Arin scoffed, glaring at the Ninja. " Just let me go. I need Ras."
Lloyd was looking at something swoop by. " Uh... Arin?"
Arin looked at Ras was formerly standing.
Then he turned to the thing flying.
" Oh, come on!" He said, exasperated. " Why can't I have just ONE second without someone trying to get out and-"
" AFTER HIM!!"
A young girl clad in pink swung to the tree they were on using a vine, and a black cat was on her shoulders.
The cat sighed.
Then he started to speak.
" This is ridiculous."
Zane, Lloyd, Nya, Kai, Arin, Frak and Sora froze.
" There is only one person who has a talking cat." Zane said.
The girl rolled her eyes. " Oh, you wanted me to come out!"
" Yeah. Only because YOU were all mopey in your room!"
" Ugh, you sound like Kai."
" Yeah. I know."
" Oh, really?"
" Yes, really."
" Yeah, no. Because Kai woulda told me to stop bickering with you! Except- oh, wait. He's standing there like a total idiot with his mouth open!"
Kai immediately snapped his jaw shut and narrowed his eyes. "Hey! I'm not just standing here like an idiot—"
"Could've fooled me," the girl in pink shot back, sliding down from the branch in one swift, practiced motion.
The black cat clung to her shoulder, flicking his tail with dramatic exasperation. "Must you always make a dramatic entrance? One of these days you're going to swing into a tree and I refuse to explain that to your brother."
"Relax, Blackie," she muttered, brushing off a leaf. "Besides, the tree deserved it."
Arin blinked, thoroughly confused. "Okay. Who are you?"
"Mia," she said simply, hands on her hips. "Wind Ninja. Jay's sister. Resident chaos magnet. And apparently, the only o-"
" MIA?!"
Mia winced. " Sheesh. You yell loudly."
" Mia- you were- I mean, how did-"
" Blackie. Told me you all had come here. Also said it was a good place to swing on vines. And in the process, trying to save Arin's teacher from my evil-ized brother. Which- oh, wait. Ras did. Who coulda forgotten."
And then she was off.
Behind her, a black haired girl came up the tree panting. " Mi- a..." She heaved. " Wait... for... me...!"
Lloyd blinked. " Emma?!"
Emma did a two fingered salute. " Hey... guys..."
Mia paused mid-swing and looked over her shoulder at the breathless Emma, who was trying to catch her breath while holding a large, makeshift slingshot. The wind ninja raised an eyebrow.
"You okay there?" Mia asked, glancing back at her, all nonchalant.
Emma gave a strained thumbs-up before huffing out a few words. "Just... thought... I'd... join... the party..." She finally caught up with Mia, leaning against the tree for support. "You don't make this easy, do you?"
"Who, me?" Mia grinned mischievously. "What's the fun in easy?"
The others watched the exchange in stunned silence, processing the sudden appearance of two more familiar faces, but Arin was the first to speak up.
"Uh... did I miss something? Because last time I checked, none of you were crazy enough to swing on vines, talking cats aside."
Emma wiped her brow. "Yeah, well, Mia's got a habit of dragging us into messes," she said with a wry smile, looking up at the girl in pink. "But hey, I like to think I'm... pretty good at handling it." She patted the slingshot on her back for emphasis.
Mia shot her a look over her shoulder. "You're pretty good at handling it? Last time I checked, you tripped over your own feet while running from a giant snake." She smirked.
"That was ONE time!" Emma shot back, flushing slightly.
"Actually," Blackie interjected, his tone dry and unimpressed, "it was TWO. If not three."
Emma shot the cat an unamused look. "You know, I almost forgot how much I appreciate your sarcasm."
"Well, someone has to balance out the chaos," Blackie muttered, tail flicking.
"Right," Mia said, turning back to Arin and the group. "So, long story short: We're here to save the day, rescue Ras, and maybe get in a fight with some villains. Who knows?"
"You sound way too chill about that," Kai commented, hands on his hips as he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Eh, what can I say?" Mia shrugged. "It's just another Tuesday for me."
Frak, who had been silent until now, crossed his arms and squinted. "This is... insane. We're supposed to just... rush in and get Ras back?"
"Pretty much," Mia confirmed with a grin. "Unless someone has a better plan?"
Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck, clearly trying to process everything at once. "Okay, okay, calm down... I guess we just need to figure out how to make sure Arin's teacher isn't stuck in some weird dimension for good..."
"I got that covered," Mia cut in, already heading toward the trees, clearly confident in her abilities. "Ras can't run too far."
Emma glanced at the others, then back at Mia, a bit of skepticism in her eyes. "You sure about that? I mean, Ras is kinda hard to catch."
Mia gave a cheeky grin. "Oh, trust me. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's track down a guy who thinks he's a master of stealth."
"Well, I guess we're all in this together, then," Arin said with a hesitant smile. "Let's just hope we don't have to fight anyone with that much strength."
Mia glanced at Arin, holding up her bow with a wink. "Don't worry. I'll make sure we don't get caught that easily. You're safe... for now."
"Yeah, for now..." Emma added dryly, rubbing her temples. "Mia, you're lucky you're my friend, or I'd seriously consider bailing on you."
"Please. Like you could ever leave me hanging," Mia teased, taking another swing from her spot.
"Let's just focus on saving Ras first," Lloyd said, a bit more seriously now. "Then we can all argue about who's the most reckless later."
Emma flashed a grin. "Sounds like a plan."
With that, Mia gave a final look toward the trees and then swung off, leading the group into the unknown.
"Ready?" Mia called back.
The rest of the group followed suit, the chaos and adventure looming ahead.
"Ready!" came the chorus of voices, some more enthusiastic than others.
And so, the Ninja and their unlikely allies plunged headfirst into their next unpredictable and dangerous mission.
