I'm so sorry for not coming by! I wanted to work on my StH but I eventually forgot. My writing style has improved so expect longer chapters with better descriptions. I hope there's visible improvement. :)

The castle was fine but the village was not so well fortified to nature's wrath. Homes were stripped and only few were fine. Though it is obvious that nature was in on this, most of the damage here was not natural. At the foot of the legendary kingdom, a windmill stands with a massive whole on the second floor. Zim assumed it was a meteor or a boulder from a catapult, but nothing was inside.

The entrance was damaged. The gate had fallen and was infested with termites. It was in a severe decrepit state it's weight carried it into the moat below as the pair had hurriedly reached the other side. The thrill had shocked the alien into great state of distress. The goth, however, was invigorated and even shouted a strong "Let's do that again!" Zim was beginning to understand what kind of person was hidden under the dark clothing and closed eyes. She had told him earlier that her hair reminded her of her mother. She never knew her well but felt so connected to her more than anyone else! Her father never mentioned her.

They ventured further into the kingdom. The castle was in the distance but they had already gone so far! They decided to rest before going further. "I'll call Minimoose, he'll bring us our camping gear and..."

"Look!" Gaz pointed out a decrepit inn. It had three floors and was very wide extending most of itself to the back. It still stood and seemed to be okay enough to stay in. "Um... okay, but only at the second floor, the entire area looks like it could collapse at any minute!"

They entered the building, finding piles of dust and cobwebs. Many of the furniture was either turned over or left in pieces. Zim headed to the counter and rang the bell on the table. Gaz stared at him strangely, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" The alien turned to her with a slight blush and smile and then quickly turned back. "Umm... nothing." A mechanical, red lensed, eye piece retracts from Zim's Pak and onto Zim's eye. Zim scans the desk for lifeforms only to find a spider in the drawer, with it's kids. Zim remembers the teacher's desk when he was still in skool. He used to be as tall as the desk itself, much like the counter before him. But he admires his new height, having grown high enough to see over the desk.

Gaz heads into the next room. Several tables are scattered. It is not too hard to see but it is dark nonetheless. A beam of light shines through a massive hole in the ceiling onto the stage. Draped with red curtains and a black piano battered into the floor.

Gaz takes a photo from the camera in her cellphone.

Zim hears a quiet whisper. It is too silent to hear. He decides to shrug it off. He hears it again. Yet the sound is passed off as a rat in the wall.

Zim's lense returns to his Pak as he goes around the counter for a closer observation. A trail of dried ink leads to the floor. An ink bottle is shattered on the floor. Just what had happened here?

The voice tones louder. He recognizes it somehow. The strange echo, speaking one word: "Zim..." He runs up the staircase hoping the voice not stop this time. He passes by a door, hearing that the sound is louder, then quieter as he passes it, he turns, nearly slipping, and heads toward the door. He grabs the door knob and settles his heart beat. He calmly opens the door.

A teal mist-like figure, stand before him. Zim observes the figure as it still echoes. It is in the shape of a man, about five feet, six inches.

It motions him to approach. Zim slowly walks toward, seeing that it poses no threat. It echoes again as he stand next to it. "Zim..." it points to the castle in the distance. He leans out of the window. Seeing the large gate of the kingdom's inner ring. He turns toward the figure and asks "Who are you?"

"Zim!" Gaz calls from below. He turns to the door for a moment then turns to the figure. It had disappeared.

Meanwhile at Zim's place...

Mimi was having a difficult time. Gir kept dodging into the shadows then comes out form everywhere; from under the bed to the ceiling fan. Mimi was damaged with internal damage from his first strike. GIR was smarter than he seemed. He struck her head first, damaging her sight, along with her sight functions like infrared, heat signatures and even night vision. Mimi had to get out.

He laughed his maniacal laugh as Mimi retreated out the door. She rushed toward it only to be caught by GIR coming form the ceiling. He fires his blaster and she is sent to the wall. Her legs are severely damaged, she can't move. GIR laughs again as he approaches with buzz saw at the ready.

Her vision weakens. A tall form, a few inches taller than her now five foot, three inch master, stands behind the door with a blaster for an arm and shoots GIR down. Everything goes black.

Tak and Dib sit in front of a fire, inside a barn near the windmill with a massive hole in it. The atmosphere is dense as Dib fixes his suit, Tak's former ship. Tak sits near the fire. A thick blanket surrounding her. 'It's so cold' she thinks. The location is in a valley, being pelted with gushes of wind every now and again.

Dib gets out and settles near the fire across a troubled and cold Irken. It's not even nine o'clock so he can't sleep just yet. He decides to make conversation. "So...umm..." Tak looks up, as if she had awoken from a trance. "Zim told me there was a rebellion back at your planet. Why is that?"

"Why did Zim tell you that?" Tak was curious. She'd never expect Zim to have any normal conversation with Dib, ever.

"Well, once we were turned into salami due to some crazy experiment and we were chased into some house by some dogs. Then we started talking since we thought we were gonna be there for a while and couldn't fight with no arms. It wore off eventually and..." Dib noticed her slight amusement. She seemed to laugh inside, but Dib had grown and had delved into some human, or more specifically, general psychology, and knew well how people would react. She was happy inside and felt that it was untrue.

She began to burst out laughing. "You don't believe me, don't you?"

She tried to hold off her laughter, calming her heart from the sheer hilarity that still loomed her mind. "Sorry, but you don't honestly expect me to believe that you were once a salami, a lifeless piece of meat used for human consumption." She still bore her smile. Dib, like many men who have faced her alluring smile and managed to put it there, would have been caught in her eyes. But for some reason Dib was unaffected. She didn't seem to notice.

The atmosphere lightened and Dib began to settle with a gentle smile of his own. Dib had a question in mind and felt that now would be the best time. "So what can you tell me about Irk?"

He expected him to lose her smile but it simply stayed. "Um... not much really. If I told you..."

"You'd have to kill me." Dib interrupted. He was still smiling and felt that he had found a hold on friendship.

She giggles. "Yeah. But I can tell you about my time in the Academy."

Dib smiles. At least he'll find out more about his new friend. 'friend...I like the sound of that.' Dib gladly thought.

MIMI awoke witha bright light above her. Her eyes adjust as she reboots.

She sits up, and observes her surroundings. It is a small enclosed, white room. Surgical tools, narcotics with stands, and welding materials sorround the room. A large object is above her, which seems to have come out from the ceiling, with strange pointed objects protruding from it, retracts into the area above. She gets off the surgical bed.

She realizes that she is fully functioning and her armor is in tact. She also notices that everythign seems smaller. Then she finally notices that she is actually realizing and noticing things! Despite the fact that she is a robot, subjective commands from her superior, she can't help but feel that she is being watched. And now she's trying to process the fact that she can now feel!

She hears footsteps and the same tall figure from before is at the door. It doesn't seem as tall as before, though. It is a some sort of taller SIR unit. It is gray in color with teal detailing like it's eyes and the cracks between it's parts. It has a sharp design with with three fingers and two toes, much like an Irken. It's head resembles the "V" shaped Irken insignia but with pointed "ears". It stands at a good five and a half feet. It has manly figure but not burly, just regular. It's forearms are bulky with it's elbows sharp and pointed beyond, much like Megaman. It's upper arms are smaller though but hold onto it's armored shoulder pads. It's chest is of a typical male form with with a show of strength. It's legs are practically the same and similar to that of Megaman characters but with the two sharp toes that seem to show some good leaping capabilities.

"I apologize for earlier." It speaks in a young male's voice but somewhat robotic in tone. Though it appears to have no mouth. "When Master's defective clones built SIR units, they based their fighting ability on slasher movies."

"I-It's quite alright." She suddenly cups her mouth in shock. Her voice is like his, only in a female's voice. Now processing the fact that she is actually shocked.

She turns to a circular magnifier used for dental purposes to see herself. Her form is similar to his, only an inch shorter in height, but with a slimmer chest, granting a show of speed in her design. Her details are glowing purple, also in the cracks between her parts. "Is that...me?"

"You've been upgraded." He says nearing her. "Master has had research on better SIR unit functionality when I constantly shut down, decreasing my efficiency."

She turns to him. "Wait a minute. GIR? Is that you?"

He lightens his features, presenting a makeshift smile. "Took you long enough." He says in a friendly tone.

The conversation had been going on for a good hour. Tak had told him of her exploits as an Irken engineer, pilot, and invader, despite the untrue rumor that she was defective. "So you were the best in the Academy?" Dib asks.

"I was." She seems lost in her past; thinking deeply.

Dib decides to break the very brief silence. "What do you mean by was?"

She looks up to him. Staring at him intently. She wants him to know that what she is about to say, is a secret; classified. He nods in response. She looks down as she hugs her knees. "Someone signed into the Academy." She explains. "He was brilliant, efficient, cunning. I could have bested him if I trained harder but he..."

He leans in. Eyes affixed on her intently with an attentive gaze.

She sighs. "He...became my weakness..."

Please read and review so I can go on. I want to know if my readers still exist. So, again, please review. :)