Confidence, part 4
by CemK
Ron stares at the ceiling.
He's been staring at the ceiling for a long, long time. At least he thinks so. He may be asleep, and dreaming. This long interval of doing nothing in particular may just be a millisecond looping in his head.
Does it matter?
No, he thinks. It doesn't matter.
He doesn't know if his eyes are closed or not. The ceiling is painted black, as are the walls and the floor. Even the bed, the sheets, and his pillow are black.
A deep breath comes out of nowhere, and Ron's chest rises up a little more as his lungs expand more than usual.
He shouldn't have taken the bandages off. There's nothing worth seeing here. At least, with them, he had Kim. In his semi drugged state, there was no pain, no broken hands, no bruises, no Shego. Only Kim's voice existed. And she wasn't crying, or begging, or- or breaking down in front of his eyes. Her voice wasn't trembling. She was his strong, confident Kim. His Kim. For more than a week, he was deprived of that voice.
Maybe Shego can wipe his memories and talk to him again. That voice changing thing is really quite marvelous. He doesn't need bandages, he can just close his eyes. He would never open them again. He'll be happy. Shego too, will be happy, he guesses, but he has no idea why. Kim...
Well, she's already dead, isn't she?
He tried to save her. He really did. And failed. He got up. And failed again. Again and again and again, until he had nothing left. He truly feels like he has nothing left inside. He can't even feel guilty for losing her; he doesn't even have a tear to shed for her anymore. And he doesn't understand the lack of feeling.
Is Shego still drugging her? She may be drugging the food. He can never know; she only brings him food when he's asleep. Feigning sleep never works for some reason, or maybe he's just unlucky and she wouldn't have came in his room at those times he was feigning anyway?
Ron closes his eyes and a growl emits from his throat. He's going crazy in this hellhole.
Maybe she wants him crazy?
The door opens, and he perks up. Realizing that it may be his only chance to catch Shego without her guard, he quickly puts his head back on his pillow, and closes his eyes. His breathing is shallow, but his heart is pounding away.
"I know you are awake, Ron."
Without moving, Ron asks, "Why are you here, then?"
"I'm bored."
Ron doesn't answer.
"Don't say you are dandy and fine here," Shego presses on. "You are bored out of your mind, too."
Casually, Ron props himself up on his pillow, and sighs. His eyes are still closed, but he faces her. "Is this what's all about to you? Fun?"
"Mostly, yeah. Spot on." She claps her hands.
Ron makes a soft sound that Shego can either interpret as a sigh or a chuckle.
"So, you have any questions for me? Do you want to know why you're still here, recovering? Do you know how long you've been here? How I know exactly when you're sleeping, and when you just fake it? Do you know what happened after you lost consciousness? Wha-"
"Yes, I know."
Shego gapes. "How on earth can you possibly know?"
"I don't. I just wanted you to shut up for a second."
The door slams. Such a harsh noise has never sounded so sweet.
"It's quite interesting to see you like this. So... angry."
Ron doesn't answer. He again keeps his eyes closed, but he can see the room in his mind's eye. There's not much to see. The place seems like a coal box with a bed and a small table next to it. There's an equally bleak door in front of his bed. Nothing else.
Backup lair.
Shego is standing next to the door, leaning on the wall. She's not wearing her usual jumpsuit. Black slacks and a stained white t shirt that seems too big for her. Maybe Drakken's. Heh.
Means she's not expecting an attack any time soon. Normal clothing burns very easily when she fires up.
He's screwed.
"This place is boring," she fiddles with a loose strand of hair. Ron notices that her hair is in a very long ponytail. Never seen her like that before. This place probably has a gym, he thinks. If it has a gym, then it's not some hellhole she has to get out sometimes to take care of needs like eating. She can live here as long as she wants.
Damn.
"You are not," she continues.
"Yeah. I'm very interesting. I get it. Thank you."
"He speaks!"
"You have a point?"
"No, but you have questions. I can answer them."
"I even get to ask my own questions? Wow."
"Oh, shut up."
"Thought you were not into the evil gloating thing."
"We already won. I can gloat as much as I want."
Ron opens his eyes and sits up in his bed so quickly that his head feels dizzy. "What?"
"We didn't conquer the world, if that's what you want to know."
"So-"
"Money. Drakken actually kept the world hostage. Unleashed the Ray on a small town. GJ had to negotiate for the containers."
"You guys gonna retire?"
"Are you kidding?" she smiles. "I'm not in this for the money. The look on those guys' faces when they realized they'd lost was priceless. I practically live for those moments."
"You, maybe. Drakken?"
Her smile falters a little."Don't know. Haven't talked with him for a while."
"Why?"
"He told me to lay low for a while. Makes sense."
"He's Drakken."
"I know. He's on a roll, though."
"Probably because he got Kim for good, this time."
Nothing. Shego looks away. Ron clenches his jaw.
"So. How's it gonna be? You gonna kill her while she's crying herself to sleep? I know you can. You know where she lives."
Shego's head snaps back at Ron. "I. Don't. Kill."
Ron breaks his gaze, staring at the ceiling. The ceiling is his friend. "Yeah, yeah. You've told me that before. Everything has a first time, though, right?"
Shego frowns. The corner of her mouth raises a little. "You actually want me to kill her?"
"Yes." Ron is still staring at the ceiling.
Shego blinks. Then she blinks again.
"I can tell you the password of the security systems of her room. Since they know I am gone, the house will be pretty fortified. Wade. But I can give you the passwords. She doesn't leave her bed much, but she sleeps little. If you enter around four or five in the morning, though, she'll be sleeping."
Shego can only stare as Ron continues to talk to the ceiling.
"I've seen you shock people. With your finger. Just a little higher, just a little more powerful... Promise me that it'll be painless, and I'll tell you."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"No. I know. I know I failed to save her when Drakken shot her in the back with the Ray. I know what she felt, and still feels. I know you also know that feeling. I know she will not survive another week, no matter what her parents do. I also know that it won't be pretty, and it won't be painless. She will not die in her sleep, or drift away peacefully, or- or have someone like me hold her hand. Don't you dare tell me I'm out of my mind. I know exactly what I'm talking about!"
Someone is breathing heavily, but she has no idea who. Her ponytail swings in the air in an arc as she turns, and leaves with a clang of the door. Ron is alone again. He twitches his nose, and smiles briefly.
His pillow smells good.
"Oh, you are good."
Ron laughs. He sits up to face Shego, who's now wearing a now more fitting t-shirt and jeans. "Or you are too gullible. It's been days. Probably. By the way, did you change my pillow while I was sleeping?"
"Eh?"
"The pillow," Ron reaches blindly with his uninjured hand and grabs the object in question from his back. He shows it to Shego. "Did you change it? It smells different." He's smiling.
"You would never let me kill Kim, would you?"
"Doesn't matter what I do. I know you wouldn't kill her."
"I told you I wouldn't!"
"Now you know you wouldn't. Everybody's happy."
Shego can't restrain herself. She lets out a small chuckle. Then, she smirks.
"She's not. She will never be happy again. And that's if she survives another week without killing herself. I may not have the- the... I may not kill her myself while she's so defenseless, but I will be there when she draws her last breath. She at least deserves that after leaving me to rot."
"Whatever, Shego. If that makes you sleep at night..." Ron turns and readies himself to sleep again.
The room turns green. Then, just as quickly, the fire vanishes, and Shego is gone.
Ron lets out a deep, troubled sigh, his chest visibly expanding and deflating even underneath the mattress. The pounds of a headache join the ever present moans of his hand, face and kneecaps. He knows something is coming up, but he has no idea what.
He's not sure anybody knows.
Glass shatters, and Shego screams in delight as she sails out of the windows and onto the cold, hard asphalt outside. She easily rolls with the fall, and uses a car behind her to spring back into the action. The occupants waiting for her are momentarily blinded as the early morning sun reflects off of her hair. She grabs an approaching fist absentmindedly, and twists it until it cracks.
So what if she couldn't sleep?
She twists the hand even more, but then a kick on her back releases her hold on the man. Her back is riddled by glass cuts all over, and someone has the audacity to kick her on there. Out of balance, she stumbles next to a small round table.
A large hand comes out of nowhere and gets a hold on the back of her head. Just before her head slams on a table, she wonders why this place is so dark. She can't see anything here.
As her head contacts with wood, she remembers that it was her who snuffed out all the lights.
Oh.
She's sputtering, and her head feels like it's cracking in half. Hell, it probably is cracking in half, considering the situation she's in. She blindly strikes at her behind with both elbows, and hits flesh. She hears a grunt, and something that sounds suspiciously like "bitch," but the guy behind her doesn't budge.
Well, so much for that plan.
She closes her eyes as her head jerks down again. Her hair flails around and between the hand which so cruelly holds the scalp it's attached to. Here it comes...
Wood shatters, and this time she screams in pain.
"Wow. You look like-"
"I know. Let's just say that I'm not a people person."
"Or very, very clumsy."
"Shut up and eat your food."
"What, no 'I can answer your questions!' crap? I thought-"
"Think whatever you want. You don't deserve answers."
"Maybe. But I'm not dead, or otherwise incapacitated-"
"Except for being locked in a ten by ten room for..."
"For?"
"For a long time."
"Heh. Anyway. Since I'm alive, and actually talking to you, you must have a plan."
"I don't do plans."
"I know. You're not playing to your strengths here. You're desperate. You need me for something."
"Cute. You're actually developing a brain."
"No. The walls are speaking to me."
"What?"
"Just kidding. Lots of spare time."
"..."
"Bye, Shego! Watch your step at the stairs this time!"
TBC