Author's Note: So far, so good. Thank you all for supporting this mish mosh of cute darkness and dark cuteness. Oh, and to answer a question about how I write: I have absolutely nothing planned. Everything I write comes out the moment I think of it, which would explained the typos at times. Sorry about that. I'm sure if I actually did think things through, I could one day attain Tim Burton or Jhonen Vasquez status. Until then, I'm just paying homage to them.
All throughout the night, they worked. Rubber infested wires were removed and new ones took their place. Together, Membrane and his team painstakingly rewired the damaged piece of the Dimensional Traveler. It should have been work that took weeks. With a seemingly endless amount of coffee, it took the entire night well into morning. Finally, Professor Membrane looked at a digital clock on the lab wall and smiled under his collar.
"Excellent work. It is exactly ten thirty-seven in the morning and the panel has been fully rewired," he said to his team, who clapped very slowly.
"Can we sleep now?" asked one of the scientists.
"Sleep? Oh, I suppose," Professor Membrane said, watching the team disperse out of the room and down different hallways. Only Simmons was left.
"What should we do now, sir?" Simmons asked.
"Test it, of course," Professor Membrane replied.
"Shouldn't that be with the whole team? It will be a while until everyone is ready."
"Of course. I might as well go home. I haven't been home since... since... Simmons?"
"Hold on," Simmons said as he flipped through his notes. "Since March twenty-fifth. Nearly five months ago, sir."
"Five months? You mean it's August?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"It has been for about twelve days, sir."
"Well, that would explain the air conditioning. Remind me to find a way to keep track of time in a better fashion, Simmons," Professor Membrane said in an astounded tone as he walked out of the lab.
"Note to self: Program a calendar into professor's goggles," Simmons said to himself as he wrote that very note on his clipboard.
Meanwhile...
"I didn't know Bloaty's even makes breakfast pizzas," Dib complained to Jack as the pair walked past an assortment of shops and restaurants, seeking Gaz's favorite eatery, Bloaty's Pizza Hog.
"If they didn't before, I can only guess your sister put them up to it," Jack said to Dib. "Is that it?"
"No. That's MacMeaties."
"It looks rather filthy."
"Everything here is. Here. This is Bloaty's Pizza Hog."
Jack could definitely come to this place if he was feeling homesick. The mechanical creatures that entertained customers and took their orders were positively terrifying. Then there was the matter of the hideously obese pig outside waving an "Eat with Me" sign out on the sidewalk to potential eaters. Too bad Jack was a hunted man. He could definitely have felt comfortable striking up a conversation with Bloaty or any of his "friends".
"Next," said a pimply teenage boy behind the counter.
"Order for Gaz. It's to go," Dib said to the cashier.
"Here. Extra large-meaty breakfast pizza. Ten bucks," the cashier said.
"Just a minute," Dib said as he reached into his coat pocket and realized he had no money. Gaz didn't give him money for the pizza! "Jack," Dib whispered. "Do you have any money?"
"Money? No. Even if I did, I doubt any currency I would have would be accepted in this world," Jack said.
"Kid, stop talking to your invisible friend and pay up," the cashier said.
"We're dead. Well, I'm dead. You'll just be deader," Dib whispered to Jack.
"Dib, be ready to run," Jack said.
"Why?"
"I'm turning visible in three, two-"
Did wasn't around to hear the one. He ran right out of the door when Jack started counting. Just as the cashier jumped over the counter, he was caught by what appeared to be a grinning skeleton. Before Jack could even say anything to the cashier, he started screaming and flailing around, bringing attention to the pair. When people turned to see the commotion, the cashier had been dropped on the ground, quivering in fear. Jack had turned invisible again and left Bloaty's with just enough time to catch up with Dib.
"Did we just steal a pizza?" Dib asked Jack.
"Well, we didn't mean to, if that makes you feel any better," Jack replied, feeling rather proud of himself.
"Gaz owes us for this, she really does."
"Now, now, no need to be too hard on your sister. Besides, that is the first real scare I've given since coming to this place."
"No. You scared a lot of people by coming out of the machine in the first place."
"Did I? Oh. I had no idea," Jack said, tapping his chin with his left index finger. "I was too worried about finding Lock, Shock, and Barrel, I suppose. I didn't even realize where I was until I was thrown in that room."
"How could no one else have seen them come out with you?" Dib asked.
"Well, those three are much better at being sneaky than I am at times. They must have slipped away when everyone else took me into custody. Do you know any place they could have gone?"
"No. I really don't hang out with people my own age. Or anyone else for that matter," Dib said before stopping in his tracks.
"Dib? What's the matter?" Jack asked.
"Dad's home," Dib said, pointing to a figure in a white lab coat entering the house.
"No problem, I'll just stay invisible, and intangible if I remember."
"I'm not worried about you. It's Gaz."
"She can't do anything, we have her pizza. Right?"
"Quick, follow me and sorry if I don't talk to you too much. Dad kind of thinks I'm already on the crazy side," Dib said as he walked briskly to his house, Jack following, albeit a bit confounded.
"About time, Dib," Gaz said as she snatched the pizza box from her brother's hands. "It better be warm," she said menacingly before walking to the kitchen with the box.
"Son? Come in here for a moment," Professor Membrane's voice called out.
"Coming, Dad," Dib said as he motioned for Jack to sit on the couch. "Yes?" Dib asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"I thought you would be delighted to hear about the progress we've made on the Dimensional Traveler," the professor said as he began to heat up a pot of coffee. "We'll get your little green friend back in this world very soon."
"Great," Dib said in a tone mixed with sarcasm and relief.
"Of course, we need to find that escaped dimension crosser first. We haven't received any word of him yet at the labs."
"You'll find him, Dad," Gaz said slyly before taking a bite out of a breakfast pizza slice, ignoring the glare Dib gave her.
"Son? You looked troubled. The kind of troubled that comes from raising the living dead," Professor Membrane said suspiciously.
"No. No, no. No more living dead for me. I learned my lesson," Dib said as he chuckled nervously.
"Psh. Yeah, right." Gaz said to Dib before walking into the living room.
"Anyhow, no more running errands outside of the house until that crosser is returned. Though, it is good to see you and your sister getting along so well," Professor Membrane said as he poured himself some coffee, which had just finished boiling.
"Heh heh, yeah," Dib said, watching Gaz out of the corner of his eye.
"Indeed. I haven't seen you this close since-" Professor Membrane started before his goggles lit up. "Yes, Simmons?"
"Sir, there seems to be a problem here that needs your attention right away," Simmons said.
"Did the traveler break again?"
"We wish. We've been looking over the security tapes from the conference, and it appears that there was more than one crosser."
"I'll be right there," Professor Membrane said, causing Simmons to hang up and his goggles to return to normal. "Son, definitely no more errands outside the house for your or your sister. Not even to buy food for the puppy."
"Dad, we don't have a puppy anymore," Dib said.
"Oh, right. Well, I'll let you know when it's safe. Bye, Son. Bye, Daughter," the professor said as he left the house, coffee mug in hand.
"You can show yourself now, Jack," Dib said, watching as the skeleton appeared, sitting next to Gaz on the couch.
"No outside errands, huh?" Gaz asked Dib.
"I guess not."
"Too bad, because I need to place a pre-order for Bleeding Swine Slayer at the video game store in the mall."
"Well, you heard your father," Jack said.
"In that case, I can end his search right now so we can both go out, Dib," Gaz said, staring right at Jack as she did so.
"Do we have to do it now?" Dib asked Gaz.
"If I run fast enough, I can catch up with Dad," Gaz said.
"Even if you do, I can turn myself invisible and escape," Jack said to Gaz.
"You don't want to get on my bad side, Bone Face. Do you really think that with a brother who specializes in paranormal stuff I wouldn't have at least learned how to trap a ghost?" Gaz asked Jack, who gulped. "You don't want to know what I can do."
"Dib, I have a sudden urge to go to the mall," Jack said as he jumped to his feet.
"Ok, ok. Let's go, Jack," Dib sighed.
Meanwhile...
Oh, it was beautiful. So beautiful it made the trio's eyes swell with tears they refused to let fall. The Weapon Room. Zim seemed to have an entire secret stash of doom making machinery within those four walls. Alright, some of the stuff looked broken. Some. But whatever wasn't broken looked to be good enough to destroy quite a few acres of land and the people that inhabited it.
"Check this out!" Barrel said as he pulled the trigger of a ray gun, which shot a green liquid that melted a cardboard box.
"I call that after you," Lock said.
"I'm not even tired anymore, even after looking all night," Shock said to the boys, who nodded in agreement.
"What should we take?" Lock asked.
"Can't we take everything?" Barrel asked.
"No. We'd never be able to take everything," Shock said before she came across what appeared to be a long, mechanical leg.
"I wonder what it's connected to," Barrel said.
"Let's clear all the boxes on top of it to find out," Shock said.
Despite a few mis-triggers of guns in the boxes, the moving went just fine. Underneath all of them was a very large machine. It had three more legs, and a cockpit with all kinds of command possibilities. Alas, it only had one driver's seat, so it took a while for the trick-or-treaters to decide who would drive it. When the decision was made, the privilege went to Shock. After all, she found the machine in the first place.
"How do we make it stand up?" she asked. "All the directions look weird."
"I can't read this," Lock said.
"Me neither," Barrel added.
"Great, we're in a machine we can't use because of some stupid words," Shock said.
"Might as well touch everything to see if that'll start it," Lock said as he pulled a lever, causing a cannon in front of the machine to blast a hole in the wall.
"That wasn't it," Shock said.
"How about this?" Barrel asked as he pushed a purple button, causing the machine to get up off of the floor.
"That was better," Shock said. "Maybe if you keep pressing it, it'll walk."
"Ok," Barrel said, pressing the button and making the machine fall on the floor again.
"Never mind," Shock said, watching Barrel press the button a third time and having the machine stand up again.
"Hey, try those stick things," Lock said to Shock, pointing to joysticks in the center of a large panel.
"Might as well," she said, grabbing the joysticks and smiling as the machine took its first steps. "Finally. I wonder what the red buttons on the tops of these sticks do," Shock said before pressing them.
One must admit, seeing a four-legged machine fly out of a house is abnormal. Then again, many abnormal things happened in this house. By now, the neighbors just ignored the strangeness and went about their daily chores. No, not even a baffled looking tiny purple moose could grab their attention. As far as they were concerned, it was the business of the green-skinned boy, no one else's.
To Be Continued...