Chapter 61: Monkey Business
Ron landed one good knee strike when Fisk crashed into him so the villain was somewhat winded as they tumbled off of the stage and through the door. Ron managed to curl up and get his feet between them. He straightened his legs, sending Monty sailing through the air. Ron sprang to his feet while the ordinarily graceful Fisk did a belly flop onto the asphalt. Ron felt dampness on his head and down his back. Touching his head, his hand came away covered with blood. Somewhere on his journey from the stage, something, be it the floor, the doorframe, Monty's claws or even his teeth, had given him a cut across his scalp. Luckily for him the blood was running down his back and away from his eyes.
Ron heard a clang behind him and spun to see two monkeys placing a bar across the door. The little pests produced a padlock and locked the bar in place. Ron spun back to face Monkey Fist, who was just climbing to his feet.
"As you can see Ronald," his assailant informed him. "I have gone to great lengths to insure that nobody will interrupt us."
"By teaming up with Motor Ed?" Ron asked, dropping into a fighting stance.
"Sacrifices must be made," Monty replied. "Although I will be very loathe to associate myself with him again." The villain sprang forward with a front kick/punch combination.
"Yeah, but Ed?" Ron commented, springing lightly back out of Fisk's range. "Couldn't find anyone better willing to team up with you?"
"Edward has his uses," Monty countered, this time throwing a roundhouse kick.
"Such as…" Ron prompted, blocking the kick and sweeping his foot out to trip Monty.
"One of his henchmen, the so called Gearheads, had a contractor's license," Fisk informed him, hopping back to avoid the trip. "And for all the buffoon's faults, I must admit that my vehicles have never been so well maintained."
"Seriously?" Ron asked, resuming his fighting stance.
"Seri…argh! That's enough Ronald," the nobleman raged. "You bested me in our last encounter because I underestimated you. This time I know better. You are still unworthy to wield the Mystical Monkey Power, but you are a formidable adversary, deserving my best efforts."
With that, Monkeyfist launched himself into a blistering attack. Much like before, Ron worked mostly defensive moves, letting the crazed villain wear himself out. Monty, however, had learned from the last time. He sprang back and sent three of his monkey ninjas to attack Ron.
The blond boy met the first monkey in midair with a flying sidekick that sent the creature sprawling backwards. The second monkey leapt on him as he landed. Before it could strike, Ron planted an elbow in its belly. The creature slumped and the teen drove a knee into its face. The third monkey landed on Ron's back and clawed at his already bleeding scalp.
With a roar of pain and rage, Ron did a back flip, shaking the monkey off of its perch. It landed on its back with the boy on top of it. A quick knife-hand strike to its temple took it out of the fight. Ron looked up to see the forth monkey handing Monty a sheathed Wakizashi.
"You have indeed become a more worthy adversary, Ronald," Monkeyfist told him. The villain unsheathed the blade and saluted Ron with it before advancing. "I almost regret needing to strike you down. Yet the Mystical Monkey Power will be mine. Know this, that when I become the Supreme Monkey Master, I shall have a statue built in your honor."
"I hope you don't mind if I try to prevent that, Monty," Ron replied, looking desperately for a weapon. He yanked off his jacket and held it spread out in front of himself, like a matador's cape.
"Naturally, I would think less of you if you did not," Monty informed him, making a couple of feints to measure his reactions.
Ron skipped back then; holding one of his jacket's sleeves snapped the garment at Monty's leading foot, trying to entangle it. Monty skipped back and slashed at the jacket, which Ron pulled back in time.
"Innovative, Mr. Stoppable, I'm impressed," Monty taunted, but Ron knew he had made his point. Monty couldn't just ease up close to him and strike; he would have to make his attack from outside his victim's range.
"Why are you doing this, Monty?" Ron continued his banter. "Even if you kill me, even if you dismember me, you won't gain the Mystical Monkey Power. It doesn't work that way." Ron was trying to channel the power he was talking about, using it to increase his perceptiveness.
"I would be saying much the same in your predicament," Monty retorted. "Falsehood ill becomes you, Mr. Stoppable." He made a sudden thrust, which Ron dodged. "And even if you were correct, Ronald, I don't care. If I cannot posses the Mystical Monkey Power, nobody will." Monkeyfist stalked forward again.
Ron continued his mental efforts. He needed to be able to tell the difference between a simple feint, like that…and that…and the real attack, like this…
Monty committed himself to a thrust, which pierced the boy's jacket. Ron used the garment to conceal his own movement. The blade actually pinked his ribcage but passed by him and stuck into the utility pole. Fisk tried to pull it back out but Ron seized the man's wrists and drove his knee three times, hard, into the crazed villain's left thigh. Monty was limping when he released his sword and retreated. Ron left his jacket and stalked his opponent.
"I had hoped to defeat you in honorable combat." Monty told Ron, dropping into a ready stance again. "But I see my options are limited. You might wish to know why Edward agreed to assist me."
"Seriously?" Ron prompted.
"Serious…Argh! Enough of this foolishness! Edward Lipsky agreed to do this for his cousin. He somehow became convinced that if both you and Miss Possible were eliminated, Dr. Drakken would have a very good chance of receiving life imprisonment in lieu of the death penalty. Since he knows my intentions towards you, what do you suppose he and his Gearheads are doing right now?"
Ron stopped cold. "Ed doesn't have a chance against Kim!"
"Really, Mr. Stoppable? He has constructed some sort of weapon based upon a car engine. I wonder how well Miss Possible's vaunted agility and dodging ability will serve her when she's trapped under a net."
Ron's eyes grew wide and he snatched a quick glance at the door.
"You'll never be able to open it with me on your back," Monty advised him. "She is quite beyond your assistance. But I will make you this offer. Surrender to me now and I will make your demise as painless as I can and I shall prevent Edward from killing your companion."
Ron thought about it. He actually considered it, but then realization washed over him. "No, you freak!" He spat. "You won't do it. You know that if you kill me and Kim survives, she'll hunt you to the ends of the Earth. I'm all you can handle right now and she's worth ten of me. There's no way you would risk that."
"When I gain the Mystical Monkey Power my capabilities shall increase exponentially. But you are correct. There is nothing I can, or will do to preven…"
He was interrupted by an explosion, followed by screams, from inside the gym.
"That, Ronald, would be your dear companion's demise," Monkeyfist's voice was smug.
Ron quit thinking and unleashed. Screaming incoherently at this tormentor, he surged forward in a storm of kicks and strikes. Monty was forced into a grudging retreat, blocking, dodging and taking more than a few hits. The villain got in a few shots of his own but Ron was past caring. Seeing his foe battered and staggered, Ron unleashed a massive right hook…Only to have Monkeyfist catch his fist, directing the force past him as he stepped lightly out of the way, tripping the teenager as he went by. Ron went flat on his face and Fist was on top of him in a second, wrapping a chokehold around his throat.
"Temper, Ronald," the crazed villain taunted in his ear. "That was how you beat me in our previous encounter. I lost my composure. Now you see how the skill level drops when the rage takes over."
Ron couldn't dislodge him. Monkeyfist was larger and stronger. His feet, which could grip like a monkey's, gave him an even greater advantage. Monty's arm choked off his breathing. His vision was starting to dim as Fisk spoke again.
"So you fail in the end, Ronald. Your precious Kim Possible is dead and you will soon follow her. You are the lucky two! Your other dear companion, Yori, will be forced to return to Yamanouchi and report her failure. Of course, her punishment won't last long for I will soon visit the school again. I will eliminate Master Sensei and establish a more useful curriculum."
What happens when he kills me and doesn't gain the Mystical Monkey Power? Ron's mind was sluggish. Who will he kill next? Yori, Sensei, or whomever he thinks has the power? When will it end? If he is allowed to continue, he'll become nothing more than a raving madman, attacking everyone he sees. If he kills me, he becomes a nightmare.
Ron suddenly felt a new emotion. Not anger or despair, but a calm acceptance of duty. New energy flowed through his veins; new strength surged into his limbs. He lifted his head and opened his eyes.
They shone with a blue light.
Ron got himself up on his knees, then his feet. Monty was still on his back, still maintaining his choke. Ron was almost out when he drove himself backwards, slamming Monkeyfist into the gymnasium wall. Monty shifted slightly and Ron drove an elbow, twice, into his tormentor's floating rib. Monty's grip loosened, Ron reached up over his head, grabbed the villain by his shoulders and threw him over his head. Monty sprawled on the asphalt while Ron slumped against the gym, sucking in air. The air stank of sweat, blood, and monkey fur. It was the sweetest air he had ever tasted.
The last of Monkeyfist's monkey ninjas approached. Monty gestured for the creature to attack Ron. Ron just looked at the creature. I have no quarrel with you, he thought. There is no need to fight. The monkey looked at him for a moment, bowed to the boy, and slipped off into the night.
Monkeyfist sprang to his feet and launched himself at Ron with an incoherent howl. This time it was the villain who was driven by his rage and the teenager who was calm and collected. The two adversaries exchanged a hurricane of powerful strikes. Ron took a glancing blow to his head and a hard hit to his chest, but his elbows and knees sent Monkeyfist to the ground. Monty stumbled to his feet and, for the first time, fled from Ron Stoppable. Ron hesitated for only a moment before doing something he thought he'd never do. He pursued a fleeing villain.
Monty was still limping from Ron's strikes to his thigh and the teen, still winded from the choking, was only slightly faster than his quarry. He didn't catch Monty until they had entered the stadium and had run onto the field. He was so intent on his goal that he didn't hear the gym door explode open, or Kim's agonized screams.
Mr. Barkin stared at the bloody jacket for several long moments before coming to his senses. He checked his cell phone and discovered that he had signal outside of the gym. He quickly called the proper authorities. Of course, explaining that there were over twenty criminal monkeys present took some effort.
Rufus had slipped out of the door, as well. He saw his human's jacket and smelled his human's blood. The rodent, however, didn't sink into despair but started to sniff around the area, determined to find Ron, no matter what condition he might be in. After a few minutes he located the trail, heading towards the stadium. Rufus spun around and went to fetch Kim.
He found Kim sitting on the ground next to the pole, crying uncontrollably. Yori stood next to her and was almost as distraught. Oscar stood behind Kim with his hand on her shoulder; hardly able to comfort the redhead since his own grief was intense. He seemed the least affected, so Rufus approached him.
"Yeow!" Oscar jumped at a sharp pain in his foot. Everyone looked down to see Rufus. The little mole rat yelled a single word as loud as he could.
"RON!"
He then went 'on point,' much like a hunting dog. Everyone understood that he had found Ron's trail.
Mr. Barkin considered the situation. He had a single student out in the night, somewhere, maybe already… He had over two hundred students, with several known criminals, inside the gym. He reluctantly acknowledged what his duty demanded of him.
"I have to stay here," he told the teens. "Possible, Tanaka, Williamsen, follow Stop…" he choked up on Ron's name. "Follow the rodent. When you find Stoppable…" He fought back a sob. "Come get me, I'll take care of it." Then his posture straightened and his voice grew firm. "You're in charge, Possible. If you come across that…thing…that did this to Stoppable, take the appropriate action. Nobody will blame you."
Kim stopped crying, climbed to her feet and nodded to the Vice-Principal. The three teens looked at each other. No words were said; none were needed. They just followed Rufus into the night.
Rufus ran as fast as he could. Oscar deliberately kept ahead of the two girls. It wasn't that he considered himself their protector. He knew that either of the two girls behind him was worth several of him in a fight. If it came to a fight he knew that he'd probably just get in the way. Instead, he kept ahead of them in case there wouldn't be a fight. He knew what that monkey freak wanted to do to Ron and he was deathly afraid that he had already done it. Put simply, there were certain things that a gentleman just didn't let a lady see, world famous teen heroine or not. He was still keeping several steps ahead of Kim and Yori. Now the naked mole rat led him through the stadium tunnel and down to the field. He could hear some sort of struggle ahead of him. Sprinting past Rufus, he strained his eyes into the darkness until he could see…
Ron caught up to Monty and tackled him. The two rolled and grappled on the field until the teen gained the upper hand. Pinning Monty down, Ron rained fists and elbows on his opponent until Monty could no longer resist. He knelt on the comatose villain's chest, reached down and tilted Fisk's head back, exposing his throat. Ron drew his fist back for the final blow…
Only to have that fist caught by a strong hand.
"Ron, don't do it!" Oscar shouted. "You'll kill him!"
"I know," Ron snarled. "Get out of my way!"
"No, Ron," Oscar pleaded. Was that his imagination, or were his friend's eyes glowing blue? "You're already in therapy for destroying those syntho things. What is this going to do to you?"
"I don't care!" Ron screamed. "He killed Kim! He tried to kill me! If I don't do this, who'll he kill next?"
"Ron, he didn't…" Oscar quit talking when he realized that his friend wasn't listening.
"Ron!" Kim screamed.
"Kim?"
Oscar scrambled out of the way as the two members of Team Possible suddenly found themselves face to face. They stared for a moment, then crushed each other in a powerful hug, tears running down their faces.
They didn't know how long they stayed like that, crouched on the field, clinging to each other. Finally, they pulled back and, despite that fact that one face was smeared with blood and the other face was covered with a ghastly paste of motor oil and concrete dust, they sealed the deal they had talked about earlier.
A/N: It almost finished, folks. I know I sound like a broken record but I'll repeat myself yet again. Thank you all for reading. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to review and/or email me with comments, suggestions, and corrections.
I must also thank Joe Stoppinghem for beta reading and correcting a dizzying array of puncuation and grammer errors. Thanks, Joe.
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