(((Authors Note: Here is the next chapter. The previously posted section
of the story was actually the first 10 chapters all crunched together. )))
Dib: He's up to something Gaz! Him and that one eyed friend of his!
Gaz: Right Dib. He just happened to call his home planet to send an assassin just to kill you because you are that important.
Dib: You really think he'd do that??
Gaz just shook her head and went back to playing Haunted Piggy 3 on her GameSlave. Dib felt defeated once again. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't get Gaz or his father to see the raging truth. He walked up to his room, his head hanging in failure. He lied on his bed, staring at the many posters that littered his walls. Some depicting UFO's and aliens, others with ghosts and even a Bigfoot one. He turned onto his belly, his head hanging off the side of the bed. He slowly shifted through the various notes about Zim's base he had scattered on the floor.
Dib: Ugh, so much information and yet none of it can aide in his capture.and now he has that tall friend of his to help him. Why can't I ever get any assistance?
He batted a few papers in his frustration and they flew into the air. He turned onto his back again. One of the papers that were floating in the air landed on his face. He reached for it as though he was about to crumple it. but he saw something. It was a paper with notes on Zim's race and its possible social structures. On one occasion while in Zim's base Dib observed a communication between Zim and two other aliens that seemed to be his superiors. He kept referring to them as Tallest. Dib had deduced that height determines rank in Zim's society and wrote it down on that paper. He had almost forgotten about those notes. But he still could not figure out how this would help him defeat Zim. Dib left his room and decided to go for a walk to clear his head a bit. He began to plan out his next operation on Zim's base. Last time he used a blind spot on the gnome defense in order to enter. Surely, Zim would have fixed that by now, so he had to find another way. The young hero reviewed his memories of the base. He thought of the defenses and various ways he could be let in. Obviously he could not go in the front. He did take note that Zim's robot companion did have a taste for tacos. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage.
Dib(thinking to himself): If I were to give the crazed machine some tacos, I could slip into the base. But what to do while I'm inside? Taking photos is getting old. Trying to expose Zim always results in me losing the proof at the last minute. This time.I'm taking ACTION! I've been able to hack Zim's systems before and I will use that to my advantage. I can plant a transmitting bug onto the computer. With Zim's computer at my disposal, I can use it against him.
Satisfied with his new plan, he ran home to prepare for the operation. Meanwhile, back in the depths of Zim's base, Nukus just finished up his tale.
Nukus: The next thing I knew, I awoke here and everything changed.
Nukus held up the eye he had been working on. He examined it a bit, ensuring he had all of the components in the correct places and the wiring was good as well. He was almost done with it, a few more tweaks and he would have a second eye again.
Zim: I see. It was a good story, I admit that. I still think that you are lying about the war though.
Nukus looked at Zim harshly, then relaxed a bit and gave a sigh. He couldn't blame Zim for being so ignorant. He was a product of the system created by Berk. The invader could only believe what he was told from "birth". It was all he knew, all that was taught to him. Nukus gave up on attempting to convince the invader, at least until the General could produce some solid proof.
Nukus: Well, I guess I expected too much from you then. When I have proof, you will believe.
Zim: We will see. Until then you will help me defeat the Dib. You made your promise and I expect you to adhere.
Nukus: I did not promise to help you defeat Dib, I promised to aid you in your mission. Your mission is to gather intelligence. That, I can help you with. My warring days are over Zim.
Zim seemed agitated a bit, and he wanted debate with Nukus over the matter. For some reason he didn't. Zim didn't know why but he couldn't contest Nukus' order. Something deep within him would not let the invader go against the tall general. He simply agreed.
Zim: Grrrr...Very well.
Nukus once again looked over the eye. It was complete. He readied himself for some pain before inserting it into his empty eye socket. To his surprise, the eye went in rather easily and pain free. He could hear noises from the eye as it connected with his optical nerves. He closed his real eye, to see if the robotic one worked. Low and behold, it did. He stood up in a small moment of triumph, reveling at his creation.
Nukus: It works!! It actually works!!
Nukus chuckled in his happiness, forgetting his worries. He had created the eye so it would respond to his thoughts, and began using its imaging abilities to peer through walls and scan small objects.
Nukus: Ok, now that this is done. I am going to grab a human disguise and we can venture forth into the planet.
Zim: Ok, now let's go.
They made their way to a chamber in the base where Zim could materialize items, such as clothing, devices and human currency as well. Nukus had been thinking about a human disguise for a while, as well as a set of normal clothing for him to wear. The general had still been wearing the old convict's robe. He would pose as a war veteran from World War 2, wearing a long military trench coat, and some common clothing underneath, such as pants and a sweater. To cover up his robotic eye, he would wear an eye patch, and say he lost it during the war. In order to hide his antennae, he would wear an old veteran's hat. He would leave his skin alone; Zim seemed to get by on calling it a skin condition and it seemed to work. This would set Nukus up as a relative of Zim and because of his war veteran disguise he would be better off posing as Zim's grandfather. Nukus programmed the Irken clothing into the materializer device. He had sifted through the Irken clothing database from his era in history. He decided to use the officer's uniform from his time served on Trid. He did not feel like a general anymore, so he didn't feel like dressing the part. After pressing a few buttons, a tube shot up from the metallic floor. Nearby machines whiirs and chugged while some sparks thrashed around inside the tube. His clothing slowly materialized within. A microwave-type ding sounded when the process was complete. Nukus reached through the tube's glass like permeable force field. He motioned for Zim to leave him as he dressed. Zim didn't catch on at first, but after a nasty glare from Nukus he got the idea. He left the room, the door closing behind him while Nukus put on his Irken clothing. Donning the new clothing, he looked himself over. It was an exact replica of his platoon officer's uniform from the battle of Trid. The pseudo-fabric of the uniform fit his tall, lanky body rather well. The Irken military symbol was etched into the chest of the uniform over the heart. Reminding him of the past, the uniform felt uncomfortable, but somehow it felt right.
Now was time for his disguise. It materialized in the same way as his uniform. After putting the disguise on, the general examined him self in a nearby mirror. He was rather impressed with himself for contriving such a clever camouflage. It worked almost too well, if it weren't for his green skin, he would look human. Satisfied with his new cover, he left the chamber to meet with Zim tapping his foot impatiently. The invader seemed rather impressed with the disguise as well, although he tried not to show it. Both made their way to the nearby elevator, Nukus ducking through the shorter corridors. Racing upwards, the elevator made a gentl humming noise. Zim and Nukus stood silent side by side, staring at the moving walls. The Living room floor opened up and exposed the elevator shaft. The ascending device stopped. Once Nukus and Zim stepped off the platform it zoomed back into the depths of the base. GIR was glued to the TV watching the scary monkey show. Nukus looked around at the house. He had never been to this part of Zim's base before. Examining the room with a child like curiosity, he walked around looking at various decorative doodads.
Nukus: What strange decorum.
Zim: Heh??
Nukus: Nevermind. lets go, I have much to teach you.
Nukus came close to opening the door when Zim grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
Zim: Waaaait! You can't go out there, you don't have the proper equipment!
Nukus: What do you mean? I have my disguise.
Zim: The earth's air isn't breathable by Irkens. Because you don't have a pak, stepping out there would mean your. breathing.airless...doom. You need a respirator.
Nukus: I have one right here.
Nukus thumped his chest with his fist.
Nukus: Standard issue Bio-respirator implant. It can convert any atmosphere into breathable air. I don't need your fancy "Pak filled with the whole of Irken Knowledge".
Zim: Well this pak is so much more than just a container for knowledge! It contains weapons, tools and These!
Zim sprouted his spider legs from the pak and raised himself to Nukus' height. Nukus stood there with his arms folded feeling rather unimpressed. A thought crossed Zim's mind.
Zim(Thinking): Wait a second, in his story he said they used spider legs in that battle. If he has no pak, then where did the legs come from?
Zim(Speaking): So.. Where are you legs? Or are your Stories filled with lying. false.ness?
Nukus: Oh, you want to see legs? Well then, Mighy Invader Zim, see what we had to use during the war.
Nukus opened his arms and lifted his head high while Zim gave a strange glare at the old Irken. The sound of tearing fabric filled the air, followed by a squishy sound. From Zim's view he saw some black thing peak from behind Nukus' right shoulder. Then another black thing appeared behind the other shoulder. The long black things touched the floor followed by two more from behind Nukus' lower back. The old general lifted off the ground and now stood higher than Zim. Staring in disbelief at what was in front of his eyes, Zim's jaw dropped. Nukus had organic spider legs protruding from his back. The invader just couldn't find words to express his feelings of awe and curiosity. He had never even conceived that an Irken would ever have natural spider legs. But there they were, no more than 5 feet from him.
Nukus: Impressed?
Zim: Ho.ho.How??! That can't be! What the hell are you?!
Nukus: I am Irken just like you Zim.
Zim No your not! Irkens don't have. squishy organic legs! They have strong, metallic legs of DOOM!
GIR had been watching Nukus' mind bending display and decided to share his amazement with the two Irkens
GIR: He's got spidey legs!
GIR leapt onto one of the black slender appendages. Wrapping himself around it, he smiled and petted it as one would a cute animal.
GIR: I luvs you spidey leg!
The awkward atmosphere giving off by Nukus' revelation was broken by his laughter.
Nukus: The antics of this robot never cease to make me smile.
Zim: GIR!! Don't touch those!
GIR reluctantly slid down the leg until he reached the floor. His head hung low, he went back to watching TV. Getting back to the matter at hand, Zim retracted his legs and stood waiting for an explanation. Nukus looked down on the invader, sensing his need for resolution in the matter. He went into his explanation while pacing around the room. The light clinking noise of the spider legs followed his movements.
Nukus: Is this really that unbelievable Zim? Do you think at all times in Irken history we had your "mighty Paks?" These appendages have been a natural thing since before recorded time. In my assimilation of Irken knowledge I found the reason why modern Irkens are without them. To make room for your Pak, your DNA had to be edited so they would not interfere with the Pak's functions. To ensure that such a useful set of appendages was not lost though, engineers placed metallic ones inside the Paks.
Zim's wonder and amazement drain from him. The explanation killed off the mysterious awe surrounding the legs.
Zim: I see. Well how come I've never heard of this before?
Nukus: Did you ever bother to look up Irken history?
Zim: Bah! History!? That's for mere techs. I am an INVADER! I need no history.
Nukus: Don't be so sure my young invader. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. I digress. Let us go.
Nukus lowered himself so he was now standing on his Bipedal legs once again. Then, the four black spider legs detached from his back and fell lifelessly to the floor. Nukus made his way towards the door as though nothing was wrong. Zim's jaw once again dropped. Turning around, Nukus saw the befuddled look on Zim's face. Realizing that he forgot to enlighten Zim about how organic legs work, he made a quick explanation.
Nukus: They are temporary legs Zim. They grow from the body, not contained within it. I'll explain the biology behind it later. Come now, I want to witness this world in a non-virtual fashion.
Nukus swung open the door and air rushed into the house. The breeze felt good to him. It was a breeze of freedom. No longer stuck in the confinement of the base or that pod, he now felt fully awakened from suspended animation. Nukus stepped out into earth for the first time. The planet astonished him. The buildings in the city somewhat resembled Irken architecture during Nukus' time. So primitive.. yet so advanced. The single houses that sprawled out from a main metropolis were much like where he was raised. He was looking into the past, back into his world. He felt warm inside, as though at home. After passing the wooden fence, he paused and looked into the sky. It was a beautiful day. The clouds were pure white and floating like cotton balls in the sky. The blue atmosphere reminded him of Mora's eyes and he cracked a smile of happiness. He had not felt this happy in a long time. Zim had walked ahead and Nukus picked up his pace to catch up.
Zim: So, how do I destroy the humans??
Nukus: (Shaking his head.) I'll just start with what they taught me at the academy..
Dib: He's up to something Gaz! Him and that one eyed friend of his!
Gaz: Right Dib. He just happened to call his home planet to send an assassin just to kill you because you are that important.
Dib: You really think he'd do that??
Gaz just shook her head and went back to playing Haunted Piggy 3 on her GameSlave. Dib felt defeated once again. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't get Gaz or his father to see the raging truth. He walked up to his room, his head hanging in failure. He lied on his bed, staring at the many posters that littered his walls. Some depicting UFO's and aliens, others with ghosts and even a Bigfoot one. He turned onto his belly, his head hanging off the side of the bed. He slowly shifted through the various notes about Zim's base he had scattered on the floor.
Dib: Ugh, so much information and yet none of it can aide in his capture.and now he has that tall friend of his to help him. Why can't I ever get any assistance?
He batted a few papers in his frustration and they flew into the air. He turned onto his back again. One of the papers that were floating in the air landed on his face. He reached for it as though he was about to crumple it. but he saw something. It was a paper with notes on Zim's race and its possible social structures. On one occasion while in Zim's base Dib observed a communication between Zim and two other aliens that seemed to be his superiors. He kept referring to them as Tallest. Dib had deduced that height determines rank in Zim's society and wrote it down on that paper. He had almost forgotten about those notes. But he still could not figure out how this would help him defeat Zim. Dib left his room and decided to go for a walk to clear his head a bit. He began to plan out his next operation on Zim's base. Last time he used a blind spot on the gnome defense in order to enter. Surely, Zim would have fixed that by now, so he had to find another way. The young hero reviewed his memories of the base. He thought of the defenses and various ways he could be let in. Obviously he could not go in the front. He did take note that Zim's robot companion did have a taste for tacos. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage.
Dib(thinking to himself): If I were to give the crazed machine some tacos, I could slip into the base. But what to do while I'm inside? Taking photos is getting old. Trying to expose Zim always results in me losing the proof at the last minute. This time.I'm taking ACTION! I've been able to hack Zim's systems before and I will use that to my advantage. I can plant a transmitting bug onto the computer. With Zim's computer at my disposal, I can use it against him.
Satisfied with his new plan, he ran home to prepare for the operation. Meanwhile, back in the depths of Zim's base, Nukus just finished up his tale.
Nukus: The next thing I knew, I awoke here and everything changed.
Nukus held up the eye he had been working on. He examined it a bit, ensuring he had all of the components in the correct places and the wiring was good as well. He was almost done with it, a few more tweaks and he would have a second eye again.
Zim: I see. It was a good story, I admit that. I still think that you are lying about the war though.
Nukus looked at Zim harshly, then relaxed a bit and gave a sigh. He couldn't blame Zim for being so ignorant. He was a product of the system created by Berk. The invader could only believe what he was told from "birth". It was all he knew, all that was taught to him. Nukus gave up on attempting to convince the invader, at least until the General could produce some solid proof.
Nukus: Well, I guess I expected too much from you then. When I have proof, you will believe.
Zim: We will see. Until then you will help me defeat the Dib. You made your promise and I expect you to adhere.
Nukus: I did not promise to help you defeat Dib, I promised to aid you in your mission. Your mission is to gather intelligence. That, I can help you with. My warring days are over Zim.
Zim seemed agitated a bit, and he wanted debate with Nukus over the matter. For some reason he didn't. Zim didn't know why but he couldn't contest Nukus' order. Something deep within him would not let the invader go against the tall general. He simply agreed.
Zim: Grrrr...Very well.
Nukus once again looked over the eye. It was complete. He readied himself for some pain before inserting it into his empty eye socket. To his surprise, the eye went in rather easily and pain free. He could hear noises from the eye as it connected with his optical nerves. He closed his real eye, to see if the robotic one worked. Low and behold, it did. He stood up in a small moment of triumph, reveling at his creation.
Nukus: It works!! It actually works!!
Nukus chuckled in his happiness, forgetting his worries. He had created the eye so it would respond to his thoughts, and began using its imaging abilities to peer through walls and scan small objects.
Nukus: Ok, now that this is done. I am going to grab a human disguise and we can venture forth into the planet.
Zim: Ok, now let's go.
They made their way to a chamber in the base where Zim could materialize items, such as clothing, devices and human currency as well. Nukus had been thinking about a human disguise for a while, as well as a set of normal clothing for him to wear. The general had still been wearing the old convict's robe. He would pose as a war veteran from World War 2, wearing a long military trench coat, and some common clothing underneath, such as pants and a sweater. To cover up his robotic eye, he would wear an eye patch, and say he lost it during the war. In order to hide his antennae, he would wear an old veteran's hat. He would leave his skin alone; Zim seemed to get by on calling it a skin condition and it seemed to work. This would set Nukus up as a relative of Zim and because of his war veteran disguise he would be better off posing as Zim's grandfather. Nukus programmed the Irken clothing into the materializer device. He had sifted through the Irken clothing database from his era in history. He decided to use the officer's uniform from his time served on Trid. He did not feel like a general anymore, so he didn't feel like dressing the part. After pressing a few buttons, a tube shot up from the metallic floor. Nearby machines whiirs and chugged while some sparks thrashed around inside the tube. His clothing slowly materialized within. A microwave-type ding sounded when the process was complete. Nukus reached through the tube's glass like permeable force field. He motioned for Zim to leave him as he dressed. Zim didn't catch on at first, but after a nasty glare from Nukus he got the idea. He left the room, the door closing behind him while Nukus put on his Irken clothing. Donning the new clothing, he looked himself over. It was an exact replica of his platoon officer's uniform from the battle of Trid. The pseudo-fabric of the uniform fit his tall, lanky body rather well. The Irken military symbol was etched into the chest of the uniform over the heart. Reminding him of the past, the uniform felt uncomfortable, but somehow it felt right.
Now was time for his disguise. It materialized in the same way as his uniform. After putting the disguise on, the general examined him self in a nearby mirror. He was rather impressed with himself for contriving such a clever camouflage. It worked almost too well, if it weren't for his green skin, he would look human. Satisfied with his new cover, he left the chamber to meet with Zim tapping his foot impatiently. The invader seemed rather impressed with the disguise as well, although he tried not to show it. Both made their way to the nearby elevator, Nukus ducking through the shorter corridors. Racing upwards, the elevator made a gentl humming noise. Zim and Nukus stood silent side by side, staring at the moving walls. The Living room floor opened up and exposed the elevator shaft. The ascending device stopped. Once Nukus and Zim stepped off the platform it zoomed back into the depths of the base. GIR was glued to the TV watching the scary monkey show. Nukus looked around at the house. He had never been to this part of Zim's base before. Examining the room with a child like curiosity, he walked around looking at various decorative doodads.
Nukus: What strange decorum.
Zim: Heh??
Nukus: Nevermind. lets go, I have much to teach you.
Nukus came close to opening the door when Zim grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
Zim: Waaaait! You can't go out there, you don't have the proper equipment!
Nukus: What do you mean? I have my disguise.
Zim: The earth's air isn't breathable by Irkens. Because you don't have a pak, stepping out there would mean your. breathing.airless...doom. You need a respirator.
Nukus: I have one right here.
Nukus thumped his chest with his fist.
Nukus: Standard issue Bio-respirator implant. It can convert any atmosphere into breathable air. I don't need your fancy "Pak filled with the whole of Irken Knowledge".
Zim: Well this pak is so much more than just a container for knowledge! It contains weapons, tools and These!
Zim sprouted his spider legs from the pak and raised himself to Nukus' height. Nukus stood there with his arms folded feeling rather unimpressed. A thought crossed Zim's mind.
Zim(Thinking): Wait a second, in his story he said they used spider legs in that battle. If he has no pak, then where did the legs come from?
Zim(Speaking): So.. Where are you legs? Or are your Stories filled with lying. false.ness?
Nukus: Oh, you want to see legs? Well then, Mighy Invader Zim, see what we had to use during the war.
Nukus opened his arms and lifted his head high while Zim gave a strange glare at the old Irken. The sound of tearing fabric filled the air, followed by a squishy sound. From Zim's view he saw some black thing peak from behind Nukus' right shoulder. Then another black thing appeared behind the other shoulder. The long black things touched the floor followed by two more from behind Nukus' lower back. The old general lifted off the ground and now stood higher than Zim. Staring in disbelief at what was in front of his eyes, Zim's jaw dropped. Nukus had organic spider legs protruding from his back. The invader just couldn't find words to express his feelings of awe and curiosity. He had never even conceived that an Irken would ever have natural spider legs. But there they were, no more than 5 feet from him.
Nukus: Impressed?
Zim: Ho.ho.How??! That can't be! What the hell are you?!
Nukus: I am Irken just like you Zim.
Zim No your not! Irkens don't have. squishy organic legs! They have strong, metallic legs of DOOM!
GIR had been watching Nukus' mind bending display and decided to share his amazement with the two Irkens
GIR: He's got spidey legs!
GIR leapt onto one of the black slender appendages. Wrapping himself around it, he smiled and petted it as one would a cute animal.
GIR: I luvs you spidey leg!
The awkward atmosphere giving off by Nukus' revelation was broken by his laughter.
Nukus: The antics of this robot never cease to make me smile.
Zim: GIR!! Don't touch those!
GIR reluctantly slid down the leg until he reached the floor. His head hung low, he went back to watching TV. Getting back to the matter at hand, Zim retracted his legs and stood waiting for an explanation. Nukus looked down on the invader, sensing his need for resolution in the matter. He went into his explanation while pacing around the room. The light clinking noise of the spider legs followed his movements.
Nukus: Is this really that unbelievable Zim? Do you think at all times in Irken history we had your "mighty Paks?" These appendages have been a natural thing since before recorded time. In my assimilation of Irken knowledge I found the reason why modern Irkens are without them. To make room for your Pak, your DNA had to be edited so they would not interfere with the Pak's functions. To ensure that such a useful set of appendages was not lost though, engineers placed metallic ones inside the Paks.
Zim's wonder and amazement drain from him. The explanation killed off the mysterious awe surrounding the legs.
Zim: I see. Well how come I've never heard of this before?
Nukus: Did you ever bother to look up Irken history?
Zim: Bah! History!? That's for mere techs. I am an INVADER! I need no history.
Nukus: Don't be so sure my young invader. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. I digress. Let us go.
Nukus lowered himself so he was now standing on his Bipedal legs once again. Then, the four black spider legs detached from his back and fell lifelessly to the floor. Nukus made his way towards the door as though nothing was wrong. Zim's jaw once again dropped. Turning around, Nukus saw the befuddled look on Zim's face. Realizing that he forgot to enlighten Zim about how organic legs work, he made a quick explanation.
Nukus: They are temporary legs Zim. They grow from the body, not contained within it. I'll explain the biology behind it later. Come now, I want to witness this world in a non-virtual fashion.
Nukus swung open the door and air rushed into the house. The breeze felt good to him. It was a breeze of freedom. No longer stuck in the confinement of the base or that pod, he now felt fully awakened from suspended animation. Nukus stepped out into earth for the first time. The planet astonished him. The buildings in the city somewhat resembled Irken architecture during Nukus' time. So primitive.. yet so advanced. The single houses that sprawled out from a main metropolis were much like where he was raised. He was looking into the past, back into his world. He felt warm inside, as though at home. After passing the wooden fence, he paused and looked into the sky. It was a beautiful day. The clouds were pure white and floating like cotton balls in the sky. The blue atmosphere reminded him of Mora's eyes and he cracked a smile of happiness. He had not felt this happy in a long time. Zim had walked ahead and Nukus picked up his pace to catch up.
Zim: So, how do I destroy the humans??
Nukus: (Shaking his head.) I'll just start with what they taught me at the academy..