Being Tall Isn't Everything: Zim is about to destroy the world and his dying adversary lies there, yet he doesn't kill Dib. He wants to use that cunning huge head of his, especially now that they are both so tall.
Disclaimer: If only, if only, the plot bunny sings.
Image: invader zim by ohthree.
Proofreader: Kira Kyuu.
Rating: Teen.
...
Kill my world and change my flesh,
Forget my name at the very best,
But still I'll stand and recall,
The things you've taken from us all.
...
Zim took a step back as the red liquid seeped closer to his boot. The tall Irken's attention quickly turned from the blood to the human it was originating from. There, partially leaning against a wall, sat Dib on the lab floor, more of that disgusting red goo dripping out of his mouth. The Irken didn't smile at this though. In fact, he seemed disappointed.
"I thought you'd put up more of a fight, earth-monkey. I wanted our last battle to be… worth remembrance. I wanted the memory of it to last for the rest of my life… you disappoint me," said Zim as he ran one of his clawed hands over his antenna, a loud bang suddenly echoing through the bowels of the base, shaking the very walls. "It seems that the invasion has started and the filthy humans are finally getting what they deserve."
More blood seeped from the poor human's body and his scythe-like haircut wobbled as he tried to look up at the looming alien.
"Why?" the human choked, "We both know that Tallest considered you a joke." The human then took another gasping breath and continued, "Why would they finally decide to conquer Earth?"
The lanky Irken knelt down so the human could look him in the eye, his words seething, "You can only blame yourself for that, Dib-worm. Remember when you stuffed various foods down my throat to see which were poisonous to me? Well, one of those foods was human chocolate. I sent some to the Tallest as a gift and they were very happy."
A grin pulled at the corners of Zim's mouth as he pulled the dying human's chin into his clawed hand, his words mocking and yet somehow sad, "Thanks for the idea, Dib. The planet will soon be covered in sugar canes and cocoa beans. The Tallest loved chocolate so much that they decided that they'd bring the Armada right over and destroy most life on Earth. Now, they will soon have all the sweets they could possibly want, and I'll finally get off this miserable rock. I've been here for five years! Five years, Dib-stink! True, the hormones that humans put in all their nasty foods, which I was forced to eat thanks to you, have made me rather tall, but I can take this no more. It was fun Dib, but I have bigger plans now that I'm tall."
The Irken dropped the boy's head when the screen beeped. Zim was being hailed. The Invader tried not to grin too much as Tallest Red and Tallest Purple stared at him from the screen.
"Good job, Zim," said Tallest Red. "It seems Earth was worth something after all."
"Thank you, my Tallest. I am glad you are pleased. Soon, I'll be coming up to the Massive to have the honor of firing the first shot, squishing out all the grimy life on this filthy planet. Oh, I can't wait!"
Tallest Purple and Tallest Red stared at each other for a moment and then back at their fellow Irken before they replied, "Um, no, Zim."
The Irken looked at them in confusion, allowing his antennae to fall back. "We're not squishing out all life?"
Tallest Red waved his claw in dismissal. "No, no, Zim. We are squishing out all life, but you won't be doing the squishing. In fact, you will be one of the beings we're squishing out."
Zim raised an antenna still not getting it.
Red sighed, feeling a migraine come on already as he grumbled, "Listen very closely, Zim: You're an idiot, and we don't like you. Your transmissions were entertaining for a time, but there's no way we're going to allow you back onto Planet Irk so you can try to kill everyone again. So we decided to squish you instead."
"But I'm an Invader!" pleaded the Irken, "I've proven my worth. I –"
"No! You are not an invader, Zim. You're a food drone. Your mission was a lie so we could get rid of you. True, you did your fake job, but now with you being so tall… Well, it's just stupid to allow you to live."
"Bye Zim, enjoy being squished," called Purple as the screen went dark.
Zim just stood there a moment, his knees wobbling, before he fell to the floor, pulling his head into his hands. Soon small squealing noises filled the room that could be defined as crying. The Irken seemed to remain there forever until something grazed his foot. The Irken opened his eyes slightly. Dib had crawled forward with his elbows leaving a trail of blood behind him.
"Dib… beast?" whimpered the Irken uncharacteristically as his antennae rose slightly in confusion. "It seems you were right about me being a defect… and that you would win in the end. You have won, Dib… I lose."
Dib's glasses hung on his nose, he seemed unable to focus, and yet he stared upward. Blood leaked out of the side of his mouth as he struggled to speak. He was dying, and there was no denying it. It was only a matter of time until one of them lost anyway. Dib hadn't expected that they'd both lose though. Either way, Zim had proven himself to be a good opponent and he didn't deserve to be degraded like this. True, the Irken had done this to him, basically gutted him, but Dib would rather die with Earth then be enslaved anyway.
"That's not… the egotistical… Zim… I've known… for… so many years," said the human, pausing periodically as he struggled for a breath, "You're… not the real Zim… Zim would… never… give up."
The Irken slowly pulled his head upwards and stared at Dib. He gazed at him without a sign of emotion on this face, and then all of a sudden the Irken had stumbled to his feet with that glint of determination returning to his eyes.
"Gir!"
The little robot flew downstairs, his optics red. The little machine turned his attention to his master, but not before catching sight of Dib, his optics twitched slightly, but he said nothing of his opinions. "Yes, sir!"
"Pack the larger cruiser, we're leaving. Re-shrink as many machines as you can because we're going to need all that we can carry since we won't be getting anything from the Tallest anymore."
The robot saluted and flew off. The sound of screeching metal soon followed. The Irken watched for a moment and then turned his attention back to the dying human. There was a frown on his face now.
"Dib," said the Irken softly. "Thank you. I can't believe that I was so willing to give up. I must say this, Dib-worm… you were always a deserving opponent. You are a good soldier. If you had been an Irken you would have been one of the best. Maybe even a Tallest one day."
Dib merely choked on his blood, but he tried to smile. Zim was his worst enemy and sadly his best friend combined. No one knew him better. True, he was as good as dead, but at least he wasn't dying alone. That was his last comforting thought before the world went dark, fading away into nothing.
Zim's antennae twitched with distress and the human passed out from blood loss… and then the words the Irken had just muttered returned to him. Zim stood up facing his computer.
"Computer!"
"Yes," it sighed.
"I need you to do one last thing … for the Dib."
"Dib…"
"Dib…"
"Dib…"
"Blue, wake up!"
A pair of huge blue eyes sprang open and Blue jumped as he stared back into a pair of red orbs.
"Zim?" asked the blue Tallest questionably as his dream started to fade. Was it him or did Zim just call him… Dib?
"What did you just call me, Zim?"
The other Tallest pulled away from his co-ruler and frowned, asking in a paranoid tone, "What do you think I called you?"
Tallest Blue sat up a little more and shrugged. He didn't know.
Tallest Zim eyed him for a moment before he leaned in close, making sure the Advisors couldn't overhear him, "Blue, you were whimpering in your sleep mode. You weren't having dreams again, were you?"
Blue's eyes widened with horror and he quickly stood up, hovering a little above his co-leader. Irkens did not dream; to dream was considered a defect. He was not broken and even if he was, Blue would never tell anyone about the dreams. Never. Besides, what did it matter? Dreams were just meaningless figments… figments that he always seemed to forget when he woke up.
"No, Irkens don't dream, Zim," whispered the standing being. "Now what planet are we eradicating today?"
Zim was silent as he stared at his co-leader and then he threw his head back laughing with excitement. Blue tried not to roll his eyes. Zim enjoyed his job way too much… Blue, not so much. True, he was the brains and came up with stunning ideas in which to conquer their enemies, yet he still did not find the enjoyment in it that Zim did. Part of him wondered if he only did it for Zim, who seemed to be the voice and the pride and the whole thing. Personally, Blue felt that he should stop Zim, laugh at him, or at least call him space-boy, but he never gave in to his urges. They were just figments. Feelings to be forgotten.
The Irken bit his tongue slightly, but not enough to make it bleed. Blue knew he mustn't think like that. Last time he mentioned such thoughts to Zim, the other Tallest dropped all of his snacks, stopped the invasion of planet Mittoop halfway through, and dragged him to the med-room. Blue was in no mood for all that prodding and poking by Zim again. His pak had ached for a month afterward. In truth, he was kind of surprised he wasn't dead honestly. Zim had a knack for breaking things and Blue was rather sure that if he weren't around, their whole civilization would fall apart.
Zim raised an eye in question as he waited for Blue's reaction… Blue was hiding something. He did that same hand twitching thing the Dib did when he was hiding something. Zim wasn't in the mood to pry though. He'd bother his counterpart later. Right now it was time to destroy a planet.
"Fire the doom gunny things of DOOM!" hissed the tall Irken with a screech of joy, and the planet below lost its blue glint as it slowly turned a grotesque gray wherever the laser struck the ground.
Blue merely watched with a sad look in his dewy-blue eyes. Every single time they destroyed a blue planet he'd feel sad… yet he had no idea why.
XXX
Paw07: Really short beginning to see if anyone likes the idea. Like it, tell me and I'll continue. This is sort of an introduction … and don't worry Gaz and some of our favorite characters will be making an appearance.
Revisions 06/2020