Chapter Eight - Imprisonment
Yuki had no idea of what to do. She stood there, frozen. Then, suddenly, the security guard broke into laughter. Nervously, she joined him, and he said, "Isn't that a good one! You? Ha!" Her soft chuckles died down, and he looked confused. "You didn't take that seriously, now did you?"
"No, but you should be paying more attention to what's going on out there than on making jokes."
"Sorry, Miss Highest."
"Oh...everyone's assuming that Zim and I are together, aren't they?"
"Yep. Anything wrong with that?"
"No, nothing at all! I'm actually quite flattered, if I say so myself." She tried to be convincingly the same person she was when she left. "Well, I must be on my way. I have been ordered by Zim himself to inspect the machines that are vital in the success of the big project. Good day."
"Good day." She walked past corridor after corridor, eventually reaching the Weaponry Sector. After showing her admittance card, (which was just a formality, for everyone knew her rank and status) she was allowed to access the Weaponry Computer and began to alter the functions of the various machines, including sending many viruses to the memory banks.
Yuki felt a bit lonely, but continued with the tedious work. She was so caught up in keeping her cover a secret that she nearly forgot about the backup systems. Her only hope was to reach the Central Computer and crash the system. However, too many locks were kept on the programs and files, and she couldn't break through them. She'd have to crash the system itself.
But how? Sure, it happened all the time by accident, but how do you crash a computer on purpose? It didn't seem likely that it would take merely a download of a tremendous file to crash the entire Irken computer, and she couldn't smash it. There were too many virus protection devices activated to make an attack on the system effective, so she wasn't sure what options were left. She knew that she'd have to shut the power off, like in a storm.
Yuki ran as fast as she could into the Power Sector. There wasn't much time left. Not knowing what else to do, she yelled, "Shut off the power!"
"But, Highest Yuki, Zim's project initiates in ten minutes! We could never get it back up and running in that time! And everything is perfectly timed with the position of the Earth, sun, and moon in conjunction with the trajectories of-"
"Can it! We need that power off, or we'll all explode!"
The head scientist whispered, "The Irken Empire will frown upon this."
"I don't care! We need the power off!"
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. Guards!"
"You cannot call the guards on me!"
"Oh, yes we can! Highest Zim instructed us that if anyone, anyone at all, got in the way of the mission, they were to be terminated, no questions asked. Guards, prepare to fire." Yuki gasped, and turned around when she heard someone shout.
"Yuki!"
"Dib!" The guards focused their guns on Dib the moment he came crashing into the room. "Dib, we've only got-"
"I know, I know; eight minutes left."
"I don't think they want to wait that entire time to shoot you, though."
"Goodbye." The sound of the guns firing simultaneously echoed as Dib felt a thud against the ground and some weight on him. He looked up, and saw that he was now on the ground, just like the other soldiers-except that they now lay dead in a pool of blood. The weight was Yuki, who had apparently pushed him down, saving him from a barrage of eighteen bullets, but had gotten grazed by a bullet in doing so. "Yuki, are you all right?"
"Yeah...just a flesh wound. I'll be okay."
"Thank you...you saved my life."
"I had to return the favor. Now, let's go shut the power off."
"If we were in Southern California, this wouldn't be a problem." They sprinted down the many corridors, looking for some kind of power source. Five minutes left. Nothing turned up, and security was at every corner. Three minutes left. Managing to get security off their backs, they hid in a closet. Two minutes left.
"Dib, we're not going to make it! Earth will be obliterated, and it's all my fault!"
"Don't worry, I love you anyway. It isn't your fault. But we still must try."
"It's hopeless."
"But it's worth a try."
"Wait-maybe I can jam some of the gears of the timing clock with my shoes. That might work. Oh, but the Timing Sector is downstairs and across the building. We'll never make it in time!"
"But we must try. Come on. Let's go!" One minute left. The seconds ticked faster and faster, and yet each ticking motion seemed to last an eternity. Forty-five seconds left, and they weren't even at the elevator yet. They dashed to there, but the elevator wasn't at their floor. Dib swore.
"We'll go down the stairs!" The two ran down two flights of stairs as fast as physics would allow, and made it to the bottom floor. Thirty seconds. Leaving Dib in the dust, she led the way to the Timing Sector. "We're almost there!" Immediately, guards stopped them.
"You're coming with us!" They struggled, but were no match for the twenty men restraining them.
"NO!" Ten seconds. Yuki saw the mechanism that operated all timing devices was visible below, and there was a small opening. "Dib, quickly! Kick your boot into that hole!" Seven seconds. He struggled with the boot, and Yuki had to help him get it off. Four seconds. "Hurry! Throw it! Now!" Two seconds. With his best guess of accuracy, he tossed it into the gears. One second...the time clock began to run backward, then paused at minus 53 days before short-circuiting. Panting heavily, they sighed in relief. They had saved the Earth! "We did it, Dib! We saved Earth!"
"Into the prison!" The two were dragged into a cell deep within the compound. "According to orders by Highest Zim, he is to deal with you himself! Wait for punishment!" They left, locking them into their cell, shrouded in darkness. Yuki looked up at him in despair.
"When Zim comes, he'll kill you and marry me. I don't want that!"
"You don't have to marry him. You have to agree, or it's illegal. He can't touch you, so long as you don't want him to."
"But...he'll kill you if I refuse...I have to accept..."
"Yuki, you can't. I won't let you give up on yourself like that."
"But Dib-"
"Don't argue. If it comes to it, I'll give myself up willingly. Try to get some sleep."
"I can't. It's too cold in here, and damp..."
"Here." Dib removed his coat and wrapped it around her like a blanket. "Is that better?"
"Yes. Thank you." Eventually, she drifted to sleep, her head resting in his lap. He wondered what would become of them, and stayed awake for many hours, thinking about what he would do. Only one conclusion seemed feasible.
Yuki had no idea of what to do. She stood there, frozen. Then, suddenly, the security guard broke into laughter. Nervously, she joined him, and he said, "Isn't that a good one! You? Ha!" Her soft chuckles died down, and he looked confused. "You didn't take that seriously, now did you?"
"No, but you should be paying more attention to what's going on out there than on making jokes."
"Sorry, Miss Highest."
"Oh...everyone's assuming that Zim and I are together, aren't they?"
"Yep. Anything wrong with that?"
"No, nothing at all! I'm actually quite flattered, if I say so myself." She tried to be convincingly the same person she was when she left. "Well, I must be on my way. I have been ordered by Zim himself to inspect the machines that are vital in the success of the big project. Good day."
"Good day." She walked past corridor after corridor, eventually reaching the Weaponry Sector. After showing her admittance card, (which was just a formality, for everyone knew her rank and status) she was allowed to access the Weaponry Computer and began to alter the functions of the various machines, including sending many viruses to the memory banks.
Yuki felt a bit lonely, but continued with the tedious work. She was so caught up in keeping her cover a secret that she nearly forgot about the backup systems. Her only hope was to reach the Central Computer and crash the system. However, too many locks were kept on the programs and files, and she couldn't break through them. She'd have to crash the system itself.
But how? Sure, it happened all the time by accident, but how do you crash a computer on purpose? It didn't seem likely that it would take merely a download of a tremendous file to crash the entire Irken computer, and she couldn't smash it. There were too many virus protection devices activated to make an attack on the system effective, so she wasn't sure what options were left. She knew that she'd have to shut the power off, like in a storm.
Yuki ran as fast as she could into the Power Sector. There wasn't much time left. Not knowing what else to do, she yelled, "Shut off the power!"
"But, Highest Yuki, Zim's project initiates in ten minutes! We could never get it back up and running in that time! And everything is perfectly timed with the position of the Earth, sun, and moon in conjunction with the trajectories of-"
"Can it! We need that power off, or we'll all explode!"
The head scientist whispered, "The Irken Empire will frown upon this."
"I don't care! We need the power off!"
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. Guards!"
"You cannot call the guards on me!"
"Oh, yes we can! Highest Zim instructed us that if anyone, anyone at all, got in the way of the mission, they were to be terminated, no questions asked. Guards, prepare to fire." Yuki gasped, and turned around when she heard someone shout.
"Yuki!"
"Dib!" The guards focused their guns on Dib the moment he came crashing into the room. "Dib, we've only got-"
"I know, I know; eight minutes left."
"I don't think they want to wait that entire time to shoot you, though."
"Goodbye." The sound of the guns firing simultaneously echoed as Dib felt a thud against the ground and some weight on him. He looked up, and saw that he was now on the ground, just like the other soldiers-except that they now lay dead in a pool of blood. The weight was Yuki, who had apparently pushed him down, saving him from a barrage of eighteen bullets, but had gotten grazed by a bullet in doing so. "Yuki, are you all right?"
"Yeah...just a flesh wound. I'll be okay."
"Thank you...you saved my life."
"I had to return the favor. Now, let's go shut the power off."
"If we were in Southern California, this wouldn't be a problem." They sprinted down the many corridors, looking for some kind of power source. Five minutes left. Nothing turned up, and security was at every corner. Three minutes left. Managing to get security off their backs, they hid in a closet. Two minutes left.
"Dib, we're not going to make it! Earth will be obliterated, and it's all my fault!"
"Don't worry, I love you anyway. It isn't your fault. But we still must try."
"It's hopeless."
"But it's worth a try."
"Wait-maybe I can jam some of the gears of the timing clock with my shoes. That might work. Oh, but the Timing Sector is downstairs and across the building. We'll never make it in time!"
"But we must try. Come on. Let's go!" One minute left. The seconds ticked faster and faster, and yet each ticking motion seemed to last an eternity. Forty-five seconds left, and they weren't even at the elevator yet. They dashed to there, but the elevator wasn't at their floor. Dib swore.
"We'll go down the stairs!" The two ran down two flights of stairs as fast as physics would allow, and made it to the bottom floor. Thirty seconds. Leaving Dib in the dust, she led the way to the Timing Sector. "We're almost there!" Immediately, guards stopped them.
"You're coming with us!" They struggled, but were no match for the twenty men restraining them.
"NO!" Ten seconds. Yuki saw the mechanism that operated all timing devices was visible below, and there was a small opening. "Dib, quickly! Kick your boot into that hole!" Seven seconds. He struggled with the boot, and Yuki had to help him get it off. Four seconds. "Hurry! Throw it! Now!" Two seconds. With his best guess of accuracy, he tossed it into the gears. One second...the time clock began to run backward, then paused at minus 53 days before short-circuiting. Panting heavily, they sighed in relief. They had saved the Earth! "We did it, Dib! We saved Earth!"
"Into the prison!" The two were dragged into a cell deep within the compound. "According to orders by Highest Zim, he is to deal with you himself! Wait for punishment!" They left, locking them into their cell, shrouded in darkness. Yuki looked up at him in despair.
"When Zim comes, he'll kill you and marry me. I don't want that!"
"You don't have to marry him. You have to agree, or it's illegal. He can't touch you, so long as you don't want him to."
"But...he'll kill you if I refuse...I have to accept..."
"Yuki, you can't. I won't let you give up on yourself like that."
"But Dib-"
"Don't argue. If it comes to it, I'll give myself up willingly. Try to get some sleep."
"I can't. It's too cold in here, and damp..."
"Here." Dib removed his coat and wrapped it around her like a blanket. "Is that better?"
"Yes. Thank you." Eventually, she drifted to sleep, her head resting in his lap. He wondered what would become of them, and stayed awake for many hours, thinking about what he would do. Only one conclusion seemed feasible.