CHAPTER SEVENTEEN — A NEW PLAN
all of nothing — part one

"Do you promise?" — lloyd garmadon

THE NINJA HAD HEARD THE RUMOUR THAT THE THIRD FANGBLADE DID NOT PERISH IN THE LAVA OF THE FIRE TEMPLE WHICH MEANT THAT THERE WAS ONLY ONE FANGBLADE LEFT. So by this point, they were growing desperate. They just knew that they had to stop Pythor from collecting all four otherwise the most evil snake of have ever slithered across Ninjago would be back, and hungry. 

Iris remained on the Bounty with the others as the ninja ventured down onto the ground to interrogate passing Serpentine for information on the last Fangblade. Ever since they found out Lloyd destiny, the young Sensei had been trying to distract him from the inevitable fight with his Father.  He truly was changing. 

She started Lloyd's training where she had previously left it: with calming exercises. Channelling one's energy in a positive and productive way was the key to being a successful ninja, powers or no powers. And he was doing rather well. 

Her newest letter to Loralyn — that she had sent the previous day — encapsulated her training with the ninja and the progress Lloyd was making. She did not mention him being the destined Green Ninja as they agreed that one day, Lloyd would tell his twin himself. Iris also added in the fact that Linnie's Father was also visiting and sent his regards. And when she handed the letter to the mail man, he groaned at the address as he knew how far away it needed to go. Oops.

They were all in the bridge going over the information the ninja had gathered on their little trip. Iris stood between her Father and Lloyd as they all stared up at the screen. "The Venomari's right." Stated Nya as she examined the map on front of them. "By the time we cast sail clear across to the other side of Ninjago, Pythor will have already beat us to the last Fangblade."

"There must be something we can do." Iris insisted as she scanned the ninja in search of a plan. They couldn't let Pythor get all four. They just couldn't.

Jay sighed. "Oh, come on, guys. This is the last one." He emphasised as he too realised the gravity of the situation. "We gotta get it. We gotta think of something." 

Everyone closed their eyes in thought and hums filled the room as they considered their options.

"Hey." Came the small voice of Lloyd Garmadon. Opening their eyes, they all turned to look over at the Green Ninja as an idea came to his young head. "All we have to do is just get one Fangblade to stop him. What if we take back the other three?" Proposed the boy. His words just made Iris smile with pride; it was a brilliant plan. "Pythor wouldn't risk having them all on him. He's probably hidden them somewhere while he goes for the fourth."

Iris grinned. "That's brilliant, Little Monty." A small blush quickly appeared on the boy's cheeks.

"It's so simple."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Did he really want them to answer that question.

"It can't really be that easy." Scoffed Jay in disbelief.

Zane raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Easy?" He echoed. "My algorithms suggest taking the other three would be far more dangerous." Not good. "Pythor would undoubtedly have them protected by his top generals."

For some reason that pleased Kai. "Ha, finally, I don't have to hold back." Iris resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the fire ninja. 

Before Iris could put her input in, her Uncle spoke up. "Even if you could steal the other three, you don't even know where they are." He informed them.

"Good point." Nodded Iris before turning to their techie on the team — Nya. "Do we have anything on a possible Serpentine base?" But the girl shook her head.

Wu then said. "For the past few weeks there have been almost no Serpentine sightings. How are they moving around?" He questioned curiously. "It's like they're ghosts." Definitely not ghosts.

He was right about that one. It took the ninja ages to find that one Venomari they could interrogate. What had happened to the other Serpentine?

"Or snakes." Beamed Nya as an idea struck her. Iris just frowned, she wasn't sure what was happening. Moving to face the screen, she requested. "Bridge, give me a sonar sweep of Ninjago." Eyes wide, Iris too realised what Nya was thinking and just grinned at the Smith girl encouragingly. She truly was brilliant. But Nya's request came up empty. "But what if they aren't traveling above ground?"

Nudging Nya's arm with her own, Iris added with a smirk. "They're snakes, Kai. These snakes like to burrow. They're underground."

"Exactly." Nya smiled at her friend before returning to face the screen. "Bridge, now give me a sonar sweep of Ninjago, but 20 feet below surface." The computer beeped which signalled to the ninja that something was about to happen. And it did. A 3D map of the area was projected out in front of them where red lines of Serpentine activity were mapped out. And all those lines led to one place. 

Iris gasped at the image.

Then Kai pointed out. "All the tombs have been interconnected."

"To make one massive underground fortress." 

Jay just sighed. "And all this time, right under our noses."

A joking smirk appeared on Zane's lips. "Or rather, feet." A small chuckle echoed from Iris at his words.

"There." Kai gestured towards an area of the map. "That's the most protected area. The Fangblades must be held there." Reasoned the fire ninja.

Glancing between Kai and the map, Sensei Wu nodded. Now that Lloyd was back safe with them, they had to focus all their attention on getting the Fangblades to stop Pythor from releasing the Great Devourer. He was there all those years ago — he knew what that serpent was capable of — so he did not want to see it in Ninjago again. "Then what are we waiting for? Nya, set the course." At his request, the girl instantly turned back to the computer.

"Already on it. We'll be there by sun-up."

A frown appeared on the yellow ninja's face. "I just hope we get there in time."

IRIS STOOD BESIDE HER FATHER, DRESSED HEAD TO TOE IN YELLOW, AS THEY OBSERVED THE NINJA TRAIN. They were all preparing for the upcoming fight and they already knew it would be one of the toughest yet. Hums and nods of approval resonated through the Father and Daughter as they watched the four boys fight with the golden weapons.

"There is no room for error." Wu reminded them. "The Serpentine have shown that they have great powers, and to combat them, you must turn their greatest strengths into their greatest weaknesses."

With a nod of his head, Wu signalled for his daughter to continue. From above, Iris glanced down at the fire ninja and questioned. "Kai, how will you defeat the Hypnobrai?" 

Kai pulled down a blindfold over his eyes. "Their hypnotizing powers are useless if their opponent can fight without relying on his eyes." He answered as he swung with his fire sword without the aid of his sight. Just like Iris had done in previous battles.

"Good." Iris smiled.

Wu then turned to the blue ninja. "Jay, the Fangpyre is fast and his bite, sharp."

"But if he can't bite through your skin," he tapped against the metal armour on his arm, "he can't turn you into one of them."

 Then Iris focused on the earth ninja. "Cole, the Constrictai are strong." Beside her, her Father pressed a button on a remote. Suddenly a metal net shot out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the master of earth, squeezing him tight. "And they will not let go. What do you do?" She quizzed.

"Instead of fighting back, one must try to loosen up." 

As he relaxed into the hold of the net, it became less tight and much more easier to slip out of. And soon, the black ninja had wiggled himself free from the net's grasp. 

Then he danced upon the defeated net. "And a little soft shoe doesn't hurt." Iris laughed slightly and a smile appeared under her mask. 

"Zane. The venom of the Venomari can make you see things. Cloud your perception."

Turning his gaze upwards, the ice ninja replied. "Then I will use my new Falcon Vision." He synced to the falcon that was somewhere around them and borrowed its sight. Then he spun around and waved at his feathered friend. 

"Very good." Grinned Iris, flipping off her mask as she said so. Wu too smiled his approval at the readiness of his ninja. 

"We have trained you well." Nodded Wu as he shared a proud look with his daughter. Iris did not want to claim as much credit as he was giving her, she hadn't been with the ninja as long as he had but Wu knew the impact she had made. The ninja were their students and they were both proud of how far they had come. "You are all ready."

As the boys drew closer to their Senseis, Kai focused on the elder of the two. "What about you, Sensei Wu? Will you fight?" He already knew Iris would. There was no doubt about that. "We need all the help we can get." He was right about that.

"My concern is that my old bones cannot keep up, but I will be there in spirit."

"So, you're finally starting to feel your age, Father?" Questioned Iris with a mischievous glint in her eye. "It only took a thousand or so years." 

Wu opened his mouth to retort, but Nya cut in before he could. "We're now arriving at the Mountain of a Million Steps." She announced over the speaker. This was where all the Serpentine tunnels had led to. It was the surface entrance to the main hub. "You all might want to see this."

The Bounty sailed straight towards a rather large mountain. She wasn't sure why she was surprised considering it was called 'The Mountain of a Million Steps' but she was. They all lined up by the wooden railing to gawk at the sight before them as the Bounty pulled up beside the entrance.

This was where the Constrictai had been entombed. You could tell as even the peak looked like the open mouth of a snake.

"Look at all those piles of dirt." Gasped Jay in awe.

"What are those snakes up to?" No one had a clue. But they were going to find out.

A familiar voice erupted in their ears as a small set of feet started heading their way. "Wait for me." Called out her cousin Lloyd as the ninja prepared to disembark. 

Iris smiled sadly at the young boy. She admired his bravery, she really did, but he was not ready. Destined Green Ninja or not, Lloyd had to be trained if he wanted to go out in the field. And he had barely started. "I'm sorry, Lloyd, but you're staying here." She told her cousin as she swung an arm around his shoulders.

"This is not your fight." Added Wu and by his tone you could tell that he was going to be argued with. "The Green Ninja is too important for a future destiny. You shall stay with me."

Then Nya's Samurai suit flew straight towards them and landed gently on the deck. There was an added chair on the suit's left shoulder, Iris noted, and her eyes lit up as she smiled when she realised why it was there. "Well, he's gonna have to look after himself, because we made room for you." 

"Well, you said you were concerned that you couldn't keep up, so Jay and Nya rejiggered the design so you could come along. What do you think?"

Wu let his actions speak louder than words as he discarded his staff and jumped up onto the suit. "Shotgun!" He cried with a beaming grin. Iris then chuckled in amusement at her Father. He may have been over a thousand years old, but there was no denying the child-like nature he still had inside. 

"I will stay back with Lloyd." Garmadon spoke up as he made his way onto the deck. "I don't enjoy saying this, but... Good luck." He directed that more towards his brother and niece than the others.

"Thank you, Uncle." Nodded Iris in appreciation before she turned to face her young cousin. "You be careful now, Monty—"

Lloyd cut in. "Shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

Iris chuckled again and shrugged. "Probably. But we're ninja, we'll come back, okay? I won't leave you again." Promised the Wu girl as she leaned down to become eye level with the Garmadon boy. 

"Do you promise?"

"I promise." Then Iris pressed a kiss to the top of the boy's head and then ruffled his light curls. Lloyd groaned in annoyance and went to swat her hand away but the damage had already been done. A content smile appeared on her lips before she then pulled down her mask to cover her face. She turned to face the ninja around her. "Lets get those Fangblades."

"Ninja, go!"

THE NINJA CAST DOWN A LINE INTO THE OPENING TO THE MOUNTAIN PEAK AND THEN THEY STARTED TO CLIMB DOWN. The five ninja went first and then Nya in her suit. Iris wasn't sure why the Samurai had gone last because with one wrong move, the heavy metal suit would come crashing down onto them all. But fortunately, that didn't happen and they all landed safely.

Surprisingly, the cavern was empty. For some reason that didn't reassure her.

The ninja had landed upon some sort stone table that took centre in a large circular cavern. Pictures and inscriptions lined the walls as they told the stories and history of the Constrictai. They were... beautiful. For so long the Serpentine were trapped away from the outside world and some of them had spent their time capturing their lives in stone.

"I thought you said this place would be heavily guarded, Zane." Hissed Jay towards the Nindroid.

So the ice ninja apologised. "Forgive me. Even Nindroids make mistakes." Iris secretly grabbed the ninja's hand and gave it a squeeze. Zane turned to face Iris.

But Cole had already left the table and was heading straight towards the paintings on the walls. "Hey, check this out." He called over to his teammates. Iris dropped Zane's hand as she jumped down from the table and headed with the others to join Cole. What he had found was... interesting to say the least.

There were new paintings on the Serpentine walls. Of them.

"Pfft. That doesn't even look like me."

Kai, it seemed, was more offended and angered by it than Jay. "Ah. They're gonna pay for that." On the other hand, Iris wasn't offended very much by the pictures, in fact they were making her laugh. The yellow ninja sniggered behind her hand as she scanned the wall for the new ninja-related pictures.

"I mean, at least give me a decent moustache." Cole said before he went over and hit the facial hair. But doing that made something unexpected happen.

The wall moved inwards and suddenly a doorway appeared right in front of them. There was a secret passageway. 

"Uh, I meant to do that."

With a deep calming breath, Iris spoke up. "And I'm guessing that all the snakes are in there." This wasn't going to be easy but it had to be done. So, the ninja took off down the tunnel with the large Samurai suit behind them.

It felt like a decent time of running before they came to a halt at the end of the passage. Iris stopped beside the ninja as she tried to regain their breath. There was a slope to their left but they were looking down at that moment, Down to where the other Serpentine were, generals and all. Chains hung from the ceiling and there was some sort of dial engraved into the floor. And despite the fact that Pythor wasn't there, there were still a lot of snakes remaining.

Beneath them, the generals were debating about the Great Devourer because considering how close they were to releasing it upon the world, doubt was starting to settle. Maybe they could team up the generals against Pythor? Would that work? 

"There's too many to deal with at once." Kai pointed out as he turned to face his teammates. "I say we travel by shadow." 

"Right behind you." Nya told her brother.

Then Wu smiled as he glanced down at the Samurai. "And I'll be right behind you."

Jay was the closest to the slope so he led the way down, with Kai, Nya and Sensei Wu at the rear. Iris centred herself in the line as they started their descent into the belly of the beast. They crept down the slope as quietly as they could whilst her Father was... drinking tea? Iris knew he loved tea, but it wasn't the time for that.

As they crept towards the inner chamber, they grew closer and closer to the Serpentine. And then they were spotted.

Every snake in the area headed their way as their cover was blown. Stealth was their only shot because they couldn't take on all those snakes with just them. They may have had powers and spinjitzu, but the sheer number was on the side of the snakes. Nya called the Bounty for back up, but Iris feared they would too late. 

They had no other option but to carry on down the slope as they quickly became encompassed by scaly fiends. Lloyd and the Bounty weren't responding to their distress call which just made Iris worry more. A snake tried to climb up Nya's suit, only for Iris's Father to dump his tea upon the unsuspecting snake. Maybe she was wrong, there was time for tea in battle.

"Forget them. We need to fight back." Insisted Wu and then cast his gaze down to his daughter beneath him.

Iris nodded before she turned to the ninja at her side. "Ninja, it's time we show them what you've learnt." She smirked. "Go kick some snake ass."

And that was exactly what they did. Cole freed himself from the Constrictai general before launching into the triple tiger sashay to finish things off. Surrounded by Hypnobrai, Kai blindfolded himself before they could ensnare him with their eyes, and then proceeded to kick their butts. As the ninja continued to put to use what they had learnt, Iris stuck with Nya and her Father, the trio back to fighting together once more. 

The armour on their suits prevented the bite of the Fangpyre from touching them which made it much easier to fight against the Serpentine. Jay and Iris both realised the importance of the armour that day as they were both almost turned into snakes by the venom that was just kept from reaching their skin. 

Using spinjitzu, Iris's yellow tornado spun around the Serpentine circling her, knocking them back onto the ground. She reached back and unsheathed her katana to brandish it out in front of her. Yellow sparked in her eyes as she felt her elemental powers flow through her. It formed around her fists that were tightly wound around her katana. So when she struck against an incoming attack of Serpentine, they were sent hurtling through the air. But she couldn't keep it up forever.

Nya, with Wu in tow, went to check on the lightning ninja. And Iris, after she spun around inner sanctum, knocking down as many Serpentine as she could, she finally came to a stop. Zane was next to her as he readied himself for the next attack.

They stood back-to-back. The yellow ninja of space and the white ninja of ice. They stood together and ready for when the Serpentine lunged at them. The yellow glow in Iris's eyes began to lose its saturation and the energy around her hands started to flicker. She could feel exhaustion creep up her limbs as it replaced the familiar rush of her powers. 

"Don't mean to interrupt the lovebirds," Zane called up to Nya and Jay. His words just caused the ninja behind him to chuckle in amusement. "but we do have Fangblades to capture." Shooting ice from his shurikens, Zane sent a couple of snakes to the ground.

"Says you!" Shot back Jay.

But this gave another Venomari the opportunity to spray its venom at the two. Iris just managed to shield herself from the blast, but Zane wasn't so lucky. "Zane!" Cried out Iris in worry as the ninja stumbled back with a grunt. 

When he reopened his eyes, they were glowing green with the venom and Iris may have not known what he was seeing, but it couldn't have been pleasant. He whimpered from the effects of the venom and Iris wrapped one arm around his and fought away the snakes with her katana in the other hand. The other ninja were headed their way as the Serpentine continued to attack.

"Zane!" Iris shook the Nindroid with her free hand. "Falcon vision." 

With her reminder, the ice ninja managed to gain enough control of his senses to switch his sight to see through his feathered friend's. Not only did borrowing the falcon's sight allow him to see past the Venomari hallucinogenic venom, but it also meant he could see what was behind him. Slipping his arm from Iris's grip, he started to help his teammates fight back. Then Iris joined in too.

But the Serpentine kept on coming. 

And soon, they were surrounded.

Now forced back-to-back, the five ninja did not know what to do. They were trapped. Serpentine cut off all their exits and started to close the gap between them. No matter what the ninja did with their powers and the weapons, the Serpentine kept on coming.

"Look." Kai exclaimed as he pointed over to the centre of the room. "The Fangblades." And he was right. In the middle of the room, there was a golden rack that held three of the Fangblades and had room for a fourth. The vessel of the Great Devourer's evil.

Cole turned to Kai as the other three ninja tried to keep the snakes at bay. "I'll let you have the honours."

"Oh no, after you."

But Cole didn't get far as metal clamps shot out from the ground and seized the earth ninja by his hands. "Aah! It's a trap!" He warned them. No, oh no.

Fear rose up inside Iris as they all tried to get away, but it was too late. Metal bars shot up from the ground and met above them, creating a large cage that even captured the Samurai. They truly were trapped. Iris gripped the bars as hard as she could and tried to pry them apart, but nothing worked. They were too strong.

And when she tried to teleport from the scene, to gather reinforcements to rescue them, she found that she couldn't. Oh no. The bars were made of vengestone which cancelled their elemental powers. They truly were trapped.

The last time vengestone had been used against Iris, it was back at the Ancient City of Ouroboros where Pythor had used chains to keep her from leaving. And now, she was exposed to vengestone again. She really didn't like this material. Could things get any worse?

Of course they did.

Because right at that moment, Pythor slithered down into the chamber, last Fangblade in hand. Now he could awake the Great Devourer. "Things just went from bad to worse." Mumbled Iris as she leaned her head against the bars.

Pythor laughed in triumph. "Come, come, can this get any better?" He was amused to say the least. "Seriously. They fell right into my trap."

"Oh, this isn't good." Kai said as he tugged on the metal bars but to no avail. A clamp appeared above the cage, seizing it by the top. Then the chain was pulled and the ninja, Samurai and the old Sensei were lifted up into the air. This just got even worse. "Where's Lloyd when you need him?"

Iris hung her head. "Hopefully far away from this place." 

Lloyd may have been the destined Green Ninja, but he was still an untrained child. And if all five of the ninja, a Samurai and an immortal Sensei couldn't win against the Serpentine then he didn't have a chance. And Iris couldn't bear it if anything happened to him. 

Chapter 17!!! Woohoo!!! We're getting really close to the end of the season and act. 

I love Iris and her boys so much. She's so proud and supportive of them but is never afraid to call them out on their shit. I love her and Lloyd so much, these cousins are so precious. 

Now the ninja are captured and Lloyd wants to help, so Iris is obviously worried that he'll do just that. He has a good heart and spirit but she doesn't want him to get hurt.

Thank you for reading!!!

Sincerely Rosie aka Winter326