Different or Not
I don't own Invader Zim. Unfortunately. If I did, Nickelodeon would receive a swift kick in the shin.
Also, I don't own "Parade" by Voltaire, although it is a very awesome song, and I wish I could claim to have some involvement with it's creation.
a/n
Waaah! I'm so sorry! I took even more than a week this time (by a day or so, but more is more)! Weekly is about as good as I can get for now, though. Unless mom shares her computer more often (*staring at my mom to emphasize this point*). I love you all for being patient with this story! Anyway, it's Question Answering Time!
Invader Kit:
Tallests Miyuki and Spork were Red and Purple's predecessors. Spork, Miyuki's successor, was killed accidentally in the same way as Miyuki, both by Zim. You can learn more about it by reading the script for an unmade episode, "The Trial". You can find it wherever the scripts are online.
Okay, one reviewer asked for ZaDF instead of ZaDR. Sorry, but from the way I have things now, that'd be really difficult. After seeing how many people wanted ZaDR, I started thinking out how to put it together, and I have the basic outline of the rest of the story now. It'd look really awkward if I tried altering it to be ZaDF, so I'll just do my best to make it not suck ^_^" Maybe I'll make a ZaDF fic another time. Sorry again to that reviewer.
Skelli: On with the show! Or fic. Whatever.
"talk"
'think'
music
'Ugh. Where am I?'
Dib looked up. Everything was blurry. He vaguely made out the shape of his glasses on the end table nearby. He noticed that he was covered with something.
'A blanket? Am I home? All I remember is passing out at Zim's house. Maybe I walked home and didn't remember it?'
He took his glasses from the table and put them on. Now Dib could see where he was, and he didn't like it one bit.
"What! Why am I here?" Dib shouted, jumping off the couch he'd been laying on. "What's going on here?"
He stopped yelling when he heard something he hadn't noticed before. There was music coming from the kitchen. Dib peeked around the doorframe to see Zim, seated at the same table from the waffle incident. The alien was out of disguise; his large magenta eyes were half-closed in boredom. He tapped a finger in rhythm to the song that was being played over his PAK's speakers. In his other hand, he held a silver-colored can bearing the Irken's symbol. He didn't seem to notice his unhappy guest for a minute, but when he did, he broke into a large grin. His still half-closed eyes, paired with the smile, gave him a devious expression.
"Hello, Dib." He said. Dib jumped a metaphorical foot at this. He was found!
"Uhm… Hi, Zim." The human expected to be thrown out as a plaything for the gnomes, but it never came.
"I've been awake since before your pitiful sun rose. I was… thinking. About my future. I have no mission, so there's no sense in trying to take over earth anymore. I only wanted Earth for the Empire but now that I'm…" Zim choked up a bit, but clenched his teeth and continued. "Now that I'm here permanently, I have no need for your disgusting dustball. You are now free to live out your remaining decades without worrying about alien takeovers."
Dib couldn't believe his ears. He won! By default, more or less, but it was still a victory in his book. It all sounded far too good to be true! 'But wait… This is…'
Dib started to laugh. It began as a quiet chuckle, before escalating into an almost maniacal giggle. Zim twitched an antenna in confusion.
"What is funny, Dib-worm?" Zim asked once Dib had calmed down a bit. "Did Zim not just guarantee your planet's safety? Shouldn't you be grateful to Zim?"
Dib looked at the Irken across the room from him. "Are you serious? You've got to be joking. This is ridiculous!"
Zim, realizing the issue, returned to his original bored face. "Of course Zim is serious. I've got no reason to lie now. Do you think you'd still be here if it were a trap? I had you defenseless. Asleep on my couch! If I wanted to finish you off, I would've then. I may not be the most competent, but I'm no idiot."
Dib was taken aback. His long-time foe was making sense for a change. "You… You're serious?" He asked warily. "I swear, if this is another trick-"
Zim raised a hand to silence the boy. The alien looked rather uncomfortable as he looked to one side, his brow furrowed. He rubbed the place his nose would be, if he had one, and coughed slightly. "This is no trick, Dib. I meant every word." Zim's gaze trailed back to the human now seated before him, and he resumed the sly grin he had begun with.
It was Dib's turn to feel awkward. He shifted under Zim's unblinking stare. "So… Is that it? It's over now, right? I can go now?"
Zim's smile only seemed to widen. "Not quite, Dib-stink. There was another thing I had considered early this morning."
The music that had been playing over Zim's PAK speakers changed. The song started slow and quiet, almost creepy. Soon enough, a semi-deep male voice filled the air.
You know it's true. We're both the same.
In a storm of words we get lost in what is said.
"Zim, what are you-"
Dib was interrupted mid-sentence. "Shh. Listen."
You know me.
And you see through me.
So why are you confused by the things I say and do?
Do you know me?
Dib relaxed a bit at the calming tune. He was beginning to understand.
You see the strain upon my face.
Please don't rain on my parade.
It comes too light, it comes in waves.
It's gone too late.
Zim smiled. He looked calmer than usual. Happier.
It goes astray.
It goes too far, and you say,
it's clear I know where all your buttons are.
It's not so strange, you know, it's not so queer
that I know they're there
'cause I'm the one who put them there.
Exactly as you feared.
The music flowed through the room, calming the two listeners and unwinding truths that had always been ignored.
I know you. And I see through you.
So why am I confused by the things you say and do?
I don't know why.
I see the strain upon your face.
I won't rain on your parade.
It comes too light, it comes in waves.
It's gone too late.
Don't steal the smile from off my face.
Please don't rain on my parade.
It comes too light, it comes in waves.
It's gone too late.
The song lapsed into an instrumental verse, during which Dib had time to reflect on what he'd heard so far. 'Maybe…' He thought, "Maybe we're not so different."
I know that I can't replace you.
And it would be a lie to say that I
could ever try.
Don't steal the smile from off my face.
Please don't rain on my parade.
It comes too light, it comes in waves.
It's gone too late.
You see the strain upon my face.
Please don't rain on my parade.
It comes too light, it comes in waves.
It's gone too late.
It's gone too late.
It cuts two ways.
It cuts two ways.
It's gone too late.
The two sat in silence for a while, neither quite realizing the song was over. Dib was first to break the silence.
"So… It's over?"
Zim smiled lopsidedly at this. "Yes, to some extent. Don't think I'll leave you alone, though."
"Definitely." Dib agreed, flashing his own grin. And they shook on it.
"Why did you play a song, instead of just talking?"
"'It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.'. Mark Twain, yes?" Zim recited as he stood.
"How do you know about Mark Twain?" asked Dib.
"I pay some attention in Skool." Zim said with a wry smile. "Besides, Zim didn't have more than three weeks. Only a morning." And with that, he walked away.
a/n
YAY! I finished! I just get warm fuzzies when I finish a chapter ^.^ Sorry for any OOC-ness in this and any following chapters. Then again, ZaDF and ZaDR themselves are OOC by definition. Ah well, you know what I meant.