CHAPTER NINE — A NEW PARTNERSHIP
the snake king — part one

"Hi, Yellow. It is good to see you." — zane

THE MORNING SUN WAS A PLEASANT SIGHT AS IT FLOODED THE ROOM THROUGH THE WINDOWS. Iris was already awake before the sun was that morning as she dragged Lloyd along with her to do more exercises. She was starting to give him a few basic fighting forms along with his normal calming ones at his insistence. 

The girls, Lloyd and the ninja were all sat around the table, listening as the youngest among them planned out how he would defeat a Serpentine. Nya and Iris exchanged a secret, knowing look as they talked about the snakes. Their secret partnership was going well and Ninjago was benefitting from the help they were giving. 

"—First, I'll stomp on his tail. Then when he turns, a thunder clap to his ears." Lloyd explained as the screen behind him moved back to reveal Sensei Wu with a rather large box in his hands. How curious. No one else noticed him enter and the young Garmadon continued. "Then when he's stunned, I'll disarm him."

A chuckle bubbled in the black ninja's throat. "Too late, he's already hypnotized you and now you're under his control."

"Or he's already put you in a squeeze." Suggested Zane.

"Or spit on you with his hallucinatory venom. Trust me, bad stuff."

Lloyd let out a deflated sigh at the other ninja's words. Then he asked. "Ah, Iris, Uncle, what's the best way to stun a Serpentine if you don't know what kind they are?" Now that was an excellent question.

Iris turned to her Father expectantly as he sat down, the large box now on the table in front of him. She wondered what was in it for the box to be so large. "Sadly, it was the Sacred Flute you four carelessly lost." Turning her gaze downwards, Iris regretted not going with the ninja to the toxic bogs. Maybe if she was there they wouldn't have lost the sacred flute. Jay was quick to argue and defended the fact that they did not lose the flute, that it was in fact stolen. But they didn't have it and that was what mattered. "Whatever the case, without it I fear we have nothing to combat their powers." Sighed Wu heavily as he poured himself a cup of tea. "We may have prevented them from uniting in the past, but they will try again, and one day they will be stronger."

"Don't worry, Senseis." Cole tried to reassure them. "I've almost reached my full potential," Iris raised a dubious eyebrow, "and when I become the Green Ninja, we're not gonna need any magic flute."

Green ninja or not, they were going to need that flute. Cole was wrong about that.

Kai scoffed and the Wu girl just rolled her eyes at the entire conversation. "You're gonna be the Green Ninja? Ha-ha! Don't make me laugh."

"I thought it was decided that I was destined to become the Green Ninja." Piped up Zane as he pointed to himself with a small smile.

The Father and daughter exchanged an exasperated look as the ninja continued to debate about the Green Ninja. It wasn't doing favours for their team. 

"The only thing that is decided about you, Zane, is that you're weird."

Then the team erupted into an argument over who they believed would be the chosen one, the one to fight the darkness, the one to wear green. Iris thought it was going to be none of them, so she just sighed and focused on eating. Lloyd was also fed up with the boys arguing, so he got up and made his way over to his Uncle and inquired about the box he had lying out in front of him.

"Your new uniforms." Revealed Wu as he removed the box lid to show them the stack of small boxes, each with a symbol on it.

All the ninja gasped and Iris just gave them a small smile as she lifted her face from her food. They all shot their hands out to take their box and gasped in awe at what they saw. "Whoa! They've got like armour."

"I love the gold highlights."

"Battle claws!"

Iris chuckled at their reactions and then Zane said. "The material is really light and breathable."

But there was one more uniform left in the box. "Is that for me?" Queried Lloyd as he lit up and reached over for the remaining suit. 

"Uh." Stuttered Wu as he glanced at his excited nephew. "No, sorry Lloyd. This one is for the yellow ninja."

Wait.... what?

Iris shot up, her eyes widened in surprise. She finally had a new suit. Nya cast a glance to Iris and noticed the sudden change in her at the news. And Lloyd, being also a keeper of Iris's secret, he too cast a look in her direction. A more sad and disappointed look. 

Kai arched his eyebrow. "You got a uniform for Yellow?"

Wu huffed. "Why not?" He questioned, giving the fire ninja a stern look. "If this yellow ninja is going to keep helping you then they're going to need the same protection." Reasoned the Sensei. "You'll have to give them the suit when you next see them."

"Give it to Zane then." Suggested Cole as he leaned over the table to grab Iris's new suit. "Him and Yellow seem to have some sort of connection."

An identical frown crossed both Iris and Zane's faces as the latter asked. "We do?"

"Yeah." Hummed Jay in agreement. "He seems to trust you more for some reason." Was that true? Iris furrowed her eyebrows in thought as she looked back on all her encounters with the ninja. When did they decide that she trusted Zane more?

"Then it's decided."

But before anyone can say anything else, the snake alarm blared through the Bounty. There was trouble. The two girls quickly shared a glance, knowing it was there time to shine. 

Everyone dashed to the bridge to find out what the current emergency was. The ninja headed straight for the monitor, new uniforms still in hand. And once Cole touched the device, the blaring alarm finally ceased. Which was good because it was starting to give Iris a headache.

"Sorry to break up the moment, boys, but a small faction of our slithering friends are stirring up trouble over at Mega-Monster Amusement Park." Announced Cole as he brought it up on the screen. Iris stared at the images curiously because she had never been to this place before, so she was curious to find out what was there. 

At the mention of the location, Lloyd perked up. "Amusement park? Can I go?" He asked excitedly, but when no one replied — for obvious reasons — the young trickster child started to beg. "Can I go with you, please?" Iris chuckled but shook her head at her young cousin. It was too dangerous for him, especially after annoying the Serpentine so much. "Let me make things up. I can help."

"I'm sorry, nephew." Wu told Lloyd honestly. "You will stay here, where it's safe."

His body deflated and he hung his head before letting out a groan. "Ninja have all the fun." Well, it wasn't exactly fun, but Iris imagined being forced to say behind wasn't that enjoyable either.

"What do you say, guys? Time to try out the new merchandise?" He asked as he eagerly gazed upon the box in his hand. Iris's own gaze shifted to the spare box that was now in Zane's hands — her box — and too was excited to finally have a suit that fitted her properly. Her old one wasn't that comfortable.

As the ninja vanished from the bridge to get into their new suits, Nya and Iris exchanged a knowing look. Then they too vanished from the room. Mega-Monster Amusement Park was in need of their help. So if they managed to get there before the ninja stopped admiring how they looked in their new suits, how was that their problem?

Ninjago needed Samurai X and the yellow ninja. So that was what they gave them. 

TAKING DOWN A COUPLE OF SERPENTINE, THAT WAS A PIECE OF CAKE. Especially when it was two talented warriors instead of one. The yellow ninja and the Samurai worked together in tandem. Their moves so in sync you would have believed they had fought together for years. Iris didn't know what it was, but she seemed to click so well with Nya. 

After defeating the scaly menaces, the Samurai and yellow ninja had tied them up with reals of rope before the former fled the scene. Iris stayed behind because she knew Zane would be carrying her new suit and she was desperate to get out of her old one. 

Grateful people flocked towards her, so she smiled beneath her mask, waved and said 'it was all in a days work' to everyone who tried to stop her. Wow, this was already exhausting.  

Iris stood right beside the snakes she had caught, making sure they didn't escape, as the crowds continued to swarm her. But then, in the corner of her eye, she spotted the approaching ninja. At last. Took them long enough.

"What just happened?" Kai inquired a civilian before he turned and spotted the familiar face in the centre of it all.

Zane gasped. "It's Yellow."

"He did this?"

The woman next to Kai answered. "Oh, you totally missed it." She said as Iris tried to hide from her fellow ninja. "There were like icky snakes, and then this mysterious Samurai and that yellow ninja came in and saved everyone."

"Yellow is working with the Samurai?!" Yelled Jay and behind the group of struggling snakes, Iris winced at the volume. 

 Another woman added, rather dreamily. "They were, like, gorgeous." She sighed and then turned to give Iris a flirty wave. The Wu girl blushed beneath her mask. She wasn't used to attention like this. It was unusual. 

"Hey, guys." Iris finally turned around to face the quartet of fighters. 

There was a kindness in Zane's eyes as her stared at her. "Hi, Yellow. It is good to see you."

Cole raised an eyebrow. "You and the Samurai did this?" He queried and gestured to the restrained Serpentine with his scythe of quakes. 

The yellow ninja nodded. "Yeah. I got here before you and then the Samurai arrived. We decided to help each other to stop the snakes." She recalled the events of the day.

"Wow." 

Iris watched as Zane's eyes suddenly widened as if he was remembering something. He reached back into his suit and withdrew her box she had seen earlier that day. "I—I," He nervously stammered, "I was told to give this to you. It's from our Sensei. A new suit to help fight against the Serpentine." Offering the box with his outstretched hands, Iris slowly reached out and took it.

She smiled gratefully beneath her mask and ran her thumb across the lid of container. "Tell your Sensei I am grateful for this gift. And thank you for giving it to me. It shall come in handy." 

"You're welcome." 

And as Iris spotted Nya in the distance, heading towards them, the Wu girl instantly realised she had to leave. "I must go." Iris told the others as she started to back away from the scene, much to the disappointment of her admirers. "I'll see you again, soon, ninja." 

Then Iris rushed off into the Park and out of sight. And once she was not visible to anyone, the Wu girl teleported back to the bounty, hid her new suit in the back of her wardrobe and changed in a flash before returning back to the amusement park. She ran over to where Nya was still making her way towards the ninja as if she hadn't just been standing there as someone else a few moments ago. 

"Here." Nya offered her a stick of cotton candy from her arms. Then she added in a whisper and a proud smile. "We were amazing." 

The smile spread to Iris's lips. "Yeah, we were." 

"And you got the new suit?" 

"Yep." Nodded the Wu girl before taking a bite of the pink sugary treat. "I finally get to get out of that tight old thing. I'm excited to try it out later." They shared a laugh and looped their arms together as they walked over to where the ninja were all stood. Iris had never had a sister — the closest she had was Loralyn — so to her, Nya was like a sister and it felt nice.

 The boys were surprised to find the girls at the amusement park and Jay expressed their shared puzzled feeling. "Nya, Iris. You're both here."

"Yeah, you just missed all the action. They just flew in, took care of business and then the Samurai flew off." Nya informed them and after a quick glance to where the snakes were tied down, courtesy of them, she added. "And it seems the yellow ninja has gone now too. It was pretty cool." 

Behind them they could hear everyone's gratitude as they expressed their love for the Samurai and the rogue yellow ninja. Even though it was nice to hear, Iris couldn't help but feel bad for the boys. They had missed out on all of this, and they were the ones that liked the attention, not them. 

"Uh, who are these guys?" Huffed Kai exasperatedly.

It seemed Cole was also annoyed. "Whoever they are, they're stealing our thunder. I can't believe Yellow would do this to us." Iris bit her tongue at that comment. 

Fortunately, Zane came to her rescue. "Yellow did not mean to steal the thunder, as you put it, they just wanted to help. It wasn't their fault they got here before we did." Zane defended his yellow friend.

"And we just got these cool new ninja suits." Complained Jay, continuing Cole's sentiment. Iris just sighed tiredly at that. "Argh! I'm gonna say it, I hate Samurai. And Yellow is on thin ice." Oh how Iris was going to tell Nya that later. 

She took another bite of her delicious sugary treat as her Father made a beeline towards them, a cotton candy in his hands also. "Do I hear a hint of jealousy? Maybe this can be a lesson for you." That just made the lightning ninja groan in annoyance, not that Iris was surprised. 

"Hey, how did you get here so quick?" 

Now that was interesting. They hadn't asked her or Nya that question.

"The lesson is: iron sharpens iron." A smirk formed upon Iris's lips at her Father's words. This was either gonna end really well or really badly. She wasn't sure yet.

Zane frowned in confusion. "I do not follow, Sensei."

Wu turned to his daughter expectantly, so she explained. "What he is trying to say, in his own way, is that some healthy competition might be good for you." Even if it was against both her and Nya. "It might help you reach your true potential faster." Then Iris took another large bite of cotton candy.

"Exactly as she said." The elder Sensei nodded in agreement before he continued. "Do not be jealous of this Samurai, or your yellow friend, let it inspire you." And that was the last wise word the old man had to say before he spotted a Ferris wheel and ran towards it like an excited kid in a candy store.

An amused chuckle bubbled in Iris's throat as she watched her Father excitedly run towards the ride. He may have been over a thousand years old, but that didn't mean he still couldn't be a child at heart. 

Behind her, Iris could hear the ninja setting up their own competition. Staking who would be the green ninja on whoever could find the identities of the Samurai and the yellow ninja first. If anything that just proved to her that it wasn't going to be them more. But the boys felt differently.  

And now the girls were one step ahead of them: they knew what they were really planning. So they would do whatever it took to not let the ninja find out who they truly were. Besides, if they went by the rules of their stupid bet, then clearly either Nya or Iris was destined to be the Green ninja and Iris was certain it wasn't her. 

Maybe the green ninja was Nya? If she was, only time would tell.

THE PARTNERSHIP OF THE SAMURAI AND THE YELLOW NINJA BECAME SOMEWHAT LEGENDARY, MUCH TO THE ANNOYANCE OF THE BOYS. They arrived at the scenes first and saved the people before the ninja even got there. Every distress call, they stopped it. It was like clockwork. And to make it even better, Iris's new suit fit perfectly, much better than the awkward and tight old suit she had. Plus, this one helped defend Serpentine. 

Ninjago seemed to be under attack from the Serpentine, so the Samurai and the yellow ninja were pulled all across the realm to put out the scaly cold-blooded fires. So much so that the other four ninjas were growing desperate. Desperate enough for Jay dress up as a woman and fake being in trouble. Of course they saved him, but they couldn't save him from his own stupidity it seemed.

After days and weeks of Nya and Iris working side by side and stealing all their fights, the ninja were at the breaking point. They were all sat around the table having a cup of tea, although Lloyd and her Father weren't with them. She wondered where they had gotten too, especially Lloyd as he was the youngest, but she had no idea. 

"Trying to find out the yellow ninja's and the Samurai's identities is more of a nuisance than the snakes." Complained Cole tiredly.

Iris took a sip of her steaming tea and then suggested. "Maybe you shouldn't be focused on finding their identities then." It seemed the ninja didn't really like that idea though. 

"These guys are elusive." Pointed out Jay, glancing at Cole as he said. "They're like ghosts." At that, Iris glanced down at her form. She certainly couldn't see through herself so she was definitely not a ghost. "One moment he's there, the next he's gone."

Zane sighed sadly. "I am starting to believe we might never catch them."

"I think it's safe to say, none of us are closer to proving we're the Green ninja."

Rolling her eyes at the boys, Iris finished the rest of her tea with a content smile. Like Father, like daughter after all. 

Speaking of, the screen in front of them rolled back to reveal Sensei Wu standing outside. The sight of him by himself caused Iris to frown in concern, because where was Lloyd? If he was not with his Uncle then where was he.

Meanwhile, Wu hummed in thought. "Looks like iron is sharpening iron." It was, even though it may not have been as he had hoped. "I feel you getting closer to your true potential." The boys grinned excitedly at their Sensei's words. 

"Father," Iris spoke up as she placed her empty cup down on the table, "where is Lloyd? Is he not with you?"

The man shook his head as worry clouded his features. "No." Then he turned to his ninja. "Where is my nephew? I thought you were looking after him." Lloyd was left in the care of the ninja, more specifically, the fire ninja. Oh no.

"I thought Cole was gonna pick him up." Kai answered and his words just made them all turn to the black ninja expectantly.

Confused, the master of earth stammered. "I went to the arcade, but he wasn't there." Panic flared in Iris's chest as none of the boys were giving a useful answer. No one knew where her cousin was and that just made the yellow ninja freeze with worry. "Jay was—"

"Don't bring me into this. I babysat yesterday."

Gulping nervously, Iris asked. "So no one knows where he is?"

After casting an apologetic look towards his friend, Zane informed them. "Senseis, we have not seen him." No, please no.

For the love of their shared grandfather, Iris hoped her cousin was alright. He was just starting to let go of his destructive habits and transform into something, someone, new. He was just a boy who was lost who was beginning to find his way again. No matter his mistakes with the tombs, Lloyd deserved their help and their love. They had to find him.

A shared worried look was exchanged between the Father and daughter. "We must find the boy." 

Then they all got to work. The boys returned to the ground to see if they could track Lloyd from his last known location whilst Iris, Nya and Wu remained on the Bounty. Both girls readied themselves to burst into action once they knew Lloyd's location because Iris was prepared to do anything to bring her cousin home and Nya would always have her back. 

The partnership of the Samurai and the yellow ninja was a powerful one. It was built on trust and friendship and hard trained skill. So if anyone was going to retrieve Lloyd from wherever he had ended up, it was going to be them. 

 









Chapter 9 is here! I can't believe we're almost at 10 chapters!!!

Not gonna lie, I love Iris and Nya working together. My badass babies are so good.

And yes, Zane and Iris, the others are right, you two do have some sort of connection. Everyone can see it apart from you. He gave Iris her new suit, finally! She needed a new one because despite the sentiment, that old one isn't that comfortable.

We all know what's going to happen next! Who's ready?

Thank you for reading!!!

Sincerely Rosie aka Winter326