Oh, dear, it seems I forgot to send this chapter in. Sorry, everybody, for being late! Well, I'll have a chapter up next week, despite going on vacation, but due to hectic schedule I can't promise that one will be up quite on time either. Anyway, enjoy this one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim, Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon do. I only own Kloof and the contents of this story.

The Betrayal

Rewrite Chapter 3

So Here's the Plan

Dib couldn't help scurrying about, taking a good look at every nook and cranny of the ship that was currently hurtling through space with him inside. The cockpit was small, but roomier than either Zim's Voot or Tak's ship, which Zim had called a Spittle Runner at one point. There were a few seats as well as a stocked fridge and a microwave, which was heating up a package of Delishus Weenies. From the outside, the ship looked as if the Irkens had decided to make their flying version of an R.V., and added weapons to the front of the red, lima-bean-shaped chassis as an afterthought. It featured stubby little wings on the sides and top, big jets on the back, a pair of cylindrical devices on the front that were probably missile pods, and a large, silver device with a vertical slot in the front. It looked for all the world like a huge, single-slot toaster had been welded to the front.

"Kloof," Dib asked, "what kind of ship is this?"

"It's called a Squidge Gunship. Made by an independent company, but based on Irken designs. It's good for long journeys, not that this'll be one; I expect we'll arrive in an hour."

"Gunship? I didn't see too many guns."

"Well, it's got a pair of missile launchers, and a BLT."

"A… BLT?" Dib failed to see how a sandwich functioned as a ship-mounted weapon.

Kloof looked at Dib like he was from another planet (which he was). "A Big Laser Thingy." A buzzing noise interrupted the conversation. "Hey, the Weenies are ready. You guys want some SODA with that?"

"Uh, sure," Dib said in surprise as he took the weenie and the soda.

"Yeah, whatever." Gaz had taken a break from her Gameslave to inspect the controls on the ship. She took a bite of the weenie and continued her dark scrutiny.

Kloof bit off half of his weenie at once. "Delishus! Tak's one crazy bitch, but she KNOWS where the best snacks are!"

They ate in silence for a moment; Dib was the first to break it. "So, Kloof, why'd you hit me at lunch today?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry about that. It's been a while now, but I'm still not entirely used to the new body. I was trying to pretend to hit you, to make a convincing cover. I didn't pull my punch properly. Again… SORRY."

"No problem. Anyway, you said you had a plan for this mission."

"Oh, yeah." Kloof turned to the siblings. "Okay, guys. Here's what we're going to do. Once we dock – and that won't be a problem, I'm still underCOVER – I will personally slay the Tallest and their guards. And anybody else who gets in my way. While I'm doing that, you, Dib, will grab a deprogrammed SIR unit for me; the Resisty needs one for… a project. You can't miss them. Also, rip out any exposed wiring you find; it'll be good for our getaway if the Massive is disabled. If you see any guards, tell them you're a slave race delivering… SNACKS. To the SIR Vault." Kloof turned to face Gaz. "Gaz, you will stay on the ship. If things get hairy, we'll need fire support, and we might even need a QUICK escape, in which case you'll blast a wall open in a hallway of the ship. Also, Tak or Zim might come after us, and then you'll need to kill them." A grin spread slowly across his face, his silver teeth glinting in the starlight. "Is that clear, you guys?" he asked finally.

"Oh yeah!" Dib said, reviewing the plan in his head.

"Yeah… okay." Gaz agreed with her usual enthusiasm (or lack thereof).

"Great. I know you can do this." Kloof turned back to the ship's controls, checking the estimated time of arrival – half an hour.

---

Red and Purple sat on a comfy couch (not the universe's most comfortable, which they had conquered on Vort, but even the replicas they had imported were up there on the comfort scale), and sipped drinks, preparing to give the couch an official royal review. "I like this couch," Purple finally said, snuggling into it. "I think I'll give it an A-."

"You're always too generous when you grade furniture," Red muttered. "It's a B+."

"Nuh-uh! A-!"

"B+!"

"My Tallests?"

"What?" Red growled.

"'Invader' Tak is trying to contact you. So is Zim."

"Block Zim," Purple said immediately. "Let Tak through. Tak was going to give us a planet full of snacks!"

"Yeah, but Zim beat her," Red argued. "How competent could she really be? Block her, too."

---

Zim sighed, cutting off the commlink. No luck contacting the Tallest; they always blocked his transmissions recently for some reason. He turned on a different communications channel. "Any luck?"

"The Tallest blocked me, too, and nobody picked up at the number Kloof gave me for Black Ops headquarters, but I managed to hack their videophone system…" she trailed off.

"And?" Zim asked hopefully.

"They're DEAD, Zim!" she snapped. "There's nobody else left at Black Ops! They're ALL dead!" She paused for a moment, letting Zim absorb the information.

It didn't take. "SO, what happened? Snack poisoning?"

"Kloof KILLED them all, ZIM! The bodies I could see on the camera all had sword wounds!" She paused to calm herself down; Mimi, who had swiftly been repaired, offered Tak a can of soda, but she pushed it away. "There were a lot of slit throats and crushed PAKs – he probably used SNEAK attacks to overcome the superior numbers. By not killing us, he showed kindness. A WEAKNESS, Zim!" Tak was working herself back into a frenzy. "If we are to destroy this TRAITOR, we need to exploit his WEAKNESSES while we have the chance!" There were a few moments of silence afterwards, until Zim noticed Tak's ship was beginning to overtake his, despite the fact that his Voot had a five-minute head start while Tak had been fixing the Spittle Runner.

"Tak, I will admit that I am rather…amazed at how you managed to fix that old ship of yours AND reload your personality into it in precisely three and a half minutes." Zim said to Tak.

"Yes well, spaceships and snacks are my specialty." Tak sounded quite proud of herself, but she had neglected to mention how much Dib and Gaz had fixed already. "I would ask what yours are, but I am already aware that complete idiocy is your specialty!"

Zim seemed oblivious to the jab. "Gir, I want you to…what are you doing?" Zim asked Gir.

Gir was covering up bittersweet chocolate chips under a tissue. "I'm tucking them in for beddy-by!" Then he closed his eyes and stuck his tongue out with a smile. Zim couldn't think of a response to that.

"Listen, Zim." Tak said, interrupting his already shaken train of thought. "Here's the plan. I will shoot down Kloof's ship, which will be his only escape route, and then I'll hunt down those horrible Earth children and DESTROY them (because you've obviously proven that's too much for you to handle). YOU will go and try to warn the Tallest in person. Don't listen to ANYbody who tries to block your way – so basically, do what comes naturally. Gir and Mimi are to slow down Kloof; we can't risk our own lives against his blades. Is that all FINE?!"

"Yeah, sure…" Zim said, !!not really paying attention.!!

"You won't follow the plan, will you?" Tak asked in exasperation.

"No…" Zim thought for a moment. "No I won't."

------------------------------------

"Identify yourself!" An Irken in a high purple collar asked, appearing onscreen on Kloof's display screen.

"Irken Black Ops Kloof," he responded, flashing an identification. "Now let me dock, this is IMPORTANT."

"How important?" the technician asked skeptically. He obviously hadn't even HEARD of Black Ops, but they were just that secret.

"The fate of the ENTIRE IRKEN RACE depends on me meeting with the Tallest!" Kloof proclaimed (which was entirely true). "Also, I outrank you, so shut up."

"Y-Yessir." There were no more questions asked, and Kloof docked the ship. He and Dib entered the Massive with little fanfare, under the disguise that Dib was Kloof's prisoner being taken for questioning.

Dib decided he'd take the opportunity to look around at his alien surroundings (the enemy flagship! Sweet!). The hallways, like most Irken architecture, seemed to be generally composed of red and purple alloys. Here, in the outermost hallways, he noticed one-way windows showing off the starry blackness. "We're going to have to retrace our steps. Will you be able to?" Kloof asked, jarring Dib out of his reverie.

Dib thought about it. There didn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to the ship's design, but the hallways were at least clearly marked – in the Irken written language, which he had memorized by now. "Yeah, I think so… this place is like a maze, though!"

"I had heard as much. There are no directories on the walls – you have to EARN them for gaining the Tallests' favor, so new recruits and unlucky service drones are always getting lost on the ship."

"Why would the Tallest do something so inefficient? To slow down attackers?"

Kloof laughed. "No, it's just because they're !!dicks!!. No Irken would even DREAM of the possibility that the Massive would be stormed. Assassinations, on the other hand, they're a bit better prepared for. Nothing I can't handle, with these nifty swords."

"That's a relief – hey, isn't that Zim's ship?"

"What-huh?" Kloof turned to look out the window. "Crap." It was true - the familiar little Voot cruiser was docking down on the Massive. "Here's where we split up, Dib – remember, SIR unit, rip wires, remember the turns you take."

---

"This is so…" Gaz struggled to find a better word, before she finally gave up and settled for "…boring." She glanced around. Nothing. Where was that game system Kloof had promised her? If he had lied to her, she'd rip his limbs off. She was just checking the fridge for the game system when Tak's face flickered on-screen. "ATTENTION, BETRAYER!" she shrieked. "If you are on your ship, prepare to be shot down!"

"He's already onboard," Gaz explained, walking back to the controls.

"Oh, it's you," Tak said disdainfully. "Well, I'm going to destroy that traitor's escape route now, so… bye-bye." Gaz noticed a large beam flying right towards the ship from her left, and swiftly grabbed the joystick, rolling the Squidge out of the line of fire.

"Kloof says you're a better pilot than Zim or my brother," Gaz stated matter-of-factly as she settled into the pilot's seat. "We'll see about that."

End of Chapter

Woo! The bulk of the action is next chapter!