This fic turns one years old on Friday! WOOT! Iwasgonnawaitanduploadthisthenbutahahahahawhybother! Let's celebrate this this long and nice chapter.
Big time jump for plot reasons yeahh :3
Chapter 14
Once the time finally came when they left Irk, Zim might have been the happiest aboard. He didn't see why Zita would get all emotional and talking about how it was 'sad to leave this place that had almost become their home'. Personally he could not have had a bigger reason to celebrate.
Didn't change his worries about the safety of their means of travelling.
"Okay everybody, if you don't have a death wish, you'll put on your seat belts instantly", Bitters rasped through the speakers. Dib put on his seat belt and helped Zim with his, since Zim kept pulling it too hard. Around them, the crew did the same.
"Don't worry, the takeoff won't be as bumpy as when we took off from Earth", Dib said and shuddered at the memory.
"I'm not worried", Zim insisted. Still, his antennae pressed flat against his scalp and he just couldn't stop trembling. His shoulders were up to his ea- to where his ears would be if he had any. A countdown popped up on their holographic screen, starting on two minutes.
"Remember, don't take off your seat belt until Bitters says so, and if you have to puke, do it in the bag!" Dib reminded. Zim glared at him.
"You said that before", he said and looked at the countdown. 01:53.
"I know, I'm just reminding you in case you forgot. You've never space traveled before, after all. And you've got no education", Dib said. Zim laughed. It was the laugh of an insane man. Shudder.
"I will space travel like no one have ever space traveled before!" he exclaimed with a large grin that showed off his zipper-like teeth. Dib shrugged.
"Sure you will", he mumbled. The countdown said 01:37. The engines started up with a soft hum. Zim fiddled in his seat.
"Sit still", Dib said.
"I am", Zim said and relaxed. His hands kept moving, though, running over his arms, tapping the armrest, folding and unfolding and so on. 00:49. Dib relaxed, too, sinking into the soft fabric of the seat. 00:24.
"Are you ready?" Dib asked.
"What? Oh, yes. Off course. I was born ready", Zim nodded. Dib knew he lied, but none of his attempts at comfort worked. 00:17.
"Relax, Zim, it won't be as bad as Gaz told you", he said. The hum got louder and higher when the countdown hit 00:10 and the ship started vibrating softly. Zim sat stiff in his seat, eyes the size of footballs. Was it really supposed to do that? Dib took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
"You all better be ready, because we're lifting", Bitters said through the speakers and, with a loud boom, the entire ship shook and took off.
Gravity pressed everyone against their seats and Zim screamed. Nobody heard though, over the sonic boom and the loud noise of he engine. Dib gripped his armrest and made a grimace against the discomfort.
It was over fairly quickly. The Piggie broke through the atmosphere of Irk after only a few minutes and Dib felt the familiar feeling of weightlessness. He breathed out in relief when the engines died down.
Zim leaned back and panted. Two seconds later he leaned forward and vomited in the bag Dib held out for him. Good thing Dib had prepared himself, at least. Also he'd wanted to study alien puke for a while now. The vomit was a beautiful mix between gross and fascinating.
"Don't worry; no one ever gets used to it", Dib said, looking a bit pale himself. Without a warning, Bitters turned on the gravity field. They grunted and their bodies were once again pressed down into the seats.
"Okay kids, take off your seat belts and get back to work", Bitters said. Dib took off his seatbelt and helped Zim with his. The Irken stood up, still a bit wobbly, and followed Dib towards his lab.
"There's only a few days until we pass Vort. Someone'll come to pick us up seeing as The Piggie doesn't have enough fuel to land and drop us off", Dib explained.
"Fine." Zim croaked, not yet ready to say anything coherently. They entered the lab and Dib put away the vomit for later.
XXX
"See you later Dib", Zita said and gave him a friendly hug.
"Yeah, seeya", Dib hugged her back. He turned to Gaz with a small, almost pleading smile, "you sure you don't wanna come with us?" She looked up from her GameSlave for a second.
"Nah, someone's gotta keep our apartment tidy while you're gone", she said," plus Bloaty's has introduced a new pizza flavor." Dib let out a tiny laugh.
"Yeah, can't miss out on that",he scratched his neck awkwardly," I guess I'll see ya around then. I'll miss you."
"Whatever."
Meanwhile, Zim was already inside the Vortian ship with their driver, introduced as Len Ah. She was a light green female Vortian with pink eyes. He had this vague feeling that she didn't like him, though. Judging by how she pressed herself against the ship's window-covered wall while protecting herself with a frying pan and a laser.
Or maybe she was just crazy. Zim sat down in a comfy chair.
"Ummm, so, I am Zim", he said. Just like Dib had taught him was polite and all. He felt very proud of himself. If only that Len Ah would show at least some gratitude to his efforts, instead of cowering against that wall! "Nice to meet you", he added without a reason to, just to make sure he wouldn't be blamed if she snapped. It seemed like a possibility.
Silence filled the ship, and Zim looked over to Dib impatiently. He seemed to be taking a very emotional farewell to his sister.
"Please don't eat me", a small voice peeped behind him. He looked over to the frightened Vortian and grinned.
"Do not worry. I've already eaten enough meat for a while", he assured her," Also you are the one taking us off this HORRIBLE ship!" She did not look less threatened at all. "If we end up in a situation where someone else want to eat you, I might even save you!" he added. Len Ah frowned, still wary. He decided they were done talking for the moment. He turned away and listened to the far away noises of Dib's mouth instead.
Dib said goodbye for the last time and turned to the Vortian ship. It looked a lot faster than their own. It was also smaller and went with a dark blue and silver color scheme. As he entered, he saw their driver pressed to the opposite wall hiding behind a frying pan.
"Zim", Dib said sternly," don't scare Len Ah like that! She's being nice giving us a ride to Vort!" he scolded.
"I have done nothing! I was even nice to her! She's just too stupid to know manners", Zim said loudly. Dib winced and turned to Len Ah.
"I'm really sorry for Zim's manners. He'll act better from now on", he promised. Len Ah lowered the frying pan.
"Oh, it's-it's fine. I'm just startled to see an Irken this close", she said shakily, still wide-eyed.
"Huh, oh yeah, ugly, aren't they?" he said jokingly, and heard how Zim growled. The Vortian's small eyes widened and she shook.
"O-oh, I certainly wouldn't say that", she said nervously and glanced slightly at Zim. Could she really that scared of something that only reached her to the shoulder? He shrugged.
"Um, should we get going? I'm excited to see Vort!" Dib said to lighten the mood.
"Off course! Let's take off immediately", she nodded and sat in the driver's seat, though not without cautiously glancing towards Zim.
"Hey, don't worry about Zim so much, he's just ... Zim", he didn't mention that Zim actually fought off Irkens three times his size or bigger. She breathed in.
"I'll try", she said and shook her head. Dib sat down in the chair between Zim and Len Ah. Len Ah pressed some buttons and their ship left The Piggie's hangar easily. "Whoa, this ship is so much smoother than ours!" he gasped.
"Thank you. I've designed this one myself, actually", Len Ah said, a slight blush showing through her short fur.
"Wow, really? You've gotta very talented", Dib said. Zim stood up in his chair and leaned over.
"You built this? How? Tell me! Tell Zim!" Dib pushed him back into the seat. Len Ah looked startled by his outburst.
"Don't mind him. You must be really talented if you did all this yourself", he repeated. She looked away, smiling. Zim huffed and looked out the window, at the dark space surrounding them which made him feel even smaller and tuned them out.
"Not at all! This is nothing, you should see my dad's ship! It feels amazing to drive and has way better navigational system than this old thing", she said. Dib looked at her wide-eyed.
"Wow! It's no understatement that you're the most technically advanced species in the universe!", he leaned back and looked at the approaching planet which was Vort.
"We are, but this and my father's ship is still nothing compared to everything you will see once we land", Len Ah admitted. Dib hummed and gazed through the large windows.
"I'm really excited", he repeated from earlier. Len Ah smiled but didn't reply. She continued steering the ship in silence.
It was the second time ever that Dib experienced a ship landing, and it felt so much smoother than the first time! He stood up and looked at Zim.
"I sorta want you on a leash when we get out there, but that would look weird so you will just have to stay close to me, okay?" he said.
"Yesyes, no problem", Zim said. He had probably not listened. The teen hoped nothing would go wrong and walked towards the door.
He stopped.
Took a breath.
"Great, I suddenly feel really nervous about this", he mumbled.
"Is something wrong?" Len Ah asked from her place in the driver's seat. The human chuckled sternly and fiddled on one of the buttons on his jumpsuit.
"No, not at all, I'm just trying to get myself together", he said. Zim huffed and pressed the button to open the door, apparently having decided that he'd waited for long enough, and stepped out. Dib had no choice but to follow. Behind him, he heard Len Ah getting up and following behind.
The sight before them made the human gasp in wonder. It was like stepping into a science fiction, and this was only the parking lot! Several different ships stood in straight lines as far as Dib's human eyes could see, all of them a different design and probably with different functions. Here and there, he could see Vortians walking around, chatting in some foreign language. He spun around, never once blinking in fear of missing something amazing among the machinery.
Zim wasn't as impressed with the ships as with all the new smells that suddenly greeted his tongue. It was overwhelming, the smell of fuel, dirt and food greeted him without him being prepared. He grabbed Dib's leg in order to not just fall over.
"Whoa," the teen said and walked forward, still looking around in awe. Len Ah hurried in front of them (making a big c-curve around Zim) and took the lead. As they left the parking lot and went into the street, Dib just got even more amazed. The streets were filled with aliens, not just Vortians, walking around, minding their own business.
Zim, however, got even less impressed by all the aliens. They were everywhere! Thousands of them, not one single spot was clear. He started wondering why this was a good idea at all. And they were going directly into the crowd of bodies and noise. He hissed and snapped his teeth at some, but found the best protection was to climb up on Dib's shoulder, which barely reached above the crowd. Dib was too busy looking around to care.
They walked through the busy street, as many aliens stepped around them in surprise. Dib didn't know if it was because of his height, or if they recognized the potentially dangerous specie currently attached to his head. Len Ah showed them forward, with the quick, purposeful walk of someone who had spent their whole life on crowded streets in a big city. The farther they went, the ore crowded it got.
"You're expected at the royal castle, it's the building in front of us", she pointed. Dib looked at it, gasping. Zim tapped his head.
"I don't get it", he said, mouth basically inches from Dib's ears.
"That building is where we're going to live. It's like our new nest, get it?" Dib said, not looking at Zim but at everything around them. Now, Zim gasped.
"Why would anyone need a nest that big?!" he exclaimed. Dib huff-chuckled at Zim, because it wasn't as huge as it was a stunning building, but he understood that for Zim, who had lived in the jungle for his entire life, it might appear huge.
It was tall and rectangular, but the west wall tilted heavily and made completely out of in glass. Or some alien material that resembled glass, Dib wouldn't know. As they got closer, he saw that the other three walls were covered in funny shaped windows, some of them tainted in different colors. He couldn't see the lower parts of the building because of a high wall. They arrived at the gates, where an armored guard hesitantly let them in, staring at Zim. Inside the gates there was a garden, spreading on for miles to their sides, overflowing with colorful flowers and well-kept trees. Zim relaxed at the sudden peace and quiet.
"It's very pretty", Dib commented. Len Ah nodded.
"It truly is an amazing sight. This garden is kept by the best gardeners in the universe." They walked down one of the several stone covered paths. Zim finally hopped of Dib shoulder and walked ahead. Len Ah squeaked as he sneaked past her. Dib chuckled slightly. He stopped though when he realized Zim was eating the flowers.
"Zim! What the hell are you doing? You can't eat these flowers, they're planted!" he explained and caught up to the alien, who spit them out. Dib stopped and stared at the mess of alien spit and flowers.
"You're right. They're are inedible", Zim nodded. Dib face palmed, feeling how it was going to take some time for Zim to get the hang of the civilization.
"Anyways, Zim. None of these flowers are for eating. They're planted here to look pretty. So don't eat them", he asked, almost begging. Zim tilted his head in a way that showed how he didn't understand at all. "Just don't eat them. Actually let's make that a rule: You may not eat anything without asking me first."
"That's a stupid rule", Zim pointed out.
"Just accept it", Dib said. Zim scowled.
"Fine."
"Umm. Should we get going", Len Ah asked, looking warily at Zim.
"Yes! Sorry", Dib said quickly. The started walking. Len Ah hurried to catch up with him while Zim followed in a slower pace, still trying to grasp the context of planting inedible flowers just because they're pretty. He glanced suspiciously at the rows of colorful flowers. They smelled kinda nice though, which made their terrible taste even stranger.
He realized Dib was calling for him, so he hurried to catch up. They were at a huge, triangular door, with guards on both side who opened the door for them. Zim felt how they looked at him and hissed at them. A pointy weapon was suddenly close to his face. He jumped away and grabbed Dib's leg.
"Be nice, Zim", Dib muttered, looking around in the hallway. The room was a deep green, soft fabric covering the floor, walls and ceiling, dulling every sound until the place was eerily quiet. Small, round lamps cast a warm glow over them.
"Let's go", Len Ah said, showing them through a hallway. There were few people around, only some Vortian servants dressed in the same uniform as Len Ah, either cleaning or pushing around wheeled tables covered in food. They walked downstairs, until the fabric disappeared and everything became loud and bright again. The walls were now a sterile white, with a gray floor and ceiling. Down here, the Vortians wore goggles and lab coats covering their entire form. Everything smelled lemony clean.
"I guess this is where we'll be spending our time", Dib muttered to Zim.
"Ehn", Zim muttered, squinting at the painfully bright light.
"We are here", Len Ah dragged a card through a scanner, opening a gray metal door. There were a guard and two familiar Vortians inside. All of them had lasers by their hips and faced towards them as the door opened.
"Dib. Welcome", Sev En smiled sternly, glancing at Zim," and Zim, You're welcome as well. I hope you'll both feel like home here on Vort." Dib smiled politely, despite feeling nervous over their weapons. He guessed he shouldn't blame them for carrying weapons, but he couldn't help the slight irritation that they wouldn't trust his word that Zim was safe.
"Thanks. It's nice to be here", Dib said. He didn't notice Len Ah bowing and leaving. Sav En gave him a more genuine smile this time, as if his answer was pleasing somehow.
"Good. We must hurry, there's much to talk about", he said and gesture to two empty chairs," please sit down." Zim was first to jump onto the floating chair, sitting cross legged. Dib sat down, getting the feeling that the Vortians where somehow unwilling to talk directly to Zim. It caused the atmosphere to become awkward.
"First of all. Let's talk about the project you're here for."
Dib realized that Zim was going to get bored while they spoke and tried to discreetly look around for something to distract the Irken with. A toy or a wrench or anything. All the tables were clean and empty. Meanwhile Sev En had begun speaking.
"We've gone though your father's notes and reports and concluded that the problem is not to find a subject loyal enough, like he thought, but a subject that's intelligent enough. Off course, it would have to be loyal as well, but the more intelligence, the bigger the chances of success."
"Okay", Dib said lacking a better response. He glanced at Zim to make sure he wasn't up to something. He wasn't.
"It might prove hard to find a suitable subject, but let's not worry about that right now", Lard Nar said," You should take a look at the blueprints. Most of it is your father's, but I've made some adjustments as well." Lard Nar stood and pressed a button. The blueprints showed up on wall while the lights in the room darkened slightly. Dib recognized some of it.
"What we want to do is remove and replace most of the cyborgs weaponry, as well as redesign most of it", Lard Nar Kept going. Zim groaned. Dib had spent the last months of their stay on Irk teaching Zim about scientific terms and stuff, including how to read blueprints. But they were boring. And Zim would rather build things directly from his brain instead of following some ridiculous sketch!
They kept talking as Zim zoomed out.
TBC
There you have it! It's not really as good as I'd want it to be, buut meh. Next chapter is finished btw, but I'm moving away from my parents tomorrow and I don't know when I'll have internet access again :(
/Sagapaga