A/N: Bonus chapter! I know many of you are eager to find out how the story ends, and I'm eager to wrap it up for you guys, so here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible. It belongs to Disney and its creators. If it was in the show, I don't own it. Any songs mentioned are the property of their respective owners and artists. I am not doing this for compensation, simply for enjoyment and practice.

Claimer: Krista Ruthie Stoppable is my OC. If you want to use her, please ask. Krysta-L (aka Krystal) was created by StormChaser90 and used with permission. If you want to use her, please contact him for permission.

TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains themes and vague descriptions of abuse.

After All This Time: Revenge

Chapter 16

Intensive Care Unit, Middleton General Hospital

6:42am

"I'm so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable. We did everything we could. But your daughter is dead."

Kim woke with a jolt, the nightmarish memory slowly fading away. She must have dozed off at some point in the last few hours. She hadn't slept in days. Every time she fell asleep, she heard those words again – the words that were spoken to her and Ron over 11 years ago in this very hospital. And every time she awoke, she feared they would become reality.

The sun was just starting to shine its light through the slits in the blinds. Ron was asleep in the chair next to her, Krista still lying comatose in the hospital bed. Kim rubbed the sleep out of her emerald eyes and stood, walking over to the small countertop coffeemaker that had been brought in for them. Steaming cup in hand, she made her way over to the window, peering out at the world between the slats. It was going to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining. She could hear birds chirping over the din of the machines in the room.

It all seemed so wrong. How could the world go on, smile even, while her baby girl clung to life?

How could she be prepared to live without her daughter again?

Kim shook the thought out of her head. This was no time to think like that. Wade was working around the clock to find a solution. He'd figure it out. He had to. Anything was possible for Team Possible.

Right?

Kim heard a yawn behind her and turned to see her husband stretching awake. Ron rubbed his neck, grimacing at the stiffness he felt.

"Morning, KP." Kim gave him a half smile, returning to her thoughts as she looked out the window again.

Grabbing a cup of coffee for himself, Ron moved next to his wife. "Any word from Wade yet?"

"Not yet."

They stood in silence together. What else was there to say?

A knock sounded at the door. As if summoned by their thoughts, Wade appeared in the room. The duo turned anxiously to face him.

"We got something."

XXXXXXXXXX

Maternity Ward, Middleton General Hospital

"I'm so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable. We did everything we could. But your daughter is dead."

Krista watched as her parents collapsed into each other, her mother's sobs nearly tearing her heart in two. Her father shed tears of his own, burying his face in her mother's bright auburn hair.

"I… I'll give you two some time." The doctor turned, and Krista gasped as the face of Dr. Whitman registered in her mind. The despicable man left the room, almost seeming to hide a small smile. Krista's fists clenched open and closed, anger and hate radiating through every cell of her body. Once he was out of sight, she turned back towards her parents.

"We… we barely got to hold her," Kim sobbed.

"I know, KP," Ron replied, his own voice choked with tears.

"How do we go on without her? Without our baby?"

Her father didn't have an answer. He only held his wife closer.

A few beats of silence passed before her mother spoke again. "We'll never get to see her smile. To hear her first words. To see her first steps. We'll never get any of it."

The realization crashed into Krista, causing her to stumble back a step. This was the day she was born.

This was the day she was taken away from them.

"I need to see her. I need to see my baby. Just one more time." Kim pushed aside the sheets of the hospital bed, nearly falling to the floor with the strain of her grief and the effects of labor still present in her body.

Krista watched as her parents were escorted to a dark room. As they collapsed on a body that was not hers. As they said their goodbyes to the daughter they thought was dead. She didn't realize it until then, but tears were streaming down her own face.

It seemed like hours later that her father began pulling her reluctant mother away. With one last glance, Kim whispered, "I love you, baby girl. I will always love you. We will always love you." A sob wrenched from Krista's chest.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Krista started as Ruthie appeared by her side, a sad expression on her face.

Krista momentarily forgot her heartbreak, reeling on Ruthie in rage. "Why would you do this to me?! Why would you bring me here?!"

Ruthie didn't look shocked at her anger, but shook her head in disbelief. "Don't you get it?"

"Get what?"

"They would do anything for you. Just look at them." Ruthie motioned to the scene in front of her, which began to morph into another, one that froze Krista in place.

Her parents were on either side of a hospital bed – her hospital bed – clinging to her hands. She was hooked up to all sorts of machines. Two others were in the room as well – her Grandma Anne and her parents' friend, Wade.

"And you're positive this will work?" her mother asked anxiously.

"Sensei and GJ believe it will. It's our only shot," Wade answered.

"I don't care what the consequences are, Kim," her father chimed in. "I'll walk to hell and back if I have to. But we have to give it a try. We have to save her."

The scene blurred, and suddenly Krista was back in the bright white nothingness. She fell to her knees, Ruthie coming to sit beside her.

"Krista, you have to understand by now. Your parents would literally go to the ends of the earth to protect you," Ruthie whispered.

"I know, but…"

"But what?"

Silence filled the air for several beats, Krista not wanting to voice her fears. "What if I'm not worth it? What if they get tired of all of this… of me?" Her stomach churned with anxiety at the thought. What if her problems got to be too much?

Ruthie laughed. "You've got to be kidding me. That's what you're worried about?!"

Krista looked down at her hands and shrugged. "I just… I wish I could be stronger."

Ruthie groaned and jumped up. "Ugghh! I did not just send you through all those portals to still be at square one!" She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Krista, you don't have to wish. You already are."

"But you saw what happened in those portals."

"Exactly. I saw confidence. I saw strength. I saw courage. Krista, you fought back. Do you think 2 years ago you would have faced Mr. Moore like that? Or those villains?" Ruthie pulled her to her feet. "You have a power in you greater than you will ever know. And I'm not just talking about the spankin' Mystical Monkey Power. You're the daughter of the two greatest crimefighters the world has ever seen. You've faced horrors no one should ever have to face. And you've survived. Each and every time. You've survived. Maybe not without battle wounds, and yes, you'll probably have some scars forever. But, to quote a great author, 'The best people all have some kind of scar.' You're a fighter, Krista. Always have been, always will be. You just have to see it in yourself. You have to believe it and accept it, 'cause it ain't changing!"

Krista bit her lip in thought. Maybe Ruthie was right. She knew her parents would move mountains for her. She knew they were strong. But maybe she could be, too.

"Now get your blonde little butt back there. The world still needs Krista Ruthie Stoppable." Ruthie winked, then pushed her through another portal into the unknown.

XXXXXXXXXX

Intensive Care Unit, Middleton General Hospital

7:19am

"Are you positive this will work, Wade?" Kim asked anxiously.

"Sensei and GJ believe it will," Wade answered. "It's the same principle Drakken used with Krystal, but to a less extreme measure. If Ron can transfer some of his own MMP energy to Krista, that just might give her cells the boost they need to fight the poison." Kim turned to look at her daughter, who seemed to be getting paler by the second.

"It's our only shot," Wade said. He had explained the consequences. Krista's full power would manifest early, requiring more intense training than she would have had otherwise. Ron could potentially lose some of his own power. There was no way to know the full extent of the consequences until the transfer was done.

"I don't care what the consequences are, Kim," Ron had said. "I'll walk to hell and back if I have to. But we have to give it a try. We have to save her."

Kim took a deep breath. Of course they had to try. It was their only chance at getting their baby girl back.

"Okay. Let's do it."

A/N: The quote "The best people all have some kind of scar" was written by the amazing Kiera Cass in her novel The One. Part of one of my favorite book series of all time. Also wanted to pay a little homage to the original, more carefree version of Krista through the character Ruthie. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. My goal is to finish out this story (possibly 2-3 more chapters) by the end of the month. Thanks for reading.