Nowhere
The Nothing
A golden pinprick of light floated silently in amid the Nothing. Every so often, it was bumped cautiously by the Nothing as it struggled to find out why it was there.
The Nothing peered at the Machine that floated along, quietly defying the Nothing's purpose with each passing moment. It mocked it with each moment of it's continued existence.
Something in the Nothing and the Nothing was furious at being denied the prize that had eluded it for so long.
The Nothing knew there was nothing left but this Machine and the woman inside of it. The woman it had been created to destroy. Once the Machine and that woman were gone, then and only then would it be allowed to rest.
The Machine had to die.
The Woman had to die.
The Nothing looked over the Machine a final time and extended just a tiny tendril of nothing out to crush the Machine.
A jet of blue flame burst forth into the Nothing, lighting it up in another act of defiance that angered the Nothing to its core.
The Nothing recoiled for a brief moment. Nothing had ever fought back against it and for the first time in the history of nothing, the Nothing felt something.
It hurt.
With new resolve, the Nothing wrapped around the Machine and ignoring the pain caused by the fire that emanated from the Machine, it proceeded to crush the machine.
Nothing happened at first but the Nothing knew soon enough the Machine would be erased and it could finally rest.
July 9th, 2012
Los Angeles, California
9:03 P.M.
It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before.
Kim Possible stared through the glass window into the still bright night of Los Angeles. Even though it was after Nine o'clock the sky was still surprisingly bright and Kim was able to see the entire expanse of the Los Angeles skyline silhouetted against the golden sky.
She craned her neck and peered out at the world filled with life, the streets filled with people rushing to go home and be with their families.
What am I doing here? Kim couldn't count the number of times that she had asked herself that question. Even though she had fallen all the instructions perfectly, Kim still had no idea how or why she was here in this...this...
Kim paused as she realized she was in reality for the first time. Having lived her entire life in a fiction world without realizing it, Kim was almost overwhelmed by the sensations assaulting her at every moment.
Kim couldn't quite explain it but this world was different from anything she could have ever imagined. The colors seemed deeper, the textures richer and the warmth of the apartment she currently stood in actually felt warm. She reached out a tentative hand towards the glass and marveled at the depth her hand passed through to reach the window.
It seemed like she had been living in two dimensions her entire life but now she was experiencing life in three dimensions.
Almost as if she had lived her entire life without realizing she wasn't experiencing anything at all.
From the colors she had never seen to the feeling of the weight of her clothes on her new body, everything felt new and unique.
She inhaled, relishing the first true smell ever experienced by her: A burning tea kettle.
Kim turned away from the window and walked quietly back into the kitchen before sitting at the table in her Creator's apartment.
She sat idly in an old wooden chair at the table, the white paint slowly peeling off the sides of it as it creaked with every one of her movements.
A cup of warm liquid was placed in front of her but Kim didn't turn to the giver but instead she focused on the steaming cup in front of her, marveling at the smoke that wafted through the air.
Kim smiled as she wrapped her hands around the cup and lifted it to her mouth, relishing the feeling of the warm liquid that tumbled down her throat.
She shifted quietly in the chair and set the cup of tea down on the table before her without making much of a sound.
Across the table, whispering back and forth angrily were Mark and Bob. Every so often they would look back at her and gesture at her almost as if they had no idea what to do with her but just as quickly they would go back to their discussion.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Matthew looking down on her, a tea kettle in his hand.
"I've got some more hot water if you want some," he said with a shrug and a smile.
Kim in Christy's body shook her head, "Thanks," she gestured to the cup of brown liquid in front of her, "I'm good."
She looked over her shoulder as Matt returned the tea kettle to the stove.
She heard a low murmur coming from the hallway leading up to the kitchen and saw SilverWolf pacing back and forth on her cell phone.
"…he's fine Mom…tumor shouldn't be too bad…I know he wasn't supposed to do anything strenuous but...I didn't punch him too hard..." she was silent and Kim turned back to her Creator who sat down next to her at the table.
"So you're The Real Sidekick?" Kim asked hesitantly not sure of what to make of the man sitting next to her.
His unnaturally pale skin and loose complexion made him seem older than he actually was and his once dark brown hair was all but gone, instead a thin covering of bleached blonde hair was all that remained... but his eyes…even in the face of death his blue eyes still had the spark of adventure in them that defied death.
Sidekick looked into her eyes and could guess what she was thinking. Smiling he rubbed a hand over his almost bald head sheepishly, "Not quite what you were expecting?"
Kim mentally chastised herself for staring and shook her head, "I guess I was used to seeing Tam all the time," she thought back to the kitchen, "But I was half expecting it after talking to you."
Sidekick laughed, "In your world I can be whoever I want to be. In mine…" he trailed off and rubbed at the skin on the top of his hand, "I'm stuck in this shell."
Kim nodded slowly, "So how am I here?"
All other conversation in the apartment ceased as Bob, Mark and SilverWolf turned to hear the answer.
Sidekick coughed to clear his throat, "That Machine your physical body is currently in is a transmitter. It projects your mind from your body into the body of your vessel," Sidekick gestured to "Kim's" body, "You are a cartoon and she was your voice."
"But how?" Kim asked as she ran her hands down Christy Carlson Romano's body to smooth the wrinkles in her clothes, "If I'm fiction how can I be real? How can I be in this apartment?"
"The traveler and the vessel of voice, two sides of the same coin," Sidekick rhymed, "Sisters in blood and bond, now forever joined."
Silence reigned in the apartment.
"What?" He asked defensively as he turned to those present, "I thought it was poetic."
Kim held up a hand, trying not to focus on the weight or feel of real skin, "I heard that when I touched the Machine for the first time."
Sidekick nodded, "You also heard the chant about how to use the items."
"You're not just fiction Kim," Sidekick continued slowly, "You are something greater than anyone," he glared at Bob and Mark, "Could have imagined. I…I broke a few rules to bring you here," he was silent as he pondered what he had done, "In fact I think I broke a few rules of reality to bring you here but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth when it worked in my favor."
"But how?" Kim persisted.
"A crack in reality," Sidekick explained, "That crack you passed through to get here," he waited for Kim to nod, "I created that to bridge your Universe with this Universe."
"You say I'm fiction," she said before gesturing to her body, "Then how do you explain this?"
Sidekick took a sip of his tea, "That machine allowed you to take over your Christy's body in this Universe. She's your voice, an anchor for you here that let's you speak to them. It's what I do with Tam in your universe."
"But what about me?" Kim paused, trying to think of the words to say, "What is so important about me?"
"You're an idea. An idea created by those two and expanded on by the rest of the Creators," Sidekick explained as he pointed to Mark and Bob, "For some you are an escape from normal life to a life of adventure and danger. To others you are a way to say what we would otherwise never say," he paused and took her hand. Kim looked down at the frail hand that held her hand reassuringly, "For some, you're a way to say good bye."
"But you didn't answer the question why you brought her here?" Bob asked slowly.
"You want to delete all records of Kim Possible," Sidekick answered, his mood shifting, "I figured if I couldn't change your mind, I'd send Kim because she can do anything," a smile crossed his lips.
"Question," Kim said quietly as she raised her hand politely, "I know what you said is important and all but what was that thing chasing me?"
"That thing erasing everything?" Sidekick asked.
"Yeah," Kim answered.
"That's a delete program," Mark answered, "It simply was the delete function on the computer attempting to delete you. It's nothing. Pure, unadulterated nothing."
"But it seemed almost alive," Kim argued, "Like it was watching me," she was silent for a moment, "Plus wasn't I being written on your computer? Why did it follow me on your computer if it was being deleted on their computer?" she gestured to the computer folded up neatly on Sidekick's counter top.
"Because it was watching you. It is a program whose sole purpose is to delete, once it deletes everything, then it can rest and be that recycle bin on your desktop again," Wolf answered as she rejoined the group, "And as to the deletion following you, I may have secretly given Bob and Mark access to Matt's computer without his knowledge so it could delete you."
Sidekick looked shocked, "You did that to my computer?"
"Because the story needs to end. It all needs to be deleted," Wolf defended, "This story is killing you."
Sidekick shook his head, "Better to live for one second than never live for an entire lifetime."
"I don't care," Wolf argued, "You're my brother and-"
"Enough," Bob interrupted as silence returned to the apartment, "Now I want to know why did you really bring Kim here. Not how, or anything else but why her, why here and why now?"
Taking a deep breath Sidekick nodded to Kim, "I brought you here to defend yourself and provide an opportunity to present your case and persuade those two into not deleting you."
Seeing all eyes upon her Kim stood to her feet, feeling the weight of an entire universe on her shoulders, "I…" she coughed slightly into her hand before turning her attention back to the group, "I exist. Ron exists, Monique exists," a pause, "Bonnie exists. We may exist on a thumb drive or in the imaginations of others but we live. I've fought through hell to get here and now you say I can be deleted?"
"Yes," Bob answered matter-of-factly, "Look at the bottom, 'I own Nothing. Disney owns the rest.' You are property of the Walt Disney Corporation and if you're up for deletion, then so be it."
"But I'm real," Kim argued, her voice rising, "Just because you created me doesn't mean I don't have a life, a job," she paused and thought back to Ron, "A boyfriend."
"All given to you by us," Mark countered, "So really you have to ask, are you as real as you say you are," he paused and let the words sink in, "Or do you only think you are?"
"You think you're real," Mark continued, "And you can make the same argument about Santa but that doesn't change the fact that millions of parents stay up late putting presents under their Christmas Tree," he shook his head, "Millions of children are under the impression that a large fat man in a red suit brings them presents yearly based on the criteria of being good or bad. Does their belief make Santa real?"
Kim nodded her head, "To them he is real. To them, Santa lives in a large factory with his wife and worker force making toys all year for them. Do you want to scar the child by telling him Santa isn't real?"
"We're not talking about Santa, Kim," Bob reminded, "We're talking about you."
Kim nodded and took a step back, "What about me? I'm supposedly fiction but here I am in the body of…" she trailed off, "Whose body am I in?"
"Christy Carlson Romano's," SilverWolf said as she sat at the table.
"I'm in the body of Christy here and I supposedly am only fiction," Kim shrugged, "How do you suggest I got here if I don't exist? That a 'Fiction' creation was able to take over the mind of this woman."
Bob took a deep breath, "Maybe you exist but complex universes constantly being created with every new second?"
"Why not?" Sidekick asked, "Scientists think so here."
"That's different," Bob answered, "We exist in a world of flesh and blood where we only have limited control of our life," he gestured at Kim, "She only does what we tell her to do."
Sidekick smiled, "Kim," he said slowly, "Think back to the raid on Paris, did you get on the Machine when I told you to for the first time?"
Kim thought back and shook her head, "I had the chance to save Ron and I took it."
"What did you do?"
"I had the chance to get on the Machine and leave with Felix and the rest of the team but I didn't," Kim didn't know where Sidekick was going with this but she decided to answer his questions.
"Even after I told you to get on the Machine?" Sidekick pursued.
A nod from Kim.
"I see," Sidekick coughed and thought for a second, "Did you sleep with Felix?"
Kim instantly felt her face blush, "No."
"Even after I told you to and planned on it?" he asked.
"Wait," Mark interrupted, "You ordered Kim to sleep with Felix?"
Sidekick nodded, "I was trying to do a variation of the alternative pairing genre. Maybe give people something new," he shrugged, "Maybe start something a new trend, just like I did when I made Will Du a villain."
"There's no proof of that Matt," Wolf squeezed her brother's hand affectionately, "I just told you that to encourage you to keep writing and take your mind off the tumor."
His eyes tightened slightly as he turned back to Kim with an edge in his voice, "Did you sleep with Felix?"
"No," Kim smiled as it clicked into place, "I didn't sleep with Felix. You were angry with me for disobeying you."
Sidekick turned to Mark and Bob, "I told her to obey me and she chose not to," he shrugged, "I think the line between the real and the false is the matter of choice."
Bob looked like he was on the urge to say something but quietly sat back in his chair, "If we chose to delete you right now you wouldn't even know that you had ever existed."
Kim nodded, "True," Kim paused and pondered the kitchen floor for several moments before looking up, "But you would. You would know that you had deleted something that has never happened before in the fiction world: an entire community rallying together to save something that once was canceled and bringing it back."
"Actually they did that at least once before with Firefly," Wolf argued, "But that's beside the point." She turned to Mark, "You rarely see it in the Disney world that they bring back a dead show. They use something and then they toss it away. Just look at the Jonas Brothers," a pause, "Or Miley Cyrus."
"We're done here," Bob nodded slowly and pushed away slowly from the table, "Mark, I need to see you for a moment."
Sidekick, Wolf and Kim all rose to their feet in unison, "Privately meet with Mark."
The trio sat down.
In whispered and hushed tones the pair retreated to Sidekick's bedroom for the debate that would decide Kim's fate.
Nowhere
The Nothing
The Nothing was angry.
It hadn't ever felt this emotion before or for that matter emotion at all.
It had only erased everything before it and that was the end of the discussion.
But this machine was-
Crack
Sound echoed across the void of nothing as the fire from Ron's Mystical Monkey Power froze in place before shattering like glass.
Joy.
The Nothing felt something akin to joy and if had a face, the Nothing would have smiled.
July 9th, 2012
Los Angeles, California
9:03 P.M.
"So what do we do here Mark?" Bob asked as he sat on Sidekick's bed.
"What can we do Bob?" Mark answered, "Kim Possible is sitting across from us in that Kitchen and she is begging us to not delete her."
"But she's not real," Bob answered, "If we decide to let her live we open the doors for any and every fiction creation to be declared alive and not able to be deleted."
Mark nodded, "But an idea-"
"That's just it, she's an idea that somehow was made alive," Bob interrupted, "Maybe I'm over reacting but she is an idea that got away from a creator and took on a life of its own."
"You mean a plot bunny?" Mark quibbed.
The look Bob gave him could've frozen a lake in the middle of Hell.
"So what do you suggest we do?" Mark asked, breaking the death glare from Bob.
Bob was silent for a moment and then with a loud and almost annoyed sigh he announced his decision.
July 9th, 2012
Los Angeles, California
9:03 P.M.
Mark and Bob returned from Sidekick's bedroom with a mixture of chagrin and humor written on their faces.
"We've been talking," Mark said slightly amused.
"We've decided that you can live," Bob said rather quickly, "You've made it this far and your creator has been willing to sacrifice everything to get you here," he looked at Sidekick, "So maybe you're worth saving after all."
The smile on Kim's face could have been seen from space but it was nothing compared to the fire in Sidekick's eyes.
"There's so much to do now," he turned to Mark and Bob, "Quick, stop the deletion of Kim and we can put this mess behind us."
"You give these writers and inch and they'll walk all over you," Mark said jokingly as he handed the laptop to Bob, "Care to do the honors?"
Bob nodded, "I suppose it would be right."
With a sigh he pushed the enter button on his computer.
Beep beep.
An error message appeared on his computer.
Beep beep.
He pushed the button again and the same message appeared.
Bob squinted at the screen, "I can't read that message, what does it say?"
Mark took the computer from Bob's hands and looked at the screen before reading the message slowly aloud, "Error: Unable to delete because of missing file," he looked up, "What does that mean?" he asked as he turned back to the group.
He heard a gasp from Kim followed by another from Wolf and a stream of obscenities flowing from the mouth of Sidekick.
Looking down Mark stared in a mixture of wonder and confusion as Nothing rested on his hand a moment before erasing it.
There was no severance of his hand, no blood, just Nothing.
There was only The Nothing.
Mark tried to drop the computer and tried to distance himself from the eraser of everything but before he could Mark was consumed by the Nothing without a sound.
"NO!" Sidekick shouted as Mark McCorkle ceased to exist.
The Computer clattered to the floor as the Nothing slowly streamed out of the computer screen, moments later the computer was gone and in its place a hole.
Through this hole Nothing poured out of and it slowly expanded, the hole widening as each second more Nothing entered our universe. Wherever the Nothing flowed and whatever it touched was consumed. Seeing an entire new world the Nothing expanded outward, consuming all in its path.
A thick tendril burst forth violently from the empty hole of Nothing and swept around the apartment, erasing everything it touched.
I AM HERE
No words could describe the sound made from the Nothing as it suddenly found itself with a voice.
YOU CANNOT STOP ME FROM TAKING HER
"Oh no," Sidekick muttered as the Nothing swirled around the far side of his apartment, consuming and erasing the shelves and their contents in his kitchen.
I AM THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS
"Get Back!" Sidekick shouted as Bob, Wolf, Kim and himself all made a break for the front door. A tendril of Nothing snaked out and swiped through the torso of Wolf, instantly evaporating her and erasing her from ever having existed.
The Nothing saw Kim and swiped at her with a second tendril but Kim ducked under the approaching tendril as the Nothing grew in size and strength. Instead of taking her out, the tendril swiped through the wall of his apartment and exposed the interior of Sidekick's apartment to the outdoors.
A BETA HAS FALLEN AS HAS A FOUNDER
The Nothing appeared to be in ecstasy as it found a new food source and it continued to grow in Sidekick's apartment.
THERE IS NOWHERE YOU CAN RUN THAT I WON'T FOLLOW YOU KIM
Kim didn't hear the words as she sprinted out of the apartment followed by Sidekick.
"GO!" Sidekick shouted as bits of rubble started to fall from the ceiling onto the fleeing denizens of the apartment complex as the Nothing grew, "IT'S COMING!"
Kim looked behind her at the apartment complex just in time to see an enormous arm of the Nothing burst through Sidekick's door and consume a row of fleeing people.
She felt a hand grab hers and jerked away only to find herself looking into the face of The Real Sidekick and Bob Schooley.
"C'mon Kim," Sidekick said, his voice filled with fear, "We've got to go."
Kim nodded in agreement and allowed Sidekick to guide them to his car. The car instantly fired up and they rocketed away from the Nothing.
July 9th, 2012
Los Angeles, California
9:03 P.M.
BrtzzCRACK
Inside the kitchen the Nothing stopped flowing and appeared to be resting as it consumed but in reality it was gathering strength for a final push.
With a resounding crack that could be felt through the entire world The Nothing rushed from the computer like a flooded river escaping the bank, erasing the Apple Laptop computer in the process.
The more it consumed, the more it grew and there was entire Universe waiting for it.
July 9th, 2012
Los Angeles, California
9:03 P.M.
Kim watched the complete nondestructive destruction taking place in the rear view mirror as Sidekick sped through another intersection. Behind them she watched as the Nothing consumed his apartment complex and began to move on to the rest of his neighborhood. She turned away and looked on in fear as several Police cars zipped past their car and towards the nothing.
The Police cars stopped near the Nothing and without fear the officers pulled off to the side of the road and exited their vehicles. Seeing their squad mates mirror their movements, the Officers pulled their weapons and began firing on the Nothing that grew with every second.
The Nothing looked down on the Officers and swatted at them with a tendril of pure Nothing, instantly the Police Officers were evaporated as were their cars.
Still the Nothing grew and it consumed the real and living world.
"What do we do now?" she asked in fear at the show of force by The Nothing.
Sidekick took a deep breath and slowed the car to a stop as all the traffic lights started to blink red rhythmically. The car stopped and Sidekick stepped out of the vehicle and watched as the entire Universe began to crumble around him.
His eyes were drawn to the city, rumbling and shaking in the growing night. Buildings swayed chaotically as the Nothing poured into the world, an endless billowing eraser of all things.
Cracks of nothing raced along the ground as the ground heaved, the devouring of an entire universe shook everything and filled all hearts with fear. Through the cracks, Sidekick could see the inner spinning core of the Earth start to collapse in on itself.
"I don't know," he whispered to Kim but mostly to himself.
"I don't know," he whispered again as he heard the sound of approaching sirens in the distance.
"I don't know."
Disclaimer: I own Nothing, Disney owns the rest.
Author's Notes: Did you really think it was going to be that easy? That Kim shows up, gives a speech on friendship, we all learn a moral and call it a day? Have you read this story?
Anyway, we are fast approaching the end and I couldn't be more excited about it.
Special thanks this week goes to Wanderer (Have you considered an account?), Twuscany (I was hoping no one saw the twist coming) Mr. Wizard (It's impossible to avoid the rules), Darev (Maybe you still can), Eddy13 (Did your prediction come true?), Joe Stoppinghem (For sleep aid try warm milk), Sentinel103 (Cheesy enough for you?), and CajunBear73 (My word...It's full of stars and bears.).
And to you, the ever silent reader. Thank you so much for continually showing up here on a weekly basis and sticking with me for so long. I have the best fans in you guys and for that I thank you. If you have any comments, questions, concerns or you simply want to say hello, send a review. It doesn't have to be big, a simple hello will do.
Until next time,
TRS