She stood there in silence, staring at the gun she held in her hands. Everyone around her was just as silent, waiting for the moment she would bring the gun up to Dib's head and shoot. Her violet hair blew in the wind as she thought over her next move. Could she, the one who had followed under Zim's command for the last twenty years, and the one that had despised everything Dib ever did before that, really shoot her own brother? She flipped the silvery death over in her hands and grasped the trigger.
With a quivering breath, she shakily moved her hands upward, to aim the barrel of the gun point-blank at Dib's forehead. He tightly shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, awaiting the sudden pain that was sure to come, and she quickly looked away. She stood there for a few moments, the gun aimed directly at Dib, and her fingers held on the trigger, pulling it back ever so slightly. Then she stopped, as if her mind had just suddenly been opened, and she had a new outlook on life. She stared into the crimson depths that were Zim's eyes, and how he stared back at her, the cold look of a murderer wrapped in his expression. She gazed over his green skin, the antenna that stuck out the top of his head, and the robe tied to his shoulders.
She looked to the gun she held, and up at her shaking brother, and it hit her. She couldn't do this. Slowly, she brought the gun down and away from Dib, and held it in front of her. She just couldn't do it.
"No.."
Dib's eyes slowly opened back up when he never heard the gunshot, and realized Gaz had gone back on her loyalty to the Earthen Empire, right when she had the chance to do what she had dreamed of her entire life. Zim, and everyone else, stared at her defiance in shock, and waited for their leader's reaction.
"Excuse me? W-what did I hear you just say?"
"I said no, goddamnit!"
With that she threw the gun to the ground, shooting off a nasty explosion into the audience. She huffed in anger and yanked out the band in her hair, letting it fall all around her shoulders. Zim blinked in shock before quickly taking action.
"Guards! Seize her at once!"
They quickly ran up and grabbed her by her arms, as she struggled to get free. They pulled at her painfully, and she quickly stopped, having already known just how hopeless this whole situation really was. She stood there, held down by the guards, and awaited the fate Zim would have ready for her. But suddenly Dib kicked out, knocking one of the guards violently in the knee. He let go of Gaz and rubbed his sore leg, and she quickly took this opportunity to pummel her fist into the face of the other guard, knocking him out cold. She ran for the edge of the platform, yanking Dib away, and jumped into the crowd below, hoping to ward off Zim's sentries with the traffic.
Their plan backfired, however, when the guards took to simply shooting down any screaming civilians if they got in their way. Running as fast as they could, the siblings pushed through the crowds, Dib slowed not only because of his handcuffs, but due to the fact he hadn't eaten in over a week. As she ran, Gaz leaned down and tore off one of her high-heels, chucking it behind her and smacking one of the guards in the face. She commenced to do the same with the other, to buy them both the time they needed to make their escape. Quickly they slipped into a small alleyway, and Gaz fumbled to fit the key to Dib's handcuffs into the hole, but continued to miss in her hurry.
They could soon hear the yelling and screaming as Zim's minions began to catch up to them.
"Hurry Gaz, they're almost here!"
Finally, she managed to sink the key into its socket, and twisted it, freeing Dib from his trap, while sweat dripped from her forehead.
"Got it!"
Instantly the pair leapt to their feet and turned to run, only to realize they were caged in by a huge concrete wall behind them, much too tall to climb. Suddenly, one guard slipped up behind them, and shot at them with his lazer gun. They quickly ducked, missing the lazer by millimeters, and covered their heads as the blast hit the wall, creating a huge explosion. As the smoke began to clear, they caught note that the lazer had made a huge hole in the wall, and their chance for freedom. They ran through onto the other side of the wall, but quickly Gaz blindly turned around and back to the guard, grabbing his lazer gun, and handcuffing him to a large pole.
"Thanks for the gun. I'll be seein' ya."
She swirved back to her brother and together they ran off. Stupidly, the other guards stopped at their trapped friend and hurried to free him.
"Fools! They're getting away!"
Zim cried out as he watched the forms of Dib and Gaz slowly fade into the distance.
---------------------------------
The two walked down the deserted street, having lost Zim's minions for the time being. They said nothing to each other as they moved, but simply gave quick glances every once in a while. Finally Dib broke the uneasy silence.
"Gaz, why'd you save me back there? Why didn't you just kill me? It would have been better."
"Can't you ever just take something without having to question it? I still have a gun, you know."
She spoke in annoyance at Dib, not wanting to admit the feelings she'd had earlier.
"Yeah, I know."
They continued forward, knowing that stopping would let Zim find them all the easier. Gaz's skirt was ripped and torn, and she had many bruises and cuts, while Dib was just a complete mess all over. He couldn't open one eye, and he was near fainting with every new movement. She tried not to look at her brother because it always just sent her into despair, something she really didn't need any more of at the moment.
"So...what was your life like as a rebel?"
She tried to spark up a conversation to pass time, knowing they would soon be found, and no doubt killed. Dib groaned as she brought up the touchy topic, because even after all that had happened, his memory still failed him.
"It was..uh..interesting, I guess. Lots of..action."
He paused for a moment and looked back up to his sister, who was looking off into the distance.
"What about you? Were you really as happy as you played to be?"
She slowly shook her head at his question, realizing she had never been truly happy. Zim only told her she was happy, and she followed along. The only thing she'd done with her life since his take-over. Follow along. She followed along with Dib when he wouldn't give in, and then to Zim when she did. She may have been incredibly powerful, but that part of her life was over, and she was happy, now.
"It doesn't really matter, does it? We both made the same mistakes."
They fell silent again, not knowing what else to say. But after all these years, after all their fights and squabbles, after everything that had happened, they were finally happy, and not angry to have to be around each other.
"There they are!"
The two swirved around at hearing Zim's voice to see he had finally found them again, and they instantly took off running. In seconds, Zim's many minions took off after them, shooting their lazers and bullets trying to get a good shot in. They zipped around a corner, their legs like jelly as they tried to get away.
"Dib! You go that way, I'll go this way! They can't chase us both!"
They quickly split up, and the guards all chased after Gaz, realizing she was in better shape than Dib, and would be the harder one of the two to catch. Their lazers hit all around her, causing the street to explode in small billows of concrete. She looked back, realizing just how close they were to catching her.
She reached into a pocket of her jacket and attempted to pull out the gun that she had stolen from the guard, but just as soon as it was out, she felt a sharp hot blast hit the back of her head as a lazer was shot out. Screaming in pain, she fell to the hard concrete below, sending the gun out hurling in front of her, and everything around her went black.
"Gaaaaazz!"
He watched as his sister was thrown down by Zim's lazers, and quickly rushed to her side. He lifted her lifeless body from the ground and looked into her face, searching for any signs of life that may still be there. But he was too late. She was already dead.
His lip quivered as he stared at her motionless body, hanging in his grip, and he slowly set her back down, wiping the tears from his face. He then turned to face Zim, his expression becoming one of pure hatred. He was furious, and Zim would know it.
"You monster! You killed Gaz, you KILLED my sister!"
"Yes, it is quite a pity, isn't it? She was such a hard worker. It's a shame she couldn't remember who her real leader was, and I wouldn't have had to do that to her."
He grinned mockingly at the raging Dib, knowing perfectly well just what a horrible crime he had committed. Dib ran on in fury at Zim, preparing to die. But if he was going to die now, he'd die fighting. He wasn't just going to let his rival rip his sister away from him, he was going to fight to the end for the hideous deed done against her. He reached up a fist and pummeled it into the side of Zim's face, watching as the small alien looked back up to him in hatred at Dib's actions.
As soon as Dib had lashed out at Zim, the remaining guards threw him to the ground, keeping him away from their leader as he still thrashed. Zim quickly grabbed a lazer gun from his nearby soldier, and aimed it at Dib.
"Prepare to die, Dib."
And with that simple sentence, Zim pulled the trigger on the gun, and the last thing Dib saw was a huge flash of red light.
-------------------------
"Nooooooooooo!!"
He shot up screaming, a cold sweat dripping from his forehead. His chest heaved, and he quickly looked around. Wait a minute, he was back in his own room, in his own bed! He looked down at his pillow, which was soaked with his tears and sweat. But, what about Zim, what about all those guards, the prison? He felt at his chin. The beard, it was gone. Quickly he looked down at his clothing. He was back in his old trenchcoat, and it still had the rips and tears from the events earlier that night. His gaze then moved to the clock on his desk. 3:00 AM.
He quickly leaped out of his bed and ran to the bathroom, looking in the mirror. He still had his glasses, and his hair was back the way it should have been. Then he remembered, Gaz! He bolted out and away from the bathroom and to her bedroom, throwing open the door. He could see her form lying asleep in her bed, and he quickly ran up to her and began to shake her awake.
"Gaz! Gaz, wake up! Gaz!"
She looked at him with the look of death as she was violently thrown around.
"Dib, it's 3 in the morning! What do you want?!"
"Oh, Gaz you're alive!"
He instantly embraced her, squeezing all the air out of her chest, and she roughly pushed him away.
"Yeah I'm alive! Now let me sleep or I'll be forced to destroy you!"
She clenched her hand into a fist as she spoke, showing she meant business. She still had her old spunk! He rejoiced and left her room, slowly making his way back to the bathroom, giggling insanely. It was all a dream. Everything that had happened was a dream. He turned on the faucet and began to wash his face, cleaning away all the tears and sweat that was plastered on his skin. It was all a dream. The jail, Zim as ruler, his cellmates. All a dream. But, it felt so real! He could feel the pain, the hunger, the despair. He felt the betrayal, the hopelessness, as if he had actually lived it.
And that's when he noticed the gash on his neck, right where the lazers had hit him just before he woke up...