Danem

Zim remained where he was, in the front corner of the cell, head pressed against the corner. The timer he'd set in his PAK reminded him, there was only 15 minutes left before Booty came to take Tiana.

Neither of them had spoken since he'd tossed her his shirt. He'd heard her crying on and off, but he couldn't go comfort her. There was no comfort to give, and he couldn't go near her now, with DarkBooty's horrible ultimatum weighing on him.

Fourteen minutes.

"Zim?" She called from the corner, breaking the silence.

Zim's antenna twitched slightly. "What is it, Tiana?"

"Zim... why did they take my clothes? And why aren't you talking to me?"

Zim swallowed hard, grinding his head against the wall. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He couldn't bring himself to answer her question.

The second time, her voice came out slightly shakier. "Zim... is it cause of what happened to Mrs. Membrane... and almost happened to Mikko?"

Zim dug his claws into his pant legs, his chest feeling like it was going to split apart. Tersely, he promised, "That's not going to happen, Tiana."

She was quiet for a while.

Twelve minutes.

"But that's what they want to happen..." She pressed. "What happens to us if it doesn't happen?"

Zim closed his eyes. "Nothing. Nothing's going to happen to us."

Tiana's voice cracked. "Zim, don't lie to me. Please. I'm scared."

Zim's shoulders shuddered. "Please, Tiana... please don't ask me."

Tiana's voice pitched. "Zim, if they're gonna do bad things to us, they've been doing bad things to you, and you already lied to me. They hurt you, and they're gonna hurt you again, and me too. Tell me the truth! Or I'll open my eyes!"

Eleven minutes.

Zim tried to keep his voice steady. "They.... They said... they'll send you to Irk."

Silence fell in the cell again.

Seven minutes.

"What'll happen to me on Irk, Zim?" She asked, quietly.

"Nothing." Zim responded angrily. "Nothing, because you're not going to Irk, and we're not listening to anything the Swollen Eyeball has to say."

"Zim... you're scaring me."

Zim wrapped his arms around his head. "I know... I'm sorry... I'm..." He felt the splitting in his chest get worse. Only six minutes. He reached into his PAK, grabbing a piece of metal, a spare tip for one of his spiderlegs. Long and sharp, it would do the job. It would hurt, but only for a short while. And it was better than any other option presented to them.

Red light flooded the cell, as alarms began blaring up and down the hall. Of course. The cameras. DarkBooty knows what I'm going to do. But he can't stop me now.

Turning, he made his way over to Tiana, and sat next to her. He risked a glance. The shirt he'd given her covered her just enough. Her face was streaked with tears, and she was biting her lip to keep from crying.

Zim wrapped his arms around her tightly, his eyes filling with gooey wetness. "Tiana, you know how I'm always here to protect you, yes? You trust Zim?"

She leaned into his hug, clinging to his arms. "Yes, I trust you Zim."

Running bootsteps echoed down the hall. Zim lifted the spiderleg tip, holding it inches above her neck. Severing the spinal cord would be the quickest death, with the least pain.

"I won't let them hurt you." Zim's voice shook. "I promised that. And I'm going to keep that promise." Closing his eyes, he tensed his arm to strike.

"ZIM!"

The familiar voice jarred him, and he hesitated. He opened his eyes, locking onto the figure standing in front of the cell door. Two figures, one staring at him in astonishment, the other fiddling with the lock. He recognized the spiky hair of his Swollen Eyeball interviewer, and the one currently working the lock was—

"DIB!"

The spiderleg tip clattered to the ground, as Zim stumbled across the cell, eyes wide. "You have to get her out of here, you have to get her out now, Dib!"

Dib growled, "I'm working to get you both out of here, idiot, so just calm down, and don't do anything stupid!" He glared up at Zim.

Zim cringed, realizing he'd have to explain what Dib had seen later, among many other things.

"And... done!" The door swung open. Zim turned back, running to grab Tiana's hand. "Tiana, you can open your eyes, we're getting out of here." He urged.

She opened her eyes, her first glance taking in Zim's scarred and stitched together torso. Zim cringed, but took her hand. "Tiana, I promise. I will talk to you after this is over, I will explain, apologize, and everything else, but we must leave, and we must leave now."

Tiana nodded, pulling the shirt down lower with her other hand, and following after Zim as he led her out. Tunaghost removed her own coat, draping it around Tiana's form. The adult-sized labcoat covered her well, and she pulled it closed, smiling gratefully at Tunaghost.

Dib glanced up the hall. "They probably have the exit we used covered, and the front entrance is out of the question. Ghost, any other ways in and out?"

Tunaghost shook her head. "The first backdoor is as heavily guarded as the front."

Dib tugged on his sleeves grimly. "Then it's going to come down to a firefight. We're going out the front door then. It's the shortest distance to the city from there. Zim, you got any firepower left in your PAK?"

Zim grimaced, taking stock of his PAK arsenal. "Lasers removed, spiderlegs broken, robotic wires cut. Only essential life support intact, and a few spare parts and tools accessible."

Dib pulled out a blaster from his pocket, tossing it to Zim. "Take this, and use it like your life depends on it."

Zim mumbled, "You don't have to tell Zim that twice." He glanced over at Tunaghost, too near to Tiana for his liking. "Dib... you trust this Tunaghost? She won't betray us?"

Dib shook his head. "She got me in here, told me where the HQ was."

"Well if you trust her, then let's get going. There's a camera in my cell. DarkBooty already knows everything that's been going on."

Dib nodded. "Right, follow me."

Zim took a step forward, then stumbled. Blinking, he looked down, as Dib turned to see what was holding him up.

His stitches had ripped open. He'd been too frantic about the situation with Tiana to mind his newly sewn stitches, and the appearance of Dib had raised his hopes to frenetic levels. His sudden movements must have pulled his incision open again.

He pressed a hand to the hole, now dripping green, and his eyes darted to Tiana, who stared at him in terror.

"Tunaghost," he snapped, "if you have any kind of sneaky way of getting her clear, use it. We're too big a group to get through together now, especially with me slowing us down. I want her clear, even if I don't get clear, understood?"

Tunaghost glanced at Dib, who nodded grimly. "Zim's right, he's not in any condition to move fast right now. Split up."

Tiana reached an arm out to Zim, but Tunaghost grabbed her, yanking her down the hall at a dead run.

Zim looked over at Dib, forcing a grin. "Looks worse than it is."

Dib sighed. "You're a terrible liar Zim. Come on. Let's get out of here."