Onyx soared through the air on her dragon, Ori beside her. The younger had had a few difficulties with figuring out how to fly, but she'd been much better than a few of the others. "Chen and his Anacondrai army have a day's start on us. Be prepared for anything and everything," Lloyd ordered. "How did we lose so much time?" Kai wondered aloud.
Dareth laughed sheepishly from Zane's dragon. "You know, you took an oath never to leave a man behind," he said. "And we're not all quick learners. Mastering your fear to create Power Dragons takes time," Jay said. "Well, we're running out of that. There's Ninjago City. Hurry," Nya called from Jay's dragon. Onyx glanced at the two. As much as she liked having her own mount, she had to admit, it had been nice to sit so close to Lloyd.
"Hurry's my middle name. Hyah!" Turner said, shooting ahead. "Remember, whatever happens down there, we're stronger united. We fight as one," Lloyd cautioned as they swept their dragons down to land. "Let's do this!" Jay cried. As Kai landed, a woman caught sight of Skylor and screamed. "Serpentine!" She cried. The street erupted into panic. Onyx dispelled her dragon, nearly falling over as she almost botched the landing. She suddenly heard Ori yelp and spun around to catch her.
"If we're the first ones they've seen, where's Chen, and why hasn't he attacked?" Garmadon murmured, hopping-or slithering. Onyx wasn't sure what adjective applied there-from his son's dragon. Lloyd shook his head. "I don't know, but we have to get you and Skylor off the streets before we alarm everyone. Everyone else, stick together and watch over the people," he ordered. Onyx nodded, setting Ori down and turning to contain the chaos.
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It took a few hours, but the chaos was finally contained, and the ninja, Skylor, Garmadon, and Ori had arrived at the Samurai X cave. Onyx led Ori in, pointing things out and keeping her excitement under control. Ori gasped excitedly when she saw Master Wu. "Is that-?" Onyx nodded. "That's our Sensei," she said. "Ah. You're all back. Zane, look at you. You're all...shiny!" Wu said, adding the last bit as he hurried over to Zane and looked him over.
"But where's your father?" Misako asked anxiously. The ninja stepped aside to reveal Garmadon and Skylor. "It's me, Misako," he said. Misako gasped. "Don't worry. We have a reason to believe the spell may be wearing off," Skylor assured her, holding out her hand where the scales on her palm had begun to shed. "But if that's true, it only makes Chen more desperate to act now. Everyone, this is Skylor, Chen's daughter," Kai said. "You're amongst friends, Skylor," Misako said kindly.
"And this is Ori, Master of Origami," Onyx said, introducing her. Wu nodded to Ori and shook her hand. "Well met, Ori. I knew your mother years ago," he said. Ori turned to Onyx, eyes wide with excitement. "He shook my hand!" She whispered. Onyx smiled at her innocent excitement. "I saw," she said.
"Thank you for looking after my Misako," Garmadon said to Wu, who nodded. "As any good brother should," he said. Was it Onyx's imagination, or did he wince? "Yes. A good brother," he said. Lloyd quickly interrupted the conversation. "There isn't much time. Our friends are on standby, but we don't know where Chen will strike first," he said. "And if we're not all there to stop him when he first attacks..." Cole trailed off. "Ninjago will succumb to war. Our greatest fear will come true," Garmadon said. Wu's face darkened. "Then the greatest victory will be that which has no battle," he said.
Ori frowned. "How do we do that?" She asked. Jay nodded. "Yeah, how do we prevent a war? How do we stop an enemy we know so little about?" Wu turned to the screen, where the falcon had just landed and begun to display camera footage of Kryptarium prison. "We find someone who does."
Which was how Onyx wound up flying to Kryptarium prison beside Ori and everyone else. "Kryptarium Prison. Home of Ninjago's worst of the worst," Garmadon murmured as they entered the building. "I don't get it. Who's gonna help us here?" Cole asked. "If one must learn how to fight a snake, one must talk to one first," Wu said. Onyx narrowed her eyes, realizing exactly who he was talking about. Lloyd met her eye as he came to the same conclusion.
"Sorry I had to confiscate your weapons. Here we try to foster what I call "an environment of encouragement," Warden Noble said as he led them through the prison. Onyx gritted her teeth. He'd even found out about her sock dagger, and she felt vulnerable without it. "I'll rattle your bones, Warden," Kruncha growled as the Warden passed. The Warden laughed. "Very creative, Frakjaw. Love the puns," he said.
Soto lunged at the bars as they passed, reaching for Onyx's collar. She leapt back out of reach. "Pajama people!" Soto cried. "Easy, Soto. I'm the captain of this ship. Haha. Ninja ain't popular around these parts, considering you put most of them behind bars, hmm. But who you're looking for, he hates ninja the most. Last cell on the left," The Warden instructed. He was a bit too nonchalant for Onyx's liking, though she followed Lloyd, obeying his directions, finally arriving at a tiny dollhouse inside a cell, and within Pythor sat, having tea with a rat.
"We need your help," Lloyd said, looking down at Pythor as they all stepped into the cell. Pythor narrowed his eyes. "Help you? The ninja? You fed me to the Devourer, defeated every army I've aligned with, and even forced me to swallow your shrinking pill! Haven't you done enough damage to my diminishing ego?" He spat. Cole responded by kicking his dollhouse, sending Pythor toppling to the ground, where Onyx raised her foot over him.
Pythor curled his lip. "Well played. I suppose this is about that culturally insensitive noodle baron and his ilk that are now Anacondrai. Impostors, if you ask me," he hissed. "You are the last remaining Anacondrai. You must know how to stop them," Jay said, slightly desperate. Pythor crossed his arms and looked away. "I'm not going to say another word until you can figure out how to make me big. And don't ask me to trust a ninja," he said. Ori gave Onyx a confused glance. Onyx shook her head. "Long story. I'll tell you later," she said.
Garmadon slithered forward. "Would you trust a snake?" He asked. Pythor's eyes lit up. "Garma-Condrai? Oh, now my interest is piqued. Let's make a deal, shall we?" He said, eyes narrowing. Onyx crouched down and leaned in close as Pythor began to explain what he wanted the ninja to do. "Then you get the spell book and I'll tell you their weakness, and then-" before he could finish, alarms suddenly began to blare through the prison, and the Warden's voice came through the intercom.
"There's been a breach in Sector 2! They appear to be Anacondrai, and—uh-oh, they're coming my way. They see me talking on the intercom. Oh, boy, here they come. Why am I still talking on this thing?" Onyx leapt up, eyes widening as cheers rose from the cells. "You led them to me? What have you done? There's no escaping an Anacondrai! Curse this fraudulent furniture!" Pythor shrieked, panicking and trying to hide himself in a plastic wardrobe. When that didn't work, he shoved a lampshade over his head. "Tell me! How do we stop them? What is their weakness?" Garmadon demanded. "Don't you get it? There is no weakness! They're Anacondrai!" Pythor cried. Onyx gritted her teeth. Of course he had no intention of helping them.
"Guys, we've got company!" Kai warned as several Anacondrai cultists approached them. "I'll handle this. Earth!" Cole shouted, throwing a blast of rocks at the Anacondrai, only for them to dodge and the stones to dent a cell. "We're trying to keep the inmates in, not let them out!" Jay cried. "Then use lightning! Frying a criminal is excusable in this situation," Onyx said.
Garmadon snatched up Pythor and began to shake him. As he did, a tiny drop of violet venom landed on his hand, causing the scales to reappear. "Your hand. That may be why they've come for Pythor. What if he holds the key to making their transformation permanent?" Zane gasped. "That's why Chen hasn't attacked," Wu realized. "Then we have to get him out of here. If he's the key to preventing a war, we can't let him fall into the wrong hands. Literally," Lloyd said, adding the last bit vitriolically. "Oh, I get it. It's literal because of my size. Haha, very funny. But I'm a little sensitive to all the size references," Pythor snapped.
Garmadon raised an eyebrow. "A little sensitive?" He said. Pythor frowned. "Okay, I stepped right into that one," he mumbled. "Oh, don't worry. We're just having a tiny bit of fun," Onyx sniped. Pythor narrowed his eyes. "You don't get to talk. I remember when you were a kid," he snapped. Wu's face darkened as more Anacondrai cultists swarmed towards them. "Zane, Kai, Jay, Cole, keep them busy. Onyx, Lloyd, Ori, you're with me," he ordered. Zane nodded, covering the ground in a layer of ice. "Ah. What do you think we've been do-" Kai was cut off by a cultist striking him in the chest.
"Get out of here already. It's not like we can hold them off all day," Jay exclaimed. The alarms suddenly increased in volume, and the doors and cells began to slide shut. "Kryptarium's on lockdown. If we don't find a way out, we may never escape!" Garmadon cried. "Door!" Ori shouted, pointing to a door that hadn't been shut yet and making a break for it, the others hot on her heels.
Pythor growled in frustration as they ran through the halls, finally reaching the courtyard, which was occupied by two Anacondrai cultists, who were easily able to deflect any and all attacks sent their way. "Oh, some heroes you are. And to think there's only two of them," he snapped. His voice turned to a shout as Ori flung him to Lloyd. "Sensei Wu said the greatest victories-" Pythor interrupted the ninja. "Has no battle, blah, blah, blah. Well, if they're impostors, you're cowards," he complained as they ran from the cultists.
"Cowards run because they're afraid. Tacticians run because they know they can't win," Onyx snapped. "And besides, what are you? There's a reason we never trust a snake. First the Anacondrai betrayed the truce in the Serpentine War, then you tricked Lloyd-" Pythor interrupted Wu. "Are we still talking about the Serpentine War? The Anacondrai had every intention of honoring the truce. It was Chen who told us your kind was going to betray us. We had no other choice but to attack," he said. Onyx's breath hitched. That meant that everything that had happened, and all the people who had died, could have been avoided if it weren't for Chen.
"Chen said you were going to betray us!" Garmadon cried. "Ugh, sounds like Chen was playing both sides," Lloyd spat. "That's cheating!" Ori exclaimed. Onyx's eyes narrowed as more cultists appeared in front of them. She ducked into a side hallway, leading the others in an attempted escape. "Again, I say...cowards," Pythor said smugly. Wu's teeth gritted as they hit a courtyard with no means of escape. "Protect Pythor," he ordered.
Lloyd nodded, spinning at the cultists. "Ninja, go!" He gave a panicked gasp as Pythor flew from his hand. "Uh, I lost him!" He cried. "What do you mean you lost him? Find him!" Garmadon yelled. Onyx lunged for Pythor, spying him on the ground. She snatched him up, purposely squeezing just a little too hard. "I've got-no!" She gave a yelp as a cultist slapped him from her grip. Wu suddenly came from nowhere, grabbing him from the ground and spinning back to battle.
The battle went on for a solid ten minutes, which Onyx spent tag-teaming with Lloyd and Ori. Finally, Zane and the others appeared. "Do you have him?" Kai exclaimed. Wu shook his head, pointing frantically at a cultist escaping with Pythor. "We can't let them escape!" Cole shouted, raising a fist. "No, we can't let them escape! No more smashing walls," Wu snapped, looking at the inmates who had appeared. "We need to leave while we still can!" Onyx shouted. Zane nodded. "Leave this to me. Ice!" He cried, raising his arms and forming a bridge of ice leading over the wall.
Onyx grabbed Ori and clambered up the ice bridge, sliding down the other side. "I'd hate to let anyone down, but...Fire!" Kai shouted, melting the ice bridge once they'd all gotten over it. When they'd escaped, Ori frowned. "Now what?" She asked. "Now we head back to the Samurai X cave to figure out what we're going to do now," Garmadon said, voice somewhat snippy. Onyx nodded, gritting her teeth. They couldn't afford to fail again.
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"We got here as fast as we could," Kai said. The ninja had gotten back to the cave in record time. "Twenty noodle trucks have been spotted heading toward Ninjago City just fifty clicks away," Nya said. Ori frowned at Onyx. "Clicks?" She whispered. "0.62 miles. A kilometer," Onyx explained quietly. "Let me guess, they ain't hauling noodles?" Cole said, frustrated. Zane frowned. "Twenty trucks could hold two hundred Anacondrai. If they get to the city before we do, the city will be theirs," he said darkly. "And they'll have achieved the pivotal first foothold in the war," Garmadon agreed. Lloyd's eyes narrowed. "We have to stop them," he said.
Nya nodded. "I've already warned the others to head them off at the pass. They should be able to hold the line until you offer support. I had them equip themselves so we could communicate," she said. Shade appeared on the screen. "We're in position. If they show, we'll be puttin' up a fight," he said. "They're coming to your location soon," Nya cautioned. Shade nodded. "I see dem. Let's show 'em what we're made of." Then he frowned. Whitney suddenly popped onto the screen. "They're... uh... they're splitting up. And there's nothing wrong with their driving," he said.
Jay frowned. "What do you mean? Aren't they going to Ninjago City?" He asked. "Obviously not," Onyx said. "I dunno where they're goin', but they ain't going together," Shade said. Misako suddenly gasped. "There are over twelve densely populated villages within a ten-click radius," she cried. Onyx's eyes widened. "They aren't planning to launch one attack; they're planning multiple," Kai realized. "What do we do? You told us to stay together!" Whitney cried.
"Chen knows you can't take you all on at once. He's trying to split you up," Garmadon spat. "But even if just one of those trucks makes it to a village, the people won't be able to defend themselves," Misako said. "Then we have to stop them," Onyx said. Lloyd nodded. "Tell the Elemental Fighters we have to split up. We'll each intercept a truck and stop it from reaching those villages," he ordered.
"Whatever happened to "we fight as one?" Jay cried. Garmadon sent him a sharp look. "This isn't a vote, Jay. This is stopping the end of our world as we know it," he said. "Ori, stay with Wu and Nya," Onyx ordered. Ori frowned. "But I wanna help!" She exclaimed. Onyx shook her head. "And I want to get you back to your father. Please, stay here," she said. Ori sighed and nodded.
Onyx summoned her dragon and took off, picking a truck and following it out towards a small village. She was easily able to intercept it, as the driver was oddly insistent on driving in a straight line. Her dragon snatched it up and rolled it to the side. Onyx quickly drew her katana and leapt down to the side of the truck, ready to slice up an Anacondrai. And yet, when she flung open the driver's cabin, she found it empty.
Onyx leapt up into it, searching for any sign of the driver. It wasn't until she saw the seatbelt securing the wheel and the box of noodles pressing the pedal down that she realized that there hadn't been a driver at all.
And then she knew that Chen had tricked them all.
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Well crap. That can't be good. Also, Ori got to meet every single one of her childhood idols. Good for her. All of mine are fictional or dead.
Musical of the Day: Anastasia (my mother found cheap tickets for this at one of my local community theatres!)