Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any related characters. Darn.

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"I don't know why, and I really hope you won't hate me for this…because if I had a choice, well I don't know…maybe I wouldn't change it, but…Kim, I- I love you." Shego finished, and closed her eyes, waiting for the teen hero's response.

Kim blinked in surprise at the woman's—not just any woman, but the infamous super-villainess Shego's—revelation. "You- You what?" She stammered, in disbelief. She must have heard her wrong; there was no other explanation for what her mind was telling her had just happened.

Shego frowned, but her eyes remained closed. "You heard me, Princess," she paused to take a breath, and upon doing so, searing pain ripped through her throat, making her cringe, which only triggered more pain. The woman squeezed her bright green eyes shut tighter before continuing, "I love you." She would have sighed at this point, but refrained, knowing the pain it would bring. Shego couldn't stand lying here, helpless; being so vulnerable, not just physically, but emotionally too.

Kim's heart nearly broke when Shego cringed in pain, 'Pain from just BREATHING!' Knowing that she was the cause, Kim's olive eyes filled with tears, and she fought the urge to apologize endlessly, not stopping until Shego was healed. Instead, she looked down at her green-skinned rival, and considered, very carefully, what she was going to say.

So…Shego loved her, she could deal with that, maybe. 'Ugh, but "love" was such a vague word!' The teen shook her head in frustration. 'Love, like family love? Like the way I love Ron?' she questioned, then another thought hit her. 'Or…no, she couldn't possibly mean that she's actually in love with me!' Suddenly, her stomach felt like it had been tied in hundreds of tiny knots. 'But that—' her mind rejected the thought entirely. Instead, she inhaled, then began cautiously, "Shego…I don't hate you. I could never…" She trailed off, then bit her lip, thinking deeply. "I didn't mean to…" She stopped again. 'No, no, that's not right!' She sighed, and not knowing what else to do, she lowered her eyes to the ground and opened her mouth to apologize again.

But before she could speak, she was cut off by the mysterious girl who had prophesized Shego's impending death. "Oh, enough already." Her voice gave away her annoyance, before slipping back into her calm, measured tone from earlier. "Shego is dying." She stated again, unphased by the fact. "And," she continued, "if you want her to have even a slim chance of surviving, so to speak, then you will step aside." The girl reached up and removed the hood of her cloak, revealing her face. Her skin was incredibly pale, almost pure white, except for deep, almost bruise looking, semicircles under her eyes. She looked to be about Kim's age, seventeen or eighteen, maybe.

Kim, who had turned to face the girl when she had spoken, found herself unable to tear her gaze away from the girl's face. Despite how pale she was, she was beautiful. Her features were inhumanly perfect: her cheekbones high and defined, her lips were full, and a pale shade of red, the only real color on her face, except for her eyes. Her eyes…were almost beyond description. They looked almost like liquid topaz, or gold even, and held such intensity…

As Kim stared, the girl rolled her eyes, and gestured beyond Kim, to the problem at hand: Shego, who it seemed, had been all but forgotten. Kim gasped, remembering the situation, and let out a quiet moan, "oh no…Shego!"

"So, will you let me past?" The girl asked laughingly, a strange smile playing at her lips.

Kim was instantly furious. How dare this girl laugh when Shego lay behind her, probably just minutes away from death. "And why," she spat venomously, "should I do that?" She demanded of the girl, her olive eyes shining dangerously.

The girl laughed again, apparently finding Kim's behavior amusing. "Because I'm the only one who can help her." She took a few graceful steps forward, swaying gently as she moved. "So," her voice was like velvet, "if you ever want to see Shego again, outside her funeral of course," the pale girl smiled wickedly, as though amused by the prospect, "then you will let me pass." She took another step forward.

Kim's muscles tensed as the stranger took a step forward, and she tried to move into her fighting stance without drawing attention to herself. All of her instincts were screaming at her that this woman was bad, that she should run, and this made her all the more inclined to protect Shego. On the other hand, her conscience was telling her that if this girl really could help Shego, and she didn't let her, she would be even more responsible for the death of the green skinned villianess.

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AN: Poor Shego, it doesn't sound like she's getting a choice in any of this!

Sorry this chapter's so short, I'll make up for it:

I'm not sure how much I like this chapter, so I'm thinking about redoing it. Let me know what you guys think! What do you like/not like, or want to see?
- Piper