A/N: I dedicate this chapter to Steve and Amberle, who have willingly let me place them in this fic for the sole reason that I lacked creativity in naming. That was their mistake. Steve, for the reason in chapter 3, and Amberle, who just happened to be on the phone with me as I wrote this.
I apologize for making Dib so evil. This last (yes, last. I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED A FIC!!! Now.. on to those other ones.. x.x) chapter is no different. Give me an evil glare if you must. And remember, I wrote this while I was in a bad mood. And bad moods have their disturbing moments. Happy disturbing moments :)... so please don't start raging riots to rip my brains out and set me on fire. Besides... I think this chapter is happier than all the other ones.
Oh, and it's very important that you remember the first paragraph in the first chapter, and the fact that everything happened 3 months ago, this now being the present.
Part Four: Wednesday
*****Present*****
"Move it!" yelled a raspy voice.
Gaz's eyes fluttered open, and she blinked away the fatigue of sleep for a moment, being drawn back into reality. She sat up, coming face to face with the old man from across the hallway. He had wrinkled features that gathered on every inch of his skin, skin flaky-white, resembling saltine crackers, seeming to turn to dust from a simple touch. Icy eyes lacking pigmentation searched the plum-haired girl back and forth.
"The couch is mine," Gaz sneered back cruelly, not in the mood to have her relaxing day ruined by him.
"No... You always have the couch!" he whined childishly. "Today it is mine!"
"The couch is MINE, Mr. Oakston," Gaz repeated, this time more forcibly. He cowered under her glare, and at once she was ashamed of herself for having such a bad temper.
"Can't you at least let Darla have the couch?" He gestured toward the air beside him. "She is feeling ill today." Mr. Oakston's eyes softened, and his barely visible white-haired eyebrows curled up in a pitiful expression. "For today?"
Gaz sighed and stood up. "All right... you and Darla can have the couch." She waited until Oakston had sat down and then pointed at the empty seat beside him. "But Darla, I want you feeling better tomorrow, okay?"
"Darla thanks you," Oakston responded.
Gaz smiled, brushing off her cotton gown, deciding to explore the room. Today things were generally quiet. The shuddered cries and screaming that came from the dark end of the hall weren't there today, nor was that horrid pounding drum that played in the morning- not even the one in her head. And only a small whisper spoke to her from inside her mind, but she usually ignored that one anyway so it wasn't really a problem..
"I think I'll visit Birdy," she mumbled under her breath, walking over to Mrs. Ella's rocking chair. "How is she today?" she asked Mrs. Ella, kneeling down and rubbing her fingers softly across the top of the head of the plush cotton ferret. Birdy's glass eyes simply stared up at her, and it's stitched mouth seemed to curl up into a smile.
Mrs. Ella looked up at Gaz, and her face instantly brightened. "Oh, hello Gaz," she smiled. "Birdy is doing so well today! Mrs. Ella believes she shall receive a special treat!"
"Good," Gaz said, pausing from petting Birdy to pat Mrs. Ella's back. "You be good today too, Mrs. Ella. I don't want Steve complaining about you not taking your medicine."
"Mrs. Ella don't like them," Mrs. Ella complained, jerking away from Gaz's touch. She pouted and stuck out her bottom lip. "And Birdy doesn't not-not like them either."
"Now, Ella," Gaz said sternly, standing back up as she did so. "Today's too nice of a day to be bad. We must be relaxed."
"Relaxed...," Mrs. Ella repeated thoughtfully. She touched noses with Birdy's button nose and grinned foolishly. "Birdy says he'll be relaxed today, and make sure Mrs. Ella is relaxed too." She peered suspiciously at Gaz. "Will you be relaxed?"
"Yes," Gaz nodded, pushing her hair back behind her ear. "I will."
She walked away and searched the room, looking for her other friends. It was still early and a lot of people seemed to be asleep again, even though they had ventured out here not just half an hour ago. She spotted Eric over by the window and decided to visit him, but as soon as she took a step forward she began to feel dizzy. She paused, and pressed her hands against the soft, pillow-like walls as the room spun for a moment, giggling furiously as it did so. It almost reminded her of a roller coaster! But soon, the room was back to normal. "At least I can relax now," she thought as she continued on her way, her soft slippers brushing against the clean linoleum floor.
"Gaz," she heard a sharp voice from across the room, and spun around to see Steve was calling her. She took off toward him, the thought of Eric instantly leaving her mind. She liked Steve. He wore far too much white, and a patch with his name in blue, printed right on his shirt. She still liked him, though. Except on Wednesdays, but she didn't like anyone on Wednesdays anyway, and today was Saturday. Saturday, the thirty second of February... or at least that's what Amberle (the girl she shared a room with) said that's what today was anyway. So really, she liked everyone today. Because it wasn't a Wednesday. It was a Saturday.
She ran into Steve's arms, hugging him. "Steve! I was worried you wouldn't come today."
Steve laughed, and she felt the vibration as she buried her head in his chest. "Silly child... I always come."
"Yeah..." she whispered softly. Did he just call her child? She didn't care. He was /here/, and that's all that mattered. "But one day you might not. And then what will I do?"
Steve embraced her for a moment. "I'll always come. I care about you like that. You're a good friend to me."
"But Dib cares about me," she mumbled, closing her eyes and clasping her fingers around the small chain in her neck, and pulling slightly away from Steve, a concerned look on her face. "And he doesn't visit me every day."
"Well..." Steve's grin betrayed everything. "I have a surprise for you, then..."
Gaz leapt out of Steve's arms, and spun around on the floor (cotton and linoleum are good for spinning), arms in the air. "I bet you I know the surprise!" She stopped and gave Steve her puppy dog eyes. "Can I have it /now/ please?"
Steve nodded, eyes shining, gesturing toward the door, and Gaz gave a joy leap as her eyes fell upon her brother, who stood just beyond the glass of the two waiting rooms. She raced to the door where Jack stood- Jack, who had clothes just like Steve (except his shirt had J-A-C-K in blue) smiled at the vibrant young girl. He reached into his pocket for the keys, as Gaz excitedly burst into a smile, trying to get a closer look at her brother beyond the glass.
Steve looked after Gaz as she had ran toward the door, sighing softly. It really was sad what had happened to her... and she was so young. In her early twenties, actually.
She had her entire life before her, but then there was the accident...
Steve shook his head, deciding to tend to the other patients. No time to reflect on that now. He was supposed to be prepared for situations like this. But he could not help gaze back up at her, and smile in her joy... despite having the mentality of a ten year old, she seemed to have been the lucky one in the accident.
But that was from Steve's perspective.
-*-*-*-
A shiny black car slowly pulled up in front of the building, the windows heavily tinted, and a strange silver 'M' on the hood of the car. It glinted in the sunlight just before halting under the shade.
A man, dressed heavily in clothes that matched the car, stepped out from inside, and then pausing as another man, dressed exactly the same, yet having a trench coat draped around his shoulders, followed. They shut the doors quickly behind them.
"How is she, today?" Dib asked, pulling off his trench coat as he stepped inside the building, brushing his hair back with his hand. His dark eyes searched the room as he continued on down the long hallway toward the room- his destination.
"They said she was in an exceptionally good mood when they called for the status report," the man responded, attempting to match Dib's quick pace but finally residing behind him once he realized the hall was far too small for that.
"Has the treatment been completed?" Dib asked sharply, cutting straight to business. His assistant, Mr. Johnson, was the only person that knew his secret, and thus earning the job as his personal assistant. But Dib knew enough about Mr. Johnson's own 'secret life', that it had been an even trade when the need for such a job came up.
"Yes," Johnson answered quickly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "It seems to have no effect on her mentality... however, she is becoming more and more manageable."
"It had better be taken care of fully. I don't want any more... accidents, like last time," Dib said coldly.
"She's in perfect health. Minus the condition."
"Don't... don't use that word," Dib said, his face twisting in disgust. "I don't like that word."
"Yes sir," Johnson nodded.
They had finally reached the end of the hallway, the mere look of the huge metal door that now blocked further excursion sending chills up his spine. He typed in a security code in the panel next to it, and the sound of air diffusing out of the room could be heard rushing out of the open space as it slowly slid open.
"Good to see you today, Professor," one of the patrols remarked upon seeing his entrance. Dib nodded his way and continued, the officer getting a slight shiver from the look that was given to him. There was something not right about this boy... Yet... it was not his place to question him. He turned and left without another thought.
Dib sat down, glancing beyond the glass doors and observing that they had yet to inform Gaz of his arrival. He turned to Johnson in the meantime.
"You do realize that it's been exactly three months since the... first accident."
Johnson nodded numbly, suddenly uncomfrotable standing there, remembering every small detail that had been told to him. About the Professor's first experiment that had been given to him even before he had become of such a status. The experiment that this girl had... become acquainted with.
Dib studied Johnson's face, knowing exactly what he was thinking about. He thought about the nightmarish sequence as well... it played out in his head for so many nights after that, traumatizing him, but only making him stronger. A professor in the field such as he must be cold. Must be heartless. It was supposed to be this way. After years of fighting Zim... it was what he had become. And when he finally won, it was all he knew how to be.
He thought back to that night, standing in the storm... gazing down at his hands, at the gun. Realizing what he had done.
The first bullet impaled Zim's head as quickly as it had left the gun, killing him on impact. But Dib didn't realize what he was doing as he pulled the trigger a second time. He hadn't meant to hit Gaz- he wasn't even aiming for her. But whether it was my a movement of her head... or his hand... or even possibly by ricochet... it scraped her cerebral cortex...
Dib cringed at this memory, seeing the blood flow, having to remember the look of utter shock that Gaz had gave him before falling unconcious... Dib had fallen to his knees, realizing in horror what he'd done. Dully, he pulled out his cell phone to call the paramedics. His eyes fell to Zim, but despite all the things that were racing in his mind at the moment, and all he felt, he seemed to be able to think clearly, and realized that if the medical officials saw him, they would ask questions that Dib couldn't... that Dib /wouldn't/ answer. He took the gun, and Zim, and broke the glass of the window of the car that was sitting by the road. Throwing them both inside, he lit in on fire. Or at least tried to. Truth was, it was far too wet to light anything in this weather.
As if his prayers had been answered, the rain slowly lit up. Not completely, but enough to put the car ablaze in seconds... and destroyed all evidence at once. He threw the lighter in after it.
Why did he even have a lighter with him? he had wondered, but that was the least of his problems now. He had knelt by Gaz, then, sobbing softly, running his fingers through her hair but trying not to move her. Where did they go wrong? They were never really close... not often. But he had trusted her... and even when she had betrayed the family, he still loved her.
The paramedics arrived in what seemed an eternity, but probably a time span of under three minutes. Dib was pushed back, as blankly he stared at the EMTs quickly rushing to get Gaz on the life support system, rushing her into the ambulance, rushing her to the hospital. Everything was a rush... and they had saved her life because of it.
But she was never the same after that.
"Dib!" chirped a voice beyond the glass window, breaking him from his horrid reflections that may as well had been nightmares. Gaz entered the patient's waiting room at that moment, her voice resounding throughout and even carrying on into the microphone set up in front of her.
"Hello, Gaz," his expression softened, and he took a seat in front of her. "How is my little sister today?"
/That's odd.../ Gaz thought. /He looks sad today. Oh well. I'll cheer him up!/ "Everything's great. I got to take a nap in the sun today, and after that I let Darla have a turn on the sofa! I visited Birdy too, and the room got a little dizzy after that, but it was fun. And then I was going to go visit Eric, but Steve called me over and said he had a surprise. And guess what?! The surprise is you!"
Dib broke out into a laugh at that, but it was a soft chuckle, and he didn't even seem to make the effort in the laugh. It had been such a long time since he'd laughed, that his own voice sounded foreign to him. Gaz didn't notice this, however, she only grinned, eyes shining, and gazed wonderingly at her brother. "Today isn't your normal day to come, though."
"Oh, I know," Dib piped up, leaning toward the glass. "But I wanted to see how you were doing."
"Oh!" Gaz grinned. "Well, you came just in time to meet Arlington! But.... you'd have to come back here," he expression saddened. Dib never went beyond the glass separation. Ever.
"Arlington...?" Dib repeated, but shook his head. It was better not to ask, but he was unsure of what to bring to the conversation, now. He didn't need to worry about that, however, because Gaz began to bubble up in chatter, none of her sentences strung coherently. She did that every once in awhile, a result from the accident, and it was natural for anyone listening to simply tune her out. Dib did so, blankly staring off to space with only past memories to accompany him.
"And then this necklace this one Zimmy boy gave me-" she went on, and Dib's ears perked up, catching the sentence instantly.
"/What/ did you just say?" he cut in to her rambling, a voice so cold that it stopped her immediately.
"I... I... I don't know," Gaz whispered, recognizing the need for fear.
/She looks as if she's about to cry/ Dib thought, sighing. He tried to lighten his tone a bit as he continued. "You said a name. That name that I told you to forget." Dib took this moment to glare up at Johnson, who looked stricken with horror. /Good/ Dib thought. /He realizes just how deep in trouble he is./
"I... I don't remember," Gaz said softly, twitching and nervously grabbing the chain with her hands. "I... I was talking about the chain, and then who gave it to me, and then I started talking about soc-"
"/Who/ gave you the necklace, Gaz?" Dib's voice immediately slipping back into the cold voice as it had before.
"You... you did," her lip was quivering, now. Why was her brother acting so angrily? Did she say something wrong? She must have. "I'm sorry, Dib I didn't mean to-"
"That wasn't the name you said, Gaz. You didn't say Dib. You said another name," Dib continued, cutting into her last remark. "What name was that, Gaz?"
Gaz hand's shook, and immediately she dropped the necklace. She tried to think back at what she was saying, but she had been talking so fast, she couldn't. Her head began to hurt as she did so. "Please don't be mad at me. I don't remember. I don't." She burst into tears, and the guards were looking at the two now in silent curiosity.
Solemnly, Dib shook his head. He'd better drop this before it got out of hand. "It's all right, Gaz. /You/ didn't do anything wrong."
He glared up at Johnson, momentarily standing to push him out of range from the microphone. "I thought you said the treatment was over, Johnson," Dib sneered, giving Johnson a glare that made him recoil in fear.
"I apologize, sir, I thought... I thought it was! We examined her through and out, doing exactly what you told us to do."
"I told you to purge her of all memories of Zim. All of them! And you can't even follow something as simple as-"
"Sir, we did the best we could," Johnson said, exasperated.
Dib looked back at Gaz, who had lowered her head now, thinking she had done something wrong. "You realize... she cannot remember anything about her encounters with that alien. Ever since his death... she was so hung up on it. And with her cond-" he stopped himself, teeth gritting at the word. "With her /ailment/, it only made things worse. Every train of thought was on him. Every memory she went into excruciating detail of mumbling to herself. I asked you to do a simple job, and you screw it up!"
"Please... please. Sir, I'm sure another scheduled purgation will remove all of the memories. She doesn't seem to remember fully, it may possibly be an unconscious thing-"
"Unconscious or not, I don't want to hear it," Dib whispered harshly. He turned back and sat down, rubbing his temples. One day... he couldn't take this pressure. The strain from memorizing that night was almost too much for him. In a way... he envied Gaz. She didn't have to be tormented from living day to day with those images. With the feeling of defeat, even when it was /he/ who had won in the first place.
His victory over Zim was shallow... it was worthless at the cost that it came with. And he had awakened the next day, realizing it was still just another day. Years of toiling, of working to destroy him...
...and when he succeeded, he was just as empty as before.
A soft cry from Gaz brought Dib back to reality. He put his hands over the microphone, and looked up at Johnson. "Schedule another one for next Wednesday."
"Yes, sir."
Dib leaned to the microphone, speaking gently now, a benevolent smile crossing his face. "Gaz... Gazzy, I'm so sorry. You know I still care about you, kid."
Gaz looked up, a hopeful look in her eyes. "You mean... you're not mad at me?"
"No... no, of course not. I'm sorry I scared you."
She smiled, wiping her face and then leaning toward the glass, pressing her hand against it. "I love you, Dib."
Dib pressed his own hand against the glass. "I love you too, Gaz. Now go... go see Arlington. I'm sure he's anxious to meet you."
She smiled, relieved, and stood up. "You're leaving again?"
"Yeah," Dib nodded. "But I'll be back again later on this week, okay? Me and dad have some work to do."
Gaz nervously picked at her nails, and her eyes drew up to Dib. "Why doesn't daddy visit me? Doesn't he love me?"
Dib's inside churned at this. She had struck at a weak spot in him without even realizing it... Their father couldn't handle the accident as much as he could handle their mother's. He almost lost his mind, himself, but now he just seemed... lost. And piled on more work to get his mind off of it. Dib no longer was the shining star in his father's life anymore, but at least they still spent time together. Doing practices in the science field, of course, but still... Still, their conversations were never the same. They were empty things, words used to fill in the silence. He didn't even think his father had forgiven him for what he had done.
Dib drew his attention back to her, trying to pass off his sudden pained look for a smiling one. "Dad doesn't have that much time... he's very busy. You know, since he is a great scientist and all."
"Just like you," Gaz beamed. She brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. "Bye-bye, Dib."
"Goodbye." Dib picked up his trench coat and put it on, walking calmly out, and Johnson quickly following.
Gaz looked back after him as he left, tugging at the chain with her hand and then going back into the door, that led her into her own world. The world that she accepted, that she had believed she had always been in.
She sat on the couch, for Darla and Mr. Oakston had left, her fingers sliding up and down the empty chain, devoid of any charms of any kind. But it had always been that way to her. She didn't feel like seeing Arlington. Not today. Desperately, she tried to think of the name that had upset her brother so. Tried to grasp at it... but gave up, sighing softly, letting her head rest from the thought process.
She stood up and decided that now it would be a good time to go talk to Eric.
End.
I apologize for making Dib so evil. This last (yes, last. I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED A FIC!!! Now.. on to those other ones.. x.x) chapter is no different. Give me an evil glare if you must. And remember, I wrote this while I was in a bad mood. And bad moods have their disturbing moments. Happy disturbing moments :)... so please don't start raging riots to rip my brains out and set me on fire. Besides... I think this chapter is happier than all the other ones.
Oh, and it's very important that you remember the first paragraph in the first chapter, and the fact that everything happened 3 months ago, this now being the present.
Part Four: Wednesday
*****Present*****
"Move it!" yelled a raspy voice.
Gaz's eyes fluttered open, and she blinked away the fatigue of sleep for a moment, being drawn back into reality. She sat up, coming face to face with the old man from across the hallway. He had wrinkled features that gathered on every inch of his skin, skin flaky-white, resembling saltine crackers, seeming to turn to dust from a simple touch. Icy eyes lacking pigmentation searched the plum-haired girl back and forth.
"The couch is mine," Gaz sneered back cruelly, not in the mood to have her relaxing day ruined by him.
"No... You always have the couch!" he whined childishly. "Today it is mine!"
"The couch is MINE, Mr. Oakston," Gaz repeated, this time more forcibly. He cowered under her glare, and at once she was ashamed of herself for having such a bad temper.
"Can't you at least let Darla have the couch?" He gestured toward the air beside him. "She is feeling ill today." Mr. Oakston's eyes softened, and his barely visible white-haired eyebrows curled up in a pitiful expression. "For today?"
Gaz sighed and stood up. "All right... you and Darla can have the couch." She waited until Oakston had sat down and then pointed at the empty seat beside him. "But Darla, I want you feeling better tomorrow, okay?"
"Darla thanks you," Oakston responded.
Gaz smiled, brushing off her cotton gown, deciding to explore the room. Today things were generally quiet. The shuddered cries and screaming that came from the dark end of the hall weren't there today, nor was that horrid pounding drum that played in the morning- not even the one in her head. And only a small whisper spoke to her from inside her mind, but she usually ignored that one anyway so it wasn't really a problem..
"I think I'll visit Birdy," she mumbled under her breath, walking over to Mrs. Ella's rocking chair. "How is she today?" she asked Mrs. Ella, kneeling down and rubbing her fingers softly across the top of the head of the plush cotton ferret. Birdy's glass eyes simply stared up at her, and it's stitched mouth seemed to curl up into a smile.
Mrs. Ella looked up at Gaz, and her face instantly brightened. "Oh, hello Gaz," she smiled. "Birdy is doing so well today! Mrs. Ella believes she shall receive a special treat!"
"Good," Gaz said, pausing from petting Birdy to pat Mrs. Ella's back. "You be good today too, Mrs. Ella. I don't want Steve complaining about you not taking your medicine."
"Mrs. Ella don't like them," Mrs. Ella complained, jerking away from Gaz's touch. She pouted and stuck out her bottom lip. "And Birdy doesn't not-not like them either."
"Now, Ella," Gaz said sternly, standing back up as she did so. "Today's too nice of a day to be bad. We must be relaxed."
"Relaxed...," Mrs. Ella repeated thoughtfully. She touched noses with Birdy's button nose and grinned foolishly. "Birdy says he'll be relaxed today, and make sure Mrs. Ella is relaxed too." She peered suspiciously at Gaz. "Will you be relaxed?"
"Yes," Gaz nodded, pushing her hair back behind her ear. "I will."
She walked away and searched the room, looking for her other friends. It was still early and a lot of people seemed to be asleep again, even though they had ventured out here not just half an hour ago. She spotted Eric over by the window and decided to visit him, but as soon as she took a step forward she began to feel dizzy. She paused, and pressed her hands against the soft, pillow-like walls as the room spun for a moment, giggling furiously as it did so. It almost reminded her of a roller coaster! But soon, the room was back to normal. "At least I can relax now," she thought as she continued on her way, her soft slippers brushing against the clean linoleum floor.
"Gaz," she heard a sharp voice from across the room, and spun around to see Steve was calling her. She took off toward him, the thought of Eric instantly leaving her mind. She liked Steve. He wore far too much white, and a patch with his name in blue, printed right on his shirt. She still liked him, though. Except on Wednesdays, but she didn't like anyone on Wednesdays anyway, and today was Saturday. Saturday, the thirty second of February... or at least that's what Amberle (the girl she shared a room with) said that's what today was anyway. So really, she liked everyone today. Because it wasn't a Wednesday. It was a Saturday.
She ran into Steve's arms, hugging him. "Steve! I was worried you wouldn't come today."
Steve laughed, and she felt the vibration as she buried her head in his chest. "Silly child... I always come."
"Yeah..." she whispered softly. Did he just call her child? She didn't care. He was /here/, and that's all that mattered. "But one day you might not. And then what will I do?"
Steve embraced her for a moment. "I'll always come. I care about you like that. You're a good friend to me."
"But Dib cares about me," she mumbled, closing her eyes and clasping her fingers around the small chain in her neck, and pulling slightly away from Steve, a concerned look on her face. "And he doesn't visit me every day."
"Well..." Steve's grin betrayed everything. "I have a surprise for you, then..."
Gaz leapt out of Steve's arms, and spun around on the floor (cotton and linoleum are good for spinning), arms in the air. "I bet you I know the surprise!" She stopped and gave Steve her puppy dog eyes. "Can I have it /now/ please?"
Steve nodded, eyes shining, gesturing toward the door, and Gaz gave a joy leap as her eyes fell upon her brother, who stood just beyond the glass of the two waiting rooms. She raced to the door where Jack stood- Jack, who had clothes just like Steve (except his shirt had J-A-C-K in blue) smiled at the vibrant young girl. He reached into his pocket for the keys, as Gaz excitedly burst into a smile, trying to get a closer look at her brother beyond the glass.
Steve looked after Gaz as she had ran toward the door, sighing softly. It really was sad what had happened to her... and she was so young. In her early twenties, actually.
She had her entire life before her, but then there was the accident...
Steve shook his head, deciding to tend to the other patients. No time to reflect on that now. He was supposed to be prepared for situations like this. But he could not help gaze back up at her, and smile in her joy... despite having the mentality of a ten year old, she seemed to have been the lucky one in the accident.
But that was from Steve's perspective.
-*-*-*-
A shiny black car slowly pulled up in front of the building, the windows heavily tinted, and a strange silver 'M' on the hood of the car. It glinted in the sunlight just before halting under the shade.
A man, dressed heavily in clothes that matched the car, stepped out from inside, and then pausing as another man, dressed exactly the same, yet having a trench coat draped around his shoulders, followed. They shut the doors quickly behind them.
"How is she, today?" Dib asked, pulling off his trench coat as he stepped inside the building, brushing his hair back with his hand. His dark eyes searched the room as he continued on down the long hallway toward the room- his destination.
"They said she was in an exceptionally good mood when they called for the status report," the man responded, attempting to match Dib's quick pace but finally residing behind him once he realized the hall was far too small for that.
"Has the treatment been completed?" Dib asked sharply, cutting straight to business. His assistant, Mr. Johnson, was the only person that knew his secret, and thus earning the job as his personal assistant. But Dib knew enough about Mr. Johnson's own 'secret life', that it had been an even trade when the need for such a job came up.
"Yes," Johnson answered quickly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "It seems to have no effect on her mentality... however, she is becoming more and more manageable."
"It had better be taken care of fully. I don't want any more... accidents, like last time," Dib said coldly.
"She's in perfect health. Minus the condition."
"Don't... don't use that word," Dib said, his face twisting in disgust. "I don't like that word."
"Yes sir," Johnson nodded.
They had finally reached the end of the hallway, the mere look of the huge metal door that now blocked further excursion sending chills up his spine. He typed in a security code in the panel next to it, and the sound of air diffusing out of the room could be heard rushing out of the open space as it slowly slid open.
"Good to see you today, Professor," one of the patrols remarked upon seeing his entrance. Dib nodded his way and continued, the officer getting a slight shiver from the look that was given to him. There was something not right about this boy... Yet... it was not his place to question him. He turned and left without another thought.
Dib sat down, glancing beyond the glass doors and observing that they had yet to inform Gaz of his arrival. He turned to Johnson in the meantime.
"You do realize that it's been exactly three months since the... first accident."
Johnson nodded numbly, suddenly uncomfrotable standing there, remembering every small detail that had been told to him. About the Professor's first experiment that had been given to him even before he had become of such a status. The experiment that this girl had... become acquainted with.
Dib studied Johnson's face, knowing exactly what he was thinking about. He thought about the nightmarish sequence as well... it played out in his head for so many nights after that, traumatizing him, but only making him stronger. A professor in the field such as he must be cold. Must be heartless. It was supposed to be this way. After years of fighting Zim... it was what he had become. And when he finally won, it was all he knew how to be.
He thought back to that night, standing in the storm... gazing down at his hands, at the gun. Realizing what he had done.
The first bullet impaled Zim's head as quickly as it had left the gun, killing him on impact. But Dib didn't realize what he was doing as he pulled the trigger a second time. He hadn't meant to hit Gaz- he wasn't even aiming for her. But whether it was my a movement of her head... or his hand... or even possibly by ricochet... it scraped her cerebral cortex...
Dib cringed at this memory, seeing the blood flow, having to remember the look of utter shock that Gaz had gave him before falling unconcious... Dib had fallen to his knees, realizing in horror what he'd done. Dully, he pulled out his cell phone to call the paramedics. His eyes fell to Zim, but despite all the things that were racing in his mind at the moment, and all he felt, he seemed to be able to think clearly, and realized that if the medical officials saw him, they would ask questions that Dib couldn't... that Dib /wouldn't/ answer. He took the gun, and Zim, and broke the glass of the window of the car that was sitting by the road. Throwing them both inside, he lit in on fire. Or at least tried to. Truth was, it was far too wet to light anything in this weather.
As if his prayers had been answered, the rain slowly lit up. Not completely, but enough to put the car ablaze in seconds... and destroyed all evidence at once. He threw the lighter in after it.
Why did he even have a lighter with him? he had wondered, but that was the least of his problems now. He had knelt by Gaz, then, sobbing softly, running his fingers through her hair but trying not to move her. Where did they go wrong? They were never really close... not often. But he had trusted her... and even when she had betrayed the family, he still loved her.
The paramedics arrived in what seemed an eternity, but probably a time span of under three minutes. Dib was pushed back, as blankly he stared at the EMTs quickly rushing to get Gaz on the life support system, rushing her into the ambulance, rushing her to the hospital. Everything was a rush... and they had saved her life because of it.
But she was never the same after that.
"Dib!" chirped a voice beyond the glass window, breaking him from his horrid reflections that may as well had been nightmares. Gaz entered the patient's waiting room at that moment, her voice resounding throughout and even carrying on into the microphone set up in front of her.
"Hello, Gaz," his expression softened, and he took a seat in front of her. "How is my little sister today?"
/That's odd.../ Gaz thought. /He looks sad today. Oh well. I'll cheer him up!/ "Everything's great. I got to take a nap in the sun today, and after that I let Darla have a turn on the sofa! I visited Birdy too, and the room got a little dizzy after that, but it was fun. And then I was going to go visit Eric, but Steve called me over and said he had a surprise. And guess what?! The surprise is you!"
Dib broke out into a laugh at that, but it was a soft chuckle, and he didn't even seem to make the effort in the laugh. It had been such a long time since he'd laughed, that his own voice sounded foreign to him. Gaz didn't notice this, however, she only grinned, eyes shining, and gazed wonderingly at her brother. "Today isn't your normal day to come, though."
"Oh, I know," Dib piped up, leaning toward the glass. "But I wanted to see how you were doing."
"Oh!" Gaz grinned. "Well, you came just in time to meet Arlington! But.... you'd have to come back here," he expression saddened. Dib never went beyond the glass separation. Ever.
"Arlington...?" Dib repeated, but shook his head. It was better not to ask, but he was unsure of what to bring to the conversation, now. He didn't need to worry about that, however, because Gaz began to bubble up in chatter, none of her sentences strung coherently. She did that every once in awhile, a result from the accident, and it was natural for anyone listening to simply tune her out. Dib did so, blankly staring off to space with only past memories to accompany him.
"And then this necklace this one Zimmy boy gave me-" she went on, and Dib's ears perked up, catching the sentence instantly.
"/What/ did you just say?" he cut in to her rambling, a voice so cold that it stopped her immediately.
"I... I... I don't know," Gaz whispered, recognizing the need for fear.
/She looks as if she's about to cry/ Dib thought, sighing. He tried to lighten his tone a bit as he continued. "You said a name. That name that I told you to forget." Dib took this moment to glare up at Johnson, who looked stricken with horror. /Good/ Dib thought. /He realizes just how deep in trouble he is./
"I... I don't remember," Gaz said softly, twitching and nervously grabbing the chain with her hands. "I... I was talking about the chain, and then who gave it to me, and then I started talking about soc-"
"/Who/ gave you the necklace, Gaz?" Dib's voice immediately slipping back into the cold voice as it had before.
"You... you did," her lip was quivering, now. Why was her brother acting so angrily? Did she say something wrong? She must have. "I'm sorry, Dib I didn't mean to-"
"That wasn't the name you said, Gaz. You didn't say Dib. You said another name," Dib continued, cutting into her last remark. "What name was that, Gaz?"
Gaz hand's shook, and immediately she dropped the necklace. She tried to think back at what she was saying, but she had been talking so fast, she couldn't. Her head began to hurt as she did so. "Please don't be mad at me. I don't remember. I don't." She burst into tears, and the guards were looking at the two now in silent curiosity.
Solemnly, Dib shook his head. He'd better drop this before it got out of hand. "It's all right, Gaz. /You/ didn't do anything wrong."
He glared up at Johnson, momentarily standing to push him out of range from the microphone. "I thought you said the treatment was over, Johnson," Dib sneered, giving Johnson a glare that made him recoil in fear.
"I apologize, sir, I thought... I thought it was! We examined her through and out, doing exactly what you told us to do."
"I told you to purge her of all memories of Zim. All of them! And you can't even follow something as simple as-"
"Sir, we did the best we could," Johnson said, exasperated.
Dib looked back at Gaz, who had lowered her head now, thinking she had done something wrong. "You realize... she cannot remember anything about her encounters with that alien. Ever since his death... she was so hung up on it. And with her cond-" he stopped himself, teeth gritting at the word. "With her /ailment/, it only made things worse. Every train of thought was on him. Every memory she went into excruciating detail of mumbling to herself. I asked you to do a simple job, and you screw it up!"
"Please... please. Sir, I'm sure another scheduled purgation will remove all of the memories. She doesn't seem to remember fully, it may possibly be an unconscious thing-"
"Unconscious or not, I don't want to hear it," Dib whispered harshly. He turned back and sat down, rubbing his temples. One day... he couldn't take this pressure. The strain from memorizing that night was almost too much for him. In a way... he envied Gaz. She didn't have to be tormented from living day to day with those images. With the feeling of defeat, even when it was /he/ who had won in the first place.
His victory over Zim was shallow... it was worthless at the cost that it came with. And he had awakened the next day, realizing it was still just another day. Years of toiling, of working to destroy him...
...and when he succeeded, he was just as empty as before.
A soft cry from Gaz brought Dib back to reality. He put his hands over the microphone, and looked up at Johnson. "Schedule another one for next Wednesday."
"Yes, sir."
Dib leaned to the microphone, speaking gently now, a benevolent smile crossing his face. "Gaz... Gazzy, I'm so sorry. You know I still care about you, kid."
Gaz looked up, a hopeful look in her eyes. "You mean... you're not mad at me?"
"No... no, of course not. I'm sorry I scared you."
She smiled, wiping her face and then leaning toward the glass, pressing her hand against it. "I love you, Dib."
Dib pressed his own hand against the glass. "I love you too, Gaz. Now go... go see Arlington. I'm sure he's anxious to meet you."
She smiled, relieved, and stood up. "You're leaving again?"
"Yeah," Dib nodded. "But I'll be back again later on this week, okay? Me and dad have some work to do."
Gaz nervously picked at her nails, and her eyes drew up to Dib. "Why doesn't daddy visit me? Doesn't he love me?"
Dib's inside churned at this. She had struck at a weak spot in him without even realizing it... Their father couldn't handle the accident as much as he could handle their mother's. He almost lost his mind, himself, but now he just seemed... lost. And piled on more work to get his mind off of it. Dib no longer was the shining star in his father's life anymore, but at least they still spent time together. Doing practices in the science field, of course, but still... Still, their conversations were never the same. They were empty things, words used to fill in the silence. He didn't even think his father had forgiven him for what he had done.
Dib drew his attention back to her, trying to pass off his sudden pained look for a smiling one. "Dad doesn't have that much time... he's very busy. You know, since he is a great scientist and all."
"Just like you," Gaz beamed. She brushed her hair out of her face and smiled. "Bye-bye, Dib."
"Goodbye." Dib picked up his trench coat and put it on, walking calmly out, and Johnson quickly following.
Gaz looked back after him as he left, tugging at the chain with her hand and then going back into the door, that led her into her own world. The world that she accepted, that she had believed she had always been in.
She sat on the couch, for Darla and Mr. Oakston had left, her fingers sliding up and down the empty chain, devoid of any charms of any kind. But it had always been that way to her. She didn't feel like seeing Arlington. Not today. Desperately, she tried to think of the name that had upset her brother so. Tried to grasp at it... but gave up, sighing softly, letting her head rest from the thought process.
She stood up and decided that now it would be a good time to go talk to Eric.
End.