Yes, I know I haven't updated in forever, and you have my sincerest apologies. I'm dreadfully sorry. It's just that I have been way too busy! It's amazing how time can just fly by! Well, I'm going to try really hard to wrap up this story in the next few months or so. I should be able to update a little more often now that I am on my vacation. Since this story is near its end I will try not to keep you waiting much longer. In the meantime, here is the next chapter. Enjoy.
AR:
Jerry Unipeg: THANK YOU! Yes, I always wanted to see how they would react as a group…
The ShapeShifting Chick::D Thank you! lol yeah Kimmie is all embarrassed. O.O …So now you have a choice, huh? Choose wise, choose wise….. …or choose both!
Dark cloud1: Why, thank you. It's good to know that people are enjoying it. And I shall keep going!
Midnight Moonfox: lol wow…. Yes, MF does make a funny cook… And I'm Updating! I'm Updating! –at a slow pace, but I'm Updating! Sheesh!
Gruffuddgirl91: Oh, you're just buttering me up! But it does make me feel good to know that my written work is being appreciated. And I'm dreadfully sorry about keeping you waiting so long! I'll try to update more often!
Alaksandra: Yes, I know, I know. However, I did try to squeeze the Kim and Ron –ness in a little more in the next chapter. Nothing too dramatic, but it still shows their relationship building.
- Please don't forget to leave a Review. Thank you. :D
Chapter 12: Another Day, Another Hope
(day of takeoff)
Another day had approached the rather small town of Middleton. It was dawn and the sun was getting ready to make its glorious appearance to the awaiting deep midnight blue sky. The wind nudged gently against the branches of the old oak as the trees swayed and danced ever so gracefully.
Kim stood out on the balcony, her emerald green eyes gazing out into the sky, thinking, wondering, pondering… Her auburn hair, swaying with the wind… The sky was turning golden, now with hints of pink, blue, and violet. The only bird outside that stirred the morning's stillness was a dove.
Kim sighed and rested her elbows on the rail. Just then someone approached her from behind. Ron slowly and cautiously walked up to her. Kim was still unaware of his presence. However, she was not surprised when she felt a warm gentle hand touch her shoulder. She glanced up at Ron and sighed. Ron, smiling comfortingly, came closer and stood next to her, his arm wrapped around her. No words were spoken, for they were not needed. Then, together, they stood side by side as the sun rose up from the east, shedding its glorious radiance upon them.
The time came at last. They were to wake up bright and early, have breakfast, and head over to the Space Center to prepare for liftoff. They were the world's last hope. If they failed, it would mean the end for most of their loved ones and most of mankind. There was a lot of pressure. That was only one aspect of their troubles. They could all die. There were a lot of possibilities for the fate of their lives and the lives of others.
Eventually, this all got to Kim. For once, Kim was unsure. Unsure if they would be able to save the ones they loved, unsure if the whole operation would work, unsure if they would all survive. She stood standing there motionless, doubts running through her head. Ron stood next to her stroking her light silky golden hair. He was no mind reader, but he could sense her doubt and worry. He searched deep within himself to find some words of comfort, but the only thing he could pull out was 'don't worry. It will all be okay…', so he used it. "Don't worry Kim. It will all be okay…."
Kim looked up and gazed deep into his chocolate brown eyes, searched them for the truthfulness of his words. He seemed so sure. So sure that everything would turn out alright in the end, so sure that they would be able to do it. Just a few days ago he was in the same spot she was in, and now it's the total opposite. She smirked, noticing the irony of the situation and allowed Ron's hopeful words to sink in, for it was the only thing of comfort she could grasp onto for now.
Ron smiled, knowing that Kim took in the words he said and wrapped his loving arm around her. Then, together, they watched the glorious sunrise, signaling a new day, a new hope, a new adventure, yet at the same time new danger, doubts, and feelings.
x…
All the others were just getting up. Monty, of course, was already up. Being a morning person, he already started making breakfast. He took the role of 'cook' for the past three days, giving Mrs. Possible a break. In fact, occasionally, Ron, being a rather good cook himself, would help Monty out in the kitchen. It was a rather strange site seeing the two working together, considering that they were sworn adversaries just a few weeks ago.
Even Shego and Kim made a bond of friendship. They would often be found reading teen magazines and swooning over their favorite celebrities and movie actors. Drakken would just keep his distance, a little jealous of the men they would swoon over.
It appeared that they were all getting used to working together in their new alliance. There would occasionally be conflicts, but nothing too serious. Even Ron and Drakken were becoming friends.
Monty just finished preparing breakfast and sneaked into the living room where everybody was sleeping. He nearly laughed out loud when he found Drakken curled up in a ball clutching his beloved stuffed teddy bear. He shook his head and made his way towards the light switch. Then, with a flick of his wrist he turned the rather bright lights on.
Shego's eyes twitched as she slowly got them adjusted to the light. Then she angrily protested. "What are you doing?"
"It's eight o' clock! And breakfast is almost ready. In fact, you should thank me for letting you sleep late, for the proper wake up hour is at seven!" Monkey Fist smirked, then made his way back towards the kitchen.
Shego was very irritable in the morning. She was about to say something rather rude, but decided to hold her tongue. Instead she glared at him with evil eyes. "Fine! I'm up!" She hissed. Then she sighed, stretched, got up, and made her way to the bathroom to take a shower.
Drakken, however, was still sleeping. By now he moved into a position where he was sucking his thumb. Frederick was already up and approached Drakken curiously. He scratched his furry head and looked at him, never seeing a full grown human suck his thumb before. By now, Frederick was all up in his face. Drakken was still sound asleep, but started to stir. This slow awakening process suddenly speeded up when Drakken opened his eyes to see the small furry simian eye to eye.
"AAHHH!" Drakken jumped up and hit his head on the ceiling, then, after a few seconds, plunged back down to the ground.
Monkey Fist came running out of the kitchen. "What's wrong? Is everything alright?"
Drakken was still in shock. He crawled back against the wall and pointed at Frederick, trying to mouth some words that just weren't coming out straight. "That! That! That!" Frederick remained in the same spot, looking up at the simian man innocently.
Monty's worried expression dropped, now knowing exactly what happened. He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Oh….. …you'll get over it. Monkeys are curious by nature. He was probably just taken back by the way you sleep or somewhat. Just get ready, breakfast is on the table!" And with that, he walked back into the kitchen.
Drakken remained expressionless for a few seconds, then he crossed his arms and glared down at the little monkey. Frederick merely smiled in response.
Mr. Dr. Possible was hard at work in the Space Center. He, along with a team of workers, had to make sure everything was ready for the launch. Mrs. Dr. Possible was there as well. Although she was a brain sergeant, she thought it would be good to help him and be there with him for support, considering that it was their daughter who would be flying in that shuttle. Jim and Tim slept over their friend's house and would be arriving soon to see their sister go up into space. Mr. Dr. Possible continued to pace around the shuttle
"Do they have enough fuel?" Mr. Dr. Possible asked the manager of the team.
"YES!" The man replied irritably. "For the forty fifth time, THEY HAVE ENOUGH FUEL!" And with that, the man angrily walked away and continued his business.
Mr. Dr. Possible, taken back by the man's response, shied off a bit, now realizing how anxious he was. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, just noticing the terrible headache that inflicted his head.
Mrs. Dr. Possible was standing at the window when she noticed her husband's distress. She walked up to him and smiled, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but don't worry so much, James. They'll be fine."
James looked up. "But how can you be so sure? What if something happens and they can't stop the comet? What if something goes wrong? What if…. What if we loose her?"
The all knowing wife stood side by side with her husband and let her hands crawl up his chest towards his neck to fix his navy blue tie. She seemed so calm. "Well, I'm sure they'll be able to destroy the comet. There's not a doubt in my mind that says they wouldn't be able to find some way to demolish it, no madder how hard the circumstances… However, if something did happen in the process, we must be prepared …to let go…."
"….let go?" The worried doctor hesitantly questioned, stuttering a bit.
"Yes…." Mrs. Dr. Possible answered. "It's apart of life and it's only natural. ….Yes, we love Kimmie with all our hearts and would even die for her if we could, but now she's old enough to make her own decisions. …If she wants to go up there into space, knowing that there's a possibility that she could die up there… that's her decision… and she must deal with the consequences. …whether good or bad…. ….we can't interfere…."
James Timothy Possible lowered his head and leaned against the wall, finally realizing what the phrase 'letting go' meant. He sighed and wiped a small tear from his eyes. "I never realized how hard it would be…. …to let go….."
His loving wife gently took his hand and held it in hers. "…..I know….."
Drakken and Shego were the first ones to get to the Space Center. With them, they brought the rather large bulky laser cannon known as the Terminator. They didn't have it with them at Kim's house so they had to stop by their previous lair to get it. How they managed to get it to the Space Center, nobody knows. Since the invention was on wheels, they were able to roll it down to where the shuttle was. Mr. Dr. Possible was there studying the shuttle for the fifty sixth time.
"Why, hello there James Timothy Possible!" Drakken called out from behind him with taunting laughter.
Mr. Dr. Possible merely smiled, knowing that Drakken shouldn't even be talking. "Hello…. Drew Theodore Lypsky…"
Shego covered her mouth, keeping her laughter in. "…Theodore?" Then she giggled some more. "…..cute…."
Drakken frowned. "Alright let's just get this thing over with! I brought the Terminator." He stepped to the side, allowing Mr. Dr. Possible full view of his creation. Drakken smiled and stood up straight with pride. "This is one of my greatest creations!"
Dr. James smirked. "Well it's a good thing it's not a robot because then I might not allow you to use it! your luck with robots….." He laughed, taunting Drakken even further. Shego joined in and laughed with him.
Drakken crossed his arms and glared at the both of them. Then he sighed and made his way behind the laser cannon, nudging it forward. "Here! Let's just attach it to the shuttle already! Shego, come here and help me!"
Shego rolled her eyes and sighed. "…fine…." Then, without much of a hurry, she slowly made her way to where Drakken was standing and helped him push the laser cannon closer to the shuttle. Once there, they backed away and allowed Mr. Dr. Possible to take control. Then, a rather large machine noisily picked up the laser and carefully positioned it on the side of the shuttle, fastening it in place. Once it was attached both Mr. Dr. Possible and Dr. Drakken made their way to the shuttle to make sure the laser cannon was stably attached.
It was almost one o' clock and takeoff was at two. Kim hurriedly got dressed, knowing that it wouldn't really matter considering they all had to wear space suits. However, she still wanted to look presentable for their arrival. She put on a light blue sweater and a casual pair of black jeans. She turned to comb her hair, then plopped the brush in her suitcase. She didn't really know if she needed a suitcase or not, but she decided to take one just in case.
After that was all taken care of, she slipped on her new pair of blue and black shoes, grabbed her suitcase, and raced downstairs. Monty was already at the door, dressed in a black ninja robe. Beside him was his already packed suitcase. In his hands was a book he was reading titled 'The Iliad'. Frederick was sitting down patiently besides him.
Kim raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. "You're wearing that?"
Monty merely shrugged and continued reading. Kim glanced around the room, noticing that someone was missing. "Where's Ron?"
Frederick pressed some buttons on his mechanical device, and then looked up at Kim. "Ron… …is… …in… …the… …guest… …room..."
Right away, without any response, Kim dropped her bags and ran upstairs. She noticed the light was still on through the crack under the door. Kim walked up to it and knocked. "Ron? Are you almost ready? What are you doing in there?"
"I'm almost done! I'm just changing!" Ron replied as he struggled to fit into his tan baggy pants. Rufus made his way towards the door and squeezed under the crack. He smiled, then dropped down and continued scurrying downstairs. Ron opened the door wide and stepped outside, letting out a sigh. "Okay I'm ready!"
Kim raised an eyebrow and pointed to his chest. "Um…. …you don't have a shirt on…."
"Oh!" Ron looked down and noticed his chest was bare. "Whoops, I forgot….." He ran back into the room and slammed the door. "I'll be right out!"
Kim covered her mouth and giggled some. "Well…. At least he didn't forget to put on his pants this time…." After a few seconds of waiting, the door knob turned and Ron appeared at the doorpost, fully dressed. He was dressed in his normal mission attire, unlike Kim. Kim just noticed that she was improperly dressed, but decided to just forget it. They were gong to end up wearing space suits anyway. "Well it's about time! Come on!" She grabbed onto Ron's sleeve and pulled him down the stairs."
Ron sighed and crossed his arms. "Again with the pulling…."
Finally they were all together and ready to leave. A white taxi appeared at the front door and everyone made their way to it. Monty sat at the front passenger seat while Kim, Ron, and Frederick all made their way to the back. The medium-built, scruffy-looking cabdriver lifted the cigarette from his mouth and turned to Kim. "So where are you's headin?"
"To the Middleton Space Center please!" Kim replied boldly. Then, without a word being said, the car took off.
Takeoff time was now in fifteen minutes. Mr. Dr. Possible paced back and forth with his hands behind his back as Drakken, Shego, Jim, Tim, and Mrs. Dr. Possible patiently waited on a bench. Their eyes followed him as he walked up and down the hall. Then, stopping suddenly, he let out an impatient growl. "Where are they? Liftoff is in fifteen minutes!"
Mrs. Dr. Possible slowly shook her head, seeing her husband get so worked up over things all of a sudden. "They'll be here, don't worry…" She came up closer to him, wrapping her graceful hands around him and fixing his inner blue shirt collar with her long slender fingers. "Patience doctor….." She smirked, batting her eyelids. Then she lifted her face up to his and pecked his pale cheek gently.
Mr. Dr. Possible smiled and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder as she walked away. Jim and Tim cringed in disgust. "Ew! Yuck!"
"Hey, you boys better be glad your mother and I love each other so much!" Mr. Dr. Possible called out. Jim and Tim grew silent…. for once…
Just then the glass door to the Space Center swung open, and through it walked Kim, Ron, Monty, and Frederick. Instinctively, Kim ran to her dad and gave him a hug. "Sorry we're late. There was a whole lot of traffic and the cabdriver got lost… …it turns out he was only substituting for one who got sick…. "
Shego smirked and teased her playfully. "Daddy's little girl, huh?"
"Shut up, Shego!" Kim narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, then looked back and found Ron tugging on her sweater.
"Hey, KP, we still got time! We made it!" Ron smiled joyfully.
Rufus poked his little bald pink head out of Ron's pocket and crawled in under his shirt, making his way to Ron's shoulder. "Hi five!" Rufus shouted, waving his little hand in the air.
Ron gently patted the rodent's bare paw. "Booyah!"
Drakken and Shego got up and stood with the others. Then Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Possible led them to where the shuttle was and prepared them for boarding the spacecraft. First off, they loaded all of their belongings into the shuttle and made sure there was plenty of food and all the necessary equipment they needed on board. Then they gave them their spacesuits. They wouldn't need to wear the spacesuits all the time, but they needed to wear them for takeoff just in case. And so they did.
Finally everybody was geared up and ready. The power levels were high and they had extra fuel on board in case of power failure. The Terminator was safely intact and secure. Now the only thing left to do was the good byes. Shego, Drakken, and Monkey Fist already started to board the shuttle. Kim, Ron, and Frederick lingered behind to say their farewells.
Ron's parents just entered into the Space Center after being away on vacation, and made their way to the shuttle where they would find their son. "Mom! Dad!" Ron's eyes lit up as he raced to them, embracing them in his arms, and they did the same to him. "Ronald!"
"My little Ronald is going up into space to save the world!" Mrs. Stoppable exclaimed, practically squeezing him to death. "Our little hero!" Ron's face grew red with embarrassment.
"That's my boy!" his proud father wrapped his right arm around him and playfully punched his shoulder.
Rufus laughed and chuckled, lying down on his back. "Aw….."
Kim smirked, watching Ron interact with his parents, then turned to see her own parents standing side by side three feet away from her. She smiled and then plunged into her father's loving arms. "I love you dad…." She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest.
"I love you too Kimmiecub….." Mr. Dr. Possible wrapped his arms around his little girl, not wanting to ever release her, wishing that she could stay his little girl forever. But sadly, he knew that he must let her go. After a moment or two, his embrace loosened, allowing her to step away.
Then she turned towards her mom and smiled, hugging her as well. "I love you mom…." As she hugged her mother, Mr. Dr. Possible gently pushed away a few tears that welled up from his eyes, not really wanting his daughter to see him in sorrow.
Finally she let go. Jim and Tim came running up to her. "Hey wait!" They called.
Kim turned around and found her little brothers running up to her, holding up an item, one in each hand. "Here!" They lifted them up to Kim. "They're missiles! ….just in case the Terminator fails…. We made them!"
Kim smiled, touched by their eagerness to help. "Aww!" She took the missiles in her hands and gently set them down on the floor, kneeling down to get closer to her brothers. "Come here you tweebs! You guys are the best!"
At first, they let her embrace them, but after a few seconds they began to squirm around and push away. "Ew!" Tim shouted. "Are you feeling okay!" Jim finished. Kim smiled and picked up the missiles, slowly raising herself up off the floor. The twins ran back to their mother.
Frederick came up to Mr. Dr. Possible and hugged him as well. "..Good… …bye… …doctor…" Frederick tapped his fingers on the buttons of his suit.
Mr. Possible smirked and patted the simian's furry head. "Good luck Frederick. Make sure you keep them safe!"
"...Roger…" Frederick replied. Then the little monkey jumped down and scampered into the shuttle. Ron joined up with Kim and they followed him, making their way to the metal plank that linked them to the spacecraft. Ron went in first. Then Kim followed, glancing back at her family for what might be the last time. It was still uncertain. Only fate could deicide.
Once inside everybody got strapped in and prepared for launch. There were four rows of seats. Frederick and Kim were sitting upfront in the pilot's seat, next came Ron and Rufus, then Drakken and Shego, and Monkey Fist sat in the back. After a few seconds of silence, the countdown started.
"..Ten..."
Kim braced herself by closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Surprisingly, she felt a warm gentle hand touch her shoulder. She looked back and found Ron smiling comfortingly, and those same words that softened the morning rang in her ears. "Don't worry… It will all be okay…."
"..Eight..."
Kim smiled back greatly appreciative of his words of comfort.
"..Six..."
"..Five..."
"..Four..."
"..Three..."
"..Two..."
"...One..."-Takeoff
And here it is! The adventure begins! Will they get there in time? Will they be able to destroy the comet? Are they too late? Can they save their home? Can they save themselves? What will happen to them? …..You'll find out soon enough… Review and Good day. :D