Onyx and the Possession

Grave Danger

Onyx sat in one of R.E.X.'s cockpit seats, the worn leather soft beneath her. It had been years since she last sat here. Then, she'd been flying away from death. Now, she was flying towards it. Or, more accurately, diving. The deep, navy blue surrounded the glass. Occasionally, there would be a flicker of movement outside as some sort of bioluminescent creature swam by, but other than that, it seemed completely empty.

"We're almost to the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master," Zane said, breaking the tense silence. His blue eyes were one of the only sources of light in the dim cockpit, the only other light coming from the cracked map screen and little red buttons on the control panel. "Yeah. Can't believe we're almost there after all we've been through," Cole said. "I can't believe I'm underwater," Kai said, his voice unusually soft. "You? What about me? Just how thick is this glass?" Cole asked, tapping on it. Onyx shivered. "Don't do that," she said, the first time she'd spoken since they'd delved beneath the surface.

It had been alright for the first while, when the water was still light. But once they'd gotten deep enough that Onyx knew she wouldn't be able to swim back up to the surface, and then once she knew the pressure would crush her body into nothing, then she'd gotten nervous. After a few more minutes, or maybe it was hours-time felt strange in the lack of sound and light-the screen flicked on, displaying Wu and Misako's faces. "We're heading to your location now. With Morro already ahead of you and able to foresee the traps protecting the tomb with the Sword of Sanctuary, it's going to be up to you four to find the Realm Crystal before he does," Wu said.

Jay laughed nervously. "Hehe, Cole's a Ghost, Kai can't swim, Onyx has trauma, we have no magical sword or Elemental Powers... What could go wrong?" He said. Misako's eyes shimmered with worry. "I may not know the three tests you're about to face, but I discovered a riddle that makes reference to it that may help: "A Spinjitzu Master can. A Spinjitzu Master cannot. To move forward, don't look ahead, to find his resting spot," she said. Cole tilted his head, looking at the map. "Huh. That's food for thought," he murmured.

Jay's eyes widened as a large shape suddenly emerged from the darkness, its eyes and... what seemed like tentacles, glowing dimly with the greenish light of bioluminescence. "Speaking of food, we're about to be some!" He cried. Onyx uttered a soft whimper as she saw the creature. "We have to go faster. Much faster," Kai said, eyes wide. Zane pushed the steering yoke forward, trying to coax the airship into going faster, but not before the leviathan slammed a tentacle into the glass. Onyx's face went white as a spiderweb of cracks raced through the glass. If Cole still had skin, he would've been white as a sheet. As it were, he did seem to become a little more transparent.

"Ohhh, why did the tomb have to be underwater?" Kai moaned. Onyx gripped the edges of her seat so tightly she could see skin through her gloves. She knew that she should do something, but couldn't seem to force her body to move. The thought of dying underwater, the way her corpse would never be found, was paralyzing. "Ugh! What kind of weapons is this thing equipped with!?" Jay gasped. "We don't need weapons. Aim for that rock!" Zane shouted, pointing. "On it," Cole said, jaw tight as he grabbed the yoke and pushed it to the side, steering R.E.X. towards a circular rock formation coated in bioluminescent algae.

Onyx squeezed her eyes shut, terrified that they were about to crash into the rock and all die. But a few moments later, R.E.X. steadied out, and Jay gave an excited shout. "Yeah! All right! Thatta Boy, R.E.X.! Thatta boy!" He cheered. Onyx opened her eyes and glanced behind them to see that the leviathan that had been pursuing was stuck in the rocks. Kai gave a whimpering exhale and leaned against Onyx's seat. She released her grip on the leather seat. Her hands had been so tight she'd left indentations in it.

(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)

Roughly twenty-one minutes later, R.E.X. dove into an undersea cave, which caused even more anxiety, and eventually surfaced in a small pool within a cave, the cockpit popping open. "If you wanna hide a tomb, this looks like a good place. We're here," Cole said, carefully leaping from the airship to the mostly dry stone. Onyx shivered as she climbed out, the moist chill of the air seeping into her bones. Algae clung to the stalactites and walls of the cave, filling the space with its cold blue light. "It's so quiet," Onyx said. Her voice was a whisper. It felt wrong to break the silence of the tomb.