When I first thought of this au there were four main ideas running through my brain: One, Membrane saying that Dib and Gaz's mother was very tall, two, Dib being obnoxiously good with Irken tech, and three, this scene right here. There are a few others, but they wont be showing up until later down the line. Or else I run the risk of everything happening TOO FAST. The fourth one is Gaz knowing everything from the start, but im kinda at a loss for how to start her and tak's arc just yet
Today was the day Dib turned 16- he had been looking forward to this birthday in particular, because his dad actually had time off from work! It was only for a few hours in the evening, but it was still enough. Dib had already decided that he would occupy himself that day with hacking into the hidden partition he discovered on his laptop just before Zim showed up. According to his dad, the partition was set up by his mom before she died, and unfortunately he was never told the access codes. (This was a lie; Professor Membrane knew the access codes by heart, but Dib did not need to know that. Dib did not need access to those files at all, as far as he was concerned.)
Between foiling Zim's plans, working on Tak's ship, and conducting his own paranormal investigations, it was hard for Dib to find any time to work on it until recently. Thanks to the Pizza Night Truce, Dib found it was easiest to work on hacking the partition during the lulls in conversation at Zim's base. Zim refused to be of any help, citing an unwillingness to deal with inferior hyumen technology, but Dib didn't really mind all that much- this was his project, his code to crack. In a way, it was the last link he had to his mom, and he wanted to be able to prove to her that he wasn't a failure, that he could do this, even if she was no longer around to witness his triumph.
Today's the day, Dib thought as he diligently worked on bypassing the security around the partition. Today's the day I make it in. He could feel it, he was so close. Years of working on and off were finally going to come to fruition. After several hours of constant work since sunrise, the computer let out a gentle Ping! as a way to inform Dib of his success.
"I did it," Dib said quietly. He could hardly believe it. He had hoped he would make it in today, but he never dreamed he actually would. No matter how confident he was, he knew his mom was one of the smartest scientist on the planet- she had to have been, for Dad to even look her way twice. And here he was, having cracked her code. "I did it!" he exclaimed again, if only to make it seem more real. Were he a few years younger, he would've stood up and did a victory dance around his room in that moment, but Dib was sixteen, practically an adult- he was above such childish expressions of joy. (Though that didn't stop him from throwing his arms in the air and giggling like a maniac for a few fleeting moments).
In excitement, Dib booted his computer into the partition. It loaded even faster than his main hard drive did, and once everything was up and running, he noticed a file in the bottom right corner.
It was a document titled 'Read Me' in Irken script. Dib could read the foreign characters fluently, as they were just a one to one cypher from the English alphabet (how that happened, Dib didn't even want to think about). Curiosity peaked, Dib opened the document first, and began to read the blocky Irken letters that displayed on his screen. With each line, he felt his blood boil, rage building up inside him. There was only one person who could be responsible for such a cruel, heartless, joke. There was only one person who knew he was working on cracking the partition, and there was only one person who had both access to his computer, and the skills to hack the partition first. Zim.
Rage building to a crescendo inside him, Dib packed up his laptop and stormed out the door on the way to Zim's base. It was only 12 in the afternoon, and Dib had foiled Zim's plot last Tuesday, so there was no reason for the little bug to be expecting a visit from his nemesis.
How could Zim be so insufferably inconsiderate? The space monster knew how important this was to Dib, knew that this was all he had left of his Mom. And yet he had to go and ruin it. And for what? A petty joke? Dib thought Zim was better than that, thought they'd moved on from cruel pranks. He thought that the only reason they fought any more was as a way of testing each other, not to truly cause harm, emotional or otherwise. Apparently, Dib had thought wrong.
He reached his enemy's base in record time, nimbly dodging the security gnomes on his way up to the front door- he was in no mood for childish games right now.
"ZIM!" he banged on the door three times, and waited, fuming. He knew his enemy would answer- this was a break in the routine, and Dib knew Zim well enough to know that a break in the routine would be investigated. Of course, Zim should have known this was coming. Did the idiot think Dib would just swallow the lies he loaded onto Dib's computer? If yes then Zim was stupider than Dib thought. For a fully grown adult, Zim could be so vindictive and childish. Perhaps that was why his leaders sent him on a mission at the far reaches of space- he was too annoying to allow anywhere closer.
Zim cracked open the door, his disguise hastily thrown on, and glanced up at the human boy on his stoop. "What?" he angrily barked. Zim had been in the middle of something important- and now here he was, being interrupted by his idiotic nemesis.
Dib stormed past Zim into his base before throwing himself down on the couch and angrily opening his laptop on the coffee table. Zim just stood in the door, dumbfounded by Dib's forwardness as Dib gestured to the open computer and shouted, "Explain," with such malice that it left no room for argument.
Zim cautiously closed the door, and widened one eye to indicate his confusion. He crossed his arms with all the arrogance his little body could muster. "It's your styooopid earth computer," he replied. "What about it?" Zim didn't understand why he should be explaining to Dib what was right in front of him. They both knew he brought it over to every one of their inane little meet-ups.
Dib groaned, anger turning to frustration. "Not the computer," he said, continuing to gesture at the open screen. "What's on the computer!"
Zim casually stalked over to the couch and plopped down next to Dib, just close enough that he could lean over and read the human's monitor. Whatever it was, it had Dib worked up in a tizzy, and Zim wasn't really sure how much he liked that. After all, only Zim was allowed to make Dib angry.
Pulled up on the screen was a document written entirely in Irken script. Zim found this unusual, because even though through some miracle English and Irken were exactly the same, their written alphabet was completely different, and Earth computers had to be heavily modified to display the blocky script correctly.
With great care, Zim silently read the text displayed on the screen.
Smallest Dib,
If you are reading this then I suppose congratulations are in order- you have successfully broken into the partition on your computer. Even if you personally were not the one to break the code, the fact that you even had the resources to try is commendable, and I regret that I am not there to witness such a feat.
By this point I can only assume I have been dead for many years, which I deeply regret. I sincerely doubt you'll break into this during the week I have left, and even if you could I know for a fact Irken script is far below your reading level, little one. I can only hope your father continues your lessons on the written form of your mother tongue. Though Irkens are not known for raising their young, I would be lying if I didn't admit I had a fondness for you or your clutchmate. Externally, the two of you may be human smeets, but you were both mine all the same.
Your father and I worked very hard to create you, and I can only hope he is doing well in my absence. When you were younger, I taught you a few of the things found in the databases on this partition, but I know that you still have so much to learn. I hope that you use this information to become the strategist I know you are capable of becoming.
It is disappointing that I will not be there with you when you crush your first enemy, and I will not be there to take you or the Gaz-smeet out among the stars, where you both belong. I hope that terrestrial life is treating you kindly, and I hope that your clutchmate is protecting you from all but herself and your own folly, as she was designed to. It is not the Irken way to merely hope for things, but I know I do not have long enough to guarantee that things work out the way they should.
Dib-smeet, grow tall. Do what your father and I could not in my life time and build a ship to take you to faraway places- you deserve at least that much. Live your life in a way that no human or Irken could dream of, bound to no place, just as you are bound to no race.
Your mother, Tallest Miyuki.
Once he was done reading, Zim glanced up from the document, contact covered eyes narrowed in Dib's direction. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked. The document on the computer had cleared nothing up- in fact , he was even more confused on why Dib was mad at him. Dib was the one who was slandering the name of his deceased mentor with made up fairy tales.
Dib matched the alien's glare. "Oh very funny, Zim, play dumb all you want, but this is too far."
"Too far!?" Zim stood from his place on the couch, throwing his hands in the air and accenting his speech with forceful stomps in an attempt to convey the sheer fury he was feeling. "Zim wasn't the one who desecrated the name of his dead mentor for a childish prank!"
In response, Dib stood up, lording his height over Zim in a way he knew would tick the alien off. "Are you saying I did this?" He huffed immaturely, Zim's display making him feel eleven years old again. "You knew how important this partition was," he jabbed a finger at the alien's chest before continuing. "You knew this was all I had left of her!" Dib crossed his arms and stood up even straighter as Zim curled in on himself in an expression of unspeakable rage. "Talk about desecration."
"Urgh, of all the idiotic," Zim clenched his fists at his sides. "What does ZIM care about your idiot human mother! Zim wouldn't be caught dead touching your filthy computer, and yet you blame me for spouting up such lies? I would never dishonor Tallest Miyuki that way!"
Dib turned on his heel, "Aha!" he said, pointing down at the green bug, "So it was you!"
"Zim said no such thing!" He could feel his antennae twitching under his wig. Why did he even bother with a disguise to answer the door anyway? It was only Dib, and it wasn't like the neighbors hadn't seen him out of disguise before. Zim was just glad they were too stupid to notice.
"Then how did you know it said Tallest Miyuki, huh, Zim?" Dib looked smug, like a lawyer catching a defendant in a lie.
"Because I read your idiotic note, pathetic stink-beast!" Zim screeched. It was a good thing the base's walls were sound proof.
"My note?" Dib said indignantly. "Why would I write that useless drivel?"
Zim huffed. "Well if you didn't write it, and Zim didn't write it, then who did? Certainly not Tallest Miyuki! Which means you had to have written it! What other explanation is there!?"
Dib paused once Zim's words sunk in. If what he's saying was true, then that would mean… Mean what, exactly? But there was no way. His dad didn't even believe in aliens. Zim could be out of his disguise, literally orbiting Dib's head in the voot crusier and Professor Membrane still wouldn't acknowledge the existence of aliens. And now Dib was expected to believe that his dad let one live in the house? Ridiculous! Dib started laughing, slowly at first, at the sheer ludicrousy of it all.
He sat down on the couch, all the anger and frustration falling off of him in waves. Ha ha .It was like a dam broke, and all at once Dib started cackling madly on the couch of his best enemy, his worst friend.
"What?" Zim asked, confused at Dib's sudden mood swings. This was the kind of thing he'd expect from himself not Dib. "What's so funny?"
He walked up to Dib, who was still ignoring Zim in his fit of laughter, and started poking the human in the shoulder. "Hey," he said, "Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey." Each word was accented by another sharp jab to Dib's arm.
Eventually, Dib was able to take a deep breath and regain his composure, but not before Zim had stabbed at his arm seven more times. "You didn't write this, Zim," he explained.
"That's what Zim has been trying to tell you." Zim crossed his arms, satisfied at having the child's attention, but still not understanding what could possibly be so hilarious. Maybe Dib really was as insane as everyone said he was.
"I didn't write this," Dib continued.
Zim quirked an unseen antenna. "Let's say I believe you- which I don't," he started. "That would make your," Zim shuddered, "Momdroid-" Zim couldn't even get out the words, it was too unfathomable. "That's absolutely ridiculous!"
That sent Dib into another peal of laughter. "I know, right?" Dib exclaimed.
Understanding the hilarity of the situation sent Zim into a fit of cackling alongside Dib. "You? A hybrid of-" Zim couldn't even finish the thought before another wave side splitting laugher hit them both.
"I know!" Dib found the idea equally farfetched. He was as human as anyone else. He could barely breathe, he was laughing so hard.
Zim braced himself on the table to keep from falling over. "Computer!" Zim managed to bark out, "Run a diagnostic scan on the human," he gestured to Dib without looking up, his wig slowly sliding out of position as a result of his doubled over posture.
A large coiled wire descended from the ceiling and began to scan Dib. This only caused him to laugh even louder- what was Zim expecting to gain from the scan? Conformation that Dib was human? Something they both knew, something they both had known since Dib was eleven!
"Scan Completed," the computer dryly relayed.
Zim calmed himself just enough to demand the computer print the results, which he quickly snatched from a cable that had snaked down to deliver them. He wiped a tear from his eye so he could read the printout clearly, but what he saw caused all the mirth to drain from his body. After noticing Zim's quick change in mood, Dib sobered up as well.
"What's wrong?" Dib asked, not so much out of genuine concern for his nemesis, but more out of worry for what that little scan said about him. He expected Zim to return to his usual boisterous self at any moment, Ah Ha! Zim would say. You fell for my BRILLIANT trick! But no such proclamation came. Dib straightened up as Zim moved to sit down on the couch, staring off into space.
"Go home, Dib," Zim whispered. Of course, whispering for Zim was the normal volume for most people, so Dib had no problems hearing him.
"What?" Dib asked, confusion coloring his voice.
"Get out," Zim replied. "Zim needs space to think without your enormous head clogging up my base."
Dib opened his mouth to ask if everything was alright, but he was cut off by Zim's sharp bark of Leave. Now! Dib decided that it wasn't a battle worth fighting, so he grabbed his computer and stalked out the door.
Dib knew Zim was moody, but jeez, overreact much? What could be so surprising about a bioscan that proved him to be 100%, unquestionably… human… Realization hit Dib like a ton of bricks. The only reason Zim would have clammed up so quickly would be if… If Dib wasn't human... If the mystery prank letter was actually legitimate, and not something cooked up by either Zim or an unknown third party…
But that couldn't be. Dib's mom wasn't even named Miyuki! At least, he was pretty sure… Now that he really thought about it, he wasn't sure if he even knew his mother's name. Dibs mood was somber, a far cry from the pure rage he felt not even an hour ago. He, like Zim, needed time to think. If the note on the computer was legitimate, then that would mean everything he ever thought to be true was a lie.
Zim, for his part, wasn't really taking the news much better. After Dib left, he threw off his wig and violently tore out his contacts, not taking the usual care in their removal. The Dib-human wasn't human. What did that even mean? That would explain the little inconsistencies in his biology after Zim learned a bit more about the average human, but Zim had just assumed that was some sort of accidental mutation, not a purposeful component of his being.
And if what Dib's little note said was true, that he wasn't just anyone's offspring. He was Tallest Miyuki's. But Dib was only, what, 16, he said? And Tallest Miyuki had been dead for well over 50 years. Zim had killed her, albeit accidently. That meant there was a time when his mentor was still alive in an unknown part of the galaxy. And Zim had done nothing.
Tallest Miyuki was Zim's mentor. The closest Irken equivalent to human parents. And all this time, Tallest Miyuki was out here, playing house with a bunch of monkeys. Zim would have to do more tests before he could accept that Dib's DNA donor was indeed Tallest Miyuki, but for the time being Zim could admit that there was more to Dib than he initially thought.
In a way, it was a relief to Zim. Irken genetics made Dib a member of a superior race, which made him an even more worthy rival for Zim. For a while, Zim was worried that he was losing his edge. What kind of invader was he if he could find an admirable challenge in an inferior life form? But Dib wasn't so inferior, wasn't so weak. Which meant Zim could push him harder, was obligated to push him harder. What kind of nemesis would he be if he didn't? Not a very good one, that was for sure.
Dib ended up holed away in his room for the rest of the day until Professor Membrane called him down for cake. Not really expecting an answer, Dib mustered enough courage to ask his dad what Mom's name was.
To his surprise, Membrane replied, "Miyuki. Her name was Miyuki." While Dib was glad for the rare straight answer to a question concerning his mother, he wasn't sure if it put him at ease. Miyuki wasn't exactly a common name. It could've been any other name, but… for the first time since he broke into the partition, Dib admitted to himself that there must be some truth to what he found there.
same as before, if there's anything in particular you'd like to see, send me a pm or toss it in a review. im kinda terrible at coming up with filler. for those of you reading this in the far off future, this is still relevant. if it's ever not, ill edit it out of here. hello, 2016. yes im looking at you.
also also i found out i can go to invadercon iii next weekend wow so exciting. cripes long a/ns are annoying IM annoying. bleh, ill get outta ur hair.