Thunder crashed outside in a deafening roar. The sky lit up with the flash of lightning.

Zane sat at the window of Sensei Wu's tea shop and sighed, watching the storm. It was quite fascinating, really, the way the clouds rolled in the fierce wind and the lightning–

"You're quiet. Quieter than usual. What are you thinking about?"

P.I.X.A.L.'s form appeared across his vision. She was always able to read him easily, and she was the one who helped him remember himself after he rebuilt himself. Zane just couldn't thank her enough for all she's done and wanted to return the favor, but couldn't think how.

But that's not what he was thinking about. It was Cole who worried him. The Black Ninja seemed to be getting over his change and adapting to it, but Zane had seen the flashes of grief and self-doubt across his face whenever he thought no one was looking. He still mourned the loss of his physical form, even though it's been months now.

"It is nothing, P.I.X.A.L. I will be fine."

Yet he still didn't move from his perch by the window, and P.I.X.A.L. seemed dissatisfied with his response. She brushed it off, though, and left his vision, receding into the depths of his mind, leaving the metal man alone once more.

A crash from the back of the shop echoed, followed by shouting. Zane sighed again, as Cole, Jay, and Kai moved their argument to where he was sitting.

"Are you guys trying to get me killed? Remember, I touch water and then poof! No more Cole!"

"It was just a prank, lighten up! I wasn't trying to hurt anyone!"

"Lighten up, Kai? You almost made me phase outside! Into a storm! Again, water, plus ghost, equals poof!"

"Why does this always happen when Lloyd leaves? You two go at each other, and something gets destroyed! And Sensei and Nya left on some other special trip as well!"

Zane stood up, the arguing Ninja completely ignoring his movement.

"Brothers, please," he said, raising his voice slightly. "Let us not lose ourselves while Sensei, Nya, and Lloyd are gone. What happened?"

All three Ninja started talking at once again, causing Zane to raise his voice once more.

"One at a time, please!"

Cole cut off the other two with a glare and began to explain what happened, shooting more looks at Kai every once in a while.

"I was on my way to the bunker, you know, the one we have in case it ever rains and we flood out I won't be turned to sludge, when Kai jumps out of nowhere, dressed like Sensei Yang..." He trailed off and shuddered. "Anyway, it scared me so bad I nearly phased right through the wall and into the storm. This hothead nearly killed me! Again!"

Jay spoke up now. "Yeah, and in the resulting argument between the two, I dropped and shattered one of Sensei's tea pots! He's going to be livid!"

"Well," Kai started, "Excuse me for having a little fun! It's boring in Ninjago without something to fight! I have to do something so I won't die of boredom!"

The three started arguing again, picking up right where the left off. Zane pressed a hand to his temple. Though he was a Nindroid and was unable to get headaches, he sometimes felt that those three defied that rule. His head felt about ready to split open.

"Enough," he shouted, and all talking ceased. Zane cringed inwardly. It was a very rare occurrence for him to yell like that and he certainly did not enjoy it. But, outwardly, he kept his intimidating demeanor, trying not to let his reluctance of leadership show.

"Jay, go clean up the remains of the teapot, and all of you must explain to Sensei Wu what happened when he gets back."

"Explain to me about what when I get back?"

The old man walked through the door of the tea shop, the bell chiming pleasantly. Nya followed close behind.

"Sensei!" Fire, Lightning, and Earth flocked toward their beloved teacher, while Ice remained at his window, resuming his storm watch. He was vaguely aware of Sensei kindly, yet firmly telling the others off and their punishment of no video games for a week, to which they all protested loudly. Sensei stood firm, though, and the Ninja walked off to clean up the mess, grumbling under their breath.

P.I.X.A.L. returned, concern written all over her face. "You really took charge, there. That is rare, coming from you. I'm worried about you, Zane, especially since–"

"Stop!" Zane glanced in Nya's direction, who was behind the counter, after realizing that he had spoken quite loudly. She didn't look up from her work.

"I don't want to talk about that, P.I.X.A.L. I'll tell them when I'm ready."

"I hope that is soon. I will leave you alone to speak with Wu, now."

And his female counterpart vanished again.

Despite P.I.X.A.L.'s hint, the Titanium Ninja still jumped when Sensei sat down beside him.

"Sensei! I am sorry I did not greet you by the door. I was...lost in thought." Neither man spoke for a long while, and Zane was once more entranced by the strange dance of the stormy skies.

"Something is troubling you, my student. What is it?"

Zane sighed again. There was no hiding anything with Sensei. He had the ability to read even the most walled-off man in Ninjago like an open book. It was rather unnerving at times.

"It is Cole," he said honestly. "He seems fine, but when no one else is looking..."

"His defenses drop and you see the grief," Sensei finished for him. "He still mourns his physical body."

"Yes, that is the same conclusion I came to as well." Zane sat up straight. "Is there any way at all to reverse the spell and bring back his body?"

"As far as I know, no, there is no way. But I will search, just as I have been for the past few months."

Only he, Sensei, and Nya knew the purpose of Wu's many trips. They had decided against telling Cole and the others because they hadn't wanted to get his hopes up if they failed and neither Kai nor Jay can keep secrets very well.

The silence grew again, stretching out between the seconds. The only sounds were the storm outside and the occasional shout from the back.

Finally, Sensei stood. "Well, I will get back to attending my shop. I hope those boys didn't wreak anything else while I was gone." The elderly man placed a hand on Zane's warm, metal shoulder, before walking off.

Zane thoughts turned dark after Wu left. He wondered what would've happened if he hadn't rebuilt himself. Would the other four Ninja still be lost in grief? Or would they move on, gradually forgetting their strange, robotic brother. Would Lloyd, though as skilled in the persuasive arts as he is, been able to join the team back up without him to rescue?

His mood fouled significantly, and his metallic skin began to itch; a strange sensation. He stood, but immediately stopped in his tracks. He tried to move a leg, but his gears locked in place, making him stiff and unable to move.

P.I.X.A.L. once again returned, alarm and a fierce worry plastered onto her face. "Zane, I cannot allow you to do this! It is not right!"

"It is the only way I know how to deal with it."

"But it's not the only way to deal with it! Please, just think about what you're doing! Tell the others! At least tell Wu!"

"No, not yet."

"But why not? I've been quiet long enough! I can't just watch while you hurt yourself anymore!"

"Let me go, P.I.X.A.L."

"I'm trying to help you!"

"P.I.X.A.L."

"I love you, Zane! So please, stop!"

Zane's gears released. He remained stiff, though.

She loves me.

He had always known. It was love at first sight. Why else would she risk herself to save him from Chen? She'd been scrapped. She no longer had her own physical form.

But this was the first time either of them had admitted their feelings out loud. Zane loved her back, with all his heart and soul. But he found himself unable to reply I love you, too. Instead, he spoke softly, practically a whisper, and said the exact opposite of what she wanted to hear.

"I'll tell them tomorrow. But I need it one more time."

P.I.X.A.L.'s face hardened, changing from the worried, caring lover to an emotionless façade.

"I'll hold you to that."

And she left.

Zane sighed, and began to move toward his room. Since they'd bought the tea shop, everyone had gotten their own room. He walked in, and shut the door behind him. The itch was stronger than ever. This happened anytime Lloyd left. Though Cole used to be team leader, his sense of leadership had faded after years of it being unused, leaving Zane to fill the role when it was needed.

He reached under his bed and pulled out the jumper cables and portable battery. Jay had given him strange looks when he'd asked for them months ago, but had handed them over without question, shrugging it off.

He hooked one end of the cables to his body, the other to the battery. He could faintly hear P.I.X.A.L. sobbing in the back of his mind. He hated to hurt her, but he knew no other way to deal with his stress.

Zane flicked the battery on, and immediately the powerful electricity flowed through him, causing him to spasm and his right eye to flicker. He shut the battery off after a few seconds, breathing heavily. The itch subsided. To him, this was the equivalent of cutting, since he no longer possessed the flesh-like skin and artificial nerves of his older body. It hurt him, hurt him a lot, but it felt strangely...good.

He quickly, but quietly unhooked everything and shoved it back under his bed just as someone knocked on the door.

Zane froze, and checked to make sure that nothing was poking out from underneath, before glancing back toward the door.

"Zane, it's me," Jay called. "I heard some weird noises coming from here and wanted to know if– Oh, hi Zane. Uh, why is your eye flickering?"

Zane quickly slapped a hand over the eye, and gave his engineer friend a small smile.

"It is nothing. The electrical storm must be affecting me slightly. What is the matter, my brother?"

"Oh, nothing," Jay said quickly. "Like I said, I heard some strange noises coming from your room, and just wanted to know if you were all right."

The Blue Ninja glanced over his robotic friend's shoulder. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Zane's room was bare, containing only a full-size bed and a small wardrobe.

Zane noticed his brother sweeping his room with his gaze and blocked his view with his head, startling Jay to look back at him.

"Is there anything else you needed, Jay?"

The Master of Lightning narrowed his eyes. Zane swallowed hard. Then the mechanic's face brightened again and he smiled.

"Nope, that was it. See you later, Zane!"

Zane smiled back, and closed his door. That was a bit too close. Though he promised P.I.X.A.L. he'd tell the others, he wanted to do it on his terms, not them finding out accidentally.

He climbed into bed and shut his eyes, his gears and joints sore from the electricity. He was slightly disappointed and saddened when P.I.X.A.L. didn't show to tell him sweet dreams, like she usually did when he fell asleep. Zane guessed he'd hurt her more than he originally thought when he didn't reply back to her sudden outburst.

Still, he whispered softly into the empty room, as was customary of him.

"Sweet dreams, P.I.X.A.L."

_________________________________________________________________________________________

That was it; Jay knew there was something wrong with his friend.

Not wrong per say, but something was definitely bugging Zane. He always seemed so distracted lately, and he was getting into more fights with P.I.X.A.L., if his shouting to himself in his room was anything to go by.

Yep, something was definitely wrong.

The other Ninja haven't seemed to notice. Cole and Kai were always too oblivious and fighting each other, while Lloyd was never here when these actions occurred. Jay wondered if Lloyd's absence had anything to do with it.

He was sure Wu knew something was up. He'd caught the old man stealing glances at their robotic brother every now and again.

The thing most set his suspicions alight was that Zane had called him by his first name. Zane rarely ever called any of them by their name. It was always 'brother' or 'Sensei.' Lloyd, Misako, and Nya seemed to be the only exceptions.

Add that with the fact that Zane had actually shouted at them earlier equaled something was certainly up. And Jay was determined to find out.