A/N: The sincerest of apologies for the long wait for this chapter. I
have been rather swamped lately with about six projects to get finished
before yesterday (Friday) And after this week is mid-terms and Wednesday
the 15th was my seventeenth birthday and it SUCKED!! I had meant to
write this chapter that day, but crying most of it away kind of ruled
that out. I can't promise anything but I will attempt to post with
more frequency again. As always the support of your reviews motivates
me. Thanks.
Disclaimer: Do any of us really own anything? What is ownership?
Chapter 6...In which the landing site is thoroughly investigated and
several discoveries are made, some of them stranger than others.
Every nerve in Dib's body was taut like stretched wire. Intense
contemplation would not bury his awareness. He must be ready for
anything. Ready for the Oranges, ready for a double cross, ready to
respond immediately to any situation thrown his way.
The final bell rang and Dib, as high strung as if he'd been playing
'Alone in the Dark' at midnight on six cups of coffee, shot screaming
into the air like a mad jack-in-the-box and clung to the ceiling lamp,
panting and shaking.
Most of the class left laughing as they gathered there things and Dib
managed to avoid falling on either his face or his ass as he dropped
disheveled to the floor, eyebrow twitching.
"So much for ready and alert," he muttered to himself, brushing off
his clothes and picking up his backpack. He grunted as the upwards of
thirty pounds weighed on his shoulder.
He looked around. Zim and Kiir were the only ones left around,
conversing quietly at her desk. Probably Zim was telling her where they
were going.
Don't make assumptions, his cynical side hissed. You can't hear what
they're saying. Be on guard.
"Be on guard," he repeated quietly to himself and strode over to
where the two aliens were standing, their conversation becoming more
audible as he approached.
"-fault," Kiir said, crossing her arms.
"MY fault? What part of this is MY fault?" Zim demanded.
"I came here to get AWAY from hostile life forms not fight them!"
"And how does that have anything to do with me?"
"Um, guys?" Dib asked, announcing his presence hesitantly.
"What?" the Irken and Half-Irken snapped, turning in unison.
He cringed. "Nothing," he squeaked uncomfortably.
"Speak your mind, Dib-human," Zim said, a bit less gruffly.
"Are we still going to the landing site?" he asked shifting from foot
to foot uncomfortably, half expecting Zim to have changed his mind.
"Indeed. I was just discussing this with Kiir."
Told you so, smirked his better nature.
Oh, so now Zim never lies? Greeeeeeat. Cynical Dib rolled his eyes.
The outlaw nodded. "So you got attacked, huh?"
"Don't remind me," he shuddered. He could still feel the clammy
tentacles writhing all over his flesh.
"Zim tells me it stole your energy."
Wait a minute, hadn't he just told her NOT to remind him? He opened
his mouth to answer.
"Come," Zim said, interrupting any response Dib might have made. "There
are only a few hours of Earth daylight left. He started out the door
and Dib hurried after him, Kiir, from the sound of her footsteps,
following grudgingly behind.
"We will take you car," Zim informed him.
Dib blinked. "Um, okay." He shrugged. The park was only a few minutes
walk from skool, but if Zim wanted to drive, whatever.
"Provided it will start," Kiir snorted. resenting, he supposed, the
difficulties in getting to skool that morning.
"Hey, I got it to work," Dib defended.
"Yeah, after a good half hour," she muttered.
"Humph," Dib crossed his arms.
"Will you two stop bickering," Zim demanded irritably.
"Feh." Kiir didn't say anything besides that, however.
The parking lot was near empty except for a few teachers staying late
and Dib's black car. As soon as he had unlocked it, Zim opened and
climbed into the passenger's side, eliciting a 'hey' form Kiir of mild
annoyance and indignation.
"Just sit in the back," Zim told her.
Dib hoped a fight would not break out and was thankful when Kiir with
a sigh, got in the backseat. Dib was even more pleased when the car
started right away.
"Well what do ya know," Kiir consented.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dib saw Zim smirk. But then, Zim was
always smirking.
***
Zim got out of the car, looking around at the greenery that was still
strange and foreign to him. They could easily have walked from skool
but he'd wanted to have the car on hand, just in case. Just in case they
needed a quick get away, or found something that needed analysis in his
lab.
"Do you recall the exact place?" he asked Dib.
The raven haired human nodded. "Yeah, it's over this way."
To Zim he seemed nervous and high strung. It made sense though, he
was nearly always a twitchy and suspicious creature, so it was only
natural that being attacked by a vicious and unknown monster might get
to him. Still, Zim wished he could do something to make him feel better.
Smooth his hair, touch his skin. Zim shook his head. Impossible. But
maybe he should do a few tests on him, just to make sure that the thing
didn't do any lasting damage or anything more sinister and invisible.
But would Dib let him do that? Probably not, seeing as every time the
human had been exposed to his machinery it had been, well, not for
health benefits. There just wasn't the trust between them yet.
Dib seemed more confused than adverse at this point though. Zim
wondered how long it would last, until they both fell back into the
old, familiar patterns.
He watched the human as he followed him to the site, Kiir tromping
along beside him. Dib was very graceful, when he wasn't tripping all
over himself, and Zim sometimes just liked to watch him move.
"It was here," Dib said as they came into the clearing form the night
before. "In the center about a hundred and fifty feet in diameter and
twenty feet tall."
Zim nodded. A fairly large craft. He took out his scanner and switched
it on, letting it warm up. "Dib, Kiir, scout the area for tangible clues
to what's going on."
"Phht, like what Zim," Kiir demanded. Dib however was already busy.
"Anything," Zim grunted, looking back down at the scanner, waiting
for the results.
***
Kiir walked a little ways away and leaned against a tree, completely
ignoring Zim's demand for her to 'look for clues'. Who was he to order
her around? She looked back and forth between her old acquaintance and
the strange human. There was definitely something fishy going on
between them, mark her words. She had no idea what it could be of
course. Zim sends her to Dib, who tells her that the two of them had
been bitter enemies for years. Then Dib invites Zim to come in, he
declines almost violently and leaves, then the next day he rescues Dib
and they drag her along to chase creepies.
She shook her head. Strange behavior indeed. And now, if she didn't
know better, she would swear that Dib was avoiding looking at Zim. She
decided that she was definitely going to get to the bottom of this
mystery. She grinned.
***
Zim stared down at the scan screen, amazed. There was absolutely no
sign that there had been a ship here at all in the last day. There
should have been large amounts of residual energies floating around
that didn't mesh with the existing fields. But there were no such
abnormalities. But maybe, considering what the aliens had done... He
smirked and adjusted the scanner to read shifts in the intensity of the
NORMAL energy field and was rewarded a moment later when the scanner
beeped. The display showed an aberration in the field a sphere in which
the energy level was much, much lower than the rest, a sphere about
a hundred and fifty feet in diameter. So it seemed there ship absorbed
energy as well? That, as far as he new was a first.
He heard Dib's voice, snapping him from his pondering.
"Hey Zim, come take a look at this!"
He jogged over to where the boy was kneeling, at the edge of where
the ship had been and only a few feet from the bushes where Zim had
found him the night before. He motioned for Zim to kneel as well.
"Yes Dib?" he asked curiously, stooping down.
"Take a look at that!" he grinned, pointing at the grass.
Zim looked. Amidst the green grass were large patches, all about
a foot long and four inches wide, of dry, withered, brown grass. They
were in such a pattern that Zim would have sworn they looked like-
"Footsteps," Dib said. "This is where they got off the ship. They made
foot prints in the grass somehow, absorbing all the," he gulped, "all
the energy out of the grass."
Zim looked at him, seeing the fear behind his golden eyes. Obviously
Dib was realizing what would have happened to him if he'd not been
freed from the creature's clutches. Seeing himself, dry and withered
like the grass. Zim grew angry. Try to kill Dib would they? Well, when
they crossed paths again they'd learn exactly why Irkens were the most
feared race in the Universe. Until then...
He put a hand on Dib's shoulder. "Take some samples. We'll bring them
back to my lab for a better look. Possibly it will tell us some more
about them."
Dib nodded, hesitantly. "Do you think they do it voluntarily or, or
not?" He asked.
"I am unsure, but there ship seems to act the same way. Take a look."
He handed Dib the scanner. "That grey spot is-"
"Where the ship was," Dib said, "Right?"
"Yes. The entire Universe is intertwined with different types and
fields of energy. Their ship seems to have absorbed energy straight
from Earth's Bio-field field, so much so that it hasn't fully
rebalanced itself yet."
"It should though, balance out, right?" he asked pulling up some of
the dead grass, making sure the roots came up as well.
"Unless something is very, very wrong, Dib-human," Zim said, "Do you
have something to put that in?"
He nodded taking a small, covered specimen dish out of his backpack
and putting the grass in it. "I try to be prepared for anything."
Zim nodded. He wondered what other things Dib had collected of
evidence of him, if anything. He couldn't have much or he'd have
convinced the authorities of his existence by now. Or would he have? Dib
hadn't tried to autopsy Kiir, had invited him in, had proposed the
truce himself. Who knew anymore?
"I don't think we're going to find anything else Zim," Dib said, "Do
you want to get going?"
Zim considered it. "Alright." he stood up, waiting for Dib.
Dib stood less shakily this time, put the sample dish in his coat
packet and reached down to pick up his backpack. Zim could see, even
before the boy stumbled under it's weight that the thing was much too
heavy for him.
"Give me that," he said, taking hold of one of the straps.
"Huh? No. I've got it," Dib insisted, looking away slightly.
"You don't have the energy Dib-human. Don't be stubborn."
"I'm fine," he clutched the pack closer to himself still not meeting
Zim's gaze. Strange.
"It's too heavy for you even when you're healthy, give it to me, now
Dib," Zim held a hand out waiting for the human to hand it over. He
didn't. "Fine." Zim wrenched the backpack carefully, but quickly from
the human's grasp, slung it over his own shoulder and started walking.
"Hey! Hey!" Dib ran after him. "Give that back!"
Zim ignored him.
***
Kiir, from several feet off had had prime seats for the spectacle.
She'd seen Dib's face as he turned away, as well as the insistent,
worried look on Zim's face. She'd seen the human BLUSH. And so her
mystery was solved so quickly, hardly a challenge at all. But with a
highly amusing answer.
She couldn't help laughing to herself as she followed them to the car
at her own leisurely pace. They LIKED each other! And it looked like
neither of them realized the feelings were mutual. Oh it was beautiful,
exactly the sort of thing that snot Zim deserved. She'd be sure to
tease him mercilessly the moment she had a chance.
***
Dib had no idea why Zim had taken his back pack from him, unless of
course it was specifically to embarrass him , in which case he'd done a
wonderful job. Dib could feel the heat beneath his face and new that
he was STILL blushing a little bit. God damn it. And now he followed
the cocky, commanding little alien to his own car, like Zim had some
sort or right to order him around. He sighed. This was stupid, why was
he doing this to himself, following Zim around like a puppy. Better
that he stayed away from him until the feeling went away.
But he couldn't, and he didn't really want to either. He liked being
around the Irken, and much as he hated to admit it he felt gratified
and rather special that Zim had been so insistent on carrying his bag.
As they approached the car he heard footsteps behind them and turned
apprehensively. It was only Kiir. He'd half forgotten that she was there
at all.
"Did you find anything?" he asked her.
"No," she said with a wry grin that made Dib very nervous.
"O-kay," he shrugged, unlocking the car. He looked up at Zim. "Um,
we're going to your house, right?"
"Unless you have a qualm with that," he answered, throwing Dib's bag
in the back seat with Kiir.
"Ah, no that's fine," he said, sitting behind the wheel and closing
the door, a realization dawning on him. He'd been INVITED to Zim's
house. He wasn't sneaking in or taking photos with hacked satellite
equipment. He was going to see the place he'd been trying for years to
get to, and he wasn't (he hoped) going to get chased out. A very large
smile graced his lips.
But of course as he started the car, cynical Dib had to have his say.
It's probably a trap you idiot!
Oh shut up, the rest of Dib snapped and continued grinning happily.
"You know how to get there?" Zim asked.
"Unless you moved it," he chuckled and pulled out of the parking lot.
"...Did you move it?" He asked a bit uncertainly.
"No, although that's not a bad idea," Zim mused, "But pointless since
you're the only human who knows where it is."
Did that mean, Zim ...trusted him?
Cynical Dib tried to make a sarcastic remark but optimistic Dib had
duct-taped his mouth shut and tied his hands together.
***
Twenty minutes later when Dib parked across the street form Zim's odd
looking house, the sun was just about finished setting. Dib got out of
the car, stretching to see the sky on fire with orange and purple. Funny
that such spectacular phenomena could be caused by pollution. Zim got
out of the car, still carrying the back pack he'd taken and Kiir yawned
boredly.
Dib followed the aliens excitedly, almost apprehensively into the
house, chuckling as Zim shoved his parent robots out of the way.
"Come in," he said, "watch out, I'm not sure where Gir is."
Kiir collapsed on the couch.
Dib frowned slightly, remembering some of his previous encounters
with the psychotic robot. "Consider me dually warned."
"Do you need to let someone know where you are? This may take some
time."
"Uh, no. It's fine." His father wouldn't notice his absence and Gaz
would only be glad he wasn't there to disturb her.
Zim squinted an eye, an expression that Dib had come to connect as the
equivalent of raising an eyebrow, but didn't question his answer. "Do
you require food? You had no lunch."
Zim certainly seemed strangely concerned with his well being lately,
didn't he? Dib realized that he was indeed, very hungry. He hadn't had
breakfast either. Embarrassedly he decided to take the offer and not,
as Cynical was trying franticly to make him, worry about being poisoned.
"Um, yeah. I am kinda hungry," he admitted. "Do you have anything
human friendly?"
"I believe so," Zim nodded. "Come with me."
Dib followed him to the kitchen, where Zim proceeded to open up
various cabinets and the refrigerator, all of which were stuffed with
food, but absolutely nothing healthy. The cabinets had bags of fun sized
candies, Twinkies and ho-hos and the like, sugar coated cereals, a dozen
or more different kinds of potato chips and boxes of fruit roll-ups.
The fridge had about six different flavors of soda pop, jello and pudding
cups and a box of pizza.
"Do you see anything?" Zim asked. "Most of this is Gir's."
"...Um, what's on the pizza?"
Tentatively Zim lifted the lid a little ways and peered in, but shut
it very quickly and looked at Dib. "Trust me, you don't want it."
"O-kay. How about some chips then?"
"Those I can vouch for the safety of," he grinned, leaning down to
the cabinets. "Any particular flavor?"
"Um, plain."
He caught the bag Zim tossed, seeing that the alien had one himself,
and he also pulled two soda's out of the fridge and handed one to Dib.
"Thanks. Um, should we bring Kiir something?"
"She can find the kitchen, she's not quite that stupid. Come on, we
need to get that sample tested and she won't be any help anyway." Zim
walked over and opened what seemed to be a closet door. It wasn't. It
was an elevator of sorts, assumably leading down to the lab.
Dib followed him into the elevator a little uncomfortably. This wasn't
the way he'd gotten down to the labs before, but then, who knew if he'd
taken the proper route. He probably hadn't. The space wasn't large and
he stood shoulder to shoulder with Zim, making him even more nervous.
His cynical side was muttering incoherencies about his doom which was
surely about to ensue and he was still feeling faint from earlier. In
fact he was feeling almost as bad now as he had right after the drain.
He must have looked it because as they descended Zim turned to him.
"Are you feeling alright Dib-human?" he asked concernedly.
"I'm a little tired," he admitted, "but I'll be okay."
Zim frowned. "We don't know all the effects of the drain yet. Tell me
if you start feeling worse."
"I will," he nodded. "But..."
"Yes?"
The elevator stopped and opened up into the lab.
Dib shook his head. "Nothing."
Zim shrugged and Dib followed as he walked out into the lab. Dib
stared around wishing he had a few extra sets of eyes and resisting the
urge to snap photos left and right. All the strange equipment was
entrancing. He could spend years looking at it.
"Impressed?" he heard Zim say arrogantly, leading him over to the
main computer bay.
"Definitely," Dib breathed, "what's it all do?"
"Oh, this and that," he shrugged grinning. "Keeps the base running."
He sat down in the high backed chair before the great monitor.
"Computer."
"Yes?"
Dib had to keep himself from jumping at the disembodied voice. This
was so cool. Just like 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' or something,
only with a less annoying computer, he hoped. He couldn't help grinning.
"Get Dib a chair," the Irken commanded.
Dib was very surprised when a chair that matched Zim's rose out of a
hatch beneath him, scooping him into the seat. "Um, thanks."
"No problem," the computer replied.
"You have the sample?" Zim asked.
Dib nodded and pulled the dish out of his pocket. He handed it to Zim.
"Here," he smiled.
Zim nodded, and taking the top off the dish set it on a tray thing on
the computer control panel. "Analyze this sample, computer."
"It's dry grass," the computer said.
Zim turned to Dib and rolling his eyes as if to say 'he's always like
this' said, "We know that, computer. Give us a FULL analysis."
"Fine. Processing."
"It'll probably be a few minutes," Zim told him, tearing open his bag
of chips munching on a handful.
Dib popped the top of his cola. "So, do you think it'll really tell
us anything useful about the Oranges?"
"The Oranges?" Zim asked confusedly.
"Oh sorry. That's what I've been calling the aliens, since we don't
know what they're really called. I forgot I hadn't mentioned it before,"
he exclaimed happily.
"The Oranges," Zim said, "A rather disarming name for something so...
creepy."
Dib smiled. The way Zim talked with an irregular mixture of very
proper, erudite speech and in the same sentence throwing in slang and
words like thingy, Dib found very endearing.
"Well," Dib said, "I suppose we could call them the Giant Evil Stretch
Monsters of Death, if you think it would be more appropriate."
Zim looked at him a moment. "...The Oranges it is."
Just then the computer spoke. "Analysis complete."
"Well, tell us," Zim said impatiently.
To Be Continued...
So you'll just have to be patient! Because cliff hangers make me more
inclined to fell the need to write. Next chapter, what's up with the
grass. What's up with Dib? What's Kiir up to? Till then!
Read it? Review it!
have been rather swamped lately with about six projects to get finished
before yesterday (Friday) And after this week is mid-terms and Wednesday
the 15th was my seventeenth birthday and it SUCKED!! I had meant to
write this chapter that day, but crying most of it away kind of ruled
that out. I can't promise anything but I will attempt to post with
more frequency again. As always the support of your reviews motivates
me. Thanks.
Disclaimer: Do any of us really own anything? What is ownership?
Chapter 6...In which the landing site is thoroughly investigated and
several discoveries are made, some of them stranger than others.
Every nerve in Dib's body was taut like stretched wire. Intense
contemplation would not bury his awareness. He must be ready for
anything. Ready for the Oranges, ready for a double cross, ready to
respond immediately to any situation thrown his way.
The final bell rang and Dib, as high strung as if he'd been playing
'Alone in the Dark' at midnight on six cups of coffee, shot screaming
into the air like a mad jack-in-the-box and clung to the ceiling lamp,
panting and shaking.
Most of the class left laughing as they gathered there things and Dib
managed to avoid falling on either his face or his ass as he dropped
disheveled to the floor, eyebrow twitching.
"So much for ready and alert," he muttered to himself, brushing off
his clothes and picking up his backpack. He grunted as the upwards of
thirty pounds weighed on his shoulder.
He looked around. Zim and Kiir were the only ones left around,
conversing quietly at her desk. Probably Zim was telling her where they
were going.
Don't make assumptions, his cynical side hissed. You can't hear what
they're saying. Be on guard.
"Be on guard," he repeated quietly to himself and strode over to
where the two aliens were standing, their conversation becoming more
audible as he approached.
"-fault," Kiir said, crossing her arms.
"MY fault? What part of this is MY fault?" Zim demanded.
"I came here to get AWAY from hostile life forms not fight them!"
"And how does that have anything to do with me?"
"Um, guys?" Dib asked, announcing his presence hesitantly.
"What?" the Irken and Half-Irken snapped, turning in unison.
He cringed. "Nothing," he squeaked uncomfortably.
"Speak your mind, Dib-human," Zim said, a bit less gruffly.
"Are we still going to the landing site?" he asked shifting from foot
to foot uncomfortably, half expecting Zim to have changed his mind.
"Indeed. I was just discussing this with Kiir."
Told you so, smirked his better nature.
Oh, so now Zim never lies? Greeeeeeat. Cynical Dib rolled his eyes.
The outlaw nodded. "So you got attacked, huh?"
"Don't remind me," he shuddered. He could still feel the clammy
tentacles writhing all over his flesh.
"Zim tells me it stole your energy."
Wait a minute, hadn't he just told her NOT to remind him? He opened
his mouth to answer.
"Come," Zim said, interrupting any response Dib might have made. "There
are only a few hours of Earth daylight left. He started out the door
and Dib hurried after him, Kiir, from the sound of her footsteps,
following grudgingly behind.
"We will take you car," Zim informed him.
Dib blinked. "Um, okay." He shrugged. The park was only a few minutes
walk from skool, but if Zim wanted to drive, whatever.
"Provided it will start," Kiir snorted. resenting, he supposed, the
difficulties in getting to skool that morning.
"Hey, I got it to work," Dib defended.
"Yeah, after a good half hour," she muttered.
"Humph," Dib crossed his arms.
"Will you two stop bickering," Zim demanded irritably.
"Feh." Kiir didn't say anything besides that, however.
The parking lot was near empty except for a few teachers staying late
and Dib's black car. As soon as he had unlocked it, Zim opened and
climbed into the passenger's side, eliciting a 'hey' form Kiir of mild
annoyance and indignation.
"Just sit in the back," Zim told her.
Dib hoped a fight would not break out and was thankful when Kiir with
a sigh, got in the backseat. Dib was even more pleased when the car
started right away.
"Well what do ya know," Kiir consented.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dib saw Zim smirk. But then, Zim was
always smirking.
***
Zim got out of the car, looking around at the greenery that was still
strange and foreign to him. They could easily have walked from skool
but he'd wanted to have the car on hand, just in case. Just in case they
needed a quick get away, or found something that needed analysis in his
lab.
"Do you recall the exact place?" he asked Dib.
The raven haired human nodded. "Yeah, it's over this way."
To Zim he seemed nervous and high strung. It made sense though, he
was nearly always a twitchy and suspicious creature, so it was only
natural that being attacked by a vicious and unknown monster might get
to him. Still, Zim wished he could do something to make him feel better.
Smooth his hair, touch his skin. Zim shook his head. Impossible. But
maybe he should do a few tests on him, just to make sure that the thing
didn't do any lasting damage or anything more sinister and invisible.
But would Dib let him do that? Probably not, seeing as every time the
human had been exposed to his machinery it had been, well, not for
health benefits. There just wasn't the trust between them yet.
Dib seemed more confused than adverse at this point though. Zim
wondered how long it would last, until they both fell back into the
old, familiar patterns.
He watched the human as he followed him to the site, Kiir tromping
along beside him. Dib was very graceful, when he wasn't tripping all
over himself, and Zim sometimes just liked to watch him move.
"It was here," Dib said as they came into the clearing form the night
before. "In the center about a hundred and fifty feet in diameter and
twenty feet tall."
Zim nodded. A fairly large craft. He took out his scanner and switched
it on, letting it warm up. "Dib, Kiir, scout the area for tangible clues
to what's going on."
"Phht, like what Zim," Kiir demanded. Dib however was already busy.
"Anything," Zim grunted, looking back down at the scanner, waiting
for the results.
***
Kiir walked a little ways away and leaned against a tree, completely
ignoring Zim's demand for her to 'look for clues'. Who was he to order
her around? She looked back and forth between her old acquaintance and
the strange human. There was definitely something fishy going on
between them, mark her words. She had no idea what it could be of
course. Zim sends her to Dib, who tells her that the two of them had
been bitter enemies for years. Then Dib invites Zim to come in, he
declines almost violently and leaves, then the next day he rescues Dib
and they drag her along to chase creepies.
She shook her head. Strange behavior indeed. And now, if she didn't
know better, she would swear that Dib was avoiding looking at Zim. She
decided that she was definitely going to get to the bottom of this
mystery. She grinned.
***
Zim stared down at the scan screen, amazed. There was absolutely no
sign that there had been a ship here at all in the last day. There
should have been large amounts of residual energies floating around
that didn't mesh with the existing fields. But there were no such
abnormalities. But maybe, considering what the aliens had done... He
smirked and adjusted the scanner to read shifts in the intensity of the
NORMAL energy field and was rewarded a moment later when the scanner
beeped. The display showed an aberration in the field a sphere in which
the energy level was much, much lower than the rest, a sphere about
a hundred and fifty feet in diameter. So it seemed there ship absorbed
energy as well? That, as far as he new was a first.
He heard Dib's voice, snapping him from his pondering.
"Hey Zim, come take a look at this!"
He jogged over to where the boy was kneeling, at the edge of where
the ship had been and only a few feet from the bushes where Zim had
found him the night before. He motioned for Zim to kneel as well.
"Yes Dib?" he asked curiously, stooping down.
"Take a look at that!" he grinned, pointing at the grass.
Zim looked. Amidst the green grass were large patches, all about
a foot long and four inches wide, of dry, withered, brown grass. They
were in such a pattern that Zim would have sworn they looked like-
"Footsteps," Dib said. "This is where they got off the ship. They made
foot prints in the grass somehow, absorbing all the," he gulped, "all
the energy out of the grass."
Zim looked at him, seeing the fear behind his golden eyes. Obviously
Dib was realizing what would have happened to him if he'd not been
freed from the creature's clutches. Seeing himself, dry and withered
like the grass. Zim grew angry. Try to kill Dib would they? Well, when
they crossed paths again they'd learn exactly why Irkens were the most
feared race in the Universe. Until then...
He put a hand on Dib's shoulder. "Take some samples. We'll bring them
back to my lab for a better look. Possibly it will tell us some more
about them."
Dib nodded, hesitantly. "Do you think they do it voluntarily or, or
not?" He asked.
"I am unsure, but there ship seems to act the same way. Take a look."
He handed Dib the scanner. "That grey spot is-"
"Where the ship was," Dib said, "Right?"
"Yes. The entire Universe is intertwined with different types and
fields of energy. Their ship seems to have absorbed energy straight
from Earth's Bio-field field, so much so that it hasn't fully
rebalanced itself yet."
"It should though, balance out, right?" he asked pulling up some of
the dead grass, making sure the roots came up as well.
"Unless something is very, very wrong, Dib-human," Zim said, "Do you
have something to put that in?"
He nodded taking a small, covered specimen dish out of his backpack
and putting the grass in it. "I try to be prepared for anything."
Zim nodded. He wondered what other things Dib had collected of
evidence of him, if anything. He couldn't have much or he'd have
convinced the authorities of his existence by now. Or would he have? Dib
hadn't tried to autopsy Kiir, had invited him in, had proposed the
truce himself. Who knew anymore?
"I don't think we're going to find anything else Zim," Dib said, "Do
you want to get going?"
Zim considered it. "Alright." he stood up, waiting for Dib.
Dib stood less shakily this time, put the sample dish in his coat
packet and reached down to pick up his backpack. Zim could see, even
before the boy stumbled under it's weight that the thing was much too
heavy for him.
"Give me that," he said, taking hold of one of the straps.
"Huh? No. I've got it," Dib insisted, looking away slightly.
"You don't have the energy Dib-human. Don't be stubborn."
"I'm fine," he clutched the pack closer to himself still not meeting
Zim's gaze. Strange.
"It's too heavy for you even when you're healthy, give it to me, now
Dib," Zim held a hand out waiting for the human to hand it over. He
didn't. "Fine." Zim wrenched the backpack carefully, but quickly from
the human's grasp, slung it over his own shoulder and started walking.
"Hey! Hey!" Dib ran after him. "Give that back!"
Zim ignored him.
***
Kiir, from several feet off had had prime seats for the spectacle.
She'd seen Dib's face as he turned away, as well as the insistent,
worried look on Zim's face. She'd seen the human BLUSH. And so her
mystery was solved so quickly, hardly a challenge at all. But with a
highly amusing answer.
She couldn't help laughing to herself as she followed them to the car
at her own leisurely pace. They LIKED each other! And it looked like
neither of them realized the feelings were mutual. Oh it was beautiful,
exactly the sort of thing that snot Zim deserved. She'd be sure to
tease him mercilessly the moment she had a chance.
***
Dib had no idea why Zim had taken his back pack from him, unless of
course it was specifically to embarrass him , in which case he'd done a
wonderful job. Dib could feel the heat beneath his face and new that
he was STILL blushing a little bit. God damn it. And now he followed
the cocky, commanding little alien to his own car, like Zim had some
sort or right to order him around. He sighed. This was stupid, why was
he doing this to himself, following Zim around like a puppy. Better
that he stayed away from him until the feeling went away.
But he couldn't, and he didn't really want to either. He liked being
around the Irken, and much as he hated to admit it he felt gratified
and rather special that Zim had been so insistent on carrying his bag.
As they approached the car he heard footsteps behind them and turned
apprehensively. It was only Kiir. He'd half forgotten that she was there
at all.
"Did you find anything?" he asked her.
"No," she said with a wry grin that made Dib very nervous.
"O-kay," he shrugged, unlocking the car. He looked up at Zim. "Um,
we're going to your house, right?"
"Unless you have a qualm with that," he answered, throwing Dib's bag
in the back seat with Kiir.
"Ah, no that's fine," he said, sitting behind the wheel and closing
the door, a realization dawning on him. He'd been INVITED to Zim's
house. He wasn't sneaking in or taking photos with hacked satellite
equipment. He was going to see the place he'd been trying for years to
get to, and he wasn't (he hoped) going to get chased out. A very large
smile graced his lips.
But of course as he started the car, cynical Dib had to have his say.
It's probably a trap you idiot!
Oh shut up, the rest of Dib snapped and continued grinning happily.
"You know how to get there?" Zim asked.
"Unless you moved it," he chuckled and pulled out of the parking lot.
"...Did you move it?" He asked a bit uncertainly.
"No, although that's not a bad idea," Zim mused, "But pointless since
you're the only human who knows where it is."
Did that mean, Zim ...trusted him?
Cynical Dib tried to make a sarcastic remark but optimistic Dib had
duct-taped his mouth shut and tied his hands together.
***
Twenty minutes later when Dib parked across the street form Zim's odd
looking house, the sun was just about finished setting. Dib got out of
the car, stretching to see the sky on fire with orange and purple. Funny
that such spectacular phenomena could be caused by pollution. Zim got
out of the car, still carrying the back pack he'd taken and Kiir yawned
boredly.
Dib followed the aliens excitedly, almost apprehensively into the
house, chuckling as Zim shoved his parent robots out of the way.
"Come in," he said, "watch out, I'm not sure where Gir is."
Kiir collapsed on the couch.
Dib frowned slightly, remembering some of his previous encounters
with the psychotic robot. "Consider me dually warned."
"Do you need to let someone know where you are? This may take some
time."
"Uh, no. It's fine." His father wouldn't notice his absence and Gaz
would only be glad he wasn't there to disturb her.
Zim squinted an eye, an expression that Dib had come to connect as the
equivalent of raising an eyebrow, but didn't question his answer. "Do
you require food? You had no lunch."
Zim certainly seemed strangely concerned with his well being lately,
didn't he? Dib realized that he was indeed, very hungry. He hadn't had
breakfast either. Embarrassedly he decided to take the offer and not,
as Cynical was trying franticly to make him, worry about being poisoned.
"Um, yeah. I am kinda hungry," he admitted. "Do you have anything
human friendly?"
"I believe so," Zim nodded. "Come with me."
Dib followed him to the kitchen, where Zim proceeded to open up
various cabinets and the refrigerator, all of which were stuffed with
food, but absolutely nothing healthy. The cabinets had bags of fun sized
candies, Twinkies and ho-hos and the like, sugar coated cereals, a dozen
or more different kinds of potato chips and boxes of fruit roll-ups.
The fridge had about six different flavors of soda pop, jello and pudding
cups and a box of pizza.
"Do you see anything?" Zim asked. "Most of this is Gir's."
"...Um, what's on the pizza?"
Tentatively Zim lifted the lid a little ways and peered in, but shut
it very quickly and looked at Dib. "Trust me, you don't want it."
"O-kay. How about some chips then?"
"Those I can vouch for the safety of," he grinned, leaning down to
the cabinets. "Any particular flavor?"
"Um, plain."
He caught the bag Zim tossed, seeing that the alien had one himself,
and he also pulled two soda's out of the fridge and handed one to Dib.
"Thanks. Um, should we bring Kiir something?"
"She can find the kitchen, she's not quite that stupid. Come on, we
need to get that sample tested and she won't be any help anyway." Zim
walked over and opened what seemed to be a closet door. It wasn't. It
was an elevator of sorts, assumably leading down to the lab.
Dib followed him into the elevator a little uncomfortably. This wasn't
the way he'd gotten down to the labs before, but then, who knew if he'd
taken the proper route. He probably hadn't. The space wasn't large and
he stood shoulder to shoulder with Zim, making him even more nervous.
His cynical side was muttering incoherencies about his doom which was
surely about to ensue and he was still feeling faint from earlier. In
fact he was feeling almost as bad now as he had right after the drain.
He must have looked it because as they descended Zim turned to him.
"Are you feeling alright Dib-human?" he asked concernedly.
"I'm a little tired," he admitted, "but I'll be okay."
Zim frowned. "We don't know all the effects of the drain yet. Tell me
if you start feeling worse."
"I will," he nodded. "But..."
"Yes?"
The elevator stopped and opened up into the lab.
Dib shook his head. "Nothing."
Zim shrugged and Dib followed as he walked out into the lab. Dib
stared around wishing he had a few extra sets of eyes and resisting the
urge to snap photos left and right. All the strange equipment was
entrancing. He could spend years looking at it.
"Impressed?" he heard Zim say arrogantly, leading him over to the
main computer bay.
"Definitely," Dib breathed, "what's it all do?"
"Oh, this and that," he shrugged grinning. "Keeps the base running."
He sat down in the high backed chair before the great monitor.
"Computer."
"Yes?"
Dib had to keep himself from jumping at the disembodied voice. This
was so cool. Just like 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' or something,
only with a less annoying computer, he hoped. He couldn't help grinning.
"Get Dib a chair," the Irken commanded.
Dib was very surprised when a chair that matched Zim's rose out of a
hatch beneath him, scooping him into the seat. "Um, thanks."
"No problem," the computer replied.
"You have the sample?" Zim asked.
Dib nodded and pulled the dish out of his pocket. He handed it to Zim.
"Here," he smiled.
Zim nodded, and taking the top off the dish set it on a tray thing on
the computer control panel. "Analyze this sample, computer."
"It's dry grass," the computer said.
Zim turned to Dib and rolling his eyes as if to say 'he's always like
this' said, "We know that, computer. Give us a FULL analysis."
"Fine. Processing."
"It'll probably be a few minutes," Zim told him, tearing open his bag
of chips munching on a handful.
Dib popped the top of his cola. "So, do you think it'll really tell
us anything useful about the Oranges?"
"The Oranges?" Zim asked confusedly.
"Oh sorry. That's what I've been calling the aliens, since we don't
know what they're really called. I forgot I hadn't mentioned it before,"
he exclaimed happily.
"The Oranges," Zim said, "A rather disarming name for something so...
creepy."
Dib smiled. The way Zim talked with an irregular mixture of very
proper, erudite speech and in the same sentence throwing in slang and
words like thingy, Dib found very endearing.
"Well," Dib said, "I suppose we could call them the Giant Evil Stretch
Monsters of Death, if you think it would be more appropriate."
Zim looked at him a moment. "...The Oranges it is."
Just then the computer spoke. "Analysis complete."
"Well, tell us," Zim said impatiently.
To Be Continued...
So you'll just have to be patient! Because cliff hangers make me more
inclined to fell the need to write. Next chapter, what's up with the
grass. What's up with Dib? What's Kiir up to? Till then!
Read it? Review it!