Summary: The Lotus Ninjas find themselves in the middle of an escalating war between the remains of the Shadow Clan and the Onis.
The Lotus Ninjas looked equally flabbergasted as they couldn't believe what they were seeing. The imploding Shadow Clan building collapsed into nothingness before their very eyes.
"Oh. Snap." Ella muttered.
"You read my mind." Ellie agreed.
"The onis working together with Sage of all people? I mean, I get Sage's vengeance with the Shadow Clan. But why get Scarlet and her crew involved?" Donna wondered.
"I don't know." Lee replied. "This is one strange mystery. Let's head home for now. I have a feeling there are gonna be more surprises along the way."
With that, the Lotus Ninjas turned around and leaped away.
Meanwhile, a private jet flew through the darkened sky. Inside the plane, Kage stared at a laptop computer from his seat. The screen showed a footage recording of a security camera that was recovered within the Shadow Clan HQ.
Kage pressed a key on the keyboard and watched a video recording of the battle between the onis and the Shadow Clan all the way to the destruction of the Shadow Clan headquarters. He then caught the Lotus Ninjas standing on a building rooftop from the far corner. She paused the video and enlarged the image of Leona.
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Kage said.
Back in the high-tech rated warehouse, Sage stood in front of Scarlet and her oni comrades.
"At last, the Shadow Clan has fallen into a rumble and it's all thanks to you." Sage said with a smile. "With this armor I've crafted you, I can enact my plan that will take over their territory as my own."
"A plan that will be perfect with one minor adjustment." Scarlet said. She puts on an evil grin on her face. "With us in control."
Scarlet snapped her fingers. Aqua, Rosa, Azura, Chiffon, and Jade started surrounding Sage as they aimed their energized fists at her with evil giggles.
"As you can see, we serve no one." Scarlet said. "The only reason we stick around is because of your technological expertise. And thanks to your armors empowering us, we can strike anyone that stands in our way. Starting with you."
Scarlet lifted her energized fist and thrusted forward for a strike, but her fists was suddenly stopped in position. Aqua, Rosa, Azura, Chiffon, and Jade gasped in shock. Scarlet growled angrily as she used all of her strength and power to make her arm move, but it was no use.
"Wha-what's going on?" Scarlet exclaimed. "I can't move!"
Sage laughed sinisterly as she watched the red oni struggling to make her arm move in amusement. Her laugh earned confusion and fear from the other five onis.
"Heh, do you really think I'm an idiot?" Sage questioned. "I have anticipated your betrayal from the very beginning. The armors I've created may have amplified their powers, but they can do so much more to my advantage."
"What?!" Scarlet cried out.
Scarlet closed her eyes and tried to fight the strange effect coming from the armor, but she wasn't strong enough. She opened her eyes that looked pitch black and moved her fist away from Sage. Aqua, Rosa, Azura, Chiffon, and Jade then felt the strange effects from the armor as they struggled to fight it. But their eyes went pitch black in a mind-control fashion. All six onis then kneeled down in front of Sage.
"Marvelous, if I do say so myself." Sage smiled. "With the onis under my control, I can analyze their physiology into my future plans. But first, let's do a test run on four annoying pests that have been a thorn in my side."
In the Crete Fortress, the Lotus Ninjas gathered inside Donna's lab. They stared at the crystal ball that showed the onis attacking the Shadow Clan inside the building. Phantom joined them and already began analyzing the high-tech armors on the onis.
"This doesn't make any sense." Ellie said. "The onis working together with Sage? That's too good to be true."
"You said it." Lee agreed. "Partnerships between villains is one thing, but knowing Sage, there must be something that she wants from them in return when she requires their help."
Then, Phantom's eyes projected a holographic image of the high-tech armors.
"What'cha ya got, Phantom?" Donna asked.
"These armors are made of highly advanced tech." Phantom announced. "Designed to enhance the user's unique abilities, but renders the wearers subservient to the creator."
"So, that's it!" Donna exclaimed. "Sage created the armors to submit Scarlet and the other oni under her control."
"Obviously, she knew that they would eventually betray her once they finished her dirty work." Ella said as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Scarlet and her goons may be enemies, but we can't let Sage get away with this. Let's go find them." Lee said.
Meanwhile, Kage's jet finally landed at the New York airport. He and his ninjas exited the aircraft and walked towards a car on the runway. Kage was dressed in a black ninja gi shirt, black fingerless gloves on his hands, black hakama pants that are tucked into a pair of silver-gray knee-high boots.
"Where are my sisters now?" Kage asked.
"We haven't received any words from them, Master Kage." One male ninja responded.
"But we are receiving the exact location of the ones you seek." Another ninja added.
"Good. Half of you will locate their sisters. The rest of you are with me." Kage ordered.
The Lotus Ninjas sprinted across building rooftops. Lee's aura sense led her and her sisters to track three brainwashed onis to an empty cosmetic factory. They quietly looked keenly through the skylight and saw Scarlet, Jade, and Azura waiting for them down below.
"Wait a minute. There's only three." Ellie said with confusion.
"Yeah, where are the other three at?" Ella wondered.
"Beats me. I was able to detect three onis in this factory." Lee said. "But for now, let's take them down and remove the armors off of them."
The Lotus Ninjas quietly opened the skylight window to keep themselves as silent as possible. They released their magic upwards and all the lights were turned on that left the brainwashed onis in high alert.
Then, the Lotus Ninjas jumped down and landed towards the brainwashed onis with fighting stances. Scarlet, Jade, and Azura engulfed their clenched fists with blazing energy. Both groups charged forward in a clash.
Ellie dashed forward and released several compassed blasts of air at Azura from her hands, but Azura avoided each air blast coming at her. Azura jumped up in the air and shot multiple blue energy spheres at Ellie from both hands. Ellie backflipped and evaded the energy spheres before concentrating a large amount of wind in the palm of her left hand and releasing a strong beam of swirling wind. Azura dodged the swirling wind beam and zoomed right in front of Ellie, who looked on with a shocked face. Azura then unleashed a flurry of energized punches and kicks that sent Ellie flying and crashing down to the wall.
Jade swung her green energized whips to strike Donna, who swiftly dodged with quick side steps and backflips. Donna levitated some pieces of floor and launched them straight at Jade in a bullet-like fashion. But Jade sliced them into half with her whips. Donna then levitated the broken stones and shaped them into fists before launching them into Jade. But Jade unleashed a barrage of green energy spheres at Donna, who quickly stomped her right boot and protected herself with a stone shield. As Donna dropped her stone shield, Jade then launched Donna to the wall with her whips.
Scarlet began striking Ella and Lee with red energized punches, but Lee and Ella kept dodging before moving separate ways. Ella sent out a large blast of blazing fire that surrounded Scarlet from both hands. But Scarlet distinguished the flames and charged forward to strike Ella from rapid punches that sent her flying across the ground. Lee leaped upwards and lashed Scarlet with two long tendrils of water from her hands. Scarlet dodged out of the way and somersaulted herself forward, slamming Lee to the ground with red energized kicks.
Scarlet stood in front of a dazed Lee with a victorious grin on her face.
"That was fun." Scarlet said. She drew her energized fist back. "But now, it's over."
Then suddenly, a hail of shurikens came through the skylight and exploded straight at Scarlet, Jade, and Azura. Ellie, Donna, Ella, and Lee slowly pushed themselves up on their feet as they witnessed the shuriken explosion with wide eyes.
"What?!" Scarlet exclaimed in shock.
More explosive shurikens came plunging around the brainwashed onis. Scarlet, Jade, and Azura immediately jumped up through the skylight and then spirited away.
The Lotus Ninjas exchanged confused faces.
"Okay. Now, that was weird." Ellie remarked.
Then, Kage leaped down from the skylight and landed on the ground. Two Shadow Ninjas jumped down and landed behind Kage with katana swords in their hands.
"That symbol." Lee said with narrow eyes. "You're from the Shadow Clan."
"Heh, a keen observer." Kage spoke. "My name is Kage, and I'm not your enemy. I am here to restore order to the Shadow."
"Yeah, like that's gonna happen." Ella said. She engulfed her hands with her fire magic. "If you think we're gonna work for you, you're out of your mind."
"Wait, Ella. Do not engage." Lee ordered.
Ella charged forward and released a large fireball at Kage's direction. But Kage quenched the fireball with a large shield of dark energy. Kage then zoomed incredibly and delivered a swift barrage of punches and kicks that hit Ella from different directions. Kage snapped his fingers and wrapped Ella in a series of long shadowy chains around her arms and legs tightly.
Lee, Donna, and Ellie summoned their elemental magic, but they stopped as Kage constructed a black energized sword in one hand and pointed it at Ella's throat.
"Let our sister go!" Lee demanded.
"Now, you three are going to listen and listen well." Kage said with a threatening tone. "Either we settle down and talk or your sister gets it. Your choice."
To be continued…
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