A/N: This is indeed the last chapter.
Lost
Gaz tightened her hold on Gee as she entered the small observation room. She could see her brother through the clear window.
She was so glad that he was alive. She had actually broken into tears when she thought he had died on her. Something she hadn't done since her pregnancy with Gee.
The little half blood sat passively in her arms. He grew twice as fast as a Human but a good four times slower than an Irken. At only one-year-old he was the size of a Human five-year-old. He had pale green skin and wide, red eyes with a strange dark red 'iris' formation in the center. His stubby antenna twitched at sounds as he silently surveyed the room.
She glanced at a doctor who seemed surprised that she was there.
"How is he?" She asked showing her ID card.
"He's fine." A familiar and slightly nasal voice said.
She turned to see Zim standing in the corner of the room where she hadn't seen him.
Gee made a bizarre twittering sound at Zim. It was the sound an infant would have made if any Irken had been 'born' at that stage. They were usually initialized at the early 'toddler' stage.
The doctor caught a scathing glare from Zim and immediately exited closing the door behind him.
"He lost no blood, the laser blast cauterized the wound." Zim said not moving from his corner. "He still might not live, but we'll try." He paused. "If you want us to."
"You want me to decide whether or not we should try to save my brothers' life?" Gaz asked letting Gee down to the floor.
Gee held onto one of her legs and watched his 'Hema' and 'Gemo' converse. He was raised in the manner of an Irken. The old traditions were researched after a good seven generations of abandonment strictly for this breeding program.
He noticed there was a window that led to another room. He had seen many like this one and wanted to look back through it again at the being with the wires on him.
While his Hema and Gemo talked someone that he thought must be important he climbed into a chair and began to look through the window again.
The being on the other side was a Human like his Hema. Only he looked hurt really badly. He had tubes and wires all over him.
One of the half-bloods antennas twitched at some sound unheard by the adults.
He turned to see if they were watching.
They weren't. His Hema was holding stock still as his Gemo held her hand and said quiet things to her. That happened a lot.
Gee saw two doors in the room. The one he and his Hema had come in and one that obviously led into the other room with the hurt Human. Intense curiosity was a virtue held by all Humans and a few Irkens. But Gee was half of both, and so curiosity was half of him.
He took off the glove of his right hand and reached up as far as he could to the print panel. It turned green since the security codes had yet to be sent in and the door opened quietly.
Gee went through and eyed his Hema and Gemo to see if they had noticed. They hadn't so he could go on.
He pulled a chair from against the wall to the side of the bed. He climbed up in it with little problem and then stood in it. He leaned onto the bed and stared at the sleeping Human.
His glove was still off. He was supposed to wear them at all times though he didn't understand why. He thought his hands were nice with needlepoint claws like his Irken Gemo.
Maybe it was the fact that they were Irken claws on Human hands that made the taller ones make them wear gloves. But that didn't matter right now.
Gee reached out and touched Dibs' forehead out of pure curiosity. He was cold, and slick with sweat as his body struggled to stay alive even with the machines for help. This made Gee sad. Just as sad as the time the little one Iee caught that terrible virus and died.
Iee had been born wrong in the first place. He had come out back wards and hadn't gotten the right air mixture when he needed it. He head been prone to all sorts of sicknesses and had died right in front of his fellows.
The taller ones hadn't even noticed the pale shade of yellow the smaller males face had turned as he had gone into a cardiac arrest. It was said that they had merely been waiting for him to die anyway.
Gee took Dibs' hand gently. His Hema had done that for him the time he himself had been sick. It had made him feel better, safer.
Dibs' eyes opened slightly. Just enough to see out of, but his sight was a little blurry, and why was it so cold?
Gees' antennas twitched again and he cocked his head. Then he looked down.
"It's okay Uncle." He said in a high but scratched voice.
Dibs' eyesight cleared and he was staring up at a face that should be Irken. But it had marks on its eyes that would have looked nearly Human if they hadn't been so red. When it spoke its, no his, voice was plainly Irken but came out from behind tiny Human teeth.
"Wha?" He tried to get a full question out but that was all he could manage.
"You can sleep now." Gee said squeezing Dibs' hand gently.
Dib still didn't understand. But he was tired. So tired.
"She waits for you." Gee said.
Dib seemed to nod. Whether he understood or not didn't matter. He shuddered, and then he went to sleep like he was told he could.
Gee didn't have time to respond as the machines wailed their many sirens.
Gaz burst into the room. "Gee! Oh my god." She ran to him and scooped him up then backed away from her brother. "Get a doctor!" She shrieked! "Someone help him!"
Irken doctors fled into the room. They gathered around Dib and the sirens were turned off.
They talked among themselves and one called time of death.
Gaz walked numbly back into the observation room still holding Gee. She sat down quietly into the chair Gee had used to peer into the other room.
Zim stood to one side of her unsure as to what he should do. He had been planning on keeping Dib alive. It had been possible to do that. But he had been in bad condition. The laser blast had incinerated his liver and fried several surrounding organs.
Gee twitched his antenna wildly. It was something that the half bloods did from time to time.
The program leaders still couldn't figure out why. First they thought it was due to high stress. But then they had found the small beings doing it while they were quite relaxed or under no noticeable stress.
It was labeled a quirk in their basic genetics and probably a useless gesture.
But it wasn't useless.
'He is gone.' Gee thought as hard as he could.
'We are sorry.' Came the reply of all the survivors of the program. It was a multitude of voices that echoed in his mind softly.
'Appreciated greatly.' He responded.
'We continue?' A voice asked quietly.
'Yes.' Gee 'said'. 'It is our duty now. The taller ones must not continue in this way.'
'Agreed.' Again a single word or phrase was echoed in many voices.
Gee stopped twitching his antenna and looked up at his Hema. She was crying so hard and in his concentration he hadn't been able to notice.
He curled up to her and made the twittering sound again. He let his little hands fall on hers.
"Gee." She said through tears. "Your glove is off." She took the small pseudo-leather glove and put it back on him.
He wished desperately that he could tell his Hema that his Uncle was safe now. That he was resting and that it was better for him there.
Instead he twittered again and murmured 'Hema' to her.
She rocked him silently. As far as she knew he was only old enough to say 'Hema' and 'Gemo', maybe a few other words.
It was better that way.
Lost
Gaz tightened her hold on Gee as she entered the small observation room. She could see her brother through the clear window.
She was so glad that he was alive. She had actually broken into tears when she thought he had died on her. Something she hadn't done since her pregnancy with Gee.
The little half blood sat passively in her arms. He grew twice as fast as a Human but a good four times slower than an Irken. At only one-year-old he was the size of a Human five-year-old. He had pale green skin and wide, red eyes with a strange dark red 'iris' formation in the center. His stubby antenna twitched at sounds as he silently surveyed the room.
She glanced at a doctor who seemed surprised that she was there.
"How is he?" She asked showing her ID card.
"He's fine." A familiar and slightly nasal voice said.
She turned to see Zim standing in the corner of the room where she hadn't seen him.
Gee made a bizarre twittering sound at Zim. It was the sound an infant would have made if any Irken had been 'born' at that stage. They were usually initialized at the early 'toddler' stage.
The doctor caught a scathing glare from Zim and immediately exited closing the door behind him.
"He lost no blood, the laser blast cauterized the wound." Zim said not moving from his corner. "He still might not live, but we'll try." He paused. "If you want us to."
"You want me to decide whether or not we should try to save my brothers' life?" Gaz asked letting Gee down to the floor.
Gee held onto one of her legs and watched his 'Hema' and 'Gemo' converse. He was raised in the manner of an Irken. The old traditions were researched after a good seven generations of abandonment strictly for this breeding program.
He noticed there was a window that led to another room. He had seen many like this one and wanted to look back through it again at the being with the wires on him.
While his Hema and Gemo talked someone that he thought must be important he climbed into a chair and began to look through the window again.
The being on the other side was a Human like his Hema. Only he looked hurt really badly. He had tubes and wires all over him.
One of the half-bloods antennas twitched at some sound unheard by the adults.
He turned to see if they were watching.
They weren't. His Hema was holding stock still as his Gemo held her hand and said quiet things to her. That happened a lot.
Gee saw two doors in the room. The one he and his Hema had come in and one that obviously led into the other room with the hurt Human. Intense curiosity was a virtue held by all Humans and a few Irkens. But Gee was half of both, and so curiosity was half of him.
He took off the glove of his right hand and reached up as far as he could to the print panel. It turned green since the security codes had yet to be sent in and the door opened quietly.
Gee went through and eyed his Hema and Gemo to see if they had noticed. They hadn't so he could go on.
He pulled a chair from against the wall to the side of the bed. He climbed up in it with little problem and then stood in it. He leaned onto the bed and stared at the sleeping Human.
His glove was still off. He was supposed to wear them at all times though he didn't understand why. He thought his hands were nice with needlepoint claws like his Irken Gemo.
Maybe it was the fact that they were Irken claws on Human hands that made the taller ones make them wear gloves. But that didn't matter right now.
Gee reached out and touched Dibs' forehead out of pure curiosity. He was cold, and slick with sweat as his body struggled to stay alive even with the machines for help. This made Gee sad. Just as sad as the time the little one Iee caught that terrible virus and died.
Iee had been born wrong in the first place. He had come out back wards and hadn't gotten the right air mixture when he needed it. He head been prone to all sorts of sicknesses and had died right in front of his fellows.
The taller ones hadn't even noticed the pale shade of yellow the smaller males face had turned as he had gone into a cardiac arrest. It was said that they had merely been waiting for him to die anyway.
Gee took Dibs' hand gently. His Hema had done that for him the time he himself had been sick. It had made him feel better, safer.
Dibs' eyes opened slightly. Just enough to see out of, but his sight was a little blurry, and why was it so cold?
Gees' antennas twitched again and he cocked his head. Then he looked down.
"It's okay Uncle." He said in a high but scratched voice.
Dibs' eyesight cleared and he was staring up at a face that should be Irken. But it had marks on its eyes that would have looked nearly Human if they hadn't been so red. When it spoke its, no his, voice was plainly Irken but came out from behind tiny Human teeth.
"Wha?" He tried to get a full question out but that was all he could manage.
"You can sleep now." Gee said squeezing Dibs' hand gently.
Dib still didn't understand. But he was tired. So tired.
"She waits for you." Gee said.
Dib seemed to nod. Whether he understood or not didn't matter. He shuddered, and then he went to sleep like he was told he could.
Gee didn't have time to respond as the machines wailed their many sirens.
Gaz burst into the room. "Gee! Oh my god." She ran to him and scooped him up then backed away from her brother. "Get a doctor!" She shrieked! "Someone help him!"
Irken doctors fled into the room. They gathered around Dib and the sirens were turned off.
They talked among themselves and one called time of death.
Gaz walked numbly back into the observation room still holding Gee. She sat down quietly into the chair Gee had used to peer into the other room.
Zim stood to one side of her unsure as to what he should do. He had been planning on keeping Dib alive. It had been possible to do that. But he had been in bad condition. The laser blast had incinerated his liver and fried several surrounding organs.
Gee twitched his antenna wildly. It was something that the half bloods did from time to time.
The program leaders still couldn't figure out why. First they thought it was due to high stress. But then they had found the small beings doing it while they were quite relaxed or under no noticeable stress.
It was labeled a quirk in their basic genetics and probably a useless gesture.
But it wasn't useless.
'He is gone.' Gee thought as hard as he could.
'We are sorry.' Came the reply of all the survivors of the program. It was a multitude of voices that echoed in his mind softly.
'Appreciated greatly.' He responded.
'We continue?' A voice asked quietly.
'Yes.' Gee 'said'. 'It is our duty now. The taller ones must not continue in this way.'
'Agreed.' Again a single word or phrase was echoed in many voices.
Gee stopped twitching his antenna and looked up at his Hema. She was crying so hard and in his concentration he hadn't been able to notice.
He curled up to her and made the twittering sound again. He let his little hands fall on hers.
"Gee." She said through tears. "Your glove is off." She took the small pseudo-leather glove and put it back on him.
He wished desperately that he could tell his Hema that his Uncle was safe now. That he was resting and that it was better for him there.
Instead he twittered again and murmured 'Hema' to her.
She rocked him silently. As far as she knew he was only old enough to say 'Hema' and 'Gemo', maybe a few other words.
It was better that way.