Kim stood outside of the house. She needed to put an end to Shego, to put an end to the part of her than insisted, quite stubbornly that it was good and pure.
But she had one other little thing to do first.
Ron honestly never saw her coming. But she never had too. Her body radiated a kind of energy that stood out like Shego would if she was using her plasma to light a dark room.
The redhead pounced, but missed. She kept swinging, clawing, snarling as she desperately tried to grab and tear into the boy. But she would have had an easier time trying to empty an ocean with her hands. The harder she tried the more Ron was simply just not there. She swung faster, more precisely, but he was faster, and it took next to no effort for him to twist and just not be there.
She growled it coming out as a feral sound compared to her usual gentle voice. Ron's eyes watered as he stepped to the side and slammed his elbow into the back of her head. Kim dropped, but scrambled to her feet again. She was more cautious as she regarded him, staying out of the reach of his limbs.
“KP, face it. You can't hit me. I know the same art that Monkey Fist does, and you can't even hit him. Besides…you're not even really angry at me. You're angry at yourself for trusting me to keep you in that place until you were cured.”
The face softened a little bit as his words hit home.
She moved away from him carefully, and then moving as fast as her feet would let her disappeared into the darkness. Ron knew inside that if Shego didn't survive that Kim would be back anyways. He sighed and pulled Rufus of his pocket. The rodent looked at him with those little eyes that looked as if they could hold the secrets of the universe inside of them and smiled.
“Come on little buddy. I think we have Naco left in the fridge.”
The rodent bounced excitedly as they went into Ron's house.
Shego was sitting on the bed, clutching a pillow protectively when the window slid open. A familiar looking redhead slipped in, and looked around. She didn't spot Shego though, and the thief took her chance and sprung, leaving the pillow behind. The two tumbled as their bodies collided.
They wrestled and rolled on the floor, Kim clawing at Shego, and Shego trying to wrestle the girl into submission, or at least pin her.
Kim broke free and stood, her fingers spread as if they were claws. Shego stood across the room from her. They would have been a point when this would have made an interesting fight, but now it was just a petty footnote in their personal history.
Kim lunged first, swinging her arm in a clawing motion, but Shego caught her wrist and twisted the offending arm up behind her love's back. Kim struggled to get free, to hurt Shego, to be able to do something, but she was quickly pinned down onto the floor.
Shego managed to pin the struggling girl under her so that they could look each other in the eyes. Normally Kim could break free from such a position, but her body hadn't slept in nearly a week now, and was weaker than usual. Her wrists remained effectively pinned to the floor as Shego leaned forward, her face hovering inches over Kim's.
“I know you're in there Pumpkin. I know you don't want to do what you've been doing. I know that you can't help it. It's okay. I've been there. I've done my dance with the devil in the pale moonlight. It was you who saved me…and now I need to return that gift.”
Shego leaned all the way forward, pressing her mouth to Kim's. The taste was still as good as she remembered as she felt the girl's body melt under her.
“YES! That's my Shego!”
“Shut-up. Shut-up. SHUT-UP!”
Kim and Dark Kimmie could see each other for what they were now. Her neurons were alive and kicking hard now, disrupting the neural net down to each individual machine. This meant just left one thing was left.
Kim looked at the feral version of herself. If she was to be free she had to win. She had to not only beat Dark Kimmie now, but forever. She had to win this fight so that she would never have to face this part of her soul again.
Dark Kimmie was angry, hurt, and wanted to take it out whatever was available. It just worked out that Kim's very persona was her new target. It was a battle for power, one that stretched across Kim's very mind, all of hit being personified in her subconscious as the two psyches traded mental blows with each other.
Kim lay on the bed soundlessly. She hadn't moved since she had gone limp. Shego was worried, but insisted to everyone that if anyone stood a chance of winning Kimmie did. She was still worried. The Dark Kimmie had been strong. Granted Kimmie was too, but it was hard to tell which was stronger. She snuggled up next to the sleeping body. Physically Kimmie was asleep, but every now and then she had jerked and cried out in pain in her sleep, revealing the battle that was going on under the surface.
“Come on Kimmie…we're all rooting for you.”
“Yes, but are you rooting for her?”
Shego brushed the thought aside. She had learned long ago that her personal darkness was hurt the worst by being ignored. Kimmie didn't need attention though, not like Shego had used to. This meant her darkness had a different weakness, one that was grounded in the same emotion that had threatened to overthrow its control so easily.
Dr. Possible was glad the twins were at school when Kim had gotten back home. And even more so that their plan had worked. The nano machines had effectively been shorted out. They hadn't been able to regulate the wave of pleasure, love, joy, hope, and everything else Kim had felt when Shego kissed her.
The plan had sounded shaky before, but the hard part was over for everyone.
Almost everyone, she corrected herself. Kim was still fighting that personal demon of hers. And that battle was one that everything seemed to depend on.
Shego nearly crashed into the wall as she came down the stairs, “I need a cold wash cloth! And some hot water bottles. She's broken out into a fever.”
James Possible motion for his wife to stay put. He was able to handle this much. “Don't worry honey. I got this. It's the least I can do right now.”
Her body felt numb. She wanted to help, to make her daughter better, to do something.
She felt so useless.
She broke down and cried.
When he had come back in he wrapped his arms around her tenderly.
Dark Kimmie was growing weaker the longer the fight went on. She kept searching for anything to give herself strength, but there was nothing. Kim harbored no hatred, or anger. The girl didn't even have negative emotions towards Bonnie, who was the greatest source of strife in Kim's high school life.
Every bit of memory Dark Kimmie scraped through as she struggled to hang on only seemed to make her weaker. Or was it that it made Kim stronger? She didn't know, and was sure she didn't want to.
She lashed out at Kim, but the blow was barely even regarded with a dirty look.
Kim struck back much harder. She knew that she was winning, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She had to ensure victory. She had to break the very darkness down to the core. While she couldn't follow Sun Tzu's teachings exactly in this case, she could do her best.
“You know why you're so weak compared to me?”
Dark Kimmie was sliding back, trying to escape from the redhead. She knew that look. Holy vengeance was a look to be feared by anyone. But to her it was equivalent of a look of death.
“You're weak because I am nothing like you. I have people who care about me. I have someone who risked her life to break your hold. I have friends who risk their lives to save me. I have family that loves me no matter what. You have nothing though.”
Dark Kimmie cringed from the words, “No. No…No-”
Kim stood over her, “You see, there is nothing I can't do. I have all the support in the world to help me do it too. I may carry the safety of the world, and have to put up with more villains than I need to, but nothing can stop me. Not Bonnie. Not you. Nothing.”
The darkness was now sobbing in fear. It had retreated into a ball to protect itself. But Kim wasn't done yet.
“And now that the woman I love is mine, well there isn't anything in the universe that has the strength to take me on. Especially not you.”
That was all it to deal a mortal blow to what was left of Dark Kimmie. The figure screamed in pain as it disappeared into nothing.
Kim swayed a bit, and collapsed. She had won, but now she was beyond tired.
She just needed a little sleep.
Shego sighed in relief as the look of pain on her Kimmie's face melted. A soft snore gave away that the redhead had drifted off into a peaceful sleep. She had been scared when the girl had broken into a temperature because of the mind's delicate balance, and the damage it could cause.
Shego gently snuggled up to her Princess. She knew Kimmie could do it. The girl could do anything, even safe herself from her own darkness.
A small thought crossed Shego's mind, and she uncurled herself from Kimmie.
“I'm sorry Pumpkin. But I just thought of a present that'll make you feel immensely better when you wake up.”
Shego dialed the phone; Monique was on the other end, “Hello?”
“Mmm…Shego? You know it's nine at night, right?”
“So?”
“So I need my sleep. I have work after school tomorrow.”
“I guess you don't want to help me do a little shopping then.”
A loud squeal issued from the earpiece, “Girl, I'd love to help you do a little shopping. What do you have in mind?”
Shego grinned, “A get well surprise for Kimmie.”
“Something for her to wear?”
“Not exactly for her to wear, but it is for her.”
Monique squealed again. She liked where this was going. “I just need ten minutes to get ready. How soon can you be here?”
“How about in five minutes?”
“It's a shopping date then!”
Shego hung up and kissed Kimmie on her forehead, “Don't worry Pumpkin. I'll be back as soon as possible.”
The Possible family downstairs were barely able to see the green blur that was Shego as she sprinted by.
“Kim'sbetternowandI'mgoingtogogetheragetwellgift! Bye!”
Tim and Jim exchanged confused expressions and both of them spoke at once, “Which part of that did you catch?”
Dr. Possible couldn't help but laugh. Her daughter was doing better. It was the best news that she had heard all week.
“Alright. You heard Shego. Kim's doing better, which means we don't need to sit down here all worried. Off to bed everybody!”
Her husband looked at her.
“You too Mister. You haven't slept in almost a week now. I'll be up shortly. But you better be in bed, asleep when I get there.”
He meekly obeyed, ushering the twins up the stairs to their room.
She sighed in relief. It had paid off. Her husband, in all of his goofy, absentmindedness had created an effective solution to save Kim. Their daughter had managed to escape her own darkness as well. Was there anything that girl couldn't do?
Well other than date boys.
Author's Notes:
One chapter left to go! I promise, just one. You'll have to wait and see what Shego has waiting for Kim when she wakes up. Don't worry; the next chapter will be up as soon as I write it!