Thanks to CajunBear73, Pharaoh Rutin Tutin, daywalkr82, spectre666, Isamu, leadfoot352, Brother Buldgeon, Stand Alone Battle A.I, Molloy, Randy C, Akinyi, and RonHeartbreaker for reading and reviewing. Leave your review and collect your special thank you today!
Well, folks, this is it. After leaving Ron and Monkey Fist stranded on the brink of conflict in Part I for almost a year, it is time for them to finally get on with it!
A very special thanks to all of those who were here for these episodes the first time around and have offered further encouragement this time through. I tried to come up with a way of saying thanks to all of you but I realized the best way was to stick to it and give you guys and gals all new chapters for you to dive into. Here is the first of what I hope will be many more to come…
As always, enjoy!
Kim, Ron, and all other characters within are owned by the Walt Disney Corporation.
Episode 7: Return to Yamanouchi, Part II
by Ultimate Naco Topping
Previously on Kim Possible:
"And now, it gives me great pleasure to present to you Ancient Secrets of Tai Shing Pek Kwar!"
"Finally, with the prophesies of Toshimiru in hand, my destiny as the Supreme Monkey Ruler will be revealed to the world!"
"There is only one person who can stop Monkey Fist now."
"Ah, Kim Possible!"
"No, but she is our contact."
"Contact…? To who?"
"Yeeeoooaw! IT BURNS!"
"Does it scare anyone that the fate of the world is sometimes in Ron's hands?"
"You know, Kim, they say that clothes make the loser."
"Oh, you meant actual ninjas. I was wondering when we were going to get to the 'normal' part of the day."
"Sensei requests that you return to Yamanouchi to train immediately. And I once again call on our bond of honor…,"
"Stoppable-san, the scroll Monkey Fist stole holds the very key to the Mystical Monkey Power. It is said that only the Chosen One, using the power of the Lotus Blade, can unlock the seal and restore balance to the Power."
"That would be so cool if you weren't going to try to make me cross it."
"Now it will be your honor to get them back!"
"Okay, Kim, this woman makes Cafeteria Lady look like a saint."
"I appreciate you guys training me again and everything, but I think this is going worse than last time…"
"The path to every successful journey must always begin with a first step."
"But there's one thing I can see…"
"Yeah? What's that?"
"A guy who's trying his best and isn't going to quit because he can always count on his best friend being there for him."
"Huh-uh! Black hole!"
"Traitor."
"So, it appears that hero and sidekick have become an 'item'. That could prove most useful… Tell the others we attack tomorrow."
"Sleep well, Stoppable, for tomorrow you face your doom…"
And now the conclusion of Return to Yamanouchi…
The air rushed out of Ron's lungs as he hit the ground on his stomach – hard. With a groan and the last of his grit and determination, he rolled over and tried to pick himself up. He had only gotten to his hands and knees when he spotted him. Standing on some sort of 'monkey seal' on the temple's floor, Monkey Fist gave the blonde a sinister sneer as he collected the scroll and the Lotus Blade. The genetically altered villain touched the Blade to the wax on the scroll and a burst of light shot out. A column of energy quickly enveloped Fist as he was lifted off of his feet. As the former English lord's cackle grew louder and louder, a pulse blasted out from the light knocking Ron back before the room returned to normal.
As his eyes readjusted, Ron was instantly sickened by what he saw. Monkey Fist was still on the seal with scroll and Lotus Blade in hand. However, he was wearing a crown of golden interlocking monkeys and was covered in a shaggy layer of fur.
"Yes!" Fist began with a fevered shout. "Now all shall bow before me, the Supreme Monkey Ruler!"
Ron backpedaled in horror only to run into something behind him. He spun to find it was just as terrifying as his arch foe's new form.
"Stoppable-san," said a large monkey with a pink headband in a hurt defeated tone. "You have failed us…"
The sidekick hyperventilated as he tried to escape but this time ran into another monkey standing upright. However this one looked much older and had a long flowing beard.
"It appears that I too misjudged you. You were not up to the task at hand," monkey Sensei said with pained eyes as monkey Yori joined him. For a third time, Ron tried to back out of the situation terrified out of his mind.
"K.P., help! We got some serious monkey mojo going on!" he screamed as he ran without looking where he was going. The boy ran into yet another obstacle this time being knocked flat on his rear.
"You're telling me," said another human sized monkey – this one with flowing red hair. On her shoulder stood a not so naked mole rat. Each looked at him with betrayal in their eyes.
"No…," Ron started weakly at the site of his best friends' new forms. "Kim, you're a monkey."
"Look in the mirror lately, Ron?" monkey Kim sassed as she flipped open her compact. Deliberately, she swiveled its mirror as Ron was too terrified to look away. But he already knew what he was about to see. Time came to a crawl as his image slowly reflected back at him…
--
"Aaaaah!" Ron screamed as he bolted out of his less than peaceful slumber. A thin layer of cold sweat covered his skin as he continued to breathe deeply. His hand reached out for his phone, but he only remembered where he was until he grasped thin air.
Realizing that Kim was just down the hall gave him almost as much comfort as calling her. He laid back down on his mat as his breathing returned to normal, but after a moment of tossing and turning, the blonde knew sleep was not going to return to him any time soon. Careful not to wake up Rufus, who looked like he was pleasantly dreaming about a journey down a river of cheese, Ron slipped out of his room.
--
A thin ribbon of red leaked out of the Eastern horizon and danced along the mountain ridges. The air was very still as the Moon and the stars prepared to take their leave of the sky.
Ron walked with his hands in his pockets hunched over not going anywhere in particular. Despite the fact that it was summer, his breath still appeared in the cool mountain air. He was just about to the edge of the school's grounds when he noticed a figure staring off towards where the sun was due to rise – the pink headband revealing her identity.
"Um, hey, Yori," Ron said delicately as he came to stop next to her. "Can't sleep either?"
"No," the ninja girl said without looking at him. "I was doing some… reflection."
Ron read the young woman's expression as he listened to her somewhat deflated tone. This was not the optimistic and cheerful girl he had come to know.
"Is everything all right?" he pressed. With a gathering sigh, Yori turned to the blonde and tried to put on a good show.
"Of course, I was just preparing my thoughts for our upcoming confrontation with Monkey Fist."
Ron allowed for silence to follow her words. Great, now I figure out how to understand girls, he silently observed knowing that Monkey Fist was the furthest thing from Yori's mind. The last time a girl tried to cover her emotions in front of him, he blew his chance to say something giving room for Drakken's syntho-hottie to sweep Kim away. And although that had all worked out in the end, Ron couldn't keep quiet this time.
"Yori," he started hesitantly. "I'm sorry about how you found out about me and, um…, uh…,"
"Kim?"
"Yeah, her. I hope you're not mad at me or anything…" Ron trailed off rubbing the back of his neck
"Why would I be mad at you?" Yori replied.
"Well, I mean, you 'like' liked me, remember? And then the next time you see me, I'm with Kim. You gotta admit that's kind of rough," the blonde explained gently.
"It is okay, Stoppable-san," the young ninja said with a melancholy smile. "You must understand that I am happy for you and Kim. It is meant to be…"
His friend's statement perplexed him as much as it relieved him to hear. But he knew he still didn't have the whole story.
"But what about you?" he asked.
Yori's eyes went to the ground searching for her answer. With a deep breath she looked back up to Ron.
Dong. Dong. The school's bell tolled as the top edge of the sun edged over the horizon. Dong. Dong.
"It is time for morning meditation," Yori stated taking the opportunity to avoid Ron's question. Giving him a polite bow, the black haired girl left him alone on the ledge with the sunrise. He couldn't help but be reminded of the failed romantic scene from Bricks of Fury IV: Bricks in Love.
"Nice going, Stoppable-san," he muttered to himself.
--
"Ron?" Kim asked sliding open the room's newspaper covered door. The redhead was hurriedly trying to catch up after sleeping past Yamanouchi's sunrise wake-up call. Poking her head into Ron's room, all she found was Rufus curled up still snoring away. Crossing the room, she bent down and gave the little guy a poke. Shaking himself out of his slumber, Rufus yawned and stretched.
"Rufus," Kim inquired. "Where's Ron?"
Finally getting his bearing, the naked mole rat scanned the room confused that his human was not there also.
"Huh. D'noh!" the rodent said.
"Sensei has taken Stoppable-san off school grounds for a private lesson," a voice said from behind startling Kim. The teen heroine spun to find Hirotaka standing in the doorway.
"Hirotaka," Kim said calming down. "You surprised me."
"My apologies, Kim Possible," he smoothly replied. "Would you like to join us in the courtyard for morning classes?"
"Um, sure," she answered before scooping up Rufus and leaving with her former crush.
--
A dozen or so of Yamanouchi's finest were engaged in combat training – either hand to hand or with their weapon of choice – in the school's courtyard. As Kim, with Rufus on her shoulder, and Hirotaka walked out into the sunlight, the redhead took note of Yori working fiercely on a punching bag on the opposite side from them. The trio stopped on the edge of the yard and took it all in. Kim observed the other students noticing their proficiency in fighting before Hirotaka spoke up.
"How did Stoppable-san win your affections?" Hirotaka asked out of the blue watching Yori continue to pummel the punching bag.
The question jarred Kim out of her observations of the other students and forced her to evaluate the hunky student ninja. Her answer brought a flood of warm memories of the moment Ron finally revealed what he had been feeling.
"Well, he was there when I needed him the most," she said as a warm smile filled her face. "He's always been there… Why do you ask?"
When Hirotaka didn't give an answer, and rather continued his stare, Kim traced back the source of his attention. As the dots were connected, a devious grin replaced her warm smile.
"You're crushing on Yori, aren't you?" the redhead asked getting an ever so slight reaction from the perfect haired young man – which was an enormous tip-off given his skill as a ninja. "So why haven't you made a move?"
Rather than reply, Hirotaka gave a sigh. Kim continued almost in disbelief.
"You're trying to tell me the guy who had every girl at Middleton High fighting over him like wolves is too shy to ask a girl like Yori out?"
"Yes."
"But why?"
"I have found it difficult to approach her on the matter," Hirotaka started off. "Her attentions have been…, elsewhere."
"Stoppable-san," Kim astutely added. "But the good news for you is he's 'off the market' now. There's nothing to stop you. Besides, it might help her to know that someone else out there 'likes' likes her…"
"It's not that simple," the ninja responded. Almost as if she had sensed that they were talking about her, Yori caught Hirotaka's stare forcing him to look quickly away. With another grunt, the girl returned to her training.
"Don't worry," Kim tried to encourage. "She'll come around soon."
Hirotaka gave the redhead a thankful smile and allowed his thoughts to turn elsewhere. It was then that the young man tilted his head as he began to look concerned.
"Do you hear that?" he asked.
Kim took a look around for herself and concentrated on her hearing but heard nothing.
"I don't hear anything," Kim asked not sure why that was a bad thing.
"That is the problem," Hirotaka said tensing up.
Slowly, each of the dozen or so students stopped their practice also noting the change in the air. For a perfect summer morning, there should have been a rustle in the wind and birds happily chirping. Instead, there was none of that - just an eerie silence. Sensing the danger, the students, Kim, Yori, and Hirotaka gathered themselves closer just in time for a wave of screeching, black hooded fur to come crashing over the school's walls…
--
A small clearing in the woods in the valley below Yamanouchi featured an elegant Buddhist-style shrine. Sensei sat patiently on a sawed off stump monitoring his student's progress.
The blonde haired student sat lotus style in front of the old master - eyes closed. Ron did his best to clear his mind letting the rhythm of the nearby stream tune the beats of his heart. As all the distractions – his looming battle with Monkey Fist, Yori's disappointment, and starting his senior year of high school - fade from his consciousness. As he focused only on the thoughts Sensei directed him to, he began to feel as though a cool but comforting force was surrounding him. And he felt light – very light – as if he were…
Ron opened his eyes to see Sensei staring right back at him. That, of course, was what he expected to see. The treetops that surrounded them and the large amount of space between him and the ground were not.
"Aaah!" Ron cried as his busted concentration caused him to plummet towards the Earth. Right before impact, Sensei's hand grabbed onto to his and lowered him to the ground safely. The old man floated to a landing while Ron wheezed in and out over the ordeal with his hands on his knees.
"I bet you're going to ask me why I failed," said a disappointed Ron between breathes. Sensei brushed his beard before responding.
"No, I was going to ask you why you succeeded," Yamanouchi's wise teacher said. His words straightened up Stoppable-san as he began to look skyward to where he had been floating.
"Hey," Ron said as he slowly began to understand that he had seen a measure of success. "I did kinda get up there a ways…"
"Though the journey may be long," Sensei began with a reassuring pat. "Even a small step brings you closer to its conclusion."
Ron reflected on the sage advice, but something about it seemed familiar.
"Wait a second," he said as he pieced it together. "That's the same thing you told me yesterday… Only different and stuff."
Sensei stroked his beard again at the boy's observation.
"Just because an idea is…," he began before a faint clanging interrupted him. Both he and Ron turned to look up the mountain at the secret ninja school.
"Is it lunch time already?" Ron asked confused.
"No," Sensei said in a tone that allowed Ron to realize the gravity of the situation. There was only one other thing that the ringing could mean…
Swarms of monkey ninjas attacked in waves as the students of Yamanouchi bravely defended their school. The less advanced students had been well trained and knew to stick together. Still, the sheer number of opponents was close to overwhelming. The more advanced fighters, Kim, Yori, and Hirotaka, had each been isolated from each other with their own swarms of foes. Even Rufus had his paws full of fur and fists.
As Kim fended off attack after attack, she knew that what Monkey Fist's minions had lacked before in skill, they were making up for in numbers. She caught glimpses of the others who were all valiantly holding their ground, but even the girl who could do anything knew that their sitch was dire. They needed help and they needed it fast.
"Boo-hi-yah!" shouted a blonde flash jumping into the middle of the battle. Everyone took notice as Ron landed taking out several monkey ninjas as he did so. The sidekick turned lead man wasted no time tearing into their hooded foes with his signature screams of courage dispatching each attacker with a kick or chop or punch.
Quickly, monkey ninjas who had been pressing Kim and the others broke away to join the growing maelstrom around Ron. The blonde soon found himself facing the same problem as his compatriots had: too much fur.
"Stoppable-san!" Yori yelled as she seized the opportunity to grab a battle staff that had been lost in the fight and hurled it in Ron's direction. Vaulting off the back of a monkey, the boy caught it and immediately brought its force to bear against an attacker.
Kim had her hands full long after the ninjas eased up on the other students and she hadn't yet gotten an opportunity to see what it was that had come to their aid. But as she dispatched the last few that came after her, the redhead could finally look at what her foes were now focused on. Her jaw nearly dislocated as she watched her boyfriend dispose of the monkey minions blow by blow and kick by kick like he was the hero from Bricks of Fury VI: Last Brick Standing. It was one thing to believe her best friend had potential – even as a fighter. It was quite another to see that potential's full depth on display. Kim's shock was so complete that she didn't even notice the gorilla's paw wrapping around her and hoisting her in the air.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Monkey Fist said noting her reaction to her BF's tirade. She found Fist standing on the shoulders of a second armored ape next to the one that had captured her.
"What is?" Kim said as she began to struggle in the gorilla's clutches.
"The Mystical Monkey Power that has managed to turn your boyfriend from a bumbler into a master of Tai Shing Pek Kwar," the genetically altered former English lord said as he watched Ron begin to finish off the last of his lackeys. "Unfortunately for him, and you I'm afraid, I too have the power. And the upper hand…," he added with a sneer before producing the scroll.
"You know you can't win, Fist, so why don't you just hand over the scroll now and we can all go home," Kim grunted against the pressure of the ape's paw. Monkey Fist rolled his eyes with a snort at the comment.
"Is that the best line you've got? I'm afraid you've become a tired cliché, cheerleader," the monkey man retorted.
"Right back at you," Kim growled. With a narrowing of his eyes, Fist decided he'd had enough banter and it was time to start the main event. Leaping from his perch, Monkey Fist landed a safe distance from Ron just as the sidekick finished the last of the monkey ninjas.
"Bravo, Stoppable. Bravo," Fist said with a sarcastic clap as Yori, Hirotaka, Sensei and the other students gathered behind Ron.
"Monkey Fist!" Ron declared seriously at the sight of his arch foe before shifting to a sly smile. "How's your girlfriend doing?"
"Considerably better than yours," the furry villain replied with a sly grin of his own. Stepping to the side, he revealed Kim's plight to Ron.
"K.P.!" the blonde shouted at the site of his best friend in the clutches of the menacing ape. "Oh, you're going down fur ball! You and the gorillas!"
"If only that were true," Monkey Fist said menacingly.
"Yeah, well, we'll just have to…," Ron said taking a couple steps forward ready to charge before he realized something – something big – and stopped.
"Hey, wait a second," he said as a perplexed look crossed his face. "Aren't those DNAmy's gorillas?"
"Yeah," Kim added still captured but her suspicions rising as well. "And you didn't exactly correct Ron when he asked how your 'girlfriend' was."
When all Monkey Fist did in response was clinch his fists and shudder, the looks of confusion on Kim's and Ron's faces turned into disgust.
"Gorchie!" Ron shouted.
"Wrongsick!" Kim immediately followed.
The disgraced nobleman was left to simmer as the two teen heroes convulsed at the notion of him and DNAmy together.
"Dude," Ron said in a pleading tone. "When I said I thought you two were on a date, I wasn't suggesting that you keep dating her! Ewhuck! Who next? Motor Ed and Shego?"
"You can't actually be with her 'cause you like her," the redhead added.
"True, I do find her to be quite intolerable," Fist said with a grumble. "But the relationship does have its advantages…"
With a snap of Fist's fingers, the second armored ape smashed through the wall of one of the ancient buildings on the campus and tossed a huge chunk of it towards Ron and the others. Everyone scattered to avoid the projectile except one small pink figure that charged forward and slipped unnoticed into Kim's gi. The girl had to suppress a ticklish giggle as the pink rodent wrapped around her ankle out of sight.
As the debris cloud settled, Ron rolled over and got up to check on the others. Seeing everyone was okay, he turned back to Monkey Fist who had taken advantage of the distraction. Riding one of his two gorilla warriors, they now stood on the outer wall of the school.
"The Temple of the Great Monkey Seal," the mutant super villain declared pointing at Ron. "Be there after sundown, bring the Lotus Blade, and come alone…," he added before turning with an evil grin to Kim who sneered right back at him. "Otherwise your little girlfriend will face the consequences."
As soon as he finished his ultimatum, he and the gorillas slipped over the walls followed by the few remaining monkey ninjas that were conscious. The warriors of Yamanouchi were left to begin surveying the damage and tend to their injuries. A solemn Ron stared after his arch foe and his girlfriend long after they disappeared before being joined by Sensei, Yori, and Hirotaka.
"Sensei, it's time for some smack-monkey…" Ron growled. "…And lunch…"
--
Kim wondered why she bothered struggling against her captors. She wasn't going anywhere. The redhead found it funny that she had a code of traditions as a hero that she followed just as much as the bad guys. One of them dictated that she must always fight against her captors even if she had no chance of escape. Keeping up the charade against the gorillas, they remained firm with their grip on her. One of the monkey ninjas bound her hands above her head and secured the rope to the wall leaving her feet to make enough contact with the ground to keep her arms from being pulled tight.
The chamber the teen heroine found herself in was expansive. Torches ringed the domed roof around a large seal on the floor. Kim recognized the old symbol, a lanky monkey in a kung fu pose, from the mission when they had first encountered Lord Montgomery Fiske. As if on cue, the man now known as Monkey Fist entered the chamber scroll in hand. Ron was actually wrong about him, Kim thought painfully. Fist isn't five hundred miles of bad road. He's more like five thousand…
"Leave us," Fist ordered the gorillas and the few monkey ninjas loyal and disciplined enough to continue following their master after a rough day of action. Making sure they were alone, the genetically altered villain smugly turned to Kim.
"It really is too bad," Fist began.
"That Ron's going to kick your freaky tail when he gets here?" Kim sassed. Fist scowled as he brought his furry paw under Kim's chin.
"No," he growled before stepping back. "I was saying that it's too bad I'm going to have to destroy young Stoppable. I've actually come to respect him. I must admit he's finally showing potential as a worthy adversary…"
"By 'potential', you mean defeating you every time you've ever fought him?" the redhead acidicly quipped. The monkey man grumbled at this further barb.
"I will be the first to acknowledge underestimating him in the past. But when this scroll is unsealed, the injustices that have held me back will be swept away and all will tremble before me!" he began to rant lifting the scroll above his head.
"Where's my little monkey muffin?" a sing-songy voice echoed from one of the chamber's entrances. Although high-pitched and homely, it had the effect of deflating Fist's villainous ego as his shoulders slumped and a look of pure contempt filled his face.
"Monkey muffin? You mean she's actually here?!" Kim laughed as the irrepressible genetic scientist entered the room. The cheerleader took a small bit of comfort in the fact that the woman was no longer a tiny head on a hulking gorilla body. Thankfully, DNAmy had returned herself to her normal human form.
"Hey! You didn't tell me we had a visitor!" the Cuddle Buddy enthusiast pouted putting her hands on her hips. If Monkey Fist grinded his teeth any harder, they would have shattered. He didn't even bother to turn around and look at his 'girlfriend' as he responded.
"Amy, can't you see I'm a tad busy at the moment. I have business to finish up with Possible," he seethed through his teeth.
"You can finish up with your little friend later," DNAmy demanded as she grabbed the dark master of Monkey Kung Fu by the arm. "You promised to watch Agony County with me!"
Despite her 'captee' status, Kim reveled in every second of Fist trying to repress his gag reflex.
"Ah, Monty's got some cuddle time with his girlfriend," Kim mocked with fake romantic wit. Monkey Fist shot her an icy gaze.
"You're going to pay for that one…"
Oblivious to the current mood and situation she had thrown herself into, DNAmy began to tug her one time patient out of the room.
"Come on! We don't want to miss the start of the show. I made hot chocolate and ginger snaps and you can paint my nails during the commercials!" Amy said practically dragging her 'boyfriend' as if he were an unwilling canine to the vet's office. As soon as the couple was out of the room, Kim could no longer contain herself and erupted with laughter.
"Oh-ho-ho, wow!" she chuckled skyward after finally getting it back together. Monkey boy deserves every bit of that torture, thought Kim as she checked to make sure they were alone. "Okay, Rufus. All clear."
The naked mole rat unwrapped himself from Kim's ankle and spilled out onto the floor looking as though he were ready to lose his lunch.
"DNAmy?" the pink rodent said with a fake finger gag.
"You're telling me…," Kim trailed off thinking about the ickier aspects of the villains' relationship. As per standard operating procedures, Rufus scampered up Kim's side and set about freeing her bonds.
"I am so buying you your own nacho cheese dispenser when we get home," Kim promised Ron's pet for his cunning heroics. Just have to escape, meet up with Ron and the others and…, Kim started to think before a different plan came to mind.
"Wait, stop," she requested. Rufus looked up thinking that they had been compromised but found they were still very much alone. He looked down to Kim unsure of what she was thinking.
"I think I have a better idea…"
--
"The Temple of the Great Monkey Seal," Sensei announced to his student warriors. Ron crotched in the lead position holding the Lotus Blade. Sensei, Yori, and Hirotaka right behind him using the jungle to shield their presence. Everyone seemed to be waiting on Ron to come up with the plan while they watched the temple's entrance anxiously.
Before anyone could ask what the next move should be, a small pink rodent cautiously made his way out of the front of the temple and crossed the open space instinctively knowing where to find his human partner.
"Nice going, little buddy," Ron praised as Rufus jumped into his waiting palm. "Where's Kim?"
"Inside," the naked mole rat squeaked before placing his paws over his head in the manner in which Kim was tied up. He added a couple winks to let Ron know that everything was just fine. With a pleased grin, Ron took the battle staff that Yori was holding for him and handed it to Rufus.
"All-right," Ron said standing to his feet resolutely addressing his allies. "We're going in. You guys know what to do."
"Stoppable-san," Yori called after him as he and Rufus began their charge on the temple. The blonde halted and allowed her to engage him away from the others.
"Before anything happens," Yori started solemnly. "I wanted to apologize for my attitude about you and Kimberly these past couple days."
"Oh, come on, Yori," replied a comforting Ron. "You don't have to say you're sorry. I would have taken it a lot harder than you…"
"Still, my behavior was unbecoming of my life's training."
"Hey, we're all good," the sidekick sympathized taking her hand. Making eye contact with the vulnerable young ninja, he couldn't believe he was about to, more or less, give her the same heart lifting speech he gave Kim just a few months prior. "Look, K.P. is the greatest thing to ever happen to me, but I still think you're a really special girl. And there are plenty of guys out there that are better for you than me…"
"Really?" Yori asked touched but not yet believing.
"Really," Ron affirmed looking past her and noting the anxious interest on Hirotaka's face. "You just gotta know where to look."
A moment passed between the pair.
"Thank you, Stoppable-san," the young warrior said smiling for a change. "It is an honor to call you my friend."
"Same here," Ron said with a blush as Yori's smile turned into confident determination.
"Now let's go kick some monkey butt!" Yori said with zeal followed by a positive "Yeah!" from Rufus.
Being a veteran of countless long stints as a maniacal villain's captive, Kim had developed several techniques to deal with the prolonged periods of waiting. One of which was planning her cheer squad's new routines. She was just putting the finishing touches on a new pyramid, making sure to 'feature' Bonnie on the bottom in the back, when her eyes opened to the ever so faint sound of movement coming up one of the entryways.
"Ron!" Kim exclaimed as quietly as she could as her best friend and his naked mole rat stepped out into the open weapons in hand.
"Hey, K.P.," he semi-whispered back as he made his way towards her. "How's it hanging?"
"Ha-ha!" the redhead scoffed. "Just get me out of her before Monkey Fist gets back."
"Now where would the dramatics be in that?" the simian obsessed Englishman cackled jumping out of his hiding place and cutting off Ron from Kim. Behind him, one of the gorillas lumbered out of a different entrance to safe-guard Kim as the remaining monkey ninjas sealed off all exits. The odds were now decidedly stacked against the heroes.
"I'll give you one last chance to surrender," Ron demanded in spite of his position.
"Tragically funny to the last," came Fist's cold reply. "Hand over the Lotus Blade and I may grant you mercy in my reign as Supreme Monkey Ruler."
"Not a chance," defended Ron getting ready to stand his ground against the monkey man and clutching the blade even tighter.
"Then I'll just have to take it by force," the villain snarled.
"Ron! Look out!" Kim shouted desperately, but it was too late. By the time Ron turned to see what Kim was trying to warn him about, the second armored ape's fist smashed into him sending his sword sliding across the floor.
Catching his breath, Ron got to his hands and knees in time to see Fist stop the blade's slide with his foot.
"That was all too easy," Monkey Fist said smugly as he picked up the sword.
The former English lord almost couldn't believe his good fortune as he took his place on the Great Monkey Seal ready to reveal his destiny to the world. Kim, too, couldn't believe what she was seeing hoping that this was somehow part of Ron's plan. Suppressing his urge to burst into maniacal laughter, Fist held the sword and the scroll out in front of him. Closing his eyes in anticipation, he attempted to break the scroll's wax seal.
To say he was shocked to see that nothing had happened after the mutated villain opened his eyes would be an understatement. Despite a healthy attempt at opening the seal, the wax held fast. Fist's agitation became apparent as he examined the sword he held in his hand. Concentrating, Monkey Fist tried to will the sword to change shape. Again, nothing happened.
"It's a FAKE!" he bellowed tossing the imposter away at the realization he'd been fooled.
"Sike!" shouted Rufus as a brilliant blue light turned his staff into a set of nunchucks.
"Relieve that wretched rat of the Lotus Blade!" Monkey Fist commanded his monkey minions. The naked mole rat was instantly beset upon by a storm of hooded fur. The second gorilla, now with nothing else to do, also joined the attack only to be cutoff by an elderly man with a flowing white beard and two teenaged ninja students.
With every single one of his demands now being violated, the brooding Englishman decided it was time to follow through on his threat.
"Smash the girl!" he ordered the other gorilla before setting his sights on Ron who was still recovering from the blindsided shot he had received.
The gorilla reared back its fist ready to deliver a crushing blow to Kim, but as he swung forward, the redheaded teen heroine tugged on a loop of the rope and slipped free. The giant ape smashed his knuckles painfully into the stone wall. Kim wasted no time making a charge at Fist who was presently menacing towards her boyfriend. Leaping into a flying kick, Kim delivered a blindside shot of her own on the monkey man driving him into the ground and knocking the scroll into the air. Coming to an, as usual, graceful landing on the other side of him, Kim plucked the wax secured parchment from the air.
Being a fighter of the highest caliber, Fist was on his feet in no time with aims to take the scroll back. Kim readied her best defensive posture waiting for Monkey Fist's attack. However, someone else had different plans.
"He's all mine, Kim," Ron stated seriously stepping between the two combatants.
"How noble of you," Fist jabbed. "Coming to the defense of your lady. Don't worry, I'll be sure and save something for her after I've finished you!"
"Just bring it," growled Ron as the two arch foes launched into each other. Kim could only watch as the two exchanged blows. For a brief moment, she thought she was the only one in the entire fight without an opponent. She realized she was wrong, of course, as the gorilla that had just tried to smash her tried again. The cheerleader avoided being pummeled with a swift last second move and braced herself for some heavy action.
"I must say," Fist grunted as he threw a chop at Ron. "Sensei has done an impressive job in the short time he's trained you."
"Thanks," replied Ron blocking the chop and snaking out a kick of his own. "I'll be sure to pass that along when we're done."
"Scoff all you want," his mutant foe countered blocking Ron's kick. "But that's nothing compared to…"
"…a lifetime of devotion," the blonde interrupted as he landed the first punch of the engagement. "If I had a naco for every time I heard you say that, I'd never go hungry again."
With an angry 'grrr', Monkey Fist volleyed a flurry of combinations forcing Ron into a purely defensive pattern.
To the average observer, the Battle Royal for monkey supremacy would be the absolute last place one would want to venture forth into. However, when you're a slightly off-center genetic scientist who thinks nothing of flaunting the laws of man and nature with an extreme love for collectible plush, such things tend to not register correctly.
"Yooowhooo!" DNAmy said walking into the eye of the storm with a tray of what appeared to be drinks. "Who wants freshly squeezed lemonade?"
The 'boldness' of such a question caused all of the fighting to come to a screeching halt. Most of the combatants looked at the homely woman dumbfounded. Ron, who had now locked hands with his arch foe wrestling for position, released himself from the lock.
"Come to think of it," he said whimsically. "I'm pretty thirsty."
Ron was the first to arrive at the tray and partake in the refreshments. He was soon joined by one of the gorillas, several of the monkey ninjas, Yori, and Sensei each appreciatively taking a cup.
"My! My!" the otter-fly wearing woman observed. "You all are working up a sweat! Rude old Monty didn't tell me he'd be having so many friends over. Otherwise I'd have made some more!"
As the last of the drinks were finished and returned to the tray, DNAmy sauntered out the door humming as if she were a successful southern hostess. As everyone else returned to where they had stopped fighting, Ron found Fist where he had left him. The furry simian expert was scowling with his arms crossed and his foot impatiently tapping the floor.
"Where were we?" Ron asked playfully.
"I believe right about here!" Monkey Fist replied throwing a punch in Ron's direction as all across the temple, the battle resumed. Unfortunately for the blonde, he wasn't ready and was knocked back as his arch foe went on the offensive. The difference in skill was becoming apparent as Fist forced Ron back across half the floor – the sidekick barely able to block each incoming blow. Still, the lack of a landed blow further infuriated Monkey Fist and he pressed harder. Finally, one kick extended too far past Stoppable-san's head. Ron felt like he was moving in slow motion, just like the epic climax to Bricks of Fury IX: Law of the Brick, as he seized a surprised Monkey Fist's ankle and spinning like a top, hurled him towards the wall. His arch foe was stunned as he faceplanted against the solid stone falling to a heap at its base.
Turning quickly to the rest of the melee, the blonde haired teen hero saw Kim fighting one of the gorillas, scroll safely in her hand to the left of the seal; Rufus using the Lotus Nunchucks to batter the monkey ninjas to the right; and the third gorilla close to being over powered by Sensei, Yori, and Hirotaka in between him and the Great Monkey Seal. Knowing it was a now or never moment, Ron pushed off into a sprint faster than he had ever sprinted before. Jumping as he got to the back of the second gorilla, he used its shoulders as a springboard, catapulting him towards his target.
"Kim! Rufus! Now!" he shouted in mid-air.
Seeing his friend flying into position, Rufus willed the Lotus Blade into its normal form and threw it towards where Ron was going to land. Kim agilely ducked another crushing punch from her attacker before tossing the scroll in the same direction. Reaching out with both hands, Ron caught the scroll and the Blade before making a one-kneed power landing in the middle of the Monkey Seal.
Instantly, a brilliant white light exploded from the rim of the Seal, the scroll, and the Lotus Blade. As the humans in the temple shielded their eyes, the gorillas and monkey ninjas fled in terror at the supernatural spectacle. A column of light surrounded Ron as he was lifted off the floor. Above him, a powerful ethereal figure strongly resembling the statue of the school's founder in the courtyard appeared.
Kim struggled to block the light from her eyes so she could see what was going on. She could make out that the figure above Ron was saying something, but she could not hear the words over the roaring sound that accompanied the light display. After a few moments of the 'man' talking, Ron appeared rather confused and looked as though he had asked a question. Shaking his head a bit, the spirit tried again. This time, Ron grasped whatever it was that he was being told as he put the idea in his own terms. The floating figure sighed and gave Ron the 'close enough' look before vanishing along with the light allowing Ron to float back to the ground safely.
"That. Was. Badical!" Ron exclaimed after a moment of shocked silence from the witnesses. Kim, Rufus, Yori, and Hirotaka swarmed him in awe.
"What happened? What did he say?" Kim asked at a near fevered pitch.
"Nothing much," Ron replied rather nonchalantly. "Just congratulated me on being the 'Chosen One', and how I've got many paths and choices to make. And then he said something about how my greatest challenge would come in small bundle - whatever that means… And that was basically it."
Sensei raised an eyebrow at Ron's last statement, but as he joined his students, he made no further inquiries about Ron's encounter with the school's spiritual founder.
"Once again you have proven your honor, Stoppable-san," Sensei praised. "Your victory is well deserved."
"Ah, thanks, Sensei," Ron blushed. "But I couldn't have done it without all of you guys."
As the congratulations began to be exchanged, Ron caught sight of a sinister figure standing near one of the exits.
"This isn't over yet, Ron Stoppable," Monkey Fist grimaced putting a damper on the jovial mood. "I'll be back. You can count on it…," he added before retreating into the shadows.
"Like a weed that never grows," Ron quipped.
--
Kim and Ron walked hand in hand through another spectacular Yamanouchi morning. Many of the students had set about cleaning up the damage from the previous day's battle. Skirting the school's courtyard, the couple came to a stop as they watched Yori, with a cautious smile, helped Hirotaka carry a large wooden beam away – perhaps standing a bit closer than just friends would. Satisfied with himself, Ron turned to his girlfriend.
"So, when does Hero Boy get a congratulatory kiss?" he asked hopefully.
"We're calling ourselves 'Hero Boy' now?" Kim asked back with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, I could stick with 'Chosen One'…," Ron noted. Kim considered the two options a bit before reaching a conclusion.
"I think I like Hero Boy," she said drawing him in for his requested kiss. But before lips made contact, Kim pulled back.
"Wait, where's Rufus?" she inquired seriously. A nefarious smile appeared on her boyfriend's face as he indicated to the location of his naked mole rat.
"He may have been persuaded to become a double-agent," Ron said slyly. Kim looked over her shoulder to see the pink rodent snoring on an empty sushi tray rubbing a distended gut. With her father's spy compromised, Kim committed fully to rewarding her Hero Boy. Unfortunately, neither teen felt the kiss lasted near long enough before it was interrupted.
"Stoppable-san," the voice of the school's master forced the two apart with a small pair of blushes. "There is still much training left to accomplish," Sensei added as he walked past the two indicating Ron should follow.
"Wha…?" the blonde replied in confusion. "But the mission's over. We won. Monkey Fist lost. Right?"
"Well," Kim said breaking hands with him and following the wise old man. "We've still got a couple more days before school starts and I'd kinda like to get a lesson in with Sensei myself."
Ron hunched forward shocked at the notion of further training.
"Ah, man! Can't we just go shopping in Tokyo instead?" he objected to no avail.
The redhead continued down the path but turned to motion him to follow. Ron had one last desperate idea, but he was fairly sure it wouldn't work.
"I'll let you bring my mother!"
Confirming the offer had no effect on either Kim or Sensei, Ron grumbled as he started off after them.
Next time on The Geneticist and the Monkey Man!
Donning an apron in a typical suburban kitchen, DNAmy happily set about making a full breakfast. Descending down the back stairs, Lord Monkey Fist wearing a business suit and a fedora joined her.
"Amy, have you seen my briefcase?" the monkey man asked flatly as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
"I think so, puddin'," she answered flipping the omelet she was working on. "I saw it down in the basement last night."
With a sigh, Fist made his way to the basement door and entered the dark space. Once at the bottom of the stairs, he did his best to grope around without turning on the light, but after knocking a few items over and running into something unexpectantly large, he grabbed for the chain to the light bulb and clicked it on.
At more than twice his size, the unnatural cross between a canary and a bangle tiger glared back at him inches from his face frothing at the mouth.
Up in the kitchen, DNAmy plated the omelet seemingly oblivious to the screams, growls, and shredding sounds coming loudly from the basement. She just kept humming as she began buttering the English muffins. From the basement entrance, a scratched, tattered, and otherwise ruffled Fist emerged amazingly enough with his briefcase. He desperately used it to beat back the mutant freak that had followed him up the stairs. With a final shove, he gave up on the briefcase in exchange for getting the door closed.
"What is that… thing?!" he panted leaning against the door.
"Tigerary!" the homely geneticist sang as she put breakfast on the table. "He's my cuddliest-uddliest creation ever. Though he's just a bit cranky in the morning…"