A/N: and this is where the plot of the fic finally gets going. Had I know it would take four chapters for it to happen, I might have given up before I even began. Thankfully (or not?) I had not idea.

Monkey Fist smiled faintly as he looked up at the family castle he was born and grew up into. It was simply impressive how it had stayed the same through the years, he mused: it was everything like it was – or would be – in the present. Then again he supposed he shouldn't be surprised by the lack of changes since he had been the one who had always refused to do anything to that castle that went past routine maintenance: he had wanted to keep it the way it had been through the centuries despite some adjustments like the installation of electrical wiring. And even that had happened before he was born in any case – he had been far less inclined to change anything than his own father and grandfather had been.

But now, he was indeed going to change something. He was about to change history.

The thought was enough for him to stop musing about the castle and walk closer, but he certainly wasn't planning to walk in through the door. If he was in the time he had in mind when he had used the Tempus Simia, there would be other people inside the castle – Bates, a few maids, and most likely his own mother since she was still alive in that year – he had no intention to deal with, since they would most certainly refuse to let him in unless he could provide them with a valid reason why he should get inside. Either Bates or the maids could be easily disposed of, of course, but he was not going to take the risk of having to face his mother; even though there wouldn't be consequences for him should anything happen to her, he had neither reason nor desire to harm her.

No, he wasn't going to let anyone see him but the one person he was there to meet: himself. If he was in the right time and his estimations were correct – and judging by the weather, they were – it was summer, which meant he had to be home rather than in the boarding school… and he knew exactly in what place he's spend most of his days as a student. The monkey man gave an odd smile as he finally began climbing up the southern wall of the castle, as quick as though he was climbing up a ladder even though he was using only one hand, since the Tempus Simia was cradled safely in the crook of his left arm… then again, he had climbed up and down those walls for practice countless times, and he had the advantage of having four prehensile limbs. And he had even been deemed crazy for wanting those!

It only took him a few minutes to reach the window of what had been his father's study and hoist himself on the ledge before he glanced inside. A wide grin threatened to split his face in two as he saw exactly what he had been hoping to see. His target was there, sitting at his father's old desk. Montgomery Fiske – the last heir to a wealthy family, a promising young man everyone could easily predict a brilliant future for without even knowing how much greater than they could ever expect his destiny was – didn't look one day past seventeen, and he was completely absorbed into reading a heavy book, a focused frown on his face, blue eyes narrowed in concentration.

Even though so much time had passed, Monkey Fist immediately recognized the book: it was an old book of Assyrian history, and he remembered all too well how fascinated by it he had been. Such a loss of time, he thought in distaste – hadn't he still been blinded to what his destiny was, hadn't he been so foolish to only think of Mystical Monkey Power as just a fascinating legend, he could have used that time to start looking for the source of Mystical Monkey Power already. He could have fulfilled his destiny before either Possible or Stoppable were out of pre-school!

But it didn't matter, not anymore: he was there to put a remedy to that, after all. Monkey Fist smirked again at the thought and opened the window.

Monty Fiske – who was reading with great interest about the reign of Shamshi-Adad I – scowled in mild annoyance as a blow of wind suddenly turned the pages. He glanced at the window to see it was now open. Curious, he had been certain it was shut until a minute before. Maybe he hadn't closed it well after all, he mused as he got up from the desk and went to the window to close it again.

Still, he didn't close it right away; after spending the past few hours reading, it was rather relaxing standing there for a few moments, feeling the mild breeze on his face as he glanced at the landscape outside the castle. It certainly was a lovely day, especially after all the rain of the previous days, so perhaps he would go outside for his training once he was done-

"It's quite an enjoyable weather, isn't it?"

Monty winced as the unfamiliar voice reached his ears. He promptly turned to face whoever had spoken, instinctively shifting his weight so that he could be ready to spring in action any second if he needed to, to see an odd man wearing a gi sitting on his desk.

"Who are you?" he demanded to know "how did you get in? What are you-" his voice suddenly died in his throat, and he took a sudden step back as he saw the stranger better. He sat cross-legged and his posture was hunched, which made it difficult seeing what kind of physique he had, but it was his face that immediately caught the boy's attention. There was something familiar in it, something so very familiar… something that made him think of his late father. Yes, that was it: he looked so much like him.

That, together with the fact that man had simply… simply appeared in the room, for the briefest moment almost made him think that it could be him, that he had fallen asleep and was dreaming of some odd, somewhat twisted version of the man Matthew Fiske had been. But then the stranger laughed at his reaction, a high-pitched sound that made the hair on Monty's neck stand on end, and the illusion was shattered, any resemblance he had seen between him and his father forgotten. No, it couldn't be him, not even in a dream. His father's laughter had been warm and pleasantly deep, and he would have never sounded that insane when laughing.

"Who am I?" he repeated, finally abandoning his sitting position and leaping off the desk and onto the floor in one smooth motion "that's a good question and a rather foolish one at the same time. You might be more interested in what I'm here for," he grinned insanely, his eyes meeting the boy's, and the young man was taken aback as he noticed that despite being a slightly darker blue-grey and with dark circles around them they looked dreadfully familiar, too, but not like his father's. They looked nothing like Matthew Fiske's coal black eyes – they looked like his eyes.

For some reason, the realization made Monty feel even more threatened. He dropped into a fighting stance once more. "I demand to know who are you, and how you got in," he said "and unless you tell me exactly what you're here for, I demand you to throw your own self out of this castle!"

The stranger seemed rather amused. "Do you think you can give me orders?" he asked "and what if I told you I don't follow anyone's orders?"

"In that case I might have to resort to other means. But I hope you won't give me any reason to," Monty said, and he really hoped so… more than because he wouldn't want to have to resort to violence – he would if he had to – because there was something in that man's confidence and clothing that made him think he might be able to put up a fight… and win.

For some reason, that reply seemed to amuse the stranger even more. "Oh, I see – so you think you can fight me? But of course you do. You're very proud of your skills, aren't you? And you have every right to be. But you are still so far from achieving your full potential, so very far," he held up his hands, clenching them into fists, and it was with a mixture of awe and repulsion that Monty realized that his hands didn't look human at all… and neither did his feet. Shock almost made him step back against the wall as he realized that the stranger had a monkey's hands and feet. But how was that even possible?

"You wouldn't know what real power is if you held it in your own hands," the man… thing was going on "but I'm here to help you, of course. You're going to learn so much today," he laughed again, a laughter that now made Monty think of a monkey and caused him to shudder.

"What are you?" he asked, unable to keep his voice form wavering.

The stranger scowled, clearly not pleased by the question, but he immediately smirked again. "I am your future, my boy."

His reply startled Monty. "My future?" he repeated "what in the blazes are you talking about?"

"I can't blame you for being surprised, of course. Nothing in your current mentality prepared you for something like this," the monkey man sighed, shaking his head in mock sadness "a pity, truly a pity. So much time, so much potential wasted before you'll see what you're truly meant to do, what you're meant to be. But showing you the way before such a waste happens is what I'm here for."

Monty was about to ask if he thought he was being amusing and to tell him to drop his act, whatever it was about, but words died in his throat as he saw something akin to delight on the man's face – not only because he could now see insanity written over that face, a dangerous kind of insanity, but also because now he could see what his mistake had been. Since that man was significantly older than he was the first thing he had noticed was his striking resemblance to his father, but now that he was closer Monty could see that he actually bore an impressive resemblance to him. Looking at that man suddenly felt like looking into a deforming mirror to have a twisted reflection of himself staring back at him.

I am your future.

No, it couldn't be. It just couldn't be – that was insane, Monty told himself… still, much to his own dismay, his nervousness was quickly turning into something akin to fear. No matter who or what that unsettling mixture between man and monkey was, he didn't care – he suddenly knew he didn't want to have anything to do with it, ever.

"Now," the stranger was going on "if you'll sit down and let me tell you-"

"No."

The monkey man frowned. "Excuse me?"

"I don't want to hear anything you have to tell me," Monty said, his voice a little louder as he regained some courage "I don't know who you are, nor I care. You came here uninvited and began speaking nonsense – if this isn't a very bad joke, you have to be insane. Either way, I want you to get out of here at once!"

The smirk that had still been playing on Monkey Fist's lips vanished, and his scowl deepened. It looked like his younger self was more stubborn than he remembered, he thought in annoyance. And beneath the annoyance there was the sudden thought that maybe he had got too far in the past, that he was too young and still not ready to comprehend his destiny, but he was quick to chase it away. Yes, maybe he wasn't quite as willing to listen as he might have been, but that was a minor setback that would be easily fixed. "Don't be foolish," he said, a threatening note in his voice "if you know what's good for you, you'll listen to every word I say!"

Speaking like that to his younger self was a mistake, and Monkey Fist should have known it: even in his younger days, he had never taken threats or orders kindly. "And if you know what's good for you, get out of here this very instant!" was Monty's predictable retort.

Monkey Fist's eyes were now two narrow slits of pure malevolence. "Are you threatening me?"

"I'm warning you."

"You stand no chance against me, you foolish boy," Monkey Fist remarked, barely able to believe he had once been that blind. But he would certainly realize he had better listen to everything he had to tell him once he finally allowed him to explain exactly who he was, and why he was there. "I have no interest at all in harming you, either. It would only backfire on me," he smirked "I wasn't speaking figuratively when I said that I am your future."

Even though he was very quick to hide it, Monkey Fist could see that his words had unsettled the boy. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, clearly trying with all his might to keep his voice firm. His gaze never left Monkey Fist, but the monkey man could tell it was taking him quite some effort not to turn away.

"What I mean," Monkey Fist said with a smug grin "is that I've come here after a journey nobody before was allowed to do. I've travelled not only through space, but also through time just to help you, to keep from making some mistakes that will hider you – that will hider me – in our quest for destiny," the monkey man took a step forward, his grin widening, his eyes positively insane "I'm here so that I can achieve my destiny, boy – the same destiny as yours, of course, for we are one and the same."

There were a few moments of silence as Monty kept staring at him, his eyes wide, then he seemed to recoil as Monkey Fist took another step towards him and forced the scowl back on his face. "You speak nonsense," he said stubbornly "are you seriously trying to tell me you travelled through time? You must have fled from the Leicester psychiatric ward," he added, more to himself than to that man. Yes, that was it – he had to be dealing with a lunatic. That was the only logic explanation.

"How dare you!" fury suddenly twisted Monkey Fist's features, causing his younger self to wince; while the monkey man had always been aware of what most of the world had to think of him and never really cared – what should it matter to him what those blind imbeciles thought while he had a glorious destiny to fulfil and knew that he would someday have them cowering at his feet? – hearing such words coming from his own mouth infuriated him the way not even the worst kind of betrayal could have. "How can you be this blind? Look at me, boy! How can you still doubt I'm speaking the truth? How can you not recognize yourself?"

Monty could feel a shiver running down his spine as he forced himself to look at that madman's face once more – the sensation of staring into a deforming mirror was there again, this time stronger, but he forced himself to ignore it. He was simply letting his ravings influence him, that was all: any kind of resemblance between them had to be a coincidence: that man… thing had noticed it, and now he was trying to use it to make him believe to some crazy tale involving time travelling of all things. Yes, that was it – he had to be dealing with a loon. That was the only logic explanation. But how in the world had he managed to get inside…?

The boy's blood suddenly ran cold. Until that moment he hadn't spared a thought for the other people who were currently in the castle – his mother, Bates, the maids… what if that madman was as dangerous as he looked? What if he had harmed them? "How did you get inside?" Monty demanded to know, trying his hardest to not look as scared as he suddenly felt.

Despite being still enraged, the stranger seemed amused. "Worried about their safety?" he asked, having clearly guessed his fear "I must say I'm disappointed. Given the circumstance and the enormity of what I'm about to reveal to you, there are more important things you should be concerning yourself-"

"HOW?" Monty almost screamed "if you've done something to them, I swear I will-"

Monkey Fist snorted impatiently – he had had enough of that game. His younger self was a lot more foolish than he could ever remember being, and it looked like he needed to be taught a lesson to get his priorities straight. "You what? You'll fight me? Such arrogance! You can do nothing against me!" he snapped. It was another mistake – he should have known that telling him no one of those he cared for had been harmed would have been the quickest way to calm him down and make him listen – but Monkey Fist was feeling too frustrated by his stubbornness and blindness to do so. Let that immature child try to fight him, let him get himself defeated in no time: after witnessing what he was capable of, how superior to him he was, then he would listen to what he had to say, and how!

As he had expected, the boy finally snapped and attacked with a cry of rage. Monkey Fist noticed with a certain amount of pride how fast and swift his movements were, how good his form was even though still rough – at that point he had already started to train in martial arts and especially in Tai Shing Pek Kwar, but he was entirely self-learned and barely more than a beginner – but of course, he was no match for him as he was now.

The blow was well placed and would have caused some serious harm had it hit its target, but Monkey Fist had seen it coming, as he was quicker and more experienced. He sidestepped the blow and reached to grab the boy's hand; in a fight with any other opponent he would have probably grabbed the still outstretched arm and snapped both wrist and elbow at once, but he had no intention to actually harm his past self, so he held back. His simian hand simply grasped Monty's hand and forced his wrist to bend in an unnatural position that caused the young man the cry out and bend on his knees so that the pressure applied on his wrist wouldn't break it. Nor Monkey Fist had any intention to do so: it was simply a very useful move to keep his opponent still as he finished speaking to him.

"You don't really think you can cause me any harm with these hands, do you?" Monkey Fist smirked slightly and tightened his grip on his younger self's hand just a little, causing him to let out a yelp "they're too weak. You are too weak. But we will put a remedy to that. We'll put a remedy to quite a lot of mishaps that-"

"Let him go, Monkey Fist!"

"Wha…? It can't be!" the monkey man blurted out before turning to the window, and he was shocked to see both Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible standing a few feet from him, both of them in a fighting stance. If gaze could kill, Possible's would have been enough for him to drop dead on the ground. For a few instants Monkey Fist just stared at them, incredulous. He hadn't been worried about the possibility of being interrupted in any way – his father's study was separated from all the rooms of the castle that were used daily, and he had always told Bates and the maids not to disturb him while he was there – and he certainly hadn't expected anyone from the present to get there. How in the world could they follow him?

"How could you-" he began, but he trailed off with a yelp as his past self snatched his hand from his slackened grasp and delivered a sharp kick to his knee – had the boy used some more force, had he managed to hit just a little better, he could have dislodged his kneecap. Monkey Fist let out a growl of annoyance before he reached out with a foot to grab Monty's shirt and toss him aside before he turned fully to face Kim Possible. "No matter," he snarled "I don't care how you could follow me here, but I do know you're not leaving!"

Normally Kim would have shot back some taunt, but the memory of Hirotaka's lifeless eyes was still fresh in her memory, so she just scowled. "Then bring it," she scoffed before turning at Ron and giving a quick nod in Monty's direction – the boy was currently sitting up after hitting his head against the wall, looking rather groggy, and Kim didn't want him to get involved in the fight: even if he didn't help Monkey Fist against her, which seemed unlikely to her after seeing how the monkey man was threatening him, he could end up getting hurt… and although he technically was Monkey Fist, Kim didn't want it to happen. He hadn't done anything wrong, not yet.

As Monkey Fist let out a growl and attacked Kim, Ron sneaked past them and approached Monty, though a little warily and ready to jump out of reach any moment. Not that the other boy seemed up to attack: right now he was just sitting on the ground rubbing the back of his head. "Are you, uh… okay?" Ron asked, a little unsure. How do you exactly talk to the past version of your archenemy?

Monty gave no sigh of having heard him: all he could do was staring with wide eyes at the fight going on in the middle of the room: that madman and the red-haired girl were fighting the way two expert martial artists would, exchanging and dodging blows so fast that their movements were a blur Monty could barely follow. Who in the world-

"What on Earth…?" Monty barely managed to gasp as the blonde boy next to him reached to grab his hand and lifted it closer to his eyes, almost pulling Monty's shoulder out of its socket in the process.

"Hey, Kim, look! No hair!" he exclaimed, sounding everything like he had just found something extremely rare and apparently not being bothered at all by the fact his friend and that… man monkey were currently fighting to the last breath.

"Do you mind?" Monty snapped at him, pulling his hand away from that odd boy's grasp – what in the blazes was wrong with him?

"Hey, no need to be so touchie," the blonde boy protested "I was just taking a look!"

"A man monkey and your friend are trying to kill each other in the middle of the room and all you want to look at his my hand?" he asked in disbelief, wondering if every loon in the country had decided to meet up in his castle.

The other boy was about to reply something, but he abruptly trailed off as a crash followed by a cry reached their ears. They both turned to see that Monkey Fist had managed to gain the upper hand in the fight, keeping Kim pinned to the ground and trying to deliver a blow that would actually end the fight, but she had grabbed his arm and was putting up a lot of resistance. Still, Ron felt a rush of panic as he recognized the same move Monkey Fist had tried to pull on him the first time they had fought, a move that could have killed him hadn't Rufus distracted the monkey man by crashing the jade monkeys.

"KP!" he yelled, trying to rush forward, but he was suddenly pushed aside and fell on the ground with a yelp. "Hey!" he protested, glancing up at Monty – who, on the other hand, wasn't even looking at him. Nor he was looking at Kim and Monkey Fist: his gaze was fixed on the pieces of what had probably been a valuable object on the ground… probably the source of the crash they had heard, Ron realized.

"You broke my father's clock," Monty was saying, his voice shaking with fury, anger swelling in his chest. It had been one of his father's most prized possessions, a gift from his deceased brother, and he had always taken a great care of it… and so had Monty after his death. And now it was in pieces because of that twisted mixture between a man and a monkey, because of that living insult to every law of nature and science! Anger made him clench his hands into fists, and he turned to the monkey man, his eyes narrowing.

Monkey Fist, on the other hand, was barely listening – all his attention focused on Kim as she struggled to break free from his grasp before he could deliver a fatal blow, he barely registered the boy's words. "So?"

"So I hope this hurts."

A surprised and pained yell left Monkey Fist at the vicious round kick that hit his side with unexpected force, cracking a couple of ribs shoving him aside, forcing him to let go of Kim. She immediately seized the chance to spring back on her feet, resuming her fighting stance before turning to Monty. "Thanks, Ro… uh…" she blinked, taken aback "I mean… well, thanks," she muttered, sounding rather surprised.

Monty, however, wasn't listening to her. Monkey Fist had barely enough time to stop gasping and get back on his feet before his younger self sprung forward and attacked again, his hand hitting the same spot he had kicked moments before. In his anger he didn't even stop to think what his next move would be, he didn't really even care about winning a fight – all he wanted to do was hurting him. The monkey man bit back a cry and growled, blocking yet another blow with ease.

"You fool – what do you think you're doing?" the monkey man snapped. Despite the fury, he felt a hint of fear at the realization that maybe that attempt had been a big mistake. It was now clear that he had gone too far back in time, and his younger self was not yet ready to understand, his eyes not yet open to his destiny. What would become of him if that boy stayed in his ignorance now, if he refused to accept what he would become? The future would be utterly different, and he might never be able to fulfil his destiny. He couldn't allow it! Maybe he had made a mistake, but he had to fix it before it was too late! He had to make his past self understand! But to do that, he needed to get him somewhere else where he could speak to him, convince him. Somewhere without Team Possible around to try ruining his plans.

Monkey Fist clenched his jaw and dodged Monty's next blow. The boy was too unbalanced in the attack, and he staggered forward for just an instant – which was enough for Monkey Fist to hit the back of his head with enough force to knock him out.

Kim – who had stared at the scene in front of her with wide eyes for a few moments – snapped out of her surprise as she saw the boy slumping unconsciously on the floor, and immediately leapt forward, trying to aim a high kick to Monkey Fist's chest. The monkey man managed to grab her leg and fling her against the wall, but Kim was quick to bounce off the wall and was on him again in a moment. "What is it, Monkey Fist?" she taunted, blocking his blows while trying to keep him as far as she could from his past self "now you can't even get yourself to like you?"

The monkey man gritted his teeth. "You never learn when to give in, do you?" he snarled "no matter – both you and the buffoon will soon find out what a mistake trying to stand against me was. Or better yet, you'd find out if you kept existing for long enough!" he let out something resembling an animal's cry as he delivered a powerful kick to Kim's midsection, causing her to gasp and tumble across the floor.

Monkey Fist allowed himself to smirk and quickly reached to grab the Tempus Simia – which he had left on a shelf of the library when he had sneaked inside – an turned to grab his past self, planning to bring him with him in some other time and place where he could finally make him listen… then he froze as he realized that the boy was no longer on the floor where he was a moment before. "What…?"

"Hey, looking for him, Monkey Freak?"

Monkey Fist felt his blood running cold as a much-hated voice reached his ears. He turned to see Ron Stoppable standing on the other side of the room, holding a still unconscious Monty Fiske from under his shoulders – he had dragged him away while he was busy battling Possible, he realized. "You!" he barked, taking a step towards him "get your hands off him this very- ow!" he yelped as a blow from Kim Possible, who had recovered a lot more quickly than he would have liked, sent him crashing against a wall. For a dreadful instant he thought the Tempus Simia would slip from his grasp and clutched it tightly from his chest, and relief washed over him as he realized he had managed to protect the priceless idol. His relief, however, was short-lived.

"Ron! Get him through the passage!"

"What?" confusion made Stoppable's voice sound higher and even more annoying than usual "but Kim, shouldn't we get the-"

"Just do as I say!"

"But Wade said there might not be enough energy to bring more than two people-!"

"NOW, RON!"

Monkey Fist paled as he tore his gaze from the Tempus Simia and glanced up to see some kind of shining… passage in the middle of the room that didn't look too different in shape and dimension from the one the Tempus Simia could create. Stoppable was dragging his younger self inside while Kim stood between him and them, still in a fighting stance and her eyes still fixed on him, and it was then that Monkey Fist realized what they were trying to do.

"NO! Don't you dare!" he screamed, desperately trying to leap on them, but Kim was quicker: she pushed Ron and Monty through the portal with one hand and leapt forward, directly on him. Her right foot hit Monkey Fist's chest, causing him to fall back, and she used the momentum to bounce off him and perform a back flip that resulted with her disappearing into the portal only an instant before it sealed itself shut.

The study was completely silent again, for Monkey Fist could barely dare to breathe as he stared at the spot where his foes and his past self had been only an instant before, his mind unable to actually process the magnitude of his failure and how much it might turn out to affect him.