A/N- Jhonen wishes he could turn me into a twisted, horrible knot. Made from me. Well, probably not, but I wouldn't be surprised. Guys, thanks so much for the reviews. Really. I never think my writing is good enough to even see the light of day, but you all apparently think otherwise, and I love you for it. (Not like that.)
Speaking of…
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Nine-Last Message
Zim flinched, drawing his breath in with a sharp hiss. "Easy."
"Sorry. I told you someone was gonna get hurt." Dib sounded nervous.
"It'll be fine." Zim breathed into his ear, tugging gently at his uniform collar.
"I just can't move too quick." Dib pressed back into his chair.
"It's not about speed, you know." The Irken's voice was soft, silken. "'s about deep penetration."
"Ugh." Dib snarled and took his hands off of the control panel. He took the headset off with a kind of annoyed flourish and leaned out the window. "You promised me no penetration jokes."
Zim gave him a barking laugh and stepped away from the wall, looking up at him. "What, you want me to not laugh about this?" He swept his arm along the machine Dib was controlling. It was essentially a giant drill, about half of which was buried in the metal of one wall. The Irken linked his hands behind his back in a very Mr. Spock pose. "That would be illogical."
He actually managed this with a straight face.
Dib rolled his eyes and set his hands back on the controls. "Idiot." He sighed, "Why don't you have a key to this place again?"
The doors he'd been trying to drill around slid open with a soft hydraulic hiss. He turned to see Zim holding a small plastic card loosely in his hand and smirking. The human leaned out the window again.
"So, all this…" he gestured to the wall, "was because you were too lazy to do that?"
"Not at all." Zim corrected him, placing the fingertips of his right hand against his chest and sounding indignant. "You asked me if I had a key. I told you no. I have a key-card, but you didn't hear that because you jumped ahead."
Dib doubted he'd ever wanted to punch someone so badly in his life. He started to crawl through the window when a sharp noise from Zim stopped him. He looked up to see the Irken with one hand slightly outstretched, much like a parent if they think their child might get hurt playing.
"Don't-don't climb through the window, okay? You could fall." He didn't sound like Zim at all just then. Dib cocked his head but slipped back inside the cabin and opened the door. Zim only relaxed when he was safely on the ground.
"Okay, Mom?" Dib asked lightly as he walked to stand by the alien. Zim gave him a weak smile in return but it quickly faded. He looked to the short hallway that was now open for them.
"It leads to the bridge." He said softly. The smell of blood was in the air again, along with something else. Rot. Decay. Something was very wrong here.
Dib didn't seem to notice it. At least not as strongly as Zim did. He wondered why the Irken had been so upbeat the last few hours. He'd laughed and joked like nothing was ever wrong. Like they were old friends. In some ways, Dib guessed they were old friends. Hell, Zim was probably his best friend in the universe. It was a little scary when you thought about it.
And now…he had no idea what to make of him whenever he was protective or seemed concerned. It wasn't at all like the Zim he knew. But it was kind of nice.
The Invader took a slow breath and walked toward the door, Dib following him closely. Zim swept the key-card through the reader and the doors slid open.
Dib stifled a sharp gasp. Zim flinched and stepped back, shutting his eyes for a moment until things stopped spinning and he could breathe again. He was grateful he'd left GIR asleep in the cruiser.
Bodies littered the floor, covered in blood-drenched uniforms and what remained of their internal organs. It was as though something had ripped them to shreds from the inside. The blank eyes of the officers seemed to follow them as they cautiously moved about the room.
"Zim…" Dib watched the Invader looking around the bridge. He looked lost.
"I'm alright." He managed. His eyes swept over the room one more time then rested on a small door in the far wall. "Stay here." He said as he walked past him. It was clearly as order. Dib resisted the urge to salute. Now wasn't the time.
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The small control panel crackled to life, static filling the screen. A second later, a harsh roaring flooded the room, making Dib clamp his hands over his ears, cringing and stepping back from the panel.
"What the hell is that?!" He barked. He reached up and stopped the recording. His ears were still ringing as the door slid open behind him, revealing his Irken companion.
"What did you do?" Zim demanded, walking briskly across the room and catching Dib by the shoulder, spinning him roughly to face him.
"Nothing!" Dib gasped, more from shock than anything. "The lights were still on here and-"
Zim let go of Dib with something close to a shove, stepping up to the console. His ruby eyes scanned the damaged keys until he found the one Dib must have hit.
"How many times have I told you not to touch anything on this ship, Hyuman?" he snarled, clenching his teeth. "If the Tallest still had control, they would have twisted you into a twisted, horrible knot, made from you."
"If they were still alive, you mean." Dib hadn't really meant to say that but was determined not to let Zim see that. Thankfully, the Invader ignored him.
"It's a video log." the Irken murmured, not even glancing back at the boy. He reached higher on the panel, apparently looking for something. A large bolt of electricity snaked its way out of the exposed wires when he drew too close, ripping a harsh, ear-splitting scream from the alien's throat and sending sparks in every direction.
Zim clutched his arm against his chest, shrieking. Dib dimly registered that it was the same kind of screech that he'd heard from him on Irk, high-pitched and grating. It occurred to him that Zim probably was disguising his voice but the idle thought quickly faded when he saw the extent of the damage done to the alien's hand.
The fingertips of the gloves were burned clean off and the Irken's flesh was slightly charred. Dib cringed as he saw the same pale, almost transparent pink blood that currently covered the walls and most of the floor collecting on his sharp fingers. Zim, on the other hand, composed himself quite quickly. Unnaturally quickly. He drew a deep breath and stood from where he'd collapsed on the ground moments earlier. He kept his arm back from the console to avoid touching it and reached back up to the buttons.
'He's either very brave or very stupid,' Dib thought as he watched the Irken continue working almost as if nothing had happened.
The screen filled with static again and the screaming started.
Zim winced, flattening his antenna against his head. Slowly, though, he picked them back up, listening. Through the static and the screams, he could hear it. Someone was speaking.
It was almost unintelligible at first. A form of Low Irken used by non-military personnel. Even Zim tended to have trouble with it.
Dib seemed to hear it too because he dared to edge closer to Zim, speaking softly. "What is that?"
Zim rewound the tape, letting it play through again. "It's Irken." he whispered. "But it's badly distorted." He listened for a moment before saying softly, "Libren Kaen." He paused, then translated, "Save me."
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A/N- Really, this is nothing. Ya want creepy, depressing and disturbing? Go to my profile (cause it's probably easier) and find the one-shot 'Spring'. It's horrible.
Anyway, Yay! for misleading openings. (Which sounds very weird, when you think about it.) Pretty sure some people want to punch me for getting their hopes up like that. Sorry, guys.
