Last one, and boy is it a doozy.

Thank you so much for reading this and supporting me throughout my journey into this fandom. I hope to write more for RC9GN in the future, but for now here's the final chapter.

Randy Cunningham: Ninth Grade Ninja belongs to Disney and all other associated higher-ups. I'm just a kid playing in their sandbox.

10. you will forget all this.

He was probably one of the only Ninjas to actually know that he was to be mind-wiped at the end of his term. It was a bit humbling, in all honesty.

Randy gazed at the box he had laid out, the mask placed securely inside it with little notes he had made to whoever the next Ninja was to be. The mind wipe (when used normally, since that one time he had stupidly done it and the whole Mac Antfee thing didn't count) would leave him with enough residual awareness to place the Nomicon into the box, secure it, and then make his way to his bed to promptly pass out. He'd wake up a few minutes later, everything he experienced seeming like a dream, with false memories in place of when he'd been the one to defeat the monster of the day. Howard stood next to him, faithful as ever despite the anxiety. It would be the first time the Nomicon mind-wiped someone who was not the Ninja, and while he was making Ninja history in that regard it was also something very unlikely to ever happen again anyway but neither cared so long as the process did nothing to damage their friendship.

After a deep breath, Randy flipped the book open and the two felt light, lighter than air, as their minds were pulled in. They landed not in the hallway like Randy expected, but instead on the mountain where Howard had first managed to crash into the Nomicon during the NomiRandy crisis. They stood, taking in their surroundings, supposing that the Nomicon was being generous and allowing them one last journey through its pages.

"I'm gonna miss this," Randy whispered, not quite sure if it was to himself or to Howard or even to the Nomicon. Either way, Howard patted his back, muttering "I know" under his breath. Despite a few more trips into the mystic book Howard still held animosity towards it, though not as much as he once did.

The Nomicon seemed to buzz around the two, a happy and jovial buzz that lifted Randy's spirits in spite of what he knew was coming. Slowly, a little path formed out of the doodles and scribbles that filled the Nomicon's pages and that were used to communicate with Ninjas. Randy carefully stepped onto it, gaining confidence when it didn't give way, and Howard followed him slowly.

"Believe in the weapon that is in the suit," Randy murmured, reading some of the words on the path. "A ninja must master the art of stealth. Respect is the key that opens all doors. Words can be a more powerful weapon than the sword. The tiger who refuses to get his paws wet catches no fish. The only knowledge a ninja can possess is the knowledge that he possesses no knowledge. A ninja must never endanger the innocent, but he must defend the defenseless. The best way to avoid an attack is to avoid an attack. A ninja without balance will fall. Everything…you taught me…"

He caught a glimpse of the lesson "in order to right the future, you must write the past" then, and he chuckled at the irony of it. He finally understood. He had, in a way, helped the First Ninja create the Nomicon. The book had since been seeking Randy to become the Ninja in order to complete the circle. Randy would have laughed had the revelation not come now, at such a sober time.

Slowly, the hallway formed out of the pages. Howard remained silent, knowing it was not his place to speak, but one little message written on the wall caught his attention. "The ninja and the tengu are forever linked."

Randy glanced back at him, then at the wall, and he smiled. "Yeah," he murmured. "Y'know, Howard, I was the first Ninja to release the tengu since it was imprisoned. The way I returned it to its stone was also unique – it's why I was the first Ninja to have the Tengu Fireball attack, and that alternate suit color and whatever." He chuckled. "And you know, Howard, it wasn't just because you were the closest person around that the tengu chose to possess you when we released it on Spirit Day. For the tengu, it had already met you 800 years ago, and so to find you again was a stroke of luck for it. It's part of the reason the Nomicon let you stick around for so long."

They stood in front of the final door now, the ominous and foreboding door that would wipe this entire experience from their minds. Howard was quiet once more, studying the door but obviously listening intently. Randy, too, was studying the door, until he closed his eyes once more and let a small, slow, sad smile creep over his face.

"But you know what, Howard?" he whispered after another moment's pause. "The Nomicon was on the right track. It didn't consider you a friend, but you also weren't an enemy. You just…you were the key. You are the tengu, I am the Ninja, and no matter what happens after today we'll still be forever linked, someway, somehow."

"Don't get so sentimental on me, Cunningham," Howard muttered, glancing away, but Randy could see tears threatening to break free behind brown eyes. "Even if we won't remember it later…"

Randy smiled again, closed his eyes, and let a single tear slip free and streak down the side of his face. "It's been great, Howard."

"Yeah, Randy. Catch you on the flipside."

The door opened, and light spilled through.

…

But when they emerged they found that they could still remember most of it. Maybe they were a bit hazy on who exactly built the killer robots, but perhaps that was because the Nomicon wanted Randy to enjoy studying under Viceroy, the scientist who was part-time teaching mechanics at Norrisville's community college. Maybe they couldn't quite remember Mac Antfee, or what the Sorcerer looked like, or where exactly the (wonderful beautiful amazing fantastic brilliant beloved) Nomicon was now or who they had chosen to be the next Ninja-

Still, Randy Cunningham and Howard Weinerman were the first the Nomicon allowed to retain their memories. After all, Randy was the one Ninja who had mastered his lessons almost as fast as the First Ninja; he was the one who defeated the Sorcerer once and for all; he was the purest of heart.

It still contacted him, sometimes, through little doodles appearing in the air giving helpful hint. It even dropped an occasional actual lesson on its most beloved pupil. It appeared to Howard a few times as well, less often than Randy but enough for the other half of the duo to know that he wasn't forgotten.

The Ninja and the Tengu, forever linked by the pages of the Nomicon, as it was, as it is, as it always will be.

(They'll forget it all, eventually. But the Nomicon won't forget. Their story is forever held in its texts. Someday, maybe another pair will be found that resemble Randy and Howard almost to a tee, and maybe it will share its secrets with them, but no one could ever replace that perfect duo. And anyway, there is still a town to protect and a Ninja to train.)