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"I'm afraid Zane and Pixal will not be able to join you, as the game's coding could interfere with their own," Cyrus stated, "However, it would be possible to restore their data if it did."
"I like my one's and zero's just the way they are, thank you," Pixal stated, and Zane gave her an amused smile.
"It is best if Cole stays here too, as he could be at the same risk, which wouldn't be so easy to recover."
"Yeah... I'd like to keep my brain intact, please," Cole said nervously.
"Can you get us to level thirteen though?" Lloyd asked, and Earth nodded.
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"Ninjago City; my city. I know it like the insides of my own circuits, which is why I know," He heard something rustle in a nearby alleyway, "It has a dark side."
Placing a foot on the side of the roof, he bent his head low, "My best friends are trapped inside an immersive video game called Prime Empire," The coin flipped from his hand, being expertly caught soon after, "Yeah you heard that right, they're being held there by a villain named Unagami. But Unagami isn't his real name, it's as fake as a used car salesman's smile."
Particularly proud of that analogy, he straightened up, walking the length of the roof.
"His true identity is Milton Dyer, the computer programmer who designed Prime Empire. The only hope for getting them out of the digital world rests on finding Dyer in the real world, my world."
Scowling, he flipped the coin again, "I was fishing for leads, but for now I find myself adrift on a sea of dead ends."
As he bent his head down, two sets of footsteps echoed through the mist.
He turned, a large smile on his face, "Then, they walked in."
"There you are Zane," Pixal said plainly.
"She said, shining a ray of light into my dreary world."
"Who are you talking to?" Cole asked, "What's with the voice?"
"And why are you dressed like that?" The Samurai added.
"Since we are engaged in detective work tracking down a missing person, I have downloaded thousands of detective books and movies as research," Zane told them in his normal voice.
Pixal raised an eyebrow, "And that has to do with... hats?"
"According to my analysis, one hundred percent of successful detectives wear trench coats and hats while narrating their thoughts," He explained.
"So you've adopted the same methodology?" Cole finished, and Zane nodded, "Wow, I sounded smart for once."
"You are smart, dear," Pixal said firmly, before turning back to Zane, "It seems improbable that hat choice and overly descriptive monologues are significant factors in an investigative outcome."
Zane sighed, "We've tried everything else to no success, this method has to work."
His partners shared a look, before shrugging to each other.
"Well, okay I guess," Pixal joined him by the edge, observing the streets, "Cole and I do have a new possible avenue of inquiry."
"A lead," Zane stated, his 'detective voice' returning.
"What?" Cole glanced at him.
"Detectives call it, a lead," Zane told him with a smile.
"Okay, Cole and I have a 'lead'," Pixal stated sceptically, making air quotes.
"Yeah, a source willing to share information," Cole added, and Zane hummed.
He tipped his hat down, swivelling around to them both, "Ahh, so a canary wants to sing? Who is it?"
Pixal turned to a wall, projecting the photo they had found earlier, "Remember this photo from Dyer's childhood home? I was able to track his friend to Laughy's karaoke club. Perhaps he knowns Dyer's whereabouts."
"So, a rumble on the street gave us a hot tip about a goon we needed to shake down," Zane placed a hand on his chin, "It was time for these three gumshoes to beat feet."
He began walking off, and Pixal sighed, annoyed, while Cole placed a hand over his mouth to hide his giggling. She gave him an unimpressed look, before they both followed their boyfriend down the fire escape ladder.
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They walked through the doors into the club, watching all eyes turn to them, the hostile faces attached to them following.
"I'd been here before," Zane started, reaching to grab Cole's shaky hand while he monologued. The cyborg gratefully took hold of it, "It was a low-class joint that served cheap 'boba tea'."
They continued into the bar, Pixal scanning the people staring at them.
"As soon as we walked in every palooka in the place pointed their ugly mugs at us."
Ice's partners glanced remorsefully at the people at the bar, quickly guiding Zane out of earshot.
"Hey, is he talking to us, or about us?" One thug asked, clenching his fist.
Another smacked his palm with his knuckles, "Eh, I don't likes it either way."
"Perhaps that is enough detective narration for now," Pixal commented, while Cole nodded in agreement.
"She said nervously, while he seconded with caution," Zane continued, making them draw back, "Because from the looks of these rowdy no-good nicks, it was clear we were in for trouble."
Pixal shook her head exasperatedly, and Cole clung to her instead, both of them tossing apologetic glances to everyone around them.
A staff member walked up to them, dropping their tray on the ground, "Cole, Pixal, Zane! Wow, so good to see you guys, heh," Dareth greeted, "What brings ya to my karaoke club?"
"Oh, Dareth, hello," Pixal responded, slightly embarrassed, "My memory now accesses the fact that you own this establishment."
She looked around, and Dareth laughed, "Don't tell me, I know," He leant closer, speaking lowly with a smirk, "You need to Brown Ninja's help on a mission."
"Brown... Ninja?" Cole repeated, tilting his head from around Pixal's ponytail to look at Dareth, whispering to her, "I forgot he called himself that."
"Lemme guess, the other Ninja are lost in some crazy realm somewhere, and you need to find something to bring 'em back?"
"Your guess is... surprisingly accurate."
"Yeah, it happens a lot to you guys, gotta love ya," He stated, before putting his hands up slightly, "Hold on, I'll get my stuff."
He dashed off as someone began walking over to them.
"Hey, you threes," He started, walking down the wooden steps, "I've got a bone to pick with yous Ninja guys. You locked my brother up in Kryptaruim Prison."
"That is quite possible," Pixal answered honestly, "Who is your brother?"
He leant close, breathing musty air into their faces, "Fugi-dove."
Cole held back the urge to gag, "Who?"
"Fugi-dove," He repeated, before imitating bird calls, much to the confusion of everyone in the bar, "Y'know, his cry fills the night!"
"That name is unfamiliar to us," Pixal told him, then Zane jumped back into speaking.
"The log was as big as an ox, and smelled like one too," He began, waving away the lingering stench.
"Oi- what did you just say?!"
"He wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box-" Cole hid his smirk in Pixal's hair, while the ruffian called out in protest, "-But if it was a fight he wanted, I was happy to give it to him."
Cole stepped out next Pixal, glancing at her, "Did he just-"
"Oh yeah? Let's see about that!" The thug clenched his fists, "Get 'em boys!"
He charged at the three of them, while his buddies began clicking their fingers, approaching slowly.
He threw a punched, missed, and Pixal jumped up, kicking off his back and taking down the other two, drawing more attention from other people in the club.
Cole and Pixal easily fought off the ruffians, tossing them into the walls and ground like they weighed nothing.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Zane stated, hands on his hips, "That's why I decided to throw an upper cut to his glass jaw."
"Zane, maybe you shouldn't narrate your attacks-" Pixal began, before dodging a punch.
"Upper cut huh?" Zane struck forwards, only to be grabbed by his opponent, "Blocked!"
The thug laughed, then swung at his face, knocking him back.
Cole kicked away two fighters, while Dareth returned from the back, pulling at his costume.
"Aha, the old suit must've shrunk in the wash, 'cause, heh," He straightened up, "It's a little tight around the, uhh...." He looked up, realising a fight was taking place, "Wait, you started without me?"
He picked up his tornado cut out, running towards Pixal, "Well don't worry guys, I got your-" A thug knocked him into a wall, and he fell to the ground, weakly finishing "-Backs."
Zane shifted from foot to foot, arms protecting his head as he sized the thug up, "His power to predict my every move was unnerving," He moved to the other side of him, "But I figured a sharp right cross would stitch him up."
"Right cross," Zane swung, hitting the man's arm, "Blocked!" The thug picked him up by the collar, "Now your mine, Ninja guy."
Someone tapped his shoulder, and he turned his head just in time to see Cole and Pixal bring their fists towards him, knocking him out.
"Well the good news was, they had saved my nindroid bacon," They both looked at him, confused, as Zane continued, "The bad news was, whoever we were looking for was probably long gone."
"Who are you looking for?" Came a voice, and they turned to see the bartender smiling at them, shoving a person off the bar side.
They approached him, Zane aggressively placing his hands on the surface.
"A childhood friend of a guy named Milton Dyers," Cole stated, and the bartender raised an eyebrow, still offering them a friendly smile.
"Dyer, huh? Heh, haven't heard that name in a long time," He stated coyly.
"Jackpot!" Zane exclaimed, while Cole and Pixal looked at the bartender in shock.
"You were Dyer's friend?" Pixal asked
"Yeah, that's right, when we were kids," He told her, "Name's Tony."
"We would appreciate anything you might know about Milton Dyer's current location," Pixal said, and his smile faltered.
"You're not the first to ask about him over the years," He stated, pouring out three glasses of something, "Reporters come by every so often but, I never told them anything 'cause old Milty deserves his privacy."
He pushed the glasses towards them.
"But... you're ready to speak now, right?" Cole asked, and he sighed.
"With this 'Prime Empire' stuff happening- those kids missing- I guess it's time to talk."
Zane took the paper straw from his drink, taking a long sip of it, before stating, "Spill it. Where's Dyer?"
"I don't know exactly but, I know this," He began, "You should check out Buddy's Pizza."
"Why?"
"It's where Milton played his first video game," Tony explained, "That's where he found his life's calling as a game programmer; he called it 'video game city'. Always went back there as an adult for inspiration."
The three shared a glance, nodding firmly.