Disclaimer: All Kim Possible characters are the copyright of Walt Disney Corporation. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. All other characters in my stories, that Disney doesn't own, are mine. :)

Time and time again, I couldn't say enough for all the help campy gave me for providing great proofreading work. Thanks, man! You're the best! (big grin)

Big thanks go to all who read and left reviews for Chapter 19: ZK Chromedragozoid, Mr. Average, Bubbahotek, Joe Stoppinghem, AtomicFire, Zaratan, Etherelemental, Aeetos, romantic-cancer, warlord-xana, Goinghome, and The Mad shoe1.

And thanks go to all who read Chapter 19. :)

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A Bond of Honor
Chapter 20 – Inner Demons
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

With a terry towel, she wiped the sweat from her form before tossing the towel into the gym locker. Only then did she make sure she was free of body odors before donning her green tank shirt and blue denim skirt. While doing so, her blue eyes surveyed the other girls in the locker room as they all changed back to their regular clothes after a long workout during gym period.

For Tara Sterling, it was easy to tell what was happening. Some of the other members of the Middleton High cheer squad were on the other side of the room conversing with Ron's Japanese girlfriend. They appeared to be quite animated in whatever they were talking about. While on the exact opposite side of the room were Bonnie and Kim.

The petite blonde girl had only spoken with Yori a few times, yet it was enough to tell the new student was smart, wise, and considerate toward others. Tara knew she could trust the other girl, for the raven-haired oriental was clearly not out to usurp anyone's position in the school. From the way she reacted around Ron, Yori was contented to be a student observer and a devoted girlfriend to Ron.

A wistful grin spread across Tara's face as her thoughts wandered about Ron Stoppable. The blond boy had grown on her during the past two years. Much like Bonnie, she didn't think Ron was much of anything when she first met him, given how he ate, behaved, and seemed to have a social life of a dork. Yet all that pretty much changed when Ron proved he was a good person in heart and was willing to go to almost any length to help others, especially Kim during her missions around the world. The Camp Wannaweep Incident cemented those positive views when the dweeby young man saved Mr. Barkin and the entire squad from that mutant fish monster. Ever since then, Tara always considered Ron a friend and great guy.

Oh, she was not delusional about Stoppable. He still was the same goofy guy that would occasionally do crazy things that would get him in trouble and/or make him a loser. Like that time a few months ago he became a real bad boy. She didn't like him then, and she further didn't think he was good after he trashed the cafeteria with that mashed-potato throwing machine. However, the phase passed and Kim pretty much explained Ron really wasn't himself thanks to a strange device. Although the story was bizarre, she'd accepted it.

Sighing, Tara looked into the mirror on the inside of her locker's door to make sure her long blonde locks were presentable before grabbing her books and closing the locker. Despite Ron's downside, the cheerleader knew he was potential boyfriend material, or else she wouldn't have thought of pursuing him after he'd saved the squad. The boy was clueless regarding the signs she had given him that she was interested in him, yet he behaved like she was nothing more than a friend. Disappointed, she moved on to other boys, like Josh Mankey. Bonnie had thought her crush on Ron was stupid, thus Tara's friend praised her for dating Mankey.

However, a small stab of remorse came to Tara upon looking at Yori, who had changed back to clothes of calf-length red skirt and light blue button-up, long-sleeved shirt adorned with frilly cuffs and neckline. The other girl had somehow managed to capture Ron's attention, thus the Japanese beauty had taken Ron as her boyfriend while Tara had failed. The blonde wondered what her life would have been like if she had been more forthcoming to Ron that she wanted to date him. Yet instead of jealousy, the cheerleader felt envy for Yori, for it looked like the girl had made a good call in catching Ron, who was a keeper in Tara's eyes.

This left the question regarding Ron's best friend. Turning around, blue orbs noticed the redhead and the brunette were dressed, Bonnie in her crop-top pink outfit while Kim in her gold cross-laced shirt and blue tights. Both girls parted before each left the locker room, and Tara followed them out.

The timid blonde knew Bonnie for far longer than Kim, thus she trusted the brunette. Yet Kim had proved time and time again that she could be trusted as well. However, Tara knew both girls were rivals and wouldn't be speaking on friendly terms no matter what. Something was just not right seeing the pair conversing in almost a civil manner.

Knowing it was best to get information directly from the source; Tara knew she had to ask.

Noticing Bonnie was heading for her locker, Tara took the chance to walk up to the brunette as the cheer squad's second-in-command opened the locker door.

"Hi, Bonnie," Tara greeted with a kind grin.

Bonnie produced a warm grin upon seeing her good friend. "Hi, Tara. That was some workout we got today."

"Yeah," the blonde agreed, "Mrs. Landry doesn't hold back when it comes to Phys Ed. Least she provides a good warm-up for cheer practice."

All the teal-eyed, brown-haired girl did was snort an amused concurrence. She certainly wasn't going to complain, for after all, the exercise kept her figure in good shape, and she would be damned if she gained weight. What good was being on top of the chain if she lost her hour-glass, hot body?

Tara's grin became sympathetic. "I sorry to hear you broke up with Brick, Bonnie. I thought you wanted to have him for your boyfriend, given he's the star quarterback."

Picking up a few textbooks and storing the ones she had brought from gym, Bonnie dismissed her friend's concerns with a grin. "It's okay, Tar. I thought it was time for me to move on to another man." The grin became a disbelieving frown. "That big ox on Friday night just could not leave me alone regarding how I treated Stoppable and his goodie girlfriend."

This was news to the almost shy blonde girl. "You broke up with him just because of that?" she asked, bewildered. "Why?"

Slamming the locker door shut, furious teal eyes focused steadily on confused blue ones. "Because that Japanese wench needs to be brought down a peg or two, and Brick just couldn't accept it. He kept going on that I should cut Stoppable and Takana some slack."

Blinking at first in puzzlement before realizing what Bonnie was talking about, Tara couldn't believe it. "You're still holding a grudge toward Yori after she embarrassed you two weeks ago when we first met her? Bonnie, Yori doesn't care for popularity and such. You have nothing to fear from her."

Bonnie shook her head. "It's not that. She has the nerve to tell me that Ron is not a loser and was willing to be his girlfriend of all the boys in the school."

This time it was Tara's turn to shake her head but out of sighed disappointment. "Bon, do you ever think that just maybe Yori has made a good point about Ron? How could you say he still is a loser after everything he's done in helping others? Have you forgotten he saved us at Camp Wannaweep from that Gill freak? Not just once, but twice?"

A brown eyebrow rose at that. "Kim and I were the ones who captured him that second time, not Ron."

Tara grinned in triumph. "Ron did have a hand in stopping him though. If it weren't for him, you and Kim wouldn't have had the opportunity to stop Gill."

Instead of speaking, a snort escaped the brunette cheerleader's lips as she crossed her arms with her books held inside. She couldn't deny her friend had made a point, but she certainly was not going to acknowledge it or else she would be accepting Stoppable was pivotal in stopping that fish freak.

Tara gave a tiny giggle, knowing Bonnie would not ever concede the point. Her amused expression dropped when she spoke again. "Speaking of Kim, what is going on between you and her, Bonnie?"

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked, feigning innocence.

"You know what I mean," Tara frowned, not falling for her friend's trick. "The other girls of the squad noticed it too. We all know you and Kim barely are civil with each other, not since she took over as squad captain a few years back. You resent Kim for taking away your position, and since then you two were nothing more than rivals, only tolerating each other only when necessary. In recent times, it appeared you two are more civil with each other. What's going on?"

Bonnie couldn't deny the sly grin to form on her face as her eyes narrowed. "Why, K and I have something in common, Tar. Namely Yori."

Once more Tara couldn't understand what the other girl was referring to until her mind clicked on the link. "Kim doesn't like Yori?" A smirking Bonnie nodded a confirmation. "That doesn't make any sense, Bonnie. If Kim didn't like her, she wouldn't have allowed Yori into her mission team, never mind hang out with her and Ron."

"Let's just say that K has good reasons, Tar," Bonnie said, continuing to smirk. She turned around and began strolling toward the cafeteria. "Come on. Let's go have lunch."

Tara didn't immediate follow the brunette. She was still floored that Kim, good-natured friendly Kim Possible, had something against Yori, the girl who was dating Kim's best friend. It did not make any sense at all! Unless…

Blue eyes went wide with the revelation. She knew the redhead was best friends with the blond boy since pre-k. Their friendship was tighter than tight, a bond that most in the school envied. If Kim's feelings for Ron had evolved, it would explain everything, especially on the subject of Kim toward Yori.

Still in shock, the blonde girl finally got her feet to move toward the cafeteria, unaware of the shadow of a figure that had observed the entire conversation from the sanctuary of the hallway corner. He grunted before walking away himself.

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Intrigued yet skeptical hazel eyes looked into the patient dark ones sitting across the cafeteria table. The idea presented by the raven-haired owner of those dark orbs was interesting to say the least, but there were also some reservations whether anyone else would want to do it.

"I don't know, Yori," Daniel Cage frowned as he picked up a soda can from his lunch tray. "I'm all for introducing the game to the Chess Club, but I wonder whether any of the other club members would go for it."

Yori sulked a bit. "Surely, Cage-san, even you could see the benefits of team members playing Shogi occasionally. You said you know the game."

After taking a sip of soda, Danny shook his head, some of his hair, which was a lighter shade of black than Yori's, flew somewhat. "I said I know the game, yes, but I didn't say I played it. Unlike most of the team, I read about the history of chess, thus why I knew about Shogi. I'm just worrying what the other members will say or think. After all, the chess competitions we play in the name of the school use Western Chess, thus Shogi might not be useful."

Instead of being disappointed, a knowing, kind grin appeared on the Japanese girl's face. "If you read about Shogi, you should know there are not many differences compared to Western Chess. Besides, I have a strong hunch that playing Shogi might give you ideas and advantages when playing Western Chess."

"She might be right, Danny," a girl's voice sounded to his right, prompting him and Yori to look at the freckled person. "It wouldn't hurt to at least try it. Besides, didn't you once tell me that after playing chess for so long, the game has started to lose its appeal? Maybe Shogi is what's needed to bring sparks back into the game."

Looking into the dark blue eyes of his friend, Danny couldn't help but give a warm yet hesitating grin as he placed down his soda can. Lisa Pierce was a teenage girl with shoulder-length brown hair, and given her taste in wearing blue clothes, she was mostly known as 'The Girl in Blue'. She was an average girl, thus she could not ever compete with the beauties of the cheer squad or other girls like Yori here. But she had a keen brain, and Danny knew that looks were not what he sought when it came to determining his friends.

"Maybe you're right," Danny admitted, causing Lisa to give a tiny grin in return before both faced the oriental teenager across from them. "Okay, Yori, we'll give it a try. Can you bring the game to our next club gathering this Wednesday afternoon, 3 o'clock here in the cafeteria?"

With an acknowledging grin, Yori bowed her head toward the school's chess captain as he raised a sandwich toward his mouth. "I'll be there, Cage-san, unless any emergencies come forth."

Lisa chuckled as a grinning Danny took a bite of his sandwich. "You mean whether any missions come up. Everyone in the school knows now about you joining Kim's mission team."

Yori shook her head while smiling, her eyes twinkling. "I have learned, upon arriving here in America, that there is no difference in the way gossip travels regardless of the nation. It still amazes me to no end how fast everyone can spread gossip and news faster than it takes to spread it through other ways, like radio, TV, or even the papers. Maybe it is best we eliminate the school's speaker system and just use the gossip line to make announcements."

Laughter burst out of Lisa's mouth at the joke, while Danny smirked. Both teens sure understood what Middleton High's newest student was saying.

Nodding to the pair in a polite good-bye, Yori took her leave, heading toward another table in the cafeteria, one where a blond boy, a wheel-chaired boy, a redheaded girl, and an African-American girl awaited her.

"Judging from that grin on your face, Yori girl," Monique grinned up at the girl as she arrived, "I say Middleton High's chess champ agreed to whatever you asked of him."

"Hai," Yori confirmed just before settling into her seat between Ron and Felix. "Cage-san agreed to give Shogi a try. I'll bring a portable Shogi set to school Wednesday, so I can introduce the game to the Chess Club Wednesday afternoon at 3 PM."

Puzzled expressions etched both Felix and Monique's faces. "Excuse me for not knowing, Yori," Felix spoke, "but what is this 'Shogi'?"

It was Kim who answered, while Yori took out a Japanese-style lunch box from her small backpack. "It's Japanese chess, Felix. Ron and I were introduced to the game this Saturday."

"Yeah," Ron took up the explanation as his girlfriend lifted up the box's top and whipped out a pair of chopsticks. "KP and I played each other, and despite she was a beginner like me, she clobbered me to pieces!" he finished with a mild glare at his best female friend, who sat to his left with a tickled look.

"Clobbered!" Rufus repeated from the center of the table, where he was eating some cheese puffs.

All three girls giggled while Felix snickered. The blond owner of the mole rat mock glared at his pet. "Whose side are you on, buddy?"

"The right side," Kim immediately replied. Again everyone chuckled, and as Yori began eating her Japanese lunch of rice and vegetables, her boyfriend pretended to wave the redhead's point away.

"Oh, sure. Just make fun of the Ronman. I'll just go somewhere far away where you'll never find me. Maybe Norway," he finished with a teasing grin. Yet that grin soon faded as the boy felt a shiver go up his spine.

"Ron?" Kim inquired upon seeing her friend's fearful face.

"Ron-kun?" Yori also asked, her hands holding the chopsticks and her small lunch box. Even Monique and Felix looked at the high school mascot with worry.

Body still shivering, Ron began explaining. "I just don't know why every time I hear that country's name, I have a strong urge to hate meat cakes!"

"Norway?" Felix said out of confusion.

"AH, MEAT CAKES!" Ron suddenly shouted out, startling everyone not only at his table, but others nearby them as well.

"RON!" Kim reached out and grabbed his left arm to hold him tight, and after Yori quickly placed down her lunch and chopsticks, she followed suit by placing her left hand on her suitor's right arm. The comfort of the young ladies' hands calmed the frenzied boy down to normal.

Breathing in and out, Ron nodded. "I'm all right now. I better not bother even saying that name." His face twisted into a menacing growl. "Meat cakes are evil."

Monique, who sat between Kim and her new BF, eyed the other boy a bit warily. "Maybe not to those folks who live in that country, Ron."

Seeing Ron had indeed calmed down, Yori and Kim withdrew their hands. "Now are you sure you're not going to start a crusade against meat cakes, Ron?" Kim asked with a little humor, hoping to lighten up things.

Sure enough, her long time best friend took up the hint. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not going to start a crusade, although I think I'll look cool in as a white knight in armor." A relieved chuckle came from everyone, knowing their Ron was back to normal.

Shaking his brown-haired head at his friend, Felix turned his head to eye the high school's cheer squad captain. "Speaking of evil, did you catch American Star Maker last night, Kim?"

A scowl formed on the Team Possible leader's face. "Yes, I did, as well as Ron and Yori."

While Yori continued eating her meal as she listened on the conversation, Monique pointed to her redhead friend. "So what are you going to do about it, Kim girl?" she asked before lowering the pointing finger. "Knowing Blue Man, it's not likely he's aiming to get a Grammy."

"I know," Kim sighed before taking a sip of soda. "It's just that until Wade finds out what Drakken's up to, we can't form a plan of action. We have to wait until Wade contacts us."

Ron narrowed his brown eyes. "Yeah, Drakken is evil, like meat cakes."

A snort of chuckle escaped Felix's lips. "Yep, just like you were several months ago, Ronman."

The words registered in the young Japanese girl's brain and made her drop her chopsticks before turning to face the wheelchair boy, face startled. "Nani, Felix-san?" she nearly whispered. "Did you just say Ron-kun was evil several months ago?"

Chocolate eyes went wide as Ron eyed his girlfriend and Felix. "Oh, no! Please, she should not know!" he mentally shrieked.

Monique narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend. "Nice going, Zombie Boy! I don't think Yori is going to like hearing about Ron turning 'bad boy'!"

Kim was the only one not concerned about the situation. Instead, she was confused in her head, while outside she appeared to be startled. "Yori doesn't know? Does this mean that Sensei and the Yamanouchi network wasn't aware what happened to Ron? It doesn't make sense. If they are attentive of everything about Ron, they should have been aware about that brief time Ron turned evil months ago."

Felix mentally groaned upon realizing his slip-up. "Nice going, Felix. Insert foot in mouth."

Yori trained pleading eyes to the boy, whom she has been dating for more than two weeks now. "Ron-kun… Tell me. Did you go bad?" Her other hand placed down the lunch box without needing to unlock her dark eyes from those of her suitor.

Ron gulped. For a moment, he thought he should lie and say that everything was fine and Felix was just joking. However, looking into those soulful dark eyes pleading with him, he knew he couldn't withhold the truth. As his girlfriend, someone he cared about deeply, the only son of Donald and Hanna Stoppable knew it was best that Yori knew the truth.

With a relented sigh, the blond began explaining. "Well, yes, I did." He immediately held up a hand upon hearing Yori's gasp. "However, it wasn't really me, Yori. It was thanks to a machine called the Attitudinator by Hench, Inc."

So Ron Stoppable told the full story of what had happened months ago that created the villain known as Zorpox. From Kim and Ron going undercover at the Villains Convention, where an accident switched Drakken's evil with Ron's good. How over time, Ron began doing bad things and creating inventions that he normally wouldn't have produced. To the entire fiasco at Cousin Reuben's wedding, Shego kidnapping him, and Zorpox's final confrontation with Kim that would have ended in disaster for the world if it weren't for Good Drakken making the Attitudinator switch again.

By the time the story was finished, Yori had a sad expression on her face.

Ron certainly didn't like that look on her. Seeing people sad always was a downer to him, thus with a tiny grin, he tried to cheer her up again. "Zorpox is gone, Yori. Wade made sure that the device we had stayed locked up, thus there will be no chances of him ever appearing again. Zorpox is no more!" he finished with a grand smile.

However, instead of a smile or a happy grin, Yori's lips showed a sad grin as she shook her head.

While Ron was befuddled, Kim narrowed her eyes at the ninja. "You don't believe Zorpox is gone, Yori?"

Dark eyes holding green ones, Yori again shook her head slightly. "No, Possible-san," her eyes held those of a bewildered Ron, "Ron-kun. Zorpox is still in you."

"All due respect, Yori," a puzzled Felix spoke out, "but did Ron say that Zorpox is gone? How can you tell the bad dude is still in him?"

"I agree with Zombie Boy," Monique chimed in, raising an eyebrow at the Far Eastern teen. "Yori girl, even I could see that Ron-o here is his goody, goofy self."

Once more, Yori shook her head. "All due respect, you do not understand." She focused on the face of her BF. "There is good as well as evil in every person in the world. No one is truly good or truly evil."

Ron blinked at her. "Okay, I'm like way confused here."

Yori gave a small knowingly grin, slightly amused by his confusion. "It's a balance, Ron-kun. Think of it like a scale." Both her palms spread out, one going up, while the other going down. "It is up to the individual to decide his or her own fate, and eventually one will decide which side he or she will take. Whether evil is the dominating force," her left hand went down while the right went up, "or good is the dominating force." Her left hand went up while the other went down. "However, neither side can be destroyed by the other. We all need the darkness inside us to do things that our light sides will not ever do."

"Like?" Kim asked with a raised eyebrow.

Yori quickly answered. "Like fighting, Possible-san. When you, Ron-kun, and I go out on missions to fight villains, we need our aggressive sides to fight. Aggressiveness is a negative emotion. Same with anger, hate, jealousy, and others. These emotions are associated with our dark sides. However, for good people, the light side regulates these dark emotions, thus the light dominates over the darkness." Her hands once more displayed like a balancing scale, one side being more heavy than the other.

Felix nodded. "I think I understand, Yori," he said, catching everyone's attention. "However, I still can't see what this has to do with Zorpox still being inside Ron."

"It's simple, Felix-san," Yori responded. "From what I gathered from Ron-kun's story about this Attitudinator device, it took out his good side and switched it with Drakken's bad side. However, given there is good and bad in Ron-kun, the device did not remove his bad side."

Kim took in a sharp breath upon realizing what Yori was trying to clarify. "The device added Drakken's evil side to the evil that is part of Ron, thus the scale was tipped for evil to be the dominating force in Ron's personality, given there was very little goodness left in him."

"Hai, Possible-san," Yori confirmed before her eyes once more held the scared ones of Ron's "Thus Zorpox came forth. After Ron-kun's goodness was returned to him, Zorpox was not destroyed, but merely swept back into the dark corner as the light side once more became the dominating personality. Zorpox is Ron's dark side to his light."

Ron gulped. "Yori," his voice low, "are you saying he's still there? Inside me?"

Giving a sad grin, the pretty Yamanouchi student nodded. "I'm afraid so, Ron-kun." She reached out to hold his hand in hers. "Yet do not be concerned. I apologize deeply for scaring you, but I simply wanted to point out that Zorpox is not truly gone as you thought. He makes up a part of you, and without that part, you would not be the person you are now.

"We all are capable of being evil, Ron-kun, not just you. Possible-san, Felix-san, Monique-san, and even I can become evil."

A snort of chuckle escaped Ron's throat. "Nah, I can't see either you or KP becoming evil, Yori. It'll put a crimp in Team Possible's image if that happens." Kim snorted a laugh at that, while Yori, Monique, and Felix chuckled.

"You got that right, Ron," Kim agreed with her best friend, glad he had lightened the mood as he was always gifted in doing.

The redhead inwardly frowned though, her mind churning on what Yori had said, that there was good and evil in everyone. She didn't like picturing it, but the conversation had made her wonder what her evil side would be like. If Zorpox was Ron's dark side, what was hers? If she had turned evil, would she have become just as bad a villain as Zorpox or even worse?

Shaking off the horrible images of her ruling the world with an iron fist, Kim returned to eating her lunch just as the others did so too. As far as she was concerned, she would not ever let her dark side take control. She was Kim Possible, the girl who could do anything and a champion for good. That was all she needed to know.

Ron's goofy, joking voice brought her back to reality. "Well, there's no denying that meat cakes are truly evil." He eyed his little pink hairless pal in the middle to the table. "Right, buddy?"

"Yeah! Meat cakes! Evil!" Rufus stuck a finger into his mouth, making gagging noises. "Ack! Ack! Ack!"

The others amusedly shook their heads as they all continued consuming their meals. It was just a moment later that they all spotted the high school's vice-principal walking through the cafeteria's entrance, his hands behind his back, surveying the large room with keen eyes. The effect was that almost the entire cafeteria felt like being watched by the master sergeant in a boot camp.

Turning his head back to his lunch once Mr. Barkin locked his eyes on him, Ron forked his macaroni & cheese and took a bite before speaking in a gruff voice. "Maybe Barkin is evil."

"Oh, Ron-kun," Yori admonished him with a slight, disapproving grin. "Will you always hold a grudge against Barkin-sama?"

"Yori," Ron thumbed toward the ex-military man, "Barkin always has been on my case since my freshman year. He always picks on me out of an entire class he teaches. He's giving me extra homework while everyone else in class escapes. The man's got something against me, and there's no denying he's now looking me with 'the look'." The three girls, one mole rat, and Felix briefly observed Barkin and realized that indeed he was looking at Ron. "If what he does to me is good, Yori, I hate to see what he can do when he's evil."

Sighing, Yori gave a tiny grin as she shook her head, watching the blond young man return to his eating. Scooping up more rice into her mouth with her chopsticks, the Yamanouchi shinobi realized that this attitude of Ron's toward the vice-principal would not likely change and it seemed to be the norm between the two men. She knew it was best to not bother even trying to alter her suitor's perspective of the older man.

Yet as the five teens and one mole rat ate their lunches, Kim, out of the entire group, took the chance to look at Barkin again from the corner of her green eyes. It could be just she was sitting next to Ron, but the world-wide heroine could have sworn that Mr. Barkin wasn't looking at Ron but was looking at her.

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The school bell rang, and a flood of students strolled out into the hallways as they made way toward their lockers, the buses, and other destinations now that school was over for the day. It was the usual routine day in and day out for everyone at Middleton High.

Walking out of one classroom, three teenagers made way toward one particular hallway. One blond boy was grumbling, while a Japanese girl was trying to comfort him and a redhead watching him with disbelief.

"What did I always say, ladies?" Ron muttered as he and Yori walked behind Kim toward her locker. "Barkin is evil!"

Yori frowned. "Just take the extra homework and do your best, Ron-kun. Moping about it will not make the extra homework go away." All she heard was his groaning. Shaking her head, her dark eyes paid closer attention to his face. "Speaking of schoolwork, Ron-kun, did you happen to start the autobiographical report yet?"

"Oh, that," the blond sheepishly grinned. "I have a title."

Both ladies waited for him to elaborate further, but he was not forthcoming at all. As they reached Kim's locker, the two young women frowned at him.

"The project's due next Monday and you have only a title?" Kim asked, having a nagging feeling what Ron really was saying.

Ron shrugged with a grin. "Okay, I lied about the title thing, but I have a topic in my pocket!" he pointed to the left pocket of his cargo pants.

"Me!" Rufus cheered as he popped out of the pocket Ron was indicating.

As one, the two Team Possible gals narrowed their eyes at their blond teammate. It didn't take a genius to figure out they were not pleased that Ron was not taking doing the report seriously.

Opening her locker, Kim, Ron, and Yori were surprised to see the computer screen immediately blip on, revealing the image of Team Possible's tech wizard. "Where have you been?" Wade inquired nearly incredulously.

"Class," Kim simply answered, her face showing how silly she thought her tech man's question was.

"Oh, right," Wade replied, embarrassed for not thinking of the obvious. He kept forgetting at times that his super genius was a rarity and not the norm, thus most children his age and older were still attending school. Kim and Ron, despite their hero status, were still high school students.

"Anyway," the pre-teen African-American said, "here's what I got on our American Star Maker. Remember that bogus shampoo Drakken tried to sell?"

All three teenagers nodded before Team Possible's leader replied. "Uh-huh, the one no one bought."

"Well, he's planning on plugging it in his song," Wade explained, concern in his voice.

Kim and Yori frowned in bewilderment at this. "And the point would be?" the redhead cheerleader asked, wondering why her arch foe would do such a thing.

Surprisingly, it was Ron who provided the answer as he spoke out enthusiastically. "Stuff talked about in his song would become hot and cool," he finished with both index fingers pointing at his long time best friend.

Eyebrows shot upward on both girls' faces as Ron's reasoning made sense now.

Kim aimed her right index finger at the computer screen and Wade's picture. "So you think people will snap up Drakken's shampoo just because he raps about it?"

"It makes sense, Possible-san," Yori agreed. "As Ron-kun mentioned, a product sung in a song would become popular, thus people would more likely to buy it. Quite a plan our foe has hatched."

Wade bobbed his head in concurrence. "Millions of people watch American Star Maker. Plus, if Drakken actually wins, he could get a record contract, movie deal, who knows?"

Yori crossed her arms, her expression firm. "If that happens, Drakken could likely sell his shampoo world-wide." Kim and Wade's eyes briefly went wide at this possibility.

However Ron was scratching his chin, totally obvious to his girlfriend's words. "Who does know?" he asked, referring to Wade's rhetorical question. Kim only gave a passing glance to her best friend's ignorance, while Yori arched a single disbelieving eyebrow at his unawareness.

Realizing that not only the country but the freedom of the world was likely at stake, Kim, with a determined look, slapped a fist into the palm of her other hand. "We gotta pull Drakken's plug," she stated the course of action needed to take.

Looking from her boyfriend to Team Possible's leader, Yori sighed. "True, Possible-san. Just the question is how? We can not just fight Drakken with fists to stop him as we did the last time."

Kim scrunched up her face in thought at that, for Yori was right. This was not the usual 'Beat-up the bad guys' mission, for this would require another approach to foil Drakken.

"For now, I can't think of anything," Kim admitted in dissatisfaction. "Can you think of anything, Yori? Wade?"

With a shake of her head, the Japanese ninja sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry, Possible-san, for I have no ideas as you do."

Green eyes quickly locked onto the computer screen and saw the pre-teen boy shake his head as well. "Sorry, Kim. I'm in the dark as well what we can do to stop Drakken."

Sighing, the redhead heroine slumped her shoulders in resignation. "Okay. Wade, you continue finding any information we can use against Drakken, particularly anything that can give the police evidence to warrant Drakken's arrest." Her line of sight trained onto her teammates beside her. "Yori, Ron, and I will keep on thinking of any ways for us to prevent Drakken from winning the contest."

Wade nodded his head once. "Will do, Kim. I'll let you know if I find anything." His finger pressed a keyboard key before his image disappeared off the computer screen.

Once Wade was gone, Kim started sorting through her books and belongings. "Do you need to stop by your locker, Ron?" she asked as her hands picked up a few books and notebooks to take home.

"Yeah, KP," Ron grinned as his brown eyes focused on his girlfriend's dark orbs. "Come on, Yori. After I get my stuff, we'll stop by the BN for a quick bite before heading home."

"Cheese!" Rufus cheered, making Yori chuckle and producing grins on Kim and Ron's faces.

Reaching out to hold his hand in hers, the pretty Far Eastern girl prevented the American boy from moving toward his locker. "I'll be skipping eating and studying with you today, Ron-kun. I have some important chores and tasks to do at home."

"Oh," his voice sounding disappointed, but he quickly covered it with a grin. "I'll have KP along. She'll help me out."

Yori gave a confident grin. "I have no doubt about that." Her face turned a bit serious though. "Now can you promise me to least start on that paper? Honestly, Ron-kun, if you keep delaying it, you'll not able to hand in a report at all."

"I agree with Yori," Kim said as she closed her locker door. "It doesn't have to be perfect, Ron. Better to receive a C or D than a F."

Rubbing the back of his head, Ron's lips formed his typical sheepish grin. "Well, KP, you know I'm not so great in writing reports." His grin transformed into a positive one. "Yet don't you sweat, ladies, the Ron-man will get it done. No prob."

The women of Team Possible eyed each other with single raised eyebrows before focusing those skeptical expressions on their blond companion. "Uh-huh," both responded together, making Ron's face falter a bit.

Unable to help herself, Yori generated a small giggle watching his sheepish expression. He looked sort of cute with those soulful eyes and embarrassed smile that she couldn't stay ticked at him for long. "Come now, Ron-kun," she began as she tugged him down the hall toward his locker. "Let us pick up whatever you need at your locker before departing for the day."

Watching them leave, Kim smirked, for she too couldn't keep her ire up for long whenever Ron gave that smile. It was cute and effective as her Puppy Dog Pout. Of course, Ron's trademark grin had yet to truly make her do what he wanted as much as her PDP could make him do what she wanted. With the exception of her 'rents and brothers, she had yet to meet anyone immune to the PDP.

As she walked in the direction Ron and Yori went, Kim couldn't help but frown in thought about the Japanese girl. Did Yori have a weapon similar to the PDP and Ron's grin? Middleton High's cheer squad captain hoped not, but if so, the redhead prayed that she would be impervious to it. It would be extremely embarrassing that the other girl would have such power over her as her mom's Puppy Dog Pout had.

Kim shook her head. As much as she loved her mother, she really loathed that her PDP had no effect on her 'rent, yet Mom's had sway over her. It was a good thing that female chimpanzee was mistaken for her during the time class pictures were taken for the year, or else, Kim knew her current yearbook class picture would have her wearing that dreaded green dress.

"UGH!" she mentally gagged. "That dress was so… Sixties! Mom has to be like Nana at times that it makes me wonder whether her sense in fashion has taken a leap backwards."

As she approached Ron's locker and the two other teens, Kim mentally wished she would not ever have to wear such outdated clothes ever again.

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TBC (End of Chapter 20)

A/Ns:

1) I like to say that with this chapter, "ABoH" has now reached over the 100,000 words mark! Yippee! I honestly have not ever had written a story reaching over 100,000 words, thus I'm proud that I have managed to write my first ever novel-length fanfic in my entire fanfic writing existence. (big grin) (IMO, any fanfic reaching over 100,000 words is in my eyes novel length. :))

2) To better keep track of the timeline of "ABoH", I have recently sat down and written a week-by-week calendar of story events. This way I will not make a goof in writing how long ago a particular event has happened in the story.

After writing down everything, I was not surprised to find out that despite this story has been written for months since May 2006, all 20 chapters thus far occurred only within a three-week span in the story. Therefore, there is still a long way to go before I reach the very end of "StD".

3) The ideology Yori mentioned is something I picked up from the Star Trek episode "The Enemy Within," where Captain Kirk was split into two persons – one totally having his good traits and one totally having his bad traits. It pretty much said that good and evil lay in each of us, and that a person is not totally good or totally evil. A person needs both in order to survive.

Other words, like Yori said, without the bad side, no one can fight, be angry for a good reason, lie, and do other things. It is up to the individual to decide which side the scale tips, whether good will be the dominating force or evil.

So in the end, no matter how good a person is, that person will have some evil in him or her. Same the other way around. No matter how much a person say he or she is evil, there is still good in the person (Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader, for example).

So, Ron, Kim, Yori, and others are not 100 percent good, nor are Drakken, Shego, and other villains 100 percent evil. Makes sense, or else Shego wouldn't have bothered to help her brothers in "Go Team Go."

4) Credit is due where credit is due. Thanks goes to AtomicFire for his suggestion that Yori should eventually find out about Zorpox. It was a good idea he had, given it would be surprising for Yori to know Ron once became evil. Yet, given it was not entirely Ron's personality he became evil but partly due to a nasty device, she was understanding of the situation and forgiving. IMO, if Ron truly had became evil on his own without the need of an Attitudinator, I doubtful Yori would have liked it.

5) For anyone's information, Lisa Pierce (I created the name) is a background character seen in the KP TV series. She's the girl Ron tried to ask to the Spirit Dance in "Crush", and occasionally, she is seen in the background in episodes. Over at the RS net board, she has been dubbed 'The Blue Girl', thus I modified the nickname to 'The Girl in Blue,' a nice yet silly take-off of 'The Lady in Red'. ;)

6) Finally, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! The next chapter will not come out until January, so I'll see everyone in 2007! Happy New Year, everyone! (big grin)