OHMIGAWD!! I'm actually updating! O.O The world is ending! Shee, and I left you guys with a cliffhanger the size of...of...of something really big, didn't I. Shame on meee....

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Kalack lowered his head to the ground and inhaled slightly, stirring dead leaves and gutter refuge. He wasn't careful about hiding himself, although he was mostly concealed in a badly lit alleyway.

He turned his head and followed the scent trail with his strong nose, searching for a track with his eyes. The street ended in a little cul de sac; it appeared that the trail led smack to the center of it. The fuel from those annoying little robots left a very clear residue in the air.

Strong haunches propelled the Kalack to the rooftops next to him, and he made his way over the green house at the end of the street with growing anticipation. The hunt, the kill, and the inevitable feast at the end...he smiled toothily to himself and scared the crap out of a pigeon, which actually scare pretty easily.

The hulking form paused on the apex of the green roof, and surveyed the gnomes on the lawn. He thought for a moment, and then sprang off the roof, landing with one massive, clawed foot on two of the gnomes. A tail swept in a wide, vicious arc snapped another clean in half, and a fist shattered the fourth gnomes eyes. Then the lawn was clear of the threat, although a tree down the street sported cunning eyes, waiting, watching.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dib woke up and raised his head, pulling up the pillow as well. He blinked and pulled it off, and wiped the drool from his cheek. Something was going to come to him, he knew, as soon as he woke up a little mor—

There it was.

"INVADER!?"

Dib sat straight up and clutched his head. "They want to make me an INVADER!? I can't believe it; I'll be an accepted part of an alien society bent on the domination of...everyone else!"

He paused, and turned that over in his head.

"I don't really want to invade anything...I'd be a pretty big hypocrite if I took the opportunity, seeing as how I've always been so against Zim's invasion....well, that's obvious; Earth is my home! Oh man...I need to talk to Kith about this..."

Dib hung his head and ran his hand over his antennae. A small beep reminded him of the Dalzorian slumbering behind him, and he got up to check everything over.

Heart rate and blood pressure looked fine, he thought, even if he knew next to nothing of what was supposed to be normal. Gally sported a massive bruise covering most of her left cheek, and the skin over her left shoulder looked like it had been attacked by a maniacal cheese grater. It had stopped bleeding though, he noticed, and would probably heal alright.

"INTRUDER"

Dib jumped as the lights flared red in the base.

"INTRUDER"

"Where is it?" he cried to the computer. "What's going on?"

"GNOME FIELD HAS BEEN BREACHED"

Dib flinched and ran to the nearest elevator.

"Take me upstairs now!" The elevator shot to the house level and propelled Dib from the trash can in the living room. He ran to the window and peeked out, hearts beating wildly, and limbs shaking.

"..."

Dib's jaw dropped, and his limbs froze.

The gnomes lay in pieces on the grass outside, tiny violent pieces. One of them had a massive hole punched through one eye; another had been broken off above the head. The other two were in shards in two deep footprints.

With a wildly trembling hands, Dib reached for the communicator in his pod and dialed the Skool's number. The bored sounding secretary picked up.

"I need to speak to Kith, in Miss Bitters' class...it's an emergency. And Zim too."

ooooooooooooooooooooooo

A lanky hall monitor knocked boldly on the door to Bitters' classroom.

"Zim and Kith to the office; phone call."

Bitters' hissed and swung her head round to the boy, then to Kith and Zim.

"Go then! You're wasting my time. Take your books, do your homework or DIE!"

Zim raised an eyebrow at Kith and marched out the door, holding it open for her. They arrived in the office, wanting to question each other and not wanting to do it in front of the hall monitor. The secretary, with her hands over the receiver, beckoned to Kith.

"It's Dib, apparently. Wants to talk to you first."

Kith blinked and took the phone.

"H-hello?"

"The Kalack knows where we are." Dib's voice sounded high and breathy.

Kith dropped the phone, and fumbled to pick it up again. Zim's eyebrows skyrocketed, and he felt a twinge of nervousness in the depths of his belly.

Kith finally got the phone back up to her face and spoke quietly into it.

"What in the Massive happened?!....Oh gods...Are you serious? No!....Sure, right away...go down to the basement. Yes, we'll come home right now. Yes, I'll be careful. I said I'd be careful, Dib!"

She handed the phone back to the secretary and screwed up her face in an extra anxious expression, a very easy task.

"Our, uh, mother just died...We've got to go home now."

The secretary's face never wavered as she marked this down in her notes, and shooed them out the door.

Once outside, Zim rounded on Kith.

"What on Irk is going on? Whose mother died?"

She dragged him by his arm into a run.

"The Kalack attacked the house. He destroyed the gnomes, but left the rest untouched. Dib says it looks like he did it for a show of strength, for terror tactics."

Zim paled and scowled.

"Stupid beast...Damn that Dalzorian for bringing it here!"

Kith pinched his arm hard. "It's not her fault! Well, maybe it is, but she's not to be blamed! You saw how strong it was...if she's really the rookie, then I'm not surprised it overpowered her. We'll get rid of it and then throw the blame around."

Zim nodded, and felt the spark of anger flare into rage at the Kalack.