"Like the novel writers, these fans are willing to go to extra lengths when it comes to their writing. Be they trilogies, or continuous storylines, these writers contribute of their time and talents to give readers a new on-going universe to revel in."
"I just love to see a great series continued. The are so many great series out there, and I wish we could have acknowledged more of them. Oh well, I can console myself by introducing our next presenters who will give us the nominees for Best Series… Joss Possible and Monique!"
Monique and Joss stride in from opposite sides of the stage, Monique's low-cut, black dress accentuating every movement. Joss, in her own gown, is barely able to keep herself from bouncing around as she approaches the podium.
"We're here to recognize those who took the time to write out an entire storyline, with a number of stories brought together, creating their own little universe for people to enjoy."
"There are so many different series out there, and they are all really spankin'. So many people worked long an' hard on them, and it's too bad we only get to mention the best of them."
"The nominees for Best Series Overall are…"
Bonnie's Curse, by Zaratan…
Everyone always forgot him, especially in a battle. After all, he was just a naked mole rat. He helped saved the day on occasion, but this time, Ron had wanted him to stay in the plane. He didn't stay long. He had watched the battle, watched as the others fell and Ron faced Monkey Fist alone. He watched as the others joined the fray, and he watched them get defeated. Now he was watching his best friend being hurt, and he couldn't take it any more!
He knew what the plan was. He may have been just an animal, but he understood quite a bit. He knew what his friend had to do, and was sad about it, but it was something that had to be done. And now that his friend couldn't, it left only one option.
He had to do it himself!
He approached the sword unnoticed, and picked it up. It felt heavy to him, but that didn't matter. It would only be a few moments, and then it wouldn't matter.
He remembered all the good times as he climbed up Monkey Fist's leg, too small to be noticed. He remembered the day Ron had picked him out in Smarty Mart, and how happy he had been to be picked. He remembered the frequent trips to Bueno Nacho, and all the good times he shared with Ron and Kim. He remembered spending time with the Tweebs, who always had fun things to do. He remembered all the missions, when Ron and Kim and Bonnie had risked their lives to help everyone. Now it was his turn!
He made his way down Monkey Fist's arm now, so close to his target.
He had had a good life. He had been loved, and he loved his friends very much. But he was getting old. If he had been a human, he would have been in his sixties. His friends could still have long lives ahead of them, but he knew he wouldn't be there for them. That's why he had to do this; for them, so they could have those long lives.
The ring was in front of him now, and there was only one thing left to do.
Goodbye my friends! I'll miss you!
Rufus touched the ring with the sword and pushed the button on the device.
Buried, by Charles Gray…
"I…" Kim paused, and looked into Ron's eyes. "I love you Ron Stoppable." Ron realized, as she put her hands out, that Kim wasn't wearing anything under the robe. He'd seen her nude before—many times, in fact, but now…she was…nude Ron suddenly felt a sensation like a few thousand butterflies start up in his stomach. Kim gave him a long, slow kiss, which Ron reciprocated. She'd done this before—but this kiss was different. It wasn't filled with the artificial passion that the moodulator chip had filled her with…but on a different level, it was the most passionate thing he had ever experienced. Ron put his hands around her, pulling her close as she did him, and they stood together.
"I love you too, KP." Ron said quietly, brushing the red hair back. Ron could feel Kim's trembling, and his own answered it—compared to this, a ship full of nukes was Easy. Kim looked at him, and quietly said. "Do you want to… make love?"
There. I said it. Kim thought, and for a second a thousand fears gibbered through her mind. What if she'd misread, what if things went wrong, what if what if what if…
"Kim…" Ron replied and paused. "Yes." He said, "More than anything." The two looked into each others eyes.
"Ron." Kim said, I want… to spend the rest of my life with you. Her thought continued as the robe slithered off her shoulders, stepping out of it and gently pushing Ron down to the mat, as they kissed.
It was scary, it was awkward, it was wonderful.
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In his sleeping chamber, Sensei blinked as Rufus appeared and promptly took over his pillow.
"Rufus-san…what are you doing here? Why are you not back with Kim and Ron." The rat shook his head, turning a brilliant pink. Sensei looked blinked and then smiled.
"Ah… It is good. Americans can be so…repressed about affection." He said. "You may remain here, Rufus-san. I believe they will be finished by morning."
The Power Trilogy, by Cyberwraith9…
"KP..."
"I love you so much," she said, feeling his jersey soak beneath her face. "And I was so stupid, and I wouldn't blame you one bit if you left. But I love you. I love you," she murmured. As she pulled away, she blinked the tears free from her vision, letting them roll forgotten down her smirking cheeks as she gazed up into his silent shock. "Was that weird?"
Ron's lips flapped. His voice followed several seconds later. "Kinda. Kinda really," he stammered.
"Bad weird?" she breathed.
Terror squeezed Kim's chest like a vise. She couldn't breathe. The world came crashing down around her. And then Ron brought it back with a single touch.
Ron wiped Kim's tears away with his thumb, leaving a smile in their wake. The shock hadn't left his face. He probed her eyes, waiting for some sign that this wasn't real. "It's me?" he said at last.
With a sniff and a laugh, Kim said, "It's you. It's been you for a long time, Ron."
"Okay, now I'm confused." Ron's hands encircled her waist, drawing Kim close. She rested her weary head on his chest, listening to the beat of his racing heart. "We're best friends," he said aloud. "Only, we're in love, too."
"Pretty much," said Kim. She felt a stirring lift the weight from her innards. An irrepressible smile lit her face as she felt her butterflies return and swarm through her stomach.
His brow creased, and he hummed thoughtfully, drawing a sniffled giggle from Kim. "Except we've both felt pretty much the same for a while now."
"Yeah," she said, nuzzling her cheek into his shoulder.
Ron looked down, taking Kim's eyes into his. There was no more doubt between them. Those limpid pools of green filled him with warmth that swept his aches and fears away. His heart slowed. His mind cleared. Staring into Kim as she stared back into him, he felt a great sense of peace flow out of her and touch every part of him. But his mouth couldn't leave well enough alone. "So I don't get it," he said. "How is it gonna be any different?"
Kim leaned in on her tiptoes and showed him.
Unacceptable Sitch, by Allaine…
"Ex-sssellent," the Snake Charmer said as the tiger was bundled into the portable crate in which it would be taken to the buy. She fondled the constrictor around her shoulders. "Sssoon the Sssnake Charmer will be the most famousss thief in the world!"
"Not if I have anything to do about it!"
The four criminals froze, then looked about wildly. "Who ssspoke!" the Snake Charmer called out.
"Who else but your greatest adversary? It is I, Snake Charmer! The Fearless Ferret!"
Back in their hiding place, Shego slapped her hand over her face.
"Imposssible!" the villainess shouted, still looking about for the source of the voice. "The Fearlesss Ferret is old and feeble now!"
"Just call me - Ferret 2.0!"
Ron came into view as he climbed onto a crate. "With my Wonder Twin Weasels!" he added, holding aloft Rufus and Ruby.
"Hah! You are just a boy! Asssp! Cobra! Python! Take care of him!"
The three goons ran forward, but Ron leapt over them, putting one foot on the shoulder of the thug bringing up the rear and bounding past them. Before they could recover and turn around, Ron ran toward the Snake Charmer and flung Ruby at her. The naked mole rat landed onto her face and hung on for dear life.
The Snake Charmer shrieked and dropped her snake. "EEEEEE! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!" she screamed as Ron dropped Rufus into the tiger's crate. Rufus instantly began chewing on the lock keeping it in.
"You wanted a decoy," Shego said as she stood up. "Enjoying it, Ferret Girl?"
"So not Ferret Girl," Kim retorted as she leapt out and ran after the hired muscle.
"You named your henchmen?" Ron asked the Snake Charmer as she pulled at Ruby. "That is so old school villain."
Pulling Ruby off, the Charmer threw her back at Ron.
Ruby nimbly landed on his shoulder and crawled back into his pocket. "You insssolent pup! Where isss your costume?"
"Where did you get YOURS?" he shot back. "That looks like rayon, not leather. And the goggles? What do goggles have to do with snakes, anyway? I swear, everybody just HAS to update their look. Don't they get the original look worked best?"
"He's got a point," Kim told Shego, giving her green-and-black costume a glance as she plowed into the trio of goons, striking Asp in the jaw with her palm.
"Yeah, yeah," Shego grunted as she spun Python's head with a kick to the face.
"Leather isss expensssive," the Snake Charmer hissed as she picked up her snake, which had lain unmoving on the floor.
"What are you going to do with that?" Ron asked. "Constrict me from afar?"
She grinned nastily and held the snake like it was a rolled-up wet towel. Its head hung limply, and Ron realized it was either dead or a fake.
"Yikes!" he remembered. "Episode 23 - the Scales of Injustice!"
Then she pulled hard on the tail.
Luckily he dove out of the way, having recalled in the nick of time that a stream of toxic liquid would squirt out of the mouth of the weapon designed to look like a snake. It spilled onto the floor and scarred the concrete.
"If you want to be the Ferret, you can die like him!" the villainess cackled.
She didn't have the chance to say more, because Kim's fist struck her solidly across the face. The Snake Charmer collapsed and didn't get back up.
"I hate themed criminals," Kim said.
"Thanks, KP - look out!" Ron said, running at Kim.
She dove out of the way, and Cobra stumbled past where she had been standing. He'd escaped Shego's notice as she focused on pounding his partners into submission. Ron stopped his momentum with a shot to the stomach. "Biff!" he cried out as the fist connected. "Kapow!" Ron added as a second punch connected with Cobra's chin and dropped him.
"You were really getting into that, weren't you?" Kim asked dryly.
"Hey, if somebody told you I was just a 21-year-old sidekick - "
"I know, somebody lied," she finished for him. Then she reached over and ruffled his hair. "Nice punches, by the way."
He beamed.
"Where's my compliment?" Shego complained as she dragged Asp and Python over.
"Nice costume," Kim said. "The original still looks best."
Shego snorted. "Better believe it."
"And the winner is… Allaine's Unacceptable Sitch!"Allaine walked up to the podium quickly, grinning madly.
"I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for me in this category. 'Unacceptable Sitch' wasn't supposed to have a sequel, much less four and a fifth on the way. Kim Possible is a fandom unlike any other I've written for – there's a lightness to the show where other shows always had a darker streak. A guy can have a lot of fun writing a Kim Possible story. Also, while Kim and Shego were always meant to be the stars of my work, I realized at some point that they weren't going to be the be-all-end-all focus. There are too many good characters in the show – Ron, Monique, Dr. Director, Kim's parents – "
"Me?" Joss asked.
"Er, no, not you. Sorry."
"Dang it."
"Uh, anyway, those who I felt deserved their share of the stories, and that just couldn't be done in a one-shot. Having a series gave me the freedom to develop the rest of the cast in the direction I wanted, at the pace I wanted. This previous snippet was from my fifth KP story, 'If You Build a Better Monkey', and I think it shows an increasing trend in my work where Ron Stoppable's role has only become broader and more integral, just as it should be."
With a burst of applause, Allaine steps down, after shaking the hand of both Jason and Matt. Matt just grins. "I'm surprised you're not mad. I mean, she beat out your series."
Jason just shrugged. "Doesn't bother me, I love his series."
"Yeah, but I mean, he beat you BAD! You were so far back of…"
"Just drop it!"
"I'm just saying…"
Jason slaps a hand over Matt's mouth, muffling him. "Can we please welcome… Rod Stewert, with Faith of the Heart!"
It's been a long road
Gettin from there to here
It's been a long time
But my time is finally here
And I can see my dreams come alive at night
I can touch the sky
And they're not gonna hold me down no more
No they're not gonna change my mind
'Cause I've got faith of the heart
I'm going where my heart will take me
I've got faith to believe
I can do anything
I've got strength of the soul
No one's going to bend nor break me
I can reach any star
I've got faith
Faith of the heart
It's been a long night
Trying to find my way
Been through the darkness
Now I finally have my day
And I will see my dream come alive at last
I will touch the sky
And they're not gonna hold me down no more
No they're not gonna change my mind
'Cause I've got faith of the heart
I'm going where my heart will take me
I've got faith to believe
I can do anything
I've got strength of the soul
No one's going to bend nor break me
I can reach any star
I've got faith
Faith of the heart
I know the wind's so cold
I've seen the darkest days
But now the winds I feel
Are only winds of change
I've been through the fire
And I've been through the rain
But I'll be fine
'Cause I've got faith of the heart
I'm going where my heart will take me
I've got faith to believe
I can do anything
I've got strength of the soul
No one's going to bend nor break me
I can reach any star
I've got faith
Faith of the heart