Chapter Fifteen: Professor Seraul
"Zim, please, if you do this, I'll...what do you want most?"
"To conquer Earth," Zim said casually as he finished packing Mel's bags.
"Well...beside that! What do you want?"
"To stand over Dib's bloody corpse and make a giant mincemeat pie out of him!"
"Ugh! I already told you, that one isn't happening! Besides those!"
"Hmm...how about being ruler of the universe?"
"Forget that! Come on, be logical and reasonable and sensible...and stuff. What will it take you to take me to Fali?"
"Hmm...could I punch him until he's unconscious?"
"No!"
"That's my final offer."
"Well...okay. I guess you could throw a few punches at Dib. I've never really seen you two fight...that'll be kinda neat. But still, don't zap his head off or something. Keep it small."
"Okay...can I strangle him?"
"No! I want to see you guys fight, though. I've never really seen an actual fight."
"So, how many times can I beat him silly with a corkscrew before you go berserk?"
"None. You just have to mention it."
"Uh, really?"
"Yes, really." Mel tackled Zim, poking his eyes and kicking him in the squeedily spooch. "Here's a trick I learned in first grade."
"Good, it should be less painful." Zim's scream could be heard from a mile away. Apparently, Mel had twisted Zim's appendages into some sort of pretzel shape and had Zim's tongue caught in between two pipes of his base. "Mel? 'ould 'ou 'et me 'own now?"
"Sure." She uncurled his arms and legs and pulled his tongue out of the crevice between pipes. Zim moaned in pain a little, and Mel brought out a washcloth. "Time to treat wounds!"
"Thank you for--AHHHHHHHHH!" The washcloth was dripping with ice-cold water.
"I'm so, so sorry, Zim," she said in false sympathy, "but these are things you must know before engaging in battle with a foe. By the way--you're welcome."
"Mel, you're too kind."
"Really? Or are you just being sarcastic again?"
"Really, you are."
"Well...thanks, then. I guess." She helped Zim up again, and decided to ask him a question. "Zim, would you like to stay on planet Fali with Dib and I?"
"Why?"
"Well, if Earth isn't going to be conquered, then you don't really have much of a mission left, do you?"
"I guess not, but--"
"You'll have to spend your time somewhere, won't you?"
"Of course, but that doesn't mean that I--"
"I really would like it if you stayed on Fali with me. You're an excellent friend, Zim, no matter what Dib thinks."
"R-really?"
"Of course you are. Why don't we go now?"
"Are you sure you're ready to leave Earth?"
"Yes. I'm very sure."
"Have your belongings?"
"No. What I have here I don't want
to take. I want to take some of Dib's old things, though. It might remind him
of what things used to be like. You might help, too."
"I'm ready. I couldn't want anything else than what I have."
"What about Gir? I mean...he's kinda high-maintenance, but we can't have him wreaking havoc here on Earth. I want to leave my planet, not obliterate it."
"Yeah...Gir has that effect. I'll take you to the little ika's house right now, if you'd like."
"Hey! Don't call him that!"
"How do you know what that means?!"
"I do watch the intergalactic equivalent of Jerry Springer, you know."
"You do?"
"No! I can pick up an insult from your manner of speaking, though."
"Well...that's what he is!"
"Crudely speaking, yes, but don't refer to him in a derogatory sense! You're mean."
"I'm not mean!"
"Can trying to destroy a species be considered 'nice,' then?"
"You've got me there, but--"
"See? Everything works out nice and orderly, logically, too. You just have to look for the reasons why and the places where."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know, but it sounds cool."
"So...are we going to pick up what you're going to take with you?"
"Wha--oh, yes! Yes, we are." Zim took her hand and ran up to the Voot hangar. He helped her in and piloted it to Dib's house. "I just have to get some magazines and things--you know, small things. I'll be right back out." Making her way up to Dib's room, Mel spotted a large pile of boxes. Within a minute, Gaz walked in with another box. "Gaz, what is all this?"
"Dad says we're moving."
"Did he say where?"
"Just said he was looking for Dib."
"Then you guys are...did he seem angry?"
"Yeah. It's strange. Usually he's calm and composed; you know, one of those scientific types."
"He's after Dib! Maybe the Seraul have just as much purpose in mind for him as the Falish..."
"Go away. You're bugging me."
"All right, all right. I'll just be a sec." Mel darted into Dib's room, fearing what she might find. Slamming the door open and half-leaping into the room, she slipped on some unknown substance at the door. "OW! What on Earth was that?!" Looking around her, she saw that the room was no longer as it had been. It was draped in long, white sheets, and the floor was covered with slick, slippery plastic. Apparently, she had slipped on water that dripped from the ceiling, but it was a strange bluish color and seemed thick...it wasn't paint--it was an oddly colored blood, and more of it was dripping onto the plastic covering.
"Kiana, what are you doing here?" a voice behind her said, and it wasn't Dib's, nor was it Riva's, Gaz's, or Zim's. Mel gasped. Professor Membrane was right behind her.
"Um...I was...looking for Dib."
"You're lying, Kiana." The scientist's voice was no longer its usual tone; it seemed to be more sinister, even more impassive.
"I'm not lying, sir."
"Then why do you fear me?"
"That!" She looked behind her, seeing that he carried an ax, and it dripped with the same kind of blood. "That's not human blood! Did you kill Zim?!" Mel immediately knew that she had made the biggest mistake that anyone in her situation could make.
"Zim is here?"
"I knew it! You're Seraul, aren't you? Aren't you?! You're Dib's father, and you've made him changed! I knew he couldn't have become that emotionless over such a short period of time! You made him that emotionless! You--"
"What? What are you going to do to me?"
"I'll show you what! Here's for ruining my friend!" Mel reached her hand backward into her backpack and took out a small blade, made entirely of white marble.
"Is that a--?"
"Yes, it is. It's a Lizaq. This knife is given only to Kivocs, and when they die, it disintegrates. Each is unique, as you know, and may only be used for the holder's greatest desires. This one is tailored to my preferences, and my greatest desire as of this moment is to defend my friends, because you sicken me. How dare you call yourself Dib's father!"
"To let you know, I didn't kill Zim, I killed Riva...and I enjoyed it. That enjoyment with this particular weapon gains me strength to kill you with better ease."
"You're sicker than you let on, you know that? I'm a child. You killed your own son's mother. And besides, determination to right a wrong for a friend's well being is what heroism is all about, isn't it? And you know what they say--'A true hero is made through their suffering in order to achieve their goal, not through success.'"
"In this case, though, success is all I need."
"Quit stalling and fight me!" He brought the ax-like weapon down on her head, but she narrowly escaped by sidestepping into an open closet. While he was distracted, Mel leapt out and hid behind a wooden plank that was positioned at the opposite end of the room. Professor Membrane used the ax to split the board in half, but she saw it coming and ducked down. She kicked a mountain of boxes near the bottom, causing the pile to cave in and allow her an escape. However, he saw her plan and closed the door with his mind.
"You have the ability too?"
"Of course. All trained Seraul warriors have it. I just need a little exercise with it. Perhaps you can be my first victim here."
"Maybe you'll think me a victim in the sense of losing a fight and fleeing, but in the end it'll be I who comes out victorious."
"We'll just see." He directed a large dresser in her direction, and she slid underneath it. Focusing her energy at the same dresser, now planted firmly on the ground, the drawers came out and were flung at the professor. It was a hit. As he tossed them to the side, Mel quickly drew out her Lizaq knife and thrust it into the door where the lock mechanism is, and it opened. "Hold it!" he shouted, but she didn't look back. Instead, he concentrated hard and she was thrown to the side of the wall. She could not move.
"I'll get out of this...you won't win this..." He laughed mercilessly, even more so than Zim would have.
"Now it is only up to your weak mind to destroy you. You shall see the future, and it will be a horrific one, indeed. You'll be a raving lunatic--a real one. Now, just stare into my eyes when I remove these goggles."
"No! No, you won't make me! You can't make me!"
"I think I can. I will destroy your friend Zim if you do not look, as well as shove this ax into your stomach. That would worsen Dib's pain, wouldn't it?"
"All right. But I won't let my mind fall apart! I will not let it happen that way! It is not to happen that way!" Forced to stare, she saw him remove his goggles. His burning, bright red eyes bore into hers, and she saw a flash of light as the scenery changed. She was now observing a ruined Earth, twenty years in the future. Soon, amongst the dead terrain, she saw a figure lying amidst the debris of Tak's Voot.
"Help!" the future Mel cried out. "Help! Please! I'm injured! I'm stuck here! Someone!" A crowd of Irkens approached, Zim in front.
"Here is where we stop to eat and rest for a small time! Then, we go on again, looking for more humans that may have survived!"
'What happened?' Mel thought. 'Why is everything so devastated?'
"Sir!" one of the following Irkens cried out. "Sir! There's a human, right there by that old, wrecked Voot Runner!"
"Where?"
"There, sir!"
"I see..." Zim approached the fallen Mel. "What, is everybody frozen? Move it along! Hurry up!" The other Irkens cautiously followed.
"Is she dead, sir?" Seeing that it was Mel, Zim's eyes opened wide.
In spite of the fact that she still breathed, Zim quickly said, "Uh, no, this one's dead. Let's rest elsewhere!"
"Sir, she's breathing. She's unconscious, but she's still breathing."
"I said move on!"
"Are you for these humans, sir? Because that's what it's beginning to look like." Some of the other Irkens nodded, and there was a disconcerting murmur.
"No! Don't be silly!"
"Then kill her, sir!"
"All right! I will! But first, I want to double check. I don't want to waste ammo on a dead human!"
"All right, just hurry up!"
Zim whispered into Mel's ear, "I don't know if you can hear me or not, Mel, but I must kill you. I don't want to, but I must. I'm sorry. Goodbye."
"Well? What's the hold-up?"
"Uh...nothing."
"Here's a knife."
"What about a ray gun?"
"Nah, too expensive to afford. Here you go." Zim was handed a knife, and he turned Mel over on her back. He whispered a quick, 'I'll never forgive myself' and thrust it forth into her heart. She awoke, yelped, but then lost her strength.
"Why...?"
"I'm so sorry." Breathing her last breath, she died, blood still pouring out. "We will rest elsewhere!" Zim led the Irkens away, marching to an Irken war-song.
Dib materialized around the site of the crash, now looking as a Falen with bluish skin, large eyes, and taller than before. He ran up to the vehicle when he saw it was only composed of stray red and purple sheets of metal, calling out Mel's name. "Mel! Are you here? Are you all right?" When at last he came to her, he checked her pulse and tried to revive her, but it was no use. She was dead, and had been so for about an hour. Crying for her and thinking of how she would still be alive had he not left, he didn't see another Irken come by, and was shot in the back. The visions ended, and Mel came out of her trance.
"W-what happened?" she asked, seeing Zim at the door and Professor Membrane on the ground, unconscious.
"I saw what he was doing and saved you."
"Oh, thank you, Zim! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Nothing of Dib's is really here; let's leave immediately!"
When something's a matter of living or dying, no one can really tell if it's good or bad, for with such a thin barrier between life and death or good and bad, it is hard to determine if it's worth fighting for.
--Invader Mel's Diary of Perception
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