A/N: Welcome to Sink or Swim, one of Gill's only episodes. Ron comes face-to-face with the venerable Cabin 13 and Bonnie resumes her character role more regularly. As of 2/11, I will have my two doses of the vaccine. With the virus slowing down, hopefully, an increase in enthusiasm and energy come with it.

I'm as curious as you are as to what's in store. Therefore, let's get underway.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible. I only own my OCs, one of which appeared in the prologue.

Edit: There's a new strain, so the virus might not be slowing down. Never mind. At least I'll be vaccinated.


Ron Stoppable of Middleton High checked his calendar once again. Not for the second, third, or fourth time. But for the fifteenth time. Today was Ron's first meeting with Gill, and the devious mutant stranded the cheerleaders at Camp Wannaweep. Ron didn't know how time got away from him, but somehow it had. Ron just hoped Bonnie would come with the other cheerleaders. If she didn't, who knows what might happen to the timeline.

In the original timeline, Gill captured everyone with his...his...spit. No, mutant spit. Ron had been lucky to dodge everything, but other people thought Ron ditched them. Of course, that wasn't what happened. Instead, Ron defeated Gill with tricks he had picked up from the arts and crafts shop. As much as Ron knew protecting the timeline was necessary, he knew that allowing the entire squad to get caught by Gill was a no-no. Besides, this would be the third time it happened and Ron didn't want that to happen. Besides, he was certain he could handle the repercussions of meddling with the timeline. He had dope powers after all.

Ron arrived at the Middleton High gym an hour early, knowing none of the cheerleaders would be there yet. To his surprise, Barkin was there already and on the phone. Barkin had just finished his phone conversation when he turned and spotted Ron. A frown split across his face as he asked what Ron was doing here so early.

"Honestly? For some rare peace and quiet," Ron stated, earning a nod from Barkin.

Barkin resumed his duties as Ron meditated for the upcoming fight against Gill. His reaction times didn't seem up to par the first time. As Ron recalled, he barely dodged the mutant spit. He needed the reaction time much better for the upcoming fight. If he could prevent Gill from puking all over the cabin, then things would be fine. Inwardly, he kicked himself as he realized he didn't bring any decent food for the night. Sure, there was his secret stash underneath cabin 13, but that wasn't substantial for feeding an entire cheer team plus Barkin. He couldn't head out and order food for everyone, but perhaps he could call ahead and have pizza or something delivered to Camp Wannaweep. He didn't want anybody he knew getting involved, so perhaps it was time to place a call.

Ron stood up and exited the gym for a moment. After ordering four large pizzas, breadsticks, and drinks and having someone deliver them to Cabin 13 at a specific time, Ron headed back inside the gym and resumed his meditation. Barkin didn't say anything, but he probably found Ron's activity to be odd. In his deep meditated state, Ron sensed the people that arrived one by one. Marcella was the first cheerleader to arrive. She was followed by Crystal, Tara, Hope, Jessica, Liz, and Kim. Ron knew this because he could sense everyone's auras, something that he had learned at Yamanouchi years before returning to the timeline. Bonnie was the last to arrive, much to everyone's happiness. Kim smiled at her rival and told Bonnie she was more than welcome to come and that everyone was glad Bonnie returned.

Barkin announced that the bus was here and informed everyone they had fifteen minutes to gather everything before leaving for the competition upstate. Ron collected his duffel bag that contained his Mad Dog mask and headed to the bus. He had almost ditched bringing the Mad Dog mask, which he knew would have ticked off Barkin and the cheerleaders. Ron did not need to bring the mask because he knew about the detour to Camp Wannaweep. Also, if Ron's memory served correctly, everyone headed back to the school. But Ron brought the mask along because it was the mascot's duty. Kim did not have anything to bring with her other than the Kimmunicator so they waited by the bus. Once the cheerleaders boarded the bus, Ron sitting in the back because he preferred to, Barkin started the bus and drove off to Camp Wannaweep.

"So Ron, what were you doing earlier? Was it meditation?" Tara inquired, turning around in her seat to face Ron.

Ron smiled and nodded at the girl he knew had a crush on him. He was amazed at his own stupidity back then because, honestly, how could he be so stupid? "It helps me sleep better sometimes and it helps keeps my mind young."

"That's cool. Can you teach me?"

Kim and Bonnie groaned at Tara's obvious attempt to spend time with Ron. Ron sensed Tara's emotion and thought about what he wanted to do. He had no qualms about teaching Tara meditation, but now was not the time, especially with Gill later that night. He couldn't well teach Tara meditation if Gill was going to run amuck of things and ruin his concentration. Ron gave an insouciant shrug. "Not today. Maybe some other time."

Tara's expression dropped a little bit before she nodded and turned back to her seat. He said not today, meaning there would be a possible date in the future where she could spend alone time with Ron. "Okay. Let me know when there is a good time."

As the sky became an orangish hue, the cheerleaders broke into their pep. Everyone was convinced that they were headed to a cheer competition. Ron knew otherwise. Throughout the chant, Barkin reeled in his anger before he called out, "Save some of the pep for the competition, ladies!"

Ron donned on his mask as the cheerleaders continued chanting. He cried out "Go Mad Dogs!" one last time before he sprayed the banana foam.

"Kim, he's doing it again!" Bonnie griped, under the jejune belief that she could get Kim to make Ron stop his behavior.

"Ron? Ron?" Kim called.

Ron took off the mask and pointed an accusing finger at Kim. "You and the cheerleaders have no right to hector me! I know I'm on thin ice with most of the cheerleaders, but Kim, you're not the boss of me and you don't have any right to determine how I live my life. You're being a brute!"

Silence ensued as the cheerleaders and Mr. Barkin stared at Ron, unused to his audacity. "I..."

Ron snatched Kim's Kimmunicator and cried, "Wade, I need a GPS lock on our location."

"Okay, calm down, Mad Dog," Wade ordered before typing some information to get a lock on the Kimmunicator's current location. The map showed trees and what appeared to be crisscrossed lines. In red letters, the words CAMP WANNAWEEP were written near the top of the screen.

"This must be wrong. This must be wrong!" Ron cried, deciding to exaggerate his current emotion.

"Ron?" Kim questioned, unsure as to why her best friend was reacting this way.

"It's my worst nightmare! Return to Camp Wannaweep!"

By this point, the night sky had turned dark following Ron's scream, a fitting atmosphere for the horror that awaited at Camp Wannaweep.

"Stoppable, do you have a problem?" Barkin asked as he glanced at Ron in the rearview mirror.

"Just watch the [censored] road!" Ron shouted, not wanting the bus to spin out of control for a second time.

Unfortunately for the Mad Dog Mascot, the universe had other ideas as the bus hit a well-placed stack of spikes and started to spin out of control. However, thanks to Barkin's true determination, the bus stopped right in front of Camp Wannaweep. Once the bus was in no threat of wobbling over, Barkin told the occupants to sound off if they were hurt. Everyone was okay.

"We got two flats," Barkin informed as he exited the bus, spotted the problem, and then returned to the safe confines of the bus. "Better call for help."

"Ladies, cell phones!" Bonnie called out. All the female cheerleaders on the bus pulled out a cellphone – with the exception of Kim who pulled out her Kimmunicator – and were surprised at what they saw.

"No service!?" they all cried, Bonnie growling and throwing her phone down as if she had just touched hot water.

"That's weird," Kim muttered, holding the Kimmunicator and finding that the batteries would still be functioning. "The Kimmunicator isn't working either."

"Stoppable, you know the land?" Barkin said.

"More than I'd care to admit," Ron confessed. "Every rock, every tree, every bloodthirsty –"

"Good. Where's the phone?"

A blank look crossed Ron's face as he recalled one of many conversations he had with his mother asking her to pick him up from the camp. "I seem to recall a payphone."

"Lead the way," Barkin said.

It took a while for Barkin's words to register in his brain, but when they did, Ron stood up from the back seat and addressed the bus. "Yeah! This is it! The one time that Ron Stoppable gets to lead, gets to call the shots, gets to be the big boss man."

"Ron, just please take us to the payphone," Kim stressed, not wanting to be in Ron's authority any longer than necessary.

"Sure thing. Before we start out, let me educate you all." Ron cleared his throat and raised his voice so everyone could hear him. "Camp Wannaweep is a dangerous and wicked place, and among us, only I, Ron Stoppable know how to survive here." Bonnie looked miffed, Kim looked like she was embarrassed to be friends with Ron, and everyone else didn't know what to make of it.

Once outside, Ron stopped and pointed to a plant, informing the girls that it was poison oak. "This is a place of evil. Stay close and follow my lead," Ron ordered, swinging the flashlight in his hands before turning it on and leading the way to the payphone.

"Out of order," Kim stated as she tried the phone, only to realize it was disconnected.

"I don't like this," Barkin confessed.

"This is just like those movies. Innocent teens stranded at a camp in the middle of nowhere. Then some creepo starts to pick them off. One... by... one," Tara whispered as she clung to Kim, clearly frightened by her imagination.

Kim shrugged off Tara's hand and turned to face her. "So not the drama, Tara. This isn't a horror movie."

"Oh, isn't it?" Ron asked, using the flashlight to illuminate his face.

"Ok, if it were a horror movie," Bonnie began as she walked over to Ron and pointed at him, "there would be more guys. And they'd be way cuter than him."

Ron shook off the response he had about Bonnie thinking he was cute. "If it were a horror movie, I'd be the serial killer. But I'm not," Ron cut in when he saw Bonnie open her mouth to say something that wouldn't help the situation. "No, the serial killer, or serial kidnapper perhaps, is the one that's blocking the outgoing calls. He's probably here now, waiting for the opportunity to abduct us one by one."

"Amp down on the drama, Ron," Kim ordered.

"Bonnie, you remind me of the cruel kids at camp who hit me with sticks and stones."

Tara gasped in awe horror, concern flooding her thoughts at the slightest mention that her crush was assaulted. "They threw sticks and stones at you?"

"And called me names," Ron pointed out.

Resigning to the fact that they were stuck for the night, Kim decided everyone ought to make the best of the situation. With a tug from Rufus, Ron led the way to a woodsy area about a mile away from the toxic lake. With Barkin's help, a fire was started and Ron began to tell a story, the fire failing to brighten the cheerleader's depressing mood.

"I was trapped, hiding in the hollow of a tree. Then the woodpeckers came."

"Your freaky friend is acting extra freaky," Bonnie told Kim.

"Shush Bonnie. If you're good, then you can eat something other than animal skin," Ron said. Once Bonnie stayed quiet for a little while, Ron heard a rustling sound and went to check it out. Concern crept into her face as Kim stood up and followed Ron over to the bush.

"Ron, I think we've established that the squirrels mean us no harm," Kim said.

"It could be the villain behind this, you know," Ron said.

"Let's just enjoy the campfire and relax," Kim offered.

Ron shrugged his shoulders, deciding not to fight Kim on this. However, he did mention that if anyone went missing, that was on Kim. Right as Ron left, a slimy green claw peered out through the bushes. The Middleton Mad Dog mascot continued his stories, this one pertaining to sharing a cabin with the mascot.

"So, you shared a cabin with a tick-infested chimp?" Tara questioned, unsure if she heard that right. She appeared to the only cheerleader listening to Ron's story. The others were just praying for the night to end, some unaware how long the night might be.

"Yup. I never had any happy memories there. Perhaps you can change that," Ron hinted.

Even though she wanted to, Tara didn't respond. The smile on her face indicated her answer.

"I...uh...I'm going to go get some firewood," Kim decided as she stood up and looked behind her shoulder to the forest.

"Ooh, Camp Wannaweep Rule Number One: Use the buddy system," Ron called out as Kim was leaving.

"I think I can handle it," Kim assured.

"No, Stoppable's right," Barkin said as he stood up from the log and approached Kim. "I'll come with you."

Right after Barkin left, Ron turned to the remaining cheer squad and asked, "Be honest, how many of you think Barkin left because he couldn't stand my stories?" All but Tara's hand shot up. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"I don't mind the stories, Ron. In fact, I think it's kind of nice here," Tara confessed.

"How so?" Ron asked.

If Tara saw Bonnie shaking her head in disappointment, she didn't say anything about it. "I mean, the woods are, you know, woodsy. And, and well, just look at the lake. It seems so peaceful."

Ron smirked as his eyes glanced at the toxic Camp Wannaweep Lake. He knew telling a story would irritate the cheerleaders, and Ron would have told the story, but with the food he ordered ahead coming in a bit, he decided not to bore everyone. After a minute or two of stirring the wood on the campfire, Ron said, "Peaceful was never a word I associated with the lake. Gil Moss, on the other hand, one of the campers, loved the lake. I wanted no part of that lake, so I switched Arts and Crafts for swim lessons. That was the last I ever Gil."

"So you've been a loser for like, ever," Bonnie summed up.

"Have you seen Barkin?" Kim asked as she returned to the campfire, sans firewood.

"Kim, duh, Barkin's with you."

"Not anymore." As Kim told her story to the cheerleaders of what occurred before Barkin's disappearance, Ron was on his feet and dashing to the girl's cabin. He could only hope he wasn't too late to stop the kidnapping. He heard Liz and Marcella's screams and ran faster. However, when he arrived at the girl's cabin, the girls were gone and a muddy non-human footprint was all that remained. He had just missed them.

Kim arrived alongside Tara and noticed the mutant footprint. "That's not a human footprint. I'm getting a little freaked out here. Crud. This is my fault."

Ron shook his head and said, "Not this one. If this is anyone's fault, it's mine. I didn't get there fast enough. I should have realized –"

"It's not your fault," Tara assured as she placed her hand on Ron's shoulder. "Liz and Marcella used the buddy system. They did their part to stay safe together, but it just didn't work. That's not your fault."

Ron nodded once he realized Tara was right. Besides, time seemed to want to happen regardless. It was just the way the world worked, as unfair as it might be. "There's only one place to go now. Cabin 13." As if on cue, a wolf howled in the background.

Once the remaining cheerleaders were in the cabin, Ron began pacing around and waiting for the pizza delivery guy. "Well?" Kim asked, becoming bored of the silence.

"In this very cabin, I was able to survive every evil Camp Wannaweep could throw at me," Ron stated. "This will be our base of operations."

Tara raised her hand and said, "Uh, Ron? I'm hungry."

"It's on the way," Ron assured.

"When did you call? We weren't able to use the phone or the Kimmunicator," Kim noted, frowning at Ron's statement.

Ron did not have the time to answer, as there was a knock on the cabin door. The cheerleaders warned Ron not to answer it, as they were afraid that it was the mutant, but Ron ignored them and opened the door. He accepted the order from the pizza guy and grabbed all the items, handing them to Hope and Bonnie.

"Great! Our squad is short two people and there –" Bonnie started.

"Less talking," Ron snapped. "The monster is still out there. And our delivery probably alerted us to where he is." Opening the secret hatch he used when he first saved the day at Camp Wannaweep, Ron grabbed the nearest cheerleader by the shoulder. "Unless you want to end like the other cheerleaders and Barkin, take the escape hatch. It'll lead to the Arts and Crafts cabin. From there, head back to the bus. I'll be right behind you. I have a villain to handle."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Bonnie mumbled, hurrying after Crystal and Hope.

"I'm staying," Kim decided.

Seeing Tara's indecisiveness, Ron was the one that placed a hand on Tara's shoulder. "Leave. Please."

A few seconds later, Tara nodded. "I trust you." She placed a kiss on Ron's cheek before leaving through the secret hatch.

"Smart move, Cassanova. She clearly likes you," Kim noted as both she and Ron exited the cabin.

"Yeah. I'm lucky. I don't think I would have known one year ago," Ron confessed. The sound of Barkin's screams came shortly after that statement and both friends hurried towards the woods.

"Possible! Stoppable!" Barkin cried as the two students approached him, the teacher's lower body wrapped in sickeningly green slime.

"It's okay, Mr. Barkin. We're here," Kim assured.

"It's...it's dripping and oozing muck," Barkin complained.

Even though he knew who 'it' referred to, Ron asked what it meant. Not to Ron's surprise, Barkin admitted that he couldn't describe Gil (now Gill) and Rufus pretended to throw up.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure I've faced worse… did you say oozing muck?" Kim said, her weird factor increasing about tenfold.

An explosion sounded and the three of them rushed over to Cabin 13, which was decimated and covered in the same slime Barkin was covered in. Kim was thankful that at least the cheerleaders weren't there. The green mutant of sorts turned his head and his head looked eerily similar to that of a fish. "That's the guy," Barkin said.

"He is creepy," Ron confessed, recoiling slightly.

"I heard that squeeb. Remember me?" the mutant asked.

"Nope," Ron lied. "I don't think so."

The mutant stalked forward and pointed a slimy finger in Ron's direction. "Oh, come on, Ronnie. Think! We switched places. You took my Arts and Crafts and I took your swim time," the mutant revealed.

"Gil? Gil Moss?"

"Oh, I am no longer Gil. Now I'm Gill!"

"What's the difference?" Kim wondered.

"He added an L," Ron said right as Gill said, "I added an L."

"You know, as in gill, as in these things that grew and mutated?" Will a well-placed shot, Gill pinned Kim to the tree wall. "Step away from Miss Possible, Ronnie," Gill ordered as he saw Ron start to move forward.

"Congratulations. You know how to use the internet," Ron deadpanned.

"I know all about your lives," Gill said as if Ron hadn't commented. "It's been going great, hasn't it?"

"Better than your life," Ron mumbled as he clenched his hands into fists, waiting for the right moment.

"Is one of your complaints being a stinky mutant?" Barkin made an effort to step in between Ron and Gill, only for Gill to hit with his mutant spit and pin him to a tree. "Do you mind? Can't you see I'm catching up with my old camp buddy?" A feral grin that would have made Darth Vader proud appeared on Gill's face. "So, Ron, did you ever hear why they shut down the camp?"

"I honestly don't care why."

"It turns out... Oh, you're gonna love this! The lake had been polluted by runoff from the science camp."

Ron decided to skip the whole "I thought that was [name] camp," and chuckled darkly. "You bathed in there all summer. Poor guy."

"Look, we know plenty of scientists. Maybe someone can cure you," Kim suggested.

"Science? Science made me like this!" Gill roared as he leaned his face closer to Kim. "Have you wondered how I managed to jam all of your communications?"

"Equipment stolen from telecommunications camp?"

Gill turned away with a pout. "Lucky guess."

"So you were behind the blowout on the bus and everything. Why?" Kim asked.

Ron tensed his muscles, knowing that this would be the perfect moment to knock Gill unconscious, right before he could start his mutant spit show again.

"All part of my plan, to get revenge on Ron Stoppable." As soon as Gill turned around to point his grimy finger at Stoppable, Ron's fist powered by the Mystical Monkey Power connected with his temple and Gill collapsed onto the forest ground.

"I'm flattered, but you're not really worth my time," Ron confessed. "Excuse me for a moment while I make this look like more of a fight." Ron dragged Gill's unconscious body behind the bushes and then disappeared.

"Stoppable had a nice hit," Barkin commented before wheezing.

"Mr. Barkin, are you okay?" Kim inquired.

"My neck feels all weird and itchy and..." Mr. Barkin paused before he spotted his neck turning a darker green color. "Cheese and Crackers! I'm mutating!"

"Sick and wrong." Kim somehow kept her stomach contents inside. Nonetheless, she was pleased the night horrors were gone.


The next morning, the bio-hazard team and police arrived at Camp Wannaweep with a huge fish tank, a bio-hazard team, and a gurney. Gill sat suspended in the air, struggling to free himself from Ron's rope. He still had no idea how the squeeb managed to knock him out that quickly. The mutant vowed it would never happen again.

"Hurry, men! My feet are webbing as we speak!" Barkin exaggerated as two bio-hazard men came over and sprayed him with something yellow-colored. Honestly, Ron wasn't planning on asking.

"Ron, you're still a squeeb!" Gill yelled before he was dropped in the fish tank. "And you always will be," he finished.

"Ron, this is Dr. Lurchin," Kim introduced as she placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder and turned him around to face the doctor. "Dr. Lurkin specializes in genetic mutation."

Ron plastered a smile on his face as he shook hands with the scientist and said, "You've got quite a task ahead of you."

"Indeed. I specialize in genetically altered rutabagas, so a human subject shall be quite the challenge," Dr. Lurchin admitted.

"I shall have my revenge!" Gill shouted.

"Get well soon, Gill," Ron shouted back.

On the way out of Camp Wannaweep for the second to last time – assuming he was still a mascot during their fourth year, Ron received a pat on the back from Barkin, as well as a few cheerleaders blowing him a kiss and congratulating him. He expected the kiss on the cheek from Tara, but he wasn't expecting the kiss on the cheek from Liz. Ron became a bit disconcerted when Tara seemed reluctant to kiss him on the cheek, much like Bonnie was reluctant to thank him. Could he have ruined his relationship with Tara? Ron didn't think so, but Tara still liked him for now so all was fine.

"Listen up," Barkin called from off in the distance. Ron turned and saw all the cheerleaders, sans Kim, plus Barkin standing by a police car. "The police are going to give us a ride home. Let's lock and load."

"Be right there, Mr. B!" Ron called. As he headed over to the police car with Kim in tow, Ron said, "So, since I technically took down Gill, does that mean I get to lead on missions sometimes?"

Kim smirked right before she entered a cop car. "We'll see."

Ron let out a groan as he boarded the cop car. "Come on! That's code for not a chance."

"Actually, it's code for ferociously unlikely."

"Some things never change, but for everything else, there's the Ron Stoppable mantra."


A/N: So Ron's first major change involves Gill. We'll see what repercussions that has. The next episode will feature Adrena Lynn in all likelihood. The reason behind Liz's behavior will be explained early on in that chapter. Also, one of the cheerleaders learns an uncomfortable and saddening truth. Brick Flagg makes his second appearance next chapter, I think.

I'm going to try to limit Kim and Ron's scenes for All the News, since Ron was the primary character for this chapter. We'll see how that works. I've been taking part in a Friday-free electronic day with my brother for the past month and will be continuing for an unknown amount of time. Updates will still be monthly, however, so another update will be sometime in March. Until next time.