Wow, I'm getting so many more reviews than I expected! And they're all positive! I love you guys! So I have decided how Zim will come in - sorry for depriving you all of his mighty prescence. I promise that at the end he will have a MAJOR role. I've alos decided that Johnny will be a regular character. I really want to know what you guys think of Terry, for it shall determine many plot details from here on, including the end. Oh, and please tell me in your reviews if I over-do Dib angst scenes. I'll be happy to rewrite them.
Whispers in the dark. Hushed tones, but clearly agitated. Bickering.
Terry wiped the sand from her eyes, sitting up groggily. Time – a little after two in the morning. Place – Professor Membrane's household. Current condition – groggy. She felt blindly about for the edge of the mattress then attempted to stand. It was an effort that failed, as she toppled to the floor with a gentle thud.
Cursing as she gingerly rubbed her throbbing back, she stumbled up, feeling about with her left hand. She winced as her adventure led her straight into a chair, but she none the less continued to grope about it until she ran into the wall. She felt her way across it until she found the door handle.
Ultimately, by the time she managed to silently slip out the door, she wished she hadn't asked for the darkest room in the house. It was nice and creepily shadowy by day, but by night, it was nearly impossible to even stand without pondering which way was up and which was down it was so black.
She had been staying less than a week, and while her mother was hesitant, Membrane's logic proclaimed that 'Gaz's guest' would be able to teach Dib how to normally interact with his sibling.
Gaz didn't really care at all… until the first night of the newcomer's stay, where she realized she'd have to split the pizza three ways instead of the normal two. She called Dib away, and they both returned after fifteen minutes, Gaz looking angered and Dib covered with bruises. Terry had merely blinked with a vague expression on her face. Some time in the middle of diner, during one of Dib's rants about a paranormal investigator named Bill, she slipped away, hardly touching her single slice of cheesy goodness. It took until the very last slice in the box was eaten for Gaz to reach across the table and grab Terry's abandoned one, Dib finally realizing that his guest was missing.
Things had been eerily quiet between the two since.
Terry stumbled down the stairs, her eyes taking a bit longer than previously thought to adjust to the dim lighting. She managed to stay quiet, though, and wandered down to the kitchen as the whispers grew to shouts.
She peeked her head around the corner of the kitchen entrance to the living room, so that only a small sliver of her face showed, and quietly observed.
"This is nuts! Gaz and I need you! You can't keep staying out this late!"
"Son, you are a mere child and would not understand the importance of my profession!"
"Yeah, and if you were working, I wouldn't be complaining! I mean, I would on the inside, but wouldn't say anything!"
"Then why are you complaining?"
"Because you smell like alcohol! You said you would stop years ago!"
"I did! Son, you wouldn't understand."
"No, I don't! Last time it was because mom died, I can get that. But I can't get this! Just explain and we can get you some help!"
"I can't explain it to you, do you understand?"
"No!"
"Go to bed, now!"
"Why are you always gone? Why don't you ever spend time with us? Do you hate us?"
"No, it's the exact opposite!"
"You don't abandon someone you love!"
Terry's eyes widened as she heard a sharp snap fill the air - saw a thick black glove come across a pale cheek. She flung herself against the wall, no longer having the guts to peek at father and son. She heard a shaky inhale, and then footsteps coming swiftly her way. She slunk down to the floor, watching as Dib ran past her, up the stairs, holding his cheek, eyes filled with hate and fear. A door above slammed. Her breathing became slightly labored, and though Dib hadn't noticed her, a grieved sigh from the next room stopped abruptly.
She slapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. The big man came around the corner, staring down at her through his goggles. She curled against the wall, chest hammering. "Why are you out of bed, child?" he asked, squatting down. He did, in fact, smell of alcohol, but only lightly.
She glanced at him then leaned her head against the wall, avoiding his gaze. "Why do you have to be so mean to him?" she squeaked after a few moments of silence. "He's not a bad kid. Why do you have to-"
"I know he's not." Membrane shushed, laying a hand on her shoulder. "But sometimes fathers have complicated decisions to make for their children's safety. You don't understand that yet, but-"
"Yes I do." Her large green orbs gazed up to him, and she clasped her knees.
"You do?"
"Yeah." She glared at the floor, shuddering. They sat in dark silence for a moment, before the scientist intercepted it.
"Would you like to confide?" he asked uneasily, his lack of proper parenting and advisory skills making his question clumsy. She shook her head. "Are you sure?"
She gazed up, lip trembling. "Maybe."
Membrane stood, flipping on the kitchen light, and gazed down at her small figure. He gestured to the kitchen table, and she quietly obeyed, taking a seat. He sat across from her, staring calmly. After a few tense moments, she spoke.
"My dad… or he would have been my dad if he had lived long enough… died a few years ago. My mom and I had lived alone for a long time, and she had several unsuccessful relationships, but when she started to date him, everything just seemed to… you know… fit." She bit her lip. "He was a commander in the military, and we lived at the base in that area." She adverted her eyes, and made to get up, but Membrane probed her. "There was… a bombing. My dad was told to immediately go to the barracks, but we couldn't go. So he ignored orders and saved us." She gave a broken smile, which was anything but happy. "Nobody died, but they shot him later for inability to carry out order." She clenched her teeth, bowing her head as she stared at her fingers. "I don't understand. All he wanted to do was save us… why did they have to kill him?"
Membrane stared at her a bit then scooted his chair closer, whipping his gloved fingers over her cheeks. She realized for the first time that she was crying, and fervently whipped at her eyes. Her peachy cheeks were streaked, and after a while she simply gave up, staring at the table. "Please don't tell anyone about that." She finally mustered to say.
"I won't." he assured, patting her shoulder gently before standing, walking to the light switch. "You need your rest. Go to your room and slumber." He said gently, and she nodded, walking past him. She stopped, though, once she reached him, and looked up.
"What is it that you have to decide?"
"Don't fret over it." The professor said, softly shoving her back. "Up the stairs to bed with you, in the name of sleep."
She nodded again. Membrane waited, and listened as a door closed in the floor above. He gazed tenderly, pitying the child, but unsure how to respond. He had never read any books on how to treat a child's guest when they were sorrowful – in fact, he had never expected either of his own to bring home a guest, as neither were successfully sociable. But somehow, he felt a responsibility now towards her.
Flipping off the light, he made his way to the door of the lab, but paused. Instead, he turned to the next door over, and retired for the night.
The next morning, when he left for work, he checked three rooms instead of two.
A scream erupted down the hall. Dib sat upright in bed, alert and on the edge. He put on his glasses and glanced at the clock – there was a good hour before he needed to get up to prepare for school - another scream. He jolted up, pulling a shirt over his naked chest, as he usually slept in the pants he wore the day before while discarding his shirt.
He darted out of his room, and glanced at Gaz, who was downstairs searching the fridge. "Are you screaming?" he asked over the railing of the second floor, and she glared up at him.
"Why on this filthy scum-ridden planet would I scream while I'm looking for the milk? And go make your friend shut up. She's giving me a migraine." He continued to pace down the hall and Gaz squinted as another scream was let loose, muttering "Whiner."
Dib barged into Terry's room, and watched, a bit stunned, as she rolled over fitfully, clawing at her head, tears trailing her cheeks. She shouted gibberish, and he uneasily crept to her sighed. She bucked as he laid a hand on her spine, attempting to still her. He pulled away sharply when he felt it surprisingly hot. "Terry, wake up!" he yelled, unsure on whether to shake her or not.
"No!" she shrieked, tossing a pillow at him. "Go away!"
"What?" he exclaimed.
"I said go away!" She tossed over, continuing her struggle with herself.
"Wait, are you awake?"
"Stop! Go away!"
"I'm not-"
"Stop!" Her fit ended, and she sobbed into her pillow, squeezing it, her slightly matted hair wild and tangled. He tentatively sat beside her.
"Terry?" She didn't respond, still shaking as her pillow darkened. "Ter-… are you awake?" He lightly laid a hand on her shaking back, still bound in alien gauze. She seemed to stir, groggily gazing up at him.
"I-I'm fine…. Don't touch there." She mumbled, gingerly turning herself over. She seemed to avoid pressing her back against the bed, and winced when he brushed her bandaged wrists.
"What just-"
"I'm fine!" she said quickly, "You go make breakfast or… whatever you do in the morning. I'll be down."
"No! I want to know what's wrong." He said firmly.
"Go away!"
"Why?" She pulled her covers over her, and for the first time, he noticed that she was in but a black bra, gauze, and a pair of Bermuda shorts that had a large hole in the knee. He turned dark pink, and he stumbled off the bed, stuttering "Yeah, I was just… leaving." He stopped as he was about to turn the door handle, and frowned. "Wait… no… this isn't a normal situation. You're feverish and obviously upset and-"
"I'm not! Just get out of here."
"No. You're in pain! I can't just leave you here!"
"Dib!"
"Just pull on a shirt or something."
"Are you kidding?"
"If you don't I'll turn back around anyway."
"Get out now!" Her last pillow was chucked at his head, and he spun around, tackling her down. She fought against him, but he managed to pin her so that one hand held one of her arms down while the other felt her forehead.
"You're pretty warm!"
"I'll be better after I get some food. Get off of me!" She yelled, continuing to use her free hand to pull his hair. He only cringed against the pain.
"What is going on?" he demanded.
"Nothing!"
"Stop hiding it, it's already obvious something's wrong! Are your injuries hurting?"
"Why are you so protective? I'm just sore, alright? I'll be fine! Get out!"
"No!"
"Get out!" She released his hair and swung at his family jewels. His grip slackened, and he winced.
"I'll be leaving now." He squeaked, stumbling away clutching his crotch.
She watched as he left and angrily kicked her dresser, tears welling, rubbing her wrists. She whimpered, and sunk unto her bed.
Dib was weary as Terry, after about half an hour, managed to arrive in the kitchen. By that point, his adorable little monster of a sister had been fed and cared for, and he had eaten. So he began preparing his backpack for the day ahead. His eyes followed her as she walked to the fridge. She stopped with her fingers on the handle. "Can I get something to eat?" she asked, not daring to look at him.
"Yes." He replied blandly, and listened as she began a short rummage. He watched as she retrieved the peanut butter and bread off the counter, adding it to the jelly she had pulled out of the fridge. "I can make you something if you want." She shook her head, scraping the jars.
"We need to go shopping." She said absentmindedly, putting the jelly away again, although the near empty jar probably wasn't worth saving.
"We?"
"Well, I guess I live here now too, don't I?" She glared at him, curtly shutting the refrigerator door, and then turned back to her sandwich. "I told you this was a bad idea."
"If you'd just explain why you're screaming at eight in the morning, then there would be no problem."
The turquoise-haired girl stared at the ground, pausing her smothering of the bread. "It's… complicated. I don't want to talk about it right now."
"Look, its not-"
"It's complicated!" she hissed, and silence surrounded them. She slapped the pieces of bread to her sandwich together, staring at the ground.
"Why?"
"Because it's embarrassing, ok?"
"You can tell me now, you k-"
"God damn, Dib! I feel like crap, ok? I wake up screaming like some lunatic, and I hurt all over, and all I want to do is go back to bed, but I can't even sleep!" She took her sandwich, and elbowed him as she walked past.
"I can get that! I just want to try to help!" he defended, spinning about. She turned to face him again. She groaned, burying her face in her hand.
"Just… don't…." she approached him, sighing, as she forced herself to calm down. She stared up at him, searching his eyes for understanding. "I'm just… under a lot of stress. And I'm scared. And these scars and stuff still hurt. And I'm acting like a wimp whining about it." Finally, he seemed to understand, and his eyes stared tenderly. She breathed a sigh of relief. "I just don't want to talk about it right now. Just… don't worry about me. I'm fine."
He strangely touched her cheek, sifting through her gaze. "You're not a wimp. You'll be ok."
The words were strangely comforting, and she couldn't resist giving him a light squeeze around the waist before bolting up the stairs to retrieve her own backpack.
Terry struggled to keep up with the chase as a black-cloaked figure chased a green one. She panted heavily, clambering up the fence they had just leaped over.
Dib breathed loudly, a smile stretched across his features as he trailed the Irken. "You'll never win, Zim!" he jeered loudly.
"Foolish human! Victory is for Zim!" the alien screamed, pulling a gun out of nowhere. Dib yelped, ducking as the lasers fired over his head as he jumped unto the back of a minny tiny weenie roll truck. Zim jumped unto the weenie, pointing at the Earthling. "Fool-meats! Prepare for your demise!" The gun targeted Dib, whose eyes widened.
The human leapt from the truck, watching as he fell towards the pavement into traffic. But he lurched forward, managing to collapse unto the windshield of another vehicle. The driver screamed, swerving, but he merely clambered to the top, avoiding gunfire. Zim laughed viciously, hopping unto the same vehicle just as Dib leapt from it into a tree.
Zim yelled as the car smashed into the weenie truck, weenies flying everywhere, and mad chaos ensued as the street was flooded with weenies, and cars wrecked, horns going off, pedestrians screaming, Timmy drowning in the well! But the alien majestically – or rather, ironically – arose from the wreckage, weenies stuck in the openings of his boots and gloves. "I will not be defeated by your Earth meats, no matter how miniature they may be, for I am ZIM!"
Dib blinked, and scurried across the branch of the tree frantically, jumping down at the end. "Ok, note, Zim, not defeated by weenies!" he yelled, running from the alien now on his trail. He raised an eyebrow. "Wait… aren't I supposed to be chasing him?"
He didn't have time to mull over this, though, as something hit the back of his head. He spun around – Zim was hot on his trail with a handful of weenies. Dib skidded to a halt. "Hold on… this is just stupid!" he exclaimed, turning around. With a grin, he began chasing the alien, whose eyes bulged as the boy charged at him.
"Ah!" the Irken screamed, abandoning his weenies. "Gir!" he spoke through a watch and the image of his inept robot appeared on the screen.
"Yeeeeeees?"
"Save Zim!" he frantically exploded, as Dib began chucking rocks at him, "The Dib-beast is more armed than I originally thought!" he yelped as one hit the back of his head.
"Yes, master!" the robot said, eyes turning crimson, and the screen faded.
"Ha! You won't be salvageable by the time I'm done with you!"
"Nonsense! I will be free, then rain doom upon your pathetic planet of squids!"
"Wait… what do squids have to do with anything?"
"I like squids!" a high-pitched voice squealed. Zim stopped abruptly, glancing around. Dib approached, and looked about as well. The woods and trees about were eerily silent, anticipation filling the air. As if a bomb was beeping.
"Gir?" Zim asked tentatively.
"Woo-hoo!"
"Aiiiiii!"
Dib observed as a green stripe grabbed Zim by the ankles and zoomed off with him into oblivion, a small gleam in the sky far above. It reminded him of the exit of Team Socket off of some cheesy anime called Doke-mon. He blinked, staring at the light blue sky for a while, a bit startled.
He heard heavy breathing behind him. "For a pregnant person, you sure are fast."
"I'm not pregnant! And my head's not big!" Dib nearly screamed.
Terry glanced up from her bent-over position, attempting to catch her breath. "I never said anything about your head."
"Oh… right…" Dib droned, and then glared at the sky again. "He's gone again."
"No, really? I thought he was invisible." Terry said sarcastically. "Come on, let's just get home. The mosquitoes are attacking my arms." She muttered, noting her upper arm, her forearms protected by gauze. He raised an eyebrow.
"Why did you wear a T-shirt, then?"
"Let's just go!" With that said, she left the park, Dib catching up with her, leaving startled joggers, mothers, and children in sandboxes and slides gaping at them.
Dib glanced at Terry as Mysterious Mysteries went to commercial break. She seemed distracted, preferring to stare at the wall rather than the TV. "Uh… are you just in a crummy mood this week?"
"Yup." She said simply, staring at the wall.
"What's on your mind?"
"Nothing."
"Uh huh, so what just happened on Mysterious Mysteries?"
She glared at him – though she hated to admit it, he acknowledged that she had grown fond of the show. In fact, she often reminded him when it was going to be on. She attempted to hide her eagerness before the program started, but that usually resulted in her becoming more impatient with the time - for her to not be glued to the tube at that time of day had become highly unusual.
"Nothing, really. Just stuff."
"Should I play the guessing game, or are you going to tell me?"
She rolled her eyes. "You're nosy, you know that?"
"Am not!"
"Are too."
"Am not. Just tell me what's up, then I'll leave you alone."
"I'm just having some issues with some friends. That's all." She said quietly, attempting to force her eyes to drift to the television set, but they wandered off again towards the ceiling.
"Uh huh…."
"I defended you today."
"You what?" he asked, shocked. Usually, at school, Terry was quiet about their friendship, trying hard not to bring it up in conversations.
She frowned. "I defended you."
"Um… thanks… I guess." He mumbled, playing with a string on his shirt. "Uh… you didn't have to do that."
"Yes I did! Because you are sane and you're really nice most of the time! And I care about you, and I'm sick of telling people I don't know you. You're my best friend – I owe it to you."
"Your… best friend?"
"Uh huh." She nodded, staring at the television screen, kneading the bottom of her shirt.
"But what about all the fights we've been having and-"
She glanced over at him, brow raised. "If we didn't fight, then what else would we do for entertainment?"
Dib grinned, and glanced at the television. "You know, I can show you something really cool… if you're willing to record this, anyway."
Terry hesitated then looked up at him as he shoved himself off the couch. "What?"
"Come on. We have to do it before my dad gets home." He offered a hand, and she took it, glancing one last time at the screen before she allowed him to help her up. He set the DVD player to record then gestured to her to follow him. They walked across the living room to a doorway.
She nervously stepped forward as they began the descent to Membrane's layer.
Another chapter! Please review!
