(a/n: well here's another chapter. enjoy and review!)
Act 9: From Dusk till Dawn
Marceline floated in the darkness above Marcus, silently observing him.
She watched him sit there on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, watching the large TV. The vampire couldn't believe it. He is exactly how she remembered him.
The only notable difference is the flecks of grey in his hair and his grey skin color.
Marcus shifted a little on the couch, watching the TV with disinterest.
"Marcus?" said a voice. Marceline quickly turned into a bat and hid inside the tangle of conduits and coils on the ceiling. Marceline peeked out from her hiding place and saw a tall blond woman standing in the doorway to the kitchen. The woman was unfamiliar to the vampire. The woman wore a grey t-shirt and a pair black shorts.
Marceline saw one of the woman's eyes poke out from behind the curtain of golden hair that covered her face.
Marcus's eyebrows rose "Malice, what are you doing up?" "Couldn't sleep, you?" said the woman named Malice.
Marcus frowned "Same" Malice walked over and sat down beside Marcus
"So, what are we watching?" asked Malice.
Marcus shrugged "Don't know, something GIR had on earlier"
Malice nodded "Hmm, neat".
Marceline frowned in confusion and thought back to her first visit to Zim's home. She couldn't remember meeting Malice, Zim never even mentioned someone named Malice. For the next hour, Marceline observed Marcus and Malice. As time went by, Marceline was focused more on Malice than on Marcus. Something about the blond woman gave the vampire an ill feeling.
Judging from Malice's looks, Marceline guessed that the blond woman was in her early twenties. She had an almost flawless, pale complexion. Marceline noticed a few scars near the base of Malice's neck. From the looks of the scars, the vampire had to guess that Malice had seen some serious combat.
Marceline's eyes drifted over to Marcus. He looked relatively the same but there were something in his eyes and his face that made him look a little older.
Malice rested her head on Marcus's shoulder and sighed.
Marcus frowned "What's on your mind?"
"Its nothing" said Malice.
Marcus rolled his eyes "Come on, what is it? You can tell me" Malice sighed again "Just don't laugh"
Marcus nodded "I promise" Malice's mouth twitched and she whispered, "I think Mini-moose is trying to kill me".
Marceline watched as Marcus's serious expression changed to one of surprise. Marcus snorted a little, he bit his lip trying to hold back his laughter but he failed. He burst out laughing. Marceline smiled a little. A fragment of an old memory popped into her mind. In the memory, Marcus and a younger Marceline were sitting on the roof of their home, laughing about a joke Marcus had told her.
Marceline blinked and she saw Malice hitting Marcus on the arm. Marcus just laughed a little harder "Ha-he-ow" he rubbed his arm
"I told you not to laugh" said Malice. Marcus coughed "sorry, its just…Mini-moose? Why do you think he's trying to kill you?"
"Well I woke up a few times and heard heavy breathing in the walls of my room" said Malice.
Marcus frowned "That isn't Mini-moose, that'll probably be one of Zim's mutant gopher experiments" "Mutant gopher?" said Malice.
Marcus nodded "Yeah. I can't believe that it's still running around after a thousand years".
Marceline blinked in surprise. Zim had experiments? A thousand years? What was Marcus talking about?
Malice frowned "How is it in the walls of my room?"
"Probably escaped from cryogenic containment when we awoke and hid in the walls of your room, for some reason" said Marcus.
Malice shuddered "That's scary"
Marcus raised an eyebrow "You're a highly skilled assassin and you're afraid of a mutant gopher?"
Malice nodded "Ever since I was little, on my home planet they usually grew to the size of a house and gobble up hundreds of people in a single night"
"You have gophers in space?" asked Marcus, sounding intrigued.
Malice nodded "Almost every planet in the galaxy has a variant species".
Marceline's eyes widened in realization, Malice was an alien. Suddenly, it all clicked. Cryogenic storage, the odd house, green skin and mutant gophers, it could mean only one thing. Zim was an alien. Marceline frowned something still didn't fit in her mind. She was so sure that she didn't have a brother before that day in the Ice Kingdom but suddenly she remembers him.
Marceline racked her mind trying to find an explanation but all that came up were brief flashes of red and orange, distant screams, a blur of grey and a cruel smile.
There was a rumbling sound that came from a nearby wall. Marceline, Malice and Marcus glanced around, trying to find the source of the sound. The rumbling traveled up the wall, across the ceiling then crawled down the wall and into the floor.
Malice grabbed Marcus's arm "What was that?" "That would be Gary, the killer mutant gopher" said Marcus, his eyes were darting around at the ceiling, the walls and the floor.
After a few minutes of silence, Marcus and Malice relaxed and continued watching the movie. Soon Malice fell asleep and Marcus's eyes began to blink then finally close.
Marceline waited for a moment then she emerged from her hiding place and turned back to her normal form. The vampire quietly floated over to the couch and studied Marcus. He was sleeping peacefully with Malice resting her head on his shoulder. Marceline reached out and carefully lifted one of his arms and carefully rolled up the sleeve of his red flannel shirt. If Marceline remembered correctly, her brother had a birthmark. She just had to be sure that Marcus was really her brother, to be truly sure she had to see if he had the birthmark.
Marceline stopped and her eyes widened. On his arm was an oddly shaped birthmark that looked like a diamond. Marcus was really her brother. Marcus shifted a little, mumbling something Marceline didn't catch. Marcus didn't wake. Marceline sighed in relief a little. She decided it was time to leave.
Quickly, she glided to one of the windows, opened it, crawled out and departed.
As Marceline left, she didn't see that Marcus's eyes were wide open.
He had known that the intruder was there the whole time, but he didn't know whom. So he decided to pretend to be asleep to discover the identity of the intruder. To his surprise it was Marceline. Marcus's eyes narrowed.
He made a mental note to keep an eye on her, and if necessary, eliminate her.
Marcus glanced down at his arm and saw the birthmark. Some images flashed across his mind but he just shook his head, trying to get them out of his head "Just dreams" he muttered dismissively "Only dreams". He laid his head back and his eyes closed as he drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, Finn laid in his bed, tossing and turning. In his dreams, he found himself standing in what looked like a nursery.
The walls were blue and the floor was covered in toys. In the center of the room was a crib. Finn heard footsteps. He turned and saw a tall violet haired woman walk past him.
She was dressed in a purple bathrobe, purple bath slippers and her hair was unkempt and wild.
She approached the crib yawning.
Finn approached the crib, as well and as he approached he heard the woman saying softly "How's my little boy doing?" there was some cooing and giggling.
Finn saw the woman smile a little "You remind me a little of your grandfather" she frowned a bit "At least you're not like your uncle" there were more giggling coming from the crib.
The woman smiled "That's right, you're not like your crazy alien hunting uncle, no you're not" she cooed a little and reached into the crib. Finn heard some laughter and for some reason, he smiled. Something about this scene was familiar, he just couldn't remember what.
The woman stopped and she glanced over her shoulder "Ah, you're back"
"Yes I am mother" said a voice.
Finn saw stepping into the nursery was a young blond woman, dressed in a black military uniform. The young woman approached the crib and looked down at its occupant.
She smiled "Hey little guy, did you miss me?" The violet haired woman glanced at her daughter "How did the mission go?"
the blond woman frowned and said quietly "Can we discuss this tomorrow?" "No" growled her mother.
The blond woman nodded "Fine" she leant in and kissed the occupant of the crib "Good to see you again, little brother"
"Come along Susan" said the violet haired woman. With that the two women left the nursery. Finn looked inside the crib and he paled at what he saw. Inside the crib, was him when he was a baby.
Finn bolted up right, covered in sweat. Finn glanced around and he saw that he was still in his bed; he was still in his home. Finn mulled over what he saw in his dream. Who were those women? Where they really his family? Are they still alive?
Finn shrugged and decided to go back to sleep. As he slipped back into sleep, he could've sworn that the Susan in his dream looked like Susan Strong.
The next morning Marcus awoke and found Malice was gone. Marcus rose from the couch, yawning and stretching his stiff limbs.
He saw Mini-moose enter the room and squeak "Already?" asked Marcus, he glanced at his watch "Wow, Zim starting this early, that's a first" Mini-moose squeaked and floated out of the room with Marcus following closely behind.
Zim stood in his lab tapping his foot impatiently. He had awoken early to get a head start on his schemes. Malice sat in a chair sharpening a knife, glancing around at the vents on the ceiling, Gir was shoving fist full's of animal crackers down his throat.
Finally after waiting for almost a minute, Marcus and Mini-moose entered the lab "Where were you?" demanded Zim.
Marcus replied sardonically "Bravely defending our home from a vicious blood thirsty horde of Vikings sir, using only my wits and a spoon"
"Well next time don't be late when I call you" said Zim, not recognizing the sarcasm in Marcus's reply.
Marcus plopped down in a chair and Mini-moose just floated above him "So, what's up?"
"I have successfully come up with a new plan!" announced Zim.
Malice and Marcus rolled their eyes, Gir just continued eating crackers and Mini-moose squeaked.
Zim blinked "What?"
"Zim, is there something you're not telling us?" asked Marcus
"What? No, I have nothing to tell" said Zim, trying to sound innocent.
"Zim" said Malice, lowering her knife "Ever since you got back from the Nightmare realm, you haven't been yourself lately" "I haven't?" asked Zim.
Malice and Marcus nodded, Mini-moose squeaked and Gir nodded. Zim frowned. He might as well tell them, they were bound to find out sooner or later. So Zim took a deep breath and told them of his trip to the Nightmare realm. He also told them of his encounter with Gaz, the deal he made with her and he concluded with the part where he and Finn were rescued.
After he finished, he studied their expressions. Mini-moose and Gir's were blank, Marcus's was pensive and Malice's were surprised.
Marcus was the first to speak "So, Gaz is alive, huh kinda figured that she would probably outlive all of us"
"Are you sure this is the right choice?" asked Malice "I hardly know this Gaz person but from the sound of this deal, I don't think we should do this"
Mini-moose squeaked in agreement.
Zim nodded "I know but if we don't do this, she will do…this" Zim pulled out a small recording device from his pak and hit the play button.
A woman's voice came pouring out of the speaker "If you don't cooperate with me, I will crush your base beneath my heel like a pathetic bug and what I will do to you will make an eternity the deepest pits of Hell seem like a picnic" the audio suddenly became gurgled. Ink black liquid oozed from the speaker on the small device and suddenly the recording device burst into violet flames.
Marcus's eyebrows shot up "well that escalated quickly"
Malice shivered "Forget what I said, lets just do this job".
Zim clapped his hands together "good, now on to business". Zim pulled up some aerial photos on a projector.
The photos were of a large town made of gingerbread sounding a massive castle that had what looked like a massive tree growing out of the roof "From Gaz's report, she has told us that this is the Candy Kingdom, the home of Princess Bubblegum and other inhabitants of this new world" he hit a button on the clicker in his hand "From what Gaz has told me, Princess Bubblegum will be holding a formal party celebrating the anniversary for their kingdom and everyone in the kingdom will be there, which probably means Finn and Jake will be there as well"
Marcus held up a hand "Hold up, how dose Gaz know all of this?"
Zim shivered muttered over and over "She knows everything, she knows everything".
Zim quickly snapped out of it "Anyway, she has told us to hold the people inside the castle for as long as possible and we are to move Finn to the extraction point".
Zim hit the clicker again, this time showing a balcony in an isolated part of the castle, with a huge circle on the picture.
Marcus frowned "Why dose Gaz want Finn?" "Because Finn is her son" answered Zim.
Marcus's eyes widened "Ok, I didn't see that coming. So…who's the father?"
Zim shrugged.
Malice nodded, understanding the plan "Ok, anything else?" "Yes" said Zim. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, perfectly round gem. It roughly fit inside Zim's hand. It was perfectly smooth and blue "We steal the gem inside of the Princess's crown and switch it with this dummy" said Zim.
Marcus frowned "Why?"
Zim only shrugged again.
Everyone in the room mulled over the plan then agreed to go along with it, Zim smiled "good, now lets work on the distraction" everyone leaned forward and listened with interest.
Meanwhile on Foodcourtia, Tak and Sizz-Lorr quickly made their way down a narrow lane between two large restaurants till they reached their destination. A small dock where a small ship shaped like a dart hovered, waiting for them.
Tak had struck a deal with Sizz-Lorr. If he allowed her to go free and kill Zim, she promised to bring back his corpse.
Sizz-Lorr had removed the manacle from her wrist and personally escorted her to a small, unregistered ship in a shady part of Foodcourtia.
Tak turned to the frylord saying, "Thank you for helping me"
"Whatever" grunted Sizz-Lorr "Just don't forget our deal"
"I won't" promised Tak.
Tak climbed into the ship's cockpit and the ship's engines hummed to life. The small ship rose slowly and it quickly ascended into the dark, starry sky above. The ship quickly accelerated and it shot into orbit. Once the ship had cleared Foodcourtia's orbit, Tak set in coordinates to Earth.
Her hands tightened on the controls as she muttered, "I'm coming to get you Zim, just you wait, I'm going to wish that you've stayed buried".
After almost a few hours of planning and prepping Zim ordered Marcus and Malice to change into formal clothing for the party.
Marcus entered the kitchen wearing a black waistcoat over a white shirt, a black necktie, black pants and shoes.
Mini-moose squeaked, Marcus smiled "Thanks".
Malice walked in wearing an expensive blue dress, high heels and a necklace.
Mini-moose squeaked again, Malice blushed a little "Thanks"
"Nice" complemented Marcus.
Malice nodded "Not to bad yourself"
"What, this old thing?" said Marcus, looking down at his clothes "Its…its nothing".
Zim stepped into the kitchen, wearing a black suit that was covered in wires "remember, keep the fools minds clouded as I switch the gems out and lead Finn out to the balcony"
"I still think this is a dumb idea" mumbled Malice
"Don't be ridicules, it's perfect, completely foolproof" assured Zim.
The group marched out of the base, with Marcus and Malice leading the way, with Mini-moose and Gir following behind. Zim was trailing behind the group closely.
Once the group made it to the outer wall surrounding the Candy Kingdom, Zim pressed a button on his suit.
The suit shimmered a little and Zim's form faded, rendering him completely invisible.
Marcus and Malice studied the impressive wall of gingerbread. It was at least twice the size of Zim's house and thick enough to repel an invasion. Marcus noticed giant humanoid gumball statues posted at opposite ends of the city, facing east and west.
The group crossed the drawbridge and entered the Candy Kingdom.
On the other side of the wall, Marcus, Malice, Mini-moose and Gir found themselves in a town that looked like it came from a storybook.
The houses were made of gingerbread, lampposts made of candy canes, there were trees made of cotton candy.
Marcus spotted a human sized cupcake walk past them "Somebody please pinch me, I must be dreaming" murmured Marcus.
Malice eyed a large cinnamon bun that was marching past them like a hungry wolf.
"Lets go" grunted Zim, snapping everyone out of their thoughts "before Gir tries to eat somebody" everybody nodded and they hurried down the main road towards the castle.
Once the reached the front steps of the castle Zim ordered their operation to begin. Zim broke off from the main group and blended in with the crowd and allowed him to be carried into the castle. Once they were sure that Zim was gone, Marcus, Malice, Mini-moose and Gir ascended the front steps and entered the foyer with the crowd of candy people.
Inside, they found themselves in a spacious room that was packed with candy people.
On one side of the room was a long table of snacks, from the ceiling dangled what looked like a piñata. Everyone of the guest's have been dressed in formal attire.
"Marcus!" called a voice. Marcus glanced towards the source of the voice and saw that it was Princess Bubblegum. She was waving them over to her on the other side of the room.
Marcus, Malice, Mini-moose and Gir made their way through the crowd till they reached the princess.
"Princess" greeted Marcus
"Marcus, I'm glad that you came" said Princess Bubblegum.
The princess glanced to Malice and Mini-moose "Who are they?"
"Oh this is Mini-moose, a friend" said Marcus, nodding to the tiny, floating moose.
Mini-moose squeaked and bobbed a little. Princess Bubblegum smiled "A pleasure to meet you too".
Marcus placed a hand on Malice's shoulder "And this is Malice Lovelace, a very dear friend of mine" "Nice to meet you" said Malice, shaking Princess Bubblegum's hand.
Princess Bubblegum frowned "What happened to your eye?" noticing that the woman had a patch over her eye.
Malice's hand went to her eye patch "Oh this old thing? Well it's a long and funny story" and Malice began to explain in great detail of how she lost her eye.
On the other side of the room, Zim slipped past a sharply dressed peppermint that was carrying a tray.
Zim found a nice, isolated closet and he quickly hid himself inside it.
Zim activated his communicator. After a moment of silence a voice answered "What?"
"I am in position" said Zim
"Good" said Gaz "but there has been a change in plans"
"What?" exclaimed Zim, his voice almost rose to a shout "You dare-" "I dare what Zim?" said Gaz sharply.
Zim swallowed his words "n-nothing" "Good" said Gaz, Zim rubbed his forehead "What's the change in plan?"
"I need you to hold off the extraction for a few minutes" said Gaz "Don't approach Finn and don't let him out your sights, keep him and his friends in place till I arrive"
"Understood" said Zim.
Before Gaz could cut off the communicator, Zim asked, "Where are you anyway?"
"On an errand" answered Gaz, curtly "Won't be long, now quit bugging me" with that the communicator went dead.
Gaz stood alone at the entrance of the cave, the edges of her cloak flapped lazily in the cool evening breeze. Gaz sauntered into the cave. Inside she saw mountains of gold and other treasures piled as high as the ceiling.
There were some television sets, chairs and other old items from before the war.
In the center of the cave was a small, evil looking snail and a large, ancient book laid out before him. T
he snail looked up and his small eyes widened when he saw Gaz. "You!" hissed the snail.
Gaz nodded "Yes me. Did you miss me you pathetic bag of bones?"
the snail growled, "How dare you refer to me in such a manner!"
"I address you anyway I want" said Gaz.
She raised a hand and the ancient book flew into her hand.
The snail snarled, "Give it back!"
"Or what?" sneered Gaz.
The snail growled and suddenly a large, horrifying skeletal creature emerged from the snail's tiny body, roaring like a lion.
Gaz didn't even blink, she just snapped her fingers and the skeletal creature and the snail became encased in a sphere of violet energy. The skeletal creature studied the sphere and tried to touch it, but the once The Lich's finger touched the wall, dark energy crackled and the Lich howled in pain.
The Lich shot Gaz a death glare "You shall pay!"
Gaz's eyebrow rose "Really? How is that going to work again? Are you talking about your little pet bear that was guarding the entrance, because I skinned him alive in nothing flat, Are you talking about your magic? Don't make me laugh, your magic is a pathetic joke compared to mine. So tell me how am I going to pay?"
The Lich's eyes narrowed in anger.
Gaz smirked "You can make all the threats you want but the simple fact of the matter is that I no longer have any use for you and thanks to you, I have this" she held up the old book in her hand for the Lich to see "Again thanks to you, I can now complete my ultimate goal"
The Lich roared "No! The book is mine! When I am free, I shall make you suffer for your insolence!"
"Whatever" snorted Gaz, she turned and began marching out of the cave.
Once outside, she aimed her finger at the cave's entrance and fired a bolt of energy. The bolt struck some large boulders and the boulders crumbled down and buried the entrance to the cave.
Gaz held the book up to the moonlight to get a better look at the cover "Sorry old friend, but it seems that the student has surpassed the teacher" said Gaz as she studied the cover of the book she had sought for years "and the Enchiridion is mine".
At the Candy Kingdom, Zim carefully navigated the crowds, slowly stepping past the various citizens of the candy kingdom, trying not to give away his location. He found Marcus leaning up against a wall, holding a glass of punch in his hands "Marcus" hissed Zim.
Marcus glanced at the invisible Zim "What?"
"Change of plan, start the diversion" said Zim.
Marcus raised an eyebrow "Already?"
"Yes" hissed Zim.
Marcus rolled his eyes "Whatever" he downed his drink and tossed his cup aside. He marched over to Gir, who was devouring everything on the snack table, including forks, knives and napkins.
Marcus tapped Gir on the head "Time to get to work" said Marcus.
Gir saluted "ookie dokey!" using his rockets, he shot high into the air and soared over the crowd, landing on the far end of the foyer.
In the blink of an eye, Gir set up some microphones, drums, a keyboard and some loud speakers. Marcus, Malice and Mini-moose approached the instruments. Mini-moose drifted over to the drums, Marcus pulled an electric guitar from out of Gir's head and he pulled out a bass guitar and handed it to Malice. Lastly Gir took position on the keyboard.
The crowd stopped and they turned their attention to Marcus and Malice.
Marcus waved a hand and spoke into the microphone "Hi, well I don't know about you folks but I got to say, no anniversary party is complete without a bit of music, am I right?" the crowd muttered in agreement.
Marcus smiled a little "Good, now" he counted off "1..2..3"
Mini-moose began drumming a steady beat; Malice began strumming on the bass, followed by Marcus on guitar. Malice and Marcus hummed together then Marcus sang,
"I used to feel so strange,
In my skin I was shaking,
I'd paint my room all black, and cover up all the walls."
The crowd began to move along with the beat and some began to hum along
"If you could rearrange what you saw in the mirror,
well tell me,
what would you change about the person you saw?" Marcus began to tap his foot
"And honestly,
honestly,
if you just promise me,
promise me…
To stay forever, never ever leave my side,
if the sun never rolls again,
the moon will light the way my friend.
So stay forever,
you're my only friend tonight,
All we need is a shock of love,
in the dark,
we are electric hearts" within minutes everyone was dancing along with the song.
Zim blinked in surprise "That worked? Er, I mean of course that worked!" Zim heard communicator crackle and a muffled voice speak.
Zim pulled his communicator from his pocket and answered, "What?"
"I'm on my way" said Gaz "Get Finn into position"
Zim glanced around, looking for Finn till he spotted him on the other side of the foyer "Got it" said Zim, he switched off his communicator and activated his suit and he turned invisible again.
Floating above Zim, watching and listening to the whole thing was Marceline.
Marceline's eyes narrowed, Zim was planning to do something to Finn. She clenched her fist.
She wasn't going to let him get away with it and she was going to get some answers out of the pint-sized alien.
Finn stood up against a wall, deep in thought about his dream. Jake nudged his arm "Come on Finn, come enjoy the party"
"I can't Jake" sighed Finn "I just don't feel like it"
Jake frowned then shrugged "Whatever man" The song ended and the crowd of partygoers cheered and clapped.
Marcus bowed his head a little "Thank you"
"Encore!" cried someone.
Within seconds everyone began chanting for an encore.
Marcus sighed, "Ok, if you insist" the crowd cheered.
The room became filled with music once more and Marcus started singing
"I got close
To your skin
While you were sleeping
I taste the
Salt on
Your hands
I reached out
To touch you
The morning light disarms you
Won't you let me
In?
Ohhhhhhh
How long till your surrender?
Ohhhhhhh
How long till your Surrender?" Jake left and joined the crowd, leaving Finn alone.
Finn sighed as the party continued around him. Finn was deep in thought when he felt something nudging his arm. Finn glanced around and saw nothing. There was another nudge and still nothing. Finn glanced around and saw a white blob waving him over.
Finn frowned and thought it suspicious but his curiosity won. The human approached the blob but the blob quickly ducked through a doorway into a dark hall.
Finn muttered "Weird" something in his gut told him not to follow but something else told him to follow.
Finn entered the hall and he followed after the blob up a long flight of stairs.
Finn continued following the blob up the stairs till they reached a balcony that gave Finn an impressive view of the Candy Kingdom. Finn looked around for the blob "Where are you?" murmured the human.
Finn heard ghostly moaning "here".
Finn turned and got a better view of the blob. At first Finn thought it was a ghost but now that he got a better look at it, it looked like a floating blob of bed sheets with two eyeholes cut out than a ghost.
Finn frowned "Who are you?"
"A ghost" said the so-called ghost
"Why did you lead me up here?" asked Finn.
The ghost thought for a moment then answered, "To talk, about your mother"
"What do you know about my mother?" asked Finn.
The ghost glanced around and said "Much"
"Tell me what you know" said Finn.
The ghost nodded towards Finn "Ask her yourself" Finn frowned and he turned.
Finn's jaw dropped. Standing there was the woman from his dream.
She looked exactly as she did in the dream but she looked rested and she was dressed in dark purple robes "Hello, son" said the woman, warmly.
Finn blinked a few times then stuttered "m-mom?"
the woman nodded, her lips parted into a smile "You remember?"
"Not much" admitted Finn.
The woman extended her hand to Finn "Come with me"
"Where?" asked Finn
"Home" answered his mother. Part of Finn wanted to stay but there was a larger part of him that wanted to know more about his mother and his family. Finn put his hand in his mother's and the world around him blurred and changed.
Finn closed his eyes and when he opened them, he saw that he was no longer in the Candy Kingdom.
Zim saw Finn vanish before his eyes. Once Finn was gone, he threw off the sheets and sighed "Phew, that was easy"
Gaz extended a lithe hand to Zim "My gem?" Zim blinked then he remembered "Oh yes" he reached into his pack and tossed Gaz the gem.
Gaz caught it and pocketed it "Our arrangement has been fulfilled" said Gaz.
Zim sighed in relief "Good, that's good, heh, heh," he laughed nervously but stopped when Gaz glared at him.
Zim coughed "sorry"
"Whatever" grunted Gaz.
She reached into her pocket and tossed Zim a small metal cube that had the Irken Empire's brand on it "Your cube and as promised, I will not interfere with the surface world" said Gaz.
Zim caught the cube and thanked Gaz. Gaz just sighed, muttering something under her breath and she vanished in a column of violet fire.
Zim studied the cube in his hands
"Its mine, its all mine!" said Zim, breathlessly.
Zim heard footsteps and he found himself pinned to the ground "Get off me!" screeched Zim
"Not until you answer me!" growled a familiar voice.
Zim's eyes widened when he saw assailant was. "You!" he exclaimed.
It was Marceline.
Marceline was dressed in casual clothing and was carrying what looked like a large, red axe.
Marceline leveled the axe to Zim's throat growling, "Tell me, everything about Marcus!"
"What about him?" asked Zim
"Is he really my brother?" asked Marceline.
Zim frowned but suddenly it dawned on him "You! You were the little girl"
"What are you talking about?" asked the vampire.
Zim nodded "Yes, it was you wasn't it? The little girl who tried break into my home, you tried to free him!" Marceline frowned.
Zim's words sounded familiar but she couldn't remember anything he was mentioning. "I-I don't remember" said Marceline,
Zim rolled his eyes "Of course not, with the memory suppression chip you shouldn't remember anything"
"what?" said Marceline raising an eyebrow.
Zim sighed and said slowly "I put a chip in your brain to suppress your memories, so you wouldn't alert the authorities"
"If that's true, then how do i remember Marcus?" asked Marceline.
Zim frowned "Family ties are strong and due to a thousand years of aging, the chip may be weaker than it was, letting out some old memories"
Marceline's eyes narrowed "Can you shut it off?"
"Yes" said Zim
"Do it" said Marceline.
Zim stammered "W-well I don't think-"
"Do it!" growled Marceline, her eyes glowed red and she bared her fangs.
Zim's mouth snapped shut and he quickly typed something into his wrist computer. After a minute, Zim looked up to Marceline "It's done".
Something Marceline's head clicked and suddenly a tidal wave of images, emotions and thoughts flooded her mind. Marceline clutched her head feeling a sharp pain in her head, like a thousand knives and needles were slowly driving themselves into her skull.
She groaned in pain and dropped to her knees. The images rushed through her head faster and faster, the pain grew even more intense.
Marceline held onto her head moaning, "Make it stop"
"I tried to warn you" said Zim "But did you listen to Zim? Nooo you didn't".
Thousands of years flashed across the vampire's eyes and suddenly the pain exploded like a small bomb had been placed in side her head. Marceline fell face first to the floor.
As she faded from consciousness, she muttered "I…remember" her eyes closed and she went limp.
Zim stood there quietly staring at the unconscious vampire on the ground. He nudged the vampire's leg lightly with his foot "Uh, are you ok?" he asked.
Marceline didn't move.
Zim scratched his chin then he exclaimed "Victory for Zim!" he quickly rushed back inside and he slammed the door to the balcony shut. Zim melted the lock using a laser he stored in his pak and he quickly returned to the party invisibly.
In a matter of hours, the party ended. The partygoers began going home.
Marcus and Malice said goodbye to the princess and they made their way home with only moonlight lighting their way home.
As they made their way back to the base, a bright light streaked across the sky "Make a wish" said Marcus.
Gir began rattling off his wish list, Mini-moose squeaked a few times and Zim just kept muttering, "Shut up, shut up, shut up".
Miles away, the light arced across the night and it slammed into the earth like an asteroid, creating a massive crater. In the heart of the crater was a small, sleek spacecraft.
The lid slid open and out jumped a purple-eyed Irken with a scar across her face "I'm coming to Zim" she growled to no one "Prepare yourself for unimaginable pain and suffering". Tak crawled out of the crater and pulled out a small tracking device from her Pak.
On the small screen she saw a single Irken life sign. Tak shoved the device back into her Pak and she began marching towards the life sign, ready to rain horrible vengeance down on Zim.
End of chapter.
(a/n: To be continued... Well folks i'm putting this story on hold, i don't know for how long but i may or may not update. Review and all that. Lyrics are from the song's 'Electric Heart' and 'Your surrender' by Neon Trees.)