A/N: I'm very, very sorry about this late update. I've been busy, but here is chapter six. I had a bit of writers' block at first, as I didn't start writing this chapter until a week after the last.
You all liked that one didn't you? I'll admit, it was fun to write apart from... well, you know. I needed to put Dib in this (some of you put it in your review that he should), so this one is told from his perspective, but still wrote in third person.
Disclaimer: If I really did own IZ, then wouldn't I have been invited to InvaderCON II as a special guest instead of Jhonen and the rest of the cast? Which I wasn't, because I don't own this crazy show...
(Sometimes life is unpleasant, so they say "it's a dog's life").
...
He finally captured his alien. With Sleep Cuffs too.
Dib stood on a tall podium before his fellow humans, which was adorned with his triumphant face. Everyone who ever jeered and called him crazy now stared up in admiration.
"We love you, Dib!"
"How could we have been so blind?"
"Fill us with wisdom from another beyond!"
His podium stretched towards the sky as his cowlick almost touched the clouds. The crowd continued to chant his name as he revealed powerful poses that caused lightning to strike.
Down below, the crowd parted to make way for a van disguised as a circus bus.
Dib saw the small green figure appearing in front of the vehicle. Men dressed as clowns dragged the figure to the back door, and threw him inside.
Dib's podium shrunk to the ground as he looked upon the alien curiously.
The alien looked up with round, glassy eyes that lost all their light. He did look like Zim, but there was something about his eyes that changed.
All the emotion seemed to have drained away. It was like looking into the window of an old home. The occupant had left.
Dib tried to push past the crowd but they grew hostile, and he was pushed back. Then they formed a human barricade to prevent the boy from getting to his foe.
Why wouldn't they let him pass? He tried to push as hard as he could, but they still wouldn't budge.
Eventually, they turned into a wall in which their human faces remained. But there was a small beam of light coming from a small hole.
He peered through the hole. The scene behind was a circus ring with a huge crowd of people. In the centre sat the same green figure chained to the floor, as the crowd threw fruit at him.
It was an old-fashioned circus where they still tamed lions, and trained elephants to balance on beach balls. However, the green alien was the new act. He was the freak show from outer-space.
He noticed someone standing behind the alien. It was a tall, glowing figure. Something stretched from behind its back like a pair of wings. Was it an angel?
Instead of the usual feathered type, they were like the wings of a butterfly. He wasn't sure whether the creature looked human, like most angels tend to appear.
It reached its hand to the back of the alien's head, but he recoiled, not wanting to have anything to do with the angelic life form. Then it backed away into the darkness.
Dib noticed its face for a second. It had pupil-ess eyes just like Zim's. The light atop its head seemed to glow from two long appendages, but it disappeared before Dib could make out any more features.
Now a dark aura replaced the glowing figure, and hovered above the alien until he withered away.
Dib went over to investigate, and found crumpled alien skin. He picked it up, and watched how it turned into a green leather bag. Dust blew off from its surface and into the wind.
Where did the alien go?
The room grew dark until it disappeared, and he was in a new place with towering trees. He could almost hear them stretching with growth as the roots twisted and intertwined.
The forest gave off an eerie blue light. He looked up through the branches.
The blue moon was full. Wait, a blue moon? Those things were rare. Something wasn't right.
Next, as his mind still pondered over the possibility of a blue moon, he heard a high-pitched laugh echo through the woods.
The boy looked around in fear. The trees grew faces, baring toothy smiles. Then a shadow hopped behind a tree, and another giggle sounded. But this time it came from somewhere close.
There was an icy breeze, but it was soon replaced with hot air on the back of his neck. The air was hot and sticky like the breath of a beast, giving off a strong odour of… wait, cupcakes?
As a matter of fact, the scent was sugary like icing.
He turned around slowly.
Standing right behind him was a pink pony... no, a possessed pink pony. Its mouth stretched into a creepy horse-grin. Then it spoke in a shrill voice that rang through the night.
"How far can you run, my large-headed prize?"
It gave off a high-pitched cackle that grated Dib's ears.
Dib made to run, but a tree root wrapped around his leg as he tripped onto the cold forest floor.
"Someone help! There's a possessed pony that wants to eat my soul, and it's pink! Call an exorcist, please! I hate piiiink!"
"And my head's not big!" Dib shouted at the pink equestrian beast.
The pony crept closer, sucking the life out of him until he was weak and breathless.
Dib slumped to the ground, and just as all hope was lost, a huge waterfall fell from the sky, dousing him in icy water.
...
Dib awoke in his bed with a start, jolting upright into a sitting position.
He looked up to see the shape of his purple-headed sister carrying an empty bucket. His sheets were wet as she doused him in icy water. How very sisterly of her.
"Whaa...?" he blurted sleepily, reaching his hand for his glasses on his bedside cabinet. He found them and put them on, and looked up at Gaz again. Now he could see her face better, especially her expression. She was maaad.
She was wearing her light-purple pajamas with the little bat wings, but her face was far from cute.
"Dib, it's five am! Stop yelling about ponies! I can hear you from across the hall!"
It had all been a dream? Thank the heavens. But that meant Zim hadn't turned to ash. Oh carp!
"Sorry, Gaz, but these ponies haunt me night after night. I know they're out there with their evil pony spirits, waiting to feast on my soul and—"
Gaz shoved the bucket over Dib's head. "Hey!" His voice echoed inside the bucket as he pulled it off his head. "What did you do that for?"
"Your stupid voice was making me sick! I'm going back to bed."
She marched towards the door, but not before turning around to give him one more death glare.
"If I hear you utter one more word about ponies, Dib, then I will personally haunt your dreams myself, and suck your brains out through a straw! Goodnight!"
She slammed the door, causing a replica of Bigfoot's footprint to fall off a shelf.
Dib stared at the door very unsettled. He knew she was serious.
The room turned silent once again as the light from the moon cast eerie shadows across his room.
He noticed one in the shape of a pony, and hid under the covers. But once his eyes adjusted, he realised it was the shape of a squirrel outside his window. So he relaxed and went to replace his wet sheets with dry ones.
Once his sheets were changed, he got back into bed and tried to fall asleep again. When he finally drifted off, a mental picture of Zim's face appeared from his dream.
The alien looked different; he weren't himself. Even if he were a manifestation of Dib's mind.
...
Morning came as Dib dressed in his normal attire — his trench coat and blue smiley shirt— and went downstairs.
He greeted his sister once he arrived in the kitchen. She was playing with her GS2 while eating super toast. She had cut holes in her bread to look like an evil face.
Dib stopped for a moment, and noticed her toast staring at him. Only his scary sister could think of such evil-face toast.
She peered up. "Why don't you do something useful, Dib, and go get me a can of poop from the fridge instead of standing there like an idiot."
He snapped out of his trance, and looked down at her irritated. "Go and get one yourself!" he snapped, putting a piece of super toast in the toaster.
Gaz put her game on pause, and glared up with cold eyes. Dib grew nervous of her chilly stare. He started walking towards the fridge.
"Okay, if you say so, little sis..."
He opened the fridge like a good brother should. His hand felt for the cold metal of a poop can, but it landed on something hard and plastic instead. There was also the touch of hair, leaving Dib very confused. So he peered inside the fridge.
Sitting right on the bottom self was a Pink Pony... He let out a scream of terror.
Gaz giggled behind him at the table, multitasking between her game and her breakfast.
"Ha, very funny, Gaz. Is this a joke to you? You know I have pony-phobia!" That's a fear of small horses.
"It's a toy designed for four-year-old girls. Get over yourself, Dib."
Dib growled in irritation, and pinched the hair of the plastic pony between his fingers. He threw it in the trash.
"What were you doing with a 'My Little Pony' anyway? I thought you were more into death and evil alike."
"Says the boy who thinks ponies are scary."
"They are scary, Gaz, and evil! They know exactly what we're thinking. All ponies do! I can see it in their eyes. Their big, sweet eyes…"
"Your toast is burning."
Dib looked at the toaster. There was black smoke curling up towards the ceiling. He made a startled squeak, and ran over to salvage what was left of his super toast. If he crushed it in his hands, it would crumple into ash. So much for being super.
He sat at the table with his loveable sister, and ate what was left of his burnt toast. Gaz never uttered another word, so they sat in silence, with the only sound of an occasional pig oink from Gaz's game.
The Professor had worked late in the lab that night, so he arrived just before Dib and Gaz left for skool.
The three of them met at the door. The Professor looked at his kids confused, forgetting who they were for a moment. He put a gloved hand to his unseen chin thoughtfully, until his brilliant mind remembered. You could see the bulb light up above his head.
"Ah-ha, yes, son and daughter. Where are you off to this morning?"
"We're going to skool, Dad, like we do every day," Dib said.
"Yes, skool is very important, Son. You must get yourself an education, so that you can become a scientist like me!"
"U-huh, sure, Dad. See you after skool I guess..."
Gaz was too engrossed in her GS2 during the brief encounter with their father, so she may have never noticed his arrival.
The siblings walked to skool in silence until they came upon a busy street. There was a group of people crowded around a car. An accident must have occurred, which gripped at Dib's curious nature.
He peered through the crowd to see a man and woman standing over a lifeless form. It was a black-and-white creature. Dib saw that it was a dog, feeling his heart sink.
The dog gazed vapidly into the clouds. Dib couldn't stand to look at its frozen face, so he turned his attention to the people. His skin paled slightly.
"I didn't see it coming. It just ran out onto the road! I think it was chasing a cat or something..." Dib heard the distraught women say. She had been crying, as fresh tears poured down her cheeks.
"It's all right. It wasn't your fault. These things happen..." said a woman from the crowd. Her words, however, had no effect. Guilt was still painted across the lady driver's face.
"He died quickly, so he never knew what hit him," the man reassured. He wrapped the dog in his jacket, and closed its eyes tenderly.
Dib sauntered along behind the crowd, very absorbed in the scene before him. Even though he wasn't very fond of dogs since the whole baloney incident, he still felt upset over its death. No creature deserved to suffer.
"Well, at least it died on impact."
He looked at his sister, who was just as immersed as he was. He noticed how her amber eyes had a shine to them, which settled on the lifeless form of the dog. Her hard expression softened into what almost resembled grief. It was strange seeing it on her face.
Realising that Dib was watching her then, she wrinkled up her face, and returned to her game.
Dib watched her for a moment, and gave a sigh. "Typical Gaz..."
One women from the crowd turned around, looking surprised. "There's nothing to worry about, kids. He'll be fine. All dogs go to heaven."
"Do we look five?" Dib asked, finding her reassurances more patronising than comforting.
The woman was speechless, having nothing else to say. So she turned her attention back to the dog.
They continued on their way to skool, as Dib looked behind one last time. He saw the man cradling the dog in his jacket, which Dib found pointless. It was already dead. Why was he still comforting it and treating it like a baby? But that's just how people were. He probably would have done the same thing. As for his sister, he couldn't say.
When they got to the skool, Dib instinctively looked around for Zim, but his familiar green face was nowhere in sight.
A few other kids were around, such as Zita, The Letter M, and Melvin, who scratched his head like he caught head lice again.
"He'll show up sometime."
The skool bell rang next, and all the children walked into the building like sheep. They were even a few bleating sounds, and one monkey cry.
"Here comes another blissful day of torture," Dib said out loud this time.
Gaz looked at him irritated. "Stop talking to yourself!" she snapped. Dib ignored her. What was the point? Life sucks when you're only twelve and a half.
They entered the skool like cattle into a slaughterhouse, then went their separate ways.
Gaz went up a flight of stairs to get to her class with the delightful Mr. Elliot.
"See you later, Gaz," Dib said.
"Meh," she replied.
She knocked a kid down the steps who was in her way. Everyone should make way for this little girl, or pay a price.
Dib stood outside of Ms. Bitters' classroom. The door seemed to stretch towards the sky with the sound of screams.
He braced himself for six hours of torture, and let himself inside.
The class was running amok. Dib looked over at Ms. Bitters' desk. She wasn't there yet, and he had never felt so relieved.
The rest of the kids sounded like zoo animals; a few were even swinging from the lights like monkeys. The Letter M was squealing like a howler monkey — his favourite animal.
Dib noticed Zim's empty desk, feeling a strange twinge of disappointment over his absence. Where was he this Wednesday morning?
Zita was sitting at her desk, scribbling in a fluffy notebook with a feathered pen. She looked up at Dib. He was staring at Zim's vacant seat.
"Aw, d'ya miss your boyfriend, Dib?" she mocked in her horrible high-pitched voice. A few other kids laughed at her comment.
Dib rolled his eyes. "That's not even funny. Why would Zim be my boyfriend?"
"Because you're obsessed with him, duh. Why else would you stare at him every lunch?" she said.
"Because he's—!"
"An alien," one kid jeered at the back. Everyone laughed.
Dib gave a sigh. He must be used to this by now.
"Don't you all get tired of laughing at me? Get a new hobby."
"Like chasing aliens and big feets?" Sarah said.
"It's BIGFOOT, you idiot. BIGFOOT!" Dib yelled like a crazy preacher-man.
A dark mist materialised in front of the chalkboard, and then it formed into the tall, misshapen figure of Ms. Bitters. Dib noticed how the rest of the class turned silent at that moment. You could almost hear a pin drop.
She emerged from the shadows at last. "Dib! Stop yelling and take your seat!"
Dib's back stiffened once he heard her voice.
"If I hear any more nonsense out of your mouth, then I'll remove that tongue and feed it to my pet python Fluffy!"
A snake hissed in the draw of her desk.
Dib shrunk in her presence, and backed towards his desk with his tail between his legs.
"Y-yes, ma'am," he said.
Ms. Bitters stood before the class as her dark, cruel eyes looked over every student like they were something gooey stuck on her boot.
"Today, children, we will learn about the '2012' prophecy, and why it didn't end the world like it should have forty years ago. None of you would even be sitting here now if the predictions foretold had..."
She stopped at the sound of the door creaking open.
A hunched figure stood at the door's threshold, bowing its head in shame.
Everyone looked at the newcomer, as Dib felt butterflies in his stomach. There was his alien right where he wanted him. Dib was paranoid when he wasn't in sight. Who knew what plans he could devise to destroy mankind!
"Zim, you're late!" Ms. Bitters yelled.
Zim kept his eyes on the tiles. An uncomfortable silence spread throughout the class until the teacher spoke again.
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
He mumbled something unintelligible, never taking his eyes off the ground.
"You may take your seat."
Zim moved to his seat, keeping those contacts of his on the wood of his desk.
Dib leaned forward with a creak, and looked at Zim.
Zim's skin had faded into a lighter shade of green. He was also trembling.
"What's wrong with him?"
His dream suddenly came to mind, which he had forgotten already.
It was like déjà vu. Zim's 'strangeness' reminded him of that part of his dream where he'd changed. And here he was now in the waking world, acting just as different.
Ms. Bitters rambled on with her lecture, but Dib never took his eyes off the alien creature. He could feel that inner curiosity taking over. Dib wanted to investigate Zim's odd behaviour.
Why would an alien act like this? Did he have another allergic reaction to Earth food, or was it something else?
Another million questions were running through the vast space of Dib's head until he noticed Zim watching him.
Their eyes met. Dib inspected his face. There were dark circles under his eyes which lost their shine. He looked terrible.
Zim finally looked away, and buried his face into his desk.
Dib's chin hung loose. Zim's behaviour was abnormal at best.
He watched the alien shake next as his desk shook too, creating a rhythmic rattle against the cold classroom floor.
Ms. Bitters stopped and looked at Zim. The other kids looked over too, confused.
She said nothing, but instead, grabbed a long cattle prod, and poked Zim in the skinny frame of his shoulder. It made a squishy fleshy sound.
"Aaaargh! Get away from me!" he shrieked.
The alien looked around wild-eyed, as all eyes were on him now. The whole class laughed next. Zim hid under his desk, and wrapped his arms around his legs.
Dib was the only one who didn't laugh. He only continued to watch Zim, mystified.
Zim began to rock beneath his desk, which was an involuntary action on his part to help him cope with his fear.
"What's the matter, now, Zim? You are trying my patience!" Ms. Bitters asked. Her tone lacked sincerity.
"I-I can't say…" said the small, shaky voice from beneath Zim's desk.
"Why not?"
"I'm afraid."
"Afraid of what, exactly?"
"Of them... of her..." Zim breathed, hoarsely.
Dib stared dumfounded. The alien was talking crazy.
The other students were in an uproar, finding Zim's crazy edge hilarious. However, a few of them looked unsettled, especially Zita. She did have to sit behind him, after all.
She looked down at Zim. He rocked slowly, as his back bumped into the leg of his desk, wobbling the table.
So she held her dainty hand up for Ms. Bitters' attention, putting on her sweetest voice as the callous teacher was usually the nicest to her.
"Ms. Bitters," her voice sang, pleasantly, "is it okay if we use one of our cards to send Zim to the crazy house for boys? His crazy vibe is making me extremely uncomfortable."
"I'm sorry, Zita, but the asylum is full to the brim with children from our skool. They simply won't take any more students. Plus we've run out of crazy cards, so it looks like we may have to endure Zim's erratic—"
"No… NO!" Zim yelled. "Leave me alone!" He jumped up, and backed up to the wall with his eyes on his desk.
"Stay away! I just want to be a normal pig-smelly like all the other hyoomens."
He shuffled along until he came by Zita. She looked up at him horrified.
Zim caught her gaze. He smiled at her all crazy-like, and then dragged her out of her seat.
"Hey, let me go, Zim. Someone help me!" she yelled to the class. They only stared. Some even looked amused.
"Take the child instead, just leave Zim alone!"
He threw her across the floor. She looked up at him stunned, and then turned to Ms. Bitters. "Did you see what he just did, Ms. Bitters? He's lost it!"
The teacher contemplated the alien with cold detachment, and finally came to a decision. "Maybe we can keep him in a holding cage down in the skool's basement. We housed apes in them long ago. Even the average intellect of a child is nothing compared to that of a chimp. Go figure..."
"Um, Ms. Bitters?" The Letter M called out. "Zim's bashing his head against the wall. I'm afraid it's going to leave a dent."
He looked amused. Probably just being stupid, like all the other kids.
Everyone looked at Zim, who was, very much indeed, hammering his head into the wall.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Head!" he yelled, banging his head in perfect rhythm to each word.
Dib's chin nearly hung to the floor now. It left him speechless, watching Zim acting crazy. None of it seemed real. Well, Zim was susceptible to his random bouts of insanity, but who wasn't? This was something else. There was just more to it, but he couldn't place a finger on it.
"You know, Dib, now would be a good time to rant about Zim being an alien and stuff. We admit, he does seem a little off today," Sarah said, brushing her long blue hair out of her face.
Her nasally voice brought Dib out of his daydream, as he looked up at her vexed. "A little off? Just look at him. He's completely insane! But I got nothing. Even this one goes past me..."
Of all the times Dib had to pick being clueless.
Sarah wrinkled her nose, and then turned away, but not before muttering, "Whatever, weirdo."
Zim was curled up into a ball, whimpering like an injured animal. He kept muttering something about 'dead people'.
"That's it!" Ms. Bitters snapped. "I've had enough of this foolish behavior."
The room's atmosphere grew dark and oppressive at her tone.
She retrieved a spare straight-jacket from the closet, and glided towards Zim's curled form.
The teacher dragged him off the floor, and pulled the jacket over his shoulders. He tried to free himself from her grip, but it worked to no avail. Ms. Bitters won.
She placed him back on the seat adorned in his new straight-jacket. Next, she pulled out a roll of duct tape and ripped the end off as she placed it across Zim's mouth. Now he wouldn't be able to scream like a banshee, but he could probably still hum like a crazy idiot.
Zim didn't seem to notice his new attire. He just sat there staring at the wall with a vapid expression. Next his eyes glazed over, and then his skin turned an even lighter shade of green.
"Well, that was an interesting episode, Zim," Ms. Bitters said, "but if I hear another peep out of you, I will feed you to my snake, whole, while she slowly digests your worthless flesh. Understand?"
Zim nodded once, never taking those bug eyes off the wall. He never did make another sound for the rest of the day. Maybe Ms. Bitters' threat hit home in that crazy head of his — who would want to be eaten by a python?
But the real reason was because he was so lost in himself. He had hit that point of insanity where he ceased altogether, turning into a ghost of himself.
Ms. Bitters floated back to the front of the class to continue her lecture. "Right, where were we? Yes, if the polar ice caps had indeed melted, children, then we would all be living in a huge world of water. Some of us may have evolved webbed feet like that horrible Dirge child. In fact, it may even still happen. So I hope you're all good swimmers…"
Dib had stopped listening to the scary teacher at that part, and glanced over at Zim.
What happened to him? He was usually crazy, but this was crazy on a whole new Zim level.
The boy leaned forward in his seat as his desk couldn't hold his weight any longer, so he fell and hit the floor with a crash. All the children laughed.
Ms. Bitters hovered above him with clenched teeth. You could almost hear them grinding together.
Dib gave her a nervous chuckle, and looked up with a sorry expression. "I uh... fell asleep," he said, hiding his embarrassment behind a toothy smile.
"You stupid child. Get up and sit back down while I tell you more about things that never happened!" the teacher demanded (just like how her everlasting love for that tentacled beast never happened, too).
Dib picked his desk up, and sat back down. But he never took his eyes off his foe: the alien Invader who came to Earth to cause devastation amongst his kind.
Now Zim had changed, and what was that he muttered about dead people?
...
The skool day finally ended, as Ms. Bitters asked to see Zim after class.
All the children ran out the room with sheer joy, but Dib straggled along, pretending to gather all his things in a very slow manner. He wanted to listen in on Zim's talk with Ms. Bitters. Such a nosey child.
"Dib, hurry up and leave my class before I throw you out myself!" the teacher scolded.
Dib hurried on out of the class— not wanting to be thrown out by Ms. Bitters—and waited outside the door instead, but she slammed it shut. Dib sighed. How was he supposed to eavesdrop now?
He looked through the window, but then Ms. Bitters pulled the blinds down once she saw his spectacled face.
Dib remembered that the door wasn't very sound proof, so he pressed his ear against its surface, and listened.
He heard the sound of tape being ripped off someone's skin, followed with a shrill, painful scream. Then there was the sound of a hand slapping someone's face, and the screaming stopped.
It was quiet for a while, with the only sound of rustling material, which Dib figured was the straight-jacket being torn off Zim.
"So, Zim, would you like to explain your inexplicable behavior today?"
There was a pause.
"Well?" Dib heard Ms. Bitters growl.
"Z-Zim isn't feeling too well, sir, I mean, ma'am."
Dib could tell by Zim's voice that he was unsure of Ms. Bitters' gender. She did have a moustache. Just maybe... Dib shivered over the possibility.
"Hm, is that all you have to say for yourself?"
There was another pause from Zim.
"You make me sick. You may leave my class now, Zim."
Dib heard the sound of approaching footsteps. So he flattened his back against the wall until the door opened.
Zim stood there absentmindedly as the door slammed shut. Dib felt Zim flinch from the sound, but he only kept his eyes on his feet. He didn't even notice Dib.
He finally turned away from the door, and walked up the hall to the front entrance. But Dib suddenly came up from behind, and startled him out of his wits.
"Booga, booga!" he yelled.
Zim screamed as he nearly jumped out of his skin, and being insect-like in nature, that probably wouldn't be impossible.
He stumbled and fell to the floor once his foot got caught in a waste-basket. A snotty tissue landed on his face. He pulled it off, feeling very self-conscious of all the germs festering in its thin material.
Zim looked up to see Dib chuckling like a fool, which triggered a small growl from his lips.
"That was low, Dib, even for you. I have no time for your petty, childish games. I have more important things to worry about now."
"Like what? Your new plan to conquer the human race?" Dib said.
"No, other things, " Zim replied, shifting his eyes. "I'm afraid my world domination plans will have to be put on hold for now, until I've…"
He trailed off, becoming too aware of Dib. Then he narrowed his oval eyes with suspicion.
"You're not getting another word out of me, Dib. I can see right through your pitiful mind games. You won't discover my weakness, ever! I will overcome this new threat, and—"
"I'm not trying to play any mind games, and what new threat?" Dib asked, intrigued.
How dare someone takes Dib's place...
"You're lying!" Zim yelled, nearly giving the boy a heart attack.
Zim's mind wandered elsewhere as he realised then the truth. Well, what he perceived as the truth.
"It... it was you, wasn't it?"
"What are you talking—?"
"It was YOU who conjured her spirit to haunt me with your stupid parachuting powers!"
"It's paranormal, idiot, and... what?"
"You can't fool me, Dib-stink. Now I've discovered your ridiculous attempts to thwart my mission. I will destroy you, and your little ghostie friend, even if I may have to sacrifice GIR in doing so."
"Are you talking about necromancy? I don't do that anymore. Well not since last time. My dad still won't let that one go..."
Zim looked perplexed as he blinked a few times. "So, you didn't conjure a little girl ghost to haunt me?"
"No! Why would I do that? Well now that you mention it, it would have been pretty cool. But come on, that's just stupid. Why did you even ask?"
Zim faltered, then tried to occupy his time while thinking of an explanation, by readjusting his wig and scratching his head.
His skin flushed as a bead of sweat ran down his temple. "N-never mind, Dib, nothing for you to worry your big-head about. I'll just be on my way now, so toodles!" he sang in a strange, cheerful voice that wasn't his own.
He turned swiftly on the balls of his feet, coming face-to-face with Gaz, who appeared from nowhere.
Zim screamed once he met that evil glare in her eyes.
Gaz looked irritated by his screaming. "Whiner," she muttered.
"You know, Gaz-beast," Zim started, "you ought to wear a bell collar, so that people know when you're coming!"
She tried to bite his pointing finger. Zim pulled it back protectively, and looked at Dib aghast.
"You should put a muzzle on this 'sibling' of yours, Dib. She's viscous, and I won't—"
Gaz shoved Zim out the way before he could finish his sentence. Now she stood in Zim's place, locking her eyes on Dib.
He noticed that familiar anger in her eyes. She was mad about something, but when was she never mad?
"Dib, where have you been?! I've waited outside for fifteen minutes. Dad called. Apparently, he managed to fit in another family night in his busy schedule. So let's go, now! I'm hungry, and we're going to Bloaty's again."
Dib didn't say a thing. He just continued to stare at her without paying attention to what she said, despite the fact it was his turn to pick where they eat.
His eyes fixed on Zim behind her shoulder, walking up the hall. Zim stopped when he reached the doors, looking back one last time.
A nervous expression took over his face when he caught Dib's questioning stare. He opened the door and ran out the building like a gazelle. But it was fine. Dib knew where he lived. He'll find out what's up with him sooner or later.
"Why did he ask me about ghosts?"
"Dib!"
"What?!"
"Stop standing there, staring at your boyfriend, and let's go home. I'm not missing out on another family night because of some stupid Zim related—"
"Okay, I heard you. And Zim's not my boyfriend! Why does everyone keep saying that?"
Gaz ignored his stupid question, and dragged him away by the collar of his coat. She really meant it; she was not going to miss out on pizza for Dib or Zim.
"And we're having Chinese food! We had pizza last time!"
Too bad. It was pizza again. Gaz will win this one.
The old age question: pizza or Chinese food?
...
Zim walked back to his house in total silence, turning around every so often to see if Dib's shadow stalked him.
However, he didn't see him, so he relaxed. He recognised that look in Dib's eyes, the one where he wanted to investigate something unexplained.
Dib knew something was different about Zim. He was going to discover his new weakness and use it against him.
Dib was out to get him now, as well as… He hesitated, too scared to even think of her. So he kept his eyes on the ground, stepping on chewing gum, but he didn't notice as he was too wrapped up in his worries.
He continued to walk to his home base, noticing how eerie and quiet the street became at that moment. He knew something was going to happen again; it always went quiet when she or any of the others showed up. He feared the worst.
Next he heard heavy panting, which confused him, but he quickened his pace, regardless of how out-of-place the sound was. Who breathed like that anyway?
His footfalls padded along the asphalt as he heard the sound of lighter footsteps. They also came with a strange scratching, like claws.
Puzzled, Zim turned around. No one was there. He put it out of mind, and continued to walk to his base, forgetting about his pursuer until he heard the same footsteps.
Zim had enough. He turned to face whatever creature had decided to pursue him; he would make them pay for crossing with the almighty Zim.
The street was empty, but he did notice the dog with its tongue hanging out. It was a black-and-white collie mix.
The dog perked its ears up once it caught his gaze. It barked, which went right through Zim's antennae.
"Go away, dog-beast!"
The dog cocked its head to the side, and continued to stare at him with big, bright eyes.
Zim ground his teeth. "Don't you try to butter me up with your disgusting cuteness! Be gone with you!" he shouted, pointing a finger.
The dog tried to place its paw on his extended arm.
Zim recoiled from its touch, and then started on his way again. Who cares about a dumb dog?
The dog followed him home, but he let it be. His garden gnomes would sort it out.
Zim saw two figures up ahead, placing flowers on the edge of the road. When he got closer, he noticed they were a woman and a small boy.
The boy knelt beside the flowers, and put a chewed-up bear next to them. The bear looked as if it had seen better days.
Zim noticed he was crying. His mother put her hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay, sweetie. He's gone to a better place..."
Zim found 'sweetie' a strange name to give a child. They never saw him standing there a few yards away, listening to their conversation.
"But he belonged here, with us," the boy cried, as his face scrunched up. Zim found it repulsive.
"Humans look so ugly when they cry."
"I know," his mother replied, "but he was loved. Not every dog has that chance to have a family who loves them, and we gave that to him. I want you to always remember that, okay?"
"B-but he was my best friend…"
The boy's lower lip wiggled as he released a sob. His mother pulled him up to his feet, and hugged him tight.
"Come on, it's getting cold. Let's go back home."
She crossed the road and led him up the street. The woman gave Zim a quick glance and smiled, but he only glared.
Once they were out of sight, Zim approached the stuffed bear, which his malevolent form hid from the light. He wondered why the boy had placed such an ugly bear next to these flowers. It hurt his eyes just looking at it.
He would have kicked it onto the road so a car could do some much deserved damage, but he didn't. He knew it had some significance to the little family he just saw, so he let it be. He never understood why at the time.
Zim heard that small whimper, as he looked down to see the dog on his right. He was staring at the scruffy bear.
The dog finally looked up.
Zim felt his face convulsing with that alien emotion just by looking into his sad brown eyes... They had so much depth, like he was letting him look into his soul.
His innards grew heavy as his antennae drooped under his hair piece — something Irkens only ever do when they are truly sad.
How could an animal show so much pain? And why did it affect him in this way?
Zim began to see a puppy looking back up at him, reminding him of a helpless smeet he wanted to nurture with a word that escaped him. He thought he heard the woman say it to her son, but it never came.
He finally pulled himself away from the dog, which proved a challenge. The dog didn't follow him home this time.
Zim never looked back, as he carried on like the dog never existed.
The dog turned to the bear again, and nuzzled his snout into its soft stuffing. Then he crossed the road and followed the direction of the woman and the boy, but then a car came up on the road. He froze in place.
The car collided with the dog next, and continued up the road.
The dog vanished, like it had never been there in the first place.
A/N: guess what time it is as I write this? 3.00am! I question sleep... Anyway, I hope you liked this, because it depressed me writing it. I hated killing off that poor dog. But it is true what the little boy's mother said; the best you can do for your pet is to love them, and in return they will give you their loyalty (I'm choking up now).
Dib does dream about possessed ponies, that part is canon. If you've read the script to ' The Day of Da Spookies,' then you might recall that he mutters in his sleep, "Look out that pony is possessed!"
Also, do you remember his conversation with Mr. Dwicky? What he says about Zim: "How he doesn't know that ponies know what we're thinking..." I'm explaining too much. I just wanted to give him a phobia of ponies. I'm also a big fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. So that explains a lot. (Not that big of a fan anymore, so gave my ponies to charity. Taking them the glue factory was too harsh).
There probably is a correct term for a fear of ponies. I'll look it up. Update: Equinophobia or hippophobia. Why hippo though? I don't get Latin at times...
I promise Dib will find out about Zim's clairvoyance in later chapters, but Zim has already hinted at it (it was his own fault). So I apologise if Dib didn't turn all 'paranormal investigator' on us. He will, just not yet. We'll take each chapter as it comes. I will try to update in the second week of January.
Also, regarding the Professor: he is just tired from working late. That's why his kids seemed like strangers. He isn't that neglectful of a father; let's give him some credit (though he did call Dib "little boy" when he broke into his room back stage on the show).
Merry Christmas again. I hope all your Christmas wishes come true... Update: this chapter was written during Christmas of 2011, so that's why there's the '2012' joke. Yeah, didn't happen.
Update: The pizza vs Chinese food thing is a new addition I added whilst re-editing these chapters. It just a small bit. When Gaz says they're having pizza again, I thought that was a little unfair, since she got to pick Bloaty's last time. And her argument at the time was that Dib got to pick before her, but then again, it's a surprise Membrane got another night off in his busy schedule. Gaz will probably get her way though. I thought Dib would at least try and get his word in. I think he'd pick Chinese food. Why not, it's amazing... but then so is pizza.
Other update: Dib's dream isn't supposed to make a lot of sense. There is meaning to the images, which you can interpret yourselves. Like why did Zim turn into a green bag? Maybe Dib was just thinking about Irken skin and it came out in that image, like old green leather... I tried to make sure the scenery was changing constantly, as real dreams do. Then again, I'm only using my own dreams as reference. Everyone's dreams are different.