Chapter Eight: Mad
"Hm," House continued, "And how long ago was Kita killed? And don't start off on that, 'oh I'm an alien and we're different'. How long in Earth time?"
"Uh," Skoodge had to think for a minute and convert, "I don't know exactly, but at least a hundred years ago, maybe more."
"Why's Zim hallucinating about her now?" House asked.
"I…I don't know," Skoodge whispered, he'd honestly forgotten about their old instructor. "I completely forgot her, I assumed Zim had too…"
"I seems like he'd be thinking about that Dib boy," House mused, still watching Zim as he talked to himself in his room.
"I worry about him…" Skoodge sighed.
…
Gaz stared out at the unusually gray skies. Irk was such a drab planet. Usually there wasn't much atmosphere, so you could see the stars day and night, but there were storm clouds all around tonight. Somehow, Gaz didn't find it annoying, or anything really. It was like her emotions had been cut off. So far, the only Irkens who showed much emotion around her had been Red and Purple. But they didn't matter anymore. They were just her mindless puppets.
No, the people she paid attention to now were the citizens of Irk. All of them were in the military, all of them were mindless and emotionless. She wondered how Zim got out of the whole thing. He was crazy. These Irkens were militant and obedient to the end. Gaz used to think that was what she wanted. But she had to have Gir come back because she missed his flawed design, letting in emotions that drones weren't made to have. She now missed Zim and his angry rantings, she missed Dib and his paranormal craziness. She missed Earth, her Earth.
She even missed her father, Professor Membrane. Maybe not as much as the others, but she never realized how much they all made up her world. Life wasn't just about video games, and she was discovering that a bit late. The plan was going to commence, Gaz just wondered about the horrible knot that laid in her stomach now.
Gaz's thoughts were interrupted by a horrible yelling. It didn't sound to be Irken either. She turned to see a pale human in torn shirts being wrestled to the ground by guards. "You'll all perish to the ground! All of you, because of HER!" The woman shrieked, pointing at Gaz. The guards didn't even bother to look, they didn't care about the rambling of their prisoner. Gaz took a collar and leash from Gir's head and walked over to the scene.
"I'll take care of this," Gaz said, waving off the guards.
"Of course, Mistress," The said in unison. They let the woman go and backed off. Gaz swiftly snapped the collar on the human's neck and kept firm hold on the chain before the young woman could run off.
"Dismissed," Gaz grunted, the soldiers ran off to report to their other duties. Gaz observed the woman who was panting below her. She looked up at Gaz with obvious disgust. She was about sixteen, the same as Gaz. She seemed to have had a rough time being in prison 'til now. She had dark brown hair and eyes and pale skin from being inside too long. "What's your name?" Gaz asked, sitting down next to the girl.
"…Nikki," She said hesitantly.
"Nikki, you were captured from Earth?" Gaz asked, glancing at her.
"Duh," Nikki hissed. Gaz glared at her, she would have no disobedience, although it was nice to see a human face for once.
"Tell me, what's up with the clothes?" Gaz asked. The skirts had all sorts of insane colors on them and her bodice was tight. Nikki grinned.
"I'm a gypsy," Nikki said proudly, "And I tell the future."
"If you can tell the future…how'd you get captured?" Gaz asked back. Nikki rolled her eyes and made a 'psshh,' sound. "If you can tell the future, then what's the future of Irk?"
"To blow away into dust and become a deserted pile of shit in space," Nikki said with a murderous gleam in her eye.
"Duh," Gaz said, imitating Nikki, who rolled her eyes again. "Then, what's my future?" Gaz asked.
Nikki glared at Gaz. "Why would I tell you?" She asked with hate written all over her.
"I'll grant you freedom," Gaz offered in monotone. Nikki's eyes widened at that.
"Well, I also have a brother who was captured…it was kinda his fault though, his name is Zayn," Nikki said, starting to tell her story when Gaz hadn't asked for it.
"And?" Gaz asked, seeking the relevance. If she was asking for her brother to be freed as well then she was out of luck. Nikki looked off into space thoughtfully, she shrugged.
"Whatever. Like I said, his fault. What do you wanna know?" Nikki asked. Gaz raised an eyebrow at the girl's sudden betrayal, but figured she'd do the same anyway.
"Tell me, will I ever set foot on Earth again?" Gaz asked, unsure about the answer. She hadn't decided whether it was a good idea to see her troops again or not. Probably not, she didn't want to get caught up in anything.
Nikki closed her eyes in concentration and tilted her head skyward. "The great gods tell me…yes," She said, smiling as she said yes.
Gaz opened her mouth to say something rude but stopped. She looked out at the sky again, then back at Nikki. "How do I know you speak the truth?" Gaz asked.
"Do you trust gypsies?" Nikki asked.
Gaz grimaced at her, not giving her an answer quite yet. "What will happen to Dib and Zim?" Gaz asked, closing her eyes to the gypsy girl. She didn't trust her eyes to not show emotion.
"Who?"
"You're a gypsy, just tell me," Gaz barked.
"Okay, okay, jeez." Nikki paused and Gaz's heart flew to her throat in anticipation. "They will live for many years to come…and you will see them soon…all three of you together…" Nikki said slowly. Gaz turned to glare at her, hate covering her entire body.
"You asked if I trust gypsies," Gaz said, Nikki looked over, her eyes wide with excitement over being freed. She seemed to insanely happy, despite the hate on Gaz's face. She reminded Gaz of Keef, and that just didn't sit well. "I don't." Gaz called over a guard and handed him the chain leash. Nikki's face fell as she was dragged away.
"YOU LIAR!" Nikki screamed, "YOU FUCKING WHORE! LET ME GOOO!"
Gaz remained seated, looking out at the blurry gray sky. She had mentioned a brother, Zayn, she would have to find this brother and see if he too had powers to tell the future.
…
Skoodge ran as fast as he could, he had heard a scream come from down the hall and he didn't know what it was. As he approached he could see Inx against the wall with her hands against her mouth in horror. "Inx! What is it?" Skoodge asked, fearing the worst. With everything that had been going on, this had to be something so uncontrollably evil. Just downright bad.
Inx pointed downward and Skoodge's gaze fell on something small brown and floating in mid-air. "Mini-moose! I thought you exploded!" Skoodge burst out. Mini-moose squeaked and Skoodge laughed at Mini-moose's remark.
"What-What is that?" Inx asked in confusion and fear.
"It's just Mini-moose, a weapon Zim tried to make and couldn't figure out," Skoodge explained, letting Mini-moose rest on his shoulder. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you out buddy, Zim and I were in a rush…" Skoodge apologized. Mini-moose squeaked and even Inx laughed this time.
"He's really funny," Inx remarked, petting Mini-moose on the head.
"Yeah," Inx agreed.
…
Dib sat on a lonely bench in some deserted park. He'd learned a few things he should've already known. Like his group was called Red Dawn, he'd just been to out of it to absorb the information. He didn't really know which side they were on, but it didn't seem to matter. They had a boss, someone named Tobi, who gave them orders. Tonight they were splitting into two man groups to carry out a long list of orders.
Dib's teammate came striding up to him now. He sat on the bench, cocky and arrogant as usual. Dib found it slightly arousing, except for the long blonde hair and peachy cream skin. "Hey, there. Being depressing as usual?" The blonde asked.
Dib glared at him. The son of a bitch was extremely annoying, almost as annoying as Zim used to be. "Oh, come on. Just a joke," He said, seeming to back off. Dib suddenly remembered this man's name. Deidara.
"Deidara, go away," Dib grunted, having enough of him already.
"Oh, don't be like that, and call me Dei," Dei said. He took a piece of clay out of his pocket and fiddled with it. Dib got slightly more nervous. Dei was a bombing engineer, and clay was his specialty. Dei laugh, sensing Dib's nervousness. "Don't worry, only my saliva can ignite it." Dib remained tensed up, glancing at the clay every few seconds. "Seriously, and it's only my saliva too. If you lick it, nothing happens, but if I do." Dei raised the clay to his mouth and Dib fell off the bench scrambling away. Dei laughed and put the clay down. Dib glared at him.
"You know," Dei went on, "You remind me of someone." Dei watched Dib get back on the bench.
"Oh really," Dib said automatically.
"Yeah, someone I used to work with…died in combat, he did," Dei said, still smiling and working with his bomb. Dib watched his face closely for any sign of grief, and saw none. Emotionless bastard. Dib watched him a little more closely now, being careful to only do it with strategic glances. Dei continued to ramble while Dib paid no attention.
Dei's eyes were a magnificent sky blue, and his mouth seemed to never stop moving. He had a headband around his forehead with a sweep of blonde hair going over it, covering his left eye entirely. Dib noticed how graceful Dei's hands were, molding the clay and shifting it around to form a bird.
"You could be an artist," Dib said absentmindedly. Dei looked over and finally realized Dib hadn't heard a single word. He didn't seem to mad about it though, considering Dib's uncalled for compliment.
"I already am," Dei boasted. Dib frowned and gazed at the highly explosive material.
"How is it art if it explodes?" Dib asked. Dei twitched and seemed to be trying to calm himself down for a moment.
"Because, baka, art is a bang!" Dei grinned wildly and crushed the clay bird in his hands before taking out some more clay.
"But…it explodes, it disappears, how is that art at all? Art is meant to endure the test of time beautifully and gracefully," Dib said, remembering art he used to look at when on trips with Gaz and their dad. How he missed those times. He could remember those times, so they were art. No one remembers a little explosion.
"No, I respect you as a teammate and fellow member of Red Dawn…" Dei said reasonably, "But art it something that blossoms for an instant before withering away."
"That's insane," Dib said, looking off at the trees. "Art should last forever. Eternal Beauty is the only true art." Dei looked at him strangely, as if he were remembering something.
"That's absurd!" Dei burst happily, "Art is beauty that lasts for just a moment!"
"You're insanely stubborn," Dib said, off-topic. He was getting bored with this argument. Dei seemed to sense that.
Dei smirked. "To me, the essense of true art is…" Dei liked his clay and threw it high in the air, "explosions!" The bomb went off, this time Dib didn't fall, he was somewhat expecting that to happen.
"How smooth," Dib mumbled, still frowning. Dei watched him.
"You know, you really remind me of that someone," Dei said, pulling out more clay. Dib rolled his eyes and wondered if this dumb blonde would ever stop talking.
…
Finally, something worth doing. Zim looked down on his inventions proudly. He'd found Mini-moose wandering around and remembered the codes to open the secret weapons, and more importantly, tools. On his lap, next to Mini-moose, was the projector, good as new. He slipped it around his neck and was happy when the holograph went back into place. Not that he liked wearing it, but now the humans didn't have an advantage over him. Only the idiot Chase had seen him, and Zim doubted he mattered much here anyway.
He let Mini-moose drift off nervously. Zim knew Mini-moose was watching out for Gir, poor paranoid miniature moose. Zim had always known how much Gir abused the thing with tea parties and games. He just never bothered to do anything about it. But now Gir was wherever Gir ever is. He had a tendency to disappear and reappear randomly. Zim never worried about it.
He flicked the news on, feeling better today than normal. There was something on there about a group called Red Dawn. An Asian woman stood before a barren park with a gigantic microphone. "Red Dawn has struck again, attacking unarmed citizens and officers of the law now, they've definitely made their mark in this new chaotic world." Zim watched, only slightly interested. It was typical on a planet with this much chaos and confusion for there to be groups like this, ones that boasted of doing the right thing when they were only adding coal to the fire that burned the world to the ground. It was somewhat amusing.
"The group seems to have broken up into teams now. We have information from a confidential source that reports that the individual groups are going after world leaders. Of course, Queen Gaz no longer resides on Earth itself, there are many other leaders whose deaths would benefit the Irken Empire." Zim chuckled, none of it mattered. The Irkens didn't even matter now, the world was in self-detonation mode. The leaders didn't matter to the Irkens, but it caused chaos for the humans and slowly, they would all die.
"The ducks fly at night," Someone hissed from the doorway. Zim stopped abruptly in his thougts and looked over. There was a messy mop of hair and brownish red eyes, similar to his own.
"Hey Mau," Zim said, grinning for the first time in a long time.
"Fly duck!" Mau whispered madly, motioning for Zim to come. Zim grabbed his pants and slipped them on as he made his way to the door.
"Zim is no duck," Zim protested softly. Mau was wearing his striped shirt and standard issue pants.
"Don't tell big moon that…" Mau whispered with a finger at his lips, shushing Zim. Zim grinned, he loved the insane. He wondered where Mau was leading Zim off to, but did it really matter? It was away from the humans.
…
Parks were never really Zim's thing. Bad things always happened at parks, past events proved that. But Mau seemed very satisfied to be perched up in a tree. Zim didn't even try to make it up there. He just sat up against it on the ground. The park didn't seem too bad. It seemed like the one that Asian woman was in on TV. It was barren and some stuff was even on fire.
Zim was glad they went out here. For once he felt alive, like he was finally awake. The grass beneath his bare feet felt rough and somehow really good. The air was crisp and clean with winter. How long had it been since Christmas? How long had Dib been dead? Zim tried to count the days, but it seemed impossible. Time escaped him now. It didn't matter. It was cold now, but Zim embraced the freezing air. It was waking him up. The sky was gray, which was a little unusual, but it was night now, so it wasn't that odd. What if it rained? What if it snowed? Zim tensed. He couldn't handle the rain or snow today.
"Mau? Is it going to snow?" Zim asked, looking straight up at Mau in the tree. Mau shook his head, but Zim didn't know how much to trust the crazy guy.
"What does snow become when it melts?" Mau asked, oddly calm.
"Freezing cold water molecules," Zim answered.
"No," Mau said, Zim looked up with irritation, Mau was grinning. "It becomes spring!"
Another stupid human thing, Zim decided, even though Mau was Irken, he was still crazy enough to enjoy Earth sayings. So was Skoodge. Zim's chest heated up with rage when he thought of Skoodge, the bastard. Sure, he was bringing Zim back to health and everything, but it was all his fault. Zim should've died back there where Dib was. Skoodge was a traitor, Kita even said so. And Kita was always right.
"Mau," Zim called, "Do you remember Kita?" He looked up to see Mau shake his head no. "Oh," He said. Mau must be younger than him.
"Zim…" Zim turned his head to see Kita slinking up to him. She seemed very happy. "I'm proud of you." Zim beamed, of course she was proud.
"I try," Zim said modestly. Kita sat next to him, drinking him in.
"You've gone away from Skoodge and the others?" She asked as though she didn't know.
"Yeah, of course I have," Zim said, he'd been avoiding them as much as someone confined to a bed could.
"You have to forget about him, Zim," Kita said, concern in her eyes.
"Forget him…who him?" Zim asked, peering at her.
"About Dib," Kita whispered. Zim watched as a human ran by. He didn't seem to notice Kita, a full-out Irken, he must have been side-tracked.
"But…" Zim didn't want to forget Dib.
"Dib is evil, he was only ever using you," Kita told him.
"R-Really?" Zim asked, eyes wide.
"Yes," Kita said. "He can't be trusted either. Remember your Irken rules, don't trust anyone, ever."
"Right," Zim said, nodding and hanging on to her every word.
"Dib is human and bad," Kita whispered. "Don't you remember when he betrayed you? You did nothing bad to him, and yet he gave you over to the humans. And then when you two were being chased by ghosts in that mansion. Dib just let you run off while he stayed in the safe zone. You could have been killed by ghosts and Dib let you run off." Zim nodded, he remembered it all. It all made sense. "Shh…" Kita said suddenly. She got an aggressive look and sat back a moment. Zim looked around and saw what she was worried about. There were a few humans about ten feet away near another tree. A crowd of females and one male. Not good.
"Mau," Zim hissed upward to Mau. Mau looked down silently. Zim pointed and he seemed to get the message. Zim got up and waited for Mau to come down. They started to suavely walk away when Mau turned full around and started running straight into the mob of people. "Hey!" Zim yelled. They were supposed to be going away from the humans, not towards them.
Mau stood in the center, staring at the humans, they stared right back at him. Zim reached over and grabbed Mau's arm. The humans were staring at Mau and didn't notice Zim. Zim didn't pay them much attention either. "Hey, I almost didn't recognize you!" The male human shouted. Zim looked up in horror, he recognized that voice. "How ya been?" The most annoying man in the world asked.
Zim groaned. "So so," He said. He believed that was a human way of putting off an answer. Jack shrugged, glancing at the women. Zim looked at them too and wished he hadn't looked. It was like the city all over again. Most of the women had huge hair and all of them were showing way too much skin. Cougars. Great. Jack Harkness, practically the devil himself along with Cougars all in the same day.
"Hey, where's Dib at?" Jack asked, looking around.
"Not here," Zim grunted. Jack seemed to catch on to Zim's bad mood and preceded to introduce the girls. Mau watched Jack carefully and seemed to be memorizing the girls names, which was good because Zim wasn't paying attention.
"So, you guys doing anything?" Jack asked. Zim had his jacket on and zipped up against the cold, so Jack didn't notice that Zim had the hospital smock thingy on.
"Not really," Zim answered, not in the mood to tell his whole story right now.
"Well, how about joining us," Jack suggested, a playful gleam in his eye.
"In what?" Zim asked suspiciously.
"Nothing bad. We're part of a specialized group from Torchwood Institute," Jack explained, "We're trying to take down Red Dawn right now. So how 'bout it. Give us a hand?"
Zim thought about that. He felt well enough. That idiot doctor was pretty good at his work. And he needed to be away from the traitorous Skoodge and Inx and that evil Doctor Cuddy woman. "Sure," Zim said with a shrug.
"You too?" Jack asked, looking at Mau. Mau nodded eagerly, enticed by the women.
"Great!" Jack beamed and shook Zim's hand, then Mau's. "Welcome to the group." The girls hugged them. Zim stood stiffly, trying not to vomit at their disgusting smells, but he didn't push them away. Now that he was going to work with them, he needed to keep them in a good mood. Their hugs, he knew, were some sort of welcoming ceremony. Jack stepped forward to hug as well, but Zim stepped back at that. No way was Jack getting in on it.
The girls screamed as they all heard something explode. It didn't sound like a big explosion, but it sounded nearby. "Probably a leftover bomb that got delayed, but it sounded too close, let's get out of here." The girls nodded in fear. Zim followed behind them and Mau behind him. He stayed near Mau, who had a tendency to get over excited about bombs. But he seemed preoccupied with staring at the women to care about finding bombs.
…
The tiny apartment was crammed with all of them in it. The apartment consisted of a kitchen, a bathroom, and what appeared to be a bedroom. Zim found it uncomfortable to be so close to all these humans. Mau, on the other hand, was thrilled with being near so many females. As they made their plans and plotted out where all the Red Dawn members would be, Jack kept coming near Zim. Zim would always move away, but sometimes it was hard to get away. Instead, Zim focused on the members. They didn't know all their names, but they knew at least on persons name on each two-man team. Team one- Dei and Unknown. Team Two- Hidan and Kakuzu. Team Three- Zetsu and Unknown. Team Four- Pein and Konan. Team Five- Tobi and Unknown. Team Six- Kisame and Unknown.
Six teams of two. Zim counted up the people in the apartment and realized that's exactly how many they had now. Jack had probably been in the park looking for two more team members. Well, he found the best possible.
The women all left after a while, Jack waved goodbye to them all. One was straggling and Mau made his way over to her. He whispered in her ear and she giggled. Zim didn't want to know what he said. "Hey Jack, I'll just take this one off your hands." Jack nodded an okay and glanced at Zim. Crap, Zim had no girl to go home with. They all had ignored Zim as much as he'd ignored them.
So much for that plan.
Now Jack was staring at Zim strangely. His eyes followed him and made playful arches with his eyebrows. It was creepy, like always, and Zim remembered the salty, languid taste of Jack's tongue in his mouth. As creepy as Jack was now, it was somewhat alluring as well. The way Jack wouldn't let Zim be in a room alone. Jack seemed to be taking charge of Zim, and where that would normally raise Zim into an enormous fit of rage, now it was…relaxing. Calming to know that if he failed, jack was there to lead. Zim was starting to enjoy Jack's presence, bit by bit.
Finally, the last cougar left, being waved off by Jack. He turned back to Zim with a grin, Zim was sitting at the small round table in the kitchen. Suddenly, the room was much less crowded, and Zim found it easy to breath. He and Jack were alone. "Finally, I thought they'd never leave," Jack sighed. He went to the fridge and dug around as Zim thought about that. Curiosity suddenly hit him.
"Why do you hang around those cougars, anyway?" Zim asked innocently, just wondering why. Jack dropped something harshly in the fridge and stood to stare at Zim for a moment before bursting out laughing. "What?" Zim asked angrily.
"Nothing…just…Zim, they're twenty and twenty-one!" Jack cried out, clutching his sides in laughter.
"So!" Zim said, crossing his arms. No one told him age had to do with it.
"N-Nevermind…" Jack said, returning to the fridge with a smile. "Your Irken friend seemed happy to see them."
"Yeah well, he's insane," Zim scoffed.
"Zim, be nice," Jack scolded, "Just because you have different tastes…" He trailed off as he examined a carton of milk.
"No, seriously," Zim mumbled, "He's clinically…and criminally, insane." Jack looked at Zim with a smile and saw Zim's seriousness.
"Oh…well, I'm sure she's okay," Jack said, meaning the girl Mau had gone with. Zim shrugged, who knew what would happen. Zim didn't really care. "So…where is Dib…really?" Jack asked, not moving from the fridge.
Zim stiffened and didn't move. He stared at the wooden table, taking in the individual grains, wondering why humans made tables out of trees. Irken tables were much better for certain. "Zim?" Of course, then, everything Irken was better than what humans made. "Zim?" Especially when it came to mechanics, Irken technology was light-years beyond humans.
Jack straightened and looked straight at Zim who was staring at the table without expression. "Zim?" He echoed again more strongly. Zim didn't respond, simply staring at the table, lost in thought. Jack pulled something from the fridge and sat at the table across from Zim. "Here," He said, giving Zim a can. Zim read it: Poop Cola, Now With Alcohol!
"Poop Cola?" Zim implored suspiciously.
"Yeah," Jack said, seeming to be uplifted. "It's actually a really nifty little invention. The chemicals used to make it are devised so that all species across the universe can drink it." Zim started to tune Jack out as he opened the can and took a swig. "It just started selling in the Irken Empire a few years back actually. Otherwise it's sold all around the universe."
"Really," Zim said blandly, automatically.
"Yeah," Jack said excitedly. "I remember the first sale of it. Way back when…" Jack trailed off and laughed a bit. "You'll never believe how old I am," Jack said.
"Really?" Zim said, his attention was at least half caught.
"Uh-huh," Jack looked at Zim as though he were half-asleep and having a good dream. Zim wondered what that dream was, world conquest maybe?
"Why's that?" Zim asked, getting more curious.
"I have a secret," Jack whispered, leaning onto the table. Zim leaned closer, as though that would prod Jack into talking. "I can't die."
Zim stared at Jack in shock. "No…" Zim whispered.
Jack grinned. "Yeah," He whispered back. Zim narrowed his eyes at Jack.
"Prove it," Zim grunted. He didn't trust anyone who claimed to be immortal.
Jack shrugged and reached down to his boot and whipped out a big knife. The mere sight of it had Zim's heart pounding in excitement. Blood shed was always a cause for happy squish feelings of joy. "You sure you can handle this?" Jack asked, his head cocked to the side.
"I'm Irken, for Jashin's sake, just do it," Zim said quickly, adrenaline rushing through his veins.
Jack grinned and stabbed the knife straight through his palm, red blood gushing onto the table. Zim gasped with happiness. He hadn't lied about doing it, anyway, and there was plenty of spilled blood to be joyous about. Jack's face showed pain and anguish, sure, but mild satisfaction too. He slowly dragged the knife back out of his hand, Zim enjoying every painful moment of it. Jack slammed the knife onto the table and shoved his hand at Zim for inspection. Zim held Jack's bloodied hand in both of his and looked at the maimed incision. Only…it wasn't maimed. There was blood, but no wound. Zim got angry.
"Where the hell is the wound?" Zim asked, hoisting the hand up to see it all over. Jack chuckled.
"I told you, I don't die…it healed," Jack explained, watching Zim look over his hand viciously. Suddenly the hand came to life and flipped in Zim's hand, interlocking their fingers together. Zim grew hot inside and looked at Jack's amused expression. Zim let their clasped hands rest on the table as he picked up the beer again.
"How did that come to be?" Zim asked.
"Long story," Jack said, not wanting to spend time on the subject, maybe growing bored with it. Zim shrugged, he didn't care much anyway. He let his antenna pick up the scent of Jack's blood. A smile twitched on his face for the first time since meeting Jack that night. Delicious. "What isn't a long story though, is that I actually started the Poop Cola business, about two centuries ago," Jack said proudly, rubbing Zim's hand gently.
"It tastes like shit," Zim said bluntly, setting it down. Jack frowned slightly, then smiled again.
"Yeah, but it doesn't burn does it," He said optimistically. Zim shrugged, how were they still on the Poop Cola subject? "Anyway, Zim…about Dib?"
Zim froze, completely motionless, not even a twitch of the antennae.
"He's gone…isn't he…?" Jack asked quietly, gently probing Zim. He rubbed Zim's hand gently, in an almost therapeutic manner. It seemed to liven Zim up at least a little. Zim nodded numbly, barely moving at all. But Jack caught it. Zim's eyes were downcast and Jack gazed into them intently, searching his red-brown eyes for anything to go on here.
"…You know…if we remember people, they're never really gone," Jack said softly.
"He's gone…" Zim whispered almost inaudibly. Jack just didn't understand, he couldn't die, he didn't know what it was like to loose your Dib… "…he was everything and he's gone…" Zim whispered. Why was he saying this, why was he telling Jack this? He looked at the table for an answer. Blood and beer, dammit. His two weaknesses. Jack knew them all along and played Zim. Zim started to get angry, but it died down. Maybe he needed this…he needed to realize the truth about Dib…he needed to face it.
"Zim…it's okay…" Jack consoled. He held Zim's hand in both of his and watched Zim carefully.
"Dib was…the only one…the only one I ever cared about…" Zim gasped. Why was it hard to breath all of a sudden? And why was his face wet? It didn't burn…
"I'm so sorry…" Jack whispered softly. Zim bowed his head lower. His chest ached and he couldn't stop shaking, but it wasn't like when he was sick…it felt like that time Zim though Dib was dead and he really wasn't, when he'd been in that limo with Gaz.
Irkens were built not to have all these feelings inside. All these squishy emotions things that drove Zim crazy. They make you dependent on something and then fate takes that something away. How did humans stand this all the time, all these things inside? Why was Zim feeling them? Oh yeah…he was broken…not an Irken anymore. He kept forgetting that somehow. Defective. How was he supposed to deal with this now? He did have Dib, and that was pretty good. If only Dib had let them stay on that vacation planet…if only Zim hadn't been watching the news that morning…if only Zim had had the courage to not follow his Tallest's' deadly orders. If only he hadn't gotten sick…if only Zim had gotten to Dib faster…all his failures leading up to one point that meant the end of his own very life.
Dib was dead.
Something inside Zim panicked, he picked up his can, empty. Now what? What was there to keep everything inside? He remembered that Jack was still holding his hand and watching the emotions flicker around in Zim's eyes. Zim looked at Jack's face. Jack was caring and kind, he'd come to find out. A total flirt and somewhat jerk. Most important of all…Jack couldn't die. Zim leaped out of the chair and rammed into Jack's lap, holding on more tightly to Jack's hand. He ignored the surprised look on Jack's face and persisted to shove his tongue, quite violently, into Jack's mouth. Zim steadied himself with his hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack eased his own other hand onto Zim's side. He didn't complain about the sudden kissing, but rather embraced it. Their hands became undone and Zim put his on Jack's other shoulder, pinning him to his chair. Jack's went to Zim's side as well, rubbing Zim lightly, his hands made their way to Zim's back, pressing Zim closer to Jack.
Zim didn't care at the moment how much it hurt his chest to be doing this. It was pushing the emotion down and out of the way, so they couldn't harm him. Jack seemed to enjoy it anyway. Zim leaned up and let Jack pant for a minute, he was immortal sure, but Zim bet he would still pass out from lack of air. After a minute Zim went back in, taking complete dominance. He was somewhat wrong about Jack, outwardly he seemed cocky and arrogant, but, unlike Dib, he was easily pushed over when intimate. It displeased Zim, but at least Jack was over pushy, that wouldn't have been easy.
Steam seemed to rise as they got hotter. After a while, Zim let Jack go panting again as he waited patiently. Jack grinned and pulled Zim's pelvis closer to his. Jack's eyes glanced very quickly at the bedroom door and Zim got the message. Usually Zim was blind to such subliminal messages, but not when it came to this particular subject.
Zim grinded his hips against Jack's, making him moan. When Jack's head leaned back, so open to attack, Zim went to Jack's neck, nipping it gently. Jack moaned more and seemed to like it. Zim bit down hard, blood seeping out and down Jack's chest. Jack groaned with pain and Zim liked it. Jack suddenly lifted Zim up into the air with him as he stood from the chair. Zim wrapped his legs around Jack's waist easily, Jack being much taller. Zim let the blood sizzle on his tongue deliciously for a moment before attacking Jack's mouth again. The human had been breathing long enough. Jack seemed a bit repulsed by the taste of his own blood, but he let it be. Another reason Zim preferred Dib, Dib wouldn't let something like that slide.
Slowly, Jack carried Zim away, being careful not to hit anything along the way. Zim worried the slightest bit about the white hospital thing, but figure Jack was too much of a pushover right now and too intoxicated by Zim to notice it tonight. Maybe tomorrow, but Zim would cross that bridge when it came…or burn the bridge down.
Just before they entered the bedroom, Jack turned it around to suckle Zim's neck and Zim watched the kitchen over Jack's shoulder. Kita stood in a corner, watching them with a grin. Zim wondered why Jack hadn't mentioned her being there. He also wondered why Kita seemed so happy, but he pushed it aside and simply grinned back at her, happy that she was happy, and continued with his little human puppet.
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A/N:
…hehehehehe. I lovez Jack…that was such an evil scene and probably the one I procrastinated on most, but it was so delishish. Yesh. And Kita, watching in the corner, she may be a hallucination but that's still creepy.
Jack and Zim forever! Not really! Don't murder me! I promise the next chapter will have more happy! And Keef, maybe. I like Keef, insane little bugger. Dei was in here ^-^. He's from Naruto, if you don't already know. And I stole some dialogue from an argument he and Sasori had, it was in the Japanese Anime version...I have no idea what episode. Ah well. The other Akatsuki were mentioned...but I don't think they'll get to come in :/ I'm just too lazy lawl.
Jack's a man-whore. So's Dib. Zim only goes for man-whores, it's his thing, lawl. Oh, by the way, the gypsy girl at the begining? That's my sister :D. She helped me with laundry...so I put her in here :) But she will have a point in the plot, I promise!