“Shego.”
The council of elders watched the young woman impassively. Once again, they were in that house at the edge of the village, smokey with incense, and the elders formed a semi-circle around Shego. She had her back bared to them, her shirt hanging loosely from her arms. Naked from the waist up, Shego supressed a shiver as the cool air caressed her skin.
“How do you fare, child?”
“I am well,” Shego replied emotionlessly.
A few more moments of silence and the elders exchanged glances amongst themselves, nodding, satisfied with what they saw. “We have seen enough.”
Shego shrugged her shirt back on and buttoned it up. She turned after she had donned her shirt and bowed respectfully to the council.
“Honourable elders.”
It was late. One of the many meetings they had had since Shego had been emersed in the secrets of Er Mei. The elders watched Shego's growth carefully, living records to her time in China. Though they were cautious, they were also joyful. In their lifetime, they had never had someone who had such frequent contact with the master of Er Mei.
“How is our lady?” Lo po-po spoke first.
“Our lady is well, and thanks the council for their well-wishes this New Year's.” Shego replied. “She sleeps comfortably.”
“The days grow longer.” Ngan gon-gon, the youngest member of the council of elders spoke up. “She grows in strength as the monks grow more desperate.” There was a pregnant pause as he looked thoughtfully at Shego. Shego returned his gaze unflinchingly. “Her state of mind?”
Shego's brow furrowed at the question. “She has some bad days. I try my best to calm her.”
“Has she talked to Kim yet?”
“No. As you know, I've sent Kim down the mountain every time my master is able to come to the house.” Shego gave her report calmly. “My master has only seen Kim that night under the effects of Cho gon-gon's tea. Now, my lady sleeps. But she will wake soon. In the spring, I will present Kim to her, then.”
“We have heard,” Tse po-po, a wizened old woman started to speak, “That you have asked for the history of our village to be told to the newcomer. Is she ready?”
“She is ready.” Shego bowed again in the direction of the Lins. “Po-po, gon-gon… would you weave this story for us?”
The couple looked at each other again, then nodded gravely. “We will do this.”
‘Go, go, go, go…’ Kim ran away, into the forest. The midday sun beat down upon her.
She had to run.
Away from the village.
Away from Er Mei.
Away from Shego.
Just… escape. Back to the life she knew, back to her family and friends. A small part of her frowned at what she was doing. But the larger part of her was too… traumatized to even register.
What happens to a bright young woman who's cut off from any kind of human interaction? A young woman who relied heavily on the many friendships and bonds that she had made in her life? It would be like cutting off the flow of sunlight and water to a flower. The flower would die. Kim was strong, though. She weathered out that transition, from the warm and attentive care of her friends and family to Shego's dark prison.
Though the village was a welcome respite from Shego's non-company, and the only-Chinese decree for communication had honed Kim's skills in the language so communication was easier; she had been bitten by the bug. No matter how kind people were, how welcoming, they weren't her family. They weren't her home. They didn't love her like her family and friends did. She was homesick.
‘Great.’ Kim looked around the forest, completely and utterly lost. She had just ran in a random direction, hoping that she'd get somewhere. Anywhere but here. Back to civilization. Away from the gruelling work that Shego assigned her, away from the watchful eyes of the village, just away from all of it.
Kim's stumbling steps suddenly halted, her vision shimmered in front of her as if there was a translucent film, blocking her way… Kim blinked and rubbed her eyes, just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. But there it was, clear as day. It seemed to stretch up to unimaginable heights and width. A barrier of some sort…?
‘If its blocking my way,’ Kim pressed her hand up against this barrier, felt it quiver under her touch. ‘It must be either to keep people out… or keep people in.’
Making a quick decision, she lunged through the invisible boundary, surprised at how little the boundary resisted, as if there was nothing there at all. It just felt like she had walked through a bubble--
“Good afternoon.”
Kim swung around, her insides were wound up so tightly that she immediately went into attack mode. Fists swung out and was blocked readily. Kim followed up with lightning-quick attacks and felt satisfied as each punch and kick met her target.
‘Fighting skills maybe a bar or two higher than Fong's,’ Kim looked at the figure on the forest floor, still on guard. ‘But way below me. And he wasn't holding back--’
Alarms suddenly starting ringing in her head as she examined the man closely. He was shaved bald… in yellow robes and a red cloak that was draped over one shoulder.
“A monk,” Kim tensed, remembering the condition Cheung and Fong had been in after a meeting with them.
“Please, stop.” The downed monk held up a hand, another pressed on his chest as he tried to get his breath back. He looked at Kim curiously and pushed himself off the forest floor. “I have no quarrel with you. Why do you hit me?”
His Chinese was fast and clipped, Kim barely kept up.
“I,” Kim cleared her throat. “I'm sorry. I was startled.”
“That's fine, that's fine.” He laughed, dusting himself off. The monk looked like he was in his late twenties to early thirties, but was probably older. Kim remembered Shego's off-hand remark one time about how asians aged well. His eyes shone with mirth. He had a strong jawline and the symmetry of his face was only marred by his nose, which looked like it had been broken one too many times to fix. He looked sort of like Cheung, actually.
“I was just sitting there,” The monk pointed to a large flat rock nearby. “And then you came through the barrier suddenly!”
“What were you--wait,” Kim let her guard down. “You can see it too?”
“I'm a monk,” The man smiled. “I can sense things that are otherworldly, and that barrier is definitely otherworldly. Watch,” The monk rolled up his sleeves, revealing a string of large beads. With a few muttered words, he reached out and touched the barrier. Immediately, it flared up in a sickly green colour, reacting violently to the monk's touch. Protective glyphs glowed a dull yellow. She could feel a crackling in the air as light pooled in front of the monk--
“Watch out!” Too late, the collection of power blasted outwards, covering the monk, but thankfully seemed to bend around a yellow aura surrounding his body.
“What was that?” Kim reached forward and touched the wall hesitantly. She could… feel it. Like a barrier of energy. But she could easily push her hand through with no ill effects.
“Its a barrier to keep me and all others like me, out.” The monk looked at the barrier wryly, which was glowing angrily, making Kim's view of that part of the forest murky. The monk shook his head and held out a hand to Kim. “I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Nam Ho.”
From years of manners pounded into her, Kim held out her hand in response and immediately gave her name. “Kim Possible. Nice to meet you.”
“Are you sure?” Nam Ho raised an eyebrow teasingly and touched at a spot on his cheek that was quickly rising in a bruise. “I think I'm going to get a very nice bruise right here. And maybe you might have broken my nose. As if it hasn't been broken enough.”
“Oh,” Kim winced. “I'm so sorry, it was just, you know, reflexes.” Kim paused, the asked miserably. “Is God going to strike me down?”
Nam Ho threw back his head and laughed now. When his bout of humour had passed, he wiped the tears that had leaked out of the corner of his eyes, still chuckling to himself. “No god's going to come and strike you down. It was an accident.” He leaned forward and said in a loud stage whisper, “And its Buddha, not God.”
Kim nodded. She suddenly remembered what she was doing out here in the wilderness. And this person just might have an answer to her question. “I need to find a phone or something. Do you have any idea where I could find one, please?”
The monk regarded her with inquisitive eyes, then nodded slowly. “There is one. But its in a village far away from the one you came from.” The monk's smile was still pleasant and calm. “You did come from that village, didn't you?”
“Which one?” Kim asked cautiously. Maybe if she played dumb…
Nam Ho smirked, leaning back onto the rock he had been sitting on before. “We both know where. I can smell it on you.” To prove it, he sniffed the air daintily. “It hangs on you, the magic protecting the village… and…” An eager look came over his face. “Er Mei. And that very pleasant scent of Shego.”
“What are you, a human bloodhound?” Kim chuckled nervously and felt oddly protective. Smell Shego? Weird. Cheung's warning echoing in her mind. Be careful.
“No, I just have a nose for these things.” Nam Ho tapped his nose, then jumped back onto the rock he had been sitting on before and resumed doing so, crossing his legs under him.
Kim's thirst for answers got the better of her. “What things?”
“Magic.” Nam Ho smiled, and Kim got the feeling he had deliberately lured her into this line of conversation. “Evil magic.”
“Evil's a pretty strong word.” Kim couldn't help feeling defensive. Not for Shego, no. Definitely not. Being the sidekick of a maniacal blue-skinned self-professed evil genius definitely put you on the bad side, right? She was being defensive for the villagers… that's right, for people like Lo po-po, Cheung, Fong, Ting Ting and Cho gon-gon…
Nam Ho smiled and decided to change the subject. “Tell me Kim Possible. You seem to be on edge. Are you running away from something? And don't tell me you're not, because you keep on looking behind you, as if expecting someone to come looking for you…” Nam Ho wrapped his beads around his hands and closed his eyes, sitting in a meditative pose. “Could I help you with anything?”
Kim backed up a bit. Be careful. All her instincts were calling at her to flee. Physically, Kim knew she could take him down. But there was something about his serene face.
‘Be cautious… be cautious, young one…’ A foreign voice whispered, and Kim listened unconsciously, knowing what this voice was saying.
This man could hurt you.
“Where are you from, Kim Possible?” Nam Ho asked, eyes still closed. Kim had a feeling he could see her still, through his eyelids. “She Cun has washed away your scent, but I can still sense a tiny bit of it. You are not from here.”
“She… Cun?” Kim furrowed her brows and translated the words slowly in her head. ‘She… Cun. Snake Village.’
“They haven't told you anything, have they?” The monk opened his eyes and smiled sympathetically. “Not even the name of the village you inhabit?” Nam Ho's hands seemed to have a life of their own as they slowly moved the beads along, fingers nudging the beads forward, one after the other. An endless loop of beads to be counted. “I'm guessing, they probably haven't even told you who lords over that village.” His eyes, Kim noticed, were a light mocha framed by long lashes. Nam Ho looked so… gentle. That was the only word she could think of to describe the monk.
“So why don't you tell me?” Kim asked.
Nam Ho shook his head. “Its not for me to tell you, is it?” His head suddenly rose and looked past her. “Seems like someone's coming to look for you. So I will quickly ask you a question: Can I see you again?”
“No,” Kim shook her head. “No, I don't think so.”
Despite the man's friendly attitude, she couldn't silence the voice inside that urged her to enter through the shield again, to put the barrier between her and this monk. Kim wanted to trust the man, she truly did. But every alarm was ringing inside of her.
“I can't enter without sending the whole village after me, and it seems like you can't exit without people coming to look for you.” Nam Ho seemed to mistaken her refusal as a response to the problem the barrier posed, and not because she really didn't want to see him. “You would still be able to see me, Kim Possible, within the barrier. It seems like this is the first time you've crossed out. But now that you've crossed out, you can look inwards and outwards.”
“Huh?”
Nam Ho laughed again. “Delightful. I'm looking forward to talking to you some more next time. Come near the boundary when you can slip away, and I will be able to feel you and come to you in an instance. Now,” Nam Ho hopped off the rock and lowered himself into a fighting stance. “Lets pretend we're fighting for the sake of confusing them, hm?”
Kim was too confused to even refuse as he struck first and she blocked automatically. What had just happened?
“I'm not going to come back,” Kim said more firmly. She twisted around his kick, and through the barrier, she could see a figure dressed in green and black hurtling towards them.
“Of course you will,” Nam Ho's voice was condescending. “You will come back because you know you can't really trust anyone in that village. Least of all Shego. You trust me, though. Because everybody has told you not to trust a monk.”
“That doesn't make any sense,” Kim grunted as she blocked a fist. “And I don't trust you! I don't know what's going on here!”
“You know I have answers. You might not trust me,” Nam Ho stumbled backwards when Kim clipped him with a round house kick. He grinned boyishly, gripping his shoulder and trying his best to ignore the pain. “But you want to trust me. And you must. For both of us.”
“Kimmie!” A few more seconds and Shego would be upon them.
“I was lucky meeting you today, Kim Possible. I will see you soon.” Nam Ho flipped backwards, into the undergrowth, disappearing from the area quickly.
“Come back here and fight like a man!” Shego stoppd beside Kim, pursuing for a few seconds. When it was apparent he wasn't going to turn back and accept her challenge, Shego came back to Kim, screeching to a halt in front of her.
“Are you alright?” Shego gave her a once over. “Did he hurt you?”
“No,” Shego's concern had struck a cord in Kim, and she felt slightly dazed as Shego's green eyes pierced into her own. Shivered as Shego's hands rested on her shoulders, held her at arm's length to look at her closely. Under that gaze, she was helpless. Why did she want to run in the first place? “I'm fine.”
“God, what are you doing out here?” Care turned into suspicion. “Why are you so far away from the village?”
Kim pulled out of Shego's grasp as if burned, suddenly remembering the cruel way Shego had denied her attempt to send word to her family that she was alright.
“I was taking a walk,” Kim squared her shoulders, aware of how much she missed Shego's touch, the yearning inside her that she had carefully tamped down reared its ugly head. But Kim refused to let it get the better of her. “Or is that not allowed? Am I a prisoner, Shego?”
Shego's frame went rigid. “You're not a prisoner here.”
“That's right, I'm not. Prisoners are allowed at least one phonecall.” Kim knew she was being snippy, but she didn't care. “What, you thought I was trying to run away?”
“What am I supposed to think, Kimmie? You tell me!” Shego growled. “You can take a walk, but from now on I want you within the boundaries of the village. Or else you'll run into one of those. Do you even know who you were fighting?”
“No,” Kim lied and bristled at the restriction Shego had put on her. “But I could easily beat him. He wasn't that tough.”
“You can beat him, yes. But he could destroy you.” Shego's voice finally caught Kim's attention. Was the usually cocky villainess… afraid? “Physically, you're stronger than him. Much stronger. That's what I trained you for. You haven't started your next stage of training. You can't even know what he could do to you right now.”
“Who is he?”
“He's one of the five that can get into the village,” Shego hissed. “An abbot. His name is Yeung Nam Ho.”
“Yeung Nam Ho?”
“Did he look familiar to you? He should,” Shego's eyes narrowed. “Its no coincidence: that guy you were fighting with is Cheung's older brother.”
“Yeung Nam Ho… is Cheung's older brother.” Lin po-po confirmed. Kim sat in front of the two Lins. The room was filled with the smell of incense, making the room hazy with the stuff. “Cheung's full name is Yeung Nam Cheung.
“Nam Ho didn't want to leave when his parents wanted to leave China, though. He liked it here.” Lin po-po permitted herself an indulgent smile. “Very good boy. Wanted nothing more than to work through the hard times and make sure that the village was fed. And boy did we have hard times. Especially when the monks came.” Lin po-po's face darkened. “They ran through one time, when they knew our defenses were weakest. Burned our village, razed our fields. Nam Ho fought brilliantly well, but he was captured. An old abbot back then, kept the boy near him and talked to him. To this day, we don't know what about. But it changed Nam Ho.”
Lin gon-gon scratched the stubble on his chin. “Nam Ho… A few months after, he came to Lo po-po and asked her to remove him from the village.”
“Remove him from the village?” Kim pondered out loud. “What do you mean?”
“This village,” The Lins explained patiently, “Is protected by the most complicated spells. Each full moon, though, this spell weakens. The spell is this: Only people in this village could come and go freely. Only those who knew the way could show you the way.”
“In short, this place cannot be found by any means except by the people who know about it.” Lin po-po explained. “So you can't follow someone into this village nor can you force them to bring you. The mountain also has the same protective spell on it, but quite a bit stronger. So, where were we? Oh yes,” Lin po-po clapped her hands together. “Nam Ho asked to be removed from the village and said he was going to join the monks. That was… a betrayal of the worst kind. But he told Lo po-po that if she didn't, he would be able to find this village, and he would bring others with him. He was a good boy…”
“Ha!” Lin gon-gon snorted. “Good boys don't betray their people! Removing him from the village, meant wiping out the magical signature this village left on him since he was here. So he would not be able to find his way back unless he forced his way in.” Lin gon-gon was getting agitated as he slapped the arm of his chair with a quivering hand. “Which he did. Even Lo po-po's touch couldn't wipe away fully the memory of this village. The blood that ran through him gave him special privileges. The blood that ran through him makes him more adept than any damn monk in the arts! The blood that ran through him makes him great and he chooses to betray his blood with his gift!”
“Arts?” Kim tried to lighten the mood with a joke. “You mean like… drawing?”
Lin gon-gon scowled at Kim, not appreciating her attempt at humour.
“The mystical arts.” Lin po-po said patiently. “Ask us, Kim: Who's blood did Nam Ho betray?” When it was apparent that the two Lins wouldn't continue until Kim did what they asked, she dutifully repeated the question.
“Who's blood did Nam Ho betray?” Kim asked, at which the two Lins beamed at each other before their expressions changed to one of utmost concentration. This was getting weird. Well, it was weird already when Shego had practically shut her up in this small house with the two elders. Shego had told her it was going to be an “educative experience”, whatever that meant. Kim was pulled out of her thoughts as the room suddenly grew darker, the scented air heavier and more oppressive. Suddenly, a flash of light drew Kim's attention back to the two elders. They were studiously pulling strands of silvery brightness into their palms and weaving them together.
“Once upon a time… there were two snake demons who made their home on a mountain. This mountain was called Er Mei, and still is.”
The light bent and warped to reveal a cross section of a cave. Inside the cavern, Kim could see serpentine coils…two snakes poured out of the mock-cavern, lazily rising up to look at their audience with their reptilian eyes. One snake was bigger than the other, its skin an incandescent white. There was an underlying pinkish tone to the white snake, giving its fearsome girth a certain femininity. The other snake was smaller, but not by much. Its yellow eyes were polished amber orbs which regarded everyone curiously, its rich green coils winding around the large white snake's body nervously.
Lin po-po smiled kindly at her creations. “Madam White Snake and the younger Green Snake. Bai Su Zhen and Xaio Qing.”
Both names rang a bell in Kim's head. Xaio Qing she remembered… when Shego had been mysteriously injured that time. And the story the two elders were telling was somehow vaguely familiar to Kim… but Kim didn't have time to consider as the elders’ glamour engulfed them.
endnote: Babes, its DONE. Well, not, done as in YEAH, DONE THE SERIES! I actually started on chapter 16 long time ago and finished it at the same time. Then I deleted it and started over again. The first draft was a good few pages longer than this one, but I wasn't satisfied with it cuz it wasn't flowing as nicely as I wanted it to, knawhai'msayin’? Its still not flowing as nicely as I'd like, but if I don't get through with this chapter soon, we'll be stuck here forever and I'll never finish ‘a few new tricks’.
Now I'll give you guys the inside scoop on this story if some of you who are savvy in Chinese myths haven't already guessed: I've basically dropped Kim Possible into the Legend of Lady White Snake. Google the story on the internet and you'll figure out there's a lot of different versions. Next few chapters will probably explain more.
In case you haven't noticed, Cheung has always been just ‘Cheung’ in the past few chapters(or maybe I've already given him a name and I just forgot… if I did, then shit). I never gave him a full name cuz I couldn't think of one. And yes, before any of you mention it, it is sorta a half-assed escape. lol.