Onyx and Skybound

Plundered Plans

"What's taking them so long?" Nya was the first one to voice the anxiety that all three of them were feeling. Lloyd put his hands up. "Don't ask me. I'm not supposed to talk," he said. Onyx shook her head when Nya looked at her. "I haven't got any-" she was cut off when a voice that didn't belong to any of them spoke.

"That's where the other Zeppelin is?" Onyx jumped when a skinny green serpentine pirate climbed down into their zeppelin. "Oh, hiding away so the new b-blood could steal a break, eh? Don't worry, I won't tell. What be your names?" He asked with a grin, completely oblivious. "Uh, the name's...uh..." Onyx shot Nya a glare, and she quickly adjusted her tone. "The name's Scallywag. And this here is Mutt the Mute. And that there's Vincent," she said. "Chao," Onyx said, deciding to play this role as not speaking Ninjargon. Perhaps she'd be able to eavesdrop.

The serpentine grinned and then launched into a monologue. "Ahh, S-S-Stiixian? Well, listen here, Mutt, Vincent, and Scallywag, 'cause I'm only gonna tell you once how things g-g-g-go around here. At the top of the ladder, you got Nadakhan. After him, it's Flintlocke. Then Doubloon. Oh, no, no, wait. It's, uh, D-D-Dogshank. Then Doubloon, Monkey Wretch, me, and way down at the bottom of the ladder is you threes. So if you ever want to rise up that ladder, you got to first step on me. Oh, no, wait a minute, that does not sound right. Only everyone higher-ranked steps all over me, so why would they? Ahem, maybe I got it all upside down. Either way, careful using the work "wish" around the captain. It's tempting, but w-w-wishes aren't free. I never used mine. But why would I? A pirate's life is great!"

Partway through his long monologue, Onyx noticed Lloyd pointing towards his face, but couldn't quite figure out what he was doing. It was when he finally leaned forward and whispered that she understood. "Ahem. Mustache!" He hissed to Nya, who started and quickly pushed up her faux facial hair, which the two women only now realized had been slowly slipping down her face.

Clancee whipped to Lloyd, eyes going wide. "Hey! Y-Y-You talked. I thought you were mute!" He cried. Lloyd gulped and doubled down on mimicking an accent. "Aye. It be a miracle. Arr!" He cried. "They say you were born with no tongue, but look at that. There it is," Nya said. Onyx raised her hands. "Lode al Signore!" She cried.

Suddenly, a grizzled voice shouted over loudspeakers. "All hands, keep an eye out for anything suspicious. The prisoner has escaped," it shouted. "Hey...what are you waiting for? You heard your orders. Be on the lookout. And we'll be needing a new name for you, Mutt the Mute. How about, uh, Mutt the Miracle?" Clancee asked. "Uh, sounds great. Love the idea," Lloyd agreed hastily, shooing the snake away.

When he was finally gone, the three ninja whipped to each other. "We may have a problem," Onyx said. "That was close. We have to be ready when they get here," Nya agreed. "Tell me about it," Lloyd groaned, rubbing his face as Nya began to maneuver their Zepplin away...

Only for several pirates to suddenly drop down onto their ship, deepstone handcuffs in hand. Onyx's face twisted into a scowl as they cuffed the three before they could even get their hands up. "Merde," she spat. 

(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)(=^･ｪ･^=)

In their tiny cell in the brig, Onyx sat with a scowl on her face, wrists working at the vengestone cuffs around them, pressing into the flesh, listening to Jay talk and worrying about Nya. She'd been separated from them first thing after being captured, and Onyx had no idea where she'd been taken. Jay frowned at Cole, who was trying to phase through his cuffs.

"It's Vengestone, remember? You can't ghost through it, and your super-duper strength won't work anymore," he said. Lloyd sighed and leaned his head back against the wooden wall. "Cole, you said you left the venom in his quarters?" He asked. Cole scowled and nodded. "Yeah. Well, hopefully Nya can get to it," he said, eyes flicking away. Onyx recognized his guilty eyes. He felt bad for leaving the venom.

Jay's face twisted. "How? She doesn't even know it's there. Oh, I don't like her being alone with the silky-voiced seducer. If he lays one hand on her, I-" Onyx's gaze slid over his disheveled appearance, the bruise blooming across his cheek, his torn collar, and her irritated frown shifted to something more concerned. "Jay, are you okay?" She asked. "I'm fine!" Jay snapped, crossing his legs tightly. Onyx backed off, though not with a reassuring pat on his knee, which was the closest part of his body to her.

"Don't worry, we won't let that happen," Lloyd said, his voice assuring. "We better not, because if he takes her hand in marriage, he'll reach his True Potential, and we'll all be hooped when he has infinite wishes!" Jay exclaimed, pushing to the next subject. Cole's eyes widened at that. "Infinite wishes? He'll be unstoppable," he gasped. Lloyds eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "But then his crew will be expendable. Maybe we can convince them to-"

Jay cut Lloyd off with a scoff. "Already tried. They wouldn't believe me." His eyes slid to a spot on the floor, his voice softening. "Thanks for trying to save me, but maybe it would've been better if you never came," he said quietly. "Don't say that!" Onyx said sharply. Jay's eyebrows lifted slightly at the force in her tone. Lloyd took a gentler approach, a reassuring hand reaching for Jay's shoulder. "Hey, we may not have our Elemental Powers, but we're not without hope. Between the three of us and Nya, we have ten wishes that-" Jay again interrupted him, though this time it was with a bitter laugh.

"Wishes? You wanna think that through? Making wishes is why we're up here," he snapped. Lloyd stopped, hand frozen in the air, eyes wide. "Jay..." he murmured. "I mean, when he turns them around on you, you'll beg for him to wish it away. And that only makes him more powerful," Cole pointed out, scooting closer to Jay, though Onyx wasn't sure if it was subconscious or deliberate. Jay glared at Lloyd with an uncharacteristic force. "No wishes, Lloyd. Things may be bad, but they can still get worse," he said sharply.

Lloyd put his hands up. "Okay, okay, no wishes. Only as a last resort. I just hope Nya's faring better than we are," he said, adding the last part with a sigh. Onyx bit her lip. "Yeah," she murmured.

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It always bothered me that they found Jay in Nadakhan's bedroom and he was so worried about him touching Nya. Maybe Law and Order has gotten into my head.

Yeah, this chapter is really short, and I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to get something published. Basically, I've just started a Composition II English class, and it's constant writing. I love writing, but all things in moderation. Basically, it's burning me out as far as writing goes. And since it's a college class, it takes priority over fanfiction, even as much as I love writing it. I'm still writing. Just much slower.

On a brighter note, I took the PSAT today. I feel great about the English section. The math may have been a big fat disaster though. Like, here's 33 minutes to solve 22 complex math problems! Good luck! Ugh.