Dib awoke to Zim laughing manically as the ground rumbled and a roaring noise engulfed the cabin.
"Zim! What did you do?" Dib worriedly looked up at the ceiling as the cabin shook and rumbled, little bits of dust and woodchips falling from the rafters. Zim continued to laugh, ignoring Dib until the lights went out. Zim's laugh cut off suddenly with a choking noise. The rumbling continued for another couple minutes before stopping abruptly, the entire cabin encased in darkness and completely silent without even a hum of electricity.
"Zim!" Dib called out, waving his arms in front of himself hoping he'd hit the alien first if he tried to attack him. Dib heard Zim clear his throat in the dark, recomposing himself.
"Haha! Weak, pitiful humans! I didn't even use a powerful explosive; that was a mere toy!" Zim continued laughing, still ignoring Dib's ranting.
"You blew something up? What did you blow up Zim?" He grew increasingly frustrated as Zim continued laughing. Dib edged towards the laughing, swinging his arms around until he finally hit the alien. Zim gurgled and fell to the floor, kicking widely and knocking Dib's legs out from under him, throwing him to the floor. The air escaped him as he hit the ground.
"Accursed human!" Zim shuffled around, getting back to his feet. He pointed in the vague direction of Dib in the darkness. "I have won, you cannot demand an answer from your master! Hahaha!" Zim began laughing again.
"You didn't win anything Zim! You're just as trapped here as I am! We're both trapped!" Dib yelled in frustration. Zim laughed for a moment longer before his voice trailed off. Dib could hear him walk away from him and one of the curtains slide back, but no light came through. Zim ran over towards the door and slammed into the wall instead before feeling his way to the door, making concerned noises all the way. Dib heard him tugging on the door handle but it wasn't opening and Zim growled at it, pulling harder. His pak legs slid out and thunked against the door, presumably giving Zim more leverage, but this tactic also failed and Zim fell back as his gloved hands slid off the door handle.
"CURSE YOU! " Zim shook his fist at the door, silently commanding it to open. Dib stood up and felt around for the couch as something to hold onto. He heard Zim jump to his feet.
"What do you know, human? Why are we trapped? MY PLAN WAS FLAWLESS!"
"We're trapped because you blew something up on a SNOW COVERED MOUNTAIN. You caused an avalanche Zim!"
"Avalanche? Tell me of this 'avalanche'."
Dib sighed, mentally imagining Zim using air quotes. "You don't know anything do you?" Zim blanched but Dib continued without giving him a chance to speak. "An avalanche is caused by too much snow building up on the surface of bodies of snow and then this build-up falls. Usually this snow is removed by causing controlled avalanches when no one is around, but of course we'd go to a place that isn't kept up…" Dib glared in the general direction of Zim in the dark. "Why did you blow something up anyway?"
"You foolish humans dare to mess with the mighty ZIM!"
Dib thought about this for a moment. "Wait… this was about the jackets? You have twelve of them!"
Zim growled. "This was not about the measly jackets, Dib-human! Those foolish humans thought they could do as they pleased with a mighty Invade—er… the mighty ZIM!"
"I know you're an alien, so stop pretending!" Dib yelled out in frustration. There wasn't even enough light for his eyes to be able to see just a little bit. He was concerned about Zim doing something and him not being able to fight back.
"Never! I am NORMAL!"
Dib shivered, pulling the jacket closer to his body. The temperature had been gradually dropping the longer they were under the snow. Occasionally the cabin would creak, worrying Dib. Did anyone know they were in there? Was anyone looking for them? Was anyone else trapped in their own cabins, or worse under the snow itself? Dib looked around despite its uselessness, suddenly noticing it was quieter. Zim wasn't making any noise and this unnerved Dib. Was the alien planning something?
"Zim?" Nothing. "Hey, Zim. Don't make me look for you again." Not that Dib was going to run around swinging his arms incase Zim was laying a trap for him, but the alien didn't need to know that. Suddenly sparks shot out of Zim's pak and Dib could see briefly. The alien was on the other side of the room and his normally reflective eyes were dull and lifeless. The pak shocked Zim's body and his eyes lit up again just before the sparks disappeared and Dib couldn't see anymore. Dib's heart was beating rapidly, the sound invading his own ears. Zim was making small noises again, driving home just how quiet it was before.
"Zim?" Dib meekly asked, cursing himself for having been startled. The alien shifted.
"What do you want Dib-beast?" He sounded normal at least.
"What… what just happened?"
"Eh? I don't know what you're talking about." Zim responded defensively. Dib breathed deeply.
"Did you die? Your backpack thing was sparking and it seemed to, I don't know… restart you, I guess."
Zim made an odd noise. "Nonsense! I am ZIM! I cannot die!"
Dib became frustrated. "Look you! If there's something wrong with you, just tell me! I don't want to see you die again. It was… disturbing." Dib shivered as he remembered the dull, lifeless eyes he had seen. Zim didn't respond and Dib freaked out for a moment before noticing the alien was still making noise, so he hadn't croaked again.
"Look… you're not going to… self-destruct or something if you die, are you?" Dib was beginning to think the snow bearing down on the cabin wasn't his only problem. Zim didn't respond again.
"Come on Zim, it isn't like you to just ignore me." Nothing. "Just say something. Look, I can hear you alright. I know you didn't die again." Dib listened closely. Zim was making less noise. Dib imagined Zim's heart, or whatever organ he might have powering him, stopping and a mechanical timer counting down before the alien exploded. He groaned and stuck a hand out in front of himself before standing up and slowly walking in the direction he had seen Zim earlier. Eventually his hand came into contact with the alien and Dib pulled back instantly, but Zim didn't appear to react.
"Zim?" He could still hear Zim breathing, or whatever it was he did, but he wasn't responsive. Dib reached out and poke him gingerly, noting Zim's cold flesh. He poked harder and finally Zim responded, jerking up and yelping at Dib's proximity.
"Foul earth monkey! You dare try to ambush the mighty ZIM?" He reached out blindly and shoved Dib away, who grunted as he fell back onto the floor.
"I wasn't trying to ambush you Zim!" Dib yelled. His voice lowered a bit. "You weren't responding, I even poked you several times! I don't want to be blown up you know."
Zim growled at him. "You won't blow up, stupid human! Now go away!" He growled. Dib growled back in frustration and stayed back from Zim, but didn't move any further away than he already was. He couldn't see a thing but at least now he was close enough to do something if the alien decided to die off again. What that something was Dib didn't know.
Dib jerked awake, looking around the dark instinctively. It took him a moment to gather his wits and remember the situation he was in and when he did he attempted to locate the alien he was sharing the cabin with.
"Zim?" Dib waited for a response and was about to start poking around until he hit something when the alien spoke.
"What do you want earth-monkey?" Zim finally responded quietly, his voice agitated. Dib relaxed slightly.
"Just making sure you aren't dead." Dib still contemplated the idea that Zim would explode should he die. Zim scoffed.
"Foolish human! I am not so easily defeated." Zim replied, but his normal boisterous voice was subdued. Dib frowned in the dark.
"Are you sure you're alright? You don't sound like… well, yourself." Dib moved slightly closer to where he thought Zim was, trying not to freak the alien out in the process.
Zim shifted. "I told you I am not so easily defeated, fool boy!" His voice was louder slightly, as if he was trying to put on a front.
"Liar!" Dib didn't believe the alien for a moment, and there was no way he was going to let Zim take him down with him.
"Tell me what's wrong with you or I'm going to come over there and find out myself!" Dib noisily shifted to prove his point, causing Zim to make a displeased noise.
"There is nothing wrong with Zim! I am mighty and indestructible!" Zim yelled out. Dib shifted again. "Eh? Stay away you stink beast!" Zim attempted to back away but he'd wedged himself against the fireplace and he couldn't escape without going through the path the human currently occupied.
"Tell me what's wrong with you or I'm going to come closer!"
"You wouldn't dare!" Zim bellowed. Dib lunched towards Zim, making the alien yelp in surprise.
"Away!" Zim's pak legs came out and attempted to dislodge the human from his torso. Dib swatted at the weakened mechanical legs but they still managed to get a few good hits in on him, one of them poking him in the face.
"Ow! Just hold still Zim or you're going to get us both hurt; you already trapped us in this stupid cabin!"
"That was YOUR fault, human!" Zim retorted.
"My fault? How is this MY fault? You blew up the mountain!" Dib grabbed at the legs but couldn't keep them contained.
"You enticed the human stink beasts into running off with your jacket and when I attempted to mock you, they turned on ME! It's YOUR fault Dib!" Zim pushed Dib off of him with the help of his pak legs and scuttled over the human before he could recover, wedging himself in another corner of the room. He activated a light on the end of one of the pak legs and pointed it at the human lying on the floor.
Dib winced as the light hit his eyes and threw an arm over his face to protect his sight. "If you had a light why didn't you turn it on earlier?" Dib tried to open his eyes but the light was still too strong to his deprived eyes.
Zim laughed. "Haha simple human! I didn't need a light to keep an eye on you! Foolish, weak human!" He continued to laugh.
"Then why do you need the light now Zim?" Dib asked, his voice cocky. Zim's laugh cut off.
"Eh? Uh, eh… lies!"
The light clicked off and Dib slowly removed his arm from his eyes.
"Just admit you need the light to see and turn it back on." Dib wouldn't be able to see for a while but after his eyes readjusted to the light he'd be able to watch Zim's every move again. The alien didn't respond.
"Zim? Just turn the light back on!" Dib was frustrated with the alien's stubbornness. He still didn't respond.
"Come on Zim, don't be so stubborn!" Dib yelled, his voice echoing in the small space. Zim growled.
"I'm conserving energy!" Right after he said it Dib heard Zim smack his gloved hands over his mouth. Dib grinned, knowing the alien had said something he shouldn't have.
"What kind of energy, Zim? Huh, huh? Are you powering that light yourself? Huh?" Dib forgot momentarily about their previous argument, excited about the prospect of finding out more about the alien.
"LIES! You speak LIES!" Zim screeched, giving himself away.
"What, really? So wait… does that mean you're running out of energy? So that's why you uh… died earlier?" If the alien was running out of whatever power he required, Dib didn't know if there was anything he could do for Zim and he might end up stuck with a dead, self-destructing alien carcass.
"LIES!"
"Shut up Zim! Be serious."
Zim scoffed but didn't say anything else. Dib contemplated the situation for a moment before speaking again.
"Is there anything we can uh… power you with? Lights are out so food or heat I guess…" Dib would be the first to admit he didn't want to help his enemy, but he also didn't want to find out what happened if the alien died for real and he wasn't going to believe Zim's word that he wouldn't explode.
"Fool! I do not require your pitiful earth sustenance."
"Stop calling me a fool! And I said stop being so stubborn! Look… if you die, you can't complete your mission can you? Can you Zim?" Dib knew he was hitting a bit below the belt, but he didn't really want Zim to die. Zim made a choking noise.
"Unless you want to fail your mission tell me what kind of power you can use!"
"There is nothing you can do, Dib-beast! I am expending too much energy, and yelling at you isn't helping any! Just leave me alone and I'll be happy." Zim quieted down again, shifting against the wall. Dib stared blankly into the darkness, somewhat surprised by Zim's reaction.
"Well isn't there a way for you to expend less energy? Shut down uh… unnecessary systems or something? Like those… spider legs of yours?" Dib was also trying to make Zim less of a threat, at least for the time being. Zim scoffed.
"I don't work that way Dib." Zim's voice was accusing. Dib frowned.
"Look I'm just trying to help you here! Well what are you expending the most energy on, maybe we can do something about that?" Dib was about ready to just attack the alien and dismantle that pak of his if he didn't stop avoiding help.
"Even your pitiful mind should be able to understand that it's cold. Despite my far superior physiology, I still require a certain amount of heat Dib."
"Hey! Alright, just… just turn your light thingy back on and I'll see if I can get the fireplace working again."
Nothing happened for a couple of minutes until finally Zim's pak started making noise and the light on the end of the pak leg came back on, shining directly into Dib's face. He made a choked gargling noise and threw himself in front of the couch to block some of the light while rubbing at his pained eyes.
"You did that on purpose!" He yelled over the couch, still rubbing at his eyes. Zim laughed lightly.
"Nonsense pig-smelly!" Zim continued to chuckle to himself. Dib decided to ignore the alien and just get on with it. His eyes still burned from the light so he crawled over to the fireplace with one arm in front of his eyes. He bumped into the fireplace with his shoulder and lost his balance, falling face first onto the tile in front of the fireplace. Zim guffawed behind him.
"Shut up Zim! How come the light isn't blinding you anyways?" Dib growled at the alien as he sat back up, feeling around the fireplace with his hands.
"My eyes are far superior to your weak human ones!" Zim bellowed. One of Dib's hands landed on a fireplace poker in his exploration. He picked it up and chucked it in the general direction of Zim, grinning when it thwacked against the alien in a satisfying manner. The light clicked off again. After getting his revenge on the alien Dib continued along the fireplace until he found the front. The fireplace was electric (obviously a bunch of school children wouldn't be put into cabins with real fireplaces) and if Dib remembered correctly, the switch to turn it on was near the bottom. He fumbled around until his fingers hit the switch, and expecting it to come on and blind him he pulled back. Nothing happened. Gingerly he pressed the switch again but the fireplace still didn't come on. Dib sighed.
"You can't even turn on a fireplace you smelly human! Move!" Zim stood up and shuffled over to the fireplace, tripping over Dib in the process. Dib made a pained noise and moved away from the fireplace to avoid any more injuries. Zim clicked the switch several times without luck. He growled at the fireplace and thwacked it a couple of times for good measure.
After a few minutes of silence Dib spoke. "Maybe I can just start a fire myself. I think I can break up the shelving in the corner and I might be able to get a spark going, but that might be a bad idea because the smoke won't be able to vent…" Dib continued talking to himself. Zim growled at Dib under his breath and scooted away but noticed a distinct lack of warmth the further he moved from the human.
"Give me your warmth human!" Zim yelled out suddenly, startling Dib in the middle of his speech.
"What? I can't give you my warmth Zim! I produce it; I can't just hand it over."
Zim leapt in the general direction of Dib and landed on him, grabbing at his collar.
"How are you producing your warmth? REVEAL YOUR SECRETS SMELLY HUMAN!" Zim shook Dib vigorously. Dib grabbed at Zim's wrists and tried to pry his hands away from his collar.
"I told you Zim, I produce it! I can't just give you it! Now stop shaking me!" Dib rolled over and dislodged the alien in the process. He backed away and leaned against the fireplace to regain his balance as his head spun from being shaken.
"You'd think you didn't make any heat yourself… stupid alien…" Dib closed his eyes despite the uselessness of the action.
Zim was silent for a suspicious amount of time before suddenly bursting out with "LIES!"
Dib jumped at the sudden outburst. "I didn't say anything! Wait… you're not talking about what I said a couple minutes ago are you? About you not producing heat?"
"LIES! I SAID NOTHING!"
"But-"
"LIES!"
"Stop saying that!"
"Only if you reveal your secret!"
"I don't have a secret, Zim! All normal humans produce their own heat!" Dib jabbed at the alien's obvious abnormality. Zim choked.
"Of course! I knew this. I am normal!"