The Darknest Hour

Part Fourteen

The only thing that could be heard were the sounds of footsteps as they made their way down the passage; which seemed to be going on forever. No one said a word as they ventured onward. As they did so, Zim continued to think of how they were going to make it out of the caves.

Since everything outside the tunnel had come crashing down in the explosion, it was likely that it had destroyed many of the possible escape routes that led them out of the caves. 'There has to be a way out of this place.'

Zim was suddenly cut from his thoughts as he accidently bumped into Skooge who had been in front of him; causing him to fall over. Zim had not noticed that everyone had stopped. Skooge turned in shock at the impact and saw Zim staring back at him from where he was now sitting.

"Um... Sorry." Zim said; feeling sheepish.

"It's okay." Skooge replied with a smile; helping him up.

"We'll rest here for a while." Elora said turning to the others.

She then slowly stooped down to help Dib rest against the wall.

After a moment, she stood up.

"You guys wait here," She told them. "I'm going to go check the tunnel."

Everyone nodded and soon Elora rushed ahead to scout the tunnel. Zim stood for a moment before turning to his friend nearby. Dib rested against the wall massaging his sore leg. Zim took this moment to make his way over. Dib looked up in surprise to see Zim standing there.

"How is your leg?" Zim asked; concerned.

"It could've been better." He replied; after a moment.

Though in pain he still managed a smile. Zim half smiled.

"I'm sorry this happened." He frowned.

"It's okay, Zim," Dib replied. "If you hadn't caused the cave in, the Voltarians would've gotten to us and killed us already."

"Yeah... I guess." Zim said; half-heartedly. "But now we might be stuck here."

"I'm sure we'll find a way outta here." Dib replied.

"He's right." Came a new voice.

The two turned to see Xane and Skooge standing there.

"We'll get outta here." Xane stated.

"Yeah, and if the Voltarians come, we'll kick their scaly butts." Skooge smiled.

At that moment, Elora came back. She had a look of joy on her face.

"Guys!" She shouted; slowing her pace to catch her breath.

It wasn't long that they saw someone came in from behind her. Zim's eyes grew wide as he saw what he saw. He could tell it was a young female Irken. She was dressed in a deep purple dress with black boots and gloves and had deep violet eyes and had a somewhat strange device attached to the side of her face.

"Tak!" Zim cried out as the She-Irken came closer.

"Zim! Skooge!" She cried out as well. The three friends embraced each other out of joy.

"What're you doing here?" Skooge asked; smiling as he pulled back from hugging Tak.

"I will explain later." Tak replied; seeming to be in a rush. "The others are waiting for us."

Zim; at this moment, stooped down and slung Dib's arm over his shoulder; helping him stand up.

"Tak, you and Elora can lead the way." He stated as he steadied Dib.

Tak nodded; before breaking free from Skooge's grasp.

"This way." She said; motioning them to follow.

As they continued on, they felt the ground quiver slightly.

"We need to hurry," Tak stated after a moment. "That earthquake made the tunnels really unstable."

As this was said, Zim began to feel a bit nervous. Soon, he spoke up.

"Um... Actually, that wasn't an earthquake." He admitted; nervously.

This caused Tak and the others to stop. Tak soon turned around.

"What do you mean it wasn't an earthquake, Zim?" She asked; looking somewhat suspicious.

"I kind of... Um... Blew up one of the tunnels?" Zim confessed; grinning nervously.

Tak stared at him in shock.

"Zim... You... What were you thinking!" Tak shouted.

"It was the only thing I could think of to do while we were being chased by the guards!" Zim argued; more nervous than before.

"At least the guards aren't chasing us anymore." Dib said; coming to Zim defense.

Tak stopped to think.

"Well, that's true." She admitted.

Soon, she turned to her friend.

"Zim?"

Zim flinched slightly.

"I have to admit that was pretty resourceful." Tak said finally.

Zim and Dib smiled.

"But completely stupid." Tak added; causing Zim's jaw to go slack and Dib to start snickering.

Zim shot him a dirty look; which made Dib go quiet.

"Now, come on; we have to hurry." Tak said; motioning them to follow.

And so they made their way through the tunnel with Tak and Elora leading the way with the others following close behind.

XD Even though it's angst, and friendship I still wanted to put some humor in there :D Sorry if this parts kinda rushed ^^; I had to figure out what to do :( Also, this part is a little bit short ^^; I hope you're not upset :( Anyways, I'll get more up soon :) PLEASE MAKE SURE TO R&R! :D THANKS! :D:D