A/N: Hello. :3 Second chapter in one day. Yay. Go back and read nine if you haven't already. So... Whoop. This originally was two chapters, but I merged them together, thus the dramatic time skip of one week. Sowry.

Chapter 10 - Into Darkness

Zim coughed in his small room, huddled in the corner. This felt like testing all over again. Except worse. So much worse... He hated being trapped in small spaces. Tak kept walking towards him.

She had a malicious grin on her face. In one hand, she held a giant whip-like tool; with coils and wire and barbs clinging to it's 5 long arms. It had points and jagged shards on it. Now she had Zim trapped in a corner.

With a haunting dark laugh, Tak slashed the instrument at Zim, just after he had turned his back.

The pieces of metal dug through soft green skin like digging through sand. Dark green blood spilled out of re-opened scars that Tak herself had given him just hours earlier.

Tak grinned and backed away slightly.

"It's so good to talk with you again, Zim," Tak hissed with delight, "It was so nice of Dib to just hand you over like that." Zim felt a sting of pain at that, but said nothing about it.

"How did you escape Membrane when you went unconscious?" Zim asked huskily, closing his eyes as the pain seared his back.

"I didn't. I had to endure his testing. Otherwise, I would have come to you sooner," Tak grinned, "But I took care of him. He is dead in a supplies corner in Membrane's alien laboratory; just waiting to be found."

"What do you want with me, TAK?" Zim asked in a straight-forward way. "I already lost my job!"

"I want your pain," Tak hissed, and in one fluid motion, smacked him with the coils yet again. This earned her another scream.

And slowly, day by day as a week past, Zim was drowned in the echoes of his own raw screams.

Dib stood in front of Tak's base.

He had been preparing for this for an entire week.

Fear filled his chest. He felt like he could fall over. But this was for Zim. His enemy. Tak was right; he did love Zim. There was no denying it now. With a deep breath, Dib strode towards the tall factory that was the purple-eyed Irken's base.

Tak had never been good at securing her base. Her weenie stand was no different; unguarded, huge, in the open. It was almost like she wanted somebody to break in.

Dib tilted his head back, and could see large air duct open far above the ground. He was using the same tactic he had used infiltrating her base before. He used his suction cup climbers and began to go up.

He had never been afraid of heights. He had chased big-foots up poles and listened to aliens on his roof. He had jumped up a school bus to get to Zim.

The human climbed up the side of the building. It was night. Around 10:00. The brisk wind chilled Dib as he tried to climb up the side of the building.

It was a long climb. His arms and legs ached. But he couldn't climb backwards: he had to keep going.

Upon reaching the air duct, Dib put his feet on the ledge and opened it carefully, undoing the small latch that the factories used to keep the wind from coming in; with which, birds and bugs would enter. Dib closed the door behind him.

The air shaft was deadly cold. The metal slick and hard. Dib could see his own breath. Shivering, he removed the suction cup climbers and started down the air shaft.

The shafts were a maze, but Dib expected Zim to be on this floor, since it was the highest level and one of the hardest to get to.

Dib found a grate into a hallway and opened it silently, dropping down and falling on his back with a groan.

The human sat up. It was much warmer in the hall. Almost uncomfortably warm. Perhaps the air shafts were a way of taking on the cold air out... Did Irkens like warm air? Were they cold-blooded?

If so, it would be a trouble getting Zim out alive through the freezing air shaft.

No time to worry about that; first he needed to find Zim.

Dib stalked through the hallways. Hopefully he wouldn't run into Tak. If he did, well... Then that was a problem.

He kept on walking. It seemed like the hallways went on forever. Finally, he entered a huge room with a tall ceiling. This room was even warmer. Near the back, was a lone door. Dib had the feeling that this was Zim's room.

Dib went closer. The door was a one-way; it could only be opened from the outside. Dib opened it and carefully propped it with one shoe.

Yes, this was Zim's room.

Meanwhile, Gaz was on the phone. In tears. Something horrible had happened. Something... Just horrible. She had no idea how she would tell Dib. He would be devastated. She was, too.

Dib stood in the open doorway.

He could see Zim's back; it was bare. Covered in scars, in dark green blood, in bruises. His antennae were drooping. He was sitting on the floor, back facing the door. His head was lowered and he was shaking slightly.

Dib wanted so badly to wipe away all the pain, to soak up all the blood...

"Zim," Dib breathed, somehow relieved to see him. The alien tensed at the sound, scrambling around and crying out painfully as he did. He narrowed his eyes and backed away a bit, not standing. "Zim," Dib said, a bit firmer now, "I've come to save you. I've come to get you out."

Zim shook his head slowly, eyes dull. They had lost their fire. Zim was lost. Disconnected. "No," Zim said slowly, "Tak'll only find me again, and she'll do the same to you. You need to leave now."

Dib noted how raspy Zim sounded; like he had marbles in his throat, like someone drove sandpaper over his vocal chords. Did Irkens have vocal chords? "I'm not leaving without you." Dib said firmly, starting to walk over towards the tiny figure.

"Why did you come back?" Zim forced, watching with cold eyes as the human knelt beside him.

"It's my fault your here, I let Tak take you. So I'm going to get you free. Clear my conscience." Dib said. Zim looked away.

"I'm not going with you." Zim choked out, coughing slightly.

"Yes you are," Dib said firmly, getting frustrated now.

"You came to get me; but I refused. You did what you could. Consider your conscience clear," Zim rasped, not looking at Dib.

"You WANT to stay here?" Dib questioned angrily.

"No, but I don't want to go with you."

Dib just about screamed in fury. He had just risked his LIFE breaking into Tak's base! All he got as thanks was a gigantic slap in the face!

"Why the hell not?!" Dib fumed.

"You..."

"Yes?" Dib growled.

"You've seen me weak." Zim replied shakily. Dib groaned. Not this again. Leave it to Zim to let his pride get in the way. Zim looked at him lazily, breathing heavy and forced. "So leave," Zim said cautiously, "I said your conscience is clear. That's what you were looking for... Isn't it?" Dib hesitated and looked away.

"No... There's... Something else..." Dib bit his lip. Should he tell Zim? Tell what exactly? For the last five years, Zim had been the center of his life. His obsession. His motivation. His enemy. The only one who understood, and the only one worth spending time on. But recently, Zim had become more. His test subject. His kidnapper. And reluctantly... He has begun to begrudgingly care about Zim. He has begun to love Zim against his better judgement. And he acted on it. Now it had come back to bite him. Hard. But how would Zim react if he told him?

It was too late now. No going back. There was no other way to explain why he had just risked his life to save Zim.

"I.." Dib closed his eyes, "I love... You," his words were awkward and clipped. He opened one eye to look at Zim.

Zim looked calm, and not one bit surprised. "That doesn't change a thing." Dib felt like he could cry. This was equal to rejection. What was he thinking? The alien would just smile and wrap his arms around him, saying, 'I love you too?' Dib mentally scolded himself. He was such an idiot! Dib shooed the thoughts away gloomily. Zim probably didn't even know what love was.

"But that's why I need to take you home," Dib said, looking away. He Just... Couldn't. "I can't let you die here."

"Tak will just come after me again," Zim sighed.

"And we can fight her! And win!" Dib protested, "Together!"

"I'm not going," Zim said in a final voice, turning his entire body away. Dib narrowed his eyes. That was it, then. He was leaving without Zim.

"You ungrateful little insect," Dib spat, and without another word, got up and walked out of the room.

Zim held his head in his hands.

There were so many things he wanted to say. 'If we fight her together, you might get hurt!' or maybe, 'I don't want to leave, no! That would put you in danger!' Or perhaps, 'No, Dib, I am grateful! I'm just angry you risked yourself!' And most of all, he wanted to hug the Dib and say 'I love you too. So much..' Yet that was against his nature. No matter how much he wanted to say those things... And he really did...

He couldn't admit his feelings. He couldn't. He was an Irken. To have love, to have family... That was to be weak.

And this belief, the one thing that was stopping Zim from running after Dib, was never going to change.

A/N: This was so fun to write. X]