Onyx and the Rise of the Snakes

False Alarm

Onyx jumped up, tossing her book onto a side table. "What? Where?" She asked. "Jamanakai Village," Nya answered. The boys all tried to run out the door at once, crashing into each other and winding up in a tangled heap on the floor. Onyx leapt over them and hurried out of the monastery, dashing to the dragon pens and shoving Fade's open. The heavy wooden gate gave her some trouble, and when she'd finally gotten it open, the boys had caught up. The five clambered onto their dragons and took off.

"Hey, do you believe what Sensei was saying about unlocking our true potentials?" Kai asked. "Yeah. He wouldn't make that up," Onyx said. "He may be onto something. I mean, since we got these weapons, it's not like we've ever had to use them. I wonder what they do?" Jay said. "I, for one, look forward to the future. If there is more for us to accomplish, then let it be," Zane said.

Cole changed the subject. "Is anyone else excited to fight Lord Garmadon? I've been waiting for a chance to try out some new Spinjitzu moves, and this could be the perfect opportunity," he said. "We can't let our guard down. We don't know how powerful he really is," Onyx said. Jay laughed. "We'll be fine! Race you there?" He called, speeding away without waiting for an answer. Onyx sighed and took off after him.

After about fifteen minutes, Jamanakai village came into view. It consisted of rice paddies and small homes build on and around a small hill. "It's kind of pretty," Onyx said. It reminded her slightly of her hometown, albeit nicer. The only response she got was Kai shouting, "first one there wins!"

Onyx figured beating the others couldn't hurt. She flicked the reigns, and Fade immediately swept into a dive, landing on the ground within seconds. By the time the others had landed, Onyx had already dismounted. "Can we do our job now?" She asked, raising her voice above their argument over who had won, despite the fact that she had had both boots on the ground before them. Onyx frowned when she didn't get a response. "I'm gonna go have a look around," she said. Still no answer. Onyx growled in frustration and walked sat to investigate the disturbance.

As Onyx stepped into the town square, she was met with the sight of villagers screaming and running indoors, frantically bolting their windows shut. Then another sound reached her ears. A laugh sounded from an alleyway, echoing and bouncing around the narrow streets. Onyx drew her katanas, preparing for a fight as a shadow appeared in the alley. Then she paused, realizing that the voice was too high and the shadow too small for it to be Garmadon. 'Wait, then who...?' Onyx's question was answered when a small boy with bright green eyes, a black hoodie he had messily painted a ribcage on, and light blonde hair rounded the corner. "It is I, Lloyd Garmadon! I demand all the candy in town, or else!" He shouted, totally oblivious to the fact that no one was in the square except Onyx.

Onyx sheathed her katanas. She wouldn't need them for this. "Sorry, but you're not going to get any," she said. Lloyd looked suspiciously at her. "Who are you?" He asked. "Onyx, Ninja of Darkness. Now leave, unless you intend to pay for your candy," she answered. Lloyd responded with a laugh that was intended to be villainous, but he didn't quite pull it off. "Villains don't pay for anything! I'm going to take it!" He declared. Onyx glowered at him. "You're not even half of a villain," she lashed, looking him over. Lloyd's face flushed angrily. "Am too!" He shouted. "No you're not; Real villains don't steal candy! They take over the world. And they do it with henchman," Onyx argued.

"Lloyd Garmadon? I thought we'd be fighting Lord Garmadon!" Jay's voice made Onyx jump. She hadn't realized they'd come up behind her. 'I probably could've handled it just fine...' Onyx thought with a slight pang of bitterness. "It's his son. Looks like he's escaped his boarding school for bad boys again. And to think we could've been doing Spinjitzu already..." Cole explained, getting off track at the end of his paragraph. The villagers had started to emerge from their hiding places, realizing that the so-called Lord Garmadon was only a whiny child.

Lloyd swallowed hard under their furious glares. "Er... give me all your candy or I... I'll..." It took him a moment to come up with a good threat. "Or I'll unleash the Serpentine on you!" He shouted. Onyx held back a laugh. No one knew where the Serpentine were sealed; he'd have to search all of Ninjago to find them.

The villagers booed and flung vegetables at him, prompting a childish shriek of fury. "Really? The Serpentine? He'll have to do a whole lot better than using a bedtime story to scare people," Kai said. "The Serpentine are real, Kai. They're not something to joke about." Zane said. Onyx nodded. "He's right. They terrorized Ninjago a long time ago," She agreed.

Kai snorted. "Riiiight... the ancient race of snake people who once ruled Ninjago and were locked underground," he snickered. "Sealed in five different tombs to prevent them from teaming up to get revenge on their jailers," Jay whimpered. "It's an old wives tale to get kids to keep their noses where they belong. Isn't it suspicious that no one's ever found one of those tombs?" Kai asked. "Probably because no one is dumb enough to look for one," Onyx said. "Yeah. If there's anything worse than dragons, it's snakes," Cole said.

"Hey, I still want candy!" Lloyd shouted. "We don't have any!" Onyx yelled back, irritated. What was it with this boy and his obsession with candy? The boys grabbed his arms and legs and lifted him up into the air. Lloyd wriggled and shrieked, but the only thing he managed was hitting Jay over the head with a stick of celery. "Nothing to see here. We'll take care of this," Cole said to the villagers as they carried him away.

"What should we do?" Kai asked. "Spank him?" "I don't think that'll do anything. Maybe we should bring him to Wu?" Onyx suggested. Lloyd glared at her. "I don't need your help." He spat. Onyx looked coldly at him. "Fine. Then I won't give it," She said.

The boys balanced on each other's shoulders to reach a sign above a small shop. They hung Lloyd on it by his hood. The boy wriggled, trying to free himself, but the sharp corners of the sign hooked the fabric, intent on keeping him there. "You just made me your nemesis! Mark my words, you'll pay for this!" He screamed. The ninja payed no attention to his words, and the villagers laughed. Zane crossed over to a vendor who had just returned to his stand and tossed a few coins on the counter to purchase some candy.

He divvied it up between the ninja, making sure Lloyd saw. Onyx gladly accepted a handful of gummy turtles. It'd been a while since she last had candy. "Next time, try buying your candy." Cole said. "Crime doesn't pay, muchacho. You can take that to the bank," Kai advised, sucking a lollipop. Jay took a mouthful of cotton candy. "Mmm..." He taunted. Lloyd screamed in rage as the boys walked away. Onyx turned to follow, but hesitated. She crossed over so that she was under Lloyd and glared up at him. "Need my help now?" She asked. Lloyd stuck his tongue out at her and wriggled again. His hood tore through, and Onyx realized too late that she needed to move.

Lloyd landed on top of her, flattening Onyx into the ground. She gave him a withering glare. "Get off of me right now," she ordered. Lloyd leapt off and backed away. "S-sorry!" He said. Onyx stood and shook her head. "It's fine. But that's not the point. You tried to steal from the villagers here. If you want candy, then pay for it," she said. Lloyd crossed his arms. "Why should I?" He asked. Onyx growled in frustration. "Because villains always lose, and they're bad people!" She cried. Lloyd snickered. "Well I'm not going to lose! I'm going to defeat you all," he said. Onyx frowned at him. "Yeah, sure," she mumbled, then looked down at the gummies in her hand. She picked out the pink ones and forced them into Lloyd's hand. "Now that you have candy, you can leave the villagers alone," she said, turning away and dashing after the others. She didn't like strawberry anyway.