Chapter Four

Centuries before Zim was an invader and Red and Purple were the Almighty Tallest of Irk, they were merely young Irkens in training, being part of the Elite, in hopes of being invaders. General Sylen of the Ducorps 12 that once fought alongside Tallest Miyuki, was their first training coach, he was tough as stone and wasn't any different from the other trainers other than Miyuki and Sylen were past comrades. Zim and the other trainees could only stare at the sudden change of scenery, so used to the jagged and unmerciful Irken landscape, that seeing a large pool of Irk's water was perplexing. They soon noticed a bunch of gear on the walls, suits that were heavy with an air sphere button, and two water tanks. Purple saw Zim's name written in Irken, the shortest one next to Skoodge; he noticed Zim was going to pick it up and stopped him briefly, "Uh, hey Zim, can I get a good look at that?" Purple said. Zim looked a bit wary.

"What for?" he asked.

"The...screws look loose," Purple replied, "Wouldn't want an old pal to accidentally drown, you know?" Zim rose an eyebrow and looked at his suit, before Skoodge bumped in to take a good look at it himself.

"They're not loosened, you're a liar, Purple!"

"Shut up Skoodge, you short and ugly toadstool!"

"Just because you're taller than us, doesn't mean you should lie to your comrades!" Skoodge said firmly. Red firmly shoved Skoodge from behind, causing him to give a small bounce on his stomach. Red and Purple burst into laughter at the sight.

"Hey, you can defend pipsqueak all you want, you muffin, just remember where you are on your grading scores!" Red jeered. Purple leaned over and took Zim's suit, smiling.

"You trust me, right?" Purple asked, Zim felt his heart beat rapidly staring at both Red and Purple. He gave a shy swallow and gave an incomprehensible stammer in protest, but Red smirked and pulled him in for a forceful intense kiss. Red swiftly parted, knowing what this trust meant to Zim.

"H-here…" Zim handed his suit. Skoodge was furious.

"Zim, they're taking advantage of you!"

"Didn't I just tell you to be quiet?!" Red shouted.

Purple used his multi tool to tamper with Zim's air tank, drilling a small hole into both tanks before giving it back to Zim. "Zim's such a little minx, isn't he?" Purple cooed. Zim was breathing heavily in Red's arms. Skoodge pulled Zim out of their arms and into a protective corner before Sylen walked in, blowing a whistle.

"Get into your positions! You're swimming laps underwater! There's a button below on each side that you press for each lap!" Sylen barked, "This will train your body to get used to low gravity planets, ones more extreme than Irk! After one hundred laps, you can eat lunch! Now go, you smeet beans!"

Zim and the other Irkens got into their suits and got into a lane started swimming, air sphere helmets activating once they were below the surface; they kicked and moved their arms peddling back and forth until the first few buttons were pushed. Skoodge was falling behind still on his tenth lap but he noticed Zim was struggling. Zim was coughing and gagging, he was more flailing than swimming and his legs were helplessly kicking; although it was against the training session, Skoodge popped his head out as the trainees passed him.

"General Sylen! General Sylen!" Skoodge called in distress, "It's Zim! He's—" Skoodge felt his body be pulled down by Red from below and he was kicked in the stomach by Purple.

"Wouldn't want a tattle tale to ruin our fun…" Red chuckled.

"Yeah, you realize we're saving Irk right now," Purple add.

"Hey, I'm almost done with my laps, you make sure Zim takes the fall will ya?" They fist bumped each other and Purple swam over to Zim, smiling at the sight.

"Pur...ple…" Zim gurgled, water starting to fill his helmet, "H...help...can't breathe...gah...he...help…"

Purple just slightly offered his hand and watched in delight as Zim struggled to grab it, after a few kicks, Zim felt unconscious and he drifted into the darkness of the pool. Purple looked on to make sure Zim had properly drowned, he swam closer to where Zim fell and he found Zim sprawled on his back with his tank beeping in alert. Purple really thought this was the end of it, no more Zim to deal with and this was the nail in his coffin. Zim's eyes shot open, glaring a fierce red in Purple's direction, and leaking black bubbles came from his tank.

"Better hope I don't kill you first, for such an insult…"

Purple's eyes widened as the bubbles became smoke, Zim grabbed his feet to make he was unable to move as a darkness enveloped the water and Purple was struggling to breathe. Purple shut his eyes as Zim pulled him over with an unknown strength.

"Zim please...I'm sorry! Please let me go!" Purple begged.

Zim glared, grasping his hands around Purple's neck, bypassing the helmet. Purple was coughing harshly as Zim smiled sadistically.

"Zim's not here...I am here…" Zim answered.

Purple felt a fierce whirlpool push him upwards as Zim broke into mad cackles, his laughter was filled with insanity mixed in blood lust. The pool bubbled before the waterfall flooded the entire building, the boilers and systems exploded from an unknown substance clogging it; and the top of the large clock became unhinged, killing trainees, slicing their heads clean off before being swept away from the water; once the darkness faded, the water was the color of Irken blood and Zim's form was molded from the fiery clouds. Zim's howls of maddening laughter echoed through the sky, but this was not Zim...Zimalyon stood before them…

Zim sat up from the bed, breathing heavily. He coughed, clutching his chest as an enveloping hot pain came from beneath his skin. He slumped over, trying to steady his breathing. He didn't understand why such a memory came to him, he didn't even realize he had it in his PAK; his memories of that day were far more different due to some sort of memory tampering, but if this is what happened...Zim slammed his fist on the mattress in frustration. Tallest...no, Irken Elite Purple and Red tried to murder him with the training exercise by sabotaging his air tank supply, but what happened after...what happened after?! Zim had awoken in the Irken Hospital after what he was blamed for the pool tank bursting, but Sylen said that the pool was still intact, he was demoted for being honest. Zim clutched his head, remembering the laughing born from insanity...and oh Irk, the stench of blood...this was far worse than Impending Doom One…

Zim gasped when he felt movement and realized Dib had just rolled over to look at him from the bedside. "You...you look better…" Zim replied, "Are you still seeing things when you sleep?"

Dib looked sheepish, "Um, yeah; but, I'm sorry for becoming hysterical. I don't know what came over me. I'm a bit mad you just jabbed me with a sedative...but I don't blame you." Zim, for once, looked apologetic.

"Sorry about that," Zim sighed, "Is it bleeding?"

"I just put a band-aid on it."

Zim rubbed his head as Dib let out a tired breath, the days felt like an eternity as they struggled to survive through this. Zim thought back to that idiotic human phrasing of going up stream without a paddle, as it really felt like they were struggling to even endure this. Zim pulled his knees close to his chest, never had he felt so small before thinking about the situation over, but at the same time, he did not know if Zimalyon was still a horrible foul tempered knight. He shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to give his past self a goddamned knock on the door.

Zim refused to cooperate with him.

"What did you see this time?" Zim asked, trying to distract himself.

Dib looked crestfallen, "The universe ending...not just the end of the world...the end of us. Space was bleeding out red nova like clouds but nothing was born; they were just...remnants of stars, and I just saw that awful castle in the distance hovering in the void," he looked to Zim, "You think maybe these visions mean something?" Zim could only reply with a lazy shrug.

"Hell if I know."

Dib sighed, "Look, is there absolutely anything about it in an Irken library?"

Zim was getting annoyed Dib pulling straws so hard and quickly, but Zim wasn't any better. Not too long ago, he had a fit against Zimalyon, the other part of him from the past. "No...just ancient mythology," Zim replied, "Nothing conclusive." Dib groaned, justifiably irritated.

"Gee, you must be pretty lucky to not see anything weird."

Zim gave a nervous chuckle, "To be honest, I have them too after all this...but let's not ramble. Dib worm, have you ever handled a harpoon before?" Dib looked bewildered as if Zim had asked a personal question, his awkward smile splashed into mouth agape, and eyes as wide as saucers.

"What?!"

"Don't 'what' me, Dib thing," Zim said, "You know what Xaxul did to your pupil, it might be one of the reasons why you're getting these nightmarish visions. I need you to help me kill it; God or no God, I can't let it live."

"Xaxul...the lower God of messengers?" Dib replied slowly.

"It likes to hide from mortal eyes, but luckily Xaxul's large ball shape is his Achilles Heel. Gir can easily spot him while we harpoon it to utter complete jelly!" Zim explained. Dib burst into soft chuckles, Zim glared, "What? What's so funny?"

Dib shook his head, smiling, "No, no...its just ever since this ordeal started I haven't seen you rave like this in ages," he said tears swelling, "I miss our silly little fights, and our rivalry. I feel like if the universe is going to end, then I might as well be at the end with you." Zim felt his heart skip into beats and pulled Dib close and held his hips. Dib felt surprised by the sudden affectionate gesture. They were both quiet, embraced in each others warmth.

"We might not be able to return to those days anymore…" Zim said softly.

"I…I guess so…" Dib closed his eyes and slowly leaned into him. Zim came to realization at the intimacy and shoved him to the bed, "Something wrong?"

"Don't...touch me."

Even though it was Zim who started it, things felt so weird, of course things were different now; their given chosen fates were derailed into an unknown linear path, but Zim felt frightened by this new sensation…

The fluttering and fierce desire to feel Dib at a level he kept at the back of his mind.

The Fool cannot help but love The Prophet.

Shut up Zimalyon. This concerns the Dib and I, this doesn't concern you! Zim thought in protest.

Does it?

Zim ignored him. "Dib, you help man the harpoons, all right?" he breathed, "We're soldiers in a war now! We can't risk being weak!" Zim yelled. Dib flinched as Zim left, his feelings felt as though they were in muddled waters.

Zim brought the harpoons to an abandoned town using a complex teleporters, and wired them to the city's chords and wires. Zim carefully attached Gir onto goggles which read his lens reading while Dib readied himself into his seat; sometimes subconsciously feeling his hips as if the day before felt like an erotic spell. Zim felt flustered at the sight.

"Don't touch yourself like that!" Zim barked, "We're in a battle not a bar!"

Dib felt his cheeks redden, "What the hell are you implying, you stupid lizard?!"

Zim flinched, "N-nothing...I just mean...d-don't distract me," oh crap, that came even worse, and it sounded so fine inside Zim's thoughts, Dib glared looking insulted but stayed in his seat, crossing his arms. He didn't say anything back. Zim sighed, feeling empty as he looked at the horizon, the remnants of an old town felt like a graveyard with dust kicking in the distance. Zim looked about the monitor and readied up a pivot from the ground. Dib was caught off guard when he heard something vaguely reminiscent of a church bell.

"Where's that coming from?"

"It's not coming from anywhere in our realm, I bet," Zim replied.

"What's that pivot for?" Dib asked.

"A flare, bigger than the ones human use. I just have a feeling Xaxul can't stand bright lights, even if his body expels it himself. Oh, and one last thing, take the helmet by your side; it's got a black out function so it can absorb Xaxul's light attacks," Zim showed him how to strap it on, while getting ready to wear it as well, putting on the helmet felt no different than putting on a bike helmet, but it came with extra features like a gas mask, a body barrier, and a round ball snapped air tank with an Irken symbol on it. "I'm going to release the flares, close your eyes if you have to!" Zim pulled a large red lever and the pivot released the flare bullets into the sky, each one leaving a trail of smoke, and exploding into the sky releasing a blaring red light across the city, the ocean and mountains. Dib kept his eyes closed, covering his ears after each boom.

"There's something in the distance…" Dib said once he opened his eyes, "It looks like the sun but…"

"That's not the sun on the horizon," Zim cut him off, "Gir, visual analysis!"

"Zakky boy, it's Zakky."

Zim started aiming as did Dib, "Where is he then? Where's Zakky boy?" Zim asked again.

"The south horizon…"

"Dib get ready to release chains B12, E68, X59, D01, and Z13!" Zim commanded. Dib examined the display before him, and opened up a compartment resembling switches. Dib switched on the numbers in the sequence, and one hundred large chain wheels started to spin underneath. Zim closed his eyes as did Dib as a bright light nearly blinded them even if the helmet softened the blast, the ground started shaking as Xaxul slowly appeared in their presence, faintly.

The Eye, the fourth eye, the unclouded eye, do you see your divine messenger now that your eyes are slightly cleared from the fog?

Zim growled, "Now is not the time for this!" he hissed. Zimalyon's constant yapping was becoming a distraction at this rate; how he wished this knight came with a mute button! Xaxul looked on from over the distance, but Zim could see his grotesque body like it was from a mirage; a disgusting, grotesque ball of flesh and organic compounds and they clung on like a disgusting gum ball. Xaxul was being propelled by two large rusty metal cogs attached to wheels and his mouth was covered by something resembling a bronze casket, but that was all Zim could make out; his eyes started to hurt from staring at Xaxul from far too long, he might've lacked ears and a nose but Zim lurched to the side spitting out blood. Xaxul was truly not meant to be seen by normal eyes.

You're weak without me…

Zim is never weak! He fixed his helmet, catching his breath. "We need to get him appear completely if we're going to get a good aim at him!" Zim barked. Dib gestured to the monitor in confusion.

"And just how are we going to make Lovecraft's chewing gum appear? We can't even stare at him for too long."

"Ooo, ooo, I gots one!" Gir jumped up from his seat and got on the lens reader machine. He leaned over, his robotic sliding open and a large burrito shot out at such a fast speed that it caught fire, before it blasted into Xaxul, the impact left an explosion of the soft wrapping and beans, ground meat, and sides managed to knock the horrible monster on its side. It's camouflage melted as organic tendrils flailed from the attack.

"That...worked, I guess," Dib said dryly.

"Gir, you're absolutely horrible, but that was brilliant and you're free to hurl as much burritos as you can at Lovecraft's chewing gum," Zim added.

Dib pulled down another level and large chains with a sharp hook attached to Xaxul like he was just meat on the hook; but Zim miscalculated how many were needed to hold the God down as ten more struck to his muzzle engraved with a saint that looked human but with her subjects resembling boars. The hooks latched and pulled, and Dib kept his grip on the lever, only for bronze object on Xaxul's mouth to shatter exposing a human like jaw and eight eyes like a flat fish. Dib turned his head away, feeling his vision wax and wane as looking at Xaxul's gaze was bringing upon colors like he was seeing spilled petroleum on the asphalt, and his sanity was slowly pecked away. Dib knelt down, shaking, feeling as if the gravity of the earth was pulling him downwards, threatening to drown him into the earth.

"The human...the human...GIVE ME THE HUMAN!" Xaxul roared.

"Diiib!" Zim howled, "Man, your fire! It's coming up your front!" Dib was scrambling as Xaxul, still wrapped in chains and hooks, started barreling towards him. The horizon felt warped and distorted, and Xaxul's massive tendrils snake along the sky, but they felt wider and bigger by Dib's altered vision. "J-just aim and pull your lever!" Zim shouted, hopping to Dib's side and rotated the lever before the pull. The harpoon blasted like a crossbow, and went through Xaxul's body like a swollen skin bubble being pierced with a needle. Dib coughed and moaned as his brain started to feel like it was going to split open.

Gir let out a shriek before running off of the harpoon machines, Zim had looked confused before realizing the rumble was coming beneath him. Zim hastily took Dib's wrist as they skid across the dirt and sand before the machine was split into two parts by Xaxul's invisible tendrils. Of course these gods refuse to play fair!

"Awww, big meanie bubble head broke Master's Godzilla darts," Gir said.

"It's not completely broken…" Zim added, indignant.

"Uh, Zim...I'm not exactly sure how much of this I can take...my brain feels like...it might...implode?" Dib clutched his head as if he had a bad hangover, or one of the biggest migraines in his life. Zim noticed Dib's skin becoming a sickly pale and his nose was bleeding from the mental assault.

"Give meeee...the humaaaan! He knows too much, he will be disposed by my jaaaaaw!" Xaxul gurgled, his vision impaired but he flailed and thrashed like a blind octopus thrown on land.

Zim didn't know what happened then, his body started releasing steam, in that one blinking thought of agreeing with Zimalyon his body reacted. Zim felt his skin turn as dry as a chrysalis before the skins of green and his pink eyes to antenna felt more and more together. The Zim of the ancient past of blood lustful and the chaotic Zim of the present united in layers, they already shared one soul, but their bodies connected as one.

"I feel...more like me again," Zim chuckled, "But, ohh, I remember so much. Xaxulyxen, you really are a weak piece of shit; killing you would be the most perfect rebellion against my mother."

Dib looked at him in amazement, "Z-Zim?!"

Zim's eyes never looked so fierce before, like the fires that burned on Irk. The Fool has been awakened from his slumber of chains...