The trio sit in front of Julian, watching him eat the rock. He's literally licked it to the point where it's smaller than it used to be.
"He licked that thing down to the nub," Howard whispers to his friends.
"Julian, we gotta get you out of here," Ninja speaks up.
"And ourselves! We can't stay here," Kunoichi gestures to their environment. "We've got a city to save."
"I'm afraid it's impossible, Ninja and Kunoichi," He giggles at the two.
"Come on, Julian. You must have seen or heard of some way out," Ninja insists to the noy.
"Well, I've heard tell of a portal...except I don't know where it is."
"Heard it from who?" Kunoichi murmurs in confusion, as there's no one there besides them. They have not seen anyone else besides Julian here.
"Tyler knows where it is!" Julian holds up the gargoyle head.
"We are not following Tyler!" Howard denies immediately.
"Tyler says, first, we get off this rock!"
Howard glances at the two as Ninja just shrugs in defeat. It was better than sitting around and doing nothing...
"I can't believe we're about to rely on directions from a gargoyle head," Kunoichi drags a hand on her face, standing up. She and Ninja jump and stand at the edge.
"Uh...come on!" Ninja urges Howard, who frowns. He walks over and crawls onto Ninja's back. Julian jumps onto Kunoichi's back and the two watch a floating rock over their heads. Ninja throws his scarf while she throws her hair. The four get flung across in the sky and Howard screams his lungs out. Kunoichi rolls her eyes in annoyance.
"Down there," Julian points to a platform. The two let go, sliding down some unstable rocks until they crash onto the rock.
"We made it!" Ninja cheers as he lifts up his head, and then glances up at Julian.
"Tyler says, that was the easy part. Next, we must pass the deadly and hazard-filled swinefield."
Kunoichi opens her mouth in shock to see a field up ahead filled with a bunch of dead...pigs...
Howard walks by a butt and it farts, getting his attention. He sniffs it and then a head screams, making him scream. He walks backwards and is bounced into the air, but he gets pulled over to Ninja. Once he reaches his friend, Howard hugs him tight in fear.
"It's deadly. And hazard-filled," Julian giggles, as he's a goth and loves this kind of thing. The boys just glance at each other, a bit annoyed.
"Let's just get this over with..." Kunoichi takes the lead wearily.
"Then we must scale the strange and arduous cliffs' faces..."
They climb up a wall of stone faces, which seem to be alive as one of them bites Ninja, causing him to fall. Kunoichi throws her hair and catches him by the waist. He looks up in relief to see her holding onto him with one hand.
"They're strange. And arduous," Julian adds in, climbing past him.
"Finally, we must cross the creepy and grotesque sea of larvae..." Julian states as Kunoichi and Ninja are using their own stilts to get across. One of them leans backwards and Howard gets a closeup of them, much to his disgust.
"Ew, ew, ew!" Kunoichi gags at the sight of them, wanting to get this part over with as soon as possible.
"Oh, this is creepy," The boys lose their balance and fall onto the ground. One of the larvae is now on Howard's face. "And grotesque."
"I told you!"
Kunoichi walks up behind them, having not fallen because she had less weight on her. Ninja sits up with a pant, sick of the journey.
"How much...further to the portal?"
"It is in...the cave," Julian answers as they look up ahead to see a very creepy cave. And it's probably worse than what they just went through.
"Oh..." Ninja complains, not only because it's a cave with creepy and weird stuff, but because it's a long distance to the cave. The two boys glare up at him.
"What? It's just a cave," The goth responds cluelessly.
The three sigh in relief, standing up and starting to walk.
"But it is dark and ominous," Julian finishes, Kunoichi facepalming.
"I knew it!" Howard declares as they start the long trek to the cave.
"Because why not?" Kunoichi mutters bitterly. But at this point, as long as it got them home, she didn't care...but if she goes home...she'd have to face Randy moving away for probably forever...and that's not something she's ready to face.
The Sorcerer flicks his fingers as some stank flies out of them. "I've drained my power balls, yet nothing! No mayhem, no pandemonium, no chaos! I should be teeming with power right now!"
He's apparently unaware that Ghoulian had stolen his glory on that one. "I'm teeming with power right now!" His power ball in his chest is being orbited by all of the stank that the Sorcerer sent out. The entire school is now in chaos as no students seem to be around, and everything is almost dark. "I can feel it surging through my veins!"
A robot appears with McFist and Viceroy in it, looking to be a dinosaur-like robot. "What's going on? Where's the Ninja?" McFist demands to Ghoulian. "Who the honk are you? That's what the kids say, honk."
"There's a new Sorcerer in town!" Ghoulian explains to them.
"What happened to the Old Sorcerer?"
"I have absorbed all of his power," Ghoulian makes a flame out of stank with his hands. "And now I will use it to rule your world!"
"I think we should go..." Viceroy suggests to his boss quietly.
"...Listen, I had kind of a thing with the old guy," McFist starts off, still wanting his prize should he had destroyed the Ninja and Kunoichi. "Promised me a superpower in exchange for my help."
Ghoulian narrows his eyes with a devilish look.
Then the two are thrown into a prison. "He said he didn't need my help! Who does this shoob think he is?! Shoob. That's what kids call stuff that's wonk."
Viceroy just continues to throw a bouncy ball, not responding to his boss' blatant attempt to be hip and cool.
The four finally reach the cave as they enter. Ninja and Kunoichi are both using one of their glow balls to light their way. Julian puts an ear to the gargoyle.
"Tyler says a man in fancy pants will show us the way to the portal."
"Oh, a man in fancy pants, he says?!" Howard exclaims, as he's finally reached his limit. "Come on, Ninja and Kunoichi, Tyler's yankin' your scarf!"
"Well, I'd rather do something to get back home than just sit on a rock for the rest of my life," Kunoichi crosses her arms. "If you hate this so bad, then you could just not go."
"I would, but I can't, so I won't," He responds quickly, baffling her for a second.
"What brings you to my cave?" An old man with a cone hat and red pants with golden patterns on it asks, causing her to scream and jump up. She turns around to see him chained to the wall and she takes a deep breath to calm herself.
"I feel like I know him..." Kunoichi rubs her chin in thought.
"Whoa, those are some snazzy trousers!" Ninja exclaims in surprise.
"I believe you owe Tyler an apology," Julian holds up the gargoyle head.
"Sorry, Tyler," Howard mutters as Kunoichi crosses her arms with a smile.
"Ha," She remarks at him being wrong and actually admitting it for once.
"Kind sir, we come seeking your portal," Ninja speaks boastfully, as if he's from a fantasy world or something.
"It lies just on the other side of this pile...of bones!" Right next to him is a huge pile of bones, and most of them did not look human.
"Why is there a pile of bones?" Howard whispers to the two. The pile of bones is moved away by a rock bull monster of sorts.
"The gateway to your world lies through the beast!" The old man explains to the group.
"Hey, we're almost there, guys!" Ninja calls out, unaware of the two boys backing away. "The portal's just on the other side of this beast." The duo hide behind a few rocks.
"After all we've been through to get here, this is surprisingly satisfying!" Kunoichi comments before they both throw chains around the horns. This just makes the beast angrier, however.
"H'oh boy." Ninja comments nervously before they're flung behind the doorway, landing against the wall. Kunoichi rubs her head as they look up to see the rock-bull getting ready to attack again. But there is also another problem that they find. "There's no portal behind this beast!"
"That guy lied to us!" Kunoichi narrows her eyes in annoyance.
The rock bull comes charging forward and they jump over it. It snorts at them, attacking a third time.
"Ninja Rings!" He tosses and this causes the rock bull to lose its balance. It falls and gets its head stuck between two rocks. The ring also frees the old man and the beast opens up its mouth to reveal the portal!"
"The portal! It's inside him! We don't have to get past the beast! We have to get through it!"
"What does that mean?!" Howard exclaims at him.
"It means you're not gonna like what we have to do," Kunoichi starts off, tying her hair back up.
"We have to let the monster eat us!" Ninja declares bravely, Julian looking to Tyler again.
"What's that, Tyler? You don't want to do this? Oh, well, if Tyler's not doing it, I'm not doing it."
"You know what, I think I'm with Tyler on this one, guys," Howard seems to agree with him.
"Howard, it's the only way back!" Ninja insists to him.
"Yeah, well, maybe I don't wanna go back," He and Julian start walking away. Kunoichi bites her lip as she watches Ninja run after him.
"Don't wanna go—what? It's honkin' awful here!"
"If we go back and you lose, we die. If we go back and you win, we're separated," Howard reminds him. "Plus, that whole getting eaten by a monster a thing. Which I am not into."
"I don't have a choice. Kuno, you're with me on this, right?" He turns around at her, pausing as he sees her hesitant look. She didn't really dwell on this during their time in the Land of Shadows, but now that it was being brought up...she doesn't want to go back either. But the city is still in danger in the hands of Ghoulian, and she doesn't want that either...
"For once in my life...I don't know how to answer that," She speaks up after a few seconds, a sadness to her voice.
"There's always a choice," Howard points out. "You chose to spend our last day Ninja-ing-"
"Howard, we were never gonna run away and get an apartment together," Ninja tells him plain and simple.
"I know that. But you could have at least pretended we were going to."
He looks to his best friend, who has puppy eyes.
"Hey, just because I'm moving away doesn't mean we won't always be best-"
Because the two are distracted, Ninja and Kunoichi both get eaten by the beast. "Best what?! We won't always be best whaaaaat?!" Howard shouts dramatically, kneeling on the floor.
"Friends!" Ninja finishes as they both fall, but Howard is unable to hear it.
"Now, to bring forth my unholy army and reign terror throughout your world!" Ghoulian growls out, a portal from the Land of Shadows opening behind him.
"Friends!" Kunoichi and Ninja both crash into the villain, landing across from him.
"Ninja?! My queen?!"
"There you go! Delivered them right to ya!" McFist points at him, still trying to get his reward.
"He knows you had nothing to do with it," Viceroy deadpans at his boss.
"He does now, big mouth," The business man growls at him.
"Welcome back, Ninja. I suppose I should thank you for bringing her to me. And I robbed the Sorcerer of his power! I am now stronger than you can ever imagine!"
"What?!" Kunoichi opens her mouth in shock.
"I'll be the judge of-" Ghoulian strikes the both of them with his green lightning, lifting them both in the air. "Way stronger than we imagined."
"This is your last chance, Kunoichi! Be mine or suffer the consequences!"
"Never!" She narrows her eyes at him. "I would rather go back to the Land of Shadows than to even spend my last seconds with you!"
He growls at her answer angrily, as he hates the feeling of rejection right now. But then he calms down a bit as he realizes something. "Very well, then...if I can't have you...no one can!" He directs some stank towards her, surprising the girl.
"Huh?! Hey, what are you doing?!" She demands to him.
"Your feelings of fear and heartache can't save you now!" Ghoulian giggles evilly at her. "Just like the Sorcerer...I can turn people into monsters too!"
"What?! But we don't get stanked!" Ninja protests to the villain. Well, he didn't actually know if they were immune or it's just because of them being the heroes of Norrisville. But they've definitely never felt bummed enough to be stanked.
"Oh, but you can if vulnerable enough! I can smell it off her! And now...I shall use it against her!"
He directs some stank into her mouth and she tries to fight back, moving her head away. "Kuno?!" Ninja asks in concern before she closes her eyes. They wait in anticipation for something to happen...and then stank comes out of her arms, legs and mouth. She grows bigger in size and her skin gets paler. Ninja's eyes open in shock as she essentially becomes a giant, feral panda bear, with her clothes now black instead of white. She has giant claws, keeps her hair the same color, and also claws on her feet. She has fanged teeth and her eyes are full green.
"No!" Ninja shouts in horror at the sight of her.
"Whoa! Didn't see that coming," McFist comments what probably everyone is thinking.
Monster Kunoichi lands on the ground, letting out a giant roar. He sees the advice behind Ghoulian. "When facing an unbeatable enemy, seek an unlikely ally. Who's supposed to help me?!"
"Don't look at me," McFist speaks up next to him. "We're dealing with a juice-ly un-bruce shoob here. See, that's what the kids—oh, you don't get it, you're not cheese."
Viceroy gives a look of slight irritation.
Ghoulian laughs as he realizes Ninja, who lands roughly. He sits up, only to be faced with an angry Monster Kunoichi.
"Ahh," He looks at her nervously as foam comes from her mouth, dripping onto the ground. He looks past her to see the mural. The doodles...point to the Sorcerer's lair.
"No. No, no, no, no, no! Team up with the Old Sorcerer to beat the New Sorcerer?!" Ninja protests immensely as he does not want to do any of the sort. "I can't do that! Can I?"
He yelps as Monster Kunoichi grabs him by the scarf with her mouth and then throws him across to the other wall. He groans in pain, sitting up.
"Yup, I can." He takes out the Sorcerer's Key, narrowing his eyes. If teaming up with the Sorcerer meant getting Kunoichi back, then he'd do it. He'd do anything for his partner...
Ghoulian attacks him, but he jumps to the side.
"Ninja Sorcerer Freedom Flip!" He jumps into the air and stabs the key into the eye. He then turns it, Ghoulian laughing evilly. He sends Ninja flying backwards, but it's too late as the mural turns green.
"All is lost, Ninja."
Monster Kunoichi steps up to Ninja angrily, growling as he gives a nervous look. The mural opens, getting her attention as light is finally let into the lair. The Sorcerer stands up in shock, looking towards the exit.
"My prison..."
"He's too weak, Ninja," Ghoulian dismisses it immediately. "He can't even get out of his hole!"
Ninja jumps over Monster Kunoichi and then jumps into the lair. He falls until landing in front of the Sorcerer. He points his sword at him, and his enemy is not even fighting back, not that he could.
"Come to destroy me, have you?"
"Not exactly," Ninja cuts off his chains, freeing him.
"Oh..."
Ninja pulls him over, spinning his scarf. He throws it at a pipe and grabs onto the Sorcerer. The two land back on the floor, standing across from Ghoulian.
"Hey, you wanna help me take this shoob out?" Ninja offers him, and if Kunoichi wasn't a monster right now, she'd so try to talk him out of it...
"It would be my pleasure," The Sorcerer rubs his hands together.
"Just leave Kuno to me," Ninja narrows his eyes at his stanked partner.
"Holy cheese! Plot twist!" McFist exclaims from the cage, Viceroy having a look of shock.
Ghoulian strikes at them as Monster Kunoichi rushes forward. The Sorcerer spins around his Sorcerer Balls to absorb the energy. He then directs it back to his orbs, shocking Ghoulian. Monster Kunoichi tackles Ninja and growls in his face.
"Kuno, stop! This isn't you, it's the stank!" Ninja protests to her. She doesn't listen and he sighs slowly. "I don't wanna have to do this, but...Ninja Air Fist!" He punches her in the stomach with it, sending her flying backwards. She holds her tummy in pain as that got her in the guts. Ninja then flips onto his feet. "Ninja Air Fist!" He directs another one to Ghoulian, who clashes with the Sorcerer. He just absorbs it again, Ninja glancing towards Monster Kunoichi in worry. Hopefully defeating Ghoulian will change her back...
Ghoulian whistles, both Monster Kunoichi and the rock monster roaring at the duo. They come running forward and Ninja is a bit hesitant towards the girl. He doesn't want to hurt her, but he does need to stop her.
"Ninja Rings!" He tosses them, cutting off the top. He slides past the monster as Monster Kunoichi focuses on the Sorcerer. He just knocks her back with another blast. Ninja wraps his scarf around the monster, tripping him. "Ninja Tengu Fireball!" He causes the monster to disintegrate, focusing on Ghoulian. He clenches a fist, angry for him stanking Kunoichi.
Ghoulian directs another attack, but the Sorcerer jumps in front of Ninja, absorbing the power. He launches a green ghost hand forward to grab him, taking his power from the one Sorcerer ball in the chest.
"Wait! No! My power!"
The Sorcerer drops him and he lands on the ground.
"It was my power first...800 years ago!" He laughs evilly as he's now powerful again.
"Ninja putting an end to this ring!" Ninja breaks the power ball that's in the chest, reverting Evil Julian back to normal.
"It's over! We did it!" He cheers and then realizes that Kunoichi is still stanked. "Wait...w-w-wait, that should've changed her back! Why didn't it change her back?!"
"You fool!"
"What?!" Ninja exclaims angrily before he's knocked into a wall. The Sorcerer summons a sword, letting out a small laugh. "Seriously?! I let you out!"
"And I totally appreciate it. But I'm afraid that your partner's feelings of fear and heartbreak are much deeper than a simple defeat!"
"You mean...oh, it must be because she doesn't wanna lose me when I move away! But she couldn't tell me because she was scared..." He facepalms himself for not seeing it sooner.
The Sorcerer charges and Ninja jumps over it. He takes out his own sword and the two clash. The Sorcerer swings his sword and his enemy ducks, sliding backwards. They continue to fight as they go up the steps, Ninja jumping onto the railing. He then leaps over to the ceiling, jumping over his enemy and landing on the ground. The Sorcerer leaps forward and strikes the ground, sending Ninja back with a blast.
He rushes forward, but is tackled by Monster Kunoichi.
"Kuno, get off!" He struggles a bit. "I don't wanna fight you!"
She simply responds by roaring in his face and he waves a hand. "Whew! And you definitely gotta do something about your schnasty breath. No offense. Smokebomb!"
He disappears from her hold, confusing both her and the Sorcerer. He glances around in confusion while Ninja spins from above, clashing with him again. The Sorcerer's body is surrounded in green and he gasps, getting knocked onto the ground in front of the steps. The Sorcerer laughs evilly as he and Monster Kunoichi approach him. He laughs as Ninja swings hard, but his sword is eventually cut off.
"Ahh!"
"Boo-pus!" Mr. Smith facepalms and Ninja looks up at him in surprise.
"Wait, you've been watching the whole time?! That's your grand—I mean, nevermind!" He looks away as he was about to give away the fact that Kunoichi's civilian identity is related to the teacher. But he could tell from the man's frown that he has been concerned over his granddaughter being a ragin' stanked monster.
"I have looked forward to this day for centuries," The Sorcerer slowly steps forward, narrowing his eyes. "Vengeance is mine!"
He's about to finish him off when Howard and Julian land on him from the portal.
"That was terrifying!" Julian comments after a few seconds.
"What the juice did we land on?" Howard asks and then the Sorcerer groans underneath them, getting their attention. "Landed on the Sorcerer!"
The two boys yelp as Monster Kunoichi faces them with a growl. "Ahh! A STANKED Kunoichi?!"
Julian suddenly gets pulled backwards. "What is happening?!"
Ghoulian, who has been on the floor during the whole Ninja/Sorcerer fight, gets pulled forward. "What is happening?!"
"Oh, hello, evil me!" Julian greets him, and Ghoulian realizes what's going on.
"Stay away!" He tries to get away, but the two Julians are joined together again to form one.
"That tickled!" Julian giggles, glancing around. "Where did I go?"
Ninja kicks Monster Kunoichi away from Howard and she crashes against the steps. He then throws his scarf at her to keep her tied up.
"Howard!" He turns to his best friend.
Ninja is greeted with a scoff. "We're apart for five minutes, and you let the Sorcerer out? And Kunoichi lets herself get stanked? This is why we have to stick together!"
"She didn't let herself, she was forcibly stanked by Evil Julian," His friend deadpans at him. "And it's all because of me!"
"Of course it is!"
"Get off of me!" The Sorcerer sits up, surprising Howard before he could blame it further on Ninja.
"Get me of him!" The man literally acts like a bull trying to get off a rider. Ninja groans, preparing a Ninja ring in a slingshot. The Sorcerer stands up, getting Howard off his back, but the boy's foot is stuck to his belt.
"What are you doing?!"
"Trust me," Ninja then focuses his aim.
"I don't trust you!" Howard screams, not liking where this was going.
"Ninja Ring!" He fires it, cutting the belt off the Sorcerer. However, the belt is still on Howard.
"Never doubted you for a second, Ninja!"
"Those belong to me!" The Sorcerer shouts at him. Before he could get them back, Ninja slides and grabs them from Howard. He turns around and throws them back into the Sorcerer's Hole. "My power!" He shouts, looking over the edge.
"My shoe!" Howard yells as well.
Ninja gasps as he sees the Sorcerer's Key in the Tengu/Wastrila Eye. He grabs it and then jams it back into the hole, closing it off. This turns almost everything back to normal, McFist and Viceroy falling when their cage disappears. The other students are freed as Ninja takes off the key, and the green tornado disappears. It's as if nothing had ever happened in Norrisville.
"The day was mine!" The Sorcerer laments, the old man emerging from the portal.
"It is over."
The Sorcerer turns to him in confusion. "Huh? You..."
"Us," The man smiles and then they're both engulfed in white. Everyone just watches as the two form into one, as the man was the Sorcerer's human form. "Thank you for freeing us."
Ninja hums with a nod, giving a thumbs up. Then the form disappears entirely as he goes on to the afterlife...
"Whoa! Surprise ending!" McFist exclaims as Howard walks up to his friend. The two villains yelp as Monster Kunoichi growls at them.
"A thumbs up? An 800-year-old thank you and you give him a thumbs up?" Howard scolds him in disbelief.
"Sweet cheese! I did it. I defeated the Sorcerer!" Ninja realizes, now feeling a bit bad since Kunoichi is still stanked...
"I never thought you had it in ya," McFist comments from his spot.
"Honestly, neither did I," Howard seems to agree with him. "But don't you have something else to take care of?"
He gasps as he turns around to see Monster Kunoichi still on the steps. Some of the students step back in fear. Thankfully she hasn't broken out of her bonds yet.
"This is my fault! I-I did this to you! ...I should have considered your feelings..." Ninja closes his eyes sadly. He gently pulls her down to the ground and she stands up, baring her teeth at him. "I'm really sorry I ignored how you were feeling about me leaving...I don't know what to do without you, Kuno. How do I change you back?"
He gets no answer unfortunately...if she was back to normal, she'd have an answer already...It's obviously not a physical thing.
"There's only one way that could change you back..." He takes a deep breath. "I'm gonna do something I should've done a while back."
He feels a little bit nervous, but it's the only solution he has.
"You mean so much to me Kuno, can't you see? Together forever, we were meant to be. I love the smell of your handmade pineapple juice, you make me feel like I'm the Bruce. You might have guessed it, I've been totally obsessed with you! I love the way you bake, it makes my heart quake. I should have considered how you were feeling, and other options for us to be together. And now you're stanked because of me!"
He rests his head on her stomach, closing his eyes. She doesn't really react to the gesture.
"I'd do anything to get you back...because I love you," He whispers softly enough for her to hear. Nothing seems to happen and he feels like he's lost all hope...
That is, until the stank finally leaves her body, turning her back to normal. Ninja feels her changing and looks up to see the real her. He gasps, catching her as she falls onto her knees.
"Kuno!" He exclaims in glee, Mr. Smith nodding in approval. He might not have his sight, but he definitely has his hearing. Ninja hugs her tightly and she returns it with a smile. "I'm so glad you're back!"
"Ninja...you...you love me?" She murmurs as she clearly remembers his words. He pulls back to look at her.
"I meant every word of what I said, so...yes...I do."
She smiles bashfully at him, thankful that he can't see her blush. "...I love you too," She whispers softly and they share a loving embrace.
"Aww," The crowd states in unison, Howard pretending to be disgusted.
"Howard!"
He turns around to see Kat approaching him with a smile. "Kat!" He perks up at her being okay, rubbing his arm. "I-I mean, that was really crazy, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm glad you guys are okay." She jumps up, hugs his neck, and kisses his cheek. He blushes at her gesture, looking away with a small smile.
"Ninja, Kunoichi," Doug walks up to the duo, ruining the moment. "Why didn't you guys tell us there was an evil Sorcerer under the school?!"
Kunoichi rolls her eyes in annoyance at him, and Ninja helps her stand. "Doug, allow me to answer that question with a question of my own...smokebomb?" He throws it and they both disappear.
"If I'd known things were gonna go this way, I'd have worn different shoes," Howard comments, walking away along with everything else. Doug just stands there alone.
Howard and Amy walk up to a saddened Randy in his neighborhood. Amy's heart drops as she sees Gene packing up all of the things into the truck. The two join him and there's awkward silence for about 30 seconds. Randy rubs his neck awkwardly before he speaks up.
"So, I'm gonna..."
"Me too," Howard tears up as Amy tries not to cry. The three whimper as Randy looks to Amy.
"Ames, I love you, but...I don't want to upset you by doing something you're not comfortable with," Randy tears up a bit, and her worst fear is slowly steading coming back into her mind. "So...while I do want us to be together...the only way this could work is if we..."
"Ran..." Some tears roll down her cheeks and she closes her eyes. She knew it...she knew that this would happen. And avoiding it was obviously a mistake. But she doesn't want to say goodbye to him...he makes her laugh, he comforts her when she misses her parents, he makes her feel safe and protected...and yet all of that is coming to an end. "You could just stay with me...please don't go..."
"I can't...and I can't make you wait for me forever. So I...release you from this relationship...!" Randy sniffles and she bursts into tears, running off towards her house. Howard winces at her reaction. A long-distance relationship would've been too much for either of them, but Randy moving didn't change the fact that they'd have to do something about them. He just...he couldn't imagine not holding her or kissing her anymore...he loves her...
But he had to let her go.
Even though he doesn't want to, both of them were going to have to move on. He didn't want her to go through her life waiting on him to probably never return. She has a life, things to do, and to live that life the best way she can. If she didn't, he'd just be holding her back from being truly happy...
The two boys share a very sad handshake and they touch fists, staying like that. "I can't pull away..."
"Me either."
Howard can only watch as Gene takes Randy away and their lips quiver. He gasps as he reaches out a hand.
20 minutes later...
Howard is playing Grave Puncher alone, glancing out his window sadly. He could tell that Amy is probably crying her eyes right about now.
"You have punched none of the graves," Howard hasn't even moved his character. "Eh, you okay, pal?"
He just responds with a sign and the doorbell rings. "Mort, doorbell!" The doorbell rings again. "Heidi, doorbell!" He then groans as they're most likely not home. "I hate answering the door when I got the blues."
He reluctantly gets up and answers the door in irritation. "What...are you doing here?!" He grins widely as Randy is standing on his porch. He yells in excited gibberish, but Howard still manages to understand him.
"Your parents bought the house next door?!"
Randy jumps up and down while still speaking in gibberish.
"That was the plan all along? You were never moving away?!"
"You didn't ask where we were moving! You just flew into one of your rages!" Randy exclaims at him and Howard chuckles.
"I do fly into rages, don't I?"
"Oh, classic mix-up! Classic mix-up!" Randy shakes his head at the irony.
"Although...Smith is probably gonna fly into a rage if you don't tell her."
"We can just call her and tell her to come outside, that'll make her less angry," The tall boy rubs the back of his neck. Howard then pulls out his phone and calls the brunette.
Amy is listening to depressing music in her bedroom, her face planted into the pillow. Her shades are also drawn, so even if she walked past her window, she still wouldn't see Randy. She slowly reaches out for her phone, putting it to her ear.
"Smith, come outside, it's an emergency!"
"No, I'm depressed and heartbroken," She pouts sadly, lifting up her head and sniffles. "And besides, it's a shoob move to keep calling me and lying about an emergency. I've taken everything else you've thrown at me, you know. Now leave me alone so I can eat ice cream and cry for the rest of the day..."
"Hmm...okay then, we'll do this the hard way. COME OUTSIDE, THERE'S A ROBOT RAMPAGE IN TOWN!"
"I'm on it!" She stands up immediately, running out of her room. Even though it would be tough not to be the Kunoichi without Randy, she couldn't ignore a robot attack. She races down the stairs, opens the door to her house, and looks up, dropping her phone in shock. Randy smiles at the sight of her and then she beams.
"Ahhhh!" Amy screams happily upon seeing him, running over to the tall boy. He opens his arms and she jumps up, hugging him tightly. "What's going on? I thought you were moving!"
"He moved next door to me!" Howard grins widely and she bounces up and down.
"Oh my god, he did?!" She exclaims excitedly now that her boyfriend is in the same neighborhood as her.
"Hey, wanna come over to my house?" Randy asks the two.
"Got any snacks?"
"No, no, no, we just moved in," The taller boy explains, earning a blank look.
"Not interested," Howard then slams the door in their faces.
"I'm gonna kill him," Amy glares at the door, clenching her fists.
"Howard? Howard! HOWARD!" Randy bangs on the door and Howard opens it with a big smile.
"Ah! How good was that, guys?!"
"Oh my god," The girl facepalms at this. She really needs to stop falling for his pranks one of these days...
"So good! I really thought you were gonna leave us out here!"
The two best friends start talking excitedly about being next door to each other, Amy following after them.
"We gotta get walkie-talkies. Or, like, two cans on a string."
"You were just kidding about not having snacks, right?" Howard asks and Amy sighs a bit.
"I'll go get the snacks from my house, otherwise we're never gonna hear the end of it," She runs across the street and Randy glances over his shoulder.
"Hey, Howard, we'll meet you inside, okay?"
"Got it!" Howard runs into the house, still happy. Randy runs over to the brunette's house.
Amy quickly gets the snacks, carrying them outside to her porch. Suddenly, she's held by the waist and spun around by Randy.
"Whoa! Handful of snacks here. If I drop 'em, Howard's gonna kill the both of us," She warns him.
"Now I live right across from you," Randy murmurs in glee. He lets her down gently, pressing his forehead to hers. "By the way, we're not actually broken up, right?"
"No! No, no, no," She shakes her head rapidly. "I love you, I still want us to be together...I just wish you didn't do that to me before you left. But now you're here..."
His thumb wipes a happy tear from her face. She smiles lovingly at him, her hands moving over to his shoulders. Her heart flutters as he leans in towards her lips.
"Guys!" Howard calls out from inside, interrupting them. He just settles for her forehead.
"By the way, love you too," He takes some of the snacks out of her hands to carry them for her.
"You so owe me for breaking my heart for 20 minutes, though," Amy points up at him as she wipes her happy-teared face with the back of her hand.
"We've got all the time in the world for that to be arranged!" Randy grins as he leads her to his house.
"I wish some of that time was defeating the Sorcerer!" She pouts angrily at not being able to defeat him. "Seriously! I can't believe you did that without me."
"That's not your fault, you got stanked," He places a comforting hand on her shoulder as she frowns. It was both unfair and felt wrong that she wasn't able to defeat him as herself. Then again, she had no control of her actions. "If it makes you feel better, we can dress up Howard as him so you can beat him up for the false emergencies," Randy smirks down at her. "And don't worry, I know exactly what it takes to convince him."
"Aww, Ran! That's the most sweetest thing you could ever do to make up for it!" She beams at him. "Oh, he's gonna hate it so much, but I need this."
The Creep watches the happy couple step inside. "You enjoy those snacks, Ninja and Kunoichi. Your greatest battle is just around the bend." He tips his hat and walks off with a chuckle.
Angel: For some final words on this story, since it is the very last episode, is that enjoy this story for what it was, because I know I do. Just have fun reading it, that's what it should be, at least to me. Also, don't quote me on whether or not Ninjas/Kunoichis can actually be stanked, there's been nothing disproving it as far as I know. It's kinda like when Marinette almost got akumatized, so I think it would apply here as well. And finally...thank you. Thank you to everyone who continued supporting when I was feeling depressed (check out episode 38 if you're a new reader or just aren't aware). Thanks for not holding that against me since it happens to everyone, but...ugh, I just did NOT want to move. I really did not. I hate moving and I loved Georgia...
And I can't forget about all the fan art that came with this story! That was the best part! Thank you Yellowdrake26 and jebens1 for drawing this version of Amy! I had gotten fan art before, but not as much as I did with this story!
I love you guys, and I hope you guys will check out Final Space and Sonic SatAM when those come out! I will be releasing that Q&A chapter soon, and then that will be the end of this story...