Thank you to glowzilla and littlebirdy for the reviews! Liz has been put through the ringer and now you guys get to see a little more about how she's adjusting. Thanks as well to trippnessa, I'm glad you like Zim. I'm trying hard to really stick to his core character traits.
Sleep deprivation is a real kicker, brains are so weird. Ha ha. Poor Liz does have a lot of insecurities about her origins, and unlike Dib no one has really harped on her about them. Where as Dib has been hearing about his flaws his whole life and he isn't as thrown off by what others tell him when he knows what they are saying isn't true. Hopefully Liz can bounce back ;)
They searched all through the night when Liz went missing. Dib drove around the city doing some reckless driving to avoid the curfew robots. He had Zim's cell number and kept in touch with the Irken via text while they searched. He got Zim's number earlier in the summer so Zim could keep in contact with him while he was at his house. It was Zim's compromise instead of placing another tracking device on him. Zim could easily hack into the cellphone systems and track him as long as Dib was in range of a decent cell signal. Dib didn't have Skoodge's number so he relied on Zim for communicating with him if needed.
On Friday morning after pulling an all-nighter Dib debated going to skool if only because it was suspicious if all three of them skipped, but the thought of Liz lost in the city had him playing hookie. Late Friday night, with still no sign of Liz, Dib had to call it a night after his third close-call accident. On his way home he nodded off again and almost drove into a streetlamp. He didn't feel too guilty about sleeping after that; he wouldn't have been of any use in that state. Zim, of course, sent him numerous texts laughing and mocking his inferior human body and its neediness, but he never argued with Dib's choice.
Dib woke early Saturday morning and grabbed a quick breakfast to energize himself. On his way out he updated Gaz on the situation and their complete lack of a trail. She snorted, "With all of Dad's upgrades to the city, I doubt she'd managed to evade all the city's security cameras."
At Dib's wide eyed stare and slightly opened mouth she paused her game and raised one disbelievingly eyebrow at him. "You can't be that stupid, Dib. Oh, wait. Yes, you can," she said and went back to her game.
He bolted back upstairs, one hand madly texting Zim. Sitting down at his computer he immediately hacked into the city's camera systems. He created a program awhile back to track Zim whenever the invader went into the city. It only took a few adjustments to switch targets and look for Liz. With a triumphant cry, his program pulled up footage of Liz walking along a crowded street. She was easily recognizable with her poofed out, spikey black hair and the green Irken-like uniform. The footage only showed her from the back, as she walked slowly with her arms wrapped around herself and her head tucked low. Dib sent the coordination to Zim right away, however by the time Zim arrived Liz was gone. The camera feed was delayed by a good five minutes and only the main streets had cameras installed in the traffic lights or storefront security systems.
Zim complained through text about the lack of progress with the city dwelling worm-babies as their stench was apparently so overwhelming that he couldn't even pick up a whiff of Liz's scent. However, he did alert Skoodge and the two decided to focus their search within the city's limits. Thus began a game of cat and mouse as Dib kept his eyes glued to the screens to search for any glimpse of Liz. When he spotted her, he'd give Zim the coordinates but every time she seemed to slip past them and back into the untraceable areas of the city. There was no pattern or apparent destination Liz seemed to be trying to achieve as when Dib did spot her it was sparatically. Sometimes she would even backtrack and reappear in places she'd been in before.
Dib set the program to ping every time Liz was detected in the footage so he could focus his efforts on recreating the program on his portable laptop. He was feeling restless just sitting at home and figured if all three of them took sections of the city, no matter where Liz appeared they would have a better chance of getting there sooner and possibly catch up with her. Once he had to program loaded and ready he took off into the city in the car to join the search. However, when night fell there were no more sightings. They searched the blocks around where her last sighting was, but as dawn broke once more and they still had no luck, Dib began driving back home. He'd met up with Zim and the Irken easily downloaded the program into his PAK.
He and Skoodge would take over from there and continue the search. Zim assured Dib that he would be quite useless as he couldn't even keep his eyes open long enough to see the road, much less a particular human. So Dib decided to go back and get a few hours sleep to recharge before joining the search again.
Tired and worn out, Dib completely missed his turn and was forced to take the long way home, which had him driving around the city's border. With heavy eyelids he almost didn't believe his own eyes when he saw a familiar figure dash across the street, narrowly missing being hit by a car of which she didn't even seem to notice. Dib slammed on his breaks, pissing off several drivers behind him. He pulled over and stumbled out of car, ignoring the shaking fists and swearing.
She ran like a flock of mutant, bloodthirsty vampires were after her and just to be sure Dib checked the street she ran from despite knowing that it was impossible...it was dawn afterall. She stumbled into the cement half-wall along the old river's edge before scrambling over it. Skidding down the dirty hill she crawled under the bridge and disappeared into the shadows.
His heart beating rapidly, Dib hopped over the half-wall and ran towards the bridge. Before he contacted the Irkens, he needed to make sure that it really was her. Nearing the bridge he called out her name but no answer came. Feeling cautious now, in case it wasn't her but a rabid bridge hobo (he'd tangled with them before, mistaking one for Big Foot in his youth and it hadn't ended well for him), he went under the bridge but far enough away from the back to give himself an escape route.
Taking out his phone and turning on its flashlight he swept the light along the underside and almost missed her. She was huddled in a tight ball as far back as possible, her dark clothing blending in with the dark and dirty bridge.
"Liz!" Dib cried out elated and ran towards her as he sent a quick text to Zim. At his voice her eyes briefly glanced in his direction. When she didn't come out of her corner for their touching reunion, Dib slowed his approach and studied her more closely. Her hands were completely buried in her messy hair and when he came closer he could see her eyes darting around, almost twitching, not focusing on anything. He kept calling her name as he approached but she remained unresponsive.
It wasn't until he reached out and lightly touched her arm that she reacted...by letting out a piercing shriek and diving out from her hiding spot. Dib fell on his backside in surprise. Liz tried to run, but her legs wobbled and gave out. She tumbled down the small incline and landed right in the shallow riverbed. At which she let out another scream and scrambled back from the water. Cursing, Dib slid down to her, the river was probably made of more pollutants than water. He grabbed her arm hoping to calm her, but Liz shrieked and flailed wildly.
Dib kept calling her name and reassuring her that it was him, but Liz just kept fighting and she yelled unintelligible things, her words were jumbled and slurred together. In her incoherent state her hand lashed out with surprising force and her nail scratched painfully across his face. At his pained yelp, Liz grew completely still. For a brief moment her eyes focused on his face, wide and terror filled. Then they lost focus again and she fell to her knees making this horrid keening sound. She gripped her face, her nails digging into her cheekbones so hard Dib was afraid she would break the skin and possibly do worse. He grabbed her wrists and after a brief struggle her strength drained and he was able to pull her hands, frozen into a claw-like grip, away from her face. This close, he was able to see that under the dirt she was a sickly pale color and the circles under her eyes were so dark it looked like she had two black eyes. After a few short breaths she began struggling and speaking her garbled protests, trying to escape his grasp.
At this point Dib knew she wasn't herself. She was probably sick and, due to whatever fever-nightmare she was in, she wasn't seeing him. After her initial struggle, he was worried about the complete lack of strength in her arms. He wasn't holding onto her that tightly yet for all her jerky movements, they barely jarred him. He tried one more time to gain her attention and firmly began to speak her name.
"Li-" he didn't get out her full name as a sudden force knocked him away. Stunned he looked back to see Skoodge standing protectively over Liz, who, once was free from Dib's grasp, had hunched over into a tight ball. Skoodge's four PAK legs dug into the ground around Liz forming a protective cage and he snarled at Dib. Before Dib could react Zim leaped in front of him, his PAK legs out and spitting angry snarls of his own.
Knowing where this was going to lead, Dib grabbed Zim's shirt and yanked back, simultaneously pulling Zim off balance and pulling himself up. "She's sick!" Dib blurted out pointing to Liz, growing angry at them. This was no time to play 'territorial Irken' "Something's wrong with her, she doesn't recognize me," Dib said gaining both of their attention.
Skoodge stopped snarling and shifted to study the human balled up underneath him, her head tucked down on her knees. He shifted and slowly lowered his hand, which-Dib noticed—was shaking slightly. Softly he called out to her and Dib could faintly hear her chanting 'go away'. When he touched her back she flinched away from the touch and Skoodge pulled his hand back with a jerk.
"Are you hurt?" Skoodge asked with worry and in the next breath he asked with a vicious undertone. "Who hurt you?"
"I did," Liz said surprising Dib, seems she still had some comprehension from whatever sickness was gripping her. Her voice was strained and muffled, but clear. "I'm sorry," she said her voice breaking as she began to rock slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just make it stop."
"Make what stop?" Skoodge asked bending down on one knee so he could be closer to her. His hands hovered over her and Dib could tell he wanted to scoop her up and carry her off but was still unsure if she had been harmed or not.
"I'm sorry," she repeated her breath hitched and ragged. "Go away, Dib, please. Stop haunting me," her voice broke further as she made gasping sobbing sounds. Skoodge narrowed his eyes at him and Dib held up his hands defensively. Liz suddenly began smacking her fists against her head in small repetitive motions. "Stop, stop, stop, stop," she mumbled, each word becoming harder to understand.
"Liz, stop," Skoodge ordered and grabbed her wrists to prevent her from harming herself. He jerked her up and saw her face for the first time. Skoodge's eyes widened in shocked dismay at her deteriorated condition before he straightened and scooped her up in his arms. Liz found another small burst of energy and as she struggled, her speech becoming garbled again. A PAK leg came out of Skoodge's back and sprayed a puff of something in front of her face. The result was immediate as her body grew subdued and her eyes slipped shut. Without further word Skoodge used his PAK legs to climb into the Voot Zim had landed on the river's edge. The door shut and the Voot turned into its pig disguise before flying away.
"Dib-thing," Zim said, though his tone was even Dib could tell he was irritated by the use of the nickname and by his mouth being set in a thin hard line. "Zim will require a ride back to the base."
"Yeah, my car's parked over there," Dib nodded not surprised that Zim was peeved about Skoodge hijacking his ship. But since Zim didn't try to stop Skoodge, Dib took that as a good sign. On the ride back to Zim's house Dib explained how he found Liz and what had happened before they showed up. Zim was insistent that once they got back he would go to the med bay and have the scratch on his cheek disinfected and healed. Again, the fact that Zim wasn't immediately freaking out and declaring war on Liz for marking what was 'his', just showed how much progress Zim had made, or at least showed that he had evened out a little. For a moment back there, Dib worried about a fight breaking out between Skoodge and Zim.
When they arrived Dib resisted the urge to run through the underground base in search of Liz. He knew Skoodge would be on top of getting her better and he wanted to keep things as calm as possible. He did as Zim directed and followed him down to the med bay.
Stepping out of the elevator, Dib saw Skoodge had Liz on one of the examining tables while scans ran over her prone body. Fighting down the urge to run over and ask a hundred questions about her well-being, Dib followed Zim over to the opposite side of the med bay.
Zim pulled over a hovering chair and pointed to it. Dib sat obediently while keeping his focus between Zim and the other side of the med bay. Scowling and mumbling about germs Zim cleaned Dib's face with a cleaning gel soaked rag then applied a layer of healing gel. When he was done he nodded approvingly as the red mark faded.
Scooting out of the chair, Dib—as casually as he could—walked over to Skoodge. "How is she?" he asked, noticing that Liz was still asleep and had an IV of a purplish liquid hooked to her arm.
"According to the scan, she is sleep deprived, dehydrated, and lacking nutrients," Skoodge said evenly as he monitored the drip.
"That's it?" Dib said with a sigh of relief.
"Yes."
Coming up next to him Zim made a noise that sounded a lot like a snort. "Stupid, weak, inferior human bodies. After only a few days without sleep and food they turn into...this," Zim gestured vaguely with one hand to Liz's body. Out of the corner of his eye he studied Dib. "You have also been lacking in your rest cycle and feedings. Come," Zim said grabbing Dib by the arm and pulling him along as he marched to the elevator. "I must now stuff your large head with foodstuffs and sleep before you turn into a useless meatsack."
"My head is not big!" Dib argued as the elevator door closed.
Once Zim and Dib had left the med bay, Skoodge transferred Liz to a portable floating table with a built in scanner that would monitor Liz's vitals and sleep patterns. A small pole raised out of the corner to hold the IV, and after checking every thing over once more he guided Liz towards the cleansing room. In the center of the room, flush with the floor, was a large walk-in cleansing bath. Zim constructed it for easy and through clean up from experiments and GIR related accidents. The bath was always full and at a constant warm temperature.
With a few taps on the table's console it lowered at the edge of the bath. Carefully scooping up Liz, Skoodge stepped down into the bath, making sure her IV didn't get tangled and that the drip stayed in place on her arm. Standing in the center of bath, the gel reached up to his waist. Skoodge lowered Liz into the gel until only her face was above. Using his PAK legs he kept her suspended in the gel to free his hands. The Irken grade material of her uniform was made to allow the gel to completely soak through the material and clean her body without having to remove it.
"Cloth," Skoodge ordered and held out a hand for the Computer to give him a rag to soak. Obediently a tendril from the ceiling lowered with a clean scrap of fabric. Skoodge dipped the cloth in the gel and began cleaning the dirt, sweat and grime from Liz's face. At the first stroke there was a clear distinction as to where the cloth had been. Grimacing, Skoodge made sure to clean the entire surface of her face, taking great care around her eyes. The darkened skin around her eyes was a little better now, but she was still lacking the glow in her skin.
In all honesty, he was worried about her lack of response as the sedative he gave her was only supposed to calm her down, not knock her out. However, the Computer assured him that the deep sleep was natural as her body was trying to make up for the lack of sleep. When she woke next, he would have a better idea if her behavior was due to her neglecting her body's needs or if there was another undetectable condition. Skoodge vehemently hoped for the former to be the reason, as anything undetectable meant that there was something going on mentally. Irken medical technology had no effect on human minds and Skoodge had no desire to put a brain probe into her head.
Setting aside the cloth once her face was sufficiently clean, Skoodge ran his gloved hands through her hair, letting the gel fully clean the shortened and kinked strands. Carefully, he removed his PAK legs and took hold of her to carry her out of the gel bath. The gel slid easily from her clothes and hair, leaving her clean and dry. Now he didn't have to worry about her becoming sick, and it also removed all the horrible scents clinging to her until she just smelled of her faint scent with a lingering hint of cleaning gel. He set her back on the table and activated it once more so it hovered at a comfortable level for him to push.
Using the elevator he rode it up to the second level of the house where his room was located. He replaced the near empty IV bag and set it on a small hook that popped out over his bed, he then carefully placed Liz on his bed to rest. He tucked in the sheet around her like he had seen on a TV show GIR had been watching, then sending the floating table back to the med bay, he sat in a chair next to his bed.
Only once he was settled did he allow for the storm of emotions to run rampant through his brain. Relief. Anger. Guilt. Hurt. Joy. Worry. Frustration. Hope. Everything crashed into him at once immobilizing him. He could only stare at her and watch the slight rise and fall of her chest, much like he had done when she was in the healing tube. Just like before he would sit and wait, but this time he was going to be there when she woke.
Waking up was like swimming through mud; thick, heavy and left a weird taste in her mouth. Rolling her tongue around her mouth to clear out the taste, Liz shifted and tried to roll onto her side, but a sharp pain in the crook of her arm had her wincing and slowly opening her eyes. She had to blink a few times to focus her sleep-blurred senses. The room was dark and only a soft red-ish glow let her see the needle taped to her arm. Frowning, Liz moved to pull it out when a three-fingered, glove-covered hand closed over hers. Startled, she glanced up to meet the hand's owner and stared right into two large, gleaming and achingly familiar, alien eyes.
Liz had to work her vocal cords a moment before they operated properly, "Sk...oodge?" Was this another dream? A hallucination? Was she dead and by some benevolent intervention sent to something other than oblivion?
"Don't remove that," he said and despite the firm and cold voice she smiled. Hallucination or dream she didn't care, it was different from the usual nightmares. "You still need the nutrients," he chided, moving her hand away and placing it back on her stomach. He gently pushed on her shoulder until she laid back down in bed. This Illusion-Skoodge wasn't friendly and there were thick undertones of anger in his voice, but there was no taunting or mocking tone. This time she wasn't being haunted, and it felt so real.
Before he could remove his hand Liz grasped it, entwining their fingers, it all felt so real. "If this is a dream, I wouldn't mind not waking up," she whispered.
Skoodge blinked in surprise. "You are awake."
"No, I'm not," Liz said sadly. "You're here."
Skoodge frowned, worry creasing his brow. "Computer," he said to the ceiling. "Now that Liz is awake run a brain scan, see if you can pick up on any abnormalities."
"She's fine," the Computer said. "Just stupidly confused."
Liz frowned as her mind became more awake. Was this really real? Could she believe it? She squeezed Skoodge's hand, feeling the firmness of his fingers and the fabric of his gloves against her skin. She sat up and this time Skoodge allowed her to. Her eyes followed her IV to the half-drained bag filled with light purple fluid.
"Why is this here?" Liz asked and Skoodge nudged her hand away before she could touch it.
"In the four days you were missing you neglected your body the proper sustenance. While sleeping you were not able to absorb nutrients normally. The IV is to reverse the damage you did to yourself," Skoodge scolded.
"Missing?" Liz repeated.
"When you woke from the suspended state, you fled from the labs and you did not return. Why?" Skoodge asked and Liz was startled to hear a pained note in his voice. She turned back to face him and even in the dim lighting she could see the anger and hurt on his face.
"I..." Liz trailed off and unable to cope with the guilt she felt, she stared down at her hands. Skoodge's hand was still in her grasp. "I didn't know you were still alive. I had no idea Irkens could live so long," she laughed a bit to relieve the anxiety and despair she felt bubbling back up. "Is Zim still alive too?"
"Yes," Skoodge said. "Why would he not be?"
Liz plucked at the sheet. "I don't remember what happened at the end of the Challenge. How did I even survive? I thought for sure that..." Liz didn't need to finish.
"We thought you were both dead at first," Skoodge said his clawed fingers curling to fully capture her hand. "But you were not. It took some time, but your lifeforce began to gradually return. Dib awoke from his suspended state after three weeks and two days."
Liz's head snapped up. "He lived? He was okay? Was...was he happy?"
Skoodge thought about that. He had been trying to avoid the mated-pair and only interacted with them as needed. "Not much changed, even after he became Zim's mate."
"He did?" Liz gave a small smile. "Good for him. Good for them," she whispered and closed her eyes, relief spreading through her body. Maybe it was good that he lived out his life without her. Dib, like her brother, had been able to find happiness without her. Her blood wouldn't be able to reach him now. But a small fear nagged at her. "Did he ever have children? What about Gaz?"
"Irkens and human DNA does not mix and," Skoodge frowned. "Two males cannot reproduce. I do not know of the Dib-sibling."
Liz laughed, that wasn't what she meant, but it looked like the couple was able to stick it out until the end. "How is Zim now?" she asked. Dib's death must have been hard on the invader.
"He has calmed down slightly," Skoodge said. "We made an agreement not to fight. He will not come near you without my permission."
Liz nodded. Poor Zim, he must have been grief stricken when Dib died. "Later, I'd like to talk to him. If he feels up to it, I'd love to hear stories about Dib's life. Sometimes that helps."
Skoodge nodded, if Zim could make it clear to Liz that Dib was his mate, that would lessen any possible territorial tension, at least until Skoodge could make Liz his mate. However, her full recovery was his first priority.
"Thank you," Liz said suddenly breaking Skoodge from his thoughts. At his confused face Liz smiled at him. "For not letting me die. I know things have probably changed a lot. Honestly, I'm surprised that you're still here, so I want you to know that I don't expect anything from you. After all this time, it only makes sense if you've moved on. But, um, I'd really appreciate it if you let me stay here a little while, at least until I can regain my bearings. Then after that, I'll leave you-"
A hissing snarl cut off her words as Skoodge's other hand ripped the base of her skull and his four PAK legs slammed into the wall around her. He bent her neck at a painful angle as she felt his sharp teeth against her neck. She froze, her breath caught in her throat at the sudden and violent reaction. Skoodge had her pulse between his teeth and while painfully sharp, he hadn't broken any skin. After a moment of complete stillness on her part, she felt the teeth withdraw and his long thin tongue ran along the length of her jugular.
"Stop," his lips brushed against her neck as he spoke, he sounded frustrated and annoyed.
"Stop what?" Liz asked completely still. She had no idea what she'd done to piss him off.
"You smell of fear," his tongue poked at her neck again.
"Almost having your throat ripped out would do that," Liz said tartly.
"Who?" Skoodge hissed and he pulled back so his narrowed eyes could burrow into hers. "Who tried to do that to you?"
Liz blinked at him. "You just did," she said a little exasperated. "What the hell was that all about?" Now that she knew his intention hadn't been to nearly kill her, she was a bit pissed at the scare.
"You are my mate. You will not leave. I was going to perform the marking pre-mating ritual, but your scent is wrong. You only smell of fear," he paused and a little bit of the calm Skoodge she recognized came back. "Do you really believe that I would kill you?" his hurt voice sent a pang of guilt into her chest.
"No," her fears and her nightmares came rushing back to her. Liz gave a heavy sigh. At least Dib was gone, he was safe from her. She couldn't hurt him. In this new world he didn't have any descendants, she couldn't hurt her family anymore. However... she could still hurt the ones that mattered. "I don't deserve you," Liz mumbled to herself and she quickly changed the subject. "When I woke up in the tube, you said I went missing for four days," she asked and Skoodge nodded. "After you found me again, how long was I out for?"
"Twenty hours," Skoodge answered. "But it was natural sleep. Why did you not return? Or properly take care of yourself?" he asked again.
"I thought I was alone again and I was afraid," Liz whispered. "I didn't know what would happen if I fell asleep again; how much more time would pass or when I would wake up. I think I went a bit crazy there," she said half smiling.
"You are not crazy now," Skoodge said both asking her and assuring her.
"I don't think so, unless you're a hallucination too."
Skoodge hastily shook his head, "No, I am real." After another short thoughtful pause he added. "Good morning, Liz."
Liz smiled genuinely, "good morning, Skoodge." He brightened at her smile. "Do you think you could remove this now?" she asked pointing to her arm with the IV. "I need to use the bathroom and I think I could go for some real food."
"Yes," Skoodge brightened. "I will prepare foodstuffs for you," he then pointed to the cleansing chamber door Liz had used before. "That room has been equipped to meet your bodily needs."
Liz felt her smile twitch at his phrasing, "Thanks," she said and waited for Skoodge to remove the IV. She winced as he pulled out the needle, but he was quick to apply a small amount of healing gel which healed the mark almost instantly. Liz pulled off the sheet and swung her legs out from Skoodge's bed. She expected to feel dizzy or weak, but surprisingly she stood without a problem and walked to the Irken version of a bathroom. "That stuff works pretty well," Liz commented, pointing to the IV bag. "I feel good, hungry, but good."
"Yes," Skoodge nodded approvingly from his chair. He hadn't moved as he studied her movements. When she entered the chamber he spoke firmly to the Computer, "Monitor her and if there are any abnormalities tell me immediately, especially," he added with a scowl, "If she becomes unconscious."
"Sure, whatever," the Computer said.
However, there was no need for concern as Liz came out on her own a few minutes later. "About that breakfast? I feel like I haven't eaten in years," she chuckled.
"Waffles?" Skoodge suggested. "That is a human morning food. Zim created a human-food synthesizer he placed in Dib's room. I can get some from there."
"Instant waffles?" Liz scrunched up her nose in distaste. "Do you have the materials to make them from scratch? Or maybe a mix?" she asked hopefully.
"Yeah, there are ingredients left over from GIR's last attempt. He keeps them in the kitchen," the Computer answered knowing that Skoodge wouldn't know.
"Thanks, Gunn," Liz said tiling her head to speak upwards out of instinct, though she knew Gunn could hear her without her doing that. "What about a waffle iron? Syrup?"
"Kitchen."
Liz stretched her arms over her head and arched her back. Rolling her head from side to side, she caught the gleam in Skoodge's eyes as he watched her. She brought her arms down quickly. Skoodge still wanted her. After all this time, he still wanted to be with her. Guilt jabbed at her again. He hadn't been able to move on because of her. How long had he waited for her to wake up? She was afraid to ask. She didn't know what to do. She really didn't deserve him or his loyalty. But she'd worry about that later. Her appetite was back and cooking would take her mind off her fears. Cooking was such a mundane thing, a human thing. She needed to feel human right now.
"To the kitchen, then," she said.
Liz inspected the numerous ingredients on the counter, many of them had no business being in a waffle so she placed those back in the cupboard. She remembered the waffles GIR had made before the Challenge and smiled. Dib had such a hard time saying 'no' to the persistent little guy. She had been happy to hear that GIR and Mini Moose were still around too. Skoodge told her they had left a while before she woke up to go into the town to do...whatever it was that GIR did to keep himself occupied. Once she started cooking, Liz's mind relaxed and her focus shifted to the task at hand. Her worries and fears melted away and her body fell into familiar patterns.
It wasn't until she went to pour more mix into the waffle iron that she realized there was none left. Putting the empty bowl in the sink she turned to the impressive stack of waffles. She placed the waffles and syrup on the table where Skoodge sat watching her. Giving him a plate and set of silverware she pointed to the tower of waffles with her fork.
"I'm not eating all of these myself," she said stabbing the top two and putting them on her own plate. "I'll need your assistance in this mission," she smiled at him. Skoodge frowned at her until he caught onto her meaning, then he nodded in complete seriousness and pulled half the stack onto his plate.
Skoodge studied Liz very carefully while they ate and through the rest of the morning and early afternoon. Something was not right. He could tell from her scent, from the tone of her voice, from the way she moved. He knew it the moment he placed his teeth against her neck and felt her freeze. There was something...off...different and not in a good way, and it was frustrating him to no end because he couldn't pinpoint the cause. Instead he observed.
After they finished the waffles GIR and Mini Moose returned. They were both excessively excited to see Liz up and in the kitchen. It had taken a long time for Liz to calm them down and she was only able to get GIR to stop from screaming and running around by suggesting that they watch TV together. Which was where Liz spent the rest of the morning until now. Mini Moose settled down on her lap and she was absentmindedly running her fingers between his antlers, which had lulled the creature into a dormant state.
GIR sat huddled up next to Liz lying on his side with his metal thumb in his mouth, his cyan eyes staring at the screen. The Angry Monkey show was currently on. It was, of course, a looping recording as that show and all others had been taken off the air. Currently, only the news and informational and science based shows were on the TV. Liz's scent became anxious when GIR paused on a news station and she quickly asked the Computer if he had anything recorded that GIR liked to watch. GIR then began screaming about the Angry Monkey and there had been no choice but for the Computer to put it on. Thankfully, that recording was there as it had saved them many times in the past few weeks from GIR's antics when curfew came into effect.
Skoodge did not watch TV, but sat across the room in a chair by the door and observed. It was odd, but Liz was avoiding looking in his direction. She wasn't ignoring him as she repeatedly offered the empty spot on the couch to him, which he declined.
Sensing that enough time had passed after lunch, Skoodge went upstairs to Dib's room. The Computer was keeping track of Liz in his absence while he used the food replicating machine to make her a nutrients rich snack. Now that he had seen firsthand what a lack of sustenance could do, he was going to make sure that his to-be-mate was well nourished. At the moment the Computer was creating a food replicator that Liz could use in her own room.
He told Liz of the room he had prepared for her, assuring her that it would be easy for her to replicate any human necessities and chamber dwelling items, like the ones that adorned Dib's room. However, she declined the offer to adorn the room saying that a place to sleep was all that was necessary. This too confused Skoodge as his research on human mating rituals indicated that the female took great care in decorating and arranging living spaces in her mate's home.
He returned back to the living room with a soda and a bar full of nutrients that he had created to be strawberry flavored as he knew Liz preferred fruit-like flavors. Accepting his offering, she had no problem meeting his eyes and thanked him. However, when he went back to his chair her gaze left him and returned back to the TV. A few minutes later he noticed that she had finished her snack. Retrieving the trash from her, he went to dispose of it in the kitchen's incinerator chute.
"The food is upstairs and there is an elevator in the fridge. The bathroom is in a closet, while the toilet in the kitchen is also an elevator," Liz said watching him with an amused smile. "I like how nothing has changed in here."
"This is incorrect?" Skoodge asked coming back into the living room.
"Oh yeah," Liz said still smiling at him. "But I like it, don't let Zim change a thing."
"But it is not normal," Skoodge argued cutting across in from of the TV to go back to his chair.
"You've made it this far," Liz said and Skoodge noted that her eyes returned to the TV once he reached a certain point, however she still spoke to him. "I don't think you're in any danger of being found out from that."
Curious, Skoodge stepped back closer to the TV. "What is the correct placement?" he asked and when he stepped closer her eyes returned to him.
"Not telling," she smirked.
Skoodge took a few steps back and her eyes moved away. "Liz?"
"Hm? I won't tell no matter what," she answered but did not look his way.
"Liz," Skoodge said firmly. "Look at me." Very briefly her eyes darted to him, but he saw her tense.
"What's the big deal?" she asked. "Just keep things the way they are. You don't need to change anything more," her voice changed slightly in pitch, becoming more agitated.
Skoodge looked around him, then behind him. A theory formed in his mind, as ridiculous as it was, he decided to test it. "Change can be good," he said coming closer and as he did, she eyed him with slight annoyance. He picked up Mini Moose from her lap and placed him on the empty couch cushion. Then he grabbed her hands and pulled her from the couch, she reluctantly stood with him. "Come, I will show you what has changed while you were in the suspended state."
Liz dug in her heels, "No, I'm fine. I don't need to see it."
Skoodge stopped pulling, but he did not let go. He didn't want to believe it, but it was clear from her scent and her actions. "You are afraid," he said slowly wanting her to deny it. Liz just looked away. He couldn't believe it. This was not right. Liz was not right. Something was wrong with her brain meats. His mate could not be afraid just because the buildings had changed and updated and looked different. His mate was not a skittish worm-baby, his mate was not this...fragile. "Stop it," he hissed at her. "Stop making that sickening fear scent. Fix your brain meats," Skoodge demanded.
"How?" Liz snapped, yanking her hands away from him. "How can you expect me to just accept it all? If you don't want me here then, fine, I'll leave. But don't pull me back from the brink of insanity and expect me to just be fine about all this," she waved her arms out wide. "The first time was hard enough. In what seemed like this," she snapped her fingers. "I lost three hundred years. Everything and everyone I loved was gone. It was hard, extremely hard, to pick up my life and move forward. You have no idea, no idea, what it's like to lose time. And now that it's happened again, that same wound has been ripped opened even deeper because Dib is-"
"-We're back!" Dib shouted throwing open the door and bursting in with Zim right behind him. "Skoodge, we got your text. How's—Liz!" Dib said excitedly once he spotted her. "Liz?" his bright smile turned into a frown when she didn't display any happiness at seeing him. Skoodge's antennae twitched at the fear pouring from Liz. She stood completely still, her eyes wide.
"You're not real," she whispered. "You're supposed to be dead."
The human in question shot Skoodge an angry look before focusing his attention back on Liz, "Skoodge didn't explain anything? We all survived the Challenge. It worked! The Earth is safe from demon influence," he said approaching her.
"No, no, no," Liz shook her head and backed fearfully from Dib. "You died. You died a long time ago. You can't be alive. You can't be alive still."
"Liz," Dib said slowly and calmly stepping forward, but for every step he took she took one back until her back was against the far wall in the kitchen. Dib stopped just out of her reach and Skoodge watched from kitchen archway with Zim standing next to him. Skoodge didn't know why Liz was acting so strangely, but it was somehow connected to Dib.
"I'm very much alive," Dib said placing a hand on his chest. "I'm real, see?" he held out his hand towards her.
"How? After all this time..." she trailed off her eyes not believing what they saw.
"After...?" Dib frowned, confused. "You've only been in the suspended state for four months."
"W-What?" her eyes widened further and she looked beyond him towards the door. "But... everything changed," she said her voice small and barely carrying.
Dib turned over his shoulder trying to see what she was talking about, then his eyes widened in realization and he turned back. "No, Liz, it just seems that way. After the demon realm was sealed chaos broke out, but my Dad was quick to take over and fix everything," he hurried to explain. "You know how much power and wealth he has, they've been spending all that time fixing and upgrading the city. The progress has been astounding, so only four months has gone by. It's the end of September now. I'm still here and so is Gaz. No one died, everyone is still here," he assured her, finally understanding her response to him.
"Four months?" Liz repeated as she slid down the wall to the floor. Skoodge stepped closer as he noted the change in her scent, it was less bad. "It's only been four months, truly?"
"Yes," Dib said kneeling down in front of her.
"Dib," she breathed, tears coming to her eyes. "I thought I had been left behind again," she said and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Dib's neck. Skoodge felt a jab of annoyance and anger, though he didn't know who it was directed at: Dib or Liz.
Zim hissed in displeasure. "Liz-human, release Zim's mate. The Dib is mine."
Not letting go, Dib twisted his body around to roll his eyes at Zim, "C'mon, we've gone over this before. Liz doesn't-" his words were cut off as Liz shoved him away, knocking the human on his back. "Hey, what's the big deal?" Dib protested the treatment.
Liz stayed on her knees, her arms outstretched in front of her as if to ward the human off. "Zim's right," she said her voice filled with fear. Liz pulled back her hands when they began shaking and she stared at them with a horrified expression on her face. "You aren't safe around me. You said it yourself, Dib, my blood will seek you out. You have to stay away from me," she huddled back against the wall.
Skoodge came forward and crouched in front of Liz, he could almost taste the distress and fear pouring out of her, and there was that other scent again, it left a bad taste in the back of his throat. "Liz, stop," he ordered. He didn't like this scent, it was bad and he didn't know what to do.
"Liz, what are you talking about?" Dib said confused and worried. "I never said anything like that."
"You did," Liz said pressing herself against the wall and trying to make herself as small as possible. "You did, then I hurt you. I cut your face open. I-I have to go," she said shakily getting to her feet. Skoodge stood in front of her trying to get her to look at him, but her eyes kept shifting and wouldn't focus.
"What?" Zim shouted, grabbing the back of Dib's shirt and pulling him back. He looked over Dib's face searching for the supposed mark that such an action would have left.
Dib smacked Zim's hand away, "You're not helping, Zim," he scowled before turning his attention back to Liz. "You never did that, Liz, it must have been a nightmare or a hallucination, you did lightly scratch me when I found you, but it was nothing big and you weren't yourself."
"No, no, no," Liz shook her head. "Before that. Before when we were in that room. I hurt you with my claws...but then it healed," she frowned, her voice uncertain. "You called me a... a...ah!" Liz winced in pain and pressed the heels of her hands to head. "It hurts," she whimpered sinking back to the floor and sitting on her feet. "My head hurts so much. I can't think, it hurts. Make it stop."
Hearing the pain in her voice Skoodge's PAK opened and a leg withdrew with a syringe like attachment at the end. Quickly, he pressed it to her neck and injected her with something then she went limp and unconscious. Skoodge carried her directly to the med bay with Dib and Zim following.
The Computer scanned her, but couldn't find anything amiss. Skoodge growled and slammed his fist against the table Liz was on. The sedative was still working as the loud sound didn't even make her twitch in her sleep. "Something is wrong," Skoodge insisted. "Her scent is all wrong."
"She's physically fine," the Computer said.
"She said her head hurt," Skoodge growled.
"Well, if her brain is broken, my scans aren't picking up anything," the Computer said defensibly.
"Oh shit," Dib swore making the two Irkens turn towards him. He began pacing as he ran his hand through his hair, mumbling to himself.
Skoodge narrowed his eyes at Dib, "What do you know?"
Dib stopped pacing and glanced at Skoodge nervously. "It happened during the Challenge," he began licking his lips in an anxious reflex. "Remember that brief time that you couldn't reach us?" he asked and both Irkens nodded. "Well, Liz and I were each transported to these separate rooms. For me, a copy of Liz was there, a demon in disguise, she tried to get me to give up, to mentally break me, but there were too many things that didn't make sense. I found the flaw in her disguise and won, but Liz..." Dib made a pained face. "There was a demon copy of me there. I don't know what it said to her, but when I finally got to her she was...well, like that," he vaguely motioning to the ceiling to indicate her behavior in the kitchen.
"They broke her," Zim said and with a smug smile said to Skoodge, "Looks like Zim picked the superior human after all."
"Zim!" Dib snapped as Skoodge hissed at him.
Zim crossed his arms defensively. "What? It's the truth. My mate isn't the one with the broken brain. Come, Dib," he turned around. "Let Skoodge fix his broken human."
"No," Dib said stubbornly making Zim turn back sharply and glare at him. "Liz is important to me too. I want to help." To Skoodge he said, "Maybe if I talk to her, I can help clear her mind. I feel like it's my responsibility. Though, I don't know what a copy could have said to hurt her so much," Dib frowned.
Skoodge very reluctantly nodded. "She will wake soon. Talk to her in my room," he said picking her up and moving towards the elevator. Dib went to follow, but a tight grip on his arm stalled him. He turned to face Zim.
"Is she more important to you than me?" Zim asked his piercing red eyes burrowing holes into Dib.
"No," the answer came easily and the grip on his arm loosened. "But she is important, Zim. I want to help her, if I can." Zim stared at him hard, but after a few moments let go.
"I suppose that the normal Liz-human is better than the current one," Zim said finally. "Her fear soaked scent is stinking up my base. Go," he made a shooing motion. "Fix the Liz-human so you can focus back onto me."
Dib rolled his eyes, but he smiled. "Yeah, the normal Liz is better, as frustrating as she can be," he agreed.
Dib to the rescue! Now it's time for him to step up and be the voice of comfort and reason. If he can't help Liz, poor Skoodge isn't going to get any lol He's not going to want to mate with Liz while her scent/state of mind is so disoriented.
Zim seems a bit mean towards Liz at the end, but really who is surprised? He never really like her to begin with, mostly because she would steal Dib's attention... and here she is doing it again. :P