This was not right...this was not good.
Okay, it was impossible to say if it was good or not, but it definitely wasn't right.
Ron could only stare, slack-jawed, while his adoptive sister, who might be his biological daughter, ran laps around the room. That in itself was unusual enough; Hana wasn't quite a year old yet, so while she could be expected to do a bit of toddling; running shouldn't be in the cards at this point. The big attention-grabber was that she was running the laps on the walls, just under the ceiling. In a way, it made sense; the pictures and window were below this pathway while the hallway's entrance header came down below it. This gave Hana a clear path to run...as long as you didn't take that pesky, gravity thing into account.
Ron made a mental note to pay more attention to physics class, there might be a loophole that would be handy to learn.
This wasn't a babysitting issue, he was sure of it. There was something very, very unusual happening. Still staring in awed wonder at the spectacle before him, he keyed his communicator.
"Hey Ron," Wade greeted him. "I've just got the resul...whoa!"
"Yeah, I agree," Ron answered. "Whoa." There was a short pause. "I guess that confirms that you have wide angle viewing capability on this thing."
"Enough for a serious whoa moment," Wade agreed. "I take it that's what you called me about?"
"Yep," Ron nodded. "I'm wondering if this has anything to do with...well...what you're checking for me."
"I don't think so," Wade rubbed the back of his head. "But...maybe. It's a little bit complicated."
"Just what I need," Ron sighed about it. "Anyway, what say we have a meeting in person? I want to catch...someone...by surprise and I don't trust that this someone might not have compromised our communications."
"These communications are secure," Wade growled at him...the first time that he could remember the young genius being angry at him.
"Don't you manage to hack secure systems all the time?" He asked the youngster. "Not questioning your skills or talents, Wade. I mean, if you can hack a system..."
"I...yeah," Wade's irritation deflated very quickly, something that impressed the teen. "I'm loading my findings on transportable media right now. Are we free to discuss things at your place?"
"For the next several hours," Ron told him. "It's just me and Hana here."
"Right," Wade nodded. "See you in about twenty."
It was, indeed, less than twenty minutes later when his doorbell rang. He opened it to see Wade, looking a little nervous about being outside, waiting for him. The young genius didn't waste any time getting inside once Ron opened the door. By the time he got the door closed, Rufus was already chattering at the boy.
"Rufus, you have to understand," Ron explained to his little buddy. "Wade has a hard time understanding you when you talk really fast."
The mole rat grumbled a bit, but scampered up Ron's arm and rode his shoulder into the living room, where Hana had settled down and was dozing on the couch.
"What has Rufus so worked up?" Wade asked, taking a seat.
"He's never been around toddlers before," Ron answered him. "So he started off thinking that this was normal. The idea that at some point in a human's development, we gain the ability to switch the direction gravity works for us really had him shook up. After that, he couldn't understand how, evolutionary speaking, we would arbitrarily gain then lose the ability. Once I explained that this wasn't normal, the thought that a fundamental force of the universe being subject to a toddler's discretion has him disturbed even more. I'm hoping some of your answers will calm him down...and me as well."
"It's sort of a mixed bag," Wade admitted. He looked at the little girl sleeping on the couch while Ron sat next to her. "Do you mind discussing this with Hana present?"
"She's out," Ron offered him a small smile. "I guess running laps along the walls wears you out."
"Right," Wade took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Let's start with the first and easiest question to answer. Yes, you are Hana's father."
Ron didn't know how to feel about that. First, there was the twinge of guilt for being upset when his parents moved her into his room...and him into the attic. Then there was a warm feeling, knowing that this adorable girl was actually his. Then there was the uncertainty of not knowing if he should let his parents know or not. Finally, there were more questions.
"I checked on her DNA," Wade told him, seemingly reading his mind. "Or, more to the point, I did some anonymous consulting with geneticists. She should be showing more simian characteristics but she isn't. Whatever is suppressing the genes isn't chemical or biological in nature."
"The Mystical Monkey Power?" Ron asked.
"It's as good an explanation as any," Wade sighed. "Mystical forces are beyond my expertise, but something is in play here, and it can't be detected, much less quantified or measured."
"So, will whatever is keeping her in a human form keep doing it?" Ron asked him. "And, when the time comes, will she be able to have kids that aren't mutants?"
"As for the later, I didn't think to check," Wade appeared embarrassed to admit it. Ron was forced to remind himself that at his age, the boy genius probably considered children a future probability...he hadn't developed the urge to do the things that made kids a reality.
Urges that could be manipulated...exploited...
"...As for the former, I can't even begin to answer that," Wade continued, jolting Ron out of his dark thoughts. "But I think we both know where those answers can be found."
"Yamanouchi," Ron grumbled.
"It seems to be where everything is leading," Wade told him. "Your mutation was facilitated by a Yamanouchi member, by Master Sensei's admission. While I have to take anything Leon said with a grain of salt, she did present evidence that Yamanouchi was behind...well..." he blushed, looking at Hana.
"You don't need to say it," Ron sighed.
"The only question is, why?" Wade offered, looking relieved that he didn't have to detail Yamanouchi's involvement in Hana's conception.
"That's not the only question," Ron grumbled. "But it's the biggest one."
"What are the other questions?"
"Why me?" He stated. "Then there's why now? And finally, the ever-popular, why didn't you just ask me?"
"I don't think that science can provide any of those answers," Wade confessed.
"I know," Ron agreed. "I'm going to have to go there and find out. I'm going to take Hana with me, walk right up to Master Sensei and demand to know what's going on."
"That's probably the only way you're going to find out," Wade agreed. "Note that while Master Sensei told you about the mutation, he didn't come clean about Hana. I get the idea that he's only going to answer specific questions."
"Like a ninja," Ron agreed.
"Could I offer a piece of advice?" Wade asked him.
"Offer away," Ron agreed.
"Take Kim with you," Wade told him. "She's solid in a scrap and she's been wanting to back you up on a mission for awhile now. If nothing else, she's more famous than you are."
"I'm not catching the reasoning with that last one."
"Kim is a minor celebrity worldwide," Wade pointed out. "And you're dealing with a secretive organization that isn't above doing somethings that would make us flinch a little."
Ron could only nod his head in agreement.
"So, they might not balk at making you disappear," Wade told him. "On the other hand, if it was known that Kim Possible had parachuted into the area and vanished, they would have a publicity mess on their hands."
"I don't think they'd go that far," Ron tried to protest, then held his tongue. He really didn't know any of them all that well.
"Just humor me on this one," Wade suggested. "If nothing else, the two of you make a solid team."
"I'm convinced," Ron nodded. "Just set up a drop. For once, I want to catch them by surprise."
Suddenly, the boy genius looked at a wrist mounted communication devices of his own. "Maybe you should discuss it with her before you go," Wade suggested. "You can talk it over after this mission."
"What mission?" Ron asked.
"The one coming in right now," Wade told him. "Monkeyfist is on the move, coming to Middleton. He's been doing some research and I'm guessing that he's going to try to take an artifact from the Museum of Ancient Artifacts and Antiquities."
"The MAAA?" Ron asked him.
"You've been there?"
"Never," Ron admitted.
"You are the pickup," Wade told him.
"What?" Ron was now past confused.
"You upgraded your scooter license to a motorcycle license," Wade reminded him. "The ride is Eric's bike, at Kim's house. Get moving. I'll keep an eye on Hana."
"Okay, so why aren't you driving this thing?" Ron asked, as the miles to the museum flew by.
"I don't have a motorcycle license," she answered, from behind him. Leave it to Wade to secretly equip a couple of helmets with radio transceivers for them.
"So why isn't Eric driving you?" Ron asked. "I thought the prohibition on not going to where there could be supervillians was over."
"It's the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles," Kim answered. "They've decided that Eric's about one year old, timing his age from the time he came on line. Since he's underage, he can't drive."
"So the school district decided he's a teen, but another state department decided he was a toddler?"
"It's politics," Kim told him. "It doesn't have to make sense."
Ron didn't have time to debate the point, they had arrived at the museum that may, or may not, be targeted by Fiske.
"Alright guys," Wade's voice came over their speakers. "I've got the front door unlocked and am setting you up with a path through the motion sensors. The scroll I think he's after is indicated on your communication devices."
Even though it seemed wrong to use the front door when there were perfectly acceptable ventilation ducts available, the two followed the graphics that Wade sent them to an area of the museum dedicated to Asian artifacts.
"The scroll from the secret sect of mantra monks," Wade announced, once they reached their destination. "Fiske acquired the last artifacts associated with it in the last week and he filed a flight plan over Middleton for tonight. I think..."
The boy was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass from above the teens. The two scrambled out of the way of the falling shards and looked up to see Fiske and several monkeys jump in through a broken window.
"I see that the two of you guessed where I was going to strike," the nobleman declared, striding towards a particular display case.
"Hey!" Rufus protested, from Ron's pocket.
"I do not count mere rodents as worth my time," Fiske declared, smashing the display's glass. "So if you would be so kind to let me perform my research..."
"You had a lot of nerve coming here," Kim declared. "But not much in the way of brains. The two...er...three of us can handle you and your monkeys and the police are on the way. You can't win."
"Why would I be interested in winning?" He taunted the team. "I'm only after what I want; and that doesn't include defeating you."
"Well, you're going to have to fight us anyway," Ron told him, dropping into a fighting stance. "What do you want, Kim, Fiske or the monkeys? By the way, where did the monkeys get to?"
"It embarrasses me to admit that it took me this long to realize that my priorities made no sense," Fiske interrupted the teens. "I wanted to defeat you so that I could acquire ultimate power when in reality, I should have been acquiring the ultimate power first, so that I could defeat you at my leisure. I also realized that I did not have to actually confront you to do so."
"Oh, what if we force the confrontation?" Kim answered.
"Then I'll have to give you something better to do," Fiske informed her. "You see, the two of you..."
He ignored another offended squeak from Rufus..."are heroes, which means you are bound to a certain code of conduct that I am not. These artifacts around here, although interesting, are of no use to me, but you would be very upset if any were to become damaged, wouldn't you?"
The teens looked around the display room, where the monkeys had taken up positions among the artifacts.
"You wouldn't..." Ron grumbled.
"Oh, but I would," Fiske gloated in response. "Monkey ninjas...vandalize!"
Upon hearing the order, the monkeys started to casually knock various items off of the shelves. Kim, Ron and Rufus scrambled like mad, catching them before they could hit the ground. Fiske took advantage of the distraction to examine the scroll in the display case he had broken into, even going so far as to take photos of it. Finished, and with the monkeys running out of breakable artifacts to threaten, he jumped to the broken window.
"Retreat, my minions!" he ordered. The monkeys scrambled out of the museum as the teens...and naked mole rat...secured the last of the artifacts. "You see, you fools?" Fiske offered one, last taunt. "When you actually care about something, it results in a weakness. When next we meet, it won't go so easy on you."
Fiske jumped out into the dark night.
"So, what now?" Ron asked both Wade and Kim.
"The two of you are going to have to stay there until the police arrive," the boy genius answered. "While we have security footage of you saving the artifacts, it's going to look bad if you leave before the authorities get there. In the meantime, I have a suggestion."
"Suggest away," Kim told him.
"Answer the police when they arrive. I'll set up a ride to Japan for Friday night, after your games. This will give you all weekend to deal with Yamanouchi. In the meantime, I'll try to dig up whatever I can on the scroll Fiske was interested in. Let's handle one thing at a time."
Ron shared a look, then a shrug, with Kim. It didn't feel right letting Fiske get away, but it was the best plan they had at the moment.
Free fall was no big, she had done it dozens of times. Free fall at night was no big deal, she had done it plenty of times, as well. Free falling into a sitch with high stakes was no big...scratch that, high stakes was, by default, big. The point she was trying to tell herself was that with all of the jumps she had done into hostile, dangerous sitches, this one shouldn't have her nervous. Instead, she was...pardon the pun...jumpy.
Ron was even more so. He had never been a fan of free fall and carrying his infant sister/daughter would make anyone more nervous. Add to this, he was jumping into a confrontation. This wasn't the sort of confrontation that could be solved by punching and kicking; and the consequences could be a lot worse than bruises and contusions. It wasn't that long ago that he had been bitter and depressed, then he had morphed into resentful but determined. Just a couple of weeks ago, something had changed for him, making him happy again, but still determined to make something out of himself. Now, the sudden change for the positive could be in danger and there was one person at the center of it all.
As much as she was glad that Ron and Yori had gotten together somehow, she was going to have words, at the very least, for how the ninja treated Ron. You didn't manipulate people like that. Okay, she could admit that she had once signed Ron up for a job at Bueno Nacho without asking him first, but that was a far cry from tricking him into a one night stand with a villain for the purpose of making a baby. Just before the time came to jump, she concentrated on calming herself. She would hear out Yori and Sensei before letting them have a piece of her mind.
Then, it was time to jump. As always, the rush of cold night air swept her doubts and anxieties away. This was what she was born to do; to act! Sure, gathering intelligence and coming up with a plan was great, but she reveled in action; in the flex and pull of her muscles and the quick reactions to a variable sitch. For now, it meant spotting a flat space in the cluster of buildings before her and using the risers to guide her in. As she and Ron had worked out before, she came down fast while he, encumbered with Hana, came in more slowly. She hit the ground, released the chute and executed a tumble and recovery, ready for action.
This proved wise, as a shadowy figure burst from the dark and was on top of her. Kim sidestepped and struck back, but her assailant had reactions every bit as honed as hers. The figure, lithe, slender and dressed in black, was hard to keep track of in the dark. Whoever it was blocked Kim's punch high then dropped and tried to sweep her feet. Kim jumped over the sweeping foot and kicked with the same motion; her attacker blocked her foot up, but Kim was ready, using the force to execute a backwards flip, punching while she was upside down. The assailant rolled away and recovered, attacking again.
Kim had a moment to realize that her attacker had a feminine figure but then it wasn't time to debate gender, the oncoming kick was skilled, powerful, and followed by elbow strikes the moment Kim blocked it. Kim leaned back from the first elbow then directed the next by her, turning with the movement and finding herself back-to-back with her attacker. She tried her own, backward elbow strikes but the hostile ninja did a somersault, both ducking the attacks and breaking contact. This time, Kim didn't wait for another attack.
She jumped towards the attacker, trying to stomp on her with the descent. The ninja adjusted her location, letting the redhead's foot smash into the ground right next to her and tried to drive a knife-hand into her kidney. Kim was too fast for this, catching the hand and twisting. The assailant went with the motion, cartwheeling to lessen the stress of the wrist-lock and lashing out with a foot. Kim tilted her head out of the way but didn't account for her helmet. The kick struck the protective headgear and snapped her chinstrap, knocking the helmet off of her head even as the ninja continued the motion to get some distance again. Kim quickly swatted the helmet away and set herself again, only to see that her assailant had gone motionless. A moment later, the ninja pulled back her hood and pulled down her face cover.
"Yori?" Kim didn't relax her stance.
"Kim Possible," the girl replied, bowing. "My apologies, I did not know that friends would arrive by parachute."
Ron swept onto the ground, releasing his parachute but declining any acrobatics...as he was still carrying Hana. Upon seeing the girl, Yori's eyes lit up.
"Hana!" She called, then went silent, a look of fear in her eyes. Hana saw her and suddenly squealed in delight, waving her arms.
Kim shared a look with Ron, noting that he had realized what she had.
"It is good that you have come when you have," Yori told them, regaining her composure.
"Really?" Kim didn't have to put the ice in her voice. "The place looks deserted and the only person we've seen attacked me when I got here."
"Master Sensei has sent all but me away from the school," Yori told them. "We are about to be attacked by a great evil. There isn't much time, please follow me and he will explain."
Now very confused, Kim looked to Ron. His scowl vanished, replaced by a smirk. He then shrugged his shoulders and followed the ninja. Kim suddenly understood; Yori was taking them to meet Master Sensei. They were about to have a private meeting with the two people who could answer all their questions. She fell in step beside her friend.
Kim had never been to Yamanouchi before, so she didn't know how many students and teachers would normally be found here. From the facilities she could see, it seemed that it was set up to house several dozen people. If the organization, and she realized that it went well beyond what she would consider merely a school, had such a worldwide reach, most members must live outside this facility. She idly wondered which of the stone structures had been carved by Toshimiru from the living rock of the mountain and which had been constructed later.
Such musings didn't last long. While Yori appeared sedate and unruffled, she was moving very quickly. It wasn't long before Kim found herself next to Ron, standing in what appeared to be a large meeting hall, illuminated only by a couple of braziers, and facing Master Sensei.
"It is good that allies have arrived," the old man stated. "Our need is great. Lord Fiske landed in Japan yesterday and will most likely be here within hours."
"What?" Ron asked. "You think we're here to help fight Monty?"
"I do not know the reasons you chose to come here," the old man declared. "But I know that it's destiny that called you."
"Wrong," Ron answered, his voice firm but now shouting. "We're here because I want to know why you manipulated me into being Hana's father."
Both Yori and Sensei had a moment of wide eyes.
"We know I'm her father because we had a paternity test done," Ron continued. "And the only reason I thought of having it done was because Camille Leon told me about a little mission she performed in Middleton. The only reason she told me this was because we caught her committing crimes. Are you telling me that the MMP caused her to commit crimes and frame Britina, which caused Britina to call Kim for help, which started our investigation, which prompted Kim's brothers to help us, which led us to learning about her shape-shifting, which helped us catch her, which meant that she offered us information for a lighter sentence?"
"You lost me three steps back," the old man admitted. "But what is important is that you are here now, with Fiske on his way to destroy Yamanouchi."
"I'm not sure I want to defend Yamanouchi until a get some answers," Ron growled back.
Again, both Yori and Sensei had a case of very wide eyes.
"You must..." Yori started to protest, only for Ron to interrupt her.
"I don't have to do anything!" He roared. "Yamanouchi has done nothing but trick me! I thought I was part of a student exchange, but no, I suddenly found myself in a secret ninja school and that I had some destiny to fulfill. Okay, I could handle that, even though I found myself in a cage being lowered into molten lava!"
Kim's eyes decided to challenge Yori and Sensei's for size.
"Then I tried to mutate myself to rescue people and thought I'd failed, only to learn later that Yamanouchi mutated me!" He continued his rant. "Then I'm asked to help rescue you, Sensei, from Fiske, only to find out that it was DNAmy all along!"
"We had every reason to believe..." Yori again tried to interrupt.
"But before that, someone who I thought was Yori showed up at my house when I was down and...and..." he couldn't continue.
"Then it turned out that it wasn't Yori, it was Leon, who looked like Yori when she was supposed to look like Tara, but was working for Yori!" He finally choked out.
Kim kept an eye on Yori; the young ninja's eyelids were back to trying to slap the top of her scalp. It was clear that she was shocked by how much Ron had learned.
"And then you get my parents to adopt Hana, making me think she's my sister when she's really my daughter!" Ron concluded. "And now you're trying to tell me what I must do?"
Hana started to cry, upset by Ron's yelling. He did his best to sooth her while still glaring at the two Yamanouchi in front of him.
"I think you're past the point where you can tell him what to do," Kim told them. "I think you're at the point that if you want him to do something, you're going to have to ask him and explain why he should."
"Perhaps you are correct, Kim Possible," Sensei bowed his head. "Yourself and young Stoppable should be allies, not subordinates to be ordered, tools to be used or unwitting pawns to be manipulated. Will you let me tell you why it is in your interest to assist us, and why I took the actions that I did?"
She had her mouth open, ready to demand just what would justify all of this, when she realized it wasn't about her. Instead, she turned to her friend. "Ron?"
"I guess it won't hurt to hear the story," the blonde boy grumbled. "It's what I wanted anyway."
"Very well," the old man told him. "It begins with a force of destruction, Yono the destroyer..."
Kim exchanged a look with Ron; this matched what Wade had told them.
"It isn't always easy to correlate the forces we face with those beliefs more common in the west," Sensei continued. "While it is easy to label The Yono as evil, it is in truth more a spirit of destruction more than a spirit of malice. Rather than evil, The Yono is an untameable force that should only be unleashed as a last resort. Often, the cost he exacts from those who call him is worse than the suffering that prompted them to call upon him in the first place."
"Master," Yori interrupted. "Can we take the time to tell our guests this when Fiske could strike at any time?"
"Fate will guide us," Sensei told her. "If I was remiss in not explaining my actions before, the fates will see to it that I am suitably punished for trying to take the time now. Shortly after Toshimiru founded Yamanouchi, a mystic from China arrived and shared a vision with him. In this vision, Yono the Destroyer would some day be summoned to the world to wreck devastation directly. The Yono could only be stopped by a great weapon, the Han, a child of Toshimiru's own line and a chosen one, one chosen by the Mystical Monkey Power itself to counter the very one who would unleash the Yono."
"This sounds strangely convenient," Ron muttered.
"If you can read the language, I can show you the ancient scrolls," Sensei told him, his voice still calm. "Yet, this mystic revealed to Toshimiru that while the Yono revels in destruction, the Mystical Monkey Power revels in chaos, uncertainty and improvisation. The one who summoned the Yono would be imbued with the Mystical Monkey Power but, in the act of attaining it, he would cause the power to chose his opposite, the Chosen One. This Chosen One would be a hindrance to the summoner, thwarting his efforts to gain power until such time that the summoner would bring the Yono, in the flesh, to the world."
"Still sounds convenient," Ron growled again.
"Do you have no faith?" Sensei actually sounded desperate. "Can you believe nothing? You've seen the Lotus Blade come to your summons, does that not tell you that there's something beyond science at play here?"
"Oh, I can believe that there's something beyond science," Ron answered him. "But every time I've dealt with Yamanouchi, there's been some sort of trick or twist. It's never what it appears to be."
"Then allow me to finish my tale," Sensei requested. "And then we will see if we can prove my story to your satisfaction. Because the Mystical Monkey Power thrives on unpredictability, the mystic urged Toshimiru to not reveal to the Han or the Chosen One what they must do. According to the mystic, the Mystical Monkey Power itself would bring the Han and the Chosen One to where they needed to be, when they needed to be there, and capable of doing what they must. While some small instruction in basic skill would be allowed, the act of defeating the Destroyer would be the Han acting as an instrument of the Mystical Monkey Power itself."
"And you think that Monkeyfist is on the move, right now?" Ron prompted him.
"The Lotus Blade itself announced the summoning of the Yono," Sensei answered. "Just as it announced first Fiske, then you, awakening the Mystical Monkey Power."
"And you don't see a problem with throwing a toddler against a madman, martial-arts master and some sort of demon?" Ron shouted.
"She will not be a toddler," Sensei told him. "She will be an instrument of the Mystical Monkey Power."
"I don't care!" He roared. "Don't you see how it'll turn out? Fiske and this Yono thing are going to kill Hana!"
"I do not believe so," Sensei told him. "With you and us to support her, she shall triumph."
"And when were you going to tell me this?" Ron demanded. "You just sat back and let events bring me here, conveniently when I demanded answers?"
"That is the way of the Mystical Monkey Power," Sensei told him.
Ron could only glare at the man.
"Master," Yori interrupted. "Perhaps I can demonstrate the price that Yamanouchi has paid to prepare for this moment. Seeing a certain shrine may help."
"Perhaps you are correct," the old man reached into his robes and produced a key. "Use this, it will be easier than climbing over the mountain."
Kim noted that Yori blushed before accepting the key.
"Kim Possible," the old man addressed her, when she stepped to follow Ron and Yori. "This is a secret and sensitive aspect of Yamanouchi. Perhaps you and Rufus could stay with me and learn about the threat we face, while my student shows your friend the price we have paid for the Han."
Kim was suspicious, but understood that a ninja school would want to keep its secrets.
She should have told him in Thailand. She should have confessed everything, the deception that led to his encounter with Leon and the fact that he was a father. She felt no guilt for not telling him about his mutation; she hadn't known about it, but she had been an integral part of the manipulation and deception. She had the chance to tell him, but she had been a proper daughter of Yamanouchi and kept its secrets. Now, the secret was out and he was coldly, rightfully, furious. There were much higher stakes than her relationship with him and to be truthful, she couldn't even bring herself to be concerned about that. Instead, she was wracking her brain about how to regain his trust. She could come up with nothing, only hoping that he could see how high the price Yamanouchi had paid had been would make him at least assist them.
The entrance of the mausoleum held a hidden niche, which held a flashlight. She grabbed this and turned it on to lead him to the back, where the hidden keyhole awaited. This was the first time that she had opened this door and was impressed with the strength it took to do so. Master Sensei had shown no strain when he had opened the door and led her down this path. Her companion seemed somewhat impressed with the hidden door and followed her to the moonlit shrine.
"Toshimiru's ashes," she announced, gesturing to the ornate niche on the far side of the shrine. "And all of his direct descendants, daughter following son following daughter. Ninety-eight generations of only children until we reach here, the ninety-ninth. Junso, my friend and Hana's mother."
"You killed her?" Ron looked halfway outraged and halfway shocked.
"No..." Yori protested. "Well...yes."
Ron gave her an arched eyebrow and edged slightly towards the tunnel leading out of the shrine.
"Hana drew much of Junso's chi unto herself," she explained. "I was assisting in rescue efforts stemming from Dr. Drakken's attack when she gave birth. When I returned to Yamanouchi, she was in a vegetative state, kept alive only though machines and only to provide nourishment for Hana. I would not approve of being kept alive in that state, so I destroyed the machinery that was sustaining the husk that was once her." She felt a tear wind out of her eye, but she did not care. "Junso was my closest friend here, we became close during our mission to your city. Do you understand what it cost me to free her?"
"I want to believe you," he snarled at her. "But all I see is a bunch of containers, that could be what you claim them to be. I hear a sad story, but I don't know if it's true or not."
"Then what do you need me to show you to make you believe me?" She demanded.
"Did Junso meet with Leon?" He asked.
"Yes," she was now puzzled. "How does that matter?"
"Do you have any sort of picture of her?" Ron asked.
"Yes," she said, after a moment's thought. "Yamanouchi maintains records. In fact, there will be one stored back in the mausoleum."
"I'd like to see it."
She didn't understand, but she understood the need of gaining his trust. She led the way back through the tunnel and sealed the doorway behind them. Then, she went to the record book. Of course, Junso's was the latest entry.
"Here," she lit the photograph with her flashlight.
"She was with you in Middleton?" Ron asked.
"Yes," still, she was confused. She continued to be confused when he held up his arm and worked a couple of controls on his wrist-mounted communicator. Moments later, an image of Junso appeared above it.
"So Leon was telling the truth," Ron told her. "And so are you. Leon said that there was a second person working with you, but she disguised herself. Leon's talent overcomes that."
"So will you assist us?"
Her heart was in her mouth as he stopped and looked like he was considering it.
"I guess Fiske's worse than Yamanouchi, isn't he," the teen finally told her. "Yamanouchi might not be that great but even with all of the lies, it's better than Monty."
"Ron, when have I ever lied to you?" She asked.
"When you told me you loved me," he bitterly growled at her.
Any answer, any protest she could have made was interrupted by a rumble...that wasn't thunder...echoing across the grounds. She had lived her life here, so knew that it came from...
"The main gate!" She gasped, sprinting towards the commotion. She was heartened to see, from the corner of her eye, that Ron was on her heels.
Never had the trip across the grounds seemed to take so long! As she ran past dark, deserted squares and buildings, she could see flashes of light and hear more explosions and the shrieks of monkeys from the gate. Just before reaching the portal, things went ominously silent. She turned the last corner to see the gates shattered on the ground. In the gap, a monkey, wearing a kung fu uniform, stood cross-armed, a smirk on its face. Before it, Rufus and Master Sensei stood immobile, their flesh turned to stone.
She gasped in horror and shock, an expression echoed by Ron, from just behind her. Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Both she and Ron could take no action other than struggle to remain on their feet as a stone temple...plain yet somehow profane...emerged from the beloved stone of Yamanouchi and thrust hideously into the sky. At the top, Fiske leered down upon them from the midst of his monkey ninjas. Once the temple fully emerged, the monkeys began to scramble down to ground level while Fiske pushed something from the roof. It crashed to the ground to reveal itself to be the stone form of Kim Possible.
"You've gone too far this time, Monty," Ron hissed, his quiet voice somehow echoed across the school. There was no skill or contemplation in his mad charge towards the profane temple.
"Ron, no!" She tried to warn him against rash acts, she tried to warn him that he still carried Hana, but he was beyond listening. She tried to run after him, but lightning burst from the monkey, forcing her to dodge and keeping her away from him.
Most of the monkeys simply gave way before him, except for two that couldn't get out of his way in time and were sent flying by his enraged strikes. The monkeys that had stepped aside and in his rage, he didn't note them closing in behind him as he faced Fiske, who had just reached the ground. Instead of trying to strike him down, the monkeys jumped onto him, linking their hands, feet and tails, forming a living, breathing net that engulfed him and started to tighten. Hana slipped from the trap and sat, smiling, on the stone.
"You took everything from me that I valued," Fiske seemed to purr at the blonde teen. "So, I gladly return the favor. Yamanouchi is no more, Sensei, your rat and Kim Possible have been dealt with and now for the child that you so foolishly brought along. You'll see them all gone before I finish you off."
"Leave Hana out of this," the struggling teen snarled, trying to break free.
"Hana?" Fiske looked thoughtful. "The Han? How could I have been so blind? The weapon isn't a thing or even a spell, it's a person!" His smile grew wider and he approached the child. "Come with me, Hana," he beckoned. "I'll show you the pleasures or wielding ultimate power, without foolish notions of morality or honor to get in your way."
Ron roared in impotent rage as Fiske approached the girl but when the villain reached for her, she swatted away his hands with a delighted shriek. He reached again, only for the same thing to happen again.
"Insolent little brat..." he snarled, only to be interrupted by the clatter of a notebook that fell out of Ron's pack. The appliance bounced down two steps, flipped open and started to play a video with a lively dance tune. Hana smiled wider upon hearing the music, laughed louder and started to dance.
Yori knew that the little girl would be more developed than a child of her age should be, but there was no way that Hana should be able to jump and run like she was doing now. She started by sprinting between the legs of the stunned Fiske, then climbing up his back and jumping to the temple's higher steps. She then jumped a good four meters up from this step to one of the carvings on the temple proper, narrowly avoiding a lightning burst from the Yono. Rather than be frightened by the noise and danger, the little girl seemed to relish it, laughing even louder and bounding from point to point on the temple, always one step ahead of the raw, malignant energy the demon monkey threw at her.
Ron shouted encouragement to the child as she bounded down from the temple's upper regions and dashed by him. Another burst from the Yono barely missed her, striking the mass of boy and monkey and turning the monkeys to stone, entrapping Ron more firmly. Not noticing, Hana pirouetted up to the flabbergasted Fiske and grabbed his hands, twirling him around with her in a joyous dance...to which he protested loudly.
Fiske was a strong man, he should have had no problem getting free of the little girl's grip or even lifting her up and carrying her off, yet he was helpless in her grasp. He was soon dizzy, having been spun several times with the Yono's blasts barely missing him several times. Then, Hana let go, sending him sprawling onto his back. He tried to get up, but the girl jumped at him, springing off of his face and knocking his head onto the hard stone beneath him. Hana executed a flip and wound up sitting on the stone, facing the demon monkey.
"You have defeated him who has unearthed me," it intoned to her. "And now, as agreed, he will find his destiny following the path of the Yono."
The monkey vanished an all who had been changed to stone changed back. Fiske's monkeys scrambled away while Sensei, Rufus and Kim Possible all looked confused.
"What has happened to Fiske?" Yori demanded. Then, the profane temple started to tremble and recede into the ground. Atop the structure, the stone form of Lord Fiske, an expression of horror on his face, was the last to be swallowed by the stone.
"The path of the Yono," she murmured.
"Now do you see why I was ready to pay any price too bring forth the Han?" Sensei spoke to Ron. "Do you see why I was prepared to betray even allies, to ensure that the Ultimate Monkey Master would be on the right side?"
Ron only looked at the destruction around him and picked up his daughter.
"I think it's time for us to go," he finally said. "Me and Hana will be in the gardens until the ride gets here."
He turned and walked from the shattered plaza, his boot-steps echoing in the stifling silence. Yori found herself facing Kim Possible.
"I think the two of us need to talk," the redhead told her, just before she could say the same thing.
A/N: Again, thanks to Joe Stoppinghem for beta reading.