A/N

…

Dib fretted not nor did he rush; he allowed his sister to stare at him with vague shock. Her eyes flickered from his renowned black coat up to his distinguishable hairstyle. He was not shocked when she shook her head.

"No," she backed away. "No, I don't believe this."

"Gaz."

"You aren't real."

"Gaz!"

"You can't be!" She panted back her fear, lowering her voice so that Zim did not wake. He was the hardest sleeper she had ever seen. "Look, I don't know if I finally fell asleep and this is a dream or if this is some side effect from the Forest of Doubt, but there is no way you are Dib. You aren't really standing here and this isn't really happening."

He seized her hand and whispered harshly, "If I'm not real then tell me how you can feel this." He jabbed her hand with a needle. She cried out from the affliction, jerking her hand away. A bead of blood spilled from her skin.

"Come," Dib said, "we shall continue this outside so as to not wake him."

She followed his finger to Zim and followed reluctantly. Closing the door behind her, she stepped into the hall and shrugged. "How did you get here?"

"I'll explain that later. First we need to get you out of here."

"Wait a minute," she called, holding him back by his arm. "I can't leave."

He nodded, "Of course you can. The exit is right over there. Let's go."

"No, Dib, I can't. I have to finish this."

"Finish this? Finish what? You are stuck in some fantasy world, Gaz!"

"If this is so fake then explain to me how I am still bleeding," she retorted, holding her hand into view.

He sighed at the pin-dot wound. "I'm sorry I had to do that, but it's not like you believed me. I'm not even sure if you do now."

"Of course I believe you are here, I just can't go with you."

"Why not?"

"I told you, I have to finish this. The Hatter said I have to finish this story to get out of Wonderland. Until then, I'm stuck. And you may be too."

"How do you know the Hatter is so correct about this? He may be lying for all you know."

"Why would he lie about this? He probably wants to get out of here as much as I do. Besides," she glared, "when did you stop calling him by his name?"

"What?"

"You just called him the Hatter, instead of calling him Zim."

He shook his head and shrugged irritably. "I don't know, okay? I'm just a little stressed because my sister is refusing to leave this mad world even though our lives could be in danger!"

"Will you stop shouting? And what do you mean danger? We're in the White Kingdom, it's safe here. I don't know if you are familiar with the whole White-war, Red-war thing going on, but—"

"Yes, I know. The Red Queen is evil; the White Queen is all-knowing and all-loving. I get it."

"Is there a reason why you're so angry about this? Because to me it sounds like you've done nothing but complain ever since you got here. What about what I saw in the Forest of Doubt? Was all of that fake?"

"What are you talking about, Gaz?" he asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I went to a forest where something there messes with your head, and I saw you and Dad. You were the only one concerned about me while Dad could have cared less. Was that just part of the forest's illusions, or were you really concerned about me?"

"Of course I was concerned about you," he sighed, "and I still am. But right now I need to get you out of here so I can show you something."

Something was off. Dib was not acting like himself. Everywhere she looked, she saw red flags. Instead of tagging along, she shook her head. "It's late. It can wait till tomorrow." She turned the doorknob to return to her bedroom.

"Gaz, you don't understand—"

"I said it can wait until—"

"It's about Dad, okay?"

The doorknob slid back to its place and she blinked confusedly at him. "What do you mean? What's happened?"

"It'll take too long to explain. If you just come with me, I can show you." He grabbed her hand.

"Let me just get Zim—"

"There is no time," he seized her hand. "We need to go now!" He dragged her through the hallway and down the stairs. She could not remove his grip for it was too tight; all she could do was go along with it. They left the castle entirely and were approaching the end grounds.

"Let me go!" she snapped. He faced her and she panted, pointing. "I don't know where you think we are going but wherever it is, we can't. That is the end of the White Kingdom. One step out of here and we're done for."

"You can't keep living in fear," he replied.

"Surviving is not fear. There's a big difference."

"And there is also a big difference between our dad dying and living. If we don't hurry, it's going to be too late."

"Just tell me what happened, Dib," she sighed.

He was about to argue once more. Instead, he shook his head solemnly. "I don't know," he admitted. "But whether or not you come with me, I'm going to save Dad." He crossed the line and was disappearing into the darkness and out of sight.

"Dib, wait!" She jogged ahead and nodded. "Okay, fine. If there's anything we can do for him, I'll do it. Just lead the way."

He nodded and trotted further into the shadows. She peeked over her shoulder vigorously, constantly. Already she could hear the wails of the wind returning. She closed her eyes and shook her head, jogging her mind clean of the memories. She kept in mind that if Dib could do this for their dad, so could she. But why was she doing this? Her father did not care for her and would never do such a thing if her life were in danger. Why was she?

"Sometimes I hate loving you, Dad," she groaned.

Dib stopped beside a still, shallow river. The moon twinkled and when she joined him, she could hear a mourning harp singing in the distance. Lightning bugs gathered and wept, teardrops dripping into the water and swelling the stream.

"What's going on?" she asked.

He shushed her and stared.

Drops of light twinkled beneath the aqua layer and a hazy cloud formed within the shape of water that bubbled above the rest of the river. It drifted up into the air, just inches above the stream. Gaz squinted into the imagery while her brother stood waiting until an illusion, a dream-like vision formed.

It was the Professor. Blood streamed from his mouth and fell to his side where she saw a blade piercing his core. He cried and clawed at the air, weeping the words, "Gaz! Please, forgive me! I didn't know. I just didn't know!"

"Dad!"she cried. She stepped into the river when something blunt struck the back of her head. She fell into the shadows of the water, droplets splashing up. Dib panted, dropping the hollow log to the ground. He stumbled over and lifted her head by her hair. She howled at the pain of the hair tearing at the roots which lay embedded in the bleeding, dripping gash on the back of her head. He searched the pockets of her dress before grabbing it and holding it up to the moonlight.

"Finally," he breathed, "the Queen has been looking for the Blood Diamond forever. She will be pleased."

He let her fall into the water before crouching beside her. Her cheeks twitched lightly as she struggled to speak. "Y-you…you'll…"

"Try not to speak, dear," he mused. "Save your strength. If you want an answer to your questions, here they are. Why are you so weak? Because that needle I stabbed you with was doused in a serum that will leave you paralyzed."

She groaned, but coughed when the current came in and flooded into her mouth. He dragged her closer to the shore so that she did not drown, but she was still in the water and waiting at death's door.

"I can't have you dying on me yet, can I?" his voice entertained. "Soon you will die, though. I just wanted to finish. I simply hate being interrupted, don't you?" He dragged the sopping hair from her chilled face and smiled. "And you're right; I'm not your brother. This is simply a disguise so that you would trust me. How did I pull this off, you ask? You may recall that orb of light you saw just moments before you encountered me in your room. That was a Crystal Doubt, coming from your Forest of Doubt, of course. It comes in handy, truly."

"You…" she moaned. Her hands trembled as they gathered to her sides to rise herself, but it was in vain.

"I suppose I can at least let you see who it was that did all of this to you, considering the fact that you will die any minute." He smirked and shrugged, a flash of light overcoming his body. "Now doesn't that make you feel better?"

Her neck strained to look up at him. The last she could say before fainting was, "You'll get yours someday, Stayne."

A/N

Jeez, he just left a kid to die like that. If Gaz doesn't get you, Zim will so watch your back, Stayne.

I hope you liked it. Chapter 26 will be up shortly.