A/N: Sorry for the delay, existence got in the way of life. That and our
residential 'Gaz' finished his Xmas gifts of "Halo" and "Ghost Recon" and
is now hogging the computer for "SimCity4". I wish they made that for the
Xbox. I would actually be able to get more writing done. I'll try to
steal time away and post more. I owe a few reviews as well. Maybe I can
post them sometime this week. I'm hoping anyway.
Yeah, I know that last chapter was a tad lame, but things should pick up
shortly. If not here, then soon.
Special thank you firebird, I do so enjoy feeding brain meats. It is
always nice to know that I am weaving suspense into this tale. Suspense is
fun. ^-^
Acknowledgement, thanks, and shameless Plug: If your reading this: Thank
you firebird, for your review of The Vampire and the Dealer. It is nice to
know people are actually reading that.
Disclaimer: Yep. I don't own IZ. JV does. Nick too. Yep.
Zim. Earth. Skool. Sometime after lunch.
Day Two.
Zim waited for an opportunity to confront Dib in solitude. That opportunity came shortly after lunch, when Dib asked to go to the bathroom. Once Dib had left, Zim confronted Mrs. Bitters and asked to use the restroom also; telling her it was a rather pressing need. He was actually surprised when Mrs. Bitters said yes, she usually only let them go to the bathroom one at a time, if at all.
Zim followed Dib into the boy's bathroom. Lack of skool funding had left it to slowly deteriorate into a dingy dirty smell hole. This one was worse than some of the others, and thus was mainly used by the skool rejects and weirdoes. Both he and Dib fit into that category. He didn't mind though. It meant the dirty wormbabies would usually leave him alone, only occasionally bothering him with their taunts and cruelty. At those times, he would imagine the future, where after he had conquered this horrible stupid planet, he could slowly destroyed these filthy stink beasts with as much pain and discomfort as he could inflict.
He glanced around at the seemingly empty stalls, a slow smile spreading across his face. 'Perfect.' He thought. 'Its empty.' He turned his attention to Dib. The human boy had been acting weird all day. He was too placid and quiet. He hadn't even paid attention to Zim once today, and skool was half over. He didn't even seem to notice when Zim followed him into the bathroom. Zim was about to change this though.
"Hey Dib stink, what have you been doing lately," Zim snickered finally getting Dib's attention. "Enlarging your filthy oversized head?"
Dib glanced at him. "What do you want, Zim?" He groaned almost quietly, his back turned towards Zim.
Zim stared at him for a moment, confused. Dib's response was not what he expected. Dib usually was quite defensive about his head size, (though Zim never understood why; on Irk, a big head was a good thing), and Dib never kept his back towards the alien. Normally, if he knew Zim was there, especially this close to him, he would be facing him, confronting him with questions, threats, or accusations.
Zim pulled his spider legs from his Pak and used them to propel himself over Dib and drop down in front of him. Close up he noticed the dark bluish smudges under Dib's eyes. Dib's glasses magnified the red veins in his bloodshot eyes.
"You look very bad Dib beast. Are you sick." Zim asked this in a rather uncharacteristic mixture of curiosity and worry. "Your not going to die, are you?" His usually mocking tone momentarily vanished as his earlier unvoiced concern for the boy presented itself. Zim didn't even notice his mistake of emotional exposure as he stared at the sick human.
Dib must have, however, because he instantly became defensive. An old, familiar spark lit in his tired eyes
"What do you care?" He growled, reverting back to the same Dib Zim had grown to know and hate/admire/respect/(care about?). "You've been trying to destroy me ever since you got here."
Zim smirked. Dib was definitely not going to die any time soon.
"I want the glory of destroying you when you are healthy enough to know that I am destroying you. I like a good challenge." Zim grinned evilly at him. "But first I need to check on something. Your not quite right and I think I know why."
He stepped slightly closer to Dib. "Now, turn your head to the left, human." Zim ordered, knowing full well Dib would resist the command.
Zim's evil smile spread even wider as Dib stepped back from him. This was going to be fun.
"What do you want, ZIM?" Dib repeated his earlier question, eyeing Zim suspiciously. This time the question held it's usual flamboyant gusto of malcontent. "You're not going to do any weird experiments on me. I won't let you. You're not going to turn me into a piece of boloney again."
Zim suppressed a shudder and chuckled maliciously. "Stupid Dib beast. Do you think I would turn you into another piece of stinking processed meat product thingy? I already did that once. It would be a waste of my genius to do that again." Zim hated to admit it, but the boloney experience was not something he cared to think about. He almost died as a piece of disgusting meat byproduct. If it weren't for his quick thinking, GIR, and the use of Dib's dad's lab, he and the Dib human would be doggy treats.
"No Dib, this time I want to see if my suspicions are correct. I am after information. Information that only you can provide." With that he launched himself at Dib, knocking him down.
Zim used his spider legs to pin Dib's sleeves and pant legs to the dirty floor. He smiled down at Dib as he struggled uselessly, trying to free himself.
"Bow down to the genius of Zim." He boasted, "Only Zim would think of using your own clothes against you."
Dib stopped struggling for a moment to glare at Zim.
"Stupid alien." He sneered. "This isn't an original idea or anything. It's been used before."
It was Zim's turn to be defensive. "It has not."
"Yes it has, Zim." Dib stated, before remembering his position on the smelly floor. He started struggling again.
"It has not." Zim repeated, taking his hands and forcefully turning Dib's head to the left.
He held Dib's head down with one hand and flipped back an ear. Ears were always a curiosity to the Irken, and noses too. He knew what they were for, but found their forms disgustingly fascinating. Antennae were far more superior in hearing, and had the advantage of smell and breathing as well, effectively eliminating the need for the strange spare lumps of cartilage and extra holes in the head. It wasn't the ear that held his interest this time, however. It was the faint glowing mark behind the ear. Leaning closer he examined the mark. It looked frighteningly familiar. He knew the strange symbol from somewhere. He paled as it dawned on him.
He pulled back from Dib, releasing his head as he did so. Dib whipped his head around to glare at Zim, opening his mouth to say something. He stopped when he noticed Zim's pale, frightened face. Something scared the alien and he wanted to know what.
"Zim." He said loudly, snapping the alien's attention back to him. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Zim pushed himself back and away from Dib. He released him, drawing the spider legs back into his Pak. He blinked at Dib for a few moments, trying to register what he had just discovered. It all made sense now, Dib's head size, his intelligence, his ability to discover Zim despite his amazing disguises. Zim took a deep, shaken breath.
"It appears, Dib, that you are the property of the legendary Neplotn people. You've been tagged." He pointed to the spot behind Dib's ear. "I noticed it before, but it didn't stand out until your head started to grow."
"MY HEAD IS NOT BIG!" Dib barked in defense, followed closely by the question "What?" as he finally registered the rest of what Zim had said.
He sat up on the dirty floor staring at Zim and waiting for an answer. Zim went forward and pulled him up, turning him so he faced the bathroom mirror. Shocked, Dib allowed himself to be directed. He seriously wanted to know what was going on. Zim said he was somebody's property? What was that suppose to mean? He didn't belong to anyone but himself. They looked at Dib's head in the mirror. Zim raised his hands and turned Dib's head sideways, then pointed a claw at a spot just behind Dib's ear.
"See Dib," He stated. "You've been tagged." Zim shook his head in grim fascination. "I didn't think they existed." He muttered. "I read the stories, but though they were myths. I never though I'd see a real tag."
Dib leaned towards the mirror; trying to get a better view of the spot Zim had shown him.
"Uh, I don't see anything." He confessed, perplexed by the alien's recent statements and actions.
"Stupid, inferior human eyes, Hehe," Zim snickered sarcastically, "They don't even see something so obvious."
Then something caught his eye, something that he would have noticed long ago if he ever looked in a mirror. He had been tagged too.
His features paled to almost white as he backed wide-eyed from the mirror. Oblivious to Dib's stares, he raised a hand to a spot on the left side of his head, just above the neck.
"I've been tagged?" He asked aloud in confused fear and amazement, blinking.
"No! NO! HOW CAN THIS BE?" He screeched, before running out of the bathroom.
Dib stared after him in confusion for a moment, before following him out the door.
Disclaimer: Yep. I don't own IZ. JV does. Nick too. Yep.
Zim. Earth. Skool. Sometime after lunch.
Day Two.
Zim waited for an opportunity to confront Dib in solitude. That opportunity came shortly after lunch, when Dib asked to go to the bathroom. Once Dib had left, Zim confronted Mrs. Bitters and asked to use the restroom also; telling her it was a rather pressing need. He was actually surprised when Mrs. Bitters said yes, she usually only let them go to the bathroom one at a time, if at all.
Zim followed Dib into the boy's bathroom. Lack of skool funding had left it to slowly deteriorate into a dingy dirty smell hole. This one was worse than some of the others, and thus was mainly used by the skool rejects and weirdoes. Both he and Dib fit into that category. He didn't mind though. It meant the dirty wormbabies would usually leave him alone, only occasionally bothering him with their taunts and cruelty. At those times, he would imagine the future, where after he had conquered this horrible stupid planet, he could slowly destroyed these filthy stink beasts with as much pain and discomfort as he could inflict.
He glanced around at the seemingly empty stalls, a slow smile spreading across his face. 'Perfect.' He thought. 'Its empty.' He turned his attention to Dib. The human boy had been acting weird all day. He was too placid and quiet. He hadn't even paid attention to Zim once today, and skool was half over. He didn't even seem to notice when Zim followed him into the bathroom. Zim was about to change this though.
"Hey Dib stink, what have you been doing lately," Zim snickered finally getting Dib's attention. "Enlarging your filthy oversized head?"
Dib glanced at him. "What do you want, Zim?" He groaned almost quietly, his back turned towards Zim.
Zim stared at him for a moment, confused. Dib's response was not what he expected. Dib usually was quite defensive about his head size, (though Zim never understood why; on Irk, a big head was a good thing), and Dib never kept his back towards the alien. Normally, if he knew Zim was there, especially this close to him, he would be facing him, confronting him with questions, threats, or accusations.
Zim pulled his spider legs from his Pak and used them to propel himself over Dib and drop down in front of him. Close up he noticed the dark bluish smudges under Dib's eyes. Dib's glasses magnified the red veins in his bloodshot eyes.
"You look very bad Dib beast. Are you sick." Zim asked this in a rather uncharacteristic mixture of curiosity and worry. "Your not going to die, are you?" His usually mocking tone momentarily vanished as his earlier unvoiced concern for the boy presented itself. Zim didn't even notice his mistake of emotional exposure as he stared at the sick human.
Dib must have, however, because he instantly became defensive. An old, familiar spark lit in his tired eyes
"What do you care?" He growled, reverting back to the same Dib Zim had grown to know and hate/admire/respect/(care about?). "You've been trying to destroy me ever since you got here."
Zim smirked. Dib was definitely not going to die any time soon.
"I want the glory of destroying you when you are healthy enough to know that I am destroying you. I like a good challenge." Zim grinned evilly at him. "But first I need to check on something. Your not quite right and I think I know why."
He stepped slightly closer to Dib. "Now, turn your head to the left, human." Zim ordered, knowing full well Dib would resist the command.
Zim's evil smile spread even wider as Dib stepped back from him. This was going to be fun.
"What do you want, ZIM?" Dib repeated his earlier question, eyeing Zim suspiciously. This time the question held it's usual flamboyant gusto of malcontent. "You're not going to do any weird experiments on me. I won't let you. You're not going to turn me into a piece of boloney again."
Zim suppressed a shudder and chuckled maliciously. "Stupid Dib beast. Do you think I would turn you into another piece of stinking processed meat product thingy? I already did that once. It would be a waste of my genius to do that again." Zim hated to admit it, but the boloney experience was not something he cared to think about. He almost died as a piece of disgusting meat byproduct. If it weren't for his quick thinking, GIR, and the use of Dib's dad's lab, he and the Dib human would be doggy treats.
"No Dib, this time I want to see if my suspicions are correct. I am after information. Information that only you can provide." With that he launched himself at Dib, knocking him down.
Zim used his spider legs to pin Dib's sleeves and pant legs to the dirty floor. He smiled down at Dib as he struggled uselessly, trying to free himself.
"Bow down to the genius of Zim." He boasted, "Only Zim would think of using your own clothes against you."
Dib stopped struggling for a moment to glare at Zim.
"Stupid alien." He sneered. "This isn't an original idea or anything. It's been used before."
It was Zim's turn to be defensive. "It has not."
"Yes it has, Zim." Dib stated, before remembering his position on the smelly floor. He started struggling again.
"It has not." Zim repeated, taking his hands and forcefully turning Dib's head to the left.
He held Dib's head down with one hand and flipped back an ear. Ears were always a curiosity to the Irken, and noses too. He knew what they were for, but found their forms disgustingly fascinating. Antennae were far more superior in hearing, and had the advantage of smell and breathing as well, effectively eliminating the need for the strange spare lumps of cartilage and extra holes in the head. It wasn't the ear that held his interest this time, however. It was the faint glowing mark behind the ear. Leaning closer he examined the mark. It looked frighteningly familiar. He knew the strange symbol from somewhere. He paled as it dawned on him.
He pulled back from Dib, releasing his head as he did so. Dib whipped his head around to glare at Zim, opening his mouth to say something. He stopped when he noticed Zim's pale, frightened face. Something scared the alien and he wanted to know what.
"Zim." He said loudly, snapping the alien's attention back to him. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Zim pushed himself back and away from Dib. He released him, drawing the spider legs back into his Pak. He blinked at Dib for a few moments, trying to register what he had just discovered. It all made sense now, Dib's head size, his intelligence, his ability to discover Zim despite his amazing disguises. Zim took a deep, shaken breath.
"It appears, Dib, that you are the property of the legendary Neplotn people. You've been tagged." He pointed to the spot behind Dib's ear. "I noticed it before, but it didn't stand out until your head started to grow."
"MY HEAD IS NOT BIG!" Dib barked in defense, followed closely by the question "What?" as he finally registered the rest of what Zim had said.
He sat up on the dirty floor staring at Zim and waiting for an answer. Zim went forward and pulled him up, turning him so he faced the bathroom mirror. Shocked, Dib allowed himself to be directed. He seriously wanted to know what was going on. Zim said he was somebody's property? What was that suppose to mean? He didn't belong to anyone but himself. They looked at Dib's head in the mirror. Zim raised his hands and turned Dib's head sideways, then pointed a claw at a spot just behind Dib's ear.
"See Dib," He stated. "You've been tagged." Zim shook his head in grim fascination. "I didn't think they existed." He muttered. "I read the stories, but though they were myths. I never though I'd see a real tag."
Dib leaned towards the mirror; trying to get a better view of the spot Zim had shown him.
"Uh, I don't see anything." He confessed, perplexed by the alien's recent statements and actions.
"Stupid, inferior human eyes, Hehe," Zim snickered sarcastically, "They don't even see something so obvious."
Then something caught his eye, something that he would have noticed long ago if he ever looked in a mirror. He had been tagged too.
His features paled to almost white as he backed wide-eyed from the mirror. Oblivious to Dib's stares, he raised a hand to a spot on the left side of his head, just above the neck.
"I've been tagged?" He asked aloud in confused fear and amazement, blinking.
"No! NO! HOW CAN THIS BE?" He screeched, before running out of the bathroom.
Dib stared after him in confusion for a moment, before following him out the door.