"Ron? Wade? God, where are you guys. Anyone, answer me," she blurted out loud enough for someone to hear her within the next few lengths ahead of her. But not one person answered her call. She got more frightened the more that she was there.
And then, as she moved forward even more, she crossed over into some light, but it was then that she wished that she stayed in the dark. Around her stood Middelton, only it was in total ruin, and a medium-bright red hue overtook every building, every inch of crumbled ground, and every inch of sky. Kim Possible was deeply horrified at what she was seeing coming right out of that darkness she was previously in.
"Oh, my God," she said, starting to show worry for her town, as well as her friends and family, who she suspected were somewhere here, within this area. All that she could hope for was that, somehow, somewhere, they were still alive.
She looked about some of the rubble to her right. From what she saw, it was the remains of one of those small grocery stores that was family owned, although it had no use now. She tried to remove some of the rubble, and squinted to do so, but finally, after a few seconds, availed, and what she saw after that moving was nothing short of horrific. There lied her best friend, Ron Stoppable, only pinned in the rubble, the sight of him in that condition made a gasp escape her mouth. He was wearing a proverbial crimson mask, though many would identify that metaphor as blood covering his entire face. No breath was going in or coming out of his body, and, when she took his pulse, she felt only coldness on his skin, and no pulse at all. Obvious that Ron was dead, and, at that moment, Kim screamed bloody murder for her fallen friend. Afterwards, she turned to the sky.
"WHO DID THIS," she screamed to the best that her lungs could allow her to scream, and the loudest they would allow, to anyone that could hear her. "SHOW YOURSELF, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SH----!!"
"So, you haven't figured it out yet, have you, Kim Possible," said a very raspy sounding voice. However, what shocked KP at this point was that the voice, although a bit more raspy and sounding a lot more sinister, sounded exactly like her.
But the figure that appeared before Kim was the keeper. The figure looked EXACTLY like her. The black shirt and shoes, brown cargo pants, same color hair, eyes, all the facial features, all down to the same color socks that she wore. If it wasn't for the voice and her eyes getting somewhat devil red at timed intervals, anyone could swore that it was an exact duplicate clone or twin of KP.
"You're, you're ME," she exclaimed, not believing the sight that she had seen before her.
"No, you are inferior to me," said the clone, and
with that, she raised her hands, and a blazing blue ball started to form above
her head within her
hands.
"Did you DO this?"
"No, Kim Possible. YOU did this. Everything that you see, Kim, everything that happened here, is all your fault. You caused this, Kim."
"No, I did not, I would NEVER do anything like this. NEVER!!!!"
"You are still naive to what you're capable of, Kim, but you will soon know. Soon, you will realize, just how much you want me to wake up, in your soul, and when I do, you will never want me to leave. Oh yes, it will happen, and soon enough, Kim. Soon enough. See this blue aura? It will be the final blow you give to this pitiful Earth. One blast of this, and you will annihilate this entire planet. And most of all, the people won't have their precious Kim Possible to save them, because Kim Possible, will be the one, that will be annihilating them!"
"No, I will not. I enjoy helping others. I would never do something like that. NOTHING LIKE THIS!! GIVE RON BACK!! MY TOWN BACK!! GIVE ME MY LIFE BACK," Kim screamed, almost in tears now from what she was seeing and hearing from this doppelganger.
"Why? You don't need them, just like you don't need this
EARTH," the doppelganger shouted, and then, the next thing that Kim saw
was the
doppelganger shooting that blue aura to the ground. According to the doppelganger,
that blue aura would've destroyed the entire planet. Kim was in fear, not knowing
what to do, and, as that blue ball approached the ground, all Kim was witnessing
was a bright, white light, almost blinding her, and that aura was as close to
the ground as it could get when she got totally blinded by the light.
In her bed, pajama clad, she shot up from the dream to see that everything was fine in her Middelton home. Well, all except for her, who was sweating bullets, terrified by what she had just dreamt. She then looked on her pillow to see that the very same pillow that she was laying her head on was almost drenched completely in her sweat, giving her a firm indication of just how much in her dream she was, and just how frightened she was from that very dream. Breathing heavily, she knew that she had to get ready for school today, but that dream was just way too creepy to leave ignored, though she would have to wait until she saw someone in which she could talk to about the dream to say anything.
Therefore, she got dressed for school, which was a green mid-drift tank-top, black jeans, and white running shoes. Though she was ready like any normal day, something seemed missing. Even when she was doing her other morning rituals, she didn't feel like herself. After brushing her teeth and combing her hair, she looked in the mirror, staring at her reflection, wondering what that dream meant, if anything other than one crazy nightmare.
She has had nightmares before, as every person has had, even about stuff that has spooked her even after she woke up from it. But this seemed different. This one nightmare just spooked her like no other has done to her yet. Usually she stays pretty calm, even during nightmares, so anyone could imagine the worry that came over her when she woke up to find that she was scared to death at what she drempt about.
It was about a minute after her staring at her reflection that her mother, Mrs. Possible knocked on the door of the upstairs bathroom and shouted, "Kim, you alright? You've been in there longer than I remember you being in there!"
"I'm fine, mom," Kim responded, unsure as to whether she should've told her what was really going on.
"Are you sure," her mom continued. "If there's a problem, you can talk to me or your father."
"Thank you, mom, but I'll be fine. Just taking some extra time to make sure I'm ready today, that's all."
"Alright," her mom said, seemly getting her smile back, as she was letting it be known through her voice before Kim heard her mom's footsteps going back downstairs.
She just as quickly got her backpack and everything else put together, and headed out the door with only a, "bye mom and dad, see you after school," before leaving, without even getting any breakfast, in which she always did get, and what her folks had always made for her before she headed out the door.
When the door closed behind Kim, Mrs. Possible turned back towards her husband and said, "I'm worried about her. That was the first time that she has done anything like that. Just blow off her breakfast like that."
"That's teenagers these days," Mr. Possible said, attempting to read a newspaper while he was talking. "The older they get, the more complicated they become."
"Yes, but still, this is not like her."
"Don't worry about it. It's not like she is going to be the exact same way forever, you know," he responded before going back to his paper, leaving Mrs. Possible to have to do with only a sigh.
"HEY, KP, WAIT UP," said his cheery voice from behind her, and she was rather relieved to hear his voice, mainly because he was dead in her dream, and a quick smile took her over. Plus, he might have been the first one that she felt that she could tell about just what she was worried about. That dream she had.
"Hey, Ron," she said with excitement. "I didn't think you were going to make it."
"Oh, c'mon, KP, you know me better than that. I'm never late. Well, not THAT late, that is," Ron added, thinking about that comment that he made just a moment or so ago.
Kim, however, sighed and said, "no, Ron, that is not what I meant. I meant that....well...," she struggled to try to get out what she wanted to say there, because it was involving her dream that she had the night before. She really didn't know how to tell Ron about it, or if she should tell him about it at all. All she knew is that she was giving a signal to Ron that something was defiantly wrong with this picture, and Ron saw it almost immediately, and with knowing Kim all too well, he knew something wasn't right in her composure.
"KP, you ok? You don't look too well," he said, becoming a bit concerned now from seeing that Kim was very uncomfortable about something.
"Uhh YEAH, I'm fine," Kim responded, with a quick shake of the head, seeming to get herself back into the light, so to speak, and trying to put on a quick smile. "Just wasn't able to get to sleep as well as I thought I should have. Only about five hours or so, at best."
Ron was still worried, though. And although that was somewhat truthful, as Kim definitely wasn't getting the kind of sleep that she has been getting for a few days now, for reasons unknown even to her, it wasn't really what was bothering her, and Ron still knew that something else was going on that he was concerned about.
"Ehh no," he said, going around, looking at her face from as many angles as his head could allow. "With as much as I've known you, I should be aware of those things, and I don't see that much baggage in your eyes. But that bummed look. The look of being dumped. The look of being grounded. The look of chickens getting into your hair and ruining a good hair day, causing great anarchy across the world. Yep, I know that look." It was those comments, plus him going around and around her, trying to get a better look at his best friend's face, that got Kim's somber look into a confused one.
"Ron, what the hell are you talking about," she asked with a slight chuckle, the first legitimate one of her day, and a welcome one, at that.
"Actually, I have no idea," he responded, now thinking
about that comment. "It happened to me, though. A perfect day, the hair
all nice and good, and then someone had the release those damn mutant chickens,
and before you know it, I'm suddenly Don King or something." He was referring
to a recent mission, in fact their last mission, in which they stopped Monkey
Fist from creating a new 'partner' for himself, and genetically mutated chicken
of death which had the same ninja abilities as he had, and with some abnormal-looking
ooze-type blue liquid in which they have still to know what it was. Unfortunately
for Fist, it was a disaster, and all that happened was a bunch of failed mutant
chickens that, saying the very least, weren't very happy to be that way. Fist
tried to use them anyway, with the end result being him getting defeated by
the duo and being thrown in jail, and, of course, Ron's unfortunate mishap between
the chickens and the hair.
"Oh, don't remind me," Kim mentioned, getting reminded about that very
mission in which she would like to forget about, obviously.
"I'm telling you, KP, those mutant chickens rivaled those of a South Park Thanksgiving special. Those things were very, very creepy," he responded, them walking towards the door into the school building, Rufus going back into Ron's pants pocket, unwilling to be reminded of the mission's outcome any more than he had already, not even making a sound in his trek back.
Kim gave a smile to Ron's very quirky and interesting comparison, when, suddenly, from seemly out of nowhere, a voice started to echo in her head. "This isn't just a dream, Kimmy. I'm as real as they get," it said, and Kim recognized that voice. The very same voice that the doppelganger had in her dream, and as soon as Kim heard that, she stopped, seemly on a dime, startled and now frightened by what she was hearing. To top it all off, it seemed as if only Kim was able to hear it, as everyone who was walking past her and around her didn't even take a glance, or try to listen in to anything, or even be startled that the voice even spoke from within her head.
It continued, "You think you just had a bad dream, did
you, Kim? But it's real. I'm here. Inside of you, waiting patiently for your
call. You will find
out soon enough. You will soon be aware of how much you starve for your true
power to be revealed, and what you desire, what you crave for. True, unstoppable,
and irresistible power, all yours to have all that you've ever want. And all
you have to do, is to release me. Give me the freedom you know you want to give
me."
Kim was seemly in a daze, unsure as to what exactly she should do next, and how should she do it. All she knew right now was that she had wished that this entity, whatever or whoever it was, would leave her alone. It was then that Ron stopped, realizing that his friend wasn't walking alongside him anymore, and looked back to see Kim's face, which more than told the story of her just plain drifting off into space, figuratively speaking.
"KP, you alright," Ron said, going back to her to try to get her to come to. "Say something, KP. Anything." After about ten full seconds of nothing but silence from her, he really started to get concerned. "KIM," he yelled, and at that moment, he saw Kim rigorously shake her head, which meant to him that she heard him, at least for the moment.
"Sorry about that," she answered. "I told you
I didn't get that much sleep last night." This time, Ron didn't respond,
but just nodded his head, not
wanting to pursue the matter any further, at least for the moment, and they
headed into the school building.
Shego was right in the fact that she was in a volcano in an uncharted island territory off the East Coast of South America. The only problem is, she didn't have any means of knowing why her partner, Dr. Drakken, decided to put a makeshift lair inside of the mouth of the volcano, and drag her along. That and the fact that she wasn't told of just what evil scheme the doctor had planned this time. She was in a room in the lair, an office-cubical type space, with a rolling and reclining, padded office-type chair, and a chestnut-wood office desk to boot. She saw only red hue on the inner walls of the volcano. She wasn't sweating from the heat within the volcano, partially because Drakken had installed, with surprisingly successful results, cooling devices in the lair to make sure that the temperature wasn't uncomfortable, although how he got by without those devices causing whatever the worst of them breaking down would be, even breaking down to begin with, was a marvel to her. A metal, grated floor completed the lair's look, and although it wasn't a luxury suite, it was livable, at least for the time being. The volcano itself was a strange case, as no one exactly knew it even existed, much less knowing if it was active or not. Since it was uncharted, and no one had witnessed or known of whether or not it had blown its lava, they figured it was inactive, but they also took caution, since anything was indeed possible.
"No, I have not figured out what Drakken wants to do in here. And we don't know if this thing is even active, which is very unsettling," she said into her small and compact cell phone to whoever she was talking to on the other line. Pacing back and forth in her office room, Shego was looking out the door that led into the main room, when she saw Drakken doing something to, well, something, although she couldn't make out what it exactly was that was going on. And when she peered further towards that room, her confusion and curiosity was now full circle, and she had to find out what it was that he was exactly trying to do, since he was attempting to point a huge, fifty foot satellite straight towards the sky, and she knew that where he was pointing wasn't going to be helping much of anything, if at all.
"Can I call you back? I have to check something....uh huh, he's doing yet something else really weird. I really think he's off the deep end this time....all right, I'll talk to you again...uh huh, bye," and she pressed the end talk button on the cell, and went into the other room.
The main room was the same as the room Shego came out of, but with a few changes to the structure and furniture that was in there. In the center of the room sat the said massive satellite that was towering over the entire lair to seemly shoot something from it rather than receive a transmission, audio, or visual signal, and guard rails to make certain that no one would accidentally fall into the lava. Except for one part of it, which housed a ladder instead which went to a lower, bare platform, for an unknown purpose. But not only was that platform there for unknown reason, but so was basically the entire lair, the entire reason for being there, and now Drakken pointing that satellite at the sky.
"Drakken, I have something to ask you," Shego asked, coming into the room.
"Not now, Shego, I'm rather busy," said the proverbial demented doctor.
"With what? You haven't told a single soul what it is that you're trying to do here in the first place, and now I'm seeing you point that damn thing up to the sky, God knows what for. Do you really expect me to think that you haven't finally gone cuckoo after this stunt?"
"For your information, Shego, I have not gone cuckoo. This is my latest plan for world conquest."
"Yeah, and just what the hell are you doing about world conquest sitting inside a volcano, not knowing if it's inactive or able to blow us all straight into Hell in a second?"
"I saw the lava bubbling non-stop since we got here, and if that tells me anything, it is that this volcano is indeed active, no doubt," Drakken said.
"That's nice," Shego groaned, "and we're inside an active volcano, why?"
"The reason for this satellite. When the sun beams down on this bad boy, it will warm up the receiver of the satellite, which is connected to a rod that goes all the way down into the lava. And, when it heats up enough, the amount of heat generated being helped out by the power of currents from the rods electrical power, will get this lava boiling so much, that when this baby finally erupts, it will not only erupt onto this island, but to other areas of the world."
Shego was surprised that so much thought was put into this plan, and yet she felt like she was the last to know about it, though she said nothing about her feelings about the latter to him. "So basically, you want to turn this entire world into one big lava pit, is that right?"
"You catch on quick, Shego. Now, if you don't mind, I'm rather busy," he said as he waved her off. "The sun is about to pass over soon, and I need total concentration to get this thing ready in time."
"Sure, I'll let you do your deeds. Just be sure to let me know when we'll all be burned to a damn crisp, so I'll be ready," she said, in a smart-aleck tone before going back to her office space-style room.
"Yes," he began to say to himself, "soon, this entire world will be for the taking. They will be so scared of the lava ruining their cities and towns that they will beg for my mercy. This will be so delicious." He then continued to work on his plan.
"Kim, am I ever glad to be able to reach you right now."
"Go Wade, what's going on?"
"I have been getting some really weird readings from a spot in the ocean, somewhere near the eastern seaboard of South America. I have no clue where it is exactly. The computer can't really figure this out, having trouble pinpointing the exact location of this thing."
"Do you have an idea what it is?"
"I don't have a single clue what's going on, but from what it's picking up so far, whatever it is, it's massive. Which is why I called you about it? I've never seen anything like this before in my life. Here, let me show you exactly what I'm talking about."
With that, Wade brought up what he was seeing on his end onto Kim's screen. there was a cursor, seemly like a cross hair, trying to locate something on the mentioned seaboard, and a combination of the sensors going crazy when searching that same area.
"What the hell," Kim said, shocked, because she never saw anything like that before in her life, either. Never in her missions had anything sent that kind of reading.
"My sentiments exactly," he responded. "I'm going to be digging further into this, but you have to understand, with this caliber of a reading, God knows what I'm going to turn up, and this could be a very deadly element this is picking up. If I don't get anything within, say, the next 24 hours, you're going to have to go there and find out for yourself. I have a very bad feeling about this whole thing."
"Me too, Wade. Keep in touch."
"Will do," Wade responded before termination.
"I suppose the boy genius couldn't explain why you were late to the cheerleading practice today," said a raspy voice coming from the other side of the now open locker door.
"Now what," Kim groaned, and when she closed it, she found no other than Bonnie Rockwiller behind that metal door, giving her a hard time, as usual.
"Me, Kim, THAT'S what, or should I say, WHO!! Care to explain that to me, eh?"
Kim was late, but it was because she wasn't paying attention to where she was going due to her worrying about the dream she had the night before, and what she experienced while talking to Ron earlier, and ended up heading in the wrong direction. She had yet to say anything to anyone about what she was worried about, or that voice inside of her head, but now she was in a precarious position, since Bonnie was calling her out to give reason for her tardiness.
"Not right now, Bonnie. I have alot to worry about, and--!"
Suddenly, though, that very voice, the voice of the doppelganger, became vocal again. "Tell her, KP, tell her how you really feel about her," it said, and as soon as she said that, her eyes almost bugged out, and she gasped in shock. "You hate her, you want her to go away. Or, better yet, why don't you try to give her a slight push. Give her a physical message that you're no longer going to put up with her shit."
"What's a matter," Bonnie continued, "you just found out about people being upset about you being late--!"
"Can't talk, have to run, SEE YA," Kim said before running out of that area, Bonnie folding her arms on her chest in disgust of her sudden leave and turning her back towards Kim's former position.
"Well now, I see she doesn't want to answer. Oh well, I guess she'll have to face the wrath of Bonnie tomorrow," she said, but then, she turned her head back to where Kim once was. "Weird, though. I never seen her that late before. In a small way, I kind of---feel a bit concerned. Don't know if I should. She's been acting weird all damn day." After saying that to herself, she slapped herself on the head. "No, what are you thinking, Bonnie? This is Kim Possible you're talking about, the one girl who never can be figured out. Why are you worrying over her?" She then went back to where she was before.
"This cannot be happening. First the dream, then two times that voice, in my head again. And now, that second time, it wants me to start causing physical pain to someone that I'd rather think of it not being worth it. God, this has been a horrible day," she said to herself while splashing the water into her face at time intervals. She then looked into the mirror right above the sink. "Come on, Kim, you're not going crazy. You're just freaked out, hearing things because of a dream you had. A creepy dream. It's so not the drama, Kim--."
It was at that moment that she saw the reflection suddenly having red eyes to itself, and suddenly taking on a life of it's own, and, at immediate eye contact with that image, she gasped and took a step back from it, but the reflecting didn't move with her.
"MOTHER OF GOD, WHAT THE HELL," she yelled, that red eyed reflection just staring back at her.
"It's me, Kim. You're true nature. I'm the Kim Possible you've been waiting to let go. I'm the KP you've been trying to suppress, to keep in. You have done a good job doing it so far, but it won't be long now. I've been waiting to come out, Kim. There's nothing you can do to stop me," it said, only now, with every few passing words, her voice gradually sounded more and more exactly like Kim's.
"No. I don't know what you are, or what your trying to do to me, but it won't work. I'm not like that. Just leave me alone," KP said, trying to subside this reflective demon of her's.
"That isn't an option, Kim. And you want to know why I can't do that, Kim? Because I'm a part of your soul. I'm you, KP. I'm what you've been trying to deny that you hold. You've been waiting for the day, when you could have the courage to tell someone no. To help themselves. To screw them and have them give something back to you. You could've seen just how good that would've felt back there with that measly little bitch, Bonnie. You could still be able to feel it. To enjoy it. You will be unlocking me, Kim, there's no point in trying to hold back. Everyone has their dark side, Kim, and I'm yours, and you will soon see, Kim."
Kim shook her head as fast as she could, and then started to shout, "NO, I am NOT like that. I love helping others, I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't have that opportunity to help out the people that need me. I would never do that to anyone, even to Bonnie. I would never do anything like that. And you're never going to make me do anything I don't want to do. Just get out of my head. PLEASE!!"
With that, the reflection started to shout, as well, "It is futile to try to stop it, Kim! It is extremely worthless! I can see it in your eyes! The frustration, the anger within you. Like a fire, like a bomb waiting to go off at any moment! I'm here to guide you, Kimmy! I'm here to give you total freedom! Go ahead, show me your anger, Kim! Show me the side of you I know you have in you!"
"No! Just get out of here, leave me alone, don't come back," Kim shouted once again, this time her voice somewhat trembling, something that she hadn't ever had in her voice in her life, and, if the doppelganger looked closely, her hands were clenching into fists, and a close eye would be able to see that her hands were shaking a bit.
"NO, KIM," the doppelganger yelled, "I WON'T!! I'M A PART OF YOU, KIM!! YOU WILL NEVER GET RID OF ME!! YOU ARE A ROARING BLAZE OF ANGER, OF HATRED, AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IT YET!!"
"NO, I COULD NEVER HATE ANYONE!! GO AWAY, DAMN IT," Kim yelled, not yet realizing how much patience she was losing, and not realizing how loud she was getting from her shouts towards the reflection that was now talking to her.
"YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET AWAY FROM ME!! YOU CAN'T FIGHT SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE, KP!! I'M YOUR SAVIOR!! I'M YOUR SAVING GRACE, AND I WILL BE YOUR GUIDE TO THE REAL YOU!!"
"I'LL ASK ONCE MORE TO LEAVE ME ALONE, AND GO AWAY!!"
"YOU'RE CONTINUING TO LIVE IN DENIAL!! IT WILL COME SOON ENOUGH!! YOUR ANGER IS FUMING!! HELL, I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU GO OFF AND LET YOUR ANGER OUT ON RON, YOUR FRIENDS, HELL, EVEN YOUR OWN FAMILY!!"
That was it for her. Bringing her family and friends into this was more than she could bear.
"How dare you," she trembled, eyes narrowing. "Ron's the nicest person I've known, I'm thankful for my friends, and my family means the world to me. You dare to even fathom the idea that I would ever hurt them? You really are as dumb as you sound."
"Oh, c'mon, even you have to admit that you would give them what for. And who knows, maybe a lesson in an old fashioned manner is what they need, and if you make them bleed, kill them, then so be it. What they deserve, I would think."
"NO, I'D NEVER HURT THEM!! SHUT UP!! JUST SHUT UP," Kim yelled, her whole body starting to tremble.
"YES YOU WOULD, KP, BECAUSE I'M YOU!! I'M THE PART OF YOU THAT WANTS IT TO HAPPEN!! FACE IT, KIM, IT'S HAPPENING!! IT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!! YOU WILL JUST DELAY THE INEVITABLE!!" And then, the doppelganger screamed, "GO AHEAD, KP, YOUR INNER FIRE OF PURE ANGER AND HATRED IS BURNING!! YOU CAN'T HELP IT!! ADMIT IT, YOU LIKE IT!! DON'T TRY TO FIGHT IT!! ACCEPT IT!!"
Kim had enough, and, with the best her voice could allow her, she screamed bloody murder, "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!!" And, as she screamed that, the scream having the capacity to be heard all across Middelton, she pulled back her fist and hit the mirror, as hard as she could with that very same fist, the mirror absolutely shattering into about a thousand pieces. Needless to say, the reflective doppelganger was gone following that action.
However, the moment she heard that mirror glass shatter into multiple pieces, she suddenly became aware of what she just did, and what had just happened to her. Her fist froze where she made contact with the mirror for a few seconds, and the only sounds that could be heard in that washroom was her deep breaths, unsure as to what to do or even think. Her eyes suddenly became bugged-shot. Her body froze like that for the next two seconds or so, as she basically got shocked and frightened at what those last few seconds of the doppelganger encounter brought out in her. She withdrew her fist from the contact spot a few seconds afterwards, and gave a stare towards that very fist, which now had a few cuts to its name via the mirror shards, the pain from the cuts not withstanding her shock, as she was still with those heavy breaths of fear. She then looked at the wall in which the mirror once was, and, needless to say, there was little to no mirror there anymore. Only its shattered remains, and after she saw what she did to the mirror, she could only look straight at the damage she caused in disbelief.
She continued to look in that direction for a few seconds, until the Kimmunicator tone went off. She was so zoned-out from the incident and the initial shock of what took place that she didn't hear it go off at all. After a few seconds afterwards, it went off again, and another time, and, on the third time, she heard the beep, and slowly took out her mobile communication device and turned it on. Wade was at the other end, oblivious to what had just occurred moments prior to his intrusion.
"I've got some more information on that disturbance that I was picking up. It seems that it's some sort of--," Wade was going to mention the rest of his findings when he noticed that Kim's eyes were in a daze, and it only took that for him to immediately show concern, as she always paid attention to him when he was talking.
"Kim, something wrong," he said with a grave concern in his voice. Kim did respond, albeit slowly.
"I--I don't know. I really don't know," she responded, softly and slowly. "Wade, I'm sorry. I need to call you back, something's---something's wrong."
"With what," Wade asked, with that concern growing now, because, as she always paid attention to him, she, even moreso, absolutely refused to end a call before he was finished with what he wanted to say. "What do you mean, something's wrong? Something's wrong with what?"
"----With me," Kim said, looking back at the place where that mirror once was before she punched a proverbial hole though it, still in disbelief at what she just did.
"What? What are you talking about, Kim? Something wrong with you?"
"I--I can't talk about it right now, Wade. I---I'll let you know later. I--I'm sorry," she said before turning the device off and letting it rest within her pocket. Afterwards, she started to head out of the restroom, all the while a little freaked out by the whole incident, and exited the room, heading home.
Once she got in there, she threw her book bag to the floor without any care as to where it ended up, and sat down near the foot of her bed, and once again took a look at that cut up hand that she used as a fist to punch the mirror into many shards of glass.
"What---happened to me," she asked herself quietly. "I never felt like that before. Never that kind of hatred for anyone. I didn't know I could get that angry at anyone before. Even by myself, at myself. I felt---."
She then thought about what the proverbial evil reflection said about her anger wanting to come out and continued to think out loud to herself, "---felt the exact same way she said I was trying to suppress. Oh, my God. What if---what if she was RIGHT!!"
Here I stand before myself
I see something's out of place
You tasted all my purity
Now there's nothing left to waste
She stood up and looked to her dresser, in which sat a few framed pictures. The left side housed a picture of her and Ron, smiling for the camera. The right side was a same style picture of her and her family. She stared at those pictures, starting to feel a quaint worry overtake her.
The feeling gets so in my way
It's getting lost in my delivery
The feeling gets so in my way
I'm getting lost in your periphery
"I would never hurt you guys. Not now, not ever," she said as she was looking at those pictures. "No matter how angry I get, no matter how upset I become, I would never allow for my anger to take it that far."
And you sold me up the river again
(I don't want to be your friend)
And you made me start it over again
(I don't want to be open)
You moved me, ensued me, you fought me
(I don't want to be open)
And you left me wondering what the hell
What is wrong with me?
She then took a look into her room mirror, hopeful that she wouldn't see that red eyed reflection once more. She wanted to make sure that she knew exactly who she was, or at least knew who she should be.
"I can't let this thing even think of controlling me. It's the only way to keep my sanity. The only way to keep my friends, my family safe," she said.
I never felt like I had felt
Until the day you came undone
I never felt like I was lost
Until the day you killed me again
She looked a bit more in the mirror, but then turned quickly away from it, afraid that she was going to see the evil image once again. "But how can I stop something that I have no clue of what it is, or how to stop it. I just don't know."
The feeling gets so in my way
It's getting lost in my delivery
The feeling gets so in my way
I'm getting lost in your periphery
"I don't want to tell anyone about this. It's something I need to deal with. All I have to do is to just control my emotions. And to stop that damn thing from doing what it wants to do to me."
And you
sold me up the river again
(I don't want to be your friend)
And you made me start it over again
(I don't want to be open)
You moved me, ensued me, you fought me
(I don't want to be open)
And you left me wondering what the hell
What is wrong with me?
"And if that thing tries to, I will fight it. Fight it in any way I possibly can. It all seems too confusing, though."
Are you stronger
For cutting me open
Are you stronger
For leaving me broken
As she was talking to herself, the phone began to ring, although she was too much in thought to be able to hear it. She was too worried about what was going on from within that she wasn't hearing anything else but her thoughts.
And
you sold me up the river again
(I don't want to be your friend)
And you made me start it over again
(I don't want to be open)
You moved me, ensued me, you fought me
(I don't want to be open)
And you left me wondering what the hell
What is wrong with me?
She, though, after about ten seconds or so, finally heard the phone, and she shaked her head hard to try to get her mind back to Earth, and threw herself to the phone and picked up the receiver.
"Hello," she said into the phone.
"KP, what's up," said Ron on the other end, and it was that voice that made Kim feel somewhat at ease. "I tried to find you after school, and I couldn't find you anywhere. Had me worried there."
"I'm sorry, Ron. Just that I had to rush home right away for something after school. I forgot my money, that's all," she said, trying to find some type of way to cover up what her real reason was quickly.
"Hmm---you know, you should really be careful about all of this. It's not like you to be this forgetful. First you forget to sleep, and then all this now about your money being lost. You're starting to sound like me forgetting anything and everything."
"I didn't forget to go to sleep. I told you I couldn't go to sleep."
"Hey, it's the same thing to me. You did find the money, though, right?"
"Well, yeah, I did find it," she said with a nervous laugh. "It's the sleep deperivation getting to me. I don't usually forget it."
"Hey, don't worry about it. But tonight, you get some sleep, alright? Take it from me, sleep is good. A lot of sleep, if you ask me."
"Alright, I'll try to get some sleep tonight. But I got my money now. The usual place?"
"Yeah, sounds good. I'll see you there," Kim said before both of them said their goodbyes and hung up the phone, them going to Bueno Nacho as their 'usual place.' However, as she didn't know how the inner demon within her was going to come back, even less for how long or when, she was rather nervous to go anywhere. But she didn't want to let her best friend down in any way. She could only hope and pray that whatever it was got the message back in the girls' room.
While he was doing that, Shego, once more in the other room that she had for herself inside the volcano, was staring down beneath her feet, at the lava down under the ground. She could witness the bubbling through the grating holes, and it made her more uneasy than it had done to her before. If this volcano was active, as Drakken suggested, then who knew when the volcano would erupt, or what they could do before an eruption of any strength? The ash that the volcano could spew out could be enough for them to be killed in there. However, Shego only voiced her concerns about Drakken being able to pull the plan off, and not at all about what dangers faced them if they were to stay to even attempt such a plan.
She suddenly heard Drakken yell out a very excited, "YES" in the main room, and it caught her attention to what was going on in there. As she made her way into the main room, she saw Drakken come down from a stepladder and with a big smile on his face. He was successful in getting everything ready to go for the final step, which was turning on the contraption and putting it into motion.
"So, you finally are able to keep something of yours from going haywire, Drakken. I'm actually quite surprised. Nothing in here has stopped working yet," Shego told.
"Heh, this all is nothing compared to what you are about to see. Within a matter of moments, the switch will go on, and all of the Earth will suffer in a sea of lava. They will succumb to my ever command once they know that they can be saved from this volcano's lava by obeying me."
"Yeah, I'm happy for you, in a way," Shego said, getting a bit quieter when she was saying that. She ended her statement by once again looking at the boiling lava beneath her feet, showing visual concern for their own health and well being in that dungeon, although Drakken was still oblivious to her concerns, as he was staring at the massive satallite.
"And no one will be able to stop me from my grand plan to take over the world. Not even that damned Kim Possible. Once and for all, this entire planet shall bow to me," Drakken shouted before going into a maniacal laugh.
Shego, still looking at that lava under her, could only think to herself, 'that's actually what I'm afraid of. If we can't get out of here if and when he fails this, no one will be able to save us...not even her.'
Drakken, pausing for a moment in his laughter, turned to see Shego just stare down at the lava, her face filled with that concern, as he didn't know what for.
"Shego," he asked, "what's up? Why are you looking down at that lava?"
Shego, caught off guard, could only look up, give a nervous laugh and grin, and answered, "Eh, nothing. Just looking at it. Thinking about how much of this will actually be spewed beyond this island and the water to the other lands. This is some plan you are doing."
If Drakken knew that she was lying, which she was, he didn't show nor push on it any further, since he only turned back to his creation. "Yes, this is the biggest scale plan I've made yet. And this will be the final plan, because this will be the one that finally works."
'I hope it does, for both of our sakes,' she thought.
"Oh, hi Kim, I'm glad you called back. I was getting worried about you," Wade said.
"I'm alright," she responded. "I was just getting sleep deprived, was getting drowzy and getting some weirdness hallucinations in my head. Needed a few moments to rest, that's all." Kim was halfway lying to Wade, but also halfway trying to denying to herself that the figure that she had been seeing for some time during the day was actually real. "So, what's the sitch?"
"Heh, glad to hear that line come out of you. Shows that things are alright for now," he mentioned, making reference to Kim's now coined catch phrases. "Unfortunatly, I cannot say the same about what I found. The radar was finally able to get something on what's been causing the disturbances, but it's weird. It's showing the ocean, but nothing else to where it is. It's insisting it's in the ocean."
"It's not too weird, right? I mean, it could be something within the water. So we have to swim to get to whatever is causing it. No big."
"Well, I wouldn't be so puzzled if the thing didn't also keep insisting that it was a volcano."
That was what got Kim off guard. A volcano in the middle of an ocean, where there was absolutly no land there was enough to get Kim puzzled, as well. What made matters even more difficult to disprove was that Wade punched up the image on the radar screen of his onto her Kimmunicator, and it only proved that either the radar had finally begun seeing better days, or there was something there that even the radar had a hard time figuring out what exactly it was trying to find.
"A volcano in the water, perhaps," Kim questioned, knowing that that would be the only possible explination for what she was seeing on the radar.
"Don't know for sure about that, because that's where the disturbances are, and from what I can understand, the magnitude of these readings from this area, tells me that if this is indeed a volcano, then it was active and getting somewhat close to eruption. And it's nowhere near the famed Ring of Fire," he answered, making reference to a ring of active underwater volcanoes that got its name in self-explanitory reasons. The Ring of Fire was in the Pacific Ocean, while their subject was in the Alantic, which was the reason for Wade not considering that possibility.
"Are you saying that the thing is on land?"
"Uncharted. That would be the only other explination. A landlocked volcano ready to erupt. But that still doesn't explain why the radar viewed it as a imminent threat to everyone. I wouldn't believe for the island to be inhabited because of it being uncharted, so no people are in danger on the island."
"Keep checking it as much as you can, Wade, please? The radar is usually right, so I'm sure something is fishy about it."
"Already on it, Kim. I'll see what I can get, but I have to be honest with you, I don't know what to make on this, or if this radar can give us anything else on this volcano, if it is even that. I'll let you know if something comes up. In the meantime, you try to get some rest tonight, ok? Don't want the world's best crimefighter to be without her much-deserved sleep," he said with a grin.
"Thanks, Wade," she answered with a smile and a little chuckle. "See ya."
"You too, Kim," Wade ended before the transmission went down.
It was when she ended her conversation that she had reached the Bueno Nacho. She now had two things to worry about as she made her way into the resturant. The volcano that Wade's usually trusty radar picked up, but also the entity that was within her that she was trying to not only deny exsisted, but to try to hide from everyone else that she was experiencing these what she tried to convice herself were nothing more than mental relapses.
"KP, glad you could make it," he mentioned as she was sitting down to the table. "I don't know how in the world you were able to not sleep. our street is usually dead quiet."
"It's because you sleep like the dead. Nothing can ever wake you up. It's getting harder for me to go to sleep lately."
"Hmm, I'm not sure if I can agree on that. You're usually Sleeping Beauty waiting to be kissed by that Prince Charming to be woken up. I know you, I've tried to wake you up before your time. It's impossible. IMPOSSIBLE!"
Kim would've laughed at that comment, but for some reason, she suddenly got a little angry at it, though she tried not to show it, and continued to eat. On any other day, she would've laughed at comments that made fun of her more than that. She was prone to being able to laugh at herself. But this time was different, and she didn't know why it was happening.
"You haven't been there when I couldn't sleep, that's all. I'm telling you, sleep is hard to come by," she said, not letting her little inner fire spark up more than it already had.
"Not for me, it isn't. I would sleep all day if I really could, and wanted to."
It was then that Kim suddenly got an urge to ask Ron a question that if it wasn't for this sudden burst of anger, she would've never even pathomed to ask him.
"So tell me, Ron, why didn't you wait for me before you went to eat, huh," she asked, and that caught Ron off guard, since he did that many times to no wonder of Kim's.
"I didn't think you were going to show up, thought you were going back to sleep, even, so I just got something to eat. I couldn't take my hunger anymore."
"Oh, so you're own hunger is more important than your best friend, right," she asked, a little louder. If Ron wasn't puzzled by her last question, he definitly was now. Not waiting for Kim before he ate he could've understood, but this was the questioning of how he valued their friendship, which everyone, especailly Kim and him, knew that he never would've intentionally do something to endanger their friendship. But that question really got Ron off guard.
"Now Kim, wait a minute. This went from me not waiting for you before I ate to suddenly questioning me putting our friendship first. You know I would never do anything to try to hurt you."
"No, YOU wait a minute, Ron. That was extremly cruel of you to go and do," she answered back, her raising her voice even more. The scariest element of this outburst was that Kim was oblivious to stopping her statements, how she was saying them, or even what she was feeling. It seemed that the anger that the entity had talked about was coming out within Kim, and Kim had no idea that it was even happening, or could even stop it. But she did continue on, "And, for your information, I have no trouble with my damn sleep, alright! I told you five times that I couldn't sleep last night, and you should just shut up about it! I couldn't sleep, that's all there is to it!"
"Kim," Ron answered, becoming more worried by the minute at Kim's sudden mood swing, "calm down. I never meant to..."
"To do what, Ron, huh?! To put something important to you over our friendship?! To make a rude comment to me about how I sleep?! I'm surprised that I even came here, you should be so lucky I came here! And now I'm wishing that I never did come, because all I get from you is you not waiting for me, and some nasty comments!"
"Kim, stop this," Ron shouted, their voices now catching the attention of a few others in the store. Ron was seeing them turn to see what this was all about, but Kim looked like she was either not knowing about it or could care less what they saw or heard.
"No, you little asshole, I won't stop, and you know why?! BECAUSE YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A DAMN PRICK!!"
As she said her last line, her fist came down and slammed on the table, her now standing up, trembling with anger. However, once she slammed her fist on the table, she suddenly froze dead still, and looked down on the table to see her fist, as if she had just woken up from a trance. After a few seconds, she looked at Ron, her best friend, now scared of her, and then at the patrons of the Bueno Nacho, both in line and in their seats. Everything froze to a standstill, and all other sounds ceased, making her sudden breaths the only sound being heard. She had then discovered what she just said to him during that entire time, as if she was knowing of her lines, but powerless to do anything about it until that wake-up call that was her fist on the table.
About ten seconds passed before Kim uddered her next words, which was a whispering, "Ron, I'm sorry. Excuse me, just a minute," before getting out of that booth and getting to the restroom in haste.
The mirror image didn't, but the voice did.
"See what I told you," it said. "The anger you have. That was only the beginning. It felt good, did it? He really was a prick."
"No, you monster," she trembled. "I hate myself for it. He's my best friend, and it's because of you that I said all that."
"Kim, you didn't get any help from me, I'm afraid. That was all you back there. I'm surprised that you were suddenly jumping gears the way you did. Face it, Kim, you really do thing all of that about Ron was true. He is not a true friend to you."
"You sick freak. I told you he's the nicest guy I know. I care alot about him. I would never in my life question his friendship to me, and you know it. I would do anything for him, how dare you."
"You just now questioned it, Kim. Didn't you hear yourself ask him if his measly hunger was more important to him than your friendship."
"Because you pushed me to SAY it!"
"NO, I DIDN'T," it screamed, "THAT WAS ALL YOU SAYING THAT!! DON'T YOU GET IT YET, KIM!! YOU'RE THE REASON WHY I'M HERE!! ALL THIS ANGER YOU DON'T WANT ANYONE SEEING, WHEN YOU'RE HURTING YOURSELF TO SHOW IT!! I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU HIDE IT ANYMORE!! ALL I'M DOING IS TO LET YOU SEE!! NOTHING MORE!! YOU'LL BE THE ONE THE EXPRESS IT!! AND RON, WELL, HE DESERVED EVERYTHING HE GOT!! HELL, I THINK YOU'LL BE GOING OUT THERE AND PUNCHING HIM NEXT INSTEAD OF A WALL OR A TABLE!! MAKING HIS FACE BLOODY WOULD BE THE BEST THING FOR YOU, WOULD IT?!!
"NO, SHUT UP!! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!! JUST SHUT UP," Kim screamed back.
It was then that he heard a screaming voice, as well as everyone else, from the restroom.
"NO, SHUT UP!! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!! JUST SHUT UP," the muffled voice shouted, and Ron knew immediatly who it was. Almost immediatly after he heard that voice, he forgot all about what the owner of that scream said to him and worried once more.
"KIM!!!!!!"
To be continued...
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