Onyx and the Rise of the Snakes

Cuckoo Quips

Onyx and Zane chased after the falcon for what felt like hours. After traversing hills, fields, and freezing a river so the two could cross, the falcon fluttered down and perched on a rock, gazing at something. Onyx and Zane came up behind it and froze. The Falcon had led them to a huge treehouse that was suspended by five thick ropes. 'Yeah. That looks safe,' Onyx thought. 

Suddenly Lloyd came into view, yelling orders at a few Serpentine who were following him. Onyx and Zane ducked behind the rock and listened in. "If I see one girl in here, I'm gonna go ballistic!" Lloyd shouted. Onyx grinned. 'Oh, you're going to be seeing one, Lloyd,' she thought.

The falcon waved its wing. "I believe we have found what he wanted to show us." Zane murmured to Onyx. She nodded. "We should tell the others." She whispered in response. Zane looked at the falcon, still perched on the rock. "Thank you, my mysterious friend," he murmured. The falcon gave what Onyx thought was a falcon equivalent of an acknowledging nod and took off, soaring into the starry sky and vanishing into the darkness.

The next morning Onyx and Zane led the other ninja to where the treehouse stood, retracing their steps from the previous night. "I don't think they even know where they're going." Onyx heard Kai whisper. "Uh, tell us again how you stumbled across Lloyd's secret headquarters," he said. "I followed a bird," Zane answered nonchalantly, like chasing a falcon was the most normal thing in the world.

"And... why did you follow a bird?" Jay asked. "Because it danced," Zane said, not looking at him. "Oh, okay. Was it a cuckoo bird?" Jay sniggered. Kai and Cole laughed. Onyx huffed. "He's telling the truth," she said. "Well... aren't you both a little cuckoo?" Kai asked. Onyx gritted her teeth as the three lapsed into another round of laughter.

"Besides, everyone knows that cuckoo birds aren't indigenous to this forest," Zane offered, either ignoring the jokes or missing them entirely. Kai, Cole, and Jay looked at each other, surprised. "Who's laughing now, birdbrain?" Onyx asked Jay, before turning back to Zane. 

Lloyd's whining voice reached them as they approached. "Watch it! No, bigger! Come on, we don't have all day; it's not time for a lunch break!" He shouted. Kai looked at Cole. "Huh. Guess they weren't cuckoo after all," he said.

"Now that you believe us, what should we do?" Onyx asked. "We can't let that brat and those snakes get a foothold in Ninjago. We've got to destroy that thing before it becomes operational," Kai said, switching into leadership mode. "Woah, are you sure? It looks like a pretty cool treehouse. There's a rope course. Ooh, and a tree swing!" Jay said excitedly. Onyx did have to admit that it looked kind of fun. Cole glared at him. "Hey, remember who's side you're on." He turned to the other ninja. "Okay guys, what do we do?" He asked.

Onyx pointed at the five ropes. "See those?" She asked. Kai followed her gloved finger. "She's right; it looks like the whole place is supported by those four trees. Once those ties are severed, the whole place'll come crashing to the ground like a house of cards," he said.  Zane tilted his head, confused. "But why would one make a house out of cards? Such construction would be careless," he remarked. Kai sighed and shook his head. "Oh brother..." he murmured to himself.

"Travel in shadows, guys," Cole said as the four slipped out from behind the rock and split up, each ninja heading for a rope. Onyx dodged around a handful of serpentine and began to shimmy up her respective tree, the springy branches giving her helpful boosts. Onyx came up beside the rope, which had been tied tightly around the three trunk. She wrapped her legs around the wood, and pulled a small dagger from her belt. She started sawing at the thick hempen rope, trying not to cough as dust from the sawing blew into her mouth. After a few minutes, she had worn the rope down to a few threads. She grasped the rope firmly and slashed the last strands.

Onyx swung through the air, aiming for a platform at the top of the treehouse. However, gravity had other plans. Her rope was just barely too short to reach, and as she let go to grab the edge of the platform, her fingertips barely brushed it. Onyx gave a frightened cry and closed her eyes as she fell towards a platform below her. Just as she was seconds away from hitting it, someone grabbed her ankle. There was the sound of the person falling, and then sliding.

Onyx and the person slipped off the edge, but they had slowed her fall and prevented, at the very least, severe injuries. "Ow!" A squeaky voice said. Onyx opened her eyes and saw Lloyd's face. "Get off!" She ordered. "You fell on me!" Lloyd argued. Onyx flushed with embarrassment as she realized he was right. She leapt up and stepped back, staring at him. "You saved me," she said. Lloyd jumped up and crossed his arms. "I did not!" He denied. "Yes you did!" Onyx argued. The two glared at each other, unsure what to do. Onyx wanted to shove him, but at the same time, he had just saved her, and she owed him for that.

"Onyx!" Kai's voice shouted from the platform above. Onyx opened her mouth to shout that she was okay, but Lloyd spoke first. "I said no ninja!" He looked at Onyx. "And no girls! Especially ninja girls! Get them!" He ordered. "Everyone retreat!" A blue serpentine with scheming crimson eyes shouted. The Serpentine listened to the latter and took off into the woods.

Lloyd looked at around in horror before realizing that he was alone. He took off. Onyx raced after him. "Stop!" She shouted. Lloyd leapt over a space on the ground. Onyx wasn't sure what he was doing and dashed over the wood. Except suddenly there wasn't wood. Onyx fell into a small cage. "Booby trap!" She heard Lloyd shout. "Hey! Get back here!" She screamed after him. There was no response.
Onyx leapt up, trying to grab the edge and pull herself out, but to no avail. 'Why do I have to be so tiny?' Onyx thought in frustration.

Suddenly Zane appeared and pulled her out of the trap. Onyx glanced around. Kai and Jay were with him, but there was no sign of Cole or Lloyd. And speak of the devil... "where's Cole?" Jay asked. The treehouse shook ominously beneath their feet. "I don't think we have time to look for him. He should be fine on his own," Onyx said.

Before anyone could respond, Cole leapt down in front of the four, blocking the path to escape. He brandished his scythe menacingly. "No one goes anywhere until they deal with me," he growled. "What's gotten into him?" Kai asked, backing away from the whirling blade. "He's under their control," Zane answered, eyes on the glimmering gold weapon. "Yeah, well he'd better snap out of it quick, because this place is gonna fall really soon!" Jay said. The treehouse shook violently, as if to prove his point.

Cole backed the ninja into a corner. "Okay, now come on. Friends don't hit friends," Jay said. The earth ninja responded by kicking him in the jaw. "Ow! Okay, I'm going to ignore that," Jay said nervously, having no clue what he was supposed to do. "We didn't save any of that antivenin, did we?" Onyx asked, though she already knew the answer. "Nope," Jay said with a scared chuckle. Cole kicked Kai in the chest, knocking him backwards. He would've toppled off the treehouse to his untimely death if Zane hadn't grabbed him.

"Jay, zap him with your lightning! Try to shock him out of the trance!" Zane ordered the blue ninja. Jay looked at his nunchucks, then at Cole. "This is gonna hurt you a lot more than it's going to hurt me." He said, spinning them around and hitting Cole in the arm. He jerked and fell backwards. The ninja held their breath collectively, hoping that the unorthodox method had worked. When Cole staggered back to his feet, his eyes seemed even redder than before.

Kai swore under his breath. Jay elbowed him. "Not around the kid!" He hissed. "That's not the important thing right now!" Onyx said, backing away as Cole advanced. "This is really bad," she murmured. Her eyes flew wide as Cole suddenly lunged to the side. "No!" Onyx shrieked, leaping to stop him from severing the rope. Cole grabbed her and flung her away, where she collided painfully with a wall. She watched in horror as his scythe came down.

But then, moments before the blade severed the rope and sent them all plummeting to their deaths, a strange melody filled the air.

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Ooh, that was a fun one. And sorry about the nearly late update! I was dealing with some stuff. Getting ready for my dual enrollment program to resume and all that. Anyway, have a good night!