(A/N#1! Oh yeah! Here it is! Chapter 2!! Again, I own nothing except the characters I make up. Don't sue me... please?)

Chapter Two:
Allies Jendai Kaalae and Merana Sali

A woman was seated at her kitchen table; fully dressed and watching the minutes tick by when he entered. Relief filled her. She stood, watching the man stomp through the door, a limp body in his arms.
"By all the gods, Jendai! What the hell happened? Did you run the poor thing over?"
"No! I told you! Some human kid was chasing him. They kinda went over the bridge... and he-uh... fell in the river..."
"Jendai... you're supposed to be keeping this sort of thing from happening so I don't have to work so hard."
"Oh sure. I nearly kill myself driving that hunk of scrap so you can have an easy time patching them up."
"You know I'm nowhere near as good as I should be. Damn it, I'm not on my planet anymore, remember that, Kaalae. And besides, you did not almost die! The truck looks fine!"
"Have you seen traffic lately?"
"Oh be quiet. Hand him over and let me work what magic I have. Go change or something. Eat a sandwich, I don't care, just stay out of here. I don't need your life force interfering with his.
"You mean what life force I have left."
"Shut up."
"Fine, where do you want him?"
"Couch. And Jendai?"
"Yel-low?"
"What is THAT?"
"Oh this? Remember I said he had a green dog? This is what's left of it. Circuits are fried or something. No biggy. Nothing I can't handle."
"Oh."
As the man left, the woman moved to the prone form that had been placed with utmost care on the soft cushions of the couch. Candles were lit and had been placed all around in preparation for the task at hand. It was routine. She had done this so many times that the relatively simple steps were ingrained in her memory. Kneeling, she touched the large, opal pendant at her throat with delicately boned fingers. Her soft, gentle voice whispered a single word, "Hatany." The large stone glowed a bright yellow. Its light spread throughout her body, illuminating her amber-colored eyes. Slowly, she spread her hands towards the flickering candles, drawing the light to her. It took very little effort and very little concentration at this stage.
More light streamed from the candles, wrapping itself around her. It bound itself to each part of her slight body, so that even individual strands of hair were filled with yellow radiance. She took a deep breath, sending herself into a light trance. It was now that she touched her pendant again, this time murmuring, "Sejus." Her voice echoed eerily around the room.
The yellow light then abruptly changed to a healing blue, matching the colors of her pendant. It filled her eyes, turning them from amber to cerulean. Now came the part that had been the most difficult since she'd been forced to leave her home. She breathed deeply again, sending herself deeper into the trance. She placed one fragile hand on the body's chest, the other on his forehead. Another deep breath shot her onto almost another plane entirely. Her vision dulled, swam and changed. Colors were gone, leaving mere outlines of crystal where substantial objects and living things had been. Only she remained solid. Two strands of sparkling luminescence rose from her hands. Black cracks had appeared in the one atop the body's chest. The strand emitting from his forehead was clear of all such blemishes. She removed her hand from his head and placed it over his chest as well. She would need all her power.
She carefully concentrated on gently pushing the blue light from her body into the cracks. This would have to be done as carefully and slowly as she dared. The last time she'd attempted this, she had botched it, and almost killed the recipient. She needed to get back home. Her powers were diminishing with each week she spent here. She knew it was the work of the dark one. It would stop at nothing to see her people destroyed. The cracks slowly began to fill. That was good. And unexpected. Maybe she could get a full healing in on this one and have him sent back this very night.
Her power suddenly fractured. Instantly, she jerked her hands away before the break in power could affect the recipient. Her vision abruptly snapped back into focus, sending her reeling to the floor with a cry. A few moments later, someone was cradling her head.
"Mer! What happened?"
"My... my power snapped... right in the... middle."
"Are you okay?"
"I will be..."
He helped her sit up. She discovered she was shaking and braced herself against him. A gloved hand-apparently he'd changed out of what he'd been wearing earlier-stroked her hair comfortingly. From a glance it was obvious that she hadn't gotten a full healing in. The ugly burn looked smaller and older, but blood still oozed from the open wound. She didn't have the energy to check the scrapes and burn on the body's hands, but she assumed they looked much the same. She braced against him again as she stood, small frame wracked with jerking tremors.
"You need me to bandage him up?"
"Please, Jendai... I need some rest."
"I was just about to suggest that."

~ ~ ~

It was dark. So very, very dark. He was still being chased. This time though, it was the science humans who always haunted his dreams. They were tireless, relentless, fearless. He was exhausted. Fearful images arose, foretelling death and destruction. It was unsettling. He could feel them grabbing him, tearing him...
And then awoke.
Where was he? Zim looked around wildly, not recognizing anything. He was lying in a human bed, which sat in a darkened room. Dimly, he could make out the shapes of other beds forming two rows on each side of the room. How did he get here? All he could remember was falling... and hitting the water... Puzzled, he leaned back on his hands, trying to relax.
With a strangled yelp, he sat back up, clutching his left hand. The pain slowly receded, allowing him to peer at the injured palm. His glove had been removed and a gauze bandage was wrapped about his hand. He stared. Now he remembered the events of the nights before. Dib, the "tazer," GIR, everything. Superstitiously, he touched his face gingerly. Sure enough, another bandage bound the burn that had been scorched into his green Irken face. It still hurt, as did his hands. Yet the pain seemed dulled by something. He shook his head, trying to shake off his disturbing thoughts to make room for anything else that would come.
So, someone had pulled him out of the river and treated him. But who? And why? Another thought bubbled up, unbidden. His disguise! A quick pass over his head showed that his wig was gone. His antennae twitched backwards in fear. His secret was out. He was utterly doomed. Zim drew his knees up to his chest, noticing the absence of his boots as well. The little alien shivered fearfully. Now what? he thought. He had no idea where he was, or how to get back to base. GIR was most likely lost at the bottom of whatever river the duo had landed in. There was no way to contact the Tallest to inform them of his failure or request help. Not that he wanted to admit his failure to anyone but himself. He felt the first wave of depression roll over him. He was doomed. "So," he murmured, hugging his knees tighter. "I suppose the humans have won after all..."
No! He could not let that be so! He was an Invader! Invaders never surrendered! Zim pushed himself into a standing position with his robotic legs, surveying the scene. A window loomed above his bed, tempting him. Extending his legs out farther, he reached the ledge and peered out onto the darkened landscape. Maybe he could pry it open with his undamaged fingers... The attempt failed shortly after he applied pressure. He glowered at the device. A spare leg emerged, smashing itself against the glass. Zim's attacks became frantic. He had to escape. He just had to!
The door creaked open, sending a shaft of light into the room. Zim jumped. His robotic legs retracted, sending him falling to the bed. From his fall, the sheets billowed upwards like sails. Muttering dizzily, he sat up, shuffling backward towards the wall. He looked up, antennae pricked with attentiveness. It was now or never. Now it was time to meet his fate at the hands of whoever it was that had entered. He saw a silhouette slip in, and heard the door close. "Well, you're awake," a vaguely familiar tenor voice called from the dark. "Good." A light flicked on, showing him only his bed, not the room beyond. Zim blinked against the brightness, screwing up his eyes.
"Who... who are you?" the Invader stuttered. The person moved into the light, finally allowing Zim to get a good look at them. He stared. His mouth fell wide open. For a long, rare moment, the Irken was speechless. "T-Tallest?" he squeaked. "How-"
" 'Tallest'?" the figure quoted in disbelief. "Well, that's a new one. Although, I suppose I do happen to look like one or the other..."
"Who are you?" Zim repeated, scooting away. His antennae fell back in nervousness.
The tall Irken standing beside him grinned down, light illuminating only his olive-green face and odd blue eyes. His straight antennae were perked up attentively, showing only an amused interest in Zim. "I," he began, his smile fading. "am Jendai Kaalae. A mechanic, Student Class." That explained his eyes. He leaned closer, slim shoulders and upper torso becoming visible. He wore nothing close to the standard mechanic's wear that Zim had seen. Instead, he had a shirt of overlapping blue triangles. But what was most striking about him so far were his eyes. Of course Zim was used to the variety of eye colorations of the Student Class; it was just unnerving to see one off of Irk. Students rarely left the planet, as their talents were invaluable to its inhabitants. "And who are you, Soldier?"
At least he had Zim's class correct. "Invader Zim," he answered. "Soldier Class, Invader rank. Worked on Impending Doom I."
This produced a chuckle from the tall Irken. "Prompt response, no doubt you're a soldier." He moved away into the darkness. Zim's antennae twitched at the odd clicking sound this Jendai made as he moved. It sounded almost mechanical... nothing like footsteps at all. The lights in the room suddenly flickered on. He rubbed his large eyes as they adjusted to the abrupt change in light. Now Zim could truly see the Irken he'd been speaking too.
Jendai Kaalae was tall. Tall as far as Irkens went anyway. He stood an impressive five feet, seven inches tall. So it was obvious why his clothing looked so odd. He wore an interesting combination of mechanic black and blue-the color of his striking eyes. The triangles on his shirt were every color blue Zim had ever seen. Classic black gloves covered his olive-green hands and wrists, going almost to his elbows. He wore normal looking boots too, although those were nearly invisible beneath baggy black pants that were swirled with dark blue. From his back pod-also colored black and blue-gray and blue robotic legs sprouted, suspending him above the floor. That explained the sound. But why was he using them when he could just as easily walk across the room?
With a sigh, the big Irken approached his bed, robotic legs picking their delicate way across the room. He sat on the edge, sighing again as the legs withdrew into his pod. Grimacing, he picked up one of his real legs and folded it neatly beneath him, pushing himself up with his other hand. He repeated the process with the other leg. Coolly, he returned Zim's stare. "Paralyzed," he said simply, gesturing to the limp limbs beneath him. "Some son of a bitch, human shot me from behind after I got here. Long story."
Zim found himself unable to start or complete a sentence.
Jendai shot him a sympathetic look. "I'll give you the short version." He took a long breath. "I'm here on this technology-forsaken space rock because I was banished from Irk. Got too tall, was a threat to the Tallest, etc. My ship kinda blew up when I got here, and as you can see, some bastard nailed me. I'm stuck here." His antennae twitched slightly back. "Not that I'd want to go back..." The antennae straightened abruptly. "Anything else you need to know, I'll tell you in time. Now, I have a few questions for you, Invader Zim."
"I'll answer anything that does not endanger my mission," Zim murmured.
The big Irken made a fluttering motion with his long fingered hands. "You remember falling in the river, correct?" He watched Zim nod before continuing. "When I first arrived on this planet the first thing I learned was 'water + Irken = burned Irken," he chuckled slightly as he said that. "But when I got you out of the river, you were fine-er, as fine as you could be with that thing on your face. Why is that?"
"Ah, yes!" Zim beamed. "I used paste!"
" 'Paste'?" Jendai intoned, squinting one of his eyes confusedly. "What?"
"I studied the substance carefully and discovered that when applied to our skin, it repels water quite nicely," the small Invader explained.
"Ah," the other tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Wonder why I didn't think that up? Not much to do around here but dream up crazy schemes like that." He took a long, studying look at Zim, mechanic's eye cool but not unfriendly. "It's obvious why you're here, Invader. But, tell me how long you've been stuck here. What have you been doing this whole time?"
So, Zim told him. This Student was no threat to his mission. A banished Irken would be unable to contact anywhere, and no matter what their status, Irkens did not kill each other. Of course, there were exceptions to this rule. Soldiers were sometimes called upon to execute some who had committed crimes to terrible to speak of. But, Jendai wasn't a Soldier, and Students were passive... for the most part. So, he explained Dib, his mission, his plots...
"So it was YOU who was responsible for the whole Ultra-Peepi incident? And the failure of Impending Doom I?" Jendai chuckled. "I knew an Irken was to blame, but here I am, talking to the one who made a hamster destroy a city and the one who went ballistic on his home planet!"
Zim blushed. When Jendai had controlled his laughter, he continued on with his own banishment, Impending Doom II, the Great Assigning and his assignment. As he came to the creation of GIR, Jendai stopped him. There was a curious, troubled look in the Irken's blue eyes. "Thanks for all this info, Invader," the mechanic said softly. The legs appeared from his back pod, helping him to rise. He stood for a moment, lost in a faraway thought, his eyes haunted and distant with the torment of old memories. "You need rest, Zim," he ordered. "It's late. I'll be around in the morning. Until then, you need some sleep." With those words, the odd Jendai Kaalae left, his robotic legs clicking quietly against each other and the floor.
The Invader pondered this stranger for a while after his departure left the room dark again. Another Irken on this space rock? And a Student at that... This planet was supposed to be a secret from all. How on Irk did Jendai end up here? Zim sighed heavily. The paralyzed mechanic had promised him an explanation once day had come. So he would just have to wait. Zim had plenty of patience. He was an Invader after all. The little Irken lay down on his uninjured side, still thinking. Why had he been rescued? How had Jendai known where he was?
These thoughts troubled him until sleep claimed Zim as its prize.

~ ~ ~

He was unable to tell how many hours had passed after he'd fallen asleep. Zim yawned, slowly sitting up. He felt better. Not test-lazer-weasles-fight-Dib-win-deal-with-GIR-go-to-skool-come-home-fight-Dib-and-win-again better, but more like his old eccentric self. He stretched, feeling awake and ready to face whatever his host had in store for him. A glance around the now-bright room left him a bit surprised. Jendai was already waiting for him, perched on the edge of an unoccupied bed, drinking something that gave off small puffs of steam. The tall Irken was apparently lost in thought, staring at a single spot on the wall while sipping his drink. His eyes were dark and distant, breaking their stare only to help him grimace at the taste of his drink. The concentration on that spot was somehow eerie. Finally, he noticed Zim. "Mornin' Invader," he called over. The gloved hands wrapped tighter around the cup as he took another long drink. "Coffee," Jendai explained around a displeased face. "Wakes me up the way I make it. Nearly kills me the way Mer makes it."
"Disgusting human beverage," Zim snorted in contempt. "All things... edible on this planet are."
"After you've been stuck on Earth as long as I have, Invader Zim," Jendai said seriously. "you learn it's either develop a taste for human food or die a slow painful death." His mood lightened abruptly. "You feel like taking a walk? I'd like to have you meet Mer now. She's the one who patched you up after I brought you in."
The Invader's antennae pricked with interest... then drooped as he remembered yet another neglected factoid. "Excuse me, Mechanic?" he asked.
"Damn it, that's Jendai, or 'Dai or Kaalae. Whichever the hell you like. Just not Mechanic or Student, all right?" Jendai snapped, his antennae flicking inward briefly. He calmed himself almost immediately, then replied, "What?"
"What day-Irken day-is it?" Zim mumbled, toying with a bit of sheet. "Do you know?"
"1st day, 1st week, 9th month," the mechanic rattled off. He stared into space once more, as if the information came to him from the very planet he'd left. "Why?" he asked, suspicion evident in his eyes and tone. "You waiting for something important?"
"I... uh need to contact my superiors and inform them of my mission status..." the Invader said quietly. He tactfully elected not to mention whom exactly his superiors were. "They will be worried that my mission here is not going as planned if I do not make contact at the appointed time."
Jendai was quiet for a second or two. He blinked a few times, thinking. After a moment, the robotic legs appeared to allow him to rise, and he beckoned Zim to follow him out the door. The little Irken slowly climbed out of bed, feeling awkward without his boots on. His legs held up fine, supporting his slight weight enough to be able to follow Jendai out into the hallway. He was forced to jog slowly to keep up with the long robotic strides of his companion. The tall Irken soon noticed this, and slowed his pace for Zim's benefit. The hallway was carpeted in a thick, blue rug that nearly swallowed the Invader's small feet in its luxuriousness. Windows were nonexistent, light coming from the open rooms it led to. "The console's in here," Jendai said, gesturing to a plain, wood door. "I had to build it myself from scrap I found around here." He blushed somewhat. "Lots of crashed things, old TV's and toaster wires become useful if you know how to tweak them right." He gave Zim a gentle shove towards the door. "Don't worry, Invader. I'll be right out here if you need me."
Zim ducked inside and was startled instantly by the scale of the room. He took a few moments to look around as the lights flicked on. The door closed softly soon after. The computer console was easily visible, being the largest thing in the room. It was odd looking... Parts of it were recognizable as Irken technology, but most resembled scrapped bits of human "technology." The monitor wasn't even a real monitor, just a large TV set wired into a mess of-what had Jendai called them?-"crashed things and toaster wiring." He approached it with typical Invader caution, acting as if the monstrosity may leap up and attack him at any moment. Other objects caught his attention as he crept forward. Those drew his attention next. Tables covered in tools both human and Irken lay around bits and pieces of unrecognizable things. The only things he could easily recognize were GIR and a badly smashed, blue voot runner.
GIR drew his attention first. He approached his robot, antennae pricked forward with caution. The small SIR unit sat on a worktable, its eyes dark and dead. Its head was open, wires protruding. Smaller panels in GIR's body were opened as well, the circuitry revealed like metallic viscera. Around it, tools lay in positions one could only form after working with them. Another SIR's head lay to the right of GIR, providing a model for the mechanic to use. Jendai must have been fixing GIR for him... Curious, Zim picked up the head. Perhaps this had been Jendai's SIR at one time. He peered into the open head, looking at where the identification was always kept on these older models.
"Standard Information Retrieval Unit (SIR unit)
#295101246-27BM
Property of Invader
Des."
Zim put the head back down. Who on Irk was this... Des? And why was his-or her, his mind added-SIR's head lying here, forgotten? He decided to leave the thoughts alone. The voot runner attracted him next. The badly-damaged, Student issue craft was not unlike his own voot cruiser in design, except for the storage compartments on the sides and the faded blue coloration. It had to be Jendai's. For the most part, it was the same color as his eyes. It was the rule among the Student Class to have your personal belongings match the color of your eyes. Clothing was colored with your occupation and eye color-black for mechanic and blue for his eyes, in Jendai Kaalae's case. Zim stood right beside the voot now. He ran his good hand over the shattered front hatch and atmosphere-scarred hull. His voot cruiser had been marked in such a way when he'd first landed. But he had fixed those simple bits of damage. His though, hadn't been beaten as terribly as Jendai's had. Pieces of the front hatch were missing, cracks had appeared in everyplace crack-able and the engine casings were severely melted. He would have thought a mechanic of Jendai's caliber would have fixed it by now... With a shrug, he turned his attention from the mangled wreck to the console.
Closer inspection showed the main console to be ripped straight out of the voot runner behind him. Zim felt a small pang of sympathy for the banished Irken, made to work with whatever resources he could get his hands on, even if those resources came from the only things he had to remember his home by. Well, at least he could work it easily enough. He punched in the familiar frequency, never having to stop and think. The machine hummed loudly, filling the room with its sound. It was normal for inferior technology, no matter how well-constructed, to function in such a medieval manner. He couldn't help taking an involuntary step back nonetheless. A loud beep, and the words, "Processing Request" written in Irken scrawled their way across the screen. He drummed his fingers against the console, waiting. Finally, the monitor beeped again, showing a rather fuzzy Irken face. It was one of the operators on the bridge of the Tallest ship. She took one look at Zim and narrowed her eyes. The operator swiveled in her seat, making a motion to the two Irkens seated on a raised platform behind her. "My lords Tallest," he heard her say. "Message from... Earth."
Zim pretended he didn't hear the contempt in her voice.
There was a muted grumbling from the Tallest. "Thank you, Azel. Put him on screen," one of them said, sounding rather resigned.
The female's face vanished, replaced by what Zim usually saw when he contacted his superiors. The Tallest were seated this time, staring at anything in the room but him. Red was playing with a paperclip while Purple chewed his lower lip. "My Tallest," Zim began, saluting respectfully. They looked at him now, Red nearly dropping his paperclip in surprise. "I am reporting in as my mission requires-"
"What happened to you?" Purple blurted, his lavender eyes fixated on the bandage attached to Zim's face. Red blinked at it for a few moments, then went back to trying to remove the paperclip that had somehow gotten stuck to his upper lip.
"I-uh... was involved in a fight," Zim answered. His hand slid upward to block the sight of the wound from them. "Now, for the details of my mission."
Red had somehow gotten the paperclip attached to his left antenna. With a squeak of desperation, he tugged on the offending clip, muttering to himself as each tug hurt. The other Tallest ignored him. "Where are you exactly?" the conversation continued over a serious of frustrated noises.
"Why, Earth, my Tallests." Zim disliked hiding things from his superiors. Fierce loyalty was ingrained into every Soldier from the moment their training started, making them devoted little things. However, he felt he could slide by this time for the sake of getting his new information out. The mission always came first. "A few simple redecorations in the laboratory to perfect my disguise as a perfectly normal human worm."
There was a startled yelp as the Soldier Tallest fell backwards in his chair. A metallic glitter showed the paperclip gliding through the air, apparently freed of its own accord from Red's antenna. Angry, half-lidded red eyes peered over the upturned chair, darting around the room for the wayward clip. "Over there," Purple muttered disdainfully, placing his head in one hand while gesturing the direction with the other. His whole attitude was one of barely contained annoyance towards the-more often than not-dimmer Tallest. The violet eyes focused now on Zim, annoyed position of antennae never moving. "So, what exactly do you have in the way of new information, Zim?" he asked, staring towards the ceiling as if the tiles there were far more interesting.
"Well," the Invader began, then paused as the soft sound of a closing door and click of robotic legs was heard. He frowned momentarily. "I have warned you already of the deadly... water balloons. Each day on this planet shows new dangers. Ah, yes. There are other alien races on this planet too. I'm sure you have heard of the Nar-gok?"
By this time, Red had found his paperclip. He began stomping around on the ground, trying to crush it while murmuring curses under his breath. "Hmm?" Purple made a slightly interested noise, his antennae twitching forward. "Those things were on... that planet?"
"Yes, my Tallest," Zim answered crisply. The clicking noise grew a bit louder and then died away into nothingness once more. "I'm beginning to wonder whether or not this planet is truly secret-"
"Fascinating Zim," the Student Tallest interrupted. "But I'm afraid we'll have to cut this session short. We have another Invader trying to call." Red had found a lazer. "Try again sometime, don't contact us, we'll contact you. Tallest Purple out." Before the screen could turn to black, Zim caught a glimpse of Red firing the lazer at what he supposed was the paperclip, yelling, "Die paperclip! Die!"
A soft chuckle from behind him caused Zim to jump. He whirled to face a baggy pair of black and blue pants hanging a foot from his face. Higher inspection showed an olive-green face wrapped with a tired half-smile. "Son of a bitch..." Jendai murmured to himself, the amused look never vanishing. "Those genetic accidents haven't changed a bit..." Now he looked at Zim. "They don't seem to really give a damn about your report, Invader." His tone was not unkind.
"They must have been preoccupied."
"Mmm," the mechanic grunted. "C'mon. I want you to meet Merana now." There was an excited impatience in his voice. "Get your other legs out. I don't want to slow down too much. Too damn hard. Plus, there's no humans around here to sneak a look."
They exited Jendai's workroom, robotic legs clicking against the floor. Hallways were huge, stretching for what seemed like miles. Everything was painted white, white with touches of amber and gold. It was unlike anything Zim had ever seen; either on Irk or on Earth. Furniture such as chairs and tables followed the same color scheme, also holding a delicate appearance. "Mer's fave colors are gold, amber and white," Jendai explained, his eyes once again distant. He smiled down at Zim. "Amber for her eyes, white for her clothes and gold for her jewelry." A light chuckle. "She blends into her own house."
Eventually, the duo made it into a kitchen. Light flooded in through a large window overlooking many man-made streams and waterfalls flowing into pools of koi. The sight of all the water sent an involuntary shudder through Zim. Too many bad memories. Jendai "strode" ahead of him, tall body blocking out much of the room. It was a standard Earth kitchen, resembling Zim's own, only in white, gold and amber once more. Below the tall Irken's pants, he could see a separate pair of feet, clad in sandals and half-hidden by a white skirt. "Hey, Mer," Jendai drawled, leaning over the other being. "I brought the green kid."
Musical, exquisite laughter came from the being hidden from Zim. As one, the Irken and being turned to face him, Jendai's arms encircling delicate shoulders. The Invader almost yelped in fright. An oval, large-eyed human face peered over the arms wrapped around it. A human. A human had seen him without his disguise! Recovering from his scare momentarily, he studied this odd human. Short, white-blonde hair dangled into amber eyes. Judging from the skirt and voice, it was obviously a female human... a very small, very slight female human. Even at Zim's diminutive height, he still came up to her waist. As the mechanic had said, gold jewelry hung off of her neck, wrists and ankles. Each gold piece was inset with a sparkling, iridescent stone. "Hello, Green Boy," the human said quietly, smiling at him. Seeing his fear, she pushed Jendai out of the way, coming to kneel before Zim. "Don't fear me..." she touched his uniform, thinking. "little Invader. I'm as close to an ally as you're going to get."
"Who... who are you?" Zim demanded, frowning as his voice broke with nervousness. "What are you?"
A finely boned hand reached out to shake Zim's gloved one; a human gesture of goodwill. "I am Merana Sali. Defender of the Lost Ones and Opposer of humans."

(A/N#2: Okay, here's the pronunciation guide for those of you who'er lost.
Jendai Kaalae: Gen-die Ka-al-lé
Merana Sali: Mer-ah-nah Sae-lee And prepare for chapter 3... once I get some freaking time...)
(A/N#3: Questions? Comments? You know what to do. If you have flames for me, why the hell are you reading this?)