The Darknest Hour

Part Eleven

Time had come and gone since Zim and the others had made it to the secret caverns. Though there was still a bit of tension in the air, everyone was a bit more relaxed and were able to rest from the constant and exhausting work they had to go through. Within that time, Dib and Gaz were soon reunited again. It wasn't long after this that the found their father. Zim then had a face to face meeting as Dib introduced him to his father.

"Hello there." He had said; a smile in his voice; since Zim could not see his face properly; due to the fact that the man was wearing goggles and the collar of his coat slightly concealed his face. "I am known as Professor Matthew Membrane. I am known to everyone of Earth for my excellent study of science."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor." Zim grinned back.

He soon introduced his friends Tak and Skooge to the well known professor of Earth. Xane had also made himself known shortly afterwards. Everyone had then started a short conversation on how they met and soon they had gone their separate ways; hoping to relax a bit before they were to continue their escape. The Professor had taken that moment to check on and take care of the injured and elderly of the prisoners.

Back in the present, Zim looked over from where he now sat; resting against the nearby wall. A few feet away, Zim could see Tak, Skooge, and Dib having a conversation about what they had been through. As the young Irken continued to watch, he began to think of how relieved he was to finally see them again; though he hoped they would all soon form a plan to escape this nightmare they had been unwillingly trapped in.

It wasn't long that a new thought came to his mind. 'What had happened to those left behind?' He wondered. 'Had they survived the attack?' He gazed up at the ceiling as he continued his thoughts. Would the remaining Irkens make it to safety before the Voltarians found them?

Zim slumped back; relaxing himself more against the stony wall. He continued to wonder what had become of those who had or possibly survived the attack on Irk. 'And were the Tallests with them as well?' He asked in his mind.

"Zim!" Came a sudden voice; snapping the young Irken back to reality. Zim turned his attention to where the voice came from. To his surprise he saw Xane staring back at him.

"What do you want, Xane?" Zim asked frowning; a bit upset by the sudden interruption of his thoughts.

"Huh. I just came to see how you were doing is all." Xane replied; taken aback by Zim's attitude. "By the way, I was just talking to some of the others and they said that the Voltarians were coming but they still might not find us; since this is a secret cave and they hardly ever come into these caves anyways."

"The Voltarians are coming?" Zim asked in horror; jumping up and wincing at the sudden pain in his body. "And what do you mean by 'hardly ever!' That means they might actually be coming here this moment!"

"Hey, would you calm down? God, you're awfully tense. I was just saying what they told me. No need to be so stressed out about it." The young Alvemian scowl; crossing his arms.

"Well, he has been through much more then you probably have so he has a right to be!" Tak retorted; cutting into the conversation.

"Excuse me, we were in the middle of a conversation here." Xane snapped; turning toward the young She-Irken.

"Well, I'm joining it." Tak stated hotly. "What gives you the right to tell others how they should feel? He has been through things much worse than you could have ever think of! So you have no right to say that to him!"

"Hey! I was just making conversation, alright!"

Tak and Xane continued this while Zim, Dib, and Skooge looked on in shock. They were soon interrupted as a sudden jolt shook the room around them; causing little pebbles to fall from the ceiling. Everyone went quiet; soft murmurs and whispers being exchanged among the prisoners. It was then that they could hear shouts coming from behind one of the walls.

At that moment, They soon saw a young girl with ivory colored skin and looked to be no older than fourteen or fifteen years coming toward them; with a few others following behind her. The girl was dressed in a deep bluish violet long-sleeved shirt and faded blue jeans along with a pair of white shoes; which are stained black from the constant collection of ash and soot.

She had coffee brown hair; which reached past her shoulders. Her chocolate brown eyes were filled with fear at what was happening. It was then that Zim recognized her as being Elora. Elora slowed her pace; nearly tripping over the ridged stony ground beneath her. She slowed to a stop; soon resting herself with her and on her knees. The others soon did the same and tried to catch their breath. After a few moments, Elora soon caught her breath and glanced up.

"The Voltarians are coming!" She said finally; still a bit out of breath from running through the large room. "They're coming through another tunnel and their blowing their way through the wall." She told them; still panting slightly.

An uneasy feeling rose inside Zim as he took in the news. If the Voltarians found them, Then Xeltare would personally order the guards to take them out with no warning to any of them. The young Irken glanced around at the worried looks upon the others' faces. Zim had just found his friends again. He didn't want anything to happen to them now and none of them or anyone else for that matter should suffer anymore than they already have.

"What is our plan?" Zim asked finally.

It wasn't long that everyone else had soon gathered around them and were ready to hear what needed to be said. Fae was the first to speak up.

"The Voltarians are heading this way." She told them.

"We'll need to split up and so it will be harder for them to find all of us." Elora added.

"We'll need to have a group take the young, injured, and elderly to safety; like we had before." "Anyone who is still able to fight will take care of the guards so the others can escape." Fae concluded.

One of the prisoners stepped forward.

"I will take them to safety." The prisoner said; which Zim soon easily recognized as being the Professor.

"Okay, there are a few track tunnels that lead down the mountain so we will be taking those tunnels and heading down the mountain." Fae stated.

Professor Membrane nodded and with some of the other prisoners, gathered the young, injured, and elderly and headed down one of the dimly lit tunnels; leading the way through the dark passage. Once the last had made it through, Fae soon turned to the others who were able to fight.

"Alright everyone, they'll probably be coming at anytime so get ready."

"So how many do you think there'll be?" Someone asked; which Zim turned to see a familiar eleven year old girl with magenta purple hair standing there with her hands on her hips.

"Gaz?" Dib said in shock. "What're you doing here? You need to go with Dad."

"I can take care of myself." Gaz growled; crossing her arms.

Fae was about to speak up again; when, another jolt shook the room as a muffled explosion echoed from behind one of the walls. They all stared in awe at the sudden blast. Then all at once, large and small fragments of stone exploded out from the wall.

Zim and the others stared in horror as the smoke began to clear. There stood the Voltarians; evil and menacing glares flashing through their eyes. Zim then knew that this may not only be a fight for freedom, but a fight for survival.

A little bit of tension has been astablished XD Anyways, this part is kinda short and a little bit rushed ^^; But I still hope you like how it turned out :) And I know I hadn't really had that much happening with Prof. Membrane ^^; But he's still kind of in there though :) And also, I actually made up his first name ^^; I just thought that Matthew fit ^^; So I just put it in there XD Sorry for the really long wait, I had a writer's block and wasn't really that into it for a while ^^; But I'm starting to get back into it again :) Anyways, I'll try to get more up soon :) PLEASE R&R! :D THANKS! :D:D