Ch. 05

To say Shego was surprised was an understatement. The words second Ron was saying, his actions and the fact he was in pain yet refused to move, choosing to protect her with his own body, affected her greatly. She found herself enjoying the moment, being protected and cared for, it was something she hadn't felt in a long time. Though all too soon it came to an end. This Ron's voice was getting weaker and he had started coughing blood, an alarming amount of blood.

Shego struggled to look into his face, beginning to use her hands to move his body aside and out of the line of fire but to no effect. She felt like she was trying to move a mountain and no amount of her superhuman strength had any effect. Then, his body started to fade. Seeing this, Shego began calling out to him, trying to reason with him that he should just move out of the way but if he heard her, he made no move to answer.

At this point, the first Ron and his weapon were nowhere to be seen. Shego was beginning feel that something was wrong but she could not think of what. All that kept coming to mind was that Ron was disappearing around her and in moments he would be gone. Soon, the only thing left to remind her that he was there, was the warmth she felt around herself and the leather jacket on her shoulders. That's when Shego felt the world around her begin to collapse, as she started to regain consciousness.

~~~~~

Shego was by no means an overly emotional type of person, preferring to keep them mostly to herself. So when she opened her eyes to Ron's face, her emotions went from shock to mounting amounts of anger. She doubted she's been anywhere nearly as angry all her life. The implications of Ron's presence in her bedroom and on top of her threatened to drive her mad with fury.

Then, her surroundings started coming into focus. Firstly, the fire sprinklers, followed by the smoke. Next was the scent of burning flesh, which came faintly, mostly masked by the smoke.

Looking down, Shego became aware that her plasma coated hands were holding onto Ron's wrist and throat, as well as the fact that his body was not on top of her but at her side. Willing her power to stop and lessening the strength in her hands, Shego was preparing to question him, when as soon as the strength in her hands decreased, he collapsed next to her. Sitting up, Shego remembered how a second Ron had appeared in her dream and after apologizing and protecting her he disappeared. Shego connected the second Ron to his actual self and was beginning to think she killed him.

Just when she was about to check the truth of the matter, she felt a blade at her neck and froze. A shadow was at her left and had yet to make a sound but the threat was obvious. Two other shadows appeared on her right, moving to collect Stoppable's body. Against her better judgment she called out.

"Hey, what are you doing with Stoppable's body?" Shego yells, beginning to move her right arm to intercept them.

"You would do well to stay still." The shadow to her left warns, the blade beginning to bite into her skin. Heeding the advice, Shego nods, feeling a drop of blood flow down where the blade touches her skin.

The two shadows carefully collected Stoppable's body. One of them carrying him in a princess carry and the other at its side, keeping its eyes on her, watching for sudden movement. Then, all three shadows disappeared as if it was all her imagination. Shego hurriedly yells after them, needing to know if she crossed a line she never intended to cross. "Did I kill him?"

Her reply was a whisper that she could not place the direction of.

"He still draws breath."

Letting out the breath she did not realize she was holding, Shego reclines back taking the information in.

~~~~~

Yamanouchi Ninja School Japan

"Oh, this may prove troublesome." Master Sensei's eyes once again open in his meditation. "Yori, make immediate travel arrangements for us, Stoppable-san is in need of my assistance." He commands in Japanese, trusting that his instructions will be carried out and closes his eyes again. There was much to do and not enough time.

Entering his meditation again, he gathered his Ki and prepared to use a technique very similar to the one Ron used to enter Shego's dream. Once ready, Master Sensei directed his astral form to leave his body and appear in front of the three ninjas that were with Ron. None of them appeared surprised at the glowing blue form of Master Sensei, though that could've been their training.

"Take him to his home in Middleton at the fastest speed." Master Sensei commands, still speaking Japanese and already moving to Ron to begin 'first aid' if you will. Placing his hands on Ron's abdomen, he channeled his Ki into him, to replenish some of Ron's depleted reserves. Although it all sounds simple, it was extremely difficult and dangerous to do. If his Ki was not in strict control while entering Ron's body, instead of helping, it would be like passing a blade through his veins and nervous system. Master Sensei felt over half his Ki being drained and the ninjas around him saw his astral form dim but he succeeded in stabilizing the situation.

"Call for transportation, he must get to Rufus-san immediately." Master Sensei adds, sounding weary before disappearing.

Moments later, Master Sensei appears in the Stoppable home, more accurately, in Ron's bedroom. He was expecting to have to wake up Rufus but the little guy was awake and moving around in a hurry. 'Seems like he sensed the trouble with his companion.'

Master Sensei calls out to him, switching over to English, to ensure that he is understood. "Rufus-san, I am in need of your hel-"

Rufus turns at the sound of his voice, cutting him off mid sentence. "Ron! Danger!! Help!!!"

"I am aware of what's happened and have already stabilized the situation." Master Sensei says calmly, trying to assure Rufus. "He is on his way here and will arrive in minutes, but he will need your help if he is to make it pass this trial."

"What to do?" asks Rufus, already prepared to do anything.

Master Sensei nods at the loyalty and commitment Rufus was showing. "You must focus and gather your MMP, since it is of a common origin with Stoppable-san and when he arrives, channel your power into him but be warned the slightest mistake will cause more harm than good."

"How?" Rufus questions, seeking advice.

"I will show you." Answers Master Sensei. "Enter the lotus position and relax. Once you have centered your mind, let me know and I will begin channeling my power into you, so that you can experience what needs to be done."

Rufus, without question entered the lotus position and minutes later nods to announce he is ready.

"Then let us begin." Master Sensei announces, before placing his index finger to Rufus' belly and channeling his Ki into him. "Feel the flow of Ki and do your best to remember it, when Stoppable-san arrives, this is what you will need to do." Seeing Rufus hesitantly nod he adds. "Do not worry, I will guide you when he arrives to make sure nothing unexpected happens. For now, let us get you accustomed to how it should feel."

~~~~~

Shego's Residence

It was a couple of minutes before Shego started to move into action. The first thing she did, was look around at the damage in her room. The fire sprinklers, having already finished putting out the fires her plasma had caused, stopped functioning and returned to their various hiding places in the ceiling. The damage to the room was not as bad as she first feared. Various plasma burns along the walls and floor. Shredded blanket, half destroyed bookcase and a couple of destroyed paintings.

Then, Shego noticed the damage to the walk-in closet and hurried to check on her most priced possession. Walking in, she ignored the fortune in destroyed designer clothes and shoes, moving past them, to check on the hidden compartment where the dress was hidden. Seeing the melted panel, her heartbeat skyrocketed. Shego doubted she would be able to handle gracefully being the cause of the dress destruction. With a trembling hand, Shego reaches into the opening created by her plasma and began feeling around inside dreading what she might find.

To Shego's relief, her hand came into contact with the specially made suitcase. Beginning to feel reassured, she felt for the handle and upon finding it pulled the suitcase into view. It was silver in color, rectangular shape, two wheels at the base and a handle at the top, that could extend for travel convenience. The only visible damage was at the base, where the wheels were melted. Resting her hand on the suitcase for a few moments, Shego finally felt her heart relax.

With the suitcase safe, Shego began looking around the remains of her clothes for something to wear. Settling for some tight fitting grey jeans that were still in one piece and a v-neck green tank top with a slight burn along the hem. Although both were still wet from the sprinklers, they would have to do for now. Suitcase now in hand, Shego went back to check what else was damaged. The windows in her room were broken, walking over to them she noticed that the balcony also had various burn marks and there was smoke coming from beyond the rail.

When Shego made it to the rail, she saw the remains of Ron's ride mostly melted and still on fire. Deciding it was time for answers, she went back inside, going past her bedroom door and to the room across, her study. Going over to the bookcase on the left wall, she pulled a dictionary out. Opening it revealed a secret compartment with a number pad, pressing a different number with each finger on her right hand, she closed it and returned it to its original place. Two seconds later, the book case began sliding to the right with a soft hum, revealing a safe. Quickly opening it and putting in the suitcase, Shego closed it and waited for the bookcase to move back in place, before walking over to the glass windows.

"Home, display perimeter security in the study." Shego commands, watching the glass tint and begin displaying the live videos. "Home, isolate intruder footage." Shego watched as a lot of the videos disappeared. "Home, play footage from the moment the intruder was detected."

In the recording, Shego watched as Ron rode onto her property and up her driveway. Parking his ride, Ron removed his helmet and dismounted, walking up the steps to the door. Once there, he paced around for a few minutes, before finally settling to sit on the steps. A moment later, there was a sound of something breaking and a plasma ball landed by his feet. He quickly stood up, distancing himself from the house and turned around, his head tilted up.

"H-hey, Shego!" Ron yelled. "Are you okay?" He yelled louder after getting no response.

That's when Shego saw a change come over him, his posture, his movements seeming to be those of a different person. He lowered his head, looked from his feet towards the house and brought it back up. Then he started moving, Ron moved fast, faster then Shego remembered seeing him move before and in under a second he had scaled onto the balcony. Once there, he rushed to the window peering inside, a moment later he jumped in just as a plasma passed the spot he was at and landed on his ride.

From here the footage turned to infrared, Shego preferring not to use regular cameras in her home. Ron rolled onto his feet and moved in the direction of Shego's bed, where he froze for a few seconds before yelling louder than before. "Shego, wake up!" Having no effect, he moved to the left side of the bed and with his right hand reached out to her shoulder.

"Arghhhh-" Shego's left hand, wrapped in plasma, seized his wrist causing him to scream but Ron cut it off almost as as soon as it started and tried shaking her. His left hand grabbing her right hand, Ron stopped moving for a few minutes.

Ron's left hand released Shego's right, which in turn, her right seized his throat and ignited with plasma. Ron, seeming not to care, moved his left hand to the side of her face, caressed it and moved on to the back of her neck. Lifting her head and slightly and forcing his head closer to Shego's, Ron brought their foreheads together and stopped moving.

A couple of minutes later, Shego cut off the plasma to her hands and in moments he collapsed. Then, three figures appeared, one holding a sword to her neck and the others moving to collect Ron. Shego watched her interaction with them, her right hand coming to rest on the exact spot Ron had caressed her face without her realizing it.

"That's what I get for taking such a strong sedative." Shego mutters. Having had problems falling asleep and feeling exhausted, she turned to the medicine her doctor had prescribed. It was several times stronger than the average, to compensate for her strong immune system. "Nearly burned alive!" She adds, still lost in thought.

Shego replayed the footage a couple of times before finally speaking again. "I was right, there's more to Ron Stoppable than meets the eye and I'm going to find out what. As well as how he found me and what he was doing in my home!"