Chapter 24

Nomi awoke with a loud yawn before looking around at the same surroundings he'd been seeing for who knows how long. He looked to his right, seeing Randy and Lex next to him, both in the same troubling predicament he was in. Confined by thick bracelets around their wrists and ankles with electric currents running through the metal frame the were attached to, blue sparks occasionally flying out. Nomi, however, didn't care about his current situation. He knew they'd be able to free themselves somehow eventually. What worried him was Semira, out in Norrisville somewhere, ready to release a possessed Tengu out onto the streets. Those haunting, yellow eyes of hers still stuck in his mind and appeared when he closed his eyes almost mockingly. It was like she was leaving an impression, saying "you can never escape me". Even the frigid chill that seemed to follow her endlessly still hung heavy in the air of their prison.

"Sup, Nomi." Randy woke up, looking at Nomi with those hopeful, determined eyes.

"Any ideas yet?"

"Regrettably, no. Nothing yet."

"Then we gotta keep brainstorming!" Randy tried to be serious as he thought up a plan, though Nomi couldn't help but laugh at the hilarious expression on his face as he was thinking.

"Stop laughing! I'm concentrating!"

"I'm sorry! It's just…I find the expression you're making quite humorous."

"I'm trying to be serious!" "I'm fully aware of that."

"So stop laughing! I'm trying to figure out how to get us out of this mess! Oh, wait! I got it!" Randy began to move, kicking his legs back and forth as Nomi watched in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving us, what does it look like?" He swung back and forth as he spoke, trying to get over the metal frame they we attached to.

"How is this gonna help us?"

"You'll see!"

"Randy, that isn't going to do anything."

"You're distracting me!" Randy flipped through the air, ready to land on the frame. What he hadn't anticipated ahead of time, however, was the electric current running through it.

"OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!" Randy fell back down, trying to ease the pain he'd been shocked with. He hung there in silence, coughing up smoke as Nomi gave him a smug look.

"Don't you dare say it."

"I'm not even sure that I need to."

"Then stop thinking about it."

"I…"

"Dont you dare."

"I…"

"Nomi I swear, when this is over…!"

"He told you so." Lex laughed alongside Nomi as Randy pouted.

"It's no funny!"

"Yes it is!"

"I think my hair's standing on end."

"Probably because you were in contact with enough electricity that would be a warning in any electric dog collar."

"Shut up." Lex laughed, smiling at Randy as his blackened cheeks turn red.

"So, that was your plan?"

"Maybe."

"Did it work?"

"What do you think?!"

"I think you still need to learn how to take a joke."

"Did you think of anything less painful and humiliating, Lex?" Nomi asked.

"Nope. We'd end up looking like Randy if we made any rash moves."

"So we're stuck unless we have a lucky brake?" Randy asked.

"Basically." They sighed, becoming silent as they all tried to think of something, anything, that they could do to free themselves. It seemed hopeless. McFist and Viceroy clearly knew that their last attempt at caging the ninjas had been a huge failure, and evidently had stepped up their game. Unluckily for our heroes, they succeeded in that aspect. Keeping them captive successfully as they took Avian to who knows where to be unleashed upon the innocent people of Norrisville, giving complete and utter control to the Sorcerer and Semira. What could they really do, considering the device that kept them from so much as moving. They all stiffened at the sound of footsteps rushing towards the room they were captive in. The ninjas held their breath, waiting on whoever would enter the room with wide eyes. The door shook as someone tried to open it and they heard a few voices whispering. A few footsteps were heard before it got silent. Then the door busted down with a boy lying face down on the ground in the entryway.

"Howard!?"

"Sup guys." Howard murmured from his place on the floor, waving weakly.

"We're here to save you!" Scarlett burst through the open doorway, nearly running Howard over as she entered the room.

"H-hi!" Dustin greeted, shyly poking his head around the corner. Jasmine appeared not a moment later, waving to the ninjas with her usual cheery smile.

"What are you guys doing here?" Lex asked excitedly, smiling through her mask.

"Kasumi? We came here to save our friends, Rand and Lex, but we didn't expect to find you." Scarlett seemed greatly confused as she looked around the spacious room for Lex and Randy, unaware that they were hanging there as Kasumi and the Ninja.

"Howard, where are they?"

"Well…ya see…actually, the funny thing is…" Howard laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to find a way to explain the situation.

"W-well, what i-is it Howard?" Dustin stuttered out, waiting expectantly as Scarlett continued looking around the room. Jasmine seemed oblivious to her surroundings as she walked towards the Ninjas of Norrisville, head tilted to the side as she let the gears in her head turn. She stood face to face with Kasumi first, looking at her face as if trying to memorize it. Lex smiled nervously and Jasmine's eyes widened before she made her way over to Randy. She examined his face just like she'd done with Lex, looking deeply into his eyes. She nodded, finally walking in front of Nomi with a guessing look, almost as if she knew what she'd find upon looking at him. She smiled and nodded, turning around and snapping her fingers, getting everyone attention easily.

"What is it?" Scarlett asked, walking over alongside everyone else, looking curiously at both Jasmine and the confined ninjas. Jasmine pointed at the ninjas with a knowing grin.

"Why are you…wait…Randy? Lex? Nomi? What the actual juice!?"

"Is t-that really y-you?" Dustin stood there, mystified, just like the rest of their rescue team.

"Surprise?" Randy nervously chuckled, Nomi and Lex joining in.

"…yeah…that's what I was trying to explain." Howard stated.

"Howard, why did you even lead them here in the first place!? They could've gotten hurt or something like this could've happened…which it did!" Lex scolded.

"Oops?"

"I can't believe it…you three were the ones protecting Norrisville all this time…oh my gosh, that means I had a crush on Randy! EWW EWW EWW EWW! Lex, I am so sorry!"

"W-why didn't you t-tell us s-sooner?"

"The whole ninja thing is supposed to be secret." Randy explained.

"I feel like we should go back to an earlier and far more important question…why are you guys here? This is a dangerous situation to put yourselves in!" Lex said, nearly shouting, as she stared down at the four of their "rescuers".

"Didn't I tell you? We came here to save you. We knew it'd probably be dangerous, but hey. We kinda live everyday of our lives with some poor unfortunate soul being stanked and attacking the school, so this is nothing." Scarlett explained, smiling warmly at each of her friends.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, it's our turn to be the heroes." She nodded over to Jasmine, who rushed over to stand beside the confines as she examined them, trying to find any weakness in it. Finally, she looked over to Dustin with a bright beam, nodding with understanding.

"Okay, I'm lost. What the juice did she just say?" Howard said.

"She j-just told me t-the weakness in this c-contraption. If I'm lucky, I-I'll be able t-to find a way to s-shut it down." Dustin answered, making his way to one of the computers on the closest wall. As the computer lit up, Dustin began to type furiously, his auburn eyes locked on the screen as he worked at an incredible pace. Numbers flashed across the screen occasionally, along with a few text boxes, that he cleared past in seconds. Within moments, Dustin turned around to face them all with a proud smile, stepping aside to show them the computer screen. Access granted. Trap status: off. The electricity that once ran through the confinements of our beloved ninjas disappeared and Jasmine hurried over. With the help of a simple bobby pin, she was able to pick at the locks on the metal bracelets that held Lex, Randy, and Nomi captive, successfully freeing them.

"Dustin, you are the straight-up cheese!" Lex laughed, hugging Dustin gratefully as his face turned redder than a tomato.

"T-t-thank you."

"You guys are awesome sauce! Howard, this is by far the best idea you've ever had!"

"Well, Jasmine kinda forced me to go through with it."

"You're giving the credit to someone else? Aww, that's so sweet!"

"Shut up! You didn't hear any of that!" Lex laughed and looked at her group of friends. Where would she, or any of them for that matter, be without them all?

"C'mon, ninjas. We have a ride waiting outside and we should get by those Robo-apes ASAP." Scarlett suggested.

"I think we have a faster way out." Nomi said, smiling at Lex and Randy knowingly.

…

"THIS ISN'T SAFE!" Scarlett yelled as she slid down Randy's ninja scarf and down the side of the building.

"It's perfectly safe!" Lex called down, smiling when Scarlett landed safely on the ground below beside Dustin and Howard, Jasmine lowering herself down with Lex's own scarf. Nomi soon followed, leaving only Lex and Randy. Lex went to the ground first, Randy eventually jumping down behind her.

"So, where's this ride of yours?" He asked, turning to Howard as he spoke. "Out front. You'll know it when you see it." Howard replied, leading them all to the front of McFist Industries. A sleek, crimson car was parked causally in front of the building, it's driver standing beside it.

"Mordea!" Lex ran up to her sister, hugging her tightly as Mordea pat her head gently.

"Sup, 'Kasumi'. Ready to go? We don't have any spare time to waste."

"What happened?" Lex asked as the all entered the car before Mordea started it up and drove as fast as she could.

"Bad stuff, sis. Bad stuff. We're going to need our little heroes for this…'cause it feels like it's gonna be a repeat of last year."