Chapter Two: Challenging Circumstance
"So, Zim, how's that lesson plan coming along?" Mel asked, walking into Zim's workroom.
"Good...I'm trying to see how I can fit a whole lifetime's worth of knowledge into one year of teaching, though."
"You don't necessarily have to fit it into one year, you know. You can make it take as many years as you'd like, though hopefully not too many, or people won't bother to go through all the courses."
"Yes, there's that. Mel, do you ever feel guilty because you know that you...killed...Dib?"
"Yes. Lots of times. It gets intense, sometimes. I never thought I could kill even my worst of enemies, let alone my best friend."
"How would you feel better?"
"If he was alive, I guess. Why are you asking me this?"
"I don't want my friend to be sad."
"You don't sound like yourself, Zim. You're...caring."
"Destroying Earth and ending up having a daughter with a human changed me a lot more than you might think. Now, goodnight."
"Goodnight, Zim."
Morning. Mel turned the alarm off and fumbled for her glasses, eventually finding them and placing them over her eyes. She walked into the kitchen and began to fix her breakfast. Zim surprised her, and she fell out of her chair.
"Ow! Zim, why'd you sneak up on me like that?!"
"I'm sorry. I was just excited."
"About what, dare I ask?"
"About a special surprise I have in store for you."
"What kind of surprise?"
"Just go to the door and open it."
"Oh, all right. This better be good for me to have nearly broken my spine over." Standing up, she walked to the door and put her hand on the knob. She hesitated.
"What's that matter? Hurry, open it!"
"I'm shaking, Zim. Why am I shaking? I'm afraid to open this door."
"There's no reason to be afraid, human! Open it!"
"Well...okay." Twisting the knob, she closed her eyes and flung the door open. She fainted promptly. A boy of about eleven or twelve years stood before her, with jet black hair and glasses, along with black boots, a black coat, and a blue shirt. He looked exactly like Dib.
"Mel! Mel! What's wrong with you? Why aren't you happy?" Quickly coming out of it, she shot straight up, and there he was.
"This...this is impossible. I killed Dib twelve years ago!"
"Yes, I know. This is what you'd call his 'apparition,' or 'ghost,' if you prefer."
"Is he...solid?"
"Yes. That he is." She walked up to him and held his hand. In that instant, her appearance changed into that of her younger self.
"I cannot believe that you are...here. I thought I'd never see you again. I can't believe I killed you."
He thought to her, "Thank you," and disappeared. Mel turned back into her adult self.
"How do you like my surprise?" She was speechless.
"I cannot thank you enough." Zim noticed some tears coming down from her eyes.
"Oh, no, you're eyes are leaking again." He put a finger to her eye, wiping the tears off. Fighting off the pain, he placed them on his own eyelids. This was significant, for Mel created the symbolism of Earth tears and knew its meaning. He was saying that he was human.
"You can't call yourself Irken anymore, can you?"
"Not really. I have an Earth daughter and an Earth friend, and I care about you two in spite of this. That is not the Irken way."
"Zim...I just wanted to say that..."
"I understand what you mean."
"Good. Is Young Kiana ready yet?"
"She should be. Kiana! Come here! We're going on a trip!"
"Really?" she asked as she fell through a shoot and onto the kitchen floor. "Where?"
"Mel and I are going to present the plans for a school at the Global Council today."
"I can finally come?"
"Sure. It'll be good for you to learn what goes on."
"Yay! I'll go get my things!" As she ran back to the tile that would elevate her to her attic room, Mel noticed that she didn't have an ID PAK.
"Zim...I just saw something...your daughter doesn't have a PAK."
"Yeah...her mother insisted that she doesn't have one."
"So she's an Irken without a PAK?"
"She's the Irken without a PAK."
"Whoa...trippy."
"Let's go now. Do you have everything?"
"Yeah. I think so."
"Then let's go." At the Global Council Meeting, which Zim's second-in-command officer was in charge of, there was a bit of disturbance at the idea of halting a popular snack's production due to the fact that there were too many side effects to eating it.
"Next issue is...Zim and Kiana, who have come to discuss something with the Board of Education." The Board of Health exited, and the Board of Education walked in, taking their seats. Zim and Mel walked in, followed by Kiana. They drew attention, mostly because Zim's daughter didn't have a PAK and it appeared that Zim was entering with Mel as his girlfriend.
"Zim, they think that I am...involved...with you. Tell them otherwise, before I make a fool out of myself."
"Okay," he whispered. Then, shouting, he said, "Nope, she's not my girlfriend! She's still available!"
"Zim!" she scolded harshly.
"Uh...so you're proposing a school for the study of the...paranormal...but you don't have any money to spend, is that it?" the Irken in charge asked.
"Uh, yes. And, actually, as Zim is leader of this planet, he does have money to spend, but it is up to the Board of Education to decide if the project is of enough importance in your eyes to take the funding required out of the treasury."
"Before we can determine whether or not your project is worthy enough for us to spend our precious dollars on, what exactly is this subject, anyway?"
"In short, the paranormal is anything that appears to defy 'normal' explanation, thus the name. However, I don't consider anything that is deemed paranormal to be truly unusual, it is just that we need to study it and acknowledge it before we can understand what is really going on. After all--if it's existed all this time, it must be a natural thing, right? I think it is important to learn the true nature of these things, for it will better our understanding of the universe and how things function."
"I see...how will this advance the Irken Empire as a whole?"
"Well, with knowledge comes understanding, and with understanding comes success. To inform potential invaders and Irkens of other professions is to increase the productivity of the Empire, and to increase the productivity is to further the species' advancement. I'm sure that the way in which this occurs is pretty much self-explanatory to your superior intellect, for I am well aware that I'm just a human."
"And what exactly is your name, inferior surviving human?"
"My name...was Mel. Now it's Kiana. Mysterious One. Only my friends address me as Mel."
"And now, Mysterious One, what is the name of your child?"
"May I have permission to correct you on one point?"
"Permission granted."
"This child is not mine. She is Zim's, and her name is also Kiana. She is also known as Mysterious One."
"Was your name derived by the Falish way?"
"Yes."
"Was her name derived by the Falish way as well?"
"Yes." Gasps were heard, saying that it was impossible, that it could not be.
"Quiet! Then, which one of you is the Kivoc?"
"Both of us."
"What?"
"We both are Kivocs. I can tell by her manner of doing things, of talking, of walking, of even eating. Where is your Lizaq, Young Kiana?"
"I don't have one," she said.
"You will need it. Take mine."
"But a Lizaq knife is designed to only be effective when used by the person it is given to."
"Do not let that stop you. Take mine." Kiana took the shimmering blade of the Lizaq and tried to make a cut in her skin, but nothing happened. "You must want to use it. You do not want to pierce your skin, and that's why it will not cut." Slowly lifting it so that it was level to her head, she aimed for Mel and sliced her hand open.
"It worked...It actually worked..." Zim snatched the knife from his daughter's hand and put it away into his ID PAK.
"Kiana!" Zim yelled. "We'll discuss this when we get home! You too, Mel!" A guard walked over to Zim's side, whispering something. "No, I do not want Mel eliminated! She'll be confined to my house, though. If you catch her outside without me, then take her to the local prison and notify me so I can bail her out. I don't want her to leave my base! Now, take her to hospital quarters and fix her wound. I order that this meeting be postponed until next week. You're dismissed!" Dragging Young Kiana with him, Zim followed Mel to hospital quarters.
"Zim, what's going on?" Mel asked.
"What do you mean, 'what's going on'? You just handed my eleven-year-old daughter a deadly weapon that she is able to use!"
"I'm just concerned for her safety! She'll be in danger, and she needs a means to protect herself! I request the permission to teach her how to use her mind to psychokinetically effect her surroundings."
"No! You aren't going to be teaching her anything! My daughter is not going to get involved in any of this!"
"I'm concerned for her! I'm concerned for her as though she were my own!"
"I don't believe that!"
"She's angry toward me, Zim. She resents me. Why else do you think she chose me as her target? But in spite of this, I care about her. She's in danger, Zim! If you care about her, you'll allow me to help her!"
"Mel, you're not going to do this! My daughter isn't going to get involved in any of this ika prophecy nonsense!" Breaking free of his grip, she kicked him in the squeedily spooch and began to strangle him. Guards aimed their ray guns at her, but she didn't stop.
"Don't you DARE refer to the Falish in such a derogatory manner!"
"If I wanted, I could have my guards kill you with the snap of my fingers."
"You don't want to, though, do you?"
"Guards...it's okay. You can go."
"Are you certain?" one asked. "Because we can--"
"I said go!" Mel relaxed her grip on Zim's neck as they shrunk back.
"Have you not matured since I last saw you? Dib was a Falen, you MORON! You acted as though you were sensitive to my emotions regarding his death!"
"Which you CAUSED, if I am not mistaken! Your misery is your own doing! Admit it! The Irkens did not kill your precious friend! YOU DID! You really are a traitor, you Kivoc filth!"
"I was forced to kill him to avoid him being pained any longer."
"I could've easily gotten him out of there. You two could be laughing together right now, if you had wanted it. You didn't want it."
"I just thought...I thought I was doing what was best for him."
"You very well may have. Keep that in mind."
"It's my fault, though. If I had never come here..."
"If you had never come here, he would've died in sadness. You were his friend. Don't beat yourself up about that."
"I have to blame myself. I killed him, and this is my punishment. It may be a torment to have caused the death of those innocent but those of whom you hate rather than your best friend. You cannot know the guilt I feel."
"Yes, I can. I killed my wife, even though by accident. I crashed my Voot when she was in it with me, but those idiot paramedics had to save me! She died because they couldn't get to her in time. They managed to save Kiana, though. I do care for her; she is precious to me. That is something you cannot understand."
"I had no idea, Zim. What was your wife's name?"
"Terri. I loved her."
"Whoa, that sounds strange coming from you. Hey, you know that girl you went to the skool dance with twelve years ago?"
"Uh, sort of."
"Well, according to that list you gave me, she's still single. Oh, and do you like kids?"
"Does she have a lot?"
"No, just one."
"Oh. You can call her to come over, I guess. She always told me to find someone else if anything happened to her. I think I'm ready."
"Okay. What day and time?"
"Uh...Saturday, I guess."
"Saturday? Great. What time?"
"Maybe...6:00."
"Okay. I'll make the arrangements. Oh, and I'll volunteer to baby-sit the kids."
"I thought you said she has one."
"She does, but I'm going to take care of Young Kiana as well."
"Oh, thank you."