"The Monkey Queen"
by Chronos the Cat
Inspired by and Adapted from the Kim Possible episode "The Full Monkey"
Prelude:
The Amulet of the Monkey King
One night, in China's Forbidden City Museum...
A skylight opened up, and silently, Monkey Fist and his monkey ninjas dropped in.
Fist walked over to a pedestal, where rested a pendent in a glass case. Fist lifted the glass and took the pendant. "At long last, the Amulet of the Monkey King!"
There was a cough, and he looked up to see Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable.
Ron said, "Just one little problem..."
Kim finished, "That doesn't belong to you."
Fist said, incredulously, "Kim Possible! But how? The stealth of the ninja monkeys is legend! How did you find us?"
Kim held up a banana peel. "Too many 'naners along the way?"
Ron rubbed his rear."Yeah, a guy could slip on one of those bad boys."
Fist turned to one of his monkeys. "Chippy, what did I tell you about on-the-job snacking?" Chippy looked up at him apologetically, and he turned back to Kim and Ron. "...No matter. In a moment, I shall become the Monkey King of the Modern Era! Until then, Monkey Ninjas Attack!"
And so, fierce martial arts fighting took place... Kim quickly knocked the amulet out of Fist's hands, and a struggle ensued to reclaim it.. Somehow, in that struggle, the amulet wound up around Kim's neck...
And before anyone could do anything about it, a flash of light shot from the skylight, engulfing Kim, and raising her into the air. Monkey screams echoed through the room, then the light faded, and Kim collapsed to the floor.
In anger, Fist declared, "I was to be the monkey king! And so I shall still be!" And with that, he and his ninjas retreated.
Ron went over to Kim, and helped her up "You all right?"
"I guess..." She answered, and began scratching at her neck. "What happened to..."
Suddenly, Ron saw that on her neck was a tattoo, with the same design that had been on the now-absent amulet. "Kim, that is Sick and Wrong!"
Part
One: Things Get a Little Hairy...
The next day, at Middleton Junior High (the sign read, "Cheer-Off Tonight")...
Kim stood at the mirror in the door of her locker, staring at the large thick hair between her brows. "It's the picture day curse!"
She pulled the hair out, only to have it be replaced by a dozen more. "Ah! This can not be happening!"
Just then, Ron walked over, carrying the box with the dress Kim's mom wanted her to wear in it. "Hey, KP, you forgot your -- muh! fuzzy caterpillar on your face..."
Kim scowled, accentuating the hair that had grown between and adding to her eyebrows. "Please, it's bad enough without you freaking on me."
"No, no! The unibrow works on ya!"
Rufus nodded in agreement, though he didn't sound entirely sincere.
While stuffing the dress into her pack, Kim said sarcastically, "Right. Guys love 'the brow'..."
Wade's image showed up on the screen in the back of her locker a moment later. "Kim, I need to talk to you."
"Good, 'cuz we've got an ugly sitch here, Wade."
"How ugly?"
"This ugly." She showed him her "unibrow".
Wade spit out his soda in shock. "Uh-oh."
"Uh-oh what?"
"Well, I checked out that Monkey Amulet. Turns out that Monkey Fist was on to something. Legend holds that whoever wears the amulet becomes the Monkey King."
Ron commented, upon seeing the picture Wade had put up of a king in red robes, "Love the king part, not so hot on the monkey."
Kim scowled at him.
Wade added, "Actually, it's more Monkey than King..." To match his words, the picture on screen changed from a human to a monkey.
Kim slapped her forehead. "Great. I'm gonna be... a monkey!"
Ron asked with concern, "Can't you stop it?"
Wade said uncertainly, "Well, I'm not really sure..."
Kim cracked, "That's not what I wanted to hear."
"Don't worry, I'll get to work--" And, as if to illustrate, he began typing so fast it was hard to believe it wasn't at random. "--and let you know as soon as I've got something."
The voice of Mr. Barkin echoed down the hall, "Let's move it, people, time for student photos."
Kim hid her face in her locker, as Barkin walked over to her and Ron.
"Stoppable, none of your punk hand gestures this time."
"What? It was a thumbs up!"
"Sit on your hands, just in case."
Ron slunk away, and Kim looked up at Barkin.
"Possible, I see you're holding up your picture day tradition..." Barkin commented, and walked away.
Kim put her hand to her forehead. " ...Well, maybe if I pluck..." Then, the sight of her hand registered, and she drew it away from her face. She held both hands out in front of her and stared at them. They had grown larger, the skin had darkened, and thick brown fur had grown on the backs of them and around her wrists.
Kim let out a scream -- and even as she screamed, her canines grew longer, and the scream changed from human to monkey.
She quickly closed her mouth and covered it with her hands.
From another hall, Barkin called out, "Pictures, people, let's move!"
Part
Two: Picture Perfect
The photographer had to ask Ron, "Why are you sitting on your hands?"
Ron said nervously, "Oh, no reason."
Meanwhile, Kim was looking in her compact, desperately plucking hairs from her brow. Unfortunately, it seemed the more she plucked, the more grew back. Finally, she sighed. It seemed Barkin was right -- once again, her picture was going to be awful. Briefly, she toyed with the idea of giving in to her mother and wearing the "Nana" dress -- what did it matter if her picture looked even worse? But she decided against it. Even if she turned completely into a monkey, she wouldn't be caught dead in that monstrosity.
She brushed her hair down over her face a little more than usual, to hide the unibrow a little bit, then closed the compact.
"Your turn, KP!" Ron announced, as he walked over to her. More quietly, he added, "You know, if you're up to it..."
"As much as I'll ever be..." She winced in pain as she walked over to the chair.
"You all right?" Ron asked.
"Fine!" Kim said, giving a large fake smile.
As the photographer prepared to take the picture, Kim hid her hands behind her back, and did her best to make her smile look genuine.
... As they walked down the hall afterward, Kim asked, "So, how did I look? Aside from the unibrow, I mean."
"Oh, good, good. Great smile, it really showed off your teeth... including the extra long ones..."
"Oh, perfect..."
Ron noticed that Kim was still wincing as she walked. "Are you sure you're all right? 'Cuz you don't look so good..."
"I'm fine... It's just that my feet are killing me..."
Ron glanced down, then his eyes widened. "Um, I'm not sure if 'feet' is the right word any more..."
"What...? Oh no." Kim looked, and saw that her shoes were bulging, with several tears in them. Quickly, she sat down and pulled her shoes and socks off. Sure enough, her feet had become monkey "hands"...
Trying to lighten the mood, Ron joked, "Well, look on the bright side -- you won't have to worry about shoe shopping anymore."
Kim glared at him.
"Sorry."
A beep from the Kimmunicator defused the situation.
"What's the sitch?"
"Hey Kim, I wanted to let you know, I'm working on a way to separate your genetic structure from the Amulet."
"Thank heavens... This whole transformation thing is getting old, if you know what I mean."
"Hmm... Well, don't celebrate too soon -- this is tricky stuff, and if the ancient texts and my calculations are right, there may be a time limit to curing you... But I'll get back to you on that when I know for sure. In the mean time, I'm going to need a DNA sample."
"Hair work?"
"Sure thing."
"Monkey or human?"
"Either... Although, now that you mention it, a sample of both would make things easier."
Wordlessly, she plucked one of each, and put them on the Kimmunicator's data input tray.
"Thanks. I'll be in touch."
Kim stood up. "Feels weird to be walking on 'hands'," she commented. "It's good to stand up, though, my rear was starting to..." She paused, her eyes widening, then reached under her skirt.
Ron quickly looked away, until she said, "It's okay, Ron, you can look."
But, what he saw when he turned back was not "okay" to him -- she now had a tail.
..."So, you skipping classes today?" Ron said a few minutes later, after Kim had managed to calm him down.
"Duh. I'd like people to think my picture represents the worst I looked today... I just hope Wade can turn me back before the Cheer-Off..."
"Uh-oh, Mankey alert!" Ron said, noticing Josh Mankey walking down the hall.
"Ohmygosh... I can't let him see me!" Noticing that they had just passed the bathrooms, she dashed back to them, and darted into the girls' room.
"Hey, Ron," Josh said when he got to where Ron was standing. "Did I just hear Kim?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah... She had to use the bathroom."
"Oh... Well, tell her I'm sorry I missed her."
"Uh... yeah..."
... Meanwhile, in the girls' room, Kim found herself surrounded... by Monkey Ninjas.
... Back in the hall, Josh had left, so Ron eased the door to the girl's room open a crack, and called out, "He's gone, KP." He then stepped away from the door and waited a moment.
The door opened, and out came a monkey, wearing the "Nana" dress.
"Monkey!" Ron jumped and backed away. Then a thought struck him. "...Wait... is that you, KP?"
The monkey made a monkey sound.
Ron fell to his knees. "No, it's finally happened! My best friend has become my worst fear!" Then he abruptly cut the dramatics, and added, "And she put on a really ugly dress..." He scratched his head. "I don't get it -- why'd you put that on now? We already had our pictures taken."
Imitating him, the monkey scratched its head too.
Part
Three: A Queen is Born
Hours later, night had fallen, and the sign by the school read, "Beat the Lemurs".
Inside, Ron was still with the monkey in the "Nana" dress, though Ron was now dirty and covered in scratches.
The Kimmunicator (which Ron had retrieved from the Monkey after it had retrieved it from the bathroom) beeped, and Ron answered it.
"I've got some bad news."
"Such as?"
"Turns out there's a 24 hour limit... If we don't change Kim back in 5 minutes, she'll be a monkey permanently..."
"So what are you waiting for! Let's change her back!"
"Right. I'm going to rout the DNA sequencer through the Kimunicator's data port, so you just have to point at Kim, and zap."
"Point and zap. Got it."
The monkey, bored, was pulling some pages out of a dictionary it had found in Kim's bag.
Wade told him, "Okay, go for it."
Ron pointed the Kimmunicator and pushed the button, but nothing happened.
"Er, Wade? I'm pointing, but there's no zapping."
"...Sorry, wrong cable. Try it now."
Ron pushed the button again. A light shot out of the Kimmunicator, hitting the monkey. The monkey screamed in pain, and when the light went out, looked a little dazed.
"Kay, Wade, plenty of zap that time... So how long until she turns back?"
"It should have been instantaneous."
"In other words?"
"We have a problem."
...Menewhile, at the Middleton Motor Lodge...
After several escape attempts, Kim now found herself shackled, hand and foot (but not tail), to an exercise machine. By this point, fur had covered her entire body except for her hands, feet, and face, and her face had taken on the darker color of her hands and feet. The shape of her face had also become more "Monkeyish", but not so much as to make her unrecognizable.
Monkey Fist approached her menacingly."I was destined to be the Monkey King! According to the ancient texts, there is still one way for me to achieve complete and total monkey-ocity!"
"Personally, I think you should set your goals a little higher on the evolutionary scale."
"Jest if you wish, but there is only one way to part you from the amulet -- a very painful way."
"You keep saying that, but you've yet to say what that way is. For that matter, what are you waiting for? You've kept me here for hours!"
Fist smiled. "Ah, but you can't perform the ceremony just any time -- it must be precisely twenty-four hours after the initial bonding... Any sooner, and the amulet could be damaged by the process... Any later, and well... After twenty-four hours, the transformation is complete, and the amulet won't bond with another person for another hundred years..."
Fist glanced at the clock. "Only three minutes to go..."
Kim looked at the clock as well. Shoot! she thought, the cheer-off's almost over! Even if I can get free, I'll never make it back to the School in time!
...Ron asked, without the confidence Kim usually displayed, "So, Wade, you know, what's the sitch?"
"I analyzed the new DNA sample you sent me, and it turns out, that's not Kim."
"What! You mean I spent the day with a real monkey!" Ron sounded outraged.
"'Fraid so."
The monkey gave a sad cry.
Ron's look softened. "...You're right... I guess we did have fun... even if you are a monkey..." His eyes widened. "But, if that's not KP, where's the real Kim?"
Wade shook his head sadly. "I don't know, but unless we can find her in less than two minutes, she'll be spending the rest of her life as a monkey."
...Fist carefully shaved Kim's neck, revealing the monkey tattoo. Then he pulled out a jagged knife with monkeys and Chinese symbols engraved on it.
"No way. You're going to cut it off me?"
"It's the only way."
"Couldn't you at least use anesthesia? And maybe a scalpel instead of that thing?"
Fist gave a mock "sorry" look. "I'm afraid not. Without the pain, the separation won't work properly. And only this enchanted Monkey Knife can sever the spiritual connection between you and the amulet." He motioned to his monkeys, and they turned out most of the lights. In the dim light that remained, one could see a slight green glow starting to come to the tattoo...
Kim was starting to sweat, though she kept most of the fear out of her voice. "But, pain aside, if you're not careful with that, you could kill me!"
"Oh, I'll be careful... wouldn't want to damage the amulet..." The gleam in his eyes and the tone of his voice counteracted any reassurances his statement might have made...
..."Where would Kim be... where would Kim be..." Ron thought quickly. "I know, the gym!" He ran there, and made it just in time to see Bonnie vault onto the top of a human pyramid, finishing the Mad-Dog cheer-squad's routine. Neither Kim, nor any other monkey, was anywhere in sight.
As the judges gave their score (high enough for them to rack up a win, but not by much), the clock ticked the passing of another minute.
Wade beeped again, and when Ron answered it with a bleak face, Wade said with equal regret. "Time's up."
..."Now! Now is the time!" Monkey Fist announced, as the tattoo suddenly started glowing brightly enough to tint the entire room green. In the green light, Kim could easily make out the insane look on Fist's face, as he started to bring the knife down toward her throat.
She was never quite sure afterwards whether she had made a split-second decision that she didn't trust Fist to put that knife next to her neck, or whether it had been purely instinctual. But as the knife plunged down, her tail darted out, and knocked it from his hand.
"No!" Fist screamed, and ran for the knife as it skittered across the floor.
Meanwhile, Kim used her tail to pull the bolts from her shackles, freeing herself.
Fist stood up, grasping the knife, and turned, only to see Kim standing there, free, the glow of the tattoo starting to fade.
Fist said, his voice a odd mixture of pleading and rage, "Now, now. You said you don't want to be a monkey. I promise, I won't hurt you more than necessary, and when the amulet has been removed you'll be completely fine."
Kim stared at him. She thought about what he was saying. It was true, she wanted to be human again. And Wade had mentioned a time limit on his method -- it was probably the same, meaning that this could be her last chance.
"Quickly! The moment is almost up!" Fist's voice was more urgent and pleading than ever, but it had lost all of it's rage. She was on the verge of giving in, when the image returned to her of him standing over her holding the knife, that insane look in his eyes.
She closed her eyes, and put her hand to her neck. She could feel the fur growing under her fingers, replacing the fur Fist had removed. She gulped, realizing that she'd made her choice, and would have to live with it now.
She opened her eyes and stared at Fist. "No, the moment is up." And even as she said that, the fur on her neck finished replacing itself, and the tattoo winked out, returning the room to the dim light provided by the few lights the monkeys had left on earlier.
Fist's eyes widened, and he began to droop. "The power of the monkey king... lost to me..." Tears welled up in his eyes, and he bawled, "You shall pay for this, Kim Possible. You shall pay!"
Not feeling like fighting a villain in the midst of a temper-tantrum, she turned and started walking towards the door. She noticed that the monkeys were all kneeling again, and that they bowed to her as she passed.
Suddenly, one of the monkeys called out a warning cry, pointing behind Kim. Kim turned to see Fist dashing toward her, the knife in hand, and a look just as insane as before in his eyes.
Kim got into a fighting stance. A smile came to her lips... It seemed, as much as she changed, some things never would...
Epilogue:
Life Goes On
"No, she's not here -- I thought she was at the Cheer-Off," Mrs. Possible told Ron, when he stopped by the Possible Household, looking for Kim.
"Well, yeah, she was supposed to be, but well... She wasn't. There I mean. So now I'm looking for her. 'Cause, you know, I'm worried about her. And all."
Mrs. Possible was now looking quite worried. "Come in Ron. Let's talk about this in the house."
Mrs. Possible led Ron to the table and had him sit down. Then she asked, "So when was the last time you saw her?"
"Well, that's kind of hard to say. You see there was this monkey and... Well anyway, I think the last time I saw her was around noon-ish, when she ducked into the girls' bathroom to avoid Josh Mankey."
"Why was she trying to avoid him?"
"'Cause she was embarrassed. See she was turning into a monkey, and..."
"What!"
"Yeah... cause of this amulet... it's all rather complicated... So anyway, she's got monkey hands and feet, a tail, and she's starting to get all hairy... She ducked into the bathroom to avoid Mankey, then, when he was gone, a monkey came out. At first, I thought it was KP, since, you know, she was turning into a monkey, like I said... Actually, I thought it was her for most of the day... which is really embarrassing... But Wade checked the monkey's DNA, and it's not hers, so that means we don't know where the real KP is."
"I see. ...Did you ever try looking in that bathroom for clues?"
"Who, me? I can't do that, I'm a guy!"
Mrs. Possible rolled her eyes, and stood up.
"No need to go looking in bathrooms, Mom," Kim's voice came from the hall. A moment later, she stepped in.
Both Ron and Mrs. Possible stared. There was no doubt that it was Kim -- the voice was the same, the hair was the same, and the face was almost the same. She also wasn't quite fully a monkey -- a real monkey wouldn't have been able to walk on her hind legs, or talk. Still, she was at least as much "monkey" as human -- as Ron had seen and described, she had monkey hands and feet, and a monkey tail, and her entire body save her hands, feet, and face, was covered in thick brown fur.
Out of nowhere, the Tweebs showed up, and at the sight of Kim, exclaimed, "Cool!"
Ron charged Kim and started hugging her. "I was so worried! Where were you!"
She smiled, inadvertently revealing her monkey teeth. "Sorry. I was captured by Monkey Fist. Took me longer than usual to get free. Still, no big."
Ron looked up at her, and managed to stop the tears long enough to say, "KP, I got bad news. Wade's cure...? Well, there was a time limit, after all... and it's passed. I think you're stuck this way."
Kim looked a little sad, but she hugged him back, and replied simply, "I know."
She glanced over at her mother, who also seemed sad, but reassuring at the same time. Kim could tell, just by her mother's look, that the search for a cure had just begun, and also that even if a cure was never found, they would deal with the situation, as a family.
Breaking this somber mood, the Tweebs now started running around Kim, examining her. "Wow, our sister's a monkey!" "That's awesome!" "Kim, what's it like being a monkey?" "She even has a tail!" "Can you hold things with your feet?" "Does it itch?"
Intimidated by the sudden activity, Ron backed away from the three of them.
Kim smirked, and grabbed the Tweebs -- one with her tail, and the other with her left foot. "Yes, I can hold things with my feet, and my tail too, in case you were wondering."
The Tweebs were too surprised to find themselves hanging like that to react.
Suddenly, while still holding the Tweebs up with her foot and tail, Kim started scratching herself. "And yes, it itches."
Author's Notes:
First of all, for those who haven't seen the episode (or haven't seen it recently), when I said this story was inspired by and adapted from "The Full Monkey", I meant, the prelude, part one, and some of part 3 were adapted from the episode, while part 2, some of part 3, and the epilogue were inspired by it!
Secondly, if I can find the time (a big "if", as anyone following any of my other stories knows), I'm thinking of continuing this. The next chapter will likely be completely new, but after that, I might also explore how things might have gone different in various episodes with Kim as a monkey... Any episodes anyone is particularly interested in seeing "monkey versions" of?
