--

As Kim carried her salad to the table, she could see her boyfriend waiting for her in the booth. He was slumped with his arms crossed and a scowl across his face.

Uh oh, she thought. I know that look. Somebody's tweaked today…She set the tray down and slid into her seat.

"Come on, Ron!" She tried to sound cheerful. "That naco isn't going to eat itself you know!"

Ron pushed the tray away. "Not hungry."

Kim dropped her salad fork. Rufus, who was sitting on the table, fainted. "Not hungry?" Kim echoed in disbelief. "You, Ron Stoppable, are turning down a naco?"

A little boy skipped past the booth. He was carrying a stuffed penguin under his arm. Ron growled in his direction. "And so it begins…"

"Is that what's bothering you?" Kim said as she tore open her thousand-island dressing. "The Penguins of Madagascar show?"

"Come on, KP!" Ron cried. "It stinks! We got dumped for some lousy lemurs! For some putrid penguins!"

Kim shrugged. "I wouldn't call it 'dumped,' per say…"

"I would."

Kim reached across the table and took his hand. "Ron, you knew it would end sometime! I mean, again. And at least this time we were cancelled because Bob and Mark wanted to, not because of The Rule."

"The Rule." Ron repeated darkly. "Oh how I hated that Rule."

"I know," Kim twirled her lettuce leaves with her fork prongs. "But we had a good long run! Think about it! Awards, lots of fans, merchandise…We did all right for ourselves! And better to end while we're still good than keep going when we get bad!"

"That's not the point!" Ron cried. "What about my spin off?"

"Spin off?" Kim raised an eyebrow. "They offered you a spin off?"'

"Well," Ron looked abashed. "No, not really, but it could've happened! I was ready for my own show!"

"Your own show?" Kim repeated. "Ron, it was practically your own show by the end anyway! You were the breakout star!"

"Exactly!" Ron agreed. "I was ready to venture out on my own!"

"I see, and what exactly would you've done in your spin off?"

"I had it all planned out," Ron said. "It'd star me and Rufus and our adventures, going to high school, eating Bueno Nacho, saving the world with my girlfr…" Ron trailed off as Kim smirked. "Been done, hasn't it?

"I think that potential train has left the station," said Kim. "Face it, Ron! We're done! Over and out! Bye-bye!"

"Ooh, bye-bye…" echoed Rufus sadly.

"Sooooo…" Ron drawled. "What happens next? What happens to cartoon characters when they get cancelled?"

"I guess it all depends. Some get DVDs, some get live action movies, some are revived years and years later…"

"And some sink into oblivion, never to see the light of day again." Ron looked worried. "Kim, is that what's going to happen to us? Are we doomed to spend the rest of eternity as someone's foggy memory, just a blip in cartoon history?"

"Ron," Kim took his hand again. "I think as long as we have fans who love us, we'll never die! And if we touched some lives and made some people happy along the way, we'll live on in their hearts forever!"

Ron squeezed her hand as he smiled. It was a small, sad smile. "We live on through the fans."

"Right," Kim said. "Besides," she added with a smile. "There's always fanfiction…"