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And now for the moment we've all been waiting for: Team Possible finally lands on Lorwardia! But what will they find when they get there? Read on, gentle readers ...

Drakken dashed around the corner with Warmonga in hot pursuit. Unfortunately, the corridor was a dead end. And with Warmonga right behind him, there was no chance to fool her with a spontaneous display of floral camouflage.

"Oh, snap."

In another moment, she had caught up with him. He turned to face her, prepared to fight her to the death if need be, which he was positive would be his own, and very soon.

But instead of the expected attack with her force lance, she simply scooped him up in her arms and squeezed him tightly in a huge bear hug, nearly smothering the surprised doctor.

"Oh, joyous day! Warmonga is so happy you are unharmed! Ooh, you are so playful, running from Warmonga like that!"

Drakken was perplexed beyond all reason as a fear of another kind gripped his mind. "Uh, Warmonga, girl, did I just step through some kind of interdimensional portal into a place where the Lorwardians are all lovey-dovey?"

"Hush, my little snarfgribble! Warmonga will explain all as soon as she has you out of danger."

Throwing him over her shoulder, she began joyfully marching down the hall with her captive.

"Snarfgribble? I trust that's not some kind of vermin, or something … ulp … edible?"

"Oh, of course not! On Earth, you would call it … a term of endearment."

Now Drakken was truly frightened. "Now, uh, just a moment, Warmonga. I've already told you that I'm, er, spoken for."

"Hush, my tender one. We are almost outside." She carefully opened the exit and quickly looked around. "We are clear. Quickly! Into my groundcar."

Drakken jumped into the passenger seat as Warmonga gunned the engine. But this vehicle was designed for much larger Lorwardians. When he noticed how small he was in his seat, he felt as if he were five years old again, with Mama Lipsky about to drive him to school. But this was not Mama Lipsky driving him now. This was his incredibly dangerous archenemy, the very same one who had abducted and whisked him and Ron halfway across the galaxy.

Drakken began carefully, "I don't mean to sound unappreciative, but you did, uh, kidnap me in the first place, so I hope you'll understand if I say I find it hard to believe that you have my best interests at heart."

However, he was incredibly thankful that it had not been Zorpox who had found him instead, and gave a small shrug. "But I guess I, uh, shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Warmonga looked perplexed. "What? Where is this horse of which you speak? And why should Warmonga look inside its mouth?"

Drakken waved his hand in useless frustration at Warmonga's literalness. He began to gain a little courage now that he realized he wouldn't be dying, at least immediately. "Never mind, it's just a saying. By the way, how did you find me?"

She beamed with pride. "Warmonga has become an expert in communications after monitoring Earth's television broadcasts for so long. It was easy to simply trace the signal that you were transmitting."

Drakken was puzzled. "But it wasn't continuous. And I only sent a signal every few minutes."

Warmonga purred, "Yes, an excellent ploy to avoid capture. But after your initial signal, you transmitted every 5 minutes and on an unusual frequency. You became predictable."

He mumbled, "Hmm, seems like I've heard that before from both Shego and Kimberly Ann." He continued a little louder. "Well, now that you've found me, will you please tell me exactly what's going on? I thought that Zorpox was officially the Great Blue now."

Warmonga suddenly hit the brakes, nearly skidding out of control. She turned to him with a look of fury in her eyes.

"If you wish to see another sunrise, you will never mention that horrid name again!"

Drakken once again froze in fear. "Oops. Sorry. Care to explain?"

Warmonga intoned, "Ron Stoppable killed Warhok, my battlemate. Now as Zorpox, he has killed several of the High Council, as well as Warhafter … my father."

Suddenly everything clicked in Drakken's mind.

"Not only that, but he has just destroyed WarOwl as well." A look of pure hatred came over her face as she snarled, "And he has stated that he has no interest in becoming Warmonga's battlemate, that he only needs me as his … his sidekick."

She continued, her voice shaking with anger, every word now dripping with murderous venom. "And that sidekicks need to know their place."

A little voice in the back of Drakken's mind warned him, Be afraid. Be very afraid. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so the saying goes. But a vengeful Lorwardian who has lost both her battlemate and her father, and then rejected by the very man that did it?

Drakken broke out in a cold sweat. In a very small voice, he whimpered, "Please, go … go on."

She heaved a deep sigh. "Warmonga was wrong about you. You are no blue impostor, you are the true and rightful Great Blue. Using your amazing floral powers, you destroyed our warbots using … a cheerful attack, but you did not destroy us. I believe that you would not kill us now simply for your own pleasure, and dishonor our great warrior traditions as Zorpox has."

An introspective look came over her face. "Yes, we kill too, but we do so only in combat. We do not murder in cold blood, except for revenge. And by the thirteen moons of Jingos, Zorpox has earned Warmonga's revenge a hundred times over!"

She pounded her fist on the steering column as Drakken looked on in fear. A terrifying thought entered his mind. If she ever finds out about that poison ivy I planted in her ship's quarters, I'm a dead man ...

Her anger now spent, she turned to him and smiled. In a gentler voice, she continued.

"This is why you must help me defeat Zorpox. Then, as the new Great Blue, you will lead our mighty military in glorious intergalactic conquest, with Warmonga by your side as your new battlemate. Together, we will be unstoppable, my little snarfgribble! But first we must eat something. My quarters are just north of the spaceport."

As they traveled along the dark road, Drakken's mind began to swim with images of the likeliest outcomes: death either at the hands of Warmonga if he refused to help her, death at the hands of Zorpox if he helped Warmonga, or death at the hands of a jealous Shego even if he did manage to beat Zorpox. And if he somehow accidentally killed him in the process, just add Kimberly Ann to the list. The common thread between all these scenarios was his no-doubt painful death.

Weak from hunger and a lack of sleep, and his mind now on overload as he tried to think of a way out of his predicament, he suddenly began to feel extremely faint. Before passing out, his face had paled to the shade of a lily, which he felt would probably look very nice on his soon-to-be grave.

Shego slept restlessly. Even though Kim had promised that there were no ships between them and Lorwardia, she had found it hard to relax and get some desperately needed rest before they arrived. Before dropping off to sleep, she continued to worry that Drakken might be recaptured before they could arrive to rescue him. She jerked fitfully as she began to be haunted by a nightmare.

She was a little girl again, at a time before she and her brothers had been granted their comet powers. She had just been beaten by her drunken father and had escaped from him by hiding under her bed. Scared to death and helpless against her father's rage, she peeked out from behind the blanket just as he entered her room. She looked up at him and was horrified to discover not her father's face, but the face of Zorpox staring down at her. She tried to squirm away as his hands reached for her.

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened again. Her mother rushed in and held her father back from hurting her any further. But her mother also had a different face. Kim's face.

She woke with a start as she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Kim's.

"Shego, are you all right? You were moaning in your sleep."

Shego exhaled quickly, trying to shake away the memory of her dream. "I'm fine," she mumbled groggily.

She thought back to the quickly fading dream. "Hmm, maybe that's why my relationships with men have always been so strained. But why Zorpox, and why Kim? It makes no sense …" She shivered. "But Mom was always there for me. Well, that is, until the day she …"

Shego sighed and turned to look at Kim, relieved to now be fully awake as the nightmare faded away. She smiled at her cousin.

"Kim, I'm not sure if I ever thanked you for letting me come along on this mission. We still have a lot of history to work through with each other, but a lot of positive things have happened in the past few months, too."

She grimaced just as soon as she'd spoken those words. "Well, maybe not your almost-wedding, the abduction, or Earth's invasion, but I think you catch my drift. I just wanted to say I appreciate your vote of confidence, and a chance for a fresh start. And thanks for being there when I needed you."

Kim's eyebrows raised in surprise at the warmth of Shego's uncharacteristic candor. "Wow, sure thing, Shego. No big. But that sure must have been some dream."

Shego shuddered, "You don't know the half of it, Kimmie."

A light began to blink on the control panel. Reverting to her snarkier tone of voice, she announced, "Well, Princess, we're here. Lorwardia, dead ahead."

They both stared out of the front viewport as Yori and the Tweebs entered the cabin to take in the celestial spectacle, while Ron's phantasmic image floated above them all. The huge red planet hung in the middle of deep black space, while Atlas burned blue-white over a hundred million miles further away. But what really caught their eye was something totally unexpected. And it was enormous.

Now it was Shego's turn to be surprised. "Whoa. What the heck is that?"

A huge structure was being built in space, almost as large as a small moon. It looked strangely familiar however, and every bit like an object known all too well by both Kim and Ron.

Kim's mouth hung open in astonishment. "Hey, that looks just like …"

"A Naco!" Ron sneered. "That's it. Zorpox is officially evil."

Kim chided, "Oh, and those recent assassinations don't count?"

Ron backpedaled, "Well, heh-heh, there is that I guess …"

Shego just shook her head. "It figures …"

Kim couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, leave it to Zorpox to take Ron's favorite snackage and turn it into a huge weapon. So, what do you think, Ron? Is it for attack, defense, or just ferocious intimidation?"

Shego snickered under her breath, "How about overcompensation?"

"Hey! I heard that, Shego!" Ron whined. "Zorpox may be evil, but he is a human among Lorwardians, which are just, well, humongous! So I can't say I blame him for that. It's just the whole Naco of Mass Destruction I'm complaining about. That's just wrongsick."

They were close enough now to be able to see shuttlecraft frantically traveling to and from the surface, no doubt transporting equipment and supplies to the new space station.

Kim speculated, "I wonder if it's being designed with spaceflight capability?"

Ron scratched the back of his spectral neck. "Well, if I was Zorpox, and I guess I kinda am, I'd make sure of it. And then fly it to Earth and force its surrender."

Shego chided, "Wait, what is this, some kind of Death Naco from Planet Battles?" She laughed derisively. "What does it do, shoot a huge stream of hot sauce at its target?"

Kim supposed, "Well, I'm sure that its main weapon is more lethal than simply Bueno Nacho hot sauce."

Ron interjected, "Whoa! KP! Don't underestimate the power of the sauce!"

A mutual groan echoed through the cabin.

Kim continued, "Well, whatever its weapons are, a Death Naco actually makes sense, Shego. Win the war through intimidation with a weapon no one can defeat, not even the Lorwardians themselves. So I guess it's up to us to make sure that doesn't happen."

The Tweebs were obviously entranced by the gigantic weapon.

"Hicka Naco Boo?"

"Hoosha!"

Shego shook her head in exasperation. "What is it with boys and their toys, anyway?"

Kim agreed. "I don't know, Shego, but it looks like all their attention is being focused on building that thing. Now if we can just slip into that stream of ships going down to the planet, we may be able to land without even being noticed."

At that very moment, the radio came to life. "Attention, approaching battlecruiser. This is Homeworld Control. Please identify yourself and transmit your security code."

Kim let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, so much for that idea. Ron, Yori, you're on."

Yori sat down in front of the controls as Ron tried to clear his throat, not that he really needed to.

"Ok, everyone. Keep it down until I'm finished. Yori, hit the transmit switch."

As Yori flipped the switch, Ron attenuated his voice into a reasonable imitation of a Lorwardian.

"This is Warmolerat of the battlecruiser, uh, Unstoppable! Transmitting security codes now."

Yori's hands flew over the controls as everyone held their breath in anticipation. A few tense seconds ticked by as they waited for the reply.

"Welcome home, Warmolerat. You are cleared for landing. Just watch out for all the shuttles. The Great Blue has put them on a strict timetable."

As soon as Yori clicked off the radio, everyone broke out in a resounding cheer. For her part, Kim felt relieved that Ron's ploy had actually worked.

"Way to go, Ron! Or should I say, Warmolerat?"

Ron hovered in midair and grinned, not unlike the Cheshire Cat. "Booyah! And let's not forget the crew of the Unstoppable, KP!"

Shego, however, still wore her usual pained expression. "Uh, sorry to throw cold water on your mutual admiration society, but we still have a problem. You do remember that we can't land this bucket on the planet, don't you?"

Kim nodded. "Yeah, but we're planning to use the SL Coupe 3.0 as a shuttle down to the planet, so no big."

"Yeah, no big until one of those Lorwardian shuttles gets a close look at the Kepler III command module. Then the jig is up, Miss Priss."

"Hmm. Good point." Kim turned to her brothers. "Ok, while we're down there, keep the ship on the opposite side of the planet from that … Space Naco, or whatever it is. That should keep you two out of trouble until we get back."

Shego smoothly dropped the Kepler into orbit, and soon the city of Lorwardia Prime appeared on the planet's reddish horizon, just beyond the terminator line. Dawn over the planet's capital city would be in less than an hour.

Kim was amazed by its size. "Whoa. That's one big city."

Jim piped up, "Yeah! Almost as big as Middleton!"

Yori smiled. "Yes, but Tokyo is much larger. And it has sushi."

Tim pinched his nose. "Eeww. Raw fish?"

Everyone laughed. Now that they had finally made it to Lorwardia, all were now hopeful and in good spirits, their undercurrent of relief palpable. They were now mere hours from rescuing their friends.

Kim thought to herself, And everyone is still alive and in one piece, more or less. Now all we have to do is grab Drakken and Zorpox. Hmm. Easier said than done, but anything is possible for a Possible …

As their orbit brought them closer to the massive city, Kim gave Tim some quick instruction in the operation of the Kinematic Continuum Disruptor, just in case.

"Ok, everyone. it's showtime. Jim and Tim will stand watch up here in orbit while we perform the rescue. With luck, we'll be back in just a few hours. And Tweebs, no target practice with the weapons! We don't want to draw the attention of any Lorwardian ships. Got it?"

Jim and Tim nodded in acknowledgement as the rest of them proceeded to the cargo bay. Shego placed a few boxes into the trunk before climbing into the SL Coupe with Kim and Yori.

Kim was curious. "What are those for, Shego?"

She slyly replied, "Just a little extra insurance, that's all. After working with Dr. D for so long, I've learned to cover all my bases."

As they launched out of the cargo bay, Shego queried, "Kim, do you think it's wise to leave your brothers up here by themselves? They're talented, but they're also real mischievous. I hope there's a ship left for us to come back to."

Kim answered, "I feel the same way, but we really don't have much choice. Besides, they'll be safer up here. We don't know exactly what we'll be running into when we get down there."

Ron added, "Yeah. I just hope we don't run into a trap. Or especially a trap-trap."

Shego just rolled her eyes. "Hopefully we'll just find Dr. Drakken to start with. And then once we find Zorpox, the Ronster can get his spirit back where it belongs. Then Zorpox will disappear, right Stoppable?"

"I sure hope so, Shego. He obviously knew enough to try and hold me back when I was trying to reach you guys. But he may not want me back now that he's the Great Blue. If he resists me reentering my body, you'll have to try to knock him out somehow, KP."

"That may be easier said than done, Ron. But with the advantage of surprise and a little luck, let's hope so. We'll give it our best shot. Yori, are we still picking up Drakken's signal?"

Yori checked the radio direction finder. "Yes, Kim-chan. Still reading strong 74 megahertz signal coming from north side of city."

With anticipation in her voice, Kim announced, "That's our target, Shego. Lorwardia, here we come!"

Rufus had left the channel open on the radio, hoping that Team Possible would be able to home in on the 74 megahertz signal. Unfortunately, someone else had also been listening in on that band.

"So! A little rescue mission is being mounted by Shego, my former sidekick. And no doubt it's being led by that busybody Kimberly Ann Possible. I'll just have to prepare a warm welcome for all of them. There's going to be a big smackdown in my new town, and I'll soon have some hostages to barter with as well. Assuming any of them survive! Wah, wah-ha-ha-hah!"

Zorpox stormed into the now deserted communications room. "Hmm, no Drakken, and no Rufus. Well, Warmonga should have them both captured very quickly."

He flipped open his comm link. "Attention! Have a wartech set up a mobile comm station at the northern end of the spaceport, and set the frequency at 74 megahertz. When you're ready to begin transmitting a signal on an open channel, notify me so that I can shut down the signal being transmitted from here."

He switched the comm channel. "Capital Command? This is the Great Blue. Reactivate yesterday's Imperial honor guard … Yes, all available troops, and fully armed. I'd like to, hmm, plan a little reception for Drakken's would-be rescuers …"

Dr. Drakken began to regain consciousness. He carefully opened one eye. He was lying on a large couch in what appeared to be a huge living room. He looked around the empty room, and realized that he must be in Warmonga's quarters. Several mounted creatures adorned the walls. Some had obviously been animals of the big game variety, including a huge Thorgoggle spine, but others looked like they could have once been sentient. He swallowed hard, wondering if either he or one of his rescuers might be the next one to grace the empty space next to that last creature.

"Ugh. Never really cared for taxidermy." A brief vision of a stuffed and mounted Shego passed through his mind, and he involuntarily shuddered. Firmly setting his jaw, he declared, "Not if I can help it."

The clanking of some pots and pans from the other room indicated that Warmonga was preparing a meal. His stomach rumbled, and he realized that he hadn't had anything to eat for over 12 hours. He had a briefly disturbing thought as he wondered whether he might end up being the salad course. He hoped not, but he didn't feel like waiting around to find out. He looked around and spotted a large door, which he assumed led outside. He quietly walked up to it and tried the handle.

"Urgh. Locked."

Suddenly he had an idea. He whispered, "Flower, take out the door handle, but do it quietly …"

A tendril quickly grew out from around his neck and wrapped itself around the handle. It proceeded to slowly increase pressure until a sharp crack was heard. The broken handle fell to the floor.

"Excellent!" He swiftly exited through the door, closing it softly behind him. "Hmm. I'll need to slow Warmonga down a bit, too. Flower, wrap yourself around the door so it can't be opened."

His tendrils were only too happy to oblige, entwining themselves around the outer door handle and frame. It was now one inextricable mass of foliage.

"That should keep her occupied for a little while. Now to find the spaceport and hopefully a way off of this planet."

After a few minutes of searching, he spotted what looked like the spaceport. Shuttles were taking off and landing almost every minute. With luck, he should be able to sneak aboard one of them, overpower the pilot with his twines and then try to locate his rescuers. He peeked down into his pocket to check on Rufus.

"Still with me, my little naked mole rat friend?"

Rufus woke up from his nap and stretched his arms, his tiny eyes adjusting to the dim pre-dawn light.

"Uh-huh! Whatsup?"

"We're going to try and steal a shuttle. Do you think you can adjust its radio to the frequency we need to contact Shego and Kim?"

Rufus nodded his head vigorously.

Drakken rubbed his hands together in glee. "Excellent! This will be my most brilliant escape plan, ever! Now let's see what we can find …"

Back at her quarters, Warmonga had just managed to tear down her vine-entangled front door.

"That fool! Warmonga can bench press 1300 qualocks. Does he think mere plants can hold Warmonga back?"

She calmed down as she began to acknowledge Dr. Drakken's ingenuity. "Still, that was clever. So, the Great Blue wishes to play hard to get?" She smiled. "Good! Warmonga loves the hunt."

She began tracking him immediately, simply following the trail of leaves, broken tendrils and the scent of flowers. They led her straight to the spaceport. In just a few minutes, she had caught up with the hapless doctor, who was desperately trying to open the hatch of a small shuttle. He spotted her immediately and gave out a yelp, taking off across the field as fast as he could run.

Warmonga warmed to the thrill of the chase, rapidly closing the distance between them.

"You cannot escape me, my Great Blue gorfsnarffle! Come to your Warmonga!"

Drakken continued running as if his life depended on it. Rufus popped out of his pocket and held on for dear life, chattering in his unique dialect, "Oh, brother, here we go again …"

The SL Coupe 3.0 lived up to its excellent reputation, and the Tweeb's upgrades enabled it to fly effortlessly through the dusty atmosphere of Lorwardia. Soon, Team Possible was vectoring in on their final approach to the main landing field. With so many craft of different types taking off and landing, they had no trouble blending in with the flotilla of shuttles.

Yori continued to monitor the 74 megahertz frequency. "Kim-chan, the signal is strong and coming from that building on north side of field."

Kim nodded. "Ok, stand by for landing."

Dawn was just breaking as Kim lightly touched down on the field. She switched from the rockets to the regular engine and proceeded to drive up to the building.

"Well, it's now the moment of truth. Let's hope that Drakken and Rufus are still inside."

Just then, a blue man in a disheveled tuxedo appeared over the rise, running as if pursued by the Devil herself.

Shego took one look at the man and felt her heart jump into her throat. A feeling like an electric shock went through her body as she instantly realized who it was. She jumped out of the car and began running toward him.

She waved frantically at Dr. Drakken. "Dr. D! It's me, Shego!"

"Shego, wait!" Kim yelled. But it was too late. Shego was already running full tilt toward her one true love, ecstatic that he was still alive. He now saw her as well and began running toward her.

Drakken thought he was just seeing things when he spotted Shego running toward him. They stopped just short of each other, both of them barely able to believe what their eyes were truly telling them. They hesitated for only a moment before rushing into each others arms. There was now no awkwardness between them like after the first time that Drakken had been abducted, and no embarrassment in revealing exactly how each felt about the other.

Shego breathlessly panted, "I can't believe I've finally found you." Her deep emerald green eyes locked on Drakken's eyes of deepest blue. As their lips converged, she whispered, "The heck with rules on public displays of affection ..."

Since the beginning of time there have been three kisses that were rated the most intense, the most passionate. This was one of them.

Shego broke the kiss as she continued to caress Drakken's face. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again, Drew. I thought I had lost you for good."

Drakken exhaled contentedly. "Likewise, Shego. But nothing will ever come between us again."

All too soon, the spell was broken by the voice of a certain fast-approaching Lorwardian.

"Come back, my little snarfgribble!"

Drakken sighed, "Well, except for maybe one thing ..."

With an odd look on her face, Shego released Drakken from her embrace and queried, "Snarfgribble?"

Drakken self-consciously replied, "Heh-heh. Yes, a term of endearment which, by the way, I refused to go along with. I tried to escape when she asked me to join forces with her to overthrow Zorpox and become her, uh, battlemate."

Shego's mood quickly changed from one of bliss to one of storm. "Battlemate?"

Pushing Dr. Drakken behind her, she fired up both hands in a huge whoosh of supercharged plasma.

"Over my dead body!"

Warmonga stopped only a few feet away, pulling out her force lance. As she gripped her weapon, she sneered, "Ah, the green one who claims the Great Blue as her battlemate. I shall enjoy destroying you."

She lifted her lance high as she yelled out her battle cry. "WAR-MON-GA!"

Shego wasn't about to be intimidated. "In your dreams, you Lorwardian bitch!"

She let fly with one of most powerful blasts she had ever created. With a terrific boom, huge chunks of rock were torn up from the tarmac, flying through the air with terrific force. A visible shock wave quickly raced across the field, leveling several buildings in the process.

"KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY BOYFRIEND!"

Warmonga staggered back, badly stunned but still standing. "Ooh. Wow. That smarted."

She fired back with her force lance, Shego quickly dodging each blast as she returned fire with her own massive plasma bursts. Her years of sparring with Kim were coming in handy. The fiercest battle of her life was now on.

As Kim looked on with awe at the incredible battle, she suddenly realized something odd. "Wait a minute. If Drakken is out here, then who's inside transmitting the signal?"

She peeked inside the door. "Rufus, are you in there?"

An evil laugh emanated from within the small building as the door swung open. "Welcome to my brave new world, Kimberly Ann Possible!"

"Zorpox!" Kim growled, automatically dropping into a defensive stance.

"Surprised, Kimberly Ann? Well, how about this!"

He touched a button on his comm link. Suddenly, hundreds of heavily armed Lorwardians swarmed out of every remaining building that lay on the edge of the landing field. They quickly surrounded Kim, Yori, and Drakken, while Shego and Warmonga continued their furious battle.

"It's smackdown time on the Wild, Wild World of Lorwardia! Booyah-ha-ha-ha-hah!"

Ron yelled out, "Look out, Kim! It's a trap-trap-trap!"

Kim shouted, "Team Possible! Attack!"

Has Zorpox pulled off the perfect evil decoy? And what other malevolent tricks does he have up his wicked sleeve? And with Drakken as the prize, who will be the ultimate victor, Shego or Warmonga? And when will Mahler Avatar stop asking these inane hypothetical questions and just get on with writing the next chapter?

Next time: Battle Royale!