It's Addictive: Chapter 12
I.
"Sensei? Master?" Yori edged forward soundlessly. "Sensei, are you well?" She asked as she found her revered teacher sitting in the lotus position, eyes closed, shoulders shaking. "Master?"
With a slight shudder, the honored teacher opened his eyes and turned toward his best student. "Yori-san, please inform master Mataki and Nooni that I have need of them."
"Sensei, is there trouble? Are you sick? May I help in any manner?"
Sensei smiled indulgently, "No, child, I am well, just inform them I have urgent need."
"Yes, Sensei." With a low bow, Yori left the room.
II.
Beep Beep a Beep
"Mom, did you hear something?"
"WHAT? KIMMIE, I CAN'T HEAR YOU."
"DID YOU HEAR SOMETHING?"
"WHO CAN HEAR WITH ALL THIS..."
The chatter and laughter continued to grow, as the crowd of laughing teenagers grew. Someone had found the stereo, and it's cacophony sounded over the giggles and gossip.
Kim frowned, "QUIET."
There was no diminishment.
"I SAID QUIET!" Kim yelled just as the music died. In the shocked silence, Kim's blush blossomed. "I'm sorry, but I thought I heard..." Beep Beep a Beep. "I knew I heard something." Kim snatched the Kimmunicator from it's unexpected location under the couch cushions.
"What's the sitch, Wade?"
"Kim, Drakken's headed right for your house. His course is a little erratic, but it lines up with..." Wade's face turned to stare at something off-screen. He blushed, "Sorry, sorry, either he changed course or it was a false alarm. He's not headed your way anymore."
"Which way did he go, Wade?"
"Back toward the lake, but then he dropped altitude, so he could have gone anywhere after he left my screen."
"So he could still be heading this way?"
"Could be, but he turned pretty quick, like he saw something."
"Wade, was he close enough to see my house?"
"Probably, why?"
"Because there are a whole bunch of cars parked here, he may not have wanted witnesses."
"Good point, Kim, I'll keep looking. Out."
Kim turned to the girls who had been eavesdropping. "OK, I'm sorry, but I guess the party's over. If Drakken is coming here, you all need to leave."
Little Mary shook her head, "Is this the blue guy who keeps trying to get you and Ron?"
"Yes, and he's dangerous so if all of you would..."
"No way, Kim," Bonnie spoke up, "if he gets you, then he'll start looking for Ron, and I'm not about to let that happen."
Melody scowled, "You'd let something happen to Ronnie? Kim, how could you?"
"If this clown intends to hurt Ron, I've got a few things to say to him first." Little Mary growled, clenching her fists.
"Wait, wait," Kim began to protest, "You don't understand, Drakken is dangerous, and he almost always has Shego with him, plus weapons."
"If this Shego is threatening my pink sloth," Amelia began, "then she is about to find out what dangerous is all about."
"Yeah, let's get 'em." Hope joined in.
"But..."
"Kim, I can't believe you're even hesitating." Monique argued.
"But..."
A startled look came over some of the girls, Susie stepped up in Monique's face, "This is the same woman you wanted to contact? Someone who wants to hurt our Ron?"
Monique made shushing motions with her hands, "Later, later, all in the past, OK, all in the past, never happen now."
"It better not." Bonnie snarled.
Kim pushed forward, "What was that about contacting Shego?"
Little Mary and the cheerleaders began to look panicked. Melody snatched Kim around, "Never mind that, how are we going to ambush this guy so Ron doesn't get hurt?"
Mrs. Possible frowned into the discussion, "Now wait a moment, you are not planning on using my house as a battleground, are you? Because if you are I am not going to..."
"Not a problem, Mrs. Possible." "This is in the bag." "No battle, Ma'am, not at all." "We promise, no damage."
Mrs. Dr. P., looked at the teenagers sceptically. "And just how are you going to guarantee that?"
"We'll use Kim's plan, right Kim?" Melissa stated, hopefully.
Kim looked doubtful but resigned. "You're all in on this, you all want to stay?"
A chorus of nods and agreement answered her.
"OK, Mom, we can do this. First, we need to get all the cars to the school parking lot, and then everybody back here. I bet Drakken saw the cars and booked. Mom, can you meet us at school with the van, and Hope can bring the rest back in her SUV."
"Kimmie..."
"No worries, Mom, I've got a plan."
III.
Ron set the hover craft down on the lake shore with a bump. He searched the craft and found some blankets in a side locker. "Wonder why Mr. And Mrs. P. didn't invite me to their party? Must have just been for their friends. Kim would have told me otherwise." He laid the blankets out in an improvised bed. "Guess I'll catch some zzz's and try KP later." Lying down, he immediately began to snore.
IV.
"Sensei, you needed us?" "How may we help?" Two anxious voices spoke.
"Master Mataki, old friend, Nooni, my best friend, I may have made a mistake." Sensei dropped his eyes as his shoulders began shaking.
"Sensei, how may we help?" Master Mataki offered.
"Little Tiger, what have you done." The younger teacher stared at Nooni in shock. "I know you, Sensei, how many times did you get us in trouble when we were babes?"
Master Matake frowned in reproof, "Nooni, how can you speak thusly to our beloved master?"
Sensei raised his eyes, brimming with tearful laughter. "Because she has known me all our lives, Mataki san, and she is correct."
Nooni placed one hand on her forehead, shaking her head in resignation. "What have you done?"
"Do you remember when Stoppable- san was here this summer, and I was attempting to teach him to read the ancient texts?"
Both his listeners nodded.
"He was becoming bored reading accounts of ill defined prophecies and old battles, his progress was diminishing."
"And your solution was...?" Nooni asked in a hopeless voice.
"I gave him Toshimuru's scroll of Ascent to Heaven."
"You didn't?" Master Mataki gasped.
"I wondered why he was suddenly enthusiastic about study." Nooni choked.
"But...but...That scroll was written by one of Master Toshimiru's followers, after a drinking bout celebrating their victory over the stone gorilla. It is nothing but the lascivious imaginings of a group of students."
Nooni's shoulders began to shake as she laughed, "But young Stoppable-san would not know that. He believed it, I'm sure. How much trouble has he gotten into attempting ascents that do not work?"
Sensei's mouth quivered as he tried to control himself, "You both forget, Stoppable-san has the mystic monkey power, and he raised his level of access greatly this summer."
"He didn't..."
"You mean..."
"He made them work?"
Waiting patiently for a summons, Yori smiled at the laughter of the elders. She must have misunderstood Sensei. It was so nice to hear them enjoy themselves.
V.
Ron eased the hovercraft up to Kim's window. The house was darkened, all the cars gone. "Boy, is KP gonna be surprised at what I got for her." He eased the window open.