1direction buys zane

v. fire meets an immovable object

Finding 1direction turned out to be a harder task than Kai had originally anticipated, but after ending up at four different warehouses when asking passersby for directions (all four belonging to the 1direction moving company, which was not what he had intended but in hindsight, should have clarified he meant the boy band.)

Kai finally found his way onto 1direction's temporary lot. 

He was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people and the size that accompanied them. People bustled to-and-fro, sporting vast amounts of costumes or makeup or shouting orders through a megaphone, but despite all of this there was no sign of his metallic friend, nor was there any sign of any of the other band members on the various billboards he had scouted out across the city. The team had been lucky to spot the one with Zane on it, as there were only three erected in the city. Advertising the "New and Improved Zane". Apparently, their last Zane had left and in their desperate haste to replace him had bought his friend instead. (At least, according to his phone call with cole and jay who were currently on their way to the lot.)

From his brief research (which he had been able to do in the time it took to get here), Kai had learned about 1direction's dedicated fanbase, about their manager freddy highmore, and about all of the legal drama that was likely going to be involved when they tried to pull Zane out of this.

 Kai stepped forward, swerving to avoid people, but accidentally stepped into the path of a bustling intern sporting two cups of coffee. The boy squawked, stumbling backward, coffee arcing across the distance between them to splash across the concrete and the front of Kai's shirt. It was scalding, but he only winced slightly. He had had his fair share of fire burns and wasn't super affected by it, what he was affected by was the boy who was now frantically rushing towards him.

"Oh my gods! I'm so sorry!" His voice rang out above the bustle behind the pair, and he had an accent kai couldn't place. Clearly, he wasn't from around here, an exchange student maybe? Kai took a moment to assess the damage to his shirt, frowning softly at the stain.

"It's fine, an accident. My fault really, I shouldn't have stepped in front of you." Kai appeased, holding his hands in front of him, in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. The boy didn't seem to believe him. "Really? I am so sorry. Oh, freddy's going to kill me." he groaned, mostly to himself.

"Freddy? As in Freddy Highmore?"

"Shh!" the boy frantically lurched towards Kai, slapping his hands across his mouth. "Don't say his full name or you'll summon him." Kai blinked a couple of times before he murmured his acceptance. Only then did the boy step back, satiated. 

"Could you lead me to him?" The boy blinked, wariness flashing in his green eyes. "I don't know.." he skeptically ran a hand through his auburn hair and blew out a nervous breath. "If you won't tell him I spilled his coffee all over you, I'll lead you to him." he decided, throwing out his hand for a handshake. Kai clasped it eagerly.

"I'm Kai, by the way." The boy began gathering himself and then nodded towards a pair of large metal doors on the opposite building. "Hiccup. It's nice to meet you Kai. Thanks for not blowing up on me, a normal guy would have." Kai shook his head. "It's just coffee. I've had worse thrown on me." He shuddered. Much worse. Hiccup chose not to comment on that and continued his limping pace towards the double doors, with Kai close behind. "What're you doing fetching coffee for Freddy anyway? Are you an intern?"

"Not exactly, I wasn't supposed to be anyway. I'm an engineering student, but my professor who was supposed to come with me got ill before I flew over here, and Freddy offered to take me in so I didn't have to fly home. Now he uses me as a busboy. I'm supposed to be studying structural integrity and the architecture of Ninjago, but instead, I get to run coffee errands." Kai made a sympathetic noise. "That sucks." Hiccup shrugged. "It could be worse." Kai nodded his agreement, and the pair entered through the metal doors and into a well-lit, mostly empty hallway.

 "It's just down here, three doors on the right and we'll enter a staging area. He should be down there running over scripts and last-minute things for tonight's performance."

"Tonight's performance?"

"Yeah, tonight is 1direction's first show in Ninjago city." Hiccup spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, Kai hadn't thought to check ticket dates.

"Will Zane be there?"

"The metal one? Sure. He's a part of the band, isn't he? They'll all be performing tonight."

Kai didn't elaborate, and Hiccup didn't press, although he was vaguely curious as to why this stranger was so interested in the new band member. They wandered through the door and entered a darker area, a stage was set in the center but there was nobody on it besides a few workers setting up mics and speakers. Freddy was talking with a couple of people Kai didn't recognize, but he noticed that the manager glanced in their direction when they entered. Just before they got to the group, freddy dismissed those in front of him. He rounded on the pair in an instant.

"Where have you been? You were supposed to have been here with my coffee five minutes ago!" He jabbed a finger at hiccup's chest and impatiently tapped his foot. Hiccup grimaced as he explained the past few minutes and then gestured towards Kai, who stepped forward helpfully.

"And what do you want? Can't you see I'm very busy preparing for tonight's performance?"

"That's exactly what I'm here to talk to you about. I'm here about Zane." Freddy paused, cocking his head softly. "My performer?" he pondered this a moment and then cast his glance to hiccup, who was trying not to look like he was eavesdropping. "You may go now, haddock." Hiccup merely dipped his head and then shuffled off, looking embarrassed. Kai made a mental note to thank him later. 

"Yes, your... Performer.." Kai felt himself scowl. "He's my friend, and I'm afraid there's been some mix-up, Zane wasn't theirs to sell." Freddy merely stared at him. "He was, actually, they showed me the papers that were forged when he was made, I now own those papers and therefore he is now ours. He belongs to 1direction." Kai shook his head. "You're telling me you don't see anything wrong with this? Zane isn't just a robot with no conscience he's a sentient being... You're talking about him as if he's just a couch you can throw out when it gets old or breaks." Freddy shrugged. "I don't care if he's sentient or not, and it doesn't matter if I have a problem with it. He's an investment, an investment 1direction paid a pretty penny for. Unless you can show me some kind of proof that you should get ownership rather than me, I suggest you get off my lot and out of my face." Kai shook his head angrily. "He's a ninja! He has a duty to the city and to us. As an elemental ninja, his priority is to Ninjago, not to some boy band."

"Not anymore he's not. He's a performer now, and has been for the past couple of weeks." Kai blew out a frustrated breath, but Freddy seemed unamused. "Are you done lecturing me about my morality? I wish it weren't this way, kid, but I have a business to run. I just take care of the performers, the guy makes the real decisions at the top. If you really want your friend back, you're going to need to buy him back."

Frustrated, Kai cast his gaze to his feet, anger churning in his gut. 

"How much to buy him back then?"