Ninjago: Amplified - The Illusive Labyrinth [Halloween Short Story]

[1] - A New Mission

It had been a little over a year since Aurora and her friends first established their village. Although Haven had started off small, its residents had quickly grown in number. Their village had become so popular, Aurora was sure she was meeting new arrivals nearly every day!

Now, Haven was preparing to celebrate Halloween. The holiday was a new tradition for a lot of its residents– everyone was practically buzzing with excitement.

Aurora and her friends were busy with their own preparations. They'd decided to wear matching costumes for the occasion, mirroring their favorite characters from a show they'd watched together. Gold had made the costumes themselves– now, the group  was trying them on at Aurora and Akiri's cottage.

Aurora had just finished putting her outfit on, leaving the downstairs bathroom. Hearing her approach, Bee's head swiveled in her direction. She padded over to Aurora's side as the elemental walked into the living room, purring loudly.

"So," Aurora smiled, scratching underneath her manticore's chin. "How do I look?"

"It looks great!" Akiri complimented. "I think it suits you."

"Thanks!" Aurora grinned.

She moved to join her girlfriend on the couch, with Bee eagerly trailing after her. The manticore plopped down behind the furniture, resting her head on the back of the couch with a chuff. Akiri patted the big cat's head as their conversation continued.

"You did a great job, Gold!" Aurora turned to the android, who was sitting in a chair across from them. "These are really well made!"

"Thanks, Aura!" Gold smiled, fiddling with their costume in their lap. "It was a fun little side project to work on. Now I just need to add some final touches before Halloween."

"I'm looking forward to the festivities!" Yuri peered out of one of the windows, flicking her tail excitedly. "It looks like the villagers are, too."

"Everyone's talking about it at this point." Akiri nodded, sharing in her excitement. "I don't blame them– not a lot of beings have celebrated Halloween before."

"Tell me about it." Onyx huffed, shifting in her seat on the couch. She leaned an elbow against her knee, propping her chin up with her palm. "Eris won't shut up about it..."

"Speaking of," Aurora interjected. "Where is Eris?"

"Dunno." Onyx shrugged. "She ran off to do some errands this morning, but Tri and I haven't seen her since then."

"This morning?" Akiri exchanged a worried look with Aurora. "Should we find her?"

"Don't worry. She brings her mace with her wherever she goes. Even if she gets into trouble, she's fine." Onyx dismissed their concern with a wave of her hand. "Besides, if Eris disappears for a while, it probably means she's gotten herself into some mis–"

An abrupt flash of movement had the entire group startling. In that exact moment, the ghost in question had phased through the wall!

"...Mischief." Onyx completed her sentence under her breath.

"GUYS, you won't BELIEVE this!" Eris floated through the air, hovering above the coffee table. "So, I met this traveler at the market, and he told me about this place that's apparently..." She held up her hands, making air quotes with her fingers. "Super haunted."

"Uh, okay?" Onyx rose a brow. "And why is that exciting??"

"Because it's a chance for us to go on a mission together, DUH!!" Eris countered, as if the suggestion had been obvious from the start. "We haven't left the village together in, like, uhh..."

"Longer than a year." Gold answered for her.

"SEE!" Eris snapped her fingers. "Too long!"

"I don't know about that, Eris... The village is preparing for a celebration, which is probably gonna attract some new people." Aurora reminded, indecisive. "I don't know if I feel comfortable leaving home right now."

"She has a point..." Akiri acknowledged. "As much as I'd love to embark on a mission, I'm not sure if now's the right time..."

"But it's EXACTLY the right time!" Eris argued. "We have a few days until Halloween, so everyone's gonna be focused on preparations! Plus, nobody's gonna come here until the DAY of."

"Even then," She pressed on. "We've got Trisomaur, Ronin, Echo, Lilith..."

The ghost continued to list all the names of their most trusted villagers, counting them off on her fingers as she went. After a while, Onyx slapped a palm over her mouth, having heard enough.

"Alright, enough lists." She rolled her eyes. "You've made your point."

"YES!" Eris rocketed into the air, extending her arms out in a cheer. "So can we go now?!"

"Hold on a second." Aurora interrupted, making Eris pout. "You've made some good arguments... Now that I think about it, it would be a good time for an outing. But we still have to agree as a team before we decide anything." Her gaze swept to her remaining friends.

"I think an outing would be fun!" Yuri immediately agreed. "I'd be in."

"It has been a while since we've left the village as a team..." Gold considered. "I think that'd be a good idea."

"Plus, we'd be helping someone out, in the long run." Akiri continued. "I'm in."

"Me, too." Aurora answered.

All eyes moved to Onyx, who was leaning against the couch with her arms crossed. Eris locked eyes with the reluctant merlopian, folding her hands together in a desperate plea. Onyx paused before she released a long sigh, caving in.

"Alright," She grinned. "I guess it would be fun to hang out together– without all the responsibilities."

"YESSSS!!!!!!" Eris floated even higher into the air in glee. Just before she could disappear through the ceiling, Onyx grabbed her by the ankle, yanking her back to the living room.

"Then it's settled." Aurora chuckled. "Eris, why don't you tell us where we're going?"

"GLADLY." The ghost stuffed a hand into her pocket, slamming a map onto the table. "The traveler I met gave me this. He said he'd come across some kind of old palace in the woods."

"A palace.. Here?" Onyx jabbed a finger at a red X marker on the map. "In the middle of nowhere...?"

"It must've been untouched for quite some time." Gold thought aloud, peering at the map from their chair. "I haven't heard of any major structures in that area... It's all just woodland."

"What else did the traveler say about this palace?" Aurora wondered.

"Well, he said he went inside to explore." Eris explained. "It's all abandoned, but he kept hearing strange noises."

"Oh, what, like the wind?" Onyx scrunched her nose in disbelief. "It's an old palace, you're bound to hear some creaking along the way."

"Maybe so," Eris smirked. "But some of those noises were followed by strange forces; the traveler said that it'd even started to sound like something–or someone–was trying to reach him from under the floorboards!"

"That's... an unsettling description." Akiri concluded, wary.

"I'm still not buying it." Onyx denied, stubborn. "I bet it's just other ghosts trying to play tricks on people."

"Maybe." Gold added. "But what if it's someone who needs help?"

"Then we've got to see this place for ourselves." Aurora tapped a finger against the map, tracing a trail over to their current location. "This palace isn't very far from here. If we set out soon, we'll have plenty of time to make it back home before the holiday."

Eris' eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, and she gasped.

"Then you mean–!!"

"Yes, Eris." Aurora huffed a laugh. "We're going."

"Besides, I think it's about time we've gone on another mission together..."