A/N: Hi! Chapter three is here! Torturin' and talkin': two attributes of a future fic. Myep, that's basically what this chapter is. I'm not really proud of this part, but read it anyway, it's important. If you hate this chapter, DON'T LEAVE MEEEEEEE! The next chapter will be much better (I hope...)!
A humongous, hearty, deep-bellied, weird-accented (think fat drunk pirate) 'THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' to Amethyst Soul, my beta reader, for editing this piece o' poopy.
Also thanks go to illusions2525 for letting me use Corra's name n' appearances.
My estimation is that there will be one or two more chapters after this, depending on how the story works itself out. Don't worry, I'll tell you when it's the last chapter, and you'd probably be smart enough to figure it out anyway.
Oooh yeeeah, DeadLegato, in your review you hit all the points that would be covered in a prequel to this fic (if I decide to make one).
Oh yeah, someone told me that I should give partial credit to 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (the novel.). It had NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER on this fanfic, but people might *think* it does... so... yeah. So here's the partial credit to 'To Kill a Mockingbird' even though it's nothing like it and I don't want flamers or bashers, but they're basically the same thing and I think I will put a period now 'cause this is turning into a run-on sentence and we don't want this 'cause it's baaaaad ^^.
I like ellipsies... (see?!)
Read and review!!!!!!
---
Dib groggily opened his eyes, then immediately closed them again, regretting his body's decision to come back into conciousness. His head hurt badly, and the brightly lit room wasn't helping either. He was strapped to a silver metal table, thick cuffs at his wrists, ankles, and neck. Seeing these restraints, he panicked. "What the?! What happened?! Where am I?!"
"Such typical questions. You were always one for questions, huh, Dib?" a voice came from Dib's right. He turned to find Zim standing beside him, smiling evilly.
"OH, SHIT!" Dib yelled in surprise.
Zim shook his head from side to side in disapproval. "Tut tut tut, watch your language! Especially that word, seeing as that's what your filthy planet seems to be made of."
Dib gulped and stared at his rival. "You've... gotten taller?"
Zim's features twisted into a demented and pleased grin. "Yes, I must admit, I have grown quite a bit since our last encounter, that would be, oh... about three... three and half... four years ago, sometime in that range? You're nineteen now, right? Yes, that seems correct." He leaned closer to Dib. "You see, I've had a little... help along the way. I've been taking some things that are similar to your human 'steroids'. It's a relatively new medicine, known only to myself and a few select others: a purple-ish black-ish liquid and two pills. Together, they are called 'Rellat'.
The pills are easy to conquer, they just take one gulp. Oh, but the drink is a whole different story. It goes down, eventually. But before it does, it succeeds in burning a hole in the passages of my body. Imagine sticking a match in your lungs to let it burn and swallowing chunks of sharp broken glass at the same time. Every. Single. Day.
Luckily, Irkens heal extremely quickly, so I only have to go about a minute without air."
"But why would you do a thing like that?!" Dib asked, amazed as to the insanity of such an act.
Zim blinked at him as if he were stupid. "Why, it makes me taller!" he said, making an extravagant gesture with his hand. "To command a certain respect in Irken society you must be tall." He put a hand to his mouth in fake surprise. "Uh-oh, I've just told you a valuable secret of my government, haven't I? Ah, never mind, It doesn't matter... you wont live to tell it to your filthy kinsmen, or what's left of them anyway. I'm almost as tall as the Almighty Tallests now; it wont be long until they will be but a pebble in my shoe, as the Earth saying goes."
Dib's mouth dropped open in shock. Zim chuckled. "I must admit that you've grown too. You're quite tall, for an Earthing. If you were Irken, I might even find you attractive," he paused. "But there are a few things, besides our species, that stand in the way, aren't there? There's the rivalry, for one, our excruciating history together, and the fact that you used me as a guinea pig of sorts... wow, that's a lot of reasons! Big ones too."
"Stop being sarcastic." said Dib, recovering from his initial shock.
"WHY?!" Zim yelled. Dib recoiled in fear. "WHY SHOULD I?! After all that torturing: being poked and prodded, my every organ's movement recorded, my brain waves examined, hundreds of wires and devices for experimentation stuck mercilessly into my body, staring staring staring eyes, countless scientists in white lab coats, autopsy tables, the cutting of my flesh, endless hours of electric shocks over and over and over again, scars everywhere... UNIMAGINABLE PAIN! Why should I listen to you? It was YOUR FAULT!" he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"...,"
"No response? No quick-tounged, sharp-witted answer? Smart. You are in no position to be giving orders to me. You're the one on the recieving end of the torture device this time, Dib," Zim massaged his chin thoughtfully. "I guess I really should thank you. After all, your stupid actions led to my current position of authority. Basically, I can control all Irkens now... and most of the universe at that. So I don't think a stinkbeast like you really deserves my thanks."
Dib gaped at Zim, his horror stricken face paler than usual. Beads of sweat had begun to form on his brow. Zim, seeing Dib's expression, laughed maniacally. "Oh, dear dear Dib. Are you frightened? Are you scared now that you're going to have to take the pain this time? You're not used to getting the shocks, huh? You were used to giving them! All lifeforms deserve to feel whatever they dish out."
Zim pulled a small black remote with a single red button from a drawer. He paused, then pressed it.
BZT! A small wave of electricity was sent through Dib's body causing him to yelp in pain.
Zim put on a exaggerated look of sadness. "Oh, poor baby, did that hurt? Too bad it was only the first!"
"Stop, Master!" a voice rang out from the dark of the doorway. A petite figure stood in the half-shadow. Zim's finger stopped a centimeter above the remote. His eyes widened in shock. "Gir...?"
"Stop, Master!" Gir repeated. "You're hurting him, Master! STOP!"
Zim's grin spread wide across his face. "That's my exact point, old friend." He pushed the button down harder.
BZZZT!
Dib yelped once more.
"Stop!"
BZZZZT!
Dib gave a high-pitched scream.
"STOP!"
BZZZZZT!
His eyes rolled up into his head, leaving only the vein-decorated whites to be seen.
"NO, STOP!"
BZZZZZZT!
There was no response from the still body.
"Please stop, Master..." Gir sniffled. "Please..."
---
"Please stop! Stop, Dib!" A young female scientist stared at her colleague in shock. "You'll kill him if you continue...,"
A fifteen year old Dib smiled and pushed the red-colored button again, sending another shock through Zim's body, causing him to pull against his constrainments in agony. (Author's note to stupid people: this is a flashback).
"I'm only testing his ability to endure pain, Corra." Dib said in an innocent voice.
Corra's green eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you. Don't take this revenge thing too far, killing the specimen is not a wise choice. It's not like we have a whole roomful of Irkens to experiment on."
"Yeah, yeah." said Dib rudely. Corra sighed and turned her sight towards to monitors that tracked the various organs of the alien's body. She pointed to one of the screens. "Here, this one, its beating is irregular."
Dib turned to look at where her finger was pointing. The green line went up and down in mountainous jagged spikes, showing no recognizable pattern.
"It's not normal," said Corra, the worry lines creasing on her forehead. "What if it dies? What'll happen then?"
Dib shrugged. "I don't care. I'm not worried about him dying."
There was a long pause.
"It'd be much easier if we actually knew the names of these organs..." Dib sighed, trying to break the uncomfortable feeling that had formed. "It's impossible just saying 'this one' and 'that one'. I can't remember which screen is which!"
Corra raised an eyebrow. "So what do you suggest we do? Just name them as we feel like it?"
"I could always ask Zim."
"The specimen hasn't shown any intention of cooperating so far, what makes you think it'll tell us its organs' names?" Corra said, shaking her head.
Dib frowned in thought, staring through the one-way glass. Zim glared back, hissing. Seeing this, Corra shuddered. "God, it's freaky. He can't see you, but it's like he knows you're there."
There was a silence in which the two young scientists watched the prisoner. Dib's glasses reflected the light and Corra's shoulder-length, auburn hair fell across her shoulder as they simultaneously moved closer to the glass.
Zim bit savagely at his restraints and yelled muffled curses. He struggled against the metal cuffs which held him to the table, his body flailing back and forth, resembling a fish out of water.
"It's amazing it still tries to get out..." Corra speculated.
There was another awkward silence.
"Go home, it's late." Dib said suddenly, keeping his eyes on the alien's desperate attempts to escape.
"But you can't shut down the entire station by yourself, Dib! It'd take forever!" she protested, crossing her arms.
He smiled, putting one hand to her soft cheek and stroking gently. "I'll be fine. There's just some unfinished business I need to take care of. Go, Corra. Get some sleep."
She relaxed and put her hands down to her sides again. The young lady picked her purse up, walked down the hallway and opened the glass door, sending one last look of gratitude to Dib before leaving the building.
Dib turned to face the containment chamber again, squinted into the brightly lit room, and then turned a small knob. Zim blinked a few times as the lights dimmed, his eyes adjusting to the sudden change. A knob rattled. Zim jerked his head towards the sound, straining to see the door. Dib emerged.
"What do you want, filthy human?!" Zim spat in anger. Dib showed no reaction. He merely strolled casually over to his prisoner's side, hands stuffed into his trenchcoat pockets, whistling the tune to 'X-Files'.
"What do you want?!" Zim repeated. Dib merely gave him a small smirk.
Enfuriated, Zim spoke again. " 'Go, Corra. Get some sleep.' " he imitated in a high pitched voice. "You have feelings for this girl, no?"
Dib's eye twitched. "How did you hear?"
"You and your inferior equipment," Zim taunted. "You left that stupid 'intercom' thing on and I could hear every word."
"Aren't you scared of me?" said Dib quietly, moving closer to Zim's side.
"Why should I be?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because... I have complete control over you?"
"No you don't."
"Ha!" Dib laughed derisively. "And I thought you were smart! Look who's on the torture table! Look who's been cut open, countless times! Look who's cuffed now! I've WON!"
Zim stayed silent, his expression defiant.
"You look so small lying there. I must be at least three times your size." Dib said, as if trying to change the subject. Zim bared his teeth. Dib smiled at the reaction and continued. "You look just like a baby, Zim! I remember the day you first came here, to Earth: March thirtieth, 2106. You haven't changed a bit since then. You're. Still. SHORT!"
At these last words, Zim spat in Dib's face. The raven-haired boy grimaced and struggled to keep his temper as he wiped the acidic liquid away with the back of his sleeve. He walked towards the exit, boots clicking against the metal ground, then stopped at the doorway.
"Just like a baby," he repeated, more to himself than to Zim. "You always wanted to know about Earth, right? I might as well humor you a bit," he stopped to think. "Ah, I know: there's a little rhyme human parents sing to their babies... my mom even said it to me...
...but I'll just repeat it to you as the captor to the captured."
Zim closed his eyes. He wasn't going to give up to the stinkbeast. He wouldn't give in to the human mind games. He would win the war against Dib. It wasn't over yet. He would win...
Dib began softly.
"Hush little baby...,"
It wouldn't end in this damn room. Zim wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't die at the hands of the enemy. He would sooner kill himself than to expire in such a humiliating manner. No, it wasn't about serving the Tallests anymore. From this moment on, the fight was for himself.
"Don't say a word,"
He planned to escape. Nothing would stop him. Nothing! He would leave the planet and gain power! Yes, power was the key. The key to everything. Anything could be had with power, if in the right hands. And once he had it, Dib would pay...
"Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird..."
Escape. Gain freedom. Gain power. Gain pride. Gain revenge...
"And if that mockingbird don't sing-" Dib smirked, then proceeded to speak again. "A caged mockingbird never sings. They're trapped. Singing represents their will to live. Capture a mockingbird and you break it's spirit..."
Dib scratched his chin in thought.
"It is, in a sense, dead. With no spirit, how can one try anymore? There is no point in going on. For it to sing would be a miracle. It requires a strong will to sing, once trapped."
Zim grimaced. Dib put his hand on the doorknob. "If it can manage this, only then does it stand a chance of freedom once more," he paused for effect. "You are that bird, Zim. And you'll never be free again. I'll make sure of that."
---
"Master! Stop hurting Dib! Stop!" Gir pleaded.
Zim shut his eyes and shook his head roughly, bringing himself into the present. (Author's note to stupid people: this is not the flashback anymore).
"Shut up! SHUT UP! Leave me alone! You have no idea what he's done to me!" he yelled pointing to Dib, then turning his glare back upon his old SIR unit. "You have no idea what I've been through! NO IDEA! I'm not hurting him nearly as much as he hurt me! You don't know what 'hurt' is, Gir! YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU COULDN'T KNOW!"
Gir froze, shocked and speechless. Tears welled up in his eyes and he ran out of the room.
Zim gave a small noise of dismissal, then turned back to the prisoner, his blood-red eyes examining him. Dib was unconscious, hand hanging limply off the side of the table and mouth slightly open.
Zim put a sharp fingertip to they boy's left cheek. He hestiated, then dug it deep into Dib's flesh and dragged it upwards, his finger scraping the cheekbone as it went. It resulted in a long, deep cut from the chin to the eye. Blood seeped out of the gaping hole and ran down the pale face; the red of the face muscles lay exposed under the bright light of the torture room.
Zim appeared to think for a while, then spoke. "Never mind. I wont put you through any more of what I endured." he said to Dib's unhearing form. "Even you don't deserve that. No one does... no matter what they've done. I guess you're lucky again, eh Dib? You always seem to escape. Maybe you will... even this time..."
Zim walked out of the room and turned off the lights, leaving the door open behind him.
---
Why did Master get so mean? I know what 'hurt' is. It's when it hurts! I've hurt before, but I don't know if it's the kind of hurt Master was talking about. Why was Master hurting Dib Master? That's not very nice. Dib Master was screaming really loud and then he stopped and fell asleep again. Dib Master must be very sleepy 'cause he keeps falling asleep.
I don't think Master is supposed to hurt Dib Master like he did. I don't think it should be that way. I hope he doesn't do it again.
I can help Dib Master! I can get him away from Master so Master can think about what he did! Like giving Master a time-out, hee hee. I don't like time-out, Master made me sit in a corner for time-out a loooooooooooooooooooong time ago when I made cupcakes and put chocolate and chocolate frosting all over the house. Chocolate is yummy!
Master just walked by, but he didn't see me. His eyes looked sad. Master is sad now? Master's mood changes toooooooooo much. Maybe he needs medicine? Master was happy and laughing funny, then he was mad, and now he's sad? Master is weird.
Ooo, now I can go save Dib Master. I hope Master doesn't get mad at me for saving Dib Master.
Oh no, now I have to find Torture room 666 again!
I think it way that way! No, or was it this way? Which way?
Aw, poop!
---
"Dib Master? Wake uuuuuuup!"
Dib groaned. Had it all been one big nightmare? He prayed that it had, then opened his eyes. Gir's face came into focus.
"HI!" he waved happily from atop Dib's chest. Dib instinctively tried to jump up in alarm, unsuccessfully for he was still bound to the torture table. He took a sharp intake of breath in pain.
"Aw, Dib Master is hurt! Bananas can make it better." comforted Gir, now standing up. Dib blinked a few times, then cocked his head to one side. "Gir?"
"Yes?"
"Can you get me off of this table? I mean, can you take these cuffs off or something? It's extremely uncomfortable...,"
Gir giggled. "Of course, Dib Master! That's what I came for. I came to free you and make Master think about what he did like a time out 'cause he did baaaaad hurty things and Master needs to think about it 'cause it's not good to make people hurt like that 'cause it's rude and baaaaaad!" he said very quickly. Dib's mouth dropped open in astonishment at this sudden show of somewhat intelligent behavior.
Gir stuck his tounge out and began to bang on his head. "Ding-dong the witch is dead!"
Dib closed his mouth and rolled his eyes. "Okay. Start with the cuffs."
"Okie dokie!" Gir agreed, then hopped off of Dib's body onto the metal surface. He walked, stiff-kneed, to Dib's right wrist, closed his eyes in concentration, and produced a small laser weapon from his head. Attached to an arm, it came out and touched its end to the cuff, slowly cutting though the thick metal. Dib smiled as the red laser moved to his left hand, his right foot, his left foot, and then, lastly, his neck.
When the final constraint was cut all the way through, Gir began to clap his hands enthusiastically. "Yay! It's done!"
Dib sat up, rubbed his sore joints, and rolled his head from side to side. He was just beginning to put his feet on the floor when he heard the sound of voices coming closer. "Yeah! That High Invader really has it coming to him!"
Dib stiffened in alarm. "Gir!" he hissed. "Hide!"
Gir's cyan-colored sections turned bright red as he saluted. "Yes, my Master!" He then proceeded to crawl under the torture table.
Dib lay back down, closing his eyes and remaining perfectly still.
The voices continued. "With the way the rebellion is spreading, he'll be gone before you know it!" an Irken with rose-colored eyes said in an amused tone.
"I heard that they're leaving him on Earth and Seb is taking over for this fleet 'til we can get back to Militaria." said another Irken, this one with deep pink eyes.
"What?! Seb?!"
"I know, that was my reaction. If Seb is in charge-"
"YLOH TIHS!" yelled one of the passerbys.
"What?!" said the other, giving a small jump of fright. "What is it?!"
"There," he pointed to Dib. "Look at that alien! Did the High Invader do that to him?"
The other smiled grimly. "Yep, probably, it looks like something he'd do. That's what'll happen to us if we don't get him out of the Tallests' way soon."
The Irken gulped. "Let's leave. I don't want to be around when the High Invader gets back."
"Right with ya pal."
Both scurried off, footsteps resounding through the hallway. Dib sat up, confused. Did he look that bad? He touched his hand to his left cheek and brought it away to find a crimson liquid: blood.
Dib's eyes narrowed in anger as he glared at his red-stained hand. Zim would pay for what he had done. Dib would hunt him down and capture him again, even if it meant spending his entire life trying.
Gir crawled out from under the table and looked at the large wound on Dib's face. "Does Dib Master want a band-aid?"
"No," he said in a serious tone. "We have to leave now, do you understand? If we don't leave now... something bad will happen."
"Master will do another bad thing to you?"
"To me and to you. Let's go."
"OKIE DOKE!" yelled Gir. "FIELD TRIP!!!!!"
"Shhhh!" reprimanded Dib, putting a finger to his lips. "We need to be quiet! Don't make a sound."
Gir slapped both hands across his mouth and nodded earnestly. They both went out of the room, sneaking silently across the floor. Dib looked around nervously, expecting Zim to come popping out from behind a corner any second. He shuddered at the thought. Gir pulled on Dib's pant leg, causing him to jump convulsively.
"Gir! What are you doing?!" he hissed, putting his hand to his chest in an attempt to calm down his heart. Gir pointed towards a elevator-like contraption located down the right corridor. Dib exhaled and relaxed, patting the robot's head. "Good work. If anything, that'll be the way out."
Gir's face glowed and his chest swelled up with pride as he marched directly behind 'Dib Master' into the elevator. He had been praised!
The room was tall: the walls were ten feet high and every inch of them were covered in buttons of different shades of color. The ground space, however, was that of a normally sized Earthen elevator. Dib stood in amazement, looking at the rainbow of colors before him. Gir imitated Dib's stance. "Ooooo, there're a bazillion of them!"
Dib laughed. "No, I don't think so."
"Aww, I thought there were a bazillion...," Gir said disappointedly. They stared at the gargantuan elevator in awe. Each button was labeled with a single black character in the Irken language. Needless to say, Dib couldn't understand a single one. He looked at Gir. "Do you know what these letters say?"
Gir looked at Dib quizzically. "Huh? You mean these little black thingies? Well, that one is a square with a hole in da middle, and the other one is a triangle with a dent in da side, and this one looks kinda like a moose...,"
The sliding doors to the elevator shut with a loud bang.
Dib glared at the endless array of colorful buttons, then blew a strand of hair off of his face in annoyance. "Damn, we're in real trouble now..."
---
to be continued... (please review)
A humongous, hearty, deep-bellied, weird-accented (think fat drunk pirate) 'THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' to Amethyst Soul, my beta reader, for editing this piece o' poopy.
Also thanks go to illusions2525 for letting me use Corra's name n' appearances.
My estimation is that there will be one or two more chapters after this, depending on how the story works itself out. Don't worry, I'll tell you when it's the last chapter, and you'd probably be smart enough to figure it out anyway.
Oooh yeeeah, DeadLegato, in your review you hit all the points that would be covered in a prequel to this fic (if I decide to make one).
Oh yeah, someone told me that I should give partial credit to 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (the novel.). It had NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER on this fanfic, but people might *think* it does... so... yeah. So here's the partial credit to 'To Kill a Mockingbird' even though it's nothing like it and I don't want flamers or bashers, but they're basically the same thing and I think I will put a period now 'cause this is turning into a run-on sentence and we don't want this 'cause it's baaaaad ^^.
I like ellipsies... (see?!)
Read and review!!!!!!
---
Dib groggily opened his eyes, then immediately closed them again, regretting his body's decision to come back into conciousness. His head hurt badly, and the brightly lit room wasn't helping either. He was strapped to a silver metal table, thick cuffs at his wrists, ankles, and neck. Seeing these restraints, he panicked. "What the?! What happened?! Where am I?!"
"Such typical questions. You were always one for questions, huh, Dib?" a voice came from Dib's right. He turned to find Zim standing beside him, smiling evilly.
"OH, SHIT!" Dib yelled in surprise.
Zim shook his head from side to side in disapproval. "Tut tut tut, watch your language! Especially that word, seeing as that's what your filthy planet seems to be made of."
Dib gulped and stared at his rival. "You've... gotten taller?"
Zim's features twisted into a demented and pleased grin. "Yes, I must admit, I have grown quite a bit since our last encounter, that would be, oh... about three... three and half... four years ago, sometime in that range? You're nineteen now, right? Yes, that seems correct." He leaned closer to Dib. "You see, I've had a little... help along the way. I've been taking some things that are similar to your human 'steroids'. It's a relatively new medicine, known only to myself and a few select others: a purple-ish black-ish liquid and two pills. Together, they are called 'Rellat'.
The pills are easy to conquer, they just take one gulp. Oh, but the drink is a whole different story. It goes down, eventually. But before it does, it succeeds in burning a hole in the passages of my body. Imagine sticking a match in your lungs to let it burn and swallowing chunks of sharp broken glass at the same time. Every. Single. Day.
Luckily, Irkens heal extremely quickly, so I only have to go about a minute without air."
"But why would you do a thing like that?!" Dib asked, amazed as to the insanity of such an act.
Zim blinked at him as if he were stupid. "Why, it makes me taller!" he said, making an extravagant gesture with his hand. "To command a certain respect in Irken society you must be tall." He put a hand to his mouth in fake surprise. "Uh-oh, I've just told you a valuable secret of my government, haven't I? Ah, never mind, It doesn't matter... you wont live to tell it to your filthy kinsmen, or what's left of them anyway. I'm almost as tall as the Almighty Tallests now; it wont be long until they will be but a pebble in my shoe, as the Earth saying goes."
Dib's mouth dropped open in shock. Zim chuckled. "I must admit that you've grown too. You're quite tall, for an Earthing. If you were Irken, I might even find you attractive," he paused. "But there are a few things, besides our species, that stand in the way, aren't there? There's the rivalry, for one, our excruciating history together, and the fact that you used me as a guinea pig of sorts... wow, that's a lot of reasons! Big ones too."
"Stop being sarcastic." said Dib, recovering from his initial shock.
"WHY?!" Zim yelled. Dib recoiled in fear. "WHY SHOULD I?! After all that torturing: being poked and prodded, my every organ's movement recorded, my brain waves examined, hundreds of wires and devices for experimentation stuck mercilessly into my body, staring staring staring eyes, countless scientists in white lab coats, autopsy tables, the cutting of my flesh, endless hours of electric shocks over and over and over again, scars everywhere... UNIMAGINABLE PAIN! Why should I listen to you? It was YOUR FAULT!" he took a deep breath to calm himself.
"...,"
"No response? No quick-tounged, sharp-witted answer? Smart. You are in no position to be giving orders to me. You're the one on the recieving end of the torture device this time, Dib," Zim massaged his chin thoughtfully. "I guess I really should thank you. After all, your stupid actions led to my current position of authority. Basically, I can control all Irkens now... and most of the universe at that. So I don't think a stinkbeast like you really deserves my thanks."
Dib gaped at Zim, his horror stricken face paler than usual. Beads of sweat had begun to form on his brow. Zim, seeing Dib's expression, laughed maniacally. "Oh, dear dear Dib. Are you frightened? Are you scared now that you're going to have to take the pain this time? You're not used to getting the shocks, huh? You were used to giving them! All lifeforms deserve to feel whatever they dish out."
Zim pulled a small black remote with a single red button from a drawer. He paused, then pressed it.
BZT! A small wave of electricity was sent through Dib's body causing him to yelp in pain.
Zim put on a exaggerated look of sadness. "Oh, poor baby, did that hurt? Too bad it was only the first!"
"Stop, Master!" a voice rang out from the dark of the doorway. A petite figure stood in the half-shadow. Zim's finger stopped a centimeter above the remote. His eyes widened in shock. "Gir...?"
"Stop, Master!" Gir repeated. "You're hurting him, Master! STOP!"
Zim's grin spread wide across his face. "That's my exact point, old friend." He pushed the button down harder.
BZZZT!
Dib yelped once more.
"Stop!"
BZZZZT!
Dib gave a high-pitched scream.
"STOP!"
BZZZZZT!
His eyes rolled up into his head, leaving only the vein-decorated whites to be seen.
"NO, STOP!"
BZZZZZZT!
There was no response from the still body.
"Please stop, Master..." Gir sniffled. "Please..."
---
"Please stop! Stop, Dib!" A young female scientist stared at her colleague in shock. "You'll kill him if you continue...,"
A fifteen year old Dib smiled and pushed the red-colored button again, sending another shock through Zim's body, causing him to pull against his constrainments in agony. (Author's note to stupid people: this is a flashback).
"I'm only testing his ability to endure pain, Corra." Dib said in an innocent voice.
Corra's green eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you. Don't take this revenge thing too far, killing the specimen is not a wise choice. It's not like we have a whole roomful of Irkens to experiment on."
"Yeah, yeah." said Dib rudely. Corra sighed and turned her sight towards to monitors that tracked the various organs of the alien's body. She pointed to one of the screens. "Here, this one, its beating is irregular."
Dib turned to look at where her finger was pointing. The green line went up and down in mountainous jagged spikes, showing no recognizable pattern.
"It's not normal," said Corra, the worry lines creasing on her forehead. "What if it dies? What'll happen then?"
Dib shrugged. "I don't care. I'm not worried about him dying."
There was a long pause.
"It'd be much easier if we actually knew the names of these organs..." Dib sighed, trying to break the uncomfortable feeling that had formed. "It's impossible just saying 'this one' and 'that one'. I can't remember which screen is which!"
Corra raised an eyebrow. "So what do you suggest we do? Just name them as we feel like it?"
"I could always ask Zim."
"The specimen hasn't shown any intention of cooperating so far, what makes you think it'll tell us its organs' names?" Corra said, shaking her head.
Dib frowned in thought, staring through the one-way glass. Zim glared back, hissing. Seeing this, Corra shuddered. "God, it's freaky. He can't see you, but it's like he knows you're there."
There was a silence in which the two young scientists watched the prisoner. Dib's glasses reflected the light and Corra's shoulder-length, auburn hair fell across her shoulder as they simultaneously moved closer to the glass.
Zim bit savagely at his restraints and yelled muffled curses. He struggled against the metal cuffs which held him to the table, his body flailing back and forth, resembling a fish out of water.
"It's amazing it still tries to get out..." Corra speculated.
There was another awkward silence.
"Go home, it's late." Dib said suddenly, keeping his eyes on the alien's desperate attempts to escape.
"But you can't shut down the entire station by yourself, Dib! It'd take forever!" she protested, crossing her arms.
He smiled, putting one hand to her soft cheek and stroking gently. "I'll be fine. There's just some unfinished business I need to take care of. Go, Corra. Get some sleep."
She relaxed and put her hands down to her sides again. The young lady picked her purse up, walked down the hallway and opened the glass door, sending one last look of gratitude to Dib before leaving the building.
Dib turned to face the containment chamber again, squinted into the brightly lit room, and then turned a small knob. Zim blinked a few times as the lights dimmed, his eyes adjusting to the sudden change. A knob rattled. Zim jerked his head towards the sound, straining to see the door. Dib emerged.
"What do you want, filthy human?!" Zim spat in anger. Dib showed no reaction. He merely strolled casually over to his prisoner's side, hands stuffed into his trenchcoat pockets, whistling the tune to 'X-Files'.
"What do you want?!" Zim repeated. Dib merely gave him a small smirk.
Enfuriated, Zim spoke again. " 'Go, Corra. Get some sleep.' " he imitated in a high pitched voice. "You have feelings for this girl, no?"
Dib's eye twitched. "How did you hear?"
"You and your inferior equipment," Zim taunted. "You left that stupid 'intercom' thing on and I could hear every word."
"Aren't you scared of me?" said Dib quietly, moving closer to Zim's side.
"Why should I be?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because... I have complete control over you?"
"No you don't."
"Ha!" Dib laughed derisively. "And I thought you were smart! Look who's on the torture table! Look who's been cut open, countless times! Look who's cuffed now! I've WON!"
Zim stayed silent, his expression defiant.
"You look so small lying there. I must be at least three times your size." Dib said, as if trying to change the subject. Zim bared his teeth. Dib smiled at the reaction and continued. "You look just like a baby, Zim! I remember the day you first came here, to Earth: March thirtieth, 2106. You haven't changed a bit since then. You're. Still. SHORT!"
At these last words, Zim spat in Dib's face. The raven-haired boy grimaced and struggled to keep his temper as he wiped the acidic liquid away with the back of his sleeve. He walked towards the exit, boots clicking against the metal ground, then stopped at the doorway.
"Just like a baby," he repeated, more to himself than to Zim. "You always wanted to know about Earth, right? I might as well humor you a bit," he stopped to think. "Ah, I know: there's a little rhyme human parents sing to their babies... my mom even said it to me...
...but I'll just repeat it to you as the captor to the captured."
Zim closed his eyes. He wasn't going to give up to the stinkbeast. He wouldn't give in to the human mind games. He would win the war against Dib. It wasn't over yet. He would win...
Dib began softly.
"Hush little baby...,"
It wouldn't end in this damn room. Zim wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't die at the hands of the enemy. He would sooner kill himself than to expire in such a humiliating manner. No, it wasn't about serving the Tallests anymore. From this moment on, the fight was for himself.
"Don't say a word,"
He planned to escape. Nothing would stop him. Nothing! He would leave the planet and gain power! Yes, power was the key. The key to everything. Anything could be had with power, if in the right hands. And once he had it, Dib would pay...
"Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird..."
Escape. Gain freedom. Gain power. Gain pride. Gain revenge...
"And if that mockingbird don't sing-" Dib smirked, then proceeded to speak again. "A caged mockingbird never sings. They're trapped. Singing represents their will to live. Capture a mockingbird and you break it's spirit..."
Dib scratched his chin in thought.
"It is, in a sense, dead. With no spirit, how can one try anymore? There is no point in going on. For it to sing would be a miracle. It requires a strong will to sing, once trapped."
Zim grimaced. Dib put his hand on the doorknob. "If it can manage this, only then does it stand a chance of freedom once more," he paused for effect. "You are that bird, Zim. And you'll never be free again. I'll make sure of that."
---
"Master! Stop hurting Dib! Stop!" Gir pleaded.
Zim shut his eyes and shook his head roughly, bringing himself into the present. (Author's note to stupid people: this is not the flashback anymore).
"Shut up! SHUT UP! Leave me alone! You have no idea what he's done to me!" he yelled pointing to Dib, then turning his glare back upon his old SIR unit. "You have no idea what I've been through! NO IDEA! I'm not hurting him nearly as much as he hurt me! You don't know what 'hurt' is, Gir! YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU COULDN'T KNOW!"
Gir froze, shocked and speechless. Tears welled up in his eyes and he ran out of the room.
Zim gave a small noise of dismissal, then turned back to the prisoner, his blood-red eyes examining him. Dib was unconscious, hand hanging limply off the side of the table and mouth slightly open.
Zim put a sharp fingertip to they boy's left cheek. He hestiated, then dug it deep into Dib's flesh and dragged it upwards, his finger scraping the cheekbone as it went. It resulted in a long, deep cut from the chin to the eye. Blood seeped out of the gaping hole and ran down the pale face; the red of the face muscles lay exposed under the bright light of the torture room.
Zim appeared to think for a while, then spoke. "Never mind. I wont put you through any more of what I endured." he said to Dib's unhearing form. "Even you don't deserve that. No one does... no matter what they've done. I guess you're lucky again, eh Dib? You always seem to escape. Maybe you will... even this time..."
Zim walked out of the room and turned off the lights, leaving the door open behind him.
---
Why did Master get so mean? I know what 'hurt' is. It's when it hurts! I've hurt before, but I don't know if it's the kind of hurt Master was talking about. Why was Master hurting Dib Master? That's not very nice. Dib Master was screaming really loud and then he stopped and fell asleep again. Dib Master must be very sleepy 'cause he keeps falling asleep.
I don't think Master is supposed to hurt Dib Master like he did. I don't think it should be that way. I hope he doesn't do it again.
I can help Dib Master! I can get him away from Master so Master can think about what he did! Like giving Master a time-out, hee hee. I don't like time-out, Master made me sit in a corner for time-out a loooooooooooooooooooong time ago when I made cupcakes and put chocolate and chocolate frosting all over the house. Chocolate is yummy!
Master just walked by, but he didn't see me. His eyes looked sad. Master is sad now? Master's mood changes toooooooooo much. Maybe he needs medicine? Master was happy and laughing funny, then he was mad, and now he's sad? Master is weird.
Ooo, now I can go save Dib Master. I hope Master doesn't get mad at me for saving Dib Master.
Oh no, now I have to find Torture room 666 again!
I think it way that way! No, or was it this way? Which way?
Aw, poop!
---
"Dib Master? Wake uuuuuuup!"
Dib groaned. Had it all been one big nightmare? He prayed that it had, then opened his eyes. Gir's face came into focus.
"HI!" he waved happily from atop Dib's chest. Dib instinctively tried to jump up in alarm, unsuccessfully for he was still bound to the torture table. He took a sharp intake of breath in pain.
"Aw, Dib Master is hurt! Bananas can make it better." comforted Gir, now standing up. Dib blinked a few times, then cocked his head to one side. "Gir?"
"Yes?"
"Can you get me off of this table? I mean, can you take these cuffs off or something? It's extremely uncomfortable...,"
Gir giggled. "Of course, Dib Master! That's what I came for. I came to free you and make Master think about what he did like a time out 'cause he did baaaaad hurty things and Master needs to think about it 'cause it's not good to make people hurt like that 'cause it's rude and baaaaaad!" he said very quickly. Dib's mouth dropped open in astonishment at this sudden show of somewhat intelligent behavior.
Gir stuck his tounge out and began to bang on his head. "Ding-dong the witch is dead!"
Dib closed his mouth and rolled his eyes. "Okay. Start with the cuffs."
"Okie dokie!" Gir agreed, then hopped off of Dib's body onto the metal surface. He walked, stiff-kneed, to Dib's right wrist, closed his eyes in concentration, and produced a small laser weapon from his head. Attached to an arm, it came out and touched its end to the cuff, slowly cutting though the thick metal. Dib smiled as the red laser moved to his left hand, his right foot, his left foot, and then, lastly, his neck.
When the final constraint was cut all the way through, Gir began to clap his hands enthusiastically. "Yay! It's done!"
Dib sat up, rubbed his sore joints, and rolled his head from side to side. He was just beginning to put his feet on the floor when he heard the sound of voices coming closer. "Yeah! That High Invader really has it coming to him!"
Dib stiffened in alarm. "Gir!" he hissed. "Hide!"
Gir's cyan-colored sections turned bright red as he saluted. "Yes, my Master!" He then proceeded to crawl under the torture table.
Dib lay back down, closing his eyes and remaining perfectly still.
The voices continued. "With the way the rebellion is spreading, he'll be gone before you know it!" an Irken with rose-colored eyes said in an amused tone.
"I heard that they're leaving him on Earth and Seb is taking over for this fleet 'til we can get back to Militaria." said another Irken, this one with deep pink eyes.
"What?! Seb?!"
"I know, that was my reaction. If Seb is in charge-"
"YLOH TIHS!" yelled one of the passerbys.
"What?!" said the other, giving a small jump of fright. "What is it?!"
"There," he pointed to Dib. "Look at that alien! Did the High Invader do that to him?"
The other smiled grimly. "Yep, probably, it looks like something he'd do. That's what'll happen to us if we don't get him out of the Tallests' way soon."
The Irken gulped. "Let's leave. I don't want to be around when the High Invader gets back."
"Right with ya pal."
Both scurried off, footsteps resounding through the hallway. Dib sat up, confused. Did he look that bad? He touched his hand to his left cheek and brought it away to find a crimson liquid: blood.
Dib's eyes narrowed in anger as he glared at his red-stained hand. Zim would pay for what he had done. Dib would hunt him down and capture him again, even if it meant spending his entire life trying.
Gir crawled out from under the table and looked at the large wound on Dib's face. "Does Dib Master want a band-aid?"
"No," he said in a serious tone. "We have to leave now, do you understand? If we don't leave now... something bad will happen."
"Master will do another bad thing to you?"
"To me and to you. Let's go."
"OKIE DOKE!" yelled Gir. "FIELD TRIP!!!!!"
"Shhhh!" reprimanded Dib, putting a finger to his lips. "We need to be quiet! Don't make a sound."
Gir slapped both hands across his mouth and nodded earnestly. They both went out of the room, sneaking silently across the floor. Dib looked around nervously, expecting Zim to come popping out from behind a corner any second. He shuddered at the thought. Gir pulled on Dib's pant leg, causing him to jump convulsively.
"Gir! What are you doing?!" he hissed, putting his hand to his chest in an attempt to calm down his heart. Gir pointed towards a elevator-like contraption located down the right corridor. Dib exhaled and relaxed, patting the robot's head. "Good work. If anything, that'll be the way out."
Gir's face glowed and his chest swelled up with pride as he marched directly behind 'Dib Master' into the elevator. He had been praised!
The room was tall: the walls were ten feet high and every inch of them were covered in buttons of different shades of color. The ground space, however, was that of a normally sized Earthen elevator. Dib stood in amazement, looking at the rainbow of colors before him. Gir imitated Dib's stance. "Ooooo, there're a bazillion of them!"
Dib laughed. "No, I don't think so."
"Aww, I thought there were a bazillion...," Gir said disappointedly. They stared at the gargantuan elevator in awe. Each button was labeled with a single black character in the Irken language. Needless to say, Dib couldn't understand a single one. He looked at Gir. "Do you know what these letters say?"
Gir looked at Dib quizzically. "Huh? You mean these little black thingies? Well, that one is a square with a hole in da middle, and the other one is a triangle with a dent in da side, and this one looks kinda like a moose...,"
The sliding doors to the elevator shut with a loud bang.
Dib glared at the endless array of colorful buttons, then blew a strand of hair off of his face in annoyance. "Damn, we're in real trouble now..."
---
to be continued... (please review)