CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE — GOING BACK
wrong place, wrong time — part one

"Protect the future, ninja!" — sensei wu

THE BOYS AND HER FATHER WERE HELPING LLOYD ADJUST TO HIS NEW SIZE AND STRENGTH WITH MANY TRAINING SESSIONS. He was doing so incredibly well, like this was the form he was meant to take. Since ageing up, Lloyd had accomplished so much his smaller self hadn't been able to do. Iris was very proud of him even if she was still upset over how much time he had missed out on. Not to mention that the Tomorrow's Tea had just brought Lloyd closer to the final battle. He may think he was ready, but he still had some distance to go yet.

As the others continued to train Lloyd, Iris was meditating. After the battle with the Grundal, it had taken her multiple days to regain her elemental powers. She had truly depleted them against the prehistoric creature. Now that she had her powers back, Iris was healing her mind and her body with some Tai Chi. Her arms hung at her sides as she took a deep calming breath, reaching down into her core. 

Her limbs followed her movements. She was once in control of her own body. Iris exhaled with each extension of her arm, feeling a calming sensation wash over her as she did so. With each breath, another movement was made. Her limbs were an extension of her soul, a healing compilation that warmed her spirit and renewed her powers.

After her fight against the Grundal, it was a good idea to remain with as much power as possible. She had truly lost a lot in that fight and it had taken a while to get it back. Now, Iris Wu was whole once more. It felt wonderful to be one with her powers again. They were a part of her. Losing them was like losing a part of herself. She hoped she would not have to do that again any time soon. But, if it came down to it, she would. Every time.

Her boys would always come before herself.

As Iris completed another motif, a sudden sound echoed through the speakers across the ship.

"Could everyone come to the bridge." Zane's voice came through the comms. It halted Iris in her tracks and a small smile spread across her lips as she heard him. "The falcon has returned."

She did like that mechanical bird and was curious as to what it had discovered. So, she was quick to join the others on the bridge. After she changed to her ninja suit that was.

They all gathered on the bridge as Zane entered with the falcon upon his arm. He withdrew a chip from the falcon's system to insert into the bridge's computer. Iris smiled at the mechanical bird as its information was presented to the team. It really had proven itself to be an important member of their ninja squad. 

"The falcon has returned with troubling news." The data was loaded up for them to see. "What did you see, my mechanical-feathered friend?" 

And so footage right from the formerly lost city of Ouroboros where there was a lot of activity. Something was going on. There were Serpentine gathering for a reason none of them knew. Iris was rather worried.  

"The Lost City of Ouroboros!"

From the falcon's eye, they watched the feed. As the falcon flew closer they could see Serpentine... training? They were preparing for a fight. This was much more concerning than iris had previously believed. What was her Uncle up to? 

She continued to scan the footage for any clues as Kai questioned. "Garmadon has returned to the Serpentine home base, but why?" 

Cole stepped forwards. "It looks like they're preparing for the final battle." Noted the earth ninja. 

Spinning around to the Samurai, Sensei Wu instructed. "Nya, change course. We'll head straight for them." 

And so the Bounty made a sharp turn to a new destination: the ancient city of Ouroboros. All the ninja readied themselves for what was to come. For they knew it wasn't going to be easy. Iris couldn't stop thinking about what she had seen and feared what he was planning. Her Uncle was one of the most devious people in all of Ninjago. Whatever was up his four sleeves could not be anything good.

AFTER ARRIVING AT THE ANCIENT CITY OF OUROBOROS, THE NINJA DROPPED THE BOUNTY'S ANCHOR AT A SAFE DISTANCE. They couldn't alert Garmadon to their arrival for it would spell disaster. As ninja, the element of surprise was one of the most powerful. Iris pulled down her mask and slid her katana onto her back as she followed the boys towards the anchor chain. She could have teleported to the ground but with how drained she was after her last usage of power, Iris was saving what she had until absolutely necessary. And with a possible fight with her uncle and his army of snakes, she could tell she would need it. 

Her gloves fingers wrapped around the chain that she and the others proceeded to slide down one after another. They landed on the sand, their feet smacking the dunes. And then they crept towards the city, leaping over buildings as they headed towards the centre. Towards Garmadon. And it wasn't just the ninja this time. For Wu and Samurai X had joined them. They would need everyone they could.

They all hid behind a building, watching as Garmadon ordered the fangpyres to work on their vehicles, making them even deadlier against the ninja. Garmadon was arming himself for a war. 

Then Sensei Wu leapt before his brother. "Ninja, go!" He cried as he used his gold spinjitzu to jump onto the scene. 

"Oh, brother!" 

Wu glared at his evil sibling. "It's time we finished this." 

And that was the cue. The others all jumped in to join the old teacher against their foe. Weapons raised, they kept their eyes on him readily, watching for any move. 

But Garmadon was not frightened in the slightest. "Bring it on, fools!" He egged on. His four hands went to the handle of his Mega-Weapon, preparing to unleash its power upon them all. 

Before he could, a green blur rolled in out of nowhere and blasted the weapon with a shot of ice. A startled Garmadon yelped as the cold spread along the weapon.

His eyes widened further when he saw where the attack had come from. For the boy in green was not the small child he recalled. This ninja was something else. Something older, more powerful. Something ready for a final battle. And it terrified Garmadon to his corrupted core. 

For this was his son. But not the son he remembered.

A gasp passed his fangs. "Lloyd?" He asked. "Is that you?" 

"Yeah. I've grown a little since the last time you saw me, Dad."

That was a bit of an understatement. 

Even in his voice it was clear Lloyd Garmadon was no longer the small child out causing mischief in his father's name. And that frightened Lord Garmadon. He thought he had more time. As Lloyd and the others advanced, Garmadon instructed his snake army to deal with the ninja as he fled into the city. They would make quick work of them before heading after the one they were really after: Garmadon.

His Mega-Weapon had untold power and they needed to retrieve it before more damage could be done. But they knew Garmadon would not relinquish it without a fight. So, a fight was what they would have.

When they reached him that was.

First, they had to get through the Serpentine that Garmadon had sent after them. And with Lloyd, Nya and Sensei Wu at their sides, it did not take them long to knock all the snakes to the ground. They stepped over the fallen forms of the reptiles to head towards where Garmadon had vanished. Iris didn't even have to touch one of the Serpentine for they were all already down when she got there. Now they just had to face her uncle. 

They stormed towards the building the four-armed dark lord had disappeared into. Nya was the first to reach the wooden door which she then kicked in and they all flooded inside. But when they entered, there was no Garmadon in sight.

Instead, there seemed to be a glowing portal against the wall.

Garmadon must have used the Mega-Weapon to escape. With him still in possession of that creation, it was just going to be even harder to stop him. The ninja needed to reclaim what was rightfully theirs. After all, it was forged from the four golden weapons. 

"He used the Mega-Weapon again!" Exclaimed Cole as the rest entered.

An exasperated sigh passed Jay's lips. "Oh, swell!" He deflated. "Every time he uses that thing, something really bad happens. Now what?" The lightning ninja threw up his arms. 

The portal was still churning, like it was waiting for them to enter. 

And then the room started to shake, the walls almost vibrating. Iris' eyes went down to the ground to see sand blanketing the stone. Sand that was rising. Oh no. This was very bad.

"What's going on?"

"Is the city sinking?"

Zane shook his head as they all watched the sand continue to rise. "Worse." He stated. "The city's returning back into the desert, as if it had never been found in the first place." But how? The city had been located by Pythor in his quest to unleash the Great Devourer. Had some spell caused it to sink back into the dunes, to never be seen again? Had something changed that stopped Pythor from discovering it originally?

The others shared Iris' confusion. "Uh. What?" Panicked Kai. "What does that mean?"

Still rising, the sand was reaching their waists. Soon, the entire city would be submerged once more. They had to do something. 

"What's happening?"

And that was when Zane revealed. "Garmadon's gone back in time to make it so Lloyd never turns into the Green Ninja." That was bad. Like cosmically bad.

Iris' eyes widened in fear. "If he changes one thing, he can change everything." Zane nodded in agreement. Messing with time was a dangerous business. Anything could go wrong.

All their gazes went to Lloyd who just stared at his hands in shock. "I can't..." Iris' dark eyes went to her cousin as she worry and fear expanded across her masked face. "... I can't feel my hands." He announced. 

Sand persisted to attempt to bury them and they all looked to the portal that continued to glow with the power of the Mega-Weapon. They knew what they had to do. They had to follow him to whenever he was. To stop him from ruining the timeline. To stop him from changing their fates and Lloyd's. The final battle was inevitable no matter how hard her Uncle tried to avoid it. So, they could not have him messing with time. 

"If he changes anything, he changes everything!" Wu echoed his daughter's words. "Protect the future, ninja!"

And then the five leapt into the swirling portal. To when, they had no clue. They just knew they had to stop Garmadon before the damage was permanent. The fate of everything depended on it.

THE PORTAL THROUGH TIME WAS A ROUGH TRIP TO SAY THE LEAST. Even as someone used to teleportation, Iris still found it difficult. Well, it was nothing like her abilities so the portal churned her stomach and dizzied her mind. And the five of them just fell. Iris wasn't sure how long they actually fell for. The light blinded her eyes and the pull yanked her down like gravity. It was basically indescribable. 

And then they all suddenly dropped.

They fell from the sky, landing in a flooded field. Water splashed all around as their feet sunk amongst the reeds. Iris' head was swimming, her eyes rolling back into her head. Wow, she was dizzy. Groans escaped the other ninjas' lips as they shook themselves awake. It was rough and they were all feeling it — even Zane.

"Remind me to pack a helmet next time we time travel." Mumbled a groggy Jay.

"Hopefully there won't be a next time." Iris glanced to her boys.

Then Cole scanned their surroundings. "Where are we?" He questioned.

"You mean when are we?" Amended the nindroid.

But then something caught Kai's eye. He looked over the hill to where a building stood solitary. Iris had travelled a lot of Ninjago in her time away from her home but she did not recognise this place. But Kai did. 

He gasped at the sight of it. "Four Weapons." They all turned to him, knowing its significance. This was where he lived before he became a ninja. His home. "Ha! My parents' shop! Nya and I used to work there." He froze in realisation. "Hey, wait a minute. This is the day Garmadon ordered the skeletons to take my sister! We need to warn them!"

Oh no, Iris realised. 

This was a key point. This was what made Kai want to become a ninja. If this moment was disrupted, everything would change. Iris didn't want to think about the consequences.

"We can't!" Iris instantly piped up.

Cole jumped in to agree. "You heard what Sensei Wu said: 'we change anything, we change everything'." He echoed.

A confused blue ninja scratched the back of his mask. "Yeah, I was confused by that too."

The Yellow ninja went to reply but the ninja of ice got there first. "What he means is: our world is the result of past events that have already happened. If for whatever reason events in our past fail to happen, then the future could radically change." Explained the nindroid.

Iris nodded in agreement. "Exactly. It's the ripple effect." She reached down to the water, pressing her finger to the surface. "One action..." As she pressed the water, rings echoed outwards until they reached the legs of the boys. "... can make big disruptions." 

"Er... so what you're saying is, we gotta stop Garmadon from changing anything. But of all the times, why did we land here?"

It seemed to have clicked with Kai. He knew exactly why it meant so much to the timeline. "'Cause this is where it all started. Today I met Sensei Wu for the first time, and I began my training as a ninja. Somehow Garmadon is gonna try to prevent that, but how?" There were a lot of ways that could happen. Honestly, Iris wasn't sure which her uncle would go with.

Sighing, Cole turned to the others. "Ah. If only Sensei Wu were here to guide us." 

Then Iris' eyes caught sight of something she wasn't expecting: her father. He was there, as old as ever, making his trek towards the family forge. "Maybe he can." Pointed out Iris as  her mind ran the consequences. Just talking to her father shouldn't have much of an impact. He would know the issues and complications of time travel if anyone did. He was the best person to talk to.

Except, he hadn't actually met them yet. And the past version of her was busy on her trip around Ninjago. So, in his mind, he still thought she was upset with him. They weren't on speaking terms. Perhaps them interacting would change things. But with Garmadon threatening to change time, there was little choice. 

"We gotta tell him what Garmadon has done."

Zane continued. "But we can't let the old Kai and Nya see that we talked to him, or else it will affect the future." He pointed out. And he was right.

Suddenly Kai mused. "I know exactly what to do." He hummed.

And so the plan was shared amongst the ninja who then started to creep towards Kai's family home. 

They watched from afar as Sensei Wu conversed with the past Kai. Wow, past Kai was ruder than current Kai. Making friends and becoming a ninja had really helped for him. Iris was proud of that. She said nothing and instead continued to watch and wait for the moment Sensei Wu would be within reach.

When he pulled away from the forge, Kai took the lead. He leapt behind Sensei Wu, wrapping a gloved hand around his mouth to silence him, and then dragged him to where the others were hiding. Iris' breath hitched in her throat in anticipation. Seeing her father like this, she wasn't sure if she could do. Well, she was about to find out. 

"Sensei, we need your help." Whispered Kai as he led the man to where the others were hiding.

"Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute." Jay's eyes flickered between his fellow ninja who then removed their masks. 

And the moment Iris removed her yellow mask, Wu's eyes widened and he gasped in shock at her arrival. "Iris? You're here?" His voice shook. "You're wearing the suit?" 

The young woman in question hung her head. "It's... complicated, father." She cringed as his gaze never left her. This wasn't going to be easy.

Then Jay continued. "If we're trying to stop Garmadon from changing anything, wouldn't talking to Sensei Wu kind of be like altering the past, thus changing our future?" He wondered. 

"That would be correct." Nodded Zane. "I believe a big 'uh-oh' is in order." 

"It should be ok." Iris stated hopefully. 

Kai sighed tiredly and said. "Well, we can't undo what we've already done." Iris' poor father was absolutely losing it. He had no idea what was going on. "Sensei Wu, we really need your help." He pleaded. 

"All five of you... you... you..."

"Travelled back in time to warn you of impending doom?"

Iris glanced to the earth ninja in disapproval. "—Cole!"

He ignored her as did the others. And then Kai added. "Yeah, but we don't have time to explain. Can you help us?" Begged the fire ninja. 

The ancient Sensei spun to catch the gaze of each five of the ninja with a confused look. "I don't understand," He frowned through his long beard. "but I can try." He decided and Iris smiled. This was the supportive father she adored. 

Nodding, Kai got back on task. "Any moment now, the skeletons are going to attack and we think Garmadon may try to hurt me. I mean, the past me." He tried to explain.

Now that puzzled Iris' father even more. "Garmadon?" He couldn't believe it.

"We have to do everything in our power to protect my past self!"

"And past events!" Added Iris with a nod. 

With Iris' words, the skies started to darken and a chill spread through the air. It was evident that Garmadon's forces were on their way. They didn't have a lot of time to make sure history remained on track. Iris turned to her boys and watched as they readied themselves. Any moment now they would have to do something and attempt to keep younger Kai and Nya from spotting them. Then history really would be off course.

Iris and the others watched as the skeleton rides sped up onto the hill and readied to strike. The ninja kept themselves together as they avoided being seen. And then the attack began. 

They stormed down the hill towards the forge, putting the current Kai on edge. Iris had arrived at the Monastery after her father had recruited the ninja. She had not seen this. This was new to her. And it took everything in her to not help the people the skeletons barged past, sending them scattering across the fields. But she couldn't just jump in. With this, she needed to be more delicate. 

Past Kai donned in armour went to confront the boneheads and protect his home which was very brave of him. He wasn't even a ninja yet. And he still went to fight the skeletons.

She was really starting to see Kai in a whole new light. 

The ninja in question turned to the past Sensei. "Well, can we help or not?" He inquired. 

Wu shook his head cluelessly. "Don't look at me. I'm wise but not that wise."

"Technically, since the past has already been altered, I don't see why we can't fight a few skeletons." Reasoned the logical ninja. "Just as long as your former self never sees you."

"Ha!" Grinned Cole excitedly. "You made my day, Zane." He watched as the skeletons continued to advance on the forge. "I missed beating these guys up." 

Suddenly, they all heard Jay swing into action with his nunchucks and turned to find three skeletons behind them. They wouldn't take long to take down.

As Jay spun his weapon, the skeletons disconnected their arms from their sockets and mirrored his actions. That was still very creepy. No matter what was to come, skeletons would still freak Iris out a little. 

Then the lightning ninja burst into action, swinging his weapon. With two strikes, two skeletons were knocked down and separated. And then he cried out. "Ninja, go!" A blue tornado spun around, taking out the remaining skeleton. 

"Well done, Jay." Nodded Iris in approval.

"Thanks, Sensei Iris." He blushed beneath his mask. He always did appreciate her approval.

Wu blinked in surprise. "'Sensei Iris'?" He queried. But before she could say anything, he recalled. "Complicated?" He smiled.

Then Iris nodded again. "Yeah." 

Back on topic, Kai pointed out. "Watch for when Samukai throws his daggers. And don't forget to save me." He instructed. That made the old man frown again. "It'll all make sense when it happens."

That was when past Nya spun in and knocked two skeletons to the ground. Oh how Iris liked her. She was a badass and always had been. Being a Samurai was incredible yet Iris believed she was meant to be more. There was much potential inside her, she could tell.

Skeletons continued to surround the two siblings and all the time travellers could do was watch. Kai went to attack Samukai but the four-armed skeleton raised four identical daggers. The two clashed, blades meeting sword. But it wasn't long before Samukai had discarded Kai's blade and started to advance. The future red ninja toppled to the ground and couldn't reach his weapon.

Iris knew he would end out okay but couldn't help but gasp in worry. 

"Sensei Wu!" Kai gestured to the scene as the daggers in Samukai's hands started to spin.

Wu nodded. "I'm on it." And with that, Iris' father leapt into action. "Ninja, go!" He yelled before a gold tornado appeared and went to fight back the skeleton general. With his many years of experience, Wu dominated the fight and continued to push Samukai back.

Then, he came to a standstill to face off against current Kai's old foe. "Sensei Wu, your spinjitzu looks rusty." He taunted. 

"Nothing like bone to sharpen its edge, Samukai." He retorted.

Okay, Iris liked that. Nice comeback. She had to work on hers.

Past Kai was still struggling on the ground and then, just as current Kai said, he went to throw his daggers. They sailed directly into the support of the water tower, causing it to cave in and crumble. And it started to fall. Fall right on the younger Kai. This was what he had meant. 

Sensing this, Sensei Wu used his spinjitzu to glide across the stone and sweep past Kai out of the way before the tower could land. 

And then the skeleton claw from the vehicle was launched right at Nya, aimed to take her. But it missed? That couldn't have been right. Nya was meant to have been taken to convince Kai to become a ninja. Without that, he would not find his spark, his fire. Garmadon was there. He changed history. They thought it had been about Kai and they were wrong. It was Nya. 

With the failure, the skeleton cart retreated towards the safety of the underworld. 

This was not right. Not right at all.

A relieved past Kai embraced past Nya, happy she was unharmed. But current Kai was not relieved at all, in fact the opposite.

"Oh, this isn't good." The fire ninja shook his head. 

"Why?" A perplexed Sensei Wu queried. "We saved you and your sister."

Hanging his head, Kai continued sadly. "No, the skeletons were supposed to get away with Nya." He stated. "The only reason you convinced me to become a ninja in the first place was to get her back." Explained Kai, stressing the direness of the situation.

Sensei Wu realised what he was saying and the consequences of it. "Oh, I see." It was bad, he could tell.

Then Zane turned to the man and told him. "Sensei, no matter what, you need to convince Kai to go with you." The fate of the entirety of Ninjago depended on it.

"Why?" Jay questioned.

It was Iris who jumped in and explained. "Because Kai won't become a ninja and you won't get the four golden weapons. I won't return home. Lloyd won't be trained to be the Green Ninja. And who knows what? Nya will probably not fall in love with Jay." She explained. "Ninjago won't be the same if it will exist at all if we return." 

Jay's eyes shot wide. He spun to Sensei Wu and started to frantically shake the old man. "No matter what, YOU NEED TO CONVINCE HIM TO GO WITH YOU!" He screamed.

A hand was placed over Jay's mouth the moment she heard footsteps approaching. "Quiet, Jay. Someone is coming." She whispered.

Her words made the five ninja dart over the fallen water tower as the past Kai went to talk to Sensei Wu. 

They watched from above as a grateful past Kai sighed in relief. "Thank you for your help." He smiled at Sensei Wu. "If it wasn't for you 'twist-itzu' or your 'tornad-zu', my sister might have been taken." Just as she was meant to have been.

"Spinjitzu." Corrected Sensei Wu before he continued. "Uh... come, we must train. You must become a ninja." He tried.

Iris slapped her forehead silently. It was a rather poor attempt on her father's behalf. He could have done better.

A laugh escaped past Kai's lips. "Sorry, but I got a blacksmith shop to help get back on its feet, so—"

"No!" Wu cut him off. "You must come!" He retried. "It is very important that you become a ninja. Because, uh... we must harness the fire within you." Ok, that was a little better.

That was when past Nya — longing for adventure — piped up. "Hold on, Kai, maybe there's a reason this man came into our lives." She suggested. "Father always said the world works in mysterious ways." Iris didn't remember the Smith siblings' father, but she did know he was an excellent and kind man. "I think it sounds kind of exciting." She chuckled.

And a... reluctant past Kai gave in for her, not for him. "Ha. Okay, if you wanna become a ninja, fine by me, but I'm only going 'cause you want to." Then he indeed went with Sensei Wu but it was still wrong.

Without Nya being taken, history had been altered. The past was changed. Perhaps their future too. They had to make sure history remained on course and with Garmadon still out there, it wasn't going to be that easy.

Chapter 29!!! Wow!!! We're really getting somewhere.

I haven't written for this fic in a little while so apologies if it doesn't flow like the rest of the chapters. Each of my fics is slightly different and I might still be in the mindset of another fic. I did try to reread to get me back into the Ninjago vibe. 

I love this episode! It's pretty fun! And it's split in two because it just felt right. Not sure when part 2 will be out, hopefully soon.

Iris and her boys are iconic. Also, she is literally her father's daughter.

Something else to say, I used one of this picrew things to sort of make Iris. There's no Ninjago one but there's a Monkie Kid one which is as close as I can get it. So, here they are. To me, this isn't current Iris. This is future Iris when she's leaning more into her power and who she is. I love her so much, you have no idea.

Thank you for reading!!!

Sincerely Rosie aka Winter326