You're My Mystery •Dib Membrane x Reader•

42. Faded

You were having a normal day watching reruns of Mysterious Mysteries with Dib. It wasn't your absolute favorite show, but seeing Dib's eyes glistening with child-like wonder and awe made you cave. It thawed the ice around your black little heart. Occasionally, he'd mumble the catchphrases or point out his thoughts to you. 

"Here we have a particular specimen that tends to spend its days lazing around. Some say it stays up during the night and day. There isn't an official name for this creature, but most call it the 'Piger Auctor', which translates from Latin to-- " 

The doorbell rang, raising your curiosity. Your dad was at work and there wasn't anyone you knew who would be coming around in the afternoon. Your first guess is Gaz, but you realized she'd text you first knowing how cautious you were. Then it switched from Gretchen and Keef to Sasha. The couple never really came to your house before and with Sasha having multiple jobs, your guesses ran out. 

"Who do you think that is?" Dib raised a brow, turning his gaze away from the now paused show. 

"Not sure." You shrugged. 

The doorbell rang again and was followed by two loud knocks. You shared a look with Dib and walked to the door. Two more loud knocks arose a small ounce of suspicion in you. Just as you were about to yell out at the person, a familiar screech came from the other side of the door. 

"Pretty lady! Hello! Hello!" Gir's voice lowered your suspicion and had you smiling. You missed the little robot. 

You reached to the front knob and opened the door, immediately being embraced by small limbs wrapping around your neck. Gir's happy squeals had you laughing and your stomach bubbling with udder adoration. You wrapped your arms around his tiny frame and brought him closer. 

"Hi Gir." You replied. 

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat. 

Your (color) eyes glanced up to see Zim standing in the doorway with arms crossed behind his straightened back and his contact lenses staring at you with a firm gaze. He merely acknowledged Dib and focused solely on you. 

"Nice to see you, (Name)." He bowed. "Gir here was not complying with any of the orders I gave him and he repeatedly bothered about seeing you so I had no choice--"

"Master said he misses you." Gir exclaimed, "He miss-ed youuuuuu…" He drawled out before sticking his tongue out. 

Zim's thin brows furrowed in annoyance. A scowl formed upon his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest and scoffed. The alien male shook his head in denial. 

"Zim does not miss anyone. He--"

"You said she was--" 

"DOES NOT MISS ANYONE!" He yelled. It was true. He did miss your presence and the calming effect you had on him. Ever since you clarified the feelings he developed for you, you hadn't interacted with him and part of that upset him. Zim wasn't mad about it or anything, he was the one who requested you to keep a distance from him. As much as he accepted having feelings at all, he needed his own time to understand them. That included limiting the contact he had with people. Well you at least. 

Now that he's withdrawn from his plans on taking over the earth, he was bored. His rivalry with Dib was somewhat gone too, leaving his usual busy schedule open. So, here he was on your doorstep. There was a reason other than him being bored, but telling you why was going to be difficult. 

"What's up?" You released Gir, allowing him to run on the couch. 

"...I uh-- there's this...you…-oh come with me." He reached forward and grabbed your wrist to follow after him. Gir trailed along, bouncing in excitement. 

Dib's eyes narrowed at the contact between you two and quickly darted towards you. He then went back to close the front door and ran after you. He stared daggers at Zim, pushing himself in between you and the alien. Zim rolled his eyes and hurried the two of you to his house. 

"What's the rush?" You questioned. "If you're bored why not come out and say it." You eyed his face with a confused expression. He didn't respond and only quickened his pace. Unfortunately for him, he didn't make it far as you tucked the back of his collar and narrowed your eyes on him. 

Zim's eyes widened at your piercing glare. He knew you disliked people hiding things even though they were going to tell you about it. That's why anytime he asked for a favor, he got straight to the point. Messy situations irritated you, he also remembered. 

"She's back and I have her tied up in my lair." He said in one sentence. 

Never had Zim feared silence. All he heard was the fabric of his tunic, finally freed from your tight grasp. He gulped at your dull expression. He glanced down to see your fist clenching. The warm air around him soon turned chilly and from behind those contact lenses, Zim's real enhanced eyes saw the pupil in your eyes dilate. 

It suddenly spooked the both of them as your head tilted to the side with a forced smile. You walked ahead of them and grabbed both of their wrist without a word. Neither of them spoke up, in fear that any words they let out would be their last. 

~♡~

"Wow...you are uglier than before." 

You leaned over to stare at purple orbs. They flickered around your face, lingering on your necklace. There was no emotion within the eyes that gazed back at yours. It was a sea of emptiness and the light that used to shine from them was gone. 

Her head tilted to the side as she looked away from you. Her chest rose and fell in a slow manner, inhaling and exhaling. She remained quiet and dozed off almost robotically. There were no thoughts in her head because everytime she acknowledged those thoughts, it reminded her that she was alive. Thus, she focused her attention to the ceiling and continued to stare. 

"Uh, what's wrong with her?" Dib grimaced at her limp state. He didn't care for her, but seeing her go from confident to motionless was starting to creep him out and naturally he was curious. 

"I don't know." Zim didn't look away from the monitor. "She's been like this since I've captured her. I was surprised at how easy it was to get her." 

"So she's not on any anesthesia?" Dib looked away, turning his attention on you. 

"Eh?" Zim stopped typing and tried to understand the word. 

"Did you inject her with anything that made her this way?" You said. 

"Nope." Zim answered. "While I was scouting around for my experiments, I found her body lying in the grass. She was conscious, but didn't try anything." 

You continued to stare at Tak. Her emotionless eyes blinked slowly. Her curled antennas moved frequently due to the chatter between Dib and Zim and other noises you guessed she was able to hear. You observed her battered state with no sympathy. This was the fate she chose and it was the fate she deserved to be in. 

"She's broken." You stepped away from the female alien and walked back to the two males.

"I wonder what she went through in that dimension?" Dib tapped his chin. 

"It wasn't the dimension." You shook your head. "It was herself. The more time she was alone, the less she was focused on others. Her anger and jealousy must've faded once she realized there was nobody for her to put it on." 

Dib gave you an uneasy look. He moved himself in front of you to block off Tak's body from your vision. He wrapped his arms around you and didn't let go. 

You know he was doing this for your sake and it was a gesture that calmed you even if you didn't exactly need it. You had no reason to fear Tak anymore. 

This wasn't her anymore. 

~♡~

Oof.