8:57

Randy groaned, leaning against the ledge of the roof. He really needed to do more cardio. Though, maybe not as much as Howard. He watched as his best friend laid on the ground, out of breath.

"Running…is the worst thing ever!", the ginger said, getting on his knees. "You are so lucky that Bash didn't catch us for what you did, or else I would never have let you live it down," Howard said, standing up.

Randy whipped up from his spot, looking shocked. "What I did?! You're the one who squirted water all over the Mean Bros!" Randy insisted, waving his arms in exasperation.

Howard didn't pay his friend's irritation any mind, instead waving him off. "I squirted water, you squirted water, who can remember the specifics? Let's just agree to forget about your mistake, okay," Howard said, walking past his irate friend. Randy began to gasp like a fish, almost not believing what his friend had said. However, with a groan, he realized he wasn't going to win this, and decided to just letit go.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Howard asked, looking down at the carnival.

Randy cocked a brow, pointing back at the roof's exit "Uh, Howard; you do realize that we only have like, 5 minutes before we have to get to class? By the time we get down there, we'll have to come back in. Shouldn't we start head to class?"

Howard paused for a moment, before he burst out laughing. Randy's eyebrow travelled further up his face, as the ginger had to lean against the school's wall to not fall down. "H-head to class he says! Oh…that…is priceless!". The dainty handed teen continued to laugh until he realized he was the only one laughing. Looking up, he was surprised to see Randy's face filled with confusion and a bit of annoyance. "Uhh…why aren't you laughing?"

"Why would I be laughing?", Randy asked.

"Because you just made a bruce joke," Howard answered, chuckling a bit at the end.

"I wasn't joking," Randy said, surprised his friend thought otherwise. Howard gasped, his mouth flying open. Grabbing his friend's hand, he started to run across the roof towards the door, Randy being dragged behind. "What are you doing?!", the ninja asked.

"We need to get to the nurse, quickly! I'm thinking it might be heat stroke, but let's not rule anything out yet! Don't worry Cunningham, we'll get you the proper help you need!", Howard yelled, not slowing down while he talked.

Randy planted his foot, grabbing his friend's arm, causing him to stop. "Howard, I'm not sick! I'm just saying that we shouldn't be late to class is all. No biggie," Randy said nonchalantly, prying Howard's hand off his arm.

"Oh, yes biggie. Cunningham, you hate class! I mean, you wanting to go to class is like the first sign of the apocalypse or maybe-" Howard cut himself off, a thought coming to him. His worried look became bemused, and he crossed his arms. "Oh, I see what's happening here."

"What's going on here?", Randy asked, really getting annoyed.

"You don't really want to go to class. You're just going through withdrawals," Howard said matter-of-factly.

"Withdrawals? What the cheese are you talking about?! I haven't withdrawn from anything!" Randy said, very confused.

"Oh, that's where you are wrong, my dear Cunningham," Howard said. Taking a second to look at the roof exit, he reached into his friend's hoodie, pulling out the Ninja Nomicon. "You are going through Nomicon withdrawal!"

Randy scoffed at the idea, quickly putting away the 800-year-old book of ancient ninja wisdom. "That's ridiculous. I am not going through Nomicon withdrawal," he insisted.

"Oh yes you are! That's why you can't wait to get to class; to be taught a lesson!", Howard rebutted. Randy opened his mouth to deny his friend's accusation, but paused. Though he hated to admit it, Howard made sense; he missed being the Ninja and training in the Nomicon, so he was trying to replace the book with another teacher.

"Cunningham, you have to stop this wonk behavior!", Howard said, snapping Randy out of his train of thought. "I've tried to say this as nicely as I can, but it obviously hasn't gotten through your thick skull, so here it is: The Ninja and the Nomicon are no longer needed! The robots are dismantled, the monsters are gone, it's over! There is nothing left for you to fight!"

Just then, the two boys heard a loud crash from below them. Looking down, both of their jaws dropped when they saw the stanked form of Theresa rush out of the school building, students running away in a panic. Howard then looked very angry, throwing his fists in the air. "Are you kidding me?! Really?! Is the universe trying to make me look like a shoob?!", the ginger asked irately.

Randy paid him no mind, still shocked at what he was seeing. A monster? How is that possible? The Sorcerer is gone; there shouldn't be any more monsters. This made no sense. That is what Randy should have been saying. Instead, he broke out in a grin, almost laughing. "Oh, look at that! A monster! Looks like someone is needed!" Howard only grumbled in response.

Making sure no one could see him on the roof, Randy pulled out the Ninja Mask from his jacket. "Oh man, have I missed saying this: it's Ninja O'Clock!" Slipping the fabric over his head, he instantly felt the magic cloth wrap around his body, turning him from Randy Cuningham into the Norrisville Ninja.

9:01

Theresa continued to rage havoc on the carnival, smashing a few tents here and there, when a big puff of red smoke came from her left. "Smokebomb!", the Ninja said, sword in hand. "Oh man, you do not know how much I missed this! Yeah, you are-are you kidding me?!" Randy immediately looked dumbfounded as he saw who the stanked teen was. "Out of all the students in the school, it had to be Theresa! Oh, come on, how is that fair! Howard's right, the universe is just trying to make us look like-Oof!" Randy was cut off as his stanked crush hit in the chest, causing him to sail backwards, crashing into the wall of the school.

The Ninja stood up, walking a bit dizzily after the unexpected attack. "Okay, I definitely did not miss that." After a moment, he shook his head, the pain fading away, before getting in a battle stance. He ran towards Theresa, pulling out a Ninja Ring from his suit. As she lifted up a random student, the Ninja made his move. "Ninja-Ring!", he shouted, chucking the circular blade. He watched as the blade cut through the student's shirt, before Randy caught him as he fell from the plant-like monster's grasp. No one noticed, however, as the blade continued flying forward until it hit the rollercoaster, slicing through a few support beams.

Setting the student down by the sidewalk, the Ninja paused, analyzing the situation. As Theresa began to turn around, a couple of doodle arrows appeared in the Ninja's line of sight, pointing at a metal stick in the monsters' pocket. Understanding what he had to do, Randy grabbed a light blue ball from his suit before again charging at his stanked crush.

"Ninja-Cold-Ball!", he yelled, tossing said ball on the ground in front of Theresa. As it exploded, a layer of ice appeared on the front lawn, taking Theresa by surprise. Losing her balance, Theresa fell forward, crashing into the rollercoaster in front of her. More support beams snapped, though again no one noticed. As she fell, Randy used his scarf to snag the baton from the monster's pocket, tossing it the air.

Randy brought his sword out, ready to slice the metal bar in mid-air. "Ninja-Sli-What The Juice?!" Randy was caught off guard as he heard a loud creak come from Theresa's direction. As the baton fell on the blade, releasing the stank from it, the rollercoaster came crashing down where Theresa was. As she started to destank, the structure landed on top of her, burying her underneath the ride.

Randy had to stop himself from yelling in terror. Rushing forward, he used the suit's strength the lift some of metal off of the teenage girl. After lifting a few beams, Randy gasped at what he saw.

Lying on the ground was a worse for wear Theresa Fowler. Since most of the damage occurred while she was still stanked it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it still was not good. She had a few bruises on her pale skin with scrapes and cuts surrounding them. Her dress was torn at the hem, and her tights were ripped in several places. But what concerned Randy most was how still Theresa laid. She didn't move a muscle; her chest wasn't even rising and falling with her breathing. It almost looked like she was…

"Oh sweet cheese!", Randy thought panicked, suddenly bending down to the girl. Putting his ear to her chest, he breathed a sigh of relief when he could still hear it breathing. Though, Randy knew it should not be that soft, and paled when he felt it beating slower by the second.

The Ninja looked up, blocking out the worried shouts coming from the people around him. He could tell that emergency services wouldn't get there in time to help Theresa, and the school's nurse didn't have the equipment to save her either. He was her only hope.

Randy looked around quickly, knowing he would have to do something fast. His eyes suddenly landed on the roof, and a few doodle lightbulbs hovered over his head. Taking a chance, Randy grabbed a ball from his suit and threw it on the ground, filling the area with red smoke. "Smokebomb!" was the last thing that was heard before the Ninja disappeared. But what worried people most was that Theresa had disappeared too.

People began to panic, wondering what had happened, but only one person noticed a black figure maneuver his way to the roof. Eyes narrowing, Debbie Kang turned away from the chaos, heading for the stairs.

The Eye of Eternity glowed brightly. Cracks began to reform on the surface, this time not fixing themselves. The squawking laughter continued as the stank surrounding the commons grew. Power pulsed from the stone as the room filled with green light. Just a bit more…

Everything once again stopped as the stank bird came back to the stone, fading away. The stone lost its green coloration, returning to yellow. However, the cracks stayed this time, bits of stank leaking out every few seconds. A voice growled. "Bit…Power…Again…" it spoke.

Another stank bird started to form over the stone, but faded away before it was finished. Another growl came. There wasn't enough chaos to make another drone to stank someone. Now the only way a monster could be made was if they were vulnerable in the commons.

The room seemed to darken slightly as something moved in the Tengu Stone. Luckily, this was a high school, and drama that was needed was merely around the corner. It was now just a matter of time.

9:13

Randy landed on the roof, setting Theresa Fowler down on the ground as gently as possible. The Ninja readied his hands, prepared to do something, when he was distracted by the person who was already on the roof. "What the juice was that?!", Howard asked, panicked. He saw the whole fight from the roof, and could point out a few ways Randy could do better next time. Like, for starters, not fatally injuring a student.

"I don't know! I didn't mean for it to happen!", Randy exclaimed, trying to justify what happened.

"Oh man, this is bad. This is really, really bad," Howard began, pacing.

"Don't worry, I have a plan to fix this," Randy said, getting back into the positron he was in before Howard distracted him.

"A plan! What kind of plan can fix this?! It's not like you have some special power that could just heal There-" Howard stopped talking as he saw his best friend's hands emit a yellow light. "Oh, wait, that's right, you do.," he said, immediately calming down.

Nodding, Randy put his hands on Theresa's stomach, trying to ignore the blush coming to his cheeks. "Ninja-Art-Of-Heal!", he exclaimed, and Theresa's wounds started to heal.

Standing up, the Ninja put his hand to his sides, feeling incredibly happy. "Oh yeah, that's right; who's not needed anymore? Not me, that's who!"

Howard rolled his eyes. "Yay, you saved the day. No can we please take a moment to question what the juice happened?!", he exclaimed, referring to Theresa being stanked.

Randy paused, putting a finger to his lips. "Oh yeah, that could be a problem."

"You think?!", Howard exclaimed. "I thought the Sorcerer was gone forever!"

"He is! At least I thought he was…" Randy exclaimed, starting to realize they could have a big problem on their hands. "But even if he was, the Power Balls are still trapped in the hole. There's no way he could have gotten them!"

"Well apparently, there is a way! I mean, come on, Cunningham-"

"Cunningham?" Both boys froze in shock when they heard two female voices. Randy turned and paled when he saw that Theresa was awake, and had apparently heard their whole conversation. Howard turned around and groaned when he saw Debbie standing at the doorway, who was surprised at what she had just heard.

"Theresa! Debbie! You're…both here. How much did you hear?", the Ninja exclaimed, trying not to panic.

Theresa rose a brow. "Um…all of it?" Randy and Howard paled, feeling lumps form in their throats. "Howard, why did you call the Ninja Cunningham?", she asked, very confused.

"Uh-uh…hey, guys look! Theresa is fine; I healed her! Yes, no need for thank you's. I'll just smokebo-". Randy really wished the distraction would work so he could leave before he was put in an impossible situation. No such luck.

"Why would Howard call you by his best friend's name? And while we're at it, why are you even up here, Howard?", Debbie asked, the gears in her head turning.

Randy and Howard began to sweat, but Howard still managed to answer. "I-I didn't. No, I didn't say Cunningham. I said…running…jam…" Both boys winced at the ginger's excuse, but Randy knew he had to play along.

"Y-yes. This young man was just teaching me a new dance move. The Running Jam," Randy said, using his Ninja voice. Both boys then started to dance two completely different dances, hoping the girls would buy it. They did not.

"No, you said Cunningham. To the Ninja," Debbie said, closing the door as she walked towards the boys. She stared at the two boys for a few moments, the pieces slowly coming together in her mind. The short girl's eyes suddenly lit up, her mouth dropping in shock as the last piece clicked into place. "Oh my cheese…"

"No. No cheese. There is no reason for cheese," Randy exclaimed, hoping Debbie wasn't thinking what he thought she was thinking. Theresa's brow was cocked, confused at what her friend was talking about. Howard was chewing on his fingernails, the seriousness of the situation even worrying the usually laid-back teen.

"I don't know how, but somehow this makes sense…" Debbie said as she pointed her finger at the Ninja, who at this point had to lean against a nearby wall as his legs were no longer working. "The Ninja is Randy Cunningham!" Theresa gasped in shock, a hand flying to her mouth, while Randy started to feel sick.

"W-what? W-who is that? I've never heard of that name before. Is that even a real name; it sounds fake…" Randy could feel by now he was only running on steam, but he knew he had to try and play this out.

The girls slowly started to approach Randy and Howard, not even listening to them any longer. The boys gulped. "Wait, I have heard that name before. From that girl Heidi's show. But I think his name was Sandy…"

"Nope, it was Candy," Howard joined in.

"Or was it Mandy?"

"Ryan?"

"No, I remember what it was now. It was Ranginald. Yep, Ranginald Bagel, that's the guy your-" Randy stopped as he felt lines of cloth leave his body and saw a bright light appear in front of him. Readjusting his eyes, he saw Howard's panicked face and two girls whose mouths were hanging open. "They took off my mask, didn't they?", Randy deadpanned. Howard slowly nodded his head.

"Oh. My. Wowzers. Debbie was right," Theresa said, dropping the ninja mask in shock.

"Oh boy," Randy muttered under his breath. He then gave the girls a sheepish smile. "Uh…this isn't what it looks like?" As he said that, he winced as it sounded more like a question than a statement question.

Debbie's open-mouthed gasp slowly turned into a grin, as she basically jumped up and down in excitement. "This is fantastic! I can see the headline now: 'Freshman Reporter Unmasks the Masked One," she said. She then whipped out her voice recorder, putting it in Randy's face. "Any statements for the public, Randy?"

Randy started to chuckle nervously, taking Debbie's recorder from her hand, surprising her. "Uh, no, no, no. There will be no statement. There will be no headline. This," he gestured to the ninja mask as he picked it up, "doesn't leave this rooftop. No one can say anything about this."

Debbie crossed her arms, bemused. "I'm a journalist, Randy. I can't not tell anyone."

"Huh, that's the same thing you said last time," Randy said, a finger on his chin in thought.

"Last time?"

"RANDOM WORDS!", Randy suddenly yelled, confusing the short girl.

"Now hold a second, what do you-"

"What the juice?!" Everyone was snapped out of their thoughts by a shrill scream. Three heads turned towards Theresa, who until this moment had been strangely quiet. "Debbie, how are taking this so well?! I mean, we just found out Norrisville's biggest secret and you're acting as if you were just told the honking weather!"

Debbie shrugged. "I don't know. It just kind of…makes sense I guess," she said, a bit confused on how she was taking this so well also but was focused more on the scoop at hand.

"You think it this may be a side effect of the mind wipe?", Howard tried to whisper to Randy without the two girls hearing. It did not work.

"Mind wipe?", Debbie asked.

"BACK TO BUSINESS!", Howard yelled.

"T-This makes no sense!" Theresa said, turning towards Randy. "How can you be the Ninja! Your 15! The Ninja is 800 years old!"

Randy put his hands up, trying to calm the girl down. "Sshhh, sshhh. Calm down Theresa. I promise this all has a perfectly reasonable explanation…" He paused. "This is all a dream." He was met with three deadpan looks, making him rub the back of his head sheepishly. "Okay, I admit, that one was a long shot."

"H-how is any of this possible?" Theresa asked, looking as if she was about to pass out.

"Yes Randy? How is this possible?", Debbie asked, pulling out another voice recorder from her pocket.

"Oh my cheese, Debbie! How many of these things do you have?", Randy asked, again taking the recorder from the reporter's hand. As he looked back up, he groaned when he saw she had another recorder in her hand. "Seriously! Okay, whatever. Look, you two can't tell anyone about this! No one is supposed to know about this. I mean, I can get in serious trouble for you two finding out!"

"Who would you get in trouble with, Randy? Does someone else know about you being the Ninja?", Debbie asked, smirking.

"Will you stop doing that!", Randy yelled. "Look, I can answer your questions later, but I need you to promise me that no one will ever find out about this." The girls looked at each other, both hearing the pleading tone in Randy's words. "Please…" Randy tried one more time.

Debbie looked like she wanted to say something, but was cut off by Theresa. "Okay, we won't tell anyone." Debbie whipped her head at Theresa, dumbfounded on what her friend had just said. Though one look at her face told Debbie to not argue. Begrudgingly, Debbie put her recorder back in her pocket while her friend talked. "But, I feel like we deserve some form of explanation here," the purple haired girl said.

Randy nodded. "Yeah, sure. I can totally give you guys an explanation. Just not right now."

"Why not now?", Debbie asked, starting to lose her patience.

Randy paused. "Uh well, I can't now…because-", Randy had to himself from cheering as the bell rung underneath them, signaling the beginning on second period. "Class! Yes, ye…we have to get to class. Can't be late, can we?".

Debbie narrowed her eyes a bit, making Randy gulp. Then, she pointed a finger at him and another at Howard. "Lunch. 12:00. Editorial Room. Either we get told everything, or you get on the front page." As she finished, she turned to walk down the stairs. Theresa stayed behind an extra second, still not sure about what just happened.

"Uh…see you then, Randy," she said quietly, and ran off after her friend. The door closed behind the two, which allowed the two boys to now panic in peace.

"OH MY CHEESE!", Howard shouted, starting to pace. Randy dropped to his knees, curling up into the fetal position.

"This isn't happening. This isn't happening," he muttered, feeling like he was going to be sick. Howard bent down, picking his friend up, and shook him. He wasn't positive if it was because he was trying to snap his friend out of his stupor, or it was his nerves.

"What are you going to do!" Howard yelled.

"I don't know!" Randy said as he was being shook. Suddenly, the constant shaking caused the mask and the Nomicon to slip out of Randy's jacket, falling onto the roof. Both boys paused, now only looking at the ancient book.

After a moment, Howard patted Randy on the back, appearing to have calmed down. "Well, it was nice knowing you, Cunningham. Don't worry, I'll make sure to teach you everything you forgot after the Nomicon fries your cheese."

Randy gulped, knowing what his friend said was true. The Ninja Nomicon was going to take the mask away from him because he let Theresa and Debbie find out the truth. Cautiously, the purple haired teen picked up the book, waiting for it to shloomp him in. He tried to look away, but eyes couldn't move from the ornate cover. Howard, however, put his hands over his eyes, not able to watch. And then…

Nothing happened. Randy looked forward, a confused look replacing his terrified one. Howard peaked from behind his hands, and instantly became as confused as his friend. Randy slightly shook the book, seeing if maybe the book was asleep or something.

Howard rolled his eyes, grabbing the book from Randy's hands. He then started shaking the book erratically, slamming it a few times against the wall for good measure. "Is this thing out of batteries or something?"

"Howard, what are you doing?!", Randy exclaimed, unsuccessfully trying to take the book back from his friend's hands.

"What? I thought you'd be happy that I was trying to fix your stupid book," the ginger said innocently.

"You can't fix the Nomicon! Especially when it's trying to erase my memory!" Randy yelled, taking the book back. Howard grumbled, looking at the floor. Yet his annoyed glare turned to wide eyes as he saw what was on the ground.

"Maybe the wisdom is leaking out."

"Cunningham."

"Is there a hole somewhere?"

"Cunningham!"

"Is that why my shoe feels wet. Wait, nope, that's sweat-"

"CUNNINGHAM!"

"What Howard?! What is so important-" Randy asked turning around, only to stop mid-sentence at what he saw. In Howard's hands was the Ninja Mask, but the red lines that usually glowed were turning gray quickly, the color draining from the mask in just a few moments. Then, color appeared at once in the lines, except instead of the red Randy was used to seeing, it was a sickening green.

"I think we may have a bigger problem," Howard said. The stress finally becoming too much for Randy, he did the only thing any sensible person would do in his situation. He passed out.