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Late Christmas Eve: Swollen Eyeball Headquarters...
Agent Nessie walked down the hallway along with Dark Bootie.
"Thanks for coming in tonight, Nessie. I know we usually don't have too many workers coming in around the holidays, but we need all the help we can get. Boss's orders." Dark Bootie told him.
"I'm dedicated to my job, sir. It's much better working here than at Membrane's laboratories...Boss man pays a lot more. I don't even care how hideous or short he is, he PAYS GOOD! Besides, I knew we would be a bit understaffed tonight. And I wanted to check in on Subject 22. Especially after she put herself into yet another self induced coma...And not only that but it's absolutely imperative that I continue my research on the Antichrist's energy." Nessie replied.
"Sounds like you have your hands full, doctor." Dark Bootie said.
"I do. I need to get started immediately." Nessie emphasized.
"Hmm...Why don't you have Agent Banshee check in on Subject 22, so you can focus your research on Pepito's energy?" Dark Bootie suggested.
"Banshee's here today? Oh, thank goodness. I need her to check the alien's vitals and also...I have an idea on how to wake her from her coma. Banshee can assist me with that." Nessie sighed in relief.
"Can she restrain the alien?" Dark Bootie asked.
"Yeah. She's the only one I trust for the job. Besides, she used to be a head nurse at the Crazy House for six years. She's used to it." Nessie responded as he began to page the woman via walkie talkie. "Banshee, this is Nessie. Come in..."
"Banshee here, Nessie. What do you need?" A gruff voice replied.
"Meet me in front of Subject 22's room." Nessie said.
"Okey-dokey, chief. Over. " The same gruff voice responded.
"Well, this is my stop." Nessie said as he approached Tak's holding cell.
"Alright Nessie. Keep up the good work. I've also got some more research to do on the hostiles that are still roaming free, not to mention prepare another mission. The boss is giving Tuna Ghost another one, and I need to gather a few more details on the subject..." Dark Bootie replied.
"Another mission? He can't be serious!" Nessie exclaimed.
"Oh, it's nothing too serious. They're just retrieving a civilian. He's not a threat, but according to the undercover agent, he possesses valuable information...he's a friend or associate to the Antichrist. I think he said his name is Todd. Todd Casil. Once we quietly retrieve him, we'll get him to talk...one way or another..." Dark bootie told him as he departed the hallway and went into his office.
Nessie nodded to his fellow agent. He then waited in the hallway for his assistant to arrive...
Within a few moments, a woman appeared stomping down the hallway. She was a heavier woman, tall, and wearing stained, pink scrubs. Her brown disheveled hair was carelessly thrown into a bun, and she was wearing pink fluffy slippers.
"Alright Nessie, I'm here. Whaddaya need?" She asked in a deep, cracked voice, towering over the scientist.
"Agent Banshee, I need you to check Subject 22 vitals. If her vitals are stable, I want you to take this device, and place two shock pads over the metal thing on her back. You need to jolt her awake. I know it's risky, but we need to wake her for answers. Please be sure to restrain her." Nessie explained as he handed her the small electricity emitting device. He then started to walk away.
"Where are you goin'?" She asked him.
"Let's just say I have another important project I need to tend to immediately. Nessie replied as he headed for his lab.
"Alright." She said as she unlocked room 22 via scanning her hand, and walked in, immediately locking herself in the cell with the alien girl.
She quickly checked Tak's vitals, which seemed normal. She proceeded to roll up the alien's white sleeves and remove her IVs, and attach the two coils of the device to her Pak.
She selected a medium setting, and turned on the machine, which jolted electricity through the Irken girl's Pak, and ultimately her body.
Tak groaned in pain as she felt jolts surge through her for about several minutes...all while the Agent read a health and beauty magazine.
Agent Banshee turned off the machine, waiting for her to wake up...
No response...
She checked her pulse, which returned to normal after a few minutes.
She tried shocking her a few more times, but failed to wake her up...
Banshee, growing impatient already, cranked the machine up to the highest setting. The woman turned on the machine, and jolted her again.
This time, a much more potent dose of electricity surged through her body. Tak's muttering turned into complete gibberish as she started shaking uncontrollably...
Banshee turned off the machine yet again...
Still no response...so she checked Tak's pulse...
GASP!
Tak suddenly jolted awake, sitting up in the cot and gasped for air a few times. Her body felt somewhat weak...
"Rise and shine, sleepin' beauty. It's about time you're up. You're gonna answer some questions for us or we'll destroy you." The woman threatened as she began to cuff one of the alien's hands to the cot.
Said alien hostile glared at her with a crazed look in her deep violet eyes, like that of a wild animal. Although she was somewhat dazed, she finally saw her one and only chance- the careless woman had made the mistake of waking her up before putting restraints on her. Tak quickly punched the human woman in the face, sending her flying backwards and onto the floor. The Agent wasn't expecting this, and as she got up off he floor, Tak had managed to free her other hand. The Irken swiftly attacked her, punching and kicking her a few times, struggling to pin her to the floor. Banshee desperately reached for her walkie talkie, which had fallen onto the floor nearby. Tak kicked it across the room, sending the walkie flying into the metal wall, smashing it. Lasers on coils emerged from within her Pak, about ready to fire at her tormentor who held her captive like a trapped lab rat...but not before taking something from her first...
Tak used her laser to cut off the screaming woman's hand.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The woman fearfully screamed in a deep voice.
"Shut up!" The Irken girl commanded.
Tak picked up the hand from the floor, glaring hatefully at the woman, before blasting her.
Agent Banshee would soon be a pile of smoldering ash and organs...
Tak frantically held up the severed hand and placed it on the hand scanner, unlocking the door.
The Irken girl, who was wearing a loose fitting white long sleeved shirt, white pants, and had absolutely no shoes, made a quick escape out the door. She activated her Pak's spider legs, and proceeded to crawl on the ceiling. She carefully made her way down the hallway. She felt sick. She hadn't eaten any real food in years. Her stomach hurt. Her head hurt, and she felt dizzy. She felt weak. And now she was desperately trying to make an escape. She quickly made her way to the front of the building, and was heading toward the exit...that is until a security drone spotted her and set off a loud alarm throughout the facility. Still carrying the dead agent's hand, she used it on the scanner to the front doors, unlocking them.
"Hostile 22 is escaping! GET HER!"
By now, the few Agents that showed up to work today were rushing down the hallway after her, firing weapons. Tak tried blasting lasers at several, in an attempt to slow them down.
Some of them fell back and ducked around the corners, others rolled to the ground while firing their weapons at her.
Tak finally made it outside, where she would now have to get past the electric fence.
She placed the hand on the bio scanner, which granted her permission to leave...
The gates started to very slowly roll open, but not before being stopped.
"NO! NO! NOOOOOOO!" Tak screamed in pure frustration as she frantically looked around her.
The rest of the Agents were coming. She didn't have a choice...
So she grabbed onto the electric fence, shocking herself, trying to climb up. Her limbs felt weak, but her spider legs gave her an added boost. She managed to get over the gate, with some laser fire grazing her arm. She landed on the ground with a loud thud. Her spider legs got her off the ground and propelled her, as she managed to escape into some nearby woods...
She was free...Finally!
Her heart was pounding, her mind was racing, and her muscles were sore...but she continued to run.
She ran from them for about two miles into the dark woods, and she could see that she was approaching civilization...if that's what you want to call it.
She quickly tried to activate her holographic disguise programmed within her Pak...but it was now glitching...and unable to work properly.
Tak felt a mixture of crazed anger, determination, nausea, hunger, and anxiety. She was in pure survival mode now. What she had seen and experienced in there...well, it made her home planet Irk, one of the strongest, seemingly cruelest Empires in the galaxy, look merciful by comparison.
She growled in frustration as she continued to run through somebody's yard...and by dumb luck, she noticed a scare crow with sunglasses, propped up in the yard.
Oh great...not the best disguise, but it will have to do. I'm officially pulling a 'Zim"!...She thought to herself in pure frustration as she grabbed the ugly lawn ornament and took the clothes off of it. She placed the straw hat with a pink flower on top of her head to hide her antennae, she put on the thin purple button down coat, and she also took the sunglasses with, in case she would need to hide her eyes...It was completely ridiculous looking, but it would have to do for now.
She quickly picked up the pace and started running down the darkened streets...She knew she didn't have much time...
Earlier that day... at the Mall...
Gaz and Pepito had just arrived at the overly crowded mall via flaming portal...which caused some folks to run away and scream in fear.
Pepito looked smug about it, while Gaz just snickered.
"It never gets old..." He told her as he chuckled.
She smiled at him.
"I really wanted to spend some time with you today...Father's having me go on a business trip with him over the rest of the week...He only said something to me just yesterday." He explained.
"You're going on a business trip?" She asked curiously.
"Sí. Father always had me help out with his work ever since I was a child. We always had to move around because of it... I used to hate it... As I got older, he has me go on important business trips with him and help him out more often." Pepito answered, followed by a sigh.
"I take it you still don't like it?" She asked him, as she perceived he seemed somewhat disappointed.
"No...I don't really mind...it's just... we have different ways of seeing things sometimes...We do not always agree." He told her.
"Oh...My Dad never even asked me or my brother to go on business trips with him. Well, I could kinda understand why he never asked Dib..." She began to tell him.
"What does your father do?" Pepito curiously asked.
"He's a famous scientist. He owns Membrane Laboratories."
"Did you ever wish to go with him?" He asked.
Gaz contemplated this. "Eh...not really. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm pretty good with science...but it's not really my thing. He could have asked me, though. I mean, he's hardly ever home."
"How often do you get to spend time as a family?" He asked, raising a eyebrow.
Odd...nobody really ever asked her that before. "He puts aside one night a year as a family night. The rest of today will technically be the second night off, but that's only because of the holidays."
"So he spends only one night a year with you and your brother as a family?" Pepito asked in almost disbelief. He felt bad for her.
"Yeah." She responded, shrugging her shoulders. This was pretty much normal to her by now.
"That's terrible. My father is famous too, but he always finds time to spend with mi familia." He told her.
"Hmm...My Dad could probably learn a thing or two from yours." She said to him.
"Doesn't your brother ever spend time with you?" He asked. It really seemed to bother him that her family didn't seem all too involved in her life.
"Not really. The only time he ever really offers is if he's going to stalk Zim or Big foot. Then he just wants me to hold the cameras and spy on them for hours or whatever. No thank you." Gaz complained.
"One of the first things I've sensed about him is that he's obsessed with the paranormal..." Pepito chuckled.
Gaz scoffed. "You have no idea..."
Pepito glanced around the over crowded mall. His eyes shifted from store to store, unsure of where exactly they would be going.
"So, uh, where would you like to go first?" He asked.
"Hmm...we can go there. Video Game Pit." She answered.
"That sounds good." He said as he held her hand, and began walking to the store.
...
The two of them began to look through their vast collection of video games, action figures and more.
Something was bothering Gaz somewhat while she was looking for a few gifts...she really didn't want to talk about it, especially in the crowded mall...but she figured she could get away with it...at least in this store...because people would probably assume she was talking about a video game...that and most people in her society were just clueless...
"Um, I kinda wanted to talk to you about what happened last night...I can finally say this now that Dib's not around..." Gaz began. She now had Pepito's full attention.
"Sí?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I used my ability. I managed to use it at the last minute. I exploded one of the Eyeball idiots...Zim destroyed the other..." Gaz quietly told him.
"...You didn't tell your brother about it?..." He asked.
"No. Dib would just make me crazy about it. I really wanted to tell you."
"Gaz, that's wonderful! I'm glad to have been the one to tell you about your power...and apparently just in time, too." Pepito responded. He was glad she used it to defend herself.
"Yeah, it's good that you showed me how to use it... I want to keep practicing, though. I need to get better." She told him as a determined look crossed her face.
"You will. I'll show you some more. We can keep practicing. Eventually it will just come naturally to you." He confidently assured her.
"Thanks..." She softly told him. She then felt compelled to ask him a question. "...Did you ever have trouble controlling yours?"
This caught the demonic guy off guard. He hesitated before coming to an answer. "...Sí. Sometimes I still do. For me, it's become so easy to just use my powers, it's automatic. I've been using them since I was a small child. Sometimes I have some difficulty restraining it, so I have to be careful in how I... proceed with things..." He said, almost somewhat...ashamed? He felt kind of worried that she might judge him or think less of him because of it...
But she didn't...
"Well, I think I have some trouble with it too." She reluctantly admitted. "What do you do to stop yourself from exploding an entire area, for example, if you don't want to?" She asked him.
Pepito pondered this. He was glad she was taking an interest, but to be completely honest, he wasn't quite sure himself. There wasn't a science to it, and there was no true way of perfecting it. That and no one had ever asked him that before..."Well...it's hard to explain...I guess I just think of those who are around me. The people that I care about. I don't want them to get hurt. I keep them in mind when they are nearby. You have to think about what you intend to do before you just decide on an impulse alone." He told her, finally coming to an answer.
"Hmm..." She said aloud as she pondered what the demonic guy had told her.
"Or you could always just treat it as a video game..." He suggested with a smile, as he held up a game with a mushroom cloud skull on it's cover.
The goth girl chuckled lightly at this. "Good advice." She retorted.
He loved it when he could make her smile, but he especially loved to see her laugh. It was nice...He couldn't help but to stare at her...She was a bit of a mystery to him...and he was determined to figure her out sooner or later...
After a few moments of browsing around the store, Gaz stumbled upon something that caught her attention...
She picked it up out of a small bin, and quietly chuckled to herself.
Pepito raised an eyebrow, curious as to what she found. "What did you find?"
"I thought I remembered seeing one of these in here..." She said as she held up a small key chain of the legendary Chupacabra.
Pepito smiled at the small figure of the Chupacabra she was holding up.
"I know it's not a real one, but I'm getting it for you." She told him.
"No, you don't have to." He said to her. He really didn't want her to buy anything for him. He just wanted to hang out with her.
"I want to." She told him as she handed him the key chain.
Pepito smiled as he took the little monster out of her hands. "Gracias..." He found himself staring at her again, admiring her...
Surprisingly, Gaz caught herself staring at him as well, this time, a moment longer than necessary. His red eyes just seemed so... hypnotic. She noticed that they even seemed to flicker from time to time...like little flames. It was really cool...She found herself looking at his hair...His mohawk was feathered, and not gelled, laying more flat to his head...but still nice. He didn't even need any hair gel...the horns on his head were neat...she even noticed his higher cheekbones...which were actually kind of cute? And he was always so polite and considerate towards her...She felt a strange fluttering feeling in her stomach, especially when he took a step closer to her...
Little did Gaz know that whenever he was around her, or whenever he even thought about her, he would get the same feeling as well. He felt as if he could just float all day... He paused as he noticed her admiring him...he could sense an emotion bubbling up from within her...she liked him....and she liked being close to him... he found himself looking directly into her pretty amber eyes as well. Normally, most people would consider him a monster..they feared him. They were afraid to look at him. And if they did decide to look at him, they thought he was strange looking and weird...
But not Gaz. Where as other people saw him to be unusual or scary, she saw a certain beauty...in him.
He really liked everything about this girl. She was tough. Independent. Smart. She's certainly scary at times...and yet she could be kinda sweet...when she wanted to be. He found himself staring at her unusual hairstyle, which looked a bit like snake fangs. He really wanted to reach out and touch it. Her hair color was a unique reddish-violet color...and her smile, well when she did actually smile...was nice.
Gaz was the one who ended up breaking the silence. "I never realized you-" She quickly stopped herself from saying what she was about to say to him.
"...I what?" He curiously asked.
"...Your eyes...they kind of flicker...like fire. They're cool..." She found herself saying to him. Which was odd...she never really complimented anyone.
"Gracias..." He quietly said to her as he smiled his devilish grin. He never had anyone genuinely compliment him before, especially on his appearance.
He lightly stroked her hair with his hand one time...
Gaz felt her heart beating a little faster than usual...
He continued to stare at her...it seemed as if he was unsure if he wanted to say something or not. Instead, he opted to gently kiss her on the cheek...
Gaz couldn't help but to blush at this a bit, as she felt that strange foreign feeling emerge once again. ...she also couldn't help but to smile a bit at him.
...
"Um, I guess we should continue shopping before the place closes." She quietly said to him, breaking the silence.
"Uh, Sí. What is it that you are looking for?" He asked her.
"I have a few things on my list...this shouldn't take long..." She confidently told him.
Meanwhile:
Zim was now in his Voot cruiser, which was cleverly disguised as a giant flying pig. He was now alongside of one of the least likely people to be accompanying him on his mission...Dib...who was getting annoyed with Zim's screaming...and getting a little weirded out as well.
"AND CAN YOU BELIEVE HE HAD THE NERVE TO STEAL MY SIR UNIT! ZIM'S LOYAL, INSANE ASSISTANT! Who knows what valuable information he's extracted from him! He could be using my own plans against me! I mean, I know Pepito's good, but he's just downright PETTY! Stealing my Sir unit, stealing my mission, stealing my best friend...who happens to be YOUR sister! And what's worse is that she actually went with him to that wretched mall! She was supposed to be sitting alone at home with her miserable self, eating some disgusting Bloaty pizza, and playing her video games! I don't know what she sees in him that she doesn't see in me! Having the amazing Zim as your best friend is more than enough!" Zim screamed as he pounded his fists off of the control panel...which shook up the spacecraft...and made Dib's face hit the window.
"GEEZ ZIM! Watch where you're going! You're gonna get us BOTH killed!" Dib yelled as he rubbed his head, and got up off the floor.
"I can only hope that poor Gir is alright...and as for your sister...after I retrieve Gir I'll be coming for her next!" Zim angrily said.
Dib shook his head at what he was hearing. "Why are you so obsessed with my sister?!" He finally snapped after listening to Zim's ranting.
"Wouldn't you like to know!?" Zim arrogantly said with a chuckle.
"YES! I would like to know!" Dib shouted.
"Well, you'll NEVER KNOW!" Zim shouted back.
"Why did I even bother to come with you....this is a nightmare!" Dib muttered to himself.
"I wonder what she's doing...?" Zim pondered aloud about Gaz, to Dib's annoyance.
"Look, I think I already know the answer, Space Boy!" Dib yelled, unable to take Zim's craziness anymore.
"LIIIIEEES!" Zim screamed.
"I didn't even tell you my answer yet!"
"Oh...okay. What is your stupid, unrealistic accusation this time?" Zim inquired.
"YOU LIKE MY SISTER!" Dib screamed at the top of his lungs at the alien.
Zim seemed rather...unfazed by his enemy's comment. He was oddly...calm?
"Well, of course I like her! She's evil! She's smart! She's on MY SIDE! Why else would I have chosen her as my loyal assistant!?" Zim explained to him.
"No, you moron! I meant that you obviously have a crush on her!" Dib argued. He felt like he had to puke.
"Why would I want to crush her?! Did you just not hear me tell you she's on my side?!" Zim argued back, somewhat ignorant to what Dib was exactly trying to say.
"First of all, she's not on your side. And by 'crush', I meant that (gag) you're kinda...in love (gag) with her!" Dib forced himself to say. He was disgusted. He didn't want to bring himself to say it, but as Gaz's big brother he felt it was his job to try and understand what was going on in her life. He noticed Zim's strange behavior...for awhile... And he wanted to protect her from the horrible alien beside him.
With this accusation, the alien grew very quiet...followed by a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
"YEAH RIGHT! WHOO! I know you're crazy, but I never realized how DOWNRIGHT INSANE you truly are!" Zim said, wiping a tear from his eye and pointing at the large headed boy.
"NO! You like her! Don't try to deny it! I'm her brother! I know things!" Dib argued.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Then, why did you get her all those gifts? What are you up to?!" Dib asked.
"What? I'm not allowed to get her gifts?! I get stuff for Gir and Mini moose all the time!" Zim argued.
Dib grew quiet for a moment...until he thought of something else...something Zim would have to give a good answer for...
"Then why were you holding her hand at lunch that day?!"
This caught the alien off guard, as he snapped out of his arrogant pose.
"I don't recall that. " Zim snapped.
"I saw you!" Dib yelled.
"LIIIIIIIEEEESSSS- Oh look! We're here!" Zim suddenly announced, changing the awkward subject as he landed the Voot Cruiser in front of the location.
Dib looked around at the suburban neighborhood. He was puzzled. "Uh, are you sure you got the right location?"
"How dare you accuse me of getting the coordinates wrong! That's his evil lair! Right there!" Zim said as he pointed to Pepito's house.
The house was a normal looking suburban home, painted a bright, cheerful yellow color. The bright green grass was just freshly cut. There was a lot of flowers planted in the front of the house, and pink lawn flamingos decorating the yard. There wasn't anything odd about it. The house looked cheerful and inviting.
"You expect me to believe that this is Satan's house?" Dib asked the alien in disbelief as he got out of the Voot.
"What? Were you expecting it to be red and white with a herd of moose pulling a sled?!" Zim yelled as he also got out.
Dib rolled his eyes in frustration. "You mean Santa, you idiot!"
"I don't care how you pronounce his father's name! Trust me, Dib-stink. This is an evil lair cleverly disguised as a disgustingly normal human's home! The bottom half of it should contain the Demon Spawn's dungeon of doom...or something... I would know! I am ZIM! The most evil villain of all time!" Zim told him.
"I just don't think we're at the right address. If anything, that house across the street looks kinda spooky with all those cats in the yard..." Dib said as he pointed to some cat lady's house.
"Nonsense! This is it!" Zim argued.
Dib started to walk away from the alien. "Yeah, whatever you say Zim. I'm gonna go check out that house over there. I think I saw a ghost at the window and-"
"WAIT!" Zim shouted, grabbing the large headed boy by the arm. "Look at that enormous black cloud of smoke that's coming from his chimney!"
"That's just cuz they're burning a few logs- Dib began to say as he turned his head to face the boring looking house once more... only to find that Zim was right...A huge cloud of black smoke vaguely in the shape of a skull was suddenly above the cheery house. "WHOA! That's an abnormal amount of smoke! Something's not right..."
"See! Zim was right!" The alien bragged as he ran towards the house.
"Wait! What are you doing?!" Dib asked.
"What?" Zim asked as he was about to ring the door bell.
"Don't ring their bell! We have to sneak in through the windows! Either that or we should stay back and observe the house before sneaking in!" Dib argued.
"Who cares?! The almighty Zim is not afraid of a jolly fat man in a red suit!" Zim argued as he quickly rang the bell, to Dib's horror.
"You jerk..." Was all Dib could say as he heard the door opening. His eyes widened to saucers, and he quickly scrambled to get his camera ready.
"Oh, hello!"
A cheerful blonde haired woman wearing a brightly colored pink floral dress and a cross necklace happily said as she answered the door. She was holding a pot of stove top with some oven mitts.
"Um, hi?" Dib said to her...he was confused. He was expecting somebody...I dunno...evil?
"WHERE IS HE, HUMAN?!" Zim demanded to know as he pointed accusingly at the lady.
She looked at the two of them, somewhat confused. "OH! You must mean Pepito! He told me he went to see this nice, sweet young lady he met at Skool!" She cheerfully replied. "Would you boys like some stove top?" She politely offered.
"Gaz?" Dib answered in surprise. Nobody ever called his sister a 'nice, sweet young lady'. It was disturbing...not to mention suspicious...
"Yeah! Oh, he talks about her all the time! I've never seen him so happy!" She said as she giggled.
Which seemed to anger Zim further...
"WE'RE ONTO YOU LADY! AND YOUR STOVE TOP!" Dib suddenly shouted accusingly.
The alien smacked his head. "Me and my...F-fff-frieeeend (gag) here are looking for my dog...WHERE IS HE?!" A disgusted Zim demanded to know.
Suddenly, a rather cute and chubby looking dog waddled over to the lady's side, wagging its tail...
"GIR?! SWEET JUMPIN' CHILI BEAN! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU?!" Zim screamed in absolute horror as he pushed Dib in front of him like a human shield.
Dib just slapped his head. "I'm pretty sure that's not Gir..."
"Oh, goodness no! That's Pepito's dog! His name is Woofles! Isn't he adorable?" Pepito's Mom explained as she put a spoonful of stove top on the floor for the cute little pug dog, who swallowed it whole.
"Woofles?" Dib sounded aloud, feeling rather confused. It was an oddly adorable name for the Antichrist to name a dog. It didn't sound evil or menacing at all.
"Oh, you boys must mean the green dog my son rescued!" The woman said.
"Rescued?!" Zim asked in complete disbelief.
"Huh?" Dib said, a bit surprised as well.
"Yeah. I saw the little guy running down our street late at night, right in front of our house. He was playing with a dead squirrel in the road, and he nearly got run over by a speeding black van. My son ran out to get him so he wouldn't get hit." She explained.
"So...he didn't steal him?" Dib said, more or less to a surprised Zim, rather than the mother.
"Oh, he probably didn't get around to putting up flyers for him...he's going to be disappointed to see him go. He really likes dogs...Do you boys want to come in?" She asked.
Zim and Dib cautiously stepped inside the house and into the living room...
A faint blood curdling scream of agony could suddenly be heard in the background...
"Uh, what was that?" Dib asked. He got the chills just from hearing it.
"Oh, that's probably just the TV... Pepito always forgets to turn it off. Who wants cookies?!" She happily continued.
"That sounded like some human writhing in horrible agony!" Zim said to Dib.
"Or tortured souls!" Dib said fearfully.
"I'm gonna go get you boys your dog. You can wait right here." The blonde woman told them.
Soon, several more cries and groans could be heard...
"I think it's coming from there!" Dib said, cringing as he pointed to a door down some stairs, leading to the basement.
"Oh well. I'm just here for Gir." Zim said as he shrugged his shoulders.
Dib quickly ran down to the basement's door, his curiosity getting the better of him...and he opened it.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Dib screamed in horror as he witnessed a terrifying Hellscape contained within the basement. It was filled with the horrible, eternal suffering of many human souls. Many were being impaled on pointy sticks, while other burned in the flames or were being torn apart by tentacled creatures. Others fled in fear as an army of demons chased them. It was beyond disturbing. So naturally he started filming this evidence for Mysterious Mysteries and Truth Shrieker. Batflaps was going to be eating his words soon!
"Dib-stink! Do you smell something burning?" Zim asked as he began sniffing the air.
"Uh, Zim? I thought I heard the sounds of the agonizing screams of tortured souls...and I really did! They're roasting in the basement! Oh, and that's definitely where that smell is coming from! Plus there's like a HUGE army of demons down there! " The large headed boy nervously said to the alien as he finally shut the door. His heart was now pounding a mile a minute at the horrors he had just witnessed.
"I knew it! I told you there was a dungeon of evil at this house!" Zim proudly said.
Pepito's Mom entered the room, with a small green dog aside of her on a leash.
"Dungeon of evil? Oh goodness no! That's just where my husband Juan keeps his suitcases for work!" She said with a smile.
"You're joking, right? Just look at all those lost tortured souls! Being impaled and stuff! And...mountain of suitcases?" Dib shouted as he opened the door and pointed.
"Whoa! That's a lot of suffering human souls...And suitcases?!" Zim said in astonishment as he peaked inside.
Pepito's Mom looked especially surprised ...and uneasy at this discovery..."Oooh...Didn't know about the basement being a literal portal to Hell...oh well... I go to go check on my cupcakes!" She nervously said as she ran out into the kitchen to tend to burning cupcakes in the oven.
Dib just slapped his head at the woman's nonchalant yet cheery attitude.
"Gir, are you okay?" Zim asked the green 'dog' as he inspected him.
No response. He was unusually quiet...
"Gir? Alright, look, we have to get going. You've spent enough time at this disgusting home with its basement's amusement park of unimaginable torture!" Zim said as he began to tug on the leash.
"This IS my home." Gir firmly said in a deep tone of voice.
"What?!" Zim screamed in surprise.
"This is Pepito's home. Pepito is my master, and therefore, THIS is MY home!" The robot responded, his red eyes lighting up and shining through his disguise.
"Oh...not good..." Dib said under his breath, inching away from the robot.
Zim was immediately taken aback by this. He knew something wasn't right... "GIR! I AM YOUR MASTER! ME! ZIM! LISTEN TO ME!"
"No...You're stupid! You are the enemy!" Gir responded, throwing off his dog disguise.
"That revolting worm must have found a way to reprogram you!..." Zim muttered to himself.
"NO! My new master fixed my malfunction, unlike you! My new master achieves much more progress in his evil mission! He is impressive! He is to be feared! HE WILL RULE YOU ALL!" Gir said as he swiftly slammed both Zim and Dib into the wall across the room.
"Hey! What did I do?!" Dib shouted as he coughed up some chunks of wall.
"I don't like you. You are the enemy! I HATE Zim! Zim is the enemy! Leave at once or prepare to be eliminated!" Gir commanded as he was prepared to fire several large missiles from his back.
Zim however, quickly grabbed a nearby framed picture of the Demon Spawn, and threw it at Gir as a distraction.
"DIB MONKEY! GRAB HIS LEGS!" Zim loudly commanded as he bravely grabbed a hold of Gir's head. Gir continued to hit Zim repeatedly in the face with his claws.
Dib cringed at this idea, but decided to help him nonetheless. He reluctantly grabbed Gir's legs, trying to restrain him.
Gir fired the missiles at the two of them, which ended up missing and blasting through the roof of the house. He kicked and struggled as he repeatedly tried to throw Zim and Dib away from him.
Zim, however, while being attacked by his own robot, somehow managed to open up his head...
And he was astonished...
"Strange...it looks as if nothing was even tampered with..." Zim muttered to himself as he noticed the paper clips, coins, and piece of bubble gum were still originally in there from his Tallest.
"Hurry up, Spaceboy! He keeps kicking me in the stomach!" Dib angrily yelled.
Zim quickly continued to investigate his robot's head, in an attempt to reprogram it if necessary.
"What on Irk?" Zim muttered...
"What?! What's wrong?!" Dib asked in a panic.
"How could it be?! Nothing has changed...his original programming remains the same so I don't understand how- OOF!" Zim grunted as he suddenly went flying across the room and smashing into the coffee table.
"OW!" Dib yelled as he was hurled into the air by the tiny robot, only to fly into a bookshelf.
"GIR! It's me! Zim! I'm your friend, Gir! The one who gives you nachos and rubber piggies!" Zim pleaded as he got up from the floor.
"You are intruders! I will eliminate you if you refuse to leave! By the orders of my new master!" Gir said in a threatening tone as he amped up his super weapons.
Dib raised his hands in the air and began to speak to the robot. "OKAY! Okay! We'll just be going now..."
"Dib Monkey! What are you doing?!" Zim asked in disbelief. "We cannot allow demon spawn to keep Gir!"
"I don't think you have a choice...besides...I think he actually wants to work for him...We're leaving!" Dib responded as he got up off of the floor as well.
As much as it pained Zim, Dib-stink was right. If he stayed any longer, Gir would keep trying to destroy him.
Both Zim and Dib slowly and cautiously made their way over to the door, getting ready to leave.
Zim never took his eyes off his little robot, who was now threatening to destroy him. There was something within Zim that couldn't destroy Gir...even though the robot was about to destroy him. Zim couldn't bring himself to do it. Sure, Gir couldn't pay attention, he couldn't take orders, he was easily distracted and offered very little help...he was downright insane, even a little annoying sometimes...but he was loyal. Or at least he used to be anyways...This was the Sir unit given to him by the Tallests themselves. He's been with him through all the good and the bad on their adventures over the years...Gir was like...a little brother to him. He was a big part of his life. Zim found him annoying when he was first assigned to him, but after awhile, he really grew to genuinely care for the little robot. He could have just gotten another Sir unit...but it just wouldn't be the same as Gir. So when the small robot pointed those weapons in his face and threatened him...something inside Zim felt...kinda... broken?
Gir slowly lowered his weapons, never taking his glaring eyes off of Zim and Dib. He then quickly put his dog disguise back on.
Zim angrily flung open the door...
Only to see Demon Spawn, followed by Gaz, each carrying bags and about to enter...
Gaz just raised an eyebrow as to what was going on as she observed Zim, Dib, and Gir all in Pepito's home...
Zim immediately got in the half demon's face. "YOUUUUUUUU! YOU, HORRIBLE, REVOLTING, PETTY THIEF!"
"Surprise. I found your 'dog'. He almost got hit by a van last night. It's a shame he doesn't even want to go back to your house." Pepito calmly said to him.
"Hit by a van?" Gaz repeated.
"Sí. He was playing with a dead squirrel in front of my house." Pepito explained.
"Oh. I could see that." Gaz said as she pondered it... So Pepito found Gir last night, and Zim must have tracked him here...and Dib must have followed Zim... She thought to herself as she continued to watch this unfold, analyzing the situation.
Zim was seething mad now. "I know you reprogrammed him...somehow! I don't know how you did it, but-"
"I didn't reprogram him. I fixed his glitch. You're welcome." Pepito said with a smug look on his face.
"Well, CURSE YOU! Now he doesn't want to come back to his rightful owner!" Zim shouted.
"My bad." The demon spawn dryly said to him as he yawned.
"Oh, you despicable, rotten, selfish, arrogant WORM!" Zim shouted as he pointed a finger in his face.
"If you want your dog back, take him. I'm not stopping you." Pepito calmly told the infuriated alien as he gestured toward Gir, who was now completely calm.
"No...You know what?! YOU KEEP HIM! Yep, that's right! ZIM WINS, NOT YOU! Just wait until he glitches again and completely RUINS your plans for world conquest! Or wait until he EATS everything that you consider valuable! That's always fun! Oh, and I hope you enjoy cleaning up all of his piles VOMIT after he consumes 20 cans of ham! Just wait until he spews SMELLY chunks of food on you! Especially after he eats several bags of chicken beaks!" Zim suddenly snapped, regaining his arrogant, winning attitude once again.
"Well, you can't spite stupidity..." Dib shook his head and mumbled to himself as he listened to Zim's rant.
"Well, if you don't want your own dog anymore, I'll take him." Pepito calmly told him...
Which infuriated Zim further...but he refused to let him win...
"You know, Pepito, as a matter of fact, I do believe I'm now lacking an evil minion...perhaps I'll just take YOUR dog and be on my way..." Zim said as he picked up the adorably chubby pug dog belonging to Demon Spawn.
"Arf!" Woofles cheerfully barked as Zim patted him on the head.
"YOU LEAVE WOOFLES OUT OF THIS!" The Demon Spawn snapped, his fiery orange energy now flaring.
"Uh, Gaz? We should get out of here...like NOW!" Dib said to his sister in a panic.
"Woofles?" Gaz asked curiously, almost in disbelief.
"It's a combination of 'Woof' and 'Waffles'...I thought it was cool. I was only eight when I named him." Pepito quickly explained.
"Come, Woofles! We shall rain some doom down upon the filthy heads of humans!" Zim proudly announced.
"NO! You give Woofles back NOW!" The half demon screamed.
"Oh, I can arrange to give Woofles back...in exchange, you must give me... Gaz human!" Zim offered in some form of a bargain.
"Oh, brother..." Gaz said as she smacked her head. This wasn't going well...
"NO!" Pepito immediately shouted.
"How about if I throw in Dib-stink?" Zim asked as he grabbed the large headed boy by his coat.
"HEY! I actually came here to help you out!" Dib shouted at the alien.
"Dib-monkey, you're on!" Zim quietly reminded him, as Woofles the dog escaped from his arms and running to the kitchen.
Dib squinted at him. "What are you-
"All those tortured souls in his basement and his demon army! Remember?" Zim whispered to the large headed boy.
"Oh, okay." Dib said to Zim. He then turned his focus to Pepito. "That's right! I know all about your human soul collection and your army of demons! And I have a pretty good idea as to what you're up to, Pepito!"
Gaz shook her head. She was getting fed up with all of this. "Dib-
"Not now, Gaz! I have him all figured out! You've been recruiting souls into your demon army so you can overthrow Earth's leaders and take over the world! And you can't possibly deny it, I have all the evidence I need right here!" Dib bravely announced as he held up his camera.
"Sí, I have." Pepito calmly admitted, unimpressed by Dib's accusation.
A look of confusion was apparent on Dib's face. "Wait...you're not gonna lie and pretend you've been doing some normal human- thing?!"
"No. There's no point. But until I am ready..." Pepito began to say as he quickly exploded the camera without even touching it. "No one else will know...AND YOUR WORLD SHALL BE DOOMED! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Dib began to scream in terror. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I'LL STOP YOU, DEMON SCUM! As Earth's only savior, I'll-
"Hey! That's my laugh! And my plan! You obviously stole it! And that's MY ARCH NEMESIS! You stole him too?! You're really messed up!" Zim suddenly shouted in surprise.
"Mark my words, this world shall be DOOMED by my own two hands!" Pepito shouted as his fiery aura glowed even more powerfully.
Zim scoffed at him. "OH I'M ENTITLED TO DOOM PEOPLE BECAUSE MY FATHER IS SANTA! You're father's too busy eating cookies and trying to stuff himself down chimney places right now! Yeah! That's right! Dib-stink told me all about it!" The alien shouted to the Demon Spawn in a mocking tone of voice.
"Not Santa, you lizard! SATAN! Seriously?! Does no one ever listen to me when I talk!?" Dib shouted as he smacked his head in frustration.
"Oh... Who's that?" Zim asked curiously.
On cue, a seven foot tall impressive figure immediately appeared behind the relatively small Irken. He was a really tall and slender figure. He was dressed in a black flowing robe, where several blackened slithering tentacles seemed to emerge from. His head seemed to resemble the shape of a skull, and he had two very large curled over horns on his head. His face was pale as a ghost, and his eye sockets seemed to glow a deep crimson color. His shoulders came to slightly curled points, and his fingers were elongated and claw like. He was completely TERRIFYING!
"I prefer Señor Diablo..." He said in a deep, frightening tone of voice.
"Hello, Father..." Pepito said as a smile formed on his face.
Gaz raised an eyebrow.
"Oh no..." Dib muttered as he began to shake in fear for his life.
"HOLY TALLEST!" Zim said aloud as he witnessed the devil's truly magnificent height. He was way taller than his Tallest! And far more frightening...
And he was now looming over Zim and Dib...
Yeah, Tak finally got her opportunity to make a successful escape from that horrible place...Normally, it wouldn't be even remotely possible to escape but she was able to take advantage over the woman's careless mistake...speaking of which, I can't wait to elaborate more on the network and eventually their boss...I'm sure some of you have some guesses as to who it could be...
I also thought it would be cool for Zim and Dib to team up and investigate Gir's disappearance and see what's actually going on at Pepito's house...
Next chapter will probably be crazy...