Chapter 14 - Best One-Shot and Best Novel-Sized Story
Sharper then went back onto the podium with the rousing sound of applause.
"And welcome back, everyone! To present our next award, he needs no introduction. His almost 14-year reporitore has him as the current admin of Zaratan's forum, is a member of the Kimmunity Council, has 161 stories of KP to his credit and has hosted the 8th through 11th Fannies. Give it up for Whitem!"
Whitem then came up on the stage with a good round of applause. He appeared in a black tuxedo and had both the winning envelope and Golden Rufus in his hands
"Thank you, Sharper, for the introduction. Of the 161 stories over the span of my long-time career, 110 of these have been one-shots. It is for those that want to read an interesting KP story but do not have the time to go through a multi-storied chapter. A one-shot is extremely tricky to do in having to fit the plot and resolution to it, but if done correctly, it can be an amazing piece of art."
"Yeah, right, and they say Picasso was a master of art!" Sentinel taunted from the audience.
"Pipe down back there!" Whitem commanded. "Would the audience please hold their applause and/or insults until all the nominees have been called out! Tonight's nominees for Best One-Shot are..."
Check the Name by Magic Flying Spud
Kim smirked. It was for the best, and he knew that as much as she did. "So how was the memoir writing today?"
Drakken's sneer fluttered into an excitable grin. "Ooh! Today I was hot! I did a whole chapter on the time I used Time Travel to become The Supreme One and take over the world!"
"Yeah — pretty sure that never happened."
Drakken waved his finger in the air, stopping right before a three foot thick steel door, "Nyaaah! You wouldn't remember — it was time travel after all" He crossed his arms defiantly.
"Riiiiight," Kim drawled, strutting past Drakken and over to the console.
"Besides, I am an evil genius, I can work out the — what are you doing?"
Without a word, Kim input a password that immediately opened the door. Drakken's jaw dropped as she rested her knuckles against her hips. "Coco Moo?" she chided.
Christmas Surprises by F86Sabre53
Soon, Kim walked back into the living room and looked at Ron with a smile, "Yes, Ron, my answer is yes."
"KP?" Ron asked as he closed the velvet box and put it back into his cargo pants pocket.
Kim's smile faded, "Ronnie, I think that it's time for you and the fam to really know the truth as to why I've been puking."
"So, it wasn't food poisoning?" Ron asked.
Kim pulled out her Kimmunicator and pressed a button on it before handing the device to Ron.
Ron took the Kimmunicator into his hands, looked at the screen, and gasped, "Kim, this picture isn't food poisoning or even the stomach bug."
Kim shook her head, "No, Ron, I don't have food poisoning or the stomach bug. I'm pregnant."
Ron looked at Kim and asked, "You're…you're…preg…nant?"
Kim nodded.
Suddenly, Ron dropped the Kimmunicator and fell backwards.
Could it Be by Shasta627
Kim was sure her face was red just from recalling the memories.
Ignoring the furious cackling of her brothers as they listened to her finish the story, Kim focused her attention on her parents instead.
"So...you and Ronald are not dating?" Mr. Possible asked in clarification.
"No," Kim responded, taking in her father's relieved expression and her mom's forlorn frown.
Was her mom actually disappointed?
Before Kim could ask, her dad came over to pat her on the shoulder. "I'm glad to hear it. Boys are no good, Kimmie. It's best if you remember that."
"Dad," Kim moaned, barely refraining from rolling her eyes. "This was Ron though. He's different."
Her dad simply huffed in reply, to which Kim interpreted as a begrudging agreement.
"I'm just glad everything's been sorted out," her mom eventually said, coming over to gently kiss Kim's forehead. "How about you get some rest? You've been through a lot today."
Kim nodded at her suggestion, and swiftly headed up to her bedroom before the tweebs could tease her about her case of emotion sickness. She quickly locked her door and then flopped face first into her bed, trying not to think about the day's recent events and failing miserably.
Lesson One by Eoraptor
His foe punched him in the nose with a light-infused jab, and again he saw stars. He could feel, more than taste, the blood running out of both nostrils as he flailed backwards, again wrong-footed by the stunning attack.
A whoop-whoop suddenly filled the air, and the lights turned red angrily around the dueling pair.
A moment later, the hologram that represented Drakken's Caribbean lair suffused orange with a simulated explosion; and then shimmered out of existence.
Kim sauntered over from the vanished button she had pressed in the simulation, and frowned at the sight before her. Ron was standing only because the Lotus Blade had transmogrified into a staff at his feet and propped him up under one arm. The left side of his jaw was swollen, and the right side was soon to join it from the looks of things.
Shego's only concern in the matter was the scuff marks and a spatter of blood on the right hand knuckles of her glove. She wasted no time in fishing out a small towel to wipe it away.
"Shego!" The redhead huffed, because already Ron's eyes were blossoming a dark purple across the bridge of his broken nose, "Did you have to be so…. Violent?!"
Turkey Day by Neo the Saiyan Angel
At the angry brisk walk she'd set herself on, it took practically no time to get to his apartment.
In no mood for manners, she pounded on his door. A little more angrily than she'd planned she snarled, "I'm here! Now let me in!"
"You need to close your eyes," Drew's muffled voice said from behind the door a few seconds later.
"Why?" she asked grumpily.
"Close your eyes!" Drew petulantly repeated. "I'm not opening the door until I'm sure you're doing it!"
Shego rolled her eyes. What kind of joke was he trying to pull? Close her eyes? What could he have come up with that would warrant this kind of crap?
She could just lie and barge in when he opened the door. In fact, that was what she probably should do. Get it all over with.
But then she could hear his whining. The bits of betrayal in his eyes at her hoodwinking him like that. And thinking about the holiday…
To her annoyance, she found herself closing her eyes.
"There. Eyes closed. You happy?" she said loudly, banging on his door. There was no point in worrying about bothering other people. Not like anyone save Drew would've stuck around this dump.
and lastly, Ron at the Symphony by Mahler Avatar
That dude on the end looks like he could be an assassin. He's got assassin hair. Wait, isn't that Dr. Drakken?
Nah, he's not blue, and the babe next to him isn't Shego. Not nearly as hot. Mmmm.
Focus Ron, ignore the distractions. Just listen to the music. Listen to the music, listen to the music…
Ahh, yes. Very relaxing.
All except for that conductor flapping his arms around like a crazy flamingo.
Yeah, I know that technically an orchestra needs a conductor, but I never really got why.
Like, if all the musicians are really coolio at playing their instruments, and they all have the music in front of them, couldn't they just play it by themselves?
Sure, somebody has to tell them when to start and stop, but other than that…
Hey, they're not even looking at him!
I bet it really annoys them when he's all, like, "Play softer, play softer, look at my stick getting really low… NOW PLAY LOUD! LOOK AT MY STICK WAY UP HERE!"
Whitem then announced the winner of the category.
"And the winner is...Lesson One by Eoraptor!"
Raptor pumped his fist in the air. This was his third Fannie award for the night. He came to the stage, accepted the Golden Rufus, and presented his acceptance speech.
"So here I am again? Please note the smile of shock. Twenty-five hundred words seems almost middling compared to stories that span years or have chapters four times as long; but, hey, I'll take what I can get! Thank you for everyone who voted this short little bit of dribble as being the best one-shot story of 2018 in spite of some very spectacular competition! And please, keep reading and reviewing and I'll keep writing, I swear!"
With that, Raptor went back down to his seat with his Golden Rufus.
GT then came up to the stage and said, "And now to present the award for Best Novel-Sized Story, give it up once again for Duck and Drums!"
Duck and Drums, once again, returned to the stage. Duck had the winning envelope while his partner-in-crime had the Golden Rufus. They were greeted with a warm applause from the crowd.
"A good KP-style novel story needs to have some key ingredients: over 40,000 words, well-developed characters, an excellent setting where said characters interact with it, a compelling plot, and, most importantly, a well-deserved ending!" Duck explained.
Drums added, "Such examples are by 'Beyond the Stars' from Mahler Avatar, 'What's the Alma Mater', 'KP: The Next Generation', and 'Epic Sitch' from MrDrP and 'School Days' and 'Fox and the Mad Dawg' by CaptainKodak."
"These six nominees will join these legends!" Duck replied, "And they are..."
I'm Scared Too- Magic Flying Spud
"You were already very capable — and now look at yourself. No holds barred with an entire criminal syndicate under your belt. Use them how you see fit, do the right thing, whatever that may be. You have all the power and influence in the world now. That is what I am giving you."
Kim had to sit down. "I can't — I don't even want to take over the world — "
"But don't you want to stop Master Sensei? Is he not abusing his power and position?"
"Of course — I hate him, he's number one on my list but — "
"Ah good. You have a list. And what of Elizabeth Director? Doesn't it make you sick knowing how she handled William Du's death? Pardoning you and offering you a job at her side?"
"It does make me sick, but I can't — "
"Ronald Stoppable. He killed someone we both loved very much. Most powerful person on the planet with not a clue on how to manage his strength."
"Drakken, shut up — I don't want to — "
"You're crying; good! You should be! Despite everything that's happened to you, you still feel love. You're not a monster, you want people to be okay. You find beauty in things — you're stronger than you know but — to do what's right — to do the work that you know must be done — you're going to need help."
RJ & Martin by Emersonian
"Then the following don't sound so harmless, she did a criminal spree of robbing jewels from museums and stores," Gilliard continued, " but then she murdered a royal ambassador and stole her tiara, stole tungsten from private Asian factories located in the US, and even burned a Texan town while stealing from the Centurion Project scientists. Total dead people? 115."
"86 of them being civilians," Martin added.
"My god... This worse than the Yono..." The Simian Witch dropped on her chair. "How did you even manage to get the thing off her?"
"Oh, Chino helped me set up a trap for her in an Italian highway and I took the necklace off her after Chino hit her with a taser," Martin said.
"How'd you even manage to get Ms. Teenage Zombie to come to Italy?" Gilliard moved his arms up and down to imitate the stereotype of a zombie arm wave.
"I created a flux of Mystical Monkey Power energy matching the one of the Lotus Blade. Chino helped me spread a false rumor that the Lotus Blade was being transferred to Italy and she instantly swallowed the bait."
Nacos and a Movie by Sharper the Writer
"Would you just shut the waterworks and listen? I understand what you're going through right now."
Bonnie sniffled, dabbing away her tears with the crumpled-up tissue. "You...you do?"
"Yeah. Trends come and go like the Animology thing and the Oh Boyz. But this is no longer freshman year. We're seniors now!" Hope added.
"What does that...suppose to mean?" Bonnie asked inbetween sniffles.
"It means you may have to evolve with the times, Bonnie!" Rebecca chimed in.
Bonnie protested, tears streaming down her cheeks. "But I don't wanna join some site that's crawling with geeks and nerds!"
"Tara really did say that almost all of the school is a part of AddressBook, including almost all the members of the football team! They're sharing photos about their dates!" Hope said.
Rebecca also explained, "Sometimes, being Queen of Middleton High requires more than just an expansive (and expensive) wardrobe, a system of friends, and a high-status boyfriend."
"There's...more?" Bonnie questioned, dabbing her eyes.
Hope replied, knowing that the severity of Bonnie's upsetness has lessened, "Mmm-hmm. It requires you to join new trends or starting them. Who knows? You may be extremely popular on AddressBook if almost the whole student body has joined in."
"Can...can you teach me?" Bonnie stuttered.
"Since I am a part of AddressBook, I can show you the whole thing." Hope continued, "One post on AddressBook can be seen by everyone and then, in turn, they share it with their friends. That's how social media works."
Bonnie gasped. That was it! This was the missing piece all along in her plan to destroy Kim's reputation once and for all.
Her tears were completely gone.
The idea lightbulb went off in her head. Bonnie's tears were dried up completely.
"Hope, Rebecca...I may have an idea to destroy the loser couple for good!"
Junior, upon hearing this, clapped for joy, exclaiming, "Yay, my Bonnie is happy again!"
He hugged Bonnie tightly.
STD 2018 Feels by Jimmy1201
"Hi, Tara, Jessica," replied the surgeon wearing her "Happy Cheerleader's Mom" mask, "what are you two doing here this early on a Saturday?"
"How's Ron?" Jessica asked, her mask slipping a little.
"Dr. Possible, let's take this discussion into a consulting room, please," Linda, the senior floor nurse steered the three into a private consulting room. She knew from her years of experience when a doctor/family conversation was about to go off the rails.
Alone in the room with the door closed, Jessica repeated, "How's Ron?", her mask almost totally gone.
"Ronald?" Anne was trying to figure out if she could just lie to these girls when Tara held up her tablet computer displaying a tweet from the Middleton Gazette with a picture of Kim carrying Ron with the caption, "Kim Possible Saves Middleton From Dr. Drakken". In the picture, Kim looked flushed and a bit mussed, probably from when the explosion knocked her down. Ron, by comparison, had torn and bloody clothes with the burns on his face clearly visible.
"It was Ronald that saved Middleton," the surgeon quietly replied, her own mask dangerously close to cracking, "Kimmy said that she got there too late and that everything was over when she showed up. I'm sorry girls, I really can't talk to you about Ronald, I haven't been able to reach his parents yet."
Tara's mask shattered. Sobbing, she threw herself at Anne wrapping her arms around the older woman, "He's dead, he went out alone to save us and now he's dead!"
"We can't find Kim, Mrs. Dr. Possible!" Jessica's mask was gone, worry and fear for her friend evident in her face, "Without Ron to watch her back, we're afraid she's going to get herself killed."
"Girls! Girls!" Anne desperately struggled to keep it together, "Listen to me, Ronald is NOT dead, but he was critically injured. I talked to Wade fifteen minutes ago and Kim is on her way back here. I expect her to show up in about two hours. I told him to tell her to go home and get some sleep, but you can imagine how likely she is to do that."
Jessica gave a tearful snort, "Yeah, I can just imagine."
"Ron could still die?" Tara pressed, tears still in her eyes, "I want to sit with him, nobody should die alone."
Anne lost it and collapsed into the arms of the two cheerleaders, still desperately trying to hold back sobs, but failing.
Possible's Pure Love Road by kmtdiccion
And with that she faced towards the building and started walking. But before she could step on the concrete floor, she noticed something from the window. She is used of people staring at her with fear in their eyes. She would usually give no mind to them since she has long accepted the pros and cons of her lifestyle. But... that one boy. He's in her classroom. He looks a bit average. Somewhat unkempt blonde hair, freckles adorning each of his cheek, average physique...
"And he's smiling and waving at me..." Kim's eyebrows rose.
Those within the classroom were shocked to see him casually waving his hands to her. Even Josh looks like he's baffled by his actions. "Ron, what are you actually doing? You really don't have to greet delinquents, too, y'know."
The boy's eyes shifted towards his concerned friend and answered "But, she's still a classmate, right?" When he looks back at the fields, the redhead is already gone. His contact has already failed. Although they've been classmates, the girl seemed to not even recognize him. Ron went back and sank on his seat in slight disappointment. Josh let out a soft chuckle when he saw his reaction and said "You know, Ron, I admire your courage."
"I don't know about courage, though." Ron mused. Josh thought about something for a minute before asking the blonde boy "... Wait. Is that the kind of girl you like?"
The teen went silent at that and pondered the question for a moment. "I wouldn't say that... Though, I do think she's pretty. I think from earlier from this angle, she looked good" Josh just smiled and nodded. If you ranked the girls by looks alone, Kim Possible would definitely be on top. Although it is a rather rude way of putting it, she's a beauty best seen afar. But to Ron's honest opinion, going near her is really, really, really scary.
"True. It might be good for you that she's not helping you with the Pickleworks Festival."
All noise went silent when they heard the door open. Everyone held their breaths as the infamous Kim Possible entered the room and went towards her seat in the back nonchalantly. It was dead-silent for a few seconds when she eyed the room for a moment. When she closed her eyes and let out a sigh, everyone let go of their held breaths. The tension may be long gone, but there's still a bit of uneasiness lingering whenever anyone makes eye contact with her.
"It looks like I'm not the only one who's scared of her." Ron thought to himself as the bell finally rang.
and lastly, KP: Gifted by LJ58
"You might want to inform them the Possibles are probably going to be your best and likely only hope of socializing that walking death machine, too. Trust me, I saw her have a tantrum, which you likely heard about by now, and I'm guessing that was her not even trying. I don't think any of us want to push her. I sure as hell don't. I plan to live to retire," Shego told him curtly.
"When you say….socialize?"
"You know. Friends. Humanity. Giving her a real reason to stand up, and actually, fight for whatever when the time comes. Your experts overlooked a whole lot from what I put together. Frankly, you were building a WMD that would have taken us all out if you kept on. Not the best idea, GI Joe. So, we gonna do this, or what?"
"As I said. Give me time to contact my superiors."
"Chop chop," she quipped. "Clock is ticking here. Because if you only plan on going with your usual Plan A, for asinine, I don't plan on being here. In fact, I'd take it downright personal if you dropped one of those plans on me without warning. Got it, soldier boy," Shego growled herself.
"I'll contact my superiors now. Give me an hour."
"You have thirty minutes. Then I bail."
"Just….stay on post," the man swore, and hung up.
Shego grinned as she hung up, and slid her phone back into her pocket. Maybe her off-the-cuff idea had a chance. Either way, hopefully, he gave her a head's up before whatever was coming landed on them. Nothing like a bad reputation to make the morons second guess their usual treachery she mused as she leaned against her car, and eyed the neighborhood around her.
Nice, quiet, normal suburban landscape. The kind of place a little girl would love to grow up in, and make lots of friends. She'd probably go to school, make friends, and do silly stuff. Learn to tease boys. Figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She thought of her own upbringing, and couldn't imagine not having her family with her. Even if she had lost Henry because the trusting idiot was too trusting, she still had a damn solid family. She wouldn't change that for anything.
Only Kimmie had been robbed of all that. No family. No friends. No happy childhood. Just posers, researchers, and worse all wanting to turn her into something they wanted or needed. She couldn't imagine growing up like that. She'd want to kill everyone around her if she had been in Kim's place. She certainly wouldn't have held back.
"So many good novel-sized stories out there this year!" Duck proclaimed.
Drums then added, "But only one can win." He then opened the envelope to reveal the winner.
"And the Golden Rufus for Best Novel-Sized Story goes to...Nacos and a Movie by Sharper the Writer!"
At that moment, Sharper, already on the stage, simply walked to where the dymanic duo was. Accepting his third Golden Rufus of the evening, he then unfolded his paper for the acceptance speech.
"Thank you all. It is a high honor for this story to be the top novel-sized story of this year. NAAM really did combine all the action and humor you've come to love from Kim's show, although I added my own touches to it."
"I still blame Hotrod's pic for the Moving Day for Sharper's overall obsession..." Kim huffed from her chair.
Sharper then continued "And if you can read further into my story, you can see hints of pop-culture references and past KP episodes scattered throughout. Speaking of which, I shall finally finish the KP novels that I have begun!"
"Yeah, Sharpie!" Tennente shouted from the audience, "We're going to be old and gray by the time you'll get through with them!"
"Anyways..." Sharper said, ignoring Ten's words, "...thanks to everyone again for nominating Nacos and a Movie for Best Novel-Sized Story!"
GT came up to Duck and Drums and said, "We'll take a little break, but when we come back, we'll have the winners of Best Short Story and Best Series!"
"Jump" by Kriss Kross played on the speakers as the presenters prepared for the next segment.