ASToF

Arm: Hey, look, it's chapter two! And major Dib-angst! It has return! Yay!

Leg: You know the phrase "You hurt the ones you love," don't you? Well, connect Arm to that statement. Now you suddenly understand why we pick on Dib so much.

Arm: ::smiles:: Well, what can I say? He's just so easy to manipulate!

Leg: ::sighs:: Nevermind… Go ahead and read, people!

A Strange Twist of Fate: Chapter Two: Untitled.

Zim finished up reporting back to the Tallest that he was back on Earth. They believed everything he told them, the fools. If only they new that he was going to sit there and do nothing. Jazz had spoken to him too, and he knew what Zim's true intentions on Earth were. Zim didn't want to be apart of the Irken Army anymore. He had realized that taking over different planets and using them for their own pleasures without thinking about the original inhabitants at all was wrong, and he wanted no part in it.

Zim sighed. He knew the Tallest only gave a damn about him now because he had grown remarkably during his time on Earth. He was one of the tallest Irkens in the universe now, all because of some mysterious growth spurt that had struck him about two years ago. He realized that height was also a stupid way to judge people, so was race and physical differences. Both Irk and Earth judged people like that, but Earth was different about it. Earthen life was easier, like the fact you weren't assigned a job the second you were born, but you prepared for the job you wanted through skool.

Earth had more freedom than Irk did, that was the main reason why he liked the planet so much. You could almost do whatever the hell you wanted on Earth, and Zim really liked that. It also had a lot of rules, but they weren't as outrageous as the ones on Irk. And the fact that the rulers on Irk were determined by their height sucked. What did tall have to do with anything anyway?

Zim shook his head. He could wonder about that later, right now all he wanted to do was think about Dib. How could they go from hating each other to being bestfriends like that? That was something strange, but Zim didn't care. They were so close to one another underneath that umbrella and Dib didn't object to it at all. It was almost as if Dib had enjoyed it as much as he did.

Zim didn't know what came over him, but he felt as if he could trust Dib much like he trusted Jazz. Maybe they could finally become friends, like he wanted. Zim also could not believe that Dib had missed him as well. Maybe Dib cared about him almost as much as he cared about him. Who knows, becoming Dib's friend will be hard, especially since he didn't have much practice in the field of friendship.

Dib looked up at the ceiling of his room, deep in thought as he lay on his bed. So, Zim had missed him while he was gone? Dib would have thought that would have been impossible if he hadn't missed Zim as well. But why did he miss Zim? And why did Zim miss him? They were rivals! They were supposed to be happy that they hadn't seen each other, not missing one another.

Sighing, Dib got up and went to grab his journal. He hadn't written in the damn thing in over two months. Dib reread the first entry, and read up until the last one. Everything seemed to mention Zim in someway. There was a pause in a few entries, like he wanted to write something, but he couldn't. Like he knew something, but be just didn't know what it was. His heart told him it had something to do with Zim. Like he was really obsessed with Zim, and in possibly more ways than one.

He didn't understand it. How come he can't even write down what he really thought of Zim? All he wrote of Zim was that he hated him, but that, in itself, was a lie. Dib never really hated Zim; he just hated what Zim had planned to do or had done. Dib knew that he could never truly hate Zim, even right from the beginning that September morning when Dib first met him.

Dib hated the fact that he couldn't hate Zim back then, and continued to do so up until eighth grade. Dib had then realized that it was a good thing that he didn't really hate Zim. Hate, like love, was a consuming emotion. It needed your whole body and soul to feel it strongly, and it took a lot of your energy. There was a difference between the two emotions, however. Hate you had some kind of control over, but love, love just struck you at anytime and place, completely knocking you out of your normal world into one of confusion. (Arm: Damn, where did that come from? That's way too deep, even coming from us…)

Dib was always told that it didn't matter how you fell for, as long as you accepted it in the end. But could he accept the truth? Could he actually say, just to himself and no one else, that he believed he fell for the one person who used to be the bane of his existence? No, not yet was the answer he expected, but he didn't find the answer within himself. He would have to do some more soul searching, it seemed.

But there was another question, one that even Dib himself did not know about. It was if he wanted to say it to himself, if he could say it to himself without feeling ashamed to feel it. Was Dib ready to admit that he could possibly love Zim? Did Dib want to open his eyes to the truth?

Dib shook his head. He had to tell himself the truth sooner or later, or he'd go crazy. He believed he could say it to himself without feeling ashamed. No, he didn't just believe, he knew he could do it, and right now, if he wanted to open his eyes to the truth. "I, Dib Membrane, love Zim," Dib whispered to himself as he wrote it in his journal, just to prove it to himself he could actually do it. He smiled to himself, and realized that was easier to admit than he thought.

Zim sighed contentedly. He was back on Earth, he might be able to be Dib's friend, and Gir was actually sitting still and not getting in the way. Could life get any better? He asked himself as he leaned back in his chair. He just hoped that no one else wanted to invade Earth and realize he wasn't doing his job. He remembered the last time someone else tried taking Earth from him.

Zim's only fear right now was being discovered by the Tallest that he wasn't doing his job. He knew they could believe everything and anything he would say, but he had to be careful. IF he sat there too long on the planet without having any "progress," the Tallest would catch on. He had to somehow pretend to look for Earth's weakness, while keeping the Armada from coming. The last thing he needed was having the Earth invaded when he told himself he wasn't going to do so.

Zim imagined the look of betrayal Dib would give him if that had happened. The last thing he would need after that was to have Dib hate his existence. Zim thought out the whole ordeal, and hoped that it would never happen. It would be the worst thing to ever happen to him, especially since it would automatically shatter the delicate start of a friendship he and Dib had.

Zim knew though that he wanted to be more than friends with Dib, deep down. He was having a hard time saying it to himself, though. It was almost like his whole existence wanted to keep it hidden away. Maybe it was because it was the Law of the Invaders not to fall for anyone on the planet they were invading, and some part of him still wanted to follow the rules of the Irken Army.

All of his training and tests for planetary take over remained with him, even if he didn't want it to. To an Invader, your training is the hardest thing to forget, and you are sworn to abide by the rules without exceptions. Zim remembered when he had watched a public execution of an Invader that was shorter than he at the time was because he had broken the most important rule to the Invaders: which was not to lie to the Tallest. Which was another reason why he hoped that the Tallest would never find out about his true intentions for being back on Earth; they would hunt him down and kill him if they did.

Zim shivered at that. The way they killed up was more horrible than any of the ways humans killed their worst criminals. And if he were to be executed on Earth, the humans would take his body and do horrible things to it once the Tallest was done with it. He didn't want his body to be violated like that when he wasn't alive. Zim just hoped that the Tallest would never find out about his true intentions.

Zim looked at the time and decided to go to bed. He was going to have to wake up early to go to skool. He hoped that Mrs. Sunshine would be less cheerful, somehow.

Dib looked outside to see if Gaz would be home soon. She'd been at her boyfriend's house for a long time. He was starting to worry. She was never at Rick's house this long. Dib walked away from the window and slipped into bed. He would get on her case about it tomorrow when he saw her like a normal big brother would.

Dib woke up later that night because the phone began to ring. Of course, he didn't know that was the reason he had woken up until the phone had rung for a second time. He got up grouchily and headed for the phone, silently cursing the individual for calling his house so late at night.

"Hello, Membrane residence, Dib speaking," Dib said as he yawned.

"Dib? Dib, you're never going to kill me for telling you this, but--" a voice said rather feverishly.

"Rick?" Dib interrupted. "Slow down man, I can't understand you," Dib ordered as he suppressed a yawn.

"Dib, Gaz walked home over two hours ago, and got hit by a car," Rick stated, his voice cracking with tears just slightly.

Dib shook his head as if to keep the words away from his ears. "What?" Dib asked finally. He could feel his grip loosen around the phone.

"Look, I know you're tired. Just get over to the hospital as fast as you can, all right? I'll explain everything when you get here. And don't other getting your father, he's already here," Rick stated before he hung up the phone.

Dib mumbled something before putting the phone back in its cradle. He was feeling very…very…he didn't know what he was feeling. It was as if he wasn't feeling anything at all, like he was in a state of shock.

Dib put on a pair of pants, slipped into his trench coat, and put on his boots. He grabbed his car keys, and the weight of Rick's words finally hit him. "Oh god, let her be alright," Dib mumbled as he jumped into his car. He couldn't believe it, his sister was hit by a car, and by the way Rick's voice was cracking over the phone, it was pretty bad.

Dib calmly drove his car over to the hospital. He wondered why Gaz just didn't get a ride home from Rick like she normally did. He silently cursed the driver who had hit his sister. He hoped that she would be all right. His eyes suddenly grew wide as he felt like he needed to remember something. He shut his eyes when he made it to a red light and tried to focus his thoughts.

Memories of when he was little were vague, like when his mother died. He had gotten amnesia due to the same accident that had killed his mother. He was never able to recall the accident, until now. Before he was only able to remember flashes of light and indistinguishable voices. Now he was suddenly able to remember everything.

Dib pulled the car into the parking lot of the hospital and killed the engine. He needed to relax. The memory of the accident came back to him all too quickly. He shut his eyes again and remembered it all in crystal clear detail.

It was a cold, winter day and his mother was driving him home from pre-skool. They were driving down one of the more dangerous roads in his neighborhood, and she was explaining that he should be wearing his seatbelt. She had turned her head to look at him, only for a second to watch him put on his seatbelt, and that was all it took for someone to t-bone them. He remembered the sound of metal crushing metal ringing in his ears as his mother screamed in pain, and then died. The next thing he knew was that he slammed into the passenger side door and was knocked out.

He remembered all the voices clearly. He had woken up in the ambulance, and the paramedics had asked him a bunch of questions that he couldn't answer for the life of him. He couldn't remember the crash or anything else that had happened before that. The only thing he had remembered was his name, his sister's name, and who his father was. The doctors had explained to his father how lucky he had been to be still alive.

Dib shook his head. That was the only time he had ever saw his father cry. His father had never been that depressed until his mother died. He hoped that his sister would not be a repeat of his mother. He got out of the car and headed for the entrance of the hospital.

Rick had met up with him the second he walked into the hospital. Rick's green eyes were rimmed with tears and his black hair was messy due to his running his hands through his hair. To say the least, he looked awful.

"How bad is she, Rick?" Dib asked him as he looked at him.

Rick looked down at the ground and bit his lip. "The doctors say she has a very slim chance of making it through the night, Dib," Rick replied with difficulty. Suddenly Rick broke down; he just suddenly collapsed into the nearest chair in a wave of tears. "I should have driven her home. This woulda never happened if I had driven her home. I'm so sorry, Dib," Rick mumbled as he burst into a new waves of tears.

Dib sat down in the seat next to him. "Rick, it's not your fault. You didn't know that this would happen," Dib told him, trying to fight off his own tears.

Rick looked up at Dib. "You're not…mad at me?" Rick asked.

"No, no, of course not. I'm pissed at the person who didn't pay attention to where he was going and hit my sister," Dib explained.

Rick sat up in his chair. "Well, you're going to be pissed at your father if that's the case," Rick told him, hate now very evident in his voice and eyes.

Dib looked at Rick as if he was crazy. Then what Rick had said finally hit his half-working brain. "My father was the one who hit my sister?!" Dib asked in major shock.

Rick looked over at Dib and noticed how ticked he truly was. He had never seen Dib look the angry before. "Yeah, you're father. He hit her straight on," Rick said with malice very evident in his voice.

"Where is my father?" Dib asked Rick in a deadly voice.

"He was in Gaz's room, the last I saw him. Here, I'll show you the way there," Rick offered as he walked down the hall. They walked in silence. Dib just could not believe that his own father was the one who had hit his sister. "Here you are," Rick said as he pointed to Gaz's room.

Dib walked into the room and instantly forgot about being angry with his father. "Gaz," Dib whispered as he walked up to her. "Oh, god, Gaz, oh man, look at you," Dib continued to whisper as he grabbed her hand.

"Dib?" Gaz asked shakily.

"Yeah, it's me Gaz. Rick told me what happened. I'm so sorry Gaz," Dib stated, tearing up as he squeezed her hand.

"Dib, I'm going to live through this, even if it kills me," Gaz said in a weak voice.

"I know you will, Gaz," Dib said with a small smile.

"And if you touch my games, you will die," she threatened.

"I completely understand, Gaz," Dib told her. He wondered if Gaz had any idea that her chanced of living were slim to none. He didn't have the heart to tell her that, though. "I'm going to go talk to dad, okay?" Dib asked as he let go of her hand. "Don't you dare go dying on me while I'm away," Dib ordered.

"I won't, Dib," Gaz told him as she closed her eyes. It was just too much work for her to stay awake anymore, she needed to rest.

Dib left his sister and went to search for his father. He walked out of Gaz's room and ran into a doctor. "Excuse me, but did Professor Membrane walk by here?" he asked politely.

"Yeah, he went outside. He said he needed a smoke," the doctor replied. "Why do you want to speak to him?" the doctor asked out of curiosity.

"I'm his son," Dib replied before heading outside the doors. He looked around and spotted his father leaning up against a pole, a cigarette in his hand. "Dad!" Dib shouted at his father. He ran over to him and glared at his father for all he was worth.

"Dib. Look, I'm sorry about your sister. I-I-I just didn't see here! I didn't know she was there until it was too late! I tried to stop!" Membrane protested weakly under Dib's glare. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry?! Do you think that saying 'sorry' is going to excuse you from being a reckless driver and killing your own daughter? Do you dad? Because if you do, let me tell you that it will not cut it. I will never forgive you for what you have done to Gaz, ever. Don't you even care about her? She sitting there, in her room, dying as we speak! Shouldn't you be in there, trying to say 'sorry' just like you told me?" Dib asked angrily. He could feel his hands ball into fists, and he so wanted to punch his father.

"I already poured my heart out, saying sorry to her, Dib! I can't do anything else for her now!" Membrane yelled back at him.

"My ass, dad! You're a scientist! You could at least be trying to help the doctors! Damnit dad, don't you even feel guilty for hitting your own damn daughter?" Dib asked.

"Of course I feel guilty! That's why I'm smoking my first cigarette in seventeen years, Dib!" Membrane said.

Rick ran up besides Dib, he could see that Dib was going to get ready to punch his father, so he held Dib's arm down. "I hate to interrupt, but the doctor wants to see you both," Rick said in a pained voice.

Dib glared at his father for one last time before turning away from him. He followed Rick and glared at the ground. He knew his father was just as upset as he was about all this, but he was just asking for that.

"Membrane, Dib, we're sorry to inform you that young Gaz Membrane has died. We did all that we could to save her, but our efforts just weren't enough. Once again, we're very sorry," the doctor said in a grave voice.

Dib felt his knees get very weak. He sunk down onto the floor and shook his head as he cried. His only sister was gone for good. He just wanted to take up, to be lifted up from his own personal hell. His father bent down and lightly touched Dib's arm, but Dib moved out from underneath his father's grip. He wanted nothing to do with his father.

Dib then got off the floor, said good night to everyone, and walked numbly to his car. He opened the driver side door and got in, and cried the whole way home. He wasn't even going to get up and go to skool tomorrow. There was just no way he could face the student body after this.

Dib hoped that his father would leave him alone and not even other talking to him. As far as he was concerned, he never wanted to speak to his father again, nor did he want to see him. Dib slammed the car door shut and walked into his house, slamming the front door to it as well. He walked numbly to his room, collapsed on his bed, and cried himself to sleep. He hoped that tomorrow would be a better day, somehow.

Arm: I finally killed someone off! Man, I was beginning to wonder when I was going to do that.

Leg: Let me tell you now, I had no part in writing this chapter. So flame Arm for it.

Arm: Oh, be quiet, you were the one who came up with the idea. Anyway, please read and review, my friends! Well, you may not really be my friends, but anyone who reviews seems like a friend to me.

Leg: You're really out of it.

Arm: I know…. Scary, isn't it?

Leg: Duh.