They arrived at the old library at about 4.00, the light still bright, the day still in full swing, and headed straight for the trapdoor. But the trapdoor was no longer there.

"Wade? I don't get it, the door was here, I remember it being here, right?"

"That's where it was. This is odd. I'm getting no power reading from the place either, and just last night it was through the roof."

"Can you do a scan of the cellars from here? An X-ray?"

"I can try, hold the kimmunicator out." She complied, and it began to beep. "Nothing, no weird sub-basements, no metal tunnels, nothing at all."

"I don't get it. He was goading us, clearly, sending you messages. He was taunting us. He wanted us to come back, but where are we meant to go?"

"I have an idea"

She turned to Ron.

"Well, it might be completely wrong, but do you remember he seemed a little obsessed with the darkness? And he had a weird sort of control over it? I think it's too bright out. I think he prefers it a little later." In the darkness, a figure smiled in appreciation, and waved an imperious hand

"Ron, that's crazy! How could he just make his entire lair vanish because he likes to sleep till late, that's…impossible!"

Ron looked down at his feet, sheepishly, and muttered something.

"What?"

"I said nothing is impossible, you should know that more than anyone"

"Kim, I…I think he may be right! The webpage, I don't know how, but it's in English now. I'd been trying some programmes to decipher it, but I don't think that's what did it. It's like it just decided to be different."
"Well, what does it say?"

"It's a poem."

"WHAT?"
"I know. It reads 'In sorrow, in pain, in suffering, there am I. Come, my darling, seek me in the shadows. Seek me in the darkness. In darkness, in darkness"

"That's all?"

"Pretty much"

"I guess you were right then, sweetie. I'm sorry I snapped at you"

"No big"

they hugged.

"So…what do we do now? Just wait?"

"I guess"

"Well, I do have one idea, hold on…" Wade tapped furiously at a keyboard "There!"

"What did you do?"

"Just hacked into a weather control machine the governments been working on. Strictly hush-hush. I know it's not night, but if we obscure the sun enough, it may just work." As he spoke, clouds gathered as if from nowhere, blocking out the sun and blanketing all of Middleton in darkness. In the dirt the symbol flared into existence, and two ornate doors, wrought in black iron and dark wood, faded into view

"You rock, Wade! Wait, those aren't the same doors…"

"I'm not surprised. I think this guy bores real easily. I wouldn't be surprised if everything is different."

They opened the doors, and, exchanging a glance, entered.

The passage seemed wider, more ornate, but also, much shorter, leading to a large anteroom. On the opposite end stood a door. Slowly, they crossed the room, muscles tense for any sudden moves. Suddenly, as their hands reached for the handle, two shadows peeled away from the wall, circling them slowly, and landing either side of them. They had billowy, indistinct forms, and seemed content to wait for their next move.

"I'm afraid that the master is preoccupied at this time, and is taking no visitors. I must apologise, but it really is imperative that you leave."

They turned at the voice. A man was walking toward them from the entrance they had just taken, arms folded behind his back. His eyes, mouth, and nose were completely covered with black cloths, each of which, in turn, covered with red runes and seals.

He held his hands behind him, and was clad in black leather armour. He was hairless, and pale as a man who had never once seen the sun.

"Who are you?" Kim asked

"Please, forgive my rudeness." He gave a stiff bow "I am Jiramon, chamberlain to the prince, and master of his household." His voice travelled well, despite the bandages on his mouth.

"Oh, well, I'm.."

"I am well aware of who you are, and I must say it is indeed an honour to host such illustrious guests, but, alas, as I have already stated, the master is taking no visitors at the moment. I will of course escort you to the exit"

"No, you will not. We came for answers, and we aren't leaving till we get them!"
"Most regrettable" he sighed and brought his hands forward. In one hand he held a long, wickedly jagged blade. "Most regrettable indeed."

"Why is it always blades these days?"

"Not the time sweetie!" she leapt into combat, levelling a flying kick at Jiramon's head. He dropped forward, and effortlessly dodged it, raising a hand and catching her ankle. Without struggling, he turned and flung her into the darkness. There was a thud.

"K.P!" Ron ran to her side, but was cut off by Jiramon.

"I do so wish you had not forced my hand. It is…unseemly. Impolite"

"I'd say it's more than impolite!" snarled Ron, and leapt past him, desperately trying to reach Kim. Elegantly, Jiramon pressed a hand to his chest and a leg behind him and pushed, toppling Ron to the floor.

"I'm afraid not." He raised the knife and plunged it towards Ron's chest. He rolled away just in time, saving his skin but leaving his top badly torn. He kicked out at his attacker, but he merely connected with air as Jiramon back-flipped to safety. He held out his free hand, and hurled three bolts of darkness at Ron. Cursing, he leapt to his feet and got out of the way just in time.

"Jiramon was it? Well, next time you try to take me down, make sure I STAY down!"

Kim rocketed from the darkness, barrelling towards Jiramon. He sighed and leapt vertically, landing on her back and kicking away, toppling her to the floor in a heap. He landed facing away from them.

"I have tried to be patient. I warned you, I asked politely, I pulled my blows so they would not be so final." He shook his head. "But some people do not learn, and the only lesson you can teach them has to be the last lesson." He turned to face them, and froze. He bowed, low and stiffly, and sheathed the blade.

"Forgive me, sir! I did not realize! You are, of course, most welcome here, as indeed is your consort. I see now that you bear the masters mark, that both of you do." Kim followed his gaze, at least, what would have been his gaze had his eyes been uncovered, to Ron's chest. A large tear was now obvious on his chest where Jiramon's knife had struck, revealing his scar. But the scar had changed, become deep black in colour, and additional lines now extended along it's tips. She gasped as she realised. The symbol was now emblazoned on Ron's chest. Kim frowned, and looked down, realizing the source of Jiramon's change in mood.

"Uh, Kim…is it just me, or do I really have that damned thing on my chest?"

She nodded.

"Great. Just great." He sighed, then stopped with a frown on his face. "Wait, so we can go through now, because of this thing?"

"Of course, Honoured Guest. I should never have attempted to detain you." He drew the blade again. "I will, of course, take my own life as recompense"

"NO!" they shouted.

"As you wish, favoured ones. If you will follow me please. The master IS, as I said, indisposed currently, but I'm sure that he will be done momentarily. In the meantime, perhaps you would care for refreshments on the balcony?"

He led them towards another door, off to the side. The two shadows immediately whirled to protect it's sanctity, but fled shrieking at one word from Jiramon. He opened the door, leading to a long ascending spiral staircase.

"Wait, how can there be a staircase that long here? We can't possibly be that far down, can we?"

"Down? Why, madam, you are currently at least 50 stories of the ground" Said Jiramon as he began to climb the stairs.

"What? But that's…"

"Impossible?" said Ron with a smile.

"Oh…shut up!"

They climbed the rest of the way in silence, Kim pouting at being tweaked, Ron smiling almost smugly. Eventually, they reached another door. Jiramon opened it, and led them through.

The room was large, and had none of the gothic architecture of the previous room, instead being open with Corinthian pillars and a fountain. Distributed almost randomly around the entire room were large stone statues of various bizarre figures. They went and stood before a large ogre-like creature, it's eyes an face twisted into a plaintive grimace.

"My lord crafts each of these figures from memory, each taking but a single night. He is a master of many arts, my Lord. Come, you may watch him at his tasks below" he lead them to the edge of the balcony.

"Wait, please help me! Help me to die! He brings the stone to life before he carves! My existence is suffering itself! Oh, why do you not help me!" called out the ogre soundlessly, for, while the stone was given life, it was not given movement, and no tongue was included in the crafting.

As they travelled to the edge of the balcony, they studied the statues before them and, stopping in front of one, Kim gasped and pointed.

The statue was of two lovers entwined, lips at each others throat. They were unclad, save a single sheet that slipped gently to the floor. His right hand enveloped a breast, and his left a buttock. Her fingers clawed at his back, and her legs wrapped around his waist. On his chest he bore a thin scar just below his right nipple. She bore a strange black mark on her neck.

"Ah, the master's latest! A most amazing likeness, is it not?"

"I'm gonna kill him! There's nothing else for it! I'm gonna have to now. How dare he? How DARE he!" there was a chuckle from Jiramon. "And what the hell do you think is so funny?"
"Kill him? Very good! Very funny indeed madam! Of course you know it is impossible to kill the master. Why, you may as well kill the moon, or the north breeze! At least they are fairly inconsequential! Now, come and observe his works!" and, finally, they reached the edge of the balcony.

It overlooked an even more vast room, all in white and red. At it's centre, a large red seal had been placed, not the symbol that they were so familiar with, but a new, more horrible one. The Prince stood at the edge, bearing a slim dagger. He was clad in long black robes, embroidered with strange red symbols.

"Naride, Sepoch, Radi, Melchor! Come! I summon by the names of Khet! Come! I Call By the Seal of Suffering! Come! I Bind you by the Sevenfold, and by the Hosts of the Boarders! Come!"

From out of the shadow, a naked girl stepped hesitantly. Ron gulped, and looked away hurriedly.

"Ron, is, is that you I think it is?"

"Don't know, not looking, not staring at the naked girl, lalala!"

"No, look Ron, it's Justine! But what would she be doing here?"
"Watch, and see the masters greatest art!"

The Prince looked at Justine Flanahan, so called "Queen of the Science Fair" and smiled. He threw the knife to her, and gestured with a nod and a wink. She blushed. Holding out one hand, she sliced downwards with the blade of the knife on the palm, wincing at the pain. The blood fell into a waiting chalice. She turned to the Prince.

"Is, was, um, is that right? Did I do OK?"
"You did fine, my dear, thank you." He wrapped an arm around her, placing his lips to her cheek. With his free hand, he raised her still bloody hand to his lips and gently licked the seeping plasma with a long, forked tongue. The clawed fingertip of one hand teased her left nipple, and she cried out.

"Please, now, yes? Now master, you promised?" he released her, and stood back, one hand at his chin.

"Are you my equal?"

"N-no master of course…"

"then how is it that you presume to tell me what to do or not to do, to remind me of my promises?"

she dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, master! Please, please forgive me! Have mercy I beseech you?" she prostrated herself on the ground and wept.

Kim went to move but a hand restrained her. To her surprise it was Ron's

"Even if you could help her, she'd hate you for it" He said with a sigh.

After five minutes of grovelling, the Prince reached a hand out to her and smiled. "Alright, mercy it is then." Gratefully she grasped his hand and began to press her lips to his fingertips, seeming not to care that those lips now bled where they met the many spines and thorns of his gauntlet. "Thank you, master, thank you, thank you!"

"Jiramon! Please escort Miss Flanahan to her quarters!"

Jiramon stepped into the shadows, and stepped out below beside the pair. He held in his hands a long cloak, which he drapped over her shoulders as she stood.

"Who are you? What's going on?"
"I am Jiramon, The Lords Castellan and Major Domo. Come, let's get you to bed. The Master will join you shortly."

He led her out of another door, closing it behind him. The Prince chuckled and stooped to pick up the chalice, turning once more to the circle at the centre of the room. He raised the chalice overhead, and his smile faded.

"I give you the blood of a virgin child" he poured the blood from the chalice into the centre of the circle. "And the tears that she'll shed as I lay her down. I give you the spit of my scorn and my malice" he spat into the centre. "I bind you know, warlock, traitor. I bind you now, I call you now, by words unspoken for a thousand years, words unspoken by a human tongue. Words unheard by human ears" he paused and looked up to the balcony through the sides of his eyes, and smiled. "Sanich, feron, marcu shax, renom , morvu, rasliv, caras, chemor!" he spat the words, clenching a fist in front of him as he did so. Kim raised her hands to her ears, and gritted her teeth. She looked over at Ron, eyes wide with fear and shaking.

"I know those words. I…I've heard them before. But where?"

The Prince finished, bringing his hand down in a cutting motion. For a moment nothing happened, then, from the darkness at the edge of the seal, movement. A stag stepped forward, it's breath misting, antlers vast and cruel. It bent down to the blood, sniffed, and began to drink. It stopped and lifted its head, licking the blood off its lips, and went to take another step forward, but seemed to falter. It collapsed in a heap on the floor, and shook violently. In time, it grew obvious that the shaking was not from itself, but, rather, something moving under its skin. Its mouth and eyes snapped open and millions of white maggots poured out. They quickly began devouring its flesh, stripping it to the bone in a matter of seconds. Then, they turned on each other, consuming themselves until there was only one vast maggot left. It split its skin down the middle, and a snake, long and black, emerged and curled itself inside the now gleaming skull. Roots and thorns erupted from the ground, enveloping the stag's remains. A whistling noise erupted, the sound of the searing desert wind, and the stag was covered with white sand. Soon, the sand began to shift, and, rising from it, standing on two hoofed skeletal feet, was the stag, vaster than before, it's antlers sharp and cruel, it's forelegs ending in large, cruel paws. It's flesh seemed composed of thorns and roots now, and it oozed something not quite blood, not quite sap, but grotesquely other. It raised it's colossal head and roared.

"Who dares to summon one such as I? Fool! Do not call up one you cannot put down!" It went to move forward, to breach the circle, but screamed in rage and frustration at it's edge.

"Argh! The Seal of Maramon! Impossible! Who of this age remembers the powers of Maramon! No matter! I will still crack your bones to suck upon you're marrow!"

"Will you now?" the Prince stepped forward, revealing his face. The stag stopped, and shook with fear. it's mouth hung open and the serpents head emerged and spoke in sibilant tones.

"Forgive us lord! We did not now…we assumed…"

"I Know what you assumed! Oh, how you disappoint me! I created you so long ago to tempt, to beguile, to confuse. And what do I find? Instead of a tempter and a traitor, just a hungry ghost, driven by his own appetites." He sighed, and reached forward, grasping the beast by it's antler.

"Please, lord, forgive us? We can do so much better, please!"

"Alright, I forgive you" he jerked his hand, and a sickening snap could be head echoing through the hall. The beast hung limply in his hands, unmoving. He let go, and it slumped forward to the ground, still. "I forgive you." He let the robe slip from his body, revealing black armour, less ornate, less spiked, less lethal than before. He looked over to Ron and Kim and smiled. The balcony began to melt and flow, forming a staircase down to him. He began to climb to meet them.

"Kim! Ron! What a pleasure! How are you both?" he smirked. "I'm sorry you had to see all that unpleasantness, but you just can't make good help can you? I'll just dispose of the remains, won't be a moment." He waved a hand, and thick green liquid flooded the chamber. It hissed and steamed. "there, that should make everything sparkle, shouldn't it? Now, what can I do for you both?"

"Well, first of all, what did you do to Justine?"

"Oh yes, you know each other don't you? Well, she is a smart child isn't she? She managed to find out about me all on her own, find out how to reach me. Quite an achievement for an evolved ape."

"What did you do to her?"

"Hmm, oh nothing. She came to ME! she did all of this to herself! She wanted a boon, a favour, and I made a bargain with her, that is my way"

"What did she ask for? What did you ask in return?"

"I think she was supposed to ask for some insight, some understanding of how the world came to form. It was always knowledge with here wasn't it? Anyway, that was what she intended to ask for, but, well, she changed her mind quickly."

"What do you mean?"

"She viewed perfection, and suddenly her questions didn't matter to her anymore." He preened, and led them through a door to another room. His towering throne sprung up at a gesture and he leapt to his seat.

"So, what does she want now?"

"Simple; Me!"
What?"

"I'm quite serious. You could say she has found God." He chuckled. "yes, she worships me. a wise move all things considering."

"You monster! You've, you've…brainwashed her!"

"Don't be so foolish! There was so need! She did it to herself. Is it so hard to believe? She spent her entire life searching for the answers to the infinite, and now, she is presented with them. Of course she is going to worship me! It was inevitable. I am the culmination of all her life's work!" he looked at Ron. "Besides, I think someone here might understand what I mean more than others."

"Ron, what does he mean?"

"Uh, well, I dunno…I guess he might be talking about me and you."

"What? What about me and you?"

"Well, I spent my entire life trying to be there for you, trying to be helpful, and now, well, I kind of fell for you long, long ago, and it hasn't stopped getting stronger. What is stronger than love? I guess worship. I kinda understand how Justine feels"

"Your smarter than you look! But then, that can't be hard." He cackled

"It doesn't matter, we're going to get her out of here, for her own good!"

"Uh, Kim, I don't think we can. And I don't think we can afford to have Justine as an enemy. Look at here previous. She devoted herself to science, and achieved crazy things. Now she's devoted herself to him, and she's completely lost herself in it. Do you really want her to devote herself to hating you? To destroying you? Because that's what would happen."

"But…but we've got to do something, don't we?"

"Why? Leave her here with me, why ruin all my fun?"

"And you! What, you can't have me, so you do something like this?"

"Hahahahah! Oh, so vain! You're so wrapped up in your own things, your own self, that you can't see past it. This has nothing to do with you. This pact was made separate to you, and your presence had no influence on it. In fact, I made this pact well before you two even entered the equation. What makes you think that I ever wanted you?"

"But…last night?"

"Oh, that! You thought that was serious? So foolish. No, merely a test."

"What?"

"Of course. I had to test the weakest of the pair to see if there was any point in continuing my plans."

"Weakest? Plans? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, there'll be time for all that later. Now, I'd have thought that you'd at least make the effort, clothes-wise. Never mind, I'll see what I can do." He clapped his hands once, and the floor beneath their feet welled up, enveloping their bodies before they could even cry out, then fell away. They looked down, and gasped. Kim was now wearing a long, black dress and long gloves. She looked at Ron. He was now wearing a black suit and tie. He touched the black fabric hesitantly. It seemed stick to his fingers, and ripple at his touch. Kim gasped.

"My backpack! Where's My backpack!"

"Hmm, oh, this?" the Prince lifted his hand. He held her backpack.

"Let's see what you keep in here, hmm?"

"Don't you dare!"

"Shush, child!" he opened the backpack and searched through it methodically "Grappling hook, rebreather, laser lipstick." He chuckled "your Wade is quite gifted. It's a pity that none of this'll work. I don't think science has a place here. Hello, what's this?" he raised an eyebrow, and pulled a long line of shiny foil wrappers out of the bag. "Condoms? And quite a few. I take it that you are no longer untouched, child?" he smiled a wolf-grin.

"Shut up! I needed to hide them somewhere! And don't call me child! You are not my father!"

"That's where you're wrong!"

"Dude, that is sick and wrong! After what you tried to do with her last night?"

"How literal you humans are! Alright, I am not your genetic father, but, well, there would be no Kim Possible without me."
"Explain yourself!"

"Let me tell you a little story. It's about a man, lets call him Mr Paisley. He is Rich. Very Rich. And, also, little more than a child wrapped in a mans body. He has a toy he'd like to protect, so he sets up a laser grid, and promptly gets caught in it. Thinking quickly his head of security logged onto the internet, to contact Team Impossible, a world renowned crime fighting group. Unfortunately, in his panic, he got a girl looking to help people and do some babysitting. Ring any bells?"

"That's, That's our first mission!"

"Quite right! Now, here's a little secret you might not know: he didn't really get the wrong website, or at least, he wouldn't have if it weren't for some intervention on my part."

"But why?"

"because I was bored. Because I thought it would be entertaining. Because I didn't think you had a chance, and then I'd have a dead little cheerleader, as well as a moronic billionaire. But you succeeded! You performed excellently and without fault! That was a mistake perhaps on your part. You piqued my interest. I watched your exploits with interest, and you too Ron. I began to see how your dynamic worked. But I grew bored watching passively."

"So you stole the artefacts?"

"Ah, Kimberly, you really don't get it do you? You don't understand what I am, what I represent. Allow me to illuminate. I am a God! My wishes are paramount, my whims essential. But, there is more to it than that. I am ambition! I am drive! I am Ego, unchained, and without restraint or fear from Id or Superego! All who would do anything to achieve their goals serve me in their hearts. There is no limit to what I can do to human motivation, to reality itself! So I sowed my seeds, let them fester and quicken, and waited. Every now and then, I would survey them, to see if they had borne fruits, and, maybe, if it was called for, tend to them a little, as all good farmers should."

"What are you talking about?"
"The Seeds! Honestly, you humans, if it's not spelled out for you, you don't understand! I set them to germinate in the hearts of those who, ordinarily, would achieve nothing spectacular. I gave them their goals, I made sure that, from time to time, the world kicked them repeatedly, just to set them down the right path. And I waited. Sure enough, they performed adequately. Well, you'd know, you've seen the results a thousand times by now"

"Who are you talking about? Drakken?"

"Of course! He was a great success! I gave him his ambition, his ego, his hubris! I gave him the drive to succeed, but that's not all. I made sure that it was YOUR father, Kim, that insulted him and drove him to crime, and also..., but first, answer me this: is Drakken smarter than your mother? Does he know more about, say, the human brain than her?"

"Of course not! My mother is a brain surgeon, and Drakken's, well, an idiot."

"Exactly! And yet he managed to switch your minds, an action that your mother considered to be impossible! Does that not strike you as a little odd?"

"Wait, are you saying…?"

"Yes! I gave him my Art! Or, at least, an impression of it. I gave him what is best termed, "Mad Science", the sort of thing that is not really possible. I made it possible, for a short while at least. Of course, I made it so that it required a vast expenditure of energy, and that the device was bulky and unwieldy. I mean, I don't want to be unfair about it, give him to big an advantage. Also, it probably won't work again. They need to constantly reinvent, to create, my servants, or they stagnate."

"You're to blame? But why?"

"Because I wanted to see how you'd react, because I wanted you to see how each other lives, what you each have to cope with."

"Really?"

"Sure. It's as good an answer as any. But he wasn't the only one. Take Lord Fiske, for instance. He would have been just another worthless dilettante without me, but I gave him the gift of obsession, gave him dreams of racial superiority, with the race in question being chimps and lower primates. I gave him madness, and, of course, I gave him "Mystical Power".

"Um, I've been exposed to that as well you know"

"I'm well aware, thank you. It made me laugh for hours. The idea of monkety power is of course, laughable. There is nothing even the least bit magical about monkeys. All of that, all that he achieved, comes from me. Of course, you cannot speak of Fiske, without speaking of Amy, one of my greatest accomplishments. Did you know that, before my intervention, she was a perfectly reasonable, ordinary biologist? There was mo chance of any startling breakthroughs from here, but she at least 'fit in'. I changed that, I broke her down, and rebuilt her. I gave her a taste of my drive, a spark of brilliance, a touch of ruthlessness, and a need to be loved. The Seniors I just gave obscene wealth, vanity and boredom, while Dementor I gave drive and a sense of drama."

"What about Adrenna Lynne, I guess you must have given her your drive and ambition too, huh?"

"No! That creature was perfectly vile all on her own, as was that buffoon Killigan, but I did give something to Gill, his vindictiveness and hideous mutation"

"That's a lie! He mutated because of the toxic Run-off from science camp at Lake Wannaweep!"

"Ah yes, Wannaweep. Now there's something I am especially proud of! There was a time when that lake was known for its beauty and splendour, a time when its shores sparkled cleanly and without contamination. That time has passed, long, long ago, and now it will forever be stagnant in the minds of others. I set it in motion that it would grow quick with corruption, that fetor would spread into every crevice. I had Camp Wannaweep built, then I made sure that you, Ron, would be sent there."

"You monster! Do you have any idea how that place has haunted me? How much that place has messed me up?"
"Of course I do! That was the point. I wanted to see how far I could push you, whether it would crush you, or merely harden you, robbing you of your child-like innocence. As it turns out, it did neither, but it taught you to think on your feet, to roll with the punches. Important lessons I think you'll agree. Now, was there anyone else you were curious about?

"um, Motor Ed?"

"One of my lesser pieces, little more than an aptitude for mechanics coupled with a childlike destructive personality."

"The Jackal?"
"Oh yes, he was one of mine, or rather, the talisman was, but, I confess, I did push him a little down the path of revenge. The talisman contains a mere fragment, a spark of my power. It grants some speed, and strength, and power, but nowhere near my level. It never concerned you that he behaved less like Anubis, and more like Set? Honestly, I thought that was obvious"
"I'm guessing you had a hand in Shego?"

"Naturally. She is perhaps my greatest creation, my masterpiece. I gave her a keen intellect, intense personal charm and charisma. I gave her ruthlessness, and complete self sufficiency, and an inability to suffer fools. And, finally, I gave her the 'glow'."

"I thought that that came from a meteor?"

"No, from me, though it pained me so to give her light. They remember it as a meteor, because it is easier for the human mind to accept such things than what really occurs. I gave it to her brothers as well, but do you think you can understand why?"

"Because you knew that having to spend so much time with her brothers would drive her to evil?"

"Well done! You are learning! Ah, Alice, she was always such a sweet girl!"
"Alice?"

"yes, didn't you know Shego's real name? I visit her, from time to time, but she believes them to be particularly lucid dreams. Still, she gives herself to me, completely and utterly, and worships me as an idealised male form, her perfect mate. She is, of course, right. My perfect form is legendary, my presence irresistible."

"Um I think not. I resisted you, didn't I?"

"Barely, and in a greatly reduced form. No, I needed to test you're devotion Kim, but I did not intend for it to be impossible, so I presented you with a mere fraction of my perfection, and, even then, there was a tugging on your heart. Now, Ron, I feel would not have fallen, even in the face of perfection. Observe." He batted his eyelids, and flexed his form. The armour seemed to become liquid, and flowed to new, more appropriate positions. Hiss face also changed, his eyes becoming more human, his face and hair colour switching, so that where once was black, now is white, and vice versa. His jawline became softer, more feminine, and the many spikes and horns that framed his face disappeared. His lips became more full, and lined with dark blood-red. His cheekbones became even more prominent. His waist narrowed, while his hips became rounder, and at his chest, two large breasts appeared. In a matter of moments, where once was The Prince, now stood The Princess, a vision of dark beauty, a gothic angel. Where once was forbidding armour, now there was only a bodice, a corset of red lace and black metal. A long flowing skirt of lace and velvet fell in her wake. Her face was unmarred by horns or spines, except, at her temple, two large horns swept back and framed her hair. Her crown also changed, becoming more like a queenly coronet. She looked down at Ron, and smiled, licking her lips. He edged closer to Kim, and cowered a little behind her, gripping her arm.

" See? He is presented with perfection, and he grows afraid, and seeks the comfort of his love. All is as it should be. This is why I selected you, Kim, for my test. Why test that which you know will pass? No, go for the weakest link."

"That is not fair! I mean, it's obvious to everyone that I'm the weak link in the group, not K.P"

"I would expect you to feel nothing less, Ron."

"So, can you take on any form, or just those two?"

"Come now, after all that we've been through, do you have to ask? All the times we've shared out there, in the lighted world?"

"What times? When?"

"Why, just a few weeks ago, I came to you, Kim. Twice. Once in the form of a former lover" his features shifted, and Josh stood were once he did not. "And once in the form of an admired celebrity" he shifted again, and Dex stood in his place. Kim gasped.

"That was you? Why? More tests? What did you do with the real Josh?"

"Nothing, he's in Peru on holiday at the moment."

"And Dex?"

"He had a fall ,in his basement, and broke both legs. He was unable to get to a 'phone, and I made sure that no-one found him. He should be dead by now."

"What? Oh my God!"

"No, only kidding. He had a car crash, they tried to cover it up, as it seems he was drunk at the wheel, but it'll be all over the news tomorrow. He'll be fine in a week or two though."

"Is that all of them? Who else have you appeared as?

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Positive."

"Well, all right then. If you insist. Lets see, oh, here's one you've met a handful of times, always on the periphery really." He shimmered, and a suit appeared on his frame, his eyes became more human, and, if anything, more predatory. A wolfish smile spread across his lips, and he tugged at his sleeve with a ring bedecked hand.

"Jack Hench? Really? Why?"

"Why? Why anything? I needed to supply your villains with things, with henchmen, and this seemed the most direct way of doing it. Plus I got to throw my more interesting inventions into the mix. Like the Strength ring. Remember that, do ya, Ron? That taught ya a valuable lesson about being yourself. And, of course, let's not forget the attitudinator. Gotta let my boy cut loose once in a while, let him show his bad side. For one thing, it made you appreciate him all the more, right? And, of course, it led you two to your first "date", so if I achieved nothing else, there's that."

"You went to all that trouble for that? Why?"

"Because it served my plans, why else? That's why I also took this form." His features melted again, his form becoming fatter, shorter, more stocky. When he reformed truly, he was pale, bald but with a certain childishness behind his rutheless eyes.

"Big Daddy Brotherson? Ok, that one I can see. And it does explain his love of games."

"Exactly right! Now, who else… oh yes, of course, there is always…" he bent down, as if to pluck something from the ground, but the figure that arose was not the one that bent down. Gone the wolfish grin, gone the suite of purple and the slicked back hair, replaced with girlish form, with pouting lips and friendly eyes. She giggled girlishly, raising here fingers to her lips. "Oh stoppable-san with your American style misunderstanding of situations"

"Yori? You were Yori?"

"Of course! I was there, at the Yamanuchi school, to give you someone to feel close to, to befriend you. And I returned, to spark the seeds of jealousy that would grow into the vines that bind you both. But that's not all!" she stretched and breathed in deeply, filling her lungs. She seemed to fill out, her hair growing shorter and her build completely changing. Her clothes, too, warped and shifted, the Japanese schoolgirl look giving way to a leather jacket. He smiled.

"Hirotaka? You were Hirotaka too? Why?"
"no reason, to give you something to do while Ron was away, to show you that just because a man looks and acts all that, doesn't mean he is." He chuckled "and, of course, I got to play games of my own with dear sweet Bonnie"

"But, wait, how could you be Yori and Hirotaka at the same time, and at the opposite side of the world?"

"The same way you can walk and chew at the same time. It's all a matter of focus to one such as I. But, I wasn't just those two, oh no. I was the whole damned Yamanuchi School!"

"But, but that's insane! How can you possibly be the whole school?"

"I'll admit, it wasn't easy. I stretched myself a little thin, but it was necessary. There was no great Toshimiru, there is no lotus blade, there is no Monkey Power, there is only I, only…but I digress. It was necessary to perpetuate the charade for a little while only, no longer than a week. It was no big deal really."

"This is just…I can't believe it! I won't believe it! You couldn't be a whole school at once!"

"Every tree, every blade of grass!" He sighed "Watch then" he closed his eyes, and exhaled deeply, infinitely, his breath misting. The mist remained, and grew and spread, as he seemed to diminish and shrink away. Soon the mist filled the cavern, and Hirotaka was gone. The mist hardened and congealed, becoming trees, buildings, people. Soon, the entire Yamanuchi School unfurled before them. All eyes turned on them, and smiled, then faded, dissolving back into mist, mist that gathered towards the centre of the room. Then there was only Him. "Now do you understand?"

"that was sickwrong!"

"Thank you for your input Ron. Very valuable. Now do you want to know who else I've been? There's really only one more, but he's a great one!" H e shifted form again, to a younger form, one their own age. Short dark hair, ruthlessly attractive, wearing a red sweater. He smiled and spoke "Hey Kim, missed me?"

"Eric?"

"Yes Eric! Did you really think that that fool Drakken could have achieved that level of sophistication on his own? Of course not! His 'Eric' was laughable, so I was forced to step in, consume the original and take his place."
"But why? Why go to all that trouble, if you can really do all this, why bother to go along with Drakken's convoluted plots?"

"Because the aim is not to take over the world. What would be the point? It's mine anyway. No, the aim was to manipulate matters to my most desirable outcome."

"Which was?"

"Why, you and Ron becoming lovers of course"

"What? Why the hell do you care so much?"
"I have watched you two for years now, growing together, growing apart, in short growing up, but you are not the only ones I have watched. I am able to perceive the paths that destiny leads you, and I saw, ages ago, what your family lines were capable of. I saw how your two families, Possible and Stoppable have, since time immemorial, been inextricably linked, always as allies, often as friends, but never before as lovers. I saw potential, and I am loathe to waste potential, so I ensured that events would lead you two along the paths I had determined. Childs-play, really."

"What are you?"

"I told you, I'm a God"

"Don't give me that! You can't be! How can you be a god? The idea is…it's not possible!"
"What don't you understand about this? I am all knowing, all powerful. I am in every thing, in the heart of every living thing. I am the thing that drives man! I am the force that motivates every one of you to greater things! Have you ever met someone who is so driven, that, no matter what, they will succeed? No matter who has to get hurt? That is ME! I give them that! They are mine! You would have been mine too, if not for certain mollifying influences, or don't you remember? You should all thank me, everyday, because, honestly, not a single thing would get done without me. And so what if I influence things to go wrong as well, it just makes up the charm, surely."

"That still doesn't explain what the hell you are! Just saying you "are drive" doesn't mean anything! Are you, are you…the Devil?"
"That amateur! Worthless! You humans! You take all of my best work, and you claim it was the Devil! There is no Devil, there is nothing, save I!" he sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I guess I was getting a little too dramatic there. Ok, I guess you just want to know my past, yes?"
She nodded

"My kind are not found here, naturally. I come from another plane of existence, where magic is a matter of fact. My kind were subterranean in nature, mighty craftsmen and mages who rebelled against the light and sought more hospitable climes. Your world's mythology has a word that seems appropriate: svartalf: Dark Elf. My mother was a princess of the City of Erehil Cinlu. My father was…not. From birth, I knew I was not like them. They were week, foolish! Obsessed with revenge against those of their kind that had remained on the surface. My mother hated me for my differences, and my refusal to bow to their goddess. Finally, they attempted to make a sacrifice of me to their goddess, and I destroyed them. All of them, every single one. I emerged to see the sun for the first time, and it burned my eyes. In time, I became advisor to a petty human king, then, in time, became king myself. My empire grew, but still I was dissatisfied. Then, one night, I heard a voice, my father, calling me. I stepped into another world, a world of darkness that called my father Lord! I learnt then that my father was not even remotely human, was a Dragon God, a king amongst his kind. He taught me of my heritage, of the power at my disposal, and I loved it! I grasped godhood with both hands and fed upon it. On his dark plane, I crafted five weapons, the tools of my profession, the signs of my office. First I forged, from black metal, a blade of terrifying sharpness. Crafted in a cold forge, it always holds a little of winters edge. Next, a suit of armour, the armour you see upon my frame, to shield my form from unworthy eyes, and to protect the shell so the core may grow strong. Then, I made a whip a cruel, childish thing, to cause grown men to cower in fear, and gods to cry in pain. The penultimate items were these gauntlets, sharp, flexible and housing the power over death that I am known for. Finally, a crown, to show that I am to be king, and that all the worlds shall fall under my dominion. Other items too, did I aquire. From a fallen lord of the Abyss, another sword, the one that Ron knows so well, that wavy bladed kris that eats the soul and could steal a gods strength. It was with this that I made my first move, striking down a minor god of unlife and sickness. We battled long and hard, but, inevitability was on my side. He fell and I consumed his power and ascended. Three more gods fell to my blades, and with each one, I drank a little deeper of omnipotence. I grew to be a force to be feared, to be hated. I grew so powerful that even the gods could not stand against me, united or divided, but it was not enough to be feared. No, I desired supremacy. I challenged the caretaker of the universe, put there to govern by those distant beings that crafted it, that even the gods worship. We fought, long, and hard, but, despite my great power, I lost and was turned to stone, killed, or so they thought. In truth, while my body lay dead, my mind, my personality, lay dormant, waiting for the time to strike, in several powerful artefacts, and, when someone assembled those artefacts, I would once more walk the lands, a terror to behold, magnificent in my splendour. The Wyrmlord, The Godkiller. Drakor!"

"Drakor, is, is that your name?"

He did not answer, so wrapped up in his own tale. "a hundred thousand years I waited, seething. In time, my legend was forgotten, my memory kept alive only by those few who still worshiped at my altars and cared for my prisons, for prisons my artefacts had become. Soon, all that was remembered was the power that they possessed and, as ever, there were those who coveted that power, and sought my items. A blade so sharp that it could cut through time itself, a whip of pain and cruelty, black armour that shields with the power of darkness, gauntlets that whisper with the power of death, and, finally, a helm that grants dominion, a crown that leads one to rule. One is never enough, always goading you on to seek the others. In time, one man rose above all others, and reclaimed all the artefacts, and, once more I was free, shattering his body and devouring his soul. I was free, but I was changed. No longer would I be headstrong and overconfident. Now I would bide my time, regain my power, seek out every edge that may aid me in my conquest. I travelled the plains, seeking out long forgotten secrets, powerful mysteries. I drank deep of the chalice of the Shadows-Heart Serpent, I swam the shores of the Isle of the Consumed. I ate the heart of the Worldbreaker. Many trials did I go through to gain the Four Dragon Runes also, but in time, even these were mine. I became…other. More powerful , but removed totally from what I had been. I had ascended beyond godhood. I had achieved Totality, complete perfection of body, mind and spirit. Still did I travel, seeking out secrets long forgotten even by those who held them. In time, I came to a dismal planet in a far of corner of the known planes. Life had not advanced beyond it's most basic form, that of single celled paramecium. I saw, again, opportunity. I watched and waited, and, finally, acted, causing life to make extraordinary leaps and bounds, introducing new possibilities, new hardships for it to conquer, or die from. I saw the rise of the great saurians, and sent meteors to test their abilities to survive. They failed. I saw the races of the age of ice, the mammoths, the sabre toothed tigers, and again, set to testing them, and, again, I was disappointed. A thousand dominant species arose, some setting up to vast empires, and all failed to survive, all failed my one principle. Then, the first ape-beings began to think for themselves, to climb down from the trees and use tools. In time they became humanity, a race I knew from my own plane of existence. I waited for others to emerge, but no, only humanity emerged, only humanity was able to survive my tests. And that is my story, and the story of all humanity."

"Is that all true though? Is any of what you've told me true?

"As true as anything else. Truth is subjective."

"How do you mean?"

"What is truth? A meaningless term that changes depending on the angle you look at it. I see one thing you see another. Are either of them true? Yes, and no."

"So, if I were to ask you if that is your true form?"

"I would say as true as any. It is the form I wear most, and the one that looks most like I used to. It is not necessarily my real form, but it is an accurate representation of how I think and feel. My real form is so perfect, that you would be struck dead from one glance at its beauty. However, there is another form I can wear, that is closer to my identity, but not so much that by viewing it you are endangered."

"And that is?"

"if you insist, I will show it too you, but be forewarned: even though it is not instantly deadly, it is a form that challenges your puny mortal preconceptions of matter and reality. To view its perfection is to court madness"

"Well, Ron, feel up to it? I won't ask him to show us unless you feel that you can cope."

"Sure Kim, no prob. Who doesn't like to look at sanity-blasting horror once in a while?"

"How touching. How sweet. How perfectly predictable. Very well, but remember, this you brought on your own heads." Drakor closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, seeming to expand as he did so, growing vast before their eyes. His posture shifted also, becoming more bestial. His arms and legs seemed to grow overlong, and his armour and gauntlets merged with his expanding flesh. He stretched his neck, growing longer and spined. He roared as his skull elongated, losing all vestiges of humanoid feature. The horns and spines on his face grew longer, sharper. He shook his head, his hair loosing its flexibility and colour, becoming a mane of black horns. He arched his back, and two bony nubs began to jut out at his shoulders. He flexed his muscles, and the nubs shot out with a wet, sickening, sound to a length of 200ft. They contracted, and seemed to split down the middle, opening wide to reveal a leathery membrane that spread all the way down to the body. Drakor chuckled and beat his wings twice, knocking both Ron and Kim over with the force of it. He roared again as his tailbone elongated, bursting from his body. Muscle and skin began to emerge on the extended spinal column, and he twirled it for both dramatic effect and to work the ache out of the muscles. In a matter of seconds, that felt like an age, where The Prince once stood was a dragon. Colossal, covered in thick black scales. Upon its head, the crown still stood, but now, seemed almost a part of its body. It looked down at them through eyes older than empires, and spoke in a voice that seemed to travel thorough the spine itself, deep, rich and primal.

"Behold, and know that your gods lied to you. Behold, and know that your kind are worthless, behold perfection."

Kim looked into the Dragon's ancient eyes, and felt herself slipping away. She beheld its perfection and found her own beauty wanting. She could hear her own voice in her head, pointing out her imperfections, both real and perceived. She shuddered as she shouted abuse in her own head, ridiculing her tiny breasts, her fat hips, her stupid red hair. She looked into the deep pools of the Dragon's eyes, and saw herself reflected as he perceived her, and dropped to her knees, sobbing and hiding her face. In an instant, Ron was at her side, caressing her hand.

"Kim, what's wrong? Please, tell me darling!" he gasped as she pulled away, and, between sobs, replied

"Oh Ron, why are you with me? look at me; I'm hideous!"

"What? How can you say that? You're the most beautiful person I've ever known, ever will know. Your perfect, no matter what this freak thinks." He looked at Drakor, eyes filled with his rage "What did you…?" he began, and stopped, as he found himself beneath the gaze of the Great Dragon. He looked upon perfection, and he too found his own voice answering him, ridiculing his form and mannerisms. He shook his head, and they faded, and he returned to glowering at The Prince.

"You resisted? Unheard of! I knew I had chosen right!"
"What. Did. You. Do. To. Her!" Ron replied through gritted teeth.

"Nothing, she did it all to herself. I merely opened her mind up to the fact that she is not perfect, that nothing is perfect, save I. she's doing the rest herself, picking herself apart piece by piece, until there is nothing left. You see, despite what they may say, most people believe that they are perfect, or as close to it as possible. It is a lot for the mind to take, when it finally realises that it is nothing, compared to the true majesty. She will become more and more withdrawn, lost in her own self destruction. She will, in a week, maybe two. Make the first attempt on her life. It will most likely fail, but will the second? Will the third? How about the fifty seventh? It won't stop, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Thousands have died, killed by their own hand, like this. It is the fate of those in my way. And yet, after all this time, you alone have survived, have beaten it. Why?"
"because I know I'm not perfect, because I know that I make a lot of mistakes and that it's only because of Kim's intervention that I'm not dead already. But while I'm not perfect, I know that I have some worth, because Kim loves me, and that's enough for me."

"Fascinating."

"Now, please, help her. I know you can. You've made it pretty clear that you are able to do anything you want., and that this is just another sick little game to you, so, please, just end it, ok?"
"As you wish, but beware. She may not be the Kim you know anymore." He waved a hand. Kim's breathing seemed to grow more regular instantly, and the sobbing subsided. Ron, helped her to her feet, and she clung to his arm, as if afraid to let him go. The Dagon shuddered, and assumed his more familiar form.

"That, that, was not nice." She shuddered "Is that how you see me, really? Just unclean meat?"

"Not specifically you, no. that is how I see all who are not transformed, not ascended beyond mortal beginnings. You and Ron, I see differently. I see great potential, and, most importantly, opposition. Of all the beings on this fetid little plane, you two offer me resistance. That is why I have chosen you, embraced you into the beginnings of The Mysteries."

"Chosen us? Embraced? Mysteries? What are you talking about?

"That first face to face meeting? I laid my mark upon you both, chose you as my opposition, to ensure that my plans are not too easily achieved. 'Women receive the secret kiss, and men the blade that bites' that is part one of The Ebon Mysteries of The Transfigured One. Mystery Cults are so much fun, don't you think? Anyway, welcome to the first circle, the Circle of Awakening. You are the first in a long time to make it."

Still not getting this. You mean to say that you want us to be you r enemies, your foes, so you made us part of your church? How does that make any sense?"
" It's really not that confusing, once you accept that I am Prince of Betrayal. I expect6 you to betray me, and fight me all the way. Of course, you could just let me storm this world, but I doubt that you'll be willing to let that happen. And your going to have to do it all yourself, won't that be fun?"

"You know, we have friends in the military. What do you think they'll do when they find out?"

"Oh, that's easy, they'll die by the thousands. I outnumber them 1,000,000 to 1. have you ever been to war, Kimberly? Ever seen a killing field, smelt the blood of a thousand men and women pouring from open wounds? Heard them scream in pain as their life ebbs way. It is beautiful, but oh so brief." His eyes now were filled with the love of war and death.

"I don't know, I think that your selling our military short there. If push comes to shove, they could take you down."
"You think so, well, lets see shall we?"

he seemed to fade from view then, and the darkness enveloped him. Within seconds the door burst open and a thousand men, heavily armed and wearing American Military uniforms rushed through. Kim and Ron Looked around in surprise, and held each other close. The soldiers seemed to be searching the room, looking for the Prince. In time, they began to relax, and rest. This was their mistake, for the darkness behind one of the soldiers, a hand emerged, grasping him by the jawbone. The Prince followed soon after, a smile on his lips. He lifted the cowering soldier to his face, and looked in his eyes with disgust. Passionlessly he pushed him against the ground, pummelling him with the hard floor over and over. In time, the floor became stained with blood and grey matter. The prince then casually cast the corpse aside and strode towards the nearest group of soldiers, who, having seen their comrade die, opened fire on him in an enormous volley of armour piercing bullets. They had no effect, merely bouncing of his armour, or even, where visible, his bare flesh. He lashed out with one hand, slicing through a soldier as if he was made of butter. He held his other hand before him, and a wave of force seemed to grasp one individual, sending him hurtling against another group with a sickening crunch as his bones turned to powder from the impact. He gazed around the room, noted Kim and Ron's shocked expressions and smiled, then allowed his eyes to fall on another soldier. Immediately the soldier slumped to the ground, dead.. the Prince floated into the air, and called down to the panicking hordes, trying to leave but unable as the doorway dissipated.

"Behold, fools, that which you seek to destroy. Behold the true glory of the black hole, the wonder of the dying stars, the beauty of the last gasp." His form seemed to bleed darkness into the world, to glow with black energy. Kim and Ron looked away instinctively, knowing that to look upon the prince is to invite disaster. The soldiers were not so lucky. Two hundred fell to the ground screaming as their eyes bled, destroyed by that which they beheld. The Prince hurled bolts of darkness, seemingly at random, each one a black and terrible death to those it touched. He breathed deeply, and exhaled a cone of blue-black vapour. Those it touched becoming literally frozen to death. In a matter of minutes, there were no soldiers left. Drakor laughed, and burst through to the surface, and the waiting reinforcements above. They fared little better, as he continued his march of destruction. Eventually, having wiped out Middleton. Upperton, Lowerton and any other city that interrupted his path, the call went out, and a nuclear warhead was launched. Drakor just laughed as he say it heading his way, twenty miles from his destination, and reached out a hand. The missile began to change trajectory, returning back the way it came.

"Fools!" he roared. "I grant you the split atom, the nuclear isotope, and you use it so inefficiently? I give you such power, and you use it for fuel, and weapons you rarely ever use? Suffer for your folly!"

He turned and looked towards the still shocked form of Kim and Ron and smiled, and waved a hand. They were back in his lair, as if nothing had happened, the bodies gone.

"I think, perhaps, involving the military would be a mistake."

"What just happened?"

"I pulled you and Ron both into an alternate reality, momentarily, to show you what would happen if you did something so foolish as involve the military."

"I…I heard them dying. I felt their blood splatter against me."

"Of course. You were there, they died. Why would you not feel it? Why would you not see it, smell it, taste it? Congratulations, you saw your first battle. You stood there and watched as others died around you. How did it feel?"

"Horrible!"

"Really? Hmm. I find it oddly comforting, the grim dance, the oddly beautiful inevitability of their deaths. Maybe I am the only one."

"I think so. You and serial killers."

"Perhaps. There is beauty in battle, there is perfection in the edge of a sword. Who does not seek perfection? even I, the Perfect One, seeks perfection in others. And always, I am disappointed. No one even worthy of perfection." He sighed. "Maybe, in time, I will find someone worthy of that gift."

"you mean in all the years that you've been on this earth, you've never found a single person who met you standards?"
"Exactly. All are judged and found wanting."

"Maybe that means that your standards are too high, did you ever think of that?"

"Hmm, an interesting viewpoint, but not exactly an original one. I considered it long ago, when I caused Vesuvius to erupt, and destroyed Pompei only 200 or so years after I sent them an earthquake. I decided then, as I decide still, that I was correct in my approach. If no-one passes my tests, then that simply indicates that there are no individual beings that come close to my predetermined levels of perfection for your kind yet, and so I must make life a little harder, a little less bearable for the rest of you."

"What? Why?"

"Because out of hardship comes perfection. Out of horror unimaginable, comes ascension beyond the current form, to something greater."

"So, you put people through all of this, all this pain and hardship, so that you can make them something else? That's insane!"
"Who are you to tell me what is insane? I am not even remotely human, not even remotely mortal! I have already transcended beyond mere divinity! I cannot be judged by your petty standards! How dare you intrude!"

"But that's what you're doing!"

"Yes but I'm allowed! I made them, I set the standards! How dare you even think otherwise, you insignificant worm!" the earth beneath their feet began to shake violently at his rage, and black flames erupted from his form. "Pointless little mortal, why do you even bother to stand against me?" he roared.

"I…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have questioned you."

"Kim?"
Drakor ceased to rage, and the ground ceased to shake. The flames of his wrath died down. "Oh dear. I feared that this would happen, after viewing perfection. She has lost her spark, her drive to succeed. A pity. Now she is no good to me."

"Kim, come on. You can fight this. You know that this guy's just full of himself. You can't just give up"

"I…I'm sorry Ron, I've got nothing left. He's right. I saw something…terrible behind those eyes, worse than just the knowledge that he is perfect and I am not. I saw exactly how little he thought of me, of all of us, and what he would do to any who stood in his way. I saw, we both saw, what he did to those soldiers. How can we stand against that?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this! Kim, come on, I know that this guys probably the biggest threat we've faced, but we still have to try. We can't just let him win. Think of everyone else, please?"
"I... I can't. I'm sorry. I don't have it in me to fight anymore." She collapsed to her knees and sobbed. He placed an arm around her shoulder and cradled her head against his shoulder. He kissed her forehead as she wrapped her hands around his neck and wept, and stroked her hair to soothe her.

"It's ok, Kimmie, it's ok. I'm sorry. I haven't been pulling my weight, and you've over-exerted yourself. Just stay here, ok, and breath. I'll manage ok on my own, I'll think of something." He kissed her head once more, and stood up to face The Prince.

"Admirable, but unacceptable. I cannot be expected to merely face you, as I would not have faced just her. What would be the point in that? I need you both at peak condition to offer opposition. That is the plan, and I will accept no deviation."

"What are you talking about? What plan?"

"Why else do you think I went to the trouble of testing you all these years, more so than any other beings on this frightful little plane? Simple; I require opposition. I need resistance, or else all is without worth. What is the point in sinister plots and insidious cults, if there is no-one to stand against you? Why not merely conquer? Because it is dull. I have stormed across a thousand worlds, have killed a thousand suns, and I tire of it. So, I thought to myself, why not make things harder, why not restrict your own movements, your own actions, work through disaster instead of overtly, set a world to destroy itself. And it was easy! I thought that you people would resist, but you aid me in your own self destruction. You use my gifts heedlessly, you squander your own resources, and all the will, you say that it is your God's Will, or that the world will recover or one more couldn't hurt. Do you actually realise that of all the people on this earth, only you two resist me with your heart? That of all the sentients on this plane, only you, Ron Stoppable, and You, Kim Possible, actively oppose me? It is sickening really. I go to all this trouble, and all in vain." He spat on the ground, where his spittle bubbled and hissed. "Still, some opposition is better than none, and so the tests began. You were both doing so well, but perhaps I have pushed you too hard, perhaps you are not the person I thought you were. Perhaps I should have just conquered this plane."

"NO!" Kim stood up, shaking with rage and frustration. She faltered, but pulled herself up, and stood with her head high. "No. I will not stand idly by as you destroy the people, the world that I love! You want opposition? Fine, you got it! I'll make you wish that you'd never been born! You think that you've seen me determined before? No way! Uh-uh! I've never been more driven to take someone down before! You think you can just manipulate me and get away with it? You think that I'll just let you take away everything I care about? No! you here me? NO!"

"Yes! That's it! Fight! Find the fire in your heart! Embrace the rage that you feel against me! Break the pall of depression! Survive!"

Kim screamed with rage, and leapt at Drakor, who dodged her initial assault with ease, and countered with a flick of his wrist that sent her sprawling to the ground. She leapt to her feet and pounced, snarling at The Prince, bringing her hands down in a vicious hamer blow to his head. He merely waved a hand above his head, and grasped both hands tightly, bringing her, struggling, to his side. He smiled and licked his lips.

"And what will you do now, oh warrior? What would you do, now that I have outwitted and overpowered you?" He snorted. "Will you give up, and run crying to your homestead? Will you accept that the place of all your kind is beneath my heel?"

"Never!" she kicked out at him, pushing off from his chest so that her hands were wrenched free. She landed in a crouch on the ground, and tensed for the inevitable counter attack.

"Excellent!" Drakor leapt high into the air, landing lightly next to her. "You seem to be recovering well, and much faster than I anticipated." He lashed out with an open handed backhand slash, catching her off guard. She spun to the ground, blood stinging her eyes.

"Hey, Prince, think fast!" yelled Ron as he hurled a large chunk of stone at Drakor's head. Without looking round, The Prince smiled and made a small circle with his fingertip. Five feet from his head, a small hole in reality appeared, absorbing the rock and disappearing, like a yawn in time and space.

"Ron, Ron, Ron! The distraction will not work on someone with infinite focus! Try something different!" the whole reappeared, this time behind Ron's head, opening just long enough to eject the still speeding rock, directly into the base of his cranium. He blinked twice, crossed his eyes and collapsed in a heap, a concussive smile passing over his lips.

"Ron!" shouted Kim over the Prince's raucous laughter, and attempted to run to his side, but was buffeted back by powerful winds that whirled around her. The Prince stood unconcerned, untouched by the impossible subterranean gale.

"Foolish child! Where do you think you are going? To your lovers side? Not without my leave!"

"I…Don't…Care!" shouted Kim through the chill winds, as she pushed her way towards Ron. The winds redoubled, toppling her to her feet. The Prince calmly strode towards her and raised her to her feet. His cape billowed gently, the only sign about him that the winds howled. He smiled softly.

"He'll be fine, believe me. It'll take a lot more than that to do any lasting damage to him. It may even give him a valuable lesson. Anyway, it gives us an opportunity to talk."

"Yeah, about what?" she spat, rubbing the bruise on her arm from her fall.

"Nothing much. Just wanted to see if you understood all that has occurred really"

"I think I understand what you're doing, but I still gotta ask: Why? Why are you doing all of this? Is it just out of boredom, or is it something more?"
"Hmm, well, it is certainly true that I bore easily, but when you are one such as I, it is easy to be bored. I am aware of every secret, every goal, every dream of every single living thing in the world, and I can manipulate it all. I have seen things which would leave any other being mad or blind. I am intelligent, by far the most intelligent being this universe has ever seen, I have mastered magic, and the technologies of the flesh. I alone could survive if this earth you so love finally, truly, betrayed you to the lightless void. I survive, and so I seek to grant that gift to others. Is that so wrong?"
"Wait, do you mean to say that you do all of this for purely altruistic reasons? Because you believe that, by exposing us all to your 'tests' we will survive this world better?"

"It is certainly true that you people will deal with disasters better if you faced them before, and that my tests have made you, to some extent, hardier, but no, that's not why I do this."
"Then why?"

"Because I can. Because, alone of all the things in this world, I am real. Because my concerns are the only ones that matter. Because it entertains me to do so."

"But that's insane! How can you be the only real thing in the universe. What does that make us? Illusions? Dreams?"
"Something like that, self aware, but, ultimately hollow. How else do you explain the amount of influence I have? Even as a god, I should not be able to do the things I do so easily. Obviously, I am more real, and am therefore able to express that reality better."
"That's just…wrong!"
"Prove me wrong! Prove that you too can influence matters, can offer opposition to me. Prove that your kind are not merely sheep, to be herded at leisure. Prove that humanity has some worth! You have seen that I am mostly unopposed, that on the whole, your kind merely accepts my whims as if it was their own."
"But, if I do that, if I continue to oppose you, won't I be doing what you want anyway?"

"Fair enough. You make a good point. Ok, go on, go about your life, pretending that I do not exist, that all of the problems that the world faces are none of your fault. I mean, it's not like someone else won't step in and take charge, right?"
"Well…"

"It's like with life right now. It doesn't really matter if you don't stop Draken and his evil schemes. Someone else will surely handle it"
"Alright! Alright, you've made you're point. I get it. I'll fight you."

"Excellent. For my part, I promise to never attempt to destroy the world personally, or to intrude physically, only to work through intermediaries and disaster. There, how does that sound to you?"
"Oh, just super. Thanks" She rolled her eyes. "I have a question though; Do you actually believe that you're the only real thing in existence?"
"Sort of. I know that there are real things out there, beyond the borders of this dimension, as I have seen them, and killed them, and felt them. But, I am not so real as I previously claimed."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, I am MORE real than anything else here, but I am merely an intrusion onto your dimension of a greater being: me. I am just an expression of myself, a facet if you will, rendered into something approaching flesh. If I were to fully manifest on this realm, well, all of reality would unravel. The world is not meant to cope with perfection. I found this out long ago, on a distant plane that no longer exists. My true form, my pure essence dwells beyond the Grey Borders, on the Plane of Night and Darkness, extending fragments throughout all the planes. Few have seen my true form, and fewer still have survived the experience."

"Yeah, you mentioned that. I'm still not sure whether to believe you though. It sounds so…absurd. How can your 'true form' be so perfect. If it was perfect, surely it wouldn't be fatal, right?"
"Ah, to be human with you're puny understandings of the natural order, and the shape of things. I see that the only way I will make you understand is to show you for yourself." Behind him, The Prince could hear Ron groaning as he came to his senses and began to rise. He smiled, and raised an eyebrow at Kim. "What do you think? Are you strong enough to view perfection?"

"N…Now wait a minute. You said it would kill me didn't you?"

"Oh, I already know how to deal with that aspect of human frailty. It's very simple."

"Oh…alright, let me go tell Ron"
"No. no time, and it'll just be you at any rate." Without warning, he struck her in the chest with an open hand, crackling with black and red energy. Without a sound, she flew across the room to land, open eyed and breathless at Ron's still shaking feet.

"After all, it can't kill you if your already dead!" The Prince laughed and faded from view as Ron howled with anguish.