The dinosaur…Zoe still couldn't even come close to pronouncing some of these names…gave an almost purring sound as she scratched its neck like the handler showed her. Whatever it was, this had a pet goldfish beat hands down. She couldn't wait to tell Em and Gracie! Em and Gracie…and Momma; where were they? Zoe could tell that Mom and Abby were trying to keep her mind off of everything but…Zoe had long since gotten used to things like this but…she couldn't really explain it. It was like…like Em was just out of sight. This took hinky to a whole new level. Zoe could spin around and point to exactly where Em should be…and nothing; but Em was SUPPOSED to be there. What's more, she could say that wherever her twin sis was, she was okay.
"Looks like you made a friend."
Zoe turned to face Mom. Grown-ups always thought that kids couldn't see or that they could keep it from them but Em and Zoe noticed right away that Mom had been going to the doctor for something…and Zoe had already seen Mom a bunch of times just standing in Zoe's doorway in the middle of night. Momma insisted that everything was fine but…right now, she'd want Zoe to protect Mom and she was sure going to do her best!
"She's real friendly, Mom. Wanna scratch her? I'll show you how."
Mom gave her a small smile and walked up to the pen. Zoe guided her hand to the right spot and showed her how to scratch her neck.
"Man, this is so freaky," Mom gasped. "It's like I just fell into a Jurassic Park movie."
"What's that?"
Mom let out a big laugh. "Man, I really am getting old! Thank you for that, kiddo; Jurassic Park is a movie from when your Mom was about your age, maybe a little younger, about this theme park that is filled with dinosaurs."
"Really? Did they travel through time too?"
"Not really; they tried to bring dinosaurs back to life using fossils and…it didn't go so well. I don't want to spoil the rest for you. We'll have to watch it when…when we get home." Mom took her hand away from the dinosaur and took Zoe's. "Zoe, sweetie, what do you remember about…about before you woke up here?"
Abby had asked her that same question…and she didn't remember that much. The last thing she could think of was Seamus tucking her and Em into their sleeping bags. They'd had hotdogs…that the grownups kept calling "bangers"…and they'd gotten to see Gracie perform…and that had been it…except for a few flashes but nothing that really seemed too important but…there was still that weird feeling she'd been having.
"What kind of feeling?"
"I don't know," Zoe sighed. "It's like I can almost see Em over my shoulder. I feel like I can point right at where she SHOULD be…but I'm pointing at nothing. I can sort of…tell what she's feeling too…Mom? What's wrong?"
Mom looked like…well…Zoe didn't really know how to describe it…kind of like she was disappointed about something.
"Oh…sure, sweetheart; I'm fine. It's just…I wish your Momma was here. We've got something we need to talk to you and your sister about."
KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP
Abby gazed at the massive oaken fortifications as she reigned in her Quazi…her Quetsi…damn it; if she wanted to learn to speak gibberish, she'd have learned French! The really annoying thing was that everyone around her seemed to be able to pronounce these names without a second thought. Regardless of their speaking abilities, though, the fortifications they'd been able to raise were breathtaking. The most interesting thing was that these walls seemed to have little to no…well…technology. They reminded her of a medieval fair they'd taken the kids to a few years ago. Technology and weapons that were at least a millennia ahead of the most advanced thing Abby had ever encountered and they surrounded themselves with something out of Robin Hood? Whatever their strategy…Abby certainly couldn't argue with the results they brought.
"I trust that everything meets with your approval?" Tagg, her guide, asked.
"Are you kidding? These would be impressive even in my time; and…by the way. Thanks for humoring me with this whole inspection. No reflection on your abilities but…Kim and Zoe are family and their safety is literally my job."
"Oh, no thanks necessary, Abigail Normal," Every Valorian Abby had met so far insisted on using her full name. It…was actually kind of cool, though she'd die before admitting it to Shego. It was kind of like she was on an away team with Captain Picard. "Often a fresh eye can offer insight and advice on a project, anyway."
Without warning, Abby…felt…a voice echo through her head; that crazy medallion.
Air support thinks they might have spotted a Rulon probing force. Proceed to the following coordinates.
Well…apart from keeping Kim and Zoe alive, Abby really wanted to make herself useful during this little excursion. Tagg looked towards her as if asking for permission…and Abby just gave a laugh and…okay, she didn't exactly "spur" her mount but they started moving forward, her hand sneaking down to her sidearm clipped to her seat. Now that Kim was at least somewhere safe…heh…she REALLY wanted to put this puppy to use!
The two set out at a brisk pace across the edge of the fortified walls. After a few minutes ride, the pair pulled up their mounts at a gap in the walls. Abby immediately slipped into investigative mode. Someone HAD been here, or rather several someones. The tracks seemed to head towards the gap in the wall, a thick pocket of foliage…and what looked like a swamp…and the river beyond that.
"They came through there?" Tagg grumbled, gazing in the same direction.
"Why is there a gap here?"
"Well, we couldn't complete this section because of the swampy soil and with the river on the other side, the Rulons wouldn't be able to mount an attack."
It was sound reasoning but the tracks definitely orginated from somewhere in that mire…and something about this seemed off. Abby took a look at the tracks. There were three distinct sets that seemed to lead into the hills…but seemed to start right at the edge of the mire…without any signs beyond. Ignoring for the time being that they had to cross the river, even in a swamp they would've left a trail. Something really stunk here and it wasn't the…
"SURPRISE, VALORIAN SCUM!"
With the reflexes of years of firearms training, Abby's blaster shot up as…what had to be a walking hammerhead shark descended on her. The blaster went off with a quick zap and a red burst of energy sailed through the air and sliced into the attacker's shoulder. Abby felt the…attacker…collide into her and the blaster sail from her grip. With a loud thud, the two hit the ground and began grappling for advantage, rolling across the muddy ground until the shark was on top. Driving her knee into…what WOULDV'VE been a sensitive area in other circumstances, Abby forced her attacker to topple over. Well…she wasn't helpless without a side-arm, even against some kind Dr. Moreau extra. Abby jumped to her feet and into a fighting stance, drawing the two KBAR knives sheathed in her boots.
"I DID have a craving for sushi, now that I think about it," Abby taunted.
The shark let out a snarl and lunged at her. The attacker seemed to be all brawn so Abby easily danced out of the way and delivered a slashing strike near the blaster wound and slammed her fist into the back of his head. The attacker toppled to the ground and…the opening was only for a moment but Abby hurled her right knife…and felt a sickening crunch as the steel blade sunk into his spine.
That was one! The rest were…
…POP…
Something had stabbed her in the neck! Abby whirled around…and instantly spotted her blaster! She chanced a glance up and…there were a pair of Rulons in the trees, one lowering what looked like a tranquilizer gun.
"The job is done," One of them shouted. "Retreat!"
Before Abby could even react, the shark Rulon she'd THOUGHT had been brought down for the count jumped to its feet and nearly threw Abby to the ground again. She felt a stab of pain from where she'd been shot with…something…and felt a further jolt of pain as she landed squarely on top of her blaster. She let out a growl and darted after them.
"No," The sore spot on her chest flared as Tagg's arm caught her. "Don't. Something about this doesn't feel right. Quetzalcoatlai will drive them out from the air but…Abigail Normal, you've been hit."
Okay…she was starting to feel something now! "One of them…" Abby panted. Shel felt her knees begin to buckle. "One of them…shot me with…with…"
Everything went black.
KPKPKPKPKPKPKPKP
"Heavenly Father, I beg you to still my troubled heart, calm my wayward mind. I seek only after you. Please…give me the guidance to reunite my family and help us through these troubled days. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost I pray. Amen."
Kim let out a small sigh as she opened her eyes and looked out at the small brook before her. Here…if not for the infernal humidity…she could almost imagine that she was back in Enniscorthy and Eme was about to tear out of cover and interrupt Kim's meditation session by pitching her redheaded wife into the creek…and if Shego were, my some miracle or answered prayer, to do it right now, Kim couldn't even bring herself to object. Hell, Kim would just pop back up and pull her emerald goddess in beside her and indecent exposure be damned, she'd see to it that Shego walked bowlegged for the rest of the day!
It had happened! Five years of hoping and…the twins had manifested meta-human abilities. She could still remember those days after their camping trip, discovering exactly how much Gracie took after her Momma. As proud as Kim was…both she and Shego lived in fear for months, fear that some government agency…even…Betty would've sooner cut off her own hand than do harm to Gracie but…Kim could hear it now. "In the name of national security," they would say; but…months turned in to a year and…nothing. They'd kept the secret from Betty…from Abby…even their own family; and that had been the end of it…until the twins approached the age...
…and now it had finally happened; and Shego was…well…if Kim, Abs, and Zoe had wound up here, logic only dictated that Shego, Gracie, and Emily were…in another time as well; though, please God let it be better than this, Victorian England if there was any justice; but…if she could ignore the predicament they were now in, the objective observer in her was fascinated by the supposed connection Zoe said she had. The girls had always been close, as twins were clichéd to be, but if their meta-human DNA had somehow affected that as well, given them a REAL connection…at least Kim could take solace in the fact that wherever…WHENever…they were, Zoe seemed ready to bet her life that they were safe; and if the twins' powers really DID have something to do with time travel, Kim would find a way to help her daughter get them home.
Kim turned as a dinosaur let out a bellow. In the meantime…she'd TRY to enjoy herself.
Even now, Kim couldn't help but feel a sense of smugness. Like nearly every red blooded American boy, Jim and Tim had certainly gone through a dinosaur phase and…they'd lose it if they ever found out where their big sister was right now; and…if Kim was being COMPLETELY honest with herself…she wouldn't be able to keep from rubbing their faces in it…just a little; and Eme…Eme'd be laughing her head off at the utter absurdity of their situation, traveling to the past and encountering people from the future. Kim couldn't help but wonder where Shego and Gracie had ended up. Renaissance Italy? Ancient Rome? Elizabethan England? Of course, if Gracie had her wish, they likely would've wound up in Jacobite Scotland or something.
Damn it; she needed a notebook! This was a novelist's dream! Well…okay, Michael Crichton already HAD done this but…civilizations winding up in the extreme past? Railer Taranis and the Feronia Syndicate could certainly find themselves in circumstances resembling this.
Kim hefted herself to her feet and began heading back towards the ship and her quarters. The Valorians were…amazingly friendly to say the least. Everyone offered a greeting as she passed as if she'd lived there all her life. Kim stopped short as a crowd of kids charged across her path…and caught a glimpse of Zoe in the group as well, looking like she'd just stepped off the playground with her friends. Everyone seemed to be carrying some form of netted sticks. Kim remembered hearing that the game was called Crosser, what Serena referred to as a combination of Lacrosse and Irish Hurling. All of the Possibles were natural athletes like their Mom…much as everyone seemed to go pale when the possibility of their Mom actually caring enough to COACH them…and Kim should've known that Zoe would've gravitated towards it.
Well…she may not be able to coach the girl but Zoe could likely use a cheering section. Kim followed the kids to the field and began observing. Lacrosse tended to be more of a "private school" sport but Kim had researched the sport for a paper she'd done in college on the Iroquois Nation so she understood the basics. Hurling on the other hand…Kim had done numerous missions in Ireland over the years and several of the contacts she'd developed over the years were Hurling fanatics. Over the years, Kim herself had become something of a Kilkenny GAA fan. Shego, the wonderful woman that she was, even surprised Kim with tickets to the 2009 All-Ireland Hurling championships as an anniversary gift.
Hurling seemed to be the core of Crosser. The field looked to be exactly the same with the goal posts and the nets. The first difference appeared to be the sticks. Upon a closer look, the sticks used had the traditional lacrosse net but on the other end was the traditional hatchet-shape of a hurling stick. The kids immediately started tossing a ball back and forth, catching it with the netted end like you would in lacrosse. Once it appeared that everyone had gotten warmed up…Kim was even more impressed by how the more experienced players used the net to lob the ball up for a teammate to take a swing at.
"Kim Possible," A Valorian woman called out from further down the fenced off area. "Welcome to the game. Please, come join us."
The group turned out to be parents of several of the kids, taking a break from their duties in the camp. Vector, the equivalent of a general contractor, and his wife Illia, the woman who invited her over, were watching their eldest son Rinan while Astrena and her wife Lupen were watching their youngest daughter Lani. Vector and Astrena had played Crosser professionally and in their spare time tried to organize teams among the teenage Valorians in the camp.
"Your daughter seems to be quite taken with the sport," Lupen smiled as she offered Kim a chilled glass of some kind of juice. "Though, I think, we should expect nothing less from a Possible.
Kim took the juice and sipped at it, tasting a bit like a naturally sweet cranberry juice. "Thank you," Kim replied, turning back towards the game. "Serena told me its roots go back to lacrosse and hurling?"
"Oh, indeed," Vector replied. "My coach would have is watch vids from ancient hurling matches before every practice…which we came to think of as the calm before the storm."
And for a few moments, at least, Kim was able to relax. She was standing with other parents while her daughter was at practice. Once everyone had gone through their motions, the youth began dividing themselves into teams, Zoe joining Vector and Illia's son. Vector explained that traditional Crosser had the same number of players as Hurling but the bare minimum that was needed for an actual game was six, a goaltender, two defenders, and three forwards, much like hockey. The two centers advanced towards the ball and crossed their sticks much like pick-up hockey…and they were off!
The center scooped up the ball and hurled it back towards Zoe. Kim quickly realized the need for the netted end. In hurling, snagging the ball with your hand was an integral part of the game, though there were a myriad of rules concerning what you could do once you caught it. Touching the ball in Crosser, though, was forbidden. Zoe darted up with a forward directly ahead of her and lobbed the ball into the girl's net. Kim watched as the players tossed the ball back and forth…and stared close to slack jawed as one of the players tossed the ball up out of their net, whirled the stick around like a quarterstaff, and smacked it with the hurling end towards the goal.
Gameplay moved relatively quickly, much like hurling, and Zoe's team was holding a four point lead thanks in no small part to the three goals totaling nine points. Her baby girl was indeed showing a talent for it. Vector was keeping track of time and called it after half an hour with Zoe's team winning 12 to 7. Zoe ran right for Kim and rapped her arms around her Mom.
"Did you see me, Mom? Did you see me score?
"Oh, sweetie, I did indeed! You were great!"
The teams returned to the field to shake hands, ever the good sports, and adjourned for the afternoon, most of them having lessons of one variety or another. Vector and Illia quickly pulled Kim and Zoe aside and invited them to the evening meal, which Zoe, the little charmer, was only too eager to spend more time with Rinan to practice more Crosser…
Everything seemed to go silent as those amulets the Valorians wore around their necks began glowing red. Abby had talked about them. Kim couldn't remember the exact name but…the way Abby described it, it was some kind of device that enabled some kind of telepathic communication…communication that Abby had speculated that extended even to the animals. Like everything else, it likely had to do with meta-human DNA. Ugh; yet another reminder. The good Lord could try a LITTLE subtlety.
Kim looked around the crowd and…the adults were beginning to look concerned. Kim's hands began snaking around her daughter protectively. Kim had yet to see any of these…Rulons…but the way that these people talked, Kim wasn't in any hurry. The Valorians had fought them to a stalemate but…if they were about to…or if they HAD mounted an attack…
"Mom? What's…"
"Rinan…take Zoe Possible to our chambers."
Rinan and Zoe were quickly shuffled off with the rest of the kids and herded towards the ship…and Kim had been on more than enough bases to recognize every able body going to battle stations.
"Kim Possible…you're going to be needed in the infirmary!"
KPKPKPKPKPKPKP
Kim felt the bottom fall out of her stomach as she gasped "What happened" while running alongside the floating gurney carrying her friend. Abby was…oh God; how could this happen? She'd been beginning to actually feel…and these people had tried so hard…
Abby had been inspecting the fortifications with one of the officers when a group of Rulons had tried to jump them at a swampy section near the river. All accounts said that Abby fought like a demon possessed until…they just left. She'd been on the verge of pursuing them when…when she just collapsed. A few of the witnesses to the event thought they saw one of the Rulons shooting at Abby but…thank God the medics who tended her hadn't found any bullet holes or laser burns.
"Kim Possible?" Kim turned to face Questar. "Kim Possible, I'm so sorry that this happened. I know how close you were to Abigail Normal."
"What…what did they do to her?"
"That's unclear as of this moment but we'll do everything within our power to help her. Alas…we DO have several thousand years of medicine," He smiled as he clapped her on the shoulder. "Who knows; she may end up healthier than when she first arrived. She will be fine."
Huh…the stoic base commander was using humor to cheer her up.
But as quick as it had appeared, the face morphed into one of absolute seriousness.
"If you please, Kim Possible, my staff and I would like your presence on the command deck."
Kim set out behind Questar and received an impromptu tour of the inner workings of the VAS Corino. God…if her wife were here, Shego would be making some crack about walking through the Millennium Falcon or something like that. God, she'd been letting her wife watch too much of those movies. After what seemed like a honeycomb of hallways and stairs, Kim emerged into…what she could only describe as the command deck of the USS Enterprise…which meant that Abby had been forcing Kim to watch EQUALLY too much Star Trek. A few of the faces were recognized, Serena for one. Kim was rapidly getting used to recognizing almost no one else and yet having her face be instantly recognizable.
"Kim Possible, this is Gunner, my chief defense officer, and Turret, my chief science officer," Questar gestured at each of the men. "For the past year, we've managed to hold the Rulons at bay, or at least to a stalemate. Thankfully, we haven't had to hold off a sizable attack in months. What happened this afternoon…makes absolutely no sense!"
The officers around the table proceeded to give Kim a crash course in her present enemy. While they may look like some DNAmy wild fantasy but they really were aliens in this case, from some planet that Kim couldn't even begin to pronounce. Their leader, this Emperor Krulos, was some kind of Megalomaniacal tyrant that was Hitler, Caligula, and Vlad the Impaler all rolled into one. From her albeit brief study of the enemy, he DID seem to share one of Hitler's most infamous weaknesses, namely that he took competition for his favor within the ranks to massive extremes. That was something the Valorians could certainly take advantage of…if they could ever work out how to get a spy in there.
But from what they told her, Questar was right. This little incursion made absolutely no sense. Krulos was arrogant to a fault…and yet a complete coward. He would never risk anything unless he was absolutely sure that he had the upper hand. There was always the possibility that some of his cronies were trying to curry favor by pulling something off but…there was NO clear motive towards this other than to just poke the bear. Unless…
"Do they know we're here?"
"Regrettably, I'm almost certain of it," Turret practically apologized, bringing an image up on a holo-projector. "I haven't seen energy levels like the ones that brought you here since our people left Cellardyke. Any with equipment like ours would've been able to detect it from within the solar system. I'd lay even credits that while Krulos may not know exactly who came out of those energy spheres but he knows that you're here; but…that does raise another issue, Kim Possible. I hadn't planned on making this revelation in such a way but…my technicians and I have been analyzing the data we recorded and…I must stress that whatever is said must remain within this room…but the energy signature of whatever it was that brought you here is identical to that generated by our STEP crystal…what brought us here in the first place. What's more…I've spoken with our medical officers and they are confident that those energy levels…emanated from Zoe Possible."
Author's Notes:
Regrettably I haven't been able to find as much time to write as I would like but I'm finally making progress in sitting down and forcing myself to make time. I hope you like how the story is going. I'm really looking forward to getting to the Shego, Gracie, and Emily part. Both of these shows were some of my absolute favorites as a kid. I was recently on YouTube and stumbled upon another stroll down memory lane, Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic. Who knows? Maybe that will get a few chapters too.