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Required Disclaimer: Kim Possible is a registered trademark of Disney, Inc., and was created by Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley. All rights and properties are retained therein. Use of the aforementioned is without permission for this fan-made fiction without profit in accordance with the Fair Use Act doctrine of United States Copyright law.
Chapter Forty: On the Beach
In the weeks that followed the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, an orderly form of chaos had reigned.
Tens of thousands of the sick, dead, and dying had their numbers bolstered daily as fresh survivors were found under thousands of acres of rubble and drowned bodies returned to the shore by each fresh tide.
The hospitals, clinics, and makeshift treatment stations overflowed with the unidentified living and the anonymous dead. Many simply had no surviving family or neighbors to identify them.
Lists were compiled slowly due to the sheer size of the task.
First as local postings.
Then regional.
Eventually national.
Long and multiple lists of names would have been challenging enough but without names and only sketchy descriptions, finding family or making IDs was incredibly daunting.
The students and staff of Yamanouchi assisted with searches and compiling information for survivor databases as well as photographing and documenting many of the bodies in their region as they were recovered.
Throughout this time every member of the Yamanouchi community was on the lookout for Yori's body.
No one had much hope. The story of her loss from the lips of the Chosen One, himself, convinced most that the recovery of her remains was highly unlikely—never mind the thought of any chance for survival.
Sensei, himself, could find no trace of her in his daily meditations. It was understood that she was no longer of nor in this world.
As the numbers of victims began to decline over the ensuing weeks, everyone seemed to embrace the inevitability. The dead were buried or cremated. Only an occasional body would wash ashore now, generally too deteriorated to identify even if the family were present. Survivors were identified and the number of "John" or "Jane" "Does"—as the Americans would call them—dwindled in numbers so that even Hirotaka was convinced.
They had been childhood friends and had grown up together. Trained together. Gone on missions together—much like Team Possible. He was the last to surrender hope and, when he joined the rest of Yamanouchi for the memorial service that honored her memory, he wept unashamedly.
And he returned to living the life he had known ever since the girl with the fierce but beautiful eyes had turned her face from his and set her feet to the path that had taken her to the Chosen One's side. Once again, he waited for the ache in his heart to dull over time.
He knew it would never go away.
Then he had the first dream.
It was not unreasonable that he would dream of her but he was surprised at the intensity of the experience.
Less like an actual dream and more like some kind of…connection…between this world and the next.
By the third…sending…he was convinced.
Let Sensei sit and surf the spiritual channels, he would revisit every hospital, every clinic, every nursing facility—again! And one he had exhausted his country's medical resources, he would turn to the Americans, if necessary: their agencies, the military, whatever and wherever the search might lead…
Hirotaka shouldered his pack and set off down the mountain from Yamanouchi.
He had spent the better part of the day saying his goodbyes.
He didn't know when or even if he might return.
RSVP
Wade Load felt terrible.
The last time he'd felt this awful waking up had been when he'd downed sixteen, Big Slurp, lo-cal sodas along with three pizzas, a couple of Nacos, and a stale bag of two-year-old Halloween candy on a thirty-six-hour programming binge.
Somehow this wasn't quite as bad, but it was close.
He tried looking around but his head felt very heavy and it didn't seem worth the effort to try and move it. Moving his eyes wasn't much better: they felt like they had been rolled in sand and shoved back into his head.
To his left was an array of monitors and electronic equipment. There were tubes and wires attached to machines and bags of different colored liquids: some went into his arm, a couple into his nostril and down his throat, and then a couple that disappeared under the starched white sheets of his hospital bed. He shuddered: he didn't want to know where those ended up.
He moved his head a little and groaned.
A head swam into his fluctuating field of vision. She had short, blonde hair and gazed at him intently.
"Uh-uh-drena," Wade stammered, "luh-luh-lyn—?"
"Frreeeeky," she said softly.
Wade's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.
Bebe turned to Dede who had just zipped in to relieve her on watch. "Was it something I said?"
RSVP
"I can't believe what you've done with the place!" Dr. Drakken enthused as he shuffled along in his old bunny slippers next to the floating chair bearing Mastermind.
"It wasn't that hard," the masked villain rejoined. "A few throw pillows, some drapes, a little paint...new furniture…and you'd be surprised how incorporating some feng shui into the arrangements brings everything together."
"Well," Drakken said magnanimously, "I'm no good at that kind of stuff—though I do love to bake."
"The secret, Dr. Lipsky, is delegation. Do what you do best; hire the rest."
"Tried that, too. Asked the henchmen to paint…it was a nightmare! And I gave Shego pretty much a free hand to decorate as she pleased." He shuddered. "Ngah!"
"Well, there's your problem, sir! If you want to take over the world, you've got to hire the right people and outsource effectively."
"But it's so expensive to hire and keep anyone good! That's why I keep trying to synthesize my help. I think I'm getting closer to the right formulas: a few more years—or I could steal Professor Dementor's recipes."
Mastermind shook her hooded head. "Actually, I think you'll find your operations become quickly cost effective and even revenue positive, once you establish your core staff and then turn to slave labor to amplify your Stage 2 and Stage 3 Protocols."
"Urunh! I hardly ever get to complete Stage 1! And I've only gotten started on a handful of Stage 2's before my beautiful schemes are foiled!"
"I know," Mastermind commiserated. "I totally understand."
"You do?" The blue man was so used to derision and mocking from his own villainous counterparts that he was genuinely surprised and touched by Mastermind's solicitousness.
"I do. In fact, Drew, I'd like to show you something that is going to change all of that."
"What is it?"
"I'd rather show you than tell you."
"Is it a surprise?"
"Yes. Yes, it is."
"Is it the happy kind?"
"The 'happy kind'?"
"Shego used to tell me that she had a surprise for me and it almost always turned out to be a Drakken-go-ouch! kind."
"Another example of the importance of acquiring the right people, Drew. Shego has been a terrible influence in your life."
"That's what other people have told me!" When they weren't telling her the same thing, he thought.
"Well, I think your life is about to change for the better," his host told him. "You just needed to divest yourself of all of the people who have been holding you back or dragging you down."
"Nnnngh—easier said than done," Drakken grumbled.
"Perhaps. When you have to do it yourself. That's why it's always good to have friends. Occasionally you can let them do things for you."
"What? Like eliminate Kim Possible?"
"Precisely," Mastermind answered. The floating chair slowed and turned and Mastermind spoke to the shadowy silhouette of a long-haired woman wearing a form-fitting cat-suit standing in a darkened alcove. Flickering flames danced around one of her hands casting an uncertain orange light by her hip. "Sheglow, would you round up the others and have them join us? I was going to wait another day or two but since the guest of honor is actually here…"
"S-shego?" Dr. Drakken stuttered. "I thought—"
The woman, who walked out into the better lit area as she passed by them, wore a red and black cat suit, had long blonde hair, and a somewhat familiar face.
"Stop trying to rename me, boss," she said as she sauntered down another corridor. "It's Adrena Lynn. Always has been, always will be."
Dr, Drakken stared at her retreating form. "I didn't know that she had comet powers. Or that she grew her hair out."
"As to the former, she doesn't," Mastermind told him. See those large bracers enclosing her wrists at the end of her sleeves? Quantum flux generators and projectors. The suit protects her from burning herself. It's technology! Not super-powers like your former partner.
Drakken sniffed. "Still has the attitude, though."
"Oh yes."
RSVP
Ron Stoppable stared through the binoculars with an overpowering sense of déjà vu.
Anne and Joss Possible came splashing through the surf just a few yards from the beach, moving out from behind a spit of trees and working their way across the line of gentle breakers coming in. As they made their way down the coast, as if this particular stretch was no different than any other part of the island's perimeter, they dodged and chased each other, laughing and splashing as if on holiday and seemingly oblivious to the men holding guns, a few dozen yards up into the tree line.
They seemed equally oblivious to the fact that they had nothing on but their underwear.
And only half of their underwear, at that,
Which the water from the surf and all of the splashing had rendered practically transparent.
With just a little effort, Ron moved the field glasses off of the sleek, bouncing orbs of feminine pulchritude and focused, instead, on the four remaining mercenaries.
These particular soldiers of misfortune were not exactly disciplined. All of them had turned their attention to the show just off the beach and two of them had actually lowered their weapons as they sauntered toward the pair of—yep—natural redheads.
"Like shooting fish in a barrel," Shego's voice snarked in his earpiece. "Watch yourself, Ron. The two closest to me are gonna be the ones with the slowest response time. Let me take them down before you move. Once the fireworks start, the other two will have even more distractions on this side of the camp to draw their attention."
"I'll wait until you begin your move," he answered softly, "but no longer. I'll have more distance to close so I'll have to be in motion even as they see you."
"Copy," she answered reluctantly.
"I can take one of them," Bonnie offered.
Ron shook his head. "This isn't the same as Dementor. These guys won't tie you to a tree so they can make speeches to you about how great they are. They'll either shoot you before you can close or pull a knife and cut you sixteen ways from Sunday before you could land a kick or a punch."
"Back in the jungle—"
"You had advantages and got lucky. Here the terrain works against us: it's open with no cover. They're too far apart for a bondo ball to do any good. Stay here and be my back-up."
She snorted. "And do what?"
"Be the third distraction."
"I'll need a couple of minutes to get my boots and pants off…"
Ron sighed and shook his head. "You're just fine the way you are."
"But they're both—"
"Bon Bon, I am not having this discussion with you, right now. Your—uh—assets—are the best I've ever seen…" I am so going to be sorry I said that! he thought. "…and while the ladies in the water have the edge in—uh—epidermal quantity, you have got them both beat in—er—upper thoracic quality." He closed his eyes and groaned inwardly. I should have just cold-cocked her for her own safety and not just bought myself a whole bundle of future grief with my big fat mouth!
Which mouth was being soundly kissed again. "Oh, Ronnie!" she gasped, when she finally broke for air, "I never knew that school words could be so sexy!"
"Yeah, Ronnie," Shego's voice minced in his ear, "wait'll ole Bon Bon tells the Possible girls that you think hers are prettier than theirs."
Ron groaned again. "Change of plans. I'll stand up and just let them shoot me while you finish them off from behind."
"That would be more merciful," Shego agreed, "but I'm supposed to keep you alive. Not let you take the coward's way out. Heads up, I'm moving now…"
RSVP
They utilized a simple freight elevator to descend to the storage area in the basement.
Drakken marveled at how Mastermind had changed his old digs, especially down here. Originally a dark, dank place to keep stacked crates of supplies, parts, and the remains of failed past projects, it was now swept out, brightly lit, and partitioned with additional security monitors and banks of switches.
As the sound of footsteps sounded on the stairs behind them, Mastermind pulled out a remote control and pressed a button causing the largish door to open allowing access to the space beyond.
Following his host through the doorway, the former Drew Lipsky was even more astonished to see a cellblock where once there had been an open empty space for storing things.
Apparently Mastermind was storing people. Three, at least.
He glanced at a forty-something woman with strawberry blonde hair, two cells down on the right before his eyes were drawn to an odd colored, white cage farther down on the left. As they moved farther in, he could see that it was a three-sided box of bars—just like the others—only all of the metal surfaces were coated with cream-colored plastic.
The lighter contrast made its occupant easier to see and Drakken instinctively flinched as the woman stood and moved to the nearest set of bars. For a moment he had thought that it was Shego in a blue-green bodysuit, but a second glance revealed that this was a completely different woman—hair, height, face—and the blue-green bodysuit wasn't even clothing of any kind. It was—gah! Why was she naked? Was the other woman—no.
And now he caught sight of the third prisoner in the cell next to him.
She sat on the cot with her head down so that her long auburn tresses formed a curtain in front of her face. But he didn't need to see any more to identify this captive. Drakken had been head-butted by the cheerleader so many times that he knew the pattern of the part of her hair better than her own hairdressers.
"Kim Possible?" he said wonderingly.
Her head came up slowly, revealing red-rimmed eyes and a haunted expression that was, somehow, more frightening than the sneers or scowls she had favored him with in the past.
She rose and shuffled to the bars of her cell like an exhausted sleepwalker. Clutching a pair of vertical steel rods she whispered something.
"Erh…what?" He leaned toward his teen nemesis to better hear her raspy voice.
"Please…" she repeated softly.
She was begging? Oh, this was too much! Even though he had no say regarding his host's prisoners, he would surely be allowed to taunt the girl a little…make her beg for her release…
"Please…what?" he coached her with a toothy grin.
"P-please…"
Drakken came closer and cupped an ear.
"…please…kill me…" she whispered.
RSVP
Wade slowly opened his eyes again.
It was just a bad dream. It had to be. Aviarius…Motor Ed…a screaming squad of ninja monkeys…and…most recently…Adrena Lynn!
He trembled a little as he wondered what fresh horrors awaited him as he fought his way back to wakefulness.
The face that swam into view was even more shocking than he anticipated: she was beautiful!
"Hello, Dr. Load."
"H-hello?" His throat was raw and his lips were parched.
The beautiful, chocolate angel slipped a soft hand behind his head and raised it a bit so that he could sip some water through a straw.
"Am I in heaven?" he whispered as she eased his head back and tucked him in more securely.
Two more faces swam into view, now.
"Hello…"
"…Wade."
The lovely black woman dressed in white had almost convinced him that he had died and gone to his reward. But the two "people" standing by his bed, now, sealed the deal: Jim and Tim Possible!
"Y-you-you're…dead!" he whispered. So I guess I must be, too!
RSVP
Ron was reasonably—no—utterly sure that he had never watched nearly naked redheads cavorting on a beach before.
Or nearly naked anythings cavorting, for that matter!
Yet, there was something strangely familiar about the way the sunlight glinted off the fiery red mane that Anne was tossing about, the garnet undertones that glittered like dark jewels where drops of ocean spray dripped from her dark crimson locks.
They began to lose focus as they left the water, running up the beach, toward the armed men, waving and giggling. And bouncing—oh my!
And now even the two mercs on Ron's perimeter were crossing the open area to move closer to the unexpected—but apparently not unwelcome—new arrivals.
But even though it meant more distance to close for Ron, his targets were even more distracted. Despite his promise to Shego he broke cover early, using his ninja training to run out into the open while simultaneously making himself as unnoticeable as possible.
Bonnie rubbed her eyes as she watched him go: he seemed to flicker as he ran and, at times, actually blink out of one place and reappear almost twenty feet away as he zigged and zagged behind the quartet of armed mercenaries.
Anne and Joss were less than a dozen yards away when a pair of plasma bursts streaked out of the bushes and took out the two closest mercenaries. Thanks to their relaxed pose, the remaining two lost precious seconds in bringing their weapons back up as they turned toward the threat. Shego was able to clip one but both were able to return fire.
The second man sensed Ron's approach and was turning toward him when the blonde barreled into him: no fancy kicks or martial arts moves here other than Ron tackling him an angle that brought them both down on top of the other man that Shego had clipped.
Shego ran toward the tangle of flailing arms and legs, swearing and pulling her side-arms: she'd be lucky if she could place an accurate shot while they were all mixed up in close quarters but she sure didn't have a hope in hell of using her plasma.
Bonnie was tearing across the campsite, passing her astonished sisters as if they were complete strangers as she hurried toward Ron and his two assailants. A moment later the two Possible women closed in from the other direction, passing Shego and leaving her momentarily cross-eyed as the convergence of fulsomeness threatened to turn into one great, jiggly, fleshy collision. She glanced down and checked her own "air bags," not so prominently on display by comparison.
"Gonna have to step it up, girls," she told them, "we're not just competing with Ms. Pointy-tits any more."
By the time she joined everyone, it was over. Anne and Joss had snatched the guns out of the melee and Ron had finally managed to tap one and then the other on the necessary pressure points to end it. As he stood back up to brush himself off, he said: "Let's—"
That was all that he said.
In the next moment, his head snapped back and a fine spray of blood spattered Bonnie's and Joss's faces. Ron dropped like a marionette whose strings had just been severed.
Only then did they hear the sound of the gunshot.
ABOUT THE TITLE: I grabbed the title of Nevil Shute's post-apocalyptic novel (and movie) for this chapter as we are "On the Beach" and it is a little mind-blowing. Let's just hope Ron's mind isn't blown…permanently.
(2020): There is currently a Reader Challenge on the board: visit my Profile Page for details…
REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER 40
Grin-Grin chapter 40 . Sep 24, 2011
...damn...
...seriously...
Okay then.
Again, awesome. At first I was disappointed by "Adrena Lynn" (Deceiver!). But then later, ya know. Awesome.
Though I'm guessing Ron's 'reformed villainess/cult' is full; but a man an dream.
Last thing, though – I vote for zombie/undead Ron!
Sincere Statement: "Thank you."
Grin-Grin: your vote for Zombie Ron has been recorded. I must assume you're rooting for Justine Flanner since the only girls that Zombie Ron would be interested in would be the ones with…brains!
And re: Adrena Lynn? If everyone (besides Pavelius) knew what was coming next, it wouldn't be worth all the effort to produce this monster work.
R~13
Pavelius chapter 40 . Sep 24, 2011
Evil Cliffhangers are evil...
Seriously... what a way to end the chapter... and if you are near the end of Book I... i can guess what the plot will be in Book II... but i am not posting it... you would change it!
Anyway, keep up the pace
Pavel
Pavelius: I am assuming that you "like" what you assume I'm going to do since, by not posting your predictions, you're indicating that you don't want me to change it—did I get that right?
It's so confusing.
;-)
R~13
readerjunkie chapter 40 . Sep 24, 2011
Great job ,but why do you vex me so, ending the chapters where you do. It's kills me to wait.
Readerjunkie: you and Ron should form a new team: the Vex Men.
You could be Professor Vexavier! LOL!
R~13
CajunBear73 chapter 40 . Sep 24, 2011
Recon wasn't so good after all, huh?
CB73
I think we should give the Ronman props for not being even more distracted, under the circumstances…but he's about to fix that.
Maybe.
Since we all know how well certain short-cut fixes tend to work…
R~13
masterbow chapter 40 . Sep 24, 2011
yay sniper for the win. what you gonna go with mmp healing him the fact the bullet missed the heart and he now has to spend ahem "a couple weeks in bed" or somthing completly random
A couple of weeks in bed, huh? Maybe I should move this story over to AdultFanFiction for that plot bunny.
I'd count more on "the random" than the" completely predictable"—unless you're Pavelius, that is…
And: "yay sniper for the win"? Really? And readers say I'm the sadist in this story…
R~13
Sentinel103 chapter 40 . Mar 2, 2012
Sure Rippy though it looks like you stopped the tune on this whacked musical chairs tale that you have concocted. Lemme see Ron's head snaps back and a pray of blood on Bonnie and Joss's faces...Ron drops. So the buffoon has been tagged. I guess that's one way of ending the story. I don't think that you'd end Ann or Shego...you like them too much.
And a pathetic Kim and we suppose the real one wanting to die...heck this could end any sequels too.
That is unless Justine comes back and has DNA samples of Kim and Ron and grows new ones in tubes and we start this dance all over again in 15 years.
Larry (Sentinel 103)
Larry, I like your solution: it gives me 15 years to plot and write the next part.
R~13
evilfrog chapter 40 . July 20, 2013
weirdbard would be my first his story partners in crime is a serious page clicker
Ah! He's sent so many readers into story withdrawal that someone has even rebooted the plot/concept in an attempt to scratch that itch. I hope he returns someday. In fact, I have a tribute planned down the road...
R~13
Some Dude chapter 40 . Aug 29 2013
I've seen a lot of cliffhangers before... but that one was just evil. Good thing u don't have to wait fit the next chapter.
P.S.: Love the scene with Anne and Joss.
I guess "seeing red" isn't always a bad thing...
R~13
Ken106348 chapter 40 . July 24, 2014
Man this story is awesome. I cant wait for the next chapter.
Good news, Ken: the next post will be a multi-chapter one!
R~13
kurtlaraperdomo chapter 40 . July 25, 2020
this is a great story, iam very happy to read again after years, sorry if my english is not very good at all, iam just want to say you are awesome
Thank you for your kind words!
I am so happy when-after all of these years-I'm able to reconnect with some of my old readers!
As long as I know you guys are out there, I'll keep posting!
R~13
Edge Hell Razor chapter 40 . July 25,2020
I just want to say it's an excellent fanfiction, I don't even know where to start, I lack chapters to read but I like how the story goes, you are excellent writing, have a good day or night
Thanks, Edge!
If you're all caught up reading these past 40 chapters, I have three more before we start RSVP: Part II!
And I plan to post all three in the next half hour!
R~13