They were locked in a large cell, much less comfortable than the rooms from before, and tied to poles, their hands bound tight. Ratigan sulked as Dementor conferred with the Kim clone, briefly throwing glares at Ron, who was sitting on a bench. "Ron, I really expected better of you."

"What?!", Ron exclaimed in disbelief.

"Why'd you do it?", Ratigan asked angrily.

Ron sighed and bowed his head. Time to face the storm. "Well, you see, when I came across this lair, it turned out Kim really was alive, but Dementor had her in some kind of suspended animation chamber… thingy. I was going to get her out, but Dementor caught me."

Ratigan's eyes narrowed at the thought, and he shook his head in disgust. "So you made a pact with Dementor", he said sarcastically. "Hand me over to Dementor, and Kim goes as free as a bird."

"I'm sorry, alright?!", Ron squeaked. "Listen, Kim's one of the few friends I have, and as her sidekick, it's up to me to help her if she gets in trouble." He sighed, bowing his head. "Listen", he muttered, "I get it if you don't want to speak to me anymore, seeing as how I just placed us all into life-threatening danger, but at least understand that I wouldn't have done it under any other circumstances."

"I guess so..." Ratigan bowed his head, sighing. They needed a plan to escape now more than ever. Sighing, he started to wish he'd never reverted the naked mole rat Ron back to his human form. He sighed, then looked up, an idea sparking in his brain. "Hey, Ron" he whispered conspiritorily, "I've got a plan."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Dementor walked towards the prisoners. "Now, Ratigan", Dementor said, smirking, "Are you going to give us a demonstration of your powers or what?"

"What part of 'When hell freezes over' don't you get?!", Ratigan snapped in reply.

"Wait", Ron interjected, suddenly.

"What do you want?", Dementor asked angrily.

"Look, I know you hate the others, but why me? I didn't want any of this!"

"So you want to be set free?", Dementor asked, interested.

"What do you think I'm saying?", Ron asked, sarcastically.

"Let's hope Dementor falls for the ruse", Ratigan thought. "Otherwise we're in big trouble."

"Very well", Dementor said, pulling out the remote control again. One push of the button, and Ron was a naked mole rat again.

"Thank you", naked mole rat Ron squeaked, bowing slightly to Dementor, then scurrying past, out the doorway and out of the main room.

"You double-crosser!", Ratigan shouted after the retreating Ron, secretly hoping that Dementor actually thought he was mad at Ron. "You cheap little smeghead. You'd better hope I don't escape, because I get my hands on you, I'm gonna-"

-------------------------------------------------------------

Three minutes of curses directed towards Ron later (AN: That I'm not going to print because I don't want to go above the PG rating), Dementor asked "Are you quite done, Ratigan?"

"Yes", Ratigan said, scowling, "I am."

"Well, then", Dementor said, smiling evilly. "If you don't mind, we'll take your lovely daughter outside."

He snapped his fingers, and the Kim clone grabbed Veeken, untying her and roughly dragging her into the main room, where Dementor had set up a hot poker in the circular fireplace in the center of the floor, surrounded by stone gargoyles. A goon led Ratigan to the doorway. "Now, then", he continued, "A demonstration of your powers, or this-" He pulled out the poker, holding it close to Veeken's face. "-against this."

Ratigan groaned, choking back a fitful sob. "Don't tell him!", Veeken shouted. "You know what Dementor's promises are worth!"

Dementor grinned maliciously. "Do you wish to risk her life, Ratigan?"

Meanwhile, Basil looked on, frowning, and seething with hate at Ron's "betrayal". Suddenly, something scampered onto his shoulder. "Basil" a voice whispered, "It's me. Ron."

"Ron?", Basil asked in surprise. "I thought you-."

"Ran off?", Ron asked. "You actually thought I was going to play chicken?"

"Well", Basil replied calmly, "What else was I supposed to think?"

"Don't worry, I've got a plan", he said, nodding towards the unguarded chair. He scurried down towards Basil's bound hands, chewing through the ropes. Basil quickly ran over to the chair, picked it up, and slammed it into the goon's head, knocking him unconscious.

His hands free, Ratigan lunged at the Kim clone, causing her to let go of Veeken. The two fighters tumbled, before the Kim clone threw Ratigan against the wall with surprising strength.

Ratigan had only a second to figure out what happened before the Kim clone placed her hand around Ratigan's throat, and started to choke him into submission. Ratigan struggled, twisting this way and that, and finally biting Kigo-Lynn's wrist, drawing blood. Kigo-Lynn cried out in pain and withdrew from the attack, grasping her wrist, her breath rasping in her chest as she saw the blood.

Ratigan raised an eyebrow. "That's interesting", he mused out loud. "I actually had her down as some sort of robot."

"Well", the Kim clone said finally, in a voice that wasn't just Kim's. It was a mix of Kim's, Shego's, and Adrenna-Lynn's, all rolled into one. "Well", she said again, "My secret's out."

Then, in the blink of an eye, the Kim clone changed. She looked more like Shego now, only it looked like someone dyed one part of her hair the same shade of orange as Kim's hair, and another part the same shade of blonde as Adrenna Lynn's hair. One eyebrow was the blonde color, the other orange. Ratigan stared at the hodge-podge Shego for a moment, then said "Well, this I didn't expect."

"Ah, Professor", Dementor said, smiling his wickedest smile. "Allow me to introduce my assistant, as it were. This", he said, gesturing to the pseudo-Shego, "is Kigo-Lynn."

Kigo-Lynn charged again, aiming a punch to Ratigan's chest, but Ratigan caught the punch, shoving her arm aside, then flipping her over his head, into the wall. Kigo-Lynn was about to charge, when held up a hand, meaning "Stop."

"What is it, Ratigan?", Kigo-Lynn asked in a taunting voice. "Too scared to fight?"

"No", Ratigan sighed, "I'm not scared. There is only one way to settle this."

"And what is this way, Obi-Wan Kenobi?", Kigo-Lynn asked mockingly.

"A duel", Ratigan stated, "A duel to the death."

Kigo-Lynn's eye's narrowed, and she crossed her hands over her chest. "Very well", she said firmly, "A duel to the death."

To Be Continued...