Started: 5-12-03 Completed: 5-21-03CHAPTER 1
Ron groaned when the large number of ninja monkeys clambered all over his room. After the incident with Monkey Fist at Mr. Possible’s rocket fest, those monkeys have been infesting his room and ruining his life. They may be able to make themselves unnoticeable when he went to school, but he knows that they were following him everywhere.
As he took his shower before turning in, he could see that the monkeys were doing their ninja training on his bed. This was almost the hundredth time they did that. His mother had warned him as a kid not to jump on the bed, which he finally didn’t, but now he was constantly blamed for something he didn’t do.
“Ron Stoppable, you cease that bed-jumping right now!” Mrs. Stoppable said as she entered the room. The ninja monkeys immediately made themselves invisible, hiding at everywhere possible. Ron came out of his shower and protested.
“Mom, it wasn’t me! I’m in the shower the whole time!”
“Whatever you say, son,” Mrs. Stoppable ignored her son’s protest. “If I hear it one more time, you’re grounded!”
As soon as his mother disappeared out of his room, the ninja monkeys reappeared slowly. Ron glared at them venomously and yelled at them, “That’s it! I had enough of your silly little monkey business! I may have lost a little bit of fear about you guys, thanks to Frederick the monkey astronaut, but this is too much! You guys are going to sleep outside! Shoo! Get out of my room, NOW!!”
The ninja monkeys lowered their heads as they climbed out of the window and perched onto the tall willow tree near Ron’s window. Ron sighed in relief and shut the window, turning on the air-conditioner. As he slipped into his pajamas, he realized that he had forgotten something.
“Oh yeah, I forgot. I promised Frederick that I’ll email to him.”
He quickly sat in front of his computer and typed his message to the monkey astronaut. The ninja monkeys, who were peeking through Ron’s closed window, nodded at each other in agreement.
Ron was awakened by the smell of incense. He sat up and groaned. He felt as if he had been through a long, tired journey for days. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the middle of a huge ninja training hall. At a corner stacked loads of ninja weapons, another corner was a shelf with jars of the ashes of dead ninjas, and another corner was a table stacked with scrolls and parchments.
“What is this place?” Ron could hear his voice echoing in the hall. Rufus, who usually accompanied him everywhere he went, wasn’t with him. He suddenly felt so empty. He stood up and looked around some more.
A few distances in front of him, Ron saw a parchment and a long table with burning incense at each corner. In the middle of the table was some long curved object he couldn’t quite make out. The ninja monkeys stood in a long file at his left and right. One of the monkeys approached Ron and held out its paw. Ron took it hesitantly and was led by the monkey towards the long table. Three more monkeys came and knelt behind him. The monkey that led him also did the same, so Ron assumed that he had to do the same too.
That was when he noticed that the long curved object was actually a banana made out of pure gold. Ron gaped in awe. He was about to touch it when the banana suddenly twitched and peeled itself. Ron shot his hand away and gasped. He wanted to back away and get out of the place but his knees suddenly felt weak. He was rooted to the spot. A flash of green light emitted from the golden banana and out came a fat monk with a monkey on his shoulder.
“Welcome, my ultimate monkey ninja. I’m so glad you made it here,” the monk said in a kind voice.
“Ultimate…monkey ninja?” Ron wrinkled his nose. “Oh, no, no, no! You got the wrong guy here! I’m not some monkey ninja. I’m nowhere near the monkey species! I’m Ronald Dean Stoppable, just a typical Middleton High schoolboy!”
“I’m sorry, Ron Stoppable,” the monk replied. “I’m afraid I didn’t tell you much about your destiny now, did I?”
“Obviously not! Would you mind telling me what the heck am I doing here with all these monkeys? Why are they always following me?! I can’t seem to get rid of them!”
“All will be explained, Ron. But first, let me ask you something. Do you remember the first time you fought with Monkey Fist?”
“How did you know…?” Ron stopped when the monk had that I-know-everything look on his face. He frowned and said, “Yeah, of course. How can I forget? I had to become what I hate the most! Ugh!”
“It was quite a challenge for you, is it not, Ron?”
“Duh! It’s more than just a challenge, it was a nightmare! But I got to admit, the power was pretty cool!”
“Pretty interesting, is it not?” the monk smiled.
“So…what does that have to do with…me being here?” Ron eyed at the monk suspiciously.
“Ronald Dean Stoppable, you have been chosen by the prophecy to become the legendary Ultimate Monkey Ninja. You are going to be the leader of these monkeys and fight to bring prosperity to the world and carry on the tradition of the art of monkey ninja.”
Ron’s eyes became as big as a pair of ping-pong balls. He was speechless for a while. A few seconds later he exploded, “WHAT?! Me?! Become entirely something that I hate the most and live with these…these creatures for the rest of my life?! You gotta be kidding me, man!”
“No, child, I am not trying to fool you. The prophecy has spoken. It is your destiny, whether you like it or not.”
“But…But why me?! Why does it have to be me?!” Ron asked, desperate to know that this is all just a hoax.
“You see, Ron,” the monk said as he formed an aura on his palm, showing the four monkey mini-statues and a drawing of a person in the middle, “the prophecy has said that the ultimate monkey ninja has to be someone that can overcome his distaste for one of the most remarkable species in the human race: monkeys. You have done the unbearable: you accepted the power of the monkey statues even though you hated monkeys, you defeated Monkey Fist using the power that you detest the most, and you have overcome your fear of monkeys by tolerating these ninja monkeys and befriended Frederick, the monkey who has taken you to the stars.”
“Yeah…so?” Ron was still unsatisfied.
“My child, you have to embrace the prophecy. It has chosen you to become the ultimate monkey ninja. You have completed every test that was laid out to you for this position. Do not fight the prophecy, Ron. It is irreversible.”
Ron wanted to protest some more but he couldn’t help feeling a sad aura around him. He turned around and looked at all the ninja monkeys. They were all kneeling down in front of him, their heads on the floor of the hall. The four monkeys that were kneeling behind him had those lost, sad eyes, begging Ron to accept the truth. Out of the blue, he heard all the monkeys’ voices pleading, “Help us, master. We are lost. Help us. Lead us.”
Ron was startled, “I…I don’t believe this…I’m hearing their voices. I’m actually hearing their voices!”
“The power has begun to expand. The power you have absorbed from the monkey statues is still in you and it’s growing,” the monk replied. “You are the one, Ron. You are the Ultimate Monkey Ninja.”
Ron looked slowly from the monk to the ninja monkeys. If he were to accept this prophecy, he would be totally isolated from the world forever. He would become someone, or something, that was far beyond the human recognition. He won’t be able to see his parents, his friends, Rufus, and most importantly, Kimberly Anne Possible who he had a crush for so long.
“If I become the ultimate monkey ninja, I’ll have to be here like…for the rest of my life…right?” Ron asked hesitantly.
“I’m afraid so,” the monk replied apologetically. “This position is a solitary thing. You have to face the world alone.”
Ron sighed in defeat as he asked, “Then…can I at least say goodbye to my friends and family?”
The monk nodded and said, “You have three days to complete all your unfinished business. After that, one of your minions will come and get you.”
Ron sat down with a sad look on his face. He had to put out a list of what to do once he gets home. He turned back to the monk and said, “Alright. I accept the contract. You better promise me that I get my three days.”
“We never lie and we never break our promise. Now, Ron, hold out your right palm.”
Ron did as he was told. Suddenly he felt his palm burning. The heat traveled through his hand into his whole body. He felt as if he was burnt alive. The heat was so searingly painful that he even lost all his strength to scream. He felt his world spinning, going darker and darker and…
When Ron opened his eyes, he found himself back in his bed. He was about to think that this whole thing was a dream when he saw the mark on his right palm. It was the burnt mark of a ninja monkey, still quite fresh and still stinging and throbbing in pain. Ron winced when he touched and sighed sadly.
“What am I going to tell KP?”
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