EXILE DIB:CHAPTER 13:SPRINGING CHICKENS
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Zim sat, bored out of his mind. He'd been in this cell for only a few micro-cycles, but he was feeling the loneliness keenly. Irken were a hive species, and even Invaders had to have some contact with another intelligent being, or insanity was inevitable. This was the most effective torture any Irken could devise, and even Zim's mighty brain-meats were weakening.
The cell itself was a uniform white, and the room was cylindrical, so it looked as if it went on forever. It didn't help that there were no shadows, since the walls glowed. The door was invisible, seamlessly set into the wall.
Suddenly, Zim had an idea. He pulled a few tools from his PAK. The guards hadn't confiscated anything, since the cell was seamless. Still, a few had escaped. He applied a thick grey paste, with wires haphazardly sticking out, to the floor panel. The paste whirred, sparked, and a previously unseen panel in the floor opened. "EXCELLENT!" yelled Zim at no one in particular, and he set to work.
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Outside the brig...
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Dib was moping. The snacks had been distributed, he'd turned down an offer to 'room' from someone named Varck, and now he missed Zim. His maniacal rants, his repeated accusations, and most of all, his cute little green- NO! You are going to forget what you just thought, and I'm getting some brain bleach. AVATAR's voice moved away, muttering about 'ZADR'. Dib thought he'd never get any adventure, and he began trudging towards the elevator. Maybe he could put on a puppet show for Purple.
The elevator clanked as the doors opened. Dib remembered all he'd seen on this ship as he walked towards it. For one thing, there was that tech, Varck, and his friends. They taxed him to no end, but at least Varck had some brains in his shell, unlike Zim. Then, there were the table-headed-service-drones. He considered himself lucky he had grown a few inches since his departure, or he'd have been fetching drinks for the Tallest.
Suddenly, he heard a small whine, a KSSHHH-CLANK, and then the Enforcer's metal boot heels clanking and shouts of "Get him!" and "Stand down!". A green blur darted past and grabbed his arm, tugging him along.
In hushed tones, Zim whispered. "Come on, Dib-taller, we need to get to the ship!" While Dib wondered about Zim's honorific, Zim dragged him along. They leaped, landing in the elevator while only sustaining mild bruises.
"Why'd you call me that?" asked Dib.
"Because, you are my taller, and politeness is important. I meant nothing by it." answered Zim. Dib still wondered if Zim felt anything for him. A vision of an Irken smashing his head into a computer console repeatedly danced before his eyes.
No, no he didn't. I'm off to the store to buy more brain bleach, and maybe some of those frosted sugar cookies. I don't know. Dib promptly stopped thinking of such things. "Hey, Zim? Where are we going?" he asked, rather nervously.
"To get off this ship, Dib-taller. We have to go." said Zim simply.
"Wait, why 'we'? We're mortal enemies!" exclaimed Dib in surprise. Before Zim could answer, the elevator doors opened with a clank.
Before them gaped the massive hangar bay. Each ship was teleported out of storage on Blorrch, locked to a magnetic rail, and catapulted into space. The process took less than twenty seconds, minus the time to board. Zim hurried over on PAK-legs to an empty rail, and placed a clawed palm on a scanner. In an instant, the Voot Cruiser was teleported into the claws of a waiting robot arm, and roughly jammed onto the rail. "Come on, Dib, we need to go!" yelled Zim. Dib was running as fast as he could, but he couldn't control his PAK, and AVATAR was strangely absent.
Huh, what'd I miss? Oh, you've gotten yourself into a whole mess of trouble, haven't you? Two of Dib's PAK-legs extended, and he began to run bipedally towards the Voot. The Enforcers stared, jaws dropping, as the blue-eyed Irken ran to the ship. "Yep, I'm amazing, I know." boasted AVATAR. Dib stumbled and fell into the ship, whose windscreen closed behind him.
Zim was wide-eyed in amazement. "I've never seen anything like that before." he said. The cockpit of the Voot was adorned with buttons and lights. The main seat curved along a cockpit support, and was fitted for Zim's form. The alternate seat was situated behind the main spar, in the storage bay. Dib was quite uncomfortable back there. The ship was very quiet, however, without a certain annoying robot.
"Um, Zim? Where's GIR?" asked Dib.
"OH NO! GIR!" Zim was distraught about losing his faithful minion. He may have been a constant annoyance, but they were close friends. He began sobbing, although his eyes were dry.
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Meanwhile...
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"Hey, whatever happened to that little robot?" asked the first engineer.
"Oh, we deactivated him after the first few casualties." said the second.
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Back in reality...
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The ship touched down with a puff of dust. Zim leapt out, leaving Dib in the pod, alone. Hey, I've got an idea! Let's take his ship and go back to the Massive. "We can't abandon my home!" Well, fine. Hey, go over to the back, I've got a better idea. Dib crept out of the hatch, and walked around to the back of the Voot. Two of the ship's pods extended and AVATAR extended a tentacle into a nearby port. The port sparked, and Dib's vision flickered. Then, a mirror extended, and Dib saw his human face in it's shining surface. The apparition flickered, and he went back to being Irken.
I love holograms. And then Dib began the long trek home.
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Didja like it? HUH! Yes, yes you did. Coming up next chapter:
Nachos
A new character
AND...
A special guest!
SKARRCH OUT *BOOM*