((I decided to try out making a short story this time, since most of my works tend to be long and I rarely finish them. This time, I had Zane go for a little adventure in being deaf! I love writing from Zane's point of view; I get to be as wordy as I want. :3

Hope you all enjoy!))

The first incident in which I noticed something was wrong was when I was unable to hear the call for dinner. Normally, my hearing is quite acute, as a result of having been installed with sensitive auditory detectors. Yet, somehow, I had been unable to notice the summons that my brothers beside me had responded to. Then, while we all ate Nya's homemade Hayashi rice, I had been privately surprised at how hushed everyone was. True, we lost the first Fang Blade to Pythor, which was a cause for down-heartedness. But Jay had just discovered his true potential; an event that should follow with celebratory chatter. So why were they acting so silent?

"Earth to Zane," came Kai's annoyed voice. I glanced up from my dish to meet the frowning stares of my comrades.

"Yes?" I responded politely, internally confused as to why they were looking at me as if I had done something wrong.

My brother of fire rolled his eyes. "I said, 'Do you have any clue where the next Fang Blade might be hidden?'"

"Oh, I apologize; I did not hear your question." As a matter of fact, I was quite positive he had not asked it at all. But I chose not to point out that fact; perhaps I had been "zoning out" like my brothers claimed I did often. "But, no, I do not know where the next Fang Blade may be. The location of the first one does not provide any clear clues as to where the second might be hidden."

"Zane, are you okay?" asked Nya, sidestepping my response to Kai's question and knitting her eyebrows in worry. "You've been really quiet since we got home. Well, quieter than normal."

I blinked uncomprehendingly. Of course I had been quiet. After all, everyone else had been conversing very little, so I hardly had any reason to speak. Why was that concerning her?

"Yes, I am fine."

"Are you sure?" frowned Jay. "I mean, you didn't hear when Nya said dinner was ready, and you've been really jumpy when one of us walks up behind you, and you didn't even join in when—"

All of a sudden, Jay stopped his rambling, and I stared at him in mild surprise. His lips kept trying to form words, and he was energetically moving around his hands as if he was acting out what he was saying, but nothing came out of his mouth. I glanced around the table to see my friends' reactions. However, nobody else seemed to notice this odd phenomenon, most of them still watching my blue-clad brother in mild interest. Nya opened her mouth to interrupt Jay's silent speech, and she also began soundlessly speaking.

I ran the situation through my logic parameters, and it suddenly, distressingly, made sense. Something was wrong with my audio capabilities.

Without saying anything about my predicament out loud, I tapped on the side of my head with my fist to see if I could jump-start my hearing. It would be easier to explain what had happened if I could have a proper discussion with my friends. Aside from receiving a few odd looks, though, nothing changed, and my sense of hearing was as nonexistent as ever.

With a sigh that attracted the attention of the others, I announced, "I believe my audio input sensor has been damaged." It was very queer to speak without hearing any of the noise that was coming out of my mouth.

Cole mouthed—although he was likely talking aloud—"What?"

"I am unable to hear any of you speak, or any other noise for that matter," I explained, hoping that my voice was not elevated or decreased due to my recent handicap.

The others exchanged worried glances, and Jay stood up from his seat to walk over to me. Puzzled at this action, I attempted to read his lips as he told me something. Apparently I did not have the skill to read lips, though, and simply watched him confusedly. I was only able to understand what he wanted me to do when the lightning ninja pretended he was opening a door in his chest.

I pushed back my chair and got to my feet as well, pulling down the top half of my ninja suit. With practiced ease, I found the nearly-unnoticeable niche on the side of my chest, and pressed against it. The panel unlocked, and I then pulled it open to reveal my chest cavity. Jay immediately bent forward and started to inspect my innards for anything out of place.

This was the second time I had allowed the blue ninja to access to my inner mechanics. The first instance was not long after I regained my memory, and had been revealed to be an android to my brothers. Jay had requested to study how I was built, and I obliged, so long as he did not touch anything. It was rather restricting for a curious inventor such as my brother, but I was still reluctant to let anybody—outside of my now-deceased father and myself—mess with anything. I feared that I might be damaged, with no creator around to fix me. For about an hour or so, Jay had examined my wiring and switches, writing down little notes and occasionally asking questions. Since he was so scientific and respectful about the process, I determined he was trustworthy enough to figure out why I was having trouble hearing.

I felt a peculiar tugging sensation, at which I nervously glanced down to see what my brother was up to. "—the problem. He has a frayed wire attached to his audio switch."

"I do?" I wondered aloud, glad that I was suddenly able to hear, but not happy at the news.

Jay's head shot up and nearly hit my chin, surprised as he was at my response. "You can hear?"

"For now," I clarified, before frowning at my chest cavity. "I cannot imagine how one of my wires would become frayed; my father was very careful about their positioning to prevent friction."

My brother scratched his neck, saying, "As far as I can tell, it must've gotten loose over the years, and started rubbing against one of your gears. I think you just need a new wire, actually. It isn't really that seri—"

Every sound suddenly cut off again, and I reached into my inner mechanics to locate the frayed wire Jay claimed to have found. Sure enough, my fingers encountered pointy resistance along my main audio line. I gave a frustrated noise I could not hear, and fiddled with it to try to regain my hearing as I had moments ago. However, the thin piece of metal did not reconnect, and I was forced to give up my attempt after a minute or so.

There was a light tapping sensation on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Jay holding a torn piece of paper in front of my face. In my brother's usual hurried scrawl, it read, "The Bounty's near my parent's place right now, so we'll go there to get a new wire for you in the morning." I was tempted to point out that he should have written parents' instead of parent's, but decided it was not worth the effort. Few of the people I knew appreciated help in their grammar, and Jay was not among them.

I nodded my understanding of his message, and we then returned to our dinner. Since I was unable to freely participate in any of the conversations, I allowed my thoughts to drift elsewhere. Only a short week ago had my friends learned of my new robotic identity, while the rest of Ninjago remained unaware. "The rest of Ninjago" included Jay's parents, who we were about to visit for some new wiring. What would their response be like if we told them the truth? Should I request for my true nature to remain a secret? I strongly disliked having to be secretive around respectable people such as the Walkers. On the other hand, though, it might be disastrous if they knew I was not human.

I sighed within my head, not wanting to concern my accomplices by exhaling out loud. Perhaps a night's rest would help me figure out which situation I would rather face.