A/N: Thanks again to the following people for their reviews on the last chapter: .angeladickson18, Kaylee Or Something, Kazehana23, Madiphan99, memmek10k, and Zerg170. You guys help keep the story going. Thank you for the encouragement.
In writing these chapters, I'll just bring out some of the highlights of Zim and Gaz's "greatest hits." (Sorry, I couldn't help it.) After all, this chapter has its limits and I'm not going to write about each game they face. Some are wins, some are draws, perhaps even a few minor losses. They are unimportant.
The Team Dragon's Fang is contributed by Zerg170. Thanks!
I do not own Invader Zim. I also do not own Mars, Saturn, or Neptune. I am thinking of buying Alpha Centuari. Wouldn't it be cool to be able to go up to some one like Donald Trump and say "You think you're big? I own my own star system!" Of course then he'd go and buy up the rest of the galaxy so never mind.
Diamond One lead the column in his Scout GEV followed by a Rocket MBT, an APC, and a Gun MBT guarding the rear. Diamond Five guarded their base behind a line of mines with a heavy infantry rig. They had no contact with their opponents so far, not even a probe. One was on point for his group driving down a forested road. While they could drive through the forest, it was slower and they would have to wind through trees and rocks, making it that much more difficult to navigate a direct path. This was a Recon In Force sortie, a slower but heavy probe into enemy territory.
They were traveling down a long stretch of road, nearing the hostile base when Diamond Three spoke up. "Aircraft up high." A series of bursts from the APC's medium autocannon streaked into the sky. "He's just taking evasive and circling just out of range. Looks like an Eye in the Sky. Sticking behind us."
"Understood," Diamond One acknowledged. "Four, keep an eye on him. Three, keep yours peeled on our flanks."
Ten seconds later Diamond One's Scout GEV exploded. "AT mines! Back off! Back off!" he called out as his respawn timer began counting down. Sometimes mines could be placed to the side of a path as well as the front.
"Missile fire incoming, from the hill dead ahead," came from Diamond Two driving his Rocket MBT. "Read one IFF tag. Rocket Tank. Five hundred yards." He cut loose with his own volley. Eight detonations walked up their column damaging their vehicles. "His missile pods are empty." A final missile trail reached out to the opponent's position and there was an explosion. "Got the tank, but I used up my pods too."
"Roger," Diamond Three said. "I'm at half strength."
"Same here," said Diamond Four in his Gun MBT at the end of the column. "Aircraft is moving away. Still behind us. Flanks are still clear."
A second set of volleys reached out from the same position. "Incoming!" Diamond Two warned. "There's a second Rocket Tank! Bail! Bail!"
With nothing that could match the engagement range of the second Rocket Tank and anti-tank mines in front of them, the team bailed out of their vehicles and ran into the trees on either side of the road as the second set of missiles walked up the armor column. This time vehicles began to explode. While losing those GEV's was bad, giving up player kills increased the points the other side could earn with the vehicles destroyed. Bailing out made this aspect more difficult, even if it took longer to return to their base. Sometimes the tradeoff worked out, sometimes it didn't.
"I thought you said there was only one guy!" Diamond Four exclaimed as they retreated on foot.
"There was!" Diamond Two exclaimed. "Shoot! He must have had two tanks parked up there, emptied one and then hopped into the other to finish us off!"
There had been in fact four GEV's parked nearby. Zim jumped his avatar out of the second Rocket Tank and climbed into the Scout GEV parked nearby. The Gun MBT would be abandoned. "All vehicles destroyed, drivers have bailed out. Backup plan is unnecessary. You may proceed to phase two."
Gaz's eye's gleamed as she banked her aircraft. "On the way."
Diamond One had respawned and was running to their GEV park. An explosion rocked the ground near the passage to the base. "I'm down!" Diamond Five called out.
"What happened?" Diamond One asked.
"Somebody crashed their plane into my position! The minefield is gone!"
Diamond One's avatar collapsed and his respawn timer counted down again. "What the...?" He swiveled his view around to see what happened. "Sniper! Sniper parachuting into the GEV park! Respawn in twenty seconds."
"We're still two minutes out," Diamond Two informed the others.
"Respawning as Rocket Infantry," Diamond One responded. If that guy jacks one of our GEV's this could get messy real quick, he thought.
"Copy. Will do also," Diamond Five replied.
They respawned in the base courtyard and ran to either side of the GEV park's gate. The area was walled off with open arches on the sides to help protect them from attack by intruders. Diamond One and Five closed in on each side of the nearest gate and swung inside ready to pop off rockets on the captured vehicle inside.
Crack Crack. Both avatars went down.
"What the..." He briefly saw a IFF tag but it was too fast to see exactly where. "Wind is using the GEV's as cover! Did you see him?" One asked.
"Not even close."
"Come back as Heavy Infantry and try to hold the position. I'll stay as a Rocketman. Maybe we can keep him contained until the others get back."
Wind poked a Gun MBT's nose out of the open gate and took a heavy ATm to the side as the vehicle fired an unaimed spray at Diamond Five, then retreated back into the GEV park. Diamond One and Five crouched on either side of the gateway once more. Finally Two, Three and Four came running up to join them. All but Two and Five had their infantry rockets over their shoulders. Diamond Five was carrying the light autocannon of a Heavy Infantry trooper. Diamond Two threw in a smoke grenade. Two more sniper shots rang out but missed due to the haze.
I hate it when they are unpredictable. Diamond One thought. All they're attention was on retaking their GEV park ASAP. They needed those vehicles right now. No doubt other opponents were gathering and moving their way. They were counting off to storm the park when a large shadow loomed over the row of avatars. Diamond Three spun around to look behind them.
"Oh CRAP!"
The others of Team Diamond turned to look, then looked up. The red hostile IFF tag The Whirlwind was hanging in the air above them as the Armored Assault Walker stepped into the open courtyard. The upper torso turned toward the row of figures standing with their backs against the outside wall of the GEV park. Both arms, each limb ending in a Phased Plasma Gun with two of the large caliber multi-barreled Gauss autocannons mounted on each wrist, pointed at them.
It would have made a perfect scene for a firing squad against mosquitoes via heavy machine guns and howitzers.
The Walker fired a long concentrated burst, raking the wall, then turned to walk calmly through the Diamond Team's base. Then the rout began on the NPC's running around the base peppering the Walker with small arms fire. It is amazing what heavy caliber armor-piercing tungsten cored bullets, at a rate of two hundred rounds per second in sustained fire, can do in the middle of an enemy base.
It took less than a second for Diamond One to weigh the odds and come to a decision. "Everyone log out. The game's a bust."
"We're not even going to try?" Diamond Two asked. Fifteen seconds remained on the respawn timer.
"Our GEV park is captured. You want to try to break a spawn camp with a Walker using only infantry? Why give them more points? End the game. They're racking up more points by the second just taking out NPC's."
Diamond Two had already begun logging out.
A message scrolled across the bottom of Zim's GameSlave display. Diamond Two has logged off. Zim spun the Walker's torso around, pressing one, then another button twice as the armored body swung around.
The rest of Team Diamond's displays turned white as two small mushroom clouds expanded over the GEV park, courtyard and the airfield. The entire Diamond base was scorched earth. There were no NPC's, waiting GEV's or parked aircraft. Everything was gone and waiting to respawn. Including the Walker and Wind too. Then the GameSlaves finished logging off.
"What the heck?" exclaimed Diamond Four. "He saw we were forfeiting, so he nuked their own position?"
Diamond Two was looking at his game log. Messages were scrolling.
Total Team Kill by The Whirlwind. Bonus points awarded.
Diamond GEV Park disabled. Bonus points awarded.
Diamond Airfield disabled. Bonus points awarded.
All Diamond GEV's destroyed. Bonus points awarded.
All Diamond aircraft destroyed. Bonus points awarded.
All Diamond NPC's destroyed. Bonus points awarded.
Victory for Impending Doom.
"He killed his own side to get as many points as he could because we wouldn't give up more. Dude, that is inhuman."
On the other side of the convention center Gaz stood up and slugged the alien on the shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for?" Zim asked plaintively. His GameSlave was scrolling its own game log and the flashing message New high score.
"That was for nuking your partner." Gaz explained in a huff. Then she grabbed him in a long and thankful bear hug from behind. "And this is for getting us in the semi-finals."
The green girl let go of the thoroughly squished green alien. He rubbed his ribs. "If we win the whole competition, what will you do to Zim? Run over his head?"
"Oh, I'll think of something good."
"That is what Zim is afraid of."
Gaz looked down at Zim. His face was serious, but his solid red eyes betrayed a flicker of humor in them.
"Come on, it wouldn't be bad! You can trust me."
Zim looked up straight into Gaz's eyes and the humor vanished. "Yes, Zim trusts his Gaz-partner," he said in an almost small voice, almost like an admission.
The human girl looked back into those eyes of the Invader. The undisguised alien sitting amid a crowd of several thousand humans. And many of the top teams here were professional soldiers. To him this must be like soaking himself in steak sauce and crawling into a lion's den, Gaz thought. As if the only thing preventing his demise is me wearing an Irken costume. But he's not even anxious anymore. He's done so willingly because I asked, just so I could win some contest over a game! Well, plus to annoy Dib.
I doubt he even realizes that he's ended up taking a vacation from his all-important mission just so I could be here.
She began to realize just how far that trust went. This was a deep personal trust. Gaz tried not to let herself show it, but this touched her. In fact her heart melted just a bit more.
This wasn't a feeble you-won't-ruin-my-laundry trust or a kind of you-won't-plug-up-my-toilet-and-leave-it trust. More like an official Zim-can-count-on-Gaz-to-cover-Zim's-back-when-the-whole-sky-is-coming-down-on-his-head-come-hell-or-high-water sort of trust. She knew this was something Zim never had before, not with anybody, let alone a human. Zim didn't understand friendship. Nothing in his Irken Military culture or training even had the concept of friendship. But Zim could learn and understand partnership, which could be similar and perhaps even deeper.
What Gaz saw in Zim's red inhuman eyes was the trust of a true partner. It was sort of like exchanging "Free Get out of Hell" cards. The drop-everything-and-out-the-door-in-ten-seconds, good at any time, never expiring, no questions asked, and never counting the cost sort of card. Good for a lifetime and for as many occasions as needed.
This was no small thing. Not easily earned nor given, not for a soldier. Even less for an Invader. It was the kind of trust most civilians could not really comprehend. Even Gaz had difficulty wrapping her conscious mind around the concept. Part of that was that this sort of trust can and should only go both ways, and she had never been big on trusting enough to let others in. Another had to do with the idea that if she were in trouble, Zim would not hesitate to burn down entire planets to pull her out of harm's way. Not that he wouldn't mess everything up and would need Gaz to fix it all in the end, but still... there wasn't another person in existence who would go to the lengths Zim would for his partner. Zim did not do balanced. Zim went straight to excessive and progressed from there.
Somehow Gaz had earned Zim's confidence. Perhaps even a dash of personal loyalty. Gaz didn't know how or when she had. Perhaps it was that night she saw his memories and gave Zim her own diary. But Zim hadn't really admitted this sort of trust until now. Deep down she knew could never betray something sacred like this. Not now, not ever, not even if her own life depended on it. The girl smiled a soft smile of acknowledgement and acceptance.
Gaz grabbed Zim by the hand and pulled him out of his seat. "Come on, whiner. Let's go get lunch." She may have the smile, but her voice was still the voice of Gaz.
Zim powered off his GameSlave and followed his partner as she bought three hot dogs from a vendor. They spent the rest of that hour eating in the open Voot Cruiser where it was peacefully quiet. "By the way," she asked her friend and partner, "what is it with you and weapons of mass destruction?"
Gir walked out of the casino with his new pig friend. He had won over two million playing Blackjack, Craps, and then at the Roulette Table. Soon two large gentlemen in black clothing invited them to a back room for a high stakes poker game with the local business owners. Gir had the world's worst poker face. Running around the room squealing just did not get classified as a good poker face.
Gir looked down at the five individual one thousand dollar chips left in his hand. It was the most fun game of Go-Fish he had ever played. And it looked like there were many more such establishments.
Razor Delta slid into a seat next to Razor Alpha. It was nearing the end of lunch and the results of the morning competition was being broadcast to the GameSlaves of qualifying contenders. Team Razor made it into the semi-finals with scores in the top third. They had run into several more skilled teams than average which affected their scores, but they had made it.
"Heard some news. The Stellar Diamonds are out. They got torn up real bad. Wiped out in fact," Delta commented.
Alpha looked up from scanning his GameSlave for familiar names. The Diamonds weren't one of the best teams out there. Mostly college students, but they weren't bad. They wouldn't have made the finals, but it was surprising they got knocked out of the running already.
"How bad we talking?" Alpha asked.
"How about ambushed, practically executed firing squad style, and then nuked off the face of the Earth bad. Without taking a single player out bad. They are really ticked right now."
"Sounds like they really dropped the ball."
Delta shook his head. "From what I hear, they had a Recon In Force out with a prepared defense and guard back at their base. Somehow the other side infiltrated their GEV park while most of the Diamonds had to run back on foot. A Walker snuck in behind them as they were trying to retake it and it was game over."
Alpha nodded. "Yeah, that sounds bad. Spawn camping Walker with no GEV's? Ugly but not unheard of. I would have logged out to keep their scores from skyrocketing. So what happened?"
"Well, the story is they did exactly what we would have done. But the instant the first guy logged out, the Walker nuked the entire base to kill everything before they could finish," Delta said almost in a whisper.
"I thought you said they were spawn camping the base," Alpha questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. The guy nuked his own position. The other side quit so he took out everything including his own team to get as many points as possible before the game ended."
"Dang," Alpha commented. "That's cold."
Getting a Walker within missile range of a base was not as easy as it sounded since it was very tall and could usually be seen coming. Plus a Rapid Response Force could move in to keep it occupied, slow it down by damaging its legs or even disabling them completely. Then more firepower could be brought in. It was messy, but that was what usually happened. But when the other side got distracted one could get a walker into the other base. Then it was really messy, but nuking was actually rare since the Walker only had two and most people saved them for when retreat was necessary. Only noobs who didn't know what they were doing nuked their own team, and even then it was an accident. Nobody did that deliberately and especially when they were winning.
"Was it anyone we know?" Alpha asked. He continued scrolling through the semi-finals list. This wasn't their first convention and they had a few rival teams out there that were very good. The Crimson Shields, The Crapola's, and the Dragon's Fangs were at the top of their 'use maximum force' list.
"Yeah. The pair that nuked us this morning. That Wind/Whirlwind team," Delta told him.
Alpha pulled out his notebook, found the team name and scrolled through the scores list faster. He had started out at the bottom and hadn't seen them yet. "Why am I not surprised?" he asked no one in particular. "They don't seem to play by any set of standards I've ever heard of."
Alpha finally found Impending Doom on the scores list. He showed Delta his GameSlave screen. "But it sure is working for them."
Team Impending Doom hadn't gotten one of the highest average scores. By so devastatingly defeating the Diamonds they had gotten the highest average.
Gaz's avatar was driving one of the Scout GEV's through the woods when she bounced out onto the road directly in front of a Rapid Attack Group of four more Scout GEV's. Unexpected as it was, she plowed straight into their formation and all vehicles swerved and dodged as automatic railguns opened up. There was no time to aim with all the frantic maneuvering by all parties, but this was point blank range. Gaz even crashed broadside into one of her opponents.
"Zim! I'm in trouble in grid Foxtrot-five. RAG unit. Going down fast."
"Understood. Zim is moving to a blocking position at grid Delta-four. In a Gun MBT," Zim replied in her headset. Though they were seated next to each other, it was also more crowded with more background noise.
It was now in the late afternoon, second round of three in the semi-finals. The second group of twenty five-man teams were blazing away at the computer desktops stationed around the convention center's perimeter. Competition was definitely heating up.
Gaz's Scout GEV exploded under the hail of four railguns. Through the insulation of her headset she could hear someone yell out nearby, "Wind is down. Ha Ha, what a noob! Go crying back to mama!"
It was not the first time Gaz had been blown up today. In fact it was more like a hundred times by now, but most experienced players at this level had at least some respect.
However, these words that reached her ears were exactly the wrong ones to let escape one's lips if she was anywhere in the same state, let alone within earshot. Especially if it was deliberate. Gaz was now in full doom mode, especially at that crack about running to her mother. It would be like having a giant neon sign flashing 'BAD IDEA!' over your head.
"Zim," she spoke in a dangerous growl. "I will hold the base. You teach this puke-scum a very up front and ugly lesson."
Zim's Gun Tank changed course. "Is you sure? You have asked Zim several times not to go after those who wrong Zim's Gaz-partner."
"Oh yeah," Gaz spoke in a chill voice. "Make it up close and personal. Tilt, tilt, tilt."
The repeated codeword would sound to others like they were trying to steer a vehicle back down flat against the ground instead of on its side. But what it really meant was for Zim to go Full Tilt. Cut loose. Don't hold back.
It meant the leash was officially off.
Gaz respawned and drove another Gun Tank to guard the base entrance. Just in time to meet the Rapid Attack Group. The four Scouts began a pinwheel attack on the lone MBT as it spat back PPG fire. One after another the Scout GEV's circled past, railguns chattering away. Another minute of intense fire went by.
Zim looked briefly at Gaz, and she returned the look. She swore if he had been human his eyes would have just now switched to fully dilated. He had that grin that just spelled trouble. Zim felt his PAK come to life with the feeling of an energy weapon charging up.
And then the real attack came. It was like watching a ballet interpretation of a four car pileup with a freight train.
Gaz stopped firing as the Walker crashed out of the trees like an angry rhino and kicked the nearest Scout GEV onto it's side as the Walker's torso leaned forward and twisted to the right then swung back to the left, colliding its stubby arms like a fist into the next oncoming Scout as the group drove in their circling attack. The second Scout car rose up in mid-air, did a complete flip and crashed back down on its roof. Zim then turned the Walker's path into the next oncoming Scout. The two crashed together as Zim moved forward and pushed the third Scout into the fourth which flew up into the air and tumbled several times on the ground until it came to a stop on its side. The third fired uselessly with its railgun as it was upended over a boulder and landed on its roof as well.
As the avatars bailed out of their disabled vehicles and ran for their cybernetic lives, Zim turned in pursuit and chased them down one by one. Infantry units were not designed to be stepped on by an Armored Assault Walker. Zim had destroyed the entire RAG unit without firing a shot. Only when all four opposing players were respawning did Zim finally open up with PPG and autocannon fire to finish off the loathsome vehicles.
Gaz turned to look at Zim with a gleeful grin plastered on her face and a tear of mirth running down her cheek. Zim appeared to be in a perfect state of bliss, except of course for the maniacal laughter and contained rants of "Run filthy stink-humans! Squish before the might of ZIM!" as he piloted the rampaging walker in search of more targets. Gaz leaned over sideways and bumped shoulders. Zim looked back at her and blinked his eyes, his mind returning to the world.
"Thanks Zim," Gaz told him with the satisfaction of a good dooming dancing in her eyes. "That was perfect. You're awesome."
"Yes, Zim knows," came the alien's reply as he refocused on the game as AAm's and missile decoys jettisoned out of the back of the Walker while three opposing aircraft swooped in firing semi-aimed rockets in return. Explosions rocked the Walker and the nearby landscape as its torso and arms tracked, then the four heavy autocannons mounted on the wrist joints opened up. One plane then another fell from the sky as two MBT's appeared out of the tree line and PPG fire began to race back and forth. "Zim knows Zim's awesomeness."
That earned a mild kick between feet, but not enough to distract. And not because Gaz disagreed at that moment. Somebody had to keep that ego of Zim's in check after all.
Razor Charlie had been watching a team of dumb punks running down a single player with disgust. Occasionally an undeserving team got randomly setup with so many noob teams that they got into the semi-finals while a good team got the boot. He watched from a distance since blatantly checking out your opponents game play just rubbed everyone the wrong way.
The Razors had run through their own gauntlet in the earlier round and were just waiting around for the other two rounds to finish and the results to be tallied.
A commotion caught Charlie's eye and drew his attention back to the team of punks at the computer terminals. On four of their screens a Walker was going downright medieval on their sorry rumps. At point blank range the hostile IFF tag was visible even from his distance. Charlie pulled out his cell phone.
"Echo? It's Charlie. Wind and Whirlwind are up. I'm in section eight. Get over here."
Charlie began to scan the line of computer stations around the convention perimeter. There! Two players in costume with two empty spaces on the left and one on the right. There could be only one two-man team this far into the competition. Echo came up next to him.
"What you got?" Echo asked.
Charlie just nodded in the direction as he began walking. "The two in the red shirts with pink short sleeves, black pants. Wearing antennae and with green face paint. Just saw Whirlwind go all ninja in a Walker and take out a RAG unit hand-to-hand."
Echo gave Charlie a mildly disbelieving look, but didn't really doubt his word. The two teammates slowly walked past. Charlie dropped a pen and turned to pick it up. Echo almost moved toward a nearby bench to sit down until Charlie made a quiet cough. The two young men walked away.
"What did you pick up?" Charlie asked.
"Not much. I just saw he was missing some fingers and maybe an ear. His headset was kind of sloppy like it didn't have anything to rest on. We could have stopped like we were resting our feet."
"I don't think so," Charlie denied. "You didn't see the girl."
"What about her?"
"She's armed. Boot knife inner left side. Brass knuckles outer right. Small thin boots. I could see the outlines when I bent down."
"And he's disfigured," Echo said. "Maybe in action and invalidated out of the service. They're also in full costume. Those kinds of scars can be real bad."
"Yeah, and get a lot of rude attention. Means most likely a pair that is really defensive about being watched. And a girl that packs a concealed knife and knuckles to a game convention is not one to mess around with mere complaints. She'll take care of things personally. Then you throw in Mr. Special Forces next to her who is obviously protective of her as well. I really think we should leave well enough alone."
"Agreed," Echo sighed. There were three more hours until the semi-final results were in. "Let's call the others and grab a beer while we wait. We could use a break."
The flight home was quiet. Gir was sleeping in the trunk on a few extra suitcases they hadn't brought with them. Zim and Gaz didn't say much either. The day had been packed and Gaz was tired. Zim finally landed the Voot Cruiser back in the attic of his base and opened the canopy. Zim left Gir in the trunk and walked Gaz to her jeep. She turned, clutching a package in both arms to her chest and leaned forward, giving Zim a light peck on the cheek.
"Thank you for getting me my game, Zim," she said.
Zim wasn't exactly sure how to respond, but it was better than being squeezed to paste like he did at lunch. "You may thank Zim tomorrow when we conquer the competition."
"Right. Pick me up in the morning?"
"Of course." Zim turned around to start preparations for the next day. That involved mostly checking out the new CWZ II: Online.
With that Gaz got in her Jeep and drove home.
On arriving she shared a microwaved dinner with Dib, who still tried not to stare at her Irken image, and told him about her day. Then she went to turn in early for the night. Gaz had burned up most of her energy in the tremendous focus necessary for most of the day.
As she pulled off the uniform to change into her pajamas, she felt an odd weight shift in one of the pockets. She emptied them. Cash, ID, her keys with a note attached to them…
Oh, crap, Gaz thought. I forgot again.
She pulled out the second collar with the green gem that Zim had given her this morning. Gaz sighed, pulling open her keepsake drawer and removing the other collar. She set both collars together very carefully on top of her uniform and finished changing for bed, turned off the lights and tucked herself in for the night.
I'll take them both tomorrow. I won't forget to give them back to him again, she promised. Gaz repeated this several times before going to sleep.
The final elements were now in place. Little did they know that tomorrow would change their lives forever.
