Note: I, supposedly, in a rather indirect way, have been ripped off. I think. Despite that, I urge you to read "Revelations," a devilish-lee good (haha, it's a joke, but you have to read the story to get it) Kigo story by Failte200, who was good enough to inform many people, myself included, that I was apparently a victim of some very sticky fingers. Although, I have to admit, the mark of a master thief is leaving a victim without a clue that they've even become a victim, and in that respect, I must confess to being rather amused about the whole thing. So Failte200, please consider this a courteous nod in your general direction. Or at least a very tiny gift, whatever works best for you.
Warning: This chapter is the one that gave the whole story it's rating. I won't tell you what happens and ruin it for everyone, but I will say it isn't for the kidlings.
9:40 PM - Outside Drakken's Lair
"I hope we're all nice and comfy?" Galgo asked of her present company. "It's something of a long story."
Shego, largely unable to move because of the constant pressure on her body, merely glared at the woman with all the hate she could muster.
Michelle stood a few feet away, still pouring heat out of her body unwillingly. While she could not seem to consciously disobey her mother's orders, Shego noticed that Michelle was at least free to close her eyes, so she wouldn't have to see what she was currently doing to her aunt.
And Kim, of course, was still out cold on the ground. Shego had no idea what Galgo had done to her, but she wasn't too worried. Kim's fame easily rivaled Team Go's. If she went missing, someone would come looking for her, especially her sidekick.
Seeing that no one was going to answer her, Galgo went on. "As you've probably figured out, I wasn't fortunate enough to have been struck by a meteor. But, in a roundabout way, I still have Team Go's meteor to thank for my own powers. The strike left a very distinctive type of radiation that lives on even today."
"You say that...like it's alive," Shego grunted.
Galgo smiled. "It is, in a way. The radiation had a rather curious effect on the wildlife. Some things died, others...improved. Survival of the fittest and all that. The average person isn't fit, however. Not like the wild creatures we take for granted. They can adapt and survive in some of the most extreme conditions. People, on the other, need extraordinarily good luck. Undeserving as she was, Shego ran into some, and so did I."
Shego ignored the insult, listening closely. Eight out of ten villains tended to unintentionally reveal their weakness through a monologue. But then, it hadn't taken Shego five minutes to figure out what Galgo's was, since it was a pretty common flaw: Galgo liked to hear herself talk. And annoying as the woman's voice was, Shego wasn't about to interrupt until she had come up with some kind of plan. After it worked, there'd be plenty of time to wipe the smug grin off of Galgo's face.
"I was fairly athletic once. School track team, gymnastics, ballet, the whole nine. In short, I was in what you might've considered good shape. Or so I thought. All it takes is a freak storm during a badly planned hiking trip, and you suddenly find out what you're really made of. No matter how fit my body was, my mind was weak. You give up really quick when you don't know where your next meal is coming from, if you'll ever go home, or if you'll just get gored by some wild beast the next minute, making all the negative thinking irrelevant, anyway. I was...so scared. So afraid that I would die out there in the woods, and no one would ever know."
Galgo paused there, more than likely for effect, and Shego couldn't help rolling her eyes. If the woman was waiting for some tears to start rolling, well, she'd be waiting a long time. Even Michelle had long since stopped crying, and was listening attentively, hopefully for the same reason Shego herself was.
"But fate was with me, and I happened upon a section of forest not far from the meteor strike. I almost moved on, but I noticed something. There were...absolutely horrendous numbers of...bugs. Millions by the time I was eventually found, I'd wager. There seemed to be more with every passing day. Well, as I said, I had no idea when I'd next pass something edible, and I was no nature expert. I figured, plenty of animals eat bugs and live through the night. It wasn't as if I could afford to be picky at that point. So, I gritted my teeth and dug in. Let me tell you, it was the worst week of my life. I don't know what was worse: eating the live ones and feeling them squirm on the way down, or killing them first and then attempting to force down the ugly remains. But I came to appreciate that they were the only things keeping me alive, so I got over how they tasted...eventually. It was this appreciation that slowly grew into fascination. I realized these bugs were special. They had completely disrupted the food chain. I was the only predator they had left, and even I respected them. I like to think that we came to an understanding. I ate what I needed to live, and in return, I would do everything in my power to protect them, once I was found."
The idea of eating bugs wasn't new to Shego. She'd stolen in a few countries where the locals weren't shy about that sort of thing. Admittedly, she'd never spent too much time in such places when she could help it. In retrospect, Shego doubted Galgo would approve of the practice becoming widespread: people would only protect the bugs so that they could turn around and eat them, anyway.
"I was found, naturally. And right away, I noticed something...different. The rangers who discovered me, their thoughts...rather, their fears, were an open book to me. One had been afraid that they've stumble upon my dead body on a riverbank somewhere, torn to pieces and covered in flies. Ironically enough, another was worried that someone would find out about a body he'd left in these same woods many years back. For various reasons, both of them disgusted me. I wanted them both to be exposed for what they truly were. To my shock, they were. At the press conference that soon followed, the first ranger resigned from the service, claiming he just couldn't do it anymore. The second, moments later, confessed to accidentally shooting and killing his brother almost twenty years ago, then burying the body in the forest."
Galgo paused again, her black lips twisting into a wicked smile. "That was my power: fear. But it was much more than that. I found that so long as a person had a fear, not only could I reach into their minds and discover what it was, I could force them to live it, as if it were actually happening to them. Fortunately, people are by nature fearful creatures, and I have yet to meet a single person who feared nothing at all. I couldn't exactly make a person my slave...unless their fear was a complete loss of control. It's amazing, really, how common a fear that is. They were practically begging me to use them as I saw fit. How could I refuse?"
Things were starting to slide into place for Shego. Hego had been afraid of something, and Galgo has used him. Kim had been afraid of something, and Galgo had used her. And clearly, Michelle was still afraid of something, as she was still under her mother's control. The key had to be in finding out what they'd each feared. If she could manage to rid Michelle of her fear, Shego had little doubt that her niece would side with her again.
"Controlling regular people was only fun for so long. To keep my promise to my little friends, I needed power. Obviously, I was thinking influence, rather than strength. Luckily, Team Go had both in abundance, and getting the attention of their leader was a simple matter. All I had to do was approach Hego during one of his many public interviews, and he was mine. Oh, he had so MANY delicious fears; I was amazed he even managed to get out of bed every morning. So many of his fears revolved around you, Shego. Did you know how much he feared you, and what you could do to him? To the family? To the team? But as much as he feared you, he and the others needed you. Hego needed someone to be his second, someone who would side with him when Mego questioned his orders. The twins needed someone to look up to. Even Mego needed someone to shut his mouth every now and then. But you had abandoned them, and I felt so very sorry for them. I decided to step in, to become their new and improved Shego, and so much more."
A growl slipped from Shego's lips involuntarily.
"Don't worry, I took GOOD care of them all," Galgo said in what she apparently thought was a soothing tone. I gave Hego the support system he needed by becoming his wife and bearing his child. Michelle was a true blessing. Everyone stopped worry about what Shego might do, and focused their attention on my baby. But the in back of their minds, I knew they still wondered. I knew what I had to do. I had to replace you completely, so that there would never be any question in their minds that the family was complete."
"This was all a setup?" Shego asked abruptly.
"Not all," Galgo replied, shaking her head. "I certainly had no intention of Michelle meeting you until I was ready to destroy you. It's easier to kill a stranger, I think. Especially one your mother doesn't care much for. But you two had to go and get attached to each other. You nearly ruined my plan. I am not without my safety nets, however, and everything is back on schedule. Hego is keeping the team in line, because I am gradually curing his fears. Not all of them, of course, but he also fears losing control, so he is my loyal puppet. Kim Possible responded oh so well to my little suggestion that Michelle was extremely dangerous, and could not possibly be left in the hands of someone as evil as Shego. And my precious little girl, about to become a woman with her first kill, turned out to be very afraid of hurting her dear aunt...fittingly enough, on my command."
Shego's face lost what little color it had left. Her eyes flicked over to Michelle, who was trembling and still staring at the ground, unable to lift her eyes to either woman. If Shego's survival depended on Michelle's ability to feel nothing for her, then they were both doomed.
"Oh, my dear, sweet Michelle," Galgo purred, slipping behind Michelle and hugging her. "I know there is only one thing you fear more than being forced to hurt Shego. But it is time to grow up, and Mommy will guide you into it, as I always have." Galgo's eyes narrowed as she glared down at Shego. "Michelle, I want you to kill Shego. But not with your heat wall. I want you to wrap your hands around her throat, and strangle her to death. Use your barrier if she tries to resist in any way. And do it on my mark."
Michelle slowly turned her head to face her mother. "Mom...I'm begging you...don't make me do this. Please don't. I love Shego. She's been so good to me, and-"
"Do it now," Galgo whispered, not a trace of remorse in her words.
A strangled cry of disbelief escaped Michelle's mouth as she lurched forward, arms still outstretched.
As the heat wall vanished, Shego tried to move, and found herself far weaker than she'd expected. She knew at once that Michelle had somehow been draining her body heat, as well as her plasma. But before she could do anything about it, Michelle was on her, hands reaching for her throat. Shego evaded as best she could, leaning back and trying to catch Michelle off guard with a kick to the face. But Michelle's orange barrier winked into existence around her body an instant before, and Shego's attack slid off of it harmlessly, leaving her pinned to the ground as Michelle's glowing fingers brushed against her neck and then dug in mercilessly.
"Please don't hate me," Michelle whispered, even as her tears fell and evaporated as they hit her barrier. "There's nothing I can do..."
It would've been nice, Shego supposed, if she chose this moment to finally tell her niece that she was loved, that all was forgiven, and that her mother was a heartless witch. But, as she was short on air at the moment, Shego summed it all up sufficiently in one word.
"Michi," she gasped.
Michelle's violet eyes flashed green, and the world around them exploded into a dazzling mix of green and orange fire.
10:20 PM - Go Tower, Go City
"Rufus," Ron sighed, "we squash bugs GOOD."
The bedroom they currently stood in was a mess of green and black, but not one beetle stirred to prove to proclamation wrong.
Rufus held up his dripping flyswatter, blew on it as if it were a smoking gun, and shuddered when a piece of...something fell off and hit the floor with a very wet smack.
"I think that's a sign that our work here is done," Ron decided.
Rufus had just slipped back into Ron's pocket when the rock on the dresser...shifted slightly.
Then it actually MOVED, to the point where it rolled off of the dresser and onto the floor.
Ron practically flew across the room, kicking the rock into the corner and raising his foot for a good stomp.
The rock came to a stop, revealing the large crack in it...and apparently nothing inside but more of the green goo that made up the beetles' innards..
"Man, bugs are SICK and WRONG!" Ron complained. He backed towards the door, scanning the room for any signs of movement. There was nothing that he could see.
Without warning, pain lanced up Ron's left arm from his elbow, and he looked down to see that a beetle easily bigger than his hand had bitten clean through his shirt with its long, jagged pincers. The shock of seeing a bug so huge, combined with the blood pouring from his arm, left Ron frozen in fear, even as the mega beetle prepared to bite him again.
A cry of outrage sounded as Rufus launched himself from Ron's pocket, sinking his two sharp teeth into the beetle's back with lethal accuracy. There was a morbid fountain of green goo as the giant beetle fell to the floor and tried to scramble away, with the mole rat's teeth still buried firmly in its body. Finally, the beetle shakily threw itself at the wall, managing only to knock out Rufus, but not free itself from his teeth. The beetle slumped to the ground on its side, legs working furiously for a moment before they stilled for good.
Ron swallowed hard, taking a few seconds to collect himself before he could do anything. Then he bent down, carefully freed Rufus's teeth, and tucked his little friend safely into his pocket.
Only when Rufus was secure did Ron proceed to stomp the mega beetle into so much green goo. "HATE bugs," he muttered, barely aware of his bleeding arm as he quickly left the room.
10:30 PM - Outside Drakken's Lair
Shego groaned as she came to, carefully fingering the bump on the back of her head. Whatever Michelle had done, it had forced her against the ground again, only harder this time.
Michelle.
Shego's head snapped up, her eyes searching the area. Galgo was lying a good distance away, obviously out cold. At her side was a ghost. At least, it seemed like one, until Shego looked closer. There was definitely a humanoid shape, but the person was tiny and childlike, and the body was giving off an unearthly white light.
"Michelle?" Shego whispered with growing certainty as she made it to her feet.
The child turned to stare at her, and even that seemed to take a great amount of effort. "I knocked her out. Surrounded her head with a heat bubble and made her faint."
"And before that?"
"I released too much heat," Michelle confessed. "I wasn't thinking. It had to be enough to restore your powers, because I know you need them. All I know is that...when you called me Michi, I...I wasn't afraid anymore. I knew you'd forgiven me, and nothing else mattered."
Shego drew Michelle into her arms, her hands igniting almost automatically as she shared her warmth with the child. "We need to decide what's going to happen to your mother."
Michelle lowered her head. "I can't kill her, even now. I...I hate her...so much, but...she's my Mom. You can't, because they'd arrest you. But I'm afraid she's never going to change."
Shego knew she would regret her next words, but being around Michelle, goodness was just...contagious. "We could take her back to Go Tower, let my brothers decide her fate."
Michelle looked up, her eyes full of hope. "We?"
Shego sighed and held her tighter. "Yes. We. I'll go back there. For you, this one time. But that's it."
"Thanks," Michelle said softly, her little body seeming to glow a bit brighter.
"Didn't I say I don't like people making plans without asking me first?" Galgo asked sharply from behind them. "I am beyond irked at present. Now...I am quite mad."
"Give it up, lady," Shego demanded, pushing Michelle behind her as she rose to her feet. "The kid's not afraid of hurting or killing me anymore."
"Maybe not," Galgo chuckled. "But I'd bet anything she's still afraid of ME."
"Mom, don't do-!" Michelle cried, but her voice faded as her body dimmed, and a thin mist appeared around her.
"There is one overriding fear Michelle has always had above all others. Until a few minutes ago, no other fear surpassed it. And as you so helpfully pointed out Shego, that fear is gone, which means the one I refer to is top priority once more. You have also made me painfully aware that I can no longer depend on my daughter to obey me." Galgo's eyes narrowed. "She is useless to me now, and I always rid myself of useless things."
"Don't you dare," Shego whispered.
"Stars are quite beautiful, so long as they last," Galgo continued, pointedly ignoring the warning. "They can cease to exist in two main ways. Michelle isn't quite large enough to go out with a bang, but it should be interesting all the same, I think."
"Monster!" Shego screamed. "She's your daughter!"
"Was my daughter, Shego. Now, she is nothing to me. Nothing but darkness."
Michelle's body dimmed even further, her skin gradually being swallowed up by inky blackness. She looked as if her little body was slowly being covered in tar, except her fate would be infinitely worse.
Shego's voice died in her throat, and at loss, she instinctively reached out to help Michelle, somehow.
"Stop."
Shego's arm stiffened and did just that.
"You have fears as well, Shego. Fears of being controlled, how unoriginal. Fears of being caught. Fears of being unable to escape your crimes. Fears...of losing to Kim Possible? Something else I can torture you with later. But for now, I think I'll make you watch Michelle die."
Shego stood there, unable to do anything but what Galgo had ordered.
Michelle was staring at them sadly, and then her body crumbled into black dust, quickly blown away in the cold wind.
"They grow up and die so fast," Galgo sighed softly. "Face me, Shego."
Shego stiffly turned around, staring into Galgo's smiling face.
"It was so...easy in the end. Now that I have you in my power, what to do? Obviously, I'll tell everyone that YOU killed Michelle, scattered her ashes to the wind. Since you seem to have this insecurity about Kim Possible, maybe I should actually have you kill her. That's two deaths on your hands; they'll never let you see the light of day now, and more importantly, I won't let you."
Galgo looked away from Shego, smiling at Kim's still unconscious body. "Maybe I should wake her up first, have you two fight it out for old times' sake. She'll lose, of course, but she doesn't have to know that."
Suddenly, Galgo's head was yanked back roughly, and she found herself staring up into Shego's furious green eyes, which had the start of tears in them.
"For the record? Seems like if your victims have any bigger fears than the ones you've chosen to exploit, your control is lost. And for once in my life, there is something I fear more than any of the things you found poking around in my head."
Galgo didn't have time to probe Shego's mind for this latest fear, and even if she had, she would've found that her last act of cruelty had sealed her fate.
Shego closed her eyes and ignited the hand gripping Galgo's hair in one huge burst. The world had stopped for her, so her ears heard nothing. Yet her face felt the sickening splatter of something warm, and Shego knew the horror was over, for now, and she released the fear she'd buried deep down inside.
"I was afraid of losing Michi," she whispered into the cold, empty night.
11:03 PM - Outside Drakken's Lair
Waking up to find herself staring into the face of evil was not an uncommon experience for Kim Possible. In fact, it was an all too common experience, and just once, she would've preferred to wake up to a free naco, or a college scholarship, or anything she could get some real use out of, like some new mission gear.
Sadly, it was not to be.
This night, Kim woke up to find Shego's face hovering just over hers.
To her credit, Kim held in her scream.
Shego's face was unlike it had ever been before. The left side of it was covered and dripping in blood and gore, though underneath that, her face seemed to be intact, thankfully. The right side was clean, but entirely expressionless.
"Enjoy your nap, Sleeping Beauty?" Shego asked, her voice lacking that certain something Kim had become accustomed to hearing (probably it was life, or something close to it). "Hope so. Because I've got some issues with you, and I don't want you falling asleep on me. Galgo tried it, and you can see what happened to her."
Shego actually moved aside slightly so Kim could see what had happened to Galgo.
Kim instantly wished that she hadn't. It looked as if Galgo's head had exploded.
Shego moved back into Kim's line of sight. "I couldn't help but remember something Galgo said earlier. Something about you leading her here?"
Kim's eyes widened in fear. "Shego," she whispered. "I didn't mean to, I swear. You have to believe me."
"I believe you, Princess. But, see, here's the thing. I just watched Galgo kill my niece, so you might say I'm looking for someone to blame for that. And, well, since it's just you and me, I'm willing to make a stretch or two. Here's what I've come up with, and stop me if I get anything wrong. Galgo followed you here. You came here to get Michi. Yes, you were in Galgo's control, and since you didn't know what her power was, there was nothing you could've done about it. But, in my mind, what it boils down to is that if you hadn't come here, Michi would still be alive. So, I'm kinda thinking her death is, in a way, your fault. And right now, I'm kinda debating what we should do about that. Any ideas? Not one, huh? I've got one or two myself, fortunately. Mind if I try them out on you?"
"Shego." Kim swallowed hard, afraid to take her eyes from Shego's face, and at the same time wishing it weren't so very close. The sight and smell of Galgo's remains on Shego's face was making her ill. "I'm so sorry about Michelle, but...whatever you're thinking, it won't...bring her back."
"You're right about that, but I'm betting it might make me feel a whole lot better right now. Maybe not tomorrow, but I'm all about the here and now, Kimmie. And right now, I'm thinking I might have to kill you."
Kim gasped as Shego's left hand, still wet with Galgo's blood, flew up and wrapped around her throat, not painfully, but firmly enough to show that Shego was serious.
"I never wanted it to end this way between us, Pumpkin. But, as you can probably tell by now, we don't always get what we want."
"You can't...kill me, Shego," Kim whispered, a hint of pleading in her voice. "It's not you. Michelle wouldn't want you to become a murderer."
"I imagine she also wouldn't want to be dead."
"Shego, I'm sorry!" Kim cried. "I never meant for this to happen! I didn't want her to die!"
"You wouldn't listen. We told you to go away, but you wouldn't listen. Maybe that was Galgo making you stubborn, but I bet a big part of it was you being you. You always have to win, Kimmie. You can't just be satisfied with a draw. You couldn't just leave us alone. Well, this time you lose, and you lose big. No more games. It's over between us."
"Can I...tell you something first?" Kim asked, her eyes shining with tears.
"What?"
"I'd give anything to give Michelle back to you."
The pressure on Kim's throat increased.
"Even your life?" Shego demanded.
Kim nodded as best she could. "Especially that. I wouldn't wish tonight on my worst enemy. And definitely not on you, Shego."
Shego blinked and stared into Kim's eyes. Whatever she saw there, it was enough, because she let go of Kim and sank to ground, looking hopelessly lost.
Kim tried to breathe normally as she stared at Shego. She'd never seen the woman like this, and it scared her more than Galgo ever had. More than anything ever had, for that matter.
Neither of them said a word for several long minutes, or even moved all that much, until they both spotted the Go Jet landing nearby. It had barely come to a stop when several Global Justice vehicles pulled up as well.
Ron was the first one out of the Go Jet, followed closely by Mego and the Wego twins, with Hego coming out last. They all looked pretty beat up, and Ron's left arm had a nasty gash in it that had been hastily bandaged, but plenty of blood had soaked through it since then.
Global Justice operatives began pouring out of their vehicles, and Kim silently slid herself in front of Shego, as she spotted several with guns in their hands. Doctor Director herself emerged seconds later, and her eye met Kim's at once.
Ron had been headed straight for Kim, but after noticing Dr. Director, he slowed to a stop, as did Team Go.
Dr. Director quickly closed the distance between them, stopping just in front of Kim. She surveyed the scene, her gaze pausing on Shego before finally returning to Kim.
"Is she a flight risk?" Dr. Director asked simply.
Kim glanced back at Shego, who hadn't moved the whole time. "No, but-" She stopped, noticing Dr. Director's stern expression.
"Project: Brightstar?"
Kim lowered her head. "Cancelled."
"I see," Dr. Director replied quietly. "I realize it's been a long night for all of you, but there are many things that must be explained before I'm willing to consider this entire matter settled."
"I'll help in any way I can," Kim assured her.
"We'll need to take Shego into custody."
"What about me?" Kim asked at once.
Dr. Director blinked. "Pardon?"
"I'm, um...an accomplice. To murder."
For her part, Dr. Director seemed extremely unconvinced.
"It was through my actions that Project: Brightstar was...cancelled," Kim explained. It was true enough, and she was hoping that Dr. Director would rather just arrest them both than argue the matter in front of her men. Fortunately, Kim's instincts proved right on that.
"Cuff them both," the older woman relented, shaking her head.
Kim got regulation handcuffs, but Shego was put into a heavy-looking set of manacles that obviously neutralized her powers. Even when they were placed into the same van, Shego didn't offer a word of protest.
After a few moments, Ron joined them, also cuffed.
"Sexual harassment," he said with a shrug and a smile.
Kim stared at him in disbelief.
"I told Dr. Director she reminded me of an older, foxier Kim Possible. Right before I pinched her hip."
Kim honestly didn't know whether to hug him or hit him. "Ron...what...her HIP?"
"She moved," Ron muttered defensively. "She's fast, for an older gal."
Kim's good mood faded fast as she looked at Shego, and Ron noticed right away.
"So...did we not win?" he asked quietly.
She didn't even bother answering him. Instead, Kim laid her head on his shoulder, and tried her best not to cry.