~Dib~
I rushed down the stairs. These seemed like nice people, but they were bonded together strongly. All I had here was Zim, my mortal enemy. Danny, Sam, and Tucker were less prone to sharing secrets with me, but if I didn't trust them, who would I trust? Zim? Ha, what a laugh. Zim would cut off my tongue if he got the chance. I searched for the entrance to the basement/lab. I caught a small shine of light out of the corner of my eye and turned my head. Tucker! His glasses had glare from the light.
He happily waved at me. "Wow! What did you do to my PDA?!" Tucker grinned from ear to ear and projected a picture of himself smiling.
I shrugged and responded, "Simple programming. My dad was a huge scientist where I come from..hmm.."
Then, Tucker asked something I hadn't bothered to think about. "Oh, dude, your dad?! Don't you think he's wondering where you are?!"
My eyes widened for a second, then closed. Of course my family cared, right? Even Mom, somewhere out there in the huge world, cared. Right? Gaz was probably worried sick. I had thought about this before, whilst in the lab. When I fired the ecto-energy gun and created the portal, my heart had nearly stopped. During my hours of research, I began to wonder what would happen if I had died down there in an accident. What if my heart had stopped completely? Or, when I went through the portal (since I knew I would..), it lead to a pit of fiery death?
"Dib?"
"What?" I snapped my head up, distracted from my thoughts. "Oh, yeah, sure," I answered, stiffly and sarcastically.
"Oh.. Do you have any siblings?"
"Gaz. She's in third grade and has an obsession with video games."
"She'll miss you a ton, then! You're her older brother!"
I sniffled and suppressed a smile. Perfect.. A chance to escape. "Tucker.. If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone right now. I'm going to see if any of my notes were in the wreck.."
"Oh... Okay," Tucker replied sadly.
I limped down to the basement, my legs burning from sprinting downstairs from Danny's room. Not my smartest decision. When I came down, I saw Zim in a huge cage with more of the ecto-energy-stuff leaking from the sides, forcing him into the center. His eyes were squinted as he was (angrily) thinking. Today may have sucked for me, but this was a total loss for him. Once I stared at him for a moment, his head snapped up. "Dib!" I noticed that he didn't add some insulting suffix to my name.
"Whatever it is Zim, no-"
"Dib, listen to me for a moment, you... revol...stupi..smel..you, you human!" His struggle to be nice was funny, but scary. Is he trying to be nice to me? Weiiiird. "Step into my cage!"
"What? No. I don't want you to escape!" I crossed my arms. "Who knows what havoc you'll cause on this Earth?!"
"It would do me no good to escape now..." Zim sighed. "The MIGHTY Zim is weak! This DUMB green goo surrounding me is weakening me!"
~Zim~
The Dib snorted. "And what exactly do you need me for?"
Oh, if only he knew. Back in his pathetic dimension, I had my base, materials, and Gir! Here, I could barely stand. Everything ached from the crash and my usually strong Irken muscles were not holding up in this prison. I had contemplated tricking one of the humans from this Earth, but Dib had expressed how BRILLIANTLY evil I was! They would never work with me! After exploring every option, I had finally come to the conclusion that Dib was my final chance for an ally and escape. It was the only way, no matter how annoying the little snot was.
I signaled for him to step closer. "My voice hurts, can you please.. mmphh.."
Dizziness plagued my Pak as this stupid ghost goop dripped onto my antennae. I stepped to the side. My amazing balance was not going to hold for another ten human minutes!
"Your voice probably hurts from screeching 24/7.."
"Dib.. just this once... please, I beg of you, and don't get used to me begging, help me." I studied his face. "Please. I can't make it back without you.. I have Gir to look after, and I have to help you get back."
Dib considered this. "Well, well. Someone finally came to their senses, haven't they? Haha, Zi-"
"Your voice is unbearable normally, but right now I cannot stand it..and your stupid human bragging." I had begun to study human emotion and expression. "Please, just help me."
Dib unlocked the cage and stepped in. How did the substance spread throughout the edges of the container not discomfort him in the slightest?! I felt more alone than ever, more weak and useless than usual, and more depressed than proud. "..Temporary allies?"
"Temporary allies, Dib-stink." Dib rolled his eyes.
We shook hands, which was a gesture used universally. His grip felt stronger than usual.. had he been doing finger pull-ups? Or was I just getting unfathomably weak? Ugh. Probably both.. Feelings of defeat piled in my squeedely-spooch. "Now, Dib...tell me what you know."
"No, you start!"
"May I remind you that you could take off and run any moment? I don't want to be left here alone. Really."
"Really?"
"Truly. I just need you to treat me like an ally, at the very most I will allow, a fr-frien...an ally." I clenched my fists, debating whether to go softer. "I...I..."
"What is it, Zim?"
I'm scared, Dib... I keep trying to impress dumb leaders who don't care about me, trying to take over a dumb planet with plans soiled by the likes of you, and an enemy of every race, including my own. Here was not a good start either. I'm utterly useless. "Nothing, you disgusting human! I said allies! Nothing else!" I gritted my teeth. "Now, tell me what you know!"
Dib sighed. "The guy who was in the middle is a ghost.."
"No, duh! Some new news?"
"Uh, the girl's name is Sam. The green stuff is called ecto-energy. Their technology is really... behind."
"Behind from your time, or mine? Must I remind you of the fantastic Irken equipment?"
"From mine. Look, Zim-"
Pain. Red, hot pain. My legs lost all feeling as I collapsed on the floor. The ecto-energy was dripping from the ceiling and beginning to close in around me! I cried out in pain as the defenseless Zim flailed on the ground helplessly. My arms, legs, everything, began swelling up instantly. I groaned and screamed as my vision began to transition into red and black. A minute later, Dib's voice filled my head.
"Zim?! Zim! This is going to hurt!"
NO! That FOOL! I was already suffering, NOW what did he plan to do?! Before I knew it, my skin began sizzling and burning. INFERNAL human water! OH, how he would PAY! What an ally! "D-Dib...what...are...you...doing?!" I gasped.
"Washing this stuff off of you! Try to stop screaming! Any louder, and you'll draw attention from upstairs!"
I clamped my mouth shut, but squeals still escaped. I tried to focus on something else.. just, get lost in my thoughts... Useless. Dumb. Unwanted. I stopped screeching. My subconscious was beginning to take over. You aren't wanted anywhere.. not here, not back on the other Earth, on Irk, Foodcourtia, nowhere... You're done, Zim. Defeated. The human did it. Not alone, but he did it. Why not suffer? Why is it worth it to be here?
"Zim?" Huh?
I reopened my eyes, and almost freaked out. What if my biggest fear had come true: I was on an autopsy table? My guts could be all over the floor this instant! I looked around, relieved. Dib was to my aide and the three freaks from this dimension weren't here.
"Zim! Are you awake?..."
"guuuuh... yes, Dib.. and what a lovely morning it is, too.." I moaned.
"...You were talking in your, er, sleep? Would that be the correct term?"
"Fantastic.. what did I say?"
Dib blushed, rubbing his arm. "Uhhhh... You were talking about... taxes?"
I was too tired to care. Wait, I was tired..? How.. odd. ZIM never was tired! It was physically impossible for me to be tired! Yet, I felt like shutting my eyes and sleeping. Guh. Ever since I'd been blasted with the ghost energy, I had been feeling out of the sorts. Weaker, dumber, emotional, and, above all, tired. Whatever.
~Dib~
It was so weird.. I'd never seen Zim asleep, except for that one time he was unconscious. Now, I was feeling sympathetic for him because of the last day. Everything had just been turning around. While he was talking in his 'sleep' (I still don't know what to call it), I was thinking about the same things. He had talked about how useless he was, just anywhere. I was unaccepted by my own race, too. I had an advantage over Zim, though. I was more likable than him...No, that wasn't true. Back in Skool, everyone liked Zim better than me. At least, here, I wasn't hated and people seemed to be smarter. Ghosts (and other supernaturals, I assume) were well-known.
What was I doing? Worrying about Zim? Remember, Dib. This is the Zim that's tried to kill you many times, perform tests on you, humiliated you, and has made you his sworn enemy. It could all just be a trick... I knew it wasn't a trick. Zim was a terrible actor.
"What are taxes? Probably some slobbery human game."
"I don't know. I'm only nine!"
"Whatever. What do we do when they come down here and see us working together? They'll never help us!"
I thought hard for a moment. "You have to be back inside your box-cage-thing."
Zim's antennae drooped, similar to a sad dog. He got up, breathed in heavily, and began to march towards the cage. As he marched, I heard snapping sounds from his legs as he grimaced in pain. He continued to walk, sweating his weird Irken sweat. Finally, he'd made it 2 feet.
"Would you like some help?"
Zim glared at me. His eyes seemed to be getting whiter, but that was probably just the lighting. "Help? From the Dib?" He broke out in laughter, which turned into coughing, then crying as he put strain on different muscles in his body. "I'm.. I'm sorry, but no! ZIM is still capable!" He held his nose (at least where it would be) to the ceiling.
6 painful feet later, Zim faced his cage. He looked around, probably unsure if he wanted to go back into that Hell. Slowly, he creaked the door open. The pathway to enter was covered in the ecto-energy. Oh boy. "Why does everything want to hurt Zim...?" He stepped away from the door and leaned against the wall.
I sighed and got a broom. I began to dust the green stuff to the edges of the small, clear room. "Would you like me to carry you in there?" I said, mockingly.
"...yes..." Zim frowned. "Wait, no!" Too late!
As I swept Zim off of his feet, he slapped me, multiple times. He was heavy. Oh well. I grinned and dumped him off in the middle of the room. "You could shave off a few pounds, you know that, Zim?"
"You could work on being nicer and following orders, human Dib," he snapped. "If you ever do that again, I'll dissect your eyeballs while you are still conscious."
Zim didn't scare me, at least not right now. He used to scare me a lot, but then I got to know his weaknesses, strengths, traits... and how loud he was. His progress in everything was impressive and all, but he was weak now. What a good time for questioning! I sat next to him, looking around the cage.
"..What's the deal with the Tallest?"
"Oh, my all mighty Tallest! They must be very concerned of where Zim is! Who is conquering Earth now? Tak? No! I'm afraid she is gone," Zim said, bitterly.
"..So they rule your planet? Because of their height?"
"Do not question the brilliance of my society, Dib. Maybe your gigantic head hasn't noticed, but Irkens are a very advanced race. This was all decided long ago! The leaders are very capable. Besides, anyone who is tall is smart! Take your father, the smartest man on your smelly planet!"
"He's scientific, not smart..." I growled.
I reached for a picture inside my coat. A family portrait of Gaz, Dad, and me. Gaz was unhappily looking away, Dad was messing with a calculator, and I was in the middle, eyes full of love for my family. This picture had been taken two years ago. Maybe he can design a rocket in less than 2 hours, but he doesn't know how to take care of two children.. Or at least one..
"Science IS smart, Dib."
"Uh huh." I tucked the photo away.
