Goddess Rising

Dib leaned forward, supporting himself soundly on the control panel as Zim thrust frantically into him. The alien was working Dib's manhood with an urgency he hadn't felt in a while.

"Master?" GIR called over the intercom, not betraying if he had any knowledge of what they were doing in Zim's chambers.

Zim grunted but didn't slow his pace. "What?!" he growled from the depths of his throat, annoyance clear in his voice.

"ETA for Kharna is 1 Narb," GIR stated matter-of-factly, and the intercom went silent.

Continuing without missing a beat, it wasn't long before they had both finished in a sweaty mess.

"Narb...." Dib said aloud, but to himself. "About 53 minutes." Leaning back against Zim with most of his weight, they relaxed for a moment in the Captain's chair. All too soon, however, Zim pushed Dib away and got to his feet.

As he put on his clothes, he stated, "Yes... We both need to be outfitted before we disembark."

"Out...fitted?" Dib asked, quickly jumping up and dressing as well. Zim wordlessly made his way out of the captain's chambers and Dib trotted behind. "You never really told me anything about Kharna," he puffed.

Glancing back at his companion, Zim replied, "You never asked."

"I'm asking now. Tell me about this planet we're about to visit."

Glorying in being the one with superior knowledge in this situation, Zim began, "Well, for one, it's not a planet. It's more like a... Satellite. Comprised of billions of pieces of space debris." He slowed his pace a bit so that Dib could catch up, and continued, "It's one of the few places left not under the Planetary Federation's rule, and therefore--" He cleared his throat. "--One of the few places that an Irken like me can dock."

They rounded the corner and walked into a small room lined with many strange types of armor and weaponry. "So, your people aren't too popular around the universe, huh?"

"My--people--" Zim cleared his throat again, donning a pair of shoulder plates much like he had worn when Earth fell. "--did not bow to the Federation's rule."

Smiling bitterly, Dib added, "Not to mention that whole 'Taking over planets and killing their inhabitants' thing."

Wordlessly, Zim grabbed a pair of spiked knuckles from the wall as his pod grabbed a blaster the size of his upper arm and stored it. Zim turned to Dib and handed him the knuckles. "Put them on and they'll conform to the shape of your hand. You know martial arts, so you shouldn't have much of a problem..."

"Um... I suppose you're expecting to get into a fight, then?"

Glaring a bit, Zim replied, "You said yourself, Irkens aren't too popular."

Cautiously, Dib slipped on the knuckles and they conformed to him like a second skin. They felt wonderful... He threw a couple of punches. Their weights were perfect.

"You'll also need these," Zim added, handing Dib two small devices. "The round one goes in your nose; it's an oxygen device. The other one goes in your ear. It's a language translator..." As Dib outifitted himself with them, the Irken looked over them both and finished blandly, "This should do for now," and began to leave the room. The boy followed, both nervous and excited at the same time.

"I want you to be my backup," Zim stated as they made their way to the boarding dock. "GIR is staying on board to make sure nothing happens to our ship."

They passed the "entertainment room" and Dib spied his younger sister tapping away at the computer. "Are you coming to Kharna with us?" he called, stopping in the doorway. Zim walked on, oblivious.

Without looking up from the computer screen, Gaz replied, "No. I have absolutely no interest in becoming an interplanetary tourist."

Dib approached and looked over her shoulder at the screen. It was mostly filled with strange characters that formed a language he couldn't comprehend. She had been messing with these pages for a few weeks -- sometimes for days straight without rest. "Have you deciphered the language yet?" Dib asked with an edge of intrigue.

Gaz scoffed. "I figured it out a long time ago. Now I'm just reading."

Blinking incredulously, Dib said, "What is it?"

"Planetary Federation newsnets," Gaz shot back impatiently, obviously annoyed that he couldn't figure it out for himself. "Everything that happens in the universe -- everything that MATTERS, is here."

"Dib!" came from the end of the hallway in Zim's insistent voice. He hesitated, but Gaz promptly shooed him away. "Go play with your boyfriend," she quipped. "Go rub elbows with Jar-Jar or something."

Feeling a bit put out, Dib joined Zim at the door to the boarding dock. "We're almost there," the alien said, studying the door with a strange intensity. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Dib replied, swallowing hard.

**********

The majesty one would expect when visiting a locale like Kharna was missing as they disembarked. Dib was fascinated nonetheless, but the place was rather shabby and smelled musty and mechanical. "If only my breather were scented," Dib sighed as they walked off of the dock down a long corridor lined with odd-looking furs and pelts. Zim did not reply. He was absorbed with looking tough so that the various other aliens he passed didn't try to start trouble. Not that it made much of a difference. Many of the creatures were twice Zim's size and were outfitted with all manner of space-age armors, claws, fangs and magicks.

Kharna was almost exactly like some kind of bad sci-fi flick. Some of the aliens had two legs, others nine. Some walked, some floated, some slithered. Some sang, some hissed. Upon seeing these beings Dib was almost impressed with how human-like the Irkens were. Most of the beings he was seeing had little resemblance to any homosapien. Though, Dib wondered, is that a bad thing or a good thing?

The human had little time to ponder this as they were shortly standing before a large, shabby door guarded by what looked to be a cross between a warthog and a brick wall.

"I'm here to see the Don," Zim stated resolutely. "My name is Zim."

The bouncer snorted. "Another Irken! Is this place going to be crawling with you little beasts before long?" He stepped aside and opened the door, not bothering to wait for an answer.

The two walked into what appeared to be some type of bar or restaurant. There were tables after a fashion throughout the large room, and various (female?) creatures went from patron to patron with a little glowing box taking orders (or dictation, who knew?). The lighting was low and there were silky curtains lining the walls. The room was quite crowded, but there were mostly groupings of various customers that kept to themselves.

Dib looked worriedly at his lover. "Another Irken?"

Zim shook his head and sat down on a soft-looking stool near the door. "Probably just a foot-soldier on vacation. Nothing to worry about." He gestured to the floor next to him.

"Am I your pet?" Dib squeaked, looking sheepish. Why didn't he get a chair?

Glaring, Zim bit back, "Yes. Sit down."

The boy sat stiffly, but wasn't bothered much. He soon took to looking at the customers in the bar with wonder. "Be a little less obvious, will you?" Zim hissed, crossing his arms. "Better to look like you've done all this before."

Dib sighed and leaned against Zim's chair. In a few moments a large slimy creature, about nine feet tall, with a huge orange eye at the center of its forehead approached them. It was adorned with odd-looking jewels that glittered strangely in the low light of the room. Dib looked up and tried not to show fear.

"You must be Zim," the creature burbled. "Actually on time, you are... I've never known an Irken to keep an appointment."

Still dwarfed though he stood to face the thing, Zim answered, "I'm not your average Irken. Are you the Don?"

It wiggled a small appendage near the center of its body, which Dib guessed to be an affirmative reply. "Shall we discuss your offer in my chambers?"

"An excellent idea," Zim said, grinning almost viciously. The creature turned toward the back of the bar and Dib stood to follow.

It looked back at him and narrowed the amber eye. "The pale one stays." Incredulously, Zim began to protest, but the appendage waved violently and he barked, "I only meet one-on-one. If you don't agree to my terms, the deal is off."

Dib sat down on the chair and waved a dismissing hand. "I'll stay out here. I'll be okay."

His lover hesitated momentarily, but finally gave a curt nod. "Don't do anything stupid."

In moments they had disappeared behind the curtains in the back of the bar. Dib looked about, wondering if he should move to a less visible location. He didn't want to attract attention from anything unsavory. Toward the far corner of the room, on the other side of a large party of aliens, there was a sectioned-off area with a small empty table. He carefully made his way toward the table, trying hard to not appear too curious. He glanced at the party as he passed; they appeared to be in the middle of a rousing game; there were so many people crowded about the table that he could barely see what it was. It appeared to be some sort of strategy game with a glowing yellow grid and a handful of square pieces moving through it.

As he sat down at the table he faced himself toward the corner so he wasn't easily seen. He put his chin on his hands and listened to the sounds around him. The party suddenly cried out so loudly that he was startled.

"I win!" cried a distinctly feminine voice from the far end of the clot. Most of the party moaned in disappointment and Dib could hear the sound of objects hitting the table; probably money they had lost to the female.

Dib felt someone's presence behind him and turned. "Our special today is Blard Crimson. Would you like to give it a try?" One of the waitresses shoved a glowing box in his face and he gulped. "What's--ah--it made out of?"

She (?) looked almost like some type of bird, though instead of feathers her body was covered in some type of silky, wirey fur. Her arms were almost twice as long as her body, but she had two eyes and a mouth similar to a human. After staring at him quizzically for a moment, she replied, "Blard. Blard Crimson. Served hot."

"I don't think you'd like anything they serve here," came that same feminine voice that Dib had heard winning the game. Both he and the waitress turned to see an Irken standing before them, holding a small bag obviously full of her winnings. She was about 5'2" tall, half a foot shorter than Zim, but still tall for an average Irken. Her eyes were deep violet in color, sparkling with intelligence and a hint of mischief. Her antennae were curled almost sharply back from her forehead, and her lips were turned upward in an alluring smile. "Go fetch me a Glig Puff, and be quick about it."

Frightened, the waitress scurried off as the Irken sat across from Dib and tapped her small talons on the table. "Boy, you sure are taller, but otherwise you don't look any different than you did the last time I saw you."

He was almost speechless. Unknowing if he should be relieved or wary, he whispered, "You're a bit taller yourself ....Tak."

A veil seemed to lift from her eyes and she flashed him a beautiful smile. "You remember me! I didn't think you would, as fickle as you humans are..."

Scratching his head sheepishly, Dib replied, "Well, you're the only one of my girlfriends that tried to take over the planet..."

"Or so you think!" Tak replied, leaning forward a bit. The waitress interrupted to serve her Glig Puff, which looked to be a steaming bowl of slime with a straw sticking out of it. Taking a sip, Tak relaxed a bit and leaned on the back of her hand. "I hear that The Almighty Tallest took a liking to Earth. Must be why you're here, huh?" She shook her head. "I can imagine why it captured their fancy. Just the short time I stayed there, your atmosphere made me grow a foot and a half taller!"

Dib's face clouded. Here he was talking to someone who was probably integral in causing the downfall of his planet... "You say it like it's no fucking big deal."

"Oh!" she cried, grabbing the edge of the table. "So it's true?"

"Like you didn't know?!" Dib spat in reply. "You're Irken, after all."

She let out a bark of bitter laughter. "Sure. But I haven't been able to show my face on Irk since that whole fiasco on Earth!" She glared. "Outwitted by ZIM? I'd be laughed out of Foodcourtia, even!" She pounded her fist on the table. "Purple's bitch, that's all he is. That's the only reason why he got so far as an Invader." Taking an angry drink of her Glig, she continued, "He couldn't even do it by himself. He had to have Big Daddy Purple do it for him. Figures."

This conversation was becoming less and less to Dib's liking, but he stayed put. What could he do, anyway? Tak seemed oblivious.

"I'm glad you managed to get away, though," Tak said almost earnestly, flashing him another million-dollar smile. "It would've been a real waste." The alien looked down at her hands a moment, and then shot back up with realization on her face. "You must've used my ship, huh? I knew you were taking care of my baby. I bet that's how you escaped. How is my baby?"

Dib blushed and shook his head. "No... I... couldn't get it to work."

"...No?" Tak's antennae wilted. "...Then how did you manage to leave Earth and make it all the way out here?"

Smiling in spite of himself, Dib answered, "I hijacked a ship..."

Actually interested for once, Tak looked silently at him, expecting further explanation. Thinking it might be best that Zim weren't mentioned, Dib spun a slightly edited tale of how he was captured by the Irkens and overtook Red's ship.

"The Goddess?!" Tak cried in disbelief. Leaning forward, she barked, "You lie!"

Never had Tak been so genuinely interested in what Dib had to say. Back in the day, during the short time he had thought she was human, she had always entertained his rambling with half-interest, always seemingly looking elsewhere. Observing things. Now, that things were different, and she was different, Dib looked at her with new eyes.

Perhaps living with Zim for so long, absorbing his culture, had given Dib a unique appreciation of the Irken. Because the longer he looked at Tak, the longer he spoke with her, the more beautiful she seemed to him. Her eyes shone with some mysterious allure that Dib couldn't quite place. He felt himself scooting his chair slightly over, getting closer to her, breathing in her exotic scent.

When he had finished telling his tale, he leaned on a hand, putting his face somewhat close to hers, and said, "So... What have you been up to, then...?"

Smiling, Tak replied, "Making my way..." and pointed to her bag of winnings. "I've been surviving. It's been hard but... Me and Mimi, we're a good team." She looked away, her face a bit sad. "But Mimi isn't the best companion... She's not so good at conversation, really..."

"It must have been... Horrible to be all by yourself this whole time."

Turning and grabbing his hand, she cried, "Isolation! So horrible... Being shunned by even my own people..." Looking down at Dib's palm, she whispered, "Now I know... How you must have felt. On Earth..."

Suddenly Dib felt very warm. Something that he couldn't quite place was flowing through is veins... His vision was beginning to cloud, and he was having trouble focusing.

"You... You're probably glad to be away from that planet, aren't you? If I were you, I would be glad."

Sadness. That old pain came back again...

"I... I miss it sometimes."

Tak was quiet. Pulling his hand off of the table into her lap, she said, "This place is too crowded. Can't we go somewhere to talk more?"

"Of.. course!" Dib cried, standing shakily and leaning back against the wall. "The Goddess... How about my ship?"

Joy spreading across her beautiful features, Tak cried, "That would be wonderful!"

Dib hardly remembered the trip back. He led Tak by the hand, watching only the ground move beneath him as he walked. Was she talking to him? Maybe someone else was talking to them both. Or she was talking to someone else. Maybe his translator was messing up on him... He kept hearing things. Voices. People from his past asking him the oddest questions.

Before long, they were in his small but humble quarters. The room was so EMPTY! Why was there nothing there but a bare cot and an old set of clothes he hadn't used in ages? Why was it so empty...? Oh. He was staying somewhere else. Where had that been again...?

"So utilitarian," Tak remarked, looking about. "You need to hire a home decorator."

Blushing, Dib replied, "I'm still getting used to this place, really."

"Funny. It seems... Like home to me."

He looked at her for a few moments. What was that look in her eyes? She seemed so sad... He almost regretted ever having to fight her for that stupid planet. And for what? Where were we now?

"You pity me, don't you?"

Gulping, Dib answered, "No! I--Just--!"

She stepped forward, almost pressing her body against his. Her eyes narrowed as she looked up into his own. "YOU are the only person to ever challenge my intelligence... YOU, a human worm casing!" Her claws were suddenly digging hard into his hips. He winced but otherwise didn't react. "And after all this time... You've SOFTENED. I'm disappointed in you, Dib... You could have made this universe your oyster..."

Why? Why not? Why the fuck was he here again?

"I just want..." Swallowing hard, he croaked, "...want..."

Her eyes narrowing to mere purple slits, Tak growled, "Want? WHAT?" She pushed him roughly and he tripped backwards, hitting his back hard against the corner of a counter and sliding to the floor.

Desperation overwhelmed his being and he let his head fall to the side, closing his eyes tight. "I want... I... Fuck. I... I don't know what the hell I want anymore."

Tak grabbed his hair and pulled his face up. Straddling him, she smiled wide, her sharp white teeth gleaming in the alien light. "I can tell you what you want, Dib. You want ME." She pulled on the lapels of his coat, shaking him. "You've traveled all this way to meet me. It was fate. And we cannot deny FATE." Dib looked up at her, seeing nothing but her beautiful eyes through the haze. "I know all about you, Dib. Your race. I studied it, you know. How do you think I knew how to be a human? I know what all of you WANT, what you NEED."

Before he could ask what exactly that was, she leaned down and pushed her lips against his. Shoving his head back against the floor, she dug her claws into his shoulders and kissed him almost desperately. His eyes rolled back into his head as he felt a rush of warmth flow through his loins. Her long tongue weaved around his expertly, making him dizzy as he tried to keep up with her movement. In a few moments she broke the kiss, tracing the curve of his chin and traveling to his ear. She nibbled it gently, letting her tongue slither into the folds. Running her hands down his muscled body, she pushed up his shirt and began grazing his nipples with her sharp claws. Dib moaned aloud, barely able to control the rush of emotion that was overcoming him. His eyes were open but he couldn't see anything but a swirl of color.

He felt her hands working at the buttons of his pants. Laying helplessly, he could only clench and unclench his fists and she freed his dick from its confines. He cried out as her warm mouth took him in, working at the tip and slowly swallowing his semi-erect member whole. In moments he had become fully raised and she sat back.

"There we go..." he heard her voice say. He turned to her, trying hard to focus. She was removing her clothing. Her slim, dark green body glowed in an almost ethereal fashion as she positioned herself over him. "Now, this is going to hurt a little..." She slowly lowered herself onto him, enveloping him completely in her warmth. "Mmm..." she moaned as her vaginal walls gyrated, causing sharp, hot spines to pierce him. He gasped but the pain was gone in mere moments. It felt almost familiar for some reason...

"Well, you have a lot more fortitude than I gave you credit for," Tak whispered, leaning down into Dib's face. "Even an Irken would've had a problem with that the first time." Before Dib could reply, she kissed him again, beginning to rock her hips atop him. Suddenly he felt a warm, melting sensation flowing around his manhood, causing waves of pleasure to reverberate through is pelvic area. He moaned desperately against Tak's lips, closing his eyes. "Does it feel good, my dear?" she whispered into his ear. "Like nothing you've ever felt before?"

Harder still she thrust against him, nearly paralyzing him from the sensations. He rolled his head back and forth restlessly beneath her gaze, moaning helplessly. Before long he ceased hearing, ceased seeing, only feeling. This feeling... Like nothing he had ever experienced before...

Floating on a sea of warm emotion... Feeling things he couldn't name, but they were all pleasureable.. Almost impossibly so. Dib never knew he could ever feel so good in his miserable life.

Before he could even understand what was happening, Tak grabbed his shoulders fiercely, pushing herself upwards and arching her back. Her vaginal walls squeezed Dib and he cried aloud as he ejaculated inside of her. After a moment, her body relaxed and she lay on top of him, contentedly.

Suddenly there was a cacophony of noise in the room. Dib couldn't make out what was happening, but Tak lifted herself from him and he could no longer feel her body.

"It's YOU?!" he heard her cry aloud, horror in her voice. Frightened and unable to focus his sight on anything in the room, he reached out and tried to feel her with his hands.

More noise. A scuffle. Dib's senses began to return to him. He heard another voice but he couldn't make out what it was saying.

"Dib wants to come with ME! Don't you Dibby-dear?" Tak's hands were on his wrists, trying in futility to pull his limp body upward.

"Tak..."

"You see? Don't you see? He said MY name."

The other voice growled, "A LIE! It's a LIE!" Tak's hands were wrenched away from Dib as the combatant pushed her toward the door. "Get out of here before I blow off your fucking head!"

"You're a barbarian!" Tak screamed, her voice shaking. Dib rubbed his eyes, trying hard to see what was going on. He finally managed to focus on the two figures towering above him in the room. Tak was standing in the doorway, pointing her finger...

"Z... Zim!"

He turned toward Dib and grabbed his lapels, hauling him viciously to his feet and throwing him against the counter. "Traitor!" he cried, shaking Dib violently.

Things were finally becoming clear. He was in his quarters. He was standing against the counter, looking at... Zim! And Tak was in the doorway. It was very cold. His cock was hanging uncomfortably from the opening in his pants... He looked down at it. It seemed as confused as he was.

Noticing where Dib's focus was, Zim reached down and pulled his balls in a punishing grip. Dib yowled and looked up at Zim's angry face.

"How COULD YOU let that BITCH touch you?!" Zim yelled in his face, tightening his claws. Tears stung in Dib's eyes and he moved his lips helplessly, trying to find some answer. ANY answer.

Tak nearly collapsed against the frame of the door. "I see. I see what this is," she growled, her lips curling upward in a horrified smile. "You two... You TWO." She pointed a shaking finger. "Zim... You've poisoned that human with your filthy cavities, you've gotten your stink all over him!"

Zim shoved Dib against the counter and turned back to Tak. "That's RIGHT. MY stink. He's MINE, not YOURS! Go get your OWN HUMAN!"

"What am I, a toy to be argued over?!" Dib cried, trying hard to piece the last hour together in his mind.

"Of course not, Dib!" Tak cried, an almost condescending tone to her voice. "You're a HUMAN BEING! A SENTIENT CREATURE capable of making your own decisions! And you should CHOOSE to come with me."

Turning only halfway back toward Dib, Zim eyed him with the most venomous glare he had ever seen. His voice deadly calm, Zim hissed, "Would you like to CHOOSE, Dib? Choose who, the whore who tried to destroy your planet or the loving master who saved your life?"

"You tried to destroy his planet too!" Tak laughed. "What, have you BRAINWASHED the boy?!"

"Please..." Dib groaned, looking down at the floor and rubbing his temples.

"CHOOSE, Dib."

Tak nodded. "Yes, my dear. Show Zim who is superior so that we may quit this charade and leave."

Feeling horribly helpless, Dib looked Tak straight in her beautiful lavendar eyes. "There... There is no choice to make, Tak."

Horror plain on his face, Zim swiftly turned in Dib's direction. "Dib--!!"

"Zim... I... I love you. I could never... choose anyone over you."

"UGH!" Tak screamed, pounding her fists against the doorframe. "How can you SAY such tripe! That makes me SICK!" She turned on her heels and left without another word. Zim walked to the door and watched silently as she left the ship.

When he didn't move after a few moments of silence, Dib tried to take a step forward. "...Z... Zim..."

Almost instantaneously, Zim was thrust from his revelry and his eyes seemed to glow a murderous crimson. In two short steps he was before Dib again, and he wasted no time in backhanding the boy across the face. Dib's face fell to the side, and he dared not look back. "TRAITOR!" Zim yelled in his prone ear, grabbing his hair and shaking him violently. He threw Dib to the ground and was quickly upon him, punching and kicking him with all of the strength he could muster. Dib curled up and covered his head, wishing he could say something to make Zim stop but not knowing what.

"TRAITOR! BETRAYAL! TRAITOR! HOW COULD YOU!? TRAITOR--TRAITOR--TRAAAITOOOR!!!!"

Zim suddenly fell back and Dib looked up to find Gaz holding him in a headlock. "Calm the fuck down!" He fought her with all his might but she was too strong for him in this advantageous situation. She pulled him back through the door and it closed behind them. Outside, Dib could hear them yelling but their conversation was muffled by the thick walls. Painfully, he got back to his feet, straightened his clothes and cautiously went for the door.

When he stepped out, they abruptly stopped talking and Zim glared at him. Wordlessly, he turned and walked down the hallway toward his quarters. Dib looked at Gaz helplessly, but she only smiled viciously in reply.

"Well, at least you're not ENTIRELY a fag," she observed, then turned and went back to her business.

Feeling as if his world had fallen from underneath him, he watched her go and turned back into his quarters, closing the door behind him and locking it. He leaned on the counter, rubbing his throbbing head and trying to figure out what had happened. "How could I do such a thing...?" he whispered to himself, voice shaking.

He sank down into the soft bedding that Zim had so graciously made for him, and covered his head with his hands. Then the tears came, but he had no energy to wipe them away or even put voice to his anguish.

'I can't... I can't do this anymore...' he thought to himself. 'I HAVE softened. No way in the world would I ever let one person make me so miserable. Goddamn you, Zim! Why must you always be so unreasonable?!'

A rumble told Dib that the ship was taking off. Exhaustion quickly coaxed sleep.

End Chapter 6