Notes: It's always scary for me when a story doesn't want to end.

Chapter 9: Real Kids Don't Eat Broccoli

"No, I keep telling you, it has to be lighter!"

Emmy looked up from playing with her still very new plush frog to find Kim chewing out a very unfortunate cashier.

"Ma'am, I keep telling you, we only have so many shades of green left," the cashier replied fearfully. "If you like, I can call our store in Upperton and see if they have-"

Kim stared at him in disbelief. "What good will THAT do? WE'RE NOT IN UPPERTON!"

"Ma'am, please! There's no need to shout-"

Kim grabbed the cashier's collar and yanked him forward. "Okay. Now you're going to force me into doing something I didn't want to do." She lowered her voice and motioned over her shoulder. "See that kid with the frog over there?"

The cashier looked Emmy's way, and, feeling somewhat obligated, she waved her frog at him.

"You only need to know two things about her," Kim whispered. "She's nuts for pale green, and she's a pyromaniac."

The cashier's eyes widened.

"So do you want to sell me some pale green paint, or do you want your store burned down?" Kim asked calmly.

"I...I want to sell you some pale green paint."

"I thought you might." Kim released his collar. "Go ahead. We'll wait."

The cashier threw one more terrified glance at Emmy and fled towards the back of the store.

Kim sighed and walked back to Emmy.

"You lied," Emmy observed quietly.

Kim looked repentant for about two seconds. "For a good cause. Your cause. So I don't want any speech about-"

"No speech. Just noticing." Emmy held her frog at eye level and stuck her tongue out in an obvious imitation of him.

"Named him yet?"

"Squishy," Emmy said seriously. "His name is Squishy."

"Okay."

When Kim offered no further comment, Emmy looked up at her curiously. "That's it? No weird faces? No corrections?"

Kim shook her head. "He's your frog."

"But his name is Squishy."

"Well, it's a good name. He IS squishy." Kim poked the frog to demonstrate. "As I'm sure you both noticed."

"Okay." Emmy stared at her a moment longer. "Squishy says thanks for not making fun of his name."

"Tell him he's very welcome," Kim murmured as she spotted the cashier returning.

Emmy noticed her watching. "Don't yell at him again. I think he might call the police."

Kim threw Emmy an odd look, but forced herself not to say anything as the cashier ran up, carrying a bulletin board with a veritable rainbow of colors on it.

"These...are...all of them," he gasped, shoving the board at her.

"That one," Kim and Emmy said together, pointing at the same particularly pale green.

"Be...right...back," the cashier gasped, turning around and running off again.

"You knew my shade?" Emmy asked.

"Good memory," Kim said quickly.

"What was that look for?"

"What look?"

"That look. You looked at me funny. I saw you."

"You just...reminded me of someone. Only it wasn't something she would've ever said."

Emmy frowned thoughtfully. "She yelled?"

"With growls and grunts thrown in for variety, yes. She definitely yelled."

"Did you like her?"

Kim took a long moment to answer. "Yes. Very much."

"Do you like me?" Emmy asked quietly.

"Yes."

"But not very much?"

"We'll see," Kim answered, patting her on the head.

"How attached are you to all that body paint?" Kim asked as they reached her door.

Emmy paused. "Why?"

"Because no matter how cute you are, my mother won't let you eat at the table like that. Even the shades would be pushing it."

"So I have to take a bath," Emmy said, shrugging.

"I was thinking more that I'd have to help you. You've got that stuff on pretty good."

Emmy didn't seem as nonchalant about the bath anymore. "Why you?"

"It's either me or my mother, and you know me. At least, you've known me about three hours longer. But I won't force you to let me help. You put it on by yourself, so maybe you can get it off by yourself. If you can't, you've got your pick of helpers, but I assume you don't want any boys seeing you during your bath."

"You could have mentioned this earlier, you know."

Kim nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about it then."

"What were you thinking about?"

"The woman I told you about earlier. The one I miss."

"Oh. Her again," Emmy murmured. "You should write her a letter. Get your thoughts down on paper. So you won't be thinking of her all the time. It's distracting."

Kim stared at the little girl, wondering again if she knew more than she was saying. "That's a good idea. I'll try it, if you try the bath and don't make a fuss."

"Deal. But no helping unless I ask you first."

"Fair enough." Kim opened the door. "Mom! Dad! I'm home! With company!"

"In the kitchen, Kimmie!" Mrs. Possible called.

"See?" Emmy said at once. "Everyone likes that name better than plain ol' Kim."

Kim refrained from commenting as she guided Emmy into the kitchen, where her mother was in the middle of loading up the dishwasher. Right away, she noticed that Emmy slowed down and moved slightly behind her. It had to be a general fear of new people, because Kim knew for a fact that her mother was one of least threatening people when it came to first impressions.

"Mom, this is Emmy. She followed me home and we're currently in talks about keeping her."

Ten minutes ago, Emmy might have smiled slightly at the little joke. Now, though, she moved even further behind Kim as Mrs. Possible looked their way, and even clutched Kim's pants leg without realizing it.

"My, that's certainly a lot of green you have on, dear," Mrs. Possible commented with a smile.

"We like green," Kim supplied, waiting for Emmy to jump in, and getting disappointed again. "I explained to her how the table is a paint-free environment. We just wanted to stop in and say hi first."

"Hi," Emmy muttered, not moving an inch.

"Hello, Emmy. Is there anything in particular you'd like for dinner?"

Emmy only hesitated for a second. "Green stuff. Lots of it."

Mrs. Possible blinked. "What did you have in mind, exactly?"

"Broccoli, peas, green beans, lettuce, and cucumbers. Oh, and sliced pears for dessert. And kiwi fruit, if you have some. Please."

"I...I'll see what I can round up," Mrs. Possible said slowly, shooting a look at Kim.

"Right this way, Emmy," Kim said quickly, leading her to the stairs. She waited until they were halfway up before asking, "What was that?"

Emmy looked confused. "What was what? She asked what I wanted, and I said."

"Emmy, have you ever heard of the four food groups?"

"I'm only interested in the one with green stuff in it."

"But this isn't healthy! You need meat and bread and dairy!"

"That wasn't part of our deal. You said I need a bath. You never said I had to eat that other stuff."

"What will it take to get you to eat the other stuff, then?" Kim asked.

Emmy shook her head. "Nothing, since I won't."

"What if I got Mom to let you wear the night vision shades at the table?"

"Nope. It wouldn't taste green."

Kim shook her head. "Would you eat them if I begged you?"

"Nope."

"If I paid you?"

"Nope."

"If I said I liked you very much?"

Emmy glanced at her. "Would it be true?"

"I'd like you a whole lot better if I knew you were eating a balanced meal."

"Green stuff is healthy."

"It's not the only food that's healthy, Emmy. Trust me."

Emmy looked over her shoulder at Kim. "I do, a little. But not that much."

While she knew Emmy probably hadn't meant it to sound the way it did, Kim couldn't help feeling a little hurt. But she tried not to let on as she showed Emmy the bathroom. Although Kim couldn't help feeling hurt again when Emmy shut the door and locked it as well.

"Is that little girl who I think she is, Kimmie?" Mrs. Possible asked as she heated up a plate in the microwave.

Kim sighed and blew an errant strand of hair out of her eyes, drumming her fingers on the table. "Yes. And no. It's complicated. She's not Shego, exactly, but they have so much in common that it's almost creepy at times."

"I hope you don't mean their tempers match?"

"Well, not since I found her, at least. But I'm positive Shego didn't limit herself to green foods only."

"Maybe it's a phase?" Mrs. Possible suggested.

"I hope so, but I haven't been able to talk her out of it."

"Children can be surprisingly stubborn, Kimmie. Believe me, I know."

"Are you trying to imply something about me when I was that age?" Kim demanded.

Mrs. Possible smiled. "Well, you never overate when it came to greens. But I'd be shocked if Emmy managed to clean her plate. I've never seen a child eat nothing but greens."

"I wonder if Shego was like this...before the comet. Or after, for that matter."

"I don't know that we'll ever find out now, Kimmie. But Shego seemed like a very private person. There were probably some things about herself that she wouldn't even have told you. Did she ever really trust anyone completely?"

Kim wanted to say yes, but she couldn't. She didn't really know much about Shego's childhood. She knew about Team Go, but only what they themselves had told her. She had no idea when and how Shego had hooked up with Dr. Drakken, or even how long they'd been together. For all the things Shego had told her, there was so much that had been left out, either purposely or unintentionally.

"You're thinking of her again."

Kim blinked and turned her head, surprised to find Emmy staring at her with an almost jealous look in her eyes. "I guess so."

Emmy didn't say another word as she sat down across from Kim. She was wearing an old pair of Kim's pink footy pajamas, and looked none too happy about being encased from head to toe in pink cotton. Or maybe it was just that she'd caught Kim thinking about Shego again. Whatever the reason, her face didn't brighten until Mrs. Possible set a plate of nothing but green food in front of her. Emmy needed no further prompting, as she began shoveling broccoli into her mouth at a fantastic rate.

Kim could only look on in disgusted awe. She only ate broccoli now because it was good for her, and even then she usually doused it in cheese sauce and closed her eyes. But Emmy seemed to actually enjoy it, if she was even tasting it at all.

Jim and Tim ventured into the kitchen, having heard about the new houseguest. They took one look at what she was eating, made grossed out faces at each other, and ran right back upstairs.

Emmy had cleaned her plate in a matter of minutes. She let out a hearty belch and looked at Mrs. Possible expectantly.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have kiwi or pears. But there's some lime jello in-"

"I'll take that," Emmy said at once.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Emmy, how long have you been eating nothing but green?"

Emmy paused. "Um...one day."

Kim stared at her. "What? You mean you've never done this before?"

"No, but I always wanted to. I just never had a choice until today. Nobody ever asked me what I wanted. I like having a choice."

"So it's not that you can't eat other things, you just don't want to."

"They're okay. But I like green stuff better."

"But-"

"It's fine, Kimmie," Mrs. Possible interrupted. "The broccoli would just go bad if someone didn't eat it."

"See? I'm helping!" Emmy declared, sticking out her tongue at Kim.

Kim nearly snapped off a nasty reply without thinking, but somehow reminded herself that Emmy was a child, not Shego, and that her mother was still in the room.

"Where am I going to sleep?" Emmy asked.

Kim had been expecting that question, and was prepared for it. "Since you're so nuts about choices, you've got two: you can either sleep on the floor, or share my bed. But I'm warning you now, my sheets aren't green, and if you do anything to make them green, then you're on the floor anyway."

"You were nicer back at the store," Emmy muttered, grabbing a pillow and sitting on the floor.

"Yeah, well, so were you," Kim countered, drawing back her blanket.

"Maybe you're just not good with kids."

"I'm a part-time babysitter. I'm good with kids," Kim snapped.

"Then you're just not good with me," Emmy decided.

"I got you to come here, where you have choices and green food, didn't I?"

"Those are just perks. They're not why I really came with you." Emmy turned her back on Kim. "I thought we'd learn to like each other. That you could be my big sister. But you can't like me, since you're always thinking about...that lady you like so much."

It took Kim a moment to realize that Emmy was jealous of Shego. Personally, she didn't think her thoughts had turned to Shego that often, and even if they had, wasn't that more Emmy's fault than her own? Not that the child would understand or accept the blame either way.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Emmy, but you can't just replace someone I've known for years in one night. It doesn't work that way. She was very special to me, and-"

"I know. And I'm not, right?" Emmy sniffled. "If you don't care about me, you should've just left me at the orphanage."

"And if you can't trust me, you should've stayed there. I brought you here because I thought you'd be happier. But if you're not, then we'll find you a new home right after breakfast tomorrow."

"Good!" Emmy shot one last dark look at Kim before flopping across her pillow.

Kim sighed and shook her head. Somehow, even Shego had never seemed this frustrating. But Kim was still hoping that Emmy wouldn't prove as stubborn. Maybe if they both slept on the matter, they'd feel better in the morning. At least, that's what she was hoping.

"You're a real piece of work, kid. You're gonna screw your life up, and you didn't even get hit by a comet."

Emmy had never heard the voice before, but she knew at once who it belonged to. "Go away! You had your chance to be with Kimmie! It's my turn!"

"Yeah? Then why are you throwing it away?"

"I'm not! She is! She keeps thinking about you!"

"Listen up, runt. Kimmie and I are a package deal. You can't get one without the other, dead or alive. You don't have to understand it; you just have to know it. The way I see it, you've got a choice. You can either stick with us, or you can run, and just be stuck with me. And if you run, I'll never let you stop, so you better have comfortable shoes on."

"I don't have to do anything you say! You're dead!"

"You're right. You don't have to, and I am. But when I was alive, Kimmie was mine. That's more than you can say, squirt. If you really want to stay in her life, you'll shut up and listen to me."

The next morning, Kim yawned and sat up in bed. "Okay, Emmy," she sighed, "time for your choice. You staying or going?"

There was no response, so she tried again. "The silent treatment is not an answer, Emmy. Choose, or I choose for you."

When there was still no answer, Kim growled under her breath and climbed out of bed. "Look, I SAID-" She froze as she spotted Emmy's pillow, and no Emmy to go with it. Her gaze swept back and forth across the room, but there was still no sign of the little girl, or the frog plushie that she'd carried absolutely everywhere yesterday.

There was, however, an apparent mode of escape: an open window, and just below it, an arrow made out of green and black jellybeans, pointing outside. Kim knew for a fact that Emmy had taken the rest, since she'd watched the girl meticulously sift through three bags of the stuff last night, but hadn't bothered to question it at the time.

Kim forced herself to remain calm as she stretched out her trembling left arm and began to gradually point in every direction. A faint red and black aura finally appeared when she pointed at her stereo, but then it winked out completely, and no amount of pointing or hoping brought it back.

"Okay. No reason to panic, Kim," she told herself. "Just get dressed, throw everything you might need in a bag, and start running. Can't afford to lose what's left of her trail, because there's no telling how long she's been gone." When that didn't really help, she added, "She's just a kid. An impulsive, stubborn kid who loves green. No big. No reason to feel like you made her do it."

Yet when Kim looked in the mirror, she couldn't ignore the odd, empty feeling that told her she'd lost half of herself all over again.

Endnotes: The title is a reference to a Tiny Toons episode of the same name, in which most of the characters had been replaced by androids, and the only way to tell them from real toons was that they all ate broccoli.

Reviews!

Shatterpath

That was completely FASCINATING. What a wild idea, well done. The fact that some of it made little sense actually impresses me more than having it spelled out for me. You treated your readers like we have some intelligence and our imaginations can keep up with yours. LOVE it.

Don't give me too much credit, I just couldn't bear to write a scene where Shego actually died. I'm a big chicken and now everyone knows it...

Lizzy Hakubi

Love it! very good story! Never thought of the challenge at the forum being made into something like this!

Well, just about any answer to that challenge had to be imaginative, so I can't take too much credit for the end result.

Amethyst Wind

Powerful stuff, powerful indeed.

I remember when I started reading this story about a month ago, I liked it because lots of people had compared Kim and Shego but this was the first to actually say that they were the same.

I read through this whole story in the course of about an hour so it never stopped for me, I could see it in my head the whole time and I never disliked what I saw, it's a truly great story and deserves recognition, and I hope that this isn't the last story you'll do.

Why do people keep assuming my next story is my last? Did someone put a hit out on me?

Rina Cat

sniffles

Excuse me while I cry at the corner.

cries

It was a good ending. I'm still pretty sad that the old Shego had to die but this was very touching.

It was nothing I enjoyed doing, I assure you. But even doing it this way seemed pretty impossible. I mean, I could count the kids I've met who genuinely enjoy broccoli on one hand and have fingers left over.

Mystic Elf

Oh! This is such a perfect (pre?)ending!

And, because I'm all out of constructive criticism for the day; I offer you the unconditional praise such an original piece demands.

Also; please I beg of you - another chapter to..you know, round it all off?

Oh yeah! I don't believe you semi-killed Shego! It's weird how you've just managed to just write someone out like that, yet I don't feel so bad about it, because really, she's alive like when.. she. found, Kim? Just trying to comment on the writer's ability to mess with human emotion...

That's just it, I didn't write Shego out because I couldn't, so I took the cheap way out and forced you to assume along with Kim that Shego was dead. Imagine my surprise when someone actually credited me with assuming you all had imagination enough to envision it! Maybe I should cheat more often...

The Emmy thing is weird. Of course you're to assume it's Shego reborn, but she has no memory of being Shego or her life up to now, and Kim notices the similarities but can't really comment on them out loud, and everyone's all confused...just as me and my sinister porpoises intended. Because we're evil. And sinister. And semi-aquatic. On Tuesdays.

Blackfire 18

(Gah, sorry I've been dragging my butt as far as reviewing--I've been insanely busy...)

Anywho, another brilliantly done few chapters and I HAVE been waiting for more...so I do hope that you will be updating soon!

Hey, great shot at being philosophical; I can say I've had my bouts with that whole affair and apparently whatever makes sense in my head doesn't make sense to others when I babble on about it. Oh well. Props to you!

Please Update!

Hey, you won't catch ME complaining about reviewers being busy. No one forces you to review, and frankly, I've been busy myself with classes and personal issues. Every review is a pleasant surprise for me no matter when I get it, so don't worry about it.