There's Always a Light In the Darkness
Or,The Tale of the Logical
By: The Talking Absol
This is a creepy tale. If you are easily disturbed, then don't read it. But if you're a true ZIM fan, then how are you easily creeped out? O.o Okay, it's alright if you don't know what a Logical is. It is explained later in the story, as happens most of the time. And I'm sorry if stuff doesn't make sense, but remember- this is fanFICTION. I'll try to make the characters as true to their original natures as possible, but they all go through a kind of transformation…8D There probably won't be any romance in this fic, except possibilities of ZAGR and DATR, but it's not what it seems…AND NO ZADR!! No matter how I write it, it isn't that. Look to my profile for details. You can take the story however you want to, but there is no yaoi or yuri here. Although, I might have some friendship elements at the end of this.
Invader Zim and all its related characters and titles belong to the wonderful Jhonen Vasquez.
Dire, as a character, belongs to me. He's so evil…haha.
And so begins…our tale.
Chapter One: Forgotten?
Planet Irk, 155 Irken Years Ago
A small, green alien stood in front of a crowd, its eyes glowering out before it. It was dressed in a white lab coat and black boots, a name tag on the front of his coat reading in messy writing: "Dire." On top of his bald head were two long antennae. The crowd in front of him consisted of aliens that looked exactly like him, but they wore red dress-like uniforms with black boots instead of the lab coat. On everyone's back, however, was a large backpack-like device called a Pak.
The crowd cheered, although Dire didn't look happy. The sound fell on deaf antennae. His cool, angry blue eyes glared out at the crowd.
Two extremely taller aliens floated up from behind him and a snarl crossed ones face, red eyes narrowing. The crowd quieted as a giant machine that looked like a brain, called the Control Brain, spoke.
"Scientist Dire, you have been found guilty of acts against the Irken Empire, including revealing secret plans to enemies and suspicious Logical acts. You are hereby considered a Defective and will therefore be terminated." The control Brain said with a hint of satisfaction.
Dire stayed silent. He thought back, abruptly, to the tiny smeet he had Tainted. He would never see its true destructive power. After reading Newton's Three Laws of Motion to it and basic Physics, he knew it would be truly powerful. It had been HIS smeet, his child, his experiment. It would reign when he was gone; a true Irken.
There was a sickening squelch and a hiss as one of the Tallest reached up and ripped off his pack. Dire saw his life clock appear. A thought crossed through his slowing mind.
Of course the smeet would be a Magical. He'd made sure the Taint was recessive. But the rest of the population would know, even if it was only through its individuality. But they didn't know who he'd Tainted yet. Only he knew that. It would grow just like the others, be randomly named just like everyone else, and receive training for the area it specialized in. Invader or Scientist. He personally hoped Scientist, of course. In there, it could excel most definitely.
Another slow thought occurred to Dire. A wild grin crossed his zipper-like teeth.
He thrust his head back and let out a hearty evil laugh, screaming before his mind shattered,
"By the Mighty Tallest before me and Logic itself- I curse this day until my revenge is satisfied! One of your own kind will turn against you and destroy you all! Go on, my smeet, my Logical, and live for me!"
As he fell to the floor in a foaming mess, the crowd cheered. But the Control Brain knew better. That smeet would be one in a million. It would be useless to try and find it or terminate them all. They'd just have to wait and see who it grew up to be...
Roughly 155 Irken years later- Location: Planet Earth 4
It was never a peaceful day on this planet. The people were too ignorant to notice anything, of course. Like when two aliens tried to take over their planet, or when the dead rose from graves. But it wasn't their fault. That's why there were people like Professor Membrane.
But today, it seemed...more unusual. But that could've been due to the fact that Zim wasn't paying attention to Physics for once. He had his feet up on the desk, staring at his toes and off into space. It seemed futile, in his mind, to attempt to calculate how long it would take something to hit the floor. It was due to gravity, of course.
Zim was, of course, an alien. But no one other than a choice few humans on this planet knew that. He had light neon green skin, purple eyes, and no ears or nose. He blamed this on a skin condition, which almost everyone took. He had a black, short-haired wig on that spiked back slightly, and only three fingers on his hands. He had on a long red uniform dress with thin black stripes and a pink collar and sleeve cuffs. Black gloves covered his hands and feet, reaching up to his knees where they covered black leggings.
He hadn't noticed, but thanks to the lower gravity on this planet, he'd grown taller- A lot taller. Six filthy Earth years had passed quickly. He hadn't noticed that he'd had the same homeroom teacher for six years, or that his classmates had also grown. This planet's ignorance had somewhat rubbed off on him.
But he never equated that.
Sitting a couple rows and seats back from Zim was the second-only human that knew he was an alien. Dib Membrane, so-called paranormal investigator, was also the second-only non-ignorant person on this planet. Dib had short black hair that had one part go up and back into a scythe above his somewhat abnormally large head. He had auburn eyes that hid behind huge glasses most of the time. He wore a long black trench coat that covered his blue shirt with a light blue neutral smiley face on it and black pants. His heavy-duty black boots were covered with leaves and mud from previous spying attempts.
He sat with his lips resting against intertwined fingers that sat up from his elbows resting against the desk. He was waiting, watching, for Zim to do something. But he would be disappointed today.
Just as their teacher, Mrs. Gimmard, was about to drop the computer on the floor, the bell rang. Zim hopped up quickly and snuck out of the classroom, Dib only a few people behind.
Zim walked slowly along to the door, lost in thought. The other kids shuffled loudly around him. Suddenly, he was rudely interrupted when someone shoved him forward.
"Watch where you're going!" a female voice snarled. Zim felt himself being stepped on, and he let out an "oof!" before scrambling back up to his feet.
"You should watch where you put your filthy feet, Gaz-human!" he snarled. The girl turned sharply and Zim stumbled back a bit, now afraid of her wrath.
The girl was only slightly shorter than him, with cropped purple hair and glaring hazel eyes. She had on a long black dress with a zipper going down the middle and a skull necklace around her neck. Long purple and white striped sleeves ran down along her arms and ended at the wrists. Under her shirt was another pair of purple and white leggings, and black Gothic boots rose up from her feet. In her hands was a dark red GameSlave 3, light flashing across the screen.
"You almost made me lose to the tenth dungeon boss on Vampire Piggies 4.5, which, as everyone knows, is the extra level with the cameo boss from Vampire Piggies 1! So if you value your life, you'll keep out of my way next time." Gaz said, eyes narrowing. With that, she turned sharply on her heel and walked off; head buried once more in her game.
Zim straightened and with a "hmph!" continued to walk on as if nothing had happened. The world outside High Skool was breezy but with a warm undertone, with trees once again turning green, signaling Spring was coming. The reptiles and animals were finally coming out of hibernation and scurrying around, chattering to each other in their own way. A squirrel came up to Gaz and put on its cutest eyes, hoping for food. She didn't look up as she stormed past it. Then the squirrel burst into flames and ran, screeching, around in circles until it jumped into a puddle and lay there, panting.
Zim walked briskly down the street, trying to avoid contact with the other humans. They were all too busy with their newspapers and food to notice or get in his way anyway, but he took precautions. Suddenly, he had the feeling he was being followed. He glanced nervously behind himself. Nothing was there except a swirling shadow. Wait- shadow?!
A growl crossed Zim's zipper-like teeth as he turned halfway around. "Dib-stink! Come out before I have to rip out your pitiful human organs again!" There was no answer. Zim tried again. "Irken smeets can hide better than you, you-" he was interrupted when a battle cry sounded from above his head. He glanced up, shocked, as Dib flew down from the building's roof. Zim was able to back up before Dib landed on him, and poor Dib landed clumsily on the street. Zim turned around again quickly and ran down the street, an exasperated look replacing his usual arrogant smirk. Dib got back up and followed him hurriedly.
They raced along the street, each pushing and shoving others to get their way. Zim was still in the lead when they rounded the corner and Zim's house came into view.
His strange angular house was a bright, eerie green, with a purple roof and several windows on the front. In the front lawn were a couple of lawn gnomes (who fired lasers at you if you didn't have ID) and an "I (heart) EARTH" sign. The front door was a Men's restroom door, and several huge cords stuck out from Zim's house and into his neighbors' houses.
Zim's face brightened and he sped up. But Dib put on one final burst and overtook Zim, screeching to a halt in front of him, blocking his path. Zim yelped and also stopped. The two faced each other as Dib pulled out his weapon with an evil smile.
"There's no where left for you to run, Zim!" Dib cried.
Zim grew a questioning look. "What about my house?" he asked, pointing behind Dib.
Dib turned, briefly, and then turned back, a thoughtful look on his face. "Oh yeah...I guess you could hide there...No! Wait! You're staying right here!" he snarled.
Zim put his hands on his hips and smirked. "Or what? You're gunna stop me with that 'oven mitt'?" making a reference to the object Dib was holding.
Dib went on the defensive. "It's not an oven mitt, you lizard! It's a genuine freezing talisman!"
Zim laughed, and Dib grew even angrier. "Oh yeah! Eat-" he was interrupted when a large, cute green dog flew right into his head.
"HI BIG HEAD BOY THAT MASTAH HATE!!" it screamed in a squeaky robotic voice. It was very small, with green fur and black legs, tail, and ears. Its eyes were huge and blue, giving off an air of cuteness you didn't realize you were falling for. A large silver zipper ran down its middle, and stitches were all over it, making it obvious the dog was in disguise from something else. A large pink tongue stuck out from its mouth, and its breath smelled of rotting tacos and candy.
Dib screamed horrifically, and began to shake his head, attempting to get the tiny dog off. But the cutey just reached up and grabbed onto Dib's scythe, swinging every which way, screeching with joy. Zim stood there, dumbfounded by this scene. Finally, Zim snapped out of it and ran past Dib and into his house.
Just as he got to the door, Zim turned around and called, "GIR! Quickly! Back inside!"
The dog, Gir, turned and looked at Zim. Then, he jumped off of Dib's head and ran on his hind legs into Zim's house. Dib shook himself one last time, and then turned and scowled at Zim.
"You may have gotten away this time, Zim! But...next..." Dib stopped when Zim laughed again at him very loudly and obnoxiously.
"Ohhhh...Right, Dib-stink! Next time don't underestimate Irken technology when you try some of that 'Para-spleen', GOT THAT?" Zim yelled, and then smiling and humming, went back into his house.
"It's para-NORMAL!" Dib cried. He grew slightly pouty. "Yeah...Next time..." he mumbled to himself. He then turned around and walked somewhat sadly and hurt back to his own house.
Zim's House
Zim glared out the window. "Pathetic stink hyuman!" he snarled. He whipped around to face Gir, who was now in the kitchen, making a bunch of noise and singing some obscene song. Zim's eyes went into a questioning gesture, but he simply shook his head and walked into the kitchen also.
"Gir! I'm going underground. Make sure no one comes in." he said, stepping into a large trash can.
Gir twirled around from where he was on the kitchen counter, and he let out a wild grin. "Suuuuuuuure mastah!" he said, and then went back to a huge slop of things on the table, screeching with joy every once in a wile. Zim just sighed as he sank into the trash can.
The Membrane Household
Gaz shuffled through the fridge as Dib walked in, a sight of sadness. She turned briefly away from her search for a soda.
"Another failure? Why do you even try anymore! None of his plans have EVER worked, no thanks to you sometimes, and he's so idiotic he probably couldn't even take over an ant hill!" Gaz snarled.
Dib looked up, insulted. "It's my duty to protect this planet from the paranormal because no one else will!" he said indignantly. "Even if it means trying and trying to stop moronic green aliens who are STUPID and bent on trying to take over the world with STUPID plans! Because one day...one day...They'll thank me!"
Gaz grumbled something about aliens drinking his brains instead of soda, but Dib didn't hear. With a fresh batch of confidence, he ran up to his room. Gaz, in finding a fresh can in the back of the fridge, grumbled again and walked back into the living room to her paused game.
Planet Irk, Control Brain Room, Several Months Earlier
The control Brain whirred as it passed through old files. It hated doing this, but it did need to get done. The current info on the infinite energy absorbing blob...Invader Tenn's news...Wait, what was this...?
It was an old Irken Memory Chip. It was still good, too- A scientist by the looks of it. The Brain stopped what it was doing for a moment and downloaded the info to a new chip. The new one, shiny and silver, popped out a small slit in the control panel, where a long robotic arm reached down and gently picked it up. The arm then rushed quickly away to the Pak chamber. The brain went quickly back to what it was doing. Old planets...Defectives...
The arm raced along a track until it reached the area where the Paks were made. Another arm was activated somewhere else and it went along to the Defective Dumping Area. It reached down and picked up a random dead body- an older soldier who'd started out with a virus. That arm rushed to meet the other one. The first arm worked effectively as it opened up a fresh Pak and put the memory Chip inside. There was a whir, click, and a happy hum as the Pak took in the downloaded personality. Suddenly, it shrieked and bolts of electricity flew out. The arm made a fist and hit the Pak several times until it quieted. The shell came up finally on the other arm and the first arm picked up the Pak and fit it onto the Irken's back, where two wires shot out and attached to the Defective's back. Then another cord shot out, attached to the Pak, and screamed with electricity.
The Irken's eyes shot open, revealing electric-blue orbs. His skin again turned neon green. The cable detached, and he fell to the floor, gasping for air. He breathed heavily, and steadily got up to his feet. The arm then spoke, using the information it had gathered from the control Brain.
"Scientist Dire, you have been brought back because you have been found to be perfectly fine. Welcome back." with that, the two arms shot off.
Dire looked up hesitantly. "I...I'm alive?" he asked. He looked down at himself and gasped. He had on an Invader's outfit. This wasn't his body, either! They had used a Defective to bring him back...typical. He glanced around as a group of Gaurds shuffled in. they seemed to pause in amazement, then a purple-dressed one with green eyes came forward and addressed him.
"Scientist Dire?" he asked. Dire looked at him nervously.
"I'm no longer...what happened? Why was I brought back?" he asked wearily. The Guard stood up slightly straighter.
"You were found on the Control Brain's memory files, and there was nothing wrong with you, so it brought you back. Is there nothing wrong with you?" he asked, cocking an eye.
Dire considered this for a moment. "No." he said. It wasn't really lying...But it wasn't the whole truth either. He figured that if they didn't remember him, then he could just play safe for now. The Guard nodded, and then turned and motioned for Dire to follow his group. Dire didn't hesitate.