A/N: Here is chapter three. As a heads up the word 'bitch' appears in this chapter. Just to save you from any unpleasant surprises.
Here comes my disclaimer: drum roll... I do not own Invader Zim.
...
Zim paid no heed to the words flowing from Ms. Bitters' mouth. He was too busy fidgeting.
It was a topic that would have definitely captured his most keen interest if the current circumstances were different.
In her lecture, she explained how the Earth will turn into a dead planet with a molten surface. Of course, Earth would be of no longer use to the Empire (even if the Irken race were still alive in a few billion years).
Instead, he could only focus his attention on the sounds in class, combined with the smell of every child. All the sniffs and sneezes made his head pop.
One specific child — the one who claimed he hadn't changed his underwear in over a week — really stunk to the high heavens now. Zita, the girl behind him, was wearing a disgusting candy perfume. It burnt Zim's eyeballs.
He started making little choking sounds, as if a gigantic hippo sharted in his face. What a horrible image (that's enough Youtube for now).
His outburst caught the attention of Dib. Of course it did.
The boy raised his brow in suspicion, focusing all his thoughts on his number-one nemesis.
"What's that alien up to now? Trying to fake being sick?"
Dib hadn't been paying attention to Bitters' lecture either. He knew all about red giant stars anyway, since he was a genius after all with a giant cranium. Furthermore, his father was a world-famous scientist. He informed him multiple times that mankind would be so advanced in another four/five billion years. They'd be able to build a huge space port to hold the entire population of Earth. In that way they could escape its inevitable doom...
Instead, he drew a picture of a small alien, not unlike Zim. It had a red suit and straight lines for antennae. In his picture, men in white suits were taking the alien away, while he was in a weak, helpless state. This was after Dib befriended the little E.T., pretending he would help him 'phone home'.
Ms. Bitters finished her depressing lecture, as she finally addressed the class. "Does anyone have any questions?"
No one stirred. Not even a mouse.
"Good. Now, I want you to remember, children, that we're all doomed. Nothing can stop the sun's power. Nothing! Not even fancy space ports."
She leered over at Dib. He shifted his eyes. What did he say?
Next, the sound of Zim interrupted the class. He was swatting at a fly.
His hearing had become so acute now; he could even hear a faint buzzing sound.
"Be gone with you. You can not deter me, for I am Zim! Future ruler of..." Zim stopped, and looked around the class. All eyes were on him now. His skin broke out in sweat.
"Um... of the United States, of course, as I dream to become future President Man."
Saved it. The humans will be none the wiser...
Ms. Bitters released a growl from her lips, then hovered before him.
"Why are you interrupting my class, Zim?"
He looked into her eyes and gasped. A chill coursed through his body. Never before had he noticed how frightful she truly was. She had acquired a demonic tone to her voice, one which seemed to reverberate through the bones of his body.
He shrunk back in his seat as the teacher loomed above him. Her shadow swallowed his shivering form.
She leaned closer. "Well?" she sneered. The smell of decaying flesh escaped between her fangs.
Zim sucked in a breath, then closed his eyes. Next, images of a rotten corpse flashed behind his lids. Maggots squirmed on its open wounds, while pus popped and burst. But the smell... oh the smell.
He broke out in a cold sweat while the images flashed before his eyes. Why was she doing this?
It was only then when he saw the organs. Inside its open chest cavity was the bluish hue of a squeedlyspooch. Oh dear... oh dear no...
The rest of the class watched in fascination while Zim writhed and twisted.
Dib stared in awe. What was this? Zim was acting all weird and alien again. He had to take notes! So he got out his notepad, and scribed away.
Zim doubled over in pain. Then he fell out his chair and hacked up his organs. All the children stared in horror. The little fairy princess was even crying, but Zim blocked her out.
He had never known such despair in all his life. It was like she was sucking all the joy out of his system. He remembered a simpler time, when he had to clean dirty bathroom stalls back at Shloogorph's. That seemed like a walk through the park now.
He braved another glimpse at the teacher, feeling the need to pray to a deity. He didn't know why, but her face made him want to repent his ways… well, almost.
"Get up, you pathetic maggot." Her voice made his blood freeze.
He wobbled to his feet and sat back at his desk, noticing her smell vanished.
Now it intrigued him. What was she? It was like she was hardly human at all.
He could feel her watching him like a hawk. He had never felt so exposed. Could she see his organs?
"You horrible child," she said. "You weren't paying attention to my class, were you?"
"I... no."
She growled in his face, and he got a whiff of her breath again. She really did smell like a rotten corpse. It was hard to miss, yet everyone else was blissfully unaware.
She finally moved away, and Zim had never felt so relieved.
"Stupid teacher."
Next, her voice broke his thoughts, and he shivered once again.
"Zim, you will write a five-thousand word report on the death of our sun by next Monday morning, and if I see any form of plagiarism in your work, I will send you to the deepest depths of the underground classrooms..."
He had a good idea now of where those underground classrooms lead to after hearing her demonic voice.
Silence spread through the class. No child stirred. Except for Dib.
He chuckled in the corner, as Zim glowered his way. But then Ms. Bitters floated to his desk, and swallowed him up with her shadow.
"Dib, you will write a one-thousand word report on why the idea of alien life is nothing but a big conspiracy."
The boy stared, agape. "What? But I didn't do anything. Zim was the one who—"
"Silence!" she hissed. Her serpentine tongue licked his face. "I just don't like you. So, one-thousand words on why aliens do not exist. I repeat, do not exist."
"But... there's an alien sitting right there," Dib pointed to the alien in question.
"Zim's just hideous with an unfortunate skin condition. Now get to work."
"I have to write my report now?"
"Yes, that head is large enough to store sufficient data."
Dib grumbled, and started writing his essay on why the idea of alien life is a big, fat conspiracy.
Zim felt satisfied about his punishment, despite his own, as it was a small, sweet victory.
...
The day dragged on endlessly while time seemed to cease. Maybe another bug got caught up in the clock's mechanism again. The hands were on ten minutes to nine all day.
Not much really happened for the rest of that horrible Tuesday. Zim got a lot of taunts from Dib, who, in return, received plenty of his own from the rest of the student body.
Zim's food looked and smelled like cow manure, as every child who passed him had their own disgusting smell. It made him want to regurgitate his meal from the previous night.
The meal was an Irken equivalent of a posh gourmet dinner, as he and GIR dined to celebrate his PAK upgrade. Minimoose cooked.
GIR kept calling it a date as he would shout: "Me and master are on a date!", but now the memory provided him with some comfort in his miserable day. GIR was just so obnoxious; it was amusing to a certain point.
Once three o'clock came around, he bolted out the skool doors like lightening, trying to get as far away as possible before he was trampled by a herd of children.
He was too pumped up with adrenaline to notice the purple blur ahead, as he collided into the object.
The Irken opened his eyes, and saw a face he would rather not see at such close range.
Gaz glared up at him with vicious eyes.
By mere coincidence, Zim had bumped into Gaz. It was an awkward situation.
Although she smelled human, he noticed he wasn't so repulsed by her scent. It was still strong, but not overpowering like that kid who doesn't change his underwear. Her scent was dark and almost vanilla like. Did darkness smell like vanilla now?
"Why are you still sitting on me, Zim? Get off!" she yelled.
"Huh? Oh, sorry, Dib-sister." He stood up. "Zim should have looked where he was… Wait, I shouldn't have to apologize to you, meat-sack!"
Gaz punched him in the gut, as he slumped to the ground. Well he shouldn't have called her a meat-sack. No one insults Gaz, unless they want to die.
She leered at him, and narrowed her yellow eyes. "Stop whining. Your high-pitched voice is making me feel sick!"
She gave him one last kick, then walked off home.
After the pain of Gaz's killer boot subsided, he got up off the ground, and went back to his own base.
Along the way, he came upon house he passed many times. This house was certainly out-of-place. It was still made of brick and concrete, like most Earth homes from the late 20th century.
Homes now—in the 2050s—are made from impenetrable steel to avoid burglary and theft. They are also built in with a security system, which was a type of force field surrounding the house — Professor Membrane's design.
The house had a timber door, and the windows wooden frames and shutters. Something about this old-fashioned house caught his attention. It wasn't its out-dated appearance, but something else.
The sensation was like gravity. He could feel it drawing him in, until the house was the only thing in sight. The house had some strong energy field.
He stood outside the steel, rusted gates, and looked up at the house. Despite its retro-appearance, the garden was well-kept, blooming with many flowers. There was also a pond and a rather normal-looking garden gnome, holding a fishing rod over the water.
Zim examined the house. There was definitely something about it. He couldn't break away from the hold, but to his surprise, he found that this further piqued his interest.
There was just that sense of mystery and of the unknown. He was starting to understand Dib and his obsessive ways. Suppose this home was as alien to Zim as he was to Dib.
He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him, trying to figure out the source of his interest. He sensed movement from inside the house.
He opened his eyes and looked up at the second-floor window.
The curtains moved slightly. He swore he saw a face as he kept his eyes on that window.
The curtain parted again, and then a person appeared. She was an elderly lady, who looked down at Zim questioningly. She was probably wondering why a green-skinned youth was staring at her house.
Their eyes met. Zim didn't like that scowl on her face, so he sharpened his eyes, and glared back as if it were a staring match.
The old woman's face softened next. Then it morphed into pity. Maybe she felt sorry for the lonely, green-skinned boy. She let go of the curtain.
Zim's hardened face softened too, since he was quite surprised. He thought old people hated kids near their homes. So why didn't she put up a fight?
However victorious he felt over his small 'victory', it didn't last, because another feeling lingered inside.
He detected a look in her eyes just before she left the window, which gave him that tugging sensation in his chest again.
It was pain that he saw, as if the old woman knew great heartache.
He looked away from the house, and started walking back. He put one leg outwards to ready himself, but not before looking up at the window again. She still wasn't there. A strange feeling of disappointment came to him next. Maybe he liked their brief encounter?
He shook his head to put the house out of mind, and began a soldierly stride. But his foot stepped on something soft.
The alien looked down at the ground. There was a doll which appeared from nowhere. He scanned the street, and after seeing that all was clear, he decided to pick it up and inspect its appearance. He didn't look too impressed.
It had a bulbous head with yellow woollen hair in pigtails, and a little pink dress. But it was the face Zim hated most. It had puffy cheeks with a plastic smile, achieved by a permanent curvature of its lips. It also possessed a pair of two-dimensional eyes that were too sweet and creepy.
"Eh, what is this?"
There was a strange scent that radiated off the doll.
Curiously, he sniffed at its plastic head, and winced. It was a sweet odour like baby powder. Not that Zim would know how baby powder smelled, but he could assign the smell with an image of a disgusting Earth toddler. It was just too cute and sweet.
"A doll with a scented head? Pathetic! Irken Smeets play with more advanced dolls!" (Dolls that are armed with weaponry that is. All the more to train them for battle...)
The big-headed doll had a label attached. He read the name that was written in pink felt tip.
"M-mol-ee."
The ink of the felt tip gave off another odour of strawberries. This doll was too sweet in every horrible way possible.
He moved away from the house as he couldn't let go of the doll. It was as if it were glued to his hands.
Where had it come from? And why did it turn up when he was absorbed in the house's presence?
After much staring and gawking at a child's play-thing, he stumbled on a rock, and hit his face on the ground.
The doll landed in front of him. He glanced up to see it staring right at him with those creepy cartoon eyes. Its smile grew wider.
The doll looked as if it were alive with conscious thought. He shuddered. Someone walked on his grave...
Wait a minute, this was Zim — the mightiest Invader of all. How could a doll scare him?
So he lifted himself off the ground, and kicked the doll. "Stoopid doll. You can't frighten me with your big and smelly plastic head!"
An eerie silence followed.
He looked around, wondering if someone was watching him. He was imagining a lot of things lately. First it was that creepy old man, and Ms. Bitters' demonic persona. Now it was this doll.
The doll was lying on its back with a childish grin. Zim rolled his eyes, and bent down to pick it up.
Once his hands made contact, a sensation ran through him, paralysing his feet to the ground. The feeling eased its way through his system until it overcame him. His eyes shut as a faint image came to his mind. What was it?
The images came into focus at last, as it was like looking through a window.
From this new perspective, he could see a path straight ahead. There were a pair of bright pink handle bars with a small set of hands. He felt wonderful, like that feeling you get Christmas morning when you find that Santa left you presents. That was because he got a brand-new bike. Plus, he just learned how to ride like one of the big kids on his street.
He was singing a little song to himself. It felt foreign coming out of his mouth, but it was good to feel young and free without a care in the world.
He was riding down a street that was very similar to the one he was just walking on. But this street had more old-fashioned houses. The sky was also blue. That was strange, because the Earth sky he knew was a reddish pink.
He looked ahead and saw two people coming his way. When they got closer he recognised their faces, although Zim had never seen these people in his life.
They finally approached him. Standing there were two girls his age. Maybe a year older.
It was the way they looked at him that made him feel uneasy, a kind of nasty, knowing expression that they seemed to share like evil twins. This was what they were looking at them again. Their faces were identical, except one had more freckles than the other.
They jeered and circled around him, as his face grew hot with embarrassment. Then they started calling him childish names, but they still hurt. He was more sensitive now. These words cracked his outer shell, penetrating his soft, gooey centre.
Then the nastiest of the twins got very personal. It hit a nerve that Zim didn't even know he possessed.
"Haha, your Daddy's dead!" the little bitch said.
She was at least six, but the child had a nasty mind already.
A flood of foreign emotion engulfed Zim. It hurt so much, stinging at his heart that was in his mouth. He looked at the girl again, who turned blurry due to the tears building up in his eyes.
Next, he found himself doing the complete opposite of what he would normally do — yell from the top of his throat and assure them, and the world, of his superiority. Instead, a pained cry clawed its way up his throat.
He peddled away on his bike as fast as his legs could go, but he could still hear them laughing, which hurt even more.
"Why do they have to be so mean? I thought they were my friends."
His thoughts seemed more fragile and innocent now. Nothing like all the cruel, twisted thoughts his mind conjured in the past.
He felt so heartbroken, which turned his world grey. That previous sunshine disappeared behind a dark cloud at last. He had never felt so helpless.
Why did his Daddy have to go? He couldn't understand. Why did someone you love have to go like that? Daddy was strong. All grownups were, right?
With this mentality, he could not fathom death. It felt as if his dad had just gone to work, or on a long holiday. He wasn't gone. He will see him tomorrow. Everything will be fine again.
He was too wrapped up in these thoughts to notice the street lamp ahead. He bumped into it with such a force that thrust him over his handle bars, and onto the gritty pavement.
A burning pain ran up his arm. He scraped his skin. The blood pumped out vigorously, dripping onto the pavement as it turned scarlet. It never occurred to him that his blood was of a different colour, but it still had the same metallic smell with which he was familiar.
His sobs grew louder due to his new pain, and with the one he was currently battling. He felt so small and fragile. It was just too much to bear.
So Zim finally gave in, and let the pain entwine around his heart in a tight, endless grip. He never knew such a feeling, as he didn't think it ever existed inside him.
It consumed every little part of his being. Was it always there, or was it influenced by some external factor?
He decided it wasn't the latter. This grief was his own, which he despised, but he didn't want to lose it even so. A strange comfort came with it.
Zim understood a little more about these creatures of the Homo Genus. This feeling of loss was one major function of their survival. Without it, they were hardly human at all.
His eyes burnt from all the tears as it hurt to breathe. So he looked up at the sky, and a sweet alien thought sprung in his young mind.
"Is Daddy an angel now?"
The clouds looked like a mountain range in the light of the setting sun, turning them into a mixture of yellow, orange and pink.
It was very impressive. How could clouds of vapour have this effect on him?
He wondered if this was what heaven looked like. A warm feeling grew inside, as he continued to watch the beautiful mountains drift high in the sky.
The soft purr of an engine brought him out of his little fantasy, and he looked up to see a shiny car. It pulled up beside him on the road, sweeping dust his way. The driver inside was a man his Daddy's age, as he gave him a warm smile.
He pulled his window down. So Zim stood up.
The man spoke in a sweet, caring tone that would melt anyone's heart.
"Are you lost, sweetheart?"
"N-no," Zim stuttered. His voice was of a high-pitched quality. It didn't sound right.
"I can take you back home. I know your mommy; she's worried about you..."
"She is?" Zim said nervously. He didn't want to get into trouble now, did he?
"Come on, get inside." He gestured to the empty seat next to him.
Zim was flattered as this kind grownup offered to take him home. He didn't want to run into those twins again, and this man looked just like his Daddy. He had a similar warmth in his eyes...
"Okay!"
He felt happy again, like the sun had broken through the clouds. The man pulled up the window. If Zim had been in a different frame of mind, he may have noticed a change in the man's eyes. But, of course, he was a mere child, who saw only the good in people.
Zim looked into the glass of the window, and recognised his reflection. There were his blonde pigtails and his pink dress, which his Mommy dressed him in that morning.
Wait, something felt off. This wasn't Zim. This was a small female Earth-child. What was he doing in her body?
He finally realised what was happening.
Next, the car and the man faded, and then he felt himself being sucked through a tight tunnel.
He opened his eyes and gasped, looking around to familiarise himself.
What just happened? Where had he gone and who had he been?
He still grasped the doll, which continued to stare. He pulled it away. It held a knowing expression, yet he noticed something else. Its smile vanished. That plastic mouth closed tight, making the doll look sad.
The experience made Zim very unsure of himself. He nearly had doubts about his own identity, until he felt his face. No nose or ears, he was Zim. He seemed to have adopted the persona of a little girl. Had he become her?
This experience gave him insight into another's perspective, but why the one of this small Earth child? He felt her pain, happiness, and fear.
That feeling of heartbreak still left a small pang in his chest. He looked at the doll, wanting to dispose of it immediately, but he couldn't.
How could an inanimate object help him see beyond his own comprehension?
He looked at the name tag again. "Moll-y... What on Irk is Moll-y?" He let it drop, and walked back to the base with doll in hand.
He recalled that feeling of loss again. The word "grief" played about in his mind. It seemed to have lost some of its significance, though he was still intrigued by it.
After a few steps, he saw a faint shadow in his peripheral vision. There was a small girl. He didn't like being followed, especially by a snot-faced Earth brat.
He turned around. The street was empty. A gust of wind blew on his face, followed with the smell of strawberries and baby powder. He could still sense the girl as a shiver ran down his spine.
He looked back at the house. The old woman was standing at the door, watching him carefully. She closed it once she noticed he spotted her, and shut the door to the world outside her home.
Zim felt a flutter in his heart when he saw the old woman. It was almost like he knew her from somewhere.
He heard a faint murmur on his left. "Mommy..."
"Who said that?!" he shouted.
No sound followed.
Sweat ran down his face as he gripped the doll. He was definitely imagining things.
So he ran back to his base like death was on his trail.
A/N: The name of this chapter is from a movie called Fluke. It's named after a sad little piano song that plays throughout the movie, which is about a man reincarnated as a dog.
Ms. Bitters is a demon in this fic. I thought it would be a good twist with Zim's new powers; he could see her now for the true monster she is.
That random ZaGr scene wasn't really appropriate, but I don't have a particular favourite ship in this fandom, and not one of them bothers me (not even ZaDr, I try to be open-minded). However, this is not going to be a romance, because Gaz in this fic is ten-years-old.
Does anyone remember Cabbage Patch Kids? If you do, then that's what Zim's new little friend is (their heads really did smell like baby powder).