Eternal
Chapter one: Innocence

Bombs exploding. Timers being set. Blood of all colors…running down his hands. 'You are now awake…no longer are you ignorant to the horrors of your race…'

A long stretch of lonely fields, the many corpses of the enemy being piled up. He watched over it all carelessly. It was their own fault…they'd been so naïve as to oppose the Empire. 'You, yourself, now oppose the Empire.'

A child with blue skin walked up and patted his leg. He looked down, surprised that the child was there; he hadn't expected it. Beautiful blue eyes gazed up through a haze of tears. Said tears were streaking her face, running down onto her muddy clothes. Her matted, bloody hair must have been amazing to look at once. It was a dark blue, almost black. He could tell she would have grown up to be a beautiful woman among her tribe. She now clung to his leg, her eyes begged for mercy. He raised his gun and shot her directly in the forehead. Not a single emotion ran through him, he was completely unfazed. He picked up the now limp corpse and dragged it to a nearby pile. 'She would have been a beautiful woman, the most respected of her tribe for her knowledge, a magnificent leader. Now she rots in a heap'

All he did was sit and wipe the blood off his gun, the act he'd just committed not even entering his mind. 'Murderer…'

A yell across the field caught his attention. Someone told him to check it out. He gripped his gun and headed towards the sound. It was a male of the tribe. Its blue skin was very light, very pale for this species. It's long black hair was tangled and matted. The bones sown into his clothes meant it was a seer, one of the ones who knew about the soldiers' arrival. He took his time examining the creature up close. It kneeled on the ground with it's hands clasped together, tears ran down this ones face as well. It's brown eyes pleading with him. The soldier knew that seers were often called crazy and avoided. This one was probably pale from hiding from the others of its kind. 'Like Dib was…' Finally he raised his gun and put the creature out of its misery. '…Would you have killed Dib…?'

He dragged the body to a pile and resumed his routine. The thought of his actions being evil never surfacing. 'Murderer…you don't deserve to live…you don't deserve the life you've received. You should have died when your leaders banished you. You never should have been allowed to live after the first black-out you caused…'

'No. You're wrong. Dib said-'

'Dib is naïve, he knows not what you've done.'

'But-'

'Just die already.'

'…'

…

…

He awoke in a sweat. The room was too hot, much too hot, so hot. He looked to the boy sleeping peacefully next to him. Dib seemed completely fine, he was completely covered by the sheets and wasn't bothered by the room temperature. Then…maybe it was just Zim? Zim rubbed his face and tried to clear his head of his previous thoughts.

After ten minutes Zim was still unable to relax. He couldn't get the image of the blue girl out of his mind. Had he actually done that? He knew he had but…it was such a distant memory. It chilled his heart to think that he could really do that to a little girl. And the boy…he was a smeet as well. Not as young as the girl, but Dib's age, at least. Zim shuddered at that. Despite Dib's unconscious moan when Zim moved away, Zim got up and left the sleeping quarters.

He needed air was all, yes, that would make the dreams stop. That would make the voice stop whispering to him in his sleep. Actually it wouldn't, and Zim knew that. But Zim was afraid his nightmares might spread into Dib if he stayed around too long. It was irrational, but Zim felt that that would happen.

As he neared the cooking room, Zim saw that the light was on. He entered cautiously, afraid that his dreams may have become reality. It was very late at night; no one else should have been awake at this time. When he poked his head in, he saw Tak in a bathrobe drinking something that made steam above the glass. "…Tak?"

Tak looked up from her thoughts and smiled tiredly at Zim. "Morning, I guess," Tak mumbled. Zim entered the room and leaned against the counter next to Tak. When the metal pin had ruptured her pak, something in her life-support had stopped working and she now required sleep, almost as much as the humans did. But Zim had found blueprints online and Skoodge and Zim had made sure that that was all that was wrong with her.

"Can't sleep?" Zim asked, looking down at the tiled floor. Tak nodded and sipped what smelled like tea. "Me neither…" Zim mumbled.

"Yeah, I guessed as much," Tak said, examining Zim's sleep-pants and exposed torso. He'd been so hot that he shed his shirt and was now half-naked. Tak traced a scar on Zim's arm, making him shudder slightly. "Were we really so bad…?" Tak asked barely above a whisper. Zim closed his eyes and nodded. "Do you think Skoodge dreams about these things too?" Zim looked over at Tak's worried expression.

"Skoodge doesn't sleep, Tak," Zim reminded her. He and Tak were the only Irken with the ability to sleep now.

Tak sighed in relief. "Good, he shouldn't have to think about this stuff…" Tak said, taking another sip.

"What the hell are you drinking anyway?" Zim asked, tired of smelling it and not knowing.

"Lemon tea, want some?" Tak offered, grinning and holding her glass towards Zim.

"N-no," Zim said, a little disgusted with the smell of it. Tak shrugged and went on drinking her tea. "What do you dream of…?" Zim asked, glancing up to meet Tak's purple eyes.

"…Training…" Tak answered, she paused, "And being on planet Dirt, all that filth…"

"…Mm." Zim glanced at Tak again, noticing how glazed her eyes looked, like she was in another world completely. "Good thing you have Skoodge…I bet he understands it all. He was the first one to conquer a planet in Impending Doom II you know," Zim told her. Tak's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, he told me. Nice to see he wasn't lying," Tak said with a laugh. "Yeah…he does understand…we talk about it all the time." Zim admired how Tak's eyes lit up when talking about Skoodge, how she seemed to melt inside. They'd only been "married" for two weeks, yet they reminded Zim of the old married couples on Earth programs. They talked all the time and always knew what the other was thinking. When Zim first noticed this, he'd thought it was some sort of telekinesis, like they were communicating with their minds or their paks. But after observing, he saw that they just knew each other's moves so well that they knew what was going on in their head. Zim understood once comparing that to Dib and himself.

"Too bad for you though…" Tak sighed, her face getting sad. "He's just a smeet…"

"Yeah…too young to know about war," Zim agreed, nodding. Tak looked at him sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," Tak said with true feeling. Zim stared at her.

"No…it's okay…I love Dib, even if he's just a smeet," Zim told her, that seemed to warm her up a bit. After a moment's pause, Zim corrected himself, "I love that he is a smeet." Tak smiled and her eyes couldn't possible get warmer.

The image of the blue seer boy flashed in Zim's mind and he groaned, rubbing his eyes. "What?" Tak asked, getting concerned again. "Bad image?" Zim nodded, letting his antennae lay limp in front of him. "Tell me…I mean, obviously you can't tell Dib, or you would still be in bed with him now, talking to him." Zim eyed her for a moment before deciding what she said wasn't an insult.

"Do you remember planet Cjar?" Zim asked, looking away from her.

"Yeah, on Dirt, I managed to built a sort of radio. And I heard that the first act of Impending Doom I was to finish off Cjar…" Tak said, slowly realizing why Zim had asked. "Oh…is that what you were thinking of?" Zim nodded.

"At the time…I didn't care…it didn't matter then," Zim whispered. "But Dib…that kid looked just like Dib…."

Tak set down her tea and quickly embraced Zim, her hands like ice on Zim's heated skin, it made him shiver. "Zim…we Irkens…really are damned…huh," Tak mumbled, her antennae brushing his. Scenes from other dreams burst in his head, the voice like acid dragging in his mind.

"Yeah," He managed to rasp. Zim stood still and felt Tak's icy hands on his sweat-covered skin. Her hands started to grow hot. Zim thought his body heat was just spreading into her, but she kept getting hotter and hotter. "T-Tak," Zim whispered, she shifted and leaned back to look at Zim but her hands stayed behind his shoulders. He closed his eyes as the heat sweltered.

"Zim, are you okay?" Tak asked him, but he didn't hear her. The heat burst and burned his skin dramatically making him cry out. Tak panicked and held onto Zim, trying to get Zim to come back, but everywhere she touched felt like a new lick of fire on Zim's skin. The pain spread and seeped into his back, swelling in the muscles and burning. He bent backward in pain and yelled. Tak finally let go and let Zim slide to the floor. He sat for a moment with his back leaning on the cabinet, the cold wood easing the pain. It took a few minutes, but the pain and fire subsided once Tak stopped touching him. "Zim?" Tak called, peering down at him worriedly.

Zim looked up groggily. "Huh?"

"What the hell was that?" Tak asked, holding out a hand to help Zim up.

Zim ignored her hand and heaved himself up. "I don't know," Zim said, looking at her hand. He remembered it had started with her hands and spread. Whatever new nuisance this was, he wouldn't be touching Tak again. Maybe she'd gone back to evil and wanted to kill him…with…hugs. That was stupid, Tak wasn't evil, but Zim had to be on his guard. "I think I'll go back to Dib," Zim mumbled, leaving a confused and slightly offended Tak.

…

Kaito sighed as Nikki laughed loudly. Her new plan had gone well. "Did you see, did you see?" Nikki cried out, watching the screens animatedly, "The dream serum worked perfectly and now his body is out of whack too! This is great."

Zim walked from the kitchen to the bedroom and went back to bed with his mate. "Now I must work diligently. There isn't much time left. The rest must pay as well…" She rubbed her hands together and set about her planning. Kaito stood aside and watched her working. It creeped him out a little how much she loved to hurt people, but he himself was a robot, so he guessed he didn't care. He stood and watched her and then headed off to his own work.

…

Reaching, grabbing, pulling. Claws descending, dragging across her skin. Consensual, but with a gun to her head…such unimaginable torture. Touching where she'd never been touched before, the bastards. That mock grin, like he'd won, flashing on her on the painful moments.

Gaz sat up in bed and ran a hand through her damp hair. She held her swollen belly gently, she knew why she'd been chosen and allowed to live outside the dungeons. Not because she'd be a good, kind mother, but because she was strong and her body could take what was coming. Ghost claws still raked down her naked arms, chilling her. Gaz got up and stood in front of the mirror, looking at how big her belly was. Her pants almost couldn't fit anymore, she needed Irken spandex, that would work. Gaz pressed a hand to her side. She could feel it, some new organ on her inside. She pressed a little harder and whatever it was inside her pressed back. A swift kick to her hand. Gaz gasped and let go.

The little bastard had kicked her, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Gaz smiled and felt for it again, holding it in her arms almost. She felt three kicks at once and got giddy. Just how many arms did the fucker have? Gaz didn't go back to sleep again, instead she felt for that little pulse, the foreign child. All night she felt for it kicking at her.

…

"Skoodge!" Tak whined, curling up to her partner, the occurrence with Zim earlier in the night having left her mind already.

"What dear?" Skoodge mumbled distractedly, busy with reading a newspaper.

"Gaz gets to have a baby…" Tak murmured softly.

"So?"

"I want one too!" Tak yelled, clinging to Skoodge's side. He finally gave her his full attention as he peered down at her in surprise at her neediness. That's when he noticed her lingerie and the sensual way she touched him.

"Do you really want one or do you just want sex again?" Skoodge asked suspiciously. Tak put her finger to her mouth and lowered her antennae in thought and blushed.

"Just sex!" She blurted out happily. Skoodge smiled and petted her antennae. If she had hair she'd be a bouncy blonde, Skoodge just knew it.

…

Dib was sitting on the bed when Zim came back in the room. "Hey," Dib called groggily.

"Hey," Zim said quietly, snaking his way up to Dib's side, leaning his head on Dib's shoulder.

"What were you doing up?" Dib asked, resting his cheek on Zim's head and noticing how warm he was.

Zim squirmed a bit. "Nothing, just…stretching…" Zim curled up and hoped that was a suitable answer.

"You know, you get up to stretch a lot. Almost every night," Dib said suspiciously, getting a firm hold on the alien without Zim noticing.

"Yeah, um…so?" Zim asked, squirming again.

"So. What's up?" Dib asked. Zim craned his neck to look up at the ceiling. Dib sighed deeply. "Not literally. What's going on, what's bugging you?"

"Oh," Zim breathed, looking back down. He leaned more heavily on Dib for a moment. "Nothing."

"Liar," Dib said immediately. Zim moaned. "Come on, tell me Zim," Dib said. He shifted and moved back so he could look into Zim's expression. He looked like he was in pain as he stared at the corner of the room. His eyes looked lost, like he was remembering things from long ago. It wasn't what Dib expected. "Zim…" Dib whispered, "Tell me what's wrong…"

For a moment, Zim looked like he might tell Dib everything, but he closed his eyes and hid his face in Dib's shoulder. "No," He said simply, pouting almost. Dib sighed and held Zim.

"Is it me?" Dib asked, still insecure about their relationship, despite all the times Zim proved he shouldn't be.

"No!" Zim almost yelled, not moving from his position. "The Dib would never be able to cause something like this," Zim said, relieving Dib from thinking he was the cause, while insulting him at the same time. Dib ignored the insult and held Zim tighter.

"One more question though…" Dib whispered, "Why are you so warm?" Zim waiting a minute, then shrugged. Dib decided to let it go, they were both tired and drilling Zim about something so stupid wouldn't help matters at all. Tomorrow he would work harder at Zim's 'stretching' though. For the moment, he let Zim fall back to sleep on his shoulder and eased them back in bed.

…

The next morning they woke up to Gir screaming his head off on top of them. "GIR!" Zim yelled, sounding like his old self again. "Get down!"

"Awww," Gir droned, jumping off the bed. They sat in bed and watched Gir as he rolled on the floor then stood up. "Oh yeeeaaaahh! I remember why I'm here now!" Rocket boosters sprouted from his feet and he flew up to Dib's head and plucked a single hair from his head. "Yay!" Gir screamed as he flew off out of the room.

"What was that about?" Zim asked, staring after the insane SIR unit.

"I…don't know," Dib mumbled, rubbing his head. "I think it was Gir just…being Gir…"

"Well he needs to stop…being Gir…." Zim said, for once noticing how his sentence didn't make sense.

"Um…let's just go get breakfast and forget about that," Dib suggested.

"Yeah," Zim agreed.

…

Down in the lower section of the deck, screaming could be heard bouncing off the metallic walls. "Gir, calm down and sit still," the computer ordered. Gir found a metal box and crawled inside, remaining silent. "Good. Did you get what I asked?" Gir peered over the edge of the box at a large computer screen tilted in Gir's direction. Gir held up the black hair in offering to the computer.

If the computer could grin, it would have done so now. "Good Gir. Now, put it in the machine, like a told you," it ordered. Gir walked over to the large box that looked like a vending machine.

"This?" Gir asked, pointing his stubby arm at the machine.

"Yeeeesss, now do it," the computer said, getting agitated with the little robot. Gir flipped open a front panel and stared at the inside of it for a while. "Gir! Put the hair. In the box."

"This?" Gir asked, pointing at the hair.

"YES!" The computer yelled. "How did Zim get anything done with you around…" it mumbled. Gir placed the hair in the panel and closed it, finally doing as he was asked. "Good Gir. Now, for Irk's sake, get away from the machine before you do something bad."

"Huh?" Gir asked absently, busy staring at the panel with mischief brewing in his eyes.

"Hey, Gir. Look, a taco!" The computer yelled with faux excitement, a light on the other end of the room lighting up. Gir screamed and ran for the light. With Gir distracted, the computer electronically put in commands to the vending-machine look-alike. "Irk, we're lucky Zim's DNA sequence is already entered in the system, I don't know how we'd get our hands on that ourselves." The computer observed the way Gir played with a piece of string in the corner. "Especially with you around."

They'd received direct orders from their master long ago about what to do when Dib and Zim arrived. The computer intended to follow through these orders, to the very last detail, no matter how frivolous it seemed. If only Gir would stop drooling on all the wires.

Now there were only a few more projects before the master's plan was finished. The computer opened a panel in the wall to watch one of these plans growing steadily. It looked human, almost. Of course, it wasn't finished yet, but only a little while more and it would be done. Humans said resurrection was impossible. Well, the master just disproved that.

Gir ran up to the giant glass cylinder and awed at it. "It look like a butterfly!" Gir yelled. The computer stared at the almost-human and wondered how on Irk it looked like a butterfly. "Fly, birdie, fly!" Gir screamed.

…

…

…

…

Meh, it's so short :(

I have to thank Nikki for this, for interrupting a dungeon to tell me to write.

Um, the next one will be longer :) Sorry for lateness and crapiness, I been busy with dungeons and surprisingly not that many dragons.

Read and Review plz. Reviews are life-blood. Do not deny my veins!