Onyx and the Rise of the Snakes

A Nice Family Vissssit

The next morning, Onyx sat against the wall of the ship, sipping on a cup of tea. It was nice to not have to reuse a teabag. She watched Jay fiddle with one of his projects. He'd refused her help, but Wu had told her she wasn't allowed to take lidless cups out of the kitchen. Not that she'd be careless enough to spill them.

A few minutes later, Kai walked past Jay. "Sure got a lot of junk piling up. If only there was a place we could drop it off..." he said loudly. Cole followed soon after, pretending to be on the phone. "Hi Mom and Dad. Of course I'll come and visit, what kind of son would I be if I didn't want to?" He said. Onyx watched Jay intently, wondering what he was going to do.

After several more instances of this, Jay finally sat up from his position on the floor, black smudges of oil on his face. "Haha. I know what you guys are trying to do, and it's not going to work. I know I promised to visit my parents, but I've got a lot of stuff on my plate," he said. "You know, they're going to die one day, and you won't be able to visit them anymore," Onyx said. Jay gritted his teeth. "I'm sure they'll be fine for a while," he said before going back to his work. Onyx shrugged. "You never know," she murmured.

Nya walked in. Jay's face lit up. "Hi, Nya!" He said. "Hi. You gonna visit your parents today?" She asked. Jay wiped the oil off of his face. "Oh, uh, sure am! I was just about to leave," he said. Nya nodded. "Tell them hi for me," she said. Onyx hid a smirk. Jay's crush on her was so obvious it was almost painful to watch. As Nya left, the others looked at Jay. "What? So my plate's not that full," he said, turning to get ready.

Jay tugged at Wisp's reigns. "Come on, it'll be a short visit. Just in and out, that's all," he said. Wu watched the dragon's stubbornness with a frown. "Hm. It is as I suspected. The dragons are molting. They're shedding their scales," he said.

"What does that mean?" Jay asked. "Every young dragon goes through a transformation before it becomes an adult. We must allow them to migrate to the Spirit Coves to complete the process," Wu explained. "Will we see them again?" Jay asked. Wu shrugged. "It is hard to say. But we need to let them follow their path." He said. The other ninja, who had been listening, approached their respective dragons and pet them gently. "Rocky's going east? Say it isn't so, Rocky," Cole said to his dragon.

Onyx stroked Fade's emaciated snout. "Take care of yourself, okay?" She said, saddened, but not showing it. Fade nuzzled her gently, then took off running. She spiraled into the sky, the other dragons following. Jay crossed over to Nya. "So I guess I'm going on this long walk by myself. Sure be nice to have company..." he said with forced casualty. Nya grinned and began to nod.

"Of course we'll go, buddy." Kai interrupted. "I need a break anyway." Cole said. "All you had to do was ask." Zane said. Onyx sighed. Even she had realized that Jay had been asking Nya to go somewhere with just the two of them. "If everyone else is going, then I am too," she said. Then she glanced back at the empty dragon pens. "Though we're going to have to walk," she added.

Jay huffed in annoyance as the ninja, Nya, and Wu cane along. As they walked, Wu started to play his flute. "You never told us why that flute was special," Zane observed, curiosity evident in his tone. "Long ago, there were many flutes, created to combat the power of the Serpentine. But over the ages, the wisdom of our ancestors was forgotten, and now there is only one." Wu explained. Jay sighed. "I get the point. Respect your elders or suffer the consequences. Boy, you guys are laying it on thick," he said.
Wu chuckled. "Perhaps you are only hearing what you need to," he said.

After nearly a half hour of walking, the party approached a sign with mismatched letters that read; Ed and Edna's Junkyard. The characters glowed and flickered different colors. Jay paused, frowning. "What is it?" Nya asked. "It's quiet. My family is never quiet," Jay said. 'You're no exception,' Onyx thought as they pursued Jay, who had run into the junkyard.