Author's note: this took far longer than I thought it would. Damned prissy muse.

Also I'm going to try to respond to reviews more often; not all of them, but if you've got a question I can answer, or I have a witty comeback or something. so anyway, on with the show.

Broken Blade

Chapter 1: The machine that goes 'Ping'

Ron's head hurt; not from the blow to the head he had suffered earlier, but from the constant noise of the various medical scanners; CAT-scan, MRI, and several devices designed by a Dr Load with names he couldn't even pronounce.

He really wanted to shut off his auditory input, but alas he needed it, the doctors were asking him questions that he needed to respond to; something about brain-mapping to find the damaged area… 'Not that there is any damage to find…' he muttered silently. Though he had to admit the IQ tests they gave him had been an interesting way to waste half an hour or so, but now he was entertaining himself solving sodoku puzzles on the small touch screen. His current record at this difficulty was six minutes, forty eight seconds. He was trying to beat it.

In the observation room; the nurse manning the scanning devices was very, very confused. So she did what any menial employee does when they don't get paid enough to deal with something; she redirected it to her supervisor.

"Dr Possible, I think you'd better take a look at this."

Anne put down the journal she was reading and leaned over the nurse's shoulder to get a look at the readings…

"What? That can't be right…" she muttered as she reached for the phone. It rang three times before it picked up.

"Hey Dr Possible, what can I do for you?"

"Hi Wade, I wont ask how you knew it was me," the got a light chuckle from the child genius, "can you run a diagnostic on the scanners you sent us?"

"Sure, just give me a moment… done. Yeah they're all working fine, why do you ask?"

"Take a look at the readings."

"Okay… uh… any clue as to what I'm looking…whoa! That can't be right!"

"That's what we're reading here; neural activity at twenty-five percent. Normally people can only use between five and ten percent, but he's using more than twice that."

"The scanners are working perfectly… but this? This is weird. If he's using that much of his brain then there's no telling what could happen…"

"Well it would explain his IQ. We gave him a few tests to occupy his mind while we ran the scans, his average score was 170. It used to be around 80."

Wade whistled, "That's an impressive jump. Hmm, maybe when Ron hit his head his brain decided it needed to rewire itself? That would explain the high neural activity, the increased IQ and possibly the amnesia; the parts of his brain that stored all his memory were overwritten."

"That seems a little far fetched… but this is Ron we're talking about. Either way I'll need to keep him for a few days at least…"

On the other side of the world Lord Fisk was lounging in a very comfortable chair on the roof of his current hide-out. He was also drinking some very expensive bourbon and watching the sunset; both of which helped him think.

By the gods he needed to get some good thinking done.

He had read the prophecy through dozens of times; he had almost two months until the event occurred. He had everything he needed, or at least knew that he could get everything well within the allotted time. He even knew how to do everything required. He also knew it wouldn't be easy. Or cheap, for that matter.

The one thing he didn't know was where he needed to be. He didn't even know where to start looking.

"Return to where it was cast to the Darkness" he recited, glancing again at the scroll, "that doesn't exactly help. There are dozens of monkey temples, and thousands of heathen ones all over the world, it could be any one of them. Or even at some sacred site or other that none can remember. Or even where it had simply been at the time." He sighed and took another sip of bourbon.

The other side of the scroll was also somewhat of a puzzle to him. It was covered in a random pattern of dots that, under normal circumstances, he would have dismissed altogether. But these were not normal circumstances, these dots were important; they glowed along with the text. But he had no idea what these glowing dots meant.

He watched the light fade as the sun fell quietly below the horizon; it was a beautiful sight to watch, but he wasn't really paying attention anymore. He sat there for hours with a faraway look in his eyes as the blackness overtook the sky.

He blinked; finally realising what he was seeing. He looked at the scroll, then back to the dark sky, then back to the scroll once more.

He gingerly picked up the ancient document and held it at arms length; so he could see both at once.

A mad glint shone in his eyes. "Ah ha!"

Kim was not happy about being ordered home. She was not happy about having to leave her best friend at the hospital. She was not happy that said best friend didn't remember her at all.

However, one thing she did not know wether to be happy or not happy about was that said, amnesic best friend had been flirting with her. It was an almost surreal experience for her; yet one that she found strangely comfortable with.

Thinking back she found to both her horror and delight that she had flirted back.

'What the hell was I thinking?' she began to berate herself, 'he's my Best Friend! You don't do that sort of thing with best friends.'

Why not?

'Because! We've known each other since Pre-K! He's practically my brother. How could I just flirt around with that?'

Pretty easily, apparently. And he hasn't known you since Pre-K; he's known you for about five hours. And even then he took down an army of syntho-drones to protect you, and then he healed you.

'How did he do that anyway?'

Magic.

'Oh right. And he may not remember me. Yet. But he's still the same Ron…'

Is he? He may have the same body, the same shape, the same voice. But in every way that truly matters, he is not the same Ron Stoppable you knew this morning.

'But he…'

Hush. I'm talking here. Let's review the facts, shall we? One: he doesn't remember anything, thus he is, technically, not your friend anymore. Two: his personality is completely different than before; to the point where you know next to nothing about him. And Three: this new Ron isn't going to fit into the old arrangement. Can you honestly see him as the lovable, goofy best-friend and sidekick? I don't think so.

'Huh? What do you mean?'

I mean that you'll have to rebuild your friendship from scratch. A new relationship with new rules and new parameters; he just wont fit into the old one. And who knows, this new friendship might come with a few… benefits…

Kim nearly choked, 'Be… Benefits?! Are you insane?!'

If I am then so are you.

'What?! Who are you?'

I'm your conscience, Kim, one of the voices in your head. Well, that or you're developing a mental condition. Heh. But don't sweat it; you and Ron will be fine. As long as you don't try to force him back into the roll he played before, I don't think he'd like that.

'But why not? He's Ron… he…'

Oh boy, how thick are we? Old Ron is gone. Dead and buried. New Ron, while strikingly similar; is a completely different person!

'I… I know… but still, he's Ron… and it's just… hard…'

Yeah I know… just give it time. That all you can do; just give it time…

A dim blue light filled the sleep-lab in the basement of the hospital. In the centre of the light was a young man sitting in the lotus position, eyes closed in meditation.

Ron didn't know why he was meditating; he just knew it was a good idea.

He let the Power flow gently through him and his senses, pushing past the mundane and reaching out into the unknown. His sphere of awareness extending for almost half a mile in every direction, though there wasn't much of interest below him; but the other directions showed interesting things. He could feel the nurses rushing about their duties, the doctors in surgery; everything ticking away like clockwork.

He could also feel the ever-present pull from over the horizon. The signal had calmed down a bit in the past couple of hours and now he could tell that it wasn't one signal, but a group of signals clumped close together. But they were still too far away to determine what they were or exactly how many of them there are.

He was quite curious about it.

He had also discovered that he seemed to have a gift for languages. He could speak English, Japanese, Yiddish, and a bit of Spanish. Though, for some reason, he could also speak Mole Rat, Monkey and Cockroach. All in all he could speak seven languages with something approaching fluency. He felt strangely proud of his former self; it must have been quite difficult to learn.

He also noticed, as he sifted though the information he was gathering about the hospital, that it was actually rather easy. Too easy. Expanding ones consciousness across an entire building should be a very difficult thing to do, but he was experiencing very little trouble doing it.

'That would be me.' Spoke the monkey from inside his head. "I'm the one making it easy for you.'

'Okay, why are you doing that?'

'Because you don't have the skill or experience to be able to do even a fraction of what you are doing now, if I wasn't compensating for you, you'd be a smear on the wall by now.'

'Ouch, that doesn't sound like a good time.'

'No, not really. It's basically my job to make sure you don't kill yourself with your own power, as well as to give you a vague idea of what you are actually capable of.'

'Oh cool, so you're going to teach me?'

'Hell no, you have to figure this out for yourself. I'm just holding the safety net for when you screw up.'

'Well thanks for the vote of confidence.'

'Any time.'

'Jerk'

-PING-

'What the hell was that?'

'Its just one of the machines, it's been doing that on and off for hours. Don't worry about it. So what were you on about?'

'Right, yes. You have power, but you don't know how to use it safely. Your mind knows Tai Shing Pek Kwar, but your body doesn't know how to translate that knowledge into usable skill. That's where I come in. Well, until I deem you ready enough to not need me to keep you alive.'

'So what then? You just ditch me?'

-PING-

'That thing could get annoying. And yeah, pretty much. I come back every now and then to see how you're doing, have a chat, catch up on old times. All that jazz. But don't worry; I'm not going anywhere yet. Though I do suggest getting a handle on your powers as quickly as possible.'

'Oh, why's that?'

'You never know when something will come up and you'll need to use them...'

'Uh huh… you know something and you don't want to tell me.'

'Yep, correct again. You're getting good at this.' He sighed and though for a moment, 'okay, because it's this important, I'll throw you a bone. First step, get out of this hospital as soon as you can, don't just escape, but get discharged. You don't want them coming after you thinking you've gone mad or something. Two; as you were just doing. Meditation, its good for the soul. A balanced soul makes using the Power you have easier and less dangerous. And three, look at that pitiful excuse for a body you've got there; you're pathetically out of shape. Well technically you do have a shape, its just kinda blobby...'

'Hey! I choose to take offence at that.'

'…and you've got high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Eat healthy, start working out. Don't worry about strength, that's what the Power is for. Work on speed, agility and most of all, endurance. The Power can put a lot of stress on your body; you've got to be able to keep up. I also suggest combat practice with Kim, don't take her advice on the other stuff, but she's a decent fighter so she'll kick your butt around a bit before the Monkey Fu starts flowing, then she shouldn't stand a chance. Oh, and try to find someone who can teach you about the mystical stuff and the Power; I'm not allowed to tell you any more about it.'

'Umm right… that's all very informative, and a reasonably solid game plan, but where am I going to find someone like that?'

-PING-

'Shutup!' they both chorused.

'Heh, you already know someone. Or at least you did. Don't worry about it, it'll sort itself out. Just keep your eyes open and you'll be fine.'

'Right… like that just fills me with confidence.'

'Also try to brush up on your more mundane skills, they'll be handy.'

-PING-

"OH will you just stop that?!"

The words were hardly out of Ron's mouth when the blue energy began to coalesce around the offending device. The casing bent and buckled, the circuitry began to sizzle and then the whole thing caught on fire…

Ron just watched, speechless…

He wasn't the only one…

'How the HELL did you do that?'

End chapter 1.

As I said at the top, this took far too long to write, sorry about the wait.

And I haven't got anything else witty to say. So see you all again next chapter.

-DS