Chapter 9 –Paralyzed
As the four awoke, they found themselves paralyzed with an unknown and awkward fear. Gaz thought, 'What is this? I feel unable to move.'
Dib thought, 'What happened? Is Callista okay? Is anyone alive? I don't want to be alone...'
Callista thought, 'I can feel it. There is fear present. Dib is okay. I must try to send thought waves to Dib.'
Zim thought, 'I hope everyone's all right. I hope I live to see another day...' In fact, everyone was okay. They just didn't know it. Except for Callista. Three of the four could move within a second, and they checked to make sure that each was fine.
"You, you did this!" Zim yelled.
"Yes, we did. Callista will be frozen for a whole day. If you don't surrender, we will kill you all."
"YOU MONSTERS! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS! SHE'S FROZEN!" Dib yelled in anger and in torment. "I'D RATHER HAVE YOU KILL ME THAN HER!"
"All in good time, Earth dweller. You will have your turn soon enough."
"I don't like the sound of this..." Gaz said.
"Neither do I. I have a proposition for you," Dib told the aliens.
"What could that be?"
"Give Callista back and take me instead!" Dib yelled out, "I believe in ideals of decency and I will live them out at any chance I get! You won't kill her without a fight from me!"
"Shouldn't he save that part for me?" Zim whispered to Gaz.
"No, let's see where this goes," Gaz told him.
"We will accept your offer," the aliens told him. Dib took a look at Callista in the concealment of tree resin – amber. Dib felt that nothing could be taken out of solid rock like that, but knew by science that it was much easier than going to another dimension, and Callista had mastered that.
"Don't worry, I'm going in after you," Dib told the frozen Callista as if she could hear him. And she did. Callista may have been frozen, but her mind wasn't. Her thoughts went toward Dib, 'Don't do it, Dib. You have too much a future to give up on... I am a resistor; I can take them... I can free myself... Don't...'
"I have to..." Dib told her. When the Gauveuntains were ready, the matter of Dib was replaced with the matter of Callista, and vise-versa. When the process was complete, Callista stood where Dib had once been.
"No!" Gaz screamed. Zim went over to her and said, "Don't worry, we'll find a way, we'll find a way."
"Dib, you idiot! You can't defend! You can't stave off the force of the amber as long as I can! You'll be a goner!" Callista cried out.
"You will get your turn in time."
"I can hear your thoughts. You don't have to tell me anything that went on while I was under. I can hear your thoughts, you can't block from me."
"I am going to make you pay!" Gaz shouted in fury.
"We are going to get that Earth monkey back even if it means our lives!" Zim told them. He wasn't as upset about Dib being frozen as it was his friend's friend that was frozen.
"Gaz is right! You will pay for that, and not in dollars and cents!"
"Enough talk let's take action!" Zim yelled out, ignoring the useless effect on them from the last time.
"Band together, for all that is right! Band together, for all that is just! Band together, for all that is fair! Band together, for all that we live for! Never again, are we to be foiled! Never again, are we to be in despair! Never again, are we to be looking behind our backs, in fear at every corner! Never again! When? Never again!"
"She's quite a motivational speaker, isn't she?" Gaz pointed out.
"You want to fight? We'll give you a fight! Attack!" the alien in charge called out.
"We are ready to fight for what we believe in! We are ready to stand up for others! We are ready to lose our lives! We are ready for death!"
"As the famous actor SpongeBob said, 'I'm ready!' (SpongeBob is a famous actor in the Zim dimension, not a cartoon character)" Gaz quoted. A fire ball in blue color was headed toward Gaz.
"No!" Zim yelled out.
"It's okay, I'm on it," Gaz said as she dodged it, causing some instruments to break down and a mild explosion. They sent another one, and Zim tore a piece of debris from the explosion and the ball of fire went right back to the machine, causing an explosion of its own. A weapon that looked kind of like a gun fell.
"The transbobidator!" Zim shouted as he got it. "Careful, I've got a transbobidator, and I'm not afraid to use it! I know how to, too!" Zim pointed the thing in between the eyes of one. Instead of firing, he said, "Release the Dib!"
"We can't do that."
"Then face the consequences!"
"Okay, we're releasing him! NOW!" Another of the Gauveuntains hit a button; it was too late. Zim already shot that one with the transbobidator. The button pushed triggered a vacuum that took Gaz, Zim, and Callista into a vacant room. Never had Callista been so disappointed in herself.
"I have failed. I was supposed to... I couldn't... I... I... I'm... sorry..." Callista sobbed.
"You didn't fail. You're doing great. Dib will be fine. You have great mind powers that have helped you survive through a many tragedies. You can survive this one," Zim told Callista.
"Yes, but – hey, wait a minute! Zim, you're the best! Thanks! I've got it!"
"Got what?" Zim asked in confusion.
"I'm going to save Dib, and I'm going to do it with my mind. Thank you Zim! Thank you Gaz! You have helped me through hard times and it is time that I must go on my own. This is something that I must do alone."
"Callista, you can't do this alone, we have to stay together! Remember the rules. We must stay together at all times."
"You're right Zim. We must go together." Callista pulled out The Cosmic Energy Crystal and the sub-stone. Zim, hold the sub-stone. Gaz, hold this. Callista took out a gray stone and handed it to Gaz. She then clutched The Cosmic Energy Crystal and the stones transformed. Gaz's crystal was amethyst, and Zim's was turquoise. Before Callista appeared another stone – malachite. It was green in color with black swirls.
"Our powers will be confined to these. Zim, your power is the ability to conquer. Gaz, your ability is to be determined. And my power, of course, is of the mind. You three can communicate with these for they are linked with my mind. Good luck." The three of them were in a void of darkness within a minute and they knew they were at the point beyond knowledge.
As the four awoke, they found themselves paralyzed with an unknown and awkward fear. Gaz thought, 'What is this? I feel unable to move.'
Dib thought, 'What happened? Is Callista okay? Is anyone alive? I don't want to be alone...'
Callista thought, 'I can feel it. There is fear present. Dib is okay. I must try to send thought waves to Dib.'
Zim thought, 'I hope everyone's all right. I hope I live to see another day...' In fact, everyone was okay. They just didn't know it. Except for Callista. Three of the four could move within a second, and they checked to make sure that each was fine.
"You, you did this!" Zim yelled.
"Yes, we did. Callista will be frozen for a whole day. If you don't surrender, we will kill you all."
"YOU MONSTERS! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS! SHE'S FROZEN!" Dib yelled in anger and in torment. "I'D RATHER HAVE YOU KILL ME THAN HER!"
"All in good time, Earth dweller. You will have your turn soon enough."
"I don't like the sound of this..." Gaz said.
"Neither do I. I have a proposition for you," Dib told the aliens.
"What could that be?"
"Give Callista back and take me instead!" Dib yelled out, "I believe in ideals of decency and I will live them out at any chance I get! You won't kill her without a fight from me!"
"Shouldn't he save that part for me?" Zim whispered to Gaz.
"No, let's see where this goes," Gaz told him.
"We will accept your offer," the aliens told him. Dib took a look at Callista in the concealment of tree resin – amber. Dib felt that nothing could be taken out of solid rock like that, but knew by science that it was much easier than going to another dimension, and Callista had mastered that.
"Don't worry, I'm going in after you," Dib told the frozen Callista as if she could hear him. And she did. Callista may have been frozen, but her mind wasn't. Her thoughts went toward Dib, 'Don't do it, Dib. You have too much a future to give up on... I am a resistor; I can take them... I can free myself... Don't...'
"I have to..." Dib told her. When the Gauveuntains were ready, the matter of Dib was replaced with the matter of Callista, and vise-versa. When the process was complete, Callista stood where Dib had once been.
"No!" Gaz screamed. Zim went over to her and said, "Don't worry, we'll find a way, we'll find a way."
"Dib, you idiot! You can't defend! You can't stave off the force of the amber as long as I can! You'll be a goner!" Callista cried out.
"You will get your turn in time."
"I can hear your thoughts. You don't have to tell me anything that went on while I was under. I can hear your thoughts, you can't block from me."
"I am going to make you pay!" Gaz shouted in fury.
"We are going to get that Earth monkey back even if it means our lives!" Zim told them. He wasn't as upset about Dib being frozen as it was his friend's friend that was frozen.
"Gaz is right! You will pay for that, and not in dollars and cents!"
"Enough talk let's take action!" Zim yelled out, ignoring the useless effect on them from the last time.
"Band together, for all that is right! Band together, for all that is just! Band together, for all that is fair! Band together, for all that we live for! Never again, are we to be foiled! Never again, are we to be in despair! Never again, are we to be looking behind our backs, in fear at every corner! Never again! When? Never again!"
"She's quite a motivational speaker, isn't she?" Gaz pointed out.
"You want to fight? We'll give you a fight! Attack!" the alien in charge called out.
"We are ready to fight for what we believe in! We are ready to stand up for others! We are ready to lose our lives! We are ready for death!"
"As the famous actor SpongeBob said, 'I'm ready!' (SpongeBob is a famous actor in the Zim dimension, not a cartoon character)" Gaz quoted. A fire ball in blue color was headed toward Gaz.
"No!" Zim yelled out.
"It's okay, I'm on it," Gaz said as she dodged it, causing some instruments to break down and a mild explosion. They sent another one, and Zim tore a piece of debris from the explosion and the ball of fire went right back to the machine, causing an explosion of its own. A weapon that looked kind of like a gun fell.
"The transbobidator!" Zim shouted as he got it. "Careful, I've got a transbobidator, and I'm not afraid to use it! I know how to, too!" Zim pointed the thing in between the eyes of one. Instead of firing, he said, "Release the Dib!"
"We can't do that."
"Then face the consequences!"
"Okay, we're releasing him! NOW!" Another of the Gauveuntains hit a button; it was too late. Zim already shot that one with the transbobidator. The button pushed triggered a vacuum that took Gaz, Zim, and Callista into a vacant room. Never had Callista been so disappointed in herself.
"I have failed. I was supposed to... I couldn't... I... I... I'm... sorry..." Callista sobbed.
"You didn't fail. You're doing great. Dib will be fine. You have great mind powers that have helped you survive through a many tragedies. You can survive this one," Zim told Callista.
"Yes, but – hey, wait a minute! Zim, you're the best! Thanks! I've got it!"
"Got what?" Zim asked in confusion.
"I'm going to save Dib, and I'm going to do it with my mind. Thank you Zim! Thank you Gaz! You have helped me through hard times and it is time that I must go on my own. This is something that I must do alone."
"Callista, you can't do this alone, we have to stay together! Remember the rules. We must stay together at all times."
"You're right Zim. We must go together." Callista pulled out The Cosmic Energy Crystal and the sub-stone. Zim, hold the sub-stone. Gaz, hold this. Callista took out a gray stone and handed it to Gaz. She then clutched The Cosmic Energy Crystal and the stones transformed. Gaz's crystal was amethyst, and Zim's was turquoise. Before Callista appeared another stone – malachite. It was green in color with black swirls.
"Our powers will be confined to these. Zim, your power is the ability to conquer. Gaz, your ability is to be determined. And my power, of course, is of the mind. You three can communicate with these for they are linked with my mind. Good luck." The three of them were in a void of darkness within a minute and they knew they were at the point beyond knowledge.
