Notes: The final chapter. Really this time. I mean it!

Chapter 10: Lilypads

Emmy didn't want to admit that she hadn't thought the escape plan through all that well. That she'd planned ahead at all, considering the stress she'd been under at the time, was worthy of note. Of course, the only one who might be impressed by that was Kim, and since Emmy was running away from her in the first place...well, it made the whole idea of being proud of herself rather pointless.

And she had a feeling it would only invite more taunting from that older, unwelcome voice that had made itself known in her head recently. Thankfully, it had mostly lapsed into silence now. In the past few hours, it had only suggested directions in which to run, and the tips almost always paid off immediately. Emmy came to realize that much as she hated that voice, it was helping her a great deal. It obviously had some experience with running away, more than she did, anyway.

Emmy had only given food a passing thought, and had grabbed some jellybeans on the way out, figuring she'd find better food later. Only she hadn't counted on people being naturally worried about a lone, lost little girl half-covered in dirt with a wild look in her eyes. They were, of course, and she could hardly get near any real food without being noticed. So she'd been forced to stick with the jellybeans, eating them only when the voice suggested she stop for a bit, and then only four every stop. The number had been reduced to two later on, and Emmy could no longer recall who had come up with the idea, only that it was making her limited stash last longer.

Not once did it occur to Emmy that if Kim had woken up at her usual time and set out after her at once, she would've been found by now. Nor was she aware of the fact that two jellybeans shouldn't have given her the constant rush she was feeling, and that it had little or nothing to do with the sugar.

"How is she staying ahead of me?" Kim muttered, pausing to check a small footprint in the dirt. "No way she can move this fast on those little legs of hers."

What Kim didn't say aloud, though, was that she knew exactly how Emmy was doing it. There was really only one possible way, and it was the exact same thing that had led Kim to Emmy in the first place: comet power. Never mind that there was no solid explanation as to how she'd gotten it. For all Kim knew, her reddish-black brand was contagious and she'd passed it on by holding Emmy's hand. Or she'd simply activated something in the girl without either of them realizing it.

But if Emmy didn't know anything about comet power, and had managed to use it already, why weren't there signs of it? There was no scorched ground, no pacing footprints, no sign at all that Emmy was scared or confused about what had to be happening to her. Kim couldn't see any way for that to be possible, unless something or someone was guiding Emmy. If it was who Kim thought it was, there was something else to worry about: why was Shego steering Emmy away from her?

"You know, you're a pretty good runaway, kid. We could've done some real damage as partners, the two of us."

Emmy didn't say anything, and focused instead on the familiar flavors of green and black jellybeans in her mouth.

"The thing is, you're running away from the one person you need most. Now, make no mistake about it, Kimmie will catch up. You need to figure out what you're going to do when that happens."

"It doesn't matter," Emmy muttered. "Just because she's following me doesn't mean she wants me to stay with her. It just means she doesn't want me to be lost."

"Well, here's a hint: running away kinda implies that you don't want to stay with her. So which is it?"

"I can't stay with her! All she does is think about you!"

"Yeah, we've been through that already. You want her, you get me, too. If you force Kimmie to choose, you'll just be a runaway with a broken heart. By the way, this deal is non-negotiable, so when you're ready to give up and go home to all that tasty green stuff, just say so."

"No," Emmy said stubbornly. "It's either you or me. She can't have both."

"Interesting theory. But what makes you think I'm going anywhere if she does choose you? Either way, both of you will have me on the brain. So running away because of me seems a bit silly now, doesn't it?"

"Shut up," Emmy growled.

"Well, you'll be glad to know that I don't help rude little girls. You're on your own, runt."

Emmy felt the presence fading, and was glad it was gone. But it was then that she realized just how tired she was, and no amount of jellybeans would change that. She sat down and leaned against a tree, planning to rest for just a few minutes. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.

Five hours later, Emmy woke up to find that she had slept late into the afternoon, and that there was at least one more person better at running away than she was. If the red hair on the edge of her vision was any indicator, she was currently curled up in Kim's lap. What really surprised her was that Kim had only moved her to do that much.

Moving as slowly as she could, Emmy carefully slipped out of Kim's arms. She had gone maybe three steps when a hand caught hers.

"If you're hungry for something more filling than jellybeans, I've got some leftover jello. But I'll only share it if you sit down and eat it with me."

Emmy was about to refuse, but her stomach let out an audible gurgle at the thought of passing up free green food, and she slowly sank to the ground, looking thoroughly defeated. Somehow, though, it didn't ruin the taste of the jello at all.

"I've got something else for you, too," Kim said when they were done eating. "It's that letter you suggested I write. You ran off before I could show it to you."

Emmy glared at her.

"You need to read it, Emmy. You need to understand something about me...and her. But sitting here and looking at you now, I still can't explain it. The letter does."

Hesitantly, Emmy accept the letter and began to read.

I miss you.

I love you.

There, I said it. I never did while you were here, and I regret that more than anything else. But you knew, didn't you? At the end, you had to know. I'd never been that scared in my life, and you would definitely know that.

And just when I've lost you, I find you all over again. I think.

I don't know where Emmy came from, but when I look at her, I know I'm meant to look after her. It's almost like I'm finally learning about your own childhood. I feel like it's my job to make sure she got the chances you never did. To have a real family, to be loved, to live without being scarred for life. I'll take care of her, the way I tried to take care of you, and this time I won't fail.

I promise.

I love you.

I miss you.

I'll never forget you, Shego...my enemy, my sister, my soulmate.

Kim was completely exhausted when she finally got home, and it took the last of her strength just to climb into bed and close her eyes.

Letting go was one of the hardest things she'd ever done. But she'd managed it with Shego, and she'd done it again with Emmy. It was still so difficult to expose herself completely, to let her guard down with no idea of whether or not her trust would be rewarded or betrayed. Yet, she knew it had been the right thing to do, no matter what the results were.

Emmy had turned out to be more like Shego than either of them knew. She was just as determined to push people away and make it on her own. Kim couldn't really blame her for that, and had let the girl walk away from her, and with her letter, no less. But Kim didn't need it to remember her promise to Shego, and maybe Emmy did.

Shego had led Emmy out of the Possible home for a reason. Kim could only guess at what it was, but she wouldn't go against it. Not if both Shego and Emmy felt that strongly about it.

Leaving, however, wasn't the only thing Emmy apparently felt strongly about.

Because when Kim woke up the next morning, her back seemed to have gained a little extra weight.

"I had to come back on my own," Emmy whispered. "I'll let you take care of me, but I won't let you do everything for me."

"Deal," Kim said softly. Then she sniffed and made a face. "So are you going to take a bath on your own, or do you need some help? You smell like an armpit."

"I was running away," Emmy pointed out. "There's no baths when you run away."

"But you're home now," Kim replied.

"I am?" Emmy asked quietly.

Kim reached up and stroked her hair. "Yes. You are."

"So I'm Emmy Possible?"

"Only if you take a bath. No little sister of mine is going to smell like an armpit. Especially if she plans on sharing my bed."

"So this kid sister thing is permanent?" Ron asked. "And the red glowy stuff wasn't?" he added, wiggling his fingers.

"As near as I can tell," Kim replied, "yes on both counts."

Ron looked thoughtful as they watched Emmy roll around in the grass of the Possibles' front yard. "I have to say, unless Shego was a closet grass roller, Emmy doesn't act much like her."

Kim smiled. "Oh, she does when she wants something. Any other time, she acts...well, like a kid. Last night, she stole a pair of Jim's pajamas."

Ron looked confused, disgusted, and curious at the same time. "Dare I ask why?"

Kim shrugged. "They were green."

"Ah. Did she...wear them?"

"No. She folded them into a lilypad for Squishy."

Ron blinked. "Who?"

"The frog. The one in her pocket."

Ron actually turned a little green. "Then...she shouldn't be rolling around-"

Kim rolled her eyes. "He's a plush frog, Ron. He'll live."

"Oh." Ron took a deep breath. "Um. How do you know that?"

Kim gave him an amused look. "Plushies usually have a pretty long life span. When there's only one kid playing with them, anyway."

Ron glared at her. "I meant, how do you know the frog's name?"

"I'm a big sister. It's my job. If the tweebs had any toy robots, I'd know their names, too. But they'd probably be named things like Crushinator and Oblitifier."

"Squishy is starting to grow on me, actually. So what does he do?"

"Exactly what it sounds like he does."

"Squishes things?"

"Just himself. And even that takes some outside influence."

Ron blinked slowly. "So he pretty much sucks?"

Kim smirked. "You couldn't convince Emmy of that."

"But it sounds like he has no entertainment value at all."

"I like to think it's less him, and more that he came from me that she values."

"Did she tell you that?"

Kim sighed. "Didn't I just say I like to think that?"

"Just asking. I'm new to the whole sibling thing."

"Me, too. At least, I've never had a sister to call my own."

"Is there a big difference?"

"Have you ever seen the tweebs wearing skirts?"

"No?"

"Then there's a difference. She goes through my closet whether I'm in the room or not. And she found my old Shego suit."

"Why do you even still have it? Why not-" Ron trailed off as he caught the look in Kim's eyes. "Oh. Right." He coughed. "Does it fit?"

"Of course not. She's too tiny."

"I meant you, actually."

"Like a glove," Kim answered at once.

Ron was a little startled by her answer. "You put it on?"

"Once a month."

"KP, that's...not healthy, is it?"

"I do it as much for me as I do it for Emmy. She thinks I look like a superhero in it. Isn't that odd, Ron? She had no idea who I was when we met, and she thinks Shego's colors make me a superhero."

Ron shrugged. "Well, even Shego used to be Team Go material. And so were you, for a day. Personally, I think you could wipe the floor with them, powers or no. I have to admit, Shego never looked bad in that thing. Well, she did, but not...you know what I mean."

"I'm afraid to say I do," Kim muttered, shaking her head.

"Um, speaking of Shego, the little munchkin had any, ah, hot flashes?"

"Just the once, when she ran away. And I'm starting to think maybe I just imagined it, that she's just a really tough kid."

"No surprise there. She is a Possible. Or a Shego. And between the two, I'd definitely say she's capable of anything."

"This is where I get off, runt. Take care of our Kimmie, okay?"

That was the last thing the voice had told Emmy. She couldn't forget that, even if she'd wanted to.

Honestly, though, Kimmie took pretty good care of herself already. Emmy took great pleasure in knowing that her big sister could beat up anyone for miles around. Not that she would, but if it came to that, Kimmie would handle things. Unfortunately, Kimmie refused to teach Emmy anything beyond the basics until she was "older and mature enough to know the difference between defending and bullying."

For some reason, the thought that Kimmie saw her as a potential bully also made Emmy very happy. To date, she had only claimed one victim: a thick-headed boy that had tried to take Squishy from her. Emmy thought she'd shown great restraint, in that she'd only bloodied his nose, rather than broken his arm. Kimmie hadn't taught her that, at least not on purpose, but it had been very useful all the same.

It wasn't even that Emmy liked the violence, she was just naturally good at it, and she liked doing things she was good at. She had also found she had a certain gift for taking things that weren't hers. There was also an even bigger thrill in taking something, and then putting it back to see if the owner would notice it had been taken at all. Most times they didn't, but Emmy had so far limited herself to just "borrowing" things in the Possible home for a few hours or so. If she was ever caught, she would just explain that she wanted to be like Kimmie, which was true enough. Kimmie only ever stole things to protect them, or get them back from real thieves, but Emmy suspected she got much the same thrill in doing it.

But for all Kimmie's rules and restrictions, she was, in Emmy's opinion, a terrific big sister. If something got broken and no one knew how, she invariably blamed her brothers. She never made Emmy wear dresses or frilly things, and had promised to never make Emmy wear anything that she wouldn't wear herself. She was never too busy to play, talk, or wrestle over the last jellybean. At times, it almost seemed like Kimmie didn't have a life outside of the things they did together. Emmy hadn't understood how that could be, and kept asking until Kimmie admitted to having given up a job to spend more time with her. She wouldn't say what the job was, only that it wasn't worth the cost of Emmy growing up alone.

Not that Emmy could grow up alone anymore. Between Kimmie's family, Ron, Monique, and even Wade (the week before he'd interrupted her favorite cartoon), Emmy barely ever had a moment to herself. About the only time she was even close to being alone was on the rare nights when Kimmie fell asleep before she did.

It was still a little odd, having family and friends to call her own. But Kimmie made everything better, not by purposely doing anything, but just by being there. Emmy thought she understood why that voice had been so unwilling to let Kimmie go. But since she didn't hear the voice anymore, she had to assume that Kimmie did. Though, if Kimmie did, she never mentioned it, or at least never made it obvious anymore. Anyway, Emmy had a feeling it wouldn't have bothered her quite so much now.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Kimmie calling her.

"Emmy, c'mon in! Lunchtime!"

Emmy sat up on the grass, starting to brush the grass stains off of her feet, and finally deciding aganst it. She was reaching for her socks and shoes when something moved on the edge of her field of vision. Looking over her shoulder, she was only a little startled to see what looked like three rubber balls rolling around near the curb. Her gaze instantly locked on the green one, which seemed a bit larger and more threatening than the other two, for some reason.

"Hey, little sis! Lunch!" Kimmie called again.

Emmy barely even heard her. As she watched, the green ball slammed into the blue one, sending it hurtling out into the street...right in the path of a black SUV. Emmy wasn't sure, but she thought she heard a tiny scream right before the blue ball vanished under the vehicle.

"Emmy! Are you listening to me?"

She wasn't, really. Emmy was entirely focused on the green ball, which had rolled into the street and was now bouncing gleefully on the flattened blue ball, while the red ball looked on in what had to be both shame and amusement.

"Emmy, what are you doing?" Kimmie asked in her ear, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "Didn't you hear me?"

Emmy pointed at the street. "Does that seem...odd to you at all?" she asked, starting to wonder if maybe only she could see the balls.

"Not really, that's just Agent Bruner. He's ex-CIA. Drives by the house every month, as a favor to me. I told him the black SUV was too obvious, but he loves that car. Good eye, though."

Emmy decided it was best not to mention the balls at all, since Kimmie obviously didn't see them. "Oh. Okay. What's for lunch?"

"Meatloaf, in the shape of a brain, and colored green. And I'd like to point out that that is all YOUR fault, missy."

"So long as it's green," Emmy reasoned, getting to her feet.

Kimmie smiled faintly and plucked Emmy from the ground, giving her a big hug. "Love you," she murmured into the girl's dark hair.

Emmy made a face. "You don't have to do that three times a day, you know."

"I know," Kimmie replied, giving her another squeeze.

Emmy rolled her eyes, but knew better to complain. She'd had Tim and Jim explain her same sex cooties theory five times already, but Kimmie never really seemed to take the hint. And the hugs weren't really annoying, so much as they temporarily cut off air supply and limited vision. "Okay, love you, too. Down, please."

Kimmie reluctantly put Emmy down, but quickly latched onto her hand and dragged her toward the house. "Hurry. I bet the only thing worse than green brainloaf is cold, green brainloaf, and Mom glaring at us the whole time we choke it down."

Emmy looked over her shoulder one last time. The green ball had tired of bouncing, and was now simply rolling back and forth over the blue one. Emmy managed to catch a few strands of conversation as she neared the house.

"My dear, I hardly think this is necessary."

"Stuff it, Crawford! He deserves this and you know it! How does it feel, huh, Long? HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE ROADKILL, YOU SORRY SACK OF DIVINE BLUNDER!"

"HELP MEEE!" Long wailed.

"I'm afraid I can't, Long. She IS our co-worker now. Our superiors said her experience with the project would be vital to its continued success. You'll just have to survive any punishment she deals you and keep doing your job. Besides, in all fairness, you hit her first."

"CRAWFORD, YOU TRAITOR!" Long screamed.

"Hardly. It's not as if I helped her run you over."

"DIE, BLUE BOY!"

"He can't, actually. That's half the fun."

"CRAWFORD! AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Long cried pitifully.

"Don't quit on me yet, Long! That was just for me! We're doing this four more times! Once for each of my brothers that you DIDN'T manage to kill! That WAS the point, right? SAY IT!"

"I'M SORRY! I SUCK! I'LL NEVER TOUCH A ROCK AGAIN!"

"LOUDER! AND SMILE WHEN YOU SCREAM IT!"

Emmy blinked and tugged on Kimmie's hand. "Hey. They have...vengeance angels, right?"

Kimmie stopped and looked at her. "Some people think so. Why?"

"Well...if they do, and it's their job...they can't get kicked out for doing it well, right?"

"I wouldn't think so."

"What if they swore while they did it?"

"Any particular reason for all these questions?" Kimmie asked.

"Nope," Emmy said at once with a straight face, barely. "Just curious."

The End.

Endnotes: Didn't realize it until I was proofreading, but Crushinator is that big, supposedly female robot with the deep voice that appeared in two or three episodes of Futurama. I could've used another name, but honestly I couldn't think of anything else.

Reviews!

Blackfire 18

Heh. I was one of those weirdo kids who loved to eat broccoli and...asparagus. (I guess there's a Shego in all of us!) It is so fun to have Kim Possible pissed off! It takes lil' miss perfect off her pedestal once in a while and gives her back some of her humanity. I LOVE how there was a conversation between older Shego and kid Shego...(if that's how I can so put it) It was so entertaining to read! It was also such a brilliant idea to add in that little arrow of green and black jelly beans; a nice added touch. Update!

Interesting fact: the filename for this series is LilShego. Probably because of how it started, I think. I can't ever recall Shego eating anything on the show, so I have no real idea what her diet is like. But I know kids can be insistent about what they eat. Initially, I intended for the alluded to jellybean sifting to be going on while Kim tried to write that letter to Shego, with frequent interruptions from Emmy. Left it out, for some reason.