Chapter 1

Sharp sounds rung out against the backdrop of cheers. The clash of wood against metal, the crackling of fire blazing towards victory, the thud of a being the size of a building being thrown mercilessly against the ground… It was a sight to behold, if you weren't used to it, at least.

"Wrap it up, Randy! I got some gravy fries with my name on it and this cafeteria ain't opening any time soon!" Howard called out, bored. Behind the doors he was leaning against, dozens of students were running in the opposite direction.

Randy shot him a glare, raising the blunt of his sword to block a blow. "Maybe you should fight the monsters next time, Howard!" He grunted in exertion, and turned back to the battle, charging in with a cry and his sword raised above his head. A slash, a stab, a slice… The monster was slowly being worn down, without serious injury.

Finally, the Nomicon decided to chip in and point out the tiny bell hung on its belt, and Randy groaned aloud. "A bell? Come on! Band Geeks always get the hardest to destroy things!"

"Oh ho! You about ready to finish up? Those fries are getting cold." Howard laughed, and promptly yelped as the monster's tail lashed into the door above him. "Seriously, man!"

Randy growled behind his mask, and leapt forward. He whipped out a sai, and stabbed it through the metal of the bell mercilessly. As the green smoke disappeared into the vents, he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned away and demasked under the cover of a smoke bomb as the monster's form deflated, revealing an unconscious student in ripped clothing.

Howard watched the Ninja demask, ignoring the runic circles and flaring light and snapping ribbons of fabric easily, and tapped his watch. "Three, two, one…"

Randy grinned, walking over to Howard. "Let's get the fries and sneak off, I'm hungry!"

Howard laughed nervously, "Yeah… About that."

"You ate the fries didn't you." Randy's tone was flat, exasperated.

"Hey! Lunch break was nearly over, you know how it is." His chubby friend patted his stomach with satisfaction, smirking.

"Ugh, fine…" Randy rolled his eyes, and the two left the cafeteria, easy grins on both of their faces. As they passed the many halls of the school, Randy felt a sense of unease growing in himself. Even though he had defeated the monster and everyone looked to be in good cheer, the pale green smokey tendrils of stank remained, reaching along the tops of corridors to converge somewhere. Eventually, Randy could stand it no longer and turned to Howard. "I'm going to check this out, cover for me, would you?" Howard shrugged in response, and Randy grinned, charging off to follow the mystery.

The Eye of the Carp. A historic gem dating back nearly a thousand years ago, to the time of the founding of Norrisville by early Japanese sailors who got very, very lost. They had brought the stone with them on a long fishing journey believing it to be a good luck charm for fishers. Only the protectors of it- the Norisu Nine- knew its true origin. It was an ancient gem, beyond even their clan's time, that held back a mighty flame demon. The Tengu.

It was the Norisu Nine's sworn duty to protect the Tengu Stone from harm, as that would release the demon from its slumber, however, they held their duty secret, only protecting from the shadows. When those fishermen took the gem from its place and began using it as the good luck charm, they sent their ninth member, the youngest son, with them to protect it on the trips.

Currently, it held a position as the Eye of the Carp, a protruding orange gem that added a touch of class to the mosaic, and also sealed a Sorcerer deep beneath the school with the power of the Tengu. Whenever it broke, the sorcerers shackles loosened somewhat, almost enough to break free, but it was a rare occasion indeed. Unless, of course, the Sorcerer forced it open with all of their dark and twisted magic themselves.

Randy skidded into the room, scarf flailing behind them in protest at the speed. He looked up at the stank trails, seeing them converging from all levels of the school into a hazy green tornado stabbing at the Tengu Stone, relentlessly, to no avail. He blanched, and kneeled in front of the stone waving the stank away to little effect. The green smoke soon obscured all, and he pressed his hands to the floor to steady himself.

One hand met not with the flat floor, but with the curved surface of the Tengu Stone. A crack resounded throughout the cavernous room. The green smoke dispersed instantly, retreating into the ventilation system, and Randy scrambled backwards as demonic energy unfurled from the small crack in the stone.

Soon the black miasma congealed and out of focus features formed, a wing here, legs there… Before long, a dark bird with a face white as bone was shifting and flapping its wings and screeching at the sky and Randy stared at it in blank, unresponsive shock. It took the bird leaping through him and falling apart only to reform behind him to realise what had happened.

He pulled his sword out from the pocket dimension in the back of his suit, and made a slash in the direction of the Tengu, hoping it would distract it enough to let him grab the stone. As he leapt towards the stone, the bird turned and charged him once more, setting itself alight midway. Randy rolled out of the attack's range, but the burning heat from the attack had his suit flaring red as it dealt with the flames by housing them in the feathers it was woven from. His sword had flown out of his hands and lay near the Tengu Stone.

The bird stood over it, and hissed at him when he approached, slamming one clawed foot down over it, protectively. Randy winced as another crack sounded, and the stone broke cleanly in half.

The bird picked the stone up, curious, and turned it over critically. Randy charged at it in that same moment, an exercise in futility, as the demon startled and soared ever higher through the floors that built up Norrisville High, burning flames of black and red destroying the architecture with ease. Randy followed, but when the Tengu disappeared halfway up the third floor, miasma unravelling and flying into a classroom, he felt fear clench his heart.

He charged into the classroom, sword at the ready, and braced himself against the flow of students. When the flow of panicked bodies ceased and he could move, he stared up in horror. Howard had been possessed once more by the Tengu, and the leering orange and blue swan like creature that stood hunched in the classroom was no less fierce. It blinked at him, then opened its beak in a feral snarl, unable to move.

Despite himself, Randy flinched. Still, it was temporarily restrained. He found himself letting out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding as he scanned the room for the second part of the stone, clutching the half he held tightly in his hand. The Tengu breathed shallowly, cramped as it was, and Randy jumped more than a few times as it shifted in annoyance. Eventually, his eyes caught sight of the amber lump of rock, glinting in the light of the flames cast off by the Tengu's feathers. He walked carefully towards it, dodging overturned and broken tables and chairs.

Soon, he had both halves in his hands, and as he summoned the fiery red power to cause a fireball, preparing to set something on fire and provide a large enough flame for the mask to burn up in, but before he could do that, a loud creak rumbled from the direction of the Tengu. He paused, stopping in shock as the bird held the roof above its head with straining wings. The bird stared angrily in his direction, and he gulped. It breathed in deeply, opening its spike filled beak, and then exhaled with a blast of blackish blue fire that stopped in the middle of the air, still and unmoving. Frozen.

Randy stared up at it, and after a moment of considering the situation, decided to attack it. His sword did not pierce the fireball, nor encounter any resistance. In fact, he tumbled into it easily, finding himself in an empty space, darkness surrounding him And when the blackish hellfire and the Tengu followed him into the impossible void, he didn't know what to do. Another screech from the Tengu had the flames moving to form a demented hula hoop. And then they were falling, again, and the Tengu was unconscious god knows how far above ground and it was all he could do to Ninja Rage the birds unconscious form into motion and save both their skins, landing heavily in an abandoned airhanger, before he fell unconscious himself.

A.N.

Heyyy! CoreHope here with the first ever Young Justice and RC9GN crossover, so there's that. I hope that you enjoyed reading it- please leave a review. Any review. A review in coded welsh is better than no review. DM me with any questions or requests, and so on so forth. I like being contacted :D

Anyway, this should update Thursdays. A time crunch test to see whether I can both finish something and make it good, without spending too long on each part. As this is the sixth version, and unedited... Yep.