A somewhat retelling of "Monkey Fist Strikes" and maybe the rest of the adventures, I bring you yet another Kim Possible/Monty Fiske tale. :D I was inspired by various Harlequin romances as well as the epic romance "Romancing the Stone" to bring this to life. In this story, Kim Possible is in college and a young writer who is always inspired by her adventures to do a great story for the world. Her life takes a far more interesting turn when her longtime idol, respected archaeologist Lord Monty Fiske, calls for her aid regarding the four jade monkey idols. Expect some twists and turns along the way. ;D There are also elements of the original show as well as the movie "So the Drama". :D Not completely the same, but similar enough.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Kim Possible or the characters, nor do I own any of the elements of "Romancing the Stone" or any known romance books. At the beginning is the ending line of one of my favorites, "The Horseman's Bride" by Elizabeth Lane (mentions of the book itself present).

Chapter One

Unanswered Prayers

"Everything was as it should be. They stood together on the threshold of a new life, surrounded by love..."

The words breathed harshly aloud through her lips as she reclined back on the black leather lounge of the apartment she shared with one of her best friends since high school.

This was her third time reading this book, and it still grasped her at every turn. Uncle Slim had to amuse her by sending her this copy he'd gotten Joss for her birthday - now two girls had the same novel - and it was a hell of a read. Wild western romance involving a man on the run and coming across a young woman whose dream was to raise horses. Spicy, forbidden - but oh, so right. Her body thrummed each time she picked this thing up; even her roommate could not stop her share of sweltering with relating to the leading ladies of these books.

She and Monique had their shared shelf dominating an entire wall that it would be tacky in another's eyes, but there was no such thing as too much passion in text. Kim Possible had to admit that those relationships were also inspiration for what she put down in her own paper - then boom, combined with action and her latest real life adventures, it was a bestseller in the New York Times.

Adventures including Dr. Drakken, whom she had not seen or heard from since her high school days. Who knew where he and Shego were now, since they laid low following the last attempted takeover - and the damages done to Bueno Nacho, all of which made an epic tale. Several occasions she recalled from those days from the beginning when she acquired the nanotick, then the cheese factory in Wisconsin, as well as Rufus getting smart after an accident with the latest brain-wave machine - dare she repeat anything else world-threatening that led up to the pivotal moment which was Bueno Nacho as the command center, her father's cybertronic technology in Mr. Nakasumi's stolen character, as well as a false boyfriend who turned out to be one of Drakken's synthodrone bots under the guise of "Eric" - and therefore destroyed Kim's self-confidence and hopes of having a special someone in her life.

Who'd have thought that a false romance would end up skyrocketing the lists of what was best in her book - and who'd have thought that the heroine of the pages would end up falling in love with her lifelong friend and partner in the grand finish?

Kim sighed when she thought of Ron, her best friend since kindergarten. He had gone for a football scholarship but also to become a future chef; cooking was his talent much better than hers ever would be. It had been his idea to have the female lead to eventually marry her best friend and eventual lover in the epilogue - when it was the opposite of their own situation. There had been no more guys for Kim after the thing with Eric. She'd been so close to having someone in her life, but that prom had been the end of it for her.

Some tiny part of her thought she would die old and alone now.

She tried to tell herself with Monique's help that she was strong and independent; she was a role model for the girls worldwide, and did not need a boy, or man for that matter. But looking around those important and dear to her - Monique with Brick after he and Bonnie broke up after graduation, Ron with Tara after she dumped her own high school boyfriend - she felt like she was the only one left.

Yet that did not stop her from continuing to dream, escape reality as it was.

Kim closed the book and rested it in her lap, looked up at the ceiling while she relaxed in her flimsy yellow top and blue shorts. She made a decent wage on her last book, her first one, but she was stuck on ideas for a new one. She had no classes today, and Monique was at work today. Ron was at practice, and Tara was away helping her sick mother. Basically, Kim had the day to herself and was bored out of it. There left one thing to do.

Pulling up the Kimmunicator, she searched the favorites and found what she was looking for. The Knowing Channel had all her favorites regarding endangered species and ancient historical treasures uncovered, but there was one in particular that stood out from the rest. When she hit the PLAY button, a pair of sharp blues and a cultured accent washed her senses as it began to speak of the chimpanzee, within West Africa where its home was often the target of greedy poachers and rich folk looking for a private performance or whatever motivations. It broke her heart to know that the babies were always taken from their mothers to be made as pets. Oh, and don't get her started on Ebola.

"...physiologically, the chimpanzee is very much like us in terms of socialism, sharing ninety-eight percent genes with us, and even caring for their young as we humans are ferocious for," the man on the screen was explaining as he knelt before a female chimp nurturing her young, the lucky of the lot to not end up ensnared in a trap, having come down from her hiding place in a tree, dry to her preference like the others of her race. He chuckled as the mother reached up and tried to pull at his shirt collar, playfully swatting it away with a gloved hand before passing a banana to her so she could feed herself and the baby. He cleared his throat then and returned his attention to the camera. "And of course, they're gentle creatures as they can be - as long as they are not provoked," he said with now a serious glint in his eyes.

He continued to speak that they would live up to fifty years old, even though humans would live longer than that. "These magnificent beasts are the most misunderstood of all nature's creatures, even though Darwin strongly believes we descended from simians. Their homes are often taken down and the chimps themselves are left for sporting, captured often for private collections." His lips, set in a strong jaw, curled with obvious disgust. He really loved these guys so much that it sickened him to know that such people around the world would do this to them as well as gorillas. "Unfortunately, too few national parks global wide can preserve the ape population and only in under ten countries. As a direct result, the chimpanzee population has diminished in four known countries. If this poaching sin isn't brought to an end in the near future, our distinct simian relatives will vanish from the face of the earth - or if not illegal trade, then the fatal Ebola will do the trick."

In so many ways, this man was like her: passionate, dedicated, and willing to do a good cause to save endangered lives even if these weren't human. But like he said, the chimpanzee was similar to them. A life was a life. The name of this man, powerful and influential, was a part of her life even though she did not know him personally, and he was her inspiration: Lord Montgomery Fiske.

Lord Fiske was a world-famous explorer and highly respected English scholar. He was notorious as the leading expert in all things simian, discovered many exotic relics that no other succeeded to find. It was like he was a man who could do anything.

Just like Kim Possible could do anything.

Now there was a flash from his playful comforting of the mother chimp and her young, leaving the explorer himself seated somewhere in the shade while he answered a few questions regarding the well-being of the chimpanzees throughout West and Central Africa, and he responded with a confident, charming smile upon his face.

"The British government has taken great part in ensuring that there be ceasing of poaching, even if the quest will not be completed overnight." He waved a hand once more, this time for emphasis. "Of course, it takes more than enough power to carry this out - but what is one man to do this on his own?"

Kim briefly closed her eyes as she felt the question strike her to her core. She was only barely thirteen when she began saving the world, starting with Mr. Paisley and his protection of the rarest Cuddle Buddy; if anyone knew she still had Pandaroo, her life would be a laughing stock. At least Bonnie moved to Lowerton following graduation, so no more of her. But all of that was beside the point; Lord Monty Fiske dared to ask what one person could do to save the world. He must have heard about her, known her as a great example of making an impact, so how could he ask such a thing of himself?

An idiot would think he had no real confidence in himself and was doing his best to hide it - but an older, wiser person would look into his eyes and see it all. The eyes were the windows to the soul, and there she glimpsed wisdom, knowledge and passion...drowning her and causing her heart to thunder...

"KIM!"

She shrieked and nearly dropped the Kimmunicator. "Ron! You scared the life out of me!"

He had to come in through the window which she always left unlocked and he knew it. "Hey, hey, sorry about that." He stood up and dusted himself off with both hands. It was an old habit that hadn't grown out of him yet. "I finished practice early and thought I'd stop by."

"Your timing couldn't have been better." She had to pause the documentary in its place and set the Kimmunicator down on the table. Having heard certain words while it was still playing, Ron's chocolate eyes bulged, and his hands shot to his ears.

"Agh! Monkeys! KP, why do you have to watch something with monkeys?!"

"Ron! Lord Fiske's insights as well as his discoveries and passion to preserve the natural habitats are extremely insightful," Kim argued. Even when they were still in high school, no amount of showing the documentaries and findings of the British nobleman could have eased Ron's long-lived monkey phobia. Some things never changed. "He's been an idol of mine since -"

He interrupted her with both hands raised. "Yeah, yeah, the world-class explorer, every girl's dream," he said sarcastically, shaking his head. "Blah, blah, blah blah. I don't know what you see in him, Kim. His Lordship, for all I know, is bad road. Five hundred miles of it."

Groaning, Kim let herself fall back onto the couch. "Ron, I thought we were over all of this a long time ago. Did you come all this way to spend the rest of the day with me or to fight with me?" she asked.

"No." He sighed and sat down beside her. Rufus happily jumped out of his pocket but then became sad when he looked between his master and her. "Tara's mom is still sick. I wish I was there with her."

"Well, if your mom was stricken, she'd understand you."

"True. But what about you? Any ideas of a new book yet?"

Now it was her turn to sigh. "No, but I just finished The Horseman's Bride for the third time. Still hits the spot," she told him with a wink. "Wild western adventure and romance, the thrill of forbidden love ending happily..."

His face lit up. "Just like Kathryn and Richard in your book," he pointed out, and then her insides melted - but not completely in the positive way. Seeing the look on her face made him reel back, and Rufus exclaimed "Uh, oh!" while slapping his paw over his eyes.

"KP, I'm sorry."

"Don't," she said, raising her hand to him before letting it fall back to her lap. "Still no men for me. And no amount of fictional romance - historical, fantasy, or even real - is going to have someone dashing ride my way. Another unanswered prayer of mine."

She had to lean forward and put her face into her hands, and Ron's hands on her shoulders comforted her. The naked mole rat tried not to sniffle and failed. "Hey, don't beat yourself up. The day will come; you'll see."

I did my research on chimpanzees, as they are among the most common endangered species in the globe. Everything that Lord Fiske speaks of in his features was based on the article on chimpanzees on the website World Wild Life. Let's see where this adventure goes - and when it will begin. Stay tuned!