Kim Possible: Attack of the Bebes
(A/N: Second up today.)
We Are One
"She has been gone too long," Yori stated. "We must move now."
"Right. Let's find that cherry tree," Monkey Fist said. Silently the two crept through the forest, searching for it.
"Perhaps there is another way in," Yori remarked when they were having no luck.
"Any other way would be of high risk to not only us, but our allies as well," Monkey Fist replied.
"I have greatly overestimated you if you cannot keep up to a ninja in stealth," Yori challenged.
Monkey Fist started and whirled on her, saying, "Why you little…" Just then the monkeys began shrieking. The two gasped and turned. Quickly they followed the creatures. The monkeys were splashing across a stream and racing up to none other than the cherry tree! Monkey Fist and Yori exchanged shocked looks then raced up to it.
They looked down towards where the secret passage was said to be, hoping the historical documents Monkey Fist had spoken of weren't wrong. "We have found it, but now the fireworks are wet. They must dry, and I fear we do not have the time to spare," she said.
"There is no use trying to change what cannot be changed," Monkey Fist replied, though he was obviously angered at the inconvenience. "We shall have to wait."
KP
The two stood, looking out over the fortress. The wind was blowing, not lightly but not forcefully. It chilled them. The night was cold and clear, moon bright and shining. The monkeys set down the fireworks and leapt off to pass the time in the forest. "What do you fear most?" Yori questioned quite suddenly.
Monkey Fist started and looked over at her curiously. After a time he turned back to watch the fortress and answered, "Nothing."
"Fear is one who cannot be denied," Yori stated.
"I've denied him just now," he answered.
"But it does not mean you do not feel it," she said.
Monkey Fist was silent. Finally he turned to her and said, "Have you heard the saying 'There is nothing to fear but fear itself?' If I had let fear rule me, I would have died long ago."
"If you had let fear enter your heart, you would not be in this position now, the Yono pursuing your every move," Yori replied.
Monkey Fist snorted in derision but said nothing, because honestly she was right. He pursed his lips and turned to her, saying, "I fear enslavement. I fear captivity. I fear an unending death and the torments of the Underworlds of mythology. So yes, in that regard I fear the Yono and his curse. But more so than them, I fear losing my powers."
"Because they have consumed you," she said.
Then it dawned on him for the first time. She was right… She was right, and that frightened him more than it had any right to. He subtly shivered. After a moment he replied, "Yes… I let them consume me. Now they are as much a part of me as my own heart and my own soul, and without them I cannot live."
"You will not try," she corrected.
"Can you claim to be any different with your honor?" Monkey Fist demanded sharply, though his voice was quiet.
She bowed her head low and answered, "I cannot. But honor has not driven me down the path to my own ruin."
"Hasn't it? Kill me, then," he said.
KP
Yori started and looked at him, eyes wide. He shook his head, saying, "You pity me, I know this. Though I don't want it, you continue to show mercy to me. It will drive you and all you love, this entire world, to ruin if you do not kill me…" She shivered. "So come at me," he challenged, spreading his arms. "I'm wide open."
She swallowed dryly and bowed her head. "I will not," she replied.
"No? I didn't think so," he said. "Not even to save your own life… Or the lives of your siblings." She looked sharply at him, eyes flashing angrily. He'd hit a soft spot.
"I will fight to the death to protect my siblings," she replied.
"Even against honor, Yori?" he asked. Her eyes became uncertain and she looked down. He took her chin gently and tilted it so she was facing him once more. "We are one, you and I. Bound together by an understanding. An understanding of just how powerful our ties to honor and power are. Honor is to you what power is to me. That is why you pity me. Because you know how much I love it; for you love honor the same."
Tears in her eyes, she replied, "You are my polar opposite. You are the one true enemy I have ever had and I despise what you have done to those I love…Yet I cannot turn my back on you, and I cannot find it in myself to give up because you are right. I know what power is to you, as you know what honor is to me. But understand that more than I hate you for what you have done to my loved ones, I despise you for what you have done to yourself. You have sealed your own fate, but I am still able to choose mine. That is what will lead to either your victory or mine."
KP
Monkey Fist looked down at the girl a long moment. Finally he drew his hand away from her chin and turned to the bags his ninjas had left behind. He brought out the damp and dusty fireworks. Yori was silent, watching. "You know you have lost your mind," she more stated than asked.
"I know I am close. I have been for years. No more of this honor and power talk, no more waiting. We're getting in there one way or another," he answered.
"If you act too soon, you will get them killed. Or us," Yori protested.
"Will I now? Watch me," he answered. He set them up, lit the fuses then whistled for his ninjas. They appeared. He gave them the fireworks and coded to them where they were to bring them. Instantly the simian's obeyed, leaping away to set up the explosives. Biting her lower lip, Yori crossed her arms and looked worriedly down as she sat on a rock. Monkey Fist sprang up to a low branch next to her and looked towards the fortress.
KP
It was silent a long moment, but somehow not at all awkward. The cherry blossom petals rained down around them like the winter's snow. Breaking the silence, Yori remarked, softly catching a blossom in her hand, "They are beautiful. So soft, so delicate."
"Cherry blossoms are the teardrops of spring," Monkey Fist told her, looking at the petals and reaching up for them.
Yori looked at him slowly, eyes pitying and gentle. "You know beauty," she said in realization.
Monkey Fist tensed then looked down. He turned back to her, answering, "All men know beauty. I choose not to be overwhelmed by it." He looked up at the sky.
"What do you search for?" she asked.
Monkey Fist sighed and closed his eyes. "A glimpse of the moon. It hasn't appeared since the night my powers came to fruition," he answered.
Yori listened pityingly. "You will be free again, my lord," she declared.
Monkey Fist looked at her for a long time, trying to read her. My lord? When had anyone last called him that, he wondered. Why had she, of all of them, addressed he who was her enemy as such? Finally he replied, "In dreams, perhaps."
"You will be free," she stated.
He sighed, saying, "Yori…" He trailed off then finished, "Possibly."
"Have you doomed yourself already, Monkey Fist?" she asked. "Forgive me, but I did not think you the type."
"Yes, well it's rather difficult to stay optimistic when death follows your every step. Look at your brother, Monkey Fist nipped.
"I do not want to argue. Please, let us speak not as enemies," she pled, forcing back the wave of despair that washed through her at the mention of her brother.
"Dear girl, you are too honorable for your own good; but very well. Is this not cordial enough for you?" he asked.
"I supposed I cannot expect much more," she answered.
"Yori, you know my disposition," he said.
"Yes…" she softly replied.
KP
After a moment, she asked, "When I tell you I do not want you to die, do you believe me?"
"I do," he answered. "But how far would you go, really, for your enemy?"
"I will die for you," she stated, and he sharply looked down at her.
"What?" he questioned, unsure he'd just heard that.
"I would die for you," she repeated.
An amused smile crossed his face and he murmured, "Am I really worth your life?"
"Perhaps not, but it does not matter," Yori said.
"Maybe not now, but if ever that situation comes, you will change your tune very quickly," Monkey Fist declared.
"I hope never to have to test that," she said. Just then the fireworks blew up.
"Let's go," Monkey Fist said, pulling his ninja hood down. Yori followed his lead and the duo leapt down towards the prison fortress.
(A/N: In Kim Possible, Monkey Fist and Yori were complete opposites without a doubt. I simply elaborated on that point here.)