A/N Ok this fic is an adaption of a movie (and the script) called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind staring Jim Carrey (check it out it's good). It was pretty freaking hard to write too because I had to capture the essence of the movie/script and the KP characters.
I think I was decently successful in doing that (there is a bit of OOCness). And I tried to write this in a really simplistic style because well I thought the story flowed better that way. So enjoy. This is a one shot and actually my first non "Ron-Centric" fic
To him, it looks like every other waiting room in every other doctor's office that he had ever been in; dated magazines on the end tables, a really dried out potted plant in the corner, and generic paintings of beaches and sailboats on the wall. Rom thumbs through a few magazines when the receptionist, a cute petite blond, approaches him.
"May I help you?"
He takes a deep breath. "I've got a three o'clock appointment with Dr. Mnemosyne."
She checks her clipboard. "Yes, come with me."
The receptionist leads Ron down a narrow hallway with more generic paintings lining the walls.
"So how are you today?" she asks with professional courtesy.
He smiles, a twinkle still in his seemingly weary eyes. "I have seen better days, that's for sure."
"Here we are." They enter Mnemosyne's office, and the doctor steps out from behind his desk.
"Mr. Stoppable, welcome."
Ron walks in and the receptionist closes the door behind him, leaving him and the doctor alone in the room.
"Would you please have a seat." Mnemosyne directs Ron to a chair before his desk. Ron sits down and his gaze falls onto a conveniently placed box of tissues on the coffee table besides his chair.
"How are you today?"
He shrugs. "I've been better."
Mnemosyne points to the tape recorder on his desk. "You don't mind if I turn this on, do you?"
"Nah I'm cool……" he sighs.
"Why don't you tell me what's going on?
"Okay, I broke up with my G.F."
"GF?"
"My, uh, longtime girlfriend, she'd been part of my life forever, and I mean forever. We met when I was four and were best friends for the next twelve years. Then things began to change."
"For the better?"
"Yes…..yes it was. But right now it doesn't really feel that way, you know?"
Mnemosyne nods patiently. He seems attentive, pleasant, though the doctor's complete neutrality disturbs Ron a little.
Ron ran his hands across the back of his neck. "Maybe I've seen too many movies. You know, the Sleepless in Seattle's, the Harry Met Sally's, maybe I've got a completely unrealistic view on what a relationship is or should be. But man, I thought...I could have sworn this was a forever-ever-thing. I know I'm not the brightest guy in the world but I just thought….." Ron lowers his head and turns his gaze away from the good doctor.
"I think I understand. I believe we can help. Why don't you start by telling me more about your relationship? Everything you can think of, everything about her, everything about you. And we'll take it from there."
Ron reflects on the question. "Well, first of all, she's the neat one in the relationship."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Two months later: Upperton Train Station
From the platform bench, Kim watches as the business commuters stuff themselves into an already packed train. They push and squeeze for any inch of space they can get, and not one of them seems to be having a comfortable experience.
The train doors somehow manage to close, and it slowly begins to depart.
I'm supposed to be on that train.
She doesn't move an inch from her seat.
The train pulls out in a roar, as Kim glances around. The platform is empty; she's apparently the only one left. She reaches into her backpack, pulls out a tiny 7x5 inch notebook, and begins to write.
March 15th I missed my train today….well I didn't really miss it. I wasn't late I just didn't feel like getting on. I was supposed to meet Monique and Jake downtown. Monique's been trying to set me up with Jake for awhile because I've been in a bit of a weird funk for like a month now. I just keep dropping in and out of these phases of depression, and I have no idea why. I've never really been depressed before and it's a strange experience. I saw a documentary on rodents on Animal Planet last week and I just started crying. I didn't stop crying until the show ended, and I'm not really a crier. Last night, mom said people naturally go through these phases in different periods of their life. Anyway I guess Monique thinks Jake can get me through this, keep my mind off what's bugging me. Whatever that is…
An almost empty train pulls into the station.
Jake is alright I guess…reminds me a bit of Josh from high school, handsome, artistic, cool…a little too into himself…a wee bit dull…..maybe not dull but guys like that are a dime a dozen I think….The weird thing is, I would have been all over this guy in high school….I wonder what's changed since then?
NEXT STOP MIDDLETON
Kim looks up from her notebook and glimpses at the train. She stands up, and steps forward. The train doors begin to close, and she panics. She sprints towards the train and manages to stick her arm in between the doors. They immediately pop back open and she slides through. The door closes and through the dirty window she watches as the train slowly slips away from the empty station.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Train: Later
I'm on my way to Middleton and I have no idea why. No one would be home, my parents are away and my brothers should be in school. Maybe I just need to get away from Upperton for at least a day. Maybe I can figure out what's wrong with me. I feel kind of bad about ditching Monique but I'm pretty sure this thing with Jake wouldn't work out. Just like the thing with Patrick. I'll just tell her I had a mission and I couldn't get back in time. I'll tell her I was somewhere far like Japan.
Kim pauses for a moment.
I don't remember having a mission there but something about Japan just got to me. There's something about Japan I should know but I'm drawing a blank.
She stops when a drop of liquid falls onto the page. She instinctively cranes her neck towards the ceiling but after a quick inspection she realizes there is no leak.
"Where did this water coming from?"
Unconsciously, she traces her hand across her face and discovers the trail of liquid that the tear had left on her cheek.
"What's wrong with me?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bright Horizons Children Center: Middleton Pre-K
Kim leans against the fence encircling the preschool's playground. The wind howls around her and she shivers before reaching once again for her notebook.
I haven't been here in years. All of my memories of pre-k are vague at best. I doubt I can remember any of my teacher's names. It's weird, but I feel that something important happened here. Or maybe not. If it was so important, I would have remembered it, right? I've always had a pretty good memory.
She glances up, and spots a male figure walking into the playground with a duffel bag in his hand. He wears a red hooded sweatshirt and brown cargo pants. She sees strands of blond hair peeking through his hood. He walks towards the jungle gym, stops, and stares at it.
Another cold breeze sends chills up and down her back. "On to the next stop of the tour," she mutters to herself.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bueno Nacho: Later that day
She was starving and something in her was screaming for some Bueno Nacho.
"Kim, it's been awhile" Ned says with a smile.
He knows my name? Okay, that's not so far fetched, I am kind of famous…Better just let it slide.
"Hi, I'll have a Caesar salad."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
She turns towards the voice. And to her surprise, there standing behind her is the boy she had seen in the park earlier.
What a coincidence.
"And why not?" she asks curiously.
"Haven't you heard the reports of people getting sick off the lettuce being used in fast food restaurants? There's like an epidemic of food poisoning that's being linked to lettuce leaves."
'This is news to me, where did you see these reports?"
"America's Food Weekly. It's an independent newsletter dedicated to disclosing all the latest fast food news 'the man' doesn't want you to know about."
"There's a newsletter dedicated to Bueno Nacho and other fast food places?" she asks surprised.
She notices the mischievous twinkle in his hazel eyes. "There better be, I've been sending in editorials for the past three weeks. It would be a shame if I was wasting my time."
"Okay, what are the chances I get some of this tainted lettuce?"
"You don't want to know, just be glad you're not a rabbit." He takes a gander at the menus up on the wall. "If I cared about what I was putting into my body, I would go with the fruit parfait instead of the salad."
"That sounds pretty good actually." Kim turns to Ned who had remained surprisingly speechless throughout their conversation. "I'll have the fruit parfait."
"I..." he looks at Kim, and then back at the boy, and suddenly he's on the verge of tears. "I can't do this…." He sniffs. "Joe, you're wanted at register three," Ned shouts into the microphone besides the register, before running off.
"What's the deal with him?"
The blond shakes his head. "Poor guy has always been a little off."
The employee known as Joe arrives, takes Kim's order and hands it to her a minute or so later.
She turns to the blond young man "thanks for the heads up."
"Glad to help."
Kim steps off the line and walks away. He glances sideways at her before stepping up to the register.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Train:
"HmmMmmm…..So I don't mind if they don't understand, when I look at you and you hold my hand - 'Cause they don't know about us….and they've never heard of love."
Stupid songs stuck in my brain
Kim sings under her breath in the far end of the empty car while she scribbles various notes in her diary. She tears her face from the notebook just as the doors between cars opens and the boy from Bueno Nacho enters. He picks out a seat on the opposite end of the car. He settles there for a second before turning his head towards her.
Kim looks out the window. The train lurches forward, she checks out the slowly passing, densely wooded area outside.
She can feel him watching her.
"Hey," he calls out over the roar of the train.
She looks over at him. "Excuse me?"
He sighs, stands up, and makes his way down the aisle towards her. "Um, is it okay if I sit here?" He points to a seat close to her.
"Um..."
He stops in the middle of the car. "I don't want to bug you or anything, I just wanted to ask you something."
"Go right ahead."
He takes a seat. "Hi, I'm Ron Stoppable."
"Nice to meet you Ron, I'm Kim Possible."
"Kim Possible," he repeats softly. "Uh Kim, I don't usually walk up to girls like this but, um, have we met before?"
She blinks a few times. "How weird, I was getting that same vibe from you."
"Really, do you shop at Smarty Mart? I work there... well, I used to work there."
Kim shakes her head indignantly. "I wouldn't be caught dead shopping ther…" she catches herself mid sentence. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that…."
Ron nods. "Yeah, you did, but don't worry about it. I kind of have a roll with the punches attitude towards life."
"No offense but Smarty Mart is just so…"
"Discounty?" He says finishing her sentence.
"Right, that's exactly what I was thinking."
"You shop at Club Banana, dontcha?"
"Of course…..What was that?"
"What was what?"
"That smirk, you smirked when I said I shop at Club Banana."
"I hate to sound like a commercial but the thing is, you can get a lot of the same clothes at Smarty Mart for a cheaper price."
"Uh no, they are so not the same clothes. There are major differences between Club Banana and Smarty Mart merch."
Ron chuckles. "You're kind of a retail snob."
"I am so not…." A massive wave of deja-vu washes over her.
"Are you sure you weren't at Smarty Mart a few weeks ago? I could swear I saw you there."
"Sorry, but I'm pretty sure I have not been in a Smart Mart recently."
"Huh."
"Maybe you saw someone who looked like me?"
He rests his chin on his hands. "You're famous right? You've been on T.V?"
"A couple of times, you know, for saving the world and stuff."
"Kim Possible, saving the world, that does ring a bell…..You do it alone?"
"Actually a super genius friend of mine helps me out with a robotic sidekick. Though it'll malfunction every once in a while, then it's all me. Sometimes I wish I had a dependable person made of flesh watching my back."
"Right" He nods as he continues to stare intently at her.
"Is there something wrong?"
"No, no," he says quickly jumping too his feet. "Anyway I'm sorry I bothered you."
'No, it's fine."
"I probably have been very annoying," he makes a move to leave.
"Hmm…you don't….seem annoying," she says quickly.
He stops. She continues. "At least not on the surface," she tells him jokingly.
"Oh, so what do I seem like?"
"You seem…..nice."
"Nice, what does that even mean?" he snickers. "I kind of wish you said I seem like a jerk, at least that would be a definite answer."
"What's wrong with nice?"
"It's so noncommittal, there's nothing special about nice. When people see something nice they go 'oh that's nice' and then they walk away from it. I mean, will you really miss someone or something who is just nice?"
"Fine, you're not nice, you're uh…" she searches her mind for an adjective no one would object too. "You're normal."
"Normal, I'm not normal."
"Really?"
"Never be normal, that's my motto!"
"Huh,"
"Yeah," Ron replies as he struggles with a wave of deja vu
The conductor enters the car, and Kim hands him her ticket. The conductor punches it and hands it back. Ron follows suit. When the conductor heads to the next car, Ron gets up to his feet.
"Thanks for letting me sit down, and for the chat, and for calling me nice. The truth is I really have no problem with being called nice. I'm perfectly fine with nice."
"No big."
Another pause "Okay, I'll just….well bye." He walks back down the aisle to his original seat. He sits down and stares out the window.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"432 Eastern Plaza."
Kim settles in the backseat as the cab jerks forward into traffic. She is about to reach into her back pack again when the cab passes by Ron, who is sitting alone on a bus stop bench.
She can see him shivering from the cold.
"Stop the car." The cab comes to a halt and she rolls down the window. "Hey, you want to share a cab?"
Ron's head swivels from the left to the right. "You're talking to me?"
"Are you serious, there's no one else there."
He blushes, he's clearly embarrassed. "I just didn't want to assume anything."
"Are you coming or not?"
"Oh okay, yeah, that's great." He grabs his duffel bag and hustles towards the cab.
Kim slides over when he enters. "Thanks, I don't know if I could have lasted another minute out there."
"Where to?" she asks.
"Oh 163 Bergen Street," he announces to the cab driver.
"Bergen Street, that's a nice neighborhood."
"My best friend lives there. I'm spending a couple of weeks with him before I move to Japan."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I got some kind of important 'job' lined up over there. I don't see a lot of prospects for me here in the states," he says sadly. "Listen, thanks for putting up with me back there."
"It's fine, I should apologize again for that Smarty Mart sitch."
"Don't worry about it, I take self esteem lessons from the weather. It doesn't pay attention to criticism."
She smiles. They stare at each other for an instant before simultaneously turning away. Kim goes back to her diary and Ron keeps his eyes out the window. The cabdriver meanwhile turns on the radio.
Things wrong with my life right now.
1)Recently I've been falling into sporadic bouts of depression
2)I don't have a clue what I'm depressed about..
3)I still can't shave my legs without cutting myself
4)Sometimes I feel lonely even when I'm not…..and I have no idea why.
"Oh, girl. I'd be in trouble if you left me now. 'Cause I don't know where to look for love, I just don't know how."
Am I really depressed or I am dealing with one of the other emotions you have when you can't conjure up any of the good ones?
Kim lifts her head when she realizes that the singing was coming from beside her instead of just from the radio.
With his gaze still outside the window Ron continues to sing barely above a whisper. "Oh, girl, how I depend on you, to give me love when I need it. Right on time you would always be." He suddenly lowers his head and she sees the tears forming in his eyes.
"Are you okay?"
He sniffs and swipes at his eyes. "I'm sorry."
"What?"
'I've been a bit of a wreck lately. Certain songs just set me off for no reason."
Oh, giiiirrrrlllll…..Pain will double if you leave me now. 'Cause I don't know where to look for love, and I don't, I don't know hooooooow!!
"Oh geez," Ron runs his hands across his face.
"Did you have a bad breakup recently? If you don't mind me asking"
"No…..well I was seeing this girl for a couple of days….it was going along fine until one day, I was sitting across from her at Bueno Nacho and it just didn't feel right. It's not like I believe a hundred percent in all that soul mate stuff but…. I mean, I liked her and she was cool to me but I didn't feel it…which is weird because a guy like me should leech on to anything I can get," he sniffs.
"Maybe it affected you more than you think?"
"Well that wasn't my only battle with heart break, I almost got a psychic girlfriend last week………but she left me before we met."
Kim chuckles softly. "That was awful…..whoa what the heck is that?" She points at the highly suspicious movements in his pants.
"Oh, don't worry that's just my main bud Rufus. Come on out dude."
To Kim's chagrin, a hairless rodent popped out from his pocket, yawned, and stretched out its body.
"Um….what kind of animal is it?"
"He's a naked mole rat, also known as the Sand Puppy; or Desert Mole Rat. It is a burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa and the only species currently classified in genus Heterocephalus."
"Okay" she says simply
"I like animals. I think I might have been a platypus in a past life, but I don' believe in reincarnation. Do you?"
"Not really"
"I mean, I don't have anything against the idea of reincarnation, I just personally would not want to do 'this' all over again. I couldn't imagine another round of school, I walked down the hallways of my elementary school with my head on a swivel….and I'm rambling for no reason...Rufus, let me introduce you to Kim Possible."
The pink animal's jaw literally dropped when it spotted her. It rubbed its eyeballs and she could swear she heard an 'oh no' escape from its lips.
"Rufus, what's the problem?"
"Nothing," it squeaked before diving back into Ron's pocket.
"I don't know why he's acting so weird," He tells her after spending a futile five minutes attempting to coax his pet back out. "He took one look at you and freaked out."
"Maybe he's shy?"
"No, he's never acted like this before." He studies her face. "Well it's his loss," he whispers softly.
"Did you say something?"
"No," he continues to stare.
"Something wrong?" She asks again
He shrugs. "There's always something wrong. That's what life is all about I think."
She turns away. "You might be right. I've got problems of my own as well."
"Oh yeah?"
"I'm depressed."
"About what?"
'I don't know."
"I don't know might be the most honest answer ever. Do we really know anything?" He thinks for a second. "I feel like I should be depressed, but I might be too oblivious to the rest of the world to know exactly how awful I should really feel."
"I….think…..I miss someone."
He tries to hide the crestfallen look on his face "Boyfriend?"
"No…I..." Her cell phone interrupts her. She snatches it out of her pocket and flips it open. Ron in turn attempts to concentrate on the music blaring from the car stereo.
"Okay, bye mom." She hangs up.
"Nice phone."
"Thanks." She slips the phone back into her pocket. "I don't have a boyfriend," she says rapidly.
"Hmmmm?"
"I uh... haven't really had anything close to a real boyfriend for like…ever."
Ron remains silent for awhile. "That's a shame."
The cab comes to a screeching halt forcing Ron's face to smack into the back of the passenger side seat. "163 Bergen Street," the driver declares nonchalantly.
Ron massages his forehead. "Well this is me. Thanks for sharing the ride."
"You've already thanked me."
"Oh I know, I just, okay." He pays the cabbie and opens the car door. "Well see ya."
"Take care," Kim says.
Ron closes the door and starts to walk away but suddenly turns back. "Hey um…"
"Yes?" Kim inquires.
"Nothing, never mind, sorry. Good night."
The cab begins to roll forward and Kim prepares to make another entry in her diary when…..
"Wait, wait!" Running along side of the cab, Ron manages to stick his arms into the open car window. He is moments away from being dragged when the cab stops and he falls forward.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" The cabdriver screams at him.
"I'm sorry dude," Ron huffs. "Wait, let me catch my breath." He doubles over and gasps for air.
Kim sticks her head out the window. "Are you alright?"
He puts up a hand. "One moment." He inhales, exhales and then straightens out his body. "Listen, this may seem strange, since we haven't known each other for more then a few hours, and I'm probably coming on way too strong, but I think I like you, actually I'm pretty sure I like you. And I'm wondering if you're doing anything this weekend."
She looks at him really hard for a long moment.
"Okay, I may have come off as weird but I feel something between us……."
"Shhhhhhh." Kim flips to an empty page in her diary scribbles her phone number, and hands it to him. "I think...I like weird."
He stands there frozen for a moment. He seems surprised, pleased and nervous. "Badical," he squeaks. So, I enjoyed meeting you." He says shyly.
"You'll call me, right?"
"Oh yeah definitely."
"When?"
"Tomorrow?"
"Tonight might work."
"I can do that."
"Are you two love birds done?" the cabdriver grumbles.
"Oh sorry," Ron backs away from the cab, "the meter is still running."
Kim waves goodbye as the car rolls away from the curb. She hears an optimistic booyah right before the cab gets out of earshot.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Five weeks earlier: Night
"Come on, come on."
Kim struggles with her keys at the door of her apartment building. She fumbles them as she takes a quick glance over her shoulder. She spots a white van parked across the street.
It's them.
She eventually locates the right key and hurries into the building. Once in her apartment she stealthily peeks out the window.
There were two of them. And they seemed so causal about the whole thing.
She sees two dark figures step out of the van onto the street. One stretches and tosses a cigarette into the street. The second one scans the building, looks directly at her window and waves.
This is supposed to be serious.
"Maybe I'm making a huge mistake. Maybe I just need to learn to deal with this. I've faced death plenty of times. I should be able to handle this."
The colors of the room suddenly begin to fade. Everything around her seems to wash out and run together. But Kim is unaware of this; she stares at a small vial on her kitchen table. She takes the vial and dumps a small pill from it into her open palm.
It was pink like Rufus.
"I have to go through with this. I have no choice."
Kim swallows the pill, walks into her bedroom and slips under the warm covers of her bed. She pulls her panderoo close with one hand and picks up the wireless phone on her nightstand with the other. She pushes the first button on her speed dial.
"Ah Boo-yah, you've reached Ron Stoppable. I'm not home right now or I'm screening this call, either way…….."
"It's your fault Ron, you did this."
"You're talking to a machine. So leave your message at the sound of the beat…I mean beep…yea beep.
"Goodbye Ron." Kim hangs up, lies onto her back, and she hears people walking about in the other areas of the apartment.
They're here, it's too late.
Her eyelids get heavy. She closes her eyes. Footsteps are approaching her bedroom; the room is a former shell of itself. It is now depleted of life and all color.
"Crud."
Darkness
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kim runs her hand against her forehead. She's stumbles forward, confused and disorientated. She glances down at her hand and notices that she is still holding the small vial in one hand and her panderoo in the other. Surprised she lets them both fall onto the floor.
She looks about to find that she is in Smarty Mart. And down the same aisle she was currently in, Ron was placing cereal boxes onto a shelf.
Kim heads towards him. "Ron, I need to talk to you."
Yes, we need to talk; we can fix this if we just talk. Then you'll remember.
"I want to tell you I love you and that every time I said it I meant it. If you let me explain everything, how much you mean to me, how much we meant to each other. Just let me tell you everything, then you'll understand," she mutters to herself as she stumbles closer to him.
You couldn't have forgotten about me, forgotten everything we've been through, it's impossible. I'll just explain, I'll explain and you'll remember.
Ron turns towards her before she can say anything. "Can I help you miss?" he asks with a polite smile.
She stands before him paralyzed with grief.
"Roonnnnnieee." An overtly cheerful girl about Kim's age approaches them. "Huge news; I got two tickets to the first screening of the new Fearless Ferret movie."
"No way!" Ron exclaims forgetting about Kim.
The girl squeals and throws herself into Ron's arms. "We totally have to be the first ones in line."
"No doubt!" he stares happily into her face.
But Ron, that's your look for me.
Kim watches as Ron and the girl exchange flirtatious comments. As she stands there, the cereal boxes are turning arid and ashen.
"Ron, how could you do this?" Kim asks.
The shelves aren't the only thing being affected. Ron and the new girl seem to be becoming lifeless by the second.
"What's going on here?" Kim's gaze goes to a clock on the wall. "Six thirty…I'm going to miss them!" She turns to leave the dilapidated scene.
"Ron, how could you?" she cries while she sprints towards her building later that night. "I can't believe you did it." She digs into her pocket.
"Come on, come on."
She struggles with her keys at the door of her apartment building. She fumbles them as she takes a quick glance over her shoulder. She spots a white van parked across the street.
"It's them."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kim slowly traces her fingers over her senior prom photo. In the photo, Ron has an arm around her waist, his face just exuding happiness. She too couldn't look anymore pleased.
She sighs; her eyes are red and puffy. It's evident that she's been crying. She releases her tight grip on the photo's frame and watches as it falls slowly into a large black plastic trash bag. She kneels over and closes the bag with a tight knot and then tugs it towards the door of her now empty apartment, where two similar bags were waiting.
An hour later, Kim is sitting alongside her mother in the waiting room of a doctor's office, the three trash bags lying by her feet.
"Kim sweetie, I know in the end only you can decide what to do with your life. But are you absolutely sure about this?"
Kim remains silent as the receptionist approaches. "Hello, I'm Jenny." She takes notice of the bags "Good, you have your stuff, please follow me."
They drag the three bags after the receptionist down the narrow hallway to Dr. Mnemosyne's office.
"Ah Ms. Possible," Mnemosyne says as he stands up. Another man stood beside his desk, he was also wearing a lab coat. "This is Bill, he'll be in charge of your procedure tonight."
The man nods professionally. "Ms. Possible."
"How is this supposed to work?" Kim asks
Mnemosyne begins to speak but his tone of voice is monotonous and barren. The carpet beneath their feet begins to dry out. Mnemosyne's prestigious diplomas slowly fade into the wall and the lamp on his desk starts to melt.
"We'll start with your most recent memories and go backwards. There is an emotional core to each of our memories. As we eradicate this core, it starts its degradation process. By the time you wake up in the morning, all memories we've targeted will have withered and disappeared."
"Will there be any permanent damage to her brain Doctor?" Anne queried.
Mnemosyne smiled. "Well technically, the procedure itself is a variation of brain damage. The same as a night of extensive drinking. But nothing will happen to any of your other memories. Only the ones we target will be replaced or simply deleted. Nothing you'll miss…..Mrs. Possible I assure you, I'll treat your daughter as if she was my own."
"What about these protests I have been hearing about?"
"Certain people do not believe in the ethics of our work. But I believe that I am helping people start over, to create a new slate for themselves….."
Kim looks quizzically at the eroding environment. "Wait a minute, it's happening now! I'm already in my brain."
Anne and the doctors scan the room. "Well I guess you're right….So let's get started," he says, seemingly uninterested in his melting office. "If you would please follow me."
"This is your last chance honey," Anne whispers to her daughter who is now strapped to an reclining chair, electrodes running from her head to some electronic machinery being monitored by Mnemosyne.
"I'll be fine mom. This is what I want."
"We use the articles you brought to create, a map of Ron in your brain. Tonight while you sleep we'll be able to trace the map and erase or replace." Mnemosyne states.
"Wait a minute, I thought this was already happening? Haven't you already started erasing?"
Mnemosyne pulls out a pile of coupons from one of Kim's bags, and shows it to her. The equipment registers Kim's reaction.
"Very good," Mnemosyne says.
He pulls out a plastic wrapping with bits of nacho cheese on it. Kim studies it. The machines register her response.
"We'll dispose of these mementos when we're done here."
Mnemosyne pulls out a red jersey Kim looks at the shirt, the machines once again beeps.
"GREAT, WE'RE RIGHT ON TRACK."
Kim searches the room. She can hear Bill's voice but he's nowhere to be found. The room however is now distorted and wispy.
"HEY CRAIG, JIGGLE THAT CABLE A LITTLE OKAY."
Kim looks up, the voice seems to be coming from above.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kim's apartment:
Kim still lies beneath her covers, her panderoo pinned under one arm. Her eyes are closed and electrodes connect her head to several machines. Bill sits at the hub of these machines in front of a large monitor. The other intern Craig sits before a smaller monitor, his hands running across a keyboard, as Bill fiddles with a joystick.
"Hmmm, the connections seem fine."
Craig flips a few switches on the side of his monitor. "Does that help?"
Bill squints at the monitor. "I think so. Look like this one is going to be rough"
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Middleton: Bueno Nacho:
"Ron!"
His head snaps towards the voice. "I'm sorry I was just in daze." He smiles at the girl sitting across from him in the booth.
"Are you okay, you look a little pale?"
He sighs. "I haven't been getting enough sleep. I keep having these weird and vague nightmares." He brings his naco to his mouth. "I try to remember them but I always end up with nothing."
"Oh I know what will cheer up my beau, an extra large sundae. Would you like that?"
"Please and thank you." He drops his naco immediately after saying it.
"Something wrong Ron?"
"No, no, but I'm going to go to the bathroom."
Ron runs his hands under the sink, collects a handful of water and splashes it across his face. "Crud, I look like heck," he says as he stares at himself in the mirror.
"Yo Ron," He whirls his head around to see Ned enter the bathroom. "Didn't know you were here, how's Ki---Aaaaiiiiieeee um Gloria, Gloria is her name right?"
Ron nods. "Whose name were you about to say before that?"
"No one's," he quickly changes the subject "hey did you hear, chimmurritos are going to be half off next week. It's an unadvertised sale."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah, if you subscribe to that newsletter I told you about. You'll know all kinds of stuff at least two weeks before the public." Ned tells him before ducking into a bathroom stall.
"Hey Gloria guess what?" Ron exclaims as he slides back into the booth "Chimmurritos are going to be half off next week."
"Really, spankin!"
"Wha…what did you just say?"
"Spankin?"
Ron closes his eyes and attempts to understand the tugging he feels in his very soul. When he reopens his eyes Gloria is staring at him.
"Are you sure your…."
"I'm fine," he says quickly returning to his food. "I'm fine."
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Kim and Mnemosyne sit across from each other in his office. She looks down at the tape recorder on his desk.
"I'm sorry you saw one of our notification cards. You never should have."
"Well... I did."
"I can help you through this. Why don't you start now by telling me everything you can remember about your relationship with Ron Stoppable."
She thinks, then, "Things just got really out of hand…."
"WHAT THE HELL? THIS THING IS NOT RUNNING AS SMOOTHLY AS IT SHOULD."
Kim looks up, trying to locate the voice.
"So we'll need you to go home and bring in everything you ever received from Ron and anything that might reminds you of him..."
She brings her attention back to the doctor "Huh?"
Everything in the room is faded and disappearing fast. In the blink of eye it's all gone.
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"How could he be so immature? I mean he just walked past me!"
"It's okay girl" Monique says as she tries to console her friend. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."
Kim practically jumps off Monique's couch "Didn't mean it? We were in the same store I looked right at him, okay we've broken up and he had his headphones on but that's no excuse for a snub! I should go over to his house and…."
"Kim I don't think you should do that."
"What? Monique I don't think you get it, he snubbed me!" She sits back down. "It….it just hurt so much…I never thought he'd be that cruel."
Monique sighs.
"And…...I was starting to think that maybe it was a mistake….."
"Kim, you're going to have to move on."
"What?"
Monique stands up and leaves the room. When she returns she's holding onto a small card. "Here." Kim takes the card
Ronald Stoppable has had Kimberly Anne Possible erased from his memory. Please never mention their relationship to him again. Thank you.
"They sent one of these to everyone Ron knows."
Kim stares at the card incredulously. "They can't just erase memories, can they?"
"Yes they can. I looked them up, it's legit."
"No but he wouldn't, he couldn't, he can't!"
Monique nods sadly. "He did….It was a couple days after he saw you at the party with Patrick."
"But…but ….Patrick wasn't…….anything…..we were broken up and he…it didn't mean anything…..he reminded me a little of Ron," she says distressingly.
"I'm sorry Kim."
"No, it can't, everything we've had…." She reaches for the phone "I've got to call him."
Monique snatches the phone away from her "You can't tell him, Kim. He's like a sleepwalker. They say it might have a devastating effect."
"But what am I supposed to do?"
"You've got to move on."
"So I've got to keep all these memories, all these years, the love, the affection, desire and need, trapped inside of me. I'm supposed to act like they never existed?"
Monique walks over to Kim and embraces her. Kim tries to fight back the tears but she can't keep it together. She weeps into the shoulders of her friend.
The environment around her disintegrates into nothingness.