The Trinity Sitch – Book 4: Heart of the Fury
Chapter 1: Games People Play
Ron burst out the door of the odd little chemist's house at a dead run, stuffing the potion into the folds of his tunic. There was no time to waste, as the concoction he was carrying, which was made from something called an 'eyeball frog,' would spoil quickly. This was it, the final leg of a series of complicated tasks and trades. The reward for his toils lay just ahead. He only needed to deliver the medicine in time!
He frantically looked about, wondering where his horse had gotten to. Probably cropping grass someplace nearby. He couldn't cover the distance running and there were several obstacles which required his steed but he didn't have time to look for her. Ron pulled a small, bulbous wind instrument from his green tunic, put it to his lips and blew a six note tune on it. Instantly the horse responded to his call, appearing just a few steps away, her head dipping in greeting. He mounted and they were off at a full gallop.
The chemist's lab was on the shore of a vast lake where a shallow canyon widened. The narrows at this end of the canyon formed a sort of road leading away from the lake. He spurred the horse to full speed, knowing she would only make the leap if they were going fast enough and approached at the correct angle. Sure enough, at the mouth of the canyon was a wall. It wasn't much of a wall, more of a fence than anything else, but he had learned early on that it could not be climbed except with a ladder hidden on the far side. There was not time for that now, the clock was ticking.
He had to time it perfectly. There were two fences to clear and if he hesitated the horse would stop and there would be no room to pick up speed to make another run at it. It wouldn't matter anyway, if he missed he would not have time to complete the rest of the journey.
They sailed up and over the first fence, his horse making the leap like a champion steeplechaser. He counted two beats of her hooves and spurred her onwards toward the second fence.
They were up and over the fence and it was off to the races!
He was glad the sun was up and shining. It would not be wise to attempt crossing the open lands at night. There were too many things that lay in wait, dark things, even ghosts waiting to waylay the unwary traveler. Even as he crested the rise that would take him past a large dairy and horse ranch (that was where he had won his mare in a game of skill!) one of the more brazen spirits appeared, heedless of the daylight, ineffectively hurling fireballs at him as he raced past.
Changing direction, he headed around the north end of the ranch, spotting a narrow wooden bridge in the distance. It was the only way across a peaceful, tiny river as his horse would not venture into the water and on foot it would carry him too far downstream before he could climb out. She finally came to a stop at the mouth of the pass leading into the mountains. This was as far as the horse would carry him. He made a running dismount as she stopped and sprinted up the carved steps at full speed.
Ahead of him the village gates lay open and no one spoke to him as he raced between the homes and shops of the small mountain town. He made a hard left, racing up a ramp that led to a terrace above the northern end of the town. The northern gate lay just in front of him.
The soldier who once guarded the gate was now gone and the gate itself hung at an odd angle, obviously beyond repair as it had been smashed by some unknown force. He left the relative peace of the village behind as he climbed the trail into the rocky heights. He caught sight of his eventual destination, the tall cone of a fiery volcano, the summit itself wreathed in flame.
A trio of crab-like creatures barred his path. There was no time to draw his sword and fight them. He raced up to the first one and dodged right as it jumped into the air. That was the secret to getting past them, they would only attack if you got too close and fortunately they would not pursue you past a certain point. Leaving the monsters behind he got to the far left of the trail, anticipating the ambush from one more of the creatures hiding around the bend. He rounded the turn, passing by an entrance to a cavern, climbing even higher. The road forked and he took the one leading higher once more, climbing and jumping up a series of ledges as if they were giant steps.
Time was growing short!
He made his way down the last pass before the final climb to the summit. A deep rumbling announced the newest danger. Semi-molten boulders crashed around him as the mountain spewed death. The best way to escape harm here was to crouch with your shield still slung on your back, letting the rocks bounce off, but that would take too much time. He took a few minor hits but managed to drop and roll past the worst of it. Above him the enraged mountain spewed red death! He kept up the pace, always pushing forward.
His time was almost up. The potion was about to spoil!
He reached the wall, the mountain itself so steep the debris could no longer reach him. Here was the final climb! Out of the folds of his oddly voluminous tunic he produced a device very much like his familiar Team Possible grappler. It was a spring loaded mechanism that would fire spiked hook attached to a length of lightweight chain. It could be used both to pull him up towards a ledge or to pull small objects back to him. This time he would do neither, as the hook would not attach itself to solid rock.
Firing it twice in rapid succession he dispatched two ugly spiders the size of his head. He was forced to duck when another of the crab creatures dropped from a hidden ledge above.
The time was nearly gone. Soon the eyeball frog concoction would go bad and all of this would be for naught. He climbed for all he was worth. Only one obstacle remained. A third spider, hidden from view at the bottom and too high to destroy with the hookshot was waiting for him near the top. One bite and he would fall back to the base of the wall, ending his quest. There was no time to jump to the ledge and shoot it so he climbed past it, timing his move so it was facing the other way. The spider spied him a moment too late, missing him as he achieved the summit.
There were only seconds to spare!
A horrible moaning sound echoed over the top of the mountain as something large, no, make that huge rose above the crater rim. The thing was roughly man-shaped with an enormous round head. It seemed to be made both of flesh and of stone. Long arms the size of large trees unfolded as the painful moaning continued.
The monster did not attack, it just sat there rubbing its eyes in misery and discomfort.
Ron pulled the potion from his tunic and offered it to the gigantic creature. With surprising gentleness the bottle was taken from his hand. It tilted its head back and let a drop fall in each eye with an inordinately loud PLOINK, PLOINK followed by a drawn out "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Then it turned to Ron and smiled.
Finally at the end of his quest, Ron relaxed as the cut-scene played itself out. Just as he did so a tiny ball of light with glowing, fluttering wings sprang from a fold in his floppy forest hat.
"You need to go see Saria at the Forest Temple" the fairy said in her tiny little fairy voice. Ron swatted at it irritably, knowing that the little pest would try to put him back on his destined track. He also knew by heart what she would say, so most of the time he just ignored her.
"Ron, stop that!" she commanded as he nearly connected with her. That got his attention, Navi usually only addressed him straight from her script.
He took another look at the glowing creature.
Normally she looked just like a glowing ball of light with tiny insect-like wings. Now he could see he in much clearer detail. She was a tiny, slender woman just four inches tall, pulsing with inner light. She was wearing a teensy little green dress and had flaming red hair that swirled around her head as she flew. Normally he considered her to be the most beautiful thing in the world, but right now she was scowling with her hands on her hips.
"You're cheating, aren't you?" Kim did her best to tap, tap, tap her foot even though she was hovering at eye level.
"Nope, this game doesn't even have cheat codes. You've got to play it fair. Just so happens, I know what I'm doing!" He boasted.
"Uh, huh! Then how is it you're about to get the honking big final sword before you even go to the first temple-level?"
He stuck his tongue out at her. "So not cheating. I figured this trick out all by myself."
She smiled at him. "Suuuure you did, Ronnie." He smiled too, now knowing she wasn't mad and was taking him at his word. She flew around the back of his head, landing on his shoulder, caressing his large, pointed ear.
"Ohhhhh, mannnn! This never happened when I played this game in 2-D!"
"Oooo, if you're a really good boy I'll have Wade switch me over to the fish girl who's so in love with you." She nuzzled his ear, almost making his eyes roll back in his head, almost, that is, until he realized what she had just said.
"Oh, ew, ew, ewwwwwwww! Sick and wrong, KP, sick and wrong!"
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Ron on this one, Kim." Spoke the gigantic creature in Wade's voice. "Link and Ruto together? Ug!" He held a mini-van sized fist out to Ron, the monstrous sword looking like a toothpick in it. "Here you go Ron, the Biggoron Sword, yours fair and square!"
"Cooooooool!" He said, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. He brandished the weapon, having to use both hands since it was so large. "Booyah!"
"Bad news on that trick, though. A guy in North Carolina posted it all the way back in 1999, though I'm willing to bet the gaming community figured it out back when the game was first published, but kudos to you for figuring it out on your own." Wade's image shifted, Biggoron turning into a fifty foot tall African-American teen with a tiny beard on his chin.
"Whoa! Wade, dude, you're tall enough already!" Ron said, looking up at his friend.
"I take it this is a good stopping place?" Kim asked.
"Yeah, I can pick this up tomorrow night and take on the Forest Temple."
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Kim was now standing beside him, full sized but still in the badical mini-dress. Pointed ears stuck up through her hair.
"Oooo, my bad KP. Can't miss pizza-night with the 'rents!"
"No big, but if you're going to stay in Mom's good graces you'd better remember in the future. Nothing like a family meal that she doesn't have to spend all afternoon in the kitchen preparing!"
The three of them reached up to their heads. The mountain top wavered and disappeared, leaving them in a plain room with grid work walls. They put the immersion helmets back onto their cradles as the game system shut down.
"That was so badical, Wade! I can't wait until you have the other games coded into the system."
"That all depends on how much free time I've got, but most of the Link fans consider this the best of the series."
"Got that right!" Ron agreed.
"So, what's up tonight? Bueno Nacho? Burger Prince?" Wade asked, scooting his wheeled desk chair back over to his computer console.
"Hmm, maybe a little more of the game. I always got this vibe about Link and the little redhead at the ranch." Ron said, wagging his eyebrows as he looked at his wife.
"I think we'd better wait until I can set up some immersion helmets at you guy's apartment before you two start playing R-rated Zelda." Wade said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh no you don't" Kim said with a smile. "It's bad enough Ron figured out we can get a cable signal over our T-1 landline. How about a rain-check on tonight. I've got to meet with the thesis committee in the morning, plus Ron's got an early day driving out to Bueno Nacho headquarters."
Kim was proud of her new husband. He was in training to become the youngest district manager in Bueno Nacho history. It didn't hurt that he had been instrumental in saving the company, first from Drakken, then by inventing their newest ultra-popular item – the Naked Molé Wrap (yes, it looks gross beyond all reason!) Or course, the battle at the headquarters building half a decade earlier helped his cred with the re-organized company, but in the end it was his innate skill with fast food that earned him his new position.
Oddly enough, it didn't bother her the least that Ron was the first of them to have a true career.
Kim was in the process of starting graduate school, on track first for her masters and eventually a doctorate in international diplomacy. It was perhaps a good thing she had finally put her 'save the world' gig on hiatus, at least for the time being.
Their senior year at Middleton College had been a rude awakening. No matter how accommodating the faculty was of their lifestyle, the work load was just too demanding for them to be called away for every emergency. The first semester had her in danger of falling to a B level for the first time in her academic career. Ron was actually in danger of failing! A long, drawn out meeting of the entirety of Team Possible, held at Global Justice headquarters led to the announcement neither of them thought they would ever make. They were stepping down as the primary TP field agents, at least until they finished their studies.
Jim, Tim, Joss (who had moved from Montana to Middleton and now lived in the guest room of her old house up till the wedding, when she moved into Kim's old room) Doctor Director and even Wil Du all applauded when Kim finished her speech. What they thought would be a sad moment turned into a heartwarming show of support for the two as they took the next step in their lives.
Well, until Agent Du made an off-hand comment that a certain 'amateur' had finally grown up, to which Ron countered with a suggestion why a certain 'top agent' had been passed over for the position of Assistant Director.
Their priorities back in place, they graduated with Kim placing at the top of her class and Ron finishing quite respectfully. The celebration was interrupted by Duff Killagin trying once more to spread some kind of mutant golfing turf, but that mission proved to be nothing more than a mere distraction.
In fact, it was really kind of fun!
That was followed by a wedding that proved to be the social event of Middleton that summer. It was held on Independence day, the reception timed so they could enjoy the annual fireworks display.
"There's still fireworks." Ron said that night, remembering when she had said that to him when they had the first inkling about the true feelings they had for each other.
Kim still smiled at that. Than, and the fact that, sitting near the back of the sanctuary was another newly married couple who had once been her arch foes. Wil Du almost had to be restrained from arresting Drew and Sherry Lipsky on sight!
It was still ferociously weird that Shego's daughter was her flower girl!
"Come on, KP. We can still do Bueno Nacho and be home in plenty of time."
"Yeah, Kim. It's my treat!" Wade said.
"Oh, all right, but straight home afterwards." She smiled at two of the most important people in her life.
Four years earlier:
Though it was incredibly slow in coming, realization came indeed to Drew Lipsky, better known to the rest of the world as Doctor Drakken; Shego was not coming to break him out. Not this time. Worst of all, he knew it was really his fault. He had seen it in her eyes before she escaped the clutches of Kim Possible and her friends.
He also saw something in the way she looked at that pudgy young man who had aided in their capture. When if finally dawned on him what he had seen it was like somebody shoved a knife in his gut. He could see her looking that way at the hotties she seemed to normally prefer but this guy was just so plain! He spent most of the several weeks it took the authorities to figure out what to with him this time trying to puzzle out why he felt that way.
His escape after the Diablo fiasco was pure and utter brilliance. The Drakken and Shego Synthodrones were already online when Global Justice hauled them away, secreted among the human-looking henchmen arrested along with them. A quick swap of clothing and the only real humans in the paddy wagon were disguised as simple goons. Later, the false Shego, in an apparent rage, destroyed all the remaining synthetics, covering their escape. The ruse worked, lasting all the way through the trial and deep into the summer. It held up right to the point when he was ready to start 'outsourcing' his 'take-over-the-world' technology again.
Drakken's duplicate had the same personality and performance upgrades the "Erik" drone possessed, allowing it to survive the rigors of prison far better than he would have himself. His confidence boosted, he made his move, coming out of hiding to steal a hyper-advanced weapons system. Whether it was his brazen challenge to fate, the law of averages rising up to bite him or just an extremely unfortunate coincidence, the drone was revealed when another prisoner stabbed it with a shank. The Synthodrones had one fatal flaw; if the outer husk was broken, the internal matrix broke down, turning the whole thing into viscous yellow-green syntho-goo.
If only he had thought of a way to reinforce the husk with Kevlar! The problems of making it flexible enough to appear human managed to occupy his mind for a little while. At least until he thought about Shego again.
What was it about her anyway? She was utterly insubordinate, stubborn, sarcastic and had a sadistic streak a mile wide. Whenever he really tried to pin it down all he could come up with was the fact she was extremely attractive, especially when she wasn't scowling! That wasn't much help, either, since it seemed her face was locked in just such an expression most of the time. Even when she had been under the sway of Cyrus Bortel's Moodulator she resorted to threats when he spurned her advances, even with it was stuck on 'love.'
Three weeks after his re-capture, the courts finally decided what they had to do. At first it seemed like he would simply be returned to the super-secure facility where they had incarcerated the drone. That would mean, without the possibility of his erstwhile assistant breaking him out, he would be imprisoned for a long, long time. Then his lawyers had come up with this 'brilliant' notion that, since it was a synthetic Drakken who was tried, he had never actually been convicted of the attempt to take over the world using cybertronic fast-food toys. They hoped they could keep him out of jail while they set up another trial.
Unfortunately, in the long run the court decided his lawyers were quite right. He must be retried!
This time, however, they would not put his trial on the fast track. It would be scheduled along with any other crimes of its type. The arraignment was quickly held and it quickly became apparent the lawyer's plan was backfiring. He was ordered held without bond. Next thing he knew he was taken back to the very facility he had hoped to avoid, it being the only place they could hold him with a reasonable expectation his accomplice would not be able to break him out. He knew Shego wasn't coming, but they certainly didn't and they wouldn't have taken the chance if they did.
Now, more than a year later, he was still being held there, waiting as endless hearings, appeals and more hearings were held, each time forcing him to endure being transported to the nearest federal court, being stuffed into a dull, itchy suit, sat down while a bunch of hungry sharks in human clothing prattled on and on about some obscure point, then sending him back to the prison without even saying a word in his defense. The worst part was before leaving and when he got back undergoing a battery of tests to determine that he was indeed the very human Drew Lipsky. The government was dotting every "I" and crossing every "t" this time, not wanting any foul-ups.
The process was further delayed by endless extradition hearings, as just about every sovereign nation on Earth wanted their chance to try him. The thought of what might happen to him in some court systems outside of the United States frightened him wildly. He was seriously considering pleading guilty so he could be locked up in a nice (relatively) safe American prison, just to keep him out of some of the less savory prisons of the planet.
In what may have been one of the saner moments of his life, he began to question whether it was really worth it to try and take over the world.
Only, that made him remember a certain voice saying "He's actually learning."
Even making a left-handed compliment, that voice tore at him.
"You love her, don't you?" said a soft, slightly accented voice.
"What? Who's there?" He looked around his cell. It was past lights out and everything was deep in shadow. The voice had not come from outside but from the back wall.
A stranger stepped out of the shadows. He wasn't a guard or another prisoner, that was obvious. He was dressed in rich but strange clothing, wearing a dark navy colored tunic and dark red pants stuffed into folded leather boots. A short cape of dark red was joined by a short length of chain across his chest. His long, dark brown hair framed a face that looked like it had been chiseled from marble but his most striking feature were his eyes. Even in the darkness the blue pupils seemed to glitter with a light all their own.
"This woman? You love her?"
"That's none of your business, whoever you are." He growled. Drakken was actually considering calling for the guard.
The stranger smiled at him and held something out toward him. "What do you know about magic?"
"Magic? There's no such thing. I am a man of science. What people think is magic is just science that hasn't been explained yet." He said derisively.
Slender eyebrows went up. "That's a surprisingly open-minded view of things. You're right, one day your science may explain just how all of this works." He placed the object in Drakken's hands.
It was a book, bound in scaly leather the color of blood. The pages seemed to be made of parchment rather than paper. Strange letters in gold leaf adorned the cover. A great lock held it shut.
"What is this?" Drakken asked.
"That is a grimoire. It is a lesser copy of a text known to my people as The Book of Arkon. Inside are detailed instructions and explanations of how much of our magic works. It is the key to the next step in your destiny."
"My wha?" his face was rapidly changing from anger to confusion.
"Your fate is entwined with the woman you call Shego. You have the ability to decipher what this tome has to teach you. It will guide you in becoming her protector and champion. She has an important part to play in the future of this world…and another."
"What does this have to do with me? I've lost her forever because of the way I treated her. She'd as soon kill me as look at me now."
The stranger laughed, pulling a small stone statue from his cloak. "I think your bond with her is stronger than you know."
There was a surge of red light in the cell. A swirling vortex formed behind the stranger and he motioned for Drakken to join him. "Quickly now. I have cloaked us to this prison's surveillance, but it will not last long."
"No, I am done with that!"
"I don't have time for this!" the man growled, grabbing Drakken by his orange jumpsuit. "For now we must leave this place."
"Mommy!" he whimpered as he was shoved into the crimson maelstrom.
a/n - if you're a bit confused, check out They Say Everyone Has a Twin, Soulmates of the Fury and Blade of the Fury, along with the interludes to get filled in with the rest of the story. There's a lot going on that has been building over the course of the story.
What Ron was doing in The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time is quite real. If you go ahead and get the horse, Epona, as soon as Link is older, you can jump the bridge and complete the tasks to get the Biggoron Sword (the ultimate weapon of the game!) before he goes to any of the temples! (I haven't tried it yet in the "Master's Quest" version!)