A/N: Okay I'm gonna keep this short by saying I'm sorry that this chapter took so long.

These last few weeks were NOT fanfic friendly.

Got swamped with work.

Got sick. Twice.

My dog gave birth. (6 PUPPIES!!!)

And the city is doing something with telephone poles so the wifi keeps going out every once in a while.

So yeah, not a fanfic friendly week.

But I'm here now and I'm gonna try to get back on schedule.

Again, I am REALLY sorry.

~Third Person's P.O.V~

The late bell rang through the gymnasium with Howard standing with the rest of his class tapping his foot impatiently with arms crossed.

Randy then quickly burst into the gym and ran up to Howard. "Sorry, I'm late. I was....uh studying-For geometry." 

"Mm-hm." Howard hummed not believing the excuse as he plucked off a sparking robo-ape hand off his friend's back. "And I suppose you were destroying a Robo-Ape to find the area of an isosceles triangle?" 

"Yes!" Randy smiled. "Isosceles triangle! That is exactly correct."

"There's no such thing as an isosceles triangle!" Howard snapped while chucking the robo arm. "I just made that up! Admit it! You lied! You were off Ninja-ing without me!" 

"I didn't lie." Randy denied. "It's just- the Ninja and Kunoichi work alone,-which bothers you-So I lied....". 

That just made Howard more angry. "I-!"

A clicking sound stops him mid-rant and making them both look down to see Couch Green zip tying their ankles together.

Standing back up, Couch Green started speaking. "The chin-waggers at the school board insist I conduct a Safety Seminar! But I believe in learn-by-doing. So I present: The Three-Legged Safety Search! "

He gestured to the rest of the class that were also zip ties together.

Bash and Mick.

Stevens and Flute girl.

And Bucky with Dave.

"See what happens when you leave me hanging?" Howard scolded. "I could've been zip-tied to Flute Girl!" 

"I'm so psyched that we're partners, Stevens." Flute girl swooned while hanging on the boy's arm. "Are you so psyched?"

Stevens just smiles and wordlessly hand her a pin making her gasp. "Seriously, Stevens? Your band pin?! You know what this symbolizes?! I'm your girl! "

Stevens wipes the spit of his face.

Couch Green the started handing out lists. "The school has 23 danger zones, all off-limits. Access them, photograph yourselves, and return unscathed."

"Howard, you know you can count on me." Randy said trying to be reassuring to his friend.

Howard didn't buy it. "Except......when I can't count on you!" 

"The team with the most snappies......chooses tomorrow's gym activity! " 

This made Bash pumped. "I'm gonna win! I'm gonna make all youse do something painful! Your butts aren't gonna like it!"

Everyone but Howard gulped. 

Howard rubbed his hands together in excitement. "OK, Cunningham, you want to prove I can count on you? Then let's win this thing. We'll be heroes to every butt in class!" He gets close to Randy's face to empathize his seriousness. "I need to know you're with me no matter what." 

Randy looked a little uncomfortable but said. "I am with you no matter what." He then tugged his zip-tied ankle slightly. "Also I have no choice." 

Everyone got into starting positions.

"Each team must return properly zip-tied or you're disqualified! Good? Great!" Couch Green then takes out a flare gun. "On your marks, set-"

-BANG!-

The flare flies out of an upper window and destroys the Principal's car. 

"Three-legged Safety Search!" 

And with that, everyone did their best to run out of the room with their partners.

                                                                 ~~Time Skip~~

~Riley's P.O.V~

"Thanks again for getting the rest of those bolts and screws out of my hair Rachel. And just before Mrs. Driscoll brought the magnets." I shivered from my spot on the outside bench at the thought of almost hair torture.

"I'm surprised you didn't noticed." My friend said back.

"Eh." I shrugged. "When you fight robots as much as Randy and I do, finding the occasional bolt and screw on you becomes normal."

Rachel opened her mouth to say something when we both suddenly heard-

"Okay now left-"

"Your left or mine?"

"Mine."

"Well why yours!?"

"Does it really matter?"

Looking behind us, we see both Randy and Howard zip-tied together at the ankle trying to head towards the soccer field.

We then looked at each other with the same blank expression.

"Dare we ask?" 

"It'll be on our minds for the rest of the day if we dont."

Well that settles it.

Walking over to them I asked. "So what are you guys doing?"

"Three-legged Safety Search by Couch Green." Randy explained.

'Ah. Now I'm getting it.' I thought before saying. "If that's the case, I take it there's a bunch of dangerous stuff involved."

"Specifically taking selfies with 26 dangerous stuff." Howard explained while taking out his phone and showing it to us. "Check it."

"Girls Cobra Training Club." The picture showed the guys in a room with some girls cowering in terror from the snakes. 'Why do we have that club and why would anyone join it?'

"JV Human Hamster Ballin'." This one showed the guys in speedos hanging out with club members with a few of them in giant clear hamster balls. 

I had to hold back a giggle at Randy's posing.  

"And the Fire Toboggan Run." That pic was self explanatory. 'Again, why do we have this?!'

"So where are you guys going now?" Rachel asked as Howard pocketed his phone.

"Sky Carp." Randy answered while pointing over at the Carp blimp hovering over the soccer field.

"Cool, mind if we join you?" I asked feeling a little interested in the whole thing.

"Sure!" Randy agreed before Howard could open his mouth.

Howard gave Randy a dirty look and rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just don't do anything that'll stop us from getting the prize."

Rachel and I rolled our eyes and started following the boys to soccer field.

Once there, we see a gigantic wooden latter that reached the blimp.

"Geez, what kind of funding does this school have?" I couldn't help but ask.

I got no answer.

"Well lets get that selfie." Howard said as he started tugging Randy forward. "Come on Cunningham."

"Be back in a sec!" Randy yelled back at us.

"Be careful you two!" I yelled back and watched as they climbed to the top.

Just then, the Kunoichi Nomicon decided to go off in my backpack.

Rachel glances at it curious. "Huh, wonder whats up?"

 "Don't know." I replied as I shrugged of my bag and took the book out. "Could be anything."

I then sat on the ground with the book in my lap. "I'll be back in a second. Watch my body."

Opening the book, I was immediately sucked in.

"Arwoooh!"

~Inside the Kunoichi Nomicon~

After a sudden rush pictures, I was place in front of a circle bamboo screen that said read me.

I touched it but nothing happened.

"Uh.... am I missing something here?"

Everything around me flashed and it clicked.

"Missing someone, got it." I glanced around looking for a certain purpled boy. "Where the juice is he?"

A small yell was my only warning as Randy suddenly appeared beside me.

"What took you?" I asked curious about his lateness.

"Sorry got held up." Randy apologized sheepishly before looking at the screen. "So whats up?"

The screen started moving.

-And so it was that the First Ninja and Kunoichi cast the Sorcerer into a bottomless pit and sealed it with the Eye of Eternity. They locked the stone with a magic key. Knowing the key was too dangerous to possess, the Ninja and Kunoichi divided it in two and hid it away. Yet every 100 years, the key pieces reveal their resting place in hope of being found. That time is now!-

"Oh! My! Ninja!" Randy exclaimed as we looked at each other in excitement.

"So what do we do?" I asked feeling pumped.

-The Sorcerer Key must be found immediately. The sunlight and the stone will work together to guide you.- 

"Sunlight. Stone. Got it." Randy said before turning to me. "See you by the stone?"

"Try not to be late this time." I jested just as the book pushed us out.

~Back Outside~  

                                                                  ~~Time Skip~~

~Third Person P.O.V~

Sitting on the last step of the stairs of the main entrance, Rachel glanced at her agitated friend as she impatiently tapped her foot with arms crossed and a twitching eyebrow.

"I know I was joking, but I'm pretty sure I said not to be late...." Riley mutter angerly as she glanced at the doors every so often.

"Riley relax, I'm sure he'll come right through that door any second no-"

The door burst opened allowing Randy to come in while dragging a laying Howard.

"What took you so long!?" Riley asked her partner who wordlessly jabbed his thumb at his unmoving friend.

Riley rolled her eyes before looking up at the glass ceiling above the carb mural. "Alright, any second now the sunlight and the stone will work together to lead us to the key."

Right on que, a beam of light came through the glass, hit the stone, and then proceeded to ricochet through out the whole school until finally stopping at a locker at the end of a hallway.

Randy quickly picked up an uninterested Howard and tucked him under his arm as Riley, Rachel, and him ran down the hall towards the locker.

"Locker 216!" Randy whispered in aw. "So mystical!"

Riley looked at him amused. "I think the mystical part is on the other side of the locker."

"Great, you found it." Howard remarked looking bored. "Let's mark that spot, turn in our pics, and come back after we've won."

His friends looked at him in silent disbelief.

Rachel broke the silence. "Howard are you serio-"

The sudden sound of stomping and something else cut her off and made the group turn around to see a two headed monster with a trombone for a hand.

The thing roared and charged at the group.

Randy, Howard, and Riley were able to jump to the side in time.

But Rachel wasn't so lucky.

"Rachel!" Riley yelled in fear as her friend was rammed into the portal with both her and the monster vanishing inside.

Riley immediately jumped in after them.

Randy pulls out his mask from his hoodie. "Gotta suit up and help Riley! Sorry Howard, No civilians." 

"Uh-uh." Howard covered the zip-tie connecting. "If you cut the tie, we'll be disqualified from the search!" 

Randy gave him a blank stare before pushing him into the portal while suiting up at the same time.

Now on the other side with no sign of Kunoichi, Rachel, or the monster; Ninja and Howard looked around the dojo like room before looking over the railing to see the two key pieces on different sides of the room, each floating on a statue of a hand.

A sudden yell made the draw back as a body flew past behind them and slammed into the wall.

"Kuno!/Kunoichi!" Ninja called out in worry at the same time as Rachel who came out from her hiding spot behind a wall.

Ning turned around to glare at the monster while nudging Howard behind him. "The Sorcerer Key belongs to us!"

The monster snarled and rammed into the boys making fly into the same wall Kunoichi did, who was starting to wake up.

"What're you oofin about?" Howard complained. "I'm the one who hit the wall...." 

"Ugh....what hit me?" Kunoichi groaned while rubbing her head.

The two-headed monster screeched.

"Oh yeah...."

The monster charged at the group making each hero grab their friend and flip out of the way.

"That thing almost crushed us!" Howard yelped before scolding the two teens. "You two are off your games today." 

Rolling her eyes, Kunoichi quickly threw a flash ball at the monster, blinding it.

Ninja suddenly remembered the Nomicon's message.

                                -The sunlight and the stone will work together.-

He saw the word sunlight hover over the girls while the word stone hovered over him and Howard as it suddenly clicked.

"Work together-That's it! Its three legs are working together." Ninja quickly grabbed Howard and pulled him out of the way of an incoming attack with Kunoichi doing the same with Rachel. "Howard, you were right. I need your help." 

"Oh, what do ya know?" Howard said sarcastically before flinching away from an incoming swipe. "Mr. No-Civilians needs me."

"Less sassing more running!" Kunoichi barked as she ran past them with Rachel in her arms.

The boys quickly got to their feet and ran after them with the monster close behind. "The girls are the sunlight, we're the stone!"

"Why can't we be the sunlight?" Howard complained as he tried to keep up with Ninja's pace. 

"Fine!" Ninja groaned as they made a sharp turn. "We're the sunlight! Point is, I need you, brodeo!"

"I'm in!" Howard exclaimed before giving his friend a side look. "And I'm not completely sold on brodeo." 

Ninja just rolled his eyes called out to his partner. "KUNO!  You and Rachel go grab one of the key pieces! We'll handle this guy!"

Kunoichi sent him a determined look over her shoulder. "You got it!" Skidding to a stop and tightening her grip on her friend, Kunoichi jumped over the railing to the lower level.

Ninja then turns back to Howard. "The only way to fight three legs is with three legs workin' together! Follow my lead."

Coming to a sudden halt, Ninja jumped off a railing, swung the leg Howard was connected to, and slammed Howard down on the monster before catching him.

Howard was breathing heavily from the sudden attack and glared at Ninja. "Not my idea of working together!"

Getting back to its feet (foot?), the monster hooked the two on the slide of its trombone hand and repeatedly slammed them into the bell of the instrument before tossing them aside.

"WE GOT ONE!"

The monster looked over the rail and saw the Kunoichi on one of the statues holding up a key piece that had the bow end.

 Looking up, Kunoichi saw the monster growling down at her.

"Uh oh.." Rachel mumbled before ducking behind the statue.

The monster roared and smashed through the railing, making Rachel and Kunoichi dive out of the way, and start stomping towards the other key piece.

Back on their feet, Ninja and Howard glared down at the monster. "Oh, he is so not getting the Key!" Howard proclaimed. "That's our Key!"

Just a few feet away from the key part, the monster lunged towards it only to get slammed into the ground before it could grab it.

The monster was then lifted into the air by Ninja and Howard and thrown with a- "Weinerman hurl!"

With the monster now in a daze, Ninja asked aloud. "How do you de-stank a three-legged mutant band geek?"

Coming closer with Kunoichi, Rachel spotted something familiar on the monster's shirt. "Stevens's band pin!"

"Wait, you mean the band pin that he gives to nearly every girl he hangs with?" Kunoichi asked exasperated.

Howard nodded in confermation. "Yeah, Stevens gave it to Flute Girl earlier. She's crazy for him. But dude's a tomcat so...." He shrugs in a what-can-you-do manner.

"All right!" Ninja smirks under his mask while pulling out a ninja ring. "Ninja pin slice!" 

Destroying the pin, instead of the usual green, gold mist came out of the monster leaving an unconcious Flute girl and Stevens.

All four teens cheered and shared a quadruple high-five.

After gently tossing the two band mates back through the portal, the two heroes and their friends made their way over to the other key piece.

"It's official. We're both the Ninja!" Howard said excited. "I want my own mask. And a sword. But no scarf. Maybe a cape."

Kunoichi rolled her eyes and looked at Rachel playfully. "Something you want?"

She just smiled playfully back. "I think I'm good."

"Wait, shh." Ninja suddenly shushed everyone while grabbing the other half of the key.

Kunoichi pulled out her half from her sash and the two carefully joined the two pieces making them glow as the mended.

Taking out their Nomicons, the two teen heroes gasped as a beam of light came out from the center of each book and combined in the air making a small key hole.

Ninja took a deep breath and placed the key into the hole. "OK, Nomicons, let's do this..."

 The moment the key was placed into the hole, a large holographic image of a samurai appeared before the group.

"The Sorcerer's strength is growing. You both must protect the Key Pieces, for you both will need them in the Final Battle."

"No prob." Ninja and Kunoichi fist bumped not fully regestering the sentence. "Protect the key and-final battle with the Sorcerer?! " Kunoichi and Ninja yelled out the last bit together in mutual shock.

"On second thought, Ninja is more of a solo thing." Howard said looking shocked as well.

"Are you guys okay?" Rachel couldn't help but ask the frozen pair.

Before either could answer, the dojo like room began to crumble around them.

Panicking, all of them quickly scrambled towards the portal and jumped through with Ninja and Kunoichi simultaneously de-masking themselves.

~Randy's P.O.V~

I grunted slightly as my back hit the cold hallway floor and then felt the wind get knocked out of me as Howard landed on top of me.

'Wait a sec, Howard is way heaver than this.' I realized to myself.

Opening my eyes, that closed when I hit the ground, all I saw was red.

Blinking the daze out of my head, I started registering the body on top of me was taller than Howard, thinner, softer, and smelled like blueberries.

The body on me and groaned and I was soon looking into warm brown eyes.

Oh its just Riley.

Is this what a heart attack feels like?

Riley looked at me in surprised before looking over my head and having her face turn a faint red. Cranking my neck to look as well, I felt my already red face turn beet red as I watch serval students walk past giving us the occasional confused/amused/scandalous/surprised look.

Except one guy who sent me a thumbs up and a wink.

I imediatly felt Riley get off me.

Letting my brain rewire itself and for my face to cool, I look to my side to see Howard looking back at me with a smirk and wiggling his eyebrows mockingly.

"Comfy Cunningham?"

I glared, sat up, and punch him the shoulder making him laugh.

Shoob.

"I cant believe you two are gonna fight the Sorcerer!" Rachel said in shock.

"I know! How honkin' Bruce is that?" I said as I got to my feet and dusted myself off. "I mean, it's honkin' scary but it's honkin' Bruce."

The sudden sound of smug laughter and running feet caught everyone's attention as we all look down the hallway to see Bash and Mick run past us towards the gym.

"Bash!" Howard said in realization. "We can still win the Safety Search!" 

Smiling, I draped an arm around his shoulder. "If we work together!"

And with that, we dashed after Bash and Mick while throwing out a see-ya-later at the girls.

Before we got far enough, I heard. "Good luck you guys! And Randy, I'll call you later, kay!?"

I held up a thumbs-up for Riley to see before picking up the pace to the point Howard and I were neck and neck with Bash and Mick.

'We were so gonna win this!'

                                                                        ~~Time Skip~~

~Riley's P.O.V~

"So it was a tie?" I asked cradling my phone between my ear and shoulder as I laid on my bed doing homework.

"Pretty much. We would have won if Doug didn't decide to get in the way and trip us."  I heard Randy grumble under his breath making me giggle.

"Oooh tough break." I started to mindlessly doodle. "So if it was a tie. What activity are you guys doing tomorrow?"

"Dodge Sleep." 

"Dodge Sleep?" I repeated confused/amused. "What on earth is that and how does it work."

"Basically Howard and me are gonna sleep during class while everyone else is throwing dodge balls  at each others butts."

Pausing at the description, I grabbed my phone from my shoulder and held it. ".....and the oh-so-obvious flaws of this game will be brought up when?....."

"I've tried but Howards not having it." I could hear the annoyance in his tone making me try not to laugh. "Tomorrows gonna suuuuck......"

I couldn't help but laugh at that with Randy doing the same a moment later.

As our laughter died down, I started think about earlier. "Hey Randy, can I ask you something? And I'm gonna need you to be honest with me."

"Sure Riley. Whats up?"

"About the whole final battle with the Sorcerer thing. What do you think about all this?"

It was silent on Randy's end for a moment until I heard in an uncertain tone. "To be honest I'm stoked about it. It sounds exciting but at the same time....."

"Its terrifying." I finished feeling a little relieved at the mutual feeling. "That if we mess up even once the whole world will pay for it."

"Yeah....."

It was silent once again as the mood became dreary.

"But that wont happen."

Jumping slightly from the sudden sound, I gave my phone a confused look. "What?"

"I said it won't happen." I hear him become more confident. "Even if the stakes are high and its completely terrifying, I know for a fact we can do this!"

I was honestly stun by the shear confidence in his voice.

I couldn't help but ask shakely. "Ho-how do you know?"

"Beacuse together.....I know we can do anything."

~B-bump~

Feeling my heart skip a beat and smile grow on my face, I couldn't help but say. "You know that was super cheesy, right?"

"Yeeeeaaah I know. I smacked myself the moment it came out of my mouth."

We both laughed as the mood became lighter again.

"But seriously Randy, thanks for that. I really needed to hear it."

"No problem Riley. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

"Partners?"

"The best."

"Now who's being cheesy?"

Rolling my eyes in good humor, I said. "Good night Randy."

"Night."

Hanging up, I sighed in contentment before refocusing on my homework.

But before I dive in, I notice the doodle I drew and couldn't help but laugh.

"Wow I really am cheesy." I said while running my fingers over the drawing of a chibi Ninja and Kunoichi with an arm swung around each others shoulders looking happy.