Disclaimer: I don't own Invader ZIM, Jhonen Vasquez does.

Keep in mind that this was written while listening to a song, Just Be Conscious, by Megumi Hayashibara. I have not proofread this, because if I did, it wouldn't be what I felt while listening. I haven't even checked spelling, so flamers, be nice. This is my first fic ever posted also, so keep that in mind, too. Thank you.

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Just Be Conscious



A floating sensation. A choir...somewhere. His trenchcoat flowed behind him; he could see it and himself; as he sank slowly in the sky, upside-down. But it didn't bother him. Why? He didn't know. He did know that everything was blue. A beautiful blue. The sky, the ground, he was a shade of blue. He pulled his head back to look at the ground. It was so much safer up here. Everyone else agreed. But where were they?

Suddenly, he lost control, if he had any, and began to plummet. He was stripped of his clothes. They were flung off of his body and turned to nothing. He tried to scream, but no sound came. He called out something that was scrambled in the air flowing past. The colors faded to black, with jagged streaks of bright colors. A lot of red and black. Only a little blue remained. His body froze up. He could only feel that dropping sensation in his chest. His hair beat him in the face, unable to stay in that perfectly kept scythe. Figures around him laughed cruelly. Suddenly, he began to hurt. Emotionally. Mentally. Physically. Spiritually. Everything was painful. Every thought. Every breath. Every dream. Every belief.

He began to twirl uncontrolably in the wind. His mind spun, no thoughts were completed. Dreams were broken. Bones were misplaced. Faith was lost in the endless hurricane of life. His glasses shattered against the sky. Now Dib couldn't even see. All hope seemed lost, was lost. He grasped his heart. Could he do that? Finally, the screams came to his ears, the sound waves returning to him from the earth. It must be close now, the end.

The air faded to water and flames. They danced about his body, for once getting along just to destroy him. The fire ate the oxygen, stole it from him. The water suffocated him further. He gasped for air, lungs burning, but even if he could breathe in, the air had carried him here; what had it for him?

Beneath all of the pressure and blindness, he saw a figure reaching out for him. It seemed twisted among everything, just as he. He clawed at the water, scorched his hands on the flames, struggling to see. Brightness struck him from the right, forcing him back, away. He looked to the flame accusingly, but it only looked more comfortable than the coldness that had now surrounded him. Again, he tried for the other being; this time the darkness pushed him away. He was getting closer to each side, he realized. This time he tried to go directly through the center. It was hard, but he neared both death and the figure at the same time, fighting one, fighting for the other.

He was suddenly struck by two colors. Two very familiar colors. He knew them like the back of his hand, but they were rare for him to see. The red was no longer an evil color; it had mixed with a light amount of purple to create a marronish tone. A smooth green surrounded the red. Pale, beaten green. The creature seemed shocked at Dib nearing him. Still, he moved forth toward it. He needed comfort. Both did. If only...

Again, the flame pushed him back, becoming greater for his part, but lesser to the other. Dib swallowed both, burning his insides. A silent cry escaped. Nothing work for him, but everything was clear now. What he wanted, he'd never get. And what he didn't want, that would always find its way to him. It didn't matter if he liked it or not. He would always torture the battered soul that seemed so close, yet far away, and he would always be tortured. Just one chance, but that would never be. Not for him. The flames looked more and more attractive to him, but refused him. instead, the coldness swallowed him, and pulled him from both the now solved puzzle and the light, ignoring his threats and warnings.

Dib awoke to loud noises in his ear, again falling into his unconsciousness. Somehow, he felt, he'd found something, but it was unreachable, locked away in the depths of his mind, only to be found later. Perhaps in his unconscious mind, while he was awake, or again the next night. He inhaled, this time finding what he needed. Something kept his heart at a higher pace, and he wondered what he had dreamed about. Surely, though, it wasn't anything important. He ignored any further thoughts of the dream and readied himself for another day of trying to prove Zim as an alien to the world.