All right, someone left a review reminding me that Membrane is Professor Membrane's first name, and that Dib and Gaz don't have last names. Yes, I realize this now; I've listened to the commentary on the DVDs. I'm far too lazy to change this, now, but Dib and Gaz don't know that they were sort of like A. I.s, so… yeah. Just go with it.
It's twenty pages. I spent DAYS trying to make this whole chapter so long, and it's basically two chapters in one.
"Oh… em… gee…" Erica was in total disbelief. Ria stiffened, pulling her shoulders back and raising her chin to, literally, look down her nose at Erica.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Luke laughed hard enough to almost fall over.
"Get off my property." Ria's tone was… pure acid, but it was still low and calm.
"No, I don't think we will." Erica folded her arms and smirked, balancing on one leg so her curves were emphasized slightly.
"Get the hell off my property, and get back out of my life!" Ria reached forward and grabbed Dib, pulling him into the house.
Erica snuck her foot in the doorway before Ria could slam it shut, and pushed her way in.
"What kind of… is that really Dib?"
"It's a holographic costume!"
"Did I ask you?" Erica's tone was slathered in contempt as she spoke down her nose at Ria.
"Get out of my house!"
"Shut up!" Erica shoved Ria away from her, but she delivered such weak force that Ria didn't even need to move her foot back to balance herself. Erica glanced at her own hands in disgust, as if she had touched dirt instead of a person. Ria immediately took Erica's distraction as an opportunity for punching Erica in the breast.
"Ow! Stupid bitch, you just gave me cancer!" Erica yelled, and Luke walked into the house as well. Erica stood hunched over, keeping her arms folded over her chest. Luke glared immediately at Dib, who was completely taken aback at what just happened between the girls.
"Hey, nerd, control your stupid dog."
Before Ria could retaliate, Dib put his arm in front of her and said in a dark voice, "Put a muzzle on your bitch first."
"You ass!" Erica shrieked. Luke ran in to deliver a blow to Dib, who felt the fear of Gaz's beatings rush back to him. He was frozen.
It was so quick; everyone in the room almost didn't notice that Ria had pulled Dib back and to the side to allow Luke to run into the wall. He bounced back and nearly fell over. Before he could properly catch his balance, the side of Ria's hand flew into his neck, clothes-lining him and knocking him to the floor, rendering him unable to breathe.
"Ohmigawd, Luke!" Erica cried, rushing over to him. Dib slowly turned his head to Ria, dumbfounded. He kept his jaw from dropping once he saw that she was holding something back; it was something primal, and unstable.
"Caylsin," Ria was rigid at this point, doing everything she could to keep from attacking the couple in front of her. Erica looked up in fear at Ria at the sound of her last name.
"Caylsin, I want you, and your boyfriend, out of this house. Right now."
"At least give Luke a chance to breathe again, he could die!"
"I didn't hit him that hard! If I wanted to kill him I would have done it already! The same goes for you. Forget everything that happened here. Forget it. Get out of my house, and out of my life."
Dib put his hands on Ria's trembling shoulders. She was on edge, and Dib could feel her tense even more at his touch, but she slowly relaxed. Dib reached up to the back of his neck and pressed the button to activate his real costume. His normal appearance faded.
"It's a test we're doing. It's an experiment. Holographic costumes and disguises that look and feel real."
Erica couldn't seem to focus. She nodded and looked back down at Luke, who was somewhat able to breathe now. Slowly they stood and walked back down the entryway, and Dib shut the door behind them. He turned back and turned the corner to see Ria right where he left her standing, except she had fallen to her knees and clutched her head. Her white fingers contrasted greatly against her ebony hair. Dib kneeled beside her and turned off his disguise.
"Ria… calm down."
"How can you tell me to calm down when those… f…" She bit her lip, and Dib knew the word she wanted to keep back. She growled, and it turned into a scream gradually.
"Ria, you can swear, no one will hear you, and I don't even exist here."
"Fuckers!" Dib held on to her wrists, as her hands tensed and turned into fists. "I hate them so much!"
"What did they do to you?"
"Dib, I don't want to talk about it." Ria stood up and turned to go upstairs. Dib followed her to the loft.
"Ria, don't keep it bottled up like I do. I have no one, so I have no choice, but you've got plenty of people, more than likely-"
"No, Dib, not anymore!" Ria collapsed onto one of the off-white blue couches, burying her face in her hands. "Not after what they did."
Dib was shocked. How could she not have a friend in the world?
Ria looked back at Dib and shook her head. She really didn't want to explain what happened. Finally, Dib nodded, understanding that Ria couldn't yet trust him with her memories. He was hurt, but he knew she needed time.
Wait, why was he hurt? He couldn't become attached to Ria, even if they only stayed friends. He had to go back home.
"But why should I go back?" He didn't realize he voiced the next question he thought of.
"Huh?" Ria looked at him oddly.
"Whu—oh, uh, nothing. Just, er, I'm… thinking aloud to myself." Dib stammered.
"You're wondering why you have to go back home."
Jeeze, he couldn't hide a thing from that woman.
"But you know you can't stay. You belong in your own home, with the professor, and…" Ria didn't finish the sentence. She knew Dib wasn't really home in that universe. He had an abusive sister, and a negligent father. No one cared about him.
He had no friends.
A place like that is not home.
Ria at least had her parents. With both of them working and travelling a lot, she could go with them around the world, meet new people, and—if she convinced them to—move somewhere better. Dib didn't have even that.
But he didn't exist here, at all—legally speaking. No social security number, no phone number, he hadn't been fingerprinted by the authorities—there was no way he could live here.
"Someone's gotta keep an eye on Zim, eh?" Dib forced a smile. "Never officially know when he'll stop being stupid."
That was partially true. He needed to protect the stupider universe from being attacked and enslaved by Irkens. He wasn't sure what Zim was planning, but he had to keep an eye on him.
Ria too forced a laugh. "Yeah, better safe than sorry."
Now there was a silence, and it was thick enough to cut with Dib's pointy hair. He had to strike up a conversation; he couldn't let the lack of talking get to Ria. If it did she might suspect something.
"Dib-stink, do you read?" Ria heard Zim's voice. It was sort of muffled, as if he were on a radio show with bad signal. Dib pulled the sleeve of his trench coat back, and Ria saw he had a transmitter on his wrist, disguised as a watch.
"I'm here, Zim. What do you need?"
"Come to my lab, I need some help with the exact structure of your stupid, filthy ship. We might be able to leave tomorrow, actually." Zim started drumming his claws impatiently.
Dib's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Okay, Zim, I'll be there in a second."
"I hope you know I'll take that literally!"
Dib turned off his transmitter, smirking a little. He looked up at Ria. "I'll be back later." Ria nodded, and the two smiled at each other.
"I'll walk down with you; I need to go get the mail, anyways." Ria tugged a pair of shoes on and allowed Dib to go down first.
He only went down the first six steps to the first landing, hopped over the rail, and landed on the tile near the front door skillfully. Ria gaped in awe, and then beamed over the rail.
"That was really cool!" She exclaimed. Dib laughed.
"It was nothing, really, just something that comes in handy when I'm feeling lazy or want to run away from Gaz."
"Well, that sucks that you learned it in such a situation." Ria frowned momentarily. "I kind of want to try that but I'm way too scared." She laughed.
Dib paused for no longer than a heartbeat. "I'll catch you."
"You'll… you'll do what?"
"I'll catch you." Dib repeated, holding out his arms for emphasis.
"Uh, n-no, Dib." Ria laughed again.
"Trust me, Ria," Dib pleaded. "Come on, I swear, I'll catch you." Ria stared at him for a moment, thinking it over. "You don't have to jump over the rail like I did, but maybe half-sit on the ledge on the other side, slide off, and I'll be right here." Dib's arms were getting a little tired from stretching. He dropped them for a few seconds to shake them out, and extended them again.
Slowly, Ria pushed her self over the rail, and assumed an odd squatting position on the other side. The ledge was no more than one or two inches long, and Ria held on to the poles on the railing for dear life.
"That's it, Ria, I know you can do it. It's not a big drop, you know that."
She finally turned so her right arm was parallel to the railing and ledge, and after gaining a little too much confidence, relaxed her muscles. Her left foot was half on the ledge, but her right foot had no support. She lost her footing, and her grip on the poles in shock, and fell.
She was falling, she was going to crash into the tile, she would get amnesia from a terrible concussion, she'd bleed to death because no one was able to help her, and…
She felt herself tightly clutching something warm, and she was warm too.
She was in the hospital, wearing the flannel gown and hugging the pillow out of habit and need for comfort…
Why did the pillow have such a fast heartbeat?
Ria finally opened her eyes, and, to her great surprise, she was still in her house, just in front of the door downstairs.
She was hugging Dib tightly, and he had a tight enough embrace to ensure Ria wouldn't be going anywhere either.
Dib grunted. "Are you okay?"
"Sh-shocked." Ria stammered. She looked up at him. His eyes were closed and his face was contorted in pain.
"But are you hurt?" Dib mumbled.
"Dib, I'm fine, you're the one who took any form of injury!"
"Gaz has thrown me out of her bedroom window, on a night the dumpster wasn't there. I'll heal before the end of the day."
"Are you sure? I mean, at least lie down on the couch."
"I'm fine, Ria." Dib smiled reassuringly.
Besides, Dib thought. If I get up, you'll get up, too, and probably won't be hugging me like this. I don't think I've ever felt a hug. Hugs are nice. Ria's hugs are nice. Ria is nice.
"You're really warm." Ria whispered, trying to pull herself closer to Dib. It was a futile effort; she was on top of him.
Wait.
She was on top of him. Hugging him. Hugging him tightly.
She let her heart take over her thought. It felt so enjoyable—hugging Dib. She had hugged other guys, of course, but never had they been so warm, so comforting, so much like it was the best thing in the world.
"Dib-bug! What are you doing?"
Dib groaned. He didn't lift his watch up, only grumbled, "Sorry, I was busy with something. Be right there." Before Zim could yell more, Dib turned off the transmitter.
What the hell was he doing? He… he was getting attached to Ria, and a little bit more than friendly attachment, at that. Quickly he and Ria sat up. Dib stood, cleared his throat awkwardly, and nodded at Ria, and made his way to the teleporter to Zim's lab.
Ria watched him go sadly. Why… what just happened? She couldn't let on to Dib that she liked the hug more than she should have… but she hugged him for too long. Why did she do that?
And then she realized something she immediately regretted.
"Oh, my God…" She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands and staring at the closet where Dib disappeared to. "Oh, no…" She shut her eyes tight and backed up against the wall. She was getting close, too close…
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Dib stood in front of the teleporter in Zim's lab confusedly. Why did Ria hold on to him for that long? She did say that he was really warm, but it didn't seem to be the only reason she nuzzled him.
Dib blushed. Ria may not have intended to, but she nuzzled him. Dib felt giddy again, and couldn't help the smile forming on his face.
And then he frowned.
He was getting more than attached.
But he couldn't possibly like her, like her, let alone love her. Love would always be too strong of a word for anything Dib enjoyed. And he had never liked anyone like that, anyways. Never had, never would.
There would always be a first for everything, though.
Dib moaned in frustration. He couldn't think like that; he was leaving. He had to keep an eye on Zim, show the truth to the world, be a visionary; he had to prove everyone else wrong…
"Dib! Yes, it's about time you arrived."
The human boy came back to reality and looked at the alien.
"Okay, Zim, I'm here, what do you need?"
"To inform you that there has been a change of plans." Zim sounded distant and pushed a few buttons on a panel. He looked up at Dib. "We're leaving early." There was a smirk on his face. Dib hadn't seen this look in Zim's eyes before.
"Zim, what's going on?" He asked, narrowing his eyes suspisciously.
"Nothing special, really." Zim pressed another button, and the floor he was standing on began to rise. Dib noticed Zim's body was much longer, and so were his arms and legs. The panel of floor became level with the rest of the base, and Zim was now suddenly seven feet tall.
"Shit… Zim, you…" Dib took his breath in slowly enough to prevent a nervous breakdown. "You accepted their deal?"
"Yes, Dib-stink. Now listen to Zim, very carefully." Zim bent down and poked two claws at Dib's neck.
"I won't do a thing you tell me to! I've sworn to protect Planet Earth, and I plan to keep my promises, even if they are only to me!"
Zim smirked and stood up straight, removing his claws from Dib's throat and brought down a screen.
"Dib-stink, I don't think you realize that I have the upper antennae here." He glanced quickly at Dib and smirked again. "You also forget that the she-human you've become so close to is also on your stupid planet, and I can see everything that goes on in that house." Zim smiled evilly, turning the monitor to show Ria lying down on one of the brown couches downstairs, asleep, and holding a throw-pillow tightly to her chest.
"W-what could you possibly do?" Dib tried to remain as determined as he always did, but he knew he was faltering.
"You stupid human, have you no brains?" Zim barked. "I know you spoke to her in her attic, and did you not notice anything?"
Dib paused and thought back to that day. "She was hesitant to go into the attic."
"Now, I regularly sent in tiny spy-bots disguised as dust mites. They're so tiny, you couldn't possibly see them, but they're neat little things. I sent one in to listen to the two of you. Listen." Zim stared at Dib intently, and hit another button. Around the whole base, Dib heard what he and Ria were talking about shortly before going into the attic. It was a bit of déjà vu for him.
"Don't want any risk of him hearing."
There was some rustling, and Dib remembered Ria grunting every now and then as she climbed up her closet to open up the attic. More rustling, a few gasps, and sighs of relief (when Dib had caught her), and finally a loud thump with plenty of moans and groans of pains to make Dib blush again.
There was a sound of sliding, and that was Ria pushing the raised panel back into its place on the attic floor, upstairs ceiling.
And then he heard what Zim wanted him to hear.
It was the tiniest sound, and Dib barely heard it on this recording.
It was a gasp—a gasp that Ria had tried to keep quiet.
Zim replayed the almost inaudible breath over and over, until Dib finally spoke.
"She's… she's afraid of the dark."
"Not just the dark, you idiot!" Zim snapped again, and slapped his gloved palm to his forehead. "Do you know what post-traumatic stress disorder is?"
"Yeah, of course I…" Dib put it all together. "I know. It has something to do with those other kids, doesn't it?"
"Ah, I see you're not completely stupid." Zim observed. "Let me keep this as short as I can. Computer, inform the Dib-stink of the she-human's past."
"When the Ria-human was in, er, I believe it's called sixth grade, Ria was still ever-so popular. She did excellently in school, was very friendly with everyone, meaning teachers, and other humans of all groups. She had many friends," Zim paused the computer, and then chuckled and continued in Computer's stead.
"And males flocked to her like The Irken Empire flocks to weak planets." He noted that Dib's emotion and heart-rate fluctuated for a second. Zim let the computer talk again.
"She was possibly the most adored female at the time, and friends with Erica, who was second best to Ria. My master checked her memories to see what had happened. Erica was actually envious that your friend attracted more mates, even though the two girls were supposedly friends.
"One night, Erica invited Ria to a party. However, no one was there except for Erica, that Luke guy, and a few of their sort. Ria was locked in a closet for a whole day, and then released later on. However, Erica and her lot then proceeded to go to school the next day, telling everyone that Ria had broken into Erica's house and locked herself in the closet. Erica was such a great actress that the whole school believed it, and her parents could put no argument up against a whole school. She did not stand a chance."
Dib stared at Zim the whole time, and his jaw was practically to his knees when Computer finished.
Zim snickered again, and Dib wished the alien would stop. The human boy fell to his knees. That's why Ria didn't have friends. That's why she hated Erica and Luke so much. That's why she was hesitant to go into the attic.
"You don't want her undergoing anything worse, do you?" Zim whispered maliciously. Dib stood up quickly and grabbed Zim's collar, dragging him close.
"Neither you, or any of the rest of your deformed insect-lizard race are going to put even one claw on Ria, or I swear I'll kill you, and your leaders!" Dib growled darkly.
"Harsh words for someone who can't even defend himself." Zim pressed a button behind Dib and another monitor appeared, replaying the moment when Ria had pulled Dib aside just in time to disable Luke momentarily.
Dib looked away to save what was left of his pride. Zim laughed loudly.
"Saved by the female he was trying to protect! Even our smeets don't stoop so low as to defend serou-hka essential to the mission!"
Dib let out a guttural scream and launched himself at Zim. He knew what that word meant. It had an even worse meaning than 'harlot', or 'whore'.
Zim wasn't prepared for this and was knocked onto his back. His PaK took most of the damage, and Zim gasped in pain. He did his best to ignore the throbbing all down his back, and pinned Dib to the floor with his extended metal legs.
"Stupid human! Look at what you're putting in danger!" Zim brought back the monitor of Ria again and shoved it in Dib's face. She was still sleeping, but now she was on her stomach. Her hand was hanging off the couch, and it was a loose grip, but she still had the pillow in hand. Dib figured it was probably a comfort to hug something when she slept. He couldn't blame her.
He stared at the image for… he couldn't tell how long. She rolled over, and Dib saw her face properly again. She had a blank expression, but she brought the pillow back to her chest and he saw her smile faintly. He couldn't put that smile in danger…
Dib closed his eyes in defeat and sighed.
"When does the invasion begin?"
"Eh? Invasion?" Zim blinked, and then giggled. He giggled again. Then that giggle turned into a chortle, and then the most annoying, long-lasting laugh Dib had ever endured. It was like Zim held in a laugh every time he saw something funny and was letting it all out now. At this rate, a human would have lost control of bladder functions. Finally, he regained his composure.
"There's no invasion, stupid, my empire would never go out of its way to take over such a lifeless planet. It's not good for anything. We can't eat your foods. Your technology is inferior. Your species is weak. There is no invasion."
"No invasion?" Dib blinked. "Then what were all those blueprints I saw when I was spying on you?"
"Oh, those are my ideas for my own destruction of your planet. Just to prove to the Tallest I can do better than what I used to. As for you… you will do your species the honor of being the first to be experimented on. Should you refuse to cooperate, I think I'll take…" Zim brought his claw to his lip, as a human does when thinking. "Hmm, I think I'll take Ria, if you do not do as I say. And if she somehow manages to get away, I'll take someone else from our reality. This reality is much too difficult to get away with crime in."
"No!" Dib struggled against the metal legs from Zim's PaK. "I won't let you torture anyone! Not anyone on Earth, not me, and especially not Ria!"
Zim chortled wickedly as Dib tried to move, but as he did, Zim's extended limbs pressed further into Dib's, causing him pain. Eventually, Dib stopped moving. Zim knew exactly how to get into Dib's head, and he relished in it.
All he had to do was just mention doing the smallest thing to make Ria uncomfortable, not necessarily cause her pain. Dib would fight back. It wouldn't be long before Zim knew how to make Dib give in.
He wouldn't do anything to Ria because he wanted to, really, it was just a measure to take to break the Dib.
"Will you do as Zim commands?"
"Over my dead body."
"What about Ria's dead body?"
Dib stopped, and stared at Zim with actual fear. "You wouldn't."
"I'll do whatever it takes to please the Tallest."
"You can't kill her! I'll make sure you don't ever even get close to her!"
The alien stared at Dib with a bored expression. "Dib-stink, you can't control the almighty Zim's actions. Should you refuse to cooperate, you're no longer the one I'm interested in killing anymore. Zim is smart enough to know I need to break you." He pulled the video of Ria closer to Dib again. "If she's the one I need to torture in order to make you obey me, then so be it." Zim pushed the monitor away and got very close to Dib's face. "You can't stop me." He grinned malevolently.
"No, don't touch her, don't even go near her!" Dib's voice changed a little. He continued yelling at Zim nonstop, and his voice became softer and softer over ten minutes, finally, Zim noticed that Dib's voice was getting higher, to the point where he sounded like he was still a student of Ms. Bitters. His eyes also seemed to be leaking. Zim's PaK recognized this as the human action of crying. It was a useless action. Tear ducts would be necessary to keep a creature's eyeballs from becoming irritated and dry, but Zim didn't understand the purpose of actually crying. The Irken raised an eyebrow, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"What is it about the human girl you're so protective of? Why would you do anything for her?" He wondered aloud.
"Because I…" Dib closed his eyes and really thought about everything. "She's even-tempered, and thinks things through before she comes up with an answer to something. She's caring, and she's got this…" Dib looked over at the monitor with her sleeping form. "I think she has the best smile in the world, even if she shows it in her sleep. I want to help her get over her fears, and protect her from anything and everything else bad that could happen.
"She gives really nice hugs. Since she's so tiny, it makes it even better to hug her tight. Her eyes always change, and I can stare at them and get lost in a green field, dark blue ocean, dark brown forest, or whatever her eyes make me think of. Now that I think about everything, I know I've only known her for a few days, but… I… I think I'm—I'm in l…"
"Spit it out, human."
"I think I love her!"
Dib opened his eyes again to see something he really didn't want to see, and it was one of Zim's worst smiles he had ever seen. He knew he shouldn't have said any of that about Ria… either he or her was in danger, and he hoped it was only him.
Still, something deep down inside Dib told him Ria wasn't safe anymore, and he couldn't do anything about it.
"Very nice, Dib-stink, I know how to keep you in control. You've had a lot to take in, and in so little time. Have a little nap, why don't you?" Zim quickly tapped yet another button, and let go of Dib, who stood up as fast as he could and bolted for the teleporter.
But he didn't make it even one step before he inhaled something and collapsed, coughing hard and trying to crawl to the teleporter.
"A fast-acting substance you humans haven't come up with yet. It's the only gas that renders every creature exposed to it unconscious and weak—every creature except an Irken. Since our PaK doesn't inhale anything, and it's what we use to survive, we are immune to this."
Dib mustered up all the strength that he could, and catapulted himself back towards the teleporter with his legs. The gas didn't take up all the air over here, and Dib hit the button to start it up. The gas Zim released was completely filling his lungs at this point, and he could barely keep his eyes open. He saw Zim reach out to him fiercely, but saw everything blur as he fell unconscious, and perhaps used the teleporter in time.
No, he couldn't fall asleep, Ria was…
No, don't fall as… asleep, Dib, Ria needs to be… war…ned…
It all went black.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
A few hours had passed since Ria had come to a conclusion she wished she hadn't. To take her mind off things, and Dib, she took a nap, and later began playing one of her games on the PlayStation 2. It used to be her favorite game, and the reality she wished she was born in. This game had been previously completed by Ria, but she had played it once more because she loved it so much.
But it didn't feel the same way as it used to.
It was because Zim and Dib were here, and she knew it. She wanted to go fight shadow creatures with a key, not protect the planet from a Defective alien. She wanted…
"Damn it, I don't know what I want!" She paused the game and fell backwards so she was lying down and staring at the ceiling.
What did she want?
I kinda want to hug Dib again, Ria smiled. He's so warm; it feels like sitting by the fire on a cold winter's night, drinking hot chocolate, just before Christmas. Dib feels like Christmas! Ria giggled at how silly the thought was.
"Dib feels like Christmas," She repeated mockingly. Slowly her smile faded, and she realized the comparison was true.
Dib made Ria feel the same way she used to every Christmas morning, running downstairs and screaming, "IT'S CHRISTMAS, MAMA! Mama, Kitty, wake up! I want my brekkie and then I want my presents!" Kitty was her special nickname for her dad, since he regularly got haircuts and made the back of his neck feel like a cat. It was rather ironic Ria gave him that name, as her father was actually quite allergic to cats.
When Dib was around, even just talking and nothing more, Ria listened eagerly, as eager as she was to open up her presents. She wanted to know what he thought of things, as much as she wanted to know what was under the festive paper and heartfelt card. Dib didn't just feel like Christmas, Dib was the living, breathing joy of Christmas.
Ria smiled, and then smacked her forehead with the palm of her head. Why was she thinking that? She had to stop, as Dib would most likely be leaving the next day. If she… really felt the way she thought she did, she'd get hurt, and knew it very well.
Sighing, Ria took her controller back into her hands and continued her game. A few cut scenes passed, and they were the ones that usually tugged at Ria's heart. There were lines of finding a light in the dark, or a light that never goes out in one's heart. Ria wondered what her fueled her light.
SceneSceneSceneSceneSceneSceneSceneScene
It was now rather late, and Dib still had not returned. Ria had been going through the mail, playing different games, and riding her bike around the neighborhood. Her life was rather boring, especially over the summer. Before their current business trip, Ria and her parents talked about moving somewhere else, perhaps in Eastern U. S. to give them all a chance to start fresh.
Ria wondered how her life would be if she didn't live in Vegas. Would Dib still have crashed in Sin City, or followed her where she went? She supposed it was easier hiding Dib and Zim where she was, since no friends wanted to go hang out.
Still, it would have been nice to have some friends.
The lights were all on. Every light in the house was in use, even if Ria wasn't in the room. She controlled her fear when she had to, like when she and Dib were in the attic—she tried not to think about that day—and the night before Zim woke her up bright and early. With them around, she didn't want to let on that she was completely, utterly, deathly terrified of the dark.
Suddenly, the lights everywhere started flickering. This was the worst possible time for the power to go out, and Ria started feeling very nervous. She was in the loft, and she knew the place with the most light would be her dad's office. She stood up and dashed frantically downstairs. She heard the light in the loft 'pop' as it short-circuited and went out, as did every other light in the house. The computer in the office had a bright screensaver, with ribbons flying all over and making a beautiful light show. It was all the light Ria had, and she sat against the wall, clutching her heart to try to stop herself from hyperventilating. It wasn't working. She was having another panic attack.
The darkness was too much… it was almost suffocating.
Ria felt herself shaking, and shut her eyes. She had to keep her mind and fears under control, but she was losing mental grip. Her heart was pounding, and she started feeling dizzy from breathing so hard. She fell over, and did her best to push herself onto her back to try to breathe easier.
The memories all came back. Erica's parents weren't home, and this was before her baby sister was born, and no one could stop Erica, nor did they want to.
Ria shut her eyes to try to blink everything away, but only intensified the memory of being stuck in a tiny closet for a whole day. She was already mildly afraid of the dark to begin with, but only enough to require a nightlight at bedtime, not for the whole house to be lit.
The enormous shadow that filled her whole house was closing in on her, grasping her, crushing her under its weight….
Tears ran down the side of her face. She hated crying, why couldn't she stop? Ria couldn't control anything, and she didn't like that. She hated it, and felt so helpless. Dib was probably passed out in Zim's lab from working on the ships all day, and Zim didn't sleep, so he'd be on the job all night.
No one was coming to help her; it was just like that day at Erica's house. She was alone, in the dark, terrified, and…
"Ria!"
That was her imagination, probably her subconscious making it sound like someone actually wanted to help.
"Ria—what—come on, open your eyes, it's okay! Whatever happened is gone!"
The voice was too real to be her mind playing tricks on her. Ria opened her eyes hesitantly to find that Dib was leaning over her, holding her head up with his left arm and leg, and keeping a grip on her hand with his other.
"D-Dib, I need light… please, make it stop, I don't—I don't want to remember that day…" She pulled her hand from his and wrapped both arms around his torso.
Dib bit his lip and sighed, hugging Ria back. He helped her calm down enough that she could breathe at a normal rate. Still, the power wasn't back, and there was only one place that there was still light.
Dib, you moron! His conscience scolded. You can't take her down there, that's putting her in even more danger!
Dib frowned. He knew that very well, but at least there was light.
Zim's much taller now. Dib made a face, and in an effort to keep from making a noise held Ria tighter. She responded by nuzzling his neck.
She was nuzzling him again. Now she was even stroking the back of his neck.
"How is it you always radiate that much heat?" Ria whispered. Dib could tell she was tired from what just happened, and figured it was either an intense, short panic attack, or Ria had been lying on her back, trying to breathe, for a very long time. He didn't know which to think was better.
"Dib-filth, what are you waiting for?"
The boy cringed. Zim had planted something in Dib's head, which allowed Zim to hear and see everything, and tell Dib what to do.
Dib knew Zim had set this up, that's why he was here. But he had no idea exactly when Zim turned off the power, or if he had waited to tell Dib to go comfort her.
Dib grit his teeth, and moved Ria gently so she was in Dib's arms bridal-style.
"I promise you, Ria, I'll stay right here until morning, when there's light, and I'll stay awake to make sure you sleep okay." He murmured softly into her ear.
"Argh, what?" Zim cried disbelievingly. "I swear, stupid human, if it wasn't for the fact that marching up there right now would be as stupid as what you're doing, I'd kill you right now."
Dib also kept in mind that Zim only programmed the spy-bug to remain active for a small window of time, and once that was over Dib had to get Ria somewhere else, somewhere far away, or just where Zim wouldn't look for her.
Meanwhile, Zim had deactivated the bug in Dib's head already. He had a much better idea. Thinking it over a little bit more, Zim turned back on the video and audio from Dib's brain, but didn't turn the microphone back on. Instead he just watched and listened, while he built another bug.
"Dib, do you know why I'm so scared?" Ria mumbled. Zim took note of Dib's silence. Dib paused a long time, and when he finally opened his mouth to answer, Ria beat him to it. She started ranting sleepily about what happened to her in sixth grade. As she kept talking about everything, Zim heard her start crying.
His antennae twitched. It was such an annoying sound. Smeets never cried. When human smeets wailed, it was very harsh on the antennae. Toddlers and small children sounded whiny, and as humans got older, Zim noticed that their cries of grief, fear, or anger only made them sound like the weaker humans. He struggled to remember the word. Crossing his mind were the terms 'special' and 'challenged', but he couldn't remember what the term was among humans. He scoffed. On Irk, the only word was Defective, among the soldiers and non-militant males. Females were either in the military or serou-hka, whether by profession, enslavement, or insult, but they were all the same unless they wanted to serve the empire, and that was that. Defectives were killed if their PaKs couldn't be repaired after a certain time.
Sadness and fear were such pointless emotions. Zim scoffed at the thought of all Irkens crying or screaming at some point.
"I'm sorry, Ria, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Oh, God, I never want anything bad to happen to you ever again." Ria was sitting in Dib's lap, and they pulled each other into a tight, comforting hug. Ria rested her head on Dib's shoulder, and he ran his fingers through her short hair. He came to the conclusion that her hair was as nice as her hugs.
Dib had no idea Zim was still watching; he thought the bug died a while ago.
"Listen, Ria, I need to get you out of here, okay?"
"Take me to your universe." Ria was half-asleep, and Dib stared at her confusedly until she spoke again.
"Take me to your reality, Dib, I don't want to be here anymore." Weakly, she stroked the back of his neck again. "My parents… they're never home." She opened her eyes just barely. "No one else wants me here, anyways,"
Dib had the feeling that Ria was completely honest and open about anything and everything when she was dead tired. He wanted to test his theory, but bit his tongue instead.
"You promised you'll stay awake, right?" Ria was about to drift off to her dream land.
"Yes, Ria," Dib replied sincerely. "You can fall asleep. I'll be awake until there's enough light not to scare you, but even after I fall asleep, I'll be right here, okay?" Ria made no sign she heard him, and Dib smiled, knowing she could trust him. He sighed and gently moved Ria so she could stretch out as she slept. Dib sat by her side for a long while, just staring at her. Yes, he knew full well it was a creepy thing to do, but he couldn't help it.
From the moonlight outside, her light skin contrasted with her ebony hair. Dib could tell from the way Ria treated it that she loved her hair, but he didn't understand why she kept it so short. He shrugged; it was kind of hard to imagine Ria with hair going past her shoulders. Still, just the way she was, Dib thought she was beautiful.
It was strange, how quickly he fell for her. He wondered why for a little bit, but didn't think of anything more.
He was supposed to be getting her away, anyway, somewhere that Zim wouldn't find her.
The ships.
Yes, Zim wouldn't be touching the cargo holds, and Ria was small enough to hide in them until Dib could figure out something better.
But it would be dark, and quite cramped.
Dib smacked his forehead. Why couldn't he think of something better? He drummed his fingers on his crossed arms, and sighed.
Then he fell over.
Dib was coughing and knew it was enough to wake up Ria…
Oh, no! Ria!
Indeed, Ria had woken up, but the gas was making her lose her strength, too, as if she had any after her episode.
"Dib, w-what is-?"
"I'm s-sorry, Ria, I'm so sor-sorry," Dib wheezed. He reached out to take Ria's hand, but could do nothing more. He felt his muscles go weaker and weaker, and there was no chance of protecting Ria now.
He blew it.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
A loud scream pierced Dib's ears and forced him to wake up. He jumped, and contorted his face in pain after realizing he had a terrible headache. His shoulders throbbed as well, and Dib also felt cold. That was a bad sign. The only person he knew who kept the environment this cold was Zim. He ignored his pain, and tried to focus on his surroundings.
Dib was locked in place on a metal table tilted at such an angle that the steel around his wrists was the only thing keeping his toes from touching the floor. To Dib's annoyance, his ankles were also locked. In front of him was just a wall, everything he heard was from behind him.
There was another scream, not too long after the first one, and Dib's eyes widened. Despite his restraints, he lashed out, trying to pull away from them.
"Silence, human!"
"Stop, please!" There was no mistaking Ria's panicked voice. "Let me go, Zim! Please let me out of here! At least make it brighter in here, I'm begging you!"
Dib shut his eyes tight to fight away the tears. He couldn't believe he had failed.
"Zim! Get your stupid ass over here so we can settle this! You and me, no one else!" Dib roared. Ria would be left alone in the dark, but Zim would stop… whatever he was doing. Dib tried not to think about what could be worse torture than being exposed to something you feared so deeply.
"Now you wish to negotiate, Dib-stink?"
"I'm not negotiating. I'm telling you what you can and can't do!" Dib continued to pull at his restraints.
Zim swiveled the iron panel Dib was chained to with ease and stared Dib dead in the eye.
"If I must torture that erou-hka in the next room, then Zim shall do so, as that is what it takes to get the Dib to obey the ingenious invader that I am."
"Quit calling her that!" Dib snarled. "She's anything but that!"
Before Zim could open his mouth, there was heavy breathing coming from down a dark, dark hallway behind the alien. The breathing slowly turned into what sounded like hyperventilation to Dib. It was gasping and sobbing.
"It's only a bad dream, Ria, it's a nightmare, that's it, you'll wake up soon… you'll wake up…" The girl whispered to herself. Her breathing was still erratic and shaky, but it had calmed down a little bit.
"Zim, let her go, she's not supposed to be in this." Dib pleaded.
"But you," Zim poked a claw at Dib's throat. "You were supposed to do what I told you. She's down here anyways, but if you had done what I commanded, she wouldn't be in her current condition."
Dib stared at Zim harshly, but couldn't find any words.
"I was supposed to experiment on you first," Zim's claws scraped the front of Dib's shirt, and jabbed at his stomach. "I like to find out how to weaken a species first, but I think you need a lesson in cooperation. Didn't your parental-unit ever teach you that you must do as you're told or pay the consequences?"
Dib paused a moment, and then jerked his head into a nod.
"Time for the savior of Earth to learn he can't save everyone." Zim smirked, and then walked down the hallway. Dib used all his power to pull on his irons once more, and then stopped after some time. He hung there for who knew how long.
Then there was a gasp. It was the smallest intake of breath, but it echoed.
It was followed by a grunt of discomfort or pain, and slowly, the gasps became shouts, and the grunts become cries of pain mixed with indistinct gibberish. Occasionally, Dib could make out a shout of "Stop!" but couldn't understand anything else.
Dib stopped fighting against the restraints holding him back. All he could do was beat himself up over and over in his head for not doing everything he could do for Ria. He quietly sobbed out of helplessness. He had never felt it this badly before.
After what seemed like hours, Zim stepped back into the room with a cage that hovered above the ground.
"Take a look at what you've done, Dib."
Dib reluctantly opened his eyes, and saw the most horrifying thing ever, even worse than Zim's smile when he got an idea.
There was Ria, lying on her side and unconscious in the hold, with scratches and bruises going all up her arms. Blood oozed through her shirt and even her pants. It wasn't enough blood to be lethal, but certainly enough to leave scars everywhere.
"Have you learned your lesson now, Dib-bug?"
For the longest time Dib didn't answer.
"Don't you want to stop anything worse from happening?" Zim was using that mock-affection tone most adults used, and he was still beaming nastily.
Finally, Dib choked out his reply.
"I'll do anything."
Holy. Hot. Damn. I didn't think I could write that much, but here it is!
Cookies to whoever guesses first which game Ria played.
It's currently 3:40 in the morning, and I can't remember if I was supposed to say anything else important. Oh well, I'll remember later.