Note: Okay, I've seen a lot of Self-Insertion going on in these fan-fics (and who can blame the people who write them? Who wouldn't want to meet the Zim cast after all!), so I figured "what the hell, I'll write one too." The difference here is I added a little twist to my story, which you'll find out.
Disclaimer: No one reads these things anyway, so why bother typing it? All right, all right… sheesh~ Jhonen Vasquez is the genius behind Invader Zim, not me, though in an alternate dimension I do believe Zim was created by a rabid cow. Still, I don't own any rights to it and blah blah blah all stuff reserved to Jhonen and the cow, may his glorious moos continue to sound out across the land of purple midgets.
Beware of: Mild swearing (though later it may turn into not-so-mild swearing since I do tend to swear an awful lot when no one's around. Heh heh, I don't know WHY I do, just a reaction I guess.)
The moment was drawing near. I could feel it. My hands twisted around one another in nervous anticipation, the sweat beginning to bead on my brow, the crazy drumming of my heart echoing throughout my head filled with thoughts of anxious excitement. Soon. It was so close. Ending credits flashed across the TV screen accompanied by annoying Butt-Martian music. Now my long nails dug into the soft arms of the chair and I leaned forward… waiting… Waiting… WAITING! I could feel the tension gathering in my back, feel the breath halt in my lungs, the pounding in my head rising to a deafening crescendo … Then I felt a little thirsty.
After I'd come back from the kitchen, I plopped back down and popped open my Diet Coke, keeping my eyes trained on the bright TV screen through my tentative sips lest I miss the slightest thing. Cartoon faces began popping up on screen. The Sign! IT WAS TIME! My hand shot for the remote, index finger poised and itching, hovering just above the RECORD button. Finally the word INVASION lit up the pixels with bright red letters, and I eagerly pushed the button and watched the little red circle start to pulsate on the VCR display.
"Victory!" I squealed with delight and bounced up and down on the springy cushion, lost in the beautiful raptures of the booming theme song.
Yes, it was another typical Friday night with Invader Zim, the only show that could have dragged me out of my nice room with all my art supplies, and downstairs where the satellite dish provided the only cable hook-up. Of course the night was made all the better by the fact that my parents were out of town and I had half a pepperoni pizza resting in my tummy. I leaned back contentedly and set the remote to the side; I wouldn't be needing it again until the commercials came on. As I followed my favorite, little green alien's antics on screen, my eyes drifted downward to my new shirt where the tiny invader was pictured frozen in a maniacal laugh for all time with the logo Invader Zim hanging overhead. I smiled down at him, as if we shared some sort of secret together and drew my attention back to the action on the TV set. Now Dib had made his appearance and I was sure it would be a good episode. After all, Dib was my favorite character.
A loud crash outside jolted me abruptly out of my little TV sphere. My ears perked up and I listened for the sound again. Sure enough, the rumbling crash rattled the house again and my throat suddenly went dry.
"Dammit," I groaned, "It's starting."
All day long the clouds had been hanging low and black, threatening to open up at any moment, but since it had made it all the way until night without so much as a drizzle I'd assumed the problem had passed. Apparently I was wrong I thought annoyed as the sounds of the first, fat raindrops splattered against the aluminum siding. Huffing, I flopped back in the armchair and decided to ignore the brewing storm and immerse myself with the sights and sounds of my favorite show. But me being the big chicken that I am when it comes to thunderstorms, I couldn't help but nervously glance every so often out the crack between the closed curtains and I noticed what a tremendous amount of lightning seemed to be crackling down from the clouds.
Shivering, I forced myself to look at the TV. Zim was chasing Dib around, firing at him with some sort of laser. I laughed out loud, relaxing a bit in spite of the thunder which seemed to be growing louder, but I shoved all thoughts of the storm assertively out of my mind and narrowed my eyes in concentration as the animated foes tried to get the better of one another.
Another few minutes went by. Now Dib was standing directly facing Zim, the two of them in a kind of showdown. I leaned forward and arched my back, enjoying the episode immensely.
BOOOOOMMMMM!!!
It felt as if a bomb had gone off. There was a brilliant flash of light and every single thing in the house shook as if in an earthquake, and I could hear the glasses rattling on their shelves all the way in the kitchen. My heart froze in my chest and I screamed as the TV began to fuzz and flicker violently. The lights also flashed on and off, on and off, then finally stayed off for good. Now my heart was thundering and I began to pant, not realizing that I hadn't bothered to breathe in the last twenty seconds.
"What was that!?" came a familiar voice.
"Huh?" I looked up at the TV, my eyes wide. Had I just heard what I thought I did?
On the screen, Dib and Zim seemed to have forgotten their spat and were gazing around in confusion.
"Did you hear that?" Dib inquired again. "Where'd that noise come from?"
I stared at the animated pair intensely, my knees suddenly feeling weak. They heard the thunder my mind stated matter-of-factly, but the second I realized what I was thinking I shook my head and let out a nervous laugh. No, no, that's impossible. They must be reacting to something that happened on the show, which I missed because I'm such a wimp when it comes to a little rain. I giggled unsurely again and turned back to the flashing pictures on the screen. But wait a second… the lights are all out. So why didn't the TV go off?
Dib and Zim still hadn't moved and I waited for them to start tearing into each other again, but Dib looked around, his features twisting in thought. "Seriously, Zim, do you know what that was?"
His voice. I'd heard it on our TV a million times, but now it seemed louder. Clearer. Closer.
Zim gritted his teeth and squeezed the handle of his laser. "Quit stalling, Earth Stench! You're only delaying the inevitable moment when I blast you into little bits of Dib dust!"
Dib wouldn't back down. "Zim, would you get a clue! Something's seriously wrong. I've never heard anything like that before."
"It was just a jet engine or something," he growled, "now stop trying to distract me with your pitiful imaginary sounds."
I couldn't be hearing it, but I was. There was no mistaking it now; their voices were so clear it was as if they were standing in the same room with me. I swallowed hard, my brain frantically trying to come up with a logical reason why the TV was still on when the power was out and why the characters in the TV seemed to be talking about a thunderclap neither of them could have possibly heard. It was then that I noticed something odd; there was a strange band of green light glowing around the outer edge of the TV screen. As I stared at the soft, phosphorescent light, it seemed to swirl into itself like the eye of a hurricane. I gazed deep into it… hypnotized.
Without warning there was an enormous explosion.
The television suddenly released a blinding blast of light, which sent me hurdling backwards where I landed painfully on the couch despite the soft cushions. Everything went dark. I groaned, dazed and completely caught off guard by what had just happened, my eyes squeezed shut in agony at landing so hard on my back. I managed to lift my head and for a moment of pure horror I was sure I would look down to find my skin had been shredded by thousands of shards of bloody, broken, flying glass. I dared to slowly open one eye and, though I was scared to death, glanced down. To my incredible relief there was not a scratch on me.
It was a mistake sitting up. The second I did my whole head felt like it would explode and I cried out in pain. After a moment, the pain subsided and I felt like I could probably stand up if I was very careful. Testing my footing, I clumsily staggered over towards the TV to survey the damage. Even in the engulfing blackness I could see it. The television sat there, same as ever. No gaping hole in the screen. No shattered glass. Nothing.
"What the hell?!" I felt as if I would faint and had to grip the coffee table to keep from collapsing. I thought maybe the light (or rather lack of it) was playing tricks on me, but clearly the TV was completely intact. "Then where did that explosion come from?" I rambled to myself, my voice shaking.
Something moaned in response.
My eyes popped wide open, my heart jumping into my throat. Somebody was in the room with me.
"Who's there!?" I shouted trying my best to keep a steady voice.
The moaning came again. A male's voice. "W-what happened…? Where am I?" it whimpered softly.
Following the source of the voice my eyes fell on a mangled heap of black piled directly in front of the TV.
I gasped as the heap began to move and take on a more familiar form. The dark figure sat up, silhouetted in the dim illumination cast from the emergency light mounted on the side of the house, and my jaw dropped practically to the floor, my eyes bugging out of their sockets in disbelief. Oh my God!
The boy shook his head, adjusted the large round glasses he wore and smoothed out his wrinkled trench coat, then, perhaps sensing my presence for the first time, froze and turned around slowly and cautiously to face me.
Somehow I managed to take a step forward. My eyes wide and filled with amazement, I breathed in a voice that shook not with fear, but with fascination.
"…D-Dib?"
A/N: Ok, so hopefully you made it past the first part with out any major brain damage. This really isn't anything too special, but I just wanted to post something while I'm working on a different story cuz… well, I just felt like posting something and this was just sitting in my folder so, you know. I don't even care if anyone reads it, but if you do… THANK YOU! WAHHHH!! :cries and hugs the dog: Um, sorry if that scared you eh heh ^~^;;