Finally! The long-awaited final (maybe) chapter of this story. Hope y'all like…
First, as usual, let me say a big Thank-You to all who read and reviewed the previous chapter: Sentinel103, daccu65, XoXoGigglieGirl1, CajunBear73, screaming phoenix, Shrike176, Sacred White Phoenix, Kwebs, Mr. Wizard, Katsumara, bigherb81, Belrevan, Donteatacowman,, and kim's 1 fan. You guys and gals are awesome!
Chapter 9
Before anyone could blink, Hana was out of her seat, and had crawled over Kim, opened the door of the SUV and jump out. "Hana no!" Kim yelled, and tried to grab the toddler, but she was too late. Kim quickly undid her own belt, and looked back to see if Hana was lying on the ground behind them.
"I don't see her! We've got to turn around!" Kim yelled with tears in her eyes, as she just knew that Hana was either seriously hurt, or possibly dead.
"She's not behind us…" Gene Stoppable said from the drivers seat, and Kim turned around to see a small form kicking up dust and pulling away from them. It was Hana, and she was outrunning the vehicle, and gaining speed.
…x x x x…
Looking at Ron's grief stricken face, after hearing his last order to his men, Moriarty smiled. "My men will follow my orders perfectly Mr. Stoppable. Your Kimberly is as good as dead."
The grief on Ron's face turned to anger, and he clenched his teeth tightly making the jaw muscles flex. "You said we would be together."
"I never said whether you would be together and alive now, did I?"
"You're a dead man, Moriarty." Ron said, and his eyes narrowed at Moriarty with as much anger he could muster. The sadness was nearly unbearable for him, as Ron wanted to cry on the spot. Kim was…dead. Or at least Moriarty had ordered her killed. He envisioned himself with his hands around the man's throat, choking the life out of him.
"No Mr. Stoppable. You are… That is, after you give me what I want."
Any poker player would have been proud of Ron as he slowly spoke to Moriarty without a hint of emotion. "This building we are in will most likely prevent me from doing any sort of power transfer." Ron saw a barely perceptible twitch from the corner of Moriarty's left eye, and Ron almost let the corner of his mouth tick up, but he didn't.
"You don't really don't think I would trust you once we are out from under the effects of this building, do you?" Moriarty sounded a bit incensed.
Ron took a breath, and his brow returned to almost normal. With a stone face he answered. "You have my word I will give it to once we are away from the effects of this building."
"Be that as it may, I guess I'll have to trust you. You have acted admirably so far, so I guess I will believe you, since this is the only way. But first, turn around." Ron turned as he was asked, but he did it slowly. Then Ron felt the barrel of the gun press against the back of his head, just above his neck. He also felt Moriarty grab his right arm just above the elbow.
Lefty… Ron thought to himself, and then Moriarty told him to lead the way out of the building.
As they walked through the building towards the exit, Ron could gradually feel his strength coming back to him. He had never noticed this before, since all the other times he was in a hurry to leave so he could get back in the time frame stipulated by Moriarty. So by the time Ron reached the door that he had ripped off before, he was almost at full strength.
After walking two steps out into the morning sun, in literally a blink of an eye, Ron raised his right arm and spun to his right breaking the grip Moriarty had. Ron's forearm knocked the gun away from his body and the gun went off firing into the ground just as Ron's hand clamped down on Moriarty's wrist.
His left hand then came around and slapped onto the top of Moriarty's head. The palm rested on his forehead, and his fingers were splayed over Moriarty's slightly graying hair, not unlike what he had done to Martin Smarty earlier. A sneer came to Ron's face, and Moriarty could almost hear a low growl come from Ron Stoppable's throat.
"Surprised?" Ron said with a positively evil look in his eyes.. "I never said what I was going to give you now, did I?" For the first time in Moriarty's life he felt fear as he heard his own words turned back towards him.
With a groan, Moriarty then dropped to his knees in front of Ron, who released his grip on the man's arm, but kept his hand in contact with Moriarty's head. A bluish-black glow began to emanate from Ron's hand, and envelope Moriarty's head. It then started to move down his body and towards his chest.
Ron's eyes began to glow with the same bluish-black energy, and the corner of his mouth ticked up a bit as he saw the anguish coming from the man in front of him. All the anguish he felt from the knowledge of Kim being hurt, and most likely killed by this man filled his mind. Ron Stoppable was ready to kill in cold blood. He pushed down slightly onto Moriarty's head, making him slouch a bit, and saw the effects that his energy was having on him.
The skin on Moriarty's face was starting to shrink and get tight around his cheekbones, and his eyes were beginning to bulge a bit out of his head. Ron then raised his right hand in a fist that was sheathed in energy, looking almost like the plasma of Shego, but instead of green and black, this was blue and black in color.
Just as his fist began it's downward journey to slam into Moriarty's head, and rid this despicable man of his life, a lone, and quite young little voice was heard. It was a voice shaking from barely contained emotion, but clear as a bell. It was Hana.
"B… Brother?"
Ron whirled around, letting Moriarty drop to the ground with a thud, almost completely drained of all of his energy. He saw Hana standing just a few feet away with a look of fear and sadness in her eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, Ron then saw a black SUV pull onto the compound. After sliding to a stop and raising a cloud of dust, the doors immediately popped open, and out jumped a group of people that was comprised of the last people Ron thought he would see, with Kim in front running to him.
Well, running the best she could, as she had a severe limp, favoring her left leg. Tears immediately pooled in Ron's eyes as he saw Kim alive and well. He took two steps towards her, and then saw a look of what seemed to be fear, and she pulled up, quickly stopping her run. Everyone else also had stopped in their tracks as well, making Ron wonder just what was going on.
"Not fair!" Ron heard from Hana, and he turned just in time to see Moriarty awkwardly lunging at him with a small knife. He then noticed a blur about knee high shoot around him and strike Moriarty with a glancing blow at the knees making him completely miss Ron with the downward slash. Thinking quickly, Ron grabbed Moriarty's wrist, and gave a twist, making him yelp and drop the knife.
"Hana's right. You don't play fair." Ron let go of his wrist, and this time Moriarty fell to the ground, completely unconscious. Ron then turned around once again to face the direction he had been earlier and was almost knocked over by a redhead who completely wrapped herself around him. He stumbled back a bit and recovered quickly, only to have his lips attacked in a manner that felt quite pleasing, but surprisingly, he was thinking about something else entirely.
Kim unwrapped herself from Ron, slowly lowered her feet to the ground and looked into Ron's eyes. They seemed to be off somewhere distant. "Ron?" She tentatively asked and placed a hand on his cheek, breaking him from his thoughts.
"I… almost…" Ron said under his breath.
"Almost what Ron?" Kim asked with a bit of apprehension.
"Killed." He said in less than a whisper, but to Kim it sounded like a shout. He then looked at Kim and his voice sounded a bit stronger. "I… I was weak Kim. I let my emotions drive my actions. All those other times? When I had to fake killing someone?" Kim nodded. "I had complete control of my actions."
It's OK…" Kim started to say but was immediately cut off.
"No, it's not OK." The words were spat out in obvious disgust. "I almost dropped to his…" Ron indicated Moriarty lying on the ground, "… level. All this power that I have… and I couldn't control myself. If Hana hadn't interrupted me…"
"Ronald Stoppable…" Kim said with a voice stern enough to shut Ron up. Kim also had placed both of her hands on his cheeks as she looked deep into his brown eyes. "The fact remains that you… didn't… do it. This energy you have? The power? Moriarty wanted it, didn't he?"
All Ron could do was nod. "He could never take your power Ron. Oh, Moriarty could have taken the energy that you have and then most likely use it to do bad things… But he will never, NEVER have your power. That comes from inside Ron. From here." Kim placed one of her hands on Ron's chest over his heart, and instinctively he brought up a hand and held onto it tightly, not moving their hands from where they lay. "That's something that Moriarty could never take from you."
"But I almost…" Ron started to say again and was stopped with a slender finger pressed against his lips.
"The fact remains Ron… you didn't do it. You didn't kill him. I honestly don't know if I myself would have had that much restraint if I thought that you were dead."
"But after what Moriarty just tried, what will keep others from trying to control me through you, Kim? Or even through my family, or yours? If I just didn't have this…" Once again a slender finger stopped Ron from talking.
"This energy Ron? It's just a tool. That's all it is… a tool that can be controlled and wielded with intelligence. It takes real power to do that, and you have that in abundance. That power is also what will keep your loved ones safe. I know this. After all… you kept me safe."
Kim then moved forward and pressed her lips against Ron's in a kiss that was so filled with love and emotion, that it nearly took Ron's breath away. When she pulled back, Ron's lips were moving, as if he was trying to say something. "A sly grin appeared on her face, and she asked, "What are you trying to say?"
Kim was taken a bit by surprise when Ron's answer was in the form of a song.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, ohh it must have been while you were kissing me. You took the words right out of my mouth, oh and I swear it's true I was just about to say… 'I Love You'.
Kim gave a small chuckle, and said, "You Goof. I Love you too Ron."
They moved together one last time and just before their lips touched, Ron said, "Nothing like the power of love, huh Kim?"
Giving him a playful swat on the chest, Kim said, "Enough with the bad song puns, and kiss me."
"As you wish." When their lips touched, Ron could feel Kim's lips smile, and then a deeper kiss once again took precedence.
The end…
A short history on Moriarty, and what happens to him next will be covered in either a short sequel, or maybe an epilogue. I'm not sure which as of right now. It just keeps going, and going, and going…
The two song references at the end are as follows: You Took the Words Right out of my Mouth (Hot Summer Night) by Meatloaf, and The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News. The final spoken three words, of course, came from the Rob Reiner movie, The Princess Bride.
