(A/N: Honey, I'm back. Me, the chick who cares more about relationships than actually moving the plot along. *gets shot* I've been shot too many times for bullets to affect me...
In other news, my GIR Kicked Count has been requested! As you can now see in earlier chapters, I've marked them. Actually, I...did that a while ago...what a strange running gag. And looking back, it didn't happen as many times as I thought originally. I suppose it's either because I made Zim kick stuff/people a lot in general, or in most of GIR's appearances here, Zim kicks him, so it seemed that way to me. Either way, no use in wearing out a joke! *canned laughter* AWHHH, SHADDUP!
Thanks to mumblewumble, a guest, for letting me know!
But anyway, now to the reason you're REALLY here! The chapter where more stuff happens! PROXIMITY WARNING. CLIFFHANGER AHEAD.)
Zim and Tak removed their disguises and headed down into the lab.
There, Zim found the headset that was hooked up to the microphone on Dib. He hurriedly put it on and began to listen.
"...well, the next time we go to the grocery store, I'M picking the cereal! SLAM!"
Zim's antennae rose."Heh?"
"*sigh* Now that I've dealt with Gaz, I should go back over the plan."
"Ooh!" Zim turned to Tak excitedly."This is it!"
"Really?" Tak sat down and pulled one end of the headset over her head to listen intently. (A/N: You know, like how people share headphones.)
"Alright...so I have to scout out the base, and then- -huh? ...oh, Agent Darkbooty! Is there something wrong? Did something happen at the station? ..."
"Ah..." Zim turned up the volume so that he and Tak could hear to whom Dib was speaking.
"Yes, Mothman. We're afraid something has come up. We MUST claim all the evident prisoners now. No time for anything else."
"What's the problem?"
"...I'll explain later. Tomorrow, we head over there. Prepare yourself, Mothman. This could spell trouble for the Swollen Eyeball Network..."
Zim and Tak looked at each other and shrugged, not recognizing the network he mentioned.
"Darkbooty out."
"Oh, man!...I had better get going!"
The two Irkens removed the headset.
"What's happening?" Tak asked worriedly.
Zim looked away, trying to brain out the situation."I...think we should start forming a plan. You were right."
"I was? About what?"
"Everything!" Zim blurted out."Now my mission is in more danger than ever before! We must defend it!"
"But we KNOW that they're coming here," Tak reminded him, disregarding his "mission"."Would it not be better to relocate?"
"No. If those Eyeball humans arrive, they will not find us, but all of my Irken technology. We have to stay and fight."
"...what about Dib? He said that he was coming over here..."
Zim's eyes narrowed at the mention of his nemesis."The Earth boy is the least of our troubles now. What's most important is protecting the base. We'll have time to deal with him later!"
Once again, Tak was surprised by Zim's ingenuity.
"Right. Let's get to work, invader."
XXXXXXXNOTFARXXXXXXX
Dib ran as quickly as his tiny legs could carry him to Zim's base. Not only was he heading there to find Tak, but inform the Swollen Eyeballs of Zim's plan.
He was troubled, though.
Agent Darkbooty couldn't even tell Dib what was going on, so it had to be serious! What was going to happen to the Swollen Eyeball Network? Who was opposing them, and why were they in danger? Wh- -
Dib's thought came to a halt when he crashed into Zim's door. He rubbed his head and looked around. Strangely, the gnomes weren't attacking him.
...
Oh, no, wait. Here they come.
Quick as a flash, Dib got inside the house and shut the door behind him. He could feel the force of the gnomes' lasers hitting the door at his back, but seconds later, they ceased fire.
"INTRUDER ALERT!" Computer began to blare. The entire room flooded with flashing, red light."GET OUT NOW, WHILE YOU STILL HAVE YOUR DIGNITY!"
Dib managed to dodge the robotic arms that grabbed at him and hide beneath the kitchen table.
"Oh, come on!" He began to panic."There's gotta be a secret tunnel, or a passage way, or SOMETHING down here!"
He felt around on the tile floor for something of the sort, but found nothing. Then he looked across the room. He knew that there were two ways into the lab through the kitchen; the toilet and the trash can.
He stole a glance at the ceiling of the house, which was still warning him.
"LEAVE NOW! SO HELP ME, I WILL TEAR YOUR SHOULDER BLADES OUT!"
"...I can make it." Dib took a deep breath, and dashed across the kitchen.
It seemed like everything in the room was coming for him now, not just the robot arms from above, but the oven, the fridge, even the toaster! Dib could have sworn he saw the roboparents on his tail as well! And was it just him, or was the kitchen suddenly A LOT bigger?
Finally, he reached the trash can and forced himself in, struggling not to get his head stuck in the process.
He fell and fell through the chute. He tried his best not to scream and alert anyone else of his presence. Everything around him was dark, and the sound of Computer's alarm faded away.
Dib tried to recollect himself, as he could see light coming from below; the lab.
He was relieved when he could once more see his hands in front of his face, and he looked down to see what was near to him.
Luckily, there were a bunch of wires hanging nearby that the boy managed to grab onto. He slid his way down onto a catwalk that overlooked the entire lab.
Dib peered over the edge of the railing.
"Wow..."
Yes, he had been in Zim's lab before, but...seeing the whole thing was just a brand new experience. There was earth above as a roof instead of metal, and an exotic pink glow radiated from all of the Irken laboratory units, and, of course, Zim's inventions. It was quite the sight to behold.
He tensed up when he heard footsteps. He turned to the direction they were coming from, and...
It was just GIR and Minimoose. Phew.
"Oh, it's just you," Dib sighed.
"HI!" GIR greeted him.
"Nyah!" added Minimoose.
"Shhh! Be quiet, or Zim will find out I'm here!"
The two robots covered their mouths. Dib relaxed.
"Now...to find him and get some secret information on his secretively secretive secret plan...secretly..." Dib began walking in a random direction.
GIR snorted, almost sounding like mocking laughter."He's THIS way," he said, pointing in the opposite direction of where Dib was going.
"You know where he is? And you'll show me?" Dib asked hopefully.
"Hmm..." GIR looked at Minimoose, who squeaked his approval."OKAY! But only if you gimme your cape!"
Dib gripped it more tightly."You want my trench coat? Why?"
"MASTER! BIG HEAD WON'T GIVE ME HIS CAPE AND I WAAANT IT!"
"Okay, okay! Here!" Dib threw his coat into GIR's face."Just hurry!"
"Yay!" GIR wrapped the coat around himself."Now I have a Halloween costume! Look at me, I'm Nosferatu!"
"Nyah!" Minimoose turned and floated, leading the way to Zim. Dib and GIR followed closely behind.
"Nosferatu looks nothing like that..." grumbled Dib.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After following Minimoose and GIR through miles of the earth, and what seemed like impossibly structured platforms, Dib could finally hear Zim's distinct voice emanating from somewhere below.
He strode out of a dark area and saw MiMi just yards ahead.
"MiMi?" Dib caught her by surprise.
The SIR unit silenced him with a glare and a shushing motion, then continued to watch whatever was over the railing of the catwalk. Dib hesitantly approached and took a peek.
From where he and MiMi stood, he could see a big room that was mostly empty. In the center, there was a large table, where Zim was seated and grunting out some words. Behind the Irken was a computer screen that took up the entire wall, along with a dashboard. There was Tak, with her back to it all.
Dib gasped and ducked down more so that he wouldn't be seen. MiMi tried to shoo him away, but he ignored it. He knew that she wouldn't attack him unless ordered, or they would both be spotted.
Suddenly, Tak turned to speak to Zim.
"You've been working on that plan for a while now. Don't you think you need a break?"
"Zim does not require any break!" Zim told her."I have to keep planning! My mission will survive!"
He got back to work, but it was clear that he was exhausted from all the thinking. His brain needed a rest.
All Tak had done was upgrade the base defenses through the computer, which wasn't much. (Unfortunately, that required turning off the warning system momentarily, but what harm could that have done?)
She paused, strode out of the room, and shortly returned with a magenta mug in her hands. She set it down the table next to Zim.
"...what is this?" he asked once he took notice.
"Hot cocoa. It relaxes you. Don't tell me that you don't like chocolate."
"I LOVE CHOCOLATE!" Zim declared, and took a big sip. He then caught sight of the half smile that Tak was giving him, which really looked more like a grimace...he didn't like it.
"What?"
"Are you sure you're alright? Awfully cold down here," Tak jerked her head about, much like a bird."Maybe you need a blanket or two?"
Zim growled, feeling belittled by all this pampering."Look, I know that we're all about alliance *unenthusiastic arm swing* and all that now, but that is NO excuse *sip* for treating me like a child! I can take care of myself!"
"There's no doubt in my mind that you can," Tak assured him. She presumed that Zim must have gotten himself into a fair amount of near-death situations."You just seem so..."
"Weak? Vulnerable?! TINY?!"
"...I was going to say overworked, but whatever tickles your peach..." Tak shrugged and turned back to monitoring the house perimeter.
Zim turned back to his plans as well, frowning. Things weren't looking good, but he wasn't going to let Tak underestimate him any longer. He wasn't going to fail her.
"No peaches will be tickled on my watch..."
Up above, Dib was having a difficult time taking all this in, but he tried his best to focus on what he came here for, finding out Zim's plan. He leaned over so that he could see it better, but that head adds some WEIGHT, so he lost balance and began teetering over the edge, beneath the railing. (A/N: Man, I wish I could describe the scenery better.)
"Ah...ah...!" He flailed his arms, trying not to fall off.
"GRAB ONTO THIS!" GIR flung the trench coat into Dib's face, causing the young paranormal investigator to go plummeting off of the catwalk.
MiMi's eyes widened, and she reached out, but Dib was already too far for her to catch. She silently ushered GIR and Minimoose out of the room.
Zim and Tak's antennae twitched as soon as they heard Dib's muffled screams, and they looked in the direction of the noise simultaneously.
Dib hit the ground. Hard. Spine cracking, he sat up and yanked his coat off of his face, struggling to put it on.
"Dib!" shouted Zim, standing from his seat."I might have known! You came here trying to figure out my plan of defense, didn't you, Mothman?"
The human responded only with a shocked expression. He glanced at Tak, who gave him a hard look.
Zim smirked, knowing he had the upper hand.
"Well, I'm afraid you'll never have the chance, human meat cookie! *long sip* Computer! Seize the Dib!"
(A/N: Whoo! Longer chapters take a lot out of me!
And I know I made it sound like the cliffhanger was a big thing...it wasn't.
And, also...AGAIN, SORRY. I HAVE SCHOOL AND ONE-SHOTS TO DO. SO, AGAIN. YOU HAVE TO WAIT.
But please review, fave and follow, and I shall see you next time, human meat cookies. Yeauh. I just came up with it like THAT.)