Disclaimer: IZ does not belong to me.
A little birthday fic, inspired by my own passing birthday. I tried not to be specific about when it takes place, because I dunno when Dib's birthday is. ZaDr, you have been warned. Not heavy, though. Kinda subtle til the end.
When Dib woke up, that brisk, cool morning, he expected to wake up in his warm, soft bed. Later, he would go downstairs, eat breakfast, get doomed by Gaz, go to school, taunt Zim (who returned each taunt dually), go home, eat cake, and go to bed. Simple, not really the kind of birthday one would expect for themselves, but Dib was perfectly content with his simple yet heroic lifestyle. What he did not expect was waking up in a cold, clear tube in a cold, metal room. Even if there wasn't pink everywhere, obviously there was only one person he could blame for this...
"ZIM!" The enraged human cried out, struggling against the restraints that held him within the clear tube. All at once, the restraints released and the tube opened, unceremoniously sending Dib sprawling onto the ground. When he got up, a cold, maniacal, familiar laugh echoed through the room. Dib looked around, trying to identify the source. He only succeeded in locating a speaker-like machine, where the sound must have been coming from.
"Muahahaha! Greetings, human worm. Didn't expect this, did you?" The ever so elusive alien responded to the human from... somewhere else, "Welcome aboard the Neglected, a smaller Irken ship which was discarded soon after the Massive was born. I have resurrected it just for today. If you're feeling brave," The doors just ahead of Dib opened widely at the will of some foreign computer at Zim's command, "then come find me. I'll be- GIR! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" This was followed by some crashes and a loud, screeching sound, before the speaker turned off.
Dib winced at the final sounds, then turned towards the doorway. It was obviously a trap. Why else would Zim bring him here? ...Then again, what exactly did he have to lose? It's not like he could get back home waiting around here, right? So, with a deep breath and a continuous paranoia within his guts, he set forward, wondering just where in the Universe he was.
A dark, ominous light fell over Dib as he crept cautiously down the heinous hallway. It was long, poorly lit, and smelt of rotting flesh. The smell made Dib's insides flip-flop in his stomach, but he continued forward, gulping and wringing his hands nervously. The sound of heavy metal colliding with the floor caused him to cringe, then run forward as fast as he could.
One thing's for sure: If Zim's goal was to scare Dib, then he had far beyond succeeded.
The room at the end of the hallway seemed to be some kind of laboratory. The distant smell of fading chemicals and burning metal still hung around, with no wind or new odors to force them to fade away. Broken glass on the floor crunched as he walked over them, making his way slowly to the center of the room. Dull, gray, lifeless machines hung around the side, obviously weapons to use in case of an emergency, though from their condition, Dib would guess that they'd never been used.
A single pair of goggles, black, rested upon the table. Dib smiled at the faint reminder of his father, then frowned, quickly scanned the room for a camera, and took the goggles, placing them over his head to be pulled down over his eyes at any time. Professor Membrane had done the same thing before he had developed the obsession with saving the planet or something, "Guess I'm not as different as I thought," The boy mused, pulling the goggles off for a moment. Just to look at them.
"...This is all very nice, but could you MOVE ALONG ALREADY?" Dib winced, "And yes, you may keep the goggles. Not like I need them. They're nothing special," For a moment, Dib looked down at the goggles, then up at where the voice was coming from, then back and forth. Finally, the goggles returned to Dib's forehead, and he moved forward, taking it slow, whether to deliberately anger the alien or merely be cautious be unknown.
Another dark, menacing hallway stretched between Dib and the next room. Er, not really all that interesting the second time around. The door at the other end was stuck, though. Dib had to pry it open with a metal board that had fallen off the wall. The room beyond seemed like a public crew area. Most of the items in the room reminded Dib of recreational items from Earth, like a 'Virtual Animated Non-fatal Simulation', so said the label, or the 'Intergalactic Information Center' set to the side of the room.
One small, little, tiny step at a time, Dib crept through the recreational room. So concentrated on looking for traps, Zim's minions, or both, he didn't notice himself crash into a snack machine until he was on the floor, rubbing his big head. On the nearby table, something gleamed a silvery color. It piqued Dib's curiosity enough to get him to approach and examine it. At first glance, it was a small, metallic sphere, with no purpose, but Dib, not your human norm, examined it until he found a small button on the side. The entire room lit as the orb floated, glowed, and projected a large array of stars, planets, and black holes. His eyes widened in amazement. The Irkens had mapped so much of the known galaxy, and still there was so much out there! Dib noted there location, close to a cluster of light he couldn't make out, and nodded. Seeing as it could be useful later, Dib stored the newly christened 'star map' in his coat pocket, and continued onward.
The only available door lead to a chamber with multiple doors. Most of them had read lights glowing, and two had green lights. Dib, not using much brain power, figured this meant the red doors were locked and the green doors were open. Using human nature of laziness, he opened the nearest one. What he saw beyond it made him gasp.
The room, besides the wall behind him, was made completely of some see-through material. Tempered glass, perhaps. In the center was a table, but that didn't interest Dib. What did was beyond the glass. Swirling black holes, exploding stars, and shooting asteroids enraptured the self-proclaimed paranormal investigator. All he could do was stare numbly at the incredible light show no human had ever had the pleasure of seeing before. Even if they had, no one could appreciate the sight as much as Dib. They wouldn't understand.
So entranced was Dib that he did not notice the door behind him opening or closing. His mind blocked out the familiar smell of taco meat and the patter of footsteps slowly nearing him in favor of the spectacular light show outside. He did, however, hear a voice, chilling and bitter, as it whispered in his unsuspecting ear, "Hello, Dib..."
Meanwhile, on the Massive, Tallest Red and Purple were playing cards when a loud, shrill scream echoed through the bridge. They looked up, alarmed, before exchanging a glance, shrugging, and returning to their game.
Zim howled with laughter as Dib looked around mindlessly for something to defend himself with, "Calm yourself, Earth Child," He managed between laughter, "It-It is only me... hahahaha!" Now that he was aware Zim wasn't going to kill him, Dib scavenged the remainder of his dignity and glared at the Irken, annoyed.
"What is this, Zim? What am I doing here?" The human raised an eyebrow, "You don't look like your trying to kill me... is this a trick?" Finally, after forever, the Irken calmed down, wiping a stray tear from his eye.
"Oh, I apologize, but that was PRICELESS! Good thing I got it on camera," He pointed out the security camera nearby, "As for why you're here..." Zim trailed off, in an obvious effort to annoy Dib. Needless to say, it worked, "Well, is it not customary for humans to give people gifts on the date of their birth?"
Dib blinked. Oh yeah, it was his birthday, wasn't it? He had kinda forgotten with all the excitement, "Zim, birthday presents are a tradition upheld by family and FRIENDS. CLOSE friends. That's far from what we are."
"Eh, details," The Irken blew it off casually. Despite rolling his eyes, Dib was kind of touched by the mix up. Being... well, Dib, he didn't have many people telling him 'happy birthday'. Maybe Gaz, though that was about as likely as the Professor coming home for Christmas.
"So, wait... my present, was seeing this?" Dib was amazed. Never had something so beautiful ever even crossed his imagination. Now he was witnessing it first-hand, and it felt great. Something inside him was moved by the scene. Yeah, that's right, the scene. The fact that anyone, especially Zim, had gone through so much trouble for him was not responsible at all. Not. At. All.
"And the goggles," Zim nodded towards his head, "And the galactic map."
For the first time in the presence of the alien, Dib had absolutely nothing to say. He just stepped towards the Irken and, overcome by emotion, pulled him into a tight hug. Zim raised an eyebrow at the embrace, then shrugged, brushing it off as a human thing. He tended to start doing that with things he didn't understand.
"So... when are we going home?" Dib finally collected his wits and pushed himself off of Zim, blushing slightly.
"At the end of the day. That is when the truce will end. For now, we watch," Zim sat down on the floor, pulling out some popcorn from his PAK and offering some to Dib. He shrugged, sat down, and helped himself. Man, what a birthday.
"Thank you," The words felt lame on his tongue, mostly due to who he was speaking to, and Dib smiled sheepishly. Zim, not one familiar with human behavior, informed him exactly of the repairs of the Neglected and how much trouble he went through getting this ready. Though he didn't understand most of the tech talk and terms (considering some Irken words simply couldn't be translated to English) Dib nodded along and smiled, all the while wondering just why the alien had done this.
Zim looked up, "We are at your base, human. I shall go home now," He turned to leave.
"Wait!" He stopped and looked back at Dib, who looked away, "Um, why did you do all this?"
Zim stared at him, "Must you ask questions like that? It ruins the mood," He sighed, "I obtained intelligence that said Earth children are to be fussed over on the date of their birth. When I saw that wasn't the case with you, something just... I dunno, but it made me feel weird. Like I was watching myself suffer, but worse," Zim tilted his head to the side, "Do you understand?"
"Eh, not really," Dib shrugged, "So, I'll foil your plans tomorrow?"
"Yes, you will, but be prepared, Dib," Zim's voice turned cruel and cold, just like it used to be, "because I will be ready for you!"
"And I, you, Zim. Goodnight," Dib rolled his eyes and continued into his base. Zim watched for a bit before turning around to walk home. Only to be randomly tackled by a certain alien robot who was screeching with insane laughter and shoved some paper into Zim's face, "GIR! What is this?"
"I MADE IT MYSELF!" The robot continued with his mad cackling. Zim sighed, threw the paper onto the sidewalk, and walked home, Gir being dragged behind him. The note floated in the breeze for a few precious seconds, before landing on the ground, face up. Two faces, one green and one normal, but significantly larger, were encased in a large pink heart upon the paper.
So...
Like I said, subtle til the end. Not really proud of how it ended, either, but this is the most creative thing my brain meats could come up with. BRAIN MEAT FREEZE!