Dib stood over the remains of one of his oldest friends.
Soft sobs made his body tremble. He pushed his glasses up with his arm, wiping his tearful eyes on his sleeve.
All these years that they'd been together...Dib's constant companion, as far back as he could remember. Gone now. Destroyed. A part of him taken away, reduced to nothing more than stray body parts in a box.
Because of Zim.
Without thinking Dib's hand wandered up his forehead, running his fingers through his hair...then paused halfway over his head, feeling the horrible lacuna that mirrored the hole in his heart.
Dib forced his eyes open.
There, lying in the shoebox, was the disheveled, singed remains of his beloved hair scythe.
His face screwing up in pain and anger, Dib suddenly threw back his head and shook his fists at the bedroom ceiling.
"YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME, ZIM! I SWEAR, YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS ONE! YOU HEAR ME?! YOU—WILL—PAY!"
The skool seemed to be empty when Zim finally got out of detention; the hallways were silent except for his footsteps and low, inaudible grumbling.
Then he heard a slight rustling sound. He paused, scanned the dirty corridor, and hung back for a moment before slowly proceeding.
"Is anybody there?" he called. "Because if so, let me warn you—I AM ZIM!"
His eyes darted from classroom door to half-filled trashcan to mysterious sticky spot, searching for possible threats. However, he failed to notice the thin tripwire until he had already broken it with his feet.
SPLASH!
A water balloon suddenly fell from the ceiling! Zim jumped back, avoiding the water as he landed beside the half-filled trashcan. His eyes widened and darted around the hallway once again—
—as Dib suddenly burst out of the garbage can beside him, paper balls and candy wrappers toppling onto the ground. His smile was wide, manic and bloodthirsty.
In one quick move Dib's swiped his hand at Zim's wig, knocking to the floor. Zim spun around, his antennae rising in surprise—
—and instantly Dib had grabbed them both in one fist.
His other hand flew out of his pocket, and there was a flash as the dim fluorescent light reflected off the silvery metal.
SNIP-SNIP!
"AAAAGGGGHHHH!"
Zim fell to his knees in pain as Dib leapt out of the trashcan, did a flip through the air and landed deftly where the water balloon had fallen. In one hand was a pair of scissors; in the other, Zim's antennae, writhing in agony just like their master.
"Take that, Zim! That's payback for my hair!"
"AAAGGGHHH—what?!" Zim removed his hands; the remaining nubs on his head twisted feebly, still gushing greenish blood.
"I said—THIS IS REVENGE FOR MY HAIR!" Dib pointed to where his hair scythe used to be, moving his lips slowly so that they were easier to read.
"Agh..." Zim's face was still screwed up in pain, but he felt around behind him until he found his wig, placing back on his injured head. "You know those will just grow back, right?!"
Dib shrugged. "So will my hair."
"Oh, really?! UGH..."
Author's Notes: I had this idea like, ten or twelve years ago, back when I new to fanfic. Seemed about time for me to finally write it down.