Yet another one-shot idea that I dusted off and finally wrote. Believe me, this Plot Bunny was quite happy to finally get written.
Disclaimer: I do not have any relation, be it monetarily or otherwise to the characters involved. Also, any implied groups in this story do not have any connections to the characters used, and I am not sure if the actual group can be mentioned, so it hasn't been for legal reasons.
Renaissance Kim
Two teen heroes continued to give chase after the usual suspect, which was of course Shego, but this time it was by foot. About fifteen minutes earlier, Kim had taken down the green woman's flying car by playing a very dangerous game of "Bumper Cars" about twenty feet in the air, and as a result both vehicles were too damaged to be useful anymore.
"Kim…" Ron huffed, "Could you please slow down just a little? I'm sure Wade is tracking Shego, so we really don't need to continue running, do we?"
Kim answered, sounding like she was barely winded. "And this coming from an 'All-Star Running back? C'mon slow poke." She couldn't resist the good-natured ribbing of her boyfriend.
"Who you calling slow-poke… Cheerleader?" Ron said with a grin and pulled ahead of his red headed girlfriend.
"Uh… Ron?" Kim called out after pulling up short. "Do you know where you're going?"
She saw her blond boyfriend stop, stand in place for a moment, and then he slowly jogged back to her. "Sorry Kim."
"It's OK." She gave him a quick buss on the cheek. "The sun is starting to set, so we're going to have to slow down anyway. Can't risk tripping over something and turning an ankle. The late hour should slow Shego down as well."
"Where are we anyway?" Ron squinted a bit as he watched the last sliver of light disappeared below the horizon.
"We should be about twenty miles out of Middleton, South-East from town. There's really no where for Shego to go and there's not much out here, just a lot of empty fields. In fact, I don't think we're very far from where that Country Jam is every year." Suddenly Kim looked like a thought crossed her mind. She touched the Kimmunicator on her wrist and called Wade.
After the usual pleasantries, she got right to business. "Wade, wasn't there supposed to be some big Renaissance thing going on this weekend somewhere out her for the next week or so?"
"Sure enough Kim. Only the group really isn't a Renaissance Fair, per se, but more like a recreation event. In this group of people a person actually develops a character of their own that could have lived in the Middle Ages. They dress in the same clothes as that time period, and they actually have their own 'Wars', if you will. Most build their own armor and weapons. The armor is either light metal or hard plastic, and the weapons are mostly made of bamboo and hard foam rubber. Not lethal, by any means, but you definitely feel the hit."
"So it's just a bunch of nuts running around hitting each other with sticks?" Kim asked with a slight tweak, as she never really understood groups like this.
Ron continued. "Oh it's more than that Kim. I actually checked in on these guys a while back. I found a web site dedicated to the group and read about it. Actually sounds kinda badical to me. You should check it out. They actually encourage people to stop by and watch, and sometimes they actually have schools come by for tours."
While they were talking, the two teens had continued to walk briskly in the direction indicated by Wade earlier. About a hundred yards away they could see what looked like a bunch of tents, and they could also make out what looked like many campfires.
The closer Kim and Ron got, they could see that there was really no rhyme or reason to the style of tents. Some were your standard camping tents of various sizes, and there were others that looked like they belonged back in the Middle Ages.
"Halt, who goes there?" The two teens looked to their left where the voice had come from, and out of the darkness strolled someone who looked almost like a Royal Guard from old England. "Are you lost M'Lord and Lady?"
"Umm… no, not really." Kim answered warily. "We were actually looking for someone and…"
"Wait a minute… I know you two. Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, right?" The young man stepped closer to get a better look.
"Ned?" Ron uttered under his breath, but loud enough to be heard.
The Bueno Nacho Manager smiled. "I never thought the two of you would ever come to an event like this. Well… I can see Ron here might be interested, but you Kim?"
"Ned…" Kim started to say.
"Please Kim, here I would like you to call me 'Sir Nedalus of Berkshire', or just Nedalus. Once you're in the area, it is preferred that everyone use Period names. Since you're new to this, most people will understand. As for the two of you, since your names are pretty close to period names anyway, how about we just use Kimberly and Ronald for now?"
"But… that's our names anyway." Kim said, looking a non-plussed.
Nedalus explained. "The key is to use the full name. Back in this time period, no one used the short version like 'Kim', or 'Ron'. We can come up with a Surname later on, if needed." Nedalus noticed the confused looks on his friends. "'Surname' means your last name."
"Oh… Kay…" Kimberly slowly said, and then quickly changed the topic. "We were actually after Shego, Ned… err, Nedalus… and we think she came into the area. Can we look around for her?"
"Sure, come on in." Nedalus gave a small bow. "I welcome you, young travelers. Please… eat, drink and be merry! I may see you later after my Sentry duty is finished."
…x x x x…
After leaving Nedalus to his duties as Border Sentry, Kimberly and Ronald walked into the area, and suddenly the two found themselves in what looked like a completely different time.
Everyone wore clothes that looked like they had come from the Middle Ages. There were people wearing colorful tunics, robes, cloaks… and even some that looked like they belonged in an online game or two. Mixed among everyone, every once in a while Kimberly and Ronald would see people that looked literally like Royalty, as they wore a crown on their head, and they usually had at least five or more others around them in a group. And about 80 percent of everyone they saw carried some sort of weapon, be it a large knife or sword that was attached to a belt. Kim couldn't help but idly wonder if the weapons had a sharp edge.
As they continued to check out their surroundings, the young teens noticed that they were now in some kind of market place. Many open tents were set up in rows, and they could see inside as to what was for sale. What was being sold varied greatly from clothing, to hand-made furniture, to weapons that also varied from swords to axes to knives of all sizes. There was an area off to one corner that was nothing but places to get food. Again, they were set up to look like they belonged in the Middle Ages, but they had all the conveniences of current times such as gas grills, condiment dispensaries, and even plastic tables and chairs.
"Kim!" Ron said excitedly while pointing at a booth. "Real handmade Root beer!"
"Mind in the game Ron, we're still here looking for Shego." She then pulled a sad-faced Ron away from the food area, and heard Rufus let out a squeak of disappointment, which was the first thing she had heard from the little guy since arriving. "Of course it would take the smell of food to wake you up."
…x x x x…
"This place is pretty big Kim." Ronald's eyes were still scanning everything around him. "How are we going to find her?" He then noticed that Kimberly had stopped, and looked like she was listening to something.
"You hear that?" Her blond boyfriend cocked an ear and heard it too. "Drums. That way." Kimberly said, pointing towards what looked like a rather large canopy located about a hundred yards away on the other side of some tents.
"If there's something our green friend can't resist it's a party… and that sounds like a pretty big one."
…x x x x….
Sure enough, after making their way through rows of tents, Kimberly and Ronald came to a large area in which half of the small plot of land was covered by the canopy, and the open area had a small bonfire burning. On one side of the bonfire, lit up by the light of the flames, was a small group of guys and girls, each playing a drum with their hands. The beat was primal, but catchy.
Boom ba boom… Boom ba boom… Boom ba boom… ticky ticky… Boom
Suddenly a group of about five girls, each dressed similarly yet different, walked out from under the canopy and began to gyrate to the beat. Some wore clothing that covered them from neck to ankle, while others wore things that were barely there. Some had small cymbals on their fingers, which they clinked in time to the beat, but all had one thing in common. They were all skilled belly dancers.
Not long after the girls began to dance, others at this party started to gather and form a large circle around the fire and the girls to watch them dance. Ronald leaned in to his partners ear. "Kim… I think one of those girls is a dude."
Ronald's girlfriend barely registered what he said, as she was looking closely at one dancer who was dressed in green and black. A sheer black veil attached to a small headpiece covered the girl's face, and a sheer green loose fitting top covered her torso, of which you could see a black short top covering her breasts. Loose sheer green material covered the legs, under which you could see black bottoms.
This person didn't look out of place, and Kim wasn't looking directly at the face of the dancer. She was actually looking at her bare feet… her green bare feet, which no one would notice in the low light if they weren't actually paying attention.
"Ron… That's Shego!" She whispered harshly and turned to… no one. Ronald wasn't at her side, where she thought he would be.
She huffed out a breath and decided to confront the villainess right then and there. Kimberly had only taken one step inside the circle to approach the green-footed dancer, but was immediately stopped by two burly men carrying intimidating looking swords.
One spoke in a rough voice just loud enough to be heard. "Only dancers in Garb may dance tonight. If you wish to find something to wear, please see the Lady of the House." The other guard stayed quiet, and pointed towards the canopy.
For a moment Kimberly was deciding whether to take these two guys down a notch before going after Shego, but then thought to her self, "I can do this. It doesn't look that hard."
…x x x x…
After picking her way through the small crowd, Kimberly made her way to the canopy where she saw quite a different scene. On one side of the covered area was what looked like a bar of some sort, where people were drinking various things, and she could tell that most of what they were drinking wasn't straight soda. On the other side were three long tables, and at one of them sat three people, a woman and two men, each of them dressed regally.
"Are you the Lady of the House?" Kim asked politely of the woman.
The woman stood. "Yes, I am Lady Gilbrath of the House of Wolvenshire. What may I help you with young lady?"
For some reason Kim felt the need to curtsey in front of the woman as she stood, and did so before continuing. "Two guards by the fire said that if I wished to join in the dance I should see you."
"Do you have any Garb M'Lady?" The blank look from Kim told Lady Gilbrath that this girl didn't understand. "Clothing such as those other dancers." Kim shook her head indicating that she didn't.
Suddenly the woman clapped her hands twice, and three other women appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "This young lady wishes to join our festivities. Please dress her for a night of dancing, as she has nothing… appropriate to wear."
In a manner of seconds Kim was whisked away to a large tent just behind the canopy. One woman, slightly on the heavy side, seemed to be the one in charge. "What is your name M'Lady?"
"Kimberly, Ma'am." She replied, and noticed that the other two were now holding up various clothing to her, checking for size and color.
"Well Kimberly, first off, please call me Adamina." She responded with a polite nod. "Have you ever belly danced before?"
"No, I haven't… but I think I can do it. It doesn't look that hard." The woman gave a knowing smile and a small chuckle, and looked over at the other two women who were now holding up clothing for inspection.
"That's perfect ladies, now… let's get Kimberly here dressed!
…x x x x…
After a whirlwind of her Mission Gear coming off and being replaced by 'Dance Garb', Kimberly stood in front of a full-length mirror admiring herself.
"Not bad." She said while twisting and looking at what was chosen for her. On her arms just above the bicep were bands of what looked like gold, but she knew it couldn't be real. Her top was a mix of gold and brown, and highlighted with a little bit of black. It stopped just below her breasts and above her stomach, while covering her shoulders. It was shorter than one of her cropped mission tops, but it was quite comfortable.
The bottom was a two-tone brown, of which the top portion was opaque covering her waist, and thinned out to a sheer material at her knees, and then gathered at her ankles. Her hair was left long, but one of the ladies had created two long braids, one on each side of her head, and were held together at the ends with a piece of gold colored ribbon.
"Can you move like the girls you saw by the fire?" Adamina asked, and Kimberly tried a move in which she moved her shoulders side to side in a horizontal motion. Adamina checked the top for any change in its position, and was satisfied. "OK M'Lady, you are ready to make everyone's eyes pop out of their heads."
The woman who was in charge then led Kim back out into the Courtyard and to the dance circle. She was still a little reticent about stepping into something in which many eyes would be upon her, so Kim watched the dancers for a bit to try and pick up on how they moved. At times she would mimic what she saw to get used to the motion and get into the beat.
Without warning, Shego moved in front of Kimberly and spun around in front her. The veil kept most of her features hidden, but she could tell that the green woman had an almost devilish smile on her face. She then reached down to her waist, produced a small glove that was stuffed in the waist band, and tossed the glove at Kimberly's feet before backing off a bit.
Looking down at the glove with a confused look, Kimberly then glanced over at Adamina with a questioning look. "She has challenged you M'Lady. If you wish to take the challenge, all you need to do is pick up the glove."
"But what kind of challenge?" Kimberly asked, and before she could ask any other questions, Shego moved forward and half whispered/spoke one word. "Dance."
Kimberly's upper lip threatened to curl into a snarl, but she quickly held it back. It was one thing to find Shego doing something such as Belly Dancing, but challenging her like this in front of a fairly large crowd, that was another.
Feeling the eyes of numerous people on her, the young hero made a final decision and picked up the glove. Shego then quickly danced away, laughing and trilling her tongue loudly.
The Lady of the House had witnessed what occurred, so she immediately walked out onto the dance area and the drums came to stop, as well as the other dancers.
She spoke loudly so everyone could hear. "Lords and Ladies… Guests all! A Challenge has been given and it has been accepted. Kimberly has been Challenged by…" She looked over to Shego, who loudly announced herself as 'Shegaria', sounding a bit like a Spanish Gypsy. "Shegaria, and the method of Challenge is by Dance. Drummers… begin."
Lady Gilbrath quickly exited the dance area, and Kimberly stepped in front of Shegaria, who laughed and moved away, moving her hips in an almost seductive manner to the beat of the drums.
Setting a look of determination on her face, Kimberly guessed correctly that she was to copy the movements of Shegaria, which she did.
For the next five to ten minutes, Shegaria (Shego) would perform movements with either her hips or shoulders, and Kim would flawlessly copy the movements, all while keeping in beat with the drums. Their movements were becoming almost hypnotic to those watching, as the green garbed woman's motions were matched exactly by the red headed girl.
In one particular move, Kimberly spun around, and as she did so she finally saw Ronald in the crowd, watching her with his mouth slightly open in astonishment. In one hand he held what looked like a turkey drumstick with a bite taken out, and in the other he had a mug of some kind.
Before she could do or say anything to her boyfriend, Shegaria seductively danced over to Ronald and leaned backwards while shaking her shoulders. Kimberly could tell her boyfriend fought the urge to look at the green woman's body, and eventually his eyes quickly glanced down, and then back to his girlfriend just as fast.
Now Kimberly had to copy the move, and she was quite nervous as she was wearing a little less than her adversary. Hopefully the top wouldn't ride up and expose anything she wasn't willing to.
It only took a moment longer for Kimberly to finally dance over to her boyfriend and copy the motion. Things stayed in place on her, but Ronald's eyes didn't. The blond boy couldn't help but look at his red headed girlfriend in renewed amazement, and inwardly Kimberly couldn't help but smile at his reaction.
When she came back up to a standing position and turned towards Shegaria, Kimberly was surprised to see the green woman standing with two long curved swords. They looked almost like the swords in those old Arabian movies she had seen on the Historical Channel.
Shegaria clanged the blades together and tossed one to Kimberly, who deftly caught it by the hilt. The first thought that came to her mind was that she was going to have to Sword Fight with Shegaria in front of a crowd. She breathed out in relief when the green woman lay the concave edge of the blade across the upper part of her chest and began to move the lower part of her body to the continuing beat of drums.
With a flourish of movement, Shegaria took the blade from its position and then balanced it on her head. She then clasped her hands in front of her and stood still while only moving her arms and shoulders side to side. The sword never moved an inch.
Whoa… Kimberly was definitely impressed. Now she had to do the same.
Starting out Kimberly was able to copy everything Shegaria had done, but after balancing the sword on her head, the blade fell off with a clang when she tried copying the shoulder movement. She lost the challenge.
…x x x x…
Initially the crowd was stunned by what had happened, but then hoots of and yells of the word "Huzzah!" rippled throughout, and applause immediately followed. Everyone had been given quite a show, and they were definitely appreciative of what they had witnessed.
Ronald walked up to Kimberly, sans the turkey leg and mug, and placed an arm over her shoulders in an attempt to console her.
The red head was looking down at her feet, and then she looked into her boyfriends caring brown eyes. "I… I can't believe I lost Ron. And to Shego… err, Shegaria."
"You know what Kim?" He asked with an arched eyebrow. "I don't care about that, and neither should you. This was your first time Belly Dancing, right?" She responded with a nod. "Then next time, I know you'll win."
"Thanks boyfriend." Kimberly said with a smile and went to give Ronald a kiss on the cheek, but was interrupted by none other than Shegaria.
"Yo, Princess…" The red head turned around. "You did pretty good out there. I didn't expect you to go as far as you did, especially since you had never done this before. I had a feeling that last move I did might get ya." A smirk crossed her lips and she gave a short laugh. Without another word Shegaria reached under the waistband of her pants and pulled out the reason that the two heroes were chasing her in the first place.
She placed the small faceted diamond into Kimberly's outstretched hand and said, "Here. I think Drakken can wait a little longer for a Targeting Diamond. You deserve this for that show you put on."
When the green woman turned to leave, Kimberly stopped her. "We can't just let you leave Shego… I mean Shegaria."
The villainess turned around. "Yes you can, Pumpkin. I've given you the reason you were chasing me. At least this time. Now if you will excuse me, I think I'll go find a uh… Gladiator… if ya know what I mean." That seductive smile returned to her black lips.
Kim crossed her arms sternly and Ron just had a confused look on his face as the green woman left the two teens standing in the low light of the fire. The drummers were now taking a break, and the crowd was just milling around talking with each other.
…x x x x…
Riding in the cab of a flatbed truck back to town with the damaged Sloth on its bed, two very tired teens sat in relative silence. The driver glanced at his passengers, noticing that the girl had a smile on her face while her head rested on the boy's shoulder.
There was still about a thirty-minute drive back into town, and Ron's eyes fluttered open when the vehicle hit a small bump in the road. He could feel Rufus sound asleep in his pocket, and he glanced over at the driver, who gave him a knowing smile.
His girlfriend snuggled in tighter to him, making Ron sigh in contentment, which in turn caused Kim to give a contented sigh as well. With a tired voice he whispered into her hair, "My Renaissance Kim…", before succumbing once again to slumber.
The End…
Nothing else to say, except that I hope y'all enjoyed this…
(Now to get back to posted stories I haven't finished…)
Huzzah!