No Way Out

by Growly

sesshou_maru@yahoo.com

Notes: This is the sequel to "Your Worst Enemy"

Thanks to Jenny for beta-reading this despite her dislike of ZADR. She did a great job.


No Way Out
by Growly

The ringing of the doorbell almost went unnoticed as Zim focused on his computer screen, his intense ruby eyes perusing the schematics with quiet concentration. Thus far he had managed to tune out GIR's ramblings and the sound of the bell was distant - background noise to his mind, nothing more. A slight frown crossed his face as it continued in a low drone, his antennae going back in a brief, reflexive twitch. Something was amiss here and it just didn't add up.

A bundle of gleaming metal and bright cerulean eyes was in his lap before he had fully registered anything. Reality came back to the invader with a muffled curse and the slam of a black-gloved wrist against the controls. The diagrams vanished instantly, although the robot didn't, much to Zim's consternation and disgust. "GIR! What are you doing!?" He got as far as "what" before a rubber pig was shoved into his face, effectively cutting off his words.

"Rubber Piggy loves you!" The robot cooed in a sickening singsong, his expression one of pleased vacancy. Not for the first time, Zim felt his fingers twitch with an overpowering urge to kill something - unfortunately GIR wasn't a living creature, felt no physical pain and would probably assume it was some kind of new game if Zim decided to vent his rage. He had to settle for shoving the pig aside with an impatient growl.

"GIR! There's no time for - " He froze mid-word, his eyes gone wide as that odd background whine suddenly stopped. "What was that?" He demanded of the robot, not caring that GIR would probably have no idea either.

"Knock knock!" GIR tittered softly, cuddling the piggy close to his metal chest and sitting on the floor. He hummed a tuneless melody briefly while making the piggy "fly", apparently oblivious to the slight tick that fury had brought to the corner of his master's eye. The Irken was reaching out in a frustrated angry move when GIR called out in his laughing singsong, "Somebody's at the doo-ooor!"

Zim's fists fell to his sides immediately, his lips pulling back to show off his teeth in a grimace. The door! Of course. Perhaps it was another of those stinkbeast salespeople. The thought brought a decidedly unpleasant grin to the alien's face. Yes, just the thing he needed to cheer himself up. He trotted over to the lift and headed up, eager to amuse himself at the expense of some idiotic Earthanoid. As he emerged from the trashcan into his stinkbeast

style living room, the thought occurred to him that this might be some kind of trap. With an impatient growl, Zim pulled on his human disguise, wincing briefly at the way the contacts chafed his eyes. How he would relish the day these pitiful humans were no more and he could dispense with this foolishness. So garbed, he approached the door and reached out to grasp the knob and twist it.

He allowed the door to open a mere crack, the tiny slit allowing him a cautious look at the intruder. He almost slammed the door shut and ordered the house to send the gnomes to dispose of this unwelcome visitor, yet he did not. Later he would think back and wonder at his brief lapse, but for the moment those options did not even cross his mind. There was no need for him to do anything - it was obvious at a glance that the human was not there in an attempt to infiltrate his base. Even at his most foolish and bold, Dib would never have dared to march straightaway up to the alien's door.

Besides, the Irken well knew that the intrigue and challenge behind sneaking into his armored lair contributed in large part to such excursions. What he didn't know was WHY the stinkbeast had come right to his door and rung the bell.

Then the Dib-beast moved and clarity forced itself on the Irken's mind. Dib was practically kneeling at his feet, a scene which was the culmination - although not always the conclusion - of a great many of Zim's world domination fantasies. It was the look on the human's face that shattered any feeling of victory he might have harbored. It was defeat he saw, yes, but not the concrete, cut-and- dry fear and submission that Zim had imagined. The fear he saw was not of his making, and that made it anathema to him.

~Why would you not give ME this look, Dib-monkey? Who is it that this is for?~ He felt an ember of something akin to jealousy flare in him. Had he known the culprit he would have destroyed them in an instant for daring to usurp his territory.

Blood pooled around the frail human body, bright and scarlet - a good color. It streaked the door and near section of the wall and a thin trickle made a slow path down the slight rise of Zim's doorstep. Dib was soaked in it, clothes and hands and a face that had gone even paler than its norm - ashen. Zim hadn't realized there was so much liquid in a human, nor had he ever bothered to wonder. Still, he couldn't imagine the Dib-creature had much left to spare. Throughout this entire evaluation - one which took only seconds - Zim had retained a veneer of bored impassiveness, although he allowed the door to open further and give his adversary a view of his home. It wouldn't matter anyway, he reasoned.

It wouldn't matter because the Dib-human was dying right in front of him. He knew it not from the wounds or the boy's pallor, but from the way his enemy's golden eyes met his own without interest or rebellion.

~Here is my victory,~ He thought fiercely, ~All I need to do is shut the door and let him bleed his life out. Or better yet, bring him in and have a bit of fun helping the injuries along. Or even...~

"Zim." The halting word drew his attention back to the kneeling boy. What did he want now?

~If he asks for help or mercy, I will laugh in his face.~ Zim thought with a cruel vehemence.

Yet there was nothing of mercy or aid in his words, just resignation too weary to be bitter.

"You win, Zim." The words fell quietly, with little emotion or inflection, and they caught Zim off-guard completely. He stared for a moment, stunned - unable to believe that his enemy had at last conceded defeat. Even in his sweetest fantasies, Dib had never...

~He gave up! How could he? How dare he!?~ The Irken trembled as confusion warred through his head with a steadily growing undercurrent of anger. ~I thought you were different, Dib-beast. I thought you would never give up. Never give up on...~

A wordless snarl of rage bubbled to his lips and he snatched at the collar of Dib's coat, dragging the human inside and slamming the door shut behind them. Then, out of sight of any prying eyes, he vented his anger on his helpless adversary. Kicking, snarling and scratching - he didn't bother with weapons or fancy attacks, just a merciless barrage. His only goal was to bring fear to those dull golden eyes - fear of HIM. But it would not come so he tried for pain instead. He had to make the Dib hurt; hurt like he was hurting at this unexpected betrayal.

~In my own way, I was good to you, Dib! Look how you've repaid me!~

Throughout this, the human had done nothing but lie there quietly, not even trying to fend off the blows. He might as well have been already dead for the reaction he gave.

At last Zim halted, tired and stained with Dib's blood. It was splattered liberally across the floor and walls and what little furniture there was in the house. On the floor, the human's breathing had been reduced to shallow gasps, the only sound punctuating the eerie silence that had settled. Zim stood over him (over him!) looking down. The contacts made his eyes burn and he tore them off, tore the wig off and threw it aside. Still his eyes burned and a horrific realization occurred to him, that he might be on the verge of tears. It was rare, but not unheard of for Irkens, but for Zim it was shattering. His bloodied hands clenched into tight fists. "I hate you, Dib!" His voice dared to waver during this proclamation, and the embarrassment of it made him fall silent.

Just as well: if he had kept on talking he would have missed the Dib-human's quiet words. As it was they were barely audible, even for Zim.

"Fair enough. So do I."

It wasn't the words that brought Zim to that final, stunned halt - they barely registered at all. Besides, there would be plenty of time later to ponder their significance. No, it was the single drop of moisture trickling down Dib's cheek and making a clear trail through the blood. All the fight went out of the alien. He had never seen the human cry before, had never truly been convinced that it was possible until now, he realized. Somehow it changed everything.

He was on his knees beside the human, grasping at one of the thin arms through the loose fabric of the black coat. His words were gritted and harsh, but not angry any longer. "You're thinking about dying, aren't you, Wormbaby? Well forget it. Dying would be too good for you. I am ZIM! I'm not THAT merciful!" Glazed golden eyes struggled to focus on the Irken and the confusion in them made Zim smile. "I've decided I don't want your death anymore, Dib," His emphasis of the human's name gave his words a slightly mocking undertone, "it's your life I want." Lifting the human with ease, Zim carried him to the lift.

Coming out into his lab, he was confronted again by a curious and eager GIR. The robot dashed in a circle around Zim. "Master! Whatcha got there?" The SIR unit drew to a halt. "Ooh! Look! It's your friend Dibby! Hi Dibby! Piggy says 'Hi'!" He waved his rubber pig at the now-unconscious human.

The robot's antics grated on Zim's already frayed nerves. "GIR! Get the repair table ready!" He had no idea if it would work on a human, but Dib would die if nothing was done and he would not leave his enemy's fate in the hands of this planet's pathetic stinkbeast doctors.

With Dib at last on the repair unit, there was nothing for Zim o do but sit back and wait. It was out of his hands now.

~ * ~

Days passed at a crawling pace and Zim never left his lair. There was no great need to go to school now, and with the Dib helpless in his grasp, conquering the earth seemed to have faded to a mere triviality. All that mattered was here. Himself. The machines. And Dib. It might have been a week, or it might not. Zim had no real sense of time on this planet. However long it was, it seemed an infinity longer.

Yet there came a time when the machines cycled down and came to a halt. And Zim leaned forward with unfeigned interest. For a moment - a brief but alarming moment - the human did not move. Then it passed and golden eyes slit open in confusion and a pain that could not be physical.

"Wha..." The word was groggy, the tone rambling, but Zim did not care. It was something to prove his enemy yet lived. It meant victory of a sort.

The dazed, unfocused look in the human's eyes was starting to face, replaced by a brief confusion that gave way to alarm as Dib realized he couldn't move his limbs. Zim could almost read his adversary's train of thought from the shifting expressions on his face.

~Surprised to be alive, are you? Maybe angry too. You would have preferred dying to my saving you.~ Zim could be smug about that much, at least. He had violated Dib's wishes and it was sure to rankle the stinkbeast mightily. The Irken knew that the fact that Dib was also bound, helpless and naked in his enemy's grasp would only contribute to any feelings of unease that existed. He watched the human squirm, testing the straps holding him down, and couldn't help a smile. How many times had the Dib threatened to bind him down to a table and cut him open?

"Perhaps they'll name your autopsy video after me," Zim purred, marching over to where the human was tied down.

Dib must have recognized the echo of his own words, because he stopped struggling at his bonds abruptly and just lay there quietly, drawing short, hissing breathes between his teeth. His eyes darted back and forth - not as if he was looking for Zim, but as if to reflect the way his thoughts must be scurrying about like helpless little animals. The alien doubted the hapless human could see much of anything without his glasses anyway. The frames and lenses both had been pretty well shattered by the two subsequent beatings, yet were not irreparable for Zim's technology. He had them in fine order, probably better than they'd ever been, but had no plans to give them back. Yet.

~Interesting eyes, Dib-beast~ Zim thought with a sort of bemused curiosity. The color had not been one his database would have registered as commonplace. So far he'd seen the amber shad only in Dib and his sister. Perhaps their father too, but with the man's dark goggles who could tell? Gold, amber and pretty much all yellow shades were not in the spectrum of Irken eye color anyway. That was why it was interesting, of course.

Sensing the Dib would not respond to his earlier dib, Zim prodded a bit more, trying for a reaction - SOME reaction. "You have been a nuisance, constantly thwarting my ingenious plans -" Surely that would get some response, "but no longer. Now I have you at my mercy!" That maniacal laugh that he was so good at, bubbled forth from his throat unbidden. "The only question is what I should do with you! Rest assured, stinkbeast : it will be painful and unpleasant!" The Irken leaned forward eagerly, trying to gauge Dib's reaction, expecting anger, expecting fear or...

"Fuck you." The words were like a challenge, but said in such a dull, uncaring tone that they took a moment to register in Zim's brain.

"Eh?" Startled ruby eyes fixed on Dib's face, the alien's expression so bewildered as to be comical. The words had been little more than a pithy human insult - no worse than many he had been called by his adversary in his time on the planet, yet somehow so much more insulting than "alien scum" and the like. When his mind registered the insult, his gloved hand lashed out in a strike that was really no more than a slap. Certainly it hadn't injured Dib.

It was then that he realized he'd been outmaneuvered. The human was supposed to be the one getting riled, yet he himself had been the first to lose control. It rankled. "Silence! I control your fate!" This further proclamation was supposed to inspire terror, but drew only a brief humorless chuckle.

It was too much. With a wordless growl, Zim slammed a button and the bindings around Dib's arms and legs fell open with a click. Before the startled human could do more than sit up, a pile of cloth struck him in the belly and his newly repaired glasses bounced off his chest to land on the table with a scraping clatter. It was these that the human reached for first, slipping them on quickly.

The Irken was gesturing at the lift and near screaming, his words almost incomprehensible. "Get out! I should never have saved your filthy life!" His angry hopping and pointing gave the human time to pull on some few articles of clothing - shorts, pants, coat - he didn't seem to want to bother with the shirt at all, leaving it where it had fallen. By the time Zim had gotten a slight rein on his temper, his enemy was standing, facing him.

"What's wrong, Zim?" The anger, the screaming, none of it had fazed the stinkbeast in the least - or so it would seem. Despite his half-dressed state, and the fact that Zim still had the advantage in his own territory, the human was standing and looking at Zim with the familiar stubbornness that had earned both anger and grudging admiration. ~This is the human I know~ The Irken could have made some noise of relief at this return to normalcy, but wasn't willing to embarrass himself doing it.

"Nothing." He spat the word back, briefly surprised at how bitter his own voice sounded - how unlike what he was thinking and feeling safely out of sight. His hand rose of its own accord to point towards the lift again, as if to say "just go".

But Dib would not be moved, each attempt on Zim's part seemed to do nothing but increase his stubborn determination. Finally Zim hissed, his patience (never much to brag about) had been worn perilously thin.

~I am Zim!~ The Irken told himself as he had so many times before in his life. Whenever things had not gone as planned, it had become his mantra. Some part of him was painfully aware that it no longer really helped, but still he thought it, said it, and struggled to believe it. He was Zim, and if he no longer knew who Zim was, at least he knew that small bit of identity that was his name. Zim would not put up with this creature's unwanted presence in his lab.

Yet short of bodily moving the human there was little Zim could do. His threats fell on deaf ears - the Dib stood immobile, golden eyes fixed on the Irken with a look that was not so much courage as it was a complete lack of fear. Zim's insides wretched at that look, understanding it as well as he had ever understood anything. Apathy. It was the worst thing he could have seen on his enemy's face because it was impossible to hurt someone who didn't care.

His only hope rested on the Dib's desire to save this pathetic ball of filthy dirt from being crushed in Zim's fist. If that much remained then perhaps the rest was not beyond his grasp. "Leave my base at once, feeble earth monkey," Zim hissed, his tone as low and venomous as he could make it. "Unless you want Zim to end your miserable life. It would make my mission so much easier."

Something sparked at that - a small smile crossed Dib's mouth; a smile with no warmth and little humor. His expression was almost condescending, and the look was so familiar (though he had never seen it on the boy) that it set Zim's blood boiling.

"Go ahead, Zim." Dib spoke softly, his tone steady and careless, "Kill me if you can."

He would have done just that - his anger from before was compounded, bubbling and seething inside him like magma. The pressure; something had to give or he would explode. But caution stayed his hand when he would have used it to tear out the human's weak little throat. If the stinkbeast wanted him to be goaded enough to attack, then it must be a bad idea. "And who will defend your pathetic little planet when I do?" He tried for casual - as if anything they discussed could ever be casual.

Dib shrugged. "Who cares?"

It was just too much. The final straw. "You did!" Clearing the distance between them in a bound, Zim caught hold of Dib by the wrist and struck him across the face. Truth be told, it wasn't a hard blow, barely enough to catch the human's attention while he spoke with surprising force. "You cared once! If you won't care, who will? Who will care about you, or this planet, or me!?"

That last set something to glittering deep in the human's eyes. His voice was toneless, but that dim glow of something was here. "Nobody, I guess." He tilted his head ever so slightly. "Isn't that what you want?

"No." Zim whispered brokenly, his grip loosening, then falling away entirely. "...it's not."

If he'd been expecting anything like pity from the Dib, he was to be sorely disappointed. The hint of whatever he'd seen before was gone without a trace. "Sorry-" but he didn't SOUND at all sorry- "It's what I want Zim. I'm tired of this game. I'm not playing it anymore." Now he turned to leave and abruptly the tables had shifted again.

"Wait!" Zim's tone was almost a screech, reminiscent of how he had addressed his Tallest during the Great Assigning. "You can't end it like this! It's got to be done the right way!"

Dib turned just enough to glance at the Irken, one eyebrow raised. "There's a right way?"

"Of course!" Zim replied glibly, his mind racing. He had often gotten his way in the past through sheer force of will and some nonsense words. Here he could only hope it would work as well on the Dib as it had on his leaders. Inspiration struck: "A duel!"

Skepticism marred Dib's expression. "A duel?"

Zim felt his confidence rise. "That's right stinkbeast! If you win, then you may leave my base unmolested and I will give up trying to take over this planet -" Oh, but could he? He thought he could - "If Zim wins, then you must follow the commands of Zim!" It was a last ditch effort, but if any fight at all remained in the Dib, how could the human refuse?

For a moment, Dib stood silently, probably thinking. His tongue slipped out and moistened his lips and Zim noticed it was very soft and pink looking. Odd. But at last the human gave in to his request. "OK, Zim. A duel. But forget the prizes. Make it to the death, it's easier that way."

"What!?" The word slipped out, unbidden. Zim couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You couldn't kill me, dirt-child!" Dib had never tried to KILL Zim before - he'd been more intent on exposing the alien to the world. The wormbaby wasn't capable of that sort of thing. Was he trying to force Zim's hand?

"You'd be surprised, alien-scum." Dib almost sneered. "You might just be dead wrong about me."

"I doubt it." But the doubts were there, gnawing insistently at his thoughts. Yet if he did not agree, the Dib would surely be gone for good. "A duel to the death... or surrender." Could he make the boy surrender? He hoped so.

"Fine." Dib accepted this change of terms coolly. "Weapons."

Zim barely checked a flinch. "Your choice.

"Got any guns?"

The Irken's antennae went back. The human was serious. They would be playing this last game for keeps. Wordlessly he trotted out some firearms and let Dib take one. The human hefted it in one hand, testing the weight, cocked it briefly then nodded. Zim's hand closed over another. Give a count?" It was supposed to be traditional in duels, right?

"To three, Zim." The tone was flat command. As the two of them stood back to back, the invader's mind roiled. Here was a test, and it wasn't the one he'd expected at all. Somehow it had all gotten out of his control. He started their count as they stepped away from each other, his voice grim.

"One. Two..." Dear Irk... "Three." He whirled like a cat - his motions so much faster than Dib's - drawing a bead on his opponent. He could have destroyed the human right then and there and he knew it. His finger squeezed the trigger.

The beam flew over Dib's shoulder, barely missing his ear.

~I missed him~ He wasn't as disappointed as he'd thought he'd be, somehow.

The human was aiming and Zim had a wild moment of thinking: ~No, I know the Dib, he couldn't kill me...~ Then the firearm whirred, and pain slammed through the invader's body, driving him to the floor with a surprised bleat. Blood puddled around him and he looked up as the Dib strode over and aimed the gun at his head. ~I'm going to die.~ Dim misery welled up in him at the futility of it all. The weapon was cocked again, aimed square between Zim's magenta eyes.

A second passed, then another. Zim's head was swimming - the room going in and out of focus. Then the threatening gun fell away. The Irken looked up to see tears - bright tears - on the human's cheeks. Tears for him, for the boy. They burned his skin, but he welcomed them. ~So, you do care, Dib-monkey...~ His thoughts ran a confused track further and further away and he realized he might be dying anyway. Somehow it didn't scare him as he'd thought it might. The Dib was kneeling at his side and talking, and Zim focused on the whispered words as best he could.

"You win, Zim."

~I know, stinkbeast. I know.~

"I just couldn't do it." The burning came faster.


~But you did.~ He might have said it aloud, for he heard a choked sob and felt the first stirrings of something else. Something vague and confused . ~Don't cry, Dib~ He thought he might be able to grasp it briefly as -

(friendship)

- something, but he wasn't sure what. Except that it felt good and it made the dying so much easier to bear...

Invader Zim's thoughts skittered off into the darkness.



*Fin*


This is the second of four fics. The first one was "Your Worst Enemy". The next one is titled "Falling Into the Light". Hopefully the next one will be out fairly quickly. Cross your fingers for me.