Unfinished Business
Dib looked up at his co-worker Rin after explaining what had happened. The other man was older than Dib but had more experience with Specters and violent ghosts than he did.
"Sounds like a vengeance deal to me."
"But what about the thing in bed?" Dib asked. "Zim never had it for me like that."
"That you know of." Rin said sitting back in his chair. "How long has he been dead? Five years you said?"
Dib nodded.
"Mind describing the circumstances of his death?"
Dib paused. "I, don't know if I can."
"You don't know?"
The younger man met Rins' eyes. "It's, incriminating information."
The half-smile that seemed a permanent part of Rins' face fell. "What?"
Dib lowered his eyes. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to repeat it. I did what I did for Earth, no other reason. You may not believe me but he was going to destroy us."
"Alright man, go ahead."
Dib swallowed hard. "He caught me one day. Banged me around pretty good too."
~ ~ ~
"Zim? What are you doing?" Dib demanded as metallic arms held him in place on the floor. His nemesis approached with a sinister grin on his face. He looked very satisfied.
"Don't worry Dib." The alien said. "I've told you once before. A Prisoner of War." He paused as if to savor the moment. "And now, for the experimentation."
~ ~ ~
"Most of it was horrible. I still have scars." Dib sat forward and leaned on the table between him and Rin. "Then, I managed to get free."
~ ~ ~
Dib scurried down the dark tubes and corridors. A cylindrical metal device in his hands. He eventually lost his footing and fell maybe five feet into a room.
He saw Zim facing him from across the room, he looked disapproving.
"You! How did you get loose?" He approached, Dib fired.
The shot went wild. They both ducked from the ricoche, Dib fired several more times.
Thousands of pounds of tubes and wiring creaked above them. Zim lifted deep red eyes up in time to see it all shift downward getting caught on itself.
"Run." Dib said backing away from the collapsing construct.
"Stupid Human, I have to repair that now." He glared at Dib.
"Zim it's going to!" But he never got to finish. The deafening roar or metal being twisted out of shape as it hit the unyielding ground filled his ears.
Zims' hand reached out from under the pile. It twitched for a few seconds then went limp.
~ ~ ~
Dib ran a hand through his hair painfully aware of how pale Rin was. "After that I went out and got drunk for lack of anything more sane to do. Next thing I knew I woke up next to Alora. And well, you know how that went." He cast his eyes anywhere but at the other man. "Later I went back and had his body buried. I adopted his little robot into my care and had the place boarded up. Haven't been back since."
"Christ." Rin finally said.
"No shit."
"Look, I'll do what I can. Just wish I had the stuff they used on his grave. Might help."
Dib reached under the table into a rather worn backpack he had with him. He dropped the smoky-plastic-wrapped bundle on the table. A bright yellow 'Evidence' sticker had been slapped across the front.
"Do I want to know how you got that?" Rin asked.
"No." Dib got up. "I have to go pick up Collie from day-care."
"Sure, sure, I'll look this stuff over." He didn't meet Dibs' eyes.
"Thank Rin."
The older man shrugged. "It's nothing, seen worse." He tried to smirk reassuringly. "Promise."
Dib left the almost condemnable house hold not feeling the slightest bit better.
* * *
"Collie, Gir, don't go too far from the house." Dib eyed the little girl and SIR unit running across the fenceless yard. He trusted Gir to be in his wits enough to not let Collie get hurt and get her help if she did.
The two waved back, well Collie waved, Gir did little summersaults around her.
He sighed and slipped back into the small house. He slumped down on the couch in the front room wondering if Zim planned on showing up again tonight. He also wondered where the Irkens' sudden physical fascination in Dib had come from. Had it always existed?
He shook his head.
No, if Zim had wanted Dib like that he had lots of chances when Dib had no way to fight back. He'd only caused the Human a lot of pain and misery.
He leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. He didn't sleep at all after Zim had shown up. Then he had run around all day getting the stuff from the evidence locker at the police station. He felt worn out.
Just before his mind slipped into a dream he registered cold weight in his lap and on his chest. He shifted feeling uncomfortable and tried to reach for a blanket. It took about five seconds for him to jerk awake.
This time he didn't speak as the creature stared down at him. It was Zim all right. But he was tall for some reason. In life Zim had not grown an inch.
Overly bright red eyes glimmered like broken glass as his ghostly green head tilted. He seemed to be searching for something and stared unblinkingly down at Dib.
He was vaguely transparent in the failing sunlight but felt as solid as anything alive. But he felt like he had just walked out of a meat-locker.
Dib swallowed hard as thin cold arms snaked around his neck. "Zim?" He asked, fear written in his voice.
The alien didn't seem to recognize his own name. For a brief heart-stabbing moment Dib thought maybe it wasn't Zim after all. Then the being nodded slightly.
"Hello Dib." The metal was hidden under his voice again. Like some sort of buffer between Dib and a silent rage.
Dib swallowed again. "What are you doing?"
Zim tilted his head the other way. "It's so cold now Dib." He said, the metal sounded louder. A freezing hand slid down Dibs' face. Red eyes twitched. "You did this." The sounds of twisting metal erupted from everywhere at once.
Dib tried to fight back but Zims' mouth clamped over his own. Cold spread through him, he was unaware that Zim had sunk into his body. He fell to the floor convulsing and cursing in a mixture of English and Irken.
Dib struggled against a force that pushed his mind away from the control of his body. This couldn't happen, this was too unreal this was...
He couldn't understand anything anymore. There was a loud banging somewhere, far away. So cold.
Rin burst into the house covered in a variety of charms. "Holy shit!" He stopped dead in his tracks seeing Dib, his body twisting on the floor. Eyes as black as night and pain on everything else.
Dib opened his mouth showing razor sharp teeth and a snake-like tongue. He tried to attack Rin but stumbled on stiff legs that seemed to jerk uncontrollably.
He started saying things, starting with the bible and ending with a Celtic chant. Nothing worked. He threw down some of the charms he'd had to carry and grabbed a framed Childs drawing off the wall. "Dib!" He shoved the picture in the possessed Humans face. "Look! Collie! Think of Collie!"
What had once been Dib struggled upright and grabbed the framed picture. The screams and howls died down as he traced a finger over the main image of the drawing. Then his eyes flashed red and the glass of the picture shattered on the floor.
Dib dropped to the ground but Zim stayed upright showing himself as a gaunt arachnid-like figure. He disappeared in a rush of raged screaming through the wall just as the orange light of the sunset filtered in through the window.
Dib groaned on the floor clutching his stomach.
Rin knelt down beside him. "I knew if none of this religious crap worked I could use Collie to bring you back." He said excitedly helping Dib sit up.
"What?" Dib asked. He tried to shake away the stars in his sight.
"Collies' picture." Rin picked the paper out of the glass and ruined frame.
Dib looked at the picture a moment. It was a bright red Irken symbol surrounded with laughing suns and flowers. "That's not Collies'." He said looking towards the back door where the sound of little sneaker clad feet could be heard being chased little metal ones. "It's Girs'."
Dib looked up at his co-worker Rin after explaining what had happened. The other man was older than Dib but had more experience with Specters and violent ghosts than he did.
"Sounds like a vengeance deal to me."
"But what about the thing in bed?" Dib asked. "Zim never had it for me like that."
"That you know of." Rin said sitting back in his chair. "How long has he been dead? Five years you said?"
Dib nodded.
"Mind describing the circumstances of his death?"
Dib paused. "I, don't know if I can."
"You don't know?"
The younger man met Rins' eyes. "It's, incriminating information."
The half-smile that seemed a permanent part of Rins' face fell. "What?"
Dib lowered his eyes. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to repeat it. I did what I did for Earth, no other reason. You may not believe me but he was going to destroy us."
"Alright man, go ahead."
Dib swallowed hard. "He caught me one day. Banged me around pretty good too."
~ ~ ~
"Zim? What are you doing?" Dib demanded as metallic arms held him in place on the floor. His nemesis approached with a sinister grin on his face. He looked very satisfied.
"Don't worry Dib." The alien said. "I've told you once before. A Prisoner of War." He paused as if to savor the moment. "And now, for the experimentation."
~ ~ ~
"Most of it was horrible. I still have scars." Dib sat forward and leaned on the table between him and Rin. "Then, I managed to get free."
~ ~ ~
Dib scurried down the dark tubes and corridors. A cylindrical metal device in his hands. He eventually lost his footing and fell maybe five feet into a room.
He saw Zim facing him from across the room, he looked disapproving.
"You! How did you get loose?" He approached, Dib fired.
The shot went wild. They both ducked from the ricoche, Dib fired several more times.
Thousands of pounds of tubes and wiring creaked above them. Zim lifted deep red eyes up in time to see it all shift downward getting caught on itself.
"Run." Dib said backing away from the collapsing construct.
"Stupid Human, I have to repair that now." He glared at Dib.
"Zim it's going to!" But he never got to finish. The deafening roar or metal being twisted out of shape as it hit the unyielding ground filled his ears.
Zims' hand reached out from under the pile. It twitched for a few seconds then went limp.
~ ~ ~
Dib ran a hand through his hair painfully aware of how pale Rin was. "After that I went out and got drunk for lack of anything more sane to do. Next thing I knew I woke up next to Alora. And well, you know how that went." He cast his eyes anywhere but at the other man. "Later I went back and had his body buried. I adopted his little robot into my care and had the place boarded up. Haven't been back since."
"Christ." Rin finally said.
"No shit."
"Look, I'll do what I can. Just wish I had the stuff they used on his grave. Might help."
Dib reached under the table into a rather worn backpack he had with him. He dropped the smoky-plastic-wrapped bundle on the table. A bright yellow 'Evidence' sticker had been slapped across the front.
"Do I want to know how you got that?" Rin asked.
"No." Dib got up. "I have to go pick up Collie from day-care."
"Sure, sure, I'll look this stuff over." He didn't meet Dibs' eyes.
"Thank Rin."
The older man shrugged. "It's nothing, seen worse." He tried to smirk reassuringly. "Promise."
Dib left the almost condemnable house hold not feeling the slightest bit better.
* * *
"Collie, Gir, don't go too far from the house." Dib eyed the little girl and SIR unit running across the fenceless yard. He trusted Gir to be in his wits enough to not let Collie get hurt and get her help if she did.
The two waved back, well Collie waved, Gir did little summersaults around her.
He sighed and slipped back into the small house. He slumped down on the couch in the front room wondering if Zim planned on showing up again tonight. He also wondered where the Irkens' sudden physical fascination in Dib had come from. Had it always existed?
He shook his head.
No, if Zim had wanted Dib like that he had lots of chances when Dib had no way to fight back. He'd only caused the Human a lot of pain and misery.
He leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. He didn't sleep at all after Zim had shown up. Then he had run around all day getting the stuff from the evidence locker at the police station. He felt worn out.
Just before his mind slipped into a dream he registered cold weight in his lap and on his chest. He shifted feeling uncomfortable and tried to reach for a blanket. It took about five seconds for him to jerk awake.
This time he didn't speak as the creature stared down at him. It was Zim all right. But he was tall for some reason. In life Zim had not grown an inch.
Overly bright red eyes glimmered like broken glass as his ghostly green head tilted. He seemed to be searching for something and stared unblinkingly down at Dib.
He was vaguely transparent in the failing sunlight but felt as solid as anything alive. But he felt like he had just walked out of a meat-locker.
Dib swallowed hard as thin cold arms snaked around his neck. "Zim?" He asked, fear written in his voice.
The alien didn't seem to recognize his own name. For a brief heart-stabbing moment Dib thought maybe it wasn't Zim after all. Then the being nodded slightly.
"Hello Dib." The metal was hidden under his voice again. Like some sort of buffer between Dib and a silent rage.
Dib swallowed again. "What are you doing?"
Zim tilted his head the other way. "It's so cold now Dib." He said, the metal sounded louder. A freezing hand slid down Dibs' face. Red eyes twitched. "You did this." The sounds of twisting metal erupted from everywhere at once.
Dib tried to fight back but Zims' mouth clamped over his own. Cold spread through him, he was unaware that Zim had sunk into his body. He fell to the floor convulsing and cursing in a mixture of English and Irken.
Dib struggled against a force that pushed his mind away from the control of his body. This couldn't happen, this was too unreal this was...
He couldn't understand anything anymore. There was a loud banging somewhere, far away. So cold.
Rin burst into the house covered in a variety of charms. "Holy shit!" He stopped dead in his tracks seeing Dib, his body twisting on the floor. Eyes as black as night and pain on everything else.
Dib opened his mouth showing razor sharp teeth and a snake-like tongue. He tried to attack Rin but stumbled on stiff legs that seemed to jerk uncontrollably.
He started saying things, starting with the bible and ending with a Celtic chant. Nothing worked. He threw down some of the charms he'd had to carry and grabbed a framed Childs drawing off the wall. "Dib!" He shoved the picture in the possessed Humans face. "Look! Collie! Think of Collie!"
What had once been Dib struggled upright and grabbed the framed picture. The screams and howls died down as he traced a finger over the main image of the drawing. Then his eyes flashed red and the glass of the picture shattered on the floor.
Dib dropped to the ground but Zim stayed upright showing himself as a gaunt arachnid-like figure. He disappeared in a rush of raged screaming through the wall just as the orange light of the sunset filtered in through the window.
Dib groaned on the floor clutching his stomach.
Rin knelt down beside him. "I knew if none of this religious crap worked I could use Collie to bring you back." He said excitedly helping Dib sit up.
"What?" Dib asked. He tried to shake away the stars in his sight.
"Collies' picture." Rin picked the paper out of the glass and ruined frame.
Dib looked at the picture a moment. It was a bright red Irken symbol surrounded with laughing suns and flowers. "That's not Collies'." He said looking towards the back door where the sound of little sneaker clad feet could be heard being chased little metal ones. "It's Girs'."