A.N. Are you guys getting tired of waiting for an update? Sorry. Well this is it! It's the longest chapter I ever posted EVER, so this is a huge deal for me. It's also my first horror scene so I'm super excited! This is, like, the turning point of my entire thirteen-year-old career. If I don't get some major reviews, I will be saaaaaad.
Oh, Fuz!" Gasped Quin, gazing out the window with awe. "That planet is so beautiful!"
It was beautiful. Blue, white and green swirled together in a great and glorious marble. But Fuz had seen plenty just like it, and it didn't bring the smeetish thrill it once would have. "It sure is," she humored. "Turn off the auto pilot. It's time to take her in."
"Aye, aye, captain!"
The younger girl took the controls, leaning forward and biting her lip excitedly. She had never been on a non-Irken controlled planet before. Her entire little body was trembling with amazement. The ship flew lower and lower, and Quin was extremely careful to fly as perfectly as she could; she wanted to impress Fuz with her ability as a pilot.
But Fuz paid no attention to the younger Irken's efforts. Her narrow, calculating eyes gazed out the window, observing the houses and the people. Some were still out, wandering the streets despite how it had already become dark. They walked with their eyes trained towards the ground, their hands in their pockets.
'How unfortunate,' thought Fuz detachedly. 'A good eye is trained to look at the sky rather than the ground, and hands should be free at all possible times to take action at any second. A smeet could conquer this place with their antennae tied together. Why hasn't Zim?'
Her SIR unit approached her as silently as a shadow, but she could tell from the faint heat radiating from its body that it was there. "Sir," it said. "I have spotted an inactive human shelter very close to Outlaw Zim's base. If we were to create a base there, we would be able to meet and exchange plans very easily with low risk of being exposed."
"Good," she spoke quietly. "Quin. Land the voot cruiser by the house over there."
Quin steered the ship obediently in a wide ark, but her unease was apparent in her round, pink eyes. "Are you sure? I don't like that house one bit."
"I'm sure. Land the ship."
Wind threw dust into the air as the voot cruiser lost altitude. It touched softly on the ground in a perfect landing, much to Quin's satisfaction.
The two Irkens and the SIR unit emerged, looking vigilantly around. Big, leafless trees surrounded them on every side and creaked softly as the wind from the voot's descent pushed at them. The ground beneath their feet was spongy and crunchy, covered in a layer of brown leaves. The SIR unit immediately leaped into action, taking samples and running tests with the many tools built into its little body. Fuz paid it no mind, but the robot's activity had definitely captured Quin's interest.
"What are you doing?" she squeaked inquiringly. The SIR did not turn away from the leaf it was analyzing.
"Information retrieval," it replied.
"Cool. Can I watch?"
"Affirmative."
Fuz sauntered away from them toward the empty house. It was an ancient wooden home, decaying at all corners, and it leaned froward imposingly over the Irkens. The corner of her mouth turned upwards with satisfaction. Places like this repelled intruders. It was perfect.
Quin soon lost interest in the SIR when she realized that "information retrieval" meant staring at random stuff. She skipped to the older invader's side and tugged on her sleeve.
"Yes?" hissed Fuz irritably.
"We're not gonna claim that house, are we?" She asked with huge, pink eyes. "Cause, you know, it's really spooky and I don't like it and we've got an invader's base builder in the voot."
Fuz took a step away from the tiny Irken so she could look down at her. "Quin, the invader's base builder is not designed to build bases from scratch. Only an incompetent fool would try that."
"Really? That's not what they said on Devastis."
Oh, what had happened to the younger generation? Fuz scowled. "The base builder only casts a holographic field that looks and feels like a house. In reality, it wouldn't protect you from much. It's only designed to refine a real shelter, and build a lab underneath. Otherwise the noise would alert every life form in the area, and they'd want to investigate the shelter unit that had built itself overnight."
Quin looked down at her boots, blushing and feeling stupid. Fuz sighed and turned from her, sauntering toward the house once again. "I'm going to poke my head in and look around," she said callously. "SIR, put your information retrieval on hold and keep an eye on Quin. She's not to leave this area or do anything of consequence."
Quin scrambled into a soldier's posture, head up, shoulders squared. "Hey!" she piped indignantly. "I'm right here, you know! Don't you talk about me like I'm not here!"
The others ignored her. "Yes, sir!" said the SIR unit, and Fuz turned again toward the house, moving with composed confidence.
"Master, the invader's voot has landed," said the computer's voice, reverberating all over the house.
"Close by?" Zim had not moved from the window.
"Yes. Very. They're in that really creepy house right behind ours."
"Really?" Zim stroked his antennae thoughtfully. "It seems like a popular place now, so many humans wandering across my property to get to it. What's so special about it? It's just a regular, run-down house!"
The computer remained silent. It had found that it was best to let Zim rant rather than interrupt him.
"Stupid humans! When will they ever learn? Are my punishments not severe enough?" He paused, staring sightlessly out the window before he stood and stretched, popping his back and waving his antennae to get the feeling back into them. They often went numb when he'd been sitting for a long time.
"I'll just wait for her to come here," he proposed. "It'll be easier to encounter her when I'm in my own domicile. Right, computer? … Computer?"
"Whatever you say, sir."
"Excellent!" The tiny invader squared his shoulders like a military man and began to march toward the kitchen. "Meanwhile, I must use my amazing Zim-brains to devise a plan. This plan will be so evil, Dib will-"
Zim cut himself off when he stepped on something crusty and hairy. He looked down.
"Gir!" he shrieked, scrambling away from the offending object in disgust. "Gir, come here right now!"
The robot launched from the elevator like a bullet, and stopped beside Zim, eyes a curious blue. "Yeees?"
The Irken pointed a claw at the little dead squirrel on the floor. It had started to decay, and now that Zim's antennae were regaining their feeling, they curled at the stench. "I thought I told you to make something with that!"
Gir's eyes lit up with remembrance. "Oh yeah! I was gonna make a hat with him."
"Why didn't you?"
"I wanted to play tea party with 'em first. And then my favorite show came on."
A shudder racked Zim's little body. "Well, it's too late to make any use of it now, Gir. Put it in the incinerator. Where are the other Earth-animals, anyway?"
Gir shrugged.
Zim groaned.
The door was too easy to open for the house to be occupied. The moment Fuz turned the handle, it creaked aside as if pushed by the wind. She paused at it a moment, looking over the hinges. If they were anywhere as old as they looked, the door shouldn't have been that easy to move.
She stepped apprehensively into the house and gasped when the wood bent beneath her an alarming amount. The miserable creak it made sounded more like a scream.
Empty. The room was empty. She'd been expecting furniture or something similar. But no, the room was empty. Fuz looked around at the walls and ceiling, knotting her brow. It didn't look like it would collapse, but she couldn't help but be cynical. The wind pounding on the house from outside sounded like a tornado in here. It whistled through cracks on the wood, creating an chilly draft that made her shiver and rub her arms. That was odd, considering how warm it was outside.
Slowly she moved forward, shivering and looking up at the ceiling. She could easily see the rafters bending and unbending as the house seemed to sway with the wind. They creaked and groaned all around her as she approached the center of the room, wincing every time her footsteps made a shrieking plea against her. The sound would give her away for sure.
A short hallway began on the far side, and Fuz stepped into it carefully. The wood was sturdier here, and much quieter. She breathed a sigh of relief and glanced around at the rotting wooden walls. They reeked of mold and mildew, and she could hear the steady crunching of termites digging into them, but it was difficult between the harsh chattering of her teeth. Her claws clutched at the flesh of her upper arms, conserving whatever meager heat she had.
There were two doors on either side of her, wooden like everything else, but they were firm and solid despite the atrophy around them. She studied their plain surfaces, her lips pulled into a grim frown. She fiddled with one of the door knobs. Locked.
Fuz sighed and drew herself back to her full height, forcing herself to stop shivering. Okay, so the door was locked. That could mean two things. Either there was something important on the other side, or she was getting paranoid. Well one way or another she would find out. She dropped to her knees and put the side of her head to the floor, temple resting on the freezing wood. The crack under the door was very thin, and she strained her eyes painfully to see through it.
It was too dark to see well, even with her night vision, but she could barely make out a thick film of dust on the floor. It was some how uneven. Like-
Something moved.
A sharp intake of breath racked her body, and she bolted upright, eyes wide, claws digging into the floor at her sides. Her heart was a panicked bird caged in her chest. No. Stop. Breathe in. Breathe out. She was an Irken. She could take this.
So there was something on the other side of the door. Something alive. And whatever it was, it knew she was there. Fuz forced her face into a ferocious snarl, and stood from the dirty floor, flexing her claws. She was claiming this place now. That creature had to go.
She removed a glove, letting it fall to the floor and brandished a long silver talon. Her breath was the only sound in the room until she poked it into the key hole and began to move it around. Eventually she managed to unlock the door, and she steeled herself, forcing her face into a fearless glare. Whatever could attack her from behind this door had never fought an Irken before. She wanted to make it memorable.
She turned the stiff knob, and put her shoulder against the door, shoving it open with all her weight. The moment she stepped inside she was quite overwhelmed with the reek of animal and disease. Dust swirled around her, and she waved her claw in a vain attempt to blow it away, but it only swirled harder, making her choke. Her antennae curled, and she coughed and wheezed miserably, eyes flicking back and forth around the room in search of the foreign creature. Where had it gone? The room was empty except for her and a large cabinet on the other side of the room.
"Mmmrrowww!"
Fuz gasped as the creature leaped at her, paws extended forward, wielding little claws. She put her own claws up just fast enough to parry, and then followed through with a downwards sweep, bringing the monster to the ground and pinning it there with one hand. It writhed beneath her, a disgusting mass of fur and foam, struggling to hurt her an anyway that it could.
The whole thing had happened so fast, Fuz hadn't had enough time to be anything but terrified, but now that she was in control of the situation again, she had to laugh. It was only an animal. An insentient, four-legged animal that barely came up to her knee. How could this thing have caused her so much grief? She snickered at it, and snarled when it managed to catch her finger between its teeth. She put more weight on it, and that was enough to make it let go, yowling as her claws dug into its soft belly.
Fuz rubbed the creature with her antennae inquiringly, picking up its scent. It was obviously ill, and the type of disease was clear. Rabies. It was absolutely disgusting and she curled her lip, but kept her hand firm. Rabies was no threat to the non-mammal Irken race, but she had seen it before on many planets. As far as she was concerned, the only cure for it was death.
Fuz swiftly provided that cure, and then stood up, wiping foam from her hands onto her pants. The dust from when the door had opened had barely settled, and she was careful not to disturb it as she crossed the floor and observed the cabinet on the other side of the room. Apparently it was supposed to be covered by a white sheet, but that sheet had fallen off, and was full of scratch marks, probably made by the mad animal. Fuz picked it up and held it out in front of her, studying it for a moment before let it drop onto the floor and moved onto the cabinet.
Like everything else, it was old and wooden, but it didn't seem quite as old as the rest of the house; just... experienced. It was a rich reddish brown color and beautifully crafted, but Fuz didn't stop to admire it as she took the iron handle in her hand and turned it. Instantly an overwhelming reek of death saturated the air and made her gag, but that didn't stop her from peaking in.
Inside the cabinet was a pile of dead rodents, all mangled and torn and ragged. Fuz glanced at them only for a moment before her eyes returned to the mad animal and back again. She left the cabinet and rushed to fetch the little monster, gabbing it by the scruff of its neck. If that cabinet was where the predator put his prey, she wouldn't be the one to end the cycle. In the monster went, and Fuz closed the door firmly, putting the sheet back on top of the cabinet where it belonged.
She glanced around the room one more time, and then left it, entering the corroding hallway once more. The other door was still there, as big and imposing as the first had been. Fuz was much quicker about investigating this one. She fell to her knees and peeked under the crack, but this time, she couldn't see anything at all.
She slid in one antenna and swiped it across the floor, trying to pick up various scents, but dust quickly covered her feeler, and clogged up its sensors. She pulled it out and brushed it off gently, sighing in frustration. This house was so dirty, you could roll on the floor and you'd be carrying enough diseases to use against a whole planet as a biological weapon. There was no way she could scent anything useful like this.
She stood up and brushed the scum from the front of her uniform, sighing softly. All the dust in the air made her throat feel dry, and that combined with the cold made it sting. She noticed detachedly that she wasn't shivering anymore. At least she had that in her favor.
This door was even harder to push open than the first; she had to strain her legs against it and grunt loudly as she finally forced it open. Its movement made another cloud of swirling dust, and she stepped back out of the room for a quick breath of air before she continued.
This room definitely appeared the most lived in. Though the walls, ceiling, and floor were predictably wooden, their was a rug on the floor, as dirty and worn as it may have been, and a little set of chairs set around a coffee table. To the side was a stone-laden hole in the wall, probably used for making fire.
'Humans," mused Fuz, climbing onto the hearth to investigate. 'Still depending on flame,'
She poked her head inside, noting the design of the pit. The way the chimney worked, the way it distributed the heat all over the room. It may not have been impressively advanced, but Fuz admitted it was clever.
She amused herself for a short while by playing with the ashes, writing her name in the dust and blowing it away with a puff of her breath. It felt magnificently soft, and she played with it in her hands, picking it up and letting it slip through her fingers. It was fun for a little while until she realized she was wasting her time. She stood up again, brushing her hands on one another, sighing between her teeth. She hadn't seen anything dangerous yet. That meant the house was safe, right? She could go back and give the all clear, right?
Wrong.
The moment Fuz had finished brushing herself free of ash, her antennae perked up, rotating slowly as the searched for scents. She had smelled something; she knew it. What was...?
There. She turned to the fire place and leaned forward to investigate. It was undeniable. Smoke was rising slowly from the cold charcoal, making it glow the faintest red. Fuz's eyes lit up with interest. Was the fire place automated? It was possible, though unlikely. This house made it seem like humans didn't even have electricity yet. But how else could it have lit up on its own?
She watched it curiously for a moment, tilting her head as the smoke rose up, and then a smile broke across her face. She put her hands into the fire place, holding them up to warm them. But then she frowned. Her hands didn't feel warmer. They felt colder.
She leaned farther, her fingers only inches from its glowing surface, but still she felt no heat. Well, it was just an ember, not even a fire. Maybe if she got it going, she'd have this place warmed up.
Fuz stood up and looked slowly around the room for something to burn. Her eyes went to the filthy rug, and she picked up its corner. Then she took her ungloved hand and hacked her claws across it, tearing it off. Maybe that rug had been pretty once, but it wasn't anymore. It was good for burning.
She took it back to the fire place, and maneuvered it under the ember so the glowing wood was sitting doggedly on top. It still didn't light. What was with this thing? She glared at it and stood up, walking away. She had better things to do than play with primitive fire.
Immediately after she had stepped off the hearth, steely cold pierced her like needles. She gasped and stepped back, but it didn't go away; it was still there like a smothering cloud around her. Goosebumps sprung up on her exposed arms, and she hugged them both tightly against her chest. Her breath made clouds in front of her face.
How did it get so cold all of a sudden? Why? Fuz returned her gaze to the fire, worry lines crawling across her features. It was still just a glowing hunk of wood on top of the rug. Maybe she should keep trying to light it. She let herself drop to her hands and knees, her teeth hammering against each other as she scooted closer. The glowing red ember remained stubbornly inactive despite the shivers racking her body. Was it taunting her?
Fuz lost her patience and grabbed the ember tightly in her claws. Instantly she gasped and dropped it back into the fire pit, eyes wide with alarm. The ember wasn't warm at all. It was cold as ice.
For a long moment she just sat there, staring sightlessly at her claws reflecting the red light. That didn't make sense. Fire was hot, so this couldn't be fire. Maybe this was something entirely different that could only be found on Earth? Maybe she should take a sample back. Run some tests, get some data. But first thing's first; she had to escape this insane cold. Shivers made it hard to control her hands, and her sight was beginning to blur...
Screw this! Fuz turned around and struck the ember like a viper, rage flowing through her veins with every heart beat. This had to be some trick or a trap of some sort! And she had fallen for it!
Her claw pierced into the wood, and a painful shock of cold shot through the nerve. She brought it back with an alarmed cry and stumbled away, The ember was broken in half, and flame had erupted from its depths. Fuz screamed as it leaped from the pit, sparks flying and catching on the wood and ancient furnishings. Wildly it spread, consuming everything.
Fuz turned and looked hastefully around for the door. It was time to leave. This place was not safe.
Where was it? She buzzed along the room, eyes wide with terror, but still focused and calculating as always. Her claws raked desperately at the wooden walls. The door had disappeared. She was trapped.
The flame was growing, spreading, a red monster with a gaping mouth and lashing tongues. It was so close, Fuz could smell its breath as though it were right in front of her face. Her legs were shaking beneath her, collapsing even as she scrambled around the edge of the floor.
The room was on fire, but all she felt was cold.
"Who's there!" She roared as she whirled around. This must have been someone's intention or it wouldn't have happened. Whoever it was, she would make them regret it. "Who's done this?
Her eyes widened as she looked back into the room. The fire had spread throughout the entire place, and it whirled around her like a cyclone. But the fire pit, where it had originated, was flameless and dark like a tunnel. The thought of ripping apart the one responsible for the trap was immediately purged from her mind, and she dived towards it, falling to all fours to move even faster. The room was so cold. Right now all she wanted was to get out.
Fuz took no notice of the ash and soot on her clothes as she climbed into the pit and lifted her body over the wood. Her breathing was heavy; the freezing air ripped at her throat like tiny claws. The space behind the fire place was dark and cramped end every bit as cold as the one she had just left, and the stone walls seemed to get bigger, closer. Fuz scrambled along the hard floor, her claws clacking and scraping as she struggled to squeeze through. The further she moved, the narrower the tunnel seemed.
Her antennae lifted slightly when she found the opening at the end of the tunnel. The floor beneath her formed a steep hill upwards, opening up to a darkened room, but with her night vision, it was easy for her to see inside. Fuz took a deep breath of cold air and lunged upwards, gripping the stone with her torn claws. They scraped even further as she pulled herself up, and hoisted her body over the edge, into the room.
There was a desk at the other end, and shelves lined the wall, though they didn't contain many books. They mostly displayed models and diagrams and skeletons of small Earthern animals. Their shadows were slanted and eerie. Fuz slowly approached the center of the room, and glanced around. It was a study of some sort, a place of withdraw and refuge for a stranger. Frantically her antennae whirled, picking up scents. Dust, chemicals, ink, paper. She processed them all rapidly, and returned her gaze to the desk on the other end of the room.
There seemed to be a shadow sitting there. It was big and broad, leaning over the desk. Two little pinpricks gleamed from it's face, little black orbs fixed on her. Eyes.
She froze. The insufferable cold was back, and the tightening in her stomach was no illusion. Her pulse accelerated at an alarming pace, and her breathing, already heavy, was making her chest hurt.
"You're trespassing," rumbled the massive shadow behind the desk.
"I know."
The shadow stood from behind the desk, and filled the room with it's magnitude. It lumbered toward her slowly, swaying side to side with every step. Fuz took a quick and panicked glance behind her, searching for the tunnel she had crawled through. She wouldn't like to go back into the flaming room, but it would be reassuring to know there was an escape route.
Like the door in the last room, the tunnel was gone.
"If you know," said the shadow. A massive hand closed around her head, but it didn't feel like an actual solid object. It was like a magnetic force pushing against her, lifting her feet up off the floor so she couldn't run. She reached up to grab the shadow's wrist, kicking her feet frantically as she attempted to dislodge herself from his grip, but it squeezed tighter, and she grunted, letting her legs hang uselessly. "Then you must have a reason."
"A good reason," Fuz agreed, her claws scrambling against the shadows fingers. Whatever nails the enormous creature had, they were digging painfully into her cranium. "I'm claiming your house."
The slivers of shiny black on the thing's face widened. "Claim?" It repeated violently. "Claim my house?"
The shadow's grip tightened, and Fuz cried out. Bringing her feet up to kick away, she swung her body to slam against the creature. She was expecting to hit something solid and black, but she found herself falling to the floor, the grip on her head having vanished along with the shadow.
She fell with a painful thud and scrambled to her feet, breath heavy and loud within her. The shadow, which had filled the room not moment before, had completely disappeared. Her antennae stood on end, swiveling as she scanned the room for it. She couldn't scent it or hear it; it was as if it had never been there.
"Yes," she said loudly, eyes wide to help her night vision. She couldn't see it anymore, but she was certain it was still there; the cold hadn't left. "Claiming the house. It's mine now. If you have a problem with that, you can try to stop me, but I am firm in my decision, and I will not leave."
Silence was the only answer.
Fuz stood there a moment more, alert for the shadow if it were to return, but when nothing happened, she allowed herself to relax and scanned the room again. Then she frowned. The tunnel was still gone, and there was no door. No window, no vents, no openings. She was trapped. Trapped with the shadow.
"It was you, wasn't it?" she continued. "You designed the trap in the fire room, didn't you? I admit it was clever. I was quite fooled."
Still the shadow did not make a second appearance. She huffed and crossed her arms. If only the monster man would show himself. She'd rather battle a creature seven times her size than be trapped in a room with no hope of leaving. At least then she would have a vague idea of how to start. But for now, this was all she could do; provoke the creature until it saw fit to strike once more.
"You'd think someone so protective of his home would take better care of it." She teased. "Rats everywhere. It's quite disgusting. And while your house crumbles around you, you just stay in your little man cave and keep your head down. Pathetic."
Why wouldn't the creature show? Why weren't her insults working? Why didn't this place have a door? Fuz's breath was quickening despite her attempts to calm it, and her heart was a prisoner in her rib cage, banging against its bars frantically. Cold, dark, inescapable. The room was a cell.
With this horrible realization, Fuz fell to her knees, eyes open as wide as they would go. Trapped. This had been the shadow's intention.
She moved against the wall and brought her knees up, resting her hands at her sides. One thing she had always prided herself in was being handy in a pinch, being cool-headed despite everything else. She tapped into that now, drawing strength, calming her mind.
She would not be here forever, Fuz reminded herself. She was an esteemed Irken invader, and much stronger than she looked. All she needed was a plan. Other irkens were clueless in the field of planning, but it came naturally to her, like a primal instinct, the one thing she could depend on. Her antennae leaned forward as she focused, lightly touching her forehead.
First thing first, she needed to know what she was up against. She was in a crazy house trapped by some... creature. It most certainly wasn't human as far as she could tell. She had seen the over-evolved apes wandering around, and none of them were like the shadow. Not even close.
What data had she collected so far? She knew the house was cold. Fuz took note of that as she crossed her arms on top of her knees and rested her head on them. The shadow had used that to its advantage to lure her to the fire place, and when she tried to leave, the cold became too unbearable for her not to continue trying to light the ember. What had been with that ember anyway? It had glowed orange like true fire, but it had felt like a chunk of ice.
Her eyes widened and her antennae flew upwards. Where had she heard that trick before? The thing about the cold fire? Yes. It was in that book. That book she had gone through heck to find. That book she had left hidden on Evestan. The Book of Souls.
Souls. Of course. The shadow was not even alive; it was a wandering soul, bound to its home forever. She remembered what she knew from the book, and her entire body seemed to slump with relief, though her heart still thudded in her chest. Just a wandering spirit, albeit a powerful one. At least now she knew what was going on. Suddenly she wished she had brought the book with her so she could set it on her lap and turn the worn pages, feeling the softness of the paper. But no. It was better it remained where it was. She didn't need it anyway; she had memorized it all down to the punctuation marks.
Recalling what she had learned from the dusty old pages, Fuz dug through her Pak. Medicines and other things she crammed to the side until she found what she was looking for, and her claws closed around it.
It was a glass flask, with clear, foggy fluid swirling around inside. On the top was a silver figurine of some quadruped alien creature she didn't know the name of. It was perched elegantly with its tail wrapped soundly around the flask. It's eyes were indents in the silver, and its lips were drawn into a faint smile. The whole thing was about as long as her forearm from bottom to top, but somehow her little Pak was able to hold it without too much of a problem.
Fuz stood from the floor, and spread her legs for a firmer stance, holding the flask in front of her with stiffly strait arms. She'd practiced with the little device many times before, perfecting her technique and testing out different strategies. Those had all been on live souls, though. She'd never encountered a dead one. She squinted her eyes slightly as she flicked her thumb as the head of the silver animal, causing it to open its jaws. There was no sound, no beam of light, no apparition forming from its breath, but she had read that its silent roar would force the spirit to reveal itself, and she trusted every word in that book as if her life depended on it.
"Where did you get that?" hissed the shadow. She hadn't seen it coming or going, but suddenly it was there in front of her, its eyes not a foot from her's. "Do you know what that is?"
She grinned at it, despite the cold and fear twisting her gut into knots. "As a matter of fact, I do. I found it. And the book along with it."
The shadow's icy cold hands made swift, frantic grabs for the flask, but she pulled it out of reach and then thrust it forward, and the creature leaped back. It seemed to retreat to the other end of the room, trying to put as much distance between itself and Fuz as possible, but somehow it couldn't leave, as if it were being restrained.
"You couldn't have!" gasped the spirit. "They were hidden and cursed never to be found!"
"The curse must have worn off." said Fuz calmly. Her arm rose, and with it, the flask.
"But the book was written in a language that has been forgotten!"
"That was trickier," Fuz admitted. "I had to find a way to translate it, and there wasn't much to go by, but I managed."
The shadow scrambled up against the wall. "You... you're not..."
"No," Sighed Fuz. "Not yet. Not completely."
The shadow seemed to grin, and began to rise slowly to its full height again. "Then... then you're no threat. You wouldn't take a soul. You don't have the nerve."
This shadow obviously didn't know her too well. She had taken souls. Evastanian souls. She'd just never taken a dead one before. It would be fun to try it. Fuz gave the ghost a cheeky grin, and the shadow's eyes widened; it's smile fell. "You..."
Fuzs claw hit the head of the flasks top, and it's jaws parted wider, its silvery teeth glowing. The shadow struggled mightily, but there was nothing that could be done. It was sucked into the flask's mouth, it's screams shaking the room.
"No! No, stop! I don't want to go in there! Don't make me go in there!"
"I didn't want to be trapped in this little room of yours either," said Fuz, watching with a satisfied grin. "But here I am. And there you go."
"No!" It cried. "The house is yours! All yours! Just let me go!"
Fuz's grin became more malicious. "Why? This place is mine either way. I'll only benefit."
The shadow's fingers gripped the wood of the floor and dug in deeply, leaving huge dashes as the flask pulled it closer and closer. It's breath was heavy. "You'll... you'll never get out of here. The rooms cursed. Only I can reverse it."
"That would be a problem," said Fuz, pretending to look at her claws with disinterest. "If only I didn't know you were bluffing. Once you're gone, all your curses will be lifted. I'll be scott free." She grinned, baring needle-sharp teeth. "But you won't be."
"No!"
The shadow was gone.
Fuz closed the flask's mouth.
Here she was again. In the room that had been ablaze in cold fire. It was as if she had never tried to light that ember. She sighed as she let herself collapse on the dusty floor. The wandering spirit was gone. She had captured it. That was one mission accomplished.
What had been the initial objective? Oh yes. She'd been "poking her head in and looking around." Well she'd done that. It hadn't been safe. But she had made it safe. It was time to report.
Icky, slimy, wet, bumpy, and ugly. Those were all words that would have described very well what Quin was holding in her hands. But in addition to those, she had come up with cute, lovable, silly, and bouncy. She hugged it close to her chest with a wordless coo, and then skipped over to the SIR unit. The little animal in her hands was trying to wriggle away, so she had to be careful.
"Hey, SIR!" she called to it, and held the little creature out in front of her. It blinked stupidly at the robot. "What's this thing?"
"That is a frog," said the SIR. "An amphibian."
"I love him!" exclaimed Quin, squeezing the poor thing to her chest. Its eyes bulged out even further. "I'm gonna name him Mudd, and we'll have all kinds of fun, won't we sweetheart?"
The frog demonstrated its agreement by leaping out of her arms and hopping away. Quin stared after it for a few moments and then sighed. "Bye, bye, Mudd..."
The sound of approaching footsteps caused her to raise her antennae, and she turned around. Fuz had emerged from the house, and was dusting a thick sheet of dust from her front. Quin promptly forgot her frog problem and whirled around, skipping to meet her. "Hey!" she squeaked cheerfully. "Is the house good?"
Fuz nodded, and raised her antennae slightly. She did that often, Quin had noticed. "There was a little pest problem, but I took care of it. It's safe now."
"Are you sure? I reeeeally don't like that place. We could find somewhere else!"
Fuz shook her head, raising her antennae higher, and Quin let her's droop in submission. No one ever dared to try arguing with Fuz; Quin didn't know why, but she wasn't about to try and find out.
The older woman turned from her wordlessly and wandered toward the voot to retrieve the invader's base builder while Quin followed her, eyes wide with curiosity. She watched as Fuz pushed open the cockpit and got it from under one of the seats, along with a soft bundle.
"Hey, Fuz," squeaked Quin. "What's that?"
"Mine. That's all you need to know."
The voot slammed shut with a bang, and Fuz walked briskly toward the house. Quin followed, having to move much faster to keep up with Fuz's more lengthy strides. "What is it, though?"
The antennae on the taller Irken shot up aggressively, but she didn't turn around. "That's none of your concern!"
Quin fell quiet as Fuz toyed with the invader's base builder. She moved the stylus across the pad with an artist's hand and then with a satisfied sigh, she threw it at the house. "Back away now," she ordered as she began to run. "Back away!" Quin immediately obeyed and ran to take cover behind a tree.
Metal beams shot out of the ground like claws, gripping the ancient wooden house and expanding. Quin gasped and curled up tightly behind the tree, hiding her head with her hands. The sounds of metal smacking metal and electronic pulses were shoving urgency into her blood and making her heart race. The Earth was shaking beneath her, and the trees trembled, showering the forest floor with dislodged branches. Quin let out a terrified squeak when a very large one fell almost on top of her.
And then, as if someone had pulled a plug, it stopped.
"Is it safe?" Quin asked after a few long seconds. Slowly she stood up, cautious and aware. "Is it done?"
"Yes, Quin," said Fuz. "It's done."
The little Irken emerged from her hiding place, looking about, and then scampered to meet Fuz in the clearing. She was looking over the house with a critical eye, but she seemed pleased enough with it. Quin looked at it too.
The creepy old house that had been there only moments before was now a terrifying fortress. The sides were covered with metal plates like scales shining silver in the dappled moonlight, and the roof was brimmed with steel. Quin's eyes were drawn to the stone monsters that were frozen on their perches about the house, mouths open in eternal roars and snarls. Their eyes were small on their faces, black and angry. They looked like cameras.
"Perfect isn't it?" purred Fuz. "The metal provides protection and intimidation. And the gargoyles were a good touch, don't you think?"
"Yeah," said Quin quietly. Her eyes were wide with fear. "It's great."
Fuz nodded happily and clapped her hands. "Well! SIR, come here!"
The robot promptly left the snake it had been observing, and ran to its mistress, eyes shining brilliant red in the darkness. "Sir!" it said, saluting. Fuz rolled her eyes at it an gestured to the voot.
"Park the ship, SIR, and guard the house. Quin and I are off to see Outlaw Zim."
The android saluted again. "Yes, master, I obey!" Then it hopped into the cruiser to fulfill its orders. Fuz turned from the house and began walking, followed closely by Quin.
"Now remember, Quin," she said. "You must call him Invader Zim, and you must act submissive. That's what he'll be expecting from you."
Quin nodded. "Okay,"
"Just let me do the talking. It will be fine."
"Is that the last one?" Zim impatiently asked Gir, as he dropped a mouse into the incinerator by its tail. The robot clapped his hands and nodded happily.
"Yeah!" he said. "'Cept for the kitty cat!"
"Gir, there never was a kitty cat."
"Oh yeah..."
Zim huffed and marched away from the Gir, snapping his fingers. "I feel like I'm forgetting something important. Like..."
"Like that you left your cookies in the oven?" said the computer sarcastically, making the Irken jump. "Or that you should be expecting company?"
"Oh yes! Of course!" Zim whirled around and pointed at Gir. "You! Go get the cookies!" The robot promptly burst into joyful laughing and ran up the stairs, waving his arms.
"No! There are no cookies, Zim! The other invader! You forgot all about her!"
The invader gasped and brought his petite claws up to his mouth, gaping in horror. "Oh no! The other invader! I forgot all about her!"
The computer said nothing.
"It haven't come up with a plan to destroy her yet!" Zim faltered, eyes flickering frantically around the room "I'll have to improvise! Gir! Forget the cookies! They mean nothing anymore!"
"Whaaaaaat?" Girs high-pitched voice was muffled from the floor above. "Why you bein' mean to cookies?"
"Just come down here quickly! We have much to discuss!" Zim's antennae were standing on end as he paced around the room, eyes moving from one of his experiments to the next in a search for inspiration. "I don't even remember making cookies..." He mumbled slowly to himself.
"That's because you didn't!" said the computer frustratedly, but of course it was ignored. "Honestly, Zim, have you never heard of sarcasm? Man..."
The loud clatter of metal against metal drew Zim out of his thoughts and sent him jumping into the air. "Here I am!" declared Gir, picking himself up off the floor. He held a little yellow box into the air. "I got crayons!"
"We have no time for colorful wax-tubes, Gir!" shouted Zim, gesturing wildly around the room. "Our entire mission is at jeopardy! My reputation is at jeopardy!"
The robot blinked at him, and then held out his box of crayons in a friendly offering. "Crayons?"
Zim took the box from him and set it absentmindedly on a table. "Do you know how many other Invaders needed help to conquer their planets, Gir?"
The robot cocked his head as he thought. "Um... four?"
Zim sighed and brought a hand to his face where the bridge on his nose would be. "No, Gir. None of the other invaders had help. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it would be if the mighty Zim were the only one?"
"... A lot?"
"Yes, Gir. A lot. Alotalotalotalot. That's why we have to make the other invader go away!"
Gir stared at him with large, round eyes, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. "Can I have my crayons back, then?" he asked innocently. Zim took them uncaringly from the table and handed them to him.
"So we need to come up with a plan," He continued loudly as he walked to the other side of the room, claws held tightly behind his back. His robot took a sheet of paper from a table and lay on his belly, doodling.
"We could ask real nice," Gir suggested, blue eyes cast down at his drawing. "We gotta say 'go away, please' and then she'll go."
Zim shook his head. "You just don't get it," he sighed. "Hmm... if I were sent as help to another Invader, what would make me change my mind without me realizing that the other guy wanted to get rid of me?"
"Leprechauns!" Gir shouted as he looked up from his drawing and accidentally broke a yellow crayon between his fingers. He stared at it sadly, but then shrugged and popped it into his mouth, picking out an orange one to use instead. "They's really scary!"
"But we don't have leprechaun technology! We've got to think, Gir! She'll be here any minute!"
Gir's tongue stuck out from the corner of his mouth, and he brought his face very close to his doodle. "Hold on," he said. "I'm almost done..."
Zim snatched the paper right out from under Gir's crayon, making a big, ugly line of orange wax run across it. The robot let out a horrified whine, and made grabby hands for it, but the invader held it above his head, out of his reach. "This is no time for useless drawing, Gir!" He shouted. "There is much more important work to do!"
"But it's not done!" cried Gir, jumping up and down in fruitless attempts at grabbing his masterpiece. "I was just drawing his tail, and you made me mess up!"
Zim huffed and glanced at the drawing, raising an eyebrow. On the paper was a half-finished picture of a lion, with ovals for the head and the body and sticks for everything else. The line that had been marked on the paper when he had grabbed it took away all its charm, like a worm in a good apple. He sighed and let it slip between his fingers, falling into his minion's waiting hands. Gir's miserable whimpering instantly became a giggle, and he flopped his belly once more, brandishing his crayon.
"Stupid robot," grumbled Zim. "Stupid planet. Stupid invader. Stupid lion. Stupid, stupid, stupid..." Suddenly his eyes lit up and he whirled around to face Gir once more, one claw pointing triumphantly into the air.. "Gir! I have a plan!"
"We gonna get a leprechaun?"
"No. Hurry, Gir, to the disguise generating room! There isn't much time!"
A.N. Any who do not review will regret it for the rest of their existance. The flask is out. And it's waiting.