Onyx and the Legacy of the Green Ninja

Rise of the Spinjitzu Master

Onyx let Lloyd squeeze her hand as Dr. Julien splinted and bandaged his ankle. They'd already cleaned the scratches on his face and put a few gauze patches over them. The doctor did his best to be gentle, but some pain was unavoidable. "Can I still fight?" Lloyd asked once Dr. Julien had finished. He shook his head. "Hmm, I'm sorry. That leg will take weeks to heal. You've sustained several hairline fractures, and I don't even want you walking on that leg, but given the circumstances, just try to stay off of it as much as possible," he said. Lloyd groaned and accepted Onyx's assistance in getting up.

"We don't have weeks," he said, leaning against her shoulder for balance. "Yeah, but you don't have a choice. That's not how injuries work. If you keep walking on it, then you'll just make it even worse," Onyx pointed out. Lloyd gave a growling sigh and nodded.

Onyx, Lloyd, and Dr. Julien made their way over to where the others were sitting just shy of the ocean's reach. "Perhaps it's best to think of our friends as we remember them in our hearts, not as they are now," they heard Zane remark. "But I don't remember my father any other way," Lloyd said once they were behind the others. Misako gave him a sympathetic look. "Your father loved you. It was the evil of the Great Devourer that corrupted him," she said. Lloyd sighed and nodded.

Kai twisted around to look at Wu. "Sensei, I don't understand. The prophecy said the Green Ninja would defeat the Dark Lord. Why didn't we win?" He asked. Wu's face dropped into a frown. "I... I don't know," he admitted. Onyx felt her stomach sink slightly at that. Even Master Wu didn't know what had gone wrong. Jay leapt up. "Don't know? You're Sensei! You always know! You have a long white beard!" He cried, distressed. "There must be some message to learn. A lesson. A word of wisdom. Just a word? Something!" Kai asked, almost desperate.

Wu bowed his head. "For once, I'm afraid there is nothing to learn. Only that evil has won," he said. Onyx itched at her arms. Lloyd tapped her lightly on the wrist, and she forced herself to stop. "If Sensei doesn't have a lesson, then I do. I used to be nothing but trouble, but then I met you guys. You took me in. Showed me the importance of being brave, the importance of being strong. And most importantly, being good. When this battle first began, when the First Spinjitzu Master fought the Overlord and his back was up against the wall and he knew it was all over, did he quit? No. He found a way to keep the fight going. He passed his Elemental Powers to us. Of all people, a bunch of kids. But there must have been a reason he chose us. I'd like to think it's because he knew we'd never back down. We'd never give up. We've learned the ancient ways of the ninja. And ninja never quit."

Lloyd gave them an entire monologue, moving forward to stand at the edge of the water with Onyx's help. The sea, cool and refreshing, lapped at her tabi, wetting the fabric and making her shiver slightly, even though the sun beat down on her skin. Lloyd was right. Of course he was. They had spoken before of their doubts about destiny, but now they didn't have the luxury to question it. They merely had to follow what the universe had told them to.

"He's right. If that means we have to swim the sea to get off this island, then so be it," Kai said, beginning to wade into the ocean. "The entire ocean? But I didn't bring my floaties," Jay whined softly. Kai gave an exclamation of disgust as he reached chest-deep waters and stopped moving. Now that she thought about it, Onyx had never seen him swim. She didn't know if he even knew how to.

Onyx frowned. "It's well over 1,000 nautical miles back to Ninjago. We'd either drown or be eaten by some sea creature before we even made it close to returning. And even if we tried to swim to the Lighthouse, that's still about 500 nautical miles," she pointed out. "We'll do you have a better idea?" Cole asked. Onyx had to admit that she didn't. Zane glanced up. "I don't, but he may," he said, pointing up at the Falcon, who had caught a wind over to them. "Ooh, the Falcon. He must have found something!" Dr. Julien exclaimed.