A/N: Hey guys! Once again the chapter took forever to get out and I don't think it's very good. School and drawing has taken up so much time and then I've been coming up with ideas for OCs and their new stories... I just need to get some of my stories finished and THEN work on the new ones...
This chapter's back to my average chapter length... sort of. I tried hard to make it good... but things are tricky and I'm not entirely sure where this story is going to take our heroes.
Leave a review and I'll try to get back to this story soon, though I've got a lot of others to update.
Chapter 15 – Conspiracy
M swore as his foot stumbled on another tree branch hidden in the darkness. It was nearly morning and they'd been walking for hours. "Mind telling me where we're going?" he asked for the fifth time since their hasty departure. "And no one has even told me who those guys were let alone who you are." When he received no response again, M stopped where he was and stomped his foot down on a thin stick, snapping it. "ENOUGH! I'm not going another step unless you tell me who you are!" He folded his arms and didn't move.
Dwicky rolled his eyes grumbling, and Bill looked back at him for the first time since they had left the complex.
"Listen punk. We stop now and they'll be on us like sparkles on a unicorn, which, I promise you, is not nearly as pretty as it sounds. So you can either shut up and follow me or stay here and get captured again."
M raised an eyebrow. "We've been walking in sporadic paths while covering our tracks, crossing a river, climbing trees and jumping between branches for FIVE HOURS! NO ONE IS FOLLOWING US ANYMORE!"
Bill's eyes narrowed behind his shades. "Right, that's what THEY want you to think."
"What... That's what who wants me to think? Who even were those guys?!"
"S.E.N. The Swollen Eyeball Network."
"Eyeball?"
Dwicky groaned, "Man why do you even need to know this? Those guys were probably going to torture you to find that green kid, what else do you need to know before you realize they're bad news?!"
"Maybe a little proof that this guy," M jabbed his finger at Bill, "isn't worse!" Dwicky's hands curled into fists and he made a move toward M, but Bill thrust his hand out and grabbed Dwicky by the shoulder spinning him around. Dwicky stumbled to the ground.
"Hey! Wahdya do that for?"
"The Kid has a point, and you would do well to remember that." Bill walked forward until he and M were standing face to face. "I like you kid. You don't trust easy. Smart. So I'll tell yah what, you give me the benefit of the doubt for 2 more miles and I'll show you some proof that'll make you never doubt me again." He reached out his hand. M gazed at the unexpected gesture, unsure of how to take it. But… what was there to lose? If this guy could somehow help located Zita and Dib… It was a chance he'd have to take. M accepted the handshake.
"Good." Bill turned his back on them, with his coat blowing in the wind. The blood red of sunrise lit the forest with an ominous glow as M and Dwicky followed the mysterious Bill through the forest.
XXX
M nearly tripped over Bill when he stopped suddenly. They were standing on the edge of a large corn field. "We're here," Bill said. M looked around but didn't see even a barn in sight.
"Here where?"
Bill didn't answer. Reaching into his inner coat pocket, he pulled out what looked like garage door opener, though when he pressed the button it sounded more like a remote car lock. A double beep came from nowhere, and the ground began to shake beneath them.
"What the hell is this?!" M yelled; he stumbled and grabbed on to a tree trunk for support. His teeth rattled in his skull.
"This is my home base."
The earthquake stopped leaving behind an entrance into a deep underground… thing. M wasn't sure what it was really. He followed Bill and Dwicky down the ramp. The entrance hallway was lined with a multitude of vehicles; everything from a sleek 1961 Jaguar E-Type to a full blow military Tank. Dwicky immediately ran over to the Jaguar, evidently more interested in the cars than in Bill's explanation, he had to run to catch up with the two of them.
"I've been building this place for years. Took all the money I made back in the days when I worked for the Network. Those were the days before I realized what that group was really all about." Bill stopped at a doorway and palmed a keypad. The door slid away. They walked into a room filled floor to ceiling with computers; the walls were completely covered with TV monitors.
Bill dropped down into swivel chair and began typing away. The 9 lowest screens blinked then switched to a view of Dib's house. "The one you know as Dib, was also part of the Swollen Eyeballs. Titled Agent Mothman," The screens switched to each show a different picture of Dib, over several years' time. "I remember teaching him about paranormal investigation back when he was still a kid. He was going to be great. True determination to get to the truth. If that accident hadn't happened he might have still been sided with them. "
"Woah… Hold on… Dib? Dib Membrane? The kid who everyone thought was crazy up until 2 years ago? That Dib?" Bill nodded. M was shocked. He stared at all the pictures; he was even in a few of them. Laughing and pretending to be a yeti eating Dib's camera while Zita stood nearby laughing. It wasn't possible. If he knew about a group like this… why did he act like his paranormal "studies" were nothing more than a game?
Bill seemed to sense his question. "Anyone that joins the Network is sworn to secrecy. You can reveal your findings first to the network then to the public, if you get that far. Even then, you're never to say the Network's name to anyone not associated with it."
"So how come you're telling me?"
"Because I don't associate myself with them anymore; not after what happened."
"What happened?"
"That's not important right now," Bill said. M disagreed but didn't interrupt. "What is important is that once you're in, they don't let you leave."
"Wait… Are you saying that they're trying to hunt down Dib?"
"Mothman was a special circumstance. He'd been dedicated and honest since he first joined at 7 years old, so when he asked to leave to care for his sister, the boss allowed it on the condition that he never looks for, or speaks of any paranormal evidence or creatures ever again."
"LAST YEAR! That was when Dib quit talking about paranormal junk!" Bill nodded. "So why are they chasing him now?"
"The kid reneged on the deal. He found an alien, and took it home." The screens switched to a blurred picture of a green skinned kid looking through the upper floor window.
"That's not possible… Aliens don't exist."
Bill laughed. "I can promise you that they do. I've seen several species myself."
"But he's just a kid…"
"The correct term is smeet. That 'child' there…" the screen blinked as the picture of Zim was edited. Eyes changed from white and blue to round magenta orbs, the hair was removed and replaced with two thin stalks. "…is from planet. Irk; one of the most dangerous species in the universe."
M stared at the edited image. He couldn't believe it. Not only was Dib right about everything… but here he actually found the proof… and he kept it hidden. Why?!
"We're lucky that this one is young. Irkens are trained from birth to be the universe's ultimate soldiers." Bill explained. "There was a time in earths past when humans had dealings with them, exchanging natural resources for assistance in wars, but when the Irkens saw that our resources were dwindling they got bored and left. The Sahara Desert was one of the areas they took the resources from. They're a ruthless race, lacking in any emotions."
M thought back to the trembling child that had been led from the Membrane house, holding Zita's hand tightly, as if he was afraid she would disappear. That child was far from emotionless. 'That doesn't mean it wasn't dangerous,' M thought, reminding himself why his best friend was in the hospital in the first place. "So what's one of them doing coming back?"
"Well there have been a few over the centuries, but most of those were old and/or dying. Sending a child could only mean they're sending an unimportant soldier as a scout."
"A scout for what?"
"My guess? An Invasion. Earth has stabilized into a healthy planet since their last visit. Irk was always overpopulated to begin with. They're probably looking for space to expand their race."
Deep breath… M's hands rested over his face as he tried to process all this new information. Part of him still couldn't believe he was even having this conversation without laughing… but another part… the small part that had always wanted to believe Dib's wild stories… knew that everything he was hearing was true. "So where do the Bloated Eyeballs fit in to this?"
"Swollen Eyeballs. And they do what they've always done; hide the existence of cryptozoological creatures, and paranormal phenomena."
M looked up, a serious expression on his face, "then what do they want with the ki… the alien?"
"Same thing they always want with them. To get them on the first ship headed home."
"They're just gonna let it go?! But if what you said is true!"
Bill's laugh was filled with contempt, "The network is blind. They think that what people don't know about, can't hurt them. But that doesn't stop people from burning to death in fires started by EmberRoaches, now does it?"
"Uh…" M had no idea how to respond to that, "well anyway… Dib's still with that alien. Is he in danger? What about the other's with them?"
"For now they're probably safe. The Irken's ship was destroyed. Until it can secure a new one, it will need a native to hide him. It probably doesn't know that the Network would give it a free pass home." Bill typed some more, and a map popped up on the screen with a blinking red dot. "I was tracking their movements but lost the signal around this area. If we could just find them first we could rescue your friend and expose the alien."
"What can I do to help?"
Bill was facing the computer screens with his back to M. The Letter M never saw the dark smile that crossed his face.
XXX
"Are you sure this is going to work?"
"No."
Zita sighed and put her hands on her hips. "How reassuring." The sarcasm flew right over Zim's head, as the smeet went from machine to computer to other machine.
Everything seemed to be in order. Oddly enough this medical center looked very similar to an Irken ER. The place was dusty from disuse, and cobwebs hung from the ceiling, but most of the technology was intact. If he could just get the settings adjusted, the computer would take over the healing and Dib would be up and about in under an Earth day. If he could get it right that was… He didn't know all the words in the computer and Zita stated that she didn't "speak tech" … whatever that meant.
Gaz still hadn't returned. Better that she wasn't around though. It was hard enough without her yelling at him for touching her brother. With a last snapping wire in place, the computer screen blinked green for Go. Zim pressed 'enter' and the medial pod closed around Dib.
"And now we just wait?"
"That or figure out what else this stuff does."
Zita yawned loudly and stretched her hands up behind her head, "Have at it, but I don't understand computers so I think I'll just head upstairs to wait for Gaz." Zita turned to leave.
"Wa..i.." before Zim even realized it, he ran forward and grabbed the torn hem of Zita's dress. Zita felt the small tug and turned back. Zim was staring at the purple metal floor; his eyes were wide with confusion and terror.
"You want me to stay?" she asked. Zim nodded slightly, still not looking up at her. The room reminded him too much of Irk… and being alone in a room on Irk had never ended well for him. Even though he knew that Red and Purple where light years away, Zim just couldn't shake the feeling that they were hiding in every shadow.
Zita took a seat on the floor and pushed him off back towards the computers. She watched him run back and forth for a while before drowsiness over took her. Zim didn't mind her light snoring. It was almost like a melody to the hum of the equipment. He was just grateful she had stayed.
His eyes wandered to the medical pod in the center of the room. Zita was nice… but he was ready to have Dib awake again.
R&R!