Part 3: Horsing Around
It was a week after the missiton. Kim still had the bandages on but the wound was almost fully healed. She did need to lay off missions for a little longer. Ron went solo, but didn't mind. It was mostly minor stuff since none of their enemies had shown. Then again, he and Kim did defeat and foiled Drakken's previous plot involving Bueno Nacho, the L'il Diablos and…Eric.
Eric…the synthodrone. He was one of Drakken's creations whose primary mission was to distract Kim long enough for his plan to succeed. Fortunately, Kim had listened to Ron about Drakken's plan and together, she and Ron stopped him. During that time, Eric had been taken prisoner and been used as bait to lure Kim to a trap. It broke Ron's heart to see her run towards Eric and hug him, only to have herself knocked out in his arms.
Ron could've run away, leaving Kim behind. After all, she had treated him badly since she met Eric. However, he didn't. They had been friends for so long and Ron had to save Kim, for the sake of their friendship. Okay, he got clotheslined by Shego and got captured. But…he was able to tell Kim how he felt. He still remembered the way Kim looked at him after they had sent Drakken and his goons to prison. His greatest satisfaction was when Rufus bit Eric in the leg, him as his synthogoo leaked out of the hole Rufus made. Ron had to admit that it was satisfying, almost as satisfying as watching Kim kick Shego into the tower, causing it to fall over her. She lived, but she had a really bad hair day. The high point of the night was the kiss they shared at the prom. The low point was, after the prom, Ron and Kim had to stay in bed because they had caught a slight cold from fighting in the storm.
Right now, Ron was on his way to Kim's house, riding his scooter. Rufus rode in the basket and whistled as they were making their way. Ron had brought with him some food to share with Kim. It wasn't Bueno Nacho, but something he personally whipped up. She would appreciate the gesture and give him a huge kiss. Boy, being a boyfriend sure had its perks.
Suddenly, a foreign sound invaded Ron's ear. Actually, it was a familiar sound. The familiar ringing sound one would hear if one was a Zodiac Knight. It was a mirror breach, signaling a monster was about to cross over into the real world from the Mirror Dimension. Ron immediately sped up, searching for the source of the sound.
A monster was waiting in front of a window and watching several children playing, hungrily. As it jumped out, it was rammed away by a familiar blue scooter. Ron shouted to the kids, "Run!" the kids did as told without question. The monster was interrupted from its meal and escaped back into the Mirror Dimension via a window.
Ron stopped in front of the window and looked around. "Rufus stand guard," he told his pet. Rufus saluted.
"Okay!" he squeaked.
Ron took out his Zodiac Deck and thrust his arm out. The belt formed around his waist and the orb in the centre of the buckle glowed red. "ZODIAC FORCE! MONKEY! HENSHIN!" he slammed the deck to the right side of his belt and the energy field swept over him, encasing him in armor. He then leapt into the mirror.
Animorph got out of his Knightrider and was welcomed by a humanoid beetle-like monster with a large jutting horn on its forehead and a tough black exoskeleton. The creature roared and attacked Animorph straight on. Animorph summoned his battle staff and vaulted over the charging beast before slamming his staff into the creature's back. Sparks flew but the beast took no damage and turned, savagely ripping the staff out of Animorph's hands and tossing it away before charging again with its horn. The horn slammed into Animorph's chest and sent him flying into a tree. Animorph shook his head and in a dazed state muttered, "One Naco to go please…"
The creature advanced on him and Animorph quickly brought himself up to defend himself. The beast roared wildly and charged but was rammed away another Knightrider. The top of the vehicle flipped up to reveal…
"Another Zodiac Knight?" Animorph questioned and he was right. The Knight was clad in white armor with matching gauntlets and metallic knee high boots worn over a red bodysuit. On the left side of his chestplate was a golden circle with his emblem: The Horse. He had a pair of small wings on his back. His helmet matched his armor, with wing-like extensions on both sides of his faceplate and a horn protruding from the top, just above the blue visor. He summoned his weapon, which was a polearm with a crescent shaped blade on each end. He turned to Animorph and said, "Watch how a Master does it."
The voice sounded familiar to Animorph, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
The white Knight advanced at the creature, stabbing with his weapon and sending sparks flying before it fell. He then leapt up and brought down his weapon again, attempting to slice the monster's head open. The monster rolled over and the shell on its back opened up to reveal a blue jewel. The jewel fired a blue beam of energy, knocking the Horse Knight out of the skies.
Animorph immediately went to the Knight's aid, "Hey dude, you okay?" The Knight attempted to stand up and grunted. His left arm was bent in an odd angle. "Aw man, you look like you need help!"
"Don't bother," the Knight retorted, placing his right hand on the damaged arm.
"Look man, that arm of yours is clearly broken so I suggest that-" Animorph was cut off when the Knight's hand glowed white and the arm appeared to heal. "Woah…"
The Knight stood up and introduced himself, "Name's Zodiac Knight Doc. You?"
"Zodiac Knight Animorph."
"Care to explain why?" Animorph demonstrated by morphing into a large wooly mammoth. "Cool!"
Animorph, in wooly mammoth form, let out a trumpeting sound before charging at the monster. The creature was no match for Animorph in this state and was caught by the mighty mammoth's tusks before being thrown high up into the air. Animorph shifted to normal form before drawing out a card and inserting it into his buckle. Doc saw this and did the same thing as well, sliding his card into his buckle like Animorph.
"ADD VENT!" Both Knights shouted.
Hanumonkey appeared by Animorph's side. Hanumonkey was basically a human sized monkey with large ears, red fur and covered in silver armor. It pulled offits tail-gunand fired rapid fire shots at the creature. The monster's armor ed and suddenly it was impaled by a sharp spike. Actually, the spike was a sharp horn attached to the head of a winged white horse. Animorph looked at Doc.
"My partner, Pegasus," Doc explained. Animorph nodded and drew out his Final Vent card and slid it into his belt buckle.
The monster was thrown back to the ground savagely by Pegasus. It struggled to get up but was weakened. Perfect.
"FINAL VENT!" Animorph shouted, throwing up his staff. Normally, a falling staff wouldn't hurt much. But, since Animorph's powers were similar to the Monkey King, Son Wukong, the staff also has the same properties.
"HEAVEN'S DROP!"
That was why a staff the size of a Redwood tree came back down, crushing the creature under its weight. The monster blew up on impact and the energy ball rose up.
Hanumonkey went to grab it but was not fast enough for Pegasus who got it first and absorbed it through its horn. Hanumonkey was angry but Animorph told it sternly, "Stay down!"
"But master!" Hanumonkey spoke in its own language, "We were the ones that destroyed it fair and square!"
"I know but can't we share?" Animorph responded. Hanumonkey crossed its arms and muttered. Animorph went to approach the Knight named Doc, "Yo dude! Badical moves out there!"
The Knight stared at Animorph for a second, "Badical?" He thought, Could it be? "Thanks."
"So, you're the Horse Knight, huh?" Animorph inquired again.
"Yup and you must be the Monkey Knight, right?" Doc responded.
"That would be a booyah!"
Now I know that only one guy says that. Doc thought again.
"So, who are you really?" Animorph asked.
The Knight laughed, "If I wanted people to know who I was, would I bother wearing a helmet?"
"Good point. Nice to meet ya," Animorph raised his hand to shake and the Knight took it.
"Nice to meet you too."
They then looked at their hands which were fizzling, "Looks like we're almost out of power. Spent too much energy fighting that thing. Well, see ya!" the Knight leapt onto Pegasus' back and flew away.
Animorph wanted to call him but stopped. "Well, he doesn't know who I am and I definitely don't know who he is." He shook his head and remembered something and quickly ran towards the window he came in through.
Doc leapt out of the mirror and his armor shattered away, leaving a teenager with spiky brown hair and wearing a purple "Zombie " T-Shirt with white cargo pants. He was also sitting in a wheel chair. He picked up a framed picture and whispered, "Could it be you, Ron?"
Felix Renton paced back and forth in his room. Or at least, he was doing the equivalent of the action in his wheelchair. His mind kept focusing back to what had occurred early in the day.
Okay Felix. You gotta think clearly now. I mean, that couldn't have been Ron, could it? I mean, I know he's tough and all, he does help Kim save the world now and then. But Ron being a Zodiac Knight? That's crazy! Felix then paused in his inner monologue. Then again, no one would believe a kid in a wheelchair was a Zodiac Knight either. He wheeled himself towards his desk and pulled out the top drawer. He rummaged through it until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out the rectangular card case and stared at the symbol. The symbol looked like a Horse.
He remembered when Libra approached him that fateful day. Felix was in his room, minding his own business and playing 'Zombie Mayhem 4' on his game console. He remembered Libra's words perfectly, "Do you wish to walk?"
Felix had been born unable to walk. He had always wondered what it would be like to move around like a normal kid. His mother had tried to help him by building his cyber robotics wheelchair. The chair was great, but it wasn't walking. Felix, for reasons unknown but his own wish, answered, "Yes." And Libra gave him the Horse Deck. Libra had only one condition: Felix would have to earn the right to walk by fighting for his wish. Felix accepted. He knew there were other Zodiac Knights from what Libra had told him, but he had never encountered one before, until earlier that morning.
His eyes moved between the deck and the phone. Should he call Ron or not? What if he was wrong and ended up revealing his secret to Ron? However, he had this strong feeling that Animorph and Ron were one and the same.
"Could be a coincidence?" Felix muttered. Or was it? Ron was the only person he knew that used 'Booyah' and 'Badical' in a sentence. If Animorph had said, "Bondiggity!" then Felix would have had verbal confirmation of the Monkey Knight's identity. He kept thinking it over and over in his head.
Zodiac Knight Animorph
Ron equals Booyah plus Badical plus Bondiggity equals Animorph.
Zodiac Knight Animorph equals Ron
Ron is Zodiac Knight Animorph!
Felix had small doubts at first, but there was no doubt Animorph was Ron. But, it would be really ironic. Ron the Monkey Knight. Ron was afraid of monkeys for God's sake. His own words when talking about monkeys were, "Sick and wrong!" so it would be really funny to think about it if Ron WAS Animorph.
However, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. "It's always the quiet ones," he chuckled, "Or in this case, the goofy ones." He wheeled himself to the phone and dialed Ron's number.
Ron was at home and lying on the couch and he had been…busy. Ron's parents had gone out, leaving him and Kim alone. Well you can guess what happened. A teenage couple alone in a house with no parents in sight, what's not to happen?
That was why Kim was lying on Ron and had a smile on her face as she lay on his tummy. Ron had a silly grin on his face and red lip prints all over his face and some on his neck. He could only manage a soft, "Booyah" after their necking session. Rufus was asleep in Ron's room, allowing the teens to have their privacy.
It had started harmless enough. They were watching a movie and suddenly their hands met and then Kim tackled Ron to the couch, kissing him like there was no tomorrow. Of course, they kept their clothes on. They may have been dating for at least a month, but they weren't ready for that.
When the phone rang, Ron absently picked it up and answered, "Yeah?" he said in a daze.
"Ron? Were you sleeping? You sound exhausted!" it was Felix's voice.
"Felix? Dude! It's been awhile! What's up?" Ron asked, excited to hear from his best guy friend.
"Same old, same old, Ron. My mom just upgraded my chair and put on some extra security precautions just in case Motor Ed came to steal it or something," Felix laughed.
"When will that guy ever learn, seriously?" Ron laughed. He then felt some movement on his stomach. He would be used to this since Rufus always did this. But it wasn't Rufus this time. More like a red haired Fox.
"Oh…Ronnie…" Kim purred as she climbed up Ron's body and firmly wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled against him. Ron shuddered and released a small sigh.
"Ron? Ron? Earth to Ron, are ya there?" Felix asked.
"Oh, hey Felix! Yep, still here!" Ron answered, trying to relax while Kim's hair tickled him. She also smelt fine.
"Okay. Do you wanna hit the arcade at the mall tomorrow?"
"Yeah sure," Ron answered. He then yelped as Kim began licking his earlobe.
"Something wrong, dude? I heard you scream."
"Nothing Felix," Ron said, still straining under Kim's attention. He let out a moan as Kim kissed his neck. "Just saw a big bug or something."
"Well, then. See ya tomorrow then. And bring Kim too! Bye!"
"Bye Felix!" Ron said, placing the phone down. He then turned his attention to Kim. "Now, Kimmie-cub," he grinned, "You've been a very naughty girl."
"I deserve to be punished!" she joked. "Oh what will you do to me?"
Ron's only reply was to grin and roll them over on the coach with his arms wrapped firmly around her waist and pressing his lips to hers. Kim did not seem to be complaining at all.
Felix placed the phone down and nodded. Tomorrow he'd straighten this all out.
"I may be wrong," he said to himself. But he felt that he had hit the nail on the head.
TBC…