Hello again to whoever reads this thing. This new chapter is probably just as angsty if not more so than the second chapter. This new chapter deals almost exclusively with Zim; I hope it's not too ooc. Please don't flame, I'm still new at this. Again, I don't own anything regarding Invader Zim, oh but how I wish I did!! please R & R.

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"I've seen this before."

"Mysterious Mysteries" had ended and making sure that Gaz was not around, Dib was again looking at the pictures he had tucked away in his binder. It had occurred to him as he watched the show; the area depicted was familiar to him, but Dib couldn't for the life of him figure out how or why…

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Zim stared at the blank screen, with a look of disbelief on his face. That very morning, his biggest problem had been being almost late for school and not having the energy to plan an invasion of Earth, all caused by trouble sleeping. Now he sat there, realizing all that just became the very least of his worries.

Zim had been contacting the Tallest for Irken reinforcements for his latest attempt to invade Earth, and had been waiting for a response guaranteeing him back up for the invasion. Instead, he received an unexpected message from his superiors.

"We're not sending any of the armada to help you, Zim," started the transmission. "Not now, not ever. We never intended invasion for that measly, dirt planet; you were in the way and we needed a way to get rid of you. We're surprised you have survived on that planet this long; you should have been dead before you reached Earth! This message is to inform you to not bother contacting us any longer. You are also banished from Irk, for good this time, not like when you came back after Operation Impending Doom I. Violate this and consequences will be severe."

"Nobody betrays the mighty ZIM!!!" he had shouted after the transmission ended, but the truth behind his "mission" suddenly hit him…hard.

I was lied to, he thought, putting his head in his hands. I was an annoyance, and they wanted to be rid of me. They never expected me to make it back to Irk.

"They left me to die…"

He lingered on the last word he spoke. Die…his own people wanted him gone, permanently. He slowly rose from the chair he sat in and walked around looking at the various relics from his numerous, past failed attempts in conquering Earth.

"Six Earth years on this pathetic planet," he muttered bitterly. "And for what?"

He finally walked to the elevator and went upstairs.

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In the kitchen, he found Gir cooking…something; Zim wasn't too sure exactly what. The mixer was on, splattering some kind of lumpy mixture all over the kitchen walls. Zim also saw that the stove was on, and smoke was rising from an empty skillet that was on the hot range. Gir was at the table, cracking eggs into a bowl, tossing the dripping shells on the floor. Zim walked towards Gir, and felt his shoe sticking to the linoleum. He looked down and saw that something sticky (Honey? Maple syrup? The paste?) had been spilled on the floor, and he was standing in it. Zim could feel his rage boiling over.

"GIR!!!!"

Gir turned around with his mixing bowl in one hand and an egg in the other. "Hi!!!" greeted the little robot. "I'm makin' pancakes!!!"

"Look at this mess!!!"

"Awww…you had a bad day? Someone needs a hug!" Gir dropped what was in his hands and jumped on Zim.

"Get off me! Get off me!" Zim yelled as he ran around the kitchen. Gir wouldn't let go.

"Ya shouldna be so mad, Master!!! We gonna have pancakes, we gonna have pancakes…" Gir sang.

Finally, Zim managed to get Gir off him. "Gir, you will listen to Zim!! Clean up this mess immediately or I…will…uh…disassemble you!!!"

"But-" Gir's large, turquoise eyes filled with tears.

"GIR, NOW!!!!"

Zim turned around and walked into the living room, taking a seat on the couch. The television was on, and Gir had turned the mixer back on, obviously ignoring his orders. Zim didn't pay attention, or just did not care. He lied on the couch, and stared at the ceiling. He was disheartened, angry and felt...worthless. He had been bred and trained all his life to be a mighty Irken invader, nothing else. And he had tried his hardest, but it had all been pointless. What else was there for him?

Zim sighed deeply.

For the first time ever in his life, Zim felt like he had no reason to go on living. His thoughts turned to ending his life; suicide is what the humans call it, he thought. In Irk, hardly anyone ever attempted doing such a thing. For an invader to die by his or her own hands was a sign of disgrace and considered a coward's death. An Irken would rather die in a war, assured that he or she would die with honor.

That is all irrelevant now, Zim thought. His own people didn't care about him, and certainly not the human beasts that populated this planet; Dib was a prime example. He was alone, and that thought produced a sharp pain inside of him that he could not explain or had ever felt. He closed his eyes waiting for this new feeling to subside, hating himself for causing it. Yes, it will be for the best, he thought. But how to go about it: slashed wrists, a lethal poison he could concoct, or soaking in a corrosive H2O bath? He felt his eyes slowly becoming heavy, his thoughts beginning to get all muddled.

"Tomorrow," he yawned, "it will end."

He let fatigue take over his body…take over his mind…

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He was running through a dark forest, blindly pushing through bushes and branches.

"Help…Save me…"

"Who are you!!?"

He came to the end of the forest, stepping onto a beach. The sand was white looking more like snow, and the ocean shimmered and sparkled, reflecting the moon and the multitude of stars in the sky. A gentle breeze swayed the nearby trees and circled around him, almost caressing him. As he surveyed what was before him, he looked in the direction of the water. Again, the cloaked stranger was there, beckoning to him.

"Help…Save me…"

"Why do you anger the mighty ZIM? I will rain doom upon your head!!"

He charged towards the stranger. Just as he was inches away from the stranger, it disappeared, and he fell into the deep, dark water…

"AAAHHH!!!!"

…And landed on his living room floor. He sat up, rubbing his superior head. He realized he had fallen off the couch during his dream, that same, infernal dream he had been having every night for over a week.

"That is it!!!" Zim exclaimed, waving his fist in the air. "This dream has toyed with Zim long enough!!

Something then jumped on his shoulders.

"Wakey, wakey Master!!!"

It was Gir, and he was holding on to Zim's head while holding a large stack of pancakes dripping with maple syrup. "Hungry?" Zim got up quickly, causing the little robot to fall over. He looked over to the clock. 4 a.m. on the dot. He still had a few hours left before school started.

"Gir!!"

The little robot's eyes flared red. "Yes, Master?"

"Come with me!!" Zim walked towards his elevator/toilet with Gir at his heels, eating the pancakes. "As of today, that dream will not plague me again," he vowed.

It seemed as if Zim had forgotten his bout with depression from the previous night; he appeared to be his old, overly, egotistical invader self. But as he made it down to his underground lab, he made a decision.

Once I defeat these dreams, he thought grimly, Zim will be no more.

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Okay...it was a bit depressing. I was a bit down when I wrote it, that's my excuse for it anyway...It's getting hard to write this...I really have to use all my creative energy for this. It really helps when people R & R, so please do so now!!! Again, no flames...