The final part, where we get to see the daring escape attempt by our two idiots!
"Any last words?" The man asked, with several figures by his side. As they stepped closer, it became clear from their gear and outfits they were some kind of special forces. Their heads were muddied by a black helmet and their eyes were covered by what looked to be night goggles.
They carried with them black rifles with laser sights. Which all were aimed solely at the two intruders, who were starting to regret storming ahead without checking first. But as the snipers closed in, it was becoming apparent they had to figure out something fast.
"Well, Zim, I already came up with something that saved us, so this would be a perfect time for you to repay the favor," Dib said in a low voice, so only Zim could hear it.
"ME?! You still owe Zim from all the other times I saved your puny flesh." The alien answered back.
"Zim, I would really appreciate it if we had this argument later. As in, not here!" The human stated with annoyance. But beyond that, Zim managed to sense the slightest hint of concern in Dib's voice. As he looked at him, the concern only seemed more visible. In the end, it was enough to make Zim forget his pride for a moment. Even though he would have liked it if the human had just asked for help. Then he could have held it over him and mocked him for it the next few weeks.
In the end, Zim let out a sigh and rolled his eyes.
"Fine!" He said, which helped calm Dib's nerves a little bit.
"Ugh, you two? Last words? Come one!" The leader uttered impatiently, before showing them an audio recorder.
"You two might not care, but it's written in our contract that we provide the last words of our victims, and I would rather not have to replicate the sound of you gurgling on your own blood, and then it would be a whole thing with management and our legal team, so please just say something!" He said, pointing the recorder at them, waiting for them to speak.
Dib stared with disbelief at the man but managed to recognize an opportunity that had presented itself.
"Um, yeah, sure, but...can we think it over? I would rather it not be something stupid, you know, like, 'Please don't kill me!', or, 'Tell my dad I love him!'."
"...FINE!" The leader relented. "But you better make it good! If you throw an apology in there somewhere, we might get a bonus."
"Yeah!" Exclaimed one of the soldiers with excitement, though the judgy stares from his colleagues quickly made him turn down the enthusiasm.
"Alright, I bought us a bit of time. Come up with anything yet?" Whispered Dib to Zim, and though he didn't want to pressure the alien, he wasn't sure how long he could keep arguing for their continued existence.
"We could always exterminate-"
"I would REALLY appreciate it if we didn't need to kill people, I thought I had already made that clear!" He replied to Zim, who could only make a sound of annoyance in return.
"Why do you always make things so hard for Zim!" The alien exclaimed, though he quickly let it go and tried to come up with something else.
But as he did, the patience of the soldiers started to run thin.
"Are you two DONE already?! We don't have all night you know." Said the leader, putting some pressure on the two.
"Just a moment, almost got it!" Dib reassured them, though the panic in his voice was clear to hear.
"Would it hurt to hurry a bit, Zim!"
"SSH! I'm concentrating!"
Just then, the sound of a ringing phone could be heard. The soldiers looked around at each other before their eyes fell on one unfortunate fellow.
"Justin! I told you to put your phone on silent!" Hissed the leader.
The sniper apologized and awkwardly picked up his phone and answered it. However, it didn't take long before he shoved it over to his boss.
"It's for you chief. It's the client. And he sounds pissed."
"Aren't they always." muttered the man, before he took the phone up to his ear. "Hello Watch-"
"ARE THEY DEAD YET?!" Yelled an all too familiar voice from the phone, which startled the man for a bit and only made Dib more nervous.
"Uhm, no sir. We're waiting for them to say their last words."
"...What."
"You know, paragraph 37 section 6, "You are guaranteed to hear and enjoy the last words of the soon to be deceased parties your contract specifies will be eliminated in accordance with-"
"THEIR LAST WORDS COULD BE THE SOUND OF THEM PISSING THEMSELVES AND I WOULD STILL NOT CARE! KILL THOSE INTRUDERS, NOW!" Watchman yelped, making the sniper roll his eyes.
"As you say," He commented, before putting the phone on speaker. "But just a warning, it isn't a very pleasant sound. All right you two, ready to die?"
As the sniper pointed their weapons at them once again, Dib was sweating bullets.
"...No?"
Meanwhile, Zim was looking over to the next building, when he noticed a familiar shining purple object on its roof. It just happened to be the parking building he had landed his ship on. With that, an idea quickly came to him. It was a risky one, but Zim usually didn't bother with annoying things like 'risk assessment' and 'thinking things through'.
"Well too bad." Answered the man half-heartedly, motioning for the guys to take aim.
"Dib-thing, do you trust me?" Zim suddenly asked out of nowhere, making Dib shift between which situations to focus on.
"That's...kinda a loaded question Zim, could it-"
Before he had time to answer, Zim grabbed his arm and started running. Meanwhile, the snipers looked at them with apathetic expressions.
"Where exactly do you think you're going? We're on a roof." Said the leader, as he watched the two nearing the end of the roof.
"Zim, what are you doing, Zim, ZIM ZIM ZIM-" Dib kept screaming as they reached the edge. The human didn't even have time to prepare himself before he saw the edge disappear beneath him and instead saw shining specks he concluded to be streetlights and moving cars.
"It's not like you're gonna-HOLY SHIT THEY JUMPED WHAT THE HELL?!" Yelled the man, rushing over to where they jumped off, looking down on them as they descended to the ground.
"QUICK, WHAT DOES OUR CONTRACT SAY ABOUT SUICIDE?!"
"Uh..." said one of the men, taking a paper that went down to his knees from his back. "...sorry boss, says we are required to be the acute cause of death for the targets."
"...Okay, so, if anyone asks, we pushed them, got it?"
The other snipers nodded in agreement, as they went to the edge and waited for the two falling intruders to hit the ground.
As they fell, Dib quickly ran out of air to scream out and instead turned to Zim for salvation.
"ZIM, PLEASE TELL ME YOU'VE GOT THIS COVERED!" He screamed though he wasn't sure whether the alien heard him. At the very least, Zim looked focused, not paying attention to the fall to their doom. Instead, he looked at a watch on his arm and pressed one of its many buttons.
"Should be here any minute, Dib-stink." The alien explained with an almost calm voice as if trying to reassure Dib.
"I sure hope so!" Dib said, with a little less panic, with the knowledge that Zim had something in mind. Even if he had no idea of what that was. Whether it would actually work was a coin toss, but at least they wouldn't be shot to pieces. Dib never did like the idea of death by bullets. Instead, as he looked down on the coming ground, he could look forward to being smashed against the surface and turning into a horrifying meat pancake. Though he for once appreciated the ridiculous height of the building, as their fall while quick, still had a while to go.
They waited for a few moments, the lights from below becoming clearer by the second. Soon Dib could even see the small outline of people walking below. But just as he was about to ask again if Zim actually had a plan and not just winging it, something caught his eye. A familiar purple vessel flying through the air quickly gained momentum, as it turned toward the two and made its way over to their position.
"The ship? THE SHIP! Zim, you're a genius!" Dib yelled to Zim, not really thinking about what he said. But the alien was rather satisfied upon hearing the human's reaction and gave him a smug smile.
"See? Told you Zim got it."
"Yeah, but, isn't it flying a little too-"
Poor Dib didn't have time to finish his sentence before their salvation flew right into them. His face smashed against the glass and he was pretty sure he broke a tooth. Since no sound came from Zim, he was pretty sure the same had happened to him. Which did make him feel slightly better about it.
Back on top of the building, the snipers looked with disbelief as the ship carried the two away.
"Umm...Watchman...they're flying away." Explained the leader, who had gotten on the phone, ready to announce once the two had hit the ground.
"F-FLYING AWAY?! HOW?! ARGH, Micky, call the choppers, I want them shot down!" Yelled Watchman at his assistant, who back on his end stood flabbergasted for a moment before reacting.
Michael consoled his walkie-talkie and quickly came in contact what the helicopter pilots. But as their voices came through, a horrified expression took over his face. With sweat filling his face, he slowly turned to his boss.
"There seems to be a...problem-"
"WHAT PROBLEM?!"
"...The helicopters are currently rotating shifts, so-"
"GODDAMMIT!" Scream Watchman before slamming his hands down on his desk.
Meanwhile, Dib and Zim were trying their best to climb from the glass down into the cockpit. It wasn't easy, but they did manage it eventually. Which then led to a minor scuffle for who would sit in the front seat. One that Zim managed to win, by cheating, at least according to Dib.
With the ship ready, they quickly flew away from the area, leaving the building behind. After making enough distance, they landed on a cliff overlooking the city. Climbing out, they walked over to the edge and surveyed the black horizon. It didn't take long for them to recognize the tower, as the air around it was filled with several helicopters, frantically flying around. It was quite the spectacle to watch.
It was then that reality finally dawned on Dib. The long night was over, and they had won. The technology was in their possession, and maybe a little more importantly, they were in one piece. The realization slowly became stronger, making Dib's head feel light. Once it reached its peak, he couldn't help but laugh. Zim looked over at him with an expression, as if he was looking at a madman.
"We...we did it. We did it! AGAIN!" Proclaimed the human victoriously, continuing to laugh with a sense of dumbfoundedness and relief.
It took a while, but eventually, Zim warmed to the idea and started laughing with him.
"Of course we did! Did you ever doubt the amazing Zim?"
"Oh, lots of times, but it's over!" Dib answered before he was struck by a most unusual thought. To thank Zim.
"And you...you were amazing!" He said, which quickly garnered surprise and shock from the alien.
"Jumping off the building and getting picked up by your ship worked A LOT better than I thought. And your PAK legs saved us from becoming fried by those flames! Not to speak of how you actually managed to shut down the electricity! I for sure thought you were going to be electrocuted or something." He continued, further shocking the alien. But the constant praise was enough to make Zim come back to his senses.
"Well, obviously I did all those things successfully! Are you forgetting who you're speaking to?" Zim replied with some familiar smugness. But perhaps Dib's compliments had a bigger effect on him than first realized. For he suddenly too felt the urge to say something positive about Dib for once. Which usually he would have shot down almost immediately. But be it Dib's words or their victory, he felt unusually charitable at that moment.
"And...you did not perform as horribly horrible as I had expected," Zim muttered as if hoping that Dib wouldn't hear him. But he did.
"...If it wasn't for the adrenaline, I would think I just heard you give me a compliment," Dib replied with a teasing tone.
"Quiet! Just be thankful that you've managed to impress me for once."
"Well, I could say the same to you."
"...And THAT was supposed to be a compliment?"
"Yeah, it sounded better in my head," Dib said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. But then he gave Zim a small smile, that the alien returned, nearly subconsciously.
Then came a quiet moment, where they just stood without much to do. But the night continued nevertheless, and they couldn't just stay there forever. And while Zim had reached a point where he didn't despise Dib's company, there was a strange tenderness in the way they stood that made him uncomfortable.
"Sooo...I'm gonna head back to my base now." Zim stated, with a slightly unsure expression, as if he couldn't think of anything else to do.
Keeping his eyes on Dib, he started to walk backwards, toward his ship. Dib looked on, mouth open, as if he had something to say. But it was only when Zim finally turned around, that the words came.
"WAIT!" He exclaimed, surprising the alien, who stared at him puzzled.
Dib hadn't really thought through what he was about to suggest. And yet, it didn't feel right to end the night just then. So he threw out all reason and collected his breath.
"Would you...mind...coming back with me to my house..." He questioned, his head turning red as an apple. Fortunately for him, Zim didn't see the implications of that question and instead kept looking at him confused.
"There'll be food...and snacks," Dib muttered, feeling the weight of years without a social life suddenly crash on him like a ton of bricks. He almost immediately regretted saying anything and quickly prepared himself for Zim's refusal.
For Gaz, it had been a long, but uneventful night. She had spent nearly the whole day and night in front of a videogame store that opened as early as midnight, keeping her spot in the line for the new video game that would come out that night. Her spot had been at the front, right up against the doors to the store. One she had proudly claimed through tenacity and willpower. And of course, scaring off anyone trying to take her spot. But her struggles would be paid off, as when midnight had struck, the doors opened and she was the first to receive 'Starbusters 9: The re-revelations'.
The only downside had been she had underestimated how much food she should have packed. And while she had bullied some snacks from the other people in the line, she was still starving by the end. So with a hunger on her mind, she had made her way home. But the walk was long and it only made her more hungry. The only thing on her mind was ordering a pizza as soon as he got home.
But as she finally arrived at her destination, she noticed that some of the lights were on, in the otherwise dark house. She didn't think much of it and just assumed she had forgotten to turn off the lights. It was a different story when she reached the door and while trying to unlock it, accidentally opened it up. Meaning that it wasn't locked. Something she definitely remembered doing when she left. Even stranger was when she heard noises coming from inside.
"That's weird, dad shouldn't be home yet," She muttered to herself and entered the house.
As she walked down the hallway, she was already preparing a plan of attack against the intruders. Which involved a lot of biting and a kitchen knife she was going to snatch while they were screaming in pain. But when she came further inside, the noises became two voices. Two very familiar voices.
"What the-?" Gaz said and then hurried over to the source of the sounds, which came from the kitchen.
As she turned the corner, she was met by the kitchen lights on and two familiar faces at the table. On the table itself was half-eaten pizza and a bowl of assorted snacks, that Zim was munching on.
Dib and Zim were busy talking, and only then noticed that Gaz had come home. A moment of silence was shared before Dib, still with a slice of pizza near his face, spoke.
"Hey Gaz..."
"HELLO Dib-sister!" Zim exclaimed a little too enthusiastically.
"Dib, I can't believe this..." Gaz said, with a dreadful and betrayed tone.
"Alright, I know that Zim isn't usually allowed here and that he tried to-wait, DID blow our house up, but I swear, that-"
"You got pizza...without me?!" She nearly yelled, with real and actual pain and hurt in her voice.
Dib was taken aback and almost scared for a moment, before a perplexed expression took over.
"Uhm, actually...I was figuring you would come home soon, so I got one for you as well." He explained, before pointing over to the kitchen counter. A pizza box stood untouched, still steaming.
Gaz looked at the pizza, and then back at her brother a few times.
"Dib, for all the trouble you have caused me in my life, I think this moment might have redeemed you,"
"Gee, thanks," Dib said under his breath, but Gaz was too busy rushing over to the pizza to hear him. Once she confirmed that it indeed was real, she took it over to the table and sat down. While she greedily ate, Zim and Dib looked at each other, both unsure of what to do next. Fortunately, Gaz had already taken that decision for them.
"So," She said with a mouth full of pizza, gaining the two's attention. "Would you mind telling me why you two are all chummy and NOT trying to kill each other?"
Once again, the two looked at each other, and then hurried to stand up, so they had the chance to tell Gaz before the other could..
After an hour or so of fighting over the right to tell the story, they managed to explain the important bits, with only a few changed details for their ego's sake. Once done, they sat back down and waited for Gaz's response. As expected, she wasn't really that impressed.
"You broke into a building? That's it?"
"Gaz, we escaped a tunnel of literal fire, you've GOT to give me a bit of credit. Even a little credit to Zim!"
"Yeah...wait, HEY!" Exclaimed the alien, once he figured out what Dib had said.
"Sure, but isn't that the usual kind of stuff you two morons get up to? But I'll admit, kinda weird you met Dad there."
"I KNOW, right?! The only time that man leaves for a social function, and it just HAPPENS to be the one I'm trying to steal from. If it wasn't for the terrible luck I've had all my life, I might have become slightly pissed."
"You aren't now?" Gaz asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not the point I was trying to make, Gaz," Dib replied, before leaning back in his chair with exhaustion.
"Well, at least it's all over now. I may even have time to get some sleep."
"Pff, sleep. You silly, silly humans and your unnatural dependency on hibernation." Commented Zim with a mockingly cheerful expression.
"Zim, you're absolutely the most unnatural thing I know, and I believe in the Loveland frog."
"Yes, I am unnatural...MY UNNATURAL GENIUS THAT IS! HAH!" Answered the alien, like it was the ultimate 'take that!' reply in the galaxy.
"If you two would stop being stupid with each other, there is one thing I would maybe be slightly interested in knowing...why did you even try to steal some useless machines?"
Dib's mouth stood slightly open as he tried to figure out a response. It was then he realized that he actually hadn't told Gaz about Zim's plan to leave Earth. He looked over to Zim to find some direction, but the alien looked as lost as him. He weighed the options of telling Gaz the details about his deal with Zim or keeping it between them. In the end, he managed to make a decision.
"I...I just agreed to help replace some of Zim's broken tech, after I broke it last time we...well, you know, got into a fight."
"Yes, what The Dib said."
Gaz squinted her eyes at the two with a judging look, as if she was waiting to see who would break first. But even as the two started sweating, they managed to hold their composure. It ended when Gaz figured it wasn't worth it torturing them for more information.
"Whatever. You did say you were busy helping Zim last time, so I guess it checks out.
It was hard for Dib to know whether Gaz was being sincere in her usual insincere manner, or if she fully understood that Dib was keeping something from her. But he wasn't going to turn down the chance to keep something to himself from his sister. A feat that he rarely achieved. Still, he couldn't help but think how she would react if she knew he was planning to help Zim leave Earth. It wasn't like he was forcing Zim to do it, but he could already guess that Gaz would say that him helping Zim was more than just pushing him toward that end. Something Dib couldn't help but agree with. After all, him agreeing to help was just the same as telling Zim to leave whenever he could. Which would have made perfect sense years ago, but now? Now he was less sure. Now he had managed to get something deeper with Zim, something that had been building up through the years.
The feeling of having made something good out of his situation with Zim was only proven more right, as he looked around. Gaz and Zim had fallen into talking about the application of acid against people cutting in lines. Something they seemed equally interested in. Meanwhile, Zim was eating his snacks, Dib his pizza, and Gaz too. The more he thought about it, the more surreal it seemed. He was sitting with his sister and his archenemy and was actually relaxed. For once he could be relaxed around the two of them.
But it also highlighted his dilemma. Zim was on course to leave Earth. And while Dib had hated the alien before, he now felt lost at the thought of not having him around. Yet, that was what he was doing. So he better enjoy it while it lasted.
As the night was on the edge of becoming early morning, the three decided to part ways. Gaz was determined to start playing her game, Zim had to check on the tech they stole, and Dib wanted to get some sleep before he collapsed. He led the alien to the door and turned to face him.
"Crazy night, huh?" Dib almost stammered, as he opened the front door and Zim walked through.
"Eh. Seems pretty usual to Zim." The alien replied, before turning around to face the human before leaving.
"Well, yeah, but I was thinking about us working together...in that, we did more than just run in the same directions when things got heated." He said, trying to make it sound like a joke, but there was an earnestness to his words that was hard to hide. Zim must have sensed it, as he looked away for a moment, with an embarrassed expression.
"Yes...we did surprisingly well together, even if I had to save your weakly flesh several times...WHICH YOU STILL OWE ME FOR!"
"SHH! If Gaz hears you, I'm never gonna hear the end of it." Dib warned him. But then a sudden warmth took over him, and he couldn't help but smile. Then he chuckled. And then he realized he did both of those things toward Zim, who looked fairly shocked at the situation.
With a blush, Dib then tried to close the door as fast as possible, so he could have his panic attack in peace. But before he could, Zim grabbed the door.
"Wait!" He exclaimed, and with a confused look, Dib opened the door again.
As he looked at Zim, he could see something different. A light in his eyes that for once didn't mean he was about to murder someone. It didn't suit his usual 'alien invader' persona, and Zim clearly looked uncomfortable. Dib wasn't sure why until Zim lifted his arms and seemed to be about to wrap them around the human. But then he stopped. He then started again. And stopped. It went on for a bit until Dib got tired of it.
"...What are you doing?"
"WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE DIB-TRASH, I'm trying to initiate nonconsensual affectionate touching!" Zim yelled with a frustrated tone.
It took a moment for Dib to realize that the alien was trying to hug him. However, he still wasn't sure if Zim's difficulty with hugging him came from disgust or just a lack of experience. It could easily be both. But he thought the situation over carefully, and suddenly felt a tinge of endearment, as he looked at Zim trying to show affection. No matter how bad of an attempt it was.
As if he got kicked in the back, he suddenly lunged toward Zim. The alien's instinct nearly kicked in, but by then, Dib already had his arms around the alien.
It was a strange experience for both of them. While Zim was standing completely frozen, Dib was meanwhile thinking over if he might just have doomed himself. To his surprise, it seemed not, as he felt Zim's arms slowly make their way around his back. In all certainty, it was a very awkward hug. It didn't help that their height difference came into focus, as Dib was too tall to wrap his head behind Zim's head. Instead, he just let it sit quietly next to the Zim's. But it felt like enough.
They didn't stand too long, as Zim pushed Dib away, though as gently as the alien was capable of. It got real quiet between them, and neither could look the other in the eye. Perhaps because they didn't want to reveal their blushing face to the other.
"I still hate you." Zim meekly said, with there barely being any weight behind his words.
"I know," Dib replied, just as uncommitted as Zim, as he looked around awkwardly.
"...See you later, Dib!" The alien suddenly exclaimed, before sprinting as fast as he could away from the house. Dib could hear Zim's heavy breathing for a few seconds before he disappeared from view. One could almost think that he was running away from the most terrifying thing in the universe.
He looked after the alien and discovered to his surprise that he was smiling. Dib tried to force it away, but his dumb, cheerful smile wouldn't go away. It felt almost unnatural for Dib, and neither was it helped by the thumping of his heart. He wondered for a moment if this was what all those people in romance movies felt.
"...See you." He muttered quietly, before going inside and closing the door.
And there you have the latest chapter! Hope you enjoyed it, and let's meet again in the next chapter. Have a good day.