ZADR Earthly Emotions

Pt.3

          “AHHHHHHH!!!” The high pitched cries of the Irken was nearly drowned out by the even higher squeals of the small robot attached to his ankle. Their capsule launched from planet Earth was making its scheduled descent into Hobo 13’s thick atmosphere. Clouds sped by them in a haze of orange and white
          “Oof!!!” Zim’s face smacked against the window in a loud thud from the harsh landing. The hatch immediately fell open, causing him and Gir to tumble out in a heap.
          Before either could gain their wits, an arm seized Zim’s hand, yanking him to his feet. “Come, Zim of Irk, I’m taking you to your conditioning before training begins.” The voice was dull and almost monotone, as though they were annoyed.
          Zim caught small sight of the much taller insect-like alien before shouting at the top of his lungs, “Unhand me, foul bug beast!!!” Despite his injuries from the landing, he proceeded to pull his arms back and kick at the dry, dusty ground. When that proved futile, he withdrew his metallic legs in a last resort. It was then that he was hit,…. hard. “Gah!” The Irken coughed loudly and gasped as he was forced to the ground, his PAK exposed toward the other alien.
          “Hmph, you Irkens…” It was made clear to Zim now, that the alien was a female. “You all think you’re so mighty…but you’re the same as us without your precious PAKs.” Zim could barely make out the image of her pale, yellow claws clutching his extra limbs through all the stirred up sand. His pulse quickened instantly at the sight.
        “Hey, do you know who I am?!” Panic could be heard behind his rage. “ I was sent here for training by the Tallest themselves! If I’m dead, you’ll be next!”
          A small snicker made Zim look up from the ground at the smug alien. Her face was thin and pointed with large almond eyes the color of amber. Long antennae whisked above them like eyebrows. Her nose was simply two slits against her yellow shell-like skin. Zim found her stare not only hideous but almost intimidating. The smug smile brewed his anger further, but her expression soon changed back to ice, as though remembering her professional duties, “The Tallest instructed me to watch over you and make sure you don’t escape this time.”
        “Nonsense! Let go!” He wriggled beneath her hold but accomplished little. His ruby eyes stared daggers into hers, “I will prove to them I am not only a great invader, but the best example of one!” That’s when a fifth limb holding a communication device sprung from his PAK, going straight for the alien’s head.
          “Stop!”
          “AHHHHHH!!!!” Zim’s body was shocked mercilessly by a small object in the female’s hand. The pain was so intense that the Irken lay limply for a moment, groaning slightly while his extra limbs retracted. He panted while staring up at her, “What…I can’t…”
          “Yes, you now can’t use your PAK’s accessories…” She dragged him to his feet, ignoring his struggles to walk. “It’ll still keep you alive, and any data you have will be present.”
          Zim’s body felt as though it were on fire, and it wasn’t just the desert heat of Hobo 13. The shock still pulsed through his blood, each beat like a harsh kick in the chest. He snapped back at Gir behind them, “Gir! Defensive mode!” But before the robot could react, another loud shock was heard and squeals of excitement sounded.
          “Wahh!!! It burns!” He cried joyously, his tongue drooping from the corner of his mouth afterward. He immediately got up and followed easily with a tune.
          Zim’s eyes narrowed in fury, “Must you stop everything I try?!”
          The alien didn’t flinch and pushed onward, nearly dragging Zim with her long strides while Gir happily followed. A large building the size of multiple Earth football fields became their obvious destination. It was the only structure to be found in the vast wasteland of cracked terrain. The doors opened between two other aliens of the same insect race. They nodded towards them.
          “The conditioning room is prepared for him, Renk.”
          “So, uh…” Zim looked up at them, “When do I start my training?” His face suddenly scrunched, “And WHAT is that SMELL?”
          “I told you you stink!” snapped the smaller of the two. The taller one sunk slightly as he continued. “Why didn’t you bathe after eating all those-“
          “Okay, that’s enough!” spat Renk. Her tolerance for others was becoming thinner.
          “It’s so foul, it’s almost fascinating!” Zim was then forced inside, and the doors closed behind them. The smell grew stronger instantly. “Ahhh!” Zim attempted to cover his antennae with his free hand, then his mouth, then his antennae. This failing process continued for several cycles as they passed large, groaning machinery.
          “Stop that!” Renk yanked him. “The Tallest were right when they said you’d be a hassle.”
          “Eh?” Zim’s eyes then grew as he took in the interior.
          Machines, so many of them… Although Zim was used to the Irken claimed planets being used for one sole purpose, the sight of so many loud and bulky devices was strange. In comparison to other technology by his race, they seemed prehistoric… The load sounds they made, the horrid smell from presumed burnt product, even the floor and walls were in bad condition.  Exposed piping dripped in plain sight and liquid damage was evident in places.
          Zim wriggled suddenly in the alien’s grasp again, and she grew more impatient, “Cease fighting, or your punishment will be worse, small Irken!” Her tone was that of a tired mother. “The Tallest won’t be happy with such disobedience.”
          “This horrible place is NOT Irken property!” Zim’s squeedly spooch began to do flips at the thought of staying there.  His antennae lay back in rage and he stopped to meet with the unique bug creature’s large eyes, “I demand you release me at once!” His gloved finger pointed in her face, “I thought this was a training program! I refuse to slave work in such a poor excuse for a factory!” He looked away in awkward thought then snapped back after reconsidering, “…Or anywhere else!”
          A sudden gasp was heard from his petite robot, “They have gravy!”
          “Gravy?” Zim and Renk watched as Gir blurred away from them towards what seemed to be a malfunctioning machine. Large amounts of steaming white liquid was pouring from its side. The workers scrambling to fix the problem didn’t notice him until they heard loud smacking noises.
          “AHHHH!!! Why are you eating it?!!!” Screams of both anger and horror erupted.
          Zim looked up at Renk’s confused yet calm expression, “Yeah…He kinda does that sometimes.”
          Not answering, Renk pulled Zim forward once again. The Irken wasn’t too worried or worried at all for that matter about his sidekick. After several months of his existence by him, Zim had developed a bond with the device, regardless of  how annoying he was. Seeing him be possibly attacked by a large group of people didn’t faze him, however. Gir seemed to always get out of trouble. It was usually by causing more, but they no longer had a mission for him to mess up so it no longer was a concern to the green boy.
          They reached a heavy, iron door that matched the ugly browns of the rest of the building.  It slid open after Renk presented her two clawed hand, and Zim was suddenly lifted by his wrist and held out. “Here,” She stated, “is where your conditioning will take place.”
          Zim was dropped onto the stone flooring. He ignored the further pain his sore body kept relaying to him and hopped back to his feet. The door had already closed with him left alone in the dark room. Stale quiet was all there was. His antennae twitched in the pitch black, attempting to catch even a small noise. Nervous breathing slowly crept into his throat the longer the quiet lingered. Not wanting to blindly walk into the room, he remained still.
          “Hey!” He called out. “I’m sure there’s …SOMEONE in here! I can’t be ‘conditioned’ if if I can’t see the conditioning!”
          Again, nothing. An uncomfortable feeling that had been clawing at the proud Irken’s stomach began to grow. The silence and dark were things he’d forgotten he disliked. As separate environments, they had no effect on Zim. Combined, they brought out things, horrible thoughts and feelings. Thoughts and feelings he’d been in denial of his entire existence. It was a dramatic switch in his mental state that terrified him. His face remained blank, but it showed in the way he tightly held his body.
          The Tallests’ words entered into his mind… the fact that he wasn’t an invader but simply a nuisance they failed at getting rid of. The looming question he’d rarely let himself ask began to make itself evident. Instantly his eyes began to sting and antennae tingle in emotion. This question made his status as a defective most obvious out of everything. The answer had been programmed in his PAK before birth, but the information he had slowly grown to possibly distrust.
          He then shook his head in annoyance. There was no time to feel such unimportant things. He took a deep breath and stepped forward. The sounds of his boots making their way across the floor almost shocked him. The noises played loudly, despite his soft steps.
          That’s when a soft light flicked into his vision just ahead. An unspoken relief flooded the Irken at the ability to conceive the universe again. In the small pool of yellow light was a simple metallic chair. Curious, Zim proceeded to it, his attention on his unknown surroundings heightening somehow further. The seat was plain, but he quickly noticed cross hatching on its legs and arms. This chair had not only been scraped across the floor several times but also taken multiple blunt blows to it. His paranoia quickly pieced everything together.

~          His entire face stung. Redness enveloped the pale boy’s features as he made his way home. Dib didn’t care that he’d stayed later than he promised. Hanging by his sides now, his raw hands were caked in dirt from digging in Zim’s vacant lot.  His head was fogged beyond comprehending anything but the direction to his home.
          He’d just spent well over three hours tearing at the earth, rooting for any evidence of Zim or his base. As though a hypnotist had snapped their fingers, the boy had fell into a deep obsession with finding what had happened to the alien. Thoughts still whirled his exhausted mind. Ideas of where he could be. The most accepted of these to him was that he’d simply left for another location on Earth to find an easier target for his chip to control. It still didn’t make sense though. The town was full of humans. Many could be taken off guard. His feet stopped just outside his home.
          “What if… it’s because of…me?” Dib stared at his shoes in deep thought. “Zim has nearly gotten away with destroying Earth several times. If it hadn’t been for me… Could he have decided that he can’t defeat me?”
          “Unlikely.”
          “Gah! Gaz!” Dib jumped at her sudden appearance by the door.
          The violet haired girl shrugged, “I told Dad you were in your room all evening so don’t worry about being yelled at. He was going crazy yesterday, and I didn’t want to hear it twice in a week.”
          “Oh…thanks.” Dib looked about awkwardly then back at her, “Wait, you said it’s unlikely that Zim left because of me! You remember Zim?!” Dib’s mind was reeling at that moment. He’d thought of Tak and her ability to wipe the minds of humans so easily before but had forgotten entirely somehow about Gaz. Claiming it was his intelligence that saved him from its effects, Tak had also attempted to use it on his sister. At the time, he wasn’t sure if it’d failed or if Gaz had simply diverted the Irken quick enough to stop the wiping. If she remembered… that meant he had a partner to help him find Zim!
          “Huh? Oh no, I meant it’s unlikely someone would admit defeat to you.”
          The deflation in Dib was more than evident. ‘I guess the flaw anyway in the theory of mind wiping… is that it’s a mass collective of humans…not a single looking in the eyes of the alien….’ He blinked at realizing he’d stood still staring blankly at his confused sister; then he remembered, “Hey, If I go out again, would you mind covering for me a second time?”
          Looking bored and dismissing his normal odd behavior, Gaz turned back inside. “Sure, but if Dad looks in your room and you’re not there, I’ll act surprised.”
          “Thanks, Gaz!” He rushed passed her and was out of the house just as quickly as he went in, holding a camera close to his chest.
          It was shocking that Dib managed to come back home without his father noticing twice in a day. He later would find out he would be there at the house for one more day because of a major power outage his most recent invention had caused in his work’s building. It was inconvenient timing on Dib’s part.
          He flopped onto his bed after quickly washing the grime from his hands and frantically flipped open his laptop to watch the live feed from Zim’s empty lot. He lay there, staring. The low blue hue of light dancing across his dry eyes began to burn them, but it went unnoticed. Minutes of inactivity turned into hours. The slightest change from a dog or bug in the lens’s vicinity brought with it a mass of excitement immediately followed by a deep feeling of defeat. The longer Dib watched…the more tired he grew.   The more tired he grew, the more desperate he became. And the more desperate he became… the more emotion he felt…