Onyx and the Rise of the Snakes

Who I Am

Kai, Jay, and Cole shrieked. Onyx made a sound that could only be described as a squawk. She had no idea how to process this development, let alone figure out how she felt about it. "You're a... robot," Kai said slowly, the situation sinking in. "All this time, and I never knew," Zane whispered, falling to his knees.

"Uh... well, this explains why you're always acting so weird," Jay said with an awkward chuckle. Zane looked at him. "The reason I never had a sense of humor was because my funny switch wasn't on," he said. "Wait, that's a thing?" Onyx murmured. Her question was answered when Zane flipped a switch labeled, funny. He jumped up, spun around, and sang a song with a ridiculous dance that went along with it. "Hello my baby, hello my honey, Hello my ragtime gaaaaal, and send me a kiss by a wiiiire!"

So... Onyx probably wasn't going to get over how freaked out that performance made her. It was so disturbingly out of character. Zane sighed and turned the switch off. Jay burst into raucous laughter. Kai and Cole looked completely traumatized. "Um... it just makes you more special! You're still the same Zane, just more.... gears!" Cole said, trying and failing to sound like he definitely wasn't uncomfortable. "Whatever happens, you'll always be our brother," Kai assured him.

"Yeah! We're not even actually related, so there's nothing different... Well, not really, anyway," Onyx said with her trademark bluntness, dodging Cole's elbow. Zane looked at them, not catching the end of Onyx's statement. "Really?" He asked. Cole nodded. "Yeah. In fact, I bet it makes you an even better ninja," said. "And how cool is it to be able to say, 'my brother is a Nindroid?" Jay said. Zane frowned in confusion. "A Nindroid?" He said.

"Come on, Pythor is still out there looking for the first Fangblade, and we need you." Cole said without giving Jay the chance to answer. Zane shook his head. "Go on without me. I just don't feel right," he said. "Okay. We'll be at the top," Onyx said. The others nodded and began the long trek back up the stairs. "We just need to give him time. I don't know what I'd do if I found out I was a robot," Kai said when they'd stepped back into sunlight. "You mean a Nindroid," Jay said. "Yeah, whatever," Kai said.

Cole looked around. "How do we get out of here?" He wondered aloud, as all the trees looked the same. "I think we cane from-" Onyx stopped when she heard a quiet thud. "What's that?" Cole whispered. Onyx frantically waved her hands at him to shut up. "Cute tiny birds?" Jay said hopefully. Something moved in the trees. "Did you see that?" Cole asked. Onyx nodded, trying to spot something, but the conflicting white and black of the snow and birch bark made her eyes keep switching focus from the trees to the ground.

"I don't see anything," Jay said, voice high pitched. Something moved again. "I saw it too." Kai said. "I...I...intruder. I....I...intruder." The ninja looked over to see the fallen rusty droid in the ground, twitching feebly. "Great. I think that thing was supposed to protect this place," Kai said. Onyx sheepishly coughed. Suddenly, the trees lifted out of the ground and started walking. Onyx followed the trunks up and realized that the trees were actually legs of huge, four-legged beasts with eight beady pink eyes.

One kicked Kai, sending him flying. "What are these things?!?" Jay shouted. "Treehorns. I knew they weren't rabid squirrels," Onyx said darkly. The ninja drew their weapons and tried to fight them, but the hard woodlike material they were made of was impossible to penetrate. And there were so many. The moment they dodged one kick, another leg was already swinging. "There's too many!" Cole shouted. Onyx curled into a ball as the Treehorns knocked her flat and began kicking the four ninja around like soccer balls.

Then, seconds before the Treehorns were about to kick them off the face of the earth, Zane's voice shouted, "leave my friends alone! Ninja go!" He charged past them, whirling into Spinjitzu and fighting with an intensity the others had never seen before. "What's gotten into Zane?" Cole asked. "I don't know, but I like it." Kai said. They all twirled into Spinjitzu, and slowly the Treehorns began to back away. But then one, bigger, stronger, and meaner looking than the others, with twelve red eyes, stomped forwards. "Who's that?" Jay asked.

Zane's voice was dark. "The Queen." Then he spoke directly to the Queen with an authority the others didn't know he possessed. "You will not hurt my friends. There is nothing that will hold me back. I know who I am!" The power in his voice sent a chill down Onyx's spine.

Zane's head flew back, mouth open wide, and eyes glowing. He rose into the air, ice spinning around him. The ice spread from his eyes to cover his entire body. "What's happening? Was he programmed to do that?" Kai asked. "I've never seen a robot do that," Jay said. "You mean Nindroid," Cole reminded him. "Yeah, Whatever," Jay said. Onyx knew none of those explanations were correct. There was only one thing this could be. "No. He's unlocked his True Potential," she breathed in awe.

Zane thrust his hands forward. Ice shot from them and covered the Queen. She shook, then exploded into shards. The rest of the Treehorns bellowed loudly and fled into the woods. Zane's appearance returned to normal and he dropped into the snow. The others ran to him. "That was awesome!" Jay cried. "You should've seen yourself," Kai said. "I've never seen anything like it," Cole commented. "You found yourself," Onyx murmured.

"This must be what Sensei meant by unlocking our hearts. I remember now. I remember everything. I remember my father, and how he cared for me. I remember where I cane from, and I feel stronger for knowing," Zane said, standing up and dusting the snow off of him.

Jay, Cole, and Kai began to chatter about how cool Zane's powers were, and wondering when they'd unlock their True Potential. Onyx turned to Zane. "What was it like, when you unlocked your Potential?" She asked. Zane considered the question for a moment. "Powerful. But... there was also a fear. A great responsibility that comes with the great power," he said.

Onyx nodded. She thought she understood what he meant. Zane turned to the horizon, where a new sun was rising. "Watch out, Pythor. We're coming for you," he promised.
"Yeah. And when we get you, we're gonna save Lloyd and stop you for good," Onyx agreed.

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Me and my little sister just finished The Legacy of the Green Ninja, and watching this show with her is priceless. She's so concerned about how much money the ninja are going to have to pay for all the property damage they've caused, and it's priceless. I may have been a little too heavy on the 'you break it, you buy it' mentality when I let her borrow my stuff. And after I made her pay me $37.12 for a library book she lost. And now that I watch it with her, I'm realizing how extensive the vocabulary is. Bequeath, urban, myopic (I actually had to look that one up. Ironically, I had just read a book on Myopia the day before). I was quite the prodigious child, so I already knew most of the words by the time I watched the show at first. It's such a fun experience to share it with her.