Turn In The Tide- Fight On Book 1 (Ninjago AU)

Chapter 3

COLE'S POV
We backed away from the harbor and boarded the noodle truck again. Pixal had decided that bringing the Bounty would attract too much attention, so we stole the noodle truck from the Mechanic when he wasn't paying attention. Kalmaar wouldn't notice us in this truck. Bonus, there were noodle containers in a cardboard box in the trunk!

I searched the box. "Ah! Chicken noodle soup!" I announced happily as I held up a cup of noodles. I turned to Jay. "You think he has any beef noodle soup?"

Jay glanced at the Mechanic, who we tied up to the back of the truck. He made a few grunting noises behind his gag. "I think that's a no," Jay guessed.

"Dang it!" I took out another container of chicken noodle soup. I shoved the curtains to the front of the truck aside and handed the two containers to Pixal. "Mind putting this in the instant noodle maker?"

Pixal took the containers from me and put them in the noodle maker. She turned the machine on. I turned to Kai. "Kai, you want any noodles?"

Kai turned the steering wheel to the right. "What types do we have?"

I went back to the box. "Chicken noodle soup, vegetable noodles, pasta, puffy potstickers, and Alfredo noodles."

"Have any beef noodle soup?" Kai asked. I shook my head. He sighed. "I'll take the vegetable noodles."

"Coming right up," I said, handing Pixal a container of vegetable noodles. She put it in the noodle maker. Ten minutes later, our noodles were ready. Pixal took out the steaming noodles from the machine and grabbed six chopsticks from a dispenser in front of him. She handed two chopsticks to each of us, and Kai pulled over next to the Mechanic's abandoned arcade.

Pixal gave me and Jay a cup of chicken noodle soup each, and gave Kai the vegetable noodles. I slurped on my food while Pixal scanned the arcade.

"There is no one in the arcade," she observed. The Mechanic started grunting again, and Jay pulled down his gag. He coughed and cleared his throat.

"Of course there isn't, you fools. It's my secret base, though it's not so secret anymore. Kalmaar will take over the city."

"So you do know Kalmaar!" Jay exclaimed.

"We should explore the arcade. Come on," Pixal leaped out of the passenger door, and Kai opened the back of the truck. The Mechanic toppled forward into the noodle box, and me and Jay jumped out.

"You go first," I told Kai. He shook his head and nudged Jay to go in first. Jay yanked my arm and shoved me inside. I gulped and took a cautious step forward. Pixal sighed from behind me.

"It's just an abandoned arcade, guys. Relax."

"Abandoned places are creepy!" Jay argued. I examined a nearby bookshelf. It had a bunch of books about earning respect. There was a book titled "A Guide to Villainy, by Pythor P. Chumsworth".

"When did Pythor have the time to write a book?" Kai asked. I shrugged and slid the book back into its place. Jay wrenched open the door to the Mechanic's hat room. The Prime Empire symbols were still plastered all over the walls, as if the Mechanic hadn't visited the arcade in months.

"Guys, take a look at this," Jay pointed to a newspaper clipping on the wall. It had a large picture of Kalmaar on the front, speaking to Gale Gossip. The headline read, "KALMAAR STRIKES AGAIN".

A loud thud sounded outside, and we all glanced at each other. Jay's eyes widened and he ran out at lightning speed. Kai and I shared a look, and we raced out after him. Pixal followed.

We paused when we saw the truck's back door open. "Kai! Did you forget to close the door?" I accused. Kai rubbed the back of his head as a look of realization came to him.

The Mechanic stood, his ropes scattered in the ground. He threw his gag at our feet. "You tried, Ninja. That's what matters. But you only tried, you didn't succeed. Now Kalmaar will rule Ninjago, with me beside him!"

"What makes you think Kalmaar will help you?" Kai asked. The Mechanic cackled as a figure came out from behind him. He had purple skin and eight tentacle feet, along with golden shoulder pads. He smiled evilly, displaying his pointed teeth.

"KALMAAR?!"