And I'm back. Surprisingly, sooner then later. How amazing, eh? Hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and now, on with the second!

DISCLAIMER: (Do I HONESTLY have to put one before each chapter? Jeeze… --) I do not own "Invader Zim". 'Nuff said.

Dib Snaps

Chapter 2: Chaos Rising

Dib briskly walked through the city's downtown. Already, within the short time that he had left, a noticeable change to his appearance had occurred. His trench coat was no longer smooth and curved, but looked slightly jagged and frayed at the ends. His hair still kept its main spike stretching from front to back, but other then that, looked spikier and chaotic. The rest of him remained unchanged – save his eyes, which were now a light fiery red, and his portrayed personality. He walked with a dark sort of confidence with a bland glare on his face. His eyes moved from left to right and back again as he read the names of stores in the downtown core. Not too far behind him scuttled Zim hastily. Dib's stride had become longer, therefore he moved faster, therefore Zim had to move faster. The little alien himself contemplated weather or not to take to the rooftops with his spider legs.

"No, it's broad daylight," he pondered, "I cannot risk being seen for something so petty… I'll just have to keep up with him." He finished his thought to realized he had lost sight of Dib. "Hey, what the- ARRRRG" Zim clenched his fists as he tore down the street as fast as his little Irken legs could carry him.

------------------------------------------

Dib had found what he was looking for. A shop in the downtown core that he had only noticed existed there, and was now browsing through the store's wares. The shopkeeper in this little place eyed him suspiciously.

"What's a little kid like him doing here? Shouldn't he be in school? And he does look… kinda…" Dib looked over his shoulder at him, as if he was reading… or hearing… the man's thoughts. It didn't matter; Dib shrugged it off, as he picked up a particularly nice looking katana from the shelf. Sure enough, the shop dealt in knives, swords, and other such things – normally for display in one's own house.

"Hmmm…" He drew it and examined it, then concluded, "Yes, this will do nicely." He had managed to find one of the few swords in the shop that actually had a useable; sharp edge. The shopkeeper wondered if he knew this, but decided not to say anything – if he was going to give his slow little store some business, he wasn't just about to discourage the boy. No matter whom he was. Dib walked over to the shopkeeper's table, hauling the sword over his shoulder. The slender sheath it was concealed in was slightly taller then he was, but he didn't seem to care. "I'll take this one."

"How will you be paying, young man?" Dib took out a credit card from his pocket and slapped it onto the edge of the table as if it were nothing. His dad had given him that card; he knew that Dib was into the paranormal sort of thing – as much as the professor would wish he weren't – and needed it often to buy things from his magazines. He had instructed Dib never to buy anything too expensive or unnecessary, but Dib knew that he never really looked at the bills carefully anyways. This would go off without a problem – unless his dad saw him with it, but he'd jump off that bridge when he came to it. The shopkeeper rand in the card and Dib signed for it, took his card back, and turned around to go.

"Would you like that thing wrapped, young man?" Dib turned around and gave the shopkeeper a dark glare. Resisting the very urge to turn around and maim the man who just sold him a lethal weapon he spoke.

"No… thank you… It's fine the way… it is…" He turned around and left the store as forcefully as he came in. Turned right and began walking when an odd feeling hit him and he cringed. He dashed into an alley before too many people got a look at him, hid behind a dumpster, dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees breathing heavily. His normal appearance faded in and out – as if it was too far away to hang on to.

"What… is… happening… to me…?" In merely a few moments he had gone from being yelled at during school to obtaining a blade weapon, to wanting to kill someone. "What… is… wrong… with me?" That voice… that haunting voice came up again, as if whoever was speaking was right beside him.

You already know.

"STOP IT!" Dib clutched his ears hard as he closed his eyes tightly, "WHOEVER YOU ARE, GO AWAY!!!"

Now why would I do something like that,

"Dib?" Dib jerked up and crawled backwards in sheer terror at the voice, but soon realized it was merely Zim. Zim had followed him! How did he be so sloppy as to let the alien follow him, and now have him at his mercy? No, he wasn't at his mercy quite yet. He still had his sword… WAIT! What was he thinking? He wasn't going to… but… no… his eyes looked around franticly as desperation washed over him. Zim simply gave him a weird look. "Dib what on this filthy mud ball are you doing?"

"GO AWAY ZIM! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

But you are alone, whelp.

"AHHHHHHH!" Dib clutched his ears again, "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!!" Zim took a step back at his enemy's behavior.

"Well this is an interesting development; however odd it may be, it is a development. That prince-e-pal creature's torture must still be having its effects on Dib. Perhaps this is my time to-" A metal SHING noise was Zim was startled out of his thought. Dib had returned to his different physical appearance, maniacal evil eyes with a psychotic smile spread across Dib's face. Zim's expression couldn't have gotten any odder, but something else was there. Zim felt fear.

"Heh." Dib had never touched a weapon in his life, let alone a sword as big as he was. However, it was as if he had owned it for centuries; he had unsheathed it properly and was holding both sheath and sword as if he had known how to do so all his life. He approached Zim slowly; in turn, Zim retreated as fast as Dib approached. Eventually, Zim's Pak hit a wall as his alien heart skipped a beat. He was cornered! Dib laughed again, moved with his sword into a lethal stabbing position, and lunged at him.

"AHHHHHH!" Both their screams mingled into one wave of sound – Zim's horrified voice and Dib's psychotic growl were heard thought the downtown area, blocking out all other sound. Dib hit something hard, but his head was down upon impact. He raised his head victoriously, and looked at his target. His target: a brick wall. He growled furiously as he tore out his weapon, along with several other bricks, and inspected his weapon. He smiled – excellent workmanship he hadn't expected; the blade didn't even have a scratch, let alone a dent. He looked around darkly as he re-sheathed his weapon. Zim was nowhere to be seen. He didn't care anyway, he'd kill that… thing later. Turning around, he walked slowly but angrily – that would be the first and last time prey would escape him, and he'd be sure to make sure!

------------------------------------------

On top of a close rooftop, a furious growl erupted from the alley below. Zim laid on his back feeling his torso, surprised he had made it out in one piece. The Dib beast moved incredibly fast. Almost too fast for Zim to activate his spider-legs and crawl out of that ordeal. The wonders of Irken engineering… he breathed heavily but quietly, trying to re-coop from the last few moments while trying not to give his location away to his malicious enemy. A bloodthirsty enemy. His life had flashed before his eyes in those moments, and yet he remained alive. It was taking awhile for the concept to sink in; for good reason too.

"He almost had me… almost had me… almost, but not quite." A massive amount of thoughts seemed to flood into his mind, as if attempting to drown him. However, one thought remained on top at all times:

"That was not Dib. I don't know how, but that was not Dib. Zim almost found himself passing out, but was suddenly jolted upright by the sound of a blood curling scream, accompanied by slashing and shing-ing noises. Zim's antenna drooped as his purple-black eyes shrank to mere dots. Another thought hit him:

"My mission! Dib is destroying the humans, but that's my mission! I cannot allow my enemy to take credit for what I should be doing for my mission!" He stood up and said the unspeakable.

"Dib must be stopped!"

End Chapter 2

Another, less violent-then-I-imagined chapter comes to a close. But the story's starting to come out. The plot can only get thicker from here on out! Well, see you later! Oh, and don't forget to review. ;) Thanks.