I hope everyone enjoys this story. KingOAnime.

The Scarlet Maiden

Chapter One

The Map

Kim Possible wiped the sweat from her forehead as she lifted another box. She was in the attic trying to inventory everything. She wanted to pick out the best stuff for the garage sale she and Ron were going to have.

The first college semester was only three weeks away, but it was not a happy time. It seemed like after graduation everything turned bad. Kim's family was in financial trouble.

Just a week after graduation, the Middleton Spacer Center was bought out by a corporation. Their first order of business was to "cut the fat away." This included Dr. James Possible. He was working on a new rocket navigation system when he was given the notice that he was no longer needed.

This shocked everyone because he was the best scientist in the lab. However the corporation didn't see it that way. Then it got worse when no one would hire him. Even his scientist friends couldn't get him a job. For two months he's been sitting on the couch looking through the classifieds looking for any job now.

Mrs. Anne Possible was also having problems. Recently several patients and angry family members had filed malpractice suits against the hospital. Even though Dr. Possible wasn't related to any of the suits, the hospital board was using her as a scapegoat since she was the head doctor.

Her wages were cut and her hours were restricted to just a few times a day. She wanted to leave and go to another hospital, but no other hospital would touch her now. Because of these two problems the Possible money supply had quickly dried up. The house had no water or electricity and the mortgage was overdue.

Luckily the Possible children helped out. Jim and Tim constructed electric generators and also dug a well for bath and drinking water. Kim used her excellent organizing skills to watch the money they had left, and how they would use it. Even this unfortunately could only go so far.

Kim had no money problems with college. Several schools and top universities had offered her a free ride. Ron was a little less fortunate. The two teens did decide that they would spend the first semester together at the same college to slowly get used to being away from each other when they went to colleges that were hundreds of miles apart.

Ron was in his own attic gathering junk to sell. They knew it wouldn't be a lot, but at least it would keep food on the table.

Now she was in this dusty attic looking for random junk. She had five boxes of clothes she didn't want anymore, books, videogames, and toys. Then she came across a large mirror tucked in the back. It looked very old to Kim and it was very dirty as she wiped it.

Noticing tarnish marks on the mirror she groaned, "No one will buy this."

Then she noticed that the stains were on the inside of the mirror. There was still hope. If she could open the back of the mirror there was a possibility that she could remove the stains and make the mirror as good as new.

She pulled out a screwdriver and began removing the screws one by one. Once they were all out she pried open the back. The glass was washable, and much to her joy was salvageable. Something was on the wooden back she had taken off. Kim pulled off an old, yellowed piece of paper.

She unrolled it to see a painting of a woman on an old wooden ship. The woman was slender, had fiery red hair and clothes that matched, and looked just like Kim. She looked almost like those pirates from the movies.

The woman also had her arm around someone and someone's arm was around her shoulder, but the paper had been ripped in half. In the corner there was a date: 1720. This mirror was older than she thought.

Under the portrait lay a set of words, but only a little was legible due to the missing half.

Captain Elizabeth Possible a…

of the Scar…

"The Scar? Hmmm, I wonder what the Scar is."

She noticed something on the back and flipped it over. On the back was part of a map. Blue and red dots marked certain spots on it and numbers were scrawled next to them. If she didn't know any better she would swear this was like a treasure map.

Too excited to wait, she quickly folded the paper and headed for the front door of her house.

"Ron has got to see this."

Ron Stoppable sighed as he and his naked mole rat friend, Rufus, sifted through more boxes. They had been working for more than three hours, but so far the only thing Ron had for the garage sale was a small box of baby toys. Even that was making him think twice about it.

"Maybe I could give these to Hana?"

Rufus put his hand over his face and groaned. They had been over this and over this. Everything Ron saw he wanted to keep. His videogames that he never played any more, the comics he never read, and the clothes that were too small for him. Each one he had an excuse for.

"I might wanna play those games again. I'll read those comics eventually. Those clothes are perfect for Hana."

If Hana knew what her brother had for her to wear in the future, she would already be burning them. Never the less, Ron was too much of a pack rat and at this point he couldn't afford to be.

Just like Kim, Ron too was having problems, but his were a bit more severe. Ron's dad, Mr. Harold Stoppable, was dying. He had slowly been getting weaker and weaker during the summer. The doctors say his organs were all failing simultaneously.

A special operation is the only thing that can save him, but it will require huge sums of money. Even the rest of Ron's naco royalties wouldn't be enough to pay for it. If Ron didn't get some money fast, his dad would be dead by September. His mother was trying to stay positive, but each day she seemed to get more and more gloomy.

He knew this and tried his best to pick out stuff that he had no relationship to. He searched for anything he wouldn't care was gone and Rufus sat on a box eating some cheddar cheese. While searching, he came upon a ceramic statue of a woman holding a pot.

It stood three feet and was made to look like those statues in Greece. He brushed the dust of and gave it a quick look around. No marks, scratches, or chips. It was perfect, so perfect that Ron couldn't help himself.

He looked around and only saw Rufus, who gave him a quizzical look. He smiled and picked up the statue.

"May I have this dance KP? Yes? Oh I'm so happy." He began dancing with the statue, twisting and twirling it.

"My, my Kim you dance divinely. You're so light on your feet." He laughed and continued to play, but Rufus's barks jolted him to reality. "What's wrong Ruf-ahhhhhhhhsssssss!" He tripped over a box and crashed onto the floor, the statue with him.

The statue was in pieces. He tried to see if he could put them back together, but realized it was impossible. Now it was more like art that Picasso would make. Then he noticed something.

A rolled up piece of paper was inside the base of the broken statue. He unrolled it to reveal a portrait of a man in old fashion pirate clothes standing on the deck ship. The person looked just like him in every way. His blonde hair and freckles were uncanny. One of his arms seemed to be draped around something and another arm was over him shoulder, but the paper had been torn in half.

He did notice words on the bottom of the picture.

…nd Captain Andrew Stoppable

…let Maiden.

He was confused by the words. "Let Maiden? Why would he be captain of a ship called the Let Maiden?" He looked at Rufus who was staring at something else on the back.

He flipped it over to see a map. Red and blue specks dotted the paper and numbers were next to them. He didn't want to say it, but something inside him screamed treasure map.

He quickly rolled it back up, put it and Rufus, in his pocket and headed for Kim's house.

"She's going to love this."

Ron rounded the corner to Kim's house. He knew she was expecting him, so he didn't bother knocking and just opened the door. He collided with a red-haired figure.

"Ouch Ron! Don't you ever knock?" Kim rubbed her head.

"Sorry KP, I didn't know you were right behind the door."

Both teens helped each other up and remembered why they wanted to see the other.

"Oh! I have something amazing to show you, Kim." Ron's face lit up with excitement.

"Me too Ron," Kim replied, equally excited.

"Then you go first," Ron motioned.

"No, no you first," Kim replied.

No I insist, you first."

Deciding that they wouldn't get anywhere with this, they decided to show each other their surprise at the same time.

"Ready?" Kim asked.

"Always."

Together they counted. "One-two-three!"

Both their faces froze. At first neither spoke, but after the initial shock wore off they began to talk.

"Where did you get yours?" Ron asked.

"In the back of a mirror in the attic; you?"

"Same location, but mine was in a statue that broke; on accident." He looked around, trying not to look guilty.

Kim paid no attention to his glances and continued to look at the two pieces of paper. Then she wanted to see what the two halves looked like together. Both of them did so, the two teens put the two pieces together and read the now completed words out loud.

Captain Elizabeth Possible and Captain Andrew Stoppable

Of the Scarlet Maiden.

"This is beyond freaky," Kim said.

"You're telling me. What our the odds of this?" Ron was shivering.

"I think we need a second opinion." The two walked down the hall where Mr. and Mrs. Possible were in the kitchen organizing all the bills that hadn't been paid; which were basically all of them.. "Mom, Dad!"

The sound of paper rustling could be heard as James and Anne called the two teens in.

Mr. Possible smiled. "How's the garage sale coming Kimmie?" The table was covered with random sheets of papers and the occasional letter of notice from one of the many companies threatening to turn off something.

"We haven't found much, but the real reason we're here is to ask you something."

Ron and Kim showed the painting, "Have either of you guys seen this before?" Ron looked at the two doctors who seemed to have been taken by surprise.

They shifted in the seats and asked where they had found it. After they explained, Anne looked at her husband and spoke. "Ronald, is Carol home?"

"Mom? Yeah she just got back from the hospital."

"Good, you better call her and tell her what you found. Tell her to come over quickly."

As Ron used the phone Kim tried to ask her parents what was up, but neither would speak until Ron's mom arrived. She wasn't one for waiting, but Ron sitting next to her after he finished talking made it bearable.

Ten minutes later Carol Stoppable burst through the door with Hana in her arms. "Is it true? Did they find it?"

"Find what?" Jim and Tim popped their heads in after refitting the generator with better cooling systems, and a longer fuel cell.

"You two boys need to hear this too." James made room for his sons to sit. After everyone was comfortable at the table, James and Anne spoke.

"What we are about to tell you has been a closely guarded secret between our two families. It has been passed down from parent to child over the last three hundred years."

Kim and Ron grabbed each other's hand under the table.

"The story began in 1720 when the two people in this painting, our ancestors, Andrew Stoppable and Elizabeth Possible became pirates."

Rufus hopped out of Ron's pocket and sat on the table next to Ron and Kim. Jim and Tim, who usually would interrupt their parents with a barrage of questions, remained silent.

"They were born in a small town called Doolin, in Ireland. They had been friends since they were little, but it wasn't until they were teenagers that their love for each other blossomed."

Anne gazed at her husband for a moment, then continued.

"They were all poor and needed food, but prejudice towards the Irish and Jews prevented much needed money and supplied to come in. Andrew and Elizabeth felt that their government had betrayed them, so they acquired a ship and set sail. They were only seventeen, quiet a shock indeed; especially for being captains."

Hana made some gurgling noises as Carol spoke, "They called the ship the Scarlet Maiden because Andrew thought of Elizabeth as his red-haired maiden. They only went after treasure ships and government vessels. Most of the money would go to their families, and the village."

"But they kept some and buried it somewhere for treasure hunters to find," Jim interrupted finally.

"Yeah! But the treasure is probably cursed or something." The tweebs saw their parents and Mrs. Stoppable glaring at them. They just couldn't stay quiet for a few minutes. The tweebs quietly sank into their seats as Mr. Possible took over.

"Anyway, they plundered dozens of ships. Many sailors feared and respected them. For five years they evaded any government or bounty hunter ships. They boasted on having one of the fastest ships on the sea. Finally after securing their family and village's finances, the two decided to retire from piracy and live a simple life away from anyone else. However that didn't go as planned.

Somewhere in the Caribbean

1725

The ship rocked in the choppy seas as its occupants walked on the deck. Andrew Stoppable looked over his crewman working on the sails and tying rope together. He went down below to check on their course.

"How's our heading?" He looked over at the navigator working on a small table with maps and a compass.

The man looked up, his glasses falling down his nose. "We're making good time, and if the weather stays good, we should reach Jamaica in two days."

"That's good to hear." A pair of hands reached from out of the darkness and grabbed Andrew from behind.

"I thought you were sleeping." Andrew turned to see his lover, and co-captain, Elizabeth.

"I was too excited. In just two days we're about to live the good life. No more sailing, no more pirating, and no more ships trying to blow us out of the water. We can finally live the life we wanted Andy."

Elizabeth held him tightly, afraid that he might disappear if she let go.

"And then we can get married and have that child we talked about Lizzy."

Andrew saw his lover's face turn sour and ducked as a punch nearly took his head off.

"Don't call me that!" Elizabeth hated being called Lizzy, but Andrew sometimes couldn't help himself.

"You always call me Andy. What's wrong with me calling you Lizzy?"

"This!" She threw another punch, but Andrew caught it. He then gave her a kiss that stopped her cold.

"Feeling better?" He asked.

"I hate you," Elizabeth fumed, but started kissing him back.

"Not that I don't mind it, but could you please do it somewhere else. Maybe somewhere where you're not likely to destroy my maps!" The old man shook his hand at them.

The two captains giggled. They may be the captains, but this old man didn't mind exerting his seniority and opinions on everyone. That made him a very valuable crewmember.

Suddenly a crewman yelled, "Captains! We have three ships coming up on the horizon!"

Everyone scrambled up to the deck. Andrew and Elizabeth used their spyglasses to see if these ships were friends or foes.

They didn't have to wait long as the ships were revealed to be British Man-o-Wars. They started firing warning shots at the smaller ship.

"Captain, we need to flee. Those ships have sixty guns on them, at least," one crewman said.

"I agree," Andrew replied. "Unfurl the sails! We're going to outrun them!"

Elizabeth looked concerned, but Andrew's touch calmed her.

"Luckily those oversized barrels can't keep up with a sloop, like ours." Andrew's voice was cut off as the crewman in the crow's nest called out three more ships approaching.

Once again the two captains looked and were stunned to see three sloops, like theirs, approaching fast.

"They're smarter than we gave them credit for. This looks bad." Elizabeth ordered all sails to be let loose, and any unneeded weight disposed of.

Barrels, tables, chairs, and treasure they had pillaged were all tossed overboard, but the three sloops kept coming.

Andrew looked at Elizabeth, who seemed to know what he was thinking. She shook her head at him.

"No Andy, we're not going to try an fight them."

"You're right, we aren't, but I am."

This confused her for a second, but then she realized. "Absolutely not! I am not leaving you!"

"You need to, for our descendents. If we both die, then all we worked for will be for nothing. The secret must not reach the British's hands."

Elizabeth's eyes started to water as she held her true love's body. "I hate you!!" She screamed.

"I know you do," Andrew replied embracing her.

After their tender goodbye, the one and only rowboat they was set down; with Elizabeth in it. She waved goodbye to the crew and blew kisses to Andrew.

He kissed back and prayed she would make it out. As her image became more and more distant, Andrew went into full captain mode.

"Turn the ship around! Load the cannons! Let's show these scurvy dogs what we're made of!" The rest of the crew yelled in unison as they prepared for battle.

The three enemy sloops came straight towards the Scarlet Maiden. Andrew looked up at him crewman in the crow's nest and asked him how many men and guns they had.

"There are three guns on two ships, and five on the other one. They have maybe a dozen men to a ship."

The Scarlet Maiden had twelve guns and thirty men. They had the firepower, but on the seas anything was possible.

"Load chain shot!" Andrew barked.

The crew began putting cannon balls that were attached with chain into the cannons. They aimed carefully at the sails of the enemy ships. The sloops were almost next to the Scarlet Maiden when Andrew ordered the guns to fire. Powder ignited and the ships started firing at each other.

Andrew had to duck as a cannon ball nearly took his head off. Splinters rained down on the men. The crewman in the crow's nest fell from a musket ball hitting him.

Luckily one enemy sloop was disabled as their main mast collapsed due to the chain shot. Then the other two sloops sailed on either side of the Scarlet Maiden and fired. More splinters rained down on the crew; some embedding into the crew. Andrew then watched as several crewmembers from the sloops began boarding his ship.

He ordered a barrage of pistol and musket fire before unsheathing his cutlass and leading his men in a charge.

Metal clanged noisily and blood flowed on the deck. Andrew slashed and took out two enemies, but the sound of a pistol rang out. A sharp pain entered his shoulder as he turned to fire at the man who shot him. His aim was better.

He hobbled to the edge of the ship to see if he could spot Elizabeth, but at first all he saw was water. He feared she might have been spotted and shot at, but then he noticed a speck on the horizon.

His heart filed with joy as he saw a hint of red through his spyglass. She had made it through. With her out of harm's way he went into berserker mode. He slashed and shot at any enemies who dare face him.

After the fighting was over, Andrew and the rest of his crew looked to see the enemy sloops retreating. They all cheered in victory, but it was short lived.

A massive volley of cannon balls ripped into the Scarlet Maiden's hull. The three Man-o-Wars had finally caught up to them and were now in firing range. The men scrambled to return fire, but the overwhelming volley was too much.

All the cannons had been destroyed, the sails and rigging were ripped to shreds, and only Andrew and two others were left alive. They quickly ran down below as one of the Man-o-Wars sailed up next to the Scarlet Maiden and began boarding her.

The Captain of that ship smiled as his men grabbed any valuable they could before the Admiral and his ship arrived, but then a commotion could be heard below deck. The men started towards the cargo hold, but never made it as the entire ship exploded.

In a last act of defiance Andrew Possible and his last two crewmen set fire to the powder room. The Man-o-War next to the Scarlet Maiden was blown back with a gapping hole in its side. The men tried to pump the water out, but there was too much damage. It started to sink as men went overboard and began swimming away from the wrecked ship.

As the limping sloops and other Man-o-Wars began fishing men out of the water, the admiral in his blue uniform shook his head.

"I guess I should've expected them not to surrender. Now it'll be even tougher trying to find their treasure."

A crewman approached him and whispered something in his ear. He grimaced.

"Salvage what you can and get the men out of the water as quickly as possible! More ships are approaching, probably heard the explosion. We'll gather what we can and hopefully find the map…"

"So Elizabeth was the only survivor?" asked Kim.

Carol nodded. "Yes, it took her two day for anyone to find her. She went under a false name and was able to get back to Doolin, but shortly after arriving she got very sick. It was too much for her to bear; she couldn't live without Andrew."

Ron's hand tightened around Kim's. She looked at him with reassuring eyes. His hand loosened.

James spoke, "But she still needed to reveal the secret she and Andrew had tried to keep. The secret that Andrew, and soon Elizabeth, would die for. On her deathbed, she called for her brother and Andrew's sister. There she told them this…"

"Thomas. Susan. I want to give you something."

She hands them a piece of paper. They open it to see a portrait of her and Andrew on the deck of the Scarlet Maiden, when they first set sail to become pirates. On the back was a map.

"We are a tightly knit family. Even though Andrew and I never got to marry, we always thought of our families as one. On the back is a map to a treasure that Andy and I kept safe and hidden. We only gave you most of the money, but the rest we kept in a secret place; known only to this map. I want you to keep it safe because only when another Possible and Stoppable fall in love, will the treasure be needed."

She motioned for them to give her the map. She tore it into two identical halves.

"Each of you take your piece and hide it. Tell your children about our story when they come of age. And keep the secret in the family…"

"So that's what this is? A treasure map?" asked Ron.

Anne nodded. "Yes, this map is the only one of its kind. It details the location of the treasure that Andrew and Elizabeth kept for a future generation to find. Somehow they knew that one day they would need it. We would've told you about this sooner, but the current situation prevented us."

Kim's eyes lit up. "This is it Ron. This is how we can save our families. With this money, we can pay the debts we have and pay for that operation to save your dad."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me, but where do we start?"

"The dots on the map are your markers. They are numbered for you. You first reach a blue marker where you will find a clue. This clue will help you when you get to a red marker. The red markers contain something that will help you, but we don't know what." Mr. Possible pointed to the dots. "The blue markers are odd because you go to them first. The red markers are even because you go to them second; after the blue marker."

Kim and Ron nodded in understanding. Rufus stood over the map inspecting it. He then noticed something and barked at the two teens.

They bent down and noticed that some of the blue dots seemed to have been recently painted. This was confusing at first, but their parents explained.

"Over the years, the clues for the blue markers were relocated to different spots for safety. Then their location would be painted and the old location erased. Only the blue dots were changed; the red spots have remained." Hana laughed and giggled in Mrs. Stoppable's arms as she pointed at the map.

"I guess we have a mission on our hands KP. Wade's going to love this."

Kim looked at her parents. For all these years they kept this a secret. Only when she and Ron fell in love did the map reveal itself to them. But her parents very easily could've taken the map out and used it to find the treasure themselves. Obviously they trusted their children to find it.

After giving them a big hug, and assurance that they would find the treasure of their ancestors Team Possible set out.

Jim and Tim wanted to come, but Kim ordered them to stay and keep the house running with water and electricity. Plus the fewer people on this mission the better. They were looking for a treasure and treasure hunters, or the media could get involved.

That was the last thing they needed. For that Kim and Ron decided to wear everyday clothes, so not to attract attention. If they arrived in mission clothes someone would suspect something.

They briefed Wade on everything. He was gun ho about this. He knew how badly Kim and Ron needed to find this treasure. He also made it a little easier for them by photocopying the map and giving them a whole copy; with the portrait included. It was much easier than holding two pieces together.

Wade would also tell them the locations of the blue and red dots and any Intel they needed. Basically he was their second set of eyes and ears.

But just when they were about to leave Wade called them up.

"Hey guys, mind a small side trip?"

"Sure Wade, who's causing trouble?" asked Kim.

Drakken, he's doing something in England. According to the energy readings, it looks like he might be planning something under the streets of London."

"We'll be there in a jiffy Wade." Kim turned the Kimmunicator off.

"Ready KP?" Ron asked as he hopped into the Sloth car.

Kim smiled as she gunned the engine. "Let's go." With that, the rockets lifted them up into the sky.

To Be Continued…

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Just a few points, a sloop was small ship used by pirates back then. It usually only had a dozen guns or so, but it was very fast and agile.

For any landlubbers out there, once you put a cannon on a ship it is called a gun. Even though the people on the ships called them cannons too. The Man-o-Wars were the titan ships of the day. They carried at least sixty guns; some even had a hundred.

Chain shot was used to take out the sails and rigging of a ship to disable it. It was mainly two cannon balls attached by a piece of chain.

Now what will happen as Kim and Ron search for the treasure of Elizabeth and Andrew?

Look forward to the next chapter and please review; I appreciate it. KingOAnime.