Author's regret: After much contemplation, I've decided to put the story on hold at the end of the next chapter. While I would probably be able to produce – at most – three more chapters before I had to halt, pausing at the end of chapter fifteen makes much more sense, as it will be the end of 'act two' and we make our way into the climax (which, I'm hoping, won't be more than about five chapters, plus the obligatory epilogue). I've just got too much to do over the next two weeks in preparation for my relocation to the Northwest, and one or two other things I've got going on. I would much rather pause at the end of chapter fifteen than leave it in the middle of the climax for three weeks. So, after I post chapter fifteen, UNION will be on hiatus until the middle of August or so. Sorry, but it just has to be this way. I promise, the end of the next chapter will not be some horrible cliffhanger.
Story highlight: Check out faithful reader Caiyne's story entitled "Seven". No, it's not a fusion fic with Ron Stoppable as Brad Pitt and Wade as Morgan Freeman. In fact, the latest chapter has a fight sequence so vivid, you might find yourself ducking involuntarily while reading it. Link's in his profile.
Thanks to all who are reading.
Super Duper thanks to: Kemiztri, JPMod, Jokerisdaking, son-sama, Spooks-A-Lot, mattB3671, PseudoJuliet, Porphyria-Kris, you love cliffies, The Incredible Werekitty, MrDrP, Hermit Homeboy, Jezrianna2.0, TusconCoyote, Widow Shark, Cold Chaos, Dreammergurl2007, Sestran NK, aimtbj, Lkillingsworth, Kimberly Ann Possible, Baby Mama 9672, Potential Boy, and pbsbelle.
Thanks also to all who read and reviewed my one-shot "Don't Let Go", your words were greatly appreciated.
"Is that all you got? I'll take your best shot!" – P.O.D.
XIV
It was almost peaceful. In fact, under other circumstances it would have been beautiful.
Waves crashed and frothed against the rocks below. Gulls cried as they hovered on the constant breeze. The warm air was tinged with the smell of sea salt, though she never noticed it any more.
Her house stood atop a high bluff overlooking the ocean. When they'd first arrived, it kind of reminded her of the home she grew up in, that big house on the bluff overlooking the lake her father loved so much. And when she'd first seen it, it was almost a sort of confirmation that Ray Beam truly was 'The One'.
Oh, the lies we sometimes tell ourselves; the signs that aren't there in hindsight, or the little omens we invent that we later use to convince ourselves we're on the right track.
She thought Ray had been her soul mate.
But destiny, if it existed, was a cruel master. It had matched her with her father's killer. Or, Veronica thought to herself resignedly, destiny was a convenient scapegoat for the horrible choices she had made.
How had it come to this point?
How could such an unlikely pairing of her and the man who murdered her father have happened?
There were some questions Veronica had no answers to. Maybe fate was punishing her after all. Trying to compensate for the loss of a father? Here, try this guy. Oh, by all means, don't ask too many questions. After all, he is such an attentive listener.
Ha.
It was about two years into their marriage, long before he informed her of what he'd done to her father, that he finally told her he didn't want to "hear any more about Ron Stoppable".
She should have known then.
She did know then, but she chose to ignore the red flag because, after all, she had gone into this marriage with her eyes open. She wasn't blind, it just turned out she didn't want to see.
Veronica looked down at the waves crashing on the rocks far below her.
Yes, there were many ways she could end it, but this seemed the most tragically romantic to her.
"Ever hear the story about the girl who unknowingly married her father's killer?" People would say in melodramatic tones over a café latte, "One day she flung herself from a high cliff into the sea below to escape his cruel clutches."
"Oh, how awful," would come the reply.
But deep down everyone liked these stories because they were so beautifully tragic, and, of course, they didn't happen to anyone they knew.
No one told such tales if the girl took too many sleeping pills or cut her wrists. It was the image of her last despairing act of attempted redemption, falling through the air to disappear forever beneath the foamy embrace of the waves. That's what made it all so sad… so wonderfully sad.
Every afternoon for the past week she had come out here, trying to work up the courage to take that one last step, the one that would solve everything, the one that held her escape.
A tear ran down her cheek. She realized today she was still too afraid.
But soon.
Maybe tomorrow.
Veronica turned and walked back toward the house. Ray would be wanting dinner soon.
Ron let out an audible sigh of relief as he watched the satellite image of his daughter turn away from the cliff edge and walk back toward the house.
"You all right?" Kimono asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'll be OK," Ron said quietly.
"Maybe she just likes to go out there and look at the ocean," TJ suggested.
"No," Ron said with conviction, "She's just trying to work up the courage."
"Ariel," Kimono turned to the holographic image of Wade's daughter. "Tell me again why we can't go in tonight?"
"Everything shuts down and, based on the scans I took last night, the entire place is lit up with motion sensors, heat detectors and pressure-sensitive surface monitors." Ariel explained, "At one point last night a seagull landed on the roof of the house and set off one of the motion sensor/heat detectors. About twelve guards responded."
"But all that stuff is turned off during the day?" Ron asked.
"All but the surveillance cameras, which are placed just about everywhere." Ariel confirmed, "There's a pre-dawn gap between the time the guards take their stations and the point when the more sensitive detection equipment is shut down."
"Where does he keep the henchmen?" TJ asked, "Do they stay in the main house?"
"No," Ariel responded, "Based on thermal imaging and X-Ray scans, it appears there is a large cavern in the hill opposite the house."
Ron threw up his hands in disgust, "Henchmen and a hollowed-out hill. He's planning something big. You don't have hired goons just to keep an unhappy wife from leaving, not when you're on an island."
"OK, so we roll in with a GJ strike team," Kimono concluded, "Based on this information and Ray's past efforts at global conquest, we should be able to get clearance on an operation."
"Problem with that," Ariel explained, "Are the island's considerable air and land defense systems. Missile launchers and disintegrator ray emplacements surround the place. Guards patrol every inch of space in between."
"One man has a better chance of getting through," Ron said, staring at the satellite image of the island.
"Let me do it, Dad," TJ said, "I can-"
"No!" Ron said, perhaps more forcefully than he meant to, "This is my fault for not telling you kids about Ray in the first place. Besides, you'll be there. I won't be doing this totally alone. I can't believe your mother didn't at least try to do something when she found out."
"If she found out," Kimono corrected, "And if she did, this guy sounds like he may have had his bases covered. Not to mention the fact that Mom isn't the same person she used to be."
Ron looked at his daughter-in-law.
"You wouldn't recognize her, Dad," TJ said quietly, "Your death hit her just as hard as it hit Veronica. All the fight just kind of went out of her."
Ron turned back to the satellite image. A lone tree on the front lawn of the house caught his interest. "Ariel? You've been recording this image all day, right?"
"Yes I have."
"Can you go back to the point where the sun came up and then run the recording in a kind of fast-forward?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, I can run a time-lapse image. Ready?"
"Do it."
The three humans and one mole rat watched as the image of the island darkened slightly, then rapidly lit up. People scurried about the island in triple time. Ron studied the front lawn of the house intently.
"Freeze it there," Ron ordered.
The image halted.
"How many cameras are on that front lawn?" He asked.
"As best I can tell, just the one." Ariel said after a moment.
"Roll the past three hours back and forth for me will you?"
"Sure thing, Uncle Ron," Ariel acknowledged.
The image showed people and shadows moving in one direction, then halted, and moved back in the opposite direction.
"That's it." Ron said, pointing at the front lawn, "That's our way in."
"I don't understand," TJ was puzzled.
"Sometimes," Ron turned and smiled at his son, "Being a ninja isn't just about interesting ways to hit someone."
"Kim Stoppable," Sensei said, favoring the hero with a bow, "It is good to see you again. I was most displeased to hear your husband is missing."
"How did you know about Ron?" Kim asked, astonished.
"I was informed by a reliable source," he replied cryptically, "But we are in much haste. Please come with me."
Sensei led her out into the courtyard and into a separate building. He stopped at a door just inside and slid it open.
Yori was inside.
Once more, Kim felt like an ordinary dandelion next to the exotic nature of Yori's beauty.
"Yori is First Instructor at the school. She will be assisting you." Sensei informed her.
"With what?" Kim asked.
"All will be made known in its proper time," Sensei bowed and walked out.
"Greetings, Stoppable-san," Yori said with a bow.
Kim returned the bow quickly, "Hello Yori, what's this all about?"
"I do not know," Yori said, shaking her head, "When I awoke this morning, I was told to prepare for your arrival. I am to help you get dressed."
"Dressed?"
"Yes. Please step this way. Sensei said you are to choose from the clothing available in here. Again, I do not know why." Yori slid aside a closet door to reveal a rack full of very unusual clothing.
Kim's mind was filled with any number of thoughts and emotions. None of them had anything to do with wardrobe selection. Things seemed to have taken a turn for the absurd.
The world is ending, Ron is lost in the time stream… but here, pick out a nice outfit.
"Are you going to be wearing something out of here?" Kim asked.
"I have already chosen," Yori said, indicating her jet-black ninja-style garb, "You are to dress for a long journey, and Sensei says you are to bring one extra set of clothing with you."
"What's wrong with the clothes I have?"
"Sensei was very adamant about this. Only clothing from the school may be worn. I do not know why." Yori said, indicating the wardrobe.
Kim stood there for a moment, wondering if she should simply beg Sensei to let her off this seemingly bizarre promise fulfillment. It suddenly occurred to her that if these were the last few hours or days of her existence, then she'd at least rather be with her family.
"Please," came Sensei's voice from the other side of the door, "We are unable to afford much more time."
There was an urgency in his voice that seemed to surprise even Yori. Kim sensed by Yori's reaction that he was behaving in a manner other than was typical for him.
Then an almost abstract thought occurred to Kim. She wasn't necessarily a great believer in fate, or destiny, or whatever term you might want to use to explain circumstances that seem just a little too convenient to be called 'coincidence'. But she had been through enough in her lifetime to at least wonder if there weren't forces – or a Force – or whatever, that worked to control the destinies of, if not all, then at least a select group of humans throughout history.
Though there wasn't time to contemplate all the examples, it seemed there were all kinds of happenstances throughout the history of humankind that, whenever evil sought to control the course of humanity, somehow, in almost seemingly impossible circumstances, heroes would rise. And those heroes were not always gifted with great powers. Sometimes they were simply people who chose to stand for what was right, and would eventually vanquish evil in the face of almost insurmountable odds.
Her reason for being here at Yamanuchi just may not have been accidental after all.
All of this flew through Kim's mind as she perused the clothing on the rack. She didn't care much for ninja outfits; that was Ron's thing. But here were a couple of pieces that might do nicely. Though, 'do nicely' for what, Kim wasn't sure.
"Can I alter this?" She said, pulling out a pair of trousers.
Yori silently handed her a set of heavy-duty scissors. Kim hastily did some cutting and then changed out of her clothes and into the ones she had chosen, setting the spare outfit aside for the time being.
Yori nodded when Kim had finished dressing and stepped aside so Kim could examine herself in a mirror.
She wore a sort of vest, made from what looked and felt like a reddish-brown deer-hide leather, which was lighter, thinner and much more flexible than cow leather. It laced up in the front, like a peasant blouse, and left the arms bare to the shoulder. Kim had modified it slightly by cutting the vest at the midriff, knowing the leather would be quite warm and the less she had covering her, the less uncomfortable she would be. The matching trousers were roomy and loose, much like her old high school mission cargoes, but secured at the waist by a strap she salvaged from the cast-off piece of the vest. Because the trouser legs went all the way past the ankles, they felt rather heavy. Kim cut the leg-sleeves a couple of inches below the knees and secured them tightly to her legs with smaller leather straps so the cuffs wouldn't flop and chafe when she walked. The ensemble was finished off with a pair of simple flat-bottom sandals with tiny leather-strap laces that went up to her ankles.
Kim took one last leather strap and tied her almost waist-length hair into a large, bushy tail, drawing her bangs away from her face and leaving the back of her neck open to the air so it would stay cool.
For her second outfit, she chose a rough, beige leather sort of skirt, and a tan cotton tunic. By the time she was finished, she knew where she was about to go.
"You're sending us after Monkey Fist, aren't you?" Kim said as she slid open the door.
Sensei looked at her approvingly, "You are indeed shrewd and perceptive. Please follow me."
"How did you hear about Monkey Fist? Did Wade contact you somehow?" Kim asked, trailing after him with her bundle of clothes.
"I do not know who this 'Wade' is." Sensei answered and said nothing more.
Kim looked to Yori whose eyes told her she knew less about what was happening than Kim did.
Sensei led them through the grounds of Yamanuchi. Kim looked around, wondering what Ron's four years spent here must have been like. She remembered suddenly that Ron had had a brief relationship with Yori here. He'd sat down with her and told her all about it a few days after they had returned from their honeymoon. Kim felt a twinge as though a ghost of a relationship from Ron's past had brushed by her.
What did Yori think of all this?
Kim remembered back to her wedding reception. She hadn't paid much attention at the time, but in hindsight, she remembered Yori had never once taken her eyes off of Ron. What did she feel when she learned Ron was missing?
They reached the cliff face at the rear of the school grounds. Sensei turned and abruptly began ascending an impossibly steep staircase.
Yori gasped.
"What?" Kim asked, turning to her.
"Master is taking us to his private room high on the cliff." Yori whispered, "He only comes to this room once every autumn, and no one else has ever been allowed to do what we are about to do. This is a very rare honor. What did you say earlier about Monkey Fist?"
"He didn't tell you?" Kim asked curiously, "Monkey Fist has gone back in time to ancient Japan. His presence there is tearing apart the space/time continuum. I've been helping a team back in the United States in their efforts to duplicate the effects of the Tempus Simia so I could go after him."
"Please hurry," Sensei called down from twenty feet above them.
Kim began climbing first, then Yori came after her.
"What are you to do once you find him?" Yori asked.
"Destroy the idol," Kim answered simply, "Wade believes there's a fifty-fifty chance that either the timeline will repair itself, or all of reality will finally be destroyed. Problem is, Ron's been thrown into the time stream as well. I think if we captured the idol, we might be able to use the Tempus Simia to come back to before the time Monkey Fist left, and prevent him from going. If that's the case, then it will likely prevent Ron from being lost in the time stream as a result, or at least I can tell Wade just exactly what Apollyon is up to before he throws Ron out of the continuum."
"And you believe Sensei has a way of sending us to wherever Monkey Fist has gone?" Yori asked
"After the last couple of weeks I've had, I'm willing to believe just about anything." Kim answered.
"I suppose I am to go with you because I speak Japanese," Yori stated.
"I bet it's more than that, Yori. You're highly skilled at Ninjitsu, and we stand a much better chance of success with you along." Kim countered.
Yori said nothing in return.
And though she missed Ron terribly, Kim was glad in some way that it was her and Yori going instead of Ron and Yori. Something about the way Yori had looked at her husband she just did not like at all.
It took well over an hour to make the ascent. When they reached the top, Kim turned and looked back down at the school far below them. They were standing on a ledge, with a door that had been cut into the cliff seemingly eons ago.
Sensei turned to Kim, "Did your husband tell you of the dreams I have been sending to him?"
Kim's jaw dropped, "The dreams about the school and the large shape-shifting gorilla with mystical powers?"
"Then he has told you of them." Sensei confirmed, "I was sending him those dreams in the hopes to prepare him for the journey you are about to take. But since he is not going, I hope he at least told you of them."
"Yes," Kim answered, "Can you tell me what they mean?"
"You will know this when you arrive at your destination. Now," He said turning toward the door, "Please step inside and turn to the right, facing the wall. Do not look back over your shoulder. Always face the wall. You may sit, if you wish upon the stones that rest on the floor to the right. I implore you, please do not look to the left under any circumstances."
Kim and Yori did as they were told.
Once they were seated facing the wall, Sensei stood behind them and placed a hand on their heads, "Use your skills and your wisdom to the best of your abilities. Make only wise choices, and not rash decisions. You must stay in this room until the time comes when you are to exit. You will know when that is. Once you arrive, you will need to explain patiently to the first person you meet what your circumstances are. If you do this, then I believe great help will come to you. May Destiny smile upon you, and save us all."
And with that, Sensei turned and exited the room.
For a few minutes, nothing seemed to be happening. Kim turned and looked to Yori, who had her head bowed and her eyes closed. Kim resumed looking at the wall again.
The only light in the room was coming from the doorway, suddenly it seemed to grow dim and then dark in the space of a few minutes. Utter blackness surrounded and enveloped them, though a dim sort of dark blue seemed to come from the door.
"Yori? Are you there?"
"I am here, Stoppable-san. Are you frightened?"
"I wouldn't say frightened," Kim said nervously, "But I would say very nervous."
"I am quite frightened," Yori said in a tremulous voice.
Kim reached out and put a hand on Yori's shoulder. Yori sighed. Very rapidly, it began to grow light in the room, as sunlight once more streamed through the doorway.
"What was-?" Kim began, but just as quickly as the light came up, it dimmed again into darkness.
And, in a seemingly more rapid fashion than before, the light again came up. Then darkness.
This went on, as light and dark exchanged places more quickly. Soon, the room felt like the inside of a strobe light. Kim and Yori glanced at each other. Neither of them seemed to feel any odd effects over what was happening.
Faster and faster the strobe effect continued, until it was blinking so fast, neither of them could tell the difference between the light and the dark. The room was swathed in a fluctuating grayness.
Kim heard a noise behind her and, purely on reflex, turned to look at what it was.
"No," Yori exclaimed, "We must not-"
Kim cut her off with a startled yelp. Yori, unable to help herself, also turned to look.
Kim was hallucinating.
There appeared to be people on the other side of the room. One of them looked like her. Another looked like-
Ron?
And yet another looked like Drakken.
Whatever the effect this room was having on her, part of it was an illusion of people she knew. And yet, there were faces she did not recognize either.
Suddenly, Sensei was in the room.
"Sensei," Yori protested, "I'm sorry, we did not mean to-"
Sensei disappeared long before Yori cut her sentence off.
The he reappeared, and disappeared again.
When he reappeared again, he was pointing sternly at the wall behind them, but he was gone before either of them could say anything. Again he appeared, again he was pointing, and again he was gone.
Kim and Yori turned around and faced the wall again. Better to look at a smooth stone wall than phantoms conjured up by the mind.
The only sounds, other than their voices, seemed to be whispers. But if so, they were whispers in a strange language she did not recognize.
They sat for what seemed like forever, gazing intently at the wall, waiting for something to happen.
Then, so gradually they didn't even notice at first, the light began to fluctuate less and less until it slowed to a rapid strobe. Then that rapid strobe itself began to slow until the light and dark were distinguishable once more. At some point, the strange whispers ceased abruptly. Eventually the alternating light and dark slowed to a crawl, and at last, the dark lingered for a few moments until the light came up, very gradually, and did not fade.
Still they sat, waiting from something to happen, or someone to come and get them. At last, Kim looked over to Yori, who was already gazing at her intently.
"Perhaps we should venture outside." Yori suggested.
Kim nodded and they both got up, moving apprehensively to the door.
Yori gasped when they looked down, "We have come into the past."
"How can you tell?" Kim asked.
"That building there," She said pointing, "Ron-san knocked over a tree, causing the building to collapse his first time here. Back when the two of you were in high school."
Kim felt a twinge. She'd never heard this story, and it bugged her that Yori would know something about Ron that she did not. In addition it began to sink in that she was likely hundreds, if not thousands, of years away from her husband. She now knew how Ron must have felt when he found himself in the ancient Roman scenario.
"Guess we should go down," Kim suggested.
Yori nodded and together they descended the cliff face. Going down proved much harder than coming up, since the staircase – which was really almost a crude ladder carved into the cliff – was less awkward to climb than it was to descend.
At last, however, they reached the bottom of the cliff and began to make their way through the school grounds. Upon turning a corner they came to a group of young adults who seemed to be in the middle of a sparring session. Everyone suddenly stopped and turned to face them.
"Konichi wa," Yori greeted them, and bowed slightly.
No one responded. Most of them were staring at Kim.
Yori spoke a sentence or two in Japanese.
"I have just asked to speak to the master of this school," Yori said to Kim.
"Do you have any idea who it is?" Kim whispered.
"I do not know," Yori whispered back, "I was not aware of any historical records kept of the previous masters of Yamanuchi."
One of the group had run off, presumably in search of the school master.
More students began to appear, curious about the newcomers. One of them pointed at Kim and spoke to Yori.
"They wish to know who you are and where you come from," Yori whispered to Kim.
"Tell them we've come to speak to the master of the school, and all questions will be answered at that time," Kim whispered back, "I hope."
Yori relayed the message to the group.
"I do not think-" Yori began then cut herself off with a gasp.
From among the crowd stepped a familiar elderly man.
"Sensei?" Kim asked, confused.
"He sounds fascinating," TJ observed.
"He was my mentor," Ron replied thoughtfully, "Most of my advanced training came from him. Did I never tell you about him either? I mean, didn't I send you to Yamanuchi to train?"
"Oh, you told me a lot about him when I was young," TJ replied, "But I didn't attend this Yamanuchi school, my training came from you."
"Huh," Ron replied, "Was I a good teacher at least?"
"I liked you better than Mom," TJ said with a grin, "She had a little less patience than you did."
Kimono snorted, "That's an understatement. You know for awhile I began to think she actually hated me? But you, you never once lost your temper or got frustrated with us."
"Yeah, well, Kim's got the fiery personality," Ron half agreed, "Part of the reason I fell in love with her."
"When did you fall in love with her?" Kimono asked.
"I believe it was our first semester of Kindergarten." Ron said with a grin, "We spent preschool just taking it slow and getting to know each other. But after that I pretty much knew we'd end up together."
"Yeah, nice try," TJ cracked, "But we heard all those stories. Josh Mankey, and the Syntho-drone Mom almost kissed, and how jealous you were of Eric, and how jealous Mom was of Yori. How you almost broke up in college because Mom started to have doubts and got a crush on this one guy-"
"OK," Ron protested, "OK, so maybe it wasn't exactly a fairy tale. Still, we ended up together."
"Well obviously," TJ observed, "I'm sitting here, aren't I?"
"It's go time, boys," Kimono called back from the pilot's seat.
The Ninjet began to descend toward the ocean. It was still dark, though the first hints of sunrise were beginning to show on the horizon.
Ron and TJ unhooked their safety restraints and TJ led his father through a tight crawl space to the rear of the aircraft.
Once back there Ron crawled up onto a slightly raised platform and, staying on his stomach, inched forward into a harness that was waiting for him. TJ began strapping him in while Ron adjusted his position.
It was called the Ninja Star. It was, in essence, a personal glider. It was basically one large wing that spanned about ten feet when fully extended. There was no fuselage, but rather a small one-man harness that extended back from the center of the wing. The pilot – Ron in this case – lay on his stomach with his head tucked into a protective canopy that formed the center-forward part of the wing. There were controls for a short burst from the hydrojets that would allow the craft to ascend rapidly and then glide to its final destination. It was not designed to land, however, but rather to be discarded in favor of a skydive descent and recovered later.
When all the harness bindings were securely in place, TJ gave him a thumbs up and patted him on the back.
"Good luck, Dad," He said.
Ron slipped on his mask.
"Can you hear me?" Kimono's voice said in his ear.
"Loud and clear, KD," Ron replied.
"Get ready to deploy. We'll maintain radio silence until you call for us," She informed him, "Good luck, Dad."
"Yeah," Ron acknowledged, "To all of us."
The roof above him slid open. Ron tensed up, readying himself for the shock of what was to come.
The Ninjet suddenly went into a steep climb.
"On my mark," Came Kimono's voice in his ear.
The Ninja Star was raised upward and came to a stop flush with the top of the fuselage.
"3… 2… 1… Mark!"
The Ninjet abruptly leveled out as the glider disconnected from the larger aircraft. The thrusters on the Star fired, hauling Ron upward at an alarming rate of speed and a very steep climb. Ron felt his body straining against the harness and worried it might actually break.
After a twenty second burst, Ron pulled a release and slid backwards off the harness while the Ninja Star automatically leveled off and began a slow, circular descent. Ron tucked his arms at his sides, and straightened his legs out behind him. It was a bit unnerving skydiving in the deep twilight of predawn. He looked at the wrist-mounted GPS display and tried to gage where the island might be. But all he could see was-
"WHOA!" Ron let out a gasp as he shot into a cloud.
When he emerged from the underside, he looked a little to his left and noted some fixed light emplacements on a mass slightly darker than the ocean surface. He angled his body and let air and gravity do the rest.
"Unidentified aircraft. You are approaching restricted airspace. You are strongly advised to alter your course. This will be your only warning." The voice sounded stern, but a little sleepy.
"Island approach," Kimono responded, "This is Aerodyne Corporation flight number J-2131. We are conducting tests on an experimental aircraft in this vicinity. We were not aware there was an airfield on that island, over."
"Negative on approach," The voice answered in a surly tone, "There is no airfield here. We are a monitoring station only. Alter your course or you will be fired upon."
Kimono had made best speed around to the far side of the island, then switched off the stealth equipment, thus making the Ninjet visible to radar and other detection apparatus. Ariel had discovered several complaints in the FAA database that detailed incidents in which aircraft had gotten too close to the island and were warned away on threat of hostile anti-air fire.
Team Ronin was hoping another such incident might be treated as routine by those on the ground.
"Copy that," Kimono acknowledged, "We are altering course now. However, our experimental aircraft is currently in your airspace on a descent toward the island. We are requesting permission to recover the vehicle, over."
"Negative, Aerodyne," The voice snapped, "If your vehicle is in our airspace then it just became our property. Do not approach under any circumstances."
"Be advised," Kimono hoped she sounded terse, "Our vehicle is equipped with self-destruct capability. If we are not allowed to recover, we will engage this option, over."
"Tell you what, Aerodyne," The voice jeered, "We'll save you the trouble."
"They have locked on to the Star and are deploying an anti-air missile." Rufus stated, then paused a few seconds, "The Star has been destroyed."
"Island, be advised we will be registering a complaint with the FAA over this matter. Destroying that craft was wholly unnecessary, over." Kimono once again adopted a terse tone of voice.
"Complain all you want." The voice mocked, "As long as you go away."
Kimono shut off communication and piloted the Ninjet away from the island. When she felt she had covered sufficient distance, she re-engaged the stealth equipment and brought the Ninjet up to high altitude to wait for Ron's signal.
Ron watched from his hiding place near the rocks as the missile streaked off into the air. Every head on the island turned skyward to watch the fireworks. Ron took the opportunity to position himself as close to the front lawn of the house as he could. If Ariel was right, the heat and motion sensors had just gone off line for the day.
The island was crawling with guards, but it was yet still too dark for the one security camera that was trained on the lawn to see anything on the outer edges of the grass.
He had to move now. The sun would be up soon, and extra guards would be in place after the incident with the Ninja Star. A patrol walked by just in front of him, and Ron snuck out behind them, moving toward the lawn as silent as the breeze itself. Once on the outer edge of the grass, Ron lay down on his belly and flattened himself as much as he could.
Then he began to wait.
The house was secure even during the day. One guard had a station with monitors in a kiosk just outside the front door, which seemed odd to Ron since there was no perimeter fence on the island. Walking through the front door was not an option. Neither was sneaking into one of the windows. All the window screens had been wired to set off an alarm if removed.
However, there was one window that had neither a screen, nor a security alarm attached to it. The bathroom window facing the front lawn. There was a camera mounted on the roof that covered the lawn, but if someone could get up under the eave of the house, then the camera could no longer see them. The problem was getting across the lawn itself.
Ron drew in a breath and held it as a security patrol walked by. As expected, they were charged with patrolling the edge of the bluff and only looked outward toward the ocean. They walked right near the edge of the lawn, muttering quietly to each other, but never once looked toward the house, or especially the grass. Why should they? That's what the security camera was there for.
They probably would have been surprised to see a ninja lying in the grass less than ten feet from them. But in order to see him, they would have had to practically walk right over him.
Time went on, the sun came up and Ron found he had perfectly positioned himself in the shadow of the lone tree that stood in the center of the grass. It was a rather dense, leafy sort of tree, and while it did not shut out the sunlight completely, it did allow light through at certain places that drew the eye away from the shadow. Ron, of course, kept to the shadow.
It was shown in Ariel's time-lapse recording that the shadow of the tree began at the outer edge of the lawn in the morning, and traveled across the grass to come to rest against the wall of the house in the afternoon. It would be up to Ron to ever so slowly make his way across the grass, using the best of his ninja camouflage abilities, and one huge dose of patience.
His muscles already aching, he shifted his position with the speed of a minute-hand on a clock, keeping always within the shadow of the tree.
And so began Ron Stoppable's long, tortuous journey across the front lawn of Ray Beam's house.
Kim stood with her hands covering her face in a defensive posture, expecting the swords to tear right through her any second. It happened so fast she didn't even have time to utter her customary startled yelp.
Sensei and Yori had exchanged a few words out on the school grounds after which Sensei bade them follow him to his quarters. The students had been ordered back to their training, but most were too curious to pay any heed to their instructors. They stared at the odd little procession marching through the grounds of Yamanuchi. Their master, the beautiful young Japanese woman who had an otherworldly quality about her, and the strange-looking fair-skinned woman with hair like the cherry trees in autumn.
The second Kim stepped into the tiny room, two short swords ripped through the rice paper wall opposite and flew directly at her. Startled, Kim squeezed her eyes shut and held up her hands.
Nothing.
Kim slowly opened her eyes to find the hilts of the swords hovering in the air, resting against her palms. Slowly, reflexively, Kim's fingers closed around the hilts and the swords suddenly took on weight as they ceased their hovering.
Both Sensei and Yori were staring at her in amazement.
Sensei asked Yori a question to which Yori replied. Then Sensei asked her another question and nodded in Kim's direction.
"Sensei wishes to know how you acquired the power of Tai Xing Pek Wah." Yori relayed the question.
"Mystical monkey power?" Kim responded, "I didn't acquire it. Ron has it, I've never been exposed."
Kim stood patiently by, gazing at the two short swords in her hands. She felt she should put them down, but did not want to.
"Sensei says the only way to exert such control over the Ohana Blades is to be in possession of the mystical monkey power. Are you sure you were not exposed at some point?" Yori relayed the question.
"I couldn't have been," Kim said pointedly, "Ron said the monkey statues that contained the power were destroyed right after he was exposed. Only he and Monkey Fist have ever been exposed to it."
Yori and Sensei exchanged more words. Kim gazed intently at Sensei when suddenly a realization came to her. It was as if a multitude of facts had been pulled out of both her recent and long term memory and pieced together as she watched with her mind's eye.
"Yori," she whispered, interrupting their exchange, "Ask him if he is the founder of this school."
Yori hesitated, then relayed the question. Sensei's eyes widened almost imperceptibly as he turned his gaze to Kim.
"Hai," He said directly to her.
Yes.
Kim nodded, "Tell him I may have the power of Tai Xing Pek Wah because my husband has it."
Again, Yori hesitated but relayed the question. Sensei nodded several times, and spoke a few things to Yori, then awaited translation.
"Sensei says if your husband has this power, then very likely you acquired it the moment you…shall we say…'bonded' with him. It has long been believed that Tai Xing Pek Wah could be passed to a mate, or an offspring. Ron-san still has it, but you also, by extension, possess the power of Monkey Kung Fu." Yori explained.
"So it's like an STP." Kim quipped.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Nothing. Please continue."
"Sensei also says the power of those," and here Yori indicated the swords Kim was holding, "Are already beginning to have an effect on you. He says these are the 'Mokuren' or Magnolia Blades. Their power enhances the knowledge and perception of whoever is in possession of them."
Kim nodded as if already expecting this answer.
"I was not aware of any mystical Blades other then the Lotus." Kim said to Yori
"Neither was I," Yori answered. She exchanged a few more words with Sensei.
"Sensei says the Magnolia Blades have chosen you to be their bearer. You are to keep them safe until they decide they no longer need you." Yori explained.
Kim nodded
"Ask him what he knows of Monkey Fist." Kim said, "And if he knows of him, tell Sensei we have come to take him back to our own time."
Yori and Sensei held a conversation for quite a few minutes.
"He says the one you call Monkey Fist is leading an army of various forms of mystical simians across southern Japan, and is accompanied by a Lord Ishigawa, who himself has an army of well over a hundred thousand." Yori relayed. "He believes they are coming here to take possession of the Ohana Blades, and will set out to conquer the rest of Japan after that."
"Ask him if he knows about the Tempus Simia idol."
Again, more exchanged words.
"Yes," Yori confirmed, "He has heard that Monkey Fist carries it with him always, and that it is the source of his power over the mystical simian army. He says that if you take the Magnolia Blades far from here, and hide them from Monkey Fist and Ishigawa, then they will never have all the Blades together, and thus never possess their true power."
"I can't do that," Kim said shaking her head, "I came here to stop Monkey Fist. Tell Sensei to send some of his students with the other blades into the North. Tell them to go into hiding. This way the Blades will remain apart."
"I will ask him, Stoppable-san," Yori acknowledged, "But he will-"
"No," Kim said forcefully, "No 'buts'. I'm here for Monkey Fist. I will carry the Magnolia Blades with me if he wants me to, but I can't go into hiding."
Yori traded more words with Sensei, then turned back to Kim.
"Sensei reluctantly agrees."
Again, Veronica found herself huddled in the far corner of the closet, listening to that song over and over. She was getting ready to take her afternoon walk out to the bluff.
Would today be the day?
Would she finally find the courage to hurl herself into the ocean and free herself from Ray Beam?
Veronica Stoppable had spent seven years in an oppressive, abusive relationship with the man who revealed himself as her father's killer. She had no friends, no family to talk to, and absolutely no perspective of the outside world. Veronica had done harder time than Ray ever had in his twenty years in prison.
It is an odd sort of perversion that people who genuinely wish to take their own lives become so obsessed with the idea they actually begin to hope for the courage to go through with it.
To Veronica, this was the only way out that didn't involve the death of her mother. Something that – despite the fact that Ray would be the one pulling the trigger – would be entirely Veronica's responsibility.
Veronica fervently hoped she would have the courage and strength to take that last step, the one that would send her plummeting into sweet oblivion.
Maybe today was the day.
Maybe.
Ron, in the meantime, was not having much fun crossing his son-in-law's front yard.
As the sun began to make its way across the morning sky, Ron would ever so slowly shift positions to keep himself in the shadow of the tree. Now you may think that only a child would fail to see a man lying on the grass in the middle of the day, even if he was in the shade. But part of Ron's ninja training was how to become virtually invisible, to blend in with the shadows, even on – as was the case – a bright, sunny day. The security camera automatically adjusted for daylight, thus making shadows darker than they actually were. And the patrols, as we established, only looked outward toward the shore.
Ron always kept himself in the darkest part of the shadow of the tree, sliding along on his belly, as flat as he could make himself on the grass. It was tedious, tortuous work, having to cross the space of about twenty feet in the course of about eight hours.
From Ron's point of view, the world was bright and he was a large neon sign that read "Ninja Hiding Here", and it would only be a matter of time before someone happened to look exactly in the right spot and see him.
The day progressed, growing warmer. Ron was past the halfway point, and began to relax a little. He was inching his way toward the wall, after which it was a matter of finding Ray and going from there. Although his first priority would be to make sure Veronica was safe. Ron permitted himself the luxury of looking at the time piece on his wrist pad. It was getting close to the same time that Veronica had walked out to the bluff the day before.
Hang on Ronnie, He thought grimly, Just hang on.
Then Ron heard an odd, snuffling sort of noise. It took him a minute to figure out that a dog had come nosing around the front yard. Ariel never said anything about a dog. With the barest of movements, Ron turned his head toward the front door and watched in horror as the animal made its way straight toward him.
A ninja could mask his movement, but not his odor.
Then Ron's blood ran cold as a familiar figure stepped out into the day some thirty feet away from him. He was much older, of course, but Ron instantly recognized the face of Ray Beam.
The dog had reached Ron and was sniffing around him. The animal seemed confused as to why this human-smelling lump in the yard did not move.
Then Ron's cold-running blood froze outright as Ray put his hands on his hips, glared right at him, and bellowed:
"STOPPABLE!"