Onyx and the Legacy of the Green Ninja

Darkness Shall Rise

Onyx, Jay, Cole, and Zane were pushing a street sign back into place. The Devourer might have been gone, but the destruction it left behind wasn't. At the very least, the emergency responders were relatively sure they had rescued all survivors.

The four of them finally got the sign into place. "Ugh, finally. All fixed up and Serpentine free," Cole said. "Yeah. But now we have to help fix Ninjago. After all, she's our home," Onyx said. Kai suddenly thrust his hand out, struggling to harness his power. The only result he got were a few sparks flashing from his fingertips. "Agh, this is so frustrating!" He growled.

Zane let go of the sign to grab a blowtorch to secure it. Without him, the sign unbalanced again. "Ugh! Helphelphelp!" Onyx yelped as her toes began sliding back under the sign's weight. "Crap, sorry!" Cole cried, helping her. "Our weapons are gone and most of our powers are gone, but..." Kai aimed his hand at the base of the now-balanced sign and tried to melt it back together, but the only flames came from the blowtorch Zane had just retrieved. "I just feel so... I don't know.... Limited. And thanks to the Devourer, our tank's out of commission, our dragons are hurt, and now that the Bounty's destroyed, we don't even have a place to sleep," Kai said.

Zane pushed his wielding mask up. "No one ever said being a hero is easy. Though our good deeds may never make us physically rich, they do pay us in other ways," he said. Kai scoffed. "Yeah? well I don't feel rich," he said. Jay grunted as he picked up a chunk of rubble and threw it into a garbage bin. "I for one enjoy pitching in. I've always wanted to feel like part of a community. Oh, speaking of which, has anyone seen Nya? She said she was gonna help," Jay said. The rumble of a moterbike reached Onyx's ears, and a moment later Nya zoomed up with Wu in the sidecar. "And I have. I may have found us a place to live," she said, holding up a flyer.

"Wait, really? Everybody wants to live in Ninjago. How did you manage it?" Onyx asked. "I know a guy, who knows a girl, and she knows a girl who knows a guy-well, this girl knows a guy who knows a girl who's a real estate agent, and she can help you find a place, if you catch my drift," Nya answered. Onyx took a moment to sift through the web of connections. "That's a pretty distant 'friend.' It sounds suspicious," She said. Nya sighed. "Look, it's the best chance we've got at finding a place to stay, unless you want to sleep on a bus stop bench," she said. Onyx shrugged. "Those aren't so bad if they're covered. But I'd definitely rather have a roof," she said.

Jay interrupted the conversation. "Where are you off to?" He asked. "We have to find a couple of components to fix the ninja tank. And my dragon ointment has finally arrived. It's a day's trip, but once we get back, he'll be flying again. Also, I love scenic drives. Haha, punch it, Nya!" Wu said enthusiastically. Nya chuckled. "Aye-aye, Sensei. I'll see you guys later," she said, spinning around and driving away. "Yee-haw!" Wu cried as they went. Onyx grinned. Wu could be so childish sometimes. She turned back to Jay, who was checking out the flyer.

"Patty Keys, real estate queen," he read. "Huh. This is exactly what we need. Once we get a roof over our heads, we can start properly training Lloyd," Jay continued. "Good, 'cause if we know Lord Garmadon, he's not going to be taking any breaks. And let's not forget that the Serpentine are still out there," Cole said. Onyx sighed. "Evil really does never sleep," she said.

(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)

The six ninja stood in a tiny, dirty apartment. There was a washing machine and a boiler up against the wall, with a tiny closet containing a toilet, but not much else except pipes and stained walls. The floorboards creaked whenever someone so much as breathed, and a layer of dust coated everything. Patty crossed over to a lightswitch made of ancient, yellowed plastic. "This one bedroom, one half-bath is a cozy dream. Who needs extras when everything is in arm's reach? Now wait until you see the lighting!" She said, flipping the switch. The single lightbulb hanging in the middle of the room flickered yellow for a moment before burning out and falling to shatter on the ground. Onyx stared at the broken glass, unamused. "Wow. I'm blinded," she deadpanned.

"Uh... who needs lighting when you have this view!" She cried, hurrying over to the single window and raising the warped wooden blinds, revealing.... A brick wall. Onyx didn't even have a retort. Lloyd sniffed. "Uh, why do I smell old people?" He asked. Patty gave him a sharp look. "Look, doll. I'm trying to work around your budget. This is all you can afford!" She snapped. Onyx didn't like her tone. She stepped in front of Lloyd. "This place smells like mothballs," she said defiantly. "Onyx, you don't have to-" Onyx lightly stepped on Lloyd's toe. She was capable of choosing her fights.

Patty opened her mouth to retort, but Cole stepped between them. "Uh... this looks promising. Remember guys, Sensei told us our main objective is to train Lloyd, not kick up our legs in some swanky suite. If this is all we can afford, it's all we can afford," he said, effectively defusing the situation. "Woah woah woah, let's not rush into a decision. I mean, if it's really all about Lloyd, then don't we need to live in a place that will make training easier?" Jay argued. "Yeah, Jay's right. If we have to get Lloyd ready to save Ninjago from his own father, shouldn't he at least get his own room?" Kai added. "Technically that does not matter. He only-" Kai elbowed Zane. "Yeah, we're only thinking about the children," Jay said shiftily. Cole sighed and turned to Patty. "I do have another property that you'll just love!" She said in that used-car-salesman voice.

Patty flung open a grandiose set of doors, revealing a huge flat. Onyx's mouth dropped open as Patty led them inside. Windows lined the farthest wall, and everything had a sleek, modern look. "Now, this is the eight-bedroom Hero Suite. Floor-to-ceiling windows, digital wall television, state-of-the-art game console...." Patty pointed out everything as she listed it, then turned to the ninja. "Uh... it seems a little out of our price range," Cole said. "Oh, sure it costs a little more, but you deserve it! And I forgot to mention, there's also a Dragon keep on the roof," he said. Onyx blinked. She'd known that there were nice apartments, but this was insane.

Patty walked them over to the windows, which framed the sunset. Onyx had to admit the view was breathtaking. "Maybe we can get a hero discount. After all, we are the ninja that saved the city," Jay said. Patty turned around. "I thought Garmadon and that woman saved the city," she said. 'That woman....? Ah! She means me. They saw me? No. Not the point.' Onyx rerouted her thoughts. "It was a group effort," she said. "Hmph!" Jay said indignantly, crossing his arms.

Kai turned to the others. "We could get day jobs to pay for the extra expenses," he suggested. "We always said we could use a little more responsibility," Zane agreed. "Agh, but we have to train Lloyd," Kai remembered, frowning. "I'm not old enough to get a job yet. I can help do it," Onyx volunteered. It was true. She wasn't quite old enough yet, and as frustrating as it was, she could still make herself useful. The others nodded in agreement. "But it's still a lot of money we need to make," Cole said.

"Did I mention the in-house training facility?" Patty said, the car-salesman voice making another appearance. She grabbed a remote and pressed a button. The wall to Onyx's right slid open, revealing a whole other room full of training equipment. It had everything the monastery had had, and some other apparatuses Onyx had never seen. She looked to Cole for a decision. He was the most responsible out of them. "We'll take it!" He said.