I do NOT own Kim Possible

Warning: This chapter contains descriptions of torture.

Death Cometh, Again and Again and Again..., or the Monkey Gang Sitch

Kim Possible sat in her backyard and watched the two people she'd called there, Ron and Mark. She'd decided to see just how far Team Possible had progressed in its fighting ability. Not that she had any actual authority to do that. The three of them, in her opinion, were partners, though she knew Ron saw himself as only the sidekick. That hurt her. But still, partners or not, the two seemed willing to follow orders and she was willing to give them.

She recalled Mark's analysis of the Eric sitch. He'd claimed to have spent two minutes in that classroom with Eric before Ron showed up. He'd only survived those two minutes, so he claimed, because Eric had enjoyed taunting him. He'd given her the rundown on what he thought Eric's capabilities had been. It came down to a considerable increase in speed, strength, and defense along with an annoying ability to taunt people. She had no reason to doubt him. He could, she knew, handle one or two ordinary synthodrones on his own. That he'd lost against one said something. It also said something about Ron.

She turned to study Ron. He'd been stepping up a lot. Something she'd noticed for quite some time. He'd come in fifth in terms of grades for the class this school year. Justin, Felix, her, and Mark where the only four who'd scored higher. And that had only been because his grades in the early part of the school year had dragged his overall score down. She'd also noticed the increase in muscle along with his more confident attitude on the missions. He might have declined the offer to train with her and Mark but he had been training. She had been willing to let him do so, understanding that training with her and Mark would have made him uncomfortable. Uncomfortable enough perhaps that he may have stopped training altogether.

She also now understood why he made her missions so much easier. It came down to her and Shego being pretty equal in a fight. When things went wrong it was he setting off the self-destruct that ended the fight before she could take a beating. It had been so simple. Mark was like her, he waded into the fight tackling the nearest opponent. Ron on the other hand ran through them, not stopping to fight. He just distracted them. And despite how it may seem he did have complete understanding on each mission of just how things were progressing. When things went wrong he knew to hit that button, and was usually in the best position to do so. She'd had Wade run an analysis of each of the missions where Ron did hit the self-destruct. It turned out in sixty-eight percent of those mission she would have ended up captured.

She recalled the synthodrones Dementor had improved upon. It had been Ron who had analyzed the situation and determined what needed to be done. There had been a lot missions like that lately. She and Mark fighting while Ron ran around distracting henchmen. Then he would point out some obvious flaw in the villain's plan. A flaw she and Mark took advantage of.

She shuddered. Those synthodrones had been tough. They would have either beat her, or forced her to retreat. She was glad they'd been destroyed. Wade however had reported to her that Dementor had tried to replicate the synthodrones and had created synthobots. Their reported capabilities was frightening.

She pushed those thoughts aside. That wasn't the reason they were here. She looked at the two boys across from her and simply said, "Fight."

Mark looked across the yard at Ron. Sure he had often suggested he come and train with them. He had meant it too. Now he knew he was in a position that no guy ever wanted to be in. He was about to get his butt kicked in front of his girlfriend. He tried to read the expression on his opponent's face and failed. He wondered what the blonde was thinking. He seemed deep in thought. He wondered what Kim would think about him getting his butt kicked by a guy who was nearly a head shorter and weighed considerably less.

Ron considered the coming fight. He felt like throwing it. If he won there might be questions like who had trained him. It was bad enough avoiding Monique's inquiries about Amy. For some reason she had taken an intense interest in her. But, on the other hand, he didn't want to throw it. He had put a lot of effort into training. He considered Shego. She'd put a lot of effort into training him. How would she like it if he wasted her effort and time throwing a fight? She probably wouldn't, he admitted to himself. He crouched down. He would fight as best as he could. Sensei would also demand it.

Mark moved first, hoping to use speed and power to overwhelm his smaller opponent. He wasn't sure what happened, but he found himself on his back.

"Again." Kim ordered.

Mark swallowed and tried a defensive position. A second later he was on his back again.

"Again." Kim ordered.

Mark stood up. He was facing someone with greater speed, who was smaller and more agile. He wondered how he could counter that and came up empty handed. The difference in speed was just too great. Then he was on his back again.

"Ron, defense." Kim ordered.

Ron understood. He was to just defend, not hit back. He took a defensive stance and waited. Mark came at him with attack after attack. Ron dodged when he could, parried when he couldn't. Not a single hit landed.

"Stop." Kim ordered.

Kim sat chewing her lower lip. Sure she had known that Ron had been training. Had, from the Eric sitch, known he was on par with Mark. But from what she was seeing he had learned in a year what it had taken Mark ten years of dedicated practice to learn.

Ron read the expression on Kim's face. "You know KP, it's all just sort of there. I guess I've been with you ever since pre-K and all those hours I spent as a dummy for you to practice on. I never really tried to learn it myself before. Now that I am trying it all just seems to come to me pretty easy." It was the truth. She already knew about him using recipes to study.

"How many hours a day?" She wondered out loud.

"Six, usually. Some of it's just basic exercises and some meditation."

"Meditation?" She raised an eyebrow at that.

Ron pointed to Mark. "Blame him for that. He's the one who got me interested in it."

Kim smiled. She was glad her boyfriend and her best friend were friends. At first it had been so bad. "Six hours?" She asked.

Ron shrugged. "I got plenty of free time so got to spend it at something. And Zombie Mayhem is out of the question with Rufus' addiction."

Kim nodded. Rufus had been on her mind a lot. She was glad he was nearly fully recovered. Ron gave her daily reports on his condition. She stood up, walked to the center of the yard, and took a fighting stance. She noticed Ron gulp.

Mark stood back and watched. The fight was fast and, for sparring, pretty brutal. Ron was fast, Kim was faster. She used that advantage as ruthlessly as Ron had used it against him. It ended with Kim getting in ten hits to Ron's three. Mark considered their speed. Ron was faster than anyone he'd ever seen fight other than Kim and Shego. He wondered where Kim's speed came from. It was something he'd wondered before.

Kim and Ron stopped their sparring.

Kim studied Ron again. "For a single year that is amazing." She told him.

Kim sat on the grass, beside her boyfriend, resting against him. Ron, she noticed, looked away. It make her consider his dating sitch, or lack thereof. It wasn't something she could understand. He was definitely datable. Of over a hundred and fifty girls some, if not most, should have said at least yes to one date. At first she'd found him repeating that black book thing a bit amusing. She didn't find it amusing anymore. The rejection must have hurt. That he had done it though was a relief. It showed he was getting over her and moving on. She hoped their friendship didn't suffer. He was more precious to her than her own life.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Kim opened the Kimmunicator and the three gathered around.

"Hey, Wade. What's the stich?" Kim asked as the super genius appeared on the screen.

"It's Drakken again Kim. He's developed a device called a Sonic-Inducer that can cause earthquakes. I've pinpointed his lair and set up a ride for you."

"Thank's Wade. How long before the ride gets here?"

"Around ten minutes. It's nothing fancy but it will get you there. His lair is only twenty kilometers outside of Middleton."

"So close?" Kim wondered out loud.

"The mind of villain is hard to understand Kim. At least he makes it easy for you."

"That's for sure." She agreed.

The ride, a woman Kim used to babysit for, arrived on time. Twenty minutes later they were outside the lair.

"Vent?" Marked asked.

"Vent." Kim agreed.

Ron said nothing. Although there had been a few missions to Drakken's lairs since he and Shego had started meeting it still made him nervous.

In minutes they were in the lair. "Kim Possible!" Drakken exclaimed in surprise.

"Who were you expecting, Donald Duck?" Kim asked. The same old greeting was getting a bit stale. Heck, even calling her Kimberly Ann Possible like Zorpox had would be a change at least.

Drakken blinked in puzzlement. "Who's he?" He finally asked.

"Dr. D. Synthodrones, attack. Remember?" Shego interrupted.

"Oh. Synthodrones, capture Kim Possible." He ordered.

Twenty of the artificial creations moved in on Kim. She flipped out of the way and bounced back around one of them. She hit it. It keep standing. She repeated the process. They didn't have the same speed and strength as Dementor's had but they were still refusing to fall down.

Mark moved in behind one and started punching it. It's return attack sent him across the floor. He got back up, looking a bit shaken.

Ron noticed a bulletin board nearby. On it a note read, "Tuesday is Coco Night, By Order of Dr. Drakken.' There were other notices which Ron ignored. He took the huge tub of thumbtacks beside the board and scattered them across the floor.

"Ron." Kim yelled.

"Don't worry KP, your suit is strong enough to protect you against them." He simply stated and continued to watch. If Kim couldn't stop one of them then he had no chance.

Synthodrones were made of rubber. The sharp ends of the thumbtacks easily penetrated the soles of their feet. Problem was it didn't leave much of a hole for the goo they had for blood to leak out. Still some did. Just a little. Enough"

Kim bounced around for over a minute, launching attack after attack. The attacks just bounced off. Mark was still trying to attack one from behind without much success. Then one of the synthodrones Kim hit fell down. As it tried to stand up it fell down again. The little bit of goo leaking out of thumbtack holes had started to make the floor dangerously slippery. Two minutes later the lab was filled with twenty synthodrones that were all on the floor trying to stand up only to fall back down again.

"Nice Dr. D." Shego said. "Several million dollars worth of equipment taken down by a dollar ninety in thumbtacks." She sounded amused.

Drakken was staring at his new and improved army of synthodrones. Not one of which could get to its feet. His face held a look of dismay and shock. This time he'd been sure he had Kim Possible. "Shego. Attack." He ordered.

Shego jumped to her feet and flung two balls of plasma at Princess. Both were dodged. She jumped to a nearby desk and tossed two more. The floor was slippery to her as well and those thumbtacks would make a pincushion out of her.

Ron noticing Shego was occupied for the moment took a running start and slid across the floor like it was ice. In seconds he was at the Sonic-Inducer. He grabbed it to slow his slide and came to stop. He started plucking wires loose from it.

"Shego!" Drakken yelled. "Stop the Buffoon."

Shego looked around. How did he get to the machine so quickly, she wondered. That floor should be too slippery to walk on. She only had time to toss one ball of plasma at him before Princess was coming her way, forcing her to jump. The Buffoon merely ducked out of the way, not even bothering to look her way. He continued taking the machine apart.

The floor was out of bounds. Even if she didn't have to worry about the thumbtacks it was still as slippery for Kim as it was for Shego. Both fighters had to jump around on the various items in the room. In this Kim had the advantage, it being her usual style of fighting. It also mean she had fewer places to dodge to when Shego used plasma. This was to Shego's advantage. The fight was evenly matched.

Shego landed on a desk beside the Buffoon. She tried to take a quick shot at him though she was pretty sure it was too late to save the machine. As she was about to fire he kicked backwards at the desk, taking her by surprise. The desk moved from under her, forcing her to jump. She ended up on the floor, sliding and slipping for a few seconds before she could get back to a more secure footing. She threw two more balls of plasma at Princess and tried another jump. Her feet, still slippery from the time on the floor slid out from under her. She ended up back on the floor. The fight, she knew, was over. The console was conveniently beside her. She reached up and hit the self-destruct. Better that, she realized, than let Global Justice get their hands on Drakken's technology.

She saw the Buffon slide across the floor towards the exit. Princess' boy toy followed him. So that's how he did it, so obvious, she thought. She pushed herself towards Drakken and grabbed him. Seconds later she was out the door. She slipped seven times before she got to the hovercraft.

Team Possible watched the lair explode from a safe distance. A hovercraft had lifted from it and cloaked a few seconds earlier.

"They got away again." Kim sighed.

"Sorry." Ron said.

"Not your fault Ron. Those synthodrones were annoyingly tough. They're getting a lot harder."

"Talk to Wade. Have him build a jammer into the Kimmunicator. Should be easy enough to have it scan for the broadcast frequency being used and disrupt it somehow." Ron wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. A broadcast signal using that sort of energy should stand out from the rest. With the signal cut the synthodrones would be forced to rely on just their internal power again.

"It should." Kim agreed. She herself wondered why she hadn't thought of it. Or why Wade hadn't for that matter.

"They probably won't be using too many more of them anyway. They've failed and they must cost a fortune to build. What was it Shego said, millions of dollars?" Ron added.

"That's a lot of money." Kim had to agree with him there. "Still, I'll have Wade get to work on that jammer."

They took their ride home.

Ron worked out for a bit. He doubted Shego would be visiting so he headed to his room where Rufus was happily munching on cheese and watching cartoons. He was no long kept in a locked cage. Still Ron thought he should build up his strength before he went outside much. "Hiya buddy." He greeted the little rodent.

"Hiya." Rufus answered back. He went back to his cheese.

Ron sat back on his bed and did his meditations. The world around him vanished and he was sitting before Sensei.

"Greeting. Ron Stoppable." The old man spoke.

"Greetings Sensei." Ron answered back.

Then the two stood and sparred. The old man easily overwhelming his pupil time and time again until he mastered the lesson of the day.

When he opened his eyes Ron was glad that the bruises he'd suffered during the sparring didn't carry over into the physical world. Still he felt tired. It took a lot of effort to maintain that state. He fell asleep. Twisting and turning, a desperate attempt to flee, then the stillness as death.

Shego was bored. She'd delivered Dr. D to his backup lair. Had picked the thumbtacks out of her skin, showered and changed. You've gotten too used to him, she told herself. It was true. She had. Much as she loved the peace and solitude of the lairs having someone other than Dr. D to talk to was nice. Soon she was in her hovercraft heading to a now very familiar place.

She searched the ground for any presence of his parents and concluded they were absent. The Buffoon was nowhere to be seen but she saw lights flashing in his room so she figured he was awake, watching tv. She landed the hovercraft.

She flipped a tiny pebble towards his room window. No response. It's hard to wake the dead. She flipped another and another. Still no response. She sighed and turned to leave. Then she shrugged and jumped to a branch to peer in his window. She was afterall a villain.

She knocked on the window first. Then she peered in. He was asleep. She saw him twist and turn. So she wasn't the only one who had nightmares, she thought. Then he went still. She paid it no attention, it was just the nightmare ending probably. But then her very sharp, very sensitive eyes, focused on his chest. No movement. He was very very still. She swallowed. She gripped the branch tighter as she started to feel faint. She opened the window. Then to her relief he moved. He twisted and turned, in the nightmare again. She watched. The stillness again. So still. She shuddered.

She slid into the room. He twisted and turned. Then he was still. She reached out and felt his chest. No movement. No breathing at all. She gulped. Her hand moved to his throat and she tried to take his pulse. There was none. For a long time there was none. Then he started to twist and turn. His pulse beating strongly. She shook him and he woke up. She had never been so relieved.

"Shego?" Ron sleepily muttered as he was shook awake. "What are you doing here? Did Drakken send you to kidnap me again?"

Shego didn't know what to say. She was just so relieved he had woke up. Finally she asked, "You were having a nightmare?" She didn't know what else to ask. Asking him why he died in his sleep and came back to life seemed just a bit too much.

He shrugged. "It was nothing. Just a nightmare I have every now and then."

"How often?" She demanded.

"Well. Every night usually." He admitted. "It's nothing Shego. What are you up to tonight other than breaking into people's rooms?" He gave her a smile.

"What's it about?"

Ron looked at her confused. Why was she so concerned over a nightmare. "Nothing." He eventually said. "Just an old dream about Camp Wannaweep. I have it so often I'm used to it by now."

"Do you know you stop breathing in that nightmare?" She demanded.

Ron blinked. "Really?" He paused and then continued. "I mean in the nightmare I do, but you mean I actually don't breath when I'm not breathing in my nightmare?"

"No! You don't." Shego stated. "You don't breath at all. And ..." She stopped and gulped. "Your heart stops too." For the first time in six years Shego felt a tear run down her face.

Ron reached up and wiped it away before he remembered who she was. He drew his hand back.

Shego sat down on the bed. "What's the dream?" She asked.

"Nothing major." Ron evaded the question.

"Nothing major?" Shego repeated. "You mean it's enough to stop you from breathing and it stops your heart and it's nothing major?" She sounded mad, and scared.

"Shego. I'm okay. It's just a nightmare from when I went to Camp Wannaweep." He tried to sooth her.

"What sort of nightmare shuts down your heart Ron?" She demanded, too upset to call him Buffoon.

"Shego..." His voice faded. He had never seen her like this. He had once tried to tell the dream to Kim but they'd been kids back them. He thought she probably hadn't understood. Why couldn't he tell it to Shego? It was just a nightmare.

"Just a nightmare doesn't stop your heart Ron."

"It was just camp Shego. I drowned. They revived me. No big deal."

"Bullshit Ron. Your heart STOPS!" She wondered why she couldn't get that across to him. A person's heart stopping for a full minute was not normal.

Ron gazed at her, puzzled. It came to him why he couldn't tell her. Shego, he realized, was very protective of her friends. And he was her friend. If he told her she might do something that would be a mistake. They had just been kids. They hadn't understood what they were doing. Or so he told himself. Vengeance would be wrong.

Shego gazed back. She knew he wouldn't tell. She left through the window.

Ron turned and looked at Rufus who was frozen stiff, eyes wide, color pale. He seemed to be in shock. "Its okay Rufus. She didn't come here to hurt anyone."

Rufus stared back at him.

Ron got him another piece of cheese and rubbed his head while he ate it. "Soon they were both back to sleep." Ron in his nightmare, Rufus, quietly sleeping, dreaming of cheese.

Shego flew through the night, thinking. He'd mentioned Camp Wannaweep. It took her a few minutes to find it on a map and even less time to get there. She landed the craft and got out. She walked through the ruins of what had once been a camp for children. 'Summer Camp Fun For ages 9-12' read one sign that hung from a post. She turned it to ash. She keep walking, searching. The buildings were rundown and many had caved in. The place was obviously not in use anymore. Still, there must been a building that kept records.

She found it. The building was still sound and the door locked. That changed as she gave it a kick, shattering it. She wanted to use plasma but that might have damaged the records inside. Not that there was much. Most had already been destroyed in one manner or another. Ripped to shreds by a rabid squirrel who fled her approach, mold, ... But a few remained, the older records, kept safe in a few locked boxes. The locks meant nothing to her. She read and flipped through the records. Eventually she found the name Ronald Stoppable. The entry was eight years old. It gave his address along with the time he came to the camp and the time he left. Listed beside it were the names of the other kids who had been at the camp that year, along with the same information. Shego took the page with her.

She didn't really know what she was doing. She just had to find out what had happened at the camp. Drowning? Could that really be it? An event that was horrible but she doubted it would cause such trauma to someone like the Buffoon. She looked at the addresses. The Buffoon's was the same, maybe some of theirs were too. And they were all Middleton addresses. Close by and easy to check out. There were twenty-three names listed but she saw most of them had left the camp just two or three days into it. Only nine people, including the Buffoon, it seemed remained to the end of camp. She picked an address at random.

She hovered over the address, wondering how to go about things. It was late, but not too late. She put on her Amy disguise. Having Shego ask around about the Buffoon would be too much of a risk. Five minutes later she was knocking at the door. It opened and a lady, maybe in her forties peered out, cautiously.

"Is Ted Alright home?" Shego asked.

"Who are you?" The lady asked.

"Amy."

"Just a minute." She disappeared back into the house. A few minutes later someone, who was around Ron's age came to the door.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"You Ted Alright?" Shego asked.

"Yeah."

"The one who went to Camp Wannaweep eight years ago?"

The change of expression on his face went from curiosity to fear in an instant.

"Why do you want to know?" He was now cautious.

"I just have some questions about the place, if you don't mind. It won't take long." Shego hoped he wouldn't just slam the door in her face.

"That place is best left forgotten!" The boy declared.

"It was that bad?"

"It was hell!" Came the answer.

"What was wrong with it?" Shego asked.

"Everything! The food was practically inedible, the animals were all crazy or rabid, the lake water was toxic." The boy paused. "Then there was the monkey gang as they called themselves."

"The monkey gang?" She knew Ron had a fear of monkeys.

"The camp mascot was a monkey. Actually a chimp but we thought of it as a monkey. There were five older kids, they decided to make a gang and called it the monkey gang since the mascot was a monkey." He had an expression of pure hate on his face.

"What made them so bad?" She asked.

"They were psychotic for one thing." The boy answered.

"How so?" She prodded.

"One day we had a first aid class. We were taught CPR." His voice faded.

"And?" Shego prodded again.

"After the class they decided they wanted to practice some more. They took one kid and drowned him. I mean they drowned him. Then they did CPR on him. They killed him." The boy's voice was hysterical now. "They killed him." He added. Shaking.

Shego gulped. This was Ron she knew they were talking about. "What happened to the kid?" She finally asked.

"He started breathing again, but ..." The boy's face was white.

"But?" Shego prodded. She focused on keeping her plasma under control. She felt the need to ... kill.

"There were five of them. They each wanted to practice so they drowned him five times. They killed him five times in a row." The boy's face was white.

The lady appeared at the door. "I think that's enough." She said. "We were out of the country. If we had known..." She was near tears.

"Just one more question. The name of the boy?" Shego asked.

"Ron." The boy answered. Just as the door was about to close he reached out and grabbed it. "But it wasn't just once! They found it fun! They did that to him everyday, for each of the fourteen days we were there! Everyday! Sometimes more than once a day!" The boy's eyes were wild, hysterical, as the door closed.

Shego turned and left. In the hovercraft she looked at the page. Nine names. One was Ted's, one was Ron's, of the other seven she knew five would be of the monkey gang. She felt the urge to hunt them down. To watch them burn. She knew now why Ron had refused to tell her about the nightmare. It was shame that he'd allowed that to happen to him. And fear over what she might do. That fear she found was justified. She was weak again. She cared. She wanted to protect him. She wanted to kill.

She landed in an isolated area dressed in the green she was famous for. Around her there was nothing but rocks. She called the flames then. Not the ones Princess saw when they fought. These were different. They started from her toes and spread upward around her until she a living flame. They burned hotter than anything Kimmie had ever faced. This was Shego when she didn't limit her power. She raised a hand and pointed. A boulder vanished, turned not to rubble but to vapor by her plasma. She walked, leaving a path of destruction in her wake. Some times the flames flickered and her own flesh burned. She ignored it.

She returned to the hovercraft drained. It lifted and turned in the direction of the lair. Inside Shego thought of the Buffoon. She had just wanted to see what he was capable of. She had never meant to care about him. She had never meant to be weak again. She thought about her twin brothers, the Wegos. What she had once sacrificed for them. She wondered if they ever thought about her. What did Hego tell them about her?

End of Chapter.

No, Kim does not find out about Ron going on a mission alone. Wade is not quite that suicidal. He would have only known about the synthobots because Ron would have told him about them. Ron would know better than to keep such information secret. He would not have mentioned Shego/Silver.

I also wanted to show that Kim is taking notice of Ron's achievements. And is proud of her friend. She doesn't look down on him and does appreciate him. When she claims Ron has been training a year she means from the time Mark showed up, not the amount of time since Ron started training with Shego.

I should also add that the nightmares don't have any mystical significence. They're just nightmares about points in their lives that changed them forever. That shattered who they once where. You will get to see a part of Shego's nightmare in a few chapters.