Blue Eyes, Shining
Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time….). This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.
To everyone who continues to read and review: you're spankin'!
During my meditative period, my muse brought me another "gift," (be careful what you ask for) and, as a result, I've begun a new parallel line: BES-Intermezzi. BES-Intermezzi are interludes that provide additional for all (currently planned) 4 parts of the "Blue Eyes, Shining" saga and sequels to "Black Hole Deep version 2.0;" they, however, are not from Wade's point of view. These are explained in the overture chapter of BES-Intermezzi and will be referenced as appropriate in this story and future chapters.
So, if you want to know what happened after Wade "left the building" last night, read chapter 2 of BES-Intermezzi. Otherwise, just dive in here and enjoy the cool, clear water….
Enjoy! Please read and review.
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Chapter 7: Meet Up Yonder
(From the archives and logs of Dr. Wade Load.)
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I woke up the morning after my fight with Joss and the story of Sheri Nicole's death in a mood I'd not been accustomed to: I felt like singing!
I guess I understood why Ron was always smiling after he's have a fight with Kim: making up must be an art form, especially when practiced by the Possible women….
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Two things happened that day that were memorable (besides Joss' smiles!): Ron and Tornado, and Betty and the plane.
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"Ron, are you sure about this?"
"Yes, Wade, I'm sure." His lips may say yes, but his face says NO!
Joss rode up on Tornado, and stopped in front of Ron. "Ron, are you sure about this?" she asked.
"Yes, Joss, I'm sure. Why does everybody have to ask me that?"
"Because your face says 'NO, NO, NO,' Ron," Joss replied as she dismounted. Joss in riding jeans….
"I'm ready: I did it with monkeys, and I can do it with robot horses."
"I beg your pardon?"
"WHAAAA?" Ron jumped back more than a few feet; I was also surprised, but not as much as Ron.
"I forgot to tell ya, Ron, we made a few upgrades to Tornado since you've been here," Joss smirked.
"Good Morning, Master Ronald."
"Hhhhhhh-hello?"
"I apologize for the shock, but I was being compared to monkeys, and I had to say something."
"Nnnnno Big, errrr, What do I call you?"
"You may call me Tornado; I, however, will respond to whatever you choose."
"Do I need permission to ride?"
"No, Master Ronald, I don't care; I've already been told that you and Dr. Load have permission to ride all of my avatars."
"Avatars?"
"My duplicate likenesses: there are 5 of us at the moment; however, this body is the original Tornado that you attempted to ride the last time that you were here. I do apologize for what happened then, by the way."
"Wireless unit management?"
"That's right, Wade. We decided that there was no reason to try to expand the avatars by inserting all of the things into them when we could use a single control unit."
"That's correct, Miss Joss.
"Hop on, Ronald, and let's ride," and Tornado knelt for Ron to climb aboard. Ron mounted, put his feet in the stirrups, and grabbed the reigns. "What speed would you like, sir? Walk, Trot, Gallop, or Hell on wheels?"
"Hellonwheels?"
"Very good, Master Ronald," and Tornado immediately took off like 'hell on wheels."
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Ron!" both Joss and I shouted as Tornado did its impression of a 5-star rodeo bucking bronco, and Ron hung on for dear life. After a few seconds of this, Ron was hanging on and appearing to enjoy himself after the initial shock and even yelling "YEE-HAW!" and "BOOYAH!" Tornado slowed to a halt after the full 8 seconds, then calmly trotted Ron back to the spot in from of Joss and me.
"Excellent, Ronald. You took my best, and you stayed on. I bow to your superior skills," and Tornado knelt to allow Ron to dismount. Ron slid off and onto the ground, then kissed the ground. Rufus climbed out of his pocket and checked Ron's pulse and gave me a thumbs-up.
"Ron, are you ok?"
"Ground…"
"Ron?"
"Ground…good…Horse…fast…Ground…good… Horse…fast…" and Ron sat on the ground for a few minutes, repeating his ground and horse mantra.
"Rufus! Where were you last night?" I asked him, and he smiled real big!
"Big Wheel Cheddar!" and he rubbed his stomach, smiled, and burped: definitely cheddar.
"Ok," Ron said, standing up and hopping on Tornado's back. "Let's ride, big guy?"
"Where to, Ronald?"
"Where? Out there," and Ron pointed to the fields beyond the corral. "Let's jump this fence and get jinky on this ground," and Rufus jumped into Ron's pocket just in time, as Tornado jumped the corral fence, and the three of them galloped off into the sunrise.
"Well, I guess he's not afraid, anymore," Joss quipped, and I asked:
"You've never encountered the 'Ron factor,' have you, Joss?"
"No, what's that?"
I grinned some more. "Well, let's get to the bunker and I'll tell you…" and we walked back to the bunker to continue the days of work remaining.
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Betty appeared towards the end of the day with a grin on her face and two parachutes.
"Betty, what's the sitch?" I asked, and Joss giggled. She's been doing a lot of that all day….
"Wade, I have a gift for you," and she tossed me one of the 'chutes.
"And, I do what with this?" I asked as I caught it.
"You go back to your room, put on some study shoes, and take you and the parachute to the plane."
"I need to be at the plane, why?" I was getting a sinking feeling; I didn't know that sinking was the wrong direction.
"So you can make your first jump, of course," Joss answered with a smirk that suddenly disappeared as Betty tossed her the other 'chute. "Me, too?"
"Yes, you too, Joss."
"Why?"
"Why not? Besides, if Ron can jump, so can you," was Betty's reply.
"But Ron screams all the way down and loses his pants on landing," I countered.
"Well, I guess you'll have to do better than that," Ron said as he walked in with his 'chute already on. "We can't have a lunar eclipse, now can we, Wade? Dark moon, rising, eh?" and Joss looked puzzled as Betty and I laughed at Ron's attempt at astronomical humor. "Besides, I need the practice, especially the pants-on part."
'Maybe I'm not cut out for this style of mission work,' I thought as we rode up to 10,000 feet in a plane with no door, and Joss, Betty, Ron, and I in the back along with Arnold Carlos, a GJ certified JumpMaster, and, of all people, Rebecca Jane Casey who, I learned on the way up to my pleasant surprise, was also a GJ certified JumpMaster. I counted again: 6 people boarded, and they were all here. "Who's flying the plane?" I asked.
"Will Du, back on the ground." Betty replied. "Why do you ask, Wade?"
"Just wondering," my fate's in the hands of Du-Duh. Oh, goody, I'll have to jump if I want to survive his landing, anyway.
"We're at optimal jump altitude, Dr. Director," Will's voice came over the speaker in the back of the plane as well as our headsets.
"Very well. Rebecca Jane, you're with Joss; Arnold, you're with Wade. Ron and I will be backup to Arnold and Rebecca Jane, respectively. Check your trainee's harnesses again," and that step completed with no incidents. "Very well: Arnold and Wade, stand ready," and he moved me to the doorway, and Betty counted down, "3….2….1…Jump!" and Arnold and I went out the door.
Now I knew why Ron screamed: it wasn't fear, it was the thrill of the jump, the realization that you were, for a few moments, free from gravity's bonds and actually flying. I could see Joss and Rebecca Jane next to us (well, as next to as you can get at 10,000 feet), but I couldn't tell if they were grinning or screaming: so much for that myth about being able to converse during free fall. I realized that, surprisingly to me, I was grinning.
Betty and Ron had dived past us, and had already popped their 'chutes; Betty's was standard GJ issue, and Ron's had the TP logo across the top.
Arnold motioned for me to pull the release. I did, and I felt a strong jolt and, suddenly, I was hanging in the air from the cords. I looked up, and the bright green square chute was magically suspended above me. Arnold had moved away and released his chute, as well, and was steering away from me. I held on and wondered why I had never done this before: this was an amazing feeling!
"How are you doing?" Arnold asked me across the headset.
"Wonderful!" I replied.
"Great! Don't get cocky," he answered back.
"Are you ok, Wade?" Betty asked.
"You've been holding out on me, this is fun!"
"You're still underage for most jumpers, but you've got two excellent instructors with you," Betty replied. "Joss, how are you doing?"
"SPANKIN!" was her reply.
"Ok, everyone, let's cut the chatter and get ready to come down," Arnold cut in, and he reminded us of the instruction that we'd been given before we took off. Ron and Betty were already on the ground and pulling their 'chutes in and out of our way.
I came down with surprisingly less jolt that I had expected. Arnold came over, watched me pop the harness release, and showed me how to pop gather my chute.
"Excellent first jump, Dr. Load."
"Yeah, Wade, that was smooth," Ron added as he came over. He grinned at me: "You can remove the grin, now, Wade."
"I don't think it's coming off for awhile, Ron," I replied. "I've done this virtually, but I've never actually been on a jump, before."
"WADE!" and I was assaulted by red hair as she grabbed me and threw me into a big hug. "That was soooo much fun. Let's do that all afternoon," and she pulled me into a tighter hug, then pulled back: she had that look, again.
Joss grabbed my face between her hands and kissed me. If this is what skydiving did to her….
For the first time, I kissed her back while she was kissing me, and now I knew what Ron's 'fireworks' comment meant. We separated, and we were greeted by hoots and back-slapping. Joss turned deep red, and I looked for a hole to climb into.
"Don't encourage them," Betty said to Rebecca Jane and Arnold. "They've got enough time to figure it out."
"Wade, my man!" and Ron slapped my back. "Got the lady in a tiz-zy!" and Joss got redder.
"Betty, thanks for the wonderful first time," I said, and Arnold grinned and Rebecca Jane laughed and Ron gave me a big thumbs-up, and I processed what I said….
"FIRST JUMP! FIRST JUMP! Geez, get your minds out of the gutter, will ya?" and Betty was laughing and trying to hide her tinge of red. I didn't look at Joss: I didn't want to see if 'the look' was genetic, as well. Rebecca Jane was exchanging high-fives with Arnold and Ron.
"This calls for a celebration," Ron exclaimed. "I'll go and heat up some of the trout from last night, and I'll whip up a fresh salad and dessert, and…What?" Betty was clearing her throat.
"Well, Ron, about last night's trout: well, I was hungry, and I had a snack, and I kinda got carried away, and, well…" Betty looked sheepishly as her voice trailed away, and Ron groaned.
"Betty! That was 4 whole trout and several pieces left over from last night: you ate them all?"
Betty nodded.
"Oh, man. Well, I guess we'll have to settle for Ronburgers stuffed with fresh chipoltles, freshly-chopped garlic, and freshly-grated cheddar cheese. Assuming, of course, that Rufus hasn't gotten into the fridge and gone thru the second wheel of cheddar…."
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"What's up, Kim?"
"Is Ron still there?"
"Yes, he is," I replied. No 'Hey, Wade,' or 'Wade, how'ya doing?' I knew where I ranked.
"I've broken free of the Tweeb and parental gravitational pulls, and I'm on my way up to see him," she said dreamily, then paused and added, "and you, too, Wade, and Uncle Slim and Joss."
"Great! I didn't see the fire on the weather satellite scans from Florida; did everyone make it out ok?"
"WADE!" the look was back for a few moments, and then she laughed. "Nana said that I was an extremely unique student, but I made her lemon squares that even she said were passable. I'm bringing some up with me on the flight."
"You're not allowed to carry WMDs or chemical weapons on planes, Kim," and I held on for the explosion.
"WADE! When I get there, you get the first one," Kim replied, and not a positive response, either.
"Kim, isn't that cruel and unusual punishment? Or, at the least, attempted murder?"
"Do I need to put you in a room with DNAmy and Monty for 72 hours with no way to exit?"
"Gotcha. I'm stopping, now," Geez, someone's a bit testy.
"By the way, Kim, Ron and Tornado get along, now. They're out exploring the mountains."
"Good…wait, get along?"
"I'll explain it to you when you get here. Are you dropping in?"
"Yeah, someone didn't answer their Kimmunicator last night, and I had to bum a ride from a captain at McDill," Kim answered testily.
"Sorry, Kim, but I was tied up with Betty and Slim and Joss last night. Another long story: I'll let Joss tell you when you get here."
"'Ok, Wadie, you've got some 'splainin' to do.'"
"TV quotes, Kim? That's so not you," and I disconnected before Kim could respond. I immediately connected to Ron.
"Ron? Wade. Kim'll be here tonight, so add an extra plate tonight.
"And, Ron? Get your Pinkto CrummyTummy medicine ready: Kim's bringing the lemon squares she made."
I heard Rufus, in the background, yell "not me!" and scamper away.
"Oh, man."
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A/N:
To my readers:
Remember to jump over to BES-Intermezzi chapter 2 if you want to know what happened after Wade left (after chapter 6 of Blue Eyes, Shining).
Stay tuned for chapter 8: No Sorrow.
Thanks for hanging with me: please remember the review button below!