Big surprise, something went wrong and now they're in trouble. I wonder how they will get out of it.
"DIB-WORM, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Zim yelled judgingly at Dib, who could only look at him in shock and anger.
"ME?! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE MY FAULT?! YOU'RE PROBABLY THE REASON THIS CLOWN DISCOVERED US!"
"*GASP*...YOU…DARE ACCUSE ME THE mighty ZIM!" The invader answered back, getting right up to Dib's face, who only welcomed the challenge. As the two would-be burglars literally butted heads, a secret camera recorded them and sent the image up into the building, eventually reaching the security office. Where Watchman and his assistant Michael looked with perplexed expressions.
"...See, what did I tell you, they're stupid." Watchman declared satisfied.
"I…I wasn't expecting it to be so literal." Michael replied, still shocked at how two young adults somehow managed to infiltrate such a glamorous event.
"You never do." His boss replied as if it was wisdom passed down from many years of experience.
"Now, let's see if we can get them to surrender peacefully. God, I hope they don't."
Watchman tapped on the mic, the sound echoing in the great hall. The room was still enveloped in the red lights which blinked periodically, as the voice from hidden speakers returned. But Zim and Dib were too busy slapping each other and yelling curses to notice.
"AHEM!" He said loudly into the microphone, managing to finally again get their attention.
"As you two might have noticed, you have been found out. Clever trick, cutting off the power. I haven't ever seen such masterful hacking in all my years of security.
"Of course you haven't," Zim said, sounding like the compliment was still somehow an insult. "My abilities when it comes to computers far outpace any primitive 'security programs' you primate worms may have created."
"You sure?" Dib asked, not fully convinced.
"DIDN'T ZIM TELL YOU TO SHUT YOUR MOUTH HOLE!"
"But still, admiration will only get you so far. I don't know how you planned to get out of this mess but trust me when I say it is quite futile."
"Sir, not to interrupt, but isn't this a little childish," Michael commented quietly.
"Mikey, this is the MOST fun part of the job! Don't ruin it for me! Ahem, as I was saying, you-...wait. What's wrong with you? You're all green and…my god… you're-" The security overseer started saying, with fear and hope blossoming on Zims and Dib's faces, separately.
"Wait, is it finally gonna happen? Will someone finally realize that you're-"
"-a kid with a rare skin disease! God, you look ugly. You should really get that checked."
"Oh god dammit," Dib exclaimed, with an age-old disappointment in his voice.
Out of character, Zim slowly patted the human on the back as if he were a poor animal.
"There there, my poor, horrible human. Maybe someday, someone will be as 'less stupid' as you. At which point I will destroy them and any traces of their worthless existence, but still." He said with his voice in a soft tone that only felt more humiliating for Dib.
"Wow, thanks, I feel so much better."
"Now, you have two options." Explained Watchman, his voice dripping with anticipation for which they would choose. "You can either decide to give yourself up, maybe bind a rope around yourselves, and sit and wait for my men to come and get you. Personally, I think that's the boring option and very unsportsmanlike. Therefore, I would prefer you pick the other option, which is to try and escape. But to be fair to both of you (and because it technically is required by law), I have to warn you that the chances of you dying a horrible and inhuman death are much higher than your chance of escape. So…which will it be?"
"...Can't we just leave the room?" Dib asked, not feeling as threatened as Watchman had hoped.
"Not really, as I have practically every door in this building locked and I've made sure that the ones of strategic importance are reinforced with steel. So, no, you can't just leave the room and-"
"Zim, where does that hole lead?"
"A shaft of some kind that seems to run all the way up and down the building," Zim replied quite earnestly.
"Uh, can you please-"
"Do you think we both could fit there?" Dib asked, giving the hole that Zim had made an observing look.
"Well, MAYBE, but don't ask me to factor in your GINORMOUS head." The alien replied with an annoyed tone.
"Yep, that's good enough for me. I think we will pick that option, right Zim?"
"It pains me to agree with you Dib-thing, but it indeed sounds like a plan Zim would join in."
"That's our answer then," Dib said into the room, meant for Watchman.
A few seconds of silence passed and neither party moved. Then from Watchman's end, who had a slightly aggravated expression on his face, quietly took his finger and piloted it over to a big red button. There he pressed down. In the big room where Zim and Dib were, the red lights were then accompanied by a blaring alarm sound that rang heavy in their ears. Then, next to the closed door at the end of the hall that led to the elevator, two potted plants that were suited by its sides started shaking. In a violent explosion of dirt and plant matter, the pots broke to pieces and revealed two turrets inside. They were equipped each with a laser sight that very precisely closed in on the two intruders. They both stared intensely at each other as if it were a standoff.
"Wait! Zim, I think I know these models. They react to movement, so long as if we don't move, then-"
Dib was interrupted when the turrets immediately started firing. It was only because of Zim's reflexes that they managed to evade the bullets, with the alien forcefully dragging the human away.
"I WAS WRONG WHY WAS I SO WRONG!" Dib yelled in a panic as he could see the turrets adjusting their sights and the rain of bullets closing in.
"YOU'RE ALWAYS WRONG DIB-STINK!" Zim yelled back, as he ran towards the hole he made, with Dib following closely behind.
After a few intense seconds, they managed to reach the hole. The problem was that neither Dib nor Zim had thought about slowing down. After all, a hail of bullets was following them. But that also meant that once they reached their destination, they ran directly through. Unfortunately, there wasn't any ground beneath them. It was only thanks to the red light from the hall, that Dib was able to somewhat grasp the bottomless hole beneath him. And with that, he let out a scream as he felt nothing beneath his feet and saw the darkness coming towards him. He probably would have fallen into the abyss, if it wasn't for Zim.
Dib first heard for a moment the sound of metal piercing metal, before he felt two hands grasping at his suit. The impending darkness stopped and he found himself dangling in the air. Once he understood what had happened, he for once felt thankful for Zim's claws. As they were the only thing keeping Zim's grasp on his clothes. And of course, the metal legs that were holding onto the walls, and keeping them from falling.
"Wow…Zim, I think you-"
"-saved you? Again? Yes, as you clearly can't save yourself, Dib-thing." The alien explained, with Dib looking up at his red eyes.
"Could you at least TRY and make the effort of not making this a habit, otherwise I might just consider not saving your giant, stupid head in the future."
"Hey, it's not like I INTENTIONALLY-"
"EXCUSES DIB, EXCUSES!" Zim angrily hissed at the human.
"WHERE ARE THEY!" Watchman yelled as he smashed his fists into the desk, so his coffee mug fell down and broke into pieces. His eyes were practically bulging out of his head. Silence spread across the room, as his eyes slowly looked down to the floor at the new pool of coffee and porcelain.
"THAT WAS A GIFT FROM MY MOTHER!" He screamed in anguish as he realized what he had done.
He fell to his knees, and while he grieved, Michael tried assessing the situation and figuring out where they were. He commanded the workers to scan the immediate area where they disappeared for movement. Sure enough, they seemed to be barely below the hall, in a space between the rooms of the floor. And luckily for them, they didn't seem to be on the move.
"They seem to be in one of the utility shafts," Michael explained, and suddenly a sadistic smile appeared on Watchman's face.
"Are they now…" He slowly uttered, and Michael looked at him with worry on his face.
"What even is this? A utility corridor or something?" Dib asked, looking around the barely illuminated downward corridor they were in.
Wires and vents were almost in all directions, and guessing by the impenetrable darkness both below and above them, it seemed to run all the way through the building.
"If my blueprints of this structure are correct(as they of course are), then this is used for ventilation and is connected to nearly all the vents. Now, unless you wanna stay here forever Dib-thing, Zim suggests that we…what is that?"
Both he and Dib looked straight down into the darkness, where at the bottom a light seemed to be visible.
"OH, so NOW you're 'amazing' Irken senses aren't working? Do you need the human to tell you what he can see?" Dib teased the alien with an annoying grin, having apparently lost any sense of self-preservation.
"I DO NOT, YOU HUMAN-PIG! SAY THAT AGAIN AND I SWEAR BY THE TALLEST THAT I WILL-"
"Wait, is it just me or is it getting hotter in here…"
Zim stopped talking and they both looked at each other, before turning their gaze downwards once again. The light had become much brighter and had turned into an orange color. It was also seemingly rapidly approaching them. And yes, it was getting warmer too.
They stared for a few seconds in silence before it became clear that the light wasn't coming any slower.
With well-earned screams, Zim then lifted Dib up closer and his metal claws started quickly climbing upwards.
Back in the security room, Michael and Watchman looked at a figure on a screen, showing the shaft and how high the flames had managed to reach. With each second, they rose higher and faster.
As Watchman grinned from ear to ear, Michael couldn't help but feel they may have gone a bit too far.
"Um, sir? Was it really necessary to release flames in the utility shaft…I didn't even know we could do that." He asked, baffled at how anyone would agree to install something like that.
"Of course it was! You saw how resourceful those two are! We're going to need every one of our tricks to counter theirs."
"But how are we gonna pay for the fire damages?" Michael asked, noticing how there nowhere stood that the shaft was in any way fire resistance.
"Like we always do…with the interns' paychecks."
"...But sir, the interns…we don't pay-"
"Quiet! They're almost running out of time and space to climb." Watchman barked, and sure enough, according to the screen, the two intruders were almost reaching the top of the shaft. And so too were the flames.
"CAN'T THOSE LEGS GO ANY FASTER!" Dib screamed at Zim, while begrudgingly holding on to him as tight as he could. He didn't really fancy falling down into a pit of flames anytime soon.
"Maybe they could, if they weren't BOGGED DOWN BY THE WEIGHT OF YOUR ENORMOUS-"
"-HEAD! I get it, you think I have a big head, CAN YOU LAY OFF THAT JOKE FOR A BIT WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO NOT DIE?!"
Dib didn't manage to get an answer, as suddenly their momentum was stopped in a heartbeat and they were nearly splattered against the top of the shaft. They both looked up at the horrifying sight of a roof, before looking down at the even more horrible sight. Dib looked around but there wasn't any vent or exit they could take.
"WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO NOW?!" Zim asked, with a certain panic in his voice he rarely allowed the human to hear.
"Why are you asking me, you're the one with…"
He stopped talking after seeing one of Zim's PAK legs remove itself from one of the walls to find a better position. But what interested him was the sharp ray of light shooting through the hole it had made. Realizing they were most likely right next to a room, he got an idea.
"Hey, do you have any more explosives?"
Not even a second later a round object with a big red button appeared in one of Zim's hands, and he looked at the human, and if he had an eyebrow, it would be raised high.
"Do you need to ask?" He said, with a nearly disappointed tone.
Without asking he took the object and placed it onto the wall. Before the alien could protest, Dib hit the red button, and then the alien was more focused on avoiding the impending blast. The PAK legs quickly moved a few meters down. It was there that they both had a nice view of the flames coming towards them. The wave of heat that emanated from the fire hit them way before the flames themselves. Fortunately, the explosive denoted and filled the shaft with small pieces of cement. That wasn't that much of an issue, so quickly the legs moved up towards the new hole, just as the flames nearly reached them.
They both were blinded by the light from the room, after having spent some time in the shaft. So blindly they were swung out of the corridor, and both felt the flames nearly touching them. Dib swore he could feel a bit of his hair being singed. But they were safe from the flames, as they couldn't reach out of the shaft.
As Dib regained his sight, he lifted himself from the floor and looked around for Zim. He didn't have to look far, as the alien was right beside him, his face stuck in the red carpet flooring that covered the entire room.
"You good?" Dib asked apprehensively, not entirely sure what the response would be.
"If nearly being burned alive constitutes 'good' for you humans, then yes. Zim is good." He sarcastically replied, before lifting his face from the carpet and taking in the surroundings. Then suddenly an angry look took over his face.
"HEY! Zim didn't allow you to use that explosive!"
"Oh right, I should have waited for permission, then we could have discussed it right up til the flames came. Great idea Zim." The human replied annoyed, but still, he reached for the alien, planning to help him up.
Zim looked at the hand unsure for a bit, before mumbling some frustrated words and taking it.
"Besides, now we can say we're even!"
"...The SHAME and anguish that I have suffered saving you can in no way be repaid."
"There you go, being all melodramatic again. Can you at least wait until we're out of here and not in danger of dying?" Dib asked earnestly as he was starting to think they might have underestimated that Watchman fellow, and they should focus on escaping. He was certainly proving a bigger problem than predicted.
"Only if you can keep your whining to a minimum, human," Zim replied. They didn't know it, but they had similar feelings regarding their situation. And Zim was certainly not planning to die together with the Dib-thing.
"Deal," He affirmed, before turning his attention to the room. It was a big bedroom, lacking any clutter, so it clearly wasn't in use. Which Dib was happy with, as he wasn't too keen to find out what Zim would do with possible witnesses.
On the other end of the room was a door. Carefully, Dib started walking towards it, with Zim following behind, with a sour expression.
"Who decided you could go first?"
"Well, you're more than welcome to be my meat shield, if there should be any more turrets!" Dib positively explained, clearly trying to make a point.
"...Zim finds it acceptable that you're going first."
"That's what I thought."
Soon enough they reached the door, and Dib hesitantly opened and stepped out of the room. On the other side was a long hallway, covered with the same doors. They both looked to each side of the corridor but saw nothing. It was eerily empty, and their footsteps seemed to echo across the whole floor.
"I think we might be safe for now," The human reassured, but it was clear that he didn't truly believe it.
As if he had a sixth sense, he felt that something was wrong. But since they would most likely be found if they just stood still for hours, they started moving.
They soon realized that the hallway wasn't alone, as they soon found a path that let others. It all started to feel like a maze, and they wanted to get out as fast as possible. After a few minutes, something caught the alien's eye.
"There! An elevator!" He exclaimed and sure enough, he was pointing down a corridor with an elevator at the end.
"Great! We might actually be able to get out of here."
They started walking down the hallway, and soon enough they jogged and then ran. But as they did, Zim couldn't help but notice something weird popping up as they ran. In the end, he slowed down for a bit and let out a dramatic gasp.
"STOP!" He commanded the human, who surprised, stopped and turned to look back at him.
"Don't…move." The alien said, with a genuinely worried voice. There was a true expression of concern on his face.
Dib could feel a cold sweat run down his back. He didn't like to imagine whatever had Zim worried. He tried looking around but was met by protests from the alien.
"I SAID DON'T MOVE! Don't panic Dib, but there are possibly a few lasers going right through your internal organs."
At first, Dib was about to panic, but then he realized he couldn't feel anything. Taking a chance he looked down, and sure enough, there were lasers. But they weren't as much going through him and instead, he just stood in their way. He wondered why Zim had been so worried, but then it came to him that Zim was probably most used to the metal-melting kind of lasers.
"Don't worry, they aren't LITERAL lasers," Dib explained with a condescending voice and smug look. "They're probably just the detection…kind of…lasers…"
Dib looked down once again, and up at Zim. Then, as if almost waiting for the moment of realization, the lasers started blinking. And then came the sound of a slam. Then another. And another. The two looked down at the end of the corridor, where the sound was coming from. There they saw a large metal gate falling from the ceiling and blocking the hallway. That continued for every three rooms and was very quickly approaching them. Both stood still for a moment before they started running.
"I'm starting to get tired of fleeing for my life!" Dib yelled as they ran.
"You promised you would stop whining!" Zim yelled back, clearly not enjoying the experience any more than him.
"I'm not whining, I'm just stating a fact!"
Their argument didn't continue much further as they focused on running. But then Zim felt something burn his arm and realized that some of the lasers weren't as harmless as the Dib would have him believe.
"You sure those lasers won't burn through our flesh?" He asked, having stopped trusting the human's intuition since when they were nearly gunned down earlier.
"Of course I'm sure, I-"
Dib was interrupted when he felt something very warm near his head. He looked back for a moment, just in time to see a bit of the top of his hair, gently falling to the ground. He looked ahead again, only to see more of the supposed harmless lasers, which they were running towards. Zim was currently looking at him with an expression so smug that he thought it would burn through his face. It was also made worse by the fact he didn't say anything. Instead, he just gave off a very clear aura of 'I told you so'.
"Not a word."
"Could never dream of it, Dib-worm." He replied, with a not very convincing tone of voice.
They continued running, now also contending with dodging the lasers that covered the corridor. Luckily, through their years-long careers of trying to defeat each other, lasers had become one of the many things they had mastered at dodging. Not that it stopped them from getting a few cuts and burns along the way. But luckily, the elevator was only coming nearer.
Once they reached it, they practically slammed their bodies against its closed doors. Zim took the initiative and pulled the doors apart, allowing them entry. Feeling like they had no time to spare, Dib pushed Zim inside and he fell in as well. The alien ended up hitting the panel with all the floor numbers, which helped them quite well, as the doors closed and the elevator started moving. They lay there for a few seconds on the floor of the elevator, regaining their breath. At least until Zim noticed that Dib was on him.
"Unless you want to lose your legs, get off human!"
"I will, jeez, what's with you and my legs," Dib remarked before standing up.
"So, where is the elevator going?"
"How would I know!" The alien angrily retorted as he stood up as well.
"Well, there's certainly security down at the entrance, so if we're going there, then we're screwed."
"So? We can just eliminate-"
"No Zim, I WOULD RATHER NOT SLAUGHTER A BUNCH OF PEOPLE," Dib said very sternly, as if lecturing Zim.
"Pff…you're lost," Zim replied before crossing his arms with a sulky expression.
Then, a very distinct 'ding' was heard, and they realized that the elevator had reached its destination. Soon the elevator doors opened, and a flood of light poured out of the well-lit elevator, out to a literal wall of faces. Dib recognized them as the guests who attended the event. It seemed they had remained in the hallway which Dib had directed them towards. Unfortunately, it seemed barely able to hold them all and they were squished together like a bunch of sardines.
The many confused and frightened faces looked at the two of them, mouths agape and wordless. Meanwhile, the two stared blankly at them in return. The situation only ended as Zim awkwardly fumbled with the panel without moving his eyes. He managed to hit a button, and the doors closed. Dib hoped very much that his dad wasn't among those who saw them. He didn't look forward to explaining the situation to his dad already, once they had escaped and he was back home.
"...That was awkward," Zim commented.
Dib didn't reply, and instead looked back at the panel. Apparently, Zim's random smashing at the panel had somehow allowed him to hit the highest button, which meant they were going to the roof.
"Looks like we're going to the top. Wait…could you get your ship to land on the roof?"
"Is that even a question you think Zim is worthy of answering?" The alien smugly remarked.
"You could've just said yes. But, seems we got a plan."
With that Dib let out a long sigh and let himself fall into the wall behind him, closing his eyes momentarily. There he stood against, not moving or even looking. The alien tried to hide his concern, but after a cough didn't garner a reaction, he felt compelled to speak.
"You uhm…you good, Dib-thing?"
"Yes, just tired, that's all. Lots of near-death experiences in a short time span, that kind of thing, you know."
"...I don't…Buuuut Zim would think it's over soon." He replied to the human, trying his best to sound as comforting as possible. Which estranged both himself and Dib, who now looked at him concerned. But before could say anything, something suddenly hit him.
"Hey, do you think this elevator could be trapped?"
Zim's eyes suddenly lit up and with a panic he looked around.
"Of course! How couldn't I think of this?! It's so obvious!" Zim practically cried out and the two stood back to back, prepared for the worst.
"What do you think? Deadly gas? Electrocution? No, wait, it's probably gonna blow up."
"I'm betting on acid," Zim said, his body primed and ready for the first perception of danger.
"Whatever it is, we're ready!" Dib confidently exclaimed, as they stood, waiting for something to happen.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVEN'T GOT AN ACID TRAP ON THAT ELEVATOR?!" Watchman frustratedly asked, pointing at a screen showing that two people were on one of the building's elevators.
"We couldn't afford it!" Michael answered, trying his best to hide behind one of their colleagues.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE COULDN'T AFFORD?!"
"We spent the rest of the security budget on those lasers you wanted. There wasn't anything left." Michael explained, but it did little to make Watchman calm down.
"DAMMIT!" The security overseer yelled, just about to smash his hands into the desk again. But right before that, he looked at the screen, and his eyes narrowed.
"Hey…where is that elevator going?" He asked, his voice suddenly calm.
Unsure at first, Michael eventually walked over to the screen.
"...It seems it's going to the…roof." He slowly said, looking back at Watchman. A familiar grin filled the man's face, as he nodded nearly in gratitude.
"Oh…this time, they ain't getting away."
After a few minutes of nothing happening, the two of them were starting to get tired of not moving.
"...I actually don't think the elevator is trapped."
"You sure it isn't just another trick?" Zim asked earnestly, giving the elevator a cautious look.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."
With that, they slowly let their guard down. Dib looked back at the panel and saw that they were just about to reach the roof.
"Great, we're almost there. Ready to call you ship?"
"Ready!" Zim affirmed, giving the human a quick nod.
As they waited, Dib couldn't help but think that they had become a pretty good unit together. Not that he would admit it openly, but he was thankful that Zim was with him. There was something great about having somebody by his side he could trust. There hadn't been anybody else in his life that had been as dependable. Which was quite sad, but he was far past that in his life by that point.
Suddenly, the 'ding' returned and the doors opened up. They wasted no time and stormed out.
"Alright, ready the ship, then-" Dib suddenly stopped talking, once he realized several red lasers were pointed at him.
He looked back at the alien to see the same lasers on him as well. Looking forward, he could see the red lasers leading back to black figures, that practically covered the entire roof.
"Oh, right…the snipers…I did think we forgot something."
"Why are you saying we?"
"Oh yeah, because you definitely warned me about the-"
"End of the line, suckers!" One of the figures yelled, interrupting Dib. He started stepping forward, with several of the other figures following behind him.
"Any last words?"
Wow, another cliffhanger. I'm such a bitch. In all seriousness, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Not much else to say, so, see you next time!