Acts of Desperation

by Sestren NK

Dark Nemesis Trilogy Story III. Since the last story, nothing's gone right for Kim in the last 17 months. She has a price on her head, forced to team up with a lethal adversary since the man she loved left her. But why? KR? Finally updated...

26. 25: Contact

I figured a few of you would be happy, and with Ron finally back I figured I'd lighten up the situation with some goofy humor even if it stepped out of line with how serious the story is. I don't think it hurts it. My theory here is that the only reason the story could be so dark and serious, other than Val, is if Ron wasn't there to lighten things up. Now I made up for it. We'll see only just a tad bit more of unrealistic humor, otherwise we head back into extreme serious mode.

Well, now you know why I had the "K/R?" in the summary. Not just because I made you all wonder whether or not they'd get back together, though some of you knew or figured it out anyway :P, but I tossed in a small R/Y moment, too. Seemed right in my head. But we've got a little of something else… How will it involve K, R, or Y again? I won't give you any hinters on that even if you ask. :D

The story's already longer than the previous one, and we still haven't reached the final stages of it! WTH! Don't worry, that starts next chapter.

This chapter's going to bother some people because of where the focus lies. Like it or not, it's still an integral part of the story. And the warning of the last chapter about moments of discomfort and to avoid jumping to conclusions? That probably should have applied to this chapter instead. No, really.

This is strange. Ron's been missing for about six months… and I've been working on the story for over six months, and now we get him back just like Kim did. I just find that to be a somewhat amusing coincidence.

So the Kim and Ron conflict finally comes to an end… but not all is well just yet…

Chapter 25: Contact

---

The steel door was sealed tight, far too strong to be moved by a human being. It also didn't help that all of the keys on the keypad lock were removed, and the actual key was broken inside the keyhole.

Of course, when you had more than a few lightweight explosives on you, there wasn't much to worry about. It blew open without much hassle. It appeared that Valia's escape was successful for the most part, armed to the teeth with all of his equipment intact. Surprisingly, none of the girls took anything, although Lexis took back what he stole earlier: "Love" and "Lust" – the names of her two swords.

The winds of hell nearly blew his face off the second he set foot outside the abandoned lab, forcing him to shield his eyes from the snow that flew at him like a swarm of hornets.

"It's finally looking like December for a change…"

Hardly able to see anything that was in front of him, he slowly traversed through the deep and thick snow.

The abandoned lab was located on the southeast coast of Greenland, where nothing but snowy mountains and icecaps could be seen even with an aerial view. It actually didn't look that much different from Drakken's snow mountain lab, the one he had been on the entire winter season.

But it wasn't calm and peaceful like you'd see in photos and pictures. Ryan stepped outside only to be met by a ferocious blizzard, one that could have blown pieces of rock off the surface of the mountain and sent it flying right at him. The impact would prove to be no different than getting struck by a record-speed baseball pitch. Fortunately for him though, the journey down the mountain wouldn't prove long or dangerous. It resembled a steep hill more than anything else, perfect for skiing if not for the threatening roars of the wind and terrible visibility. And since Ryan was packed with everything but sports equipment, he took the long way down: Walking.

But he still had to do so carefully. A wrong step could have him slipping, and judging how slippery the rock surface was underneath the snow, it could easily break his ankle. So he walked through the snow in a defensive kind of stance, covering his face with his arms, taking each step with careful precision. Time was not relevant. He was in no hurry.

Thankfully for him, the weather got less hideous the deeper he got down the mountain, and he was able to see much farther than before. While the storm had no end in sight, it didn't require him to cover his face anymore, and each step through the snow felt less icy. He was able to merely walk down the mountain.

But for someone who escaped an imprisonment with such harsh conditions, you would think even someone like Val would wear a face that wasn't expressionless.

Well, surprisingly he was. But it wasn't of satisfaction, bliss or relief.

While his face was just as cold and bitter as usual, his eyes said it all, filled with nothing but guilt and regret. He wasn't proud of what he did, and he even wondered why he did it in the first place. Was it absolutely necessary? No. Was there any reason that demanded it? Not really. Was anything good going to come out of it? Hardly. There was no satisfaction that came out of it. No fun, no joy, nothing that put a smile on his face. So why on earth did he do it?

He didn't know. But what was done was done. There was no going back and changing it. Trying to get his thoughts off the subject, he reached for the bottom of his left boot and found a small tracker shaped like an insect. He crushed it with two metal fingers. Then he continued on. It was best that he get away from here anyway, and as far as he could.

And considering he just found a sword to his throat, there was good reason.

"Val!" a voice next to him called.

Rolling his eyes to his side, he saw Lexis, single-handedly holding one of her blades to his throat. The storm was no less brutal to her than it was to him, blowing her hair and her coat all over the place. Her grip on the blade was strong; it didn't even shake with the harsh winds one bit.

"I see you've finally made it out!" she hollered through the winds. "I expected no less out of you…"

Ryan didn't appear amused or surprised at the least. "It appears that my arrival was anything but unexpected."

The girl only smiled at him before making a sudden move. She quickly pulled the blade off to attack him with it, but it was the opportune moment for him to escape, and he did by leaping far out of the way. Had he not, she would have sliced him in four, and the cuts would have been so swift that not an ounce of blood would've been dropped.

Although this was entirely expected, she was impressed by his swift maneuverability. But her disciple wasn't responsive. He was still vexed of her involvement in all of this. Not just because she was still alive, not because she was now his enemy, but he just couldn't figure out her exact role in all of this. Based on what he had heard and seen throughout the journey, he might have been facing the mastermind behind it all. But why her? What were her real reasons behind everything?

Whatever the case, it was time to end it, once and for all.

"Why are you doing this?" he demanded. "What do you gain out of everything you've done?"

"Why?" she simply asked, "Because it was the only way this could ever happen, V. Here, alone, just the two of us… I've been waiting a long time for this moment to come."

But once again, she acted a lot differently than she did before. Her posture was a lot more calm and serene than earlier, with eyes that no longer rivaled the freezing cold of the mountain.

"'Just the two of us'… what exactly is it that you want, Lexis?"

"Call me Enya, V…" she simply replied, "Nobody else is around to hear us. There's no need for me to keep a guise on any longer."

He shook his head. "I will not." Apparently he wasn't buying it.

She too shook her head. "You poor fool… Wandering alone in this world has left you confused… with no one to help you, no one to guide you… you've lost touch of everything we've learned and shared together…"

"ENOUGH!" he yelled. "You are NOT the girl you claim to be!"

She sighed. "Is it really that hard to believe that I'm standing here before you, V? …I thought you were completely aware of all of the possibilities the world had to offer…"

Val found himself even more perplexed. There was so much sorrow in her voice, and it wasn't the kind that was easily faked. Still, he kept his guard up. "What do you mean?"

She took a couple of steps to the side, hardly concerned with the snow blowing straight into her eyelids. "…Maybe you are right… I'm not the girl you once remembered me as…"

"Then who are you?

"I wish I could tell you," she answered. "I wish I could tell you that the girl you saw die before your eyes was a fake. I wish I could tell you that I'm one of many clones of your former mentor. I wish I could tell you I was Enya's twin sister, or maybe a scientific creation designed to perfectly mimic the girl who found love in you only moments away from death. You see, V, there really is no end to the possibilities of why I'm standing here before you. It's perfectly logical. Look at where we're at today: December 20, 2006… While it's been said endless times that our technology grows more advanced with each passing day, no one truly knows the extent of it. It's been nearly four years since we last met… and in such a short time we've already surpassed the boundaries of human life and death. Just because someone dies doesn't mean their soul and entity have truly left this world. No. Their bodies can be completely reconstructed perfectly to the split end of a hair."

For someone who hadn't spoken to him alone for almost four years, he had a feeling this wasn't all the girl had to say.

She continued, "Blood, tissue, and DNA samples of just about every human being on the planet have been stored in all kinds of top secret storage houses... But weapons like us, dogs of war, we who fight, where our efforts go unappreciated by the media, twisted into something it wasn't by the pens of biased journalists and politicians who thought that resolving bloody conflicts meant sitting on their asses and arguing like a bunch of imbeciles!" She realized she was going off topic, huffing angrily. "…It was a pact they agreed to when they joined. They did it with their own free will, but whether or not they knew why their government needed their blood and tissue samples is completely irrelevant. They agreed. So did I, as did you… Maybe I didn't work at the PHRND like you did… You thought we could only emulate thoughts and personalities, but you thought it was impossible to do so with existing people. You were wrong."

She was standing still for some time, and she decided to end that, slowly walking around. Val had no intention of escaping, foreseeing the inevitable.

"This is the 21st century, V," she went on, "We've reached the age where everything from the genes that birthed mankind, the flow of information as we know it, even martial arts and military techniques thought to be lost forever… it can all be stored digitally. As long as technology exists, the knowledge of everything mankind will see throughout the years to come will never leave this world. It's the reason why I'm here in front of you, V. The perfect reason. You know more than anyone how the two senators we took orders from hated us, but especially me. They knew I was their ultimate weapon... I wasn't even fifteen, and I already possessed abilities legendary soldiers would take a lifetime to obtain. They said I was gifted, much like you. But we couldn't be controlled. I couldn't be controlled. Silvia and Brown wanted me to be their pawn, to hijack elections, do all the illegal work they couldn't be caught doing, stealing money, all for petty political games. I had everything they wanted except loyalty. Much like you, I joined because I believed in a greater cause, to help people's lives, and to prevent them from suffering the same fate as my parents did… the same fate I wound up succumbing to. Most of the higher-ups had no idea who we were, that we existed, or what was going on with those two. We started a war… but at the cost of my former life… They realized it was a mistake to send me out to die, Silvia and Brown, but with the way technology had evolved, their loss wasn't permanent. They had the technology to construct anyone they wanted, now that the flow of time has allowed even memories of a human being to be digitalized. And who other than their ultimate weapon who refused to concede into their control? It makes perfect sense now, doesn't it?"

Val finally chose to intervene, even if it was brief. "So… it isn't really you on the outside."

"But it is on the inside! I possess the same memories as I did before, V. It's no different today than it was 45 months ago."

"Then answer me this…" he growled, "Why did you choose me? I wasn't anything but the most skilled of agents, a rookie at best yet you took me under your wing. Why did you choose me to be the survivor? Why did you want me to live? The world needed you then, and they needed someone like you now!"

She turned away and sighed in pity. "V…" she said quietly, "You were a pure spirit when I first met you. Naïve, sheltered, innocent… and no less mature as you are now. Every other teenage agent thought they were doing volunteer work. They were reluctant to fight, and didn't have what it took. But not you. I never met somebody like you then, but I saw a deep hidden potential inside of you that no one on earth would dare to imagine possible… not just your physical abilities… not the fact that you managed to take apart an AK-47 and put it back together the same minute you saw it for the first time… You wanted to learn so much, to become a better person than your parents and escape the fate they met in their demise. And in return, by teaching you everything I learned, I thought that you could give me something I thought I had lost forever…"

"Hope…" he replied.

She nodded. "But I realized it was a mistake… exposing you to what a dark planet Earth can truly be… corrupting an innocent mind. Many people today take pleasure in doing such a thing, but the only thing that came out of it for me was guilt, and it still consumes me to this day… I should have just left you to live a normal life… You didn't need to see everything I have… You didn't need to know how truly corrupt mankind is…"

Val briefly looked away in clear disagreement. "No… It's something I got a front row seat of long after your demise and even with an erased memory. Don't blame yourself… I tried to turn myself around and fight it, but it wasn't enough…"

"Hear me out…" she said, "We were both taken hostage in the Middle East after Brown and Silvia made arrangements with terrorists to kill us for setting foot on their land. And they arranged it in such a way that none of the higher ups would find out about it, not even the FBI or even your CIA, and even if they did they couldn't do jack about it, not with those two filling their pockets with Benjamins. It was life's end for both of us, but I knew that at least one of us could make it out alive… and maybe we both could have…"

Ryan couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What?"

Enya was quick to shrug it off. "No… there was far too much to risk if we both returned to America. Could we have exposed The Bosses for what they were? Perhaps, but they'd find a way to paint us as liars as they've done before endless times. They sent us out there to die because they got desperate. They got scared. And if we both came back alive, they would do everything they could to destroy us and the ones we love, and they could have gotten away with it, too."

"But we're both orphans, Enya…" Val had interjected, "You wanted your revenge when your parents died, and mine weren't worth saving no matter how you look at it."

"I'm talking about you…" she replied softly, "Valia, listen to me… I became a soldier knowing the fate I'd suffer. That's what being one is all about… die to protect. To fight even if it means dying. Honor in death. It's not something people tend to remember or want to understand, but I believed in it to the end. But sitting at death's gate, I found myself more concerned for you more than anything, even my own life. I knew I was going to die. I was the one they wanted dead. But there was a way out for you. You could have escaped… but only you. One of us could live, but the other had to die. I wanted you to be the one to live, V…"

Somehow her mood completely changed. Ryan could see the tears freeze up on her eyes. She started to approach him, but there was no malice in her steps. Before Val knew it, she was standing right in front of him.

"I really wish that we could have spent our futures together…" she said as she wiped more ice off her eyes, "grow old… enjoy life… be normal… there was so much we could have done…"

Suddenly, she threw herself at him, holding him tightly in her arms. Despite the sudden discomfort on his face at first, he had no objections. She also wrapped his arms around her and tight.

"I loved you, V…" she said, resting her head on his chest, "That's why I couldn't let you die. I might have shown you how cruel this world is, but you were still young. I didn't expect you to understand my feelings then… You didn't understand everything… and that was why I knew you could go back. That's why I chose you. You could turn your life around and start all over again. You could be given a second chance. I wanted you to live a normal life, to enjoy all the pleasures everyday people experience. To laugh, love, enjoy the company of others, live for yourself and help people. If dying meant you could go back and live a normal life, then I would proudly give up my life for that, for you… Even if vengeance was my original cause, it wouldn't be worth it if I had to live in a world without you."

Valia couldn't believe it. He knew why Enya allowed herself to die, but hearing it come out of her mouth, her voice, he couldn't believe it. "E-Enya…" Even after his memory had returned to him, he realized he forgot one of the girl's final requests: Escape your fate and live a normal life. He sighed, still having a hard time believing he was holding somebody. "I'm sorry…"

Enya shook her head. "No… Don't be. I should've known that after all this time, even after my death, that life would still grab you by the balls and keep you on the path of the warrior. I know you tried, V… but I had no idea that people would still be cruel to you…" She took her head off his chest and looked into his eyes. "I overheard your talk with Possible back in Kowloon… how you got that scar on your eye and everything you had gone through. I almost cried. This wasn't what I wanted you to become. This wasn't the life I wanted you to live…" Again she paused, wrapping her right hand in Val's mechanical left, almost horrified in its appearance.

Val quickly remembered that day. "And somehow unleashing a mutated ape monster on me is any better than what you're holding?" he almost yelled.

"I'm so sorry…" she apologized, and the sorrow was legit, "I'm sorry for everything… It was an act, and I couldn't blow my cover… but I am so sorry…"

"But why?" he asked. "What exactly was your role in all of this?"

"Almost everything…" she answered, "Like I said before, after allying myself with Lipsky, he sent me over to Kowloon to locate Stoppable and prevent Possible from finding him. But that was just one of many things I did…"

"Am I correct in assuming you orchestrated the entire hunt for Possible involving the black suits?" Val asked.

"You are," Enya answered, "and I had to ensure that the operation went well, but not too well… I had to keep you, Possible and the Kunoichi on your feet…"

"I suppose Drakken was a smart one if he came up with that idea and trusted you to carry it on," Val said with a slightly impressed look in his eyes.

"No," she quickly replied. "The hunt was my idea, but I wouldn't allow any of you to be captured or killed."

"That didn't stop Sean Hanteren from attacking us with PSG-1 sniper rifles, Stinger surface-to-air missiles and laser guns."

"And a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter armed with a M60 machine gun, but that was Shego's doing just as she told you," she explained, "She had that tracker on you and tipped him off. She wanted to take control of everything, but I had to put a stop to that."

"Drakken sent you in to put a lead on her."

"No, that was something of my own choosing as well…" she told him, "I wanted to make sure she didn't have her way with you. The laboratory behind us wasn't exactly as dark and useless as it was now. There was an electric generator deep inside the mountain that provided it with endless electricity. You might not see Shego as the torturous type, but it was her intention to electrocute you and torture you until you gave into her will… at least that's what her plan was. She loves to inflict pain and cherishes the thought of seeing Kim Possible suffer, but she can't watch people suffer for extended periods of time when there's death involved or the risk of it, especially when you have over tens of thousands of volts burning the insides of your body."

"The reason why villains are never there to watch their victims perish… I'm familiar with the theory…"

"Yes. Because of that, she's not exactly an expert on torture or interrogation, and it's likely she'd overdo it and accidentally kill you instead. I couldn't allow it. Long before she learned this place existed I had the generator destroyed, rendering everything including the torture bed useless. She had no idea the entire time."

"Lexis… Melissa Uso…" He found himself conflicted with the girl's multiple personalities. "You say you protected me, but…"

"You don't believe me? That's understandable…" she said with narrowed eyes. "Kowloon, Belize, the lab – it was all an act, just as I told you. I didn't enjoy making you or Kim Possible suffer, but I couldn't let any of you know who I really was. Not Shego, Possible, Stoppable, Load, Ferno, Killbourne, and especially you. Yes… much of it was done to study the relationship between Possible and Stoppable, but I don't exactly mean their romantic and intimate one. I heard only so little about her before my death, and I wanted to see if she truly was the girl who could do anything. Not bad for someone who can actually live an ordinary life. Not like us."

"The two weren't your only focus, though."

She shook her head. "No… Really, the whole time I had been longing for you, V. That was why I orchestrated the entire hunt with the black suits and fought Possible in Middleton and purposely lost. I knew she would seek you out and fight you. In victory or defeat she'd give you the details, not that she had a chance in hell of beating you then and even now. I wanted to leave enough clues to raise even your suspicion to get you involved. I wanted to see you again. I know I unleashed a mutated Stoppable on you, tried to kill you in Belize, fought you in the Tower and choked you here… I didn't enjoy it one bit… I truly am sorry, but I understand if you don't forgive me for it. I probably don't even deserve it."

"So why did you do it?"

"Because I wanted to see how you turned out, V. I loved you… raised you, taught you techniques, trained you how to handle weapons, fight swift and strategically, and all the essentials of survival and battle. All of this was done to observe what you learned and what direction in life you took in the last four years… and maybe it was a mistake to do what I did… die so you could live. I should've actually attempted to escape with you, regardless of the risks…"

"You can't change the past…"

"V… listen…" she went on, "I was proud of you when I heard that you fell in love with someone, but I almost cried hearing how it turned out. You made me so proud when I learned that you actually tried to help and save people and still tried to use your abilities for the goodness of mankind despite methods most wouldn't agree with, when I feared that perhaps you'd abuse your power to toy with others' lives and laugh at their suffering like those we worked for. Thank you…"

Then she actually did it. She kissed him on the cheek. But afterward, she immediately let go, turned away and started to walk away from him.

"But life isn't fair, and it can take us in directions even we would never dare to anticipate or prepare ourselves for. And as weapons, we are never rewarded for our good deeds despite what form they come in, not with what people's standards, expectations and biases are on what's right and wrong in the world today. No one else will ever understand this. No one else will ever understand us. But I do and always have. I know you're a troubled and confused soul… the personified product of a world and society grown mad and corrupt. It was my greatest fear that everything would come down to this, and I truly hoped this day would have never come. I can't say I approve of what you plan to do, but it's not within my power to ask you to cease your assault. I would be a hypocrite in doing so…"

She had some of her fingers sliding across the grip of one of her swords. However, one should note that when it comes to swords in their sheathes, the frost sometimes freezes it and the sword hand guard together. Even so, Enya took it out effortlessly. After she was a safe distance from Val, she stopped and turned back to him.

"Please… let me test how much you've grown for one last time. Let me see if you're prepared to do what you're about to do."

And without warning in any of her nerves, she pulled out her other sword and hurled it at her disciple like a boomerang. Val quickly caught it the same second without blinking. Anyone else would have had their head sliced right off, and it would've taken them a few seconds to realize that.

"If you beat me," she explained, "it will only assure me that you're destined for what you intend to do… but if you win, please… I want you to do something for me…"

"Anything."

"I want you to kill me."

Val's eyes almost shot wide open with that remark. His lips moved but no words came out.

"What's wrong?" Enya asked. "Isn't that what you wanted? Isn't it the reason you've been after me the whole time?"

Again, he struggled to answer. "Maybe at first… but… "

Tears suddenly came gushing out of the girl's eyes. "Val… please! FREE ME! I don't want to live an artificial life anymore! Release me from this world and let my soul finally rest in peace and eternity!" she begged. "I had my regrets in leaving you behind, all alone, but do you know what it's like to awaken from death? To have your soul still wandering around the world never finding peace? To be resurrected against your own will, trapped in a body that's not even truly yours? A fake? And for what? To be kept alive because two idiots realized they threw away one of their best? Listen to me. I was trapped then, prevented from doing anything that could truly benefit mankind, and I'm even more trapped now than I was then…" She had to sniff her nose and rub the ice off her eyes before standing defiantly before him. "I'm a prisoner of death… Only you can free me."

Her apprentice completely understood her, taking a steady grip on the weapon offered to him.

"You're the only one who can do this." She held the sword so that it was leveled parallel to her eyes. "This will be a fight to the death… I know everything you're planning to do and why. I truly hoped in my heart it wouldn't come down to this, but it appears that your decision is final and you'll go to the depths of hell itself to achieve your goal. I won't try to stop you, but I won't make it easy on you either. I will kill you, or you will kill me. I don't want to kill you, but I will if you lose, and I will take my own life shortly after. Perhaps then… we can finally be together forever… No… your life is more important than my own wishes. I want you to be the one to set me free. I want you to live on…"

Valia could only shake his head.

"To have my life ended by my own disciple… that's all could ever want and ask for," she said softly. "Please… grant me my final wish… Take my life and release me from the world of the living… only then will you know the truth of everything… For me, Val… please. Let me be free."

It all came down to this. Master and apprentice. A final fight. No hand-to-hand combat. No weapons other than two swords. One born of the natural world and one who wasn't. Although Val didn't get all of the answers he hoped for, he got enough to get some closure out of all of this. And while the girl was an artificial recreation of his former master, the soul that was trapped inside her artificial body was the same as the one who helped train him and teach him everything.

Val had a tough decision facing him, but it didn't take him very long to make a choice. He lifted the sword up so that the blade was parallel to his lowered eyes.

"Permission granted."

The decision was final. He accepted her challenge. He wasn't going to let his personal feelings get in the way, but instead he felt he needed to do what needed to be done. The sorrow in Enya's eyes quickly wore off, briefly smiling before getting into a stance and readying herself, which Val did as well. It was an open field with nothing that would get in the way. No rocks, trees or anything. Just deep snow, fog, and a blizzard that was growing more powerful by the second.

The stage was set. It was time to finish this dramatic piece. They were ready.

"Now… BEAT ME!" Enya pleaded.

And in the same instant, metal struck metal, carving into each other as sparks erupted and melted the snow around them. Sword against sword, Enya tried with all her strength to knock her adversary off his feet. Despite her smaller stature, she was the last person on Earth not to be taken seriously.

The fight had just begun.

---

"You don't remember anything?"

Ron shook his head. "No…"

"You had no idea you were changing into a monster?"

"Nope."

"Purple-pigtail girl named Melissa?"

"Nuh uh."

"Kowloon?"

"Not ringing a bell."

Kim couldn't believe it. Ron didn't remember anything? She briefly explained a few of the things that happened within the last few months, just to give Ron an idea that he'd been gone for some time.

"Man… no wonder things feel different. I mean, now you're different!"

"Huh?" Kim asked. "What do you mean?"

Ron pointed to her hair. "You got a haircut, Kim! But why? I loved that long flippy hair of yours!" he whined.

"Actually… you… kinda sliced it off when we fought…" she told him.

Ron's chin practically hit the floor. "I WHAT? Oh man, I am so sorry, KP! I'll never do it again!" he tried to assure her. "Man… Kim with short hair? Twisted MMP powers? Purple-haired girls? And I turned 19? Man… just how long was I out of the loop?"

Kim couldn't wait to hear his reaction to this one. "…six months."

"SIX MONTHS? DUDE! My final business paper is overdue! I-I haven't reported back to work! I haven't called mom and dad! I didn't even get you a present for your birthday! I…" he couldn't finish. In an instant Ron nearly suffered a panic attack and was hyperventilating.

But in actuality, Ron went missing for six months, but he didn't remember anything that had occurred in the last eight months. The last thing he truly remembered was Kim yelling at him when Val got the next-to-last ancient relic back in Go City. He didn't remember treating her badly, losing his job, snatching a bottle of rum from Upperton's Liquor store, or Kim's injury that put her in a wheelchair. Kim wasn't exactly aware of this, but she'd figure it out soon enough.

But right now, it wasn't easy for her to watch him freak out like this. Even though in his early-possessed state he was showing signs of extreme stress about work and school, it looked like there was some truth in it, and not just the result of cursed psychological change.

"Ron, it's okay!" she assured him while grabbing his shoulders. "They know you went missing and I promised them I'd find you. It's okay, babe. Don't worry about it or anything else. I took care of it."

However, unlike many times in the past where she attempted to calm him down, it wasn't working. Several things went through his mind, and Kim instantly realized that even though Ron was back to his normal self and remembered her, he could have still been mentally unstable with his brain probably trying to find the lost memories of the last eight months. And maybe he hadn't fully recovered and was still suffering from a few side effects.

Rufus had attempted to massage Ron's shoulders to calm him down, but it was clear that Ron really was having a panic attack. But as always Kim wasn't going to sit back and watch. This was serious. While she tried to learn how to remedy such situations thanks to advice from mom, she didn't exactly learn how to remedy panic attacks from someone who had been possessed and mutated by cursed powers, turned back into his original human form in mere seconds, was in a temporary state of death, and suffered a brief coma.

She wish she could say it was so not the drama, but it was. It pained her to see him like this. She had to find a way to comfort him, so she did the first thing that came to mind and wrapped her arms around Ron and held him tight. She whispered calmly in his ear.

"Ron, I'm here for you. It's okay. I'm here. Close your eyes, Ron. It's going to be all right."

Finally, it took him about a minute to stop hyperventilating. Kim kept holding him tight, with her body so close against his that they felt each other's heartbeats. And really, it was arguable who felt more pleasure out of it. On Ron's end, the constant and soft beating of Kim's heart was like a lullaby to him, a soothing and relaxing feeling that took his mind off of everything. As for Kim, considering how much his heart was beating yesterday, just to know it was beating steadily was the most relieving feeling in the world.

Five minutes had passed before Ron's heartbeat resumed a steady pace, almost matching Kim's. However, just when she was about to let go of him and pull back, she couldn't. He had his arms firmly wrapped around her, hesitant to release her. A strong hold, but a soft one at the same time. And really, Kim didn't want to let go either. She felt so comfortable in his arms, not minding the gentle breeze of him breathing on her neck. Time had slowed down for them, with seconds passing by like minutes. Even though she wasn't so big on so much hugging and holding early on in the relationship, with the exception of Ron being in critical danger, it was among many feelings that she had missed so much. Six months felt like six years, and even an ounce of paranoia told her it might not last considering every sudden twist that came her way on this journey. She was going to enjoy this moment as much as she could.

It felt so right. Just like Prom, the two held each other as if the outside world didn't exist. It just felt right. She could have fallen asleep right in his arms and he wouldn't have minded.

Then she noticed a change in Ron's breathing. He let out a long and proud sigh of relief. "Man, I don't know what I'd do without you, Kim…" and in that same moment he realized something, "Hey, your hair's still flippy!"

Kim smiled, feeling Ron's fingers gently stroke through her hair, and she found herself doing the same to him. And what a relieving tingle it was for every one of her fingers. His natural blond Ron hair felt so much better than that disgusting, rotting, stinking fur earlier. They found it hard to let each other go. Even though Ron didn't remember anything that had happened for the last half-year, he could feel the months of absence by holding the girl he had known forever. That empty and missing feeling… it was her, or lack thereof.

"Man… six months…" It wasn't easy for Ron to believe.

Kim slowly pulled away from him, just enough to look into his eyes. "Ron, I'm not going to lie to you. You wanna know what life's like without you for six months?"

"Bad?"

"It's a living hell."

It was anything but an expected answer. "Geez…"

Not much else to say there. Not that Ron was the most observant person on the planet, but he could see so much sorrow, pain and anger in her eyes, something probably only he would notice. He couldn't imagine everything that happened to her to make her look like this, not that she looked any different other than her haircut. And like a lot of Kim's classmates at Upperton U, Ron thought that in that time she would've moved on.

Even though he had a lot of confidence in himself, or rather who he was, his self-esteem always staggered when it came to the relationship. He loved Kim and would do anything for her, but when it came to someone like her, he thought that maybe there was someone else who was better for her. With his absence, he thought she would move on in life and not be chained to him. But in that paranoia he forgot why Kim had fallen for him in the first place. There were many times in Kim's life where she could have left Ron behind in the dark and take on a new direction in life without him. But she couldn't, not with everything they had been through together. She never gave up on him. She needed him just as much as he needed her.

There's at least one person on the planet who can't live without you, and Ron was fortunate enough that she lived in the same neighborhood as he did. But it also went the other way around.

"The whole time you've been searching for me?" he asked. He still couldn't believe it.

"You'd do the same for me," she merely answered.

"I would, huh? Man. I figured if I ever ran away or anything, you'd drag me back home in the same hour, Kim. But six months? What happened?"

"We don't know… somehow you disappeared off the global radar," Kim tried to explain. "You somehow managed to turn off your tracker again, and you just disappeared off the face of the earth. No one could find you. Not Wade, Nev or any of their colleagues. We couldn't even find Rufus. I was so worried since you just suddenly left without saying anything. But I wasn't going to give up on you. I even helped Wade and dad develop all kinds of new technology to track you. But I also went after every single clue hoping I'd find you, but a lot of them were dead ends. Someone was making sure we wouldn't see each other again."

"Man… I am so sorry, KP… but even Wade and your dad couldn't pick me up? Man, that's hardcore…" But Ron still wanted to know how she found him.

"I refused to believe you were dead, but we had nothing. Everyone who tried to help couldn't… except…" Kim wasn't sure how she'd explain this.

"Except…?"

---

Sparks, snow, wind and fog.

Unfortunately for both Enya and Valia, they were facing mirror versions of themselves. The same moves performed at the same time with the same strategy.

Enya had started the duel by fighting offensively, and in retaliation Val had fought offensively as well, usually by pressing as hard as they could against the other's weapon. Because of how close they were to each other, Enya found an opening and head-butted her disciple, which knocked him to the ground. Fortunately for him, he was able to get up before she could take advantage of the fall. Val went in defensive mode after that, as did she. Sidestepping, circling each other, leaping from side to side, advancing forward and retreating back; all attempts to confuse the opponent. Seeing that it was going nowhere, they went on the attack again.

It was difficult to see exactly what was going on in the fight, as both combatants didn't hesitate to display their acrobatic abilities, leaping in the air and landing several feet away, flipping and spinning their bodies, all at the peak of human potential. They clashed weapons as they did this. None of their techniques could be considered traditional in any way. There were many times where Enya threw her sword at Val like a boomerang and it always came back to her. He often spun his sword wildly like a helicopter blade in his fingers, a defensive maneuver that could kill, and she did the same. A witness would have thought that they were blindly swinging the swords around with no focus or thought, which was anything but the truth. There were also endless times where their weapons or bodies threw snow in the air, and often into each other.

Hand-to-hand combat wasn't out of the question, either. Elbow and shoulder thrusts, kicks and knees, and probably the most awkward of all moves, Enya caught Val's sword in her own, grabbed it and pressed her body against his with her back facing him. It looked like she was going to throw him over her shoulder, but instead she threw her butt into his abs, and it was actually powerful enough to knock Val straight into the ground. But she was also the victim of his usual repertoire of reversals and counterattacks.

Would it be speed that determined the winner in this fight?

The problem with fighting Val was that his speed and knowledge of many arts made it extremely difficult to anticipate his next move. The problem with fighting Enya was that no matter what she did, it was impossible to react to it. She was a hell of a lot faster than he was. Anyone without lightning-fast reflexes would have been dead less than a second into this fight, and wouldn't have realized it until after they saw pieces of themselves lying in the snow.

The two soon found themselves literally juggling their swords around. A confusing maneuver, but with the way they were both doing it, a deadly one. The two got into another clash, spinning their bodies as they spun their blades, a dangerous and risky move that could easily kill one of them if they got careless or dizzy.

Strangely enough, both got knocked to the ground as both were close enough to initiate a shoulder slam, one with their arms stretched to strike at a distance. Their biceps, shoulder blades and skulls collided against the other's, knocking them several feet away from each other. The swords also flew out of their hands and closer to their opponents. While Enya started the battle wielding "Love", "Lust" landed right next to her. Likewise for Val.

Despite their pain, they both immediately got up, got the sword closest to them, and continued their silent duel. No words. No emotions. No thought.

At least, that's what the two told themselves.

---

"WHAT?"

"Ron, don't get angry!"

"Angry? This isn't angry, Kim! This is like uber-surprised! You actually teamed up with Val? Ryan? Legion? The guy who kept using us against each other?"

"I-I got desperate!" she tried to explain. "I didn't have any leads or whereabouts about where you were, but he actually promised me he'd help me find you!"

"You actually believed him, just like that?"

"Of course not! I thought it was a setup, but I did it because that's how bad I wanted to find you. I had to take that chance. But it's not like I fought crime with crime with him for months. I didn't sell out or anything."

"How long until you both managed to find me?"

"Two days," she quickly answered. "But he still stuck around until we put the MMP only into your body."

"Man, he must've been bored," Ron tried to tell himself, but he felt overly skeptical. "But why would the guy do that?" he tried to fathom.

"I don't know… But even if it was him, I needed all the help I could to find you." However, Kim had to rely on further explanation. "Ron, listen. Without you… I just… suddenly became weak. I felt lost, and it was affecting everything I did, from school to hero work. Once you stepped out the door, everything just sank. I tried to partner up with two guys I thought I could rely on as temp partners, but they wound up betraying me no different than syntho-jerk, minus any close attachment. School was just a total nightmare with that riot, and everyone hated me so much for it… I know people were mean and rough on you in D Hall, especially when we switched bodies that one time…"

"It wasn't so bad, not when I had my best friend at the time to hang with and take my mind off of it…." Then he realized. "Oh…" She didn't.

"I thought it was just a high school thing," Kim vented, "I know so many things change between high school and college. I know this is the real world and things are different, even though I've been around the world… but… I couldn't believe how cruel people could really be… all the prank phone calls at three in the morning, egging my car, tossing open jars of jelly into my room when I have the door open, ding-dong ditch, leaving gum under the doorknob, sneaking a lizard into my room through the crack of the door, shoving their trays into my head at the cafeter-"

"Stop right there, KP…" Ron said with his finger on her lips. "Too much info…" And with that he held her tightly again.

He just couldn't believe it. With so few words, he couldn't look at Kim and believe she was the victim of so much. Who would want to hurt a nice girl like Kim other than villains who want to conquer the world? And really, all she tried to do was help and do the right thing as she always did. But unlike before, it interfered with their personal lives, but people were getting hurt, cars were being destroyed, stores were being looted and vandalized, and the police desperately needed her help. She couldn't say no to that, even if it affected her social status with everyone. But Kim went into it knowing the consequences of her participation, hoping the people would understand, hoping the students would forgive her and realize they were wrong in what they did. They didn't. Even though she tried to reason with them and explain it, they were too self-righteous to deny they did anything wrong.

But all of this made Ron feel like the worst human being on the planet for not being there for her when she needed someone the most. Phone calls to mom, Monique and Jen just didn't cut it. She needed someone there next to her. She needed him.

Kim tried to continue, getting a tear in her eye from remembering, holding the person she so wished was there when it happened. "Without you, things started falling apart. I got depressed in college… everything just seemed so wrong… and it started affecting my hero work. I tried to fight Val when this all started, and even though I gave it 110 percent, I couldn't beat him. And if I couldn't beat him, he said, I couldn't take on the rest of the world either. And he was right…"

Ron found himself perplexed by that last comment. He couldn't believe how much Kim had changed. "Gosh, KP… you stopped believing in yourself…" He felt Kim nod on his shoulders.

She sniffed. "I could've said no, but since we couldn't find him in six months either, I thought he'd know. I didn't trust him at first. I didn't like the idea of teaming up with him. Really, I was waiting for the moment he'd leave himself wide open so I could get back at him for everything he's done to us and knock him out of our lives. But we found you."

But Ron was still skeptical. "You're sure this isn't some kind of trap for a bigger scheme or something?"

"I don't care," Kim quickly answered, backing away so she could look into his eyes. "None of that matters as long as we're back together here and now. The important thing is that you're in front of me. That's all I wanted, and that's all I could ask for, and… he actually lived up to his word and delivered. Even if it is a trap, I've got you by my side now. Whether you like it or not, Ron… we wouldn't be holding each other right now if it wasn't for him." That and his knowledge of ancient technology.

Ron really didn't know how to react to that. Not just because of Val's sudden promise, a strange turn from everything he had done to knock Team Possible off #1 in the charts, but because of the way Kim spoke so appreciatively of him, which was anything but common. Ron could've sworn that she only spoke about him with hatred in her heart. Not just because he used her emotions for Ron against her, but because she felt the competitive need to overcome him, but couldn't. It wasn't like the movies where the hero would start out weak against an unbeatable villain, and ninety minutes later he or she would easily conquer him or her. But then again, there were times where Ron noticed that Kim felt pity for Val because of how he turned out, thinking there was still good deep inside of him. It was especially more apparent now.

Kim released herself from Ron's grip, carefully inspecting him. "Is something else wrong?" She thought it might not have been the best idea for him to think so much given his condition.

He shook his head, sighing in confusion. "Nah… it's just been one whacked-out day, that's all. I've been mutated by cursed monkey powers these last few months and don't remember a thing, you get a new haircut, everyone's suddenly mean to you, but Val Ryan actually helping us get back together? This is going to take some time to register, you know."

"I understand."

Ron also found himself surprised with how softly she spoke to him. She really did miss and worry for him that much.

"Kinda wish I was around to see that. Teaming up with a guy like that and not getting totally betrayed… Wait, if you two were teaming up just to save me, where did he go off to?"

Kim shrugged. "I don't know. I know he had some unfinished business with Purple Eyes, but I don't get why he suddenly came to the temple in the Amazon and took the…"

Noting the confused look on Ron's face, Kim briefly explained how Val used a sticker with a timer on it to keep him rendered unconscious after her duel with the cursed master. It took her a few times to explain it though; as Ron found himself rather confused by just about everything. (Can you blame him?) Finally, he got it.

"Maybe he realized time was going to run out before you got the MMP back in one or something?" was Ron's guess. "Maybe wanted to come back and lend a helping hand?"

Kim looked surprised. "Not a bad guess for someone who thinks there's no good in him."

Unlike Kim, Ron felt that Val was bad road and he couldn't be turned to the side of light whatsoever. He really couldn't understand why Kim thought otherwise.

Ron quickly shook his head. "I'm not gonna deny the facts and the truth just because of my opinion of the guy. If you say he helped us get back together, I'll take your word for it, KP. I guess change can't be all bad, especially when it's from bad to good."

Kim quickly turned skeptical. "You… are Ron, right?"

He scratched his head. "I think so… What color is the sky?"

"Yellow… wait, why am I the one answering questions? Ron, I should be the one asking you questions."

"EEEHHH," Ron tried to imitate a buzzer. "Wrong, KP. The sky is blue."

"Ron, it's sunset. The sky looks yellow."

"Actually, it's a little more purple than yellow."

"Ron, shut up," she said playfully, "It's yellow. The clouds are purple. The sky is yellow. Why do we need to know this?"

"I don't know," he answered innocently. "You asked."

Kim almost coughed. "You were the one who asked what color the sky was!"

He put both his hands on her shoulders with a big smile on his face. "No need to get all loud, KP… This is Yamanouchi. Ninja school? Ninjas are quiet? El silencio?"

A disgruntled Kim crossed her arms. "You're weird…" but it wasn't long before the annoyed frown soon turned into a smile, "…but I love you."

It was still him, and she was sure of it. But on this thought, Kim realized it might have been a good idea to inform Sensei and Eiji that Ron was back to his former self, but she didn't want to interfere with the ninjas still in training.

They needed a messenger.

The couple's eyes had turned back to Yori, who was still lying nearby trapped in la-la land. However, stars were no longer circling over her head. Birds were instead.

Ron narrowed one of his eyes in confusion. "Don't birds usually fly south in the winter? I guess it makes more sense than stars, though."

Almost as if she heard them call her name, Yori suddenly sat upward in a daze. Her head was tilting from side to side no different than a neck exercise routine.

"Konichiwaaaaaa, Stoppable-saaaaaan…" she said with a giddy smile.

Ron waved his hand in front of her eyes, but she was hardly responsive.

Kim briefly cleared her throat. "Um… Yori, would you mind telling Eiji and Sensei that Ron's finally recovered and back to his normal self?"

"It will be my honor, Possible-saaaaaaan…" Yori answered with a frivolous giggle.

And if the team thought that was scary, they were in for a surprise. All of a sudden, Yori had suddenly levitated in the air, almost like a cartoon character when smelling a pie sitting in the window and following the scent trail, though she was hovering toward the school. There seemed to be an unwritten rule in the cartoons where if one is hovering in the air, you have to be hovering over ground that's directly under you. As Yori would realize, the moment she floated off the edge of the rooftop, she would be sent falling down to the ground below.

Kim and Ron looked away as she hit the ground.

"I'm okay!" Yori immediately assured them, getting on her feet and trying to walk through the forest to the school. She had to use every tree available as leverage.

Ron scratched his head with his available hand, the other wrapped around Kim. "Oh, such a weird day…"

Suddenly, the two heard a scream coming from the forest. It wasn't Yori, but rather a familiar male voice.

"GAH! NOT YOU TOO! I SWEAR THERE'S A SAKE CRAZE GOING ON!"

Eiji. From where Kim and Ron were at, they couldn't see anything that was going on with those two. But it was starting to get dark, as indicated by many torches being lit at the school grounds. Because there were none around the construction site, Kim decided it was time to get back to the temple behind them. It was still too early to sleep, but with all she had to witness with Ron and his personalities, she found herself surprisingly tired. He wasn't all there either, and with many of the things Kim had told him earlier, he needed a good night's sleep on it. Even though there were two separate rooms, assuming that Eiji took Yori back to her room on the school grounds, Kim wanted one where she could sleep right next to Ron. Nothing suggestive. She just wanted to be close to him for the night. A lot of snuggling wasn't exactly out of the question, either.

In a way, Kim couldn't believe how close she kept to Ron the whole time. She never saw herself as the clingy type, or someone who needed to have her arms wrapped around her man the whole time. But it wasn't just because she missed Ron, the guy she loved, but she also didn't have her best friend there for her. She felt so alone without him. And despite Monique visiting Middleton every now and trying to imitate Ron to cool her down, there was no replacement. Worse, her visits were too brief.

Six months of loneliness would do that to you.

By the time the two went back into the medical room with the huge comfortable bed, the sun had already disappeared. Kim could ask for nothing more. Lying on a comfortable bed, safely wrapped in Ron's arms, and a perfect view of the moon and the stars through the window.

She just wanted to be close to him. That was all.

Even though Ron couldn't believe he was seeing this side of Kim again, the whole lovey-dovey mood that she showed on rare occasions, he didn't mind at all.

"I kinda like the short hair…" he suddenly said out of nowhere.

Kim just smiled, wrapping her hands in his. She didn't want to do anything else. She didn't want him to let go.

---

He was panting, showing every sign of defeat other than being stained with his own blood. It wasn't simply about delivering a fatal strike. In this blizzard, the slightest cut would have given him instant frostbite, and there was no telling how much it would spread throughout his body if that were the case. It was something both he and Enya knew.

She stood before him appearing no less calm than she did at the beginning of the fight, showing no signs of exhaustion whatsoever unlike her disciple. Yet, one would wonder why she was simply standing there as Val struggled to get on his feet. She could have just killed him. It was the thought that went through his mind as he tried to catch his breath, which was extremely hard to do on a high mountain in the middle of a blizzard.

The fight had been extremely brutal to the two, although victory was in favor of Enya. It was as if she had anticipated everything the entire time. One of the nicknames given to her in her older days was the "Blade Goddess" due to the unorthodox way she fought with swords. She never fought traditionally with the weapons, acquiring a trick that allowed her to spin the blades however she wanted just with a simple movement of her fingers. Many believed she didn't even hold the sword in her hand with how she was able to maneuver them, as she was able to spin the swords so fast that they became like a force field around her. This became so much worse when a former student of the Yamanouchi ninja school, trained to deflect projectile weapons such as shurikens with the same kind of weapon, helped her acquire the trick deflecting just about everything with a sword. She could wield a blade in each hand and simply by using her spinning trick, she could actually deflect every single bullet being fired from a chain gun without breaking a sweat.

Unfortunately for Val, this was one of the techniques he wasn't able to master from her despite her attempts, but he knew enough how to defend himself from it. However, he couldn't touch her at all with his weapon. Every time he tried it bounced back at him as if he hit a steel door with it. The throwback left him wide open for a counterattack, and considering he also taught her everything he knew about martial arts, it resulted in quite the beat down.

She just stood there with pity in her eyes as Val fought to stand up, having to use his sword as leverage to prevent him from collapsing on the snow. She didn't like watching him like this, and while it was clear she was hesitant to kill him, she didn't have much of a choice. He wasn't going to win. She slowly walked toward him with her blade intact, which rose to his chin.

"Forgive me…" she said as she approached, "for the pain you're about to receive…"

And with that, he suddenly leapt at the girl, who would've been taken off guard if not for her swift reaction time. The two had gone at it again, spinning their blades so fast they almost tore the air apart, almost lighting the place on fire with the amount of sparks that went flying. And again they tried to take advantage of the other's openings, using the same moves against each other. Shoulder slam against shoulder slam, which hurt so much the bone pop echoed through the area, almost silencing their painful cries, and this occurred with any other body thrust they performed on each other. With no breaks or rest, the fight waged on.

However, because Val was trained most of his life to be a close-range fighter, not to give his opponent too much room to breathe or move, he was extremely close to Enya, the last girl he should've been close to in a fight. It was because of this that she got a lot of moves in on him. But again he made the mistake, and was the victim of a lethal head butt by his former master. But with how weak and exhausted he was, his vision and other senses were immediately hindered and had staggered.

But unlike before, Enya decided not to hold back. As much as she hated to do it, she thrusted her sword right into Val's stomach.

But the blade didn't puncture. Instead, she couldn't move.

Val managed to move aside and grabbed Enya's wrists without releasing his weapon. He tried to force hers out of her own hands, even if it meant reluctantly trying to twist and sprain not just her wrists, but all ten of her fingers too. But Enya was actually stronger than he was, struggling to free herself and fight back. It went on for some time, and it looked like despite Val's efforts, she would have fought out of it, throwing him off balance and in front of her, which would have left him wide open to be sliced in half.

His grip on her wrists were terribly tight, so much that her both of her hands were almost completely red. Realizing her grip on her weapon was weakening, Enya made a sudden move, thrusting her weapon against Val. And just as he predicted, it threw him off balance.

However, her eyes shot wide open with a gasp, and the sound of a sword blade piercing human skin could be heard over the winds of the blizzard, followed by the weapon being dropped in the snow.

Without thinking, Val ended the fight by disarming his opponent of her weapon, but it wasn't as he intended it.

In this case, it meant amputating his opponent.

He sliced the girl's right hand off.

The blizzard prevented him from seeing anything graphic, but she fell to her knees as she grabbed the part of her arm where her hand used to be. With shock written on his face and uncertain of what to do, Val slowly approached Enya with his weapon still intact. She was breathing heavily and panting as she fought to cease the vast amounts of bleeding. Yet, she showed little pain on her face.

"Congratulations…" she huffed weakly, "You… you win…"

Val actually showed more pain on his face than she did. "Is this really what you wanted?" he asked with trembling lips. He couldn't even look at her.

"It… it is…" she answered with a wheeze, "and nothing more… Thank you…"

He couldn't take it. He turned his back to her, hiding the pain growing on his face. "I won't kill you… I can't…"

However, instead of showing disappointment, Enya let out a weak chuckle and smiled. "It's… too late… Y-You've done enough," she said calmly, "Val… Please… Look…"

And he hesitantly did so, only to see what she had to reveal. She tried to focus his attention where her right hand used to be, still cupped by her left.

But something wasn't right about this at all. Something was fighting to come out, but it wasn't blood. Instead, it was a green acid-like substance of some sort.

It hit him like a bag of bricks.

The girl was a syntho-drone.

"Do… Do you understand now?" she asked weakly. "It all makes perfect sense now… doesn't it?"

Val groaned, fighting to keep his eyes on hers. "I wish I could say I'm surprised… Even after I tried to destroy the last of the advanced drones they resort to obsolete means…"

Enya actually managed to tie her arm in a knot, but it wasn't enough to completely stop the leaking. "Please. Val… Hear me out… I don't have much time left…"

And he did.

"D… Do what you need to do… I can't stop you…" she said, her voice growing more sorrowful by the word. "All I ever wanted was for you to turn yourself around… to live a life free of conflict and abhorrence… though it seems it can't be avoided considering how hard you've tried… but don't let me - an artificial soul that's no more real than artificial memories - decide your fate… that is something I'll allow you decide…V… Please… leave me behind… Don't concern yourself over the past… but move on toward the future…"

"It was the intention the entire time…" he said quietly, "But please tell me… who created you?"

"If I knew… I-I'd tell you…" she honestly replied. "But if you keep concerning yourself with that k-kind of information, you will only allow yourself to be chained to the past… Don't… The world will always be corrupt… it's a fact of life… not even someone like you can change that…"

"I refuse to accept that…"

"Of course…" she chuckled weakly, "I won't tell you what to do with the rest of your life… all I wanted was for you to find happiness one way or the other… You can still go back and turn your life around… b-but it has to be now… Otherwise you will face an existence of endless battle… You will never be able to escape it… You will never be able to find peace within your heart… and no one will be able to save you… P…Please… re… mem… ber… th…is…"

The syntho-drone had lost too much of the fluid that was keeping her alive. Her appearance had drastically changed at this point, now extremely skeletal in her appearance. Although Ryan wouldn't look at her, she hid her face so that he couldn't see her in this condition, her deteriorated existence. Eventually, she showed no signs of life. Her outer shell soon became all that was left of her.

It was over. She was dead.

It didn't feel any different from the last time she was killed. In fact, it was worse. Ryan wasn't proud of what he did or what just happened. He didn't know what to believe. But there was nothing he could do to change anything. It was what she wanted. It was what they wanted. Not allowing himself to see what was left of her, he took a steady grip on the sword that he already had in his hand, Love, and picked up the sword that lay next to her, Lust. Although her weapons of choice three years ago were two swords of the same names, these were not her original weapons, but rather replicas that were only somewhat faithful. Really, it was a miracle that they lasted given their condition. They were ready to shatter any minute, making them useless as tactical weapons. Instead, with closed eyes he placed the swords right next to the remains of the drone in a cross formation. He would let the blizzard do its job in burying her body.

There was no reason to stay here. He had unfinished business elsewhere in the world. Leaving the past behind him, he continued to walk down the mountain.

"Then so be it… The path I choose will be one of eternal conflict… but it doesn't mean anything… I don't have that long to live, anyway…"

Just then, he placed one of his hands in his coat, reaching out for a specific relic that would have instantly transported him toward his destination. However, it wasn't there.

He forgot. Fifteen of the sixteen ancient relics were still at the Tower. He had the last one on him, taken back from Shego, but unfortunately for him, it wasn't the one he wanted. It didn't appear to have a noticeable effect, however. He grunted for a mere moment, regaining his calm the next second. He only continued down the mountain and toward the south coast of the island, wandering through the blizzard in silence, all alone once more.

Nothing would stop him from getting to his destination, even if it meant going by foot.

It was time to return to the Tower, to finish what he had begun.

"This doesn't change anything… it must be done…"

---

Morning. The sun rays of dawn slowly entered her room, many blocked off by the wooden doors. It should have been perfect for a peaceful awakening, but such a thing was clearly out of the question.

And it was strange. Considering that she had been mistaken for the girlfriend of Ron Stoppable yesterday, able to see what a taste of passion was truly like, one would think that she'd have the best night of sleep, or she wouldn't sleep at all.

Well, the former had taken place. Somewhat. Hardly.

After Yori had run into Eiji the previous day, given her state of mind he thought it was best to take her back to her room. There, he lit a few essence candles in an attempt to clear her mind and snap her out of her daze. It didn't take long for Yori to become Yori again, embarrassed about the way she had acted earlier. But Eiji understood completely, not being surprised about her crush on Ron, especially when there were pictures of him scattered all over the walls of her room. No wonder she never allowed anyone there.

But sparing him the details, there was something that had been bothering her for some time. She not only asked Eiji to inform Sensei of the news concerning Ron's condition, but also told him that she needed to be alone for the rest of the night. She didn't say this with any resentment in her voice, but she needed to find answers, and alone. Again, he understood, wished her goodnight and headed out to Sensei's quarters to deliver him the good news.

But whatever was bothering her, it made her overwhelmingly concerned, perhaps more than learning about Ron's condition and state of temporary death.

It just didn't make sense to her. She had been standing guard in front of the monkey temple the entire time. The only people she saw enter were Kim, Ron and Rufus. They already knew Monkey Fist was waiting inside, but she just couldn't piece together how Val had gotten in there and escaped without her knowing. The entrance was hardly big enough for Kim and Ron to fit in, let alone Rufus and her bag. She grew more worried about the fact that he had taken the Jade Monkey statues and vanished without a trace.

While she was more skeptical of his motives than Kim the entire time, she didn't want to think he had a dark motive for taking them. But she couldn't shake the fact that she had a really, really bad feeling about this.

So she needed answers. And thankfully for her, she knew how to get them, thanks to a few techniques that Sensei only taught a handful of his students.

Right now Yori was concerned with one thing: finding him. And she would achieve this by the art of meditation. It was the same thing Ron had done nearly two years ago when Ryan had first become a threat and kidnapped Kim, not leaving a trace where he had gone and taken her. However, it didn't often always work, as she was unable to find Ron when he first ran away. But she'd never master the technique if she didn't try. So she had to. After lighting separate essence candles in her room, she cleared all thoughts and freed her mind. But an hour into the night would give her nothing other than abstract images of the world. She didn't want to stop, but if anything had happened the next morning, it was better she have a few hours of sleep behind her back than none at all.

But she had nothing but nightmares for the night, trembling in her sleep and unable to do anything about it. Finally, when the first ray of sunlight tried to enter her room, she instantly woke up, panting and sweating.

She had her answers. But there was no time to stretch, clean up or eat. She had to find Kim and Ron, NOW.

She was out of her room the moment she woke up, sprinting as fast as she could toward the graduation temple. But she was in too much of a hurry, unable to stop when she saw a fellow student walking the corner. She tried to jump aside but it was too late. She tackled whoever it was to the ground.

How convenient. It was Eiji, on his way for early morning training. Hardly concerned that Yori knocked him down, he quickly got up and helped her on her feet.

"Yori-chan, what's th-"

"Eiji-san, this is urgent!" she reluctantly interrupted. "I need you to get breakfast for four of us and prepare the helicopter to leave for the middle of the Atlantic immediately. I'm sorry, but I need to find Kim-san and Ron-san!"

With that she immediately ran off into the forest. Eiji hadn't seen her look this concerned before, so he was going to take it anything but lightly. He quickly went to the cafeteria. If anyone here needed a bite to eat in a hurry, it meant only one thing. Trouble.

She went through the forest in record time. What would take a fifteen-minute walk, she got there in three minutes. She quickly took off her shoes when she entered the temple, and quickly went through the room that Kim had slept in the previous night.

"Possible-san, please get u-"

But she wasn't in there. In a frantic hurry, she checked every room, but the couple was nowhere to be found.

She'd soon find out that they weren't in the temple.

---

When it should have been winter, it looked like fall in Yamanouchi with a relaxing morning mist.

It was probably the only time that both Kim and Ron were rise and shine, especially on Ron's part, and the two decided to go out for a morning walk and explore part of the forest together. It wasn't long before they heard the sound of running water, and the two were curious to see what it was.

A small lake. What was oddly familiar about the place is that is resembled the small lake in Belize where Ron got struck by lightning. But this time, the lake wasn't surrounded by rocks, although there was a rock shaped like a cliff, which could've been perfect for diving if not for the shallow water.

But the whole time the two had just sat and snuggled with each other. Sometimes Ron tried to skip some stones on the water, but the rock simply dropped to the bottom. Kim had no trouble doing it, and Rufus actually managed to have a stone skip so much he accidentally hit a duck.

"Sorry!" Rufus cried, but the duck only angrily quacked as it flew away.

The couple just sat and relaxed. Moments like these even before Ron ran away became scarce, not only because they had to save the world, but things like school and work affected not only time but their moods. They didn't have to worry about that or anything else right now…

… 'Now' being the key word.

Suddenly, Ron noticed that something wasn't right. "Is… that what I think it is?"

Kim had to open her eyes, resting her head on Ron's shoulder. "Hmm? What was that, Ron?" She had been awake for about fifteen minutes and had to rub her eyes.

Someone was running across the lake from the other side.

It didn't take them long to realize it was Yori, and by then she already stopped behind them. Both of them were quick to note the urgent look on her face and got on their feet. They were fully alert.

"Yori? What's wrong?" Ron asked her.

"We have to go," she answered. "I know where Ryan-kun is."

Kim seemed a bit alarmed by this. "What? Is he in danger?"

Ron couldn't believe what he just heard. "Wait, how in the world can someone like him be in danger, KP?"

Kim groaned. She only gave Ron a general lowdown of recent events, but spared him many of the details so he wouldn't hurt his head. She failed to mention that Ron nearly killed Val, and if it wasn't for her, monkey boy would have gutted him alive.

Yori stopped them before they had a chance to argue. "Kim-san, Ron-san, please! Listen, I know what he's going to do with the ancient relics he found inside the Jade Monkey statues!"

"Wait, rewind!" Ron interrupted. "Ancient relics? You mean there's MORE?"

"Relics? INSIDE the Jade Monkey statues?" Kim asked.

Yori grabbed their shoulders. "Possible-san, he's going to destroy the world!"

The place went eerily silent right after she said that.

Ron looked frustrated. "Knew it… That guy just can't be trusted!"

But Kim wasn't sure if she could believe it. "What? But…"

Ron grabbed her shoulder. "KP, he played you. The guy's an expert on playing people."

Kim shook her head. "It's not that… It's just… he's done so much to help us out… UGH! I let my emotions get to me and let my guard down again!"

"The guy just has a knack for using our relationship to distract us, Kim. Seems like he does it every other time…" Ron wasn't too thrilled to tell her.

But something still puzzled Kim. "I just don't get it. Why would he suddenly want to destroy the world?"

Ron cut in before she could continue her thought. "Kim, the guy's been complaining about just about everything from society, school, girls and politics. He was bound to lose it sometime."

But she still wasn't sure, and pulled out a small device from her pocket. "I'm going to call Wade on this… He ought to know…"

That said, Kim realized that she hadn't called Wade in days, or updated Monique about Ron's condition since she fought him. But the second she turned it on, the communicator let out a deafening static shriek that had all of them yelling in pain. Kim immediately turned it off. It was just as Jen said. But Kim's concern grew worse.

"Something's wrong… I've got to go to Tokyo and check up on Wade."

"Kim-san, we don't have time." Yori told her. "The longer we stay here, the less time we have of stopping him."

But Kim looked too concerned and somewhat frustrated. She didn't know if she could believe it or not. Another relationship distraction? Something just didn't click.

It took her a moment later to stop thinking, and suddenly looked at Ron and Yori with a serious look on her face.

"All right. I was hoping this wouldn't happen… but if that's true, Yori, then we've got a serious problem on our hands."

That didn't raise Ron's spirits. "And he just couldn't wait until we got settled and everything was bon-diggity between us…" But he noticed that Kim looked extremely serious. "Uh, KP? Don't you usually handle these kinds of situations without a sweat?"

Kim quickly grabbed his shoulders. "Ron, when Drakken, Monkey Fist, Shego, Killigan or Dementor want to take over the world, it's no big and so not the drama, but when Valia Ryan decides he wants to destroy the world, for whatever reason, this is serious big and beyond the drama!"

Realizing the inevitable, Kim tried not to let her personal feelings towards Ryan get in the way, but she couldn't help but feel extreme uncertainty toward this. Even with Ron back, would that be enough? Could she beat him now?

She told herself she could do anything. That's who she was.

"Ron, we're the only ones who can stop him." Kim said with a sudden burst of confidence. "But we've got no time."

But looking at how serious the girls looked, Ron was starting to get even more scared. He hadn't seen either of the girls this serious before. But he too had to brush away his fears.

"I'm in this with you to the end, KP."

The three of them were running through the forest toward where the helicopter was parked, with Yori leading the way. Despite her advanced ninja training, the other two had no problem keeping up with her.

"Yori!" Kim hollered. "Where exactly is Val, anyway?"

"He's currently heading toward a remote island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!" Yori answered. "From what I was able to tell, it rose to the surface when he took off with the Jade Monkey statues!"

"Monkey… why am I not surprised that when the world comes to an end, the word 'monkey' is somehow involved?" Ron asked.

The three had reached the helicopter, still parked behind the temple but ready for take off. Eiji was standing there with Kim's bag along with a bag full of food so the three could eat on the way over. He didn't look too excited.

"Yori-chan, we have a problem," he said.

"What is it, Eiji-san?"

"We weren't able to completely fill the helicopter up with gas," he answered. "There's enough so that we don't have to worry about crashing in the water, but I'll need to stop in America and refuel." He was clearly the pilot for today. He then opened the hatch door, put Kim's bag near one of the seats, and leapt in.

Yori immediately followed. "Hurry!"

Kim quickly grabbed Ron's hand, dragging him so fast that Rufus nearly flew out of his pocket. When they were all inside, Kim closed the door. The helicopter slowly rose off the ground, and once it was high enough, it flew away toward the ocean.

---

Dust and Ice. The abandoned lab looked just as deserted and lifeless as it was before, although the front door had been completely obliterated. Huge mountain rocks and metal bars stood in its place, but didn't seem to be as effective as the original door. They were moving, and not because of the winds outside.

Finally, they stopped. And just then, a huge explosion knocked them out of place, clearing the way for an unknown visitor.

A man wielding a tiny laser gun.

"Hello?"

He welcomed himself in, nearly stubbing his toe on one of the rocks.

"Is anybody here? Anyone mind if I come in…"

He took out a flashlight and moved it around, looking for anything that moved that wasn't smoke, dust, flickering lights or electric sparks.

"Sheeeeegooooo!"

It was none other than the blue man in the blue suit with a mullet to boot. Drakken. He heard his voice echo throughout the place, waiting for a response. He didn't get one. Going further into the lab, there seemed to be a little more light, but the place looked more than abandoned. It looked like it was destroyed. Broken glass was everywhere, computer monitors and towers that looked burnt, grated ceiling tiles hung from the building. One almost fell on him. But he just continued to wave his flashlight, looking for his former sidekick. He saw a computer that was active, but that wasn't what he was looking for.

"Listen, uh, Shego… I don't mean to intrude on your decorating plans… and wow, do you need them… But I noticed that you stopped returning all my calls and I was wondering if you were okay… I mean, I don't mind that you quit… but I wanted to know if we were still tight…"

He continued to step over pieces of rock and shattered glass. If he had paid attention to where he was stepping, he would have noticed that there was blood on some of the glass shards.

"And… I'm sorry if you felt I held you back… but…"

That's when a light bulb from the ceiling fell down from the ceiling. It was right in front of him, too far away to hurt him, but as his eyes followed the bulb, that's when he noticed several drops of blood on the floor. It looked like a trail.

Fearing the worst, he took a steady grip on his laser gun and decided to play it quiet, trying to listen for anything suspicious. But the only thing he could hear were weak electrical cracks and flickering lights. Following the trail, and seriously hoping it didn't belong to who he think it belonged to. Drakken was a snake, silent, sneaky and just as lethal.

He soon found the torture bed. In that same instant, a flashlight and laser gun hit the ground as Drakken let out a loud startled gasp.

It was on that torture bed that he found none other than Shego, almost completely soaked in her own blood from head to toe, suffering from extremely deep cuts all over her body. Furthermore, her new jumpsuit was almost torn entirely to shreds. She was anything but conscious, and Drakken, whose mind suddenly went numb, slowly advanced toward her, uncertain if he was actually seeing what he was seeing. All over the torture room appeared to be several burn marks, the result of an electrical overload, but he didn't see any on Shego's body. But what caught his attention was how torn up her jumpsuit was, and this wasn't just a few scratches. Most of her bleeding was the direct result of several, several deep cuts, but notably they were in a pattern, five in a row. But so much of it was done that there was almost nothing left of the jumpsuit.

A certain word came to mind of what might have happened here, and he truly hoped with what was left of his heart that this wasn't the case. If anyone had violated Shego in such a way…

Strangely enough, upon further inspection Drakken noticed that Shego's suit seemed to be torn and ripped everywhere except for the chest and waist portions, completely untouched. But he still couldn't understand how any of this happened. But it might not have mattered exactly how and where she suffered these severe injuries.

Because she wasn't moving.

"S-Shego?"

But in that same instant, Drakken lost the ability to breathe, feeling an intense pain wrapped around his neck. He was quickly losing air and gagged for it. But trying to look down, he was being choked by one who possessed green glowing eyes that were literally flaming. Drakken nearly wet himself.

Shego was very much alive, and was ready to blow.

"You…" she weakly moaned, "Y… You're not Ryan...! YOU'RE NOT RYAN!"

"Ryan?" Drakken asked with surprise. "He did this to you?"

But Shego didn't seem to recognize her former boss. "If you're not him… then get OUT OF MY FACE!"

Realizing she wasn't choking the person who did this to her, she hurled her former boss out of the room. It could've been worse for Drakken if the windows hadn't been destroyed. Surprised that she didn't seem to recognize him, or care, he watched as Shego was starting to remember everything, becoming so enraged she was panting and nearly foaming at the mouth. In this rage, she suddenly let out a huge, long and loud enraged scream as she tried to free herself from the bed.

And without having to resort to her plasma powers, all three of the clamps flew right off. She was huffing with pure insanity, hardly able to stand upright. She quickly noticed how ravaged her suit looked and became even more enraged, letting out another furious scream as she stormed out of the room.

"I'm gonna KILL HIM!"

Drakken was too afraid to say a word, but it was too late, anyway. Shego was already long gone by the time he got onto his feet. Drakken didn't know what to think with what he just saw.

"What did he do to you?"

He was desperate to find an answer, never once thinking he'd ever see Shego in such pain. Just then, something in the room quickly caught his eye - a peculiar looking light on the ceiling. This one stood out as it was black, too black to be one of the other lights.

It was a camera.

But just as he wondered if anything here still worked, he remembered the working computer he passed by on the way in. He quickly tried to stumble over there, but the place was like an obstacle course with all the junk and remains of these ruins. After losing his balance several times and nearly falling, Drakken managed. And just as he thought, the computer had recorded everything that had occurred in that room hours ago.

So he sat and watched…

But not a minute passed before he grew sick in his stomach, instantly becoming enraged to the point where he threw his fist at the monitor and completely obliterated it. With his mind in shambles, he quickly dropped to his knees, losing the ability to think. It wasn't because of how Shego looked, but it was what she had to endure that numbed his mind. There was actually someone out there who was capable of rendering Shego absolutely helpless, and nearly killed her by an unusual mean of torture.

It might have been a brutal mistake to keep Shego alive. She was out for some serious vengeance.

But could she find him? Where was she headed for?

Kim Possible. Ron Stoppable. Yori. Shego. Valia Ryan.

The race for the Tower was on.

And right now, the helicopter that just flew past the coast of Japan had a five thousand mile disadvantage against the other two.