Summary:
Dib sneaks out of the Bunker.
Author's Note:
HAIIIII ! ! Welcome back to my story ! ! I am absolutely stoked and far beyond excited for this update ! ! This one is a complete doozy , so please prepare yourselves . It just gets . . . Intense . PLEASE tell me , what were you expecting and how it matched up to the events of this chapter , I am so curious haha XD I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and I hope you enjoy this update ! ! Any comments will be so incredibly appreciated and amazing ! ! Thanks again for sticking with my story ! !
This chapter title comes from the fantastic song Hate Me by Nico Collins and I'm sure we all agree that's such a Zim and Dib song haha ^_^ ! ! For this specific chapter , I chose that because it speaks to how Dib views both Zim and their blossoming relationship . He's well aware that whatever they have isn't healthy and that Zim is not really safe to be with but he chooses to ignore all of that because in his eyes , it's everything he's ever wanted ^_^ . This chapter is told from Dib's perspective . I would like to give HUGE TRIGGER WARNINGS for the following in this update: on-screen panic attack, graphic descriptions of violence and weapons, as well as major character injury.
But It's Beautiful Here in My Eyes
My gaze is locked on the door as it slides shut. My mind is a complete and utter jumbled mess. With all these different feelings and thoughts trying to overpower one another. My arm is still throbbing and so is my eye but they're the least of my worries. I'm not even preoccupied with thinking about what happened in the bedroom. But Zim is right. We will talk about it. Because he is coming back. The Tallests might be able to take advantage of his blind loyalty but I don't give a shit who they think they are. I did not come all this way, travel galaxies, navigate a situationship or relationship with who has got to be the absolute most insane Irken- or organism- in existence, just to sit back and chill while they MURDER him.
I continue staring at the sliding door, darting my gaze between it and the palm pad and taking deep breaths. I told Zim I love him and I do. I have to if I'm really about to do what I think I am going to do. There's no way I gave up years of pursuing him, old dreams of exposing him to humans in the hopes of performing an autopsy on him, just to let someone else take him out instead.
"Hiya, Master!" I hear down to my right and when I look over I see GIR is standing beside me. He's also gazing at the door.
"Hi GIR." I say back, thoughtfully.
"Whatcha doin?" He sing-songs and I sigh.
"I'm just thinking."
"Oh. I don't like doin that." He declares, sitting cross legged down on the floor beside me anyway. I'm just counting numbers in my mind, trying to wait a decent amount of time. I need Zim to be far enough away, of course. I definitely don't want a repeat of earlier and I'd like to keep my good arm well… good. When I feel I've waited long enough that he's got to be on the ship, headed back to the massive, I reach up and carefully peel away a thin layer of plastic from the palm pad. It was actually pretty easy to take the palm pad down, cover it in some plastic from the pantry and put it back up. When I hang the palm pad back up, I flip the plastic and place it in front, pressing a hand to it and it actually works! The room door slides up, revealing the dark, vacant hallway. A gust of cooler air blows into the room that I now assume is temperature controlled specifically for me. Undoubtedly another one of Zim's ideas. So smart. So naive.
"Okay…" I mumble to myself, stepping away from the door and hurrying into my room, distantly aware that GIR is following behind me.
"Are we gonna play a game today?" He inquires as I'm tossing things onto my bed. The blinds are drawn and out the windows I can see that the sun has just set on earth.
"Of course we are." I say back, dropping my invader uniform onto the mattress along with my PAK, headphones and translator necklace. "Just wait for me in the living room, okay?"
"Okay!" He exclaims, leaving to do just that. My heartbeat is starting to race as I tug my shirt over my head. I'm already in plenty of pain, my arm is screaming and the pain over my eyes is radiating out into a full blown headache now but neither have my focus at the moment. Once I'm fully changed into my unIform, I start with the accessories, first securing my PAK, then taking a deep breath before plugging my headphones in. As suspected, it's a bit more painful as it morphs my skin this time and I wince but it settles pretty quickly. The last thing I do is clip my necklace on. The knot in my stomach is so tight, it's almost enough to make me double over but I'm not paying it any attention as I start to leave my bedroom. When I get to the doorway, I pause and look back. At the last second, I decide to cross the room and pull my backpack off of the floor next to my bed, unzipping it quickly and carefully retrieving the PAK destabilizer. It's not something I want to use but Zim made it as a backup protection plan. I'm figuring it was meant for the worst case scenario and unfortunately that is exactly what this seems to be. Although I'm fairly certain that he expected me to be the damsel in distress… It's cold and heavy in my hand and only serves to contribute to the sinking feeling in my gut. It's just protection, I probably won't even need it. It's just better to be safe than sorry, right? Right… I don't actually have anywhere to put it so my waistband will have to do. So freaking cliché and it's expectedly uncomfortable there but I can't really carry a backpack around. I'm wearing a PAK so it wouldn't sit right and also it would draw attention.
"Are you ready to play yet?" I hear behind me and GIR is back in the doorway.
"Yeah. But we're going to play hide and seek, okay gir?" I ask and his cyan eyes glow with excitement. "But this time, Zim wants to play, too."
"He does?" GIR asks, his left eye extending out slightly to add to the quizzical look he's giving me.
"Yup. And he's hiding first. He said that if we can find him, we'll go back to earth and he'll get you some tacos."
"Finally!" He thrills which actually makes me smile a little.
"Do you know where he is?" I ask and he nods, opening his chest panel to reveal various buttons. He presses one and the little satellite looking thing on top of his head blinks a few times.
"He's out there." He says, pointing towards the door in the living room. We both start for the door and when I get out of my bedroom, I turn to look into the other room. I'm momentarily confused by the absence of Minimoose but it isn't the first time I haven't been able to locate him since we got here. He usually turns up and I've refrained from telling Zim, just in case he thinks maybe I've done something wrong and let him escape. I swear, babysitting mini alien robots is a handful…
I glance around the rest of the dormitory briefly, then reach up to activate the palm pad.
"Okay GIR, remember this is hide and seek so you have to be…?"
"…Quiet?" He asks.
"Exactly." I reply as the door slides open. I try to take another couple of grounding breaths but GIR is tugging at my glove so I finally step over the threshold and the door slides shut. I glance back at it, noting that I still don't have the combination to get back in but proceed to head down the hallway anyway. I'm grateful for the dull blue glow my contacts provide but this time, it feels cold. There's no sign of anyone anywhere and I'm relieved but also slightly disappointed. Of course no one needs to know that I'm sneaking out but goodness, I'm starting to believe the Irken Empire is a myth. I've only met four of them on this whole planet!
GIR is leading me up the staircase and down the hallway I remember from when I got here and my lungs are starting to feel icy as I struggle to keep my breathing steady. I keep expecting one of the doors to swing open and be met with a disgruntled member of the OGI. Or for Skoodge to pop out of nowhere and catch me. Or even worse of a thought, Zim pops out and catches me.
Once we're finally at the entrance to the bunker, I'm expecting to see it locked up in those thick silver bars but it's open and I bite back a shriek as I'm met with an Irken. When I recover from the initial shock, I realize I know this person.
"What are you doing?" She asks, looking equally shaken by running into me.
"Tenn! I uh… I was just- we were…"
"Gracious, I thought you were going to rush me! What is your hurry? Are you leaving?" She asks, setting down the SIR unit I only just realized she was carrying. It actually looks super familiar to me and when I notice the disproportionately large right arm and the symbol on its forehead, I feel my face get a little pale.
"Is that Mimi?" I ask.
"I know you!" GIR exclaims, forgetting completely to be quiet as he marvels at the robot who just returns a blank stare to him.
"How do you know Tak's SIR unit?" Tenn asks, perking an antenna. "Nevermind, that'll have to wait, I've got to seal the entrance if you aren't leaving." She says, turning to the controls.
"No! Please don't!" I say quickly and she gives me a confused look. "I am leaving."
"To go where?" She asks, narrowing her eyes at me.
"I don't have time to talk about it but please don't tell Skoodge." I reply rapidly, my heart thumping hard in my chest.
"Skoodge already knows, though." She says slowly, like she's surprised by the fact that I don't know this but that realization just makes the room spin a bit. The surveillance cameras. How did I forget about the surveillance cameras? I have to pull it together. I have to leave now before anyone tries to stop me. No matter how slowly time seems to go by on irk, I'm still pressed for it.
"Please move." I request, reaching down and picking GIR up.
"Wait, is your outing approved? You need to get authorization." She says, remaining in front of the exit.
"Tenn, I need to leave right now."
"Why?" She prods and I sigh.
"Dib." I hear from behind me and my heart flips as I turn back towards the long hallway. Skoodge is standing there watching what must look like a peculiar scene the four of us near the door have created. We're all just staring at each other for what feels like an eternity until Skoodge clears his throat, "The supplies, Tenn?"
"On the storage ship, sir." She replies with a nod.
"Good, thank you. Please drop Mimi off at my quarters. I don't have any other assignments for you today."
"Of course. I'll be at PAK repair, helping out if anything comes up." She replies and Skoodge smiles at her as she heads down the hall with Mimi in tow. I've been quiet during this interaction and my throat is dry as I attempt to swallow. He turns his gaze back to me, antenna perked and lips pursed.
"I know what you're going to say-" I start sputtering as GIR crawls his way up my shirt and sits on my shoulders.
"No you don't." He replies. "I've conferenced with my informant and… they pretty much had the same thing to say about Zim's condition. While they don't have much information on the procedure itself, they told me enough to bring more understanding of why you're concerned."
"Then… you'll let me go get him?" I ask, trying to revel in the small feeling of relief that's quickly overpowered by the anxiety continuing to grow. It's definitely not like I wanted to be right about this situation.
"No." He replies and my shoulders slump. "I'm bringing you to him. And I'll bring you both back here. But that's it, I cannot fly you all back to earth because I can't be away from here for that long-" I cut him off leaning down, nearly squeezing the life out of him in a hug. "Okay, okay. I love hugs as much as the next Irken hates them but we've got to go."
We all start up the stairs and once we're out, Skoodge locks up the bunker. Even with my contacts in, the reflection of the sun off the steel ground is too bright as I'm adjusting to finally being outside again. It couldn't have been more than a week or a week and a half but that's more than enough for me. I'm trying to tune out GIR's humming of Baby Shark as Skoodge leads us past all these empty looking spaces until he stops in front of one and uncloaks his ship. As we're standing under it, beaming up, I'm biting the inside of my cheek and tapping my foot. On the ship, Skoodge heads for the pilot's seat and I set GIR down. Unsurprisingly, he immediately wanders off to the lower area where all the snacks are but I don't want any snacks. In fact, thinking about being down there with Zim just over a week ago makes my stomach hurt even more. I try to take a deep breath but it only hurts my chest as it stretches as far as it can but I still feel suffocated. I'm back to pacing back and forth across the cockpit floor right after Skoodge takes off and reactivates the cloak. Once we're flying steadily through the air he turns to me.
"Dib, what are you doing?" He asks. I stop and turn to look at him. I never told him what I heard. I didn't get the chance to because right after I heard the Tallests say it, I could tell Zim was on his way back. "Why are you shaking like that?"
"They're going to kill him! They may have done it already! We're too late, I'm too late!" I start stumbling on my sentences. "I knew this entire trip was a bad idea from the very beginning, I should have tried harder to talk him out of it!" I feel my heart speed up and the center of my chest hurts as I continue trying to drag in air. The edges of my vision are turning black and starting to close in, making it difficult to see my shaking palms in front of me.
"Woah woah woah, come here, sit down." He insists, jumping up and walking me over to the copilot's seat. I hear him asking me all these questions like if I'm sick or if I need to lay down but he sounds far away as I continue staring at the floor. My chest is tightening, my skin is burning hot and I wonder if I'm going to pass out but I try to steady my breathing. If I'm not too late already, I certainly will be if I go unconscious. I just have to pull it together. I have to keep it together. Skoodge disappears for a few moments but when he comes back he's offering me an armful of drinks. "I don't know which one you can have…" I finally turn to him so I can assess all the cans, opting for the recognizable pink one from the snack raid Zim and I went on last time we were here. It's cold in my hand and I close my eyes to focus on the feeling as I try to get my breathing under control by inhaling for four seconds, holding it for seven seconds, and then exhaling through my mouth for eight seconds. After a few more breathing cycles I reopen my eyes and ground myself, pulling the tab on the soda until it opens. After having a few sips, I turn to Skoodge who's watching me intently.
"Thank you… I… I'm sorry about that." I say.
"Are you alright? What happened?" He asks.
"I'm fine, that just happens sometimes when I'm… it's fine." I reply, refocusing on drinking the cold soda. He doesn't look convinced but he eventually returns to the pilot's seat, casting concerned glances my way every few seconds.
"Why do they hate him?" I ask quietly. Skoodge stiffens in his seat momentarily but keeps his gaze locked on the flight path.
"They don't hate him." He replies eventually. "Ro and Hex… They're…"
"They what?" I ask and he doesn't respond. "Why would they decide that he has to die if they don't hate him? He wasn't even doing anything. He was minding his business, nowhere near Irk. You have to REALLY hate someone to actively seek them out to do this." I continue and he glances at me briefly. "What is it that he's not telling me? Things were finally going okay on earth and then… and then, well this…"
"Dib. Every Irken wants to make the Tallests happy. It's how we're hatched, it's programmed into us, and then taught to us for our whole life. Every single one of us wants to make the Tallests happy."
"You too?" I ask.
"Yes. But I've accepted that it's impossible. I've accepted that I can't do that. Zim hasn't."
"I thought that maybe he was starting to…"
"It's not easy when you're an Irken. If you keep getting opportunities to make the Tallests proud, it feels more natural than breathing to just keep accepting them. You keep thinking 'maybe this time' every time. Every. Single. Time. Until the last time… We're all worthless… and expendable. We're replaceable. But the Tallests can change that. If they say we are someone, then we are."
"Do you really think that?"
"I used to. I'm supposed to. I believed it with everything in me for a long time. But I can see value in people without the Tallests telling me to." He replies, still focused on piloting. "Tenn. Tenn is so valuable. She's kind, smart, and compassionate. And I can't imagine not being her friend just because the Tallests left her for dead on Meekrob. And there are so many others. So many Irkens that the Tallests have just cast aside like nothing, but they're not nothing. Tenn is not nothing. I am not nothing. Zim is not nothing. No matter what we've been made to believe."
"Do you think maybe they hate you guys because you're more on the side of free thinking? I mean it seems like this is all about control and they can't control you if you develop too much self respect and self esteem."
"I don't think they hate us. That would require some level of care. But you are right about control, though. They don't hate Zim. They're afraid of him because they can't control him. Literally no one can. I admire it." He shrugs. I sigh and look down at my uniform. It's just clothes but they hold so much meaning. Such a weighted and oppressive history. I used to just think that Zim was criminally insane, and maybe he is. I'm certainly not saying he isn't. But there's so much more going on.
This is just… a lot. And so many things that I don't understand, not that it isn't making sense but these are things that I have no experience with that I couldn't even fathom. I can't imagine being this brainwashed and I can't imagine an entire population truly believing that their lives are useless just because two people told them so.
"I see value in you, too you know." Skoodge says, his tone perking up a bit. "An alien. A lowly human." He teases, smiling at me and I elbow him in the side.
"Gee, I'm flattered." I laugh back.
"Okay, but in all honesty, you're really smart. Passionate, dedicated-"
"Please stop it." I reply, pinching my lips and feeling my face warm up.
"And let's not forget endlessly patient and also bold since you're doing the…" he starts, waving a hand in the air like he's looking for the words. "The dating with Zim."
"Skoodge, I swear."
"And apparently bashful-"
"We WILL fight!" I interject and he bursts out into a fit of giggles. "You think you're so funny, focus on the road or whatever." I laugh, draining the rest of my soda. Once we both quiet down I let out a yawn, realizing how tired I am. I wish sugary drinks gave me energy like it does for them. I could definitely use the boost. I'm staring out the window and suddenly notice the ground just ahead of us transitions from the metallic silver ground to something else. The ground we're approaching is all green. I reflexively try to push my glasses up my nose (and remember they aren't there) and stand up from my chair, moving closer to the window. Once we get a bit closer to the new ground I realize it isn't ground at all. It's hundreds- maybe even thousands of Irken. They're all in uniform, standing in the straightest rows I have ever seen. They're too far away for me to see their faces but they almost look like statues. Motionless. Lifeless. "What… what's going on?"
"Oh, them. They're waiting for their turn to go into the academy." Skoodge replies as we continue to drift over the massive crowd.
"How long do they wait like that?" I ask, eyes wide as I've never seen such a huge gathering this close up before.
"If they aren't a service drone or have some type of job they're responsible for then they have to wait there for about half the day. Since Ro and Hex put everyone in retraining, they all attend the academy in shifts."
"So they just stand there like that until it's their turn?"
"Essentially, yes." He replies and I shake my head, returning to my seat. We're both silent for a few moments.
"So…" Skoodge says, clearing his throat. "We're almost there." I swallow and look down at the counter. When I look up again, I can see the beginnings of what must be The Massive in the distance. "Do you know what you'll do when we get there?"
"I don't…" I admit. The two words form a knot around my stomach and squeeze.
"Running onto The Massive without a plan. And here I thought Zim was the dangerously impulsive one." He says.
"Maybe he's rubbing off on me."
"Can you fly a ship?" He asks and I whip my head in his direction.
"What? Why? Why are you asking me that? Aren't you going to drive us back?" I start asking rapidly.
"Wait, calm down, I was just thinking that maybe it would be safer for you to watch the ship and maybe I could go find him instead." He replies and I sigh, looking down at the floor and shaking my head.
"I can't… I can't fly a ship. Not one like this anyway and even the ship I have flown in the past, I haven't been able to in a really long time."
"Okay… That's okay. I just didn't really want you to have to be anywhere near Ro and Hex but listen, I'm going to take you directly to the entry point. When we get there, there should be some guards but I'll distract them and then you walk down the main hall until you get to these two gigantic doors. Are you following?" He asks and I blink slowly at him. "Dib, do you understand what I'm saying?" He asks firmly, snapping his fingers in front of my face.
"Yes… Yeah, I do. I…"
"Please focus. This could turn real dangerous real fast. Get in, get Zim, and get out. Do you understand?" He asks, red eyes piercing and serious. Yet another Irken who doesn't present like they're as small as they actually are because he's a little intimidating right now. He's right. I have to keep it together. I'm going to choose to believe that we aren't too late and I can't go running onto the massive feeling terrified. It'll mess everything up. I sit up straight and face him, taking in a breath.
"Yes, I understand. You distract the guards, I go get Zim."
"As fast as possible. I don't like being here…" he says resolutely, returning his focus to the controls.
"So Zim is directly behind the doors?" I ask.
"I was told he is but I'm not exactly certain. I think the layout of this new ship is like the old one but I haven't seen it myself. If it is and he's in PAK analysis then it's behind the main doors."
"How do you know?" I ask.
"I've been there. The last time they tried to fit me for a PAK." He replies and I nod. As we drift closer to The Massive, my breath catches in my throat. I've never felt so small in my entire life, this so-called "ship" is planet sized. And as much as I enjoy calling Zim a bug, this ship is shaped much more like one. The best I could describe it is that it reminds me of some type of deformed praying mantis. Come to think of it, I'd say it's pretty fitting for Ro and Hex. It's also got to be two times bigger than Irk itself and I see one long silver connector that drags Irk behind The Massive. Skoodge steers us around the side of it, closer to what I assume is the front but pulls to a stop halfway. "You can't enter through the front, you'll have to go through here." He instructs, fingers moving rapidly over all the different buttons on the control dash. Something starts flashing on the screen which I recognize as a countdown and Skoodge stands up, looking at me. "Are you ready?"
"Yes." I reply confidently even though I'm feeling anything but. "GIR! Come up here!" He's rocketing back into the cockpit seconds later, eyes, shoulders and chest panel bright red even though there's some kind of sticky purple syrup all around his mouth.
"Sir!" He salutes in a deeper voice.
"Ready to earn those tacos?" I ask and he nods vehemently. I look back at Skoodge and nod. It feels like I'm floating through a dream as Skoodge deposits us at an entrance. It's an oval shaped doorway with a ledge that forces me to stand pressed to the doors or risk falling an insane several thousand stories into steel ground.
"We need to hurry up before someone comes to use this transporter entrance. Take this," he says, handing me a small vial of what looks like watery mud. "Pour it onto the doors so you can get in. Remember how to get back here because I'll come back here to pick you both up." He instructs and I nod. GIR and I just stand on the skinny ledge and I can still see the extensive crowd of Irken in the distance. I'm staring in that direction hard, trying to look for some form of movement or anything at all besides the stoic, unmoving soldiers then suddenly there's a loud noise from the other side of The Massive that shakes the entire structure, startling me and knocking GIR clean off of the ledge.
"Jesus, GIR!" I exclaim, leaning over and catching him by the arm. "Can't you fly or something?" I groan, reaching up and holding onto some silver cord attached to the top of the doorway that extends all the way down to the ground. It stops me from tumbling over after him and he's doing what GIRs do at the most inappropriate times. Giggling. I shake my head and prop him up on my shoulders, assuming whatever just happened had to be the distraction Skoodge promised. Which means, I have to get moving while he's called attention elsewhere on this huge ship. On the other side of the doors, I can hear a loud buzzing alarm sounding in a typical pattern. My hands shake as I grip the cork at the top and work it away from the tube, then pouring some of the contents on the door. Something tells me to save some of it but for a moment I feel a little silly because nothing happens aside from me watching… whatever it is… drip down the metal. I'm getting ready to empty the remaining contents but then the oddly grassy smelling liquid starts to smell more like burning rubber before taking on a more metallic smell and an audible sizzle intensifies from all the parts of the door that have been exposed. I wish I could back a little further away from whatever is happening but just a few seconds later, the contents of the vial has completely eaten away at the door until nothing but a gaping hole remains and I can see down the long hallway Skoodge must have been telling me about. Well, to the right I see the long hallway. The left has yet another set of doors but it's right there. It can't be the right ones because I specifically remember Skoodge saying to go down the hall. He did, didn't he? Oh crap now my hands are sweating and the alarm is ringing in my ears even louder. But I need to get moving. This is all timed, isn't it? Okay, okay. I'm definitely going down this hall... I think…
Oh wait a minute!
"Alright GIR, I'm following your lead." I say, setting him down in front of me and although that's probably one of the single most dangerous things anyone could actually do, I don't hesitate to follow him as he proceeds down the hall with purpose. While this probably isn't a good time to marvel at the interior of The Massive, the long purple hallway is admittedly captivating with stars passing by overhead, right outside of the glass ceiling. Just as we make it to the middle of the hallway I hear some odd noises coming from where we just left and I grab GIR, pressing my back up on the wall as much as I can and just hoping that whoever it is, doesn't need to walk down this way. The other end of the hall goes silent again and I keep walking until we get to the double doors. I set GIR down beside me and prepare to open the vial again when the doors are whisked open. Although I all but jump out of my skin, the Irken I'm faced with looks unamused but also confused. At the same time, she's familiar.
"What are you doing?" Tak asks and I swallow. "Comms officers are either in academy or checking the breach on the Southside of the ship." I'm trying to think up some type of response but I don't come up with anything in time before she glances down and sees GIR. "Wait a minute…"
"Hi! I'm being quiet!" GIR announces loudly and she squints at him. I take a deep breath and reach a shaky hand under my tunic, retrieving the destabilizer and aiming at her. She doesn't seem shaken at all but she eyes it curiously and my other hand starts to hurt with how tightly I'm holding the vial.
"Tak. I'm not here to hurt you. Or anyone for that matter. I'm just here for Zim." I say, thankful that my voice somehow successfully comes out much more steady than I feel. She glances between me and the destabilizer a few times until a crackle comes through her communicator glove and snaps her out of her reverie.
"Lieutenant, requesting permission to proceed into hard lockdown." I hear through the speaker. The room is starting to spin and it feels like I'm being suffocated on top of my head starting to throb as the alarms continue to blare.
"Hold off. I'm on my way to check over the rear entryway." She replies, staring me dead in the eye and then addressing me. "Put that away. I'm not your enemy. And hurry up. I can't prevent the lockdown if The Tallests order it and you don't want to be here when they do." I'm confused at this for a moment and then it all starts to click. Tak is an informant. She's helping Skoodge. Which has to mean she's also helping me. That's why Mimi was at the bunker. I put the destabilizer back, grabbing GIR up and although I could collapse at the relief of not having to actually fight Tak, I try to stay focused. I hear the sound of the doors back where I came from and feel the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. I'm not really sure what's happening when suddenly, Tak grabs the front of my tunic and shoves me into the room, the sound of the door shutting behind her echoing throughout the room. It sounds like it was just in time because a moment later, as I'm getting my bearings, I can hear her speaking with someone else on the other side of the door before both voices start to fade away.
"We're almost there! I'm getting tacos!" GIR chimes excitedly, leaping from my arms and rushing towards the other side of the huge room.
"GIR, shhh!" I insist, but he likely doesn't even hear me. He continues on until he reaches some door and starts trying to push it open. I look over all the empty deep-pink colored tables with dozens of desktop computers lined up. There's also an incredible sized window above what looks like the steering station. If I was really a troublemaker I'd definitely have planned to do more than come and get Zim. At this moment, I'm realizing that I'm alone in the main room of The Massive. Wearing an Irken translator! I could steal so much vital information right now, Operation Impending Doom 3 plans, flight paths, ship schematics…
"Initiating hard lockdown. Sealing operation code one." I hear overhead. It's louder than the alarms that are still going off and now there are these bright white flashing lights. Everything is making it hard to think straight but after the lights flash a few times, I'm able to spot GIR still mindlessly trying to open that door. I make my way over to him and see next to the door is a keypad.
"GIR stop. It's locked." I say, staring at the keys. It looks like this vial will come in handy a second time but now I'm nervous I'll need more. I pry it open and spill a few drops over the keypad, raising an arm to shield my face when it starts to spark and sizzle. Even in the chaos of the flashing lights, I see a cloud of dark gray smoke starting to spread throughout the room. Coughing a few times, I hear the door finally slide up.
"Yay! It's on fire!" GIR exclaims as the sparks catch, managing to become a small flame.
"Come on." I insist, quickly walking into the newly opened room and even though it's hard to see, my eyes immediately zero in on Zim. He's strapped down and motionless on some kind of operating table alone in this creepy looking experimental lab.
"I found him! I found master! Can we leave now?" GIR asks excitedly but I don't respond as I rush over to where Zim is laying. I climb the small set of steps up to him and observe the weird lights keeping him stuck to the table.
"Zim? Can you hear me?" I ask. His eyes remain closed and with everything going on, my heart drops because I can't tell if he's breathing. I try shaking his shoulders gently and note that he feels warm. That would probably be a good sign if he were human, but he's never felt that way before. I tug on the blue lights wrapped around him but they won't budge so I peer around him. It looks like his PAK is through this table so I reach over to see if I can push it through the hole but as soon as my hand connects to it, it feels as if I've just placed it into an open flame and I snatch my hand away.
"Ah! Fucking dammit, what the fuck!" I exclaim, losing my balance at the top of the steps and flailing for some nonexistent handrails. My breath is knocked out of me as my back hits the floor and as soon as it returns, I start trying to blow on my bright red, burned hand. When I glance back up at Zim, these huge monitors over him catch my attention instead. I didn't even notice them when I walked in but I don't know how. They're enormous and they're all switched on. The first one all the way to the left depicts a photo of Zim and tons of information underneath. I stand up and back away a bit so I can see the screen better and my jaw drops. "Zim, PAK serial number 998722799402…" It goes on to list what smeetery he was produced in and it lists him as being 22 years in age. His status is listed as banished with the word defective in parentheses next to it. Towards the bottom of the screen it starts talking about all his accomplishments while in academy despite countless disciplinary actions taken against him and his first assigned role in Operation Impending Doom One as a chief officer. I glance back at him and he's still completely unconscious. Then I look towards the doorway and finally walk over to the keyboards in the middle of the floor. Using the center keypad of the one on the left, I scroll down through his file.
"Past occupation, scientist. Title stripped. Reassigned to Invader training. Title stripped. Reassigned to Foodcourtia. Zim what is this…?" I mumble more to myself. The second screen is filled completely with tiny numbers and letters and various characters that my necklace can't even translate for me and the same goes for the third screen except a lot of these characters are highlighted in bright red. Whoever was here, left the blinking cursor on the third screen but I don't mess with it. I continue scrolling around his file when one word catches my eye. "Where did it go…?" I whisper, scrolling back up until I spot it. "Criminal record? Crimes against the Empire…" it goes on to start listing dates, locations and actions but I look away. It feels wrong for some reason… I knew there had to be something he wasn't telling me but this is not how I'm supposed to find out… when he's ready to open up to me, if he ever is, then I'll listen. Plus, for now it's more important that I focus on getting us out of here. I have no idea how to get him away from the table that is obviously cooking him alive but I'm sure it has something to do with this computer. But if I pour the acid onto the keyboard, what if it hurts him? The stuff on the second and third monitors are clearly his DNA coding or whatever and it looks like someone's been trying to alter it or something. What if I break the controls and it erases him? Before I can decide how to approach the situation, the alarm stops and the lights stop flashing, allowing an unsettling silence to fall over the room. I also see that the smoke has stopped from outside the door as GIR goes back into the main room. "GIR, stay in here!" I hiss but he of course ignores me. I start to chase after him but just before I get to the doorway, I hear the main doors click and hear voices. It doesn't sound like Tak and alarm bells are ringing in my head louder than the real ones that were just shut off so I decide to run behind the steps that Zim's table is sitting on.
"Okay Zim." I whisper, hearing them growing closer. Whatever they're discussing sounds heated. "We'll figure this out, I'm right here though." I sigh quietly, avoiding the urge to peek around the steps and see who is coming in here. When they get to the doorway, though, I don't have to wonder anymore.
"Hex…" one of them says.
"It's broken? How did that happen? What did you do?" The other asks. My heart starts hammering in my chest as I realize that I'm currently in the company of the Tallests and they found the broken keypad outside the door.
"I didn't do anything! It was like this when I got here!"
"Oh sure it was, Ro. Just get Tak to fix it." Hex says, her voice growing closer. It freaks me out because as they draw near, I don't hear any footsteps.
"She still on the Southside-"
"Do I have to do everything?!" Hex interjects loudly. I finally sneak a glance around the steps and see them both at the keyboard before fully hiding again.
"You?!" Ro asks, incredulously. "I've been doing all the work!"
"Work you gave yourself! I say we have more than enough of his code and information!"
"Yeah enough for an ineffective and useless preventative solution. You can't do these things halfway!"
"He's more trouble than he's worth! Get rid of him, now!" Hex demands. Ro sighs loudly and I hear some forceful, likely agitated, clicks of some buttons.
"How?! How is he just so troublesome? He's strapped to a table! Just calm down-"
"I don't know how! He's just bad luck! The reconstruction was moving along perfectly and now suddenly we're dealing with security breaches and extensive ship damage? I don't want him here anymore!" Hex complains.
"He didn't do any of that, Hex. It's purely coincidental and nothing was found on the Southside. It was probably just some space debris we collided with. The repairs have already started on the ship and if we get rid of him now, we just leave an open ended possibility for another messed up smeet to turn into him further down the line."
"Ro-"
"Do you want to end up like all the other Tallests?!" I jump a little at the sound of Ro raising her voice then there's a beat of silence and I close my eyes, leaning my back against the staircase.
"Hurry up with the code." Hex mumbles and I start to wonder just how long I'll be stuck here. I can wait until they leave the room again and try to get Zim out… Unfortunately, I'm not in suspense for long as I hear a familiar clanking sound drawing near.
"Master?! Where did you go?" GIR calls and I smack a hand to my forehead.
"How did that get in here?" Hex asks.
"I don't know… He must be the one that busted the door, looking for Zim. It's his SIR unit, the one from his file."
"That thing is not an SIR unit." Hex scoffs in response.
"Well just get rid of it then, I'm busy." Ro says, disinterestedly.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Hex hisses.
"You're getting on my nerves, today. Just take it to the Digestor." Ro sighs.
"Come this way, little robot thing." Hex calls and GIR runs over to her. I look over at them and when he gets there she yanks him up by one arm and turns to head for the broken door.
"Hey! Master!" GIR exclaims at the rough handling and my eyes blow open.
"Stop fussing! You don't have a master and that makes you even more useless than you were before, which isn't saying much." Hex replies, yanking open his chest panel and doing something. I can't see the scene clearly but my blood is boiling. I don't think I've ever wanted to kill anyone this much. Not even Zim. I only wanted him dead for autopsy purposes but Hex? This isn't about autopsy. "Don't try to use any of your faulty weapons on me, I've deactivated them." She continues shaking him around and even though I can barely breathe, I know I have to do something right now.
"Stop that!" I scream, running from behind the staircase. Both Ro and Hex shriek at my sudden appearance and Hex accidentally drops GIR to the floor she's hovering over.
"Maser!" He exclaims, running over and attaching himself to my leg. I glance up at Zim, then down at GIR and sigh. Both Tallests are inching towards me and my mind is racing trying to figure out how to get us all out of here.
"An outdated Irken…" Ro says thoughtfully.
"Huh?" I swallow.
"How did you get in here?" Hex asks firmly and I've backed up as much as possible against Zim's steps.
"I-I was looking for my SIR Unit…" I say back and my God my entire body is shaking. Ro and Hex have to be two times my own height and they're towering over me.
"Your SIR Unit?" Hex asks and I nod. She and Ro exchange a look. "See? What did I tell you? He's bad luck! Now we're having break-ins. Break-ins! On The Massive!"
"Okay, okay… You're right." Ro says, defeated. "You take care of them, I'll take care of Zim."
"Wait what?" I squeak, my heart beating loudly and the feeling spreading through my head.
"I'm sure you understand why we can't allow anyone who has snuck onto the massive and glimpsed our research and development project without authorization to go about roaming the streets." Hex replies.
"I didn't! I didn't see anything! I swear!" I insist and she's just shaking her head. "I'm just here for Zim- I mean GIR- I mean my SIR Unit!"
"Tell me at which Great Assigning ceremony did you receive this SIR?" Hex asks and I gulp loudly.
"For Operation Impending Doom… 3?" I reply unsure.
"A time traveler. The Great Assigning Ceremony for Operation Impending Doom 3 hasn't happened yet and all SIRs have been revoked and deactivated." Hex replies aggressively and I feel my face pale. She reaches down abruptly and yanks me up by my antennae. The pain shoots through my head and GIR, still grasping onto my left leg, starts screaming as she proceeds to haul us away. We're approaching the doorway and I'm scratching at her hand around my antennae when I make the split second decision to pull off my headphones. The antennas fade away as my ears shift back into place and the headphones remain the only thing in Hex's grasp while GIR and I plummet to the floor. Then I'm suddenly upside down as GIR flies us down at the last minute. I only look up at Hex's confused face for a second before the room is plunged into darkness. The alarm from earlier starts blaring again and the white lights are flashing rapidly as I cover my ears. I pull my hands away and my gloves are coated with deep red liquid.
"Now what!?" Ro shouts from over by the keyboard.
"Tak! Shut that alarm off!" Hex calls into her sleeve but I don't hear a reply and Hex huffs in exasperation, throwing the headphones down to the floor. I flinch when they land next to me as I'm still sitting on the floor, GIR hiding behind me. "This creature isn't an Irken, I have no idea what it is. Go shut off that alarm." She tells Ro. She looks menacing, inching closer and closer to me in the flashing lights and even though I'm sure Zim would hate me forever if I did this, I reach under my tunic and retrieve the PAK-Destabilizer, aiming up at her.
"Get away from us!" I shout over the alarms.
"Ha! What is that?" She laughs, not at all phased and I get to my feet.
"It'll kill you, I promise you that! Let Zim go and we'll all leave. You won't ever have to see us again." I say, finding whatever bravery has manifested within me. It just feels like I have nothing to lose. This has already gone sour. This rescue mission has turned into a suicide mission and I am caring less and less about the reckless decisions I'm making. If we're all going down, we're taking a Talkest with us and Irkens had better have souls because I am going to give Zim a piece of my mind about not listening to me.
"I don't have time for these games anymore." Hex spits, reaching to grab at me and I press the safety of the destabilizer. The loud popping sound can be heard over the alarms and she looks visibly shaken.
"Hex, I am not kidding, let him go." I repeat through gritted teeth. She stares at the weapon before deciding she doesn't want to find out what it's capable of. She heads over to the keyboard and I turn, keeping both my eyes and the destabilizer on her the whole time. GIR squeezes my leg tighter as Hex starts pressing keys.
"Master!" He shrieks and I glance down at him but before I can respond or do anything I hear this sickening cutting sound. My entire body feels numb and it seems like GIR is far away but I can hear him screaming as he tears away from me. I finally feel the initial numbness fading away and look down to notice a sharp metal rod, dripping red and sticking out of the right side of my chest about three inches under my shoulder. My mouth drops open and I look from the metal protruding from my skin to Hex but she is still standing over by the computer, looking equally as shocked as I feel. Then, just as quickly as it pierced me, it's removed. I gasp at the intense pain radiating throughout my entire body. My hands shake as I raise one to the opening, turning towards the exit of the room and the flashing lights illuminate Ro as she retreats the dagger-like PAK leg. My legs start to feel like gelatin and it only gets worse until I'm falling to my knees. I'm gasping for air but every inhale hurts and with every exhale, I feel even more faint. I can't find any words to say as I look up at Ro and I'm suddenly yanked up from behind. Hex has me suspended in the air by the back of my invader uniform and she snarls in my face, snatching the destabilizer and flinging it across the room. It lands a loud clang of metal on metal.
"What is that piece of junk you tried to threaten me with?!" She asks, shaking me around angrily. "How dare you?!" I feel so defeated at this moment. I failed at everything. I couldn't even keep myself safe, let alone Zim. If this is the end, what will Gaz tell dad? What will Gaz think?
"Here, little robot thing. Where have you gone?" I hear Ro calling as she searches the room for wherever GIR has hidden from the entire scene.
I reach deep down into myself for any words and try my best to voice them and although they come out shaky, the message is clear.
"Zim, please wake up!" I say as loudly as I can, crying in pain as Hex shakes me around again and tells me to shut up.
"You've wasted enough of our time and resources. All three of you." She hisses and I stare into her scary large white eyes with each flash of lights. It's over… but before I let her do whatever she's thinking…
"You…" I start, taking in another breath with a wheeze. "Are a shitty leader." I growl, collecting as much saliva as I can and spitting at her. She gasps and bares her set of sharp teeth.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with, you-you…" she gives up on trying to find some demeaning word to call me and instead settles for roughly grabbing at the necklace translator and tearing it away from me. The guttural scream I let out turns my own stomach and I start kicking my legs rapidly towards her, feeling even more hot blood dripping down my chest. As the emergency light flashes again, I hear a sharp metallic noise and watch as Hex extends a large blade from her PAK pressing it dangerously close to my neck. She says something else to me but my translator is gone now and I have to rely on what little Irken I've managed to pick up. She presses the knife further into my skin and my vision blurs as tears gather and immediately begin spilling over. She presses it into the gash left behind by the poorly removed translator and I scream again.
"My Tallest…?" I hear faintly and I think it's just my own wishful hallucination but Hex looks over at Zim and I know it isn't. I look over at him where he's still strapped to his table but he's watching the scene unfold, eyes wide.
"What's he doing awake?! Can't you do anything right?!" I think is what Hex is hissing and Ro responds something to the effect of looking for GIR. Hex huffs out an agitated breath and I snatch the translator from her hand. My vision is fading but I manage to loosely wrap it around my arm, hoping and praying it works. Before Hex is able to react, it sinks into my wrist.
"What is happening here?" Zim asks, clearly dazed…
"What is this thing, Zim? And why has it come to retrieve you?" Hex asks. My entire body is paining from everything that's happened but I'm desperately trying to hold onto consciousness.
"It's… its…" Zim stutters, observing me carefully. "I'll take him back."
"What!?" Hex hisses and Zim seems to fully come to, then.
"Please, My Tallests. I'll take him back to his planet. I'll come back, you can do whatever you want to me, just let Zim take him home." He pleads, starting to struggle against the restraints. At that moment, we hear GIR shriek as Ro must have finally located him.
"Take that hunk of junk to the Digestor immediately." Hex tells her and Ro nods, carrying GIR to the exit by one arm.
"Let him go!" I cough out, painfully.
"Leave him alone!" Zim shouts, not even a second after me but we both go unacknowledged. GIR is using one hand to try and pry Ro's grip off of the other but to no avail and I feel myself growing lightheaded. Zim squeezes his eyes shut for a second before opening them again and looking at GIR. "GIR, self destruct!" He orders and I can't even gasp but I am surprised. I'm just also feeling so… tired. It's getting difficult to hold my head up. "GIR, do it, self-destruct! Now!" Zim repeats and from what I hear, he does. I don't see it happen because Hex moves us away from GIR and I hear Ro shout after the explosion.
"Enough is enough!" Ro declares, raising her gloved wrist. "Tak! Get here now and bring backup!"
"Not necessary. This whole ordeal ends now." Hex says viciously, and I feel the blade on my neck again but my eyes have already drifted closed and I just don't have it in me to continue struggling against her.
"Please don't, please!" Zim screams. "I'll do anything you want. You… you brought me here to deactivate me, right? Leave him out of this." There's a brief moment of no one saying anything until Ro speaks.
"Hex… This thing is the anomaly. This is what's wrong with his code." She says in shock and it's almost like I can hear their thoughts clicking as realization dawns on them.
"Oh Zim…" Hex tsks disapprovingly. "How did we not guess!? You tainted your PAK for this thing? That's not very Irken of you, now is it?." Her tone is dripping with both disgust and condescension.
"I haven't, I… I'm…Everything you want me to pay for is my fault. Your problem is with Zim and Zim alone." He replies insistently.
"We don't want you to pay for anything." Hex says, matter of factly. "Everything you've done has led us to our Position as Tallests. We want to PREVENT you from causing any further trouble. The other Tallests couldn't deal with you but we can. They were much too merciful and it delivered them to their untimely end… we aren't like them."
"Please stop hurting him, he wasn't involved in any of that stuff." Zim replies.
"Yes well I am sure the Digestor would like to try a bit of your anomaly." Hex says back, yanking up my right arm and starting to cut into my upper arm and I see stars behind my eyelids as I scream and beg her to stop. I don't even know why I'm doing it, I know she isn't going to.
"Stop!" I hear Zim shout but Hex continues sinking her blade into my arm and I feel more tears spilling down my face, continuing to scream as much as I can and trying to find strength to struggle against her. "I said STOP IT!" Zim shouts but there's something completely different about it this time. It's louder than anything I have ever heard before. It booms across the room and as long as he's yelling I can't hear any alarms nor do I hear Ro or Hex. It startles Hex into dropping my arm yet I'm still suspended in the air as her PAK leg remains hooked into my clothing. My ears start ringing as Zim is still screaming and the drums start to sting so, as much as it pains me all over, I raise my hands and cover my ears tightly. When he stops I drop my arms to my sides again and see Hex looking shocked. "PUT HIM DOWN!" I hear from behind me but I can't see. I don't think anyone could convince me that it was Zim who said that because his voice is completely unrecognizable. It's several octaves lower but his natural voice can still be heard overlapping this new one. Is it new? Or is it just another thing I don't know about him? "PUT HIM DOWN, HEX, I'LL KILL YOU, I SWEAR!" He growls and Hex squints before I'm suddenly flying across the room. I see flashes of technology and equipment before I feel my back collide with a wall, the PAK mashing into my spine and my head slamming against the metal before I slide down to the floor, gasping for painful breath after breath. Zim let's out another one of those ear-splitting wails and I have to find it in me to cover my ears again and squeeze my eyes tight. On top of the alarm lights, there's this new flashing and booming sounds of whatever Zim has decided to fire at both of the Tallests. He doesn't let up either, I crack my eyes open and see a dozen PAK legs extended and various weapons firing off without pause. Flashes of white, red, blue, even black as he aims for where I assume the Tallests have escaped to. He doesn't stop firing until the entire room is blanketed in heavy smoke and only then does he turn my way. His bright red eyes are the only things I see besides all of the glowing barrels of the weapons looming over him and he's panting. His eyes are brighter than ever before, like how lightbulbs get just before they blow out, and it's so menacing looking as he starts over towards me.
At this point, I'm absolutely sure he's lost it. He has clearly snapped and he might likely try to kill me, too. I've never seen him like this before. Maybe the Tallests messed with his code a little too much. Whatever it is, I back up against the wall as far as I can go as he approaches me and I turn my head away, closing my eyes. My skin prickles when I sense him kneeling down in front of me and I brace myself until I feel a gloved palm gently land on the side of my face. I open my eyes and turn to look at him. He's retracted all of his PAK weapons and his eyes, while sad, are back to normal. I lean into his touch as the relief blankets me, pulling my body down and making me feel unbelievably heavy.
"Dib…" he says, his other hand hovering over my torso.
"SpaceBug." I start and even though it comes out much weaker than I intended, I continue. "Don't hate me but… I snuck out of the Bunker." I say as my vision starts to fade away. Black splotches start from the sides, closing in until eventually I can't see Zim anymore and everything in the room dissipates.