Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a Friday night in the city, the moon hanging over the various buildings. A certain purple-haired young girl was sound asleep in her room of killer stuffed animals that kept anyone away when ordered. Especially Dib. His obsessions with the paranormal irritated her, even with the brief "no paranormal" bout he had. It was all he talked about.

So, that day, she had snapped and beat him silly, told him she would rather him die. And here she was, sleeping peacefully.

But it was a night when the planets aligned, and not for Irken molting. It was a night when a meteor swooshed into view in the sky. Were her brother awake, and no doubt he was this late, he'd highly appreciate this.

Said meteor soon released a pink gas that swirled through the atmosphere and turned invisible, heading right for her room. It crowded around her, and she breathed it in unknowingly. And then as suddenly as it appeared, it left. Gaz woke up with a start, her usually squinted eyes wide open, revealing hazel. She looked around, squinting them again and resuming her neutral, cold expression.

"Dib, I swear if you've gotten into my room… especially after I punished you…" it was a threat she'd never follow through, since there wasn't a response. And she didn't see any scythe hair either.

What woke her up then?

This creeped her out a bit but she didn't let it show. Gaz climbed out of bed, and glanced at the time. Five in the morning, it glared back in red. She groaned, and figured she might as well eat a snack and then head back to bed.

The cruel girl opened her door, stepped out and closed it right behind her, silently. And then she walked to the stairs, just as silently, still squinting her eyes. Somehow, halfway to the fridge, she grew drowsy. Her eyes would have shown it, droopy and glazing over, but they were squinted and so no one would tell. Eventually, she fell asleep, but she still continued her mission, opening the fridge and grabbing a small snack, then closing it back.

She unwrapped it right there and started crunching on it, politely and neatly. Her brother soon rushed downstairs almost full tilt, a smile on his bruised face, with his equipment to the outside, when he saw her and stopped cold. For the first time, he was massively afraid of her, and he called her, bespectacled eyes wide, "G..Gaz?"

She blinked but no one would see, and turned her head to face him, still chewing. She wasn't doing anything except eating the bar of candy. Dib took that as a good sign. "I was.. um.. just gonna go outside and catch that meteor! I bet it's… full of.." he drifted off. She was still staring. It unnerved him.

And then she faced him fully and started walking toward him, her intentions unclear. He backed away, which caused her steps to falter, but she soon kept going. That was weird…

She stopped right beside him, and stared. And then she nodded, "It's okay, Dib. Do what you love." She briefly side-hugged him then, which he was enormously shocked about but he didn't dare push her away. "Sorry for wanting you dead and punishing you."

And then she.. smiled? Dib could only stare, in his pajamas. He felt like both he and she had lost their minds. But he liked this new Gaz. The boy soon smiled back, "T..thanks, Gaz.."

The purple-haired girl nodded again, and headed up the stairs and back to her room.

And that was a billion times weird… he remarked to himself. But he soon shrugged, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. "I appreciate it…"

He could only stand there for a moment, before he yelled out, hazel eyes even wider, "The meteor! I gotta catch it!" and rushed out the door. All the while, Gaz's smile had stayed, even while she was properly in bed.

Chapter Text

The youngest Membrane woke up again, this time at the right time. She glanced at the clock, and nodded at its red glare of noon. So she slid out of bed and proceeded to get dressed in her usual attire. But before she could even begin to do that, she smelled something. Gaz sniffed, and found it was coming from her clothes.

She squinted down at them, opening one eye in disbelief. Her pajamas smelled of a candy bar, and Dib. She didn't remember eating a candy bar, though she did recall heading out the room for a snack. And she certainly didn't remember running into Dib. Gaz clenched her fist, and put off getting dressed, slamming the door open and making her way up to her brother's room.

Now, she usually didn't go up there, but this was an exception.

Dib had mostly recovered from the beating he received, as well as the hug and apology, and was now studying a piece of pinkish purple rock he'd picked off the meteor that landed last night. "Interesting.. very interesting…"

His door all of a sudden slammed open, revealing an almost seething Gaz on the other side. The bespectacled sibling whirled around in his chair to face her, eyes wide.

"I have one question."

She said it with an implied warning, her voice low and growling. She got closer, causing Dib to inch back. What happened to the Gaz who hugged him and apologized to him last night?

"Did you touch me last night?" she was even closer now, enough to grab him by the collar.

He immediately shook his head, no hesitation, "No, Gaz! if anything, you're the one who touched me!"

Gaz's eyes squinted even further, as if scanning him to see if the truth was told. She sighed and backed off once she figured it was, and Dib relaxed. But there was an urge rising to beat him anyway, or at least punch, but she stuffed them. And then an eyebrow rose, and she quietly asked, "I did..?" and shook her head, her face full of stern resolve, "that's ridiculous, Dib! I swear if you're making this up, I'll-"

She was cut off by the preteen loudly typing and then pulling up a screen on his computer. Usually, she'd punch him for interrupting, but what was on the screen caught her attention. She turned her head to stare at it, watch the events of last night go down in history, and reacted with silent shock and horror, her mouth and eyes wide. Dib had the decency - and intelligence - to look confused too, blinking once.. twice.

"Dib… it was real? I actually…" she shuddered at the thought of being nice to him, and smiling on top of that. But here it was, recorded by one of the cameras implanted in the house, replaying over and over before her eyes. Gaz shook her head, and bowed it, already turning and walking away. "I've seen enough. I'm going to Bloaty's."

"But don't you wanna hear abou-?"

The door slammed shut. Dib sighed, closing the screen and turning back to his research. At least he had something to eventually report to The Swollen Eyeball Network and to Mysterious Mysteries. But there was this inkling that something might happen. Maybe.. no matter what she said.. he shouldn't leave his sister alone…

One dressing montage later and Gaz hit the streets, hands in her pockets. Everyone knew never to mess with her, or else get sent to the hospital for their troubles. Unfortunately, since she had a slight hair trigger temper, this meant almost anything. So everyone stayed far away from her, and even stepped aside when they saw her coming. She was feared, she was dreaded, and she found that she liked it.

She soon passed Zim's house, and she stopped for some reason and stared at it. No one else in this block had a house like his. And no one noticed the thick wires jammed into the buildings beside it, leeching electricity. Stupid, she kicked at the ground, and kept walking.

Eventually, she yawned, and was shocked at this, her eyes wide open as she stared at her hand that instinctively covered her mouth. Maybe getting woken up at an unholy hour for a day so close to summer vacation was getting to her. But she reprimanded herself with a soft growl, resuming her dangerous squint, "No. Pizza now, rest later."

Her mind didn't seem to listen, and her eyes glazed over again, not that anyone would notice. She fell asleep again, but kept walking with a purpose. A small smile came to her face, and she started humming. It was totally uncharacteristic, but here she was, humming cheerfully and enjoying the scenic route. Gaz then noticed people stepping aside for her, trembling, and she waved with a bright, wide smile as she passed by. Confused and shocked, they waved back.

The purple-haired girl finally reached Bloaty's. She opened the door and took a deep breath, spreading out her arms as if about to fly, of the delicious smell. Smiling brightly, and still squinting, she took her seat, and was oblivious to the other patrons scooting away from her.

Gaz got her money ready, wanting a full pizza for herself and her brother. A waiter soon came to her table, and she looked at him gently. "The usual, Ms. Gaz?"

She shook her head, confusing the waiter more than the smile did, and requested, "I would like a full cheese pizza please," handing the money to him.

He stared at her for a moment, before he nodded, noting it down and taking the money. He was about to say something about it being too much for one little girl but this was Gaz. Apparently she could shovel down a whole pizza, and also apparently she seemed to be dreaded among the workers as well.

"Thank you."

The blond had been about to walk away when she said that, and looked at her fully. He noticed there was a whole new aura about her. And he didn't know why. "E..excuse me?"

She blinked subtly, hands folded on the table, looking at him too with confusion, "I said 'thank you'." What was so confusing about gratitude? she wondered.

He stared some more, and nodded, "You're welcome," and walked away, calling out the order to his coworkers.

Just that moment, a certain other Membrane burst through the door, panting, his hands on his knees. "G..Gaz.."

"Oh, Dib! you're just in time!" she announced, still smiling. She got up, skipped over and hugged him briefly.

Her brother's eyes nearly bulged out with shock. She hugged him again. And she was happy..? what was going on? ..though, again, he couldn't find himself complaining about it. He eventually asked, still almost breathless, "Just.. in time for what?"

"I ordered a full size pizza for the both of us," she answered, walking back to her seat. He followed, blinking. "I wasn't expecting you though. I was going to eat my slices and head back home with the others for you but now you're here!"

And it seemed she was cheerily talkative too. This was very new. He smiled though, and took a seat just as she did, "Well, thanks, Gaz."

"Not a problem, bro," she then went quiet, waiting for the pizza. But that smile, however small it was now, was still there. Dib quickly began connecting the dots. She wasn't acting like this before the night of the meteor. But why would a meteor cause this? and.. why was she grouchy earlier? it.. doesn't make sense.

He thumbed at his chin, and that was the moment a box of pizza was delivered to their table. "Full size pizza for Gaz Membrane!" it was announced, and the worker opened it for her too.

"Yum!" she rubbed at her hands, and dug in, grabbing a slice and not minding the heat. Sometimes, as he stared at her, flabbergasted, Dib wondered if his younger sister was even human. But he was shook out of his thoughts with, "Come on, Dib! it's best straight out of the oven."

"Sorry.. I don't wanna burn my hands or tongue, is all," was his response, as he adjusted his glasses, and his sister simply nodded, understanding.

But she then added, "That's fine. Don't want my older brother to get burned."

Dib blinked, before he smiled. Perhaps this was nice and nothing to freak out over. This was his dream and wish. For Gaz to be nice to him, even if it was only for a day.

He reached into the box a few minutes later and grabbed himself a slice, beginning to eat. Gaz was almost done, on the second to last slice already. Now, Dib wasn't a fast eater like his sister could be sometimes, but he made up for it in neatness. Especially since he wasn't home. He made sure the crumbs only made it into the box, while Gaz picked up any crumbs she could see on the table and tossed them in in between slices.

Thirty minutes later, they finished, having had a nice time together talking and eating pizza. Gaz got up, grabbing the box, "I'll throw this away, bro."

Dib nodded, something else on his mind. He slid out of his seat, and walked over to the counter, asking for a tape of their table. He had an inkling this wasn't going to last and he'd have to prove it to Gaz again. But why?

"We don't do that," the manager replied, shaking his head, but a roll full of money shoved in his face changed his mind. It was a hundred bucks in singles. Dib didn't so much mind - the Membranes were indeed beyond billionaires thanks to their father of science. "Well, I suppose I could make an exception for you," the manager grinned, and headed into the back to get a copy of the footage. This was done in no less than two minutes, Gaz patiently waiting for him by the door with a smile.

She seemed to blink after a bit, the smile fading, looking around as if she didn't remember coming here, but she felt full. Yes.. she remembered heading to Bloaty's for a pizza breakfast. But.. why couldn't she remember getting here, and eating too? that didn't make sense. But then she saw her brother as she was scanning the area and scoffed, exiting on her own. But Dib didn't see any of that, patiently waiting for the copy.

Her brother soon retrieved the copy from the manager, "Thank you!" and started to head out, stuffing the disc into his pocket. He didn't see Gaz anywhere in the restaurant, and figured she must have left without him and was waiting outside.

Once he did, he was grabbed by a pair of lightly pale hands and met with Gaz's ferocious, squinted stare. He squirmed, not expecting this mood swing - or more like, personality swing. She asked him gruffly, "Did you follow me?"

The boy started to sweat, and shook his head, "N..no, Gaz, I swear! I wanted some pizza too! honest!"

"You're lying…" at that, Dib was expecting a punch, but the girl simply shoved him away from her, effectively tossing him back to the ground. "I'm going back home."

Weird… but I'm grateful… was his thought. He watched her head around him from his spot on the ground, hands in her pockets. "Gaz… when we get home, there's something I want you to see…"

There was silence for a few seconds, the purple-haired "demon" not even facing him, before she replied lowly, "If this is about that stupid rock…"

"No, it's not about the meteor!" he got up, hands in his pockets too, and sighed. "You were nice again."

Once again, Dib had the intelligence to hide his happiness towards this situation and simply looked confused. Gaz turned to face him again, stiffly, and shook her head, "I don't believe you."

"I got the disc to prove it," was his only answer.

The girl considered this worriedly, furrowing her brow, gulping subtly, and, after she replied, "Sooner or later you're going to start running out of proof…" started walking the other way, back home. Dib, a little concerned about her display of worry, tailed her, and soon ended up by her side. She didn't mind this.

A long walk later, filled with confusion and energetic waves from neighbors, raised eyebrows from Dib and flabbergasted growls from Gaz, they arrived home. The boy decided to ignore what happened on the way for Gaz's sake, heading upstairs to his room and readying the disc in his hand. This time, the preteen followed him. Whether she liked it or not, Dib had the key to this mystery. She supposed she should be grateful that he was an expert. Self-proclaimed with evidence to back it up, but expert nonetheless. But she wouldn't really know anyway, having not bothered with him or his interests.

As she stood by the desk where the piece of rock still was, only embellished by several equipment she didn't care about, her brother loaded the disc into his computer. And boy, was it a sight to see.

She watched herself be nice to the waiter, everyone around her, and then Dib came in and after an exchange started eating with her. Dib filled in the sound for when he was there, but she could read lips anyways. She clenched her fists as she saw the last of the reel, and it blacked out as soon as they left the table. Breathing heavily, she turned to Dib, looking a little desperate. "How can I stop this?"

"I.. I don't know," he replied, and it earned him a slap across the face. He was surprised it wasn't a punch or even harder, but nonetheless he found himself spinning in his chair.

"You better find out before next week, and that's me being generous," Gaz was surprised herself by that remark, but she held to it, squinting at her brother. "And I don't care now if it involves that rock somehow. Update me."

Dib stared almost slack-jawed at her, and soon nodded. "Uh-huh.. got it.."

The goth then closed her eyes, not that anyone could tell, and sighed. "I remember.. walking to Bloaty's. I was getting sleepy after I passed Zim's house."

Surprisingly, there was little reaction from Dib regarding the alien's mention other than a twitch. He thumbed at his chin. "Sleepy, huh?"

"I'm not a broken record, Dib," the girl spat, opening one eye to glare at him, before she relaxed. "Yes. It was weird. But getting up at an unholy hour to get a snack and not remembering it is just as weird."

The black-haired boy nodded, biting his lip. He came up with something, but Gaz left before he could say. He grunted, but it was probably for the better, he decided as he turned to the meteor bit again. He should get all the facts he could before coming to a conclusion, and he didn't really have any invasive equipment. Dib groaned as he contemplated the only other option he had.

Zim.

Chapter Text

A certain light green alien and his robot companion were watching television - the Scary Monkey Show the latter kept going on about this Saturday morning. While Zim was barely interested, eating his Irken dip with droopy, bored ruby eyes, the cube captivated Gir, as he stared at it with awe.

"I still don't understand why you like this so much, Gir," he frowned, plastering his cheek with his claw. "It's all just a bunch'a pointless dribble to Zim!"

"It's funny!" was the defective SIR unit's response, and he was currently rolling along the floor. Zim rolled his eyes - he didn't share the same humor - when the doorbell rang.

Immediately, he leapt to action, his PAK putting on his disguise as he smoothly landed on the floor, barely missing Gir, who hopped up from his antics and grabbed his dog costume, donning it, and resumed rolling across the rug, shrieking with laughter. The Irken couldn't help smiling. That's when whoever it was started knocking, rather desperately. He groaned, briefly regretting disabling his roboparents, and strolled quickly to the door.

"Hold your horses! I'm coming!" Zim called, and opened the door, revealing a rather desperate, and singed, Dib, who had been about to knock again. The alien soon narrowed his eyes rather slowly, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. "Why, if it isn't the worm baby. You better have a good reason for this."

Dib took this moment to glance inside, beholding the medium-sized bucket of dip on the couch, a white popsicle stick poking out of it, and Gir still rolling about. And the television was tuned in to the Scary Monkey Show. He raised an eyebrow, and Zim noticed. "I don't see why; I don't seem to be interrupting much…"

The alien's greyish purple eyes narrowed even more, unamused, as he added, "Zim is giving you ten seconds. Ten…"

Dib bit his lip, and finally outted with it on the fifth second, "I need your help, okay?!"

Zim's antennae would have perked straight up with surprise were they not matted down by his uncomfortable wig. He snickered, "Again? I thought you learned from last time!"

He did learn. And it was to stick to his guns. So, this time, however, he stared, "It's about Gaz. I need you to spy on her or whip up an invention that's invasive. You know how to do that, right?"

"Of course Zim does!" the Irken seemed offended, putting a claw to his chest. Dib ignored it. "It's like asking a plumber if they can plumb!"

The boy pursed his lips. This was his moment to be unamused now, and he shook his head, "Plu..plumbers don't.. okay, Zim.."

The Irken laughed in his face again. Before he folded his arms underneath his chin, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Is that Mary at the door?" a robotic yet childish voice issued from behind him, ruining whatever professionalism Zim tried to uphold just then. The owner peeked out, grinning, "It is! hi, big head boy!"

"Quiet, Gir, go back to watching television," Zim tried to order, but the unit wasn't listening, still standing next to him. Dib watched this all go down with an amused expression, waving to the little robot in disguise.

The alien soon sighed, and looked back up at Dib for his answer. The preteen jumped, "Oh, right! she seems to be sleepwalking but I don't know if it really is sleepwalking yet.."

"Is that the thing where most humans walk while they sleep?"

"Yes. But she acts not like her normal self. She's nice-"

And he got cut off by Gir, who looked confused, "Isn't that what you want, Mary?"

Dib wasn't about to correct the tiny robot, and was about to talk more when the Irken laughed, "You want us to help you reverse what you want? doesn't make any sense, Dib-stink."

"I know.. but.. she doesn't want it, it's not actually her, and.. siblings look out for each other," the boy looked down, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Gir's mechanical heart went out to Dib, and he stared up at his master, doing the puppy dog stare. "Pwease.. Mary needs our help, mastah!"

The alien glanced down at Gir, and regretted it instantly. He was compelled. He soon grunted, "Fine. Even though the demon doesn't seem to look out for you in return, I'll help you spy." Both Dib and Gir were about to cheer when Zim raised a finger, "But Zim is going to need a favor."

"What favor…?" his mood instantly soured, more than usual, but his language said he'd agree to it. The alien chuckled, rubbing his hands together.

"We running out of dip!" Gir interrupted, saving Dib from whatever favor Zim was going to ask.

The alien was shocked out of his scheming and his eyes went so wide his contacts might pop out, "Eh?! Gir, we-"

"It's almost gone now!" the robot continued, outright ignoring his master. "Our favor to you is to buy some more!" he shrieked, raising his paws skyward. Zim facepalmed.

"Seems easy enough," the boy smiled, "Thanks! I'll come around again to drop off the dip and check the progress. Maybe it'll even be done by then. See ya!" and then he ran off, towards his home. But he had a stop to make.

The two watched him go. Before Zim turned his attention on his SIR unit, lowly uttering, "Gir…"

"What? I wants more dip!"

Gaz was waiting at home, arms crossed as she sat on the couch. She was pretty much asked to stay here, and she obliged reluctantly. No need to embarrass herself further. Dib soon entered the home, smiling.

"What are you smiling about?" she snarled, but it was a mild snarl, as she looked up at him, squinting even more.

"I was doing some thinking," he lied. He was actually happy he'd gotten Zim's help. But he continued after Gaz raised an eyebrow. He decided to tell her after all. "And I think you might be sleepwalking."

She stared at him. Before she nodded, "Well, I guess that explains things…" and then stared down at the floor.

He was waiting on her to lash out at any time, and was confused to see it wasn't happening, more so at her body language. She wasn't even playing on her Game Slave. How long had she just been sitting here?

"But it's just a hypothesis, Gaz.. I'm not one hundred percent sure," the boy started towards her, and sat on the couch a few inches away. "But it's a good guess."

The purple-haired girl sighed, looking up at him again. "Please."

"What?" he had to do a double take. Was she sleepwalking right now? he couldn't tell. And then she opened her eyes. They weren't glazed. So no, she wasn't sleepwalking.

"Please.. you're the only one I know aside from that pathetic alien who can possibly fix this."

Yep, this was awake-Gaz. Dib nodded, offering a sad smile, "I said I'd try, didn't I?"

She took a deep breath, as if clearing her head, and crossed her arms, glaring at the door with squinted eyes. "Yes. You did, but a hypothesis isn't good enough. Go get some actual results."

And so Dib stared for a moment, before he slid off the couch and proceeded upstairs to his room, more confused than ever.

Gaz was also confused at how she was acting, but also somewhat complacent. It was weird. She brought her hands before her hazel eyes, gazed at them, and mumbled, "What's happening to me..?"

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since Dib had promised Gaz he'd fix this. Less incidents of sleepwalking had occurred, though, but the weirdest part was that it happened while she was awake, and that started getting more and more common and decreasing the gaps of time in between. Zim had since given the human boy the invasive, spy device he'd built in exchange for the buckets of dip the paranormal investigator brought to his home one day.

Ah, how Dib remembered it.

"Yayz, dip!" Gir was all over Dib, hugging him, while the boy and alien just stared at each other. Eventually, they nodded in unison. Zim had told him that it was ingestive, and to slip it into what she drinks. And so he did.

Dib sighed, looking out the window of the school bus as they headed home. Gaz was sitting right next to him, quiet, smiling and.. not playing her Game Slave. That was something he'd never get used to.

But all the while, he was struggling. What Gir had said was troubling him. Gaz was nice now. Why get the old, mean one back? he replied that it's what siblings would do - look out for each other -, but.. Gaz hadn't done the same for him, as Zim had eagerly pointed out. All the things she did was out of selfishness, like rescuing him so their dad could take them out for pizza.

And don't get him started on robo-Dib.

All in all, he was starting to weigh his choices. And even then, could he be able to fix this? it was a tough thing to do, to reverse personalities, and yet some meteor had done it. Yes, that was his conclusion. A reversal of personality. And he had a week and a couple more days remaining till Gaz would subject him to the worst beating he'd ever received.

But at this point, would that even happen?

He felt a tug on his sleeve, and it jolted him out of his thoughts. It was Gaz, and she stared at him through squinted eyes with a small smile. "We're here!"

Dib Membrane gazed at where she was pointing, and lo and behold there was their home. A few students remaining on the bus whispered and giggled at him for this, which resulted in a glare from his sister, and they promptly shut up.

Well, at least the terrifying aspect was still there.

"Come on," the driver slightly muttered boredly, "I don't have all day."

"Sorry!" both siblings replied as they scrambled to the front to get off the bus. In seeming sync, they both waved, to which the driver simply scoffed and drove off.

"So…" Gaz held her arms behind her back and teetered on her heels, watching him with careful but smiling eyes, "what are you gonna do, Dib?"

"Gonna try and examine this meteor more…" he replied as he headed to the house, his sister on his heels. It was a slight lie. Though he had pretty much no need for the spyware now, as he had collected the data he needed, it helped to check up on her every now and then, as well as monitor her vitals.

The smile faded, and she frowned. "I see. Okay." Gaz seemed disappointed, her hands released to her sides.

The boy noticed, looking back at her, and bit his lip, "Uh, what did you wanna do?"

There was silence, as she took a deep breath. "I have two Game Slaves. Dad fixed the one I broke and bought me another for the time being."

And her brother caught on, hazel eyes wide. He turned to face her completely, on the porch now and searching for the keys. "You want me.. to play with you?"

That was a massive shock.

She nodded.

Dib couldn't help grinning from ear to ear. She smiled too, giddy. "Well, come on! unlock the door!"

"Alright alright!" he chuckled, digging out the card and pressing it up to the pad. He may have sucked at video games, but he relished every chance he got to play with Gaz.

The door clicked, and he pushed it open, running inside and jumping onto the couch, prompting a screen to pop up with a recorded hologram of their dad saying not to jump on the couches. He simply chuckled, too excited to care.

"I'll go get them!" and Gaz entered, closing the door and practically flying upstairs. He didn't have long to wait, as the girl opened the door, both systems in hands, looking a little sour. She didn't fly down the stairs but took her sweet time.

Dib waited, turning around on the couch to look at her. He winced a little. He knew by the sour look and how slow she was walking that the old Gaz was back. And yet she was still bringing the systems down. Soon, she handed one to Dib and sat on the couch a little far from him. "Break it and I'll hurt you."

He nodded, gazing at the handheld in his hands, "I won't break it."

"Good," her lips curled into a smile, and she started up the game. The boy soon started his up too, pursing his lips.

They were a sister-brother team this time, instead of racking up scores against each other. It ended up being more of a tutorial than anything, with Gaz patiently teaching him how the controls worked and what to do. Dib slowly got the hang of things, and soon he was.. well, not exactly a pro, but getting there. The purple-haired girl had an accomplished smile on her face, slaying zombie piggies with her brother.

"Haha! this is kinda fun!" Dib eventually spoke as they finished that round.

Gaz snorted, "Of course it is. Why do you think I always play?"

...fair point. The next round soon began, and the siblings were at it again.

It was evening when they stopped for dinner, Dib showing the monitor his eyes before it plopped the pizza on the table. Gaz was smiling again, swaying her head, in a good mood. Perhaps it was the meteor effects again? or was she sleepwalking?

He discreetly got out the tablet connected to the spyware, pretending to do something on it, checking her vitals in actuality. No. She wasn't sleepwalking, but it was definitely the meteor. He put it away, just as Gaz looked up and began to dig in, chomping down on her slice.

Dib started eating too, humming and tapping his fingers musically on the table. Gaz followed his beat with another, syncing up with it. The boy looked up, hazel eyes wide, and smiled eventually. She smiled back.

They soon finished dinner, drinking water afterwards, and Dib headed right to his room, Gaz following with a hop in her step. It was odd seeing her so happy, but he was glad for it. Too bad it might get taken away.

Dib sat in his seat by the computer, and saw that he'd gotten messages from his fellow agents of the Swollen Eyeball Network. He checked them, hiding them from his sister since it was supposed to be top secret.

"I know already, Dib. What did they say?"

Well, he tried. And at least the new Gaz had inklings of the old one too. He couldn't think of a Gaz who never got irritated, agitated or angry. But those were emotions, not personality traits. And this meteor only did the latter.

He swiveled around in his chair to look at her seated at her own. She looked at him with attention, something his fellow students would never give except Gretchen and Keef. They were nice. "Uh, they agree with me, that the meteor messes with the personality. Makes them.. nicer."

Gaz only nodded, "I kinda figured that out already." And her sour mood soon returned, and she glared, crossing her arms. "But I don't like this. Never did. Are you any closer to finding a cure?"

He flinched at the sudden switch. It was almost like she had bipolar. But he knew what that disorder really did. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Uh. Kinda?"

She got excited, but held it in, inhaling through her nose instead. "What is it?"

"I mean.. it's a work in progress.. but it might work.. my co-agents and I are working on it…" Dib rubbed at his temples, inwardly melancholic about this whole thing.

"Okay, I won't push it then."

"What?"

This came as a shock to him. Usually Gaz wanted to know everything. He guessed that changed.

"I said I won't push it," she repeated, squinting her eyes more. "You do you, Dib, but the deadline is still there." She leaned in closer to him, whispering threateningly, "There'd better be a cure for this by then."

He gulped. Okay, so maybe the beating was still happening. With that, she stood up and left the room. And then she looked back at him, and sighed, "Please.."

And that little word made it all better, but he stared at her, surprised. Gaz then left, retiring to her room. Dib sighed, and smiled. "Thanks…"

Chapter Text

Today was the day. All throughout the last week of Skool Gaz had been nice with few occasions of her regular self shining through. Everyone was confused but welcomed this change. But today it might go back to how it was.

Because Dib had concocted the cure.

He stared at the blue potion sitting on his desk with mixed feelings. The vial glimmered beautifully, almost like the stars in the sky. It was Gaz's life saver. But it was his detriment. The second she drank it, things would be back to normal. She'd be mean again. And he'd be her punching bag once more. He shook his head, and laid it on the desk, sighing. He'd spent all night and all week on this, no sleep.

Well, now, he surely was going to catch up on sleep.

Gaz stepped into the Membrane family home, having volunteered to take care of things for the Skool. She was filthy and sweaty, but it was worth it to see smiles. Strangely, while she was nice, she still felt like herself. It was like all this time the effects had just been balancing themselves. Giving her mind something she missed and lacked. She looked up to Dib's room, closing the entry door with a firm hand. Perhaps she should check on him before she took a shower.

And so she made her way up the stairs, before that washing her hands and grabbing a plate of some leftover pizza from the night before. "I wonder if he finished that cure…" she wondered to herself, taking a bite.

Gaz opened the door to his room with her free hand, and smiled at the sight before her. Dib was knocked out, head on his desk, as apparent by the light snores escaping him. And then, she saw the brilliant blue potion. She closed the door gently, staring at it with awe.

She walked over, placing the plate on the desk. She ate another slice of pizza, leaving the remaining two for her brother, and then kept staring, taking a seat and scooching closer and grabbing it carefully. This would be the cure to her problem.

But was it really a problem anymore?

After thirty minutes, she nudged Dib's shoulder, and he jolted awake, spluttering something incoherent and jerking his head around. The purple-haired girl became a little worried, tilting her head.

Once he was grounded in reality, which took a few seconds more, he pushed up his glasses, and looked around again, seeing Gaz in his vision. "Gaz..?"

She nodded. "Hello, Dib. I see you finished." And she held the corked vial up carefully. Dib fully turned to her, hazel eyes wide, and he nodded.

"Y..yeah.. I did.. how was volunteering?" he wanted to prolong this. As long as he could.

"Terrible," she gagged, even though she'd gotten used to the smell by now. She chuckled a little, smiling, "But it was worth it to see smiles for once."

Dib just now noticed how filthy she was. It was unlike her to skip showering. "That's good. Maybe you should go shower…"

She swirled the potion in her hand, gesturing to the plate of pizza. Her brother saw and started to eat as she replied, "Decided to check on you first."

Of course. He couldn't help smiling.

"You know, Dib, I've been doing some thinking.. while I was volunteering…" she began, staring at the brilliant blue cure. Dib stared, listening to her intently. He was good for that. She appreciated it. "You don't like the old me, do you?"

His eyes widened again, and he jolted. She took that as a slight yes. "Um.. uh.. I wouldn't say that. I mean, she was still my sister… you are still my sister." He adjusted his glasses again, wondering where she was going with this.

"I see.. but I was mean to you. To everyone," she looked down at the floor. She shook her head. "Nobody really liked me. At first, I thought that was a good thing. Fear ruling everyone. But.. now that I see all I get by being nice, I.."

Dib stared at her, eyes still wide.

"I don't want to be mean again." Now, with all the threats, this was surprising. She placed a hand on his shoulder, looking up at him. "Dib, you're my brother. I'm supposed to look after you and protect you. Not subject you to beatings, threats and berations. You deserve better.." she glanced at the cure then, and nodded to herself as confirmation that she accepted what she was saying. "I realize what the meteor had done to me. It gave me something I lacked for a long time. It returned to me what I missed, and I don't want to go back to not having it. It feels natural now..."

Her brother blinked at her, taking a quick glance at the cure she still held. He couldn't believe this. He was happy, sure, but this felt like a dream. He pulled himself out of those thoughts though, focusing on what Gaz had said. Returned to her what she missed. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before, though he stopped looking at the tablet. He should have been paying attention. The boy couldn't utter a word except "R..really?" What was it…?

Gaz nodded, and handed him back the cure. "Compassion. I stopped at the library after I finished and looked up what this all could be. Turns out the meteor was full of a hormone called oxytocin, it seemed. It sensed I didn't have any and so… gave some to me. So, no cure for me."

"I.. I see…" he took back the cure, gulping a little. "I can't.." he started crying, but they were tears of happiness. Gaz hugged him, forgetting she was filthy. "Thank you, sis.."

She felt all warm and fuzzy then, and smiled, "Anytime, bro." And then she started laughing, backing off.

"Heh, what?" Dib raised an eyebrow, smiling goofily, tears staining his cheeks. He put the potion back on the desk.

"Looks like you'll need to take a shower after me, Dib," Gaz smirked, looking a little more like the old her. Teasing, but this time with a healthy dose of playfulness. She stood. "Last one there is a rotten egg!"

"Oh, what?! no," he hopped up, pointing dramatically at her. "Not if I get there first!"

The girl grinned, and took off, opening the door, squeezing through, and closing it before Dib could get there. "Hey!"

"Hahaha!"

"Hey, Gaz… what should I do with the cure?"

"Mm.. keep it."

"Why?"

"Because it's pretty. Let's hang it up somewhere."

"Haha, sure."

And so the potion decorated the wall midway between Dib's room and Gaz's room. Every time they looked up and saw it, they were reminded of the meteor and what it did to fix their lives.

END.