I don't own these characters.
21: Dark Clouds
Betty could already see trouble on the horizon with the way they started their current campaign. She believed Shego could see it, too, but the Queen would ignore it until it absolutely demanded her attention. The plasma-wielding monarch was too busy being happy and content, having her beloved back by her side. So, anything that was not ten feet tall and standing right in her path was not on her mind. Betty could understand that, but she did not think it was appropriate. Shego needed to get her head back in the game and she needed to do it quickly in her top general's opinion.
They had left that piece of dead land in the north without a ruler, for the most part. Fiske was on his way to the heart of the Goh Empire and he did not seem to have an heir. No one stepped up to claim the throne before they left. The land was open for business in Director's opinion. It was there for someone to try to take it now.
There were barbarian tribes up there that would undoubtedly be looking for a piece of the free real estate. Shego had only halfway staked a claim on the land, leaving a few soldiers behind to police the area. Hell, she all but said her soldiers could have it since she left them there.
Shego did not seem too interested in anything at all, except touching and watching her lover anyway. Betty was a little surprised it even crossed the Queen's mind to leave a few soldiers. The soldiers would hopefully be able to hold off the barbarians if they decide to act up… and Betty was fairly certain those tribes would act up as soon as the feared demon Queen of the Gohs was out of sight.
The warfare would definitely bother Hego, since it was so close to his kingdom. Sure, there was a large body of water, actually, an in-land sea, that separated his eastern kingdom from the soon-to-be chaos of the West, but Hego would still complain about it. There was actually a chance Shego only left a few soldiers behind to drive her brother crazy. He did not like fighting at all anywhere near his kingdom, after all.
Hego could trip them up in case they needed some assistance, which Betty thought would be a given if they wanted to keep Fiske's junky piece of so-called land. Hego would never help, even his sister… or maybe especially his sister since he did not agree with her outlook on life. Plus, he would claim she started the trouble by him on purpose. Sibling rivalry was always ugly.
On a good note, they had gotten word the sack on Middleton had gone well, which had been expected considering the people that were left to handle that. Unfortunately, there were other city-states and kingdoms mobilizing their forces now it was known Middleton had fallen to the Gohs. And then, of course, there was that unfortunate loose end.
Kim had sent word that Barkin had slipped through her fingers. Betty had read the report, but had not shown Shego because the Queen was always around Bonnie. She doubted Bonnie would be terribly enthused by the idea that Kim had been given the assignment to go after her father, especially if Shego supplied Bonnie with the information of some of the things Kim did in times of war.
Betty could tell from the communication that Kim was upset with failing to get Barkin. There were certain words that the "princess" used when she was angry. The redhead even requested to track him on her own and promised to get him that time. Betty quickly sent word back, telling Kim to keep her energetic ass where it was. They could not afford to lose her now, not when they were pretty much right where they wanted to be. She knew Kim would not be happy to get those orders. She did not care, though. Someone had to keep her mind on the things that counted, Betty believed.
-8-8-8-8-
Former governor of Middleton Steve Barkin had made a narrow escape from Kim, believing she was an assassin Shego had sent for him. He could only wonder why Shego had sent the assassin to him and why she had attacked his city. He could have sworn they had an agreement, which he was planning to break. Of course, he did not know she was aware of that. In his opinion, she broke it first, which, of course, did not surprise him.
"Filthy, lying barbarian bitch," Barkin complained bitterly to the air as he rode a horse to his son-in-law's kingdom, knowing he would be granted sanctuary. His face was tense, his jaw tight to the point where it was surprising his teeth did not crack under the pressure.
I should've known better than to trust a barbarian, he grumbled to himself. He kicked himself mentally for even thinking that a barbarian might keep her word. He should have known better!
He could only imagine what those barbarians were doing to his home, his city, and his people. They were undoubtedly ruining everything – plundering whatever piece of property they could get their hands on, slaughtering anything that made a noise, and raping anything with legs. He would not put anything past those mangy barbarians. He could practically see them bathing in the blood of his citizens, grilling his people's flesh for their uncultured victory feast.
"Damn them," Barkin cursed the Goh raiders, sneering viciously as he spoke. He would make them pay for whatever they did to his city-state. He would make them pay as soon as he made it to safety.
He hoped no one followed him. He had been in such a hurry when he left that he did not think about covering his tracks. Hell, he had almost gotten lost himself in the tunnels and barely recognized the area he had come out in. He doubted anyone noticed.
He needed time to make it to his son-in-law's home. He was not sure if anyone escaped Middleton to make it to an allied nation to inform them of the situation, so he did not know if his sons-in-law knew they needed to mobilize their armies. He would send word to his other son-in-laws as soon as he was safe, just to make sure they both knew what happened.
He was unaware Fiske was beaten and on his way into the stomach of the Goh Empire as a gift to the Empress. He did not even think about what might have become of Bonnie. His chief concern was himself and getting his city-state back. For that, he needed the help of his sons-in-law, not his daughters, so they were far from his mind.
By the time he made it to the nearest friendly kingdom, which was his son-in-law's land, his horse was ready to die from exhaustion. He did not care and left the creature at the gates to pass on. The walls of the city were impressive, seeming to stretch from the sky and shone in the sun as there were precious metals and stones placed all about the walls. There were rich mythological scenes painted on the defensive gates, but Barkin did not take in the magnificent images. He merely marched up to the front gate as if he was in charge.
The guards were shocked at the gall of the man who had only just arrived and was, now, attempting, to march into the capital city. The guards could not help staring at Barkin for a few seconds in sheer disbelief. What in the hell was the matter with him, they all wondered. Did he not know the proper way to enter a city? They doubted he was that stupid.
"Hold on, sir," a large guard said to Barkin, putting his hand on the former governor's chest to halt him.
"Hold on? Don't you know who I am?" Barkin demanded, slapping the offending hand from his noble form. He glared at the lowly guard as if he wanted to kill the sentry with his gaze.
"Obviously not. So, identify yourself," the guard ordered with a frown. He was not in the mood to be talked down to by a stranger.
"I'm Steve Barkin! The Governor of Middleton!" he hollered at the top his lungs, his face going red. He made tight fists as he screamed, as if he was ready to fight with the sentries.
The guards continued to hold Barkin off until they could verify his identity. Barkin only became more hostile during the time he was kept waiting by mere underlings. He did nothing but cast them all dirty and haughty looks as they escorted him to the palace when they were certain he was who he said he was. They ignored him.
The palace was an elaborate group of buildings, rather than being one center structure. There were open halls with white columns and the walls were white around the whole place. The white walls showed off the precious metals and gems better than a color would have. The white also worked in directing attention to any pieces of art that were on the walls, which there was plenty of.
Sandals clicked loudly against the tiled floors. Mosaics appeared to be any and everywhere a person could walk in the palace, except for the gardens anyway. Small tunnels acted as vents to circulate air if the wind was blowing caused their flowing garbs to swish as they moved. The air continued to blow as they made their way into the main chamber of the main building.
Barkin was not greeted by his son-in-law, but by his son-in-law's father, Señor Senior Senior. The old man was still the active king of the land, even though it was considered a miracle he was still alive. He still had all of his wits about him despite the fact that some people considered with his age he had lived two lifetimes, which made many people believe he was favored by the gods. This kept them supportive of their king.
Senior walked with a cane, but most people knew it was more for an image than because he needed the extra support. His hair had gone white on the sides, but was still a healthy brown up top. His skin tone was still an enriched tan, smooth and clear. Some people actually believed he might have stopped aging years ago because he had not changed as far as appearance went in years, which was another sign the gods favored their king. None of his citizens would complain, knowing he was a much better ruler than the heir to the throne.
"Governor Barkin, hello," Senior greeted the large man with an accent that was common in the southern nations of the West. He wore rich robes of crimson and gold along with a golden diadem around his head.
"Senior, you need to mobilize your army now. The Gohs are in the West and they're marching this way undoubtedly. They've already sacked Middleton," Barkin said as if his words were the only thing important on the planet.
Senior's facial expression did not even change, but he put his hand to his chin in thought. He chose to ignore Barkin's rudeness and disrespect because of the mention of the Gohs. He knew how serious the Gohs were, after all.
"Oh, my, now that is a problem," the elderly king muttered, rubbing his chin with one hand. He had not anticipated ever actually having to fight the Gohs, even though he had crafted an alliance with Barkin through their children's marriage. The marriage had taken place years ago, though. He knew the Gohs were expanding West, but he did not think they would impact him so directly so quickly. He did not know about the double-cross Barkin had planned on Shego either.
"Of course it's a problem! They sacked Middleton! It was a midnight assault. We never stood a chance," Barkin pointed out, practically yelling at the king while throwing his hands out to the side in frustration that the old man stated the obvious.
"I can imagine," Senior commented dryly. The Goh army was reportedly at least a hundred thousand strong. He doubted Middleton even had a hundred thousand people living in it, so of course their army would not be that big. He wondered if those were accurate numbers. It was a bit frightening if they were.
"So you need to mobilize your army and we need to send word to Fiske and Ed because they're here. They're here and we need to be prepared," Barkin proposed, emphasizing his stance by pointing down at the floor with both hands while speaking.
"I'll get to it right now. We'll take these barbarians as they come near. We'll set up on the high ground and then outflank them," Senior commented, speaking more to himself than his guest. He already tried to plan the battle out in his head, figuring they would be at the advantage in more ways than one if they approached the battle properly and with patience. They needed to make the best moves if the Goh army was on its way.
"You need to start now!" Barkin hollered. He wanted his city-state back as soon as possible.
"You need to calm down. I'll take care of this as I see fit, as you're here as a guest," Senior pointed out, keeping his composer despite his "guest's" rudeness. It was his army and his staff, so he would use them as he desired. He was not about to take orders from some blowhard who just lost his own nation, even if that blowhard was a relative of his daughter-in-law. He had not kept a hold on his own kingdom for so long by letting hotheaded jackasses dictate his actions, and he surely was not about to start now.
Barkin frowned deeply since he was pretty much being dismissed. He could not do much about it… for now. He would go relax for a moment, but then he would be back in Senior's face, telling him what they needed to do to get ready for war with those Goh barbarians.
-8-8-8-8-
Bonnie was surprised to find Shego and her small piece of the army going into Middleton. For a moment, she actually feared she was being returned to her father, but then her mind realized how ridiculous that was. Why would Shego take her back to her father after declaring love for her? The question remained, what were they doing in Middleton?
Bonnie understood what they were doing there when she saw the state of the city's walls. The walls were being repaired, but it was clear they had been breached recently. The city had been attacked. Shego had managed to take Middleton while saving her; Bonnie could hardly believe it.
They went straight to the Governor's mansion, which was where the top soldiers of the Goh army had taken up residency. Shego scouted the mansion briefly, looking for a room that fit her liking to set up her command center in. Once she found that room, which was a large hall with a fountain in it, she had people put up a temporary throne for her. With that out of the way, the Queen released everyone to go get cleaned up and rested, which almost got cheers.
"You want me to come back later on?" Betty asked Shego. She wanted time off just as badly as the other soldiers. There was a certain engineer that required her attention, after all.
"I'll send someone for you. Right now, let's just cool down. Relax. You know you want to. After all, we'll be busy soon enough," Shego replied in an almost dismissive tone.
Betty nodded; it seemed Shego was on the ball despite the fact that she was utterly gushing over Bonnie. Shego knew they had a long road ahead of them thanks to her little detour for her hellcat. She did not care. She did not think anything could take down her army anyway. They might hit a few snags thanks to the trouble they started in the north, but nothing more than that in her opinion.
Betty walked off to go get cleaned off, and of course, go find that certain engineer to help her relax. She had to suppress a smile, thinking about Vivian. When out on campaign, it was rare they got a chance to spend a decent amount of time together, both being busy with their own jobs, so she would take whatever she could get.
Shego and Bonnie also decided to get cleaned off. There were servants around that gawked at Bonnie when they saw her with the Queen. Bonnie ignored them, shamelessly cuddling up to Shego whenever she got the chance even before they got into the bath.
"Are my parents around here?" Bonnie asked Shego as they lounged in a hot bath. The princess rested on the pale woman. She was not concerned, but she was a bit curious.
"I actually don't know. They should be. When we're done, I'll get Kimmie to get us up to speed on what's going on around here," Shego replied. She had very little clue as to what was going on in Middleton. She did not feel the need to know everything yet. She put her sister in charge and Kim was very capable. That was enough for her right now.
Bonnie nodded. She was not nervous about her parents being around and seeing her with Shego. Hell, if her parents were around, she was certain the servants were off telling her parents exactly what she was doing right now. It did not matter to her because she was with Shego and she knew the green-skinned monarch would not let her go. After all, Shego had rescued her from that brooding monkey man she had been forced to marry and the Queen had proclaimed her love for Bonnie.
After getting cleaned up and having some food, Shego went to her temporary throne. Bonnie stayed by her side because she did not have anything better to do. She did not have any friends to see around Middleton, after all. Besides, she was happy to be with her lover and could not get enough of Shego's presence, which was good because Shego wanted her little hellcat around her at all times.
Once they were set up on the throne, Shego called for Kim. The redhead moped into the temporary throne room, dragging her feet, like she had two-ton bricks chained to her back. Shego was stunned by the way that Kim trudged into her presence. She had never seen her sister look so defeated, not even when she kicked Kim's butt.
"Princess, what's with the look? Middleton's yours, we're about to take the West by storm, and you're going to undoubtedly do a billion crazy things while we do it. So, what's with that face?" Shego asked. She was so close to concerned she might even admit to herself that her sister's expression worried her.
"What do you mean? Don't you know what happened?" Kim countered incredulously, an eyebrow arched high on her forehead.
"Um… no," Shego answered. What the hell happened? She bet it was something Director withheld from her to, more than likely, maintain her good mood. Me and Director are going to have to have words about this. "Why don't you tell me what happened," she suggested.
"I let that big ape Barkin get away!" Kim wailed. She threw her hands up, reaching for the ceiling, before dropping them to her sides in despair.
"You sent her after my father?" Bonnie asked in disbelief, gently grabbing her lover's arm. She could guess some of the things Kim did for the Queen, despite the fact that Kim's job was never openly outlined.
The princess was a bit shocked some of the emotions she went through her as she learned Kim was sent after her father. The guy was a jerk, but she did not want to lose him like that. She definitely did not want him to be assassinated.
"Calm down, kitten. Princess was supposed to capture him and hold him, so I could keep an eye on the jackass and that's it," Shego explained, wrapping her arm around Bonnie to comfort her.
"Really?" Bonnie asked with a narrow gaze.
"Yeah, I'd rather keep an eye on him to make sure he can't do anything else against me and he can't use you anymore. I wouldn't have Kimmie kill your father," the Queen answered in a gentle tone. She knew what it was like to lose a father to nature, so she damn sure would not subject her kitten to that, especially through a murder. She was not trying to make it a habit to cause her lover any grief either.
"I couldn't even get a hand on him. All of these damn guards came out of nowhere and he slipped right through my fingers! I was going to go after him, but Betty told me to stay put," Kim groaned. She walked around in a small circle for no reason other than the fact that she was utterly frustrated.
"She was right to tell you that. We don't need you wandering around right now. We've got to stick together and get this done properly. There's a lot that could go wrong now," Shego pointed out. She was glad Betty talked some sense into her hyperactive, sometimes impulsive little sister.
"Fine!" Kim huffed, upset because Shego backed Betty's orders. She folded her arms across her chest and stomped her foot, but that did not do anything since Kim did not wear footwear. After all, shoes could interfere with her stealth movements.
Shego rolled her eyes and dismissed her frustrated little sister for the moment. Kim could throw as many tantrums as she wanted and whine until she was blue in the face, but that would not change anything. The Queen turned her attention to the princess curled in her arms. It was then she realized Bonnie had not said anything about her taking over her home city.
"Um… kitten, is there anyone you want to see or any place you want to go while you're here?" Shego asked. She noticed out of the corner of her eye, Kim wisely taking the hint and leaving the room.
"I'm fine where I am," Bonnie answered, snuggling closer into the older female.
"Are you sure?"
Bonnie nodded. "Uh-huh."
Shego did not argue with her lover. If she did something Bonnie was not in favor of, the younger woman would speak up, just like she did about Kim going after her father. So, after a few hours of letting everyone rest up, Shego started going about regular business.
Betty handled any reports that came in. Shego went about getting people in order and figuring out who she would leave in charge when she marched out in due time. Will Du was commended for his outstanding job. Shego knew that a little bit of praise did wonders for the boy's ego, more than money ever would. He was put in charge of rounding up Middleton's now ex-officials and locking them away until everything was settled.
Kim and Ron were in charge of the cleanup and getting the chaos out of the street to make sure city life went on as usual. They also handled propaganda while they were out there, spreading the word of how much fame and fortune was to be had by joining Shego's army. Most of the troops helped in that effort since they believed it to be the truth.
During the night, a small group got together to plan battle strategy and how they would go about going deeper into the West. The usual people were in the meeting – Kim, Ron, and now, Will. Will was surprised he was allowed into the framing stage since it was not normal for him to be included. Apparently, he was moving up in the world, he thought.
Bonnie was there, too, even though she was not really going to participate in the planning. It was just that the meeting took place during dinnertime. She was there for the food, and for the Shego, whom she leaned against.
"All right, so, what do we got, Betty?" Shego asked.
"Bad news and worse news," Betty answered, looking through all of the documents that had just come in from spies.
"Well, give me the bad news first," the Queen requested. There was no reason she asked for that news first since she figured both pieces of news would upset her.
"Well, none of our enemies know Fiske is out of the picture yet, but those barbarians up north are going nuts now that he's gone. Our few soldiers report they don't know if they should defend it or abandon. We might need to send more soldiers up there if you want to keep it," the one-eyed woman replied.
Shego nodded. "That is pretty bad. I'll think about it. What's worse than that?"
"Barkin made it to the Seniors and they knew we've got Middleton. They're getting troops ready, so they're likely to meet us on the battlefield. They've also gotten into contact with Ed Lipsky, who supposedly has the finest chariot forces in the West," Betty reported.
"How many men?" Shego asked, keeping her calm.
"Right now… more than us considering the split we've got," Betty answered. They had left some forces up north, after all.
"Damn it. All right. That's all right. We've just got to pick the perfect battlefield," the Queen said with confidence. Her staff nodded in agreement with that.
The planning was interrupted minutes later by some guards. They held a small woman, who was struggling against them. The Queen and others looked up to see what the commotion was about.
"We found her hiding in a crawlspace," one guard reported.
"Well, who the hell is she?" Shego inquired with a puzzled look on her face.
"Mom?" Bonnie said when she took a good look at the captured woman.
"Bon-bon?" the woman asked in a peppy tone as she picked her head up to look at the people in the room. She got a good look at her daughter curled up against the Queen.
"Mom, don't call me that!" Bonnie huffed, turning her mouth up in anger.
"Oh, I've got to remember that one. Bon-bon and Kimmie," Shego muttered, earning heated looks from both her lover and her sister. She only smiled, looking like a demonic shark.
"Let my mom go," Bonnie told the guards.
It was understood that Bonnie's word was almost on the same level as Kim or Betty, so the guards released her mother. They knew they did the right thing since Shego did not object. They stood there for a moment before the Queen dismissed them.
"Bonnie, what are you doing with these barbarians?" her mother inquired, keeping her distance from the group. She was dressed in a rich, flowing tunic that was dirty from hiding in a crawlspace. She had been there since word of the attack reached the palace.
"She picks ticks off of our backs," Shego remarked sarcastically while climbing to her feet. She approached Bonnie's mother, earning curious looks from everyone with her.
Bonnie's mother had the good sense to look scared. She sort of shrank back as Shego drew closer, but she knew not to run. Shego stood before her and smiled.
"Do you really want to know what your daughter's doing with us?" Shego asked with a devilish smirk on her face.
Bonnie's mother gulped. "You're holding her captive, aren't you?" she guessed in a trembling voice.
Shego laughed. "Nothing of the sort." She looked over her shoulder at Bonnie to see her expression. She did not look like she objected, so Shego continued on. "Your daughter is with us because she's mine."
Bonnie's mother's looked confused. Her brow wrinkled as her eyes narrowed while she tried to figure out what the barbarian woman was telling her. "Yours?" she finally asked.
"Mine. My little hellcat. My woman," Shego elaborated in a deliberate tone.
Bonnie's mother still was not following. "I don't understand."
"You don't have to understand. Just know that Bonnie's mine now, so that sort of makes us family," Shego remarked, throwing an arm around the older woman's shoulders. The older woman tensed immediately, but her reaction was ignored. The green-skinned warrior then turned to look at Bonnie. "Kitten, is your mom going to be any trouble?" she asked with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.
"I don't think so," Bonnie answered, shaking her head a little. She did not think her mother was smart enough to be any trouble to Shego.
"Good to know. I'll put her under house arrest just to keep her out of our hair," Shego announced.
Bonnie shrugged. She figured it made sense, and really, she would not stick up for her mother if the woman was just being put under house arrest. Her mother did not stick up for her when her father sent her into the Goh Empire as a hostage. Her mother also did not stick up for her when her father forced her to marry Monty Fiske, so she did not see the point in sticking up for her mother right now. It was not like her mother would have to go through the same trauma as she had.
"She'll be fine. I'll make sure they treat her well," Shego assured her lover. Shego just wanted the woman out of the way for the moment since the Queen had a lot of things on her mind. She wanted to make sure she did not have to worry about any of the defeated citizens, like Bonnie's mother, bothering her.
"Okay," Bonnie replied just to show that she was listening to the Queen. "Thank you."
Shego smiled at her. "Oh, there's a phrase I haven't heard from you. I like that. I might have to get you to say that more often."
Bonnie scoffed. "I'll never say it again now."
"We'll see about that," Shego replied with a smirk, not that she planned to force Bonnie's hand right now. There were other things to do, after all.
Once Bonnie's mother was secured in some apartments inside of the mansion and there were soldiers and servants keeping an eye on her, the meeting continued on. They tried to figure out where the best place would be to meet Senior's army. They knew Senior always picked a place he thought would be ideal for him in order to keep the high ground. They had a plan to get them away from the high ground, but they also needed to figure out the best place to neutralize Ed's chariots, knowing he would be in the battle.
-8-8-8-8-
Senior sighed as he got word about what happened to the final member of their alliance. He placed the massage down on the table in front of him. There was other business to handle, but this was troubling. Fiske was gone, disappeared into the bowels of the Goh Empire as far as anyone knew. He really was ready to just mark the northern lord off as a dead man.
That would make things a bit tougher on them, but then again the king got news there were Goh soldiers up north having trouble with some of those other barbarians. It would seem Shego's army was not up to its usual standards. Well, that would definitely work to their advantage. Senior just had to figure out how to use it.
He hoped Shego started marching toward him soon. He wanted to get the battle out of the way. He did not like dealing with Ed, who was married to Barkin's daughter Lonnie, putting him in the alliance through marriage just like Senior was since his son was married to Barkin's daughter – Connie. He also did not like dealing with Barkin point blank, but he was a man of his word. There was also the fact that he liked his daughter-in-law, so he willing helped her father.
Senior liked Connie because she was good at motivating his son. Now, he was not a fan of her at first because he was used to things just being him and his son, but he had gotten used to her. She tried to get Junior on the ball now, not enjoying being married to an unmotivated spoiled brat. Although, she was a spoiled brat in her own right. She was just a spoiled brat with a brain and some goals, which she would beat into Junior if necessary.
"Senior, when are you moving out?" Barkin demanded as he burst into the room. It was things like that that annoyed Senior to no end.
Barkin seemed to be under the impression that his main priority was Senior's main priority. It was getting on the King's nerves, especially since Barkin seemed to lack any and all manners now that he was a leader in exile. The sooner he could get the governor out of his hair, the better as far as he was concerned. So, he really needed to hear word on the Goh army being on the move, or else he was going to go out of his mind.
"Governor Barkin, I've got the situation in hand. If you please," Senior said with forced politeness.
"You need to get moving," Barkin pointed out in a harsh tone, making a violent sweeping motion with his hand.
"I've got the situation in hand," Senior replied through gritted teeth. To think, when the fighting did start, he would have to deal with Barkin and Ed. He started to think he might just surrender and cut a deal with Shego. But, then again, he could not trust a barbarian to keep her word. It seemed like he was just in something that he wished he could get out of. The best thing he could do, in his opinion, was defeat the Goh army and beat them back into the East to get Barkin's city back and be rid of him. He just needed to wait for Shego to make a move.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: The Gohs versus the Seniors, Barkin, and Ed.