Chapter 22: Humanity

Police were investigating the sudden army of robots that had started to destroy the city before some sort of strange winged hero had stopped them dead in their tracks. A young officer cautiously stepped inside the last of the fallen mechs.

"merooooow…"

The officer jumped as a gray and white cat was already inside the robot, sniffing around the place.

"You okay in there kid?" one the other officers asked from outside.

"Y-yeah, there's just a cat in here." he replied, picking up Ruby.

Ruby huffed and allowed the officer the set her down outside and shoo her off for good measure. Ruby sighed and stalked off, she smelled Alice's power in there but she couldn't catch a trail.

"I guess the next best bet is checking her boyfriend's houses…" she muttered as she hopped up onto a wood fence and started making her way towards Zim's house.

…

"So...what happened? After I blacked out, I mean…"

Dib asked as he sat down at the breakfast table. Alice was hesitant to answer.

"I landed on a bunch of plush crap Gir was hiding down there. After that I crawled my way up to save you. I was able to find some sort of weapon in his base to blow up those robots…" she was lying through her teeth and Dib knew it but they unknowingly had a strange pact with each other. They'd continue to lie to each other's faces both in fear of what they would do or what the other would do.

"Wow, thank you so much Alice...you're amazing." Dib smiled.

Alice looked down at the table, trying her best to smile back. "No...thank you Dib…" she muttered.

Dib knew what she meant and frowned slightly. "So...what are you going to do...regarding him?"

Alice sighed. "There's not much I can do. I had him in my sights when I saved you but...I couldn't kill him…I left him there."

Dib sighed. "I'm sorry, Alice...I should've done better to convince you."

"I just can't believe I fell for his tricks." Alice groaned and rested her head in her arms on the table.

Dib pet her head sympathetically. "Hey, it's okay. Now we can go against him together." he smiled softly.

Alice lifted her head and smiled back. "Thanks Dib, you're a great friend." she got up and hugged him gently. Dib blushed slightly and hugged her back.

"I should probably get back home. Will you be alright?" Alice asked.

Dib nodded, "I'll be fine but Alice...promise me something, okay?"

"What is it?"

"Promise you'll come to school on Monday. I don't want this whole thing holding you back…"

Alice smiled and lightly tousled Dib's hair. "Don't worry about me Dib. I'll be fine, see you later."

…

Ruby sighed as she peeked into the window of the strange green house. The lights were off but she could still see a figure lying on the couch, though it was unresponsive to her tap on the window. "Damn…" she hissed, she felt very uneasy about going in there.

A crash behind her redirected her attention as she turned around to see pristine white paws fleeing a toppled garbage can. Ruby perked her ears up and quickly followed after the white creature. She thought she recognized those feet. Was it her mother? Her face lit up with hope at the thought as she rounded the corner, seeing the white cat hiding in a bush.

"Mother..?" she called, only to receive a confused mew from the bush.

The cat poked it's head out only to reveal a large black spot on it's forehead. It wasn't her.

Ruby's smile sank as she slinked away from the random stray. She had been trying to find her mother and brother for years now to no avail. She knew they were alive though, Alice said so.

"HIA!"

Ruby jumped and arched her back in surprise at the loud, high-pitched, greeting. Gir waved at her as he sat on the fence post behind her. Ruby sighed in relief and hopped up to join him. "Hi Gir…"

"Whatcha doin out here?" Gir asked, kicking his legs back and forth against the fence. Ruby then remembered why she had walked all the way over here in the first place.

"Have you seen Alice anywhere around here?" Ruby asked.

The small green dog's face twisted into a look of horror at the mention of her best friend.

"A-Ally…" Gir whimpered out fearfully.

Ruby's eyes widened. "What happened?"

Gir shook his head rapidly, not wanting to think about what happened ever again.

"Do y-you know where she went?!" she asked with a little more panic in her voice.

"I think master said they were goin to Mary's house."

"Mary?" Ruby cocked her head to the side.

"Big-head Mary!"

Ruby nodded in only slight understanding before hopping down from the fence. "Thanks Gir…" and with that she scampered off.

Gir went back inside and sat down on the floor, his back resting against the leg of the couch. I sudden sputtering cough broke the quiet air above him.

"Mastah?" Gir peeped, picking his head over the couch to look at Zim, his magenta eyes snapping open as his choking turned to raspy breaths.

"G-Gir..? Where..?" Zim coughed harshly as he looked around the dim house.

"I was hidin in the basement and when I came back Ally tied that white stuff around ur neck."

Zim gave him a confused look before glancing at his reflection in the blank tv. Bandages, stained a light pink were wrapped around his neck, his high collar was ripped in order to apply them. He sat frozen in horror as he remember what happened to cause the injury. She may've looked like a human, but she is a monster.

…

Alice shivered as she walked down the street. For reasons no will ever know the weather had suddenly remembered that it was still winter despite it being late February and was currently blowing gusts of snow-filled air in Alice's face. That's Michigan for you.

She made it a few blocks before a familiar furry figure ran up to her. "Alice!" Ruby beamed and pounced onto her feet. Alice smiled and scooped her friend up in her arms. "Where have you been? I was worried!" Ruby sighed, nuzzling her head into Alice's shoulder.

Alice shivered. "Let's just go home. I'm freezing out here…" Ruby nodded in agreement and helped guide her home.

As they stepped inside Ruby shook the snow out of her fur and hopped out of Alice's arms, onto the couch. Alice sat next to her with an exhausted sigh. "What happened out there?" Ruby asked, a lining of seriousness in her voice. Alice sat up again and avoided her gaze. "I don't want to talk about it, Ruby…" she muttered.

"Alice, don't try to ignore this. I can sense the power you use almost as clearly as you can. You can't hide anything from me." Ruby stood up. "You leave for over 24 hours and when I know where you are it's because your powers went out of control again. I want to know what happened!"

"Well how the hell am I supposed to know?" Alice got up from the couch and glared down at her friend. "It may be my body but I'm not the one controlling it when this happens…"

Ruby stayed quiet.

"I'm going to bed...I have school tomorrow…" Alice walked into her room without another word. Ruby stay on the couch that night, rather than sleeping on Alice's warm lap.

…

Dib yawned quietly as he waited by the steps of of the school, letting out a huff and glaring at Zim as he reached the building. It was an odd feeling, they always acted as if their last battle hadn't even taken place the following skool day but this time it stuck with him. It was probably because of Alice's involvement. Zim glared back at him, a few faint scabs peeking out from under his collar. The injuries had healed just fine, due to his Pak irkens may as well be indestructible.

The boys continued their silent battle of glares and hate-filled thoughts until the small alien faltered, catching a glimpse of the female that had nearly been his demise. Alice walked past the two boys, sparing neither of them a glance. Tensions hadn't died down at all between her and Ruby since the previous night, she had barely spoken to her this morning.

Dib jumped a little when he finally noticed Alice walking beside him and gives her a soft smile, only retracting it when he noticed her staring at the floor with a grim expression. The boy stayed quiet until they took their seats in the classroom.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Dib asked quietly as he turned around in his chair.

Alice looked up and smiled faintly at his concern. "It's fine, Dib. I just didn't sleep well last night." Alice faked a yawn, she had slept well but would rather not get into a conversation about what happened. Dib believed it and got off the topic.

The two held slightly awkward small talk for the majority of the day, though they eventually split off so Alice could go retrieve her packed lunch from her locker. She input the combination , the clicking easily heard in the empty hallway. Her ears perked slightly when she heard footsteps nearing her.

"Alright human, answer me this!" Zim stood in the hallway, keeping his distance from the girl as he showed her the scars on his neck. "You had the perfect moment to kill me, you had your motivation AND I was entirely defenceless! Why do you refuse to kill Zim?!" he yelled.

Alice sighed and closed her locker. "I couldn't...as much as I despised you in that moment, something stopped me from taking your life. Besides, for the time being we've entered a truce of sorts. If you keep quiet about what happened I won't contemplate killing you again." Zim backed up at Alice's words.

She softened her expression a bit. "I'm not looking for conflict Zim. Just leave me alone…" Alice brushed past him and went back to the lunchroom but her thoughts still lingered on him. Even in her demonic rage, one that has taken countless lives, why did she refuse to kill him?

AN: I can't stop saying "sorry for the wait" can I? Things have been pretty hectic the last few months as I finished up school for the year. On top of that I had some massive writer's block. But my creative spark shines again and I'll continue updating the story for the rest of the summer. See you again soon!