Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: The Devourer has been released, and Sensei Wu has fallen! Without their beloved master, how can the ninja prevail? Find out today!
Jinlong voice: Chapter 13: Dragon in the Snake's Shadow
"What. In all of Kigana…?!"
A few emotions flashed through Jinlong. Horror might've been too weak a word, along with absolute terror.
This, she thought mutedly, This is what the ninja were trying to stop.
This is the Great Devourer.
The Bounty was speeding right towards it, and it took all of the dragon-girl's willpower not to veer off course.
The ninja are counting on you! Don't be a coward!
"Lloyd!" She shrieked, and she heard as the boy came running into the Bridge, only to stop short when he caught sight of the monstrous snake.
"That's it, isn't it?" He asked, voice trembling. "The Great Devourer."
"Yeah," Jin croaked.
They were close- almost directly over Ouroborus. Jin anchored the ship in the air, then ran out on the deck to look for the ninja.
She saw them, all gathered in the arena where the Great Devourer was rising- still rising, how big was that thing- from the ground. Wu and Pythor were a little ways away, much closer to the monster snake. It looked like Wu was holding Pythor in place. But why wasn't he running? Then, the Devourer reared back, its eyes on them.
"RUN, SENSEI!" Someone screamed.
The Devourer dove forward, easily swallowing both man and Serpentine.
It shocked Jin out of her stupor, and she screamed at the ninja, "GET ON!"
With lightning speed, they followed her command, though their eyes were blurry with tears. Nya rushed into the Bridge, and the Bounty roared to life, shooting like a bullet into the desert.
"Uh, Nya," Jay called. "It's following us!"
"We're going as fast as we can!" The black-haired girl near-screamed. "If we can make it to Scatter Canyons, we might be able to lose it!"
"We'll never make it!" Kai yelled. "We're not going fast enough!"
"Then we must lose weight," Zane instructed. "Throw everything unnecessary overboard!"
The ninja+ co., save for Nya, rushed to fulfill the order. Games, books, extra clothes- everything was thrown off. Even, Jin realized with a pang, Sensei's tea set.
"It's getting bigger," Cole said, horrified. Something seemed to click in his brain, and he called, "Don't throw anything else! The more it eats, the bigger it gets!"
A split second later, Nya yelled, "We made it to Scatter Canyons!"
She- very impressively, in Jin's mind- weaved the Bounty through the towering rock faces, slowly but surely putting distance between the ship and the snake.
"Alright," Jay cheered. "Go Nya!"
But at that exact moment, the Devourer erupted from the sand in front of them, and a moment of terrified screams filled the air, before the snake brought its tail down on the Bounty, crushing it into the ground.
Jinlong pulled Lloyd into her arms and leapt off the ship just before it hit the sand. The force of the impact threw the duo even further, sprawling them out on the sand, dazed.
"Get up," Someone said, hauling the two to their feet and dragging them along.
"Nya," The dragon-girl sputtered upon seeing her savior.
The ninja were there, too, all fleeing towards a small cave. A loud snap-crunch sounded, and Jin saw from the corner of her eye that it was the Bounty, broken in the Devourer's jaws.
"Our home," Lloyd whimpered.
Just before they reached the cave, Jinlong stopped short.
"Come on," Nya called, frustration and grief evident in her voice.
"No," Jin said. "I have- I have to go."
"Don't be a coward," Her friend snarled, a few tears falling from her eyes.
"I'll be back. I promise," Jin called, running off and shifting into a dragon.
I promise.
oOo
To say that Jinlong knew what she was doing would be a lie. It had been a feeling- just a feeling, but so strong- that had told her to run off to the ocean by Ninjago City. There she sat, as the sun rose, wondering if it had been a mistake, when a gorgeous silhouette appeared over the horizon. A dragon.
The eastern wind brought no distinct scent, but rather 4 familiar ones all blended together. Burnt orange, sharp blue, soft brown, and pale turquoise.
"The dragons," Jin whispered, back in her human form. "But where…?"
When the beast landed, she saw. They had merged, the way powerful dragons sometimes did, to become an Ultra Dragon, the 4-headed drakes of legend.
"You all have grown up," Jinlong exclaimed, embracing them. "I'm so proud…"
"We must hurry," They said in a voice that mixed all of the original dragons'. "The ninja are in need."
"Then let's go, Flwirosh," The dragon-girl said, climbing onto their back. She sniffed the air, searching for the acrid scent of the Devourer.
"That way," She directed. "To the city!"
In a storm of wind and wings, they were airbourne, rocketing over the city. The pungent, sickly green odor of the Great Devourer laid over the entire city, blocking out all other scents.
"There," Flwirosh said. "The snake of all snakes."
They were right. And in the Devourer's mouth, suspended by a pole, were Nya and Lloyd.
"Get them when we fly by," The Ultra Dragon instructed, and a split second later, they were diving towards the beast.
As they sped by, Jinlong snagged Lloyd by his gi's hood, and Nya- in her samurai suit- grabbed onto the 4-headed dragon.
They quickly landed, setting Nya on the ground, and Jin put Lloyd down.
"Jin? Is that our dragon?"
"Toldja!" The dragon-girl grinned, before the Ultra Dragon flew once more, passing over the Devourer and raking it with their claws.
"Haha, yeah!" She heard the ninja cheer. The looks of joy on their faces quickly melted into fear, and suddenly Jin and Flwirosh were plummeting from the sky.
"My wing!" The Ultra Dragon roared, twisting, accidentally sending Jinlong flying from their back.
She let out a short scream, before hitting the ground hard and rolling a few feet.
"They're hit!" Cole cried, and the earth-trembling sound of the Ultra Dragon hitting the ground was heard.
Jinlong struggled to her feet, clutching her right wrist. She hurried over to the rest of the ninja, who were gathered around Flwirosh.
"Are they hurt?" She demanded.
Zane nodded. "It appears that their wing is fractured."
Jinlong gritted her teeth, both in pain and sympathy.
"Lord Garmadon," Jay hissed, and Jin spun around to see none other than the 4-armed man himself.
"Give me the Golden Weapons," He demanded, but his voice was less menacing than usual. "Only I can wield all 4 and defeat the Great Devourer."
"No way," Jin snapped. "We could never trust you."
"I dunno," Jay sighed. "What other choice do we have?"
"None, " Garmadon snarled. Kai sighed, then held out his sword.
"Fine," He groaned. "The Devourer has a weak spot on its forehead."
The other ninja handed over their weapons, and a wicked grin grew on Garmadon's face.
"Uh, we are going to be needing those back," Cole told him.
"I'll do my part," The 4-armed man said. "You'll just need to keep that wretched snake in one place."
oOo
Flwirosh really was admirable. Jin's wrist- which Zane had proclaimed sprained but not broken- was killing her, while the Ultra Dragon, with a broken wing, still managed to pull forth the willpower to fly.
Good thing for Zane and Jay, because if not, they would've fallen to their deaths.
"It worked!" Kai proclaimed, punching the air.
The Great Devourer was biting its own tail, wrapped around an entire city block.
Orouborus, flashed through Jin's mind. The snake eating itself.
And far above it was Garmadon, a shining weapon in each of his hands.
"Vengeance," He yelled. "Will be mine!"
He leapt from the skyscraper, plummeting at a remarkable speed towards the snake's head.
A shockwave and a loud boom, and the Devourer was reduced to a tidal wave of stinking green goo.
A collective, tentative cheer slowly rose from the city, as the Ultra Dragon landed.
"Well done, my students," Said a voice behind them. 6 heads turned with whiplash-inducing speed.
"Sensei," Zane identified, his voice uncharacteristically thick with emotion.
"Uncle!" Lloyd cried, leaping off Flwirosh and running to embrace the old man. The rest of the team, plus Nya and Jin, followed close behind.
"We lost the Golden Weapons," Jay told him, but Wu just smiled.
"The weapon does not make the warrior. Do not despair," He said. "Because of you all, Ninjago is saved. Because of you, there will be a tomorrow."
Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Lloyd is threatened once again, and Jinlong is the only one who can help him! Will she succeed? Find out tomorrow on Way of the Dragon!