"Zim wasn't human and that seemed to have an interesting affect on how he perceived the paranormal and vice versa." -Abnegation, chapter 6.


Case #142

Location:777 Mollis sed Fortis dr.

Usual reports of supernatural phenomenon. Very textbook. House is in a older part of town, so this is expected. House has had many owners and each one has left months within moving in. A very strong spirit? Or very weak people? Several of my contacts, in the Swollen Eyeballs, Truth Shrieker and my forums have investigated to no avail. Only minor occurrences, nothing to warrant such strong reactions from the owners. I'm bringing Zim. This will be our 4th case as allies. He is hesitant. His previous dealings with spirits have been very…powerful? They seem to be drawn to him. Or he can sense them easier. Maybe both.


The house was ridiculously dark. Dib swore that his flashlight hardly penetrated the shadows. He blindly felt around for a switch. The irken shuffled in behind him, grumbling as the door shut much too loudly. The sky outside was heavy with unshed rain and the air smelled electric. Zim was on edge.

Dib finally found something that felt like a light switch and flicked it up and down uselessly. The darkness remained. Zim growled and took out one of those really weird metal spider legs from his pak. The tip began to glow in a way that was very much unearthly. It gave off enough light that he didn't need his own.

Dib shoved his flashlight in his coat pocket. "Nice."

"What on earth would you do without me, fool?"

Dib scoffed and began to look around. "Well, I'd probably just stumble around in the darkness."

Zim sniffed and made sure to stay very close. "You'd bump into things and probably knock over some stupid heirloom and die. Or get eaten by a ghost."

It wasn't a cliché. No spider webs, no old dusty velvet curtains. No ticking grandfather clocks or taxidermied pets. It looked quite modern, actually. Hardwood and nice furniture. Shiny chrome appliances. But, it was riddled with various items; a vase, a broken picture frame, a few coffee cups. As if the people who had lived here left in a hurry. They took only what they needed.

The house had been abandoned for about six months now. Footprints in the dust,mud tracks from many paranormal enthusiasts tracked through the place.

"Do you remember the details of this case, Zim?" Dib asked, ignoring the 'eaten by a ghost' comment. Zim's light cast very long, pinkish shadows. "Six inhabitants, all leaving within a matter of weeks. They reported heavy foot falls, cold spots, breaking dishes, doors opening and closing, electronics malfunctioning and—" from above them, a loud thump broke the still air.

Zim screeched and jumped closer to Dib, his eyes wide and body tight with adrenaline. Dib had jumped as well (more from Zim's reaction than anything), but he recovered much quicker. "Come on." He whispered, booking it towards the stairs. The irken scrambled to keep up, mumbling things under his breath. Each step made a small squeak, betraying this place's age. The top of the stairs split into two narrow hallways. He stopped and listened for anything that might let him know which way to go. Nothing. He looked behind him. Zim stood a step below him, eyes very wide, breathing labored. The light illuminated his face in a way that left him looking very insect like.

"Do you-?"

"It's that way." The alien said, voice a bit too loud as he gestured to the right. Dib continued to stare at the irken's face for a second, wondering if Zim's certainty was due to his advanced hearing or his sensitivity to spirits. He took Zim at his word and crept down the hallway.

The carpet was thick under his boots. "Which room?" He asked, more to himself.

There were two doors on the left and three on the right. He opened the first on his right and found a tiny room that held nothing more than two huge book cases and a old chair. The one on his left revealed a bathroom. Modern tile, a broken mirror. A bath tub with some toiletries knocked into it.

"Be careful." He said quietly, as he stepped over the glass. It crunched under foot. What had broken it? He could see his face in what remained of the shards. Maybe some stupid teenagers? Maybe one of the other investigators? Or had the spirit done it?

The irken gasped and it sounded like a gunshot in the quiet. Dib's head twisted to the side quicker than it should. Zim was shaking. Dib could tell that, even from feet away. The light on the end of his spider leg flickered, never quite going out. Dib closed the distance between them. Zim's eyes were focused elsewhere, back down the hallway.

"What? What is it?" Dib asked, voice caught between concern and excitement.

"I-I…" And suddenly he could feel the cold as it washed over them. Clouds of air came from their lips and goose bumps broke out on his flesh.

"Holy..." Dib fumbled for his camera. The blinking light let him know it was on. "Zim, say something."

The irken seemed frozen in place, looking beyond the walls. But, when he saw the camera, a familiar sense of caution overtook him. His terrified expression changed very quickly to anger and he attempted to snatch the camera from Dib. The human backed up out of his reach.

"Give me that!"

"Why? It's not to film you, Zim. Remember where we are?" The irken stilled and shook his head, wrapping his arms around himself to protect from the cold.

"Of course. We're in this stupid haunted house."

"Right. And did you see something just now?" Zim looked anywhere but at the camera, at Dib. "Zim, come on! Did you see something? Or did you just sense it? Or was it something else like a sound? Wha—?"

"Cease talking!" Zim barked, waving his arms as if to shoo the questions away. "I…I don't know. I just…know."

"What do you know?"

"That…that it's…that this thing is…it's here and it's," He struggled to find the words. "upset." He whispered, going limp.

Dib let the camera fall a bit. He bit his lip and with hesitation turned to continue down the hallway. After a second, Zim followed him. Dib opened the next door and peered inside. A bedroom. A barren springbox, windows with no shades. Rain drops hit the glass.

"Oh great." Zim stomped into the room. "Did you even bring the umbrella in with you?"

Dib opened a closet. "No. That was YOUR job."

"No."

"Yep."

Zim pouted and leaned against the windowsill, watching the tiny rivulets of water race down the glass. The closet had some very ugly sweaters in it, boxes with what looked like receipts for the last ten years and a bowling ball. Many barren hangers hung from the inside, a mess of old metal. Everything smelt just a bit dusty and old.

Zim screamed. Glass shattered and Dib whirled around, hand going to the pocket that held his knife. Zim was scrambling away from the broken window, all spider legs shooting from his pak, taking him backwards and up and up so that he was hiding in the ceiling corner of the room.

Dib glanced from the window, back to ZIM. "What? What?"

Zim barred his teeth. "I saw its face! In the window!" He felt his heart leap with that age old combo of excitement and fear.

"What did it look like? And are you sure it wasn't just your face?"

"NO! It was…horrible." Zim spat. "It was all messed up. Like something had taken big chunks out of it."

Dib walked to the window. Water was dripping onto the seal now, splattering the carpet. "Did you break this?" He asked, picking up a fragment of glass. It felt very warm.

"D-Dib…" Zim's voice was very small, full of fear. He turned to look at the irken.

"What?"

"I…It's…it's here." And all at once everything went wrong.

The irken fell to the floor and the light went out, bathing them both in darkness, save for the street lights that leaked from the window. Dib scrambled to him, flipping him over just in time for him to start writhing and screaming. Dib felt real fear climb into his throat.

"No no no! I don't—" Dib tried to keep him still, tried to shake him. "Leave me alone! Leave him alone!"

The irken was ripped from him, lifted by nothing and nothing kept him in the air. "I'm not going to—" Zim gurgled and the way his eyes flickered from place to place, made it seem like he was seeing things Dib couldn't. Dib was too frightened to register how cold it was, how the air felt thin.

"I'm not! I'm not! I'm not a failure! Shut up! You're the one who's dead! I'm not the stupid ghost! I won't!" Zim screamed, hands over his antenna. Dib jumped to his feet and tried to grab the irken around his ankles, to pull him down and out of this.

"No! Leave him alone—I'm not going to help you if you touch him!"

Zim fell to the floor and Dib did his best to break the irken's fall.

Silence. Except for their heavy breathing and the rain. Somewhere a clock ticked.

"Zim? Zim are you okay?" He heard the alien swallow and saw his silhouette nod. Dib deflated on the carpet, relieved. "What the hell just happened?" Rain misted his glasses.

Zim hesitantly sat up, checking for injuries, most likely. "It…wants our help." The orange lights from outside very faintly illuminated his face.


They spent 3 hours digging in the back yard. Well, actually Dib dug in the back yard. Zim sat under the awning, arms around his knees to protect from the chill. He refused to go back inside.

Dib had no idea what he was even looking for. But, figured he'd know when he found it. The rain stopped but, he was still soaked to the bone. The dirt was mud and Dib couldn't stop thinking. About this strange ability Zim had. What it meant. Wished that he could see through Zim's eyes. Dib wished for lots of things.

He shivered and looked up from the stupid hole he'd dug himself. Zim had his eyes closed. Dib drove his handy,dandy shovel into the earth once more and hit something solid. He didn't get excited right away. He had found many rocks, some old toys, random metal parts, and animal bones. But the more he dug, the more he was convinced that this was it and when he pulled a heavy trunk from the sunken earth, Dib knew for sure.

He struggled for a few seconds trying to heft it up and felt the load loosen. Dib glanced up to see the irken pulling on the other end, face a mask of disgust at the mud. Zim broke it open with a well placed laser and Dib used his flashlight to illuminate the insides. Old clothes ,folded neatly. Some jewelry and nestled between it all a deadly looking sickle. It was still crusted with old blood. Their eyes met. Dib saw his own emotions reflected back at him.


Case #142 cont.

With the location of a missing murder weapon, the local police can reopen their unsolved case. When asked about how we had found the sickle, I explained the story and was, as expected brushed off and carefully disconnected from the case. Even ZIM who had a talent for making those around him listen (probably had something to do with how loud he was) was unable to make anyone believe us. We were just some crazy kids who had gone thrill seeking and managed to stumble upon something larger than ourselves. Until I can gather more details on who the spirit was and her larger story, this case is closed.


Zim was quiet in the passenger seat. It was 4 in the had kept us for a while, to complete their questionnaires. Dib was tired but, he had long since grown used to late nights. He pulled up next to the irken's house. The car shut off with a clunk and settled with several pops.

He waited for the alien. To leave, to speak, to move. Dib glanced over and found him curled up onto the seat, still and silent. The street lamp illuminated just enough for him to see an antenna as it poked out from the bundles of coats and scarves, to see a thin cheek bone and tiny fingers clutched in fists.

Sleeping? No. The thing that irkens did was comparable to sleep but it wasn't the same. Recharging, he had heard Zim say before.

Dib sighed internally and reached out, pushed the alien's shoulder. The reaction was violent. He uncoiled, gasping like he'd been held underwater for too long. When they'd crawled into the car, Zim had removed his disguise and tossed it aside. Now, in the darkness, Dib could see his glowing pink eyes, one of the most alien thing about him. They were wide and panicked, unseeing.

"Hey. You're fine. You're home." Dib mumbled and he got to see the panic subside, fade back to sleepiness. The car door opened. "Wait. Don't forget your disguise."

"Pfft, what kind of fool do you take me for?" Zim replied, words slurred slightly as he looked around for his stuff. Dib decided not to mention how Zim had left his disguise in Dib's house, car and backpack on several occasions.

"Hey, are you…?" He started, hoping Zim would know what he was asking without having to ask. Silence. "I mean, we don't…you don't have to do this kind of stuff anymore. Ghosts, I mean. I can do it on my own." He searched the alien's silhouette. Zim's shadow was silent. Dib wished he could see the other's expression, to try and gauge what he was thinking, something Dib had gotten better at as the years had gone on. The silence dragged on for so long that Dib almost gave up, took the silence as agreement.

"This is part of the Mission, yes?" Zim shifted to look at him. The orange street lamp was just bright enough. "We...protected the earth tonight. The humans."

Dib blinked. "Yes...not only will no one else have to suffer from the ghos-"

"Marlaine."

"What?"

"The ghost. Their name was Marlaine."

"See! That's what I mean Zim! I could've found that out with research and my connections! But, you just...what, knew? Did they tell you?"

Zim shook his head and looked back out the windshield. "I don't know. So many things, images and words happened. But, I can't remember it all...But, I knew that."

"And where to find the murder weapon." Dib reminded, drumming his fingertips on the steering wheel. Silence again. There were crickets chirping. Traffic sounds. Zim looked far away, eyes downcast and tired. "You saved them. The ghost. I don't know if you understand that. But, now they're free. Or at least they will be. It's a good step."

Zim nodded slowly, forehead furrowed. He opened the car door. The morning air was moist and chilly.

"Wait, Zim! So, what? What's your answer?" The tiny irken sighed.

"I hate it and I hate you. But, it's for the mission, Dib-Stink. And I will do anything for my mission." With that he shut the door and stalked off up his yard's pathway. Dib watched his ally until his front door shut and he disappeared from sight.

Well. He supposed that would suffice.

Zim, even after years of investigation, was still something of a mystery. Dib prided himself on being able to recognize the irken's expressions, and gauging of thought patterns and emotions. He had a high success rate. But, times like these showed him how much he still didn't know about Zim. Zim, who was terrified of ghosts (despite his protests to the contrary) but, still went into haunted houses. Zim who could see and feel spirits, to the point of knowing their locations and names and what they wanted. And he hated every second of it. But, he was there. Standing next to Dib and fighting for his new 'mission'.

And when Dib pulled into the garage and went to grab his backpack, he sighed. As predicted, there was a single large lavender contact. Zim had forgotten it. He carefully picked it up and examined it. What little light there was, glimmered off its surface. It was hard, unbending. But, fragile at the same time.

Dib knew he could break it with little effort. He held it delicately in his palm, planning on keeping it safe until he could return it.


Notes:

Mollis sed Fortis means Delicate yet Strong in latin.