Crash! Jake groaned as he smashed into a light pole and fell backward, his skateboard flying into the air and banging into the ground. It was rare for him to mess up in the skate park, but he wearily knew that even the best skaters had their wipeouts.

"Yo, Jakey! Are you living?" Trixie hollered, running in his direction with Spud in hot pursuit.

Jake stood up, his body aching from the impact. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess trying that flip wasn't the smartest idea."

"Wait 'til your grandpa sees the bruises." Trixie retrieved his skateboard and handed it back to him.

"At least it's not like you cheated or anything," Spud added. "We all know how crazy he goes at that."

"Thanks, Spud. That makes my collision course feel less painful," Jake muttered kindly, but sarcastically. If anyone ever really understood the things that went through Spud's mind, then most of the world would likely explode.

"You're welcome, my friend," Spud replied, taking off his helmet. The three friends were about done with their fun, especially because Jake needed to get to his grandfather's shop for dragon training and checking out how the magical creatures of New York City were faring.

Trixie glanced up at the cloudy sky. "I'm surprised it hasn't rained yet. With how cold and windy it's been, it's a miracle we're not icicles!"

"Tell me about it," Jake agreed. "And I thought the Huntsclan gave me the most shivers!" The thought of his now nonexistent foes brought another thought into his mind, the one with a kind, gifted girl who'd stolen his heart. "Speaking of the Huntsclan, I wonder how's Rose doing?"

"Dude, you need to let go. She's in Hong Kong right now, with no memories of you." Trixie reminded him, but respectfully.

"I know, but it's not the same as-"

"NO FACE! I just saw somebody with NO FACE!" Spud was suddenly panicking, frantically pointing towards a group of people who'd been observing the skaters.

"Spud, calm down! I don't see anyone without a face!" Trixie barked, annoyance in her expression. "Anyhow, I don't think making a scene helps!"

"But I'm sure I spotted someone without a face! I've always feared what would happened if you were all there, except your head!" Spud was shaking in terror at the thought.

"Really? There's no such thing as a faceless person! Remember when you scared of land sharks? And remember how that ended?"

"Actually, Trixie… Nevermind," Jake halted his insert. Telling Spud about shark people during this time might not be the wisest idea.

Spud was starting to relax. "I still know what I saw. Next time you see No-Face coming after you, you'll believe me!" Spud nervously took one last shot at the crowd then leaned down to tie his shoes.

Jake, wondering what had rubbed Spud such the wrong way, analyzed the group. Everyone seemed pretty normal, as normal as people could get. Once a few moved away, though, Jake noticed the back of someone wearing a filthy coat and having long, black legs. Something red stuck out from the bottom of the coat, most likely a scarf. Jake knew Spud didn't usually lie, but there's still no way…

The person shifted around, to where what was under the hood could be seen. Sort of. It was so dark that Jake couldn't see anything. Squinting his eyes, he could make out eyes, but that was it. There was literally nothing else, as if he… didn't have a face? Stunned and curious, Jake wanted a better look, tempted to use the eye of the dragon.

"Jake! I think you might want to check out what my foot just came across!" With narrowed eyes, Spud was staring at the ground next to his shoe.

Jake briefly took a quick glance over his shoulder, and realized that the strange no-faced person had vanished. Letting go of his surely ridiculous puzzlement, Jake leaned down and stared at the cement. "Say what now? Claw marks?" he asked with surprise. There were claw-like indents, with tiny rubble scattered on the sides.

"Weird, isn't it?" Trixie murmured. "We ought to tell your gramps and Fu Dog about this."

"Y'know, I bet No-Face did this!" Spud announced confidently. Jake and Trixie stared at him, to which he finally sighed in defeat. "Alright, it isn't."

"Let's go. The Am Drag is in business!" Jake and his friends left the skate park in a hurry.


"What the juice?!"

"My words exactly," Randy admitted. Sitting on the side of the building, he'd taken out his phone and called Howard. After a quick exploration, the thought that people at home might be worried about his whereabouts had reminded him to get to work on informing them. After all, his phone had a low battery, so unless he could get a charger, some cash, or new friends with phones, he wouldn't have a way to contact anyone eventually.

"But really, New York City? How did you get stuck there?" Howard's blaring voice wasn't usually a challenge to listen to, but Randy's mind was so befuddled that even understanding talking was really hard.

"Look, I don't know, okay? I must've been doing something when boom! I got knocked out and left at the mercy of this huge city. Do you remember what I was doing then?"

"Well, the last time I saw you was yesterday when we were in Home Ed. You saw something, excused yourself to the bathroom, and never returned. I think you told me you needed to look in the Nomicon, but during that time, you must've dealt with an interruption."

"Yesterday?" Randy gasped. "I've been gone since yesterday? What about Mom?" He already felt bad physically; he didn't need to feel bad mentally as well.

"Oh, her? Don't worry; I said you were staying at my house last night. Knowing me so well, she went for it. I don't know for how much longer, though, and if she talks to Heidi or my parents…" Howard trailed off awkwardly.

"Thanks, man. And once I'm done chatting with you, I'll do my best to explain some kind of excuse to her. I doubt I'll be back anytime soon."

"So, how are you going to survive until then? You can't exactly buy food, can you?"

Randy smirked a bit. Typical Howard. Food was a very big deal to him. "Actually, I'm not hungry. I'm feeling ill right now. Not a fever, but something's unconditionally not right with me. And I didn't even tell you the other part to this dilemma. As hard as I try, I can't get the Ninja Suit off."

"What? That's impossible! As long as I've known you are the Ninja, I've never watched you struggle to take the mask off whenever you're done."

"Me too. Whatever the reason, I need to find out, and I'm hopeful that I will. By the way, will you figure out a way to stop any monsters or robots in case I'm not back in time to fend them off? I know you can pull it off somehow."

"Of course. And you?"

Randy tried to sound as energetic and enthusiastic as possible. "I'll be okay. I just need to get rid of what's affecting me so badly, then I'll be the cheese again."

After they shared goodbyes, Randy rested his hand that had been holding the phone. Even holding a cellphone was tough! What could've happened? What had turned him from a strong, healthy teen to a wimpy, pathetic ninja? I vow to get to the bottom of this.

While relaxing to regain his strength, Randy thought back to his adventure at the skate park. He didn't have to go there, but a past promise had returned to him. A promise he'd made ages ago when he'd gone to some anniversary. But he was only starting to refresh those memories, and if the person he'd made the promise back then had been around, he was having an honestly challenging time remembering what he must've looked like, let alone what his appearance was now.

Oh well, another thought for another day. As far as he knew, the person could've moved, or lost interest in skateboarding altogether. Besides, he couldn't go around in the Ninja Suit and endangering his secret identity until he could remove the mask from his face.

Clenching his exhausted hand, he made his second call.


"So, you found claw marks?" Grandpa, on his couch, questioned his grandson and grandson's friends in his shop.

"Yeah, G, right in the cement. Any news of magical creatures acting up?" Jake asked.

Fu Dog, scanning through some books, shook his head. "No luck, kiddo. I played cards with a few creatures last night, and no one said anything about it. Of course, when you're playing poker, it's best to say very little."

Trixie crossed her arms. "Just promise for Spud's sake that it isn't a person without a face."

Fu Dog raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Spud thought he saw someone without a face at the skate park. I think I might've seen him too, but I didn't get a good enough look at his face. All I know is he was wearing a coat, a long, red scarf, and black leggings or something similar."

"See? I'm not alone!" Spud exclaimed joyfully. Relaxing again, he asked, "Seriously, though, you should check your books for stuff about that. There's no way that guy could've made claw marks, but something about him seemed rather strange."

Grandpa straightened himself on his couch. "Okay, we'll search for anything that might match your description. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't have a look around tonight. You and your friends need to search around the skate park to find the creature responsible."

"But I have a test tomorrow," Jake complained. "Principal Rotwood would love to have anything to punish me for, including test results. I could really use the sleep."

"Jake, I know school is important to you, but it's more important to protect-"

"-The magical creatures." Jake finished. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Fine, we'll search the place like there's no tomorrow."

"Besides, Jake," Spud pointed out, "Without the Huntsclan on our trail, this should be easier. There won't be any 'I want that creature,' and 'I shall hunt you, dragon!'"

Jake shrugged. "True enough. Okay, gramps, we'll see you tonight at eight."