Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Invader Zim
Chapter 3
Gaz watched out the window as Dib and Jania set out for Zim's house. Once they turned the bend she turned and set out on a mission of her own. She usually wasn't interested in other people's business, but this exchange student was different. While Dib was all excited about Jania's supposed interest in that stupid paranormal crap, she was aware that something wasn't right about her. She thought how stupid her brother was, not investigating the only thing that's been worth looking into. She climbed the stairs and stood before the door to Jania's room. She squared her shoulders and pushed open the door…if Dib wasn't going to figure out what was wrong, then she'd have to. She switched on the light and walked inside.
The room was fairly bare. Aside from the regular furniture that was always in this room, there was Jania's suitcase laying at the foot of the bed and a black-covered book that sat face down on the bed stand. She made her way to the closet, but walked as silently as she could. The creepy feeling that followed Jania lingered here. She swung open the closet door and was immediately engulfed in a pile of snacks. Gaz picked up a bag of chips and examined it. Although this stash of food was strange, it all looked normal enough. She growled as she realized this was evidence for nothing other then a pension for midnight munchies. A few cloths were the only other things in the closet, so Gaz stuffed the snacks back in and shut the door. She then turned her attention to the suitcase. She flipped open the snaps and looked inside, but there was nothing inside at all. She slammed the top shut and glowered. She just knew that Jania had to be keeping some secrets; it was the only explanation for her astounding creepiness. She finally picked up the black book and turned it over. "Oh, come on…" she mumbled as she looked at the title pace. It read, 'Jania's Secrets.' Gaz immediately opened the book and stared at the front page, trembling in rage. "I can't believe it…" she finally said as the word stared back at her, 'Now, now, Gaz. You know it isn't nice to look at other people's things. All my secrets are … secret!' She threw the book down and sent a general glare about the room. There was something seriously wrong about all this….
There was a silent rustle in the bushes in front of Zim's base. Dib was casing the house with his electronic binoculars and Jania was patiently waiting, holding a pizza. "What is this for?" she asked, lifting the pizza box a bit.
"Zim has this robot-dog thing that really loves the stuff. Heh…advanced race indeed. That thing is so stupid… he'll let us in if we give the pizza to him. The trick is to wait until Zim has descended into his lab." He waited for a second and then began to beam. "There! I think he's gone. Come on, "Come on, let's go!" He and Jania walked to the front door, ignoring the gnomes that were staring them down. Dib gave a quick knock on the door, which was opened by something in a green dog suit.
Jania couldn't help but let out a short laugh at the creature. "Oh my, now that's pretty bad. Here you go!" She handed the dog-suited robot the pizza, who looked up at her with a thankful expression.
"I love you…" he said sweetly. Jania patted his head and watched as the dog hopped on the couch and began to gorge. "Okay, shall we?" She smiled at Dib and he happily marched inside of the base.
"As you can see," he said in his most professional tone, "Zim is most definitely an alien. What normal person would have a dog-thing like that? Or that scary monkey picture? Or a toilet in the kitchen? I know from observation that the toilet is one of the many entrances to the lab."
Jania looked about with interest. "Is that so? How do we get in undetected?"
"Well," said Dib, embarrassed, "I really haven't found a secret entrance yet…I usually just take on of his entrances and hope he isn't looking. He usually isn't… once we're in there are plenty of places to hide." He opened the trash can and jumped in. Once he disappeared Jania shrugged and followed suit.
The two intruders sneaked behind pink metal alien equipment until they could get a good view of Zim, who was battling with him computer. "What do you MEAN? How can you have not found it? Stupid computer! I want you to look until you find it!"
The computer made a noise like a sigh. "I don't want to look any more. The ship has probably activated a cloaking device..."
Zim glared at the computer. "I don't care if you don't want to look! Who's the Invader around here? ZIM! You'll look when I tell you to. This is vital. If another ship has landed her, I need to know who it is!"
Dib gasped with excitement. "I knew something was up!" he whispered. "I knew it! Just think! Another alien! And Zim doesn't know who it is…" He rubbed his hands in anticipation.
Jania scratched her head in a sign of thought. "Must be a sloppy one…didn't you tell me he had no warning when Tak arrived?"
"Yeah! This one must have turned on its cloaking device or whatever too late. Zim's computer must have picked it up just before it disappeared! Wow! This must be driving him nuts!"
Jania grinned down at her companion. "You're a smart boy, Dib. Now, here's where the real fun begins…" She lifted one hand as if she were about to perform some magic trick and pushed over some equipment.
"Are you crazy? He's heard us!" cried Dib.
Zim turned around and saw the two intruders. First he saw Dib. "DIB! How dare you sneak into my base…again? You will PAY!" He was just about to lift himself up on his spider legs when he saw the second intruder and stopped in his tracks. "Eh? Who are you?" Jania strode out in front of him so he might get a good look.
"I'm just a human…" she said with a pleasant smile. "I'm a foreign exchange student from Canada. I'm staying at Dib's house…"
Zim eyed her for a moment. Her story seemed plausible, but there was something not quite right about her. It was as if she was too…knowing. "Well, if you say so…" He lifted himself up on his spider legs. "You will PAY! Just like the Dib-monkey!" He began chasing her around, but her long legs were too fast for him. She began to laugh playfully as Dib cheered her on. "FOOL! You cannot escape from ZIM!" He picked up the pace and began to gain on her, but she rolled out of the way just as his sharp metal legs were about to grab hold of her. She jumped over to Dib with amazing agility and lifted the boy up in her arms. She looked up and Zim towering over her, his little legs hanging limp beneath him. She quickly grabbed one of the spider legs and yanked hard, causing the whole structure to topple. When Zim regained his balance she and the large headed worm baby was gone.
Adrenaline pumped hard through Dib's veins. "I can't believe you just did that!" he breathed as he and Jania walked home. "Why did you do that? We could have gotten more information on the new alien."
Jania seemed very pleased with herself. "You know he doesn't have anything on the alien. Besides, wasn't it worth it to see the look on his face?" She winked at her companion.
"Well, yeah, that was kinda funny…" he giggled at the thought of it. Zim had been completely caught off guard – he'd be obsessing about his defenses for a week. "Yeah, that was good. And, hey! You showed some pretty great moves there! Where'd you learn to…move around…swift-like…"
"To maneuver?" she shrugged. "Just naturally agile, I guess." Again her knowing smiled appeared and Dib felt a cold shiver run up his spine. Although he liked Jania a lot, she was still very creepy. He wanted to know more about her past…
"What do you want for dinner? We have leftover lasagna…"
Jania shrugged. "It doesn't matter…I'll eat anything. Um, I've got some homework to do, so I'll be in my room for the next hour or so. Just yell when you want me to come down!"
"Sure thing!" Dib opened the door and walked in. "Gaz! We're home! Just wait until I tell you what happened! It was incredible!" Gaz looked up and abandoned her Game Slave. She walked over to Jania and raised a suspicious eyebrow at her.
"You do anything strange…" she said as she lifted a fist, "…and you will suffer…"
Jania just gave her a friendly smile and headed up the stairs. "Right-o!"
Dib turned to his sister. "Well, that wasn't very nice." However, he cringed and backed away when the fist turned towards him.
Jania shut the door behind her and rushed over to the closet. She opened the door and collapsed in the pile of snacks. "So hungry!" she said as she began to tear open a back of sweets. She emptied the back down her throat and began to devour a sandwich. After two more sandwiches and a bag of chips she was finally happy. She then searched in her pocket and took out a small black, semi-circle shaped device. She took out a mirror and secured the device in her mouth behind her front teeth. She smiled at herself, making sure the device wasn't visible. "There we go! That should do!" She cleaned up the mess she'd made eating and flung herself on the bed. She lifted up her wrist and activated her watch. "Tak! How's it going?"
"Finally. I though you weren't going to call." Tak made some calculations and looked back at her partner. "My base is going to be at these coordinates, not too far from the Hi-Skool. Make an excuse and meet me there tomorrow." Her face squirmed at bit and she asked in a less confident voice. "Are you sure you want to do this? Why this planet, of all places?"
Jania raised a hand in protest. "That's my secret, Tak. Just trust me."
Tak stared back her with doubtful eyes. "I don't trust you, but I suppose I have no choice." Her face was replaced with static.
Chapter 3
Gaz watched out the window as Dib and Jania set out for Zim's house. Once they turned the bend she turned and set out on a mission of her own. She usually wasn't interested in other people's business, but this exchange student was different. While Dib was all excited about Jania's supposed interest in that stupid paranormal crap, she was aware that something wasn't right about her. She thought how stupid her brother was, not investigating the only thing that's been worth looking into. She climbed the stairs and stood before the door to Jania's room. She squared her shoulders and pushed open the door…if Dib wasn't going to figure out what was wrong, then she'd have to. She switched on the light and walked inside.
The room was fairly bare. Aside from the regular furniture that was always in this room, there was Jania's suitcase laying at the foot of the bed and a black-covered book that sat face down on the bed stand. She made her way to the closet, but walked as silently as she could. The creepy feeling that followed Jania lingered here. She swung open the closet door and was immediately engulfed in a pile of snacks. Gaz picked up a bag of chips and examined it. Although this stash of food was strange, it all looked normal enough. She growled as she realized this was evidence for nothing other then a pension for midnight munchies. A few cloths were the only other things in the closet, so Gaz stuffed the snacks back in and shut the door. She then turned her attention to the suitcase. She flipped open the snaps and looked inside, but there was nothing inside at all. She slammed the top shut and glowered. She just knew that Jania had to be keeping some secrets; it was the only explanation for her astounding creepiness. She finally picked up the black book and turned it over. "Oh, come on…" she mumbled as she looked at the title pace. It read, 'Jania's Secrets.' Gaz immediately opened the book and stared at the front page, trembling in rage. "I can't believe it…" she finally said as the word stared back at her, 'Now, now, Gaz. You know it isn't nice to look at other people's things. All my secrets are … secret!' She threw the book down and sent a general glare about the room. There was something seriously wrong about all this….
There was a silent rustle in the bushes in front of Zim's base. Dib was casing the house with his electronic binoculars and Jania was patiently waiting, holding a pizza. "What is this for?" she asked, lifting the pizza box a bit.
"Zim has this robot-dog thing that really loves the stuff. Heh…advanced race indeed. That thing is so stupid… he'll let us in if we give the pizza to him. The trick is to wait until Zim has descended into his lab." He waited for a second and then began to beam. "There! I think he's gone. Come on, "Come on, let's go!" He and Jania walked to the front door, ignoring the gnomes that were staring them down. Dib gave a quick knock on the door, which was opened by something in a green dog suit.
Jania couldn't help but let out a short laugh at the creature. "Oh my, now that's pretty bad. Here you go!" She handed the dog-suited robot the pizza, who looked up at her with a thankful expression.
"I love you…" he said sweetly. Jania patted his head and watched as the dog hopped on the couch and began to gorge. "Okay, shall we?" She smiled at Dib and he happily marched inside of the base.
"As you can see," he said in his most professional tone, "Zim is most definitely an alien. What normal person would have a dog-thing like that? Or that scary monkey picture? Or a toilet in the kitchen? I know from observation that the toilet is one of the many entrances to the lab."
Jania looked about with interest. "Is that so? How do we get in undetected?"
"Well," said Dib, embarrassed, "I really haven't found a secret entrance yet…I usually just take on of his entrances and hope he isn't looking. He usually isn't… once we're in there are plenty of places to hide." He opened the trash can and jumped in. Once he disappeared Jania shrugged and followed suit.
The two intruders sneaked behind pink metal alien equipment until they could get a good view of Zim, who was battling with him computer. "What do you MEAN? How can you have not found it? Stupid computer! I want you to look until you find it!"
The computer made a noise like a sigh. "I don't want to look any more. The ship has probably activated a cloaking device..."
Zim glared at the computer. "I don't care if you don't want to look! Who's the Invader around here? ZIM! You'll look when I tell you to. This is vital. If another ship has landed her, I need to know who it is!"
Dib gasped with excitement. "I knew something was up!" he whispered. "I knew it! Just think! Another alien! And Zim doesn't know who it is…" He rubbed his hands in anticipation.
Jania scratched her head in a sign of thought. "Must be a sloppy one…didn't you tell me he had no warning when Tak arrived?"
"Yeah! This one must have turned on its cloaking device or whatever too late. Zim's computer must have picked it up just before it disappeared! Wow! This must be driving him nuts!"
Jania grinned down at her companion. "You're a smart boy, Dib. Now, here's where the real fun begins…" She lifted one hand as if she were about to perform some magic trick and pushed over some equipment.
"Are you crazy? He's heard us!" cried Dib.
Zim turned around and saw the two intruders. First he saw Dib. "DIB! How dare you sneak into my base…again? You will PAY!" He was just about to lift himself up on his spider legs when he saw the second intruder and stopped in his tracks. "Eh? Who are you?" Jania strode out in front of him so he might get a good look.
"I'm just a human…" she said with a pleasant smile. "I'm a foreign exchange student from Canada. I'm staying at Dib's house…"
Zim eyed her for a moment. Her story seemed plausible, but there was something not quite right about her. It was as if she was too…knowing. "Well, if you say so…" He lifted himself up on his spider legs. "You will PAY! Just like the Dib-monkey!" He began chasing her around, but her long legs were too fast for him. She began to laugh playfully as Dib cheered her on. "FOOL! You cannot escape from ZIM!" He picked up the pace and began to gain on her, but she rolled out of the way just as his sharp metal legs were about to grab hold of her. She jumped over to Dib with amazing agility and lifted the boy up in her arms. She looked up and Zim towering over her, his little legs hanging limp beneath him. She quickly grabbed one of the spider legs and yanked hard, causing the whole structure to topple. When Zim regained his balance she and the large headed worm baby was gone.
Adrenaline pumped hard through Dib's veins. "I can't believe you just did that!" he breathed as he and Jania walked home. "Why did you do that? We could have gotten more information on the new alien."
Jania seemed very pleased with herself. "You know he doesn't have anything on the alien. Besides, wasn't it worth it to see the look on his face?" She winked at her companion.
"Well, yeah, that was kinda funny…" he giggled at the thought of it. Zim had been completely caught off guard – he'd be obsessing about his defenses for a week. "Yeah, that was good. And, hey! You showed some pretty great moves there! Where'd you learn to…move around…swift-like…"
"To maneuver?" she shrugged. "Just naturally agile, I guess." Again her knowing smiled appeared and Dib felt a cold shiver run up his spine. Although he liked Jania a lot, she was still very creepy. He wanted to know more about her past…
"What do you want for dinner? We have leftover lasagna…"
Jania shrugged. "It doesn't matter…I'll eat anything. Um, I've got some homework to do, so I'll be in my room for the next hour or so. Just yell when you want me to come down!"
"Sure thing!" Dib opened the door and walked in. "Gaz! We're home! Just wait until I tell you what happened! It was incredible!" Gaz looked up and abandoned her Game Slave. She walked over to Jania and raised a suspicious eyebrow at her.
"You do anything strange…" she said as she lifted a fist, "…and you will suffer…"
Jania just gave her a friendly smile and headed up the stairs. "Right-o!"
Dib turned to his sister. "Well, that wasn't very nice." However, he cringed and backed away when the fist turned towards him.
Jania shut the door behind her and rushed over to the closet. She opened the door and collapsed in the pile of snacks. "So hungry!" she said as she began to tear open a back of sweets. She emptied the back down her throat and began to devour a sandwich. After two more sandwiches and a bag of chips she was finally happy. She then searched in her pocket and took out a small black, semi-circle shaped device. She took out a mirror and secured the device in her mouth behind her front teeth. She smiled at herself, making sure the device wasn't visible. "There we go! That should do!" She cleaned up the mess she'd made eating and flung herself on the bed. She lifted up her wrist and activated her watch. "Tak! How's it going?"
"Finally. I though you weren't going to call." Tak made some calculations and looked back at her partner. "My base is going to be at these coordinates, not too far from the Hi-Skool. Make an excuse and meet me there tomorrow." Her face squirmed at bit and she asked in a less confident voice. "Are you sure you want to do this? Why this planet, of all places?"
Jania raised a hand in protest. "That's my secret, Tak. Just trust me."
Tak stared back her with doubtful eyes. "I don't trust you, but I suppose I have no choice." Her face was replaced with static.
