Here it is gang, and I have some bad news everyone. Next week, College starts for me so I probably won't have any time to update this story, as well as my other ones for that matter… But that doesn't mean that this series is far from over. This storyis just the first arc in the series which has Monkey Fist as the main villain while the 2nd will have another villain.
BuckNC – I just hope that I'll keep in the zone. As for the humor, there's a little bit of it in this chapter as any chance of it being in the next is highly unlikely.
campy – If that happened to Kim, she would really be pushed over the edge. Just gives you something to think about.
Zaratan – Expect the relationship between the former Team Possible to… let me put it to you this way: If you think Ron hates her now? Wait a few chapters.
S.S4Goten – It's sad that Ron/Tara are as rare as seeing an animal that's on the endangered species list in a zoo. I guess it's because of people going with the ever-popular (read: played out IMO) Kim/Ron pairings and them using the C-word (not a certain part of the female anatomy).
Mobius97 – How about both? It could work at the same time.
eckles – Of course Ron was oblivious to what was happening in Middleton, besides Felix getting hurt: He has the "Fukushima" issue to take care of.
DarkJackel – That's just what happens with the media. A star could change from being a media favorite to a total laughing stock in a matter of minutes. How they got the footage of Kim's performance? Global Justice probably sent the tape to CNN (they needed to reveal the cause of the hospital being destroyed to the public.).
demon-sword – Good theory, but it's proven that even the most disgraced celebrity managed to bounce back with a great comeback. An example of this is Anna Nicole Smith who, since her hubby's death, ballooned up and then discovered the wonders of TrimSpa. I'm not saying that Kim's going to have a good comeback, but I'm not saying that she's not either. It just depends.
XeedGuilmon – Kim is probably going to be leaving Middleton, Colorado soon. But she'll probably still have her ways to make it look like she's not going out to do what she does best (Can you say "tourist?".
Charles Gray – This would be a good time to mention the saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
MichaelCross – Sorry, but the only way anyone could see Sensei allowing Ron to invite Felix and co. is if they had some mystical power that has gained Yamanouchi's attention. It is a secret ninja school.
Thanks also goes out to Whatever Star, The Metal One, wizardmon92, Vendoban, and Big B for reviewing.
Chapter 15: Trouble Arising! The Challenge Thrown!
Three weeks have past since the last day. School was over and summer vacation has begun. As of right now, two teenage girls were seated in a booth inside of Bueno Nacho.
Bonnie sighed as she watched the consumption of yet another Naco… "You know that this is your third Naco, right?" She just received a nod as she continued to watch the person in question chew on the food that was now inside of her mouth. It was nice to be able to leave the house again, after being grounded for the past few weeks for being suspended and having to go to summer school to take her finals. It could've been worse: She'd have to repeat the 10th grade. Also, since she knew that her sisters wouldn't have been home as they decided, thankfully, to take a summer vacation around the world with their "rich, smart, and sexy boyfriends." However, Bonnie would have the final judgment on that. At least she managed to convince Felix, Tara, and Hope to come over to keep her company. That is, until her parents came home from work of course.
The brunette took a sip out of her small cup of sprite as blue eyes looked into anther pair of blue eyes. Blue eyes that had an inviting look on her face, as if they were telling Bonnie to join in. "As much as I like him, I don't know how Ron's creation could possibly be that popular, seeing it as unhealthy as it is. But then again, half the food from McDonald's is unhealthy to begin with so it isn't that illogical."
Tara swallowed the contents as she grabbed her cup of iced tea. "Just try it, Bonnie!" She intrigued as through the red-striped white straw, she managed to take a sip.
"No thanks, I'll stick to my salad." Bonnie declined the offer. "No need to gain weight by eating junk food!"
"I eat junk food and I don't gain any weight!" Tara reminded.
"That's because you're metabolism is so high you'd probably lose weight by eating pizza!"
"True…" Tara nodded as she took another sip out of her soda. "But you can't just force yourself to eat less and only salads. You have to treat yourself sometime. Otherwise it's just not healthy!"
"You're the last one that should be talking about unhealthy!" Bonnie pointed at the nearly finished Naco. "With that much processed cheese? I'm surprise that you don't have clogged arteries!" A sigh could be heard from the blonde as Bonnie gave an apologetic look on her face. "You miss him, don't you?"
"A lot…" Tara sighed. "Darn it, why did this had to happen? Why couldn't Ron and I have a chance together? What did I do to deserve this? I know what I did. I should've been forward with him, knowing how clueless he was when it came to girls. Sure, I didn't like him at first, but I did come around. I began to see what kind of person he really was, thanks to being the mascot."
"Maybe there's a lesson in this." Bonnie explained in a motherly kind of way. "If you really like someone, follow your feelings Tara, otherwise you'll live in regret, wondering what would it been like if you just gone along with it." From the glare the usually bubbly blonde just shot at her, Bonnie began to regret her words. 'Good going Rockwaller, you did it again.'
"It's not like I didn't want to be forward with him, you know." Tara said, her tone of voice matching her glare. "I did have a few people who were in my way! And I'm not just talking about Kim, either!" Her ire was locked on and aimed at the brunette.
"What do I have to-" Bonnie remembered her conversation with Hope, let alone the outcome. Not looking to make the same mistake with Tara, she just sighed. "I did play a contributing factor to that, huh?"
"Contributing? Knowing how many lectures you basically gave me for even liking him, I'd say 'contributing' would be putting it as mildly."
"Okay, I'm sorry I said that. It's just…"
"If you bring up the stupid Social Hierarchy one more-"
"Oh, I don't care about the Social Hierarchy! Like Hope said 'Fuck the Social Hierarchy!'" Bonnie exclaimed as the door to the entrance then opened.
"Am I missing anything?" Felix asked with a smile. During the past three weeks, Felix's injuries managed to heal quickly. He guessed that he was just a fast healer. Speaking of recoveries, Brick, Tom, and Max weren't so lucky, at least legally. The court was basically an open and shut case as Bonnie, and a few students testified against them, in the case they were being charged for assault and battery, as well as use of a weapon – The brooms and mops to stick through the spokes of the wheelchair. No consequences for these charges would come, as the three jocks were each served with a restraining order to stay clear 100 feet away from Felix and Bonnie. When Bonnie was grounded, and she wasn't able to have company over, Tara and Hope, seeing this as a good opportunity to get to know him better (get your mind outta the gutter, pervs!), went over to his house. They were amazed that nearly everything in the house was tricked out with as much Cyber Robotics as his chair was. Also, Felix managed to talk the girls into playing Zombie Mayhem 3. While Tara had a hard time with the game, Hope managed to catch on quickly.
"Lover boy!" Bonnie cried as she quickly rushed from her seat into the arms of her new boyfriend.
"Nice to see you too, Bon!" Felix returned the hug. "So how long have you guys been here?"
"Since 30 minutes ago." Bonnie answered.
"Hey Felix!" Tara greeted, wiping the cheese from her mouth, before feeling her white knee-high sock being slightly pulled down as she felt small legs rushing up on her bare thigh, onto her white pleated skirt, and then halfway up her pink V-neck T-shirt as she looked down and nearly shrieked in surprise as she saw the source of the touching, licking up whatever amounts of cheese he could from the tray.
"Mmm, Cheese!" Rufus exclaimed, much to the shock (And probably disgust) of the brunette!
"What's he doing here?" Bonnie asked. She may've been nicer, but she was still grossed out by the naked mole rat.
"Rufus? Jim and Tim were going to Science Camp, so they asked me to watch him." Felix explained, as the former and current cheerleaders' eyes went wide in fright. "Don't worry. This time, there's no toxic-infested lake nearby."
"Thank god… we don't need to see Gill again!" Bonnie adamantly declared as she saw Hope walking back with a tray filled with Nachos. "So how'd it go?"
"…" Hope just sighed as she took a seat next to Tara in the booth. The blonde just looked at the raven-haired girl.
"No go?" She asked
"I blew it…" Hope placed her head onto the table in defeat. "I had a chance and I choked."
"Again?" Bonnie sighed at the poor girl. This was now Hope's sixth order, and she didn't even say a word to him yet? "It's not like you've never dated anyone before. It's him who's probably never dated. I mean, you've dated half the guys on the baseball team for crying out loud!"
"I know, but I never crushed on any of them this hard!" Hope rested her head on her hands. "And it's not like it's doing my allowance any favors either. Doesn't he even get it that I'm interested in him? Well it looks like I have to eat the nachos now?"
"Umm Hope? You can forget about eating those Nachos." Felix informed.
"Why's that?" She looked down as she found her answer. Hope was too shocked to decide if she was going to throw up or faint at the sight of Rufus, who was now lying on his back patting his extended belly.
"Sorry… Rufus just loves cheese so much that he can't control himself." Felix apologized as he reached for his wallet. "I'll pay ya back."
"S'okay Felix. Honestly, if nobody ate it I would've thrown it out. At least it wasn't a total waste."
Felix still pulled out his wallet. "Okay Hope, since you're probably going back in line, would you be so nice to get me a Naco, extra cheese?" He gave her the money.
"Sure! At least I have another chance." Hope explained as she got up from her seat and went back in line.
"Let's see if she actually talks to him this time." Bonnie teased as she proceeded to watch Hope wait in line until she was once again at the counter.
"What's she doing now?" Tara asked, scooting over near the brunette.
"She's making her order right now." Bonnie looked towards the naked mole rat, "Looks like just a large soda this time, sorry Rudy."
"His name's Rufus." Felix corrected her.
"Yeah! Ru-Fus!" Rufus pronounced to her.
"You know what I mean." Bonnie watched on as a smile then crept upon her face. "You sneaky little devil…"
"What? I can't take the suspense!" Tara whined in anticipation.
"Just get up from the chair and see for yourself." Bonnie insisted as the blonde moved over, to see a nervous Ned desperately grabbing napkins as Hope had a slight look of embarrassment as her sleeveless white blouse was drenched in Sprite. Because it was spilled on top of her chest, a black bra could be seen through the shirt.
Tara giggled, "That's probably why he's so nervous."
"Poor guy…" Felix showed sympathy for the young assistant manager, who managed to give her the drink as well as, much to Rufus' excitement, the Naco and change after Hope gave him the money. As Ned looked through the two bills, he managed to find a small folded piece of paper in between.
"If this doesn't work, I don't know what will." Hope sighed as she sat on top of the table.
"So what did you do this time?" Felix asked.
"I gave him my number." The Asian girl smiled. "Let's just hope that he actually calls."
"Believe me, he will!" Bonnie grinned. "So any idea on your first date?"
"I'm going to do most of the planning, as knowing Ned, he'll probably go take me to some Bueno Nacho festival. It's not like I don't trust him, but I just think that he's just a greenhorn in the dating game."
"So what do you have in mind, Miss Squad Captain?"
"Maybe a dinner, a movie, and perhaps some cuddling in between while watching the moonlight." Hope said in an almost dreamily voice.
"If you're so lucky, you'll be just like us!" Bonnie wrapped an arm around Felix's waist as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"That's what I'm worried about." Hope admitted. "I'm surprised that you and Felix haven't… y'know."
"Hey! What are you trying to say? You saying that I can't keep my-"
"I'm not saying that, but you know with the hormones and-"
"Hope, we're not looking to go to the next step." Felix informed her before remembering what almost happened back at the hospital. "Believe me, we're not even thinking about going that far."
Bonnie playfully pouted, "What's wrong? Afraid that you might do something wrong?"
"No, it's just that I want us to take our relationship slow. Baby steps."
"One step at a time." Bonnie added before the couple went for a kiss.
"Hopefully it'll go that far for me and Ned." Hope mused as Tara proceeded to leave the booth, with an upset look on her face.
Bonnie began to notice. "Tara what's wrong?" She asked, but not answer. "Tara!"
"Let me!" Felix offered.
"But Felix, I-"
"Bonnie, I think I have an idea why Tara's so upset." He explained, "Just trust me, I'll take care of it."
"Okay…" Bonnie sighed, feeling a bit reluctant as Felix proceeded to roll after her. She was her best friend, and she felt so helpless by letting her boyfriend go after her.
Outside Bueno NachoFelix rolled outside of the building as he saw Tara standing near the crosswalk. "Tara!" He called out, but no answer. "Tara, wait up!"
"Go away!" She said, with a bit of her voice cracking. Felix began to wonder if she was crying.
"Tara, come on. What's wrong?"
"Don't worry about me, okay! Just go back to your girlfriend." She said as the traffic light of the crosswalk showed "Walk."
"I'm worried about you Tara! I just can't handle it when something's wrong with a friend of mine."
"I said not to worry about me!" Tara began to sound not angry, but annoyed.
"Can't help it! Call it a personality fault!" Felix said as the light began to flash "Don't Walk."
Tara began to walk quickly to make it to the other side, but before the rubber sole of her black Mary Janes could hit the road, she was stopped by these words.
"If you keep holding it in, it' going to just eat at you until you go crazy." Felix said as the light now clearly showed "Don't Walk."
"…" Tara turned around as she saw Felix. It was evident that tears were pouring from her eyes. "It's just not fair…" She admitted. "Bonnie has you. Hope is going to have Ned. And the guy who I want isn't even in Middleton, let alone has any intention of coming back. I mean why should he! I sure wouldn't come back if I was treated like dirt like Ron was."
Felix just let all of what Tara was saying sink in. He and Bonnie were getting friendly back inside Bueno Nacho, and Hope basically did all but throw herself at Ned. So it was obvious that Tara would feel like a third wheel, or fifth wheel for that matter. "Tara…"
"I'm just sick of it, okay! I'm sick of just being the cheery, bubbly blonde girl every day, always staying positive while I'm experiencing the biggest heartbreak of my life. When I heard Kim say those nasty cruel things to Bonnie and tricking her to fight her, I had to be there for Bonnie. Forgetting about my own problems while telling Bonnie that everything was going to be okay. Bonnie cried, and then I cried! And you know what, I'm tortured that everyone has someone to love! Even Kim has Josh, who used to be my boyfriend! And I'm having a cru-No, I'm in love with the guy who's not even in Middleton! I'm tortured every day knowing the fact that Ron is gone and that I'm never going to have a chance to really be with him! Do you know that ever since Ron left, I cried myself to sleep? Do you know how much pain I've been feeling since he left? And now he's probably found someone else, someone who probably treated him on the first day she met him much better than I ever did. Why would he want to come back to someone like me! Someone who could probably turn on him if someone better came along."
"Tara, I don't think you could do that." Felix stated.
"Wanna bet? I'll tell you a secret! When I met Ron, I didn't like him at all. I always thought of him as a loser, just like everyone else on the squad. But after the first confrontation with Gill, I began to saw him in a different light. I begin to see him more than just an outcast. I began to see him the same way everyone though she did." Tara sighed, "Maybe this is my punishment for how I was with Ron the first day I met. Maybe this is karma coming back to bite me…" She then collapsed onto Felix's chest as bawled. "Oh I do deserve this!"
"No Tara…" He patted her back. "You just made a mistake. We all do. At least you realized it."
"Yeah… But-"
"Don't worry about the location. We know where he is, right?"
"Good, then you can tell me where Stoppable is!" A new, English-accented voice cut in on the conversation as the two teens looked up. On top of the pole of the traffic light was a man with black hair and dressed in a black Gi. The most noticeably of him was that his hands and feet looked to be those that belonged to a monkey.
"Monkey Fist!" They both exclaimed as the man in question jumped down in front of them. He had no time to waste as he was here for answers. And he wanted them now.
"Now tell me where Stoppable is right now, or things will become rather unpleasant." He warned as if on cue, a troupe of monkeys dressed in ninja garb dropped down, surrounding the teens.
"No way, Monkey Fist." Felix adamantly stated, as the would-be Monkey Master sighed.
"Now, my dear boy! You sure don't want any trouble do you? Just tell me what I want to know, and you and your little girlfriend will be unharmed."
Felix looked aside to Tara. "Run, I'll hold him off."
Tara nodded as she began to run. She'd have a bunch of monkeys chase after her, sure. But once she was inside of Bueno Nacho, at least she could get some help, right? However, she didn't even get that far, as she looked back at Felix, she ran into something she could've sworn was a brick wall.
Landing on her bottom, Tara looked up and saw what she ran into. Like the monkeys, it was dressed in ninja garb. It appeared to be a gorilla. Scratch that, it was a gorilla.
"Say hello to one of my new recruits. To one of my Gorilla Ninjas!" Fist informed as said Ninja proceeded to grab her. Slinging her over his shoulder. Fist then turned his attention back to the wheelchair-bounded boy. "Now where were we? Oh yes. Tell me where that pretender to the title of the Ultimate Monkey Master is right now, or she'll halve to pay the price."
Felix's eyes glared. "I don't' know where he is, but he's sure as hell not in Middleton."
"And we won't ever tell you where he is, you creep!" Tara shouted as he arms and legs flailed within the arms of the gorilla. If the situation had not been as serious as it was, Felix, within site of the blonde's situation, would believe it to be similar to a scene in a King Kong movie.
Fist, meanwhile, began to ponder about the current situation. These two were Stoppable's friends and all they've said to him was that he wasn't even in Middleton. If the imposter wasn't in Middleton, than where could the bungler be? A smile then formed on his lips. "No matter…Gorilla Ninja, let her go!" He ordered as the Gorilla tossed Tara forward. Luckily, she was saved by the Cyber Robotic arms of Felix's wheelchair as the teens then looked at a smiling Monkey Fist.
"I know exactly where he is…" He said darkly. "Monkey Ninjas, Gorilla Ninja, move out!" Within his orders, the simians proceeded to leave, with Fist following behind. Leaving the two teens with shock and worry. One thing was for certain.
They had to warn Ron.
YamanouchiAs the swords clanged together, Ron parried the sword away and threw a kick at his opponent, but he managed to dodge. It had already been around thirty minutes, and neither man was about to back down. Sweat could be seen dripping from the brow as Ron quickly reflected on his progress. He had come a long way since he came back and was now at this level. Hirotaka was one of, if not, the best students in all of Yamanouchi and the change of how he faired against him changed dramatically. In hand-to-hand combat, sure he held his own, but in weapon training, especially with the Katana, Ron was mediocre at best. The first day, he had a hard time keeping the sword in his hand, but during the past few weeks, Hirotaka went from quickly defeating him, to a fair threat, and finally to stalling him. Ron had quickly mastered nearly all of the weapons except the Katana, and everyone knew that it was only just a matter of time until Ron finally won.
The match went back and forth, each resorting to ninja tricks as the other countered them (How Ron knew how he did that was even a mystery to himself.). Hirotaka was bringing out the best of Ron, and Ron loved every moment of it. He was confident enough that today, today would be the day that he'd finally beat him. As soon as he found an opening, he was going to take it as if it were a 100-dollar bill being handed to him. But first, he needed to make an opening, as his current position of the test of strength wasn't exactly as favorable to his liking. Both swords were together, as Ron was on the losing end of this struggle. But Ron, lately being as good at thinking outside the box as he was, went for a backwards handspring, leading his feet to kick the sword from Hirotaka's hands before tripping the stunned boy with his legs. As the knocked sword dropped, it soon landed into Ron's left hand as the then placed both swords to his opponent's neck in an X pattern. Signaling the end of the battle.
"Well done, Stoppable-San." Sensei congratulated him as Ron moved the swords away from his downed opponent. "You have improved tremendously with the use of the Katana."
"Thank you, Sensei." Ron bowed as Hirotaka was back on his feet.
"There is something I need to discuss with you." He explained as Ron nodded before going to follow his master.
In Sensei's quarters"You wanted to have a word with me?" Ron asked as they stepped inside.
"Please sit down." The wise master insisted as Ron kneeled down. He then produced what appeared to be a scroll, but the most noticeable thing was that it had a hole in which a dagger was punctured through. "This came from Fukushima. A challenge for you."
Ron received the scroll as he proceeded to read it. "'Outsider. Meet me at the pier at noon. We will settle this once and for all!'" He rolled up the scroll. "Fine with me…" He said, as a matter of factly. Now that he had found him, he was not going to show any mercy to him.
"Stoppable-San, remember our discussion about the path of darkness. I understand how you feel, but it only takes one small step to fall from light into darkness." Sensei reminded.
"Yes Sensei." Ron nodded as he then blinked. He could've heard that he just heard something. He slowly advanced to the door, placing his hand on the handle. After what it appeared to be a few seconds, he quickly pulled the door open and reached towards the supposed spy. However, the only thing he grabbed was air, as the person in question had evaded his strike. He should've known, "Yori…"
"You found Fukushima?" She asked.
Ron nodded, "I'm supposed to meet him at noon. Today, we're going to settle this. And this time, it will be the last time."
"I'll go with you." Yori stated.
"No Yori. You will stay here." Sensei said to her.
"I won't stay here! I'm going with Stoppable-San!"
"I forbid it Yori. Stoppable-San will go alone."
"I'm going! I have to!" She said, a hint of desperation in her voice. "You know what he did to me! And now I want him to pay for what he's done."
"Stoppable-San will travel alone and duel with Fukushima. We will speak no more of this!" Sensei told her. His decision was final.
"I don't care!" She said defiantly. "I'm going and I'm-"
"I'm sorry Yori. But Sensei is right." Ron agreed with him, much to her chagrin.
"But-."
"Yori, I already have a lot on my plate. I know how you want revenge for what he did, but that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for me in the first place. The reason why he even go that low was to send a message to me. And I have to admit, just about every cell in my body screams for Fukushima's death, and it'll be hard enough to hold back from killing him without worrying about what you'll do to him or what he'll do to you." Ron explained as he looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry…"
"But this could be a trap! We know how underhanded Fukushima could be!"
Ron looked down. As much as she was looking for a reason to accompany him, Yori did have a point about Fukushima's dishonorable acts. It could be from an ambush up to a deadly trap. Now he was debating with himself if he should even let her go with him, let alone have her encounter Fukushima. He already had an idea that what Yori would do to him would be similar to what he wanted to do with him if she come along. Probably even worse! But Fukushima could also use that against her. She may not exactly look like it, but Yori was still going through that horrid experience from the other night and if Fukushima did anything to trigger that painful memory? Forget being vulnerable, the poor girl would be broken again. And if that happened, Ron vowed that she wouldn't be the only one that was…
Now that he knows where Fukushima is, Ron's going after him. But will Yori, against Sensei's wishes, go as well? And when he (or they) do find him, what will happen? Expect heads to roll. Also, Monkey Fist knows where Ron is and is now going after him. Now Tara and Felix will have to find Ron to warn him… That is if they can even get there.
