Heart's Desire
A Kim Possible Fanfiction
immo
Author's note: You guys are gonna kill me... actually, I've had this lying around for a good month or so already, but I just didn't post it. Hahahaha... hahah... ha... And I'd like to say that your reviews DID prompt me to look over this mess and post it at 4am in the morning. I'm sorry boys and girls. But now that I have more free time, I'll try to churn out a bit more. The next chapter is 40-50% done, so expect it in a week or two. Or if I'm really feeling the writing bug, this weekend :P I'm sorry guys, truly I am.
By the way, this story will get confusing. Or is already damn confusing. So I've started writing a sorta character summary dealie. Look for it to clear up the confusion!
It wasn't working.
"SHEGO!" Kim's voice carried through the door. "Shego, where are you?"
Shego pushed the doors open, feeling absolutely hopeless at the sight of the naked redhead sprawled on the floor and trying to crawl out of the room but not having the strength to do so.
"Hush, now, love." Shego was at Kim's side, one arm going under the redhead's torso, the other arm slipping under Kim's knees to pick her up. Effortlessly, the green-skinned woman transferred the redhead onto the bed. But when she tried to back away, she found she couldn't. Kim had a death's grip on Shego's clothes.
"Kim, Kim, let go." Shego said softly.
Kim Possible shook her head. "No. No... Shego, kiss me."
The other woman shook her head sadly. "I can't. You're so weak already."
"Stay with me." Kim sobbed, burying her face into the front of Shego's loose shirt. "Stay... please. Don't leave."
Things hadn't gotten better. Kim wasn't... happy. Whenever she saw Shego, she wanted her to touch her. And Shego had complied, quite willingly at first. The sex was mind-blowing, but it sapped Kim's energy level down to near nothing afterwards. But the redhead always demanded it when Shego came. And when Shego wasn't there when Kim was awake, she would scream for her until the other woman came running.
"Shego..." Kim clawed at the front of Shego's shirt, managing to get it open to the collarbone, kissing the bared skin reverently, ignoring the large red stone that hung around Shego's neck. "Shego, just... relax."
"No, Kim--"
"No!" Surprisingly, the redhead still had the strength to flip Shego over and pin her to the bed. Kim yanked Shego's hands over the woman's head and held her hands captive with one of her own. Kim's lips nipped and kissed frantically all over Shego's pale neck and the green-eyed villain groaned and arched up against Kim, gasping when the redhead ripped open her shirt with her free hand.
"Shego..." Kim's drew out the other woman's name in a feral growl, hand grabbing one of Shego's breasts, fondling it roughly before traveling quickly down, fingers trailing down hot flesh. Her eyes never leaving Shego's, her eyes showing nothing but pain and lust.
"Kim," Shego's voice had a note of panic as the redhead tugged at her pants. "Kim, no--nghh!"
Whatever Shego was about to say was cut off by Kim roughly shoving into her and Shego bucked up into that touch, wild for that touch, loving how the redhead dominated her completely and completely forgetting why she shouldn't be doing this with Kim Possible.
Wrenching her hands out of Kim's iron grip, the black-haired woman clawed at Kim's back, trying to pull her further in, feeling the woman burning inside her, thrusting hard. Groaned into Kim's shoulder loudly as each movement mashed her into the sheets, shaking and testing the bed's frame.
She wasn't getting better.
"Ah, ah, AH!" Shego cried out, sent over the edge quickly by Kim's touch, by how she had taken her, by the violence. Felt herself glow with a new energy, sated and glowing. Kim's body quivered with need as she rocked against Shego wantonly, hot and wet against her.
"Please," The greatest villains in the world would've paid an obscene amount of money to see Kim beg at their feet, reduced to a blubbering, shaking mess. They would've derived a huge amount of malicious glee to see her suffering like this. But Shego, this Shego right now would pay any money to NOT see Kim reduced to this. "Pleaseee, Shego, just... I need..."
"Shhh..." Shego craned her neck upwards and kissed the quivering girl then took hold of her hips and gently positioned the redhead so the green-skinned woman could relieve the heroine. The tiny whispers that emitted from the redhead grew into gasps and groans, Kim's fingers tangled in Shego's hair, riding out her pleasure, desperate for her climax. And when she came, Kim screamed wordlessly, guttural and low, letting Shego lap up her strength, felt the numbness tingle through her entire being, successfully anesthetizing her. The pain slipped away until Kim couldn't feel it anymore and the redhead smiled and fell over to the side, shaking from the exertion, her body ice-cold.
"Kim!" Shego rolled over so she was on top, cupped Kim's cheek frantically, scared when she saw the redhead's teeth chattering.
"I-I'm s-s-so c-cold, Sh-Shego." Kim smiled up at Shego, blinking away tears. "I-I'm n-never going t-t-to lea-ve y-you."
The green-skinned woman held Kim close and pulled a sheet on top of the both of them, hoping that some of her warmth would transfer over to Kim, hoping that Kim could just... she could just live. Shego wanted to weep, wanted to cry like how she had seen Kim cry day after day.
But she just couldn't summon the tears.
"What do you want from me?" Red cowered in a corner, watching her sister grab the ornate, heavy wooden table by a leg, and flip it clear across the room, smashing it to pieces. Grateful to know that guards never came when there were strange noises. The emperor had ordered it and reassured them that the Empress of the West Palace could take care of herself and they were better off not disturbing the strange Empress.
Empress Wu Yen of the East Palace had come looking for Empress Yinchun of the West Palace and their strained conversation had erupted into a heated argument. "WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHY DO YOU TORTURE ME LIKE THIS?"
Wu Yen the Warrior watched Yinchun calmly, unafraid in the face of the powerful enchantress' anger. Wu Yen's own anger made her immune to Yinchun's show of anger. The Warrior Empress' face was red from her emotions, the red birthmark that covered up a quarter of her face blend in a bit more with her skin. This mark, was in fact a love curse placed on the Empress' face and was the only thing that marred her beauty. It had been given to her by Yinchun when they had first met and it was enspelled only to appear when Wu Yen was in love with the Emperor.
The mark was supposed to... *encourage* Wu Yen to not love the Emperor. It was supposed to torture the beautiful human and make her give up on the Emperor, however now, the tables had turned. What was supposed to be torturous for the Empress bothered her very little and the mark was now a source of anguish for the fox spirit who had placed it there. It mocked Yinchun every time she saw the Empress Wu Yen, told her quite plainly who was in the Empress' heart and who was not.
"Why the hell are you angry? I'm the one who should be angry!" Wu Yen got right up in Yinchun's face, shouting right back at the angry fox. "Where were you during the festival? Weren't you supposed to be watching the fireworks with me? And who the hell is she?"
Wu Yen pointed at Red, who tried even harder to shrink into a ball and make herself invisible.
"Why do you care?" Yinchun snarled, her canines showing, losing a little bit of control over her human form.
"Because you said YOU cared!" Wu Yen snapped, tears of anger and frustration finally escaping out of the corners of her eyes. "You said you cared about me and then you bring in some random girl and you ignore my invitations--look at me!"
Yinchun's eyes had wandered to Red, looking at her younger sibling as if to say 'can you believe this?'
"What?" Yinchun barked out, flinched when Wu Yen touched her and drew away. The fight went out of her immediately and she put distance between herself and the woman. "Don't, Wu Yen."
"Why won't you let me touch you any more?" Wu Yen asked mournfully. "We'd been getting along... we were talking. We were having fun. It took us so long to become friends and now you're ignoring me."
"You... you don't need me." Yinchun let her shoulders slump. She was utterly confused by this woman, utterly defeated. "You should just leave me alone. It's better for the both of us."
"Is it because I won't love you?" Wu Yen's voice was barely above a whisper, her cheeks tinged pink. Wu Yen was the Emperor's woman, as was Yinchun. They had been sort of rivals before, with Wu Yen fighting for the Emperor's affections, while Yinchun fought for Wu Yen's affections by making sure the Emperor fell for Yinchun and not Wu Yen so Wu Yen would HAVE to love Yinchun.
It had been complicated.
And that had been a long time ago, back when Wu Yen had wanted to kill Yinchun. Needless to say, they had a lot of water under the bridge.
How they had come to this, was unknown. Wu Yen, no matter how much she denied it, liked having Yinchun around now. The fox spirit was undeniably charming and damn persistant. And it was hard to hate someone who fervently declared they loved you every time they saw you. How had they come to this, now? Fighting with each other, not really knowing why they were fighting.
The Empress looked over at Red, still hiding in a corner and asked again, feeling her heart clench at the thought. "Is that my replacement?"
"There is no other." Yinchun said at once. "You're the only one. She's... meet my sister."
"Oh." Wu Yen managed to look ashamed but felt relief wash over her. She smiled weakly at Red. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you here?" Yinchun was so weary of this game. But she kept playing it because the prize was everything she had ever wanted. No other prize, even if it was draped in fineries, silk and pearls, compared to this. This prize was EVERYTHING to Yinchun. "What do you want from me, Wu Yen?"
"I'm... I'm not brave like you, Yinchun." Wu Yen fidgetted with the hem of her sleeves nervously. "So I'll tell you what: if you answer my question first, then I'll answer yours."
The fox enchantress nodded warily, confused by this shy woman that had taken the place of the usually cool empress. Watched the Empress' gold earrings sparkle in the candlelight, enchanted by the Empress and her sweet voice. Watched Wu Yen fidget with her hands and Yinchun found herself wishing she could entwine her fingers in the Empress'.
"Do you still care about me?"
Red relaxed as the atmosphere changed, their voices had softened and their bodies weren't in a fighting posture. The younger fox tilted her head to the side, listening to the conversation between Yinchun and the empress carefully.
Yinchun studied Wu Yen's face, looked and looked while searching deep inside herself for the answer. It was always the same. No matter how Wu Yen would change, no matter how much Wu Yen hated her, how many times she said no; Yinchun only ever had one answer to that question.
"I'll never stop caring about you. I'll die loving you, Wu Yen." Yinchun took a deep breath, unable to stop the words coming out of her mouth. "I want to be with you forever, even if you don't want me."
Wu Yen nodded, processing these words. Then a slow, gorgeous smile spread across her lips.
"What do you want from me, Wu Yen?" Yinchun repeated, head bowed and exhausted from the emotional battle. She jumped a bit when fingers slipped and interlaced with her own, looked up to see Wu Yen's glittering eyes.
"I think... I think I want what you want."
Yinchun stared at Wun Yen in amazement for a few seconds. Then a deliriously happy smile crossed the fox spirit's lips as she raised her free hand up and touched Wu Yen's suddenly unblemished face.
The red mark had disappeared.
Red could see it all happening again, just like that time long ago, and she could feel a migraine coming on. Kim would not get better. Things would end up just like before, it was just going slower. And now, this... arrogant girl in front of her was not making her headache any better.
"I *order* you to bring Kim out to see me." Michelle, also known as 'Fong', glared at Red. The fox demon's lips were pulled down into a grimace.
"You, human? YOU, order ME?" She barked out a harsh laugh, but Red was not at all amused. This GIRL had burst into her home (well, until the snakes came home, this was Red's place), and DEMANDED to see Kim. And when Red had politely refused, she had the audacity to COMMAND it! In the back of Red's mind, she was a little bit impressed that the woman hadn't succumbed to her, but she was far too angry right now to appreciate this inner strength the woman showed.
"Fong..." Vince, squinted at Michelle painfully, trying to fight the fog over his mind, but unable to. Him, Ron and Monique were currently reclining on huge pillows, being fed grapes by various carp-people. Rufus, on seeing Michelle, had immediately left his master to climb up onto Michelle's shoulders. He chattered nervously to Michelle, looking at the people he had been with helplessly. He hadn't been able to snap Ron out of whatever the fox demon had done to them and his nerves were shot from the close proximity of Red.
"It'll be alright, ah Cheung." Michelle reassured her husband while placing a calming hand on Rufus' small body. "She'll let you guys leave soon enough."
"And pray tell, why would I do that?" Red hissed, losing her patience with this impertinent girl.
"Because I'm a direct descendant of Bai Su Zhen." Michelle snapped back, her eyes narrowed to slits. "And since I was young, I know for a FACT that if I ask for something from the otherfolk that is within reason, they HAVE to give it to me. So I'm ORDERING you to let. Me. See. Kim."
Red blinked. Indeed, there was that rule, but the otherfolk and the people of She Cun rarely met. The ONE time Red had ever been asked was long, long time ago before there was such things as satellites and GPS systems. One of the villagers had gotten lost, stumbled upon her and her children, then asked her nicely to point him in the right direction back home.
'If I killed her, no-one would know...' Red thought darkly. The young woman seemed to read her mind, though.
"Everybody knows I'm up here. If anything were to happen to me, they would blame you. You're responsible for my well-being right now." Michelle crossed her arms, drawing strength from the knowledge that because of the blood that flowed through her veins, she stood above this powerful creature and it would HAVE to obey her.
"What if she doesn't want to see you?" Red asked slyly, trying desperately to find a loophole, trying to remember Bai Su Zhen and Xaio Qing's words that would give her an exempt from following the rules set out... But all she remembered was Xaio Qing reiterating the rules she had set long ago, along with the new task she had been given.
Keep Kim Possible safe.
Keep She Cun and its inhabitants safe. If they ask, you fulfill. Or else.
"Were you told to listen to me, or to listen to Kim Possible?" Michelle said softly, her voice devoid of emotions. "Tell me. She's the outsider. I'm your master's descendant."
"I. Have. No. Master." Red took a step forward, threateningly. How DARE this WHELP insinuate that she was like some common DOG!
"Then lets pretend I asked nicely and you agreed to my request, shall we?" The Asian woman's voice was as cold as ice and she didn't even flinch at the fox demon's closeness. "Can I see Kim? Please."
Red clenched her teeth together, absolutely insane with rage. But her hands were indeed, tied. If Xaio Qing heard that she hadn't done what she had been told... Red would die horribly. And possibly her daughter, Yinchun would suffer the same fate. With Bai Su Zhen around, Xaio Qing was less volatile but nobody would bet on the fact that the Green Snake wouldn't kill them in an instant if something offended her.
"Take her to Kim." Red snapped her fingers and a carp person immediately hopped to it, motioning Michelle to follow her quickly. Red watched the woman walk away from her without a word, seething inside.
"Stay." Red commanded Kim's friends. They nodded dreamily at her and continued lounging, blissfully unaware of their surroundings, not having registered Michelle's arrival nor her leaving. They also didn't notice when Red had wandered away from them, following Michelle.
Meanwhile, Michelle followed the carp-person, her emotions roiling inside her, but outwardly she looked completely calm, the eye in the center of a storm. Something was definitely wrong. She had felt it when Team Possible had left and some of the elders had that... look of accomplishment. Like they had just done something. And she had seen them whispering to each other...
'Those old geezers are always up to no good. Especially my grandmother.' Michelle thought darkly. The old woman's self-satisfied smile when Team Possible had decided to go up to Er Mei rang Michelle's internal alarm. But it was the worried frown when they had split up into two teams that made Michelle believe that something had gone wrong in Grandma Lo's plan. The fact that the old woman had a plan at all was cause for concern.
When Kim and company hadn't come back in a week and Jim and Tim's team had been kidnapped, that was when Michelle acted. While the remainder of She Chun planned Tim and Jim's rescue with Nam Ho's temple, Michelle had slipped away without telling anyone. It was dangerous. The woman who had once been Shego's lover knew that if Red found out that no-one knew she was here, the fox would kill her and Michelle's body would be squirreled away and never found again.
"Madam," The carp-person gurgled and stood to the side, pointing to the room they had come to. Without hesitating, Michelle pushed the doors open and stepped over the threshold. It took her eyes a while to adjust to the darkness of the room, the windows had been covered by black sheets to block out the light. On the bed, a lump stirred.
"Kim?" Michelle took a step towards the bed, then stopped. She didn't know if it was Kim or not, the fox could be trying to trick her--
"Shego?" Kim's voice, hoarse and scratchy, reached Michelle's ears. Without a second thought, the Asian woman was by the redhead's side. If it were possible, Kim looked even worse than when she had first arrived after she had heard about Shego's body disappearing.
"Kim, it's ah Fong," Michelle spoke soothingly in English. "I've got you. We'll get you out of here--"
Kim pushed Fong away, her eyes casting around the room. "Shego? Shego!"
"She's not here, Kim." Fong tried to grab on to Kim, but the redhead's shouts became more frantic.
"Shego!"
"Calm down, love. I'm here."
The voice was dreadfully familiar and it made Michelle's heart leap to her throat and spin towards the door. There, looking ever so cool, ever so alive, was Shego. Her pale green skin seemed to glow, the light behind her shining in gave her a halo. Her frown was familiar, her angry eyes...
"Why did you have to wake her?" Shego growled. Michelle's hands fell to her side, her legs weren't able to hold her up any more, so she sat down. The feeling of suffocation was overwhelming and the Chinese woman clutched her chest, her lips trembling.
A sob escaped her lips and she shook her head, the first of her tears streaking down her face.
"It... no. No... no." There were no words she could say that could make that feeling go away. She was drowning all over again. She was hallucinating. That must be it.
Shego stalked forward without another word. The way she moved was too... fluid. Shego was usually quiet as death when she moved and she had the silent grace of a master thief. But this was different. It was the careful steps of something... not quite human.
"Not Shego!" Rufus squeaked, hammering the final nail into the coffin. Shego was still dead. This person was an imposter.
"You're. Not. Her." Michelle gritted out, the elation inside her dying to a soul-crushing sorrow, like when they had brought Shego's body back to She Cun. The sorrow though, was quickly burned away by a murderous rage.
"YOU'RE NOT HER!" Michelle screamed, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at the doppelganger. 'Shego' ducked it easily, her yellow eyes narrowed to slits.
Yellow eyes.
"Fox," Michelle spat out. "Change back."
Mrs. Fox shook her head, still in her Shego disguise. "No."
"CHANGE BACK! YOU'RE NOT HER!" Michelle's chest was heaving with emotions, her eyes glittering with hatred. "Change. BACK."
"Shego," Kim's voice had a breathless quality about it that made Michelle cringe. It wasn't Shego--IT WASN'T SHEGO!
"It's not Shego, Kim." Fong rounded on the redhead, but the heroine was gone, her eyes unseeing. Only seeing 'Shego'.
"Shego." Kim sighed again.
"What have you done?" The Asian woman looked at Kim in horror. The redhead had moved to the edge of the bed, closer to the light the door let in. Kim's cheeks and eyes were sunken, each breath she took seemed laboured.
"She is safe here." Red insisted. "She's fine."
"You're killing her." Michelle hissed. "She's dying."
"Humans are so weak." The Shego-copy suddenly said, looking at Kim sadly. "But what I'm trying to do is the right thing--"
"If she stays here, if she stays with you, she'll die!" Michelle shouted, shaking her head with disbelief. These creatures were all crazy! How was this helping Kim? The redhead was obviously wasting away!
"You're stealing her life." Michelle accused. Michelle had been warned, long time ago, that the other-folk could get that power. That was why they were so strong. They could absorb whatever lifeforce of weaker beings around them if they stayed close to the source long enough. And if they got even closer, the effect was even greater. Some otherfolk learned to control that leeching effect. But others, like the fox-people, were hardwired to feed off people. "That's why she's like this, isn't it? You're leeching away her life!"
"I take very little. It keeps her happy." 'Shego' whispered. "She's accepted the fantasy because she needed it. Can you not see? She was already slowly dying since her lover died. Now, I'm helping her."
"How? I fail to see how this is helpful at all!"
"By stopping her from self-destructing. By keeping her out of the way." Shego-copy sighed. "If she goes looking... she will surely die. This is bigger than just She Cun and Er Mei and the snakes. This is beyond them and it will affect EVERYTHING."
"Then just give us back Shego's body." Michelle changed to pleading. "Tell us where she is so we can bury her right. That's all we want."
The Shego-copy shook her head, looking so much like Shego, sounding so much like Shego even Michelle wanted to forget, just for a second, that it wasn't Shego.
"I cannot."
"I command it."
The copy of Shego barked out a laugh. "That is the one thing I do not have to do."
"Bai Su Zhen and Xaio Qing told you not to." Michelle surmised. That was the only reason the fox would ignore a direct order. The Asian woman felt deeply ashamed of her ancestor, right at this moment. And disappointed that Bai Su Zhen and Xaio Qing hadn't changed at all.
"Kim." Michelle turned to the redhead and slapped her cheeks lightly. "Kim, we need you, wake up."
The redhead's gaze was dead, she was somewhere far away...
"I can take care of her."
"Kim, your brothers need you. You have to wake up." Michelle ignored the fox, took the woman by the shoulders and shook her. "That's not Shego. It's a fox."
'Shego' chuckled humourlessly. "You think she doesn't know that?"
Fong recoiled from Kim, looking at the redhead in horror as Kim smiled wearily at Fong, seeing her... but not caring. Hearing everything and ignoring it.
"She wants to stay with Shego. And I can give her Shego and she can pretend." Red, still in the guise of Shego, sat down on the edge of the bed. Kim crawled over to the fox and lay her head in the green-skinned woman's lap. In seconds, Kim had fallen asleep again. "I can take care of her."
"She's dying!"
"She is NOT!" 'Shego' snarled, her voice low so as to not wake Kim up. "She will not. I will not let her. I'll keep her safe and YOU are the one making it worse! I won't let this happen again!"
The source of Red's hostility seemed to come from somewhere else, Michelle was sure of it. The Asian woman tilted her head to the side, studying the fox. "Why are you so angry? And what do you mean by 'again'?"
Red stroked her fingers through Kim's hair, suddenly weary of all this. This can't happen again.
"I will... give you the people outside. Even though they have been fun to play with." The fox offered. She just wanted to be alone with Kim. Then she can concentrate on making Kim better. "Just leave. Please."
Michelle wanted to stay, wanted to grab Kim and run. But the glazed look, the pitiful call for Shego... it repelled her. Disgusted her, even. Shego abhorred weakness. And Michelle saw nothing but weakness in what Kim had become.
'Shego wouldn't have approved.' Michelle looked at Kim, barely able to keep her contempt from showing on her face.
"We'll go." Michelle saw no use in staying right now. She'd consult with her great-aunt and figure out something. The head of She Cun would have to negotiate with this fox after knowing what was happening to Kim. She would have the responsiblity of saving Kim and Fong wouldn't have to deal with any of this.
'It would be better if you had died too.' Fong tried hard to squash those uncharitable thoughts worming through her mind, a product of her unspoken jealousy of Kim Possible usurping her place at Shego's side, of her bitterness at Shego having chosen such a weak replacement for her. But it was so hard when Shego's copy was bent over a comatose Kim, murmuring reassuringly to the redhead. So hard not to hate the redhead for giving up, because Fong wanted to do exactly that...
"Fong?" She was greeted by her husband's hoarse voice when she hurried back to where she had left the entranced group. On seeing the Asian woman, Vince stood up on wobbly legs and embraced her in a fierce hug.
"I was lost, but I heard your voice and I saw you. And now you're here." He held her, as if afraid the fog would take away his mind again and she was his only anchor. A hand on her arm notified her of Kim's dark-skinned friend, looking at her in quiet gratitude.
"Thanks."
Fong nodded impassively to Monique, afraid to show any emotions. The fox could go back on her word and the Asian woman would be snared in those golden eyes if she wasn't careful. The image of Shego had shaken her badly and she needed to keep up this facade until they left the proximity of the fox.
"Ron!" Rufus had jumped from his temporary perch on Michelle's shoulders to the freckled young man. Ron Stoppable placed a tremulous hand on the pink rodent, his pale face making his freckles stand out even more.
"It was like... we were trapped in our bodies." Ron shivered in revulsion, still feeling his attraction to the fox, like something sweet that had left a sticky residue behind.
"Come on, lets get out of here." Michelle nodded towards the entrance. It was just them now, the carp-people having vanished with Fox's hold on the motley crew.
"Where's Kim?" Ron asked suddenly. Michelle stopped and spun around to look at the blonde man.
"She'll be okay. I have to get all of you out of here first." Michelle lied. She knew Kim wasn't okay. But Monique and Ron nodded, accepting the lie easily because despite the bad things that had happened with Shego, they still believed Kim Possible could handle anything.
And as Michelle lead them through the house, they passed by a set of doors Michelle had rushed past before in her haste to confront the fox.
And the icy woman stopped dead in her tracks, a familiar scent tickling her nose. It was light, extremely faint. But it should've been non-existant after a couple of months. There was only one conclusion she could come to, her nose catching that tang in the air again.
The smell had to have been recent.
Michelle turned towards the door slowly. Shego had been dead for five months. There was no way any hint of her should be in the air. But there it was. Shego left a distinct metallic tinge in the air whenever she lit up. It wasn't dangerous, Shego had explained, when she first got these powers, doctors had tested her powers extensively--well, as extensively as she had let them--and came to that conclusion. The scent would stay in the air of the room and if the room wasn't aired out, it would stay a month or two.
A month or two.
Shego had been dead for five months.
"Fong," Vince placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, wondering why she stopped. The woman held up a hand, hesitant. She didn't want to... but... a wild hope was blooming in her chest.
"What's wrong?" Monique asked, wondering why they had stopped. Michelle pushed the door open gently, and the smell rushed out, stronger.
It was Shego's room. Spartan, but classy. Deep browns, whites and greens made up Shego's room but Fong didn't come in to marvel at the simple beauty of the room. Her eyes were locked on the dark splotches on the sheets of the bed and some casual clothes that belonged to Shego, lying folded on the bed.
Fong approached the bed and scanned over the mess and the article of clothing on the bed. Blood. That was what the stains on the bed were. And Fong could see there were some on Shego's clothes too...
"Oh." Vince had seen the clothing, and now he stood there, stunned by the implications.
Michelle reached out a trembling hand, knowing there was one way to know for sure...
"Why are you folding your clothes like that?" Fong asked irritably as she did laundry with Shego at her house.
"It doesn't leave as much wrinkles," Shego explained, folding the sleeves of her clean catsuit at the shoulders, then rolling it up starting from the legs of her suit. "And it also doesn't damage the fibres used to make my catsuit."
"Okay, your catsuit I understand, but you're doing that to all your other clothes too!" Michelle picked up a rolled-up piece of clothing and shook it out. "This is mine!"
Shego smirked. "I was just gonna borrow it for a little bit..."
The simple shirt and pants combo had been rolled up, despite the fact that it looked like Shego had worn them to a fight. Michelle slowly spread out the piece of clothing. Shego had said the laundry at Er Mei was done by 'helpers', and she disliked the way they folded her clothes... so the only one who could've folded this piece of clothing like this was Shego.
"Cheung," Michelle felt light-headed as she brought the sleeves of the outfit up for inspection. The cuffs were charred and burnt. As if the wearer's hands had been on fire and the flames had licked at the flammable material of the cotton shirt. That was why Shego wore her catsuits all the time, because they resisted her flames to some degree... but not other clothes. They burned.
Just one more piece of evidence though...
Fong practically ran over to a large dresser that looked like where Shego kept her clothes. Throwing them open, she noticed right away that it seemed quite bare and ransacked, as if someone had gone through it hurriedly and taken much of its contents away.
But there, hanging in the middle of the dresser, was the formal black and green silk cheongsam that they had buried Shego in. And the sleeves of this outfit was charred and burned almost all the way up to the elbows.
"She's alive." Michelle stated simply.
"What?" Ron blinked at Michelle. "Who?"
"Shego." Vince's face had lit up and his eyes were watering.
"What? She can't be. She's dead." Monique stated the fact quite simply. Rufus, however, jumped from Ron's shoulder to look down at the ruined cotton shirt and pants lying on the bed. Though his nose wasn't as good as Tigger's, it was good enough to differentiate between a cadaver and a live human being and quite easy to remember Shego's unique scent.
"Not dead." Rufus looked up at Ron, shaking his head in amazement. "Shego!"
"You sure bout that, buddy? I mean, those could be old clothes--" Ron frowned as Rufus chittered up at him wildly. "Alright, alright. So... what do we do?"
"We get Kim." Fong wiped her eyes, embarassed at the tears that were trying to escape, thankful she had her back turned to these strangers. "And we go find Shego."
Picking up the pieces of evidence, Fong marched out of the room and back to Kim's room where the fox was still sitting, stroking her fingers through the redhead's hair.
"Did I not tell you to leave?" 'Shego' was vexed.
"Shego!" Ron and Monique gasped in amazement.
"Sheg--"
Michelle held up a hand to stop her husband from running to the green-skinned woman. "It's not Shego. It's the fox."
"What? But--" Ron pointed to the fox. "That's Shego!"
"Change back, fox. Show them." Michelle ground out, trying to rein in her temper. The fox narrowed her eyes at them. But after a few seconds, there was... a shimmer, a gradual shifting as the face changed to that of Mrs. Fox.
"Is that all you want?" Red hissed. "If it is, please leave. You are trying my last nerve."
"We're taking her with us."
"That was not part of the deal."
"You forgot to mention this." Fong held up Shego's clothing. The fox couldn't help flinching as she realized what they had. But she kept her expression still, even when Fong threw the articles of clothing in her face.
"She's alive. She fired up wearing normal clothing." Michelle looked at Kim. "I know you can hear me, Kim Possible. Get up. We have to get her. I don't know what she's playing at and I'm sure there were more people in on this but we have to--"
"No."
Her whispered answer hit everyone like a sledgehammer. Kim's tired green eyes stayed glued on Mrs. Fox's face. "Shego."
Immediately, the fox spirit obeyed, her face smoothing over to Shego's pale green skin and familiar features.
"Get up." Fong hissed, her temper frayed, unnerved again by Shego's face. Felt a wave of jealousy surge up when 'Shego' buried her fingers in Kim's hair and smiled softly at the heroine.
"But Kim," Ron tried now, his features pleading. "Shego might need our help. What if she's in trouble?"
"Shego is dead." Kim shook her head. "I'm... tired, Ron. I can't do this anymore. I don't wanna do this anymore."
"Well, don't worry, we'll just get out of here and--"
"I mean the hero thing." Kim sighed. "I... I'm out of the game."
"Say what, girl?" Monique's mouth was hanging open in disbelief. This was Kim Possible! The girl who staunchly believed that she could do anything!
"But, Kim--"
"Just leave me alone, alright?" Kim screamed. Turning around so her face was buried in the front of Mrs. Fox's shirt, she started crying again.
"Forget her." Michelle spat out. "Lets go. We can't stay up here. We don't have time to waste. Your other team has been captured by the Hunters, so we have to go get them as soon as possible. Their captors have been making demands and there's a time limit."
"But--"
"You can stay here and be useless, or come with me and we can possibly save your friends." Fong turned on her heels and stalked away. "Your call."
"Michelle--" Vince headed after his wife, then turned around to shrug helplessly. "If Kim doesn't want to be helped then she's no help right now. If what my wife says is true and the Hunters have the other team, they might be in danger."
Monique and Ron exchanged looks, then turned to look at Kim worriedly.
"Go." The fox nodded after Vince and Michelle, who had disappeared out the door. "I won't hurt her."
"You better not, lady. We'll be back." Monique muttered, pulling on Ron's arm. They did have more important things to do. Vince's words had made the blood in her veins turn to ice. If the twins were hurt...
"But--" Ron was dragged out the door, flabbergasted by Kim's... lackluster attitude. But he didn't put up much of a struggle and soon, there was nobody in the room again, except for Mrs. Fox and Kim Possible.
"It's just you and me now, Shego." Kim looked up at the fox wistfully.
Mrs. Fox sighed. "You... know I'm not Shego."
"But this is as close as I'll ever get." Kim closed her eyes, exhausted.
"They said she's alive. Do you believe them?"
"I want to." Kim replied without opening her eyes. "But... I don't want to be disappointed. If I got my hopes up only for her to die all over again... I just can't do it. I would die."
Mrs. Fox knew she shouldn't. She would be directly going against what the snakes had commanded her to do but she had to do this. "But you're dying anyways... what's wrong with a little bit of hope?"
It would happen all over again, it seemed. Mrs. Fox sighed, reaching behind her to undo the clasp of her necklace. As soon as the necklace came off, the fox was overcome with a feeling of nakedness, of loss.
"My--beloved left this behind." Yinchun's mother sighed wistfully and slipped it around Kim's neck. The redhead was about to protest when she was suddenly rocked with a vision of Shego, sitting with the Snakes of Er Mei and Red's daughter, talking calmly to them. The woman's face was like it was before her transformation... human. Smooth. Unblemished. Her eyes, the colour of emeralds that Kim remembered.
"She's..." Kim struggled to a sitting position, looking at Shego's double with barely concealed hope. But Kim was certain, absolutely certain that the Shego in her mind's eye was real. Alive. At this time, right now. And the slight feeling of something... pulling at her... she was certain it was pulling her towards where she needed to go.
"Your heart's desire." The fox whispered, banishing her illusion, Shego's face melting away to the face of Yinchun's mother. The fox demon smiled at Kim, placed a hand over the glowing red stone. This was the right thing to do.
"This will protect you. This will help you and lead you to exactly what you need, your heart's desire." Red sighed, helping Kim up on unsteady feet. "Go."
"Thank you. I--" Kim paused, then reached up, tenderly taking the fox's face in her hands and placing a light kiss on those lips. "Thank you."
The fox watched Kim stumble out and sighed, flopping backwards onto the bed.
"I only wanted you to be happy, Kim." The fox looked up at the ceiling, feeling like a part of her had been ripped away, her neck surprisingly light now that the stone she had worn since she had first obtained it had a new owner. Red had done the right thing. So... was her sister happy back then? Did her sister find happiness?
Kim, meanwhile, had pelted out of the home she had lived in for several years with Shego, stumbled to the steps leading down Er Mei until she saw her friends ahead.
"Ron!" Kim called hoarsely. The blonde man whipped his head around, Kim could see his eyes widening at the sight of her. Then he took the steps two at a time to catch Kim as she half fell, half threw herself at Ron. The sidekick caught the redhead in a crushing hug, too shaken by everything that had happened to do anything else but this.
"Girl," Monique sighed wearily and cracked a smile. "Glad you could join us."
Red stroked her fingers through her sister's hair, hoping to sooth Yinchun's spirits. Red periodically wiped away Yinchun's tears, gently, full of wonder. What was this bitterness that ran from her older sister's eyes? It... scared her.
The Empress of the East Palace, Wu Yen, had died earlier that week. Everyone was still in mourning. Yinchun had spent every waking hour and every second of moonlight standing silent vigil over the Empress' body. Running her fingers over the dead woman's face, over and over again.
Wu Yen had died, her face unblemished. Loving Yinchun to the very last second. They had only spent two seasons together. And during that time, Wu Yen's health had started failing dramatically, even though Yinchun had stayed by the human's side and tended to her with the utmost care and attention.
Yinchun had been inconsolable until Red had taken it upon herself to lure her sister away with sweet words and the ghost of her lover.
Most times, in her grief, Yinchun was fooled or she allowed herself to be fooled. But other times, she looked at Red, past her disguise, disgusted with herself, with Red. With everything.
But today, Yinchun seemed better than she had ever been. Today, the elder fox managed to laugh and dripped this salty liquid from her eyes only the few times that the feelings overwhelmed her. Red had thought her sister was getting better, had hoped desperately that her sister was getting better. And she seemed to be! Why, Red didn't even have to use the dead Wu Yen's face that day to pacify her sister!
The next day, Yinchun went with the Emperor and a large procession of mourners to bury Wu Yen in a splendid tomb, one of many abandoned tombs the Emperor had had prepared for himself, but cast aside at the glimpse of more marvellous structures to house his earthly remains when he passed. This tomb was the most recently abandonned and obscenely lavish. With much ceremony, they had entombed the Empress of the East Palace, then the procession had left.
Red had though maybe that would be the end of that, and her sister would forget.
The day after the burial, The Empress of the West Palace, Yinchun, disappeared and was never seen nor heard from again.
Only one person knew where she could have gone and Red had to sneak past the guards that guarded the tomb of the recently buried Empress and the workers who were toiling to hide it under a mountain, to enter the inner chambers of Wu Yen's burial site.
With a wave of her hand, the stone coffin lid that had taken fifty people to put in place, slid gently to the side to bare its treasures to Red. There, lying next to the dead Wu Yen, was the bloodied body of a small red fox holding a glowing red stone in its mouth.
Of all the gold and silver ornaments there, surpassing that of even the precious gems, metals and stones, silks, pearls and scented woods that decorated the tomb; Red saw nothing more precious, more priceless a gift than what Yinchun offered Wu Yen.
Yinchun had cut out her own heart and offered her life as a final gift to her lover.
Taking the stone delicately from the fox's mouth, Red was struck by the feeling of... nothing. She knew what this stone was. It had whispered it's duties in her mind. To find the owner of this tiny fox's heart, their heart's desire.
If Red concentrated harder, the stone gave her memories of the past, of red fur, of warmth, of safety in the arms of her beloved. It knew her heart's desire but could not bring her to it. The best the little magic heart could do, was to summon up the image of a small dead fox in her mind's eye, lying next to the lifeless body of a beautiful Empress.
Endnote: so that was confusing, wasn't it? Just to clear some things up, there are TWO Yinchuns: One is Red's daughter, the other is Red's older sister. Red's daughter is named after Red's older sister. I know its getting a bit confusing with all the names, but I feel like fleshing out the stories of some of the mythical beings that'll appear might be kinda alright. Tell me what you think :D
By the way, there will be an alternate chapter posted in adultfanfiction some time later, that gives a little bit more backstory to Red (as if she didn't get enough time as is in this chapter...) Head on over there if you wanna read it!