Chapter 7
Means to an End
Zim moved uncomfortably on the couch. He still wasn't used to the odd limbs, and his center of balance was off because of the newest addition of ears. He tried another position, shoving his legs out in front of himself, resting them on the table. This was nice for a second until he decided to wrap one leg underneath him, the other placed on the floor. His actions continued in such a manner for a little bit longer until Dib finally spoke up,
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Why are humans so uncomfortable!" Zim was hissing and spitting Irken swear words left and right, folding himself up oddly. He tried sitting normally as Dib was doing, but it just felt too weird, too uncomfortable.
"That's probably because the little fat you had on your old body is nothing compared to what you need now. You're just skin and bones." Zim looked appalled. He was still an oddity even after his transformation. A violent mood swing suddenly kicked in, and he launched forward, fist poised in the air. The power was quickly released right into the other's face with a crude battle cry. Dib fell backward, head connecting with the carpet, a resound thud. Trying to struggle back to his feet, Dib was roughly shoved down again. Zim landed on top of him, kicking and punching. Sitting heavily on his chest, he continued to administer the blows until Dib caught both of his fists, holding them tightly. Struggling, he dug his knees into the blue shirt below him.
"Comfortable now?" Dib was smug. He loved having the upper hand, even though he was the one on the ground. Zim squirmed, trying to get his fists back, but also still trying to hurt Dib.
"As a matter of fact, I am!" Dib was left semi speechless, watching the crimson eyes in confusion. That wasn't supposed to be the answer. What now? An awkward silence followed. It seemed to be the only type of silence to occur between the two enemies. Releasing his grip on the other's hands, Dib let his arms fall to the floor.
"We need to get ready." He moved to sit up, but was held down by the dead weight on top of him. The scenario was starting to get out of control, go awry. He no longer held any power, and he knew the other was aware of that. Zim was on top in all of the literal meanings.
"I'm not moving." To accent his point the ex-alien planted his feet and slid backward a little, not wavering his glare that Dib broke on more than one occasion. The underdog's hormones leapt in excitement.
"Zim, seriously. Get off."
"No." He was milking the situation for all it was worth, making a point that even with out his base, his weapons, and his technology, he was still a formidable opponent. Arrogantly, he moved back a little more, about to rock forward to pull his knees under himself when Dib pushed up with a force, the ex-alien falling to the floor between his legs.
"Don't push your luck with me, Zim." The crimson orbs moved upward, meeting with angered amber ones.
"'Old habits die hard, I guess.'" Zim easily mocked back the same phrase Dib had used during their fight the day before. Once again Dib was rendered speechless, a feeling he did not want to get used to. After a moment or so of glaring, the front door swung open, revealing Zim's tinny robot slave. He marched in, seemingly unaware of the awkward sight, a brain freezy clutched tightly in his mitts.
"Hello!" He chimed, walking right through the room and into the kitchen. Snorting in annoyance, Zim began to untangle himself. A few seconds later they were both standing independently, not speaking. The paranormal investigator moved to clean the coffee table, both sandwiches only half-eaten and the milk still occupying the glass. Moving back over to the couch, Zim threw himself onto it, snorting in annoyance. Amber orbs glared at him once more before moving into the kitchen.
The dysfunctional robot smiled up at him as soon as a boot clad foot hit the linoleum, chiming another hello.
"Um… hi." It was awkward talking to his enemy's robot slave, "You're… um, master and I are going out to… well, we're going out today. Can you… take care of your self?" GIR squeaked loudly under his disguise and gave a resound thumbs up. The garbage was disposed of before Dib ran up to his room, returning moments later with a pair of socks, and a set of sneakers, chucking them onto Zim's stomach. The ex-alien shot up with a grunt, eyeing him with evident distaste.
"Put them on. Alicia's going to be here." Grumbling to himself, Zim did as he was told.
The two stood on the curb, Dib tapping his foot, and looking off down the street, Zim eyeing the sidewalk in contempt. It had been ten minutes, and the air was beginning to numb the ex-alien's fingers. He was miserable and annoyed, sending hateful daggers from his eyes towards the other every thirty seconds or so. Abruptly he turned to face Dib, mouth open, a scream on the tip of his tongue, when a loud screech echoed through the silent neighborhood. Dib turned, fully facing the direction he had been watching,
"I think she's here." Zim looked up at the disserted street, crimson eyes narrowing in annoyance,
"There's no one here—," as the words spit from his mouth, a blue Saturn shot around the corner, hurdling toward them. With a yelp Zim jumped back from the curb, Dib standing his ground. The car whipped up to the edge on the wrong side of the street, coming to a screeching halt right next to the two. A girl with long blond hair, the tips died black, looked through the window, a big grin on her face. She motioned with her thumb toward the passenger seat and mouthed something. Dib looked at Zim, and pointed to the back before making his way around the car,
"Get in." Apprehensively the ex-alien did so.
Dib spoke up easily,
"Thanks a lot, Alicia." She smiled brightly at him, and pushed a strand of absent hair out of her eyes,
"No problem, Dib! Actually, I've been putting off going to the mall, too!" She turned, and looked over the seat, "And this must be Zim! Nice to meet you!" He looked at her oddly before eyeing the buckles as if they were serpents ready to strike. Quickly she shifted into drive and rocketed away from the curb, and back onto the correct side of the road. Dib was ready for it as his buckle clicked into place, the g-forces hitting, but Zim wasn't so prepared as he let out a bellow, sliding across the back seat.
"Might want to buckle up back there, Zimmy!" She said as she eyed him in the rear view mirror, "Safety first!" His hands moved quickly, trying to connect two of the menacing straps together. He almost had it when Alicia decided to make a wild right hand turn, flinging him back across the car. Dib looked at her, obviously a little scared as well.
"How did you manage to get your license?" His question was strongly justified as she smiled at him, too.
"What license?" Maniacal laughter drifted from the speeding car.
Black shoes gladly reconnected with pavement, their occupant gripping onto the blue metal as if his life depended on it. Swallowing heavily, he turned to look at his two unlikely and highly annoying companions (in his opinion). They were chatting loudly a little ways away, the young girl smiling brightly, and a faint grin on the boy's face. Zim stood abruptly, crossed his arms across his chest, and fell back against the car. It took a few seconds before the other two noticed the absence of the third member. Stopping, they turned to look at the brooding teen, Dib sighed in annoyance.
"He's just trying to be difficult. It's kind of been like this for the past two days." Alicia looked at him,
"You didn't tell me when it happened."
"Well, um, just a few days ago." She looked at him curiously for a minute, "By the way, how did you know about…"
"Zimmy! C'mon!" She cut Dib off quickly, waving at the third.
"No!" Dib rubbed at his eyes as Alicia moved quickly back to the car, grabbing the ex-aliens arm, and dragging him toward the other boy.
"C'mon! It's going to be loads of fun!" Dib shook his head lightly, falling into step behind the girl, drawing her into a conversation about the workings of their secret paranormal society in which most everything was conveyed in codes. The parking lot was relatively crowded for only an hour after schools had let out. Still holding on to the struggling boy, the blond girl led him through the doors, and into the huge mall. Zim clenched his teeth, remembering all of the hell he went through during his few and brief visits to the cursed place. Once he had to return a movie that was well over do, courtesy of his malfunctioning android. Another time would be when he had decided to abduct that Santa monster to trick humanity into walking themselves into a one way ticket to his Tallest. A long pause followed in his train of thought before a frown slipped over his previously annoyed features, falling back into a moody silence. He couldn't care less of how the other two saw him. He wished his leaders had been merciful and killed him instead of demanding this long lasting hell.
He was steered into a store by the shorter girl. The clothing gave an immediate impression of what was sold there. The bright sign above it read Hot Topic, and black and chains shown out. Recoiling in shock, he looked at his captors. Alicia gave him a reassuring smile, mentioning that she was really good at this sort of thing. She knew about how to pick clothes to match hair, how to match clothes to accessories, how to match clothes with clothes, and several other things that clothes can match with that Zim couldn't understand nor care about, not like he could understand her to begin with. Weaving through the rows and displays, Alicia began grabbing clothes, holding them up against him, and then placing them back on the rack, or throwing them into his arms. When a particularly large stack had accumulated in his arms, she sent him into the changing room with the order that she wanted to see everything. Slowly she turned her blue eyes onto Dib who was standing against the wall, arms crossed, eyeing her,
"Everything? We're going to be here all day."
"Well, I need to talk to you, so it might be for the better. How about you start at the beginning?" Letting out a sigh, Dib began telling her about how he had first met Zim, and about how their relationship (if could be called that) progressed. Several times throughout the tale Zim had emerged from beyond the cloaked door, obviously uncomfortable, or greatly unsure. A few times she shook her head, but most times her choices resulted in a thumbs up, and a huge grin. Dib had to admit that he called the right person. Her expertise seemed unmatched.
As the story progressed, he explained how he was caught, naturally leaving out the part in which he tried to kill himself, and what happened afterwards, concluding with the present endeavors. The pile of clothes had finally reached its peak.
"We should find something for your hair, too." Alicia gave a slight tug on the back, forcing the boy to lean back to avoid pain.
"Shouldn't he just get it cut?" Dib was unsure of what she was getting at. It should be cut.
"Of course not, Dib! Long hair on guys is in right now. Actually, you should grow yours out, too." She reached up to mess his hair but he brushed her hand away, trying to balance the clothes on the other arm.
"No thanks. I'm not your doll today." She grinned, latching onto Zim's arm whom looked horribly uncomfortable, and very unsure.
"Too bad, but one day you will come to me, and I will have my chance!" She laughed lightly, steering the other toward the turn display of hair clips, ties, and other such accessories. The paranormal investigator stood to the side, watching as Alicia demonstrated with her own hair and with his how everything was used properly. At one moment Dib thought he saw a spark of the old mischievous and dangerous Zim peak through the bored and tired eyes, but with a blink, it was gone.
After awhile Alicia had his fully convinced him to keep his hair long, and even added another $20 worth of hair things to the pile in Dib's arms.
"Are we done here?" She had reattached herself to Zim's arm and nodded in affirmation. Wearily Dib made his way to the counter and paid for it all with a small piece of plastic. He couldn't afford it alone, but his father sure could. Taking the two large bags off of the counter he shoved them into Zim's arms.
"I paid, you carry." Zim eyed him in annoyance,
"Fine." He grabbed the bags roughly and headed out the door. Alicia let out a sigh before hurrying out too. Moving back into the corridor, he met up with the others.
"Are you ready to go?" She asked, taking a bag from Zim.
"I need to go pick something up." Dib took a step forward, Alicia falling into step behind him.
"Oh yeah! To the computer store!" She pointed triumphantly forward, drawing the attention of all those around her. Zim took a few steps after them, keeping a safe distance. The day had gone by like a dream, everything new and different, highly annoying. All of this was a horrible concoction of a skewered reality. These were all such morbid thoughts. Ahead Alicia had stopped abruptly and declared something to the other boy.
"I completely forgot! Dib, wait." She pulled on the taller boy's arm, "We need to buy Zim some… well, underwear!" The paranormal investigator stopped in his tracks and looked at her in terror. It was true, but something he didn't want to think about. Brain working fast, he came up with a plan to spare himself, and Zim, the awkwardness of the situation, but more so himself.
"Why don't… you do that and um… I'll call you when I'm done to find out how everything is going." She nodded in affirmation.
"Alright. C'mon, Zimmy!" The ex-alien looked up just in time to have his arm grabbed and be dragged in the opposite direction by the hurrying girl. He shot a glance back at Dib before taking his steps independently. Something seemed to catch his eye, his soul. There was the normal detest, hatred, spite… but there was something else there. 'Betrayal' seemed to jump from somewhere in his mind, probably the cold dark corner more commonly known as his subconscious. But when asked about its meaning, it remained silent. Dib watched the two move quickly away until he turned on his heals and headed off as well. His mind mused over the strange turn of events, finally taking everything into perspective.
He had actually tried to kill himself over something that seemed so minute, so small compared to everything that followed. Compared to Zim's transformation, and his sudden bombardment into Dib's life, his boyfriend breaking up with him was an almost laughable occurrence. Indeed it had been almost three weeks. Sure the only person in the world that didn't think he was absolutely insane had left him… or had they? Alicia didn't think he was insane. The Swollen Eyeball didn't think he was insane. Zim knew he wasn't insane, although the alien probably considered him insane because of his constant trying to save the world, but that was a different story, a different idea all together.
Taking a step into the store we was greeted by a call from behind the counter.
"Hey Dib. I have your drive in the back room. Let me go get it for you."
"Thanks" he responded, taking in his surroundings. The entire store was bathed in a white light, the walls mirroring it, as well as the floors, desks, and computers. The Apple store, his haven among technology. The best of the best equipment for anything and everything he needed. He had dropped of an external drive for repair the week prior, hoping to get his system up and running again. He drummed his finger against the desk and let his mind drift.
So, if he truly saw betrayal in the others eyes, what would he feel betrayed about? What his leaders did, sure, but why show that to him? It was a personal problem, nothing Dib could do about it.
"I'm surprised you actually brought her in. I mean, I didn't think you would trust anyone with her, let alone let her out of your sight." Dib looked up as his drive was set on the counter. The man began to type the charge out on the cash register, as the last comments began to sink in. Of course! Dib had just sent Zim, who was already uncomfortable and (probably) afraid off with someone he didn't know, in a world and reality he wasn't used to. That's why he felt betrayed! He had just been handed over like a bag. He prayed that Alicia wasn't being too tough.
"$223. Charge?" He looked up,
"Oh yeah…" Dib passed the plastic card over, before sliding the drive into his arms. A few minutes later he stepped back into the dark hall, shifting the slight weight so he could pull out his cell phone. Dialing a number from heart. The phone on the other end rang a few rings before a girl's voice responded,
"Hey, Dibby… all done?"
"Yeah. Where should I meet with you two?" A slurping noise came over the phone before the response,
"We're in the food court. Zimmy and I got hungry."
"Alright, I'll be there in a minute." And indeed he was so.
The food court wasn't packed, it being right after school, but there was still enough people to make Dib's searching not a walk in the park. At first he craned his neck over the groups of people, but after the second time of circling, he was glad to receive help by seeing a thin arm poke above everyone, and Alicia's smiling face. Approaching the table he set down his drive with a thud. Zim glanced up at him briefly before returning to the tedious task of chewing on his straw, a bored look plastered on his face. Dib continued to watch him until the girl drew his attention away,
"What you got there?" She followed the question by sticking a fry in her mouth. The investigator grabbed a handful and answered simply that it was an external drive. She released a mystified 'ohhhh' before declaring that they had finished all of the shopping for Zim
"And he we found out that he likes curly fries, too! Almost as much as me that is!" She emphasized that fact by placing another one in her mouth.
"That sounds really good right now. I'm going to go buy myself something." And with that, he moved back toward the outer walls that were lined with different food places. He picked one at random, one that just happened to catch his eye. In truth it didn't really matter what it was because as he moved to it, he heard a familiar voice call his name. Turning he noticed Sean waving at him. A little shock and a little dread seemed to root him to the spot at the shorter boy approached.
"Dib! How are you?"
"Um…" All the things he wanted to scream, all the answers he wanted to demand, all of the horrible things he wanted to do seemed to disappear, leaving him speechless, "Fine… and you?"
"Very well, thanks. Um, I really wanted to apologize to you about. Well, you know."
"Yeah. It's okay. I mean…… Yeah, it's fine." Talking to your ex sure was a lot harder that he figured it would be. The air just wasn't right, the moment too awkward. "How's everything going since…?"
"Oh, good. Very good." They both adjusted their stance a little, trying to ease the uncomfortable feeling even just a little.
"So, why did you just…" He moved his hands a little, trying to explain why did he call out to the other.
"Oh! I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any… y'know."
"Oh yeah! I think….. I think it's fine."
"Alright! If you…" Sean's name was called out from a little ways down and a rough looking teen emerged from a group of girls. Moving swiftly he wrapped an arm around the shorter boy, ignoring Dib.
"How you feeling, love?" The moment went from odd to hell.
"I'm well, oh, Keith, this is Dib." He gestured to said boy with was rooted to the spot. Finally the brown eyes swooped over to glance at him, a look of distaste covering his features.
"Dib, huh? Ex-lover, Dib?" The simple phrase 'Oh shit' repeated over and over again in his head, not even stopping as Keith moved to tower over him.
"I, uh, don't know about 'lover'…" It was seriously out of control.
Across the room antenna suddenly poked out from Zim's mess of hair, twitching a little, sending screaming messages to his brain. The straw between his teeth fell to the floor, as his body became rigid. A second or so later it had drawn the attention of his female companion who quickly slapped a hat on his head,
"What's going on, Zim?" Crimson eyes turned to look at her, unsure.
"I have no idea, but I bet it's bad." Standing up she looked around. Nothing seriously seemed out of place. The dancing burger was doing his civil deities outside of the Happy Burger Shack, free samples of cyanide laced tacos were being distributed outside Bonito Fajita… Everything in its place. That was, except for Dib who was suddenly shoved backwards by a boy with a maniacal grin on his face. Immediately she pointed this out to Zim who took to his feet. Crimson eyes narrowed dangerously as his antenna seemed to declare that this was the problem, something that had to be fixed. His leg moved forward, but a hand gripping his shoulder stopped him.
"What do you think you're doing?" Panic crossed her eyes.
"I'm going to fix this." The answer was simple but it planted a blow into her chest. He was going to protect Dib? Sure that wasn't how the ex-alien saw it, but it screamed loud and clear to her. Relaxing her hand, she let him hurry off, a small smile gracing her lips.
"So you're hoping to get back together with him, are you?" Another shove moved Dib back a few paces as he tried to stabilize himself again. He tried to glare back at the man, but it was just too hard for him. He couldn't do it. Rather he hung his head and waited for the beating. He was sure it was about to come. Bad things always seemed to happen when Sean was involved, but just as he braced himself, he heard a confident and cocky call from behind him.
"You think you're so tough with you chains and mouth-stick thing?" The two opposing boys looked up at Zim who maneuvered confidently over to them, but Dib remained staring at the floor, a new look of horror slipping over his features. The previous 'oh shit's became louder as he turned his head until the annoyingly smug face came into view.
"Who the fuck are you" Keith demanded, throwing his tooth pick at the boy who easily deflected it, grin never wavering.
"Christ, Zim. Go back to Alicia." This wasn't a fight to get Zim involved in, but the ex-alien wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"Can't fight your fights yourself, eh, Dib-stink? I guess I got to fight them for you!"
"Who is that, Dib?" It was the first thing Sean had said over the last few minutes, and he wondered where that voice had been during the last few minutes of abuse. Zim's mouth was open, about to shout his amazing introduction, when he was shoved and cut off by Dib.
"He's no one. Just go."
"No." He stepped in front of Dib, and tried to get into Keith's face, "you're such a horribly weak Earth-monkey! Picking a fight with someone that obviously can't fight back!" A call of protest came from the boy behind him, "And you consider yourself strong and worthy! You're nothing, little human-slug! Nothing!" Keith's temper was rising, growing with every word and half-assed phrase that was spit from the new human's mouth.
"Weak am I? Weak! Try to survive this than!" And with a gleam of metal, a wicked looking pocket knife was drawn and sent spearing toward Zim's chest. With a gasp the ex-alien stepped backward, trying to dodge the weapon, but it charged forward until it connected with flesh, causing a cry of pain, cries of panic, and a pissed grunt. Twisting the blade and retracting it, Keith gave a satisfied smirk before grabbing his stunned boyfriend's hand and running off, calling back obscenities and victorious cheers.
"Oh my Tallest, Dib." Zim knelt, applying pressure to the bleeding wound in his comrade's shoulder. A series of Irken words followed that melted in Dib's ears.
"Chicken shit bastard ran off… I swear, when I find him I will—"
"Zim…. Shut up." A surprised look on the alien's face was the last thing he saw before blacking out in a pool of his own blood.
A/N: I'm going away so 55 reviews or when I get back... whichever comes last. (adding me to aleart will count as 2 reviews)