Quick note, I'M BAAAAAAAACK! I know what you're all thinking "Oh no, it's Aktress, everyone run!" But no, I'll try to keep this short so you can all read my masterpeice! While in La Push, I discovered something, I CAN DRAW! So I signed up for deviantArt, (my name is Invader-Akt on there if y'all wanna look me up) and I hope to post pics soon! Also, if any of you visit La Push soon, look for the Team Irken card I wrote outside of the city store. LOL XD
A HUGE surprise in this chapter that NO ONE WOULD EVER GUESS! (Okay, you probably already guessed it, but er, whatever.) MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA hahahahahaha ha. hahahaha. *Cough cough* ... er, ha! So... READ! READ LIKE YOU'VE NEVER READ! Before. Okay, I'm done.
CHAPTER 10- Robot Cat Sightings
DECEMBER 20th
A whole week gone since we hacked Tak's ship. And that's about all the information we've gotten so far. The only thing that we'd really gotten acomplished is that we had made some pretty good weapons, just in case it got down to that. I didn't want this to turn into a full- fledged battle, but if it came to that, we were ready. And the surprising thing was that Gaz was head of weapons department. We weren't surprised she was head of it, just surprised her section was the most effective one.
I banged my head on the table I sat at. "Ugh! We've had no readings of Irken software of craft in the whole perimeter of the earth, we don't know WHAT this little... doomsday device controls, or even where it IS! At least we're good in the weapons department." Gaz blew a bubble with her gum and popped it with the tip of a blade that she'd made today to prove her point.
"I'm pretty sure that she'll arive either today or in a couple days. At least before the holidays. You guys say it's been almost two years since Tak was here, so she most likely still remembers the weaknesses of this planet. We need to work, doubley hard tomarrow. It's break, and we don't have to go to the dreadful skool, so we can work harder then," I said, all buisiness. I got some groans from the guys, but Gaz just sat and sulked.
"Well, Dib and I have to go now. Tonight, Bloaty's comes out with a new flavor of pizza and I've never missed one of those days in my life. C'mon, Dib. Dad won't let me go unless YOU come with me," Gaz said and grabbed Dib by the coat and pulled him to the ground.
"Hey! Oh, fine. See you guys later," Dib said, getting up and walking out of the lab, where I had called a meeting. I could hear GIR off somewhere, laughing and dancing.
"I'm in loooooooooooooooooooooove!" GIR's faint voice echoed over and over. I had no idea what he was talking about, maybe he fell in love with his taco or something. I looked up to Zim. He was searching something on his computer.
"Hey, why don't we just take a break?" I suggusted. "We could go for a walk or something." Zim looked at me with tired eyes. I had a ton of pity on him. He had been staying up really late every night, doing so much research. He deffinitly won the best-effort award. And hey, when your LIFE is on the lame, I wouldn't blame him. This was a matter of life or death to him.
"No. I have to keep researching. With Tak comming at any second, like you said, I need to be on full alert," He replied and turned back to the computer. My heart sank a little bit. I wanted to get out for a while. It was hot and stuffy in here.
"Please? Tak's already been to this town before, right?" I asked. Zim just nodded, not turning around. "Then she'll know where to go. Where to land and set up base! Why don't we walk around town and see if she's already set up base?" Zim whipped around.
"But the Dib-human's scanners have detected no sign of her, he said so," Zim questioned. I shrugged.
"Maybe they're wrong," I said, joking. "C'mon, lets just hang out for a little bit." I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the elevator. I pressed the button that said "Main Level" and we shot out of the toilet into the kitchen. I landed on my butt next to the table.
"That could've been a bit more graceful," I joked and stood up. "Hey, it's clean in here! Where's GIR?" I asked, amazed at the no-show GIR. Zim looked around.
"I don't know, he's probably watching that wretched earth T.V. again," Zim mumbled. "That monkey..." We walked into the the living room, but GIR was no where in sight. The T.V. was on, but there was only static. I raised an eyebrow. Where was GIR? Zim's microphone came out of his backpack.
"GIR! Where are you?" Zim demanded. Nothing came back. I got worried.
"We have to go look for him. What if he's in trouble?" The little guy had grown onto me. Zim shrugged.
He closed his eyes. "May he rest in-"
"ZIM!" I yelled. He smiled.
"What?" He asked inoccently. "Really, he wasn't much use anyways." I rolled my eyes.
"Let's just take our walk," I said and we headed out the door into the slush-filled evening. Already, Christmas light where apearing on homes,and inside the windows were Christmas Trees with lovely decorations and colors on them. Zim shut the door and we walked down the icy path.
"Don't you just love it?" I asked, watching the flashing lights on a house across the street.
"Love what? Zim loves NOTHING," He said, wrapping his jacket tighter.
"The Christmas season! I love the lights, the trees, the songs, and the love that goes around. It was one of my favorite things way back when I was an orphan. The holiday season would help me get though the hate of some foster homes. The presents were always so great to get, and to give to my sibblings and foster-parents," I said, listening to someone faintly playing carols through a radio. Zim chuckled.
"Doesn't sound like the Christmas WE have," He said, "Back in 5'th grade, when I had just started taking over this pitiful planet, I learned of this horrific time of the year. I learned knowlodge of this... Santa creature. This, HORRIBLE, cheese-loving Santa. But all the humans seem to obey him, like they are his slaves. I once created a Santa suit and became, almost ensuring all humanity to their doom. But that AWEFUL Dib got in my way! He angered the Santa suit and it flew off, never to be seen again."
I stared at him in silence. "I think you may have just ruined my childhood love of Santa Claus," I said. "Santa isn't evil, he is a loving old man, like a grandfather, I've read, who lives in the North Pole to make toys for all the children with his elves. Every year on Christmas Eve, he flies around the earth, bringing toys to every child on his magical reindeer. Everyone knows it's a myth, though." Zim looked surprised.
"So he DOESN'T have human slaves?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.
"He does have elves, but they're not human, I guess," I shrugged.
"Aha, so he DOES have slaves!" Zim proclaimed.
"No, they're not Santa's slave, they're just always working and- you know, they DO seem like slaves... I don't know WHY they always work for free... maybe they ARE slaves!" I said, pondering over my childhood dreams.
"Whatever," Zim said. "Christmas is still too... jolly for my tastes."
"That's the whole reason I love it! It's a time when everyone comes together like a family to laugh, and sing..." I said, remembering my Christmas' past. Most of them didn't include a family, laughing and singing with. I had only said that because I had read it in books.
"This Love-smelly emotion is painful, not happy," Zim argued. I looked at him. "Irkens really are born without love-glands, where all your love is stored."
"What do you mean, Love-smelly? You mean falling in love?" I asked him.
"Yes, I have experienced the horrors of LOVE myself, even though us Irkens aren't supposed to" Zim said. I blushed a ton, thinking.
"You... did?" I asked quietly. Zim nodded. "When?"
"Back in 5'th grade," My heart sank.
"Oh," I said plainly. "With who?"
He growled. "Tak." My head whipped up.
"TAK? The same one what wants to kill you?" I asked, surprised.
"Yes, that monster. When she came to skool, she wrote me a poem, but after that, started to bully me like a WEAKLING! It was HORRIBLE! But I felt like I should give her things, like presents, flowers, meat. But it was always PAIN I got in return! Love is the worst thing that could ever happen to you," Zim concluded.
"Meat?" I asked. I was almost afraid for the answer.
"Yes, a Valentine's steak and other sorts, even though they burn," He said in a matter-of-fact-ly way.
Meat? "For Valentine's Day? Why? Where I come from, they give out candy, and love notes!" I said, very confused. This town was the oddest ever...
"That's weird," He echoed my thoughts. We rounded the corner and came to the skool. I looked over to the tree that we'd attacked the Jessica-Bots in. I smiled at the memory. I remembered how we laughed together...
NO! I DIDN'T like Zim! I DIDN'T! But... I'd never felt the feeling before, love, that is. Is that was this feeling is? I bit my lip. "Hey, let's go climb that tree, maybe we could see Tak from there, if she's here at all," I said, finding an excuse to go in the tree.
"Sure, I can see how the moniter is doing on the tree's life, too," Zim said and grinned. We hopped the fence of the skool and walked over to the tree, it was a little wet, but I managed to get up fine. Once I got to the branch that we were on last time, I looked down. Zim hadn't even tried to climb up yet.
"Are you coming, Zim?" I asked.
"One second, I have to use the spider legs," He called back. Spider legs? I thought. Suddenly, out of Zim's PAK, huge, spider-looking legs apeared and he began to race up the tree. I froze as he landed next to me and his spider legs retreated.
"Whoa!" I said after a minute. "That was AWESOME!" I laughed. Serriously, I needed one of these PAKS! Zim smiled.
"So do you see Tak anywhere?" He asked. Oh, yeah. We came up to see Tak. I looked around, but saw nothing but tree.
"I'll have to climb up a little higher to see past the branches," I said and started climbing the tree like a cat. I got to the top, and to my surprise, that's exactly what I saw. A cat.
But it sure didn't look much like one. It had shiny, black-blue looking fur, and had horns for ears. And it's eyes were glowing: RED! I looked at it curriously. I blinked. I reached out to pet it and it hissed. I took my hand back. It flicked it's tail and suddenly, it's eyes became lazers, boring into the tree. I screamed.
"Rosella! What are you DOING up there? The whole tree is shaking!" He yelled up at me as if it was my fault.
"It's not me! It's some robot cat or something!" I screamed, jumping off the branch just as the cat fired a lazer at where I was just sitting. I fell through the air and grabbed onto a branch a couple feet down from the Irken. He peeked over at me.
"Did you say Robot Cat?" He asked, his green skin turning pale. I nodded.
"That cat freaking fired LAZERS at me!" I yelled, doing a flip over the branch and landing on my butt, then climbed up to Zim. "Do you know anything about it?"
Zim nodded. "That's Tak's SIR unit. She's here," Zim whispered. My eyes felt like globes.
"What, wait. If Tak's here, then..." I started.
"The Dib-human LIED TO US! DAMMIT! HE LIED TO ZIIIM! He will pay! But why would he lie? Does he wish this planet to be DESTROYED by Tak?" Zim yelled in anger. I looked up and saw the cat wink at me, then disapear. I climbed up to see the damaged it'd done. But there was no damage, only a heart, with the words 'TAK IS BACK", but in the Irken language. I looked at the word 'Tak' for a minute and then I froze.
The heart. The word 'Tak'. I turned pale as a ghost. I'd seen this before.
"Oh, my God," I whispered. Zim raced up to me.
"What? What is it, Rose-" Then he saw the heart. He closed his eyes in anger. "Why would that STUPID Dib-idiot hide this from us?" I shook my head slowly.
I knew why.
"Oh, my God," I repeated. "I... I.." I couldn't say it out loud. It didn't seem possible. I'd seen this exact picture on a sticky note in a certain boy's room, without the "IS BACK" part.
"What? What's wrong, Rosella?" Zim asked, concerned. I felt light snow fall on me. It didn't sting, but only because it was so little of it.
"It's Dib," I said, staring off in the direction of Dib's house. Zim growled.
"What did Dib do?" He said lowly. I closed my eyes, thinking. How was it possible?
I looked at Zim in all serriousness. "He... Dib is in love with Tak."