Chapter 9: Down the Aisle

Movie Ninjago

Zen Zane couldn't seem to get his face to stop frowning.

It wasn't a glitch in his facial mechanics, those were running fully operational. There didn't seem to be any reason for him to frown either. He was sitting next to his father and brother in the pews, surrounded by his friends, and about to witness the matrimony of two people he knew belonged together. If his face should be stuck in any expression, it should be happiness.

So why couldn't he stop?

His apparent dour expression didn't go unnoticed. "What's wrong, Zane?" Red Nya leaned over her brother to whisper to him.

Zane turned to look at her and saw the question had garnered the attention of most of the rest of their team (with the exception of Lil'Loyd, who was off preparing to carry the rings down the aisle). "I am not certain," he said slowly. "But I sense something amiss. Perhaps something to do with what Morro and our counterparts believe will happen."

The other Ninja exchanged glances hearing that. "What kind of jerks try to ruin a wedding?" asked Nick Jay, dressed in an outfit very much like the one from his first date with Nya (Whatever happened to that suit? It just vanished after he got his True Potential), and barely keeping his voice quiet enough not to disturb the other guests. "How low can you get?"

"Pretty low," Nya agreed.

"Whatever it is, we'll handle it," Cliff Cole said. "Right, guys."

"Right," agreed Zane, Nya, and Jay.

"Huh? What?" asked Spike Kai, looking like he hadn't been paying attention.

His question was met with several deadpan stares, and Kai looked sheepish as what had been said finally registered. "Oh right, protect the wedding. Yeah, we're on it," he said quickly.

Nya rolled her eyes at her brother's distraction, and had to ask, "What's with you? You've been distracted since we got here."

Kai turned his attention forward and gestured in the direction of their local counterparts sitting a few rows ahead of them. "Sorry, I've just been, well, Buddy brought his date, uh, Princess, and I just think I found another difference between us," he admitted.

Hearing that, all the others' heads snapped over to look at the back local Fire Ninja's head where he was sitting next to a girl with a black bob and goth outfit, the two chatting and laughing together happily.

Jay's eyes gleamed and he grinned. "Oh great! They got together!" he said, happy to find another couple to live vicariously through. They'd all known Buddy Kai had feelings for Chen's daughter, but it had never come up if he had acted on it yet.

"Cool outfit," said Nya, taking in the unique look Skylor had chosen.

Kai made a face.

"What's wrong?" asked Cole. "You knew he liked her. Heck, we've met her before. She's cool."

Kai rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, actually, not really," he admitted. "Or, at least, I didn't. I got knocked out when our mech crashed and never really got the chance to meet her. By the time I woke up the fight was over and we were in the hospital. And seeing her now, well, uh… she's not exactly my type."

The others' deadpan expressions were back in full force.

"You know there is more to girls than their looks, Kai," said Nya, rolling her eyes at Kai's shallow first impression of the girl.

"Yeah, I'm sure Princess has a great personality," said Kai, rolling his eyes and not interested in a lecture. "It's just not for me."

Cole frowned at Kai's use of Skylor's chosen nickname despite not having met her own counterpart yet and leaned over to whisper to Zane, "He keeps calling her Princess. Does he even know her real name?"

"I do not believe so," Zane whispered back. "Nor does he seem aware that is not her normal appearance."

"Should we tell him?" said Cole.

Zane smirked slightly. "No, I sense that he will one day eat those words. And it will be quite amusing when he does."

Cole snickered at the idea and nodded in agreement.

At that moment, organ music started playing and everyone hushed.

From their seat, Gayle Gossip and Jimmy waved as General #7 took her place at the front of the pews, having been chosen to officiate the wedding due to her number being the luckiest.

At the end of the aisle, the tiki torches flared and sparklers went off as Lord Garmadon made his grand entrance as strutted past the pews in gleaming, somewhat spiky battle armor that looked vaguely like a tux before taking his place at the end in front of the officiant.

Following soon after him was the wedding party. Various top generals that made up the groomsmen, and a few close friends of Koko's she'd invited as her bride's maids.

The next to appear at the end was Lil'Loyd, and several of the old ladies sitting next to Harumi cooed at how cute he looked. His black tux with green and gold shoulder pads and light armor made him look surprisingly adorable as he eagerly carried the satin cushion with the rings down the aisle. The rings, per Ninjago tradition, were really more like large collier necklaces where the couple would hang their yin and yang symbols when the time came.

Then, finally, more sparklers went off as Koko appeared with Luh-Loyd on her arm to give her away, and more than a few people gasped at the sight of them. Luh-Loyd was wearing an armored tux that matched Lil'Loyd's but where it made the younger blond look adorable, he looked dashing. However, it was Koko's appearance that really stole the show.

There was only one word to describe Koko. Radiant. The bodice of her dress was a gleaming silver that reflected brightly off the white of the long flowing chiffon skirt coming out of the waist and patterns glittering with rhinestones. The Queen Anne neckline was also chiffon that tapered out into transparent sleeves with scattered rhinestones set into it, making Koko shine among the torches and sparklers. Her veil flowed out from her Lady IronDragon crown, but even through it all could see her beaming smile as her son walked her down the aisle.

"Whoa," Lord Garmadon said breathlessly at the sight of her, and next to him Lil'Loyd snickered.

Upon reaching his side, Luh-Loyd gave his mother's hand one final squeeze before taking his place next to his father as his Best Man.

Koko smiled up at Lord Garmadon, who gulped suddenly feeling nervous, and smiling back.

General #7 thankfully began the ceremony. "Dearly beloved, and some not so beloved," she joked towards Lord Garmadon.

"Hey, people love me tons," Garmadon protested, and laughter sounded from the pews.

Nana just grinned cheekily, knowing the tension was now broken. "We are gathered here today to witness the union, or rather the reunion, of Lord Garmadon and Koko, the Lady IronDragon…"

From his seat, a slight movement caught Morro's attention, and he turned to get a better look.

Past the torches and flower arrangements the waves crashed loudly on the beach and the large boat the guests had arrived in bobbed along with the tide, and the Ninjago City skyline loomed up behind it. At first glance, everything looked perfectly alright.

Still, something didn't feel right and Morro frowned. Slowly, so as not to interrupt the ceremony, he shifted out of his seat and tried to sneak towards the shore.

Of course, his friends noticed. "Something up?" asked Shade, who had been sitting at the end of the seats, and couldn't exactly miss him sneaking past.

"Just a hunch," Morro whispered back.

Shade frowned, glanced around at the other guests to see if anyone else had noticed Morro's movement. Most people hadn't, their gaze firmly fixed on the happy couple, but the two look-alike teams of ninja had and were watching at Morro curiously.

Catching the spiky-haired one Morro was rivals with's eye (He was taking bodyguard lessons, right?), Shade gestured he and Morro were going to take a look around. Kai nodded back and whispered something to his teammates, and Zane, in turn, seemed to pass it on to their lookalikes.

Seeing the message sent, Shade grasped his friend's shoulder, tugging them both out of their seats and behind a floral arrangement before anyone else could notice.

Sticking to the shadows, the two college students left the ceremony and hurried across the beach.

"So, what's your hunch?" asked Shade once they were far enough not to be overheard, and following his friend despite the sand leaking into his roseate socks. "You see something?"

"Not see," Morro said, eyeing the ship they'd come on and walking briskly to get around it. "There's just… there's something in the wind." His eyes then narrowed. "And I realized we left ourselves with a pretty big blind spot."

Shade's eyes widened, and his head snapped over to look at the ferry. It was a large thing, big enough to carry all the guests…

… And big enough to block off a significant portion of their view of the sea.

Cursing under his breath, Shade hurried to catch up to Morro and the two boys finally managed to get far enough around the boat to see the sea between them and Ninjago City.

Only to curse again loudly and with more earnestness at the sight that met their eyes.

"I couldn't agree more," said Morro, before turning to run back to the wedding. "Come on!" he said. "If we hurry we can make it in time."

Shade rushed after him, but both boys knew they wouldn't be fast enough.

A/N Things will start hitting the fan in the next chapter. Good thing everyone is ready for it, or at least, they think they are, Morro and Shade seem pretty alarmed. I hope you like the outfits I came up with for Koko and Garmadon. I'm no fashion designer, but I felt they were something they'd wear. The start of this chapter is some setup for the next main story in this series covering season 4 when I finally get around to writing it. I don't know if anyone noticed, but I'd been making a conscious effort to keep Spike Kai from meeting my Movie Skylor, or getting a good look at her. In In Need of Polish, he was knocked out before he could and hasn't heard her real name other than 'Chen's daughter'. His friends are going to be very amused when he meets her counterpart and is smitten.

As ever, thanks to Kay Hau for beta reading and offering ideas. I'm pretty sure Goth Skylor being 'not Spike Kai's type' was her idea, and it was too funny not to use.

Oh, and as mentioned in the last chapter, I'll be shifting my posting schedule to Fridays.

Next Time: The ceremony progresses until General #7 says, "Speak now."