Author's Note/Disclaimer: Still don't own Ninjago.

This is it. The chapter that attempts to tie everything together. Whether or not it works, well, you get to decide. I have no freaking clue. Eep. Anyway, this takes place shortly after the end of Day of the Great Devourer. (The epilogue needs tweaking before I post it, so it'll probably go up sometime tomorrow.)

Chapter Seven: Sensei Wu

The group slowly walked through the streets of Ninjago City, surveying the damage caused by the Great Devourer's attack. It was a pretty sobering sight; even Jay couldn't find a joke to lighten the mood.

"Just think how much worse this could have been if we hadn't found a way to stop that snake," said Kai.

"I dunno," replied Jay. "It looks pretty bad now."

"We should pitch in and help clean up," said Cole. He leaned over to pick up some debris from the street. Straightening up, he pitched it overhand into a nearby dumpster.

"Hey, nice shot, Cole!" said Lloyd. The boy picked up a piece of rubble and tried to imitate the older ninja, but his shot went wide. Cole patted him on the head as he frowned and crossed his arms in a huff.

"Nice try, kiddo," Cole said with a grin. Everyone laughed.

Everyone, that was, except Zane. The white ninja seemed distracted, lost in thought. His expression, though subtle, was morose. The falcon was riding on his shoulder, pecking at his hair in what seemed to be an attempt to cheer him up, but Zane didn't appear to notice.

"Zane? Hey, Zane!"

He didn't hear the voice, too lost in his own world. He was snapped back to reality as someone grabbed him by the back of his gi, preventing him from continuing forward. Blinking, he turned to find Nya standing behind him. He was about to speak, but she beat him to it.

"You were about to walk into that big hole," she explained, pointing out the large crack in the pavement.

"Oh," he replied. "Thank you for stopping me."

Looking around, Zane noticed that the others had already run off. He could see Cole moving large pieces of rubble from the street as Kai directed traffic around him. He couldn't see where Lloyd or Jay had gotten to, but imagined they were helping out, as well.

Nya smiled at Zane, though she seemed concerned, before turning to join the others. Zane was about to follow when the last of the group placed his hand on Zane's falcon-free shoulder, stopping him once more.

"Yes, Sensei?" he asked, turning to the old man.

Sensei Wu didn't respond right away, instead holding out a teacup to the nindroid. "Tea?" he asked.

Zane couldn't help remembering that Sensei Wu's teapot had, only hours ago, been in the gullet of the Great Devourer. He shook his head. "No, thank you."

Wu shrugged. "Suit yourself." He poured himself a cup and took a sip. "Walk with me, Zane."

The two began to stroll through the streets once more, careful of the holes, debris and puddles of green slime. Wu continued to sip at his tea as the minutes passed. Zane grew increasingly anxious, wondering why Sensei had singled him out. He didn't want to ask, though, and so waited for Wu to continue on his own. Eventually, the old man spoke.

"You seem nervous, Zane. Is there some secret you are keeping that I or the others should know about?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? No," Zane replied, taken off guard by the question. "I am just confused as to why we are here."

"I see." Sensei Wu took another sip of tea. "You are distracted. Something bothers you, does it not?"

"I …" Zane trailed off, staring hard at the ground, looking for all the world like he was ashamed of something. "Yes, Sensei."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

Zane shook his head, still not meeting Wu's eyes. "No, Sensei."

"Hmm." Wu walked over and held out his arm to Zane's falcon. Confused, the bird studied the proffered perch for a moment before hopping on. Wu drew the falcon closer and whispered something in its ear. Afterwards, he held out his arm and let the falcon fly away.

"Hey!" exclaimed Zane, surprised by the unexpected action.

Wu studied Zane levelly. "We are alone now. No one will know of our conversation if you do not wish it. You may talk freely."

Zane felt hunted. He knew Sensei would keep his promise and not tell the others, but it wasn't something he really wanted to tell Wu about in the first place. He looked away, remaining silent.

"What is it that you are so afraid of?" Wu asked. His tone was soft, his expression worried.

Zane felt something knot in what passed for his gut, an almost painful pressure brought on by his feelings of inadequacy. He didn't like it, not one bit. When he though about it, he realised that it felt worse hiding from Sensei than it did to just worry about what he had done wrong. If it would relieve the pain, then perhaps it would be best to tell the truth, after all.

"I failed the team, Sensei …" he said at last.

Wu's expression was mildly surprised. "Oh? How do you figure?"

Zane fiddled with his hands as he replied. "I'm equipped with so many sensors and scanners; I should have been able to keep track of Lord Garmadon with ease. And yet, he got away with the weapons … I could have even had my falcon follow him, but it just never occurred to me … I'm afraid the others resent me for it."

Wu let out a sigh, a small smile crossing his face. "Is that all?"

"What do you mean, 'Is that all'?" Zane's voice cracked as he replied, laden with shock.

Sensei Wu put a hand on his shoulder, still smiling. "It is all right, Zane. Please, calm down."

Zane studied Wu for a moment. The knot of anxiety didn't leave him, but he didn't know what else to say, instead waiting to see if Sensei would explain himself.

"Honestly, I expected something like this more from Cole than from you." Wu stroked his beard thoughtfully before continuing. "You have done nothing wrong, Zane."

"But I –"

"No buts. Zane, the others are not going to blame you for letting Garmadon escape."

"How do you know that?" asked Zane, a desperate tinge to his voice. "I am capable of so much more than any of them in terms of –"

"Zane, stop." Wu's voice was hard as the old man frowned at the panicking nindroid. Zane did as he was told, but the panic was still clear on his face. Wu sighed before continuing. "Have the others been treating you differently since discovering your true potential?"

The question wasn't quite what Zane expected, and it served to calm him down somewhat as he grew confused. "Not really, no. I mean, not beyond anything expected."

"Then why do you believe they would treat you any differently now?"

"I don't follow …"

"Come." Wu led Zane to a nearby bench that, luckily, wasn't coated in the remains of the Great Devourer. He sat down and poured himself yet another cup of tea as Zane joined him. The two spent some time in silence watching the citizens of the city clean up and prepare to rebuild.

"To tell you the truth, Zane," Wu said eventually, "I was worried at first that you wouldn't fit in with the others, and that it would cause trouble for the team. I was right not to give up on you, however. You have since found your place, and the team functions all the better for it." Wu paused to smile at him. "We have, you four ninja, Lloyd, Nya and myself, and even your falcon, become a tightly knit family. You are, admittedly, a rather unusual addition to it, but you are no more or less than any of your brothers despite the differences. You are not defined by what you are made of physically, but who you are mentally. We do not think of you as 'the robot'. You are Zane, and you are as human as any of the rest of us. Do you understand?"

Zane was silent for a long while, mulling over what Sensei said. He understood what Wu was trying to tell him, but he wasn't sure if he believed all of it. It sounded good, it really did, and he wished he could believe it, but there was something about it that struck him as untrue. Still, he didn't want to disappoint Sensei. It was wrong of him, he knew, but he opted to lie, even if only by omission.

"I understand, Sensei."

Wu watched him for a minute. Zane got the distinct impression that the old man wasn't fooled at all. Eventually, Wu fixed him with a small smile.

"Don't worry about Garmadon escaping, Zane. The others won't resent you for it. Trust me; they're all too busy blaming themselves for not doing more to focus on you, okay?"

That actually made Zane feel a little better. He nodded, smiling back. "Thank you, Sensei. Um …" He trailed off for a second, looking around as if searching for something. "May I go now? I'd like to help with the clean up effort."

"Of course, Zane."

Zane gave Wu a small bow before standing up and walking off. Wu stayed on the bench, sipping at his tea. He frowned, shaking his head sadly.

"I worry about you, Zane."