Summary: Owing to the mystical war between the remaining factions, the Lotus Ninjas join forces with Kage, who used to be Lady Shade's right-hand "man."
Kage pointed his black energized sword at Ella's throat. Lee, Donna, and Ellie glared at Kage in fighting stances.
"Extinguish your magic!" Kage said threateningly. He moved her sword closer to Ella's neck. "Do it now!"
Ellie, Donna, and Lee quenched their magic.
"Good. Now, let's talk." Kage said.
Kage snapped his fingers, releasing Ella out of the shadowy chains. Ella leaped back to her sisters with a glare.
"Alright, you wanna talk? Then start talking." Donna said as she placed her hands on her hips.
Kage lifted his left hand upwards and projected a Shadow Clan symbol up above.
"Like I said before, my name is Kage. I command the Shadow Clan in Japan. The reason I'm here in New York is to restore order of the Shadow in this city's faction." Kage explained. "When you mystics took down Lady Shade, these oni creatures sought the opportunity to take control with the help of their new ally. But the only way to prevent them from getting access of its New York operations, I will need your help."
"Is he serious? Us helping you?" Ella questioned.
"Why do you need us?" Lee asked.
"Because I have a plan to stop this war." Kage replied. "But it requires an element of surprise to make it work. If you help us, no revenge will come to you all for Lady Shade's destruction."
"Will you give us a minute to think about this?" Lee asked.
"Of course. Take your time." Kage nodded.
The Lotus Ninjas huddled together.
"Well, what do you girls think?" Lee asked.
"Uh, hello? This is the Shadow Clan we're talking about. That's not a good idea." Ella replied.
"Ella's right. This is crazy." Donna agreed.
"Yeah, I don't know about this." Ellie concurred.
"Listen, I don't blame you. The Lotus teaming up with the Shadow is too skeptical. But for now, let's play along. And if this leads to a trap, take them down full power."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Ella said.
"What's your decision?" Kage questioned as he stepped towards the Lotus Ninjas.
"We accept your offer of an alliance." Lee said. "And because this is the first time we're teaming up with you, we trust you to keep your end of the deal once we're done."
"I assure you the Shadow will keep our promise since this is the first time we ever had to ask for aid from anyone." Kage said. "Now listen closely."
Later that night, Scarlet, Jade, and Azura sprinted across building rooftops. They jumped high through the opening skylight of the warehouse and landed on the ground. They walked forward with the other three brainwashed onis as they bowed at Sage, who was standing in front of them with a holographic screen next to her.
"You creatures possess incredible superhuman strength, speed, durability, and agility." Sage said with a smile. She looked at the holographic screen. "Running at high speeds, smashing sturdy substances, and lifting high amounts of weight? This is truly remarkable. Even projecting powerful forms of energy. With this data, I can make my own that will be loyal to me with no hint of disobedience."
Suddenly, Sage noticed a looming shadow all over her. She looked up and released a surprised gasp when she saw Lady Shade standing atop in front of the full moon.
"No. It can't be. It can't be." Sage murmured in shock.
Lady Shade let out a sinister laugh.
"You're alive! But…but how?" Sage exclaimed.
"That is not important at the moment! Follow me!" Lady Shade said.
Lady Shade walked away and slithered across building rooftops. She halted and looked back at the warehouse before continuing forward.
"I thought I was a goner for sure." Sage smiled in relief. She then dropped her smile and turned her attention to the brainwashed onis with a sinister grin. "Lady Shade may be back, but her revenge is far from over. Let's put her down for good and claim her precious clan territory."
Lady Shade continued running across building rooftops, successfully leading Sage and the brainwashed onis into following her. She finally arrived at the nearly restored Shadow Clan Headquarters and entered the rooftop dojo, where the Lotus Ninjas were waiting at the center of the room.
"They took the bait. They'll be here any minute." Lady Shade announced as she stepped forward.
Lady Shade removed her mask to reveal herself as Kage.
"Using a disguise spell and a voice synthesizer spell to look and imitate Lady Shade's voice? That's totally cool." Donna commented.
"Agreed." Ellie concurred. "A little scary, but totally cool."
"I don't understand how a cruel, dishonorable woman like Lady Shade has you serving her as the right hand man." Lee replied.
Kage's eyes lit up in surprise, but he composed himself.
"You four may view Lady Shade as a merciless witch. But there's another side of her that only I knew." Kage explained. "Many years ago in Japan, she trained me alongside Sienna and Mira into the art of ninjutsu. I respected her ever since and she trusted me. Ravenna Rozu was not only my master, but she's also my mother."
The Lotus Ninjas' eyes widened in a mix of shock and surprise.
"Lady Shade is your mother?!" Ella exclaimed. "So, that means Sienna and Mira are your sisters."
"Yes." Kage answered.
Lee then detected five familiar auras coming close.
"I'm sensing their auras. They're close." Lee said.
"Looks like your plan is working." Donna said.
"So far, but one must always plan for the unexpected." Kage replied. "Now, conceal yourselves for our enemies' arrival."
The Lotus Ninjas ran off to hide as Kage placed Lady Shade's mask back on his face.
Then, the onis entered the dojo and approached with blazingly energized fists aiming at Fake Lady Shade in a circle. Sage then walked into the dojo with a serious face.
Hiding above on an overhead rafter, the Lotus Ninjas watched the scene without being detected.
"Hey, looks like we're gonna see the show, after all." Ella smirked.
"Focus, Ella. We have put our trust in Kage's plan." Lee said. "If he takes down Sage and the onis, the war will be over. And if it fails, it's us against them."
"Sage, this feud is pointless." Kage spoke in Lady Shade's voice. He conjured two black magic circles from both hands. "But if you insist on claiming my territory, you will face my wrath."
"Oh, Lady Shade, when I learned that you were destroyed, I'd prefer you stay that way." Sage said. "But now, my colleagues are gonna make sure you stay gone." She pointed her finger towards Fake Lady Shade. "Take her down!"
The onis started firing energy blasts at Fake Lady Shade, who vanished into her shadow. Once Fake Lady Shade reappeared behind Jade and Chiffon, she unleashed a large black energy wave that knocked all the onis away. The brainwashed onis jumped back on the feet and charged forward to strike their attacks on Fake Lady Shade, who kept dodging and attacking at the same time. Then, Fake Lady Shade jumped high up and created five magic circles in a straight line before releasing a concentrated beam of dark magic directly at the onis in a loud explosion.
Fake Lady Shade landed on her feet as the onis laid on the floor with painful groans.
"Looks like his plan is working." Lee said.
"Oh, Lady Shade. I've forgotten to give you a present!" Sage shouted as she held out a silver-gray baseball sized bomb. "Since I'm willing to destroy your precious building again once you're finished!"
Sage threw the explosive bomb at Kage. But it was too late for Kage to deflect. The bomb exploded and knocked Kage to the floor, popping off his mask and revealing himself to Sage.
Sage gasped in shock, but she released a sinister laugh.
"I knew it. The real Lady Shade is gone." Sage said. "You must be Kage that your beloved master told me about. I gave you props for impersonating her, but it would be dishonoring her in a way."
"Time for Plan B now, girls." Lee said.
The Lotus Ninjas leaped down from the ceiling shadow and charged forward. Donna placed her hands down to the ground and launched powerful blasts of earth magic at Jade and Aqua from her hands. Lee fired a rapid barrage of crescent-shaped water projectiles at Scarlet. Ellie manifested a miniature vortex of wind and then created diamond-shaped projectiles in the air that sent them to strike Chiffon all at once. Ella created multiple small fireballs that took the form of a large lotus flower and delivered a rapid barrage of fireballs straight at Rosa. And Kage released a large, bullet-like stream of dark energy towards Azura.
Then, the Lotus Ninjas and Kage backed up close to each other as the onis surrounded them.
"Okay, Plans A and B failed. What now?" Ellie questioned.
"What do you think? We have to leave right now." Donna said.
"No, we're not. To make peace, we will stay and prepare ourselves for destruction." Kage said.
"Are you serious right now?" Ella snapped.
"It is my duty to serve Lady Shade and now it is my destiny to be a servant of fate like you slayed my mother as your fate." Kage stated.
"Kage, my mother once told me and my sisters that we are free to make our own fate and destiny, not because someone assigned you for it. Lady Shade may be your mother, but you're nothing like her."
"And what makes you think that?" Kage questioned.
"Because you understand honor like a true ninja." Lee responded.
Kage looked stunned for a moment, but he smiled with a soft, grateful expression. Lee smiled back.
"Eliminate them all!" Sage commanded. "With them gone, I can control New York City!"
Scarlet, Chiffon, Jade, Aqua, Azura, and Rosa aimed their energized fists at the Lotus Ninjas and Kage.
Then suddenly, an arc of white energy blasts came through the air and hit the onis one by one. The Lotus Ninjas and Kage turned their heads to see Saldana hovering in mid-air.
"Mother!" Lee smiled.
"All right!" Ellie cheered.
"How did you know we were here?" Ella asked.
"I had a little help." Saldana replied.
Saldana snapped her fingers. Izuna, Phantom, Ryoko, and Ekron leaped into the room as they stood from the opposite side of the mystic.
"Nice job, you guys." Donna said with a thumb-up.
Everyone looked over to see Scarlet and her comrades charging at them.
"Alright, Lotus, let's end this!" Kage declared.
Rosa leapt high into the air and shot out pink energy spikes that rained down on Ella. But Ella protected herself with a fiery force field. Ella dropped the force field and then released a spiraling flame at Rosa from both hands, trapping and burning Rosa in a fiery tornado. Chiffon sprang up and spun herself around rapidly, shooting multiple blasts of orange star-shaped projectiles at Ellie, who evaded the raining energy blasts with swift speed. Ellie then generated a tornado that was powerful enough to suck Chiffon inside with great force before sending her flying away. Aqua shot out multiple blue energy balls at Lee, who moved out of the way. Lee backflipped and created a series of spheres out of solid water, launching them together at Aqua in an explosion that slammed the oni creature hard to the floor.
Jade unleashed a barrage of green energized whips towards Donna. But Donna kept evading the lashing whips and stomped her boot to the ground that summoned purple roses around Kage and began sprouting long thick vines to attack her. Azura released a large swarm of shadowy bats at Kage, who quickly dodged out of the way with swift speed. Kage then propelled himself at high speed and released a dark energy beam that hit Azura away and on the back to the ground. Scarlet and Saldana exchanged a rapid barrage of punches and kicks before forcing themselves away from each other. Scarlet released a flurry of red energy blasts at Saldana, who evaded with remarkable speed. Saldana then lifted her hands in front of her and unleashed powerful bolts of white electricity at Scarlet, electrocuting the red oni to the ground.
Sage narrowed her eyes. But before she could intervene, Phantom suddenly dashed forward. Sage didn't have any time to react. Phantom suddenly grabbed Sage's left arm and tossed her up in the air. Ekron sent out two energized tentacles and restrained around Sage high up in the air. Izuna summoned a circular swarm of blue fireballs flying around her in circles before launching them at Sage altogether. Ryoko generated a great amount of white fire from her mouth and unleashed a huge blast of blue flames at Sage. Ekron then swung Sage around in overhead circles several times before finally slamming her hard into the ground.
Donna then lifted both arms and her eyes glowed bright purple.
"Tanraku!" Donna casted.
Donna's magic exerted itself over the whole armors, short-circuiting and crushing them into pieces to the floor.
All six onis were finally free from Sage's control.
"Huh?" Chiffon and Rosa said.
"Wh-what happened?" Aqua questioned
"And how did we even get here?" Jade asked.
Sage lifted herself back up and turned her head at the onis. Chiffon, Rosa, Jade, Scarlet, Aqua, and Azura turned their heads to Sage before forming dangerous glares.
"Oh, that's right. We remember now." Scarlet said.
"Heh, no matter." Sage said as she dusted herself. "As long as I collect the data, my plan will prevail next time."
With that, Sage rushed out of the rooftop dojo through the entrance and vanished out of sight.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Rosa shouted as she and the other onis ran up to the entrance.
The onis then spun around to find themselves outnumbered by the Lotus Ninjas, Kage, and their allies. Chiffon, Rosa, Jade, Aqua, and Azura enveloped their hands in glowing energy, but Scarlet lifted one hand to halt them from preparing for a strike.
"Forget it. Consider this as a retreat." Scarlet said. She looked back at the heroes with narrow eyes. "For now."
Azura outstretched her arms and unleashed a large swarm of shadowy bats around herself and her comrades, carrying them away out of the dojo.
"Thank you, Leona. You stood with me to the last. All of you have great strength and courage." Kage said as she approached Lee. "The vendetta is lifted and the Shadow will not take revenge for the slaying of their master, as promised."
"You are honorable, Kage." Lee complimented. "You kept your word. A sign of a true ninja."
"Hopefully, someday in the future, our clans will be peaceful allies when our paths cross again." Kage said.
Kage and Lee bowed to each other. Then, the Lotus Ninjas and their allies walked over to the entrance before taking their leave.
Later on, Kage stared at the full moon through the window. Sienna and Mira walked into the dojo room and approached their brother.
"Big brother, it took us a while, but we are fully operational." Mira reported.
"Excellent. Let's go now." Kage said.
Kage, Sienna, and Mira headed into the secret medical room, where they approached a tall cylinder tank standing at the center. The tank was surrounded by medical equipment and filled with crimson-colored liquid. Kage, Sienna, and Mira then kneeled in front of the tank.
"All was according to plan, mother." Kage said.
Inside the tank, Lady Shade was floating lightly as her entire body was hooked with wires. Except her body took a whole, new different form. Her black hair and limbs began wisping in a cloudlike fashion with her legs ending like a tail.
"Excellent. I could feel the primrose potion almost finished healing my body." Ravenna declared. "And once I'm fully complete, we will continue our revenge and destroy the Lotus once and for all!"
Ravenna laughed menacingly. But Kage looked down with a remorseful expression, which quietly caught Sienna and Mira's attention.
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