Chapter Text
Peering into their pantry, Dib’s stomach grumbled questioningly in response to the empty boxes discovered at the crime scene. Upon examining one, his brow furrowed then smoothed out once he ID’d familiar teeth marks. He went to where he knew ZiM would be; lounging in the pilot’s chair, enthralled with something on his tablet. Perfect. He lobbed the cardboard at the back of a green head. Dib’s aim was true--antenna twitched a moment before the box hit, too late for him to dodge.
“You dare assault ZiM with this garbage?” The squawking alien used a pak leg to confiscate the junk from the floor where it had rebounded. Then came the sound of cardboard being torn to shreds.
The earth-boy shrugged. “Well, it was either that or kill and consume you. That was my last box of pudding. And the honey is completely gone.”
“Mmmhmm. Sure, sure. Whatever you say.” ZiMs eyes were already drifting back to the tablet and whatever he’d been working on before being pelted. Dib cut to the chase.
“We’re out of my food. Your robot’s been at my rations. Again.” He pointed at the now decimated box. “That ‘garbage’ is evidence of the crime. He’s your son, so you better remedy the situation. Plus, I know you’d be a bit put out if I died from starvation.”
Finally, the irken was laser focused on Dib as he flopped down into the co-pilot’s seat. “I did not birth him from my loins.” Dib blinked. ZiM looked his companion over, likely for signs of malnutrition. “And just how long can you last before expiring?” Dib valiantly resisted the urge to needle his partner about his lack of knowledge on human weaknesses.
“Comfortably? Five ‘days’ max. Any longer than that and you’ll get to see me start to deteriorate pretty quickly. And also, I might start eating cardboard or something. I am hungry right now as we speak actually.”
“Accursed human biology.” The alien turned to the ship’s navigation console.
“Yup. I know. Very inconvenient for you.”
Dib watched him as he typed in a command and stared at him while they waited for the A.I. to plot out a course. The magenta ocular implants reflected the screen, a neon pink planet appearing in the depths. Dib rarely ever took his eyes off of his ex-best enemy when they were in the same room together, so inevitably he noticed how the irken’s entire demeanor abruptly....changed. It wasn’t anything obvious, practiced as he was at deception. He could have been an actor back on earth (when he wasn’t being an idiot), but Dib sometimes thought he knew ZiM’s body better than his own. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
ZiM blinked then crossed his arms with a scoff. “What makes you think there’s something wrong?”
Dib narrowed his eyes. A ghostly parade of a thousand arguments passed between them. Then ZiM threw his hands into the air.
“Fine. Fine!” He grumbled something under his breath before falling into a tense silence, one that Dib was loath to break lest his partner try to wiggle out of providing information. Finally after what felt like forever he spoke. “The closest planet that will have anything edible for you that we can get in bulk is on...” He had to force the name past his tight throat, “ Foodcourtia .”
It was only the sheer amount of genuine angst in ZiM’s voice (and Dib’s iron clad self-discipline) that kept the human from snickering at the absurd name. Like clockwork, a tiny voice in the back of his mind swelled up and provided him with information he hadn’t even known he’d wanted (a side effect of the Incident where he’d been temporarily connected to ZiM’s pak years ago)--Irkens had very utilitarian naming conventions in their colonial conquest. The planet Foodcourtia was once known by something else, a different name or many names. Or just as ‘home’. Now it was a—“Let me guess. A planet of giant food courts.”
ZiM nodded, pretending as if he was examining his claws. “Specifically, it is designated as an official Irken Empire snacking planet. In reality, many other types of business take place there as well. There are fueling stations and convenience stores. And the black markets of course.”
He was stalling. Procrastinating. Trying to enthrall Dib with details to distract him. The human squinted at him. It was working a bit. But, he was just as stubborn as the other. “And...so what's wrong? Other than the fact that it exists at all?”
Sharp claws tapped against his tablet, the gears in his brain visibly whirring while his pak audibly did the same. Then the irken turned to him and said with utmost sincerity, “ZiM would rather die than go back there.”
“Okay. Whoa.” They were often a bit over dramatic but, ZiM appeared to be far from joking. Dib bit his lip and looked back again at their empty stash. There was definitely a story here. All in good time. Food first. “Well uh, any other potential planets that we could go to then?”
ZiM scowled and ran some calculations, and then some more and that took long enough for Dib to almost drift to sleep. He jolted awake when the irken cursed en espanol and yanked on an antenna.
“What?! What's wrong?"
“We’d be lucky to reach the next closest rest stop before you expired!”
“Even using the Scary Fast Drive?”
“I have already considered it! There is a high probability that the engine will implode and then explode if we try it again so soon after last time.”
Dib chewed his thumb nail. It had to be a pretty high probability otherwise he knew ZiM might’ve gambled with their lives. He pointed at the holographic projection of the neon nightmare of Foodcourtia. “Welp. Would you rather I die than go back there?”
ZiM was quiet for a moment. Then he made a noise like a whistling kettle. It transformed into a manic bubble of laughter that broke apart roughly, as he thrashed in his pilot seat. To Dib it was eerily reminiscent of ZiM during their more desperate showdowns. He reached out, hesitant to touch the irken when he was like this--on the verge of an episode. But, just as quickly as he’d begun the manic fit, ZiM took a deep, DEEP breath. Then changed their trajectory, setting their autopilot towards the snacking planet. The screen flashed their new destination along with what he suspected were advertisements for the planet’s venues.
As the silence dragged on, each waited for the other to break it. In the meantime, he observed the irken get steadily stiffer the closer they drew to the planet. Dib was determined to be patient, because despite the endless itching curiosity he didn’t actually want to cause his partner distress. Not to mention that trying to get information from ZiM when he wasn’t ready was like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.
Dib could and had entertained himself for hours imagining patterns in the shifting stars but his anxiety was such that he struggled to find even one. So he just allowed his mind to spin thoughts out like makeshift constellations, jumping from idea to theory without real rhyme or reason. And the quiet dragged, leaving only their breathing, the ship’s steady chugging engines and Gir humming somewhere. About six hours in, they passed a listlessly blinking sign advertising a few restaurants that could be found on FOODCOURTIA (the letting was in all caps).
He distracted himself trying to read a Vortian novel on his own tablet, even as he fully comprehended almost none of it. Then just when he was starting to doze off, Dib heard a sharp intake of breath beside him--his neck almost hurt a bit from how quickly he looked over. ZiM's expression wasn’t one he was sure he was completely familiar with. But, it wasn’t good, he knew that much. Dib followed his line of sight to the void of space and where in the distance there was an undeniable pink speck of a planet, glowing brilliantly in the abyss. Perhaps unsurprisingly Dib was the one who spoke first, though he tried to keep his voice gentle. “So...are you ever gonna let me in on why we hate this place, spaceboy?”
Nothing. ZiM didn’t move, didn’t speak. At once, Dib knew he was likely on the verge of, if not already, pulling into himself and away from the reality of the situation. Normally Dib loved watching the planets they intended to land on become larger and more detailed the closer they got. But, now his focus was strictly on his mate, on his terribly beloved face as lights played over him in a kaleidoscope of colors.
The young man dared to reach out, his conquered heart unable to let him sit there while the one he loved suffered. So he slowly and in ZiM’s wide line of sight, placed his fingers on ZiM’s forearm. The alien jerked but did not pull away so he tightened his grip from feather-light to tender.
“Hey, genius...? Tell me what’s going on in that big head of yours. Tell me so I can help fix whatever the problem is...You’re not alone anymore, remember?” Nothing. Still. It was really starting to actually worry him. “Come on, ZiM... We can do anything when we’re together. But, you have to let me in. Just a little bit. I won’t let you regret it if you do...” The silence dragged on and the planet drew closer. So, Dib pulled out the big guns. “ Please , darling.”
ZiM wheezed something that might’ve been an irken insult and squeezed his eyes shut. Finally, he haltingly spoke in a voice that barely sounded like him, “Before--before Earth... .that is where They sent me.”
Shock reverberating down his spine, Dib's lips parted in silent astonishment--in his mind's eye he remembered 'Them' as nothing more than twin shadows that exuded a sticky malice. The ex-invader rarely spoke of the time before he’d shown up in Ms. Bitter’s classroom all those years ago. In fact he could count the number on both hands. Amber eyes flickered back over to the flashing dot of a planet. Already, he could see many very, very large ‘billboards’; colorful images hovering in the vacuum of space, growing larger as they approached. Immediately, about a hundred questions tried to swarm his good sense. One of his special interests was learning stuff about ZiM after all...but one more look at the irken’s pale face was enough to provide him with the motivation to reel it in. There would be time for that all later. Right now, ZiM needed him.
“Okay. Okay. Thanks. Um. For telling me. Whatever side of the planet you were on for the duration of your...stay, right?” He tightened his grip on the irken as it had loosened briefly in his surprise. “We land on the opposite side. And we won’t explore.”
At the words, ZiM’s eyes slowly opened. They stayed on the ever encroaching planet for a moment before he finally tore his gaze from the gaudy nightmare to look into his mate’s face. He leaned forward until their foreheads bumped, antenna slipping forward into the human’s hair.
Plan in place, ZiM was able to pull himself together. Or at least he put on a good enough show of being completely fine with returning to the planet that had been his prison. “We’re landing on the side that was first to be conquered and repurposed. It is thus also older and now more decrepit. More dangerous. It is where most black market dealings take place. But it should also have plenty of what weak human ickies need in order to survive.”
Dib’s eyebrow rose. “Good to know.” ZiM’s eyes reflected the overwhelming flashes of colors that bombarded them as they weaved through traffic.
“Normally, we’d teleport to the surface after parking the ship in orbit but eh-I don’t feel like it right now.” In reality, he had many reasons to keep their vessel close by.
The human couldn’t help the way his curiosity swelled, he pressed as close as he could without touching the windshield to see the cacophony of consumption slide past them. Eventually, the cityscape shifted. It was still undeniably the same irken design except it had already begun to fall into disrepair.
Dib imagined that once an empire grew to the point where it had begun to use entire planets as ‘food courts’, that it was past considering such a thing as 'long term sustainability'. Doubtless there were irkens (and/or slaves) whose entire purpose was to keep the place from falling apart and yet...it was clear from the empty storefronts and dirty streets that these particular areas of this planet were not looked after by the Empire. It was likely hard to care for a place designed to be so liminal in nature, especially if it was your job or your jail.
When they finally landed it was in a place that looked somehow demonstratively different from the newer neon lit, ad-plastered cityscape with its clear irken architectural influence. Here, well, obviously there were signs of the Empire’s grip on the planet, but there was something...more, too. Something different. It took him an embarrassingly long moment of scanning through the cockpit window but then it hit him--vegetation! Many types of poky, weedy, leafy things grew out of whatever crevice and crack they could find. He even spied a building that colorful, flowering vines had nearly overtaken, somehow even having busted through boarded up windows.
ZiM was busy setting Gir up with distractions (and procrastinating leaving with last minute worries). So, Dib was able to really get the lay of the land around their ship without his own favorite distraction. There were few other vessels around but they seemed smaller and a bit worse for wear; he doubted they could even exit the planet’s atmosphere. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement and turned to see a couple of aliens walking casually down the road, chatting. They were nothing like what he’d seen before, and he struggled to find comparison; some kind of cross between a crow and a scorpion? He could just make out dark feathers and darker chitin. But, their faces were turned towards one another, speaking in a language he was unfamiliar with. They hadn’t noticed him, or if they had, then they didn’t care.
“Ah. Cutteat...they’re supposed to be extinct. Looks like someone did a sloppy job during the organic sweep. Ah well.” Dib spun and snagged the irken by his wrist. Hard.
An intimately familiar anger lapped at his calm facade. “Cutteat?”
“The indigenous inhabitants of this planet before the Irken Empire claimed it.”
Dib opened his mouth to yell or make some kind of jibe, but his eyes caught on the Cutteat as they entered what looked to be a repurposed food stand. It was decorated on the outside; painted with intricate designs and surrounded with hanging chimes, stones and other pretty things that made the colonial architecture dull in comparison. The metal on the ground had been pried up to reveal the native soil below and there was obvious care put into a thriving garden.
Something about the entire thing had him choked up. He cleared his throat and held tighter to ZiM, trying to sound normal. “Where’s the food at, spaceboy?” The irken turned his wrist in Dib’s grasp until his grip loosened, allowing ZiM to claim the human’s hand for his own.
“Come. This way.” The alleyways the ex-invader yanked them through, one after the other, all looked the same--and he soon lost track of the turns they took.
“I hope you remember where we parked because I’m already lost.” Dib complained, whilst eyeballing some interesting litter.
The irken elite scoffed, puffing up his chest with bravado. “ZiM remembers everything. Now, vámonos! Just a bit farther.”
Dib obeyed, eager as always to see some place new. He heard what they were searching for before he saw it. The murmur of overlapping voices rose to thunder. Not merely a mishmash of languages but discordant music, the movement of bodies, and various treasures being handled.
Finally, they came upon a street packed full with alien people as they meandered between stands and carts. It was in many ways a lot like any other marketplace that he’d ever been to, but he still couldn’t help but try and take it all in; There were vibrant piles of strange fruits and vegetables; Vendors selling exotic street food; Jars full of spices and liquids in a rainbow of colors; Large tanks and jugs stamped with labels he couldn’t comprehend; Aliens in colorful tents selling a rainbow of confections. Of course, there was plenty of bizarre looking livestock in stalls and creatures in cages being auctioned off as well. But, beyond what might be considered typical at a farmer’s or flea market, he spied all kinds of bizarre (potentially dangerous) oddities that he would have been more than happy to spend hours drooling over--but he remembered ZiM’s reluctance to even step foot on this planet and forced himself to reign it in. He squeezed the irken’s hand in his. “Lead the way to the human friendly garbage.”
ZiM huffed, his twitching antenna revealing how on edge he was. But, he obediently pulled the human through the crowd, searching for what he knew Dib could consume without dying or wishing he was dead. The investigator couldn’t help his eyes as they weaved through; they landed on a stranger with glowing blue skin, but Dib didn’t let himself stare despite the urge. His eyes caught instead on the nearest stand where three of the Cutteat were smoking a sweet smelling herb out of intricately carved pipes (and likely selling some). They each had four eyes, dark and watery that blinked at him. They didn’t appear hostile, instead merely observing him be dragged away by hand through the crowd.
Though the more he glanced around, the more he noticed the subtly shifting gazes of the other aliens. He couldn’t tell if they were staring at him, a virtually unknown species or the irken with him because he was an automatic threat to whatever peace they had. Though now that he thought about it, they were definitely staring at ZiM.
“Here.” They abruptly stopped near a fairly nondescript tent that had several different languages written on the sides. “Don't wander far while I go procure your foodstuffs. Do not get into trouble.” Then he made a shoo-ing motion before stomping into the tent. Dib watched him go, heart swelling. ZiM was basically telling him to go explore a bit. He wouldn’t turn down the opportunity.
Dib edged closer to the booth across the crowded street and spent a few minutes feeling utterly entranced by the stones and crystals on display. He thought he could identify familiar elements that Earth had. But equally there were many that he was almost certain were not something found in his home planet’s geology. Reluctantly, he moved on from the pretty stones. Though perhaps he could get one or two later as samples to examine. But, first he would need to make ZiM scan them to ensure they weren't secretly extremely radioactive before he started carting one around in his pocket.
He ignored his growling stomach as he had many times before in favor of discovery. Though as he meandered he found himself being surprised at how tame it all was for a supposed black market. Though perhaps the fact that the Empire wasn’t making a direct profit from it was what made it so illicit? That was his working theory right up until he saw the babies in a cage.
Dib halted in his tracks, making market-goers behind him grumble. It looked like any other booth around them except that the ‘products’ being sold were tiny, alive and he knew for a fact, intelligent. They were a colorful, grimy mix of vortians so small and tightly packed that he could barely identify them as that species. There were many of them shoved together in a see-through acrylic looking cage with air holes drilled in it.
As he watched, two ‘customers’ pointed at one and a tall(er than Zim) irken with red eyes who must be ‘owner’ of the stall reached in and fished it out by a little leg. The tiny victim was naked, filthy, and shaking all over. Even over the constant din of people speaking, he swore he could hear it squalling.
Dib finally found his voice, though he did yell in English at first. “H-hey! Wait a minute. What are you doing?!”
A different large, scarred irken Dib hadn't noticed, stepped forward and looked him up and down. He had a gas mask over his face. Though a small crowd had started to form thanks to Dib’s staring and yelling. The original skinny shopkeeper spoke in irken as he showed off the squirming, crying infant to the people gathered.
“Vortians--intelligent--obedient things--able to withstand harsh--” And as Dib watched with horror he bent over into the big cage and snatched yet another squirming baby by its impossibly delicate looking leg to show off to the slowly gathering crowd. “ --buy one get one-- ” After showing the poor squalling things to the crowd a final time, he unceremoniously dropped both of them back into the cage, before slamming the cage door closed—cutting off the tiny wails. Then he began naming prices but by then Dib had tuned it all out, a fugue falling over him.
Adrenaline pumped in his ears as he stared down into the eyes of one of the tiny vortians, its little hands pressed against the clear material it was trapped inside. There were filthy rags and straw on the floor around their naked bodies. He was unable to move or do anything useful, his mind having dropped to the floor alongside his bleeding heart. Horror overwhelmed him. It rose up in him like a literal flood in his body, turning him ice cold then hot all over with nausea, rage and disbelief.
“Human!” ZiM’s yell cut through the noise. “Dib! Dib-dork!” Dib opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. He was glued to the spot, the horror was already edging its way into darker, more dangerous territories that screamed for violence. “Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiboh--there you are! What are you looking a--oh. Oh no. Oh no, Dib-thing. Come away from here. Come. Let us leave.” When Dib didn't budge ZiM leaned in to frantically murmur into his ear, “I know your puny little human brain is running a schmillion miles an hour with righteous rescue plan after ridiculous plan. But, this is bigger than the two of us. And we can’t afford to waste time on this. Now, come with ZIM.”
But, It wasn’t enough for Dib. His heart and head were in agreement. “What the fuck, ZiM?!” He hissed. His inner child rebelled violently against the notion that nothing could be done, that this atrocity was simply how it was. “They have babies! Infants! And they’re treating them like they’re--”
ZiM yanked on his arm and Dib yanked back--ZiM glared. “So what!? You suddenly wish to adopt a hoard of vortian kits?”
“N-No! I don’t know! But we can’t just--we--we have to DO something!”
He growled at the human’s stubbornness. “Even if we managed to somehow ‘save’ them from this fate...it is only a matter of time before more take their place. The universe is full of pain! I know you know this!”
“Yeah...Sure! I guess! But, there has to be--”
Suddenly, their peripheral was blocked by the larger, stouter Irken, in the gas mask who must be a partner in this little ‘operation’--the mask obscured their facial features. But, the bright pink gun that the other red eyed irken flashed at them in the irken’s hands was pretty clear.
ZiM bared his teeth at his fellow irkens, antenna flat against his head before attempting to wrangle Dib away again. This time the human let himself be moved, but dragged his feet. “I know this kind of thing is foreign to you--but we cannot save every pitiful creature in a bad situation we come across, Dib. Let us return to the ship. We have what we need.” Again Dib’s very soul thrashed in him, screaming at him to turn around and do something about this injustice...but when he looked back at the horrible stall he noticed that they’d attracted even more gazes. Some were definitely hostile, including the two baby selling monsters who were watching them leave. “Every second we spend on this horrible rock is one second too long.”
Dib scowled and almost yanked his arm out of the alien’s grip even though ultimately, horribly he knew that ZiM was probably right. Kind of. It was too dangerous to make a scene. But, it FELT so wrong. His heart bled. They were so small and so scared...He swallowed his heartbreak down and tried to push this away into the little box in his mind he had designated for things too fucked up to remember often. If he didn’t put this behind him, tuck this away, it would haunt him forever....because he knew that ZiM was right in that they couldn’t save everything. They often barely saved themselves. Hell, you would think he’d have learned that lesson ages ago.
“Why?” Dib asked, throat tight.
ZiM was solemn for a long moment. “Slave labor. Or any other number of unfair fates for one that is deemed damaged, defective or else, useless by The Empire.”
“What do you—meahh!!?” ZiM yanked the human down to the ground. Dib’s yell was lost in the sound of a laser cannon being deployed and the subsequent screaming crowd. Dib looked up to see a smoking hole cutting through multiple tent coverings, level with where their heads had just been. Or more accurately where ZiM’s head had just been. Instead of immediately booking it (as they should have), they take a precious moment to assuage their curiosity about who had just tried to kill them.
The crowd had parted between them and their attacker. A large irken figure; the largest Dib had ever seen--muscled limbs and hulking weight behind a menacing energy. Easily almost twice ZiM’s height and hence even taller than Dib which was downright eerie to consider. Their attacker had dull purple eyes, surrounded by deep, dark circles as if he hadn’t rested in a thousand years. He was dressed in a well worn, stained fry cook’s uniform. To complete the look, a giant spatula protruded from his back. He had a name tag though it was too far away to read. The giant irken was panting, as if he’d run all the way here and the laser pistol was still glowing in his shaking grip.
Well. Dib had no idea who this was--
“Sizz-lorr!” ZiM’s shout of complete and utter terror killed all chances of this being a random attack. “ H-How! ?”
Their aggressor snarled, “ ZIM! I was alerted the second your DNA signature entered the planet’s atmosphere!!” He re-aimed the weapon at the shorter irken, the plasma cannon lighting up as it charged. “You should never have come back here! Your uniform is waiting for you!”
And then they were running.
“The ship is the other way!” Dib pointed out. At least he was pretty sure that was the case.
“I know that!” ZiM screamed, his pak legs exploding from their shell. He clumsily aimed one and shot back at the quickly approaching frylord--the hulking irken’s pak legs came out just in time. The shots pinged off some kind of invisible pink shield that surrounded him. The shield didn’t prevent Sizz-lorr from firing his own shots off at them. People were screaming and running as the two irkens exchanged fire. He kept a hold of ZiM, afraid of losing him in the crowd which was frantically trying to get as far away from the shooting as possible but trapped in a crush as they ran to and fro in search of escape.
“What’d you do to piss this one off!?”
“I was my amazing self!” ZiM gave a faux-cocky grin that quickly faded as another shot just missed their ankles. He screeched and pulled Dib, practically flinging him forward out of the line of fire. The human’s taller legs allowed him to keep up with ZiM’s pure speed...Good thing this Sizz-lord guy’s aim wasn’t stellar. “Besides that however Sizz-Lorr was ZiM’s eh...captor for a time!”
Dib blinked, lips parting. His heart was going to beat out of his chest. He yanked them to a stop, and pulled his partner down behind a table, briefly hidden from view. A laser ate away at the tarp above them. “Your what now?!”
The irken’s arms flailed for emphasis as he growled out, “My captor! My warden! My jailer! My incarcerator! I don’t know how much clearer I can make this!”
Dib’s jaw clicked shut. Oh man...the implications of it all. ..Dib really wished they weren’t in the middle of a shoot-out so he could shove ZiM to the ground, sit on him and make him explain things for once in his miserable life. The human ran a hand down his face. “Well, I only have about a schmillion questions...”
“What else is new?” The horrible little space bug sneered, his antenna moving wildly around as he tried to stay aware of the enemy among the din of people shouting and running and what he was certain was now additional guns going off now, joining the shooting.
Dib held his hand up, “To start; what the hell is wrong with you?”
His (kind of) ex-nemesis shoved him. “You are! Next question!”
“Terrible answer. Do you think we can make it back to the ship? Or are we going to have to kill this guy?”
ZiM twitched at the words, entire focus suddenly back on The human, His human, who never failed to surprise him even after all these years. “That is...an awfully blood thirsty thing for the Dib to say.” ZiM leaned closer into his mate’s height and heat. The stalks of his antenna fell forward to nestle in the human’s hair.
He snorted at the other’s blatant flirtation. “It’s practical. So?”
ZiM opened his mouth to reply only for both of them to turn towards the sound of something small but heavy thwacking the side of the tent and rolling til it was inches from them. It had a blinking red light, a subtle beeping noise and a menacing irken smiley face that grimaced up at them.
There was a millisecond before realization struck. They screamed. Dib kicked it as hard as he could and watched it go flying back out into the market. ZiM jumped on top of him, pak legs extending and stabbing into the area around them. There was a terrible split second of silence, just their harsh breathing then, his pulse in his ears...then a bright pink flare. The near deafening -WHOMP- of an explosion at close range.
Beneath the ringing in his ears he heard another smaller -boom-. Then another. Then a litany of distant but equally as violent bangs. The ground vibrated. The air rippled around them, a pink shield flickered with ripples like water on a lake. Distantly he knew ZiM was screaming, Dib probably was too. He screwed his eyes shut, held on tight to the body above him and may have passed out.
When he came back to himself, his ears were ringing but there were no more explosions. In the aftermath, the main thing he comprehended was ZiM, limp and motionless on top of him. He felt around--carefully patting at the irken’s skull, searching for blood and then sliding down to where the pak rested, searching for damage. Thankfully both come up negative. Though ZiM’s pak legs were still out of their ports and just as limp as the rest of him.
“You’re okay. You’re okay.” He lightly tugged on an antenna and watched his brow furrow. It was enough for Dib to gently roll the alien off of him. He looked around the mostly decimated tent for anything useful. It was teeming with mysterious spices in jars he couldn’t read. Many had shattered or cracked, spilling a heady aroma into the air. One he found however, was intact--bright red in its thick jar. Even the label seemed different with fire symbols stamped on it. He snatched it up.
Then after a final glance at the still unconscious ZiM, he peeked out the shredded tent at the once bustling market for signs of ZiM's hunter. The place looked almost completely different--booths having been destroyed and items scattered around the alley. Smoke and dust made the air cloudy; Several fires burned. He could hear them crackling, eating away at whatever the flames could reach. There were aliens shouting at each other in many languages, some screaming in obvious pain or pleading for aid. Luckily, though it seemed like the vast majority of people had evacuated the area when the shooting started. Though, even as he stood there, the dust clearing, he could see a few random aliens who were taking the opportunity to loot what they could. And some brave shopkeepers who were recovering and trying to fend off said looters. Loose livestock and other once caged creatures now scrambled about the wreckage. How many had died in those explosions? His stomach churned.
Finally, through the chaos, he spotted the hulking irken, uniform smoking slightly. Even covered in shallow wounds, he was scanning the destruction, searching for his quarry among those fleeing or injured.
Dib waved his arms, pretending to limp towards him, “Hey! Hey! You! You look like you work here? Can you help me?” He called in his shaky vortian, trying to inject as much desperation into his voice as he could.
Sizz-lorr did a double take. “Huh? What. Are you talking to me?”
Dib nodded, a bit frantically. “Yes, sir. Please, you gotta help me. I was just trying to get h-home when this crazy irken threatened me and held me hostage.”
Sizz-lorr’s eyes narrowed a moment as he thought. this creature did seem familiar. Come to think of it, he had noticed Zim talking to something, being dragged along behind him. But, who knew why ZiM did what he did? The defect’s mind was incomprehensible. “Riiight. Well, as much as I’d like to assist another one of ZiM’s victims, I’m currently in the middle of trying to make him atone for his other even more heinous crimes.”
Dib scooted a few steps closer, heart throbbing in his chest. “E-even more heinous than kidnapping?”
The hulking irken scowled. “Oh you poor imbecile. You have no idea what kind of monster you’ve been unwittingly attached to, do you?”
Oh Dib knew. He knew better than perhaps anyone else in the entire universe who ZiM was. Sure he may not have the complete picture of all the details and intricacies, YET. But, it would come. He was patient. And no one was going to stop him from finding out everything about ZiM. Behind his back, he carefully unscrewed the jar and poured a handful of the powder into his gloved palm.
“Oh...really? Why don’t you enlighten me? I am stupid and naive after all.” He took a few more steps closer, getting within striking range.
Sizz-lorr was still scanning around for his target, but he had the motivation to rant about his least favorite subject, “That joke of an irken is a danger to every planet he walks on! Everyone he’s ever met has suffered for it! And it was—no, it is up to me to keep him contained. Nothing is going to stop me from doing my duty to the Empire! Or from getting my revenge! When I find him he is going to pay for what he’s done by burning in fry oil for as long aAAAAH!” He howled as the hottest spice known to the irken empire was tossed into his open eyes.
Blindly, Sizz-lorr fumbled the giant spatula on his back and lashed out with a cry of rage. Dib heard the whistle of metal as it swung at him—he dodged milliseconds away from being decapitated. He flailed backwards and crashed into a different booth, tripped over a table and tumbled to the ground again.
“Ow! Ow! OW!” Dib cried as a bunch of crap crashed on top of him. It was very loud. He rubbed his head.
As he got to his knees, his eyes caught on something so incongruous that it took him a moment to comprehend what it was. He blinked as recognition flooded him. Then he took off his glasses and cleaned them as if that would change what he was staring at but nope. It looked for all intents and purposes like an honest-to-Bigfoot sword. The majority of the blade was buried in worn irken metal alloy, probably touching the planet's soil. Though the longer he looked and the closer he got, the more he realized that of course the sword was alien in design. His instincts told him that it was not irken in origin--it didn't have their insignia anywhere on it for one. It was made of some nearly transparent material he’d never seen before that reminded him of the shine of glass or the glint of precious gems. And it faintly glowed with an internal light, engraved with incredibly intricate designs he couldn’t begin to guess the meaning of. Even just hovering his palm above the hilt, goosebumps rose on his flesh.There was an energy imbued within it, something he’d only ever experienced when getting close to something truly paranormal.
“You pathetic creature! Where is he!?” The table he’d been hiding behind was abruptly grabbed and tossed away to reveal Sizz-lor’s hulking form. His face was swollen, purple eyes nearly shut, leaking pained tears. His furious grimace was enough to inspire fear in all who worked for him. “Tell me! Or suffer! Though you'll likely suffer either way..."
But, Dib was unphased, too used to ZiM’s nonsense. “Never!” Without another moment of hesitation, he gripped the hilt of the sword and yanked--only for his muscles to jar and ache as nothing happened. “Oh come on.” He growled, goosebumps rising on his arms, energy filling his cells. He pulled with all his might, but the mysterious weapon stayed wedged in the metal as if it had always been that way.
Fury rolled off Sizz-lorr in waves. “I don’t know why you’re helping that little defect --he doesn’t deserve it! It doesn't matter if you tell me where he is...as long as he’s on my planet, there’s nowhere he can hide! Whatever your association with that waste of a pak is, it makes you a traitor to the Empire by association! And so you will be eliminated!” Sizz-lorr’s eyes may have been swollen, and leaking tears but it didn’t affect his ability to swing the big spatula with all his might at the strange, annoying creature that had dared to interfere in irken business.
Dib shouted, fight or flight sparking his muscles. He could have and perhaps should have tried to run. But instead he pulled again, and finally was able to pull the strange glowing sword from the ground in the faint hope that it might deflect some of the force of the weapon’s blow. Neither of them expect what happens next. The sword slid through the giant spatula with nothing but a few sparks and a high pitched screech. The fry lord’s weapon was destroyed--the head of the spatula falling to the ground, leaving him holding nothing but a jagged staff.
They stared in astonishment. Then Sizz-lorr scowled, puffing himself up to his full height and gave a irken war cry, brandishing the jagged handle as a club. “Nothing will stop me! Especially not a pathetic, nothing creature like you! You will perish! And then, I am going to find that monster and make him wish he never existed!”
Oh right. Irkens didn’t know when to quit. And they thought themselves so superior that any other outcome that wasn’t victory was an impossibility. Luckily, Dib had spent his formative years fighting the most notorious Irken to ever complete the elite training. The human also automatically knew his enemy’s greatest weakness.
“Well, that’s too bad for you! Because that ‘monster’ is mine !” Dib declared; his blood thrummed with an ancient bloodlust, the urge to protect that had driven humans to war over and over again.
Sizz-lorr jabbed at him with the spear and Dib barely lunged out of the way--he heard his trench coat rip. Oh and he must be bleeding now, too. Pain ricocheted from the shallow wound he’d sustained. New adrenaline kicked in; Dib narrowed his gaze on their enemy. No more banter, no more running, he was angry, hurt and he just wanted to go back to their ship to eat and sleep and interrogate his stupid partner.
Dib dodged another one of Sizz-lorr’s clumsy attacks, only to slide around and thrust his stolen weapon upward through the irken’s chest. It impaled flesh, viscera, bone and irken circuitry. Before he knew it, his knuckles were nearly brushing the enemy’s chest; he felt the faintest resistance and knew he’d struck the vital wires and tubes in his pak. He watched the horrible realization hit, the dreaded knowledge that death was here for you. And it had come in the form of something utterly alien and unexpected.
“W-what are you?” Sizz-lorr hissed, in rage and fear; the human’s fiery eyes with their pin point murderous intensity, was the last thing he comprehended before...nothingness took him.
Dib couldn’t think of a cool enough answer before the alien collapsed. The sword slipped just as easily from Sizz-lorr’s corpse, still dripping with pink blood and what he suspected was some kind of coolant from the pak. It looked nearly turquoise and together they created an iridescent slick. It was a shame something so gory was so beautiful.
He spared the collapsed fry-lord one last look; hoping he was dead so that he didn’t suffer; hoping he was alive because despite Dib’s occasional lack of empathy, he didn't relish murdering things. Even if it was in defense of the moronic love of his life and himself. Assured that for now at least, ZiM’s ex-warden was down for the count, he rushed back to where he’d last left the criminal.
He heard the other before he saw him, “Dib! Dib! Human! Where are you?!” He was on his tiptoes hands around his mouth for maximum volume. “Come to ZiM! Dib-flame! Dib-human! Dib-stink! Dibling! Dib Feebly Membrane! Dib! Dibbers! Dib! Diiiiiib! Dibby! Dib!”
“ZiM.”
The irken shrieked and spun to face the noise, hand on his chest. He deflated when he saw it was just Dib and not his murderous jailer. Then he inflated again. “Where have you been?! Where did you go!? I’ve been calling your name for hours!”
“It’s been two minutes at most. Uh...I got a cool new sword.” He held it up for ZiM’s inspection. It still had some fluids on it now that he looked. He’d have to learn how to take care of swords.
“Yes, yes that’s magical. But, we need to get out of here before Sizz-lorr finds us!” He grabbed Dib’s wrist and began to drag him away. Dib didn’t bother saying anything. They soon came across the large irken’s body lying where he’d fallen mere moments ago, a pastel puddle growing by the second. ZiM halted in his tracks, mouth agape as he stared, eyes huge. “Dib-beast...”
“Told you it was a cool sword.” His alien partner sputtered incoherently, gaze flickering from Sizz-lorr’s apparent corpse to Dib’s sword and back. Dib waited but ZiM seemed to be short circuiting a bit. “Look, let’s get out of here, like you said. We can talk about all the particulars later.”
ZiM blinked, giving the fallen fry-lord one last look before he turned back to Dib with an inscrutable expression. His spooch was pounding with something he couldn’t quite name. It wasn’t fear...he knew that much. With a brisk nod, ZiM began to take them back the way they’d come. It was a lot like the flame Dib inspired in him when they mated. Fear at seeing what the human could truly do to an all but immortal Irken if given the opportunity and the correct weapon? Admiration for his human’s more impressive qualities? Pride in Dib’s abilities which he knew he had a hand in honing?
As they picked their way back to the ship, the investigator was quietly astonished at the damage. “W-wait. Hold on. We didn’t do all of this. Right?”
He would never know this for sure but the irken grenade had triggered several other explosions (illegal bombs, combustible fuel, and who even knew what else lying around), creating a domino effect of destruction. Dib sometimes struggled with the aftermath of their arrival, where disaster seemed to follow them, a stalker through time and space. But, just ZiM shrugged; destruction had lived in his wake--since the day he was hatched.
They’re honestly none the worse for wear, with barely a serious injury between them despite the sheer devastation they trekked back through. The investigator's unable to help how he scanned the wreckage, searching for movement...then Dib’s stomach dropped as he recognized a familiar cage in a place made unfamiliar. Despite his sudden sword acquisition, the slave dealer irkens are nowhere to be seen; that gave him a sliver of hope that they’d taken the babies or they’d escaped in the explosions somehow....The closer they get however, Dib’s dread only grows. Until they’re right in front of it and he can’t help but see the horrible awful truth.
“ Oh no . No.” His eyes burned. Dib didn’t want to look, he wanted to turn away but he forced himself to witness the cold reality--what they’d had a hand in. The cage was on its side now, warped into a deformed shape, cracked and melted from the explosions and the heat. “No...” He moaned, knees weakening. It was impossible to miss the tiny limp bodies inside. A very big part of him wanted to drop to the ground and weep at the injustice. “No!” Before he could work himself up into a real frenzy, he felt the irken pressing up against his side.
“Do not fall into despair, Dib-mate. There is nothing we can do for them now. We must focus on getting out of here.” ZiM grabbed his swordless hand, squeezing it tightly before letting go. He watched the irken march forward, ever resilient and determined to survive no matter the cost. With leaden feet, he forced himself to trudge after him, his heart a weight on a chain.
In between one breath and the next, a peculiar noise halted him in his tracks. He waited for it to come again, holding his breath--wondering if his mind was playing terrible tricks on him as it had in the past. But, there it was again! His eyes widened and he turned back to the warped cage with its pile of tiny corpses, taking several huge strides towards it. Unmistakable, despite everything; a muffled mewling cry.
Dib was on his knees next to the cage before consciously deciding to do it. He used both hands to pry at the hinge of the cage. He applied more and more pressure, trying futilely to open the horrid thing until he felt stings of pain but he kept going. Nearly hyperventilating, He scrabbled and clawed at anything that might open. He shifted the box in his effort and he heard the tiny squall fall silent, as if in response to the movement. The infant was probably terrified and in pain...
Meanwhile, ZiM was deep in thought about Sizz-lorr’s demise when his antenna twitched. Suspicious, he looked behind him, and sure enough his mate wasn’t on his heels as he’d been expecting but back where he’d left him, now on his knees.
“Dib!” He threw his hands up in the air, beginning to march back. Tallest, this stubborn human, with his soft squishy heart. Pity flooded the irken as he watched the young man, saw his body shaking, as he pulled frantically at where the opening should be. Even from here, he could smell the human’s iron-filled blood-candies. “You poor, foolish thing, what are you--?” Then his antenna picked up on what the human must have heard...a nearly inaudible tiny wail. He practically teleported to the Dib’s side, antenna twitching for more signs of life.
Dib was practically hyperventilating as he struggled. “A bit of help here?”
Out of the corner of his eye, ZiM glimpsed the forgotten glowing sword that Dib must have dropped in his rush to try and open the cage normally. Thinking quickly, he bent and wrapped his fingers around the hilt. He didn’t even take the time to appreciate the craftsmanship, “Move.” The irken ordered.
Dib heard his mate’s voice, and finally, he started thinking again. He turned around in time to see ZiM lifting the sword. The human scrambled out of the way. He watched as his ex-nemesis swung the weapon across the cage horizontally, neatly cutting through the thick material with an anticlimactic -thunk-.
Together, they pushed and lifted the newly made lid off. The tiny wail was more audible now. Dib was the first to reach down and with shaking hands, start lifting tiny bodies up and away. Then another and another...each one limp and obviously deceased. Dib’s heart was in his throat as the cry sounded again, assuring him that this was all worth it. His hands were smeared with the blood and other awful fluids but he kept going until finally....finally, huddled at the very bottom of the pile, having been protected from the worst of the destruction by their fellow prisoners, was a single live vortian infant.
The baby trembled violently, covered in filth. The minuscule thing continued to keen like the world was ending. The removal of the other bodies relieved some of the crushing pressure but now it was vulnerable, alone, naked and cold. It curled in on itself, trying to hide from whatever had hurt them, trying to be as small as it could. The poor thing’s eyes were practically swollen shut from crying.
Dib barely dared to breathe as he very, very carefully gathered it up in the palms of his hands; he was afraid of hurting it further, uncertain if the baby was seriously injured. The wail stuttered and stopped as it was held like the precious, sacred thing it was for the first time in its short life. Its little body was so light and cool to the touch, that concern overwhelmed him. The baby hiccuped with leftover distress, little body stiff with fear. It was a brave creature, and curious enough that it managed to peek open swollen eyelids to peer up at whatever new thing fate had in store for it.
The human was sure his heart was in his eyes as they met two bright pink ones; they reminded him of ZiM’s, though they were several shades lighter in color and shaped differently, more round than ovular. They seemed to take up most of the infant's grimy face, with its wobbling bottom lip.
ZiM would deny it until his dying day but he’d always had a weakness for tiny, pitiful things. Despite himself, he leaned in until his shoulder was flush with Dib’s, peering down at the pathetic vortian kit as it fit perfectly cradled in his human’s palms. Something in him fluttered as he observed Dib’s thumbs very gently caress the tiny creature’s head, and its too skinny belly. After a moment of stillness, the smeet blinked, then it began to coo and with both hands gripped onto the human’s thumb and held tightly. Its little expression became one of pure awe, likely blown away by the positive attention. In ZiM’s peripheral he saw Dib’s shoulders lower and heard him sniff. He knew the human’s restless heart had melted into goo.
Gruffly, Dib said, “You said they were all probably defective.”
ZiM nodded, his own words coming back to haunt him. The bodies of the kits who did not make it were still nearby. “Very likely there is some disability.”
Dib briefly looked at his partner before his eyes were drawn like gravity back to the baby who had begun to gnaw on the tip of his thumb with a gummy mouth. It was probably starving, he thought. “They look okay to me.”
ZiM hmm’d and dared to reach forward, his claw hovering above the little creature before rubbing gently against its forehead, a brief caress before pulling away. Pink eyes switched focus from Dib to ZiM, unblinkingly. The irken knew what their next plan of action would need to be. Curse his soft spooch. “We will only know for sure when we scan it.”
Dib’s heart jumped at the words, and then he was standing, pulling the baby closer to his chest to protect it from the elements. The kit made a tiny noise, but he rocked it a bit and that seemed to settle them. Despite his previous words, ZiM’s deeply hidden compassion must’ve finally reared its head.
“Now, come! We must hurry before the authorities arrive.” The irken snatched up Dib’s ‘new’ sword from the ground and then marched off.
Hesitating only for a moment, Dib looked back at the row of tiny corpses. But, the precious life in his hands needed urgent attention. He followed ZiM back to their ship, barely noticing the destruction or the scenery in general any longer, because nearly his entire focus was on that life as it continued to gnaw a bit frantically on his thumb. It still trembled and made the occasional small distressed whimper but each time Dib would quickly wrap his coat further around them and murmur nonsense things. They reached the ship without further difficulty, ZiM helping Dib clamber up into the ship since his hands were full of fragile cargo.