{Part Two: Winter Bound Modernism}
"Winter is not a season, it's an occupation." ~Sinclair Lewis
Chapter Fourteen~ Mandatory Adjustments
The month of December brought on a string of new developments from the ever efficient Elite class. First of many was the Golden League Hospital, the medical counterpart of the Silver League Station.
It was only mandatory to devise a method of protection for the Golden League after the horrid realization that these students could not rely on their strength alone. It wasn't the easiest transition, but certainly well received from the Utopians and those who had lost loved ones during the event officially titled the Halloween Massacre.
It could not bring back lives, but could certainly prevent more from being lost. Any further disasters hadn't occurred for some time, but the new shipment of Second Consciences and metal finger implants brought on peace that kept the student body sane.
The Elite had taken an even more active role within the school, becoming teachers during sixth period. Counseling offices were overrun with schedule changes but were all welcome due to the school's new movement towards safety.
There were three new electives currently in progress, each one taught by different Elite students. Zim and Dib had arranged the Apocalypse Preparation course, a personal favorite of Silver Leagues and Golden Leagues only qualified as Survivor Class.
The class combined a variety of skills that made thriving in a destroyed Utopia seem possible as well as creative tactics to get out alive during any travesty. Shelter preparation, weapon building, and the more technical jet piloting lessons were often well spoken but interrupted daily by the two mentor's constant arguments.
Not long into the hour, Zim and Dib would often be engaged in a heated verbal battle while the students were left to do as needed with the information they had. They were surprisingly efficient independently, though the exchange of strange insults could be rather distracting.
Frida and Manny were in charge of National Anthems, a class that had no true start or end period, it simply existed within the school walls and for the enjoyment of the student body. Those enrolled were not the only ones who participated. Everyone could be seen shouting rhymes and banging on walls to the most chipper tunes running inside their own heads.
The class didn't offer any assistance that could save lives, but certainly helped ease through the worst of pain with the catchiest of songs. It wasn't as much a matter of living as it was about living in the moment.
Yin, Yang, and Yuck took charge of a Self Defense course. The class was mainly comprised of Silver Leagues with little to none combat experience. It was only typical grabs, tackles, and hits, but it still sharpened the physical abilities of a large portion of students.
Management of this class wasn't always the sharpest with all three of the mentors always insisting on teaching their own way, but it proved to be helpful to the physically weak students in need of training.
Today's lesson of pressure point striking went considerably better than most days. It was slightly more difficult than past lessons but a bit more effective than frantically slapping and less violent than the "bone break mechanism" or BBM for short. It was the perfect combination of stealth and only possibly deathly combat that would do wonders for quick protection.
Yin brushed back her ears with a quick sweep of her hand and admired her work with a smile.
"And that is how you take out your opponents legs with only one finger. Thank you for participating, Rodney."
"N-No problem, ma'am." The scrawny, much paler skinned male panted as he crawled his way back to his seat on the mat.
"You'll be able to feel your legs again in about an hour," Yin said, quickly adjusting her gloves as she glanced at the overhead clock. "We have at least five minutes left, so I think we can get a little head start on tomorrow's lesson."
"Pin the tail on the know-it-all?" Yuck said, earning a few small chuckles from the classmates.
Yin narrowed her eyes and shifted her gaze over to Yuck. He sat beside Yang on the padded white mat, toying with a shoe string he had managed to rip out of its complicated knotting inside his boot.
"No, we're learning about pinning down an opponent," Yin corrected. "Would you like to demonstrate for us?"
Yuck didn't look up from his shoestring. "Nah, I'm pretty sure Yang would be more than happy to do it. Unless Rodney would like to help out again."
Rodney shook his head. "I'm good."
Yang rolled his eyes. "I already did my part today. Five kids still can't feel their ankles because of me. You pitch in for once, jackass."
Yuck sneered but stood up. "Alright, I'll give these dweebs somethin' worthwhile. It's only fair they learn from a Level Five Woo Foo Knight. Amateurs shouldn't lead amateurs anyway."
"You can save your little comments for later, Yuck," Yin said. "Since you're a bit too aggressive to be handling a Silver League student, you can try out your moves on me."
Yuck's eyes practically lit up from the statement. "Oh, my pleasure."
"Mother of Foo," Yin murmured before speaking to the class.
"The first example should look a little familiar. Being able to use both your body and arms to hold someone down can be especially helpful to get in close attacks or finishing moves if needed. This is actually a great time to incorporate any strategies that involve hitting pressure points. Touching the neck and bellow will be especially helpful during this situation. It can be difficult to get someone down like this, but the key is to do it when someone is left off gua-Ah!"
Yin was flung back from Yuck charging into her. Her head was thrown down onto the mat's padding, her sight only able to make out the blur of Yuck's fur and the white ceiling. Yuck was over her, balancing on his knees while his hands stood on either side of her head.
"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?"
"Yuck I swear…"
Yin struggled to stand only to have her wrists pinned above her head. He barely reacted and casually began his own lecture, "In this position, your attacker will be restricted from using their hands. Especially effective towards magic types or naggy, pink rabbits."
"Okay, we get it. Now get off me." Yin said.
Yuck barred his teeth down at her in his broadest grin. The finest points of his nails drove into her wrists as he leaned in. Drawing his lips close to her ear, he whispered, "Make me, Honey Bunny."
He could hear her swallow and the slow rhythm of her heartbeat right against his chest. His hands tightened out of sheer excitement. Never breaking eye contact, Yin spoke sternly to the silent classroom, "But naggy pink rabbits are the most dangerous to perform such a grab on. Especially if she can simply us her legs to…"
Yuck felt a sudden force against his gut until he was slung back, airborne until he crashed into the wall. The plushy furnishing easily absorbed his blow and sent him into the floor.
A round of applause came over the classroom as Yin responded with a bow and "thank you".
"Yucky-dear, thank you so much for demonstrating." Yin said.
Yang grabbed Yuck by his shirt collar. "And now Yuck's gonna show us how long he can live with his face turned inside out."
The final bell rung before Yang could act on his threat. The students left with cheerful waves to their instructors, leaving the three Elitists inside the room alone.
Yuck sent an elbow into Yang's chest, forcing the blue rabbit to release him.
"Great lesson today, aye Woo Fools?" Yuck grabbed his bag from the wall and tossed it over his shoulder as he left. Before exiting the door, he shot a typical, arrogant smile in Yin's direction. "I can't wait to pin you down again, sweetheart. Make sure to break my ribs a little the next time you kick me, 'kay?"
He left with a long cackle out of the Attendance Scanner. Yang grit his teeth together as he grabbed his own bag. "I'm gonna break a bone for every little pet name he has for you. That'll give him a lesson."
"Just don't destroy your dorm like last time."
"Psh, like I care about that."
The two headed out into the hall still filled with students rushing outside to play in the snow or hiding themselves in the warmth of their dorm rooms. Yin and Yang got a few waves and acknowledgments along the way, each one answered briefly. Before splitting down separate staircases to go to their dorms, Yin said,
"Hey Yang, can I ask you something?"
"Sure,"
"You remember that last Elite Vision, right?"
Yang furrowed his brow as his face twisted into a look of disgust. "I wish I didn't. You think the Headmaster's officially crazy or what?"
A buzz in his pocket followed up the remark. Yang didn't have to look to know the Headmaster had sent him a special message. Yin bit her lip, nervously running her fingers along her pink bag's strap.
"Well, I know it was a lot to take in, but there was this one part I just can't help but think about. It was one of those weird messages we always get."
"Which one?"
"The one about...the Mother? I don't know if it's supposed to mean something else or it's some sort of metaphor but, I guess something got to me. Hearing my own voice saying it, the context, it just got me thinking."
Yang stared at his sister for a minute before nodding slowly. "Oh, I get it. Still worried about where mother dearest could be, huh?"
"Yeah," Yin murmured. "I know Master Yo says I should just drop it but-"
"It's fine, you're not the only one," Yang assured. "And Master Yo always dodging the question just pisses me off now."
"I don't know what he could be hiding. If it's something bad at least it'll be something."
Yang lightly nudged his sister in the ribs. "Relax, we'll learn eventually. You should head to your dorm anyway, you smell."
Yin chuckled, "Shut up,"
"I'm so glad you could become part of our little group, Zim. And you've made so much progress in a single month. Very impressive."
"I felt my talents would be more appreciated," Zim replied. "An academy of such mediocrity deserves a destruction by my hands."
Embry smiled over her tea as she swished it around in her cup. "I do admire your passion. Certainly something we could all use."
She looked down at the rose colored drink that had gone cold next to Zim's oddly constructed screwdriver. Embry quirked an eyebrow as she picked it up. "Not a fan of tea?"
"The smell is bearable, but I'd much rather avoid having liquids over this device. Any bad contact could undo all my work." Zim's fingers lightly rearranged the mess of wires meshed into the cube of metal.
The creation didn't look like much, but its purpose would be enough to disable the Royal Height's shield system within few minutes. He'd been investing his time into the cube not much larger than his hand through all of November and what was currently left of December.
By tonight, he'd be able to mold the cube into the school system and pick apart Utopia's prideful technology with something he could have created before his training as an Invader. Zim certainly hadn't planned to form an alliance, but Embry seemed to have his motives in mind. And being the highest pinnacle of intelligence out of the group, he was practically the leader.
"It's so nice to have a fellow scientist around. I don't remember the last time I've been able to bond with fellow beings of ancient wisdom," Embry emptied the tea into the sink and sighed. "It must be so insulting to be treated like a child when you should really be the teacher all along."
"This new safety movement has forced me into that position alongside Dib-worm. One simple outbreak of flesh eating monsters and the entire school system's collapsed."
"It certainly is a good way to start. And I'm very excited to execute an independent experiment of mine on one very special Elite student. Come with me and I'll show you."
Embry left the kitchen and gestured for Zim to follow. Setting down his device on the table, he walked into the crowded study room filled with even more books than Zoe and Yuck had described.
There were towers of novels and textbooks that stood higher than the actual bookcases. They drew shadows over areas that weren't lit by an unseen light bulb and the outside peach glow of the sunlight. The ceiling from his point of view was mostly dark aside from a few pinned up notes that Embry possibly had no way to reach.
"This will only be a minute," Embry said. "Soon you can return to your device and I can continue to work on my own little project."
She grabbed a vine designed journal from her desk and undid the worn tassel binding it closed.
"This is something I've had for years. It's surprisingly still in good condition after all this time."
"It's just a journal."
"And your device is just a cube. You see, I have my own agenda that I simply must carry out on my own. You and the others will handle Utopia's slow demise while I'll make sure it stays that way. This journal will be the first step."
"How exactly?"
Embry sat down on the edge of her desk as she flipped through the pages. "I'll be devising a little spell on this notebook that binds itself to whatever date I write into it. The very first day this journal should be read is December twenty fifth."
"X-Mas," Zim hissed. He still hated everything about the holiday and the preparations being arranged in Utopian Resources forced him to cooperate for the X-Mas Eve party taking place soon.
"Yes, X-Mas," Embry said. "I'll have this little journal sent to Yin by that night. When she opens it to the first page, the spell will be fully activated and will only let her continue reading after she's done everything it's said."
"I understand that the pink rodent will be an important facet of the plan. Her transformation seems to be carrying out less violently than before."
Embry's smile broadened across her face. "It is, isn't it? It only means she's getting stronger. It's a shame Yin seems so unaware of the power she's holding. So I thought this little journal could act as a guide."
"You did say you could manipulate words to your command. Will you be establishing any form of mind control?"
"Not mind control, just persuasion. You'd be surprised but I actually have quite the long history with Yin and Yang's family. When you live as long as I do, you get time to observe and study everything that comes your way. That involves certain creatures of varying time periods."
"I don't see what's so fascinating about them." Zim said.
"Oh, every family has their secrets. When children like Yin and Yang come into the world, you can't help but become curious. Their existence is something I've been pondering for years. And fellow Elite students like yourself all have stories I was dying to unravel."
"I'm certain any tales those two have are nothing compared to my stories."
Embry pat Zim on the head to have the Irken flinch away. "Yes, you have quite the interesting story. The same with the others: a struggle between good and evil, a manifestation of all things negative, artificial existence…"
"Who does that apply to?"
"You'll learn on your own time. I think you'll like the answer," Embry said. "But it's where Yin and Yang came from that really intrigues. After learning the truth about their biological father, questions are just bound to emerge. And I thought I could help them with it."
Embry swayed the journal around in the air as she said this. Zim wasn't entirely sure what she intended to achieve with it, but he was far more concerned with finishing his device. This time spent babbling could have easily been spent doing something more valuable. Though he did have one final question about Embry's supposed experiment.
"So about this journal, how do you know she'll read it?"
Embry grinned. "Because I'm sure any poor child would be thrilled to read the words of the mother she never had. Even if I did change a few things to make it more interesting."
Zoe wasn't sure if getting a black cloak simply became mandatory for being in an alliance with Embry. The fabric was purely composed of threads embedded from the night sky. Weaved from the hair of the ancient nymphs of the night that allowed them to blend into starlight.
Or at least that was the flowery description Embry had given her about a simple cloak that did wonders for Zoe's pale complexion. If it was true, the cloak would allow them to blend into the darkness around them and go entirely undetected. Even from newly installed security cameras and any of the sensitive coordinates meant to keep the Headmaster in check of the school, even if she was currently sleeping.
Zoe paced around the cold, snow stained earth clinging to her boots. Zim had messaged them to all meet behind the school at three AM. His device was finished after one private session with Embry and could finally be used to disable Royal Heights' most valuable systems.
Where Royal Heights' technical information lied has been a well hidden secret for some time, but Zim had fully prepared his device to find something so scarce. He had planned to send Gir to investigate but knew the moronic sack of metal would only get them noticed. Even with tape over his mouth and a chicken leg tied to his antennae.
Gir would come in handy for later installments, but only when the plan was nearing completion.
"Am I late?" Yuck's voice came from above as he jumped down from a tall oak tree, landing feet first into a pile of fallen snow.
"Yeah, thirty minutes late. Where were you?"
Yuck stood up and dusted off his cloak. "A guy's gotta sleep. I didn't know you'd be an early bird."
"Whatever, where's Zim?"
"I dropped by his dorm but he said something about 'disturbing the magnificence of Zim'." Yuck said, doing a nearly spot on impersonation.
"That idiot better turn up soon or I'm leaving. It's freezing out here." Zoe said.
"Your impatience will only cost us more time, pig smelly." Zim emerged from the distance, removing his hood from his head as he marched proudly through the snow.
"Ugh, do you have your device ready?" Zoe asked.
"Of course, of course," Zim reached his hand under his cloak and presented a small, metal cube glowing with his species' symbol in violet red. "I had to make some adjustments, but I'm certain my expertise will ensure victory during this mission."
"Yeah, yeah just hurry it up." Yuck said.
Zim murmured something under his breath as he set the cube down. The device sprouted metal, spider like legs from both sides and crawled up the side of the building. The cube crawled away to the highest point of the school, burning a hole in the mirror from a laser that sprouted out of the logo's eyes.
"At this rate, it should detect any form of technical activity and be able to disable it at my command," Zim said. "I suggest we all follow it."
The cube had led them to an area that looked entirely untouched by any student or staff member. Any life appearing inside of this school floor seemed entirely impossible. Right above every student's head, just one floor away from the A-Level was a space that seemed to go for miles.
Everywhere there was limited light only ever brightened by screens and jumbled coding that shined turquoise on tangled wires descending through the ceiling and on the floor. Any tiles and marble were utterly destroyed though any indication of its demise was left ambiguous.
Words and pictures flashed along each screen too quickly to be read though there was one word that stayed in place on the largest screen all the way down the hall.
H.E.A.D.M.A.S.T.E.R
Highly Elaborate Academically Directed Machinery Allowing Students To Excel Reality
"This looks like the mainframe for the entire school," Zim said. "A motherboard of some sort."
Yuck walked down the pathway as he looked around casually, "So what do we do, burn it? I'm good at burning things."
"No, I'm pretty sure that'll just collapse the school's whole system," Zoe said. "We just need to take out what's important. Wiping out the H.E.A.D.M.A.S.T.E.R will be something for later. For now, we just need to figure out which things we should take out first."
"I say we break whatever makes those Elite Visions," Yuck said. "The last thing I need is another image of me rooted to a wall. Or wherever I was."
Zim curled his finger and the cube crawled back to him, latching onto his hand. A light buzz vibrated the device and a small screen was projected out of the logo. "Hmm, it says we should keep going down this hall if we want to find the main source of power. I'm certain anything we're looking for will be right ahead."
Zoe and Yuck followed Zim down the hall. The farther they traveled, the more visible the H.E.A.D.M.A.S.T.E.R sign became. And the more the glow caught the shape of something away from them.
"Is there someone here?" Zoe whispered.
"I suppose, though this someone wasn't detected as any human. I'm not quite sure what it is. Even my scanner can't make sense of it." Zim continued to stare down at the small screen before stopping entirely.
He blinked a few times and squinted out of disbelief. "Minimoose?"
The woman was human though there was something bizarre about her appearance that set her apart from even fellow Utopians. Much like any other townsfolk, her face was free of blemishes or open pores. No wrinkles creased her skin, not providing the slightest implication of her age. The only marks visible were the lines of turquoise running in patterns down her cheekbones and neck, carrying down the rest of her body.
A tight, leather suit with the word Headmaster written in black print across the chest nearly blended into the white of her skin. Spaces of the suit were open along her arms, back and legs for the wires running all through the hallway. The wires carried far above her head and dissolved into the beam of something similar to the Grid.
They could still be seen past it, leading into the hands of some unseen puppeteer. Even with closed eyes, the turquoise glow of her irises shined through her eyelids, marking them over with small, circular beams.
She was clearly resting, but not breathing. The brunette curls that had fallen over her nose didn't falter slightly from exhaled air. Entirely motionless. In her arms was the small Minimoose not floating and instead nestled into her embrace.