Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible
Well, here it is, it took me a while, but it's here, chapter number 5. I've been working on other stories, which is why I haven't gotten to this one yet, just in case you were wondering. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter (this is for those of you who don't bother to review. The network at my house seems to have gone out the window, so I have to access my account from work, which is highly frowned upon, we aren't supposed to use the computers for personal use, but I say screw 'em, my readers come first. Almost got fired for saying that.
{ } subconscious
*~* flashback
*~*~* dreamscape
The Assassin: Nemesis
Chapter 5
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
Days passed by and there was no sign of any of the enemy. Nate was getting impatient; this was not the same Quetzalcoatl he had thrown into the abyss almost 4,000 years ago. His brother had apparently grown up from the cocky fool he had once been.
"How could I have been so blind?" Nate said lifting his pike from its resting-place on the wall. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this."
He paced around the living room, lifting up weapons as he went, and placing them back down. Over the few days that had gone by, he had polished, and repolished, all his weaponry. He had done this to take his mind off the fact that he had failed at his mission. Bonnie was gone, and he was to blame, if he had only been more mindful to their movements.
"I should have known," he lifted his foot and thrust it at the couch, knocking it back to, and through, the wall behind it. "They knew they couldn't get Sarah, so they went for Bonnie."
There was plenty he could have done, plenty he could have said, both in the past and in the present. But there was nothing he could do now to help her. He did know what Quetzalcoatl wanted, and vice versa. And there was no way that he would give it to him, but balance was not worth an innocent's life. He could never think to sacrificing her. But there was still he matter of the entire world being destroyed by his brother once he got the pike.
"There has to be a way," he looked down at the pike, hoping it would give him some sort of answer. "Aeris could help, if she didn't hate me so much."
*****
"Come on," Aeris whined as she got to her knees, "please let me swallow her soul."
"How many times do I have to tell you no?" Quetzalcoatl asked.
"Um...four hundred," she said expectantly.
The god sighed and looked back into the cell that held their captive. Bonnie was not at the bars cursing at them to let her out, she was huddled in the back corner, knees drawn up to her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the memories continued to play and replay in her mind.
"So when I reached the four-hundredth 'no', you'll stop asking?"
"I guess."
"Good, now, if you don't mind, get me the soul jar."
"Of course," she bowed and promptly disappeared.
She returned a few seconds later with a medium-sized urn, ordained with a white bird. Upon handing it to him, he stepped through the bars and over to Bonnie, who became silent as he approached. His face held no expression, unlike Aeris he did not enjoy doing this. He knelt down in front of her and peered at her face between her knees, then raised the urn, and whispered something unintelligible. Bonnie instantly fell silent, and her eyes adopted a blank, glazed over look. He pulled the urn away and placed the top on it, standing as he did so.
"Her crying was getting on my nerves," he lifted the to jar eye level seeing that one of the bird's eyes were open.
"You only took half her soul, why not take the whole thing?"
"Because if I took all of it, then we wouldn't be able to use her," he said and turned around to face Bonnie. "Get up and come over here."
Bonnie did as she was told, and walked over to the bars, her blank eyes focused on Quetzalcoatl, waiting. The slight smile on Aeris face broadened significantly as she realized what he had done. He hadn't taken her soul at all, but parts of her memory and personality instead, making her docile, and easily controlled.
"Should I open the door?" Aeris asked hopefully.
"Yes."
She stepped around him, pulled out an old-looking key, and slipped it into the lock. There was a very audible squealing sound as she opened the door. Bonnie's head turned to look at the opening, then looked back and Quetzalcoatl, as if seeking permission, to which he nodded. She walked to the doorway and stepped through, turning to face him again.
"My, aren't you the eager one?" Quetzalcoatl said with a small smirk. "Now kneel."
*****
"Chaos, say hello to Nox," the center figure said.
From the shadows stepped a girl, a girl no older than sixteen. She was short, barely topping five feet at the most, and her jet-black hair fell almost to the floor. Raising her lowered head to look at Chaos, revealing that her eyes were as black as her hair. She wore an all black, all leather ensemble, with two Glock 17s on her hips, and what appeared to be a replica of a staff weapon used in Stargate (pretty good movie, I give it 7 out of 10 stars) in her hand. Her body, though not quite as curved as most girls, it was still a pleasure to look at.
"Hello," he said bluntly.
She just smiled a small smile and shifted her staff to her other hand, her left hand. Her right hand extended out to him, and he shook it, feeling a slight bit of irritation on his palm. Taking his hand back he looked at her palm, which seemed to be covered with small spikes, that curved back towards her wrist, almost like shark skin, smooth one way, but sandpaper the other.
The shadowed figure continued, saying, "I'm sure she'll be very helpful to you."
As Chaos watched, the tiny spikes receded back into her hand, and her smile widened.
"Doesn't talk much," he commented turning from her to look at the person concealed in darkness. 'If I didn't know better I'd say she was flirting with me.'
"I do talk, but only when I have something to say," her voice floated into the air like the gentlest of music, but under that music was the cutting edge of a knife.
"Well, if that's all, I'll be going now," he turned and headed for the door, hearing footsteps fall in behind his own.
*****
"It could work, but there's no guarantee," Nate said holding the pike at arms' length.
He had almost forgot what his father once told him about the weapons he had chosen to use. The weapon is only as powerful as its wielder, and a gun is stronger than the wielder. It made perfect sense, no matter how much power Nate or Kul expended the pike always channeled enough energy to make the attack stronger. So if he could send too much power to the pike at one time, it might overload it, and short it out temporarily. There was no denying it, Quetzalcoatl, god he may be, still paled in comparison to Kukulkan in terms of power. The outcome of their fight would be the same with or without the pike.
"He doesn't know about this," Nate said with a wide smile on his face, "so I think I will give it too him, but I better do a good job of acting."
He slowly turned when the front door opened and Kim walked in. She had been staying at their house due to the fact that there was no guarantee of her safety at home.
"Any ideas?" she asked.
"No."
"Oh...is Shego home?"
"Upstairs."
"Thanks."
A smile crept across his face when he saw her retreating back, all he had to do was play innocent, since their minds were much easier to tap into than his, they could not know. But now was not the time to be thinking of such things, as a rather black power had just appeared in his backyard. He ran to the backdoor, opened it, and there, sitting on one of the swings on the old swing set, was a jet black young woman.
"Hello Kul, how's every little thing?" she asked in a bit of a sultry voice.
"Everything is just peachy," he said through his teeth, stepping out and shutting the door. "What do you want Aeris?"
"Nothing really, we just never got a chance to catch up the other day," she patted the seat of the swing next to her, "what with the fighting and all."
He sat on the swing, reluctantly I might add, and braced his feet lightly against the ground.
"Where is she?"
"Can we not talk about the present, the past is much more interesting than this," she said and pushed with her feet to get some momentum. "Remember the good times we had together?"
"You mean the time I caught you trying to steal from my temple?" he asked her. "Or that I let you go with a warning?"
"But wasn't it that warning that brought us closer?" she asked swinging side to side, to get closer to him.
"Not close enough Aeris, you know that," he tilted his head down to look at his boots.
"Do you regret not punishing me the moment you caught me?"
"No, I've never regretted or had a second thought about anything," he tilted himself back this time, his braid brushing the dust beneath him, "ever."
"I've had plenty of second thoughts, about a lot of things," she tilted herself to match his position. "Mainly about taking that girl's soul."
"Her name was Loni, and if you hadn't, we wouldn't be here right now," he let go of the chains holding the swing to the bar above and placed his hands on the ground, "and our histories would have been changed drastically."
Using the new position of his hands he brought himself into a handstand, and then brought his legs down in front of him and placed them on ground, standing.
"Have you ever wondered what things would be like if I hadn't done it?" she asked.
"Everyday," he stepped back into the swing and decided to change the subject. "Aeris, if you can't tell me where she is, what has he done to her?"
"We haven't harmed her, if that's what you're wondering."
With a slight sigh of relief he stood up and looked down at her. For those few minutes he had let it slide that she was the enemy, since she really didn't want to harm him. Given that she was still mad at him, it never really affected her actions.
"Tell Quetzalcoatl that he can have the pike, I just want her back, body and mind," he said after probing her surface thoughts.
"You know...?"
"Yes, I know, you never could hide things from me."
"No, I couldn't."
*****
"So, he's really going to give up the pike, just like that?" Quetzalcoatl asked upon her return.
"Yes," Aeris said from where she was leaning against the wall. "In exchange for the girl, of course."
"So, I guess the only thing left to decide is who gets to kill him," Chaos suggested with a devilish smirk.
"You two decide, I want no part of it," she turned and headed for the door.
As the door slid shut behind her, she could hear the two of them arguing over which deserved it more. Looking to her left she saw that girl, standing off to the side, as if at attention. After hearing how his voice sounded when he spoke to her, she understood why he would care for such a creature, but still couldn't figure out why he never cared for her that way.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," she said grabbing Bonnie's arm. "Neither of us has had a descent bath in a few days."
The blank-eyed girl simply nodded and followed her.
*****
The next day at noon found the three of them, Nate, Kim and Shego, at the airport, awaiting the arrival of the plane from Bermuda (yes, I realize that I said a week, and it's only been a few days, let's just say they came back early). Nate stood behind the other two, green trench coat draped over his shoulders. Shego seemed to be sporting the all-leather suit at the moment, green leather jacket, and tight, black leather pants, with a pair of sunglasses completing it. Kim was wearing what she usually wore.
"Oh yeah, Sam, real inconspicuous," Nate whispered fiddling with the leather straps on his left arm.
"What, it wasn't my idea to go incognito," she retorted, also in a whisper.
Both shot a little glare Kim, who was twirling her hair around her finger in a nervous manner.
"We're supposed to blend in Kim, not stick out like a sore thumb," he whispered in the redhead's ear. "I'm getting tired of people staring at me."
"Like it hasn't happened before," Kim scoffed back.
"Not at this scale."
"Just deal with it, Nate, I am," Shego lightly chuckled.
"That's their plane," Nate said pointing out the window.
"How can you tell?" Kim asked.
He just gave her one of those 'are you an idiot' looks. She just laughed a little and watched the plane land. They all walked over to the gate to await the passengers' departure.
"How many are we expecting?" Shego asked thinking of how she could only fit five people in her car.
"Six, but don't worry, Mr. Stoppable brought them all down in their van," Kim said.
"Good."
The people they came here for finally came through the gate, and they greeted, exchanging hugs and handshakes. It was pretty much the usual scene you would see when friends and/or family came back from long trips. There was small talk between them as they walked through the terminal, heading for the exit, and when they reached, they parted ways.
*****
After a full day of arguing, and demolishing a few rooms, Quetzalcoatl and Chaos came to an agreement over Nate.
"Alright, you can fight him first," Quetzalcoatl finally agreed, "but when you die."
"If I die," Chaos corrected him.
"There are no 'ifs' with Kul, there is only 'when'," the god said adjusting himself in his chair. "Be assured Chaos, when you do die, I will be there to take your place."
"Too bad both of you are just a slight nuisance to him, or else he might actually try," Nox mocked as she entered.
"Okay, I've had just about enough of this," Chaos said in surrender, "you know something, I can tell."
"What gave it away?" she asked coyly. "Was it my constant mocking, or is it that you're too slow too understand?"
Chaos growled deep in his throat as he advanced on the young woman, who didn't seem phased even one bit. Her staff weapon appeared from no where and she used a bit of her own unique ability when she opened her right eye. The blackness split down the middle to reveal a pearly white orb, with a blood red iris in the middle, no pupil. At once she vanished from Chaos' and Quetzalcoatl's field of view, but not from the god's sixth sense. A second later she appeared beside the assassin, the end of her staff held between his ankles. When Chaos took another step, he got caught up in it and fell.
"See? Too slow," she mocked as a slight fit of giggles settled in.
"Now Nox, there's no need to use the demon's eye," Quetzalcoatl said as he appeared next to her, "yet."
"Of course, Sir," she bowed slightly, and simply vanished again.
"She's supposed to be under my command," Chaos said as he scrambled to his feet. "What was that, teleporting?"
"No, nothing as simple as that," he answered as he followed her out, leaving Chaos alone with his thoughts.
'Damn them all to hell,' he thought scathingly. 'When I'm through whipping this 'Kul' he keeps talking about, he's next.'
"You know Chaos, they said you should know your enemy, better than you know yourself," Aeris said as she simply faded into existence. "But you know very little."
"Why do you all mock me, I'm just as strong as any of you!" Chaos retorted in an almost-yell.
He had expected Aeris to laugh, but not to the extent she was, she was on the floor rolling over, clutching her stomach. Her youthful laughter filled the room and the corridor beyond, reverberating and echoing, making it louder. Finally, after five minutes of this, she regained her composure and stood, though she still shook slightly with internal laughter.
"Oh, that's rich Chaos, I needed that little pick-me-up," she said wiping a tear from her eye, then shoved some papers towards him. "Here, now you'll know what you're really up against."
He took the papers silently, not even a simple nod to vote his thanks, and left.
"Insolence, he has no idea of the forces at work in the world."
*****
Nate sat in the living room, having fixed the couch and the wall behind it. Kim, Shego, Ron, and Tara were there with him; Ron and Tara were listening intently to the tale that Nate and Shego told. Shego and Nate had both shed their coats, and Nate was wearing what he usually wore, while Shego was wearing a tight, black tank top.
"So, Bonnie's gone?" Tara asked with a bit of a fearful tone.
"'Fraid so," Nate replied looking directly at her.
"How can you act like this?" Ron asked standing from his chair. "How can be so calm when she's probably dead."
"If I knew where she was, don't you think I would have gone and gotten her?" Nate snapped back at him, his ocular aura flaring. "She hasn't been harmed, I know that much."
Ron sat back down looking somewhat dejected; he hadn't meant to sound pessimistic, but Nate's laid back attitude was getting to him. He understood that Nate would do whatever it took to get Bonnie back, even give his own life, which Ron knew wasn't truly possible. He knew that if Tara was taken, he would be doing all that he could to find her.
"Sorry," Ron sighed hanging his head.
"No apology necessary," Nate said as he stood and stepped over to one of the weapons racks.
He looked down at the swords the last Ancient had bestowed to him, Molotoch, , Luciender, and Morthoseth; the swords of the Slayer, Justice, Light, and Shadow, respectively (all of these swords are © Kit Rae, at bladeclub.com, you know where to go).
"So," he said, still looking at the swords, "what do we do?"
Everyone just stared at him for a few seconds.
"Who are we expecting?" Ron asked.
"Definitely Quetzalcoatl, Aeris, and Chaos, but I'm not sure of anyone beyond them," he looked at the confused expression on Ron and Tara's faces. "I'll explain."
It took him little more than five minutes to explain to the two of them just who, and what, the three he mentioned were. Tara's expression changed from that of confusion, to wonder, to horror when she heard what the three in question had done, and what they were capable of. He told them all of the charges against all of them, not leaving a single thing out.
"S-so, we're going to fight them?" Tara asked shakily.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Nate said looking at her, her mind racing with fear. "The choice is yours and yours alone."
"I'm gonna sit out, if that's okay with you," she said averting her gaze from him.
"It's okay, Tara, really," he said in a comforting tone. 'Okay, Ron, you can take over anytime now.'
"Tara, if you're not going to do it, neither am I, I really don't think either of us are up to," Ron said putting his arm around her.
"Alright, three on three sounds much better," Nate said.
"But what if there are more?" Kim asked.
"Well, even though he is evil incarnate, Quetzalcoatl still has something of an honor code," he replied, now looking out the window. "He'll make sure that there's nothing out side of fair going on, unless it's requested."
Slight ripples ran up and down his back as his muscles tensed and relaxed without any movement being made by the rest of his body. The individual vertebrae in his neck moved side to side, even though they couldn't be seen through the braid. His hands slipped behind his back and produced a butterfly knife, and with it he slashed through his hair, cutting it at the base of his neck. The heavy ring at the end of the braid fell to the floor with a thud. The newly cut hair began sectioning itself, to look like blades coming from his head. Everyone just looked down at the five feet of hair that was now on the floor.
"Why did you do that?" Shego asked.
"It might get in the way," he said simply, "besides, I can grow it back."
"But it took you ten years to grow it the first time."
He didn't respond to her, he just stooped down and scooped up the ring, slipping it around his wrist. Wrapping his hand around it, he compressed it down to a bracelet. Holding it up to the light, he squinted at the glare. His grandfather, Jinai Vincible, had given it to him, to weigh down his hair, which would always get in the way.
"I'm going for a walk."
"Wait, aren't we supposed to plan or something?"
"I just...need to clear my head."
"Well, alright," Shego sighed. 'He's finally realized just what kind of position he's in.'
*****
Nate sat on the rock in the park where he and Bonnie had watched the fireworks. It seemed so long ago to him, when it had only been a few days. He sighed, shifting his position so he sat cross-legged on the top of the rock. He held the pike, in sword mode, on his upturned palms, across his lap. The skin on palms flipped over to be covered with scales, so as not to be cut by the razor sharp edge of the sword. His eyes closed slowly, and his head tipped forward slightly, ruffling his now shortened hair. In a flash he had leapt up, and sliced the stone right down the middle.
"That's what I'll do to you Chaos, no one harms my kin and walks."
TBC
There, sorry for it taking so long. I'm not going to bore you with any kinds of nonsense and whatnot, so just look for the next one soon, not many more to go. I'll probably write a third part to the story, but that's just a thought, so I'll put it up to a vote. I'm leaving it in the capable hands of you, my readers; if you want me to continue, review and tell me, if not, review and tell me. Well, that's it for now.
Well, here it is, it took me a while, but it's here, chapter number 5. I've been working on other stories, which is why I haven't gotten to this one yet, just in case you were wondering. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter (this is for those of you who don't bother to review. The network at my house seems to have gone out the window, so I have to access my account from work, which is highly frowned upon, we aren't supposed to use the computers for personal use, but I say screw 'em, my readers come first. Almost got fired for saying that.
{ } subconscious
*~* flashback
*~*~* dreamscape
The Assassin: Nemesis
Chapter 5
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
Days passed by and there was no sign of any of the enemy. Nate was getting impatient; this was not the same Quetzalcoatl he had thrown into the abyss almost 4,000 years ago. His brother had apparently grown up from the cocky fool he had once been.
"How could I have been so blind?" Nate said lifting his pike from its resting-place on the wall. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this."
He paced around the living room, lifting up weapons as he went, and placing them back down. Over the few days that had gone by, he had polished, and repolished, all his weaponry. He had done this to take his mind off the fact that he had failed at his mission. Bonnie was gone, and he was to blame, if he had only been more mindful to their movements.
"I should have known," he lifted his foot and thrust it at the couch, knocking it back to, and through, the wall behind it. "They knew they couldn't get Sarah, so they went for Bonnie."
There was plenty he could have done, plenty he could have said, both in the past and in the present. But there was nothing he could do now to help her. He did know what Quetzalcoatl wanted, and vice versa. And there was no way that he would give it to him, but balance was not worth an innocent's life. He could never think to sacrificing her. But there was still he matter of the entire world being destroyed by his brother once he got the pike.
"There has to be a way," he looked down at the pike, hoping it would give him some sort of answer. "Aeris could help, if she didn't hate me so much."
*****
"Come on," Aeris whined as she got to her knees, "please let me swallow her soul."
"How many times do I have to tell you no?" Quetzalcoatl asked.
"Um...four hundred," she said expectantly.
The god sighed and looked back into the cell that held their captive. Bonnie was not at the bars cursing at them to let her out, she was huddled in the back corner, knees drawn up to her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the memories continued to play and replay in her mind.
"So when I reached the four-hundredth 'no', you'll stop asking?"
"I guess."
"Good, now, if you don't mind, get me the soul jar."
"Of course," she bowed and promptly disappeared.
She returned a few seconds later with a medium-sized urn, ordained with a white bird. Upon handing it to him, he stepped through the bars and over to Bonnie, who became silent as he approached. His face held no expression, unlike Aeris he did not enjoy doing this. He knelt down in front of her and peered at her face between her knees, then raised the urn, and whispered something unintelligible. Bonnie instantly fell silent, and her eyes adopted a blank, glazed over look. He pulled the urn away and placed the top on it, standing as he did so.
"Her crying was getting on my nerves," he lifted the to jar eye level seeing that one of the bird's eyes were open.
"You only took half her soul, why not take the whole thing?"
"Because if I took all of it, then we wouldn't be able to use her," he said and turned around to face Bonnie. "Get up and come over here."
Bonnie did as she was told, and walked over to the bars, her blank eyes focused on Quetzalcoatl, waiting. The slight smile on Aeris face broadened significantly as she realized what he had done. He hadn't taken her soul at all, but parts of her memory and personality instead, making her docile, and easily controlled.
"Should I open the door?" Aeris asked hopefully.
"Yes."
She stepped around him, pulled out an old-looking key, and slipped it into the lock. There was a very audible squealing sound as she opened the door. Bonnie's head turned to look at the opening, then looked back and Quetzalcoatl, as if seeking permission, to which he nodded. She walked to the doorway and stepped through, turning to face him again.
"My, aren't you the eager one?" Quetzalcoatl said with a small smirk. "Now kneel."
*****
"Chaos, say hello to Nox," the center figure said.
From the shadows stepped a girl, a girl no older than sixteen. She was short, barely topping five feet at the most, and her jet-black hair fell almost to the floor. Raising her lowered head to look at Chaos, revealing that her eyes were as black as her hair. She wore an all black, all leather ensemble, with two Glock 17s on her hips, and what appeared to be a replica of a staff weapon used in Stargate (pretty good movie, I give it 7 out of 10 stars) in her hand. Her body, though not quite as curved as most girls, it was still a pleasure to look at.
"Hello," he said bluntly.
She just smiled a small smile and shifted her staff to her other hand, her left hand. Her right hand extended out to him, and he shook it, feeling a slight bit of irritation on his palm. Taking his hand back he looked at her palm, which seemed to be covered with small spikes, that curved back towards her wrist, almost like shark skin, smooth one way, but sandpaper the other.
The shadowed figure continued, saying, "I'm sure she'll be very helpful to you."
As Chaos watched, the tiny spikes receded back into her hand, and her smile widened.
"Doesn't talk much," he commented turning from her to look at the person concealed in darkness. 'If I didn't know better I'd say she was flirting with me.'
"I do talk, but only when I have something to say," her voice floated into the air like the gentlest of music, but under that music was the cutting edge of a knife.
"Well, if that's all, I'll be going now," he turned and headed for the door, hearing footsteps fall in behind his own.
*****
"It could work, but there's no guarantee," Nate said holding the pike at arms' length.
He had almost forgot what his father once told him about the weapons he had chosen to use. The weapon is only as powerful as its wielder, and a gun is stronger than the wielder. It made perfect sense, no matter how much power Nate or Kul expended the pike always channeled enough energy to make the attack stronger. So if he could send too much power to the pike at one time, it might overload it, and short it out temporarily. There was no denying it, Quetzalcoatl, god he may be, still paled in comparison to Kukulkan in terms of power. The outcome of their fight would be the same with or without the pike.
"He doesn't know about this," Nate said with a wide smile on his face, "so I think I will give it too him, but I better do a good job of acting."
He slowly turned when the front door opened and Kim walked in. She had been staying at their house due to the fact that there was no guarantee of her safety at home.
"Any ideas?" she asked.
"No."
"Oh...is Shego home?"
"Upstairs."
"Thanks."
A smile crept across his face when he saw her retreating back, all he had to do was play innocent, since their minds were much easier to tap into than his, they could not know. But now was not the time to be thinking of such things, as a rather black power had just appeared in his backyard. He ran to the backdoor, opened it, and there, sitting on one of the swings on the old swing set, was a jet black young woman.
"Hello Kul, how's every little thing?" she asked in a bit of a sultry voice.
"Everything is just peachy," he said through his teeth, stepping out and shutting the door. "What do you want Aeris?"
"Nothing really, we just never got a chance to catch up the other day," she patted the seat of the swing next to her, "what with the fighting and all."
He sat on the swing, reluctantly I might add, and braced his feet lightly against the ground.
"Where is she?"
"Can we not talk about the present, the past is much more interesting than this," she said and pushed with her feet to get some momentum. "Remember the good times we had together?"
"You mean the time I caught you trying to steal from my temple?" he asked her. "Or that I let you go with a warning?"
"But wasn't it that warning that brought us closer?" she asked swinging side to side, to get closer to him.
"Not close enough Aeris, you know that," he tilted his head down to look at his boots.
"Do you regret not punishing me the moment you caught me?"
"No, I've never regretted or had a second thought about anything," he tilted himself back this time, his braid brushing the dust beneath him, "ever."
"I've had plenty of second thoughts, about a lot of things," she tilted herself to match his position. "Mainly about taking that girl's soul."
"Her name was Loni, and if you hadn't, we wouldn't be here right now," he let go of the chains holding the swing to the bar above and placed his hands on the ground, "and our histories would have been changed drastically."
Using the new position of his hands he brought himself into a handstand, and then brought his legs down in front of him and placed them on ground, standing.
"Have you ever wondered what things would be like if I hadn't done it?" she asked.
"Everyday," he stepped back into the swing and decided to change the subject. "Aeris, if you can't tell me where she is, what has he done to her?"
"We haven't harmed her, if that's what you're wondering."
With a slight sigh of relief he stood up and looked down at her. For those few minutes he had let it slide that she was the enemy, since she really didn't want to harm him. Given that she was still mad at him, it never really affected her actions.
"Tell Quetzalcoatl that he can have the pike, I just want her back, body and mind," he said after probing her surface thoughts.
"You know...?"
"Yes, I know, you never could hide things from me."
"No, I couldn't."
*****
"So, he's really going to give up the pike, just like that?" Quetzalcoatl asked upon her return.
"Yes," Aeris said from where she was leaning against the wall. "In exchange for the girl, of course."
"So, I guess the only thing left to decide is who gets to kill him," Chaos suggested with a devilish smirk.
"You two decide, I want no part of it," she turned and headed for the door.
As the door slid shut behind her, she could hear the two of them arguing over which deserved it more. Looking to her left she saw that girl, standing off to the side, as if at attention. After hearing how his voice sounded when he spoke to her, she understood why he would care for such a creature, but still couldn't figure out why he never cared for her that way.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," she said grabbing Bonnie's arm. "Neither of us has had a descent bath in a few days."
The blank-eyed girl simply nodded and followed her.
*****
The next day at noon found the three of them, Nate, Kim and Shego, at the airport, awaiting the arrival of the plane from Bermuda (yes, I realize that I said a week, and it's only been a few days, let's just say they came back early). Nate stood behind the other two, green trench coat draped over his shoulders. Shego seemed to be sporting the all-leather suit at the moment, green leather jacket, and tight, black leather pants, with a pair of sunglasses completing it. Kim was wearing what she usually wore.
"Oh yeah, Sam, real inconspicuous," Nate whispered fiddling with the leather straps on his left arm.
"What, it wasn't my idea to go incognito," she retorted, also in a whisper.
Both shot a little glare Kim, who was twirling her hair around her finger in a nervous manner.
"We're supposed to blend in Kim, not stick out like a sore thumb," he whispered in the redhead's ear. "I'm getting tired of people staring at me."
"Like it hasn't happened before," Kim scoffed back.
"Not at this scale."
"Just deal with it, Nate, I am," Shego lightly chuckled.
"That's their plane," Nate said pointing out the window.
"How can you tell?" Kim asked.
He just gave her one of those 'are you an idiot' looks. She just laughed a little and watched the plane land. They all walked over to the gate to await the passengers' departure.
"How many are we expecting?" Shego asked thinking of how she could only fit five people in her car.
"Six, but don't worry, Mr. Stoppable brought them all down in their van," Kim said.
"Good."
The people they came here for finally came through the gate, and they greeted, exchanging hugs and handshakes. It was pretty much the usual scene you would see when friends and/or family came back from long trips. There was small talk between them as they walked through the terminal, heading for the exit, and when they reached, they parted ways.
*****
After a full day of arguing, and demolishing a few rooms, Quetzalcoatl and Chaos came to an agreement over Nate.
"Alright, you can fight him first," Quetzalcoatl finally agreed, "but when you die."
"If I die," Chaos corrected him.
"There are no 'ifs' with Kul, there is only 'when'," the god said adjusting himself in his chair. "Be assured Chaos, when you do die, I will be there to take your place."
"Too bad both of you are just a slight nuisance to him, or else he might actually try," Nox mocked as she entered.
"Okay, I've had just about enough of this," Chaos said in surrender, "you know something, I can tell."
"What gave it away?" she asked coyly. "Was it my constant mocking, or is it that you're too slow too understand?"
Chaos growled deep in his throat as he advanced on the young woman, who didn't seem phased even one bit. Her staff weapon appeared from no where and she used a bit of her own unique ability when she opened her right eye. The blackness split down the middle to reveal a pearly white orb, with a blood red iris in the middle, no pupil. At once she vanished from Chaos' and Quetzalcoatl's field of view, but not from the god's sixth sense. A second later she appeared beside the assassin, the end of her staff held between his ankles. When Chaos took another step, he got caught up in it and fell.
"See? Too slow," she mocked as a slight fit of giggles settled in.
"Now Nox, there's no need to use the demon's eye," Quetzalcoatl said as he appeared next to her, "yet."
"Of course, Sir," she bowed slightly, and simply vanished again.
"She's supposed to be under my command," Chaos said as he scrambled to his feet. "What was that, teleporting?"
"No, nothing as simple as that," he answered as he followed her out, leaving Chaos alone with his thoughts.
'Damn them all to hell,' he thought scathingly. 'When I'm through whipping this 'Kul' he keeps talking about, he's next.'
"You know Chaos, they said you should know your enemy, better than you know yourself," Aeris said as she simply faded into existence. "But you know very little."
"Why do you all mock me, I'm just as strong as any of you!" Chaos retorted in an almost-yell.
He had expected Aeris to laugh, but not to the extent she was, she was on the floor rolling over, clutching her stomach. Her youthful laughter filled the room and the corridor beyond, reverberating and echoing, making it louder. Finally, after five minutes of this, she regained her composure and stood, though she still shook slightly with internal laughter.
"Oh, that's rich Chaos, I needed that little pick-me-up," she said wiping a tear from her eye, then shoved some papers towards him. "Here, now you'll know what you're really up against."
He took the papers silently, not even a simple nod to vote his thanks, and left.
"Insolence, he has no idea of the forces at work in the world."
*****
Nate sat in the living room, having fixed the couch and the wall behind it. Kim, Shego, Ron, and Tara were there with him; Ron and Tara were listening intently to the tale that Nate and Shego told. Shego and Nate had both shed their coats, and Nate was wearing what he usually wore, while Shego was wearing a tight, black tank top.
"So, Bonnie's gone?" Tara asked with a bit of a fearful tone.
"'Fraid so," Nate replied looking directly at her.
"How can you act like this?" Ron asked standing from his chair. "How can be so calm when she's probably dead."
"If I knew where she was, don't you think I would have gone and gotten her?" Nate snapped back at him, his ocular aura flaring. "She hasn't been harmed, I know that much."
Ron sat back down looking somewhat dejected; he hadn't meant to sound pessimistic, but Nate's laid back attitude was getting to him. He understood that Nate would do whatever it took to get Bonnie back, even give his own life, which Ron knew wasn't truly possible. He knew that if Tara was taken, he would be doing all that he could to find her.
"Sorry," Ron sighed hanging his head.
"No apology necessary," Nate said as he stood and stepped over to one of the weapons racks.
He looked down at the swords the last Ancient had bestowed to him, Molotoch, , Luciender, and Morthoseth; the swords of the Slayer, Justice, Light, and Shadow, respectively (all of these swords are © Kit Rae, at bladeclub.com, you know where to go).
"So," he said, still looking at the swords, "what do we do?"
Everyone just stared at him for a few seconds.
"Who are we expecting?" Ron asked.
"Definitely Quetzalcoatl, Aeris, and Chaos, but I'm not sure of anyone beyond them," he looked at the confused expression on Ron and Tara's faces. "I'll explain."
It took him little more than five minutes to explain to the two of them just who, and what, the three he mentioned were. Tara's expression changed from that of confusion, to wonder, to horror when she heard what the three in question had done, and what they were capable of. He told them all of the charges against all of them, not leaving a single thing out.
"S-so, we're going to fight them?" Tara asked shakily.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Nate said looking at her, her mind racing with fear. "The choice is yours and yours alone."
"I'm gonna sit out, if that's okay with you," she said averting her gaze from him.
"It's okay, Tara, really," he said in a comforting tone. 'Okay, Ron, you can take over anytime now.'
"Tara, if you're not going to do it, neither am I, I really don't think either of us are up to," Ron said putting his arm around her.
"Alright, three on three sounds much better," Nate said.
"But what if there are more?" Kim asked.
"Well, even though he is evil incarnate, Quetzalcoatl still has something of an honor code," he replied, now looking out the window. "He'll make sure that there's nothing out side of fair going on, unless it's requested."
Slight ripples ran up and down his back as his muscles tensed and relaxed without any movement being made by the rest of his body. The individual vertebrae in his neck moved side to side, even though they couldn't be seen through the braid. His hands slipped behind his back and produced a butterfly knife, and with it he slashed through his hair, cutting it at the base of his neck. The heavy ring at the end of the braid fell to the floor with a thud. The newly cut hair began sectioning itself, to look like blades coming from his head. Everyone just looked down at the five feet of hair that was now on the floor.
"Why did you do that?" Shego asked.
"It might get in the way," he said simply, "besides, I can grow it back."
"But it took you ten years to grow it the first time."
He didn't respond to her, he just stooped down and scooped up the ring, slipping it around his wrist. Wrapping his hand around it, he compressed it down to a bracelet. Holding it up to the light, he squinted at the glare. His grandfather, Jinai Vincible, had given it to him, to weigh down his hair, which would always get in the way.
"I'm going for a walk."
"Wait, aren't we supposed to plan or something?"
"I just...need to clear my head."
"Well, alright," Shego sighed. 'He's finally realized just what kind of position he's in.'
*****
Nate sat on the rock in the park where he and Bonnie had watched the fireworks. It seemed so long ago to him, when it had only been a few days. He sighed, shifting his position so he sat cross-legged on the top of the rock. He held the pike, in sword mode, on his upturned palms, across his lap. The skin on palms flipped over to be covered with scales, so as not to be cut by the razor sharp edge of the sword. His eyes closed slowly, and his head tipped forward slightly, ruffling his now shortened hair. In a flash he had leapt up, and sliced the stone right down the middle.
"That's what I'll do to you Chaos, no one harms my kin and walks."
TBC
There, sorry for it taking so long. I'm not going to bore you with any kinds of nonsense and whatnot, so just look for the next one soon, not many more to go. I'll probably write a third part to the story, but that's just a thought, so I'll put it up to a vote. I'm leaving it in the capable hands of you, my readers; if you want me to continue, review and tell me, if not, review and tell me. Well, that's it for now.