Episode 7: Not What She Seems? (Part 3)

She never saw it coming,

Scratch that…

She definitely knew this was going to happen, she just didn't think it would be so soon.

"OMG it's a spy drone." Zita said.

"A spy drone in a classroom how strange." Mark agreed.

Crystal tensed, 'did he just say spy drone?'

"Nobody move." Mrs. Cree ordered.

Don't move? She might as we be telling her to sign her own death wish! Crystal wanted to bolt for it, but where would she go? She was no doubt surrounded by now.

'They've never found me this quickly before!' she thought with a panic.

"Scanning for target!" The spy drone said.

Mark tensed, was that thing scanning for members of the resistance?

"Scanning for target!" The spy drone the drone repeated. "Target acquired!"

Crystal closed her eyes; it was all over!

Mark watched in shock as some invisible force cut the spy drone in half.

Suddenly Mrs. Cree drew out her PAK arms and pulled on a pair of weird looking goggles. "I see you." She whispered and fired her energy blaster in the corner of the room.

Mark watched was a faint outline of the intruder's outline ran across the room to dodge the blow.

"What's going on?" Crystal asked.

"Something invisible just sliced up the drone and now Mrs. Cree is fighting it." Mark answered her.

"Then maybe we should get out of dodge." Crystal said.

"That sounds smart to me." Zita said.

"No one moves in less Mrs. Cree says so." An Irken cadet named Tieu said.

"Fine you want to die be my guest." Mark got up and Crystal went to follow.

"Target acquired, open fire!" A robotic voice sounded.

"Duck!" Crystal forced Mark out of the range of fire just in time.

"No one move, sit down!" Mrs. Cree screamed as several drones began to crawl into the room.

Mark's eyes widen as the invisible figure came into full view.

Zim turned off his invisibility and aimed his own blaster at the students. "Why yes please stay still! It will make this a lot easier!"

Of course, the humans all scream and race for the door trying to run over each other as they try to get out of rang. All but Mark who just stares at him like he's lost his mind.

And Crystal who had decided she was tired of running from her problems. 'Besides, I can't leave now.' She thought. 'I still have to tell them!'

"Zim!" Dib gave him a warning glare as he appeared beside him.

"What? You told me to get them out of range, so I did." Zim said defensively.

Meanwhile Cadet Scamooch had managed to force his way past the stampede of humans and entered the room, and what he saw made him do a double take.

It was the Irken Zim! The Traitor!

'I have to report this!' Cadet Scamooch phoned into his mentor.

"This better be good Scamooch." General Kazar said as he appeared on a screen that emerged from the cadets PAK.

"Sorry sir I just thought you'd like to see what your formal student was up to." Cadet Scamooch pointed the screen towards Zim.

A smile slowly formed on General Kazar's face as he watched the events unfold.

Zim pushed Dib out of the way just in time as Mrs. Cree fired another round from her blaster.

"Drone scan the new targets!" Mrs. Cree ordered a second drone as it entered the room.

"Scanning new targets!" the drone said, following orders.

"Oh no!" Zim whispered.

"Dib Membrane and Irken Zim!" The drone let out a loud alarm.

And suddenly what appeared to be hundreds of drones filed into the room.

"Well, well, well." Mrs. Cree snickered. "It would appear I'm the lucky soldier that gets to turn you in."

"You'll have to catch me first!" Zim screamed.

"Uh Zim?" Dib pointed to the swarm of drones that had surrounded them.

"Looks like your lucks run out!" Cadet Tieu chuckled.

Zim forced himself not to panic, after all they still have some important information to retrieve.

"They haven't lost yet!" Crystal said readying herself for battle.

"And what are you going to do you blind bat?" a cadet asked.

"This!" Crystal yelled and threw a small almost microscopic robot towards the drones.

Zim recognized what it was in seconds. "Nanobot!" he exclaimed, activating his force field in seconds. Unfortunately, Mrs. Cree wasn't so lucky, and seconds later her PAK was destroyed as the Nanobot attached onto it and jolted it with a large bolt of electricity.

Dib watched in awe as the Nanobot jumped from Mrs. Cree's Pak and attacked the drones one by one tearing them up from the inside out. Crystal jumped into action drop kicking the cadets around her and in seconds she was by his side.

"Okay I'm impressed." Zim admitted. "But you missy have a lot of explaining to do!"

"I know." Crystal said. "But not here, there'll be more!"

"Oh, you really think it's that simple?" Cadet Tieu asked as she and the other cadets stood their ground.

"So, what now?" Dib asked as the enemy began to close in from all sides.

"Wait you guys have no plan?" Crystal asked.

"Oh no, I totally planned for a wanted undesirable to be storming threw our school today!" Zim snapped.

"Well maybe if you guys had a way of communication." Crystal argued.

"Oh, okay how about a big neon sight that says the Rebels live here!" Zim yelled.

General Kazar chuckled, yes he was still the same head strong, know it all he remembered him to be, except for one thing. "He's grown." He said.

Another Irken appeared on the screen beside him, his blue eyes narrowed. "Well it's about time the little worm grew a couple of inches."

"Koi I would be focusing more on what you enemy is doing if I were you." General Kazar advised.

Koi rolled his eyes but did as he was told.

"Guys focus!" Dib warned.

"Seriously must I do everything?!" Zim snapped. "Their cadets for crying out loud!" Zim drew out a metal staff. "Four!" he shouted and swung.

The pour cadet went flying out the window.

"Zim!" Dib was stunned. "You just-"

"Broke every bone in his body why yes, yes I did. And frankly if it hasn't been done already then the Irken Armada has gotten a lot more lenient in my absence. Now let's go!" He said swinging his staff once more.

But this time the cadet was ready, not that it made much difference, after all Zim was a fully trained soldier.

"So, what? Your people just throw around its students?" Crystal scowled.

"For your information I'm doing them a favor, if the authorities found them unscathed they'd get a lot worse than a few broken bones!" Zim snapped.

"What is wrong with your people?!" Crystal exclaimed but followed his lead none the less.

Dib had to admit he felt kind of bad for hurting other kids, sure they were aliens, but it wasn't their fault they had been taught wrong!

Right?

Of course, it's not! But that simple fact didn't stop him from following Zim's lead as they plowed through the cadets one by one until they reached the door.

Cadet Scamooch stood his ground it was just him now, surely more drones would be on their way soon; he just had to hold them off till then.

"Step aside child!" Zim ordered, his staff at the ready.

"Not likely!" Cadet Scamooch snapped.

"Cadet stand down!" A voice from the cadet's PAK screen ordered.

He knew that voice!

Zim couldn't help but smile as the PAK screen turned towards him revealing his old Mentor and previous rival; Koi. "General Kazar I'm surprised someone of your stature would waste your time with such lowly trash."

'Did he just call me trash?!' Cadet Scamooch growled deeply.

"But seeming how the Amons are dwindling I can understand that you simply have no choice but to settle with a lowly Shew." Zim continued.

"So, you are aware of the problem?" General Kazar asked, looking quiet amused. "Interesting."

"Yes, well here's something else you might find interesting." Zim said. "I know who is responsible, and if I find out that you are a willing accomplice I will not hesitate to take you down as well!"

"Idiot!" Cadet Scamooch snapped. "An illness is responsible not a person!"

"Is that the lies they've been telling you?" Zim asked looking down on him. "How weak! Everyone knows there isn't an illness strong enough to wipe out all Amons. Sure, the weaker ones yes, but all? I don't think so, now I believe your mentor told you to stand down half pint!"

Dib couldn't help but notice Zim's distain, and even though he was being cruel to Scamooch it was obviously gesture towards the two Irken's on the cadet's PAK screen. Dib looked at his Irken comrade and noticed that his eyes were glowing red. 'It's happening again.' Dib tensed, remembering Zim's violent rages.

Was he going to have another episode?

Would he turn on him and Crystal?

Cadet Scamooch stood his ground, "I know exactly what you are, and I don't care!" he said. "You're nothing to me but a traitor!"

"Your leaders are the true traitors!" Zim snapped. "Killing Other Amons just so they can stay in power."

"You're lying!" Cadet Scamooch yelled. "Take it back."

"No!" Zim said. "And besides, it doesn't matter if you believe me anyway. The Tallest will get what they deserve soon enough."

"I won't let you!" Cadet Scamooch vowed ready to pounce.

Zim had to admit he almost felt bad for him, the cadet had full faith in his leaders', and they were repaying him by lying to his face. The cadet reminded him of himself in his younger years, completely and utterly devoted to them; without question.

It made him sick to know that someone else was getting played the fool just like he had been!

"Cadet Scamooch stand down NOW!" General Kazar yelled.

Cadet Scamooch's brow narrowed in obvious anger, but he did what he was told none the less and stepped aside. "You'll never beat them you swine!" he spat at him.

Zim shook his head as he, Dib, and Crystal raced past him without a moment to lose. The child was too much like him for his own good, and if he kept this up he'd be labeled defective before too long. Even still that was not his concern, no he had bigger fish to fry.

"Why did you let him go?!" Koi snapped.

"Sir I could have taken him!" Cadet Scamooch yelled.

"What I did was save your life!" General Kazar snapped at Cadet Scamooch, silencing them both. "You may not care, but I have put far too much work into you for you to go and do something stupid like getting yourself killed!"

Cadet Scamooch held his tongue as anger coursed through him, but he dared not talk back to his mentor! No, he had made that mistake once before, and he still had the scars to prove it! And yet he was almost tempted to disobey orders and prove to that traitor that he was not trash!

'But seeming how the Amons are dwindling I can understand that you simply have no choice but to settle with a lowly Shew.'

Cadet Scamooch growled silently as Zim's words echoed in his mind. Yes, it was true he was nothing more than a lowly Shew! But that didn't mean he liked to be reminded about it! Usually Shews would not be given the opportunity to be mentored by one of the Top Twelve, but since newborn Amons were pretty much none existent now General Kazar had no choice but to choose a lowly Shew to replace his old pupil Koi who was now showing signs of the final change. Meaning Koi would one day succeed the Tallest!

Leaving General Kazar with a lowly shew as his successor!

Cadet Scamooch knew he should consider himself lucky, General Kazar had chosen him before he had even emerged from his test tube. He had even been mislabeled on purpose as An Amon so the general wouldn't have to deal with embarrassment of being succeeded by a lowly Shew! And that's why he hated all the other cadets!

They only sucked up to him because they thought he was really an Amon!

Only fully realized Amons that had completed the final stage, like the Tallest, or was currently going through the change like Koi could actually sense that Scamooch was really a Shew. Which meant only one thing.

The Irken Zim was going through the final change.

"Yes, it would appear things are about to get very interesting indeed." General Kazar chuckled. "You've figured it out haven't you?" he asked Scamooch. "You know what he is."

"Captain Koi will beat him!" Cadet Scamooch said confidently.

"No need." Koi spat. "He's not strong enough. He'll die before he finishes the change."

"For your sake I hope so." General Kazar snapped cruelly.

'He doesn't think Koi will win.' Cadet Scamooch realized. 'I don't like the sound of that.'

And it was true he didn't like it; no he didn't like it one bit.

(Back with Zim, and Dib…)

Zim and the others raced down the corridor as alarms blared around them, he knew their only chance was to escape through the lunchroom courtyard. Dib knew this as well, so the two lead Crystal there as fast as their legs could carry them.

There was an army of Spy drones behind them!

She knew because Crystal could hear their metal legs as they stampeded towards them, crawling on the floor, the ceiling, and the walls behind them.

They had to get out, and they had to get out now!

Zim was the first to reach the cafeteria and instead of running all the way to the door he ran straight through the glass of the cafeteria window. Dib found this excessive, but necessary and didn't hesitate to break the glass.

Crystal on the other hand was confused to discover that there was indeed a rebellious Irken out there! Sure, they had all heard about Zim, rumors of him betraying his own kind raged through the underground like a large wildfire. But to actually know an Irken that would be reckless, and ununiformed; it was unheard of.

No Irken would dare to disobey their superiors, and yet here was one proving to her otherwise.

She couldn't help but wonder why? After all his race was won so why choose the losing side?

What did he hope to gain? What did he have to lose?

And what was his story?

All these questions raced through her mind as she followed the two to safety through the courtyard, across the street and into the maze of alleys and back roads.

"In here!" Dib said opening up a sward lib and jumping in.

Zim offered her his hand to help guide her down.

Usually she would be offended by such a gesture, she needed no help climbing down a ladder; but to have an Irken actually offer to help her or anyone else for that matter astounded her.

What makes him so different?

Is it biological?

Is there really something to this whole defective thing that the Irkens speak so strongly about?

Or is he just not afraid to stand up and fight against the odds?

Crystal wasn't sure which the answer was, but she did know one thing. For whatever reason this Irken was different; and she found herself wishing there were more of them like him.

Zim was surprised that she took his hand without hesitation, most humans questioned his motives, but she seemed to trust him right off the back.

And he couldn't help but wonder why?

"You do know I'm an Irken right?" he asked as he began to guide her down.

"We humans have had our battles between several different races of our kind for centuries." Crystal said. "And if there is one thing I've learn it's that not all members of a single race think in the same way. And they do not stand for or believe in the same things either. I would be wrong of me to judge you, and label you an enemy just because you are an Irken."

Zim couldn't help but smile. "If only everyone else saw it that way." He said with a heavy sigh as he covered the seward hole back up with its lid. "We should be safe here for now."

"We may not have a lot of time!" Dib said. "Crystal tell us what is it you know!"

Crystal took a heavy breath "I'm a member of the Underground." She explained. "Usually my job is to gather food and scrap metal, but one day my group, and I stumbled across an old abandon factory, or at least we thought it was abandoned, but it turned out the Irkens were using it to manufacture some kind of mind control collars."

"Wait what?" Dib was stunned. "Did you say mind control?!"

Crystal pulled out a thumb drive, "My team and I managed to hack there main frame and download everything on it before we were caught. I'm the only one who managed to escape."

Zim took the thumb drive knowingly. "This is why there coming at you so strong; you hold the information the enemy plans to use to eliminate the human threat once and for all."

"But why bring it to us?" Dib asked.

"When I reported to my leaders what happened they shunned me out, and my parents!" Crystal explained. "I begged them to stand with me, but they said the underground was not an army of rebels. They said it was a refugee community for humans who wanted to escape enslavement."

"So that's all there willing to do is save humans from slave traders?" Dib asked.

"We rescue others at our own risk." She explained. "It's illegal for the Irken's to captures humans for slavery. But not getting involved ensures our leaders that Irken reinforcements won't be called when we attack the enemy." Crystal explained.

"So, it's a lesser risk?" Zim pointed out the obvious.

"I am thankful to my leaders." Crystal said. "They saved my family from enslavement and allowed us to hide in refuge from our previous master, as they have done for countless others. But I can't stand by and do nothing when I know this is going to happen."

"How long do we have?" Zim asked.

"Three days." Crystal said gravely.

"Three days!" Dib exclaimed.

"I'm sorry it took me longer to find you than I had hopped!" Crystal yelled.

"Please forgive his tone but you see our ranks only include 25 members, and 20 of them are new recruits." Zim explained. "We are simply not ready for a full-scale attack on the enemy."

"Then all is lost." Crystal rasped.

"No, it's not Dib said we'll do it, but we're going to need your help."

"My help?"

"You've been inside the factory, you know where it is, you know the lay out, and the path of least resistance." Zim explained.

"We need your insight." Dib told her.

"But the drones they'll find me wherever I go!" Crystal exclaimed. "I'll give your position away!"

"I can fix that." Zim assured her. "But it's going to hurt."

Crystal wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.

Dib just gives him a weird look, and Zim suddenly bursts into a fit of laughter.

"Your faces are priceless!" he laughed. "All she's got to do is wear this!" he said putting a device on her wrist. "It sends out an electrical pulse signal that makes it impossible for spy drones to read your bio signatures. You'll be practically invisible to them as long as you keep it on."

Crystal smiled. "An Irken with a since of humor? Maybe there is something to this defective thing."

"Takes one to know one." Zim scoffed back.

"Okay Zim I'm glad you have a new friend and all, but now that they can no longer see her can we please get out of this smelly place." Dib asked.

"You're such a Smeet!" Zim teased. "But fine." He started leading the way.

"Uh where are we going?" Crystal asked.

"Oh, just a giant dome under water made out of a hotdog stand." Dib answered.

"He's joking right?" Crystal asked hopefully.

"No, he's not." Zim assured her.

"But Irken's and water don't mix." She pointed out.

"Which is why it's the perfect place to hide." Zim laughed.

Crystal shook her head, as she followed their lead towards their secret base. She could just tell that by the way these two were flying by the seat of their pants that they were winging this whole thing. Not that she could blame them, no one had beat the Irken race before, so it wasn't like there was a guide to follow.

Dib couldn't help but smile as well, but more out of relief than humor. Zim didn't lose his temper when his eyes started glowing as he did before. 'He's getting better.' He realized as relief washed over him. 'Good because I'm not sure we could do this without him.'

However what Dib didn't know was it was far from over, and it was about to get a hell of a lot worse before it got better.

-To Be Continued