.
With the latest issue of Crop Circle Magazine open in front of him,
Dib busily scribbled down some info on Bigfoot while Gaz played her
GS2.
"Gaz! I think I've-"
The GS2 fell to the floor with a clank. Gaz's eyes grew wide and
started twitching. Her whole body shook and her teeth were bared.
"Dib," she said through clenched teeth, "I was on the very last level
of Vampire Piggy Hunter. Vengeance will be mine, Dib, do you
understand?"
She got her GS2 and promptly tapped the 'RESET' button.
Dib sighed. No one, not even his own family, listened to his great
theories of paranormal phenomena... or anything for that matter. If
only there was someone, someone to listen to him, someone to talk to.
If only...
Prof. Membrane burst into the room.
"Kids! You. are about to be late," he said dramatically, "Hmmm.
unless. unless I do something ab-"
"Dad, we're leaving," Dib groaned.
He walked out the door, contemplating his theories some more, and then
took a quick look at Zim's house.
Everything was the same, day after day.
He arrived at Skool and collapsed on his desk, depressed from life
itself. Ms. Bitters seemed to be yelling about something on the phone.
"No, no, no! No! I will not allow it do you hear me? What? Oh...
you'll pay for this," She slammed down the phone and it burst into
flames, "Class, against my futile complaints and ironic hate of
children, we will have a new student whom I expect will be doomed as
the rest of this hopeless student body."
Just then, light footsteps could be heard outside the room. The door
could be heard swinging open and Dib looked up in surprise. He
couldn't help but stare. This person was a girl, and was attractive in
her own way.
She had pale blue, stick-straight hair that reached her elbows and
dark eye makeup. She wore a sleeveless black dress with blue and black
striped sleeves, striped stockings and little boots with blue buckles.
She also had an oddly shaped silver necklace, but the strangest thing
was, she had these glittery purple eyes.
"Hi," she said, "My name's Nal. I'm... new here."
The class stared. A few drooled.
Nal's dazzling violet eyes scanned the room, as if waiting for someone
to speak up. Her eyes stopped on Dib for a second, then blinked and
looked around some more.
"Let's see here... you," She pointed to the kid next to Dib, "Go home.
A note will be sent to your parents regarding the fact that your
hopelessness has gotten you kicked out of Skool."
The kid cheered and grinned crazily.
"At last!" he cried, and ran like lightning out of the room.
Nal looked bewildered for a second, then pulled herself together and
walked over to the crazy kid's desk. Ms. Bitters continued her lecture
on doom.
Nal leaned over to Dib. "Hey," she said, blushing, "What's your name?"
Dib was surprised. No girl, let alone a nice-looking girl, had ever
even considered talking to him, unless it was an insult. Then again,
Nal was new and knew nothing of his past. In a few days, she would
hate him just like every other girl. This was a very depressing
thought, so he decided to make the most of this.
"Oh... um, Dib," he said quickly.
"Hi, I'm Nal. Nice to meet you, Dib," she said, smiling.
The recess bell rang and Dib walked out to the playground. Nal's
footsteps could be heard rushing behind him. He stopped and turned
around.
"So... um, Dib. I saw that magazine you had in your desk. I've been
studying Bigfoot for a while and I saw an article about it in it. Did
you read it?" asked Nal.
"Well, um... actually yes," and begins to spin out all this great
stuff about Bigfoot and why he hides in mountains (?).
"Wow," Nal's amethyst eyes sparkled, "I never knew all that. I've also
been studying paranormal phenomena in general, really."
"Really?" Dib was surprised. Everyone thought he was crazy, and here
he was, calmly talking to a girl who seemed sane about this, "Wow.
Everyone thinks I'm crazy because I study it."
Nal sighed and looked away.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. People always made fun of me for studying
it so I kinda forgot about it. Now I wish I didn't, because I'm
missing out and I really liked being interested in it and all. You
never cared what other people thought of you, did you?" she asked,
seeming a little uncomfortable.
Dib looked surprised. "No. No I didn't."
She smiled. "Hey, have you ever had a real experience with anything
paranormal?"
"Yes. Um, let's see here. There's this person in our class, his name's
Zim, and I'm pretty sure he's an alien." Dib said.
"Who, the green kid?" Nal asked, frowning, "Well, I guess so. That's
what I thought when I saw him. I mean it's pretty weird how you're the
only one who even suspects the fact that he might not be human. I mean
he's green."
"Exactly," Dib said, happy she believed him, "That's what everyone
keeps denying. And, he has no ears!"
"Really?" Nal looked across the playground at Zim, who was tangled in
a swing, "You're right! It's so weird how you're the only one who even
notices all of this."
"Yeah, and actually," Dib lowered his voice to a whisper, "Sometimes
I spy on him to see what he's up to."
"Oh, you have to let me come with you sometime!" Nal said excitedly,
"I've never had a real experience with anything paranormal before!"
"Oh, well... sure!"
* * *
That night, Dib waited at the curb near Zim's house, where he was
meeting Nal.
He heard rushed footsteps coming from down the street. He turned
around in alarm and saw Nal running toward him. Her icy blue hair
flapped behind her. She came to a halt before Dib.
"Hey," she greeted, "So what are the plans?"
"Well," Dib explained, "I usually hide in the bushes-"
"No, Dib," Nal got this odd malicious glint in her eye.
"What do you mean?" Dib asked, confused.
Nal turned toward him with a grin on her face, "Let's go into his
house instead."
Before he could finish, Nal ran up to Zim's door (with Dib running
after) and knocked on the door. She then dived behind some bushes. Dib
followed suit.
The door swung open. Zim looked around looking frustrated.
"Who dares interrupt the mighty Zim? Gir, go out there and find those
filthy humans. Then, eat them or something," Zim said.
"Ohhhhh-kay!" Gir zipped up his dog suit, bounced out into the street,
and looked around, "I doooon't seeee anytheeeeng!"
"Nonsense, Gir! There are filthy humans out there and I will show
you!"
As soon as Zim went out to the street, Nal grabbed Dib's hand and ran
into the house.
"Hey look at this!" Nal cried, pointing at a futuristic-looking
machine. She pulled out a camera and took several pictures.
"Um, Nal I-" but before Dib could finish his sentence, Zim burst into
the room. Dib looked around apprehensively, but Nal didn't seem to
care.
"Curse you, Earth Boy! Curse yooouuuuu-" but suddenly, Zim got cut
off. He was staring at Nal with a look of utmost horror.
Dib looked at Nal. They both knew what was coming. They both bolted
out the door and ran to Dib's house. They came to a skidding halt on
the sidewalk and caught their breath.
"Hey Nal. What was-" Nal put a finger on Dib's lips.
"Shhhh..." Nal cooed.
"But-" Before Dib could finish, Nal leaned in and placed her lips on
his cheek while Dib could only stand there dumbfounded.
"See you later!" And with that, she ran into the night.
* * *
Dib lay in bed thinking about Nal. It was odd. She was everything he
could ever want in a girl and maybe even more. But the thing was, he
just wasn't satisfied. She was just so mysterious. He decided, right
then and there, he would get to know her more somehow. With that
thought, Dib fell asleep and slept like a baby.
During lunch at Skool, Zim approached Dib and Nal. Well, more like
disturbed them.
"Nal, I just wanted to say that I know why you and the Dib-monkey
were spying on me. It's quite simple, actually. You just wanted to
prove to him that he will never be as sexy as me, which explains the
pictures," here Zim went into a pose which would show off his muscles
if he had any. He winked at Nal.
Nal looked at him with a look of pure disgust and smashed a muffin in
his face. Zim started suffocating.
"C'mon, Dib," said Nal.
Later that day, Jessica and her gang passed Dib and Nal. Jessica
whispered to her friends excitedly and they began to laugh. Jessica
then approached Nal as the other girls watched.
"Woooooo!" teased Jessica, "It looks like Dib and Nal are- ahhhhhhh!"
Before you know it, Nal's on top of Jessica beating the crap out of
her as the other girls fled. Nal gave her a last punch and stood up.
She gave Jessica one last kick in the side and walked away. Dib stared
at Jessica moaning on the floor in pain and then remembered. He ran
after Nal, leaving the other kids in amazement. Dib and Nal walked
side by side down the hall to the playground. Dib couldn't help but
notice Nal was a little bit shorter than him. Well, he was tall for
his age and. what was he doing? Didn't he need to do something? Okay,
here goes.
"Hey N-nal," Dib stuttered. This wasn't going to be easy.
"Yeah?" Nal looked up, hiding a smile with much difficulty.
"Um d'you," Dib cleared his throat, "Do you want to go see a movie
with me? Like, well, together. Because well, you know how other kids,
like The Letter M and Mary, they're... well um. I..."
Nal laughed, causing Dib to sweat like crazy, "Of course I will!
When?"
"Tonight," Dib said, relaxing and grinning, "At 6."
That night, Dib and Nal saw a movie together about (guess what)
aliens. They didn't even pay attention to the movie because they were
both so nervous about being on a date and all and trying to figure out
what's going to happen next. They kept on looking over at each other
and looking away immediately every time the other looked back.
Finally, Dib took a deep breath and slowly slipped his fingers into
hers. She looked over at him and smiled shyly. Finally, the movie
ended and they walked out, hand in hand.
"So... Nal... can I walk you home?" Dib asked.
Nal looked scared and looked as if she didn't quite know what to do.
"Oh, if you don't want to, that's fine," Dib said, trying to hide his
disappointment.
"Oh, no, it's not that! It's just..." Nal looked apprehensive, "It's
just that my house isn't really all that nice. And well, my parents
aren't exactly the nicest people in the world. I don't even think I
can be here with you."
Dib looked hurt and kind of turned.
"Oh! That's not what I meant! I mean, I'm not even allowed to go on
dates. They think I'm just meeting some friends," Nal quickly added.
"Oh, I can understand that,' Dib said relieved.
"Yeah... can I walk you home instead?" Nal said.
"Of course," he said, and they walked to his house, talking about
what the universe was hiding from them.
They stopped in front of Dib's house. They both held hands and Nal's
sparkling eyes scanned the night sky. Dib looked up too and they stood
in silence.
"You know," Nal looked into Dib's eyes, "Sometimes, when you look
up and see all those stars, you just feel so small."
Dib locked eyes with her for a second, and then returned to the sky.
"Sometimes... when I look at them, I get a feeling that every answer
to every question ever asked is just waiting out there. Waiting
for someone to just. go out there and find it," Dib said.
Nal looked at him and smiled.
"Dib," she said finally, "I had a really great time tonight."
"Yeah, me too," he said, "You think we can do this again some other
time?"
She smiled and looked a little nervous. She then leaned in and closed
her eyes. Dib was no idiot. He leaned in and planted his lips on hers.
They both pulled away and an awkward silence took over. Finally, Dib
spoke.
"So, are you sure you'll be all right walking home alone at this
time?"
"Oh, of course. I always do," Nal said, tossing her head and laughing.
"All right," he said, and walked toward his house. But halfway there,
he turned around and watched Nal walk down the street till she was out
of sight.
* * *
The next night, Dib planned to spy on Zim with Nal again, but she was
nowhere to be seen. He waited so long; he decided to go to Zim's by
himself.
As he arrived, bright lights of all colors emitted from the roof.
All right! Dib thought, Zim's doing something alien-related!
Dib went to a place where he could get a pretty clear view of all that
was happening.
"Take that, you evil-blooded vermin!" a female voice cried as a
bright purple laser flew across the roof.
That's weird, Dib thought, I think Zim's battling another alien!
He looked up just as Zim used Gir to fire a laser, causing the female
to fall from the roof. Spider-legs emerged from Zim's pak, and he
followed the female.
"Nal, I knew it all along!" cried Zim.
"Don't lie! You never had a clue until I showed up!" cried the
female, as she shot another purple laser from a futuristic-looking
gun.
Nal? It couldn't be. Dib looked at the female alien. She definitely
wasn't Irken, he could tell by the antennae shape and the skin color.
But she had purple eyes. huge glittering purple eyes.
Then he noticed her odd silver necklace.
"Nal!" Dib cried. Nal looked over and was caught off-guard. That's
when Zim hit her with the brightest laser he'd ever seen. Nal fell to
the ground.
"No!" Right then, everything seemed to go in slow motion. Just a
couple days ago, Nal first came to their Skool and for the first time,
Dib had a friend. No, he had more than a friend. Dib dodged several
lasers and landed at her side. He scrambled up and held her, waiting
for a sign of life. She sputtered a cough and with much effort, opened
her sparkling eyes.
"Dib. when I first came to your planet," Nal said weakly, "I had a
mission, to use you to gain information about Zim, destroy Zim, and
soon after, destroy you. I'm sorry, Dib, but at my planet, we either
complete our mission or die trying. But the thing is, when I did use
you to gain information, I couldn't complete my mission because.
because my race isn't supposed to feel love." Her eyes filled with
tears, making them sparkle even more.
Meanwhile, Zim was preparing an even bigger laser. Dib panicked. Nal
was too weak to get up, and it was nearly impossible for Dib to carry
her to safety. This was it. He was going to die with her. Just then,
Nal ripped off her necklace and threw it to him. He caught it and
looked at her. She nodded and Dib understood. Nal was about to die so
he could live. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. As Zim shot
the laser, Dib dived. He looked back and saw the bright green laser.
It was all over. Nal was gone.
Dib woke in a cold sweat on his own bed. He was breathing heavily. It
was a dream, he thought, relieved.
He lay in bed for a second and caught his breath. He really thought
Nal was.
God, what a crazy dream. It was like the whole Tak fiasco all over
again.
Tak. what a disaster. She had toyed with his feelings. Used him.made
him fall in love with her. Just so she could accomplish her mission.
But wasn't that Nal's intention too? But Nal had sacrificed herself.
to prevent embarrassment to herself. and to save him..
He sat up and a jingling noise was heard and a small thump following.
He couldn't move for a moment. Dib then looked at the floor and saw.
Nal's necklace.
He ran out the door to Zim's as fast as he could. He was going to beat
the living shit out of him.
Upon arriving there, he saw that Zim's house was gone. Just an
abandoned, empty lot.
He felt sick to his stomach. Nal was gone, he would never be able to
avenge her death, and now, to prove the existence of aliens was lost.
He walked past a bridge overlooking a lake. He never noticed how blue
it was. Dib sat down on the bridge and held the necklace in his hand,
letting the chain weave through his fingers. He then looked into the
water, and dropped Nal's necklace in, never to be seen again.
With the latest issue of Crop Circle Magazine open in front of him,
Dib busily scribbled down some info on Bigfoot while Gaz played her
GS2.
"Gaz! I think I've-"
The GS2 fell to the floor with a clank. Gaz's eyes grew wide and
started twitching. Her whole body shook and her teeth were bared.
"Dib," she said through clenched teeth, "I was on the very last level
of Vampire Piggy Hunter. Vengeance will be mine, Dib, do you
understand?"
She got her GS2 and promptly tapped the 'RESET' button.
Dib sighed. No one, not even his own family, listened to his great
theories of paranormal phenomena... or anything for that matter. If
only there was someone, someone to listen to him, someone to talk to.
If only...
Prof. Membrane burst into the room.
"Kids! You. are about to be late," he said dramatically, "Hmmm.
unless. unless I do something ab-"
"Dad, we're leaving," Dib groaned.
He walked out the door, contemplating his theories some more, and then
took a quick look at Zim's house.
Everything was the same, day after day.
He arrived at Skool and collapsed on his desk, depressed from life
itself. Ms. Bitters seemed to be yelling about something on the phone.
"No, no, no! No! I will not allow it do you hear me? What? Oh...
you'll pay for this," She slammed down the phone and it burst into
flames, "Class, against my futile complaints and ironic hate of
children, we will have a new student whom I expect will be doomed as
the rest of this hopeless student body."
Just then, light footsteps could be heard outside the room. The door
could be heard swinging open and Dib looked up in surprise. He
couldn't help but stare. This person was a girl, and was attractive in
her own way.
She had pale blue, stick-straight hair that reached her elbows and
dark eye makeup. She wore a sleeveless black dress with blue and black
striped sleeves, striped stockings and little boots with blue buckles.
She also had an oddly shaped silver necklace, but the strangest thing
was, she had these glittery purple eyes.
"Hi," she said, "My name's Nal. I'm... new here."
The class stared. A few drooled.
Nal's dazzling violet eyes scanned the room, as if waiting for someone
to speak up. Her eyes stopped on Dib for a second, then blinked and
looked around some more.
"Let's see here... you," She pointed to the kid next to Dib, "Go home.
A note will be sent to your parents regarding the fact that your
hopelessness has gotten you kicked out of Skool."
The kid cheered and grinned crazily.
"At last!" he cried, and ran like lightning out of the room.
Nal looked bewildered for a second, then pulled herself together and
walked over to the crazy kid's desk. Ms. Bitters continued her lecture
on doom.
Nal leaned over to Dib. "Hey," she said, blushing, "What's your name?"
Dib was surprised. No girl, let alone a nice-looking girl, had ever
even considered talking to him, unless it was an insult. Then again,
Nal was new and knew nothing of his past. In a few days, she would
hate him just like every other girl. This was a very depressing
thought, so he decided to make the most of this.
"Oh... um, Dib," he said quickly.
"Hi, I'm Nal. Nice to meet you, Dib," she said, smiling.
The recess bell rang and Dib walked out to the playground. Nal's
footsteps could be heard rushing behind him. He stopped and turned
around.
"So... um, Dib. I saw that magazine you had in your desk. I've been
studying Bigfoot for a while and I saw an article about it in it. Did
you read it?" asked Nal.
"Well, um... actually yes," and begins to spin out all this great
stuff about Bigfoot and why he hides in mountains (?).
"Wow," Nal's amethyst eyes sparkled, "I never knew all that. I've also
been studying paranormal phenomena in general, really."
"Really?" Dib was surprised. Everyone thought he was crazy, and here
he was, calmly talking to a girl who seemed sane about this, "Wow.
Everyone thinks I'm crazy because I study it."
Nal sighed and looked away.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. People always made fun of me for studying
it so I kinda forgot about it. Now I wish I didn't, because I'm
missing out and I really liked being interested in it and all. You
never cared what other people thought of you, did you?" she asked,
seeming a little uncomfortable.
Dib looked surprised. "No. No I didn't."
She smiled. "Hey, have you ever had a real experience with anything
paranormal?"
"Yes. Um, let's see here. There's this person in our class, his name's
Zim, and I'm pretty sure he's an alien." Dib said.
"Who, the green kid?" Nal asked, frowning, "Well, I guess so. That's
what I thought when I saw him. I mean it's pretty weird how you're the
only one who even suspects the fact that he might not be human. I mean
he's green."
"Exactly," Dib said, happy she believed him, "That's what everyone
keeps denying. And, he has no ears!"
"Really?" Nal looked across the playground at Zim, who was tangled in
a swing, "You're right! It's so weird how you're the only one who even
notices all of this."
"Yeah, and actually," Dib lowered his voice to a whisper, "Sometimes
I spy on him to see what he's up to."
"Oh, you have to let me come with you sometime!" Nal said excitedly,
"I've never had a real experience with anything paranormal before!"
"Oh, well... sure!"
* * *
That night, Dib waited at the curb near Zim's house, where he was
meeting Nal.
He heard rushed footsteps coming from down the street. He turned
around in alarm and saw Nal running toward him. Her icy blue hair
flapped behind her. She came to a halt before Dib.
"Hey," she greeted, "So what are the plans?"
"Well," Dib explained, "I usually hide in the bushes-"
"No, Dib," Nal got this odd malicious glint in her eye.
"What do you mean?" Dib asked, confused.
Nal turned toward him with a grin on her face, "Let's go into his
house instead."
Before he could finish, Nal ran up to Zim's door (with Dib running
after) and knocked on the door. She then dived behind some bushes. Dib
followed suit.
The door swung open. Zim looked around looking frustrated.
"Who dares interrupt the mighty Zim? Gir, go out there and find those
filthy humans. Then, eat them or something," Zim said.
"Ohhhhh-kay!" Gir zipped up his dog suit, bounced out into the street,
and looked around, "I doooon't seeee anytheeeeng!"
"Nonsense, Gir! There are filthy humans out there and I will show
you!"
As soon as Zim went out to the street, Nal grabbed Dib's hand and ran
into the house.
"Hey look at this!" Nal cried, pointing at a futuristic-looking
machine. She pulled out a camera and took several pictures.
"Um, Nal I-" but before Dib could finish his sentence, Zim burst into
the room. Dib looked around apprehensively, but Nal didn't seem to
care.
"Curse you, Earth Boy! Curse yooouuuuu-" but suddenly, Zim got cut
off. He was staring at Nal with a look of utmost horror.
Dib looked at Nal. They both knew what was coming. They both bolted
out the door and ran to Dib's house. They came to a skidding halt on
the sidewalk and caught their breath.
"Hey Nal. What was-" Nal put a finger on Dib's lips.
"Shhhh..." Nal cooed.
"But-" Before Dib could finish, Nal leaned in and placed her lips on
his cheek while Dib could only stand there dumbfounded.
"See you later!" And with that, she ran into the night.
* * *
Dib lay in bed thinking about Nal. It was odd. She was everything he
could ever want in a girl and maybe even more. But the thing was, he
just wasn't satisfied. She was just so mysterious. He decided, right
then and there, he would get to know her more somehow. With that
thought, Dib fell asleep and slept like a baby.
During lunch at Skool, Zim approached Dib and Nal. Well, more like
disturbed them.
"Nal, I just wanted to say that I know why you and the Dib-monkey
were spying on me. It's quite simple, actually. You just wanted to
prove to him that he will never be as sexy as me, which explains the
pictures," here Zim went into a pose which would show off his muscles
if he had any. He winked at Nal.
Nal looked at him with a look of pure disgust and smashed a muffin in
his face. Zim started suffocating.
"C'mon, Dib," said Nal.
Later that day, Jessica and her gang passed Dib and Nal. Jessica
whispered to her friends excitedly and they began to laugh. Jessica
then approached Nal as the other girls watched.
"Woooooo!" teased Jessica, "It looks like Dib and Nal are- ahhhhhhh!"
Before you know it, Nal's on top of Jessica beating the crap out of
her as the other girls fled. Nal gave her a last punch and stood up.
She gave Jessica one last kick in the side and walked away. Dib stared
at Jessica moaning on the floor in pain and then remembered. He ran
after Nal, leaving the other kids in amazement. Dib and Nal walked
side by side down the hall to the playground. Dib couldn't help but
notice Nal was a little bit shorter than him. Well, he was tall for
his age and. what was he doing? Didn't he need to do something? Okay,
here goes.
"Hey N-nal," Dib stuttered. This wasn't going to be easy.
"Yeah?" Nal looked up, hiding a smile with much difficulty.
"Um d'you," Dib cleared his throat, "Do you want to go see a movie
with me? Like, well, together. Because well, you know how other kids,
like The Letter M and Mary, they're... well um. I..."
Nal laughed, causing Dib to sweat like crazy, "Of course I will!
When?"
"Tonight," Dib said, relaxing and grinning, "At 6."
That night, Dib and Nal saw a movie together about (guess what)
aliens. They didn't even pay attention to the movie because they were
both so nervous about being on a date and all and trying to figure out
what's going to happen next. They kept on looking over at each other
and looking away immediately every time the other looked back.
Finally, Dib took a deep breath and slowly slipped his fingers into
hers. She looked over at him and smiled shyly. Finally, the movie
ended and they walked out, hand in hand.
"So... Nal... can I walk you home?" Dib asked.
Nal looked scared and looked as if she didn't quite know what to do.
"Oh, if you don't want to, that's fine," Dib said, trying to hide his
disappointment.
"Oh, no, it's not that! It's just..." Nal looked apprehensive, "It's
just that my house isn't really all that nice. And well, my parents
aren't exactly the nicest people in the world. I don't even think I
can be here with you."
Dib looked hurt and kind of turned.
"Oh! That's not what I meant! I mean, I'm not even allowed to go on
dates. They think I'm just meeting some friends," Nal quickly added.
"Oh, I can understand that,' Dib said relieved.
"Yeah... can I walk you home instead?" Nal said.
"Of course," he said, and they walked to his house, talking about
what the universe was hiding from them.
They stopped in front of Dib's house. They both held hands and Nal's
sparkling eyes scanned the night sky. Dib looked up too and they stood
in silence.
"You know," Nal looked into Dib's eyes, "Sometimes, when you look
up and see all those stars, you just feel so small."
Dib locked eyes with her for a second, and then returned to the sky.
"Sometimes... when I look at them, I get a feeling that every answer
to every question ever asked is just waiting out there. Waiting
for someone to just. go out there and find it," Dib said.
Nal looked at him and smiled.
"Dib," she said finally, "I had a really great time tonight."
"Yeah, me too," he said, "You think we can do this again some other
time?"
She smiled and looked a little nervous. She then leaned in and closed
her eyes. Dib was no idiot. He leaned in and planted his lips on hers.
They both pulled away and an awkward silence took over. Finally, Dib
spoke.
"So, are you sure you'll be all right walking home alone at this
time?"
"Oh, of course. I always do," Nal said, tossing her head and laughing.
"All right," he said, and walked toward his house. But halfway there,
he turned around and watched Nal walk down the street till she was out
of sight.
* * *
The next night, Dib planned to spy on Zim with Nal again, but she was
nowhere to be seen. He waited so long; he decided to go to Zim's by
himself.
As he arrived, bright lights of all colors emitted from the roof.
All right! Dib thought, Zim's doing something alien-related!
Dib went to a place where he could get a pretty clear view of all that
was happening.
"Take that, you evil-blooded vermin!" a female voice cried as a
bright purple laser flew across the roof.
That's weird, Dib thought, I think Zim's battling another alien!
He looked up just as Zim used Gir to fire a laser, causing the female
to fall from the roof. Spider-legs emerged from Zim's pak, and he
followed the female.
"Nal, I knew it all along!" cried Zim.
"Don't lie! You never had a clue until I showed up!" cried the
female, as she shot another purple laser from a futuristic-looking
gun.
Nal? It couldn't be. Dib looked at the female alien. She definitely
wasn't Irken, he could tell by the antennae shape and the skin color.
But she had purple eyes. huge glittering purple eyes.
Then he noticed her odd silver necklace.
"Nal!" Dib cried. Nal looked over and was caught off-guard. That's
when Zim hit her with the brightest laser he'd ever seen. Nal fell to
the ground.
"No!" Right then, everything seemed to go in slow motion. Just a
couple days ago, Nal first came to their Skool and for the first time,
Dib had a friend. No, he had more than a friend. Dib dodged several
lasers and landed at her side. He scrambled up and held her, waiting
for a sign of life. She sputtered a cough and with much effort, opened
her sparkling eyes.
"Dib. when I first came to your planet," Nal said weakly, "I had a
mission, to use you to gain information about Zim, destroy Zim, and
soon after, destroy you. I'm sorry, Dib, but at my planet, we either
complete our mission or die trying. But the thing is, when I did use
you to gain information, I couldn't complete my mission because.
because my race isn't supposed to feel love." Her eyes filled with
tears, making them sparkle even more.
Meanwhile, Zim was preparing an even bigger laser. Dib panicked. Nal
was too weak to get up, and it was nearly impossible for Dib to carry
her to safety. This was it. He was going to die with her. Just then,
Nal ripped off her necklace and threw it to him. He caught it and
looked at her. She nodded and Dib understood. Nal was about to die so
he could live. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. As Zim shot
the laser, Dib dived. He looked back and saw the bright green laser.
It was all over. Nal was gone.
Dib woke in a cold sweat on his own bed. He was breathing heavily. It
was a dream, he thought, relieved.
He lay in bed for a second and caught his breath. He really thought
Nal was.
God, what a crazy dream. It was like the whole Tak fiasco all over
again.
Tak. what a disaster. She had toyed with his feelings. Used him.made
him fall in love with her. Just so she could accomplish her mission.
But wasn't that Nal's intention too? But Nal had sacrificed herself.
to prevent embarrassment to herself. and to save him..
He sat up and a jingling noise was heard and a small thump following.
He couldn't move for a moment. Dib then looked at the floor and saw.
Nal's necklace.
He ran out the door to Zim's as fast as he could. He was going to beat
the living shit out of him.
Upon arriving there, he saw that Zim's house was gone. Just an
abandoned, empty lot.
He felt sick to his stomach. Nal was gone, he would never be able to
avenge her death, and now, to prove the existence of aliens was lost.
He walked past a bridge overlooking a lake. He never noticed how blue
it was. Dib sat down on the bridge and held the necklace in his hand,
letting the chain weave through his fingers. He then looked into the
water, and dropped Nal's necklace in, never to be seen again.