He
loathed the moment the scream faded in his mind as well as embraced
it thankfully, opening his eyes slowly only to shut them tightly
again. A bright light shone down on him, turning the insides of his
eyes red instead of black.
"Earth-filth?" he murmured
with acid in his voice, cracking his eyes open reluctantly.
"Nice
to have you, Zim," a quiet voice spoke. "Isn't it,
Gir?"
"Yes, sir," a familiar voice responded. Zim's
eyes flew open and he jerked as far as he could, staring at the cyan
eyes that stared blankly down at him, empty of all his previous
Girness.
"Gir!?" He felt himself deflate as he sank
back onto his back, staring disbelievingly at his former robot slave.
In the back of his mind, he knew he was in a different room. His
wrists were pulled taut on either side of his body by shackles and
chains, his legs split apart and held tightly as well. The brace
around his neck was gone.
"Pay close attention," the
boy said quietly, taking a step forward and for the first time in
Zims waking in this place, the light shone on Noa's face, showing Zim
the small scratch under his right eye.
"Yes sir," Gir
said solemnly, standing next to Zim's metal table, his head tilted to
the side ever so slightly to daze down at his former master.
"Gir,"
Zim whispered weakly, gazing back up at the empty cyan eyes.
"Mir."
Noa nodded to his own personal robot. Mir stepped forward on Zim's
opposite side, holding up it's left hand. It spun and came out as a
needle and syringe, pressing it gently against his chest. Zim jerked
in surprise from the cold feel and gasped raggedly, shutting his eyes
tightly.
I must be dreaming...
He
opened his eyes painfully, looking up at his invasion partner.
Mir
pressed the needle against Zim's chest, pushing it slowly through his
skin. He shut his eyes tightly, biting back his wimpers. Blue inaded
his vision, pushing the red aside. His heartbeat quickened and his
breath came in shallow, quick gasps as he retained his terror.
Girs
cyan eyes lifted a bit was he watched his former master twitch from
the injection. He knew when the tip reached his heart even before Mir
pushed the liquid inside. Zims body jerked to the side, his shackled
wrist stopping much more movements. The needle gave slightly before
snapping. Zim cried out quietly, struggling to retain his
vocalizations. Gir watched, his emptiness slowly fading. M...master,
he thought incoherently.
No. Noa is my
matser, a darker voice said. A duty-mode
voice that wasn't his own. It was Noas duty-mode.
No!
Zim is my master, a frightened Gir shouted
back, cowering slightly within his own mind.
A scream from
outside made both his concoius minds snap back to their vision as
Zims body writhed on the table.
Fire raced through his veins as he
arched his back, screaming in agony.
"And this is only
preperation," Noa said with a broad, evil grin on his face.
Zim!
Gir wailed.
We serve Noa! the darker
Gir snarled, grasping his weaker form and pulling him to his
feet.
No! My master!
the younger-sounding robot cried. His cyan eyes stared up at the
blood red ones glaring above him. My master!
Our master!
The
red eyes flashed uncertainly before returning to their cold
heartlessness. No. Noa is our master. He
has--
Zim is our master! Gir wept, curling
into himself. He hugged his legs to his chest, crying loudly. The red
eyes flashed ucnertainty again, staring down at his tantrum-throwing
double. His brother. His self.
He
remained silent, watching the robot cry, an impossible feat anywhere
but in it's own mind. A popcan floated by, the black and purple
swirls that made up their world shifting lazily as usual. A red ball
floated in the distance, a disembodied and familiar eye turning in
the air. The red-eyed form followed it with his gaze slowly before
reaching out and grasping at it. His hand phased right through it, as
though it were an illusion. He stared at it disbelievingly before
looking down at his hand with bewildered wonder.
The
cyan-eyed conciousness looked up tearfully as the eye drifted slowly
past him. He reached out tentatively, closing his hand around it
easily. His red-eyed self stared in silent shock as he pulled it
closer, inspecting it.
...Our disguise,
the cyan-eyed form whispered quietly before standing, thrusting the
eye in front of his other self. Our disguise!
he cried, watching his other desperately. Remember?
Please... Remember!!
"Gir!"
"Master!!"
Gir's
red eyes flashed bright cyan before he spun around, grabbing Noa
around the throat. His eyes widened in bewilderment before he was
thrown back into Kael, toppling them both over. Zim lay semi-concious
on the table, breathing heavily, his eyes lidded softly. Mir jumped
onto the table, absently careful not to step on Zim, and summoned up
it's sythe, rising it above it's head to strike down the attacker it
was as a traitor. Gir spun around, whipping his right arm up. A gun
was already in his hands place and it shot Mirs chestplate, sending
it flying against the wall. It's eyes flickered weakly before it slid
down the wall, its glows all turning black. Gir spun to the table and
leaned on it, staring fretfully and frantically down at his master.
"Master!" he
cried, staring at Zim.
Zim opened his ruby eyes slowly, his vision
wavering. Gir focused slowly, his worried face looming above him.
"...Gi...gir?" he whispered, his throat raw. Girs face
flashed with mad joy before his entire body jerked. A huge claw
ripped through his chest and he choked quietly. His eyes narrowed and
turned red before he grabbed it, bending it slowly until it snapped.
Kael let out a mechanical howl before jerking it's claw back,
reaching to grab Gir with his other hand. Gir spun around, catching
the hand and twisting it off at the shoulder, jerking it back to
sever the wires. Kaels red eyes widened in disbelief, or the robot
equivelant, before Gir stood in front of him him quickly, jabbing his
pointed claws into the robots chest. Kael's eyes spun before
replaying streams of data then turning black. It's body slumped and
Gir dropped it's limp form before his eyes turned cyan again and he
spun around to his master. He brought his claws down swiftly,
severing the shackles on Zim's wrists.
"Gir!" Zim
exclaimed, sitting up quickly. His robot slashed the shackles on his
ankles quickly. Zim barely had time to swing his legs over the side
before Gir was on him, his arms wrapped around his master.
"Master,
it was... make it go away," he wailed. Zims eyes were wide as he
looked down at his slave, bewildered. Gir wept quietly in his
shoulder as he sat motionlessly, staring at the downed form of Kael,
its empty eyes staring at the roof. He expected it to leap up at any
moment and skewer him and his slave together. It didn't.
Gir
pulled away, his cyan eyes huge and terrified. "Please master. I
don't... I don't want two. Of me. I want to... I want me. Just to me.
Not him... Not me. Only me..."
Zim stared at his slave
silently, listening. This made no sense to him. But...
"Come
on," Zeim said shakily, sliding off the table. "We're
leaving."
Gir sniffled, nodding quietly. He quickly leaned up
against Zim, keeping him steady as they walked towards the
doorway.
"Zim."
The Irken invader stiffened before
cringing at the voice. His eyes widened in terror as he turned slowly
to face the shadows of the room. A pair of eyes opened silently
before their form stepped out, his black trench-coat and black hair
with spike all too much for Zim to bear, but no other choices
presented themselves to him. His glasses reflected the light, making
his eyes invisible.
The aliens voice wavered uneasily when he
spoke, not bothering to try and cover it.
"Dib..."
