Dib had failed again. That's nothing new, he always fails. However, that time things were worse than ever. He hadn't only failed, but also captured and held prisoner for over a month.
His cell was small and dark violet, just like everything else in Zim's laboratory, with bars at the front walls on all other sides. Dib didn't even have a mattress to sleep on, but sometimes he was so tired that he'd sleep on the floor without complaining. If he did, God knows what Zim would do to him, besides the usual, of course.
Every now and then Zim would open the cell, command a giant metal arm to grab Dib by his "titanic head" and put him on table. It was usually just light shocks or a needle shower. But it was getting hard to stand after a few days.
Dib's skin was red and covered in tiny bruises because of the needles. Sometimes they would bleed for days and he had nothing to stop it but his hands. Zim had stripped him down to his underwear, and then it simply fell off during one of the "sessions".
Gladly it wasn't cold in Dib's cell, it was even slightly too warm, probably because they were so many feet below the ground.
Dib was hugging his knees against his chest and rocking back and forth, trying to calm down after that day's session. He had a little too much shocking that time and it got hard to calm down after it.
The dark violet door slid open and a green figure walked through it, giving a few steps and standing still in front of Dib's cell. Zim had his arms crossed over his chest and an evil grin on his lips.
Zim stood there often, watching Dib breath hard with a helpless look in his eyes. He did that often, possibly because it pleased him. Dib asked himself how someone could be that heartless, but then he remembered that was what he meant to do to Zim once the Irken was captured, and got to the conclusion he probably deserved all the torturing.
They never spoke to each other since the day Dib had been captured, not a single word. That wasn't a day just like the others, though.
"Enjoying your stay, human?" Zim asked suddenly, his usually dumb voice filled with pleasure and coldness.
"Very." Dib answered, gazing right into Zim's eyes.
The Irken didn't avoid Dib's eyes. Instead, he stepped closer to the cell and grinned even more. "Sure doesn't seem like it..."
"I suppose I deserve all this for not being good enough to expose you. But once I get out of this cage I'll make sure there are no mistakes ever again." Dib said.
Zim laughed. "Do you still have hopes of escaping, Dib? Honestly..."
"Miracles happen. After all, didn't one of your plans work for once?" Zim raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?"
"Must I remind you that I never succeeded on exposing you, but I've ruined your plans more than once, Zim!" Dib grinned.
Zim grabbed the cell's bars and brought his face against them. "Shut your mouth, filthy human! You have no credibility down here! I can kill you with a snap of fingers if I feel like it."
"Go ahead, then. I'm not afraid of you, Zim! You're a failure, even more than me!" Dib shouted, getting up and pointing his finger at Zim, ignoring the fact he was completely naked. "You're pathetic Zim, you don't even have the guts to kill me!"
"Of course I do!!!" Zim shot back. "Computer! Puni-"the Irken suddenly stopped. He couldn't kill Dib. He loved to see the human boy suffer, but seeing him die? Wasn't it too much?
No.
"Computer! Punishment!" Zim shouted, and two light bolts hit Dib with more than the usual power.
The boy screamed and fell on the ground, shacking and crying until everything went black and he fainted.
"Subject has lost pulse." Announced the computer.
Zim felt something hurt deep inside himself. Dib was lying on the floor, completely naked, and still shaking, even though he no longer breathed. Zim's jaw fell and the Irken didn't think twice before opening the bars and grabbing Dib in his arms.
"Computer, teleport to laboratory and prepare reanimation kit!" Zim commanded harshly, his eyes filled with somewhat of a mix of anger and guilt.
A few hours later Dib opened his eyes feeling numb and confused. He couldn't quite see, he wasn't wearing his glasses. He tried to sit up, but he had no control over anything of his body but his eyes and mouth.
He was in another dark violet room with a bed— the one he was on—and a huge computer with an analysis of his current state. To the boy's surprise, he was just fine. And, according to the computer, he had no internal or external damage.
The door opened slowly and Dib watched Zim walk through the door and sit on a chair beside him, arms crossed as usual.
A brief moment of silence followed, as Dib tried to understand why he was still alive. He was going to ask Zim, but something else squirted out.
"Why violet?" Dib asked.
"What?"
"Why is everything in your laboratory dark violet?" the boy insisted.
"Because... it looks more advanced and alien-ish. Besides, isn't it a nice color? My favorite." Zim answered, avoiding Dib's gaze.
"That's all? No hidden meanings like a special Irken material or something?" Dib questioned.
"Nope."
Another moment of silence followed, this time a longer one.
"Can I sit up?" Dib asked.
Zim nodded and pressed a few buttons on the control panel. Dib automatically gained control over his body again and sat up on the bed. Silence followed, as always, just being interrupted by the beeping of the computer.
"You were right." Zim suddenly said. "I'm weak, pathetic... a shame to the Irken race. I couldn't even kill a stupid human."
"Well, that's... hmm... yeah." Dib looked down, wordless.
"I went far enough as to kill you for a moment, but something didn't let me leave you dead. Why, I wonder?" Zim shook his head. "I hate you, Dib, and always will. But sometimes it seems hard to imagine my mission with you to annoy me! Besides, I want to conquer Earth and then laugh as you sob, ashamed of your loss, feeling feeble and exposed ."
"Well..." Dib looked down to his naked body. "I'm quite exposed already."
Zim laughed. "Like I care about the human anatomy! Pathetic humans can't cope with the idea of seeing someone else without clothes on and not feeling aroused." He shook his head. "Humans are sure ridiculous."
"Yes, we're sadly full of those little taboos. But I don't see you running naked among the other Irkens either..."
"We feel cold, we don't dress because we want to look 'pretty' and 'fashionable'! We don't measure standards by our clothes." Zim explained.
"Of course not! You measure it by how many civilizations you manage to ruin!" Dib exclaimed, angrily.
"I'm in no mood for your speech of how we're just as bad, because we are not. We're so much greater! And I'll prove it to you." Zim got up and walked up to the computer, and started typing something.
Dib wasn't really worried about the differences between humans and Irkens, something was still puzzling him. Why hadn't Zim been able to kill him? Irkens kill entire civilizations, why not a mere human like him? Dib had somewhat of an answer to the question, but he was afraid of telling it to Zim, the Irken wouldn't understand at all. Though, Dib could use it as a reason to be freed or at least something to annoy Zim with.
"I think I know why you couldn't kill me." Dib said.
"And that's why our pants fit better than- Excuse me?" Zim turned around, confused, and sat back on his chair, resting his head in his hands. "Why?" he monotonously asked.
"Because... We're too bonded already. There's no Earth invasion without me, and there's no paranormal studies without you." Dib shuddered. "It's just a guess, though, but I think we like each other... or sort of."
Zim scratched his chin, grumbling something.
"What?" Dib asked, moving a little closer so he could listen.
Zim seemed to have found something very interesting on the floor, because he couldn't take his eyes off it. "Y-Yes, could be." He admitted, his voice weak and shaky. Zim sighed loudly and pointed to the floor. "You can go, Dib. Your clothes are over there, put them on and go."
Dib wrapped the blankets around his waist and picked up his clothes, quickly putting them back on. He was standing by the automatic door about a minute later and Zim hadn't taken his eyes of the floor.
Dib didn't feel too well. Something was telling him that he didn't want to go. The moment he stepped through that door, Dib would become Zim's rival again and they'd keep fighting against each other until one of them lost. And what good would that be? Would anyone really gain something with the other's loss?
"I don't want to go." Dib turned around, concerned evident on his eyes. "I don't want to keep on fighting, it won't take us anywhere."
"Do you really believe I'd be in this disgusting planet if I had nothing at stake? I'm an Invader, my duty is not only to assure the Irken Empire succeeds, but to get back the praise I deserve!" Zim said, this time eyeing Dib right into his eyes. "Do you understand that?"
Dib bit his lip and tried to avoid Zim's gaze, but that was hard to do. So he just stared back to the Invader and smiled faintly.
"Couldn't we be... friends?" Dib suggested, trying to keep his smile on as long as possible, which was something slightly difficult to do in a situation like that.
Zim frowned and his answer came short and objective. "No."
"Are you... sure?" Dib asked, his smile fading.
Zim scratched his chin and looked up as if he was thinking of something. Then he turned to Dib, still frowing.
"Get out of my sight before I decide to shock you again but then, OH THEN, no matter how much it hurts me, I will not even think of reviving you!" Zim shouted, hitting his fists to the computer panel.
Dib's eyes widened and he rushed out of the laboratory, his heart almost jumping out of his throat. He probably shouldn't have said anything.
As the automatic door closed and the computer announced the subject had passed through the front door, Zim grinned widely and lay back on his chair. Where would be the fun if he gave in to that human so easily?
"Maybe one day, Dib... maybe."
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And that's that! Was it too bad for my first IZ fic in a long, long time? It's been what... a year now? That's a loooong time... I'm so ashamed! uu But I guess this is decent enough for now, maybe I'll try some REAL character development later.
This is supposed to be a one-shot, but I see so many possibilities in this that I might as well turn it into a longer fic. Oh, but how many times have I promised that in other fics of mine and never even got to start the following chapters?
Well, this time I think I'm serious... we'll see. But if I do it's probably going to be more ZADR-ish than this. I mean, it'll be more explicitly so, not just implications.
I'll keep it as IC as possible, for a change. I mostly write AU and silly stuff, but I don't think that's quite what I want this time, especially because most ZADR fics are OOC-ish.
- If you really think I should continue, please let me know. If more people want me to, I will. Don't be shy! Also, suggestions, commentaries and everything else is appreciated. -