Welcome to the next arc of After Party; the Phoenix arc.

More sauce and cuteness and blushing, and some interesting developments to boot. Enjoy!

"So, why's he coming here again?" Kai asked.

"For the last time; Phoenix is coming to give us all pointers on how to pose," Cole explained. "he's a stripper, and a pole dancer, so he's used to working it for a crowd."

"Oh please, how hard is it to make sexy poses for a camera?" Jay dismissed.

"All I know is, Jasper's arranged for him to come and show us how it's done; the photoshoot is the week after next, we can't look like amateurs."

"But we are amateurs." Lloyd insisted.

"What business is it of yours?" Cole snapped. "You're not even doing it with us!"

"I'm the leader! I'm supervising!" Lloyd growled.

Cole rolled his eyes.

It was a few months after they had agreed to take part in the charity pin-up calendar for the museum, and everyone – even Lloyd – had been doing extra training to make sure they were aesthetically ready for it. Not all of the male elemental masters were thrilled about this calendar idea, and as such, they were short one participant. It would've been two, but Phoenix practically begged to be in it, so although he wasn't an elemental master, he was allowed to be involved.

The female calendar was having similar problems, owing to the existence of only 4 known female elemental masters (and one of them outright refused to do it) so additional participants were required for that one also. Pixal and her sister Kiku agreed to take part, and they were in the process of convincing Hanasu and Miru to join in, but it was slow going because they were such shy individuals. Phoenix recommended his sister Magpie, who was a vet tech, and his other sister Sagittarius, a trainee makeup artist who studied in the city. Jasper said she'd be in it too, but only if the casting call she put out didn't yield enough viable results.

"It's so embarrassing though, why couldn't the girls go out for the day?" Jay protested.

"Calm down, they'll be upstairs doing their own thing." Kai reminded him. "I think Nya said they were gonna be reviewing the responses to the casting call, so they'll be too busy to come down here."

"Doesn't Kiku know him though?" Lloyd asked. "She'll definitely wanna see her old friend again."

"I didn't specifically tell her it was Phoenix coming, just a friend of Jasper's," Cole explained. "I didn't wanna distract her, or risk causing problems if they're not on good terms anymore."

Suddenly, there was a rhythmic knocking sound.

"That'll be him now." Cole stated as he walked over and opened the front door.

"Hey Cole!" Phoenix beamed, stepping inside with a smile and a long black bag draped across his back.

"Hey Phoenix, how was the journey here?" Cole asked.

"Total snooze-fest," Phoenix sighed. "I saw a dog though, so that was fun; hope y'all are ready to flex!"

"Yeah, everyone's just through here," Cole led Phoenix into the living room, where the others were waiting. "guys, this is Phoenix."

Phoenix put down the long black bag on the floor and bowed to the ninja.

"How nice to meet you," Zane smiled, offering Phoenix a handshake. "I'm-"

"Zane Julien, I remember you from the photos on the Borg Industries blog," Phoenix grinned. "you married the head honcho's daughter; where is the Lil Mama?"

"Her name is Pixal," Zane politely corrected. "and she's upstairs."

"Sorry, I mean no offense, it's just your missus reminds me of my mum, back when was young and lovely." Phoenix apologised.

"None taken." He assured.

"I'm Jay, elemental Master of Lightning." Jay grinned.

"It's a pleasure." Phoenix nodded.

"Lloyd," The green ninja stated confidently. "I'm not taking part, but I'm the leader of the team."

"You're not gonna be in it?" Phoenix tilted his head.

"It's not my thing." Lloyd said vaguely.

"Aw, c'mon Blondie, it could be a lot of fun if you joined in," Phoenix smirked and gave a subtle wink. "and you'd be saving Jasper's project if you did…"

"Oh, um, well," Lloyd stammered. "I'll… think about it."

"Awesome," Phoenix turned to Kai. "so, by process of elimination, you must be-"

"Fireball!" Kiku squeaked excitedly as she ran down the stairs.

Recognising this nickname – and the voice that said it – Phoenix turned around. Upon seeing the droid at the bottom of the staircase, his face lit up.

"Baby Cakes!" Phoenix exclaimed as he opened his arms to her.

Kiku ran up to him and jumped into his arms. He spun her around a little bit as she giggled joyfully, then he lifted her up, so she sat on his shoulders. She giggled some more, inciting Phoenix to start laughing too.

"Still got that infectious giggle, huh Baby?" Phoenix noted.

"Well, you know…" Kiku waved her hand.

Jay immediately noticed the dour expression on Kai's face. Understandably, Kai was frustrated with the intimate nature of the nicknames that Kiku and Phoenix had for each other, given that Kiku was his girlfriend.

They had been going steady for 5 months, but Kai and Kiku's relationship had only become public news a couple days ago, and not entirely by choice. Cole had come back to the temple from running errands and found the pair of them heatedly making out on the sofa when they were supposed to be out training. They were hoping to keep things quiet for a little longer, but when Cole walked in on them, pointing at them accusingly and shouting: "I knew it!", it was time to come clean.

"Fireball? Baby Cakes? Did you know they were that close?" Jay quietly asked Kai.

Kai shook his head in mild annoyance.

"You weren't kidding when you said you knew him, huh?" Cole noted.

"When you said Jasper's friend was gonna be here, you didn't say it would be Fireball," Kiku smiled, tousling Phoenix's silver hair. "I would've tackled him as soon as he walked in if I'd have known."

"Like a pain-in-the-butt little sister," Phoenix joked as he gently set her down. "what are you doing here anyway?"

"I wanna work in security so dad sent me here to train." Kiku replied.

"Makes sense he'd send you to the pros this time, it's all well and good sending you to me but I can only teach you so much," Phoenix paused as he noticed a cat bell choker round her neck. "and how long have you been a cat girl?"

"Don't be silly! It's part of my training," She laughed. "I have to be able to sneak around without it jingling; if I hadn't shouted your nickname, I could've snuck up on you."

"Sure, sure," He chuckled dismissively, ruffling her hair. "do you still hoop?"

"Of course," She beamed. "did you bring your pole?"

"I doubt it," Cole interrupted. "he's only teaching us to pose."

Phoenix silently leaned down and opened his bag. He pulled out a pair of long metal bars and artistically twisted them together, then gently twirled the now 7ft pole in his hands. Kiku clapped her hands excitedly, while Lloyd sharply prodded Cole and gave him an extremely disapproving look. Cole tapped Phoenix on the shoulder.

"You are just teaching us to pose, right?" He asked, seeking confirmation.

"Definitely, I only brought this with me to test everyone's flexibility." Phoenix grinned, casting a cursory glance at Lloyd. "I'm also hoping to get some practice in while I'm here – sounds like Baby Cakes wants to have a go as well, do you remember the routine I taught you?"

"I'm sure she does, she's very talented; you should see her during training." Kai asserted, putting his arm around Kiku's shoulder.

"Oh ho, so what's this then? Is my lil sister is involved with an elemental master now?" Phoenix teased, wiggling his eyebrows. "Better treat her right, Sonny, or you'll have to deal with her surrogate brother."

As Kai corrected Phoenix by introducing himself by name, Lloyd shook his head in a highly critical manner.

"What kind of brother teaches his sister to pole dance?" Lloyd whispered to Jay.

"The same kind that would flirt with you in front of everyone." Jay taunted with a wicked smirk.

"Well, I better get back to the others," Kiku grinned at Phoenix, giving him one more hug. "see you later, Fireball!"

"Later Baby," He smiled as she walked away and headed back up the stairs. "okay, so do any of you have experience in front of a camera?"

"Not like this we haven't," Cole mentioned.

"Fresh meat, huh? Okay gents, shirts off! I need to see what I'm working with," Phoenix laughed as he bent down to grab the bag, before glancing at Lloyd with a flirtatious smirk. "you too, Blondie."

Lloyd's cheeks were tinged with red as everyone saw the wink Phoenix gave him. The ninja did as they were told and removed their shirts, while Phoenix pulled more components out of his bag and set up his portable stripper pole in the corner of the living room. Kai approached him as he finished setting up and gave an assertive poke on the shoulder. Phoenix turned around and smiled.

"Hey Sonny, everyone ready for inspection?"

"Again, my name's Kai, but yeah we're ready; I just wanted to ask you something first." Kai stated.

"Sure!" Phoenix beamed.

"What's with the nicknames?"

"Oh, between me and Kix?" Phoenix inquired, to which Kai nodded. "Well, she calls me Fireball because I do fire performance as well as acrobatic stuff, and I call her Baby Cakes because when I first met her, she was so shy and sweet, and she's been my 'little sister' ever since."

"So, you're not like, attracted to her?" Kai baited.

"Pfft, no!" Phoenix denied. "Don't get me wrong, she's sweet and all, but I have a type and she's not it."

"I take it you prefer blondes…" Kai teased, gesturing to Lloyd with his head.

"I just know a cutie when I see one," Phoenix shrugged. "but it's difficult to know who's on the menu when you're a gate that swings many ways."

It took a couple of seconds for the penny to drop, but Kai soon realised what Phoenix was talking about. He watched as the exuberant guy clapped his hands to get the attention of the others and directed them to stand in a line, side by side. Kai went over to join them, as Phoenix cast his eyes over his teammates as an art expert would examine an old painting. Jay laughed when Phoenix poked him in the ribs, while Cole remained unmoved by the same prodding. Phoenix then stopped in front of Zane with great curiosity.

"May I assist you?" Zane asked.

Phoenix tapped on Zane's chest, and was surprised by the gel coating on his metal body.

"The body is new, but I sense an old soul inside it." Phoenix smiled.

"And your body is in remarkable condition for all the internal damage you have suffered." Zane responded.

"Did you just scan me?" Phoenix asked sternly.

"For research purposes, yes," Zane asserted. "I can detect biological abnormalities and-"

"I warn you," Phoenix growled. "that the condition of my body is not for public discussion."

"Zane's a droid," Cole interjected. "he scans everyone for health reasons."

"Like that time when he found out Cole had a broken wisdom tooth and wouldn't let him have any sweets until he went to a dentist to get it sorted." Kai elaborated.

"I imagine it's a useful ability, but I don't appreciate being scanned without permission…"

"He doesn't mean any harm by it," Lloyd chimed in. "he's just looking out for us."

"Of course, I shouldn't be so hostile, please accept my apology," Phoenix bowed to Zane, apparently placated by Lloyd's explanation. "everyone is in fantastic physical condition, so perhaps I should get to know you all as people, that way I can choose a pose to match your personality."

"Well, I-" Jay opened his mouth to speak, only for Phoenix to hold up his hand as if to shush him.

"It's no fun if you just tell me, I need an objective assessment; so, I want the person next to you to tell me what your personality is like…" Phoenix grinned wickedly, before pointing at Kai. "Sonny, you go first."

"My name's Kai, remember?" He sighed, as he realised that he was standing next to Zane. "Uh, okay; Zane is the Master of Ice, he's stoic and quiet and mostly reserved."

"Mostly?"

"Well, he kinda has a temper when the angel subroutine is triggered, but that's usually only in emergency situations, or when Pixal's in danger." Kai explained further.

"Very good, next." Phoenix looked at Zane expectantly.

"Cole, Master of Earth; stern-looking, strong and determined, but gentle at heart," Zane stated factually. "has a sweet tooth and a uniquely heightened sense of taste."

"I'm sure he knows about that part, he works in a place that sells cake," Cole chuckled, briefly looking at Jay. "this softie is Jay, Master of Lightning; light-hearted, fun, good sense of humour, but a bit of a dope, and intensely involved with Kai's sister Nya."

"Cole, was that really necessary?" Jay argued as his face turned pink in embarrassment.

"No, but I knew he'd mention it anyway," Phoenix laughed as he and Cole exchanged a fist-bump. "so, come on Sparky, tell me about Blondie."

"Since we're talking about relationship status Cole," Jay sniped as Cole snickered at him. "Lloyd, currently single, Master of Energy, team leader – serious and level-headed for the most part, can be a bit childish sometimes."

"Hey!" Lloyd barked.

"He's getting better at that last part," Kai intervened. "he still has the odd moment, but we all do."

"Thank you, Kai." Lloyd glared at Jay.

"Your turn Lloyd," Phoenix murmured with a smile. "tell me about Sonny."

"Kai's the Master of Fire; he's hot-headed, sometimes a bit stubborn, and he's a notorious flirt," Lloyd said. "but overall, he's a good friend and has a good heart."

"Aww that was adorable!" Phoenix cooed, gently putting his arm around Lloyd's shoulder and jostling him for a moment. "who knew y'all could be so nice about each other!"

"That was fun and all, but we don't really know anything about you," Lloyd said frankly. "wanna tell us what you're about?"

"Sure, it's only fair," He nodded. "my full name's Phoenix Akane, I live in New Ninjago with my little sisters – Magpie and Sagittarius – I'm studying business in university and I work 2 jobs on the side… any questions?"

"Oh, oh!" Jay raised his hand, which made Phoenix chuckle. "Why are your eyes different colours? Is that your real hair? Why is it white?"

"Wow, Jay, cut straight to the point why dontcha?" Cole shook his head.

"It's okay," Phoenix assured. "my eyes both used to be blue, but I hit my head at work and the blunt force trauma caused my right eye to change to grey, and yes; this is my real hair, but it's platinum silver, not white."

Phoenix reached behind his back to grab his long, braided ponytail; it started at the base of his neck and almost reached his ankles. As he gently pulled it forward and draped it over his shoulder, it looked like a snake climbing up his body, and he was clearly very proud of its impressive length.

"You say you live with your sisters, what about your parents?" Kai asked.

"My parents aren't here anymore, I lost them years ago," Phoenix replied, wincing at the memory. "I took on my little sisters because we have no other relatives that could take them both."

"Oh… I'm so sorry for your loss…" Kai quietly spoke.

"No worries, it is what it is," Phoenix gave a shrug and a half-smile. "I did have to put my studies on hold when my sisters first came to live with me, but I'm back in classes now and so are the girls; Magpie is a vet nurse, and Sagittarius just started doing cosmetology."

"What does your girlfriend think of you being a stripper?" Lloyd wondered.

"I don't have a girlfriend; I'm too busy working and looking after my sisters," Phoenix paused. "there's a girl I'm really flirty with at uni, and she knows about my job – she and her friends came to see 'Merry Strip-mas' back in December – but beyond being impressed with my pole skills, I don't know what she thinks of it."

"Oh, oh! I have another question!" Jay waved his hand.

"Go on."

"Did Jasper know that Feathers and Fire was a strip club?" Jay asked, making a cursory smirk in Cole's direction.

Both Cole and Phoenix suddenly looked very embarrassed; well Phoenix did anyway, Cole was glaring at Jay as if he was going to kill him.

"She knew the bar was a strip club, but she didn't know I was a stripper until her work friend took a picture during one of my shows and was like 'isn't this that guy who wants to be in the museum calendar?'," He covered his face with his hand. "I won't lie, it was a great photo; it was the point where I burn my pants off and she really got a great angle on it but-."

"Wait, you burn your pants off as part of your routine?" Kai asked, stunned.

"I use fire in my performances, yes," Phoenix calmly said as he took a few steps back. "watch this."

Phoenix began taking deep rhythmic breaths and retrieved a hip flask from his back pocket. He took a swig of whatever was inside, swallowed it, and took a lighter from his other pocket. With the lighter sparked up, Phoenix emitted a long, loud roar, which turned into a stream of fire upon contact with the lighter spark. But the fire wasn't the usual yellow/orange colour – it was purple. The only ninja who was not left completely speechless was Zane.

"This would account for your internal scarring," Zane factually mentioned. "what accelerant do you use?"

"It's a mix of methanol, potassium chloride and strontium nitrate," Phoenix handed him the hip flask. "I know other fire eaters use something else, but I'm partial to the purple flames."

"I'm surprised to see you still alive after consuming such dangerous chemicals," Zane had a sniff of the mixture. "rubidium would give you a stronger violet colour, you should-."

"How the hell did you do that?" Jay questioned; his eyes full of stars.

"I've been doing fire play since I was little, my older sister was kind of a pyro," Phoenix laughed nervously, his eyes darting to Kai for just a moment. "right, enough questions, time for some calisthenics – who wants to have a go on the pole?"

Feeling a little outdone at his own element, Kai decided to volunteer.

"I will," Kai stated confidently. "how hard can it be?"

He approached the pole, silently thanking Kiku for her occasional lessons on her aerial hoop. Granted, the hoop was a different acrobatic tool, but it gave him more confidence to take on this physical challenge; especially when he looked at the base of it and saw that it had a spin function. Kai smirked. Phoenix probably thought he could get one over on the ninja, by inviting them to try the pole and not telling them it was in spin mode – little did he know that Kai was familiar with the hidden switches for acrobatic equipment, and as Kai leaned down to roll up his pant legs, he managed to discretely find and flip the switch into static mode.

"Smart move," Phoenix noted, as Kai feared he'd been spotted touching the switch. "rule one of pole dancing; wear shorts or do what Kai's doing – you need the friction of your skin to maintain grip on the pole."

He held the pole firmly with both hands, then swung his leg up and out as if attempting a side kick. In one smooth motion, he hooked his leg around the pole, stretched out his other leg and gently spun down to the ground. As his watching team members gave a light applause, Kai flashed a smug grin at Phoenix, who smiled back with an impressed look on his face.

"Well, well, Sonny knows his way around a pole," Phoenix held out his hand. "I fancy Baby Cakes had something to do with that."

"Yeah, Flower's been teaching me to hoop." Kai accepted the offer and stood up.

"Ohhh, 'Flower' huh? Lemme guess – you thought her name meant chrysanthemum, right?" Phoenix teased. "So how long have you been dating my little sister?"

"Pretty much since she got here…" Kai admitted sheepishly.

"Cole said you were a fast one, guess I didn't realise how fast."

Before Kai could respond, Jay decided to have a go at the pole himself and excitedly moved Kai out of the way.

"Careful Sparky," Phoenix warned. "I didn't bring the safety mats with me."

"I can handle it!" Jay insisted confidently.

Jay immediately tried to copy Kai's move, holding onto the pole and moving into a side kick… only to miss hooking his leg on the pole and promptly landing flat on his butt.

"Okay, maybe I can't!" He said in a pained, gravelled voice, rubbing his now very sore backside.