The zesty smells of Mexican food wafted through the air. Bueno Nacho had always been an afternoon hangout for many of Middleton's teenagers, but today the crowd was thin. Only one booth had anyone in it, and only one of the three occupants was human. Kim sat with Rufus and Blaze, enjoying the show as Rufus introduced his friend to the "naco", in fact any Mexican food, for the first time. The last two days had been difficult, but rewarding, for her as she began to return to a somewhat normal life. She was still refusing any missions, not that any big ones had come up... only smaller ones like getting kittens out of trees, but she had contacted Wade. Because they had never found Ron's body, she had had a faint hope that Wade could tell her he was alive...even though she knew he would have made that knowledge public as soon as he could. Instead he had verified that Ron's microchip had ceased transmission, which it would only do if Ron was no longer living.

Surprisingly, though, he had informed her that he had been at Ron's memorial. In person! She had been so distraught that she hadn't seen him. He told her it was ok, that he understood, and that being out of his room had actually not been so terrible... other than the fact that he was attending his friend's funeral. He had even said that he might not be adverse to leaving his house again sometime, maybe catching a movie or something with Kim.

Kim knew the younger boy had been trying to make her feel better, and it had worked. After talking to him, and agreeing to accept the new Kimmunicator next time he sent it, she had sought out Monique. They had talked for awhile, though they hadn't broached the still-painful subject of Ron. Monique had convinced Kim to go shopping for a prom dress with her, and the two of them had had a rather normal afternoon... Kim even going so far as to giggle at a few of Monique's jokes.

"Ta-da!" Kim's reverie was cut short by Rufus' exclamation as he finished preparing the naco for Blaze. She smiled down at the two naked mole rats... she really couldn't think of them as Kirrnans, besides, no one else would understand if she referred to them that way... grateful for their presence. Their funny antics helped her get through each day. She knew Rufus missed Ron, but, perhaps because he wasn't human, or perhaps he just coped better, he hadn't let Ron's death eat him up like she had. Maybe Blaze had helped... the two seemed to have become fast friends. As Blaze carefully tasted his naco, the Kimmunicator beeped cheerfully at Kim. She frowned a little...she didn't want to go on a mission. But she pulled it out, knowing Wade wouldn't leave her alone if she didn't answer.

"Hey, Wade." She purposefully left out her signature "what's the sitch" in hopes that he would get the hint that she wasn't going to take on any missions.

"Kim, you got a hit on your website, and..."

"Wade, I TOLD you, I'm not going to..." he cut her off.

"No, just listen!! You're not going to believe this!" her heart jumped. Could Ron...? "The head of the Kirrnan's council left a message on the website!"

"Huh?" Kim was disappointed, even though she told herself to stop getting her hopes up.

"Here." Wade hit some buttons and his image was replaced by that of the Kirrnan chairman.

"Kim Possible. Although I know your recent tragedy has probably left you with an unfavorable feeling towards our civilization, I must beg of you one last favor. Our crown prince has disappeared, and I believe he may be residing with you. I ask that you contact us so that we may verify his location and send someone to retrieve him." The image blinked off. Wade's face looked up at her, interested.

"Weird, huh?" Kim didn't answer. She had been in shock at the time but she seemed to remember Rufus talking to the chairman. She believed she had heard the word "queen" in their conversation. Could the chairman be speaking of RUFUS?! She looked down at the two creatures, now having a naco-eating contest. Or...no.

"Yeah... weird. Hey, Wade, let me get back to you on this, ok?"

"All right." The picture blinked off. Kim looked down again. Blaze was lolling on his back, his stomach swelling with all the Mexican food he'd eaten. She looked over to Rufus, who, likewise, was stuffed with nacos. She rolled her eyes and scooped both of them off the table, putting them into the special purse-like bag she had begun to carry with her, made to hold the two naked mole rats.

By the time she got home, both of them were starting to complain that they hadn't gotten enough at Bueno Nacho. Kim rolled her eyes, knowing that if she let them have their way they'd eat her out of months and months of allowance money. Rufus had already done so the one time she had "Rufus-sat" him when Ron went to Paris. She took them up to her room, closed the door, and deposited them on her bed.

"Ok, guys. I got this message on my website. Either of you care to explain?" she replayed the chairman's message, and both mole rats seemed to pale. They exchanged significant looks then glanced up at Kim with innocent expressions. They simultaneously shrugged, muttering 'I dunno'. Kim wasn't fooled.

"Don't give me that! You know something about this missing prince! I don't want to start some kind of war with a bunch of midget aliens!" Rufus grinned at this, grabbed a notepad, and drew a little maritian... one with a huge head, almond-shaped eyes, the classic alien look... with a ray gun. "Very funny." Kim said sarcastically. "Listen, Rufus, I was really out of it that day, but I know I heard the chairman say something to you...something pertaining to this message." She gave him a stern look, and he hung his head. He peeked at Blaze, who was scowling at the Kimmunicator. Rufus chittered at him and he shook his head violently. He muttered something back that Kim couldn't understand, and a fast, unintelligible argument began. She sat down to wait it out, looking at the pictures covering her dresser. All of them contained her and Ron, and she felt the familiar heaviness begin to seep into her heart.

"OK!" she was distracted by Blaze's outburst. She looked over at the bed, where Rufus and Blaze stood glaring at each other. She grimaced, hoping that she hadn't caused them to break apart their friendship. Blaze heaved a sigh and plopped down.

"Me." Kim was confused by the short statement.

"What do you mean, 'you'?" He rolled his eyes towards Rufus who shook his head and motioned for him to continue.

"The message was for me." Kim's eyebrows shot up. Blaze had always spoken like Rufus and the few workers that she had met in the colony. Now all of the sudden his English rivaled that of the chairman's. Her eyes widened as the importance of his statement sank in.

"You mean, you...you're...?" He rolled his eyes and nodded.

"I didn't WANT to be a prince," he pouted, "I was hiding with the workers when your and your friend Ron came to the colony. We all look similar enough that I was able to even go into the council with you without being recognized. No one ever really looks at a worker, anyway."

"But I thought the council..."

"It's like your British Parliament." Blaze explained, then shrugged. "I liked the name Ron gave me... you know that our society does not use names, but, rather, numbers. As a prince my number was always 1. The queen is 1. All members of the royal family have the same number! I was tired of being thought of like that. Your friend gave me the gift of individuality...for once I was special. Anyway, I got caught up in the action. Then when I saw that you were to be returned here, I saw my opportunity to visit America and escape my 'birthright'" he said it derogatorily, "by being the pilot. You know the rest." Kim sat back, stunned.

"Wow. And here I thought Rufus..."

"Oh, he is." Kim frowned, and Blaze and Rufus snickered, sharing a secret.

"My mother, the queen, was visiting another colony when my younger brother was born. The colony was raided by human scientists, and he was taken by mistake." He waved vaguely at Rufus. "I drove the council insane by always slipping off and disguising myself. When the chairman saw Rufus he hoped that he would take my place. But Rufus was smarter than that, weren't you!?" The grinned and Kim had to smile, too. Rufus had a brother...imagine that! Blaze lost his grin, then, sobering up.

"I guess this means I will have to return. I loathe the court, but maybe I can bring some 'American' ideas there. And the food." He rubbed his stomach. "I will HAVE to find a way to get Bueno Nacho into the colony." He scampered over to Kim's dresser and pulled out his flight suit. Reaching into the pocket he retrieved two miniature comlinks.

"Here." He handed one to Rufus. "I'll keep in touch." They hugged, Rufus crying at the loss of his new friend...and brother. Then Blaze punched some buttons and turned to Kim.

"You are most brave. Thank you for allowing me to remain here. My ship will arrive soon. Take care of my brother." He hopped off the bed and scurried down the stairs. Kim just looked after him, in astonishment.

"Well...that was...random." Rufus nodded his agreement. He stashed the comlink in Kim's bag and crawled up her arm to sit on her shoulder. They moved to the window to watch as Blaze boarded the small flying saucer and vanished. Rufus pressed his nose against the window until the vehicle was out of sight, then sighed.

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss him too." Kim said. "But at least you know where he lives! You can always visit." Rufus brightened a little at this and tugged at Kim's sleeve. "What?"

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm! Bueno Nacho!!" Kim sighed.

"Rufus! We just CAME from there!" He looked at her with a pleading expression, then jumped up and down, so excited, that she had to give in.

"All right. Bueno Nacho." She agreed. As they left the room, neither noticed the Kimmunicator, having fallen to the floor, begin to beep.

Kim and Rufus returned to her room only a little before midnight. Rufus immediately curled up on his pillow and fell asleep. Kim still had to write her English essay, so she got to work. She was so intent on starting her assignment she didn't see the blinking light on her Kimmunicator, indicating a message from Wade.

"Let's see...Swift...A Modest Proposal..." she began typing, but it wasn't long until fatigue claimed her and she fell fast asleep. The world grew dim and then exploded in a riot of color. Some part of her knew that it was a dream, but this information was drowned out by the action.

"KP!!" A familiar figure was running towards her, a huge grin on his face.

"Ron!" Kim's heart raced...he was ok! Yet as she watched the ground at Ron's feet opened up and swallowed him, leaving Kim to scream his name in vain. Suddenly a dozen monkeys of varying species and sizes erupted from the walls and launched themselves at her. As she fought them off she saw Bonnie laughing with glee at her predicament. The monkeys retreated, only to stand behind Bonnie, awaiting her instructions.

"Like, SO destroy her!" Bonnie pointed at Kim. The monkeys attacked again but Kim was unable to move. Her clothes had morphed into a formal dress, which hampered her movements. As she fell beneath the oncoming horde she was surprised to see one of the monkeys fly into the air and disappear. Suddenly they all began to fly in random directions, as if they were being thrown.

"You ok?" Kim couldn't see her rescuer...he was covered from head to toe in a black ninja suit. She nodded mutely, then got distracted as a group of leprechauns began to cook their children for dinner. Her mysterious visitor kicked the cauldron and the tiny people fled in all directions.

"Hel-lo?!" the ninja waved his hand in from of her face and she felt a strange sense of deja-vu, as if she knew this person in another life. "Kim?" she blinked at him... how had he known her name?

"Kim?! Kim! Wake UP!" she jumped a little as she awoke, her younger brothers staring at her with annoyed expressions on their faces.

"Huh?" she blinked stupidly at them.

"Mom said to wake you up."

"Yeah, she said you had had enough beauty sleep..."

"But we disagree..."

"Because you need a few...

"YEARS of it!!" they finished in tandem.

"Ha ha ha. If you two tweebs don't get out of my room, NO amount of beauty rest will be able to undo what I do to you!" she swatted at them and they ducked, surprised.

"Hicka-Bicka-Boo?"

"Hoo-shaw!!!!" They high-fived each other, glad to have the old Kim back, and ran out of the room laughing.

"Tweebs." Kim sighed. She looked at the clock and nearly had a heart attack. She was going to be late for school!! She was halfway out the door before she remembered her essay, and slapped herself on the forehead. "Well, there goes my English grade." She dashed back upstairs, deciding that what little she had gotten written would have to do. She printed the document, stuffed the papers in her bag, grabbed Rufus and ran out the door.

As she ran down the street she had a vague sense that someone was watching her, but a swift glance around showed her to be alone. She shrugged the feeling off as a remnant of her strange dream and made it into first period just as the bell rang.

To be continued...