Chapter 11: Obstruction

Before we start, I may trip the rating with a specific event, but it will be explained in a later chapter.

Errors in this chapter were also corrected (though you might not notice them) Thanks to JPMod and Zaratan for bringing it to my attention! Thanks!

When Kim wakes up, she usually expects to find Pandaroo somewhere in the same bed.

In Bay City, she expected Ron to be next to her, either sleeping or awake.

This time, it was only Pandaroo. No Ron. For Kim, it was quite a depressing way to wake up, now that she was becoming aware of where she was again; A dark and cold cave in the middle of nowhere.

"Oh, hey, you're finally up," a friendly voice echoed.

Kim let out a huge yawn and stretched, not realizing her survival suit didn't allow her to do it by much. "I can't believe I slept on a rock…"

As darkness was turning to light in Kim's vision, she noticed the fireplace was just as strong as she last remembered it, seeing Jen hold two objects near it.

"You think a rock's bad… Well, it's that or a blizzard… or what was a blizzard, anyway."

Kim looked toward the blocked entrance of the cave. "It's died down?"

"It sure has."

Kim grabbed the side of her head, feeling only slight pain in it now. "What time is it…?"

"Noon."

"Noon?"

Jen giggled. "You went to sleep at five in the morning after all. But hey, you needed it, you were much worse off than I was. I only got a bump in the back of my head, you got bumped the top of your head and cut your left temple. It's a good thing it didn't give you frostbite."

Kim touched the areas Jen mentioned. "Ow… Thanks again. So… what are you doing?"

The blonde held up two boxes. "Making you breakfast and making myself lunch. Rations ahoy!"

Rations, a food item Kim kept packed in her utility belt but never used. As one would expect, the appearance and thought of an entire meal in a small box, sometimes large, that could stay fresh for some time before being opened was not a concept Kim liked. To her, rations were the army equivalent of space food. Her dad always told her the same thing, a huge meal like turkey, gravy, potatoes and green beans, all in one small package. It didn't look like it, barely tasted like it, and the taste got to her to the point where she couldn't stand it.

She decided to hide her disgust. "Rations? You know, I've never tried one of those…"

"Outside appearances aren't always anything," Jen replied as she exchanged eye contact with Kim.

She was able to read her thoughts by the unintentional disgust in her eyes, but it was either rations or starvation. After it looked like everything was done, she slid a container towards Kim.

"Chow down."

It looked like someone shoved eggs, bacon, sausage, steak and toast in a package, and it wasn't as small as the pictures indicated. Kim then took a deep breath and dumped half its contents down her throat, as opposed to using utensils like she always would, not that she nor Jen packed any. It was actually a bit too much to eat at once, so she took her time with consuming it. Jen actually took her time with hers, eating hers more delicately as opposed to how she ate everything else. They were out in the snowy wild, after all. Might as well enjoy the meal as if it were your last.

The sound of Kim swallowing her food echoed throughout the cave. "Not as bad as feared, better than my dad's space food."

"I've got a ton of these in my bag, so if you're hungry, let me know."

This took Kim by surprise. "That's awful nice of you to offer."

"'Share the wealth' I always say…"

Kim giggled. "You're just like Ron."

"Just not with money…"

Kim's face dropped. "And why is that? Greedy are we?"

Jen shook her head. "No, I don't mean to keep it for myself, it's just that last time I gave a homeless guy fifty dollars, he drank himself to death."

"Oh… Alcoholic… poor guy."

Jen had a full mouth. "No, actually he decided he was going to start drinking, got drunk and then got hit by a bus. True story."

"Oh."

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence between the two after that. Kim felt awkward that Jen managed to keep a straight face after that story, almost like it was funny. But before Kim could say anything, Jen tossed Kim another ration. Kim took a few seconds to look at the meal, then devoured it with ease.

It wasn't gourmet, but they could survive on this.

Yori was used to sleeping in harsh weather conditions. Well, she was used to being in harsh weather conditions for a long time. There was a time where Sensei made her meditate under a waterfall, as a test of the inner and outer strengths. The pressure of the waterfall was extremely intense and freezing cold, far too much to bear for many of the students.

Yori was not among those who could not tolerate the waterfall's harsh conditions.

External pain was one thing, but internal pain was another.

Darkness turned into a dull blue light, and the sound of a fire could be heard, along with someone's presence.

"Don't touch it…" a young voice echoed. It was Ron.

"Stoppable-san? What… what happened?"

Just as Yori's vision became clear and saw his shadow on the wall, she could feel the immense pain in her leg. Ron appeared to be somewhere in the cave, but not within Yori's range of vision.

"I guess we were all knocked out of the plane," Ron answered. "I don't know what happened to Kim and Jen, but I found you near a series of sharp rocks, and I'm guessing that fall must've broken your leg, but I'm definitely no expert in medicine. The blizzard was too powerful to go through, but I managed to find this cave and light a fire. At least you're okay."

Yori sighed as she laid her head back. "I am sorry."

Ron was on the other side of the fire, tossing in more firewood. He stopped when he heard Yori's apology. "Sorry? About what?"

"In this condition I will only slow you down. I am sure the ones responsible for shooting us down are searching for us as we speak."

Ron didn't seem to be too concerned. "We're in a nice deep cave away from the crash site, Yori. No big. They should've given up by now. I would."

Yori weakly laughed. "Modest as always, Stoppable-san. I see you're still as brave as ever…" Her thoughts then went elsewhere. "So Possible-san and Ferno-san…"

"I have no idea, but I'm sure they're fine. It takes more than a fierce blizzard to take someone like Kim down, but I have no idea about Jen. If she's got weapons and a bit of military training, she could probably hold her own. I hope."

"Your confidence in the situation sure is soothing, Stoppable-san."

Unlike Ron, Yori was dead worried about their situation. If the snow was calm like on Mt. Fuji near the school, it was okay since Yori always knew where it was. But not only was she in an unfamiliar place in the world, but she was injured. Surely the cold would get to them soon. She kept asking herself why she was afraid, as she had gone through worse, and she was with Ron. Perhaps she was worried for Kim and Jen.

Her thoughts were disrupted when she noticed Ron got next to her and sat down. Rufus-san had been laying down near the fire, enjoying the heat.

Ron continued the conversation. "Eh, KP and I have been all over the world, so I guess I'm not worried. But your leg, that's what worries me."

Yori lowered her head. "My gravest apologies if my condition results in something happening to Possible-san and Ferno-san."

"I figured you'd have more faith in the situation like you usually do. You're usually the fearless one."

Yori was used to getting scratches, bruises, cuts and the like during her years at the ninja school, but she couldn't pinpoint what the pain in her leg was. Was this what a broken leg felt like?

"I know we'll get though this, Stoppable-san," she spoke with obvious nervousness, "It's just that this is just the first time such a thing has ever happened to me. We are taught not to fear such things, being alone in the wild, the cold snows, the scorching heat of the deserts, and probably with injuries, but we are also warned that we don't know the fear until we experience it."

"Sensei's teachings, eh?"

Yori let out a weak smile. "As usual." She signed on remembering Sensei. "I must admit, I do miss the school."

Ron smiled. "It's your home."

"I suppose it is."

Ron then pulled out his Bueno Nacho pack and was able to open it. The Guacanaco 2.0. And the reason it's named 2.0? Two in one meal. He held of these to Yori.

"I figured we should have lunch…" he nervously chuckled.

Yori smiled. "You are too kind. This is…?"

"Bueno Nacho."

Yori took the modified naco and inspected it curiously. "Ah, the food you spoke so highly of."

"Try it."

Ron smiled as a loud crunch echoed throughout the cave. It would take Yori a while to get used to the taste, but she was too hungry and honored to eat something Ron offered her. She almost blushed when she noticed Ron was eating his naco slowly and delicately – definitely not the way he ate his food when they went to search for Sensei – but it was probably not an act to woo her. It was probably the closest thing to a date she would ever have with him.

Meanwhile, Kim and Jen were already outside on the empty snow fields in an attempt to make their way toward any kind of civilization, namely the small village Jen got reservations to. They had left no traces of their arrival in the cave in case any of Elurt's hands were still looking for them.

It was early in the afternoon now, still a bit cloudy, but there was no blizzard present.

Kim sighed in relief. "So much better…"

"Sure beats out yesterday," Jen remarked, "Now we can actually see where we're going."

One of Kim's eyelids closed halfway. Jen was walking backwards and gazing at the clouds. Seeing where she was going was the last thing on her mind.

"Uh, Jen?"

"Is this about me walking backwards again?"

"Um, yes?"

"I told you, I don't care."

"Okay then…"

The tone in Kim's voice was clearly pointing out that Jen was doing something wrong. They had been walking for some time, to the point where the snowy path came to an end. Before Jen could ask what Kim meant by what she said, she lost her balance, and seeing that the weight was all on her back, she fell back and tumbled down a steep hill. Kim rolled her eyes as she looked over and saw the lifeless body with an arm raised.

"I'm okay!"

Kim slid down the hill like riding a snowboard. Jen had already pulled her face out of the snow and was on her feet by the time Kim arrived.

"Told you that you should've been paying attention," Kim teased.

Jen had an embarrassed look on her face, but mixed with an evil curve in her eyes. "And you're not?"

Kim had a delirious look on her face. "No. Why?"

Jen turned away and continued walking. "Your fly's open."

Kim quickly turned red and realized her fly was indeed open, but with the gloves she was wearing she couldn't put her fingers on the zipper. It wasn't a surprise to Jen when Kim accidentally fell down as her zipper got stuck.

"I got it!" Kim yelled with her back in the snow.

Jen chuckled, but saw that Kim's Kimmunicator fell out. "How's your communication thing working?"

Kim did a front somersault to put herself back on her feet, seeing that her device was still spitting out static. "Nothing."

"Must be an electronic interference."

"Probably. I guess other than those binoculars and my radar we don't have much to go on. Not that a map would help us much either since we don't know where we're at."

Several more minutes passed, and Kim was starting to grow impatient in the search for Ron and Yori. She was constantly spinning to see if the radar would pick up anything on the two, but no deal. Jen wasn't surprised when Kim soon collapsed from dizziness.

Jen kneeled down and offered her hand. "Worry much?"

Kim sighed as she accepted the offer. "I just have this thing with worrying about him, I guess. If you had someone you cared about, wouldn't you be worried if you hadn't heard from them all night, especially in this weather?"

Jen traded a skeptical look with Kim. "I thought you two traveled the world. Oh, I get it, you like to watch over him."

Kim sighed. "Sorry, I should probably be more focused on getting out of here alive."

"Relax, the injection I gave you should prevent you from getting hypothermia, at least that's what the label said. It's not a blizzard again. And don't worry about Ron, I'm sure he'll be fine. I hope Yori is, too."

"Yori…"

Ron and Yori were still in their cave with Rufus, finishing up the meal.

The sound of Yori swallowing the last of her meal echoed the cave. "That was quite a tasty meal, Stoppable-san. This was called what again?"

"The Guacanaco 2.0. Not bad, but they'll need a little chili sauce next time."

Ron usually would let out a large burp to finish the meal, but he didn't want to appear rude or gross to Yori, even though he didn't pull back with Kim. Instead, Rufus was the one who did it.

"You should leave, Stoppable-san. I'm useless in this condition…"

Ron scoffed. "Yori, we've already talked about this, if I head out, you're coming with me, and vice versa. Kay? Kay. Even if you can't fight, we still need you on this."

Yori just sighed. "So what now? Are you going to wait? We require more equipment if my leg's going to heal."

"I probably will," Ron spoke with no remorse.

Yori sighed. "The endurance-level training at Yamanuchi was very hard on us. Often we would finish the day with bruises and cuts on various areas of our bodies, and we would go at it again the very next morning. However, I do not recall any of the students actually breaking their bones. I am sorry, but this is why I feel afraid for us."

Ron decided to change the subject. "Hey Yori, can I ask you something?"

She was a bit nervous. "I…I suppose. Sure."

"What was life like before you went to Yamanuchi?"

Instead of answering, Yori grabbed her equipment and was able to get up, grabbing a stick next to her to keep her up.

Ron tried to stop her. "Yori, what are you doing?"

Yori refused to look at him. "I do not wish to talk about it."

She made her way to the bright sunlight at the other end, but turned back to Ron with an unfriendly look on her face.

"Come on, Stoppable-san. We have much to do…"

She then walked out. Baffled, Ron exchanged looks with the naked mole rat on his shoulder.

"What was that about…?"

Rufus shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno…"

"We haven't found any bodies at the crash site."

V was inspecting the remains of the crashed jet, alone.

"They must have escaped. Intensify your search efforts."

"Oh, don't worry, I know exactly where they are."

"Is that so? Then why haven't you killed them?"

"They were expecting us. Why not give them the satisfaction of thinking they're safe? We'll take them off guard."

"How do you propose you do that?"

"I've sent F and G after one team and E after another. They'll have no idea what's coming."

"Be careful. You know what happened last time."

"I'm fully aware. Should anything happen, I'll finish them off with 'the weapon'."

"Report to me should your plans go array."

"I highly doubt that. We have the advantage in this weather. All of us."

"Only a fool underestimates their enemy. They'll be surprised… Ending Communication."

Through her own binoculars, V could see not only the heat signatures of Jen and Kim, but Ron and Yori as well. They must have been several miles away.

Two hours after leaving the cave, the storm started to pick up again on Kim and Jen's part, slowing the two down as they braved the cold winds.

"Looks like we're in for it again!" Jen shouted as she covered her eyes.

Kim didn't agree. "I think something else is at work here!"

To Kim, the weather didn't go sunny one second and then into a hell storm the next unless a weather machine was involved. Jen, being from Colorado, was used to weather instantly changing. She pulled out her binoculars to inspect the area for anything suspicious, knowing what Kim had in mind. Instead of finding a weather machine, her binoculars locked onto someone out far ahead from them. It was a little girl who appeared lost, wearing little more than ordinary clothes with a white jacket.

"Kim! It looks like we're not the only ones out here! Check this out!"

Jen raised her binoculars in the air and let them go, allowing the wind to send it Kim's way. She caught it easily and took a look for herself.

Kim almost gasped. "She's got to be at least seven or eight! C'mon! She won't survive this weather with what she's wearing!"

Kim tried to fight the winds as she hurried toward her new target. Jen followed. Perhaps this child would also know the area, assuming she's a native.

The weather was getting darker on Ron and Yori's end. She chose to stay ahead of Ron, using the stick from the cave to keep her moving as her left leg was limping the entire way. Ron was now more concerned than ever, not because how long she would last, but also because of her attitude. She was silent for the last two hours.

He was also quite perplexed. Something he said must have offended her or gotten her uncomfortable. All he asked was how life was before Yamanuchi, then she suddenly went from her usual calm attitude to just plain quiet. She was hiding something all right, but was it something he wanted to know? Often he would ask this question when Kim hid some… personal things from him, and later he regretted forcing the answer out of her. But this was about Yori's past, what things were like over ten years ago. It wasn't a question on mood swings or accidentally grabbing strange personal items from Kim's backpack when Wade gave her a new toy, which forced her to chase him across town, but just a curious question on Yori's childhood.

Some people enter martial arts schools not only to gain defensive and offensive experience, but also spiritual. A lot of people become practitioners or monks because they want to clean their soul of the bad things they regret, usually to become a new, stronger person… perhaps this was why Yori entered Yamanuchi? But why? She always seemed happy to Ron. How could someone like her suffer a terrible past if that were the case? Was Yori abused as a child, turned into a child soldier, or did things she regretted heavily? Ron didn't like the thoughts that came to his mind, but Yori realized what Ron was doing and decided to break his silence, as well as his concentration.

"Stoppable-san… I am sorry. I know it's not like me to become quiet all of a sudden, but…"

"Yori, it's cool. I didn't think something like that was a touchy subject, but if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay."

'Stoppable-san… always understandi-"

The snow under Yori instantly collapsed, sending her below. Ron ran in after her without a second for thought, but she was in no serious danger, as the pit she fell into was only three or four feet deep. She obviously lost her footing, and her stick was out of reach.

To her surprise, Ron didn't even ask if she was okay. He just picked her up and carried her piggy-back style again.

"Stoppable-san? What are you-?"

"Yori, come on, you can't walk on one leg forever."

Yori smiled. "You still know how to handle a situation."

Ron just smiled back as Yori wrapped her arms around him.

"Hang on, I don't want you falling off now."

Yori weakly giggled. "I won't."

It took Kim and Jen a good half hour to reach the little girl in the storm. They kept yelling at her to get her attention, but she kept on moving away as if intentionally ignoring them. Now, the small girl, wearing a white coat and boots with blonde hair, was so close that she couldn't ignore them anymore.

"Hey!" Jen cried out.

The small girl slowly turned around to find Kim kneeling near her.

"Who're you?"

Kim offered her hand. "Kim Possible, teen hero. This is Jen."

Jen was panting. "Hi."

Kim appeared friendly and open. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

The girl turned away. "That's nothing for you to be concerned about."

Jen gave it a shot. "You're not going to last long out here with just that. We're here to help… speaking of which, you wouldn't happen to know where a small village called Sven is, do you?"

The girl nodded. "We're about fourteen miles southeast of it."

Kim rose up. "Thanks."

She offered to take the girl with her, but the girl slapped Kim's hand away.

"I don't need your help."

Jen disagreed. "You mean you're okay out here alone?"

"I said I don't need your help," the small girl retorted.

Kim and Jen weren't sure what to do. Surely the girl would freeze to death out here, but she didn't want help.

Kim was getting adamant. "Please, we only want to help…"

"NO!" the girl cried. "Just get away from me… Get away… get away… get away!"

Suddenly, the winds grew to their strongest speeds, knocking both Kim and Jen off their feet.

The small girl, however, stayed firm in her position. "This is what happens when you get too close! Now you've done it!"

Kim and Jen were both blown further away as they got up, so they kept low. Then they noticed a familiar sound.

Laughing.

The small girl was laughing at them.

"You're both going to die out here! No one can stop us from achieving our ultimate goal!"

Kim and Jen couldn't believe it. It was one of Elurt's Hands, E.

Meanwhile, Ron had finally gotten a reading on three heat signatures on his binoculars.

"I'm getting something… That can't be Kim and Jen…"

Yori was still resting on his back, looking away so the snow wouldn't blow in her eyes. Ron came to a stop when he realized this surroundings. There were several huge sharp rocks in all directions, creating an massive and empty circle of snow. He was just in the middle when he came to realize it. The visibility was also starting to grow worse.

He couldn't help that something was wrong, and soon, Yori too felt this.

"Stoppable-san… I don't think we're alone…"

Ron narrowed his eyes. "How many are you guessing…?"

"Two…"

Ron smirked. "The same number I came up with…"

Just then, the ground started to violently shake, sending several flakes of snow everywhere. Yori tightened her grip on Ron, who knelt low to avoid losing his balance. A huge explosion of snow appeared before him, almost blinding him. Trying to see past it, he saw a huge silhouette jump from under the ground and land before him. When the snow was clear, Ron was making eye contact with a familiar face.

"Ready for a rematch, punk?"

It was G, the giant of Elurt's hands who Ron knocked out on his earlier visit.

Instead of getting into a stance, Ron slowly walked to his side. One would assume he was going to refuse to fight and walk away, but he kept his eyes on his enemy the whole time. After about forty steps, he put Yori down.

"Stoppable-san?"

"Yori, you're in no condition to fight."

Ron said no more. He walked back to where he started as he kept staring at his enemy. The second he took his last step, Ron let out a crazy battle cry and got into a fighting stance.

"I'm ready to take you on again, big man!"

The giant in the tuxedo only laughed. "You're not just fighting me."

Ron got out of his stance. "Huh?"

From behind, another Hand popped up from under the snow, wielding two swords. With a maniacal look in his eyes, he swung both of them at Ron's neck. Not even watching, Ron was able to avoid it by somersaulting high into the air and landing behind the second bodyguard.

The second Hand appeared to be much shorter, especially in contrast to his partner, having tattoos all over his body and with a maniacal look in his eyes. He also had a thing with licking his swords on the sharp edges, and the cold weather didn't seem to be affecting him at all. F, one of the Hands Kim met much earlier.

"Not so bad for a buffooooooon!" F mocked. "It looks like it's going to be a red Christmas, after aaaaaaallllllllll!" Following that was a maniacal laugh that Ron could've sworn started an avalanche elsewhere.

G slammed his fists together, which somehow created a shockwave that sent only Ron flying back in the snow. Yori gasped as she saw this, but she was completely helpless.

Ron was quick to get up, wiping all the snow off from his suit. He got back into a fighting stance, staring at his two opponents.

F laughed. "He honestly thinks he can take us ooooooooooooon!"

G shook his head. "You don't seem to know when to give up, do you small fry?"

Ron answered quietly. "Never was a quick learner…"

The battle began. F was the first to make his move, doing a backflip and jumping off of G's massive belly, lunging towards Ron. He kept still as F was getting closer, and without any warning, he grabbed F's wrists in midair and did a backflip as he placed his foot on F's neck. He landed upward on top of his opponent's neck, and he was able to steal both his opponent's weapons.

F was frantic as he got up. "Give those back!"

Ron instead teased him while moving the swords around. "Nuh uh. Finder's Keepers!"

F growled, desperate to get what he thought was rightfully his. Again, he decided to jump high and come down on Ron. Ron took advantage of the swords, slamming them downward to propel himself upward, kicking F straight in the jaw with both feet, knocking him into the snow below.

Ron laughed when he resumed his stance. "How's that for a buffoon?"

F was pissed off beyond thinking. "G, what the hell are you dooooooooooing? Kiiiiiiiiiiill him!"

"With pleasure!"

G was much bigger than the sumo ninjas Ron had fought in the past, the size of his fist was probably able to squeeze Ron to death if he grabbed him. Instead, he had something different in mind, clapping his hands together near the snow, knocking Ron back with a ton of snow to bury him in.

Ron was quick to get up from this attack, coughing out a lot of snow. "Oh, great, now you guys get tough."

G laughed. "We've gotten 'adjustments'…"

Ron was against a maniacal swordfighter with no swords, and a giant who kept Ron at a distance.

How was he going to get out of this?

The storm began to pick up again.

Kim and Jen had their hands full with E. The small girl was somehow controlling the storm, sending the fiercest of winds to knock them and any of their projectile weapons away.

"That's right! Let the winds of earth send you to hell!"

Kim found it awkward that she was being owned by a girl who was almost two feet smaller than she was. But she couldn't see with all the snow blowing her way. What could she do? Her grappling hook would probably come back and whack her in the head, kind of like that one time Ron… well, put Kim's old nickname "Bubble Butt" back to use and distracted her when she shot it in the air, then came down and crashed onto her head, knocking her into the lake near Dementor's lair. But she also tried her rocket shoes and as before, they didn't work in such deep snow.

Jen didn't have it in her to shoot the little girl, and she already used most of her Flash/Stun grenades but with no effect, just like her hacked information said. It also didn't help that most of the grenades she hurled at her enemy flew behind her and Kim before they detonated.

Kim still got an idea with her grappling hook; use it as an anchor to pull herself forward. It appeared like it was working at first, but soon it appeared useless as the snow wasn't thick enough to hold her in place, and the hook wouldn't penetrate the rock under.

Finally, she got an idea with her earlier thought, instead of aiming the grappling hook closer to her opponent, aim it past. So she did, and E laughed when it barely flew past her head.

"Hah hah! Missed me!"

Or did she?

The winds quickly sent the hook backward, sending it on a collision course with the back of E's head. Sure enough, the hook grabbed her head and forced her face down into the snow. The winds started to die down immediately, giving both Kim and Jen the advantage. While Kim retracted the hook, Jen went straight for the offensive and went to find the girl.

Only one problem, she wasn't where she fell. It was like the snow consumed her. She must've gone underground.

Before the two could get into defensive stances, E flew out from behind Jen and grabbed her head, trying to twist it in an attempt to snap her neck. Jen was trying to fight it but couldn't knock the small fry off.

"K..ii..mm..! Nooo…w…!"

Kim wasn't exactly one who liked to knock out children, but this was just another one of those days. After all, they were dealing with a psychotic one. Realizing this, she quickly went to help Jen, pulling the girl's hair with no effect. She clung on like a magnet. As a last resort, Kim jammed the palm of her hand into her neck.

E fell like a rock.

At this point, Jen was on her knees and breathing for air. "Thanks, Kim. I owe you one."

Kim lent out her hand. "So not the drama, and besides, I think we're even. You did save me in the blizzard yesterday, after all."

Jen took Kim's hand and got up. "Oh, right, right… Can't believe this little creep tried to snap my neck…"

The two then looked at the girl's body. Kim decided to check for a pulse. She soon started to check all kinds of areas, almost frantically.

"Kim? What's wrong?"

"She's not breathing and doesn't have a pulse! This is so the drama!"

Jen was surprised. "What?"

Kim was starting to freak out. "Did… did I just kill her? But I… she…"

Jen knelt down to check her breathing and pulse, but nothing.

The girl was dead.

Jen was quick to see the look on Kim's face. "Kim, calm down. It wasn't your fault! It was her or us!"

Kim was hyperventilating. "Jen! That girl was probably only eight! I mean, she's only a kid! What have I done?"

To Jen, this was just like her first kill. "Kim, relax! Breathe!"

Kim did so for about five minutes.

"I can't believe I just killed someone."

"Kim, listen. Everyone gets sick the first time it happens, but you have to look at the circumstances. Also, look what she's wearing, she was bound to get frostbite just wearing a jacket and a small skirt. She's the enemy, Kim, in a war involving a nuke."

Kim didn't respond.

"Look, something like this was… well, bound to hap-"

Kim's voice was shaky. "I'm no killer, Jen. I'm not the type of person who goes into battle to take names. I try to stop people from destroying the world, not take them out completely. How were we to know if this… girl had anything else to live for?"

Jen shook her head. "Kim, Elurt's Hands are so loyal they're willing to die for him. This girl is no exception. I'm sorry, but… you're just going to have to… well, deal with it. You're not a killer, Kim. It's just some things that happen…"

Jen wasn't an expert on how to make people feel good, since she knew no others who were forced to take lives other than herself and her grandfather.

Just then, a small beeping noise came from E's body.

Jen popped the question. "Kim… you don't suppose they already know, do you?"

Kim picked up E and inspected her jacket. "No… That's not a communication beep… That sounds like a…"

She located a small glowing bracelet on the small girl. It had a small display on it: 02:13.06. It was counting down.

"… self-destruct timer!"

E had a self-destruct mechanism in a bracelet on her arm, programmed to begin if she were grievously wounded or killed. Of course.

Jen put a hand on Kim's shoulder. "Come on."

Kim sighed and got up. Since the girl was already dead, there was no use in removing the device… if it could be removed, that is.

Two minutes later, an explosion rocked the area, causing a small avalanche that buried whatever was left of E.

Both were extremely uncomfortable as they continued on. Kim felt miserable, accidentally killing an enemy in E's small size, and Jen could sympathize completely.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Kim."

Kim sighed. "You were right. It was something bound to happen. I mean, look at me, I save the world, and like you said, some people just won't stop until they die. I can't believe I didn't see it when I started this whole saving the world thing. Save the world, train in martial arts styles, get all sorts of gadgets, toys and weapons, and now I'm dealing with some nuclear threat. Now it hits me. I drafted myself into a war I wasn't ready for. I just wanted to help people and at the same time live my own life. Look at me, I'm a high school cheerleader with death on her hands…"

Jen was concerned, but calm. "Look, Kim, you're overreacting, but I understand. Vent if you need to."

"Thanks… I'll try to keep as far as annoying as I can."

Right then, a small beeping noise could be heard from Kim's pocket. It wasn't the Kimmunicator, but her small radar device.

Kim's mood instantly changed when she pulled it out and looked at it. "It's picking up four heat signatures… Can it be Ron and Yori?"

"Where?"

Kim pointed forward. "East! Come on!"

She quickly grabbed Jen's hand and ran off, not realizing she was dragging her colleague through the snow.

If there was one phrase Ron could think of that described his situation, it would be 'Sucks to be me'.

For the last half hour, both F and G were toying around with him. F would go back and forth on fighting Ron despite his low experience in hand-to-hand combat, and every time it looked like Ron had him, G interfered, slamming the ground with his fists or feet and taking over until his partner recovered.

Yori found it almost unbearable to watch the fight. Despite that she told herself she'd accept Kim and Ron as a couple, her feelings for him in all of this took over. Seeing him being slammed, cut, knocked off his feet and slammed again into just about every sharp rock was too painful, and she couldn't do anything about it. She wouldn't last in the fight with her bad leg, and her projectile weapons were useless in this weather, which was also affecting Ron's ability to fight back. But Ron didn't just put her aside, he put her far enough so she wouldn't interfere.

Once F was able to get his swords back, G had his way with Ron, beating him endlessly with punches, kicks, and especially body slams. Despite his size, he was fast, not allowing Ron to recover from any hits or blows, practically slaughtering him.

Now, G was getting tired of Ron, whose face was still in the snow, but now with a ten-foot foot hovering over him, ready to crush him.

"You bore me, runt. Any last words?"

Before Ron could muffle out anything, the storm began to instantly die out. The skies cleared and the winds came to a quick halt.

F, who was bleeding and cut in all sorts of places, was the first to realize everything. "E… she must have faiiiiiiiled."

G took his foot away from Ron, looking west. "E… failed? How is that possible? We had better contact V on…"

"No!" a girl's voice cried.

The two hands turned their attention to the ninja girl far away. Now that the winds had completely died down, Yori pulled out two shurikens and threw them straight at the two. By the time they realized what she did, they could feel a sharp metal poke on their necks.

They fell down with sickening thuds, their shadows becoming red.

Ron could barely move in all of this, so Yori used whatever strength she had to get to him. When she got there, she was able to pull him out of the snow.

"Stoppable-san?"

…

"Stoppable-san?"

"…ughh… I'm going to feel that in the morning…"

"Stoppable-san!"

Yori quickly gave Ron a tight hug - if not a small kiss on the cheek - when she heard him, but he was pretty beaten. He was barely conscious, unable to feel the small peck she just gave him.

"Yori…? You okay…?"

"Thanks to you…" Yori's face then went bitter. "But what were you thinking? I know you're a very brave warrior, but that was just overdoing it!"

Ron coughed. "Hey, had to do what I had to do. I wasn't going to let them hurt you either, especially not in the condition you're in."

Yori couldn't hold her angry face. "Only a true warrior protects those he cares about over himself…"

Then the beeping noise. The two could easily see G's bracelet from where he was at, as well as the digits that were counting down on it.

2:57.45

"It's a self-destruct thing, Yori…"

The way Ron moved his hand, it was almost like he instructed her to leave alone.

"Stoppable-san, I refuse to leave you behind."

Ron scoffed. "Are you kidding? I'm not staying here! But I can barely move…"

He was just trying to prevent the sunlight from blinding him. But now that they were aware of a self-destruct timer, they knew it was time to make their move. Unfortunately, the immense pain all over Ron's body slowed him down, and Yori was no faster with her bad leg.

"Yori… I can't believe you killed them…" Ron weakly groaned.

Yori hung her head. "I know… it's the first time, but I am a ninja… even though I was taught by Sensei's wisdom… and besides… I needed to do it to save you… all of us. If they were able to contact this 'V' person, that would've been it… And I couldn't bear to see them beat you like that…"

Ron didn't know what to say to that.

"Ron!" It wasn't Yori's voice.

The two turned to see both Kim and Jen behind them, already aware of their situation. Both girls ran as fast as they could, but Kim didn't stop when she grabbed Ron, nor Jen with Yori. They still had plenty of time before the self-destruct timer went off, but they wanted to get as far away from it as possible.

V was watching the four speed away from the area, but also watched two of her colleagues self destruct. Like E, they were also buried in snow before any visible remains could be seen.

"So they know of our second weakness… I suppose we have underestimated them, but they won't be able to handle the weapon… But not now…"

Finally, the team was reunited and for the moment, everything was safe. While Kim and Ron agreed they wouldn't do any moves on each other in the presence of others, Jen was more focused on Yori's bad leg, as with Yori herself. Because their attention wasn't on Kim and Ron, the two took the moment to share a short but hard passionate kiss. After all, it had been a day since they saw each other, not truly knowing if the other was alive. By the time Jen was done inspecting Yori, the two had already let go of each other, appearing as if they had been standing there the whole time doing nothing, despite Ron's injuries.

"Hey Kim, your mom's a doctor, right?"

Kim inadvertently chapped her lips. "Not that she'd be able to help us, why?"

"She must've taught you some things… can you check out Yori's leg?"

Kim shrugged. "Sure…"

Yori's leg did look out of place, but Kim carefully inspected it. She was quick to draw a conclusion.

"It's dislocated."

Ron was surprised, now kneeling as most of his strength was still drained. "I thought it was broken… but you're the medical girl… not me."

Kim grabbed Yori's knee, ready to cause irreparable pain. "Yori, I've got to put it back in place. So…"

Yori nodded as she bit her lip.

Ron and Jen looked back as a loud pop echoed the area, followed by a louder but held-back scream. This wasn't a pleasant experience for Ron to witness, even with his eyes covered.

Ron almost pushed Kim out of the way. "Yori, are you okay?"

"Ow…" was her answer.

Kim then grabbed Yori's arm and helped her up, allowing herself to be her support. "Might want to go easy on that for a while."

Yori let out a weak smile. "Thank you, Possible-san."

"No big."

Yori's leg was back to normal, for the most part, but Ron still felt pretty beaten. Kim didn't even realize that he was bleeding from various places and covered with minor cuts, but she was quick to put two and two together - Two dead Hands + Ron injured …

"Ron, don't tell me you went to fight those two alone."

Ron chuckled sheepishly, only confirming the answer. But instead of getting upset, Kim was more concerned with how beaten he appeared.

"Come on, we'd better find someplace so you can rest, babe."

Jen pointed to her right. "Cave at four o'clock."

She then mimicked Kim's earlier action, grabbing Ron's arm to help him up, using herself as his support.

Yori's eyes wandered as if she were sensing something. "The storm is ready to pick up again. We had better hurry."

Kim and Jen nodded and went toward the cave, carrying Ron and Yori with them.

This cave was deeper than the one Ron and Yori rested in, but it was huge. In fact, the team thought they had entered some ancient ruins. While the cave was about the size of Kim's house, it was decorated. Small waterfalls, ancient goddess statues, and whatever diamond-like rocks hung from the roof of the cave lit the place in an almost surreal blue glow. Most pleasing was that in the middle was a huge, huge hot spring pool.

Everyone's jaw dropped at the sight of all this, but Jen went completely berserk.

"Holy crap on a pogo stick! This is like the coooooleeessst thing I've ever seen!"

The other three had no idea what was coming to them. Jen quickly pulled out a camera and took pictures, and by the time everyone got a grasp what was going on, Jen had already pushed everyone together for at least eight group pictures.

"I am so going to show my daddy this! I mean, look how beautiful it is! And a hot tub… I mean spring! Spring!"

In less than a few seconds, the blonde took off all her clothes minus a two piece blue swimsuit and dove into the hot spring.

"Ooohhhhhhhh yeeeeaaaahhhh…" she moaned. "Well, what are you guys waiting for? The water's hot!"

Kim covered her face briefly. "And I kept telling myself I wouldn't need my two piece, and I brought it anyway."

Oddly enough, she did the same action as Jen did, pulling off her clothes, revealing a two-piece green bathing suit and dove into the hot spring, clearly showing what she learned in swim team. She also let out a bizarre moan the second she rose from the pool, almost melting in the heat.

Yori actually followed suit, quietly taking off her ninja garb, revealing her own red two-piece and walked in. It appeared the risk of a cramp didn't concern her.

Ron on the other hand was in shock. Seeing the girls go from snow survival gear into swimwear was one thing, but seeing them like this was another. Totally unexpected, and he was red all over. So this is what happens when you forget to cover your eyes and look away.

Kim waved to Ron, trying to get his attention. "Come on, Ron! This feels so good!"

Ron just dropped his bag, hid behind a rock to change, and approached the pool with nothing but polka-dot swim trunks. He could've sworn his Bueno Nacho meal came to life in his stomach when he got a closer view of all the girls. He had seen girls in bikinis before, but they weren't three girls he knew. Without realizing it, he fell into the pool, belly and face first.

Jen just blankly stared at him. "That looked pretty painful."

Kim just raised a hand and flapped it over, like a 'whatever' gesture. "He does it all the time when he and I go swimming."

Yori let out a small giggle. "Beaten and still has time for his American-style humor."

Ron slowly sat upward as the girls did, but instead of a relaxed smile, he had a baffled frown.

'How come these kind of things only happen to me?' he thought to himself.

Any guy in this situation probably would've thought they were in heaven, sitting in the same hot spring as three attractive young teenage girls, one being a gunslinger, a ninja, and the girl who saves the world, but Ron felt awkward more than anything. Clearly seeing these three in two piece swimsuits was the last thing he expected to see them in when they all first met (excluding Kim since they were too young), especially on a mission and the situation they were all in.

'How could this get any more weird?'

He just had to ask. He started turning even more red when he noticed all of the girls were staring at his chest. They didn't even seem notice the odd curve on his lips.

"Ron…" Kim started. "Have you been working out?"

"Uh… yeah?" he nervously answered. "I guess I… uh… comes with the training, you know?"

Yori giggled. "Surely he is referring to his training at the Yamanuchi school."

Jen nodded. "Uh huh, that and probably carrying Kim around all the time."

Kim curved an eyebrow. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Jen giggled. "Oh, nothing… nothing…"

Ron then realized something. "And I've also been, uh, sparring with KP."

Jen laughed. "Oh, right, like that time you accidentally took off her belt and her pants fell off?"

Kim was mortified. "HOW do YOU know that?"

Jen tried to hold herself together. "You said that when I took you two out to eat in Bay City."

"I did?"

Jen nodded. "I guess you and Ron were more focused on remembering good old memories."

It was noticeable that Yori was moving her head in all directions and making strange movements with her mouth, as if trying to appear that she wasn't listening. Whether because this was too much information or too funny at Kim's expense couldn't be determined. As strong as Kim was, Yori had no idea she had so many embarrassing moments in her life, not as much as Ron but much more humiliating.

Unfortunately for Kim, Jen remembered other details that Kim had no idea of sharing with her, and the girl in the blue decided to spill it out for fun and laughter. After all, it did take Kim's mind off of her earlier actions. Moments like when Kim had her underwear on backwards and didn't realize it until she was fighting with a biker gang, and when it was all over she had a wedgie that had Ron laughing for two days straight. Eating Bueno Nacho, in the shower, playing games, and even in his sleep. It took a while for it to come to an end, until he asked Kim why he was laughing in the first place. Two days of endless laughter ensued yet again.

Then there was one time Ron got Kim an extremely late April Fools gift in the form of a white shirt. Ordinary shirt? Hardly. In the daytime it looked normal, but at night it would reveal a hidden glow-in-the-dark message of Ron's choosing. The message? Kim's phone number. The timing couldn't be worse. At the time, they were fighting a group of the Ice Shadows called the Young Devils, its members between sixteen to eighteen, and a lot of them got a crush on the girl who gave them a good beating and put them in jail. Poor Kim had to disconnect her phone for a week after that fight, even from Ron. He clearly didn't anticipate that to happen from a group of villain-wannabes. It was just something to embarrass Kim, and they were at a point in the relationship where her embarrassment would be humorous.

There was also one time back in the day before Kim and Ron hit it off, when she and Shego had tried on a new popular shampoo, but the results were terrible, and they had to engage in combat… with their hair tangled together. Unfortunately for both Ron and Drakken, they had to wait until the two were able to get one's hair out of the other, and the second both Kim and Shego went in for a kick, it got tangled all over again.

Jen refused to skip any story that came to mind, like the one when Kim and Ron decided to go on a date in the middle of a fight with some giant destructo-bot shaped like a car. After all, this group of the Ice Shadows were more concerned about "tricking out their car" than destroying their enemies. Some of them were serious and deadly, but most of them lacked the brains to be a real threat.

Kim couldn't believe it. Had she said all that while they were eating? She tried to hide herself, the tip of her nose being just above the water level. Frustrated bubbling was coming from her mouth. Moments like these she wanted to go underwater and stay there.

Yori tried so hard not to laugh, making the most bizarre faces trying to hold it in. She thought Ron's humor was something, but this was just golden.

Ron on the other hand wasn't paying attention. It was hauntingly mesmerizing to be in the same hot tub as your girlfriend in a green two piece, an old Japanese ninja girl crush in a red two piece, and a weird blonde vigilante in a blue two piece. He was still surprised at the sight before him.

He had seen Kim in a swimsuit a few times, but mostly as kids. The first time he saw her in the two-piece she was wearing now, they had been dating for a little less than a month. Ron hadn't even seen Kim in a swimsuit since they were six. It was when she thought about getting a part-time job as a bodyguard at the pool, but she felt like swimming first. The second she came out wearing her two piece, Ron almost fainted and fell into the water. Unfortunately for Kim, the Kimmunicator went off before she could even grab an application. Some guys gave her 'the look' but she was completely oblivious when it came to Ron.

Rufus on the other hand was taking pictures. He sure didn't want Ron to forget this moment when he got home, and he was probably going to torture him about the experience until old age.