Thanks for everyone who reviewed on the first chapter. Yes I know I'm taking a while between the updates, but school is starting back soon (thank god, it will be my last year…yeah!) and my twin sister was married this past weekend. (Fraternal twin, I'm a guy; she's a girl…no we don't look alike in any way.)

A note on the content of this chapter: Saudi Arabia and the US are allies, and China and the US have peaceful relations. Please do not take my words on that issue seriously, I write for fun, and this is just a fictional story. I have nothing against the Chinese or Saudi.

Disney owns Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable and all related content.

Chapter Two War

"Damn Monkey" Ron mumbled as he slammed the door to his locker, and headed to his first class. Rufus growled the same in response to his master's sour mood.

"Why does he have to ruin everything? I thought we were rid of him after sophomore year, yet here I am the first day of my senior year and he and Kim are off to themselves again!" Ron continued to fume to himself as he trudged down the hallway towards his first class. The past summer between their junior and senior years Kim had started to date Josh Mankey again; and as with her past crushes had left poor Ron standing in the dust once again. It was not that Josh was a bad guy or anything, he had been perfectly nice (if a bit quiet) when he had been around Ron, it's just that….Josh had Kim.

At the time Ron had said no big, in a few weeks they would break up and she would be back hanging with him again. But they continued to date all summer, eventually making it 'official' that they were boyfriend-girlfriend. It had always annoyed Ron the way Kim could just forget about him like that when the object of her affection was around. Why couldn't she treat him like that for once? Just dropping everything and everyone just to be around him! Or becoming speechless just by his mere presence? Ron liked Kim, he respected and stood by Kim, he listened and was there for Kim, but Ron also loved Kim, and not just as a best friend. The moodulator incident had cemented those feelings, but he just could not ask her out. It was against the rules, and he valued their friendship too much to risk it like that. There was also the fact that as much as he did, she would never see him as anything more that just her best friend.

To Kim, Ron was Ron, he was not a guy…he was…him. She could see great things about Ron. He was loyal to a fault, generous, supportive, funny, helpful, kind, and even brave to a certain extent, but she could just not see herself getting attracted to him. She had thought about it after the modulator incident, but just could not risk their friendship that way. They had talked bout the moodulator 'thing' before, agreeing that it was entirely the chip. Much to Ron's dislike Kim had even said that most hated phrase to guys like him: "You're really a great guy, and someday one really lucky girl will get you!" In other words: "I don't want to date you, but I don't want to sound like a royal bitch saying it so this sounds better." He'd heard it before. He had asked nearly every girl in school to every dance since freshman year, and had yet to get a date. Ron could not hold a grudge though, or even stay mad at Kim; she did not even know it was something he hated to hear.

All that was beside the point at the moment, Ron was tweaked because not only had Josh monopolized Kim's time the entire summer, but she had even walked to school with him that morning. Ron was not just lonely in love, but now he felt like he was loosing his best friend. He had barely seen her all summer, except for missions, and their regular Friday night hang time….that was when her schedule was Josh free. Ron let it go though, he had to get to class, and he would actually like to graduate high school.

By lunchtime Ron was back to his usual chipper self, however. Kim and he had met up in their third class of the day, and traded some rather funny comments on the teacher's toupee, and Kim's adventure with the truth ray and her dad's boss. Ron was now seated across the table from the 'happy couple' between his other two friends, Monique and Felix. Ron had not seen much of Monique that summer, since she was mainly Kim's friend but they had seen each other on occasion. He had seen Felix quite a bit; they played at least one basketball game a week together and usually spent Saturday's playing video games. Lately though, even Felix was hard to find, due to the fact he himself had hooked up with a junior student named Crystal, who was quietly sitting on Felix's other side. She was nice, but quiet.

"Hey Ron-man, how's your first day of classes going?" Asked Felix.

"Ok I guess." Replied Ron, who was more interested in the cheese pizza on his plate than any conversation at the moment.

"That's good to hear, mine are way boring. How about you, Monique?"

"Mine are pretty boring too, but there is this cute guy in my home room I think I'm going to ask to the sprit dance next week!" Ah yes, the sprit dance. It was an annual event held each fall on the weekend before the first football game of the season. This year it was early by two weeks, because of the early start to the season. Ron dreaded what he knew the next question would be.

"So Ron, are you going to continue your annual tradition of asking out every single girl at Middleton High to get a date for the dance?" Kim asked, she meant it as sweetly as possible, but it stung Ron, and ruined all the progress he had made from his mood that morning….not that he would ever let it show. He would just answer with a witty comment, and/or a huge grin as always.

"No, I don't think so, this year I think I'll let the ladies come to me!" Ron answered with a big grin, everyone chuckled, but Kim could see. It was just his way of saying he had finally given up. Ron was persistent, good natured, and could take a joke with the best of them, but she knew he was tired of going to dances and social functions single. After the last years prom she could not really blame him. He had shown up, had asked every girl there to dance, only to be accepted by her, Monique, and Tara. Then sat at a table in the corner for a while eventually leaving hours before anyone else. Kim really did not understand why he was such an outcast. He was outgoing, kind, and nice, he even could practice good manners when he wanted to (which was not around her, although lately they had been getting better) he was decent looking, skinny and messy yes, but not repulsive in the least, but somehow Ron just did not fit in. He'd spend the night sitting in Bueno Nacho, and then go home early to watch TV and play video games. It was painful to watch him crash and burn, but even more painful to know that her best friend was so lonely.

Ned flopped down in the seat across from Ron in the booth he was occupying at Bueno Nacho, they both looked bored, but Ron also looked forlorn. Ned and Ron were not exactly best buddies but Ned liked to think they had a friendly understanding, after all Ron was his best customer.

"So Stoppable, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be at the dance, you usually go whether you have a date or not."

"It's always been Not Ned…and I guess I'm here because I finally have to accept that I am just not welcome at social functions." Ron said poking at his Naco while Rufus tried to cheer him up. Ned and Ron were alike, in a way, because they were both social outcast. He looked up to Ron though, Ron had Kim as a friend and helped to save the world on an almost weekly basis; like him though, Ron was not welcome at dances and parties. Some might say it was stupid for the two to be sitting there feeling sorry for themselves, but if they didn't, who else would? He just nodded and they sat in silence for a while. Other than the two, the restaurant was deserted; everyone else was at the dance, or otherwise occupying their Friday night social schedule.

Kim smiled and hugged Monique as they sat down at a table in the corner of the Middleton High Gym. Josh left her to go get some punch as well as make the rounds to say hey too many of his other friends.

"Hey Monique! How's the date going?"

"Oh just great…Ryan is so dreamy. Did you know he even rented a Rolls Royce to get us to the dance?"

"Wow…and with gas prices right now that must have been even more expensive."

"You know it girl; I plan to hold onto him for a long time. So how's your date been going? Is Josh as dreamy as ever?"

"It's been good, you know Josh though…he's a little reserved when it comes to conversation."

"Do I detect trouble in happy land?"

"No, no Monique…he's been just great, I just wish that sometimes he was a little more into the things I like to do. Sometimes we just run out of things to talk about, you know?"

"Like fighting villains...I think the only guy who is into that would be Ron." Kim just smiled and laughed a little at Monique's comment. Ron would have to be the only guy Kim knew that would willingly run in front of a death ray doing funny faces…even though he did not do it for fun.

"Speaking of the Ron-man, where is he, he has usually shown up by now and would have been slapped three or four times for asking girls to dance?"

"I don't think he's coming this time Mon, He usually asks every girl in school out, and this year he just said he'd let them come to him. I think he knows nobody will ask him, so he may have just finally given up." Kim said looking a little sad.

"That's too bad; I was saving one dance just for him." Monique replied looking a little sad about it too. She had known Ron for as long as she had Kim, and once they had discovered they had common interests, they had gotten along famously. She could not say she was best friends with him like Kim, but they were good friends too. Truth be told, Monique thought of Ron as one of the best friends a person could have.

Beep-Beep, Beep, Beep. Ron's Kimmunicator began ringing, startling both him and Ned out of their respective glazed looks. They had been just sitting there, mostly in silence for the last hour. Kim had gotten Wade to make Ron a Kimmunicator during the past summer. Since she was spending so much time with Josh, Ron was not around when he called. Ron dug the device out of his pocket, it was shaped like Kim's and had the same functions, however this one was Red and black, and had an "RS" screen saver just for Ron.

"What's up Wade?" Ron answered as the frazzled looking thirteen-year-old came onto the screen.

"Ron, are you near Kim?"

"No Wade, she's at the dance with Josh; and I'm hanging here at Buano Nacho."

"Ok, you need to see this, it's a news broadcast from just a few minutes ago. I'll keep trying to get hold of Kim, but if she's at the dance than she might find out anyway. I'm streaming it now." Wade said looking very apprehensive.

Everyone knew that the US had been involved in quite a few power struggles in the Middle East in the past few years; almost all of them over Oil. Alliances had been formed and broken, and the world was becoming uneasy with tensions building. The last year's election had seen a president elected that was in fervent favor of increasing arms spending and getting directly involved with the middle-east's energy crisis. With the mission in Detroit from a few weeks ago fresh on their minds, Ron and Kim had both followed the news on both fronts with a little more interest. Tension had grown within and without the U.S. to take direct, and if necessary, forceful action to secure energy supplies. Wade's face was replaced by the news broadcaster.

"….again re-capping the events over the past few hours. The U.S.S. Enterprise, the Navy Aircraft Carrier was attacked by Chinese air force and sunk in the Arabian Sea, there were no survivors. China has claimed that the naval vessel was encroaching on the waters of Saudi Arabia, and was endangering Saudi civilian ships as well as a Chinese escort fleet. China and Saudi Arabia have formally and have declared war on the United States and its allies. They claim that the U.S. was, and has been, taking action against Saudi Arabia, its ally, for the past year; sending naval vessels into their waters and endangering Saudi citizens. Congress has just exited an emergency special session and it is official the United States of America has declared war on China, Saudi Arabia and all their allies…"

Ron and Ned sat dumfounded. It was everything Ron could do to keep from panicking and running out of there.

The Gym was completely silent as the news anchor began to re-cap the recent world-wide events of the evening. Steve Barkin had stopped the dance and wheeled out a TV onto the stage so that everyone could see and hear what was happening. Some people looked scared, some shocked, some clung to their significant others and some just did not know what to think. Kim was not scared, but she was shocked and worried; Kim had left her communicator at home that night because it was an important date.

"Alright people, I think we can safely say the dance is over, I think that you need to go home and be with your families right now. Please leave in an orderly and calm fashion." Mr. Barkin announced as he started to usher people out of the Gym and the lights came on. People immediately began to leave, no arguing, and the talking started, taking the place of the shocked silence only a few moments ago.

Kim looked around for Josh, who had left to use the restroom before the broadcast, but was not really thinking about him at the moment. She wanted to get to Ron. She was worried he was going to freak, and she needed his comfort, and advice. As weird and random as Ron could be, he had always known what to say to make Kim feel better, and to push her to accomplish great things. She did not know what it was about him, but he was the reason she could and did save the world. She liked Josh, and was attracted to him, but right now she needed to say goodbye and get to Ron.

"Kim" Josh said walked up behind her. "I think we need to get home…I'm sorry about the dance and all…"

"It's ok Josh, I agree that we need to get home, I hate to seem like I'm ditching you, but do you mind walking home alone? I have got to go find Ron." Kim said looking nervous…she did not want her boyfriend to get mad about her wanting to get Ron.

"No that's fine…I guess I'll call you later?"

"Yeah, that's good; I'll see you later, ok?" Kim said giving Josh a small hug and a quick kiss before turning and disappearing into the night to find her friend. It looked like it was threatening rain as she made her way towards their hangout.