Chapter Twenty-Four

The Battle Begins

Kim could hardly believe what she was seeing, and Kame the traitor beside her could not, either.

To see Monty looking like that - vengeful and impatient - and with the blade now an actual sword as long as hers was, he faced the monkey demon with the blessed weapon of the Divine in his hands. For a moment, he reminded her of the scene in Mulan, when the titular heroine held the blade before her face and turned it to the side so both halves of her face were split, resembling two different parts of herself - the passive, graceful feminine half and the other being the soldier she was molding herself into. Conversion from one person into another.

And Monty was that marvelous combination of the refined explorer and the powerful warrior.

"I have waited forever for this moment," he repeated viciously, his grip tightening around the hilt, "and you won't haunt me again. I repent the mistakes I made that brought me to you."

The monkey fiend laughed. "You are willing to risk my wrath, are you?" he sneered, which Monty returned.

"Oh, I've anticipated. Now, enough chat and we can get this over with."

"As you wish."

The deity's eyes lit up, turning menacingly gold before darkening and becoming the color of the moon overhead - and then he was up in the air before all three of them. For a moment, Kim feared that he would gain the upper hand by turning Monty - her Monty - to stone again and end it all here and now, but when the lightning beams struck out from his glowing form and made way for the man himself, the sword was raised again immediately and deflected the waves back to their owner, who caught them and absorbed them back into his being with his own sword.

"Impressive," Yono intoned. "Most impressive."

Monty's grin was pure confidence. "Are your cheap light tricks all you can do?" he sneered. "How about being a man like me and fighting with your pathetic excuse of a sword that never matched up to this?" He held up Xian's powerfully glowing blade up for emphasis, having deflected the powerful rays as though it were a lightsaber from Star Wars.

Kim stepped back, her hand going to her own weapon at her belt, seeing Kame do the same from the corner of her eyes. Letting her guard down in this defector's presence was not an option while they watched the men engage. She wanted to yell out en guard to the simian scum himself - yep, she meant Yono - but that would mean the target would be on her.

Monty's snide taunt made the dark god himself very angry, for he threw his head back and roared to the high heavens.

"YOU DARE TO MOCK ME!"

Before anyone knew what hit them, the Yono's long, blunt sword was thrown forth between him and Monty, striking the earth and causing a crack, which spread the monkey man's way that he had to leap to the other side for safety - and the crack in the earth spread farther only for the tectonic plates to part the canyon like a natural earthquake, causing the mountain itself to rumble but not cause any true damage to the wildlife or the Yamanouchi School which was not that far away.

Kim had fallen backwards in the midst of the cracking of the canyon, seeing how the entrance to this place had become broader and spread farther down, but there was no telling where it ended from where she was...and soon she saw that she had been separated from Monty who had now engaged the Yono in his duel, his sword coming in contact with the monkey demon's, sparks of light emitting from the clashing elements of their weapons. They threw themselves at each other, with the intent of destroying each other, and there was nothing she could do to help him - but there was one thing she could do in the meantime, and the answer lay in front of her.

"I guess I can do his other job for him, Kim Stoppable," Kame seethed, assuming the position. "Unless you are afraid to use swords since you must be used to...hand-to-hand."

She hissed as she copied the stance. "I've never been afraid of anything!"

The other woman laughed harshly. "We shall see about that," she sneered, before they both timed their aims perfectly, pouncing from the ground and sailing in the air to throw their first strikes.

Kame's blow was directed for her face, which Kim dodged and brought her fist to the other woman's abdomen, stunning her and giving herself the opportunity to kick her in the face and send her backwards, near the entrance side they were on - and overlooking the edge of the cliff combined with the chasm made from Yono's blade as well as the safety of the outer canyon. Seeing Yori's cousin go down unleashed the primal side of Kim that reawakened with the fury of the blood moon shining over them, and now it was flaring unnaturally because of the events transpiring beneath its gaze.

Kame regained herself, rubbing her face before leaping to her feet upon seeing her opponent coming, quickly jumping up and slipping behind the rock over her, but Kim followed her, shouting with all her might as her body deftly jumped from rock to rock, smooth and jagged alike.

"How could you have been so stupid to deal with the Yono?!"

She did not see her rival, who was now hidden, but she was prepared - but she did hear her call out angrily. "As if you must ask that foolish question, Stoppable! My cousin got everything whilst I was left with nothing!" Kame returned with such spitting hate that she had to flinch.

"You were a part of the Xian tribe!" Kim yelled back, looking around and trying to see a flash of white anywhere, but nothing. "Did guarding the weapon that cast down an enemy god mean NOTHING to you?!"

Now the flash buzzed before her eyes, as well as silver slashing her way. Her hand moved fast enough to draw her sword from her belt and clashed with the other's - and furious onyx eyes met with blazing emerald. Grunting in outrage, Kim shoved her rival backwards, nearly pushing her off the cliff before the other regained her footing.

"NOTHING?!" Kame raged, bringing her sword back up to assume the parry. "I WANTED TO BE IN THE YAMANOUCHI SCHOOL, YET I GOT TRAPPED WITH SIMPLY WATCHING OVER SOME MYSTIC WEAPON! YOU THINK I WANTED TO SPEND MY LIFE WASTING AND WATCHING OVER THAT PIECE OF STEEL?! ALL MY LIFE, I WAS TOLD WHAT AN HONOR IT WAS TO BECOME A NINJA FROM THAT SCHOOL, YET IT WAS YORI WHO GOT WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE! WHERE IS THE JUSTICE IN THAT?!"

Kim jumped over as the blade swept beneath her, nearly cutting her legs through the bone, before bringing her own down again only to be blocked and sent backwards, her back hitting the rock before she sailed over Kame who came at her. The other woman collided into the rock herself, screaming with outrage and losing hold on her sword, which slid off the edge and disappeared into the chasm below.

Her lungs were on fire, her skin sweating and plastering her hair to her skull, but she wasn't fazed. Exhaling, Kim raised her sword to the other woman, whose fury subsided into smug.

"Justice?" the redhead repeated, hissing through her teeth. "You should have been taught that you can't get everything your way. I'm sure Master Sensei would have taught you that allowing change of any form allows growth and prosperity..."

"So, of course!" Kame erupted, eyes glittering. "Allow what should have been mine to slip through my fingers!"

She sounded so much like... "You know, you sound like Monty used to a long time ago," Kim said softly, the wind picking up, and the moon overhead becoming more maddening. "He wanted power, wanted something of himself, but some things are not meant to be." She searched the face before her, hoping she would have at least gotten through to her - but the hate returned with the vengeance of the other duel going on behind them. If she so much as turned away in the slightest to see how Monty was doing, then Kame would gain the upper hand again.

"I don't live to follow orders. I might have learned to live under them, but I bid my time until I found my way out. Following the Yono's path would lead me to the destiny I always wanted."

It took all of Kim's self-control to not bring her sword tip to slash the traitor's throat. "You're an idiot!" she shouted. "Not only did you damn your own soul, but you don't even know what will become of you if you lose the battle like Monty did many years ago - the monster that nearly destroyed the very school you desired to go to!"

Kame's glittering eyes immediately clouded over with smoke as the moon became a smoldering red, emphasizing her words.

"Oh, speaking of Yamanouchi, Kim Stoppable..."

~o~

The full moon was a bloody shade of red, having been orange several moments ago, peeking down at them through the treetops and casting its menacing glow completely when they all departed the forests of Yamanouchi and finally reached the place where Kim-san and Lord Fiske were - and what transpired sparked the obvious realization to all of them.

"So it begins," Yori said softly mostly to herself as she stood beside Lady Amaterasu and their combined forces - black and white, nearly forming the yin and yang symbol - behind them. They stood before the forest that shielded their school from distant vision, as they now lined before the barren land that was the Simia Canyon.

A great quake nearly caused them all to fall to their knees before they had the chance to fully reach their destination. The great canyon guarding the Yono himself had parted to let a small but immensely deep crack in the earth to travel down to the land before them, not even touching their part...

...but it was not devoid of anything that was resting within the earth's depths.

The chasm was from hell, and the horrid things that crawled out from either side and assembled crookedly but upright were precisely from that which they came. Yori held her breath but could not look at Amaterasu to see the similar reaction. These armored - decaying steel covered their bodies - monsters were a ferocious combination of human-formed, but they were not human. Their faces and bodily appearances were simian, the glowing red eyes filled with such savagery that they were brought back for only one purpose: to kill all before them and protect their master who had arisen.

There was no question the Yono had been summoned, but it couldn't have been by Fiske again, or Kim for that matter. A cold dread briefly washed over Yori as she tried not to think of her cousin or the other two with her; she must focus on what was before them all.

A tugging on her sleeve forced her to look down. Little Sara - Stoppable-san's young daughter - looked up at her with Rufus-san on her shoulder, the naked mole rat chattering nervously as she was. "Y-Yori," was all she could say. The woman sighed; the child should have been left back at the school, but her mother wanted her better protected with a warrior at her side, and Yori supposed she owed her friend the promise she gave.

"You will be safe," she promised the little girl, drawing her behind her. "Just stay close to me."

On the other side of the child were the group of monkey ninjas, honoring their master's wish to fight in his absence, and they were beyond prepared - but to her knowledge, they had never fought an army of the undead before, so this was a new challenge for them.

A challenge that could NOT be taken so lightly.

She returned her attention towards the Army of the Yono before them all. These simian monsters...they snarled and raised their blunt swords to signal they were ready to fight. Growling through her teeth, Yori drew her sword and raised it, shouting in her native tongue to the others to charge. In response, the rest mimicked her actions. Lady Amaterasu calmly raised both her hands, prepared to use her powers at any cost. These beasts could not harbor the petrifying powers their master carried, but they would be bones and dust as they belonged.

The crack in the earth ended in an arrow-shape, so the Yono's undead simian army charged forth and fused together as one at the same time the combined forces of Yamanouchi and Xian, as well as Monkey Fist's small army of monkey ninjas, flew forth with their swords in the air - and the battle began.

~o~

Just because the wait had been worth it to wield the Divine's sword did not mean he would let his excitement get the best of him. One wrong move and he was done for. He was back to where he started, and even if he did end up in stone once more, he prayed Bates would pick up the pieces as he did before, for Kim and Sara's sakes.

Yono fought like a true warrior, but how could he not? He was a god, and gods were more skilled than the mortals they made. The divine blade in his own hands balanced perfectly and clashed without error against the other bladework, parrying swiftly as flowers in the wind. Growling through his bared teeth, Monty brought his weapon up and down, over the other's and drove him back, dove beneath him for another strike only to slide to the other side - but not on the side Kim was still on, fighting Kame with everything she had.

Didn't an eternal being EVER get tired?

They had been fighting for awhile now, not that Monty was weary to his own bones, but he was infuriated that Yono was not exhausted as he grew to be when the infant defeated him. Perhaps because it was the man who made the bargain with him that he wanted to carry on and ignore his own needs for the time being.

Monty's heart rammed against his chest, but it was the determination that kept him going. The fiend would not defeat him, and he would not show he was weak - and the demon had to speak as though he'd read his mind.

"Don't pretend I cannot read through you, my toy," Yono sneered as he brought his blunt gold sword down on Monty's sleek silver one, the opposite metals slicing and emitting a terrible sound that echoed from the canyon. "Face it; you are a weakling. You will never beat me. Might as well let yourself surrender and be destroyed."

Something inside him exploded at being called weak.

"NEVER!" Monty roared, pulling back and throwing his sword at his enemy again, anticipating the drive back. He jumped back in a great distance as his half-man, half-monkey legs would carry him. He found himself holding onto a part of the canyon wall sticking out, alleviating his position as he faced the monkey god with his raised blade. Snarling, he raised his own and gave it a twirl of the ready for another strike. "Come and get me," he hissed.

From the corner of his eye, Kim was taking damned good care of herself. Dodging Kame and pinning her down, knocking her sword out of her hands forever - it showed she wasn't as rusted as he'd assumed she'd be. It made him smile proudly before the sound of sizzling before him brought him back to attention. Yono had his sword in one hand while he used the other to conjure up a glowing golden ball.

One of his petrifying bolts.

Monty acted on impulse and jumped fast, seeing a way around and flying around that corner so he was on the other side of the canyon entrance - and would have fallen off the cliff if he had not grasped a rock that rested over what looked like a small cave.

A cave with a couple tunnels here and there. He might hide there for a little bit to regain his strength and get back out to finish what he started. Monty Fiske could not remember the last time he was THIS tired. Pushing his body to the final limit, he held the sword in one hand and swung himself into that cave which was small but large enough to hold him in hiding.

The air was claustrophobic and yet allowed enough oxygen for him to breathe. Humidity made his skin moisten and caused his clothing to cling to his body. Looking down, Monty saw how his tunic and trousers were torn in places from being tossed around and being slashed at, but there was very little blood. Sighing, he leaned back against the wall. Yono did not come - yet - even though he knew the deity was still hunting for him.

Why wouldn't the monkey find him soon? Maybe he wasn't as smart as he claimed to be, Monty thought wryly - and then HER voice came to his senses. Or should he say, he heard her voice in the air besides his mind?

"The Yono is strong, but he has weaknesses."

He was careful to keep his voice low lest the Dark Destroyer caught on. "Xian," he breathed, "what weaknesses are you talking about?"

He did not see her face, but he could hear the smile in her voice. "The heart is the greatest, most important part of the body. Even a god can bear it," Xian spoke, as if inciting a lecture to an adolescent.

Monty gasped. The heart...the Yono had a heart? Of course he did! He might be a god, but everyone - and everything - possessed one, as she said. He did not need to ask her this; the way to kill the Yono was to drive him through the heart with her sword. Xian must have seen what he was thinking, for she continued.

"I must confess, my dear mortal, that I did not kill him five thousand years ago, merely drove him to the earth forever...because I loved him."

~o~

The Yono and Monty had taken their fight elsewhere, outside the canyon walls that a part of Kim worried for the man whom she knew cared for her as much as he cared for Sara - and in her heart, she felt the same for him - but she would not let her concentration break with the other woman before her, and Kim dropped her sword to the ground for the sake of hand-to-hand she was fond of.

Monty must have seen she hadn't lost her touch after all, and to imagine his smug face. Just as she now saw the dismay on her fallen enemy as Kim pinned Kame down beneath her. If either man or monkey returned, then she hoped that Monty would make it...

"Your monkey lover won't stand a chance," Kame spat at her, both in words and her face, but she was not affected. Kim bared her teeth and snarled back.

"He's more of a man than you think, wretch."

~o~

It would appear the fight was going well - for the moment, Yori thought as she took down the latest undead monkey soldier. As it turned out, the only way to kill these things was by taking off the head, and they turned to dust just like that.

Sara, surprisingly, seemed to have inherited her father's Mystical Monkey Power, and even though she carried no weapons, she jumped over one soldier after the other and delivered swift kicks and punches to stun them only for either Yamanouchi or Xian to deliver the killing blow. The child had more stamina than realized, which amazed Yori to no end.

Even Rufus-san was her help, and he would shout "Booyah!" as his late master, Sara's father, rest him, used to say. She smiled down at them both, then looked up again and brought her sword up to take off the head of the latest Yono warrior.

~o~

His core had been struck like an inferno bursting to life from the very center.

"Y-you," he managed to gasp, holding the sword close to him as it lay resting in his lap, "you - loved him? Oh, Divine Xian, how could you love a monster like the Yono?" He hadn't meant to offend her, but she didn't sound like she had been.

"He was not always the demon that history and Scripture know him as today. He was just like me at one time, when the three of us were first created and given our roles for the mortal world - first I was born, and then he before my beloved cousin Han. Han was given the role of the heavens, I to enlighten the teachings of the world, and Yono himself was the unlucky and had to rule the lowest reaches of the earth...yet he declined and tried to find his way amongst the heavens. He and I were mated, as according to the tradition of Izanami and Izanagi themselves long before our time, by circling a pillar created for us, and it was he who spoke first as it was also per custom -" Her voice faltered, becoming grief-stricken then.

"But alas, his attention shifted to Han, my cousin, who had no desire for him, leaving him enraged and destroying the pillar which should have brought us together. He would have destroyed everything on Earth if I had not intervened. I built my own sword and fought my former lover, yet I could not find it in my heart to kill him. Instead, I cast him down to where he belonged, where he would live for centuries, melancholy and in stone. But before it was done, Han changed him into that of a monkey as punishment for the ugliness that ate him away inside."

He closed his eyes, ignoring the steel of her beloved weapon resting in his lap - the steel that defeated her former...husband...in combat and chose not to kill him but to have him suffer a fate worse than death. It was what he would safely call a combination of karma and divine punishment, as he once said to himself long ago and while in Yono's hell. He refused to dwell on the reason Yono took perverse pleasure in his methods, but he understood it either way - and he understood how deep the rivalry was between him and Han and this one speaking to him.

"I see," was all he could say, and the goddess understood why he could not say more.

"So now you understand. Now you realize why I cannot kill him now."

"Because you still love him," Monty answered, but his heart harbored no trace of sympathy of the demon who raped him in his realm for seven long years.

A cool and warm feeling - a strange but comforting sensation - overcame his senses, sizzling his flesh and his body's sensitive areas if not to arouse him at this wrong time. "Yes," Xian breathed, "but there is no hope to redeem him, as you know. You have your chance he never had. Monty, you must take the sword and go back to finish what you started."

He did not need to think twice, nor did he have to be told twice. Opening his eyes again, Monty grasped her sword by its handle and swung back outside to meet with Yono once more, and their blades clashed when the monkey god flew his way in perfect timing.

In "The Mummy Returns", the Anubis warriors were killed via decapitation, so the battle inspired me for Yamanouchi-Xian clan versus the Yono Army. :) The majority of this climatic battle was pretty much inspired by this movie.

I never thought before that Xian and Yono were once LOVERS, but it made sense in a way, that his attention diverted to her distant cousin, Han no other, and snapped when she rejected him. It made sense enough to add AND explain how and why he wasn't always the monkey he is - and how lonely he was but would never admit to anyone, even Monty. :D

There is an old legend of the mentioned gods Izanagi and Izanami, for the first time they wed, the former who was male and the forefather of all the deities did not speak first as he was supposed to, and as a result, he and his wife bore two deformed children labeled demons and sent away; the ritual was repeated and it was he who spoke first, therefore making the union a success.

Look forward to the next chapter. :D More fighting, more thrills - and shocking surprises.