This chapter comes so late I can't even begin to say how late it is. But just in case someone's still interested in this story… Here's Chapter 10!

Thank you CazBM and lovova for your reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot…

The path to death

Chapter 10: Next…

"Insolent Human!" the small, green being mumbled, furious. "Why must I, ZIM, waste my precious time looking for clues in this ancient place when I should be plotting marvelous plans to rule the world!? Wrecked little brat! Why couldn't you just keep your little pale ass on your bed and not go meet some stupid hero! Grrrr! What would I give for the chance to prove, once and for all that I, Zim, am the mightiest of them all!!! Maybe then I'll be given the respect I deserve!"

He was typing as fast as his gloved hands could. He had been doing so since he got to the Megaville police station and subtly broke into the archives. He growled when he realized that the report about the "Café incident" did not give any information about the victim. The body wasn't in the police's possession.

"Argh!" he shouted, not caring if someone could hear him. "I have wasted half an hour of my precious time, poking this incredibly slow human computer and to what end? Nothing!" he hit the computer's screen, breaking it. He blinked a couple of times, registering what he had just done. An evil grin spread on his face.

"Ha! Ha! Serves you well, you useless contraption!" he shouted. "That is what you get if you mess with Zim! The almighty conqueror!! Mwahahahaha!!!"

In the next moment, he felt something hitting him on the back of his head and sending him with his face right into the hole he had made a few seconds ago.

"Shut up, you little buffoon!" an armored figure hissed at the struggling alien. "You could be heard!" the figured shook his head at Zim, who was still trying to get his head out of the screen. The one that had hit the small alien was wearing a purple mechanical armor. He had a head that resembled a dinosaur and a rather slim body.

"These pathetic mortals will not hear me! And even if they do, there is no way they can harm me, for I am Zim..." the small alien started but he was, again, interrupted by his armored partner with a whack over his head. This time his forehead hit the desk, which cracked under the force of the assault.

"Shut your mouth Irken!" The purple clad figure spoke again, anger obvious in his voice. "Have you found anything of use?" he asked in a demanding tone.

"No…" Zim mumbled, rubbing his head. "These pathetic beings can not conceive a useful report to save their lives" he snickered, trying to count the stars that were still circling his head.

"Dr. X will not be pleased by this…" the figure grunted.

"But what about you, Kurogane… (A/N: I don't know the names of those aliens in the DarkStar Council, so just bear with me) Have you found anything of importance?" the green creature asked, eyeing the larger figure.

"I have taken the evidence gathered by the humans from the scene. The body is not in their possession. After we bring everything we found here to the Headquarters' labs we will have to search for the body." The purple figure said.

"It might just be our brat" a new, rougher voice spoke. The two turned to see another robotic looking creature, this one a lot larger than the purple armored one. Its armor was a dark shade of gray. He seemed very muscular and had a fierce look on his face.

"And what makes you think of that possibility, Sekitan?" the other armored figure inquired, not exactly impressed by the consequences of this being true.

"Just think of it. In such situations, humans bring the victimized body to search for clues inside of it. If they don't have it, it means that someone else took it, which leads to the supposition that someone considered that body too important to be left in the hands of the police" the gray one spoke in a calm voice.

The smaller armored beast only stared at larger one, seeming to process the information he was just given. Zim, on the other hand, didn't need much time after the big one had spoken to feel a cold shiver running down his spine. If the "brat" (as many of the DC's members called Bell) was actually dead, then Dr. X would certainly throw a fit. And for some strange reason, every time their hot tempered leader was angry, he found all kinds of reasons to lash out at him (a most dreadful experience).

"They have cleaned the scene." The largest of the creatures spoke again. "Whatever evidence could have been there is no more. However, there were no obvious signs of struggle, which is quite peculiar if we assume that it is really our girl who died there."

"Maybe it's not her…." The smallest alien said, hopefully.

The purple armored creature sighed and shook his head. "I am not certain. There are too many missing pieces to this puzzle. Let us get back to the Headquarters and analyze the evidence we have gathered." The other two nodded and made their way out of the building, without being spotted.

And just as quietly, another figure made its way out, with agile movements and a stern look in its eyes. It had witnessed the entire scene.

At the DarkStar Council's HQ…

"Just great!" a brown haired girl grunted as she gripped her spanner. "Why do we have to clean up after this hot head when we should be making plans to take over this accursed planet?!" she growled to her fellow colleagues.

"Our interests are very alike… and he is the founder and leader of this organization…" a green armored creature spoke in a rather husky voice.

"So what?!" The girl shouted, throwing her tool into the wall, making another hole in it.

"Control your temper, Princess Sam." A smaller creature said. It had a silvery armor and its face was more human than the others', but it still somewhat resembled a lizard.

"Do not scold me, Hagane!" the girl hissed. "I don't understand why we should submit to this hot head when it is obvious that he's the one who should bow to the Mistress! And what does he do?! He mocks her with his insolence and arrogance!" she spoke angrily, hitting the ground with her foot. The others just stared at her, knowing that it was better to let her calm down on her own instead of trying to do something about it.

"And why should I care about that little white brat of his?!?!" she continued to yell. "Lately all she has been doing is being a complete nuisance to all of us! Insolent! Disrespectful! Arrogant! Argh!" she punched the wall next to her. "You know what? I'd be so pleased to hear that the little traitor was put to sleep in that joint! Serves the dirty, little brute well!" she growled the last part.

"Now, Sam, do not hurry to judge." The one that had spoken to her earlier said. "Even with her relationship with the leader of the Power Puff Girls, the child is still a valuable addition to our organization and she has proven many times to be very useful to our plans. Her death could mean a hindrance to our future strategies. And if I may say…" but he couldn't continue.

"You may say nothing!" the brown haired girl shouted again. "I can do just as well as that little brat! Even better!" she shouted as she stomped out of the room. The others stared at the door she had just slammed without being too impressed. Princess Sam was known to be as hot tempered as Dr. X himself, or even more.

"At least she doesn't lack motivation…" the silver armored creature sighed, turning to his previous work.

What the armored aliens did not notice was that Princess Sam was not the only one to leave the room. When they had all turned around a small shadow emerged form its hiding place and swiftly followed the girl who had just exited.

At the entrance of the HQ…

The tall man looked at the door of his own hideout. It was well masked and it couldn't be spotted unless you were very close to it. But at that very moment, he wasn't studying the architecture of the place. His mind wondered back to the discussion he had had with the leader of the Power Puff Girls.

"A sword… Poison…" he mumbled as he concentrated. "But who… who could murder with a sword? And use poison." His mind wondered to a few possibilities but he shook his head. "I must be someone who knew… knew her. But not in just any way… They'd have to know them closely… so they'd be able to tell what kind of effect certain substances have on her…"

Suddenly, his trail of thought was interrupted by the door opening. He blinked a few times at the brown haired girl standing right in front of him. He took a few moments to remember her name.

"Princess Sam" he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. He realized this and shook his head slightly. "What are you doing her?" he said in a stronger tone, scowling at her.

"Doing my job! We don't have a day off after all." She commented in a cold and slightly accusing tone. She glared at him as she stormed off. On any other occasion he would have stopped her and punished her for the insolence. But at that particular moment, he was glad that he could be alone again and mind his own business.

He walked into the building, heading towards his quarters without even thinking about where he was going. He encountered some of the other members of the Council, but he hardly noticed them as they all quickly backed into the wall as he passed them. Being the boss certainly had advantages.

But as he walked something caught his eye. It was the three he had sent to look for clues.

"You!" he almost yelled. All the three figures froze. "What have you found?" the tall man demanded. He watched the three walk towards him. Zim looked pretty terrified and he was slightly shaking, but the other two aliens only had worried expressions on their faces. "Well?" the no-so-patient man asked again.

"Not much, Dr. X. The humans have gathered little information. For some reason, the body of the victim was not in their possession and they did not have any photographical evidence regarding the body, only the crime scene. Apparently there was a lot of spilled blood, but there were no clues of any kind which could indicate a struggle of any magnitude." The gray figure spoke, doing his best to keep a calm appearance.

"We have taken all the evidence we could find and brought it back to be thoroughly analyzed in the Council's labs. After we are finished with the tests we will search for the body." The purple one said.

"It might not be Bell…" the smallest creature said in a weak voice. The tall man's eyes narrowed at the green alien at this comment.

"It is" the man hissed. At this, the others' eyes grew wide and Zim backed down a few steps, though he wasn't sure he did it because of the news or because of the man's tone. Even if the possibility had occurred to them and the two armored creatures had treated it so calmly, the actual fact was truly surprising and even frightening for one of them.

"But sir…" the purple figure began, but stopped when the Dr.'s venomous stare met him. For a moment he thought the man would yell at him. But he didn't. Dr. X glared at each of them, noting the armored creatures' seriousness, though he could see a hint of nervousness in their eyes. He was not surprised to see Zim's frightened eyes and he almost growled at him. The young alien was a true coward at heart. He scowled and he saw all of them twitch in fear. He almost smirked; he liked to spread fright even among his own minions.

"Well? What are you waiting for?!" he started to shout, making all three startle. "You think you're finished already?!" at this the three figures straightened their postures, like soldiers waiting to receive their orders. "You're job is far from done! I want you to double check all the evidence you gathered to look for clues! And I want a full report on my desk before sundown!"

The three aliens didn't wait to be told twice. They almost ran towards the laboratory in the building, dragging the items they had picked up at the station. The leader of the DarkStar Council glared after them. For several minutes, he did his best to control his breathing and along with it the fire on his head which was threatening to burn a hole in the ceiling. After a while, his eyes narrowed and he punched the side of the wall, leaving a hole there. Along with that punch, the fire erupted more violently, making the ceiling above him start to melt. The man started to walk towards his private room again, unconsciously avoiding the melted metal that was slowly dripping from the ceiling.

And just as he did not notice the hot substance that could have done him quite some damage, he did not notice the dark shadow that had been watching him since he set foot into the building. As Dr. X walked away, the small figure made its way out of the DarkStar Council's HQ, quickly disappearing from sight.

Somewhere else…

Darkness enveloped the ruins of what used to be a massive building. It was a cloudy night for that time of the year. The few stars that weren't covered did nothing but to deepen the shadows around the structure. Metal and stone lay around forgotten, some bearing the marks of an old fire.

No cricket bothered to ring its soft song around the scattered ruins. The small rodents that made their nests there were silent and the few snakes and lizards moved around carefully, without making a sound.

While a lazy breeze made the few leaves and bushes rustle, a shadow moved from its previous position. As silently as all the other creatures that inhabited the ruined landscape, the figure made its way through the scattered rubble to a point in the structure where the walls were still somewhat standing. A sure hand moved towards a small bush and in a matter of seconds a hidden door opened. The figure climbed down the stairs which were revealed, at a steady pace, making sure that the entrance was properly sealed. A reddish light glowed in the narrow corridor.

The shadow did not pay any attention to its surroundings and continued its descent. After passing through dimly lit hall, it opened a small iron door and went in. The room was large and it resembled a workshop. There were tools and materials carefully stashed on the many tables in the room. Each one had some kind of machinery resting on them. Most were only halfway done, some were merely projects and others seemed ready to be used.

It first headed towards one of the tables on which there were many files, resting in perfect order, some vials with colored liquids inside them and different kinds of metal, neatly stashed on the long worktable. The shadow stopped in front of it and silently contemplated the two objects that were resting in the middle of the table: a long, sharp sword and a small bottle containing a clear liquid. Out of one of its outfit's pockets, the figure pulled out a silver cross, not larger than its palm, and placed it on the sword so its top end would touch the small bottle. With a satisfied nod, it turned around.

The dark figure then walked to the far wall and took out a piece of paper and a small vial with a red liquid from its clothes. But unlike the other walls that were gray, this one was painted. The entire structure was made into a very detailed map of Megaville and its surroundings. Without even blinking, the shadow poured the red liquid on its fingers and drew an X on the map. Then it taped the paper to the wall and took a step back to admire the change. On the place where a small café should have been, was a red X from which thin rivers of liquid started running down the wall. The shadow took a moment to look at the paper which had been placed exectly beneath the red X. It was really a picture… a picture of a white haired girl, sitting on a toilet seat with a big cross-shaped wound on her abdomen.

With a small smirk on its lips and a soft twinkle in its cold eyes, the figure turned, heading towards one of the worktables which was close by. Once there, it took one look on some scattered papers as its hand reached for a chain which had an iron collar attached to it. Its smirk grew wider as it brought the collar up to study it. The metal band was thick and it had spikes. But what was unusual about it was that the tilted, razor sharp spikes were on the inside part of the collar.

"Next…" a quiet hiss escaped the shadow's parted lips as its smirk became an evil grin.

Well… Cliffhanger.

I hope you liked it and… I'll see you next time.