All characters and places in this story belong to the Disney Corporation, just like Lucasfilm, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel, Jim Henson Productions and ABC do.

The original creators were Mark McCorkle and Robert Schooley.

I receive nothing for the writing of this story.

If anyone knows Zaratan or can get in touch with him, please let him know that I am doing

this. If he give me permission, great. If he doesn't and wants to finish it himself, great. Either way it's a win.

Several reviewers have mentioned the fact that I have this story' genre listed as Angst/Tragedy. I think we have all seen the angst, but it is the tragedy aspect that is throwing some readers off. There are several different definitions of "Tragedy," other than the idea that one of the main characters will die, although that is always a possibility. For this story, I think this abbreviated quote from Wikipedia comes closest.

Theories of tragedy: Aristotle

Aristotle wrote in his work Poetics that tragedy is characterized by seriousness and involves a great person who experiences a reversal of fortune (Peripeteia). Aristotle's definition can include a change of fortune from bad to good as in the Eumenides, but he says that the change from good to bad as in Oedipus Rex is preferable because this induces pity and fear within the spectators. Tragedy results in a catharsis (emotional cleansing) or healing for the audience through their experience of these emotions in response to the suffering of the characters in the drama.

According to Aristotle, "the structure of the best tragedy should not be simple but complex and one that represents incidents arousing fear and pity—for that is peculiar to this form of art." This reversal of fortune must be caused by the tragic hero's hamartia, which is often mistranslated as a character flaw, but is more correctly translated as a mistake or error in judgment.(since the original Greek etymology traces back to hamartanein, a sporting term that refers to an archer or spear-thrower missing his target). According to Aristotle, "The change to bad fortune which he undergoes is not due to any moral defect or flaw, but a mistake of some kind." The reversal is the inevitable but unforeseen result of some action taken by the hero. It is also a misconception that this reversal can be brought about by a higher power (e.g. the law, the gods, fate, or society), but if a character's downfall is brought about by an external cause, Aristotle describes this as a misadventure and not a tragedy.

In addition, the tragic hero may achieve some revelation or recognition (anagnorisis-"knowing again" or "knowing back" or "knowing throughout") about human fate, destiny, and the will of the gods. Aristotle terms this sort of recognition "a change from ignorance to awareness of a bond of love or hate."

That doesn't answer all of your questions? If it did, then this would be the ending of the story and I'm not there yet.

Close.

But not yet.

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Sorry about the long wait for this update, but real life had to remind me that if it could go wrong when you least expected to, it would. Nothing major. Just the family car which both my son and myself depend on to get to and from work decided to blow either a head gasket or a head. Either one will cost more on labor than parts so we had to get an inexpensive replacement vehicle with about everything we had saved back and until we can get it in to be thoroughly checked, I worry every time someone drives it. Makes it kind of hard to concentrate on writing. So, once again a great big 'thank you' to Cajunbear73 for all the work he has done on polishing a corn cob into something worth posting.

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Previously:

With a sad smile on his face, "Hello Michelle." he said. He then turned enough to face the other women in the room. "Hana. Mrs. Stoppable.", he nodded his greetings.

He then faced Kim and without any trace of a smile "Hello Kim. Long time no see."

The man's face scared Kim. She knew who he was even if she couldn't give a name to the man, but that wasn't what scared her. The man wasn't Ron and if Bonnie had been correct about Ron not going after Monique, could she be correct about Ron wanting to...

Ron was still out there.

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'Ron was still out there', Kim suddenly realized. 'Alone and no idea where', rang in her mind as panic started to take hold within her.

Hana broke the silence, "What are you doing here?" With, "Uncle Ned?", from Michelle, right after her.

And then, sadly, "I haven't deserved the name Mrs. Stoppable for a long time now." from a remorseful Bonnie. Then with an anger-tinged growl, "And since I no longer want anything to do with the name Rockwaller, I go by Miss Walls now."

As he turned back to Bonnie, Kim asked, "Ned? Ned Neezen? The Assistant Manager of Bueno Nacho, Ned?"

He turned back to Kim; a sour look on his face; but before he spoke to Kim, Michelle said, "He is the Assistant Manager for the Company. Daddy trusts him and he runs it when we are on vacation."

"Assistant Manager for Ron's multimillion-dollar chain of restaurants?" Kim muttered mostly to herself.

Hearing her, "Yes…and as a matter of fact I am, and I guess I owe that to you." Ned replied, half-smile on his face."

"Me?"

With a deep breath, almost like a sigh, "It was the day before he and his wife were to leave for the west coast. Business was kind of slow at that time of the day with only a few people eating inside, but when Ron walked in those still there left, even if they hadn't finished their food."

Kim's jaw dropped, Michael was stunned, the rest glowered.

"Shrugging, "I guess they'd heard the same stories I'd heard."

"Anyway, it was the first time I'd seen him since…..you two came in just before leaving for college.", Ned paused for a while, his grimace softening. "I almost didn't recognize him, he looked so…...", his voice nearly cracked, "so beaten…And he looked worse with each step he took to the counter." The room was silent.

"His eyes never veered towards the booth the two of you always sat in….as he approached.", Ned's eyes took on a far-off gaze. "He looked like…..he'd been crying.", his voice filling with emotion. Bonnie's eyes misted, Michelle's teared up, Hana's narrowed. Michael's and Kim's eyes widened.

Clearing his throat, "When he got to the counter, he ignored my greeting and ordered two small tacos and a small order of nacho chips with cheese; the cheapest things on the menu before he started emptying out his pockets looking for enough loose change to pay for it."

Incredulous, "You mean...Daddy was that broke?" from Michelle. Throughout her life up to now, she had never seen her father in such a state.

Softly, "Yes dear.", and forlorn of the memory, Bonnie answered. "We had just spent about all we had left on the plane tickets to LA. Your father's uncle was going to put us up at his place till we got on our feet and…...we ah...had some unexpected medical bills to deal with. Plus we had to try and save as much as we could for when you decided to come into the world.", with a smile only a mother could have for such a 'burden' as her child.

"You didn't have insurance?" asked an astounded Kim. "You had to have something in order to attend college."

Turning to Kim, a fire in her teal eyes, "My father,", Bonnie spat, "canceled my insurance coverage right after he declared me a slut and threw me and all of my belongings out into the street.", she shot back at her former rival. "No other insurance group would cover me since I was already pregnant. It was considered a pre-existing condition that no one wanted to cover."

Chiming in, "It was because of those other medical bills that Ron came in to order the food from Bueno Nacho that day.", Ned added. "As the part timers were refilling the cheese into the dispenser, I asked Ron point blank about the stories that had been circulating about him and Bonnie." An uneasy silence filled the room.

"It took a little doing, but he finally told me his side of what happened….I think it was because he said I was the only person that ever asked him what had happened instead of why he could have done those things to you,", he pointed, "Kim." Her cheeks flushed slightly. "After I told him that I believed him, he told me why he was in there at all."

A sad look came over Bonnie as she looked down for a moment before, "It was for his goodbye dinner with Rufus. The little guy had to stay behind when we moved."

Shocked, Kim could only whisper "Why? I thought he would have taken him with you."

Bonnie hesitated, the look of sadness worsened till Hana spoke up, "Bonnie developed a severe allergic reaction to Rufus that threatened the baby."

Reeling at this news, Michelle was speechless at hearing something she never known of before now: Why Rufus had to stay with Grandmother and Grandfather before she was born.

"It wasn't Rufus exactly." Bonnie clarified. "The Doctors found that it was a type of skin mite that can only live off of naked mole rat skin. There wasn't any way to eliminate them from him, so for the sake of the baby, he had to stay behind."

She turned to her daughter, "For you Michelle, he had to live in his plastic tunnels and boxes that had to be kept in a negative-pressure sealed room. The air was vented through filters to kill the mites.", she said to the surprise of all but two.

Her eyes tearing, "It hurt them both so much….to only be able to talk through a little intercom system, it was decided that he be left behind in Middleton so he could at least have free rein of the house again.", Bonnie sadly recounted. "There wasn't any kind of medication for it since there was such a small demand for it."

After a brief pause to allow her words to soak in, "I knew how he felt about the little guy,", Ned continued, "so as I was sacking his order, I put in a couple of his Nacos and I super-sized his order of chips. When he pushed it back telling me I'd gotten the order wrong, that he hadn't paid for the extras, I just told him to have a 'Muy bueno' dinner with Rufus and good luck in LA. I was sure he would do well.", his voice wistful and his eyes misting.

Avoiding looking to Kim, "He thanked me and told me he wouldn't forget this.", Ned recounted. Then gazing to her, "Not many people outside his family had been very kind to him back then, so I remember that moment well.", he said evenly.

Looking to the others, "That was the last I heard from him till years later when Bueno Nacho had to shut down." Shrugging, "Apparently they hadn't paid their taxes for a period of five years and the head of accounting had left the country, so as a result we all lost our jobs.", Ned reflected darkly.

His look hollow, "I made do for a while but in time my unemployment was just about to run out and found it hard to find a job…since I had spoken out in favor of Ron, I had made some enemies along the way….", Ned let hang. "I had no foreseeable future in Middleton as a result, and when I was down to my last dollar, out of the blue, Ron called me and offered me a job as a manager in his restaurant chain….I thought he meant for one of his restaurants, but it was for the whole thing. He even paid for my plane ticket."

Bonnie's, Hana's and Michelle's eyes shone at this; Kim and Michael were stunned.

His voice thick with emotion, "He offered to let me stay at his place till I could get my own. How could I refuse? He gave me back a chance to have a life again instead of having to live with my folks.", Ned faltered at the end and struggled to regain his composure.

In the pause, "But where is he now Uncle Ned?", Michelle demanded, moving towards him. "That's what we need to know right now!", snapping back from her curiosity of the times before she could remember.

Ned took a deep breath, then, "Your father called me just a little while ago and asked me to meet him not far from where I surrendered to those...gentlemen.", said as he indicated the GJ agents that left after surrendering everything he had on him to Kim: The car keys, Michael's cell phone, a small metal box and a large manila envelope.

His face took on a haunted look, "He sounded frantic on the phone, like I hadn't heard him sound since just before the Junior Year prom." Kim's cheeks reddened. "Once I saw him though, he looked worse than he had back then. Almost crazed." Motioning to it, "He wanted me to bring that envelope and give the papers in it to you, Michelle."

Looking her in the eyes, "He had his lawyers make them up years ago; they just needed to be served." Cold realization set in immediately with most while one stood fast. "They effectively give you, his parents and Hana complete co-ownership of his restaurants."

Michelle looked from Ned to the others in the room before looking back to him, "I don't care about the restaurants. I don't care about anything other than finding my father.", her face taking on a look the older generation in the room recognized immediately in her. "Please help us! Tell us where he went!", she pleaded with him.

Quietly, "Ron said that he was going to have a 'chat' with the best friend he ever had before he had to go and take care of business.", Ned told her.

Jumping in, "What did you two talk about?", Kim interjected.

As if he hadn't heard her, "When I saw him, I tried to get him to come home with me….But he didn't pay any attention to me…He seemed…to be listening to voices I couldn't hear…and sometimes he would answer them. I thought he was going to shake my hand but the next thing I knew I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything to stop him." he replied to Michelle.

Then turning to Kim, "And I'm not his 'best' friend.", he said to her flinch. "I'm his good friend, which is why I went ahead and drove to the address he gave me when I was imitating a statue.", a statement that weighed on the redhead. "He told me it might be dangerous, but that's what friends do for one another, isn't it?" Kim's head bowed slightly in shame.

What Ned told them rattled in her mind. "No…", Ned continued, her head came up. "Best friend? He only gave out that title to two individuals in his life.", he peered at her. "Once for you and the other was for...", he let hang.

Her head snapped to him, "For who?" Kim demanded when he paused. Her anger was more towards herself since she felt that she'd betrayed that title all those years ago. "Who did he go to talk to?"

Ned looked at her like she should have known the answer without him having to tell her. "Why Rufus, of course."

"Rufus?" The wheels in her mind went spinning at Ned's answer.

The life expectancy of a naked mole rat varied from authority to another. One might say twenty to thirty years while another might say as low as five years. And after the solemnity expressed previously regarding the naked mole rat, it never dawned on her to think that the little guy was still alive.

"Rufus is still around?"

As a silence fell on the small group, Kim got the feeling that she'd asked a question that nobody wanted to answer and it wasn't till Hana cleared her throat that the silence was broken. "Ahem. No…..He isn't…He passed away three years after they moved away."

To say Kim was ashamed at this point was an understatement.

Quickly shaking out of the emotion, "Then then we have no idea where Ron is." Kim muttered to herself.

"Yes we do!" burst out from Hana. "We just need to get there before he does anything he can't undo. It'd better just be us though.", she said looking to certain individuals, "Too many people and I don't know what he might do.", she said before turning to the door, "I'll drive."

Michelle hurried to Michael and gave him a kiss. "You'd better stay here and give Uncle Ned a ride home when the agents bring your car back. I'll call you as soon as we find him.", she said, her eyes imploring him.

Hana and Michelle each gave Kim hard looks as they started out the door to Hana's car. The feeling of the redhead's responsibility in all of this conveyed in their eyes, which gave Kim second thoughts about going with them or not.

But before Kim faltered, or decided she should not go with them, Bonnie wiped those doubts away. "Come on you two. One way or another, she needs to be there, and you both know it." she growled to her daughter and Hana.

Turning to Kim, "That is, as long as she wants to help and put aside who she is,", an eyebrow rose, "and becomes who she needs to be.", Bonnie said to a now-glaring redhead.

Huffing, "I'll do whatever I need to do, so long as it helps.", Kim said in determination.

Bonnie gave her a slight smile and a grateful nod, "Come on then. We've got a good man to try and save.", before they all entered Hana's car.

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The Headmistress of the Yamanouchi School of Ninjutsu, was finishing her packing for the trip to the United States. She, her husband and two children had been invited to attend the wedding of the only child of the Chosen One.

'Actually', she thought as she lightly patted her abdomen which bulged out in front of her, 'Her, her husband and two and a half children.' The third was due in two months.

Some may have thought she was a little old to be still having children, but she thought it a great honor to show how much she and her husband loved one another as well as their children by wanting more.

She reflected a moment about how sad it was that the Chosen One, or Ron-san as he still preferred her to call him, only had the one child, and he had not wanted her to follow his examples in ways of the ninja. He had always said that it was enough for his sister to be a part of the culture, but he did not want his only daughter to be tempted into following the same path of the one that...altered their destinies.

Yori had requested the honor to be allowed make known to the woman what she had done, but Stoppable himself had forbidden it, wanting to allow her to live the life she had chosen without any outside interference from anyone, especially anyone from Yamanouchi. He thought it would bring shame to the school and what it stood for.

She was startled out of her thought when the sound of the Alarm Gong rang out in the school: The alarm for the Shrine of the Lotus Blade.

Suddenly, a runner appeared to inform her, his Sensei, of the alarm's nature: The Lotus Blade had re-appeared in its cradle at the shrine which could only mean one of two things.

Either Ron Stoppable, the Chosen One, had perished and the Blade returned, awaiting someone else worthy enough to claim it…

Or Stoppable-san had relinquished his right as Guardian of the Blade because he no longer felt worthy.

She was not sure which of the two conditions would be the worst...for both meant a death in one form or another. Her eyes closed, lost in thought, thinking back…the last time he had felt that way was back when...

Her eyes shot open in terrified realization, she quickly brought out her cell phone to call the Han. It would be foolish to attempt to call Ron-san if what she thought had happened had taken place, so his sister would be the next person to call.

Completely baffled, Yori's mind tried to make sense of what she suspected had happened. But, it had been too long, so much silence since any of them had heard from…...the woman. How could they have met again? What could have brought them together after all this time?

She had to find this out and soon, or the consequences, were dire. For so many.

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To Be Continued...

Ned's last name is derived from the man that voiced his character. Eddie Deezen, who is famous for voicing Mandark, the arch foe of Dexter, from the classic Cartoon Network cartoon: "Dexter's Laboratory". They added an 'N' to Ed for Ned, so I added an 'N' replacing the 'D' in Deezen.

As always, if you have a question about something or you find an error, drop me a note or put it in a comment.