Birthdays

by Kifo Entiegon

It's the ninjas' birthdays... and this year, Jay has delegated himself in planning the birthday parties for the others. But he has to play things smart as Zane's never celebrated a birthday, Lloyd hates his, Cole and Kai hate the idea of joining their birthdays, and he wants to plan something special for Nya without getting killed by Kai. one-shot series. T for safety.

1. Zane: Day Of Creation

This series of one shots is based after season eleven and after my story 'Revealing The Pain' with the possibility of diverging from the main series as it has elements of another au story that I'm currently working on. Also, this will be based around the ninjas' birthdays, the order being in what I believe the birthday order is.

The first birthday belongs to Zane, though I will not mention when exactly I believe the day is (or any other birthday, to be honest). Just imagine Zane's birthday as being somewhere in the beginning of the year. Also, this was not intended to be as long as it is. It honestly just kind of grew as I wrote it. I just hope that I managed to get everyone in character considering the circumstances. Please enjoy.

Finally, I own nothing that belongs to Ninjago... which is pretty much everything.

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Zane: Day of Creation

Jay lay awake, listening to Cole's snoring, wondering what sort of trouble the day was going to bring. It was four o'clock in the morning and it was Zane's birthday. Well, day of creation, if you wanted to be technical. Jay was just glad that he had managed to get that titbit of information out of Dr Julien before the old inventor had finally passed on because he had been raking his brain over the date ever since he had met the master of ice. And those blueprints had done nothing to help in his search when he had looked.

The previous times they had celebrated Zane's birthday, Jay remembered, hadn't gone to plan.

They missed the first one completely because they hadn't even realised it was his birthday. Instead they had gone on a team building exercise while Master Wu went to recruit a new member. Or was that during his birthday? Either way, that new member turned out to be Kai.

The next birthday hadn't been much happier. In fact, it was nearly a month after Zane had sacrificed himself to destroy the Overlord. It was also the only day the ninja had come together after the sacrifice. Jay heaved a sigh at the memory. Despite everyone being together around the statue of the Titanium Ninja, some nasty words had been said, especially between himself and Cole. They had dispersed quite quickly after Cole had left in a huff.

And, of course, the birthday after Zane had returned to them was spent fighting ghosts. So there really was no chance for a birthday party to be organised for him when the Preeminent was threatening to take over Ninjago. Everyone all vowed that the next year would be better and they'd give their robotic friend the birthday he deserved.

But by the time Zane's next birthday came around, everyone had already split off to try and find Master Wu. So, the only one who could celebrate his birthday with him was Kai. And even then, as Jay later found out, Kai only took him out for dinner. Everyone else could only call and wish their favourite nindroid a happy birthday.

This year, Jay was determined to break the cycle. And, upon hearing his plans, the others had whole-heartedly agreed… that is until Kai got into that motorcycle crash nearly a week ago.

It was a miracle that he hadn't suffered any serious injuries. The crash itself was terrifying and all the ninja had heard it when it happened. They had all decided to meet up in the park after a routine sweep of Ninjago City with Kai opting out to gather the decoration supplies as was planned. No one had expected the red-light runner to slam into Kai's motorcycle on his way home.

Due to their proximity to the scene (the crash had happened on the other side of the park), the ninja had been the first to arrive followed closely by the police. And the screaming and cursing they heard as they neared the crash only made them go faster because they knew that voice.

Nya was devastated when she saw what had happened to her brother. Jay had to hold her back while Cole and Zane rushed to Kai's side, pulling the motorbike out from under him carefully and generally taking care of him and the driver of the car that had caused the accident. Lloyd took control of the situation.

But despite the disaster that the two vehicles had turned into, both Kai and the other driver had escaped relatively easily. The driver was fined for a number of things including running a red light and injuring another, but he was treated for a head wound and intoxication, and later jailed for a short time. Kai broke his leg in two places, dislocated his shoulder and grazed his head on the asphalt when he toppled over and his helmet fell loose, but other than that he was fine.

After spending a few days in hospital (which the fire ninja was not at all pleased about), the doctors finally let Kai out the afternoon before yesterday with strict orders of no physical activity for the next eight weeks and enough pain killers to do him for at least a week. So now he just moped about with a cast on his leg and crutches at his side. And Zane seemed to be breathing down his neck every minute of the day just to make sure he was following doctor's orders.

So, while Cole had somehow managed to hide the party decorations from Zane when he took them from the crash site on Kai's orders, Jay had to figure out who was going to take Kai's job of putting the decorations up. And because Kai was no longer allowed to touch the decorations, he had been assigned to keeping Zane away from the party set up.

That is, he had been assigned the job in Jay's head. Kai still didn't know what he was doing any more.

But there was another problem. Master Wu had sent his ninja down south towards the Straflodge Ranges, a massive mountain range at the bottom of the island continent, in search of signs of 'returned elements' in some remote farming village, whatever that meant. And Kai, being Kai, had managed to sneak onto the Destiny's Bounty despite being told by everyone (including his girlfriend) that he needed to stay home and rest.

The fire in Zane's eyes when he discovered Kai hiding in the training room of the ship after take off was enough to rival that of Kai's own flames, he was that furious with the fire ninja. So it was no surprise that Kai had orders to remain on and only travel to certain areas of the ship. And that meant that there were limited areas for Kai to be able to do his unknown job and keep Zane distracted while everyone else set up for the party.

Jay couldn't stop the groan that left his mouth. Just like always, this was turning into another shamble just like every other day of creation before this.

No longer able to sleep, Jay rolled out of bed and made his way over to the desk. He pulled out the folder he had hidden in the bottom draw and, after turning on the lamp, got to work trying to figure out how the day was going to plan out.

According to his original list, he was in charge of games, Cole was in charge of the cake and music, Lloyd was in charge of getting the rest of the food organised, Nya in charge of presents, and Kai was in charge of decorations. That list had to change. Kai could no longer do decorations due to his injury, meaning he now had to keep Zane from figuring out what was going on. And, come to think of it, putting Cole in charge of the cake wasn't the greatest idea.

" Okay, maybe Cole could do decorations instead of Kai." He muttered to himself, careful not to wake the others up. He was just grateful that Zane was currently guiding the ship to its next destination. " And give Lloyd the cake to do. That would make more sense, actually, that way all the food was together. Plus, there'd be less chance of the cake burning."

Somehow, even in sleep, Cole knew when someone was talking about cake.

" Lemon chiffon cake in fridge. Zane's favourite." The earth master mumbled before falling deeper into his dreams.

Okay, when had Cole put a cake in the fridge of the Destiny's Bounty? Scratch that, when had Cole even made (or rather bought) a cake? Jay was pretty sure that there was no cake box in the fridge, and they had been gone for… well, this would be their second day in the air. So, what had he missed? Because he had clearly missed something between the time he had talked with the others two weeks ago and now.

Another groan managed to escape the lightning master. If what he was hearing from the still sleeping cake lover of the team, then Cole somehow had the cake organised. That meant that the newly made change in the 'birthday roster' was irrelevant. Which, in turn, meant that Cole would not be doing decorations.

Maybe Nya could… no, she'd probably be working on the present until it was party time. Kai would have to keep Zane out of the kitchen so Lloyd could work in there, because, thanks to Zane's teachings, the boy was getting to be a decent cook himself. That left decorations to either him or Cole.

Oh man, why did Master Wu have to throw a spanner in the works and send the ninja on some weird mission that none of them knew how to even complete let alone understand. If they had just stayed at the monastery, then Pixal and Echo would be able to help with sorting out the party details. Pixal could have done decorations, while Echo distracted Zane and Kai took over music from Cole so that he wasn't excluded because of his injuries. Not to mention, every one of Zane's family would be present.

Yep. This was turning into a mess before Jay's eyes. And Zane's Day of Creation was today! With that thought, Jay's head hit the desk. This celebration planning was turning out to be the worst idea he had ever had.

He didn't realise he'd drifted back to sleep until he was woken up by a gentle shake of his shoulder and the gentle call of his name.

" Jay. Jay, wake up. Breakfast is ready."

Jay's eyes snapped open and he bolted up right at the call. Looking around, he noticed Nya standing by his side, pulling her hand back in an attempt to prove that she was no threat to him. That was okay. It meant that Zane hadn't seen the list. Well… he hoped Zane hadn't seen the list. The surprise would have been ruined if he had.

" You alright, Jay?" Nya asked, breaking the boy from his thoughts.

" Yeah. Just… Just fell asleep trying to work things out." Jay replied.

" Like what?"

" Stuff for the… you know what that's happening today. Especially because Kai can't do décor. He's now got a new job, too, just so you know. I realised this last night. And then there's the matter of who's going to do Kai's old job. And this is turning into a mess."

Jay tried to be evasive with what was happening, because you could never be too careful with a nindroid on board. Thank goodness Nya understood what he was trying to get at. He would have been in trouble if she hadn't. But she merely smiled softly at him as she waited until he was finished before she spoke again.

" Maybe we could have a secret meeting without Zane in attendance, understand where everything is or should be with the others before hitting major panic stations." She suggested. " Follow up, is what I'm saying."

" In other words, have the meeting we should have had yesterday. But what if Zane hears us? What if he catches on to what we're doing? One wrong move and it could blow everything!"

" We'll just make sure he's flying the Bounty before we have the meeting. Now come on, before Lloyd or Cole come in here looking for us. Lloyd's already commandeered the kitchen for the day."

" Let me get dressed first."

With a nod, Nya left the room. Still, Jay made sure that he was once more alone in the room before putting away his birthday plans. Then he quickly got himself dressed and hurried out to the kitchen-dining area where Lloyd was just finishing serving him up a plate of blueberry and banana pancakes. He even wished Zane a 'happy birthday' in a small attempt at throwing off the ice ninja in case he had seen the party plans.

Other than that, breakfast was an ordinary affair. The other ninja passed of Jay's slight panic as nerves for the possible danger that the mission could bring, and Zane seemed to buy their excuse. But Kai, Cole and Lloyd all knew the true reason to the panic… even if they weren't exactly sure what had gone wrong. The reason for this was because all three of them had apparently tried to wake Jay before Nya had tried. In turn this led to them seeing the party plans lying on the table underneath Jay's head.

Thankfully they didn't say anything about it until after they had all gathered in the bedroom with Zane taking over flying duties once more for Nya.

" Okay, Jay, what's going on?" Kai asked, as subtle as ever, as he lay on his bed with a pillow under his broken leg.

Jay took a breath as he took out his birthday plans. But instead of answering Kai's question or even showing the plans to the others, he hugged the pages to his chest in an attempt to hide them. He even looked around the room for any bugs that may have been planted, just in case Zane decided he needed to spy on his teammates… not that he didn't trust his friend. He was just… clearly paranoid.

" We're safe here, right?" he asked, his paranoia showing through his words. " Zane's not going to hear us?"

" Everything's fine, Jay." Nya soothed. " I told Zane that if he needed any of us, to just call for us on the speakers. He's not going to come in here."

" Okay." Still, Jay sat himself as close to Kai's bed as he dared while still being able to hide from the wrath of the fire master should it appear. " So, as you know, today is the day Zane was turned on for the first time. His day of creation, or to put it simply, his birthday. And we've been planning to give him a proper birthday since we met him, or at least, I have. But everything has been getting in the way. First ignorance, then the Overlord, then ghosts and, well, you get the idea. And this time, just going out for dinner is not going to cut it because the six of us are together again. We'll just have to make sure next year's party is better because this year's birthday is turning into a mess just like every other birthday Zane's had with us!"

" Woah, woah, woah. What do you mean it's turning into a mess?" Cole asked, sharing a concerned look with everyone in the room.

" You should know why it's a mess!" Jay was clearly panicking hard about this and the confused looks he was getting only seemed to worsen that panic. " Ugh! Master Wu just had to send us away from the monastery where we were going to hold the surprise party, both Zane's girlfriend and his brother are back at said monastery with Wu and Misako and have probably already told everyone that the party was cancelled due to a mission coming up, Kai's gone and gotten himself caught up in a motor accident and then disobeyed direct orders to stay at home, not to mention him having a broken leg has meant that he can't do the decorating anymore which means you're now going to have to distract Zane and make sure he stays away from wherever we set up the party, which, by the way, I haven't figured out yet because it would have to be somewhere where Kai can easily get to. That leaves the decorating job to be given to someone else and it can't be Nya because she's working on the present and it can't be Lloyd because he's in the kitchen getting the food and drinks organised, so it would have to be me or Cole, but Cole's in charge of music and the cake, which I'm really hoping is not burnt to a crisp or tastes like burnt socks but then Cole was talking in his sleep about having Zane's favourite cake in the fridge but I haven't seen any cake boxes in the fridge and when did you even get a cake, Cole? Not to mention…"

" Jay!" The sound of Cole's yell snapped the lightning master from his panic in an instant. " Jay, breathe. Everything's going to be okay."

" But…"

" Nope. No more panic." Kai stated, grabbing his other pillow and whacking Jay over the head with it before returning it to its place behind his own head. " We've been planning this thing for weeks. Even though things may not be going to plan at the moment, everything is under control."

" Kai's right." Lloyd added. " Remember when Cole and I went on a quick scout around the city before we left?"

Jay nodded, not trusting himself to speak lest he be hit with something harder than a pillow, like one of Kai's crutches which were by the older boy's head.

" We were getting the food and the cake."

" And a minifridge." Cole added.

" A minifridge?" Jay had to ask.

" How else was I supposed to keep the cake cool?"

" Then where's the fridge?"

This time the answer came from Kai. " It's in the training room."

" How do you know that?" Jay almost wheeled on the fire ninja.

" I put it there. Why do you think I was hiding there?"

" Um… because you wanted to come on the mission, too?"

" Okay, I'll give you that one. But Cole helped me sneak on board and into the training room about an hour before we took off. And because he helped me, I had to help him by plugging in the fridge and loading it up with not only the cake, but also the drinks and some of the food that Lloyd was dealing with."

" Only the cold stuff, though." Lloyd admitted.

Wait. That would mean… Jay turned to face Lloyd, not believing that their leader, who usually scolded them whenever they did something they weren't supposed to, had willingly let Kai sneak onto the Destiny's Bounty. Heck, he knew that Kai and Lloyd were closer than the rest of them when it came to an almost sibling-like bond, but he would never believe that the Green Ninja would willingly help his older brother in whatever schemes he was planning… at least, not these days, anyway.

It was the disbelieving look that Jay was giving him that made Lloyd rub at his right arm subconsciously the way he usually did when he was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

" So, I knew that Kai was sneaking onto the Bounty." He tried to defend himself. "But they both cornered me. It probably didn't help that I was also heading that way with the food for the party. So, Cole carried the fridge and we both kept an eye on Kai as we helped him on board."

" So the food's sorted and so's the drinks and cake." Cole reassured his friend. " Nothing to worry about."

Nya could only shake her head at what she was hearing.

" Of course, Kai managed to convince both Cole and Lloyd into getting him on the Bounty." She muttered to herself before speaking up so the boys could hear her more clearly. " But I'm going to add in to the reassurances and say that the present is operational. There's only one thing left to do and I'm going to let Zane do that."

This time, it was Kai's turn to be confused. " Does this have anything to do with the bird cage I found in the spare weapons closet in the training room while I was down there?"

The smile on Nya's face clearly told all in the room that, yes, it had something to do with the aforementioned bird cage. But even with that comforting smile present, Jay still wasn't able to calm his mind of its panic. After all, Nya did say there was one thing left to do. What if that one thing was something major and they only had hours or even minutes left to finish it?

Apparently, his panic was showing again, though, because this time Nya took Kai's pillow from under his head and whacked Jay over the head with it. And this time, Jay wasn't the only one who looked betrayed at the situation. Kai also sported a similar look after yanking back his pillow from his sister's grasp.

" Like Kai said earlier; no more panic." Nya stated with a smirk.

" You didn't have to hit me on the head with the pillow." Jay protested.

" Eh, it just felt right."

" Sister after my own heart." Kai copied his sister's smirk. " Though she could have used her own pillow."

Nya chose to ignore her brother's comment in favour of lessening Jay's fears. " All that has to be done with the present is to turn it on. All diagnostics and functions are running smoothly and at their maximum levels. Not to mention, I've managed to remotely link it to Zane. Admittedly, without his knowing, but it would be almost exactly like it was in the past."

" Wait." Cole asked, his confusion being shared by both Lloyd and Kai. " What is Zane's present?"

Jay looked around at his brothers, a smile finally managing to creep onto his face as he took in their confused expressions. He wanted so badly to tell them what it was that he was on the verge of jumping up and down on the spot. But it was Nya and Pixal who had been the main engineers in the project (he only helped with wiring and other small tasks when asked), so he knew he didn't have much of a say in revealing the surprise.

" Go on, Jay. You can tell them."

It was all the confirmation he needed from his girlfriend for him to lean into the circle and whisper, almost conspiratorially, " We've rebuilt the Falcon."

" What? Really? That's awesome!" Cole exclaimed, a massive smile planted on his face as he spoke.

" Zane is going to love it." Kai agreed, nodding his head in approval.

" I wondered what happened to the little guy after that… incident." Lloyd admitted.

After that revelation, things seemed to go more smoothly. Lloyd explained that all he needed to do in the kitchen was warm up the mini sausages and the party pies and sort out the fruit platters and the chip bowls and he would be done. Cole, too, just needed a little help with setting up the sound system, but other than that he was sorted as well.

Then there was Jay and his choice of games. Or rather the fact that he had yet to choose the games from the list he had written throughout the course of the party planning. At least, the master of lightning was more willing to show that list than he was showing the 'failed' party plans that he had been trying to work on during the night.

After each one of the members of the gathered team had read through the list, Cole was all up for tying donuts to the ceiling of wherever they planned on hosting the party or even playing some food balance game that hadn't originally been on the list. Sadly, both were turned down because no one had bothered to get any donuts before they had left and making the brownies or biscuits needed for the balancing game would take too much time. And, currently, time was something they didn't have much of.

Lloyd came up with an alternative, though. What if they balanced balloons on their foreheads instead of food? Kai seconded the idea saying that he had bought a lot of balloons and streamers for the decorations (only because they were planning on covering the entire monastery in them). Therefore, a few balloons wouldn't be missed.

This led to Jay stating that he was planning on setting up a truth or dare type game with any extra balloons that weren't used for decoration. Though he refrained from actually telling them what the game was. Even so, the boys were all for a game of truth or dare. Nya, however, wasn't too keen. Unfortunately for her, the boys overruled her. Jay's balloon truth or dare game was a go ahead… though he did promise his girlfriend that they were only going to play one type of truth or dare game this party.

But with Kai not being able to walk very well, there were a lot of games on the list that he couldn't join in on. And that included the team favourite, Twister. Contrary to popular belief, the fire ninja didn't mind a good game of Twister. And with the competitive rivalry he had with Cole, he liked to prove he was more flexible than the master of earth. Of course, this was despite the fact that one had to be flexible in order to be a dancer, like Cole had once been.

In the end, after a good fifteen minutes of discussion, it was decided that they would play Jay's truth or dare game, Lloyd's balloon balance suggestion, some 'battle of the oranges' game where you had to knock your opponent's orange off a spoon, Twister (because even though Kai couldn't play, he'd still like to see Cole fail), and surprisingly a game of 'would you rather'. The other option was charades (courtesy of Jay), but no one wanted to play that game.

Unfortunately, there was still the matter of figuring out where they were going to host the party and who was going to decorate the room. Cole suggested the training room purely and simply because that was where the minifridge was. That idea was vetoed by Kai, who claimed there was no place for him to sit comfortably in the room. In reality, it was because he was banned from the room entirely.

The kitchen was out too, despite Cole trying to convince everyone it was a good idea. Cue more teasing about the earth ninja's eating habits. But Lloyd had had a fair point when he declined the idea; not only did he not want the pressure of everyone watching him making their food, but there was the likely chance that Zane would be tempted to help with or even take over kitchen duties. And that was something no one wanted.

In the end, they decided on sticking with the traditional loungeroom setting. And the group only just managed to figure that out when Zane called over the speakers that they were nearing their next destination; a small village known as Spirithaven. Reaching Spirithaven meant that they were halfway to the base of the Straflodge Ranges… and their true destination of Ashenbrine.

It also meant that they only had that afternoon to have Zane's birthday party.

True, they had spent about half an hour on the pre-party meeting. But if Zane had been correct in his timing (and he was never usually wrong), then lunch time was within another half-hour. This could only be figured out by the fact that the titanium ninja himself had calculated that they would arrive near Spirithaven in time for lunch.

Not to mention, when Nya had found Zane, he was coming inside after finishing his morning meditation… which took hours. And when Zane went into meditation, you can expect hours to go by if there was no major problem. And there had not been any major problem (at least for the ice master to worry about), so he could spend all the time he wanted. No one even knew where he had gone to do his meditating. He just seemed to disappear about an hour after breakfast.

So, they didn't have much time to set up the loungeroom for the party.

" Okay, guys." Kai stated as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed his crutches ready to move. " You have maximum half an hour to get everything ready. Zane and I are going to get lunch."

" What?" Jay asked, dodging his brother's legs and crutches before jumping to his own feet.

" You need a distraction, don't you?"

" Well, yeah."

" I'm giving you one. So you better sort out who's doing what fast because I have no idea how I'm going to get Zane to stay in the village for an extended amount of time."

With that said, Kai was out of the bedroom and heading to the bridge in search of the birthday nindroid. Lloyd, realising what that meant, was quick to follow, heading back towards the kitchen to get the food ready. At least both Cole and Nya stayed a few more minutes to help with writing up some dares for the truth or dare game before they had to leave to start setting up as well. But it wasn't long before Jay was the only ninja in the bedroom… and he knew he didn't have long to get the games sorted before the party was to start.

It took almost ten minutes, but Jay was able to write down enough dares to fill twenty-four balloons… enough for four rounds of his 'Pop-A-Dare' game. And, if he was being honest with himself, he couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face as he finished writing the final dare. After all, there would be no 'truths' in this game. And the others had no clue. He was just surprised that he had managed to keep that a surprise when he was explaining his idea to the others.

A few seconds after he had finished, Cole walked into the room, a packet of balloons in his hand.

" What's got you grinning like a Cheshire cat?" the Earth Elemental asked once he saw the look on his friend's face. Then he remembered what Jay had been doing for the past ten minutes. " Wait. What are you planning?"

" Well, I am planning a birthday party, if that's what you mean." Jay replied innocently.

" I meant besides the party."

" Nothing much. Besides, you guys all agreed to it anyway, so it's not like I'm planning anything bad."

" What?"

" Never mind. Are those the balloons for the games?" the lightning master asked, pointing to the pack of balloons.

" Yep." Cole replied, tossing the packet to the blue ninja who caught it with ease. " Music setup was easy, so Nya and I started getting the lounge room ready for the party."

" Thank you."

" No problem. Many hands make light work, after all."

" You've been hanging around Wu for way too long, Cole."

Cole merely laughed as he returned to the lounge room. There were other balloons that needed to be blown up waiting for him. And, unless there was a wind elemental on the ship (which there wasn't), those balloons weren't going to blow themselves up.

Jay watched him leave before turning his attention to the packet of balloons in his hand, noting that there was string included. That was good. He might be able to use that when setting up the game. First things first, though, he had to blow the balloons up with the dares inside them. Well… once he got the dares inside them, that is.

Time to get back to work.

It took a while, but somehow he managed to roll up all the dares and stuff them into the balloons before starting the task of blowing up the 'dare' balloons. Of course, while he was blowing up balloons, his mind started to wander, and he started questioning why no one had decided to check in on him. Then again, everyone else was too busy with their own things to help out with the games. After all, half an hour was not enough time for four people to completely set up a lounge room for a surprise party and organise the games and get the food and drinks ready.

Not to mention, once he was done, he still had a bit to do. He had to somehow mark the 'Pop-A-Dare' balloons so that the others knew what balloons were part of the game (and this was aside from blowing them up), he had to make sure he had enough balloons for the balance game as well, he had to find the oranges and the spoons big enough to hold the oranges for the 'battle', and he had to find the 'Twister' game. Not to mention he had to figure out how he was going to set up the 'Dare' game.

At least 'Would you Rather' required nothing more than one's brain to play, so that was easy.

'Dare' balloons blown up (finally!), Jay commandeered one of Cole's art marker pens. His plan: mark those balloons with something so that everyone knew which balloons were part of the game. His problem: he was running out of time and had no idea what to mark the balloons with. Not to mention he had no idea how long Kai could keep Zane away from the Bounty for. So he had to get all the balloons that were littering the bedroom floor marked and move onto the next thing quickly.

If only he knew what to mark them with. A lightning bolt? Nah. This party was Zane's, not his. A snowflake? Fitting, but also time consuming. Therefore, not an option. A star? Well, Zane was a star. But he needed to move quickly, and his stars took a little longer to do than other people's stars.

That's when it came to him. Zane made everyone smile. With his cooking, his ice sculptures and, most importantly, when he returned to them after his death. It was the perfect thing to mark the balloons with. A smiley face. Granted, a rather simple, three lined smiley face, but a smiley face, nonetheless. So he quickly got to work, a smile on his own face.

But, even when all twenty-four balloons sported smiley faces, Jay knew his job wasn't finished. He still had six more balloons to blow up for the balancing competition. And the 'Twister' game to find… and figure out a way to set up the 'Dare' game. And get the stuff for the 'Battle of the Oranges'. Yeah, he really hoped Kai would take his sweet time in the village because Jay was running out of time.

He was just starting to blow up the last of the balloons from the packet (it was just luck that the packet held thirty balloons) when Cole and Nya opened the bedroom door.

" Okay, Jay, what do you need help with?" Nya asked, scaring Jay into letting the balloon he had in his hand go.

Said balloon had been just about ready to be tied off. So, it was no surprise when it went flying around the room, the air it had once contained leaking out of it. To be fair, Jay did try to catch the runaway balloon. But his efforts proved futile when the balloon flopped into Cole's face with a final squelch before landing in his awaiting hands. It probably didn't help that all that balloon blowing had started to make Jay a little light-headed, which was evident in his futile movements to catch the runaway balloon.

" That… is a lot of balloons." Was all the Earth elemental could say once the balloon was off his face and Jay had managed to steady himself.

" You alright, Jay?" Nya asked, concern in her voice.

" Yeah… just… give me a minute. Thirty balloons equals a lot of puff for one person." Jay replied, taking a few deep breaths as he spoke.

" Why didn't you call for us earlier?" Cole asked, handing his friend back the balloon.

" You were all busy."

" I'm sure one of us would have tried to find a way to get here and help, Jay." Nya almost sighed.

" It's done now, so, no need to worry." Jay gave them what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

" Are you sure we need all of these balloons, though?" Cole was still looking at the balloons littering the bedroom floor.

" The balloons with smiley faces are for the dare game. Four balloons for each one of us. Four rounds. The other balloons, including the one I was almost finished with, are for that balance game that Lloyd suggested. Again, there's one for each of us."

Both Nya and Cole still looked a little sceptical, but they wisely said nothing. There were times when Jay would absolutely fight for something, regardless of anything. In that sense, his stubbornness fit right in with the rest of the rather stubborn ninja family that they had all created. So, it came to reason that they had learnt when to pick their battles.

And the number of balloons used in party games was definitely one of those battles where you didn't want to fight Jay. Especially when there wasn't a lot of time left before Kai and Zane made it back onto the Destiny's Bounty.

" Okay. What do you need help with now? Where are you up to?" Nya asked, turning her attention to the blue ninja who was clearly judging whether he had time to quickly blow up the last balloon or if he should still be talking.

" I've just got this one balloon to finish blowing up, then that will be that done. Though I'm not sure if I should mark these balloons as well. If I do, they'll be marked with initials. Anyway, I still have to figure out how I'm going to set up the 'dare' game. I'm guessing my best bet would be to put them on some kind of board, but idiot me didn't think ahead, so I have no idea what we can use for that. But I also have to sort out the stuff for that orange battle game and find where 'Twister' is hiding. It's a good thing 'Would You Rather' requires the brain or else I think I'd be panicking." The lightning ninja explained.

His two companions made sure to keep their thoughts to themselves regarding what they thought about Jay's clearly slightly panicked explanation.

It was Nya who broke the silence once more. " Tell you what, I'll hunt around for the 'Twister' game while you finish off the last balloon and go get the things you need for the orange battle game. Cole, you can go in search of a board or something to put these marked balloons onto. Maybe try the spare room, if not the training room. And no sneaking any food."

" That sounds fair. Thank you." Jay smiled with a nod, even as Cole gained a slight look of disappointment on his face at the warning Nya was giving him.

" Hey, it's what friends are for." The earth master quickly hid his disappointment with a massive grin on his face equal to the one on his friend's. " Just one thing, though. Why are you calling it the 'Dare' game?"

" Eh-heh…"

Jay refused to explain his reasons about the name. No matter what Nya and Cole did or said to try and get him to talk. All he told them was that he was going to explain the game when it was time to play the game, not beforehand. And, as expected, it frustrated the others. But there was nothing they could do. So they went about their assigned jobs with Nya still trying to get information out of her boyfriend while she searched for the 'Twister' game.

All the while, the threat of Zane arriving home before everything was ready pressed on their minds.

Jay wasn't sure what Cole would find to use for the dare balloons, but at that moment in time, as he tied the last balloon from the packet and let it float along the floor with its brethren, he was hoping he'd be able to find some oranges in the kitchen. Last he checked, there were at least four oranges in the fruit bowl. Hopefully Lloyd hadn't decided to use them for any of the food prep.

Making his way into the kitchen, he found Lloyd just taking something out of the oven. As he got closer to the counter, he realised it was the party pies that Lloyd had been talking about. And, boy, did they smell good. Jay was almost tempted to steal one right there and then. There were two things that stopped him, though. Firstly, they had just come out of the oven and so were extremely hot. Secondly, he had oranges to find… and spoons, too, if he was being honest.

There was just one small problem. He couldn't find the oranges that had been in the fruit bowl.

" Hey, Lloyd." He called once the younger ninja no longer had a tray of hot food in his hands, " You haven't seen the oranges, have you?"

" Oranges?" Lloyd asked, almost freezing in place with his back turned to the lightning ninja.

" Yeah. We need oranges for the 'orange battle' game, remember?"

Without turning around, Lloyd tried to sneak a glance towards the fridge, though he still got the feeling that Jay had noticed.

" I know where they are." He practically whispered as he attempted to hide his fear. " You might not like it, though."

Dread ran cold down Jay's back.

" Please tell me you didn't use them for anything."

" Um…" Lloyd finally turned around, a sorrowful look on his face.

Instantly, Jay knew that the oranges had been sacrificed to the food deities. They had been unintentionally put on the party menu instead of on the games list. And despite the look on the green ninja's face claiming that it had clearly been a spur of the moment decision, Jay could still feel himself slipping into a panic about it all.

" Okay, okay." The lightning ninja managed to breathe out, trying to calm himself. " Let's not panic here. Let's just… take a few breaths, a few deep ones, and try to find something similar to an orange. Something that's round, a decent size, a decent weight, and can fit on a dessert spoon. We can do this. We can still do this."

As he muttered to himself, Jay began raiding the kitchen in search for suitable orange replacements. He even got Lloyd to help with his search. In their search, Lloyd held up an apple, but it was declined due to its shape, also because it was top heavy and kept falling over. The pear Jay found was equally discarded, not just because of its shape, but also because there was only one. Lloyd even pulled out a tomato, but it was too soft for what they needed, and he ended up putting it back before even showing Jay.

Unfortunately, after a few precious moments of hunting, Jay threw his arms up in defeat. Other than the apple and the tomato, nothing came close to replacing an orange. The only thing Lloyd could do was whip out his phone and send a hurried text to Kai explaining what had happened in as few words as possible. All the while, he hoped that they weren't too late.

Turns out, Lloyd's text got through to the fire ninja just in time. Kai had gotten it just as they were passing the town fruit vendor, thus giving those on the Bounty a few more minutes to get everything sorted. And with Jay now panicking about how much of a disaster this day was turning out to be, those precious minutes were welcomed with open arms.

When Cole walked into the kitchen, a few minutes after the message had been sent, in his search for Jay, he found Lloyd trying to calm their blue clad teammate down from his panic. Though he was confused about why the younger teen was apologising a lot. It was thanks to Jay screaming out an accusation that the earth master discovered the problem. And he knew, just from that, that he needed to act quickly before they lost Jay completely.

The only thing he could think about doing was remove Jay from the source of the problem and try and get him to focus on something else. So, with human shaped wooden dummy underarm, Cole walked Jay out of the kitchen and back to the bedroom where he somehow managed to get his best friend to focus on finishing his 'dare' game. And when Nya questioned why Jay was in such a panic, the only thing Cole could do was shake his head, a clear indication not to ask.

Somehow, Jay's not entirely sure how, but somehow things seemed to fit into place. With Cole helping him set up the 'dare' game, he was able to forget about the orange incident for a few minutes while they finished getting the party organised. And, once she had found the 'Twister' game, Nya had gone off to help Lloyd with the food. It took no time at all after what happened in the kitchen before they were all waiting for Zane and Kai in the lounge room.

In fact, they were that close to the time that they only had to wait a few minutes before Kai and Zane walked into the Destiny's Bounty. Jay didn't know how he managed to keep himself quiet during those few minutes, either. They were all just lucky that Kai had managed to send a text to the team on the Bounty alerting them of where they were.

" We're home!" Kai called out once he and Zane were through the door.

It was an attempt to keep the ice ninja from being suspicious, but, being who he was, it still had Zane questioning things. And the others could tell this just from how he was questioning Kai taking him out for a walk through town and obviously trying to keep him out of the kitchen. Then again, there was very little that seemed to pass by the nindroid without his knowing. Jay just hoped, as he tried to keep himself quiet, that Zane hadn't caught onto his plans.

" Kai, where are the others?" the demand was clear in Zane's voice as he and the fire ninja made their slow way to where the others were hiding in the lounge room.

" What do you mean?" you could almost hear the worry in Kai's voice at being discovered. " I've been out with you. I wouldn't know where they were or what they were doing."

" Then why is it so quiet?"

" No idea. Maybe Jay lost his marbles again and the others had to knock him out just to get some of their own sanity back."

Jay made a mental note to get Kai back for that little comment. Beside him, the other three ninja noted how close Kai had come to summing up what had happened in the Destiny's Bounty a few minutes before their return.

" Why do I get the feeling you are not talking about the container of marbles that Jay has in the back of the third draw under his bed, and are, in fact, referring to that time in the First Realm when Jay went insane after our arrival into the realm." Zane continued, not realising that his words had made the lightning ninja cringe at the memory. " Also, keep in mind that we agreed to never speak of that moment again."

" I wasn't directly suggesting that, Zane. We all know Jay's a little nuts anyway. There are a number of times where he's had major meltdowns. I was only suggesting, Jay being who he is, he probably had another one of those meltdowns."

Apparently, Kai was determined to start digging his own grave to save the lightning master the trouble. Thanks to the slight tingle of electricity in the air, it was clear that Jay was trying very hard not to ruin the surprise and leap out of hiding just to strangle the fire user's neck. And being so close to Jay during this literally made the other's worry. Nya ended up having to place a gentle hand on her boyfriend's arm to try and help him calm down.

It took a few deep breaths, but Jay was able to return the smile to his face. Though, in the back of his head, he was silently wondering what he was going to do to Kai for everything that he was hearing. Zane was excused due to it being his birthday. But after managing to convince himself that he could kill Kai anytime after midnight (not that he was really going to), Jay noticed Zane's shadow emerge in the doorway.

This was it. It was in these crucial last seconds before Zane flipped on the light switch that Jay hoped everything, all his planning, all his panicking, was going to blossom into the most amazing birthday Zane had ever had. It was now that Jay prayed that everything turned out to be the best they could have and that nothing (else) was going to go wrong that day. The excitement was practically building within him as he waited, also hoping Zane didn't freeze anyone in his surprise.

Then again, Zane was a nindroid. His scanners had probably already told him that they were hiding in the middle of the dark lounge room possibly facing the doorway. Yeah, Jay probably should have thought about that while he was planning out this surprise party. Too late now, he supposed.

In that last second, as Kai's silhouette appeared next to the birthday nindroid's, Zane flicked the switch with an audible click. Light bathed the lounge room, showing off the food, games, decorations and, most importantly, the four ninja standing in the middle of the room.

" Surprise!" those very ninja called a second or two later.

" What's this?" Zane asked, a look of shock on his face.

Kai clapped a hand on the ice ninja's shoulder " Happy birthday, Zane."

" You did all this… for me?"

This time it was Cole's turn to clasp his hand on Jay's shoulder, adding a little good-natured shake as he spoke. " It was all Jay's idea."

And that's when everything seemed to tumble out of Jay's mouth.

" Well, we've known you for quite a while now and I've noticed that you haven't really been able to celebrate the day you were born, well, in your case, the day you were created, so I started wondering when that day was and finally managed to ask your father not long before he passed, but I know he's here with us now, and that's when I realised we missed your first birthday with us. The next birthday turned out to be a sad day because you had already sacrificed yourself for us by that time, then we were off fighting ghosts on the next birthday, so we couldn't really do anything then. So I planned on making the next birthday the best, but it turned out to be a bust instead because we were all split up all over Ninjago and Kai ended up taking you out for your birthday without the rest of us. After that, I was determined we weren't going to miss this birthday, but we almost did thanks to Master Wu sending us on this mission, but I hope I still managed to pull this off and…"

" Thank you, Jay." Zane finally managed to get in, going over to the blue ninja and wrapping his arms around him. " This is the best birthday already."

" R-r-really?"

" Really, Jay. Thank you. All of you."

Jay could only smile as Zane pulled away from him and turned to the others around them, a smile of his own spreading across his awed features.

" Shall we get this party started, then?" Cole asked, already making his way over to the sound system.

" Most definitely." Zane agreed with a slight nod of his head.

Cole, not needing to be told twice, quickly finished his route and turned on the music player he had plugged in and waiting. In a matter of seconds, the team's all-round favourite song was being belted out of the speakers that were placed all around the room. Only, with how loud Cole had the music, it was a wonder anyone was able to still think. Any passers-by would definitely be able to tell that there was some sort of party happening aboard the flying ship.

And yet, no one on board seemed to care. They were enjoying themselves too much to want to care. Lloyd had done an amazing job with the food (though Jay seemed to be avoiding the fruit salad after having seen orange pieces mixed through it). And they all wanted to know what Spirithaven was like, choosing that time to talk with Zane and Kai about it. Then there was the fact that Zane also wanted to know how they had all managed to keep the party a surprise from him.

Kai even commandeered the couch to put his leg up once he had told Jay of the fresh oranges sitting on the dining table waiting for him. Of course, no one seemed to care. The fire elemental needed to be off his foot, not to mention going for a thirty-minute walk around town this close after hospital release had really taken it out of him.

Still, Lloyd tried to joke with him about not sharing the couch. In reply, the green ninja got shooed away with one of Kai's crutches after faking going to sit on his brother's stomach.

No one noticed when Jay slipped out of the lounge room and headed towards the kitchen. Sure enough, as he entered the room, there were six oranges sitting in a bag on the dining table. Perfect for the game. Grabbing the two most identical oranges, the blue ninja went to the cutlery draw and pulled out six dessert spoons. But he stopped and looked down at the game components in his hand when a thought crossed his mind. What was going to be the prize for winning the game?

From that question alone, Jay realised he hadn't quite thought the games through. There had to be something to play for, after all. A prize to win. Then again, would all the games require prizes? Zane would just want everyone to have fun and have everyone be winners. Cole and Kai, especially Kai, usually want some sort of goal, though. Then again, as the blue ninja continued to think things through, out of the four games that he had planned, only the 'battle of the oranges' really needed a prize of some sort.

'Pop-a-Dare' was really just for fun. Everyone could joke around with how stupid everyone else looked or acted. It wasn't really a game that you could have a winner for. And 'Would You Rather' was much the same. It was a good way to get to know the others some more, put forth any questions that have built up over the years, and just connect or strengthen any bonds. Yeah, you could ask some pretty strange things, as well, but with this family, strange is normal. Plus, stupidity makes things feel less like an interrogation.

Then there was 'Twister', another game that didn't really require any prizes. It was really just a fun game that everyone liked. Yeah, it was a last man standing type of game, but the goal was to not fall over or touch the mat with your elbow or knee. So it was prize enough if you managed not to give into the game. Not to mention it wouldn't be fair to Kai if there was a prize added due to the fact that he couldn't really play the game.

With all that sorted out in his head, Jay could easily confirm that the 'battle of the oranges' definitely needed a prize, a goal to work for. And that led him back to his original question. What was going to be the prize for winning the battle?

" So this is where you're hiding."

Jay startled so hard at the sound of the new voice that he jumped into the air, throwing the oranges and the spoons out of his hands in the process. With a clatter, the spoons landed on the ground, but the blue ninja was more focussed on trying to catch the oranges so they didn't splatter against the floorboards. Somehow, after a bit of floundering, he managed to catch one of the flying fruits. But it wasn't until after another hand had managed to rush in and catch the other before it landed on the ground that he realised who it was who had called out to him.

Slowly, Cole rose to his feet, saved orange in hand. Once he was standing again, he couldn't stop the embarrassed smirk from appearing over his features or his hand from moving to rub at the back of his neck.

" Sorry, buddy." He said, holding out the orange he held. " I didn't mean to scare ya. We were just wondering where you'd disappeared to."

This time it was Jay's turn to look sheepish. " I, uh… I came to get the orange battle game ready. Then I realised that I had no prize for whoever won the game."

" A prize for the battle, hey?"

" Yeah." Jay confirmed as he quickly bent down to gather the scattered spoons.

" Got any ideas so far?"

" Absolutely none. And I can't go and make one now. The party's already started."

" Why not make it something to do with the party?"

" Like what?"

The black ninja merely gave his friend a knowing look as he placed the orange that was still in his hand on the bench and started making his way back out of the kitchen. Once he reached the doorway, though, he turned back to face his still confused friend.

" Just between you and me, that lemon chiffon cake I bought looks mighty tasty."

With that said, he was gone, leaving Jay to try and decipher what it was he had been trying to say. Exactly one minute later, it dawned on him. He could use the cake as the prize. He could use the – no, not the first slice. First slice always goes to the birthday person (or nindroid, in this case). So the second piece could be the prize. But it couldn't be an ordinary sized slice of cake either. Winning prize could be an extra slice of cake… or an extra big slice of cake. And it would be the second piece cut after Zane's.

That's what he'll do. An extra big slice of birthday cake for the winner of the battle of the oranges.

It was times like this where Jay found himself proud to be Cole's best friend. But now that he had the game components in his hand and the plan for the prize in his head, he knew he was needed elsewhere. Still he checked over the oranges in case of any damage from his scare and gave the spoons a quick clean of any dirt they may have gathered from the ground before taking everything he needed with him into the lounge room.

Only, when he got back to the lounge room, he found the 'Twister' board out and Nya, Lloyd and Zane already on various points on the mat. Cole was waiting on the side, looking at Kai as he spun the spinner.

" Okay, Cole. Left foot, yellow." The couch bound ninja called out.

Cole placed his left foot on the nearest yellow spot on the mat. It was when he looked up again that he noticed Jay making his way into the lounge room.

" Jay!" he called, alerting the others of his return. " Sorry. The others started pulling out the game almost as soon as I was back in the room myself."

" Sorry, Jay." Four other voices called, realising that they did wrong in not waiting for their friend.

" Doesn't matter." Jay admitted. " I was going to suggest starting a game, anyway. Maybe next round?"

But there was the slightest hint of disappointment in the blue ninja's voice that the others managed to pick up on. He had been hoping to be there when they chose which game to start with. Kai looked at the game they had just started and then back to Jay, who was making room for the items he held on the table. That's when an idea popped into his head.

" You know, we only just started." He said, a glint in his eye. " I'm pretty sure we can fit one more on the mat."

" I don't know. It could get messy after a while." Jay pointed out though light-heartedly.

" We're not playing messy twister, Jay." Nya said with a smile on her face. She could tell that he was waiting for the right moment to join in the fun now that the option had been put forward.

Of course, that's also when a dangerous smirk appeared on Lloyd's face.

It was a smirk that Zane zeroed in on the moment he saw it.

" And we are not going to play messy twister any time today." The birthday nindroid stated.

" Aww." Was the green ninja's disappointed reply.

" Besides, we do not have everything prepared for such a messy game."

Jay couldn't help the giggle that managed to escape his throat after hearing Lloyd's disappointment. Thing was, there was a reason why he hadn't suggested any of the messier games from his list for this (if he did say so himself) awesome party. Zane was not keen on making a mess of things (and to be honest, neither was he). And this was Zane's party. It had to be perfect for him.

" Come on, Jay. Get in here." Cole's voice once more penetrated the lightning master's thoughts.

Kai even shook the spinner a little to help make up his friend's decision. And, with the smile growing on Jay's face, it appeared to work. Hurriedly placing the oranges and the spoons on the cleared out section of the table, the blue ninja hurried to get to his position by the twister mat. It was with Kai's call of 'left foot, red' that Jay entered the game. And said game's difficulty increased.

No one cared about the difficulty, though. They were all too busy concentrating on where they had to place their hand or foot and generally having fun. Even if they were twisting their bodies around each other and amusing Kai in the process. As the game progressed, it was clear that Kai was enjoying watching his friends struggle with trying to clamber over each other in order to reach their next move.

Within the next five minutes of Jay joining in the game, though, Lloyd, who was reaching over Nya, miscalculated where he was going with his hand and managed to get not only himself out, but the water ninja as well. The movement caused him to fall to his knee, which forced his body down onto Nya and they both ended up on the mat. Now the hard part was getting off the mat without causing anyone else to tumble.

" You guys okay?" Cole asked with a strained voice as Kai struggled to keep his laughter locked away at the sight before him.

" We'll be fine." Nya replied. " Just… Zane are you able to lift up your leg so I can squeeze under?"

" I am afraid not, Nya." Zane apologised. " I fear if I do, it may cause me to lose balance and cause the rest of us to fall."

" It's okay." Lloyd spoke up. " I think maybe I can…"

Whatever Lloyd was trying to do to get himself and Nya out of the game clearly didn't work because, when he moved to try and slide out underneath everyone else, he ended up knocking into Cole, who knocked into Jay, who let out a surprised yelp as he tumbled over everyone else and effectively ended the game. Poor Kai couldn't get enough air into his lungs as he finally let loose the mighty guffaws that had engulfed him. And the fact that no one could get out of the ninja tangle that was the result of what had happened didn't seem to help the fire ninja.

" Okay, whoever's on top, get off!" Nya's voice growled from somewhere underneath the pile of boys.

" I think that's me." Jay replied, going to do what was asked and finding himself unable to. In his attempt, a titanium hand slipped over his shoulder. " Scratch that, I think it's Zane."

" My apologies." Zane muttered to those below him as he returned his hand to Jay's back in order to slide himself off the pile.

" Hey, I have an idea!" Lloyd's voice piped up. " Cole…"

" Don't you finish that sentence." Cole growled back, managing to take a swipe at Lloyd's side as he attempted to move. " If I use my super strength, I'll probably send you guys flying."

" Yeah, I don't like the sound of that." Jay admitted.

All the while, Kai was still trying to ignore the commentary and calm down his laughter. Sadly, it was failing. Whenever he thought he was going to be able to breathe again, someone would say something as they attempted to get off the ninja pile and he would start up again. Even when his sister growled at him to stop laughing, he couldn't stop until he was sure that all five of the tangled ninja were no longer piled up on the mat.

" Oh man, that was fun to watch." He said, laughter still managing to escape his lips.

" Yeah, well, that last part didn't feel fun." Lloyd shot back, stretching his back and receiving a few cracks for his efforts.

All other players immediately rounded on the green ninja. And the looks they were giving him sent him cowering slightly.

" Don't you talk. That pile up was your fault, Lloyd." Cole pointed out.

This time, the giggle that entered the room came from Lloyd. And it was quite a nervous one at that.

" So… what now?" Lloyd asked as a way of avoiding the embarrassment he was clearly feeling.

Unfortunately, the others could clearly see that embarrassment. And the smirks that slowly made themselves known on their faces was something that the Green ninja did not like the looks of. It was almost like the team had somehow formed a telepathic link against their leader… and that leader was worried for his life.

" I say we dogpile him." Cole suggested, clearly meaning Lloyd.

" Only, he's the one on the bottom." Nya confirmed.

" Get him for me!" Kai yelled, egging on whatever plan was chosen.

Lloyd's wide eyes met with the red ninja's. " Shouldn't you be helping me?"

" What, and miss the fun of watching? Nah."

" Some brother you are."

Zane lifted a hand to his chin, a surprisingly mischievous glint in his robotic eyes. " Personally, I thought that brothers were meant to tease younger siblings. It's part of the bond they share."

" Well, if that's the case, I've got the perfect game for him to play." Jay admitted, before his smile was replaced with a sheepish look. " Though, it also targets everyone else."

All eyes turned to Jay expectantly, Lloyd dreading what was to come. So the lightning ninja explained his 'Pop-A-Dare' game; pop a balloon that has a smiley face on it, do the dare that was inside and wait until it was your turn again. The saving grace was that each ninja only had to pop four balloons each… and the fact that Jay promised the dares weren't 'too evil'.

There just seemed to be one problem, as Zane pointed out. Jay had forgotten to mention what they were using to pop the balloons with.

" Gah! I knew there was something I was forgetting!" the lightning ninja exclaimed, moving to pull at his hair.

Nya hurried to intercept his hands from their path in an attempt to stop her boyfriend from going prematurely bald.

" We could use our powers." Kai suggested innocently.

" Yeah, and have you fry your dares and set the board the balloons are stuck to on fire?" Cole questioned despite not liking the idea of always getting a dare himself. " I'd rather take my chances with a shuriken or a kunai."

" Need I remind you, Cole, that kunai are not primary throwing weapons. They are primarily used for stabbing and thrusting." Zane pointed out.

" Then we use shuriken!" Jay exclaimed, giving a slight jump as he spoke. " Wait right here while I grab one."

Before anyone could stop him, Jay was once more making his way out of the lounge room, this time at a run towards the training room. All the others could do was watch him run off. After a few seconds, though, Kai turned to look over at the television set on the other side of the room.

" He does remember that we keep a set of shuriken, kunai, daggers and stuff in a chest behind the TV, right?" the fire master asked aloud.

" Judging by the fact that he ran off to the training room, I would say no." Cole replied.

" Should we get the chest out, then?" Lloyd asked, also looking at the television.

" Nah, Jay's got this." Kai smirked, relaxing further into the lounge.

Before anyone could question what the fire ninja meant, the sound of running feet echoed down the hallway once more. Turning to look out the door, the other ninja all noticed Jay making his way back to the lounge room. The only problem was, the lightning ninja had no shuriken on him. Though, it seemed Jay planned on remedying that by heading straight for the hidden chest behind the television.

" You totally forgot that was there, didn't you, Jay?" Kai asked smugly, even as Nya shook her head and the other boys sighed at their friend's fleeting memory.

" I said nothing." Jay mumbled, his head in the chest as he searched for the weapon he was seeking. " Aha, there you are!"

Carefully, Jay emerged from behind the television, one of the dragon patterned shuriken in his hand. With a smirk, he placed the weapon in Lloyd's hand and positioned him so that he was facing the balloon board. All Lloyd could do was look at the weapon, questioning why he had been handed the shuriken.

" Because it was your fault we all ended up in a tangle during Twister," the blue clad boy said dangerously, " you get the first turn. Agreed?"

" Agreed." The confirmation came from the other members of the dogpile, who all stepped away from Lloyd for fear of getting hurt.

Lloyd had no choice but to go on with the hidden torture that was a game of dares. Knowing his luck, he'd probably get the worst four dares that were in the balloons. And they were probably all something to do with Cole's cooking. At least Jay hadn't planned for any of the games to have blindfolds… at least that he knew of.

Taking a deep breath, he lined up the shuriken he held with one of the balloons and threw it. With a loud POP! the shuriken found its mark, the dare inside resting on the balloon below it. Cautiously, the green ninja walked up to the balloon board and picked up the slip of paper, praying that the dare written on it wasn't that bad.

Unfortunately, it was probably the worst one that could have been written. Just glancing at the last word of the dare made a stone drop in Lloyd's stomach. And actually reading that dare made that stone evolve into a boulder. Written on the slip of paper were the words 'drink something prepared by Cole'.

" Well, Lloyd? What'd you get?" Cole asked.

" Um… how are your mixer skills, Cole?" Lloyd replied nervously.

" Why?"

" Because I have to drink something that you have to prepare for me."

Cole beamed. Finally, he was able to enter the kitchen to make something after having been banned for a week if not more. He didn't care that it was for a dare, nor did he care that the other ninja were all wincing in sympathy for what Lloyd had to do. He just turned around and hurried out of the lounge room and into the kitchen to start preparing Lloyd's drink.

Meanwhile, Lloyd had to sit down in the nearest available seat. It was safe to say he was fearing for his life with what Cole could be planning. Already he could hear things crashing and clinking from the kitchen. Though, things started to get even more worrisome when the team heard the sound of the black ninja bashing something to death. And the fact that they could all hear Cole whistling as he worked made them all question his level of sanity.

Finally, after waiting what felt like an eternity of doom but was really only a few minutes, Cole returned to the lounge room. In his hand was a glass of blackish purple liquid that was fizzed up and sported a toothpick umbrella that Cole had found in the kitchen. Just the sight of the drink coming towards him made Lloyd fear what it was that his friend had concocted for him.

" Here you go, Lloyd." The Earth master said cheerfully, handing the drink to the clearly worried green ninja. " One Honey Myrtle Frizz, just for you."

Hesitantly, Lloyd took the glass, his eyes never leaving the dark liquid as it travelled closer to his lips. Cautiously, he looked up at Jay.

" Are you sure we can't pass up dares?" he asked, ignoring the frown that Cole was now giving him.

" No passes." Jay confirmed. " You have to do the dare."

Lloyd gulped. That meant there was only one thing he had to do. One thing he could do, really. He tossed his head back and chugged the drink, not noticing the wide-eyed look of concern that Cole's features had contorted themselves into.

The first thing he noticed was the taste. Whatever the drink was, it had a sweet taste to it. And the green ninja couldn't tell if that sweetness was from the honey, the myrtle berries or the lemonade he could clearly taste. Then there was a sudden rush of cold burning through him as the crushed ice in the drink made itself known. How he managed to put the glass down without breaking it was beyond him because he was sure both his hands had flown to his head at the pain.

" Oh no! Cole's poisoned Lloyd!" he could just hear Jay panic through the pounding of his head.

" What! No I didn't!" Cole defended. " He was the one who chugged it!"

" Lloyd, are you okay? Speak to me!" Kai tried to get through to his young friend.

" Brain freeze." Lloyd managed weakly.

" Press your tongue to the top of your mouth and blow warm air into your hands." Zane instructed upon hearing Lloyd's words.

Not knowing what else to do, Lloyd did as he was told. Even as the other ninja all turned to the birthday nindroid in slight confusion. They had heard of doing one or the other, but never both at the same time.

" Seeing as both options have the best outcomes when it comes to dealing with brain freezes, I figured that combining the two would be a more effective way of quickly dispelling the pain." Was the explanation they got.

No one was too sure if it would work or not, but, after a minute or two of doing what had been ordered, the pain in Lloyd's head seemed to dissipate and his brain started registering things again.

" So… how was it?" Nya asked once Lloyd had put his hands down.

" Before the brain freeze or after?" Lloyd replied, not so innocently smiling.

" What do you think, Lloyd?"

The smile on Lloyd's face widened slightly. " The drink was surprisingly sweet… before it tried to freeze my brain."

" See, I told you Cole was trying to kill Lloyd." Jay interrupted with a huff.

" Okay, two things, Lightning bug." Cole was practically growling at this point, and the look on his face clearly told everyone that he meant business. " One, I was not trying to kill anyone. It would just be rude to Zane to have his friends killing each other on his birthday. Besides, Lloyd was the one who chugged crushed ice down his throat. And two, this was your dare game, therefore it's your dare. I was just doing what the dare was telling me to do; prepare a drink."

" Actually…"

All eyes turned to Nya as her rather embarrassed tone echoed around the room. The awkward smile that was plastered on her face instantly told the boys that she played a part in that particular dare. And it scared them. Lloyd even looked back down at the sheet of paper he still had on him, and sure enough, he recognised the handwriting as that belonging to the water ninja and not her boyfriend.

At about the same time, the others seemed to realise what it was Nya had done. They didn't even look at each other or Lloyd to figure it out, either. Their eyes just went wide at the same time as they realised just how dark the devilish side of the water ninja was turning out to be… and that was just with one dare.

" Nya?" There was a slight quiver in Cole's voice, portraying his mixed emotions at the discovery.

" Yeah. I wrote that dare." The water ninja confirmed. " I was kinda hoping Kai would get it though."

" Me?!" Kai almost leapt off the lounge in shock.

" Did you really think I'd forget about what you did the other day? Before the crash?"

" Actually, I thought the crash was karma enough."

Nya could only shake her head at her brother, unable to get any more words out on the matter, before focussing her attention on Lloyd. " Be thankful it was one of Cole's drinks and not something that he's cooked."

" Hey!" Cole huffed, pride wounded once more.

" Yeah, why is that?" Jay asked, completely ignoring his best friend's outburst.

" I've found Cole's drinks are better than his cooking." Nya explained.

" Awe, thanks, Nya." Okay, so Cole's pride wasn't too bruised. And it showed with the smile he now wore.

Before the master of earth could step away, however, he found Lloyd pressing the shuriken into his hand. And that could only mean one thing. His turn was next. He didn't want to be next. There was no way to tell what other horrors lay within those smiling balloons of deception. And, to be completely honest, he was scared to find out what else Nya could have written on those little slips of paper that she had written on.

" Well, seeing as you all picked me to go first," Lloyd was saying, " I pick Cole to go next because I can't be bothered getting up just yet."

" Lazy!" Kai called back jokingly.

" Don't you start or I'm giving you the shuriken next." Cole reprimanded, accepting his fate and stepping a good distance in front of the balloon board.

Just like Lloyd before him, the master of earth took a deep breath, lined up the throwing star with one of the balloons, and let go of the weapon with a flick of his wrist. Seconds after the balloon popped, he was making his way to what he hoped was not his doom. It was funny, though. He had been frightened of a lot of things in his life; losing his mother, fearing his father would disown him, dragons, and water to name a few. But nothing scared him more (at that current moment) than picking up that little slip of paper and doing what it said.

He just never expected to get one of the dares he had written himself. And because of that, he couldn't stop the small burst of laughter that escaped him as he read 'eat something without using your hands'.

" What's so funny?" Lloyd asked.

" I managed to get one of my own dares." Cole explained.

Kai did not look impressed by that bit of information.

" Okay, who exactly did the dares?" He asked, eyeing the four ninja who had remained on the Bounty.

" I did, like, four of them." Cole admitted. " It was all I could think of."

" I think I managed either five or six." Nya added. " But Jay needed the help and Cole and I were between jobs."

All eyes turned to Jay, making him kick at the ground slightly thanks to his nerves. " I may or may not have added all of those ideas in with my own. But I did the majority."

" You really went all out, my friend." Zane smiled, placing a comforting hand on the blue ninja's shoulder.

" You deserve the best, Zane."

Rounds of agreement were echoed throughout the room… although Cole's reply was a bit muffled. That drew attention back to him where he was caught standing in front of a plate of mini sausages. One was missing.

Cole swallowed. " What? I never said what I had to eat, just that I had to eat without using hands, which I did."

" But how do we know you didn't use your hands while we weren't looking?" Zane asked with a slight smirk on his face.

With a shrug, Cole bent down over the table and carefully moved another sausage away from the others using only his mouth. Once the sausage was clear, he carefully picked it up with his teeth before tilting his head back to get a better grip as he ate. But even as he did that, Kai noticed that his eyes were travelling around the room, clearly deciding who to pick for the next dare. And, if he was being completely honest, he did not like the fact that Cole's eyes seemed to linger on him.

Sure enough, Cole ended up handing him the shuriken and Kai had to be the third person to resign himself to being dared by a smiling balloon. Though someone did have to collect the shuriken and the slip of paper for him. He chose Nya, who, with one look at what her brother had to do, burst into laughter.

When Kai was able to wrestle the paper from her, the colour drained from his face. He figured there were some terrible dares hidden within those deceptive balloons; the one Lloyd had first gotten being his first clue. He never expected something like this to appear, though.

" Well, Kai?" Nya asked, the devil's grin on her face. " Who do you choose?"

" For what?" Jay asked, not understand what his girlfriend meant.

Kai heaved a sigh before replying. " I have to let someone fix my hair the way they want. Worst of all, I have to leave it until the end of the game. Who wrote this dare?"

No one came forth, though, thanks to the glint in her eyes, Kai could only guess that it was his sister's dare. But the others also had intrigued expressions on their faces. And he knew from experience (Jay sneaking in to film him in the shower, among other times) that they all wanted to see what he looked like with his hair down. Because he knew, that was what was going to happen. Whoever he picked was going to attack his hair and mess up his 'do, just so they could appease their curiosity.

He did not like this dare one bit.

" Zane. Promise you'll be gentle." The fire ninja could not help sounding so dejected at the thought of losing his preciously spiked hairdo.

" Of course." Zane replied, a gentle smile on his face.

The next five minutes felt like agony for the injured teen. And this was despite the fact that Zane was being quite gentle in hand washing and brushing the gel from Kai's spikes. And even though his hair was styled so that it was off his face, it was clear that Kai had a decent head of hair on him. Even wet, Kai's hair was thick and sat just past his ears, it's length matching that of his hairline. And, despite being wet, it was clear that his hair had a natural wave to it.

The only one not shocked at the discovery was Nya who had seen her brother's hair like that on the odd occasion when they were younger. So she knew just how uncomfortable her brother now felt. Taking pity on her brother, she took the shuriken… only, she was not too pleased with the dare she got either.

She had to let all of the boys give her a makeover.

Lloyd clearly had no clue on what he was doing with hair and makeup, so he ended up just passing things to the others. Kai worked his magic by doing her hair for her (though he would never admit to the fact that he secretly missed doing this for her now that they had grown up) in a braid that started on one side of the head and finished over the other shoulder. Skylor had told him the name of the braid, but the only thing he remembered was that it started with a 'k'.

Zane was much like Lloyd in the sense that he was passing things to Cole and Jay. But he was also helping with tips that he found on the internet that would help accentuate Nya's natural look. As for Cole and Jay, they were doing surprisingly well with applying the makeup. The only reason that came to mind was that they had had to learn in order to perform in front of the camera, regardless of if that camera was linked to dancing or presenting.

The end result left Jay completely speechless as he had been kicked out of the room just before Nya's makeover was complete. In fact, he was so mind blown at his lover's beauty that he didn't register anything else after that. Zane ended up having his turn (which was to make up a story about the item on his right. That item turned out to be the shuriken he held) before anyone was able to snap the lightning master from his daydream.

When Jay finally registered the rest of the world, he noted that Zane was just finishing his little story. Although, when he got his own dare, he realised just how scary he had made some of the dares. He had to pull out his phone and send a blind text to a random number. That random number turned out to belong to his mother, who instantly rang him after receiving his text of gobbledygook. The other ninja almost couldn't contain their laughter as they watched the blue ninja struggle with trying to convince his mother that everything was fine.

A good fifteen minutes later (because the other ninja seemed to find watching Jay flap his arms around and get worked up over the phone call entertaining), the party was able to continue. And, as Pop-A-Dare continued, it seemed like Zane was getting all the easy dares like sing and act out the teapot song and make up a poem about your element. But no one could fault what seemed to be dares perfectly matched to the player when they all heard Zane's poem.

'Little shapes of white

Forming as I think of them

On my open palm'

When he heard that, Jay tasked himself with yet another mission; get Zane to compile an anthology of poems with him. It would probably be just for fun, but if the titanium ninja was willing, there could be a possibility that it could end up on bookshelves everywhere. Maybe. Oh, who was he kidding? The only copy would end up in Master Wu's private collection if not Zane's.

Though, Nya seemed to be a close second when it came to getting easy dares. Especially when she got dares like draw a picture with your feet and bite a lemon. What was even more surprising was that the foot art (as Jay started calling it) was relatively good. Admittedly, it was of a simple, wavy dress. But no one seemed to care. Especially when there weren't any rules on what could be drawn and what couldn't. It just proved that the water ninja was quite artistic.

But there were some dares that were complete doozies. Amongst other things, Kai had to take a photo of himself sticking a finger up his nose and post it to all his social media links. Of course, the captions all read that he was going to kill Jay, but his views seemed to skyrocket almost the second the image was up. Though it wouldn't be until later that night that the fire master would attempt to salvage his reputation and plan his revenge.

And aside from Jay finding out that Cole could give a mean massage, the master of earth had found himself dancing. Much to his chagrin. Even worse was the fact that his last dare had him belly dancing to a country song. It took Zane finding a country song on the internet for him to do the dance because no one had any country songs in their playlists. And then they all found out, Cole included, that the master of earth could not belly dance. It turned out to be one hilarious dare.

And yet, Cole wasn't the only one to dance. Jay had to make up the silliest dance he could think of. The best thing about that (at least in Jay's mind) was that all the moves he did left no trace to the fact that he could dance. That secret was kept well hidden amongst the chicken wing flaps and head shakes and octopus arms.

Poor Lloyd did not have any luck with the dares, though. Not only did he get a brain freeze drinking one of Cole's drinks, he also had to give Kai a foot massage… which he refused to do without gloves or a mask on. Pegs were not an option despite there being some in the laundry room. Kai wouldn't let him get one. But at least he made up for it in the 'Battle of the Oranges' game.

The rules of the game were simple; after placing the spoon handle in your mouth, you had to knock the orange off your opponent's spoon before they did the same to yours. The ninja just had to figure out how they were going to play tournament style with only six people. Zane proposed that they each got a number from one to six and then players three to six would roll a pair of die in order to see who they were going to go against. Players one and two would then fight it out in a round of 'rock, paper, clamp' to determine which group they would be paired off with.

Cole and Lloyd were handed numbers one and two respectively while Zane got number three, Kai got number four, Nya number five and Jay number six. Zane and Kai were the first to roll their die with Zane getting a higher number on his dice and thus moving him to the first pairing. Kai got stuck in the second pairing. When Nya and Jay rolled their die, it was revealed that Kai would be versing his sister. And after their round of 'rock, paper, clamp', Lloyd was placed with Zane and Jay while Cole was placed with the Smith siblings.

Just for good measure, the ever thoughtful nindroid got a piece of paper and marked everyone's positions so they would not be forgotten.

Despite all the preparations, nothing could get the competitive spirit soaring higher than finding out that the prize for winning the 'Battle of the Oranges' would be the second slice of cake. But that wasn't all, the second slice of cake would be extra big. Cole almost fell in love with the mental image of gaining one eighth of the cake he had gotten for his friend. Kai's eyes shone at the thought of preventing Cole from getting that extra large slice of cake. Lloyd seemed just as excited as Cole was at getting the cake but just as determined as Kai to stop Cole from getting it. Jay, Zane and Nya knew they were tasked with damage control.

The battles themselves were quite something. After epically losing to Zane after one calculated swing of his spoon, Jay admitted that he had never even heard of this game before let along played it. Lloyd laughed it off saying that the last time he had fought with oranges, it was back at Darkley's where he was literally throwing the oranges. Somehow, hearing that had caused Nya to lose her focus and Kai won the next round.

Of course, no one knew how Lloyd managed to beat Zane. It just kind of happened. Though both Jay and Nya suspected that Zane let Lloyd win. But nindroids never reveal their secrets, so it was never confirmed. Kai and Cole's battle, on the other hand, was pretty tough. There were times where one orange would look like it was going to fall but it would be saved at the last moment. And this was despite the fact that Kai was starting to feel uncomfortable thanks to the position he was sitting in.

In the end, Kai lost, leaving Cole and Lloyd to battle it out for the bigger slice of cake they both had their eyes on. And if Cole's fight with Kai was tough to watch, the fight with Lloyd was even tougher. Both had massive sweet tooths. Both wanted the extra big slice of cake for themselves. Both tried everything they could think of to throw their opponent off their game. But it was one slip in focus from Cole that left Lloyd taking hold of the prize.

" Okay, okay." Cole sighed as he placed his spoon on the table. " You win, Lloyd."

Lloyd couldn't stop grinning. He beat Cole… for cake. He could almost feel his inner child returning to the surface at the fact. And he was sure that the others had noticed. But as he looked around and noticed the amused smiles on his family's faces, he noticed that Jay was once more missing.

" Where's Jay gone this time?" He asked.

" Think about it, Lloyd. You can't have a prize like the second piece of cake without the cake present, now, can you?" Kai smirked, once more relaxing into the lounge.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Jay came in carrying a small yet elegant looking cake with a couple of candles placed neatly on the top. The cake was a round cake covered in white icing. Blue edible glitter shimmered along the sides while tiny, light blue snowflakes ringed the edge of the top. In the same light blue icing, in the centre of the ring, were the words 'Happy Birthday Zane'.

Lloyd and Cole quickly and carefully moved the main table of food out of the way and replaced it with a smaller, round table that had been hiding in the corner of the room. They placed the new table (which had already been dressed for the occasion with a clean tablecloth, a serving knife, paper plates and plastic spoons) in front of the lounge as Kai gingerly moved to make room for the birthday boy.

Of course, Zane worried a little about the way Kai was moving in case he ended up hurting himself even more, but Nya was there to make sure that he didn't worry on his birthday. Then again, as soon as Zane was seated at the table, Jay placed the cake in front of him and practically forced him not to worry about anything except having fun and enjoying the party. Even Kai gave him his signature cocky grin in an attempt to quell the worry they could all see bubbling just below the surface.

" Care to do the honours, Kai?" the blue ninja asked, motioning to the unlit candles.

" Certainly." The red ninja replied, still with a smirk.

With a click of his fingers, Kai lit his thumb on fire and used it like lighter to light the candles. Once the candles were lit, Lloyd flicked off the light. It wasn't long after that that the unique sound of his brothers and sister singing 'happy birthday' graced Zane's ears. They may not have been singing in tune, but at least they were singing in time and that is what made Zane smile. In fact, the entire party made Zane smile.

" Happy birthday to you!" the ninja finished rather loudly.

" Blow out the candles, Zane!" Came Lloyd's excited voice seconds later.

" And make a-" Cole started to say before being interrupted by Jay.

" Don't say that word!"

" Okay. I won't say that word. How about dream? Or prayer? Make a prayer!"

Not one to disappoint, Zane blew out the candles. But just before he did, he closed his eyes for a few seconds, sending a silent prayer to whoever was listening for a long reign of peace to wash over Ninjago. Of course, whether or not that prayer would be answered was yet to be seen. Yet Zane had a feeling that, even if trouble was around the corner, his friends would always be by his side to make sure nothing bad happened to each other.

The light was turned on quickly after the candles had been blown out, and the cake was cut and served. As promised, Lloyd got a bigger piece of cake than anyone else once Zane had his traditional first slice in hand. And, though the lemon chiffon flavour of the cake may not have been everyone's favourite, no one could deny that it was still good.

Not to mention the fact that Cole seemed to beam at the praise he got for sorting out the cake. Though that could also have been because no one had knocked him for managing to restrain himself from eating the cake before it was ready for the party. Then again, there was something about the gleam in Kai's eyes that clearly told the black ninja that he was holding back any smart remarks.

But even after the cake was finished and what was left put to one side for later, everyone seemed to relax. The party was coming to a close. And already things were being tidied (on Zane's insistence), from dirty dishes being stacked on the table to the games being put in their boxes or tidied into a pile for later clean up. Cole had even lowered the volume on the music.

Still there was something buzzing around in Jay's head. He just couldn't put a name to what it was, though. He knew it had something to do with the party, just what was it?

" Hey, guys. Do any of you want to play one last game?" He asked, looking around the room at his friends.

" What sort of game?" Zane asked, interest peaked.

" Well, I was kind of thinking 'Would You Rather'."

Kai shrugged his shoulders as the other ninja found themselves comfortable spots to sit. " Why not?" He said.

" I'm game." Cole added.

" Should be fun." Nya added.

Lloyd merely gave her a small, knowing smile before he said anything. " Just wait until you get a tough question. Remember, you can ask anything to anyone."

" I am channelling my inner Jay, here, Lloyd, and trying to be optimistic."

" Who should go first?" Zane asked.

The others looked between each other for a few seconds, silently asking the same thing. In each of their minds, there was only one person who could start the game. Especially given what day it was. Still, it was best to confirm with everyone else first before the decision was made.

" Why don't you start, Zane?" Cole offered. " It is your special day after all."

Zane was about to agree when Nya suddenly jumped up from her spot between the lounge and her boyfriend.

" Wait!" She cried. " I almost forgot."

The others sent curious and confused looks her way, not understanding the dilemma she had found herself in. Nya ignored them in favour of making her way over to the far side of the music station where the still covered bird cage waited. It was then that the other boys (minus Zane) realised what was going on. That was also when each one of those boys gained a slightly embarrassed look on their faces as they realised that they had almost forgotten the gift as well. Jay figured this was what had been nagging him.

" Here, Zane." Nya was saying as she brought the bird cage over to the birthday nindroid. " I'm sorry that it's not wrapped in birthday paper and that it doesn't have a card. I honestly ran out of hours to even think about one."

" Should have asked one of us." Kai coughed quietly into his hand to Jay, Cole and Lloyd who all nodded in agreement.

Nya glared at him for a brief second before returning focus to Zane. " I hope you like it. It's from all of us."

" Thank you, Nya." Zane smiled, placing a hand on the cage, ready to remove the cover. " Thank you, all of you."

It was almost like the entire room was holding its breath as Zane finally took off the covering from the cage. And, as the cloth came away from the bars, it was easy to see why. Resting on the perch in the cage was a metallic black bird with metallic gold beak and talons. The falcon. Its head was to its chest and its wings seemed to be drooping slightly, but it was thanks to that position that metallic blue feather tips were able to be seen on the wings and the tail. The same metallic blue was present on the bird's head in two thin lines from the top of its closed eyes down to its shoulders.

" The falcon." Was all Zane could get out at the sight of his old friend, and even then, he spoke in a whisper.

Almost as if he was in a dream, the titanium ninja slowly opened the cage and reached in to caress his old friend. Stroking his fingers against the falcon's chest, he noted that it had been remade with titanium as well. That's when he figured that Nya had managed to colour the various components that made the bird to give him back his original colouring.

But something felt wrong. Even with the tenderness he was exuding towards his friend, the falcon remained asleep. Usually, when he caressed his chest feathers while he rested, the falcon would wake and give a comforted cherup. Not this time. Worriedly, he looked up at Nya who merely smiled gently back at him.

" He hasn't been activated yet after being rebuilt." She explained. " Try running your hand along the blue stripes on his head."

Carefully, almost as if he were scared he'd hurt the bird, Zane trailed his hand along the blue lines on the falcon's head. It was a few seconds later that the falcon blinked its eyes open. But there was another noticeable difference to this new version of an old friend. The falcon's eyes were blue. The same blue as Zane's eyes. And when those blue eyes landed on Zane, the falcon instantly ruffled its wings and hopped onto Zane's awaiting arm where, once it was free of the cage, it danced… the very same dance that it had mimicked from Zane way back in front of the old Monastery before it burnt down.

" It is good to see you again, my friend." The titanium ninja smiled. He then turned back to face Nya. " How did you…?"

" It took a while, especially with everything that was going on," Nya admitted, " but after searching through the wreckage of the Destiny's Bounty, Pixal and I managed to find the falcon in our half. He was damaged, but with Pixal's memories of the falcon's schematics back when Morro's ghosts were around, we were able to build him a new body. Jay helped with some of the smaller wirings and that that neither of us were able to get to for one reason or another.

" You've noticed he's a little different than the previous times. The blue points that out. But that's because I… well, I hope that we've managed to combine all three previous forms. He's got a titanium body that's coloured like his original form, but he's also able to help a little more in battle if needed. The laser beams that were previously attached to his wings are now in his eyes, you can share sight with him like you used to be able to do, and this time he's able to slice through objects with his wings hence why the lasers are now in the eyes. Not to mention the beak and talons are a lot sharper than they've ever been." Nya suddenly gained a sheepish look to her features. " Though, uh… I hope you don't mind that I've remotely added the connecting programmes into you via system updates. They should help the two of you find each other and connect your vision, etc."

Zane remained silent throughout the entire time Nya was explaining all of this, occasionally nodding his head as he took in what was said. And he understood why she would hide these new programmes in with his usual system updates, especially seeing that all of this was a surprise, but he would have liked to know what was going into his system. And the water ninja had protected the files well from his detection. It was only when the falcon had been activated that the files themselves were opened and the codes accessible.

Even so, Nya must have noticed the slightly betrayed look in his eyes.

" We can have a look at the programmes later if you want." She offered, still feeling a little guilty about having had implanted the programmes into her friend without his knowing.

" Perhaps that would be a good idea. Even if it is to make sure the falcon is functioning properly now that he is awake." Zane smiled, somehow knowing just what Nya needed to hear.

The falcon itself seemed to agree with the plan, looking straight at the water ninja and lowering its head to her after sending her a couple of soft caws. But then it turned its gaze on those sitting around Zane, trying to figure out where it was and what everyone was doing.

" If you wish to explore, you can." Zane said to his falcon " However, we are currently on a mission despite the party that resides around us."

With a soft nuzzle to Zane's cheek, the falcon took flight. Though it only went as far as to land on the back of the lounge. It was clear from that motion alone that it did not wish to have Zane leave it's sight. Though, with the fierce glare that it was giving the bird cage it had previously been in, it was not a fan of the cage. To be honest, no one could blame it.

Zane moved the cage out of the falcon's sight before turning back to his fellow clansmen. " Shall we continue on with the game?" He asked.

No one could help the massive grins from spreading onto their faces at the ice ninja's words. And that was enough of an answer for him as well. After a few seconds spent thinking up a descent 'would you rather' question, Zane fixed his gaze on Kai and the game began.

" Would you rather work at the Four Weapons and learn from your father or work at the monastery forge with the knowledge you have already ascertained, Kai?"

---

Jay lay awake, the questions and answers from their game of 'would you rather' still buzzing around in his head. Right from the word go, Zane had started asking the tough questions. Kai had really had to think on his answer about the forges. On one hand, he had muttered aloud, being able to learn secrets from his father was tempting, but ultimately the fire ninja had found that he would much rather work where he was needed most. And that happened to be at the monastery.

Cole wasn't much better at the start of the game. The first question he had asked had been directed at Nya and went all the way back to the love triangle thing that had been going on between the three of them. 'Would you rather cut a blue wire or a black wire to stop a machine'? Yeah, Boulderbrain really should have expected the explosion that came with ripping open that old wound. Somehow, though, Jay got the feeling that the answer Nya gave had nothing to do with the wire that was cut all those years ago.

Surprisingly, it had been with Nya that the more stupid questions started to make their appearance. To be honest, it was only expected that Lloyd got asked an animal question. But it was the answer that Nya got that surprised them all. Apparently, the green ninja would choose a demonic cat over an angelic dog any day. Whether or not the others should be concerned about that discovery was another story.

Then there was the fact that Jay was sure that half the team nearly died of embarrassment when Cole had asked him if he would rather an expensive wedding or a simple wedding. The blue ninja could understand why Nya suddenly got embarrassed over the question despite it not being directed towards her. Jay had promised himself to her after all. As for Kai getting all flustered… Jay really thought that his friend was okay with him dating his sister by now.

Of course, Jay had to get even for that one. And the best way to get that was to ask Cole if he would rather kiss a boy or a girl. Not only did Cole's face go the same colour as Kai's gi, but it also sent the earth master floundering for an answer. Somehow, through the commotion that was having to explain preferences to Zane (who, despite everything, still had some learning to do of the modern world), Cole managed to avoid giving an actual answer… which Jay only just realised now that the day was over and everyone was either in bed or else still getting ready for bed.

The falcon even tried to join in the game sometime after Zane had asked his third question, calling out a couple of times when it was the nindroid's turn, as if to ask a question itself. And because Zane could understand it, he ended up asking the question for it. Thanks to the falcon, Cole found himself being asked if he would rather squirrels or chickens.

How the falcon knew about Wu's chicken was beyond any of them, but they were all mostly confused about why a squirrel was mentioned. The master of earth could only assume that the falcon had been watching him while he was working as a lumberjack. That was when the other ninja learnt that Cole had a soft spot for squirrels.

Looking back, they had a pretty intense game of 'would you rather' going at the end of the party. By the time the party actually finished, the sun had begun to set, meaning the trip to the Straflodge Ranges would have to resume come first light.

They all learnt that Kai would prefer 'death by surfing' (as he put it) over snorkelling, and that Nya would rather ride a horse than a walliper. Jay's best answer had to have been riding on the back of a dragon as opposed to riding in a jet (though riding in a jet was pretty cool, too. Anything to be up in the air, to be honest). Zane would much rather build ice sculptures over building snowmen purely and simply because he could understand ice a lot better than snow. Surprisingly, though, both Cole and Lloyd would much rather spend time outdoors rather than indoors (be it doing outside sport or just revelling in the serenity; they had been asked two different questions with the same basis).

But even as he thought about it, there was just one question Jay would not ask during the game. And this was despite the fact that the question was one of the first that jumped into his head as soon as 'would you rather' was suggested as being one of the games played at the party. For some reason, asking it out in the lounge room just didn't feel right, despite all the embarrassment that Cole had been putting him through.

" Everything alright, Jay?" Cole's voice penetrated Jay's thoughts as he entered the room after he was done with the shower.

Jay had forgotten that Cole was the last in the shower that night. He had been the first out of the boys to shower after Nya was done and so had been consumed by his thoughts quite early on. He hadn't even noticed when Kai, Lloyd and Zane had come into the room and gone to sleep. So it came to reason that he started so badly he swore he would have been able to touch the wooden boards above his head.

" Everything's fine. Of course everything's fine. Why would they not be fine?" He found himself jabbering.

" Maybe because you're starting to freak out over a simple question, you're lying on top of your bed not in your bed, and you have your thinking face on."

" I have a thinking face?"

" Yes you do. You tend to stare into nothingness and you frown slightly… which, by the way, is not a good look on you."

" Oh."

" So what's the problem?" Cole asked as he took a seat beside Jay on the edge of his bed.

Jay shifted a little so that he was sitting up and facing his best friend. Now would be the perfect time to ask his question. But would he be able to handle the answer? That is, if he even got an answer. Cole was just as likely to clam up as he was to talk when it came to sensitive things like the question that was plaguing his friend's mind.

The earth master, on the other hand, waited patiently for whatever Jay had on his mind to come out. Judging by the look on his friend's face, it was a tough topic. But the party had been a success. Zane loved everything about it, from the decorations to the cake. And he was extremely thankful to all of them, especially Jay, for arranging it all. So what had Jay worked himself up about now?

" You know you can talk to me, Jay." He prodded gently after a minute or two of silence.

" Yeah, I do." Jay admitted, still trying to work himself up to ask the question.

" Then what's on your mind? Did something go wrong with the party?"

" No, no. Despite everything that happened before it started, the party went well. It's just…"

" Just what?"

Jay heaved a sigh. It was now or never.

" I have this question… that I was going to ask during 'would you rather'. But I never got around to asking it. For some reason, it just didn't want to come out." He started. No going back now.

" Has it been on your mind all this time?" Cole asked gently.

" Yeah. It's… actually a question for you."

Cole waited, tilting his head slightly and scrunching his eyebrows down to show that his interest had been piqued. Still, he waited in silence for what was to come.

" I know it's been a while since it happened but… would you rather be a ghost or a human?" the blue ninja finally managed to get out.

The surprise on Cole's face appeared instantly. Here he was thinking that Jay's troubles were caused by something from the party. He never expected that his time as a cursed ghost had affected his best friend so much that he was still thinking about it years after his close call return. But just when Jay was about to go off on one of his rants claiming that the thought was stupid and that he really shouldn't be doubting his friend like he thought he was, a smile broke across Cole's face.

" I have asked myself that same question." The black ninja admitted.

That stopped any panic from escaping Jay.

" You have?" he asked, a slight wobble in his voice.

" Heck yeah. It was a constant thought while I was getting used to being human again. And I'm telling you, I would much prefer to be human over a ghost."

" Really?"

" Yeah. I mean, sure being a ghost gives you pretty cool powers like being able to possess things and fly (float?) by yourself and you're incorporeal so things pretty much went straight through you… if you weren't going through them. Not to mention being invisible was pretty cool.

" But being human? You can touch things and actually feel them. You're not in constant fear of any and all liquids. And, although I feel for Zane being in a pretty much ageless body, I'd much rather grow up alongside my friends than watch my friends grow older and eventually die, leaving me to be forgotten and left to scare anyone I tried to befriend."

Cole looked away as he finished his comparisons. " That's what made my decision for me. The feeling of being forgotten scared me the most. I guess I can understand where Yang was coming from in that respect. But yeah, I'd much rather be human than be a ghost. I wouldn't be able to dunk Kai in the pool. And if you think I'm bad as a human with my food cravings, as a ghost I was perpetually hungry. I had to physically stop myself from eating because the food was almost going right through me. And I actually like being full sometimes. It helps you savour the flavours that ghosts can't taste… which is to say, ghosts can't taste anything."

" So if you'd have stayed a ghost we would not have been able to stop you from eating?" The question flew out of Jay's mouth before he had even realised he had said it.

" Probably not."

" Well, for the sake of being able to eat, I'm glad you're human again."

It was meant as a joke, and Cole clearly understood that. But he could not help act as if he was offended by that statement. In fact, the two bantered quietly back and forth for a short time over Cole no longer being a ghost… that is, until Kai woke up. And when an injured Kai (or any Kai, to be honest) is woken from his sleep, he usually wakes up with a growl. The lightning and earth masters were lucky that their fiery friend only threw a pillow in their direction.

But the two quietened down after that, Cole even sending the pillow back towards the still grumbling fire master. What Kai didn't realise was that he had succeeded in changing the topic to what Jay planned on doing for his birthday. Especially seeing as Cole had a feeling that Jay was going to get payback on Kai for his earlier comment about his craziness. The planning for that party lasted a good fifteen minutes and only ended when Kai's earlier blunder was mentioned.

" What are you going to do to him?" Cole asked quietly.

" Not sure yet. Probably something embarrassing." Jay replied smugly.

" Well, warn me before you start because I want to be well away from him when he explodes."

" But then you'll miss out on all the fun."

" I'm sure you'll video tape it. If not you, Lloyd will."

" Speaking of Lloyd, his birthday's coming up. What are we going to do for him?" Jay asked seconds before a massive yawn threatened to split his face in two.

Cole had to hide his own yawn before giving a small smile. " Let's just get through this mission first. It's reconnaissance and you know that won't take two months to complete. We'll have plenty of time to plan for the Greenbean's birthday later. Right now, we should get some sleep before tomorrow comes around. Night Jay."

" Night Cole."

With that said, the earth ninja got to his feet and crossed the room to his own bed. This left Jay to turn out the lamp that hung by his bed and get under the covers himself. There was just one thing on Jay's mind as he closed his eyes, though. Planning for Lloyd's birthday was just as hard as planning for Zane's… and not because the kid's birthday kept on getting interrupted by more important events like Zane's did.

Lloyd hated his birthday. No one knew why he hated it so much, but he would often disappear on the day. Because of this, Jay knew that the real challenge would be to give Lloyd the birthday he deserved without him knowing that something was happening. And that meant that Lloyd was going to have to have a surprise party.

But how to differ Lloyd's surprise party from Zane's?