Always-ZaDr Chapter 10

        Dib didn't make a sound as the alien moved to sit up, he just wasn't sure what he would say..or if the irken would notice him, or what. He had never seen Zim directly after his pak had been charging so one couldn't blame the human for being a little startled and skeptical of what to expect. A series of mechanical sounds came from the technology on the irken's back as it rebooted and surged a bit of power into the alien's system so he would wake up more readily.

        The irken's eyes cracked open, though soon after registering the beam of light that was cast on to him he shielded his eyes and let out a defensive hiss, retreating back into the darkness out of reach of the torturously bright light. He was used to waking up to a pitch blackness then gradually working into a lighter environment as the elevator brought him up to either the main lab or the house level of the base. He, however, wasn't used to having a bright light shined directly into his eyes after waking. "Turn it off!" he shrieked, peaking out from behind his shielding hand in hopes of finding who or what the source of the light was so he could ultimately destroy the damn thing.

        Dib jumped and nearly dropped the flashlight when he heard the loud hiss, his eyes wide and frightened behind his round glasses as he watched the irken retreat out of reach of his light. Yeah this was definitely turning out to be like a weird twisted nightmare of his and when a short silence followed the hiss he was scared to call out and make himself known.

        Maybe he should have just stayed upstairs and waited for the alien to come up and find him there...because down here he wasn't sure if the alien would kill him for trespassing or if he would be unaffected. He flinched when he heard the shriek from where he assumed Zim had taken refuge and he turned the light away from the source of the sound, "Okay, okay," he said placing his thumb reluctantly over the off button on the technology to turn it off.

        Once his source of light was off he looked over at where he assumed Zim would be...but honestly without the light he was blind in the pitch blackness. It was eerie to be this vulnerable with his enemy...er...truce partner...in the room and most likely able to see perfectly fine. It made him feel too vulnerable.

        Zim relaxed at least a little when the flashlight beam was turned away from himself and he lowered his gloved hand from his eyes. He blinked a few times to clear the trace amounts of the imprint of the light from his eyes so he could see more clearly and he eyed the human who was only a couple of feet from him, "How did you get down here Dib-beast?" he growled, indignantly brushing himself off despite the fact that he was not only spotless but his uniform was still wrinkle free.

        Dib's eyes wandered blindly around the darkness as if trying to spot any source of natural light..but it just wouldn't work down here..under ground. He jumped a little when he heard the shifting, but when no pain came from the noise he relaxed and cleared his throat. His eyes tried to focus on the source of Zim's voice but he just ended up looking blindly at another patch of darkness, "The computer let me down here," he answered a little nervously, wishing he could turn the flashlight back on so he could see the irken. This feeling of vulnerability made him feel...well, vulnerable. They may have had a truce but that wouldn't stop the irken from pulling out a laser gun and trying to blow his brains out for entering the base without his permission.

        Zim's lekku pulled back against his skull, pressing tightly to the green skin as his lower eyelid nearly twitched in anger. That stupid computer was useless, he told it to turn on security mode and what did it do? It let the human right down into where he was trying to sleep. The stupid AI was nearly as useless as Gir. He said nearly because it did sometimes come into use...Gir on the other hand was always acting like a smeet with some mental disability and a weird affliction for soaps...and pigs.

        "Why did you come here Dib-beast?" he asked, brushing himself off indignantly before returning his gaze tot he human who didn't even have the decency to look right at him..he seemed to be looking past him. Stupid human worm-child, "You human worm-babies don't just show up at other beings houses for no reason," he said.

       Dib shifted nervously on his feet as his words were met with silence, he could almost feel the anger coming off the irken, great he knew he was in trouble now, and even mentioning the fact that he didn't want to be a part of this anymore could mean being chased out of here with sharp metal objects being flung at him. Or something along those lines.

       The human had to admit that he was relieved when the irken didn't start yelling at him and attacking him right then, considering the fact that he couldn't do much to defend himself in this deep blackness. "I came to talk about the truce," he answered. He wasn't sure how to really go about this. Negotiating with Zim wasn't exactly his best talent so if he had to reason his way out of the house this was going to go badly. The irken had already convinced him to get into this whole thing in the first place...managed to make him momentarily make him turn his back to his own race...but he couldn't let that keep up.

        Zim eyed the human's feet as he shifted like that and his lekku quivered in anger when the human still refused to look at him. He stormed over to the boy and grabbed him by the front of his shirt to jerk him down to a shorter level than himself, "You will look at Zim when you are speaking," he hissed. Did the human not find him worthy to truly look at? Was that it? Every other human thought it appropriate to look past him and not directly at him, but Dib always saw him..he didn't just look at him..he saw him, yet now the stupid worm-child's eyes refused to look at him. "And what about this truce do you want to discuss human?" he growled.

        Dib tensed when he heard the tap of Zim's boots against the ground and he yelped when suddenly he was grabbed and jerked down so his back was bent. "Jeez Zim you don't have to grab me," he said in annoyance, swatting the hand away, "And I can't exactly see anything right now so don't get like that," he said, straightening his back again.

        He wasn't sure what it was but knowing that Zim was within striking distance now helped calm him, as if being this close meant that the irken wouldn't use his spider limbs. Maybe it was the knowledge that the irken had never drawn out his spider limbs this close before that gave him the ability to stand up for himself. "I want to call the truce off," he said, "I'm not going to help you destroy the planet."

        Zim felt a wave of triumphance wash over him when he beckoned the startled yelp out of the human and his lekku relaxed some, though the more relaxed nature didn't last long when the human swatted his clawed hand away. "Stupid incompetent human smelly seeing orbs," he grumbled to himself, standing in a more indignant fashion to help his hurt ego. It was just another bit of proof that made it apparent that the irken race was better than the humans who couldn't even see in pitch blackness.

        He was pulled from his prideful thoughts when the human said he wanted to call off the truce and to say he was shocked would have been an understatement. He was appalled. He had the human where he wanted him only yesterday...when had the human decided to change his mindset back to the world's 'savior' as he always put it. He couldn't let the human slip away not now when he still just barely had a hold on him. He was sure he still had room to work with to pull the human back into his clutches.

        "Zim thought we already went over this Dib-thing," Zim said, "You are saving the earth," he continued, "You just have to put all the worthless humans out of their misery. Think of all the suffering they'd go through without you," he reasoned.

        Dib shook his head, it was apparent that Zim could see him so he knew the gesture wouldn't be lost to the irken, "I think they can turn themselves around," he countered, "Humans aren't stupid, and we've come a long way from what we've been doing a few years ago, we're trying to help the planet now," he said. "It's not a lost cause..I can help them without hurting them," he said.

        He was trying his best to reason with Zim and get his way so he could get out of here alive and do as he pleased without the irken trying to change his mind. Right then he thought he was doing a fairly good job...he believed that he could do these things. If he could just get himself in the spotlight and say the right things the human race would follow his example.

         Zim crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his foot irritatedly as the human spoke...so that's where the human was going was he? That's exactly where he'd thought the human was going...and honestly...he was sure he could change the human around again. He grabbed Dib's wrist and started pulling him towards the elevator, "Come with Zim," he said, despite the fact that he wasn't really giving the human much of a choice.