I finally got my computer fixed!! YAY!! And now that it's the 3 day weekend, I can focus on typing a chapter before doing my homework! :)
Just a warning…this chapter might be…pretty depressing…I had a fight with my friends over something very sad that happened when we were in 8th grade. And my feelings with my friends and family severely affect my writing…so….yeah.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim or any of the songs. I am not claiming that I do.
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Chapter 2: Stand your ground Ember...
Ember walked up next to Zim. She easily recognized the Tallests that were on the monitor in front of her, and she was sure that they easily recognized her.
Zim knew Ember was there, but he continued to talk with his leaders.
"What do you mean a threat? Who would dare try to fight the Irken Armada?!"
"That's what we thought…but it's true. That's why we need you…to come back." Red was the one who was speaking; he had a very serious expression on his face.
"Me?! I thought I was exiled…" Zim got a smirk on his face, seeing the possibility of having his banishment revoked.
"You are! You still are; but they're going to find you…they're going after every Irken that's not on the Massive or Irk. It'll be easier for them to find a weakness." Purple said, stepping in for his co-leader.
Zim nodded; he understood. He looked at Ember; she looked confused.
"What's going on?" Ember whispered to Zim; she knew it really wasn't any of her business, but she was a human, and humans are usually curious.
"Nothing….just…go back upstairs." Zim didn't want Ember to know what was going on; he knew she had enough to deal with.
Ember backed away; she looked up at the Tallests once again, then turned and walked back to the elevator.
Red was watching her leave; Purple was eating a doughnut.
As soon as Ember was out of sight, Red's attention was once again on Zim.
"We'll be expecting you soon Zim…And remember, we're not telling you this because we like you; we just don't want the vital secrets of the Armada lost to the enemy because of your stupidity!"
The transmission was cut; Zim continued to stare at the screen. He knew what he was going to do; he turned and walked towards the elevator.
He was brought up to the house level; he walked through the kitchen and into the living room.
Ember was sitting on the couch, alone. She had cleaned up the aftermath of her near breakdown; the pen was thrown away, and the sketchbook was on the kitchen table.
Zim hesitated; he walked over to Ember and sat down next to her.
"Sorry…I couldn't really tell you…"
"It's okay…Zim?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I'll go to skool tomorrow…"
"Really?" Zim turned to Ember, but his gaze was not met; Ember's eyes stayed focused on the blank screen of the TV that was in front of her.
"Yeah…" Ember sighed; she looked out the window. It was getting dark and the first few stars were coming out. "But I think I'm just going to go to bed right now."
Ember got up; she got near the hallway door but stopped. She looked back at Zim; he was getting up himself.
"Um…Can I sleep on the couch tonight?" She asked; she didn't think if she could face that presence in her room that night.
"Sure. Why?" Zim asked in confusion.
"No real reason…I just want to…" Ember looked down at the ground.
"…Okay…" Zim walked over to Ember and walked through the now open hallway door. He returned with a pillow and a blanket from Ember's room.
"Thanks Zim." Ember took the two items and laid down on the couch. She quickly fell asleep; not noticing Zim's worried look.
---
Morning came; the sun shined brightly through the windows and into the living room.
Ember opened her eyes; it was a dreamless night, Ember took it as a good thing. But she did enjoy dreaming, she just didn't like the nightmares.
She pulled back the blanket and sat up.
'Just get through one day of skool Ember…at least one day…' Ember thought to herself. She watched as Zim emerged from the kitchen; he had slept in the lab again.
Zim put on his disguise and walked to the door; he stopped and looked back at Ember, waiting for her patiently.
Ember got up; she walked to the door while she smoothed out her hair and her clothes.
"Oh…wait…I don't have my backpack!"
"Forget about it. I doubt you want to go back to your house…do you?" Zim's hand stayed on the doorknob, his eyes stayed on Ember.
"No…I don't. It's okay…let's just go."
Zim opened the door and the two stepped out.
Ember breathed deeply; she missed the feeling of fresh air filling her lungs. It was cold; Ember wished she still had her jacket.
The walk to skool was, as always, silent. Neither Zim nor Ember wanted to tell the other what they were thinking; they just wanted to get through this day.
As they walked into the skool; Ember put her head down. She didn't want to be noticed, at least, not right at that moment.
Zim watched her back; he kept an eye on the children they passed, making sure that they didn't come near her.
The bell rang as they got into the classroom; Zim and Ember took their seats. Ember awaited the children's surprise of actually seeing her in skool today. Although, this was probably going to be her last day in skool.
As the students came in; almost none of them noticed Ember. That is, until Zita came in.
Zita took one step into the room and immediately noticed Ember. "Hey freak! I thought I'd never see your ugly face again!" She shouted, walking towards Ember. She had completely forgotten about Zim.
Ember kept her head down; she could hear Zita coming near her and her annoying voice.
Suddenly, Ember stood up; she looked up and stared Zita right in the eye. She stood her ground, her stare never left Zita's.
Zim looked back at Ember, he stayed where he was. This was now Ember's fight, Zim would only step in if he saw that she needed his help.
Just as Ember was about to take her first step towards Zita, Ms. Bitters appeared.
"Sit down! Both of you!" She shouted; immediately, Zita walked back to her seat and sat down, Ember hesitated.
"Ember! What did I just tell you?! Sit down!"
Ember sat down; she looked around, everyone was staring at her. Some of the looks were of pure shock and fright. Either it was because of Ms. Bitters having to tell her something twice, or it was because those kids had seen the news recently. She began to feel nervous.
'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…' Ember looked over at Zim; he didn't see her, he was currently paying attention to the teacher.
She looked down at her desk and awaited the shrill sounds of the bell to ring, to signal that it was time for lunch.
Outside, the sun was completely covered by gray clouds. The wind turned a little more violent.
Finally, the bell rang. Ember watched as the students around her got up and walked out into the hallway.
Zim got up and Zita stayed behind.
Zita stared at Ember. She noticed Zim staring at her with cold eyes, basically telling her to leave before he got angry. But before she left, Zita looked back at Ember. Her eyes told of a threat, and then she turned and left.
Ember watched her leave. A month ago, that stare would have been enough to scare Ember, but now, Ember could have cared less. She got up and walked towards Zim.
The two walked through the halls; passing children saw Ember, some of them ran off, others stayed away.
Ember wasn't hungry; she just wanted to get outside.
Zim didn't argue; he just wanted to get away from all the filthy children and the disgusting smells of the cafeteria food.
They sat at their regular bench by the tree. Ember wished she still had her book, but she knew that she just wouldn't be able to take going back to her old house right now. She leaned back against the chain linked fence behind her.
Zim sat next to her; he watched her actions.
He was about to say something when he heard someone coming out of the cafeteria.
Both looked up to see Zita and Torque walking towards them. Zita looked angry, and Torque had a look on his face that said that he just couldn't wait to beat up Ember again.
Zim stood up; willing to protect Ember. But he was gently pushed to the side as Ember got up.
He was going to ask what she was doing, but he felt a single rain drop hit the side of his face. He looked up and saw several more raindrops coming down.
He stood there for a minute, feeling the rain hit him. He felt safe until he felt a burning sensation.
The paste was not sticking; it was melting away, leaving Zim's skin unprotected.
Zim fought back the urge to scream as he stood his ground next to Ember. He didn't want to leave her.
"Zim…go! I can take them…" Ember whispered to him; she knew that water was like acid to him. At least, polluted water was.
"I can't just lea—"
"GO!" Ember pushed Zim away from her, trying to get him to go to the security of inside the skool building.
Zim didn't know what to do, the rain was coming down faster and the pain was becoming more and more great.
Torque saw his chance; he tackled Ember to the ground.
Zita watched Zim; she didn't want to hurt him, she just wanted to hurt Ember.
Zim took a few steps back, he looked down at the ground. He then turned and ran for cover.
Ember watched as he ran; she turned her attention on the boy that was holding her down. She kicked him as hard as she could in the stomach and watched as he doubled over in pain.
She got up, but was once again tackled, this time by Zita.
Zita wasn't strong enough to hold Ember to the ground, but she could put her in a choke hold.
Ember struggled; she was finally able to push Zita away. Making her fall and land in a muddy puddle.
Zita was rubbing her eyes; they were splashed with water when she fell. But when she was finally able to open them again, she saw that Ember was climbing the chain linked fence.
---
Zim watched this from the windows in the cafeteria, along with every other student. He watched as she climbed, wanting her to get away safely.
---
Ember got to the top of the fence and jumped down to the other side. She never looked back as she ran off. But she did hear Zita and Torque as they shouted at her.
"You coward! Get back here!"
"What? Aren't you going to murder us like you did your own father?!"
---
Ember didn't stop until she hit the park. She would have kept going if she hadn't have seen the red and blue lights of the police cars near the entrance.
Four squad cars were parked near the entrance; the police were running into the park. They had seen Ember.
Ember turned and ran; she ran past the swing sets and jungle gyms, hitting a big open field.
"STOP! Stop or we'll send the dogs out!"
She heard the cop, but she still refused to stop. 'Who would use a K9 to chase after a ten year old?' Was all that was on Ember's mind.
The rain was pouring down; it almost completely blocked her from the police.
Ember tripped; she was exhausted, but she got up and looked back.
She saw two of the K9 Squad coming after her. She tried to run, but the dogs caught her and one forced her to the ground.
She fought and kicked; but it was no use. The dogs were both German Shepards, and both were at least three times Ember's size.
The dog that was on her bit hard into her arm, causing two huge gashes.
Ember hissed in pain; she was almost about to give up when the dog that was on her was shot by some sort of laser. The other dog ran off when it saw its partner get shot.
Ember propped herself up on her elbows and looked behind her.
Zim walked towards her. He gently grabbed Ember's uninjured arm and helped her up.
"How did you…"
"I guessed…good thing I found that container of paste in the classroom."
Ember looked down at the dog; she had a sad look on her face. She didn't like seeing any animal get hurt, and this dog was no exception. It was trained to be like that…it wasn't the dog's fault.
"Don't worry, the Earth beast was only rendered unconscious. It should be back on its feet in about twenty minutes. Let's go..."
Ember looked back at Zim; she looked away and to the spot where she had last seen the police officers. She didn't see them; she thought that maybe they had decided to go a different direction.
---
The two walked through the field; Ember was limping, but she refused Zim's help.
They found a hole in the fence that ended the field and crawled through it; at least they wouldn't be spotted by the police. They couldn't even see their cars.
The walk home was long, silent, and cold. Ember kept her eyes on the ground; she was holding her injured arm as she walked.
Zim looked ahead; he was still on high alert, afraid that they would be jumped. But the streets were empty, due to the rain and strong winds.
They finally made it home.
Zim opened the front door and waited for Ember. He watched her as she walked inside, still holding her arm. He also saw that she was bleeding pretty badly.
Ember sat on the couch; she looked tired and hurt, both physically and mentally. That walk home reminded her of when she had to walk to Zim's base the night when….well, she didn't really want to think about it.
Zim spent half an hour cleaning Ember's arm. As he wrapped bandages around her arm, he looked into Ember's eyes.
Her eyes seemed blank and soulless, like she was put into a trance.
"…Ember…What's wrong? We got away didn't we?"
She hesitated before giving an answer. "Yes…but I put you in danger…and I ran from the fight. Zita was right…I am a coward…" She looked down.
"Never say that!" Zim yelled at her, causing him to jerk her arm by accident.
Ember held in a gasp of pain.
Zim realized what he had done. He quickly finished wrapping the bandages and once again looked at Ember.
"…I'm the one who should be sorry. I abandoned you…"
"NO! If it wasn't for me running away…I wouldn't have been seen by the police…" Ember stood up in frustration.
"Zita was the cause for those humans seeing you! She called them right after you ran off!" Zim stood; he was beginning to get angry.
"Whatever…I'm going to bed…" Ember walked off.
"Ungrateful human…" Was all that Zim muttered…Ember heard him.
She disappeared into the hallway and into her room. She sat down on her bed; she reached over and turned on the radio. She did feel ungrateful and she felt bad about yelling at Zim. He was just trying to help her…
She just sat there, looking down at the floor as a song came on.
She never slows down
She doesn't know why but
she knows that when
She's all alone feels
Like it's all coming down
She won't turn around
Ember listened to the song; she didn't care if the shadowy presence saw her and decided to show up. She just didn't care…
The shadows are long
And she fears if she cries
That first tear
The tears will not stop
Raining down
Ember wanted to cry, but she stopped herself.
'No…no more tears!' She screamed at herself through her thoughts.
So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day what's lost can be found
You stand in the rain
Ember didn't notice the tall, shadowy figure watching her from the same corner it was in the first time she saw it.
It was silent, watching her.
She won't make a sound
Alone in this fight with herself
And the fears whispering
If she stands, she'll fall down
She wants to be found but
The only way out is through
everything she's running from
Wants to give up and lie down
So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day what's lost can be found
You stand in the rain
Ember looked at her bandaged arm. She now felt like a terrible friend.
"…You don't deserve a friend like Zim…You really are an ungrateful slut…" The figure spoke in a cold voice. A voice that was once again distorted and sounded demonic.
Ember didn't look up; she didn't say anything.
So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
Stand through the pain
you won't drown
And one day what's lost can be found
The figure disappeared; causing the song to sound a bit distorted, but it soon returned to it's lyrics.
So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day what's lost can be found
You stand in the rain
The song ended; Ember turned off the radio and lay down.
She refused the tears and pulled the covers over head. She fell into a very uncomfortable sleep.
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Dang…this chapter was long!
But I do think that I could have done a better job with the detail in the first half of the chapter…but I think the point does get across…and I'm really tired right now.