Author's notification: After this, there are two chapters left of this story, plus the obligatory epilogue (I'm trying not to cry. This story's been with me since June first. It's almost like putting a favorite dog to sleep). And yes, we will learn more about Mukashi at the end of this story. Can you believe we're rocketing up over the two hundred thousand word count? I think this thing has become a full-fledged novel.
Author highlight: I've been skimming through Zaratan's works, but have not yet had the time to read one of his full-length stories. What I can tell you is that he's a good writer, and seems to be constructing his own extended KP universe. If you get the opportunity, check out his stuff. I still plan to in more detail when I have the time.
Thanks to all who are reading.
You guys are the BEST: Pwn Master Paladin, jiggcitychick, JPMod, Dreammergurl2007, The Incredible Werekitty, Visigoth29527, Zaratan, Muttly, Sestren NK, Kemiztri, MrDrP, LKillingsworth, Mattb3671, Kate Flynn, oneredneckgoddess, Ace Ian Combat, Invader Thing, Happy-Raven, aimtbj, GAP, Widow Shark, WesUAH, PK, Cold-Chaos, Chris Bennett, Chao-helsing, and akemi.
Where do you suppose they registered?
XXII.
And again.
"BOOOOOOOOOOYAAAAAAAAAAA-" The shout was either cut off or picked up – depending on what you might choose to believe – by a long, rolling thunder clap that seemed to begin down the valley and end directly over the castle. Lightning struck in several locations around the fortress, starkly illuminating the interiors of rooms, and throwing shadows into razor-sharp relief.
The shouts so perfectly blended with the rolling thunder that everyone in and around the castle who believed in such things was convinced the timing of the shout and the thunder was not a coincidence.
At the same time, those who did not believe in such things weren't entirely convinced it was.
Monkey Fist's eyes grew wide. He skittered to the nearest window and peered out. Seeing nothing, he left the room in a hurry.
Completely forgetting herself, and overcome by dreaded curiosity, Yori made to follow him. She took two steps toward the door before she realized she'd completely blown the ruse. An arm suddenly gripped hers in a vice. She was turned and slammed forcefully against the nearest wall face first.
"Where exactly are you going?" Ron seethed, his mouth barely an inch from her ear.
At Yamanuchi, he had been trained in some of the darker methods ninjas use to kill, disable, or force a captive to talk. Sensei had cautioned them never to use these methods unless it was deemed absolutely necessary. Ron was in the process of deciding which of four methods he was about to use on Yori.
None of them were for the purpose of disabling, or forcing her to talk.
"BOOOOOOOOYAAAAAAAAH!" The war cry was raised again.
Ron Stoppable was often a little slow on the uptake. He wasn't stupid by any means, but his mind did wander often, and so he usually figured out a plot long after everyone else had.
But sometimes he had his moments. Had he not figured out Drakken's plot involving the Diablo-bots, the world just might have fallen under the subjugation of the mad doctor. And he knew Lord Montgomery Fiske was up to no good long before anyone else did.
The second the first shout rang out, Ron noticed the looks of surprise on Yori and Monkey Fist's faces. Then they had looked at each other.
Why would they share a look if they were supposed to be enemies?
When Yori made to follow Fist out of the room, Ron began to believe he was being played. Maybe this wasn't a simulation. Maybe it was real almost precisely because it was so much weirder than the Roman simulation. If the Apollyon character, if there even was such a person, really wanted to trap Ron in a virtual world, then realism should have been priority one.
But not magic swords. Not strange monkey beings that seemed to be living stone.
Not TJ and Kimono. My son marrying the daughter of Dr. Drakken? Too weird to be anything but real life.
"Answer my question." He snarled, his whisper laced with a savagery that frightened her to the core.
"I was going to go after Monkey Fi-"
"Don't you mean Apollyon?"
"I…yes, of course… something, something seems to be happening to me. Who is Apollyon?"
"Sorry," Ron breathed cold fury into her ear, "Not buyin' it. Why did you say 'would be'?"
"What?"
"When you crawled through the window a few minutes ago, I asked if we were getting out of here. You said 'With the weather, tonight would be a perfect opportunity to escape.' Would be. Like you didn't expect to actually be going anywhere. Or maybe you expected Monkey Fist to walk in on us."
"I… I didn't… You must believe I am Kim. Please, Ron, we are in great danger."
Ron suddenly stepped back and whispered, "I believe you."
Yori turned around, hardly believing her ears, "You do?"
"Of course, darling, I just had to see if it really was you. Do you love me?"
"Of course I do! Then you will come away with me? We will escape together?"
"Yes, of course. I will go anywhere you wish to go."
"Good, then let's-"
"Before we do, you must prove your love for me. Bring me the Lotus Blade and the Tempus Simia."
Monkey Fist rushed downstairs and out onto the balcony below Ron's room. He peered out into the stormy night. Suddenly, a flash of lightning almost directly overhead was accompanied by an explosive thunderclap.
Monkey Fist's jaw dropped
There, on the top of the ridge, stood six figures. Though he could not make out any details, he could see the manner in which they were standing. His mind filled in the blanks.
And what a sight it was to behold.
Kim stood on the ridge, glaring angrily in the direction of the castle. Her arms were folded in front of her, her hair was pulled into a long pony tail that fell most of the way down her back. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes blazed in emerald fury.
Her children stood on either side of her.
TJ was on her right, his back partially toward her; the Black Orchid Blade gripped in his right hand, the tip of the Blade crossed in front of him, pointing slightly downward. Shadow danced and spiraled up and down the Blade itself. His left hand hung at his side, clenched in a fist, while a look of quiet intensity played upon on his face.
Ronnie-Anne stood to Kim's left. She still wore her reddish leather kilt-like skirt, but the peasant-ish blouse was torn at the midriff and tied off in a knot to one side in a gesture emulating her mother. Her left hand rested on her hip, while her right rested on the shaft of the Cactus Blade, which stood straight up, the butt end resting on the ground. She had a look of almost casual nonchalance on her face. Her hair, though it was much shorter, was also pulled back in a pony tail.
And on either end stood Shego and Kimono, both with their fists ablaze, while Kimono's eyes were filled with the same turquoise energy that danced about her hands. Kimono stood next to her husband, while Shego was next to Ronnie-Anne. Both of them had their fists clenched, their eyes narrowed, and their teeth bared.
It was mostly a show of defiance and intimidation. It was about sending a clear message to those within the castle. And it was having its intended effect.
A few yards behind them, Drakken stood with his hands clasped at his back, a look of seeming disinterest on his face as he watched Monkey Fist on his balcony.
Lightning ripped across the sky in the distance, a bolt traveled along the underside of a cloud in a horizontal flash, backlighting them for an instant.
On the balcony, Monkey Fist felt his blood freeze in almost pure terror.
The Stoppables had come for Ron.
They had also come to take Mutsu Castle.
And they had brought some help.
Two days ago…
Kim, Ronnie-Anne, Shego and Kimono returned to the caves at the northern end of the Idzumo Plains to find Hidesato's army in some disarray. Supplies were running low, morale was ebbing; despite Ronnie-Anne's heroics the staggering losses and Hidesato's mood served to eat away at the elation that had been brought on by the Battle of the Cactus Blade.
Not that everything was doom and gloom. Ronnie-Anne was being inundated by marriage proposals, each potential suitor trying to outdo the last in pledges of love, honor and eternal devotion… as well as cows, chickens and chunks of real estate. Every warrior who wasn't married (and then even some of those who were) was suddenly infatuated with Raitaro, the exotic beauty from another world, whose strength and courage rivaled that of the gods themselves.
Ronnie-Anne was overwhelmed. And TJ took great delight in teasing his big sister about all her new boyfriends, though she hadn't inclined her attentions to any of them.
Hidesato finally became so annoyed with all the distraction that he ordered a pavilion to be erected for Ronnie-Anne and told his warriors not to go near it. And still, over the course of the next couple of nights, Ronnie-Anne was deprived of a fair amount of sleep thanks to the hundreds of potential suitors who came to serenade outside her tent.
Meanwhile, the Drakkenites had secluded themselves with their leader, and if you had been there, you would have had some difficulty picking Drakken out from the rest of them. After his success with the war wagons, the Drakkenites became so enthralled with the blue-skinned villain that they took to wearing dark blue kimonos with black belts tied around them. Those with hair long enough wore ponytails, and many even rubbed a line of coal under their left eyes to simulate Drakken's scar. Had there been a blue skin dye available they probably would have made use of that.
They took to calling him "Ryu" after asking Kim what his name was, finding that too difficult to pronounce, and asking her if he was called anything else. Since his name sounded so much like 'dragon', she told them to simply call him the Japanese word for it.
When they returned from burying Mukashi, Kim learned that Sensei had arrived in camp and sought him out. She was devastated to learn that Ron had been captured. But when she heard Yori had been captured but was not being held as Ron was, Kim felt a twinge; a dark feeling she couldn't quite put her finger on.
Kintaro seemed particularly distressed to learn of Yori's behavior.
To her surprise, Sensei had many questions about Mukashi, the most important being whether or not Hidesato had given him a proper funeral. Kim assured him that Hidesato had indeed given the old man an elaborate funeral and had promised to list Mukashi among the honored heroes of Mutsu if he ever set foot in his castle again.
Kintaro listened to all of this with keen interest. It was news to him that his father could show such emotion. The man he had known all his life was proud, quiet, dignified. And since they had arrived, only Sensei had gone to see Hidesato. Kintaro was a bit afraid of facing his father.
Kim filled Sensei in on every detail she could, glad to be talking to him in Japanese instead of relaying a translation through Yori. Once she had given Sensei all her information, she grilled him about his time with Ron, relishing every detail Sensei had to share. And though she was worried for her husband in his captivity, she was also immensely proud of what he had done at the village, defending Sensei, Kintaro and the farmer's family.
They spent most of the morning talking to each other, until at last Kim asked Kintaro to take her to see his father.
Despite Kintaro's belief that he would be publicly admonished for what happened to Yori, and then Ron, he was surprised to find that his father was actually pleased to see him. The lord of the Mutsu Province had spent most of the day brooding; berating and demeaning himself for being outsmarted in battle by Ishigawa not just once, but twice. Not even Masaharu could pull him out of his mood.
"Ah", Hidesato brightened slightly when Kintaro and Kim entered the chamber, "Here is the orange-haired companion of Raitaro, who is quite skilled with a blade herself. And it is good to see you, musuko."
Kintaro had been prepared to grovel and apologize. He had not been prepared to hear his father call him 'son' for the first time that he could remember. Always, he had called him by his formal name.
"It…" Kintaro hesitated, "It is good to see you, chichi-sama."
Hidesato chuckled, "I know that you are unused to calling me 'father', but 'father-sama' is a little much, I think. Please tell me of all that has happened to you since the castle was lost."
And Kintaro did just that, surprised to hear his father taking a keen interest in anything he was involved in. At the end of his tale, he offered his apologies for what had happened to Yori and Ron.
Hidesato brushed him off with a dismissive wave, "My ears are deaf to apologies that are not owed. Sensei has told me you did your best in these matters. Be glad. All you lost was two people. In the last week, I have lost a province, a castle and thousands of warriors."
Kim stood up to leave.
"There is no need to leave us," Hidesato said to her as she was rising.
"Forgive me, my lord, but I do not wish to intrude upon the private moments between a father and son." Kim responded with a bow.
"It is I who should ask forgiveness. I am informed by Sensei that he has placed his complete trust in you. Had I known this, we never would have met in combat." Hidesato said quietly.
"Had I not spoken so foolishly, combat between us would not have been an issue." Kim replied humbly, "Perhaps we may exchange forgiveness and put this behind us."
"Done." Hidesato said, clearly pleased.
"Good," Kim replied, "Then would you permit me to tell you a story?"
Hidesato looked at his son who seemed to be as clueless as he was as to what Kim was talking about. He looked back at Kim and nodded.
"There was once a great champion in our world," Kim began straight away, "He was considered among the best warriors in all of history. He spent most of his young life winning victory after victory, until one day, he was handed his first defeat. This affected him so much that he was quickly handed a second defeat. Soon, his life became difficult, and plagued with trouble. He lost his confidence, and eventually lost the respect of all who either knew him or knew of him. Many scholars studied his early victories in an attempt to find out what had happened to him, and why he began to fall to other warriors, some clearly far less skilled than he."
Kim paused, but the other two said nothing, so she went on, "After a time, it was determined that this young warrior had achieved all his victories because he engaged in a very intense offensive strategy. He would not allow his opponents an opportunity to regroup or gather their strength. When he was finally defeated, it was because his opponent had forced him into a defensive strategy, and this was something he was unaccustomed to. All he had ever known in battle were offensive tactics, and because he had never known how to defend himself, he lost many subsequent encounters."
Again Kim paused, and again there was silence.
"One of the opponents who had defeated him was a man who had once been defeated by him many years before. This other warrior learned from his earlier encounter, and changed his tactics. He did not spend time brooding over his defeat, but rather studied it in order to learn from it. He knew that if he dwelled on the nature of the defeat, it would consume him, and all would be lost."
"You are suggesting that I should learn from my defeats," Hidesato guessed, "This is advice I have heard before from others."
"And it is good advice," Kim replied, "But, my lord, I am also suggesting that it may be time to change tactics. Until now you have allowed the enemy to come to you and you have taken a defensive posture. Something I believe you are greatly unaccustomed to."
Masaharu, who had been quietly observing the proceedings leaned over to his master, "She does make a strong point, my lord. Your talents lie in offensive tactics; not defend-and-withdraw."
Hidesato's eyes grew hard, he looked from Kintaro, to Kim, to Masaharu. "It is time we took the fight to Ishigawa and the monkey demon. I want to know everything the blue man is working on and how it will work. I want him to be part of all planning stages for our next action, and I want reports on all activity in and around the castle."
"Lord Hidesato," Kim began haltingly, "I did not intend-"
"I am aware your husband is held captive at the castle," Hidesato cut her off, "That we are going to attempt to reclaim the fortress is incidental to his being there. But since he is, it will afford us the opportunity to take what Ishigawa likely considers a bargaining tool for the remaining Ohana Blades. However, you must know this; if he is taken from the castle, I cannot engage in any action to retrieve him."
"I understand, Lord Hid-"
Kim was cut off yet again, but this time by the voice of her son from outside the chamber, "Mom! Mom, are you in there? I think you better get out here."
Kim got up and moved to the entrance just in time to meet TJ who burst into the room.
"What is it?" she asked him with rising alarm.
"Someone's getting married! And you're not going to believe who it is."
Lightning flashed in about six places at once, strobe lighting the castle and the surrounding terrain. TJ stepped forward and began to wave the Black Orchid Blade in huge circling swaths in front of the group. Like a slowly expanding ink blot, shadow began to grow in front of them, cutting off the sight of them from those standing at the castle walls. He turned and nodded at the others, who parted to let Drakken step through.
Doctor Drakken strode forward a few steps and peered down the slope to the gates of the castle. They were shut fast, of course, and the bridge was pulled up. He turned and gestured behind him, motioning for others to come to where he was standing.
Just below the other side of the ridge, the Drakkenites began pushing two long, wooden vehicles up the slight slope to where Drakken was waiting. They weren't exactly wagons, however. In actuality they were simply massive tree trunks that had been sawn off at each end. The top side of each trunk had been planed down about a third of the way to leave a level surface. On the underside, holes were bored at each end and wooden axles were slid through with wheels attached. The forward end of the trunks were planed down to a blunt sort of point, so that they resembled giant pencils with one flat side each. Both were about fifteen feet long and it would have taken four men holding hands to stretch all the way around the diameter of one of them. It took about three minutes for the wheeled tree trunks to be moved into position.
Once they were brought to a rest on the near side of the slope, Shego stepped forward and blew an appreciative whistle.
"You know," she said, looking at her new husband with a twinkle in her eye, "It's amazing. Back in our world you can't seem to do anything right. But here, you're like some sort of supergenius."
"Believe the hype, Shego," Drakken responded with a grin, "Now check out my mad siege skillz!"
He nodded to his builders who began pushing the long vehicles down the slope.
Earlier that day, the Drakkenites had come to the castle in peasant clothing and dug four shallow trenches that led up the slope from the drawbridge. Their cover story was that they were building gutters to collect rain water to drain into the pond since the drainage tunnel from the baths had been destroyed. What really surprised them was that their story was accepted without question, and they were allowed to finish their work.
No one in the castle seemed to wonder why the trenches led right up to the drawbridge as opposed to draining directly into the pond itself.
At the top of the slope, the vehicles moved slowly at first, but with much pushing, they began to gradually pick up speed. The wheels soon found their way into the shallow guide trenches. Gravity did the rest.
Faster and faster the tree trunks moved down the slope toward the castle, the wheels creaking and groaning as the vehicles picked up speed. All anyone in the castle could do was watch in fascinated horror as the rolling battering rams traveled along their prescribed course, the trenches guiding them unerringly to the short ramp that led up to where the bridge normally rested.
Upon reaching the ramp, the tree trunks hurtled into the air like two stunt cars performing side-by side. As the rear wheels left the ramp, the back ends came up and the battering rams slammed nose first into the raised drawbridge, shattering it and knocking the inner gate off its hinges. Though the gates remained standing, they were thoroughly battered.
The impact was felt throughout the castle.
Their forward momentum halted, the rams fell, and settled perfectly into the space where the drawbridge normally was, the wheels on each side resting against the banks of the pond, steadying the tree trunks so the level surface remained facing upward. The drawbridge had just been replaced with a permanent bridge that would remain there for several hundred years.
But Drakken wasn't quite done with his surprises.
As the rams settled into position, two long lids on the outer sides of each trunk fell open revealing a long, thin, hollowed-out space beneath. Some sort of powdery substance began pouring out, sprinkling onto the surface of the pond.
For a few seconds nothing seemed to happen. Then the water began to churn and froth. Bubbles rose and popped, releasing some sort of gaseous mist that spread out and crawled along the surface of the roiling water.
Suddenly, Kappa began scrambling out of the pond, shrieking in mortal pain. Their normally pale green skin was mottled, and light gray. A black, oozing substance bubbled forth from their ears, eyes, and other places.
Standing at the top of the ridge, Drakken's eyes narrowed as an evil grin spread across his face.
"Payback." He growled.
Whatever substance Drakken had concocted, it worked quickly on the Kappa. None of them made it more than fifteen feet from the pond before dying. Many never even made it out of the water.
While those standing on the walls of the castle watched as the Kappa were in their death throes, no one seemed to notice the enormous shadow that seemed to drift down the slope and across the flat surface of Mutsu castle's new bridge.
Upon reaching the remains of the gates, the shadow dissipated and there stood, Kim, Shego, TJ, Kimono, Kintaro and Ronnie-Anne.
Banking on the idea that one thing castle walls could not keep out was rumor, Kintaro raised his face and shouted up to those standing on the walls.
"Behold!" He bellowed melodramatically, "Raitaro stands at the gates of Mutsu Castle! All will tremble before her wrath!"
And here he nodded at Ronnie-Anne, who raised the Cactus Blade and destroyed what remained of the castle gates.
The word "Raitaro" brought fear to those within the walls who had heard it. When the gates exploded inward and they saw the tall, wild-eyed, orange-haired woman standing there, brandishing her weapon, and their fear blossomed into abject terror. Peasant and soldier alike scattered in all directions away from the remains of the front gates.
Five thousand of Hidesato's best warriors came charging up over the ridge and down the slope toward the bridge. Shego, Kimono, and Kintaro sprinted through the gates. Ronnie-Anne turned and began running back up the hill.
And Kim… Kim had seen the balcony where Monkey Fist was standing. She raced back across the bridge just before Hidesato's warriors began pouring across it and picked her way through the dead or dying Kappa to a spot below the balcony, just where the pond ended.
"Monkey Fist!" She shouted, "Where is the Tempus Simia? Where is Ron?"
Fist looked down at her, still in utter shock at what had just happened, and began to gibber unintelligibly.
That Chrono-whatever radiation has done its work, Kim thought, and then was suddenly aware that the same idea might apply to whatever Yori was doing as well.
Best to deal with that later.
Not wishing to give Monkey Fist an opportunity to slip away, Kim took out her grappler and fired it at the balcony.
Two days ago…
"You made me a grappler?" Kim was in complete shock, which brought a little amusement to Drakken's tired face.
"I've seen how good you are with yours. I thought you could use one." Drew explained matter-of-factly. "I'm sorry I could not make it as compact as your hair dryer. In addition, there is no recoil function I'm afraid. You'll have to do your own climbing if you decide to actually use it."
The device looked a lot like a handheld crossbow, though there was a small wheel attached with rope coiled around it. The end of the rope was tied securely to a crude metal, three-pronged hook.
"The range is limited, of course," Drakken went on, "Maybe thirty feet before the hook begins to lose momentum. I suppose it's not very effective when you think about it. There's a strap so you can sling it to your back, and a small handle on the wheel will help you re-coil the rope after you use it."
"I don't know what to say," Kim beamed, "I'm actually touched! Here I came to find out what this news was about a wedding and you're actually giving me a gift."
Drakken blushed, which for him meant that he turned a slight purple, "Ah, well I suppose you will have to go talk to Shego about that. I'm still trying to absorb the news myself."
"I'll do that." Kim assured him. Then, to the utter surprise of them both, Kim found herself kissing her arch foe on the cheek, "Thank you for this, it was very thoughtful."
"Ah…yes… well, think nothing of it." Drakken turned a deep purple and scurried off to continue his work with the Drakkenites.
Kim found Shego in Veronica's pavilion, and received yet another shock.
Kimono was braiding her mother's hair.
"Don't start", Shego warned as soon as Kim entered the tent.
"Start what?" Kim asked innocently.
"You know what I'm talking about." Shego said with a glare, "You came to give me a hard time about this. Well, I'm not having any of it."
"I didn't come here for that," Kim said honestly, "I only found out about it a few minutes ago. I just came to find out why. Why now?"
"You can thank your son for that," Shego said with a half smile.
"TJ? What happened?"
Shego looked as though she were trying to put it all into words, "I guess it started with our trip back from Mukashi's hut yesterday…"
Shego had been thinking a lot about mortality since they'd buried Mukashi. Here was this sweet old man who came seemingly out of nowhere to save them from their lost journey through the wilderness. He had taken them in, fed them, sheltered them; saved their lives. In return, he'd asked nothing for himself. But it went far beyond just feeding them dinner and giving them a bed for the night. Mukashi's kind words had meant a lot to her. Not just the compliment on her beauty, but the remark about the heart of a hero. He couldn't possibly have known she used to be a hero, and yet he'd seen something in her, something she probably didn't even see in herself.
It rattled her how Mukashi, whom she had never seen or heard of before, had known her so well. And after all this, he had willingly given his life to save them all. Why? What was so special about her that she was worth a compliment? What was it about some lonely old hermit that he would voluntarily embrace death to spare the rest of them?
If she could feel such love for a stranger, what could she feel for her daughter? Or the man who would apparently become her husband?
And so it was these things that Shego was pondering when her daughter timidly asked her about what had happened to them after the castle was taken.
Within you beats the heart of a hero…
Was it an observation Mukashi had made? Or a prophecy?
Or was it both?
A daughter. Her daughter.
Within you…
Haltingly, hesitantly, and with much discomfort, Shego told Kimono about all that had happened to them since Mutsu Castle was captured. The more she spoke, the easier it became to speak with the woman who was almost a mirror-image of herself. Shego noted the look of happiness on Kimono's face at just being able to talk to her mother.
Mercifully, Kim and Ronnie-Anne spoke quietly to each other in order to give them some measure of privacy, both of them knowing that if they listened in on the conversation, Shego would become self-conscious and probably shut down.
The conversation took a happy turn for Kimono when Shego asked her about her marriage to TJ. At first, Kimono was worried it was more an interrogation than a question; how could she marry the daughter of her arch foe? But to her surprise, her mother seemed genuinely interested in her life. Kimono told her mother of her hero work, their involvement with Global Justice and about their life in general.
"What about me?" Shego asked quietly, "What happens to me?"
"Oh well, you…" Kimono trailed off. "You… huh."
"What?" Shego asked.
Kimono stopped walking, "I sort of don't remember."
"What are you talking about?"
They all stopped walking at this point.
"I… I don't know. It's like, I remember you as my mom. I have flashes of us doing some things together. I remember a shopping trip to the mall, me getting my driver's license, stuff like that. But when you asked me what you were like in general…"
Kim had been listening to this last part and turned to Ronnie-Anne, "What do you remember about me?"
Her daughter nodded, "I was just thinking about that myself, and it's the same thing. I remember you driving me to my first day at school. I remember a girl's night out with the four of us in Barcelona… but when I think of you in general, I can't think of anything to put into words. It's like, I know you, but I sort of don't remember you."
"You know me because I'm your mother," Kim responded, "That kind of thing is imprinted on your brain. But since memory is selective by nature, we might be experience some of the effects of being out of place in the timeline."
"Is that what it is?" Shego asked.
Kim shrugged, "I'm not too great on the temporal mechanics, but I do know my brains. That's my best theory, anyway. Whatever it is, there's not much we can do about it except finish the mission we came here for."
The four of them began walking again.
"I'm sorry I can't tell you what you wanted to know," Kimono said quietly.
"Not your fault," Shego responded, "Kim's right. We need to get this thing done before we all completely vanish."
And it was at that point that something crept into Shego's mind, a need that she couldn't quite put her finger on. If their mission did fail, and they all just disappeared from existence. Then she didn't want to go out alone. She wanted to be part of a family.
Only one thing needed to be done to accomplish that.
When they arrived back at camp, Shego sought out TJ to ask him a few questions.
"I can't answer that one either," He responded when she'd posed her first question to him, "I remember you, and I remember specific things about you, but I don't have general memories of your life as a whole. Wow, that's really weird."
Shego said nothing in response, but TJ noted the forlorn look on her face.
"I can tell you what I do know," He offered, "I know she loves you and Drakken immensely. You know she actually made me ask Dr. D's permission to marry her?"
"Yeah?" Shego had a mystified grin on her face.
"Yeah," TJ said with a look of nostalgic horror, "Said she wouldn't marry me until I'd asked you guys. That had to be one of the most uncomfortable afternoons of my life. You and Dr. D made me sit in your lair for like two hours while you guys talked it over. I still think you'd already made up your minds and just wanted me to sweat it out."
"You're probably right," Shego acknowledged, her grin getting bigger, "But I guess she was worth it, huh?"
"Oh yeah," TJ said emphatically, "She's my whole life. I mean, I get to be married to my best friend. Can you imagine what that's like?"
"Actually, I think I can," Shego answered.
She talked with her son-in-law for a few minutes more and then went to find Drakken. Yes, it was sudden, yes it was kind of drastic, but sometimes you just had to jump in the pool without sticking your toe in the water first. If you knew how cold it was, you might not jump in at all. And she had seen how great Kimono was, and how much she meant to her husband. To be loved like that…
She only had one question for Drew.
And, in a daze, he found himself saying 'yes'…
"So did you set a date?" Kim asked when Shego had finished telling her story.
"Sunset." Shego answered.
"Tonight?" Kim asked, incredulous. She assumed they would be getting married sometime after they returned to their own time.
"Why not? I believe we'll be successful in our mission. But if not, I want us to be a family. Just in case.," And here she nodded toward her daughter, who smiled happily and continued to braid her mother's hair.
"That's quite the change in attitude from just a week ago." Kim observed.
"A lot's happened," Shego said quietly.
Just then, Ronnie-Anne burst into the pavilion.
"I got them!" She said excitedly, "One of the local farmer's wives still had the clothes from her wedding. She said we could borrow them as long as they would be allowed to attend the ceremony. Apparently Japanese weddings are only for family and very close friends."
The women oohed and ahhed as Veronica held up three dazzling white kimonos and one bright red kimono. There were no patterns or designs sewn into them, but the colors were almost too bright to look at.
"Shego wears the red one," Ronnie-Anne explained, "While three attendants wear the white ones. And you wanna hear something cool? According to tradition, the groom buys the best silk he can find and presents it to the bride several months before the wedding. Then she spends those months making the kimonos. This symbolizes the result of hard work from both of them – his hard-earned money and her efforts sewing the garments – so they begin their marriage dressed in something beautiful that was a produced as a result of their best efforts and hard work done together."
While the women admired the stunning silk robes, Shego stole a secretive glance at her daughter.
The result of our best efforts, and the hard work we did together to produce something beautiful, Shego silently realized, That's why we named her Kimono.
That evening, Veronica vacated the pavilion so it could be used for the ceremony and subsequent wedding night. Hidesato issued a general order that all proposals for Veronica would cease at once. Anyone caught violating this command would be flogged. Some of them went ahead with their proposals anyway. Ronnie-Anne couldn't bear the thought of these men suffering because of her, so she quietly asked Hidesato – through Kim, of course – that they simply be held and then released after a time.
Hidesato, who was actually considering a proposal to Veronica himself, had intended to do precisely that anyway. And he never did get around to asking her to marry him.
The ceremony was a traditional Shinto affair called San Bai San. The bride – in this case Shego, who looked stunningly gorgeous with her hair braided in a single strand that fell to her waist, her pale green skin offsetting the bright red kimono – sat cross-legged on the ground at one end of a very small table, while Drakken - who basically just combed out his ponytail for the occasion – sat at the other. First came Veronica, carrying two cups of Sake which they drank from, then traded with each other and drank again. The officiator then arranged some flowers on the table in a very specific pattern. After this, Kim set two more cups of Sake before them which they drank from, traded, and drank from again. Once again, the officiator arranged the flowers, this time in a different pattern. Finally, Kimono knelt at the table and presented them with a single cup of Sake. Drakken drank from it first, and then Shego. This symbolized the two coming together as one. No longer would they be drinking from separate cups, but in life, all things would be shared between them. Finally, the officiator arranged the flowers one last time, pronounced them husband and wife, and bade all guests and family members to exit the pavilion so the ceremony could end with the traditional consummation of the new marriage. Each of the guests – TJ, Kimono, Veronica, Kim, Hidesato, Kintaro, and the old farmer couple – filed passed the table, bowing to the newlyweds and wishing them good fortune in their marriage. Then they all exited the pavilion.
"I want to thank you again for your service," Kim said to the officiator outside, "It was beautiful."
"It was my honor," he replied with a slight bow, then walked off into the darkness to retire for the night.
I wish Ron was here, Kim thought with a wistful shake of her head, He's never going to believe Drakken and Shego got married, or that Sensei performed the ceremony.
The wedding itself had an odd effect on Hidesato's forces. First, the rumor spread through camp that Hidesato was planning an offensive. This lifted their spirits somewhat. They no longer felt as though they were on the run, but now they would be putting Ishigawa and Monkey Fist on the defensive. Then the rumors of the wedding. Of all the things to happen in the middle of this war, when things looked so bleak, and they felt like they would be wiped out in just one or two more battles, the outlanders were actually taking steps to go on with their lives. That took some serious optimism, or maybe they were just crazy.
(Kim would have told them they were right on both counts)
Either way, it was something positive that didn't entail a costly victory. Morale began to rise, and, despite the threat of a serious flogging, proposals to Ronnie-Anne increased.
The next morning, Shego barely had the energy to open her eyes. Veronica was right. There was one thing Doctor Drakken was really, really, REALLY good at. In her lifetime she had seen lairs explode, felt the wrath of earthquake machines, watched as the giant image of a cactus floated above her and exploded, shaking the earth and rattling the sky. She'd even had a brief but tawdry relationship with an imbalanced washing machine stuck on the spin cycle. But last night the foundations of Shego's universe were rearranged. Planets collided, supernovas exploded, whole galaxies were torn, warped, or imploded with the power of a million black holes where not even the energy of a thought could escape.
Her world was rocked… several times… thoroughly.
Shego was dimly surprised to see Drew sitting at the edge of the bed, humming an 'Oh Boyz' song, and putting on his boots.
"Where are you going?" she asked blearily.
"Good morning!" He said cheerfully, "I've got to get to work. We're hoping to finish up several projects by this afternoon."
"OK", she said closing her eyes once more, she didn't even have the energy to keep them open. "But come home right after your shift is over."
"But I was going to go have Sake with the guys!" Drakken protested.
"And what am I supposed to do?" Shego complained, "Sit around and wait for you while dinner gets cold? I don't think so."
"Oh come on, Shego, just one Sake! Do me a solid!" he begged.
"OK, just one." She relented, "But you come home right after."
"Aw, this marriage is suffocating me!" He groaned, getting up and pulling on his coat.
"You could have said no," She countered, "Why did you consent anyway?"
"I figured marriage would be a more convenient venue for our constant and petty bickering." Drakken explained with a straight face.
Shego propped herself up on her elbow, "Is this? I mean… are we in… Why can't I bring myself to say it?"
Drakken stood up, folded his hands together and put them on the side of his face, batting his eyelashes and making goo goo eyes, "Oh Drew Bug, I love you so much. Oh Shego! I love you, too. Kissy kissy kissy!"
Shego couldn't help giggling a little.
"Oh, please!" Drakken's tone was laced with disgust. He threw his hands out in a dismissive wave, "That is so not us! We're not the kissy face type. Yes, yes, I remember how you acted under the influence of the Moodulators, but that wasn't the real you."
Shego looked a little downcast. She might not have been the kissy-face type, but a little of what she went through with the Moodulators was the real her. It would nice to be told once in awhile how he felt about her… if he actually did feel that way about her.
"Let Kimberly Anne and the Buffoon do the schmaltzy bit. You and I aren't greeting card romantics." Drakken saw her look and sat at the edge of the bed again. "But if you're asking if this is love. Sure, I suppose it's love for people like us. It's like… evil love maybe. I don't know. What I do know is that I'm practically helpless without you in my life. I know that I wouldn't be as motivated to take over the world if you weren't around; I mostly do that just to impress you anyway. And I know that every time you wisecrack, every time you hurl a sarcastic remark, every time you cut into me with your biting sarcasm… it turns me on a little. If that's love, then I'm in it. I'm just not that guy who goes around saying it all the time."
If she was unsure before, she wasn't now. Shego would always remember that precise moment as when she fell in love with Doctor Drakken. Which, she supposed, was a good thing, since she was instantly addicted to his considerable talent in the conjugal sense. That and they'd already gotten married.
"Knock, knock!" Came a cheerful voice outside the tent.
"I don't suppose you could go answer the flap." Drakken eyed his new wife.
"Don't think so." Shego grinned and lifted the blankets a little to show him why.
"Oh, right." He said, a hungry grin spreading across his face. "Say, perhaps before I head off to work we could-"
"AGAIN?" Shego groaned, "Are you kidding me with that? I'm going to need at least a few days to recover. I don't think I'll even be able to get up and walk until this afternoon."
Disappointed, Drakken walked grumbling to the tent flap and pulled it back. Kimono was standing there with a platter of food.
"I brought breakfast!" She said happily, "Figured you guys would want to have it here."
"Your father's on his way to work," Shego said wearily, "But I'm starving."
"I don't suppose there's waffles," Drakken said hopefully, "I really have a craving for waffles."
"No, sorry." Kimono's tone was sympathetic.
"Ah well." Drakken shrugged, kissed his daughter on the forehead, and took a couple of rice clusters as he headed out, "See you guys when I get home!"
"You know, it's weird" Kimono came and sat on the edge of the bed, "I remember Gramma Lipski always complaining about how you guys ran off and got married without her knowing, and she wasn't able to see her Drewbie's wedding. I always figured you guys had a Vegas wedding or something."
Shego sat bolt upright, gasping in horror, "I forgot about Drew's mother! Mama Lipski is my mother-in-law!"
She collapsed on the bed again with a horrified groan. Kimono was unable to tell if her mother's crying was real, or feigned melodrama. Originally she had come to thank her mother. She'd never dreamed she would get to attend her own parent's wedding. But perhaps now was not the time. Kimono quietly set the platter on the bed and left.
She found Kim a few minutes later, who was practicing with her new grappler.
Kim was climbing as soon as the grappler caught hold of its target.
Monkey Fist stared in abject shock. It was all too much to take in. He was in the middle of a plot to get rid of Ron Stoppable and the opposing army had attacked, on a stormy night! He'd studied every contingency possible, and his Magnolia Blade-enhanced perception told him of many scenarios to be prepared for in case the enemy attacked. This was not one of them.
It was then that Fist remembered he had the Blades slung to his back. He grabbed one of them and raised it, about to cut the rope. As the Blade came downward, something small but with mass hit him in the chest and drove him backward a few paces. It looked like a crossbow attached to the rope.
Kim had anticipated his attempt to sever the rope and brought her grappling crossbow with her for just this purpose. She swung herself to one side, then ran along the side of the wall in the opposite direction, vaulted her legs upward, and somersaulted through the air, landing on the balcony in a fighting crouch.
But Fist was no longer there.
Kim was set upon by the Monkey Ninjas.
While this was taking place, TJ, Kimono and Shego fought their way into the castle interior accompanied by five thousand of Hidesato's best warriors. So far, no one had seen any of the stone gorillas, or Monkey Fist, and none of them really knew Ishigawa by sight. When the enemy was driven sufficiently back from the gates, Kintaro turned and ran back out of the castle and up the hill.
As soon as he was seen leaving the castle, wagon after wagon began rolling down the slope. They rolled in a single-file line, and each of them had a Drakkenite sitting up front, his hand operating a brake lever. The wagons were propelled down the slope by gravity, and kept on course by the trenches that now led up to the new bridge. Each wagon rolled up the ramp, across the bridge, and was turned abruptly aside once it got inside the front gates. They were packed into a large courtyard that soon began to look like an ancient parking lot. Drakken himself rode the last wagon down the slope, and though two wagons careened off the bridge, and one overturned on its way down the slope, more got through than they had expected; more than fifteen made it in all.
As the wagons were rolling, and as the battle raged on inside the castle, Veronica ran as hard as she could to where Hidesato was standing with the remainder of his troops. The army was spread out in a long line on the other side of the ridge. Ishigawa's army – as well as what remained of Monkey Fist's forces – was camped in the valley beyond. This would be the most crucial part of the battle. If Ishigawa's forces could be kept at bay long enough, then Hidesato's army would be able to capture the castle, but if they broke through, all would be lost.
There were a number of known factors working in their favor. There was also a crucial unknown.
The unknown was Ishigawa. No one was sure where he was when the attack on the castle began. As it turned out, he was camped with his troops, readying for a final assault on Hidesato's forces. Monkey Fist had assured him the Cactus Blade would no longer be used against his army once he had carried out his plan regarding the yellow-haired captive. Once such a weapon was out of the way, Ishigawa knew he would finally be able to crush Hidesato's once and for all.
But like Monkey Fist, he never expected an attack on the castle itself. Such a move would be foolhardy at best. When word came that the castle was under attack, Ishigawa attempted to ride out and muster his troops into battle. But his stone babysitters were still under orders not to allow him to do any planning unless Monkey Fist was there, and so they refused to let Ishigawa leave his tent. Enraged, Ishigawa began to shout for an attack on Hidesato's forces to be mounted, but Ishigawa's army was without its Daimyo and a suitable replacement had not yet been established. They were essentially leaderless.
Slowly, unsure of its collective purpose, Ishigawa's army began stumbling their way up the muddy, slippery slope toward the castle beyond. About halfway up the slope, the whole world seemed to light up. Though this time the lighting came from the ground, and its illumination lasted much, much longer.
In a line that stretched the entire length of the ridge, Zuijen were placed behind stands and spaced about ten feet apart. The stands themselves were shields that were twice the width of a normal man, and came up to about chest high. They were propped up by three pieces of bamboo that kept the stand from falling over. Directly in front of the stands were bowls; metal bowls, wooden bowls, even ceramic bowls. In each of these bowls was a concoction of phosphorous, magnesium, and a few other elements Drakken managed to throw together.
As soon as the Zuijen heard the enemy approaching, they touched fire to the substance in the bowls, which flared up a bright, burning white. The entire hillside was lit up. Initially, the opposing force was compelled to shield its collective eyes.
While they did this, the Zuijen stepped behind their shield/stands, and set about decimating Ishigawa's army. They could clearly see the enemy soldiers, and eliminating one with an arrow was virtually a simple task. The stands weren't designed to shield the Zuijen from incoming projectiles, their purpose was to block out the blinding glare of Drakken's homemade flares so the Zuijen could better concentrate on shooting the enemy.
And though the Zuijen were directly behind the shield/stands, picking off enemy troops in surprisingly large numbers, the rest of Hidesato's army stood a little behind the Zuijen line and randomly fired arrows into the temporarily blinded enemy.
Ishigawa's troops began to drop by the hundreds.
They fell back a ways, then surged forward again, urged on by the lesser generals who had been under Momoye's command. Twice more they advanced, then fell back, like an ocean wave of humans ebbing against a sloped shoreline.
Hidesato was no fool. There were many more enemy soldiers than there were arrows, and he had been sternly warned that the homemade flares would not last more than ten minutes or so.
Before that ten minutes was up, the enemy finally made a push that looked, felt and just seemed more determined than the others had been.
Hidesato nodded at Veronica.
Veronica stepped forward, between two of the stands, and into the light of the flares. As was planned, a shout went up from Hidesato's forces:
"RAITARO!"
Veronica raised the Cactus Blade above her head and began to spin it. She spun it faster and faster, holding the Blade aloft and glaring at the enemy.
But there was a problem, and only Veronica and Hidesato knew of it. She would not be able to call forth the special power of the Cactus Blade as she had at the pass several days earlier. As she explained to her mother, it was just something that occurred to her at the time. And as sure as she was about unleashing the full fury of the Cactus Blade that day, she was just as sure she wouldn't be able to do it again. Whatever the power was, it seemed to be a one-time occurrence.
Kim was banking on the idea that the enemy would remember their painful experience from before, and be convinced it was going to happen again. And who knew? Maybe the knowledge would come to Ronnie-Anne once more.
The enemy did remember their previous painful experience. Vividly. They began to fall back in earnest.
Then, one by one, the flares began to wink out.
"Fall back!" Hidesato bellowed, "Fall back to the fortress!"
His forces began streaming back up over the ridge toward Mutsu Castle.
More flares burned out, the light began to grow dim.
Then, from the darkness, an arrow sailed out of the night and buried itself in Veronica's chest.
As that battle raged, Kim had her hands full, desperately fighting off the Monkey Ninjas. They seemed more skilled in combat than she remembered. They were this close to overwhelming her altogether, but somehow she managed to fight them off. Three of them were tossed off the balcony in rapid succession, and this convinced the others to retreat. She made to follow them, believing they would lead her to Monkey Fist when she heard a familiar voice from the window above her.
"I think you do know where it is. And I think this whole battle going on outside right now was something you had no idea was coming." Ron sounded angry, but Kim detected a note of confusion in his voice, as if he were trying to convince himself of what he just said.
"You do not understand. This battle is Apollyon's attempt to get you away from me. Any moment now the simulated Kim will show up as though she's rescuing you, when the truth is, you will be drawn away from me, and I will lose my memories."
It all rushed to her in an instant. Everything Kim had told Yori that night when they first arrived in ancient Japan was now being used to convince Ron this was all a simulation. And the worst part was, if Kim went rushing in there, she would almost be confirming what Yori had just told Ron.
She had no choice.
There was a crude wooden ladder leading from the balcony up to the window where she had heard the voices. Kim scrambled up as quickly as she could and tumbled into the room.
"NO!" Yori screamed. She had been facing Ron, and had a hand on his cheek, as though trying to reinforce her soothing words. She spun to face Kim. "You cannot take him from me, he is my husb-!"
Yori was interrupted by Kim's foot, which came as the result of Kim applying a spinning kick to her opponent's face. Yori's head snapped back, and she was driven backwards, slamming into the wall.
Ron staggered back in disbelief, collapsing on the bed. She had come just as Yori said she would. His face said it all. He didn't know what to believe anymore.
"Get away from him!" Kim snarled savagely.
Yori recoiled off the wall, wiping blood from her mouth. She took up a fighting stance and slowly began making her way towards Kim. The women sized each other up. Kim knew she was up against one of Sensei's best trained students, and she did not take that knowledge lightly.
One of the first rules in ninja combat is: 'never telegraph your attacks'. Many martial artists make the fatal mistake of yelling some unintelligible war cry as they begin a combat maneuver such as a punch or a kick. To a ninja such amateurish behavior only confirms your opponent that you are attacking him in some way.
Yori's left fist flew out without her making so much as a peep. Surprised, Kim tried to block, but was only partially successful. Yori's punch was aimed at the chest, intent on knocking her opponents' wind from her. Kim blocked it, but caught the punch on the chin. Her head spun around and for an instant, Kim was worried her neck might be broken. Yori followed up without hesitating. She landed a punch to Kim's jaw as her head was coming back around. Kim was lifted from her feet and went sprawling.
A look of dark triumph spread across Yori's face.
"Do you need my help?" came Ron's voice from the bed.
"Yes, darling," Yori said with earnest, "Please help me defeat the simulated Kim and we will make our escape."
Kim looked up at Yori, a knowing smile spread across her face.
"I got it, sweetie!" Kim said casually, "You just let me know if you need any help."
Yori's eyes went wide. As close as she had come to recovering her ruse, she'd blown it once again. Even on the verge of death, Kim never would have asked for Ron's help in such a 'damsel-in-distress' tone. Yori was attempting to endear Ron to her so she could make off with him. But Ron knew Kim had her pride. After all, this was the woman who had challenged the lord of Mutsu Province in this very castle.
At most, Kim probably would have said "Sure, that'd be nice right about now" in a joking-in-the-face-of-defeat kind of tone, but never the way Yori had said it.
Yori shrieked in rage and suddenly came at Kim, who'd gotten to her feet while Yori was making her last desperate plea.
Kim tensed, then suddenly relaxed.
It doesn't control you, it just sort of influences you.
Kim suddenly darted sideways, Yori pulled up slightly in surprise. She'd been expecting a counter-attack or a direct defense.
Come on mystical monkey power, Kim thought almost abstractly as she took two steps up the stone wall and pushed off, work with me here.
With the same right foot she used to push off the wall, Kim pivoted in the air and brought the foot around, slamming it into Yori's surprised face. Whatever move this was, Yori seemed to have no counter-maneuver for it. Kim landed and continued to spin, bringing her left hand around and serving Yori a stiff backhand as her head recoiled back into place from the impact of the kick. Kim continued to pivot, bringing her right fist around. Yori brought up her hands in a protective gesture, but Kim was already bending her knees, dropping slightly and driving her fist into Yori's ribs. Yori was sent sprawling, her breath exploding from her in a painful grunt.
"Booyah!" Kim couldn't help shouting as she came to a stop in a combat stance, "Monkey Kung Fu rocks!"
Yori struggled to her feet. Kim actually smiled, winked, and gave Yori the "bring it" gesture with her extended hand. You know, the one you see in kung fu movies all the time.
Yori gulped air and took up a fighting stance. She seemed to lose the will to fight, but surrender was a much less preferable option. Yori realized she had dishonored herself. And deep down, she realized with horror he had become a villain.
She came at Kim again, much slower this time. Kim feigned as though she was about to punch, then dropped and rolled backward, bringing up her feet. Before she could stop herself, Yori catapulted off of them and flew through the room, ripping through the rice paper wall and tumbling into a heap in the next chamber.
At that moment, TJ and Kimono burst in.
"Dad!" TJ cried and ran to the bed. Ron looked numbly at his son.
"We've taken the castle!" Kimono said, running to her mother-in-law, "The last of Ishigawa's forces that were here have been killed or captured."
"What about Monkey Fist?" Kim asked.
"We saw him at the top of the wall about a minute ago. He was carried off by a Monkey Dragon before we could get to him." Kimono explained dejectedly, "Mother's got everyone searching the castle for the Tempus Simia, but it's a good bet he has it with him."
"Come on, Dad, talk to me!" TJ's voice pleaded, "Mom, what's wrong with him?"
"Just a minute, Teej, first we need to make sure Yori is-"
But Yori was gone.
Kim ran out into the corridor, looking this way and that. On the off chance Yori was employing some ninja hiding skills, she looked up at the ceilings in the immediate area. Nothing. Kim came back into the adjoining chamber and noticed it, too, had a window that faced out over the balcony below.
Then Kim remembered her grappler. She raced to the window in time to see Yori just reaching the ground at the bottom of the wall. She shook the rope and the hook of the grappler dislodged and fell to the ground, eliminating the chance for Kim to pursue. Pain made her stumble and fall. She struggled to her feet, clearly in agony, and turned.
Her eyes locked with Kim's.
Then she turned again and disappeared into the stormy night. Once or twice, she was illuminated by lightning. Kim noted she was heading up over the ridge, making her way toward the enemy lines.
Kim turned her attention back to her husband and found Shego had entered the room by chance. She was searching for the Tempus Simia.
"You should probably get down there," Shego informed Kim, "Hidesato hasn't come through the gates yet, and you're the only one who speaks Japanese."
"In a minute," Kim said, turning her full attention to her husband, "Ron? It's me sweetie, won't you talk to us?"
Ron looked at her blankly, "You came just when Ki- I mean, Yori said you would. At least that was when the woman who looks like Yori said you would."
"Ron," Kim said in calm, even tones, "This is me. This is all real. You are not trapped in a simulation."
"I… I want to believe you," Ron said softly, looking into Kim's eyes with earnest.
"You should do like they do in the movies," TJ suggested, "Tell him something that only the two of you would know. Some sort of intimate knowledge you have of him that Yori wouldn't."
Kim blushed deeply, "Well, I usually don't like to talk about these things in public. But if it'll help… OK, here goes. Ron? There's no way Yori would know that sometimes when you're being a bad boy, you like a good spanking."
Utter silence. No one could believe Kim had just said what she'd just said.
"no, No, NO!" TJ screeched in complete horror, "I was talking about knowing his favorite pizza toppings, or what he likes on his ice cream sundae! Not that! Why must I hear this from my own mother? Why must I know these things about my parents? why, Why, WHY?"
TJ ran from the room in hysterics. No one was quite sure if he was really crying or just being melodramatic.
Ron looked at Kim, deeply embarrassed, "Well that's certainly something no one but me and Kim knew about. UNTIL NOW!"
"I'm sorry!" Kim blushed deeper, "He said 'intimate knowledge', I thought he meant…you know…intimate."
"Well it's not intimate any more!" Ron barked, then whipped his head toward Shego, "What are you smiling at?"
"Oh," Shego said with an evil grin, "I am going to get a lot of mileage out of this… Ron Spankable."
TJ's voice came echoing back up the corridor, "OH, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S GOOD, WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GOUGE OUT MY MIND'S EYE?"
"I better go make sure he's OK," Kimono grinned and left the room.
"MAKE THE HORRIBLE IMAGES GO AWAY!" TJ continued to rave.
Suddenly, a soldier came running into the room, he gestured frantically at Kim, "Dozo hatsubai suru! Dozo hatsubai suru!"
"I guess we'd better go. Come on, Ron, I'm not leaving you up here." Kim took his hand and led him out of the room.
They were led down to the front gates. The last of the soldiers had made it through, and the wagons were being emptied of their contents, their wheels removed, and stacked in the space where the gates normally were at Drakken's direction.
The soldier led them to a group of warriors gathered in a tight circle. They parted when they saw who was coming.
Kim gasped in horror as she saw Hidesato turn around. There was an arrow embedded in his shoulder.
"Hidesato!" Kim cried, "You are wounded! Let me-"
He put up his hands to silence her, then stepped aside.
Veronica was lying on the ground, and arrow protruding from her upper left chest.
Kim uttered a cry of dismay and collapsed to her knees beside her daughter. Ronnie-Anne, with great effort, opened her eyes and turned her head toward her mother. Blood trickled out of one corner of her mouth. She tried to smile, but couldn't.
"Ron!" Kim cried out, desperately fighting back sobs. She turned back to Ronnie-Anne and took her hand. Veronica's mouth was moving. Kim leaned in close.
"…lost the Cactus Blade… sorry." She whispered hoarsely
"No, it's OK," Kim said, the tears finally pushing their way through and spilling down her cheeks, "Forget about that. You're going to be OK. Do you hear me, you're going to be-"
"Oh, dear God, no!" Ron came stumbling into the circle. His voice was the definition of despair, "Please God, no!"
Ron collapsed on the other side of Veronica and took her other hand. His daughter weakly turned her head to tell him something. Ron leaned in close to listen.
But she was gone.
Her breath – and her soul – left her in one final, weak exhale against her father's ear.
Ron wanted desperately to believe this was all a simulation. But, ironically, it was the death of his daughter that confirmed to him that it most certainly wasn't. This kind of pain could not possibly be fabricated. Ron leaned across Veronica's body, put his hand gently on her face, rested his cheek against her forehead, and cried bitter, uncontrollable tears.
The rain didn't let up for days.
No attack came against the castle the next morning. Instead, Ishigawa, as Hidesato had predicted, decided to lay siege against Mutsu Castle. He set his forces in a wide perimeter around Mutsu and had them dig in. Monkey Fist and his depleted army were nowhere to be seen.
In addition, no one had seen or heard from Kintaro. When Kim asked Masahru about this, he told her simply that Kintaro had not gotten back into the castle and left it at that. Kim decided to believe he was out there somewhere, surviving. She had enough to mourn over without adding him to the list.
Hidesato's wound wasn't serious, but he was practically incapacitated by it. He spent most of his time in bed, trying to recuperate.
Mutsu Castle wasn't really set up to house twenty thousand soldiers, but they made do. Soldiers slept on every available space they could. As for supplies, it was Hidesato's genius that came up with idea of rolling in wagonloads after he learned what Drakken intended with the rolling battering rams. He'd ordered Drakken to refit the wagons so the wheels would roll in the guide trenches, then had the blue-skinned man come up with a way to stack the wagons against the gates so as to create a temporary barrier.
They had enough supplies – if rationed very carefully – to feed the army for two weeks.
The Stoppables didn't understand. Why did they retake the castle only to become trapped within it? If Masaharu or Hidesato had an answer for this, they didn't share it.
Ron and Kim's beloved daughter was given a hero's funeral. Everyone within Mutsu castle mourned the passing of Raitaro. Hidesato himself shed a few tears. It was he who had carried her from the battlefield, and in his heart of hearts, he had hoped she would live.
The castle doctor prepared her body and then had it taken to the crypts deep below the castle to await proper burial. And though the Stoppables wanted to go visit her, feeling that somehow, poor Ronnie-Anne would be lonely down there, the doctor strictly forbid it. He was familiar with such feelings in family members, and he also knew it was best to remember Raitaro as she was; a living hero of Japan. He knew it would only distress them further to see Veronica's corpse as it slowly began to decay.
Ron spent a tearful night relaying to Kim all that had happened between him and Yori. Though she wasn't pleased to hear they had slept in the same bed, and kissed often, she understood, and told him so. Still, Ron felt guilty and spent a few days berating himself for his stupidity. Kim finally told him to get past it and move on.
Masaharu established constant patrols of the walls of the castle, save for the wall nearest to the slope. At first he posted a watch there, but the enemy managed to rain a few arrows on that spot and kill the members of the watch. He pulled the defensive positions back from that wall and had everyone keep a sharp eye on it.
A week passed. The weather cleared up and the sun came out. Still the enemy remained encamped around the castle and still no one had heard anything from Monkey Fist or his army.
Then, on the eighth night, the Stoppables and the Drakkens were getting ready to turn in. In the interests of freeing up space, they had all decided to share one of the larger rooms. For the most part, everyone tolerated it, though Drakken snored, and TJ sometimes talked in his sleep. That night, however, TJ was on his way back from the bathroom when the others heard him give out a surprised yelp.
"Yori!"
Ron, Kim and Kimono scrambled out of the room and down the corridor in the direction of the voice. TJ was just inside the entrance of the passageway that led out on to the upper wall. Yori had apparently just finished climbing up that wall with the help of Kim's grappler.
When she saw Ron and Kim come into view, Yori smiled an evil smile and held up her hand.
The Black Orchid Blade wrenched itself from the sling on TJ's back and sailed to her grasp.
"Now I have the mystical monkey power!" Yori declared in triumph.
Everyone was too stunned to move.
"Ron," Kim breathed, "Please tell me you two didn't-"
"We didn't," Ron cut her off, then looked back at Yori, his eyes filled with horrible wonder and accusation, "Yori, what have you done?"
For a fraction of a second, Yori looked guilty and miserable. But it was only for an instant. She turned, stepped to the top of the wall, and stepped off the other side.
From the darkness, a Monkey Dragon swooped silently out of the air and caught Yori in its talons.
"I HAVE THE MYSTICAL MONKEY POWER!" She screamed once more as the Dragon carried her off into the night.
They ran to the wall and stared after her. Ron quietly said what they were all thinking. His voice was filled with utter dread.
"Monkey Fist has all of the Ohana Blades!"