Chapter 22:

Possible Residence:

"It all started when I was four years old. I was playing outside in the snow, waiting for Hego and Mego to join me. I would've played with the Wegoes, but my mom said they were too young to play in the snow. So, I was out there by myself. It was fun though. I even managed to make a snow angel."

Shego smiled as she recalled the angel she had made. Then Kim watched as her eyes saddened. Kim was about to ask Shego if she was okay, but then she continued with her story.

"I then stood up to admire my handy work. As I stood there looking at what I had made, I suddenly noticed a shadow looming over me. That's when it happened."

"When what happened?"

"Somebody grabbed me. It happened so fast that I didn't even have time to yell out for my mom."

Kim was shocked. She had no idea something like that had happened to Shego.

"Shego, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. Anyway, after I got taken I wound up naked in some dark cell. It was really cold too. I don't exactly know how long I had been in there for. All I remember was being really scared, and just wanting to go home. Then a girl walked into the room. She couldn't have been older than your brothers. She was wearing a black cloak, and carrying a bucket of water. She then sat down next to me, and told me her name was Chiharu. She also told me that I was going to be a part of something big."

"What were you going to be a part of?"

"I'm getting to that. Do you think you could wait until I finish my story, before you start asking questions?"

"Yeah, sorry. Please continue."

"Right. Now, where was I. Oh yeah, well then Chiharu pulled out a sponge and began to bathe me. To say the water was cold is an understatement. That shit was fucking freezing. Anyway, once my impromptu bath was finished, she pulled out a knife and made a small incision on my hand. Surprisingly enough I barely felt it. Then again, that's probably because I was freezing my ass off. Chiharu then squeezed a few drops of my blood into a test tube, before placing a band aid on the cut she had made."

Kim just stared at Shego. She had so many questions running through her head, but she knew she had to wait until the end of Shego's tale before she could ask any of them. So, she sat patiently and waited for Shego to continue. After a few minutes, Shego continued with her story.

"She left the room after that, and I just broke down. Even at a young age I prided myself in being the strong one, but I just wanted to go home. I was so scared, and I missed my family. Plus I could feel this strange feeling in my back. I can't exactly describe it, but it was like nothing I had ever felt before. However, I found the feeling to be comforting. Like, somehow everything was going to turn out okay."

Kim could only assume that Shego was referring to the helm of awe.

"Wow, she's been through so much. I'm getting the feeling though that her story's only just begun."

Kim thought. Truth be told she was half expecting Shego to give her some watered down version of her past. She never in a million years thought that Shego would actually go into detail.

"She certainly is full of surprises."

Kim then noticed a look in Shego's eyes. A look that she had never been before.

"Is that, fear?"

Kim was shocked. Never had she seen that look in Shego's eyes before.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Kim asked, gently placing her hand on Shego's knee. Shego looked at Kim, and noticed the look of genuine concern on her face.

"She's so sweet."

Shego thought. She then shook her head, as now was not the time to be thinking about her feelings towards Kim.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just getting to the part that's the main cause of my nightmares, and it's kinda hard to talk about."

"If you don't feel comfortable we can stop here."

Shego shook her head.

"I've gotten this far, I might as well finish."

"Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'm sure. Besides, I'm not doing this just because I want to. I'm doing this because I feel like it's something I need to do."

Kim gave a nod of understanding. She knew that sometimes doing things because you felt like you needed to was the way to go.

"Just remember that I'm here for you, okay?"

Kim then gave Shego a gentle smile. Shego returned the smile, and felt herself relax. Knowing that Kim was there for her helped her to continue on with her story.

"I don't remember how long I was crying for, all I remember is stopping when I heard a voice. At first I thought it was an angel, it sounded so soft and gentle. A few seconds passed before the voice spoke again. This time I realized it was coming from the door. So, I crawled over, and that's when I saw her."

"Saw who?"

Kim knew she was supposed to wait to ask questions, but she couldn't help herself. However, Shego didn't seem to mind as she went on ahead and answered her question.

"Ayumi."

Kim couldn't help but notice the ghost of a smile that appeared on Shego's lips, and the look of sadness in her eyes.

"She was this little, Japanese girl about my age, and she had the most stunning baby blue eyes I had ever seen."

Shego smiled fondly, remembering Ayumi's beautiful eyes.

"She then asked me why I had been crying. I told her it was because I was scared and missed my family. She seemed to sympathize with me because I saw a look of sadness in her eyes."

Kim noticed a look of sadness in Shego's eyes, and she looked at her sympathetically.

"I wonder if Ayumi was taken from her family, like Shego was."

Kim thought. However, her question was answered once Shego continued her story.

"Ayumi then told me that everything would be okay. She then told me that Chiharu didn't mean me any harm, and that she just needed my blood for an experiment. What the experiment was exactly I'm not a hundred percent sure. All I know is that she had taken blood from Ayumi as well. I asked her why, and she said it was because she said that her blood was special. I figured that meant I had special blood too. I mean why else would Chiharu want it?"

Kim gave a nod of agreement.

"Anyway, Ayumi was about to tell me more, when a boy appeared behind her. He didn't look too happy, and told Ayumi to go back to her cell. She did as he said, but not before telling me we'd talk later. After she left the boy turned to me, and told me to stand up. I did as he said, and he then opened the door of my cell and handed me some clothes to put on. Once I finished getting dressed, he told me to follow him. He then took me out to a lavish rose garden."

Kim's eyes widened in shock. From the way Shego talked about being in a cell, she figured she was in some sort of prison. Last time she checked, prisons didn't have lavish rose gardens.

"Believe me, I made the same face you're making right now."

Shego said, noting Kim's shocked expression.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting you to mention a garden."

"That's not even the weird part."

"It's not?"

Shego shook her head.

"The weird part was that all of the roses were black, except for one. It was white and on a pedestal in the center of the garden. Hiroshi then brought me over to it, and told me to wait there while he went to fetch Chiharu and Ayumi."

Before Shego could continue with her story, Kim stopped her wanting to make sure she was understanding everything so far.

"Okay, before you continue let me make sure I'm understanding everything you've told me so far. You were kidnapped, I'm assuming by either Chiharu or Hiroshi, and they plan on using your and Ayumi's blood for something?"

"Yep. Now, shall I continue?"

"Please and thank you."

"Alright, so while I was standing in front of this rose I felt that strange feeling in my back again. This time it was a dull, burning ache. It actually kinda hurt, and seemed to be growing stronger the longer I stood in front of this rose. I was about to move away, when Hiroshi returned with the girls and said it was time to begin the ceremony."

"Ceremony?"

Shego nodded her head.

"Apparently Chiharu and Hiroshi wanted a chance at some great power that Ayumi and myself supposedly possessed, but in order to have that chance they needed our blood."

"What was this power?"

Kim asked.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly. All I know is that Chiharu and Hiroshi wanted to get their hands on it. So, to begin the ceremony Chiharu took the test tubes containing mine and Ayumi's blood, and poured the blood into the soil that the white rose was sitting in. The roots of the rose then began to take in the blood. Now, I was expecting the rose to turn some shade of red, but instead it turned black with swirls of blue and green in it. Then Chiharu and Hiroshi began reciting the incantation."

"What was the incantation?"

"Let me see if I can remember it."

Shego paused for a moment to think, then after a few moments began to recite the incantation.

"Oh great spirit with the darkest power, we call upon thee in this midnight hour. Come up our savior, from the depths of hell, and take these children's souls unbound."

At that moment, the lights flickered, and Kim and Shego both jumped.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it was just a coincidence."

Shego said. Kim agreed with her, but still scooted closer to her.

"Once the incantation had been spoken, this gray smoke came out of the rose and circled around Ayumi and myself. I was scared, and I think Ayumi could tell because she grabbed my hand and silently let me know that everything was going to be okay."

"It seems to me like you and Ayumi became close after just a short period of time."

"Well we didn't start dating many years later, but that's a story for another time."

Shego then continued with the story.

"As the smoke swirled around us, the pain in my back seemed to increase ten fold. Everyone else seemed to notice because they kept asking me what was wrong. I tried to answer, but the pain made it difficult to speak. Eventually the pain became so great that I ended up falling to my knees. Since I was holding Ayumi's hand, she came down with me. By this time I was crying, the pain was unbearable. While I was on my hands and knees crying I could hear Ayumi talking to Hiroshi and Chiharu, pleading with them to stop the ceremony. They refused though, saying it was unfair that Ayumi and I should be the ones with such great power. That we were too young to have such a gift bestowed upon us. It was pretty much a thing of jealousy. They wanted to be the ones with the power, and they were willing to do whatever it took to get it. Even if it meant killing a couple of four year olds."

Kim felt bad for Shego, how could people be so heartless? Not to mention the fact that Chiharu and Hiroshi were just kids themselves.

"She's been through so much. No wonder she's so strong."

Kim thought, finding her admiration for Shego growing.

"Geez, and here I thought you were the evil one."

"Well I'm the evil one now. Think about it, how many evil four year olds do you know?"

"You'd be surprised by some of the kids I've babysat in the past."

Kim said, shuddering at the memories. Shego couldn't help but laugh at Kim's reaction.

"Oh come on, I'm sure they weren't that bad."

"Trust me, they were bad. I still have nightmares about some of those little 'angels'."

Once again, Shego couldn't help but laugh.

"Isn't your motto, I can do anything? Shouldn't taking care of little tyrants be a piece of cake?"

"Yeah, it should've been. However, I was proven wrong many times."

"Is that so?"

"Unfortunately, yes. So, what happened next?"

Kim asked, referring to Shego's story.

"Well while I was on the ground, crying in pain, I could hear this voice inside my head speaking to me. The voice was a little scary to hear at first, but then it became almost comforting. The mysterious voice then instructed me to stand up, and to follow all of their instructions exactly. So, I stood up and awaited further instructions. I'll be honest though, standing wasn't easy, as my back was still killing me. The mysterious voice then told me that its name was Shinobu. Shinobu then instructed me to run and yank the rose out of its soil, and destroy it. Saying that destroying the rose would stop the spell, and stop mine and Ayumi's souls from being taken. So, gathering up my courage I made a mad dash for the rose, and just ripped it out of the soil. I guess it must've worked, because the smoke that had been swirling around Ayumi and myself earlier had disappeared, and Chiharu and Hiroshi looked beyond pissed at me. Not to mention the fact that the pain in my back was completely gone. I wasn't sure what to do next, so I just dropped the mangled rose, and took off running. That wasn't such a great idea though because I had no idea where I was, or where I was going. Luckily for me though, Ayumi saw me take off, and decided to follow after me. She then helped me find my way out of this labyrinth of a lair that Hiroshi and Chiharu had set up. Once we made it out of the lair, she pointed out the best path for me to take to get back home."

"Wait, you mean she wasn't gonna go with you?"

Shego shook her head.

"She said that she lived near where we were, and was going to head back home. She then told me not to be afraid, that I would be completely safe. I asked her how she knew, and that's when she showed me the helm of awe on her back."

"Wait, she has the symbol too?"

Shego nodded her head. She said she couldn't remember exactly when it appeared, but that ever since it did it's made her feel safe. She then told me that I had the symbol on my back too. And that she knew this because the pain I was feeling was a sign that the helm of awe was protecting me. Ayumi said she had felt the same pain I was feeling, but she had learned how to ignore the pain. I was surprised, but at the same time glad that I now knew why my back had been hurting."

"Did you ask her about Shinobu?"

Shego shook her head.

"I was going to, but I decided to keep it to myself. In a way though I figured she already knew about Shinobu. So, after saying our final goodbyes to each other, I headed down the path she had pointed out to me."

"Were you at all worried about having to leave Ayumi behind?"

"I was, but at the same time I also knew I would see her again someday."

"So, did you walk all the way home?"

"Nope. After walking for a while I got tired and decided to take a nap in some nearby bushes. When I woke up I was in my bed, with my family gathered around me. I'm not sure how I got there, but something was telling me that the helm of awe had something to do with it."

Kim and Shego then sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Anyway, that's my story. Sorry it took so long."

Kim just smiled at Shego.

"It's okay. Long story or not, I'm glad you told it to me. I do have one question though."

"What is it?"

"Where's Ayumi now? It's clear the two of you are no longer dating, so I was kinda just wondering what happened."

Kim noticed a look of sadness on Shego's face, and instantly regretted asking her question. However, before she could take it back Shego spoke.

"You're right, we are no longer dating. We broke up, and it was the toughest thing I've ever gone through."

Kim wanted to ask why they had broken up, but refrained from doing so. She could already see that Shego was upset, and she didn't want to upset her any further.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just curious."

"It's alright. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to. I wanted a life with Ayumi, but let's just say there were certain factors that prevented that from happening."

"If you could have another chance with Ayumi, would you take it?"

"No."

"Really, why not?"

"I think you already know the answer to that."

Shego then stood up, and walked out of the room. Leaving Kim to mull over what she had just said.

End of chapter 22: