I owe all of you for the long wait. "Written in the Stars", my Star Wars fic, has finally been completed. High time this was finished before the Christmas season rolls around, but then again, the cold weather and reading these last couple of chapters will amplify the horror awaiting...

A warning: desires taken to the extremes, in the mind as well as on the body. There's also a brief mention of suicide. It's gonna trigger, so for those who can take it, you can brave through this fine, but for the faint and easily offended, I advise you to do your best and skip that part if you can. Don't flame, please.

Chapter Four

When the Freaks Run Wild

Halloween was going so well until the Kimmunicator had gone off halfway through the dance, and they had Monkey Fist.

Monique and her parents went all out this year as far as the décor went: overhead cobwebs dripping with black bats and spiders, the lighting being soft golden orange. Faux corn on the cob covering several corners of the living area and foyer, with many realistic-looking ravens and jack-o-lanterns - a few of them carved with letters to spell out "trick or treat" - as well as sunflowers and autumn leaves. Some skeletons were perched amongst the pumpkins, a couple standing guard on either end of the dessert table; there be an assortment of themed sweets including marshmallow ghosts, pumpkin pastries, sugar cookies fashioned into the iconic holiday characters, and apple as well as pumpkin cider. All were within this graveyard setting and two candelabras bleeding red.

There would also be the Middleton High students in every costume there was, many girls in titillating ones while following the dress code. Monique, for one, really outdid herself with the final result which was a vampire queen - sexy creature of the night - in black and red. The bodice had a sweetheart chest and dramatic collar which rose behind her head; the front was paneled with crimson brocade and cross-laced, the sleeves being see-through lace and ebony like the rest of the gown. Around her throat was a black lace choker woven through with a bloody satin ribbon and matching jewel.

For once, Kim wasn't worried about a date, just enjoyed tonight with her boys and best friend. And the highlight was that Bonnie wound up in that spider dress Monique scrapped at the store.

It was all great fun with the sweets and cider as well as upbeat music until Wade broke the mood and said Monkey Fist was in JAPAN of all places.

"Looks like we'll need Yori's help."

Ron could not refuse her suggestion. Wade wasted no time patching them through to her.

~o~

"This blasted - this blasted mask won't come off!"

His voice was a piercing shriek to his own ears. How in the name of heaven could this happen?! And WHY?!

The mask still wasn't speaking to him; it likely had to be ignoring him altogether when Monty tried to push it for a demand. And when he scratched at the edges of flesh and wood molded together, a terrible scream flared within and caused him to howl, too. It was just a simple minor injury, but it hurt so much! If he kept this up, no doubt he would wind up with bleeding scars that would be with him for the rest of his life afterward. He was not going to stand for that.

Monty was certain that if he sliced the thing off, who knew if it would tear all the flesh from his face or monstrous proportions, leaving him looking like a demon. It brought him back to that legend of the hannya mask which stuck to a jealous, deceitful old woman's face as punishment by the Buddha.

If that was the case, why was HE being punished for doing what was right for himself? All he was guilty of was not staying long enough in Wright's shop to find a scroll of this facial covering and its companions...

...and was equally guilty of finding out the innermost desires he never knew about, which had to flash before his mind at a time like this. The mask knew of his lust for Kim Possible, and of the conflicting matter regarding the buffoon who humiliated him and bested him - and offered him a hand of comradeship in the mirror's vision - all of which caused a familiar rise in his body and right in front of the monkeys of all "people". Growling like a savage, he barked at them to follow him back to their cave hideout, and then leave him for a while to go find some food for all of them.

Which left him to tend to this private matter the beast in him refused to ignore. Not only was it her again, but it was still reeling from the effects of terrifying Amy.

An extremely dark side of his brain which he was certain he had but had never gone that far - it just about came to the surface and began to dominate his rational psyche. To the point of relishing his dreams on the level he had refused to go.

When those images flashed before his eyes, his inner wicked self cackled beyond belief just as the confines of his trousers tightened with exquisite need.

He had Kim Possible in his grasp, in exactly the way he intensely craved. But she was without offending garments and on all fours like a bitch in heat, and he was right behind her. He could imagine the engulfing entrapment of her walls of slick lava around the source of his masculine appetites. There were her glorious breasts bouncing with each vicious thrust from behind, himself pulling her hair but not enough to yank the locks and draw blood; her eyes squeezed tightly enough to show the crinkles in the lids. She could have asked him to stop, but she didn't...closer and closer...

...and when it was over, he was satisfied and came down from his high in pleasure, only to yelp in pain when the effects of the drug that was his fantasy wore off altogether.

Monty gasped in horror at what he saw, pulling his hand up from beneath the waistband of his gi pants: blood and some loose strands of dark curls coating his digits. And none of those hairs came from the backs of his hands. Gritting his teeth, he slapped his palm flat against the cave wall, disgusted with himself. How could he DO that to himself, and how could the mask make him?!

He never imagined going far in his lust the way the pictures played out, and not even to the point where he'd scratch his own manhood, drawing out blood and almost tearing his pube nest off. The mask let him have his fun, and now it seemed this was its way of having its own. It toyed with his natural sensation brought on by Kimberly; it was causing him to behave like a worse lunatic than he was.

And it was stuck to his face. It would not let him be free.

He saw it now and collapsed in defeat, his heart beating in various ways: it clenched and sent a monstrous chain reaction throughout his veins and arteries. His muscles painfully burned in response. The tears melted his eyes and released themselves down his cheeks which he could still feel beneath the wood which had glued itself onto him like a parasite.

If he didn't get this thing off somehow, he was going to appear as a real monster for possibly the rest of his life. He couldn't go out in public again, but he was also a wanted criminal in society and Global Justice's eyes anyway. It was beside the point!

It was only during the times he'd been arrested that this thought came to the forefront of his haunted mind. He wished his mother was here; if only he could take back all those things he said to her. If only he could go back home the way he was now and explain it to her -

Soft ooking broke him out of his thoughts. He jerked his head in the direction of the cave entrance. There were the monkeys who had heard his despair, every single one of them. He snarled and bared his fangs at them, the mask's jaws moving with his, but for some reason, it didn't scare them off as much as before as though they'd grown used to this.

The message they gave was in unison: you need help from the man you took it from.

For just a moment, he was flabbergasted and against going back to Edgar Wright, but it seemed he had no choice any longer. Parts of himself and his control were slipping away by the minute.

~o~

They met up with Yori as planned, thanks to Wade, and both she and Ron had no reason to don their mission gear for once. And unlike them, she was present in her everyday black gi, expectedly.

"Oh, you two -" Yori's eyes widened with admiration and surprise. "I never expected this."

Ron shrugged, blushing and accepting his kiss on the cheek from her. "Yeah, but we hope that we can avoid any bloodbaths for once. Although, it's Monkey Fist all the same; this is his style, no different but also farther than us." Seeing those two even on business made Kim's cheeks blush.

"Don't these two look handsome?" She referred to Ron and Rufus together, both of whom flashed her a thumbs up as thanks and shouted their favorite word of "Booyah!" together. Just a way to lighten things up before they got heavy again. And when that was over, Yori did give them a somber update as she and her fellow Yamanouchi had been busy on their end so being ahead was better than being behind.

"We've kept some tabs, as you say, on Monkey Fist for some days now. We tracked him after he stole the mask from the antiques shop of Edgar Wright, and he'd been at the hideout of one DNAmy. I know how to explain it, but it is difficult as you won't believe the state he left her in." Dark eyes twinkled with a worried sadness matching her face, making Kim and her boys worried. Did - did Monkey Fist have the balls to finally KILL Amy just so she didn't chase him anymore?! Did the Sarūn mask make him do it? But when these questions were asked, Yori assured them no. However...

"She was scared into such a horrible shock that she hasn't emerged from a semi-comatose state, even remains in the clothes on her body to the point she can't move to properly relieve herself."

Now...that was enough to resolve getting that accursed thing off Monty Fiske to save both his life and his soul.

Ron took off his cap and rubbed his hair, messing it up more than it already was. "Oh, boy, as much as Amy is dangerous with those experiments of hers, I don't know if I'm ready to cry IF we get to see her. But you think she might be okay, based on your ninja doctors?" he asked his long-distance love whose smile broadened.

"The best care there is, with no immediate danger." Then it was gone. "Although, with what we know of the masks of Sarūn, we need to find Monkey Fist and fast. No doubt he is heading right for the shop he stole it from as we speak. We will go there now."

And that was where they'd go, taking a helicopter on the way as it was faster, in the dead of night in these parts, and surprisingly, there was a lock on a certain someone thanks to Wade's monitoring, so after that was done, the trio thanked him and Kim cut off the Kimmunicator until the genius was needed again. Putting it to her belt, she, Yori, and the boys then got their parachutes - thank goodness she had some pants underneath her dress for safety, and be damned if this skirt was destroyed since she'd done so much babysitting to pay for it, as always - and took flight down into the trees near the small town. Ron shouted with excitement for a change, having grown up a little about freefalling, Rufus with him, and Yori's laughter was music.

Kim wondered if she'd ever grow up herself and change her views on this, but doubted it in the present. She had yet to experience trauma to warp that.

Sure enough, when they landed, there was the man himself, and the nightmare before them caused Ron and the naked mole rat to screech and hold onto each other, ducking behind an equally shocked Yori - leaving Kim to throw a hand to her chest as her heart cracked in places. From what she could tell, the edges of the black, gold, and red thing had fused into his flesh. It made her wonder if he tried anything drastic to remove it before now, but there was none to be seen even when she shone a flashlight on his face, causing his lids to squeeze tight and him to raise a hand and block the blare.

"Damn it, Miss Possible! You should have at least given me a warning! And don't tell me: you are all here to haul me off. I hate to disappoint you, but I need this thing removed before we get onto what we do best -"

"Yeah, dude, you couldn't be more wrong," Ron interjected. "We know about that mask and that you're in over your head, more than you always have been. Don't admit it, as you always do. For a change - and a second time - we're gonna save your skin." The grin he flashed was forced, but if their enemy was going to play it hard again, so be it.

Monkey Fist snorted and turned his back to all of them. "Of course, your genius would help you out, but what makes you think you can trick me into believing you children care? This is my problem, and you know it."

"Stop making this hard," Kim said heatedly. "What about your mother who still loves you and worries about you?" He always played dirty with them, so that was what she'd do. "We know everything that she could tell us. Would you let us help you because of her, and before you become the monster you don't want to be?" Her voice cracked in spite of herself, and feeling Ron's hand on one of her shoulders, Yori's on the other, didn't help soothe her. But it DID cause the monkey man to stiffen in his place. He turned only halfway, but that monstrosity glued to his features made it hard to read.

"...you talked to Mother. Why am I not surprised? Did she not mention how I said things I wish I could take back? That this mask -" He pointed to it for emphasis. "- made me do?" Reflecting how he is inside, grants him the strength to do anything he wants - and slowly takes over his actions.

Ron stepped forward by a foot. "You mean the mother who still believes in you, never abandoned you when things got hard, no matter what you did, and literally wailed her heart out when she learned of your latest hijinks? Ya know that as well as we are trying to." The man scowled and hissed through his teeth.

"Stop patronizing me, children. Why would you bother trying to 'help' now? What would come out of it after tonight? Did you not see what became of her?" No doubt who he meant by "her".

"They haven't, but I have. But at least she's not going to die, so that counts for something. Everything the mask makes you do now," Yori said calmly, though her face was the opposite in that it was fierce, "you need to bring an end to. Whether you like it or not, we are going with you because you will not make it worse than it already is."

Now he turned all the way around to face them. It was not for the fainthearted to take in his "face" now, but the more Kim looked at it, the sadder she became. He was right; none of them knew what would become of their dynamics after tonight, but they had to help him first. And it seemed that he resolved that there was no use fighting them off with words, and there was no time to use their fists.

Bitterly, he led the way towards the town, where the antiques shop was just outside, between the forest parameters and the square's.

~o~

"I was expecting you - and what a surprise that Team Possible chose now of all times to finally act," the older man said with a smile that was tired but grimacing, notably towards the one with the ugly visage...Fiske himself. "Not surprised that you'd come crawling on all fours."

He hissed through his teeth - actually, his real pair and not the one forced over. "Damn you for belittling me when I came to you for help. I don't owe any apologies until all of this is over." He held up his hand to the youths behind him - there for him a second time when he never once asked for their help, though admittedly was glad they were here for a change - and hissed at the slight burning of his flesh. "I expect this mask to be removed, and you can have it back for the cursed collection. I'll also be more than willing to compensate for damages." Anything to get it off...

...but the reply was heartless in his mind.

"I can't remove it without severing your face, Monty," Wright stated, turning his back to him and walking towards the back, where the other three simian visages were. "It has clung to you and is therefore a real part of you." A real face.

The mask attached itself to him, but how and why? It wasn't going to give him his answers, just sit back and enjoy his torment, toy with his innermost thoughts and desires, and he was going to stop it tonight if he had anything to say about it. "H-how?" Monty demanded, hands clenched into fists at his sides. "How can it be real?!"

The Yamanouchi girl behind him cleared her throat. "We haven't the time to tell you on our behalf. It's one of four, having once belonged to a monkey god - like the Chinese one, but more barbarous and depraved. It seems you are slowly becoming like the deity, incarnate. What and who you were is going to fade away forever."

Just when things could not get any worse than they were, the cold horror making his spine rigid and his nerves fragile icicles.

Wright scowled, turning his reaction halfway, all the while keeping the rest of his attention on the other three masks which seemed to be eyeing them all with the same piercing scowl as Fiske last saw them. "Yes, you'll be this way for the rest of your life unless you feel the need to take your own life, Monty, but imagine what that will do to your poor mother. I'm also certain your life is too precious for yourself. I warned you time and time again, but now you've done it for certain. Now you'll be the beast you never imagined if that was what you wanted. You'll find a means to rule this world, but will you have the memory to ENJOY any of it? What you sacrificed for - including Catherine, Bates, and myself? Your loyal monkeys who are still there for you, surprisingly?"

"And any friends you should have had?" Ronald piped up, and that was the last straw. With each word that burned into his psyche and every section of his being, Monty Fiske snapped like an uncontrollable storm wreaking havoc.

"NO NO NO!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, clawing at the edges of the mask. "I WANT THIS DAMNED THING OFF; I DON'T WANT TO LOSE MYSELF! I WANT TO BE MONTY FISKE AGAIN!"

Everything flashed before his eyes as the world seemed to burn around him, blocking out the people surrounding him:

A whole life of being a disappointment in Father's eyes, no matter what he'd done to try and please the man.

His mother always being there for him to light his darkness when no one else would - and so did Bates, despite being a servant as the rest of his family had been before him.

No friends he could trust and rely on.

No solid relationship solely based on love - the kind that made you whole, made everything worthwhile - and instead encountering a girl interested in him only because of his family fortune.

His career set on the foundation of his love of monkeys, only to be suffocated by society's regulations, with limited freedom of being what he really was.

The accident which caused him to lose an appendage, resulting in his decision to enhance his physical strength to become a far more perfect being.

The intense desire to go beyond the limits...only for obstacles to block him at every turn: Ron Stoppable himself, then him and Kim Possible together, as well as the Yamanouchi ninjas which were once his fellow peers as he'd been a one-time pupil.

...everything taken from him before he could do what he craved. What helped him meet his needs. Being emotionally filled only to be murdered on that level again, all because no one could attempt to understand him.

In the mirror's "prophecy", Ron offered his hand as the first step of comradeship, then a shift to a desirable spell in the form of the redhead who never failed to bewitch him.

In his dreams, while feeling extremely real at the same time, Kimberly offered to help him if he would just take her words to heart.

His whole life - nothing but shambles. What could he live for now?

With another piercing scream that he wished killed his lungs, Monty tugged on his hair to the point of drawing blood from the roots. He felt the pressure of a solid surface pushing against his kneecaps. He was kneeling, and in front of him was a small puddle of what he realized were his own tears he hoarsely sobbed out. He tasted a few on his lips and felt his stomach roll. He wanted his mother, wanted another to love him, to cherish and understand him as he'd wanted all his life, through thick and thin...

Wright's voice broke him out of his internal conflict, soft but still firm. "Monty, if you truly want to be a better man, then you must be willing to suffer through life after you open your heart because there is one...possibility to have that mask removed."

Besides the puddle of his waterworks before his eyes, he saw his horrendous reflection, and the fire in his heart sparked to life. He would NOT spend the rest of his life a shell of what and who he was, controlled by another force that invaded his privacy at every opportunity it had.

Looking up, he saw the reactions of all those around him: his worst enemy, the pretender, with glazed eyes that matched those of his rodent's, the latter perched on his shoulder. Both of them reminding him of Indiana Jones and the sidekick - yes, he remembered those films from when he was a young boy. In his naiveté at the time, he was excited to one day become an archaeologist to gain freedom. However, Ronald was garbed as the sidekick while the naked mole rat was the famed fictional adventurer which Fiske thought was ironically befitting.

The girl, Yori - now that he settled and would call her by her real name - was sympathetic and sad but didn't shed a tear. Ninjas were trained to control their emotions, so he expected this.

And that just left the final herself: he was stricken by how lovely she was. How bewitching, far more than his dreams. Yet he didn't have the courage to tell her the words. He could only swell inside behind his breastbone. Why she chose to bring herself and her friend to him this way was beyond him, but it didn't matter. What mattered was the look she gave him.

Sorrow.

"How many times did you take the mask off, Monty?" Edgar asked him, making him snap to attention. Clearing his throat, Monty straightened while still kneeling.

"T-two or three, but no more," he answered honestly.

There was the ghost of a smile, seen mostly in the eyes than on the face. "Had you done it four times, you would have been damned for eternity. After the third time, the mask becomes compressed to your face as it is now. You would have had to carve and rip it off your face, therefore removing the entirety of flesh with it. You'd be forced to put it back on out of desperation than common sense, and then it would magically become your true face; you'd still look like yourself, but with the features of the mask - you would be more simian than human. Inside as well as outside."

Never again: seek a great power beyond comprehension. It consumed and destroyed you. It tempted your needs and violated you in ways you never imagined.

"Well, how do I get it off?!" He was back on his feet, acutely aware of Kim being the one to stand close behind him.

"I can't take it off, like I said," Edgar said, shaking his head. "You can do that, Monty, but what you need is something that comes from the heart. It doesn't have to be a physical weapon to find, but something that represents the love you were deprived of as well as deprived yourself."

Stay tuned for the grand finale up next. REVIEW WITH LOVING FEEDBACK AND DETAILS! :3