Notes: This is the first chapter I've actually written from scratch since the break. And it wasn't easy, but I expected that.

The Primal Primate

Chapter 16: Angel of the Pit

Although she didn't like to admit it, Kim Possible was no stranger to having her free will taken away. Throughout her adventures, she had been involved with more than enough brain disrupters, neural transmitters, brain swaps, and countless inventions with long names that surely did something nasty to the human mind. It had gotten to the point where having a neurosurgeon for a mother was an unexpected blessing.

But actually being held hostage by an evil spirit in her own body was something else entirely.

When Lailah had first hitched a ride in Kim's body, Kim had been easily and violently pushed aside. It had been like suddenly being shoved into a dark closet that was already occupied by a hurricane. There had been almost no chance at all of resisting. Not at first, anyway. But as time passed, two things became very clear: Lailah was acting under someone else's orders, and that someone only had a very vague idea of who and what Lailah was. Kim had been in the same situation initially, with one key difference: the more Lailah learned about Kim, Kim learned about Lailah. And there had been quite a few learning opportunities.

Lailah may have been in almost complete control of Kim's body, but she was very obviously not a local. Every few minutes she had to poke around in Kim's brain, seeking explanations for things that anyone even remotely human shouldn't have had to. Which meant that she clearly wasn't, for starters. Oh, she knew the language, at least large chunks of it, but as far as recent fads, Lailah was even more out of touch than Kim's parents. And her grandparents, frankly. The first time they'd been to Bueno Nacho, Lailah had taken one look at the menu, promptly given up, and demanded that Kim order something with meat, which Lailah could smell but was unable to ask for by name. But what Lailah either didn't know or didn't care about was that each time she poked around in Kim's mind, Kim got the same chance with her, if only briefly. And what she had seen was more than a little troubling.

Apparently, this was not Lailah's first time around people. It was just that she hadn't been around them in centuries, and even when she had, she'd been worshipped as some sort of deity. And even this was not really too disturbing, at least until Kim had figured out what type of deity. Lailah either was, or strongly believed she was, a fertility goddess. And because she hadn't really had a chance to practice in ages, she was very eager and curious about what she could do with two cooperating humans. Only she wasn't all that stuck on the cooperating part. It didn't help that either Monkey Fist or this "Master" she kept referring to had ordered her to create some sort of super baby. With Kim's body. And Ron's genes, apparently.

Kim's first reaction upon learning this, however, had not been horror or disgust, but laughter. She and Ron had been friends for years, and she knew him like the back of her hand. If he was suddenly going to fall in love with her, somehow, she doubted he was going to do so while both Tara and Bonnie were fighting over him. And if Lailah thought an out of touch goddess could seriously complete with two Middleton High cheerleaders for Ron's attention, even in Kim's body, she was going to be sorely disappointed. Ron was a decent guy, but he was only human. Not surprisingly, Lailah had been able to draw Ron's attention, but not hold it. Kim was a little annoyed that Ron seemed so... repulsed by a more aggressive Kim, but considering that he had been expecting a more judgmental Kim reacting to his first kiss with Bonnie, she could easily forgive that. But being rejected had brought out something dark and ugly in Lailah, and more importantly, something vulnerable. Lailah was not used to being rejected, and she didn't handle it well. She had actively started to hate Ron, considering his rejection an insult to her pride and abilities. It hadn't taken much. The next time that Lailah went snooping around in Kim's mind, Kim had offered a simple, sensible question.

"So Ron doesn't want you. Why do you need him?"

She'd only been hoping for more details on this super baby plan, but instead, had apparently inspired Lailah to find a more suitable mate. Like one they already knew was attracted to Kim, and she to him in turn. It wasn't as if Kim could have erased Josh Mankey's name from her head, or even kept Lailah from seeing it. But she had gone out with and liked other boys, so why Lailah zeroed in on Josh was a mystery to Kim. Honestly, there wasn't a boy that was less like Ron than Josh, so Lailah considering him a suitable replacement was... odd.

But as it turned out, Lailah had selected Josh not because of who he was, but because of who he was to Kim. Kim had been struggling against her control long and hard enough where Lailah had started to seriously question their compatibility, and at the very least, she thought a boy that Kim was actually attracted to would yield the best results. And Lailah had either conveniently forgotten or simply ignored that whatever it was that made Ron's genes so special to Monkey Fist, Josh more than likely didn't have the same. Yet she did not strike Kim as being unintelligent or misinformed, merely incredibly single-minded and devoted to a goal that did not exactly mirror Monkey Fist's.

It was becoming very clear that Lailah did want Kim to have a child. Not necessarily Ron's or even Josh's, just a child in general. Either she was convinced that she herself could improve upon the child to a point where Monkey Fist wouldn't mind, or she was ignoring that particular plan outright in favor of her own. But for whatever reason, Kim was having more and more success resisting her control, if only for a few minutes at a time. Particularly during moments of extreme emotion. And Kim considered it a very fortunate thing that apparently forcing herself on Josh against his will fell under that heading. He would probably never forgive her or even look at her again, but if it meant he'd be safe from Lailah, she could live with that. She was certainly going to try, anyway.

Since the failure with Josh, Lailah seemed different, somehow. More cautious, perhaps, or just more aware that Kim was actively plotting against her. While this didn't surprise Kim, it did worry her. Lailah had so far been behaving with little to no regard of how Kim would feel about it. If she was now going to factor Kim's reactions into her plans, it would only make Lailah that much more dangerous to everyone involved.

And then, without warning, shortly after depositing Kim's body in the Lowerton Center for Zoological Research, Lailah's presence had simply retreated from Kim's mind. Not entirely, of course, but it had been confined to a tiny corner, and it was enough that Kim suddenly had full control over her body again. Stunned by the new development, it had taken Kim a few seconds to realize that she was free, if only tentatively. But reality had come crashing back down on her: she could still feel Lailah inside of her, and suspected the spirit could and would come rushing back to the forefront of her mind at any time, if Kim made the wrong move. There had not been much time to make any decisions, however: Lailah's first act upon entering the building had been to release all of the animals, all of whom had immediately left their cages, but none of whom had actually left the site. And whatever it was about Lailah that had kept them from attacking had clearly been downsized along with her presence, because suddenly the lion had begun eyeing Kim in a way that she hadn't cared for at all. Beyond that, Kim felt certain that Lailah didn't want her leaving the building. The animals aside, Lailah had not simply brought her back here for no reason at all. Dangerous as it was, Kim needed to know what Lailah was up to.

Within minutes, Kim had locked herself in the lion's cage. While she had little confidence it could actually hold Lailah for long, it would at least keep them both safe from the lion. And, as if she approved, Lailah's presence returned enough afterward that the lion quickly lost interest and walked away. Though Kim suspected it was pointless, she decided to try talking with the spirit, since they seemed to be on the same page for the moment.

"How do you make the animals leave us alone?" Kim asked.

There was a loud, amused snort in her head. "You speak as if I actually have to do anything, dear. They simply recognize me for what I am and act accordingly."

Kim found that odd. What would an animal have to fear from a fertility goddess? But then, it wasn't fear. The animals weren't afraid of Lailah, they simply retreated from her presence, as if they preferred not to be near her. Now that Kim had been possessed by her, she could certainly understand that, but there did not seem to be any reverence in how the animals reacted to Lailah. Whatever she was to them, it wasn't any deity.

Though Bonnie did not trust Shego, she trusted Yori even less. It would be one thing if Hirotaka or Ron were there to vouch for the ninja girl in person, but they weren't. And frankly, Yori having chosen Shego as an ally did not sit well with Bonnie at all. Still, Bonnie had also accepted that she wasn't going to be able to escape anytime soon. Shego was keeping the hovercraft far above any potential landing spots, and while Bonnie did feel she was in considerable danger, it had not yet reached the point where she felt better taking a leap to her doom over the side. Besides, if Kim really was possessed by an evil spirit and these two intended to save her, Bonnie could do no less. Much as she genuinely didn't like Kim, Bonnie knew it would destroy Ron if something bad happened to his best friend. That, and having Kim owe her a favor was something Bonnie was looking forward to.

None of this, of course, made Bonnie feel any better about the fact that Yori had armed her with only a silver stick. Upon closer inspection, there was an engraving of a roaring monkey head on the stick, which only made Bonnie question Yori's plan even further. Yori seemed so sure that Bonnie needed nothing else, however, so Bonnie kept staring at the stick in the hopes that something would come to her.

It did, though as far as Bonnie knew, it had next to nothing to do with the stick.

Because suddenly there was a loud thump on the bottom of the hovercraft, and in the next moment, a monkey ninja had landed in their midst.

Yori reacted much as Bonnie would have expected for a ninja, producing matching fans seemingly out of nowhere and taking a threatening step toward the monkey ninja. Shego merely glanced over her shoulder, grunted, and turned her attention back to the open air before, apparently trusting that Yori would handle things.

Bonnie, on the other hand, was greatly relieved, especially when the monkey ninja turned to her, something that normally would have been a very bad idea with both a clearly armed ninja and Shego behind him. Seeing that Yori was still in attack mode, Bonnie surprised herself by quickly grabbing the monkey ninja and pulling him into a protective embrace. "Don't you hurt him!" she snapped. "He's with Ron!"

Yori blinked and frowned. "How can you be so sure? Monkey ninjas were once his mortal enemies."

"Okay, well, what are the odds that there would be two opposing groups of monkey ninjas in Middleton at the same time? Last I checked, they were with Ron." Bonnie paused to glance down at the monkey ninja, who had wrapped one arm around her and was glaring at Yori's fans. "See, he's okay. He just wants you to put those things away is all."

Yori hesitated, but finally backed off, somehow vanishing the fans in the same manner that she had produced them. "Very well, Bonnie-san. I will trust in your judgment, for now. But how do you suppose he managed to find us? And how did he get up here? As you can see, there is nothing nearby he could have leaped from."

Bonnie frowned. "I don't know. He's a ninja, isn't he? Does it really matter?"

"It might," Yori insisted. "If he was aided by a spirit, it would be extremely helpful to know which one."

"Well, unless speaking monkey is in your ninja bag of tricks, I don't think he can tell us."

Yori's gaze went to the silver stick still clutched in Bonnie's hand. "The spirit of fire does not seem to disapprove of his presence. I suppose that means he has had no recent contact with the enemy."

"So you trust some ghost you can't see over me?" Bonnie asked indignantly.

Yori smiled. "The spirit of fire has proven itself a trustworthy and reliable partner. You, on the other hand, still don't trust me. Not that I expected you to, given the circumstances of our first meeting. But you will see that my intentions are honorable in time."

Bonnie was no closer to trusting or even liking Yori, but not being trusted herself felt like a slap in the face, considering Yori was depending so much on Bonnie's help. Clearly, Hirotaka had not warned Yori to treat Bonnie with care, because while Kim Possible was the girl who could do anything, Bonnie was the girl who wouldn't do anything for anyone until she was paid the proper respect. Shego was another matter entirely, Bonnie knew where she stood with her. But Yori was a virtual unknown, and while Bonnie had plenty of reason to fear her ninja skills, she considered Yori's trying to be nice a mistake. It implied that she would do her best to get Bonnie's cooperation without actually threatening her with bodily harm. And so long as Bonnie had no reason to fear Yori's ninja skills being used on her, as far as she was concerned, Yori had lost any real leverage she ever had. As long as Shego was otherwise occupied, anyway.

However, what Bonnie couldn't have known was that the monkey ninja in her arms, while indeed being an ally of Ron's, was so much more. Monkey Fist had trained he and his brothers in the ancient art of Monkey Kung Fu, and for the longest time, it was all they had known. Then they been given the prediction that Ron Stoppable would lead them into a new age, and the monkey ninjas had shifted their allegience to him without hesitation or regret. He was a far kinder and less demanding master than Monkey Fist, and while he had never before called on them to fight for him, the monkey ninjas had kept their skills sharp, hoping for a chance to prove their worth. They would fight for him, kill for him, die for him, not because he was kind, but because they all believed in a higher power, and that higher power said that Ron was their reason for living. What was important to Ron was important to them. He had asked them to defend his clanmates against any and all threats, and they would do so.

So when Bonnie silently clutched the monkey ninja a little tighter, glaring at Yori's back and mentally filing her firmly under the "enemy" category, the monkey ninja sensed the direction of her thoughts and the shift of her body against his, and silently did the same.

Ron knew things were bad. He'd known that the moment he got a good look at Josh Mankey. But as he stared out at the dead and still-dying bodies of the police officers outside the Lowerton Center for Zoological Research, he realized it was time to officially classify the sitch as supremely bad.

There was always a chance that a mission would go wrong, and that, at worst, a bad guy might escape with the loot. And certainly when there were mad scientists and doomsday devices involved, there actually could be an occasional loss of life.

But this was different. This was wide scale murder, plain and simple. Maybe people like Dr. Drakken didn't care about the people they hurt, or the destruction they caused, but very few of them had the stomach to witness death up close and personal without tossing their cookies. Drakken especially, frankly. So this... this was very, very bad.

And Kim was somehow involved. In what capacity, he still didn't know. But if Kim's good name was tarnished any further than it already had been because of this, Ron was pretty sure he'd have to do some killing of his own. The Possibles were a second family to him, and not for the first time, he realized he would kill to protect any and all of them. Especially Kim. She was more than worth the sleep he'd lose over it, and if push came to shove, he knew the Doctors Possible would always let him bunk on their couch.

Taking a deep breath, Ron hoped he was mentally prepared for whatever awaited him inside. "Hang on, KP," he murmured. "I won't let you down, I promise."

Behind him, the five gathered monkey ninjas all hooted, as if in agreement, and Ron gave them a grateful smile before they all entered the building.

Right away, Ron had to force himself not to scream: there was a huge lion just inside the door, looking like the biggest, deadliest welcome mat that Ron had ever seen. Having heard him, the lion looked straight at him, but after a few tense seconds, it merely moved aside, sat down, and closed its eyes. Ron waited to be sure that it wasn't trying to trick him, then moved past as quietly as he could, with his monkey ninjas tagging along. Still the lion didn't move, so Ron finally dared to turn his back on it, certain that the monkey ninjas would screech a warning if necessary.

As he moved deeper into the building, Ron became aware of other animals running loose. Every cage he passed was empty, and any time there was an animal in his path, it moved aside after a few seconds. This was almost the exact opposite reaction animals generally had to his presence, and it didn't take him long to figure out why. "You're doing this, aren't you, Pak?"

Pak didn't really answer the question, mostly because Ron already knew the answer. "KP near," he rumbled. "Save KP."

"Yeah. That's the plan, buddy." Ron rounded a corner and gasped: barely teen feet in front of him, there was a lion cage, and in the center of it, sprawled across the ground and entirely unmoving, was Kim. "No," he whispered, darting forward and scooping up the keys he found on the ground. He fumbled through the keys as he ran to the cage door, searching desperately for the one that would unlock it. He was so focused on them that he didn't notice Kim had moved until her hands reached through the bars of the door and closed around his own. Ron's gaze flew up to her face. She looked exhausted, scared, and above all, relieved. "KP?" Ron asked hesitantly. "Kim?"

"You came for me," she whispered, her voice thick with tears. "I can't believe you came for me, after everything."

Ron stared at her. This just seemed... wrong. He and Kim had gotten into some pretty big fights over the years, but it went without saying that any bad feelings took a backseat when their lives and well-being were on the line. So Kim shouldn't have been surprised that he'd come for her. If anything, she should have tapped her watch and asked, "What took you so long?" But this reaction wasn't at all what Ron was expecting. It was... wrong. And Ron wasn't the only one who thought so, because suddenly Kim's voice, whatever it was saying now, was blocked out by Pak's.

"KP... not KP. Clanmate... partnered." Knowing this would be confusing, Pak searched for a better description. "KP... not alone inside. KP... like us."

And it made a sick sort of sense. Kim had been acting so weird because she wasn't Kim at all, or at least not the Kim that Ron knew. But Kim didn't have Mystical Monkey Power, so housing a spirit connected to it had to be beyond awk-weird, and maybe that was why she'd been so off lately. But Ron didn't think that was it. No matter how weird Kim felt, what she had done to Josh Mankey did not even fall within the realm of acceptable weird Kim behavior. Whatever was inside her, it needed to come out in a hurry. For all he know, it might still be in control of Kim's actions. Really, it almost had to be, because she was still acting weird.

"Don't you worry, Kim," Ron told her as he continued looking for the right key. "I'll have you out of there in no time."

Not surprisingly, Kim was able to pick out the correct key at a glance (though Ron honestly would have expected her to know that whether she had a spirit in her or not). But as he slipped the key into the lock on the cage door, Ron was not at all surprised to find his senses working overtime. Pak was clearly expecting some sort of attack, and frankly, so was Ron. It hurt to think that it would be Kim's body doing the attacking, but he was sure the real Kim would forgive him for a punch or two once she had her body back.

The moment the cage door was unlocked and open, Kim wasted no time in throwing herself at Ron, who was fully expecting an attack. Instead, he got a huge, tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. Ron froze, realizing that the spirit in Kim was indeed very crafty. If he hadn't known about it beforehand, this certainly would have left him fully distracted and open to attack. But the mere fact that Kim didn't usually act this way was constantly sending out a very strange vibe, and as nice as the hug and kiss were, Ron couldn't really enjoy them because of the vibe. There was also the major issue of him not having any idea how to remove the spirit from Kim. All he really knew for sure was that he couldn't exactly trust her. It was a small comfort that there was no blood on her, which at least meant she either wasn't responsible for the bloodshed outside, or that she'd had a shower and the forethought to bring a chance of mission clothes with her.

"You saved me, Ron," Kim murmured in his ear. She drew back slightly and seized his face with her hands. "My hero."

Ron wasn't sure how he knew, but the moment Kim pursed her lips and started to dart her head forward, he'd already pressed a finger to her mouth to stop her. "Focus, KP. There's dead cops outside and I need to know how I got that way." That was really only half of the reason he asked, though. He wanted to know what had happened, but he also wanted to see how much she would or wouldn't tell him. Pak had already proven that he couldn't tell when Kim's spirit was lying, at least not when there was physical evidence, but now that they both knew what was up, Ron had to believe they were better prepared for anything she threw at them.

"It was Monkey Fist," Kim answered. "He's... changed somehow, Ron. Stronger, faster, and more vicious than I've ever seen him. Nothing the police did worked on him."

"And you didn't help them... why?"

"He got the drop on me and locked me in here before the police showed up. I think he's gone now, but we should be careful just the same."

Ron nodded. "So you followed Monkey Fist here hoping to stop him, and I just got here late?"

Kim nodded as well. "Sounds about right. Why?"

"Oh, it's just that Wade conveniently forgot to mention that when he finally got in touch with me. In fact, I had to ask him to find you, since even he had no idea where you were at first. Weird, right?"

Kim frowned at him. "What are you trying to say, Ron? You don't believe me?"

"Oh, I believe every word that KP says. Problem is, you're not her, are you? Not really and not totally." He seized her arm with an iron grip, taking full advantage of the strength that Pak seemed to be pouring into it. "Face it, Kim: you've got the spirit, and I don't mean the Middleton High variety."

For a second, it looked like she would try to deny it. But as Ron reluctantly continued to squeeze, passing the point where his grip normally would have snapped her wrist, suddenly there was resistance, and a great deal of it. Something in Kim's face changed, however slightly, and Ron knew for sure that he was no longer looking at his best friend.

"So it would seem introductions are in order," the spirit practically purred with Kim's lips. "I'm Lailah. You're Ron, of course, and your companion is no doubt the infamous Michael I've heard so much about."

Ron narrowed his eyes. "We prefer Pak, actually."

Kim's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really? Why?"

"That you don't know that just proves you're not the real Kim."

"Too bad for you, then. Because as bad as your chances of beating her in a fight already were, you certainly won't manage it with my power added to hers." With that, Kim lunged at him, and Ron was never more thankful to have Pak along for the ride, because he couldn't bear to look as his body moved aside and drove its knee into Kim's stomach, driving all the air out of her in a pained gasp. That wouldn't have stopped Kim for long, however, and the current version was no exception. Even as she stumbled back trying to regain her breath, she spun around with a high kick that slammed into the side of Ron's head and sent him flying. Where such a blow normally would have left him out could, Ron only had to shake away the stars before he was back on his feet.

"Oh, good," Lailah said, grinning at him. "You boys want to play, too. By all means, keep fighting. It will make your defeat all the sweeter."

If Ron still had any doubts about the spirit in Kim being bad, they ended there. "That's bad guy talk, missy. Which means you are so going down."

This only seemed to amuse Lailah. "Wow. So you can really force yourself to fight your best friend?"

"It's better than leaving her stuck with you."

"Maybe. But you know what's really fun?" Lailah asked. "Having her attack you, and then reducing my presence just enough so that when you do land a hit, only she feels the pain. Sure, it'll slow the body down, even damage it a little, but I'm betting it'll break you before it breaks her."

Ron was horrified at the thought, but before he could respond in any way, Pak's voice filled his head. "She lies. She need KP's body healthy."

"Healthy for what?" Ron demanded, but Pak either didn't know or wouldn't say, and Ron wasn't sure which possibility bothered him more. There was no time get an answer either way, because Lailah got tired of waiting and rushed at him, trying and failing to bury a punch in his gut. Ron saw it coming and was able to twist aside again, but even though Pak's assurance that Lailah needed Kim's body was still ringing in his ears, Ron could not convince his body to press the attack, nor could he allow Pak to do it for him.

Lailah paused, realizing what had happened at once, and smiled. "So sweet," she cooed, stroking Ron's cheek with the back of her hand. "I can see why she loves you so."

Ron glared at her. "Kim doesn't lo-" he began to say, but the brutal backhand blow came out of nowhere and felt as if it had left him with a broken his jaw. A fuzzy cloud of pain descended on Ron, and he sank to his knees slowly. Lailah's earlier attack had hurt, but this one felt stronger somehow. Ron could see no difference between them at first, but then he knew with startling clarity, without Pak, or Mystical Monkey Power, just why that was. "KP?" he breathed, every movement of his mouth causing him pain.

Lailah was standing over him, smirking, but her eyes were damp. "You little fool. All this time I've been fighting her, thinking there was no way I could ever control her completely, that we would never agree on anything. Then you come along, insult her strength, her pride, the very nature of her feelings for you. And suddenly, she wants to hurt you almost as much as I do. So by all means, keep denying her. It only makes her easier to use." Then her face twisted. "But don't you ever doubt what I am, what I can do. I should know better than anyone, what this body or any other like it feels for a mate."

"Yeah? And why's that?" Ron spat. "Who died and made you... whatever you think you are?"

"I would be more than happy to show you, lover, but I'm afraid you've proven far too unpredictable to trust. I don't think this relationship of ours can proceed until I get a little reassurance. Much as I don't have a problem with one night stands, I want to keep you close, just in case. So I hope you don't have a problem being chained down for a while."

The words were barely out of her mouth when something ice-cold wrapped around Ron's throat several times, making him gag uncontrollably. The metallic scent seemed to burn in his nostrils as his eyes watered, and before he could make sense of it, there was a warning screech behind him. Ron managed to turn his head slightly, and the sight that awaited him stole his breath even further.

A man at least eight feet tall was standing there, surrounded by a fierce, crimson aura. He gave the immediate impression that something had been stuffed into him, both violently and in the least efficient way possible. The muscles of his chest and arms were impossibly huge, straining against the very skin that barely contained them, and what remained of his security uniform hung from him in shreds. Most disturbing of all were the chains protruding from his bare back, as each one was wrapped tightly around the neck of one of Ron's monkey ninjas, save for the one wrapped around Ron's own neck. Even now, they struggled uselessly, and clearly had been for some time. Though darkness was rapidly creeping into the edges of Ron's vision, he had one final thought before he sank into it completely.

How was it possible that a monster of man so huge, who should have been unable to hide himself in any way, shape, or form, had been able to sneak up on a group of monkey ninjas without even one of them uttering a cry of warning until it was too late?

"I can't believe they got us kicked out of Bueno Nacho!" Zita complained.

Monique said nothing, staring warily at the two monkey ninjas that continued to follow them across the parking lot. On one hand, she wasn't crazy about being kicked out in the middle of a meal, either. On the other hand, she could certainly understand why Ned had put his foot down. Apparently, it wasn't the first time he'd had monkey ninjas in the place, and that time had nearly gotten Ron banned for life. Monique knew it had to have been serious, if Ned had been willing to lose Ron's business over it. She had a sneaking suspicion it may have had something to do with the monkeys confusing refried beans with monkey poop and acting accordingly. Or worse, perhaps Ned had mistaken monkey poop for refried beans. And this was so not a healthy chain of thought.

"You said they're with Ron, so what do they want with us?" Monique finally asked.

"To protect us, probably. But they could have done that from outside!" Zita glared back at the two monkeys. "You listened to me before! How is now any different?"

The monkeys offered no reply, and instead continued to keep an eye on their surroundings.

"Well, I guess this ends our plan to stuff ourselves so we don't have to think about not having dates," Zita muttered. "Ron would have been all over that, once upon a time. Before he got two girlfriends, anyway."

Monique frowned. "Are you including Kim in that?"

"Not since she broke up with him, no. Or whatever it was she did to him."

An uneasy silence followed, one Monique was eager to end. "Okay. I'm still committed to hanging out all night if you are. We just need to find a place that either accepts or doesn't frown on monkey ninjas."

Zita glanced at her. "Is this how you usually avoid worrying when Kim and Ron are on a mission? Staying busy?"

"I took the hint when Kim gave me a book full of ideas for hobbies for my birthday a few years back."

"Does it work?"

"Only when Ron doesn't show up all panicky like he did."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Zita hesitated, then added, "Maybe we could help."

"How?" Monique asked at once.

"There has to be something we can do that doesn't involve fighting or getting blasted by Shego. Maybe Wade needs help with something."

"Z, Wade is a super genius. If he needs help with something, I think we're pretty much screwed."

"Yeah, but he's never actually here, and we are. What about Kim's family? I'm sure they're worried."

"And we would do what? Go over and be worried with them?"

"You saying that's a bad thing?"

Monique shook her head. "I'm saying if Mrs. Dr. P wasn't worried by the fact that I hadn't seen Kim recently, she'd be even more worried if I showed up now wanting to hang with her. I mean, she's great and all, but we never exactly hung out before. Plus, she is a brain surgeon. She'd know what I was doing. She might appreciate it, but she'd know. So even if she didn't look worried, she would be."

Zita stared at her in shock. "You've given this a lot of thought."

"Yeah, well, remember how I said that hobby book worked for me? It doesn't, actually. Just gives me an excuse to look busy while I worry. And in that respect, it works great by allowing Kim to think I'm too busy to worry."

"Wow. Remind me again how Ron is Kim's best friend and not you?"

"They met first. And there's a big difference between cheering from the sidelines, and watching someone's back in the middle of a firefight. I don't know Ron does it, but I'm glad he does. Because if it was me... well, I'm just really glad it's not. Besides, I know I'm Kim's best female friend, so that's something. Doesn't feel like it right now, but between all the times she's been zapped or fried or turned, I'm kinda used to it. Just have to think of it as a phase that will pass, eventually. We'll all be back at Bueno Nacho before you know it."

Zita sighed. "So... we don't to help."

"Never said that," Monique replied, taking out her cellphone and mashing a button.

"Who are you calling?"

"Wade."

Zita blinked in surprise, especially when Wade picked up almost at once.

Monique grinned. "Hey, cutie. Listen, I know you're busy, but I was wondering if you have a way of keeping tabs on the Possibles. Yeah, all of them. Oh, really? Great. Yeah, that is considerate of me, isn't it? Sure. No, it's no trouble. Thanks. Bye!" She hung up and looked at Zita smugly.

"What did you just do?" Zita asked.

"We've got a location on Kim's brothers. They're in one of Dr. Drakken's known lairs. There may be a good reason for that, but somehow I doubt it. So we're going to go check on them."

"Um, did you forget the part about me not wanting to tangle with Shego again, Monique?"

Monique grinned at her. "No. She isn't there right now."

"And you know this how?"

"Because Wade knows it. There are only a handful of people on the planet with a power signature close to Shego's. They're all superheroes and blatantly obvious in everything they do, so finding them is never hard. Plus, Shego is the only one that ever bothers to hide. It's simple process of elimination. Wade's got a satellite hook-up that constantly scans for all of those power signatures, just in case. The last time Shego used her powers, she was nowhere near the lair. So if we hurry, we can get there, get in, and get out before she comes back."

"I'm still seeing a problem," Zita pointed out. "You really think the two of us can break into a mad scientist's lair?"

"Check your math, girl," Monique replied. "Last I counted, there were four of us: me, you, and our two shadows."

"What, them?" Zita asked, pointing at the monkey ninjas.

"Why not? You said they're here to protect us. What's the point if we're never in danger?"

"I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be the point, actually. And what makes you think they'll be enough?"

Monique rolled her eyes. "If Drakken could keep people off of his back without help, he wouldn't need Shego. But he clearly does need her, so I'm betting two monkey ninjas is more than enough if Shego isn't around. Besides, once the boys realize there's a rescue in progress, I'm sure they'll help any way they can. Trust me, you haven't seen stuff blow up until a Possible lights the fuse, Z. But there's one thing we have to take care of first." Monique spun around to face the two monkey ninjas, snapping her fingers to get their attention. "Listen up, boys. We're about to get into a hairy sitch, and I need to know I can count on you. Operation: TBOT has begun, and that means we're going to Take Back Our Tweebs! So from now on, you with the curly tail, you're Steel Toe. You with the crazy eyes, you're Pain King. When I say murderize, you murderize, got it?"

Much to Zita's surprise, the monkey ninjas began hopping in place and shrieking excitedly, almost like the only word they'd caught and understood was "murderize," but she wasn't going to even consider that being a possibility for a single moment. If she was really expected to charge blind into a mad scientist's lair, something else in her life at least had to make sense first.

It was nothing Bonnie had planned, but if she had, she couldn't have timed it better.

Yori and Shego had only said they were looking for Kim, so Bonnie had just assumed they had some surefire way of finding her. Bonnie didn't know much about tracking, but she'd overheard enough from Kim's missions over the years to know that people made technology to make tracking easier. She'd assumed that Yori and Shego had some. But once she really stopped to think about it, it was pretty clear that they didn't. Yori was a ninja. If she was good at tracking, it was something she'd learned, not something she needed a machine for. And as intimidating as Shego was, she was still, basically, a grunt. That meant her specialty was getting physical, not tracking. And the hovercraft clearly had no tracking equipment attuned to Kim, either. So they were basically flying blind, and dragging Bonnie along for the ride.

Meanwhile, Ron was out there, possibly alone, in trouble, hurt, or worse. And Bonnie was stuck with these two, the useless stick they'd given her but hadn't bothered to explain yet, and nowhere to go. What little patience Bonnie had naturally was just about gone. Something had to change, and it needed to change immediately.

So she slipped the silver stick into the monkey ninja's furry paw, and got the shock of her life when a stream of blue fire erupted from stick's tip and flew to the front of the hovercraft, splashing into the controls. Shego immediately jerked to the left, clearly startled, and the hovercraft jerked along with her.

With no real idea what she doing, Bonnie flung herself at Shego's back. It was only when a figure in black slid into her path that she remembered Yori. And though Bonnie didn't see Yori's hand move, she still felt the blow that clipped her chin and knocked her to the floor of the hovercraft. Her first thought was that maybe she should have planned this better. Her second was that at least she'd done something. Then the hovercraft jerked again, now pointing straight down, and suddenly all Bonnie could think about was dying in a fiery crash.

"Get off, you crazy monkey!" Shego screamed.

Bonnie's head whipped around, and her mouth fell open.

The monkey ninja was perched on top of the controls, which were curiously not burning at all. Yori was out cold on the floor, one of her legs still wrapped up in the monkey's long tail. And Shego was wielding that familiar green fire in her hands, trying to get back to the controls, except that the monkey ninja was in her way, still had the blue fire streaming out of the stick, and clearly was not budging. And he was looking at Bonnie, as if to ask what he should do next.

"Call him off before we're all dead!" Shego ordered.

Bonnie opened her mouth to do that, then thought about it. "No."

"What?!"

"I said no! You guys don't know where Kim is or where you're going, so I'm not listening to you anymore. I mean, I bet he has a better idea of where Kim-"

The monkey ninja hopped off of the controls and into Shego's seat. Then he grabbed the controls and jerked them back. The hovercraft responded at once, throwing Bonnie and Shego to the back as it gradually began to even out and then fly straight ahead.

"You almost killed us!" Shego hissed, glaring at Bonnie.

"My flying monkey ninja almost killed us," Bonnie corrected. "And he was only doing what I told him to. He listens to me, unlike some other people I could name."

"You throw another tantrum like that and I throw you over the side, Queenie."

"My name is-"

"I call 'em like I see 'em. And you almost got me dead, so I no longer care what your name is. You just better hope Yori is okay. She's the only reason I was putting up with you. And I wouldn't be shocked if she's changed her mind, once she wakes up."

Bonnie did feel the slightest bit guilty about Yori being knocked out, but reminded herself that a nice kidnapper was still a kidnapper. "Okay, new rules. I think I know Kim better than anyone else around here does. So since what you two were doing clearly wasn't working, I'm going to find her my way. And when we do, you two are going to start treating me like a partner, not a hostage. Because I have no problem wrecking the controls, jumping clear, and leaving you two to your fate."

Shego stared at her for a long moment, then wordlessly bent down to pick Yori up.

Bonnie took that as a sign and slid into the seat next to her monkey ninja, who glanced at her briefly but otherwise kept flying the hovercraft. "Thanks," she murmured, reaching over to pat his arm.

Much to her surprise, he immediately curled his tail lightly around her wrist, in what Bonnie could only assume was an affectionate gesture, considering what he'd done to Yori with it.

It was only when Bonnie pulled her arm back that she realized something. She was on a mission, if not to save the world, then at least to save Kim Possible, and was currently being accompanied by a very odd pet. "Oh my God, I'm Ron," she groaned. Bonnie did not miss the way that her monkey ninja seemed to perk up at that. "Relax, I'm just thinking out loud, you... um... you need a name. Okay, from now on, you're Artie." She pointedly ignored the loud snort from Shego's direction. Deciding she needed a distraction, Bonnie searched the control panel until she found something she recognized, and switched on the radio.

"-ing our top news story, authorities are baffled by what they are calling a massacre of local police officers outside of of the Lowerton Center for Zoological Research. Early reports indicated that world-famous teen heroine Kim Possible had broken into the building after-hours, and authorities were attempting to establish contact with her. We have been asked to stress that Miss Possible is not being considered a suspect in the deaths at this time."

The blood drained out of Bonnie's face. "Artie, fly faster," she ordered at once.

"Maybe we shouldn't be doing this."

Jim Possible looked up from the workstation between them to stare at his twin. "We already talked about this. Yori said that as long as we don't do anything that makes Dr. Drakken think too much, her little mind trick should keep him pretty docile."

"Not that," Tim replied. "I mean, maybe we shouldn't be upgrading his equipment like this. He'll just turn around and use it to threaten either the world or Kim. Once everything is back to normal, that is."

Tim shrugged. "Honestly, it's almost a point of professional pride now. I don't know where he got his henchmen from, but they know nothing about maintaining a laser security system. I don't think I could sleep at night, knowing there was one in such bad shape. Kim could get past this in her sleep. Actually, I think even Ron could, if he had a mouthful of hot sauce and a little luck on his side. Whoever set this up didn't even take Rufus into account. It almost makes you sad, really." Noticing that Jim did not seem reassured, Tim went on. "And hey, if you're that worried about, we could add a DNA reader so that only we can operate it."

"I don't know. Drakken could just make a really crappy clone of us. Maybe he has already. Kim said he does that."

"Okay, we'll put some other obscure security measure on it. We'll figure it out later. We always do."

Jim nodded, lowering his gaze back the workstation, and allowing his brilliant mind to focus fully on the problem before him.

Not for the first time, Tim wondered if it was the same way for their parents, and even for Kim. So much came easily to the Possibles, whether it was luck or their own abilities. Sometimes Tim wondered if they actually deserved all they had. Then he reminded himself that his sister had already probably come closer to death or serious injury more times than most people would their entire lives, more than she would ever admit to them, and figured that life owed them big.

It was not the pain alone that woke Ron up, but the very real sensation that he was being ripped in two. Then he turned his head to left and saw that he was.

He was in a small, dimly lit office. There was a body lying on the floor next to him, or at least it looked like it was body-shaped. But it was also glowing bright red, almost entirely featureless, and the lines that composed it seemed to drift between solid and transparent every few seconds. Both of them were restrained by the chains that had knocked Ron out in the first place, and most worrying of all, both Ron's left arm and the body's right arm seemed to be occupying the exact same space, yet he felt absolutely no discomfort there, save for the chains.

Ron experimentally tried to move his left arm, and froze when the other body twitched and seemed to turn toward him. "Ron," said a familiar voice in his head, except that it was also coming from the other body as well.

His eyes widened in shock. "Pak?! Oh man, buddy, what'd they do to us?!"

There was a long pause, and then Pak replied hesitantly but with an unmistakable regret in his tone, "Dying."

Ron just stared at him, unable to respond to that.

Pak tried again. "Dying because of me."

"What? No way!" Ron answered. "I mean, okay, you did some pretty weird things to my body, but you're one of the good guys!"

Pak shook his head, and for a moment, Ron was able to see what looked like red eyes centered in the body's face. "Chains. Only hurt me. Ron hurt because... Ron and Pak partnered."

Ron let that idea roll around in his head for a moment. "But... the monkey ninjas. They were hurt, too."

"Pak shared power with brothers."

That wasn't too surprising, all things considered. But it also gave Ron an idea. "So, these chains... they only hurt spirits, or bodies touched by spirits. Does that mean they could get that spirit out of Kim?"

"Yes. But bad idea."

"What? Why?"

Pak sighed. "Chains made to harm. Torment. Bring suffering. Ron want that for KP?"

"Of course not! But it's all we've got right now, and if it gets that thing out of her..."

"Not thing," Pak corrected at once. "Clanmate."

"Oh, no way! Not after what she did to KP! That-"

"Not Ron clanmate," Pak explained, and his eyes surfaced again, but were unable to meet Ron's. "Pak clanmate."

Ron stared at him. "You mean... she's the same as you? A... monkey spirit? But she's evil, dude!"

"Was not always. Is now." Pak briefly poked into Ron's brain, seeking the words he needed. "Sister... twisted. Changed. Broken and rebuilt. Again and again. Cannot remember self as should be. Lost."

Ron was entirely unmoved. He wasn't about to feel sorry for the thing that had taken Kim from him. Maybe once it was out of her, he'd feel differently, but he doubted it. And he was pretty sure Kim would feel the same way. Maybe she had been over Josh Mankey and maybe she hadn't, but if word ever got out about what she'd done to him, her days of saving the world and being treated like a hero were over. And Ron didn't care how messed up Lailah was, he'd never forgive her if she'd wrecked Kim's life beyond what he could repair.

"So you want to save Lailah?" Ron guessed, hating the way the words felt leaving his mouth.

"No," Pak replied firmly, surprising him. "Pak save Ron and KP. Pak protect new clan."

Ron couldn't help grinning at him. "Well, okay, partner. Got any ideas on how we get out of this mess?"

"They will use chains to take Pak from Ron. When they do, Ron must let them."

"Um, what? That's your plan? What about the chains causing pain and suffering?"

"Ron will hurt much," Pak admitted. "But Pak won't let Ron die."

"Plan's still not sounding too great, though."

"When they take Pak, they will open Pit. Pit will attract all spirits close to it."

Ron blinked slowly. "So, if we get KP close to this Pit, Lailah might be pulled out of her?"

Pak nodded. "Must be careful. Might be only chance to save KP. Nothing else matters."

For some reason, Ron didn't like the way that sounded, and not just because they could lose Kim for good. Something about the way Pak was speaking bothered him a great deal, but he couldn't put his finger on it at the moment. Even worse, there was no time for it, because suddenly the entire building began to tremble violently. Normally, Ron might have tried to make a joke about it, in order to distract himself from how afraid he was, but all he could think about was saving Kim. Once they'd had time to regroup, they could deal with the rest.

Without warning, the door to the room was ripped off of its hinges, and through the open doorway, Ron could easily see the enormous man with the chains. He looked just as bad as the last time, except that now he was grinning in a way that could mean nothing good. As Ron watched, the man sunk his meaty fingers into the floor, and ripped it apart with his bare hands. But where there should have been another layer of floor, or even ground, there was only a dark, deep hole, and entire sections of the floor began falling away as the hole spread to take up most of the room. Ron could feel something about the hole tugging at him when he looked at it, and it was incredibly difficult to avert his eyes. This could only be the Pit that Pak had spoken of.

Suddenly, a disturbingly familiar voice rang out, but it was changed, somehow: deeper, rougher, and with a strange, echo quality to it.

"Drag them, Apollyon! Drag them into the deepest darkness, oh Guardian of the Pit!"

"Monkey Fist," Ron growled, and then he was screaming as the chains around his body tightened and began to course with what felt like electrical fire. Agony unlike anything Ron had ever known rolled over every inch of his body, and though he could not hear Pak screaming, he still knew there was no way anything could withstand such pain and not scream. And through the pain, Ron could feel that he was indeed being dragged, slowly but surely, toward the Pit, just as Pak was.

It was only when Ron had been pulled out of the small office that he realized how much trouble they were in.

First, there was Lailah. And it was definitely her, and not Kim, because when their eyes met, a cruel smile spread across her lips. She was sitting against the wall, with her legs folded beneath her, and her hands resting on her knees. At first, Ron thought it was odd that she wasn't laughing or taunting him, as she had been before. Then a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face, and he realized that Lailah was being influenced by the Pit as well. She wasn't taunting him because it was taking all of her effort not to be drawn to the Pit. Ron had no idea how she was doing it, but she wasn't being moved at all. Then again, her eyes were fixed firmly on him, and not on the Pit.

Next, there was Monkey Fist at Lailah's side. He, too, was focused on not being moved, but it didn't seem to take nearly as much effort on his part. This was no doubt in part because of the enormous crimson aura surrounding him. Where Pak's form was at least vaguely Ron-shaped now, Monkey Fist's aura seemed almost ten times the size of his body, as if a see-through gorilla had swallowed him whole. His eyes were fixed on Ron as well, but there was no laughter, no taunting, only grim satisfaction. Whatever Monkey Fist was now, there was clearly still enough of him in there to enjoy watching Ron suffer.

Worst of all, there was the now-named Apollyon perched on the far side of the Pit. Unlike every other spirit present, he seemed entirely immune to the pull of the Pit. With every movement, his human hostage strained to contain him, and as Ron watched, a rip appeared in one of the man's bulging biceps, and it began to bleed something that was too dark to be entirely blood. Ron understood then, with startling clarity, what Monkey Fist's grand plan was, and how close it was to being realized.

Monkey Fist had brought Hell to Earth. Only he had left the door open, and he was about to send Ron and Pak through it.

There wasn't going to be much time left. Pak was closer to the Pit than Ron, but not by very much. And it certainly looked as if any plan that had involved Ron being used in some way had already been abandoned. Maybe Lailah was just that nuts, or maybe her plans had been overridden. It didn't really matter anymore.

What did matter, however, was the green fireball that suddenly flew over Ron's head and slammed into Apollyon's face with a terrific explosion. The pull from the Pit immediately relaxed considerably. Ron tilted his head back, certain he'd seen wrong, and got the upside-down shock of his life. Because unless he was crazy, Shego was standing at the other end of the room, with both hands aflame.

"Shego," Monkey Fist said in that odd, dual voice. "I must admit I can think of no reason for you to be here. In case you hadn't noticed, we're about to rid you of the buffoon. You might show a little appreciation."

"Confused, Monty?" Shego asked with a throaty chuckle. "Let me see if I can make it easy for you. You see me eating a burger and fries. You know I enjoy my burger and fries. You steal my burger and fries, coat them in monkey poop, act surprised when I show up to get them back, and then you try to bribe me by saying you'll eat the damn fries. Well, it doesn't work that way. You owe a monkey-poop free meal. So I'm only going to say this once. Get your filthy paws off of my Kimmie and my sidekick, or you become the first monkey to discover just how effective superheated plasma is as a suppository."

All Ron's thoughts of kissing Shego in gratitude dried up with that particular mental image. But he couldn't say Monkey Fist was undeserving of such treatment.

Monkey Fist sighed. "Very well. I see I have no choice." His eyes flicked over to Lailah. "Kill her."

Lailah had crossed the room in seconds, only to receive a powerful backhand across the face that surprised her more than it hurt her. But even that was enough to stun her long enough for Shego to send her flying with another green fireball.

"You use Kimmie's body, but not her fighting style. Don't want to be too predictable, I guess." Shego smirked as she stood over Lailah. "Only problem is, Kimmie's the only one in my league. So if you don't fight like her, you're just wasting my time, little ghost. And I got no problem beating this body bloody until you give it up."

End of Chapter 16.

Next Chapter: The Purest Heart

With everything on the line, Bonnie finally has a chance to save the world. But Ron suddenly is her world, and the only one she can't bear to lose. Real heroes can't afford to be selfish. But Bonnie is no hero. Or is she?

Endnotes:

Obviously, I took so long with this story that FFNet changed their rules on answering reviews in a story. But I do still encourage questions, because I know certain things can get very confusing. And it's been a while, so maybe I didn't explain other things so well.