Opening Up
Epic Nine
Written by Cartman's Girl and Poe

Meanwhile, Cten was still out and about. Infact, we see the door of a Mens Room. We see a flash, and Cten's voice from inside.

"He's there? Good! Good, yes, I'll be back soon." just as a man was about to enter, she slammed the door open and ran over him and vanished from sight. Back at the base, Beka re-entered the room.

"She's on her way." Poe sat down on the arm of the couch as well, seemed to be where he usually sat when it came to couches, while Vist just waited. He pulled off his wig and set it, along with his contacts, to the side, swaying his feet back and forth idly. Eventually Cten arrived back at the base, panting slightly as she opened the door.

"Thank... heavens..." she panted, pulling her wig off and her antennae drooped against her head. "...you're.. all right.." Beka pulled out a little fan and fanned Cten with it, while Athra just watched from where she stood near the couch. Vist looked up at her sadly, while Poe stood and lead Cten over to the couch.

"Mah.. I.. I gotta.. confess.. somethin.." He started uneasily, "I forgot.. all 'bout it.. but I had a dream about.. about my dad.. an' he said.. I was gonna be like him because I did that," He closed his eyes tightly, clenching the couch cushions. Cten managed to catch her breath, thanking Poe as she sat down.

"What did you do?" she pulled her contacts out, and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"When I was.. really little.. An.. an' you and Poe had that.. that egg.. in the incubator.." He bit his lip nearly hard enough to puncture it, "I.. I was mad.. I," he swallowed and continued, barely audible, "I hit it.." Now with her head abouts her again, she heard clearly what he was saying and what he possibly meant. She blinked a few times, tilting her head slowly to the side.

"You.. hit it..." she echoed somewhat. He scrunched up his shoulders and flinched, making a whimpery sound, and Poe set his hands on Cten's shoulders,

"It's what messed up the temperature control," he said quietly, as Vist didn't seem to be able to continue. Cten made a 'hmm' sound, then put her hands together then to her mouth.

"I... see..." she muttered into her fists, closing her eyes. "Is that what did it then?" she asked quietly, possibly to either Poe or Vist. Athra looked at Vist sadly, then at Cten and Poe.

"We think so," Poe glanced at Beka again. Vist looked absolutely pathetic as he tried to hold back from sobbing, preparing for rejection from his mother.

"Well." she said simply, opening her eyes. "That... that's rather interesting..." it was strange how Cten was taking this so well, and amazing at how the disease wasn't snapping into over drive with the news over what had caused the egg's early end. Vist opened his eye to a slit, looking over at her, looking slightly confused at her reaction. Poe furrowed his brow, looking equally confused,

"Are you're alright, Cten?"

"I'm... not all too sure..." she put her hands down onto her knees, shutting her eyes. "I thought I'd gotten over what happened... but truth is I never have. I put all that feeling into caring for Vist, now.. now I find out he did that just by accident I..." Cten opened her eyes quickly. "I don't know what to think." Athra looked quite disturbed by that,

"Umm... should I go get Zib or.. something..?" she asked, since she knew about how he was studying their behaviour and all. Poe shook his head,

"I think that's the last thing we need," he murmured, then looked over at Vist and Athra, "Maybe you kids should go."

"Least get some clothes on Vist." Athra murmered, helping him up. Cten continued to sit on the couch, staring at the floor blankly as her antennae slowly twitched now and then. He watched Cten warily as he stood up, giving her a wide berth.

"'M Sorry.." he murmured, turning his gaze to the ground and going upstairs. Poe sat down on the couch behind Cten and hugged her loosely, not quite sure what to do. Cten just leant against him, shutting her eyes slowly again.

"What should I do?" she asked quietly, as if she'd become a robot and wasn't sure how to show her emotions all of a sudden. Poe shook his head slowly,

"Ultimately, that's up to you." He stroke her antennae idly with his knuckle, "But.. he was just a hatchling. He didn't.. understand." Vist came back in his usual outfit, giving Athra her shirt back, watching his parents carefully before heading out the door. Athra followed him out, the two leaving Cten and Poe alone. Well, Beka was there but she was quietly watching.

"I know he didn't understand... how could he.. and what I did..." Cten shuddered slightly at the memory, "I'm so lost..." she sounded like she was on the verge of tears now, putting her hands to her eyes. "I don't know what to do!" Poe tightened his grip on her and sighed.

"Don't blame yourself.. you did all you could." His antennae drooped, "If anything it's my fault since I rejected him when he first hatched." Vist was staring at the street sadly as they walked, his hands stuffed in his pockets, having just barely remembered to put his disguise back on. Cten slowly pulled her wig back on, and replaced her contacts. "It wasn't your fault Poe." she slid of the couch, and out of his grip. "I want to go talk to him at least.." gave his hand a squeeze and smiled slightly,

"Alright.."  Poe watched her go, "Good luck." Vist sat down on the sidewalk, resting his folded arms on his drawn-up knees and staring at the house across the street. Athra saw Cten coming, then put her hand to Vits's shoulder.

"Your Mom's coming... and I better go before Dad wonders what I'm up to." she kissed him gently on the cheek and headed off just as Cten came to a stop near them.

"Bye Athra... thanks by the way." Athra nodded back at Cten, then left. Vist watched her go, only closing his eyes slightly at the kiss, nodding mechanically. He glanced toward Cten at the corner of his eye, up at her sadly. She stared back at him, then sat down besides him on the sidewalk. Sitting in a way very similar to his, drawn-up knees and arms folded on them.

"So you saw Snab huh?" Cten asked quietly. He nodded weakly, staring back at the sidewalk.

"He.. he had this.. huge scar on his neck.." He reached up, tracing the place where it would be on him, "And orangey yellow eyes.."

"Poe came to my defence the only way he could... and he gave Poe the disease back." she sighed, shaking her head. "If I had been able to defend myself against him none of this would have happened..." Cten then looked at him, leaning her head on her arms. "But then I would never have had you."

"Yeah," he repeated quietly, "None of it would've happened.." He nearly closed his eyes, "You wouln't.. you wouln't be sick.. and.." He closed them now, "You'd have a real hatchlin." Cten looked at him, then leant over and slowly placed her hand onto his shoulder.

"I do have a real hatchling, he just isn't a hatchling anymore.." she said gently. "Vist, when you were born I promised you I'd always be there for you, and I meant that. No matter what happens, I'm your Mother and I care about you." she looked off to the side, "Despite how you came to be... I still love you."

"But…" His lower lids drew up, "What if he's right?" He whimpered, sounding like a hatchling himself now, "I don't wanna be like that…"

"Vist you won't, I know you won't." she scooted closer to him. "Snab, no one ever cared for him or needed him. You, you have a family who love and care for you very much." Cten shook her head, "True I didn't know him that well but what happened was enough to tell me what he was like, and you... you don't even have a scent similar to his." Vist lifted his head slightly, looking over at his mother. He slumped and leaned against her, even though he was taller than her by now, curling up tightly.

"I'm sorry, Mah.." he repeated, since it was the simplest way to sum up how he felt. Cten smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around him, stroking the back of his head - a thing she's always done since he was hatched in Zim's Voot Cruiser, he didn't seem to mind it either - and shut her eyes.

"It's all right Vist.. you didn't know." He clutched onto her and bowed his head, reverting to his clingy hatchling self, for the moment, at least.

~*~

Some time later, Ivy was walking through the park, with an unusual bounce to her step. She was actually smiling, however slight it might be; she'd been using the advice she'd gotten from Anzto and her family, and it was working. Kids were leaving her alone, which suited her just fine. She saw Anzto on the fringes of the park, and ran towards him,

"Hey! Anzto! Guess what?" Anzto stopped what he was doing, which was walking along and stopped to turn around to see her hurrying up. He smirked as she stopped,

"What?" he asked. She caught up quickly,

"What you said, it's working!" She stopped and held onto the strap of her backpack, "They've stopped insulting me and challenging me to fights!"

"Well I'm glad to hear it, Ivy." he grinned. "Told ya they were doing it just for attention and to get you in trouble." She grinned up at him, then put her bookbag down and sat on it, then pondered.

"Well, Vist has just been weird and quiet all week, so I haven't had to do anything in his case."

"Yeah, Vist had a rough night some time ago." Anzto sat down on the ground in front of her. "He has good reason to be quiet." She blinked,

"Really? What happened?"

"He had a nightmare which involved something from his past, and it shook him up." was all Anzto said, if she wanted to know she could ask Vist for the full details. "From what I've seen abouts, things worked out."

"Oh." She looked puzzled, the idea of Vist being an actual person with feelings, who could get scared, not really crossing her mind. "I.. guess I hope he gets better then. It's just odd seeing him like this."

"Well anyway, it's good seeing you smiling and now scolwing. You know, you look pretty when you're not angry." he smirked, leaning forward as he drew his knees up. She blinked, then raised a suspicious eyeridge at him,

"Pretty what?" She asked, hoping he'd meant to append something to that.

"Pretty pretty. You know... I'm not good with the compliments really..." Anzto shrugged, "Pretty pretty. Not too girlie pretty, but pretty. Yes." She blinked and hunched her shoulders, scowling and sinking back into her large shirt collar,

"Me? Pretty?! BAH! Never."

"Sorry." he said, "I usually call it as it is. Didn't mean anything." She made a 'hmph' sound and rubbed at her cheek, which, oh my, could it possibly be a bit red?

"Yeah, well." was all she could say.

"You hungry?" he asked, since he was kind of hungry himself now. She looked up,

"Oh, yeah, I haven't eaten since lunch at Skool."

"Let's find someplace to eat then." Anzto stood up, dusting at his jeans behind since he had sat on the dirt ground. "I'm up for a hamburger."

"Sounds good to me," she stood up and picked up her backpack, shaking it out and trailing after him, then checked her pocket, "I'm all out of money though.." She muttered, scowling.

"Hey relax." he said, "I can shout this time." the two made it to Burger Boy's stand. The figure on top looking similar to Rev. Meat from the Nny stories. Anzto looked at the menu, then pointed out. "I'll have the double meat with double cheese with sauce thanks."

"Um.. just a hamburger. No buns." She got a weird look for that, but it's what she always ordered at these types of places, so.  Soon enough the two were given their order, and Anzto dumped a whole lot of change into the poor attendant's hands and the two walked off. He unwrapped his and bit into it,

"Hmm... one good thing 'bout Earth..." he munched and was somehow able to talk normally at the same time. "They really know how to grill a cow." She took a bite of her, well, meat,

"They have cows other places to grill?" She wondered around the burger, not so good at multitasking.

"Animals similar at least." he said, chomping down on the last bit and licked at his fingers. "Hmmm... tasty." She finished off her own meal,

"Um, thanks. For.. paying for that." She tilted her head, "Where'd you get all that change?"

"I find it on the streets." Anzto shrugged, "Since I don't have a job usually people throw me cash. Some call me a bum tho."

"Oh. Well, um.." She glanced to the side, "My dad has a job, but my grandparents just use replicators whenever they need money. We probably have one too somewhere. If you ever, uh, needed any.."

"Aw that's mighty kind of you Ivy, but I'm fine... what I eat usually doesn't cost anything anyway." he smiled slightly, as the two continued walking along. "The joys of being a being who eats raw food huh?" She made a slight face,

"Yeah, I.. guess so." She watched the street go by, "What do you do all day?"

"Well, since I sleep for one hour I'm awake for 23 hours a day. I usually walk around, observe humans and how they live, eat what I need, leave what I don't... just.. my life." Anzto shrugged, "Not much I know, but what choice do I have?"

"That doesn't sound too bad." She looked up at the sky, "But why do you stay here? I mean, there's a whole planet out there to see."

"Well I was gonna do that..." he said gently, then looked at her. "But I found something worth hanging around for."

"Really? What?" She looked at the cityscape, "There isn't much around here."

"Oh, sometimes when you spend the past few years by yourself without family, and you meet someone you like hanging around with... you tend to stay around." Anzto said, looking back at the busy streets of the city.

"Huh? You mean.." She blinked and looked up at him with a raised eyeridge again, "Me?" Anzto stood there for a while, then nodded once.

"Got it in one Ivy." Her antennae scythes drooped slightly, and she glanced in the opposite direction quickly,

"Pfft, I'm sure there're more interesting things out there."

"I'm sure there is. But I'll go see them when I'm ready." he said, "And I'm not ready. Not yet anyway." She shifted the weight of her backpack,

"Hey, um. Think I could go with you?" She blinked at what she blurted, "I mean.. whenever you go. This place is just.. dull." Anzto blinked in surprise, looking down at her. He smiled gently,

"It'd be an honour to have you as my travelling buddy Ivy." he looked up at the sky, "There's so much to see, but seeing it by yourself wouldn't be the same if you had someone with you."

"Heh, yeah, I bet." She grinned slightly, then looked up at the sky as well, "Nothing's really as fun when you're doing it alone.." He nodded in agreement.

"You are my friend Ivy, and no matter what the computers and everything say about my species, I'm not as bad as all that." She turned her gaze toward him, her grin becoming more of a simple smile,

"Well.. you're my friend too. Hey, computers also say Irkens are suppose to be militaristic and only concerned about conquering planets, so what good are they?"

"'Xactly." Anzto grinned at her. "So when the day comes when I feel it's time to leave this city, I'll see if you'll acompany me."

"Don't see why I wouldn't." She grinned back a bit toothily, then scowled, "That is, if my family doesn't get all paranoid.."

"Hmm... maybe once you finish Skool... and besides, could you be in safer hands, er, claws?" She sighed and shook her head,

"Probably those claws they worry about.."

"I know... I can't help what my species is known for Ivy, but I can help what I do." Anzto looked at his hands, "Always have." She nodded slightly and turned to him,

"Hey.. I.. I believe you. It's just my family.. ugh, especially Grandpa Zim.." She winced, then got an idea, "Hey, maybe I should bring you over just so they can see that you're alright?"

"Think they'd want to see me?" he asked quietly, "Last thing I want is to cause trouble for you for bringing me home."

"Hey, they let Ragde bring a human home," she snorted, "If they get mad about this that's just.. bah!"

"Well.. if you say so miss Ivy." Anzto smiled, "Lead the way and I'll follow." She nodded and started towards her base.

[To be continued – Scarily enough, my new friend Michael speaks sometimes like Anzto - scary]