DISCLAIMER: Yet again, yet again...! No more disclaimers, nooooo~! Once is enough for the chapter! Sos just remember the previous-previous-previous-previous-previous one, and you'll be alright!
AUTHOR'S NOTES: There's only ONE last part after this! WHOO-HOOOS! And anyways, I'm gettin' rather tired of this~! *Moans about FF dot net* In any case...!
...IT IS CONTINUED...ONCE MORE~!:
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It was a couple hours later when Tak poked him in the head again, 'Hey, Dib-head, I'm coming over. You ready to start the experiment?'
Dib blinked and looked up, almost surprised by this. He'd decided to get a little steam out by checking his favorite web-sites. With Pooki's program, being monitored by the Men in Black was less likely; although not entirely unlikely. 'Yeah, I'm ready. I wonder what time it is...?' He looked at the clock on the computer, although he'd just checked it a short while ago to see what time it was. 'Guah! It's 3:30! Time DOES fly, doesn't it?!'
'Yeah, well, I'm just walking up to your front door now.' Replied Tak, knocking on the front door.
'Oh, just open it! It's not like anybody cares!' Then Dib realized, 'OH! The security-system! D'OH! I'll get that...' He jumped down the stairs and flew to open the door, hoping Tak hadn't done so already. He thought about what would happen, considering his sister's dolls were patrolling the house thanks to the Men in Black's interference.
'Okay, having a security-system that sets fire to people is inconvenient,' thought Tak as he opened the door for her.
'Yeah, I know! Tell me about it!' Thought Dib with a grin as he let her in.
'So, where are those "nattering nannies" that were here a little bit ago?' She asked, looking into the door to the kitchen.
'Huh?! You mean they aren't here anymore?!' Thought Dib in wonder, as he shut the door and glanced about. 'I guess they left after I, uh...yelled at them...! Eh-heh!' His awkward smirk told all the tales that needed telling about that tale.
Tak just smirked, 'Great job on taking the fall, by the way,' then did something he completely didn't expect: she kicked him right in the head!
'Ow...! That was...unexpected...!' Thought Dib as he fell back, completely taken off-guard. He never expected a kick to his noggin after receiving a compliment...!
'Get used to it,' thought Tak with a barely-contained giggle, 'Come on, it's time for the experiment!'
'Great!' Thought Dib sarcastically, 'Is this what ALL girls are like, even aliens?!'
'You're moaning again~!' Thought Tak, although he really wasn't: he was stating his sarcastic observations. Entirely different. She was already at the stairs, though, so Dib ran up to her as he responded.
'I am NOT~!' She just snickered at this and continued on up the stairs.
After they reached his room and put the brain-wave-monitoring machine in order, Tak attached the flat circlets around each of their heads. The familiar pain of the neural-screws drilled into his temples, and Dib briefly wondered if it would cause any potential damage -then he remembered his ring- and decided it against wondering about it.
'Okay, so!' Thought Tak, still giving the run-down on the procedure. Just setting up for it took about five minutes; but Dib didn't mind, just as long as his own mind was safe. 'The procedure Madame Vicious explained will require the both of us to go into a small, trance-like state. Oh,' she jumped up and grabbed a pillow off his bed and threw it to him, 'Here -you may need it in case you fall. In fact, just lie down -it's easier.'
Dib put the pillow behind him and did as he was told, finding the large, metal circlet only slightly uncomfortable with the pillow underneath his head. 'Okay...now what?'
Tak leaned against his bed and relaxed as well, 'Then...I'll have to set up a small, psychic barrier. Using Pooki's program in both my Pak and the machine should make it easier; then I'll finally be able to delve into your mind. It'll take a few minutes, just so you know.' She peeked open one eye at him, but he said nothing as he lay there on the comfortable pillow.
'Yeah, okay,' he thought, and it was at this moment that Tak realized they'd gotten so in the habit of talking mentally, that they entirely forgot to talk physically! Huh... Well, she didn't need to contemplate this, as she was in the middle of an experiment, but...it was pretty fascinating!
After a few moments of silence, Tak thought, 'This is taking a while.'
'Huh?' Thought Dib, pulled out of his personal musings.
'Nevermind!' Back to concentrating, a few minutes passed in almost annoying silence: annoying, since Dib's thoughts never kept still, and kept annoying her despite the quiet stillness of the room around them.
After another short while, Tak found herself ready to venture into Dib's mind. 'Hey, Dib! I'm coming in,' she thought, and almost lost concentration when she found herself being pulled into it.
'Cool! Alright! Let's get going!' Came the over-excited Dib's mental voice. He stopped pulling her as they were already inside his mind, and then asked, 'So...what's next?!'
His over-exuberance was annoying, but at least he was willing to let her in. So she thought, 'We're going deeper, into the deeper sub-consciousness of your mind. There, you probably won't be really conscious -there's actually about three or five different levels of conscious thought- so I'll be finding my way on my own.'
'Aaawww~!' Thought Dib with a moan, 'I wanted to go with you! It's my mind!'
Sighing, Tak thought, 'Yes, of course it's your mind! But I'm just saying, it'll be more like a dream-state to you -your subconscious isn't actively conscious!' Oblivious to the psychological aspects of this, Dib still insisted.
'But I wanna'~!' He moaned "tenaciously".
Tak didn't have the energy to bother with him; instead, she continued further and further into the depths of his mind. Of course, this was a mistake; instead of telling him off, Tak allowed him to try and follow her... Suddenly, she found herself slipping, and the next thing she knew, she'd fallen into a strange mental plain. Standing up and looking around, she thought about what this could be, 'It looks like some sort of dream-like state...hhmmm...' As she looked around, she stopped in shock to see...
'DIB!' She thought loudly, 'What?! How'd you FOLLOW me?!'
'Like I TOLD YOU before,' thought Dib, 'I'm incredibly tenacious!' He grinned at her shocked "look".
'Well, I guess stubborn-er, TENACITY, has to count for something!' She thought as she turned to look around. Things were taking shape, and as they did, they became...a rather similar-looking city.
'Well, this looks somewhat familiar...' Was all Dib could think.
'Your inner mental-image of your own mind is -THIS?!' Asked Tak, as she pointed to the city. It wasn't very impressive; no, rather, just mildly-inventive, and she said, 'It's not very imaginative...!'
'Oh, don't worry,' thought Dib, 'It gets better. Only the uninteresting stuff is on the outside.' As if to prove this, two shadowy-looking people passed by right behind them. When they turned to see what they were, they were gone.
'OH,' Tak realized, 'I get it now! It's your personal view of the world around you!'
'Yep!' Grinned Dib, 'I guess it is!' He just smiled as she stared at him curiously.
'Ooh-kaaay...' she thought, not even bothering with this one. Psychological differences were as complex as...well, psychology! 'Well, where do we go from here?' Just as she said this, a strange "whooshing" sound was heard in the air. They both looked up to see the psychological version of an incentive flying right above them.
'ATTACKING GLUTENOUS VAMPIROUS EAGLE-PEOPLE FROM FALCONOUS FIVE!' Shouted Dib, and instantly he grabbed her and started running. 'They're able to SHOOT US DOWN with just their ACIDUOUS SPIT!'
'Okay...I'm just going with the flow on this one...' thought Tak as they continued running. Eventually the city transformed into a jungle, though still somewhat formed of metal and the concrete buildings of the city. The "deadly falconous people" still flew overhead, but they shrieked above them, confused as to where their small little prey had gone. The jungle was humongous and vast; it seemed to go on for miles in any direction, even up!
'Okay, I think we've lost them!' Thought Dib, although Tak noticed that he didn't stop running. 'We'd better get to someplace safe!' He thought, as if he'd heard her. Well, their minds were in the same space, so it wasn't that unusual...
There was a strange, glowing reddish-orange light up ahead. 'Dib, where EXACTLY are you taking me?!' Thought Tak as it glowed brighter and brighter, and eventually the bright lights of some kind of facility could be seen. They ran into it and shut the gate to it, keeping their heads down as Dib punched in the code for both of them.
'THIS is my dad's Secret Training and Teaching Facility!' He said almost proudly. It seemed as if he knew it from some of his dreams. 'Anyways, I hide in here anytime something freaky in my dreams happens, so I guess it's sort-of my safe-place?' He scratched his head, although it was just a mental image of his own self. 'In any case, we should be safe in here!'
'Ohkay...then lead the way!' Thought Tak, then she added, 'Mr. Tenacious!'
Dib smirked and thought, 'Okay!'
They finally stepped up to the front door, and Dib had to put in an intensely-complicated combination to unlock the lock. Once it was unlocked, however, the door slid open with a "shwooh!" and smoke, and they stepped into a sterile-looking environment, not unlike his father's home laboratory.
"Hello, children!" Called Professor Membrane as they walked by a door to some kind of student-teaching room with lab-things littered all around. Dib informed her that that was the "Science Classroom", where his dad always would give him pointless advice when he had problems in his dreams. "Ah, I see you've brought a friend with you this evening! Showing her the wonders of REAL SCIENCE?!" He raised his hand dramatically, as if to illustrate this.
'Not really,' replied Dib to his Dream-Dad. 'We were just escaping from those flying bird-people things. I thought we'd be safe, here.'
"Ah, yes~!" Replied his Dream-Dad, "The Flying Mutant-Falconous-Beings HAVE been rather plentiful lately. Hhhm...I'd better work on something take care of that, or else they'll OVER-POPULATE THE ENTIRE PLANET! MWAH HAH HAH HAH HAAAAAHHH!"
'Don't mind it, he's always like that,' thought Dib to Tak, then he replied to his Dream-Dad, 'Okay, thanks! We'll be over here, doing stuff that's, uhm...stuff about REAL SCIENCE!' He gave a grin and then turned to walk off.
"DON'T FORGET TO PULL THE SPIDER'S WIG OF SILK OO~OFF~F!" Sang his Dream-Dad after him.
'"The Spider's wig of silk"?!' Thought Tak at this absurdity. Then they proceeded to walk by an actual giant spider with a wig of silk. 'Huh! That's something you don't ever see.'
Dib proceeded to do as his Dream-Father had instructed him, and pulled its wig of shiny, silverish silk off and set in on a lab-table, which then "swoooshed" off to go deliver it to wherever it was to be delivered to. 'Yeah, that's what he's always singin'...ever since that "giant arachnid" thing, actually...' Dib thought about this.
'Ooohhhkaaay...!' Replied Tak, 'Let's just say, that, if I ever WAS a giant arachnid, I wouldn't be wearing a wig of silk. Or any wig! At all!' Dib laughed at this, and Tak joined in. 'So, what is there to see here?' She asked, after they were done laughing.
'Well...' Dib thought a minute, 'There's the Science Classroom that we just passed; then there's the Informative Observatory, then the Study, then the Brain-Food-Making Kitchen, then the-' his mind showed all the different places, but one.
'What's down that dark hallway?' Asked Tak, pointing to the dimly-lit, shadowy hallway almost directly in front of them. It looked foreboding and ominous. Tak liked the look of that. That meant that it'd be interesting.
'Oh, that?' Thought Dib, looking at it, but his eyes didn't quite seem to behold it, 'It's just some dark, dimly-lit hallway.'
Tak turned and stared at him. 'Seriously?' She asked, referring to his seeming lack of curiosity. 'You don't even want to know what's in it?!'
'What could POSSIBLY be IN it?!' Exclaimed Dib, 'It's probably just, uh...' in realizing that he didn't know what it was, he thought, 'Janitor-closet! Yeah, that's probably what it is!'
Tak was already heading towards it. 'If you don't even want to know what's down this hallway,' she thought back at him, 'Then I do!' Dib ran after her, trying to persuade her otherwise.
'Tak, there's really, probably NOTHING there!' He thought as he ran after her, then caught her imagined arm and thought again, 'REALLY!'
'DIB!' Shouted Tak, turning around suddenly, 'Why don't you want to go down this hallway?!' Their progress down the hallway hadn't gone any further since she'd entered it, so she decided to convince him instead of fighting his tenacity with her own will.
'Uh...mmmuuhhh... There's...probably...nothing interesting down it?' Thought Dib in a slightly brain-dead fashion.
'Mmm-hmm...!' Replied Tak. 'Dib, don't you think that your disinterest in a really STRANGE and MYSTERIOUS dark hallway is really, REALLY weird?' Her reply had no lack of merit to it.
And yet, Dib didn't know why that his mind insisted that it wasn't of interest. He decided to ignore that for now, and answered, 'Well, yes! Yeah, I guess it is! ...Huh!' He put a hand to his chin in evidence of his intense thought. 'I guess...it seems like it's just...instinct? That's weird! It's not even my-' he was about to say "fear-section", but they'd reached the door already.
"INSTINCTUAL LESSONS" was written up on the door, and Tak had just enough time to think, 'This may be a mistake,' before opening it.
Things faded into a foggy background, but soon they were standing in a classroom. Well, Dib was sitting. He looked strangely void of cognizance, and he was staring, slack-jawed, from a seat in the front row. There were about six people, all men, standing up at the blackboard, which featured, instead of a teacher's desk, a lab-table, with all sorts of laboratory accoutrements; it was quite weird.
Not to mention the fact that the things on the blackboard included genetic diagrams and charts of...what was that? The diverse array of them was too difficult to pick out, since words weren't visually clear here. This world was represented with the human's dream-state, so that was obvious. The weird thing was what happened after she stood there at the front of the room, observing it.
"Welcome, welcome!" Exclaimed one of the men at the front: the balding man who didn't have a comb-over, but who decided to just let it be bare. "This is the Instinctual Lessons Classroom! You're our very special guest; well, you're Dib's very special guest, anyways," a desk that looked grand and slightly plant-like rose up from the center of the classroom desks, and he motioned to her to sit there, "If you'll just take a seat, we can explain everything!" The others seemed to wonder out loud if she would accept any of this, but Tak didn't bother wondering about this.
Instead, she took a seat where she was instructed to, and the lesson began. 'Heh, what the heck? I might as well find out what Dib's family's been so keen in hiding from him!'...
The instruction began with a simple explanation:
"To start the lesson, Dib -and friend- Dib here is a caterpillar. To put it more bluntly, a moth-human hybrid. As a juvenile, the moth-human hybrid resembles, not a caterpillar, but a human, in every single way -right down to the cells and DNA!
"This is for camouflage purposes; to keep the young one safe until it is time to make a cocoon. The cocoon is normally made during the adolescent stage, which can differ, depending on the species of moth-human.
"After emerging from the cocoon, they will perfectly resemble a moth-human, capable of flight and other such things.
"The next thing we're teaching is where and when the moth-human hybrids originated. This'll take us back about 77 years, to the time when researchers at the Wiggee Waggee State University, were testing some highly experimental hybridizing techniques. Since back then, there were laws against human-testing which made it difficult to get test-subjects, the scientists in question used themselves.
"Naturally, this isn't the most intelligent of ideas; but without proper funding and test-subjects, their ability to study the human genome and map DNA, as well as the possibility of genetically-engineered hybrids, was limited. Even though they were supposed to be finding a solution to the aggressive tendencies of Africanized Honey-bees and Dingo-dog hybrids, they decided to start with a different species. The reason was really mundane: they were the only insects they had there!
"*Laughs* As you might have guessed, myself and the other five standing up here are the actual scientists who worked on this experiment: Tmopp, Zsarcs, Phop, Zhoddz, and Floo-op. Guess which one I am? Yeah, I'm Floo-op. Great name, I know. Blame my parents!
"The moths were taken from the Entomology room, which was cooperating with the research. They were just moths, so we figured, 'Nobody'll miss 'em!' There were 17 different species of moth chosen; most of them rather ordinary-looking. There were a few notable exceptions: the White Witch Moth (Thysania agrippina), the Io Moth (Automeris io), the Pussy Moth ( Megalopyge opercularis), the Big Eyes Moth (Alypia oculusmagnus), the Primrose Moth (Schinia florida), and the Western Sheepmoth (Hemileuca eglanterina).
"The following is a thorough description of the exact procedures taken to create the hybridization:"
The "instructor" at the front then proceeded to give a full, detailed explanation that would make most scientists dizzy. One could imagine even Professor Membrane hurriedly taking notes. But, since this was all being "opened" like a Zip-file in Dib's brain, it was most likely that he could not only remember it afterwards, but also understand the majority of it. After that part of the lesson, things changed...
"The following is the cumulative memories that you've gained of the six scientists who worked on this experiment. The memories and knowledge of the scientists were so emotionally strong, that they became a part of your 'instincts'. Moths, like all other species, have instincts, you know.
"You'd usually remember all of this when you form a cocoon. The fact that you're here now, suggests that something else has occurred to unlock this Instinctive knowledge." The instructor then eyed the both of them in an awkward moment of "I know what you did".
The "movies" which played now engulfed them, each showing from the six different perspectives what when on that night.
The basic premise was that, due to the combustive quality of some chemicals they were using to define the genetic properties of their samples, an explosion occurred. The scientists were merged with the moth DNA, but at first the moth DNA was far more powerful than their human DNA. They succumbed to the simplest of instincts, to mate -thereby creating even more moth-hybrids.
The explosion, however, and the unstable quality of the moth/human DNA combination, created some interesting...changes. Unlike normal moths, these could turn other humans into moth-people, simply by secreting an enzyme and administering it through a kiss. The human females, of course, didn't take to this too happily. But the enzyme also worked to slow down their movements and thinking, long enough for the moth-men to wrap them in a silk cocoon. (The silk is also secreted through the mouth.)
"It took a few generations for the DNA to adapt and stabilize," Summed up the instructor, Floo-op, "After that, the moth-human hybrids were able to develop more typically as a species. They could reproduce with either humans or other moth-humans, and were better able to control their instinctive urges.
"Another difference between moths and moth-humans, is that the caterpillar form looks exactly like a human juvenile, for camouflage. They are also usually able to move quickly, just like a human juvenile, unlike caterpillars. This is also for safety and camouflage. Caterpillars have a lot of that. Their instincts and senses are quicker, sharper, to enable them to avoid any kind of danger.
"Adult moth-humans also have quick instincts and sharp senses, but not quite as quick as in their juvenile forms. They've become the proverbial 'watchman' type. Able to point out danger that no one else notices at first, they're also romanticized into 'prophets' and such. The fact is, their senses are just better. That will explain some of the annoyance you no doubt have with people not seeing or noticing what you're warning them of, eh?" He'd turned to look at Dib, but said Dib just stared. Drooling.
The instructor then continued, "I think that about covers the general areas. Next, we'll be talking about your own species; remember, I said there were about 17 different species we used?" Dib for some reason actually nodded his head numbly. "Well, yours is the Big Eyes Moth (Alypia oculusmagnus). It is one of those notable species, not just for its bright colors, but for its unusual method of finding a mate."
Tak just blinked at this, afraid of where it was going. The instructor went there, anyways.
"The Alypia oculusmagnus itself is an uncommon species of the South American continent; it feeds on nectar, and occasionally fruit." A large picture of the moth appeared on the blackboard in front of them. Its two top wings were black, whilest its two underwings were bright blue, with one gray spot near the bottom of each, with three black spots adorning each gray spot. It looked like an "OoO" face someone would make online or something. The body of the moth was mainly black, and the fluffy scales all over it had some iridescence, but not much.
"Because of its unique mating-method, it is capable of keeping its population up, despite predation by birds, bats, cats, snakes, other insects, rodents, and others." The picture switched to a very different picture, that of two caterpillars. "As a caterpillar, it looks very unintimidating. With the exception of the spikes at the top of its head, it is practically defenseless, and like all caterpillars, moves rather slowly." The caterpillars were mainly black, with some gray-ish blue-ish colors at the bottom, and dark spikes at its head.
"When threatened, it will usually attempt to blend in with its surroundings. However, if danger looms too close..." the image showed the caterpillar releasing its spikes onto the face of a very irritated frog. "The caterpillar will unleash its secret-weapon: the poisoned spikes atop its head." The frog on the screen jumped back in pain, but soon its movements slowed to a halt until it lay there, twitching. "The poison is enough to kill a creature six times its size! So, don't use it wantonly!"
The instructor seemed to wag his finger in a warning-type of way at Dib, and Dib nodded once in that numb sort of way he'd adopted since being zombified in his subconscious' instruction room. "The caterpillars, both male and female, will protect each other with this defensive mechanism."
Then the scene changed to showing only one caterpillar. "The caterpillar finds its mate by a combination of scent, sight, and location of where its egg hatched. Its eyesight is very poor, but its sense of smell is somewhat better, and they tend to lay their eggs in similar surroundings to others of their species." The caterpillar was shown crawling slowly up to another one. "Once a male and female caterpillar find each other, they will become foraging and traveling companions, until it is time to make a cocoon.
"After the male and female have eaten sufficient amounts of food -which consists of leaves mainly, with the occasional aphid here and there- they will both spin a cocoon of silk around themselves, and undergo their adolescent metamorphosis together." The blackboard now showed that very scene, the two caterpillars dangling themselves precariously from a twig.
"Things get even more interesting when you consider what happens next: after emerging from the cocoon and drying off, both will fly off together to find a suitable place to mate and lay their eggs. Unlike most other species, the male will actually stay with the female until the eggs are laid." The instructor then pointed to a diagram which showed a moth-human hybrid.
"The difference between the Alypia oculusmagnus moth and the Alypia oculusmagnus moth-human hybrid, is that, due to the unusual combustive hybridization process, the aging process is different.
"If a caterpillar finds a suitable companion while he or she is still a caterpillar, the maturation process will accelerate; meaning that they can secrete the enzyme needed to transform their desired mate and wrap them in a cocoon together. The added bonus of this is, that the memories of both are usually shared. The draw-back, is that it's unusual for human children to find a mate that quickly.
"What about the need to eat mass amounts of food? No worries! Because humans generally eat greater amounts of food as adolescents. So, although they will emerge rather small from the cocoon, they will eventually reach their full size at around twenty years of age. But, their life-spans are rather short. The longest-lived ones only live until their late thirties!
"To summarize, at around ten years of age, the caterpillar is potentially capable of finding a mate (such as a childhood friend, or something) and forming a cocoon together with them. (These cocoons are usually called 'Love-cocoons', by the way.)" The instructor seemed strangely childish whispering this last part, but Dib didn't seem to notice. "The full metamorphosis inside the cocoon will take at least a couple of years.
"IF a caterpillar DOESN'T find a mate, though, there is nothing to worry about. They will still go through their normal adolescent stage, just at the typical rate for moth-human hybrids. The typical stage is this: they'll eat and eat and eat until they get huge and fat, then make a cocoon. You can't believe how many moth-human hybrids wished they were Alypia oculusmagnus!" The instructor laughed at this, as if it was a well-known joke. "In any case...
"I suppose this leads us all back here -to the beginning and to our end! You, Dib, probably don't think you feel much 'romantic' affection for your friend here," the instructor pointed at Dib, then at Tak, "But that's to be expected. The Alypia oculusmagnus moth-human hybrid will form a companionship with someone of the opposite sex; basically, a good friend, or a partner, someone you know that you can depend on, through thick and thin.
"You'll start to feel more affection for your companion once your body's aging process accelerates. Symptoms of this are as follows: getting along better with your companion, attempting to protect them -chivalry, if you will- and emotional and mental maturation. I'd estimate that you'd be about...fifteen years old in human years at that point.
"Later symptoms include: almost panic-attack-like symptoms at the sign of danger, heightened instincts, and an extreme desire to hide in a dark, safe place where you can make a cocoon. I'd estimate that at about...16 or 17 years old in human years.
"Final symptoms include: typical 'twitter-pated' in-lovey-symptoms, and strong instinctive urges to kiss your companion. Please try to refrain from acting on this last one at odd moments...it causes problems!" The instructor winced, as if he'd personally experienced it. "There's also the odd 'blank-out' moments, where your instincts almost entirely take over. If you avoid being alone with your companion and in close quarters with them, that shouldn't be a problem. I'd estimate this last one at about...20 years of age. Approximate.
"If you found you have actually kissed your companion and administered the enzyme, don't worry: you still have about five to fifteen minutes, tops, to get to a safe place to make your cocoon. But your companion might not be able to move very much, so be careful...and it's better to have a wall between you two, than to kiss someone and suddenly find yourself in a ton of hot water!
"There's ONE LAST thing I have to mention: IF the companion you've chosen hasn't chosen you, you will STILL go into an early cocoon. You'll be heart-broken and rather lonely, but otherwise none-the-worse-for-wear. It's probably best to do this, actually; you don't want to put up with an angry spouse, believe you me!" The instructor shook his head at this, waving his pointer-stick around.
Tak raised a non-existent eyebrow at this, but said nothing. (A/N: Okay, my mandatory IZ "non-existent eyebrow" comment has been made! Can I please go, now!?)
"That ...Concludes this lesson! Please, REMEMBER WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED HERE!" The instructor shouted, until the words seemed to seep into the walls and reverberated around them. Then they realized that they were falling, and the next second...
Tak and Dib were outside the door in that same dimly-lit hallway, only this time it was fully-lit. The door they'd just been in was closed, but for some reason it looked much more welcoming than before...
'Well, Dib,' thought Tak as she looked around, 'I guess you were right: your family was hiding something important from you!'
'Uluugh!' Thought Dib as he felt like he was awakening from a dream. 'Hey, wait! Where am I?! Did we leave my mind?!...No, no, this doesn't look like it...I think we're still in my mind...!'
'Brilliant observation, kiddo,' thought Tak, then she stopped herself. 'Well, actually, I can't call you a kid anymore...'
'What?!' Thought Dib; then the previous instruction came flooding back to his mind, and he felt suddenly very, very, very self-conscious. 'I-I'm, I'm-!' If he was awake, his physical body would've started to blush; because, quite frankly...it was embarrassing!
'I guess this means you're actually about 16 or 17...whatever that means...' thought Tak as she rolled her eyes.
'I-uhm, oh, uhm!' Dib was still trying to find thoughts to think, but the obvious embarrassment was making it hard.
The embarrassment and awkwardness of this situation was starting to get to Tak, who finally thought, 'OH, KNOCK IT OFF, ALREADY!' And whacked him up the side of the head.
'Wh-wh-WHAT!?' Exclaimed Dib in shock.
'Have you forgotten why we're here in the FIRST PLACE?!' She exclaimed; although she herself had momentarily forgotten because of the extraordinary amount of information they'd just acquired. 'It's to practice delving into peoples' minds and technology, so that we can take down the Men in Black!'
This focus was a welcome distraction from his embarrassing biology-lesson, and so Dib replied, 'Uh! Yes, OF COURSE!' Even though he didn't know what to do next.
There was a long moment that passed which was very awkward for both of them.
'Erm! Tak, I'm afraid I can't think of anything...' thought Dib, then he thought about how horrified he was to have her in his brain during his highly embarrassing "Puberty Class"... 'I mean, really! It's scary! ...*Gasp!*' Dib grabbed his own brain (that was not as hard to do in the mental realm as it is in the physical realm) and said, 'TAK! That's IT!'
'Scary, huh...?' Thought Tak, catching on easily.
'Yes!' Exclaimed Dib excitedly, 'I mean, think about it! What's so horrifying than your own personal FEARS!?'
'I've got to admit, you've got a good point,' agreed Tak, 'Taking on your own fears requires mental awareness and strength of will.'
'Of COURSE!' Dib wasn't done happily ranting, 'I mean, other stuff, you kill it and it STAYS DEAD! But your own fears don't DO that! They'll come right back at you and rip you to shreds! And then, they'll take your cold, shivvering body and-'
'ALRIGHT DIB, THAT'S ENOUGH!' Exclaimed Tak, just to get his attention. That rant was going horrible places, fast. 'So, where's your, uh, "Worst Fears Center" located?'
'I'm not sure,' he thought, contemplating this seriously now, 'I mean, I know that right now, we're in my "Safe House", but where's my "Horrible Realm of Ungodly Fears"?'
'Oh, GREAT! Juuuusssttt great!' Tak face-palmed. 'I'm wandering blind in a blind-man's mind being guided by the blind-man himself!'
'Well, it's not like I've done this BEFORE, you know!' Exclaimed Dib, annoyed, 'I mean, I spend the better part of my time trying NOT to be afraid -don't think you don't do the same thing!'
'*Sigh* Alright, then I guess the better question would be: exactly where in your brain DON'T you want to go?!' Tak asked, also annoyed.
'Okay! THAT'S the right kind of question!' Replied Dib, throwing his hands up in the air. 'I, uh...well, if we go outside, then, uh...!' He was still at a loss. Although this was a lot like his dream-world, it didn't mean that it functioned in the same way.
'You know,' thought Tak, 'I was wondering, why do you think this place resembles your dream-world?'
Dib just stared at her, confused, 'Uhhh...why? What do you mean? It's inside my mind! The dream-world is just your mind makin' stuff up!' Then he paused, 'Well, there is the obscure science of dream-interpretation...but it's very difficult because different things mean different things to different people!...'
'Okay...so,' thought Tak, getting an answer to her own question, although he didn't know it. 'Then, what would you equate with ABSOLUTE FEAR?'
'Uhhh...' thought Dib, and as he searched his mind for references, their surroundings started to change. The looming shadows of weird, twisted toys showed, and a teddy-bear rose over all. Then they changed once again to show a large, open field of corn; the corn waved in the wind, although no wind was blowing, and the dark sky overhead thundered and rumbled. It finally changed to a toy-box. Just a plain-old-looking toy-box, dark blue-gray and bright red trim. It looked ominous.
'A toy-box?!' Exclaimed Tak incredulously. 'WHY a little toy-box?!'
Dib just blinked, 'Well, it was the scariest thing I could think of...' then, as she approached it, he shouted, 'DON'T BE FOOLED! It may LOOK like a harmless little toy-box, but, uh...I'm pretty sure it's NOT!'
'You're "pretty sure"?!' She shouted, still incredulous. 'You had your sister's horrifying TOYS to choose from, an odd field of CORN with a THUNDEROUS DARK SKY, and you choose a TOY-BOX to be scared of?!'
'Well...' thought Dib, 'I don't know WHY exactly, but it just seems like it's the embodiment of all that's scary!...Huh.'
Tak sighed, but finally thought, 'Well, alright! You're gonna' have to help me open it, though. This is YOUR mind!'
'But, weren't we working on your mental abilities?' Dib thought, 'You need to become strong enough to force yourself past my will! Otherwise, we'll never beat the Men in Black!' Tak just face-palmed.
'Oh, right! I forgot.' Then she looked up and thought, 'So, what you're saying is: you're perfectly fine if I decimate your consciousness and leave you like a rotting vegetable, lying in a coma?'
'Uhrer...!' Thought Dib awkwardly, 'I'd really prefer it if you don't...!'
'Then why don't you open this box for me so that I can fight your sub-conscious demons instead of whining about it?!' Snapped Tak.
'Oh, alright! Alright already!' Thought Dib as he went over to the toy-box. It took a few tries, since his sub-conscious didn't seem to want to allow him to open it, but after some more prodding from Tak, he finally got it open. Stepping away from it, it seemed like it would take forever for something to happen...
Suddenly, several awful horrors rose up from it, dripping with rusty-colored blood, and screaming about dripping bodies. Tak and Dib stared, awestruck, until one of the horrors with twisted metal in its eye started speaking, "Aaahhh! Children's souls for the taking!... Children's souls make my heart ache...!" At which point, it ripped open its skin and rib-cage, revealing a heart with a wrench tightening on it. "I'll eat and I'll take them back into the toy-box with my own bleeding sooouuuulll!" The graphic image was enhanced by the terrifying sounds and emotions it was putting out. It was at this point that Dib started running.
He grabbed Tak and made a run for it, screaming, 'IT WASN'T MY FAULT, IT WASN'T MY FAULT!...*MOAAAN* I JUST WANTED TO SEEEEE~EE~EE WHAT WAS IN IIIIITTT!'
Tak stared at him in complete shock, then finally thought, 'DIB! SNAP OUT OF IT! IT'S JUST IN YOUR MIND!'
'I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW! THAT'S WHERE IT IIIISSS!' He screamed in his mind, hoping and trying to run from it.
'DIB, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! WHERE DID THIS THING COME FROM? WHERE DID YOU SEE THIS!? WAS IT ON A MOVIE OR SOMETHING!? WHAAAAT?' Tak was trying her hardest to make him stop, but his own mind was swirling, and he wouldn't stop running.
'IT EATS CHILDREN'S SOOOUUUULLLSSS! IT'S GONNA' EAT EVERYBODY!' Dib gasped as he screamed, 'AND IT'S GONNA' EAAATTT MEEEEEEEEE!' Then he shrieked, 'IT'S ALL MY FAAUUULLLTTT!'
'DIB, WHAT CHILDREN?!' She exclaimed, 'YOU'RE A MOTHMAN, YOU'RE TECHNICALLY SIXTEEN! AND I'M AN AAADUUULLLT!'
'I'M- I'M-!' Exclaimed Dib, his mind still whirling, 'I'VE GOTTA' GET OUT OF HERE! I'VE GOT A STINKIN' NIGHTMARE WOOORRRLLLDDD!' Tak tried to plant her feet and scream even louder than he was. But it was lost in his head.
Finally, Tak decided on a different strategy, 'DIB! I'M here NOW!' She exclaimed, 'I'LL destroy those MONSTERS! Just STOP RUNNING and we can BEAT THEM!'
It took several tries of reassurance, but he slowed down enough so that Tak could talk to him. 'Dib, I know you're scared, but THINK about it!'
'Think about whaaattt?!' Asked Dib, 'They're HORRIFYING MONSTERRRS!'
'THEY'RE just FIGMENTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION!' Exclaimed Tak, 'And besides! I'M here! We can always use the POWER of the NECKLACE to BEAT THEM!'
Dib finally was starting to slow down when he said, 'Y-YEAH! ...But, I think...that I...! I remember them from somewhere, sometime, and they WERE real!'
'Well, they aren't real NOW!' Exclaimed Tak in irritation, 'If it really was such a bad memory, then HOW did you get OUT of that situation!? Come on, THINK about it!'
'Well, I, uh...!' His mind slowed and he stopped to consider this. 'I think that I, uh...' the last bit of memory showed his mom picking him up and shutting the toy-box, saying something.
What was it...? Oh, yeah...! "Now, honey! Don't play with Maman's Nightmares Box. It's a little scary..." she was holding him and speaking softly, twirling his tiny hair-scythe. He felt comfy, safe, and protected...even from that horrible box of nightmares!
'Aaahhh...!' Thought Tak, 'I see now! You have such an early memory that it impressed itself too deeply upon your psyche...that's all.'
'THAT'S ALL?!' Thought Dib, 'You think this isn't SCARY?!'
'NO!' Shouted Tak, making him flinch in his mind, 'BUT the first memories are sometimes the STRONGEST!'
'Alright, alright!' Thought Dib, 'But I still don't understand why my maman -er, mom- had a Box of Nightmares! ...I mean, it's not like...is it...?!' Suddenly his mind was starting to put the pieces together. 'Maybe that's why there's a horrible nightmare-world inside my head?' He thought, remembering his Halloween escapade with Zim last year. He'd found out about his own twisted, nightmarish imagination when he was plunged into another dimension.
'Dib, what happened...?!' Asked Tak, still slightly confused by the weird range of images floating by from his memory. The inferences were vague; sometimes his thoughts went so fast it was hard to concentrate on any one thing. She needed to work on that. Other peoples' minds were difficult to decipher, let alone understand!
'Oh! Well, you see, it all started around Halloween-time,' he thought, regaling her with the full account. '...And THEN, I actually had to TURN myself INSIDE-OUT in order to GET BACK to my own world!' He then grinned, 'I was impressed with THAT one!'
'Yeah...ah...not many people would consider turning themselves INSIDE-OUT as a possible escape-route, let alone actually be able to turn BACK again!' Tak thought, slightly creeped out, yet impressed. 'But, it does sound interesting! Hmmm...speaking of which, sometimes I wonder whose mind our little universe is made out of, and if they're having any fun with it!...'
'What?' Asked Dib, now thoroughly confused.
'Oh, you know! Every place is made up by someone!' She explained easily. 'Oh, wait -your people usually believe in Evolution...so you may not be familiar with that theory.'
'Huh? ...Wait, your people don't believe in some kind of Evolutionary theory?! Why?' He asked, disbelievingly.
'Well, did you actually expect that an alien race would have the very same ideas on the origins of the Universe?' She laughed, 'That's just stupid!'
'Well, I, uh... Don't really think about it, much,' admitted Dib with a pout, 'I guess I just took it for granted because my dad said it was!...Huh!' He was now reconsidering his various beliefs. If he'd continued this, it would've taken all the live-long day, so Tak snapped him out of it.
'I'll explain the commonly-held idea in our area of the universe,' thought Tak, 'This is a pretty common belief amongst most of us, especially with the many experimental devices made to travel between universes. That was outlawed, though...too many people coming back riding little clown-bicycles...!'
'Uh...cool! And tough...' thought Dib, wondering what in the heck could've happened to make people come back riding those tiny bikes...and how in the heck they could ride the danged things in the first place!
'The basic principle lies in the idea of an infinite number of universes. Each universe is created by someone's thoughts or ideas, or perhaps even a story. The person (or persons, as the case may be) is considered to be the creator, and thusly able to make, change, or destroy, any part of the universe according to their will. The idea is that our universe's current course, or general series of events, is guided by their will, and not of our own initiative... But we still have to face the consequences of our own actions. Do you understand?' Tak finished, looking closely at him.
'Wait...if that's true, then what we're doing RIGHT NOW isn't our OWN choice, but the will of some kind of MYSTERIOUS CREATOR?' Asked Dib with a curious look on his face. 'That's just WEIRD!'
'NOT weird; after all, YOU were just saying that that "alternate-dimension Nightmare place" that you and Zim were stuck in was the product of YOUR OWN IMAGINATION!' Tak explained rather patiently and slowly...yet still irritated by his constant slowness. They needed to hurry and get back to work!
'Well-! But, I, uhm!' After trying and failing to find a good excuse, Dib thought, 'So, we don't know WHO is the creator of our universe?! I mean, it could be just some fat, 40-something-year-old guy who sits around at his computer reading fan-fiction!? Or a GHOST!?' The fourth-wall shook and rattled a little bit.
'Well...I guess it all depends...' thought Tak, sincerely trying to answer this question, 'If the creator wills it, then yes -but some people create universes for stories, and stuff like that. Sometimes whole groups of people are involved... And then there's the people who would just LOVE to have an entire universe where everyone serves and worships them, night and day, just to boost their own ego...!' she remembered someone in particular who seemed to have that mentality: Zim.
Dib giggled a bit at the Zim reference, but then said, 'Well, I guess it's okay... Just as long as we have some of our own free-will!'
'That's the problem; nobody knows!' Replied Tak thoughtfully, 'I mean, who's to say which events the person who created us is controlling themselves, and which ones they let us do on our own? The main idea of a person in Alternate Universe creating another requires a certain amount of detail in order to make it function. But to control absolutely everything AT EVERY MOMENT would be...it would be...'
'GOD-like?' Thought Dib with a little smirk. 'I think I see what you're getting at.'
'BUT, not everyone who creates an alternate universe FROM an alternate universe is necessarily a GOD!' Replied Tak simply. 'Unless we know which universe and who created us, it's really no use to contemplate.'
'So, your entire species believes in this kind of stuff?' Asked Dib. 'It seems like it'd be pretty easy to just claim that anything they do is, "The will of our creator!" and leave it at that!'
'Well...yes and no,' thought Tak, trying to explain this carefully so he wouldn't misunderstand. He seemed to consider the issue of morality of the highest regard, but... It required several hundred years of Irken history, as well as understanding the underlying social orders and mentality of their people, especially after they'd made contact with other species and... 'I'd like to explain in detail, but since you don't even have an understanding of Irken history, it'd be quite hard. But other species have very similar theories; so this basic principle seems easy enough to translate...
'Although we as Irkens believe that structure and order are necessary for everyone to thrive peacefully, the actual conquering of planets only began in the last couple of hundred years or so. The Empire wanted to expand, but many other planets liked their independence. To send in an army would decimate the planet; so Invaders, who could subjugate the populace without damaging the useful parts were chosen to infiltrate those worlds. It worked well; but there have been complaints regarding the use of each of the planets and their people.'
Dib blinked. 'Huh. I thought it was just 'cause you guys thought you were better than everyone else.'
'Well, that too,' thought Tak with a smirk, 'But, who knows? Maybe we could turn out to be right?'
It was Dib's turn to smirk, 'Hah! Yeah, right! ...And besides, I've been looking at some of those files on the conquered planets! They're almost all used for only ONE THING! How exactly is that useful?!'
'Well, I, uh-' thought Tak, realizing that she didn't know the reason for it, 'Don't look at me! I'm not the one who decides what to do with them! I mean, unless the planet is particularly useful in military or economic ways, the Tallest will get to choose. The Control-brains are the main leaders, you know.' She actually thought he knew this...as it turned out, he hadn't gotten that far into his studies of the Irken culture yet.
'What?! Wait, you mean the Tallest don't ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING?!' Exclaimed Dib in shock. '...That...makes a lot of sense, actually... Huh.'
'What, I thought you KNEW!' Exclaimed Tak, 'EVERYBODY knows THAT! Even the Morkians on the far-off planet of the backwater Tourniquet Nebula, MORK, know THAT!'
'Uh, hel-LO!' Shouted Dib, waving his hand in front of her, 'Planet in the RURALS of the Milky Way galaxy! Hasn't had any official NEWS or CONTACT with other ALIEN RACES!'
'Oh...of course,' thought Tak, feeling a bit silly, 'I apologize, then.'
'THANK-you!' Replied Dib, folding his arms with a "huff".
'I mean, it's just that, you've been studying Irkens, and I thought that-'
'TAK! That's enough! I KNOW that!' Exclaimed Dib in annoyance, 'Let's just get this thing OVER WITH!'
'Oh, alright!' Thought Tak with a sigh. 'What's next? We still need to confront that horrible nightmare-in-a-box, and we need to work on our mental battling!'
'...Wait, maybe we're going about this all wrong...?' Dib's mind had already skipped ahead. 'I mean, what if what you really need to work on is digging -trying to get to the root of stuff?'
'Then I'll STILL have to decimate their consciousness, Dib!' Replied Tak in annoyance.
'Oh... Then, let's head back over to the horrible little toy-box...' he thought with a sigh. He wasn't as afraid of it as he once was, but there was still this slight sense of trepidation.
As they approached it again, the feeling increased, and soon Dib was trailing behind Tak, using her as a shield. Oh, well...! She couldn't expect his previous, instantly-decided courage to last long. 'It's okay, it can't hurt us, you know?' She said this reassuringly, hoping he and his fears wouldn't try to engulf them. But, it never did work out as well as all that. Dib apparently had an awful lot of fear.
The giant things loomed up out of the toy-box again; yet she didn't back down. They hissed in her face and glared down at her, enwrapping her in fog and their own bodies; for a minute, she panicked. Then she saw that it really was just imagination, and kicked herself for forgetting about that. She fought back at them, but the increasing amount of fear was overwhelming. She began to consider that maybe she was in over her head. But, Dib was here...!
'DIIIB! Hey, DIB!' Exclaimed Tak, 'THINK! I NEED YOU TO THIIINK ABOUT HOW TO DEFEAT THESE THINGS!' The creatures continued pummeling her mentally, disturbing mental images and terrifying emotions driving at her as they tried to crush her like a boa-constrictor. The imagined feelings were overpowering, and she felt like she really could feel that smell. What was this horrifying thing?! Were all dreams always like this?! It felt maddening, and she wanted to rip it all off and kill it...but she was trapped inside the crushing constriction-boa!...
No, wait! No, she wasn't! 'SHoooOOOOOOHHH! GO AWAY!' She shouted in his head as she broke free from the constriction using her PAK-legs. Without any question, this was still just as a dream -and one could control their own imagination, even inside a dream! She wondered what Dib would say they called that, but she didn't have time to consider it as she pulled out a really deadly laser-blaster and fired. She didn't have a really deadly laser-blaster with her; but here in the mind, she could do anything she wanted! Even having a non-existent weapon!
Dib watched on as the scary things engulfed her, the paralyzing fear of the toy-box looming horribly. He felt as if he could do nothing: no one would help, even if he ran screaming to someone, and his mother wasn't here to make it all go away...! He pulled his knees up and grabbed onto his hair, almost screaming. 'There's no one! NO ONE!' His screams and shrieks were cut short as a very familiar shout pierced his conscious sub-consciousness: it was Tak's voice. Well, her mental voice...
'DIB! IT'S JUST IN YOUR IMAGINATIOOON! SO -UGH! USE UH- YOUR IMAGINAAAATIOOOONNN!' She shouted as fiercely and as forcefully as she could in his consciousness' direction, although she didn't quite try to focus on it. It was tough communicating with someone AND battling with force against their fears. The dense fog was pierced by this, not because of the shriek's sound-waves or force, but because she seriously sounded like she was having a hard time battling those fears for him...those were his fears -shouldn't he have battled them?!
All the other fears which he had -paranoia of being attacked by crazy aliens, paranormal creatures, and government agents- along with his societal fears of being completely hated and shunned by everyone, even his own family-members; all those hung around the outside edges, just waiting to pounce on him in his moment of weakness.
But the one thing that stood out, was his other fear: his fear that, just once, when he could've actually saved someone, he just stood by and watched it happen. It was a guilty, awful feeling; that feeling as if he'd just turned on his partner and used her to destroy everyone on the planet -or even worse! Turned her in to the Men in Black, and JOINED THEM! The idea that he would just sit there and watch, that he would do absolutely NOTHING to save her, the idea that she could die and... He suddenly realized: this place had a massive psychological effect on someone. So, what if they died in here!?
Tak had never dreamed before! She could be psychologically scarred and even mentally destroyed if they let things continue on like this! Wait, if she was an alien who didn't dream, then how in the heck did she know about lucid-dreaming?!
Then, suddenly, he smiled and the world seemed brighter, but only in the way that made his paranoid fears try to get stronger to gear up for a final attack. 'I'M COMING, LUCID-DREAMING AAAA-TAAAAKKKKK!'
That totally bad pun was entirely intentional as he launched himself into the toy-box. A couple of explosions and some really stinky rotting fish-guts later... (Don't ask me why there were rotting fish-guts, 'cause there just were!)
'Geeze, DIB!' Thought Tak as she sat in a puddle of gelatinous goo, 'Why's your paranoia and fear so strong in here!?' She didn't even need to say her next statement, but she just did, 'It's your own brain, so it should be the safest place you can think of!'
'Yeah,' Dib spat things out of his mouth that he'd rather not learn the names of, 'I know! I guess it's- *Pwewh!* -because nothing ever goes well for me!' He leaned back into the goop, thinking.
Instead of being a whining sort of comment, this one was more of a statement on his psychological influences; and so she let it slide. Instead, she thought, 'Well, I think we've had about enough adventure for one psycho-nautted trip!'
'Psycho-nautted!?' Asked Dib in surprise, 'Where'd you get that?'
'Dunno; I guess I just pulled it together from the random scraps of the word "astronaut" and "psychotic" in your own mind...!' She then put a finger to her lip and giggled, 'Hee hee hee, that sounds almost childish, or like something from a video-game! That also reminds me: are there any other people who would be curious as to what you've been up to, spying in your house?'
The fourth wall was obviously not enjoying all the flagrant flings in its direction, but these characters couldn't hear or feel its apparent distaste of this. The author continued on, undaunted.
'Uhm...you mean, BESIDES the obvious "Speritica-security" that I'm pretty sure is going on around me, not to mention the fact that the Men in Black are still watching the house, I can't think of anyone else...' He nodded and wandered off into his own head, thinking. Tak even had to grab him because he'd wandered off. 'What? We're done with the fear-centers of my brain, what now?!'
'That's fine, just don't go wandering off!' Tak laughed, and then wondered why she'd done this. It almost seemed too fun, yet it was probably just the rush from the adrenaline...there wasn't anything else funny going on, after all! She'd just battled a little boy's -er, young adult's?- fears and finally won out over them, only to have to chase after him like a wandering little lamb! The funny irony finally caught up with her, and she doubled over with laughter.
'What! WHAT?!' Exclaimed Dib, now fully awakened from his own musings to observe an especially loud laughter and mirth coming from Tak! It was...disturbing...well, what they'd just did was too weird, and...! 'This-! This has been the absolute WORST thing, EVER!' He started shouting, and eventually was contorted in giggles at the very idea of it.
'WHY am I battling deep-seated FEARS in a YOUNG CHI-ER, ADULT'S MIND?!' Exclaimed Tak again, but the laughter from this didn't stop her there, 'I mean, I'M supposed to be an INVADER!'
'And yet, YOU'RE INVADING THIS YOUNG-ADULT'S MIND!' Exclaimed Dib in just as amused a fashion. They both collapsed into giggles before the thoughts and feelings of hilarity eventually faded. Embarrassing revelations about puberty and deep-seated psychological fears, all in one night?! Absolutely marvelous~!
The two had finally stopped laughing, and found themselves wandering into other parts of his brain -because, quite frankly, almost nothing was as horrifying or as embarrassing as what they'd just been in- but as they'd meandered along, Dib came to find that was not the case.
'Tak, where is this coch-coch-what'd you call it again? A coccyx? A cockle? Anyways, where's it lead to?' They were walking along a winding path, which looked misty and open, full of fog and forgotten stairways. The right side had a lot of ivy overgrowing one low wall, and to the left was the open fog, complete with the howling of the wind! Eerie, and yet mournful and peaceful, all at once.
'It's called a-' she stopped as she realized that there really was no Eenglish equivalent...! 'In any case, it means a long, narrow path illuminated by dimly-lit light, and looking ominous. Geeze, Dib! If you have so much of this stuff in here, it's little wonder why you're so mopey all the time!' Then she paused in her steps and looked around, 'Dib...? Where'd you wander off to?' She felt like adding "this time" to the end of that sentence, but Dib's faint words interrupted hers.
'Hey, Tak! LOOKIT THIS! I FOU-whoOOOHPHS!' And he fell down, right into the weirdly-hidden door covered over by lots and lots of ivy. He'd wondered what that weirdly-covered door was for, and he soon felt highly...not right...in all senses of naughty.
The various feelings around him seemed to swim in bizarre brushing motions, smooth and pleasurable, and very scary to him, the young person who'd just stumbled into them. The warmth of another person's skin against his cheek was not so strange, but the feelings associated with it were...unusual. The feeling of heightened energy and an underlying current of fear accompanied the adrenaline as he stared, wide-eyed, at the dimly-lit and, honestly, weirdest thing he'd ever encountered.
This just tipped the scales of what he'd felt was awful and downright horrifying, and the weirder thing was, that...it was mysteriously interesting. Interesting in the way that he'd never even thought of it or felt it before, and he tentatively wished he could understand it... 'HEY! DIB! THERE you are! Getting WAAAY in over your BIG HEAD again, huh?' Came the sound of the highly familiar voice, and a hand reached in and grabbed him, just as the sensation of softness was brushing past his mouth. It was almost so enticing, yet he wanted desperately to get out of there...interesting and fearful. Like his life...!
Tak dragged him out of the weird opening which he'd been paralyzed in, and finally he realized that he wasn't comatose, and could indeed walk and speak. 'Th-that! W-WHY-! WHAT was that!?' He exclaimed in shuddering combined interest/horror.
'Well...' shutting the door revealed its real name, and she winced as she really REALLY wished she could reverse what had happened. 'It says, "The Garden of Amore`"! Er, please, don't say that this has opened yet another horrifying, instinctual part of your mind!' Tak pleaded, giving a disgusted and, frankly, weirded-out look to his equally weirded-out face. The response from him was at least relieving. Well, it was a hopeful kind of reassurance; that much was all she could expect.
'W-W-WHAT!?' Exclaimed Dib, trying to process this and running the previous events through his mind shamelessly, until he finally realized exactly what he had to be embarrassed about. 'OH NO! OH, NO, OH, NO, OH NO, OHNO OH_NO!' He grabbed his head tightly and then turned his back on her, too scared to even think about facing her consciousness -even though it was really just her consciousness' avatar.
Tak just sighed and thought, 'OH great! I'm stuck in ABSOLUTELY the WORST SITUATION!' She considered how many Invaders had been attempted-romance victims, and how they'd failed. 'There was a REASON why Irkens don't reproduce like THAT anymore!' She sighed and hung her head, face-palming. The revealed annoyance caused Dib to over-think exactly how annoying it really was, and tried to reassure her. Of course, it was only doomed to fail.
Normally, one would say that it was the THOUGHT that counts; but, in this case...that wasn't so!
'GULGH! I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY! IT- IT'S NOT MY FAULT! AAAUUURRRGHHHS!' Dib exclaimed, clutching his head in angst, then, 'I don't even HAVE FEELINGS FOR YOU! ALRIGHT!? Let's get that PERFECTLY CLEAR! I HAVE NO FEELINGS, FOR YOU!' He shouted as he waved his arms around, almost turning to face her; although in here, direction did nothing to hide anything, as things could be see-through, and therefore not hid.
Thinking back to his previous "Instinctual Instruction" classes, Tak just grimaced; this was going to be a little hard to explain. He was far too deep into denial to even begin to understand it...! But, she tried to, just for the heck of it. 'Dib, get a HOLD of yourself!' She shook him by the arms, then he jumped back at the "physical contact" and just stared at her, wide-eyed. 'It's kind-of obvious from our previous instruction about moth-men, that you're just at that stage -you know, puberty?' She sighed as his eyes went wide and he looked shocked again. It was just pathetic if he was like this...!
Dib's wide-eyed awful wonderment went from fear to alarmed thoughts on how he could stop that pitiful, amorous state. 'That-THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!' As he said this, he'd backed further and further away from her, showing himself successful ideas of how he could get over this. Not fall in love like a blubbering idiot, and end up heartbroken in a cocoon like that. NOT be attracted to a woman who was clearly older than him, and an alien!.. The weirdness just CONTINUED~!
'Oh, come on, Dib! It's not that bad,' Tak tried to reassure him, but to tell the truth, she had absolutely no idea how falling in love felt, nor did she want to! She just wanted to get out of his head, before he convinced himself that he'd better seal them both up inside cocoon before she got away from him!
Dib's eyes frantically scanned back and forth between the secret garden of romantic love and his Irken, clearly-not-interested-partner, before: 'I KNOW! I CAN JUST...SEAL THE DOOR!' He instantly bounded out, shutting the door closed frantically, even though it tried so hard to stay open just a smidgen of a little crack. He put some boards up and nailed them across it, then pulled the various types of ivy down and turned to her, saying, 'SEE?! It's JUST PERFECT!'
Tak just stared at him in his worst case of denial and thought, 'Oh, PERFECT! Dib, if you're already aware it -you know what? Nevermind! I'm sick and tired of dealing with your mental messes! I just want to get OUT OF THIS- THIS- MENTAL MEAT-LOCKER, and INTO MY OWN MIND, ONCE AGAIN!' Tak's moaning went unnoticed as Dib considered the idea of staying in his own mind and discovering various things that he wanted not to exist...!
'Good. I'll meet you outside!' Was all he thought as he disappeared from the conversation. Well, he couldn't really do that because they were in his own mind! So...
'Wonderful,' thought Tak in the understatement of the year as she tried to remember just how in the heck to get out of there... 'Oh, yeah! It was just like that-!' And at that, she'd removed herself from his horrible, pubescent mind.
And removed the head-gear monitoring her condition immediately!
'Phew! Am I glad that's over!' Then, looking back to her horrifying parter whose mind she'd just meandered and fought in, she thought, 'Hhhm...looks like he's not awake. And that brain-monitoring equipment must be removed and taken care of... And I don't like the idea of going back into his mind...in fact, I think I'll just leave!...'
And she did.
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TO BE CONTINUED...
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yes, I know that it was a rather revealing chapter, but you'll have to wait for the last little one to read the notes on it! *Laughs* TRUCKS BE TRUCKIN'! COOOONVOOOYYYY!
LOOK...TO THE FUTURE UPDATES AND THAT CHAPTER-DROP-DOWN-THINGY~! -
