Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or its respective characters. Mara and Machi are property of Moonlight the Hedgehog.

OOH...now it's getting exciting! Who is the mysterious stranger? Who is the traitor? I'm sure you've all figured it out already-I'm not very good at suspenseful mysteries...Anyway, chapters twelve and thirteen are already written. They just need some fine-tuning.

-Juana

Chapter Eleven: Shock Treatment

"No...this doesn't make any sense-how in God's name did you get here? What is this? What do you want from me? Why am I here? Who's your partner?" Dib's questions flew at the familiar stranger, but he did not get a straight answer yet.

"I hate you," the stranger hissed, "I hate you for all the attention you got. You were always being followed, always being talked to, always getting the attention I wanted. I want you dead."

"Look, I hardly even know you. What attention did I steal from you? No one likes me, except the Irkens here."

"EXACTLY! You stole what I wanted the most. The one Irken I wanted, and you stole him from me."

"You're insane!" Dib yelled angrily. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I know I never stole anyone from you, or anything for that matter! Let me go!"

The stranger suddenly laughed out loudly, a high, brain-damaging sound-wave of horribly epic proportions. It was so loud and so obnoxious that the silent female at the table finally jumped up and slammed her fist into her partner's cheek.

"Shut UP, you stupid moron!" Dib watched in horror as she beat down her partner-in-crime until he was silent and whimpering on the floor. She then turned her attention to Dib and hissed in a deep, dark voice,

"I'll rip your throat out if you continue to scream like the little beast you are, is that understood?" Dib nodded, then suddenly realized he knew who had kidnaped him.

"...Tak...why?"

She grunted and answered,

"Why not? I hate that little worm, Zim. He deserves to die."

"For what? Trying to unify his race for peace and a hopeful future?" Tak whirled around and smashed her fist into Dib's chest. He cried out, but continued to oppose her.

"Zim is harmless, Tak. He isn't the bad guy you think he is. He wants all Irkens and all the races of the universe to live in peace!"

"I know that, human filth. But I don't want to become a pacifist-I want universal domination! Control! Power! Goals this group of traitorous idiots refuse to obtain for themselves and their people. But I'll make them see the error of their ways."

"Oh yeah? How?" asked Dib, his face turning red with anger, "They want peace. You can't force them to do your bidding when they have a pretty good idea of what they want." Upon hearing this, Tak let out a laugh even worse than her partner's-it was shrill, high and piercing. It was the coldest, most heartless sound Dib had ever heard in his life.

"HAHA! Simple, human. Extermination, one by one. As they begin to drop like flies, they'll have no choice but to surrender to me and the Irken Armada. Why, tonight I've already destroyed the grand agent, Angra. Shot to death. If I can take him down, the giant brute he was, I'll have no problem with killing the smaller, weaker ones." She had a huge, maniacal grin plastered on her face. Dib's eyes widened.

"You...you killed...Angra? But...he was so...ergh...you BITCH!" Dib tried to break free of his chains, but it was useless. It didn't stop him from cursing and insulting Tak. She continued to grin as she watched Dib's miserable attempt at freedom. She leaned over and grabbed a chunk of his hair.

"No one can hear you. I designed this room myself-the walls are six feet thick, the only doorway out is impossible for anyone to find, and there are no pipes running through. No cameras, no weapons, no escape. You're stuck here, human." She slapped his face, then returned to her partner, who had remained on the floor in a pathetic heap of whimpering and tears.

"Stand up, fool," she hissed, "and show the human who you are. I'm sure he'll be very surprised to meet you again." The Irken slowly returned to his feet, then looked at Dib with such hatred and anger that Dib wasn't sure if he wanted to know who this person was. The Irken walked right up to Dib, looked him in the eye and waited.

Dib studied the Irken's face for a few minutes, trying to place a name, when it dawned on him:

"Wait, you're not Irken...you're–"

"Zim, no one came out positive for impure intentions."

"I know, Chai. I know." Zim, Chai, Mara and Miyuki sat together in a conference room, accompanied by fifty-two other Irken officials. They were discussing, of course, the sudden death of Angra, the kidnaping of Dib and the threat that hung over them all.

"This is a serious problem, my Queen," said one official. "The best action to take is to abandon the base and begin somewhere else."

"No," answered Miyuki, "we will not go into hiding like useless cowards. We will stand up to this threat and fight. If the Irken Armada is on its way, I say we begin our ascent into space. We've come too far and worked too hard to give in to any threats."

"But," interrupted another official, "people will die! Lives will be lost for no reason!"

"When I organized this revolution, each and every Irken I recruited came of their own free will," Miyuki snapped at him. "They are well aware of what's ahead, as am I. We will not give in to threats." Simple, yet powerful. No one challenged her. Zim nodded in agreement, then said,

"In the meantime, I want Dib found. I promised him he'd be safe, and I've failed him. Mara is in charge of the search-and-rescue team. Mara, I want you to utilize every possible resource we have to find him. If you see anyone acting suspicious, I want to know who. I'll give you a list of potential rescuers after the meeting. Chai!"

"Yes?"

"I need you and Skoodge to start repairing any malfunctioning ships and weaponry."

"Can do."

To the officials, Zim ordered a lock-down until it was time to abandon the base. Soldiers were to guard each and every door, security measures included PAK scans for bio-signatures and bio-contracts each Irken had to sign in order to join the Revolution, random searches and the right to ask questions about anything that seemed suspicious. The officials saluted him and their Queen, then went off to begin their new duties. Zim remained where he was and typed out a long list of soldiers for Mara's search and rescue team. He printed it out and gave it to her, and she in turn saluted him and went off to find her team. All that remained were Zim, Miyuki and Chai.

"It's a disaster," Chai sighed. "Everything we worked for is in jeopardy because of two power-hungry mongrels." Zim and Miyuki agreed sadly, then got up and left the room quietly to resume their own posts. Chai got up a few minutes later and went to find Skoodge for their assignment.

Crappy close to a chapter, I know. I wasn't too into it. HEY! Are there any DeviantArt users here? I have a fun, free assignment for all who want/need something to do. I am not an illustrator-it's a style and mind-frame I am not capable of, being the fine artist I am. I was wondering if people wanted to do any comics or illustrations of this story. It would be only for fun, and who knows-maybe it will be a contest later. Any takers?

-Juana