Onyx and the Rise of the Snakes

Opening Night

Onyx stood in front of the male ninja backstage, watching them practice their dance routine. "...Then kick ball change, barrel roll, barrel roll, and we all do the double wings..." Cole said, timing his voice with the tempo of their chosen song, 'Weekend Whip.' Jay pivoted, lost his balance, and tripped into Kai, who shoved him away. "Ow! Dude, you've gotta follow me!" Jay cried, rubbing his elbow. "Follow you? You're two beats off! You should be following me," Kai snapped. "Actually, 2.27 beats off," Zane interrupted.

Kai turned to snarl something at Zane, but Onyx grabbed his sleeve. "We can't fight right now!" She cried. "Onyx is right. Let's not make this any harder than it needs to be. We've got to stick to the plan and keep up the charade until the trophy is revealed. Once we steal the Blade Cup, we can argue all we want," Cole said. "But this is your hometown, Cole. Don't you want to at least try to win it?" Jay asked. Cole groaned. "Ugh. The only dance step I want to perform is called "get-me-out-of-this-nuthouse-and-let's-burn-these-memories-from-my-head," he said. "I don't think you want to forget, Cole. It's not as-" Onyx stopped talking, staring at something behind the boys.

"...What?" Mr. Lou said quietly. The four spun around. "Dad, I-" He didn't let Cole finish. "You... you were going to steal it?" Mr. Lou asked. Kai, and Jay backed away to stand-or hide, more like-behind Onyx and Zane, who stood quietly, watching the situation play out, slightly frustrated. This would throw their entire plan off track.

Cole sighed. "Dad, I didn't mean for you to hear that, but-but I'm glad you did. There's something I have to tell you. I haven't been studying sing or dance all these years. I found something new that I'm really good at, dad." Cole spun into Spinjitzu, and when he came to a standstill again, he was wearing his black gi. "I'm a ninja, dad. We're ninja, and if we don't steal the Fangblade- I mean, Blade Cup, then there are other people, bad people, who will. We have to save the world. I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I'm proud of who I am, and I want you to be too," Cole said.

Lou stood still, eyes closed. When he opened them, his blue irises were icy cold. "I cannot be proud of a son who thinks stealing is right, whatever the reason may be. And I'm not going to stick around and watch you make a mockery of our family's legacy," he said. There was no anger in Mr. Lou's voice, only disappointment, and that somehow was even worse.

"Dad, I-" Mr. Lou hobbled away without looking back. "I'm sure he didn't mean it," Kai said. "No, he did. He meant every word. But I think you can still fix this if you want to," Onyx said, ignoring the sharp look she got from Jay. Cole turned to her. "How?" He asked. Onyx looked down at her sketch of the auditorium, covered with notes about all the possible escape routes. She pulled the page off and crumpled it. "You've got to win that cup for real," she said.

(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)

The five teenagers watched from backstage as the Blade Cup, a grandiose gold chalice with a curved blade fused to the top, was brought out and placed on a podium behind the panel of three judges. Onyx looked at them, trying to determine what sort of judges they were. The first was an older man, probably in his mid-60s. He had soft, kind features. He seemed like the generous kind of judge. The second was a steely eyed, middle aged woman with sharp, harsh features. She would be an object of worry. And the third judge... Onyx's eyes narrowed and then widened. He had a huge beard and tinted glasses that hid most of his face, but then, as he smiled at something the first judge said, she caught sight of two long, sharp fangs and a forked tongue.

"Guys, we're not the only ones trying to get the Fangblade. Pythor is here," Onyx said. The four immediately followed her gaze. Their faces flashed with recognition. "This complicates things," Zane said. "Then we make our move. We should steal the trophy," Jay said immediately. "No. We're not stealing anything. We're going to win the cup, and we're going to do it our way," Cole said in a tone that made argument impossible. A grin spread across Onyx's face. "Ohhhh, I get it," she said. Cole nodded to her. "Take it away," he said. Onyx drew her pen like a sword and began to sketch out a routine. Maybe she couldn't dance herself, but she could put almost anything together and make it work.