Hey guys, Happy Holidays! Finally we're getting to the climax of the story. Once again I wrote too much and had to split this into two chapters for flow purposes. Luckily I shall be posting the next half shortly so there won't be another long wait. I should mention I did end up breaking a bit of a cardinal sin and inserted my own lore elements for the sake of the story. Hopefully it's not too unbelievable. Anyways, enjoy this exciting 2-part boss battle.

Chapter 10: The Boss Level

One big action scene later...

Dib fell onto his hands and knees, his body shaking and his mouth dripping with vomit as he gasped for air.

"Ugh, gah!...okay...I think I'm done...I think I….nope-BLAAARGGGHH!"

Dib then projectile vomited onto the floor once more, sobbing between hurls. "Make it stoppp!"

From across the room, Mini-Moose was also gurgling loudly while leaning on its side. It then turned a sickly shade of yellow and also projectile vomited onto the floor. From their piles of puke, several squid puffs emerged and began scuttling away, only to be cut off by Gaz who stabbed one with her flame sword.

"Will you both knock it off already?" Gaz called out to them as she shook the cheese off her blade. "At least wait till we finish destroying the last batch!"

Zim and Gaz had spent nearly fifteen minutes fighting against the growing number of attacking squid puffs that kept emerging from Dib and Mini-Moose's combined bursts of vomit. Luckily after much trial and error, the two had developed a system where Zim would blast the creatures away from the doors and vents to keep them contained while Gaz used her flame sword to slice through the puffs and toss them into the furnace. Despite being a lot easier to destroy then the giant squid puff, the creatures were still multiplying faster than the two could destroy them, as both Dib and Mini-Moose continued to vomit non-stop. Things started to go downhill fast when the furnace broke down, its fires having been put out by the overflowing abundance of melting cheese. It got even worse when Zim's weapon began to overheat, causing it to malfunction and allow some of the puffs to hide in crevices around the room.

"Argh, this is useless!" Zim said, smacking his fist against the blaster to get it working again. "At this rate we'll be up to our eyeballs in squid goo if we don't find a way to defeat these things!"

"I'm open to suggestions if you have any!" Gaz said as she sliced through a couple more squid puffs as they were crawling up the walls. One got away and quickly crawled toward Zim who was still focusing on his blaster.

"Behind you!" Gaz pointed out. Zim turned to see a squid puffs launch itself into the air at him. Zim ducked out of the way and quickly summoned a laser from his PAK, zapping the creature which let out a shriek and fell smoldering to the ground. He turned to look up at Gaz who was slicing through the multiplying puffs and hadn't noticed one crawling up her dress.

"To your right!" Zim called out. Gaz looked down toward her right leg and swatted off the pizza squid which landed on her shoe. She kicked the creature up into the air before quickly spinning around, using her blaster sword to slice the creature neatly in two. Zim watched admirably, impressed by her flair and mastery over her new weapon.

However he quickly snapped out of it when he heard more sounds of vomiting followed by a new wave of squid puffs. He also noticed some of the creatures trying to reform and knew it wouldn't be long before they were overwhelmed again. Thinking quickly, Zim grabbed Gaz by the hand and pulled her towards the nearest table.

"What are you doing?" Gaz asked as Zim began pulling up onto the table.

"There's another wave coming. We need to get to higher ground so they don't sneak up on us." Zim said. Gaz paused then nodded in approval. The two then stood on top of the table with their weapons at the ready. The new wave quickly crawled their way forward and began trying to climb up the table. Using her flame sword, Gaz sliced through all the creatures that were climbing up while Zim picked off the ones further way with his newly charged blaster. At first their strategy was effective, that is until Dib and Mini-Moose unleashed another dual wave of vomit, creating even more squid puffs. On top of that, the ones they did destroy kept multiplying or reforming. Before either of them knew it, dozens upon dozens of puffs had trapped them and were quickly starting to eat through the table legs, causing it to wobble and lean off center.

"There's too many of them to destroy!" Gaz exclaimed, as she sliced through another puff, quickly kneeling down so she would lose balance. "There had to be a way to stop them from multiplying!"

Zim tried wracking his brain as he smacked a couple more puffs off the table with his overheated blaster. "Those things are part pizza and part squid. If we can find a way to weaken at least one of their bio structures, we can prevent them from reforming and make them vulnerable to attack!"

"And how exactly do we do-"

Suddenly there was a violent lurch as one of the table legs finally gave in. Gaz dropped her sword and grabbed to edge to keep herself from falling. Just then a squid puff that had been crawling up the edge, leaped up and latched onto Gaz's face. She raised her hands up trying to pry it off and ended up falling off the table into the crowd of attacking squid puffs.

"Gaz! Hang on! I'm - AHHHH one's got my leg!" Zim cried out as another squid creature latched onto his leg and began biting him, causing Zim to strike it with blaster as well as stumble off the table to the floor. Quickly the squid monsters began advancing upon the two, grabbing and snapping at their limbs and chewing on their clothes as they struggled to get free.

Flailing around in panic, Gaz looked frantically around for something to strike the creatures with. Suddenly she felt something heavy fall out of her pocket and looked down to see the can of soda she pocketed earlier. Grabbing it, she smashed the can repeatedly against the squid puffs that was attacking her face. At first it had no effect but the force of the hit caused the can to rupture and spray soda all over herself and the surrounding creatures. The squid puff on her head let out a high pitched screech and finally released its grip on Gaz's face, tumbling to the ground as it flailed about in pain. The rest of the attacking squid puffs let out similar screams as their cheesy skins sizzled and dissolved, causing most of them to melt away into puddles.

Gaz wipe away the cheese from her face and looked curiously at the melting squid puffs around her as well as the solid ones, who were now scuttling away from the wet soda covered floor. She then looked at the punctured soda can and at Zim, who was still struggling with the puffs as they attempted to gnaw his limbs off. Quickly she raced over and shook up the can, spraying soda onto the creatures which let out a collection of horrible screeches before releasing their hold on Zim. They attempted to crawl away but like the others, they dissolved into puddles.

Zim flinched as the soda touched his skin and quickly rolled away from the spray zone. Wiping the soda and melted cheese from his face, he looked down at the wailing, melting puffs in confusion. "What's happened to them?"

As Gaz watched the creature disintegrate, she looked at the soda can and came to a realization. "That's it! This is how we'll beat them! It's like you said, the squid puffs are partially made up of pizza, meaning they're also made of dough which contains yeast. The only thing that can dissolve yeast is sugar, and these energy drinks are loaded with them!"

Zim's eye's widened in understanding. "That explains why the larger squid puff ate everything except for the beverage containers." He then looked under the table at the still untouched cases of energy drinks and grinned as an idea formed in his head. "I have an idea. Cover me!"

Handing her his blaster, Zim jumped to his feet and ran through the barrage of remaining squid puffs. While Gaz was busy shooting at the puffs around him, Zim was able to find and grab his empty bazooka off the floor before racing back to the table where Gaz was. He then ripped opened the soda boxes, grabbed the cans and inserted a bunch into the ammo opening in the bazooka.

"Shake up a can and follow my lead!" Zim called out as he aimed his bazooka.

Putting down the blaster, Gaz reached into the case and grabbed a can of Power Burst, shaking it vigorously before standing at the ready beside Zim.

"Ready, aim, SPRAY!" Zim called out as he launched a can of Power Burst into the crowd of squid puffs, which zoomed over their heads at break neck speed before exploding, dousing them in soda and slowly melting them away. He started shooting them all over the base, drawing out any hiding squid puffs and melting them before they could run. Gaz meanwhile shook up her can and began spraying any squid puff that came close to them. It wasn't long before all the squid puffs had melted into several piles of mush, covering the ground in melted cheese. Just as they were about to relax, Zim and Gaz heard a gagging noise and turned to see Dib trying to hold back what was surely another wave of vomit.

"Quick! Feed the sugary beverage to Dib!" Zim commanded.

Grabbing a new can, Gaz raced over to her brother who looked like he was about to throw up a new batch. Quickly she opened the can, shoved it into his mouth and tilted his head back as she made him chug the entire thing. Zim did the same with Mini-Moose who also looked on the verge of vomiting. Both just barely managed to swallow entire contents of the canned drink, before pausing and letting out enormous belches which shook the base, cracking the glass on a few monitors.

Dib let out a gasp of relief. "Wow! That feels…better…ugh… I need to lie down for a sec…." He then fell back the ground, landing face-first into a puddle of his own barf. Mini-Moose meanwhile regained his natural color and instantly perked up, squeaking happily in relief as he floated back into the air and nuzzled against both Zim and Gaz in gratitude.

"Yes! Victory! Victory for Zim! Take that you gooey, stink-filled cheese monsters!" Zim declared as squashed a remaining squid puff beneath his boot.

Gaz deactivated her sword and walked over to Zim as he continued to repeatedly stomp on the melted puffs with glee. Seeing how happy he was at having destroyed his adversaries for once, she couldn't help but smirk at his enthusiasm.

"Hey Zim." Gaz said putting a hand on his shoulder so he'd stop stomping for a moment. "I just want to say, well…great job with destroying those squid puffs. I gotta admit, that was pretty smart how you used the bazooka to shoot the cans."

Zim paused at the compliment. "You think so?…dah I mean- of course you think so! I am Zim! Zim is always amazing and clever!" He said pompously striking a pose until he noticed Gaz arching her eyebrow at him in annoyance. "Although…I suppose I…wouldn't have thought of it had you not figured out the puffs weaknesses. There is much smartness in that fleshy hair-filled head of yours Gaz human. Almost as much as Zim."

Knowing it was the best compliment his ego would allow him to give, Gaz actually smiled at Zim and lightly punched his arm. Zim flinched, rubbed his tender arm as he glared back at Gaz. However, seeing the appreciative and somewhat affectionate look on her face, Zim couldn't help but blush.

Just then there was a bang at the door. It was followed by another bang, then an even louder bang then before.

"What the heck?" Gaz asked as she watched some noticeable dings appear on the metal door.

"It must be the puffs from upstairs." Zim assumed. "They probably tracked the scent of their comrades down to us. Quickly, ready the sugary liquid projectiles."

Gaz then opened another case and took out a can of Powerburst while Zim reloaded his bazooka. Meanwhile, Dib had woken to the sounds of the banging and wiped all the crud chunks off his face.

"Huh…wha? What's going on? What's that racket?"

Zim and Gaz walked past Dib, ignoring him as they stood before the door, their weapons and soda cans at the ready while Mini-Moose floated happily alongside them.

"Alright! As soon as Mini-Moose opens those doors, we launch a barrage of attacks and disintegrate those puffs before they have a chance to fight back. Does that sound agreeable?"

"Sounds good to me." Gaz said, activating her blaster sword.

"On my command Mini-Moose, open the doors." Zim ordered his moose sidekick, who squeaked in response and floated over to the control panel. Dib watched curiously, and then quickly gave into panic when he saw some feathers start to emerge from between the doors.

Zim held his bazooka at the ready. "Alright then, on three! One…two…"

"Stop!" Dib shouted. "Don't open the-"

"THREE!"

Mini-Moose then tapped the control panel, causing the doors to open. Immediately, the giant chicken squid's beak burst through and let out a loud squawk.

Gaz and Zim quickly back away in fear as they looked at the huge monstrosity. "What in the name of Irk is that thing?"

"I told you not to open the door!" Dib protested as he too got to his feet and ran to join them. "That's the thing that chased me earlier! It swallowed your robot!"

Zim narrowed his eyes angrily. "Oh it did, did it? Mini-Moose! Destroy that GIR-eating monster!"

As the creature tried squeezing its way into the room, Mini-Moose floated right up to it and started squeaking at it to stop. The chicken squid opened its beak to hiss and tried taking a snap at Mini-Moose. However, Mini-Moose floated backward and opened up the top of his head, revealing a deadly looking laser. It shot a huge burst of energy at the creature, nailing it in the face and blasting it back through the door into the opposite wall with a crash. The laser then retreated back into Mini-Moose's head who merely continued to stare ahead and squeak.

"Whoa." Gaz said in shock. "I didn't know that thing had weapons in it. Why didn't he use them earlier?"

"Yes, my little moose assistant is full of surprises." Zim said, grinning confidently as he ignored her question. "No doubt he has managed to destroy that creature, which means we can finally relax-"

Just then a set of feathered tentacles thrust its way back into the room and seized Mini-Moose, pulling him out into the hall. Before they could react, there was a series of bangs and clashes. Dib raced forward and looked through the doors around the corner.

"Oh man, look at them go! They're beating each to a pulp. This is quite a fight!" Dib exclaimed.

"Let me see!" Zim cried out as he approached the door, only for Dib to hold out his hand.

"Don't come any closer! The creature could come back and-whoa look at that right hook! I didn't know your Moose knew boxing!"

"I wanna see!" Zim said as he tried forcing his way forward, only for Dib to hold him back by the forehead at arm's length.

"And now he unleashing some karate moves! But the chicken squid is fighting back by shooting…oh gross! I did not see that coming! Man this is the greatest fight ever!" Dib said excitedly as Zim growled angrily. "Wait, now the squids shoving Mini-Moose into a tube and-"

Suddenly the banging stopped and was then followed by what sounded like a loud cannon firing causing both Dib and Zim to freeze.

"What on Earth was that?" Gaz asked.

"That sound! They must've activated the air-lock and…Nooo!" Zim then raced to a nearby cracked monitor and turned it on, revealing a distorted view of the house's roof. The three looked at the screen, at first seeing nothing. Suddenly Mini-Moose went flying out of the fake chimney, zoomed up into the Earths atmosphere and disappeared in the direction of the sun.

"Nooo! Not my Moose! I didn't get a chance to save his skin samples for cloning yet!" Zim exclaimed.

Gaz looked up at the monitor in confusion. "Wait, you also have an air-lock canon that can shoot things into space? Seriously, how is it you still haven't destroy Dib yet?"

"Hey!" Dib said in protest.

"That filthy creature has now destroyed two of my sidekicks!" Zim said clenching his fists angrily. "Oh it is SO personal now!"

There was another loud bang followed the chicken squid trying to force its way back into the room again. Zim grabbed his bazooka and aimed straight at the creature.

"Eat carbonated liquid you smelly bird stink!" Zim shouted as he shot a bunch of cans at the chicken squid. All of them struck the creature and exploded, soaking it in soda. However, aside from flinching briefly when struck, the soda itself seemed to have no effect on the chicken squid.

"It didn't…work?" Zim asked, lowering his weapon in confusion.

"Of course it didn't work!" Dib said. "Because it's-"

"Let me try!" Gaz said, pushing her way past Dib as she shook up her can and sprayed it at the giant beast. The soda drenched its already wet feathers but otherwise had no effect as the creature merely let out an irritating screech.

"I tried telling you! Its skin is obviously made of the chicken part." Dib pointed out. "And now you've both gotten it wet, it can easily slide in here!"

Sure enough, the chicken squid was finally able to squeeze it way through the door and into the room. It then lunged its tentacles down toward the three, who all dove in different directions as they tried to find cover from the attacking creature. Gaz and Dib dove over toward an over-turned table while Zim raced toward the weapons wall. The creature chased after Zim, who quickly shot it again with his bazooka, causing it stumble back and give him time to run away.

Gaz and Dib watched as Zim ran circles around the room. Gaz grabbed her sword and was about to go help when Dib grabbed her arm and began pulling her away.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Gaz asked pulling her arm away.

"This is our chance Gaz!" Dib said pointing toward the hall. "The door is wide open and unguarded. We can sneak past that thing and make our escape!"

"But what about Zim?" Gaz asked.

"What about Zim?" Dib asked skeptically.

"Well...he..." Gaz stopped herself when she couldn't think of a reason that would convince Dib to let her help.

It seemed Dib had read her mind as he glared darkly at her. "Need I remind you that he's the reason we're both down here in the first place? The reason why that giant mutant chicken monster exist and is trying to kill us? I won't let you get hurt because of him! He can get his dumb alien hide eaten as far as I'm concerned and this whole world would be better off for it!"

"I know but..." As Gaz paused to think of a response, they heard a loud crash, causing them both to look back over the table. Zim had activated his metal legs and was attempting to climb among the coils in the ceiling with the creature close behind him. Despite stumbling a bit due to his two severed metal legs, he was able to maneuver a lot easier than the chicken squid, which kept getting caught up in the wires and cables, causing the lights in the room to flicker.

Once the creature was finally stuck, Zim used his PAK's laser to cut through one of the coils it was holding on to, causing it to slip and the wires beneath it to to snap. The creature went crashing to the ground and was barely able to recover before being crushed by the metal coil Zim had finished cutting through. As the monster laid twitching, Zim climbed back to the ground, grinning victoriously.

"Yes! My absolutely flawless plan to entrap and crush the sinister creature has worked! And I did it all on my own! All hail Zim, the mighty chicken squid slayer!" Zim declared loudly as he let out a maniacal laugh.

Gaz rolled her eyes. "You know what, never mind. We can go now."

Dib nodded and the two waited till Zim's back was turned before making their way towards the door. Gaz was about to follow Dib out when she heard a scrapping noise and looked back toward Zim, who was still gloating over the crushed chicken squid. She then noticed one of its tentacles had stopped twitching and began digging its way into the ground, dragging itself away.

"And now to cut open this filthy creature and retrieve whatever remains of my SIR unit. Now where did I leave my spleen splicer?"

As Zim turned around to look for his tool box, the squid puffs's other tentacles stopped twitching and had gripped the floor, pulling itself out from under the metal coil. Gaz's eyes widened in terror as the creature's flattened body re-solidified and lifted itself back onto its scrawny legs.

"Watch out!" Gaz called out.

"Huh? What's-GAHH!" Zim said turning around as the creature towered over him once more. Squawking, the creature raised one of its tentacles and went to strike down Zim.

Zim barely had time to react when Gaz suddenly pushed him out of the way. He fell to the floor and look back as Gaz blocked the creatures tentacle with her flame sword. Although she stumbled a bit, she regained her footing and pushed back with immense force, managing to slice through the feathered tentacle. The creature let out a howling screech and jerked back, barely able to recover before Gaz raced forward and sliced through one of its legs, causing it stumble forward.

She then went to stab the chicken squid again when it smacked her away with its other tentacle, knocking her against the wall and causing her to drop her sword. The creature then seized Gaz and flung her at the ceiling toward a mass of severed metal coils. She landed hard against the exposed wires, causing Gaz to let out a blood curdling scream as massive volts surged through her body.

"NO!" Zim shouted.

"GAZ!" Dib exclaimed as he reappeared at the doorway.

Gaz then fell silently towards the floor, her clothes and hair now emitting smoke from electrocution. The creature caught her lifeless body and picked her up by the legs, dangling her high over its head toward its open beak.

"Put her down you monster!"

Suddenly the chicken squid paused and let out a terrible scream before flailing about. Zim looked over to see Dib, who had grabbed Gaz's blaster sword off the floor, jump onto the chicken squid and drive the sword deep into its back. He held onto the hilt tightly as the creature's flails became more erratic and violent. The creature then dropped Gaz's body, causing Zim to panic and activate his PAK rockets, which propelled him forward and allowed him to catch Gaz before she hit the ground. He then carried her out into the hall just as the creature was finally able to fling Dib off. While it was distracted in trying to pry the sword out of its back, Dib raced out of the room and down the hall to where Zim was desperately trying to revive Gaz.

"Wake up Gaz human, wake up! I command you to wake up!" Zim said as she shook her shoulders. Gaz however remained lifeless and didn't react. Before Zim could examine her further, he was shoved aside by Dib who was now shaking her vigorously.

"Gaz! Are you okay? Please wake up!" Dib said desperately. When she didn't respond, Dib placed two fingers against her neck and then listened to chest. When he could detect neither a pulse nor a heartbeat, his face fell in despair.

"No…" Dib said, all hope lost in his voice. As he looked at his sister lifeless body, Dib closed his eyes tight, then turned angrily to Zim and punched him in the face. Zim stumbled back, barely hitting the ground before Dib grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and pull him up to face him. "Now you've done it Zim! It's because of you this creature is wreaking havoc and my sister is dead! I'll kill you!"

Dib then went to punch him again only to be stopped by Zim's metal arm. The two struggled against each other until Zim was able to summon another metal limb to grab Dib's other fist and hold him at bay.

"She is not dead!" Zim said as he got to his feet. "Zim refuses to believe it! And if you'll stop trying to punch me like a deranged monkey boy, I will prove it to you!"

Pushing Dib away, Zim retracted his metal limbs and knelt down beside Gaz. He pressed a button on the side of his PAK, causing the oval shaped circle popped off. He pulled a small wire out the other side of his PAK and inserted it into the small metal circle before plugging the other end into a nearby wall outlet.

"Now then…where does your species keep its hearts?" Zim asked.

"'Heart' Zim." Dib corrected.

"Whatever, JUST POINT IT OUT TO ME!" Zim exclaimed.

Dib rolled his eyes and point to a spot off-center on Gaz's chest. Zim then attached the metal circle to the spot, which sprouted metal clamps that dug into her chest, causing the device to light up and blink in rhythm.

"Now, why don't you check again before trying to bash my face in?" Zim said pointing down to Gaz. Dib leaned over to check her pulse again and was surprised to find that she had one.

"That's…incredible! How did you-?"

"My PAK's battery. It's a self-charging device designed to keep my inner systems working even upon severe injury." Zim explained. "If detached willingly from my PAK, it can sustain itself by being hooked up to a source of electricity and a living organism. As long as the power in my base holds out, that battery will keep her alive until we find another way to revive her."

Just then the lights began to flicker on and off. Zim and Dib heard howling and raced down the hall, stopping at the door to the control room where the creature was still trying to pry the sword out of its back. Now that it had only one leg to stand on, the creature was stumbling everywhere, crashing against panel and pulling down every wire and cable it could grab. With every flail of its tentacle, the lights flickered more dangerously.

"At this rate it'll tear apart the whole base!" Dib whispered harshly. "We need to destroy it before the power is gone! But how?"

Dib and Zim then quickly ducked quickly back behind the wall as the creature stumbled toward them before falling back onto its side.

Zim looked at the creature and narrowed his eyes in thought. "Its skin may be as solid as a chickens, but I guarantee you its insides are not! We need to find a way to blow it up from within, preferably with some big explosive device that can destroy a creature that size. If only my weapons and tech weren't all damaged…"

"Something big…" Dib then got an idea. "Wait a sec, I just remembered! Earlier when it was chasing me, I saw it swallow some sort of large metal cylinder device that was emitting electricity. If it's still in the stomach, perhaps we can detonate it somehow and blow up the creature!"

"Fool!" Zim exclaimed. "That will never work! What a stupid, stupid-wait, did you say a metal cylinder device? Are you sure that's what it was?"

"Definitely. I saw it when the creature swallowed your robot. It looked like a giant cooking pot and was covered with black stuff and pizza cheese."

"The cloner…" Something then clicked in Zim's brain causing him to grin. "Yes! I have it! I know how to destroy the creature!" His face then fell. "But…"

"What?" Dib asked. "But what?"

"I'm…going to need your…your…" Zim cringed in disgust as he struggled to pronounce the word. "Heeellllap…to do it. Ugh, that felt wrong."

"What? No way! After what you did to Gaz, you should be the one to-"

"I'm doing this to SAVE Gaz!" Zim exclaimed getting in his face. "Right now, the only thing keeping your sister alive is my PAK's battery and the power in this base. If the electricity goes, she goes, and I'm the only one left who knows how to keep it running! So are you going to help me or not?" Zim then extended his hand to Dib.

Dib glared hatefully at Zim, his every instinct telling him not to trust him. He then thought back to Gaz's lifeless body and knew if this was the only way to keep her alive, he had to take it.

"Fine." Dib said grabbing Zims hand. "I'll do whatever it takes to save her."

"Good." Zim said. His metal arms then came out of his PAK and seized Dib.

"Wait! What are you-!"

"Hey Squid smelly!" Zim said, hold Dib high above his head. "Come and get it!"

The chicken squid, which had finally managed to dislodge the sword from its back, turned in their direction and squawked loudly before crawling its way toward them.

"Oh you rotten little space rat!" Dib yelled as he struggled against the arms. "If I get out of this, I am so turning you into mincemeat!"

"Yeah, yeah, you can do that after all this is done!" Zim shouted up to him. "Now make sure after it swallows you, that you find the cloner and get the chicken squid to regurgitate it. Once you do, I can shoot it with a laser, causing it to explode and destroy the wretched creature!"

"Can't you just throw me Gaz's weapon and I'll stab the machine through its stomach?" Dib asked before a thought occurred to him. "Wait, but then I'll be caught in the explosion if I do that. Hang on a sec, I'll be caught in the explosion no matter how this plan goes down. You're trying to blow me up on purpose aren't you!?"

"What's that? I can't hear you!" Zim yelled up, feigning deafness. "Anyways, good luck!"

He then tossed Dib toward the creature, who opened its beak wide and caught him in midair.

"CURSE YOU ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMM!" Dib shouted as the creature swallowed him whole with one gulp.

Once Dib disappeared down its gullet, the creature turned its attention back on Zim, who faced it defiantly.

"It's just you and me now squid filth." Zim growled, picking up Gaz's flame sword and igniting it. "Let's dance."