself, "Well, if they've forgotten, no use reminding them. I don't want to be a burden." Lloyd and I went outside and summoned our elemental dragons to fly to Jamanakai.

~~~

When we came back, Cole made a lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches. "Let's hope these are actually edible!" Jay commented as he took one from the plate. 

"Hey!" Cole retorted. "My food isn't THAT bad! Sometimes..." We all ate and then Lloyd asked me a question.

"Hey Zane, wanna go through the training course and see if we can beat Jay's speed record?" 

"Absolutely!" I replied with a smile on my face as I took my plate to the sink. 

"Hey! I'll come too!" Jay yelled as I went into the kitchen. After I cleaned my plate, Lloyd, Jay, and I went out to the training course.

~~~

After finishing the training course at least 30 times without beating Jay's record (8.7 seconds. My best was 9.9), I walked down the hall of the Bounty towards the kitchen. It was my night to cook, and I wanted to get started early. I noted that it had been unusually empty on the Bounty since I got back, and I wanted to find out where everyone was. 

As I neared the kitchen door, Cole poked his head out and said, "Hey Zane! Whatcha doin'? Looking for something?" 

I replied, "No, just going to the kitchen to start cooking. It is my night after all." As I said this, I tried to go around him, but he wouldn't let me pass. 

"Uh, didn't you hear? We're all wanting to try this one thing and, uh... whoops! There's the timer going off right now! Bye Zane!" He ducked back into the kitchen as I stood there confused. Why didn't they just ask me to make whatever they wanted to make so urgently? I could've done it! Oh, well.

I turned away from the door, but as I did so, I heard whispers coming from inside. I stepped closer and put my ear to the door to hear what they were saying. "He almost found out!" "We have to be careful!" "We have to hurry!" "What should we do?" "He can't find out! That would ruin everything!" "Shhh! I think he's outside..."

I quickly and quietly sprang away from the door and took a few steps down the hallway. Nya opened the door and came out into the hallway. She saw me there and a flash of surprise came across her face, but she immediately covered it up with a smile. "Hey, Zane! You want to come sit outside with me? I'm gonna go get some fresh air and see the sunset while I can." 

I smiled and replied, "Of course Nya! I would be glad to accompany you."

We went to the top deck and sat on the edge of the railing. It was a beautiful sight to behold. All of the oranges, yellows, reds, pinks, and purples swirling together to create a natural masterpiece of beauty and serenity. I breathed it all in deeply and decided to just enjoy being here, in this moment, with these people, my family, whom I loved so dearly. I sighed and let the setting sun throw one last glint upon my metal face before it slipped below the horizon, waiting to appear again tomorrow and wake up the earth. Even though I was metal, I had a heart, and I appreciated this beauty of nature. When the sky started to darken, I glanced over at Nya, and she looked at peace with the world.

{A/N: If you know anything about me, I don't ship these guys. Never did, never will. Just thought their friendship needed to be explored more! So here we are! Okay, back to the story...}

Her dark hair was blowing in the soft breeze, and her face was reflective of who she was. Peaceful, yet strong and courageous. She sighed happily and opened her deep blue eyes when the sun was gone. "This is always my favorite time of day." She said dreamily. "The moment between day and night, when everything is still and quiet. It doesn't last for long enough though, does it?" She smiled a little and leaned on my shoulder. The moon was starting to rise, and it was almost time to go back inside. 

"No," I whispered, "it doesn't." I leaned my head on top of hers, and whispered, "Shall we go see what the others have cooked up?" 

She groaned and replied, "Sure." Her eyes flew open. "Wait! I'll go see, you just wait out here, alright?" She hopped up, knocking me to the side in the process. "Sorry!" She yelled as she ran inside. 

"That was odd," I muttered under my breath. We had been bonding, and all of a sudden she wanted to go back inside? This day was not going as planned. I put my face in between my hands and sighed. My sixth sense started picking up something from inside. "Who's there?" I cried, jumping up with my shurikens at the ready. I pulled my mask up as I crept towards the door. There was a creak as I opened it and I slowly moved towards the darkness inside. I heard murmurs as the door swung shut and I was encompassed in blackness.

All of a sudden, the lights came on, and standing there were Cole, Kai, Jay, Lloyd, Garmadon, Sensei, Nya, Misako... and ECHO! They were standing around the table with a giant birthday cake! It was white and it had "Happy Birthday Z" written on it in light blue. I blinked a few times and grinned. They had remembered my birthday! I thought they had forgotten! Well, maybe not my birthday, but my built-day? I didn't care anymore. I ran over to Echo and hugged him. 

I was so happy to see him again! I threw my mask back and smiled as they yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZANE!!!" Cole came towards me with the cake and said, "You better enjoy this, ya tin can! It took all my self control to not eat it! Also, we kinda ran out of icing for the 'ane' on your name, and I may or may not have had something to do with that..."

I chuckled and said, "Well, Cole, you can have a big slice then! I am sure it will still be very enjoyable!" I turned to all of my friends and said, "This is amazing! I can't believe you guys remembered! Thank you so much!" I looked around at all the amazing decorations around me. There were paper snowflakes, a pile of gifts of all shapes and sizes wrapped in every pattern I could think of, a cake, and best of all, all my friends! 

"It took us all day to make this, and that's why we kept you busy. I hope that was okay..." Nya scratched her head and chuckled. 

"It was more than alright!" I laughed. 

"Let's party!" Jay cried as he started to slice the cake.

~~~

After I had opened my presents and the cake was gone (thanks to Cole), I started to yawn and my eyelids started to droop. "Thank you guys so much for the surprise party, but I am exhausted. I would not like to power down or get overloaded, so I believe I will retire now to my room." I got up and stretched, and the rest of them agreed, saying they would clean up for me and wishing me happy birthday and sweet dreams. As I fell into bed that night, the last thought in my head was "I love my family..."