Chapter 6: Dress and Tux

Movie Ninjago

With most of the preparations underway, now onto the time-honored tradition of choosing what to wear to the wedding.

As it was, it was proving very difficult for Lloyd to convince Lord Garmadon not to wear his battered old bloodstained battle armor for the event.

"Aw, but I actually met Koko in this," he complained as Lloyd once again tried to get him out of said armor and go to his scheduled fitting for a tux. "Married her last time in it too."

"From what you told me, last time you got married in the middle of a battlefield neither of you were totally convinced that you'd survive," said Lloyd in exasperation. His father loved telling the story of his parents' previous epic battleground wedding whenever he got the chance.

Garmadon grinned at the memory and looked ready to tell the tale again right there. "Good times."

Lloyd sighed heavily. Being his father's best man was proving to be more challenging than anticipated. "Look, the point is you don't need to wear it this time. You could wear something better."

Garmadon looked at him like he was crazy. "This is my best armor, Luh-Loyd. Do you know how many times I would have died not wearing it and it's still in one piece. It's the best thing I own."

"Better looking," Lloyd amended with a roll of his eyes. "'Cause I get that it's good armor and all, but it's seen better days… and it really reeks," he added, wrinkling his nose.

Garmadon blinked, then leaned down to sniff under one arm, only to recoil at the smell. "Okay, maybe it could have done with a scrub or thirty," he acquiesced, "but I'm not wearing some flimsy tux that you can barely move in much less fight."

Lloyd opened his mouth to ask why his father thought he'd need something to fight in, only to promptly shut it a moment later remembering that this was his family they were talking about, and thinking otherwise was moot.

Before he could puzzle out a different response, the door opened and Lil'Loyd poked his head in. "Are we going yet?" he asked impatiently.

Due to all the things that had gone wrong in the wedding planning, it had been decided they'd buy their formal wear in Lil'Loyd's Ninjago instead, greatly cutting down the chances of sabotage. Lord Garmadon had been disappointed in the idea of not getting to fight to defend his wardrobe until Luh-Loyd pointed out that if he did that there was a strong possibility the saboteurs wouldn't see it coming, and he'd reluctantly conceded for the chance to bamboozle his enemies.

Still, it'd all be for nothing if they couldn't get Garmadon to choose a decent outfit.

"Your Ninjago wouldn't happen to have a formal clothing store that also specializes in armor, does it?" asked Luh-Loyd tiredly, knowing nothing short of that would satisfy his father.

Lil'Loyd gave him a funny look. "Yours doesn't?" he asked in bewilderment.

The surprise must have been evident on their faces, so Lil'Loyd explained, "Our Ninjago is, like, constantly in danger from all kinds of monsters and crazy people. Folks want to be prepared for anything, and, ya know, the weird fashion people noticed. Nya gets magazines about the latest armor styles every month."

Luh-Loyd looked thoughtful. "That… makes sense," he admitted. "Wonder why this world hasn't thought of that yet?"

Lord Garmadon grinned maniacally. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he said gleefully, ditching the smelly armor and charging out the door. "To the dragon!"

The two Lloyds traded a laugh and followed after him.

At least shopping wouldn't be boring.

Koko, on the other hand, decided on a different approach to her clothing.

"You're going to make it yourself?" asked Misako, staring at the manikin before her, and the several yards of white fabric surrounding them.

"Yep," said Koko, pinning the fabric in place. "I've looked through every wedding magazine I can find, and nothing they have just felt right."

Misako looked at what was already on the manikin in the dress's starting process, and had to admit nothing in the local Ninjago wedding magazines was like it. "But couldn't you find something close and modify it?" she had to ask. "Or use what you did for your last wedding?"

Koko glanced over at her counterpart. "I didn't have a dress for that one. My last wedding was kind of spur-of-the-moment," she said. "Me and Garm were in the middle of a battlefield that caught fire. Flames and smoke were everywhere and everybody was still fighting even though none of us could escape. It really didn't look like we'd live through it and we didn't want to die with regrets, so we got the nearest general to marry us then and there."

Misako stared at her with wide eyes. That was a far cry from her traditional (if eventful) Ninjago wedding with Sensei Garmadon. "How did you survive?" she asked.

Koko's mouth quirked into a smile. "Sentiment and pure luck," she said. "When they realized what was happening, the battle kind of took a time out to watch, and then it started raining right as we kissed which put out the flames and everyone was able to get to safety."

"Sounds like a very exciting wedding," said Misako, knowing that was a vast understatement.

Koko smiled at that. "It was," she said. "Even if some friends of mine were furious with me for not inviting them, or they were just mad I married Garm, hard to tell." She shook her head to clear the memories away. "Anyway, I didn't get much of a chance to have my big fairytale wedding that time. This time, I'm doing it the way I want to. And that includes the kind of dress I want to wear, no compromises."

Misako laughed hearing that. "Oh, I don't know. Getting married in the heat of battle sounds like something out of a fantasy to me."

Koko rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Misako," she said. "If I know my Garm, there's still going to be a battle. No doubts about that."

Misako blinked and glanced back at the dress. Suddenly a lot of the design made more sense. "I suppose I'll have to find a dress I can use Spinjitzu in, then," she said, suddenly glad she'd held off on buying the lovely but delicate silk dress she'd seen in a store just the other day. "Though, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given our family's luck." Even her own wedding hadn't been without its hiccups.

Koko pinned another piece of white fabric in place and grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Morro wondered how he'd been dragged into doing this.

"Okay," he said to the assembled teenagers in front of him. "Everybody line up for inspection. If you pass you can wear what you've got to the wedding. If not, be ready to return it and get something better."

The two sets of Ninja teams (minus the Lloyds, just his luck) stared back at him while dressed to the nines on the deck of the Destiny's Bounty.

"Why do we need to do this again?" Cliff Cole asked, tugging uncomfortably at the fancy tux his father had forced on him when he heard about the wedding.

Morro rolled his eyes, knowing both the Wus had explained this to them already. "Because you dorks can't be trusted to dress yourselves properly, much less pick out decent formal wear, and it's better we fix it now rather than at the last minute," he said bluntly.

"Who are you again?" asked Red Nya, adjusting her red koi-patterned kimono as she and the rest began reluctantly lining up. "I thought Master Wu was doing this."

"I've seen him often at Lloyd's family game nights," said Zen Zane thoughtfully, wearing a grey suit with a white tie and cumberbund. "Perhaps some relation on Koko's side?"

Huh, now that he thought about it, Morro had never really introduced himself to the other team as a whole, had he.

"He's Master Wu's son," DJ Cole said, wearing a formal black vest and tie, but nothing to cover his arms.

The other team's heads all whipped around to stare at him, then at Morro, then at each other. "SON?!" they exclaimed in unison, looking utterly taken aback.

"His adopted son," Morro explained, smirking a little at their reactions. "Yes, I have a counterpart. No, you can't meet him. And no, don't ask Sensei Wu about me, it's…" he winced thinking of the other Morro, "a long story."

Buddy Kai, who was the only one there who'd been around to hear Sensei Garmadon tell that particular story, shifted uncomfortably in his blazer and open red shirt. "Why do you have to be the one to do this?" he asked, thankfully bringing them back to the matter at hand in his own confrontational way (though he didn't sound nearly as rude as he normally did when talking to Morro). "Not like you have any sense of style."

Morro rolled his eyes. "I've got more style than you, Pyro," he retorted. "But I'm not, he is."

With that, Morro jerked his head in the direction of the gangplank, and everyone turned just in time to see Neuro step on board the Bounty.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he hurried over to join Morro, glancing down at a knockoff too-pink-to-be-rosegold watch on his wrist. "I got into an argument with Griffin about his suit. It took far too long to convince him he can't wear all white."

"Why not?" asked Pep Zane, who was also wearing a white suit decorated with glittering snowflakes.

"To not outshine the bride," Neuro answered, trying not to look too judgemental at the very sight of him.

"Oh, my bad," said Pep, looking down at his flashy suit. "I will go change." With that, he wheeled away to change in a cabin.

"See that you do," Neuro called after him.

"For those of you who don't know, this is my friend, Neuro," said Morro, introducing him for the other Ninja's sake. "He's the fussy mom-friend who actually has this kind of stuff in his head."

Neuro shot him a dirty look. "At least I have something in my head," he snarked back. "Unlike yours, which is oversized and full of hot air."

Buddy Kai and Cyan Nya snickered hearing that, and the rest of the group all looked amused as Morro shoved his friend good-naturedly. "Just get to it," he said. "I'm not here to babysit all day."

Neuro huffed but did as he said.

Things went fairly smoothly from there. Nick Jay's flashy blue suit with cyan lightning bolts on it was immediately shot down ("You look like a tacky TV show host," Morro remarked when Nick protested. "He's right," Spike Kai agreed.). Freckles Jay looked fairly dorky but presentable in a tame navy suit and light blue bowtie. Cliff was cleared quickly as well, though Neuro wasted several minutes trying to convince DJ to wear a jacket before giving up ("I don't wear sleeves," DJ said leaving no room for argument.) Spike and Red's traditional-style clothes were given the okay, which was a relief to them ("They belonged to our parents," Red explained, looking misty-eyed). Cyan looked lovely in her teal dress with a knee-length flared skirt and sparkling aquamarine jewelry, but Neuro had to forcefully button up Buddy Kai's shirt and demanded he gets a tie ("I can't breathe in those stupid things," Buddy grumbled.). Zen was also given the okay, and when Pep rejoined them with a tamer gray vest and pants over a dress shirt, he passed inspection too.

However, things got odd when, to pass the final test, Morro demanded they run an obstacle course he'd set up on the docks.

"Why?" asked Spike Kai in bewilderment, unsure if his father's formal crimson hakama would allow him the needed mobility.

Neuro looked surprised he didn't seem to know. "For fighting," he said.

The non-local Ninja exchanged confused glances. "Is this a tradition in your Ninjago?" asked Zen Zane curiously.

"If so, count me out," added Nick Jay.

"Nah, not a tradition," said Cyan Nya, tying up her skirts in a way that would allow her to move without them tangling around her legs. "We're just expecting a fight."

"Why would you be expecting a fight?" asked Cliff Cole in bewilderment. "It's a wedding."

"There are, unfortunately, some who do not wish to see Koko and Lord Garmadon be reunited in matrimony," Pep Zane explained.

"What?" asked Red Nya. "Who?"

"The SoG," said Freckles Jay, picking at his bow tie. "Lord G's crazy fan club. They're not too thrilled about Koko 'uncorrupting' their evil hero. And when I say they're crazy, I mean they're, like, super crazy, and are probably going to pull something."

"What!" squawked his counterpart, looking outraged at the thought of someone getting in the way of love. "They can't do that!"

"They won't because we won't let them," said Morro firmly. He then jerked his thumb at the obstacle course. "But to make sure you can do that, get running."

They got running. Most of their clothes were able to pass the test, though Red Nya had to adjust her sleeves and obi before she could run it successfully, and most of the boys had to ditch their jackets in order to do it. All but Cliff, whose tux was for dancing, and therefore made for movement. Nick Jay, who had to get a better suit, wasn't allowed to run the course and would have to come back later to try when he got a new one.

When they were done, they all knew for sure that whether there would be a fight or not, they were dressed to kill.

Or, at least, kick some serious butt.

Harumi took tiny shuffling steps as she made her way out of the changing room, careful not to step on the hems of her skirt

The dress she'd gotten was a little too long for her and had to be fitted. This was a problem only because mermaid dresses are tight around the legs as part of the style, and adding tripping hazards to that is a recipe for disaster. It was just a dress to sit still and look pretty in, not for actually doing anything.

It was just as well. While part of Harumi wanted to be in on the coming action, that would blow her cover completely, and there was still more she needed to do before revealing her true loyalties to the world.

Still, Harumi made a mental note to sit in a position to keep her out of the way when this wedding went up in flames.

She couldn't wait to see it.

A/N I'm super sorry this is late. I usually have Thursdays that are pretty chill, but my job added extra hours to me recently, and now I don't get off until late, and I had to wake up early this morning to make up the hours I took off to get my Covid Vaccine a few weeks ago. So pretty much last night I didn't have the spare time to upload.

Anywho, as for this chapter. It was mostly to build up more to the wedding and getting a majority of descriptions of what everyone will be wearing out of the way. And giving my headcanon backstory of Garmadon and Koko's original wedding. It was kind of fun coming up with outfits for all of them that matched their personalities.

As always, thanks to Kay Hau for Beta Reading and contributing ideas. She helped me come up with the previous wedding backstory. Also, some outfit ideas were hers, and I'm pretty sure Nick Jay being in his TV host outfit was her idea.

Next Time: The day of the event finally arrives, and all the guests start showing up.