#dib my beloved . i miss that little freak

[quirkle2]

been a hot minute since i've watched invader zim but god do i love this lil guy

[winterrose527]

spider in the bathroom

robbcella

“What do you guys want to do?” he asked.

Ghost and Grey Wind blinked at him, the latter sticking his tongue out for good measure.

“I thought of the last thing… and we’re out of bacon,” he told them. 

This was officially pathetic. He was officially pathetic. 

He was sitting at home alone on a Saturday night with his dog and his best friend’s dog, because his best friend was on a romantic weekend away… with his little sister. It wasn’t like he wasn’t happy for Jon and Sansa, he was. Their relationship was a long time coming and they both deserved happiness and blah blah blah, but it was sort of annoying that the fact that she was dating Jon meant that she got first dibs on his time. And second dibs, actually. He was afraid to ask who got third. 

His family had always joked that him and Jon were codependent and they’d laughed along mostly because Theon got pissed about it because they weren’t even a little dependent on him, but he hadn’t realized it was kind of true until suddenly Jon just wasn’t there. He had other friends, lots of them actually, but ugh they were all so lame compared to Jon. They talked so much. Not like Jon. No, Jon said little enough that you had to routinely check to make sure that he hadn’t frozen like a computer screen, only to say something that was so spot on that it freaked you out.

He was perfect. 

Not that he missed him or anything. Obviously. 

The dogs’ ears perked and his head perked and faced the door and then all of a sudden there was a knock on it. He was kind of deflated because considering that Jon lived here and had a key he wouldn’t knock. The dogs hopped up though so he did the same. 

He opened the door and – “Holy shit.” 

In that moment, if he’d been asked to identify Jon Snow out of a line-up of ONE he wouldn’t have been able to. 

He’d seen porn that started like this. He’d had dreams of exactly this. 

Myrcella Penelope Baratheon, at his door, dressed only in a fluffy towel. 

“Can I use your shower?” she asked. 

“Uhhhh,” he offered smoothly. “Why?”

WHY?! 

Why are you such an idiot is a reasonable question. Why Myrcella PENELOPE Baratheon wants to use your shower is of no consequence. She can use anything of yours she wants. YOU KNOW THAT. 

He’d been on his own too long. He was definitely getting weird. But he’d been in solitary confinement for almost five hours, so it wasn’t like he hadn’t put up a good fight. 

To his surprise though, she was blushing like she was the one who had lost it. He loved it when she blushed. It turned those perfect cheekbones the sweetest pink, her pale eyes widening.

“There’s a spider in mine,” she explained. “And Chatty is being spiteful and won’t hunt it for me even though I know he loves to hunt. It’s his second favorite thing.” 

She was so fucking cute.

“What did you do to Chatty?” he asked, not that her cat needed a reason for chaos, but usually he reserved that for lesser beings like him, not Myrcella, his beloved. 

She sighed, “Well nothing all that terrible or anything, actually, it’s just that Lady misses Sansa so I’ve been giving her extra attention and he’s such a boy about it.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes, “It means that boys are needy.” 

“We are not,” Robb said, “I’m not needy.” 

“You’ve texted Jon twelve times!” Myrcella told him.

“What did you bug my phone?’ he asked. 

“No, Sansa told me,” Myrcella said. 

He crossed his arms, “And when did she do that?” 

“When she called me when they got to the hotel,” Myrcella answered. 

“And why did she do that?” he asked. 

Myrcella bit her lip, looking away from him, “Because I asked her to.” 

“Ha!” he pointed at her. “Needy.” 

“Concerned,” she said. “It’s a long drive.”

“It’s a half hour outside the city,” he corrected.

“And yet you managed to text Jon twelve times by the time they got there!” she reasoned. Then whimpered his name in the way he’d imagined so many times, “Robbbb are you going to let me in or have you forgotten that I’m standing in the hallway in my towel?” 

He had not forgotten that. He’d been ignoring that fact so as not to embarrass himself further, but he had definitely not forgotten it. 

“Do you um want me to kill it for you?” he asked. 

“Oh, would you?” she asked. A smile overtook her face, “Really.” 

Anything.

“Why not?” he asked.

How’s that for not being needy, MYRCELLA?

He tried to close the door but Ghost and Grey Wind wedged themselves in between it. 

“I uh… guess they’re coming…” he said.

She smirked, “Needy boys.” 

“Says the girl who can’t kill a spider on her own,” he dangled, regretting it instantly in case she chose to do just that just to prove a point.

“Mine is a gentle spirit,” she told him primly. And then shuddered, “And they’re gross.” 

He smirked and followed her down the hall, wishing her towel was just a little smaller, it covered too much of her thighs. She was just so teeny. It was probably a hand towel.

She let them into her apartment and Chatty took one look at Ghost and Grey Wind and promptly retreated into Myrcella’s bedroom, all but slamming the door behind him. 

“Okay, let’s see about this,” he said as Myrcella closed the door. He turned back to look at her, “Now if I’m not back in ten minutes… tell Jon I love him.” 

She giggled, “Deal.”

He went into the bathroom. The dimly lit bathroom. That had candles along the tub. And bubbles in it. 

Odd.

He looked around, even getting down on his hands and knees – fuck how much do these girls shed? – but didn’t see anything.

Standing up he saw her phone on the counter and grabbed it to use the flashlight feature. When he clicked on it though, a preview of Sansa’s text showed up. It said don’t be a baby, just do it.

Once again he looked around the bathroom, less for the spider and more for evidence.

Mood lighting? Check. Candles? Check. Bubbles?

“Myrcella can you come in here, please?” he called.

“Is it dead?” she asked oh so hopefully as she peered in the bathroom, clutching that fluffy towel to her body. 

“Is what dead?” he asked, “Oh… the spider… right… no I couldn’t find it.” 

She glanced at him with wide eyes and looked around, stepping into the bathroom, “Are you sure?” 

“It’s gone,” he stroked her arm, and then pulled her closer, “If it was even here at all.” 

She pulled away from him, “What are you talking about? I didn’t imagine it.” 

He smirked, “Myrcella, it’s okay. Look this is cute and all but you don’t really need the whole show, I want this too.” 

“Well good…,” she shook her head, “Let’s find it.” 

With that she pulled away from him entirely and turned and looked on the far wall. 

“Wait…,” he said, “There is actually a spider?” 

“What does that even mean?” she asked.

“I uh… Sansa texted… and uh… bubbles,” he offered by way of explanation.

“What?” she asked. 

“I… fuck, okay um… I thought maybe you were… seducing me,” he offered. “Which obviously you’re not because you wouldn’t but the spider story and the bubbles and Sansa’s text I don’t know! Isolation has made me crazy.” 

She giggled and held out her hand. He put her phone in it.

She read the text and shook her head, “She was telling me to kill the spider not to seduce her older brother in a towel like I was in some bad porno.” 

“Right,” he nodded, “That uh actually makes more sense.” He clapped his hands together, “So let’s find that spider!” 

“Wait,” she said. 

He looked around, “Do you see it?” 

“Just starting to,” she said. That was sort of a weird response so he turned back to look at her and saw that she was smiling slightly, her eyes shining at him. “You said…you too.” 

“What?” he clarified.

She shook her head, “When you thought I was seducing you… you said you wanted it too.”

“Oh,” he nodded. “That happened.” 

“Is that true?” she asked, “Or um… did you just like… see an opportunity?” 

Maybe it was the candles, or the fact that she was standing there in that little towel, or maybe, really, actually, it was just the fact that he had never seen Jon as happy as he had been ever since he’d finally just gotten over himself and told Sansa how he felt. 

“I uh… saw it as a chance…” he admitted, “To get what I’ve wanted for a really long time without risking losing one of my best friends on a full blown confession.” 

She stepped closer to him, “You’d never lose me.” And smiled, “And I like full blown confessions.” 

“Myrcella I-“ he started.

But she was standing on her tiptoes, a smile on her face as she tilted her face up to his, “I want this too.” 

Their lips touched and her breath caught and then he was wrapping her in his arms, kissing her more and more and more. He was holding her so tightly that it took him a moment to realize she was trying to lift his shirt.

“Really?” he asked.

She grinned, “Well there’s no reason to waste a perfectly good bubble bath… is there?” 

He pulled the towel off of her, letting it drop to the ground, his hands wandering over her perfect smooth skin. She pulled off his shirt and then pulled his sweats down and then they were both naked and were eagerly getting into the tub, slipping and sliding and laughing all the while. 

Finally they got in, and they got settled. He had his back to the edge of the tub and he had her legs pulled over his. She had bubbles all over her and looked beautiful and pleased with herself.

“I’m still not entirely convinced this wasn’t a ruse,” he told her.

She raised an eyebrow, “Oh no? Don’t believe there was a spider?” 

“Nope,” he shook his head.

Her nose scrunched adorably and she tilted her head to the side, “Then would now be a bad time to tell you it’s on your neck?”

[snappedsky]

Fanatics 58

Dib and Squee's class go on a field trip to a museum. Previous!  Next!

The Museum

           The announcements are said over the intercom and Miss Sweeties does attendance. All of the students respond apathetically.

           “Okay, everyone in Class A, head to the front yard,” she orders, “Mr. Garland is waiting for you to accompany you on your field trip. Class B, I’ll see you in class.”

           The students leave the classroom. Zim, Dib, Pepito, and Squee walk together.

           “Man, you guys are so lucky,” Pepito sighs, “you know what our class does for fun? Activity sheets.”

           “We’re just going to a museum,” Squee points out, “I’m not sure how much fun it’ll be.”

           “I see no point in museums,” Zim grunts.

           “What, do Irkens not preserve their history?” Dib asks.

           “No, we do. In fact, we have three planets for just that reason,” he replies, “I just see no point in it. If it’s not about Zim, then Zim doesn’t care.”

           Dib, Pepito, and Squee smile wearily and roll their eyes.

           “Okay, we’ll see you guys later,” Dib waves as he and Squee split off. They head downstairs to the front yard. The rest of their classmates are waiting outside along with their math teacher, Mr. Garland.

           “Is everyone here?” the teacher asks, “the bus should be arriving in a few minutes.”

           “Why is Mr. Garland escorting us and not Ms. Bitters?” Squee asks Dib quietly.

           “I don’t think Ms. Bitters is physically able to leave the Skool,” he replies.

           The bus arrives quickly and the students file in. Squee and Dib start to sit with Maddie in one of the middle seats, but Squee stops when he spots Kat sitting on the back seat all by herself. He nudges Dib and points at her. He glares at him in an ‘are you serious?’ way. Squee nods insistently. Dib groans and the three of them sit next to Kat without a word. She glances at them questionably before looking out the window.

           The bus ride is uneventful and filled with the chatter of students. The backseat is awkwardly quiet though. Dib glares at Kat over Squee’s head while she just stares out the window with a bored expression. Squee and Maddie keep to themselves on their phones.

           They arrive at the museum after about ten minutes. Everyone files out and waits on the front yard.

           “Why do you make us interact with her?” Dib asks Squee with annoyance, motioning to Kat as she walks away.

           “What’s so wrong with that?” he shrugs.

           “She’s an evil alien who tried to kill us, remember?” he points out.

           “Yeah, but I don’t think she’s a bad person. Not really,” he argues, “besides, Pepito and Gaz like her.”            “I like her too,” Maddie says quietly.

           Dib just scoffs.

           “Alright, everyone pay attention!” Mr. Garland calls, cutting out the chatter. He motions to a suited man beside him. “This is Mr. Lawrence. He’ll be our guide today. Everyone pay attention to what he says and don’t be afraid to take notes. You will be quizzed on what we learn today.”

           A disappointed groan passes over the group of students as Mr. Lawrence steps forward.

           “Okay, welcome to the City History Museum,” he announces, “here we have many exhibits from all over time such as dinosaurs and many different wars. But today is gonna be particularly exciting because we are presenting our brand new Egypt exhibit, featuring a real Mummy dug up in an Egyptian tomb.”            “Oh,” Dib chirps, interested.

           “Now follow me inside and we’ll begin the tour,” Mr. Lawrence says and leads the many teens in through the front doors. He stops at the front desk. “Please leave your bags and jackets with the receptionist.”

           The students go down a line, handing the receptionist their sweaters and bags. Squee gives her his sweater and starts to walk away, but Mr. Lawrence stops him.

           “Sorry, son, you gotta give her your bag,” he says, “we’ve had incidences of people smuggling museum property in their bags so we don’t want to risk it anymore.”

           Squee glowers with annoyance as he pulls Shmee out of his bag and hands it to the receptionist. He stares after it like he’s leaving behind a beloved family member as he walks away.

           “What a baby,” one of his classmates, Henry, scoffs, “why do you gotta carry that bear around all the time, Squee?”

           “He protects me from evil things,” Squee replies seriously. Henry and a lot of the other kids laugh and call him crazy.

           “Don’t listen to them, Squee,” Dib growls.

           “I won’t,” Squee grunts, “I just hope nobody digs through my bag. A lot of the stuff I have in there isn’t exactly legal.”

           “Okay, everyone follow me!” Mr. Lawrence orders. The students follow him in a large cluster deeper into the museum. The first room they enter is filled with dinosaur skeletons and fossils. Mr. Lawrence stops at each one, explaining what it is, what era it resided from, and where the bones were found. Some students chime in with questions or information they have on the subject. Dib and Squee don’t pay much attention but Kat is quite interested.

           “How could creatures as massive and powerful as these go extinct?” she asks as she examines a skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rex.

           “There are many theories but the most popular speculation is that they were wiped out by a large meteor,” Mr. Lawrence replies.

           “It seems unlikely that one meteor could wipe out an entire species,” Kat comments.

           “Well, many of today’s creatures are believed to have evolved from dinosaurs,” he explains, “in fact, there are many theories that suggest birds evolved from dinosaurs.”

           “Really,” she scoffs, “those noisy, timid varmints evolved from incredible beasts? It’s a wonder this planet isn’t completely lifeless with how horrible its inhabitants’ evolutionary chain is.”

           Mr. Lawrence chuckles awkwardly before clearing his throat. “Uh let’s move on, shall we?”

           They leave and enter the second room which is filled with old, rusty guns all displayed in glass cabinets. Some of the most recognizable ones are bayonets and large machine guns.

           “Ugh,” Squee groans with obvious disgust. “I hate guns.”

           Mr. Lawrence starts talking about several of the weapons: what time period they were in, what war they were used for. Dib and Squee pay even less attention than before.

           “Such archaic pieces of equipment,” Kat scoffs.

           “Well, they were made many decades ago,” Mr. Lawrence points out, “but let’s move on, shall we? To the main attraction.”

           They enter the third room and it’s almost like entering a new world, or a new continent to be specific. The walls have been made up to look like sand blocks, like walls of a pyramid. Sitting along them are tables holding all kinds of Egyptian artifacts like vases or small statues. There are also large statues of bird gods or cats. And at the far end stands a sarcophagus next to a large, golden gong and a large stone tablet with hieroglyphic inscriptions.

           “Ah, now here’s the good stuff,” Dib purrs excitedly.

           “Behold, our brand new Egyptian exhibit,” Mr. Lawrence says dramatically, clearly excited. “Archeologists spent years exploring an ancient Egyptian tomb in order to recover all of these artifacts.”

           “It was all found in the same tomb?” Dib asks.

           “Yes,” he nods, “we believe they were offerings for him.” He points at the sarcophagus and approaches the tablet.

           “This sarcophagus was unearthed from its resting place?” Dib questions then whispers excitedly to Squee, “I smell a mummy curse.”

           “This sarcophagus holds a real mummy,” Mr. Lawrence explains, “researchers believe he was named Apep, after the Egyptian god for chaos. It is still unknown what he did in life, but whatever it was it must’ve been very bad because his sarcophagus was sealed with a curse.”

           “The inscription on this tablet reads ‘any who strike the gong shall unleash an unspeakable evil and suffer for all eternity.”

           “Well, actually it reads ‘Apep, warrior of destruction, shall only be released if the striker of the gong is one of strength and power’,” Kat states matter-of-factly.

           Mr. Lawrence stares at her with bewilderment then quickly clears his throat. “Yes, well, you get the idea.”

           “You can read hieroglyphs?” Squee asks Kat.

           “Sure,” she shrugs, “my cybernetic eye can translate any language.”

           “Cool,” he comments.

           “I get the feeling this Apep was incredibly dangerous,” Dib says, “but he was sealed away with a curse because someone in his time felt it might be necessary to release him someday. Perhaps as some sort of trump card in a war.”        

           “Whatever,” Squee grunts, “curses are bad news.”

           “What, are you scared of a little mummy, Squeakers?” their classmate, Jessica, sneers.

           “Yeah,” Squee replies plainly.    

           “Don’t worry, Squee,” Dib says reassuringly, “the chances that the curse would be unlocked just by anyone ringing the gong are incredibly low. It would probably require someone powerful, like a Pharaoh, in order for it to work.”

           “Look at you, Mister Expert,” Henry scoffs, “you think you know everything, don’t you?”

           “Well, I certainly know a lot about curses,” Dib states proudly.

           “You’re such a freak,” he jeers and the other students start laughing. Dib just glares at them, irritated.

           “Okay, everyone, that’s enough,” Mr. Garland says, “the next hour is free time. Please peruse the museum and study the exhibits. But don’t touch anything; you don’t wanna risk breaking something.”

           The students quickly split into their own groups and go to do their own thing. Most go to the war room, chatting excitedly about the guns. Dib, Squee, and Maddie stay in the Egyptian room. Maddie doesn’t show much interest; she just plays on her GS3. But Dib examines the artifacts with great enthusiasm.

           “Egypt is such an interesting culture, don’t you think?” Dib asks, “I would love to see a real, live mummy.”

           “You mean ‘live’ like figuratively, right?” Squee questions.

           “I’ll take what I can get,” Dib shrugs.

           Dib reads a plaque on one of the god statues. Squee looks around, bored, until he notices Henry and his friends- James, Matt, and Alex- walk up to the sarcophagus.

           “Think there’s really a mummy in there?” James asks.

           “Nah, it’s probably fake,” Alex shrugs.

           “Why don’t you touch it?” Henry challenges.

           “No way, dude, you touch,” Alex retorts.

           “Ring the gong,” Matt orders.

           “No, dude, you do it,” James laughs.

           They start laughing and challenging each other to touch it. Squee watches them, unimpressed.

           “Simple things entertain simple minds,” he mutters.

           “What?” Henry snaps and they look at him. “You say something, Squeakers?”

           “Not really,” Squee shrugs.

           “If you’re so smart, then why don’t you ring the gong?” James challenges.

           “Because ringing the gong would be the complete opposite of smart,” Squee points out.

           “What are you, scared?” Alex jeers.

           “Yeah,” he replies plainly, “curses are dangerous.”

           “Squee’s right,” Dib nods, “better to not risk it.”            “You two are crazy,” Henry scoffs, “nothing is gonna happen if we ring it.”            “Maybe not if you ring it,” Dib says, “but if someone important were to ring it-.”

           “What, are you saying we’re not important?” he snaps.

           “In the general scheme of things, no not really.”

           Henry scoffs and stomps up to the gong. “I’ll show you,” he growls as he picks up the hammer.

           “No!” Dib exclaims. He rushes over and pulls the hammer away. “Don’t test it! This guy was named after a god of chaos. We can’t risk setting him free.”

           “It’s not real, you freak,” Henry snaps as he grabs the hammer and shoves Dib back. “Nothing is going to happen.”

           “Don’t!” Dib barks and grips the handle. They wrestle for it, shoving each other back and forth, until Dib’s foot slips on the floor. He falls back, ripping the hammer from Henry’s hands. He stumbles to catch his footing and strikes the gong.

           It rings loudly, the sound reverberating throughout the entire building. Dib gasps and steps back, dropping the hammer at his feet. “Oh no.”

           Everything is still for a second as the kids hold their breath and stare at the sarcophagus. But nothing happens.

           “Ha,” Henry scoffs, “see, I told you.”

           As they start to turn away, a horrible feeling shudders down Squee’s spine.

           “Squee,” Shmee warns.

           “Dib!” Squee shouts, “get back!”

           Dib looks at him with surprise then freezes when he hears a creak behind him, like an old door. He slowly looks back as the sarcophagus slowly opens up.

           An old, shriveled hand covered in dead skin reaches out, scratching the front of the sarcophagus lid. Dib, Henry, and his friends watch, petrified with fear, as a foot steps out with the same shriveled skin.

          “Hey!” Mr. Garland shouts as he, Mr. Lawrence, and the other students come into the room. “What’s going on…in…here…?”            They all freeze as the sarcophagus opens completely, revealing its contents: a tall, thin corpse with shriveled, off-colour brown skin. It’s completely naked except for some stray bandages wrapped loosely around its legs, arms, and torso. Its eye sockets are completely empty but its mouth has a series of sharp, rotten teeth. It moans, as if trying to breathe, and twitches as it lifts its back off the sarcophagus floor.

           It doesn’t move for a second, just stares off into the room, its jaw twitching like its trying to speak.

           “H-hello?” Dib squeaks nervously. “A-Apep?”

           Its head whips towards Dib’s with unsettlingly speed. He jumps back with surprise.            

           Apep lifts his hand, slowly and stiltedly, as if he’s not quite used to moving.

           “Squee, we gotta move!” Shmee warns.

           “Dib!” Squee exclaims.

           Without a second thought, Dib dives to the floor. A wave of dark blue energy is released from Apep’s hand. It hits the gong, disintegrating it into a pile of dust.

           “Whoa,” Dib whimpers.

          Simultaneously, all of the students start screaming. They race away into the weapons exhibit. Dib scrambles to his feet and he, Squee, and Maddie quickly join the stampede.

           Apep lumbers away from his sarcophagus and points his hand towards the ceiling of the weapons exhibit. He releases another blast, this one much more pinpointed than his previous, blowing a hole into the ceiling. Rubble falls in front of the doorway leading to the dinosaur exhibit, blocking the exit.

           Everyone screams as they slide to a stop. They look back as Apep lurches towards them, slowly but menacingly.    

           “This way!” Mr. Lawrence orders and points to the left of the room at closed door. Everyone races to it and he throws it open, revealing a stairwell. They quickly race up the stairs to the second floor which is a hallway with some doors.

           Mr. Lawrence closes the door to the stairwell and locks it. Everyone pants as they stare at it, shocked and speechless.

           “I can’t believe this is happening,” Jessica moans.

           “That thing can’t be real,” another student, Maria, squeals.

           “It’s gonna kill us all!” a third student, Jackson, shrieks.

           “It’s all Dib’s fault!” Henry snaps.          

           “My fault?” Dib scoffs.

           “If you didn’t believe in all this stuff, then this wouldn’t have happened!” he barks.

           “Yeah!” Jessica agrees, “you’re so crazy, I bet you woke that mummy up just for fun.”            “I-,” Dib tries to argue but he’s quickly cut off.

           “You’re always getting everyone involved in your stupid fantasies!” Alex shouts.

           “You’re going to get us all killed!” James adds.

           “You should sacrifice yourself to save us!” Maria snaps.

           It’s a witch hunt. The terrified students are looking for someone to blame and poor Dib is their victim. He can’t even get a chance to argue his case. They shout at him endlessly, calling him names, telling him to give himself up to the mummy. The two adults are too stunned to try and stop it. Maddie watches nervously from the sidelines, glancing between Dib and the other students. Kat just rolls her eyes with annoyance.

           But Squee squeezes his fists tightly, growling quietly as his patience burn shorter and shorter, like the fuse on a bomb. And without warning, he snaps.

           “Shut up!” he shouts, his voice bouncing off the walls, startling everyone, even Shmee. They all look at him, wide-eyed and shocked.

           “You narrow-minded, short-sighted, ignorant cretins!” Squee snaps, stepping up the mob. “All Dib ever tries to do is protect you people, keep you safe from the monsters you deny the existences of. But you aren’t grateful, you don’t listen to him, you don’t even respect him! All you do is insult him; you call him crazy and push him around. And still, despite all of this, he just wants to keep people like you safe! You don’t deserve his kindness and if it were up to me, I would just let the mummy kill every one of you!”

           He pants angrily while everyone just stares him, bewildered. Even Shmee is surprised.

           Squee takes a deep breath and faces Dib. “How do we stop it?”

           “Ah, um,” Dib stammers, slightly taken aback. “Well, uh, we either gotta destroy it completely or we gotta trap it in its sarcophagus and reactivate the curse. Honestly, I prefer the second option. This thing is a marvel and I would like to keep it intact.”

           “I’m not sure we’re gonna have that luxury,” Squee points out, “but if it’s a curse we need, then we’re also gonna need someone who can read the hieroglyphs.”            

           He looks over at Kat and she blinks with surprise.

           “Fine, I’ll help,” she shrugs and walks over. “But only because that little outburst of yours impressed me. I didn’t know you had it in you,” she smirks and playfully punches Squee’s shoulder.

           He chuckles awkwardly and rubs his arm, “ow.”

           “Fine,” Dib groans, “but first, we should get everyone out of here safely. We don’t wanna risk anyone getting hurt.”            “If you say so,” Squee scoffs and rolls his eyes.

           “Mr. Lawrence, is there another way out?” Dib asks.

           “There’s an emergency exit in the Egypt exhibit,” he replies.

           “Seriously,” Squee groans.

           “That’s not gonna work,” Dib sighs and looks around. There’s a window at the end of the hall that looks out into a back alley. He pushes it open and pokes his head. There’s a full dumpster just below them.

           “You’re all gonna have to jump,” he orders.

           “Are you crazy?” Jessica snaps.

           “It’s either that or you contend with Apep,” Dib points out.

           Everyone murmurs amongst themselves before slowly approaching the window.

           “I’ll go first,” Mr. Garland says.

           “Get everyone to the bus and just get out of here,” Dib orders, “don’t worry about us.”

           Mr. Garland nods hesitantly. Then he squeezes through the small window and drops down to the dumpster. He lands harmlessly on the garbage and slides down onto the ground.

           “Okay, everyone else go, hurry,” Dib demands.

           One by one all of the students slip through the window and drop down onto the garbage. They move quickly until it’s only Maddie and Mr. Lawrence left.

           “Are you guys sure you’re gonna be okay?” Maddie asks nervously.

           “We’ll be fine,” Dib smile reassuringly.

           “But just in case,” Squee adds, “if we’re not back at the Skool by three, tell Zim, Pepito, and Gaz what happened.”

           She nods, wishes them good luck, and jumps out the window. Finally Mr. Lawrence does the same, so Dib, Squee, and Kat are the only ones left.

           “Alright, now what?” Kat asks.

           “I have to grab my stuff from the front desk,” Squee says, “I won’t be able to fight without it.”

           “But there’s only one doorway downstairs and it was blocked off,” Dib points out.

           “There has to be another way,” Squee insists and looks around. He sees an air duct higher up the wall. “The vents. They should lead to the front desk. I’ll just crawl through them.”

           “Good thing you’re small,” Dib comments, “alright, you grab your stuff. Tak and I will get to the Egypt exhibit and try to figure out the curse.”

           “Okay. Try to avoid the mummy if you can,” Squee warns.

           Dib nods as Squee jogs up the air vent. It’s at least two feet higher than he him. He could try to jump to grab it but how would he get the grate off?

           “Um, Kat?” he questions, “could you give me hand?”

           Kat rolls her eyes. Her human disguise drops, revealing her true cyborg-Irken self. Her PAK opens up and a pair of metal spider legs stretches out. They rip the grate off then carefully lift Squee up to the opening.

           “Thank you,” he says as he crawls inside. “I’ll meet up with you guys later.”            Dib and Tak watch him leave for a few seconds before looking at each other. They take a deep breath, go over to the stairwell door, and peek through the window. It’s dark and empty.

           “I don’t see him,” Dib says.

           “He must know we came up here,” Tak points out, “he’ll reach us eventually.”

           “But he moves slow, so we have a speed advantage.”

           “But if we get hit by his magic, we’ll turn to dust.”            They look at each other and nod simultaneously. “So don’t get hit.”

           Dib opens the door and they burst out and down the stairs at full speed. But they slide to an abrupt stop when they reach the middle landing as Apep scratches at the first floor door. He plants his hand on the window and turns the whole thing to dust. As he lumbers inside the stairwell, he looks up at Dib and Tak and makes a low, gurgling noise.

           “Move!” Tak orders. She grabs Dib’s arm and yanks him out of the way just as Apep shoots a beam up at them. It hits the wall behind them, making a large hole.

           Tak snarls and unleashes a spider leg from her PAK. It lunges at Apep. He points at it, releasing a beam of magic, reducing the metal appendage to dust. Tak gasps painfully.    

           Dib grabs hold of the stair railing and slides down. As he reaches the bottom, he jumps off and kicks Apep in the face. The mummy is too slow to react and flies backwards into the weapons exhibit.

           Dib lands on the floor and looks up at Tak. “Come on!”

           Tak follows him out of the stairwell and to the Egyptian exhibit as Apep slowly rises to his feet. They hurry to the stone tablet and slide to a stop.

           “It must have something written on it about the curse, right?” Dib asks hopefully.

           “I believe so,” Tak replies, “there is quite a lot written on here about Apep and the curse. It may be a code. But it will take me a second to decipher it.”

           They look back worriedly as Apep shambles into the doorway. He looks at them with his eyeless eyes and moans.

           “Decipher it!” Dib orders, “I’ll distract him.”            Dib races over to the left and waves his arms. “Hey, Apep, over here! Hit me if you can!”

           The mummy looks at him and growls. He swipes his arm, unleashing a wave of magic. Dib ducks under it and it slices through a statue and creates a gash in the hall, like it had been cut by a large blade. Dib shudders fearfully and starts running. Apep stares after him and lifts his hand. He shoots a beam of magic. It hits a cabinet inches in front of Dib. He screams with fear and surprise and falls backwards.

           Dib looks up as Apep points his hand at him. He yelps and covers his head as he waits for the attack to hit.

           Before Apep can shoot it, Squee races in, knife in hand, and slices through Apep’s arm at the shoulder. The magic attack dies in his palm as the severed arm bounces on the floor.

          Squee slides to a stop on the left side of Apep and faces him, his bag hanging off his shoulder, Shmee on his head, and his knives in his hands.

           “Squee!” Dib cheers with relief.

           Apep stares at his severed arm with a mix of surprise and grief on his face. Then he throws his head back and shrieks. Dib, Squee, and Tak cover their ears and antennae as the noise beats against their eardrums- and whatever Tak’s equivalent is.

           When he’s finally finished screaming, Apep looks at Squee with pure rage. Squee squeaks with surprise as Apep points his one good hand at him. He dives out of the way of a wave of magic. Tak shouts with surprise as it connects with the wall beside her.

           “Hey, watch it!” she barks.

           “Then hurry up!” Dib retorts as he stands up.

           “It’s no use!” Tak says hopelessly, “whatever was used to exact the curse we do not have now. We can’t trap him.”

           “Then our only hope is to destroy him,” Squee states.

           Apep waves his arm towards the boys. They yelp and dive out of the way of another magic attack then race over to Tak.

           “But how?” Dib asks.

           “We’ll blow him up,” Squee replies as he reaches into his bag and pulls out a Smiley Bomb.

           Dib sighs and nods, “okay.”

           Squee starts to pull the pin but before he gets the chance, Apep shoots another wave of magic at them. They narrowly dive out of the way and it destroys the stone tablet.

           “He’s not gonna give us a chance,” Squee says frantically, “even if I do manage to pull the pin, he’ll just destroy it before it can reach him.”

           “We gotta trap him first then,” Tak declares.

           “But how?” Dib asks.

           An idea strikes them at the same time and they look back at the sarcophagus. Then they look at each other and nod.

           They split up; Tak stays in front of Apep while Dib and Squee go around each side. Tak releases her remaining three spider legs and try swinging them at him. He points at them and shoots beams of magic. Tak whips her legs about, dodging each beam, but she can’t any closer to him.

           Dib slips behind Apep and slams his elbow into the back of his head. Apep makes a gurgling noise like he’s gasping as he stumbles forward. He starts to turn around to face Dib when Tak lunges her spider legs at him. He shoots at them with magic to keep them at bay. Then Dib drives his fist into Apep side, causing him to stumble more to the left.

           Squee stands at the side, watching the fight closely, waiting for his chance. He feels a nagging feeling in the back of his head but he ignores, chocking it up to Apep, until Shmee suddenly perks up.

           “Squee!” he exclaims.

           Squee looks down as Apep’s severed arm grabs his ankle. He squeals with surprise and fear and falls backwards.

           Everyone looks at him with surprise. Apep starts to swing his good arm, aiming to unleash a wave of magic at the startled Squee. Dib reacts quickly and punches him in the face. Apep misses as he stumbles back, the attack flying just over Squee’s head. Apep snarls and glares at Dib.

           “Get off!” Squee snaps and kicks his leg furiously. The severed arm loses its grip on his pants and flies across the room, smacking Apep across the face. He looks at Squee and roars viciously.

           Dib cracks him across the face again. Apep stumbles backwards a little more before snarling at Dib. He lifts his arm and readies an attack. Dib prepares to dodge when Tak’s spider legs whips at Apep from behind, slicing through his bicep. The severed arm flops about at Apep’s feet.

           Apep shrieks with despair, both of his arms jumping around on the floor like fish out of water. The scream nearly cripples the kids again, but Squee grabs the opportunity quickly.

           “Dib!” he calls as he races across the room, knife in hand. He dives down and stabs the knife through one of Apep’s bandages hanging from his leg, driving it through the floor.

           Dib catches on quickly. He dashes over and high kicks Apep in the jaw. Apep cries out angrily but before he can catch himself, his caught bandage tightens and he loses his balance. It rips as he stumbles backwards and into the sarcophagus.

           Squee rolls to his feet, pulls the pin on his Smiley Bomb, and whips it after Apep just as Tak closes the lid with a spider leg.

           “Move, move!” Squee orders.

           The kids scramble away just as the bomb explodes, obliterating the sarcophagus, the wall, and much of the ceiling.

           Meanwhile, at the High Skool, the final bell rings, signalling the end of classes. Pepito and Zim walk to their lockers and look around curiously.

           “Squee and Dib aren’t back yet,” Zim states.

           “That field trip wasn’t supposed to take all day, was it?” Pepito asks.

           They put their stuff in their lockers and start to turn away just Maddie quickly approaches.

           “Maddie, what’s up?” Pepito asks.

           “Squee and Dib haven’t returned?” she questions.

           “No,” Zim replies suspiciously.

           She nervously chews her thumb nail.

           “Why? What’s going on?” Pepito asks.

           “We were attacked by a mummy!” she bursts out, “Squee, Dib, and Kat stayed back to fight it. And they told me that if they didn’t return by three, to tell you guys!”            “What?” Pepito exclaims.

           “A mummy!” Zim gasps then cocks his head. “What’s a mummy?”            “It’s like a zombie,” he replies.

           “Zombies!?” Zim shrieks. He grabs Pepito and Maddie’s arms and zooms down the hall, dragging them behind. “Dib and Squee need our help.”            “What about Kat?” Pepito asks.

           “Who cares about her?” he scoffs.

           They race out the front doors but come to an abrupt halt in front of Gaz. She looks at them questionably.

           “What’s going on?” she asks.

           “Dib and Squee are in trouble!” Zim exclaims.

           “Huh?”

           They all flinch at a car door slamming and look up at Johnny, standing by his car and glaring at them.

           “What’s going on,” he demands.

           Pepito cowers behind Zim who’s shaking just as bad as he is. Only Maddie and Gaz aren’t completely petrified.

           “Uh we went to a museum and-,” Maddie starts to explain but Gaz cuts her off.

           “Look, there they are,” she says.

          They look down the road as Dib, Squee, and Kat- in her human disguise- walk towards them. They’re covered in dirt and dust and a few scrapes and scratches and they look overall exhausted.

           “Squee! Dib!” Zim and Pepito exclaim and rush over, Gaz and Maddie close behind.

           “Are you guys okay?” Pepito asks, “Maddie said you were attacked by a mummy!”            “Yeah! It was awesome!” Dib cheers.

           “You and I differ greatly on our definitions of ‘awesome’,” Squee grunts.

           “Okay but it was so awesome when you slid in and sliced his arm off,” Dib points out.

           “Not as awesome as you beating on him, like the way you high kicked him into the sarcophagus,” Squee retorts.

           “That only worked because you had the brilliant idea to catch his bandage so he’d lose his balance.”

           “But it was your brilliance that kept us all alive, even those useless troglodytes.”

           Dib chuckles, “yeah, well, it was really awesome how you stood up for me. No one’s ever done that before.”

           Squee stares at him with surprise then looks away awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “Well uh…they had it coming. Still think we should’ve just left them for the mummy…”

           Dib smiles softly. Then they all blink with surprise as their names are called.

           “Dib, Squee, Kat!” Mr. Garland shouts as he jogs over. “I am glad you’re all okay.”            “Of course we’re okay,” Dib beams proudly.

           “But um listen,” he says nervously, “I don’t want this getting out. If the Skool board found out I left three of my students in danger, I could lose my job. So uh is there any way we could keep this quiet?”

           They glare him then glance at each other.

           “Tell you what,” Dib smirks, “we’ll send you a bill for our services.”            Squee laughs as they turn away, leaving the staggered Mr. Garland to just stare after them.

           “You guys!” Pepito exclaims as he clings to Squee’s arm. “You gotta tell us everything that happened!”

           “Later,” Squee whines, “I just wanna go home and sleep…for like a week.”            “Aw, that sounds good,” Dib sighs.

           “So why is she here?” Zim growls, nodding at Kat.

           “She helped us,” Squee replies, “right, Dib?”

           “Yeah,” he groans, “I guess she was kind of helpful.”

           “Don’t hurt yourself with those compliments, Dib,” Kat scoffs as she walks away. “I’ll see you guys.”

           “I can’t believe you actually teamed up with her,” Zim spits.

           “We had to do what we had to do to stop that mummy,” Dib points out, “it’s not like we could let it run rampant. Teaming up with people you don’t like to protect people who aren’t grateful: that’s what it means to be a hero. Right, Squee?”

           Squee chuckles. “I don’t think being a hero is really my thing, Dib.” He looks over at Johnny, who’s leaning against his car and watching them. “But I’ll do all that if it means protecting people who are important to me.”

           “Well, that’s heroic enough,” Dib shrugs.

           Squee smiles and waves as he turns away. “Anyway, I’ll see you guys later.”            The group quickly splits off, everyone going their respective ways to get home.

           Later that night, after a nice, long shower, Dib goes into his room wearing pyjama pants and a towel draped over his neck. His damp scythe lock lies flat on his head.

           He grabs his trench coat off his bed and digs around in the pockets until he finds a dirty, ripped bandage: a souvenir from the mummy.

           He seals the bandage in a plastic baggy and writes ‘Mummy Fragment’ on it in permanent marker. Then he grabs a book from his shelf. It’s a bulging scrapbook filled with remnants of his adventures.

           He tapes the baggy to an empty space on one of the pages and underneath it writes ‘Mummy- Apep- defeated by Dib and Squee.’

           He smiles at it proudly for a second before groaning and begrudgingly adds ‘and Tak.’