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Chapter 9—Rachel to the Rescue!—

Rachel's P.O.V….

I glared at the scientists who were restraining me as the others left with Wren. On was holding its arm a particular way. The other was walking a little oddly and grimaced every time he took a step.

"At least I got a few good punches in," I thought to myself while I fumed rubbing my knuckles where I punched someone in the midst of the fight.

I had heard Zim say earlier when Wren was being taken away, "I guess we have to rethink the plan." I turned my attention fully to Zim and glared at him ready to give him the tongue lashing of the century. I shook my head angrily thinking it wouldn't bring Wren back, gritting my teeth and said, "No. We keep the plan."

"What!" Zim asked shocked. Rouk glared and growled at me.

"We are going ahead with the plan." I repeated. "Wren gave us our diversion, even though unexpected, and now we must take that chance."

Zim looked at me in disbelief. "You are just leaving her here?" he asked. "She is your best friend and you're leaving her! I refuse to believe that!"

"Why do you care!" I shouted to at him. "Remember, you don't need friends. I quote and I mean quote, 'Irken Invaders do not need friends.' So I ask again, why do you care!" I practically screamed with that last statement.

Zim looked shocked and then cast his eyes down in shame. "Sorry." He whispered resting his head against the bars.

It was my turn to look shocked. 'Wren might have mentioned something to me once that he would never say anything like that.' I thought to myself leaning my head against the bars as well. I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose to calm my nerves.

"No." I said after a long string of silence, "I should be the one to say sorry. I really have never blown up like that. It's just that-Wren would have-she would have tried harder to save me and I barely hurt them in trying to save her." I sunk to the floor and put my head in my hands.

Zim sat on the floor too, his ruby eyes toward the ground still. "You at least have a friend to fight for." He replied. He looked at me and glared, "I have no one close enough to me to even call a friend. That is all I really wanted really instead of taking a mission to invade. I just wanted to belong and prove myself."

"Well that's your fault isn't it?" I asked with the same glare.

Zim glared at me and shook his head, "You know, I had none until now."

"And what are you getting at?" I asked with a blank expression on my face.

"My Tallest, the leaders of all Irkens, never really want me at all and who would. I basically destroyed half of our planet Irk and I'm the shortest Irken on and off of Irk." He physically winced at that and I could tell it was true. "And when I was sent off to Earth in this sector, I knew they didn't want me around. I'm not as stupid as people think I am. I can take a hint."

"You know. You are actually a little bit taller than Wren is when you stand directly next to her when she isn't slouching and she really isn't the tallest person on Earth. You should see Andy. I think he is about six foot three. But anyway, why are you telling me about this?" I asked.

"I dunno really. But when I was in here and saw you and Wren being brought in, I personally thought that you two would kill each other. And maybe if one of you killed the other I could get your help to escape and I wouldn't have to worry about anything." He replied with a shrug.

"K..." I replied. "But you're getting our help without one of us killing the other, so basically we are sort of friends. And by the way, Wren and I always act like that. Unless we are really hyper."

"Hyper?" he asked questioningly while raising a nonexistent eyebrow.

"You really don't want to know." I replied with a small smile. I stood up and clasped the bars of the cell. "Listen Zim. We might want to break out now while the guard is away."

"But how?" he asked standing up too. He motioned down the hall that Wren was taken down. "Part of our plan was taken and literally went out the door."

"I know!" GIR squealed happily catching their attention.

"Huh?" Zim and I asked at the same time looking at the insane little robot.

"I know a way out!" he giggled happily. "I get out all the time!"

"Why didn't you ever tell me this before!" Zim growled at the unit. He seemed to be restraining himself from snatching the little robot up and shaking it till it's bolts rattled.

"I dunno." he replied with a shrug.

"How did you get out GIR?" Zim asked sighing massaging his temples.

"Through the vents," He replied. He walked to the wall and pulled off the wall panel. Behind it was a black void of the vent's opening.

"Wow." I muttered. "The things you learn from a little robot without a true and single thought in his head."

Several minutes later….

An alarm was going off. It was muffled but I could hear it and it was definitely an alarm. 'So they finally figured out that we're missing.' I mused from behind GIR. Zim was behind me muttering about something a little off subject but I wasn't quite paying attention to what he was complaining about. I shook my head and continued, though my thoughts wandered.

'What's happening to Wren?' I asked myself.

GIR suddenly disappeared and I lost sight of him. I stopped at the intersection and Zim ran into me from behind.

"Watch it!" I growled at him, turning around just so just to glare at him even though it was so dark I really couldn't see him behind me.

"Why don't you watch it!" he growled back.

"I can't help it that your little 'bot disappeared."

"He what!" Zim exclaimed.

I hissed at him to shut it because we didn't need anyone hearing us and us getting caught again.

I glanced down the other three vents for the little robot. I was about to ask Zim if he had a light but I saw a little glimmer at the end of the passage in front of us.

"I think I found him." I said and whispered to Rouk. She was hanging in a sling I had created from a torn blanket. "Rouk, can you see him in this gloom?" I asked.

"Why?" Rouk asked wiggling her head out of the sling. She turned her head and looked forward.

"I dunno. You're a bio-mech thingy. You should have something to help somehow," I replied.

"Um, I'll try." she said. It took her awhile and she squirmed out of the sling. "I saw him and then lost him.

"Well, then. Where did he go?" Zim asked.

"Farther down the vent in the middle I think."

"Oh great you think." I replied sarcastically. "That's not going to help us if you're wrong you know."

"Well, shall we go?" Rouk asked looking like a very odd cat or ferret on all fours with her wings against her back.

"If you get us lost, I swear to god." I started to say.

"What's the point? GIR probably got us lost anyway." Zim said from behind me with a sigh.

"For once I agree. You are most likely right." I replied and headed off after Rouk who was bounding back and forth a little ahead of us.

"I think we should move a little faster. Rouk might run a hole into the floor." Zim said as he looked at her from over my shoulder.

"Zim we are in a vent. There is no floor only the bottom of the vent."

"Just had to get technical didn't you?"

"Yep." I replied and started off down the vent. "I always get technical when I'm right."

We crawled on a while more and suddenly Rouk stopped, came back, and returned to her sling. She looked at me and pointed in front of her, "Just keep going straight." She said.

We continued and I soon noticed that the sides of the vent widened. Zim for some odd reason moved up and kept pace with me. Then suddenly we both placed our hands in front of us and found there was nothing there. Before we could move both of us slid forward and somersaulted. We landed on our butts and began to slide downwards. Without thinking both of us hugged each other and screamed.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

"WEEEEEEEEE!" Rouk screamed happily throwing her front paws in the air from her spot in the sling.

We slid for what seemed forever. Through twists, turns, and even maybe a loop.

The vent spat us out suddenly, throwing us into a blinding light. All of us landed on something soft and metallic smelling. Zim and I noticed that we were hugging each other and screamed. I stood up, brushed myself off, and looked around like nothing happened. I was not just hugging an alien for dear life and I would never admit that I had done it either if anyone asked.

I noticed quite a lot of big ships around us and that we had landed on a large pile of rags that were surrounded by a good bit of storage containers. A ship had just landed and seven people were coming out of it. I was hoping that the incoming ship had covered our screams.

"K..." I said. Six out of the seven people were guards, I could tell then as I creeped over to hide behind a crate to keep out of sight. The guards were around a single figure in what seemed to be a straightjacket and muzzle. I looked at the figure for a while and noticed he had black hair and a few features that just clicked. 'He looks familiar for some odd reason. Oh well, it's probably nothing. How many humans actually look like one another?' I thought and shrugged.

Zim and I got closer and just in time. We saw that the person had rushed and tossed two guards, knocking them out as their skulls collided with the floor by coincidence, and he was trying to go at the other four.

"We have to help him." I whispered to Zim.

"But... what about the plan?"

I glared at him.

"Fine. I'll help." Zim replied and then added under his breath, "The things that I do for a damn escape. Unbelievable."

Zim and I crept closer to the guards. A sudden flash of silver caught my eye and I noticed that it was GIR.

"Oh no." Zim muttered as he face palmed.

GIR jumped onto a guard and started to hug him around the neck. He was screaming something about becoming friends. The guard's face started to turn blue.

"Now!" I shouted and both of us jumped up and ran at the other guards. I planted a kick in the face of one guard while Zim hit two with his spider legs that had just started to retract into the pod on his back. The scuffle lasted only seconds as the other guards were knocked out cold. The one GIR had hugged may not even be alive at that moment it didn't matter. I stepped around the collapsed guards to the person we had just saved and helped him with getting off the floor since his arms were bound.

As I stood at his side and helped him up I got a better look at him. 'Now he looks really familiar,' I thought.

He started to struggle with his bonds until I placed a hand on his back and he stopped struggling, looking at me with a slightly confused look on his face. I undid the clasps on his back and the bands along the muzzle. When I stepped back he tore the jacket and muzzle off along with the bands around his wrists.

"Rachel!" he shouted and hugged me, lifting me off the ground.

I gave a yelp startled but was more than a little surprised when I recognized him fully. I hugged him back giggling like mad.

"Uh…yeah…" Zim coughed and looked away only to see Rouk making faces. He started to snicker at it and then stopped when he noticed me glaring at him.

"Zim this is my boyfriend James," I said giving James another hug.

"Zim?" James asked suspiciously, eying him with a frown. It was obvious that he didn't trust the Irken as far as he could throw the ship we were on.

"I am only here because of her friend," Zim said stiffly and crossed his arms across his chest drawing himself to his full height. It wasn't much to James' almost six foot height but it was impressive for Zim.

"Yeah, right..." James replied still frowning. He looked over at me for a slightly better explanation to the situation.

"Actually he is. Wren made and agreed to a treaty with him. Rouk and I were included as long as GIR was included on his side. So he has to be nice to us and help us until he can get out on his own." I stated waving my hands in explanation.

"Oh, so he is Wren's 'friend'?" James asked slyly with an innuendo lace throughout.

I smiled evilly when I caught wind of it and replied, "I dunno... but look how he's blushing."

Zim's cheeks actually started to turn red through his green skin and he cast his head down, a scowl on his face.

"Well I guess that answers my question somewhat." James said shrugging. He turned to me, "So how did you get here?"

I was just about ready to answer him when Zim interrupted us. "Maybe we should find Wren before we get caught. We're standing in plain view in a ship bay which is one of the best ways to get caught. You two can talk on the way." Zim suggested almost shyly.

'He seems to be afraid of James.' I mused studying his face. But then I noticed he wasn't quite afraid of James, it was something else. Something that wasn't quite showing itself at this moment. I just couldn't put my finger on it because it was like it was screaming at me but I couldn't hear it because it was muffled.

"Why not." I said and shrugged.

Zim sighed with relief and started to the door. James looked toward me for an answer. I shrugged, not able to put an answer to the question. James and I then jogged after Zim to make sure he didn't get lost, hurt, or worse captured. It wouldn't help any of us if one of us happened to get caught. We had just escaped.

So, Chapter 9 so far is done with the recoding. Not a lot changed I think. But at least it's done. I'm a bit happier with it too. Now, onward while I also make plarn. Yes, plarn.