Truthseeking

Metal and Wire

Dib opened his eyes, exhaustion fading as he woke up.

His laptop rested on top of his knees, turned off and cold.

Slightly surprised at how the device managed to not fall off, he placed it on the arm rest next to him.

He noticed a weight on his side, and was pleasantly surprised when he saw GIR cuddled up next to him.

Dib smiled in amusement at the silly robot beside him, before he noticed another, not so nice thing.

Zim was gone.

Suddenly feeling fully awake, he wildly whipped his head around in search of the alien, but to no avail, he wasn't in the room.

Carefully but hastily, he stood from the couch, quickly stopping to listen, or look, for any signs of Zim.

The base was completely silent other than the low hum of the computer that radiated through the rooms.

Wait.

Wasn't the power completely cut off before?

Dib paused to listen to the quiet machinery, it was certainly on, had Zim fixed it?

"Zim? " The human called as he stepped foot in the kitchen.

He stopped for a moment, waiting for a reply, but only received the same low hum from the computer.

"Zim! " Dib repeated, louder than the last, as he looked around the room.

Finally, a sound came.

The scuffling and moving of metal met sounded from the bin, and he eagerly walked towards the object.

A few seconds passed before he heard the hiss of the elevator activating, along with the electric whoosh that followed.

Zim jumped out of the bin, staring at him with big Ruby eyes.

Awkward silence lingered around the room for a few moments.

He stared at the human with a confusion before speaking up,

"Dib? Why are you awake so early? " Zim questioned, antenna perked in confusion.

"I, uh, Just…woke up? " The human trailed, realising he actually had no idea what time it had been when he'd awoken, nor what it was now.

"Did you fix the computer? " Dib blurted, gesturing with his head to the bin that Zim'd came out of a few moments prior.

"Yes! Zim fixed the computer- and the lab! " Zim proudly announced, head high.

"How- How long did it take? " He fumbled, turning his attention to Zim.

The alien thought with a low humm for a few seconds, seeming to calculate the time.

"Around three of your earth hours " He answered, nodding his head.

"Really? " Dib questioned, the lab was really trashed last time he'd seen it.

"Of course! Irkens are much quicker and superior at such tasks. " Zim gloated, claws waving dismissively.

Dib gave him a quizzical stare, and got an annoyed eye roll in return.

"You don't believe Zim? Come see it for yourself then! " He challenged, or more so invited, judging by how he pulled the human in the elevator before he could reply.

Dib tensed with a quiet yelp, half expecting to plummet down a broken elevator.

But he didn't, there was no falling or thumping against metal, just the low hum of the elevator starting up.