Black Hole, Black Soul

Chapter 6 REVISED Version

(Cos the other version was rushed and ended up sucking)

After Shego's temporary fit of Tourette's passed, she hoisted Ron securely against her and backpedalled out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She walked him over to the emperor sized bed (a super king size just wasn't large enough for her taste) and lowered him gently onto the mattress. She lifted his legs onto the bed, wrapped a sheet around him and made sure he wouldn't roll off.

Smiling at the unconscious blonde, she bent down and brushed the hair away from his forehead.

"You really are a tease, you know that!" she scolded him fondly.

Sighing, she turned and returned to the bathroom. She stepped inside the large shower, set the temperature to her liking and stripped off the remainder of her bikini, tossing it skilfully onto the towel railing.

The shower head sent cascading drops like a light rain above her head, while small pulses of liquid emitted from the walls of the shower and massaged the overused and often underappreciated musculature. Shego leant one arm against the shower wall and let the reassuring warmth run down the length of her body for five whole minutes.

As the weight of what they now faced loomed over her, she felt her body tense and her anger grow.

"Dammit Ron, I really could use your help relaxing right now!" she growled, curling her fist and smashing it against the shower wall.

She pulled her fist back for another round, but Akira's gentle chime interrupted and she stopped mid‑punch.

"Miss Go, uniforms will be arriving in fifteen minutes" Akira politely told her.

"Thank you Akira" Shego sighed, brushing wet strands of hair out of her vision as she reached toward the shampoo and conditioner dispenser.

A small amount of thick gel plopped into her palm and she worked it into her hair, massaging it into her scalp and through the entire length of each lock. Leaving it in for the requisite five minute wait, she put her hand in front of the soap dispenser and a lavender scented glob spiralled down into her hand. After soaping her entire body, she grabbed a loofah from a shower shelf and began scrubbing away the film from the lake water.

She rinsed the shampoo/conditioner combo out and cranked the shower spray for one last blast of hot water, before turning it off. Stepping onto the mat, she gingerly moved her bikini top aside and grabbed one of the extra fluffy towels off the heating rack. Wrapping the large towel around her body, she checked her features in the bathroom mirror, noticing the small dark circle under each eye.

"Shards, those blue-skinned bastards certainly have a thing for timing!" Shego commented as she pulled out her hairdryer.

"Exactly one year to the day Miss Go" Akira confirmed for her mistress.

Shego turned the hair dryer on and as the heat began to steam up the mirror, memories began to surface, crawling around the edges of her mind like rats scuttling amongst the shadows of a death cell.

"Ron! Get up, there's a second wave coming! RON!" Shego screamed, the vision in one eye clouding as dark red dripped down her face, courtesy of a two inch gash on her forehead.

One arm hung limply, her shoulder dislocated from hitting the ground after a huge blast hit their group, sending them flying in two different directions. The other arm dragged Drakken's body behind her as she stumbled toward the soporific blonde.

Shego landed heavily against Ron, using his body to steady herself. He ignored her, refusing to turn from the person he loved most in the entire world. Shego bumped him roughly with her shoulder, yelling at him to grab Kimmy and get moving, but nothing penetrated the bubble of denial that sealed off his mind.

Ron remained on his knees, his eyes blank as he started at the young female on the ground in front of him. Her hair pooled around her face in a red halo as she stared lifelessly at the sky, a look of surprise evident on her face.

He reached out a hand and gently brushed a few wisps of noncompliant hair out of her eyes as he began crooning to her, a wordless song of comfort for one beyond reach of the notes.

Debris from the energy cannon still rained down around them as Shego screamed desperately in his ear.

Ron felt his mind crack, ruptures appearing along the corners of his consciousness as he struggled to breathe. Darkness clawed at him, hacking at his very soul as his entire being came apart, piece by piece.

He broke, shattering into a million pieces as his mind dove into the darkness, seeking the sweetness of oblivion. His head slumped forward against his chest and he slid sideways to the ground as he fell unconscious.

"Ron, NO! I need you, please help me!" Shego howled, letting go of Drakken and shaking Ron violently with her uninjured arm. "Ron please, don't let them win! Help me! PLEASE!"

As Shego's howls reached his ears, something deep in the recesses of Ron's mind stirred restlessly. As her cries of distress became more frantic, it's restlessness increased.

Eventually, it could bear it no longer and spoke.

Who is she? Why is she crying?

The part that was Ron answered.

Her name is Shego. She is in pain. She needs my help.

You are in pain?

Yes, excruciating pain. So much pain that I do not want to be me anymore.

But you are Ron. You must be you.

I am Pain. There is no Ron.

You must help her.

I cannot. There is too much pain.

But you must. If you do not, you will die. She will die. You will all die.

I cannot.

You must.

I cannot.

Cannot, or Will Not?

Cannot. Pain. I am Pain.

Shego's sobs reached them and both beings shuddered at the agony evident in her voice.

Deciding that the person formerly known as Ron was currently unfit to control their shared body, the newly emerged consciousness took command.

Shego inhaled sharply when Ron's body suddenly jerked upright. Turning his head toward her, he gave her the Cheshire grin of a deranged lunatic.

"Hi. Ron is indisposed at the moment. But leave a message after the tone and we'll make sure he gets it. Beep! In the meantime, his lovely assistant will be happy to help with your call!" he said, smiling his eerie smile the entire time.

"Ron...are you ok?" Shego asked, watching him carefully as she spoke.

"Hi. Ron is indisposed at this moment. But leave a message after the tone and we'll make sure he gets it. Beep! In the meantime, his lovely assistant will be happy to assist you with your call!" Ron repeated, his smile hardening slightly.

"Ron, what's going on?" Shego repeated cautiously, assessing his eyes for trauma.

Ron repeated the message for the third time, his expression steely as his smile dropped.

"This is no time for games. What are you telling me... that you're not Ron?!" Shego demanded, anger surfacing inside her.

"Bingo!" Ron replied, clearly pleased she finally understood.

"Who ARE you?" Shego demanded, red hot anger boiling inside her.

"Zorpox!" the being that was not Ron replied.

Shego knelt back onto her haunches, her green skin turning lighter as the blood left her face.

"Oh Shit!" was all she was able to utter before Zorpox threw himself toward her and pushed her heavily to the ground, his hard muscled body pinning her down.

The blast from the second shelling left their ears ringing and a large hole appeared where they had been seconds before.

Zorpox pushed himself off Shego and turned to reclaim Kim's body, but it had been vaporised during the second attack, alongside Drakken. Ron's screams of rage drowned him and he wobbled dizzily on his feet. Banishing his body brother to the oblivion, he wrestled back control and pulled Shego to her feet. Picking her up in his arms, he ignored her yelp of pain and started moving toward a squad of Global Justice soldiers two hundred metres in the distance. Clutching her tighter for a better grip, he swerved over the terrain, dodging cannon fire and chunks of concrete kicked up by the shelling.

Zorpox approached the squad and the leader, recognising the body of Ron, ordered her soldiers to form a protective barrier around them. Seeing they were both injured, the squad commander ordered her soldiers to start dropping back toward the main force, where they would be able to administer medical aid.

"Don't worry Agent Stoppable, we'll have you out of here in a jiffy!" the squad leader reassured them as she led the way.

"I'm not Ron!" Zorpox replied cheerfully, smiling the same inane smile he had flashed at Shego.

"Sorry Sir. Can you clarify what you said?" she replied, thinking she had misheard him in all the noise.

"Call me Zorpox!"

"Aww shit!"

"Hey, that's what she said!" Zorpox said, indicating Shego.

"That's not all I'm going to say when this is over!" Shego promised, her eyes dark with promises.

Promises Zorpox was sure he wasn't eager to explore. EVER.

Author's Note:

Thank you to everyone for being patient with this revision. Special thanks to Johnny, Bookfisher and the other regular reviewers for the kind encouragement, and to Luciendar who gave me fantastic feedback on where the old chapter 6 disappeared down the toilet.

It's taken so long because I lost my beloved 96 year old Grandmother in August and one month later, my surrogate Grandfather face planted it on the pavement at the hospital carpark due to his health conditions and killed himself. They were some of the kindest and most loving people who have influenced my life. And stubborn as old boots.

And to the 'guest' reviewer that keeps pointing out aspects of my stories that don't match the full storyline these fanfictions are based on...poetic licence - 'the freedom to depart from the facts of a matter or from the conventional rules of language when speaking or writing in order to create an effect.'

Either review for the story's sake, or stop reviewing. You clearly struggle to use that thing called an imagination. Because of you, I've had to turn off that feature on my reviewing options. Now run home and actually get a account, or stick to reading. Commenting is not your forte.