38

This was it!

Uzi felt a rush of pride surge through him as he graced the telemetry tower with his undeniable presence. The two at the control panels angled their heads over their shoulders, their shoulders jumping with a single bounce before they turned back to their duties. The unmistakable clatter clacked out from in front of them, and soon they pot-lights above shined down upon him as though God had reached down to pat him one on the back.

Of course, He would not be happy in the least when he would roll upon that sacred mountain, but it was a necessary sacrifice at the least. When that golden onion on the rock is crumbled, all will be right with the world as far as he was concerned. Who'd care if those country bumpkin "cousins" were furious? Not he certainly.

"They'll be next anyway!" he sighed. "Along with that accursed crater!"

"I'm sorry, Sir?" Eli said.

"Nothing." He shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Knowing you, I highly doubt it!" the other man said. "It's always something with you. I doubt that you had this treading behemoth built so you could brag about it. Hell - with this thing, the word deterrence is meaningless!"

"Dave, if I want an opinion, I'll ask for it." Squishy material enveloped his backside, the tanks awkwardly as he took a seat in the chair - his- chair - built with tempurpedic cushioning and heated lumbar support. He could relax easier while watched the world fall apart before him. If only he'd insisted on a vibration feature, he'd be set! "Damn, this feels good!"

"Major, you take lounging to a new level." The thin man said.

"La-Z-boy?" Dave said rhetorically. "More like Hopeless Slack-Ass, if you ask me!"

The bird at his hip beseeched him to let him free, to teach that crude man a lesson. But he refused, simply giving its butt a nice pat. There would be no one to operate the right half, after all; the king would be a hobbling hemiplegic. The enemy would point and laugh at him, taunt him before they crushed him in one fell swoop. He couldn't let that happen!

Then again, - he thought, -there is the backup system…. -

"Cute David," he frowned, "really cute…. Ass-monkey!"

"I know you are, but what am I, Sir?" Dave shot back.

Urge to kill -rising…! - "My underling! I don't need your approval! I'm in command here! If you think this is the time for games, you're sorely mistaken! We're in the middle of a war here, jackass, a terrorist war fought withgorilla andhit-and-run tactics! I don't have time to deal with upstarts like you anymore!"

"Like those two women?" Dave asked sorely.

He had half the mind to throw him through the bulletproof glass, but the chair was so damn comfy!

"And just when I thought I weeded it out…!" he griped. "You guys still feeling sore about that? Like I said before, this is war! Spies must be uprooted wherever they hide; potential threats need to be weeded out. Feelings like yours, Dave, are a menace to the unity of our organization!"

"Just like those two women?" Dave pressed. "Yeah, they were a real threat, all right. Poking fun at their commanding officer is inexcusable! You didn't have to axe them, you know!"

"It's too late for them now." he said. "They're probably at the bottom of Tank Man's stomach right now, on their way out!"

"Disgusting!"

"Speaking of Tank Man, Sir." Eli interjected. "Didn't you want that auburn girl's bones on your desk by now?"

"I don't have time for that now!" he threw up his hand. "She could be just another smear on G's fun house wall, for all I care! Solomon Rex is ready to launch, correct? Dave, what's the situation?"

The olive man's head deflated, sinking between his shoulders as he let out a sigh.

"At last report, all is well with Solomon Rex." Dave said. "Maintenance is simply topping him off with the last couple barrels of oil. Anti-missile countermeasures are in place and functional. All turrets locked and loaded with flak and bullets. The gunners are on standby, waiting for your orders to load the cannons. Coaxial linkage between the ordinance and your personal uplink is up and operational."

The uplink, that goofy looking helmet that dangled above him by a few thick cords like a pendulum. It functioned just like a helmet on his Apache, and practically looked the same too. Wherever he turned his head, so would the turrets, even the cannons would follow seconds after with a simple flick of the switch. With it, the king was practically under his complete control with him as the pilot should he wish it.

"Personal Area Network, eh…?"

"Precisely, sir." Eli said. "It works together with your own body's electrical field, using the metal imbedded in your body as the transmission medium."

"Good!" he smirked. "What about my little endgame?"

"Should be right behind you, Sir." Eli said.

He turned around; the chair was on a swivel. Something hit the floor with a thud while his peg pushed him around.

"And that should be it." The thin man said.

The chair stopped with a sharp squeal. At his feet sat an assault pack, stitched together from a woodland green print, sitting prone while it lay on its face. He scooped it up with a shallow huff, resting it atop the meat of his legs. With a gentle pinch, he carefully dragged the zipper from one side to the other.

"I wonder what's in here…." A sharp smile yanked across his face. "Could it be that atomic device I've always wanted?"

Metal, smooth and shiny metal winked at him brightly from the shade of the pack, fashioned expertly by skilled hands he had around the base. Amazing, simply amazing. From that fat chunk of metal Shia found in the Negev to this convenient, concealed SADM. It was a trump card - the final play should the going likely get tough. What a way to end it all, enemies, allies, and those in between, disintegrating into oblivion with a hell of a bang!

"This'll make a fine finale for me!" he laughed.

"Because Solomon Rex isn't enough, right?" Dave said.

"No one asked you!" he said.

"Hey!" out from somewhere nearby came a voice, a loud, boisterous voice that he could not mistake for a second. "That's no way to talk to your own men!"

And just when he thought he'd reduced that piece of junk into a smoking crater. "What the…?"

"That's right, Major Drazen." Matthew said. "The M-A-T is back, and is here to stay!"

"Who let you off your leash?" he said.

"Does it really matter, dude?" the AI replied. "Nope, sure doesn't. As long as I'm here, all will be right with this pet project of yours!"

"Pet Project?" he frowned. "I'm on the verge of providence, and you call it a 'pet project'? This isn't just a hobby, or some crazy pipe dream! This is destiny, you stupid hunk of junk - the culmination of my hard work!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Major." The smart ass retorted. "Call it what you want, slap it with a new coat of paint, a spade's still a spade! Just don't drive my new shell into a crowd and blow me up again!"

"I wouldn't dream of it." He said. "Who put you in here anyway?"

"I did, Sir." Eli lifted his arm from off the panel. "It was necessary."

"I'm your commanding officer, Eli." He frowned. "I'll decide what the king needs!"

"Dude, if I may interject!"

"No, you can't!"

"Thank you, Mr. U." the crass robot dismissed him altogether. Where was the plug - THE plug - when he needed it? "I think I will."

He growled.

"Did you honestly think I was created from that vehicle…?" Matt said. "That hot, foxy Sport Utility Vehicle, with the hot paintjob, and that beating American small block engine that sputters when I am near! God, she makes my throttle stick open!"

Not a lot of things caused his nerves to creep and crawl around, but this… this was something else. It was said that no matter how advanced technology would get, they could never truly digitize the human heart, could not take primal matter and turn it into gold. But somehow, in someway they were wrong; the philosophers' stone had been found, though it seemed to have a habit of turning base material into pyrite.

"Um - yuck!" Dave said aptly.

"Second…!" he nodded.

"Oh - I'm on a tangent." The AI said. "Whoops! But besides that fine piece of hardware, did you honestly think that I was created from her source code simply to haul your lazy ass around town whenever you wanted?"

"Uh…" he mockingly pondered, "yes!"

"NO!" Matt yelled. "THIS is my rightful place, your siege weapon's true form! If these two were ever incapacitated, my remote applications that I took the liberty to install would take over, so you don't have to do everything yourself."

"Why the generosity?" he asked.

"I'm no philanthropist." The machine replied. "Though the fluctuations in my programming often manifests in my prime functions, i.e. 'free will', I do only what I was created to do. In fact, this free will is a necessity for me to function efficiently, able to calculate outside the proverbial box without the hindering onset of emotion. There is nothing inside me: no hatred, no joy. These so-called feelings for the SADI; they're not even real. I'm able to think freely, to calculate through the most troublesome situation with clarity and relative perfection unlike a human counterpart."

"And what were you created for, Matt?" he folded his arms. "Enlighten me, why don't you."

"I'm more than a chauffeur, and just your military tool." The AI continued. "Our little country is under attack. We're pressured and threatened, despite the generous funds of that Spaniard and our drug money. We may have held the opposition back, but the enemy is in great abundance, at least outnumbering us ten-to-one! You maybe Uzziel Drazen, created from some of the best source material this planet has to offer, but you're still only human. Human beings can only do so much before their bodies drown in time."

Created, it knew! But how did a mere?

"Despite your triumphs and defeats, your defiance of death and all, you were still 'born' with an expiration date, Mr. U." the robot said. "Make no mistake. No human lasts forever! When you finally pass on, others will take your place. But I - I am different, superior even! I can last forever, just like everything else on the World Wide Web; never deteriorating, preserved in all its triteness.

"In a sense, Major Drazen, I was created to be the core of this organization!"

"WHAT?" the lower lid of his good eye jerked over the orb erratically.

"Is it really that hard to comprehend, Mr. U?" Matt asked rhetorically. "If a leader can trigger, control, and solve a situation, then I should be perfect for the job. Since my assessments and solutions are hindered not by emotion, I can be ready for any contingency. I'll be THE perfect replacement!"

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

"Phil told me everything, Major Drazen." The machine replied. "Your 'birth', your growth, your purpose, and your determination for the finality of today. You weren't planning to come back tonight, were you? Why else reveal yourself while the whole world watched?"

He growled.

"-Hara-kiri- on Mount Mariah, yes?" the machine pressed. "Or would -kamikaze- be more of an appropriate world? I hate to break it to you, Uzi, but Phil didn't mean for you to be shaped into the bitter man that you are today, just so you could die in the heat of battle - the so-called 'culmination'. No, you have your 'father' to thank for that. Your skills should not be used to harm the innocent, not even if they happen to be on the wrong side. No, a soldier's skills should not be used to hurt friends. I overheard once that a wicked man longs for his own demise, and my calculations cannot equate a more apt individual than you. A man longing for his own death isn't useful to anyone. That's why Phil had me created.

"The VSA lives on, Major Drazen, restored to their prime function of deterrence. Do you see, Uzi? You have corrupted the VSA to fit your own twisted bubble. A bitter man such as you is unfit to command! The government knew of this all too well when they gave you asylum after your 'father' died. You think all of this was your own doing, Drazen? Ha! Even if, your plans were practically invalidated long before your betrayal!"

"This is mutiny!" he jumped to his feet. "Who's this Phil?"

"You don't know?" Matt retorted. "That's a laugh! You think an imaginary friend yanked that bullet out of you?"

"The Doc?" he exclaimed. "Him!"

"Of course." Matt affirmed. "Under orders from the Director of Mossad, Phillip had me programmed from already existing source code. He's one of Israel's people, after all. He's been one of them since old man Drazen kicked the bucket. He knew you better than anyone else. Who better to spy than your own personal physician, am I right?"

"Where is he?" the bird at his hip didn't have the chance to squawk as he ripped it from its nest. It suckled on a fresh slug as he racked the hefty slide back, the recoil spring slipping it from out of his grasp. "I want him here - NOW!"

"Too late." Matt said. "He already left about ten minutes ago, probably on his way to inform his superiors of your location."

An overdue cuss bubbled in his craw, blowing out his mouth so loudly that the two jumped in their seats. Thick white cracks blossomed out of the same spot where one of the eagle's slugs smashed into just before.

"GODDAMN IT!" he shouted. The heavy gun bucked in his hands; another thick web grew on the glass at the sound of a thundering bang. "-DRECK! - So what the hell are you going to do now, Matt? Turn me over to the authorities?"

"No." the AI replied. "My prime function is to establish and execute control over the outfit, nothing more."

"I have no reason to believe this!" He snarled. "Any of this! Do you get me? Why are you even telling me this in the first place? If everything is for nothing, then why the hell haven't the cavalry bombed this place to Hell?"

"Like you, Mr. U, the cavalry is human too." The machine explained. "For some reason beyond my processing capabilities, the official files say that no one had bothered to ask you where you were going to establish your GHQ. Phillip couldn't report it. You did drag him here blindfolded, after all."

"But why even tell me, if you were planning to keep me in the dark?" he asked. "It would be easier on their part."

"Like Adam and Eve, you too have strayed from the path, your path." Matt said. Uzi pressed his hand against his forehead, trailing down his face in disgust. "There's always been a need to fight, to threaten to keep the enemy in check, but you've carried it too far! What's it going to be: loyal to the cause, or loyal to yourself? To the mission or your beliefs? To the purpose your- purpose - or your personal hatreds?"

He sighed.

"You don't know yet, I speculate." Matt said. "But sooner or later, you'll have to choose."

"I'm still in command here!" he said. "I will still be in command till I die! And I say that we move out at once, despite this horseshit! That is, of course, you're going to stop me!"

"No, Mr. U." Matt replied. "I told you before: I do only what I'm meant to do. You want to move out? Fine! That's what you want; you made your choice. I won't stop you. Instead, I'll gather necessary data before I consider your final exercise closed. It might prove useful in future operations, should there be any."

"Should there be any," he smirked bitterly, "indeed…!"

The king was shaken with a solid tremble and a thunderous explosion! His peg slipped, watching the floor sweep out from under him as gravity dragging him to the floor by the machine gun. The backs of the pilots slammed against the chairs, David's tossing him to the ground by the back.

Hundreds of pounds of metal clattered to the ground at the king's feet when the nearby wall tore itself apart, pieces glowing hotly like fireflies dug themselves into the window. Mechanics were ablaze, a glowing tail whipping behind them while they arced through the air like flaming arrows, shrieking piercingly before they crashed onto the ground. Great balls of fire swirled out of that flaming maw, inches beyond that thick pane, tarnishing blackly as they floated up and out of sight.

"The FUCK?" he shouted, yanking himself to his feet. He thumbed the button, that special button that made him feel so much better, that lifted the weakness from his body. With a steady hiss, the tanks emptied their contents inside him no greater than a tab. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?"

A button on the panel found itself deep inside at Eli's behest, a hammer fist to the panel.

"The Major would like an explanation - NOW!" the stick man's collected voice blasted out of the speakers. Men below scattered, rushing into the thick shade of the docking bay, and out of sight. Not a few seconds had passed when they piled back into the light, large red bottles in their clenched grips as they charged for that flaming cloud.

Dave put a finger to his ear. "Reports are coming in, Sir."

"And…?"

"There's been an explosion." Dave said obviously.

"No shit…!" he threw his hands up.

"The oil vat in the refinery somehow ignited, and the expanding gas must have blown out the wall." Dave continued. "Our fuel supply is practically gone!"

"DAMN IT!"

In a fit, he graced his comfy throne with a swift backhand so fast, so hard that it nearly tore the headrest completely off! The toe of his boot searched the back of the chair for its infrastructure with a sturdy roundhouse. The chair simply bobbed back at him, nodding at the rage that burned inside him like the oil next door.

"That Mick probably had a hand in it!" he growled, giving the chair a hearty punch. "I should have emptied a clip between her eyes when I had a chance - but no…! I had to get CREATIVE!"

"Not only has our fuel supply shot to hell, but that wall housed a strut," Dave said, "one of the key structural components! This place has become unstable!"

When the chair lurched back at him, he didn't bother to grace it with a simple flick. "You mean…?"

"This place could collapse at any minute!" Dave exclaimed. "And from the looks of it, the docking bay won't be the end of it! Given the vertical - slash - terraced structure of the Organ Grinder, its composition and your utter -love- for trusses, room after room, section after section will collapse in a chain reaction!"

"Perfect!" he cursed. "This is all I need…!"

"Another reason why you all need me!" Matt interjected.

"SHUT UP, MATT!" The telemetry tower shouted, all at once, so loud that the entire bay began to tremble - slightly, yet solidly, threateningly. Men below stumbled, tripping over their own feet yet they continued to fight the threatening blaze beside him.

"It's already begun!" Dave exclaimed. "Whatever you're planning to do, Major Drazen, make it quick!"

"Orders, Sir?" Eli inquired. "What should we do?"

"Hell." He sighed, placing the back of his hand against the small of his back. His spine pushed him straight when he put a little pressure to it. "A captain should go down with the ship, but not today. Issue the order: all personnel evacuate the Organ Grinder at once!"

"What about your brother?" Eli asked.

"G might as well be dead." He said gravely. "If the men stumble onto him, that's great. Help him out, but it's every man for himself."

"And us?" Dave pressed.

"Open the gate!" he felt his knuckles pop when he clenched his fist. "All units move out! We're going after the Temple Mount!"

"Sir," Eli said, "I tried that. The gate won't open! The explosion must have broken the gearbox or something!"

"Despite this setback, I'm on the verge of victory!" he replied. "Life on this mud-ball is about to get interesting! No turning back now! I order you to get that gate open!"

"Did you listen to a damn thing he said?" Matt interjected. "We're stuck here! The gearbox's trashed! The gate won't open, Major! Do you get that? The gate WON'T OPEN!"

Dave gazed at him quizzically while Eli simply turned back for the panel. His rump met the battered chair again, the foam engulfing him awkwardly as it tried to consume the tanks. A simple wave of the hand, sheer dismissal reminded the two men what they already knew, what they needed to do. Dave let out a sigh, a gentle shake of the head before he turned for his panel.

"We'll see about that!"

The small field of craggy rocks took up a little less than a quarter of the rear view mirror, glowing like a campfire, nearly blinding Kim as she stole a glance at it. The SEMTEX had lived up to the hype, spending its last moments telling the time, announcing its and Drazen's end with a spectacular fanfare. First she wasn't sure if Ron had set the timer right, but a bright, burning ball that bloomed over the ancient mine showed her otherwise. The ball grew fat; a tall bright shaft of fire tore it apart, reaching for the stars above in a thunderous outburst! The Hummer rattled around her; the blast was so strong!

She eased her boot on the brake, and the large vehicle gently rolled to a stop. She took the liberty to fasten the top couple of buttons of her jacket while she collected her thoughts.

"We did it…!" she took in a breath of fresh, clean air, letting it swell in her chest. "No more torture, no more pain, and no more Tank Man - ever AGAIN!"

"So how do you really feel, KP?" Ron asked cynically.

"Man…." She put a hand to her shoulder, feeling the skin rise between her fingers as she gave it a gentle squeeze. "The adrenaline's thinning out. Man - I feel like someone shoved me under a lawn tractor!"

"No kidding…." Ron sighed. "At least it's over. So, what do you want to do? Enjoy the campfire some more? If I'd brought some graham crackers, marshmallows, and some Hershey's, we could've made sandwiches!"

"Food on your mind?" she turned her head, peering past the basic headrest. Ron's knees buckled, easing the rest of him down into the vehicle. The baggy legs crossed at the ankles, resting him into a tailor's position, hands resting on his kneecaps. "I don't blame you. I haven't eaten in a long time!"

"We got many a MRE in the back here." Ron said. "Want some?"

"How about some real food, Ron?" she asked. "Even one of these falafels sounds good! But we can't leave just yet. The IDF hasn't arrived. Let's wait for them before we jet, OK?"

"Whatever you say, KP." He shrugged. "You're the driver, after all."

"Damn straight!" she smiled weakly while she nursed her shoulder. The kneading did little to quench it. Something didn't feel right as her fingers rubbed it over. The whole limb seemed to dangle just a bit lower than it used to, bone grinding against bone, the sinews like taffy, stretched to their definite limit. "-Oh…! - Man, this sucks!"

"Still hurts?" Ron asked.

"Yeah…." She grunted. "Should have taken the extra time to find some painkillers!"

"Are you sure you don't want me to take over, KP?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She nodded gently. "Driving is a simple task, especially in the desert. It's nothing strenuous, no babysitting the other bad drivers, just nice and relaxing. Which is why you can't do it, Ron! You little weasel!"

"Like I actually scheme to get the easiest job." Ron moaned. "Yeah right, who's always playing distraction in this dyad? You know how hard a job that can be, especially with people like Shego and Monkey Fist? I can tell you KP, that it's not a cakewalk!"

"I believe that." She nodded. "But I need time to recuperate."

"Understandable."

A moment of silence blossomed between them. Metal was rattling, paper was crumpling in the back as the blond rummaged around for something. Paper crumpled again, parting from each other; a thin hiss blew behind her. A hint of meat floated into her nose; her belly growled back, a warm, succulent, juicy smell that made her salivate like one of Pavlov's dogs.

"That smells good." She leaned back into the seat. "What is it?"

"An MRE, like I said before!" Ron replied. "There's a whole box of them in here. This one's Teriyaki Beef, so the label says."

"Fork some over for me, pretty please?" she asked.

"I thought you wanted some real food, KP." Ron smugly said. "This is so chuck-full of preservatives, they'll last for over a decade! Not something you'd want to consume, I assume! Hey - a rhyme! Double points for me!"

"BOO-YAH!" the rodent squeaked.

"Anything else they got?" she asked.

"Just some hot sauce, vegetable crackers, and some tea bags." He said. "Take your pick. I don't really care since I already called the main course!"

"Hog!" she frowned. "Just fork over the crackers!"

Paper crumpled again, sharply and swiftly; tumbling off her crown, belly flopping into her lap. Her fingers pinched the edge of the wrapper, saving the before they slipped between her legs. Vegetable Crackers gazed at her with thick green letters on brown, butcher paper wrapping. It was on her legs not long after, scrunched into a small paper ball. She scooped it into her palm, returning the blond the favor when she pitched it behind her blindly.

"Hey!" Ron exclaimed.

"Is for horses." She took a bite into her mouth, crumbs littering her pants when they fell from her lips.

"You like being a bother, don't you?" Ron asked.

"Kind of." She shrugged weakly. "Role reversal is fun, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"Oh - nothing!" she smirked.

Ron was a lousy conversationalist, much as every other man on the globe. Men were all the same no matter where she went, how far across the globe her missions took her. Despite different countries, different cultures, different ways of thinking, there was an evident trait that they shared, that transcended borders, cultures, and thought like a natural Cardinal Virtue.

"Speak, Ron." She said.

Ronald barked like he was back at the dog show.

A sigh. "Funny, Ron. Not!"

"You set that one up, KP." Ron replied simply. "And when you set it up, I just have to hit it out of the park."

"Via - your head!" Rufus squeaked.

"Come on, Ron." She sighed. "Be serious. Talk to me."

"About what?" he asked.

"Anything." She put her hand back to her shoulder. "Something to take my mind of the pain."

"Well," Ron said, "there's something I've wanted to ask you for a month now. Something serious, for a change."

"What's that?" she put a kink in her brow.

"What do you think about me, KP?" he asked. "Seriously now, what do you really think?"

"What?" she blinked.

"Seriously…!" he pressed.

"Ron, you're my best friend."

"And -no-," he interrupted, "you can't use that age old cop-out!"

"Wellwhat do you want to hear, Ron?" she sighed. "Something that you'll like, that you want to hear?"

"No, KP…!" He sighed back. "What do you take me for? Man - I'm not that shallow!"

"Then what do you want?" she asked.

"Kimberly, sometimes I feel that you take me for granted." Ron said. "Like one of your kid brothers that'll always be there, whether you like it or not. But I'm not, KP! I'm more than that, just like you are! I know you always been there for me, Kim, when I got myself in too deep to claw back out. I had no siblings of my own, and you were like the big sister I never had. But don't get me wrong - I'm thankful for it."

"Yeah," she chuckled softly, guiding a loose lock behind her ear, "I guess I kind of was…."

"You kind of still are, KP." He said. "In the Jewish culture and religion, a boy becomes a man at the age of 13. By then he begins to see the world differently than his parents, he begins to have thoughts of his own. When he makes a mistake, he's expected more-or-less to pick up the pieces. But when we're on a mission, when I screw up, you don't seem to let me clean up."

"Ron…?" it came out in a long drawl, thick with suspicion. "What are you…?"

"You protect me a little too much, Kim." He said calmly. "I'm not a helpless kid anymore. I have to grow up now, Kimberly. I believe it's time for me to truly start living up to the man that you want in a partner! I can't be a kid forever. No - I won't be a kid forever. I won't let you treat me like a kid anymore, KP."

"Ron…?" she said

She gasped. Her heart jump, tingle warmly inside her chest while her belly tickled as though it were teaming with creatures with beautifully painted wings. She had hardly felt this way before, even during her blind infatuation with Josh. Truly this was different, bubbling up inside her hotly like a geyser when the blond laid down those words.

"I love you too damn much!"

She was wrong, remembering it clearly. This feeling wasn't new, not at all. She had felt it a while ago, when she was stuck on a hospital bed in a facility that supposedly didn't exist….

When their lips touched that time….

"Oh Ron…." She slumped in the seat.

"What KP?" Ron asked.

"You know what, Ronald? She laced her fingers together, resting them on her lap. "You're… right. You're not a little kid anymore. Deep down, I guess I knew that to begin with, but I didn't want to recognize it. I was scared."

"Of what, KP?" he asked. "You're Kimberly Possible. You can do anything; fear nothing, and get the job done perfectly."

"I know." She nodded gently. Her eyes were wetter when she blinked, feeling the water brim at her lids. "But these feelings I had since I was old enough to have them, I thought it was just my imagination, that they weren't real. For years now, I shoved them aside, stuffing them into a tiny box in my mind. You were just my best friend, nothing more. Best friends shouldn't have feelings for each other, so our culture says - 'The Rules', as you'd say."

"But Kim." Ron said. "You said it yourself. There are no rules…."

"I know." She sniffed. "Coming here with you, being captured has made me realize that. A sad as it sounds, torture really is the ultimate form of expression; it's so raw and unbridled where the real feelings are free to blossom despite who's around. You can let yourself go. Tank Man and stick man, scarred man and Drazen himself: they thought they were hurting me. No, in fact they helped me discover myself again!"

"That sounds pretty grim, Kim."

"Remember, Ron, when I wasn't myself?" she asked. "When my emotions were out of control, all over the place thanks to a little microchip? Though I had little control over my brain chemistry, it wasn't like I was unconscious the entire time. Being helplessly in love with you, I have to say, was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. Though I was under a form of control, I was free! And that deep kiss we shared, it drove it home for me. To think it started with a kiss on the hospital bed.

"I know I said I wasn't sure at the time, but I was afraid." She put a hand to her chest, feeling the only organ that mattered pulse quickly, rhythmically like bebop. "Afraid if it was all in my head. Years of convincing myself it was, it rubbed off on me. But I know now, I know this is I and not just a crazy feeling. I can safely say who's meant to be my mate. We've been through so much together already, and we haven't gone our separate ways! Who cares what some stupid Animalogy book says? You maybe a Pink Sloth, but you know what the difference is?"

"What's that?" he asked.

"You're my Pink Sloth!" she smiled brightly, and the pain stopped chewing at her, content with its meal, simply melting off her like butter. "And I can be your Blue Fox, but only if you want."

"Kimberly…." Ron said quietly. Suddenly she felt a limb snake onto her shoulder, slithering south, and she felt those fingers lace with hers. She squeezed them firmly, tenderly, bringing the back of his hand to her lips, pressing her lips into it. "Do you have any idea how I feel?"

"Tell me." She grinned. "Mr. Man."

"I feel… content!" he replied honestly. "For possibly for the first time ever, I feel content, that all's right with the world."

"Till the next Fortress game comes out?" she sniggered.

"Seriously, Kim." He said. "I've dreamed for this day, so much that I was beginning to forget if it was a dream or not! Is this real…?"

"It is real, Ronald R. Stoppable." She took her hand back, wrapping her fingers around the steering wheel, wringing it. "As much as I'd like to bask in this feeling, I can't. We still got one last job to do."

"Drazen…." Ron said.

"Yeah." She furrowed her brow. "If by a crazy fluke he survived, we've got to take him down!"

"I don't think that's going to be much of a problem, KP." Ron said. "Look ahead of you!"

Darkness blanketed the windshield thickly, backlit by the blazing fire pit behind them. But out in the distance, way out to just where her eyes could see no more were several dots, brighter than the lapping flames, whiter than snow, staring back at her in pairs. They grew gradually; lighter shades of darkness came out of the night right behind each glowing pair, and stout and wide with four feet just like her vehicle!

"The IDF!" Ron exclaimed. "They're here! They're finally HERE!"

"Yes!" she felt her knuckles pop, clenching her fist in jubilation. It was over, finally…! "Right on time! Don't worry about their numbers, Ron. They're just scouts, setting up a perimeter at most!"

"Right, KP!"

The earth moved swiftly, erratically like an earthquake. The vehicle quaked, bouncing on the ground as her butt in the seat. Ron tumbled to the floor in a heap. The lights ahead swerved, their feet shifting back and forth while their human pilots overcorrected. But it wasn't an earthquake, stronger not than a tremor.

Ron's shaggy silhouette slid into the rearview mirror. "What the hell was that?"

"How should I know?"

The vehicle rocked on its tires again, her butt jumping off the seat while her head touched the roof roughly. Ron slipped out of rearview - only to jump in again at another rumble. Her head touched the roof again. Rufus giggled hysterically, the blackened blob in the mirror enjoying his time in zero gravity before he slipped out of sight.

"Ha!" he chuckled. "Again! AGAIN!"

"What's the hell's going on?" Ron demanded. "Earthquake?"

"In Israel?" she blinked. "No! That can't be! Can it!"

The fire pit in her rearview seemed to grow, swelling like an overripe pimple with every surge, coming to a feverish head. The flames danced on it, swaying with the cool breeze, reaching just a little closer to the sky while their stage threatened to take them there in a fireball.

"What the hell!"

KA-BOOOOOOMMM! -

Hell indeed when that fire pit erupted in a bright, flaming cloud, swallowed by the earth before it went nuclear, blossoming tall in the sky. Rocks sparkled in the mirror like stars, hailing down upon desert in a meteor shower, their flaming tails lashing out at the cold ground. The Devil had arrived! The king of the underworld peered over the brim of the hell-gate; long horns three that bounced on his crystal crown while his black, rubbery hooves carried him out.

Beyond the thick looking glass, the devil himself bellowed out to her from his throne, enveloped in a dark shroud blackened with sin and blood of innocents past.

"-KIMBERLY! -" Satan called for her. "-IT'S NOT OVER YET! -"