AN: And here's chapter two! The first six will show up fast. But anyway, there's something else I wanted to mention. If you didn't already, I thought you'd like to know that two people asked and got permission to write oneshots based in this world and have each uploaded one. They're called The times we Cherish, by sailorlyoko4life, which would be set before VG5, and A Far off Memory, by shadowwolf547, set between VG5 and VG6. I thought they were nice reads and have declared them cannon, so check them out if you wanna.
Wade's Apprenticeship
Japan seemed to be completely blanketed in thick clouds for a good few days now. The rain had been heavy for just as long, to the point where even most of the cities weren't seeing nearly as much bustle on the streets anymore. Little sun had been getting through, leaving half the nation with a gloomy feeling hanging over their heads. It wasn't the happiest sight to see, that was for sure.
"This is so amazing!" However, nothing was going to mess Wade's mood up today, that was guaranteed. Kim could only shake her head as those words exploded from his mouth again. It had to have been the hundredth time in the last hour.
"Can you believe it? Bulma Briefs, the Bulma Briefs, possibly the most brilliant woman on the planet, personally chose me to work with her! And I'm only minutes away from meeting her in person!" Wade had so many stars in his eyes that they had to start floating around his head just so he could fit them all as they walked down the long path to what had to be the biggest, dome shaped building Team Possible had ever seen. The place looked like it could comfortably fit a castle inside of it. And emblazoned right across the front of it, in English, as strange as that seemed to Kim and her friends, was the name Capsule Corp.
"Yes Wade, we know. You've said the same thing, every few minutes since we first got to the airport. Back in America!" Monique exclaimed with mock exasperation, rolling her eyes.
"Now, now, Monique, let him have his moment." Felix chuckled, adjusting the umbrella coming from his wheelchair. "It is an amazing opportunity after all, just to have a conversation with any of the Briefs family. But to be noticed and handpicked to work as an apprentice to one, even from all the way on the other side of the world, and get to work in their head office of all places? That's the unreachable plateau of his profession he's reached! There's no words to describe it."
"I've got a few. Showing us up." Monique retorted amusedly, sending Wade a fake glare. "We're all set to go off to college and he gets accepted into a place where you need a series of master degrees just to apply. And he doesn't even try to apply, the woman in charge requests him! Don't I feel stupid now."
"Hey, at least you got into college. Not that I wanna anymore." Ron grinned cheekily, wrapping an arm around Kim's shoulders. "After all, that would mean that I wouldn't have time for KP or my new job on this little team."
"You just like the idea of travelling everywhere for free." Kim smiled, kissing him on the cheek as he smiled shamelessly right back. "Though, I admit it is good to have a senior member able to move around so freely."
That was the truth, a lot had changed recently. Ron had really stepped up since graduation and the alien invasion trying to take over the world, to the point where he could now stand beside Kim as an equal partner rather than a sidekick. However, that was far from the last change to occur for Team Possible. With graduation behind them and college spread out across the world close ahead, both they and their friends had been determined to spend as much time together as possible over the summer. Which was natural and common, even for Kim and Ron. What made it special however, was the fact that it had resulted in Felix and Monique coming along on a good number of missions, whether Kim knew and accepted their help or not. By the end of the first month, Kim didn't see any point in denying it anymore and had officially declared them to be part of Team Possible. It's not like she could stop them really, they'd proved time and again that they'd figure out how to tag along, and besides, it made her feel more relaxed having a bigger team. She'd felt far too unnerved lately.
Even before the invasion, Kim had had an unsettling feeling she couldn't shake. She couldn't even tell you what it was; only that it scared her. She only knew of one thing that even seemed to connect to it and that was the strange dreams she'd been having. Some were nightmares, depicting black monsters with creepy yellow eyes or men in trench coats using supernatural powers, like those of Team Go or Danny Phantom, while others were easy victories or pleasant moments with other people, heroes like herself. The only problem with those was that the people she assumed were allies or friends were always shadowed. She could never see their faces. But still, it all left her with the same feeling, one that was dramatically emphasized by the invasion and the sheer amount of luck involved in their victory: She and Ron weren't enough. Not nearly enough. They needed help. Especially since Rufus was tagging along less and less. It bothered her more than she was willing to admit and Ron and Rufus were having bouts of separation anxiety, but everyone felt better when he was staying at home near Hana. She was getting more active and energetic by the day, so their parents really needed the extra set of eyes and sneaky talents the naked mole rat provided to keep her in check. Also, she seemed to be developing the same level of attachment to the rodent as Ron, so separating them was hard. But while it helped everyone's peace of mind, Kim's team had lost a valuable asset.
So, all in all, she was very happy that the people she trusted most, outside Ron and her family, decided to step up and assist them. They hadn't figured out how it was going to work once college started, but Ron was free to travel fast, Wade could direct and work from just about anywhere and they were sure that the rest would work itself out sooner or later.
Still, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it. Right now, all they cared about was accompanying Wade to his definition of paradise.
Reaching the main entrance, Wade practically skipped inside, much to the amusement of the others. By the time they passed through the doors, he was already at the front desk, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Hello young man. How can I help you today?" The blond woman asked, smiling as brightly as the sun. Kim had to admit, she was good at her job. Her happiness didn't only look genuine, she seemed to be as happy as Wade himself was. She was a pale skinned woman, looking like she'd fit in much better in Norway than Japan, and was starting to get up there in age, but she had yet to show the first sign of genuine old age. No age lines, no grey hairs, nothing. Her fashion sense was definitely up to date too, though it did confuse her a little that she would be allowed to wear clothes like tight jeans and shoulder-less shirts in a professional company, particularly one that specialises in science and machinery. It was hardly professional or safe looking.
"Hi ma'am, I'm here to see Miss Bulma Briefs. My name's Wade."
"Oh, so you're the third one. It's wonderful to meet you." The woman's smile actually managed to grow happier as she pulled herself up. "Come with me everyone. My daughter is waiting for you and I'm sure you'll love to meet the other apprentices."
"You're daughter?" Ron cried, dropping his jaw. "But you don't look nearly old enough to be the mother of Bulma Briefs!"
"That would explain how she can dress so fashionably here." Monique grinned, nodding approvingly.
"I'm a little more surprised that we're getting through so easy." Kim sweatdropped with a grin. "Wade was like twenty feet ahead of us, not many would just assume that we were with him."
"Of course you're all invited in." Mrs Briefs chimed, taking the time to give each of them a smile. "Wade was chosen for his rather amazing exploits and many of them are connected to Kim Possible. Bulma was quite keen to meet you too my dear and your friends are more than welcome to come along."
"Thank you ma'am." Felix smiled, rolling right after her. "I hope it isn't too much bother having the rest of us tagging along."
"No, not at all." Mrs Briefs replied merrily. "I love having lots of company and the people Bulma attracts are always fun and amusing. Besides, a few of you were already expected to come with young Wade."
"We were expected?" Kim asked, raising a curious eyebrow. "I was under the impression that Wade hadn't mentioned anything."
"Yeah, I didn't. So how did you know that I'd bring company?" Wade frowned.
"Well, you came from the other side of the world, are still very young, and your parents aren't coming for another week." Mrs Brief giggled, waving her finger in the air. Naturally, that had the whole group sweatdropping and embarrassed.
"Well, when you put it that way..." Kim muttered.
"You'd expect someone to come along, wouldn't ya?" Felix mused, scratching the back of his head.
"What other option have you got, abandon a fourteen year old at an airport?" Monique rolled her eyes. Ron just laughed. He'd long embraced the fact that he was an idiot.
"So, you mentioned other apprentices." Wade commented, a little desperate to forget about that little joint blank moment. "Am I likely to know any of them?"
"I imagine so." Mrs Briefs grinned as they reached an elevator. Pressing the button, the doors opened immediately and they were happy to discover that it provided plenty of room even with Felix' chair taking up space as they headed up. "Or at least one. She's not so famous for her own work like you, but for her family in general. The other's an upcoming prodigy from Tokyo. Now there's an interesting boy. He does things more smoothly than even my husband."
"Seriously!" Kim and Wade cried, both of them gaping at the laughing woman before Wade went on. "But Mr Briefs is a world renowned genius! He designed, developed and constructed the Capsule program all by himself! How could anyone possibly do things better than him?"
"I don't know, but he found a way." Mrs Briefs shrugged happily right as the elevator came to a stop. "Well, here we are. Welcome to my home."
"Home?" Ron barely had time for a confused frown before the doors opened to reveal a massive room that could only be a part of living space. Most of it was split into three areas, a decently sized kitchen, a dining area and a much larger lounging area with long, comfortable looking couches, coffee table and a huge TV that was currently displaying cartoons for two little boys, who just so happened to... "Holy cow, those boys are floating in the air!"
"Yeah, they tend to do that." Mrs Briefs laughed, guiding the stunned group of teenagers in, drawing both boys' attention. "These are my grandson, Trunks, and Goten Son. His family is very close to ours. Boys, meet, Wade and his friends. Wade's the third apprentice."
"Sup." The purple haired boy barely passed them a smirk before turning his attention back to the TV. The other however, was much more sociable.
"Hi! I'm Goten! And hey, you're Kim Possible, right?" The teens barely had time to gasp before a bright, smiling face and a mop of black, messy hair was right up in Kim's face. "You're a great hero, like our Dads and my brother. Gohan thinks highly of you."
"Your Dad's a hero? Do they all fly too?" Ron asked, staring at the boy in wonder.
"Gohan...?" Kim however, was lost in thought. That one word had her receding into her head as an image of a teenage boy looking much like Goten floated before her mind's eye before disappearing within a golden light. "Gohan...Saiyaman."
"Huh? What was that, KP?"
"Hey, that's the silly codename Gohan uses sometimes! You know of him?"
"I...yeah." Kim nodded with a frown, turning back and forth from her confused boyfriend and the excited little boy. "I don't know how, but yeah, I know him. I...I think I met him."
"But Ron hasn't?" Felix exclaimed, thrown off by the completely nonplussed look her response caused on his friend's face. "How did that work out?"
"I have no idea! Especially since...I feel like he was my friend. Is he here right now too?" Kim asked hastily, turning back to the happy kid before someone could ask something else. Unfortunately, she was quickly disheartened when Goten shook his head.
"Sorry, he took off with a boy and a talking duck to try and find the duck's uncle. He said something about the duck uncle bringing doom."
"No, he called him 'The Duck of Doom', moron." Trunks butted in, rolling his eyes, though never once looking back. "Some talking duck got turned into a super villain and they want to turn him back to normal. Apparently he's a mouse king' s magician. Wouldn't have believed any of it if the other talking duck hadn't shown up here and ran around faster than we can fly."
"Seriously? Talking ducks and mouse kings? Do we need to find a grown up to talk to or did we fall into Wonderland?" Monique cried, staring at everyone in wild disbelief. Not that she was the only one, Felix and Wade looked just as dubious about all of it, though Ron seemed to be in awe of it all.
Kim however, didn't notice any of it. The claims of mouse king and a duck magician had her head pulsing yet again, bringing new images and thoughts with it. For just a moment, what felt so greatly like memories ripped themselves from some deep fog in the back of her head that she hadn't even noticed was there before and revealed themselves. This time, it was full images, every one of them depicting a humanoid duck in Wizarding wear and carrying a wand with a star in it and a mouse that's ears reached a little higher than her knee in black clothes and wielding a giant gold and silver key.
'Keyblade.' She had no clue where that word came from, but the instant she focused on that key, the word demanded to be known and was quickly followed by a series of other images that came through so fast that they hurt her head. A demonic looking blade with a white wing coming from it in the hands of a tall, silver haired teen, a Keyblade covered in flowers and wielded by a sweet looking, red haired girl, a very complex blue and white blade in the hands of a brunette boy with a very kind face. And then, with far more detail than any before, a blond boy that sent a great flood of happiness and sadness through her heart crossed her mind, bearing two Keyblades, one black and deadly and one white, bearing what looked a bit like a snowflake at the end. This one she knew very well, she was sure of that. But something bad had happened to him, she was sure of that too. She just didn't have a clue what.
"Roxas." The word was barely a whisper. No one else in the room could have possibly heard it as they argued with the boys over the truth of their claims, Mrs Brief just laughing at the scene. But still, it was enough to bring both a smile and tears to Kim's face. The image of him in her head was becoming clearer by the second, bringing what had to be other flickers of memories of him with it. She could see him relaxing with Gohan, who was only becoming clearer in her mind too, the more she focused. She could see him playing soccer with her and the other shadowy figures that had been plaguing her dreams. And, she could see him comforting and caring for another face that was leaving the fog behind. A blond girl...
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Kim gasped as a bright, happy voice shot right through her thoughts, snapping her back to reality. Turning to the door, she found a smiling woman with blue hair and eyes who looked to be in her thirties at the most. Unlike Mrs Briefs, she was wearing a lab coat and her clothes were much more suitable for lab purposes, though she still had plenty of fashion flare about her and had just as happily forgone any attempts at looking professional. Still, her eyes held the look of plenty of intellect, something she was very accustomed to seeing with her parents. There was no doubt in her mind who this was, even if she hadn't seen her in Wade's magazines or on TV before. "I'm Bulma. It's nice to finally meet you all. Please, take a seat."
"It's about to get boring in here." Trunks sighed, taking one look around the room before snagging Goten by the arm. "Come on, let's go to the training room."
"YEAH!" Trunks almost hit his head on the floor as Goten cheered and sped up so fast that he was now dragging Trunks. Reaching the elevator, he opened the door, completely ignoring that the elevator was already gone, before quickly turning back to the still awestruck teenagers and amused women. "Nice to meet you, Kim Possible and friends! I hope to see you later. Maybe you could even train with us! Bye!" And with that, both boys shot down the elevator shaft faster than the eye could follow, leaving only a stunned silence in their wake.
"Well, that was unusual. And weird. " Monique muttered.
"Do they by any chance have all the powers of the Z Fighters?" Wade asked, turning curiously back to Bulma. "They mentioned that their Dads and brother were heroes. Goten's appearance and their flight suggests that that's the group they're talking about."
"That's right. I'm impressed that you know that name. Not surprised though." Bulma smiled, adding a wink to the end.
"Z Fighters?" Ron asked, looking lost once again, not that Felix and Monique looked much different. "Who are they?"
"A group of heroes that protect Japan. They're said to be the most powerful team in the world." Kim answered immediately, getting a round of raised eyebrows and dropped jaws from all of her friends, minus Wade. That was expected though, she was even surprising herself. "The group has had a total of six members so far, two of which are unfortunately dead now, and all of them were aliens. Three Saiyans, two Saiyan-human hybrids and a Nemakian. They were slowly gathered over time by the winner of the last World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku Son. Each of them has the power of Ki manipulation, allowing them to learn how to fly and unleash a series of energy related techniques, super strength, durability and speed at simply ridiculous levels and all of them are master martial artists."
"All correct." Bulma nodded, a knowing smile planted firmly on her face the whole time Kim was talking. "In addition to a few other tricks specific to their species."
"If that's all true, how come none of us have ever heard of them?" Felix asked, though there wasn't a shred of disbelief anywhere on him. In fact, he was leaning forward in his chair, keen to learn more.
"And if Kim knows about them, how come I don't?" Ron cried frustratedly, only to freeze a second later, his growing wide. "Actually...I, I kinda think that it sounds familiar, but I can't figure out from where."
"I've felt like that for a while now myself." Wade admitted, looking thoroughly perplexed for the first time in Kim's life. "I'm not entirely sure how I learned of them either."
"Everything I said just popped in my head within the last five minutes." Kim admitted softly, just as lost as the boys. "How is that possible? And why do I feel like I've been here and met you before, Bulma? Have I done a mission here before?" She asked, frowning deeply at the genius. Who, Kim was ready to guarantee, knew exactly what was going on. That knowing smile hadn't left her face yet.
"I do have information on that to share, but we'll get to that a little later." That wasn't the answer Kim wanted to hear, but she couldn't voice her irritation as Bulma turned her smile from her to Wade. "Right now, how about we tour the lab and I show what and who you're going to be working with here?"
"We can go now?" Well, that settled it. Wade was up and looked like a kid in a toy store that had just been told he could have every toy he liked. There was no way that Kim or the others could rain on his parade now.
"Well, I see no reason not to." Bulma nodded before turning to the others. "The rest of you are welcome to come along now too if you like, but if you would rather stay here, you are welcome to. As she would have mentioned already, Mom loves guests. You can of course, check everything out for yourselves anytime during your stay."
"Sweet! I'll stay here." Ron instantly declared, sinking back comfortably into the couch. "I still haven't ditched my jetlag yet."
"I'd love to talk some fashion." Monique stated, turning to Mrs Brief with a smile. "I'm studying it in college next semester and I'd love to get a handle on the current 'what's hot' line in Japan, if you don't mind."
"Oh, I'd love to!" Mrs Briefs nodded merrily. "Bulma and I have plenty of magazines around here. We can talk all day."
"Wonderful! That's perfect!"
"Would it be possible to show me the training room on the way?" Wade asked. "I'd like to see how those boys train. It's similar to these Z Fighter parents of theirs, right?"
"Exactly like them. I'll be happy to show you, it's not all that far out of the way to the lab." Bulma nodded, getting a big smile and a thankyou in return.
"Well, you two have fun. I'm gonna come along." Felix stated, an excited smile of his own spreading wide across his face. "This place is awesome, even my Mom thinks highly of the company. I gotta check it out."
"I'll come too. Someone should probably be there for actually supporting Wade." Kim declared, giving a beaming Wade a proud look as everyone leaving got to their feet.
"Ok, then lets head out." Bulma cheered, her knowing smile turning into a pleased one as she headed back towards the elevator . "We've got a lot of ground to cover."
'And a lot more surprises on the way.' Kim was absolutely sure of it. Bulma knew a lot about the things suddenly appearing in her head. She had a lot of answers. Every look that had crossed her face since she'd first entered the room reeked of hidden knowledge and it only grew greater when Kim gave information she couldn't remember learning. She'd been in the game far too long not to notice it. Hell, her brothers gave it to her every week. The only question was, were the answers she had good or troublesome?