D.I.B (Devario, Iriatherina, Bio-human)

Chapter 9: Mayhem in The Tower

By Glowzilla

I know I'm a bit behind in my updates so now that I have some time, heres the newest chapter! I'm gonna try to get a few done in the next couple of days just to try and catch up. Hope you guys like them, I'm making the next few a little happy crazy before things start to get serious. Read and Review you guys! ^_^

About two weeks passed for the hybrid in his new home, often being visited by Zim whenever he had a free moment to spare. Dib was already getting more and more comfortable around the Irken tallest, talking freely to him whenever they were together, he had even taken Zims advice in meeting some of the staff that worked and lived in the tower. Zim figured it would be better Dib met them now than have an awkward moment later if the staff accidentally stumbled into the room.

Zim was constantly busy Dib realized, the life of a ruler was never easy Dib guessed, although he did find himself getting, dare he say it, lonely? He guessed it was because he was so used to the humans never really paying attention to him, that he didn't realize until he started having daily conversations with Zim did his need for attention become apparent. He was starting to become accustomed to the visits from Zim that when the Irken didn't show up he would get snappy or agitated easily if one of the janitors came by to say hi. Zim would always come by at the end of the day to apologize for not being over earlier, but he would have to cut that visit short as well, needing to recharge in order to get ready for the next day.

And in truth, Zim had been busy, even he had realized it when the day's just seemed to pass him by. The mornings were over too fast for his licking, one moment it would be early sunrise, then what felt like only a few hours later and all of a sudden the suns were setting in the distance, illuminating his office room with their warm orange glow.

It was crazy and hectic, but before he had a roommate, Zim would prefer his days to go this fast. He realized this was probably why he didn't get much of a life outside of his tower, or why he found himself scrambling more than ever to get his work done to see his new acquaintance. The hybrid had been nothing but patient with him for the last two weeks while Zim tried to make a plan of attack for the slave traders, meeting with Ivan and Mika to go over the details of who they wanted to be the insider for the next raid. They just couldn't ever seem to come to a decision over who to ask, they knew a normal civilian wouldn't work, they didn't have any experience with tactical maneuvers or being a spy, or having any kind of self-defense techniques if they got into a sticky situation. Zim wanted to ask the military for their men, but Ivan had shot him down at every turn, claiming that they would be found out faster than any normal civilian, the way army men held themselves and carried their weight, they wouldn't last long in that kind of situation.

Mika had been the one to suggest using one of their invaders, they were trained to infiltrate unknown areas and be able to research how to get into their society, find the best way to break the whole infrastructure down, and get out in time to watch the fireworks. Zim wasn't opposed to the idea of using an invader, seeing as how they would be more equipped to handle those types of situations easily with their training, but he worried about the possibilities of them being found out because of the nature of their invader ways.

Zim knew for a fact that invaders were not ones to back down easily, they would most likely give themselves away in a flash if they disagreed with something that was asked of them. Volatile emotions were not something that could be used in a quiet operation, Zim suffered from his own attitude problems from being an invader all those years ago. Feeling as if you were at the top of the world with all the power you had, being able to crush whole societies on your own would make anyone cocky and vain. But Zim had to change that about himself when he became tallest, although that had been years later, it would be hard to get an invader to just stop being themselves for any length of time to put them through what could most likely be a degrading situation.

It had him re-thinking what they would be asking this invader to do should they agree to go in and investigate for them. Simple recon could work if they didn't want the invader to give themselves away easily, but they wanted someone to be able to get into the middle rings of the operation, figure out who controlled what and where they were getting their shipments from. They needed someone level minded to help them out, someone who could sneak in unnoticed and become a part of the operation without any difficulties. Invaders in general were most of the time small in stature, but their attitudes would give them away should they become mouthy. That or their PAK's could give them away if the traders decided to hack them for information.

There were ways around this happening, but it wasn't something that the invaders would agree too, being that it would be for them to erase the fact that they were invaders. All of their progress, their livelihood, their stats on the planets they conquered, it would all be gone. And that just wasn't something anyone would willingly give away. Sure the invaders would probably be the best choice for the mission, heck they've invaded planets and conquered civilizations without the indigenous species even knowing what was happening, but for this mission, they would be right at the forefront of the criminal world. They would no doubt be required to perform tasks that most invaders would define as degrading to their status. Undercover or not, if an invader was told to bow to a superior, or to force irkens into cages to help the traders sell them off to buyers, the invaders would most likely flip their lids and try to destroy the whole operation on their own. That would then lead to said invader being tortured, killed, or forced into the slave collection and sold off then for a very high price because they were an invader. It would be a complete and utter downfall of the operation should any of those situations arise, and Zim just wasn't looking forward to it.

If they chose anyone, they would have to test their psychology, their aptitude and mental stressor influences. What would set them off would need to be initiated into the tests, and then they would need to figure out how to control it. Irkens were normally very good about keeping their emotions in check, when civil liberties are involved however, it would be understandable for them to react violently or protectively when seeing their fellow Irkens being treated as nothing more than name brand items up for sale.

Zim seemed to feel a new type of stress building in the back of his head when he realized there was a whole new bundle of problems he would have to deal with, and those problems didn't even exist yet. It was taxing to his body, his legs already felt heavy as he walked down the halls of his tower, running over the notes for the meeting. Mika and Ivan had organized a list of recruits they thought would be applicable to their mission, leaving the list to Zim once the meeting was over so he could sift through their files.

All in all, today was going to be a long, long, long day.

Zim stopped just a few doors down from Dibs room, thinking over the fact that he did indeed have a long day, and if he wanted to visit the hybrid before either of them needed to go through a sleep cycle, it would be best to do it now.

Fixing his robes a little he straightened himself up to stand at his full height, reaching out to open the door. He was caught off guard as the door flew open right in his face, knocking him back as something collided with his chest forcefully.

"ACHHH!" Zim coughed as he was thrown into the wall, the hard object now sitting in his lap as Zim tried to regain his breath, eyes dizzy he tried to focus on what had just been flung at him.

There was a flurry of noise as someone ran towards him, but Zim was now focusing on what was in his lap, his eyes adjusting, he looked down at the small robot looking up at him. The large blue eyes were transfixed with his gaze before they blinked once and turned to the side, a small pink tongue lolled from the robots mouth as it began to roll around in his lap. The small robotic hands lifted his robes and began wrapping them around itself before it covered its face with it.

Then, all of a sudden, as if a switch had been flicked, the robot let out an inhuman scream, its arms flailing in the air as it began yelling, "Them lights went out! I'm blind!" Zim covered his antenna from the screm, backing up further into the wall as he tried to use it as leverage to get up, ultimately allowing the robot to roll from his robes and back onto the floor in a heap.

"Yay I can see!" the robot yelled, running in a circle in the middle of the floor as Zim tried to slow down his convulsing heart, almost willing it to stay inside of his chest after the damn thing tried to escape his body.

"M-My tallest! Are you ok! Gidget was the one who had run out towards the doors when she saw that the robot was attempting to leave, reaching to restrain the little android when Zim locked his fierce eyes with her. It was rare for Zim to ever get upset with anything the small janitorial drone did, the tallest understood that Gidget had a mind of her own when it came to her inventions and weird contraptions. This wasn't the first time Zim got hit by one of her enhanced toys, and usually he gave her a firm scolding before letting her go on her way. So long as nothing burned down the tower and she didn't let anything hurt the other staff, he let her have her fun. But this time Zim was a little more than peeved, of course it was probably due to the fact that he was pissed and stressed at the same time over trying to get a leg up on their investigations, but he really shouldn't have tried to take it out on her.

"What it the meaning of this!? What is this contraption and why is it loose in my tower!?" Zim growled out, rubbing his sore chest from where the robot had hit him. His back was tingling as well, probably getting ready to bruise from the force of impact Zim had with the wall. Not like Zim couldn't take a hit, but getting the surprise of a lifetime and the wind knocked out of you early in the morning was not something Zim was prepared for.

Gidget seemed to be shacking in her leather boots, fearing the worst from her tallest before a voice behind her spoke up, ultimately saving her green ass from the scolding of a lifetime.

"Zim!" Dib yelled from inside his room, half hanging out of his tank with a screwdriver pointed out towards the two irkens in the hall. "Grab that robot and bring him back here, I'm not done with him yet!"

Zim stared incredulously for a few minutes before a smile broke out across his face at seeing his housemate, a little relieved to find that the Dib seemed to have found himself an activity. Although the activity he was engrossed in wasn't something Zim himself believed he would enjoy.

"I got him Dib," Gidget chimed in before scuttling back into the room, Zim trailing slowly behind her to see what it was that the two had been up to for the better part of the morning. Electrical wires, schematics, charts, tools, metal parts, and a vast collection of hard drive memory cards littered the outside floor of Dibs upper tank, collected in piles upon piles throughout the room. Zim had to watch where he stepped to avoid breaking anything while he walked towards the hybrid and Gidget.

The robot was squirming and giggling within Gidgets hold, laughing as he tried to roll out of her grip before Dib grabbed him and started to fiddle with the circuit compactor on his back, coming out of the water to wrap his long tail around the smaller body, freeing his hands to work freely on the fanatic machine.

"Sorry he got loose on you Zim, we were trying to keep him in the room before he caused too much damage, I haven't been able to fix his activity drive so he just goes nuts every once in a while for no reason at all." Dib chuckled as he looked up from his work, glad he finally had time to talk to Zim, although keeping the robot under control was proving hard to do. He kept squirming in his grip so Dib wasn't very capable of getting to the problems he needed to take care of. The thought of turning him off had passed through his mind, but since turning him on had been such a chore for him and Gidget, Dib didn't want to risk the robot never turning back on again. This was the first of 6 robots him and Gidget had been working on to finally turn on and stay on.

The task of keeping the robot up and running was another chore altogether, figuring out that the behavioral protocols that are normally built into the robots programing were completely fried. They wouldn't work at all and every time they kept replacing the circuitry system, the robots activity protocol would get worked up during one of his crazy moments and completely fry the behavior system. It was a merry go round of ups and downs with the robots mood changes and destruction patterns. One moment the thing would be completing an order, and the next he would be on the ceiling trying to take out the light. One example of the crazy behavior, one Dib wasn't very fond of by any means, was when they gave the robot the order to pick up the I-pad, and change a setting on the music. They were trying to figure out if his computerized brain would be able to understand and learn the settings on the new machinery without any glitches. The robot took one look at the I-pad and did exactly what he was told, performing the task flawlessly, right before… he tried to eat the whole I-pad.

Dib and Gidget had to practically force the I-Pad from his mouth, the side corner of the mini computer now cracked and dented. Dib was furious with this and when he asked the robot why he did it, the robot had said, "I thought it was a taco." Then he picked up a drill and began hitting himself in the head with it.

It was altogether hilarious, disturbing, and borderline insane the way the robot behaved, and Dib absolutely loved it!

This was better than any computer set up or gaming system the humans ever gave him to mess with, he was enthused to finally have an actual android to work with who could communicate with him on a real level. Even though the robot was filled with flaws and dents from where he hit himself with random objects while laughing, it was still more than anything Dib could have asked for from the humans. And now he had something to fill his time with while Zim was out during his meetings.

Zim looked down at the robot in Dibs grasp, noting how flexible Dibs tale was before addressing the real issue at hand. "Why are you working on a defective SIR unit? And why may I ask is it running around loose in my tower?" Zims voice wasn't as vexed as it was when he was confronting Gidget in the hall, but he was curious as to why Dib seemed to want a robot. If he really wanted something like this android, Zim could easily get him one from the invader academy, he certainly didn't need to make it himself.

"A SIR unit, what's that?" looking up from his work Dib noticed Zims perplexed expression to what he was doing.

Zim opened his mouth to answer but Gidget beat him to it. her high pitched voice reaching Dib over the bundle of wires she was trying to untangle.

"A SIR unit is an information gathering unit used by invaders while on planets ready for takeover. The android is meant to help invaders gather intel and work as coordinate devices for GPS tracking while also providing protection to the Invader should the Irken become incapacitated."

Zim glanced at Gidget with a raised brow, but Gidget just shrugged and went back to work. "I used to be a weapons specialist ya know, I not only built these things, we made other weapons as well to help out on missions. My job was mainly in nukes, but the occasional SIR unit would pop up with a small dysfunction and we would repair them." Gidget rolled her shoulders as she assessed the work before her, glancing back up at her tallest with a small smile. "These SIR units aren't easily fixable, they've been completely destroyed and dismantled, the fun part about this is being able to put one together from scratch. Plus it gives Dib here something to do during the day."

Picking up a soldering gun Gidget went back to melding the pieces of iron together on another dis-guarded SIR piece. Turning back to Dib Zim watched him work for a moment before having to ask. "wouldn't you rather have one that works? I mean I get that you want something to do during the day, but if you want an android I can get you one easily." Zim said it while sitting on the floor in front of the hybrid, watching those fingers work with the materials before him like he had worked on machines for years. Dib didn't miss a beat to respond, picking up another tool, not even looking at Zim when he answered.

"Its not about being able to get one that works, I kind of figured that out on my own. Its more about taking the time to make it yourself, I don't want one that's designed to work in a specific way, I want one that I built with my own two hands, that works on the fact that I took the time and energy to put it together, to make sure that all the pieces are in order and it functions. Sure there are some holes to the progress, but it's unlike any of the other SIR unit. It's….unique, you know? And I'm proud that I was able to create it."

Dib smiled a genuine smile at Zim, though the tallest was a bit confused by his answer, figuring he would want something brand new, not beat up and in scrapes. But on the other hand, Dib himself was a unique creature, it took the humans years before they even got permission to create him, and even then the science was so unfamiliar to them that they weren't even sure it would work. But now, here before him was a creation unlike any other, and he wanted to make something unique on his own. In a way it made sense, but Zim still shook his head in exasperation.

"This is what I get for not visiting you more often huh? I leave you with Gidget for a few days and already your bringing robots back from the dead." Zim was actually surprised that Dib and Gidget had gotten along so well after their initial meeting. Part of the plan for Dib to meet the staff was so that the Hybrid didn't freak out if one of the Drones walked into his room on accident. And although most of the staff seemed surprised to meet Dib, none of them were overly taken with him like Gidget had been. The small janitor had been bouncing in her shoes to be able to meet Dib, and although she seemed overly eager to speak with him, the two became very close as they found they shared a natural knack for taking things apart and putting them back together.

Zim was happy Dib found someone to hang out with, but now he worried about the safety of his tower. Two maniacal robot building enthusiasts were a health hazard to anyone within a 5 foot radius.

Dib chuckled at Zims remark but was otherwise unaffected. "Humans don't have this kind of technology on earth," with a roll of his shoulders he sighed as he closed the compartment on the robots back. "I'm just happy I get to figure this stuff out. Plus I'd feel bad if I had a new one and I wanted to take it apart to see how it works. This way if I accidentally destroy something, there's no harm to the machine because most of it is scraps anyway."

Zim accepted that explanation, not willing to take anything away from Dib if it made him happy. He wouldn't have cared though if he destroyed a new one, he could easily get him as many as he wanted, though if building them kept him as happy as he looked, he wouldn't change a thing unless the Dib asked him for something.

It seemed a bit indulgent, but Zim hadn't really spent time with people, so knowing what was acceptable on a giving level seemed more offline than he would like to admit. Though he figured Dib wasn't one to ask for many things that weren't needed, he never seemed to want small trinkets or baubles. They were useless to the hybrid, just things that don't do anything. But if he could make it himself, well that was an entirely different story.

"Do you have another meeting?" Dib asked suddenly, seeming to realize Zim was spending a good portion of his morning with him which seemed rare so far.

Zims antenna rose suddenly at attention, seeming to realize that he did have a meeting.. and.. checking his internal clock he cursed as he realized he was now late to said meeting.

Swearing in Irk Zim rose to his feet in a rush, knocking over a heap of scrap metal in his haste, "I'm late to that meeting! I gotta go but I should be back in a little bit!" Zim made it to the door before he turned suddenly, catching Gidgets glare for knocking over the metal before he addressed them both, "Do NOT, and I repeat DO NOT! Let that thing destroy my tower! Is that understood?"

"We wont Zim," Dib responded, chuckling lightly, "no need for you to worry". Zim looked at the robot in question, wanting a response from it as well to confirm that it understood.

"I'm a Taco!" it yelled before blowing a raspberry and hitting its head with a screwdriver again.

"If that thing gets out again and causes trouble," Zim warned, "I will shoot it." he threatened, wanting them to understand he wanst going to take another hit to his chest again should that thing attack.

Dib rolled his eyes, but squeezed the robot tighter to make sure he didn't try to escape again. "Did you hear that Gir? Zim says you cant attack him again or he'll get really angry with you ok?" Dib spoke as if he were talking to a child, the robot flashed red for a moment, saluting Dib before he went back to blue, giggling madly.

"Gir? You named it?" Zim asked incredulously, half way out the door but stopping to throw Dib a weird look.

"Technically…." Gidget chimed in, "When we asked him to identify himself he said, 'Gir, reporting for duty.' I guess it kind of stuck so we haven't renamed him."

"Gir?" Zim asked, "as in SIR? But, what does the G stand for?" to which Gir replied with a remorseful, "I don't know."

Zim left then, trying to understand the madness but finding his Pak couldn't handle the information. With a hand to his head he traveled further down the hall, trying to get himself ready for the meeting, almost feeling upbeat until he heard a loud crash followed by the scream of "Taquito's!" then hysterical laughter followed by Dib and Gidget trying to coax the SIR unit from the ceiling.

"My towers gonna be destroyed," Zim said to himself, both hands covering his face as he activated the main computer to be on guard to clean up whatever mess the hybrid and his drone could make. Heaving a great sigh, Zim prepared himself for the meeting again, trying to disregard the mayhem ensuing in his tower until he could get back from the current issues at hand.

"Hopefully I can have the meeting done and over with before they decide they want to re-build a megadoomer. Until then, Irk help me."

Another crash sounded further down and Zim merely groaned as he stepped into the war room, knowing his plea for his tower to still be standing probably wasn't going to happen.