Dib screamed and banged on the door. He stared through the window as Zim was pushed through down the hall by two guards with shocky sticks. Zim stopped a bit and stared at Dib. His eyes were wide and terrified. Zim was somehow in his disguise. He looked at Dib with his fake blue eyes. Dib banged on the door some more.

"Zim! Don't you dare hurt him. Zim, I'll think of something."

One of the guards jabbed the shocky stick deep into Zim's side, making him jump forward. Zim gave Dib one last look, their eyes staying locked for as long as possible. Dib refused to stop banging on the door as Zim walked out of sight. If they were going to keep him there, then he was going to make as much noise as possible.

Dib kept on yelling at anyone who might be close enough to hear and banging on the door until his voice was too sore to continue and there were several cuts on the side of his hand. He slid down to the floor and curled up. He had no idea what to do. He didn't have anything he could use to get out. He didn't know where Zim was. He didn't know what was in store for him.

"Are you done yelling, young one?"

Dib looked around the room, but it still looked empty. He knew that voice; it was that Yulza that talked to him. Dib couldn't quite remember his name, but he was pretty sure it had an 'o' in it. Dib sat up. His head was still spinning from hours of hyperventilating.

"Good. I was worried you were going to hurt yourself."

"Where are you?"

"It doesn't matter. This room is heavily monitored so I can't break my cover. I'm not even truly speaking to you so I suggest you stop talking to give the illusion that you're alone."

"It won't be so weird if they think I'm talking to myself. I've been talking to myself for years." Dib was the only one who would even listen to himself. "And they already think I'm crazy. I can talk out loud all I want, and no one will find it odd or think I'm not alone."

"Perhaps, but what if their perception of your insanity is all an act. I know you're feeling hurt, but we must error on caution and keep the dialog to a minimum."

Dib shrugged his shoulders.

"They're not going to kill your partner. To do so would mean exposing themselves to his pak, and they've already learned not to do that. So you just need to be patient and wait for them to bring you to him. I'll create a distraction that will give you the time to free yourselves and make an escape so that you can fight another day."

"Are you in this room?"

"Dib!" The Yulza yelled in a quick bark before composing himself back to that smooth, noble tone. "Young one, try to keep as quiet as possible. Success hinges on their ignorance of our plans. And if the thought is really so distracting, yes, I am in this room. I've been staying close by you to make sure you do not fail. You're our last hope, and if Earth falls completely under the control of the Yulom, then, as a very descriptive human saying goes, "It will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.""

"Why me?"

"There are several humans on Earth that have your ability to make a difference. Humans are gaining the ability to change the nature of a species. At the moment there are only a few scattered families holding this ability, and out of all of them, you are the only one who is not under the control of the Yulom's control."

"You've said that."

"And you are the only one with the heart enough to want to change the way things are. You still have the ability to see everything for what it is, and you want to share what you see. You have yet to be bullied into seeing only certain parts of the world, like all of your family before you, and unlike your sister, you want to make things better. That's why we want you for this."

"How do you know all of this about me?"

"Hush, young one. You're already saying too much. If they know to look for me, they'll find me and the universe is doomed. Ever since the Yulom had taken an interest in Earth, all the old species started to recognize the human potential that even today, after years of Yulom interference, still is as potent as it was thousands of years ago. The Yulza have noticed the appearance of the very powerful power you have when it appeared in your great grandfather, and we've been trying to show everyone who inherits it the truth, but our range is limited and humanity's growth into the stars has been stunted until it suits the Yulom. That is, until you, already untainted and caring, came with the Irken."

"So it's just my dumb luck."

"Yes it is. And I'm afraid this is all I'm going to tell you for now. The conversation seems to give you the urge to talk with me, and others are already taking notice that you're talking to yourself, like answering the other end of a conversation. Stay quiet and relax for now. Soon they will be letting you out and then we'll make our move."

"Wait, how will I know what to do?"

Dib felt a soft touch on his forehead, making him feel drowsy and fall back onto the floor. "The mind already knows so much, despite it's youth. Rest for now. Things will be getting harder and harder, so enjoy this peace now."

"You call this peace?"

"You'll see soon enough."

Dib fell asleep on the floor, curled up next to the door. He drifted in and out of consciousness, but mostly slept. It felt as if time was spinning out of control. Almost like a physical sensation of that spinning clock effect used in cheesy movies to show time moving quickly or backwards.

Time seemed to move back to normal as he felt the door behind him open. He was pushed to the side and finally got up to see one of the guards in uniform pushing a cart with food on it. The guard closed the door behind him. Dib could hear the door lock as soon as it touched the frame. The guard was wearing the typical head to toe uniform that all the guards at his father's labs wore. It looked more like a hazardous material suit than an actual guard's uniform, but since they worked inside his father's labs, it was probably for a good reason.

"Dib, I've brought you some breakfast," The guard said, looking behind the door. The guard was either a robot or had a voice changer on.

"I'm not hungry."

"Come on, if you don't eat you'll waste away."

"I'm not hungry."

"I can't leave until you eat something. The bosses don't want to risk opening the door more than we have to."

"Tell your bosses to shove it up their ass."

"Come on, Dib, it's for your own good."

"How exactly is this for my own good?"

"You'll starve if you don't eat."

"No, how is locking me up for my own good? How is years of torment for my own good? How is giving me shock treatment for my own good? How is having a father who only cares about one thing, and a sister who only cares about one thing and I'm never one of those things for my own good? Hell, they don't even care about what might happen to the world. I've been fighting for years to save the world all alone because no one believes me. My father calls me insane and my sister ignores me. How is any of that a good thing?"

"I'm sorry."

"Why? You weren't the one doing all of this? Or are you."

"Please just eat your breakfast. Don't make it hard for both of us."

"Like you have it so hard. You work, collect a pay check, and go home to a loving family. You're here by choice, and if you can't leave until I eat, then maybe I'll give you a taste of what I'm going through." Dib sat down on the bed, crossing his arms.

"Dib, stop being difficult and eat your food."

"What are you, my mother? And stop using my name. You might have heard it through the gossip, or your bosses might have told you, but don't use my name."

"Then what should I call you?"

"You don't need to call me anything. Just pretend that I've never existed."

"Well then, if you've never existed, then who is all this food for?"

"It's for the sea gulls. Go throw it off a cliff and leave me alone. I'll be gone soon. Me and Zim are leaving this planet and never coming back."

"You can't just leave."

"Watch me."

"Won't you miss all the people here?"

"Miss them? I'll be glad they're gone. I've only protected Earth because it was the only place that I knew, and now that I know of all the other planets out there, I think I'll just live on one of them and see what happens."

"Dib, I think you're taking this too far," The Yulza whispered.

"I see. Well, that sounds great, but it will be hard to escape Earth if you're starving. Eat your breakfast."

Dib picked up the fork, holding it like he was about to stab the guard. "You win this time."

He stabbed up a clump of dry scrambled eggs and chews them, not breaking eye contact with the visibly uncomfortable guard who was trying to look everywhere but Dib. Dib picks up a cold piece of buttered toast and tears off a piece with his teeth. He knew he was probably taking it a little too far, but the look that was probably on that guard's face was priceless.

He wondered if he was becoming some kind of monster, taking pleasure in watching the guard's discomfort, but he reminded himself that this guard worked for his father and the Yulom and was holding him against his will. He finished breakfast and the guard started to wheel the cart out.

"Wait."

The guard stopped and looked at Dib.

"What's your name?"

"Now you care?"

"Well, I feel a little bad about how I acted, and even thought I still hate you, I don't like hating someone without a name."

"Dass."

"Is that a girl's name or a boy's name?"

"Girl's."

"OK, Dass. You can call me Dib now, and I hope to never see you again."

"I hope so."

She pushed the cart out of the room and the door locked behind her. Dib wanted to run through that door, find Zim and leave right away, but he could think of several things that could go wrong with that. Mainly the guard that was just a few feet from the door who probably had a shocky stick. She seemed nice enough, but he doubted that she would risk her job for some kid.

"Patience, young one. Things will become clearer soon."

Dib laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He's had enough rest, he's eaten the gross food, and now all he has to do is wait for his father to remember him and then the escape can begin. Of course, there was always the big question of if his father would remember him, and after all those years of dealing with his father, Dib knew that it was a very big if. But if his father remembered him, and if he was taken to were Zim was, and if the Yulza's plan works, and if they were able to find a way out, things would get better.

"I hope so," Dib said.