The next day Amber spent the day with her parents. She had baked a cake that morning and was enjoying a slice while half listening to her parents talking about how to be careful at college and not to go to parties and to keep focused. At that point, however, she was thinking more about how she was going to get Gir activated again and finding her childhood friends. She nodded. "That's nice, Uh..I'm going to finish packing now." She smiled, finished her cake and put her plate in the sink, bounding off to her room and shutting the door. "Alright. I need more clues to where they are." She said softly. "Zim didn't mention where he was in the note, my diary said Dib might be in the asylum. So I guess that's where I start then." She nodded, walking back out to the living room. Her mom looked at her. "I thought you were going to pack?" Amber bit her lip. "I'm going to later, I'm in no hurry. I was going to ride my bike to the bookstore." She looked at her dad. "By myself, I'll be back when I can." Without waiting for an answer she ran to the garage to get her bike, peddling off down the road towards the asylum.
When she got there she hid her bike in some bushes, locking it up with the cable. She walked inside the large building, loud voices filled the area. She walked up to the reception desk and rang the bell. The clerk looked up. "May I help you?" she asked in a stuck up voice. Amber already didn't like this lady. "Do you, by any chance, have a resident by the name of Dib Membrane?" The clerk took forever to search on the computer. "Yes, we do. Please go over to the visiting area." She pointed with her pen to a two sided counter separated by a mesh screen. Amber nodded and walked over while the clerk called some people to bring Dib there. After a few minutes screaming could be heard. Amber jumped a little. She started to have second thoughts about this. Soon two people walked through a door on the other side of the screen, dragging a struggling, screaming person. He was no older than Amber, he was bound in a straightjacket, his raven hair messy and dirty looking. They threw him roughly into the chair, Amber frowned at how poorly they treated him. He growled at them as they left, turning to look wild-eyed at Amber. She bit the inside of her mouth, where to start talking with this guy? "Uh..hi..Dib.." He grunted at his name, tilting his head to the side. She sighed. "I know you may not remember me, nor may not want to, but it's me, Amber.." He stared at her, taking a moment to comprehend it. He slowly stood up, Amber swallowed. "Dib..what's..what's wrong?" He opened his mouth, trying to get words out. It dawned on her that he might not have talked since he was put in here, just screamed and yelled. "A...A...mb..er.." a small, trembling smile formed on his face. "S...S...o..rr..y.." At first she was confused why he said sorry. Then she understood that he was apologizing for 9th grade year when he threw the pencil at her. She nodded. "It's ok Dib, it's ok." His smile grew, a few tears running down his face.
They talked for about an hour. Amber told him that she would be heading off to college in a few days, and about how as she was packing she found her old diary, and the heartbreaking entries that were there. And how she found Gir stuffed in her closet and that she was going to activate him to help with finding where Zim was. Dib nodded, listening intently. His smile never faded. It was good to see him again, his eyes still so full of hope. The door on dib's side of the screen opened, the same people walked in. "hour's up, come back sometime tomorrow." they told Amber, yanking Dib up forcefully causing him to yelp. Amber frowned, getting up. Dib refused to walk, straining to look back at her, trying to call her name and tell the people to let him go. "I'll get you out of here.." she whispered as he was dragged off. She walked out of the building, pulling her bike from the bush and unlocking the cable, riding off to the bookstore to get at least one book before going home.
She walked through the garage and into the house, carrying a paranormal book she bought from the bookstore. It was for Dib when, no if, she got him out of the asylum. She walked through the living room where her mom was on the computer clicking away at a game. "Hey mom, I'm back from the bookstore." Amber smiled, sitting beside her mom and watching her play. "What book did you get?" she asked, pausing the game and glancing at the book. Amber mumbled. "It's a book on the supernatural.." Her dad walked by and heard her say that. "I thought I told you a while back that this supernatural was all a bunch of garbage! You're 18 years old Amber, it's time to stop living a made up world!" Amber glanced at the floor. "Just because you don't see something, doesn't mean it's not real." She walked past him and into her room, shutting the door, not wanting to have an argument with him. She set the book on one of her boxes that littered the room. It was getting late so she changed into her pajamas and lied down on the bed, going on her computer and onto DeviantArt, writing a little journal on how she found Dib. A few minutes later her inbox was cluttered with questions consisting on how she survived the encounter with the crazy person. Amber pursed her lips. replying to them that he wasn't crazy, just misunderstood. After a bit of arguing she shut her laptop and put it down on the floor. She tried to get to sleep, her mind garbled with thoughts of gir and Dib. The thoughts on Gir being about how she would activate him, and when. the thoughts on Dib being how she was going to get him out of the asylum, and if he was ok. She drifted into a restless sleep, not hearing the muffled giggles within one of the boxes.