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35 - The Fantasy / 36 - The Ally - MWFic

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Chapter 35 – The Fantasy

Scene: still in the waiting room

When the doors close again, our little heroes are left all alone with some guard they've never seen before. He turns to face them and clears his throat, but Dib lifts a finger and gets in first.

DIB
Okay. Before you start abusing us for being different, let me just say that I will NOT be held here against my will, when I want to be out–

PRISON GUARD (interrupting)
Abuse you? Actually, I thought maybe you would like some food. Aren't you hungry after your ordeal?

Dib is taken aback, but when he thinks about it, he realises he's starving. Gaz nods in answer to the guard's question, then makes an attempt at a joke to  lighten the atmosphere.

GAZ
Do you have any pizza?

PRISON GUARD
What is this 'pizza'?

GAZ (to herself)
This is a strange and terrifying world.

Dib eyes off all the weapons and chains hanging on the prison guard, sizing up the situation, and realises that things look very bad indeed. The guard reaches into a pocket, and Dib tenses, half expecting the Irken to pull out a laser gun and march them away. Instead, he takes out some Irken snacks.

PRISON GUARD
Here. Eat these. You'll need your strength. If you want to rest, this is as good a room as any. It's quiet and no-one will disturb you now that the Tallest have permitted your freedom.

DIB
Um, yeah. That's great. Do you, uh...

He turns red. Gaz raises an eyebrow at him.

DIB
I don't know if Irkens ... you see I really need ... um ... it's been a long time since ... um ... my digestive functions ... require ... um ... you see ...

GAZ (to the guard)
Do you have a small, private and isolated place which could possibly constitute a receptacle for necessary natural discharges of the human body?

Dib turns so red he practically glows, giving Gaz a shocked look. But the guard apparently understands, and he motions for Dib to follow him. Gaz tags along. GIR, who has fallen asleep on the floor, is left behind; but the guard locks the door to prevent him from getting out later.

Scene: a large door outside a miserable cold grey box of a room

The guard stands uncomfortably by Dib, waiting for Gaz to come out. Eventually the door opens and she marches through, looking disgusted. She motions for Dib to go in, which he does, making sure the door closes securely behind him.

The room is tiny, dingy, unpleasant-smelling and rather filthy – the basic ingredients of the public toilet. But this room is not intended for that purpose. Rather, it's a place where rubbish and scraps of this and that are incinerated. A series of holes in the floor offer a view down to ashy depths. The fires are out for now. Dib tries not to breathe in the revolting fumes.

Back outside, Gaz and the guard wait. The guard appears to be nervous and anxious about something. When Dib returns, the guard indicates for them to stand on a large, dark purple circle in the floor of this hallway. They do so warily – they'd be stupid to refuse, considering how well-armed the guard is.

DIB
What's this for?

PRISON GUARD
You can't go into the incinerator without being properly cleansed afterwards. Germs can be lethal enemies.

He hits a switch on the wall, and a hatch opens above the purple circle. A waterfall of white cloud floods down and douses the humans. When it all clears, they are sparkly clean and sweet-smelling. They had felt nothing, and it had taken only a few seconds.

While being given a chance to freshen up is undeniably nice, the humans are nevertheless painfully aware of their situation in the care of this unknown guard. But for some reason, the guard is not threatening them with his weapons. Instead he tries to keep control without using violence, and Dib and Gaz wisely go along with it. They are prodded in the backs to head down a corridor.

DIB
But this isn't the way we came.

PRISON GUARD (nervously)
This is a shorter way, I-I-I just remembered. This way. Quick.

Dib gives Gaz a furtive glance, which she returns worriedly. Is this a trap? But there's not much else they can do, so they head off along the new route.

Walking through this part of the Massive is like navigating an old video game – endless sliding doors, hidden panels, and mean-looking soldiers waiting around every corner. It is darkish, the light source coming from fairy lights that stud the edges of the ceiling. Everything stinks of newly polished metal. The guard pokes the humans every now and then to get them to keep up the speed.

Finally, there appears on their left something that resembles a display window in a museum. It looks onto an enormous room beyond, containing many writhing conveyor belts. From this point of view, the belts are twisted on every conceivable angle, and they are carrying many small objects. It looks interesting, but neither of the humans are thinking about that right now. The guard stops by the window, and the humans anxiously look up at him, expecting the worst.

But it doesn't come.

PRISON GUARD
J-j-just wait here a moment. This won't take long.

Taking some chains off his belt, he ties Gaz up by chaining her wrists, then wrapping that chain around a pipe that runs down the wall. But he doesn't see anywhere as convenient to chain his second prisoner.

PRISON GUARD (under his breath, just audible)
Mmm ... there's no time.

PRISON GUARD (louder, to Dib)
You'll have to come with me!

Taking Dib by the arm, he opens a slender door next to the display window, and yanks the boy through with him.

Scene: just read the description below

The prison guard and Dib emerge on a long catwalk, made of strong metal mesh. It runs along the length of a huge production room. Through the display window, it had looked improbable; now, actually being there, it looks impossible.

Millions of construction lines and conveyor belts run on crazy angles all over the huge room. Up, down, vertical and horizontal; left, right, and round in loops. They climb the walls, cover the ceiling, litter the floor and fill up every little bit of room in between.

At regular intervals along these lines hang little objects that Dib knows he has seen before. Thinking about it, he recognises them as millions of ID paks – those cool little spotted backpacks, just like the one Zim wears, and every Irken for that matter. Only these are all sorts of colours, mostly greys with spots ranging from reds and purples to blues and greens. They move along the lines in time to the heartbeat of a machine, which grinds away somewhere down below.

Dib watches in awe, despite being half-dragged by the prison guard. Eventually, the guard runs into someone on the catwalk. He stops to converse, letting go of Dib's arm for a moment.

PRISON GUARD (to Dib)
Don't move! If you try to escape, well ... I can see you reeeeally easily, so ... don't.

Dib doesn't bother taking notice of who the guard is talking to. He goes to the edge and stands there, looking over the railing, hands resting on the cold bars.

DIB (thinking)
How totally incredible! But how totally weird. What are those things? Every Irken I've seen so far has had one, even the Tallest. They must be really important. Fashion? Or something more vital than that?

As he watches the pretty paks slide by, he gets a bit mesmerised, until his vision goes out of focus. A pained look crosses his face as he remembers the immediate problem.

DIB (thinking)
They're gonna execute Zim. I've come this far to save him, why would I stop now?

And he has a little fantasy...

Scene: Dib's fantasy

Dib's fantasy is sketchy in detail in unimportant places, like the background, clothing, props and so on. But the faces are very clear. And it's all in technicolour! But this is a silent fantasy. There is absolutely no sound, no voices, no music, no sound effects.

Dib imagines himself charging into an execution hall. Zim sits strapped into an electric chair. In front of him, the Tallest are soundlessly fighting with each other over which of them will get to do the honours. Zim has the same bored/annoyed look he had earlier.

Dib runs towards the Tallest. His mouth opens like he's yelling. The Tallest look over at him in confusion, then disgust, then Purple waves a claw. Some big ugly beefcakes in scary black armour appear between Dib and the Tallest, blocking his path.

Then Rebda materialises like the Tallest do in the show's opening, spiralling up as a black shadow then solidifying. Her eyes flash, as she grabs the switch to turn the electric chair on. She's obviously laughing, although there is no sound.

Dib squeezes past the beefcakes, runs between the Tallest, and places his hands over Rebda's, holding her back. His lips move, crying something. Rebda doesn't look impressed. So Dib yells harder, closing his eyes. And Rebda disintegrates.

Looking around, Dib can see that everyone and everything in the room has melted away except for him, Zim, and the electric chair. Thrilled, he frees Zim and places a hand over his own heart, making a little speech of victory. Zim listens disinterestedly.

When Dib has finished, Zim lifts a hand and in slow motion, pushes Dib down. The human boy lands on the floor amidst some baloney, some lawn gnomes, buckets of glue, a pigeon, a crude drawing of Zim being eaten by a disease, a nanoship, rubber piggies, a headless puppet body, a moose chewing on walnuts, pink fluid from a containment chamber, a cute hamster, a robot Dib, pieces of the blown-up Megadoomer, a pair of floating alien shoes, and countless video tapes with Zim's name on them. In the background, the planets Mars and Mercury can be seen rotating around each other. Dib looks at the stuff in confusion, but straight away it all fades into nothingness and is gone.

Looking back at Zim, Dib can see he's saying something that looks vehement. Behind Zim, the electric chair transforms into a long corridor of white light that gets darker and darker along its length, until it becomes nothing. To Dib's horror, Zim turns around and walks into it.

Dib gets up to protest. But, as it always is in dreams, his limbs don't obey the way they should. He makes painfully slow progress, while Zim is making incredible distance down the corridor despite his gradual pace. Dib reaches out...

And a face appears in front of the corridor, like a hologram, blocking the entrance. Zim doesn't see it, because it's behind his back, and so he keeps walking. But Dib does. It makes all his blood drain down into his feet. He mouths a single word.

She smiles gently, a transparent hand reaching out to touch his cheek. Dib is wordless. His pupils dilate and his knees start to shake. The vision whispers a few words, and Dib lifts his arms up.

On that cue, the far end of the corridor collapses. Confused, Zim stops walking. Then, beginning at the back and coming forward towards Dib, the corridor folds up, bit by bit collapsing on itself and shrinking into itself. Zim is pushed back the way he'd come. When it's over, the tunnel is now just a flat, bright, round portal of white light. Zim stands with his hands against it, mystified. Dib watches as Zim turns around, now wearing an expression that Dib has never seen on him before. Complete despair. Like there is just no hope left in all the world.

Zim and the portal fade away, and then just the vision remains. She mouths a few more words, pointing at Dib. Then her purple hair swirls around her like a fog and conceals her, and she is gone.

Scene: back in real-time, in the large production room

The prison guard's hand clamps down on Dib's shoulder, and the human jumps from fright, jerked out of his fantasy. The sound comes back with an alarming 'swoosh'.

PRISON GUARD
Hey, you. I think you nearly fell asleep.

DIB (dazed)
Oh.

PRISON GUARD
Come on. We have to go back.

Chapter 36 – The Ally

Scene: back in the red waiting room

The humans sit on the dazzlingly crimson chairs, eating the snack food provided by the prison guard. They resemble and taste like potato chips, only they're pink. Bland taste, but edible and filling. Gaz eats them with great fervour by the fistful, while Dib just nibbles them down.

By the door, the prison guard paces around in an elliptic path, obviously very concerned about something. Dib notices that the guard is pretty distracted with his thoughts, so he turns to Gaz and nudges her in the ribs.

DIB
Gaz. When I was in that room before, I had a, um ... vision.

GAZ

Uh-huh. What did you foresee, Dib? Are we all going to crash and burn on the way home?

DIB
Not that sort of vision. It was ... er ... I saw Zim, and he looked really sad. More than sad. Something else, I dunno. And I also saw Mom.

Gaz pauses with an Irken potato chip partway to her mouth. A note of interest enters her voice.

GAZ
Oh? What was she doing?

DIB
I couldn't hear her, but I still knew what she said. She said that I'm 'hope'. What do you think that means?

GAZ

That you're the last hope for mankind? Pfft, I hope not.

Dib rubs the back of his neck and looks concerned.

DIB
It was real, Gaz. Mom was there. It started out just as a daydream, I imagined what it would be like when Zim gets ex– ... executed. But I must have been tired or something, coz it got really weird. And then there was Mom. She was really there.

Gaz shakes her head and sits her packet of chips in her lap. She looks down at them sort of sorrowfully.

GAZ

No, Dib, Mom wasn't there. It was just your memory telling you something you already know. It happened to me, too.

DIB
It did?

GAZ

Remember I said I saw a little galaxy underneath the power cell? Well, I saw more than that. I saw Mom, too. And she said that I was just like she remembered – I was me. Now, you say that she said you were 'hope'? It's not hard to figure that one out, Dib. Think about it. Think about what you're doing here. Someone with a head as big as yours should be able to solve it.

Dib lets the insult slide for once, and he becomes pensive. While he thinks, GIR hops up by Gaz and tries to sample a potato chip. Gaz pushes him away, but he persists, knocking the chips to the floor. As they bicker over the little snacks, Dib temples his fingers and stares at them, thinking hard.

DIB (thinking)
Hope. For what?

In his mind's eye, Dib sees Zim walking away down that long corridor. But when the corridor collapses and he can walk no longer, he instead stands there with his hands pressed against it, longing. Dib remembers the anguished look on his face. Moments later, Zim and the portal disappear; and his mother calls him 'hope'.

DIB (thinking)
The hope for Zim, then. I set out on this stupid quest to save him, because I thought it would be what Mom would want, I thought it would be getting past paranoia. But what was it I saw? Am I the ONLY hope for Zim?

Gaz yells and thwacks GIR on the rump, sending him rolling over and over. GIR thinks it's a game, and laughs all the way to the other side of the room. Gaz sits amidst a pile of broken chips and balls her fists, furious.

Dib remembers something else from the fantasy – being pushed back into a pile of junk. Little trinkets that stir his memory. He can't remember all of them, but the few he can remember are enough to make his blood boil with old anger.

DIB (thinking)
The robot me. That stupid, stupid robot. Who does Zim think he is, playing with my mind like that?! And the BALONEY. All the dogs. And the embarrassment. Rrrr, the NANOSHIP! I could have been made a vegetable that day if it weren't for ... well, for Gaz. The thing with the planets, and the moose, and that STUPID thing where he messed with my head and let me live out a dream life all because–

He starts talking out loud in his anger.

DIB (aloud)
I THREW A MUFFIN AT HIS HEAD!!!

Gaz and GIR are viciously thumb wrestling to see who wins the chips. They pause to stare at Dib for a moment, then get back to it. The guard doesn't even seem to hear. Reddening a bit, Dib hugs his knees to his chest and keeps his thoughts in his head this time.

DIB (thinking)
What's happening to me, anyway? Why would I want to help someone who so OBVIOUSLY hates me, and I hate him, too? Gaz tried to explain it once; and I can see her point, I can see how Zim and I are so much alike and how we maybe COULD be friends if we really tried. That would be way better than being enemies, and always being paranoid about it, and me constantly having to save my ungrateful home planet. But can I really let the past rest? It's not easy to forgive and forget. Especially when there's so MUCH to forgive and forget.

He remembers something else.

DIB (thinking)
That little drawing of him being eaten by a disease. That was in there, too. And that look on his face ... hmm ... he needs my help. Maybe that tunnel symbolised death. Zim clearly doesn't mind going down it anymore; but something stopped him. Me? Was it me? ... is that bad? He looked so sad about not being able to go down the tunnel. But it's GOT to be better in the long run. Am I, then, the hope to change that? Is that what Mom meant?

Dib feels an empowering surge of adrenalin.

DIB (thinking)
If that's true, I'd better get on with it. The Tallest are gonna have Zim executed soon!

Dib hops up and immediately bashes into the guard, who had been standing right in front of him. Dib rubs his nose and flops back onto the chair.

DIB
What are you–?

PRISON GUARD
Look. I have to ask you something.

Gaz boots GIR away and comes over, leaning against Dib's chair. Dib raises his eyebrows in question, and the guard takes a deep breath.

Then, to the astonishment of both humans, he starts crying! Shiny Irken tears slither down his cheeks and he turns his back for a moment to wipe them away. When he turns back, he has gathered his composure a bit.

PRISON GUARD
You said you want Zim to live. Is that true?

DIB
Yes.

GAZ (to the guard)
What's your problem with that?

PRISON GUARD
If you do want to save him then I should explain to you who I am. I think ... I think we can help each other.

Gaz and Dib perk up with interest. Over on the floor, GIR starts eating chip crumbs.

PRISON GUARD
Let me introduce myself. My name is A1. I did have a, you know, REAL name once, but I forgot it centuries ago. Mistress Rebda is my superior, and she gave me the ID A1. She names all her underlings similarly. I am her number-one official, which is why my ID is as high as it is. Do you have names or numbers by which I can identify you?

GAZ

Sure. I'm Gaz. This is Dib.

The guard's purple eyes glimmer with tears again, and he seems embarrassed. Sitting down on a facing chair, he rests his head in his hands.

A1
Will you hear me out?

DIB
Well, how long will it take? See, I have to go s–

Gaz pokes her brother and he shuts up.

GAZ

Yes, we'll hear you out.

A1 breathes rhythmically for a moment, to calm himself. Then he begins his story.

A1
I first met Zim when he was a prisoner here, in the dungeons of the Massive. Mistress Rebda left me in charge. I was doing my job. I was rude to him, and I threatened him. I even destroyed all his belongings, at the Mistress' command.
But then I realised that they would command me to shoot him. As I understand it, they've had great difficulty killing Zim in the past. So they sank as low as they could – they wanted to shoot him like a sick animal, no more elaborate schemes, no more pretence. They'd do that even now, but Zim has revealed enough about their shady regime that they'll have to make a public example of him in order to restore their reputations.
Anyway, I just couldn't do it. He was defiant when I saw him last; I aimed a gun at him, to see what it felt like. And it was horrible. He has a ... spirit, that is the secret spirit of every Irken. He is everything we're supposed to hate, but everything we want to love.
So I let him escape. I showed him to a secret passage, and gave him a jamming device to further assist him. It was lucky I knew about the passage –I have many friends, you see, who are part of an underground resistance movement. There are others like them, many alien races who have revolted, but this is the first all-Irken one. Our society may run like a machine, with machines; but we ourselves are not machines, and we are tired of being treated in such a way. All of us. I know that for sure. It's just that most repress the feeling. Those who are part of the rebellion, on the other hand, are acknowledging that feeling.
When I let Zim go, that was the first rebellious thing I have ever done in my long life as a soldier and official. I was petrified I would be discovered; but on the other hand, I felt that I was truly being honest about myself; about what I wanted for myself, and for this whole ailing empire.
My friends had told me about the tunnel earlier. They trust me, my friends, even though I never used to agree with them. They knew I wouldn't tell because I wouldn't want to see them in trouble. They said that the tunnel had been there for centuries. Centuries! That's how long the rebellion has been going on, since even before the reign of the current two Tallest began! I always used to think a rebellion was abominable. But now I agree with it. I think I have always agreed with it, actually, it's just that seeing someone like Zim being persecuted was the last straw.

He pauses to think about what he just said. Dib is wide-eyed and fascinated, and even Gaz is listening intently.

A1
The rebellion doesn't have a name. Despite being in existence for the said centuries, its numbers are yet too few and its actions tentative. It's just, 'the rebellion'. That will do for now. You see, I realise that I can exploit my position as the Mistress' closest official to the great advantage of the rebellion.

DIB

Aren't you scared she'll find out? I wouldn't want to cross someone like her.

A1
It does frighten me at times. I try not to think too much about it. You must realise that I only decided to follow this track after I met Zim, and that wasn't that long ago, no matter how long it seems. It seems ... like I have grown fifty years since then. This may sound stupid to you aliens, but I feel like I'm fulfilled now. My whole life I have been under the crushing weight of a repression, and now I am me again, I am being honest with myself! And it feels magnificent.

Gaz nods in complete understanding. Dib also smiles with empathy.

DIB

That's really great. But it doesn't exactly help us. We want to save Zim; I take it you do too?

A1's eyes take on a serious look, flashing deviously.

A1
Yes. And I think, that if you are willing to work with me, we may be able to pull it off. We can indeed save him, if you are happy enough to work with me on a plan that has been used successfully many times before.

Dib grins excitedly.

DIB
You're serious?! You know how to save him?!

A1
Shhh, yes ... now listen. In another hour or so, the execution will begin, and you will be due to leave this ship. You're awfully lucky, you know. Usually, aliens who see the true power of the power cell are exterminated.

He looks at Gaz.

A1
But because you also saved the Massive, you have been pardoned. I think they also know that your planet is too isolated to care about the power cell anyway. But listen now: we can orchestrate this so that you will leave here with Zim on board, and no-one will be any the wiser.

GAZ

What do you mean, no-one will be any the wiser? This is too secret for a rebellion, nobody even knows you exist!

A1
But it MUST be that way! If the Tallest were aware of the rebellion, and even worse, aware of our methods, then they could stop us! We are slowly gathering more and more members, and one day the time will come for a more open attack. For now, please believe me when I say we must be secretive. My position as Mistress Rebda's closest official must not be endangered.

The humans nod and lean forward as A1 explains to them further.

A1
First, you must understand how they will execute Zim. Public executions do not happen often, but when they do they are a grand affair, with huge crowds watching. The Tallest will force Zim to admit, before everybody, that all his accusations against the empire were lies. With the record cleared, the Mistress will come forward, as the executioner, and will remove Zim's ID pak.

GAZ

His what?

A1 (indicating his own)
His ID pak, these things that we wear on our backs. Because of the way our machines have been merged with our flesh, we are now totally reliant on them. It wasn't like that originally, and it cannot be changed now, but no matter. The point is, without one of these, we cannot live for more than ten minutes. Zim will be forced to stand there on the platform while he gradually loses his physical and mental functions. His pak will be liquefied. Then he will be let down through a trapdoor in the platform, into a chamber where he will die alone. A dying Irken is not a pretty sight, and the Tallest never want to befoul their 'superior eyes' with it. Then, there'll be a party. Do you understand so far?

The humans nod.

A1
All right. The rebellion has been saving those sentenced to death by using this particular method I'm about to explain to you for many many years. I've already organised the materials – I did that earlier, after that little trip to er, relieve yourselves. I have thought it through very carefully. And I know it will work. So, I need you to listen to me now while I explain. Do not forget a slight detail, and this just may work...
Dib has a trippy moment, and we finally meet Prison Guard A1 properly.

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PandaLovesInvaderZim's avatar
THIS STORY IS SO TOUCHING AND SAD AND JOYOUS ALL AT THE SAME TIME! I WANT TO CRY AND THEN LAUGH!