Apologies, again: Sorry this took so long. Thank you for your patience.
My computer time has been drastically cut, and we went on a brief holiday,
creating even less computer time. Maybe the length and contents of this
chapter will make up for the delay. I hope it is worth the wait. The next
chapter may also be delayed, but I am hoping not as long.
A/N: I wish to again express my gratitude to my readers, especially to all of you who review. Thank you CrimsonObsession, DoomDib777 and Maran Zelde, your continuing support has been wonderful. You have helped me build confidence in my writing abilities, and have provided motivation to tell this tale to the best of my abilities. I thank you! (Bows deeply!) Although I would continue this story regardless, (it's kind of a self- challenge), it is nice to hear opinions and suggestions. They bring a smile to my face as well as motivate me. They give me some indication of how well the story is progressing. Suspense and intrigue are something I am trying to maintain within this tale. I can only hope the twists and turns keep you all thoroughly confused. YAY!
Oh, yeah, here is where it gets just a little off the wall. Remember, I am always open to suggestions. Nothing is set in stone.
Now that you have all become seriously bored with my ranting, "WAKE UP!" Ahem. ok. Read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: Just the usual. I don't own IZ. JV is IZ's creator. Nick is IZ's owner.
Zim. Earth. Zim's Base.
Early to Mid Evening.
Ignoring the pain, Zim struggled to sit up, but froze when he heard a sound.
A voice came from somewhere above him. "Hello Zim!" It sounded frighteningly familiar.
He screamed as two huge hands grabbed under his arms and lifted him up.
"Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" Zim screamed with terror, swinging his arms and kicking his feet for all his worth.
The Neplotn had come to soon. He hadn't even found a way to defend himself. His headache seemed to grow even worse as unbidden visions of grotesque experiments and hideous torture filled his spinning mind, playing in front of his blind eyes like a bad horror flick. Zim didn't want to be experimented on, he didn't want to be a torture victim, but most of all, he didn't want to become a Neplotn snack. He didn't want to die.
Zim's squirming won him a few moments of freedom as his captor lost his grip. He wasn't expecting the three and a half foot fall to the ground and landed wrong, twisting his ankle. He let out another cry and struggled to his feet. On instinct, he desperately tried to open his pak, but found to his dismay it wouldn't budge. He had forgotten that Dib hadn't untapped it yet. Good for the Neplotn, but very bad for him.
The pain from the fall cleared the monsters from Zim's mind. He couldn't use his pak, but he was far from defenseless. He was still in his base, and it was his to command.
"Computer!" He barked, his confidence slightly building, "Intrude."
A glove-covered hand covered his mouth. Another hand wrapped around his arms and chest and his back was pulled tight against a body. Zim wildly kicked his legs, but they did absolutely no good in his defense.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, my small, tiny, miniscule, little friend." The familiar voice chided, the demeaning words making Zim feel all the more helpless.
Zim decided it was better to try to concentrate on the voice rather than the words. The voice had sounded almost like Dib's famous parental unit, Professor Membrane. If this was the case, then Professor Membrane was probably a Neplotn slave as well. Zim didn't know how, but maybe he could figure out a way to use that to his advantage. Perhaps he could offer The Professor an alliance and the reserved use of some of his lab equipment, not much mind you, but just enough to somehow figure out a way to free themselves of the dreaded Neplotn. Zim's thoughts were cut short however as he was lifted from the ground.
Zim's squeezed his eyes shut. They were watering from the pain in his foot and the ever-increasing pain in his head.
"We don't have time for your inferior games." The voice chastised again as they started to move forward. "We have to get you to the lab."
Zim's unseeing eyes opened wide with renewed fear, all thoughts of alliance completely forgotten. 'To the lab?' The urge to fight grew even stronger as new visions of autopsies and sick experiments filled his mind. Unfortunately, this time, all of his kicking and squirming did no good. Blind and unable to even scream Zim felt completely hopeless. Yep, this truly was the worse day of his entire existence.
Yuifa Novekt.
Zim felt a sickening tug, much like when he was transported into Dib's nightmarish brain world. Immediately the air felt noticeably cooler. Much to his dismay, Zim noticed the air took on a sterile, slightly mediciney- type smell, like the smell he smelled when he was in Dib's father's lab undoing the genetic level bologna mutation 'experiment'. (He still couldn't admit it was a disaster, even though he knew it was. Stupid meat byproduct anyway!)
Zim began to shake uncontrollably as he realized what it all meant. They were in the lab. They had to be.
"Professor!" The new voice came from somewhere to his right.
Zim stopped struggling as a connection was made. He was right. 'It is the Dib human's parental unit!' Zim thought. 'Who else would sound like Professor Membrane and carry the same first name? He must be a slave too.' If Zim could somehow talk to him in private, maybe there was some hope yet.
"Hello Ten!" Came the Professor's reply.
"Nazreekat ef domift." The voice called Ten replied.
Zim blinked. He had never in his long life run across a species whose language couldn't be processed by the translator in his pak. The translators were the most advanced and vaulted in the known universe and were standard issue to all Irkens. It could translate from the most primitive of species to the most advanced. As an Invader, his pak was upgraded with the newest and most advanced translator available. His couldn't be broken could it?
Zim's thoughts were interrupted as Dib's dad spoke again.
"Good, good!" the Professor spoke in his quick precise manner. "We must take him there quickly though, I have to meet Gaz and Dib at Bloaty's in a few minutes."
Zim paled. The fact that he understood the Professor did little to ease his mind. His thoughts were on the Professor's words. 'What if they're planning to capture Dib? They can't. He is my greatest hope for escape. If they catch him, we're doomed.'
As they started walking, Zim started struggling again with renewed vigor. The fact that he was blind and would have next to no chance of completely escaping didn't even inter his mind. He only paused in his pointless flailing when he felt the familiar slightly nauseating feeling of instant transportation. It was the same feeling he got whenever he traveled from his base on Earth to his spaceport or back.
The Professor handed Zim to another set of waiting hands. With great effort Zim succeeded in freeing himself again, however briefly. He let out a strangled cry as his injured foot hit the ground. But before he could even scramble away, the new set of hands grabbed him.
"Unhand me!" Zim screeched, waving and kicking his limbs with renewed vigor.
Once again a gloved hand covered his mouth and he felt himself being held captive in the same manner the Professor had held him.
"Sos eto Irken!" Ten muttered.
"Indeed!" The Professor chuckled. "It is a good thing too, with what we have planned for him. Strap him to that chair and don't do anything until I return."
Zim heard the familiar zapping sound and he knew that the Professor had gone to get Dib.
The hand released Zim's mouth as they set him in the waiting chair.
"Nooooo!" He cried as he struggled to get free. "Please let me gooo!"
Immediately Zim went to work trying to free himself, twisting and turning within the unseen grasp of several hands. It seemed his captor now had help. Unfortunately, this made it nearly impossible to escape. Zim panicked as he felt the straps begin to tighten around his chest and waist.
Zim fell silent as he concentrated on keeping his arms free. He managed to get one hand free of the strap before they had a chance to tighten it. He flailed that hand and arm around, clawing at the hands as they tried to strap his other hand in. Outside of an occasional hiss of pain as Zim managed to make effective contact, his captors didn't say much. "Kroy!" Zim heard someone hiss once as they struggled to contain him it sounded strangely like a curse, but that was the extent of any conversation.
One of his kicking feet connected with a soft body and he heard a grunt. As if in retaliation several hands grabbed his offending leg and brutally strapped it to the chair. His other leg quickly followed.
He had managed to dig his claws deep into someone's arm. As the Neplotn tried to free itself, the other hands successfully finished strapping in his other wrist and arm to the chair. Only after this was done did they turn their attention to their distressed companion. Zim tightened his grip even stronger as they attempted to free their fellow Neplotn.
"Zim. Let her go." Ten's voice said in a language Zim could understand. It came from somewhere above him, demanding obedience.
"NOOO!" Zim screamed in fear and anger. 'If they weren't going to let him go, he was going to make them suffer the best he could.'
"Don't do something you'll regret Zim." Ten spoke again. His voice sounded a little to controlled, as if his anger was barely held in check.
Zim tightened his grip even further trying to figure out a way to get the upper hand.
Zim swallowed his fear and in a low voice barely tinged with a pleading tone Zim tried to bargain. "Let me go and I'll let her go." With nothing to loose, it was worth a shot.
He heard Ten sigh.
"Cosc chadkat kroydian seez otesh osesh." Ten spoke in the untranslatable language again, completely loosing Zim. "Mae oyo Professor."
Hands grabbed his head. Zim wasn't expecting that and he screamed in terror as unseen hands managed to strap his neck to the chair. In his terror, he dug his claws into the arm even deeper. He barely heard Ten's voice as his captive screamed in pain. The hands strapped his head to the chair and Zim found his head forced to point straight ahead. Not that it mattered much. He couldn't see what was going on in front of him. But he sure felt it. Hands were clenching his offending arm so tight it was starting to go numb. He didn't know how lucky he was they didn't want him harmed.
Ten spoke to Zim again. "Zim. If you do not let her go, I will be forced to poor water on you."
Zim squeezed his eyes shut but didn't loosen his grip. He didn't have to wait long for the promised water. Zim hissed through clenched teeth as he felt the sting of water hitting his arm, but still he didn't loosen his grip.
"I'm trying to make this as painless as possible for you Zim" Ten's voice tried to reason with him. "Let her go and we won't pour any more water on you."
"Let me go." Zim hissed through his teeth. They weren't going to win this battle. He had nothing and everything to loose.
He screamed as the water hit him. This time it wasn't just on the arm. It was everywhere, his arms, his head, his lap, everywhere. The pain was unbearable. Zim loosened his grip despite himself, bringing his free arm up to wipe at his stinging eyes. Bad move. It made his eyes and face sting even more. Before he could do more damage, hands grabbed his free arm and strapped it to the chair.
As he hissed in pain he heard Ten reprimand him.
"You would have made it a lot easier on yourself it you just did what I told you in the first place." He told Zim, before turning slightly away and speaking to someone else. "Dry him off. We don't want him harmed."
Almost immediately Zim heard and felt the humming heat of hand held driers. The water quickly evaporated, but his skin still stung from the water's brutal damage. He closed his eyes from the heat. Despite his pain, fear and anxiety, the heat was slowly forcing him to relax. It felt good despite the pain from water burns and ended all to soon. He sensed his captor's move away from him, their mission accomplished. He was captured but good.
Zim sat in concentrated silence, with his antennae perked forward. He tried to hear what was going on. He could hear what sounded like metal against metal, but couldn't quite figure out what the Neplotn were up to. Using what limited knowledge he had about the Neplotn, he discerned it wasn't good. Part of him didn't want to know, was afraid to know, but morbid curiosity got the better of him. His concentration was broken when he heard a slight now familiar zapping sound.
"Hi Blue Zimmy!" Someone slurred. It sounded an awful lot like Dib.
"Dib. Dib. Is that you?" Zim screeched. They had captured Dib like he was afraid they would. And Dib sounded really bad too. "Where are you? What have they done to you?"
Zim tried to say more but someone put something over his mouth. His antennae flicked back in fear and irritation before pitching forward once more as he listened intently, trying to figure out what was happening.
Cosc tepen ndorst seez cal Kroskkat tae tepen fres te revdaf kadvru papapa." Someone commanded. "Mae teblerdaf dese te asas cov revcen cham. Te kadvru orbr naedaf zebito a us renavn rivst."
Zim heard someone giggle, then the sickeningly familiar zapping sound as someone tranceported away.
"KROY!" Ten practically screamed, followed by a second of strained silence.
Then there was another zap and more giggling.
"RIV!" Ten hollered, again. "SENIS, ROF TEPEN!"
Zim heard the wound of a scuffle. Him mentally cursed his pak translator. Now was not a good time for it to be malfunctioning. If he ever got out of this mess, No, when he got out of this mess, Zim was going to find out what was wrong with it.
"Owee!" Zim heard Dib slur. "That hurt! You blue guys are bad!"
Zim struggled against his tight bonds uselessly. If they were hurting the Dib human, what did they have planned for him?
"So he did come here!" Said a voice sounding like Dib's little sibling Gaz. "What's wrong with him. Why is he malfunctioning?"
"Gaz?" Dib asked, his voice oddly clear. 'So Dib recognized her as well.'
"Maenaes teblerdaf. Te efdaf zebito a us renavn rivst. Maenaes covdaf oreest irentamanct." Zim heard Ten responded "Maenaes zhrus omshu tepen seez rort blazkat. Te olbuemsten batin sensetivten wan. Shrisk ka kek maenaes bebido port blez."
Zim silently cursed his blind eyes. He would have given up an antenna to know what was going on.
"Blue indicates a malfunction in the neck or head." The professor said. "We took the liberty of colour coding sections in case something like this happened. It makes it easier to locate and correct any potential problems which may arise."
Zim heard Dib begin to cry.
"Daddy? I want my mommy!" Dib sounded miserable.
Tallest, this was not good.
"It has been a night of the unexpected." Dib's dad stated, ignoring his suffering offspring. "Gaz has told me that he unconsciously felt when we brought the Irken here. Than would indicate that Dib has bonded his aura to the Irken as we originally had planned. It is sooner that expected, but that shouldn't have caused any problems of this nature."
Dib bonded his aura to the mighty Zim? Zim wasn't quite sure what an aura was, but wouldn't he know if Dib bonded something to him. He didn't feel any different. Doubt about their recent friendship once again raised its ugly head. Maybe Dib did it when he was asleep. Maybe Dib wasn't to be trusted. If he was doing something to Zim that Zim didn't even know about, how could he be? Unless the Dib human didn't even know. With the Neplotn, that was always a possibility. Did Dib know he had bonded his 'aura' to him?
"Terostlcen maenaes vnaco Irkenkat cham?" Someone asked, interrupting Zim's train of thought. "Desee odo tebler?"
"Are you questioning my judgment?" Gaz's voice growled. Zim shuddered despite himself. Dib's sister always scared him, and now he knew his fear was justified.
"Dast nefrgemul." The voice answered with terrified quiver. "Mae ner reegomu kels argot."
"Stupid records-keeper drone." Gaz's voice muttered angrily. "He felt a rift in the dimensional shift as we were headed to Bloaty's. It was at the same time you were scheduled to transport Zim here. Don't question me."
"Te usandoplort Irkenkat teeyo?" Someone asked.
Zim heard a faint humming.
"I'm connected." Zim heard Dib slur, sounding frighteningly like GIR. "I am in touch with the world."
Zim heard him giggle for a second before Dib started crying again. "I just wanna go home!"
"Yes, he has connected himself completely to the Irken now." Dib's dad confirmed, ignoring Dib's outburst again. "As you can see, the connection runs both ways. That means the Irken should be able to locate the source of the malfunction."
The connection runs both ways? Zim shuddered. How could he be able to locate the 'malfunction?' He didn't want to find out.
"I have things I need to do." Gaz's voice said. "Fix him. Let me know when you're done."
Zim heard Dib's slurred voice clearly at first, "Bye-bye Gazzy!" then become muted, sounding frighteningly like GIR. "Oooh! Minty freshness!" That was the last sound Zim heard from Dib in a long time.
Zim had no idea what Dib meant by "Minty freshness." This confusion, coupled with Dib's silence, bore on Zim like an unhealthy weight. His anxiety grew. Visions of what they could have been doing, of what they were possibly planning to do, plagued his mind. If he could have, he would have screamed at Dib, at the Neplotn, at Dib's dad, anything to break the odd silence and occasional clanking of metal that followed Dib's GIRish statement.
Zim jumped and his antennae shot straight up as someone touched the top of his head, then concentrated on his pak. Skilled hands loosened the tape enough to attach something to its surface. A small electrical charge ran through Zim's body, tingling him. It felt almost as if his entire body had fallen asleep. Zim's antennae twitched uncontrollably as the hands removed the rest of the tape from his Pak.
As they pulled the last bit free, Zim closed his eyes and concentrated thru the odd electrical haze, trying to activate his pak. To his dismay, he was unable to control it. Renewed fear and frustration escaped in mini-rivers down his face. 'Of course!' he chastised himself, 'they wouldn't be so stupid as to give him even a slight chance to escape. They needed him to help the Dib human. He wasn't sure how or why. He didn't know how to find Dib's problem. He didn't even know what Dib's problem was.'
Zim shivered as he felt someone open his pak and poke around. He twitched involuntarily for a moment as someone connected something to an unused data portal deep within his pak. For a second, a sharp pain ran though his body as images flashed before his eyes to fast for him to decipher. The data link was broken, leaving Zim to wonder what just happened. The silence of the room was deafening.
It was Professor Membrane's voice that broke the unbearable silence.
"It seems that the modifications on this pak have held." His voice sounded extremely proud. "It is hard to believe that the enhanced adaptations, the programs and the subroutines we have incorporated into this pak have remained so strong and undetected with over 150 years of use. I was sure that Zim's display during the Irken's 'Impending Doom I' would have caused a greater investigation. I was pleased, but not surprised, that our failsafe programs can successfully survive a trip to Judgementia and the scrutiny of the Irken Control Brains."
He chuckled. "Zim certainly wreaked havoc on those poor fools. I think it is safe to say that our little experiment with this chaotic probability enhancer is a success. Our special little genetically engineered host is containing the unlikely elements of chaotic energy with remarkable success. No other Irken, or any other host species for that matter, has been able to last this long or function this completely. It seems we have finally succeeded in successfully creating a suitable host. The chaos probability factor is definitely within acceptable ranges for our needs. Well done!"
Zim, who had been trying desperately to understand what the professor was rambling about, jumped involuntarily as a cheer rose from the crowd in the room.
This was not good. He, the Amazing Zim, was An Experiment. SENSE THE TIME HE WAS A SMEET! How could he have not known they were messing with him since the moment he was zapped to life? And probably even before. It didn't make any sense.
Professor Membrane cleared his throat and the cheering crowd fell silent.
"Now on to our current problem!" The Professor spoke again, commanding undivided attention. "It seems the Irken's bond to Dib is not as strong as we would have hoped. The bonds are new, and since the auras' bonds can be strengthen through friendship, it would likely increase in time. But time is something we don't have the luxury of at this moment. We are going to have to find a way to strengthen the bonds quickly in order to increase the effectiveness of resolving Dib's condition in a timely manner. Fortunately, I anticipated this problem."
He paused for a dramatic moment before speaking again. "Irkens are programmed to only pledge loyalty to the Irken Empire and their leaders. This one's programming has been especially strong. Irkens are not truly use to the concept of friendship beyond casual or working relationships, especially outside of their own species. Because of this immature concept of friendship, we are going to have to add an incentive. Self- preservation.
The Professor paused for a moment as he moved closer to Zim. He continued in a loud voice. "If Dib does not recover soon, the Irken will be tortured then dissected but not allowed to die. If Dib dies, the Irken will be eaten. Alive."
Zim paled drastically at these proclamations. 'Oh tallest.'
What was he going to do? He had no idea how to strengthen his 'bond' with Dib. He wasn't even entirely sure what it all meant. He only knew that his destiny lied within the fate of the Dib human's recovery.
Zim squeezed his eyes shut.
'Why ME! WHY ALWAYS ME!' Zim screamed within his mind. Suddenly, his train of thought jumped to a new track. Let him be ok. Let him be ok. Let him be ok. Please please let him be ok.' Zim repeated the mantra over and over in his mind. It sounded like a pleading and desperate prayer. And in a way, it was.
A slight "oooh!" came from the crowd just as a sharp pain stabbed Zim in the back of the neck. Zim's eyes flew open with shock. Tears of pain streamed down his pale green cheeks.
"See!" The Professor spoke again. "It is only a matter of giving the subject proper incentive."
Someone ripped the tape violently off of Zim's mouth.
"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" Zim cried as the new pain momentarily overtook the old.
"Tell me Zim," The Professor's voice sounded very close. "Where do you feel the most pain?"
"THE NECK THE NECK!" Zim screeched as the old pain resurfaced again.
A hand slapped over Zim's mouth for a moment as Professor Membrane spoke again. "Be more specific Zim. You do want to live don't you?"
Zim squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, his tears now running rivers down his paled face. The hand removed itself.
"THE BACK OF MY NECK!" He screamed. "JUST ABOVE MY SHOULDERS!"
Someone replaced the tape over his mouth before he could say more.
"Thank you Zim." The Professor all but cooed. "You have been most helpful."
Professor Membrane's voice became slightly distant. "Proceed quickly. We need to fix this problem and get back on track."
For a few moments, Zim became lost in the pain as it seemed to increase. But then, as suddenly as the pain began, it was gone. Zim blinked.
"Professor!" Someone said in an awe-drenched voice. "oshon sensetiv!"
"Amazing!" The Professor murmured. "A transmissions chip! Someone planted it in Dib, knowing we'd find it. Take it to shovaplar nazre. I want to know what this thing says!"
"Ten!" The Professor stated in a demanding voice. "Take Dib and Zim to nazre trem."
Much to Zim's dismay, The Professor switched to an untranslatable language as he continued. "Bifoa kno esu, omshu lepem!"
Zim felt something soft and cool cover his antennae, smelling faintly like mint. Within seconds he joined Dib in the dark abyss.
A/N: I wish to again express my gratitude to my readers, especially to all of you who review. Thank you CrimsonObsession, DoomDib777 and Maran Zelde, your continuing support has been wonderful. You have helped me build confidence in my writing abilities, and have provided motivation to tell this tale to the best of my abilities. I thank you! (Bows deeply!) Although I would continue this story regardless, (it's kind of a self- challenge), it is nice to hear opinions and suggestions. They bring a smile to my face as well as motivate me. They give me some indication of how well the story is progressing. Suspense and intrigue are something I am trying to maintain within this tale. I can only hope the twists and turns keep you all thoroughly confused. YAY!
Oh, yeah, here is where it gets just a little off the wall. Remember, I am always open to suggestions. Nothing is set in stone.
Now that you have all become seriously bored with my ranting, "WAKE UP!" Ahem. ok. Read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: Just the usual. I don't own IZ. JV is IZ's creator. Nick is IZ's owner.
Zim. Earth. Zim's Base.
Early to Mid Evening.
Ignoring the pain, Zim struggled to sit up, but froze when he heard a sound.
A voice came from somewhere above him. "Hello Zim!" It sounded frighteningly familiar.
He screamed as two huge hands grabbed under his arms and lifted him up.
"Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" Zim screamed with terror, swinging his arms and kicking his feet for all his worth.
The Neplotn had come to soon. He hadn't even found a way to defend himself. His headache seemed to grow even worse as unbidden visions of grotesque experiments and hideous torture filled his spinning mind, playing in front of his blind eyes like a bad horror flick. Zim didn't want to be experimented on, he didn't want to be a torture victim, but most of all, he didn't want to become a Neplotn snack. He didn't want to die.
Zim's squirming won him a few moments of freedom as his captor lost his grip. He wasn't expecting the three and a half foot fall to the ground and landed wrong, twisting his ankle. He let out another cry and struggled to his feet. On instinct, he desperately tried to open his pak, but found to his dismay it wouldn't budge. He had forgotten that Dib hadn't untapped it yet. Good for the Neplotn, but very bad for him.
The pain from the fall cleared the monsters from Zim's mind. He couldn't use his pak, but he was far from defenseless. He was still in his base, and it was his to command.
"Computer!" He barked, his confidence slightly building, "Intrude."
A glove-covered hand covered his mouth. Another hand wrapped around his arms and chest and his back was pulled tight against a body. Zim wildly kicked his legs, but they did absolutely no good in his defense.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, my small, tiny, miniscule, little friend." The familiar voice chided, the demeaning words making Zim feel all the more helpless.
Zim decided it was better to try to concentrate on the voice rather than the words. The voice had sounded almost like Dib's famous parental unit, Professor Membrane. If this was the case, then Professor Membrane was probably a Neplotn slave as well. Zim didn't know how, but maybe he could figure out a way to use that to his advantage. Perhaps he could offer The Professor an alliance and the reserved use of some of his lab equipment, not much mind you, but just enough to somehow figure out a way to free themselves of the dreaded Neplotn. Zim's thoughts were cut short however as he was lifted from the ground.
Zim's squeezed his eyes shut. They were watering from the pain in his foot and the ever-increasing pain in his head.
"We don't have time for your inferior games." The voice chastised again as they started to move forward. "We have to get you to the lab."
Zim's unseeing eyes opened wide with renewed fear, all thoughts of alliance completely forgotten. 'To the lab?' The urge to fight grew even stronger as new visions of autopsies and sick experiments filled his mind. Unfortunately, this time, all of his kicking and squirming did no good. Blind and unable to even scream Zim felt completely hopeless. Yep, this truly was the worse day of his entire existence.
Yuifa Novekt.
Zim felt a sickening tug, much like when he was transported into Dib's nightmarish brain world. Immediately the air felt noticeably cooler. Much to his dismay, Zim noticed the air took on a sterile, slightly mediciney- type smell, like the smell he smelled when he was in Dib's father's lab undoing the genetic level bologna mutation 'experiment'. (He still couldn't admit it was a disaster, even though he knew it was. Stupid meat byproduct anyway!)
Zim began to shake uncontrollably as he realized what it all meant. They were in the lab. They had to be.
"Professor!" The new voice came from somewhere to his right.
Zim stopped struggling as a connection was made. He was right. 'It is the Dib human's parental unit!' Zim thought. 'Who else would sound like Professor Membrane and carry the same first name? He must be a slave too.' If Zim could somehow talk to him in private, maybe there was some hope yet.
"Hello Ten!" Came the Professor's reply.
"Nazreekat ef domift." The voice called Ten replied.
Zim blinked. He had never in his long life run across a species whose language couldn't be processed by the translator in his pak. The translators were the most advanced and vaulted in the known universe and were standard issue to all Irkens. It could translate from the most primitive of species to the most advanced. As an Invader, his pak was upgraded with the newest and most advanced translator available. His couldn't be broken could it?
Zim's thoughts were interrupted as Dib's dad spoke again.
"Good, good!" the Professor spoke in his quick precise manner. "We must take him there quickly though, I have to meet Gaz and Dib at Bloaty's in a few minutes."
Zim paled. The fact that he understood the Professor did little to ease his mind. His thoughts were on the Professor's words. 'What if they're planning to capture Dib? They can't. He is my greatest hope for escape. If they catch him, we're doomed.'
As they started walking, Zim started struggling again with renewed vigor. The fact that he was blind and would have next to no chance of completely escaping didn't even inter his mind. He only paused in his pointless flailing when he felt the familiar slightly nauseating feeling of instant transportation. It was the same feeling he got whenever he traveled from his base on Earth to his spaceport or back.
The Professor handed Zim to another set of waiting hands. With great effort Zim succeeded in freeing himself again, however briefly. He let out a strangled cry as his injured foot hit the ground. But before he could even scramble away, the new set of hands grabbed him.
"Unhand me!" Zim screeched, waving and kicking his limbs with renewed vigor.
Once again a gloved hand covered his mouth and he felt himself being held captive in the same manner the Professor had held him.
"Sos eto Irken!" Ten muttered.
"Indeed!" The Professor chuckled. "It is a good thing too, with what we have planned for him. Strap him to that chair and don't do anything until I return."
Zim heard the familiar zapping sound and he knew that the Professor had gone to get Dib.
The hand released Zim's mouth as they set him in the waiting chair.
"Nooooo!" He cried as he struggled to get free. "Please let me gooo!"
Immediately Zim went to work trying to free himself, twisting and turning within the unseen grasp of several hands. It seemed his captor now had help. Unfortunately, this made it nearly impossible to escape. Zim panicked as he felt the straps begin to tighten around his chest and waist.
Zim fell silent as he concentrated on keeping his arms free. He managed to get one hand free of the strap before they had a chance to tighten it. He flailed that hand and arm around, clawing at the hands as they tried to strap his other hand in. Outside of an occasional hiss of pain as Zim managed to make effective contact, his captors didn't say much. "Kroy!" Zim heard someone hiss once as they struggled to contain him it sounded strangely like a curse, but that was the extent of any conversation.
One of his kicking feet connected with a soft body and he heard a grunt. As if in retaliation several hands grabbed his offending leg and brutally strapped it to the chair. His other leg quickly followed.
He had managed to dig his claws deep into someone's arm. As the Neplotn tried to free itself, the other hands successfully finished strapping in his other wrist and arm to the chair. Only after this was done did they turn their attention to their distressed companion. Zim tightened his grip even stronger as they attempted to free their fellow Neplotn.
"Zim. Let her go." Ten's voice said in a language Zim could understand. It came from somewhere above him, demanding obedience.
"NOOO!" Zim screamed in fear and anger. 'If they weren't going to let him go, he was going to make them suffer the best he could.'
"Don't do something you'll regret Zim." Ten spoke again. His voice sounded a little to controlled, as if his anger was barely held in check.
Zim tightened his grip even further trying to figure out a way to get the upper hand.
Zim swallowed his fear and in a low voice barely tinged with a pleading tone Zim tried to bargain. "Let me go and I'll let her go." With nothing to loose, it was worth a shot.
He heard Ten sigh.
"Cosc chadkat kroydian seez otesh osesh." Ten spoke in the untranslatable language again, completely loosing Zim. "Mae oyo Professor."
Hands grabbed his head. Zim wasn't expecting that and he screamed in terror as unseen hands managed to strap his neck to the chair. In his terror, he dug his claws into the arm even deeper. He barely heard Ten's voice as his captive screamed in pain. The hands strapped his head to the chair and Zim found his head forced to point straight ahead. Not that it mattered much. He couldn't see what was going on in front of him. But he sure felt it. Hands were clenching his offending arm so tight it was starting to go numb. He didn't know how lucky he was they didn't want him harmed.
Ten spoke to Zim again. "Zim. If you do not let her go, I will be forced to poor water on you."
Zim squeezed his eyes shut but didn't loosen his grip. He didn't have to wait long for the promised water. Zim hissed through clenched teeth as he felt the sting of water hitting his arm, but still he didn't loosen his grip.
"I'm trying to make this as painless as possible for you Zim" Ten's voice tried to reason with him. "Let her go and we won't pour any more water on you."
"Let me go." Zim hissed through his teeth. They weren't going to win this battle. He had nothing and everything to loose.
He screamed as the water hit him. This time it wasn't just on the arm. It was everywhere, his arms, his head, his lap, everywhere. The pain was unbearable. Zim loosened his grip despite himself, bringing his free arm up to wipe at his stinging eyes. Bad move. It made his eyes and face sting even more. Before he could do more damage, hands grabbed his free arm and strapped it to the chair.
As he hissed in pain he heard Ten reprimand him.
"You would have made it a lot easier on yourself it you just did what I told you in the first place." He told Zim, before turning slightly away and speaking to someone else. "Dry him off. We don't want him harmed."
Almost immediately Zim heard and felt the humming heat of hand held driers. The water quickly evaporated, but his skin still stung from the water's brutal damage. He closed his eyes from the heat. Despite his pain, fear and anxiety, the heat was slowly forcing him to relax. It felt good despite the pain from water burns and ended all to soon. He sensed his captor's move away from him, their mission accomplished. He was captured but good.
Zim sat in concentrated silence, with his antennae perked forward. He tried to hear what was going on. He could hear what sounded like metal against metal, but couldn't quite figure out what the Neplotn were up to. Using what limited knowledge he had about the Neplotn, he discerned it wasn't good. Part of him didn't want to know, was afraid to know, but morbid curiosity got the better of him. His concentration was broken when he heard a slight now familiar zapping sound.
"Hi Blue Zimmy!" Someone slurred. It sounded an awful lot like Dib.
"Dib. Dib. Is that you?" Zim screeched. They had captured Dib like he was afraid they would. And Dib sounded really bad too. "Where are you? What have they done to you?"
Zim tried to say more but someone put something over his mouth. His antennae flicked back in fear and irritation before pitching forward once more as he listened intently, trying to figure out what was happening.
Cosc tepen ndorst seez cal Kroskkat tae tepen fres te revdaf kadvru papapa." Someone commanded. "Mae teblerdaf dese te asas cov revcen cham. Te kadvru orbr naedaf zebito a us renavn rivst."
Zim heard someone giggle, then the sickeningly familiar zapping sound as someone tranceported away.
"KROY!" Ten practically screamed, followed by a second of strained silence.
Then there was another zap and more giggling.
"RIV!" Ten hollered, again. "SENIS, ROF TEPEN!"
Zim heard the wound of a scuffle. Him mentally cursed his pak translator. Now was not a good time for it to be malfunctioning. If he ever got out of this mess, No, when he got out of this mess, Zim was going to find out what was wrong with it.
"Owee!" Zim heard Dib slur. "That hurt! You blue guys are bad!"
Zim struggled against his tight bonds uselessly. If they were hurting the Dib human, what did they have planned for him?
"So he did come here!" Said a voice sounding like Dib's little sibling Gaz. "What's wrong with him. Why is he malfunctioning?"
"Gaz?" Dib asked, his voice oddly clear. 'So Dib recognized her as well.'
"Maenaes teblerdaf. Te efdaf zebito a us renavn rivst. Maenaes covdaf oreest irentamanct." Zim heard Ten responded "Maenaes zhrus omshu tepen seez rort blazkat. Te olbuemsten batin sensetivten wan. Shrisk ka kek maenaes bebido port blez."
Zim silently cursed his blind eyes. He would have given up an antenna to know what was going on.
"Blue indicates a malfunction in the neck or head." The professor said. "We took the liberty of colour coding sections in case something like this happened. It makes it easier to locate and correct any potential problems which may arise."
Zim heard Dib begin to cry.
"Daddy? I want my mommy!" Dib sounded miserable.
Tallest, this was not good.
"It has been a night of the unexpected." Dib's dad stated, ignoring his suffering offspring. "Gaz has told me that he unconsciously felt when we brought the Irken here. Than would indicate that Dib has bonded his aura to the Irken as we originally had planned. It is sooner that expected, but that shouldn't have caused any problems of this nature."
Dib bonded his aura to the mighty Zim? Zim wasn't quite sure what an aura was, but wouldn't he know if Dib bonded something to him. He didn't feel any different. Doubt about their recent friendship once again raised its ugly head. Maybe Dib did it when he was asleep. Maybe Dib wasn't to be trusted. If he was doing something to Zim that Zim didn't even know about, how could he be? Unless the Dib human didn't even know. With the Neplotn, that was always a possibility. Did Dib know he had bonded his 'aura' to him?
"Terostlcen maenaes vnaco Irkenkat cham?" Someone asked, interrupting Zim's train of thought. "Desee odo tebler?"
"Are you questioning my judgment?" Gaz's voice growled. Zim shuddered despite himself. Dib's sister always scared him, and now he knew his fear was justified.
"Dast nefrgemul." The voice answered with terrified quiver. "Mae ner reegomu kels argot."
"Stupid records-keeper drone." Gaz's voice muttered angrily. "He felt a rift in the dimensional shift as we were headed to Bloaty's. It was at the same time you were scheduled to transport Zim here. Don't question me."
"Te usandoplort Irkenkat teeyo?" Someone asked.
Zim heard a faint humming.
"I'm connected." Zim heard Dib slur, sounding frighteningly like GIR. "I am in touch with the world."
Zim heard him giggle for a second before Dib started crying again. "I just wanna go home!"
"Yes, he has connected himself completely to the Irken now." Dib's dad confirmed, ignoring Dib's outburst again. "As you can see, the connection runs both ways. That means the Irken should be able to locate the source of the malfunction."
The connection runs both ways? Zim shuddered. How could he be able to locate the 'malfunction?' He didn't want to find out.
"I have things I need to do." Gaz's voice said. "Fix him. Let me know when you're done."
Zim heard Dib's slurred voice clearly at first, "Bye-bye Gazzy!" then become muted, sounding frighteningly like GIR. "Oooh! Minty freshness!" That was the last sound Zim heard from Dib in a long time.
Zim had no idea what Dib meant by "Minty freshness." This confusion, coupled with Dib's silence, bore on Zim like an unhealthy weight. His anxiety grew. Visions of what they could have been doing, of what they were possibly planning to do, plagued his mind. If he could have, he would have screamed at Dib, at the Neplotn, at Dib's dad, anything to break the odd silence and occasional clanking of metal that followed Dib's GIRish statement.
Zim jumped and his antennae shot straight up as someone touched the top of his head, then concentrated on his pak. Skilled hands loosened the tape enough to attach something to its surface. A small electrical charge ran through Zim's body, tingling him. It felt almost as if his entire body had fallen asleep. Zim's antennae twitched uncontrollably as the hands removed the rest of the tape from his Pak.
As they pulled the last bit free, Zim closed his eyes and concentrated thru the odd electrical haze, trying to activate his pak. To his dismay, he was unable to control it. Renewed fear and frustration escaped in mini-rivers down his face. 'Of course!' he chastised himself, 'they wouldn't be so stupid as to give him even a slight chance to escape. They needed him to help the Dib human. He wasn't sure how or why. He didn't know how to find Dib's problem. He didn't even know what Dib's problem was.'
Zim shivered as he felt someone open his pak and poke around. He twitched involuntarily for a moment as someone connected something to an unused data portal deep within his pak. For a second, a sharp pain ran though his body as images flashed before his eyes to fast for him to decipher. The data link was broken, leaving Zim to wonder what just happened. The silence of the room was deafening.
It was Professor Membrane's voice that broke the unbearable silence.
"It seems that the modifications on this pak have held." His voice sounded extremely proud. "It is hard to believe that the enhanced adaptations, the programs and the subroutines we have incorporated into this pak have remained so strong and undetected with over 150 years of use. I was sure that Zim's display during the Irken's 'Impending Doom I' would have caused a greater investigation. I was pleased, but not surprised, that our failsafe programs can successfully survive a trip to Judgementia and the scrutiny of the Irken Control Brains."
He chuckled. "Zim certainly wreaked havoc on those poor fools. I think it is safe to say that our little experiment with this chaotic probability enhancer is a success. Our special little genetically engineered host is containing the unlikely elements of chaotic energy with remarkable success. No other Irken, or any other host species for that matter, has been able to last this long or function this completely. It seems we have finally succeeded in successfully creating a suitable host. The chaos probability factor is definitely within acceptable ranges for our needs. Well done!"
Zim, who had been trying desperately to understand what the professor was rambling about, jumped involuntarily as a cheer rose from the crowd in the room.
This was not good. He, the Amazing Zim, was An Experiment. SENSE THE TIME HE WAS A SMEET! How could he have not known they were messing with him since the moment he was zapped to life? And probably even before. It didn't make any sense.
Professor Membrane cleared his throat and the cheering crowd fell silent.
"Now on to our current problem!" The Professor spoke again, commanding undivided attention. "It seems the Irken's bond to Dib is not as strong as we would have hoped. The bonds are new, and since the auras' bonds can be strengthen through friendship, it would likely increase in time. But time is something we don't have the luxury of at this moment. We are going to have to find a way to strengthen the bonds quickly in order to increase the effectiveness of resolving Dib's condition in a timely manner. Fortunately, I anticipated this problem."
He paused for a dramatic moment before speaking again. "Irkens are programmed to only pledge loyalty to the Irken Empire and their leaders. This one's programming has been especially strong. Irkens are not truly use to the concept of friendship beyond casual or working relationships, especially outside of their own species. Because of this immature concept of friendship, we are going to have to add an incentive. Self- preservation.
The Professor paused for a moment as he moved closer to Zim. He continued in a loud voice. "If Dib does not recover soon, the Irken will be tortured then dissected but not allowed to die. If Dib dies, the Irken will be eaten. Alive."
Zim paled drastically at these proclamations. 'Oh tallest.'
What was he going to do? He had no idea how to strengthen his 'bond' with Dib. He wasn't even entirely sure what it all meant. He only knew that his destiny lied within the fate of the Dib human's recovery.
Zim squeezed his eyes shut.
'Why ME! WHY ALWAYS ME!' Zim screamed within his mind. Suddenly, his train of thought jumped to a new track. Let him be ok. Let him be ok. Let him be ok. Please please let him be ok.' Zim repeated the mantra over and over in his mind. It sounded like a pleading and desperate prayer. And in a way, it was.
A slight "oooh!" came from the crowd just as a sharp pain stabbed Zim in the back of the neck. Zim's eyes flew open with shock. Tears of pain streamed down his pale green cheeks.
"See!" The Professor spoke again. "It is only a matter of giving the subject proper incentive."
Someone ripped the tape violently off of Zim's mouth.
"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" Zim cried as the new pain momentarily overtook the old.
"Tell me Zim," The Professor's voice sounded very close. "Where do you feel the most pain?"
"THE NECK THE NECK!" Zim screeched as the old pain resurfaced again.
A hand slapped over Zim's mouth for a moment as Professor Membrane spoke again. "Be more specific Zim. You do want to live don't you?"
Zim squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, his tears now running rivers down his paled face. The hand removed itself.
"THE BACK OF MY NECK!" He screamed. "JUST ABOVE MY SHOULDERS!"
Someone replaced the tape over his mouth before he could say more.
"Thank you Zim." The Professor all but cooed. "You have been most helpful."
Professor Membrane's voice became slightly distant. "Proceed quickly. We need to fix this problem and get back on track."
For a few moments, Zim became lost in the pain as it seemed to increase. But then, as suddenly as the pain began, it was gone. Zim blinked.
"Professor!" Someone said in an awe-drenched voice. "oshon sensetiv!"
"Amazing!" The Professor murmured. "A transmissions chip! Someone planted it in Dib, knowing we'd find it. Take it to shovaplar nazre. I want to know what this thing says!"
"Ten!" The Professor stated in a demanding voice. "Take Dib and Zim to nazre trem."
Much to Zim's dismay, The Professor switched to an untranslatable language as he continued. "Bifoa kno esu, omshu lepem!"
Zim felt something soft and cool cover his antennae, smelling faintly like mint. Within seconds he joined Dib in the dark abyss.