Summary: The Lotus Ninjas discover that the school was spreading rumors of a feral fox in the haunted apartment building, which turns out to be a mystical kitsune named Mala.
At Eastman High School, Donna placed her textbooks inside her locker in the hallway. When she closed it, she turned her head to see Ellie leaning against her locker.
"Hey, Donna. Since you and I have our free period, is there any chance I can borrow your algebra notes?" Ellie asked.
"Let me guess. Another late night of Justice Force comics?" Donna asked with a smile.
"And playing Cyberstar's hard mode." Ellie smiled back. "I also gonna need to copy Lee's astronomy notes when we get home."
"Nothing says help me with my homework than a slacker." Donna said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
Donna and Ellie strolled through the hallway until they came across a group of three students standing near the corner.
"Have you heard about that weird creature the other night?" A male black-haired student spoke.
Ellie and Donna exchanged knowing nods. They moved on opposite sides of the cafeteria doors.
"Surudoi chōkaku." Donna and Ellie casted in a whisper.
Donna and Ellie's hearing capabilities became greatly increased, allowing them to home in on the students' conservations.
"Yeah, I heard it was some sort of a fox." A female brunette-haired student said.
"And it has nine tails." A female blonde-haired student added. "Like literally nine tails. What fox has that? Could it be a new fox breed?"
"Look, all I can do is that it lives somewhere in an abandoned apartment building near the central park." The male black-haired student said. "It's best if we stay as far away as possible."
"You said it." The two students nodded in agreement.
Donna and Ellie traded wide-eyed faces.
"Should we get Lee and Ella on this?" Ellie asked.
"Not yet." Donna replied. "We're just gonna observe and report during our free period."
"Wait, what? You can't be serious." Ellie said.
"Oh, you're definitely serious!" Ellie exclaimed.
Ellie and Donna just arrived outside of the abandoned apartment building's front door.
"Donna, are you sure this is a good idea?" Ellie asked. "Because I still think we should get Ella and Lee on this."
"Ellie, we're just gonna explore and find out about this mysterious fox." Donna said stubbornly as she peered at the window on the abandoned apartment building.
Donna opened the front door and walked inside. Ellie rolled her eyes and followed after her older sister. They stepped into the middle of the empty living room.
"All clear?" Ellie whispered.
Donna crouched on her knees and placed her right hand on the floor. She closed her eyes and started feeling seismic vibrations spreading throughout the apartment building. She concentrated on those vibrations, leading her to detect a peculiar creature on the second floor.
"Someone's upstairs." Donna whispered back. "C'mon."
Donna and Ellie sped towards the stairs as they ran all the way up to the second floor, where they entered through the hallway that has three empty rooms. Donna looked at the first empty room as Ellie drifted over to the second empty room. Her eyes widened and she let out a low shriek.
"Uh, Donna, remember the mysterious fox everyone was talking about at school?" Ellie asked.
"Yeah. Why?" Donna answered.
"Because…I found it!" Ellie replied as she pointed forward with a trembling finger.
Donna gasped. She and her sisters caught the sight of a growling fox emerging out of the shadowed closet. The fox has a lean figure and white fur with black markings on her light cyan eyes, a black nose, nine long tails, and five clawed fingers on each hand and four clawed toes on each foot.
The fox growled furiously as she took slow steps towards Ellie and Donna.
"Quick! Take cover!" Donna shouted.
Donna and Ellie ducked away just as the fox lunged towards the wall. When the fox turned her head to the mystic kunoichis, Donna and Ellie dashed towards the stairs. They quickly entered the third floor and zipped behind the navy blue couch.
An instant later, the fox stepped into the room and started looking around. Donna and Ellie carefully peeked out to see the fox sniffing the floor.
"She's onto us!" Ellie whispered with a panicked expression.
Donna peeked out again and examined the fox.
"She looks like a kitsune." Donna whispered back. "A nine-tailed fox. Just like Izuna."
"So, what are we gonna do?" Ellie asked.
"For now, let's get out of here." Donna answered.
As Donna and Ellie watched the fox sniffing in their direction, they sneakily tiptoed through the open window just before she could check behind the couch.
Donna and Ellie took deep breaths on a building rooftop before looking back at the apartment building.
"Lee and Ella are not gonna believe this." Ellie said.
Back at Eastman High, the Lotus Ninjas gathered together on a building rooftop. Donna and Ellie explained to their older sisters about their trip to the abandoned apartment building and what they encountered during their free period.
"I don't believe this." Ella said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"So, let me get this straight. You two went after the mysterious fox that everyone in school was talking about and it attacked you?" Lee asked.
"Yup." Ellie answered.
"But the fox is actually a kitsune." Donna added.
"You mean like Izuna?" Ella asked.
"Precisely." Donna said.
"Okay. This could mean trouble if anyone else comes upon contact with the kitsune and reports it to the news. Let's pay her a visit after school." Lee said.
Ella, Donna, and Ellie nodded in agreement.
Later that night, the Lotus Ninjas gathered together on a building rooftop right across the abandoned apartment building. They sprang over and landed on the apartment building rooftop. As they entered the third floor, Lee concentrated on her aura sense and detected the kitsune's aura. She led her sisters down the stairs all the way to the first floor until they heard a loud hiss echoing the room.
The Lotus Ninjas looked around the corner to the living room, where they saw the kitsune lying all bruised and injured on the floor.
"Oh wow! What happened?" Ella exclaimed.
"We didn't fight her when we came here." Ellie said, putting her hands up defensively.
"Yeah, we swear." Donna agreed. "She must've been attacked by someone after we escaped."
Ellie ran up to the injured kitsune.
"Ellie, are you doing what I think you're doing?" Donna asked.
"Well, we can't just leave her in this condition." Ellie said. "We have to help her."
"You're crazy, Ellie." Ella said. "There's no way we're bringing that fox home with us. She'll probably attack us when she wakes up."
"Ella, I know it's crazy, but she's hurt." Lee said. "As weird as it sounds, but Ellie's right. The least we can do is heal her injuries and rest up."
Ella let out a heavy sigh.
"Fine." Ella said. "But don't blame me when she attacks us."
In the Crete Fortress, the Lotus Ninjas stared at the kitsune sleeping on the couch inside the living room.
"I still can't believe you had talked us into this, Ellie." Ella said as she placed her hands on her hips.
Ellie rolled her eyes.
"I finished healing her injuries." Donna said. "All we can do now is wait until she wakes up."
"What's going on?" Saldana demanded as she stepped into the living room.
"Ask Ellie. She's the one who made us bring her here." Ella answered, pointing her thumb at Ellie.
"But she needs our help." Ellie retorted.
Saldana walked up in front of the sleeping kitsune and stared at her for a moment. She then turned to her daughters.
"Michelle had made a wise decision." Saldana said. "She possesses a compassionate heart to help and care for this nine-tailed fox."
Ellie grinned proudly, leaving Ella to roll her eyes with a sigh.
"Until she wakes up, you four will continue to look after her with kindness and see if she can provide any information as you can." Saldana instructed.
"You can count on us." Ellie said with a nod.
An hour later, Lee, Donna, and Ella kept staring at the sleeping kitsune while Ellie was cooking warm soup in the kitchen. Once Ellie returned to the living room, the kitsune opened her eyes and looked around to see three mystic kunoichis in front of her.
"Wh-what's going on?" The kitsune asked. "Where am I?"
"Oh, great. You're awake." Ellie smiled as she stood in front of the kitsune with a bowl in her hands. "My sisters and I found you injured at the apartment building, so we carried you here and healed your injuries."
The kitsune looked at her limbs and body with no signs of bruises or serious cuts.
"I see." The kitsune said. "Then, let me introduce myself. My name is Mala. And you are?"
"I'm Michelle." Ellie introduced with a bright smile. She gestured to her older sisters. "And these are my sisters. Lee, Donna, and Ella."
Lee and Donna waved nervously while Ella gave a two-fingered salute.
"Here." Ellie said, handing a bowl of warm soup in front of Mala. "I made you soup."
Mala sat up and sniffed the soup. She scooped the soup into a spoon and tasted the delicious food.
"This is delicious." Mala smiled. "Thank you, Ellie."
"It was my pleasure." Ellie smiled as she sat down on the floor next to Lee.
"So, what happened to you back at the apartment?" Lee asked.
"I was attacked by some sort of mechanical machinery." Mala explained. "After those two girls escaped, those machines came in and tried to capture me. I managed to tear them into pieces, but two of them left me wounded." She looked at Ellie and Donna with an ashamed look on her face. "I apologize for you earlier."
"It's okay." Donna said.
"All is forgiven." Ellie said.
"So, who do we know with knowledge of machines?" Donna wondered. "I mean, besides me."
"Sage!" Lee, Ella, Donna, and Ellie exclaimed at once.
"Give me a sec." Lee said.
Lee closed her eyes and focused on detecting Sage's aura around the entire city until she finally tracked her down.
"Found her." Lee said. "She's in a lab somewhere near central park. Let's go."
Outside the city, Lee drove Sonicruiser through the road. She focused on tracking down Sage's aura until the vehicle finally arrived at their destination. The Lotus Ninjas and Mala stealthily climbed on top of a building. They peeked through the skylight and found Sage securing her blueprints inside her suitcase. Sage still has swirly purple-and-black substance covering her arms, but her left eye was returned to normal.
Then, the Lotus Ninjas and Mala crashed through the skylight window and landed on the floor with their magic readied.
"Sage!" Lee called out.
Sage closed her suitcase and turned around with a sinister smile.
"Ah, I see you girls brought the specimen I've been working for. Thanks for that." Sage said.
"Mala will not become your science experiment." Donna said.
"And if you want her, then you'll have to go through us!" Ella said, cracking her knuckles.
"Oh, I'm counting on it. Besides, you're just in time to see what I've been working on." Sage said.
When Sage snapped her fingers, a group of three feminine robots emerged from the shadows and walked in front of Sage. All three robots have a curvaceous body with a tall, slender build. They have long thick black hair with a glowing white swirl pattern on the tip and black sclera in their eyes. They wore a one-piece gray leotard with pointed black shoulders, long gray detached sleeves, black leather gloves, and thigh-high high-heeled gray boots.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing. Her robots looked phenomenal!" Donna exclaimed with an awestruck smile.
Ellie, Lee, Mala, and Ella turned to Donna with serious expressions.
"Oh, that's right. My bad." Donna said sheepishly.
"I built my Synthezoids when I was working for Lady Shade. I was about to activate them to finish her and her daughters off, but you girls managed to do the job for me. But this time I'll test my creations on you." Sage said with a smile. "Synthezoids, show these mystic pests how I programmed you to be!"
"As you wish." The Synthezoids chorused.
With zooming speed, the Synthezoids charged forward.
Ella and Ellie jumped up in the air and avoided the Synthezoid. When they landed on the ground, Ella fired a barrage of fireballs at the Synthezoid from the palm of her hands. The Synthezoid evaded each fireball coming in her way, but Ellie dashed forward and generated a tornado underneath the Synthezoid that sent the robot flying to the wall.
"Really? That's it?" Ella taunted. "I was expecting more."
The Synthezoid moved out of the crater from the wall and stared at Ella and Ellie with a firm look on her face.
"You just had to say something." Ellie sighed with annoyance.
When the Synthezoid charged again, Ellie jumped in the air and created some large spheres of air energy in a circle, launching them directly at the robot in a bullet-ilke fashion. But the Synthezoid moved away from the incoming solid air bullets and grabbed Ellie by the neck, lifting her up and firing a large white laser blast from her eyes that tossed her backwards. Then, Ella rushed forward and kicked the Synthezoid in the stomach with a burning kick. She then launched the Synthezoid into the air with a fireball from one hand. The Synthezoid quickly recovered and performed a spin in mid-air as she outstretched her arms and released a swarm of glowing white energy orbs that attacked Ella in rapid speed.
Ellie and Ella pushed themselves back up on their feet.
"We're not finished yet, Chrome Dome." Ellie said.
"Yeah, we can do this all day." Ella said.
Ella and Ellie charged forward. The Synthezoid released a large white energy laser at them from her eyes, but Ella and Ellie dodged out of the way as they went separate ways. They proceeded to evade every incoming energy laser that the Synthezoid fired at them with swift magic. Together, Ella and Ellie combined their Quirks. They delivered a flurry of fireballs and tornadoes from their hands that quickly fired straight towards the Synthezoid with great force. That combined attack instantly exploded the Synthezoid.
"Oh yeah!" Ella smiled.
Ella and Ellie high-fived victoriously.
"We're awesome." Ellie smiled back.
Donna slammed her hands and erupted earth spikes out of the ground towards the Synthezoid, who swiftly dodged the earth spikes and blasted Donna away with a beam of white energy from both hands. Lee charged forward and formed two tendrils of water from her hands, wrapping them around the Synthezoid and slamming her to the ground multiple times before tossing her away. The Synthezoid recovered and shot out a rapid barrage of white energy blasts at Lee, who quickly protected herself with a water dome. Then, the Synthezoid quickly flipped in the air and landed behind Lee as she fired a white energy beam that destroyed the water dome and attacked her, sending her to roll next to Donna.
Lee and Donna quickly jumped back up and glared at the Synthezoid.
"We're not done yet, robot." Donna said.
"We're gonna take you down with everything we got." Lee said.
Donna and Lee charged forward. The Synthezoid's hands and eyes glowed blazingly white as she fired white energy lasers at Donna and Lee, who swiftly dodged each incoming laser coming in their way. After splitting away in an opposite direction, Lee formed eight large tentacles of water from her back and extended them at the Synthezoid, grappling her tightly and sealing her in a large sphere of water. Before the Synthezoid could react, Donna formed ten medium-sized fists out of rock and launched them all around the large water sphere that trapped the Synthezoid inside with great force. Once Donna canceled her attack, Lee snapped her fingers and launched the water sphere into the air with great force, hitting the Synthezoid straight into the ceiling before being wrapped in tight plant vines when she landed on the floor.
Donna looked at Lee with a smile and held her fist up to her. Lee smiled back before clenching her hand into a fist. They then fist-bumped.
Before Mala could strike with her claws, the Synthezoid punched Mala's stomach that sent her flying to the wall. Mala recovered and ran forward as she delivered a flurry of rapid claw strikes at the Synthezoid, who swiftly dodged away and released multiple rings of white energy from her eyes at Mala. Then, the Synthezoid unleashed a large white energy beam from her eyes that made Mala jump up in the air to avoid the attack.
Mala charged forward and started rotating her left arm in a clockwise direction that condensed into ten cyan balls of mystical energy around her before directing them one by one to hit the Synthezoid's position. But the Synthezoid effortlessly evaded the incoming attacks and stretched both arms to grab Mala's throat. She then slammed the kitsune to the floor several times before tossing them to the wall.
"Not bad…for a machine." Mala said with a glare as she jumped back on her feet.
As the Synthezoid charged forward again, Mala leapt upwards and spun around while firing cyan mystical energy beams at the robot from her hands, but the Synthezoid managed to avoid each incoming beam coming in her way. The Synthezoid's hands and eyes glowed blazingly white as she dashed forward. She thrusted her hands forward, firing white energy blasts from her hands and white lasers from her eyes all at once. Mala swiftly dodged energy blasts and energy lasers coming in her way with zooming speed and incredible agility. She dashed forward and delivered a quick flurry of slashes at the Synthezoid from her claws before kicking her away. Mala then rushed behind the Synthezoid as her claws were surrounded with cyan energy. She then began slashing the Synthezoid back and forth twelve times at rapid speed before ending the robot with a final slash.
With that, the Synthezoid short-circuited and collapsed to the floor.
Mala released a victorious smile on her face.
"Three robots down. One mad cuckoo left." Ella grinned.
But when the Lotus Ninjas and Mala turned their attention to Sage, she was already gone with the suitcase that had her planned blueprints inside.
"What the?!" Ellie exclaimed.
"She's gone!" Mala cried angrily.
"Don't worry, girls." Lee said calmly. "Whenever Sage turns up, we'll be ready for her." She looked over her shoulder with a confused expression. "But at least, Donna got some toys she can take to her lab back home."
Donna's eyes lit up as she examined the defeated Synthezoids with an awestruck face.
"Oh, I can't wait to unbuild you all!" Donna exclaimed with a wide smile.
Ellie, Lee, Mala, and Ella looked at Donna with deadpan expressions.
"One word." Ellie said.
"Scary?" Lee and Ella asked.
"Yup." Ellie nodded.
Outside, the Lotus Ninjas stood on a building rooftop with Mala standing in front of them.
"Farewell, my friends." Mala said with a smile. "Thank you for everything."
"Will you see you again?" Lee asked.
"I'm sure we will. Someday." Mala replied.
Mala turned around and sprinted away on all four limbs until she disappeared out of sight.
The Lotus Ninjas waved good-bye at the kitsune fox. They exchanged smiles and headed back home.
Surudoi chōkaku – Japanese for super hearing
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