Onyx and the Possession

Temple on Haunted Hill

Onyx was silent as she listened to the tour guide explain the history behind Sensei Yang's Temple. Ronin had told them that they might be able to find an alternate way to learn Airjitzu here. "Welcome to Yang's Haunted Temple, the historical landmark and former home of Sensei Yang, the notorious sensei without a pupil, infamous for creating the lost martial art of Airjitzu. Unfortunately, we can't take our tour groups inside, for rumors say anyone trapped inside its walls at sunrise, will be turned into a ghost permanently. But, if you listen closely, maybe we'll be able to hear the Ghost of Sensei Yang himself looking for his lost pupils," the tour guide explained, leading the group over to a mossy statue of an elderly man. Onyx shivered as the stone eyes bored into her.

"I HOPE IT'S NOT A RUMOUR, FOR IT IS OUR ONLY HOPE!" Zane shouted. Onyx winced, rubbing her ear. "Ah, sorry about my loud friend. He's a little hard of hearing," Cole apologized as the tour guide glared at them. She cleared her throat and continued on. "Known for his unusual teaching methods..." Kai leaned towards Jay. "I thought you said you fixed him?" He hissed. "At least he's no longer talking backwards. I guess my tinkering got his volume level stuck, hehe," Jay chuckled nervously. "AT LEAST YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME NOW!" Zane shouted. Onyx glared at Jay. "You think?" She asked.

The tour guide gritted her teeth and ignored him. "Dating back, ahem, to the Edo Period..." Cole groaned. "Well, from now on, only speak if you have something really important to say," he said. Kai crossed his arms. "Who put you in charge?" He asked. "I did. After you guys mucked it up, it's my turn to be in charge. And, like me, I like my plans simple. We sneak in, learn Airjitzu from the Ghost of Sensei Yang, then get out before sunup," Cole answered. Onyx frowned. "We just have to hope that Morro hasn't decoded the second clue yet," she murmured.

"Well, the sun is setting, which means we should head back to the bus. Wouldn't want anyone to turn into a Ghost!" The tour guide called, walking away. The ninja fell back and slipped into a bush as the rest of the group began to board the bus. "Okay. Now we just wait until nightfall, and then we break in," Cole whispered. "We're breaking a lot of laws," Kai remarked. Onyx sighed. "Well, it's the only plan we have," she said.

(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)

Later that night, the ninja emerged from the bush where they'd spent the evening and walked up to the door of the temple. Cole and Jay both began to attempt to pry the windows open. Meanwhile, Onyx pulled her lockpicks out and slipped them into the door, only to frown as she felt the pins already pushed up. "I think the door's unlocked," she said, pulling her picks out and standing up. Zane opened the door and walked in. "Oh, uh, okay," Cole said sheepishly as he followed.

Once all of them were inside, the door suddenly snapped shut. Onyx's eyes widened slightly as she heard the lock click. She experimentally twisted the handle, frowning when it didn't turn. "We're locked in," she said. Jay chuckled nervously. "Hah... well, at least we don't want to leave yet, right?" He said. Onyx tilted her head towards him slightly in acknowledgement.

After a few moments of walking through the dark temple, Cole reached for a door. "Let's look in-argh!" He gave a yelp as he opened the door and a spider dropped down in front of him. Kai swatted the spider away. "Relax. If this place is truly haunted, we just need to wait until Yang shows himself," he said calmly, stepping into the room, which appeared to be an old study. "Uh, he should've been here by now," Jay complained. "You heard the tour guide, if we're not out by sunup, we'll be Ghosts," Cole responded nervously. "You didn't buy into that malarkey, did you?" Kai scoffed, looking around.

Onyx stepped over to the desk in the room, looking over it. "Considering the fact that we're literally searching for a way to fly so we can defeat ghosts, I wouldn't be so quick to call it malarkey," she said, picking up something whe recognized as a tax record. "Yeah! And I don't wanna be a Ghost. Who wants to be a Ghost? Why didn't anyone warn us this place would get so creepy after dark?" Cole said, swallowing hard. Kai sighed. "Uh, remind me again why we agreed to put the guy afraid of Ghosts in charge?" He mumbled. Onyx pointed at him. "He's right. Maybe I should be in charge," she said, flipping to the next page of records, which were charts of new students. 'Interesting. The uniform and food expenses went down after a year...'