So We Meet Again
Chapter Six: The Speed of Time
The second-hand of the clock on the wall of Ms. Bitters' room slowly ticked it's way around in it's usual clockwise pattern.
/Tick...tick...tick.../
Zim and Miz glanced back and forth from each other to the circle of time. It was nearly three...nearly time for the students to embark on the annual
ritual the humans called "Thanksgiving Vacation".
/Tick...tick...tick.../
Dib eyed Zim and Miz suspiciouly as they exchanged silent words between them amidst the echoing vastness of the classroom, and then retreating
thier gazes to the clock. (I wonder what they're thinking...)
/Tick...tick...TICK---BBBBBRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!/
At long last, the bell rang and all Hell broke loose as the Earthen children ran from the dull school to their buses and other various transportation
methods. Our young Irkens were no exception; they too scrambled away from this "inferior educational complex" the humans dared to call "skool"
in a rush to escape to their bases.
Today they were both going to Miz's base in hope to learn more about their most recently aquired artifact: a collection of documents called the Book
of Lessons. Of course, they didn't know that it had a name, in the meantime they had dubbed it 'the fat green book we found'.
Nice name, huh?
Anyway, after hearing the usual taunts from Dib, Zim and Miz retreated to where Miz had been making her home for the past month and a half. Her
base was styled exactly like Zim's except for one noticible difference - you didn't need to flush yourself down the toilet to get to lab.You used the
elevator.
However, there wasn't really anything scientific about the Book itself in general, so the lab wouldn't be of any need - yet.
Miz sat at the kitchen table, flipping through the contents on the Book. Zim was pacing the floor, lost in thought. Gir and Kir were on the floor having
a deep conversation on the wonders of cupcake frosting and how they could make it better.
"More sugar would DEFINATELY be a plus..." Kir pointed out.
"Yes, of course." Gir scribbled something down on the pad he had with a green crayon. "And wouldn't it make sense if they had more than one color
to a package?"
Kir clapped in agreement. "Yes! It would make MUCH more sense. Write that one down too!!!"
While the two Sir-modeled units unleashed a fit of crayon scribble, Zim continued his endless walk in circles around the room. "Perhaps it's a sort of
secret document."
Miz flipped through a few more pages, not paying any attention to Zim. "Mm-hmm."
"Or even," Zim said with an evil glint in his eye, "just maybe, it contains some sort of unlimited power that we can assess to conquer Earth with!"
flip, flip, flip "Whatever you say, Z---hmm?"
"A mystical power indeed." Zim smiled with sheer delight. "Just think, Miz, if we found that power and...Miz? Mi-iz?"
But Miz paid him no attention. Instead she was focused on a piece of paper she had found folded inside the book. "Woah..." she said slowly.
Zim approached her. "What is it?"
Miz squinted her eyes at the paper, trying to decipher the message that had been encoded uopn it. "It's...I think it's a poem...of some sort."
"A...poem?"
"I can't say for sure. It's hard to read...Lemme get some better lighting." Miz stood up and waked to the window where the sunlight came streaming
through. The words were a bit more clear. "It IS a poem..."
Zim stood next to her. "What are you waiting for? Read it."
Miz took a deep breath and let the words roll off her tongue.
"In a world that exists, you would lose, I bet,
If you went up against the Supreme Quartet."
Miz gave Zim an odd look. " 'Supreme Quartet'? Who could---"
"I don't know, either. Now keep reading." Zim prodded her.
Miz was a bit annoyed at him for that, but continued reading anyway.
"If somehow you challenged all four and won,
Then your time of conquest would have soon begun.
"Each Quartet was made from an object of a sort.
You will win one when you beat each co-hort.
"A mirror that reflects the the facts of one's eye,
The Mirror of Truth is what it's known by."
On the left side of these lines was a picture of Mirra. On the right side was a picture of an enegant silver hand mirror. Zim retrieved the mirror he had
recobered from Mirra and compared it to the drawing. "They're the same..." he noted.
Miz nodded and read the next two lines.
"The Book of Lessons will most likely appear next,
Records of wisdom from the best of the best."
Again they noted the drawings. "So, then this must be from that pig-thing," Zim said. "Hamm...was his name?"
Gir looked up. "Hamm? Oh, you mean my taco friend!"
Miz groaned. "Yes, your taco friend." She read some more.
"Face the third foe, don't get caught with the blues,
You'll be running too fast after claiming the Speed Shoes."
The "third foe" was what resembled a five-year-old kid wearing spotted pajamas. He had cat ears and a long tail. Zim smiled. "He doesn't look so tough."
Miz examined the picture. "Yeah, I agree, but I'm guessing he's fast, otherwise, why would they call them the Speed Shoes?"
"Don't be scared of the fourth, just damage his arm
And retrieve the Lost Legacy - it will protect you from harm."
The "fourth" was a figure wearing a black robe with the hood up. His hands were like those of a skeleton, and all you could see of the rest of his body
were two red glowing orbs beheath his hood. The Lost Legacy was a green oval-shaped pendant on a gold chain.
Miz shuddered at the image of the fourth Quartet. "Lord, he freaks me out."
Zim nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but that Lost Legacy thingy sounds pretty neat!"
"Beat Nezram, the leader, and then you shall find
The final components - heart, soul, body, and mind.
"But Nezram's second form lives, and so then you should
Use the powers of the components and destroy him for good.
"If this foe is weakened, and dies in defeat,
The victor rules all if he finds the Complete."
Miz blinked at the paper for a minute, then finally asked, "Who... - or WHAT - is a Nezram?"
Zim took the paper from her. "What does he look like?"
"I'm not sure. There's no picture."
Zim examined the paper carefully. "But there's one for the Complete. And BOY does it look nice!"
The sketch of the Complete depicted it as a red crown, styled to the ones kings and queens wore hundreds of years ago. It was bordered in gold, and
it was topped with a brilliant green emerald.
Miz studied the sketch. "Yes, it does, but..." she looked at Zim, "I can't get the name 'Nezram' out of my head for some reason."
"Yeah," Zim agreed, "Neither can I."
Miz glanced away in thought. "Why does that name ring a bell? I've never heard it before...yet...it sounds so familiar, like something I heard long ago,
and should fear..." her voice trailed off. Suddenly she threw up her hands and laughed. "Oh, what am I talking about? It's probably just some---"
She was cut off by an explosion, and then the whole base shook. Zim and Miz exchanged glances and ran toward the window. Miz screamed at what they
saw. "Zim!! It's...it's...him! The third foe!"
The cat-boy stood there grinning maliciously. " 'The third foe?' Oh, how old that makes me sound. Call me Cheetor. That's what everyone else does."
Zim held out an arm to protect Miz. "What do you want with us?!"
Cheetor flashed a grin. "I'm just here to remove you from my master's domination plan, Zim and Miz." He fired another laser-missle at the base.
They gasped. "How does he know us?!" Zim cried as the house shook once again.
After recovering from the shock, Miz stood up and placed a hand on Zim's shoulder. "Zim, cover me. I need to make a tensmission to the Tallest."
Zim looked at her incredulously. "NOW?!"
"Please, Zim," Miz pleaded. "The name Nezram is really bothering me for some reason. Maybe the Tallest know why."
Zim took his laser-gun from out of his backpack. "Fine. Just hurry, okay?"
Miz took off down the stairs, not bothering to wait for the elevator. She literally jumped onto the control unit and began to send in a transmission. At
first it was okay, but then it was fuzzy.
"My Tallest? MY TALLEST?!" No answer. "They must not be there..." Determined to get her message through, Miz downloaded a program that would
record the message as it was being sent. "My Tallest...my home base is under attack by an unknown mercenary---OH!" Another hit. If this went on too
much longer, Miz's base would colllapse, and her mission would be jeopardized. "I do know, however, that he is working for a warlord named Nezram...
ACH!" Miz regained her composure quickly and finished. "If...you have anyinformation on this Nezram character, please send it through. If Nezram can
overcome our home bases, he could learn more about teh other Invaders' plans as well, which could become the downfall of us---ALL!!" Miz fell backwards
onto her behind and stood up quickly. "This is...Invader Miz, signing...off!"
Miz ran upstairs to assist Zim in his attack against Cheetor. They managed to get Cheetor away from the base. After a flurry of shots were exchanged,
Cheetor ran off into the city, which was slowly beginning to darken as the sun set.
Breathlessly, Miz ran up to Zim. "So...what are...our stats?" she said between breaths.
Zim, too, needed pause to refill his lungs. "Out of...twenty-seven shots...only...th...three hit..."
"...That's not very good..."
"...No,,,and now he's...running into the city."
"We've got to catch him, Zim! Before he finds YOUR base!"
"You're right....but it won't be easy when it's this dark."
Miz stood up straight, her stamina now fully returned. "But we still have to try! Are you with me, Zimmy?" She extended her hand.
Zim straightened, his energy now full. "I'm with you...as long as you'll stop calling me 'Zimmy'..."
They shook hands in agreement. Donning appropriate disguises, the two young Irkens ran off to persue their attacker.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
"But what I still don't get," ZIm said as they ran,"is why he didn't vaporize after one shot."
Miz, who was running behind him, explained. "An old human saying is that cats have nine lives. If Cheetor lives up to that proverb..."
"Then we have to land six more shots on the stupid...stupid...thing...what is he, anyway?"
"I have no clue."
They stopped at a street corner. Zim stepped into the streelight. "We've been looking for half an hour already, and we still haven't found a single trace
of him. I wonder wh---"
A sudden yellow blur streaked in front of them. At first they stood there, stunned by the speed this guy had. Then they ran after him, shooting all the way.
After a long balttle of shooting, running, and dodging, Zim managed to shoot Cheetor squarely in his left foot. He lost his shoe in the process, bringing
him down to half-speed.
This made their mission much easier. Miz picked up the fallen shoe and ran behind Zim, who was steadily gaining on Cheeetor. "Come on, Zim!" she
cheered. "Only five more shots. You can do it!"
Eventually, he did. Cheetor's form faded into the blackness into the night, but not before shouting, "Don't think you've won, puny Irkens!!" All that was left
of him was the sneakers that he wore.
Miz picked up the other fallen shoe. "The Speed Shoes...we got 'em." She held them out to Zim. "Give em' a try."
Zim was a little surprised. "Me? Why?"
"Cuz...you're the strong guy who fought bravely to get them for us..." Miz replied, putting on a little of her Irken charm.
It worked. Zim started to blush a little, then took the shoes from her. "Well, okay." He out them on and took a step forward.
He ended up across the street. He turned around and took a step back towards Miz, who was waching with admiration.
Zim smiled at her. "These things work pretty good," he informed her.
Miz gave Zim a pretty smile in response. "That's great."
Zim walked over and lifted her frame in his arms. "C'mon. Let's get you home."
And so, after defeating yet another one of Nezram's henchmen, the two young Irkens sped of into the victorious night