The shadows we seek [Ninjago fanfic] prologue
“You don’t compete my dear–you simply, oh how should I put it–observe.”
“Yes master Chen” she murmured.
Iris was given a single task.
One. Single. Task.
Failure was unacceptable.
The tournament shall commence. However the ninja were mistaken. Chen didn't have just one spy-he had two.
Iris Javaheri--master of shadows and Chen's secret weapon
(AKA rewrite with my OC Iris. I do not own the LEGO NINJAGO franchise this is purely a fanfiction written becuase I wanted to introduce my OC. This story takes place during the tournament of elements (season 4))
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Thwack!
The bag swung with the force of her kicks. She pivoted, snapping her shin into the bag with a satisfying thud, the leather groaning as it swung back—stirring up dust in its wake. Another kick, harder this time. Sweat dripped down her neck as focused, her breaths coming in controlled bursts.
Morning light had begun seeping into the room, painting stripes across the floorboard and washing away the shadows that had appeared the night before.
Iris had been at this for hours.
Stance.
She shifted her foot back.
Target.
She angled herself.
Pivot.
Her foot slammed into the bag with a powerful smack.
She shifted back again ready to send forth another kick and had just about lifted her foot ready to drive it back into the bag when—
“Miss Iris?”
She faltered, just barely regaining her footing before she snapped her head back to face the source of the interruption.
A kabuki servant.
Iris had never bothered to learn any of their names despite it being almost a full year since she had arrived at the island. “Arrived,” she thought wryly.
More like kidnapped and sold.
“Master Chen requires your presence in the throne room. It is of the utmost importance.” She said, arms folded into her sleeves, head bowed in the perfect picture of submission.
“Tell him I’ll be right there.” She responded, slight relief and concern both stirring inside her. On one hand being called meant being useful. It had been almost a full year and Chen had not given her any assignment which agitated her. Iris felt like she was stuck on a ticking time bomb waiting for whenever he decided she had overstayed her welcome and got rid of her.
On the other hand— What he would have her do made anxiety bubble inside her. ---------------------------------------------------------------------
The lamps flickered as she drifted down the almost endless corridor, heels scuffing against the carpeted linoleum. She passed the long stretches of polished stone–lined with towering red pillars and flickering torches, casting warm shadows along the walls making it seem almost alive. Ornate serpentine patterns coiled along the floors and walls, a constant reminder of Chen’s fanatic obsession with the creatures–symbols of power and control–everything he craved.
The air was thick with incense, clinging to every breath Iris took. The hallways widened, arriving at the chamber lined with the portraits of Anacondrai generals from the years before–now preserved through paint and legend.
She glanced at the portrayals, their massive forms depicted through painted snarls and battle ready stances–eyes sharp and burning with pride as if they still expected others to bow before them.
They radiated power but it felt old and hollow as if they were nothing more than an old wives tale.
Iris frowned.
The paint suddenly warped, colors bleeding into one another as the Anacondrai’s hand seemed to lunge for her, scales stretching unnaturally from the canvas. Iris stumbled back with a sharp breath, nearly crashing into a porcelain vase arranged against the wall. Her pulse roared in her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut—once, twice—and when she looked again, the painting was still.
Perfectly still.
The hand rested where it always had, frozen in paint, as if it had never moved at all.
She tore her gaze away with a sharp exhale, pushing herself off the wall and making her way into the main room.
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A peacock.
That’s exactly how Iris saw Chen.
Flamboyant. Extravagant. Dramatic.
Aggressive.
“And in desperate need of a new makeup artist.” She thought to herself as she waited at the foot of the waxed staircase leading to his grandiose throne–waiting for Clouse and Chen to finally finish their conversation about who knows what.
She watched Clouse whisper something in his ear and Chen erupt into uncontrollable giggles highlighting the smile line cracks in his foundation–it only served to make him look even more unhinged.
Chen’s gaze finally flicked towards her—an eerie grin creeping onto his face.
“Ah Iris,” he beckoned with one finger, “come here my dear.”
She cautiously made her way up the staircase.
“I have a job for you my dear.”
Her ears perked up—a job? At least this was confirmation she wouldn’t be discarded. But again—what was this job?
“You see,” he giggled, “I’ve had a small idea, let's say.”
“An…..idea?”
He burst into uncontrollable laughter, clapping his hands and rocking back and forth.
“Master, why don’t you explain to her what her task entails.” drawled Clouse.
“Ah yes,” he cleared his throat, “I’ve decided to invite elemental masters like yourself to participate in a little tournament of my own design. They will fight, scheme, claw their ways past one another—all for the chance to win a… hmm… how should I put it? A most special prize.”
“A tournament?” She questioned, unease prickling under her skin, and couldn’t help but wonder if this had any relation to the metal man Chen had been keeping in his dungeons.
“And my task is what–competing?”
“Oh no you’re quite mistaken, you don’t compete my dear–you simply, oh how should I put it–observe.”
“Observe?”
“I want you to be my eyes within these walls, my little shadow. If any master grows restless, if they whisper and plot and conspire or even dare to think of rebellion–I want to know every single itty-bitty delicious detail. Every look. Every word. And you will tell me, won’t you my dear? Afterall we would hate to have to send you back to him”
Iris flinched, cold sweat pooling at the base of her neck as panic crawled up her spine. She wouldn’t go back, not now–not ever. The thought alone made her chest tighten and heart hammer. Whatever the cost, whatever it took she would not be dragged back.
She lowered her head, the perfect picture of compliance:
“Yes, master Chen.”
