Yay! Chapter Two is here! I would just like to say that I am so happy that I got such awsome reviews and so quickly! I really didn't expect to be able to update this for a month or two. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! (hugs every one of you)
Oh, I think I forgot to mention (is to lazy to go and check) in the first chapter that I don't own Invader Zim. I should go back and fix that, and I will, when I feel like it. But yeah, I don't own it nor do I make any money off of writing this, if I did I'd put a little more effort into it. XD
Chapter Warnings: Torture, evil plotting, someone loses a finger or two but other than that there isn't anything too bad in this chapter.
To homophobes: If you're stupid enough to have read chapters one and then read this chapter your opinion doesn't matter to anyone.
Special thanks to: Invader Enemy for being the first to review and Tesgura for betaing this because no matter how many times I read it I never catch any mistakes!
Dib cried out again, begging for that soft voice from yesterday to come back or praying for darkness to take him under, but he knew it wouldn't.
He had discovered two years ago that no matter what his body was doing in the real world, whether staring up at the ceiling or sleeping, and no matter what was being done to him in this nightmare world, he couldn't pass out, after all, this was his mind the monsters were currently using as a punching bag, not his actual body, so no matter how many bones were broken or how much blood he'd lost, he couldn't pass out, couldn't escape this torture.
The pain though, that was real. And he experienced it again and again.
"Aw, you look sad." The very disproportioned, nightmare version of himself said as he was thrown back into his cell.
"Really?" He asked sarcastically, moving to sit on the wall farthest from the creature. "Well, you know, that tends to happen when you're having the you-know-what beat out of you."
"What do I know?" The creature Dib asked.
Dib just sighed, muttering a 'never mind' under his breath before turning to look out of the cell.
"So what's in that stuff?" Zim asked as the nurse gave Dib his morning injections.
"How should I know?" She asked dismissively but handed Zim the bottle of fluids for him to read, thinking that some pretty boy wouldn't be able to figure out what the hell any of those chemicals were anyway.
But Zim did know, in fact he was quite familiar with most of the compounds used.
"Thank you," He said, smiling widely and handing the bottle back to the nurse.
"Anytime," She said sarcastically, putting the bottle down on the cart and made her way out of the room, muttering something about 'kids these days.'
Zim's smile only grew bigger. Soon, soon he would have Dib back.
Dib tried to prevent himself from crying but the tears forced themselves out anyway.
Ah, the monsters were using pointy tools, it much be lunch time.
The monster Bitters cackled as tears slipped down his face. She was a little disappointed though, the big-headed child usually screamed when fingers were cut off, he must have gotten used to it.
"You aren't doing it right!" She shouted, grabbing the knife one of the monsters was using to take the middle finger off and tossed it some where. She then pulled out her own knife, a horrible looking serrated one. "To cause the proper amount of pain you should cut using a sawing motion and go at the joint from an angle, like so." She then proceeded to show the other monsters exactly what she was talking about, needing to speak louder once Dib started screaming.
Zim didn't visit Dib after that for two days, instead, spending most of his time in his lab, trying to come up with a chemical that would fight off the one in Dib's body.
He used an old cell sample he had taken from Dib a long time ago to study the reaction that the medication had, then to study the effects of using the chemicals he created to combat the meds. When everything looked good he decided he would visit Dib and test a small sample of the chemical on his human, if everything went well he would break Dib out that night. Securing the chemical and syringes in his pak he set out, hoping to get Dib just after the nurse had given him his medication.
The creature Dib was singing a song, something that sounded like it would have been one of those bad country, 'I just lost my girl friend so I went to the bar, got drunk, and realized I don't need a girl' kind of songs, if sung right, when a thought came to him.
"Hey," He said, trying to get the creature Dib's attention, which he did. "How come there's a monstrous version of everyone I know, including me, in the nightmare world, except for Zim?"
"Oh, there is a Zim here, but he isn't a monster." The creature Dib said, almost happily.
"Then what is he?" Dib asked, leaning forward with interest.
"No one really knows." The creature Dib said, shrugging. "No one ever sees him."
"If no one ever sees him, then how do you know he isn't a monster?" Dib asked, leaning back, suddenly disappointed.
"Bitters saw him once." creature Dib said. "She knows what he is, but she won't tell no one, says he's bad for them, that they should stay away. "
"Did she say why?" Dib asked, once more leaning forward.
"No," creature replied. "Just that none of us should go near him."
Dib was getting more and more curious by the second. "Do you know where Zim is?"
"No, but some of the other monsters might be able to tell you."
Dib sat back once more putting a bloody hand to his chin in thought. He wanted to see nightmare Zim, wanted to know why the monsters couldn't go near him.
Suddenly the door to his cell was thrown open and he was grabbed roughly.
"Come on!" The monster holding him yelled, pulling him along behind him.
"Where are we going?" Dib asked fearfully.
"Oh, you'll see."
Dib didn't like the tone of the big, gray monsters voice. Then he noticed just who this monster was. He was on of the monsters that was always close to the Bitters monster and so he decided he'd ask this one.
"Do you know anything about Zim?" He asked, using a scared, pathetic tone.
"Zim?" The monster stopped, looking up in thought. "You mean the green bean that lives on that hill up there?" The gray monster asked, pointing to a bright green house on a hill that looked exactly like Zim's house… just all nightmare-y. "The one Bitters tells us not to go near?"
That would be it. "Yeah," Dib nodded.
"Nope, just that he's green and Bitters wont let us near him."
"Thanks for the information." Dib said, yanking his arm out of the monster's now loose grasp and looking smug. If he could get to Zim's house the monsters couldn't come near him, meaning at least he wouldn't be tortured… by them. He bolted for the house, the big, gray monster in pursuit.
When Zim was alone with the human, the nurse having just walked out, he pulled the needles and chemical from his pak and set everything up.
If asked if he were nervous Zim would have swore up and down that he wasn't, invaders don't GET nervous, but he was. For some reason the thought of injecting Dib with a barely tested mixture of chemicals made his squeedilly- spooch do flip flops. But it was too late to turn back now and he plunged the needle into Dib's arm.
Dib was almost there, he huffed and puffed with the effort of running so fast and so far but he wouldn't stop, the threat of pain holding it's reputation for being a good motivator.
But he tripped, just out of reach of the door as his foot was grabbed by the big, gray monster.
"NOOOOOO!" He cried, tears slipping down his cheeks.
Suddenly the door opened and there stood Zim looking just as he had five years ago, looking down at him with a confused expression.
"Dib-stink?"
"Zim-ZIM!" Dib pleaded as the gray monster stood up and was about to drag him away. He didn't really expect Zim to help him, which is why he was in shock when he saw a gloved hand held out to him in offering. He gladly took it.
Dib's eyes blinked confusedly and focused as much as they could without glasses on the form of what looked like a fifteen year old with black hair and familiar eyes. "Wh-who?" He asked, his vocal cords sounding strained.
Whoever it was sighed and rested their head on his chest with a 'thank Irk'. His eyes widened comically.
"Z-Zim?" He asked, bewildered. "Zim is that you?"
"What? What do you mean is it me?" Zim asked, sounding offended. "Who else would be here to save your sorry, human hind-end?"
"Sorry," Dib gave a week chuckle. Same old Zim… except. "You're tall."
"Yes, yes, marvel at my impressive height later, for now I need you to pretend to still be a zombie." Zim said, his voice softening to a whisper.
"What-why?" Dib asked, wondering why Zim would be helping him but happy enough to be out of the nightmare world to not ask stupid unnecessary questions like, 'Why would a SUPERIOR alien species want to help someone like ME?'
"Because I won't be able to break you out until dark." Zim whispered.
"Why dark?"
"Because everyone's too sleepy to notice that it was an alien space ship that made a wall explode and stole a patient out of bed."
"Oh…."
"Don't worry, it's only three hours away, now I have to go get ready." With that Zim left Dib to stare at the ceiling… for three hours.
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