A/Note: Just a word of caution here, there's some point of view stuff going
on, so you'll probably notice that Zim and GIR's views of things don't
quite "match". But could you really expect them to? Oh, and Kat23a, I did
some more explaining on how Zim ended up at Bloaty's after you pointed out
it was sort of foggy.
Chapter Four
GIR sang a happy song of cheese, second-hand gum, and cheap plush toys as he watched the depressed-looking waitress approach the small corner booth that he and his master had claimed. He was happy. He loved the walk that they had been enjoying, the friendly sky-water that had paid them a visit, the yummy pizza that was set down before them, and especially he loved his master. Master was wonderful. He'd known it for as long as he'd had function. His master took care of him, gave him toys, brought him to pizza restaurants to eat such wonderful things.
He squealed and waved his arms from within the warm fuzzy confines of his puppy disguise. He loved master. His master was the best master in the whole universe! Master Zim was wonderful!
Zim groaned unhappily. He was definitely NOT happy. At least he'd finally managed to coax his small robot companion into donning his disguise again. That was the only encouraging spot so far in this totally wretched day. First GIR had gone running out of the house, completely sans-costume, screeching like a maniac about something he couldn't quite understand for all the high-pitched warbling that the "advanced" SIR unit was emitting.
So of course, he'd screamed his typical "AGHHHHHH! No GIR, you'll blow our cover!" scream and run out in broad daylight without his own disguise on and hadn't noticed until a dozen blocks later when he'd finally caught the robot.
One of his wretched classmates had waved at him and asked him if he was doing something different with his hair. He'd quickly thrown on his wig and contacts and immediately denied any knowledge of what the miserable disgusting earth brat was talking about, but just as he'd almost convinced the insignificant worm that he'd hallucinated, that stinking Dib-monster had appeared. It had been a short fight, but an exhausting one. Dib staggered off to "plan for tomorrow night", whatever that was supposed to mean, and Zim had been left to return his attention to the robot that had again wandered off.
It had taken nearly an hour, but Zim had finally regained whatever control that he could claim over the small android after finding him standing before a human-store selling televisions that happened to be displaying the scary monkey show. Then the rain had begun as they tried to journey home. First scattered tempermental showers, then a great deluge so fierce that he could feel the faint stinging sensation that warned of the immanent failure of his paste-shield.
He'd been forced to give up returning to his base for the moment, ducking into this frightening asylum. The "greatest invader" of the Irken Empire sighed as his robot assistant began to emit delighted cheers. Why GIR was looking in his direction rather than towards the unimpressed waitress delivering his gooey pizza mess was strange, but he gave the matter no thought. His head hurt, his own needs for nutrition were beginning to bother him, and he felt rather light-headed from all the manic "entertainment" and the rampant smell of grease.
All told, it hadn't been a very fabulous day for Invader Zim. He stared down at the table, briefly considering the idea of laying his head down and waiting for the psychotic reign of madness to end. No, not a good idea, he decided. The table's surface shine was not the glorious lemony gleam of cleanliness, it was the evil misleading shimmer of more dirty, disgusting grease. He shivered and turned his head to watch the rain fling itself hatefully against the sidewalk as if propelled by some incredible desire to erode away the stubborn concrete.
"I love the peppy-roooooni!" GIR crooned, setting a slice carefully on his head like a beret. Long thin stretches of cheese adorned his face and bits of pineapple stuck to his paws. "Peppy-peppy-rooni-roni!"
Zim's eyes narrowed as GIR climbed onto the table to dance joyfully around the half-empty pizza dish. There were times when he seriously questioned the wisdom of the Almighty Tallest, truly their wisdom was a mystery to him in this case. He startled suddenly as the wind outside changed direction and the rain was slung straight at the sticky window. Almost like it was trying to get in. Trying to get at him. The short irken slid away from the doubtful protection of the glass.
"Gir." The robot ceased dancing and saluted smartly. "Yes, sir!" Zim shook his head. "I'll be… doing something… on the other side of the room. Stay here until I return. Stay! I command it!" he ordered, attempting to press the command firmly into the robot's mind. "Ooookie dokie!" GIR cried, handing his beloved master a pizza slice before resuming his dance. "I should know better." Zim sighed, holding the supposed food at arm's length and marching resolutely across the room. He could only hope that the terrible weather would end soon and he'd be free to return to his base and sleep off this horrible experience.
Dib staggered down the street, wind-blown, rain-soaked, and generally not feeling at his best as he forced his way down the steaming sidewalk. Now in the full fury of storm, he was clueless as to his sister's whereabouts. "Let's see… if I was Gaz and I was mad at the world, where would I go?" he whispered to himself. His water-streaked glasses caught the glare of neon and his head raised in response.
A slight smile began to form for the first time in hours on his face. "I'd go to my favorite place!" he exclaimed, dashing towards the flickering sign that rose above Bloaty's.
A small girl with deep violet hair sat by herself somewhere inside the restaurant, unhappily hugging her arms around her shoulders. She sniffled softly, the only indication that she was aware of her sorry- looking condition. Her hair was plastered to her head in stringy dripping clumps and her clothing was in a similar state of "beyond damp"-ness. A black boot pausing in front of her made her look hesitantly up. "Take this, so I may be free of its' nasty gooiness." A voice commanded her.
Dib threw open the doors to the restaurant and began frantically scanning the room for any sign of his sister. "Let's see… crying babies, fat basement dwellers who still think they're twelve, depressed parents, Zim's dog thing, suicidal employees…. ZIM'S DOG THING!?" he screeched in horror, earning himself a friendly wave from the robot who was rolling around on the floor for some reason. "Zim's here!? Now!? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO MAKE YOU HATE ME, FATE!?" he screamed at the ceiling. A paper cup thrown by an irritated patron bounced unheeded off his head.
"I've gotta find Gaz!" he gasped, running into the depths of the restaurant. "It could already be too late, but I've got to try! I've got to- GAZ!?" he shrieked, spotting the back of a purple-haired head attached to a girl that was apparently being confronted by the very alien menace he'd been dreading. Zim was pushing a slice of pizza toward the girl, who hesitated.
"Get away from my sister Zim! I won't let you buy her with junk food!" he leapt heroically across the room, grabbing the girl and yanking her back towards him protectively. Zim, surprisingly enough, didn't immediately deploy his spider-like mechanical legs and attempt to defeat him. Zim simply stood there, looking at him skeptically.
"Hey… who are you?" a voice asked. Then there was a scream. "AGGHHH! You're that Dib-freak! Get away from me, freak!" the little girl screeched, beating her would-be rescuer in the head with her fists. Dib looked down at his charge, startled. A small girl, about Gaz's height but with bright green eyes behind her obnoxiously thick glasses glared up at him. With a final yank she freed herself, somehow slapping him in the face with her wet hair as she departed.
"Definitely not Gaz." Dib observed. But even as he turned to threaten Zim with the 'watery drip of death' if the alien didn't stop laughing, he couldn't help but wonder where his sister had gone.
Chapter Four
GIR sang a happy song of cheese, second-hand gum, and cheap plush toys as he watched the depressed-looking waitress approach the small corner booth that he and his master had claimed. He was happy. He loved the walk that they had been enjoying, the friendly sky-water that had paid them a visit, the yummy pizza that was set down before them, and especially he loved his master. Master was wonderful. He'd known it for as long as he'd had function. His master took care of him, gave him toys, brought him to pizza restaurants to eat such wonderful things.
He squealed and waved his arms from within the warm fuzzy confines of his puppy disguise. He loved master. His master was the best master in the whole universe! Master Zim was wonderful!
Zim groaned unhappily. He was definitely NOT happy. At least he'd finally managed to coax his small robot companion into donning his disguise again. That was the only encouraging spot so far in this totally wretched day. First GIR had gone running out of the house, completely sans-costume, screeching like a maniac about something he couldn't quite understand for all the high-pitched warbling that the "advanced" SIR unit was emitting.
So of course, he'd screamed his typical "AGHHHHHH! No GIR, you'll blow our cover!" scream and run out in broad daylight without his own disguise on and hadn't noticed until a dozen blocks later when he'd finally caught the robot.
One of his wretched classmates had waved at him and asked him if he was doing something different with his hair. He'd quickly thrown on his wig and contacts and immediately denied any knowledge of what the miserable disgusting earth brat was talking about, but just as he'd almost convinced the insignificant worm that he'd hallucinated, that stinking Dib-monster had appeared. It had been a short fight, but an exhausting one. Dib staggered off to "plan for tomorrow night", whatever that was supposed to mean, and Zim had been left to return his attention to the robot that had again wandered off.
It had taken nearly an hour, but Zim had finally regained whatever control that he could claim over the small android after finding him standing before a human-store selling televisions that happened to be displaying the scary monkey show. Then the rain had begun as they tried to journey home. First scattered tempermental showers, then a great deluge so fierce that he could feel the faint stinging sensation that warned of the immanent failure of his paste-shield.
He'd been forced to give up returning to his base for the moment, ducking into this frightening asylum. The "greatest invader" of the Irken Empire sighed as his robot assistant began to emit delighted cheers. Why GIR was looking in his direction rather than towards the unimpressed waitress delivering his gooey pizza mess was strange, but he gave the matter no thought. His head hurt, his own needs for nutrition were beginning to bother him, and he felt rather light-headed from all the manic "entertainment" and the rampant smell of grease.
All told, it hadn't been a very fabulous day for Invader Zim. He stared down at the table, briefly considering the idea of laying his head down and waiting for the psychotic reign of madness to end. No, not a good idea, he decided. The table's surface shine was not the glorious lemony gleam of cleanliness, it was the evil misleading shimmer of more dirty, disgusting grease. He shivered and turned his head to watch the rain fling itself hatefully against the sidewalk as if propelled by some incredible desire to erode away the stubborn concrete.
"I love the peppy-roooooni!" GIR crooned, setting a slice carefully on his head like a beret. Long thin stretches of cheese adorned his face and bits of pineapple stuck to his paws. "Peppy-peppy-rooni-roni!"
Zim's eyes narrowed as GIR climbed onto the table to dance joyfully around the half-empty pizza dish. There were times when he seriously questioned the wisdom of the Almighty Tallest, truly their wisdom was a mystery to him in this case. He startled suddenly as the wind outside changed direction and the rain was slung straight at the sticky window. Almost like it was trying to get in. Trying to get at him. The short irken slid away from the doubtful protection of the glass.
"Gir." The robot ceased dancing and saluted smartly. "Yes, sir!" Zim shook his head. "I'll be… doing something… on the other side of the room. Stay here until I return. Stay! I command it!" he ordered, attempting to press the command firmly into the robot's mind. "Ooookie dokie!" GIR cried, handing his beloved master a pizza slice before resuming his dance. "I should know better." Zim sighed, holding the supposed food at arm's length and marching resolutely across the room. He could only hope that the terrible weather would end soon and he'd be free to return to his base and sleep off this horrible experience.
Dib staggered down the street, wind-blown, rain-soaked, and generally not feeling at his best as he forced his way down the steaming sidewalk. Now in the full fury of storm, he was clueless as to his sister's whereabouts. "Let's see… if I was Gaz and I was mad at the world, where would I go?" he whispered to himself. His water-streaked glasses caught the glare of neon and his head raised in response.
A slight smile began to form for the first time in hours on his face. "I'd go to my favorite place!" he exclaimed, dashing towards the flickering sign that rose above Bloaty's.
A small girl with deep violet hair sat by herself somewhere inside the restaurant, unhappily hugging her arms around her shoulders. She sniffled softly, the only indication that she was aware of her sorry- looking condition. Her hair was plastered to her head in stringy dripping clumps and her clothing was in a similar state of "beyond damp"-ness. A black boot pausing in front of her made her look hesitantly up. "Take this, so I may be free of its' nasty gooiness." A voice commanded her.
Dib threw open the doors to the restaurant and began frantically scanning the room for any sign of his sister. "Let's see… crying babies, fat basement dwellers who still think they're twelve, depressed parents, Zim's dog thing, suicidal employees…. ZIM'S DOG THING!?" he screeched in horror, earning himself a friendly wave from the robot who was rolling around on the floor for some reason. "Zim's here!? Now!? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO MAKE YOU HATE ME, FATE!?" he screamed at the ceiling. A paper cup thrown by an irritated patron bounced unheeded off his head.
"I've gotta find Gaz!" he gasped, running into the depths of the restaurant. "It could already be too late, but I've got to try! I've got to- GAZ!?" he shrieked, spotting the back of a purple-haired head attached to a girl that was apparently being confronted by the very alien menace he'd been dreading. Zim was pushing a slice of pizza toward the girl, who hesitated.
"Get away from my sister Zim! I won't let you buy her with junk food!" he leapt heroically across the room, grabbing the girl and yanking her back towards him protectively. Zim, surprisingly enough, didn't immediately deploy his spider-like mechanical legs and attempt to defeat him. Zim simply stood there, looking at him skeptically.
"Hey… who are you?" a voice asked. Then there was a scream. "AGGHHH! You're that Dib-freak! Get away from me, freak!" the little girl screeched, beating her would-be rescuer in the head with her fists. Dib looked down at his charge, startled. A small girl, about Gaz's height but with bright green eyes behind her obnoxiously thick glasses glared up at him. With a final yank she freed herself, somehow slapping him in the face with her wet hair as she departed.
"Definitely not Gaz." Dib observed. But even as he turned to threaten Zim with the 'watery drip of death' if the alien didn't stop laughing, he couldn't help but wonder where his sister had gone.