Notes: Took a break from this story, in order to produce "Twinkle, Little Star." It was an...interesting experience, though, one I'm not immensely proud of. As you can probably tell, since I haven't even posted it yet, if I ever even will. Now, back to business.

Chapter 14: Angel of Night

Josh Mankey had been on many dates before, and liked to think of himself as an old pro at the "big" dates: special occasions, family gatherings, and especially dances.

The typical rules did not apply when dating Kim Possible, however. Josh knew up front that there was a pretty good chance that any date with her could be broken up by a mission or a random bad guy attack. For that reason, any big surprises were always presented right away, and the rest of the date pretty much had to coast on leftover momentum. Luckily, Josh was good at coasting, and Kim had understood his reasoning, though she'd been a lot more accepting of it than Josh had expected.

Another thing Josh hadn't expected was for Kim to be so...physical. Certainly, he'd seen her beat up grown men on the evening news, but he had never really accounted for how that might transfer into her dating habits. In short, Kim wasn't too shy about touching him. At first, he'd thought that since they'd dated previously, she was more interested in picking up where they'd left off. It was more than that, though. Kim seemed to have a need for physical contact that just hadn't been there before. Josh didn't want to read too much into it, in case things went sour for them again. But the fact remained that every time they went on an official date, Kim either found a reason to touch him, or decided she didn't need a reason at all to do so.

Josh wasn't sure if he should say anything. Pushing Kim away might spoil everything. But he also didn't want to lead her on by welcoming her advances, until it got to the point where he had to either go all the way or break things off completely. And, honestly, he was less worried about disappointing Kim a second time, and more concerned about how she might react to being rejected. If she was this aggressive now, did he want to be in a public place with plenty of witnesses when things went south, or alone with her only to end up going missing? It wasn't something that Josh would've thought about with the old Kim, but the one that he was dating now seemed a bit more...volatile. He hadn't yet made her mad, exactly, but at the same time, there seemed to be hints that Kim really liked getting her way, and that his personal safety wouldn't be on the line so long as he agreed with her.

So Josh wasn't exactly feeling pressure-free when he drove up to the Possible home on Saturday night. In fact, he sat in his car for a few extra minutes, trying to mentally prepare himself for a big evening. They would go to the dance, and depending on how much Kim enjoyed it, he would either take her straight home afterwards, or stop off somewhere they could be alone. He was pretty sure it would end up being the latter, given the past few dates. Oh, he got the 'shot into a black hole' speech from Mr. Dr. Possible every time, but he also got the speech from Kim that basically went, "I'M the one you need to keep happy, not him." And, in all fairness, Kim could hurt Josh so bad that he WISHED he were in a black hole, so Mr. Possible just wasn't as scary by comparison.

That gave Josh pause as he stepped out of his car. He was actually afraid of his girlfriend. That had never really happened before, not even the first time he'd dated Kim. He'd been nervous once or twice around a girl, but never afraid. This was...odd. And yet he couldn't think of a good enough excuse to call the whole thing off. One that wouldn't result in Kim pummeling him all the way back to his car, anyway.

Sighing, Josh started up the driveway, and stopped when he saw Kim running around the side of the house towards him, wearing a tank top and shorts. He looked down at his tuxedo, and wished he'd thought to bring a chance of clothes.

"Hey!" Kim panted as she ran up, giving him a swift kiss on the lips. "Wanna do something nuts?"

"Like go to the dance in casual clothes?" Josh guessed.

Kim grinned wickedly. "Actually, I was thinking we could skip the dance entirely. There's this place with a really great view I found on a mission. But you wouldn't really be comfortable in that tux, so maybe we should drop by your house so you can change."

"So...we're not going to the dance at all?" Josh clarified.

"Don't worry, we'll be back in plenty of time. I've got it all set up," Kim assured him. "Oh, you're not scared of heights, are you?"

"No," Josh answered slowly as they walked to his car. "Should I be?"

"Only if joining the Mile High Club would bother you," Kim replied airily.

Josh nearly banged his hip with the car door as he opened it for her. "Excuse me?" he choked out.

Kim just smirked at him for a moment, before leaning in to brush his lips with another quick kiss. "Relax, I was joking," she said as she got in the car.

Josh swallowed hard and began to close her door, but not before he caught her next statement.

"I'd rather wait to do that until we were back on solid ground, anyway."

---

"So, any news on the Bonnie front?" Ron asked, trying his best to sound casual as he and Tara walked to the gym.

"You know, it's the weirdest thing," Tara commented. "At the last minute, she volunteered to help the dance committee set up for tonight. When I called to see if she wanted to ride with us, she was already here, apparently."

"Almost like she didn't want us to see who she was with, if she came with anyone at all?" Ron asked, looking worried.

"This is Bonnie we're talking about, Ron. She's never had a tough time finding a date. She's never HAD to find a date."

"She's never really let anything take priority over a dance, though."

"I'm sure she's fine," Tara replied confidently. "She would've said something by now if she wasn't."

"Well, guess we're about to find out," Ron said as they paused outside of the open gym doors. "You're absolutely sure you want me to-"

"Yes, I am," Tara interrupted. "And if she says no, don't cave. Keep asking."

"Should I have a certain number in mind, or-"

"Five times, at least. Seven at the most."

"So if I hit seven, just back off?"

"Yes. If she won't do it by then, she probably won't at all. Tonight, anyway. But I'm hoping it won't come to that."

"Okay. We're ready." Ron took a deep breath. "Did I mention you look great in that dress?"

"You did," Tara said with a smile. "Doesn't hurt to hear it again, though. What brought that on?"

"Well, I'm about to ask your best friend to dance. I feel sort of obligated to compliment you first."

"Always the gentleman," Tara sighed happily, kissing his cheek.

"You can't keep doing that if you want me to dance with someone else," Ron groaned.

"Right, sorry. Let's go!"

They stepped through the doors together...and walked right into Bonnie, who was hovering at the entrance with a clipboard.

"Names?" she asked sharply, still staring at clipboard.

"I'm sure we're on the VIP list, my dear," Ron said in his best impression of Senor Senior, Sr.

"Look, pal," Bonnie snapped as she looked up, "this isn't-" She trailed off abruptly, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "Oh. Sorry, guys. It's turning out to be a very long night for me."

"Really?" Tara asked. She seemed to be looking left and right, as if she expected some fabulous guy to pop out of nowhere and introduce himself as Bonnie's date.

"Yeah. Half of these knuckleheads didn't know the first thing about proper decorating, so I practically HAD to take over there. And then there was a mix-up with the refreshments at the last minute, and the girl who was checking off names waited until like an hour before start time to have a nervous breakdown, so I had to do that, too."

"I hope this doesn't mean you're going to be too busy to have a dance or two later on," Ron remarked.

"Ron's right, your date might get lonely," Tara chimed in, still searching for the elusive guy in question.

Ron, however, was looking directly at Bonnie's face as she said it. He had heard people talk about someone's expression crumbling, but he'd never actually seen it happen. And as he looked at Bonnie, he realized at once that Tara had said the wrong thing. Bonnie's face didn't so much crumble as it started to crumble, then righted itself into something of a weak grimace that looked remarkably like her usual sour expression.

"I've got it all under control," Bonnie said a bit too quickly. She found their names on her clipboard, checked them off, and thrust two smiley face stickers into Ron's hand. "Yet ANOTHER weak point in this disaster area, someone forgot all the ticket stubs. Anyone accuses you of sneaking in without having paid, you show them these and make a mental note of their name so I can chew them out personally."

Ron was going to leave it at that, but Tara elbowed him a few times, so he sighed and turned back to Bonnie. "Save me a spot on your dance card?"

Bonnie was already looking at her clipboard again as the next couple came in, and she only muttered something that could've been, "We'll see."

---

Shego stared at the small artifact on the pedestal, wondering what she should do next. The pedestal itself was surrounded by what seemed to be an entire field of large washbasins, except each basin was constantly spouting a nonstop stream of angry red flames. There was no room to slip between the flames, they were too high to jump over, and the walls themselves had absolutely no spaces for handholds, and at any rate the room was far too wide for that sort of thing.

There was one option, but she wasn't sure it would work.

Shego licked her lips as she carefully approached the nearest basin. She tensed her body so that it was ready to move in an instant, and flicked her fingers, sending a few green sparks into the flame.

She wasn't entirely surprised the flames seemed to rise higher and roar louder at her.

"Just great," Shego muttered. She turned around to rethink her approach, and suddenly there was a strong gust of wind on her back. Shego risked a glance over her shoulder, and was more than a little startled when she noticed that the basin's flames were gone.

Curious, she turned to face the basin again, and groaned as the flames shot up again. "Oh, COME ON!"

Shego turned away again, felt the gust of wind, and sure enough, the flames were out again. "What do I have to do, walk backwards the whole way?"

There was no audible answer, of course, but it seemed to staring her in the face (or the back, anyway), and she had no other ideas. With a shrug, she slowly stepped backwards into the first basin, and instantly felt another gust of wind as the basin behind her extinguished.

"So that's two down, and..." Shego paused and glanced over her shoulder with a long sigh. "A LOT more to go. But I guess it's better than being shut up in a lair with those little monsters that pass themselves off as Kimmie's brothers..."

---

"Would you care for some more chocolate milk, Drakken-san?"

Doctor Drakken looked up from the table to see the girl staring at him expectantly. "Ah...no, thank you. I'm...fine. I think."

She nodded and swiftly moved away.

Drakken followed her with his eyes, and tried to squash the odd tingle in the back of his mind. He knew absolutely nothing about this girl, save that she had been in his lair when he emerged from the lab, and that she apparently knew Shego. At first, he'd mistaken her for an embarrassment ninja, but considering she hadn't said or done one funny thing the whole time, he was leaning towards regular ninja now.

Even more strange was the fact that he didn't seem to mind that Kim Possible's twin brothers were also present. He had a feeling that he SHOULD mind, yet he really didn't. All they'd done so far was use the phone to call their mother. That conversation (the side of it Drakken could hear, that is) didn't make much sense, either.

"Are you SURE there's nothing strange in the sample, Mom?" Jim asked. "Nothing at all?"

"Did you check it for rabies?" Tim demanded.

"I think that would count as something strange," Jim pointed out.

"Well, it never hurts to ask," Tim insisted.

"Just don't do anything to make her mad," Jim suggested. "Wait, she left already? Oh. No, no, we're fine. Yeah, she's cool. Ron knows her, we think. Um...pretty sure. Mom, I don't think she's evil, really. Okay, yes, she is working with Shego, but they haven't done anything bad yet. What? Mom, I don't think Yori...okay, hold on." Jim lowered the phone. "Yori? Mom wants to talk to you."

Yori took the phone, and proceeded to reassure Ms. Possible that her boys were in good hands. Drakken wasn't sure how she did it; most of her answers were pretty short and vague, but in the end, Yori had effectively volunteered herself to watch the boys, free of charge, with a promise to return them in good condition as soon as the situation was resolved. Drakken hadn't even realized there WAS a situation to resolve, but couldn't bring himself to worry about it. Instead, he sipped his warm coco-moo and hoped that Shego would return soon. She always explained things so that they were impossible to misunderstand.

"I still can't get in touch with Ron," Tim said suddenly. "He's not answering his cell phone. Hasn't for the last few days. I left so many messages that his inbox is full."

Yori seemed especially concerned about that.

---

Ron got the distinct impression that Bonnie had found the perfect way to avoid being dateless in the eyes of the public. Every few minutes she could be seen and heard shouting at one of her fellow dance committee members, to the point where it became obvious that she was practically running the whole dance herself. Of course, a lot of people had just gotten tired of being yelled at and quit, which left even more for Bonnie to do.

So by the time Bonnie was able to retreat to the bleachers to take a well deserved break, the dance was halfway over, and no one was paying her much attention, anyway. No one but Ron and Tara, anyway.

Ron waited a few minutes for Bonnie to catch her breath before slowly approaching her. She was focused on the cup of punch in her hands, so he quietly made his way to her row and sat a good distance away. He began to drum his fingers on the bleacher, waiting for her to complain.

Bonnie was either too tired or determined to ignore him, because she didn't even look up.

Frowning, Ron moved an inch closer.

Bonnie sighed. "You don't have to sit all the way down there, Ron. I don't mind anymore, and no one's looking either way."

Ron slid down until he was a respectful distance away. "So...about that dance..."

"If I say no, you'll just ask me again, won't you?"

"Up to a point, but yes."

"Ron, I've been on my feet all day, my throat is killing me, and all I want to do is go home and lay down for a week."

"So...that's a no?"

Bonnie glared at him and grabbed his hand as she stood up. "Come on, before I change my mind again."

Ron allowed himself to be dragged onto the floor; he couldn't believe that Tara's plan had actually worked, and that he'd only had to ask twice. If Bonnie was as exhausted as she seemed, then why was she doing this?

"Let's get one thing straight," Bonnie said as they came to a suitable spot on the floor. "These hands," she instructed, taking his hands and placing them on her hips, "stay here. They don't move, period."

"What if one of us has an itch?" Ron asked.

Bonnie's eyes narrowed.

"I'm totally serious."

"I'll take care of my own itches, thank you."

"You don't seem really into this, Bon-Bon."

Bonnie sighed heavily and slid her hands up to his shoulders. "Looks can be deceiving."

"Guess so," Ron murmured faintly as they began to dance.

It was nothing like Ron had expected. Bonnie actually kept her distance, or as much as she could while still holding onto him. Her eyes always seemed to drift away from his, or were firmly shut as she followed his movements. He thought about trying to talk to her, but somehow it just seemed out of place. Bonnie appeared to be enjoying, or at least focusing on something, and he didn't want to spoil it for her. So he kept his mouth shut and kept dancing.

---

Josh was trying not to read too much into this date. But it was getting awfully hard not to.

Kim had taken him to some hot springs in the middle of nowhere. At no time previous had she indicated he would need more than one set of clothing, so he either had to get in with all his clothes on, or off. Kim had already made her choice, and Josh knew it was best to follow suit, or risk displeasing her.

Sensing he was a bit nervous, Kim had given him ten minutes to get undressed while she checked some messages on her cell phone. Josh quickly found that the only thing odder than getting naked in front of Kim Possible was doing it while you could hear her brothers talking in the background. Even worse, he heard them mention Ron and some girl named Yori, which didn't do much for his mood, and probably wouldn't improve Kim's, either. She hadn't mentioned Ron for days now, and Josh got the impression that they were both trying to move on too quickly.

Absently, he wondered if Ron and this mysterious Yori were moving as fast as Kim seemed to want to. Then he wondered if she was only doing this because of them. It would probably be best to ask at some point, even if it did make her angry.

"Ready to take a dip?" Kim asked as she walked over, just as naked as he now was.

Josh did his best not to stare. "Listen, if this is about Ron-"

"He should be at the dance by now. That gives me an idea," Kim interrupted, smiling brightly as she fiddled with her cell phone. "Wanna take some pictures? For posterity, of course."

"Somehow, I don't think either of us should be thinking about posterity right now," Josh disagreed.

"Then we probably shouldn't be standing around naked like this."

"That was your idea."

"True," Kim admitted as she came closer. "So why don't we try out another of my ideas?"

---

This was going well, Ron told himself. Bonnie had gradually loosened up the longer they danced, to the point where she could actually look at him for a few seconds without turning away. However, she was still clearly tired. Several times he caught her blinking rapidly in an attempt to stay awake, and once her head even dropped to his shoulder, only to jerk back up, her face bright red.

"We can stop, if you want," Ron offered hesitantly.

"I just...need some water," Bonnie said slowly, shaking her head.

"We can dance any time. You don't have to do this now."

"This is MY dance, Ron. I put it together, and I'm going to dance here and now, not later. It wouldn't be as special another time."

"Sure, it would," Ron disagreed. "I'd still be dancing with you, Bon-Bon."

Bonnie's cheeks actually flushed again, and she quickly averted her gaze.

Ron was just about to joke that her face might get stuck that way when his stomach seemed to flip over, leaving him feeling nauseous.

"KP," Pak murmured in his head. "Clanmate in danger!"

Ron froze, and became aware of Bonnie calling him. "Huh?"

"Are you okay, Ron? You look pale."

"I don't...not sure," Ron muttered. "I just...I've got a bad feeling. I need to call...someone."

"Is it about a mission?" Bonnie asked.

"I hope not. I'll make this up to you, Bon-Bon, I swear. I'm sor-"

"Go," Bonnie interrupted, gently pushing him away.

"Maybe you should come, too," Ron suggested. "I mean, if we're going to be partners and all."

"Ron, I'm no good to anyone in my condition," Bonnie sighed. "If you really think you need someone to go with you, call Zita. She was going to Bueno Nacho with Monique tonight."

"What about Ta-"

Bonnie cut him off again. "I'll explain everything to Tara. We'll be fine, don't worry. Just go."

Grinning, Ron impulsively pulled Bonnie into a quick hug. "Thanks," he whispered before running out of the gym.

Bonnie was still trying to collect herself when Tara walked over.

"Where's Ron going?"

"Something came up," Bonnie answered softly.

"Oh. Well, did you have a good time?" Tara asked.

"Um...I think so." Bonnie shook her head slightly. "Listen, I'm going to...uh...go home. I'm really tired, and-"

"I'll go with you," Tara offered.

"No, you don't have to do that."

"I want to. Besides, with Ron and now you gone, there's no point in me staying. And I want to hear all about your dance with Ron."

Bonnie bit her lip. "Tara, I don't-"

"You promised that when you figured out how you felt, you'd tell me or Ron. Remember?"

"Yes."

"Something tells me that if you haven't figured it out yet, tonight got you a lot closer to the answer. Am I right?"

"Yes," Bonnie repeated quietly.

"Good." Tara took her arm. "We don't have to talk about it tonight. We don't have to talk tonight, period. But I want to be with you, Bonnie."

"Why?" Bonnie asked without thinking.

Tara smiled at her. "To be honest, I worry when Ron goes on a mission. Being with you makes me feel better. And, this is just a guess, but I think it might be the same for you. You're worried about him, too."

Bonnie was a little too tired to bother with trying to deny that Tara was right. "How can I not? He's so...clumsy, and goofy, and he's always had Kim to save him before."

"Then you have to be there to save him next time," Tara said seriously. "And you have to be able to save him. He's depending on you, Bonnie. So am I."

---

Yori looked up as Shego walked into the room, "How was your trip, Shego-san?"

"Here," Shego sighed, tossing the artifact at Yori without looking. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Is anything wrong?" Yori asked as she rose to follow, carefully slipping the small object into a pouch at her waist.

"Don't wanna talk about it," Shego grumbled.

"I am afraid I must insist, Shego-san. You seem...distracted. As good as you are, you are even better when focused."

Shego stopped short and slowly turned around, keeping a surprisingly firm grip on her temper.

"Please," Yori said simply.

Shego stared at her for a long moment. "You'll think I'm nuts. I do."

"I promise that I will not, and you are not."

The seemingly comforting statement did not have the desired effect.

"You sound...very accepting of that," Shego murmured, her eyes narrowing. "Very...aware of it. As if you knew it would happen."

Yori blinked. "I will admit I had a suspicion, Shego-san."

"Yeah? And what did you suspect, exactly?"

"That the spirit of fire would aid you," Yori replied promptly, her tone all too genuine to be joking or sarcasm.

There was an exceedingly long pause.

"Oh," Shego said at last. "So long as we both sound nuts, then."

"We are quite sane, Shego-san. The spirit is real. As real as the one that has possessed Possible-san. You did not detect it because it has yet to select a host. It has merely...accompanied me all this time. I am...unfit to wield its power."

"And...you're going to tell me that I'm fit?" Shego guessed.

"The spirit recognizes our cause is just. It will assist us without taking over our bodies. At least, until it finds the most suitable one. I do not think you have anything to worry about."

"So you're saying I'm NOT fit?"

Yori shook her head. "It is not a matter of physical ability, Shego-san. The spirit will select someone who is most likely to wield its power in a way that it considers most honorable."

"Ah. No wonder it didn't pick me."

Yori lightly placed her hand on Shego's shoulder. "Do not deceive yourself. You are very honorable, Shego-san. I would not ask aid of someone I did not respect."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Yori, but having the respect of someone who talks to ghosts isn't doing a whole lot for my self-esteem."

"Is it the spirit that you doubt, or my words?" Yori asked softly. "If it is me, then you might as well betray me now."

Shego's mouth actually dropped open as Yori seized her hand and pressed it against her own black-clad abdomen. "Yori...what are you doing?" she asked slowly, feeling the girl's body tense beneath her hand.

"If you do not trust me," Yori said, her voice amazingly calm, "then fire." Her fingers tightened around Shego's wrist. "I will make no attempt to defend myself."

Shego had worked with some arguably insane people in her life (and technically still did), but Yori was apparently the bravest, or at least the dumbest, and that was saying something, with Dr. Drakken in the next room. For all that Yori had explained, Shego knew there was much more she hadn't, and that alone usually would've been reason enough to blast her straight through the wall. But the incredible fact that the girl was placing her life in Shego's hands, literally, could not be ignored. Even Kim had never willingly done that, and much as Shego hated to admit it, that meant something to her.

"You want me to trust you?" Shego asked. "Tell me what I just stole."

"The explanation itself requires that you believe in the spirit of fire, and my words. Do you believe, Shego-san?"

"I'm keeping an open mind," was all Shego would agree to.

"Very well." Keeping one hand on Shego's own, Yori retrieved the artifact from her pouch. It was a thin, cylinder-shaped handle of sorts, fashioned from what seemed to be silver. It was entirely smooth to the touch, save for a scowling monkey head that had been engraved near the top. "This, if the legend is true, is the handle of a certain sword. A sword of flame, to be used only be one who has been chosen. Unfortunately, it was never mentioned who would be doing the choosing, who would be chosen, or even when they would be chosen. But, so far, it appears to be our best weapon against our current foes."

"The other spirit?"

"Spirits," Yori corrected. "I can only confirm the presence of three, aside from the spirit of fire. They are being...hosted by Possible-san, Ron-san, and Monkey Fist."

"I have to give Monty credit," Shego chuckled. "He always goes out of his way to include the sidekick. Although, considering he hasn't won yet in all this time, I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"Ron-san represents a greater threat than you realize, Shego-san. And now that he has been taken over by a spirit, there is no telling what he is capable of. We can only hope that at least some of his true nature still remains."

---

Ron was currently in the midst of a very frantic night. Still unable to find his cell phone, he'd made his way to Bueno Nacho, where Zita and Monique had put away so many orders, the sight would've normally brought tears of pride to Ron's eyes. This night had ceased being normal, though, and instead, Ron asked Monique if she had any idea where Kim was at the moment.

Unfortunately, Monique was just as much out of Kim's circle of friends as Ron was now, and also like Ron, she'd assumed Kim would be at the dance with Josh. Zita hadn't heard anything either, but she offered Ron the use of her cell phone so he could try to track Kim down. While the offer had made Ron a little less panicky, calling everyone Kim knew (in Middleton, anyway) resulted in a huge waste of Zita's monthly minutes. It seemed Ron and Monique weren't the only ones Kim hadn't been associating with anymore, as almost no one had even seen her in the past few days.

Finally, Ron got an unexpected break when Monique's cell phone rang. It turned out to be Mrs. Dr. Possible, who was concerned because Kim had come home in tears, gone straight to her room, and wouldn't come out. The only thing she knew for sure was that Kim had been with Josh.

She had called Monique, hoping the presence of Kim's former closest girlfriend might offer some comfort (and had, in fact, already called Ron's cell phone several times, with no answer).

Mere minutes later, Ron was running up the Possible driveway and practically banging on the door. His mind had gradually filled with terrible possibilities as he made his way to the house, but only two constants kept popping up: Kim was alive...and she was upset because of something Josh had done.

"Ron, thank goodness you're here!" Mrs. Dr. Possible said when she opened the door. Impulsively, she gave him a big hug and kissed the top of his head before pulling him to the stairs. "Hurry. Kim needs you," was all she would say.

That she seemed to be putting all her confidence in him only made Ron more nervous as he ran upstairs and approached Kim's room. He could hear muffled sobs even before he reached the door, and despite the fact that they weren't friends anymore, Ron wanted to do nothing more than go in and convince Kim that everything would be fine. He wasn't even sure if she wanted to see him, though. Preparing himself for anything, Ron knocked quietly on the door.

"KP, it's me. Look, I know I might be the last person you want to see right now, and I know we'd had our differences, but...I still care about you. We've been best friends for years, and I can't stand to see bad things happen to you. Your mom is so freaked that she even asked me to come over and talk you out of there. So, whatever happened tonight, just know that I'm here if you need me, and-"

The door slowly opened, and Kim stared at him for a moment, her eyes red from crying. Without warning, she threw her arms around his neck and bawled into his shoulder, her whole body trembling with the force of her cries.

Ron carefully maneuvered her over to bed, where he tried to calm her down enough so that they could talk. Kim didn't seem to want to let go of him for even a moment, and Ron wasn't sure if that made him happy, or angrier that Josh had driven her to this, somehow.

Finally, Kim was calm enough to talk.

"It was horrible," she whispered. "Josh told me he didn't want to go the dance, because he'd found this great place he wanted to show me. So he drove us up to this lake with a spectacular view. Everything was fine at first, but then, he started...t-touching me, and..."

"And what?" Ron pressed.

Kim just looked at him, her eyes brimming over with tears. "He hurt me, Ron."

Ron didn't want to believe it. Kim was stronger than this. Josh couldn't have been that stupid.

Yet could he feel the rage building up inside of him, and oddly enough, it was originating from Pak.

"KP hurt," Pak growled. "Clanmate must be avenged! Mankey pay!"

"But, dude, are you sure?" Ron asked. "This all seems-"

Pak then sought out a term he knew would make Ron understand how serious this was. "KP...MATED!"

At once, Ron's sense of smell seemed to kick into overdrive, as if Pak had flipped a switch to provide proof. Ron could actually smell Josh's sweat on Kim, and more than that, he could smell Kim's blood. The fury that seized him was unlike anything Ron had ever experienced. He stood up and headed for the door.

"Ron?" Kim whimpered. "Where are you going?"

"To kill Josh Mankey," Ron replied as he left the room.

Kim wiped at her eyes, even as a cruel smile spread across her face. "Good boy."

---

Next Chapter: Semyaza Rising

Things are not what they seem, Monkey Fist moves out, and Bonnie is abducted.