alan is my friend: The whole Vincent Price line was a gag on the fact that he did Ratigan's voice in GMD, and Ratigan's design is thought to be based on him.

            Ratigan walked through the halls of the Señor mansion. Passing the balcony, he overheard Drakken in a heated conversation with Sr. "…And then, she tells me my breath stinks! I'm telling you", Drakken was ranting, "that Kim Possible has no respect for us villains."

            "Too true…", Sr. conceded solemnly.

            "Although I'll admit, she has nobility", Drakken continued, "I'll bet she wouldn't be too pleased about Shego having my child, or children."

            Ratigan shook his head, smirking. He knew Kim, and she would have probably helped, no matter how grudgingly. Walking down the hall, he walked into what would be his room for the next several months. Tired, he flopped back onto the bed, and sleep overcame him at once.

            ~          *          ~          *          ~          *          ~          *

            The next morning, a piercing scream woke him from his sleep, a cry in a voice he knew too well, but never thought it would be used that way. Shego.

            He leapt out of bed, dashing down the hall. He ran into Killigan, who apparently had heard the scream as well. "What's going on, laddie?", he shouted.

            "I don't know", Ratigan replied hurriedly. "I think Shego's in trouble!"

            They dashed down the hall, only to find Shego, being chased by a green C-3PO-styled robot, armed with a pair of dagger blades, wielded from what appeared to be a pair of guns. "Shego! Move!", Ratigan shouted.

            Shego ducked, and Ratigan turned his right glove inside-out, causing it to transform it into a plasma gun. He pulled the trigger twice, and the plasma flame knocked the pseudo-C-3PO against the wall. But it unexpectedly threw one of its blades, and caused Ratigan to dash out of the way before the blade could strike its intended target.

            Suddenly, Drakken dashed into the room. "Ratigan!", he shouted. "Aim for its head!"

            After pulling the trigger again, the plasma flame found the robot's head, causing it to explode. The robot staggered several steps back before falling backwards onto the ground. "Boo-ya!", Ratigan shouted, punching his fist into the air.

            Of course, that was before, out of the blue, a sharp pain in his lower abdomen interrupted his triumph. Glancing down at his stomach, he winced at the dagger sticking out. "Boo… crap" was the final verification. The wound, lethal to a mortal, wasn't that bad to a dæmon; and would probably only sting a bit at the worst. Carefully and deftly pulling out the dagger, he gestured at Sr with it, asking "Care to explain?"

            "I assure you, Ratigan" the old man said defensively, "The robots were only programmed to fire harmless plasma blasts."

            "So", Shego mused, putting two and two together, "the only way they could have done this was if someone reprogrammed them." She turned to Drakken. "Dementor?"

            "It's gotta be", Drakken said, sighing.

            "Impossible!", Sr. exclaimed. "He couldn't have gotten in here without any of the DNA scanner system noticing."

            "Aye", Killigan agreed, "But I know for a fact he has the technology to do that from a far distance."

            Ratigan sighed, and got out the Kimmunicator. "Any ideas?", he asked Wade.

            "Just before the robot tried to attack Shego", Wade stated from the Kimmunicator, "I picked up a signal, which I traced from Dementor's lair."

            "Anything you can do?", Shego inquired, not willing to be attacked by another robot.

            "Already done", Wade said, smiling. "I sent a virus to delete the program from his computer, and shielded the island from his scanners." Drakken sighed, smiling.

            Shego, however, was more anxious about the wound in Ratigan's stomach, which had almost finished healing by this point. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?", she asked.

            "I'll be fine, Shego", Ratigan said, annoyed, for the umpteenth time. Suddenly, a thought pulsed through his brain. He frowned, his eyes narrowing. In all the drama, he'd forgotten to check the date.

            "What is it?", Veeken asked, walking through the doorway.

            Ratigan shook his head to clear his mind. "I'm going to go change", he said quickly, and headed back towards his room.

            ~          *          ~          *          ~          *          ~          *

            Walking into the room, Ratigan immediately locked the door behind him. Sitting on the bed, he transformed back into his anthro rodent form. Closing his eyes, he saw Lyra's alethiometer appear in his mind's eye. He mentally asked the question "What is happening to me?" The reply came back: The appearance of wings. Ratigan frowned, and asked "How much time do I have?" Two months was the reply.

            Ratigan's frown became more distinct, and his brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing. If they were going to get through this insanity, it would be better that only a few people knew of his dæmonhood. He knew most of them would swear to silence, but Jr… Now there was a ditz if he ever saw one. He'd have to get him off the island before the time came…

            But you won't kill him, will you? his conscience asked.

            "No", Ratigan groaned. He hated having to deal with his conscience sometimes, or, as Basil called it, "his internal mother-in-law". "Anything else?", he asked.

            You're not going to go back on your promise to help train Drakken, are you?

            "No."

            And you promise not to thrash Shego?

            "No."

            And-

            "All right, already!", Ratigan shouted. "What are you, my mother-in-law or something?"

            Yeesh, touchy.

            "Sorry."

            ~          *          ~          *          ~          *          ~          *

            Drakken stood on the balcony, staring out over the ocean. Ratigan walked up towards him. "Are you okay?", Drakken asked. "That wound was pretty nasty…"

            "Yeah, I'm okay", Ratigan replied. "Sometimes being a dæmon has its perks."

            There was a moment of awkward silence, before Drakken finally got up the courage to ask "How did you become a dæmon, anyway?"

            Ratigan bowed his head, sighing. "There was someone… a long time ago…"

            "Long ago?", Drakken asked inquisitively. "What happened? How long ago?"

            Ratigan grimaced. The conversation was moving into delicate territory. He looked up at the starry sky. "That's private."

            "Aw, come on", Drakken said persistently, "You can tell me. Give, give, give…"

            "I said it's private", Ratigan insisted.

            "Listen", Drakken retorted, "we're going to be stuck on this little island for the next several months or so. I believe I have the right to know what exactly happened!" Suddenly, Ratigan snapped out his reverie, turned, and glared at Drakken, his eyes burning with anger, hate, and damaged pride. In that moment, Drakken saw that it was definitely time to back off. He had watched The Great Mouse Detective enough times to know what damage Ratigan could do when pissed.

            "With all due respect, Drakken", he said, leaning in, his eyes narrowed at Drakken's insolence, "I don't think it's any of your damn business!" He turned and strode to the doorway, his point made.

            Drakken sighed, shaking his head. "I hope you've learned your lesson, Drakken", a strange voice, that wasn't Ratigan's, called from the doorway. Drakken did a double take. There, standing in the doorway, was a meerkat about his height, wearing a black leather jacket and sunglasses. The light of the moon glinted off his ebony black hair. He spoke with the accent of a Jedi master he saw once, and never forgot.

            "Um… hi… Neo", he murmured, embarrassed.

            "Well?", Neo asked, smiling slightly.

            "'Well' what?"

            "What have we learned?"

            "Never pry into angsty rodents' pasts?", Drakken asked hopefully.

            "Aside from that."

            "Some things are better left buried?"

            "Precisely", Neo confirmed, nodding.

            "I don't get it!", Drakken ranted, stepping back from the balcony's rail. "Every time someone tries to ask that rodent about what happened in the first place, he temporarily goes deaf and changes the subject! Is he really that touchy about what happened?"

            He would have continued, but Neo put a hand to indicate he wanted silence. "Ratigan will tell you of his past when he feels he is ready. All you have to do is be patient."

            Drakken sighed. "But why does he want to hide his past?"

            Neo shook his head. "All I am inclined to reveal that his origins involve death, both to one of those he knew little of, and one of those he cared about."

            Drakken was in shock, but managed to utter one name. "Amelia?"

            Neo nodded. "Yes, her. It is this that drives him to protect you two. He doesn't want you to go through what he had."

            Drakken bowed his head, thinking of how Ratigan had hunted down Dementor, when the latter had tried to kill him and nearly got Shego, instead… "I wish you good luck on your quest", Neo said finally, and when Drakken looked up, he was gone like a shadow…

            To Be Continued…