Yep...this is the prequell to the fict i am meaning to write...seems
I`ll have to write it in another place and then write it down in the
puter ... Oh well.. thanks to My beta Dani Gibson, who was a
sweetheart and corrected this for me ^___^
NOTE: If someone can provide me with a good title and summay, I`d
love thee till the rest of yer days...
Kau: Why dont`you try luring them with something they might actually
WANT?
WARNINGS: light angst warning. And Gir hugs!PG for very mild violence
and Gir's picked up foul language.
It was a dark, gloomy, gray day, just like any other dark, gloomy,
gray day that seemed to plague Dib's life lately. Not always had it
been this way, no. When he was little, Dib's mother had told him
thousands of stories about other races, their lifestyles, planets and
the Gods that lived out there. Every time she talked about it some
strong longing ached in his heart, made him feel alive.
But one day she had disappeared, leaving behind his son with only a
skull pendant made of a thick silver-like material to remember her.
He had given it to Gaz shortly after realizing she wouldn't come
back. After she had left, his father had drowned himself in his work,
and his sister had isolated herself from any other that wasn't her
Bitey the Vampire doll or her Game Slave. From that moment on he had
lived a stupid, useless, gray life, hiding deeper and deeper in the
only luminous points in his life -the paranormal and stargazing.
Living because there wasn't anything else for him to do, walking
alone, always in the end utterly and terribly alone, not knowing who
were all the people around making fun of him, and not knowing why was
he still there.
Seven years ago, things had changed when the first real alien he had
ever seen had arrived to his planet, marking the beginning of
his `True Mission In Life'. Bringing again a sense of belonging, of a
reason to be there, a proof that he was there, that he was right,
that he wasn't alone! In his excitation of pursuing Zim and proving
everyone he had been telling the truth all those years, he had made
mistakes, mistakes that had lead him to be put in the Crazy House for
Boys, be kicked out from the Swollen Eyeballs' organization and
finally attached the logo of "freak" forever to his name, but still
he didn't care. All that mattered was that he was there; he was
stopping the alien from conquering earth. That was reason enough to
get up everyday.
However, two years after Zim had come to Earth, when he was twelve,
Zim had gone missing. At first Dib had been worried. It surely meant
Zim was planning a mayor plot to destroy Earth, but when he had gone
to the base, he had found Gir in the labs calling for his master, and
even inquired the human if Zim had been playing with him and if that
was the reason he wasn't back yet. Gir had told him that Zim had
received a package from Tak and had left after that, but Dib could
find no trace of it and had no idea where Zim had gone.
For three weeks Dib, Gir, Minimoose and the computer had looked for
Zim in the whole city, but found no trace of him. When Dib had
finally given up on searching and assumed he had been caught by the
FBI or something of the sort Zim had appeared again in his life, this
time wearing a black shirt and dark blue jeans, always looking down
at the ground, avoiding visual contact with anyone, and as talkative
as a wall.
Fighting? Not once in those long years. Laughing? Not ever again it
seemed. Inert. Lifeless. If an adult or someone he considered of
higher rank told him to do something, he did it without asking why or
speaking his thoughts. There was no way to get a comment or reaction
out of the small alien.
Dib had tried to make him react, that was for sure. Hours of plots to
get into his base, endless taunts and even fights had all proved to
be useless! Zim just wouldn't do anything. Dib started to be afraid
then. Zim had been the first and only proof that there was life out
there. Every alien he had ever seen, it had been because of the fact
the magenta eyed creature had come to earth, and if seem suddenly
lost all will to live; there wasn't much for him left. There wasn't
much reason to be there at all.
In truth, Zim had become merely a body, without blood, wishes,
instincts or fate. He walked in silence, not caring that there was a
world moving around him, and not wanting to be a part of it.
After the second month of having Zim in this way the computer in
Zim's base had taken the matter in its own hands. All the advices Dib
had carefully installed to spy on him had been removed and turned to
trash in less than a week, the gnomes had received orders of letting
no-one pass the house limits and had downloaded it's own brain in the
Robo-parents, making them much saner and able to act more effectively
without calling the attention of anyone. Even Gir and MiniMoose had
been changed slightly. No longer seeing his master as able to protect
himself, it wasn't uncommon see the green puppy and floating purple
chibi-moose chasing squirrels and birds outside skool grounds,
waiting for Zim to come out. As soon as anyone tried to harm Zim in
any way, they were forced to deal with a red-eyed green dog and rabid
moose-dwarf that made sure they didn't wanted to repeat the
experience.
Dib had eventually quit trying to find out what had happened and left
Zim to himself. Just staring at the little alien made him feel an
inexplicable sense of sadness.
However, one especially dark, gloomy, gray day, as Zim sat in the
playground by Gir and Dib sat alone in another corner, glancing at
the lily-eating disguised robot every now and then, Sara had started
picking on him.
"Hey you! The big haired weirdo! Any space-ships lately?" Immediately
the whole skool ground erupted in stupid giggling.
"Yeah, DIB," said Rob, pushing him from the table he had been
sitting on. "Or have you just realized you are insane, and are saving
it to be committed for full-life in the Crazy House for Boys?"
Dib had cringed inwardly and stood up. He hated to be reminded of the
time where he had gone to that horrible place and faced a nightmare-
version of reality. Chunk pushed him back and he fell in his rear.
"Seeing pantless little green people yet," asked Poochy as he
pointing at Dib. Dib opened his mouth to answer something, but
nothing useful came to it, so he stared down, not answering.
`One would think that after seven years they would change, but they
don't. They never change'
Suddenly, his glasses were snatched away, and by the pattern of
colors on the shirt-shaped blur in front of him had, he guessed it
had been Torque Smacky.
`I wish Zim had eaten you instead of just stealing your organs.'
thought Dib sourly, not moving. Without his glasses he was as good as
blind, and trying to get his glasses back would end with him more
humiliated than usual.
"What? Nothing to say? No treatments? No cursing me with the chupaca-
" There was an odd `whoosh' sound and the clatter of glass hitting
the ground. Looking up he saw there was a pale green blur with red
eyes seemingly attached to Torque's midsection. Dib blinked slowly.
"I
liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike
youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" cooed the metallic voice he recognized as Gir, and
then there was a cracking sound and Torques yelp of pain.
"Hey Zim! Control your pet," said he in a funny high-pitched voice.
"Pets aren't even allowed in here," complained Zita. Then she
shrieked as MiniMoose attached to her purple hair, sucking on it as
it was a candy.
"Guaaaaaaaaaards," shrieked the girl as she ran in circles. The rest
of the teens resumed what they were doing; ignoring the shrieking
girl and moaning Torque sprawled in the floor as if they weren't
there.
Dib saw a green, black, and blue blur pick up something from the
floor, sneak a hand to his back producing something and point it to
what was in his hand. After a light buzzing sound he placed it in his
hands. They were his glasses. Putting them on he found himself
staring right into Zim's magenta eyes.
"You." started Dib, diverting his attention briefly to where Zita was
banging her head against a wall trying to pry the small moose off to
no use. ".You forgot your contacts," muttered Dib, looking down as
Zim blinked ".again."
It was true. Some days Zim forgot to put the contacts on, but no one
seemed to realize it. Eventually Dib had stopped pointing it out, as
no one seemed to care.
"I know," replied Zim. Dib looked up. It was the first words he had
directed him in over four years. There was a loud rumble above them
as thunder started sounding, but Zim's eyes were still fixed on his
brown ones.
"What happened Zim?" There, he had said it. He had asked The Question
that had been plaguing his mind for so long. Kids started going back
inside the facility as the bell rang and the first drops of water
fell over the earth, but Zim stared at the building and walked under
a tree, with Gir skipping behind him and singing the doom song. Dib
stared at the high skool sign and shook his head. Making up his mind
he followed Zim under the three and sat in one of the higher roots.
Zim was standing over one of them, and Dib thought he hadn't grown
one bit. "You should do something about your height," Dib said,
trying to make conversation. "They think it's weird."
"Weird," repeated Zim, picking up Gir from the floor and hugging him
to his chest so he wouldn't get wet. At the attention Gir hugged Zim
back in a much gentler way than when he had done the same to Torque,
making something between a giggle and a low rumbling noise. Dib
supposed was Gir's equivalent to purring.
"Yes." answered Dib, staring up at the leaves that protected them
from the rain. As if on cue, a drop landed over his right lens and he
took glasses off to clean them. "You have the same height you had
when we were kids. And the skin-condition excuse is getting old Zim;
you should have made something new, make adjustments to your
disguise. If you don't, conquering earth-"
" I won't," said Zim. For the second time in ages he found himself
making eye contact with Zim.
"You don't want earth anymore," asked Dib slowly.
The alien nodded.
"Why?" Zim lowered his gaze at the wet grass as the rain started
pounding harder.
"Because this planet is useless to the Irken race."
"What do you mean?"
Zim moved closer to him, making Dib feel awkward until he noticed
the slight burnt smell and saw a light stream of white smoke come
from Zim's right shoulder. Realizing the alien was merely trying not
to get wet, he quickly took off his trench coat and draped it over
the smaller alien's frame, making Zim look up at his brown eyes again.
"Think about it, Dib," said Zim in a low voice. "What would they
want from a planet as disgusting as this? What could they possibly
find useful in here? Just look at it. It's a disgusting big ball of
dirt floating close to the sun, nothing else! Covered with disgusting
mammals that only seem apt to be born, grow, destroy what they have,
breed and die. Not even suitable slaves! Everything in here is so
dangerous, so utterly disgusting and utterly revolting no Irken with
a bit of respect would come near three galaxies of here." The alien
extended a hand from under the trench coat and placed it under a few
leaves that were dropping a semi-constant stream of drops, several of
them hitting his palm and making the skin hiss, turn a paler color as
it started to peel off and let out the same odd burning smell and
white smoke.
Before Dib could react, Gir opened his eyes and grabbed Zim's wrist,
yanking the whole hand into his mouth in what provably was a childish
effort to kiss -or more like suck- the pain away and trying to mumble
around the appendage complains to his master's actions. MiniMoose
landed in Dib's scythe and joined Gir's mumblings with his own
squealing noises, as if agreeing with whatever Gir was trying to say.
"Not to mention it's 90% covered in the Irken equivalent to human
acid," finished him letting Gir suck his hand without complaining.
"Why were you sent to conquer it then," asked the teenager not quite
trusting Zim, yet his words forcing their way inside his mind to an
answer he wasn't ready to face yet.
"I wasn't sent here to conquer it. I was sent here to die."
This time Gir's opinion about whoever had done that was quite more
comprehensible than his previous speech. It seemed the both had
learned a lot more about human vocabulary than what Dib had
originally thought.
"Look Gir, a puddle," muttered Zim. Gir made a `GASP' sound,
dropping the alien's now drenched hand before being set on the ground
and running to land face-first in a big puddle of mud. He lowered the
hood of his dog suit and took out a pig plushy. He started singing at
it and rolling over the mud at the same time. MiniMoose let out a
squeal before joining him in the dirty waters.
Dib stared at Zim's hand, now with pale painful-looking blisters.
"That's what Tak sent you all those years ago?"
"No. She sent me a video. They held a convention to make fun of me."
Gir howled out, "DA BASTARDZ," and promptly continued rolling in the
mud.
Dib stared, bewildered at the robot before laying eyes on the alien
again. Zim's eyes were again glued to the ground, the trench coat
dropped over his head partially obscuring his features from the
human.
"That's why you helped me," asked Dib after a while. "Because they
are like them?"
"Because you aren't like them. Because you are the only person in
the whole stupid planet with half a brain and that might care .
because you are here, I guess."
Suddenly the sound of rain was too ominous for the human.
"I have been here for long time, but you never talked to me."
"I was tired of playing."
"Playing," repeated the human.
"You know what I mean."
Dib nodded.
"But you changed."
Dib nodded again.
"And why are you telling me this now," asked Dib.
Zim didn't answer. Instead he raised his hand again to catch more
droplets of water, but the teen grabbed his hand and pushed it down.
"Stop it."
"You changed and I didn't," whispered Zim, not meeting Dib's eyes
again. "It still hurts me and I can't deal with it. I tried and I
can't. I promised once to a friend I wouldn't never be like this and
now look at me. I'm a failure. A disgrace. Nothing at all."
"A friend," asked the human. Something wet and warm fall over his
hand. Drawing it nearer to his face he realized it was water with a
slight pink hue to it.
He looked down at Zim and to his surprise found him crying. He
didn't cry like humans, sobbing and hiccupping, just pinkish tears
simply fall from his eyes. He cried like he wasn't crying, just
standing there and looking down at his own tears as they hit the
floor. Dib let go of his wrist, not knowing what to do or say. Zim
stared at his free wrist and suddenly started laughing. Gir and
MiniMoose stared at each other before starting to laugh maniacally
themselves. Meanwhile, tears fell from Zim's eyes and down his cheeks
as he doubled over and laughed for the first time in over five years.
"And.and you, just like me, another disgrace, another idiot, and
they hate you, hate you and everything you say and everything you do.
And they despise you Dib. ALL of them despise you: what you say, what
you do, and what you think. Won't give you a chance either, you." He
paused to catch some breath and burst into another hysterical fir of
giggling. "You.you on your own planet and as alone as I am, if not
more, and they hate you because you are here.and they are ALL
STUPID!" Finally he sank to the floor his claws massaging the wig as
giggle escaped from his lips. "And you."
Dib stared at the two mechanical beings as they stared at their
master as if doubting what to do next.
".You aren't like them. That's the reason. The reason is you are, is
because.because you are different than them. So different."
Dib felt as if someone had hit him hard in the chest hard with a bag
full of bricks. All Zim had said, he had already heard it once; all
Zim was saying was true and had already been told to him.
The alien was giggling so hard Dib was afraid he wouldn't stop; he
was thinking what could he say to make the alien stop. The only thing
he could come with was, "The rain is stopping."
Zim ceased his giggling so suddenly the human thought he had
fainted, but Zim was now wiping his tears in silence.
Recovering from the shock of having such words repeated to him in an
almost identical circumstance and almost identical words, he shook
Zim's shoulder, the shorter creature staring up at him with the same
blank face, as if he had never been laughing and crying a few seconds
ago.
"I know," said Dib. He stood up and started walking away, following
the path to the facility's entrance.
"Are you coming or not," Dib inquired, not looking back to the alien.
He kept walking, not looking back, and knew Zim would follow him.
And surely enough, Zim stood from his sitting position and followed
the human.
I`ll have to write it in another place and then write it down in the
puter ... Oh well.. thanks to My beta Dani Gibson, who was a
sweetheart and corrected this for me ^___^
NOTE: If someone can provide me with a good title and summay, I`d
love thee till the rest of yer days...
Kau: Why dont`you try luring them with something they might actually
WANT?
WARNINGS: light angst warning. And Gir hugs!PG for very mild violence
and Gir's picked up foul language.
It was a dark, gloomy, gray day, just like any other dark, gloomy,
gray day that seemed to plague Dib's life lately. Not always had it
been this way, no. When he was little, Dib's mother had told him
thousands of stories about other races, their lifestyles, planets and
the Gods that lived out there. Every time she talked about it some
strong longing ached in his heart, made him feel alive.
But one day she had disappeared, leaving behind his son with only a
skull pendant made of a thick silver-like material to remember her.
He had given it to Gaz shortly after realizing she wouldn't come
back. After she had left, his father had drowned himself in his work,
and his sister had isolated herself from any other that wasn't her
Bitey the Vampire doll or her Game Slave. From that moment on he had
lived a stupid, useless, gray life, hiding deeper and deeper in the
only luminous points in his life -the paranormal and stargazing.
Living because there wasn't anything else for him to do, walking
alone, always in the end utterly and terribly alone, not knowing who
were all the people around making fun of him, and not knowing why was
he still there.
Seven years ago, things had changed when the first real alien he had
ever seen had arrived to his planet, marking the beginning of
his `True Mission In Life'. Bringing again a sense of belonging, of a
reason to be there, a proof that he was there, that he was right,
that he wasn't alone! In his excitation of pursuing Zim and proving
everyone he had been telling the truth all those years, he had made
mistakes, mistakes that had lead him to be put in the Crazy House for
Boys, be kicked out from the Swollen Eyeballs' organization and
finally attached the logo of "freak" forever to his name, but still
he didn't care. All that mattered was that he was there; he was
stopping the alien from conquering earth. That was reason enough to
get up everyday.
However, two years after Zim had come to Earth, when he was twelve,
Zim had gone missing. At first Dib had been worried. It surely meant
Zim was planning a mayor plot to destroy Earth, but when he had gone
to the base, he had found Gir in the labs calling for his master, and
even inquired the human if Zim had been playing with him and if that
was the reason he wasn't back yet. Gir had told him that Zim had
received a package from Tak and had left after that, but Dib could
find no trace of it and had no idea where Zim had gone.
For three weeks Dib, Gir, Minimoose and the computer had looked for
Zim in the whole city, but found no trace of him. When Dib had
finally given up on searching and assumed he had been caught by the
FBI or something of the sort Zim had appeared again in his life, this
time wearing a black shirt and dark blue jeans, always looking down
at the ground, avoiding visual contact with anyone, and as talkative
as a wall.
Fighting? Not once in those long years. Laughing? Not ever again it
seemed. Inert. Lifeless. If an adult or someone he considered of
higher rank told him to do something, he did it without asking why or
speaking his thoughts. There was no way to get a comment or reaction
out of the small alien.
Dib had tried to make him react, that was for sure. Hours of plots to
get into his base, endless taunts and even fights had all proved to
be useless! Zim just wouldn't do anything. Dib started to be afraid
then. Zim had been the first and only proof that there was life out
there. Every alien he had ever seen, it had been because of the fact
the magenta eyed creature had come to earth, and if seem suddenly
lost all will to live; there wasn't much for him left. There wasn't
much reason to be there at all.
In truth, Zim had become merely a body, without blood, wishes,
instincts or fate. He walked in silence, not caring that there was a
world moving around him, and not wanting to be a part of it.
After the second month of having Zim in this way the computer in
Zim's base had taken the matter in its own hands. All the advices Dib
had carefully installed to spy on him had been removed and turned to
trash in less than a week, the gnomes had received orders of letting
no-one pass the house limits and had downloaded it's own brain in the
Robo-parents, making them much saner and able to act more effectively
without calling the attention of anyone. Even Gir and MiniMoose had
been changed slightly. No longer seeing his master as able to protect
himself, it wasn't uncommon see the green puppy and floating purple
chibi-moose chasing squirrels and birds outside skool grounds,
waiting for Zim to come out. As soon as anyone tried to harm Zim in
any way, they were forced to deal with a red-eyed green dog and rabid
moose-dwarf that made sure they didn't wanted to repeat the
experience.
Dib had eventually quit trying to find out what had happened and left
Zim to himself. Just staring at the little alien made him feel an
inexplicable sense of sadness.
However, one especially dark, gloomy, gray day, as Zim sat in the
playground by Gir and Dib sat alone in another corner, glancing at
the lily-eating disguised robot every now and then, Sara had started
picking on him.
"Hey you! The big haired weirdo! Any space-ships lately?" Immediately
the whole skool ground erupted in stupid giggling.
"Yeah, DIB," said Rob, pushing him from the table he had been
sitting on. "Or have you just realized you are insane, and are saving
it to be committed for full-life in the Crazy House for Boys?"
Dib had cringed inwardly and stood up. He hated to be reminded of the
time where he had gone to that horrible place and faced a nightmare-
version of reality. Chunk pushed him back and he fell in his rear.
"Seeing pantless little green people yet," asked Poochy as he
pointing at Dib. Dib opened his mouth to answer something, but
nothing useful came to it, so he stared down, not answering.
`One would think that after seven years they would change, but they
don't. They never change'
Suddenly, his glasses were snatched away, and by the pattern of
colors on the shirt-shaped blur in front of him had, he guessed it
had been Torque Smacky.
`I wish Zim had eaten you instead of just stealing your organs.'
thought Dib sourly, not moving. Without his glasses he was as good as
blind, and trying to get his glasses back would end with him more
humiliated than usual.
"What? Nothing to say? No treatments? No cursing me with the chupaca-
" There was an odd `whoosh' sound and the clatter of glass hitting
the ground. Looking up he saw there was a pale green blur with red
eyes seemingly attached to Torque's midsection. Dib blinked slowly.
"I
liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike
youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" cooed the metallic voice he recognized as Gir, and
then there was a cracking sound and Torques yelp of pain.
"Hey Zim! Control your pet," said he in a funny high-pitched voice.
"Pets aren't even allowed in here," complained Zita. Then she
shrieked as MiniMoose attached to her purple hair, sucking on it as
it was a candy.
"Guaaaaaaaaaards," shrieked the girl as she ran in circles. The rest
of the teens resumed what they were doing; ignoring the shrieking
girl and moaning Torque sprawled in the floor as if they weren't
there.
Dib saw a green, black, and blue blur pick up something from the
floor, sneak a hand to his back producing something and point it to
what was in his hand. After a light buzzing sound he placed it in his
hands. They were his glasses. Putting them on he found himself
staring right into Zim's magenta eyes.
"You." started Dib, diverting his attention briefly to where Zita was
banging her head against a wall trying to pry the small moose off to
no use. ".You forgot your contacts," muttered Dib, looking down as
Zim blinked ".again."
It was true. Some days Zim forgot to put the contacts on, but no one
seemed to realize it. Eventually Dib had stopped pointing it out, as
no one seemed to care.
"I know," replied Zim. Dib looked up. It was the first words he had
directed him in over four years. There was a loud rumble above them
as thunder started sounding, but Zim's eyes were still fixed on his
brown ones.
"What happened Zim?" There, he had said it. He had asked The Question
that had been plaguing his mind for so long. Kids started going back
inside the facility as the bell rang and the first drops of water
fell over the earth, but Zim stared at the building and walked under
a tree, with Gir skipping behind him and singing the doom song. Dib
stared at the high skool sign and shook his head. Making up his mind
he followed Zim under the three and sat in one of the higher roots.
Zim was standing over one of them, and Dib thought he hadn't grown
one bit. "You should do something about your height," Dib said,
trying to make conversation. "They think it's weird."
"Weird," repeated Zim, picking up Gir from the floor and hugging him
to his chest so he wouldn't get wet. At the attention Gir hugged Zim
back in a much gentler way than when he had done the same to Torque,
making something between a giggle and a low rumbling noise. Dib
supposed was Gir's equivalent to purring.
"Yes." answered Dib, staring up at the leaves that protected them
from the rain. As if on cue, a drop landed over his right lens and he
took glasses off to clean them. "You have the same height you had
when we were kids. And the skin-condition excuse is getting old Zim;
you should have made something new, make adjustments to your
disguise. If you don't, conquering earth-"
" I won't," said Zim. For the second time in ages he found himself
making eye contact with Zim.
"You don't want earth anymore," asked Dib slowly.
The alien nodded.
"Why?" Zim lowered his gaze at the wet grass as the rain started
pounding harder.
"Because this planet is useless to the Irken race."
"What do you mean?"
Zim moved closer to him, making Dib feel awkward until he noticed
the slight burnt smell and saw a light stream of white smoke come
from Zim's right shoulder. Realizing the alien was merely trying not
to get wet, he quickly took off his trench coat and draped it over
the smaller alien's frame, making Zim look up at his brown eyes again.
"Think about it, Dib," said Zim in a low voice. "What would they
want from a planet as disgusting as this? What could they possibly
find useful in here? Just look at it. It's a disgusting big ball of
dirt floating close to the sun, nothing else! Covered with disgusting
mammals that only seem apt to be born, grow, destroy what they have,
breed and die. Not even suitable slaves! Everything in here is so
dangerous, so utterly disgusting and utterly revolting no Irken with
a bit of respect would come near three galaxies of here." The alien
extended a hand from under the trench coat and placed it under a few
leaves that were dropping a semi-constant stream of drops, several of
them hitting his palm and making the skin hiss, turn a paler color as
it started to peel off and let out the same odd burning smell and
white smoke.
Before Dib could react, Gir opened his eyes and grabbed Zim's wrist,
yanking the whole hand into his mouth in what provably was a childish
effort to kiss -or more like suck- the pain away and trying to mumble
around the appendage complains to his master's actions. MiniMoose
landed in Dib's scythe and joined Gir's mumblings with his own
squealing noises, as if agreeing with whatever Gir was trying to say.
"Not to mention it's 90% covered in the Irken equivalent to human
acid," finished him letting Gir suck his hand without complaining.
"Why were you sent to conquer it then," asked the teenager not quite
trusting Zim, yet his words forcing their way inside his mind to an
answer he wasn't ready to face yet.
"I wasn't sent here to conquer it. I was sent here to die."
This time Gir's opinion about whoever had done that was quite more
comprehensible than his previous speech. It seemed the both had
learned a lot more about human vocabulary than what Dib had
originally thought.
"Look Gir, a puddle," muttered Zim. Gir made a `GASP' sound,
dropping the alien's now drenched hand before being set on the ground
and running to land face-first in a big puddle of mud. He lowered the
hood of his dog suit and took out a pig plushy. He started singing at
it and rolling over the mud at the same time. MiniMoose let out a
squeal before joining him in the dirty waters.
Dib stared at Zim's hand, now with pale painful-looking blisters.
"That's what Tak sent you all those years ago?"
"No. She sent me a video. They held a convention to make fun of me."
Gir howled out, "DA BASTARDZ," and promptly continued rolling in the
mud.
Dib stared, bewildered at the robot before laying eyes on the alien
again. Zim's eyes were again glued to the ground, the trench coat
dropped over his head partially obscuring his features from the
human.
"That's why you helped me," asked Dib after a while. "Because they
are like them?"
"Because you aren't like them. Because you are the only person in
the whole stupid planet with half a brain and that might care .
because you are here, I guess."
Suddenly the sound of rain was too ominous for the human.
"I have been here for long time, but you never talked to me."
"I was tired of playing."
"Playing," repeated the human.
"You know what I mean."
Dib nodded.
"But you changed."
Dib nodded again.
"And why are you telling me this now," asked Dib.
Zim didn't answer. Instead he raised his hand again to catch more
droplets of water, but the teen grabbed his hand and pushed it down.
"Stop it."
"You changed and I didn't," whispered Zim, not meeting Dib's eyes
again. "It still hurts me and I can't deal with it. I tried and I
can't. I promised once to a friend I wouldn't never be like this and
now look at me. I'm a failure. A disgrace. Nothing at all."
"A friend," asked the human. Something wet and warm fall over his
hand. Drawing it nearer to his face he realized it was water with a
slight pink hue to it.
He looked down at Zim and to his surprise found him crying. He
didn't cry like humans, sobbing and hiccupping, just pinkish tears
simply fall from his eyes. He cried like he wasn't crying, just
standing there and looking down at his own tears as they hit the
floor. Dib let go of his wrist, not knowing what to do or say. Zim
stared at his free wrist and suddenly started laughing. Gir and
MiniMoose stared at each other before starting to laugh maniacally
themselves. Meanwhile, tears fell from Zim's eyes and down his cheeks
as he doubled over and laughed for the first time in over five years.
"And.and you, just like me, another disgrace, another idiot, and
they hate you, hate you and everything you say and everything you do.
And they despise you Dib. ALL of them despise you: what you say, what
you do, and what you think. Won't give you a chance either, you." He
paused to catch some breath and burst into another hysterical fir of
giggling. "You.you on your own planet and as alone as I am, if not
more, and they hate you because you are here.and they are ALL
STUPID!" Finally he sank to the floor his claws massaging the wig as
giggle escaped from his lips. "And you."
Dib stared at the two mechanical beings as they stared at their
master as if doubting what to do next.
".You aren't like them. That's the reason. The reason is you are, is
because.because you are different than them. So different."
Dib felt as if someone had hit him hard in the chest hard with a bag
full of bricks. All Zim had said, he had already heard it once; all
Zim was saying was true and had already been told to him.
The alien was giggling so hard Dib was afraid he wouldn't stop; he
was thinking what could he say to make the alien stop. The only thing
he could come with was, "The rain is stopping."
Zim ceased his giggling so suddenly the human thought he had
fainted, but Zim was now wiping his tears in silence.
Recovering from the shock of having such words repeated to him in an
almost identical circumstance and almost identical words, he shook
Zim's shoulder, the shorter creature staring up at him with the same
blank face, as if he had never been laughing and crying a few seconds
ago.
"I know," said Dib. He stood up and started walking away, following
the path to the facility's entrance.
"Are you coming or not," Dib inquired, not looking back to the alien.
He kept walking, not looking back, and knew Zim would follow him.
And surely enough, Zim stood from his sitting position and followed
the human.