DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its characters. I am not claiming that I do!

Chapter Three: Going Out With a Bang

"So…That's the current situation."

Everyone looked at Jhonen, who had just announced the soon-to-be cancellation of the show. Production had come to a halt as everyone glanced to one another, unsure of what to say. Jhonen crossed his arms, waiting for someone to talk.

"What will happen to us?"

That seemed to be the question everyone seemed to mentally ask. Nervous eyes looked to Dib, then to Jhonen. "I'm really not sure. I guess what happens to every all characters of cancelled shows…"

What was Jhonen talking about? The poor characters of an animated show when it ended…Like what happened to the casts of "Rocko's Modern Life", "CatDog", "Hey Arnold!", and many others. See, when a show, like Invader Zim, shows so much promise, so much dedication from the creator, the characters become real. They still look animated, but they're alive. They're just as real as you or me.

You won't find that anymore. The animated shows today are just corporate slaves, put up just so the Network can make kids mindless, little zombies.

So…What happens when a show with real characters is cancelled? Those characters vanish. They slowly disappear, their body chemistry seeing them as "obsolete". Where do they go? No one's really sure…It could be another planet, dimension, or…nowhere. They could just fade away, never to be seen ever again.

It was quite sad really.

The crowd dispersed, seeing that Jhonen had slinked back to his office without another word. Two episodes were to be completed, and then they would have to start work on the Christmas episode. The last episode.

No one spoke, besides the occasional words between working co-workers. The characters, including Zim, stood around. The minor and background characters, as well as the few number of cameos, stood looking at the main characters.

"Well…We better get to work," Dib finally said as he walked away. He got several nods of agreement from the classmates and Gaz as they left, too.

"Wait!"

They turned to look at Zim.

"We can't just give up! This is our show…Look at all the hard work we put into it! We can't just let all that go to waste…Not like this!" Zim stood in a signature, determined pose. He had his antennae flattened against the top of his green head, staring at the others.

"What else is there to do, Zim? Jhonen tried…and not even he was able to stop the ending of the show." Dib looked around at the people surrounding him, seeing how they seemed to agree.

"Well…Why don't we go there ourselves?"

"What? That's insane! We can't risk exposing ourselves!"

Dib was right. It wasn't only a rule to not show one's animated self outside the perimeter of the show's production building, but also just plain common sense. The fangirls were rabid enough; they didn't need them or anyone else to figure out the characters were real.

Zim looked around, growling a bit as the people around him began to disperse, clearly not on his side.

"Sorry, Zim. I know this is your show and all…But there's nothing anyone can do about it." Dib walked away, his hands shoved in his pockets. He and the others left Zim standing alone, in the poorly lit part of the production building, not too far away from the closed door of Jhonen's office.

Zim stood there, staring at the ground.

He hated this…feeling. This "defeated" feeling. He knew that if this was on an episode, he would've shook it off and kept on going. He would've figured something out. But that wasn't him. He wasn't like that when he stepped off the set, when the cameras were turned off. He was determined, and prone to easy outbursts, but…he just didn't have the same drive as his character portrayed in the series.

This…just wasn't fair.

He didn't have a script for this. He didn't know what to say.

Is this what the other poor cancelled characters felt before fading away into oblivion? Like Rocko, Arnold, CatDog, Ren, or Stimpy? Did they feel this way? Did they even know it was coming? He wasn't sure; though, he wished he did.

He could storm the Network, make them take back their horrible decision. But the main building was pretty far away; he would have to pass several people along the way, along with a large parking lot. He would be seen no matter what he did.

On the show, he would've tried it anyway. He wouldn't have given it a second thought. But this wasn't the show.

What else was there, but to go out with a bang? To fix mistakes, to make short-lived friends, and make the best episode ever?

That was insane. "I have no mistakes!" Zim harshly whispered to himself. And it was true—Right? "Of course!" Zim crossed his arms.

But he could make the last episode the best. He nodded his head, a sad smile on his face as he walked away. The lights were beginning to shift, trying to fix the lighting for a particular scene.

Invader Zim was going out with a bang.

End of chapter

Yeah…Probably not my best chapter. I know a lot of you wanted Zim to go trash the Nickelodeon building. But I think that's been done before. I'm not sure…But there are two more chapters.

Yeah, not the happiest chapter ever. I'm sorry…But it's going to get worse. Well…Only for the next chapter. The very last chapter is a very special surprise ;)

Just to say, the song I listened to for this chapter, with the same mood of it, at least to me, is: All the Right Moves by One Republic.

Next chapter will be up soon! :)