Fortune | A NINJAGO AU

Chapter 3: The Jet

NYA'S POV

He tilts his head to the side, confused. "You guys are coming to the Garmadon Estate."

"What?!" Kai and I both scream. The boy in black takes a few steps backward.

"Hold on." He furrows his eyebrows and closes his eyes. "Don't you guys know about the Garmadons?"

"No, we know about it." I shake my head. 

Kai lets out a weird little snort. Everyone knows. The Garmadons had gone missing a few years ago. Everywhere you looked, there was a group of people talking about it in hushed whispers. Every newspaper had article upon article written about the subject. There were interviews with acquaintances of Garmadon who were clearly trying to squeeze as much fame and money out of a dead family as possible. 

Garmadon was the first to disappear. His disappearance was followed by his wife's, and the fortune was passed down to their six year old son. After he spent a significant chunk of money on candy and Starfarer comic books, he went missing. The thing that sends chills down my spine whenever I think about it, however, is the fact that there was not a single clue that led to answers. People knew the when, but not the who, what, why, or how. After the fortune and land was tossed around a bit, the Garmadon's only living relative- his brother- was found.

"Okay, that's good," he says, his body relaxing. "Less explaining to do."

"No!" Kai yells, waving his clenched fists in the air in exasperation. "There is so much explaining to do! Who the heck are you? Why are you here?"

The intruder yanks off his black cloth mask, revealing a mop of thick black hair that hangs over his eyes. His features are sharp and defined, but his smile is soft and lopsided. It's slightly off-putting how a smile that friendly and genuine can belong to a being with such a terrifying figure. 

He has one of those faces that you would immediately trust without knowing why. "The name's Cole. And, in case you weren't listening, I'm supposed to bring you to the Garmadon Estate."

Kai relaxes a little after his questions are answered, his shoulders sloping down from their harsh right angles.

"What's with the costume?" I blurt, scanning him up and down. He's dressed in multiple layers of loose black fabric, and the lower part of it is soaked in ice water.

"It's a gi. There were a bunch of them in our closets, so we're wearing them while the fancy people sew our clothes." Cole does a little spin to display the entire outfit. "It's surprisingly comfy."

"We? There are more of you?" Kai raises a brow.

Cole nods his head. "There's Zaptrap, Tin-can, and then there's me," he lists. Then he makes slight jazz hands and says 'Tada!'. 

My ears prick up at the strange names he's given them. There's no way that any mother would name their child like that. It's not like I'm one to talk, though. My name is the Japanese word for the sound that cats make. It's actually really annoying when I'm introducing myself- Especially when it comes to teenage boys who watch anime.

"Are those codenames?" I tilt my head to the side.

Cole lets out a little laugh. "Nah. I just gave 'em all nicknames. They don't like them that much, so I call them those names often." Cole grins. "They can introduce themselves for real when we get to the Garmadon Estate."

"That's the thing you should probably explain," I sigh. "What do the Garmadons have to do with us?" 

I'm kind of hoping he'll tell us that we're some kind of missing puzzle piece. That we have some obscure secret that can solve the mystery behind the Garmadons' disappearance. That would definitely attract attention which we could easily direct at our shop. That means more customers come, Kai gets too busy and realizes he needs help, and then the money rolls in.