Chapter One

Escape

: J :

The sky was gray. All of the once beautiful trees were wilting to the ground, bare of leaves, nothing but cold skeletons of branches. The sun was completely blocked out by the constant supply of clouds. Yet, even after all these years in the dark, even after half of the lovely planet had been detonated, we still lived.

There were few of us. So few that one could laugh at the number. The others, the ones who were enslaved, had long ago given up hope of being rescued. It was thirteen years ago that all of this could have been prevented; that things could have been turned around. But that was only if anybody had cared to listen to one special boy who knew the truth. Only one person against an entire army, and he had lost.

By the time the rest of the race found out, it was far too late to do anything. They were here. Nothing could stop them. And those who tried were carelessly shredded by lasers, and the remains tossed aside like trash. The race that overtook Earth were ruthless, brutal, ambitious creatures that went from planet to planet seizing all they desired. Their "invaders", the trained soldiers who were to take over the planets single-handedly, were too much of a match for Earth's supply of resistance.

And now the humans have lost all hope. Nobody believes things can still be turned around. Nobody believes in change. The humans are an enslaved race of worthless Earthenoids who are constantly pushed around by the Irken race. To the Irkens, they are nothing but creatures that operate machines. The planet has mostly been turned into the manufacturing of technology, study of quantum virus cures, and mining of gems. Only the lucky ones are selected to create new technology, and the majority of them are Japanese.

There are a group of thirty-seven who take small steps of resistance against the Irkens, the only ones who oppose. We are known as "They Fight" by the common human slaves, but simply "the resistance" by the Irkens themselves. News of our attacks spreads quickly throughout the planet. Many Irkens have personally witnessed our wrath, and so far very few live to tell the tale. We leave our mark wherever we strike, making sure that all will know and cower in fear at the mention of our name.

We consist of mostly foolish "Americans", those rebellious, energetic people. Of the Americans, there are African Americans, Caucasians, Orientals, Hispanics, and our commander. As for the rest of us, we are Japanese. The Japanese have increased in numbers since the arrival of the Irken Armada. But to total all of the numbers, that only makes thirty-six.

You see, I am the exception of the mighty Irken race. I am the one and only individual that exists due to a certain emotion experiment with Pak Tech. And so I joined "They Fight" to show the Tallest their wrongs. Forgive me if a few misleading words slip past my lips (I am still Irken at heart) such as "pathetic" when describing the humans, and "mighty" when describing my people. Those mistakes are few and far between. Because as far as I am concerned, the Irkens will lose this battle. And the humans shall be free once again. Of course, there is one slight flaw in my joining They Fight. And I will find out the magnitude of that problem later on.

That problem is that They Fight and their commander do not know what I am. My Pak is able to generate holographic images that can totally remake my appearance. And during the time I am in sight of They Fight, I am just another foolish girl ready to take on the aliens and save the Earth. I am "white", have dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a thin figure. People have called this appearance "lovely", or "beautiful". I am not quite sure if I am okay with this, but altering the image now could give away my secret.

Despite living among them, working with them, even pretending to "sleep" near them, I still keep my distance. I never wish to become too friendly with the humans, for I plan to return to Irk as soon as my mission is complete. But that could take a long time, perhaps many more years than it already has. And I still have to put up with these beige and brown things. Why I am trying to save them, I have no idea. But hopefully something will result from all this. After it is over, I plan to rid the universe of this one human named "David". He is the most annoying of them all. I am against killing the innocent, but as far as I am concerned, he is no innocent for what he has put me through. From here on, I shall never speak to him again.

"Hey, Jiss."

I sighed, seeing him walking right towards me. "Hey, David. Got any news from Commander?"

David shrugged. The usual, it seemed. "Not much. He says he's thinking of stealing some more tech, maybe a few computers. And he's also considering taking the latest Pak advances. So what about you, what's been going on?"

Feeling annoyed already just being asked about my life, I said, "Nothing, David. Why don't you understand that I don't like you?" I saw David smile, oh that hideous smile. I could tell he was going to say something stupid, as always, just to force me to take action.

"I understand you don't like me. I just like torturing you, that's all."

I snorted. "Buzz off," I demanded, a term that I had heard many times. I had picked up Earth slang from my time spent here, which the last time I counted has been about four and a half years. Of course, the invasion started long before I came along.

"Why?"

Suddenly and without warning, I turned around and slapped David across the face, something else I had seen that females do to annoying males. I was not sure the situation called for it, but even if it didn't, this could repay him for all the times that it did.

"Bitch!" he cursed at me. He took a few steps back from me.

I said nothing in response. It was stupid to talk with David; he never said anything or did anything that helped. Mostly, he only goofed off. I told myself he wasn't worth doing anything more to. He was going to be destroyed, hopefully.

-----

It was nighttime. I was in my tent. "They Fight" always slept in tents, for we were a traveling resistance with no true base. The idea seemed quite foolish, but at the same time, pure genius. Knowing the Irkens as I did, it was just the kind of thing to throw them off. No Irken has heard of a traveling base before, and it was likely the whole thing would seal their doom. Already they were confused by how we seemed to disappear from one of our previous locations, which they had attacked all for nothing.

This night was one that I would fear more than others. Tonight was the marker for two months having passed since the last time I recharged my Pak, which meant at midnight the bi-monthly energy pattern would be shut down completely and I would die if I didn't recharge it again. The process took no more than three hours to complete, so if I began at nine o'clock, there would be plenty of time. I could use a temporary mini-Pak microchip to keep me going while the real Pak was recharging.

Looking from side to side to be sure I was truly alone, I reached my hands behind my back and carefully detached my Irken Utility Pak from it's connection to my body. Almost instantly, the hologram disappeared and the mechanical tentacles released from being wrapped around me, revealing who I was.

Compared to my human disguise, I was short. I was about the normal height for an Irken, not too short, but not tall enough to be of any great importance. I was simply one of the invaders.

As I hooked my Pak into a portable perpetual energy generator, an alarm went off. I heard everybody gathering their equipment and running out of their tents. We were under attack again! The Irkens had found our latest location!

I saw David's shadow on my tent walls. He ran closer, and opened the tent fast as lightening, yelling, "The Irkish are coming! The Irkish are coming!" like an idiot. But right when his eyes made contact with mine, I saw his pupils collapse into tiny specs. His breathing ceased for a moment as he took the time to stare at me.

"David, wait, don't panic!" I cried, trying to reason with him. I had to make him understand! "It's not what you think! It's me, Jiss!"

"Oh God!" he cried. "It's one of them!" He stood up and backed away, pulled out a weapon, and fired at the tent before I could say a word. I felt the sting as a laser singed my heart, but though I was overtaken with pain, the blast did not kill me. If my Pak was still intact, and if I could only reach it and reattach it, I would live. The Pak was the Irken brain. The Pak was the Irken. It could repair any damaged part of the worthless body, but when hurt itself, there was no hope of survival.

I looked down for a moment, and saw the damage he had done. A small hole went through me, perfect and round. I felt sick as I looked through myself, only to see the tent wall behind. The lasers we had acquired did exceptional damage. Then my attention was redirected as I spotted the Pak. It was unharmed, missed only by millimeters by shier luck!

I turned and reached out my arm to take it, but was forced to keep it close to my chest because of the pain. I slowly crawled to my feet and took a few steps, only to collapse to the floor. But there it was, right in front of me! My Pak! Knowing I didn't have the strength to reach for it, I turned around so my back would face it. The amazing Pak was remote-activated and detached from recharging and connected to me once more, sending amazing energy through my body.

The Pak had gained enough energy already to keep me alive for about a week, which was enough for it to repair me. The process had already begun, I realized, looking at my chest to see the hole having wires running up and down it to create artificial walls. The last of the view of the back side of the tent disappeared as one final wire closed off the tiniest of a space.

I stood up once more as the pain went away, and the mechanical tentacles wrapped around my waist. They traveled down my legs and continued past my feet, raising me into the air. They suddenly stopped and the hologram appeared, showing me as I would normally look, only in battle attire. I mentally activated my shield, which enclosed me in an invisible skin-tight bubble that could not be penetrated by any force. Few Irkens had the shield advancement downloaded to their Paks because the shield tech was the last "newest" Pak tech we stole.

Grabbing my laser weapon, not unlike David's, I ran out of the tent and looked to the sky. There they were, in the top Irken designs for Irken fighter crafts. The best of the best, and ironically, we had better. I decided on a pilot, took aim, and without another thought fired. The laser beam shot into his upper middle, slicing through his Pak. He fell from the fighter to the ground and the craft remained hovering in mid air, waiting for us to steal it after the battle was over.

I spied David about ten yards away. He was busy shooting at everything that moved in the sky, including a few innocent birds startled by the commotion. What a dope. I shook my head at his stupidity.

He looked in my direction for a moment, firing at something above my head. He was about to turn back to the battle, but caught sight of me and looked as if he were going to faint. For a moment I wasn't sure what was wrong with him. Was I still noticeable? Had my Pak added something, or forgotten something about my holographic disguise?

My question was answered when he ran over to me, shouting, "Jiss! You're okay!"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But we can talk later." I suddenly saw a fighter taking aim at us. "LOOK OUT!" I screamed, pushing him aside and allowing the bright red beam to hit me. I noticed for a moment the pilot looked victorious, but after the beam disappeared and he saw I was still alive, energetic, and unharmed, he didn't look so smug. In fact, he looked frightened. In the time he was staring with his mouth open, I fired a few shots at him myself, and one of them hit the side of his arm. He could no longer pilot the fighter.

The shooting continued for a while, until the Irkens felt satisfied they had done enough damage and left. By then, our camp was a horrible wreck. The majority of our tents and personal items were in ruins, but thankfully the technology was all still safe due to us converting the Pak's shield into just a basic shield. It surrounded all of the tech we stole.

Last, and probably the best news, all thirty-seven of us responded to role-call. There would be no renumbering after this battle, which had been happening a lot lately. Believe it or not, we began as "They Fight: The Five Hundred", but realizing the number would slowly decrease, we changed it to just "They Fight". Thirty-seven were left after six years of battling. We were only lucky it was not something like fourteen.

: Z :

I never would have guessed I would be the Irken selected as a spy, and that I was to leave in less than two days. It was such an honor, the Tallest actually allowing me to do something of some importance. I had heard them laughing about how I would fail because of the power of "They Fight", but I knew better. I would succeed! At last, I would not be shunned as I had been for the past ten years. Things were going to change for the better, and it would all begin with me!

For almost a decade I had been isolated to an institution that held only seven other Irkens, four of which were those who were believed to be of my own inferiority, but seeing them and comparing them to my intelligence I had to disagree. The fifth was called none other than Boss, for the reason that she watched over all five of us closely, talking with us daily and working with us to perhaps "correct the problem", which I found I was the only one without. There were two others, and they both worked in offices away from the likes of us. When we got into trouble, we were sent to a horribly kind Irken named Kraak. He basically told us not to misbehave again, patted us on the head, and gave us a treat. The very thought of him sickened me. Last, there was Lonny, also known as "Mom" by the four others. She took care of all the special things like handing out the medicine (which I only stored in my pocket then later disintegrated instead of actually eating), letting us "play" with technology, computers and crafts, and occasionally giving us presents if we had been good.

The entire facility was a weak, worthless, pathetic excuse for living quarters. I hated it, and everybody in it. Words like "horrible", "putrid", and "insane" do not even begin to describe the average day here. It was just freaky! But now I was getting out of here to go on a top secret mission like I so deserved, and I could care less if They Fight discovered an Irken fighter craft, came here, and blasted this place into nothing but a pile of ashes. In fact, I would request to watch them, perhaps even help them if I could get away with it. I would be laughing the entire time at the screams and cries from these deluded, mixed up half-Irkens. I call them half-Irkens because in my eyes, they were not Irken at all. They put the Irken name to shame, so I dare not call them that which has struck fear into the hearts of billions. They didn't deserve it.

Now to take us to where this began. It was mid-day; about the time us five "defectives" (which I was only called by mistake) ate lunch. I was sitting off by myself, away from the four others. I felt they were not worthy to be anywhere near me. Now funny thing about the food here: it was obviously just another way of control. After scanning it the very first day I was here, my Pak had detected traces of Irken microchip power signatures within. This was the reason I never ate the horrible klokid that should be ashamed to call itself food. I got my energy another way: by recharging my Pak every two weeks instead of once every two months. True, the electric bill most likely soared after my arrival, but Boss, Kraak and Lonny had not figured out why yet.

Anyway, there I sat, dismal, depressed, poking at the familiar goop on my tray. Usually I seemed more stoic than depressed, but my time here was beginning to open my eyes to just how impossible escape seemed. Day by day, night by night I thought up ways to get out of here, but never found the answer. My Pak was little help, because using it for almost anything would give away that it was equipped with far superior tech than most. If Boss found out, she would probably have my Pak re-engineered, which would make escape as likely as my hopes of They Fight destroying this place becoming reality.

On television was Intergalactic At Five, the universe's most watched news broadcast station. A Clorothean woman named Sites was reporting about They Fight's latest attack. They had stolen new Pak tech, this time the shield tech the Japanese had designed to keep Irkens protected from They Fight's advanced lasers. Now the humans had to start all over on the project. This information made me at least smile. I hated the humans, every last one of them. It was their fault I was in here.

"In other news, the four and a half year-long search for Invader Jiss has lead the Irkens virtually nowhere. Irk's top invader, Jiss, went missing on her trip to Earth, where she was to retrieve and transport Earth's top scientists to Vort for continued research on "Pak Tech". But after her arrival, she was not heard from again, and no evidence pointing to where she may be has been found. Detectives are still searching for clues, though many have already given up. Now to Grunder with our top story today."

I was back to my usual, uncaring mood after seeing the news, which always kept me unemotional. I thought of Jiss, Irk's "top invader" they had called her. She was most likely the best right under me. I had been better than any other invader in the squad! If it hadn't been for the humans, it could have stayed that way. But they just had to interfere. To go into some detail, one Earth smeet in particular had interfered, and now he was the leader of They Fight. My only regret about going one-on-one with him at the end was that I did not kill him like I thought I did. I had nearly forgotten his name by now, something like Dim . . . Bid . . . Dib! That's right, his name had been Dib. Dib, that horrible creature. I hated him more than I hated every half-Irken in this facility.

Thinking out loud, I said his name to be sure I had it right. It sounded right to me. But speaking attracted Boss's attention. She walked over to me and sat down next to me, making me feel uncomfortable. But of all seven of them here, she was the only one who seemed to have a clue about how I felt. Perhaps if They Fight really did destroy this place, I could save her to take with me to Earth. Earth was where I would go if I got the chance, so I could kill Dib.

"What is Dib?" she asked me. Looking into her eyes, I saw that they were blank, as if she were not really here. I knew that look. When she had that look, it meant she did not want to talk, and everything I said would vibrate to one antennae and bounce off the other. Of course, it was not always like this. Sometimes she actually paid attention, but the times she did were few and far apart. As I thought about how to explain in a way she would not understand, she seemed to grow more interested. She lost the dismal stare and looked at me as an actual person, which made me feel slightly important.

"Dib is just somebody I used to know," I answered. I was still debating whether to go on about the matter. If I did, I might have to repeat everything to Kraak and Lonny so they could document it and put it on my record. And I knew from past experiences that Boss would not simply keep what I said secret, for I had asked her to once before and the very next day I was asked about the matter by Lonny.

"Go on," she demanded kindly, urging me to continue. "What about Dib? Was he somebody who you were friends with? Was he somebody you disliked? You can tell me, I won't tell anybody. I promise."

"Sure," I mumbled under my breath, recalling the last time she had promised to keep one of my many secrets. I saw her give me a questioning look at my saying this word. I sighed and looked at my feet. I did not wish to talk any more about Dib.

There was a pause. "What's wrong, Zim?" Boss asked me. She put her arm around me, trying to raise my spirit, but even after all these years she didn't get that I hated being touched. I leaned away from her slightly, pulling her with me. She was going to force me to talk, like she had many times before. She once bugged me to the point of me having to use my Pak's mechanical spider legs to push her away from me and out of my quarters.

"Nothing," I lied. Trying to stay calm and get through to her, I said to her like she was an idiot, "Do not touch me, please. I do not like it. Okay?" I saw her smile. She believed I was just playing with her when I sounded out every word I said, but in reality I was not. She never seemed to understand. If the universe's survival depended upon how well she listened to me, then I could guarantee that all hope was lost.

"Come on, Zimmy," she said quietly. Calling me "Zimmy" always made me mad. I hated that nickname. And this was just another thing she thought I enjoyed that I didn't. I knew she meant well, but she really needed to get a clue. I hated being touched, I hated being called Zimmy, and I hated the half-Irken Joyis. Boss always said I liked Joyis, who was just one of the four other claimed "defectives". Personally, I saw her to be more like me than anybody I have ever met, but the one thing wrong with her was that she liked having friends and talking about her emotions. It drove me crazy listening to her!

"I don't want to talk about it," I said. "So just go away, please." Now I saw Lonny coming over to us. This was not good. I hated it when she talked with me, because of the way she always tried to make me smile. But as she came closer, I saw that she did not have that sweet, caring approach she usually had. She looked serious this time, a way I had hardly ever seen her. I thought she would say something to me, but instead, she whispered something to Boss. Boss looked surprised, but not in a happy way.

"You're joking, right?" she asked Lonny. I realized that something was wrong, and whatever it was, it was big. Boss looked as if she had been struck across the face. She glanced at me, confused, as if I had something to do with the conversation. Looking at her eyes, she almost seemed sad. It was like she just heard that I was leaving or something, but according to the Control Brains, I was to stay here for another eighty-four years, so I scratched the possibility instantly.

"I . . . I think we should talk," she told me. Her attitude raised my curiosity. It was so strange seeing her like this. The last time she was this upset was when I became so angered with her that I fired a few aimless laser shots in her direction, barely missing her antennae. Of course, I had been sent to Kraak, and he had talked with me about using weapons in the institute. I falsely agreed not to do it again, and he sent me back to my quarters with a Glarberry. It was very weird.

We both got up and she led me into Kraak's office, followed by Lonny. I sat down in a chair in front of the main desk and waited for them to tell me the news, whatever it was. Kraak was sitting at his desk as he pulled out some paperwork. He handed three of the papers to Boss, and she handed them to me. I began reading the Irken writing to myself. It hardly made any sense, talking about the Almighty Tallest requesting a spy be sent to They Fight's newest base. To me, it was just something else that would end up on Intergalactic At Five. The chosen spy would most likely be obliterated by They Fight; no one Irken could think to go alone and survive the attack of thirty-six trained human soldiers commanded by Dib.

"Zim," said Kraak, getting my attention. I glanced up at him, forgetting the gibberish I held in my hands. He looked more serious than Lonny and Boss put together, I realized, and he was staring right at me. This confirmed it; something was going on. Something was happening, and it appeared I was the last to find out. I gulped, hoping it was nothing of horrible outcome.

Kraak took in a deep breath. "The Almighty Tallest feel They Fight has become a threat. They have requested that a spy be sent to They Fight's current location to steal back Pak Tech and gather some information. Not for a second did any of us think that that Spy would be here with us right now until we heard the news."

I looked over at Boss and Lonny. The way Boss seemed to have tears in her eyes as she looked at me gave me a hint the spy would be either her or Lonny. It seemed a great miracle that one of them would be leaving. That was one less half-Irken to bug me about talking. Finally, it seemed things were changing for the better. If only we could make this permanent, I preyed.

"Zim," Kraak said to make me pay attention once more, "The Tallest have personally requested you by name. Are you willing to take this mission?"

I almost fell out of my chair. I dropped the papers I had been holding and my mouth hung open. This could not be, there was some mistake. There was no way that I would be rescued from this horrid place in such an instant. And especially by the Tallest. They hated me! How did this happen? It made no sense.

"I know this is hard for you," said Boss, "but if you don't go, it could mean the end of Irken control over the human race. We could lose Earth to its native inhabitants."

I heard her. I heard every word she said to me. And I smiled. This was amazing! I really was the spy chosen to infiltrate They Fight's base! If I ever got the chance to see the Tallest again, I would be on my knees thanking them for letting me leave. I stood up and walked over to Kraak's desk. I was smiling.

"Yes," I said, "I accept the mission. When do I leave?"

-----

Author Notes:

Okay, I don't own Invader Zim, blah blah all that. Now that I have that taken care of . . .

We have introduced the two main characters in this chapter: Zim and Jiss. Zim, obviously, after the invasion, was sent to IDR Facility 3. You'll find out why much later on in the story. In fact, all the way in Part Three.

If you haven't read this, then trust me . . . you'll love it. If you have, please don't say anything that might give away anything. And, starting next week, I'm going to add a chapter every Friday until I get caught up . . . and then go from there. So there's another reason to love Fridays! Yay!

For those of you looking for a comical story, this one isn't right for you, though it does have a little humor. For those of you looking for ZADR or any slash, I suggest you leave as well. For those of you looking for mushy-gushy romance, I suggest you leave also . . . unless you consider a distant relationship to be mushy-gushy. I don't. For those of you looking for a strange, unique, out-there sci-fi drama about the battle for Earth that reveals bits and pieces of the shattered past of the main characters . . . then this story is just right for you. I'll be looking forward to constructive comments, if you have any to offer.