Christmas
Delicate flakes fluttered down from the passing clouds as Zim strolled through the downtown streets. The city around him buzzing in excitement. It was Christmas Eve, and everywhere he went the humans seemed to be over-joyous in mood.
He hugged the fluff of his coat while thoughts of the science project still stirred about in his mind. He had received news from the Dib human several weeks ago, and he was still trying to decide on the best course of action.
He thought about the chosen location, about reporting to some sort of research facility on the coast. While the the thought of being praised again for all his efforts was enticing, he was fully aware of the risks. He would be on the coast, where a large body of water resided, and more importantly, he would be surrounded by dozens of scientists in a lab, all of which would pounce at the opportunity to study a live extraterrestrial.
He shuddered at the thought.
Revolting ape-like creatures. As if they're never going to get their hands on me.
He continued walking along the sidewalk with Gir in tow. The happy-go-lucky robot pounced joyfully into a pile of snow, spreading his arms out to flap them back and forth.
Ignoring his minion, Zim stopped and turned to face the inside of one of the street shop windows. Inside the frosted glass was a large cardboard diorama of a family. They were gathered around happily around their Christmas tree and were all happily laughing and opening presents.
Below them read a message.
Family is what Christmas is all about! Get them the gift that smiles the most!
Zim snorted at the ad. What a stupid tradition these humans celebrate, he thought, wrinkling his nose in disgust. He continued on past the other shops, ignoring the festive decorations and colorful lighting that lined the streets. It sickens me. A total waste of time. Utter nonsense!
He continued along indiscriminately while shoving his gloved hands deep into his coat pockets. He stared at the ground, ignoring the majority of people passing by.
He recalled the time he had devised a plan to construct his own Santa suit and hijack the holiday to enslave its followers. It had been a good plan up until the moment it all backfired. The suit took on a mind of its own and just as quickly he had lost control. Luckily the Dib human had busted a hole through it during battle. It had allowed him to escape, but just barely.
He continued to stroll solemnly while shoving his gloved hands deep into his coat pockets. What was it that gets these humans all jolly and excited anyway? he wondered.
It then occurred to him what great lengths the Dib human had gone through to to prevent him from ruining Christmas that year. He simply couldn't understand why the event meant so much to the boy, or to any of the humans for that matter. Wasn't it just some stupid tradition about exchanging gifts? Or chopping down trees? And how could they tolerate the fact that a terrifying jolly fat-man invaded their homes while they slept?
Too lost in thought to pay attention to where he was going, he eventually found himself colliding with an all too familiar black coat.
"Oof. Hey, watch it Zim!" Dib staggered, annoyed that he almost dropped the stack of boxes he was carrying.
Gir bounced up happily to greet the boy.
"Oooo HI big-headed kid! Are you out buying presents too?!"
Dip shook off the little snow that had collected on his coat and turned to face him. "Well yeah, I WAS until-...hey wait!" He paused to look at the Irken. " Why are YOU out buying Christmas presents? Seems an odd thing for an invader to do."
Zim flared up in defense. "Fool! What makes you think I would take part in such nonsense?"
Dib stared at his rival skeptically. "Yeah right Zim. Like I'm supposed to believe you were just casually strolling around the same night a blizzard is supposed to come through? What are you up to?"
The Irken tightened his fists in anger. "Nothing that concerns you box boy! I was just uh..."
He struggled to come up with a good excuse, but nothing came to mind.
Remaining silent, he tired to formulate an answer. But the truth was, he didn't have a good answer at all. He had left the base with the simple goal of clearing his head, and now that Dib had disturbed him, he didn't know what he was doing.
Dib waited patiently for a response while studying his rival suspiciously. The Irken's behavior was curious to say the least. Normally Zim would at least bluff having a new master plan by now, but lately he seemed to be lacking any motivation at all. His usual threats were empty and tiring, and his behavior was almost docile, like he just didn't care anymore. And even during their daily interactions at school, he still found the alien sitting across from at their usual table. It was downright bizarre.
Realizing they had been standing silent in the snow for way too long, Dib shook the conflicting thoughts from his head.
"Uh, never mind," he added, dropping the subject. He suddenly heard a beeping sound coming from his wrist. "Aw great. Thanks Zim," he muttered, checking his watch. " I was supposed to get back and wrap these before my sister and dad got home, but now I'm going to be late."
He looked up and down at the Irken, drumming up a solution. "I don't suppose you could give me a ride?" he asked awkwardly.
Zim stared at him dead in the eye. "DO YOU HAVE BRAIN WORMS?" he shouted, clearly insulted by the request. "Why would I care about what happens to you?"
Dib paused a moment. "Good point."
Sticking two fingers in his mouth, he turned to the road and whistled loudly. A nearby cab came to a screeching holt in front of them.
Zim watched as the boy loaded the boxes into the cab and stepped in and. His anger simmered.
What's this? The Dib. Ignoring ME?
He stepped forward to shout back at his nemesis. "How dare you walk away from me you filthy pig beast! Hey! I'm talking to you! Hey! Hey! Hey!"
Dib continued to ignore him and slipped into the back seat before shutting the door. The cab took off in a hurry, leaving Zim standing alone at the curb.
The Irken clenched his fists in repugnance. "Fine! Flee now foolish human, but you will rue the day you ever messed with ZIM! I will rip your liver from your chest and stomp on it like the feeble gigasport! You can't hide from me forever! I will-"
He paused when he realized the pedestrians were staring at him in bewilderment. He changed his tone immediately.
"Eh, I mean...Merry Christmas to all you jolly shoppers. Please. Go about your business of nog-egg and building of ginger-man houses. Nothing to see here. All is normal!"
With their curiosity satisfied, the surrounding onlookers resumed their business and passed by without a word.
Zim growled through his zippered teeth. I cannot allow that bothersome dirt child to get away so easily. He will pay for ignoring Zim!
He shouted toward his minion. "Gir! Come here! We have work to do!"
Obeying the command, Gir ceased gobbling down snowballs and hobbled over to his master. "Kay!"
Back in his living room, Dib dumped all of the boxes off before running to grab the wrapping supplies. He only had minutes before his Dad and sister returned home and knew he would have to wrap the gifts at lightening speed. He was about halfway done when the front doorbell rang.
"Great," he groaned, getting up to answer it. "As if I didn't already know who that could be."
He opened the door and wasn't the least bit surprised to see his arch nemeses standing out in his doorway.
"Behold at my latest plan!" shouted Zim. "The Flurry Cannon!"
He pointed to a dramatically large cannon Gir was holding behind him. It was severely unbalanced and toppled with the little robot's meager height.
Zim turned to the boy with a smirk. "This device can shoot giant snowballs at high velocity, trapping you and your GIANT HEAD in a furry of icy madness! It's so powerful, in fact, that you will be able to do NOTHING but surrender at the hands of me! ZIM!"
Dib blinked a few times before staring back at the alien unimpressed. "So let me get this straight," he answered, "you are planning to use snow to trap me in my own house on the same night a blizzard is supposed to come through? Is that right?"
Zim's posture deflated a moment before turning on the offensive. "YOU DARE QUESTION ME!? Gir! Give the human a taste of our snowy vengeance!"
Gir let out an excited, maniacal giggle and readily fired the cannon. With a loud thump, a giant snowball the size of a boulder emerged at colossal speed. It collided with its nearby target, who unfortunately happened to be the recipient who shouted the orders.
Dib stared at the Irken who was now lying face down in the snow. Not impressed or interested in the slightest, he simply shut the door and went back to his task.
After regaining consciousness, Zim wearily pushed himself up from the fresh pile of snow. He barely rolled out of the way before another snow ball hurdled directly past him.
The little robot was still firing hysterically, hitting street lights, parked cars, mailboxes, and generally everything within the vicinity. Angry, Zim sprinted over and yanked the overheating cannon from his minion.
"Gir, enough!" he shouted, tossing it to the side. "This plan is a failure. We need to come up with something even more clever to get back at the Earth child. Something...evil."
"Ohh I like evil."
Instead of heading back to the base, Zim remained in the front yard, thinking desperately to come up with any new ideas. Frustrated, he resorted to shouting maniacal threats.
"Pathetic squirrel boy! Go ahead and squabble in your fortress of doom!"
He waited for a response, but when none came, he stubbornly continued to shout more insults.
"Pathetic human! Stay and hide! You would be a fool to come out and face defeat at the hands of ZIM anyway! Such cowardly creatures!"
As the intensity of his threats increased, so did the snowfall around him. He has to come out sometime, he thought maliciously. I'll just wait. I can endure this.
An hour or so of wrapping later, Dib finally finished all of the gifts. He had just placed them under the tree when his sister and father walked in.
"Why hello son! Good to see you made it home with the presents okay."
The professor took off his scarf and placed it on the coat hanger next to the door. Gaz, completely ignoring her bother, walked past them without so much as a word.
Membrane waited until she was out of earshot before leaning down. "I hope you remembered to get something for your sister this year," he whispered, holding a gloved hand to his mouth. "I would hate to have to clean up another catastrophic mess."
Dib nodded. "Don't worry Dad, I got it covered. And I picked up everything from the store like you asked."
The professor beamed in delight. "Excellent work son!" He straightened back up. "Say, that reminds me. Your little foreign friend is waiting for you. Why don't you invite him inside?"
"Zim? You mean he's still out there?"
Dib hurried over to the frosted window and used his coat sleeve to see out of the chilled glass. The heavy snowfall made it difficult, but he could just barely make out a faint, outlined figure in the distance.
Hurrying over to the front door, he cracked it open and felt the icy chill penetrate the entryway. He stepped out into the cold and hugging his coat lining, made his way over to the alien.
he trekked through the freshly fallen slow, and when he arrived, the sight was pathetic.
Zim was covered from head to toe in fresh snowflakes and a thin layer of ice had formed around his uniform and gloves. His feet were buried in at least a foot or two of deep powder and he was trembling profoundly from the severe cold.
"I n-new you would b-b-be back, g-gullible s-s-stink creature," he muttered miserably. "Jus-t-t-t wait till I g-g-get m-my hand-d-s on y-you-u."
Dib stared back at him in disbelief. Even on the verge of freezing to death and the Irken was still trying to insult him.
"You just don't know when to quit do you?" he asked sympathetically.
Zim attempted to batter up another insult, but his shivering body and frozen limbs made it too difficult for him speak.
Dib sighed in defeat. "Come on space boy. Follow me."
He wasn't really sure where this sudden compassion was coming from, but as he pulled Zim from his icy prison, he guided him back to the warmth and comfort of the house.
Zim grunted as he followed the human reluctantly. Dib was breaking the snow to make it easier for him to keep up, and he viewed the gesture as nothing more than an insult. To his kind, the idea of accepting help from a lesser being was sickening, and he wished he could just dispose of the boy before his pride was shattered entirely.
Once inside, the warmth of the heated air immediately begin to thaw the Irken's body. Dib closed the door behind him and urged him through the main entryway and onto the living room. They stopped by the kitchen where the professor was tinkering with some sort of device.
"Dad, is it okay if Zim stays here until the storm dies down?" Dib asked half-heartedly.
His father stopped working and looked down at the two of them. "Why of course son. In fact, you two may be able to help me test out my new anti-santa device. Oh how I despise that jolly red con artist."
"Uh...maybe later Dad." Dib cringed, remembering his father's bizarre holiday obsession. Geez, and he thinks I'm the one who's crazy.
He motioned for Zim to follow him where the fire place was going. When they arrived, Dib hopped up onto the couch to watch TV while Zim knelt down by the fire.
He brought up his claws to warm his hands and felt the blazing heat slowly return feeling to his stiff appendages. Taking a moment to absorb his surroundings, he looked around the human dwelling.
Everything was fully prepped and decorated for the holidays. Streams of colorful lights draped around the nearby Christmas tree and traditional red stockings dangled over the roaring fireplace. Plates of various holiday cookies covered the coffee table and an overall lingering scent of cinnamon was drifting in somewhere from the kitchen.
He glanced over at Gir who had chosen to cuddle up next to him by the fireplace. His minion, who was still in his dog disguise, had chosen to take a nap while letting his units thaw. Closing his eyes, Zim breathed in deeply.
He wasn't sure why, but a strange calm washed over him since he walked in. For some odd reason, all of the willingness to fight seemed to simply melt away. The animosity he once harbored toward the humans had somehow been replaced with meager indifference, and the scorching hatred he had once felt for the boy dissipated into mild irritation.
Before he could dwell on it too deeply, a burning sensation suddenly sprung up on his arm. At first he thought his uniform had caught fire, but then he soon realized it was not flame that was searing his skin, but the ice that had melted and soaked into his clothes.
Fidgeting, he desperately tried to wipe away the liquid, but it was pointless. The more he agitated it, the more it seeped in.
Feeling the discomfort getting worse, he jumped up from the floor.
Dib watched the Irken in confusion. What's got him so worked up? he wondered.
While Zim fidgeted and flailed about, he noticed the look of panic in his eyes. With the scent of burning flesh reaching his nostrils, Dib finally realized what was happening.
He hopped down from the couch and quickly dashed down the hall, returning with a fresh, cleanly dry towel. He tossed it at the Irken's feet.
Battling the severe pain, Zim lunged for the soft fabric and began dabbing himself off frantically. When the burning sensation finally dissipated, he calmed and took a few heavy breaths.
I don't understand, he thought, looking up at the human suspiciously.. First the Dib-creature invites me into his home and then he hands me this...towel thing? Is he TRYING to insult me?
He took a few steps closer, standing in front of the TV to block the view. Dib frowned. Before he could say anything, Zim threw the towel back at him with full force.
"What IS this?" Zim demanded, his tone both angry and confused.
Dib threw the damp fabric off his face. "It's called a towel genius," he returned, tossing it aside. "You're covered in water from the melted ice. I know what that stuff does to you, so I gave you something to dry it off."
Zim stiffened. "Nice try Earth stink, but you will not outwit the likes of ZIM!" He stepped forward so that he was directly in front of the boy. "Now tell me! What horrible substance did you lace that device with?"
Dib stared at him dumbstruck. "Are you insane?" Not believing the accusation he was hearing, he threw is arms up in defense. "It's just a towel Zim. There's nothing wrong with it. See?"
"YOU LIE! You squirmy filthy dirt monkey full of LIES!" Zim frantically swatted the fabric away as if it were trying to infect him.
Frustrated, Dib threw the towel to the ground. "Really Zim, if I had wanted you dead, I would have just left you outside to freeze. That storm could have killed you within minutes."
"Ha! That was a mistake on your part, foolish Earth boy! Now tell me, what reasoning could you POSSIBLY have for bringing your arch enemy into your home?"
Dib rolled his eyes. "Well for starters, it would be really difficult explaining to my dad what happened to you when we go to work on the new construction project in a few weeks. Even if I tell him that you're out of town, he would still count on eventually showing up."
Zim's posture relaxed slightly, taking a moment to understand. "Hmm. I see." He glanced at the weather outside. "And I suppose you expect me to stay captive here until this storm blows over?"
"Well not captive, but yeah. Unless you want to freeze to death."
Zim thought over the scenario. He straightened his neck proudly. "Nonsense. No weather can defeat me!"
Dib watched as the Irken inched closer to the door. "Seriously Zim, I really wouldn't open that if I were you."
Zim grabbed the knob. "Stupid human. Your meager storms are nothing compared to-"
He stopped when he realized that halfway up, a wall of fresh, unstable snow was threatening to topple over and fall down onto him. He stared up at the intimidating barrier fearfully, his antennae falling flat under his wig.
He shut the door abruptly. "On second thought, maybe I'll just wait it out."
Dib's frustration grew and he hopped off the couch.
"Listen Zim, I know this holiday doesn't mean much to you, but this is the one time of year my dad is actually home. All I want is a normal Christmas for once. Not having to stop any of your crazy plans for taking over the world. No trying to kill one another. Just a normal quiet holiday with my family. Understand?"
Zim turned away from the boy displeased. "Why you humans set aside everything to act all jolly for one day I'll never know," he muttered, turning his face to hide his expression. "What's the purpose of faking compassion just return to the way things were the next day? It's preposterous!"
"Didn't they have celebrations on your home planet?" Dib questioned, trying to change the subject.
Zim tapped his chin. "Of course! Glorious celebrations of destruction, conquering, and snacking! The Foodening is one of our biggest events."
"The Foodening?" questioned Dib, raising an eyebrow. "Is snacking all your species ever thinks about?"
Insulted, Zim shot him a dirty look. "As if your pitiful Earth snacks could ever compare to anything of ours Dib stink!"
Dib sneered. "Yeah? Well that sounds like a challenge space boy. Why don't we go into the kitchen and see what you've got."
No more than a few hours later, Zim, Dib, Gaz, and Gir all found themselves scrunched together on the couch surrounded by empty bags of Flamin' Hot Cheezos, half eaten ginger bread cookies, fruit gummies, and any other kinds of junk food they could find. Each of them had a candy cane balanced between their teeth, and they were trying to outwit one other in the new multiplayer game.
Gaz had shown them up easily, of course, with her superior gaming skills, and eventually it came down to Dib and Zim having to work as a team. When the final blow stuck her character, Gaz disappointingly saw the dreaded words appear on screen.
Game Over.
"Victory for Zim!" Zim shouted, throwing his hands up into the air.
Dib snorted. "Yeah! That was awesome when you trapped her in the lava tube and I shot her with the laser cannon! She never stood a chance."
Gaz growled from the side.
"You two better CAN it before I teleport you to a nightmare world of no return," she added, hoping to shut them up.
Dib groaned. "Oh come on Gaz. You win every time. Can't you just let Zim and I have this one?"
Unamused, Gaz gave her brother a scary look. She leaned over, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Hey, who had to save your butt when Zim hijacked your brain and was beating the crap out of you with a nanobot?"
Remembering the incident, Zim immediately burst into laughter. Dib blushed sheepishly.
"Yeah well, I-" He glared at Zim annoyed. "Hey, at least I didn't think I was some invisible idiot stomping around town in a death machine that everyone could see me in."
Zim stopped. "Foolish human! That hunter-destroyer machine was state of the art and a gift from the Tallest. I would have annihilated you down to your last smothering remains if it hadn't been for that power outage."
"Pfft, yeah. The power outage YOU caused. Too bad that was the only time your leaders ever sent you anything."
He waited for Zim to retort with a snappy remark, but the alien went oddly silent.
He stared at him in confusion, waiting for some sort of response. All he had done was poke fun at Zim's failure of a plan to destroy him. He did that every day. What was so different about that?
After an awkward silence, Zim promptly cleared his throat. "Yes well. What other entertainment spectacles do you have prepared for tonight?"
Deciding to let the moment slide, Dib approached the game console. "Gaz and I have been working on this one for months," he said, popping a new disk into the slot. "We've never defeated the final boss, but it should be a lot easier with four players."
The four of them continued to play games well into the late hours of the night, and eventually, Zim found himself the last one awake. Gaz had headed off to bed hours ago and Dib had passed out drooling on the couch. The professor had long since retreated to his bedroom and Gir was in a food coma after eating one too many sugar frosted cookies.
The Irken stared at the tv screen in silence, letting his mind wonder. The lighting bounced off his face, creating a ghost like shadow behind him. It danced as he tried to concentrate on the game, but his thoughts were sporadic, like he couldn't concentrate on just one thing.
He simply didn't understand what was happening. There was something strange about the way he was feeling now that no matter how many times he wrapped his head around it, it still didn't make any sense. For as long as he could remember, he had only found joy in destruction, annihilation, and world domination. It was all he knew. It was all he was programmed to know. And he was damn well good at it.
But now something about the events from tonight had played a different role. Instead of despising the humans and constantly trying to prove his superiority, he found he hadn't minded sharing equal grounds with them. Instead of belittling Dib and his family's traditions, he found himself intrigued and willing to learn more. As despised as he was to admit it, it had actually been kind of...fun.
Pausing the game console, he set down the controller down and got up to peak outside. It was still pitch black, and the storm was in full force.
Shying away from the window, he made his way to the kitchen. He looked around out of boredom, searching for anything that might be left. The place looked as if it had been ransacked, and he and Dib had cleared it out of as many snacks as they could, leaving the cabinets barren with crumbs.
He had to admit, they hadn't ALL been bad. Although, he could go the rest of his life without another flaming hot Cheese Crunchy.
He glanced up at the illuminated time on the microwave.
2:03 AM.
He sighed. It would be at least another five more hours before the Earth's sun rotated into view and with little else to do, he went back into the living room. Sensing it was safe enough now that everyone was asleep, he disconnected his PAK and switched on the news channel. He kept himself preoccupied examining his components as the the hours ticked by.
Meanwhile:
Proximity warning: Planet Ahead
The warning signal beeped mildly on Tak's control panel, and her expression grew stern as the location of the Irken she so woefully despised finally came into view.
After all this time, I've returned.
Her claws tightened as thoughts of Zim plagued her mind. She pictured his zealous overconfidence; self-centered, arrogant, twisted, egotistical maniac behavior. It irked her to her very core, and she couldn't stomach the fact that someone like him had managed to outdo her.
Twice.
Dismissing the thoughts, she programmed in the landing coordinates. Leaving her controls to autopilot, she ventured to the area hidden behind the cockpit.
She carefully stuffed her plasma gun into her PAK along with a few other useful supplies. As instructed by the Tallest, she knew she would only have a few seconds to get away before the ship self destructed. The last thing she wanted was to run the risk of leaving behind anything useful.
Suddenly, another alarm rang out and Tak dashed over to the pilot seat to investigate. She felt her stomach drop.
The ship was on a direct collision course with one of Earth's satellites, and it was closing in fast.
Acting quickly, she seized hold of the controls to veered the ship sharply to the right. It only narrowly missed the bulk of the structure by inches, except for a single protruding wing which scraped along the side on impact.
She winced as the unbearable screeching sound of metal upon metal echoed throughout the ship. When it was over, she glanced out the window.
The satellite had been shattered into pieces, but other than the floating debris behind her, the ship was intact.
Cursing the humans for their inferior technology, she breathed a sigh of relief and then set the controls back to autopilot before returning to her preparations.
Upon entering the atmosphere, the ship set itself down somewhere on the outskirts of town. It was in the middle of the countryside, well hidden from any of the heavily trafficked areas.
The main hatch hissed open and Tak poked her head out. Upon activating her disguise, both she and Mimi stepped into the chilling midnight air. The icy wind penetrated her skin as it whistled by, causing snowflakes to pile atop her head and shoulders. She brought her claws up to cover her arms, but realized she realized she had already made a crucial mistake.
It was the beginning of winter, and somewhere in her master plan she had failed to account for the planet's seasonal cycles.
"Change of plans Mimi," she said sharply before facing the SIR unit. "It seems we will need transportation if we are to get into town."
She turned around to head back into the ship, but the countdown had already reached zero. Holding her arm out, she shielded herself from the small blast of flame that flew past her as the ship exploded.
She blinked a few times before gathering herself. Already annoyed at the minor setback, she turned and headed back toward the main road.
She stopped at the edge of the pavement and peered through the darkness at both directions. Coming from the east, she spotted what seemed to be a large pair of headlights heading their way.
She forced her hand in the air, hoping to flag down the driver. The vibration from the ground grew stronger, indicating the vehicle to be quite large. Seconds later, a large semi-truck crept into view.
The truck slowly screeched to a halt in front of her. The driver rolled down his window.
"Hey kid, what are ya doin out here this time a night?" His accent was laced with a slight country twang and he was dressed in a traditional plaid red shirt and baseball cap. "Don't ya know there's a blizzard a'comin?"
Tak did her best to appear as helpless as possible. "Sir, could you please give us a ride? I was out building igloos with my pet cat and we got a bit lost. Do you think you could take us back into town?"
Smiling politely, the truck driver nodded. "Why sure thing kiddo! Just hop in the side pocket there."
Tak climbed into the passenger's seat with Mimi jumping in after her. Once they were seated and buckled up, the driver pressed on the gas pedal and the truck's engine slowly roared back to life.
Eventually they reached the suburbs near Zim's house. Tak gave the request to be dropped off and the driver pulled up next to a curb.
"Now you two get inside where it's warm, ya hear?" he shouted, as they hopped out.
Tak thanked him and gave him a salute. The driver tilted the end of his baseball cap and simply nodded before carrying on his way.
Once the truck was out of sight, Tak proceeded to head in the direction of Zim's base. When she finally reached her destination, she stopped at the foot of the front yard.
She was well aware of the base's defenses, or lack thereof, and knew once she stepped across, the security alarm would trigger her presence. Taking a good look around to make sure no one was watching, she reached inside her PAK and pulled out a small electronic device. Digging it into the lawn soil, she twisted it, sending out an electric shock.
The wave of electricity instantly disabled the lawn gnomes, and their red eyes faded to a docile grey.
Now that Zim's perimeter defenses are offline, I'll see if anyone is inside.
She tried to peek through the window, but the glass was too dark and thick with frost.
She rubbed a circle away with her hand. "Ugh. I can't see anything with this," she muttered.
Bringing out another device, she slipped on a of goggles and a pulse went out to change her field of vision. The transparent image of the living room popped on screen, and she tapped the sensor a few times to change the depth of view through various walls.
The house completely empty. Not even Zim's malfunctioning SIR unit was anywhere to be found.
Strange. They must be down in the base.
She put away the goggles and approached the porch leading to the front door. Activating a hacking device on her arm, she held it gently against the doorknob. A faint clack was heard, and the bolt slid open.
She cracked open the door and entered the premises. She was immediately greeted by Zim's robot parents, whoms he ignored. She continued on her way while keeping an eye out for any unexpected traps.
She was able to reach the elevator with ease, noting that Zim must have made his computer's defenses unrecognizable to Irkens and stepped onto the platform. She was lowered down a tube and into the main core of the base. When she reached the appropriate floor, she stepped off the platform and took out her plasma gun.
She checked the main hallway, but found nothing. She continued on to the lab, the equipment room, the repair bay, the communications bay, and the observation room.
All were deserted.
Over the course of the next few hours, she searched every last inch of the base, but found nothing. Frustrated, she paused a moment to think.
Where could he have gone? she wondered, trying to piece it all together. The base looked like it had all just been recently repaired and it was far too late for the school to be open. And with the storm brewing outside, there is no reason for him to be anywhere else.
"Very well Zim," she vocalized, putting her gun away. I guess I will have to wait until you return. "Come MiMi. We have preparations to make."
Author's Note: From the reviews, it seems everyone is really enjoying this story and that's great news! I have a lot planned for it, so I hope it continues to hold everyone's attention. Thanks to those of you who pointed out my spelling errors! I tend to make a lot of silly mistakes. Till next time!
