Chapter Four: Epic
Zim woke up to a shrill screaming next to his head. He shot up and looked around with bleary eyes. "Master!" Gir yelled, jumping into Zim's lap.
"H-hello Gir," Zim said, smiling slightly as Gir grinned at him stupidly. At least Gir was back now. No matter how evil Gaz was, Gir was cute and innocent. Dib groaned and sat up.
"Puppy-head!" Gir screeched. Dib winced at Gir's sudden loudness, but smiled at Gir anyway. Gir was too cute to be mad at.
"Morning," Dib yawned. Gir jumped up on Dib's head and attached himself there happily.
"Why you two sleepin' in the same bed without clothes on?" Gir asked innocently. Dib and Zim both blushed and looked away, neither wanting to explain that particular thing to Gir. "Awwww! Makin' babies! I like babies…" Gir guessed on his own, how did Gir know something like that?
Dib started coughing out of embarrassment and got out of bed. "No. Certainly not, Gir," Dib forced out.
"Gir! Get off of Dib," Zim ordered, watching Gir jump off of Dib and onto the desk. Zim relaxed and laid back down lazily.
"Aren't you getting up?" Dib asked, watching Zim start to snooze.
Zim shrugged…as much as one can while lying down. "Why? What's there to do?" Zim asked, not moving. Zim found that there was nothing worth his while on the ship, so it was better if he just not get up in the first place.
"I don't know…we could just…hang out," Dib suggested quietly. But he had planned on talking to Gaz and Lloyd and planning out strategies. Zim had been trained mostly as a soldier, so he didn't really have anything to do with it. Unless there was direct destruction involved, Dib had the feeling that Zim would get bored and do something embarrassing and blunt. "Or…you could play with Inx?" He said, trying to help in some way. Inx was adorable and smart, Dib thought she was fun to be around.
"Pfff!" Zim scoffed loudly in almost an insulting manner, "Weird little smeet, I don't know where she grew up but she is way different than smeets in my day!" Zim stared at the ceiling in irritation. Dib didn't know what to say, he felt uncomfortable suddenly. "She told me she was actually bred and raised on the surface of Irk…rather than created and trained…" Zim mumbled, "Her parental units must have been great warriors…only they have that privilege."
"Really?" Dib asked curiously. He hadn't heard of Irkens being able to breed. It seemed like it was a huge honor, then, to be able to do something like that and to live peacefully. No wonder Inx was so fun-loving, she hadn't had to experience battle yet. Dib observed Zim's ever present scars, Zim seemed to ignore them, and Dib did too. But now they seemed like a huge mark of what Zim's past had really been like.
"Well…how about Mau, I haven't seen him much, you could do something with him," Dib suggested, trying to think of things for Zim to do. It really couldn't be good for him to just lay around all day. Maybe doing something with the insane Irken would keep him busy enough.
Zim looked lazily over at Gir banging his head on the wall. "Yeah…I've had enough crazy for one day…" Zim had a point there.
"Rin could show you around," Dib said, thinking of the last person he knew. Zim hadn't actually spoken to Rin yet that he knew. Zim shrugged again and got up. He snatched one of Dib's blue shirts and slipped it on. It was funny to see dark blue against light green skin.
"Fine, but only because I don't want to be stuck in a room with Gir all day," Zim said, pointing accusingly at the robot who had now decided to roll around on the floor. Dib grumbled, he'd have to take Gir with him now.
"Well, let's go," Zim said impatiently at the doorway. How was it that Zim was always ready before Dib? Dib finished, grabbed Gir on his way and headed out with Zim. He carried Gir in one hand and held Zim's hand in his other. Zim looked up at the ceiling as if annoyed, but Dib knew Zim was happy.
Dib stopped by a wall of calendars; there was one for each planet of the people aboard the ship. The only one Dib could read was the one for Earth, he already knew it was late December "Hey Zim, tomorrow's Christmas Eve," Dib said, regretting mentioning the words as they left his lips. Zim cringed and swore in Irken.
"That dreadful holiday again?" He asked bitterly. He turned away from Dib, although still held his hand.
"Oh come on, Zim, I bet this one will be way better," Dib said optimistically. Usually he detested the holiday as well, but this year he had someone worthwhile to spend it with. Zim glared at him. "You're just pessimistic because of your first Christmas here, aren't you?" Zim winced and looked away with embarrassment.
"Those children were obnoxious and gross…" Zim hissed with hatred. Dib continued walked, almost dragging Zim along. Gir remained quiet, he seemed enthralled in a hand-held game he had. It was probably Gaz's old game, strange that she let Gir have it.
"Whatever, you loved them, didn't you?" Dib said annoyingly. He drew out the word loving to get on Zim's nerves.
"ZIM LOVES NO ONE!" Zim shouted. He looked at Dib and turned darker green. "…'cept…you know…Dib…" Zim mumbled. Dib grinned and quit teasing Zim. It always made him feel special when he was mentioned in Zim's in-third-person ramblings.
"So…you'll share Christmas with me?" Dib asked, full of hope. He looked at Zim's uncaring expression. Dib had always wanted to share a holiday with someone he loved. The past months they were together they sort of ignored the holidays. Most of them, at the time, were centered around food, and that presented a problem, so they went unnoticed. But Christmas was about more than food, okay, it was still about food, but they had food Zim could eat here. And Christmas was so special, for some reason Dib looked forward to it now.
Zim shrugged. "Isn't that a religious holiday? Dib said he was unreligious," Zim pointed out, still using third-person. Dib gave Zim an agitated look. "What?" Zim asked, not getting why Dib was suddenly frustrated.
"Look, Zim, Christmas is important to me…even with it's drawbacks…okay? Are you gonna be there with me for it, or not?" Dib asked strongly, watching Zim's expression. Zim was very surprised, shocked even that Dib would be so defensive about a holiday, but then he accepted it.
"Sure…" Zim admitted, grasping Dib's hand closer and walked right up against him. Dib sighed in relief, he didn't want to spend Christmas alone. Or well, with an insane robot and creepy sister anyway. Dib dropped Zim off with Rin, taking Gir with him. He'd give Gir back to Gaz when he saw her.
…
"So…" Zim said, for once attempting a conversation. Rin watched him with blank robotic eyes. Humans couldn't see it because their eyes weren't as strong as Irkens, but Zim had seen the robotic qualities of Rin the first time he saw her. For some reason robots made him very nervous now, which was why he never lingered around Rin much.
"Yes?" Rin prodded. She acted very much like a human would. Zim was impressed with her robotic engineering.
"Er…so this is the ship?" Zim asked, gesturing to their surroundings.
"Yes," Rin answered, a faint glimmer of confusion in her eyes. This, again, surprised Zim. It was like Gir, emotion in something mechanical. He was very impressed.
"Eh…" Zim could feel an awkward silence settling around them. "You were manufactured on Earth?"
"Yes," Rin said easily.
"By…by who?" Zim asked curiously, wondering who would be smart enough to build the girl.
"I…I don't remember his name," Rin said sadly. Hm, she could even inflect her voice to display emotion, it made Zim want to pry her open and look around. But he had some manners, so he didn't.
"So the memory file was lost or deleted," Zim said unconsciously dismissing Rin's more human wording. She simply nodded in agreement. "Tell me, if you don't battle, what's your primary function?" Zim asked, peering down at her.
"I run the ship's navigation systems and-"
"Your original primary functions," Zim corrected. On Earth they didn't have ships like this, it couldn't have been her reason for creation. Besides that, she was created as a young Earth female. Unless the creator had been horny at the time, she wouldn't have been made this was if she was only meant for navigation and such.
Rin only looked around nervously. Zim waited…waited a while for the answer, but Rin finally gave in to Zim's piercing glare. "My original primary function…I only had one, because there were other service drones to go the other work," Rin stated, not revealing her purpose quite yet.
"Service drones…did they look like you do?" Zim asked.
"No, they were built into the walls and were connected to the main computer without AI. They only had mechanical service arms. Much like the technology here," Rin told him. Zim figured it was something like that.
"So you're the only android like this?" Zim asked.
"I'm unsure if my master created others like me…but I haven't seen others…" Rin said, trailing off and looking away. Zim glared until she continued on. "But my purpose in that house…was to sing…"
"Sing?" Zim asked, almost laughing. "A complete android built for the mere purpose of singing?" That was an absolutely ridiculous idea. He could understand a voice synthesizer built into a computer and commanded to sing, even building it with AI. But an entire robot made so that humans mistook it for human, and all it did was sing?
"Yes," Rin said, seeming to be getting angry, "My purpose was only carried out for a year before I was stolen. But…I sang to a little boy…a boy who didn't have a mother to sing to him…"
"A mother?" Zim echoed. Rin surely didn't look like a mother at all. But now he could see why she was built this way. Most likely to trick the child into believing the android was a real person, rather than a computer AI. Humans found comfort in the strangest things. "Whatever…" Zim mumbled, letting the moment fall into silence. They came to simply stand in the break room, unsure of what to do next. They'd already gone over the whole ship now. Honestly, Zim had already seen the entire ship, but he didn't bother mentioning to Rin. She seemed happy to be doing something. But now they just stood around, unsure of things.
…
"Hey Red…what is that?" Purple said curiously. Red peered through the thick glass before them. It was a ship, traveling in some direction, and the Massive was flying pretty close to it.
"I don't know…" Red mumbled, trying to see the logo on the side. "Wait, I know that ship!"
"What, do they have snacks?" Purple asked.
"No, Purple, it has something way better," Red said evilly, directing the servants to get closer to the pathetic vessel.
…
"Gaz…for the last time, I. Am. Not. Seducing. The Tallest!" Dib said through gritted teeth. Gaz chuckled.
"But you're so good at it," She teased. Dib looked through the remaining plans she had laid out. They were all pretty good actually, except the one about him sneaking aboard and seducing the Tallest into giving up. That one was just plain stupid.
Dib sighed. "This is just like a video game to you isn't?" Dib asked rhetorically. He'd noticed that ever since Gaz obtained rein over Earth, she didn't have a single game on her.
"Sort of," She said, grinning. Lloyd seemed utterly confused, but Dib ignored it, not feeling like explaining something so small. "Are we done here now? It's been nearly all day and I have other engagements," Gaz said in an extremely bored voice.
"Sure," Dib sighed, now he could be away from both of these unpleasant people and back to keeping Zim entertained. He sure did get bored a lot. At least on Earth he had his labs to fiddle with then.
"Wait, Dib," Gaz called. Dib forced himself to turn around and wait patiently. "I'll be very busy so…take Gir with you, will you?" Gaz said in faux sweetness. Dib's jaw dropped as he stared at Gaz. Gir jumped on Dib's head and crawled down into Dib's backpack.
"Are you serious?" Dib asked in desperation.
"Why? Is there a problem with my decision?" Gaz asked with so much evil poison in her voice it made Dib shudder.
"N-no," Dib said, turning to walk out. Having Gir around wasn't half as bad as angering Gaz. He was about to go out in search of Zim, when an alarm…well…alarmed him. Dib looked around, wondering what was going on. Light-bulbs that he hadn't seen before lit up on the wall and flashed red.
"Hurry," Lloyd said as he passed Dib, "We must protect the Queen." Dib looked to see Gaz pulling a stealthy, dangerous-looking gun out of her jacket.
"I can protect myself, idiot," Gaz grumbled, following Lloyd for a moment before taking the lead. Dib caught up with them.
"What's going on?" He asked in a panic. Why were there flashing lights on the wall, and why did Gaz need a gun?
…
An alarm went off and sirens blared. Zim looked toward Rin, hoping it was just a drill or something stupid. She stared at the emergency lights on the wall sadly. "Let's hurry to the escape pods," Rin said calmly. Zim wanted to slap her for being so damn calm. But he knew it was only because she was an emotionless robot that she was so calm.
"Escape pods? Is the ship under attack?" Zim asked panicky. Rin nodded and began to walk down the hall again, slow and calm. Damn her. No, she was wrong. The pods could wait, Zim had to find Dib…he couldn't leave the ship without him. Adrenaline flooded his veins, causing him to run after Rin and pull her arm sharply. If she were human it may have broken her arm, but Rin just looked up at him curiously.
"NO! Where's Dib, we have to find him!" Zim yelled in her face. Rin didn't even flinch…dumb android.
"Dib is with Queen Gaz, they'll be rushed to the escape pods immediately, we should be able to get there at the same time if we hurry," Rin stated. Zim took action.
He grabbed her up on his back and pelted down the hall to the loading bay where the escape pods were. She said if they hurried they'd make it, Zim wanted to be absolutely sure Dib was safe. Rin didn't seem to mind being carried uncomfortably, though that wouldn't have stopped Zim anyway. The flashing red lights on the wall made Zim's heart race faster, implying that something bad was going to happen.
…
Dib peered up at the lights, they sure were annoying. He wondered if Zim was safe, if he'd be there soon. Dib was practically itching with anxiety. Not over the Queen being in danger, no, that didn't matter. His love was in danger…that was the only important issue.
Gaz lifted her gun and fired at a doorway ahead of them. Someone from inside the door shrieked in pain. "They've made it inside!" Gaz yelled in anger as she thrust a gun into Dib's hands. Lloyd watched Gaz uneasily, he seemed intimidated by her. No, Gaz in danger really wasn't the issue here. She could take care of herself, in fact she was insulted by anyone trying to protect her.
Finally they reached the loading bay just as Irkens were gathering behind them. Dib wondered how in the world they got in, in the first place. Where were they even coming from? There was still a ways to go before they reached the escape pods. "ZIM!"" Dib yelled, seeing Zim just run in from across the bay, carrying Rin on his back. Zim put Rin down and ran to Dib, panting heavily.
"Dib, we…we have to…get to the…" Zim said, out of breath and winded. Dib watch curiously, Zim must have run a long way, he'd only ever seen Zim like this during or after sex.
"I know Zim, we'll make it," Dib promised. Zim nodded and they ran to catch up with Gaz and Lloyd who hadn't stopped when they did. They'd run a long ways ahead of them already and Dib and Zim weren't able to reach them. Gir popped out of Dib's bag and pointed up ahead to Gaz's side.
"Look, a bunny!" He yelled as a dark green blur grabbed out at Gaz. Gaz shot her gun several times at the Irkens reaching for her, but it did no good against their specialized armor. Lloyd tried to help, firing his own laser gun, but one of the Irkens pulled out his pak leg and swiped it right into Lloyd's heart, killing him instantly. He fell to the ground with a thud as the Irkens wiped the red blood from his pak leg.
"GAZ!" Dib yelled desperately, running to catch up with the vile men. They weren't harming her, it seemed their goal was to kidnap rather than assassinate. But Dib still couldn't stand the thought of Gaz being taken. He didn't want her to be taken to the Tallest and slaughtered in front of them…it was too much to bear.
…
Zim listened to Dib's anguished cries as he called out to his only familial unit left. It made Zim's chest hurt to see Dib in so much pain. It reminded him of when the Professor had died. Dib was broken about that for a long time…Zim didn't even know if Dib was over it. He couldn't let that happen again. The last time had been an error that would never happen again. Zim called up whatever strength he had left and willed his legs to pump faster, he pulled out his spider legs and pushed himself forward even more. He passed Dib and soon reached the men abducting Gaz.
"Let her go!" Zim commanded, attempting to stab them with his pak legs. One of the soldiers laughed cruelly and countered Zim's pak leg with his own. Their fight of dominance had just begun.
"You think we'd just betray the Tallest like you, Zim?" He asked. Zim growled at their insult and reached for the man carrying Gaz away. He had to admit, Gaz had some fight in her; she was clawing, kicking and maiming the Irken trying to carry her. Finally he brought out bonds and two more soldiers helped to carry her away.
Zim started to run to Gaz when something grasped him hard by his pak, dragging him painfully backward. Two Irken soldiers grabbed his arms after much struggling and pulled them behind Zim's back. They weren't broken, but it still hurt a lot. Zim winced and focused on the last Irken left who wasn't busy restraining someone. He paced slowly in front of Zim.
"You know what, we have a special treat for you, Zim," The cruel Irken drawled out, stepping in front of Zim. Zim could hear the hate and anguish behind the Irkens words that he'd always ignored before. How had he been so ignorant? "The Tallest themselves designed it, it's made especially for you," He taunted, bringing out a syringe from his pak. Zim struggled against the soldiers, but they held him steady and kept him still. The first Irken stuck Zim with the sharp needle. Pain flooded Zim as he strained to hear what the man was saying.
"You want to live with humans? Then die like one," He said with venom in his voice. Zim just barely heard him say it as darkness overcame the area. Was there a power failure? Everything was getting dark and cold and Zim couldn't hear anything. Was there a problem with the power, or him?
…
"ZIM!" Dib yelled at the top of his lungs, just making it in time to catch Zim as the soldiers roughly dropped him and scampered away at high speed on their pak legs. Dib wanted to chase them and beat the hell out of them, but he didn't want to leave Zim alone. Especially when he hadn't seen what those men did to Zim. He wondered what they did make Zim fall unconscious.
Dib sat there in a stunned panic for a few minutes, wondering if the ship was safe now or not, when Rin finally caught up to him. For an android, she was pretty slow. "Dib…we still need to go, they're taking over the ship," Rin informed him. She looked a little worried, Dib wondered if she meant to do that, or if she was honestly worried.
"Uh, right…okay," He said confusedly. Why would they want the ship? They already had Gaz and had killed the captain. Oh well. Dib lifted Zim up by one shoulder, and Rin was quick to help at the other side. Together they ran awkwardly to the pods.
"Inx and Mau shouldn't have any trouble finding one for themselves," Rin said in that annoyingly calm way of hers. Dib nodded though, he did care for the little girl, she was too innocent to be kidnapped now.
Dib spotted a good-sized ship, it wasn't exactly an escape pod, but it looked fast enough. And it was Irken, which Dib mostly understood now, thanks to years spying. Dib headed for it, confusing Rin. "Dib, that's not an escape vessel," Rin pointed out.
"Yeah, but it looks way bigger and probably has much better equipment," Dib explained, "And I bet it's just as fast as those things anyway." Rin shrugged and went along with Dib to the entrance. The vessel certainly was large. Dib laid Zim down on a table in the main room of the ship and went to the controls. They launched safely out, it was a bit slower than Dib's calculations, but it didn't matter. Just as long as they were setting out and they were safe.
For the most part.
Dib looked over at Zim, still unconscious. Again. Why did bad things keep happening to Zim all the time? Dib wished for once that they would happen to himself, and not Zim. Zim wasn't that bad of a person anymore, so why was he still being punished this way? Dib set the controls to keep going ahead and went over to Zim. It certainly wasn't fair. Dib was starting to worry now…he hadn't seen the soldiers do anything too violent, although Zim's back had been to him then. It didn't seem like there was much struggling.
Rin went over to the controls and messed around with something. Dib let her be figuring she knew what she was doing. Zim stirred slightly, Dib's heart was beating so fast it nearly stopped. "Zim, are you okay?" Dib cooed by Zim's head. Zim's dark maroon eyes opened and glanced at Dib.
"I'unno…" He mumbled, twitching a smiled at Dib. Dib wanted to hit him for that kind of answer, but he smiled supportively, taking Zim's hand and waiting.
"What did those soldiers do?" Dib asked.
"I…" Zim's eyes looked up and were lost in thought. "I don't remember…" He said finally.
"Well…you'd better be okay," Dib told him, nestling his head on Zim.
…
When Dib asked if Zim was okay, he didn't know what to say. His chest hurt and throat was on fire, but he didn't want to tell Dib that. Dib was bothered enough by Gaz being kidnapped, Zim could see it in his eye, that same feeling of loss. Zim got up and went to the controls, Dib following close behind. Zim honestly couldn't remember what happened to him, he remembered the man's words, die like a human, but what did he do?
All three turned in surprise as they heard a click down the hall. "Hey everyone," A squat red-eyed Irken said as he stepped out of a cabinet and presented himself before them. He was wearing an Invader's uniform, though it was stained, and looked rather lazy.
"Skoodge?" Zim asked in a curious voice, pointing at the Irken, "I thought the Almighty Tallest killed you?"
"Yeeeeaaahhh," He drawled out, "But I'm okay now. I've been following you guys." He grinned and looked completely happy. Gir burst out of nowhere and glomped Skoodge's head. Dib wondered how in the world someone could be 'okay' after getting killed, but he dismissed it, Irkens were strange.
"You mean you've been stalking us?" Zim asked, getting paranoid, "For how long?"
"Since you left Earth," Skoodge reported happily. Gir chewed on Skoodge's antenna, but he didn't seem to notice. Zim looked like he was on the verge of a paranoid freak out.
"Eh, Skoodge, since you're here…why don't you…go make food?" Dib suggested quickly. Skoodge shrugged and left the room.
"How…how could we not notice him?" Zim asked himself. Rin shrugged and watched her monitors. Zim calmed down. "Well, I guess…it can't be helped."
"That's the spirit," Dib said optimistically. He made sure Zim was okay and then went to the kitchen where Skoodge was standing awkwardly. Gir was making waffles. Dib sighed, but didn't stop him. Dib knew Zim could eat waffles…as long as he didn't eat too many anyway. "Hey, you," Dib said, catching Skoodge's attention. "Did you see where those guys went with Gaz?"
"That purple haired lady? No, but they sure were fast," Skoodge remarked.
Dib sighed in frustration. If he was stalking them he should know something helpful. "Then did you see what those guys did to Zim?" He asked. Skoodge shook his head and watched Gir again. Skoodge seemed completely useless…maybe he had some qualities that could help though. Dib looked him over. If there was anything it was hidden deep within Skoodge, who seemed to be one of the calmer Irkens.
…
Gaz sat in a small metal holding pin. There was a blindfold around her eyes, forbidding her to look at her surroundings. Tight bonds restricted both her wrists, cutting into them sharply. She thought about how she came to be here. It was Lloyd's fault for not being dependable enough…no, it was no one's fault. NO. It was the Irkens fault. They took her, and they're the only ones who deserved blame for it. Gaz let her anger and frustration form into an intense hatred for the Irkens. It was such a deep hatred that she was actually surprised by it, but she kept on building the hatred, it was bigger and deeper than any of her hatred for anyone else. Well…maybe not Iggins, but that boy had it coming. He deserved to die under that elevator.
Her hate was so great, that when one of the soldiers finally removed her blindfold, he actually flinched and backed away. "Bring. Me. The. Tallest," Gaz growled. She glared at him until he left and she was alone again. There was a small window to her pin, she could see an abandoned hallway. The wall was red…of course.
After a while Gaz began to get bored and wondered how much effort it would take to break down the door. Probably not much seeing how faulty Irken technology has proven in the past. Maybe that was just Zim's tech, but Gaz didn't really care. Before Gaz had gotten bored enough to actually try busting down the door, someone opened it. She peered out of her pin and looked up, far up, at two faces.
"It's ugly," One said.
"And sort of smelly," The other added.
"Well, I wouldn't be ugly and smelly if you hadn't locked me in a cage!" Gaz yelled fiercely. The purple one laughed. Gaz thought both of them looked dumb, standing…err, floating, before her while eating snacks. She would make them pay for this, big time. The red one didn't laugh, just bring his face closer to Gaz.
"I think you'd still be that ugly no matter what we did," He said, wincing at her. Gaz growled deeply, causing both of them to jump.
"What the hell are you gonna do with me?" Gaz asked, voice full of anger and hate. Purple looked genuinely afraid for his life, while Red couldn't look more bored.
"We'll see, for the mean time be quiet," Red snapped at her. They slammed the door shut and walked away, leaving Gaz in the dark. Even the lights in the hall went out. She could wait, it would be a long time perhaps, but she would get her revenge. The cold dark room, they lack of food, limited movement. Yes, they would definitely die. When they took Gaz, they made a mistake, and that mistake was putting her so close to the Tallest.
She then occupied her time in the tiny cell thinking of all the different ways she could mutilate the Irken leaders. It gave her so much pleasure to imagine the bloody gory things she knew how to do. Soon enough the hallway full of cell became full of laughter, maniacal, evil, twisted laughter. And no one was brave enough to go down the hall to make the noise stop.
…
Skoodge didn't know how to cook…surprisingly. Dib wondered how Zim knew, but he couldn't focus with Gir screeching next to his head. Dib pushed him off onto the floor. Gir started to roll around and scream. How did Zim used to handle this all the time?
"So, where are we headed?" Skoodge asked, as if it were his business to know.
Dib sighed, he hadn't even thought of it yet. "I don't know…" He admitted, rather than make up a planet. As dumb as Skoodge seemed, he might see through Dib's lie.
"How about Earth?" Skoodge suggested. Dib glared at him, Earth was a stupid idea.
"Skoodge, the Irkens are invading Earth, they'll find us there," Dib told him.
"Yeeeeaaaahhh, but it's exactly where they won't expect us to go," He said optimistically.
"Wait…what?" Dib asked, confused by the Irkens strange logic.
"They expect us to go somewhere safe, and not back to Earth, so if we go to earth, they won't find us!" He explained happily.
"That…almost makes sense…" Dib said, thinking about that possibility. Irkens in general didn't seem to think things through, so they might not expect them to head to Earth at all, seeing it's extreme danger.
"We evade danger by heading straight to it," Skoodge said, to further his point.
"Yeah, let's go to Earth," Dib decided. They could have Christmas on Earth together. Maybe Inx and Mau would find them by then. It would be so lovely.
"Dib!" Rin called anxiously from the front, interrupting Dib's nice thoughts. Dib grumbled, but went back to the control room with Skoodge on his tail, to see Zim passed out on the floor.
"ZIM!" Dib cried, rushing to his side and falling to his knees next to Zim, he was laced in sweat and looked extremely tired.
"I didn't do anything this time, I promise," Rin reassured.
"He doesn't look good," Skoodge mumbled.
Gir ran into the room, excited by all the people talking and saw Zim on the ground. "Awww, he sick?" Gir asked. Dib nodded gravely and Gir jumped onto Dib's head.
"I make you better, Mary," Gir chirped. Dib silently thanked that Gir was so oblivious.
Dib picked Zim up in his arms, planning to find a bed for Zim, but ended up just holding him on the floor instead. He didn't have the strength for this right now, he just sat and held Zim close, feeling how warm his skin was getting. Just what was going on?
The others left, finding ways to busy themselves, Dib remained where he was. He occupied his mind by thinking like his father, deducing what could be the possible cause of Zim's misfortune. Why he was sweating and hot and passed out. He wondered for a while until something happened that made Dib realize everything and curse the Irkens for causing all of this. This was worse than anything that had happened, and Dib didn't know if Zim could handle what was happening now.
…
…
…
…
Hehe, cliffhangery goodness! Everyone needs a good healthy dose of it.
Just a couple things to comment on. Lloyd: I didn't like him and didn't much care to extend his personality…and he was in space with a red shirt on, so everyone should have seen that one coming. Lol, I'm such a dork.
Okay, and! Epic, it is the word that resonates in my mind and brings cause to think more deeply than normally expected. It is the feeling of being more and pushing all power into one thing and making it as good as it can possibly be. Epic…such a word causes all other words to shine just a little less bright as this word is the almighty sun of words. Poetic huh? I like the word epic, obviously hehe. I just feel I haven't been giving this fic my all lately, mostly because of my other projects I have going too. But anyway, hope this chapter was epic, and makes up for so much lateness!
Thank you everyone for commenting :) It really makes my day and lets me know someone cares to read this. See you guys later 3