A/N: Welcome readers and reviewers! This is it, the first official finished multi-chapter tale done by me for ffn! YAY! Can't believe I actually finished one, well, besides the one shot. And I have all of you to thank. "THANK YOU!" Seemed to take forever didn't it? Blame it on a horrendous case of writer's block. I had a plan in mind, but when I put it to paper, it's plausibility plummeted. To meny discrepancies and implausible probabilities. So I scrapped the idea and tried to think of something more acceptable, something more believable. It seemed hopeless. So in a bout of frustration I wrote 'Teach'. (Thanks for all of the reviews. Honestly, I wasn't really expecting any for it. I wasn't sure about it, (Ms. Bitters is rather an odd character) but the response has been positive. Thank you all! Glad you enjoyed it.) After that, I retired for the day, depressed and no closer to an ending. Oddly, after sitting in the dark for an hour munching on pickled haring with onions, (yes I actually eat the stuff, it's the only thing I can put in the fridge and know no one will touch), I had a bout of inspiration. I've been typing like a lunatic ever since. Okay, almost ever since. Anyway, It breaks away from the original format. I hope you like it. If you don't, please tell me why.
Acknowledgements: My readers and reviewers, I thank you! You all have inspired me to finish my first long tale. I hope it is all you have expected and a little more. As always, special thanks go to my reviewers. It is your reviews that fuel my creativity and cause me to strive for perfection. I Graciously Thank You All! DibMagician, Thank you! You have blessed me more than you know with your praise. I hope someday that I can indeed write a novel. And yes, it is quite horrible, what happened to Membrane, but his world is about to change, for the better. Thank you Maran Zelde! I am pleased that you have enjoyed this tale so. I had originally planned for Membrane to assist more in his freedom, but the original ending wasn't plausible even for the IZ universe. This I was forced to rewrite it. I hope you this ending enjoyable, despite Membrane's downplay. Dark Destiny, Thank you! I am glad you have enjoyed this tale so, but I fear it must end. I can only hope that this ending is sufficient. Senri, Thank you! As I have stated so many times above, I do hope you find this an acceptable ending. I wanted it to be something different and hope it has not interfered with the flow of the tale. Pirate Monkey, Thank you, but Please don't stress! While it is true that he can't run, Membrane actually can walk, just with difficulties. He will always walk with a limp, and a walking stick or cane would be of great assistance, though I doubt he'd be able to get one until he's free from WWITS. redfox and megane-chan, Thank you redfox,! As requested, I present to you the final chapter. I hope you find it enjoyable.
WARNING: A lighter warning this time. Just some mild violence, mostly Gaz invoked. I must say that this tale seemed to be more violent than I had expected.
Disclaimer: I still don't own it. J.V. created it. Nick is wasting it. They are sitting on a masterpiece and don't even know it. Maybe with the success of the videos they'll finally see. Sadly, even if it was revised, it would never be the same. --
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Chapter Seven:
Excerpt from Gaz's poem/diary.
(Yeah, She's an intellectual, so why not?!)
===
August 20th
Hey mom.
No poems tonight. I need to write this. I need to get my thoughts clear. I would have written it last night, but couldn't bring myself to do it. My head was spinning with too much information and I needed some down time. Plus I wanted to research a few things.
Last night something happened something I never thought possible, something that changed my perceptions on life. Dad, Dib and I were at Bloaties Pizza Hog for Dad's infamous 'Family Nite Out', his poor attempt at parenting, when we saw someone I thought I'd never see again. I saw dad, not the Dad who has been 'taking care of' Dib and I, but the dad I remember from when I was a kid. The one who use to give us hugs and kiss our scrapes and bruises, the one who loved us. The one they told us was dead right before they introduced us to this Dad. (It's sounds more confusing than it really is.)
"This is your real father, kids. Your other dad left. He doesn't love you like this Dad does. He is dead." Odd thing to say to two year olds.
Yeah, I still remember. With this stupid photographic memory, how could I not? I almost remember being born. I remember the blood. I remember seeing you. I remember your screams. I remember everything. Dib's lucky he forgets things. He doesn't remember you. Stupid Dib. I wish I could forget. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed with all these stupid memories, all this stupid data, that even drowning myself in the virtual worlds of the Gameslave doesn't help.
Anyway, it was hard to tell it was him at first because he was in pretty rough shape. One side of his face was cut and swollen pretty badly, his hair was un-kept and his glasses were messed up. He wore a white lab coat sort of like Dad's except without the high collar. It was drenched with what looked like drying blood. But if you looked passed all of the cuts and bruises, he bore an uncanny resemblance to our Dad, the one we have now, only, well, hardened or something. The only reason I even know he is the dad I remember is because of his smile. I remember his soft eyes. I remember his lips. I remember the way his eyes shined as he use to say "I love you" to Dib and I. He said that to us last night as he watched us through the grease stained windows at Bloaties. I couldn't hear him, but I could read his lips, it was kind of hard, since it looked like he didn't have a tongue, but the lips he spoke through were the lips from my childhood memories. I had seen those lips swollen and bleeding enough back then to know they were the same ones. Through the swollen eye and the broken lens, his eyes sparkled at us the same way I remember they use to.
At first, I harbored my doubts. Dad said that the man was obviously a quack, some obsessed Professor Membrane fan, a sort of Professor Membrane Wannabe. That really freaked Dib out, and I heard him mumbled something about Zim. But I wasn't so sure. When I saw the WWITS embodied on the vests of the 'fake' insanity police that subdued him, and then watched as they loaded his lifeless form into the WWITS van as my Dad and Simmons, one of Dad's employees watched, I really began to wonder.
Remember when I wrote that Dad has been giving me new games with subliminal messages in them? The messages that said things like "Obey your father." "Obey your masters at World Wide International Technology Services." and "You will study Science, Technology, and Math." Well, I have been rewriting the game disks before I play them, extracting the messages. So far, Dad doesn't suspect a thing. I wonder what he would do if he knew I knew?
I didn't tell you before, but when I first noticed the messages, I stopped playing the games he gave me for almost two weeks. He actually cut off my gaming allowance when he realized I wasn't playing them. I made up the excuse that I was practicing for a tournament and I think he bought it, but he said after the tournament I had to play the games he gave me.
"Now Gaz, you don't need any more games until you play the ones you have. They are good games. The creators at Gameslave depend on you for your input. You wouldn't want the creators at Gameslave to be disappointed with you now would you?!"
Pphhlll!
Dad says he has these games especially made for me by his friends at Gameslave and that they are prototypes for upcoming games. He says that since I play the games so often, and because I'm his daughter, the creative department has given me game prototypes to test out. I have to play them, or Dad will get suspicious. I'm supposed to complete each game and then rate it on a 1-10 scale, with one being the most stupid. Dib doesn't have to do anything like this, but then Dad's always riding on Dib to get into 'real' science. At least he doesn't bother me like that.
Shortly after I discovered the subliminal messages, I did some research on the web concerning World Wide International Technology Services. They are a company that creates and develops new products for worldwide distribution. They also sponsor my dad's TV show. You know the one, 'Probing the Membrane of Science'. They looked pretty clean at first, but when I decided to look into old newspaper and magazine articles written about them, things started to get a bit shady.
Most of the articles were positive, praises concerning new technology and such, but there were a few negative ones. On further research, the negative articles were changed to positive ones, followed by long apologies from the writer concerning misinformation and stuff. Oddly, the writers who wrote the negative articles only posted two, the negative one, then the apologetic, positive one. I looked up several of the writers to see if they wrote anything more, and found that they had either died or were fired from the company, their careers ruined. I tried to find out about the legal activities of WWITS, but ran into to many firewalls. I think something pretty illegal is going on with World Wide International Technology Services.
Why would they be so interested in a beat up 'Professor Membrane Wannabe', especially one that looks like my dead childhood dad?
And why would my Dad give me a game with the subliminal message "Obey your masters at World Wide International Technology Services."?
I need to do more research. I think it's time to break into Dad's lab's 'Super Computer' again.
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Chapter Seven: Time unknown
I lay on my back and stare through nearly blind eyes at the ceiling. My original night-shift guard has left, only to be replaced by another, a short, stocky fellow who silently sits in the corner and watches me. I am exhausted beyond the point of sleep and the bright lights do nothing to assist me. As all nights like this, this night seems to be going on forever.
I don't know how long it has been since my adventure on the outside. They have taken great measures to make sure I have no sense of time. No one I come into contact with has a wrist watch, there are no clocks on the walls or computers, they feed me and allow me to perform my personal duties at irregular times and they work me until I nearly drop from exhaustion, sometimes to the point of where they have to drag me back to my 'home.'
As usual, my thoughts turn towards my children. In my down time, when I'm not thinking of work or my escape plans, they seem to dominate my mind. Because my children show no 'side affects' of their close encounter with me, my captors still allow me to see my children. I've been allowed to see them twice since the whole 'incident', as my captors like to call it. But seeing them through the vid-camera on my hated 'double's' goggles hurts me like never before. It is a reminder of what almost was. And although tears flowed down my face and my chest felt like someone was sitting on it both times I have been allowed to watch them, I would never wish to pass up that chance. Seeing them allows me to concentrate on my plan, to focus on what is to come.
I've been sabotaging the less than honourable projects they've been forcing me to create recently, the one's I know they will use for evil. It is nothing noticeable at first glance, but rather small, yet significant additions or subtractions to their technology, which will eventually come together and either render the projects worthless or turn against the user. Something that will destroy the organization from the inside, weakening their security and defense systems. Undoubtedly this will lead to my demise, but I am hoping that by then, the organization will have crumbled to the point where they will be rendered harmless to my children. I suppose this is a delusional fantasy, eventually they will figure out what I am doing, but barring a miracle, it is the only option I can think of.
Tomorrow another piece of my plan will be presented to my captors. This piece will undoubtedly cause chaos to their building security defenses. Although it will do nothing to set me free, it is designed with hidden loopholes that allow outsiders easier access into the building. If the right intelligence comes along, they can disarm the lockdown mechanism, allowing easier access to restricted areas. Perhaps another group like FFT will try to rescue me. With luck, I will escape them as they try to free me. If I get out again, I will not let down my guard. I will find freedom, or death trying.
An opening door breaks me from my thoughts and I watch as a two blurred figures brush past my now standing guard.
"You've been awake to long, Membrane."
I recognize Simmons' voice. He has been haunting me quite a bit since my attempted escape.
The guard with him grabs my arm and pushes up my sleeve. I see the flash of a needle and instantly know what is happening. They've been doing this a lot lately.
Behind him, Simmons offers this night's justification. "You need your sleep. This is an important assignment and a lot of important people will be present for the unveiling. We can't have you sleeping during the presentation now can we."
The poison spreads like fire thought my veins and I watch Simmons and the guard spin as I fade into the darkness.
I hate induced sleep.
==========
Excerpt from Gaz's poem/diary.
===
September 3rd
Hey mom,
I have been doing more research on WWITS, trying to find the connection to why the subliminal messages are trying to get us to "Obey your masters at World Wide International Technology Services." At first I tried to do this through Dad's 'Super Computer' located in the lab. I set the lab security cameras so all I have to do is flip a switch and they would be fed a continual loop. Then I set a security warning so I would know when Dad was coming. He's been coming home a lot lately, and at all odd hours of the day. I know that if Dad found out I was doing this, I would be in deep deep trouble.
I was finally able to break into one of there computers. I have hid my tracks pretty well; they don't even know I've been there. It wasn't easy, I had to break through a bunch of security codes, but it was worth it. I discovered a few things that kind of scare me, but before I could find out more, I ran into a security block that even Dad's computer couldn't breach.
It was then that I decided to recruit Dib's stupid alien friend, Zim. He may be an idiot, but his toys are more advanced than anything Dad has. Plus I don't trust Dad's stuff. After finding out about the games for my Gameslave, I started checking more things out. Dad's been using subliminal messages on all of the stuff around here, even those stupid floating recorded messages he uses to remind Dib and I that he is a 'caring' father.
"Pleh! Real 'caring', Dad." He's about as caring as a wall.
Zim fought me at first, but I 'convinced' him that it is for his own good. I told him that I would relinquish control of his house computer once I was done. I also promised I wouldn't doom him if he cooperated. He's almost as fun to torment as Dib.
Speaking of Dib, he's been more annoying than usual lately. I think he thinks I'm stealing his only friend.
"Zim's brainwashed you. He's evil. Why are you hanging around with him?"
Geez Dib, lighten up.
It's funny, but I think Zim's computer likes me more than it likes him. It whines and snivels when Zim asks it to do something. It obeys him, but acts like it doesn't want to. I don't blame it. Stupid alien. Zim hates the fact that the computer obeys me without complaint. Nothing new. Zim hates that fact that I'm there anyway. He tried to boost his base defenses, but the computer recognized me and let me through. Poor Dib though, I almost felt bad when I saw the lawn gnomes fry him. Okay, I laughed. But I probably would have felt bad if it wasn't so funny. You should have seen the look on his face right before they got him. They singed him pretty bad, but there are no lasting effects. He's come home with worse injuries. Dib is resilient if nothing else.
Zim's computer's capabilities are impressive. We were able to breach the security only minutes after Zim's computer connected to the WWITS master database. Within seconds, we had access to every computer connected to the WWITS network.
The things we found would have shut down the company and locked up the people working there in a heartbeat. WWITS is organized crime at it's best, or worse depending on how you view it. Fraud, imbursement, blackmail, it is amazing no one knows what they are doing there. I wasn't surprised when we discovered they were paying off the police.
We ran into a section that even Zim's computer had trouble accessing. When it finally did, I was shocked to say the least. There were thousands of files, pics and videos, and every single one was about Dib, Dad or me. They were keeping tabs on us. But why?
Curious, I opened one of the files with my name on it. As I suspected, it was about me. Every test I'd taken, every game I've played, every book I've read, even every picture I'd drawn, including the ones I crinkled up and threw into the trash. There were short videos and pictures that looked like they were taken from either Dad's goggles or one of his stupid floating monitors. They were accompanied by monologues attempting to evaluate my reactions to questions and stuff.
Next I checked out Dib's files, pics, and videos. They were pretty much the same. Zim let out a laugh when they said Dib was delusional in thinking that Zim was an alien. The terms crazy or insane were never very far away when they mentioned Dib.
The files and stuff on Dad were more extensive. We opened the pics first. That was when things started getting really weird. The very first one was a photo of Dad, but on closer review I realized it wasn't Dad at all, it was the man Dib, Dad and I saw at Bloaties. The resemblance to Dad was uncanny, the man looked exactly like him, right down to the scathed hair, the only difference was his lab coat didn't have one of those high collars Dad seems to love so much. The fact that he shared my father's name was even more unnerving.
"Hey, that isn't your dad?"
Heh! Dumb alien.
Leave it to Zim to state the obvious.
When we started to read the files and watch the videos we realized something even stranger, something downright frightening. The files talked about imprisonment, about things my Dad invented, about this stranger's reactions as he watched videos of Dib and I, and about torture. The farther back I went into the files, the more I learned about his connection to Dib and I.
As I suspected, we are this stranger's children. It makes sense; he was the man I remember from childhood. I thought he was dead, but instead, he has been held prisoner for an evil twisted corporation for all these years. Life doesn't get any weirder than this. I've half a mind to tell Dib, but with his mouth, he'd probably tell Dad. If that happens, the WWITS people will know, so I don't want Dad to know what I found out. At least not until Zim and I rescue our real father. Zim doesn't know it yet, but he will help me. He doesn't have much of a choice.
=========
Time unknown
After my last presentation they promised they'd allow me to see my children again. Today they are finally keeping that promise. Shortly after my 'morning' consumption of nutrients, I was led to the small viewing room where I now sit in silent anticipation.
My first glimpse is of my daughter, dressed in her usual manner, complete with Gameslave in hand. Unwillingly, tears spring to my eyes. I was so close to her that day, to her and my son. So close to having my dreams come true and I threw it away, not watching out for THEM. My chest takes on its familiar tightening as I relive those final moments and I breathe a shuttered breath. I failed my children and myself that night. I let my guard down far to soon. If only I would have...I...I should have never let my guard down. I am so stupid.
"I'm going out." Gaz states in a 'matter of fact' manner, breaking me from my grief. She watches my double through squinted eyes as she waits for his approval.
"Where?" I hear my hated double inquire.
"Zim's house."
I can't help but smile a bit at this. It seems Gaz has a boyfriend, the alien Dib is so obsessed with. My little girl is growing up. My smile fades a little as parental concern kicks in. I wish I could talk with this Zim, find out more about him, where he comes from, how old he is, what his intentions with my daughter are, my Young daughter.
"We're playing video games." Gaz continues. She looks off to the side, towards the sound of something thumping.
My double looks to the side as well and I watch as Dib runs down the stairs, tripping on the third step from the bottom in his rush. He hits the ground and I hear a snicker.
My double looks back towards Gaz and I see a smirk on her face. No doubt that's where the snicker came from.
"Okay then, have fun." My hated double says. "Don't stay out to late. And wear a coat."
"WAIT! DAD!" Dib yells, coming into view seconds after his sister leaves. "You can't just let her go over to Zim's again. He's an alien. An Evil One. He's Brainwashed her. Can't you see? Who knows what they're doing over there. It's something evil, I know it is!"
It is apparent that she is spending a great deal of time with this Zim, much to Dib's dismay. I smile at Dib's overprotective stance. It is comforting to know that he loves his sister so much. He is playing the overly concerned brother. It almost makes up for my double's 'indifference'. Although I can't say for sure, I'm almost certain he hasn't checked to see if this Zim is even right for my little girl. I don't want her to get hurt. Undoubtedly, that's what They are hoping for. Emotional distress may make Gaz easier to control. But Gaz is far from helpless. If someone has been able to slip through her defenses, if they have earned her trust, then I fear for them if they break that trust. It seems that my Gaz is not one to take something like that lightly.
My double shakes his head at Dib, mumbling "My poor insane son." Before turning away and walking through the door.
They stop the transmission there, signifying the end of my seconds of paradise. With little fanfare I am let back to the labs where my work awaits me.
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Excerpt from Gaz's poem/diary.
===
November 15th
Hey Mom,
Life keeps getting weirder and weirder. Last month we were in Zim's lab doing research, when Zim received a transmission from his leaders, the Almighty Tallest. I faded into the background so he wouldn't have to explain why he had an enemy in his base, but from where I stood, I could see and hear the whole thing. Here's how it went:
The leaders were kind of...well...weird. They were also ruder than anything. They said they had a running bet concerning something only Zim could answer. Then the purple-eyed one told Zim that he couldn't return to Irk. That he was banished from the Empire. Both of them watched carefully as Zim stood there processing the information, a triumphant grin on the purple- eyed leader's face. In all of his thickheaded stupidity, it seemed Zim didn't understand what they were saying. I watched the grin on the purple- eyed one's face fade to a frown when Zim replied with "HUH?"
The red-eyed leader grinned and hit the purple-eyed one on the arm before leaning towards the camera.
"What we're trying to say ZIM is; DON'T Come Back! STAY On Earth! We Don't Want To See Or Hear From You Again! It's been fun, BUT I WANT MY DONUTS!"
Zim repeated his "HUH?" Before it finally sank in.
"But, but what about my secret mission? What about Earth?"
I heard the waver in his voice and actually felt a pang of sympathy for the dumb alien. He was so dense he didn't even know that his leaders were ditching him, and all because of some lousy bet over some stupid donuts.
The purple-eyed one let out an exasperated sigh.
"Thanks a lot ZIM. You just lost me a week's worth of donuts." He looked at the red-eyed leader before continuing. "Now Pay ATTENTION!"
"Stay on Earth. There is NO invasion. We set our weapons to recognize your Voot Cruiser's signature as a danger. If you try to come back to Irk or the Armada, they will target your voot and you will explode." He paused for a moment before a sickening smirk stained his face, "Better yet, DO come back. I Want to see you EXPLODE INTO A THOUSAND ITY BITS!!!"
He glanced at his companion, who's eyes grew wide with understanding.
"Yeah, Zim." The red-eyed monster agreed, "Come back. I WANNA SEE YOU EXPLODE!"
They both started laughing hysterically before the transmission cut out.
"But...but..." Those were the last words Zim said before collapsing.
He didn't faint like I first thought, but rather he sat there. Silent. I'm not good at these situations. Usually I find them amusing, but something about that whole transmission thing bothered me. I guess I never witnessed seeing ones world fall around them in one foul sweep. Usually worlds crumble a piece at a time. Like Dib's or mine. So slow you don't know you've lost it until it's to late.
I walked up and stood beside him for a moment before deciding he needed a new purpose in life.
"Get up, Zim." I told him, half expecting him to explode into some unfathomable fury. "I'll help you get revenge on your leaders for dumping you if you help me free my real dad from World Wide International Technology Services."
The fury came seconds after I said that. He lunged at me, missing me by mere millimetres. I sidestepped and tripped him. He pulled his creepy spider legs from his pak, trying to break his fall, but I managed to trip those too. He landed face first on the ground
"It has to hurt," I continued, "being rejected like that. You must be feeling pretty bad."
I watched as he climbed to his feet. His mouth was held in a grimace and something wet was trickling from a gash in his forehead and down his cheek. I'd never seen Irken blood before. It is darker, thicker than ours. He wasted no time before springing at me again, this time using his spider legs for leverage and force. I sidestepped again and watched him smash into some computer monitors.
"If I were you, I'd want to doom them good." I muttered as he pushed back from the monitors. I noticed the ones he ran into were broken. More Irken blood stained their shattered screens. "You know I can help you do that." With this, I finally got him to talk. From my experiences with Dib, he always felt better after a good bout of talking. I've learned that Zim's really not much different in that respect.
"STUPID HUMAN!" he screeched at me with undiluted fury. "ZIM DOES NOT NEED YOUR HELP. ZIM DOES NOT NEED YOUR PITY! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF MY PAIN!"
"I didn't say I know your pain. I merely said it has to hurt, being rejected like that. I'd be feeling pretty bad if it happened to me." Again I danced out of his way, this time getting cut in the arm by a passing spider leg. "And I don't pity you! I know that I would want revenge if someone rejected me like that and I figured you'd want that too. You help me, I help you!"
He stopped himself before he slammed into the wall. He spun around and drew his spider legs into his Pak. He was breathing hard through his mouth and his eyes were narrow with hate. Hate and sorrow.
"They are the Almighty Tallest. Leaders of the Irken Empire. My leaders!" He advanced towards me with a calculated anger. "I cannot even begin to think of revenge. That is Blasphemy against the very structure of the Empire. To do so is cause for instant execution. If I even so much as think of it, my Pak will disconnect, destroying me."
I allowed him to back me into a corner and leaned my back against a wall, letting him think he had the upper hand. His proximity could easily work to my advantage if he decided to become violent.
"What if I fix that?" I propositioned, glaring at him. "I can, you know."
He drew forward, stopping less than twenty centimetres from me, and looked at me through narrowed eyes. His hands gripped my shoulders, digging in slightly and pushing me against the wall, trying to block my escape. I let him, waiting for his response. "How?" he whispered nearly inaudibly. It was like he was talking about a deadly secret. In a way, I guess he was.
"I can reconfigure your pak." I half growled half whispered back, watching him through skeptical eyes. "I reconfigured Tak's ship, I reprogrammed this computer to accept my commands, despite your best defensive programs, and I know I can reconfigure your pak so you can be free of your Irken masters. Free to plot revenge against those who used you to win a stupid bet."
He was silent for a long time, standing there, and I was beginning to wonder if I made a big mistake, one that might force me to hurt Zim and cost me valuable resources for rescuing Dib's and my real dad.
"OK." He finally said, pushing back. "If you fail. Dib dies, your real father dies, your other father dies and You Die!"
I smirked at him. "Fair enough. If I succeed, you help me free my real father and destroy WWITS."
"Fine!" he hissed in agreement.
Since then, I've been doing research on the pak and yesterday I finally did it.
As promised, before I started he made me tell the computer that if something went wrong and he died, it was to kill me to, even if I begged it not to, then it was to program Gir to kill Dib and our dads. When I was finished, Zim's pak was severed from the Irken Empire. It is now functioning independently. I guess all those years of playing with computers and Dad's toys in the basement have really paid off. I haven't had that much fun since I programmed the security at Dad's studio to allow me full access into the building and reject Dib. Heh! Dib still hasn't realized there is no Staff entrance.
When it came time to test it, I could tell Zim was nervous. It looked like he was preparing himself for death, but the prospect of freedom from the Irken Empire, the prospect of revenge, must have been greater than his fear of death. It was almost five minutes before he finally took a deep breath and in a small voice, spoke his first blasphemy against his Irken leaders.
I wish you could have seen the odd look of joy on Zim's face when he realized it worked, that he was really free. It was...interesting. His eyes widened with wonder, sparkling like gems. He smiled so wide, I thought his face would split. His black antennae quivered so fierce they sounded like hummingbird wings and were merely a blur to look at. It was weird.
He spoke his blasphemous statement again, then again, then again. Louder each time until he was screaming. He raised his fists in defiance and narrowed his eyes. "YOU WILL RUE THE DAY YOU MESSED WITH ZIM, MY TALLEST! YOU WILL RUE THAT DAY!"
I waited until he regained some composure before confronting him. "You will keep your promise." I reminded him in a stern voice.
He looked at me and grinned. "Yes. Yes, I will."
==========
Time unknown
"Wake up!" Someone screams into my ear.
I jump; waking once more from an induced slumber. This time however, I'm not in my bed, but rather I'm strapped into a chair. Fear rushes through me as I take stock of my situation. My goggles are on and I am facing a group of my captors. Not surprisingly, Simmons is among them. Lately, he's almost everywhere I am. I see movement and glance to my left. A guard is standing there, the same one from last night when they gave me the shot. This can't be good. This is not normal and 'not normal' is never good.
They found me out.
I'm going to die.
Simmons breaks from the group and walks towards me.
I offer a weak smile, trying to hide my fear.
Simmons stands silently for a moment, watching me, his face is unreadable behind the high collar and goggles. "We are having difficulty with the WWITS SP Mini Lasers."
He pulled out a small pen sized object. I stopped smiling and instead try to cover my fear with a look of concerned.
That was the first project they forced me to create after my recent recapture, the first thing I sabotaged. The tiny laser was supposed to emit a one millimetre thick concentrated beam of energy powerful enough to slice through thirty-one centimetres of solid steel. When I presented it to them it did just that.
Simmons moves to stand directly in front of me. He fiddles with the laser as he talks.
"The lasers seem to work fine for a while, but then..." Simmons pauses for a moment as he points the laser at me and pushes the button.
My eyes widen with fear as I try pull back, trying to loose myself in the confines of the wooden chair I'm strapped to, trying to prepare myself for death. I wait helplessly for the beam to punch a hole through me,. Instead I feel mild discomfort as my nightshirt heats up against my chest. The laser is wide, almost seven centimetres in diametre and its power is no stronger than a good hair drier.
Simmons continues. "As our people began to use the lasers on a regular bases, the lasers casing started to fall apart, that the beam's width started expanding, and the beam's strength started diminishing."
Heh! It worked. Imagine that?
"You are going to fix it." Simmons shuts the laser off and leans in close to me. "You will fix it and make it work just like we told you to the first time. If it doesn't work correctly, your children..." He trailed off, leaving the threat unfinished.
Simmons leans back and continues, "You are also going to fix any other problems we run across."
Simmons pauses for a moment, watching me closely. They know I'm doing something, but they're not sure what it is. They haven't connected the 'problems' with creations intended for misuse yet. All they know is that some products are malfunctioning and some are not.
"And if any more 'problems' occur from here on out, we will make you wish you were dead." Simmons leans towards me again, his voice issuing a poisonous threat "I personally, will make you wish that both you and your children had never been born."
For a moment feelings of depression and despair overwhelm me, threatening to drown out coherent thought. Great. Just great. Drawing in a shuddered breath and fighting back tears, I consciously make an effort to compose myself.
Seeing this, Simmons again pulls back. "Glad we have an understanding."
Turning towards my guard, he waves his hand in dismissal. "Take him to section "B". Don't bother feeding or dressing him, he has a lot of work to do."
==========
Excerpt from Gaz's poem/diary.
===
December 10th
Hey Mom,
With our research on World Wide International Technology Services finally complete, we started planning the rescue. That was two days ago. Zim put up a big stink at first, saying I couldn't order him around and I was to inferior to handle his advanced technology, but I twisted his words and made him think it was a challenge.
"The mighty Zim is afraid to pull off a simple rescue of a lowly human, huh? Afraid he'll get caught. I bet you would get caught too. Your to stupid not to. Even that insane robot of yours is braver and smarter than you."
I think it was the last words that got to him. You should have seen him standing there fuming. I couldn't help but laugh. That only made him angrier. He tried to attack me, but I don't play the stupid games that he and Dib do. He pulled some sort of laser on me but I knocked it out of his hand before he could fire it. You should have seen him pale as I caught him by his stupid collar and slammed him against the wall. I swear he was almost white. He was shivering so bad I thought I'd loose my grip. His antennae were pressed flat against his skull and he was staring at me in fear. I don't think he was ever this afraid of Dib. I leaned in close to his face and asked again if he thought he could handle it. As predicted, he reluctantly agreed.
"But I'm not doing it because you scare me." He practically screeched at me in that annoying voice of his. "I'm doing this to prove how superior and unafraid of you I am...and because I promised." The last part was tact on as an afterthought.
I had to stifle a laugh.
"Then do it!"
Hey, whatever works!
That was our last 'fight' if you could call it that. For being a mighty Irken Invader, Zim's kind of a wimp, at least when it comes to me. I've watched him beat the crap out of Dib, but he backs down at the mere implication of doom from my part. He's a lot smarter than I first gave him credit for.
Everything else went pretty smoothe, with the exception of Dib driving me to the brink of near insanity whenever I came home. If he knows he's going to be doomed for bugging me like that, why doesn't he stop? He's too stubborn for his own good. I already told him that I'm going over to Zim's because I want to. He thinks Zim has brainwashed me and that 'something' is going on.
"You're his slave or something. I know it. He brainwashed you. You have to let me help."
Spraying me with water earned him a black eye. He got a bloody nose when he tried to lock me in my room. He sprained his wrist when he tried to tie me up so I wouldn't go to Zim's. I stomped on his toe when he ATE THE LAST PIECE OF PIZZA. THE ONE I CLAIMED FOR ME!!! Okay, the last part was not Zim related, but Dib really, REALLY annoys me when he does that. And he does that a lot.
Finding out where WWITS was keeping this new, (old) dad was kind of tricky. We had to search the files pretty hard to find even the slightest clue as to his whereabouts. We discovered that he must still be in town somewhere, but we didn't know which building. Zim created some small probes to check out the buildings owned by World Wide International Technology Services. After that, it didn't take very long to discover which building he was in. Some brick building downtown, in a right next to the city park.
I let Zim draw out the escape plans. It was easer than fighting him and his bloated ego. He is less annoying when he thinks he is in charge. Besides, he knows what his equipment can do. I could figure it out easily enough, but I didn't want to waste precious time arguing with Zim.
I have to admit, his rescue idea was pretty impressive. Better than any world domination plan he ever came up with. He was able to find and exploit a major weakness in their building's defense system. It was almost laughable once we noticed it. The only part of Zim's plan I didn't like was the idea of having to replace Dad with the prisoner. I felt kind of bad about the whole imprisonment/torture thing. I didn't want to put Dad in that position. No one should be treated like that. After he showed me the plan, Zim argued with me about how perfect it was. By that time, his dumb robot was driving me near insane. The stupid thing had been running around the lab for the better part of an hour squealing obnoxious things about taquitos and tacos and how 'starveded' he was. I told Zim to take that annoying robot of his for some tacos. Zim was more than happy to agree when he realized I was reaching my tolerance level. I just wish I didn't have to destroy my Gameslave III like that. Now I'm down to only two. He made me promise that I'd stay out of the lab until he returned. It was kind of odd that Zim trusted me like that, for just my word, but he's been doing that more lately, ever since I reconfigured that pak of his. I settled down on his couch and drowned myself in my reserved Gameslave while I worked out a plan on how not use to Dad and waited for them to return. They were gone for almost an hour.
By the time Zim and his hyper robot finally returned, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I asked Zim if he could create a robot to replace the prisoner, sort of like he did with Dib that one time. It had to be something that could be used to destroy WWITS after we escaped. At the mere mention of destruction, Zim's eyes took on a mischievous glimmer and he disappeared into his lab for the rest of the day. I went home, hoping to get some good drawing in, but ended up having to doom Dib for spraying me with some stupid 'anti-hypnosis' spray he had ordered from Crop Circle Magazine, then spent the rest of the evening washing that crap from my hair and clothes.
=========
Time unknown
Same thing, different night!
I struggle to keep my eyes open in a battle I know I'll lose. It is my own defiant stance against their control.
Since our little meeting, Simmons' interest in me has been taken to a new level. With the exception of night, Simmons is constantly by my side, watching my every move. My guards have increased as well. Now, I constantly escorted by two, again with the exception of night.
They figure I don't need heavy security at night, not since they've started to drug my evening meals. It is the new nightly routine. They force me to drink the rot they call dinner, tainted even more so by the sleeping drug, then force me to work until I can barely keep my eyes open. The drug usually works fast, but they never take me 'home' until I loose my equilibrium. Then they unceremoniously drag me 'home' strip me of my clothes, my goggles, and what little dignity I have had managed to reacquire that day, redress me in my nightwear, have a brief changing of the guard and leave. At least I don't have trouble sleeping anymore. Already I find myself slipping away and they've only just left.
I rolled on my side and stare at the blurry figure of my guard, trying to occupy my mind and keep from falling asleep. From where I lay, he doesn't look familiar. But then, it's hard to tell when I can't even see his face. I realize that he is looking at something on his wrist.
A watch?
This peaks my interest and I try to sit up. I make it, but am forced to pause until the wave of dizziness passes. I hate this drug. It impairs my fine motor skills. I think they only use it to humiliate me. No, I know they only use it to humiliate me.
Regaining some control, I try to reach for my glasses. They are located on a table bolted next to the bed. Unfortunately, my lack of coordination proves too much and I end up falling off the bed onto the floor. As I fall, I hear a strangely childlike voice screaming 'NOW GIR!" and the lights flicker twice before completely turning off.
With in seconds the rather short guard is by my side. Something isn't right. He's wearing a mask or something. I can see purple eyes locked onto mine, staring out from inside his mouth. I watched in odd horror my guard shed his skin, revealing a small green child wearing a red and black stripped tunic, black pants, gloves, boots, and a round-ish backpack. This strange child is the owner of those eyes.
I think they used to strong a dose this night. This is one weird dream.
His hands me my goggles then pulls back. Behind him I see some sort of floating orb emitting a soft white glow.
"GIR!" My guard said in his childish voice. "THE PLAN! NOW! BRING IN THE FAKE PROFESSOR!"
The door bursts open before I can comprehend what is going on.
I watch as two figures run in; one very small, very odd looking dog and someone that looks exactly like me, right down to the black hair and goggles. As I staring at this strange doppelganger, I almost miss the strange child's instructions to him.
"When we leave, Destroy Things!"
Odd little silver legs come out of his backpack and quickly wrap around me as the green boy turns to the small green dog. "Get us out of here now Gir!" I watch as the dog rises off of the ground and the little boy climbs on its back, dragging me closer to him as he does so. Within seconds, I find myself flying along side the boy and his dog, the strange legs wrapped snuggly around me. The strange sensation proves too much and I loose the frail dream, plummeting into the darkness of a dreamless sleep.
==========
Excerpt from Gaz's poem/diary.
===
January 1st
Hey Mom,
Happy New Year or whatever!
We made the rescue yesterday. Wish you could have been there to see it. It was amazing. The whole thing went off as planned. I'd like to say I didn't have any doubts that it wouldn't, but I can't. Yes, Mom, even I can get nervous. Not that I'd ever let it show.
For his part, I have to say that Zim did pretty well. I'm going to let him keep his limbs intact. He even agreed to allow my real dad, (yes his name is Membrane) to stay at his house, but only if he didn't go down to the labs. It wasn't Zim's choice to do this, of course, but with a little persuasion, he agreed it would be best for his (Zim's) health if Membrane stayed.
Membrane didn't wake up until a few hours ago. When he first came to he saw Zim and panicked. Zim was out of his disguise at the time. In his defense, Zim stated that with the amount of sleep drugs running through Membrane's system, he didn't think that he would be waking up so soon. Zim's computer quickly restrained Membrane. When Membrane saw me, he settled down enough for the computer to release him. He was totally disoriented and didn't remember anything about the rescue. I guess he figured he was still dreaming. He didn't believe that he was awake until he was allowed to touch me, then I was pulled into a tight hug. It was kind of uncomfortable, but knowing he is my real dad made an exception and allowed him to do so. It was hard not to pull away. I'm not use to physical contact.
When he finally settled down we asked about his imprisonment by World Wide International Technology Services. He turned weird at this request and grabbed my shoulders, begging me to promise never to allow WWITS to take me, to fight them for all my worth. Then he panicked and asked about Dib. He almost breathed a sigh of relief when I told him where Dib was. His reaction to my Dad was almost frightening. He told me that they were using Dad to impersonate him. I kind of figured that, especially after I found out Membrane was the one who created all of those things that Dad said he did. I started to get concerned for Dib but Zim showed us a spy-cam he had snuck into our house a while ago. Through it, we watched as Dib watched Mysterious Mysteries and Dad played with a small hand puppet that looked like a miniature of him. Dad looked different as he sat playing with that puppet, strangely lost, almost sad, and it was then that I realized he wasn't dressed in his usual lab coat and protective goggles. I thought Membrane would go off when he saw Dad, but instead he simply smiled. Seeing all of this seemed to calm Membrane somehow and he asked when he could see Dib. I said soon, but we needed to learn a few things first.
Membrane doesn't like to talk much, but neither would I if I didn't have a tongue. Yeah, like I suspected, he doesn't have one. They messed him up pretty bad. He can't walk very well now either. I hate to imagine the horrors they put him through. Apparently they work him to near exhaustion during the day, then force him into a drug induced sleep every night. He doesn't like to talk about his life there much. I could tell that it was hard for him. He told us that World Wide International Technology Services was an organized criminal corporation that specialized in Technology. Something I already figured. He went on to tell us that WWITS had been enslaving our family for generations, from our great grandfather's father to him, and eventually to Dib and I. His life there was a living hell.
We are going to be destroying all of the World Wide International Technology Services buildings we can find. Membrane wants to gather information from their computers before we destroy them. He thinks they may be able to lead us to other Techno-criminal organizations. He wants to free the prisoners and destroy them all. I don't blame him, but I told him before we can be heroes of all the techno-slaves, we have another priority first, Zim's ex-leaders, the Tallest.
=========
January 5th
I have decided to keep a log of my new life. It helps remind me that this is indeed real.
I still cannot believe I'm free, that I am actually seeing my children in person.
I wake up every morning in a strange house with a strange little alien and an even stranger little robot and I have to remind myself that this isn't a dream.
I know that Zim's generosity is forced. It is my wonderful daughter Gaz who has insured my stay. When she desires, which is usually, she has a frightening aura around her that cannot be ignored and I know she scares Zim. Yet despite this forced generosity, Zim seems rather accepting of me. In fact, he acts as if he actually almost enjoys my presence at times. I attribute this to years of living with that hyper little robot of his. I asked him once if he ever thought about fixing it, but he merely shuddered, mumbling something about insane robots, libraries and dangers to his person.
I've discovered that Zim loves to talk. Mostly its about how Dib always foils his plans or about his revenge on his now ex-leaders Tallest Red and Tallest Purple. Somehow he always seems to slip in a few sentences about how amazing or superior he is. I find his egotistical manner amusing. At times, he falls into a thoughtful silence, but his insane little robot, Gir, always interrupts his contemplation with requests for food, having Pig over for tea, or some other such nonsense. I've watched him disappear down that odd toilet of his in his kitchen more than once to escape his robot's insane escapades. "Keep Membrane occupied, Gir. I'm going down to the lab."
I am curious about this lab of his. It sounds extensive. I can only imagine the vast technology he has at his fingertips. I would love to visit his lab someday, though I will wait until he offers it. I have no desire to break his fragile trust. If he does offer, I hope I don't have to flush myself down that toilet to do so. I doubt I'd fit anyway.
Gaz is even more amazing than I had dreamed. Her mind is keen and her wits are sharp, if not a little dark. But then, with the life she's lived, I cannot blame her. She is blossoming into a beauty. I wish...I wish her mother could have lived to see her, to see them both.
I finally met Dib. It was pretty amusing, and broke my heart at the same time. He will not allow me near him, claiming that I am merely an evil clone created by his arch nemesis Zim to lure him into a trap, or something. From what I did see of him, he is a handsome young man. A little confused, but then I can't really blame him. From what Zim tells me of their exploits, they have been battling each other for quite some time. Dib has a right not to trust Zim. It's obvious that Zim respect for Dib runs quite deep. And from the bits and pieces I've seen and heard from Dib, this respect seems mutual.
Gaz and Zim have been destroying the World Wide International Technology Services organization at a fantastic rate. Zim has a device that drains information from computer mainframes and has been gathering a substantial amount of valuable information concerning not only WWITS but also other similar corrupt organizations. Gir and I have been watching them destroy these strongholds of evil on a video link Zim recently set up for the occasion and it is very entertaining. I especially enjoy watching Zim. His enthusiasm for destruction seems to know no bounds.
I have offered to assist Zim in his revenge against the Massive. I don't know if he will accept it yet. Zim is a proud creature, if nothing else.
Well, Gir has made waffles, again, so I best close this file before he spills more syrup on this laptop than he already has.
Freedom is wonderful. And soon I will work on bringing my family together for the first time. For the only time.
Yes, Life is GOOD!
==========
Excerpt from Gaz's poem/diary.
===
January 10th
Hey Mom,
Zim's robot thingy wasted no time in destroying all of the buildings in the city owned by World Wide International Technology Services. Zim and I have destroyed quite a few too, the ones located outside of the city. We even used his voot to demolish the ones in other countries. Japan is cool!
Zim has been downloading files for Membrane from the WWITS computers before we totally destroy them. I think he likes the idea of finding and destroying all of the criminal organizations. Not because he doesn't like them, I doubt he could care less, but because he really enjoys destroying thing and to destroy something bad gives justification. I'm discovering that Zim is pretty destructive by nature.
Dib's been going crazy. He's been watching all of the news reports talking about buildings exploding and stuff. The news says they are terrorist attacks, but not Dib. No, he thinks that Zim has finally started taking over this stupid planet. Yeah, it's Zim's ship, but he's not invading earth, he and I are the heroes this time, shutting down a major criminal organization and rescuing techno-prisoners.
Heh! If he only knew the truth....
I promised Zim I wouldn't tell Dib that he isn't going to take over earth. I think Zim likes the game too much. I think it's funny. I wasn't going to tell Dib anyway. Why ruin his fun.
Dib finally met Membrane. He is convinced that Zim has created a clone of Dad. We found out that it is true, in a way; only Dad is the real clone, not Membrane. We didn't tell Dib about World Wide International Technology Services yet. We didn't even tell him who Membrane really is. Membrane decided it we should wait until we are sure that WWITS is completely disbanded. He's paranoid that they will imprison us all.
"Dib seems a little to unstable now to be bothered with such details. The important thing is to make sure this never happens again. I want you both safe first. We're alive and free. We have plenty of time to work on our father/children relationships later."
Membrane seems to have thought things through pretty good.
I still don't know what we're going to do with Dad; he seems kind of lost now that WWITS is in shambles. At first Membrane wanted to destroy him, to lock him up and throw away the key, but then, when we discovered that Dad was his clone, he seemed to change his mind. He said that he figured Dad was as much an innocent as him, maybe even more so, though I don't see how. Membrane didn't ask to be locked up and tortured.
We have started planning revenge against the Tallest and the Irken Empire. Zim wants to be an Invader again, only this time he wants to invade the Massive. (That's the Tallests' war ship. It's supposed to be pretty big.) Membrane wants to help too. He figures it's the least he can do after we rescued him. Sounds like fun to me. Zim knows the guy who designed the Massive so this is going to go smoother than I had expected. We just need to figure out how to change Zim's voot so that Irk and the Massive won't recognize it's electronic signature, or it's design. Membrane is helping Zim with the design. I'm working on the electronic signature. It's been great.
Well, I gotta go. Dib's been pounding on my door again, wanting me to divulge some of Zim's secrets. He figures that if he can't' rescue' me, maybe he can use me to spy on Zim.
Poor delusional Dib!
====================
End Note: An explanation of sorts, concerning this last chapter; as you have noticed, I have deviated from the original format for this tale. I specifically wanted to involve Gaz, to give a little insight to her thoughts concerning WWITS and the man she saw at Bloaties. I must say that I never intended for the Tallest to tell Zim the truth and although I intended for Gaz to use Zim for his facilities, I never intended for them to become friends (of sorts). As usual, my muse escaped and wreaked havoc on all aspects of this tale. I apologize if this has been a disappointment, and if requested, will write an alternate ending that may be more, well, acceptable, but probably won't have as happy an ending. Again, I would like to thank you for your support throughout the creation of this tale. I would especially like to thank the Creator of Invader Zim, Jhonen Vasquez, (THANK YOU!) for without him, none of this would ever have graced the internet, or the television for that matter.
THANK YOU ALL! - Ashsema