Chapter 7: The Key to Ssspinjitzu
The Destiny's Bounty cruised through the sky, and each of its current nine inhabitants had thoughts on their mind.
Lloyd sat in the small room that belonged to first him, and then Garmadon, and currently both. He was alone, and the Green Ninja gi was hanging on a coathanger on the other side of the room. The boy gazed at it, unable to stop thinking about one thing.
He was the Green Ninja. And the Green Ninja was fated to kill the Lord of Darkness.
And his father was the Lord of Darkness.
The door swung open and Lloyd looked up, expecting to see his father, or his uncle, or maybe even Kai.
Instead, a purple, scaly mass heaved herself through the door. Solo planted the upper section of her body on the stool nearby, and did her best to coil the fifteen-foot mass of muscle that was the lower part of her body around the stool without taking up too much space. "Hey," she nodded, looking at the boy.
"Hey, Solo," Lloyd nodded.
"It'sss not eassssy, I know," the Anacondrai nodded.
"What?" Lloyd asked, knowing what she was talking about but drawing out the conversation regardless.
Solo missed his understanding. "Having to fight on the opposite side to your family," she continued.
"Yeah, well, what would you know about that?" Lloyd snorted.
Solo cast him an irritated look. "I'm a Ssserpentine. More than that, I'm a relative of the psssycho who'sss trying to bring about the apocalypssse,"
The boy blinked. "You're related to Pythor?"
"Not directly," Solo clarified. "He'sss my mother'sss cousssin,"
"Oh," Lloyd nodded.
"Anacondrai . . usssed to be a tight-knit bunch. A lot of us were related somehow or other," Solo explained. "Before we ran out of food, at leassst . . then it wasss every sssnake for him or herssself. Pythor survived by being the most underhanded, the one who thought nothing of eating his relatives,"
"And how did you survive?" the boy asked. "You and Pythor are the only Anacondrai left,"
"Ssstealth," Solo sighed. "I wasss invisssible for yearsss on end, ssscavenging ssscrapsss and," She paused, shaking her head. "I did thingsss I'm not proud of to get by," the Serpentine admitted.
"And now it's just you and Pythor. And instead of trying to rebuild your species, you're enemies," Lloyd realised.
"Not quite. Now it'sss jussst me, and Pythor plusss every other sssnake in the world," Solo shook her head. "The point isss, I know how hard it isss to fight your family, but sssometimesss, well," She sighed, her two-foot neck drooping towards the ground. "If it'sss Pythor or all of Ninjago," Her eyes closed for the briefest second, and when they reopened, a new light of determination was present in her red sclera. "I can live with being the lassst of the Anacondrai,"
"You're right," Lloyd nodded. He took the Green Ninja gi off the coathanger and gazed into the green folds. "Ninjago's more important than me,"
X
The Bounty's hull was set into a parallel design; Sensei Wu and Nya both had deluxe accomodation, by virtue of being the Sensei and the only girl on board respectively. Sensei had considered forcing Solo and Nya to share once the Anacondrai came on board, but upon realising how vastly different modesty standards were between humans and Serpentine, he had decided that Solo was to have the smaller room adjacent to Nya's instead. The large room adjacent to Sensei's quarters housed the four ninja, and the room opposite it had been divided in two by a wooden partition; Solo owned one half and the other was home to the Garmadons. The rest of the ground floor was taken up by an assortment of storerooms and the engine room. Above the engine room was the kitchen and dining room, on level with the main deck of the ship, and at the very top rested the bridge.
Nya was tightening a bolt on the Samurai X mech in the bay she had turned her quarters into when Solo slithered in, holding the leather armour she had worn the previous night. Or, what was left of it. Large parts had been burnt away, one of the swords on the back had vanished and the other had melted, metal fusing into the leather. In her other hand, she held the singed remains of her staff. "Do you think you could fixss thisss?" the Anacondrai asked plaintively.
The Samurai gasped in horror, seeing the state of her armour. "What happened?"
"A volcano fell on top of me?" Solo reminded her, and Nya nodded. "Oh yeah, that happened," She examined the armour, recoiling at the acrid stench of burning leather. "Yeah, this is toast. Literally . . . I'm gonna have to start from scratch,"
"Really?" Solo blinked. "Ooh, how about light green and purple?"
Nya blinked. "Well, the signature colour of the ninja is gold, so I'll need to add some of that. Sure, though . . but why?"
"It'sss the overall coloursss of the Ssserpentine," Solo explained. "Might asss well have sssome ssspeciesss pride, right?"
"Got it," Nya nodded.
"What are you doing to the mech?" the Anacondrai asked, curious, slithering over to see that Nya was juryrigging several cannons and an additional seat to the side of the Samurai X mech. "Adding a shotgun seat, for Sensei," the girl explained.
"Aww," Solo sighed. She had kinda hoped the second seat was for her.
"Hey, hey. I'll build you your own mech or something," Nya assured her. "It's not like we have a shortage of parts, as long as Ed and Edna are open for business,"
"Who?" she asked.
"Oh, right, you missed their visit. Ed and Edna are Jay's parents. They own a junkyard," Nya explained. "It's where I got most of the parts to build this thing," she affectionately patted the mech.
"Cool," Solo nodded.
"So, you and Kai, huh? Never thought I'd see the day," Nya wryly smiled.
"Oh, shut up," her friend snorted, carefully pronouncing the 'sh' sound so as not to hiss. The end result was that the word sounded more like 'chut', but still.
"So, any closer to mastering Spinjitzu?" Nya asked, curious.
"Nope," Solo sighed. "I thought that maybe having a proper fight might help, becaussse that was how the boysss unlocked theirsss, but nothing,"
"Aww, hey. That wasn't how it worked for me," Nya shrugged.
"Yeah?"
In demonstration, Nya dropped the tools and jumped to her feet, before raising her arms and launching into a whirlwind of maroon energy. Solo blinked in surprise, watching the dark red vortex of Spinjitzu for a few moments, as her friend skidded to a halt. "It was just a matter of practise. If there's one thing I've learnt throughout my life, it's that with enough work, you always get a payoff," she grinned.
"Doesssn't ssseem to be working for me," Solo shook her head.
"It'll come. Just wait for the key to be ready," Nya advised her.
"Thanksss," Solo nodded.
"And in the meantime, what do you know about fighting with weapons?" the black-haired girl had an idea.
"Er," Solo paused. "I can hit things with a ssstick?" she suggested.
"That's what I thought," Nya chuckled, deciding to pitch her idea. "It might be an idea to get Kai to teach you a thing or two about swordplay, then. Or ask Sensei how he does those things with his staff. Swordplay in particular would be good, because it doesn't require much footwork," she suggested. "Spinjitzu's not bad bare-handed, but it does best with a weapon,"
"Good idea," Solo nodded. "I'll asssk Sensei later,"
X
The day progressed uneventfully. Eventually, Solo made her way to the small room behind the dining room where Sensei had his meditation sessions.
"Ah, my newest student," the wizened old man greeted her as she entered. "Why have you come?"
Solo picked up the bamboo staff leant against the wall, and experimentally tested its weight in her claws. "Can you teach me how to fight with a ssstaff?"
Sensei Wu frowned, appraising the eager young Serpentine. "Hmm. I'm not sure how well it would work for you, as combative staff users can usually use their legs,"
"Well, I need some kind of weapon. I jussst thought a ssstaff would be good," the Anacondrai shrugged, returning the staff to its position. "What would you recommend, then?"
The teacher rose, frowning in thought. "The conventional arts of the ninja are all focused on the user being mobile, able to move fast and lithe,"
"I can move fassst," Solo protested, and it was true. In spite of her tail, she was surprisingly agile, capable of a variety of twists and motions.
"I know. You are fast and flexible, but you are not light on your feet. Namely because you don't have any," Sensei joked with a wry smile, before returning to seriousness. "The normal way of the ninja may not be for you, however there is such a thing as a hybrid style," he explained.
"Hybrid ssstyle?" Solo asked.
"A mixture, of ninja techniques and other fighting methods. I would recommend acquiring a shield," the elderly man suggested. "The Anacondrai of old fought by combining a strong defence with a powerful attack. If you could learn to use a sword and shield combination in combat, then that would be a good place to start,"
"Where do I learn sssomething like that, though?" the Serpentine frowned.
"I am certain that, if you asked, Nya would forge you an appropriate shield, and we have no shortage of spare katanas. As for the technique, we can begin on that once you have acquired your weapons. For now," Sensei rose from his seat and drew two swords from a decorative display on the wall. "We shall begin on your swordplay as soon as you have relayed the need for armour and a shield to Nya,"
Solo nodded, smiling through her fangs, and turned to leave.
X
Steel clashed against steel. "Remember, your greatest strength is your defence!" Sensei commanded, pulling his sword back, twirling around and bringing it up again in a stunning blow. Solo twisted her blade to block, but the sheer force of the blow knocked the katana from her claws.
"Isssn't this a little irrelevant? I'm gonna have a big ch-ield, why do I need to know how to block with a sssword?" the Anacondrai questioned as she retrieved her blade.
"As you just demonstrated, weapons can be knocked out of a person's hand. If you lose your shield in the middle of a battle, your opponent will not stop to wait for you to retrieve it," Sensei Wu reasoned.
"Alright, I get it," Solo nodded, raising her sword - and the trainer immediately launched forwards in a flurry of blows.
The snake flung herself backwards, intimidated, and promptly turned invisible. The sword apparently levitated in mid-air, dancing backwards.
"Good," Sensei smiled. "Your invisibility is an asset, you simply must learn to render your weaponry invisible as well,"
The sword rippled, flickering in and out of existence, before resolving into a solid shape and rapidly growing a large purple snake. Solo panted. "You have no idea how hard it isss to extend invisssibility to something that Isssn't part of you," she hissed.
The four ninja were sitting nearby, watching and enthralled. "I guess Solo really is one of us now," Cole grinned.
"Yeah. Only real ninja get put through the training wringer by Sensei Wu," Jay agreed.
"Harder than living with those four twenty-four-seven?" the Sensei sagely asked the Serpentine.
"Believe it or not, yessssss," Solo trailed off, inadvertently dragging out the hiss.
Sensei shook his head in amusement. "I do not believe anything possesses that level of difficulty,"
X
A week passed. Solo kept training, mostly with Sensei, but Kai and Nya, the masters of the sword on the team, helped out.
The four ninja went out on searching patrols daily, looking for the Serpentine. But to no avail, Solo reflected. To quote Cole, "The only Serpentine I've seen all day is you,"
The next morning, all nine people on board the Bounty met in the bridge. "Thanks to the boys," Nya started. "We know that the Serpentine are on their way to the fourth Fang Blade,"
"What we don't know is how," Kai frowned. "They haven't been seen in days,"
Garmadon cleared his throat. "Maybe we should ask the only genuine snake here if she has any ideas?" he acidly suggested.
Cole snorted. "I'd make a crack about you being just as reptilian, but that would be an insult to snakes,"
"No, he'sss right," Solo nodded. "I know what I am, and I might asss well make the mossst of it,"
She frowned, looking at the holographic map in the centre of Ninjago. Two orange dots marked the Temple of Fire, and Mega Monster Amusement Park. There would have been a third, but they didn't know where exactly the Fang Blade that was part of the Blade Cup had been hidden. "Where were the five tombsss? The Fang Bladesss wouldn't have been near any of the tombsss," she reasoned, and, typing a quick command into the computer, five blue dots appeared, showing each of the tombs. As Solo had predicted, both of the known places the Blades had been hidden were nowhere near the other four.
"Knowing where they were won't help us," Garmadon growled.
"You sssure?" Solo slyly smirked. "The tombsss are important, that'sss for sure. They're Ssserpentine territory, and you don't messsss with what worksss,"
"The Constrictai can borrow underground like nothing else," Cole put forward.
Nya's eyes lit up with an idea. "Computer, give me a sweep of the ground underneath Ninjago,"
The map rotated and moved upward, as the image grew. First the five tombs appeared, rapidly followed by several passageways that not only connected the five tombs, but ran offshoots like a spiderweb all over Ninjago, all leading back to one massive chamber underneath the Constrictai tomb.
"It would appear that that is how they are getting around," Zane observed with a rueful smile.
"A massive network of tunnels underneath Ninjago! Sis, you're a genius!" Kai grinned.
"All this is very good and well, but it doesn't tell us where the fourth Fang Blade is," Garmadon frowned.
"Yesss, it doesss," Solo hissed in satisfaction. "Where do the tunnelsss lead that isssn't anywhere near any of the five tombsss?"
Each of the ninja and friends looked over the map. Jay was the first to spot it. "The coast! Right near the City of Stiix!"
Cole whistled as the readouts for Serpentine life signs popped up in the desired area. "Yowza. That's a lot of snakes,"
"Too many to risk an assault," Zane agreed. "We'd be slaughtered," Kai nodded.
Lloyd Garmadon stepped forward. "Hey, guys?" he put forwards.
"If you've got something to say, kid, spit it out," Cole encouraged him.
"Well, uh," the boy stuttered.
Kai placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. You're one of us now,"
The green-clad boy nodded solemnly. "Okay. Well, if we can't go after the fourth Fang Blade, what about trying to get the other three?"
"Unlikely," Zane shook his head. "Pythor would not be foolish enough to keep all three Fang Blades in the same location,"
"But that's good," Jay corrected him. "It means that we have three times as much chance of finding at least one of them,"
"He's right," Nya agreed with a smile. "If we can keep even one Fang Blade out of Pythor's hands, we win,"
"And I'd bet my tail that at leassst one of them isss in that big chamber in the sssentre," Solo grimly smiled.
"Then it's settled," Kai smiled. "Everyone, get ready. We're launching an attack on the Mountain of a Million Steps in an hour,"
X
"We have been over this before, Lloyd," Sensei gently reprimanded the young ninja.
"But I wanna help. I wanna fight!" Lloyd whined.
The four ninja looked on, ready for battle and just waiting for the girls to arrive. "If it makes you feel any better, I do not intend to join them either," Sensei Wu assured him.
With a clank, the Samurai X Mech appeared on deck, Nya at the helm. "Hey, Sensei! I rigged up the mech with a co-pilot seat!" she narrated. "What do you think?"
Sensei Wu took one look at the chair Nya had attached to the mech's shoulder and smiled. "I think . . ." He leapt from the ground, soaring into the air and landing perfectly in the chair. "Shotgun!" he crowed.
Lloyd sighed as Solo joined the boys. Unfortunately, Nya had yet to repair her armour, so she was just wielding her steel staff. "Am I the only one not going on this mission?"
"No. Lord Garmadon shall remain as well," Sensei called down to him.
"Wait, are we certain that leaving Lord Garmadon and his son alone on our ship is safe?" Kai suddenly frowned.
"He proved trustworthy during the battle at the Temple of Fire," Zane reasoned, and the red ninja's frown deepened, before pausing as he remembered his former opinions on Solo. "No. I'll trust him," Kai decided.
"Then it's settled! Let's go!" Nya declared as her mech lifted off, making the short jump between the deck of the Bounty and the top of the mountain. "Ninja GO!" the four boys cheered, leaping after them.
Solo chuckled, rolling her eyes at their antics, before carefully springing off her tail and following them. Behind her, Lloyd sighed and went below decks.
"The seal's open," Cole whispered, looking down at the tomb door.
"What are we waiting for?" Jay demanded, leaping in. The others followed him, Nya carefully landing to ensure that her mech wouldn't make any noise.
"This place is empty!" Kai frowned, looking around.
"Guys, remember the map," Nya explained. "There's a massive chamber somewhere beneath us. We just need to find the entrance,"
"Hey, check this out!" Cole called from further into the chasm. The team turned and followed the sound of his voice.
"That is just wrong," Kai shook his head, gazing at the picture Cole had found.
Four grotesque, disproportionate faces, clad in what was recognisable as ninja masks, adorned the wall. "Is that supposed to be me?" Jay demanded, gesturing at one of the paintings.
"You know, in Ssserpentine culture it isss a great honour to be included in a cave painting," Solo jokingly remarked. "I think that I can live without that particular honour," Nya shook her head.
"I think that that one is supposed to be you," Zane 'helpfully' commented, gesturing at a fifth shape, this one with a horrific expression and long, twin horns on its head. Nya sighed.
"They could at least give me a decent moustache," Cole snorted, rubbing at his painting's twin commas underneath his eyes.
As he did, a hidden button was depressed underneath his fingers. Suddenly the entire wall slid away, leaving a massive passage cut out of the wall.
"The Conssstrictai mussst have evolved," Solo noticed. "I didn't know they had invented automatic doorsss,"
"Come on!" Kai declared, leading the way in utter silence. The group followed, the well-oiled hinges of the Samurai X mech making no sound in the darkness of the chasm.
After a while, the chamber opened out further, placing them on a platform cut into the roof of a massive chamber. "Holy cow, these guys have been busy," Jay breathed as they snuck into the chamber. The place was massive, with a large area at the bottom. Hundreds of Serpentine were amassed at the bottom, gathered around a particular tunnel. In the centre was a dais, with a four-part pedestal that bore three of the Fang Blades. "Whaddya know. Pythor was stupid enough to keep all four Fang Blades in one place," Jay quietly observed. The ninja increased their pace, sensing something was coming. Nerves jangling, Solo flickered in and out of the visible spectrum, her scales shifting between purple and brown at random.
Suddenly, there was a massive uproar, and, freezing in place, the ninja watched as Pythor emerged, triumphantly raising the Fang Blade. "We are victorious!" he declared. There was uproar, and the Serpentine cheered in excitement. "Now, my brothers and sisters, we have won! We shall take the Fang Blades to the city of Ouroboros and awaken the Great Devourer!" The Serpentine cheered in response.
Cole looked behind him, and spotted Solo's nostrils flaring. He placed a gloved hand on her scales in reassurance.
"Come on. We have to keep moving," Nya hissed from her mech, making it move forward. As it did, the great, plated foot hit a loose rock, sending it over the edge. It skittered, bouncing off the walls, and the Serpentine went silent. The rock rolled through the crowd and came to rest at Pythor's tail. He looked up, and spotted the infiltrators. "Ninja!" he shrieked.
It was no contest. Battling on constricted ground, where the rock could give way at any moment, and only one ninja could present themselves to the enemy at a time, it was hopeless. Within minutes, they had been captured, stripped of their weapons, and suspended within a cage that hung in the centre of the great ceiling. Their weapons - even the mech - had been affixed to more chains that hung just out of reach. Cole and Jay were using whatever came to hand to play checkers - mostly rocks, and Sensei and Zane were meditating. Kai paced back and forth irritably, while the girls in the group peered through the bars, looking down at the proceedings below.
Beneath them, Pythor and his subordinate generals were squabbling, arguing about something. Eventually it was settled, and, as far as Solo could tell, Pythor lost. "Tomorrow, we unleash the Great Devourer! But tonight, we celebrate! With the Slither-Pit!" he declared, and his followers roared in response.
"What's the Slither-Pit?" Nya asked Solo out of curiosity.
"Arena combat. Two sssnakesss enter, one sssnake leavesss," the Serpentine responded. "There'sss a bunch of typesss and bonusesss and ssstuff, but that'sss the gissst of it. It's actually kind of sssimilar to that Sssuper Sssmash Brosss. game Jay hasss,"
"Real-life video games. Why not?" Nya huffed.
"The Ssslither Pit isss an ancient and honourable tradition developed by my ancessstorsss! It isss far more than a 'real life video game'!" Solo retorted.
"Whatever," the samurai shook her head. It was a little strange how fiercely Solo defended her heritage when she simultaneously went against it by helping them.
"What are you doing?" Kai asked, as Nya scooped up Cole's rocks - to protests from the black and blue ninjas - and began throwing them at her mech. "I'm trying to get one to hit the com button. Then we can ring the Bounty," she justified herself.
"And call who? The Lord of Darkness, or his novice son?" her brother pointed out.
"Why can't you all just use your elemental powers to get out of here?" Solo asked.
"The cell is made of Vengestone. It cancels our elemental magic," Sensei explained.
There was a clunk as one of the rocks made contact, and there was a crackle as the radio switched on. "Lloyd! Can you hear me?" Nya whisper-shouted.
"Hello? Guys?" Lloyd's voice echoed from the mech.
"Where is your father?" Sensei rose from his crouch and questioned.
"I don't know. I caught him trying to steal our secrets, and he left," Lloyd huffed.
Kai growled. "I knew we couldn't trust him,"
"Are you guys in trouble? I'm coming to help!" the child's voice called, and everyone immediately protested. "No!" But he had already signed off.
"I sense this will end badly," Zane sighed. "Gee, Frosty, ya think?" Cole huffed.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Lloyd, clad in green, was dashing down the passageways towards the crowd of snakes. The ninja tried to wave him away without drawing any negative attention, but he was undeterred.
Finally, he reached the bottom of the stairs, and whistled loudly, though his mask, to get everyone's attention.
At the sight, Pythor burst out laughing. "Release my friends, or suffer my wrath!" Lloyd squeakily declared.
The Serpentine King chuckled. "Oh really? You and what army?" he demanded.
"How about, uh, my, army of fists!" the Green Ninja shouted, launching a punch into the air. The entire Serpentine race collapsed into hysterics.
But then a new voice piped up. "Or how about this one!" Lord Garmadon shouted, magically emerging from the shadows cast against the wall. Behind him, skeletal warriors followed, an army of undead armed with rusty blades and tarnished axes appearing throughout the cavern.
"He brought the Skulkin," Cole gasped from the cage.
Solo looked around in confusion. "The what?"
"It's a long story," Jay summarised.
The battle broke out in earnest, Skeletons and Serpentine clashing relentlessly. Pythor cursed and hit a lever on his control panel, before making a grab for the pedestal carrying the four Fang Blades.
The cage around the ninja gave a jerk and began to lower, as the pit beneath them opened to reveal a massive vat of acid. "Pythor's getting away!" Cole shouted, spotting the Serpentine making for the tunnels.
"You guysss might have bigger problemsss," Solo pointed out, gesturing to the acid beneath them. "Asss a Serpentine, I'm immune, but," she whistled through her fangs.
"Can't Anacondrai do that invisible teleporty thing?" Jay asked.
"Even if I did know how to do that, we can't take passengers along for the ride," the Serpentine responded.
"Well, now is the time to figure it out," Sensei suggested.
Kai, deciding not to trust that Solo would spontaneously learn snake magic, rushed to the edge and gestured to Lloyd. "Hey! Kid! Get to those levers!" he shouted, indicating the control panel.
Solo took a deep breath and focused, envisioning the mouth of the tunnel that Pythor was aiming for. Her scales rippled, leaving the visible spectrum, and she focused, trying desperately to draw out the power.
It didn't work, she was sure. With a sigh, she opened her eyes and relaxed her invisibility, stating, "Sssorry, guysss, but it jussst -"
"Where the bloody hell did you come from?" Pythor demanded, stunned that his niece had spontaneously appeared, blocking his path.
"It worked?" she blinked in shock.
"Well, you'll never feel it again!" the other snake hissed, rearing back to stab her with the Fang Blades.
A steel scythe appeared, hooking the blades, and pulled them out of his grasp. Lord Garmadon snatched them up with his spare hand, and offered his sword to Solo, who accepted it. Pythor hissed defiantly at him, using the general's staff to launch a blow at his head.
Solo blindsided him, deflecting his blow with her katana, and forced him to retreat. "Help the ninja," she commanded the Lord of Darkness. "I'll handle my uncle," he declared.
"Uncle?" Pythor blinked. Recognition cleared the fog of confusion from his eyes, as he recognised the three intertwining lines that ran down Solo's back and tail. "Oh, you're my cousin's daughter, aren't you? S-Sally, wasn't it?"
In response, Solo attempted to decapitate him. He blocked effortlessly and retaliated, swinging the heavy butt of his staff at her midriff. "No? Sorrel, is it, then?"
"Solo!" she hissed, driving him closer to the pit of acid.
"I'll make sure to put it on your gravestone, then, when I bury you with the rest of our kind!" Pythor retorted, forcing her back. Looking over her shoulder, he spotted that Lord Garmadon was getting a little too far away with his Fang Blades. "As much as I enjoy this, I'm afraid I'll have to finish you off later," he declared, vanishing from the visible spectrum and pulling his staff with him. Solo swiped the air where he had been experimentally, and met no resistance. She cursed, looking around, and was unsurprised to find him attempting to coRner Lord Garmadon.
There was a screech of metal behind her, and she spared a glance to see that the ninja had escaped their cage, with help from Lloyd, and Nya had gotten back in her mech. Satisfied that between them and the Skulkin they could handle rhea rest of the Serpentine, Solo charged after Pythor, pushing through the remaining Serpentine, who were too preoccupied to realise that she wasn't on their side.
With only his scythe and nunchucks, Lord Garmadon was fighting unable to use his full capabilities, and Pythor was slowly gaining the upper hand. Finally, he knocked the dark lord over the edge of the cliff and snatched the Fang Blades from him as he fell.
"Ssstop right there," Solo challenged, brandishing her katana.
"You again?" Pythor growled, frustrated. "Give it up! I don't know what those humans told you to make you side with them, but I won't let some errant cousin get in my way!"
Gold met steel as they returned to the fight. "There's a sssaying I've learnt sssince essscaping the tomb," Solo hissed. "Ninja never quit!"
"Ninja? Don't make me laugh," the older snake huffed. "Let me tell you something, cousin. If you'd been there, if you'd seen what your precious humans did to us, you wouldn't be siding with those 'ninja',"
"No, I don't know. And I don't want to," the female declared, lashing out with a furious stroke and knocking him backwards. "Thessse are different times, you're fighting different humansss," Furious power built within her body, and on instinct, she lapsed into the rhythms and strokes she had learnt on the Bounty's training course. Suddenly, the fight seemed synchronised, coordinated. Ducking under the staff, pushing against the wall to hit him from the side, "I only have one thing to sssay to you, uncle!" she spat, flickers of purple and green energy building around her body and rotating in concentric circles. Solo took no notice of the vortex that was forming with her in the centre, single-mindedly determined to defeat her enemy. "Ninja-GO!" she shrieked, launching into a twisting whirlwind of Spinjitzu energy.
Across the cavern, the ninja paused and took notice. "Guys, are you seeing this?" Cole demanded, watching in awe.
"Solo's doing Spinjitzu!" Jay crowed.
Sensei smiled, proud.
Pythor had no idea how to respond, confronted with the maelstrom of steel and energy that he was facing. He squeaked as the borrowed sword came too close to his neck, and, with a mighty thrust, Solo's Spinjitzu vortex forced him downwards, before dying as his niece centred her body on his midriff. She dropped the sword and snatched away the golden staff that denoted Pythor's rank. "By the ancient virtue of trial by combat, I claim ownership of this staff, and with it, command over the tribe of the Anacondrai!" Solo declared, raising his rank of office into the air. "And I'll take these too, while I'm at it," she declared, relieving him of the Fang Blades. "I've got them, guys! Let's go!" the Anacondrai shouted to her ninja companions.
Samurai X's mech strode over and scooped her up. The two girls grinned at each other, before the mech's foot-rockets activated, lifting into the air. The ninja regrouped, Kai dragging Lloyd with him, and Nya swerved over to pick them up. "Come on, let's get out of here," the samurai declared, piloting the mech upwards towards the rooftop entrance.
Lord Garmadon quietly watched them go, before signing and shaking his head. "Alright, everyone! We're done here, let's go!" he declared to the Skulkin.
X
There was a party.
That's the only way to describe it. Nya set up disco lights, and Jay and Kai went and bought junk food, and Cole showed off everything that his father had ever taught him under the flashing lights.
Solo felt euphoric. It was unreal, unbelievable. She was a Master of Spinjitzu! Three times during the night, she went out on deck and launched into a Spinjitzu tornado, just to prove to herself that it wasn't all some kind of dream. It was just so incredible.
Eventually, though, she accepted it. The party wound down, the Blades locked in the Bounty's strongbox, and the autopilot set for Torchfire Mountain; the only thing in Ninjago hot enough that it could possibly destroy the Fang Blades. Then this entire debacle would be over and done with. Sure, the Serpentine might still be a problem, but they could be dealt with. The Anacondrai smiled to herself. Things were looking up ninja.
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FYI, if anyone doesn't understand the 'modesty' joke when I was explaining the Bounty's layout, consider this; with the exception of when she was wearing the harness Nya made her, Solo has technically been naked all this time. XD
And there we have it! Everything's gonna be hunky-dory now that they've got the Fang Blades, Solo's learned Spinjitzu and they're only hours away from total victory. Right?
{bursts out laughing} Riiiight. XD
Peace!