Sitch of a Wish
Chapter 5 - Monkey Mayhem
Kim slid through the doorway, narrowly avoiding a section of wall that fell over. She ignored the few Henches she saw fleeing the devastation, concentrating on finding Ron or the Sultan and Yori. She wasn't sure what was causing the palace to shake apart like this, but she had an idea of who was behind it. Though I'm not sure who screwed up their wish for this one...
A familiar green skinned girl stumbled from the a nearby room, tugging another person with her. When the dust settled, she smiled in relief to see it was Ron. She ran over to the two. "Ron, Shego! I take it you got the lamp back?"
"Yeah, but Lipski made some wishes before I got it back, and now, uh, well how do I say it...?" Her best friend glanced worriedly back the way he'd come from.
"His wish got him a monster poodle." Shego sighed, shaking her head.
"A poodle." Kim frowned. "You mean 'poodle' as in dog?"
"Got it in one, cupcake."
"But that's impossible." She argued. "Poodles are really small."
"Yeah well, genie here, so he got the exception. This one grows to be huge." Shego replied. "And yeah, he didn't wish for this specifically, but he just asked for something to help him deal with his enemies."
"So what are-" She began.
"Possible, Stoppable." The Sultan entered the hall as well. "The whole building is coming down, we need to get out... Wait, where's Yori?"
"The Princess?" Kim looked around. "I thought she was with you."
"I sent her to find you two." Betty glared. "You haven't seen her?"
"Not since I left the throne room." Kim said, and Ron nodded agreement.
"Let's get out of here." The sultan led the way. "She's smart, she'll find her own way out before the palace collapses. She'll be at one of our rendesvouz points."
"But..." Ron protested.
"Ron, you can't do anything for her if you're crushed!" Kim had to grab her friend's arm. "The sultan's right, we need to go now!"
"I can't leave her here!" Ron shook free of Kim's grip and took off down the hall the way he'd come from.
"Ron!" "Stoppable!" Kim and Betty yelled. Kim looked to the sultan, who shook her head.
"It's fine, cupcake, I'll protect him." Shego trotted off the way the blonde boy had gone.
Kim would had followed, but another piece of the ceiling broke free, crashing down on Sultan Betty. The older woman yelped and tried to pull free, but the debris pinned her leg to the floor. Kim hurried over and tried to shift it off her, but she couldn't lift it on her own. She looked around and found a board large enough. She wedged it under the rock and started to lever it off Betty's leg. Another chunk of rock slammed into the floor nearby and the sultan hissed in pain as it jarred her leg. "Hurry, Possible."
Kim gave up trying to be careful and pryed it the rest of the way up. The sultan crawled back, pulling herself out from under the rock. Kim helped her up, and the two of them limped towards the nearest exit from the palace.
"Yo, buffoon, I told pumpkin that I'd keep ya safe, so I hope you have a plan." Shego asked him as he ran. "You better not be lying to me."
"Not really, I sorta figured you could help me think of one as we go." Ron glanced in each room they passed, scanning them to make sure Yori wasn't in there. "I just know something went wrong. She always completes any orders her mother gives her, so she wouldn't have left until she found us. Either she's here and hurt, or one of them grabbed her."
"Fine, but staying here means we'll have to deal with Commodore Puddles if we want to do anything." The genie pointed out.
"Yeah, stopping giant monsters is usually more Kim's area." He agreed, and Rufus nodded too. "We're kinda out of our league on this one. I was sorta hoping I could find her quick and get her out of here fast."
"So run quick and hope?" The green girl sighed. "Sadly still better than Drakken."
"Drakken?" Ron asked as he checkd the next room. "Who's that?"
"Vizier Lipski. One of his wishes didn't really work out like he planned."
"Ah." He exited and moved to another doorway. He opened it, but slammed it closed right away when he saw a massive furry leg on the other side. "Okay, poodle is in there. Guess we've gotta deal with it now. Any ideas?"
"I could try to fry it." The genie shrugged. "But it might just make him mad. And if he focuses on me, I won't be able to do much aside from protect myself."
"Yeah, if only there were two of you or something."
"You can't wish for more wishes or more genies, sorry."
"I know..." Ron thought as the poodle stomped around, the impacts shaking the building. "Hmm..."
"Buffoon... be careful." Shego warned him.
"I've gotta." He held out the lamp. "I wish I had the power to stop the poodle and save Yori."
"Granted." Shego's magic swirled up in a green and black glow. "I hope you don't regret this."
Ron stood there waiting, but didn't feel any different. "Uh, Shego, I don't think it worked. I don't feel anything."
"Well, my magic granted the wish, I could feel it." She frowned then slumped against the wall. "Doy! Your wish didn't include knowing how to use it. So yeah, you got your power, but what it is, or how to use it... You're gonna have to figure it out on your own."
"Snap." Ron sighed. "Well, I guess there's only one way to do that. You still with me?"
"Unfortunately yeah, you have the lamp." The genie prepared herself on the other side of the door.
"Let's go!" Ron pushed the door open and leaped through, Shego beside him. "Hey, poodle! Bad dog! Down here!"
Puddles ignored him and continued biting at one of the ramparts along the outer wall. The poodle pawed at the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Another paw scratched at the wall, ripping free some bricks.
"Okay, not working, guess we need to get its attention the hard way." He took up his fighting stance easily, Shego doing the same. "Hope you're right about those powers."
"Me too." The genie lunged forward, slashing at the poodle's rear paw with a plasma edged knife hand strike.
Ron followed, leaping forward in a jump kick similar to Kim's usual attacks. It wasn't his usual style, but it felt right this time. His strike landed harder than normal too, hitting the poodle exactly where he intended to. He wasn't a bad fighter by any means, but this time he felt like... well, like Kim must feel. When the poodle turned to face him and tried to bite him, he sprang back, easily dodging out of the way.
He started to feel something helping him, a tingle that was letting him fight far better than he usually could. Trying it again, he rushed forward and jumped on top of the poodle's head, ignoring the ineffectual snap the dog sent his way. "Booyah!"
The dog bucked and shook, trying to dislodge him from on top of itself. Then it lay down and rolled, attempting to crush him. Hopping off, he circled around to the side, putting the thick outer wall behind himself. He saw Shego off to the side, staring at him questioningly, but he waved her back. He hoped this worked.
The dog stood up and braced itself facing him. With a loud growl, it ran forward, charging him. At the last moment, he leaped to the side and the poodle barreled past him, crashing into the wall. The bricks shuddered but held, and with a confused yelp, the poodle collapsed, passing out on the ground.
"Nice one, Buffoon." The genie congratulated him.
"This rocks!" He flexed. "I've never been able to fight like this before!" Concentrating, he tried to focus on the power. "It feels..."
He frowned. "...feels like..."
"Buffoon?"
"...like..." He shivered. This couldn't be happening! "M-m-m-Monkeys!"
"What?" Shego stared at him flatly.
"Monkeys!" He yelped and hugged himself. "It's monkeys!"
Kim was busy splinting the sultan's leg when the door to their safe house slammed open. "Yori? Ron?"
"Half right, cupcake." Shego walked through the door, supporting Ron. Her best friend was twitching and shaking, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. "Give me a hand with the buffoon?"
"What happened to him?" Kim briefly looked him over, but didn't see any visible injuries.
"He made a wish." The genie let Kim ease Ron into one of the chairs. "I wouldn't say it backfired on him, but he wasn't expecting what he got."
"What did he wish for?" Kim returned her attention to the sultan, who was also paying attention to the conversation.
"He wanted the power to save Yori and stop the poodle." Shego leaned down and held the leg in place so Kim could finish setting it. "We didn't see her, but I gotta give him credit, he took down the dog."
"He appears to be fine." Betty checked Ron while Kim and Shego finished her leg, obviously distracting herself so she didn't wince or shift and mess up their work.
"Yeah, he starting babbling something about monkeys and went all catatonic." The genie shrugged.
Kim groaned. "Ron's always had a thing about monkeys. They freak him out." She tied the last bandage and sat back against the wall, relaxing. She glanced out the window, taking in the fading light of dusk.
Betty noticed her look. "We'll rest here for tonight, ladies. With the day ending and Mr Stoppable out of commission and my leg like it is, we need to be at our best tomorrow if we're going to have any chance at finding Hench or my brother. Not to mention, with night almost here, we'll never be able to track them in the dark. Plus, you two look worn out. Get some rest, I'll stay with Stoppable until he comes out of it."
"Sultan, you're injured!" Kim tried to protest.
"I'm fine, Miss Possible." The older woman grinned wryly. "I need to keep my leg still for a while anyway, and I got to rest earlier when you were busy fixing it. And like I said, you and Shego are the best agents I have now, so if we're going to stop them and get Yori back, I need you to be well rested. Consider this an order, Kim."
"All right." She tugged the genie's arm. "Let's go get some sleep."
"Yeah, sure." She waited by the door to the other room for Kim. "What is it?"
Kim detoured on her way to the bedroom to retrieve Ron's pack. She rummaged around and dug out the lamp. "I think he's done enough damage to himself with this for now, don't you?"
"Probably." Shego grinned wryly and tapped her head. "You know, I can still sense you up here?"
"Really?" Kim asked as she sat on the bed. It was small and lumpy, but it would serve for a night.
"Yeah, he wished for us to be able to find you." The genie shook her head. "And somehow my magic decided that meant I need to be able to sense you wherever you are."
"That's..." The redhead tried to come up with the right word.
"Weird? Creepy? Wrong?" Shego was clearly thinking along the same lines as her.
"Pretty much." Kim agreed.
"Try living with it in your head all day." Shego grinned at her wryly. "At least it's you. I think I'd need to scrub my brain out if it was Drakken or Ron."
Kim shivered sympathetically. "Ron's my best friend, but even I don't want to know that much."
Shego tilted her head towards Kim's pack. "So, uh... what're you gonna do with my lamp?"
"I don't know." She tried to comfort the green girl. "I don't want to lose it or you again. But I'm... I look at what happened with everyone else's wishes. I think if I do make any more, I need to be really, really careful before I do."
"Probably not a bad idea, princess." The genie lay back on the bed. "I have no intention of telling the cyclops, but a rest sounds good right about now. I never imagined things would get so crazy when you first pulled my lamp from the cave. Maybe tomorrow we can spar before we head out?"
"Sounds fun to me." Kim agreed, sitting on the bed. It would be tight, next to Shego, but she was exhausted and didn't forsee any problem getting to sleep tonight. She put her back to the other girl. " 'Night, Shego."
The sunlight streaming in the window stabbed at Shego's eyes and the genie groaned. She felt relaxed and comfy and didn't really want to move right now. She sighed and lay there, not wanting to get out of bed if she didn't have to. The mattress might be lumpy, but it was far better than the bedroll she'd been using during the trek through the desert. She tried to shield her eyes, but her arm was trapped.
Kim was cuddled against her, one arm draped over her torso. The redhead snored lightly, clearly still asleep. Shego felt the other girl's breath on her neck, and some stray red hairs tickled her skin. The way the shorter girl clung to her was... nice.
"Hey KP, the sultan says..." Ron pushed the door open, his eyes widening when he peered inside. "Uh... we're gonna head out in a little bit, so, um, I'm gonna go. Now. You can get her up, Shego. So, uh, seeya in a little bit." He turned and hurried from the doorway.
"Kimmie..." The genie shook the sleeping girl. "Come on, cupcake, you need to get up. I really don't want Cyclops to come here and check what's taking so long."
"Mmmmm." The redhead pulled her closer, not showing any signs of waking soon.
"Oh, for..." Shego rolled, pulling her arm out from underneath Kim. The shorter girl's eyes opened slowly and she sleepily took in the room.
"Shego, what...?" Kim yawned.
"You need to get up, cupcake. The cyclops already sent your buddy in to tell you we'll be leaving soon. I'd rather not have her decide to visit personally." The genie turned, not wanting to face the redhead right now. Okay, she's cute, she can fight, she's fun to hang out with, she's not an idiot. I could do a lot worse. But she's still a mortal and I'm a genie, and that's against the rules, big time. The green girl walked out and leaned against the wall. It's gotta be this whole sitch. First time in the mortal world, having to deal with all these idiots, of course I fix on the one who is smart and fun. Besides, she probably doesn't even go that way...
The genie growled, frustrated. This was all she needed. Not only was she still stuck with Kim because of her mistake on the wish clause, but apparently she... Shego stomped that thought down, hard. Let's just get Ron's princess back and then I can find a way to get out of the wishes, and hopefully this will all go away.
"So..." The buffoon stared at her. "You two..."
"No, a big no on that one!" She whispered harshly. "Get this through your head, nothing happened! Okay?"
"Fine, nothing happened. Sheesh." The blond shook his head. "Look, just... don't hurt Kim, okay?"
"I'm not interested in her that way." Shego protested. Ron just arched an eyebrow at her and looked back towards the bedroom. "Doy!"
"I know you call me 'buffoon' all the time, but I saw your face back there. You like her." The sandy haired boy smirked. "Kim says I get the same look whenever I'm around Yori."
"Gah, I so don't need this now." She sighed. "Please don't tell her, Ron."
"I won't. But you gotta help me with Yori, deal?" Ron stuck out his hand.
"Deal." Shego shook it. She paused. "If I was interested - not that I am - but if, how...?"
The blond just laughed.
Kim readied her pack, doublechecking to make sure the lamp was safely stowed in the bottom. She had to admit the sultan was right. After a full night's sleep, she felt better than she had in quite a while. She was ready to track down the renegade lords and rescue Yori.
"Kim, can you still pick up their tracks?" The sultan asked her.
"Sure can." Kim nodded. "It's no big. They were in a hurry, so they didn't bother to hide."
She led the way, easily following the tracks for most of the morning. Near noon, she discovered where the lords must have camped the previous night. Unfortunately, that brought a new problem.
Kim pointed to the ground on the north edge of the camp. "It looks like they split into two groups, one headed east while the other kept going north. Which should we follow?"
"The larger group went north. Not only is that in the direction of Hench's castle, but the numbers make sense too." The sultan turned to the east. "We'll take the smaller group. That will be my brother. He took over one of our father's outposts in this direction, he'll want to go there, replenish his numbers."
"Makes sense." The redhead agreed.
"Hench won't have taken Yori. At his core, he's a merchant. Hiring out troops to my brother is one thing - he can always claim they went rogue. But kidnapping... No. Once we took back the palace, he'll be trying to cut his losses. I'm sure that in a little bit a message will arrive apologizing for the 'misunderstanding' and offering to help hunt down the 'renegades'." The sultan shook her head. "When things get settled, we need to do something about him, but it can wait."
"East it is, then." The group turned to follow the diverging tracks. As they travelled, Kim started to get irritated with Ron and Shego. The two of them hung back, talking quietly and occaisionally glancing her way. That wasn't counting the weird look the genie had given her that morning when she'd suggested a quick round of sparring before they left the capital. Something was going on with them, and Kim wasn't sure what.
"Your brother is pushing his mounts hard." Kim reported that evening when they camped. "We're making some progress, but we probably won't catch up before he reaches his castle."
"Unfortunate, but not unexpected." Betty grimaced.
"If they continue at this rate, they'll make the castle in two days. We can make it too, but not in time to stop them." The redhead continued.
"Then we'll press hard tomorrow. I want to get there before he expects us." The sultan ordered. "Get some rest, tomorrow is going to be a long day."
Ron had already started cooking dinner, so Kim went to go find Shego. The genie was standing off to the side, staring out over the landscape. "Shego, what are you looking at?"
"Just thinking, princess."
"About what?" She asked.
"It's... maybe I'll tell you later." The green girl sat down on a rock, watching the sun set. "Y'know, when I first got assigned to the lamp, I was excited because it was buried in that cave. I thought for sure that no one would use it, so I could serve as the genie of the lamp but not have to do anything. I never really wanted to visit the mortal world. I was sure there wasn't anything good here."
"Sounds like you're not so sure about it anymore." Kim observed as she sat down near the other girl.
"Yeah. I never thought you mortals could be fun." Shego sighed wistfully. "I mean, I only did the genie thing because of my brothers. I wanted... well, I'm not sure I knew what I wanted. I just didn't want to be like Hego, my big brother. He's all about rules and doing the right thing all the time."
"I try to do the right thing too." The redhead pointed out.
"Trust me, it's not the same. You have friends, fun, choices. Hego and the others don't really do stuff like that. He's so serious about being a genie, and he drove me nuts, trying to make me be his vision of that."
"I can see why you wanted to be free then. Live your own life." Kim thought about her parents, and how they wanted the best for her, including letting her decide what she wanted for herself. She was glad that they'd supported her, even when she started doing missions for the sultan.
"Anyway, thanks Kimmie. If not for you, I'd still be sitting in that cave, with my life going nowhere." The green girl smiled softly and patted her hand.
"I... I'm glad you got out too, Shego." She felt herself blushing slightly.
"Ron, how are you doing? Still bothered about the monkey powers?" Ron looked up from the fire to see Kim standing near him, a concerned expression on her face.
"Yeah, I guess I am, KP." He returned his attention to the cooking. "I mean, why did it have to be monkeys? Worst power ever, if you ask me."
"You saved the city when you took down that giant poodle. I know it's not what you wanted, but you did great." She was trying to reassure him.
"Still, monkeys..." Ron shivered. "I hate this. Every time I use it, I can feel the monkey magic. So creepy."
"I'm sorry, Ron, I wi-" Kim caught herself and bit off the word. "If only I could do something to help you."
Rufus patted his shoulder. "gonnabefine."
He poured her some of the stew, then spooned out more for the rest before he got his own bowl. They gathered around the fire, and Ron didn't miss how Shego took the seat next to Kim, closer than she needed to be since there were only the four of them. Of course, Kim seemed to still be clueless, both to the green girl's feelings and her own. At least she had someone she liked at last. He'd worried that she never really seemed to find someone, like he'd done wtih Yori. Granted, he hoped those two had better luck than he'd had so far with the princess.
Thoughts like that let him ignore the tickle of his new powers as they prodded for his attention. The less he had to do with anything monkey-related, the better, as far as he was concerned. Even if they let him fight like Kim could, he didn't really want to, if this was the price. However, if they would let him rescue Yori, he could deal with monkey magic for a little while.
The next morning, Kim once again took the lead. He brought up the rear, but found it was hard to concentrate on any one thing, because his monkey powers kept trying to warn him about something. He didn't see anything, but he could feel a dark presence... waiting...
"Kim, wait." He halted them as they approached a pass. "Something's wrong."
"What? An ambush?" The redhead looked around, checking some nearby rocks.
"I dunno, but these monkey powers Shego slapped me with seem to think something's wrong." He was also checking the rocks, but those didn't seem to be the source of the threat he was sensing.
"Mr Stoppable, can you be more specific?" Betty asked.
"Sorry, sultan, I'm not sure. I still don't know much about how this works. I just know something's not right here." He apologized.
"Very well." The sultan paused, considering. "There's another path to the southeast of here that should take us around this area. I dislike losing the time, but I think an ambush or worse would slow us down even more."
"I'll find it." Kim volunteed and sprinted out.
"You... You believe me?" He asked the older woman wonderingly.
"Ron, I trust you. You're good at what you do. There's no way you could keep up with Kim all these years if you weren't." Betty turned her good eye to him. "Have some faith in yourself."
"Wow." He watched the older woman walk away.
Kim drifted back to rejoin the rest of the group. "Ron was right, something's trailing us. Not something normal, either."
"I've had about enough of this." The sultan growled. "We're going to take care of whoever or whatever is following so we can deal with my brother without trouble."
The four took up a loose defensive perimiter. Soon enough, a puff of smoke swirled up near one of the rocks. Unlike Shego's smoke, this had tinges of red, and smelled acrid. "Relative of yours? One of your brothers?" Kim asked the genie.
"Doy, no." Shego looked pale, and Kim thought she could see hints of fear there. "That's..."
"Shego! I will have your magic!" Twin red eyes glinted from the smoke, and a thin, birdlike figure strode out, clutching a staff with an odd gem capping it. "Tremble, mortals! Avarius the Ifrit is here!"
"Your gauntlet worked well." Gemini gloated. "Now I need some extra strong restraints."
"For what? I'm not gonna try to run again." The short boy protested.
"Oh, I know that. But I have another guest joining us, I need to make sure her stay is... uneventful." The lord gloated. "And if you ever want to see your family again, you need to make sure that happens."
Wade gulped and nodded reluctantly.
Next Chapter: Ifrit vs Genie!