Unpleasant News

Kim Possible fanfiction

immo - rated not for kids

author's note: Here's the official first chapter to The Twelve. Lets do a little disclaimer here, this has slash in it, and if anybody's uncomfortable, please don't continue reading. I respect your right to be uncomfortable, please respect my right to love slashing.

Ron knocked on the door one more time.

Waited.

"I know you're in there, KP."

No answer.

He blew out a breath in frustration. He had been coming almost every day, several times a day. He had taken to doing his homework outside Kim's apartment, his back to the door.

"Go in?" Rufus looked up at his master, but the blonde shook his head. Kim needed time. Even though it had been a good long while, he knew better than to rush her. He was her best friend, what didn't he know? Sure, he was a goof at times, but he knew.

Of course, he was only human and sometimes he got impatient.

"Kim! I swear I'm going to kick down this door! You know I can, too!"

But he never did.

Kim retained her silence, for the most part. But he would catch the sound of crying sometimes and feel absolutely miserable that he could do nothing for his best friend. Feel absolutely helpless in the face of her depression and wonder if he should just go, if he was a bother.

"Ron?"

He had fallen asleep beside her door again.

"Kim!" Rufus' tiny voice woke him completely, and he turned around to look up at Kim. She looked horrible, he couldn't help thinking. Looked like she hadn't slept in days. But the smile on her face was as beautiful and inspiring as ever.

"Thanks."

The blonde grinned, getting up to his feet hastily.

"You should stop coming here. I'm no use."

"Until you stop thinking like that, I'm here everyday. KP." Ron said stubbornly. Once in a while, Kim would open the door and talk to him. Usually a thank you. Today was one of those days that felt like he was rewarded for his persistence. "Come on. How about we go grab some dinner?"

"Ron," Kim's face crumpled a bit. 'Ron, please--"

The familiar sound of the Kimmunicator going off interrupted whatever Kim was going to say. And before Ron could even decide whether or not to answer, Wade's voice could be heard.

"Ron! Ron, are you there?"

Ron quickly put his foot in the doorway so Kim couldn't close the door.

"One second, KP." Ron begged. Monique, the twins, Wade, Dr. Lipsky (a.k.a the reformed Dr. Drakken) and him were all that was left of Team Possible. They had more people than they started out with, sure; but recently, they had been getting a lot of calls. A lot of weird calls. And if this was one of them again...

"Ron here."

Wade's familiar face was a welcome sight. "Get to the Possible house, we have guests."

Kim had walked into the apartment while Ron was talking, but now she was back at the doorway listening intently.

"Um, what kinda guest?" Ron asked nervously, aware of Kim's scrutinization.

"The kind from where we got Kim back from."

"Kimmie-cub!" Her parents were ecstatic to see her, rushing from their seats to embrace her, with everyone else lined up to get a little bit of Kim. The redhead, after her self-imposed isolation, felt overwhelmed by this show of affection.

"Girl, where have you been?" Monique was the next in line to hug Kim. Her brothers joined in and then everybody decided it was a free-for-all group hug, with even Dr. Lipsky in the mix.

"Hey, guys." Kim gave them a pained smile. Her smile dropped a little when she noticed the abbot, Nam Ho, and his brother, Vince a.k.a Cheung, standing there in her family's dining room.

"Nam Ho. Cheung." Kim addressed them, a careful expression on her face. What had brought them here?

"Hey," Cheung gave her a smile, and she couldn't help feeling a little bit happy to see an old friend. A diamond stud gleamed in his ear. His signature accessory. Kim felt so nostalgic as that gem sparkled and gleamed in the light. "How are you?"

"I'm... fine." Kim lied. "How are ah Fong and Ting--your son?"

Cheung grimaced at the reminder of his daughter who had never been. "They're fine. Fong is doing well and David is getting fatter by the second."

"Great." There was an awkward silence again. Then Vince spread his arms shyly, a small smile on his face. "Five months of not seeing you and I don't even get a hug?"

Kim genuinely smiled this time and embraced the Chinese man in a hug. His scent was so familiar, woodsmoke, the smell of foreign foods that had not been so foreign to her five months ago, his cologne. It brought some happy tears to her eyes. Vince, however small his role, was part of that world where she had first known Shego. Really known Shego.

"Smiles, Kim." Vince gave her that dimply smile again and motioned for everyone to take a seat. In Chinese, teasingly, he added, "Just come from a workout? You smell like you'd been attacked by skunks!"

Kim had a decency to look a little bit embarassed and was glad that only Nam Ho could understand the words.

"Be a little bit more polite, sai lo." Nam Ho scolded, noting Kim's reddening cheeks. Cheung only laughed a bit and spared Kim to give some attention to Tigger, who had decided to lie on his back at the Chinese man's side until he got a belly-rub from Vince.

"Sooo..." Mr. Dr. Possible was first to speak, looking from Vince to Kim. Actually, glaring at Vince and then giving Kim a panicky look. "How do you know my daughter?"

"We're friends, sir." Cheung, not noticing how close he was to death, answered innocently. "We met in She Cun, when she was there with Shego."

That name caused everybody to stir a little bit. Everyone looked like they wanted to ask questions, but they all looked like they didn't know where to start. Dr. Lipsky spoke up first.

"Shego... was there with you since six, seven years ago, am I correct?" He asked. Cheung nodded. Dr. Lipsky continued. "Was she... was she happy there?"

Kim knew the answer before Vince said it, of course.

"She was very happy there." Vince said simply. Dr. Lipsky's shoulders slumped a bit. He had wanted Shego to have missed him...

"But she did say from time to time if a certain... Dr. D?... would be okay without her."

Dr. Lipsky brightened up a bit more now. "She did? Well, of course she did!" He turned to Tim, beaming a smile that threatened to break his face in half. "Shego worries about me!"

"You must be her Dr. D, then." Cheung nodded and grinned at the blue-coloured man. The doctor, was beside himself with emotion. Looking right and left at the gathering, everyone could see that tears were starting to form at the corners of his eyes.

"Yes. I'm her Dr. D." He sniffled loudly. "ScusemeIhavesomethinginmyeye."

With that hurried excuse, Dr. Lipsky exited the room.

"Well." Abbot Nam Ho looked around at the table. "I'd like to say how sorry my brother and I are, to have disturbed you this late in the evening. Our flight was delayed and we thought we'd be able to make it here by late afternoon at latest."

"Its no problem." Now assured that there was nothing going on between his daughter and these men, Mr. Dr. Possible was in a more hospitable mood. "The two of you should stay the night! Its not often that we have guests! Well, other than Ronald, but he's practically family!"

"Thank you so much for the offer." Vince nodded his head in thanks and Mr. Dr. Possible mimed the action self-importantly. "And we didn't bring any gifts--"

"That's quite alright." Mrs. Dr. Possible smiled warmly. "There's no need for that!"

The polite back-and-forth between the parents and the guests would have gone on for quite some time, one might imagine, if Kim hadn't cleared her throat to get everyone attention.

"Nam Ho, Cheung, I'm happy to see the both of you, really." Kim conjured up a ghost of a smile. "But I think you guys have a reason to be here? Not like you're not welcome, but I don't think this is just a simple housecall."

The Chinese brothers exchanged looks, looking very much like any two brothers trying to pass off the dirty work to the other. Finally, in this silent communication, Vince sighed, signalling his defeat. Running a hand over his shorn scalp, he glanced around nervously.

"Kim. We... we need you to come back with us to--"

"NO!" Several voices shouted at once. But it was Kim's quiet 'no' that made them pause.

"No." Kim repeated herself calmly, just to make sure she was heard.

"But--"

"No." Kim shook her head and pushed away from the table. Her face was devoid of any emotion. "I don't want to go back. Ever. I can't."

"Kim--"

"Stop. There's nothing you can possibly say that can make me go back to She Cun, or to Er Mei, or ANYWHERE in China for that matter." The redhead put her hands over her ears. The childish gesture made Vince look at Nam Ho in exasperation.

"I'm going to bed." The redhead announced when it seemed that nobody else would try to change her mind. "Goodnight."

As she made for the exit to the dining room, Mrs. Dr. Possible called out hopefully. "Upstairs?"

Kim paused. It had been a while. And she didn't want these people, these people that she associated with Shego, to know that things were out of the ordinary. She wanted, no, Kim Possible needed them to believe that she was doing fine.

"Don't I always sleep upstairs, mom?" Kim smiled. "Goodnight, everyone!"

When Kim had exited, Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Possible shot the two men a stern look.

"She's not going back there. It took us forever to get her back."

Nam Ho and Cheung took a few seconds to confer with each other in hushed Chinese, then turned back to the Possible clan and Team Possible, all who were glaring at the two in a very unwelcoming way.

"We're sorry to have disturbed you." Nam Ho apologized nicely. "Please forgive us. We're not here to take your daughter. We're here to ask her for help. Her and Team Possible. As she has prior knowledge of our village, we wanted to contact her before we try any other organization. We really need help."

"What kinda help?" Monique, substitute leader of Team Possible asked.

"Its... actually, maybe..." Vince started to say and trailed off, looking at his brother for help.

"Maybe, we should talk to everyone about this tomorrow." Nam Ho helped his floundering brother. And everyone present knew that the 'everyone' Nam Ho referred to was Kim. "We'll leave after we explain our situation, and if Kim doesn't want to take up this case, then we understand, and we'll leave."

"Well, then I guess there's nothing more to be said here." Mrs. Dr. Possible rose from her seat, a pleasant smile on her face. She was pretty happy because from her daughter's reaction, she knew that Kim would not be going with them. "Can I show you gentlemen to your room? We only have one guest room, I'm afraid--"

"You don't need to trouble yourself because of us," Abbot Nam Ho grinned. "We're used to sleeping on rocks. Anything you offer in this lovely house of yours would be infinitely better than what we have to make do with at home."

Cheung grinned and then put on a pious look. "We're simple folk from the countryside."

As Mrs. Dr. Possible got the guests settled in, Kim was standing in the middle of her room, alone, feeling awkward. A scratching at her door was the only warning she got before Tigger's head peeked in. He gave her a low whine and pawed the air, requesting permission for admission.

"Come here, boy." Kim motioned. That was all the permission Tigger needed and the black-faced dog bounced up on the bed happily.

"Hey girl," Monique and Ron were next. "Mind if we come in too?"

"Why not." Kim sighed. She turned to look at her assortment of stuffed animals, lined up for her perusal.

"I'm so glad to see you home, sweetheart." Mr. Dr. Possible was next. Seeing that there was already people inside, he stepped into the room hopefully.

"I'm not home." Kim whispered to herself. Nobody heard her.

Home. What a... strange concept. She recognized all these things, all these people that she had such a close connection with. Each momento, each little item placed carefully in the room was all done by her hands. But why was it that everytime she looked at that soft inviting bed, this familiar room and the people who loved her so much... there seemed to be such a disconnect. Her room in Er Mei was home. Beautiful canopied bed, cotton sheets that smelled of... a person. Braziers blazing warmly in winter. No matter how cold it got, it was always kept warm for her. A body next to her, breathing softly at night and holding her so lovingly that Kim believed that in those arms she would never ever EVER be hurt. And that she could never ever be happier than in that protective embrace.

'Home.' Kim thought with a pang of anguished longing.

Her room had become slightly crowded while she was giving her room a once-over. Tim and Jim were at the doorway, respecting their sister's privacy by not entering her room without her express permission which was a complete 180 from what they usually did. Which was storm their older sister's room despite all her attempts to keep them out. Mrs. Dr. Possible had settled the guests in the extra room and had also decided to drop in on Kim and see how she was doing. There was just too many people... and to make them leave, she promised to stay the night and excused herself into the bathroom to wash and change.

'Shego.' She was so sick of thinking of that name, saying that name. Seeing a flash of green and black in the corners of her vision... turning hopefully even though she knew it wouldn't be her. Kim took off her shirt, exposing pale white skin underneath. Her body, even after a few months of relative inactivity, still retained its glorious form. Not as muscular as when she was at Er Mei, but still a body any gymnast would have envied.

She stepped into the bathtub and turned on the shower, starting a bit as the cold water hit her body. Gradually, the temperature of the water rose, colouring Kim's skin an angry red.

'Like a lobster,' The redhead thought idly as she reached for the shampoo. She felt a little bit embarassed by Cheung's comment. She had been neglecting her hygiene lately...

Out of the shower, her room had emptied out and only Ron and Monique were there. And of course, the animals.

"Sleepover!" Ron said hopefully. Sleeping bags had been spread out all over the floor, and Tigger had already made himself comfortable, sleeping on his back with his tongue lolling out. Rufus had his nightcap on already and was doing his nightly calisthenics on her dresser. He also had a space spread out for himself amongst her cuddle buddies.

Kim smiled in resignition, suddenly too tired to argue. Seeing Abbot Nam Ho and Cheung in Middleton had sapped all the energy out of her. All she wanted to do was sleep. And her two friends saw that and respected that up to a point. When Kim had settled into her sheets and was about to fall asleep, she was awoken briefly by someone climbing up onto the bed.

"No, Tigger." The heroine said sleepily.

"I'm not the dog." Monique said simply before she settled under the covers next to Kim. The redhead felt herself freeze as her friend draped an arm over her and pulled her close.

"Don't go nowhere." Monique whispered worriedly. Kim gave the barest hint of a nod, which Monique couldn't catch in the dark.

Seeing that her best girl friend was still waiting for a reply, Kim cleared her throat. "Alright."

Before long, Ron had joined them, swearing that he was gentleman and that there would be no hanky-panky. Both Ron and Monique fell asleep before Kim did. The redheaded woman sandwiched between her best friends felt oddly... good. She hadn't felt like this in a long time. It was warm and reminded her so much of her time in Er Mei.

'I could close my eyes and pretend.' Kim closed her eyes and did just that, trying to imagine Shego's scent and her deep even breathing.

For the first time in a long while, Kim drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Sunlight woke her.

Kim opened her eyes blearily, confused when she saw plaster stucco ceiling instead of the wooden beams of her roof in Er Mei.

'Right. I'm not there anymore.' Kim blinked the sleep out of her eyes and looked around the room. The sleeping bags had been cleaned up and Monique, Rufus and Ron were nowhere to be seen. Tigger was the only one there. The german shepherd dog jumped up onto the bed, snuffling and licking Kim's face until he was sure that she was truly awake. After determining this fact, he leaped off the bed and bounded out of the room, barking excitedly.

"Hm." Kim looked after the dog, at a loss, not knowing what to do next.

'I shold probably make myself presentable and see off Cheung and his brother.' Kim decided. It had been a while since her day had a goal of any sort. It was hard for her to get from step one to step two. But finally, after a short time in the bathroom, she deemed herself presentable and headed downstairs. A delicious scent wafted up the stairs and she found herself hurrying a bit. She knew this smell.

"Just in time. Grubs up!" Cheung grinned, his diamond stud winking at her. He had just come out of the kitchen to place a covered pot on the dining table.

"Kim Possible!" Dr. Lipsky greeted her with a raised fork. He had a napkin tucked under his chin and a knife in the other hand, looking very eager for the meal to start. Ron and Monique grinned at her mischievously.

"Zao an." Kim said good morning in Chinese, a sheepish smile on her face.

"Bu shi zao an, shi wu an." Cheung corrected. "Good afternoon. Not good morning. We decided to let you sleep in. Our flight isn't until tonight, anyways."

"Sorry," Kim apologized, taking a seat next to Ron.

"We went grocery shopping while you were sleeping, KP." Ron informed excitedly. "We're having Chinese!"

"No chickenballs, though." Monique said teasingly. Ron and Dr. Lipsky blushed to the tips of their ears.

"Where's my family?" Kim looked around the dining room.

"Jim and Tim's been missin' too much schooltime. Mama Possible sent them off in the morning." Monique informed. "Your dad just popped out to get something, he's staying home today. Your mother was gonna stay home too, but she got an urgent call from the hospital so she couldn't stay."

"But we'll leave some food for her, of course." Abbot Nam Ho called from the kitchen. He came out of the kitchen with a platter of noodles, its scent causing all within the room to wish that they could start eating ASAP.

"Off the table, Tigger." Kim scolded when she saw that the dog had taken a seat next to Monique. The dog looked balefully at Kim then let out a series of high-pitched barks, then directed them at Rufus who was sitting on the table, fork and knife ready. He even had a napkin tied around his neck.

"What?" the naked molerat asked.

Kim sighed. "Fine, Tigger. You can stay. But you're not serving yourself."

Tigger barked a happy affirmative.

"This is so awesome!" Ron's eyes were as wide as platters as more and more food was brought out, a worthy spread for lunchtime in everyone's opinion. "You two have to give me the recipe for everything!"

"Really simple." Abbot Nam Ho replied cheerily, bringing the last of the dishes to the table. "But you must invest in a wok."

"I'm back!" Mr. Dr. Possible's voice floated in from the front hallway, accompanied by the slamming of the door. "Mmmm... Something smells DEE-licious! Is that Ronald's doing?"

"No sir," Ron called back. Mr. Dr. Possible ducked his head into the dinng room, holding a couple of bottles of coca-cola under his arms.

"Sir, this is our way of thanking you for letting us stay the night." Nam Ho and Cheung stood up as soon as Mr. Dr. Possible entered the room, giving him a polite nod. Overwhelmed by this show of courtesy, father Possible stood up a bit straighter and gave them a manly nod back. Lunch went by fast, with everybody trying to get as much food as possible. There were brown-coloured flat noodles stir-fried with beef, baby bok choi cooked with garlic, chicken fried rice, another vegetable dish with a leafy plant Cheung called 'choi sum', a sort of vegetable pancake that tasted better than it looked, a chicken that had been baked with salt and so on. Saving food for Mrs. Dr. Possible had looked impossible, if Cheung hadn't revealed that he had the foresight to save some already before he brought the dishes out.

"If you guys didn't like it, then I thought I could have just wrapped it up and you could have thrown it away when I left." Cheung grinned, revealing his face-saving method. "My cooking skills aren't what they used to be since I stopped living the bachelor's life. Fong is a much better cook than I am."

"But you have me around." Abbot Nam Ho chuckled. "I'm a great cook."

The brothers' relationship had gotten a lot better since Kim had last seen them. But then of course, they had been on opposing sides. After lunch, the brothers disappeared upstairs to pack and Kim ended up wandering into the room to watch them. When they were done packing, Cheung looked up at Kim and smiled tentatively.

An alarm rang in Kim's head at the look Cheung was directing at her. 'Uh-oh.'

"Kim--"

"Stop, Cheung." Kim pleaded. "Don't."

Vince's smile immediately turned into a grimace. Nam Ho didn't say anything and just watched the two.

"I'll drive you two to the airport--"

"Damnit, Kim!" Cheung stood up and threw his bag across the room. In his anger, he started speaking Chinese. "Why can't you just listen? We need you! I thought we were friends!"
"We are friends, Cheung." Kim said soberly, both of them aware of the fact that people had come to the door when they had heard the commotion. "But I can't do this for you. I..."

"You loved her." Vince said matter-of-factly. But it sounded so much like an accusation to Kim, who cringed a little at this simple truth that she had tried to keep hidden from everyone since she got back. "I'm right, aren't I? Its because of that. That's why you can't come back. And that's why you looked like such a mess when we came looking for you."

"Stop it, Vince--"

"No, I won't." Cheung looked eagerly at Kim, desperately at the red-headed heroine. "If you love her--"

"Don't." The warning tone was sharp, her eyes showed pain and anger. "Vince. Since you're my friend, I have to tell you you just crossed a line. Don't... don't use her."

"Okay," Mr. Dr. Possible cleared his throat, reminding the three that they had an audience. "That's quite enough. I don't know what you're fighting about, but it stops now."

Cheung looked from the group huddled at the door and then back to Kim. Making a sound of frustration, he spread out his arms in a beseeching gesture.

"Kim--"

"Cheung, stop." Nam Ho placed a hand on his younger brother's shoulder, interrupting him. "Kim's made a final decision. We will respect it."

Kim nodded, adamant. Her mask slipped, she could feel tears burning her eyes, threatening to fall. "Don't ask me to do this, Cheung. Its so hard."

"Kim, someone stole her body!" Vince screamed. Tears flowed from his eyes and he wiped them away angrily, but couldn't help it as a sob, then another escaped his throat.

The whole world seemed to tilt and there was the sound of the wind screaming in her ears. It wasn't until Ron's hands had reached out to steady her that she realized that her legs had given out underneath her. Her mouth felt parched and the same feeling of... non-reality, that same feeling she felt when Shego had died took over. Everything seemed hazy and unreal, sound entered her ears filtered and diluted, like she was underwater.

"Kimmie-cub!" Mr. Dr. Possible's frantic face filled her vision, bringing her back to the here and now. His cold hand on her forehead shocked her back to life.

"What?" Kim asked. She looked at Nam Ho, desperate to have heard wrong. "Nam Ho, is this true?"

The Abbot nodded, regretful that the truth had come out. "I didn't think it was a good idea to come here and bother you with this..."

"Not tell me?" Kim asked incredulously. "I have a right to know!" Something suddenly occurred to her and she looked at the two men with mounting anger. "How long ago did this happen?"

Nam Ho coughed, trying to cover up his discomfort, shifted a bit on the spot, unable to look the redhead in the eye.

"A week after you left, Kim." Cheung's voice was choked up with tears. "Almost five months."

"Since I... I..." Kim stopped, unable to find the words as she stumbled a bit again, her vision whitening at the edges. She felt like she was going to barf up her huge lunch.

"Girl, don't you scare me." Monique was in front of her now, slapping her lightly. "Concentrate on me, Kim. Good, good. God, what is going on? Can someone speak English here, please!"

"Translation:" Kim straightened up, the murderous look in her eyes stunned Monique a bit. "Team Possible's going back to She Cun. We're going back to China."

endnote: Well, sorry that took so long. But better slow than never, right? Lets hope my muse inspires me this year and I churn out more of these for all you readers! Complaints, comments, etc... are so welcome and keep me going :D