This is an entry for a contest over at DeviantArt. You can see the prompt picture at http:/ /calamitychemist . deviantart . com/art/Reach-ZaDR-Contest-Open-176447127 First thing I've written in a while, and although it's not a genre I've ever done well in before, I'm really happy with how this came out. Inspiration is so nice when it strikes, even if it did come from someone else. Zim & Dib are the property of Johnen Vasquez. I'm not making any money off of this.
For the most part, it was just like any other day. Dib woke up late, grabbed some toast on his way out, and chased the bus for four blocks before giving up on getting to class on time. Zim didn't wake late, seeing as he rarely slept at all, but GIR had disabled his alarm again, so he spent too long tinkering with his latest project and got out late anyway. The two boys met each other in the skoolyard, both having slowed to a walk, and argued into the classroom. They passed angry notes to each other, were given detention when they were caught, and spent the rest of class passing an increasingly hideous drawing of the teacher back and forth. When lunch came, they sat together and argued more. In gym, they ignored the other students in favor of throwing basketballs at the others' face. When three-thirty rolled around, they left together, Zim gloating that today would be the day he destroyed the Earth and everything on it, while Dib pointed out every flaw in the plans the Irken was revealing.
But today, it was a Friday. The end of every skool week went a little differently, never quite the same as the other days. Sometimes they'd go into the city together, making fun of the horrendously fat women wearing skinny jeans and tube tops. Other times they'd go to one or the other's house and play video games. Whatever they did, every Friday they took a few hours to forget they were mortal enemies, and would tolerate each other's company, if not almost enjoy it.
This Friday was different.
When they left the skool, Dib led Zim down a road they hadn't taken before. Upon asking where they were going, the alien was simply told 'You'll see', and kept walking. For whatever reason, Zim had never gone to this part of town in the eight years he'd been on the planet, and he was curious.
They kept bickering, though far more good-naturedly than they would on another day. After a half hour or so, they reached a bridge, and Dib stopped, leaning against it to look out over the river, and was quiet.
Clearly, this was a very bad idea for Dib to have had.
Zim took one glance out at the water, and the usual Friday environment shattered. The Irken started screaming at the other boy, sure that he'd decided to finally be rid of Zim once and for all. He'd chosen today because he knew Zim's guard would be down! The foolish human was just a stupid meat-head, however, and Zim's PAK-legs were out and ready in an instant.
When Dib realized just how stupid bringing Zim here had been, he took a moment to try and explain. He'd just wanted to show Zim something that he liked; something that, in the right lighting, was absolutely stunning, and he'd thought could calm even the most active mind. He got out less than a word before Zim drew his weapons, and had less than a second to dodge the first attack.
The alien kept screeching and attacking Dib for around ten minutes, and the human kept barely dodging, and still trying to explain himself. Finally, Zim stopped his assault just long enough for Dib to scream that he'd wanted to try and help Zim relax; that he remembered a few weeks back when the Irken had complained of just how annoying his amazing brain could be at times, since it just would never shut off, and maybe if staring at the water could shut his gigantic head up, maybe it could do the same for Zim!
Then there was a creaking. Human and alien both looked up in time to see that Zim's metal limbs had cut through one of the appalling decorative pillars lining both sides of the bridge. Zim leapt to the other side of the bridge. Dib's brain shut down for once, and he stood perfectly still as the pillar fell towards him.
When Zim heard the splash of the decoration landing in the river, he flinched at a few droplets of water that flicked onto him. His paste bath had been a bit rushed that morning. Looking back to where Dib had stood, the Invader saw empty space, and upon hearing a second, smaller splash, he raced to the other side, looking down just in time to see Dib starting to sink.
Even from that distance, Zim could see the left side of the human's head absolutely crushed from the pillar. There was far too much blood in the water for him to still be alive.
The Irken pulled himself back from the view. The Dib was gone now. This was good. Now Zim could get back to his mission unhindered. No more obstacles to destroying the planet. No more lost time from detention after school.
No more Friday afternoons.
Zim shook his head firmly, his wig flying off and falling unnoticed to the ground. He was an Invader; what did he care for a few hours spent with another being? He didn't need the Dib. He'd never needed the Dib. Besides, if he ever felt the need to have someone to spend time with, there was always GIR.
Note passing had always been the only thing keeping him from pulling out his self destruct button during skool.
But Dib had clearly brought him here to kill him! He'd always been a fast thinker, and most likely just thought up that story about turning off his brain to stop Zim from killing him.
He'd looked so scared when the pillar fell.
Zim bit his lip, glancing out at the water. The sun always set abnormally early in this town, and it was hitting the water's surface so nicely. He stared quietly for several seconds before snapping back to himself and realising that it had worked.
Only for the briefest of seconds...but his brain had been quiet. No thoughts of his mission, or how to stop GIR from blowing up the house, or of anything.
The alien glanced back at where Dib's body had been, and saw the faintest outline of a hand slowly sinking. Tearing his gaze away, he hissed at himself. He was an Invader, for Tallest's sake! Why should he care what his enemy had found for him? He had a clear path to destroying the planet now, and then he could return to Irk. He could go back, and be a hero.
That, or sent back to Foodcourtia.
Zim snarled at the thought. Why would he be sent back to that hideous grill? He would have conquered a planet! The rest of his race would have to view him as a hero! To see him as the amazing creature he was, instead of the defect they had called him!
But the Irkens were such anti-social creatures. What the current Tallests had was a very rare thing; any other non-defective Irken would never be able to stand sharing such close quarters with any other living being.
As much as he hated to admit it, Zim needed social interaction sometimes. Not often, but the itch was there, and when it made itself noticed, he could be left crippled until he could find another sentient being to talk to. GIR really didn't cut it sometimes.
Looking back at the water, Zim growled quietly at himself, and reached up to remove his contacts. Far too itchy, and no one was around anyway. He took a few steps closer to the edge of the bridge.
This idea was stupid. It was awful. The Dib was clearly dead, and this would be nothing more than suicide.
But it was important to humans to have the bodies of those they'd cherished somewhere they could visit, wasn't it? The Dib had a family, however inattentive they were. They should have him back.
Another step closer, and Zim's tunic caught on the broken pillar, ripping off a good chunk in the back.
It was highly unlikely Zim would even be able to get his body out at this point. He'd probably sunk too far for him to find, and he wasn't sure his paste would last long enough to get him in, and them both out.
Another step, and the toes of Zim's boots curled around the edge.
But...Zim had needed the Dib, sometimes. It didn't matter if that made him defective or not. Zim needed to bring the Dib out of the water, because sometimes, late at night, he thought that maybe being able to visit lost loved ones was one of the less terrible ideas these creatures had.
Zim pressed his lips together nervously, took a few steps back, then forward, leapt onto what remained of the bridge's railing, and dove into the river.
The sting of the water hit his nerves instantly, but not nearly so acidic as it would be without his paste. A spot at his lip hurt particularly bad, and his flesh burned straight through almost immediately. A brief thought that he must have missed that bit flashed through his mind, but then he saw Dib.
Dib was slowly drifting towards the bottom of the river, arms floating listlessly above his head. His eyes were closed, and nothing in his body showed that sense of peace that GIR's television shows always said the dead had. He just looked scared and in pain.
Zim kicked his legs, reaching out towards the human. His lip was bleeding faster now, and he could feel water getting under his skin and past the paste. It felt absolutely horrible, but he kept swimming down.
The water in his bloodstream reached his PAK much faster than he'd anticipated, and when his claws were only a few inches away from the boy, Zim felt a horrible jolt of pain down his spine, and realized he couldn't move his arms or legs anymore. They were frozen in position, arms outstretched, and legs in mid-kick. His facial muscles could still move, however, and as Dib started sinking farther away, the Invader's mouth opened instinctively to cry out in frustration. A flood of water shot down his throat and into his spooch, and Zim started to cough, sending more water down.
Zim's lighter body weight kept him sinking much more slowly than Dib, and the Irken managed to close his mouth and keep more water from getting in. He was feeling oddly warm in the cold water now, and his head felt rather floaty. His mouth drifted open again, but his spooch didn't fight the water this time. The Irken squeezed his eyes shut, feeling more weak points in his paste giving out, and an uncomfortable clicking in his PAK.
With his eyes closed, combined with the heavy feeling of the water around his body, Zim found himself able to quiet his mind again. It was an oddly pleasant feeling.
In that quiet moment, Zim thought that maybe these Friday afternoons had been rather nice, after all.