Disclaimer: I own nothing if you saw it on Kim Possible. This plot is mine though.
A/N: Hello eveyone and merry Christmas and happy New Year!
Here it is! Hot off the press. This is were it aall started. Everything up to now I hve made up on the spot. But the fight scene in this chapter is over a year old and I hope i did the image in my head justice.
I want to thankk every one who has reviewed my story and everyone who has decided to follow my progress. You really make writting this all the more enjoyable. Thank you.
And without further chatter let us get on with it!
As allways pleease read, review and, above all, ENJOY! X-3
Chapter 8: All that's left
Dark clouds drifted across the sky towards the east, the rain they carried dropping freely. Just below them an army of Diablos flew over an empty highway towards Middleton. All but one.
A single Diablo flew against the current of the others, occasionally firing energy blasts at the highway. One of these blasts obliterated an exit ramp, creating a makeshift cliff. The motorcycle that was its intended target barely managed to avoid the ledge by swerving to the left. A second Diablo rolled past in pursuit on its rocket-propelled tracks.
Damn it! Kim Possible thought viciously. That was my exit. She swerved again to avoid incoming fire from above as well as behind.
"Oh my god, that was a close one." Eric whispered for what had to be the tenth time. He was holding on to Kim's waist and clenching onto the bike for all he was worth.
Kim pulled out her Kimmunicator, trying to find an alternate route to BN HQ, but had to dodge more energy blasts for the Diablos. Their constant fire wasn't something she could manage without most of her concentration. Not to mention both her hands. She continued to push the bike past the red, avoiding the energy blasts while trying to figure a solution to her sitch.
Up ahead she spotted another off ramp that led down to an overpass into a what she recognized as a warehouse district. Like before the Diablo flying overhead destroyed it, trying to keep her on the open highway. But in so doing he also destroyed the concrete rail of the overpass. Judging the angle she came to a quick decision. She jumped the gap, mindful of her speed and angle, successfully landing on what was left of the ramp.
"Oh my god..." Eric whispered again. "Please don't do that. This is not a stunt bike."
Kim ignored him. Glancing back she was pleased to find that the Diablo had run into the crater. For now all she had to deal with was the one in the air. Using the overpass for cover as best she could she rode towards the warehouses, hiding amidst the sea of parked trailers and trucks. She spotted the Diablo fly overhead without shooting, for the moment they were safe. She pulled out her Kimmunicator. The red light was blinking again, Wade was calling her.
"Eric..." She said before answering. "You can loosen up your grip, were safe for now."
"Huh?" Eric said, frantically looking around. "O-oh... r-right." He did as requested, but his eyes and head kept darting around.
Pushing the call button on the Kimmunicator brought the image of Wade typing on his keyboard and handling a joystick.
"The stairs were you where caught should be around the..." Wade glanced at the monitor next to him in surprise, hit a button on his keyboard and started pleading. "Kim! I found Ron. He's..."
"What?! How bad is he..." She cut him off and began to interrogate before being cut off herself.
"He's fine, listen..." Wade said. "You have to talk him out of it, he wont stop no matter what I say."
"Wont stop what?" She asked, her voice so relieved one would think she was sitting in a flowery meadow on a picnic instead of soaking wet on a bike, being chased by killer robots. He was alright...
"He decided to go on with the mission." Wade said gravely.
"What! Patch me through, like, now." She ordered. What was he thinking? Wade had to have told him she was on her way, so why wasn't he waiting? Once she got there the three of them could make quick work of Drakkens plans. Why would he go on without her?
"Already working on it" Wade said.
"Robot!" Eric shrieked in pure terror while pointing behind them. One of the Diablos was standing at the end of the row, looking right at them.
"Wade, gotta go." She said, shoving the Kimmunicator back into her pocket and pulling on the throttle. Being the high-powered and finely tuned machine that it was the bike shot forward like a bullet. The spot they had been idling at was turned into a crater. The trailers and trucks around them either turned into into debris.
She drove out of the trucks and trailers towards the warehouses looking for bigger and less combustible cover. Eric's arms wrapped around her again like a vice, screaming 'oh my god' all the while. She wondered again if bringing him had been such a good idea.
Wait for me, Ron. She thought, dodging around a corner of a warehouse, the Diablo in hot pursuit. Please, just wait for me.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron moved through BN HQ at a steady pace following Wade's lead.
"The stairs where you were caught should be around the..." Wade said.
"Around what?" Ron asked when Wade abruptly stopped talking. He continued on, being careful enough to check around each corner before taking it. Taking a peek he saw the large room he had fought the drones in. The floor was still covered in goop, they had obviously just let the deflated drones lie there.
"Ah, corner. Ok, got it." Ron said, walking through the room towards the stairs. He glanced back to check on the drone. It had started following him instead of leading and Wade had gone silent.
"Wade? You there dude?" He asked aloud but got no answer. He checked the earpiece to see if it was still on, it was. Then he checked the phone, the call was still active and it had plenty of battery left. There was only one explanation...
"Give it up Wade." He said, walking forward resolutely. "No cold shoulder is gonna make the Ronster stop tonight." He kept walking, reaching the stairs and starting his climb. Every few steps he would glance back at the EE1. He started humming a tune he had come up with a few days ago. He would not cave first!
He continued his humming and glancing. Reaching his low limit at the top of the stairs.
"Cmon, man." Ron said, looking the EE1 straight in the eye. "You're really not gonna say anything?"
He got no response from Wade. "Dude, don't play with me." He pleaded pitifully. He poked the hovering EE1 with his finger, hoping to get a reaction.
"Sorry Ron, did you say something?" Wade asked, moving the EE1 away and flying ahead. Ron watched it go with a complicated expression.
"Meanie..." Ron mumbled, walking after him.
"Kim should be here as soon as she deals with her Diablo problem." Wade said, giving it one more shot. "It would be better to wait for her and Eric to get here..."
"Hey Wade..." Ron said, ignoring his comment and enduring the sting it caused. "Why did you go silent before I fought with Shego."
Crunch.
Ron froze at the weird sound his foot made. He could feel he had stepped on something. Curiously, he looked down at the bottom of his foot.
"I didn't go silent." Wade said with a sigh, at least he had tried... again. "It was you who couldn't hear me. From what you've said I believe the earwig was knocked out during your fight with the drones. Its probably lying around here somewhere." He explained. He paused for a moment the scanned the floor, looking for it.
"Y-yeah?" Ron stuttered. Stuck on the bottom of his shoe was a flesh colored piece of chewed gum. He picked it off and brought it closer to examine it. It went creak and snap when he squeezed it. His face paled a bit.
"Did you find it?" Wade asked, looking back at Ron.
"Nope!" He said, shoving the piece of beat up gum into his pack and walking past the EE1 to the closed door with the hand-print and retinal scanner. "Lets go Wade. Looking for it will be easier after we finish the mission. Can you do something about this door?"
Without a word Wade flew the EE1 to the scanner and got to work. Its pincers worked quickly and precisely, scanning the device before using a laser on one of its claws to open a whole. Carefully removing the plate it reached inside and started doing things Ron would never understand. He heard snaps, hisses and the laser a few times. The lights on the scanner blinked sporadically.
"And done." Wade said with satisfaction. "Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible are now henchmen 334 and 335."
"Really?" Ron wondered, walking up to the scanner. "Why couldn't you just open the door?"
"Anytime the doors are opened without the scanner being activated and its records accessed results in the alarm. So I just added you and Kim to its records."
"Not sure how I feel about that..." Ron said while placing his palm and eyes to their respective scanners. The device whirred and with a loud click the lock on the door disengaged.
"Don't worry." Wade reassured. "All data on the scanner's records are now protected by my own algorithm. I own that door."
Ron peeked inside the door before fully opening it and entering the long and wide hallway beyond it with Wade right behind him. The doors closed with an audible clack, the lock reengaging.
The hallway was long with generic art and plants lining the walls. There were a few doors that led to what he guessed were offices. He could hear Drakken's voice in the distance, just around the corner at the far end of the hallway. He was laughing at something. Walking down the hallway he noticed one of the doors read 'Dr. Drakken, CEO and Ruler of the World'.
"Well..." Ron said, eyeing the door with distaste. "Aren't we full of ourselves." Ron walked by, mumbling about lost greatness and the incompetent managing of a fast food business.
"Ron..." Wade said, stopping in front of the door. "We should check this out. Drakken's plan isn't as straightforward as the ones before. If we want to be able to thoroughly undo it we need as much information as we can get. We might not get a better chance than this to do so." He said and went to work on the electronic lock, making quick work of it and opening the door.
"Good thinking, Wade." Ron said after a few seconds of deliberation. "We must know every detail of this horrendous plot if we are to restore Bueno Nacho to its former glory." He said, walking into the office with great purpose and gesturing at the world at large. "This great beacon of hope must not be extinguished." He declared.
"And..." Wade felt the need to remind. "To help any people that might have been involved in it without their knowledge."
"Yes... well..." Ron brought his arms down and rubbed his neck. "Of course, that goes without saying." He walked towards the desk at the other end of the office near the windows.
The office looked just like one would expect. Expensive looking sofa, expensive looking coffee table, expensive looking computer, expensive looking office chair. The door had been very solid looking wood. It had a gas fireplace near the sitting area on the right and its own mini Bueno Nacho on the left. It was currently empty, of course. But he could tell it was fully stocked with every Bueno Nacho dish ever conceived... It was beautiful. The sight was only marred by the large portrait of Drakken in a blue suit hanging next to the counter.
"Wow." Wade said, pulling Ron from his musings. He had the the EE1 hooked up to the computer. From the reflection of the monitor on the window he could see many windows and information flashing by at great speed before a loading bar popped up in the middle. "Drakken really thought this one through. It will take me a good ten minutes to download all the details..."
Ron investigated some doors that led away from the office as Wade explained. One was a private bathroom, complete with shower. The other was a closet filled with office and cleaning supplies. He looked them over, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. He grabbed a few of the the supplies, paper clips, tacks and such, and got to work.
"No worries." Ron said.
Wade continued to work, downloading every speck of useful information out of Drakken's mainframe. He was saddened to find that, like the security cameras, the computer was set apart from the servers that controlled the Diablos. Everything that concerned them was contained within the closed loop system up ahead. He wouldn't be able to hack into it without connecting his systems directly using the EE1 or a Kimmunicator.
All the while Wade worked he could hear the sounds of Ron doing something. For the most part he ignored it but still the sounds made him curious. He heard the sounds of pans and other cooking equipment, running water, liquid splashing on the floor and Ron's weird chuckle.
"Fu, fu, fu, fu..." It sounded like.
As soon as he was done Wade disconnected from the computer system and looked to see what Ron was up to. He found him standing on a small stepladder doodling on Drakken's hand-painted portrait with a permanent marker while eating a burrito. But what truly drew his eyes was the ground in front of the entrance. It was covered in some viscous liquid witch led to a floor covered in sharp tacks, all with their points facing up. There were also some paper clips creatively bent in a way that supported a sharp end up.
"Ron..." Wade said with hesitation. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"Serving Justice." He said seriously, finishing a pirate hook on Drakken's hand and taking a bite out of his burrio.
"And what are you eating?" Wade followed up.
"Classic Chimerrito..." Ron said, stepping off the ladder and reviewing his work on Drakken the pirate. "As first conceived by Nico Bueno. Truly a work of culinary art..." He took another bite and savored it. "I cant believe they would take this off the menu, what were they thinking over here?" He gave the portrait one more once over and nodded in satisfaction. He walked to the counter and picked up a cup with a straw.
"Uh-huh... anyway." Wade said. "I've finished downloading all the details of Drakken's plot. I found something I think you should see..."
"How more evil could this plan be?" He asked Wade. "I mean look at this." He said, gesturing at his cup and finishing off the Chimerrito.
Wade looked at the cup but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just your typical Bueno Nacho beverage cup with a cover and a straw.
"What?" Wade asked, giving up on his inspection.
"This! Look!" Ron said while shoving the cup at the EE1 so hard the straw hit the lens. Wade moved it away and scanned the cup. It showed nothing out of the ordinary.
"I don't see anything wrong..." Wade said. What was Ron so hyped up about?
"Haa..." Ron sighed in exasperation. For a genius Wade could sometimes be incredibly dense. "This, look." He said again, this time he put his finger on the top of the straw in his cup and made it bend up and down repeatedly. "See?"
"Yeah..." Wade said. "And?"
"Its a bendy-straw, man! Don't you see?" Ron said as if revealing an incredible secret. "It wasn't that he had taken away the bendy straws. No! The fiend, he actually kept them all to himself!"
Wade stared at Ron for a full, slow minute before he decided to just pretend nothing had happened. Sometimes, when it came to Ron, that was the best course of action.
"Hey Ron, take a look at this..." Wade said, bringing up a file on the computer monitor. "I found something I think you should see."
"Bendy straws should be shared." Ron muttered as he walked towards the monitor. "I'm taking them back for the... Huh?" He stared at the information displayed on the screen. "No way... what is the deal with that? Have you told Kim?"
"She isn't answering." Wade said. "Or more likely can't answer at the moment. I left her a message and also sent the information to Global Justice. They should be able to apprehend him quickly as soon as the Diablos are shut down."
"Good, let's get going then." Ron said walking around the desk towards the door, careful not to step on on any of the tacks or slip on the liquid. Wade followed.
The information Wade had found rattled him a bit. To toy with their emotions like this, Drakken had really struck low this time. The sooner they took him down the sooner Bueno Nacho... and the world... could be restored.
"Ah! Almost forgot." Ron said, turning around and lightly jumping towards the small Bueno Nacho counter. There he picked up an bucket that was next to it and walked back to the door.
"What's that?" Wade asked looking at the contents of the bucket. It was some sort of pinkish substance.
"Justice." Ron said seriously, stepping out the door and very carefully placing the bucket on top. He closed the door just enough for the bucket to be supported and hidden by the wall and door. Looking at the door from the outside it appeared completely normal.
"You really think that would work?" Wade asked, dubiously.
"It's the thought that counts." Ron said, stepping back and dusting his hands in satisfaction. "It's and oldie but a goodie. Its a classic for a reason, you know."
Wade decided not to argue as they moved silently down the hallway. They could hear Drakken's voice, he had obviously not stopped talking since before. The guy really loved the sound of his voice, huh. Ron moved as silently as he could to the edge of the corner and peeked around it.
"Ha!" Drakken said, very pleased with himself. "She believes she can hide from my Diablos but ha! They are relentless! They will no stop until you are at their mercy... Ha! There, in the warehouse!"
They could clearly hear Drakken talking. He was obviously watching something. From where he was he could see one of the drones that had captured him with his back to him for some reason. Beyond it a bunch of henchman working on some consoles, huge monitors that showed various places around the world under siege by the robots and one that that showed a split screen view of two of the robots. One was in the air and the other walked on the ground.
The one on the ground spotted a hole in one of the garage doors into a warehouse and decided to investigate, walking right through it. The one in the sky spotted something red moving through one of the skylights and decided to investigate by crashing through and landing where it had seen it. Unfortunately, for it at least, the red object had vanished again. The robots began their search of the vast warehouse.
"It's only a matter of time." Drakken said, clasping his hands behind his back in triumph.
"I..." Shego said, very reluctantly, from her seat. "Have to agree. You really weren't making this up as you went along..."
"Of course I wasn't!" Drakken snapped. "Nakasumi's toy design coupled with dear daddy Possible's Cybertronic breakthrough. And, just to stick a pin in it, one mail order hottie." Drakken looked back at Shego with a smug expression. "And you questioned my research."
"The slumber parties?" Shego questioned.
"Uh Uh!" Drakken refuted. "I discovered Kim Possible's fatal Flaw!" He continued his explanation trying to imitate a girl's voice and dancing around. "Boys, boys, boys. Who should I go to the dance with? Who's the perfect boy? Ack!" Drakken exclaimed when the drone in front of the entrance suddenly shot forward as if tackled hard from behind. Even more surprising was the sword that protruded off its chest and almost poked him in the nose.
He stumbled back in fright just as Ron put the drone in a sleeper hold to keep it from moving too much.
"Not cool, dude. Not cool." Was all Ron said before he pulled the sword out just enough for it to leave the cut on its chest open. Just like he had expected the goop inside shot out like a fire-hose, coating Drakken and Shego in it. He was also quick to aim the last of the torrent at the last synthodrone. It was standing off to the side of the room right under the stairs that led to a door that led to the roof.
"Finished!" Wade said quickly, they hadn't been idle. While Drakken was speaking they had hatched a plan to get passed Shego, Drakken and the goons, get up the stairs, through the door and to the roof to shoot the command tower before they could do anything.
The first part, distract and immobilize them while Wade unlocked the door, was done. Now came the interesting part.
Ron removed his sword from the deflated drone, keeping it on his left hand so as to give the other a break, and took a running start towards the blinded Drakken. Ron jumped onto his shoulders and leaped off, pushing Drakken down to the goo covered floor. Ron jumped for all he was worth right to... the nearest henchman's head. Drakken just didn't make a good springboard.
"S'cuse me, pardon me, sorry..." Ron said as he jumped from head to head towards the stairs. "Hey, no biting! Ow!" Ron stomped on the last henchman and jumped for all he was worth again. This henchman was sturdier than his boss and he made it onto the top of the stairs.
"Stop him!" Drakken yelled behind him.
"Too late blue boy!" Ron Ron taunted as he opened the door. Instead of disabling the locking mechanism of the electronic lock Wade just used the EE1's laser to cut off that section of the door.
Just as he was about to run through the door his sword was wrenched out of his left hand with a swoosh, a flash of green and the sound of a small explosion. He covered his eyes from the debris and quickly located his sword... it was welded to the wall.
"Hey!" Ron called back to complain. "That was my fa... Whoa!" Ron's complaint was cut short as he scrambled through the door and up the stairs. The bottom of the stairs behind him erupted in a torrent of green flame, splintered steel and rubble. Nothing was left but a crater of the entrance to the building.
"She's angry." Ron said, running up the stairs two at a time. "Shego is very angry."
"That was to be expected." Wade said, following close.
"That doesn't make it any less dangerous..." Ron muttered as he continued his desperate dash away from danger.
"Shego!" Drakken snapped once he stood up and got the goop off his eyes. "Stop that... that... Shego?" Drakken looked around but Shego was nowhere to be seen. She was always quick to act. "You! 901." He said pointing at the last drone. "Protect the transmitter! Stop that brat!"
"Acknowledged." The drone said and took off down the hallway.
"Where are you going!?" Drakken screamed after it, but it was gone. He stomped to the nearest console, tore the henchman off it, sending him sprawling to the floor and started typing. "The bufoon suddenly thinks he's all that." He finished typing and looked at the monitors with a grimace.
He looked to the split screen monitor and saw one of the Diablos blow a crate to splinters after a streak of red dodged around it. The cheerleader still hadn't been caught.
Drakken ground his teeth. Kim Possible was supposed to be the greatest real threat to his plans, not her help. He glared at the surrounding henchmen who all sat still, watching him.
"Get back to work!" He roared at them. They all quickly got back to doing their assigned jobs. Some had to clean goo from their monitors.
Drakken glared at the destroyed roof entrance the Buffoon, and presumably Shego, had gone through.
"Hmph!" He grunted walking up the stairs and through the door. He would witness his regret first hand.
Ron ran out of the entrance to the helipad that stood on the rim of the sombrero. Cold rain bombarded his entire body and he was soaked through in seconds. Only his upper body felt dry since the rain drops just ran down the black armor-shirt.
The roof was wider than he had thought. Domed roof lights along the edge of the roof provided the only illumination along with a few circling the top of the sombrero behind him. A few meters off the edge rose the command tower that was his target.
All of this he took in with the back of his mind. The thing that wouldn't let go of his concentration was the cloud of innumerable Diablos that blanketed the sky. He knew there would be many, but knowing it and seeing first hand were two vastly different things. No matter how strong anyone was there would be no way to win. There were just too many.
"Ron!" Wade yelled at him. "Hurry up and shoot!"
"Oh!?" Ron said, breaking out of his daze. "Right!" Ron ran within range of the tower, took out the EMS gun and got ready to shoot.
Just as he was about to squeeze the trigger his line of sight was interrupted by a landing Diablo. He was barely able to stop himself from shooting at the wrong target when three more Diablos made their landing. Ron just stared at the new obstacles standing between him and the command tower, unsure of what to do.
The Diablos had no such issues. They all switched their claws to cannons and opened fire. The suddenness of the attack worked wonders on Ron's state of mind. It was too late to dodge so he brought his right arm up, the Lotus Brace turning into a shield.
"Ugh!" The force of the cannons slammed the shield into his body and launched him backwards, it was all he could do not to drop the gun, thankfully the shield was strapped to his arm so he didn't need to worry about it. He used the momentum to roll backwards and planted his feet firmly, he angled his body so as to better receive the next blast. As ready as he tried to be the force of the blasts still numbed his arms. He feet skidded on the wet concrete, unable to hold him in place against the cannon fire.
He finally ran out of ground to skid on when his feet reached the center of the sombrero. Unprepared for the sudden stop, Ron lost his balance. The cannon blasts pushed him up and slammed his back against the wall. He then stumbled forward when they barrage stopped as suddenly as it had started.
"Wha...?" Ron wondered. His heart was hammering and he was panting. He was already exhausted and his body hurt. Things were not going well at all. The Diablos were already walking towards him
"And what's this!" He heard a female voice say to he right.
"Ah!" Ron exclaimed in pain when something clawed the gun out of his right hand. The gun sailed through the air and dropped towards the edge to his right. Rufus, wide awake from the ordeal with the Diablos, saw it go and jumped after it.
He didn't need to wonder who had clawed the gun out of his hand.
"Shego..." Ron said in despair. He had missed his chance. Shego danced her way away from him to the Diablo's side, adding herself to the obstacles between him and the tower. Things seemed as hopeless as they had ever been.
The Diablos didn't seem to care how cornered he was, though. They just strung themselves between him and the tower and the second Shego moved away from him they resumed their preferred tactic. Blow the sidekick up.
Luckily Ron was a little bit more prepared this time. He flipped backward, the ground where he had stood being cratered, onto the wall and leaped towards the nearest Diablo. It had gotten close enough for him to reach. The Diablos continued to fire while he was in the air, each shot getting closer and closer to the mark.
Cmon, please give me what I want. Ron begged the Lotus Shield on his arm. Please give me a big and long sword. And for once it did as asked without a fuss. It shifted into a very long and mean looking Claymore.
Yes! Ron roared internally in triumph. He brought the sword over his head and grasped it with both hands. He reached the Diablo just as he began to drop back to the ground andswung the claymore vertically right on top of its head. He knew a normal sword, especially a sword swung by him, would never be able to cut these machines like he was trying to. But, hey, this was the Lotus Blade.
And just like he expected, the blade cut into the Diablo like soft butter, going right between the eyes and... coming to a dead stop just under its chin. Ron just barely managed to hold on to the stuck sword, looking to the world like a bad 'Hang in there' poster.
Ron was dumbfounded. How could this be? This was the great mystical treasure of the great Yamanouchi secret ninja school, The Lotus Blade! The legendary weapon that Toshimiru himself used to carve the school out of a mountain! Surely a sword like that would make quick work off these machines right?
As Ron thought about the absurdity of the situation the Diablo he was currently attached to brought its cannons up, moving with a twitch. The cut may no be enough to stop it, but its head was still cleaved in two, arks of electricity flying off the wound. Its cannons aimed at its chest where Ron was hanging.
"Oh cmon, man!" Ron said in panic and exasperation. "Cut! You stupid... Gah!" He said when the sword suddenly decided to rip through the rest of the Diablo. It didn't cut, it ripped. The jagged wound it created just couldn't be called something as noble a cut.
Ron slammed into the ground and just lay there, sprawled on top of the Lotus Claymore. The Diablo teetered once before the left half fell backward and the right one fell forward in a show of sparks and electricity. Ron rolled out of the way and missed being squashed by an inch.
"What the hell..." Ron said as he staggered to his feet and stared at the Lotus Blade. It felt incredibly light for its size. Yet it had just torn through the Diablo as if it weighed a ton. Any further thoughts on this were interrupted by a blur of movement to his left. The blade changed back into a shield which he put between himself and the blur. He felt the impact of Shego's claws raking on the surface of the shield, making sparks fly. The next thing he knew his legs were kicked out from under him and he fell flat on his back. Looking up at the sky he saw a black boot coming at him faster than he liked so he rolled to the side again and scrambled to his feet, shield ready.
"Ok..." Ron said as his shield was attacked again. "You're angry, I can understand that. But can't we talk about this?" The answer came in the form of green plasma which he decided to dodge. The Lotus Shield was strong, but he'd rather not test its limits.
"So..." She said, firing more bolts at Ron, which he dodged. "Sidekick got a new toy? Where'd you get it?" She asked. Her head had cleared enough for her to start enjoying her fight. And she was very curious about the shape-shifting gadget he was using.
"Ancient Chinese Secret." Ron said with a fake Asian accent. It wasn't really a lie...
He continued to dodge her plasma and block her claws with the shield. He also had to dodge the occasional energy blast by the Diablos.
"The Diablos..." Wade commented. "Seem to be programed not to fire when allies might be caught in the crossfire."
"Meaning?" Ron asked, hoping that didn't mean what he thought it meant.
"Stick close to Shego." Wade confirmed. Yep, he had been right. Put some distance and get fried by robots or stick close and get fried by Shego. The worse part was that the second one actually felt like the better option.
He needed a plan. He thought as he continued to dodge. He needed some way to shoot the tower without having to actually beat them... That's when he noticed it. Shego's eyes weren't always focused on him. Before each shot she would glance somewhere else... he was being herded. But where? He was moving away from the robots...
"Haa!" Shego yelled, using both her hands to send a thick stream of plasma his way. But the aim was slightly off...
"Whoa!" Wade exclaimed. "No, no, no!" Wade despaired.
Behind him Ron heard something hit the ground and break. Sparing a glance he saw the EE1 on the ground... it was glowing... no, no... that was green fire, it was burning...
"Hey!" He pointed at Shego. "Stop burning my stuff! Wade doesn't give me much in the first pl... Guh!"
Shego moved while he had been distracted and got past his guard. He racked her claws across his left arm. Her claws cut through the armor shirt like it wasn't even there.
"Huh?" Ron pressed his right hand over the cuts on his arm. That wasn't right, was it? The shirt was supposed to protect him against all sharp things. It had before on the bridge...
"That's odd." Shego commented, her plan to take the flying toy out had worked so she felt talkative. Time to needle the sidekick. "Wasn't that shirt harder before?" She asked, flexing the finger she had felt dig in to his flesh.
"Wade..." Ron whispered.
" Ron!" Wade said desperately, he had refrained from saying anything for fear of distracting him. "Are you alright? I'm sorry... I was distracted and..."
"Does water make the shirt less cut proof?" He asked while keeping a sharp eye on Shego and the Robots. They were still milling around but were not attacking. He figured he must be within what he dubbed Shego's 'Diablo Safe Zone'.
"What?" Wade asked, confused by the inquiry. "No, water just soaks through the material. It doesn't influence in the least."
Soaks through? Ron glanced at his arm. Hundreds of rain drops either bounced off the material or just slid off. It was completely impermeable.
The first thought that occurred to him was that it had been switched. But it wasn't as if Drakken kept skin tight black shirts that shimmered in the light handy. So there could only be one reason for this.
"Something's wrong with it..." Ron whispered, shifting his weight. Shego as inching to the right, forcing him to mirror her movements.
"What do... ou... ean?" He heard Wade try to say. But his words were cut off.
Oh no.
"Wade, can you hear me?" Ron asked, hoping it wasn't true.
"...n ca... ... ear... e..." Was all he could gather from the static. "Ron! Ar... ... K?... on!"
"This..." Ron said miserably as the ear piece gave its last bits of sound and died. "Is why I cant have cool things." Of course it failing was only to be expected. The rain had actually gotten worse since he'd come out and it was just a normal, store bought earpiece.
"Aww..." Shego said with a smirk and false concern. "Was the poor little sidekick left alone with the big, bad villain?"
Ron trembled a little in response. He had no one to give him advice and no backup...maybe he should have waited.
...
No... He thought. He would never have survived seeing them together like that. At least that's how he felt.
"I wonder, though..." Shego said, relishing his reactions. "If I should even call you that anymore."
Ron glared at her. What was she saying...?
"I mean, last I heard..." She continued. "Kimmie was one her way over with her new boy." Ron's frown reached his eyes and Shego's smirk grew. "Isn't a sidekick usually the one by the hero's side?"
"Shut up." He said. These were things he didn't want to think about. That's why he was here, to distract himself from it... right?
"Aw, did I hit a sore spot sideki... oops!" Shego covered her mouth like she'd said something wrong. "Sorry, that's not what you are anymore, is it?"
"Shut up!" Ron screamed and dashed towards her with a flying kick. Shego smoothly sidestepped, ripped the shield from his arm and tripped him. She pinned him to the ground with her foot on his face.
"Ow, Owww!" Ron complained, that side of his face was already very tender. He glared at Shego from under her boot.
"Well, well..." Shego said, lightly examining the shield then tossing it behind her. "Now this is really rare. Mister smiles and sunshine all angry and bitter." She pressed harder on his face. "It's kinda refreshing, you know? Seeing your feathers ruffled like this. Truth must really hurt, huh?"
"Shut up!" He said again, grabbing her foot with both hands and pushing her away with all his strength. She stumbled back a few steps and he took this chance to get up and try to tackle her. This time she used his momentum to turn him around back the way he came. A sharp kick to his back sent him sprawling to the feet of one of the Diablos. It wasted no time in trying to crush him with its right claw. He rolled out of the way and got up just in time to dodge an energy blast from its left arm.
He got close enough to Shego for the Diablos to stop their attack. She was just standing there, watching him with a smile on her face. He glared back, she was just playing with him now. He needed to calm down, those had been attacks he should have been able to dodge.
"Face it, Kid." Shego sneered. "You've been replaced like a coat that's out of style. Just the guy that used to tag along with her, yet no one remembered. So just give it up. You're done."
Ron glared sadly at her, her words were cutting deeper than her claws. She was right, of course. Now that Kim had taken Eric on a mission, that was it. He would obviously be better at it than him and she already liked him more than a friend.
She was also wrong, though. He wasn't done, not yet. He still had that need to go on that had brought him up here in the first place instead of letting him chill at the security office. Her words were things he already knew.
He looked behind her then crouched low like a catcher about to receive a pitch. Cmon, cmon... He begged it.
"What are you... oof!" Shego asked as her feet were swept from under her and she fell on her back.
Ron, for the first time ever, managed to catch the Lotus Shield. Please, please... He begged again. Willing the weapon to shift into exactly what he wanted. And, again for the second time, it did. Booyah!
A Bo Staff, the only weapon he had proper instruction and experience with. Sure he had been taught by a backstabbing, traitorous ninja against whom he'd had to use said teachings. But he had properly taught him.
Ron dashed forward and struck at Shego. Surprised by his speed she was almost caught but managed to handspring away. The staff hit wet ground she had been laying on.
"Ah..." Ron said, the staff felt just right in his hands. All the other weapons he had tried, even the other staves, had felt wrong. Unbalanced. The Lotus Staff felt just right. He quickly took a stance opposite Shego while staying within her 'Diablo Safe Zone'.
"I already knew all that." Ron told her.
"Did you?" Shego asked, eyeing the faint blue staff that used to be a shield. Dealing with it would be troublesome, best to nip that in the bud...
"Yeah...Well... Kinda, you know." Ron said. "I sorta knew but didn't want to know so I repressed the knowledge that I knew. But then you said that and got me angry because I remembered that I did know so now I really know know, you know?"
"I guess..." Shego said, she'd been able to follow enough of that to get the gist of it. "So, why are you here?"
Ron looked at her very seriously, the tip of his staff dropping ever so slightly. She caught the movement and readied herself, he was obviously better with the stick than any of the other stuff he had used tonight.
"I got nothing." He said with a shrug.
"What?" Shego almost fell forward. That wasn't the type of answer the atmosphere demanded!
"Seriously, I don't know." Ron said. "I tried thinking about it, but I couldn't figure it out so I decided to think about it later. Kinda hard to think about the reason for a killer itch while it still itches..."
"Hmn... So..." Shego said, flexing her hands. "You're not going to stop?"
"Not yet, I think." Ron answered, getting ready. He felt the end of the conversation coming.
"Then I guess I can take off the kid gloves!" She said while throwing plasma straight at him.
"Ack!" Ron exclaimed. He had expected her to do something like that, but it was still frightening. It also came way faster than her earlier attempts. She wasn't kidding about the gloves.
The bolts of plasma came too fast for him to dodge so he swatted them away with his staff.
"So much for you're..." She began until something unexpected happened. "Wha...?"
"Whoa!" Ron exclaimed, he hadn't expected this either. He had intended to swat the plasma aside but the stuff had decided to stick to both ends of the staff. The most surprising part, though, was that it had turned from green fire to cyan. Ron panicked. He tried to put the fire out by waving the staff violently but the fire simply went swish, swish and started spreading down. He used all his strength and was finally able to send it flying towards a Diablo that stood behind Shego. The cyan bolt landed on its head and exploded. The headless robot swayed then fell backwards, sparks and electricity pouring out of the destroyed head.
"Cool..." Ron muttered, he looked at the other slowly spreading cyan fire on the staff and tried to do it again. The bolt flew through the air and hit another Diablo on the leg, destroying it and making it fall.
Two-and-a-half down, one-and-a-half to go... Maybe he could really do this...
Shego promptly brought his head out of the clouds and into the fight. She ran at him without a word and attacked. Ron dodged, parried and evaded as best he could. The fight took a surreal form after that.
Since he could turn her plasma against her, Shego used it sparingly. Only coating her hands so as to add more lethality to her clawing and punches. She found that so long as she didn't throw it, the staff wouldn't catch it. Relieving him of it was also out. When she tried he almost pinned her down.
Ron was using everything he could remember from that week in Japan. More often than not leaving his movements to memory or instinct. More often than not thinking about a move got him cut.
Anyone watching from the sidelines would have thought the fight was beautiful. With every twirl of his staff Ron sent arks of rainwater through the air. Meanwhile wisps of steam followed Shego's hands along with a sizzling sound. All the while rain poured down and lightning flashed in the sky followed by the thrum of thunder.
Shego found Ron's attacks too heavy to block and decided to dodge them, making it seem like she was dancing around while Ron gave chase. He surprised her with a thrust to her stomach, knocking he wind out of her, quickly followed by a strike to the head. She dodged to the side and got past his guard, paying him back with a kick to the side.
They continued back and forth, each accumulating hits. Shego threw her plasma at his feet whenever she thought he couldn't catch it and unsettled his footing. Whenever Ron did catch it he used it to destroy the remaining robots or do the same to her.
Soon her and a fuming Drakken were all that stood between him and the tower. If he could just stun her for a second, just a second, he would be able to jump to where Rufus was waiting at the edge of the sombrero with the EMS gun and shoot the tower. He would worry about escaping the angry villains after that.
But he had to hurry. He was getting pretty cut up, he had managed to keep them shallow but he was still bleeding from half a dozen cuts to his legs and arms. He was pretty sure one of them had even connected to his previous cut on his right arm which he had no doubt reopened by now.
"You really..." Shego interrupted his thoughts. "Should lead with the stick next time, instead of the other crap you used tonight."
"Huh?" Ron said, confused. She attacked and he parried and countered. She evaded with noticeable ease.
"You're definitely better than I expected." She said, starting to circle him and forcing him to mirror her again. "Far better, especially the way you dodge. Its downright unnerving, you know? Evading by a knife's edge... but still..." She moved fast and low to the ground.
Ron reacted and struck at where she would be. He struck the ground just before her, Shego pinned his staff there with both hands and pivoted her body up into a kick to the left of his face. Ron stumbled back from the shock, his eyes closing subconsciously from the pain.
"You have a long way to go..." She said from somewhere in front of him. He readied his staff and opened his eyes, berating himself fro the mistake, it was one of the first things both Fukushima and Master Sensei had said when they taught him. Never close your eyes... Shego stood farther in front of him than he thought she...
Movement at the edge of his vision caught his attention. Reflexively he stepped to the side and changed his Lotus Staff into a shield again. As fast as he was he was still half a second too slow and the energy blast was only partially deflected, clipping his shoulder.
"Agh!" He grunted in pain, Damn! One f the Diablos is till running. He though viciously as his shoulder burned. Like before he was pushed back from the force of it and stumbled, his arms out stretched for balance. He took a fleeting glance at the damage and was relieved to find his shoulder still there. He could see bits of burnt flesh through the shirt but its seemed to have held off the worst of it. He would be fine.
Have to get within range... He thought as he desperately regained his balance and sets his sight on Shego who stood upright and relaxed a few meters in front of him. Have to hurry and... His thoughts ceased completely but for a few sensations.
A flash of red.
Something within giving in.
Flying through the air.
A sharp feeling in his hair and back.
Darkness.
...
His sight slowly returned, being both blurred and doubled. All he could see was a blurred patch of light brown with streaks of red that danced like smoke.
Where was he... He wondered and tried to remember...
Who was he... He wondered and tried to remember...
There was a lot he couldn't remember at the moment but those two seemed like important things so he decided to start with them. He tried to concentrate but there was the annoying beat that wouldn't let him.
Ba dump, Ba dump, Ba dump. It went... Ah, that was his heart wasn't it? Why could he hear his heart so loudly? It made it hard to remember...
Ronald J. Stoppable! Right! That who he was! And that's Ron to you! Yes, now we're making progress... Good... Now... Where was he? Lets tackle that one next. It was really hard to think with that annoying beat...
He'd been somewhere important... He'd been doing something important... But then it didn't matter... But he'd kept doing it anyway... What was up with that? Why would he do that if it didn't matter anymore? Maybe it did matter... but why?...
Meh... That's too complicated. Lets go back to the simple one: Where was he?
Bueno Nacho Headquarters! There it is! There he was! He had made a pilgrimage to the holy land!... No, no, that didn't sound right... Hmn... Ah, right, he'd been fighting. Really hard too. He didn't like to fight... But sometimes you just had too... Why did he have too?...
Meh... That's another complicated one, lets skip it. Who had he been fighting? That one seemed simple enough...
Shego. The answer came easier than he'd expected it to. And with it a bunch of other things. Drakkens plot, the Diablos, the Command Tower he needed to shoot... and the pain. All of it
He took in some air and his chest flared like a bonfire. He tried to lift his head but couldn't... Ah, he was laying face down on the ground... he was on top of something too but that wasn't important right now.
What happened? What happened?... Ron kept repeating in his head. Slowly, like a rusted old machine and while scraping the concrete with his chin, he moved his head up to look ahead of him. Shego stood far ahead. Around her the Diablos were either standing or moving towards him, each had various parts missing, half a head, half a knee, half a foot, half a other stuff. All of it pouring with electricity. It was amazing they were still standing.
Most amazing of all was the one nearest him. Its claws were stretched to the sides, one pointing up and the other nearing the floor, as if it had just finished a spin. The clawed arms were unnaturally far apart. That was to be expected, of course, since it was only connected from the stomach area down. The rest sagged to the sides like a peeling banana with electricity jumping from one side to the other like fish. Slowly, but surely, both halves were being put back together.
The Diablos were repairing themselves...
Of course they would. Ron thought, letting his head droop down in defeat. Mr. Dr. P had said his tech could do that. But even the first one? The one he'd somehow managed to cleave in two? Why did Mr. P have to make such good stuff! He should make some crap once in a while, just for the heck of it.
...
This is far enough, right? Ron wondered, his eyes drooping and blocking half his sight. He could stop now, right? He had tried hard and was tired. The wet ground his was lying on felt so comfortable and he was so tired. His head felt light and he felt like drifting off somewhere.
I failed, huh. He thought as his eyes closed and his body relaxed. He really hoped Kim wouldn't have too much trouble when she got here. Rufus could probably hide himself and the EMS gun then somehow get it to her. He was smart like that. Yeah... He would stop here...
His mind drifted into the restful dark, all the pain his body felt fading into the background...
...
"Si hatt lyrael ti? A deep booming voice said. In the darkness he saw something. Like a memory. But it moved too fast for him to register more than a blur of images.
His eyes snapped open and focused instantly. His heart pumped with renewed vigor, sending copious amounts of adrenalin through his body. His arms, his right one being the thing his was laying on, pushed him up as a reflex to the sudden energy in his muscles. He ground his teeth at the pain, which seemed to recede slightly, until he was on all fours, staring at Shego and the nearly repaired Diablos.
What the hell was that? Ron wondered as he looked at his opponents, looking for anyway to get past them. Whatever he had seen had lit a fire in places of his soul he never knew existed.
He couldn't stop, wouldn't stop... Not here, not now... Never like this...
What. Is. The. Deal! Ron yelled in his mind. This was like back in the security office. Only worse. He felt a need to go on, to succeed. To stop the Diablos or be crushed trying... The hell is this! This wasn't like him a all... Then again, he hadn't been 'exactly like him' tonight... or this past few weeks for that matter... What was 'him' anyway...
Meh... Too complicated, lets focus on the simple stuff.
He looked at Shego and the four Diablos ahead of him. Noting their positions. Everything seemed clearer to him at the moment, he thought he could even see each drop of rain fall. As if time ad slowed down. The world seemed to have taken a slight bluish tint.
He could see it... a way through... a way to keep going. He quickly formed a plan around it. It was going to hurt...
Don't do it! His body screamed.
I need to. He answered. It was the truth, even if he didn't understand why.
Ron looked to the side to where Rufus was, huddled next to the EMS gun. He looked really worried, scared even. Ron mouthed a few jumbled words and Rufus's expression changed to one of determination. That was his buddy, he would have probably gotten the message with just a glance. He looked back at the Diablos again and noticed one had moved. No fair! Now his plan had a snag to which he needed a solution...
After a bit of thought he brought his left hand up to his ear. Relieved that the earpiece was still there he pressed redial. All he could hear were bits of intermittent static. He spoke anyway.
"Wade..." He said, enduring the pain in his chest, he could feel it creaking with each breath. "I hope you can hear me, otherwise I'm about to do something even more idiotic than I thought... I need a favor..." He said and whispered what he needed. It was unreasonable, incredibly so. But his plan needed him. It wasn't the best plan he'd ever had, but it was all he had now so he was going for it.
He got ready. He would have to move soon, the Diablos where almost done repairing themselves and were taking aim. He could see Shego saying something but he couldn't hear. It was almost time... He placed his left gloved hand over his right...
Now! He thought and quickly pressed on the the button for his skates at the same time he pushed himself up. He got to his feet at the same time the wheels of his skates deployed. With all the strength he had left he kicked to the side, dodging the energy blast that pulverized the ground where he had been.
The rockets on his skates fired as he kicked the ground again, propelling him towards the nearest Diablo. It was still reconnecting part of its head but had repaired itself enough to react to his approach. It crushed the ground where Ron would be with its claw, but Ron had jumped. Propelled by the rockets he reached the top of its head and used it as a foothold to jump again. Just as his leap reached its zenith the rockets fizzed out, having burned what little fuel they had left.
Don't play with me... Ron whispered with his open right hand stretched out. The Lotus Staff placed itself gently in it as if the movement had been rehearsed. Ron griped it over his head with both hands while it shimmered and shifted into a large sledgehammer. Ron looked down at his target.
Shego stood still, dumbfounded by what she was seeing. The sidekick was coming at her from above with a huge sledgehammer. His eyes looked wild and driven by a savage need she could not identify. But this was not what had stunned her in place.
It was his eyes... The whites of his eyes were now a light sky blue. His irises had turned from the caramel brown that was the norm to an incredibly deep, ethereal blue. They glowed subtly, like embers lit from within. As if to reinforce that description thin wisps of blue smoke rose straight up, heedless of the pouring rain and the breeze, moving only as he moved.
Ron landed in front of her and brought the sledge down on the concrete with all his might. He changed Lotus back into a staff and ran it between her legs. Before she could react he catapulted her over the Diablos towards the edge of the sombrero. Using the momentum to spin around he crouched low, placing his left foot in the whole he'd just made. He changed the Lotus into a shield, angled his body the best way he could and braced.
Like clockwork the Diablos, now behind him, opened fire. The blasts landed on the shield like the blows from a giant. His shield slammed into his body from the force of it. He pressed his face against the shield and used his entire body to hold it, his arm was so numb he could barely feel it. He used the hole on the ground to stop himself from being pushed back. Only his left hand was relaxed, it had its own job to do.
All but one of the Diablos was firing, though. The last one, the one closest to the tower, had moved back and was right next to him. It had a clear shot and was about to take it.
It had been the favor he had asked of Wade. To somehow take care of it, if only for a moment. It had been unreasonable. What could Wade had done? Even if he had heard him... But he had felt the need to ask and he believed in him. He would do something because Ron needed him to.
The Diablo took aim, ready to prove him wrong, when it seemed to hesitate. Suddenly it changed its cannons into claws and stood back, ready to catch something.
The Drop-Drone Wade had used to send him his gear roared out of the rain. It passed so closely over Ron sparks flew from the top of the shield on contact. It slammed into the Diablo's open claws with enough force to drive it back. It tried to snap the drone in half but it activated its afterburners before it could. The intensity of the heat was nearly unbearable, drying the rain on the ground and the air. It lifted the Diablo up and sent it over the edge of the sombrero towards the front of the building. Mid flight it finally managed to snap the drone's wing, but it was too late. The both crashed in front of the building in a series of explosions.
As soon as the drone appeared Ron spared no more thought on the Diablo. Wade had his back. Instead he focused on the EMS gun that came sliding towards him between its legs. It was almost knocked way when the Diablo lifted off but just narrowly missed. He reached down with his left hand, grasped it by the handle and took aim at the tower.
From his position, with his head pressed against the shield to support it against the onslaught, he could only see the tower with his left eye... His depth perception would be off. But he couldn't afford to miss.
Focus. Focus. Focus. FOCUS! He chanted, pouring every last bit of concentration he could spare into his left eye. He could feel it burn form the effort. Hot tears slid down the left side of his face. His vision sharpened, the rainfall slowed and he adjusted his aim. He squeezed the trigger.
The tip of the EMS gun lit up and took off towards the tower like a hornet, crashing through raindrops unlucky enough to be in its way.
Drakken,who had been cowering a safe distance away, let out a scream of despair that Ron never heard.
Seconds from impacting on the tower synthodrone 901 stepped from behind one of its platforms and reached down to grab it. It snatched it out of the air and held it up in soundless triumph. Drakken sighed in heavy relief.
Ron, however, had seen it coming. In his current state he had seen the drone move the second he had pulled the trigger and acted accordingly. He let the now useless gun drop and reached back into the pack holding Master Sensei's gift. He pulled out three, simple, four point throwing stars between his fingers and threw them without hesitation.
The first star clanged uselessly against the tower and fell down below.
The third carved a ark into the rain and disappeared into the night sky.
The second barely found its mark.
It hit the top most part of the slash on the drone's chest. It barely poked a needle wide hole in the drone. But it was enough, the pressurized synthogoo inside handled the rest. With a way out provided, the goo pushed itself through all at once, widening the hole along the cut. The drone quickly deflated and dropped the EMS dart onto the tower.
Blue electricity flowed through the tower instantly followed by a series of small explosions. Seconds later the onslaught on the shield ceased. Tentatively looking over the shield he saw the robots engulfed in electricity and shrinking down just like Wade had said they would.
Ron looked back at the tower, bits of which were still exploding, then at the sky. The Diablos that had so threateningly blanketed it before now rained as harmless toys.
He'd done it... He thought, looking at the downpour of toys in stunned amazement. He waited for the exhilaration of victory, but it never came. Against every odd he had managed to stop Drakken and Shego's sche...
Shego! He thought suddenly and turned around. At the same time his right arm finally gave out and let the shield drop with clang.
"Guh!" Ron grunted in pain. His entire right arm, from shoulder to pinky, was burning. No matter how he tried it wouldn't move on its own. It just burned and shook uncontrollably in an unnerving mixture of numbness and pain.
"Um..." He heard Drakken say. "Maybe he is all that." He said and started to carefully walk towards the stairs.
"No you don't" Ron muttered. he grabbed the edge of the shield, turned it into a staff and threw it at Drakken. It spun through the air making a heavy 'whup whup' sound.
"Gah!" Drakken exclaimed when he saw it coming and dove for the stairs. The Lotus staff hit the entrance to the stairs and crushed part of the concrete, sending rubble down the stairs. Drakkken, unfortunately, managed to make it in time.
"Tch!" Ron clicked his tongue in distaste. He scanned the destroyed helipad for Shego but found no sign of her. Whether that was good or bad was a matter of dispute. He took a step forwards in pursuit while holding his burning right arm and fell to his knees.
"Ah!" He said as pain shot through his left foot. He was just able to stop himself from faceplanting by holding himself up with his bloody left hand...
Bloody? He thought, examining it. The areas between his fingers were badly cut up. He really should have practiced more seriously with those throwing stars. From the looks of it he hadn't gripped them properly and had torn up his hand.
Behind him the tower collapse as the explosions took their toll.
Taking in a breath he coughed in pain, his chest was in on fire nearly as bad as his arm was. Drops of red splattered the ground under him and where promptly washed away. Belatedly he realized the spots of red he had been seeing since a while ago had been his own blood.
Huh? He wondered as his entire point of view shifted, he was looking to the side from really close to the ground... He had fallen over? When did that happen? Ugh! His body felt so heavy...
From this point of view he saw a green and black jet take off from the back of the building and into the night. Shego had gotten away... Safe to say Drakken had too. Bummer. Ron tried to get up but only succeeded in rolling himself face up.
His body really hurt... His head throbbed, his back ached, his arm burned, his chest pulsed along with a dozen other spots of pain. Even his left eye, which he could feel swelling shut, burned.
He lay there looking up at the falling rain while lights danced around them...
Lights? He wondered. Ah, is this what they mean by seeing stars? They don't look like stars at all, do they? More like ants... little light ants just walking around...
Ron kept staring at the ants dancing in the rain when he felt something push against his left hand. Too weak to move his head he moved his eyes as far as he could. The Lotus Staff had rolled to him...
Ah! The Lotus Blade, he couldn't just leave it. He realized he was about to faint and mustered a last, tiny bit of strength. Enough to grab the staff. It turned into a sword by itself and he realized what to do. After a few tries and shifting his body this way and that way he managed to sheath the sword in his empty scabbard.
Hope you don't mind... Ron thought, letting his body drop completely from exhaustion. He knew he didn't have the energy to get up so he just lay there, watching the ants dance until he felt something pat his head this time. Like with the Lotus, Ron glanced at whatever it was and smiled weakly. Rufus was petting him with a worried expression.
He tried to tell him not to worry but his eyes closed before he could.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron opened his eyes to very cloudy sky. A light sprinkle hit his face and made him frown. The area was lit up by that gray light that appeared whenever it was midday and cloudy. He didn't like those times, they always felt sad. He didn't dislike rain in general, only when it happened in the middle of the day. Like it was now.
He got up from the wet, grassy ground and looked around.
He was back.
Back inside the weird dream.
But it was different this time.
For one he could move normally though he still couldn't see more than vague shapes. Second was the atmosphere. It was so dreary now. He looked up and closed his eyes.
XXXXXXXXX
Ron opened his eyes halfway. But he couldn't see much, his eyes were still unfocused. He could feel people touching him and hear them talking. In the background he could hear the engine of a helicopter.
"Ok." Man 1 said. "Neck brace is secure, how's he lookin'? He asked.
"Plenty of cuts." Woman 1 answered. "And more bruises than I care to count. Cracked and/or broken ribs more than likely.
He felt gentle hands probing his body.
"He also has a nasty bump." Man 1 said, roughly checking his head. "Could be a concussion... you hear that?"
Hey! That's tender! He wanted to complain to the oaf. He closed his eyes in pain.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron opened his eyes to the same gray sky as before in confusion. What was going on?
He got up from the wet grass and looked around again. He spotted the skyscraping tree and walked towards it without trouble. The constant pressure he had felt before seemed to be completely gone now.
He stared up at the tree from its base, confused by his emotions. Like before it brought out incredible affection, he loved this tree. But now it seemed to be tinged with sadness. He kept staring up at the canopy while the light sprinkle fell on his eyes.
He blinked the water away.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron open his eyes to pain. He was being jostled into something to the sounds of helicopter alarms and crumbling concrete.
"Go, go, go!" He heard woman 1 yell over the sounds of an alarm and crumbling rock. He felt is body being pulled by what he recognized as a helicopter turning rapidly. The sounds of a building collapsing got further and further away.
"Holy crap." Man 1 said, Ron imagined him wiping sweat off his brow, "Nearly shat myself there..."
"I'm actually surprised it lasted as long as it did." Woman 1 said. "Ok, were on our way to Middleton Medical. Make sure their ready to receive. We have a long night..."
They kept talking about something but he was too tired to listen and drifted to sleep.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron opened his eyes to the gloomy gray light. He was laying in the wet grass again.
"Why..." Ron wondered as he got up. "Am I always laying down I'm the beginning of these?"
He looked around and noticed he was at the base of the tree in the same spot he had been last time. He decided to explore bit while he was here. Hopefully this blink in blink out thins wouldn't become a permanent thing... that would be awkweird.
He ran his hand over the bark of the tree while he walked around it. His hands ran over the ladder he had found before. Grasping it firmly he began to carefully climb up. He was determined on finding out what this place was, maybe the answer would be up here...
Halfway up he made the mistake of looking down. He wasn't all that afraid of heights, but when your sight was this blurry and you were this high up closing your eyes was a reflex.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron open his eyes to the glare of a bright light. It was so bright he almost closed his eyes again. Thankfully it passed by. He was left staring at some unknown ceiling glowing with a yellow light. He could hear a familiar voice speaking somewhere near him.
"What do you think you're doing!" He heard a very agitated woman say. Her voice was so familiar... It made him feel all warm and safe.
Mrs. P. He realized with relief. But she sounded agitated... What could be wrong?
"What does it look like..." He heard an annoying voice say. He didn't like it. It sounded so arrogant and entitled, as if the world owed him a favor for even being there. "Do you mind getting out of the way? Here..."
"Oof! Wha...?" Mrs. P. exclaimed. What was that? Was she in pain? What was happening!
"Hmn!" He tried to get up, but it hurt too much and he didn't have the energy.
"Oh...?" The arrogant one said. "Where's that sedative... Ah... good."
He felt a pinch on his left arm... Ah! A needle! Whyyyyy you... you... Eh?
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron opened his eyes to the gray gloom yet again. He was back at the foot of the tree staring up at the first step of the ladder.
Well that wasn't fair, he had been halfway up... Wait! Something had happened! Mrs. P. was in trouble!
He got up off the wet grass and blinked repeatedly but went nowhere. He kept on blinking but he was still in the dream place. Great, for all the times for the blinker to be on the fritz...
He looked around as if a way to wake up would suddenly crop up. How had he done it before the blinker... Right! Mr. Giant Dude had knocked him out of it...
"Duuuuude!" He yelled, walking around the tree and looking everywhere for a giant mass of yellow and white in the gray light. "I need a favor, man!"
He walked around the tree, keeping one hand on the bark, until he reached the benches he had found before. Beyond it he spotted the mass of dark gray, the stone bridge, where he had met him before. He ran towards it. Maybe if he tried to cross it again he would appear.
Turned out he didn't need to go that far.
Halfway to the bridge the giant came crashing out of the sky and landed right in front of him. The force of the impact shook the ground. Ron expected there to be a crater with the guy in the center but the ground had held. From what he could see not a single blade of grass had been blown off. Though he would have to crouch down to be sure.
"Dude..." Ron said with a smile, looking up at where he had dropped from. He had probably been somewhere up in the tree. "That had to have been a mile long drop..."
"Lemi dan a flah..." He said with a deep chuckle. "Hatt swa lyrael ripringssu, oyu wokn. hawt oyu did..."
"What?" Ron asked him with a wide smile, looking up at the blurred visage of the giant. Like before he felt incredibly happy to see the big man but had no idea why...
"But never mind that now!" He said accusingly. "I need you to do that thing you did before to wake me up again!"
The giant looked down at Ron for a while before he said anything.
"Era oyu resu?" He said. "Oyu locu seu a ters..."
"Cmon, man!" Ron begged. "I can't understand a word and Mrs. P. might be in trouble!" He pointed out.
The giant threw his head back in laughter while covering his eyes. His laugh seemed to echo throughout the area. Once he was finally done he looked down at him with what he imagined to be a smile.
"Lal griht." He said, bringing his right fist down to his face. "Hist ghitm turh, hought..."
"What?" he asked again while a giant finger shot out of his hands and hit him in the middle of the forehead.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Ow..." Ron muttered, the middle of his forehead throbbing. That would leave a bump...
He opened his eyes to a ceiling he didn't know. He was in a dark room lit by a soft light coming from a covered window next to the door.
"Where am I?" He wondered aloud...
To Be Continued...
A/N: Well how about that... Looks like our dear Ronnies troubles just wont end tonight.
Stay tuned for the next one!
Till next time.