Fun fact: When I first joined the Invader Zim fandom I thought I'd never write a fanfic for it.
Chapter one:
Year 2024, January 22nd, Monday, 10:00am, Planet Irk, Unknown destination
"Suddenly it's gravity again!" Torque Smackey exclaimed and stumbled out of The Piggie. Dib followed the muscular boy, amazed by how well they had managed to land in the jungle.
After Dib came Gaz, Zita and the rest of the crew. Everyone looked around in wonder and the vegetation. He saw practically only two colors, green and pink. Green bushes, trees and vines. Pink flowers, berries and fruits.
"Wow, if all these fruits are eatable, then at least we won't starve," Gretchen said. That was true. Just around the clearing they had landed were enough food for them all for at least three days. If they were eatable.
"Children! Why are you still standing here!? Go look for a water source", Bitters barked at them. After these six months in the same ship as here, nobody dared disobey.
Year 2024, January 25th, Thursday, 02:00pm, Planet Irk, Unknown destination
How dare it?! Zim hissed at the handmade bird that had landed close to his nest. Too close to his nest! Actually in the clearing just a few jumps away. The furless mammals' foreign sounds would never leave him at peace! No, they had to leave. Off course, it would have been easier if Zim moved his nest, but the thought never occurred to him.
The furless mammals had come with the handmade bird and seemed to live in it, only going out to explore the jungle where Zim hid. Quite noisily exploring, Zim added. They took of the lower fruits and berries and caught the smaller insects. Zim followed them from the trees and made sure they stayed away from his nest. When it became dark, they either pulled out flashing sticks or retreated into the handmade bird.
Zim sat on top of the bird and guarded the three mammals that sat outside and seemed like they were sorting through different kinds of berries. He had noticed that all the mammals had some sort of emotional bond to each other. Zim gritted his teeth. He decided that it made these creatures even more vulnerable.
One of the creatures stood up and looked towards Zim. Zim hissed and jumped into the cover of the trees.
"What are you doing, Dib?" Zita asked. Dib realized he had stood up and sat down again.
"I think I heard that alien that's been sneaking around us for these past three days", Dib sighed. He took a few berries and scanned them", I think it's up to something."
"I think you're imagining things. Nobody else has seen this 'alien' you keep talking about", Zita teased. Dib groaned. It was hard to prove anything as he had only caught glimpses of the animal.
"I'm not! It's out there. Watching us!" Dib exclaimed while making dramatic arm movements.
"Sit still and be quiet, Dib", Gaz grunted without looking away from her pile of berries. Dib knew better than to disobey. He calmed down and continued sorting through his berries, but not without pouting stubbornly. No one ever believed him! He was certain some strange alien had been watching them right now!
The door swooshed open and a tall, older woman stepped out.
"You kids! Are you done yet with your hopeless berry-sorting?" Sergeant Mayor Bitters hissed hoarsely at the teens.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Zita saluted and showed Bitters a bucket filled with pinkish berries. The Corporal Mayor sneered.
"Very well. Hand them over to the fools in the kitchen so they can make us all something more or less edible", she said and slithered back inside The Piggie.
"C'mon Dib ... Or you might get eaten by your imaginary alien", Zita teased. She and Gaz were standing in the door opening waiting for Dib.
"Really funny, Zita", Dib rolled his eyes", I think I'm going to take a look around to see if I can capture it."
"Suit yourself", Zita shrugged," though I doubt there is anything out there except for the bugs and those bird-like creatures." The girls walked inside. Dib stood up and spied into the jungle.
"I can't wait to see their expressions when I prove that there is something out there!"
Zim narrowed his eyes. None of the mammals had ever been alone before! This particular creature had a darker communicating sound coming from his mouth than his two companions and instead of purple head fur it was black. It had acknowledged Zim more than a few times.
It went into the forest while still making sounds. Why did he keep communicating when there was no one to hear him? Stupid creature.
The creature bent down to look at something on the ground while communicating with himself. Zim sat down on the branch he was on and leaned forwards to get a better view.
Dib let his hand run over the small footprint in the mud.
"This isn't a human footprint, neither is it from the birds that live here. It only has two toes. It must be the alien! The footprint looks fresh enough, I should follow it!" Dib stood up and jogged in the directions the foot prints lead.
Zim tensed as the creature suddenly started moving. Straight towards his nest!
"Oh no you don't!" Zim hissed in his own language and jumped after it. With precise coordination, he let go of the branches and jumped towards the creature's head.
Dib yelped as something hit the back of his head. It wasn't hard or heavy, but the force made him stumble and fall. He hit the mud with a splash and the thing that hit him skidded a few steps away.
Zim landed a few steps away from the creature and reached behind himself to his bag and brought up a sharp stone. The creature was lying down so Zim stood up straight to appear taller.
"Go away", He snapped.
Dib looked up and found himself face to face with a bug-like creature standing before him. It held a very sharp-looking stone just inches from Dib's face. It made some sounds that didn't sound completely savage. More like a foreign language.
"Uh... Hello there?" Dib managed, followed by a small smile.
Zim raised an antenna at the creature's attempt at communicating. It was clear none of them understood the other. Zim growled and snarled.
"Go away!" He said again and jumped forward slighty, pretending to attack.
Dib winced as the bug seemed like he was upset over something. Better get away before it did something.
"It's okay, ssshhhhh", Dib mumbled in an attempt to sound soothing as he slowly stood up and put his hands in front of himself. The alien was small, it stood straight on two legs but barely reached to Dib's waist. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you, it's okay."
Zim lowered his antennae nervously. It was much taller than he first thought! It was probably the tallest creature Zim had encountered!
"Go away! Now, or suffer!" Zim charged forward again, lifting his stone.
Seeing the attack, Dib stumbled backwards and turned to run. But as he turned, the caught a glimpse of something behind the bug. It looked suspiciously like a bird's nest, filled with fruits and ... things Dib didn't know what they were.
Zim hunted it until he saw the handmade bird then stopped. He grinned proudly as the creature fled inside. That ought to scare them off for a while! He walked back to his nest and began munching on a fruit.
"Oh shit!" Dib panted as he slid down the wall," that thing had a weapon! No matter it was just a sharp stone; it knew how to use it! I have to tell the others!" He got up and ran through The Piggie's corridors. "Computer! Where are everybody?"
"They are in the cafeteria room", the all-time calm and friendly female voice told him. Oh right. Dinner.
Dib slammed the doors to the cafeteria open.
"Guys! The alien that has been watching us just attacked me! I think it's intelligent!" He blurted and waved his arm.
"God, Dib! You're all muddy!" Zita exclaimed. Dib looked down and indeed, his dark blue jumpsuit was completely covered in mud.
"Uh, yeah, the alien pushed me down into the mud ... But don't mind that! There's intelligent life out there! This changes everything! We need to-"
"Dib! You're late for dinner! Now sit down and eat while everyone else stares!" Sergeant Mayor Bitters snarled.
"... Yes, Ma'am", Dib muttered, looking down. He took a bowl of soup-like substance and sat down. It had a brownish pink color and didn't look very appealing. Dib took ate slowly while trying to ignore the looks everyone around the table gave him. Judging. Some looked at him like he was crazy. Oh, he was gonna show them! He was going to capture that bug-thing and prove to them that there indeed was intelligent life on this planet! Dib hurried to eat the last of his soup.
"Thanks for the food, but I've got an alien to catch, so see you guys later!" He said and stood up.
"Whoa there, Dib! It's your turn to do the dishes, remember?" Zita said.
"Oh, yeah..." Dig said, a bit disappointed. He slumped slightly.
"That's right! Go get started now, stupid child!" Bitters barked. Dib had no other choice than to obey. He balanced everybody's bowls in his arms and went to th kitchen.
"Argh! There's an alien out there and I'm stuck here doing chores! This isn't what I agreed to when I joined The Piggie crew!" Dib complained while cleaning the bowls.
"Be quiet", Gaz muttered.
"I can't believe there are intelligent life forms on this planet! If we build a human colony here, we might get into war with them! This is serious!"
"Your voice is annoying."
"We should try to communicate with it! I wonder if Computer has a translation progr-" Dib was cut off when Gaz pushed his head into the dishwater.
"Shut up Dib", she said and left the kitchen. Dib grumbled and finished the dishes. By then the planet's sun had set and the rest of the crew was asleep.
"I wonder if the alien sleeps at night? If it's asleep, then I could easily catch it right now! I could prove I'm right! And if it's awake ... well, then I could try speaking to it." Dib said to himself. "Computer?"
"Yes, sir?"
"I'm going out. Hand me a flash light!"
"Going outside at night is dangerous and should be avoided at most cases. Do you wish to proceed?"
"Yes! This is important! Both for the Crew's safety and for Science!" Deb said as he reached the doors. A metallic arm came from the ceiling with a flashlight and the doors swooshed open. Dib stepped out.
Zim awoke by the sound of heavy steps closing in. Startled, the looked up, antennae alert for any sounds. A dark figure moved toward his nest. And it was tall! He stuck his tongue out and smelled the same creature from earlier. It dared come back?!
"You dare awake ZIM?" Zim snapped and it, hoping it was enough to make it leave.
Dib tensed. He heard it! He directed the flashlight towards the sound and the light reflected two large, magenta eyes.
Zim flinched and ducked as a bright light hit his sensible eyes. The creature had blinded him! He tried to blink away the black spots.
Dib's pulse rose slightly at the sight of it. Without thinking, he grasped a nearby stick and inched closer.
Zim tensed at the sound of the creature moving closer. He crawled backward until he hit the other side of his nest.
"Go away! Stay away from ZIM!" He hissed loudly.
"Shhhh, I'm not going to hurt you", Dib whispered softly. He realized he held the stick like a weapon and put it aside. With his free hand held in front of him to show that he was friendly, Dib was finally able to lean over the alien and take a closer look.
Zim wished that the creature would put that horrible glowing stick away. It shone straight at his eyes! A somewhat well-aimed kick threw the wretched thing a few steps away. Victory!
Dib froze when the flashlight suddenly flew away and landed in the mud. He looked back at the alien and found its eyes glowing faintly in the dark. The small form looked like it could be pretty dangerous.
"It's okay, I ... I'm a friend", Dib kept murmuring stuff in a low voice. Maybe it would listen to him then. But then again, it didn't speak English.
Such poor attempts at communicating. Zim could easily dislodge the creature's big head from its body if needed, so he let himself relax. It looked too stupid to try anything, anyway. He yawned.
It worked! Dib couldn't believe it! The alien looked at him with a bored expression. Dib was sure he would have its trust in no time! He squatted down in front of the nest.
"Hi there", he breathed," I'm Dib!" He pointed at himself," D-i-b."
Zim narrowed one eye in thought. He guessed this creature called itself Dib. What a stupid name. Zim wondered if he could imitate the way the Dib-creature spoke. It was worth a try.
"Deeeeeeeeeeeeeb", Zim hissed, then puffed his chest out in pride. That was good for a first try!
Oh wow! It had just actually said his name! That was so cool! Dib nodded excitedly. The alien put a three-fingered hand on its chest.
"Zim", it said.
"Zim? Is that your name?" Dim asked. It merely yawned and settled a bit more in the nest. Dib couldn't see very well in the dark, but his eyes had adjusted enough that he could make out two long antennae on its head that would occasionally rise and fall. It ... Zim's eyes were half lidded, but still locked on Dib. It looked less like a threat now. Still, you never know.
They were both silent for a long while, just looking at each other, Zim slightly bored and Dib very fascinated. As usual, his curiosity caused a million questions to bubble up. What was Zim's gender? Its teeth looked sharp, but the nest was filled with fruit, did it mean it was omnivorous? What did the antennae do? Just how intelligent was it? Zim was half lying, half sitting with its back against the walls of the nest. Its three-fingered hand rested on its belly. It seemed to wear some kind of clothing, but it was too dark to tell the material or even the color.
The fruits in the nest glowed rather radioactively, just like all the other fruits on the planet. Dib hadn't seen this kind before though, and reached towards it. Immediately, Zim's antennae were high alert and it hissed threateningly. Dib paused and looked and it. Its eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Oh, sorry", he said dumbly and retreated. Zim snorted. Did it just roll its eyes? It was impossible to tell as it didn't have any pupils, but Dib could have sworn-
Also standing in a crouched position for so long had caused Dib to lose the feeling in his legs. A sign that it was time to go to bed, though he really wanted to stay.
"Hey, I'll be back tomorrow, Zim", he said and stood slowly. A sticking sensation in his legs started to make itself known. Zim merely snorted again and watched him leave.
When the Dib-creature was gone, Zim reached for the flashing stick it had left. He held it in one hand and waved the other in front on the light. Nothing happened. Enh. What a useless creation!
He didn't doubt that the Dib would come back another time, but until then, he better get some more rest.
TBC
OKAY DID YOU ENJOY CHAPTER ONE?
Skool starts tomorrow but I'm gonna try to update every Sunday anyway.
Please leave a review! It would mean the world to me!
/Saga