A/n: Hey guys! Things sure are getting intense huh?

Zim's flashback timeline is getting longer and more detailed. I wonder if anyone can piece it together? Meanwhile, my life timeline is about to hit a new school year, and since I'm a fourth year junior in collage with two years left to go, writing most likely will take a back seat to chemistry which I've already failed twice.

On the up side, writing is one of my destressors so chapters won't completely cease. So for now, Enjoy!

Chapter 10 – To Protect

By the time they were a mile away from the hospital, it was nothing short of a miracle that Zim was still going. But as all things do, his energy reserves came to an excruciating (almost) end when his PAK legs retracted and everyone fell painfully to the ground. With the half a second warning Zim had that this was going to happen, he lowered Dib to the ground in a slightly more gentle fall than the others.

"Oww!" Gaz sat up moaning. "Couldn't have put us down a little softer?"

Zim sat a few feet from her, his breathing heavy and his muscles ached.

"We can't stop here." Zita jumped up and pulled Gaz to her feet, then moved to Dib when it became obvious that he couldn't walk on his own. "Zim come on get up."

Zim remained where he was, shaking his head. His body wasn't responding. The alert in his PAK was so loud that it was making his antennae throb. Dib stood, supported by Zita, gazing dazedly at Zim, then looked at his sister.

"Gaz, can you carry him?"

"What!? Why should I?!"

"Because we need to get out of here and we can't leave him." Dib's head was spinning, and he could feel a smooth trickle of blood running down the skin beneath his wound. The hem of his pants, which he had only barely managed to get on during their rush to leave the hospital, was turning redder by the second. His shirt was also sticking to his chest from both the blood and his sweat. "Just do it okay!?" He snapped when Gaz looked like she wanted to argue more.

Grudgingly she grabbed the alien by the back of his shirt. He was still wearing the mutilated dress that Dib had stolen from her room, though now it looked worse for wear, and there was dark stains along one side that were probably Dib's blood. Zim didn't struggle in her grip even though she held him at arm's length like a disgusting piece of laundry; the moment he had no longer been able to justify forcing himself to stay awake, his PAK shut him down for Slow Recharge. Gaz felt him go limp and grumbled under her breath.

"Just deal with it for a while okay?" Dib panted. He touched his hand to his forehead and looked up toward the sky to try and figure out which way was north from the sun, but the sky was spinning around him and he quickly gave up. "What side of the city are we on?"

Zita was the first to answer, "Southwest. We're only about a mile from the hospital."

"The Network will have sent agents out by now we need to switch directions and get out of their path. If we can't get away… They've got M now…" Dib was talking to himself but he knew he should have kept it to himself. "We should head east. We can go to my dad's cabin."

"Dad had a cabin?"

"He never took you there because he said it was too dangerous for a little girl."

Gaz huffed, and started walking. Dib leaned forward but Zita didn't move. Looking up he saw her eyes shining with tears. Dib felt his breath catch.

"Zita… M is going to be fine."

"How can you be sure?"

Because they will want to use him to get to us… Dib said nothing out loud.

"Is this the right way?" Gaz yelled from ahead of them. Zita sniffled, wiped her nose on her sleeve, and they started walking.

Progress was slow, but with some direction from Dib, they managed to avoid three different search parties. After about two and a half hours of walking, Zim woke up and Gaz dropped him to the ground once he said he could walk. The sky was getting darker and the forest, thicker.

"You sure you're okay Zim?" Dib asked. He was still being supported by Zita, though now Gaz was helping him as well. His face, drenched in sweat, was paler than Zim remembered it being when they had first fled the hospital, and Dib was barely able to lift his own feet to keep moving. Zim insisted he was fine so as to not cause any more worry.

"I just can't use my PAK. Not till I recharge more."

Dib nodded. "The cabin shouldn't be too much farther. If we're headed the right direction still…" Dib's voice faded towards the end, and he stumbled over a small tree root. Gaz and Zita caught him in time but both girls could tell that he couldn't keep going much longer.

"So what did Dad have this cabin for anyway?" Gaz asked, hoping that talking would help Dib focus, and he knew that's what she was trying to do, but it was enough of a struggle to simply stay awake. His mind felt foggy and tired. The pain in his side was barely recognized by his addled brain.

"He… it was for… if… if any… experiments… went wrong." Dib's vision turned fuzzy. He stopped walking, no longer able to see the ground in front of him.

"No good. We need to stop somewhere." Zita scanned the woods for any concealed area but everything looked the same in all directions.

"Should I go look for a hiding place? You can let Dib rest while I search." Zim suggested. Zita shook her head.

"You're barely any better than Dib. Both of you wait here with Gaz. I'll go search."

"No!"

Everyone turned to look at Zim. His eyes were narrowed on the ground and his tiny gloved hands were shaking, balled into fists. Dib was just conscious enough to note the position on Zim's antennae, which were held just higher than normal.

"Please let me do it. You guys have done so much to help me. I can't help Dib if someone would come, but I can make sure that I'm not seen. I also won't get lost since my PAK is working on making a map of the area." He ran up in front of Zita as she and Gaz lowered Dib to the ground. "Please, let me do this. I want to help." With him being so adamant, Zita had no choice but to agree. Zim hurried off as fast as his little legs would take him.

After walking for 10 minutes, Zim found a tree tall enough for his purposes. "Right… I've got just enough to get up there and do a scan…I'll worry about getting down later." With precision and skill that he didn't normally have, Zim used his PAK to make his way up the tree. Soon he was looking out above the forest canopy into the crimson sunset. It was a startling red and Zim had to turn away from it to avoid losing himself.

A small metal eye extended from the PAK. As it rotated, a bright beam of light scanned the horizon. Within seconds Zim had a completed map of a 5 mile radius. There was no cabin within range, but there was a cave. "Then that's where we're going."

His goal completed, Zim looked down the tree and gauged his options. He'd never be able to climb down; his PAK would shut the legs down before he even got half way. "I guess I could use a shield sphere," if I don't mess up again.

"You need to concentrate harder!"

One year old, Zim closed his eyes and grunted, really trying. The tips of his PAK legs moved together right by his sides. He could feel the tips heating to produce a solid plasma shield.

"You're putting the energy in too slowly. One fast burst. Give it everything you got!"

"I'm Trying!"

"Not hard enough! Come on Serazime! Defend yourself!"

"He's never going to get it…"

"Ignore him. Just do it. I don't believe what Larb keeps saying about you. Now prove it to Purple to!"

"I can't!"

"You can! Now stop crying or you'll get deactivated!"

Zim wiped his face and gave another push, but nothing happened and he started crying again. He closed his eyes and looked away.

"Told you he wouldn't get it."

"… Hang on I got an idea. Zim look at me a second."

Zim turned to look and saw a laser beam shooting directly at him. He covered his face, yelped in surprise, and the laser glanced off the side of his instantaneous shield sphere. He opened his eyes to look at Red who was smirking at Purple who was in shock that Red actually shot at Zim.

"Told yah he could do it." Red looked at Zim, "Stop crying. Don't forget that feeling. That's what the shield is for; to protect you from danger."

Too bad I was never able to convince myself you were dangerous… Zim glanced toward the sunset again then jumped off the branch. Less than a second from hitting the ground, Zim activated the shield. It bounced once off the ground then shut down. Zim hit the ground painfully, but only from a fall of 5 feet. Stiffly he got to his feet and hurried back to the others.

XXX

M slammed his fist again on the door of his cell.

"Would you give it a rest already! These guys don't care if your innocent." M's cellmate yelled from the small cot on the corner.

"I don't even know what they've locked me up for! They can't get away with this! I'm a tax paying citizen!"

"Boy, you really are clueless. These guys aren't from the government. Or if they are it's not one that normal humans know of." The man rested comfortably whith his hands folded on his chest. He was skinny and looked malnourished; his clothing, which was once a respectable shirt and tie, was dirty and tattered. He looked like he could be in his 30s but the accumulated dirt on his face seemed to add years. "What's your name kid?"

"Everyone calls me the letter M."

"M huh? Well I'm Dwicky. They claim I'm a menace to society after I took a picture of what I thought was a bear walking on two legs. That was two years ago and I've been here ever since."

"I helped a child with a medical condition that made his skin green escape with my friend, his sister and my girlfriend from a hospital."

Dwicky let out a low whistle. "well on the bright side," his smile had a malicious look about it, "you won't be here for too long. They'll either torture you to find out where your friends are, or use you as bait to lure them back." He laughed and sunk lower into the bed. "Nice meeting you."

M felt the knot in his stomach grow. Just what have I gotten myself into? He sunk to the floor and put his head in his hands. Zita's face came to mind. Please let her be safe.

XXX

"Red? Red?! Are you in there? Instructor Varshlez is really upset that you haven't been to your last 3 classes. Hello?" Skoodge sighed and typed in the override code that he'd gotten from one of the teachers months ago for getting Zim out of locked rooms. "Red…? You there?" He poked his head in the room but it was empty. The two beds in the room looked like they hadn't been slept in for days.

One side of the room was painted with splotches of purple paint, the other in red, and meeting in the center, written half in one color and half in the other were the words, To See in Color can't be All Bad!

Skoodge stared at the two different scribbled handwritings that made up the phrase.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Skoodge turned around to find Red standing in the doorway; a pile of books were dropped and forgotten at his feet. "I… I uhh…"

"GET OUT!" Red grabbed Skoodge's antenna, threw the shorter smeet out of the room and slammed the door as fast as he could.

Red wasn't in classes for the next two days. When asked, the Instructors stated that his homework was left on their desk before class so they weren't really concerned where he was.

A/N2: Don't forget to review! I still want to hear opinions on what's going on with Red, Skoodge, Zim, and the whole thing between them. Give off guesses on what happened in the past if you have any! I know what it is already but I'm curious what you think!