Chapter 11
In a nutshell
The elevator came to a complete stop, both Kim and Shego waited for the doors to open. The reflective metal doors opened about two inches and an icy gust rushed in. Kim peered through the small gap and looked to see what wait on the other side, but a shroud of darkness hid the room. The elevator shook violently, almost as if someone were jumping on it, and the cables could be heard vibrating uneasily. Finally the door opened, Kim stepped out, and looked around, her battle suit glowing. The soft blue glow barely provided any light in the black atmosphere. Kim felt uneasy, breathing the stale air, and she turned around.
Shego looked back at her, from inside the elevator, and frowned. A tear ran down her face, "I'm so sorry Kim." She cried. Kim watched as the interior of the elevator went pitch black, and the sounds of dozens of snarling creatures echoed from it. Kim reached for Shego as she disappeared into the black, and the elevator door quickly shut. Kim pushed her slender fingers in between the doors and tried with all her might to pull them open. The suit hummed louder and louder with every second, it enhanced her strength, and she finally began to pull it apart. The gears concealed crying loudly, as they were being forced open, until the door finally exploded open. Kim looked inside, but Shego was gone. Hundreds of small scratches filled the interior and a stench of decaying flesh slowly escaped.
Kim stood in between the elevator door, staring blankly into it, unsure of what had just transpired. Dozens of things running through her mind. Not a few minutes had passed when Kim felt the presence of something behind her. She raised her head, and wiped the tears from her eyes, and turned around. Hundreds red glowing eyes stared back at her. Kim shut her eyes for a second, and just as she opened them, the lights flickered on. Tiny demon like creatures moving back forth, each looking back hungrily at her. Kim tightened her fists as she ran at lighting speed. Wasting no time, she began swinging her fists, striking the inhuman beings. Their nimble little bodies thrown into air. Kim could feel their little bones breaking and shattering with every blow. The suit surged with power. But for every creature that she repelled and put down, four more would crawl out of shadows. It felt like an eternity for Kim, as she fought them back, her battle suit gradually changing color, from white to a blood red. Feeling the exhaustion kicking in, Kim began to stagger, the creatures wasting no time, began surrounding her.
"Where are you Shego?" Kim thought to herself. The redheaded girl dropped to one knee. She looked around, and watched as the countless red eyes stared back at her, their little sharp teeth smiling back at her. Kim glanced at her power gauge, which still read full, but below the gauge were two faint embedded buttons. Immediately Kim recognized one of them, her hopelessness seemed to have a silver lining.
"I hope this works" she thought, taking a deep breath Kim ran at the little beasts. Almost instinctively the little creatures ran after her, their little frail arms reaching out for her. Some of their razor sharp claws barely grazing her back as she ran blindly into the darkness. She batted away the beasts, but their numbers grew too great, and she collapsed onto her face. The sound of the inevitable neared, but Kim smiled, as she glanced at her arm. Kim closed her eyes, the little beasts all lunged at her at once, and she firmly pressed one of the hidden buttons.
Everything slowed down to a snails pace. The demonic creatures all froze in midair. Their little claws reaching desperately at her, when the gauge on the suit drained, and quickly spiked back up. A massive shockwave exploded from Kim, and all the little beasts became engulfed in its bright blue light. The shrieks of countless filled the room, until finally the shockwave was gone. An eerie silence fell on Kim and a black snow began to come down. The ashes of the little beasts rained gently on Kim as she let out a sigh of relief.
Getting back on her feet, Kim noticed that some of the creatures had landed a few hits, as a sharp pain shot through her ribs. Her left side had been cut open, a final attack from one of the creatures before it died. Kim clenched her side, applying pressure to the wound, as she staggered further into the darkness. Her hand placed on the wall, she used it to guide her, until she felt the floor underneath her feel differently. Kim knelt down, and touched the ground, it was earth. She turned around, and looked behind her, but the darkness had consumed everything, there was nothing in sight. A strange feeling came over her, as the sounds of silence called out to her. Beckoning her to walk a little bit more.
"What is this place?" Kim thought to herself, when she felt the strong presence of someone behind her.
"This is where dreams come to die." A disembodied voice replied. Startled Kim looked around, she stared deeply into the darkness, but couldn't see anyone or thing.
"Where are you?" she demanded.
"I'm right here." The voice replied. Kim's eyes widened, as she could feel the cold empty breath of someone standing behind her. She turned around and was face to face with the source of all the evil that had eaten away at this place. Kim took a step back. Raising her fists up, she took a final defensive stance, and stared back at a pair of empty eyes.
"What are you?" she asked.
"I am death." It replied. "Your people found me a while back. They didn't know what I was either. It seems that I don't exist in your world. That was, until they began looking into other worlds."
"I don't understand…" Kim examined the dark being, its shape, taking a more solid form. The shroud of darkness almost seemed to gradually disappear. The being was draped in a tattered and torn cloak. Its face was nothing more than a skeleton.
"The creatures that you just destroyed, they're nothing more than bringers of death. My bringers. They don't exist too well in the light of day, but they hide in the shadows and darkness. They bring balance to everything. Everything dies." Death replied. "And your world was barren, almost void of death. That is until I was freed. Everyone that lived in this place tried to contain me, but I am a necessity. To live, you need Death."
Kim's mind was overwhelmed, her heart raced, and she looked Death in the face. "You killed everyone here, you took everyone that I love and hold dear. I can't let you get out to the surface. I want all my friends back! I want to know what happened to Shego" Kim yelled.
Death slowly approached Kim, its body hovering, "Your friend, Shego, died before you found her."
"What?" Kim gasped, confused.
"When she and Drakken came here in hopes of destroying me, she died fighting my minions. The person that was with you all this time was her soul, her life essence. Her desire to see you one last time is what brought her to be. You can't bring her back" Death said reluctantly.
"I won't accept that." Kim began to think, her mind working a means to bring Shego back to her, until something clicked. "You're what's keeping her from me." Kim muttered.
Death looked down on her, "I'll bring balance back to this world. I'll be leaving now."
"No." Kim said defiantly. "You're not going to leave this place."
