God it took me FOREVER to do this and the next chapter. Both were originally one long chapter before I decided to just split in half.
I love the reviews, but I'm afraid they lack the detailing I was expecting. :( I'm sorry to pressure, but authors LOVE more detail to hear. This is the end as promised, so I'd love to hear more from you guys who review me...
Chapter Fourteen
This was nothing new...the tomb was hidden somewhere here, but either way, he was here. The Tomb of Arisu was here...
"The key to the entrance of the crypt must be somewhere here in the snow," Monkey Fist mused aloud, his core lighting up and ready to crack through his body to cover him with long-resting lava. This time no one would intrude or even know this coming. No doubt they knew what he was hunting for, but he was going to attack with any surprises to come. If there was any additional guardians to watch over the Crowns, then they would bow to him if it was the last thing he'd do.
He had no monkey ninjas, no additional help, which meant the task was for him alone. No matter; he would scout every inch of the earth for the entrance if it was the last thing he'd do -
- and after perhaps an eternity of searching with no worries of breaking a sweat, he at last found it: a bronze totem carved into a monkey's paw. He felt his eyes flash yellow. Oh, the prize within his grasp! He wasted no time reaching down...only for the long fingers to close around his hand and attempt to pull him down with it. Growling, Monkey Fist cursed; he should have seen this coming. Nonetheless, he retaliated and jerked his arm back, taking the thing upwards with him...
...and the earth began to rumble. Jumping backwards in several flips, he watched as the snow shook and flew into the air along with debris as more bronze as well as granite stone arose before his very eyes. Rose higher and higher until a single domed structure like the various Hindu temples appeared before him. From his memory, the Dark Temple of the Yono was much more dominant in size, having been an ominous monkey's face instead of this one.
Which was crawling with living bronze monkeys.
They screeched at the sight of him and waved their arms, remaining in their places on the pillars and around the entranceway, having been expecting a foolish mortal who would dare to trespass and think to steal what lay within their sacred guard...but they saw this one was beyond insignificance.
Monkey Fist bared his canines and raised both his hands, like the god he was over them. "Yes, I am the new Yono, and I come to reclaim what is rightfully mine and the Han's!" he declared triumphantly, and a stunned silence followed before it erupted with howls and cries that he understood well.
You seek the link between the Dark Destroyer and the Creator of Life and Love.
"Oh, yes, and together we will rule the world as our ancestors once did. I demand that our destiny be realized after centuries and trials of blood, sweat and tears spilled in the making!"
The faces of the many guardians looked upon each other, deep in thought and scrutinizing before they returned their attention back to him - and their response made him roar with outrage.
To acquire the Crowns of Arisu is not an easy task. You thought to come here because it was your right. And the new Han? Has she willingly consented? You cannot have the great powers of the one who birthed you unless Han comes on her own accord...
Monkey Fist was beyond livid. He had come all the way out here as an utter waste - but it was NOT over until he said it was over. His anger subsided as his twisted features softened. "Then, would you agree to accompany me as I venture to bring the Han here to 'agree', as required? I have enemies trying to stop me, but I am confident they will fail..."
Now they did not refuse him on that - and as one last request, he was allowed to see the crowns from the entrance, blocked if he tried to enter. What he saw enchanted him: the two golden, intricate objects etched with jade and onyx glowed from a pedestal and pillow of bloody red velvet, illuminated overhead by a ray of sunlight, whereas the rest of the room was darkness. Displayed for the rightful heirs only. He could not wait to get his hands on them once Han consented as she should...
~o~
"Your abilities never died from infancy, it seems - just lain dormant until now. This is what Sensei foretold the moment you were born. Han, genetically so...you have the Mystical Monkey Power from your father."
She had the Mystical Monkey Power...
Wait, and so did her brother. And he and Monkey Fist were rivals before she was born, even after. She inherited the DNA...so that was why she was picked. She was an innocent baby, and that was what made her a good opposite of the dark forces in her face.
Staring at the man picking himself up, she gasped and felt the rush through her body. Did she really do just...that...when she didn't even try so hard...?
Those dojo times in high school really did no justice for THIS.
"I have the power?!" she exclaimed, turning back to look at Yori whose smile was gone, but not appearing sad.
"Yes. What just transpired as a test proves it. You are in many ways like your brother, not in blood but bond - and you are our hope now that we have seen it, but we need more tests within this monastery to prepare you...unless you feel the need to walk away here and now," the woman told her, before her eyes darkened.
"I must warn you that the world, yourself included, is doomed if you refuse, Han. Know that it will be the greatest regret you've made should you make that decision. Do you accept your challenge now against the one coming back for you within the event of time?"
~o~
"When Monkey Fist comes, he will not go for the Yamanouchi school right away," Yori was telling them all as they sat in a circle. It was Crispin himself, the woman herself, as well as Kim, Ron, and a couple other ninjas in black with their hoods over their faces. Hana was not with them because she was below the temple, training with the one who challenged her earlier. What was his name...Hirotaka?
Crispin's Japanese was limited, but he was good at remembering names. Hirotaka was Yori's cousin and therefore Hana's uncle. He was one of Yamanouchi's greatest masters, if not the one who ran the school like his cousin in the present. Crispin never expected a surprise "attack" just to try and get his wife to show that she was capable, which pissed him off, admittedly. Just because she was born in a ninja world did not mean she belonged in one. Didn't the woman tell her she had a choice to be where she was birthed or to remain where she'd known all her life? He did not know this Yori woman completely as well as Kim and Ron did, because he could not be too harsh, but know this: she wasn't like his own aunt who raised him, because there was a guarantee ninja life was harsher than the normal human being's way of living. If anything, Hana deserved better than that.
Well, after this, he hoped they'd never have to become entangled with these guys again. They might be on their side, but he had no reason to trust them.
"I must warn you that the world, yourself included, is doomed if you refuse, Han. Know that it will be the greatest regret you've made should you make that decision. Do you accept your challenge now against the one coming back for you within the event of time?"
He saw the uncertainty remaining in his wife's eyes and detested Yori for putting her in this position. But as unaccepting as it was, he did understand why she would have to agree sooner or later. Monkey Fist WAS a major threat to this world, he captured her, and so many other things; he needed to be put back in the ground where he belonged or else.
"It's likely that the Crowns of Arisu are guarded by the powers of the goddess herself, and there is also a very high possibility that Monkey Fist will gain their support and come in our direction," Yori went on solemnly, "but we are all prepared. My students and fellow masters have gathered in the mountain and are keeping vigil; they keep me up to date. And as for Global Justice, I trust you both have your men at ready and surrounding the prisoner?"
Kim nodded. "The Yono is being locked up as we speak, but there is no telling what becomes of him once we defeat Monkey Fist once and for all," she said, stealing a glance with Ron who looked down at the ground, at his lap, deep in grim thought.
"My baby sister," he said finally, "is facing a final fight with Monkey Freak, but there's no telling if he could come back again since we'd thought he was gone for good -"
"Ron," Kim interrupted him through her teeth, "if she got him the first time, then she'll do it again." The promise was there, but she was just as wary as he was. Thank you, God, Crispin thought as he found himself making eye contact with Hana's aunt, whose expression was unreadable.
"Like I keep telling you, Crispin-san - believe in Han."
He tore his eyes from her. "Like you always say." She sighed.
"If you're cynical and hesitant, then there is a great chance this battle will be lost. Do you wish that?"
Crispin clenched his fists. They were facing an upscale battle coming their way - but this was Hana to lead, whether she liked it or not - and here he was purposefully worrying and cursing the ninja world rather than having faith. But he was a scientist, and so was Hana, but their world of logic and explanation was shattered the moment Monkey Fist awoke from his imprisonment in their lab. They had no time; she was right.
Sighing, he resigned and settled on glowering at her; her eyes told him that she had no power to get him to accept entirely, only to go along for Han's sake. He would live with that; he was going to be here just for her.
She stood then, getting attention from Kim and Ron, and turned to be greeted by a ninja in black who handed her a long mahogany box carved exquisitely with scenery. He felt a frown pull the sides of his face. If he took a guess, it was centuries old and must have played a part in Yamanouchi's beginning history...and it was confirmed when the woman opened it to reveal the most beautiful, deadliest thing he'd ever seen.
It was a sword. A traditional katana with a finely structured handle of onyx wood and golden accents. "Oh, my God," Crispin uttered, stricken. He didn't need to ask; this was for Hana. Why else would she be showing this to all of them?
Ron exclaimed in surprise and jumped to his feet. "Oh, the Lotus Blade! Long time no see!" He walked over and dipped his head to gaze lovingly at it as if it were an old friend. Kim peered down with interested eyes.
"THIS is the famed Lotus Blade? And it's my first time ever seeing it..."
Yori smiled then, looking between them and then at Crispin, beckoning him over with a nod of her head. "This is our sacred Lotus Blade, the weapon which Toshimiru himself used to bring forth our school from the mountain in its name - the weapon to wield by one with the Mystical Monkey Power. Ron-san and Monkey Fist himself were the only two exposed and then wielded the weapon for one time..."
And now it was Hana's turn. Crispin found himself drawn to the weapon the longer he continued to gaze upon it, seeing his own reflection as clearly as he saw the ones around him. He'd never seen anything like this; it was far more beautiful than any of the rocks and crystals under the microscope at work - but he would never say it was more beautiful than Hana. He tried to picture her wielding this thing, but he'd seen what she pulled off with Hirotaka...
...only that could not be compared to the monster - her own father - whom she would face.
~o~
The heat of the torches radiated off her skin and made her break out into a sweat.
Her heart was hammering loudly against her chest, but her sternum didn't crack from the power.
Her scientist's eyes returned to work when they surveyed her opponent; the old days in dojo class would never go to nothing. But they were also a bit petty compared to what was on the way back for her, and she no longer was afraid the moment she set foot in this part of the monastery and faced her opponent.
Hirotaka.
The man had smiled sincerely at her when she assumed the position, still wearing the clothes she was given rather than the gi he donned. She didn't need it, that was all. She'd tackled him without traditional proper ninja wear, didn't she? Hana smirked to one corner of her mouth which he lightly chided her for. "To be cocky and confident won't always save your life. It can be your downfall." Now that sounded like something out of one of those classic action films she grew up with.
"No problem. I'm never one to just jump to anything just like that." With that, she crouched and assumed the formation by raising her fists, but Hirotaka shook his head and corrected her by showing both his middle and index finger raised. She copied him.
"You never even noticed your potential in ninjutsu when you took your dojo courses, ne?" Hirotaka, her uncle whom she never knew but smiled at her with his eyes, intoned as he gave the signal, and that was their cue to throw at each other. Hana shook her head as she dodged a punch aimed for her face, but she blocked it with both hands crossed before herself, and forced his "axe-hand" back...and it was then and there she realized WHY Lord Monty Fiske renamed himself "Monkey Fist" all those years ago.
Monkey Kung Fu - Tai Shing Pek Kwar - was a variant form of this ninjutsu and was nothing that the average fighter had ever seen. There had been reasons the Mystical Monkey Power had been hidden centuries ago after its original master passed on after completing his beloved school; had there been at least ONE person who went mad like Monkey Fist, which decided the original fate of separating the four statues?
To make sure no one else got the power.
She delivered a kick only to have that blocked as well, but she twisted her body to pull her foot away, flipping backwards and crouching against the wall she'd landed only to pounce forward.
Until Lord Monkey Fist sought the power. He was an archaeologist.
And he enlisted the help of Kim Possible - and Ron Stoppable, a monkey-phobe, became the greater enemy than she did.
But Hana, born between his enemy and the sister of the woman who he met at Yamanouchi - which faced countless trouble from a former pupil who became its lethal adversary - Hana became the one who defeated Monkey Fist and the demon he unearthed as a last resort. That alone, and the fact he had her sister-in-law, her aunt's sensei and previous master of the school, and Ron's late naked mole rat buddy be turned to stone by the very same monkey currently detained by GJ...and kidnapping her recently...
...everything he did was inexcusable.
Which was why her blood boiled when she thought about him.
Hana wanted him to pay for everything.
Which meant yes, she would fight him to her last breath.
Hirotaka was on his backside again when she stood over him, victorious and confident. She never thought fighting could feel so good - but she would NOT feel good until she met her match with Daddy Dearest, and see to it that he paid with his life.
But...what if he could not be killed? He was immortal, so it was highly likely that he would only be subdued until another unfortunate awoke him centuries or decades later like she did, and never meant to...
"Han, you have done well," her uncle praised her, standing and taking her hand into his, bowing his head with honor, making her flushed. She wasn't even used to this, being out of her comfort zone. And then they turned ahead to look at the figures of Kim and Yori standing in the archway, her sister-in-law with a steel, coded box in her hand and her aunt with a mahogany one carved with traditional Japanese art.
They both had her weapon's gear. They wouldn't let her go to Monkey Fist the way she was now. She exhaled and brushed her electroshocked hair behind her and her sweaty brows.
"Okay...I'm ready."
~o~
What painful nonsense this was!
To hunt for Han and get her to willingly become his mate and consort over the world! Monkey Fist growled to himself as he found himself leading the way across the mountain which took a few hours' travel - before they found themselves ambushed by none other than Kim Stoppable's agents and ninjas in black.
"Ah, so the welcoming committee decided to send their lackeys to stop us." He chuckled and shook his head. "Too bad, they will not stand a chance against thirty-five of us - myself included."
The ninja had their kunai, shuriken and katana drawn; Global Justice trained plasma guns, rifles and the likes on them all, but what good would they do on HIM, the master of darkness? He threw his head back and laughed, roaring to the heavens as he gave the signal for the fight to begin. While they were all distracted, he would slip by and look for the one.
Fate was on his side today when he found himself standing before her in all her glory amid the snow. Her long hair was held up in a right bun, a few stray locks flying over her face, and the suit she wore was very interesting; it was white and lined with blue to match the sky. She was the warrior ready to fight - the angel versus the demon. How ironic.
And it was sheer relief he did not need to encounter the obdurate redhead - or her pathetic husband, but if it were accidental, then Monkey Fist looked forward to smiling down on his corpse.
"Are you ready, Han?"
Her lip curled. "Ready to see you dead at my feet, you bastard!" She reached behind her to draw forth the sword strapped behind her, and he couldn't contain his horror. He heard the gasp when he recognized what it was.
The Lotus Blade!