Author's note: My apologies to those who might be frustrated at my long chapters (OK, I know some of you actually like them, which is great). Problem is, if my chapters weren't so long, this story would have about 35, 36 chapters and I really didn't want to do that. As it turned out, I even had to split this chapter in half. Yipes!
Story highlight: Potential Boy's come up with a wonderfully original plot twist in his story 'By My Side', which I actually pay homage to in this chapter. If you've already read it, then you'll spot the homage instantly, and if not, the link is in his profile (which you can find in the reviews section of REUNION).
Congratulations to: Recon 228, who actually sold one of his KP fics to a publisher/developer, though it should be noted that he removed KP and all related characters from the story and it will be sold as an original work starring original characters. May we all be similarly blessed in our own writing endeavors.
Thanks to: All who are reading. And thanks to the hit counter, there seem to be quite a few of you. Please feel free to drop a line in the review section. Like any writer, I crave the feedback. So just do it: Lather, Rinse, and Obey!
And, of course, Special Mad Props to my reviewing Posse: The Incredible Werekitty, zooc, Jezrianna2.0, JPMod, dude, PotentialBoy, Dreammuergurl2007, aimtbj, Willk1989, kemiztri, Mobius97, Sestren NK, LKillingsworth, Sand Lord, recon228, Who Cares What My Name Is, Widow Shark, MrDrP, Babymama9672.
Anyone know one of the Latin words for 'red'...?
IX.
Breakfast was bread, dried fish, and wine.
Again.
And Ron still couldn't seem to satisfy his hunger. He figured it was just the cuisine. After all, he was accustomed to having pretty much whatever he wanted. Well, maybe not Bueno Nacho. The food chain had been closed for ten years and he still got nostalgic for it on occasion.
The thought that he was a little over fifteen hundred years away from Bueno Nacho was depressing. Gradually, over the past couple of days, Ron's situation began to sink in. He'd been preoccupied with pulling off his bluff. But now that everyone seemed to accept who he was, reality began to take hold.
If the bed had been more comfortable he never would have gotten out of it, although he supposed what motivated him most to get out of bed was the sudden and disturbing appearance of the signifer that morning. He didn't like the idea that someone could just sneak into his room without his knowing it, even if it was to offer an apology.
Ron went to Apollos to have a chat about this Caeruleus Vulpes person.
"I am very sorry, Imperator" the Centurion said.
"Please," Ron waved him off, "Just call me Ronaldus. I'm not comfortable with the title of Imperator."
"As you like," Apollos said amiably, "What would you like done with the signifer?"
"Nothing drastic," Ron insisted, "Just have a talk with him. Tell him he can't go barging into people's quarters while they're asleep. I know he wanted to make sure I wasn't angry with him. But sneaking into my quarters? That's just trying too hard."
"I will most certainly have a stern discussion with him," Apollos acknowledged, then he led Ron to the rail and gestured out to sea. In the distance was a land mass with a small break in the middle, they were headed toward that break. "We approach the Pillars of Hercules. We should make the passage in less than two hours."
"Excellent." Ron acknowledged, then a thought occurred to him, "Will the Princess come out on deck to view the passage?"
Apollos thought for a moment, "Very likely."
"Would you extend a formal invitation to her to view the passage with me?" Ron continued, "Perhaps we might set up a couple of chairs on the forward end of the deck. Something like this could break the ice between her and me."
Apollos brightened, "An excellent idea! Such a gesture would certainly be seen as a token of friendship on your part." He looked around to make sure no one could overhear, then leaned closer as if to confide in Ronaldus, "And perhaps she might see this as something more than friendship, eh? As I said, she is very lovely to behold."
"Perhaps," Ron allowed without enthusiasm. He was merely trying to play the part he had set up for himself.
"It is clear to me why the Imperial Senate would send you on such an important errand," Apollos said in open admiration, "I never would have thought of such a gesture. You know, an Imperator married to a Princess from Eyre would certainly solidify the relationship between her and the Empire."
Ron laughed, "Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?"
"Of course, Imp-…ah, I mean Ronaldus," Apollos said with a knowing smile. He excused himself and went to find the signifer.
He found the standard bearer five minutes later.
"Come with me," Apollos said coldly to Caeruleus Vulpes.
Vulpes followed his superior officer below decks and into a tiny room, just large enough for two berths. This was the room Apollos shared with the captain of the vessel. Vulpes was ordered to sit on the lower berth while Apollos remained standing. Once the door was closed behind them, Apollos turned around with a sinister grin on his face.
He knows, Kim thought anxiously.
"Did you really think you could just casually waltz in here undetected?" Apollyon growled.
"I had hoped," Vuilpes/Kim admitted.
"Just how stupid do you think I am?" Apollos asked.
"Well," Kim said slowly through the signifer, "I suppose that 's a question that remains unanswered. Just exactly who are you, Apollyon? Are you some villain Ron and I thwarted? Or just another addition to our long list of foes?"
"Oh," Apollos said through barely contained anger, "We've dealt with each other before, though I have changed quite a bit since the last time we interacted."
"OK," Kim said patiently, "Who were you then?"
Apollyon thought for a moment, "No. Not now. In the proper time I will perhaps reveal to you my true identity, but not now. I find it ironic that you should question my identity when you came into this world under a false guise."
"I came to try and get my husband out," Vulpes/Kim said defiantly, "By whatever means necessary."
"Then I gather your computer friend has informed you that you can't simply tell Ron he's trapped in a simulation." Apollos speculated.
"He said I was to keep quiet about it so as not to attract your attention. Seems there's no need to now." Vulpes/Kim said evenly.
"Oh but there is. A very great need." Apollos insisted, "I have not finished with Ron yet. I have a program monitoring everything that Ron hears. If you so much as even hint that this whole thing isn't real, I'll kill him…and you."
Kim could only glare at him furiously. And though it was Vulpes glaring at him, Apollyon got the message.
"Oh, you can kill me right now if you like, but I'll have pulled out of Apollos long before he dies. Then you and Ron will remain trapped here; my rats in an elaborate maze. And I could do such horrible things to the two of you… or I could just leave you here to rot, always pining for each other but never connecting. I don't think Ron's the type to go for 'signifers'. This is actually turning out to be quite fun. I'm glad you joined the party. You know, originally I was simply going to kill you once I discovered your presence here. But now, I think it'll be fun to watch you yearn for Ron while he's completely oblivious to your presence."
Kim bit her tongue. She was about to tell Apollos to check her and Ron's track record of getting out of elaborate deathtraps but that might just provoke him into something drastic and unexpected. For the time being, Apollyon intended to play his part in this little scenario of his, for what reason Kim had no idea. But it meant that she at least had a fighting chance to save Ron.
And Kim Stoppable was all about taking a fighting chance.
Apollos threw her a sadistic grin and turned to leave, "Oh, one more thing. Ronaldus asked me to speak to you about appearing in his quarters uninvited. You've been warned." He chuckled, "He's actually not very fond of you right now. And if you step out of line just a little bit, I'll have you punished as is proper for a Roman soldier. Trust me, Roman methods of punishment are not something to take lightly."
Apollos left Vulpes/Kim to chew on this. He threw open the door and confidently strode out to the below decks common area.
He bumped rather rudely into the chief of the Princess' guard, who just happened to be walking by the doorway.
"Out of my way, savage," Apollos snapped.
"How dare you show me such disrespect!" The guard roared, and before Apollos could react, the Eyre-ish warrior drove a hard right fist into his face. Apollos went crashing to the deck.
"Get up!" the guard challenged, "I will instruct you in the proper manner of addressing the Chief of the Royal Guard!"
He did not actually wait for Apollos to get up, however, instead choosing to haul him to his feet by the scruff of his tunic. The Chief drove his knee into Apollos' abdomen, violently knocking the wind out of him.
Vulpes leaped to his feet and rushed to the door. The Chief again brought Apollos roughly to his feet, this time driving his forehead straight into Apollos' nose. Bones cracked and blood erupted. Apollos crumpled up in a heap on the floor.
Ronaldus appeared at the bottom of the ladder and strode over to the Chief.
"Cease this at once," He barked, glaring at the rough warrior. Vulpes stood and gaped.
"I defer to you because you are the high ranking Roman soldier aboard this vessel. I suggest you teach this dog how to show proper respect to the Chief of the Princess' Guard." He growled, but with a tone if respect.
"He will not trouble you again. I assure you of this," Ronaldus said hurriedly. "I will speak of this to the Princess this afternoon. What is your name, please?"
"I am Runewyyd ," He answered. He was a hulking brute of a man, a foot taller than Apollos or Ronaldus. His form was hardened and chiseled, almost as if it were carved from a reddish marble. His hair was a deep auburn, as was his beard, and his skin was very fair. White, coloring almost to a pinkish hue. His two front teeth were slightly larger than the rest.
Ronaldus stooped to tend to Apollos. Runewyyd turned to Vulpes.
"My friends know me by my secret name," He said in a low whisper no one else could hear, "To them I am known as 'Crimson.'"
He winked at Vulpes, and then put a serious look on his face again as Apollos began to come around. Vulpes gasped, then put his hand to his mouth, finally stooping over to help Ronaldus with Apollos.
Vulpes/Kim's mind raced. He was sure the one who called himself Crimson had winked at him. But there was more than that. Yes it was a little odd that an Eyre-ish warrior could speak Latin. But it was what he had called himself that caught Vulpes' attention.
In the Latin language, there are several words to describe the different shades of red. The Latin word for Crimson often means 'ruddy', or 'reddish'.
What's that Latin word, you ask?
Rufus.
Wade stared at his monitors, his mind had gone instantly numb.
How?
In a panic, he whipped his head around to look at Kim. The monitors that kept track of her vital signs all read normal. She was breathing, and didn't seem to be in any distress.
Wade turned his attention back to the five words still sitting dead center on all his screens. Kim hadn't been in there twenty minutes before she'd been discovered. And from what Wade could tell, she hadn't done anything to give herself awa-
Sudden realization caused Wade to utter a startled yelp and jump back. It wasn't her, it was him. The fact that he'd connected to her so he could monitor what was happening had tipped Apollyon off to her presence. Then he'd simply traced the connection back to Wade.
Gingerly, as though it might bite or otherwise harm him, Wade touched one of the keys on his keyboard. Instantly all the screens returned to normal. Wade pulled a few thing up and ran diagnostics on all his equipment. Everything was running fine. He couldn't find a trace of Apollyon in his systems. Then he realized Apollyon probably had a program that superimposed itself over whatever information was on his screen, and it was meant to look like the monitors had gone dead.
Clever. It was made to look like Apollyon had taken over the system when in fact all he had done was upload a simple graphics program. Then he could communicate with whoever was looking at the monitor.
But apparently Apollyon had only stayed long enough to leave his message, further proving to Wade that he couldn't concentrate his attention on more than one thing at a time. And no doubt he was back in his simulation. Wade hoped Kim was still safe.
Wade isolated one computer and left it as is. The rest he enabled with his own security software. Basically it was a mega-firewall, virtually impossible to penetrate and which activated alarms when someone – or something – tried to get through it. The one unprotected monitor he left for Apollyon to come back and visit, but that isolated system had no information of any value on it. Wade made sure the information wasn't completely useless. It had to look like it was his primary computer; the one he used all the time.
His phone rang. It was Wil Du.
"I think you'd better come over. There's been a couple of new developments and I don't feel comfortable talking over the phone." Wade informed him.
"Nor do I," Du responded. "I'll be right there."
Wade turned his attention back to the isolated system. He used it to activate the flare hidden in Apollyon's programming. Once again, he locked in the location and began to pull up files of the simulation. Since he was simply observing what was in the files and not actually removing or erasing them, he hoped Apollyon's attention was focused on the simulation itself.
It took awhile to bypass Apollyon's security layers, but Wade was surprised when he reached the last of them. Wade had twice as many layers on his own system, and he'd seen systems of far less intelligent villains with heavier security measures. Then it occurred to Wade that though Apollyon was intelligent, he was not experienced. He was not accustomed to having anyone look into his files.
Or.
Maybe he was. Once.
Wade pulled up Rufus' artificial brain and scanned through the files. There were no security measures in place because Wade needed access to the files in order to make any necessary modifications. Or to delete something. It had never occurred to him to put any security measures into Rufus' artificial mind.
So it was possible that Apollyon, too, was not accustomed to having security measures in place around him. Because at one time, someone probably had regular access to him and would either add or delete files, or at the very least look at their content.
Conclusion: Apollyon was an artificial brain.
And Wade could think of only two people that had their intelligence transferred into artificial brain technology; Kim and Ray Beam.
Assuming the artificial Kim brain really had been wiped clean when her clone died… that left the known possibilities to one person. And that one person would most definitely have a grudge against Ron Stoppable.
Then something caught Wade's attention. Rufus' artificial brain was active. Too active to just be sleeping. Wade pulled up an interface program and typed.
'Where are you?'
No response.
'Rufus? Are you all right?'
Again no response.
Then, I am all right. Please do not ask where I am, and please do not come try to find me.
'Why?'
If I tell you, anyone observing our exchange might be able to guess where I am.
'Are you in danger?'
I will be if we keep talking. Don't worry about me. And please do not block my access to the web.
Wade didn't know how to respond to this. Then, 'I was going to delete some of the recent memory files in your artificial mind. That way you don't have to remember any of the things Apollyon did to you.'
NO! I need that information! I must go now. Don't delete anything!
'OK', Wade was perplexed, 'I won't delete anything without your permission.'
One last thing. Now that I know Latin, I think you should investigate the meaning of Tempus Simia. Apollyon thought about it a lot while he had control of me.
"'Now that I know Latin?'" Wade was puzzled.
Then a startling realization a few seconds later.
"He's is in the simulation! YEAH! GO RUFUS!" He shouted wildly at the monitor.
He could barely control his excitement as he typed.
'Disconnecting now. Good luck, buddy.'
There was no response. Wade realized Rufus was worried he might tip off Apollyon to his whereabouts the way he had when monitoring Kim. He had to let go and trust they could somehow take care of themselves.
A few minutes later, Wil Du arrived. Wade had quite a bit of news for him.
Apollyon still wasn't sure what had happened.
While Apollos was unconscious, he pulled out and checked the files of this Chief of the Princess' guard, and found nothing out of the ordinary. He had, of course, given the guard a barbarian's personality so that certainly might mean he would act in such a way.
Apollyon cursed his inability to multi-task; which was ironic because at one time he was able to control more than fifty clones at once. But he had them all doing the same thing. Multiple personalities was something entirely different. As much as he would have preferred having total control over the scenario down to the last detail, there was a larger purpose at work here, and he was forced to allow the simulation to run independently, with characters who had lives and wills of their own.
He wrote it off as coincidence, and decided he needed to be more careful next time. Because he'd intended to inflict pain on Ron stoppable, he programmed the simulation's characters to feel. And it had just backfired on him.
At some point in the future, he was going to have to remember to delete his pain receptors. But then, 'at some point in the future' was rapidly becoming a moot point.
Apollyon had to get back into Apollos and revive him or else Ron might get suspicious. It hadn't occurred to Apollyon that the character of Runewyyd (names were programmed to generate at random as needed by the scenario's players, so long as they were either Eyre-ish or Roman) might be inhabited by another artificial mind. Since he himself was one, all the characters in the simulation had the same construct. To him, Runewyyd looked no different.
The cloud-flecked sky was a clear azure that reflected in the deeper blue of the Mediterranean. A good breeze kept the normally glassy sea dotted with whitecaps, as though millions of tiny sheep had decided to go body surfing.
Ron breathed in the crisp, salty air as he stood at the bow of the vessel waiting for the Princess to finally emerge from her spacious quarters astern.
At last, the signifer, Vulpes, ascended the ladder, gazed at Ron for a few seconds, then brought a trumpet to his lips.
It was probably the worst fanfare Ron had ever heard anyone play. How on earth did this soldier manage to become standard bearer for a legion in the Roman Army?
They had been waiting for the Princess to come up on deck for the last two hours. In that time, Ron had decided to put his former life in Middleton behind him. Denial could be damaging, but Ron had come to the conclusion that sometimes denial made for a nice band-aid when you were trapped fifteen hundred years before you were supposed to be born.
Thoughts of Kim were just too painful. He'd spent the last two days of recovery thinking about her. He poured over every memory he could conjure up. Good and bad. He found even some of the unpleasant memories had their bittersweet qualities. They weren't fond memories, but at least Kim was in them.
He put himself through memories of their Pre-K days, of playing hide-and-go-seek after school in the elementary years. Ron's dad had built them a treehouse when they were ten, and they had spent their time up there pretending to be pirates in a flying ship, stealing money from other pirates and giving it to the poor, or smugglers running medicine to needy peasants in third world countries with corrupt governments. Even in those early days Kim had a desire to help people, and it manifested itself in their games together.
That summer at Wannaweep was actually something of a fond memory. Kim had wanted to go too but her family was taking a long vacation that year. Both she and Ron had gone home crying after they said goodbye.
Junior high, with its brutal peer pressure and awkward cliques; Kim had remained his friend almost defiantly despite the fact that they were being pulled in two different social directions.
And, of course, that was when she and Ron began the hero work. It never occurred to Ron to want credit for his part in Team Possible. So what if people only remembered Kim's name? As far as he was concerned, she did all the hard work anyway.
High School was a long buffet of memories as social misfit/sidekick whose best friend was a popular cheerleader/teen hero. The many adventures shared together, the many villains thwarted. And at last, their coming together.
The thought of that night at the Prom caused him to think of even more recent, more painful memories. Memories of a blissful marriage. They weren't unpleasant memories, but painful precisely because they were happy ones, and he'd never get to experience them again. Even things as mundane as grocery shopping together brought waves of anguish and misery over him.
Memories of making love to her brought tears, and a dismay that pierced his very soul. Though he kept his voice in check, not wanting anyone else on board to hear, Ron cried bitter, despairing tears long into that second night, finally stopping a mere two hours before he woke up to the presence of the signifer in his room.
For a forty-eight hour period, Ron tortured himself with all this, and then decided he couldn't live in anguish. Letting himself die wasn't an option. He'd made a promise, even if it was to someone who wouldn't be born for more than a millennium hence, it was still a promise. Kim would want him to go on. Because she would go on if the situation were reversed. She'd be just as miserable as him, but she'd go on. The strength to overcome self-pity was something he'd learned from her.
The Irish guards had emerged, and finally so did the Chief; the one called Runewyyd. He too, gazed at Ronaldus for a few seconds, then looked over his men. The Irish Guard stood at attention while the contingent of roman soldiers on board – about twenty – also stood at attention. Apollos had apparently decided to make the passage through the Pillars of Hercules an official event, full of ceremony and pomp.
Then the Princess emerged. Every male head on the boat turned in her direction in abject admiration.
She was radiantly beautiful. She was tall, just a little taller than Ron, had deep auburn hair that cascaded down over her shoulders, piercing green eyes that crinkled a little when she laughed or smiled, and just the barest hint of freckles splashed across the bridge of her nose and upper cheeks. She was stately in appearance, wearing a gown of fine purple cotton trimmed with a deep green that left her arms bare.
She walked, or rather glided over to Ron and bowed, her arms floating out sideways in a semi-curtsy; grace personified.
Ron bowed a stiff, awkward bow in return, meeting her gaze when he straightened up. She smiled warmly at him and this only seemed to increase her beauty tenfold.
Apollos led them both to the waiting chairs at the forward end of the deck. Runewyyd stood close behind the Princess, and Apollos directed Vulpes to stand as Ronaldus' guard.
"How is the nose?" Ronaldus whispered to the Centurion.
"It will heal my friend," Apollos whispered back amiably. The bleeding had been stopped, but the nose was colored several ugly shades of blue and purple, "I am more interested in how your first meeting with the Princess will go."
"As am I."
Apollos stood in front of them and presented them both to each other.
"My lady," He said, first to her, "I present to you Ronaldus Sicarius; Patrician, and Imperator of the Empire of Rome. I am told he was born with a Briton's name, that of Succat Morgannwg."
"Ah," She said turning to face him. Her voice was a lilting, soothing song, "I did not know the Britons grew their sons so fair. Had I known my host was such a handsome lord, I would have come out of my chambers long before now."
Ronaldus blushed deeply.
Vulpes gritted his teeth.
Runewyyd narrowed his eyes.
Apollos grinned knowingly at Ron, then sadistically at Vulpes.
"You flatter me, Princess," Ron said almost shyly.
"Not at all, my liege," She returned with a coy smile.
"And to you, Imperator," Apollos continued, smiling broadly, "I present Kimarrah, second in line to the throne of the Gaels of Eyre; mightiest tribe upon the island."
Kimarrah nodded her head at Apollos who took his leave, throwing a quick wink at Vulpes as he did.
"A fine day for the passage, is it not?" Ron gestured outward, trying to avert her eyes from him.
"It certainly has turned into one," the Princess said softly., "I find myself glad there are still many days ahead of us on this journey."
"Yes," Ron said nervously, "That will give us ample time to discuss my mission of diplomacy."
"I'm sure of it," She practically purred, "And more besides… to discuss many other possibilities."
"My lady," Runewyyd interrupted, "I must go below decks and take stock of our provisions. We will not be within sight of a port for many more days after we pass through the Pillars of Hercules. I would like to make sure we are adequately supplied."
"Yes, yes, of course," Kimarrah waved him off dismissively, then turned a sultry gaze back to Ronaldus, "Do what you must. I will place myself in the Imperator's perfectly capable hands."
While Apollos was 'resting' below decks, Apollyon withdrew from the character and perused the files of the Princess. He didn't intend to stay long. It was bad enough having to pretend to be Stoppable's friend when he would rather be watching him suffer, but he wasn't about to try and seduce 'Ronaldus'. The Princess would take care of that. He just needed to do a little fine tuning on the program. She was coming on a little too strong, though he was rather enjoying the looks Vulpes/Kim was giving the two of them.
"This is why I will never recruit her as an agent for GJ," Du barked angrily, staring at Kim in the Immersion Chair, "This course of action is foolhardy at best. I never would have allowed her to do this, and frankly, I'm surprised you did."
Wade shrugged sheepishly, "You know how she is. If I hadn't allowed her to go in, she very well might have asked Apollyon himself to let her in."
"Is she OK at least?" Du growled. He remembered just exactly why he and Kim had their differences all those years ago. She went charging in where a highly trained agent would know to tread lightly.
"I hope so."
"What do you mean, you hope so?" Du snapped. He was angry, and Wade was the only one there to vent his frustrations to.
"Apollyon detected her almost the moment she went in," Wade said guiltily.
"Has anything happened to her?"
"Life signs still read normal," Wade offered.
"Which means Apollyon still wants her for some purpose. That is, if her mind hasn't been scrambled." Wil turned his deductions over in his mind, as well as the other news Wade gave him, "I'll have several GJ Sweeper Teams called up and sent to Deathray's old lair with electronic detection equipment. But chances are if we didn't find Apollyon before, we aren't likely to again."
"There's something else," Wade said, almost timidly.
"What?" Du snapped, then his face softened, "I am sorry, Wade. I am frustrated to no end at the way things have progressed. And now this." He gestured at Kim, "Clearly there's a reason Stoppable married her. It would take a man with his enormous sense of humor and relaxed attitude to deal with one so stubborn and headstrong."
"Hey now, they aren't here to defend themselves." Wade practically scolded.
"You're right," Wil relented, "Truth is, I'm worried, about both of them now. When I get worried, I get a little irritable. My wife usually tells me where I can go when I get this way."
"Oh!" Wade exclaimed, remembering something, "That reminds me, I found a bunch of files in Apollyon's simulation program that don't seem to have anything to do with the actual simulation. They're mostly complex quantum calculations. I was wondering if your wife could take a look at them. It feels to me like they're pieces of a big puzzle but I can't seem to put them together."
"Wade," Du said, "You know Justine doesn't do that kind of work any more."
"Yes," Wade acknowledged, "I'm aware she' no longer involved in this kind of research. But I figured if she could just take a look at these. I mean, this is Doctor Justine Flanner we're talking about. Before she quit her research, she was the world's foremost authority on Quantum Mechanics. It might go a long way toward helping Ron and Kim…and catching Apollyon."
"Maybe," Wil allowed, "But she made me promise I wouldn't use her in this capacity. GJ is my thing, and she supports it as long as I don't come to her for Quantum advice. You gotta understand, Wade, whatever discovery she made before we were married really spooked her. So much so that she quit her research and wouldn't even tell me what it was all about. I'm afraid that's just not an option we have."
"OK," Wade said, sounding a little disappointed, "There's one more thing. Rufus told me that while Apollyon had control of him, he heard the phrase 'Tempus Simia' in his thoughts a lot."
"'Tempus Simia'?" Du asked, squinting his eyes in concentration, "Where have I heard that before?"
"The mission Kim was on just before we discovered Ron was missing," Wade informed him, "Monkey Fist had stolen the Tempus Simia idol from the Tri-City museum and used it to open some sort of vortex in a temple in Africa."
"Yeah, OK," Du acknowledged.
"There isn't much more that I know about the idol, or the power it has to open vortices, but something that had escaped me before caught my attention when I looked up the Latin meanings of the name of the idol." Wade exposited.
"And…?"
"'Time Monkey'".
"Time Monkey," Du mentally connected a few dots, "And Apollyon's linked to this somehow. At the very least, they seem to be working together."
"That much is certain," Wade said, "Looks like Apollyon ran interference on Ron while Monkey Fist pulled off his heist."
"Why?"
"Well, for one thing, Monkey Fist is a Ron Stoppable magnet. Every time he's ever tried anything, Ron's always been there to foil it." Wade explained.
"So you think Apollyon is just trying to keep Stoppable occupied while Monkey Fist does whatever he's doing?" Du queried.
"Yeah," Wade confirmed, "But it's more than that. Apollyon's running a simulation involving time travel. There's got to be a connection that goes beyond diversionary. That's where I think these quantum calculations come in."
Du thought for a moment.
"They could provide us with the answers we need, " Wade prodded.
"I'll ask," Du finally relented, "But no promises. She's not going to like this."
"I understand," Wade acknowledged. Then to ease Du's mind, he thought he'd pay the man a compliment, "Oh, hey, I read a couple of your stories. I really liked your Speed Racer fan fictions."
"Oh," Du said somewhat self-consciously, " Those are… I just…"
"No," Wade enthused, "I think they're great! I mean, I thought making Racer X turn out to be Speed's mom was a little bit of a stretch in the plausibility department, but they were nicely paced, well-written tales. It gave the series a more realistic depth, I thought. Just one question, though."
"What's that?" Du said, smiling for the first time.
"Why did you kill off Chim-Chim in every story? I mean, every single story you wrote, Chim-Chim dies some horrible accidental death. What's up with that?" Wade was just curious.
Wil Du's eyes narrowed, his fists clenched and his jaw tightened. He spoke through gritted teeth, "I… Hate... That... Monkey."
"Well, yeah I see th-"
"No," Du cut him off, "You don't see. They put that stupid little monkey in every episode just to appeal to the little brats who had no clue what Speed Racer was all about. And the only thing Chim-Chim did was jump around and make chimpy noises. Sometimes at random. No. That monkey had to die. Again and again."
"Ooooookaaaaayyy," Wade instantly regretted his attempt to cheer Du up, "There's a phone upstairs if you want to call Justine right now."
"You know that monkey was evil," Du said quietly, "Everyone knows."
"Right. Yes. Evil Monkey. I'm beginning to see why you and Ron get along so well." Wade almost groaned.
"I'll go call my wife." Du seemed to snap out of it.
"Great idea!" Wade enthused, then collapsed in his chair after Du disappeared upstairs.
Note to self: never compliment anyone for any reason ever again.
Ron found he was rather disappointed in the Pillars of Hercules. With such a mystically poetic name he thought the pillars would be an ancient ruin of some kind. After all, the Latin translation of Oceanus Mediterranean was 'Sea of Middle Earth'. How mystically poetic did that sound?
But since the 'Sea of Middle Earth' was just the Mediterranean Ocean after all, he should not have been surprised to find the Pillars of Hercules were just the large rock formations that flanked the straits where the Mediterranean met the Atlantic. Ron remembered the formation on the right was - or would be – called Gibraltar. But he couldn't remember what the southern formation would later be named.
Thankfully, the Princess had been silent for some time. Apparently she was content to watch the large formations of rock drift slowly by. The Chief Guard had apparently finished with his inventory and quietly resumed his post behind her.
"Ah!" the Princess cried out, clapping her hands with delight.
Ron followed her gaze and looked to see dozens of tiny fishing boats dotted about the waters of the relatively narrow straits. He wasn't sure what exactly was so exciting about this, but then this was an age long before TV and video games. Such things were cause for enjoyment, he supposed.
Ron watched as the northern Pillar of Hercules gradually slid by. It stood as an imposing sentinel, looming above the ocean. The seas seemed to be getting choppier as with each wave, the prow lifted higher into the air. The currents of the Atlantic were swirling with the calmer waters of the Mediterranean.
Then the prow of their vessel turned rather sharply to the left, the boat came about and seemed to founder in the wind for a few seconds. Murmurs drifted across the deck. No one seemed to know why they had just turned off their course.
The Princess reached out and touched Ron's hand, "Is everything all right? Why have we come about?"
Ron looked around for Apollos and couldn't see him. He turned to Vulpes who seemed to be staring at the Princess. But then, wasn't everyone?
"Signifer," Ron caught the soldier's attention, "Go and find out why we have deviated from our course."
"Yes, my liege," Vulpes answered, casting one last look at the Princess, then over at Runewyyd before heading off.
"I'm sure everything is all right," Ron assured her.
"As long as you are close to me, then I am not worried," She replied, squeezing his hand.
Ron noticed Runewyyd was now staring at the Princess.
Vulpes returned with a report, "My liege," he said haltingly, "The captain reports there is a fog before us, and it would not be wise to sail into it considering the proximity and rocky nature of the coastline."
Ron took his hand from the Princess' grasp, stood up and walked over to the bow. There was indeed a rather dark fog bank rolling in from the Atlantic. It seemed to be advancing upon them quite rapidly.
"Perhaps we should put in to shore until this passes?" Vulpes suggested.
"Oh!" The Princess exclaimed, "A lovely idea. You and I might climb the Pillar of Hercules together. We can make camp near the beach for the night and perhaps the mist will have cleared by tomorrow."
"Or we might simply anchor off shore and await the clearing of the mist," Vulpes countered.
Ron thought for a moment, then turned to Vulpes, "Tell the captain to put in at the nearest available harbor. We'll drop anchor near the shore and await the passing of this fog."
Vulpes saluted by putting his fist over his heart. He seemed very enthusiastic about Ron's choice, "As you command, my liege."
"And inform Centurion Apollos when he comes up on deck," Ron called after the signifer.
"Oh," The Princess pouted to Ron when he returned to his chair, "I was hoping very much to spend some time alone with you. I think it a good idea we get to know each other very well."
"There will be plenty of time for that, my lady." Ron said firmly, then checked himself, "I promise we will share a few meals alone together on our way to Eyre."
"My lady," Runewyyd interjected, "I believe the Imperator is right in this. If we were to put in to shore and be overtaken by the fog, thieves or marauders might use such an opportunity to relieve us of our supplies and valuables."
"An excellent point," Ronaldus agreed.
The Princess seemed to accept this, but still sulked a little.
The murmurs on deck increased in volume. Ron noticed even the sailors looked worried. He got up again and went to the railing, peering out at the fog bank. There was something odd about this mist. It seemed to be advancing upon them. Then it occurred to Ron.
The fog was moving against the wind. They had been sailing in the direction of the fog bank and when they had turned away, had foundered, the sails flapping as the wind blew perpendicular to them.
What kind of fog moves against the wind?
"Very odd, is it not?" The Princess had come to stand next to him. "This mist seems to move with a power of its own. The sailors grow nervous."
"They aren't the only ones," Ron muttered to himself.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing," He said dismissively, "I think you should get below decks until this has passed. Whatever it is."
The Princess pouted again, "Oh, but I have been in my cramped chambers for almost three days now. I wish to remain here with you."
"I think the Imperator is correct again," Runewydd said behind them, "Look, the mist begins to overtake us. I think we should leave the deck in the hands of the sailors. They will be busy enough without having to worry about us being underfoot."
The Princess' pout increased, but she relented. She took her leave of Ron and began to make her way below decks. Runewyyd looked at Ronaldus and nodded. Ron nodded back and gazed after the warrior from Eyre.
What was that?
Runewyyd had just looked at him in a way that seemed to indicate familiarity, as though they knew each other better than they did.
Dr. Justine Du, formerly known as Justine Flanner - the world's foremost authority on quantum mechanics until she retired from the field – looked visibly annoyed when she appeared on Wade's monitor.
"Doctor!" Wade greeted her enthusiastically, "Hi, how are you?"
"We can drop the formalities, Wade. Wil said you needed me to take a look at something. Did he tell you I don't do this kind of work any more?" She cast an accusatory look at her husband, who was standing sheepishly behind Wade.
"He mentioned that, yes," Wade acknowledged, "But I could really use your help on this. Some of this stuff has me downright stumped."
"I suppose I should be flattered that a super-genius such as yourself is asking for my help," Justine said forlornly.
Wade didn't know how to answer this.
"What else did your husband tell you?" Wade asked, moving on.
"Kim and Ron are trapped in some kind of virtual reality involving time travel." Justine said without any kind of emotion. To her, Kim and Ron were always trapped somewhere by someone. Though not so much Kim lately. Justine didn't much care for Kim's lifestyle, and was rather disappointed to hear from her husband that Kim was returning to hero work. She'd once been on a mission with Kim, and though the outcome was a success, she didn't much care for all that excitement.
"Yeah," Wade confirmed, "But there's a lot here I just can't figure out. I thought maybe you could. Might be really helpful to Kim and Ron's situation. Here, at least take a look at this."
Wade isolated one of the calculations he'd copied from Apollyon's files and e-mailed it to her. It took up several pages of text.
Justine spent a few minutes looking at what Wade sent her. There was a bit of an awkward silence between Wade and Du. Wade was a little afraid to make small talk with the man now.
"You said you have a few more like this?" Justine finally spoke. She looked very troubled.
"Dozens," Wade confirmed. "Can you make sense of it?"
"I think so, though if my suspicions are correct, we're going to wish I hadn't."
"Is it that bad?" Wade grew concerned.
"I don't want to say any more until I see everything. I'll be right over."
The monitor went blank.
"Here's your Pan Dementia whatever," Shego said, handing a small canister-like object to Dr. Drakken.
"Vortex Inducer," Drakken corrected absently. Without further acknowledgment, he took the cylindrical object and moved to a work station, muttering to himself.
"Um, Doctor D… Drew… you know tonight's Friday, right?" Nothing about his behavior put her at ease. Quite the opposite in fact.
"Yes, Shego, thank you. I'm perfectly aware of what day it is." Drakken said without looking up from his work, "I'm going to have to give you a rain check for tonight."
OK, whatever was wrong, it was serious. Since he'd escaped from prison more than a year ago, Drakken had never once missed a Friday night Karaoke session down at the club. Rumor had had it that he'd even instituted a Karaoke night at the French prison where he was being held. (Those rumors, by the way, were true, but most of the inmates only wanted to hear him sing Edith Piaf songs and he wasn't particularly fond of her work. Drakken eventually gave up in frustration.)
"Are you going to let me in on what's happening around here?" Shego's worry and frustration were growing palpable. She'd never seen him like this.
"All in due time Shego. I want to make sure I'm right about this before proceeding." He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, "Though, frankly, I really hope I'm wrong about this."
Huh? Since when did Drakken actually hope he was wrong about one of his schemes?
For perhaps the first time in her life, Shego began to be very afraid.
The mist overtook them like a silent wave, rolling upon them, swirling around the masts and creeping along the surface of the deck. The sailors were muttering about bad omens and misfortune. Ron hadn't seen Apollos for quite some time now and was beginning to worry about him. He considered sending Vulpes down to wake him up, but then brushed away his worry, figuring Apollos just wanted to rest from his broken nose.
No pain killers in the fifth century, Ron thought to himself, He must be enduring quite a bit of agony.
The fog turned very dark very quickly. Torches were lit as the sails were taken down and stowed. Since they couldn't see anything, they didn't want to be driven into the rocky shore by the wind.
The signifer stood nearby, watching him. Ron walked over to the soldier.
"What do you make of this?" He asked Vulpes.
"I've never seen anything like it… my liege," Vulpes admitted, "I don't think anyone aboard has. But it is just a mist. What harm has ever come from that?"
"True," Ronaldus agreed, "But I have seen more innocuous things in my life that turned out to be harmful."
"Such as…? Vulpes prodded.
"I once watched a young woman slowly disappear before my eyes because she had breathed in an extract from a rare flower. She would slowly vanish every time she felt embarrassment." Ron mused nostalgically.
"Oh, that's right," Vulpes observed, "I had forgotten about that."
"What?" Ron asked, looking directly at him.
"I…" the signifer stammered, "I mean…. I believe I heard that tale somewhere."
"Did you?" Ron asked with a curious look on his face, "Tell me something. Where did you get a name like Caeruleus Vulpes?"
"Oh," Vulpes aaid, thinking, "I took an exam when I was very young. The outcome indicated this would be the best name for me."
"An exam."
"Yes, my liege."
"An exam said your name should be 'Blue Fox'?
"Yes, my liege."
"What kind of exam was this?"
"One that involved animals and the placement of the stars in the heavens." Vulpes said cryptically.
Ron looked very hard at the signifer. He was about to speak when a commotion was heard below decks. A soldier came scrambling up the ladder.
"Help!" he cried, "Imperator, help!"
Shock.
Confusion.
Apollyon was not used to feeling such things. He couldn't figure out what had happened. He quickly examined the simulation files but the only files that were being kept were those dealing with the potential outcome of the simulation. All other files were immediately purged so they couldn't take up needed storage space.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
But then again, he designed this latest simulation to have a life of its own. To be absolutely sure of an authentic outcome, Apollyon was forced to allow the characters to act independently without his influence. He'd just recently realized this when he was attempting to tamper with the files of the Princess' character. Any adjustment at this late juncture could very likely result in glitches, and thus a failure of the simulation. Yes, Stoppable would be killed if that happened, and Apollyon was fine with that, but he needed to know for sure if the outcome of the simulation was the one he'd intended. Now he couldn't erase characters or change the parameters of the simulation. It was locked into its course and had to be played through to the end if he wanted to see his hoped-for results.
The fog bank. That was supposed to happen. He knew about that. But this…this wasn't supposed to happen. And he knew for certain it wasn't Vulpes/Kim that had done it. He/she'd remained up on deck the whole time.
So who? And more importantly why? And why hadn't he anticipated something like this?
When he was done perusing the Princess' personality files, realizing it was too late to change any of them without running the risk of serious glitches, Apollyon had tried to return to the Apollos character.
Except…
"What is it, soldier?" Ron asked. The fear on the soldier's face was obvious.
"My liege," He said, panting and out of breath, "Please come below decks. The Centurion has been murdered!"
"Come with me," Ron said to Vulpes. Together they made their way over to the ladder.
Vulpes looked about as they walked across the deck. He caught the eye of Runewyyd, who was gazing at her.
Runewyyd's eyes narrowed as a slow, mischievous smile spread across his face.