Onyx and the Rise of the Snakes

Ashes of Home

The music was a lilting song, undulating and pulsing like a koi pond after a rock falls into it. It had a haunting sound, like it was coming from somewhere far away. Onyx shivered, forgetting what was happening for a brief moment. The melody was familiar but entirely strange at the same time.

Coke shook his head, Scythe dropping down to his side. "Whoah... W-where am I? What are we doing?" He stuttered, confused. Onyx gave a soft  sigh of relief that was barely audible over the rustling tree branches as the treehouse suddenly rumbled again.

Wu and Nya swept down on Flame, Wu holding a flute made of shining, ancient wood to his mouth. As Nya halted the dragon, he took it away from his mouth. "We're getting out of here before the whole place falls down!" Nya said, shifting to make more room on the saddle. The five ninja leapt on, clinging to each other for balance. Cole put Onyx directly in front of him and grabbed the saddle in front of her, forming a seatbelt of sorts.

"That flute, it cancels their powers!" Kai exclaimed, surprised. Wu nodded. "It is as old as the Serpentine themselves. But we must hurry, the Monastery is unguarded," he said quickly. A bolt of dread stabbed through Onyx at his words. Nya snapped Flame's reigns, pushing him to go faster, worry etched onto her face.

As the dragon grew near the Monastery, Onyx saw four small plumes of black smoke trailing lazily into the sky. "No..." She breathed as they landed, eyes sweeping the building. Or... what had once been the building, anyway.

The Monastery had been burnt to the ground. Some of the wood was still flickering with hot orange flames. "We're too late. Those snakes cane and destroyed everything!" Kai snarled, raw fury etched on his face.

A terrified, high pitched roaring suddenly pierced the air. "The dragons!" Cole cried, running to free them. A moment later they flapped up to the ninja's level, Cole running through the archway that used to hold the grand doors behind them. "Shard, put these flames out!" Zane shouted to his dragon.

Shard blew icy fog over the ruins, extinguishing the remaining fires. "The training equipment, gone." Zane said. "My video games, gone!" Jay wailed. "They stole their staff back." Wu said. Onyx couldn't form words. She stared, quivering, at the smoldering wood. 'Oh. This again. Why's it so easy to lose everything?' This had been her home for years. And now everything was gone. Her room, the posters on the wall, the mirror with stickers she'd put on the frame, the little stuffed fox from her mother. All of it gone.

Onyx sniffled, trying not to cry. Zane, who was standing beside her, put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What can we do now?" Cole asked. Kai was silent for a moment. Then he whirled to Zane and Onyx, eyes glinting with rage. "If you two hadn't followed that stupid bird, none of this would've happened!" He shouted harshly.

Onyx gasped and stumbled back. "I-I didn't-" Zane stepped in front of her. "Kai..." Wu said warningly. "No, Sensei. He's right. Because of you, my high score has been deleted!" Jay snapped. "This is a teaching moment; we must learn from this. And it was my idea to follow the bird, Onyx had nothing to do with it." Zane said, trying his best to calm the others down. "Ever heard of guilty by association?" Kai asked brutally. "A teaching moment? What is wrong with you!? Don't you get it? Everything is gone!" Cole lashed.

"Enough!" Wu roared. The ninja had never heard him use a voice so completely and utterly furious before, and they finally fell silent. "Zane is your brother, and Onyx your sister. Apologize at once!" He ordered. Slowly the ninja looked down. Then they bit their lips and turned, murmuring various apologies. But only Onyx remained behind them.

"We didn't know it would happen," She mumbled. Then she turned and leapt onto Fade, taking off quickly and chasing after the ice blue speck that was rapidly retreating into oblivion in the darkening sky.