CHAPTER EIGHTEEN — JAIL BREAK
all of nothing — part two

"Told you I'd save you." — lloyd garmadon

THEY WERE TRAPPED WITHIN THE CAGE AND THERE WAS NO WAY OUT. Vengestone prevented them from using their powers and kept the ninja from connecting to their elemental weapons. After they were hoisted into the air, a few Serpentine climbed up and stripped them all of their weapons and even Nya's suit. They were tied in the chains hanging from the ceiling so that they dangled just out of arms reach. But they were close.

So close in fact that Nya was trying to use the suit to communicate with Lord Garmadon and Lloyd. But there was no answer.

Then Lloyd's voice came through the static and Iris sighed in relief. He was alright. Tossing a rock at her suit, the static then stopped and Nya answered. "We're fine, but we're a little held up at the moment. Our weapons have been taken, and we're locked in cages."

"And Pythor's returned with the fourth Fangblade." Added Cole just to remind them how dire their situation was. 

A frown crossed the yellow ninja's face and then she asked. "Lloyd, where did Garmadon go?" Somehow she had made out in the previous static that her Uncle had left. But why? What had happened?

"I—I told him to leave. He was trying to steal secrets."

At the revelation, Iris hung her head in disappointment. She truly thought her Uncle would respect them and their boundaries whilst as their guest. But it seemed she was wrong. "Ha. Big surprise there." Scoffed Kai. "I told you about that guy, but you guys wouldn't listen."

"My Dad's going back to where he came from." Lloyd informed them over the communicator. "But don't worry, I'll save you."

"No, Lloyd, don't."

Wu leapt at the bars of the cage and clutched them tightly. "You're not ready, Lloyd. Your destiny is too great to risk." It wasn't just about his destiny, he was family and Iris didn't want to lose him.

Cole sighed. "I hate to break it to you, Senseis, but if we don't get out of here before Pythor unleashes the Great Devourer, I think this will be the end of all our destinies." And he was right, of course he was. They had to get out of there and quick. 

The future of Ninjago depended on them.

"Ugh, I'll get you out of there in a jiff." Promised the young Green Ninja before he vanished from the comm system. A worried look crossed Iris's face as she felt the anxiety build up inside. Lloyd was going to try to rescue them whether she liked it or not. 

And Iris could only hope that when he did try to free them from their cage, that everything would be okay.

THE MASTER OF SPACE SAT BESIDE ZANE, HEAD IN HER HANDS WITH WORRY. They had been defeated, Lloyd was out there on his own and if they didn't escape soon they wouldn't be able to prevent Pythor from unleashing the Great Devourer. Below them they could hear Pythor's speech to his fellow Serpentine as they celebrated their victory over the ninja and the rest of Ninjago. 

Now all they had to do was use the blades to unleash the Devourer. Then Ninjago would be consumed entirely.

"Lloyd cannot go up against all those snakes." Iris mumbled to herself, head still resting in her palms. "He'll be defeated immediately."

Hearing her words, Zane looked up from his state of meditation to try and reassure her. "I believe Lloyd is capable of more than we know." It didn't really help.

"I know." Sighed Iris who finally looked up to turn to the white ninja beside her. "But we haven't even gotten to basic fighting techniques. I've been focusing more on the mental aspect." A sob threatened to fall from her lips. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. She hadn't even taught him any basic fighting stuff. And now Lloyd was doomed as soon as he entered the mountain. 

And it would be all her fault.

Suddenly the yellow ninja felt a soft touch against her arm and glanced down to find Zane's hand resting there. "You're a good Sensei, Iris." He whipped off his mask to give the girl a kind smile. "I'm sure whatever you taught him will help."

"Thank you."

She really meant it.

Around them, her Father, Nya and Kai were stood by the bars whilst Jay and Cole played checkers with all the rocks and items they had on them. There was nothing they could do now. Kai even tried to connect to his elemental weapon but to no avail. Which wasn't surprising considering the cage was made out of vengestone. 

Kai hated the idea of relying on Lloyd to rescue them because he still did not fully trust her cousin due to his Father being the one and only Lord Garmadon. If Iris wasn't trying to calm herself, she would have gotten up and hit the ninja on the back of the head. 

Strolling over to the game of checkers, Kai snatched up the tube of hair oil from the drawn-on board. "Hey," Protested Jay as his piece vanished. "that hair gel was about to be kinged." Iris turned her gaze to the ninja curiously as she wondered what plan had popped into the fire ninja's head. 

"Yeah? Well, I'm just about to get us out of here." Iris had no idea what he was about to do but Kai's plan was better than no plan. But then Kai popped open the tube and started to spread the oil over his suit which made her reconsider. 

What on Ninjago was he doing?

"Whoa, greaseball." Cole's voice suddenly appeared as Kai continued to smother the red fabric in the hair product. "How about warning us before you do that?"

All of a sudden, the yellow ninja's eyes shot apart in realisation. She realised what the fire ninja was trying to do and to be honest, it was a good idea considering their circumstances.

Kai defended. "Make jokes all you want, but I don't think we need our special powers to get out of here." He tossed the tube aside with disinterest and headed straight for the bars of the cage. So he was definitely thinking of doing what Iris thought he was. "Just a little ingenuity."

Turning parallel to the bars, Kai started to push himself into the gap. And by a miracle and some hair oil, he managed to slide out and onto the other side of the cage. He had done it.

A laugh echoed from Iris's lips as she rejoiced in their hope. They finally had hope of escape.

"He made it."

"Look at that."

Cole smiled beneath his mask as he got to his feet. "All right, slickster." He congratulated their friend before he inquired. "But now what?" 

"Now, we quietly do a little ball and chain." Kai said as he looked back at the chains dangling down next to the cage. The very chains that held their weapons and Nya's samurai suit. 

Iris too got to her feet with the others as they watched Kai in anticipation as the ninja threaded an empty chain through a bar of the cage before slowly climbing down. Below them the snakes were watching a fight as they celebrated their victory over the ninja so it shouldn't have been too hard to go unnoticed in all the racket. 

They peered through the bars to watch Kai as he slid down to the bottom of the chain. And just as he reached the end, the slither pit changed so that below them was a steaming pool of venom. Their eyes all widened in alarm. This wasn't good. 

The cage started to rock as Kai swung on the chains below. His momentum shifted their prison and slowly they started to rock. Nya encouraged her brother to continue and soon Iris had to stick her hands out for balance as the cage moved under her feet. 

"Come on, everyone." Called out Cole as he got to his feet. Then he started to run to the opposite end of the cage, adding to Kai's momentum. "Let's see if we can throw our weight around." 

And so they did.

Together, the ninja ran back and forth between the sides of the prison. They used their displaced weight to rock the cage higher which gave Kai more swing on the chain. Iris focused her gaze on the bars o the edge and as soon as she reached them, she felt herself turning to go back. She kept on doing this with the ninja and soon, the cage was swinging with much force.

"Next one and I've got it." Kai announced which just made the remaining ninja run faster. "Push."

And then Kai leapt from the chains.

And straight into Pythor's clutches.

This was just going to make things worse.

OF COURSE IRIS WAS CORRECT IN SAYING THAT THINGS GOT WORSE. Because instead of being free in the dangling cage to do as they wished, they were now attached to the bars so they couldn't move at all. The grips on their wrists looked like snakes as the sharp fangs closed around their skin and stopped them from moving. 

Iris was placed right on the end, on her Father's left, and away from the ninja on the other side of the cage. Fear climbed inside her mind as she stared at the bars holding them back. Were they ever going to get out of there?

"Great," Cole rolled his eyes as he replied sarcastically. "we're in such a better place than we were before."

"And now we can't even play checkers."

Jay turned to glare at the red ninja. "I was gonna be kinged, Kai!"

Iris just sighed and hung her head. They had bigger problems at the moment and her ninja were fighting amongst themselves. It was times like these that they should stand together, not fall apart.

"Don't worry, Senseis," Nya tried to reassure them; and herself in the process. "I have faith in Lloyd."

"I do too." Sighed the Master of Space. "I just don't want him to end up in here with us." 

Because if anyone believed in Lloyd the most, it would have had to be Iris. But even she didn't want him to try and free them from their prison. He had quite a way to go before he would become the legendary Green Ninja and Iris was worried he wasn't ready enough to take on the Serpentine. 

It seemed they were about to find out. Because Lloyd had arrived.

"Hey, look up there." Pointed out Kai as he turned to his teammates. "It's Lloyd."

Iris turned her eyes up and felt her breath hitch in her throat at the sight of her young cousin. Glad all in green, he hid upon a ledge by the opening and peered down at them from above. Iris bit her lip nervously beneath her mask as they all got to their feet to watch the young Garmadon boy. 

He started his way down the slope, running at full speed. Iris went to call out to him to slow down, but it was too late. He tripped.

Lloyd tumbled down the slope, around and around the inside of the mountain. The ninja all winced as they watched the boy roll and crash his way to the bottom of the slope — into the snake's den. "Lloyd." Iris whispered, words shaking in worry. Was he hurt? And the Serpentine hadn't noticed him yet so could he sneak away?

But when Lloyd arrived at the bottom of the mountain, he did not stop there and Iris felt her heart clench as she watched the green boy roll straight into the centre of the slither pit. The element of surprise had most certainly gone by this point. 

"Father—"

Wu cut his daughter off. "I know, Iris. But we cannot do anything whilst we're trapped in here."

Despite his situation, Lloyd put on a brave face and stared down the purple Anacondrai. "Well, if we don't meet again, Pythor. Unhand the ninja or suffer the humiliation against the Green Ninja!" He goaded the snake.

But all it succeeded in doing was making their scaly foes laugh. 

Clutching her prison bars with both hands, Iris stared down at her cousin in worry. "Oh no." She mumbled, tightening her grip on the vengestone bars. 

"Oh, yeah? You and what army?"

Lloyd whimpered below and Iris felt her chest tighten as she watched. "How about my army of fists?" If the situation wasn't so dire, Iris would have smiled. Lloyd started punching the air as if to prove his worth and then continued to fight an invisible foe.

But when he almost fell over again, the snakes burst into another fit of laughter.

"Or this army!"

Oh my, it was her Uncle Garmadon. He stood there on the slope, an army of skeletons hot on heels. He came back for them. Both Iris and her Father grinned as they watched Garmadon stare down Pythor and the rest of the snakes. They both believed he could make the right choice — and he had. Now they had a chance to escape. 

"Lloyd. You helped me realise I do have a choice." He told his son after the boy called up to him. Iris tried to tug her hand free from the restraint with a newfound determination as she felt pride fill her. "And if there is anyone who is going to threaten Ninjago, it better well be me."

And there it was.

Pythor tilted his head at the son of the First Spinjitzu Master. "The Skeleton army?" He queried. "But why would they fight beside you? You betrayed them and Samukai long ago."

"Because everybody hates snakes."

Then the two armies — one of scales and one of bone — charged at each other. 

The ninja grasped the bars with both hands as they pressed themselves against the metal to try and see as much as they could. Garmadon was leading the charge with the Skeleton army behind him but Pythor, it seemed, had disappeared. Swords clashed, bone met venom, and it seemed no one in particular was winning.

Iris jumped, startled, when their cage started to lower. Had Lloyd freed them? If it wasn't for the fact she was stuck to the prison bars, Iris was sure she would have fallen over at the abrupt movement. And somehow, despite them being lowered towards the ground, Iris had a feeling that this wasn't a good thing.

"Hey. We're moving." Jay cried out as they descended towards the slither pit. 

Cole looked up from the ground beneath them. "Yeah. The wrong way."

Now Iris realised why she had that feeling. Because they weren't just being lowered towards the ground, they were slowly being dropped into a large pool of acidic venom. They were trapped and being lowered to their messy deaths. 

And the ground came quicker than Iris anticipated. They all quickly leapt up the bars as high as they could and held on, hoping that Lloyd or even her Uncle Garmadon would come and rescue them from their painful graves. 

The snake clasps on their wrists prevented them from going up very high. When the bottom of their cage reached the vat, Iris gulped nervously. It seemed their end was coming quicker than she had expected.

Beneath them, the floor of the cage started to sizzle as the venom ate away at the bottom. Then, they would be next.

But then Iris spotted a small green blur dashing straight towards the controls and relief fuelled her. "Little Monty!" She rejoiced as he pulled the lever to release them from their prison. A true jail break.

Dropping from their wrists, the snake cuffs fell away, as did the bars to their prison. Then they jumped clear from their previous confinement and the scalding venom to sturdy ground. Now they were free.

"Told you I'd save you."

Iris chuckled heartily as a beaming grin appeared beneath her mask. "You did, Monty, you did." She cast her eyes over to her cousin and stared at him with pride. "I'm so proud of you."

A bashful blush burst onto Lloyd's cheeks and even though Iris couldn't see it beneath the green fabric, she knew it was there. Meanwhile, the other ninja climbed up the freely hanging chains to retrieve their weapons as Nya and Sensei Wu went for the Samurai mech. But before Iris could go up there herself and retrieve her non-golden katana, Zane appeared by her side, weapon outstretched for her to take.

"Thank you, Zane." Nodded the yellow ninja gratefully as she accepted her weapon from the ice ninja's hand.

"You're very welcome, Iris." 

The Wu girl smirked beneath her mask as she watched the skeletons battle the serpentine and caught sight of the others rushing to join the fight. "Shall we, white ninja?"

A soft laugh bubbled in the Nindroid's throat. "We shall, yellow ninja." 

Then, together, the ninja, the Samurai and the Senseis charged towards the battle. "Ninja, go!" They cried as the ninja spun into five tornados that spread out and knocked down everything in their path.

When they halted, they burst into action and swung their weapons to any scaly adversary to cross their path. The ninja worked as a team, a synchronised unit, as they fought their way to freedom. But not just for their freedom, for the lives of all Ninjago that rested in the fate of the Fangblades. 

Iris struck her katana out, sending two Hypnobrai flying. Once she saw Venomari heading towards Jay, the Master of Space used her powers to teleport behind the lightning ninja and defend him against their attack. "Thanks, Iris!" Called out Jay as he used his lightning nunchucks against another batch of snakes.

"Of course, Jay." 

And just when they thought the battle couldn't get any more complicated, Pythor slithered right into Cole's back. And he had the four Fangblades. They couldn't let him get away with those. "Huh?" Cole questioned as he stared down the purple snake. "Going somewhere?"

"Oh, dear."

Oh, dear indeed Pythor.

Cole raised his Scythe of Quakes against the Anacondrai's neck and then seized the Fangblades from his hands. Now they had they very things that could unleash the greatest evil Ninjago had ever known and the Serpentine didn't. 

But before they could secure the leader of the Serpentine, he made himself invisible and fled. Not good. 

"Where did he go?"

All their eyes frantically scanned their surroundings for any sign of Pythor but it was no use. As long as the snake was invisible to the naked eye, there was nothing they could do.

"Who cares?" Kai spoke up. "We have the Fangblades. Let's get out of here."

"Kai is right." Iris spoke up as she glanced between her boys. "We must go."

Nya, with Wu upon her suit's shoulder, came to a halt beside the ninja. Then they prepared to ascend. Iris's eyes scanned the inside of the mountain in search of Lloyd and relaxed as soon as she saw him beside his Father already on their way to the exit. Nothing would hurt Lloyd with Garmadon there, destined Green Ninja or not.

"Ninja, go!"

Using Spinjitzu, the ninja climbed up the inside of the mountain. Their colourful tornados easily sped up the slope as Nya in her Samurai suit ran behind them. Now they had the Fangblades they had to get as far away from the Serpentine as they could. 

Then they exited the mountain of a million steps and fled onto the Bounty. Everyone was safe and sound and they now had all the Fangblades. Today had been a good day for them all.

FINALLY, THE NINJA HAD SOME REAL CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION. After so many ups and downs, they now had all four Fangblades which meant that the Great Devourer couldn't be unleased. They had truly won. So now was as good of time as any to celebrate.

The bridge was alive with music and the disco ball that Iris didn't realise they had, cast beams of light all over the room. The ninja sipped on their beverages as they danced to the beat and finally allowed all their pent up worries to dissipate. Everything was going to be okay.

Iris grabbed Nya's hand with a free chuckle before spinning her friend around. Nya too laughed as she allowed Iris to twirl her and when the yellow ninja was done, Nya returned the favour. The girls danced and cheered as they celebrated their victory over the Serpentine. 

Zane's falcon flew overheard, squawking as it joined in with their cheers. Iris laughed once more before the bird finally soared down and settled upon the Master of Space's shoulder. "We did it, little buddy." She smiled to the metal bird as she continued to flow to the music.

Her spirits were high, her stomach was full and her mind was clear. She truly was happy. Seizing her chance, and with the bird still upon her shoulder, Iris reached over and grabbed Zane's free hand. "Woah." He muttered, startled by her abrupt movement.

The others cheered as they watched Iris dance whilst clutching Zane's hand. And it didn't take the Nindroid long to follow her beat. So together they danced upon the bridge without a care in the world. Both of them grinned from ear to ear as they spun each other along with the music. 

"Aww, they're so cute." Jay whispered to Cole as they both watched the white and yellow ninja dance together.

Cole smiled. "Yeah, they are." 

Before Kai could input to their conversation, Lloyd entered the room, a sad look upon his face and Iris turned from the ice ninja to greet him. "Are you okay, little Monty?" She inquired as she placed a hand upon his shoulder. Lloyd said nothing.

"He left, didn't he?" Nya turned to face the boy. Lloyd just nodded his head and Iris simply sighed. Ever since they found out that Lloyd was to be the destined Green Ninja, she knew her Uncle would be leaving. But part of her hoped he would have stayed for a little longer. "Then have some Snogfruit punch." She handed the boy a glass.

Then Iris added with a small smirk. "Considering Cole made it, it's surprisingly okay."

"Hey! I heard that!"

The two cousins giggled at the earth ninja's response. Iris swung her arm around the boy's shoulder as they turned to face the others. Nya raised her glass towards Sensei Wu and the boys. "To Lloyd's Dad." She toasted to the man that had saved them.

"Hear, hear!"

"To Dad." Smiled the young Green Ninja.

Iris patted her cousin's arm and said. "To Uncle Garmadon."

Then Wu announced to their team, bringing them back to reality. "Tomorrow we arrive at Torchfire Mountain to destroy these Fangblades once and for all." Iris was very much looking forward to that. "And it couldn't have been done without your Father. I'm going to miss him."

Now all they had to do was drop these dreaded blades into an inferno. How hard could that be?

Here we go, chapter 18!!! I can't believe it.

This chapter took me so long to finish, you have no idea. Kinda got mentally blocked a quarter of the way through but I finally finished it. And we know what's next!!! 

Also, Zane and Iris this entire chapter >>>

Things are really heating up now.

Thank you for reading!!!

Sincerely Rosie aka Winter326