Many Years Ago….
It was a dark and stormy night, much like the ones that plagued the dark times. The light of a crescent moon barely broke through the swirling storm of clouds that littered the sky. The rain fell down to earth like a flurry storm of daggers going down to earth. The beasts of the dark forest hid under whatever cave or tree they could find, weathering the storm. However, some figures moved around the forest, unbothered by the storm.
In the far reaches of a dark forest, a crumbling castle stood at the top of a mountain. It was only a single crooker black tower made up of darkened stones that had long lost their color after many years. The castle had a single spike coming from the top of the tower. Plants and roots clung to the old ruin as if they were the only thing keeping the castle in one piece. It looked decrepit and about to fall with the strong winds of the storm. Lightning split the sky as the castle was drowned in the storm's wrath. A single green light flashed from the top of the castle.
Three cloaked figures entered the castle. One held a staff and two held swords in their hands. The one holding the staff had a golden scythe tied to the top part of it, he pulled down his cloak revealing a whitehaired man with a long beard.
"We're here. We must make haste." The old man said. "She cannot be allowed to complete her spell."
The other two figures nodded in response.
The three cloaked figures rushed silently through the hallways onwards to the top of the castle. Small fires licked at the hallways within the remains of the old castle, making it seem like the figures were going through a maze. Most of the hallways were broken apart and collapsed, making it easy for the trio to find their way to the room they were looking for. Every step made them feel like something was staring at them from the shadows. The feeling of dark eyes and bony hands reaching out to grab them made their heartbeats go faster. They steadied up their breathing as they found their courage to go through.
The three figures made it to a set of stairs that made it to the top of the tower. The man with the staff gestured to his two companions to be quiet, just as the green light flashed from the very top.
"Be calm and keep going up. We do not know the threats that may lie above." the old man said.
"Do not worry, Druid Sha'a Gi. We'll vanquish this witch." one of the guards replied.
The three men made their way slowly towards the top, avoiding stepping on any of the roots or vines. Each step they took was no faster than the one of a snail, the strong winds of the storm made them go slowly. One wrong move and the three men would find their mission ended before it even began. With each step they took they did not notice that the vines slithered down on the rocks of each step. They looked up as the flashing green light became stronger than before. Soon enough they arrived at the very top and observed what occured on the top floor of the crumbling castle tower.
"Everything is ready, Revolta!"
The three men looked at the source of the voice.
They saw what looked like a large green potato with long green vines sprouting from its body like limbs, a large yellow eye with a red iris and a large mouth filled with crooked teeth. The creature had a panting voice, like every breath it took was not enough to form a single sentence, and his tone was one of a whimpering servant.
"I know that, you fool! Be quiet and make sure that none disturb my master plan!"
The men turned to see the owner of the other voice and the master of this crumbling ruin.
Behind a large cauldron filled with green bubbling liquid, stood the creature that was the mastermind of the situation. She was a woman, or at least female in appearance. She had frog-like green skin, red glowing eyes like those of a spider, her hair was a wild mess of green swamp shrubs, her teeth were sharpened into daggers, and she had another set of arms coming out from her armpits. She wore a long black dress made up of rags, covering all but her arms and head.
"Once I call upon all the powers of the darkness, I shall rule upon all the creatures of the night!" she claimed. "The name 'Revolta' will strike fear in the hearts of men and bring about the wailing of the women!"
One of the men tried to jump at her and put her to his sword, but the druid pulled him back.
"I shall call upon the powers of the chaos that resides in the Land of Shadows and use them to turn myself into the ruler of this world!" Revolta explained, looking into the depths of her caldron.
"And I shall be by your side as your right hand man, right?" the creature asked.
Revolta rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"To be my right hand man, Creeper, you'd have to be more than just an overgrown vegetable I cast a curse on!" Revolta snapped before turning to the cauldron once more. "Now, it is time to summon the powers from the Land of Shadows! None shall stand in my way!"
"Now!" Druid Sha'a Gi cried out, jumping along with his allies to the frame.
The witch and her ally turned in shock as the druid and his two allies charged at them, weapons drawn.
"The druid! Stop them, Creeper! They must not interfere!" Revolta commanded as she pulled out a wand from her dress.
"Yes, Revolta!" Creeper sneered, flinging his vines like a couple of whips.
The two warriors used their swords to slice up at the vines. But for every vine they sliced, two more took their place. They were soon ensnared by the vines.
The druid grabbed hold of a pouch from his waist. He tossed it at Creeper, causing its contents to burst out. The druid's pouch contained a special burning potion that blinded the creature.
"My eye! My eye!" Creeper screamed, dropping the two warriors.
One of the warriors grabbed hold of one of the torches. He flung it at Creeper, hitting him on the face with the lit torch.
Creeper screamed in pain as he was consumed by the flames and the burning potion. The little mutated potato was reduced to a pile of burning compost.
Sha'a Gi, the druid, ducked under a blast of green magic. He held up his staff, blocking another shot with his golden scythe.
"Give up, Revolta! Your evil plan shall not come to pass!" Sha'a Gi said as his allies surrounded the witch.
"You fools think you can banish me and make the creatures of the dark to cower, well think again!" Revolta said, firing another blast of magic from her wand.
"The cauldron! Empty its contents!" Sha'a Gi instructed, blocking the magical attacks.
The two warriors ran to the cauldron.
"No!" Revolta snapped, firing a blast of magic at the warriors, turning them into trees.
Sha'a Gi used this chance. He grabbed another pouch from his waist. He threw it at the cauldron. The potions of his pouch mixed with the contents of the cauldron.
The cauldron's boiling green liquid turned golden as it bubbled more and more. It started to shake and tumble as though the room was shaking. Whatever magic was being casted within the cauldron was now unstable.
"NO! What have you done!?" Revolta demanded.
"Put an end to your schemes!" Sha'a Gi retorted, slamming the bottom of his staff.
The golden contents of the cauldron erupted, transforming into a large deluge. It wrapped itself around Revolta, imprisoning her in the golden liquid.
Revolta fought against her prison, but was quickly frozen in place, stripped of her power.
The liquid turned into a solid vase that floated in the air. The vase spun in the air at great speed before it shot out into the night sky and away from the castle.
The two warriors that were turned into trees were returned to normal.
"What happened, druid?"
"Where is Revolta?"
"She's been imprisoned and banished from these lands. But she is not dead. It took all the power of the potion to imprison her and banish her." Sha'a Gi explained.
"What shall we do now?"
"Hope that a champion of man, tested and forged by the threats of the night will rise to face her! For he might be the one capable of defeating her!"
Norrisville Present Day
Randy laid on his bed, snoring with drool coming out of his mouth.
This was the Ninja of Norriville, the protector of the town as well as a vanquisher of the forces of darkness.
On the other side of the bed laid his girlfriend, Gothetta. She giggled at the sight of her sleeping lover and boyfriend. She kissed his cheek, waking him slightly.
"Is it morning already?" Randy groaned, stirring from his slumber.
"No, but I must be going now. You looked very peaceful when you were sleeping, I couldn't resist kissing your face." Gothetta clarified, giving Randy another kiss on the cheek. "I can't believe summer is almost over and I'll be going back to Transilvania."
"Yeah, it sucks. But this summer was very much more exciting than the one before high school began." Randy groaned, getting up to face his girlfriend. "So, when will you guys go back home?"
"We are scheduled to return the day before the end of summer, if everything goes accordingly. I really wish you could come with me. Maybe I should turn you, just to make sure that you come with us." Gothetta said, teasingly grabbing Randy's face.
Randy chuckled, knowing that she was merely joking.
"As tempting as it would be to be young forever, I don't think you'd stand me being a teenager forever." Randy replied, causing her to giggle.
"Also, you'd get a lot of pissed off girls on your ass, Gothy." a giggling voice called behind them.
Gothetta jumped on Randy out of fear. She yelped as the couple spotted the one responsible for disturbing their moment. Floating above them was their friend and constant source of jumpscares, Phantasma.
"Hey guys, nice moves by the way~." Phantasma greeted.
"Phanty, thank you for making sure my heart is still working." Randy replied. "Isn't it too early for this?"
"Hey, we only have two weeks of awesome summer before the dull school year begins." Phantasma replied, floating over the couple. "We got to have fun while we still can before those squares at your school want you back."
Gothetta rolled her eyes before turning to Randy.
"Rest up Randy, we'll see each other tonight." Gothetta said, kissing Randy's lips.
Gothetta floated off of the bed before turning into a bat. She flew out the window, leaving Randy with the ghost girl that waved her off.
"You know a year ago today if you told me that I'd be dating a vampire girl while other monster girls fancied me, I would've said that that was a crazy dream." Randy sighed, falling back into bed.
"Yeah, that's how crazy life can be. But I really wouldn't call me or the others 'monster girls'. Ghoul Girls has a much better ring to it." Phanty said. "I'll go raid the kitchen, want something?" She asked only to see Randy asleep already. "Aww, he is pretty adorable."
Randy rested for the few hours that he had left before he woke up once more. After waking up again, he walked downstairs, greeting his mother for breakfast.
"Hey honey, how did you sleep?" Elizabeth Cunningham asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"I slept fine mom. Got any plans for today?" Randy asked.
"Just a couple of last minute jobs for this week. You going to hang out with your friends or your girlfriend?" Elizabeth asked, raising an eyebrow in a teasing fashion.
"Her school is preparing for their trip back to their homes. They want to spend some time with their families. Although, according to Gothetta, she isn't looking forward to being with her mother." Randy said, remembering a conversation he had with his girlfriend.
"Well if she plans on staying here, she can stay with us. We have a spare room since Elsa moved out." Elizabeth said, sighing. "I really miss her gentle nature."
They were back to being the only members in the Cunningham household since Elsa had moved to the Gracey Manor with Gothetta and the other vampires. She saw it as the best place for her to be, since she was surrounded by beings like her. As much as she enjoyed being in the same house as her lover, she preferred to keep things civil and not cause any alarms to the woman that had been the first one to be nice to her. Elsa would call from time to time and let them know that she was alright.
"You know, this summer has been so bizarre but I can't help but think that it has been fun." Elizabeth admitted. "At least you and Howard did not spend all those days in front of a screen playing video games. I swear those things will rot your brains one of these days."
"Hey, those games are pretty entertaining if you give them a chance. But you're right, this summer has been one roller coaster after another. Yeah, but we could all use a little small simple smooth sailing before classes begin." Randy said, serving himself a plate of eggs and sausages.
Randy couldn't help but smile at the words his mother had just said. He wanted to say that she had no idea what the rest of the year had been like though. He remembered the past year and how crazy it had been, and summer had just been the cherry on top of the crazy year sundae he'd have. First he'd gone to Transylvania and faced off against a resurrected Dracula, then he'd gone to Ireland and faced off against a town full of werewolves, he came back to Norrisville and faced off against evil dead zombies, then came the battle against Frankenstein's Monster, and last but not least was the resurface of an ancient mummy. Randy smiled as he sat down, hoping that his prayers would be answered. He really wanted a calm last few days of summer before school started once more.
After they finished their breakfast they each went their own way. Elizabeth went off to work while Randy went off to find his friends.
Randy knocked on the door of the Weinerman household just in time for the head of the household to run out the door.
"Morning Mr. Weinerman." Randy called out.
"Morning Randy! Sorry, got to go!" Mr. Weinerman called back before getting into his car. "Have a nice day!"
Randy merely shrugged at the man's rush. He entered the house just as Howard and Heidi were finishing their breakfast.
"Hey guys, good morning. What's up?" Randy asked.
"Sup Cunningham!" Howard said, finishing his pancakes.
"Hey Randy, good morning. Nice lotion and deodorant." Heidi greeted.
"Thanks, Heidi," Randy said.
"I got to say I am getting used to the wolf senses. It literally took me less than five minutes to get ready this morning and I scoured the whole neighborhood with just my nose." Heidi commented. "Did you know that the Ivers cook their food using duck fat? It smelled so good. I could actually savor it."
"Sis, don't be weird with your new nose thing. You know who go around sniffing at things and say that they savor them? Perverts." Howard pointed out. "You're sounding like a perv."
Heidi glared at Howard before kicking him in the shin.
"Guys, please don't fight." Randy begged as Howard held his leg in pain. "We only have two weeks left of summer and I'd like to keep them as normal and as free of fighting as possible."
"Fine." The two Weinerman siblings replied begrudgingly.
Randy figured that this would be the best that he was going to get from the siblings. He smiled regardless, there was no reason for him to believe that something would happen. He agreed that he'd go lock up his house and then he would meet up with Howard and Heidi to hang out.
Randy walked through his house, making sure that there was no open window or unlocked door. He made it to his room, where the Ninja mask and the Ninjanomicon were stashed. He locked his window. Although he kept it open for Gothetta to visit him late at night, he locked it during the day. He grabbed his mask and placed it inside his hoodie, despite the relative time of peace and tranquility he still kept up with his training and made sure to always carry his mask. He cracked his neck as he let out a satisfying sigh.
"Ha, time to relax." Randy said. "...I do hope I didn't just jinx myself."
Almost as if on cue, the Ninjanomicon started to glow.
"Oh, I did, didn't I?" Randy sighed.
Randy grabbed the ancient book of Ninja knowledge, opening it like so many times before. His mind was sucked into the book's mystic realm. He wondered what would be the thing that the Nomicon wanted to tell him. He hoped that it was only Rosalyn telling him that he should do something special for Gothetta, or if it was another quarrel that she had gotten into with his master and his friend. Sometimes he felt like a landlord keeping the peace between the tenants that constantly bickered.
The latest Ninja landed in the middle of a large dark forest. He was used to seeing this forest as it was where Rosalyn had made her little home. He turned to see a small cottage with a Japanese style architecture with a small garden with pumpkins and flowers. Randy walked towards the cottage and knocked on the door.
The door opened up to show Rosalyn wearing her usual dress.
"Ah, Randy, so good of you to drop by. Come in, come in." Rosalyn said, gesturing Randy into the cottage.
"Thank you, Rosalyn. I wasn't sure what I was going to find when I got here." Randy said, stepping into the cottage.
Although the outside of the cottage resembled a small Japanese building, the inside resembled the inside of an Eastern European cabin. It had a large red carpet and mahogany furniture with a fireplace between a pair of chairs and paintings scattered around the walls. The paintings were many of Rosalyn and of far away places. Sitting on one of the chairs was Nobu, The First Ninja, and Plop Plop, drinking tea.
"Master, didn't expect to see you here." Randy said.
"Ah, Randy. Forgive the sudden summoning, but there seems to be a disturbance in the mystic field of the city." Nobu replied, putting down his tea cup.
"A disturbance? Is this like back with the Book of the Dead?" Randy asked.
"This feels different. Something is making the Sorcerer's orbs act out. It could be that whatever is causing the disturbance isn't active, or at the very least weakened." Nobu thought out loud. "We must remain alert in case it awakens, or moves on."
"We do not know which one is most likely to happen, which is why we called you here." Rosalyn admitted. "We need you to investigate."
"And here I thought that these two weeks would be a smooth sail." Randy muttered. "Do you have any clues or anything that could help me get started?"
Upon saying those words, the fires of the fireplace erupted like the very devil had breathed life into them.
They all turned to face the flames, although Plop Plop did fall down from shock.
The flames started to turn and shape as scribbles drew monsters that resembled fallen enemies. The fire turned into words as a large four-armed creature pulled the strings of the scribbled monsters.
"The horrors of the past can cast large shadows in the present when a dark fire seeks them out. But amidst the darkness there is kindness."
"Okay, what does that mean?" Plop Plop asked.
"I fear that this might have to do with the power of some vanquished foes." Nobu said.
Randy could only grimace at the thought of past foes coming back to fight him again. He narrowed his eyes as the severity of the situation dawned on him. It would seem like the last two weeks of summer were going to be far more active than what he was hoping for.
In the Norrisville Natural History Museum, one of the late night security guards walked to the vending machine in the hall. It was the last few minutes of his shift, but he was starving. It was like he really needed some coffee or at least a cookie. He rummaged through his pockets for some change, sadly not finding any. He grunted in disappointment. He started looking around the floor for some spare change. He was tired and wanted to get a cup of coffee before he fell asleep in one of the exhibits. Hoping for a change in his luck, he went into the Egyptian wing.
"Come on. Someone must've dropped a quarter somewhere." the guard grunted, moving his flashlight hoping the light would catch something.
The guard's stomach grumbled as he was about to move on. The light of his flashlight shined on something. He went towards the thing that was reflecting the light. He looked down under one of the exhibits. There before his eyes was a large canister that resembled a vase.
"What the heck is that thing doing here?" the guard asked himself.
He reached out from where he was, trying to grab the vase. He scratched it a little, unable to get a good hold on it.
"Come on, come on!" the guard said, grunting.
After a few tries the guard grabbed hold of the vase.
"Yes! Finally got it." the guard cheered, pulling the vase out.
The guard looked at it, wondering what the vase was. It looked very new, so it couldn't be part of the exhibit.
"Huh, maybe one of the eggheads can tell me what I can get out of this." the guard said. "Let's just see what's inside."
The guard grabbed hold of the lid of the vase. He pulled it once. He pulled it twice. He pulled it thrice, but it would not budge. But little by little, the lid grew looser. One more would make it come off-
"Oh, my shift is off. I'm getting some breakfast." the guard said, taking the vase with him, unaware of what he held under his smelly armpit.