Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible or any characters involved, and this story is written just for entertainment purposes.
A/N: I've wanted to write one of these for a while now, but I wasn't sure of what story to tell for it. When I finally did come up with something, all the pieces pretty much just fell into place. This is an AU story based on Aladdin, sorta. And yes, it'll be KiGo, so if that's not your thing, consider yourself warned.
Starting this at 'T' and probably staying there.
Sitch of a Wish
Chapter 1 - In the beginning...
"Get her!" Lord Gemini shouted at his men, pointing his golden gauntlet at the nimble redhead who'd just swiped the scroll from his desk. Kim Possible grinned, tucking the scroll in her trousers as she turned and dropped into a fighting stance. She could have just made her way out the window and gotten away, but Gemini's thugs had a habit of roughing up the merchants in the market, and she liked humiliating them when she could.
"KP, come on!" Her partner Ron called from another room farther down the hallway. She could hear barking of some sort, so he was probably holding off guard dogs, she guessed. "We need to go."
Kim kicked one of the guards back into a second, sending both men tumbling to the ground. A third guard tried to grab her, but an elbow to his rather sizeable gut left him gasping for air. She spotted two more across the room readying bows and decided that maybe Ron was right. Gemini might not be all that threatening, but he did have a lot of goons in his employ.
She tossed one of the smoke pellets her friend Wade had made for her at their feet, the billowing cloud hiding her dash for the hall. "Ron, I'm on the way out!"
One of the smarter guards was waiting for her in the hallway, but she slid past the awkward grab he attempted and shoved him back towards the doorway, knocking him into one of the bowmen. A curse from the room she'd just left followed as the other bowman tripped on his companions.
Kim had to duck as a blade sprung out from the wall. Clearly they'd missed some traps, but like most things Gemini did, they were oversized and easy to spot. She jumped another pressure plate, almost disappointed in how easy he was making it for her. She just hoped Ron had managed to avoid any traps on his part.
"Gotcha!" The sandy blond met her at the large window at the end of the hallway. He'd busted the shutters open already and had their lines secured. The two teens quickly slid down the ropes, Kim landing lightly on her feet while Ron's pants kept going to the dirt road. Kim sighed as he fixed the wayward trousers. Some things seemed to be Fate. They would fight the corrupt lords who kept the city so chaotic and try to stop their plans, the guards chased them, and Ron's pants fell off at least once per job.
A pair of guards on the wall called out that they'd spotted the teens, and an arrow embedded itself in the side of a nearby building. She tugged Ron along, dashing down the first alley she could find. She kept taking random turns, trying her best to get as far as she could from the manor.
"Did you get that whatever it was Sultan Betty sent you after?" Ron asked her as they caught their breath. Rufus watched from the corner, keeping an eye out for any sign of pursuit from Gemini's men. The naked mole rat gave her a thumbs-up when she glanced his way and she nodded her thanks.
"Sure did." She held out the scroll to show him, but when he reached for it, she pulled it back. "She said not to open it."
"Aww man, the bad guys got to see it, but we don't? This tanks." He complained.
"Uh huh!" Rufus agreed.
"Guys, come on, we promised." Kim was curious about the scroll too, but she'd given Betty her word. Ron sighed - he knew better than to try to argue Kim out of something she'd promised.
"Fine, let's just get this over with." He let Rufus climb up his shirt, and he rejoined Kim on their way back to the palace.
"Anxious to see Yori?" She teased.
Ron's face flushed. "There's nothing between me and the princess."
"There won't ever be if you don't talk to her." Kim wanted to help Ron out, but he'd asked her not to interfere. So she had to content herself with lots and lots of prodding.
"I'll talk to her one of these days." The sandy-haired boy replied noncommitally. Kim shook her head - she knew that he probably wouldn't, but she couldn't say anything to him without violating her promise. So it looked like it was time for some more pushing. Maybe she could sound out Princess Yori...
She let the matter drop and returned her attention to the path leading to the palace. Sultan Betty Director rarely called on her services, but Kim held out hope that one day she'd be selected to work for her full time. Usually she sent Will Du, the captain of the royal guards, for missions like this. However, since he'd been injured in a skirmish with Lord Dementor last month, she'd been relying more and more on Kim and her vizier, Lord Drakken. Kim and Ron handled the missions while Drakken took over the guards and kept order in the city.
At least Sultan Director didn't let Drakken do much more than have them patrol the markets and gates. The man was smart, but his ideas backfired most of the time. Kim had cleaned up more than one mess from a failed plan of his. Still, given that her brother still contested her rulership, Kim understood that Drakken had his place. Even the sultan couldn't do everything, so loyal people were a must. No matter that they might be a little crazy.
"Hey Kim, mind if I just go home?" Ron asked her when they passed the street leading to the Possible and Stoppable manors. "I'm feeling a bit hungry and well..."
"Kay, Ron." Kim waved as he started down the side street. She was a bit disappointed, but she understood his feelings. "Seeya tomorrow."
"Seeya Kim. And thanks." He sounded relieved.
"... and you didn't read it?" Sultan Betty narrowed her eye at Kim, sending an involuntary shiver running through her. As much as she dealt with rebel lords, traitors, and other maniacs, she never felt nearly as intimidated as she did when she had to report to the older woman sitting across from her.
"No ma'am." Kim confirmed. "Ron wanted to, but I didn't let him."
"So neither of you was the one who opened this?" The sultan tapped the scroll.
"We found it like that." She nodded to the broken seal.
"Unfortunate. I have to assume that my brother copied it and has had time to decipher it." She stood up and walked to the doorway, opening it. "Lipski!"
"Yes, Majesty?" The advisor asked, sparing only a small glance to where Kim sat.
"Gemini might have read this." Betty gestured to where the scroll sat on the table.
"Oh snap." The vizier muttered.
"I'll brief Kim, but I'm going to need you to prepare a small team of guards to back her and Ron up. Lead them personally, Drew. We can't take chances on this one." Betty ordered. "Send Du to go get Stoppable and have him be ready to head out immediately."
"Of course, Majesty. I'll get ready right away." He bowed his way out of the room.
"Apologize to Ron for sending you two back out so soon, but I'm going to need you both on this one." The sultan grimaced. "I never thought Sheldon would try for this. He has to know it won't work."
"What is on that scroll that's so important, Majesty?" Kim's curiousity got the better of her.
The glare in the eye of the older woman pinned her to the chair. "Understand that what I'm about to tell you needs to be kept secret. You can tell Ron, but no one else." Kim nodded and the sultan continued. "Long ago, my ancestor saved this kingdom from an evil sorceror. Unfortunately, many of his artifacts were left behind and had to be dealt with. So my ancestor sealed them away, hid them in a cave and erased all knowledge of its location, save for this scroll."
Betty sighed. "This scroll was also kept secret, but Sheldon was told at the same time I was. He's tried to get his hands on it many times, but he only succeeded now that Will is out of the way due to his injury."
"So, he's after some magic relics that have been locked away for centuries?" Kim clarified. When Betty nodded, she asked another question. "Is there something in particular that he's after?"
"I'm not certain." The sultan admitted. "Even what I know is little more than hearsay. I just know that we can't risk him getting ahold of anything from there."
"So what's the plan?" She asked.
"I need you to scout out the cave, take a look around and see what's there. Lipski will have the guards secure the area, and when you're out, he'll seal it up. We'll post a watch on it, and when Sheldon tries for it, we can nab him them."
"Sounds good." Kim got up.
"Kim." The sultan held up her hand, stopping Kim in place.
"Yes, Majesty?"
"Be careful."
"I can handle this, no big." She grinned. "Anything is possible for a Possible."
Sultan Betty watched the young redhead exit the palace grounds. She knew that soon enough Will Du would be here, protesting that he was healed enough to lead the mission instead of handing it off to someone outside the official palace staff. Still, even his objections wouldn't have changed her mind. She'd been grooming Kim for some time now, and she knew the girl could indeed handle this mission.
Besides, with no idea what defenses her ancestor might have left on the cave, she needed to send someone who not only was skilled, but could also improvise as needed. While Will met the first requirement, he was decidely lacking when it came to the second.
She had even considered sending her adopted daughter Yori with them, but she couldn't spare the girl right now. Yet another lord with an unmarried son would be arriving tomorrow, and they'd both need to greet them.
Betty sighed. Some days she never seemed to get a break...
"So, no time for dinner?" Ron complained. "This tanks."
"Hungry!" Rufus added.
"Guys, I am too, but something came up..." Kim quickly filled her friends in on the new situation. "...and so, if he gets those magic relics..."
"Notgood." Rufus shook his head.
"You said it, buddy." Ron agreed. "At least with Vizier L-man and the guards along, we'll be travelling in style on this one. Let him set up the camp and all that."
She agreed with that. If the matter was so urgent, it would be good to have a little help. Especially since Gemini would be sure to try for some kind of revenge for her recent mission against him. He'd be looking out for any sign of further interference from her.
Fortunately for them, the trip to the location on the map progressed uneventfully. By the time they reached the site, even Ron was a bit bored by the lack of excitement. The guards efficiently started work on the tents while Kim elected to take Ron and try to find the entrance to the cave. The map had included some clues to it, but she could see that there had been some significant changes to the terrain in the centuries since it had been made.
"So... a giant, lion-headed cave should be right here, and we're missing it?" Ron scanned the horizon skeptically. "I dunno, KP. You'd think we would see somethin' like that."
"It's gotta be here, Ron. Somewhere around here." She tried to sound certain, but a hint of doubt crept into her voice.
"Well, I guess if we can't find it, Gemini's thugs can't either." Ron reluctantly said.
"Let's keep looking." Kim pointed to a nearby rock formation. "We can start there."
The two friends spent the rest of the afternoon hunting around for any sign of the cave without much luck. After a dinner at the camp, Kim decided to take one last look in the fading light of dusk, hoping the change in perspective might help.
"Hey KP, I think I see something..." Ron pointed towards one particularly large dune.
Kim squinted. It looked like the sand was moving... shifting... flowing... "Ron, I think we might want to back up a little bit..."
"With ya there." He stumbled back over a dune, gratefully accepting her steadying hand.
A low rumbling built up and the far dune shuddered, sand pouring down as a huge chunk of dark rock emerged from it. She could hear shouting from behind them, as the guards ran up, followed by Vizier Lipski. "Egad!"
"Stay back, Vizier!" Kim tried to keep the guards from coming any closer.
"What is that?" The man stared at the growing shape.
"I'm pretty sure that's our magic cave." Kim's eyes were locked on it as well.
"Impossible!"
"Uh, dude, unless there's another magic rock cave thing around here, I'm gonna agree with Kim on this one." Ron was also focused on the dunes.
Finally the rumbling stopped and what appeared to be a large lion made of granite swiveled its head towards them. Twin golden gems lit up, gleaming in the darkness. "Who seeks the Cave of Wonders?"
Kim swallowed and looked around. The vizier was frozen in place, as well as most of the guards. Ron nodded towards the cave and moved to stand with her. "I do. I'm Kim Possible."
"Why have you sought this place?"
"Others are coming here, they mean to steal the treasures you guard."
The... cave sat silent for a long, long time. Kim was about to give up when it rumbled once more. "Then enter. Touch nothing except the lamp."
"Uh... what lamp?" Ron asked from beside her, but the cave didn't answer. He turned to Kim. "What lamp?"
"No idea, Ron." She looked to Lipski.
"I'm not sure either, Miss Possible." The vizier gulped. "I think I shall stay out here and keep an eye on the camp. The sultan's orders were pretty clear on this, after all."
"Probably going to change his pants." Ron whispered to her, causing her to smother a giggle.
"It'll be fine, Vizier. Ron and I will go check out the sitch and get back to you." Kim reassured him. "Keep an eye out for Gemini for us."
"Two eyes, and gladly." He turned and started issuing orders to the guards.
"So... what now, KP?" Ron eyed the cave warily. "I'd really to not get eaten, y'know?"
"We need to check it out." Kim checked her gear - she had everything she'd probably need. "Sultan Betty said to investigate, so that's what we'll do. Besides, I want to know about this lamp it was talking about."
"You know I've always got your back, KP, but this feels like a really bad idea." Ron hurried to keep up with her.
"Uh huh." Rufus agreed from Ron's pocket.
"Let's just get this done with so the vizier can have the guards cover this place back up." Kim suppressed a shiver. Maybe Ron had a point. "Even if you're right, we can't let Gemini in here."
"True that." The sandy blond admitted.
Kim advanced to the entrance and extended her leg, stepping down on the cool stone of the cave and waited.
Nothing.
Feeling confident that the cave wasn't going to eat her, at least not right away, she walked in a bit further before waving for Ron to join her. He also tested the first step, and Kim couldn't fault him for his caution. A magical, talking cave was certainly not the usual sitch, after all.
Inside the cave, the smooth stone followed a path spiraling downward. Torches along the wall lit up as they drew near, lighting the way for them.
"Ooooohkay, not creepy at all." Ron muttered.
Despite her efforts, Kim quickly lost count of the number of steps they'd descended. The stairs seemed to go on and on, with no sign of stopping. Then, just when she was about to suggest returning to the surface and trying again later, they reached the bottom. An elaborately carved arch waited for them, two more torches sparking up to illuminate the room beyond.
"Booyah..." Ron breathed quietly.
Kim halted next to her friend, silently agreeing with him. Light reflected off piles of golden coins taller than either of them. Gems larger than any she'd ever seen glinted from carelessly gathered scatterings. Silks and other rare cloth dotted the coin piles here and there.
The room was easily larger than any in the place. In fact, Kim was sure that she might even be able to fit the palace inside here, given that she couldn't see the other side.
It was only when Ron, seemingly in a trance, reached towards one particularly large ruby that she broke free of her daze. Before her best friend could touch it, she grabbed his shoulder and yanked him backwards. "Ron, no!"
He stared at her blankly before turning his gaze once more towards the massive gem. "KP, look at it..."
"You heard the cave. We can't take anything!" Kim shivered. "I thought you didn't want to be a snack for a giant talking rock."
"It's just one gem." He replied softly. "If I had that, I could be richer than any prince. I'd have a real shot with Yori..."
"I don't want to die, Ron. Leave it, please." She pulled him past the gem, taking care to avoid any of the coins or other treasures. "Besides, if we succeed here, Yori'll notice you, for sure."
"Awww, fine." He tore his eyes from the gem and concentrated on the path ahead.
Eventually, she reached the other side of the room, although she found that wasn't quite accurate. A massive chasm bounded the far end, with only a small path of rock crossing it. The narrow trail led to an island of rock hanging over the abyss. More torches lit the elaborately carved arches on each end of the path, as well as several pillars decorating the island.
And sitting on a pedestal in the middle of the island was a plain brass lamp.
"I'd like to repeat my 'creepy' and add 'trap' and quite possibly 'cursed'." Ron commented from beside her. He eyed the arches, flinching at the designs covering them. "Why else would anyone surround it with carvings of monkeys?"
"That's gotta be the lamp the cave was talking about." Kim tried to get a better look at it, but it was difficult from this side of the chasm. "I need to get closer."
"Uh, bad idea. Bad, bad idea." He tried to stop her. "Let's just go, I'm starting to get a real bad feeling about this. Whole lotta bad in general here."
"C'mon Ron, don't you want to know why this is the only thing we're allowed to take?" She walked through the first archway. "See? No big."
Kim advanced towards the lamp, checking the nearby pillars for any signs of traps, but didn't see anything. She reached the island, staying back a pace from the pedestal holding the lamp. It looked safe enough, but she worried that maybe Ron had a point after all. The Sultan's ancestor sealed this place away, including the lamp, for some purpose, and she had no idea why. Was the lamp put here to keep it out of the wrong hands, or to make sure it was safely away from people it could hurt?
Ron joined her reluctantly, shivering each time he passed one of the monkey carvings. He spoke up quietly as he looked down at the plain brass lamp. "Gotta say, I'm a bit bummed. All that setup for this?"
"Sultan Betty did say this place was built to store away magic relics. Maybe this is one of them?" Kim guessed.
Ron was about to reply when they heard a familiar voice echo from the treasure room behind them.
"Egad! At last!"
Vizier Lipski watched as Possible and Stoppable entered the cave, the torch the sandy blond carried swiftly fading from view only to be replaced by steady glows from the tunnel. He set the guards to watch, just as he'd told Kim and Ron he would, but his attention remained focused on the cave. And on what Sultan Betty had said before sending them out here.
At the start, he'd felt honored that she chose him to lead the guards, but that had faded quickly, buried deeply when he realized he was here simply to do the manual labor while Possible and her buffoon sidekick took care of the important business.
It wasn't the first time this happened to him either. When Betty Director had claimed the throne after her father died, he fully expected to be granted the regency during the transition. Instead, he was pushed aside in favor of Du and then Possible, trusted only when she had no other option. Not once did anyone recognize how much he did for the kingdom!
So he decided to see the cave himself. If he could return one of the relics the Sultan's ancestor had left behind, he'd show her he could be trusted to handle important matters. Those thoughts comforted him as he worked his way down the long spiral stairway. He would show them all just how important Drew Lipski was! He would...
His eyes widened, taking in the gold and gems scattered throughout the huge room at the base of the stairs. More gold than in the Sultan's treasure room, more than in the entire kingdom, possibly the whole world. His gaze focused on one particularly enormous ruby. That alone would let him live like the Sultan herself.
A plan formed in his mind. Even if he did retrieve a relic, he just knew that his efforts wouldn't be appreciated. But money changed everything. With even the smallest fraction of the wealth piled in this room, he would no longer have to serve those not worthy of him. He would be free at last.
"Egad. At last!" He reached out, grabbing the ruby.
It was only when the cave started rumbling that he realized his mistake.
"Thief! You were warned to take nothing save the lamp! Now you shall pay for your transgression!"
"Oh snap."
Clutching the ruby, he dashed for the stairs, desperate to escape.
"Was that Vizier Lipski?" Kim wondered.
"KP, worry about that later!" Ron dashed across the path leading back to the treasure room. "We gotta go, now!"
"Right, sorry." Kim moved to follow him, then turned back at the last moment.
"Kim!" Ron called out when he noticed she was no longer right behind him.
She sprinted to the pedestal and grabbed the lamp, tossing it in her pack before running across the bridge. When she caught up to Ron, they made their way through the shifting piles of gold and other treasure, trying their best to keep their balance as the floor heaved and shuddered under them.
She almost reached the stairs when Ron tripped, falling as a bolt of silk took his feet out from under him. Hastily grabbing his arm, she helped him up, shoving him out of the way as a huge chunk of rock landed right where he'd been standing a moment before. Dust poured from the frame of the doorway ahead, and Kim could see the roof of the tunnel shaking. "Ron, stop!"
"We're almost there!" He tried to break free from her grasp.
"We'll never make it up that stairway before it collapses. We need to find somewhere safe to ride this out, then we can try to get out when everything settles down." Kim looked around, spotting a small crevice in one of the walls. She pointed to it. "There, hurry!"
"Right behind ya." He panted as they made one desperate sprint for the shelter.
The friends wedged themselves in the opening, bracing themselves as the cave continued to shake and rocks fell from the ceiling. After what seemed like hours but was probably only minutes, the cave finally settled down. Kim and Ron sat still for a while, though. Neither of them wanted to risk it.
"So, was I imagining things or did it sound like the vizier was down here when everything went sour?" Ron asked.
"I heard him too." Kim confirmed. "I guess he got greedy, and well..." She waved to the ruined room. "Seems like that warning the cave said was real after all."
"This tanks." He sighed as he pointed to the doorway. "We're screwed. Look at all that rubble. If the whole stair is like that, we'll never be able to clear it or get out."
"We find another way out then. Anything is possible." She tried to cheer him up.
"So... new plan then?" Ron slumped down on a pile of gold. They'd found out that the rule against touching the treasure was no longer being enforced when Ron had tripped over a rock and stumbled into some of the coins. When the cave didn't yell at them or try to bury them again, they tried it again and found out that whatever magic had caused this in the first place was gone now.
"New plan." Kim agreed as she flattened out her own seat of treasure. "Say, Ron, didja bring any food? Getting kinda hungry here."
"Uh, let me check." He sorted through his pack. Rufus held out a small cloth-wrapped package to him. "Aha! Bread and cheese. That okay with you, KP?"
"Please and thank you." He tore off half the bread and tossed it to her, along with some of the cheese. She pulled the waterskin from her belt, and after taking a drink, passed it to him.
"How are you gonna get us out of here?" Ron asked her. "I looked for secret passages, shovels, something to help us, but came up empty."
"Sorry Ron, not really sure right now." She sighed. "I don't think there is another way out. I mean, this was made to guard stuff, right? Why would they have an easy way in?"
"Okay, what about the stuff in here? You said it was made to guard magic relics, maybe one of them can help us?"
"I'd say we can try, but where would we start?" Kim gestured around the room. "I'm not Wade, I don't know anything about that stuff, do you?"
"Well, what about that lamp thing?" He asked her, frustrated. "It was obviously special, why not start with that?"
"Ron, that's... brilliant!" Kim hugged him. She slung her pack down on the floor, digging through it. She held out the lamp under one of the torches, trying to get a better look at it.
"How do we use it?" Ron asked as he peered over her shoulder.
"No idea." Kim admitted. "It looks like it's just a plain old lamp." She shook it a little. "It doesn't even have any oil inside."
"Bummer."
Kim angled it, checking for some hint on what she was supposed to do with it, but it really did appear to be completely ordinary. Absently, she tried to polish up the faded brass of the lamp, her mind occupied with thinking on what else they could try to get out of here...
Kim leaped back as the lamp shook violently in her hands. Green and black smoke poured out from it, swirling around. A jet of green flame shot out, slicing through the air where Kim had been standing only a moment before.
A green skinned woman with black hair and a scowl on her face stepped out of the smoke, glaring at Kim.
"Awright, whoever interrupted the first vacation I was having in a hundred years is gonna fry!"
Next Chapter: Shego!