CHAPTER ELEVEN — TRUE POTENTIAL
tick tock — part one

"I know who I am." — zane julien

IRIS WAS STILL RECOVERING FROM HER LITTLE FIGHT WITH PYTHOR WHICH, JUST AS ZANE SUGGESTED, LEFT HER WITH BRUISED RIBS. How she wanted to punch the snake in his scaly mouth even more now. Her Father was absolutely stricken with worry once the girl returned, clutching her side with agony. But after putting her on a strict schedule for healing tea, he knew she would be as right as rain in no time. It still didn't mean he wasn't worried, because he was. For her, his ninja and for Lloyd. And to add to everything, Nya told her that her Father and Kai had discovered the girl's secret. Sensei Wu knew Nya was the Samurai.

Basically, a lot was happening on the Bounty at the moment.

And that happened to include Zane seeing how long he could hold his breath underwater. 

Iris sat carefully on the edge of the bounty, her feet dangling over the edge. Her hand grazed her bandaged side beneath her yellow suit and she sighed as her eyes trained on the water's surface. The boys beside her were watching the clock, but she didn't have to to know it had been a very long time. Impossibly long. 

"Ten minutes!" Announced Kai in disbelief. "He just broke his own record. The guy's inhuman." Not that, that shouldn't be possible. Zane shouldn't be possible, but he was. Wow.

A moment later, Zane's mop of white hair pierced the surface and he smiled joyfully at his friends. Iris chuckled contently at the scene as the boys cheered enthusiastically behind her. "Amazing!"

"We're not worthy." Jay proclaimed as he bowed down before Zane, the master of holding his breath. The sight of the lightning ninja, palms down on the deck, it made Iris chuckle even more.

Sweet Zane then asked innocently. "I broke the record?"

"You destroyed it!"

Turning to Iris, the ice ninja's smile brightened at the happy look on her face. She reached over and offered the ninja her hand and he quickly swam over to the hull of their ship. Despite her injury, Iris was still able to do a lot and that included helping a friend up onto the deck. He was absolutely soaked through. At least his ninja suit wouldn't need a wash later. "Thank you." He nodded appreciatively.

"No problem." Iris reassured him with a warm smile.

Then Jay spoke up. "Is anyone thinking what I'm thinking?" Knowing Jay, probably not. "We've been training for so long, I don't think we can get any better. Just think about all we've accomplished." The lightning ninja was right about that; the ninja had done exceedingly well the past few months.

"You have all done incredibly. I am so proud of you." Beamed the sort-of- Sensei. Then she swung her arms around the shoulders of the blue and white ninja as she stood between them, grinning like a loon. 

Zane then said. "The question should be raised. Perhaps we have reached our full potential?" He asked. 

But Iris knew what it was like to reach her full potential. She had done that all on her own. It was just after she left the monastery, when she was first on her own. Leaving behind that life, it was painful but it needed to be done. The thing that had been holding her back was her sense of duty, to her Mother, her Father, her name. It stopped her from becoming the Iris she was meant to be. Then she discovered her true power. But despite that, she still did not use it even if it was the most spectacular thing to ever happen. And unfortunately, the boys weren't quite there yet. "I'm sorry, guys. Not yet. But you'll know it when it happens." 

"What does it look like?" Questioned Kai as his interest piked.

Iris hummed. "Well—"

"Why don't we ask Sensei Wu?" Jay suggested, cutting Iris off. The girl just nodded her head in agreement as she was sure her Father could answer that question better than she could. So the boys, and Iris, strolled the corridors of the Bounty until they arrived at her Father's quaint room.

Zane smirked proudly as he admitted. "Well, every morning I do five hundred push-ups." 

"Five hundred?" Scoffed Kai who smirked rather smugly. "Ha! Try a thousand." Iris rolled her eyes at the boys' antics. Comparing the number of push-ups you did wasn't the best use of time nor words. 

"Ha, ha. I do a thousand and one." 

Cole chuckled, but Iris wasn't that focused on the boys in that moment, she was more focused on her Father. He was sliding a sword into a wrapped fabric and immediately she realised what he was doing. He was packing. But where was he going? Behind her, the ninja continued. "What is this, amateur hour? Sounds like my warm up. Sensei, what does true potential look like if—"

Once the boys figured out what was happening, they clasped their hands together and bowed their heads in respect. "Our apologies, Sensei. We've interrupted you." 

The old man simply sighed. "I'm sorry if I've been distant lately. My mind has been elsewhere since Lloyd has gone missing." So had Iris's. She cast her gaze downwards as she thought about her cousin who she had promised she would return to. The ninja helped distract her from the sadness she felt from Lloyd's absence, but it was still there. Just like it was with Wu. "What can I help you with?"

"Sensei, what if we've done enough training? What if we've reached our true potential? What if we're ready?"

A curt laugh escape Wu at the earth ninja's thought. "You might have reached peak physical condition, but you've yet to reach your inner potential." He revealed, slightly vague as per expected. "In each and every one of us there are obstacles that hold us back. Only when you conquer that fear will your heart be free."

In her case it was the fear of not being who she was expected to be. Of not living up to the standards as the daughter of Wu and the granddaughter of the First Spinjitzu Master.

"Only then will you reach your true potential. Only then will we have a fighting chance to stop the Serpentine from releasing the Great Devourer." That name struck fear into Iris just as it had done in her youth. But now, the story was looking more real by the day. 

She turned her gaze downwards and bit the inside of her cheek, not wanting to say a thing. But it seemed Zane had picked up on the Wu family's reluctance to speak of the snake. "There's more to the Great Devourer than you and Iris have led on, isn't there, Sensei?" He questioned as he placed his hand upon the man's shoulder.

A heavy sigh filled the air. "I too have obstacles within my own heart. There's a story that only Iris knows." The boys quickly cast a glance at her, but she didn't meet their eyes. Then her Father recalled the tale he told her as a child, the one that would give her nightmares about the evil snake biting her. When both her Father and Uncle were just boys in the Monastery of Spinjitzu with their Father. How Wu's sword ended up over the wall and he was too frightened to retrieve it. And when Garmadon stood up and went to get it for his brother, a snake sunk its fangs into the boy's hand. The venom didn't hurt him much physically, but it twisted his mind and turned the blood in his veins to evil. "The snake is the same one the Serpentine want to re-awaken today. It is the snake that took my brother away from me."

Iris always hated that story. It was so tragic. Even more so because it was about her very own family.

Eyebrow raised, Kai questioned. "So the Great Devourer turned your brother into the Dark Lord?" 

"It was all my fault." He had always blamed himself, Iris knew that. And that guilt had been weighing him down for millennia. 

Iris shook her head. "Father, you couldn't have known." He said nothing. As she redirected her gaze to his case, she asked. "Does this have something to do with why you're packing?" Again, he said nothing.

Then he directed his next words to the ninja. "You four have finished your training." With him, maybe, but not with her. She still had some things she wanted to teach them. "You must now focus on stopping Pythor from collecting the four Fangblades. But never lose focus on the obstacles that lie within each of your hearts, that hold you back from true greatness. Unlock your true potential."

Of course, the four ninja were puzzled by his instructions. "But how are we supposed to do that, Sensei?" Queried Zane.

"It's up to each of you to discover." He told them before he turned to his daughter and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. He knew she was still hurt and wouldn't risk the hug he wanted to give her. "I leave you in charge until I return." But before she could even protest, not that she would, he added. "You know where the healing tea is for when you need it. But now I must go on a personal journey of my own."

She knew better than to ask, but the ninja did not. "Where are you going?"

"To a place you cannot follow." 

Despite the vagueness and attempts to be cryptic, Iris saw straight through him. 

Cole spoke up. "If you're going after Lloyd, the City of Ouroboros is filled with hundreds of Serpentine. You'll never do it alone." He was right about that. Not even five ninja and a Samurai could do it. So could one immortal Sensei?

"I am going to find someone who can be of aid." She knew who that was. And boy, the ninja weren't going to like it. "The Serpentine have united and grown stronger and we will need all the help we can get."

Then they bade farewell to their Sensei, Iris's Father, as he began his quest. The ninja may have not realised where the old man was going to, but Iris did. Sometimes she really could read him like an open book. 

He was going to find Garamdon. Her Uncle.

SHE SWORE THE NINJAS' PLAN TO FIND THE FANGBLADES SOUNDED BETTER WHEN THEY WERE DISCUSSING IT IN THE BRIDGE. Because right now, as she plastered up posters in search of the blades, she felt like an idiot. Her Father didn't leave many instructions for his time away apart from keeping the Fangblades away from Pythor, which was exactly what they were going to try and do. But there really had to be a better way then 'MISSING' posters. It was like they were looking for a cat, not a blade that could change the fate of Ninjago.

Anyway, at least it was easy on her wound. 

She wore her yellow gi with pride around he friends because ever since they had found out the truth, Iris was starting to wear her suit more and more. It was nice. It made her feel like one of the team apart from whatever awkward friend/teacher/colleague status she had previously held. 

Kai was freaking out a little after finding out his sister was the Samurai. Having both big revelations in one day must've been a lot for him. And he was doing a pretty poor job at hiding the fact that he knew something about the Samurai. It wouldn't be long before the others would get suspicious because if Iris didn't already know, she would've figured it out by Kai alone.

Posters didn't seem to be on Zane's mind as Iris noticed he was staring off into the distance. Fliers fell from the pile in his hand until the shopkeeper started to shout at him, calling Zane names Iris didn't approve of in such a manner. She was about to give the man a piece of her mind when Nya held her back, which was probably a good thing. They all then helped pick up Zane's discarded posters until they found out why he had dropped them in the first place: the falcon.

The mysterious falcon had returned.

So, of course, they followed it. 

The crossed the desert. And then the snowy mountains. Jay stayed behind at the very top of the peak, needing a rest after all that. But the others kept going. Iris's injury was aching, the pain growing the further they went. But she had to keep going. The falcon didn't stop so neither did they. Zane still led the charge after the bird because for a reason no one knew, he shared a strange kinship with the creature. It was as if they knew one another. 

They crossed a ravine on a tree bridge as they kept following the falcon. Cole was the one left behind on those branches. Zane, Kai and Iris didn't stop but the yellow ninja knew she would have to soon.

 After the bridge came more a snowy forest. She had never ventured this far into Ninjago before and it was beautiful. Unfortunately, the girl clutched her side in agony as she panted for breath. Her time was up. "Go on without me," Iris told them, coughing as she tried to recover her breathing, "I'll be there soon." With a nod each, the two remaining ninja took off into the tundra. 

How they were still going, she had no idea. 

Meanwhile Iris kneeled down upon the dry earth and started her attempt to regulate her breathing. After all that running — even with her extensive training — she couldn't go on anymore. Her wound was limiting her and probably would for longer than it should have after this exercise had aggravated it. Oh how her Father would scold her on it when he returned.

Iris spent the next five minutes at least just regaining what strength she had left and brought her heart rate back to rest. Her hand grazed the edges of the bandages under her suit to make sure that they were still on correctly. Fortunately, the running hadn't shifted them much. Zane and Kai were ahead, still following after the falcon to wherever it was taking them. The falcon had helped them before: with Lloyd's treehouse and the Bounty. So Iris didn't doubt the bird's desire to help them. Still, it was quite a way to go. And it wasn't like she could teleport there because she didn't even know where she was going.

After summoning as much energy that remained, Iris pushed herself to her feet. And just in time too. Because in the corner of her eye she spotted a familiar pair of gis heading her way. The lightning and earth ninjas had finally caught up. As they approached her, Cole teased. "So you were the next to fall, huh, Iris?"

"Don't say that, Cole. Running is hard!" 

Damn right it was, but Iris saw the necessity and occasional beauty of it. 

"AND she made this far with her injury. Like you could do better!" Defended Jay as he strolled over to wrap an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Don't listen to him, Yellow." Iris just offered the blue ninja a kind smile for his words.

Cole rolled his eyes at the energetic warrior. "I was just kidding, Jay." 

"Boys." Iris spoke up, snapping them out of the staring game they had somehow gotten themselves into. "Shall we go now? Kai and Zane are still ahead of us." 

Once the two ninja had nodded their heads in agreement, they dashed off towards the tundra. Snow crunched beneath their boots and the chilly breeze nipped at their masked cheeks. Their suits weren't built for cold like this. Trees towered high, their thin trunks a pale grey that blended rather well with the white ground. It was beautiful. The three ninja continued through the snow until they spotted a red ninja plain as day. "Kai!" Exclaimed Jay as he ran over to join his friend.

"About time you guys made it." Kai smirked as he welcomed his friends. "I was beginning to wonder whether you had decided to go back."

Jay scoffed at the accusation. "As if we would ever." 

Instantly noticing the absence of the white ninja, despite the backdrop, Iris looked worried. "Kai, where's Zane?" She asked as she tried to scan their surroundings for any sign of their friend.

"He went ahead." Kai replied as he turned to gaze off in the direction Zane went in. "I said I would wait for you guys."

Stepping forwards, Cole focused his sights on the chilly path ahead. "Then what are we waiting for, lets find our friend." So that was what they did.

The four ninja trekked across the snow, feeling the flakes crunch and compress beneath their shoes. You could tell that the ninja were focused, dedicated, as Jay hadn't even thrown a snowball like Iris half expected him too. Growing up high on a mountain, it made Iris more resistant to the cold, but this was a whole different level of cold. She was freezing. Her limbs shook and her knees knocked, even her teeth started to chatter.

If she wanted to she could teleport back to the Bounty and have a cup of healing tea in no time. But she wouldn't do that to them or Zane.

Sometime in their walk, Kai whispered to the yellow ninja about the warning him and Zane had seen earlier: the Treehorns. Of course the fire warrior hadn't wanted to say it aloud because he was afraid Jay would freak out even when they didn't even know how bad Treehorns were or if they were even bad at all. Iris nodded in understanding and said nothing, just put herself on higher alert than she already was.

Iris had no idea where they were going, it honestly all looked the same to her. But somehow they managed to make their way forwards. And when they discovered a broken down robot, they knew they were in the right place.

It laid sprawled out across the snow and the lack of white covering the rusty machine let them know that it hadn't been down long. Guns were attached to its back and the case between its shoulders seemed to be broken. "He took down a robot all by himself?" Questioned Cole.

"No fair! I wanted to fight a big robot!" Whined Jay, crossing his arms over his chest in disappointment.

Kai just shook his head at his blue friend. "I don't think you do, Jay. This looks like one hell of a fight." As the boys continued to study the remnants from Zane's battle with the robot, Iris found herself drawn to something completely different. Because tucked away, in plain sight, was a door opening right into a tree.

It was incredible. A hollow tree with some sort of room or space inside. Just like the robot, it was a feat of technological genius. "I think Zane's in there." She spoke up and pointed towards the open door. When the boys spotted what Iris was looking at, they all gasped in awe.

"That. Is. Awesome!!!"

Kai was revved up, eager to check it out. "Lets go."

Together they made their way over to the open door in the tree and the first thing they noticed was the staircase that led them down somewhere. One after the other, the ninja entered the tree and once they stood on the stairs, they could see their white-clad friend below them, head hung as he stared at some papers on the ground. Iris's heart clenched at the scene. He looked so sad and broken.

What had his falcon friend led him to?

They all made their way cautiously down the stairs and were careful not to startle the ninja from his own little world. "Zane?" Kai called out to make their presences known.

"Wow, would you look at this place?" Breathed out Jay in wonderment. 

Gently, Iris then questioned as they finally drew nearer to the ninja. "Zane, are you alright?" He still had his head in hands as if distraught from some sort of news. 

But Zane said nothing. He didn't even acknowledge their arrival and that worried them. The four dashed over to their friend's side and instantly asked him if he was okay or if he was hurt. He didn't reply.

Instead the ninja just sighed heavily before returning his sight to the discarded papers. Whatever they were, they had truly affected him. Iris couldn't see much of them, but from what she managed to spot, they were designs for something she didn't see.  Zane retrieved the papers from where he had left them and got to his feet. The next thing he did shocked them to their very cores.

Zane opened up his chest. And inside were switches and wires and other mechanical things.

He was a robot.

They all gasped and screamed in shock as they stared at their friend, unable to tear their eyes from what they were seeing. Never in a million years would Iris have guess this. Zane was a robot. Wow. He was even more special than she previously thought.

"You're a robot?" Exclaimed Kai.

Iris went to take a step forwards, to try and show Zane that they still loved him. But once he noticed her advancing, he flinched away. Had she done something to offend him? A sad look crossed her face by his reaction. She didn't know that Zane was just frightened she would no longer care about him, that she would think he was some sort of monster. But in reality, it was the opposite.

The man, robot, or whatever he was, sighed and shook his head. It seemed he hadn't quite wrapped his head around it himself, understandably. "All this time, and I never knew." 

His falcon friend had brought him... home? It had brought him back to find out the truth.

"Uh, guess this explains why you're always acting so weird. Right?"

Iris shot the blue ninja a warning look for his words. Then Zane pointed out. "The reason I never had a sense of humour was because my 'funny' switch wasn't on." And to prove his point, he reached into his metal chest and flicked a switch. Then after he closed the opening, something rather unexpected happened.

Music blared out as if from nowhere and Zane began to dance. It was free, amusing and amazing. Iris smiled contently at the sight of the ice ninja dancing around the bottom of the tree, singing along to the tune that was playing. It was... wow. She didn't even know Zane could sing. 

The ninja continued to perform strange and funny dance moves to the rhythm. Jay burst into a fit of laughter whilst Iris's smile just widened at the sight. He looked happy. Then, once the song had ended, Zane opened up his chest once more to switch the so-called 'funny' switch off again. And he sighed tiredly.

"It just makes you more special." Cole tried to reassure him as the ninja-robot-man sighed sadly. This was all very new for him. Finding out that you weren't human was big and daunting. "You're still the same Zane. Just more, uh, gears." 

Exactly. 

Then Kai stepped forward and added as he outstretched his hand to the fallen ninja. "No matter what you're made of, you're still our brother." Okay, so maybe Iris was tearing up a little bit. Her boys just made her so proud sometimes. 

"Really?"

That doubt broke Iris's heart. He sounded so relieved as if he was expecting his fellow ninja to turn him out of the Bounty because of the news. It seemed he had underestimated how much his friends loved him. If the boys felt like Zane had leave, Iris would have fought tooth and nail for him to stay, he could count on her for that.

"In fact, I bet it even makes you a better ninja."

"Yeah." Piped up Jay with a smile. "And how cool is that I can honestly say: 'My brother is a Nindroid'." Nindroid, huh? She liked that, it was good. Iris smirked at the blue ninja.

Zane frowned at Jay's word. "A Nindroid?"

Nindroid certainly sounded better than Ninja-robot or Ninjabot or Ninbot or whatever other version there was. Iris smiled at the boys as Cole said. "Now come on. Pythor is still out there looking for the first Fangblade, and we need you."

Crestfallen, Zane pulled himself from Cole's grip and turned away from his friends, his family. "You'll have to go on without me." He insisted as he shook his head. "I just don't feel right."

And so the others left, but Iris remained. 

She stood behind Zane, her focused on the back of his head. Then she finally spoke up. "Zane you're still the same person, Nindroid or not." And she meant it. Discovering Zane was actually a Nindroid, to her, changed nothing. He was still the kind and protective friend she knew. The one who cared about her and had her back on multiple occasions. To Iris, he could have been made out of ice itself and she would still care about him. 

Zane didn't say a thing and just continued to stare at the designs someone had made for him. His blueprints. So, with a defeated sigh, Iris turned on her heels and headed up after the ninja. Then Zane was all alone.

When Iris reached the top, she was met up with the ninja who were staring off into the distance. Growling echoed from beyond the treeline which put the ninja on high alert. They scanned the surroundings to try and find the source of the noise. But everything still looked the same. 

"What's that?"

A worried Jay pleaded. "Cute, tiny birds?"

As the growling and now stomps grew closer, the ninja readied themselves and pulled on their masks. Iris stared at her surroundings but she must have hit her head because she swore she saw trees moving. But trees didn't move, right? "Did you see that?"

"I think so." Gulped Iris.

"I don't see anything."

Then Kai said. "I just saw it too." Oh dear, it seemed Iris wasn't imagining it after all. "Treehorns!" Iris looked up and that was when she realised what was going on. So those were Treehorns.

Incredibly tall creatures with beady red eyes and legs, tall and camouflaged like trees, were encompassing them. They kept on drawing nearer to the four ninja who withdrew their weapons in anticipation. Iris tightened her grip on her katana and brandished it out in front of her with both hands as the boys raised their golden weapons. They could really used Zane right about then.

The broken robot mumbled a warning, but it was too late. Groaning in annoyance, Kai realised. "Oh great, I think that thing was supposed to protect this place."

"Not good." Muttered Iris as her hands threatened to tremble.

"Guys, it's up to us."

Iris, Kai, Jay and Cole exchanged a single ready look. Then they sprung into action. Each of them targeted a Treehorn and did their best against the large beasts. Iris swung her blade, knocking the legs of the creature over. But then with its last standing action, it kicked her straight in her bad side. 

Pain once again erupted in that area as Iris's knees gave way and she collapsed into the snow. With her hands upon the cold snow, Iris pushed herself back up onto her feet no matter how much her side hurt. She had to get up because ninja never quit. Jay and Kai weren't having that much luck either and were soon taken down by their Treehorns.

Iris groaned and cringed as she stood back up and narrowed her eyes at her Treehorn. With the power of space in her veins, Iris summoned her gift and vanished in a puff of yellow. She landed on the back of the rising Treehorn and tried to knock the creature on the back of its head. But instead of succeeding in defeating the creature, she only managed to succeed in getting it to throw her from its back and onto the snow below.

This wasn't going very well.

"There's just too many of them." Cole was right about that. Three treehorns had now cornered the yellow ninja, pinning her to the white snow. 

She was gonna need one hell of a healing tea after this.

It seemed that no matter what they tried, they just couldn't take down the creatures. They were losing. And if they couldn't win against a couple of forest beasts then how were they supposed to beat an Anacondrai and his Serpentine army. 

The treehorns had pretty much beaten them when a familiar voice rang out. "Leave my friends alone!" It was Zane. Hope flourished in the Wu girl's chest at the sound of his voice and then she started to fight against the creatures once more. "Ninja, go!"

Kai helped Iris to her feet as they watched Zane attack the treehorns. He hit their legs with his ice Shurikens as well as his spinjitzu. It was incredible. He was so focused and driven as he fought the treehorns. A man — or Nindroid — on a mission. "What's gotten into Zane?"

"I don't know, but I like it." Grinned Kai beneath his mask.

Iris breathed out in awe. "He's amazing."

They all came together at the centre, completely surrounded by treehorns. Back to back they stood. A strong, sturdy force to be reckoned with. They fought together and they fought for each other. Nothing was more powerful than that. "Ninja, go!" They cried out and used spinjitzu. 

White, blue, brown, red and yellow tornados came together and then were spat off in all different directions. They spun themselves into the tree-like legs of the creatures, knocking them onto the ground. Divided they didn't really stand a chance, but together as a team, they could do anything. 

The boys used their golden weapons as Iris launched an occasional cosmic blast towards the treehorns. She had shown the boys her space energy earlier, so they weren't shocked when glowing yellow orbs started to form in her hands. The treehorns fought back but at least now the fight was much fairer. But once they finally believed they had the upper hand, the treehorns suddenly turned tail and fell back. 

"Are they re-grouping?" Asked Jay, puzzled. But their queries were soon answered when a larger, more vicious looking treehorn made their appearance. It's teeth were sharper and they had many more bright red eyes upon their head than the others. This wasn't just any treehorn. Iris took a frightened step back and gulped as it approached. "Who's that?"

"The queen."

"Oh no."

She roared challenging at the five ninja. Then she stood her ground and glared down at them with her large red eyes. She didn't even have a chance to advance, because Zane made the first move. Iris went to stop him, but Cole caught her arm.

"You will not hurt my friends." He stated and then took another step forwards and raised his ice shurikens to attack. "There is nothing holding me back. I know who I am."

Light and ice spiralled out of his golden weapons, and them himself. Zane stood his ground against the queen and made a wall between her and the people he cared about. Iris and the others watched in absolute awe as the light blue light burst out of the Nindroid like a beacon and he was lifted into the air.

His entire form was almost translucent as he began one with the energy that surrounded him. A proud smile tugged at Iris's lips at the sight. She knew what was happening, because she remembered when it happened to her. As if it were yesterday. But every element was different and Zane was no exception. 

"What's happening to him?" Kai asked worriedly as Zane integrated with the beam of ice energy. 

Iris turned to show him her smile. "Now he has unlocked his true potential. I told you that you'll know it when it happens." 

"So he wasn't programmed to do that?" Questioned Kai, looking for confirmation.

"I've never seen a robot do that."

Cole interjected and corrected the blue ninja. "You mean nindroid." They all gazed up at in astonishment Zane as he drew on the power he had created. "Iris is right, he's unlocked his true potential."

Throwing out his shurikens of ice, Zane dropped to the ground. The beam around him vanished without a trace and as soon as he hit the ground, he used spinjitzu and spun towards the queen. He went around in circles before returning to the sky and unleashing a blast of pure ice at the queen. It came from his chest, his heart. The place where true power lied. 

And within moments, the Queen became encased in ice and the other treehorns fled before they could suffer the same fate. 

The glow in Zane's eyes faded and his body became opaque once again. He dropped from the sky as the beam around him vanished and Iris quickly used what power she had left to teleport over in time to catch the tired Nindroid before he could hit the ground. "You did it." She smiled down at him. 

"What happened?" He frowned as Iris placed him back onto his feet.

"That was awesome!!!"

Kai cheered as he clapped his hand on Zane's shoulder. "You should have seen yourself!"

"I've never seen anything like it." Cole gaped. Iris had seen the whole true potential thing before, but Cole was right, she hadn't seen once like that. It was mesmerising. 

The Wu girl placed her hand on the Nindroid's arm and he tensed at the contact. But when Iris went to remove her hand out of the fear she had made him uncomfortable, the ninja relaxed and offered her a kind smile. Everything was okay. 

Zane stared down at his hands, like he was examining them. "This must be what Sensei meant about unlocking our hearts. I remember now." He informed them as he pulled off his mask, then Iris did the same. "I remember everything. I remember my Father and how he cared for me." Hearing the happiness in his voice just made Iris smile broadly. It seemed it was contagious. "I remember where I came from. And I feel stronger for knowing."

"What once held you back has now set you free." Iris commented as she smiled at the boy with pride.

"I'm so jealous. His powers are so cool." Pun intended, Iris hoped.

She chuckled quietly when Jay said. "We have our very own Nindroid." And they all cheered. Zane was one of them no matter what. He was family, Nindroid or not. 

He pulled his mask back over his face. "Watch out, Pythor. We're coming to get you." Hell yeah they were. They had to stop the snake before the Great Devourer could be released and wreak havoc across the realm. And as each of the ninja discovered their true potential, they grew even stronger.

The ninja looked at each other with a mixture of relief and excitement. But none of them made a comment about how Iris's hand still rested upon Zane's arm. Because, to be honest, no one noticed in the slightest. And neither Iris nor Zane wanted to pull away.

It has happened! Chapter 11 is where the shit starts to get real.

Iris is still recovering and Zane is just so sweet to her. And Wu, he just goes off and leaves them to retrieve his brother — Iris figured that out. 

Zane knows the truth now and so do the others yet it doesn't really matter to them because Zane is still Zane. Iris is so proud of her boys, they mean a lot to her.

And yes, Iris discovered her true potential after leaving the monastery when she swore to not use her powers again. She didn't mean to, it sort of happened, so she doesn't count it. 

Honestly love Iris and Zane so much. They are my babies.

Thank you for reading!!!!

Sincerely Rosie aka Winter326