You know, it's a beautiful thing. I've found that more people are concerned for Invader Zim, other than the other shows that have fallen from the shiny TV screen. People actually cry, make video tributes to Invader Zim, and pour everything they have into it because it was canceled. There's sheer beauty in that. Yes, some people may say that we're stupid and immature, crying over a short green alien and a robot, but it's really not. It shows that you are true fans of something, and fandom for Jhonen Vasquez is beautiful, even in it's own sick, twisted way. I salute each and everyone one of you for it. 3
And with that said, on to chapter 6, finally.
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The crew members of the Pirate Monkeys looked to their captain for instructions, shaking slightly. They all seemed to be a bit anxious and frightened because of the task ahead of them. Captain Mattie had her back turned to them, however, and was staring out at the building, trying to block out the screams coming from the windows. The sky had turned a green color from the pollution of the building, and dark storm clouds circled around it. She closed her eyes and turned to her crew.
"This is it," she said. "The moment we've been waiting for. Justice day for Nick."
The crew exchanged nervous glances.
"Now, one of you must stay behind, as a distraction at the gate if any of the employees come. That'll be you, Johnny," Mattie said, nodding in the homicidal maniac's direction.
"Him!?" Jhonen piped up. "He'll kill anyone in his path!" Mattie's gaze quickly moved to Jhonen.
"Only if he is instructed to, right Johnny?" she said, holding up a Cherry Fiz Wiz. Johnny stared at the cherry goodness with a hungry look in his eyes, nodding. "Good. Now, everyone out, except Johnny. I need to disguise him," Mattie said, smirking.
Thirty minutes later, the Pirate Monkeys were standing on the other side of the gate, while Johnny stood near the RV, dressed in a little pink dress, a blonde wig, and pink high heels.
"Are you sure this is necessary?" he asked, shifting his weight (what weight?) uncomfortably from foot to foot. Mattie nodded.
"Yes, and don't question your captain, or it's Davy Jones' Locker for you!"
Johnny gave her a puzzled look.
"... Nevermind."
The rest of the crew followed their captain up to the double doors in front of the building where a sign read "Entrance to your Death-- I Mean Job".
"That always kept me wondering," said Jhonen. Zim, overly excited about his revenge, ran into the double doors, attempting to knock them down. The crew watched as he rammed his body into the doors, but to no avail. He looked around, grabbed Dib, and began smashing his abnormally large head into the doors.
"Stop it, stop it!" Mattie screamed. "You're going to get us caught!"
Zim dropped Dib onto the concrete steps. "Well, how else are we going to get inside? The doors are locked."
Mattie backed up several places, looking up the tall building. There were hundreds of windows, and only one was open, on the 4th floor.
"There," she said, pointing. The rest of the crew looked up to the window.
"Oh, bravo, you're a genius. The only problem is, WE CAN'T FLY, AND I'M PRETTY SURE WE'RE NOT SPIDERMAN!!" Jhonen screamed. Mattie backed up a few more paces from her hero, frightened.
"That's why we have Zim," she said. Zim looked at his captain, puzzled, but then a grin spread across his face, and his spider legs shot out from the pak on his back. Mattie grabbed onto Zim's gloved hand, and Johnny's cold one. Then the rest of the crew followed suit, and soon Zim was pulling them up the building, using his spider legs to climb. He pulled them through the window and massaged his arm, which was in pain from the weight of the others. Mattie looked around the room. There were bubbles everywhere for some reason, and sand on the floor. She shrugged it off, now noticing the door that stood ajar on the other side of the room. As she moved towards it, she heard a high-pitched giggling. She stopped dead in her tracks, looking around the room. Another door also stood open, a door to a bathroom, and a yellow hand was slowly pushing it open.
"Hide!" Mattie whispered frantically to her crew, and jumped in the closet, climbing up to the top shelf. The closet was so dark that she didn't need to close the door.
And at that moment, Spongebob Squarepants walked out of the bathroom with a towel around him. He spun around once, and the towel was gone, but now he was wearing clothes. He giggled again, walking towards the closet.
"I love being a cartoon!" he said. He bent down, examining a box in the closet that said "COSTUMES!!", wondering aloud what he would need for today's show. Mattie threw caution to the winds, and jumped down from the closet, landing behind the yellow monstrosity. Luckily, he had giggled again when her feet made the dull "THUD" against the sand. She pulled out her plastic sword and, praying that it would be quick and he wouldn't scream, thrust it into one of his holes.
He didn't scream. Instead, he giggled.
"That tickles!" he said, turning around, and the smile suddenly vanished from his face when he saw the pirate before him. "OH MY--" but the rest of the sentence was cut off by Mattie shoving him in the closet, and gauging his eyes out. She shoved a banana in his mouth to stifle his screams and ran out the door, ordering her crew to do the same.
"That wasn't necessary," Alyssa said, looking over her shoulder to the dressing room. Mattie merely shrugged and continued down the hallway. She looked around at the various dressing rooms, most of the names she didn't even recognize. She stopped at one, however, and looked at the name on the door. It was scraped off a little, though she could still see that it used to say "Invader Zim". But now, below it, it said "BROOM CLOSET". She cringed and kept walking.
"The head office is on the very last story, story 7," Jhonen said. Mattie nodded, cleaning the sponge off her sword. Mallory was doing a sort of jig as she walked, with GIR singing on her head. A figure moved at the end of the hall, making the crew freeze. Catdog made it's way down the hall towards them, and the crew had no where else to go. Finally, the mutant THING reached them.
"What's this? New show?" Cat said. Mattie half shook, half nodded her head.
"Isn't it a little too early for Halloween?" said Dog.
"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, POOCHY!!" said Alyssa, slapping him and running. Mattie watched her go a little bit, then followed her with the rest of the crew.
"How long are these hallways? And how long will it take us to get to the head office?" Mattie asked Jhonen, who had obviously had experience in this building. He shrugged, not looking at her. They finally reached a staircase and began to climb up to the fifth floor. Patrick the Starfish was making his way down the steps towards them. He held out a... nub?... to stop them.
"Have you seen Spongebob? He's due on the set in five minutes," he said. Mattie looked to the rest of her crew, then back at the pink blob. She shook her head. Patrick nodded, muttered thanks, and kept walking. Mattie smirked as she relived in her mind what she had done to Spongebob, and what would probably happen with Patrick reached his dressing room.
They reached the top of the steps and were met with a dilemma. There were two hallways to go down, and even Jhonen didn't know which one to take. Mattie was just about to choose one at random, when they heard the frantic clicking of high heels coming towards them. Mattie turned to see Johnny running towards them, the blonde wig gone, though he was still wearing everything else, and he looked mad.
"There were no guards! They're all already here! The only thing I had to distract were two guys trying to hit on me!" he screamed at Captain Mattie.
Mattie grinned. "You weren't really a distraction, Johnny. I just wanted to see if you would do it." Johnny looked like he was about to murder her on the spot, but Mattie turned away from him to address the entire crew. "It looks like we're going to need to split up," she said. She pulled out two walkie-talkies from her jacket and handed one to Zim, and kept one for herself. "You," she said, pointing at Zim, "Dib, GIR, and Johnny. You go down the right hall. Me, Jhonen, Alyssa, and Mallory take the left one. Just tell us if you have trouble, or if you found the way to the head office. Good luck."
And with that, the two teams split up, each going down the opposite hall, running towards their destiny of doom.
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Woo! Cliffhanger AND a short chapter! Could I possibly get any worse? So yeah. R&R, and I really am sorry for the long wait. Oh, and don't hate me for the pink. You know you giggled at that, deep down.