"Ninjago City." Zane spoke in a strange voice, somewhere in the city, in the middle of the night. "My city. I know it like the insides of my own circuits. Which is why I know... it has a dark side. Most of my best friends are trapped inside an immersive video game called Prime Empire."

As it turns out, Zane was on a rooftop, looking down on Ninjago City, alongside Blake, who looks at him, arms folded. Their surroundings were a little steamy. Zane was wearing a grey fedora and a grey trench coat over his gi while Blake had a black beret and a black trench coat over his. Blake was annoyed at what Zane was doing. "Yeah, you heard that right." He flicks a coin into the air. "They're being held there by a villain named Unagami." He catches the coin as it fell. "But 'Unagami' isn't his real name." He flicks the coin again. "It's as fake as a used car salesmen's smile." He catches the coin and starts to walk along the edge as Blake followed him. "His true identity is Milton Dyer, the computer programmer who designed Prime Empire." Zane soon stopped to look on as Blake did so too. He then turned back around, stepping in a puddle while Blake watched him. "The only hope for getting them out of the digital world rests on finding Dyer in the real world." He stops to look on again. "My world." He flicks his coin again. "My buddy, Blake, and I were fishing for leads..." He catches the coin. "...but for now, we find ourselves adrift on a sea of dead ends..." Footsteps were heard as he and Blake turned to see P.I.X.A.L. emerging from the steam. "Then, she walked in."

"There you two are." She said, stopping in front of them.

Zane smirks as he looks at her. "She said, shining the only ray of light into my dreary world."

She immediately noticed their coats and hats. "Why are you and Blake dressed like that?"

"He made me do it." Blake said, pointing to Zane while lowering his arms.

"Well, since we are engaged in detective work, tracking down a missing person, I have downloaded thousands of detective books and movies as research." He said, in his real voice.

"And that has to do with... hats?" P.I.X.A.L. asked.

"According to my analysis, 100% of successful detectives wear trench coats and hats while narrating their thoughts. Thus, I have adopted the same methodology, and I'm teaching Blake how to do it."

"No, you're not." He said. "You're just doing it to annoy me."

"I agree with Blake." P.I.X.A.L. replied. "It seems improbable that hat choice and overly descriptive monologues are significant factors in an investigative outcome."

Zane soon sighed. "I've tried everything else to no success." He said. "This method has to work."

"Well... Okay, I guess." She walks up next to Zane. "I do have a new possible avenue of inquiry."

"A lead." Blake said.

"What?"

"Detectives call it a 'lead'." Zane said, correcting what Blake said.

"Okay..." She replied. "I have a 'lead'." She air quotes the word. "A source willing to share information."

Zane then turned away, putting a hand on the brim of his hat. "Ah, so a canary wants to sing." He spoke in his detective accent. "Who is it?"

P.I.X.A.L. turns around, and her eyes flash to show a projection of the photo of Milton and Tony at their graduation. "Remember this photo from Dyer's childhood home? And Dorothea told us his first name is Tony? I was able track down a 'Tony Latebras' to Laughy's Karaoke Club." Tony's side on the projection flashes to show which one he was. "Perhaps he knows Dyer's whereabouts." She shuts the projection off.

"So... the rumble on the street gave us a hot tip about a goon we needed to shake down. It was time for this trio of gumshoes to beat feet." He walks away before P.I.X.A.L. sighed out of annoyance and turns to Blake.

"Are you starting to regret updating his voice modulator?"

"I definitely am." He said. "Not to mention that I literally have gum on my shoe." He raises his left foot to show a spot of green bubble gum on the sole to her, which makes her express a groan of disgust before they leave to catch up with Zane.

They reach street level and start to walk toward Laughy's, passing some people were putting up flyers of who was missing on some walls. "The resulting cases of missing players have taken a mighty toll on my city." Zane said in his detective accent. "Some even putting up flyers." He grabs a nearby flyer to look at it. It shows Sarah's photo and her description. 'Missing. Sarah Leona Marcy. Age: 13. Brown hair, green eyes, freckles, mole beside left ear. Last seen entering Benny's Arcade Emporium. Any information on her current whereabouts, please contact this number: 555-2589.' "Depressing."

"-still no news on the missing Prime Empire players." Delbert PO said on a nearby TV as they stop to look at a display of TVs in front of a store while Zane scrunched up the flyer and threw it away.

"Litterbug." Blake muttered.

"Mayor Seosin continues commenting that the prohibition will be lifted once they have been found. So, like any other parent like myself to say this, 'Video games are dangerous.'" He puts one paper aside. "In related news, local arcade owners are still frustrated with the confiscation of arcade game cabinets and the citywide prohibition. Their lawyers are refusing to take this case as some of their children are missing too."

"Even the ambulance chasers don't lift a finger to cease the prohibition." Blake then spoke in a monologuing tone. "This mayor is starting to get on many people's nerves." He soon realised and moaned in anger. "Now I'm starting a little monologuing thought." He said in his normal voice before Zane chuckles and they resume walking.

(A/N: I don't know if berets were what some detectives wore, but I thought I'd have Blake (reluctantly) wear one. Sorry I didn't really make an origin for the scene. P.S. Ninjago Confidential is my favourite of the season. I wish there was a spin-off where Zane and P.I.X.A.L. would sometimes split from the Ninja to open a private investigation service)