Author's notes: Chapter six. Here we go! I've been getting ideas for other, horribly angst Zim fics but I'm going to put writing them on hold until I finish this. I will resist the writing urge….I will!
Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Zim. I'm poor, bla bla bla.
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Dib began to get seriously worried. Zim had been clutching his hand close to his chest for some time now. The alien seemed lost in thought and had not responded to him at all. Gingerly Dib began to pull his hand back when Zim's gaze fixed on him, unimaginary anger hidden in the ruby depths.
"This is your fault." His voice was deathly silent though it rang loud through the room. He clutched Dib's hand tighter, eliciting a cry from Dib.
"What?! Zim I had nothing-" Zim squeezed tighter and Dib's eyes began to water. He was forced to squirm closer to the sadistic alien, attempting to find a position of lesser pain.
"This is all your fault, Dib!" Zim's voice returned to normal tone as he pulled roughly on Dib's arm, increasing the pressure until he felt the bones begin to buckle.
"No, Zim. I've been...sick. Stop...stop hurting me...please!" Dib screamed as Zim squeezed harder. Tears now flowed freely from his eyes.
Zim jumped in shock, dropping Dib's hand like a hot coal. He looked down to find Dib huddled on the floor clutching his injured hand to his chest. He swallowed with great difficulty before kneeling next to the injured human. "Dib-"
"Get out." Shakily Dib looked to Zim. The alien had a strange look on his face, one that registered with Dib as concern. "I said get out, Zim! There's no way I'll ever help something like you."
Zim stared into Dib's eyes briefly before picking himself up off the floor and turning to the door. What would he do? Dib and GIR were the only people he knew and he couldn't reach either of them. Taking a deep breath he raised his head, hoping to give the impression of self-confidence. "I couldn't let you die like that." Unintentionally he dropped his gaze to the floor.
"What?" He heard Dib pick himself up.
"I couldn't let you die like that. It was wrong. I just..." He sighed, unable to finish.
"But why?" Dib stood before placing a hand on Zim's shoulder, wanting to see the alien's eyes.
Reluctantly Zim allowed himself to be turned around. He felt compelled to look up at Dib, hoping, wishing he would believe him. "I...I don't know." He bit his lip, dropping his eyes once more.
Dib sighed, knowing full well that he would regret his decision. "Fine, I'll help you-" Zim's eyes lit up and a genuine smile flashed across his face. Dib shook him firmly before removing the hand from his shoulder. "But no more violence, ok? Whatever you did to yourself is your own fault. Stop making me your scape goat!"
Zim tilted his head in confusion. "Scape...goat?"
Dib rolled his eyes. "Never mind." He looked around the room briefly before looking back to Zim. "I suppose we better get started, the sooner you're out of here, the better." Dib strolled over to his computer and began entering the numerous passwords that protected his precious files.
Pulling on the over sized hoody once more Zim followed him. He stood behind Dib, resting his hands on the human's chair.
"No way! I don't think so!" Dib swung round to face him. "You. Sit on the bed and no peaking! I said I'd help you, not divulge all my accumulated knowledge!"
Zim rolled his eyes but otherwise did not protest. Grudgingly he trudged over to the bed and flopped down. Dib eyed him monetarily before returning to the computer and resuming his work. The whole process was taking some time and Zim began to grow bored. He glanced around the room once more, feeling even more disturbed at the sight that greeted him. Dib was a better stalker than he gave him credit for. There were imnumerous pictures of him, in every walk of life, in class, walking GIR, buying GIR tacos (on many different occasions), in the skool yard, avoiding food in the cafeteria... Dib certainly was persistent. A poster on one side of the room displayed the Irken alphabet to Dib's knowledge. Another showed an extrapolated schematic for GIR, Dib seemed just as perplexed with the inner workings of the crazy robot as he was. Zim got up and began to move around the room, inspecting the photographs closer.
Dib watched the alien in his peripheral vision. He was surprised that Zim hadn't protested upon being denied access to his files. The green fool probably didn't want to evoke his wrath by aggravating him, Dib mused. Smiling to himself he pressed print before closing down the computer and turning to Zim. "Done! I've figured out. It shouldn't take too long, first we need to scramble the gnomes using this-" he held up some hastily put together contraption "then, using-"
"Enough! I tire of your endless babble. Come, to my base." Zim got up and made for the door, regaining his old stature.
Dib rolled his eyes as he pulled on his duster. Cramming the print outs into his pocket he chased after Zim. He ran into the alien as he stood in the doorway looking out into the night as rain poured relentlessly. They both stared out until Zim slammed the door, cursing in what Dib assumed to be his own native language.
"Now what?" Zim turned to Dib. This was the worst possible turn of events. He needed to get home and fix this whole mess.
"I guess well just have to wait it out." Dib walked over to the window and glanced out.
"Agh! I can't wait that long." Zim marched over to the window and glared out. He turned to Dib. "I need paste. Have you five litres of paste?"
"Oh yeah, actually. I keep it in the basement for just such occasion." Dib stared blankly at him.
"Really?"
"NO! Zim you really need to work on the sarcasm. Geesh." Dib sighed, shaking his head.
"YOU-"
"SHUT UP!" Gaz screamed from the sofa. "Shut up both of you, or I will not be held responsible for my actions!"
Dib and Zim both eyed her wearily. "We should probably go back to my room." Dib nudged Zim and they both made their way upstairs.
"Eugh, I hate this planet. It constantly plots against me!" Zim growled, flopping face first onto Dib's bed.
Dib sighed, eyeing Zim before taking the chair next to the computer. "Hopefully it won't last long." Dib began drumming his fingers on the desk. Zim continued to lie on the bed, face buried in the duvet. "Zim?"
Zim inhaled deeply. The room reeked of Dib, smelling of leather and fresh grass. Slowly Zim turned his face to Dib. "I don't know how much time I have left."
Dib observed Zim. He seemed so altered, so lost. His brow was furrowed and his washed out eyes held depths of sadness the likes of which Dib had never seen before. Dib felt his heart tug with pity. Slowly he moved so as to be sitting on the floor, his arms folded on the bed next to Zim. "Don't you think you're being a touch dramatic? You said yourself you don't know what's happening to you. You'll probably be able to fix it in no time." Never in his life did Dib think he would be comforting Zim.
The alien seemed to consider this. Maybe everything would easily go back to normal. But it was hard to be optimistic with his body under going such drastic changes. He felt like a different person, as if the old Zim had died the second the syringe pierced his skin. Gingerly he turned to look at the poster of GIR. Strange as it sounded, he actually missed the little robot and he loath to think what he was getting up to unsupervised in the base. He swung his legs off the bed, intent on examining the schematic once more when a sudden pain shot through his joints. He collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath and biting down hard on his lip.
"Zim?!" Instantly Dib was by his side. He hesitated a moment before gently laying a hand on Zim's shoulder. "Are you ok?"
Zim nodded, his legs huddled close to his chest. Once the pain subsided he relaxed and took a shaky breath. Part of him wanted to violently shake off the gently pressure of Dib's hand but another part, one that had been slowly growing, found pleasure in the foreign presence. It was comforting to know someone was in some way concerned for him, even if that someone was his nemesis. "I'm fine, Dib-human."
Dib removed his hand, blushing some what. "Are you sure? You've been screaming and collapsing a lot lately. What happened just there?"
"A sudden pain through my joints. I was not expecting it. I have with stood worse." Zim brushed the incident off easily, but he did not feel he had the strenght to get off the floor just then.
Dib frowned at the last part but refrained from probing that particular subject further. "What kind of pain is it?"
"A dull, throbbing pain. It has been getting consistently less...painful."
"Joint pain? As in growing pain?" Dib furrowed his brow.
"Growing pains?" Zim felt his heart soar. "Possible, it has been so long since I've grown I cannot remember what they feel like." He laid a hand on the bed for suppport as he got to his feet.
"How long has it been exactly? How old are you?" Dib followed Zim as made his way over to the mirror.
"Older than you can imagine." zim replied cryptically. He observed himself in the full lenght mirror. He certainly did seem a little taller. When before he reached just a few inches above Dib's elbow now he was slightly taller than the human's shoulder.
Dib narrowed his eyes at Zim's evasive answer but could not help realise how much Zim had grown. He certainly hoped the green guy didn't keep growing. Zim was already more than a match for him when it came to physical strength, he did not want to think about how strong Zim would get with increased height. Zim's physique was becoming more human like too. His shoulders were becoming broader and he no longer looked the delicate small boy Dib knew not to be fooled by. That wasn't fair at all! Dib certainly was much taller than Zim but he had never really put on much weight. Beanpole was his new nickname at high skool, in fact. He shrugged his shoulders, it figures.
"Dib, your stupid show is on." Gaz called as he heard the door to his room slam shut.
Dib glanced at his watch. "Ah, I've missed the first five minutes!" Dib ran to the door before turning to find Zim still staring at his reflection. "Come on, I'm not leaving you alone here." Dib crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently on the carpeted floor. Reluctantly Zim tore his eyes from his new, taller reflection and followed Dib's lead as he proceeded to the living room. He joined Dib on the couch as the human flicked through the channels until he found his only other passion in life, Mysterious Mysteries. Dib began recording the episode, as he always did, before settling down. The particular episode claimed to have new alien autopsy footage. Dib leaned forward in his seat, almost completely ignoring Zim, who was sitting next to him fidgeting nervously.
Alien autopsies did not really sound very appealing even though Zim severely doubted the validity of the claims. He grabbed the material of the sofa in a savage grip, trying desperately to hide his distress. The particular alien had a startling resemblance to Irkens, although this was not too surprising, his race did seem to fit the profile of the typical alien. He grimaced as the supposed surgeon began the dissection, savagely cutting through the specimen's chest. Zim's worst nightmare was being played out right in front of his eyes. Images such as the very ones now displayed on the television plagued him. He had no doubt in his mind as to what would happen should anyone ever start to listen to Dib's protestations.
"So is that a squeedly spooch then?" Dib asked, sarcasm underlying his tone. He glanced to Zim when he received no response. The image he got was probably the last thing he expected. Zim sat rigid to his right, clutching the sofa so tightly that the skin of his knuckles paled. Every muscle in his body seemed tense and he was biting his lips so hard Dib feared he would break the skin. "Oh God, Zim, I wasn't thinking! I'll-" Dib muttered feeling embarrassed, as he reached for the remote control.
"No!" Zim quickly grabbed the control before Dib reached it. He was not going to show such weakness in front of Dib, no matter how many vulgar images he had to endure. "Eh, no, that doesn't resemble a squeedly spooch in the slightest. This whole thing is obviously a hoax! Look, you can see-" Zim refused to make eye contact with Dib, know full well the horror that he was feeling at witnessing such an image would be clearly evident.
"Zim." Dib tried softly. Again he received no response; Zim continued to stare blankly forward. Realisation slowly dawned on Dib. It was bad enough Zim was forced to ask for help of his mortal enemy, there was no way the proud alien would show any further signs of weakness if he could avoid it. Dib faked a yawn as he removed his glasses to rub his eyes. "Well, I'm going to bed." He stood, once more donning his spectacles. "I've had a long day, they wake you up at the crack of dawn in the hospital. I don't know how anyone's supposed to recover." He stood between Zim and the television. Zim stared up at him, a blank expression on his face, although he made no move to vacate the sofa. Sighing Dib turned and manually turned off the television. "Come on." He turned back to Zim.
Zim felt relief wash through his body as the disturbing images were removed. He quickly tried to mask this, but instinctively knew Dib had observed his change in mood. "Not leaving me on my own again?" He stood and began to follow Dib upstairs.
"Not for a second." Dib held the door for Zim as they entered his bedroom. "I suppose you'll need something to sleep in." He remarked, smirking at Zim's strange attire.
"Sleep? Irken's do not require sleep." Zim folded his arms, narrowing an eye at Dib.
"Well, in case you didn't notice you're not looking all Irken lately. In fact you're looking more and more human with each passing hour, care to explain that one, Zim?" Dib ran his eyes over Zim once more, noticing an unconscious shiver run through his changing body.
There went that look again. Zim tried to suppress the nervous feeling he got whenever Dib looked at him that way but it certainly was difficult. "No, not really, stink-beast." He turned from Dib's piercing gaze, pretending to be interested in a picture of GIR jiving with a group of squirrels.
"Fine, guessing's more fun anyway."
Zim turned to give Dib a quizzical look. The human merely arched an eyebrow before turning to a chest of drawers and beginning to route around in it. Zim watched him intently before the overwhelming urge to deeply inhale over took him. Gingerly he rubbed his eyes, as he noticed how heavy his eyelids had begun to feel. Dib turned from his search and threw Zim a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt.
"There, that should do for tonight. Don't do anything weird to my clothes." Dib narrowed his eyes at Zim before turning and retrieving his own pyjamas from under his pillow. "Hey-" He quickly turned to Zim, a worried look in his face. "You have...you know...under...pants, right?" Dib blushed at the question but he really didn't want Zim going commando in his sweat pants, even if they were years old and he never wore them. Then again he wasn't exactly sure Zim needed underpants. Extensive study had lead him to believe a society as technologically advanced as Zim's may not even have a sex differentiation anymore and so technically Zim didn't have- WAIT, stop right there, he had enough to deal with right now, adding musings on Zim package or possible lack there off really didn't help things.
"Of course!" Zim replied indignantly, slipping out of his over sized jeans and pulling on Dib's sweat pants. They were far too long for him although the waist of them fit better than the last pair. Gingerly he began to remove his sweatshirt, trying not to aggravate his shoulder injury.
Dib turned to observe Zim as he struggled with the giant sweatshirt. "Do you need a hand with that?" He dropped his own pyjamas to stand watching Zim.
"No." Zim replied, feeling the exact opposite. He struggled once more before stopping and sighing loudly. Dib approached him and took the sweatshirt from the ends. Slowly he helped Zim out of it, careful so as not to cause him any further pain. Once Zim was free of the cotton prison Dib picked up the T-shirt pulling it over Zim's head. Zim moved back from him and continued to dress unaided. The skin of his cheeks was flushed a light purple-green which Dib took to be an Irken blush. He supposed Zim detested having to reply on him for help.
"I'm going to the bathroom, don't touch anything." Dib picked up his own sleeping clothes and exited the room, feeling slightly less nervous of Zim being left alone.
Zim silently watched him go, running his fingers over the heated skin where Dib's hand had grazed him while helping him dress.
Gaz was brushing her teeth when Dib entered the bathroom. He dropped his pyjamas on the toilet seat and picked up his toothbrush. "Hey." He glanced at her reflection in the mirror before pouring some toothpaste on his toothbrush and bringing it to his mouth.
"Hey." She replied, nonchalantly.
They brushed their teeth in awkward silence.
"...so...you're going to bed early." Dib remarked as he spat some foam into the sink. He moved out of the way and resumed brushing his teeth.
"You too." She spat and resumed brushing her teeth also.
Dib shrugged his shoulders.
Gaz glanced at her watch. "Mysterious Mysteries is still on." She remarked, furrowing her brow in confusion.
"I'm taping it."
"But you never miss it." Gaz spat once more, stopping to observe Dib's reaction.
Dib merely shrugged again.
"It's 'cause of Zim, right?" She began cleaning her teeth again.
"NO!" Dib blushed in spite of himself.
"I saw the beginning, it was an alien autopsy special. I wouldn't think he'd like to watch that." Gaz ignored his answer.
"It had nothing to do with Zim, I'm just tired, ok?!" Dib spat the remaining foam from his mouth before taking a few gulps of water to ensure all traces of toothpaste were removed from his mouth.
"Right." Gaz mirrored his actions then filled the skin up with water and began to wash her face.
"Oh, yeah I see where this is going. I suppose Zim and I will become best friends, right? And then I'll convince him that taking over the world is WRONG and then everything will be fine and dandy. Or...or HE'LL convince ME that the Earth is doomed and I'll join the Irkens and WE'LL both bring about the end of the world! Right, huh? Right? Huh? Huh?" Dib went into full rant mode, continuing to "huh" Gaz until she acknowledged him.
"No." She looked up from the sink, water dripping from her face. She grabbed a towel and dried off before making her way to the door. She turned to look at him before leaving for her room. "I just think you're both crazy."
Dib narrowed his eyes at the door, in the area Gaz had occupied. He sighed as he removed his glasses and washed his face. He then proceeded to change into his pyjamas; a pair of sweat pants and an "I want to believe" T-shirt. Picking up a brush he combed his unruly hair, spending a few minutes attempting to get the stray strand that stubbornly stuck up to lie flat.
Sighing in defeat he exited the bathroom. Returning to his room he found Zim staring at his ceiling. It was decorated with the constellations seen from the Northern Hemisphere. "This is wrong." He pointed to the left-hand side of the roof. Dib wandered over to him and began examining the area Zim indicated.
"No it's not." Dib looked to Zim.
"Yes it is. That super giant star collapsed into a super massive black hole a few hundred of your years ago. It has altered the orbit of the star near it and is also pulling in mass form it." Zim's voice was devoid of condescension.
"Really?" Dib greatly envied Zim's vast knowledge of outer space.
"Yes. It's so far away though, you're primitive scientific equipment probably won't detect the change for many hundreds of years." Zim's eyes inevitable drifted to the area he knew Irk occupied.
"What you looking at?" Dib followed Zim's line of sight, trying to see what he was seeing.
"Nothing." Zim reluctantly tore his eyes from the ceiling and turned to staring waitingly at Dib. "It's still raining."
Dib shrugged and turned to his bed. "I'll set up the camp bed for you." He began pulling at the camp bed nestled under his own. Once it was free, he began to set it up, unfolding the legs and fluffing the mattress. He briefly wondered why his father bought him this bed, maybe he hoped Dib would have had more friends or something. Strange, this was the first time he ever used it.
Zim observed him quietly. "What do I do?"
Dib finished with the bed and turned to him. "Go to sleep." He received a blank stare from Zim. "You know, eh, just lie down and close your eyes. It's not really a conscious decision, you just...do it." He creased his brow. How do you explain the process of sleeping to someone who never experienced it before?
Zim made a small noise low in his throat (one Dib took to be a sign of discomfort) before he walked over to the small camp bed. Looking up at Dib for reassurance he climbed under the covers. Dib nodded, though he didn't know why, before he climbed into his own bed and turned to the bedside lamp, extinguishing it. He lay down, folding his arms behind his head and staring at the ceiling. A rustling to his left distracted him and he turned to find Zim mirroring his actions, a concentrated look on his face. Dib smirked as Zim observed his every move and manipulated his own body in the same way. Dib removed his glasses, an action Zim began to copy before he realised what it was exactly Dib was doing. Sheepishly he lay back down and attempted to get comfortable on the small camp bed.
Dib lay back on his back observing the constellations of his ceiling through unfocused eyes.
"So...we just lie here?" Zim's voice echoed eerily through the dark room.
"Yes." Dib had been getting increasingly tired. He yawned, closing his eyes.
"It's a bit boring."
"Yes." Dib replied impatiently.
"Hmm."
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Dib awoke in the middle of the night to Zim mumbling and groaning. The alien sounded distressed. He retrieved his glasses and turned to look at the camp bed next to his own. Zim appeared deep in sleep, the blankets twisted around his legs. His body was contorting as he squirmed around in the small bed.
"Zim." Dib whispered as he slipped out of his bed, sitting next to the distressed Irken.
Zim failed to react, his eyes squeezed shut and he clutched the sheets tightly.
"Come on, wake up, Zim." Dib leaned closer, gently shaking Zim. Again, Zim failed to react. "Come on, Zim." He raised his voice, shaking Zim harder.
"AGHHHHH!!!!!" Zim screamed as he woke, starting up right. He was breathing rapidly, his eyes wide.
Dib turned when he heard the door opening. Gaz stood in the doorway, her eyebrow arched. Silently she returned to her own room.
Dib turned back to Zim to find him still breathing rapidly, his eyes wide and blindly staring forward. "Zim, are you ok?"
Zim jumped as Dib spoke, trying to get out of the bed but failing as his legs were so wrapped up in the blankets. He clutched his abdomen with one hand the other raised to protect his face. "No, get back! Get away!"
"Zim, calm down! Sush-" Dib gently reached out for Zim's arm. "It's ok, you had a nightmare that's all." He pulled Zim back towards him as the alien moved closer to the edge of his bed, threatening to fall off completely.
"No! Leave me alone! Please don't dissect me. I'm normal, I'm just a normal human boy!" Zim was still disorientated.
"No one's going to hurt you, Zim!" Dib took Zim by the shoulders and roughly shook him. "Zim, it's ok. You're in my room. You just had a bad dream. Nothing is wrong." He stared intently at Zim, hoping to reassure him.
"Bad...dream?" Zim finally seemed to become aware of his surroundings. He glanced around the room before back to Dib.
"Yeah, it wasn't real. It's all in your mind." Dib whispered, squeezing Zim's shoulder to reassure him.
"It seemed so real, so vivid." Zim still seemed genuinely shaken.
"What happened?"
"Scientists...cutting me...there was blood everywhere." Zim began to shiver, great shakes ravaged his body.
Dib tried to comfort his more, rubbing his thumbs across his collarbones. "Its ok, Zim. You're safe here. Don't worry."
Zim bowed his head, seemingly a little less frightened. "I don't ever want to sleep again." He whispered.
"It's ok, it can't hurt you." Dib smiled sheepishly at Zim. "You need to lie down at least, we need all our strength tomorrow to break into your base."
"No, I don't want to." Zim began to shiver again, shaking his head violently.
"It's ok. I'll wake you if you have another nightmare, ok?" Did moved off the camp bed and made himself comfortable near the head of Zim's bed. "See?"
Zim eyed him wearily as he lay back down. He still shook slightly though he seemed to calm down somewhat.
"I'll make sure nothing happens, ok?" Dib rested his head in his hand, pulling his blanket of his bed to keep him warm. Once more he removed his glasses, his world becoming blurry.
Zim nodded. He stared at Dib until his eyelids became heavy once more and he began to slip into the unconsciousness he now so feared.
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Da da da DA! Another chapter ends. Hope you guys enjoyed it, even though it was pretty uneventful.. Oh, and don't worry CrimsonObsession, I love green Zim too! I'm just sneaky. Oh, the plans…if only you could all see the plans!!! Well, you will, if, you know, you keep reading and….oh forget it….