A/N: Yet another chapter I've gone back and rewritten. Though I haven't changed much in this one it was hopefully an improvement.
The Obscurity in Us All
Part Three: Target Gaz
Gaz groaned when she heard a knock at her door later that evening. "What?"
"It's Dib," her brother answered, "I'm going out to look for Zim. Heh, he's probably cowering in his base like last year. Dad wants to know if you want me to take you trick-or-treating while I'm out."
"I haven't been trick-or-treating since I was six, Dib." Gaz spat angrily. "You BOTH know that."
"So…you don't wanna go?" Dib questioned.
In lieu of a reply Gaz threw her Game Slave carrier at the door. Dib took the abrupt thud to mean she was losing her patience, so he turned and left.
"Now on to the secret level of bloody doom," Gaz said to herself once she was sure she was alone again. With her dad at the lab for most of the night and Dib out stalking Zim she'd have the whole Halloween to herself. Just the way she liked it.
RING!
"Grr…" Gaz let the phone ring two more times before irritably taking it off the hook and grunting a hello.
"Happy Halloween to you too, sunshine." a familiar voice laughed on the other end.
Gaz half-opened an eye. "Karcy?"
"The one and only." came the reply, "I can't believe you were listed. Anyway, I just saw Dib head down the street with some weird gym bag full of gadgets, figured he was off to do some 'investigating'. Are you gonna spend all Halloween cooped up in your room?"
"That's the plan."
"Ugh…Gaz, it's Halloween for cryin' out loud. The one day of the year where the freaks RULE the night!" Karcy heard Gaz snicker as she continued to explain passionately. "There is no way that I'm letting you waste tonight sitting around with your face and fingers glued to that video game. I'm coming over right now and you'd better have a costume or something on because we're gonna paint the town red!"
"You're almost as nuts as Dib, you know that?" Gaz laughed. "There's no way I'm coming out of my nice dark room and running around the town with a bunch of idiots in costume hyped up on candy. You hear me Karcy? No wa-"
Click!
Moaning Gaz hung up the phone and hopped off her bed. Walking over to her dresser she slid out the bottom drawer and pushed some of her things aside to reveal a tiny costume accessory. "I can't believe I'm doing this." she sighed as she slipped it on.
Ding dong!
Karcy tapped her foot impatiently on the stoop, waiting for Gaz to answer the door. It didn't surprise her not to see a car in the driveway. A famous inventor like Professor Membrane probably wouldn't be able to spend a lot of time at home.
The door swung open revealing a dismal little girl in a black mask holding a carton of eggs. "Happy now?"
"Very." Karcy grinned, pulling the pack of toilet paper out from under her arm. "Which house should we doom first?"
Gaz didn't even have to think about it, she knew EXACTLY where she wanted to go. "How about—Zim's base?"
"GIR! STOP RUNNING AROUND LIKE SOME CRAZY…err…THING!" Zim ordered the insane robot darting around the lab.
"I'm a bat!" GIR announced pouncing on his 'master', "And I'm gonna suck the blood from your neck!"
Zim rolled his eyes and shoved the malfunctioning slave off him. "You're a disgrace to SIRs everywhere GIR."
This caused the robot to pause for a moment. His lower lip quivered slightly before an elated look passed over his metal face. "YAY!"
"That's BAD GIR!" Zim shouted just as a siren blared from the monitor.
"Security breech!"
"WHAT?!" Zim panicked, "Who would dare?!"
An image appeared on the monitor showing Dib sneaking around behind the couch in the house level.
"The Dib." Zim's eyes narrowed as he stared at his human foe.
"It's your friend with the big head!" GIR grinned widely. "HI DIB!"
"I'll take care of this menace," Zim cackled as he stepped onto the platform and traveled up toward the house. "I'll throw him to the Halloweenies!"
"WOW!" Dib was surprised at having made it so far into Zim's base without being caught. The alien was always springing up behind him just when he least expected it.
"AHA!" Zim shouted, popping out of the toilet in the kitchen and charging into the living room after Dib. "Thought you could get by me did you? You filthy human stink beast!"
"ZIM!" Dib's eyes narrowed and a smile flashed across his face. "Say 'cheese'!"
"AHHH!!" Zim shielded his eyes as Dib snapped pictures, not forgetting to remove the lens cap this time.
"Better yet," Dib snickered, "say 'alien autopsy'!"
Zim's spider legs shot out of his PAK, "Think again sad little Earth monkey!"
"I smell candy!" GIR announced, spinning around in circles.
Zim and Dib were too busy launching attacks on each other to listen or care.
Finally dizzy GIR fell over, got up, and walked over to the window. "There are two girls in our driveway!"
"QUIET GIR! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M RIDDING US OF THE DIB?!" Zim shouted.
"IN YOUR DREAMS ALIEN SCUM!" Dib retorted, dodging another blast and sticking the roll of film in his back pocket.
"Ready?" Karcy asked Gaz with a sly glance.
"Let the games begin." Gaz sniggered and threw an egg at Zim's front door. It smashed against the Men's sign dead-on. "Direct hit!"
"ROWR!" Karcy took on her werewolf form and unleashed her claws. "I think we can do better than that."
Dib and Zim continued to sling insults and exchange fire in Zim's living room while GIR watched the two strange girls desecrate the base. "YAY! They're throwin' Easter Eggs!"
By now Gaz and Karcy had covered Zim's whole house in toilet paper and 'Easter' eggs. Karcy had even taken the liberty of clawing Zim's fence and front door. GIR simply waved out the window.
Gaz wasn't ready to move on yet though, she knew her idiot brother was in there somewhere, fighting with stupid Zim. She'd teach them to annoy her.
"What are you doing?" Karcy hissed as Gaz casually strolled up to the door and knocked. "The whole point of doing this is NOT to get caught!"
"Trust me." Gaz winked over her shoulder, tossing a clump of mud up and down. "This'll be fun."
"Hm?" Zim stopped firing at Dib long enough to go answer the door. This better not be any of those horrible Halloweenies!
"Don't think you're getting off that easily!" Dib rushed over as Zim swung open the door and-
"AAAHHH!!"
Both boys received a prompt mouthful of dirt.
Gaz snickered, "Told you I'd doom you both for bugging me." and headed back toward Karcy.
Dib spit the dirt out onto the kitchen floor then caught sight of Karcy, "WOW! A WEREWOLF!"
Too late, Gaz and Karcy were already halfway down the street with their supplies.
"Aw man! Mysterious Mysteries is gonna devote an entire episode to me for this!" Dib beamed grabbing his camera and heading off in the same direction as his sister and the wolf girl.
GIR toddled over to Zim who was still gagging on the dirt clod. "Aw…your little friend ran away."
Wiping his mouth Zim glared down the street. "He won't escape my wrath this time."
The roof spread apart seconds later, unleashing the Voot Cruiser and Zim. The alien and his spacecraft soared after Dib while GIR scraped broken eggshells off the house. "I'm gonna hide these!" he announced to the stunned trick-or-treaters.
"Lost 'em!" Dib panted after chasing his sister and 'the creature' to the edge of the woods. "Can't…give up…hope." he pep talked himself into getting up and resuming the search.
Meanwhile Karcy and Gaz raced on through the dark forest until they came to a grassy cliff overhanging the polluted countryside.
"Cool huh?" Gaz asked, plopping down on a rock. "Whenever I bother going out I usually come here to ditch Dib and all my annoying classmates."
Karcy perched on the rock beside her, "Cool. It's dank, dreary, and secluded. I like it."
A small smile crossed Gaz's features. "Bet'cha it takes Dib all night to find us."
"Well I bet he's already lost by now." Karcy sneered.
A bright flash from overhead caught them off guard.
"What was that?" the werewolf gasped.
"Shooting star." Gaz shrugged.
CRASH!
"Do shooting stars crash?" she asked Gaz uneasily.
Curiosity peeked, Gaz got off the rock and went to investigate. "Maybe Zim went down in his stupid spaceship?" she started grinning, "Maybe he's dead?"
"Morbid." Karcy snickered when they came to a rest in front of the strange downed aircraft. Obviously it wasn't something of their world. "Is that Zim's ship? It looks…alien. Wait, Zim's an alien?! Figures."
Heh, she took that pretty well. Gaz thought in amusement. Then again, something like visitors from outer space is probably easier for a werewolf to accept. Studying the ship she noticed the unfamiliar design and grumbled, "It's not the Voot Cruiser. And there's no Irken symbol."
"So who's in it?" Karcy persisted.
Right on cue the door to the craft slid open and a very shambled pink alien about Zim's height staggered out. She wobbled over holding some sort of scanner and passed it in front of the girls. She froze when the readings on Gaz came back. "YOU!"
"Yeah, what about me?" Gaz challenged.
Whipping some sort of ray gun out of her holster the alien aimed for Gaz. "I am Biq from Orcobion, sworn enemy of the Irkens! It is the Orcobions who are meant to rule the galaxy! All Irkens shall fall and those who help them—shall be destroyed!"
"I think she means you." Karcy whispered to Gaz.
The Goth girl was unfazed. "I've seen better weapons on Mysterious Mysteries'dramatic reenactments. You don't scare me! And I don't work for the Irkens either! Go bug Zim!"
The pink alien put her free hand on her hip, "Maybe now you don't Earthian, but soon your disdain for your own kind and controlling nature is bound to make you an Irken ally. And the Orcobions cannot risk that!"
Gaz's eye twitched, with clenched fists she warned, "You do not want to invoke my wrath."
Grinning devilishly the alien answered, "Not a problem. Since Irkens are weaker than Orcobions I'll just hybridize you with Irken DNA collect from your beloved Zim—who really needs to stop leaving those disgusting contacts laying around—and then CRUSH YOU like the bug-eyed slave you are!"
Karcy leapt to block the shot as Biq fired at Gaz but she was a split second too late. "GAZ!"
Her friend hit the ground hard clutching her left side in agonizing pain. "YOU WILL PAY!" she swore to Biq.
"I think not." Biq laughed and produced another weapon, this time to obliterate her weakened adversary.
"How'd she find out about me anyway?" Gaz snarled as Karcy helped her to her feet.
"I dunno," Karcy shrugged, "the Internet?"
"FOOLS!" Biq cackled madly. What was it with aliens and doing that? "I've been monitoring the Irken's progress in conquering this planet. He's a pitiful failure and I aim to take out the weakest nuisances first!" firing she missed, "STAND STILL IRKEN SLAVE! FACE YOURDOOM!"
"I'll give her doom." Gaz jeered while Karcy her behind the rocks.
"Stay put," Karcy practically begged, "or have your forgotten about being SHOT?!"
Gripping her bloodstained black dress Gaz muttered, "No."
"Come out little human," Biq called mockingly, "Time to eat hot laser!"
A few blasts chipped the edges off the rocks as the deranged alien advanced towards them. "I'll draw her fire." Karcy volunteered.
"Why?" Gaz snapped, "So she can deep fry you?!"
"No." Karcy looked hurt, "Because you're my friend. We...are friends, right? And that means I can't let her destroy you."
Gaz didn't respond; she just stared at the brave (albeit foolhardy) werewolf crouching over her. Without so much as a goodbye Karcy leapt over the rocks and lunged for Biq.
Not long after the struggle began Gaz's vision started to blur. The world spun around her in flashes of light and strange neon colors. Her whole body tingled as an unnatural change took place. Hot and cold spells sit in as the sounds of Biq's laser firing faded into the chaotic whirl of shrill pitches and sudden bursts of silence. Unable to fight it off any longer Gaz blacked out.
The battle raged on between Karcy and Biq until…
"Inferior creature!" Biq shouted, delivering a hard kick to Karcy's abdomen. The werewolf dropped like a stone at the alien's feet. "That'll teach you not to interfere with an Orcobion Invader!"
Moaning Gaz slowly regained consciousness. One thing was for sure—she didn't feel so good.
"Wakey wakey little HUMAN! Or should I say, hahaha, IRKEN!"
What's this idiot talking about? Gaz wondered groggily.
Biq delighted in Gaz's confusion but remembered she had a job to do. Raising her laser she took aim.
Karcy pushed herself up off the ground, returning to her human form. "Ooooh… That's the last time I try anything heroic."
"I FOUND IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Dib exclaimed as he came darting out into the clearing waving his camera, "THE WEREWOLF!"
Karcy was just plain annoyed now, "I need this like I need another blow to the stomach—GAZ!"
Dib stopped dead in his tracks, "What about Gaz?! OH NO! DID YOU EAT MY SISTER?!"
"NO!" Karcy growled, pointing over her shoulder, "There's some Orcobion alien back there trying to disintegrate her!"
"WHAT?!" Dib raced around the rocks and caught sight of the odd scene. It would've been pretty cool—if his little sister's life wasn't hanging in the balance. "GAZ!"
"I'm busy now DIB!" Gaz grunted, "Go away!"
Overhead the Voot Cruiser, which had been tracking Dib through the endless maze of trees and shrubs, provided Zim with a perfect view of all that was happening below. "An Orcobion!" Zim spat. "They're filthy."
ZAP!
"RUN ALL YOU WANT HUMAN! YOU'LL NEVER ESCAPE ME!" Biq called as she backed Gaz to the edge of the cliff.
Dib and Karcy rushed ahead to stop her but Biq spun around with a small remote control device. Pressing the button she trapped both 'heroes' in a paralyzation field. "So much for your little rescue party," she snickered to Gaz.
Sneering Gaz stood her ground, "Your threats are stupid!"
Pulling the trigger Biq sent Gaz hurdling over the cliff. "FAREWELL IRKEN ALLY!"
Biq failed to notice that the intensity of the blast caused a large portion of the cliff to give way—namely—the part she was standing on.
"What the—AAAAHHH!!!" the Orcobion suddenly joined Gaz in her fall to the jagged rocks, oil barrels, and shattered bottles below.
Dib and Karcy struggled against the immobilizing effects of the alien device but found the field too strong.
She's doomed! Dib winced.
Wonder if Orcobions bounce? Karcy pondered wickedly.
Gaz actually shut her eyes just before she was halfway to the bottom. One would assume her to be fearless and to face danger (even her demise) head on. Cringing against the certain pain that was coming Gaz felt her body slam into something that felt more like an electrified barrier.
She heard the screams of Biq, who didn't hit the same humming surface, and the sparking of the remote control device as it shattered on the rocks below.
Freed from the field Karcy and Dib fell to the dirt. "That's twice tonight!" Dib complained, spitting out a mouthful of soil.
Karcy ran ahead to check on Gaz. She'd gotten less than a few steps away from the edge when the glowing green beam pulled the young mutated girl up into view.
Dib caught up and stood beside Karcy, both their jaws hung open wide. Everyone but Gaz was speechless as the glowing barrier created by the beam moved her up onto solid ground and dropped her in front of her awestruck companions.
The pair's eyes traveled upwards to just above where she stood. Grinning slightly at their confusion Gaz turned to discover that her rescuer was none other than… "Zim?"
To be continued…