The couch was still warm from Jinx's dramatic sprawl across Cole when Kai clapped his hands and grinned.
"Alright, enough cuddling—let's play Truth or Dare!"
Jay groaned. "Oh great. This is how we all end up revealing our darkest secrets or eating hot sauce off Lloyd's sock again."
Lloyd looked genuinely alarmed. "Again?"
Jinx slid down off Cole's lap like silk unspooling and took the open space on the rug, cross-legged, licking his popsicle with devilish glee. "Ooooh, yes. This is about to be delicious."
Wu tried to sneak out the door.
Kai caught him. "Nope! Sensei stays. You got us into this chaos—mandatory means mandatory."
Wu gave the most dramatic sigh in recorded history but sat beside Zane.
Kai spun an empty soda can in the center of the group. It clicked around before slowing… and landing on Jay.
"Of course it's me," Jay muttered, tugging his hoodie tighter. "Fine. Hit me."
Kai grinned. "Truth or Dare?"
Jay hesitated. Then squinted at Jinx, who was twirling his finger like a wand and definitely planning something unholy.
"…Truth."
Jinx pouted. "Coward."
Kai rubbed his hands. "Alright. What's your biggest on-set crush, real names only."
Jay turned crimson immediately.
"You're kidding me," he groaned. "That's not even fair."
Everyone leaned in.
Jay covered his face. "Fine! It's—it's Elise! She plays the makeup girl for Nya's double! She smells like vanilla and rage, okay?!"
Nya fist-pumped. "Yesss, I knew it!"
The can spun again, this time landing on Cole.
He blinked, still red from earlier.
"Truth or dare?" Jinx asked sweetly, fluttering his lashes.
Cole glared. "Truth. And don't you say anything wild."
Jinx leaned in. "Have you ever fantasized about kissing anyone from the cast?"
Cole's face erupted into red so deep it could've been mistaken for a sunburn.
Kai whooped. "Oh hoh hoh! He totally has!"
Jay pointed. "It's so Jinx. Look at him. He's sitting there like a sexy spider queen!"
Cole mumbled something under his breath.
"What was that?" Jinx purred.
"…You, alright? It was you," Cole muttered, eyes down.
Everyone: "OOOOOOHHHH!!!"
Jinx grinned like the cat who not only caught the canary but inherited its estate. "Well. That's very forward of you, sweet thing."
Cole groaned and shoved a pillow over his face. "I hate this game."
Next spin: Jinx.
"Oh no," Zane said softly.
Kai cracked his knuckles. "Alright, Jinx. Truth or dare?"
Jinx smirked, eyes flashing with chaos. "Dare. Obviously."
Kai grinned. "I dare you to call the director and ask if we can rewrite the script so you and Cole have a kiss scene next episode."
Cole almost passed out.
Without hesitation, Jinx pulled out his phone. "Speaker on or off?"
The room went quiet. So quiet that the hum of the fridge in the kitchenette became a full-blown ambient track. Jinx, completely unfazed by the collective stare of six ninja, one mentor, and the ghost of everyone's dignity, scrolled through his contacts until he reached one labeled "THE BOSS."
Kai's grin faltered. "Wait—you're really going to—?"
"Shhh," Jinx purred. "It's ringing."
Cole attempted to bury himself into the couch. Jay whispered, "Bro's about to develop fight-or-flight trauma from this."
Jinx stood dramatically in the center of the group as the call picked up on speaker.
Director (sleepy and confused): "Jinx? It's nine-thirty. Why are you calling me during my oat bath?"
Jinx didn't even blink. "Quick pitch: romantic tension arc. Episode twenty-three. Me and Cole. It's storming. I'm injured. He's bandaging me. There's a pause... and then—boom. Kiss scene."
A pause.
Then the director said slowly, "…Did Kai put you up to this?"
Kai burst into laughter in the background, nearly choking on a Skittle.
Jinx clicked his tongue. "Would I lie about artistic integrity? Come on, boss. We owe it to the fans. Hashtag 'CoalJinx' is trending and we both know it."
The director sighed. "You are—alarmingly convincing. Tell you what: pitch it again in the morning when I'm not covered in lavender oats."
Click. End call.
Jay looked between Cole and Jinx. "If that actually makes it into the script, I'm legally retiring."
Cole tried to recover his soul. "I hate everything."
"Love you too, muffin," Jinx said, winking.
The soda can spun again.
Wu.
All heads turned slowly toward their ancient, tea-drinking, staff-wielding mentor, who looked like he'd rather be in a volcano.
Jay immediately grinned. "Ohoho! Truth or dare, Sensei?"
Wu sighed, the weight of multiple lifetimes resting on his shoulders. "…Dare."
Everyone cheered.
Kai clapped. "Okay! I dare you to do a TikTok dance. Right here. Right now. Bonus points if you dab at the end."
Wu stood up in grim silence. For a moment, everyone assumed he'd walk away, or throw his tea at them.
Instead, Wu stretched his arms once, cracked his neck—and launched into a shockingly smooth rendition of the Renegade.
Jay dropped his drink. Zane froze. Lloyd gaped. Jinx's mouth opened just slightly in genuine awe.
"IS HE HITTING EVERY BEAT?!" Kai cried.
Wu dabbed at the end.
Cole whispered, "I am no longer the strongest man in this room."
Wu sat back down, calmly sipped his tea, and said, "I was trained by monks... and Gen Z."
Nobody spoke for a full thirty seconds.
Then: "Zane," Jay said. "Spin it."
The can turned and clicked.
Zane.
Jay grinned. "Truth or dare, robo-bro?"
Zane's head tilted. "Truth."
"Alright," Kai said, leaning forward. "What's something you've never told anyone here?"
Zane hesitated.
He didn't glitch, didn't freeze—he simply paused, processing.
Then he said, quietly: "I had my memory wiped twice after joining this cast. Once... to forget someone I loved."
The room went still again, this time in a completely different way.
Zane looked up at them with his calm, porcelain-smooth expression, but his eyes shimmered faintly.
"I was worried it would affect my programming. Affect how I acted in scenes. The emotional continuity. I requested the reset myself."
Lloyd whispered, "Zane…"
Jinx gently moved beside him. "Do you remember anything about them?"
Zane looked down at his hands. "Only the color blue. Not even the name."
Jay was visibly emotional. "Zane, dude…"
Cole clapped a strong hand on his shoulder. "You're still you, man. No matter what got reset."
Zane nodded. "I know. But sometimes… I wonder if they were in the cast. Or in the crew. Or someone who left."
The soda can lay forgotten. The game, for the moment, had dissolved into something heavier, but also more meaningful.
Jay wiped at his eyes. "Man. How do we go from Jinx licking Cole's ear to this?"
"Balance," Wu said softly. "Ninjago is always about balance."
Jinx sighed, plopped his head on Zane's shoulder gently. "I was planning to dare you to make out with a tree. But this was... better."
Zane smiled slightly. "Thank you."
Cole looked around, cheeks still pink, and mumbled, "Alright. Who's spinning next?"
Jinx's eyes sparkled again.
"Oh, I'm definitely not done."
The circle had settled again, the air a little heavier from Zane's truth, but warm. The cast sat scattered on the floor, some on beanbags, others on pillows, one very traumatized Kai half-curled around a Skittle bowl he no longer had the will to eat from.
Jinx, having draped himself dramatically over the sofa like a painting muse with emotional range, tapped the soda can with a well-manicured finger.
"Next round," he purred.
The can spun, metal humming against tile, and finally pointed to…
Lloyd.
Jay threw his hands up. "Finally! Baby ninja speaks!"
"I'm not a baby," Lloyd grumbled, tugging his hoodie higher over his face.
"Sure, sure," Kai teased. "Now pick: Truth? Or Dare?"
Lloyd fidgeted, then looked up—eyes determined. "Truth."
"Ohohoho," Jinx whispered dramatically. "Excellent."
Kai cracked his knuckles. "Alright, Golden Boy. Who's your crush?"
Lloyd's soul briefly left his body.
Jay snorted. "Dude, if you say 'Destiny,' I'm kicking you."
Lloyd turned red. Deep red. Tomato red. He looked down at his lap. "It's... it's Lily."
The silence was deafening.
Jay blinked. "Wait, my Lily? My little sister?"
Zane looked at Jay, concerned. "Are you about to activate a protective older brother protocol?"
Jay squawked, hands flailing. "YES. WHAT DO YOU MEAN LILY?!"
Cole whistled. "Bold move, Lloyd."
Kai muttered, "Honestly, I saw it coming. They had that whole scene during the charity PSA episode where he caught her from falling and then they like—locked eyes for like three seconds too long."
Jinx, meanwhile, was utterly unbothered, tossing a piece of popcorn into his mouth.
Jay turned on him. "Dude?! He said your little sister too! You're not gonna—?!"
Jinx waved him off. "Relax, he's cute. And it makes sense. I brought Lloyd over all the time before filming to build chemistry for his 'young misunderstood prince' arc."
Lloyd nodded. "You really did."
Jay blinked. "You brought him over?! Repeatedly?!"
Jinx continued, sipping from his cup, "Of course. Same thing I do with Aaron, remember? He needs to bond with me so I can play 'soul mentor who dies tragically' in Season 9."
Cole made a face. "Wait, we kill you in Season 9?"
"Allegedly," Jinx replied, already bored. "Anyway—Lloyd's crush? Not shocking. Especially not when he kept asking for Lily to be in the cast. And not just in the cast—main character level."
Everyone turned to Lloyd again, who was trying to make himself one with the beanbag.
Jay pointed. "Okay, I'm gonna be mad now."
"Too late," Jinx said, checking his phone. "Also—fun fact—I already talked to the director about this."
Kai choked. "You what?"
"Yeah, a few weeks ago. Told him to give Lloyd and Lily a background arc for chemistry buildup. But the director asked me to wait a few seasons. Apparently we're doing a weird 'half-canon half-filler' season after Season 5, and they still haven't told me what that even means."
Zane raised a hand. "How is it that you, the person who leaks nothing, knows everything?"
Jinx grinned. "I have a network of interns."
Jay was still reeling. "My little sister?! With Lloyd?!"
Cole smirked. "Honestly man, between Jinx licking ears and Wu dabbing, this is the least weird part of the night."
Jay sighed. "Okay but if he breaks her heart I'm making him drink one of Kai's protein shakes."
"Hey!" Kai shouted.
Lloyd raised a hand. "That's fair."
Jinx snorted. "Cute. Young love. Alright, who's next?"
Jay glared. "Me. I need revenge."
Jinx grinned like a cat with a canary. "Perfect. Truth or Dare, Sparkplug?"
Jay narrowed his eyes. "Dare."
Jinx's smile widened.
"Alright then. I dare you... to let Cole and me dress you in full goth makeup and do a dramatic reading of your Season 2 'I'll never be good enough' monologue... to the mirror."
Jay turned pale.
"Wh—WHY?!"
"Because you dared to be born dramatic," Jinx declared.
"Ugh, fine!"
As Jay got up and everyone started moving toward the dressing room for phase two of humiliation, Lloyd leaned over to Jinx.
"Hey… thanks."
Jinx arched a brow. "For what?"
Lloyd smiled. "For not making a big deal out of the Lily thing."
Jinx shrugged with a soft smirk. "It's nice seeing you smile. Just... treat her right."
Lloyd nodded. "I will."
Jinx patted his head. "Good. Now help me find my eyeliner. Jay's about to become the Queen of Darkness."