Chapter 21: Facing My Sins
Appearing out of the airport and standing at the entrance. Ron Stoppable was met with a blonde girl with such a concern look to her eyes. It looked as if she was being thrown around in a cyclone of fear. She rushed here in Bonnie's place. Speaking of which, shouldn't she be with her?
"R-Ron something's happened, I dunno why but Bonnie told me to come to you and…" Tara rambled forth about the subject, failing to catch her breath or collect her nerves. It was where Ron gently placed his hand on her shoulders and took a step closer.
"Hey, hey, hey take it easy. Just tell me what's wrong." He said. Ron was really afraid, what happened while he was gone? It was just one week. Although there was some contradiction.
"It's Kim. When you left Kim, she just lost it… she's lost it and she found out Josh cheated on her and she went to the school and hurt him so bad that he went to the hospital."
"Kim did that?" Ron couldn't believe it. She beat Josh to a point where he needed medical attention for his wounds. So Monkey boy cheated on the girl who can do anything? He made a dumb decision, knowing the missions Kim goes to and that she had no problems getting physical, of course it was going down like that. Guess the artist wasn't such the dream boat the redhead pictured.
"It wasn't just that, but she even hurt Bonnie, she was saying that she took her from you and she's responsible for what happened months ago!" Ron felt his surroundings turn pitch black. He could feel his body taking steps to this spotlight that was just shining in front of him. He sees Bonnie, broken, bruised and lying in blood. Her clothing was torn and stained. Her hair masked her face that was battered from the madness.
"Where is she now?!" Ron said. His voice slightly increased. He couldn't contain his anger, he was a ticking time bomb ready to go off. His rage was at its boiling point now.
"She at the hospital, what are you-" The blonde girl was interrupted in mid sentence. She sees Ron hoist his bag up to his back.
"Take me there now, I need to see her." He said. He wasn't trying to displace his anger toward's her, he tried to keep himself calm, but it was inevitably failing. He walks out of the airport, Tara follows shortly after. She gets into her car and Ron gets into the passenger seat, he set his bag in the back. Tara started up the engine and drove away from the airport.
"I can't believe this is happening. I mean she was fine and chill before all of this, how can she snap just like that?"
"I dunno, but I need answers. If Kim really did this, then I need to know why? Beating up Bonnie wasn't suppose to make me run back to her, so there's another motive." Ron commented. He pinched his nose. He closes his eyes, trying to not see this harsh reality. Oh it was there all right… and he knows it.
"Ron, what did Kim mean when she said Bonnie took you from her? She just took it so personal and did something like this."
"I don't know." He says to her. But he was still hiding the truth from everyone, from Tara even. He knows exactly why, not just the video she saw, or the breakup of the team… it's the fact that he walked away from her so easily, he abandoned her.
"What are we going to do about her?" She asks. Right now, being in the same vicinity as Kim made her uncomfortably shiver.
"Look, just leave it to me. I'll… I'll figure something out. She can't… she can't get away with this." Even Ron was beginning to stammer a bit. He knows what he was gonna do. He was going to confront her about this, he was gonna look her in the eye again. Was it just going to be exchanging words, I cannot tell.
"Are you sure you're up to this, you don't sound ok?" She asks. In this madness, she just questioned Ron's composure to this… how would he cope with it?
"Look, I just got back from Japan and all of this is being known to me. I'm sorry if I'm not myself, but right now… I need to do something." Ron answers her. His mind was frazzled, it took too much of this. First, monkey ninja's, now this.
Seeing the hospital up ahead, Ron was anxious to get in. It was like his life depended on seeing the brunette. The car was parked, the door was unlocked. He rushed into the room and met the receptionist. A dark haired beauty with green eyes and luscious red lips that complemented her. She was still in uniform as well.
She asked him how he was doing. He was doing somewhat ok, but he was here for one reason. He asked where was the room of Bonnie Rockwaller. It was where he was pointed and directed to the room. He thanked the woman for her help, he wasn't even sure about her. The fact that she perked up seeing him, examined him. She knew of him, from the bank job. She must've been a supporter of the trend #TeamStoppable. That led Tara to believe she was flirting with him. Apparently she knew how to make her look the other way. She snaked her hands around his arm and led Ron to the room. He looked at her, who in turn looked away in embarrassment.
The room door opened and the two finally saw Bonnie. Her head was wrapped up in bandages. She was in patient garments and when Ron stepped in, she felt her heart stop. Her fingertips felt this spark take over. Her body perked up, eyes glittered with hope.
Breaking the silence, Ron walked to the chair near her bed, he gently took her hand. His hands covered her own. He gently runs his thumb side to side, feeling the bumpy, yet smooth road that was her knuckles. "Hey." He whispers to her. Ron felt relief wash over him, she wasn't critically injured or taken away from this world. His brown eyes met her warm, teal eyes.
"You… came back?" Bonnie asked him. The feeling of her hand being gently covered by him. The warmth covered her hand, yet made the rest of her body feel cold. The blankets were able to cover her legs, yet her upper body felt it's effects that made her just a tad jittery.
Heh. Yeah, I mean. It was just a foreign exchange program… but that's not just the reason I came back."
Bonnie heard his words clearly, this Ron… actually had a bit more pep in him, he seems so calm and decisive. He just wasn't so conflicted as he was when she first saw him leave. What exactly did he do in Japan for a week?
"A lot happened back in Japan and… they were helping me pick myself up after what happened. When I was making those decisions, I didn't know what I was thinking. I knew I was angry and hurt… I…" he pinches his nose. "I just rushed into it."
Tara, seeing that this was probably something of a private thing between the two of them, gave them a little privacy, she stepped out of the door and waited in the hallway.
When the blonde girl was out of the room, this was where Ron had to pour his heart out, get it out in the open.
"Why did you change your mind?" Bonnie asked him.
"There's a story, one I think you're familiar with." Ron answered her. She looked at him with a blushing smile. Ron got closer to her and began to tell her that story.
"There was a time where… a shy little boy was with his mother in the park. He looked around him and saw this little girl who was with her mother. The two mothers walked towards each other and the two kids followed them. The mothers talked to each other and… the kids… they hid behind their respective mother's legs… took glances at each other and when they met eye to eye, they quickly looked away because… it made them feel weird. The mother's saw it and wanted them to say hello, right. The girl was the first one to say 'hi'… then the little boy said 'hi' back. That's when they told each other their names… and they smiled. The girl… took the little boy's hand and she asked him if he wanted to play… he said 'yes'. They played games with each other had some ice cream… then they went home. Next thing, they met each other again and they grew up together."
It was so obvious to Bonnie, she couldn't help but look at the blonde boy with such passion, he remembered so much about the old days. "They did." She said. She knows the story all too well.
"The boy had time to think because bad things happened to him. He then asked himself; 'would it have been fair if he left the girl and made her feel that she wasn't enough to keep her here'?"
This hit home for her, this was where his words sunk in, where he just stopped and thought about what he should do and where he should be. "It wouldn't have." She responded. Happiness swirled through her body.
"And that's why he came back." Bonnie sat up and hugged him, as he hugged her back. She feels such a bubbly, energetic feeling. Ron came back. He didn't come back for Kim, or his parents or anyone else. He came back for the little girl he befriended so long ago.
She was so happy, the brunette couldn't help but cry tears of joy. "I won't abandon you like that again." He mumbled. "I heard about what happened, what Kim did. I… I'm not letting her get away with this."
"What are you gonna do? Place her in jail or something?" Bonnie asked, breaking the hug. The redhead was out of control, he needed something that would actually be effective. If she's placed in jail, where she placed most of the crooks in, she'll come back worse. That is, if she survives. Let her get away with it, and she'll do the same thing. Talking about it, with her stubbornness won't get anywhere. She needed something… but what?
"No, I gotta do this personally. The only person who can get to her is me. I know her better than anyone else, Bonnie." Ron said.
"Listen, Ron… I know that you're still mad about the cyanide thing, but could you… at least talk to Wade… go easy on him, he's just a kid."
Ron processed this in. "You met him?"
"There was something I needed help with and… he was able to. It's just… he feels guilty about what happened, it's eating him alive. If he's a good kid like you say he is, at least give him another chance." Bonnie suggested. This was her end of the deal. Wade helped her break the chain, she'd give Wade a chance to explain himself without a ballistic Ron tearing up the place. She wasn't an expertise in spy missions, but she knew how friendships worked.
Ron huffed. "Tara, you can come in now." She came in and saw the two of them on a subject that they all needed to be on.
Tara came in and spoke. "Hey, is everything all right?"
Bonnie spoke to her. "Yeah, we've made a decision. We're gonna let Ron deal with Kim."
"Tara, has the police spoken to you or any of the students about the assault?" Ron asked. There was a formulating plan in his head, it was something that would necessary to… fall back on.
She nodded her head. "Yeah, they were saying it was Kim. But they haven't made an arrest yet."
"Did they question Bonnie, or Josh?" He asked. This might be a bit tricky, but this question might be a decisive one.
"No, they didn't. Not yet, they're gonna continue the investigation in the morning." So Ron had until sunrise, he just got back from Japan and already this had to be set.
"Josh is here in the hospital, he's just one floor above me." Bonnie added.
Ron nodded his head. "Ok, do you two trust me?"
"Hmmm…" Bonnie muses playfully. "What choice do we have?" Ron wanted to laugh at that. But he did have a smile and a small chuckle.
"Look, Bonnie. I want to say that it was Kim, but… there was a microchip that somehow got stuck onto her body and made her feral."
"What?" Bonnie and Tara said. What was this? Was she gonna get away again.
"I told you to trust me, look she won't get away… I told you that. I also told you that I'm dealing with her myself. This is just a fall-back plan. If she's gone and out of control, then you can say she did it of her own free will. This is in case she actually listens." This could go two ways.
"Ok, even if you have us convinced, how are you going to convince Josh? I mean he'll be serious about putting Kim away." Bonnie said.
"That bastard cheated on her and he got what he deserved. He's scared, so I'll use that. If anyone's gonna put Kim down, I'd rather let it be someone who didn't hurt her like he did. I'll 'convince' him." Ron can't do it now, not with security cameras and the staff here. He'll need someone who'll help him in that category.
It was then one of the staff members walked in the room and spoke to them. "I'm sorry, visiting hours are over, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to scoot ok?" He asked sincerely.
"Uhh. Yeah, sure." He responded. "Bonnie, your parents were here right?"
"Yeah they were here, about 20 minutes ago." She answered. At least her parents showed up for her.
"Ok, get well soon." Ron answered.
"Excuse me sir… would visiting hours be open at around three?"
"Of course." He answers. Tara and Ron took their leave and went for the parking garage. As they went into the car, a silence gripped them as they left the hospital.
"So… where can I drop you off?" Tara asked.
"I guess my house… there's some things I gotta do." Ron answered.
Tara seemed to be meek when it came to Ron. She wasn't just so timid, so silent. "Are you gonna be ok? When you're doing this with Kim and…"
"I'm fine. This is something that I have to do and I've been putting it off for awhile. I know you're scared, but I'll handle it. I promise." He says. She wanted to say it, she wanted to ask him, but how could she?
"Oh, there's my house. Up ahead." He points. She gently applies the brakes and Ron gets out of the car, taking his bag with him. "Look thanks for the ride and… don't be afraid anymore, this'll be taken care of."
"Thanks Ron. I mean it." As he turned and opened the door to his house, the blonde girl drove off. Silently cursing herself because of not finding the courage to talk to the blonde boy. Ask him out and get to know him.
Ron went into his room, it looked to be undisturbed. Which was pretty much a good thing. He set his bag on the bed. He set Rufus down.
"Listen, this is between her and me. I need you to stay here, give me about… three hours tops. If I don't come back then, I need you to find me if I end up missing, or find Bonnie and tell her about this. I'm going to find Kim and… I dunno, find answers. Stay here until three hours, got it?"
"Yuh-huh." He squeaked. He was still unsure of his plan on going in alone. Before he could add something else, Ron grabbed his gauntlets from the backpack that he was able to smuggle back home with a little bit of 'favors' that he had to call from people that he and Kim knew.
He looked at the house, he fathomed the emotion of facing her again. He checks it out, the family car isn't in the driveway. Was this suppose to mean that the parents weren't in? What about Jim and Tim, were they still in the house? There was one thing that he knew: Kim was in that house. How was he able to tell, it was simple: her bedroom window was open. No one would leave their window open, it may as well attract people of the thievery caliber.
Was this a trap? Was she expecting him? Is she calm and calculated or is she delusional? As he took a walk closer to the house, of course he would use the window as an entry point. Ron was in Kim's room now. He took light and gentle steps, in order to avoid the sounds of the floorboards creaking. He heard footsteps in the kitchen, light was on in her room, yet there was light downstairs.
He felt his throat swelling, his mind swirling with emotions, this anger, this fear, this sadness and hate. It was slowly eating away.
Kim was drinking a glass of water. She threw her hair back and the liquid washed down her mouth. She sets the glass down and spoke.
"Didn't think you'd come to see me again." She said. The redhead turned to Ron with an expressionless face. Ron just had eyes that shot daggers, his scowl intensified the tension that was felt in the room.
"Blaming me on failed missions wasn't enough, locking me in a closet wasn't enough, kicking me in a volcano wasn't enough. Poisoning me with cyanide wasn't enough, but you just had to go out of your way and attack Bonnie? I'm betting that still wasn't enough, was it?" He said. His hands, he felt them shake, felt them clench into fists. He strongly held back on the thought of dashing the woman's head on the television set. But let her say her piece, then he'll decide what would happen.
"I don't believe it…" she said with a fake smile while tapping her forehead. "You actually give a shit about her? I mean after she calls you a loser and brings you down, you still call her a friend."
"Shit. Why does that sound familiar?" Ron sarcastically asked. Of course there would be someone second to that. He's even looking right at her.
"Ron, she's trying to take you away from me. I mean think, did you have a difference of opinion before or after you FUCKED her?" She folded her arms and tapped her foot in a slow rhythm. She was waiting for Ron to choke on his words, realize that what he's doing is a mistake. A mistake that he shouldn't have made.
"I was never yours to begin with… I mean you did try to be Josh's sweetheart. I wonder how many other girls did that and he ended up fucking someone else behind their backs?" Ron was going to twist the knife further with that comment. He could see the twitch in the redhead's eyes, which meant it worked.
"Ugh, that pig. Trust me when I say that him and I are history. I want us to stop this, have things go back to normal. Think about it we'll be team Possible again, we'll restore our names and Global Justice won't be breathing down our necks anymore."
Ron looked away, she didn't sound sincere about this, nor did she feel any sorrow. "Come on, let's go back to the way things were… Ronnie." She got close to Ron, she lightly touched her fingers to his chin and cooed that damned sentence into his ear.
Ron eyes quickly widened. 'Ronnie', that was the word she addressed him as. That was Bonnie's word, and that should be her word and only her's. Difference was that when Bonnie said it, it sounded cute, it was to playfully mess with his head, similar to how he would call her 'Bon-Bon'. It was fun and sweet. With Kim, it just felt like a taunt, an insult. Where did she get off on calling him that name, especially after what she did? This wasn't how Bonnie would react to his little pet name, it was much, much worse.
Ron looks at the redhead with rage in his eyes, this was where he couldn't keep control of himself. That was where he took his left hand and punched her right in the jaw. She stumbled back.
Ron felt this weight being lifted off of him, he could feel his tainted self being absolved from that blow. This elation gripped his soul, it fed onto his emotions. His instincts even told him that he wanted more. He needed more.
He took a step closer to Kim and delivered a right jab to stagger her further, her body was pressed to the wall. He used his left hand to grab her by the collar of her shirt and used his right hand to keep pressing on the attack. Several more of those landed but, Kim knees Ron in the stomach and uses his body as some sort of support and did a wall run so that Ron would be pressed against the wall. Kim attacked on her own he hits him in the face around two to three times, but he was slowly gaining ground because he grabbed her, hoisted her up and ran across the room and tackled her to the next wall over. The feeling of Ron's head digging in her stomach, as well as her back violently clashing with the wall behind her placed her in immense pain. She grabs Ron's locks of hair and hits him in the throat. A knee to the ribs and as he tried to hit her in the face, she countered with a hip toss, throwing him across the sofa.
"I should've done this a long time ago." She said with her teeth gritted.
Ron got up and twisted his neck. "Well you're doing a shitty job at it." They both charged at each other. They were in a standing clinch. Ron quickly did a body lock and slammed her down to the ground. She tried to claw at his face, only to meet a hand grab tightly onto her wrist. His other hand kept punching Kim's face, he sees it swelling, now let's see if he could open up a damn cut. Her right leg was imprisoned by Ron's own. But her left leg wasn't. She was in a half-guard. She used her leg to push Ron away, Ron stumbled back. Kim quickly got up and was about to tackle him into the kitchen, but Ron anticipated this move and grabbed her, he used her speed to direct her into the wall head first. She hit it and went to the ground.
She was faced upwards, Ron could see the cut on her cheek and the blood coming from her nose. Ron took off his shirt. He felt that it was weighing him a bit. This wasn't just a fight, it was a fucking war. This grudge match isn't over until one of them is on the ground, writhing in pain.
"Get up. He says to her. She could only get up to her knees. "GET THE FUCK UP!" He screamed at her.
"YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD RON!" They charged again. Ron had her hands on her neck and Kim's hand clawed at his shoulder. They hit the counter and they both go down. Kim looked up to see the wooden knife stand she grabs one, she knows not to stab Ron, but just a slash would get him to stagger back. Ron sees this and falls back, Kim tries to slash him, but the blonde boy kept backing up and when he was almost to the wall, he used his gauntlets to block the attack, Kim was trying to press it on his thigh but Ron had elbowed her in the face, grabbed the arm that held the knife and twisted it, not that it would break, but let it be agonizingly painful enough for her. He throws her back to the living room.
He felt his body being filled with something, his eyes were turning gold and he felt that feeling, when he was fighting Fukushima. No! He couldn't have it come out of him, but when Kim was about to attack him, he caved in.
An right elbow to her face, then a left flying knee to her jaw. Her arm was stretched out, he grabbed it and did a headbutt. He then dropped a hammerfist to her chest. The blonde boy pushed her with one hand and used his leg to sweep her from behind. He mounted her, and released a punishing amount of attacks to the head.
Ron felt the redhead trying to squirm away from him, but he wouldn't have that. He kept her firm on the ground. As he kept on the attack, he could see the tears come from her eyes. She can feel it, she can feel the pain.
"Please… STOP!" She begged. He had the power, he finally stood up to Kim and did what he had to, he's avenging Bonnie, he's avenging himself, he's making Kim… hate herself. He kept pressing on until he remembered what Master Sensei said to him.
'You cannot fight your demons by becoming one yourself.'
Ron's fist stopped midway, it was suppose to hit Kim again, but he was able to pull back. The yellow from his eyes vanished. He went straight back to his normal state.
He looks at the redhead, sobbing, her tears were being mixed with her blood. He gets off of her, Ron's back lies against the sofa. He takes a look at his hands, decorated with bruises and sprinkled with blood. Her blood.
"What have I done?" He mumbled to himself. He felt tremendously relieved that he left the blade back at Yamanouchi, if he had it with him, she would've been the first to fall to the blade.
"I'm sorry… oh God, I'm sorry." She sobs. Her voice was breaking, realization was starting to kick in. Her hand covered her nose. Ron crawled to her, she cupped her cheeks. It caused her to whimper, what was he going to do? Hurt her further, choke her to death, or place in a deep, vulgar kiss that was suppose to make her feel violated? He did none of the above. He wiped the blood from her face and gently pressed his thumbs near her eyes to stop the tears.
Ron had blood on the side of his head, it poured down. Yet even he still showed a face of compassion, even after what happened. It was then Ron decided to speak.
"Do you remember all the missions we did together?" She nods her head. "Your Mom and Dad made me promise them that… that we would… come back together in those missions. I mean, we did our best and I did I could to make sure that we watched each other's backs. They never would've wanted something like this to happen." He said. They both sniffled.
"But, I was the one who walked away." Ron admitted. He knew what he did. He was angry that day. The decision he made, he knew it was for the best, but it was how he went about it.
Kim had then spoke to him. "Why? Why did you really leave? One thing that I know about you is that you wouldn't abandon family." She asks him. That part is true, Ron did care for her family, the tweebs, Mom and Dad. The blonde boy saw them as family, so why? Why would he leave behind something he cared about? Even when he promised them that he would protect Kim from God knows what?
"When I walked out on the team, I was trying to… make you figure some things out for yourself. When you were mad crushing on Josh, I just… I couldn't get to you. I mean you liked him so much, you just ignored your family, me, your friends, even your responsibilities. It made it hard for me to get you to stop and look the other way for just a minute. After the volcano thing, I just… lost it, especially when you said those things. When I left, maybe you would've seen that on your own, realize what happened and… come to terms with yourself. I didn't think you would destroy yourself like this."
"You left… because you wanted to help me?" The redhead speculated. This seemed to be a bit senseless for her, leave someone in order to help them?
"It was… for the both of us. I needed time to… figure myself out and get myself together after what happened. I was able to, and when you were away from Josh and the missions and had all that time to yourself, you would've… maybe… found some peace of mind."
"You said have this peace with yourself, how?" Kim's eyes blinked with more tears. Yet she felt herself calming down a bit.
"I went somewhere and they helped me. They helped me find closure, they showed me another way. They said to me that 'meaning in life isn't something you find, it's something you make'. So I made it, and I… I found a bit of closure with myself and I felt… at peace." Ron answered. But there was something else he wanted to say. "I know that this is so sudden but… I found myself to forgive you ok? It isn't too late for you. You need help and I'll be with you… we can make it better, together." That was when he embraced Kim gently and shed tears of his own. Kim buried her head in his shoulder and sobbed.
There was something about the cyanide case, Kim has been ignorant, neglectful about the part, but not physically violent when it came to implanting it. There was a difference in an accidental malfunction and an intentional one. There were agents at Global Justice who had somehow the smarts but the lack of humanity to create and manufacture tracking chips like those. Someone else was involved, Kim wasn't aware of the cyanide, if she was she'd get the chip out. If there was another working chip, then the redhead would instruct Wade to make a switch. One thing he could prove in theory was that there was someone involved.
But those thoughts washed away when he heard Kim's sobbing into his chest. The wounds they are carrying after the fight, Ron bleeding from his forehead, the cut on Kim's cheek as well as the bloody nose. Ron's knuckles that were bruised and blackened. It was two friends finally making peace with each other again.
Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, the feud between the two has finally drawn to a close.