Onyx and the Possession

The Crooked Path

Onyx flexed her fingers and looked up from the bucket of water balloons she'd been filling to stretch her back and watch the others for a minute. "There. That should keep customers away. 'Closed for renovations,'" Zane said, pinning a sign to the gate of the tea shop. "More like fortifications. If Morro and his ghouls show up here looking to steal the Sword of Sanctuary, they won't know what hit them," Kai said, carefully balancing a bucket of water on top of the doorway. "We should try to keep this a contained event," Onyx said, passing Jay the bucket of water balloons.

A few moments later, Onyx gasped as Cole stepped out of the shop and barely managed to dodge the water bucket. "Aah! Careful, you know not all of us are immune to water. And I, for one, would like to stick around long enough for Misako and Sensei to figure out the last clue," he snapped once he was sure he wasn't going to implode. "We got Cyclon-Do, we got the sword, now they just have to figure out where the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master is," Jay said, loading the balloons into a catapult. "Let's hope they figure it out soon. I don't know how long we'll be able to hold out," Kai mumbled.

Onyx frowned deeply. "They haven't launched an attack yet, and they've had plenty of opportunities. That makes me nervous," she murmured. Suddenly, the bell that Zane had hung on the gate began to jingle loudly. "Intruder!" Kai shouted. Onyx drew her aeroblade and slipped into a ready position as the gate began to creak open. "Let him have it. Pull!" Jay shouted, getting Cole to help him launch the water balloon cannon at the trespasser.

"No wonder you're going out of business!" A familiar voice shouted. Onyx immediately lowered her weapon when she realized they'd attacked the Postman, and that he was now sopping wet. "No, you're the one going out of business. Heh, who sends letters anymore?" Jay asked as the Postman handed Kai a letter. "I send them to Ori all the time," Onyx said, giving the mailman an envelope she'd folded herself. He nodded his head stiffly as he left.

"Guys, he's right. It says he's gonna shut us down unless we drum up some business," Kai said, opening the letter. Onyx groaned. "Out of all the times for something else to go wrong..." she mumbled. Cole sighed. "Well, don't tell Ronin. If this place is worthless, he won't stick around, and we need all the help we can get. Come on, we're gonna need more water balloons," he said, jerking his head at the spigot. Onyx sighed and flexed her fingers.

(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)

After what felt like hours of filling water balloons, Misako suddenly came dashing out of the tea shop. "I need all of you inside right now," she said quickly, ducking back in before anyone could ask any questions. The ninja immediately leapt up and followed her inside. "You think she figured out the next clue?" Kai asked, his eyes lighting up. Onyx let a small smile spread across her face. "I hope so," she said.

Once the ninja, Misako, Ronin, and Wu were all in the room, Misako nodded. "Thanks for gathering on short notice," she said. Onyx was distracted by Ronin rooting around the tea containers on the wall behind her. "What are you doing?" She asked, eyes narrowing slightly. Ronin immediately snapped up straight. "Ha, just making sure the tea blends are in alphabetical order. Yup, A to Z, heh," he said, patting a canister. Onyx frowned. Ronin was definitely up to something. Then again... he always was.

"So you figured out where the tomb is?" Jay asked hopefully. Misako shook her head. Off of their disappointed expressions, she continued. "Not yet, but we think we know how to locate it," she said. "Where?" Onyx asked quickly, leaning forward slightly. Misako raised an eyebrow at Zane, who tapped his falcon on the head. It opened its mouth and projected an image of the skull symbol on the wall. "Thank you, Zane. To bring you up to date, the skull symbol refers to the tomb's entrance," Misako began. "We also know my father's resting site, where the Realm Crystal resides, is protected by three deadly tests designed to keep anyone unworthy away, and only the Sword of Sanctuary can see past its riddles," Wu finished.