A/N: Hey there, my fellow fans. The next chapter is up and ready. Be warned, this is a pretty dark chapter, but the rest of the story is only going to get darker from here on. Why is that? Well, Ridley's new weapon is fully complete and ready to use, and the target he intends to hit is one that will shock the world for decades to come. Read on to find out what that target is!
Disclaimer: My OC characters are all that I own.
Chapter 5: Devastation
"OW! Watch it, you foolish tin cans!" Ridley snapped angrily as he lay on a medical table in the Medbay of his HQ.
It had taken awhile for Ridley's medical team to get him out of the damaged mecha-suit, and the left leg of the suit proved to be the hardest to remove since it had been badly shattered and bent from when Ron struck it. Once the left leg of the suit was fully removed, the full extent of the damaged done to Ridley's leg could be seen, and it was a horrible mess. Ridley's foreleg had dozens of sharp metal pieces stabbed deep into the flesh, and the bones had been shattered in half when the big metal shard stabbed through his foreleg entirely. He was currently being tended to by five medical robots who were examining his damaged left leg and removing the metal pieces stuck into the flesh. Ridley wore only a set of sports style underpants as the robots continued to examine the extent of his injuries. In addition to his busted left leg, Ridley also had a large number of burn marks and cuts all over his muscular body from being smashed around by Ron when he had lost his temper and tapped into that dark power of his. The medical robots were currently cleaning the cuts and applying a special gel to Ridley's burns which would cool them off and ease the pain, yet some of the bigger cuts would have to be stitched up.
"Please keep still, my Lord. The stitches need to be applied carefully" one of the medical robots said as it stitched up one of Ridley's large cuts.
"Don't you dare order me around, you useless fucking pile of bolts! I'M the one who gives the commands here, not you or anyone else! Try commanding me again, and I'll have you sent to the recycler units to be melted down into something more useful! Now shut your damn traps and fix my wounds! I haven't got all day to laze about in here!" Ridley hissed coldly as he felt the sharp prick of a needle in his skin as his wounds were stitched up.
Although pain killers had been applied to some areas of Ridley's wounds, they were not very strong and still caused him a brief amount of pain whenever the robots stuck the needles in his flesh. As for Ridley's leg, a stronger dose of pain killers had been applied so that his leg could be fixed surgically. One of the medical robots used an advanced surgical laser scalpel on Ridley's left leg, making an incision just above the area where the broken bones were located. He felt no pain due to the pain killers, so Ridley simply lay still as the robots then spread the opened up area of his leg apart to reveal the bone shattered in two pieces. They carefully reset the bones into the correct places and cleaned out some areas of the flesh that had gotten slightly infected from being exposed to the filthy metal of his suit, then used a specially designed laser that slowly regenerated the broken bones in Ridley's leg. This device had been created using a hybrid of human and Lowardian technology, as most of the technology in the Black Shadow main HQ was, and it proved quite useful for quick and easy surgeries like this.
"The bones should fully heal in no time. I'd advise caution against doing anything serious like physical combat until the bone fully heals, as they're still weak from the regeneration process" the surgical bot advised as it finished regenerating the broken bones in Ridley's leg.
"It's not like I can do that since my suit was damaged by that damn brat, Ron Stoppable!" Ridley snapped as the robots begin sealing up the incision on his leg once the bones were fully regenerated.
Although his bones had regenerated, this didn't mean that they were fully healed. If the bones in Ridley's left leg were struck or hit hard enough, they'd easily break again. The structure of his bones were still weak, and it would be a few hours till they were back to full health, so Ridley would have to be careful while moving around. Once the robots stitched up his leg and bandaged it, Ridley slowly slid off the surgical table and grabbed his black shirt and pants hanging off a nearby rack. They had been cleaned and stitched up while the robots had fixed up his wounds. Once Ridley had gotten fully dressed, he slid his boots and fingerless gloves and back on just as the door to the medical bay opened up. Faust walked in to see Ridley carefully testing out his movements by gently walking around the medical table.
"Ah, I trust the medical bots were helpful and fixing you up, my Lord?" Faust asked.
"They need to learn not to boss me about" Ridley replied bitterly, glaring at the medical robots who just stood nearby awaiting further orders.
"I came by to inform you that the nuclear bomb has been loaded onto your personal fighter shuttle as you ordered, my Lord," Faust reported, ignoring Ridley's fit. "It's also been enhanced with a Lowardian nuclear fusion reactor, so it will explode with a full force of 100 megatons when it hits the target".
Ridley grinned in amazement when he heard this.
"Incredible," he said, feeling very pleased with Faust's report. "That's even better than I could have ever expected. Should this mission go successfully, I may consider promoting you up a rank in the future".
"I'd be honored by that, my Lord" Faust replied gratefully.
"Well then," Ridley said, leading Faust into the elevator. "Once midnight draws near, I shall pilot my personal shuttle to the desired destination and deliver the package. My enemies will think twice about opposing us once its done".
"The world technically thinks our organization is extinct. Black Shadow was believed to have been eliminated the day Lloyd Florence and his team overthrew us all those years ago" Faust reminded.
"Florence... he ruined everything!" Ridley growled angrily.
"True, but look how far we've come ever since you rebuilt the organization in secret. We're the dominant super power in the criminal underworld now, and will someday rule the world if your plans succeed" Faust commented.
"Yes, but that man still took five years of my life and forced me into exile underground, and it hasn't been easy thanks to him!" Ridley growled.
He felt his blood boil whenever he heard that name. That one day many years ago would've been the day Ridley and his organization (still a small crime syndicate at the time) would've struck gold had Lloyd not busted him and his gang trafficking the largest load of drugs in history across the Mexican border. A dangerous Mexican drug cartel boss named Vasquez had promised Ridley a huge bonus of $40 Billion dollars if he and his gang successfully delivered 500'000 tons of cocaine, LSD, crack, and peyote to his cartel. However, Lloyd and his team of FBI agents busted the Black Shadow syndicate and arrested Ridley along with all his gang members. They put up a huge fight and managed to kill a large number of FBI agents, but once the S.W.A.T teams arrived as backup, Ridley and his gang eventually lost the fight and had no choice but to surrender. He and all of his gang members got long term prison sentences for their crimes, but Ridley and his gang managed to escape from prison five years into his twenty year sentence with the help of his allies from the outside. Once Ridley and his syndicate escaped the pursuing police in a stolen prisoner transport bus, he did one of the sickest things imaginable to fool the cops into thinking that he and his gang died in a horrible crash. Ridley pulled the bus into an abandoned factory after fooling his gang into thinking that they'd be waiting for backup, but in reality, he was planning to kill them all to ensure that only he survived. With their deaths, the police would think Ridley and his gang had crashed into one of the abandoned buildings, and he'd be able to get away and rebuild his criminal syndicate in secret, making it more powerful than ever.
Once a gang of Black Shadow followers arrived lead by Erin Faust, Ridley ordered them to destroy the prisoner transport bus and kill his founding gang members to ensure the police and all other law enforcement agencies would believe him and the Black Shadow organization to be dead. Faust and his men carried out Ridley's orders and destroyed the bus with RPG launchers, killing everyone onboard and leaving the bus a smoking heap of charred metal. Ridley then used one of the escape vehicles to push what remained of the bus into a building to make it look like a fatal crash had occurred. Once they escaped in their unmarked vans, Ridley and his soon to be best friend Erin Faust found an abandoned underground fallout military bunker near the edge of Lowerton city in the state of Colorado which they would use as their new hideout. Using their connections with other powerful wealthy crime syndicates, corrupt cops, politicians, and government officials, the Black Shadow managed to erase their existence from the public, as well as their identities. The public now considered the Black Shadow and its members dead and gone. It was as if they disappeared from the face of the Earth. From then on, the Black Shadow operated in secret through manipulation, deception, and sometimes coercion. Ridley would very rarely reveal who he really was to other people unless they were individuals he could fully trust. This was to ensure the Black Shadow organization would stay hidden until the time came where they'd finally reveal themselves to the world once again. Ridley had made that fatal mistake with Gemini, and now Global Justice was onto him and his organization. Although Ridley knew Gemini had no idea where the Black Shadow's main HQ was located, he may have still revealed a lot of sensitive information that could be used to expose the Black Shadow organization in the future before Ridley intended to reveal himself to the public again on his own accord.
"My Lord?" Faust questioned as they headed into an elevator.
Ridley was brought out of his train of thought upon hearing Faust's voice.
"What is it, Faust?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed.
"I was asking how you plan to get rid of Gemini and Betty Director since your mecha-suit is far too damaged to be used on either of them" Faust replied.
"I already have a plan in mind to deal with those two," Ridley said. "However, my main focus is bombing our target at midnight".
"Gemini and Betty Director may become more of a threat the longer we let them live. We should strike them now while we have a chance" Faust suggested.
"They will be dealt with soon, Commander. You must have patience if you are to execute a plan perfectly," Ridley replied sternly. "Also, I'd advise you not to press me on matters that I plan to deal with. I am the one who has the final say in this, not you. Don't forget where your loyalties lie".
"I apologize for my impatience, Lord Ridley," Faust apologized. "I am simply worried that those two may reveal our existence to the world the longer we let them live".
"Any record of our organizations existence and our existences were erased years ago after escaping from that disgusting prison, so it's not like Gemini or Betty will be able to simply expose us that easily," Ridley countered. "They'll have no proof to show to the world. We've operated over the years through the use of fake ID's and false identities. Granted, it was my error of revealing my true name to Gemini, but even that small amount of information I revealed to him won't be enough to convince the world that we still exist. However, it will still cause suspicion amongst the public, so all those who know my real name and associates must be eliminated".
"That I most certainly agree with, my Lord," Faust replied. "Gossip can be a dangerous thing if people go passing around info that could potentially harm others, or ruin their plans".
"Agreed," Ridley nodded. "We can't allow Gemini and Betty to spread their gossip of us around, or it could potentially be our undoing if certain law enforcement agencies decide to take the gossip seriously".
The elevator they were in stopped, then the doors opened to reveal a massive underground rectangular hanger bay with 50 fighter shuttles, 10 advanced fighter choppers, and 4 heavy assault airships parked along the sides of the walls. Near the entrance and exit of the hanger bay was a large AR-34 black widow class fighter shuttle with a long nose and a circular cockpit with two long wings extended out near the center and four laser cannon arms mounted just above and below the wings in the shape of an X pattern. Four super laser cannons were mounted on the sides of the cockpit with anti-gravity panels installed underneath the wings and center of the shuttle. This advanced fighter shuttle was Ridley's personal fighter which was painted black with red stripes and a red hourglass pattern painted on the top making it look like the hourglass on a black widow spider. The emblem of the Black Shadow organization was also painted on the front nose cone of the shuttle, on the top two laser cannons, the bottom laser cannons, and on the tail. The shuttle had three impulse engines that could propel it at speeds faster than a fighter jet, and it was equipped with an advanced cloaking device built using Lowardian technology that could render the fighter invisible. The only downside to this was that the weapons and shields couldn't be used while the cloaking device was turned on since doing so would overuse the shuttles processor units and potentially burn out the main reactor, effectively destroying the shuttle. While the other fighter shuttles had similar designs to Ridley's AR-34 fighter shuttle, his was far more advanced and powerful than them, giving Ridley a better advantage to other enemy fighters. Two human workers were in the process of moving a large alien looking missile towards Ridley's fighter shuttle on a hover cart, catching Ridley's attention once he got close enough.
"I presume this is the weapon being loaded onto my shuttle?" Ridley asked the two workers who saluted him once they took notice of him.
"Yes, my Lord. Me and my assistant were just loading it into the missile bay in your shuttle" the worker on the right said.
"Its fully operational and ready to launch, Lord Ridley" the left worker reported.
Ridley gazed down at the large intimidating looking nuclear missile right before him. It was painted black with a red nose cone and red wing tips. Ridley placed his hand on the missile, running his hand down the smooth metal with an evil grin.
"Good," he said, sounding very pleased. "Carry on, and be sure that its fully secured for the attack later on tonight".
"As you wish, my Lord" the two workers said in unison, then carried on with their work.
The small missile bay under the belly of Ridley's AR-34 had been opened up to reveal a larger missile slot in the center of the smaller left and right missile slots. Each slot could hold a verity of different missiles, ranging from concussion missiles, incendiary missiles, EMP bombs, and even nuclear missiles if Ridley desired. However, the large missile slot in the center could hold a single powerful nuclear bomb capable of destroying either an entire city or even a continent depending on how many megaton forces it used. In this case, the nuclear missile being loaded on the shuttle had not only been fused with the plutonium stolen from the Plutonium plant in India, but also an anti-matter fusion reactor built using Lowardian technology, giving the bomb a force of over 100 megatons. This easily made it the most powerful, destructive weapon on Earth, capable of wiping out whole continents in a matter of minutes. The fallout radiation left behind would also ensure that the land it scorched would remain uninhabitable for the next several thousand years, unless it was cleansed using Lowardian radiation scrubbers that the U.S military had recently developed using a hybrid of human and Lowardian technology. That really didn't matter much to Ridley though. He only cared about one thing, and that was destroying his target.
"By the way, Lord Ridley. Mind me asking where you'll be sending this thing flying into at midnight?" the left worker asked as he helped his partner load the missile into the holding chamber on Ridley's shuttle.
Ridley glanced over at Faust, who didn't seem to have a problem with the question being asked, then he turned his head back to the worker and said, "The one place where that pathetic ninja girl Ron Stoppable befriended lives. She and her other kin have been quite the trouble with my other factions over in Japan for quite some time now, and I grow tired of it, so I plan to end it with this weapon of mine".
Both the workers both stopped what they were doing and glanced at their leader in shock.
"Wait, you mean the land of the raising sun?" the left worker asked.
Ridley grinned evilly, then said, "Yes, as soon as the clock hits midnight, I shall send this nuclear fusion bomb straight into the heart of Yamanouchi where that hidden ninja village resides, and once it explodes, it'll take out all of Yamanouchi and half the island of Japan with it".
Both the workers looked very unsettled by that idea and glanced at each other with concerned expressions.
"That sounds pretty serious, my Lord" the right worker said nervously.
"Yes, but it is nessecery if we wish to one day claim this world for ourselves. Fear is the main weapon that the Black Shadow shall use to gain that power, but all our adversaries must be eliminated first to ensure no one can oppose us. Yamanouchi is one of them, and then Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable will be next," Ridley explained, then glanced at the closed bay doors. "Japan once had a taste of the nuclear bombs destructive power 66 years ago, and now it will taste it once more. However, it won't be mere cities that get leveled in the bombs wake, it will be half the entire island".
The workers hesitated at the sheer horror and madness of Ridley's evil plan, and this quickly caught Faust's attention.
"Why are you two hesitating?! Continue on with your work and don't keep Lord Ridley waiting!" Faust barked.
"Yes Commander!" The workers said together, then carried on with their job.
Once the missile was loaded up, Ridley and Faust left for the elevator. Ridley felt an enormous sense of excitement and pride rushing through him at the thought of Japan burning in nuclear hellfire once he launched his new weapon, and even more at the thought of how much despair and sorrow it would bring upon Ron Stoppable's heart once he learned that one of his best friends was killed in a nuclear bomb attack.
"Just you wait, Ron Stoppable," Ridley thought with an evil grin on his face. "Once the clock strikes midnight, I'll finally get my revenge for you nearly killing me back there in those abandoned train yards and making me lose some of my loot. No one fucks with Ridley Farcus and gets away with it, least of all, you".
...
...
Deep in the jungles of Yamanouchi, Master Sensei sat near an open fire pit just outside the main building of the Yamanouchi ninja school, meditating in silence. The night was still with only a small crescent of the moon and the fire lighting the area. Gentle wind and the sound of crickets filled the air, adding to the tranquility of the still night. The ninjas were all asleep inside the Yamanouchi ninja school building, undisturbed by the stillness around them. Master Sensei would meditate out in the courtyard each night to cleanse his mind of all negative emotions and calm his stress. This was a common practice amongst the other ninjas of Yamanouchi, as it would allow them to release any anger or stress built up within their minds. As Master Sensei meditated, he suddenly sensed a feeling of unrest in the air around him. He wasn't sure what exactly it was, but Sensei sensed that it was something very evil and destructive headed towards Yamanouchi. He then remembered the vision he had a few nights ago about Yamanouchi being destroyed in a massive wave of fire which would wipe out the entire ninja school along with Sensei and his fellow ninjas, and it would set off a series of events that would determine the fate of not only Team Possible, but the rest of the world as well. Sensei had warned Ron Stoppable of this, and now it seemed to be coming true. This feeling of unrest felt exactly the same as it did when Sensei had that horrifying vision.
"Our time draws near," Master Sensei murmured grimly as he stood up. "I must warn Yori. She mustn't be allowed to perish with me and others".
As Sensei headed inside the ninja school, he glanced a nearby grandfather clock near the door and saw that it read 11:58 PM; two minutes to midnight.
"Two minutes," Sensei said. "Our time of doom will arrive at midnight. I must hurry if Yori is to be saved".
At the same time, an invisible craft flew several thousand feet in the air towards Japan like a vulture hunting for prey. It was none other than Ridley, and he was currently inside his fighter shuttle headed straight for Yamanouchi. The cloaking device on his shuttle was active, so no one would be able to see him or detect anywhere from below. As Ridley gazed out the front cockpit window at the bright lights of the many Japanese cities below him, he opened a secure channel to Commander Faust on the shuttles com system.
"Faust, this is Ridley. I'm two minutes away from the designated target" Ridley reported.
"Excellent, my Lord," Faust replied proudly. "I've been monitoring all air traffic from our base and your clear for a successful launch".
"Good," Ridley said with a sneer. "Very good".
"However, you'll have to decloak your fighter shuttle in order to launch the missile. The weapons and shields won't operate if the cloaking device is turned on" Faust reminded him.
"Is there a chance I could risk being detected?" Ridley asked, slightly worried.
"No, me and my team installed special false signal emitters into your fighter a few hours ago. Once you shut down the cloaking device, these emitters will emit false signals to fool the sensors of any spy satellite or aircraft in the vicinity. To put it simply, they'll think your shuttle is nothing else more than a random Japanese aircraft cruising through the sky. We've also installed false signal emitters onto the missile as well to do the same thing" Faust explained.
"Amazing," Ridley replied with an evil grin. "Those pathetic Japanese citizens won't know what's coming until its too late".
"Indeed," Faust replied. "I look forward to seeing your success, my Lord".
As Ridley was about to respond, his GPS beeped.
"Looks like I've reached the target zone," Ridley said, sneering as he prepared to deactivate the cloaking device. "Deactivating the cloaking system".
Ridley then tapped a few buttons on the control board on his right and the cloaking device shut off, then the false sensor emitters kicked in as he powered up the shuttles weapon system. The missile bay doors opened underneath the shuttle as Ridley armed the nuclear fusion missile and targeted Yamanouchi. Once the target was locked on, Ridley grinned as he reached over to the missile control board on his left and flipped open a small door with a large red button inside it. This was the button that would launch the missile and send it soaring towards its target.
Ridley placed his finger on the button, then said, "Feel the wrath of the sun".
And with that, he hit the button that would seal Japan's fate. The nuclear fusion missile powered up, then flew out of the missile bay towards Yamanouchi below as Ridley quickly powered down the weapons system and reactivated the cloaking device. Once his shuttle was invisible once again, Ridley quickly spun around and pushed the engines to maximum impulse speed. Once he was far enough away, Ridley put the shuttle into hover mode so that he could observe the chaos that would soon follow down below. Meanwhile down in the ninja school, Master Sensei had already awoken Yori and alerted her of the danger he sensed. He also handed Yori the Lotus Blade and told her that she needed to get as far away from Yamanouchi as possible.
"But Sensei, why must you stay behind? And what about our students?" Yori protested.
"We'd never get far enough away," Master Sensei replied. "My vision foretold that only one member of this ninja school would survive, and I believe that person is you, Yori. You must get as far away from this place as possible, and if possible, you may need to flee Japan altogether. My vision warned me that half the island will be wiped out by a massive wave of fire, which I now believe may be a nuclear strike".
Yori felt her heart almost stop. A nuclear strike on Japan? Who would do such a thing? Yori wasn't sure if any of the villains she and her two friends Kim and Ron had faced in the past would go that far, but it was clear that someone had some very dark intentions.
"T-that's impossible," Yori stammered in disbelief. "Something like that hasn't happened in over 66 years. Who would want to do such a horrible thing like that?".
"I don't know," Master Sensei replied. "But what matters right now is that you survive. As your master, I order you to take the Lotus Blade and go. If my guesses are correct, then nothing in this area will survive once the dust settles, and if you die, the last of Japan's ancient ninja clans will die with you. Your survival will ensure that our clan survives, even if you are the last Yamanouchi ninja".
Yori felt her heart sink as she began to grasp the gravity of what Master Sensei was telling her to do. She had never doubted him before, and she certainly wouldn't doubt him now. While Yori desperately hoped Sensei was simply testing her emotions, she knew deep down that she was only fooling herself. Master Sensei had never lied to Yori before, and she knew he wasn't lying about this.
"M-master Sensei," Yori stammered, trying not to lose control of her emotions. "T-there's no need to stay behind. Your much stronger and more powerful than me or the other ninjas. You could-".
"No," Sensei interrupted sternly. "Even with my abilities, I wouldn't make it. Our other students would also never be able to get far enough away from the blast, but with the abilities I've taught you, you'll have a much better chance of escaping".
"But where would I go? This place is my home," Yori asked, almost on the verge of tears. "And who would I pass our knowledge onto?".
"In time, I believe you will find a disciple worthy of our teachings," Master Sensei replied. "You will know when the time comes. I understand that this is a very trialing time for you, Yori. But if you don't do this, then any hopes of the Yamanouchi clans survival will be lost forever. You are our clans only hope for a new beginning in the future".
Yori could no longer contain her tears as she nodded, knowing that Master Sensei was telling the truth. His visions were never wrong, and if the clan had any future at all, it now rested upon her shoulders. Yori quickly embraced Sensei as she let her tears flow.
"Master Sensei," Yori sniffed. "You've been like a father to me since I was a child. Please, don't leave me!".
"I will always be with you, Yori. Even in death, my spirit shall watch over you," Sensei said with a sad smile, then embraced Yori.
Just then, a small flash of light blinked high in the sky, catching the both of their attention. Master Sensei and Yori turned to see what the source of the light was, and felt their hearts sink. The light appeared to be the source of what looked like the flames of a jet engine far away in the night sky, but it didn't take a genius to know what it was.
"No, it can't be!" Yori exclaimed in horror.
"It is," Sensei replied grimly. "It's a ballistic missile. You must go at once before it hits!".
Yori bowed, then said, "Thank you for all that you've done for me. You'll always remain in my heart until the day my life ends".
"It has been an honor being your Master, and father," Sensei replied. "Now you must leave before the bomb hits".
He quickly handed Yori the Lotus Blade and told her to run as fast as she could. Yori hesitated for only a moment, but after glancing again at the missile in the sky which got closer every second, she turned and began running as fast as she could. The female ninja ran out of the school at a speed much faster than that of a cheetah using her newly learned ninja speed ability taught to her by Sensei. Yori's tears didn't stop as she ran, leaving the Yamanouchi ninja school behind along with all of her other ninja friends, all doomed to die at the hands of some unseen evil that was heartless enough to burn the island of Japan in nuclear hellfire. Yori raced through the jungle much faster than she had ever run before, but when she glanced back, she saw that the missile was closer than ever. From what Yori could tell, the missile appeared to be targeting the main city of Yamanouchi which was several miles away from the ninja school. She knew that even if it was a few miles away, the school would never survive once the missile hit. The destructive power it would unleash would scorch the Earth for miles, leaving fallout radiation in its wake. In just a matter of minutes, Yori had crossed through the jungle and came across a long asphalt road with a guardrail near the edge which ended in a sheer drop about fifty feet down into the sea. She rushed across the road as quickly as she could, then caught a glimpse of the missile in the far distance. From where Yori stood, she could see the main city of Yamanouchi several miles away. And speeding down right towards it was the missile, which still looked too small to see clearly from where Yori stood, yet the bright trail of its thruster made it easily noticeable. Yori knew that even from this distance where currently stood, she wouldn't be able to avoid the blast, so she quickly began looking around for any hopes of escaping the coming doom.
Yori's eyes then fell upon a manhole cover in the middle of the road, realizing this was her only option of escape. She ran towards the manhole covered and pulled on it, struggling at first since it was so heavy, but eventually got it all the way open. Just as Yori began climbing down into the dark manhole below, she turned her head back towards the city one last time to see the missile striking it head on. A bright, blinding flash of white light lit up the night sky like the sun, then Yori heard the most deafening explosion she had ever heard in her life erupt through the air. The ground then shook violently as a massive mushroom cloud erupted into the air, and then Yori saw enormous waves of fire headed in her direction. She quickly scrambled down into the manhole and pulled the thick metal cover back over it, sealing the entrance. Yori then slid all the way down a metal ladder into the darkness as she felt the ground beginning to quake violently, growing stronger every second. She knew this meant the fiery shockwaves were almost upon her, and she quickly tried to navigate her surroundings. From what Yori could see, she was in a thin watery passageway which was dimly lit by a set of lights in the walls which went on down a long pipeline corridor. Yori guessed that this must be a water treatment passageway of some sort as the quakes suddenly grew so violent that she was knocked down to the ground, then the manhole cover far above her suddenly glowed red hot as the nuclear blast wave passed just above in the outside world. As quickly as it had come, it died down. The lights in the pipe like corridor flickered several times before returning to normal, then everything was silent. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of dripping water. Yori slid down to the floor, panting from exhaustion, then began sobbing uncontrollably. The weight of everything that had just happened set in, and it left the female ninja devastated beyond belief.
They were gone, all of them. Master Sensei, the Yamanouchi ninjas, and so many other innocents... dead. Yori didn't know how far the extent of the blast had been, but she knew for a fact that the death toll would be well over in the thousands. That nuclear missile had exploded right in the center of the city, claiming the lives of all who lived there. If there were any survivors that managed to avoid the blast underground, such as in the subway tunnels, they wouldn't last long once the fallout radiation set in. The biggest question on Yori's mind was who was responsible for such an evil attack. Master Sensei said he didn't know the answer, and she was sure no one else knew either. Yori didn't know what to do at that moment though. Her mind was such an emotional mess that all she could do was cry herself to sleep. Right before Yori fell asleep out of sorrow and exhaustion, she thought of Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable and wished they were there with her.
"Sensei..." Yori sobbed softly right before she passed out on the wet stony floor.
...
...
Ron was startled awake by the sound of his communicator going off around 9:00 AM. Rufus was also awakened as Ron sat up in his bed and grabbed the Kimmunicator, then answered it to find Kim staring back at him with tears in her eyes and an expression filled with sorrow.
"Kim, what's wrong?" Ron asked in concern.
"R-Ron... oh God! It's awful, it's... so awful" Kim sobbed.
"Kim, what's going on? What happened?" Ron practically demanded.
"T-the News, turn on the News" Kim replied, wiping tears from her face.
"Why? What's going on?" Ron asked in an impatient voice.
"Ron, just do it! There's no time to explain" Kim suddenly snapped.
Not wanting to argue any further, Ron grabbed the TV remote on the side of his bed and switched the TV on to the News channel, and what he saw would forever scar his mind and emotions. Ron saw a charred, ruined landscape on the screen with the top news headline reading, "Nuclear Attack On Japan Leaves Millions Dead". From what Ron gathered listening to the male News reporter, Japan had been bombed by an unknown assailant at exactly 12:00 AM, and the blast had been confirmed to be nuclear. The Chubu, Kansai, and Kanto regions had all been wiped out, and half the Tohoku region had also been caught in the blast. Only the upper part of the Tohoku region remained intact. A small part of the Chugoku and Shikoku regions had also been hit by the blast, but most of those regions had managed to avoid being caught in the fiery blast. The only two regions that escaped complete destruction were the Kyushu and Hokkaido regions. Ron simply stared at the TV, frozen in absolute horror at what he was seeing and hearing, but what he heard next made him lose it.
"It has been confirmed that the bombs point of impact was city of Yamanouchi. There are no reported survivors within the blast zone as far as we know," the news reporter said. "Radiation levels are well above the lethal zone, and it is estimated that the scorched ground will be uninhabitable for the next 15,000 years. Nations all over the globe are currently doing all they can to find the ones responsible for this unprovoked and unexpected attack while the U.S is currently in the process of sending medical ships and aid to Japan to help any survivors. Nations are calling this the worst nuclear attack on Japan since Hiroshima and Nagasaki".
Ron shut the TV off; he couldn't watch anymore. His mind instantly flashed to the Yamanouchi Ninja School, making his blood run cold.
"Yori!" he gasped in terror, then grabbed his Kimmunicator and called Kim who answered it right away.
"Ron, you saw it all?" she asked, still in tears.
"We have to go there now, Kim! Yamanouchi is where Yori lives!" Ron said frantically in a panicked voice.
"Ron, are you insane?! You heard the News report," Kim protested. "The radiation levels are way too high, and the blast wiped out three whole regions on that Island. There's no way Yori could have survived something like that".
"PLEASE! We have to find her! She might still be alive" Ron begged.
"Ron, the News reporter said there were no survivors. Yori's probably dead" Kim replied.
"NO! She wouldn't just let herself be killed in a nuclear blast! She's a highly trained ninja, and ninjas wouldn't just go down like that!" Ron suddenly yelled, tears now visible in his eyes.
"Ron, we can't go there, its not safe" Kim insisted.
Ron gripped the Kimmunicator tightly, then said in a firm voice, "Then I'll go! Wade might have some radiation suits I can use. If your not going to help me look for Yori, then I will!".
"Ron, I'm telling you, your NOT going to find her! I know she's our friend, but we have to accept the fact that she's probably dead" Kim argued in a harsh voice.
"I have to try, Kim! Yori's gotten out of tough situations before, so I KNOW she's not dead! She can't be!" Ron shot back.
"Please Ron, just listen to me!" Kim begged.
"I've heard enough, Kim! I'm going to Japan to look for Yori, and that's final! Anyone who wishes to join me is welcome!" Ron snapped firmly, then ended the call.
Afterword's, he phoned Wade to inform him on what happened. Wade quickly answered his Kimmunicator and his face appeared on Ron's screen.
"Ron, I take it you heard what happened in Japan? It's all over the news" Wade said in a sad voice.
"Yes, and I was calling to ask you if it's possible to have someone transport me over to Japan as quickly as possible. I gotta find Yori!" Ron replied in a frantic voice.
"No can do, Ron," Wade said sadly. "All flights to Japan have been cancelled and locked down. No one's going there except U.S military hospital ships and medical supply ships".
"Damn it! There has to be a way to get there! I HAVE to get there!" Ron yelled angrily.
"There might be one way to get there, but it would still take two hours to reach Japan from your current location" Wade answered.
"How?" Ron asked.
"I never told you guys, but I've been working on a prototype fighter craft using a hybrid of human and Lowardian technology I obtained with Global Justice connections, and it should be fast enough to get you to Japan in just two hours" Wade explained.
"Is it at your place?" Ron wondered.
"Yeah, I can fly you and Kim down there, but we'll definitely need radiation suits if we're heading to Yamanouchi. You wouldn't last more than thirty minutes over there with radiation levels being as high as they are" Wade replied with a nod.
"Kim is refusing to go, so I'm going alone" Ron informed.
"I'll join you as well," Wade replied. "It might be best to have some backup in case something happens".
"Thanks for the assistance, Wade" Ron said, trying his best to smile, but was still filled with sorrow over what he had seen on the News.
"Anything for you, Ron. I'll be at your place in ten minutes, Wade out" Wade replied, then signed off.
Ron dropped the Kimmunicator on his bed, then broke down in tears again. He remembered everything Kim had told him and knew that she might be correct in her assumptions that Yori might be dead, even though he didn't want to except it. Ron knew for a fact that avoiding a nuclear blast was pretty much impossible, but he hoped that maybe by some stroke of luck, Yori might have gone far underground to avoid the explosion. She was a very skilled ninja after all, and it wasn't like Yori to give up that easily. Even though Kim was Ron's girlfriend, he couldn't deny the fact that there had been a few times in the past when he had had romantic feelings towards Yori for a time. It wasn't until Kim had confessed her love to Ron that Yori eventually accepted them being just close friends. Yori had done so much for Ron and Kim in the past, and he considered her one of his best friends next to Rufus. The thought of her being killed in a nuclear attack tore at Ron's emotions, and he fought so hard to keep them at bay, yet he wasn't having much luck.
"I'll find you, Yori. I promise, I'll find you" Ron said softly as he wiped tears from his eyes, wondering just what horrors awaited for him in Japan.
A/N: Oh man... dark times are already beginning, and it seems history has repeated itself in Japan. Will Ron and Wade find Yori once they arrive in the ruins of Japan? Or will they accept that she's most likely dead? Stay tuned to find out.