Being Tall Isn't Everything

by P.A.W.07

Zim was about to destroy the world, his dying adversary at his feet … yet he doesn't kill Dib. He wants to use that cunningly huge head of his, especially now that they are both so tall. Now, years later, the newest Tallest finds himself in a web of secrets, the past and the future seemingly tearing him apart. As usual ... this is all Zim's fault.

4. An Eye in a Jar

Proofreader: Kira Kyuu

Chapter 4: An Eye in a Jar

Okay, maybe it was true that the Massive was per say… the size of a small planet, but that fact really didn't concern Zim's antennae. They still picked up on it. That sentence he had thought he'd never hear again.

'It's big foot!'

Oh, Irk! It had never gotten this bad, this quickly. True, Blue dreamed all the time, which strangely represented memories of his past life, but never had he reacted on one. Nowadays, it was more like he was remembering then dreaming. A bad sign for Zim.

It wasn't that he was worried about pieces of Dib slipping through, because he would have never turned the human in the first place if there wasn't something he liked about the human. After all, Dib was everything an Irken invader should have been. He was cunning and knew how to talk himself out of a corner; was a genius in most studies of mechanics as well as the simplicity of dissection; and he also had this sense of honor, unafraid to take up arms for what he believed to be right. Zim would be lying to himself if he didn't admit that Dib had unknowingly taught him how to be a better invader. It was a slow and painful process, but with each failure Zim was forced to rethink his tactics. So, slowly, he started to become more cunning in achieving his goal of global conquest.

Privately, a part of Zim wanted Dib back. He longed for his cunning attributes and ostentatious mind, but if there was one thing his time on Earth taught him, a being couldn't have everything they wanted. It was a conflict of ideals when it came to Dib and him. So to keep his Dib, he had to bury away his memories. He was going to keep his trophy, even if it had cracks in it. Dib, no, Blue, would not be lost. Blue was the only thing that understood Zim and he wasn't going to lose that. He had been an outcast for so long, yet his own enemy had offered him a hand in his most dire of moments. This is something he would never forget.

Dib was his prize and he had to protect it… even if he had to protect him from himself.

The Tallest stopped in his race down the halls of the Massive, noting how his robes shifted softly from the loss of momentum. He stared forward for a moment before looking down at an adviser, which had been jogging to keep up, his mind churning up new ideas as he spoke," Zim has thought long and hard. I will be going to the planet Vort to speak with a certain Voritan I met once, but before I leave I want to talk to Commander Sizz-Lorr."

…

It was pooling everywhere like a faucet, dripping with a little splat as the blood oozed over the edge of the dissection table. Blue paid the blood no mind as he slowly plunged his gloved hands into his newest "toy". It had caught him by surprise, really.

Before the whole pak dilemma, Blue had been sitting silently next to Zim as the more active leader paced back and forth in utter excitement at an invader's discovery of some rare resources on the Empire's newest planet. Blue had resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He really could have cared less about the secret ingredient to nacho sauce. Yet, he sat in his Tallest's chair pretending to be fascinated with the conquering of this planet. However, between Zim's victory dance and Invader Exon's victory speech, he noticed something growling and hissing in the background of the hail as it was tugged onto a ship.

Blue couldn't stop himself once he got a good look at it. He actually stood up, pushed Zim to the side, and pointed at the invader, stating simply, "Bring me the creature with the brown eyes."

It had been silent for a moment, the invader looking at his Tallest with wide eyes. It wasn't that he was angry or shocked about being interrupted during his speech. It was that it was Tallest Blue who had done it. It wasn't a hidden secret among the invaders: it was one thing to get Tallest Zim excited about an invasion, but to get Tallest Blue generally excited. Well, it was unheard of and considered a great honor.

Exon nearly fainted, yet still managed to race over to the executioner ship and drag the beast to the vid-screen so Blue could examine it.

It was one thing to see one of Blue's stereotypical smiles meant to encourage his troops; it was another thing to see him smile with pure approval.

And that was how he got his current "toy". True, when he had seen it, it had been alive. Now it was currently deceased, its one dazzling eye just lifeless looking at him. In all honesty, the beast wasn't that uniquely special from any other beast of its class. In fact, it was rather stupid. Its species hadn't even developed the first step in creating a written text, but there was that eye.

The eye had the normal structure for a camera-type eye with its usual three layers: the sclera, the choroid, and the retina, but that wasn't what interested him. It was the iris. It was a haunting brown color. It captured him somehow, like he had always known this hue. It was as if the color had once been his and a small part of him wanted to own it again.

Blue stopped cutting into the creature, his eyes getting wide behind his goggles. Now where did that thought come from? He had always had blue eyes, hadn't he?

"Tallest Blue?" inquired a shorter Irken who was across the other side of the table, his pak legs extend so he was able to observe the specimen on it.

The taller Irken snapped out of his thoughts only to notice that he had been still for the past minute, just staring at that eye and not the heart like organ in his hands. He slowly turned to his assistant, pulling his goggles up, noting with a strange satisfaction that the creature's blood was now dripping down the goggle and down his green cheek.

"What is it, Borit?"

Borit's slanted pink eyes twitch slightly at the sight of that disgusting goo even touching his Tallest's body. He didn't understand why his Tallest degraded himself to such pitiful research. He should be enjoying snacks like Tallest Purple and Red use too, or at least be enjoying the show the invaders put on when conquering a planet. Zim seemed to get his enjoyment that way, so why didn't Tallest Blue?

The Head Researcher sighed. He didn't understand his Tallest at all, but if Tallest Blue wanted to chop up this meaningless being instead of eating snacks, who was he to stop him? Well, he could mention a slight complaint to Zim that Blue had been acting funny during the dissection and that would certainly stop this whole dissection obsession, probably.

The two Tallest would doubtlessly get into a huge fight about it though.

The smaller Irken stiffened physically at the thought.

A fight would be, well, interesting was probably the best word for it, but it would certainly end badly. It wasn't like the two didn't have strange little scrimmages from time to time when they'd have these outlandish yelling fights. Unfortunately, they sometimes led to fistfights. Now, no one, himself included, would ever forget the first fistfight the two leaders had gotten into.

It had been a normal day when the two started a disagreement about Tallest Blue sneaking off in one of his hand-made Voot Cruisers without at least a wing guard. Zim made the mistake of telling Blue to destroy his Voot Cruisers and pay attention to more important things, like snacks. Blue had been quiet for a moment and everyone thought he had given in to his co-leader's demands, so much so that Zim himself started to gloat. It was then that all hell broke loose. Blue physically threw himself at the other in a flying mixture of pak legs, fists, and Tallest robes. It took at least twenty minutes for the advisers and few taller guards to pull the two apart. The strange thing was, though, when they were sitting there panting and bleeding, the two then began to laugh.

Well, to say the least, it ended well, but the medical drones weren't very happy.

A sigh escaped the Head Researcher as he looked at his Tallest Blue. The taller Irken seemed to be haunted by that eye, again. Oh well, maybe it was true that Blue was odd, but one thing was for sure, there wouldn't be an Empire left if just Zim was ruling. The small Irken grinned. Now that was a day he'd never forget when Zim became a Tallest. He was sure they were all going to die, but then there was Blue. He just stepped up as if he had been made to balance out Zim's erratic behavior, despite the strangeness that accompanied him.

Borit resisted the urge to sigh again, in relief. Thank Irk for little favors. And with that thought complete, the Irken pulled out a rag and made his pak legs stretch to their limits. It was with great care that he wiped the blood from his treasured Tallest. Blue automatically jumped away from the table with a startled hiccup. The Head Researcher wasn't surprised by his leader's reaction at all. Blue had always been wary about being touched, even for nice things like massages. He just didn't want to be touched. It was as if he was embarrassed. Not a Tallest trait at all. Not that anyone would admit it.

"Forgive me, my Tallest. We have not yet examined the creature's blood. It might have poison in it."

Blue looked at his soldier, and then meekly ran a clawed hand down his cheek. It always surprised him that Irkens were so loyal to him, that they saw him, and that he was no longer invisible. In fact, he was the object of attention. The Tallest was about to rub his tongue over his teeth as a nervous reaction, but somehow managed to stop the response. He had mangled his tongue enough time to know better, but a part of him still wanted to do it as if his teeth weren't sharp as blades. But Irk knows that if he did, Zim and the med drones would have a slight hissy fit and make him put on those, guh, teeth guards. No way! Not again! He had had them forcibly put on twice already by his co-Tallest and he'd be Irked if he didn't go down with a fight the next time.

Borit tried not to smirk as his Tallest hurriedly put his hand over his mouth. He recalled the Chief Medical Drone mentioning his Tallest's "bad habit" and his occasional need for teeth guards. Perhaps his Tallest needed something to barter his time with.

"My Tallest," cooed the Head Researcher. "Perhaps you would like this as something to distract your troubled mind?"

Blue drew his gaze away from the haunting eye of the deceased creature and looked at his Head Researcher, removing his hand from his mouth. He stared at the Irken and the glimmering object in his hand, yet, despite his slight confusion, he took it into hand, murmuring, "It's merely a small containment jar."

"Exactly."

…

Blue sat in his Tallest's chair in the control room of the Massive. He had one arm propped on the armrest with his chin leaning into his palm. He had been admiring it as he turned it around in his other hand. The eye didn't even shift away from him within its liquid prison. The brown iris just continued to stare at him as if it was watching him with just as much curiosity as he was watching it. He couldn't look away. The strange organ seemed to be whispering things to him and he wanted to listen. It was like it saw a part of him that he could not.

"And they call me cruel. At least I don't carry souvenirs around."

Blue didn't even twitch as Zim snickered and jumped over the back of his chair, landing in the seat with an ungraceful flop. The co-Tallest then proceeded by leaning over the arm of his own chair and grinning at the "toy". The smile quickly faded though when Blue didn't start paying attention to the once-invader. Zim wasted no time in grabbing for the object, his fingers only gracing air.

Zim huffed and Blue laughed dryly as he continued to admire his toy, the blue Irken murmuring, "If you wanted my attention, you could just ask for it, Zim."

"Whatever, Zim doesn't need your attention," added the red Tallest as he slumped into his chair, moping. This went on for about two awkward minutes before Zim lunged for it again. He merely grabbed for air once more.

Blue grinned at his counterpart and quickly buried the small jar in his robes, snapping his wrists in a mocking manner before he slouched back down, looking forward as if he was entertained by the view of empty space.

After a moment of the childish game of glare-and-grin, Zim growled, "Give me."

Blue raised an eye as if in question, a mocking smile on his face, "Whatever do you mean, Zim?"

Zim felt a flame burst to life in his chest. This was the same passionate fire Dib and he shared when they had fought over the future of Earth. True, they no longer fought as if their lives depended on success or failure, but they still had their bouts of childish banter and brawls. It seemed they were both in need of a quick game.

That was fine with Zim.

"You know exactly what will happen. Give to Zim or suffer the consequences," the red being demanded as he put forth a clawed hand, waiting patiently with a sickening smirk on his face.

Blue huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Try me, because I'm not going to give it to you."

Zim's smile grew. Just like the old days. And just like that, Zim jumped over the expanse of the two chairs. A collection of royal robes flew through the air as the two Tallest began a slightly violent game of gimme, leaving the control room in a slight panic.

The advisers were all sighing as they readied the mild antiseptic.

A cry rang through the room as Zim suddenly went flying into the pilots' den, sending the pilots in a mild retreat to not get squished. Blue merely grinned, wiping spittle from his mouth as he sat up. A growl quickly escaped the expanse behind the control panel of pilots' den though. Then, without much warning, the retired invader leapt onto the control panel in a crouching stance, an evil grin on his face.

"Zim will have it."

Dib jumped to his feet, brushing imaginary dust off of his chest, his words slightly irritated, "Please, you don't even want it. It's just an eye."

"Then give it to Zi-me, if it is so unimportant."

"Never," came the word, as if he had said it a thousand times before. Then, a war cry rang from the two beings again and the two were biting and clawing like two children fighting over a toy.

There was a soft whish of opening doors, completely unnoticed by all the viewers of the brawl and the brawlers themselves, and in stepped a hulking figure with a mountain like stance. With a sigh, the newcomer wandered over to the worried adviser s who were wincing and cringing at every bite and kick the Tallest were giving each other.

"Fighting again," grumbled Commander Sizz-Lorr as he crossed his arms over his puffed out chest, allowing the light to glare off his military badges, "They never seem to tire do they, Pixen?"

Pixen jumped slightly and then suddenly perked up his antennae. It was Sizz-Lorr: a nobody who had somehow found favor in none other than Tallest Zim. Apparently, the large Irken had once been an invader who had been turned into a fry cook on planet Foodcourtia after failing to conquer a planet in a set time limit. He had been a reject, a mockery of the populace, much like Zim had been, but there was something else there… something no one was going tell. Pixen didn't know how to feel about the new Commander, but one thing was for certain: Zim, alone, probably had more secrets then Tallest Red and Purple had combined and Sizz-Lorr was one of them.

"No, they don't sir," answered Pixen nervously at the taller and broader Irken as he eyed his scarred face for a moment. "They seem to rather like their scrimmages, as if there is something more to this than a simple game."

The ex-fry cook looked down at the adviser, a grin playing on the being's face. If only they knew, if only. "Perhaps… Is Tallest Zim ready to go? His ship is prepped and ready."

The adviser was about to say no when a loud yelp filled the room and Blue went sliding past him across the room, coming to an unsavory halt against the wall while hitting his head with a loud crack. Said crack made everyone cringed at the sound, except Zim. He merely blinked once or twice at the sound, just staring at the other co-Tallest… who was not moving.

Zim sat up, ready to do a victory dance with his newly acquired eye, when he noticed that Blue still hadn't gotten back up. In fact, he looked kind of not good. He looked kind of dead, in fact.

Sitting still for a moment as he watched blood drip down the side of his co-Tallest's mouth, Zim's eyes slowly got wide. Slowly, as if standing on cracking ice, the red Irken rose to his feet and drew nearer to his old enemy, whispering, "B-blue? Are you trying to trick Zim?"

No answer.

Zim's antennae fell flat against his head in slight worry.

"Blue?" came Zim's voice again as he jogged across the span, sliding to a halt at his other's side though he refused to touch the other at first. "Blue, stopping playing a trick on Zim. I was the rightful winner."

The ex-invader stared at his first and only companion for a moment feeling panic rise in his chest. What had he just done? The red Tallest reached forward and was about to start shaking the other violently, but stopped and rolled his eyes. He should have known. The Tallest quickly threw his head over to one of the advisers. He huffed and simply stated, "Bring Zim a soda."

Everyone, who had been staring at Blue's body, then stared at Zim.

The appointed adviser swallowed, his tone worried, "Bu-but my Tallest, Blue just died or is dying. We need to call the med drones!"

"Bring… Zim… a soda!"

The adviser blinked and then did as he was commanded, his fingers twitching as he handed the cup to his Tallest. Zim took the soda, taking a nice long swig before throwing the rest of the drink in Blue's face. A gasp escaped the dead form of Blue, the blue Tallest sputtering and gasping as he tried to sit up.

Zim merely refrained from laughing.

"God damn it, Zim!" came a wailing curse from the co-Tallest as he finally sat up, clutching the back of his head. "What the hell… And what am I covered in? It's sticky."

Zim stiffened… those were not Irken curse words. Irk, it was happening too soon! The Tallest felt his innards tighten, paying no mind to the advisers that were flocking around Blue. Calm down, calm down. That's why you called Sizz-Lorr. If Blue can hold back Dib's memories, everything will be fine.

He would not lose Blue.

With that thought, Zim took a step away from the other and frowned, fingers twitching. He was going to wait to leave, but now it was a case of: the sooner the better. Besides, his ride was already here.

Red eyes danced over to the fry cook and he smirked. The Tallest quickly glided away from the blue Tallest, who was struggling to escape his smothering advisers, and over to the hulking figure. The ex-invader smirked as he grinned down at the bulky being, using his hover belts to do a quick three-sixty around the other to show dominance.

Sizz-Lorr merely glared, his eye twitching slightly. This was normal for them though. The two beings weren't what a person would call companions. They were more like partners in crime, surviving each other in need more then want. Not that anyone knew that except for each other and Dib. Not that Dib was completely there anymore.

"Hello, Sizz-Lorr. I take it Zim's ship is ready to go?" mocked the Tallest, throwing a weary glance over to Blue whom was being taunted by a med drone.

"Yes," Sizz-Lorr's voice dropped and he threw a weary look over in Blue's direction, "I take it Dib will not take no for an answer. I'll give him that. He never did know how to give up."

"No, he does not," stated Zim in a cold tone.

The Tallest was silent for a moment, fingering the small jar in his hands. The eyeball was familiar in some way. Maybe it was the same color as the brown earth which Dib had fought so hard to protect, or maybe it reminded him of those nasty brown hamburgers he loved so much, or perhaps, it reminded him of the eyes he once possessed.

There was no way to know. The owner was little more than a figment now.

Zim took one more longing look at the eye. There was no point in dwelling regardless. He just as well's get it over with. Before the red Irken knew what he was doing, he had pulled Blue up by his armpits and away from their dotting babysitters. Blue grumbled at the other as he clutched his newly bandaged head, hover belts kicking in so he could keep up with Zim and not worry about walking.

"I win again," mocked Zim as he glided into the hall, heading in the direction of their lodgings.

Blue merely grumbled about cheap shots and leaned a little more onto his co-ruler as a wave of dizziness hit him.

"Sore loser," murmured the true Irken as he came to a halt outside of Blue's room, his hover belts swaying from the sudden stop. The door opened with a soft hiss and Zim hastily swept over to the recharge berth. Blue didn't even have to be told as he slid down into the cushioned berth, hand still cupping his head.

Zim would pay for this.

"I want my eye," murmured Blue lazily as he put out his clawed hand, looking utterly pathetic as he did so.

"Whatever do you mean?" mocked the red Irken as he reached for a cord in the back of the berth, leaning past Blue to do so.

Blue make a quick stab to the other's ribs to get his point across.

Zim merely yelped and withdrew from the berth for a moment to rub his rib. Here he had thought Blue was done playing. Yet, one good look at the other agreed with the mental assessment. Blue looked ready to pass out.

Rolling his eyes at the other, Zim reached for the berth recharge cord again while he grumbling, "Stop being a smeetling or I'll purposely put this in wrong."

Blue glared at the other, keeping the port to his pak stubbornly closed. He wasn't going into sleep mode until he had his eye back. He knew he might never see it again if he didn't get it back now. So the blue Tallest put out his hand again, grumbling, "Give me the eye first."

Zim tried not to smile, but Blue was acting like a pouty smeetling and it was almost adorable. Not that Dib really wasn't a smeet. Blue was young, not even thirty yet in human years, while Zim himself was several hundred years old. But that fact never bothered Zim. In fact, Blue's youth just show how truly ingenious he was. Sadly, Zim was the only one who could really admire his co-Tallest for this reason.

"Okay, fine, you can keep it to haunt you on your berth-side while I'm gone. Irk knows it's creepy enough. It'll probably scare the advisers away if you're lucky," murmured Zim as he leaned towards the surprised Irken, a soft click following after as he plugged in Blue's pak.

Blue stared at Zim in surprise, barely noting that his pak had just started to shut down his systems for sleep and repair mode.

"You're leaving? How long? Wait, is there another Foodcourtia parade or something, because I promise I won't try to drown you in the nacho cheese ever again," pouted Blue.

Tallest Blue knew he sounded pathetic and like a smeetling, but he hated ruling the Massive when Zim went on one of his crazy ventures. It just felt wrong. It was like people weren't supposed to listen to him. Yet, when Zim was off being his usual moronic self, all responsibilities were shifted over to him. Unfortunately for Blue, that would then lead to the issue of conquering. A part of him just wanted to jump out of his seat and hiss, "I'll stop you", but that would never happen. He was a Tallest, an Irken. It was in his species' very nature to conquer. Only a defect would try to interrupt Impending Doom Two. And the Irken race could not have a defect for a leader.

So Blue just ignored such thoughts and ground his teeth until Zim came back from his trip. For some reason, the other Irken would calm this uneasy feeling, as if Zim belonged in his world. It was if he had always been in it… even the parts he couldn't remember. Though, when he had forgotten, he could not recall.

Zim growled at the mention of the cheese incident. It took him a long time to get over that nacho cheese phobia. He still believed that it has been the Dib part of Blue that had done it, in spite of entrapping him this way. Not that he could prove it.

"I'll be gone for a few days. There is something I need to fix."

A silence fell over the room, except for the humming of Blue's pak, which was struggling to pull its owner into sleep mode and was working quite effectively as Blue was forced to lay down, eyes still on Zim.

Zim sighed internally for small favors. Here he was afraid that Blue would still be awake enough to interrogate him.

"Time for recharge, whiny smeetling. May your eye keep you comfort," added Zim as he placed the jar on Blue's bedside. Quickly, he looked down at Blue, expecting to see the being grinning at him. No, Dib grinning at him as if mocking how quickly Blue was falling apart this time. His fears were quickly quenched as he watched Blue's eyes flicker beneath his eyelids. He was asleep, dwelling in his dreams.

Not that true Irkens were supposed to dream.

With one more glance at the eye in the jar, which was staring accusingly at him, Zim swept out of the room, his robes shifting from the swiftness of his movements. Only once Zim was gone from sight did the eye seem to move of its own accord, turning in Blue's direction as if wishing him pleasant dreams.

…

Dib panted as he came up to Zim's side, not even noticing the worried look that was presently on the other's face. Instead, the human leaned forward on his knees, struggling to get a good deep breath, but that was hardly what he got. In fact, he fell backwards onto his rump, gasping as a strange little blue-gray creature with horns stuck its face into his. It almost seemed giddy with excitement.

"What is that?!" yelped Dib as he tried to crawl backwards away from the thing as it started prodding at him with interest, poking at any human characteristics that still remained.

Zim forced a smile on to try and calm himself. He was just now noticing how sickly Dib looked. He'd been so hopeful, since Dib had agreed with him, that he hadn't looked to deeply into the extent the transformation had taken on the other; he'd try to be more careful.

"That, oh paranoid Dib-beast," Dib threw a glare at Zim's comment, "Is that big, scary Voritan I was talking about."

Dib glared at Zim for a moment, grumbling bitterly, "I woe the day I defined sarcasm to you."

Yet, before he could make any more comments, the strange being suddenly pulled at the half-lings still developing antennae, making him tremble from the sensory overload.

"Interesting," commented the Voritan as he took a step back, taking in Dib's form completely; it was then that a frown formed on his face and he wearily threw a look up at Zim, "but there might be a slight problem."

Zim suddenly tightened, his forced grin disappearing as he looked away from the cringing half-ling as he tugged his antennae back, "What do you mean a problem! The deal was clear! Was it not, horned beast? In exchange for the future freedoms of your species and your planet, you must provide recalibrations for my pak and provide one for Dib!"

"What?" choked Dib, staring at the other in horror as he took another shallow breath. What was going on here? Zim never mentioned anything about him having to get a real one of those things. In fact, he had said he didn't want one during one of their discussions. Sadly, the human couldn't state his distaste as he suddenly kneeled over in pain, claws digging into the dusty earth of planet Dirt.

Sweet Medusa, his lungs were now on fire!

Of course, neither being noticed Dib's pain or his protest as they continued to murmur between themselves.

"That's not the problem!" hissed the Voritan as he looked around in a hurry to make sure no one had heard the Irken's outburst. Once his paranoia had been quenched, the Voritan spoke again, but only in a whisper, "We have both, but there may be a slight problem… you never told us that this Dib person was so tall. It might mean complications."

"What kind of complications?" added Zim, his antennae falling flat against his head.

"I'm not sure yet… Bring him in and we'll run some tests," added the Voritan in a worried tone, "and hurry. It looks like his body is about to give out due to stress."

A nod came from the Irken as he looked down at the other. He had noticed that Dib's breathing had just become shallow, meaning that his human lungs were just about to give out. He didn't know that it would be this soon though.

The soft pounding of boots came to a quick halt at Dib's side, stirring up a small cloud of dust. Dib looked up at him, eyes half-mast in exhaustion, but it was easy for Zim to tell that with each struggling breath, fear was building up inside Dib's mind. The human nearly clawed into him as Zim knelt down at his side. The Irken gave him a weary look before helping him to his feet, nearly carrying the other from a grip around his waist.

…

"I will not… put… one of those… things on… my back," Dib gasped as Zim ducted his head to get inside the building where the Voritan was leading, throwing the two beings into semi-darkness. The only light was coming from little, yellow floor lights which were randomly distanced about every two or three yards, giving the hall an ominous and disproportional look.

Zim huffed, his facial features fading in and out of the darkness as they walked down the scarcely lit hall. "Please, earth monkey, I mean Dib, look at yourself? You are in no condition to be giving requests. Really, did you think that –"

The Irken didn't get to finish his rant when he was violently pushed away, Dib falling to the floor in a lump and Zim slamming against the opposing wall. The two beings panted for a moment, just staring at each other over the expanse of the hallway, both partially hidden in the darkness. The invader rung his hands together in a nervous manner, not wanting to look at the other, before he slowly straightening his uniform. He finally looked down at his other, praying he hadn't started dripping, ugh crying, again like the last time a major organ became to fail. It was stressful. This time, he couldn't help but cringe internally. Dib was bleeding from the mouth. It was one of the signs that the ten minutes of doom had started. Not good, not good!

"Dib… we don't have time for this. We need –"

"No!" hissed Dib as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, struggling for breath so he could speak, "this is what you need, not what I want. In fact, this has nothing to do with my needs. I don't need or want a pak. I don't want to be a real Irken. I just need to destroy the Tallest, Zim. A pak … will make that change permanent, won't it? I don't know a lot about them, but I know it has the ability to make me forget things, doesn't it?! It can encroach on my mind, can't it?! I don't, can't, forget a single thing about being human. Not a single thing!"

Dib licked his lips as if he was struggling to find the words before a sniffle, regrettably, escaped him and he leaned his head back against a wall. It was all becoming too much. He couldn't deal with this… any of this. He wanted to kill the Tallest, he did, but he hadn't even properly mourned his world, his family! He knew he was depressed, he bloody knew it. So, despite himself, a tear rolled down his cheek, burning as it went, "I can't take this, Zim. It's all happening to fast. Please. Isn't there another way? Can't I be human a little longer?"

Zim was silent for a moment. He felt sick and all squirmy inside. He never imagined he'd ever see Dib this emotionally pathetic again. The human hadn't even been this desperate when he had been dying.

The Irken intertwined his fingers and swallowed before stepping forward, leaning down on one leg. He grabbed the half-ling by the arm, his words a demand, "Dib, you need a pak. An Irken dies in less than ten minutes if they don't have a pak. Now, I promise it seems bad now, but it's better than dying."

Dib frowned deeply and tried to wipe some of his tears away. He hated being weak. He hated being tired and achy and sick and vulnerable and basically reliant on Zim. He just… he was so tired. He just wanted to rest.

"No, you don't understand. I-I can't. I'm so tired of… of everything. I failed at my only mission of protecting Earth. The only mission that mattered… What's the point?"

Anger flashed through Zim's eyes and he squeezed on Dib's arm, earning a hiss from the other. They were running out of time and he didn't have time for this.

"What does it matter? Do you want to die?! Do you want to die having accomplished nothings, leaving your fleshy peoples to suffer, proving them right? That you are worthless and-and, "Zim swallowed as his own sorrow started to show, "a defect."

Dib frowned, wiping his eyes again as he tried to pull himself together.

"No, I want to save them, but," Dib looked up at him and Zim couldn't help but notice that his milky white eyes were showing their first tints of color, "I'm scared. I'm alone. It's the last step Zim! There'll be nothing human left of me… nothing. And the moment my last bit of humanity is gone, I'll slowly forget everything. Everything there was to being human … I'll forget who I am Zim."

The Irken was drawn back for a moment as he watched Dib's head bow down in defeat. That's not what he had expected and for some reason it shook him. Dib's greatest fear wasn't death, but forgetfulness, loss of self. Zim's antennae twitched at the realization. He knew this was a delicate situation now and the wrong actions could make Dib dead if the human fought this. Now, the Irken way to deal with this was to slap him and tell him to get to his feet like a good soldier, but Dib wasn't an Irken. He was human and needed to be treated like one.

Slowly, the red Irken leaned forward, trying not to cringe as he thought of what he was about to do. He remembered something he had seen in a human park, during his researching. There was a female there and her child had injured itself due to stupidity, yet that didn't seem to bother the female. She merely cooed for the little thing to come to her so she could wrap her arms around it in order to comfort her smeetling-child-thingy. Zim leisurely placed his forehead against Dib's and slowly pulled the half-ling's shoulders into a hug. He wasn't sure if he was doing this right, but when Dib didn't pull away Zim spoke, "I know you're scared, Dib-meats, but it's okay. It'll be okay. Zim promises."

"… But what if I forget everything," murmured Dib as he buried his head into Zim's neck, trying not to sob like a lost child. The last person to hug him had been… had been his mom. Had it really been that long?

Zim bit back a hiss as the tears bit into his skin, but he still cupped the back Dib's head trying to sooth him like he had seen the human mother do. "Don't worry so much, Dib-stinks. Everything will be fine, one way or the other."

There was a moment of silence, just sniffles filling the darkened hall until Dib slowly pulled his head out of Zim's neck, staring down at the floor in shame for breaking down in front of his nemesis like that. He had managed to hold out through most of the transformation, yet here he was, crying like he was seven, lost and scared.

"Why are you helping me, Zim?" came Dib's voice, slow and quiet and he continued to look at the floor, afraid to look up and see judgment.

Zim's eyes softened somewhat. For the longest time he had been questioning himself with the same question. Why? Well, he now knew.

"Because you helped Zim. You comforted me the moment the world crashed down around me. Now come with Zim, before you fall over dead."

Dib swallowed, fear still evident, but he didn't stop the full-Irken as he helped him to his feet, the haunting light of the hallway leading the way.

XXX

Paw07: Sigh. I put too much work into these chapters to merely be getting immature hate notes guys. Do you realize how much time and thought I put into these chapters?

Revisions September 2014.