Ron 1/2

By Parareru

Disclaimer: Kim Possible and crew are owned by Disney.

Ranma ½ and crew are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. Any and all Jusenkyo inspired madness can be laid directly at her feet.

{ } denotes Chinese speech

[ ] denotes Japanese speech

Chapter 12: Once More unto the Breech

"Ron? Ron?!" Kim exclaimed worriedly as she tried to shake her sidekick back into consciousness. She flinched as her nervously lashing tail whacked her solidly across the face. In a fit of irritation she swatted the offending appendage away only to have it rebound almost peevishly and whap her on the head again. Kim grabbed the tail and stared directly at the quivering tip. "Stop that," she ordered and surprisingly the tail began to sway meekly behind her.

Kim groaned in frustration. She had a tail! Again! Once she'd been separated from the Amulet of the Monkey King she thought she'd never have to deal with this again. And all this damned itching! Idly she scratched at her belly as she worriedly looked over her best friend. Aside from some minor scrapes and bruising Ron didn't seem too badly off. In fact, Kim frowned as she leaned closer, she thought she could hear a soft snore escape past his lips. She looked up as the rapid taps of wood striking pavement drifted closer.

"What has happened here?" Cologne demanded abruptly as she bounded onto the street turned battlefield. Her eyes were wide with panic as she surveyed the destruction surrounding her. The sheer force of the chaotic magic that had washed over the area left her nerves more than slightly rattled.

"Monkey Fist ambushed us and managed to get his hands on the Mystical Monkey Talisman," Kim groaned as she rose from where she had been kneeling beside Ron. Akane moved to help Kim to her feet, but Kim motioned to her that she was fine. "We nearly didn't get here in time to save Ron."

Cologne skillfully hid her surprise as she studied the effect the Talisman had on the redhead. A dim jade aura was now visibly interwoven with the wan golden light from the heroine's chi, but both were nearly overpowered by a sullen red aura blanketing them. Randomly, the two opposing magical auras collided with a soft flash, some artifact of the transformation magic she would hazard to guess. "That is... unfortunate," Cologne hissed, her eyes narrowing in thought as she considered the evidence before her eyes.

"I'll say," Kim agreed as she scratched at her itchy arms. Her tail lashed about violently in agreement.

"Quickly, gather up the boy and return with me to the Nekohanten," Cologne ordered, swiftly regaining her reserve in the face of the crisis. "There is much to consider and all the commotion has begun to attract attention." As if to illustrate her point several lights went on in a number of windows and curious residents poked their heads out to see what sort of damage the Nerima Wrecking Crew had caused this time.

"Wait, where's Yori and Lo Shin?" Kim suddenly asked as she looked around the shattered street. "We all tackled Monkey Fist at the same time." The Nerima martial artists immediately fanned out and began to search for the two missing girls.

"Um, I think I found them," Ryoga called hesitantly from a pile of overturned garbage cans, drawing the group around him.

"Oh no," Cologne said staring at the two unconscious bodies lying prone amidst the rubbish. The Talisman's magic had worked even more drastic changes on the other two girls. Their clothes hung loosely on their frames and in fact served as the only means of identifying the two girls. Where Kim had reverted to her previous hybrid form, Lo Shin and Yori both had been fully transformed into monkeys. Though unconscious, Cologne could see a definite red tinge, more vibrant than Kim's had been, shining brightly through their chi.

Mousse mutely lifted his altered sister, furious tears brimming in his eyes as Ryoga gallantly gathered Yori into his arms. Neither girl stirred in the slightest as the boys carried them clear from the rubble. Cologne led the way back to the restaurant followed by the group of confused and frightened teens.

"I don't get it," Kim said as she stared at the two small monkeys. "Why did the magic change them in real monkeys and me into... this?"

"I suspect that you were touched by Monkey Magic previously," Cologne explained with a piercing look at Kim. "It appears that the combination of the two had some... unpredictable... results."

Kim scratched her hair as she worked through that logic. "Well, yeah, the Amulet of the Monkey King turned me into a monkey, but Wade managed to change me back."

"And what ritual did this Wade use to return you to your proper form?" Cologne asked in genuine curiosity as she cocked her head at the girl.

"Well he didn't really," Kim frowned as she recalled those last few frenzied minutes. "Monkey Fist had chased me into the gym where we duked it out in front of the crowd gathered for the Cheer-Off. Ron was holding the Kimmunicator and something bright came outta it, hit me and then suddenly I was myself again. I think Wade used some DNA thingie to separate my DNA from the monkey."

"Hmph," Cologne snorted derisively with an imperious lift of her chin. "Mere science cannot undo the work of magic, especially powerful magic like that."

"Well it worked," Kim insisted peevishly as she scratched along her side. "At least it did until tonight."

"If it had worked then I suspect that you would be in much the same predicament as the other two," Cologne confidently returned from her perch at the top of her staff.

Kim scratched at her head again in confusion. "Wha?"

"The science merely helped to suppress that bit of magic," Cologne explained. "Suppressed it so well in fact that no trace of it was visible in your aura when we first met." She paused and began to rub at her chin thoughtfully as she considered this new information. "Actually, now I that I've had a moment to consider what you told me, I believe that our champion here may have been partly responsible for your 'cure.'"

Kim stared at the matriarch blankly before casting a glance back where Ranma carried Ron slung over his shoulder. She tried unscrambling the jumble of images from that fight with Monkey Fist. Oddly enough, the one thing she could recall with maddening clarity was Barkin's derisive, 'Where's your tail, Lemur?' as he ordered the police to carry Monkey Fist out of the gym.

"Think about it," Cologne prompted. "The power that restored you to your natural form came from his hand. His faith in the science to cure you worked in combination with his own powers and his desire to see you as you were. The science merely served as a crutch."

Kim felt a blush rise on her cheeks at the word desire and cast another glance back towards Ron. Just this once she was grateful that the fur would hide the color of her embarrassment.

"And because it fit with the magic's purpose, it allowed it happen," Cologne finished.

Kim suddenly snapped back to attention at that last comment. "Purpose?" she asked incredulously. "Are you saying that the magic is alive?"

"Child, everything on this world has a purpose," Cologne chuckled as they finally reached the entrance of the Nekohanten. She quickly hopped inside and cleared the chairs off a number of tables before beckoning to the group. "Lay them on the tables for now. Hopefully, they'll revive before too long."

"So what now?" Kim asked she laid her rough monkey paw on Ron's shoulder.

"Now we wait," Cologne stated simply as she stood vigil over the three unconscious teens.

"Should we go get Dr. Tofu?" Ranma asked.

"Has he seen Kasumi recently?" Cologne smirked and then shook her head. "No need to bother the young doctor. There doesn't appear to be any medical emergency at the moment."

"Who's this Monkey Fist, Kim?" Akane asked suddenly, looking from the two transformed girls to Kim.

Kim pursed her lips slightly. "It's a long story." She sank gratefully into a convenient chair, yelping and bolting upright as she accidentally sat on her tail. The tail lashed at her in reproach and Kim slowly sat down again, mindful of her tail this time.

"It appears that we have time," Cologne observed with a wave that indicated the three unconscious members of their group once the redhead was comfortably seated.

"Well, I guess it all began when Lord Monty Fiske asked for my help in retrieving a Jade Monkey from a temple in Cambodia," Kim began. "He had been collecting them for some time and used them to gain the Mystical Monkey Power. I had a family obligation to attend to and Ron sorta went on his own to question Lord Fiske about the Jade Monkeys. Not my idea exactly, but these things happen." Kim shrugged slightly. "Monty had gone clear round the bend, even going so far as to graft monkey hands and feet to himself. Fortunately, Ron managed to get the Monkey Power too and then he and Rufus destroyed the Jade Monkeys."

"Wow, and I thought Ranma-honey's life was weird," Ukyo commented as she gave the slumbering Ron a disbelieving look.

"Believe me, it gets weirder," Kim continued with a roll of her eyes. "Monkey Fist then kidnapped Frederick, a monkey astronaut who works for my dad, something about becoming going to the stars to become the ultimate Monkey Master. This time he had a whole bunch of monkey ninjas working for him. Frederick took a liking to Ron though so he helped us to capture Monkey Fist. Afterwards the monkey ninjas hung around Ron until he got fed up with them and told them to leave him alone. Running and screaming at the top of his lungs of course," Kim smirked.

"Why were the monkey ninjas hanging around Ron?" Ryoga asked. "Weren't they working for his enemy? And why'd they try to jump us?"

Kim shrugged again. "Who knows? We weren't ever able to figure it out. And I guess Monkey Fist figured he could go after Ron easier if the rest of us were out of action. In a way, I'm sorta glad that he did otherwise I don't think we'd have been able to reach Ron in time."

"And the Amulet?" Cologne asked softly, her eyes lidded as she observed the redhead.

"Oh, yeah. That," Kim grimaced at the memory as she absently scratched at her thigh. "We got word that Monkey Fist was in China looking for the Amulet of the Monkey King. We stopped him from getting it, but the thing ended up around my neck. I kinda remember it doing this glowing thing and then suddenly I had a monkey tattoo on my neck. That's when I started changing into this." Kim indicated to herself with an expressive wave of her hands. "Monkey Fist got the drop on me and kept going on about this painful way of separating me from the Amulet and how I didn't deserve being a monkey." Kim rolled her eyes as she recalled Monkey Fist's desperation to ascend to monkeyhood. "Wade managed to work his usual miracle and I was human again."

Kim cast a doubtful look at Cologne. "Though apparently that's up for debate."

"Trust me, child. I do know a thing or two about magic. Though Monkey Fist likely had the right of it," Cologne replied with a tight, dry smile. She glanced at Ron again, studying the sleeping boy. Hearing the story answered some questions, but left her with still more. There was no doubt in her mind that the boy was the chosen Monkey Master spoken of in legend. That four separate monkey artifacts had become active in his presence was a telling fact. He was the common factor. Could he...

The Kimmunicator's four-toned beep suddenly broke through the contemplative silence around the tables.

"Go Wade," Kim said as she activated the screen.

"KIM!" Wade exclaimed, drawing back in shock upon seeing her furry features. "You're a—"

"Yeah, I'm a monkey again," Kim sighed with an irritated grimace. "What do you have for us?"

Wade's eyes were wide as he took a sip of his soda. "Well, I finally managed to translate the inscriptions on the back of the Talisman. It was in an obscure dialect and, get this, the inscriptions were so fine they could have been laser engraved. Though I've got no idea how they managed to do that."

"More magic," Kim asked with a raised eyebrow at Cologne who nodded. Kim shook head, for a modern girl of the 21st century she was getting involved in an awful lot of ancient magic. "Go ahead Wade."

"Here goes," Wade replied before swallowing heavily. He gave Kim another worried glance, wondering what the story was with her transformation and if it hand something to do with the mysterious Talisman.

"Truth in Spirit

Truth in Form

Balance be Broken

Balance be Gained

Minds be One

Monkey Master

And Monkey Slave

One of Twelve

To Shape the World

To Defend the Seal

To Defy the One

Who Heralds the Night

The Coming of

The Accursed One"

Cologne suddenly went pale as the boy a half a world away finished reciting the translation of the ancient text. Of their own accord her eyes flew to study the still comatose Ron Stoppable lying on the table of her restaurant. This mere strip of a boy was one of the Twelve? None of the ancient texts had ever mentioned that. To her knowledge this was the first time any artifact mentioning the Twelve had ever been found. And the Accursed...

Cologne shook her head in wonder. She'd thought the Twelve were only a legend, a fairy tale. Silently she berated herself. She should have known better. There was more truth in the ancient legends than one often cared to admit. But if those, the oldest legends, were true, then it looked as if the boy was destined to face an even greater crisis in the future than the one Monkey Fist represented.

"...I can try to separate your DNA from the Monkey again," Wade was telling Kim, "but it'll take me some time to dig the DNA sequencer outta storage. I never figured that we'd need it again."

Kim gave Cologne a steady look that spoke volumes before she answered her tech guru. "Please and thank you." She then gave the boy on the other side of the screen a brief smile before turning the device off.

Rufus began to chatter wildly as Ron stirred and let out a series fitful groans. Everyone gathered expectantly around the blonde-haired boy as he rolled over onto his side... and promptly fell off the edge of the table with an indignant cry of pain.

"Ugh, what a nightmare," Ron groaned with his cheek pressed against the restaurant's floor. Wordlessly, Ryoga grasped Ron's elbow and helped him up into a waiting chair.

"I need Bueno Nacho," Ron whined as he pressed his hands to his face and began to massage his temples with his thumbs. "It was just awful. Everyone was after me, and Monkey Fist kicked my ass and you got turned into a monkey, KP." He barked a short laugh. "As if that could happen."

Kim looked nervously around her for a moment as she debated how to break the news. "Ron, it did happen. All of it."

Ron froze suddenly, his hands still pressed against his face. "No, no, no, no, no," he denied with a stubborn shake of his head. "I'm still dreaming. Gonna wake up any second now. Yup any second... now."

Kim crouched in front of Ron and gently placed her hands upon his. "Ron, look at me," she said softly.

"Nope. Not gonna do that, cause you're not real. Just a, you know, figment of my imagination." Ron's voice bordered on hysterical desperation. "Any second now."

Firmly, Kim pulled Ron's hands away from his face. "Look at me, Ron," she insisted when she saw his eyes were screwed tightly shut.

Ron hesitantly opened his eyes. "Aw man. I messed up again," he groaned as he buried his head in his hands again and he seemed to collapse in on himself in misery.

"I'm not blaming you," Kim said consolingly. "No one is."

"Actually, I am," Mousse said coldly as he looked up from where he hovered watchfully over his sister.

"Quiet you," Kim snapped without looking even as Cologne whacked her errant employee for his verbal gaffe.

"If I was a better fighter, none of this would have ever happened," Ron grumbled.

"You did the best you could considering the circumstances," Ranma chimed in. "For what it's worth, I'm... sorry." The Nerima natives stared at Ranma with something akin to shock. Ranma? Apologizing?

"I think the world just ended," Mousse muttered quietly to himself.

"I think the girls are waking up," Akane pointed out as the remainder of their party began stirring. Everyone watched silently as two pairs of eyes slowly fluttered opened. The two transformed girls drew back in shock at the sight of Kim's furry features. As one, they rubbed at their eyes and then looked at their unfamiliar hands in dawning horror.

"Eee?" Lo Shin squeaked plaintively as she looked down at her small monkey body. She looked up into all the concerned faces, her expression betraying the confusion in her mind. Disbelief was evident on her face as she tugged at her fur and she began to whimper as the depth of her plight sank in. She buried her face in her brother's shoulder as she wept.

Yori took stock of her situation almost numbly, her shoulders slumping with resignation as she let out a heavy sigh. She stared at her hands as they slowly opened and closed, her simian features unreadable. Only her eyes betrayed the pain that she was feeling as she looked imploringly at Ron.

"Wait," Ron said quietly. "Why are they monkeys?"

"Because they were struck with the power of the Mystical Monkey Talisman," Cologne replied.

"No, I mean why are they monkeys and I'm not?" Ron clarified. "I got hit by it too. I think."

"And did anything occur?" Cologne asked, a note of worry creeping into her voice. If Monkey Fist had somehow gained control over Stoppable, even for a brief time, it could spell disaster.

Ron rubbed at his temples, trying to recall the fleeting images of his fight with Monkey Fist and remembering a surge of red light washing over him. "There was a red light and then I changed forms," he said. "Not a drop of water around either."

Cologne stared at boy, extending her senses and seeing with more than mere sight. There was the telltale chaotic roil of the Jusenkyo curse, but none of the strange red chi that seemed to infect the three girls. "It appears that Jusenkyo shields you from the Talisman's power," she reflected mostly to herself. "I suppose that is fortunate, in its own way."

"Yeah, fortunate," Ron grumbled. "Monkey Fist can just fiddle with my curse whenever he wants. Great."

"That's of little consequence," Cologne said decisively. "What is important is retrieving the Talisman so you can reverse its effects and return the girls to their proper form."

"Only one problem," Ron pointed out. "We've got no idea where Monkey Fist is right now."

"Well, he said something about finishing this at some monastery," Ryoga supplied helpfully.

"Huh? What monastery?" Ron asked in confusion.

Yori suddenly leapt up in realization and began to howling and jumping furiously. Ron visibly shrank back from the panic-stricken monkey.

"EEEE! EEEEEE! EEEK!" Yori shrieked as she tugged insistently on Ron's arm. Ron looked as if he were on the verge of a panic attack until Kim finally picked up the distraught Yori and held onto her until she calmed down.

"What got her so worked up?" Akane wondered. She tried to stroke the back of Yori's head to help soothe the girl only to have Yori rebuff her attempt with an irritated slap. Akane blushed slightly, she had been around Jusenkyo curses long enough to know better than to do that. Just because someone was trapped in another form didn't mean they weren't still human inside. Shampoo, Mousse and Mr. Saotome had certainly taught her that much. "Sorry, Yori," she apologized sincerely and Yori nodded gravely in return.

"I think she figured out where Monkey Fist went," Ron finally answered and Yori nodded emphatically. "He's gone to the peak of Mt. Yamanochi, to the monastery and school there."

Ranma raised his eyebrows at that as he considered the implications. An army of mind controlled ninja monkeys would certainly be a handful. He could see that Ron and Cologne had reached the same conclusion by the slight tightening of their lips.

"You must stop Monkey Fist before he can gain complete control of the Mystical Monkey Talisman," Cologne said solemnly.

"Me?! Why me?" Ron asked with a surprised jerk of his body.

"Because you are the Monkey Master foretold in the legends. Only you can stand against Monkey Fist and return the girls to their proper forms," Cologne explained. "It is your destiny."

Ron's eyes bulged in shock as the enormity of the situation settled on him. A cold sweat beaded up on his body as his breath came out in a series of panicked grunts. The best he'd ever been able to do against Monkey Fist was a stalemate. And now he had to defeat him, someone with more strength and training than he had?

"It's too big! I can't deal with this right now," Ron finally gasped in a pain that bordered on the physical as he staggered out of the Nekohanten at a dead run.

"I'll follow him," Kim volunteered as she trailed after Ron. She paused only briefly to gather up the insistently waving Rufus and planted him on her shoulder.

###

Somehow, after running blindly from the Nekohanten, Ron managed to find himself back at the bridge where Ranma and Ryoga had helped him train. He idly picked up a small rock and tossed it back and forth in his hands as he leapt on top of the concrete railing. As he sat down on the rail, his feet dangling over the edge, he stared at the water flowing under the bridge, the moon reflecting benignly off the water's surface.

"Bakusai Tenketsu," he muttered absently as he gave the rock a gentle tap. The rock in his hand gave a startled shudder and then disintegrated in a shower of pebbles. He let the fistful of shattered rock fall from his hand into the water, staring at the waves that rippled out from each splash.

Ron heard the soft scrape of a foot behind him and he let out a breath that he wasn't aware that he'd been holding. Without even turning around, he could tell who it was. "Hiya Kim."

Kim silently climbed up beside him and sat down, her eyes watching him intently. Rufus clambered down Kim's shoulder and sidled up next to Ron.

The naked mole rat patted Ron's leg consolingly. "Pretty," he chirped, a playful smile on his rodent face. Ron glanced down and gave his friend and companion a brief smile in return.

"I-I'm... not sure that I can do this," Ron began without preamble, not even bothering to look at Kim. "What if I can't do this?"

"Ron, you're stronger than you realize," Kim said as she impulsively grabbed his left hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Ron struggled to blink back tears as he stared at the leathery paw holding his hand. His right hand shook as he ran it lightly over the back of Kim's paw.

"Kim, I..."

"No, listen to me," Kim insisted as she pressed her free hand gently to his lips, silencing him. "It's like that time at Camp Wannaweep..."

"Pretty amazing," Kim said as she came up behind Ron as he stood there wistfully looking at the gutted shell of Cabin 13.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, turning as he climbed the cabin's steps, the only part of the cabin that was still untouched by Gill's rampage.

"Everything," Kim answered, giving Ron a brilliant smile. "You were awesome."

"Yeah, this is the one place where I know the score," Ron agreed as he pumped his arms exuberantly. "Where Ron Stoppable knows what it takes to be the last camper standing." With a groan, the wooden step finally collapsed under Ron's weight and he yelped as he crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust.

"Ron, the stuff you did..." Kim said as she knelt beside Ron and helped him to his feet. "You were resourceful. You were brave. That doesn't have anything to do with this place. It's you."

"You think so?" Ron asked hopefully.

"Mmm-hmm," Kim agreed with a nod and a knowing smile.

"And I want you to know that I still think so," Kim finished softly.

Ron finally managed to give her a ghost of his usual lopsided grin. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

"Kim... If you don't mind... I-I've still got a lot of thinking to do."

"Sure, Ron," Kim said as rose to her feet and began walking back to the Tendo home. She paused and looked at Ron again. "I believe in you."

Ron sat there on the bridge, staring out at the horizon long after Kim had left. Silently, he looked up into the night sky and focused on the brightest star that he could find. "Why me?" he asked in a soft whisper.

You know where Monkey Fist went. Is there anyone else you would trust to see this through to the end? Besides Kim that is? was the answer that came to him from the depths of his soul. He hated it when his subconscious answered his questions with a question like that.

"No, I guess not," he answered himself with a sigh.

###

"Last chance to back out buddy," Ron warned as he finished tucking his black mission shirt into his cargos. Fortunately, the Tendo home was still empty, making it a simple matter for Ron to sneak in and don his mission gear. Ron had first met Monkey Fist in his mission clothes, so heading for what could be his final battle with him, it felt only right. Maybe dressing in a traditional black gi would have been more appropriate for a return to Yamanochi, but he wasn't a ninja master or even a crimefighting hero. He was just Ron Stoppable and that would have to be enough.

"Nuh uh," Rufus shook his head stubbornly and waited expectantly till Ron picked him up and deposited him in his usual pocket.

"Ready, Rufus?" Ron asked as he looked down at his companion.

"Uh huh," Rufus replied with a determined nod and a thumbs up.

"Hold it," a soft voice commanded, halting Ron in his tracks.

"Wha? Ranma?" Ron yelped in surprise and whirled around to see Ranma standing in the dojo's doorway, his arms folded across his chest and staring at Ron accusingly.

"Did you think you could leave just like that?" Ranma asked slowly.

"I-I'm not trying to run away," Ron stammered defensively, all hopes of slipping away quietly now shattered. "I gotta go to Yamanochi and get the Talisman so I can change Kim, Yori and Lo Shin back."

"I know that," Ranma chuckled as he advanced to an arms length of Ron. "What I want to know is what made you think you could go and do this without us." On that signal, Ranma was quickly joined by many of the people that Ron had met during this trip to Japan. Kim entered with the group, also in her mission clothes, and Yori and Lo Shin stood with Nabiki and Kasumi.

"What are all of you guys doing here?" Ron asked as he looked over the assembled group in confusion.

"I've only known her for a few days, but Kim's my friend too," Akane stated as she stepped forward to take her place by Ranma's side.

"It looks like it'll be a good fight," Ranma said. "Besides you'll probably need a hand dealing with the monkey slaves."

"No one turns my little sister into a monkey," Mousse growled as he adjusted his glasses. "You I can deal with later, but this Monkey Fist must be destroyed now!"

"Is true," Shampoo agreed firmly as she twirled her bonbori menacingly. "No is right for Monkey man to do that to Amazon sister. He get kiss of death."

"I'm just going to make sure that Akane stays safe," Ryoga said as he nonchalantly shouldered his umbrella.

"I go where Ranma-honey goes," Ukyo smiled as she flashed Ron a victory sign.

"Truly this Monkey Fist is a master of the dark arts beyond even that of the foul sorcerer Saotome," Kuno said as he shot Ranma a vicious glare. "This evil must first be smote before I can focus my attentions to freeing the beauteous Akane Tendo and the vivacious pigtailed girl. Mayhap upon completion of this noble quest I can also press my suit upon the blonde goddess I met so briefly before I succumbed to my... ailment."

"Hey, who invited Kuno?" Ukyo thought to ask as the swordsman began to wind down. Kuno began swinging his bokken as he described the punishment he'd mete out on the vile sorcerer Monkey Fist.

Akane looked around the dojo and shook her head slowly. "No idea, he just sorta showed up," she replied as Kuno finished with a grandiose sweep of his bokken, pointed, not surprisingly, directly at Ranma.

"Kuno says he's in too," Ranma clarified when he saw Ron's glazed expression and the startled shake one made when one finished listening to a mind-numbing speech.

Ron looked at the assembled group of teens gratefully. To know that he didn't have to face his arch foe alone. He tried to find the words.

"NO!" Cologne shouted sharply before Ron could say a word. "Only those with Jusenkyo curses may go! If what I suspect is true then the Talisman will only trigger the cursed forms rather than change them into his monkey slaves. Akane Tendo, Ukyo Kuonji and Tatewaki Kuno will have to stay behind."

"Bah! Tatewaki Kuno takes orders from no one! Especially not from old mummies who-URK!" The rest of Kuno's speech was lost as Cologne's staff whipped out with blinding speed and floored the arrogant swordsman.

"Does anyone else wish to argue?" Cologne asked with thinly veiled menace. "No?"

"But why is Ryoga going then?" Akane asked with a bewildered frown and Ryoga went very pale. "He doesn't have a curse."

"Ryoga's our secret weapon," Ranma said quickly, used to having to come up with excuses on Ryoga's behalf. "Remember the translation? 'Minds be one.' If Monkey Fist turns Ryoga into a monkey then he's gotta get inside this mope's head. That should solve all our problems for us."

"Why you," Ryoga growled in a low voice.

"Would you rather tell Akane something else?" Ranma growled back just as quietly, too low for Akane to hear. Ryoga thought for a moment of what would happen to him if Akane ever found out that he was her pet piggy P-chan and then nodded.

"Okay, I'll get Wade to call in a few favors..." Kim began as she reached into her pack.

"No, Kim," Ron said implacably as his hand closed around her wrist. "It's too risky."

"Too risky for me not to go," Kim retorted glibly.

"The boy is right," Cologne said with a grave nod. "Monkey Fist may still be able to exert some influence upon you even though your transformation wasn't complete. All three of you will stay here, until Ron returns with the Talisman."

"But..."

"This is not open to negotiation!" Cologne barked sharply with an authoritative rap of her staff on the ground. Kuno lay on the ground, twitching in unconsciousness and served as object lesson of what could happen if one defied an Amazon matriarch.

"Can you at least give us a minute alone?" Kim asked plaintively. Cologne looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded her approval. The Nerima residents filed out of the dojo, dragging the unconscious Kuno with them, though Yori and Lo Shin kept throwing suspicious glances Kim's way.

"So are you going to stay put this time?" Ron asked with a smile to take the sting out of his words. "Or are you going to run off on a date with Josh again?"

Kim chuckled briefly. "Gosh, I haven't thought about Josh since we got to Japan," she admitted as she inspected her arms with a wry grimace. "Don't worry, I doubt Josh finds fur a turn on." Her tail quivered behind her in suppressed mirth.

Ron cocked his head to the side as he stared at the tail. Something just seemed wrong about it. Curiously, he craned his neck around to get a better look at the seat of Kim's pants.

"What are you doing?!" Kim demanded, her voice rising several octaves and feeling the heat rise to her cheeks as she chastely concealed her posterior with her hands.

"I'm just wondering how your tail can do that while you're wearing pants," Ron replied, straightening as he noticed Kim's discomfort.

"Kasumi cut a hole in them for me," Kim answered hotly. "I don't know how I'm going to explain this if—when you change me back."

To her chagrin Ron began to chuckle. "I wonder if this'll catch on like Kim-style," he finally burst out laughing.

"Just hurry up and rescue me, hero," Kim retorted snippily as she shoved Ron out of the dojo.

###

Cologne stared pensively at the reflection of the moon shining in the Tendo koi pond. She sipped at the cup of tea that Kasumi had graciously put out for her. Her lips twitched in a semblance of a smile as she recalled that old Chinese curse, 'may you live in interesting times.' With son-in-law's adventures and now Ron Stoppable, it seemed she was indeed living out that 'curse.' Perhaps it was her destiny to help shape these young men.

Curious that out of all the people in Japan, or even in Tokyo, Stoppable had quite literally run into Ranma. Was their meeting the work of random coincidence or was there perhaps some higher destiny behind it? She let out a long sigh. That was a question for another time, preferably after a sound sleep. A creak of a floorboard caused her to turn her head and she smiled reassuringly at the redhead padding down the hall. The girl had fire in her, no question. Perhaps she'd even make a worthy Amazon.

"Why are you so worried, Cologne?" Kim asked as she sat herself beside the three hundred year-old matriarch, her tail swishing in apprehension.

"I worry for your young friend," Cologne sighed honestly. "Especially after hearing how Ron acquired the Mystical Monkey Power. Monkey Fist obviously sought after the power for his own aggrandizement while Ron sought it in order to protect the greater good. If Monkey Fist should master the Talisman and he uses its power to subvert the Lotus Blade then he will be unstoppable. No power on earth will be able to stand against him. And even if Ron should somehow win the battle against Monkey Fist I fear that will not be the end of his struggles."

Kim looked at Cologne curiously to prompt her to continue, but the matriarch merely shook her head.

"Just the ramblings of an old woman," Cologne sighed again. "You'd best get some rest, child."

###

Ron stood alone before Monkey Fist, his allies were nowhere in sight. A look of terror and sadness haunted his eyes. He swallowed heavily as his gaze darted from left to right in search of... something. Slowly he knelt on the ground and laid the Lotus Blade in front of him as he closed his eyes in resignation.

A small monkey dressed in ornate robes obediently retrieved the Lotus Blade and presented it to the monkey master. Monkey Fist licked his lips, victory shining madly in his eyes as he willed the sword to change form several times.

He slowly approached Ron, hefting the blade menacingly. She strained to hear what Monkey Fist said as he stalked forward, but could make out nothing...

Ron looked up at Monkey Fist, not with fear, but with weariness and defeat as a lone tear streaked down his cheek. "Kim..."

Monkey Fist drew back the sword and...

"NO!" Kim shrieked as she woke from her nightmare. She sat on her futon gasping for breath and ran a trembling hand through her matted hair.

The dream had seemed so real.

Kim looked at the clock. 5 AM. Ron and the others weren't due to reach Yamanochi for another two hours at least. And then they would have to hike for another couple of hours to reach the monastery itself. Kim swallowed and worked some saliva around her dry mouth.

"It was only a dream," she told herself softly. "Only a dream."

But she couldn't help herself wondering. What if it wasn't?

She had faith in Ron, but she was certain of the fact that he needed her as much as she needed him.

Risky or not, her place was by Ron's side.

"Wade," she said as pulled out her Kimmunicator. "It's time to call in a few favors."

Next: Collision

A/N: Thanks for Reading and Reviewing!

Sorry for all the exposition, but it's necessary to lay the groundwork for the final fights.

References to the episodes Blush, Kimmitation Nation, Sink or Swim, Monkey Fist Strikes, Exchange, The Full Monkey and Monkey Ninjas in Space.

Sorry to have Ranma actually apologize, way outta character. I can't be entirely certain, but I think he's only done so to Akane and even then only in a barely comprehensible mumble. Personally, I think that after the Saffron and the Wedding incidents, perhaps he's grown up a bit.

Ron running off in panic, well consider that he's gotten his ass handed to him just about every time that he's gone up against Monkey Fist one on one. Even in Monkey Fist Strikes Ron was losing. Then to find out he was it, the only hope for the world. What's a poor ol' sidekick to do? Besides, it served as a convenient means to get Kim and Ron some alone time.

I will deal with the Twelve and the Accursed later as well as explanations of the Mystical Monkey Artifacts at a later time.

The next chapter with the obligatory fights shall arrive in a couple weeks, provided nothing goes wrong.

Till then...