VINDICATION

Chapter 29: Systems Down

*This chapter is dedicated to GothycCoalchambr for da lurve in da reviews. Hooray for lurve!


Dib had already dropped the last of his canisters on the west side of the Octagon, and he grinned. “I’m clear, Zim. All that’s left is the north entrance and we’re done.” The grin disappeared abruptly when something exploded three yards from the side of Tak’s ship, and Dib wrenched the steering controls hard, veering to the side, panting rapidly. How the hell could they—oh no—he hadn’t counted on the military being that smart!

Another missile rocketed out of the darkness towards him, and Dib veered Tak’s ship at the last minute, his eyes widening. “Shit!!” He grabbed the communicator, nearly panicking when he saw the next barrage of missiles being fired. “ZIM!! HEAT-SEEKING MISSILES!! HEAT SEEKING!! Drop your load and pull up!!”

Zim rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Pathetic human weapons were no match for an Irken ship. He’d have to punish the Dib for trying to order him around again. He snickered as he released the load, not bothering to pull up as Dib had ordered him to do.

“Stop your squealing, Dib-human.” He chuckled over the transmitter. “Those pathetic human weapons are no match for an Irken—” he was cut off as the first heat-seeking missile hit the rear thrusters, the chemicals released in the explosion reacting with the Voot runner’s exhaust and causing the engine to burst, tearing off the entire rear section of the ship. Sweat broke out on Zim’s forehead as the Voot runner went into a sharp dive, and the second missile blasted one of the pods off the side of the ship. As the ship started to spin from the impact, he slammed on the EJECT button, praying that it wouldn’t malfunction like last time…he wouldn’t survive…

“SYSTEMS DOWN, COMMAND NOT RECEIVED” the ship computer’s voice responded.

He pounded frantically at the controls, and with the ground mere seconds away, he extended his four spider legs and blasted a hole in the Voot runner’s clear protective shield, leaping out just before the ship crashed and exploded into a million pieces.

Zim hit the ground hard, the rough asphalt shredding his uniform and scraping his skin raw as he tumbled and rolled almost fifty feet, stopping when he slammed into the brick wall of a supply building, the impact caving in one side of his pak and knocking him out.

Dib watched in horror as the Voot Runner hit the ground, shattering like a wine glass dropped on cement. He shoved the levers forward, racing towards the ground, flying low, his heart racing as he searched for something, anything. When he saw the Irken crumpled beside one of the supply buildings, his heart almost stopped. He scraped the bottom of the ship as he landed, then leapt out, running over to the fallen Invader and scooping him up, running back to the ship as the air raid sirens continued to wail all around them, soldiers running to and fro in blind panic. Climbing into the ship and slamming the shield closed, he rocketed back up into the air and sped back towards the base, praying that Zim wasn’t dead.

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Yes, the title for this chapter was a little nod to JTHM. And I know that I left it at a major cliffhanger, but come on, I have to do that to you guys once in a while, or I couldn’t call myself a writer! (well, I could, but…you know…)