Angel, part 4

Duff and Kim walked on the beach of the island. Charlie had swum them up until the perimeter, and then they had to carefully swim through the ocean mines until they reached the dome. With Duff's device, they were able to break through and strip from their scuba gear. They dumped them through the hole before it closed up, and walked quickly, for the disturbance in the wall would attract unwanted attention. They needed to get to town quickly and find disguises. Until then, they had to keep a low profile. Once it was in sight, they took a shortcut through the dark forest. It would give them the coverage that they needed, but Duff warned Kim that it was called a dark forest for a reason.

"And what reason is that?" she asked.

"There is eh special drone tha' lives in tis forest. She 'as control over te plants, which aren't natural: tey are dosed with reactive chemicals so tey act like tey are alive, an' she's very deadly."

"Oh. So tell me again why we are in here?" Kim started to look around her frantically, and walked a little closer next to Duff.

"Because we're nae in te open, an' so it's harder fer us te beh spotted. Plus eh know eh shortcut inte town."

"Right. That's why."

"Believe meh lass, te witch is te least o' yer worries."

"Witch?"

"Aye, tha's whut she's called. Te witch o' te wood."

Kim didn't say anything, but she held Duff's arm as she walked. He gave her a look.

"Ye scared o' sometin? Eh thought ye could "do anythin'" an' weren't afraid o' nothin'."

"Oh I have fears…just not many obvious ones. But this island…these drone things you created…it is like the craziest mission I've ever been on. And also Ron's danger is at stake…that's new for me too."

"We'll find 'em. Eh know how te find ou' where he's bein' held, but eh 'ave eh feelin' where."

"Where? And why aren't we on our way there now?"

"Base. It's te island's 'capital' if ye want te call it tha'. It's eh city inside an entire buildin', tha' reaches as high as te tip o' te dome, an' stretches just as far below te Earth. Bu' it's dangerous te go ther naked…well, frankly, it's dangerous te go ther period. We don' wan' them te know who we are when we go in, or we'll be walkin' righ' inte our graves. Plus, if he's nae ther, then we've made eh very big mistake."

"But what would they want with him?" Duff sighed. Kim stopped and looked at him. "What?"

"It's eh complicated process. Te drones will make searches an' make extremely individualized decisions te choose someone random te 'invite' te the island, an' convince tem te be eh part o' ther community. Soon enough, eh'd think they'll try te take ye, too."

"It still doesn't answer my question. Why him?"

"Ehm sorry te say eh don' 'ave an answer."

Kim sighed. They started walking again. "Well…even if they did take me, I'd be happy as long as I was with Ron and he was okay."

"Believe meh lassie, ye don' wan' te live 'ere."

"For obvious reasons, yeah. But why not? You sound like that's coming from somewhere specific."

"It's jus' eh corrupted Utopia. Te lifestyle seems simple an' happy an' perfect, but in reality ye 'ave no freedom."

They continued to walk through the forest in silence. They seemed to walk for hours, even though it was not even half that long. Kim cleared her throat.

"Soo…did you say goodbye to your daughter and Abigail?"

Duff blushed. "Aye, eh did."

"How did it go?"

"Tey were…sad te see meh go."

Kim watched his expression. She smirked. "Something happen with Abigail?"

Duff blushed more. "Nae…nuthin'."

"Killigan, you are a terrible liar." She laughed.

"Oh, shut yer gob. It's naethin' ay yer concern."

"Why not? I just want to help."

"There's nuthin' te help."

"So then it's all worked out, then? Happily ever after?"

Duff didn't say anything. He didn't know where they were in relationship terms at this point. He thought she liked the kiss…but she also said she would be angry with him when he got back. Did she want to be more, or no? Did she love him too? The thoughts have been spinning around in his head, but he tried to push them back so it wouldn't distract him. Now Kim was resurfacing them.

"Soo, what did she say?"

"She didn' say anythin."

"So you kissed her, then?"

Duff growled. "Can ye min' ye ain business?"

"Ooh, so you did. She kiss you back?"

"Kim, eh hate te ruin yer wee game o' gossip, bu' ehm private wit meh affairs."

"Ugh, boring." She crossed her arms. "Just saying…if I knew what happened, and you told me your thoughts, I could give you some advice or something."

"An' how would eh lass half meh age know more abou' te datin' world than meh?"

Kim slanted her lips and crossed her arms again. "Well…it wouldn't hurt if I gave my input."

"Eh don' need it."

"Ouch…" Kim looked away. As she started to see Duff as a person, she started to realize that he could be rude.

After a few minutes of walking in awkward silence, Duff sighed. "Ahm sorry. Abby taught meh te open up te others an' stop hidin' behind eh brick wall. Aye, eh kissed her, an' it wus…"

"It was…what?"

It took Duff a minute to think of what to say. "…beyond words."

"Wow." Kim smiled. It was strangely satisfying to see him happy. "Did she like it too?"

"Ah think so."

"Then why do you look like it was the opposite?"

"Because she wus still mad eh wus leavin'. An' now eh don' know where we stand. Eh want te be wit her, but eh dunno if her feelings are as strong. Eh kiss doesn' tell meh anythin' about tha'."

"I'm sure everything will work out when you get back."

Duff sighed. He secretly thought, 'if I ever get back…'. Though he promised Abby and Bessie and Kim that they would have a successful mission, he had his doubts. The island was dangerous, and last time, he almost got killed.

Almost as if Kim could read his mind, she asked, "So why again did you come here with Shego? You overheard that you were kidnapped?"

"Aye."

"And what, Shego rescued you?"

"Aye."

"Ew, you guys actually dated?"

"Aye."

"Why are you so robotic?"

Those words stung like snake venom. "Ehm nae bein'…robotic. Yer jus' askin simple yes er nae questions."

"So then tell me about how on Earth you and Shego, of all people, started dating?"

"Te be honest, eh don' really remember. We used te hate each other, then suddenly we started feelin' te opposite."

"Um…okay. How did that work out?"

"It wus goin' great, then suddenly, one day she jus' left."

"…oh. I'm sorry. It's weird hearing about this because of how I used to know all of you. To think of you and Shego to have a life outside of villainy, especially a romantic life, is hard to picture. Did she give you a reason why she left?"

"Nae. Eh guess she jus' got tired o' meh, but eh dunno." Duff found it out of place to open up to Kim like this, but he just had to let it out. "Bessie's mother did te same thing."

They walked in silence for a minute. Duff could feel the pain swarming back, and Kim could feel it too. It was like an invisible gust of wind that hit Duff, and she could feel the breezes that missed him. After a while Kim responded with a small but genuine "I'm sorry." She knew it wasn't her place to ask any more questions on that subject. She could read the memories on his face.

Suddenly a bush they pasted rustled. Kim gasped and grabbed Duff's arm. "Did you hear that? That bush moved!"

"Aye, and?"

"I wasn't anywhere near it! It moved by itself!"

"Tis jus' te wind, lassie." Duff grumbled. He didn't expect her to frighten easily like this. A lot has changed.

"There isn't any wind, not a tiny little breeze! It moved by itself."

"Ye sound like yer ol' daft sidekick."

"Well apparently unlike you, I don't want to get eaten by some witch!"

Duff stopped and looked at her. "She don' eat people…well…nae everyone."

Kim screamed. At first he thought it was in reaction to his comment, but it was too high pitched, and the expression on her face was too ghostly. He turned around, looked up, and was face-to-face with a skeletal-like figure, cloaked in thick green wool, and towered over them at about eight feet in height.

"Ilere…nice te see ye again, lass." Duff said. With this drone, he thought casual conversation would be beneficial. Any wrong move and they were done for.

"Killigan, is that you?" it said. "You have returned to us. Why?"

Kim's face was white, and she clung to Duff. He couldn't stop wondering why she was so frightened of this place. Her story didn't add up.

"We're lookin' fer someone. Eh young boy wus taken."

"Oh, he was chosen."

Kim peeked up at the creature. "You…know where he is?"

"I assume he is at Base, under the standard procedure."

Duff looked at her strangely. "Procedure?"

"The same thing they tried to do to you many years ago…except you escaped. Yes, I hear these things outside the walls of my perimeter." Ilere guarded the dark forest, lived in it, and never stepped foot on the outside.

Duff's eyes widened. "Wait…whut dye mean by 'standard' procedure?"

"The chosen ones are captured, transformed, and become a part of the community."

Kim looked at Duff. "Wait, what's going on? I'm lost. What did they 'try to do to you'?"

He ignored her, and continued to question Ilere. "So the citizens of Paranologia aren't human after all?"

"They are hybrids."

"What is a hybrid? What are you talking about?" Kim pressed.

The tall, demonic drone addressed the young woman. "There are drones that inhabit this island, like me, and there are hybrids. Drones will choose a select few to undergo a transformation that will allow their bodies to carry the same strong properties as a drone. The bones and secondary layer of skin are filled with the same alloy that each drone is constructed from."

"An' it's very, very painful." Duff groaned.

"So…that means…" Kim looked at Duff, scared again.

"It means ehm eh hybrid, an' Ron is about te become one too."

Kim gasped. Duff turned to Ilere. She spoke first.

"You pose no threat to me and my land. I will allow you to pass."

Duff and Kim thanked the kind drone, one of the few that remained loyal and respectful to their original creator, and passed on to town. Kim was uneasy. She wrapped the concept of a 'hybrid robot boyfriend' around her head, unwrapped it, wrapped it again too tight, and then just draped it all over her body.

"So you…what does it mean to…how did…?" Kim didn't know what to say. She could barely understand the drone's description of the 'transformation'.

Duff didn't respond. He didn't want to. But Kim kept mumbling questions that she couldn't quite finish, and he knew it was something he couldn't avoid.

"When te drones kidnapped meh, tey put meh under whut eh thought wus torture. Eh wus strapped te eh surgical table, an' tey ripped meh body open. Eh could feel tem skinnin' meh an' tamperin' wit meh bones. Eh wus delirious during te process, but eh could feel mehself harden an' stiffen. Eh felt mehself grow dense an' heavy. Eh couldn' tell ye exactly how te process is done, but from whut eh know, meh bones are made of metal, an' metal coats meh body, like eh second layer o' skin. Everythin' is made te work wit te natural process of meh body. Eh drone doesn't 'ave organs or life in tem."

"And they want to do this to Ron?"

"I'll get us te Base as soon as possible. But eh hate te say it, lassie…it's nae te worst thing in te world. Ehm almost as indestructible as eh drone. Tha's why when eh escaped, te drones found meh as their greatest threat. Tey cannae hurt meh as much as eh can hurt tem."

"So how does one 'hurt you' then?"

Duff looked at her. "By emotions."

The two entered town and immediately Duff searched for a clothing shop. He told Kim a list of items to buy. But she just stood there and didn't move.

"Whut are ye waitin' fer?" Duff asked.

"Uhh…hello? What am I going to buy all this stuff with? I don't have any money, and even if I did, I don't think they would take dollars."

"Ye don' need money. Tey trade 'ere. Ye write yer name an' drone code, an' eventually tey will come te ye an' ask fer eh favor. Most citizens 'ave eh profession like farmer or doctor or whutever. Services are traded fer items, as well as item fer item. Ye buy clothes, ye give tem food." Duff wrote out some information on a piece of paper and gave it to her. It had a name on it and some codes. "Hand tis to tem. It works as an IOU, basically."

"This is the weirdest place." She mumbled.

Kim walked into the store, and about fifteen minutes later she came out with a bag full of clothes.

"How did it go?" Duff asked.

"Fine. But why didn't the drones come up with a currency?"

"Humans pit a value tae everythin'. A sark is worth twintie dollars, an apple one dollar, it cetera. Drones hae nae use fur material items, but th' hybrids dae, coz they ur partially human an' still hae 'at instinctual yak fur whit is valuable. Th' drones don't loch 'at. They believe 'at tradin' brings peace, an' doesn't divide up social classes. In uir warld, a doctur, fur example, makes mair bunsens than a farmer. We value his medical service much higher than produce. Thes doesn't make sense tae th' drones. Scran is mair ay a necessity than medicine, coz humans eat every day, ur we die. Th' farmer works jist as stoaner, if nae mair, than th' doctur. Sae it makes much mair sense fur th' farmer tae gie awa' his produce equally tae a' fowk. He gi'es an equal distribution it sae nae a body is left starvin'. 'En if 'at farmer gits boak, he visits th' doctur an' is cared fur, fur free, coz he hud bin feedin' 'at doctur fur months. Kin?"

Kim snickered. "You talk really funny." Duff glared at her.

"Weel sorry fur slippin' intae mah ain natural speech!"

"But yeah, it makes sense. Strangely these drones have created quite the peaceful lifestyle."

"Yes but they hae certain rules an' laws 'at keep a' fowk restrained. Thaur aren't a lot, but they regard simple, everyday cases. Fur example, ye arenae allowed tae believe in a religion. Hybrids arenae allowed tae worship onie other figure than th' 'creator'. Granted, thaur is some confusion oan th' islain as tae fa th' true creatur is, but tae worship a god is punishable by death ur termination. An' nae tae worship th' creatur has th' sam sentence. However th' hybrids ur selected sae canny, an' th' threats ur sae vicioos, 'at laws pure aren't broken anyway."

"I find it so amazing that these robot creatures made such a complex society all on their own like this."

"Weel ye willnae be sae canty when they fin' us breakin' a body ay th' biggest laws...no toorists!"

The two went back into the forest to change into their disguises. Duff dressed in a large black hat, shades, and a leather coat. Kim dressed in a scarf, goggles, and a tight, banded outfit. She looked down at herself when she was finished.

"What am I supposed to be, exactly?"

Duff handed her a card. She looked at it. It had the same name as the one she gave the traders, along with other information.

"Yer eh drone tha' hails from te desert regions."

"Desert?"

"Aye, there's eh desert on te island, along wit eh mountain."

"Geez, this place has everything, doesn't it?"

Duff ignored the comment. "Drones fro' tha' region are quiet, serious, an' attack easily. Tey are swift an' acrobatic. Thought it would fit ye, plus tey wear special garments tha' cover enough of te body, so it'd be harder te guess who ye were."

"And who are you?"

"Ehm eh guard from Base. Eh work alongside Skinner an' Griffin, two members of Base security. If ye see eh drone dressed like meh with eh white face, tha's Skinner. Meh disguise could get us in Base, hopefully unnoticed. Eh'll beh holdin' ye captive an' bringin' ye te the holdin' cells. Hopefully Ron will be there, too."

"Question. Why are we disguised as drones, and not hybrids?"

"Because one, te drones know whut we look like, an' we need outfits te hide our features. Hybrids don' dress in wacky outfits. An' two, drones are more likely te trust another drone."

"Makes sense. Okay, so which direction is Base?"

"It's on te eastern side o' te island. It's eh far walk from 'ere, so eh suggest we get some rest an' head ther tomorrow."

"But what if…"

"Ron will be fine."

"But what if they're going to put him through that hybrid surgery before we get there?"

"Lass, if we leave now, by te time we get ther, ye'll be exhausted, an' we won' 'ave te energy te fight if we 'ave te. Nae te mention drones don' yawn, so if one pops out o' yer mouth, we're done fer. We need rest. Te both o' us. An' besides, if te drones wanted te make Ron eh hybrid, he'd be one already."

Kim sighed and tried to hold back tears. She couldn't bear the thought that her Ron was in any pain. "Fine. Where are we sleeping?"

"Come wit meh."

They walked for about twenty minutes before coming to a section of town that was dotted with little cottages. There were flags in front of some of the houses, others had no flags. Duff walked up to one of the houses with no flag. He opened the door, it wasn't locked, and stepped inside. He gestured Kim to follow. Inside the cabin, next to the door, a flag leaned against the wall. Duff took it, went back outside, and stuck it on the front lawn. He walked inside again, closed and locked the door.

"Houses are built an' left vacant. Flags on te lawn indicate residency. Eh house can be lived in temporarily, or permanently, without any charge fer rent or mortgage."

"If only our world was like this…it's hard enough paying rent for our apartment back home."

Duff sat down in a chair, once they were settled down. They didn't remove their disguises, just in case someone came into the house. But Duff assured that was extremely unlikely. There was always the chance of a drone spotting them through the window, too.

"So…whut 'ave ye an' Ron been doin' te past…well…well since eh saw ye two last? Still savin' te world?"

"Not really. After the invasion things settled down because Drakken and Shego weren't evil anymore. They were our top villains. Monkey Fist was stone, you…well, we didn't really hear from you, and everyone else kind of went their separate ways. Junior was dating my…er, high school classmate, and I heard not too long ago that Senior got sick. I think most of the other villains were so shocked from the invasion that they wanted to keep the peace."

"Eh'd agree wit tha'. Whut's te sense of tryin' te take o'er te world after bein' one o' te victims? We all got eh taste o' how sour tha' really wus, an' how peace an' freedom are all we really want. People turn evil because tey lack sometin in life, an' tey think destruction an' revenge will cure it."

"Have you kept in touch with any of the other villains?"

"Well…ye met Charlie."

Kim crossed her arms. "Yes, I did."

"Amy gave tha' te meh as eh birthday gift. She said he would be te perfect guardian te meh island. Eh think Amy wus lookin' fer love, she must 'ave been screwed in te head as eh wee lass te be obsessed wit all those cuddle buddy things."

"Did you date her too?"

"Ugh! Ye kiddin, lass? Not eh chance. Eh don' want te date no two year old. An' she soon found out eh wus too much of eh 'meanie' te be dealin' wit. But eh think she, along wit everyone else, found their peace somehow."

"So it was just Shego, then?"

"No…eh saw Camille fer eh while, too."

"What? Really?" Kim squirmed in her chair. She wanted all the details.

"Aw, come ehn! Enough abou' meh life. So ye an' Ron went te college. Whut fer?"

Kim crossed her arms again. She didn't want to talk about her life, she wanted to know more about Duff and his relationships with all the hot female villains. But she knew she had been pressing him for a while on personal matters, so now it was her turn.

"Ron went for business management. He wants to become the president of Bueno Nacho or Smarty Mart. I didn't know what to choose. I could be a rocket scientist like my dad, or a brain surgeon like my mom, but none of them were really me. I decided to go for fashion marketing, so I could work with the designers for Club Banana, but then around the same time Global Justice offered me a job as one of their directors. I was doing both for a while, but then the whole spy thing just got a bit old. G.J. had all these rules and special missions, and I was tired of it all. I stuck with college, even my friend Monique was in the same major as me. But nowadays I feel like fashion is Monique's thing, and not mine. Missions have always been my thing, but I want to do it my way, not follow the rules of G.J. Ron and I live in an apartment in Upperton, and…"

Duff paused, letting her find words. She ended up dropping her sentence. "An' whut?"

"I want to say we're more than boyfriend and girlfriend, but we're not."

"Ye want him te propose."

"Yeah."

"He's probably shy or scared. Te lad eh'll come around te it."

"How did you do it?"

Duff looked at her strangely. "How did eh do whut?"

"Propose to Bessie's mom?"

Duff paused again. It was his time to find words now. He just looked down and shook his head. "No…no it wusn't like tha'."

"Oh." Kim widened her eyes. What did she do? "I'm sorry, I just assumed…"

"It's alrigh'. Ehm goin' te head off te bed now. Have eh goodnight, eh'll wake ye up in te mornin'."

Kim mentally scolded herself for making such an assumption about Duff's relationship with his daughter's mother. She wished she could take it back as she watched him enter one of the bedrooms and shut the door.

Duff took off his hat, glasses and coat, and lay in bed thinking about Abby. He wished she was there with him, so he could hold her close. He wanted to kiss her lips again. He wanted to kiss her whole warm, soft body. He was lonely without her. Ever since he kissed her before he left, he felt empty inside unless he could feel her touch. Duff eventually fell asleep, imagining his arms wrapped around her waist, her body against his, and his nose buried in her hair.