The clatter of metal bouncing on the floor and sound of feet marching above caused all of them to freeze.

Zim met Gaz's eyes; one of them was twitching as she stared wide-eyed at them. He rolled his own, marching into the central command room barking orders at his computer. Gaz's gaze traveled to Kyt who was frozen in thought as she stared at the wall adorned with weapons.

He had been right there, so close to her.

And she felt everything. Every little emotion she had enveloped in her anger spilled into her heart. She couldn't hate Zim, even for lying to her. And she couldn't deny how she had felt at the winter dance. She let her eyes linger on the wall, letting the feelings sink in. Then she lifted her head to look at Gaz, whom was smirking.

"Are you guys going to stand around like a bunch of buffoons, stinking earth children?" Zim snarled, poking his head into the armory. His intense gaze didn't falter as he met eyes with Kyt. "There are Irks in search of you. There is only so long before the computer system dies out and we are left defenseless. GIR!"

"Yes, master!" Gir's more robotic voice called out from another room. There was the sound of metal being dropped and clattering across the floor nearby.

"Gir, you idiotic garbage monkey!" Zim snarled, "Hurry into your suit."

There was more clattering and metal crashing; the sound of running feet intensified and echoed off the bare walls. Kyt tilted her head at the sound of voices, commands and questions being given to the troop. She blinked her iridescent eyes in realization of where she was and what has been happening.

Dib was dead and the possibility of her friends dying was looming ominously close. Her mother... She wasn't sure what it meant the way her mother radiated light and her movements were like water. Not human at all. It was still difficult to wrap her head around the fact her mother was alive... They weren't human. Neither of them.

But Gaz was a human and Zim was similar to one.

In seconds, she felt her body move forward, grabbing at the chakrams Zim had attached not even five minutes ago. As she swept past Gaz, still standing in confusion, Kyt could feel the flames forming around her arms; the air around her heating to inhuman temperatures. She could hear Zim's voice nearby yelling, but she was only focused on moving.

How could she have let this get so out of hand?

How could she have let a simple mistake befall all of the things she loved? She had gotten mad over things she had never known... That she had not grown up knowing or was truly attached to. The flames around her were flickering from orange hues to purples and blues, then slowly to greens and white. She could see the Irkens spilling in from the entrance opposite of her; her feet didn't stop. She didn't have to because they had already quit moving. Kyt continued her pace towards them, raising one of the chakram as their weapons pointed towards.

"Where is Tak?"

Tak. Tak. Tak. The name reverberated past their bodies, from their lips to the air. No answer came and in an instant flames licked the walls around them. There was no cries or screams of agony, they didn't get the chance. The flames found their way back to Kyt along with the chakram she had flung into the air above them. The Irkens that had stood before them were replaced, anyway. This batch didn't bother in simply aiming their weapons, but attacked as well. Strange, glowing bullets missed Kyt's flaming figure by a hair's breath and she didn't flinch. The light they gave off was only consumed by her own.

Close by, Gaz had fallen out of her stupor and watched with a calm expression as her flames engulfed everything before them. Zim was frantically searching for tools, trying to fix Gir. Without looking away from the brilliant bursts of light, Gaz spoke down to Zim, "Shouldn't we stop her? She's getting worse... She could destroy this whole place..."

"She is an embodiment of light. A dangerous form of light." Zim hissed through clenched teeth, throwing down a screw driver in frustration. "They should understand that, human worm. They do this to themselves... Tak did this to herself."

"Give me that," Gaz snarled, snatching the tools away from Zim's fumbling hand. She began working on Gir's immobile body, seeing the connection problems in an instant. -For an alien, he is an idiot- She growled in her own mind. Zim stared down at Gaz, watching her deft hands work through the suits wiring. He then looked up at Kyt, who had one of his own race up in the air. She was speaking rapidly; he was trying to free himself. Melted metal hung from his Pak where he had tried to use the legs to break free. He watched his legs dangle several feet above the ground. He had forgotten how it had been to be that small... After the experiments he had performed on himself, he grew like a normal human worm-baby. He had altered himself in that way from his own kind...

His eyes widened in realization as to whom she was holding up. The short and stout little figure, which on Irk made him absolutely hideous. He had the same maroon color of uniform Zim wore himself.

"Kyt, put Skoodge down," Zim said, making his way to her. She was surrounded in ashes. Ashes of those he would have once ruled over... he brushed off the irritation of this thought.There were plenty more Irken being hatched back on Irk. They would soon be replaced... Just like the Almighty Tallest, Zim chuckled maniacally in his mind as he kneeled down to his formerly fellow invader. Skoodge stared at him with buggy eyes, shaking.

"Z-Zim?!" He squeaked, clearly astonished at the height of his friend. He was unnaturally tall for an Irk, even for an Almighty. Which of his memory served him right, Zim had not been this tall the last time he saw him... Zim scoffed at his "friend", rolling his eyes, before grabbing the collar of the small creature's suit.

"Yes, it is I, Zim, you idiot fool." He bared his sharp teeth in a scowl near Skoodge's face. "Tell me, Skoodge. Where is Tak?"

Skoodge stared at his fellow invader with bewildered eyes. The fear of being burned by the beautiful creature of flames etched all over his face, he squirmed. Zim shook him, "Tell Zim. Or else..."

Zim followed the small Irken's terrified gaze. He was afraid of Kytïel. A smirk came across his lips as the realization hit him: all of them were terrified of the Halön's power. Every last one of his kind and the humans. He stood up slowly as he spoke, still holding Skoodge by his collar towards Kyt,"I will offer you as yet another sacrifice."

"Can we just hurry this up? We don't have much time at all." Kyt snarled, her quiet demeanor shedding in her frustration. She needed to stop Tak before everything got more out of hand than it already was.

"The Massive! Tak is on the Massive!" Skoodge finally squeaked. "By the northern part of the city, sir!"

"That's a good little invader," Zim cooed as he let go of the poor little creatures shirt, allowing him to drop to the floor. "You'll be leading us there, understood?"

Skoodge nodded quickly, standing to dust himself off and trying to process everything that was happening. Zim turned back to Gaz just as she was closing the torso of Gir's suit. Kyt and Skoodge watched, waiting. There was no movement. Kyt locked eyes with Gaz, who seemed flabbergasted. How could something she fixed not work?

Zim took a deep, frustrated breath as he marched over to the suit. He pulled his right leg back before sending it forward into a mighty blow to the android's side. "DAMMIT! WHY WON'T YOU JUST FUNCTION CORRECTLY, GIR?!"

The three watched as Zim kicked away at Gir's suit in shock. They knew Zim had his violent tendencies and was short tempered. But he had never truly hurt anyone- save Dib, a few times. There was a soft groan and Zim's foot was stopped by Gir's pale hand.

"I'm okay." Gir said, wearily yet somehow still cheerfully. Kyt felt her shoulders sag in relief. Although she knew Gir was only an artificial intelligence, losing another friend would be unthinkable.

Kyt watched as Gir stood, dusting himself off with a shake of his whole body. A small smile forming on her lips. But it's time to get to business,She thought to herself as she looked to the small Irken cowering near Zim, then she looked at Zim. The Halön ignored the fluttering in her chest.

"We need to get a move on." She said to catch all of their attention. At the same time, she was hoping that they wouldn't run into anymore troops. To more deaths. It struck her then that she had just ended lives without blinking an eye. She ran a hand through her hair, What the hell is happening to me?