AN: Do I have a bunch of other WIPs to work on? Yes. Would it be best to work on those ones and not start a new one? Yes. Is that going to stop me? Not a chance. This is my fourth piece for the Ninjago Bingo, which, since I'm using a free space, means I now have a bingo! Yay! Don't worry, I'll finish each of these stories as soon as I can. Hope you like this, just let me know!

Zane was quiet now.

He had been on the quiet side before now, yes. Nya knew that fact well. Zane had always been the quiet one of the ninja group, largely because the rest of them were so prone to being loud, but Zane had also always been a part of that group.

Well, mostly. There had been that time at the beginning when Zane didn't seem to know what to do with the rest of them, and the rest of them hadn't known what to do with Zane either, but that was long ago, long gone. As he and they had accepted each other, as they had all grown close, as they had become siblings rather than just teammates, Zane had become part of the group, just as important and key to the ninja family as the rest of them, if not even more so, as proven by how they had all reacted when they had thought they lost him to the Overlord. Those had been dark, hard, lonely times, times that Nya still winced at whenever those times came up, but when they had found him and brought him home again, they had all come together once more.

And then, recently, they had thought they had lost him again. It had been a dark, hard, lonely time again, but then they had travelled to the Never Realm and found him and brought him home once more.

And now…

Zane was quiet now.

Nya didn't know what to do about it. Neither did Kai, or Jay, or Lloyd, or Cole, or even Pixal or Wu. They all traded concerned glances as Zane said nothing for hours and hours. He skipped training, he skipped meals, he skipped movie night, and even when he came to one or another of those things, he didn't seem really there, only going through the motions. It was almost as if part of him was still in the Never Realm, as if he'd yet to fully come home.

It worried her. It worried all of them. So each of them tried to reach out to him in their own ways, and each of them were calmly, quietly, firmly rebuffed. Kai slung an arm around Zane's shoulders, Jay told stories that begged Zane to finish them, Lloyd bumped elbows with Zane while washing dishes side by side, Cole asked Zane to spot him while training, Pixal gave Zane kind looks and quiet invitations, and Wu even pulled Zane aside to talk to him.

And Nya…

Nya didn't know what to do. While Zane had been stuck in the Never Realm, manipulated by Vex, corrupted by the scroll of Forbidden Spinjitzu, separated from all he knew, lost and alone and unsure, she had been with the rest of their family, learning new things about her abilities and going on an adventure. Granted, it had been an adventure filled with spikes of terror at not knowing how to get home and deep longing to see Zane again, but she'd had an adventure while Zane'd basically had a nightmare. In that time he'd been trapped and twisted around, she'd even figured out how to use ice, how to use the element that was rightfully his.

She hadn't really talked to him about it yet. Nya didn't know how to talk to him about it. Under other circumstances, she felt it would've come up right away. After all, elemental powers were a big deal. But under these circumstances, with Zane seeming barely present, it just… It didn't feel right.

So Nya kept it quiet, just as Zane stayed quiet, and she kept reaching out to Zane as best she could. She offered to lend him a book, but he refused it. She offered to help him tune up, but he shook his head. She offered to help him cook supper, but he said he didn't want to. Every offer was politely but fully shot down. But Nya couldn't give up. She shouldn't give up. She wouldn't give up.

She waited for her next try until all the others were out. Kai and Pixal were on a short-term mission on the other side of Ninjago with Wu supervising. Jay, Cole, and Lloyd had gone to see a movie, and they'd asked her and Zane both to come with. Zane had said no and left the room, surprising none of them but saddening all of them. Nya had also said no, but that did surprise Jay, Cole, and Lloyd. They'd asked her again, and she'd refused again, stating that she had a project to work on. They'd seemed a little puzzled, but after they asked and she refused one more, they'd finally left.

Which left Nya and Zane to stay home alone.

Which left Nya to try her best not to mess this up.

Which left Zane to either be quiet again, and again, and again…

Or finally speak.