Aftermath 8: The Trouble With Moodulators Chapter 1: New and Improved, a kim possible fanfic

Kim Possible: The Trouble With Moodulators

(A/N: A new story. This one is supposed to be taking a lighter and more comical twist again, but in certain parts, and in much later chapters… well, let's just say it gets pretty dark. Really dark, depending on what your idea of dark is.)

New and Improved

"Behold, gentlemen… oh, and ladies… the new and improved Moodulator's!" Drakken declared. He laughed evilly, holding up the nearly invisible chip. Needless to say, when Dr. Bortel had created an improved version, and in bulk, Shego was sent instantly out to retrieve them. Which she'd succeeded at without interference from the Cheer Squad and their little Ninja friends, Drakken was happy to say.

"Tha's the Moodulater ye've been ravin' about?" Duff incredulously asked.

Drakken frowned at him. "It may not look like much, but trust me, this plan will work."

"Am I the only one getting a sense of déjà vu," Monkey Fist asked incredulously.

"Nope," Shego replied boredly, filing her nails.

"No' a chance," Killigan agreed.

"Drakky, sweetie, maybe you should think it through a little more," Amy suggested, uneasy about this whole thing. She'd heard stories about the Moodulators, and none ended well.

"Scoff if you will, but this time it can't fail!" Drakken stated.

"Deje vu," Shego said.

"Nrrgh, Shego!" Drakken shot.

"One question. Why are we here?" Monkey Fist asked.

"Because you are going to help me distribute the chips onto Kim Possible and her little friends," Drakken replied, making his allies, except for Shego and Amy, light up, now slightly more interested.

"How d' y' even know they work?" Killigan asked.

"I just do, okay?!" Drakken insisted. Put out by the attitudes of his allies. "Now look, a Cuddle Buddy convention is to be held in Middleton this weekend."

"Cuddle Buddy's? Those little guys are so cute," Shego said, now paying attention. They all looked blankly at her. She froze, biting her tongue, and quickly covered, "I mean, uh, Cuddle Buddy's? Really? They're a bunch of beanbags. Ooh, no offense, Amy." Amy harrumphed.

"Yes, well, anyway, thanks to DNAmy we now know Kim Possible has a weakness for those 'beanbags.' Needless to say, the convention is precisely where she will be," Drakken said.

"And with luck, Monique and Yori will be with her. Those three girls are almost inseparable," Amy added, having already worked out the details of this plan with Drakken in advance. "I can get in and subtly chip them all," Amy said, taking four of the Moodulators, in case she lost one on the way.

"Right. That leaves five more heroes. It shouldn't be too difficult. Shego can go after that Amelia girl. You'll likely find her in Club Banana shopping. Take two chips, just in case you lose one," Drakken said.

"Uh, Dr. D, I don't lose things," she said.

"We've been through this," Drakken said, frowning at her. "What have I said?"

"Nachos make my insides queasy?" she asked tauntingly.

Drakken twitched as Killigan and Monkey Fist began snickering, then yelled, "Shego!"

"Better safe than sorry," she answered, rolling her eyes hopelessly. If she didn't just go with it, she'd probably get an earful, which she really didn't want to hear. Fine, it wasn't any skin off her back to take two.

"Nrrgy, lippy sidekicks," Drakken complained. "Anyway, I can get to that boy, Wade I believe his name is, so we'll have no interference on his side. Killigan, take two chips, for good measure and go after Stoppable. That will leave only Hirotaka and Fukushima. Monkey Fist, I believe your ninjas can handle it?"

"Of course they can!" Monkey Fist shot, offended Drakken would think otherwise.

"Good. Let's move people," Drakken stated, grinning evilly.

Fukushima and Hirotaka walked down the street carrying their backpacks, glad the day was over. "It is a funny thing. If I was ever going to pursue secular education, I expected to enroll in a good ninja college, not… this," Fukushima disdainfully said, gesturing back in the direction of the college.

Hirotaka grimaced in disgust. "Oh how I agree with you," he replied. "The dormitories here are very much lacking."

"Compared to the rooms in Yamanouchi, they are unfit for mice," Fukushima joked as the two entered the dorm they shared. Hirotaka smirked. They threw down their bags and Fukushima went to the kitchen to get something to eat. Hirotaka went to the answering machine, turning it on.

"Hello Hirotaka, it's me, Marlene, you know from class. Anyway, I want to know if…" a voice began. He blinked blankly and frowned, deleting it instantly.

"Hi Hiro, what's shaking sweetie? Bailey here. You up to a wild night on the town? Or elsewhere, if you catch my drift?" another woman's voice purred. Hirotaka again deleted it, eyes narrowed.

Fukushima was snickering behind his back, he knew, trying not to laugh. "I am not that appealing," Hirotaka complained.

"Kon'nichwa, Hirotaka, I was wondering," a third voice began. He deleted it, switching to the next message.

"Is he there?" another voice said.

"Shh, I'm trying to hear," a second replied.

"Give it to me, I get to talk first!" the first insisted.

"No way, back off! He's mine!" the second shot.

"Mmm that boy has to be the finest and most beautiful thing in this town," a first said.

Fukushima burst into laughter at Hirotaka's appalled expression. "It is a curse to be beautiful, is it not, brother!" Fukushima said through laughs.

Hirotaka furiously yelled, "Damara seru, Fukushima!" (Shut up, Fukushima!) The two girls on the message were still arguing.

"Fukushima is mine!" the second voice suddenly yelled.

Fukushima's laughter cut off into a horrified and aghast gasp, so deep he doubted his lungs could expand more, or that he could get any paler. Hirotaka blinked blankly then burst into laughter, doubling over. "Yes, Fukushima, it is a curse to be beautiful," Hirotaka taunted, grinning cruelly. "And apparently you have it."

"Damara seru," Fukushima grumbled in reply, moving to the phone and deleting the message. "Why must we be such novelties?" Fukushima complained. Hirotaka rolled his eyes affectionately, smirking.

"Come, my friend. Let us go walking," Hirotaka said. "There is little else to do." Fukushima harrumphed and marched angrily out of the room. Hirotaka followed the younger man in amusement. He wasn't sure whether Fukushima's pride had been hurt at the message's content or if his friend just didn't know how to react to it as well as he did.

The two walked in a park, Fukushima looking up into the air. Hirotaka watched curiously. What was on Fukushima's mind that had him so engrossed? Hirotaka cringed as Fukushima ran into a tree and staggered back. Needless to say, that snapped the younger ninja out of his thoughts. "Who put that tree there?" Fukushima complained.

"It is not so much the tree's fault as it is yours," Hirotaka replied, smirking. "Tell me, brother, what so ensnares your mind?"

Fukushima, rubbing his forehead, paused. After a long moment he turned to Hirotaka. Hirotaka frowned. He wasn't sure he liked all the emotions he saw flickering in his friend's eyes. It didn't help that most of them were ones that should not have been there; sadness, confusion, despair, fear, hopelessness, anger, hatred… conspiracy… And the most frightening of all, desire. Not the romantic type of desire, like he noticed Fukushima get once in a while when around Monique, but a desire to die. Hirotaka remembered the last time he'd seen this particular array. It was the night before he'd left Yamanouchi for Middleton, and Ron had come to Japan…

Flashback

Hirotaka and Fukushima leaned on a railing, looking out over Yamanouchi's garden. Hirotaka glanced over at his friend. Fukushima had been very distant lately, and he didn't know why. It worried him. This was his best friend, the one who was a brother to him. It disturbed him that Fukushima wasn't speaking to him about his concerns. They had been inseparable since childhood, had grown up together, learned together. There was hardly a secret either had that the other did not know about.

"What is on your mind, brother?" Hirotaka questioned.

Fukushima blinked, seeming to come out of his thoughts. He looked over at Hirotaka. After a moment he replied, looking back out over the garden, "Have you noticed a change in Sensei's demeanor towards me?"

Hirotaka relaxed and smiled. "Is that your concern? Fukushima, he singles each one of us out in turn. Only last month it was me. Do not worry over such things."

"It is more than that, Hirotaka. It is everything. He does not just single me out. Unless he must, he ignores me, he hardly even looks in my direction. When he targets me it is to belittle my actions or to get me to play the role of some evil and treacherous creature. Why?" Fukushima insisted.

"Sensei belittles no one, my friend. Chastise, yes, pick apart, yes, but he has never belittle you," Hirotaka reasoned.

"No! You are wrong about this!" Fukushima shot, pulling away from the railing and pacing restlessly. "Sometimes… Sometimes I so despise him. Sometimes I long to take my sais and… Never mind."

"Fukushima, why are you suddenly filled with such dark thoughts?" Hirotaka questioned, now concerned. He had never noticed these feelings in his friend before.

"I don't know… That is what frightens me so… I do not know," Fukushima answered, shoulders sagging as he looked down. But he did know…

He had managed to protect the Lotus Blade the first time the stranger, who had seemed oddly familiar, had come. He wasn't sure, but he thought that for a moment recognition came to the intruder's eyes. That frightened him, because he felt in some way that the man had been known to him once, though he couldn't fathom why. He hadn't called for the others, however. He had kept the stranger away from the blade until finally the man had paused, summing him up, and given him a dark offer… Seeing as Fukushima had been insulted by Sensei's recent actions, and tossing such an idea around already, he had blindly leapt at the chance to be rebellious. He had agreed, but now he was no longer certain. This was treachery; treachery to his school, to his friends, to his master, to his once lover Yori, and to his dearest friend Hirotaka.

"Tell me, Hirotaka, that you have not pondered overthrowing our master. We could do it, both of us. It would be so easy," Fukushima offered. Part of him wanted to be justified, because if Hirotaka agreed then he wasn't the only one who had become weak. The other part longed for his friend to talk him down and to reason with him. Hirotaka would be reasonable; he would understand and talk things through… He was wrong.

"Enough of this madness, Fukushima! I will not hear you speak such things of our Sensei or our school again!" Hirotaka shot furiously, eyes hardening.

Fukushima started and looked at him, eyes surprised. Surprise turned to hurt. He'd thought he could talk to his best friend; he'd thought Hirotaka would understand that this was not a threat, but a cry for help. All he wanted was for his brother to hear his confessions and help turn him away from this dark path. After a moment he looked down. Hirotaka didn't understand, and he would find no sympathy or help in him. So there was no one else he could turn to; so he was left to face himself alone… And that reaction had been what sealed his course, resentment burning in him. If even his best friend could turn on him, then perhaps Yamanouchi was not where his loyalty should lie.

End Flashback

To this day Hirotaka regretted not listening to his friend's concerns. His rejection had stripped more than a little trust and confidence away from the bond he had shared with Fukushima. "I will not deny you again," Hirotaka suddenly said.

Fukushima looked sharply at him, eyes narrowed suspiciously. He knew exactly what Hirotaka meant, for he'd just been reliving the event himself. Finally he sighed, saying, "Very well." Hirotaka wasn't sure by what miracle Fukushima had decided to risk it, but he would go with it. "I have betrayed Yamanouchi once before, and in doing so betrayed you. Though I made certain you were nowhere near the place, it did not change that fact, as I tried to tell myself it would. Again I find myself questioning where my loyalties should lie."

Hirotaka inwardly cringed but forced himself not to snap or demand answers. "In what way?" he questioned.

"You heard Monkey Fist's confession to me," Fukushima replied. "My mother loved him. It was to Lord Monkey Fist I was appointed at the time of her death. In that sense, it was he to whom she pledged my loyalty, before she even gave it to Yamanouchi.

"It is no longer your mother's choice as to who you give your loyalty," Hirotaka replied.

"I know, but I wonder very much… I have dishonored my family enough, Hirotaka, and there will be no mending it; at least not easily. To uphold my mother's honor, do I turn my allegiance to Monkey Fist, or does my allegiance remain with Yamanouchi?" Fukushima asked.

Hirotaka was silent. It was a question he didn't know how to answer. "Perhaps that is a question better suited to Master Sensei," he finally remarked.

"Please, brother, do not hand me off to Master Sensei," Fukushima begged. "You answer it."

"I have no answer for you. I am inadequate to respond to such musings. But if it is my opinion you want, then I will tell you it," Hirotaka replied. "However, I do not believe it will be a satisfying reply for you."

"Speak your thoughts, my friend," Fukushima encouraged.

"The side you choose, Fukushima, is your decision alone. You have said your allegiance is not with Yamanouchi, nor with Monkey Fist, but with me. Though you know on which side I stand, it does not matter to you, and so I cannot and will not order you to stay loyal to us, as a master orders a slave. You are my friend, not my servant. That being said, I will not say it is to Monkey Fist your allegiance belongs either, or support it if you choose his side. Know only that regardless of what you do, I will not turn my back on you," Hirotaka stated.

"Why?" Fukushima asked.

"I have tried once before and failed, so I know that I am unable to abandon the brother of my soul. You know this," Hirotaka replied, alluding to Fukushima's attempted suicide so long ago.*

Flashback

Hirotaka and Yori walked through the garden, Yori grinning at something funny Hirotaka was saying. Yori, though, could tell that her brother's mind wasn't completely at ease, wasn't completely on their conversation. This was confirmed with the silence he suddenly fell into. "Hirotaka, what consumes your mind?" Yori questioned her big brother concernedly, frowning in worry.

Hirotaka cringed and looked down, answering, "It is… It is Fukushima." Yori's eyes became sad. She knew how close her brother was to the one who had betrayed them. The last thing Hirotaka had expected to find on his return was Yori standing alone. He expected that Fukushima would at least come as well. Was his friend truly so angry at him? He would have to remedy that… But then Yori had told him what had happened…

"Brother, Fukushima has betrayed us," she had said; and Hirotaka had gone as pale as a ghost.

"What?" he'd asked in a whisper.

Yori had proceeded to tell him everything. That Fukushima had given up the Lotus Blade to this 'Monkey Fist' person. That he had lain a trap with the British Lord, kidnapped Yori, then walked Ron right into it as well. She had told him that Fukushima would have killed them with no hesitation, had told of her and Stoppable-San's barely managing to escape. Every word had torn into Hirotaka's heart and soul painfully.

His dearest friend and almost murdered his little sister, and when he heard the fate that had befallen Fukushima, he knew he should have been ecstatic… Except he wasn't. The misery and grief and guilt Yori had seen in her brother's eyes in that moment had almost driven her to tears, let alone him. Hirotaka had been torn. Half of his heart cried out guilt and misery and pity for Fukushima, but the other half screamed hatred and delight and mercilessness for the one who had nearly taken his sister from him. Hirotaka hadn't spoken again for days, had hardly even eaten, and had often wept silently, hating the inner turmoil…

Now, back in the present, Yori saw that pain again. "You still mourn his loss," she remarked softly. "Hirotaka, I know it must grieve you so. I am so sorry, brother."

"No… his actions were unforgivable. It is lucky he was not killed," Hirotaka replied.

"Young Hirotaka," Sensei said, approaching the siblings with their baby sister Hana,* who had still been in Yamanouchi's possession at the time.

"Yes master?" Hirotaka asked, bowing to him.

"It is your turn, to patrol the jungle," Sensei remarked.

"Of course, Sensei," Hirotaka answered. He kissed Hana, grinning at his sister, kissed Yori's cheek, then instantly obeyed Sensei's orders.

Hirotaka walked through the woods silently, almost invisible in the shadows. He was quite proud of himself, he had to say. He heard the sound of a stream and smirked. It was a hot day out, and his water did need to be filled up again. Besides, it would feel good against his skin. He made his way to the stream, going far off the beaten path. He had no qualms about it. Nothing ever happened in the jungle, after all. Few tramped through long enough to stumble upon Yamanouchi. He found the stream and nimbly leapt down the bank. He bent next to the small waterfall and filled his water from the stream. He took a drink, put the bottle away, and then began splashing the water of the stream on his face.

He wouldn't have thought anything of the birds circling above not too far off. It was probably some animal that had died, but part of him was telling him to investigate. He frowned. He tried to ignore the sensation, but it only became all the more powerful. So be it. He had learned long ago to trust his instincts. He rose curiously and cautiously followed the stream, slinking almost noiselessly through the jungle. He put his hand on rock and felt something wet. He started and drew his hand quickly back. His eyes widened. Blood!

Hirotaka caught his breath, inwardly cursed, and began speeding up. What if it was one of his fellow ninjas? What if it was some explorer who had been injured? He came to a cliff and looked down. He paled. There, at the bottom of it, lay a crumpled figure! He leapt quickly and nimbly down. He thought, at first, that the person had fallen, but seeing blood on the way down told him that this one had climbed down. Why, though? It was an area almost invisible to those who did not know it was there.

The boy reached the ground and gasped, paling. He recognized the body… Oh gods… "Fukushima!" he exclaimed in terror. Terror? Shouldn't it be anger? He didn't really care, at present. He quickly knelt, rolling his old friend gently over. He felt for a pulse and found it going, but very, very weak. He summed up his old schoolmate and froze. After a moment he took Fukushima's arms and turned them. He felt suddenly ill. On both wrists were deep slashes, and the injuries were bleeding profusely! The rock on which he'd first seen the blood, it had been sharp. Now he knew where the cutting had taken place.

He looked at Fukushima's face, pale and frightened, but also angry. Part of him screamed at him to leave this traitor to bleed our, or to kill Fukushima off all the sooner. The other part was desperately begging him to not let this happen, so save his friend's life. He didn't know which to choose. He was so confused. Fukushima's eyes began flickering as the dying boy noticed a presence above him. They opened weakly and fell on the one who had found him. "Hirotaka…" Fukushima breathed, eyes becoming afraid, but also desperate, almost begging the brother of his soul, the one whom he'd betrayed so callously, to stay at his side and comfort him until he passed on. "I'm sorry," he whispered, quickly falling unconscious again.

The older boy tried to leave, he really did. Traitors were banished, and Fukushima had dishonored his own family more than Hirotaka could imagine. It was Fukushima's choice to end his own life. Hirotaka rose and began to walk away… But he couldn't. He stopped, tears in his eyes, then cringed. He was going to hate himself for this, he knew he was. Instantly he raced back and quickly cleaned and bound Fukushima's injuries. He knew the heartache and panic he would cause Yori, Hana, and Sensei, when he didn't return at his scheduled time, but he wouldn't leave his old friend here to die. He couldn't.

He'd stayed there two days, tending to Fukushima, enduring the younger ninja's curses at him for interfering in the attempted suicide, listening to him sob and weep, letting his friend cling to him desperately and fearfully for comfort like a little brother looking to his older one for reassurance. He ignored the desperate calls of the other ninjas searching for him, from his own sister begging him to answer her, and to Yori weep not far off, Sensei comforting her when she began to fear that he was dead. But Hirotaka didn't leave until he was certain Fukushima was recovered and wouldn't attempt it again.

Fukushima had sworn he wouldn't, knowing and sensing the pain and difficulty the brother of his soul had endured in trying to save him, and the younger boy wouldn't take it for granted. Hirotaka had returned, then, to the joyous cries of his classmates, to the relieved sobbing of Yori and Hana, and to a world of lies he now had to spin to explain his absence, and the ones that would come in future when he returned to the jungle with food and supplies for Fukushima.

End Flashback

Fukushima knew how much Hirotaka had endured for him. He knew all his friend had done and risked for the sake of one who did not deserve such mercy. But even Hirotaka had his limit, Fukushima knew. "And if the time comes that you should have to fight me to the death?" he asked, reconfirming that fact to himself, because at times he doubted it.

"Then I will fight you to the death, but I will not rejoice if I am victorious. I will stay at your side until you have passed on to Shinigami. I will not forsake you. Or perhaps I would allow you victory, because the thought of killing any friend, even if that friend betrayed all I knew and loved, is hard for me to even think of, let alone my dearest brother," Hirotaka replied.

"You only make my decision harder, because every part of me says my loyalty should be to Monkey Fist, yet I do not wish to betray those I have come to love again," Fukushima replied.

"You will find your answer in time, Fukushima," Hirotaka said.

"Or I will leapt back and forth between the two sides," he grumbled.

"Every bird will find its resting place eventually," Hirotaka replied.

"Yes, but I do not want that place to be the nest blown away by wind," Fukushima stated.

All of a sudden they heard noises and stiffened, falling quiet. Silence. "Something watches us," Hirotaka murmured.

"Then we will find it," Fukushima replied. Instantly he darted off.

"Fukushima, wait!" Hirotaka warned. He started after his friend but was suddenly grabbed from behind. He cried out in alarm as Monkey Shrieks rang out around him. Monkey Fist!

Fukushima slid to a stop, hearing his friend's cry and the shrieks of monkeys. He gasped and ran back. He reached Hirotaka's location and paled. Hirotaka was trying to fight off a group of almost ten monkeys! Fukushima drew his sais, yelling, "Release him!"

The monkey ninjas turned and a group leapt at him shrieking. Fukushima gasped, rolling behind a boulder. Suddenly a monkey howled in pain, stopping the ones who had been pursuing Fukushima. Hirotaka had injured at least one of them worse than he had intended, but at least it meant they were getting the upper hand. "Mistake, boy!" an all too familiar voice exclaimed. Monkey Fist! And the simian lord wasn't impressed that one of his pets had been injured.

Fukushima raced from out of cover as Hirotaka cried out in pain at Monkey Fist's sudden and vicious attacks. Desperately Hirotaka was blocking and dodging. Fukushima arrived, attacking Monkey Fist and the ninjas as well. The two ninjas fought viciously back, working in sync with one another and quickly gaining victory over the monkeys, at least, all of who leapt away on Monkey Fist's signed commands, leaving their master to battle two on one.

Monkey Fist dodged an attack by Fukushima, grabbing his arm and throwing him to the side. He would have pounced on the boy, except Hirotaka tackled the noble to the ground and the two began rolling across it. Fukushima leapt nimbly up and ran to join as Hirotaka cried out in pain. Something had pinched the back of his neck. He hoped it hadn't been a weapon.

Monkey Fist cried out in alarm as he was suddenly dragged from off of Hirotaka by Fukushima. "Kiko, now!" Monkey Fist ordered. The monkey ninja who was holding the chip the two Yamanouchi students knew nothing about, leapt down at Fukushima. Fukushima sensed it, though, and rolled, placing Monkey Fist above him. The Monkey Ninja, Kiko, landed on Monkey Fist and Monkey Fist cried out in pain on feeling a pinch. Of course, he didn't know what that pinch meant, and he really couldn't think on it. "Not me, the boy!"

Kiko chattered an apology and leapt for Fukushima, still believing he had the chip. Hirotaka waylaid it, though, throwing the simian to the side as Fukushima tossed Monkey Fist. "Give up yet?" Fukushima taunted the Monkey Lord.

Monkey Fist scowled and looked at Kiko. "Were you successful?" he demanded. The ninja shrugged. He wasn't entirely sure. It coded that it believed so, though. "You believe so? Perfect. Very well, I supposed I'll have to hope for the best. Let's go. We aren't looking for a battle. Yet," Monkey Fist stated. Instantly he and his ninjas sprang away.

"Good, they are gone," Hirotaka said.

"We should go after them!" Fukushima insisted.

"I do not think they are too much of a concern yet," Hirotaka stated. Uncomfortably he rubbed the back of his neck, though, grimacing.

"What is it?" Fukushima asked.

"I am not sure. Suddenly my neck is very sore," Hirotaka replied.

Fukushima looked at the back of his friend's neck. Hmm, nothing was there. "Monkey Fist's attacks were hard. He may have done some damage. Rest it and you should be fine," Fukushima replied, shrugging it off. He began walking again, but Hirotaka wasn't so sure about Fukushima's diagnosis. He didn't doubt his friend's knowledge of maladies, injuries, and remedies, but Fukushima wasn't the one who was feeling whatever this pulsating and uncomfortable feeling on his neck was. It was certainly no neck injury he'd ever heard of. Maybe it would go away. He shrugged and followed Fukushima.

*First mentioned in Kim Possible 3: The Three Stooges Ride Again (or 4: Family)