Shadowed
Chapter 6- Terminal
Dib had called Uko several times the morning after Zim's Break In, completely unaware of what had happened.
He just figured she was sleeping in, so he decided to go over and wake her up.
He had just received the worst thing that has ever happened.
His lab top malfunctioned and he couldn't get the pictures that he had taken inside of Zim's base, on disk.
He was hoping that he could use her computer if she would be so kind, since Gaz refused.
Dib scurried up the sidewalk and almost completely missed what was lying on the sidewalk.
Dib froze and looked up at Uko's window.
It was completely shattered.
He lifted Uko's slottered body over and studied it.
Blood was tearing halfway down her face and a massive incision in the side of her skull.
There were a few pieces of glass wedged in her skin and a large amount of blood pouring from her arm, which was battered and wounded.
Dib's face turned red with rage, "Zim." he whispered.
He checked her pulse.
After everything the poor girl has been through, she was still alive.
He gently lifted her body and carried her down the street to the nearest hospital as fast as his legs would move with the extra weight of Uko.
Her eyes flickered open, "D-Dib?"
He stopped, "Uko? Uko! Hey, can you tell me who did this to you? Uko?"
"I-I" she passed out again.
Dib, again, checked her pulse to make sure she was still okay.
She was.
He picked her up and kept running, though he was being eyed by most everyone he passed, or even saw him.
He shook his head and kept his pace up until the hospital came into sight.
Dib ran through the sliding doors, almost forging them open with his foot.
"HELP! SOMEONE HAS TO HELP ME!" Dib yelled.
A squad of doctors and nurses made their way over and took Uko, in a sense of force, from Dib's grasp.
"Wait!" Dib yelled after them.
"Young man, you need to fill these papers out." a secretary handed him a clipboard.
"But I wanna go with Uko!" he complained.
"I'm sorry, young man, but that would be out of my reach. No one is aloud into the ER for 24 hours unless a doctors consent is given."
"24 hours? Wait, the ER?" Dib questioned.
"That would mean emergency room, young man."
"I know that, but is it this serious?" he asked.
"I would believe so." her voice began to sound bored.
Dib sighed and sat down with the papers and pen, "Let's see, name of the patient...Uko Anirkent, age...12, weight...how should I know? It can't be too much since I carried her all the way here, I guess it'd be about 80 pounds, hair color...blonde, eye color...gray, birthday...uh, I think she said December 15th, favorite color/food/drink/music? Why does the hospital need to know that?"
"For special purposes." the secretary answered, "As in 'her last hours.'"
Dib gulped, "I hope it doesn't come down to that... where was I again, oh yeah...red/cookies/ uh, bubble gum brain freezies/ and dance? How should I know that either? Let's see...any medical difficulties in the past... none, allergies to specific medicines...I don't believe so, okay, name of parent/guardian/specified caretaker... she never said anything about her parents, I don't think she's adopted, and I guess I'd be the caretaker...After all, I did bring her here... so Dib Membrane, age...12, weight...none of your business, and credit card number? What the hell is this, a big scam for your money and private information? Why would they need MY weight? And I'm not giving out MY credit card number!"
"Suit yourself, kid." the secretary snapped.
"Oh, what a comforting hospital." Dib sighed sarcastically.
He waited there for over 18 hours.
The nurses weren't even kind enough to feed him, so he pulled out the spare 10's he had in his boot and went over to the vending machine.
Another 3 hours and Dib still waited.
He wanted to be there for whatever bad OR good news came.
He wanted to assure himself of Uko's safety.
~***~
Gaz was walking home from skool wondering the whereabouts of her missing brother.
Zim saw her walking off alone and went after her, "Hello, Gaz."
"Hi, Zim." she replied.
"So, uh, where's the Dib feen?" he asked.
"I dunno." Gaz answered.
"So you'll be alone tonight?" Zim dared to ask.
"Yeah, so? What are you getting at." she questioned him.
Zim pulled a flyer from his back pack and handed it to her.
It was an ad for a carnival that was a one night only thing.
"Zim, haven't we discussed the you-and-me thing?" she reminded.
"Yes, but I--" Zim began.
"No, Zim. I'm sorry, but I can't go with you tonight, or ever for that matter." she stated.
"Gaz, please? Just one more chance? If you start having a bad time, we'll leave. Please?" he begged.
Gaz rolled her eyes, "Fine. Just ONE MORE chance."
"Very well then." Zim said, "Shall I accompany you to your home?"
Gaz giggled at his way of speech, "Sure."
Gaz held out her arm and laced it through his.
He shook her head.
Gaz started skipping.
"Gaz? What are you doing?" Zim asked.
"C'mon, Zim! Skip with me!"
"Skip?"
"Yeah! You have to know how."
"I don't think I--" Zim started.
"C'MON!" she demanded, "If I have to go out with you, then I'm gonna make it the most embarrassing thing you've ever experienced!"
He shook his head again, "Alright, I shall. But I won't like it."
The two started skipping down the street, all eyes on them.
"Gaz, people are staring at us!" Zim told her.
"So? Let 'em stare!" Gaz said.
"GAZ! Have you gone insane?" he asked her.
"YES! 'Still love me, now?"
"There's nothing you could do to make me quit loving you...but this, this, MADNESS isn't you!"
"Sure it is! I'm only being me happy, feminine self!"
Zim shook his head, once more.
When they arrived at her house, Zim jumped in the door, "I never hope to do ANYTHING like that again!"
Gaz nodded, "Don't worry, Zim, they'll be plenty more skipping involved until you can honestly say you don't love me."
"Okay, I don't love you." Zim said.
"I said HONESTLY, Zim. You didn't mean that."
"I did. Gaz, I do NOT love you anymore." he repeated, looking her dead in the eye.
"Really? I thought you said there was nothing that I could do to make you stop loving me?"
"There isn't anything YOU can do, it was the crowd of mimicking HUMANS that did it. I think I should go. No carnival tonight or EVER for that matter, okay?" Zim went over to the door and pretended to leave.
"Zim, wait." Gaz walked over to him.
Zim grinned hopefully and turned around to face her.
She looked extremely upset.
Zim frowned.
Gaz held up the flyer and smiled, "You forgot your paper."
Zim grabbed the flyer and hugged her.
"I still wanna take you out tonight." Zim told her.
Gaz growled, "Alright, fine. But I suggest we leave now, considering that Dib'll show up and make so many questions to stall us with, we'll miss the whole thing. I'll be right down." Gaz ran up to her room.
When she returned with her jacket at hand and about 6 twenties, they set off for the fair grounds.
Of course, it took about a hour to get there by train and about two hours by bus, since it was all the way in the rural areas, Zim suggested that they go by his ship.
So they did.
When they arrived, Zim bought their tickets, and just about everything else.
He and Gaz sat on a bench, eating cotton candy.
"So, what do you wanna do first?" Zim asked.
She looked around the fair grounds, then pointed to a giant ring, "Let's go on that ride!"
Zim turned around to see the huge loop, "Very well then."
Gaz pulled his arm over to the short line.
Once Zim got a look at how the ride worked, he sort of backed away.
It was nothing but the thrill of being stuck upside-down for seconds just to come hurling back down to Earth again over and over until you puked your guts out.
"Um, Gaz," he choked, "I'm not so sure this is the best ride for us to be going on."
"Of course it isn't!" she agreed.
Zim sighed in relief.
"That's why we're going on it in the first place!" she finally said.
Zim gulped, 'This girl is trying to kill me!' he thought, "Um, Gaz, I have to use the bathroom."
"No way Zim, we're next in line!" Gaz said.
"You don't understand! I really, really, REALLY got to go! NOW!" he panicked.
"NEXT!" the large, muscular operator guy said.
Gaz pulled Zim's arm.
"Whoa! Whoa, little kids, yous is not big enough to ride this. NEXT!" the machine guy told them.
"WHY?!" Gaz exclaimed.
He pointed to the height chart's thick red line, "Yous gotta be THIS tall to ride."
Gaz looked back at Zim and depressively sighed, "C'mon, Zim."
Zim stopped her, "Do you really want to go on this ride, Gaz?"
"Yeah! I've always never been big enough to go on it. I've always wanted to. But we can't, so- "
Zim pulled her back up to the machine operator.
"WOAH! What did I tell you kiddies! Yous can't go on this ride. Why don't you scurry on over to that little dragon over there." He pointed.
"I don't think so! We're sick of dragons! I wanna go on THIS ride!" Gaz yelled.
"You heard her!" Zim defended.
"Hey hey hey! Yous kids is TO little to-"
"SILENCE, putrid ride slave!" he jumped up and grabbed the man by the collar, "Either you let us on this THING, or I shall see to it that you never live another horrid day of your stink life!" Zim threatened, "Now, as you were saying?"
The guard moved from the couple's way and took the very first seat.
Gaz pulled down the giant, padded bar over her and Zim.
"Gaz, is this ride, uh, safe?" Zim nervously asked.
"I would think so, of course, we aren't exactly 'preferred height.'" Gaz smiled at him, "Thanks."
As the ride began to start, Zim grabbed Gaz's hand and squeezed it tight.
Gaz shook her head.
Zim kept his eyes shut tight, squeezing Gaz's hand harder at each point they went upside-down.
He hated the fact that the ride made him feel as though he would fall out.
It scared him out of his mind.
However, Gaz seemed to enjoy it.
Every few seconds he would peek out to make sure she was still at his side, considering he had squeezed her hand so hard he couldn't feel it.
She would just look at him and smile, so Zim would close his eyes again and hope he would make it out alive.
The ride stopped at the top with Zim to look at nothing but the ground below.
He began to get nauseous as the blood rushed to his head.
Looking over to Gaz, who seemed to be slipping out, he let go of the bar he had practically been clinging to and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Zim, you're gonna fall out, you know." Gaz said.
Zim's spider legs flung out and latched to the bar in front of them.
The ride slowly shifted back down to earth and Zim retracted the spider legs, sitting there latched to Gaz, shaking.
They were the last ones off and Zim could barely walk "Nothing, I mean NOTHING on Irk could have prepared me for, THAT!"
"Geez, Zim, if the ride scared you so much, why didn't you tell me? We could have went over to the safe little dragon ride." Gaz told him.
"I think I'm a little to old for such things." He said.
"Yeah." Gaz laughed, "But all and all, that ride could have been scarier. I've been on better play ground equipment that scared the hell out of me."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Zim said.
'But it's working!" Gaz told him.
Zim nodded, "Now what?"
"I dunno. Let's go play some games."
Zim agreed and took Gaz over to a booth.
Gaz handed the big, ugly man a five and started throwing rings at the bottles.
Zim studied the game.
But every time she threw, she missed.
After wasting twenty dollars, Gaz got extremely agitated.
Zim stared at the bottles and then looked at the rings as they flew across the air.
On Gaz's last two rings before she would give up, Zim stopped her, "Wait." He whispered to her, "This game is rigged. You can't win."
"You can win, there's always a trick." Gaz explained.
Zim grabbed the rings from Gaz, then tossed them directly onto the bottles.
"How'd you do that?" she asked.
"Invaders' training, we learned this in the basics." Zim interpreted.
"They taught you how to win carnival games?" Gaz asked.
"It isn't exactly 'carnival games', it's war. We are taught how to throw bombs that are like rings, the enemy, or the milk bottle, would be our target."
"Teach me how!" Gaz demanded.
Zim showed her the ring and tried to tell her in simple words what the Invaders' Instructor told him.
Gaz didn't quite understand, so Zim just went through and won a lot of prizes for Gaz, and the ones she didn't want, he would give to Gir.
Gaz was at the up most happiest day of her life.
~***~
Dib un patiently waited to gain access to Uko's room.
The doctors came in and directed him.
He opened the door and sat in the chair beside her.
The doctor stood behind him, "We couldn't find anything on Miss Anirkent, no medical reports, no parents, not even a birth certificate that showed she even existed. In fact, no blood samples from anyone even slightly matched hers. How long have you known her?"
"For about a month now." Dib replied.
"Uh-huh, and do you know who her parents are?"
"'Haven't seen 'em." Dib said.
"Hmmm. Well, I'll leave you to your visit. She'll need to be in the ER by tomorrow morning, for, um, medical treatment."
"WAIT! Tomorrow? You mean she can't leave tonight?" Dib stood up.
"I'm sorry, but under the circumstances, the patient-"
"Her name's Uko!" Dib told him.
"Right.Uko, is in no condition to be leaving the premises. Good night to you." The doctor left the room, closing the door behind him.
Dib went over and sat on the side of Uko's bed, "Uko? Uko. Are you awake?"
Uko's eyebrows tightened.
"Uko!" Dib called.
She opened her eyes, "D-Dib?"
"Uko! Are you okay?" he asked.
She sat up, "Yeah, fine. I just broke my leg and sprained my shoulder. The doctors said the wounds weren't fatal, why do you ask?"
"The doctors said something about taking you back to the ER tomorrow morning." Dib told her.
"WHAT!" she jumped.
"Why? What is it?" Dib inquired.
"I, um, saw. a guy. Someone, he looked very suspicious. Dib, I don't know what's-"
"Wait a sec, what did they guy look like?" Dib questioned.
"Well, he was talking to the doctor and he had black hair and wore a trench coat, kinda like yours and he-"
"Bill." Dib stated.
"Bill? Who's that?" Uko asked.
"He's with the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Dib explained.
"Oooh! An FBI agent! Neato! What's he doin' here though, Dib?"
"Uko, this is nothing to be excited about. That 'Bill' person has caused nothing but trouble for me and has done nothing but mock the fields of paranormal investigation. I think he's after you."
"Wha-why? What'd I do?" Uko pulled the sheet up over herself.
"I don't think you did anything. I think that the doctors called him down because they couldn't find your parents." Dib continued.
"P-Parents? I have parents! I, um, just don't know who they are." Uko blushed.
"You don't know who they are?"
Uko shook her head, her expression extremely guilty.
"Okay, we'll discuss this later. For now, I gotta get you outta here and soon." Dib went over to the closet and started tearing through the little hospital dresses.
"But, why?" Uko hopped over to him, grabbing his shoulder before she lost her balance.
"Because, if I leave you here, that FBI guy will want to experiment on you. I refuse to let that happen." Dib pulled out her blood stained trench coat, her little 'X' shirt and her baggy black pants, "Here, hurry up and change."
"Turn around!" Uko demanded.
Dib looked out Uko's room window and peered at the by passing doctorial figures.
Uko hopped over to him, "Okay! Let's go!"
"Wait! We need to get out of here ALIVE. If you just waltz on out there, do you believe that those monsters will let you leave with out any says in 'no?'"
"Sure! Why not!" Uko said.
Dib shook his head and pulled out one of those laundry baskets on wheels, "Hurry! Get in!"
Uko jumped in.
The doctor came in and Dib was prepared with a medicine table.
He slammed it over the doctor's head and stole his uniform.
He rolled the basket down the hall and carefully out of the hospital.
Bill was sitting in his car, watching.
Dib tore the uniform off, "I think it's safe now. You can come out."
Uko popped her head out and looked around.
Bill jumped out of his car, "HEY! Stop right there!"
Dib looked around for an escape, then saw the downhill.
He pushed the cart fast down the hill and jumped in.
"DIB! Are you crazy?" Uko screamed.
"You won't get away!" Bill yelled, speeding down the street.
"For now, yes!" Dib pulled a pole out from the cart's side and began using it as a paddle against the sidewalk, "Hold on!"
Uko grasped the cart and screamed.
Bill floored it and skidded into the street below, into the path of the speeding laundry cart.
Dib tilted to the left, causing the cart to turn down a steeper, longer hill, almost tipping the little basket over.
Bill was still gaining on them, and fast.
Dib slanted to the right, down a dark, narrow alley.
Bill passed the little back street, continuing to speed down the avenue.
Dib tilted over again into a street and kept their pace down the precipitous road.
They both looked back to see if the Bill thing was still following.
When they saw no cars in sight, Dib hugged Uko in rejoice.
She peered over his shoulder, all smiles.
But her smile quickly turned into a frown, "EEEE! Dib! Look out!"
Dib looked to the front and saw an extremely crowded terrace.
He quickly and almost barely turned the cart down into another alley.
"DIB! Look ou-" Uko was cut off by the cart's immediate crash into a dumpster.
Dib straggled to his feet and Uko sat up, pulling a half-rotten banana peel from her hair.
"Are you okay?" Dib asked in complete anxiety.
Uko stood on her good leg, "That.was.GREAT!"
"Are you deranged? We could have been killed!" Dib yelled.
"I'm perfectly sane, Dib. But that was so-much fun! Wooo! Let's do that again sometime!" Uko smirked.
Dib grimaced, "Uko, let's just get out of here."
"Yeah. I'm starving. That hospital food is so-repulsive." She put her arm around Dib, using him as her crutched, "Maybe we should have stolen a wheelchair." She suggested.
"Nah, I carried you 3 miles to the hospital, I can carry you back, eh, um, if I can find my way home."
"You mean to tell me we're lost?" she asked.
"Um, no. Let's see.the hospital was only up the road, I'll just take the back way passed the dispensary and then get on the right street and we should be back."
"Good, I can't wait to get back home." Uko sighed happily.
Dib's eyes widened, "NO! If you go back to your house, then Zim'll surely try to murder you and next time, he might just be successful."
"Well, I can't stay at your place. I need to clean up my house and I still have that paper to finish for Ms. Bitters on my computer and I still need groceries and-"
"Wait, you buy your own groceries? How? You don't have a job!"
"Heh heh, how would you know?"
Dib narrowed his eyes.
"Okay, um, my, uh, mom pays for it all?" Uko replied guiltily.
"Uh-huh, how come your mom and dad don't buy them then?"
"My mom's, a, um, business woman!"
"Ah-Ha! You said you didn't know who your biological parents are!"
"I, um."
"Uko, why are you lying to me? There's nothing you can't tell me, ya know."
"Y-You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
"Dib, I really can't."
Dib growled, "Why? You can't or you just don't want to!?"
"BOTH! Okay? Now let's just drop it!" She screamed at him.
Dib hadn't seen her so upset before, but he figured that whatever it was, it could wait, "I was only trying to figure out why that agent was after you. Sorry."
"Don't be. I just wanna go home."
"I guess I'll stay the night to make sure that Zim doesn't try anything." He lifted her up on his shoulders.
"No, I don't think so. He's to busy being obsessed with your sister. Besides. he took her out to that carnival tonight."
"Oh.WAIT! How'd you know that?"
"It's a one night thing. You don't think he'd really miss this kind of opportunity with Gaz, do ya?"
"Uko.really."
"Hee hee, lucky guess, I suppose. But if you wanna stay over tonight, I won't stop you. Just don't ask anymore questions, okay?"
Dib nodded and helped her home.
He had to figure out what was wrong with Uko, and soon because he might not be able to get away for the demented 'Bill' the subsequent time.
Chapter 6- Terminal
Dib had called Uko several times the morning after Zim's Break In, completely unaware of what had happened.
He just figured she was sleeping in, so he decided to go over and wake her up.
He had just received the worst thing that has ever happened.
His lab top malfunctioned and he couldn't get the pictures that he had taken inside of Zim's base, on disk.
He was hoping that he could use her computer if she would be so kind, since Gaz refused.
Dib scurried up the sidewalk and almost completely missed what was lying on the sidewalk.
Dib froze and looked up at Uko's window.
It was completely shattered.
He lifted Uko's slottered body over and studied it.
Blood was tearing halfway down her face and a massive incision in the side of her skull.
There were a few pieces of glass wedged in her skin and a large amount of blood pouring from her arm, which was battered and wounded.
Dib's face turned red with rage, "Zim." he whispered.
He checked her pulse.
After everything the poor girl has been through, she was still alive.
He gently lifted her body and carried her down the street to the nearest hospital as fast as his legs would move with the extra weight of Uko.
Her eyes flickered open, "D-Dib?"
He stopped, "Uko? Uko! Hey, can you tell me who did this to you? Uko?"
"I-I" she passed out again.
Dib, again, checked her pulse to make sure she was still okay.
She was.
He picked her up and kept running, though he was being eyed by most everyone he passed, or even saw him.
He shook his head and kept his pace up until the hospital came into sight.
Dib ran through the sliding doors, almost forging them open with his foot.
"HELP! SOMEONE HAS TO HELP ME!" Dib yelled.
A squad of doctors and nurses made their way over and took Uko, in a sense of force, from Dib's grasp.
"Wait!" Dib yelled after them.
"Young man, you need to fill these papers out." a secretary handed him a clipboard.
"But I wanna go with Uko!" he complained.
"I'm sorry, young man, but that would be out of my reach. No one is aloud into the ER for 24 hours unless a doctors consent is given."
"24 hours? Wait, the ER?" Dib questioned.
"That would mean emergency room, young man."
"I know that, but is it this serious?" he asked.
"I would believe so." her voice began to sound bored.
Dib sighed and sat down with the papers and pen, "Let's see, name of the patient...Uko Anirkent, age...12, weight...how should I know? It can't be too much since I carried her all the way here, I guess it'd be about 80 pounds, hair color...blonde, eye color...gray, birthday...uh, I think she said December 15th, favorite color/food/drink/music? Why does the hospital need to know that?"
"For special purposes." the secretary answered, "As in 'her last hours.'"
Dib gulped, "I hope it doesn't come down to that... where was I again, oh yeah...red/cookies/ uh, bubble gum brain freezies/ and dance? How should I know that either? Let's see...any medical difficulties in the past... none, allergies to specific medicines...I don't believe so, okay, name of parent/guardian/specified caretaker... she never said anything about her parents, I don't think she's adopted, and I guess I'd be the caretaker...After all, I did bring her here... so Dib Membrane, age...12, weight...none of your business, and credit card number? What the hell is this, a big scam for your money and private information? Why would they need MY weight? And I'm not giving out MY credit card number!"
"Suit yourself, kid." the secretary snapped.
"Oh, what a comforting hospital." Dib sighed sarcastically.
He waited there for over 18 hours.
The nurses weren't even kind enough to feed him, so he pulled out the spare 10's he had in his boot and went over to the vending machine.
Another 3 hours and Dib still waited.
He wanted to be there for whatever bad OR good news came.
He wanted to assure himself of Uko's safety.
~***~
Gaz was walking home from skool wondering the whereabouts of her missing brother.
Zim saw her walking off alone and went after her, "Hello, Gaz."
"Hi, Zim." she replied.
"So, uh, where's the Dib feen?" he asked.
"I dunno." Gaz answered.
"So you'll be alone tonight?" Zim dared to ask.
"Yeah, so? What are you getting at." she questioned him.
Zim pulled a flyer from his back pack and handed it to her.
It was an ad for a carnival that was a one night only thing.
"Zim, haven't we discussed the you-and-me thing?" she reminded.
"Yes, but I--" Zim began.
"No, Zim. I'm sorry, but I can't go with you tonight, or ever for that matter." she stated.
"Gaz, please? Just one more chance? If you start having a bad time, we'll leave. Please?" he begged.
Gaz rolled her eyes, "Fine. Just ONE MORE chance."
"Very well then." Zim said, "Shall I accompany you to your home?"
Gaz giggled at his way of speech, "Sure."
Gaz held out her arm and laced it through his.
He shook her head.
Gaz started skipping.
"Gaz? What are you doing?" Zim asked.
"C'mon, Zim! Skip with me!"
"Skip?"
"Yeah! You have to know how."
"I don't think I--" Zim started.
"C'MON!" she demanded, "If I have to go out with you, then I'm gonna make it the most embarrassing thing you've ever experienced!"
He shook his head again, "Alright, I shall. But I won't like it."
The two started skipping down the street, all eyes on them.
"Gaz, people are staring at us!" Zim told her.
"So? Let 'em stare!" Gaz said.
"GAZ! Have you gone insane?" he asked her.
"YES! 'Still love me, now?"
"There's nothing you could do to make me quit loving you...but this, this, MADNESS isn't you!"
"Sure it is! I'm only being me happy, feminine self!"
Zim shook his head, once more.
When they arrived at her house, Zim jumped in the door, "I never hope to do ANYTHING like that again!"
Gaz nodded, "Don't worry, Zim, they'll be plenty more skipping involved until you can honestly say you don't love me."
"Okay, I don't love you." Zim said.
"I said HONESTLY, Zim. You didn't mean that."
"I did. Gaz, I do NOT love you anymore." he repeated, looking her dead in the eye.
"Really? I thought you said there was nothing that I could do to make you stop loving me?"
"There isn't anything YOU can do, it was the crowd of mimicking HUMANS that did it. I think I should go. No carnival tonight or EVER for that matter, okay?" Zim went over to the door and pretended to leave.
"Zim, wait." Gaz walked over to him.
Zim grinned hopefully and turned around to face her.
She looked extremely upset.
Zim frowned.
Gaz held up the flyer and smiled, "You forgot your paper."
Zim grabbed the flyer and hugged her.
"I still wanna take you out tonight." Zim told her.
Gaz growled, "Alright, fine. But I suggest we leave now, considering that Dib'll show up and make so many questions to stall us with, we'll miss the whole thing. I'll be right down." Gaz ran up to her room.
When she returned with her jacket at hand and about 6 twenties, they set off for the fair grounds.
Of course, it took about a hour to get there by train and about two hours by bus, since it was all the way in the rural areas, Zim suggested that they go by his ship.
So they did.
When they arrived, Zim bought their tickets, and just about everything else.
He and Gaz sat on a bench, eating cotton candy.
"So, what do you wanna do first?" Zim asked.
She looked around the fair grounds, then pointed to a giant ring, "Let's go on that ride!"
Zim turned around to see the huge loop, "Very well then."
Gaz pulled his arm over to the short line.
Once Zim got a look at how the ride worked, he sort of backed away.
It was nothing but the thrill of being stuck upside-down for seconds just to come hurling back down to Earth again over and over until you puked your guts out.
"Um, Gaz," he choked, "I'm not so sure this is the best ride for us to be going on."
"Of course it isn't!" she agreed.
Zim sighed in relief.
"That's why we're going on it in the first place!" she finally said.
Zim gulped, 'This girl is trying to kill me!' he thought, "Um, Gaz, I have to use the bathroom."
"No way Zim, we're next in line!" Gaz said.
"You don't understand! I really, really, REALLY got to go! NOW!" he panicked.
"NEXT!" the large, muscular operator guy said.
Gaz pulled Zim's arm.
"Whoa! Whoa, little kids, yous is not big enough to ride this. NEXT!" the machine guy told them.
"WHY?!" Gaz exclaimed.
He pointed to the height chart's thick red line, "Yous gotta be THIS tall to ride."
Gaz looked back at Zim and depressively sighed, "C'mon, Zim."
Zim stopped her, "Do you really want to go on this ride, Gaz?"
"Yeah! I've always never been big enough to go on it. I've always wanted to. But we can't, so- "
Zim pulled her back up to the machine operator.
"WOAH! What did I tell you kiddies! Yous can't go on this ride. Why don't you scurry on over to that little dragon over there." He pointed.
"I don't think so! We're sick of dragons! I wanna go on THIS ride!" Gaz yelled.
"You heard her!" Zim defended.
"Hey hey hey! Yous kids is TO little to-"
"SILENCE, putrid ride slave!" he jumped up and grabbed the man by the collar, "Either you let us on this THING, or I shall see to it that you never live another horrid day of your stink life!" Zim threatened, "Now, as you were saying?"
The guard moved from the couple's way and took the very first seat.
Gaz pulled down the giant, padded bar over her and Zim.
"Gaz, is this ride, uh, safe?" Zim nervously asked.
"I would think so, of course, we aren't exactly 'preferred height.'" Gaz smiled at him, "Thanks."
As the ride began to start, Zim grabbed Gaz's hand and squeezed it tight.
Gaz shook her head.
Zim kept his eyes shut tight, squeezing Gaz's hand harder at each point they went upside-down.
He hated the fact that the ride made him feel as though he would fall out.
It scared him out of his mind.
However, Gaz seemed to enjoy it.
Every few seconds he would peek out to make sure she was still at his side, considering he had squeezed her hand so hard he couldn't feel it.
She would just look at him and smile, so Zim would close his eyes again and hope he would make it out alive.
The ride stopped at the top with Zim to look at nothing but the ground below.
He began to get nauseous as the blood rushed to his head.
Looking over to Gaz, who seemed to be slipping out, he let go of the bar he had practically been clinging to and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Zim, you're gonna fall out, you know." Gaz said.
Zim's spider legs flung out and latched to the bar in front of them.
The ride slowly shifted back down to earth and Zim retracted the spider legs, sitting there latched to Gaz, shaking.
They were the last ones off and Zim could barely walk "Nothing, I mean NOTHING on Irk could have prepared me for, THAT!"
"Geez, Zim, if the ride scared you so much, why didn't you tell me? We could have went over to the safe little dragon ride." Gaz told him.
"I think I'm a little to old for such things." He said.
"Yeah." Gaz laughed, "But all and all, that ride could have been scarier. I've been on better play ground equipment that scared the hell out of me."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Zim said.
'But it's working!" Gaz told him.
Zim nodded, "Now what?"
"I dunno. Let's go play some games."
Zim agreed and took Gaz over to a booth.
Gaz handed the big, ugly man a five and started throwing rings at the bottles.
Zim studied the game.
But every time she threw, she missed.
After wasting twenty dollars, Gaz got extremely agitated.
Zim stared at the bottles and then looked at the rings as they flew across the air.
On Gaz's last two rings before she would give up, Zim stopped her, "Wait." He whispered to her, "This game is rigged. You can't win."
"You can win, there's always a trick." Gaz explained.
Zim grabbed the rings from Gaz, then tossed them directly onto the bottles.
"How'd you do that?" she asked.
"Invaders' training, we learned this in the basics." Zim interpreted.
"They taught you how to win carnival games?" Gaz asked.
"It isn't exactly 'carnival games', it's war. We are taught how to throw bombs that are like rings, the enemy, or the milk bottle, would be our target."
"Teach me how!" Gaz demanded.
Zim showed her the ring and tried to tell her in simple words what the Invaders' Instructor told him.
Gaz didn't quite understand, so Zim just went through and won a lot of prizes for Gaz, and the ones she didn't want, he would give to Gir.
Gaz was at the up most happiest day of her life.
~***~
Dib un patiently waited to gain access to Uko's room.
The doctors came in and directed him.
He opened the door and sat in the chair beside her.
The doctor stood behind him, "We couldn't find anything on Miss Anirkent, no medical reports, no parents, not even a birth certificate that showed she even existed. In fact, no blood samples from anyone even slightly matched hers. How long have you known her?"
"For about a month now." Dib replied.
"Uh-huh, and do you know who her parents are?"
"'Haven't seen 'em." Dib said.
"Hmmm. Well, I'll leave you to your visit. She'll need to be in the ER by tomorrow morning, for, um, medical treatment."
"WAIT! Tomorrow? You mean she can't leave tonight?" Dib stood up.
"I'm sorry, but under the circumstances, the patient-"
"Her name's Uko!" Dib told him.
"Right.Uko, is in no condition to be leaving the premises. Good night to you." The doctor left the room, closing the door behind him.
Dib went over and sat on the side of Uko's bed, "Uko? Uko. Are you awake?"
Uko's eyebrows tightened.
"Uko!" Dib called.
She opened her eyes, "D-Dib?"
"Uko! Are you okay?" he asked.
She sat up, "Yeah, fine. I just broke my leg and sprained my shoulder. The doctors said the wounds weren't fatal, why do you ask?"
"The doctors said something about taking you back to the ER tomorrow morning." Dib told her.
"WHAT!" she jumped.
"Why? What is it?" Dib inquired.
"I, um, saw. a guy. Someone, he looked very suspicious. Dib, I don't know what's-"
"Wait a sec, what did they guy look like?" Dib questioned.
"Well, he was talking to the doctor and he had black hair and wore a trench coat, kinda like yours and he-"
"Bill." Dib stated.
"Bill? Who's that?" Uko asked.
"He's with the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Dib explained.
"Oooh! An FBI agent! Neato! What's he doin' here though, Dib?"
"Uko, this is nothing to be excited about. That 'Bill' person has caused nothing but trouble for me and has done nothing but mock the fields of paranormal investigation. I think he's after you."
"Wha-why? What'd I do?" Uko pulled the sheet up over herself.
"I don't think you did anything. I think that the doctors called him down because they couldn't find your parents." Dib continued.
"P-Parents? I have parents! I, um, just don't know who they are." Uko blushed.
"You don't know who they are?"
Uko shook her head, her expression extremely guilty.
"Okay, we'll discuss this later. For now, I gotta get you outta here and soon." Dib went over to the closet and started tearing through the little hospital dresses.
"But, why?" Uko hopped over to him, grabbing his shoulder before she lost her balance.
"Because, if I leave you here, that FBI guy will want to experiment on you. I refuse to let that happen." Dib pulled out her blood stained trench coat, her little 'X' shirt and her baggy black pants, "Here, hurry up and change."
"Turn around!" Uko demanded.
Dib looked out Uko's room window and peered at the by passing doctorial figures.
Uko hopped over to him, "Okay! Let's go!"
"Wait! We need to get out of here ALIVE. If you just waltz on out there, do you believe that those monsters will let you leave with out any says in 'no?'"
"Sure! Why not!" Uko said.
Dib shook his head and pulled out one of those laundry baskets on wheels, "Hurry! Get in!"
Uko jumped in.
The doctor came in and Dib was prepared with a medicine table.
He slammed it over the doctor's head and stole his uniform.
He rolled the basket down the hall and carefully out of the hospital.
Bill was sitting in his car, watching.
Dib tore the uniform off, "I think it's safe now. You can come out."
Uko popped her head out and looked around.
Bill jumped out of his car, "HEY! Stop right there!"
Dib looked around for an escape, then saw the downhill.
He pushed the cart fast down the hill and jumped in.
"DIB! Are you crazy?" Uko screamed.
"You won't get away!" Bill yelled, speeding down the street.
"For now, yes!" Dib pulled a pole out from the cart's side and began using it as a paddle against the sidewalk, "Hold on!"
Uko grasped the cart and screamed.
Bill floored it and skidded into the street below, into the path of the speeding laundry cart.
Dib tilted to the left, causing the cart to turn down a steeper, longer hill, almost tipping the little basket over.
Bill was still gaining on them, and fast.
Dib slanted to the right, down a dark, narrow alley.
Bill passed the little back street, continuing to speed down the avenue.
Dib tilted over again into a street and kept their pace down the precipitous road.
They both looked back to see if the Bill thing was still following.
When they saw no cars in sight, Dib hugged Uko in rejoice.
She peered over his shoulder, all smiles.
But her smile quickly turned into a frown, "EEEE! Dib! Look out!"
Dib looked to the front and saw an extremely crowded terrace.
He quickly and almost barely turned the cart down into another alley.
"DIB! Look ou-" Uko was cut off by the cart's immediate crash into a dumpster.
Dib straggled to his feet and Uko sat up, pulling a half-rotten banana peel from her hair.
"Are you okay?" Dib asked in complete anxiety.
Uko stood on her good leg, "That.was.GREAT!"
"Are you deranged? We could have been killed!" Dib yelled.
"I'm perfectly sane, Dib. But that was so-much fun! Wooo! Let's do that again sometime!" Uko smirked.
Dib grimaced, "Uko, let's just get out of here."
"Yeah. I'm starving. That hospital food is so-repulsive." She put her arm around Dib, using him as her crutched, "Maybe we should have stolen a wheelchair." She suggested.
"Nah, I carried you 3 miles to the hospital, I can carry you back, eh, um, if I can find my way home."
"You mean to tell me we're lost?" she asked.
"Um, no. Let's see.the hospital was only up the road, I'll just take the back way passed the dispensary and then get on the right street and we should be back."
"Good, I can't wait to get back home." Uko sighed happily.
Dib's eyes widened, "NO! If you go back to your house, then Zim'll surely try to murder you and next time, he might just be successful."
"Well, I can't stay at your place. I need to clean up my house and I still have that paper to finish for Ms. Bitters on my computer and I still need groceries and-"
"Wait, you buy your own groceries? How? You don't have a job!"
"Heh heh, how would you know?"
Dib narrowed his eyes.
"Okay, um, my, uh, mom pays for it all?" Uko replied guiltily.
"Uh-huh, how come your mom and dad don't buy them then?"
"My mom's, a, um, business woman!"
"Ah-Ha! You said you didn't know who your biological parents are!"
"I, um."
"Uko, why are you lying to me? There's nothing you can't tell me, ya know."
"Y-You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
"Dib, I really can't."
Dib growled, "Why? You can't or you just don't want to!?"
"BOTH! Okay? Now let's just drop it!" She screamed at him.
Dib hadn't seen her so upset before, but he figured that whatever it was, it could wait, "I was only trying to figure out why that agent was after you. Sorry."
"Don't be. I just wanna go home."
"I guess I'll stay the night to make sure that Zim doesn't try anything." He lifted her up on his shoulders.
"No, I don't think so. He's to busy being obsessed with your sister. Besides. he took her out to that carnival tonight."
"Oh.WAIT! How'd you know that?"
"It's a one night thing. You don't think he'd really miss this kind of opportunity with Gaz, do ya?"
"Uko.really."
"Hee hee, lucky guess, I suppose. But if you wanna stay over tonight, I won't stop you. Just don't ask anymore questions, okay?"
Dib nodded and helped her home.
He had to figure out what was wrong with Uko, and soon because he might not be able to get away for the demented 'Bill' the subsequent time.