Chapter Four
Raf sat down, and Kabale moved around the bed and sat beside her. Until they knew what was going on, she thought it best to stay close to her rival. Besides, she was still feeling weak.
"I'm Raf, and this is Kabale," said the angel, smiling.
"Ralph? Your name is Ralph?" asked Kim.
"It's 'Raf'. ARE AY EFF," the angel clarified.
Kabale giggled behind her hand, and Raf glanced at her.
"I am SO going to remember that!" said the devil, grinning.
Raf looked upward, resignedly. "I thought you would."
"Hey, I gotta grab my ammo where I find it!" said Kabale, still grinning.
Raf shook her head and returned attention to the human.
"Are you really what you look like?" asked Kim.
"Yes, we're your Guardian Devil and Guardian Angel," answered Kabale with a nod. Her expression turned serious.
"My...? Wow..." said Kim, stunned.
"There's nothing special about you," said Kabale, "I don't know why They think you rate."
Raf looked at the devil sharply. "Kabale! That's just mean! Not to mention a lie!"
Kabale stared at Raf and raised an eyebrow.
It took the angel a moment to understand. "Okay, okay, it's your nature, I get it! But we're here when we shouldn't be, we don't know for how long, and we may have to depend on her for things these forms need. Don't you think it would be wise to tone it down?"
The devil-girl looked at Kim, then knelt and clasped her hands together. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Can you ever forgive my careless remark?" she asked in a voice so musical and sweet it nearly sent everyone present and watching into a diabetic coma.
"And you can knock off the sarcasm, too!" said Raf.
"You never let me have any fun," muttered Kabale, but subsided and sat down.
"So... what's the sitch?" asked Kim.
"We don't know. That yellow flash materialized us, but it shouldn't have," answered Raf.
"So I'm guessing it was an accident," said Wade from the wrist Kimmunicator.
"Oh, hi, Wade, didn't know you were on," said Raf. At their surprised look she added, "We were assigned to you a few months ago, so we know a lot about you, your family and friends."
"And enemies," added Kabale.
"Um... hi," Wade replied, uncertainty in his voice. "Kim, I'm still trying to find a circuitry match, but based on what I can tell from the components, I think it was supposed to send you elsewhere, but backfired and brought them here."
"Do you know who sent it?" asked Kim, looking at the visitors.
The angel and devil shook their heads. "We got here just before you opened it," said Kabale.
"Why are you together? Aren't you enemies?" asked Wade.
"Well... not enemies as such..." said Raf.
"Normally, yes," said Kabale, "We're rivals whose job is to influence our human toward evil. Or good, in her case." The devil got up and went over to Kim. "And I have to say you-" she poked a finger in Kim's chest "-are the most stubborn, frustrating, and hard to influence human I've EVER had the displeasure of being assigned to."
Taken aback, Kim said "Uh, why?"
Raf came over to them. "She means she has a very hard time with you. You don't listen to her advice, and rarely fall to her temptations. Your personal moral code and ethics are too strong. Makes my job very easy." She smiled, and the devil glared back.
Kim's face turned red. "I guess I'll take that as a compliment."
It was Raf's turn to giggle. "And I'm SO going to remember THAT one!"
Kabale threw up her hands. "Oh, for Hell's sake," she muttered, and sat back down on the bed with a huff.
"What was that bit with the bug and bat?" asked Wade.
"Oh, Cox and Nosferatu are our mascots," supplied Kabale. "They are the ones who allow us to change from our diabolic and divine forms to human, so we can interact with you."
"Anyway, we seem to be off-duty. Normally there are rules in place that stop us from touching or interfering with each other; it's called the VETO. But we were able to touch hands without the consequences," explained Raf.
"And yet we're still in our regular forms," added Kabale. "I wonder." She stood up and flapped her wings. She lifted off the ground easily. "I can still fly!"
Kim, Rufus, and Wade stared.
Landing, she suddenly materialized multiple copies of herself, then made them vanish. Then she did so as well. She also had the power to transform into almost any other creature, but had decided to keep that in reserve. "I still have my powers!" She exclaimed, becoming visible while standing right behind Kim.
Instinctively, Kim moved away, turned and her fist came very, very close to the devil-girl's nose before it stopped. "If you've followed me for months, you ought to know by now that sneaking up on me isn't a good idea." She dropped the fist and stood up from her defensive position.
"Yeah!" added Rufus, breathing hard with a paw over his heart. "Scared me!"
Kabale shrugged and smirked at them. She hadn't moved. "I knew you wouldn't hit me. You're too skilled."
"I wouldn't count on it next time," countered the heroine. She thought, 'Devil or not, I gotta admit she's brave.'
Raf lifted off and flew around the room. Then she landed, and her wings wrapped around her, becoming stone. Then they withdrew. "I have mine too!"
"But how? We're in human form!" said Kabale, looking at her hands. "We shouldn't be able to do any of this now!"
The angel stepped over beside her rival. "You know, something like this has happened to me before. Remember the school field trip to the Caverna Obscura, and Sulfus and I were trapped inside with William and the twins Helen and Julia? We were briefly visible to them, and I think that was Reina's doing."
"No, Sulfus never mentioned that," answered Kabale. "And it COULDN'T be Reina, this time. Could it?"
"I don't see how," answered Raf.
"Who's Reina?" asked Kim.
"Uh, old enemy. It's a long story," said Raf.
"So you have enemies other than each other?" asked Kim.
"We're rivals for your soul, not enemies," said Raf.
"Speak for yourself," said Kabale.
Raf started to retort, but noticed the devil's smirk and realized she was being provoked. She turned back to Kim and Rufus.
"Like I said before, an accident," put in Wade. He was recording everything, and knew it would be a fascinating study.
"I don't find that to be a comforting thought," said the redheaded heroine.
"Kim, besides advising you, we're also your guardians. We try to make sure nothing really bad happens to you," said Raf.
"Right. And you give us a real workout sometimes," added Kabale.
"Wait a sec," interrupted Kim, "Kabale, you're evil, right? Don't you want me to be hurt or killed?"
The devil-girl stared at her. "Of course not! I need you alive and whole to steer in my direction! An evil Kim Possible would be a real feather in my cap. And that of the Lower Circles as well."
Kim crossed her arms. "You've got your work cut out for you, then."
Kabale smirked. "We'll see. But like she said, we're apparently off-duty right now. What else were you saying, Raf?"
"Maybe we're here to help you somehow," finished the angel.
"That's not a comforting thought either," answered Kim. "If you're supposed to guard me, how do you do it? I've never seen you before."
"Actually you have," said Kabale.
"Yes, remember the two female henchmen at Professor Dementor's lair a few weeks ago?" asked Raf. "Remember how they 'accidentally' got in the way and tripped up the robot he sent after you?"
"That was us," said Kabale.
Kim and Rufus were stunned. They DID remember seeing them.
"And how long have you been doing this?" asked Kim.
"For you? A few months," said the devil-girl.
"Okay," said Wade, "This is an opportunity I never thought I'd have. Who's right?"
The devil and angel looked confused. "Right about what?"
"Which religion is the right one?" he clarified.
"Yeah, I'd like to know too," added Kim.
"Oh, uh..." said Kabale.
"We can't discuss that," said Raf, firmly.
"Why not?" asked Kim.
"It has to do with the exercise of free will by you humans," said Raf, and Kabale nodded in agreement. "Sorry, we can't say more."
"Let's change the subject," said Kabale. "Wade, you're supposed to be smart. Can't you figure out what happened, and how to reverse it?"
"I'm working on it," said Wade. "Don't worry, as soon as I have something, you'll be the next to know."