Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Gir, I have a brilliant plan!”

ZiM had been working over the past few months on his "amazing plan," and today was the day he would tell the tallest. It had been a whole month; surely the Tallest must be worried!

“COMPUTER! Call The Almighty Tallest,” he commanded.

"𝚄𝚐𝚑 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎, 𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 '𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝙼𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚢 𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚝'"

ZiM gets into a saluting position in front of the screen when it flashes on, showing two annoyed leaders.

"ZiM we need to-"
Red tries before ZiM interrupts.

"MY TALLEST! I have come up WITH MY MOST AMAZING PLAN YET! The urth shall soon-"

"ZiM!" Red cuts ZiM off.

"Yes, my tallest?"

"ZiM we need to talk about... Your mission. Well... *sigh* There’s no actual 'mission' to take over urth,"

ZiM's face falls out of his prior confident and cheery form. His hands drop from behind his back. Did he fail? Was there not enough time? How can he-
"It’s almost completely worthless to us. You see, we sent you there to get you away from irk"

Purple cuts in "Yeah and so you’re not around us anymore!"

"Yes, that."

ZiM freezes processing what he just heard. What? No no, he can fix this.
"B-but my tallest! If I had a chance to"

"You’re defective ZiM. You never had the chance. Don't ever EVER call us again."

"We never actually liked you byeeee!" Purple waves smiling before the screen goes blank.

ZiM stares back at himself through the black screen. His mind shatters.
"B-but I...this..what?"
ZiM feels unwanted tears forming in his eyes as he collapses onto the floor. It was all fake? His dedication to his leaders, to keeping it for irk, everything he's done—nothing—just for laughs. He was the jester all along. He clenches his fists.

"Master?"

Gir walks over with concern, sitting near ZiM’s legs with a worried expression.
"It was all a lie...all of it..."

ZiM curls up on the floor as tears flow out of his eyes. He shuts his eyes and presses his head as hard as possible to the cold floor to distract him from his feelings. Maybe physical pain can blur out the emotional pain.
"I-I thought it was a mistake- I caused the florpus FOR THEM! And this is what happens? I lost the respect of my tallest.."

He sits up bringing his knees to his chest and sobbing. Gir hugs ZiM’s leg, confused as to why he is sad.

"Master, what's going on? What happened?"

"The mission is off Gir. It was all a lie."

... ... ...

It's been a few days since ZiM was last at school. Dib is used to the alien missing but his max is usually 3 days. It's been 6 days now.

"I'm telling you gaz he's planning something! He's never gone this long!"

Dib is pacing back and forth in front of Gaz who's at the table. She’s playing on her gameslave 2.

"Go away."

"What is he planning... It must be big if he missed 6 days of hi skool..I should check on his cameras. Thanks, Gaz!"

"I don't care."

Dib runs upstairs to his room grabs his computer and sits on his bed.
"I can’t believe he still hasn't found these cameras! I also can't believe I STILL haven't stopped talking to myself. Anyways."

He opens up his computer and the cameras. He searches for a few seconds before soon finding the invader...curled up in blankets on the couch. Gir is trying to make him feel better by singing in random gibberish.

"Oh. He’s all... Sad. That’s... Not what I was expecting."
Why would he be sad? Dib’s mind raced with possibilities before he stopped. Why did he feel SO bad for the enemy? He’s trying to take over Earth for crying out loud. Dib forces himself to feel better by telling himself that ZiM will return to normal. Maybe it's just a phase. He’ll investigate later.

(To ZiMs pov)

“Lalala dorp flap zip borrar pppp-”

“Gir stop it. I’m… 'm fine.”

“But you're all schmoopy!!”

“I'm fine Gir.”

“Alright, master! IMA MAKE BISCUITS!!”

“Wa- …never mind…don't destroy or explode the base.”

He sits up on the couch clenching his fists. His thoughts blur together. Why would he, ZiM, not be worthy of the empire? He can never fix it. It's all his fault. He lost.

i̜͛̋̓̓̍̿͟ͅl̴̵̴̴̦̜̯͉̤͉͎̰̱̪͖̇͑ͮ̽͐̑ͪ͆͂̎ͮͫ͠l̬̳̺̪̝̗ͫ͂̊̊ͫ̇͘͞͞ ņ̷͉͚̤̟̫̤̣̘̾̅ͭͦ̀́͐ͥ͊̄ͮͫ̆̾̚̚͝ȅ̵̛̖̬̣̺͙̥̗̱͚̭͖͖̱͔ͮ́̃ͧ̒͑͊̍́̑̿ͪ̋ͧ̅̅̄̐̍ͩ͋̕͟v̵̩͙̣͖̙͍̫͔̝ͬ̉ͥ̿̌̐ͧ́͗̾̔̊ͥ̐́͛̇̐ḛ̪͖̺̺̯͎̭̗̏̂̑̀̀͗̇́̈̎́͢͢͠_̴͇͍̳͖̥̤͈r̸̸̲ͥ͋̽̉̀̔ͬ̕͞_ b̶̦̼̬̖ͩ͐̆ę̵̵̬̦͙̫̙͉̞͂̏ͬͤ̀̆ͭͪ͆̿̑̈́ͩ́͝͞ g̎_̵̧̠̥͈͕̝͙̀ͥ̀ͩ́̀ͤ̃o̤̣̊̀͒̅o̶̝̱͖̺̭̻̬̞̺̲̦̱̜ͣ̆ͪ̈̌̊̑ͯͤ͌̉̓ͧ̐͂ͦ͢ͅd̢̛͖͍̫̱͎̖͉̙̼̱̑̈́ͩ̍̃ͨ͌̽͑ͦͦ̄̒̓͊̉͘͜ ḙ̷̷̷̴̳͇̣̱̝̩̙̖͇̻̥̥̠̻͋̍͊̑ͨ̈́ͯ̀ͯ͊͛̈ͪ́̀͆̇̃̋͒̈̎̋ͭ͗͘͢n͍̝̮̍͐̉͋ͮ͝ou̴̶̵̵̢̮̘͔̪͍̫͔̘̱̫̲͔͇ͪ̅ͮ̈́ͭ̊̆̆̆͗͂͒̈ͨ̉̍͟͝͝ģ̶̴̪͓̜̼̟͔̩͍̋͌̋ͤ̎̽̍͌̍ͭͫ͘̕͘͠͠ḩ̸̵̼̘̬̮̟͖̣͙̇ͦͧ̀̽̎͆̾ͤ̑̽̑̚͟͜͠͞ i̡̧̖͉̞̖͙̠̦͇̣̫̾ͨͤ͆ͩͧͧ̕͘͜ f̧̢̱̪͎̪̙͚̭̣̮̲̠̞̪̖͖̞̰ͮͭ́̅̔ͫ͊̅͆ͣ̓̅͊̊̀͆̈́̿̓͌͆͘͞_ą͓͙̘͉̙̳̱̦̪͍̰̙̩ͣͦ̈ͥͮ̊ͫ̈́̋̀́ͧ̄ͥ̿̓̒̈́͛̕͘͘͟͢͢͞ͅi̧͔̠̭ͦͪ̉̂̋̆̈ͦ͆_̷̯͚̟̺̜̩̰̩̰͇͍ͩ͑͂̉͒͛ͤͨ̀͟_̛͖̬̩̆̓́ͪl̵̴̬̯̥͈̲͈̰̗̋ͪͩ̓̎̇̀̍͑ͨ̐̈́ͣ̆̚̚͟ę̶̸̛̯̱̦̳̤͍̲̰̠͓̤̏ͨ̄̾̉ͣ̎̈́͊̇̐̏̔́̾͒͘͘d̶̛̳͙͓͉̗̪̮̥̟̎ͬ̅̒̋ͬ̋̋̏́̚͠͠͠ ţ̛̳̭̬̝̭̘̳̱̗ͫ͐̒̓̇͗́̈́ͥ͒ͬͩ͑̀͊ͪ͜͠ͅḩ̦̞ͮ̉̅͘e͚̞͑_̶̢̛̙̗̪̝̤̤͙̥͎̝̪̭ͦͫ́̍̔͂ͧ͊̈́ͤ̌̀͒ͫ͘͟͜͟͢͞͠ t̡̯̮̄a̰̻͖͉ͧ͛̿̉ͥͧ͊̓ļ̸̨̬͇͎͉̲̜̥͍͇͙̥͉̬̳̯͕̟̊̏ͪ̏ͮ́̊͛ͨ͗ͬͧ́̊͟͡͠_̣̺̌ͣͩ̈́l̡̨̯̱̤͇̰̠̞̻͉͙̝̓͆̈̐ͫ̄ͫͤͦ̏̌͛ͭ̇́͋́ͮͥͭ͘͢͝e̥̋ͥ̂̾͗ͫ͗ͮs͔̞̖̤ͬͨ̂ͥ̚͝_̡̩͍̩̘͖̫̰̪̝͙̮͈̻ͨ͆ͨ̓͐ͤ̈́͗̉̋͢͜s̸̭͇͍̯̟̈́͂͊ͯͣͪͥͯ͆ͧ̍͢͡t̡̡̰̦̬͔̫̹͎̻̤̯̣͔̭͖̰̰̱͈͂ͦ̅ͩ͆ͤ̊͂̑̉̈ͪ̏ͥͨͥ̊͆̚̚͜͜͠ͅ i̵̫̙̠̤͒ͦͫͭ́̕͡-̶̡̳̼͈̺̪ͮ̋_̜̺̹̥͋̓ͮ͌͞͝-

ZiM lifts himself up with his pack, his legs off the floor. The pak attaches its legs to the walls while lifting ZiM upwards. He curls up in a ball. He pulls his antenna as hard as he can, the part near his head bleeding.

i̧̧̨͇̘̪͕̩͈͕̲̱͉̬̩ͮͤ̽̀̽͋͂͋ͤ̇̏̀ͩ̃̚͜͢͟l͆́_̳̞̥̪̼̃̈͢_̶̨̢̙̆͡l n̛͖̜͂͜͝__̸̷̷̡͈̣͉ͪͮ́͐ͥ͂͐̕͢͢͝͞ͅe͇̜͔ͬ́͐̾̏̅͒͝͝v̛͚͚͊̃͛ͣ̀ͭͤ̿͡e̴̢̛̼̝̙̪͕̺̩̞̻͉̳̝̦̞͓̳͈̣͚ͦͣ̓̀͊̐̋̿ͨͣͫ͑́̎̊͢͞͠ͅr̥̝̫̾ b̸̧̭̭̯̺͎̝̘̰͔̰̗͖̤̠͚͖ͮ́̀̒̈́̇̾ͪ̑̂ͪ͒̄͋̋̍ͪ͒̐̾͑ͭͫ̾͢͠e̶͈̳̬͎̹̥̩͖̯ͤ̀ͤͭ̀̈ͪ͌ͯͮ̇̊͟͟_̢̬̖̗̰̻͔ͯͣ̉͛ͩ͂̚͢͞ p̴̡̡̥͙̜͓͕̣̖̩̣͓̟̦̗̘̖̏̇̀̊ͧ̋͛̑ͮ͂ͦͮ͂͘̕͞͞͞ẽ̡͓͇͔̣͍̮͖̝̺̖̰̥͖͚͚̝ͯ̀̅̄ͮ́̌͌̀̈̑ͪ̈́̅͊́͒̄ͩͪ̕̕͟͝r̷̨̫͙̳̹͉̫͉̯͍̞͚̄̈́͌̿ͧ͒̉̃̂͋̋̿̔̌ͩ̕͘͝_f̷̞̖̰̖̻̠͗ͪ͂̊͊͊ẹ̶̢̘̫̠̰̫̤̬̻̰͔̹̃ͯ̋͑̂̀ͫͦͯ̀́̀͑͌͟͠͝c̴͇̞̟̹͖͛ͨ̎̂̀̓̇ͧͦ̀̐ͭ̑͆̏̈́̀̉̀̚͟͞͝͡ͅt͕̩̤_̭̘̥̘̬̦ͥͬͥ͛̑͠ ị̵̷̰͓̬̮̥̭̟͍̗̰̠̹͚̯͕ͣ̒ͩ̈́͛ͬ̉ͥ̇͒̃ͩ͌ͭͥ̇̄ͭ̀̓̈͑͋͆̅̕͜͠͠ ơ̧̨͔̜̙̻͈̥̱̫̟̞͍ͧ̇ͥ̃ͧ̏ͦͥ̐̏ͥ͢͞͞͠ͅn̶̛̹̤͇̼͕̻̩̼̣̈ͮ͗͌̐ͫͭ̐̂̕͠͝_͎̰͎̫ͭ̃l̶̜̘͇̲ͫ̏ͧ͂̓̊ͣ̈̓y̧̡̧̘̪̦̥͚̩̜̭ͯ̎ͨ̋͗̓̄̋̂̀̐̾̈́ͫ̎ͬ͒̈̐̕̚͜͟͞͡ h̴̨̥̻̟̪͙̭̠̮͎͙͔̝̗̹ͮ̀ͭ̿ͬͨ̅̀́ͣ̓̽̈́͌̄̆ͫ͘͟͞u̵̸̸̪͕̣̣̺̝̫͍̙͈̫ͨͦ͌̊ͮͮ͌ͦ̋̀̀̀͑ͭ̃͆͊̚͜͡ͅr̛̰̝̲̦̹͓̭͍̙̘̣͎͈̦̩̔͆ͤ̏ͫ̈̍̄͛̿̿̏ͯ̈́͌ͦ͌ͯ͠ͅt̙̲̰͐̀̌̀̓̇ͮ̕͜_̧̥̔́̆͝_̶̪͙̥ͣͦ̇̉̍͟͜͠_̡͚̤̒ͦͣ̅ ę̷͚͇͕̥̯͚̹͍͕͙͖͔̟̉̑͆ͫ͋̂̿̚͘͢͝v̵̢͈̮̩͚̜͖̤̭̥͗ͧ͊ͤͧ͐̓͂̂ͤ̓̓̿͊͗͜͞ę̵͚̭̼̤̰̞͓̺̰̗̠̾ͯ̑̂̐̅̇̔ͩͫͥ͞͞r̢̧̧̢̛͓͍̞͚̣̤̺̩̲̯͓͈̮̭̠̋̀̆ͬ̿̏̈́ͪͬ͑̆ͯͫͭ̽͂̿̿ͩ̇̓͘͢͡ǫ͉̜̮̗̦̩̦̳͉̯̺͈͕̬ͥͧ̉͋̅̅ͨ̆̋̋͂ͪ͟͢͡n̢͖̫̲̞̋͋̂ͬ͂͆̓ͥ̕̕ȩ̶̵̯̰̪͖̖̖͇̣̠̼̼̃̓̂ͫͦ̔̅͂̇̾̉̾̎ͮ̋̌ͦͪ̕͘̕͟ í̛̥̫̩̖̰͙̙̩̬̜̳̭͇͖̉͆̊̉͗̑ͩ̐͆͋ͬ̐ͮ̄̕͟ f̍̽ͣͦͅ_̷͙̳͚̥͔̮̥͕̫̋͂́̑̅͊͆ͥͣ̕ạ̧̛̞͚̩̘̠̗̜̬̻̺̗̣̭̘͙͎̑̇ͬ́ͭͧͮ̒̆ͥ̇̂̋͋͛̉̂̉̆ͭ͘͜͝î̶̢̬͕͖̙͖͇̦̝̩̽́͐͗͂̀ͮ̑͑̄̀ͭl̚e̯̙̺ͨḑ̴̡̻̖̻̖̬̥̰̫͖̜̲̭͎͖̤̪̙͔̝̰̓ͣ̀ͪͭ͂̇͆̀ͯ̄̎̓ͯ̋ͭ̿̽ͪ̃͝͝ͅ t̸̴̛̳̳͚̤͖̰̠̹̺̰̪̜̥̘̅͑ͭ̃͒̽̾ͧ̽͑̐̔ͯ̾̐ͩ̔͊̋̊̿ͨ͟͞h̷̴̴̨̳͓͖̪̯̯̀̋̅̔̅ͫ̉̈́́̍̿̉͟_̴̷̨̛͇͙̭̠̦̻͊̄̄ͦ͋ͦͨͯ͑ĕ̸̥̯̦͖͔͎̫̮̇̈̐͢m̢̫͉͉ͮ̑̀́

Blood drips from his head as he claws the side of his face. His claws slice into his skin.

“Make it stop make it stop make it-”

“Master?”

ZiM jumps and instinctively one of his pak legs goes toward the voice.

Crack!

Zim falls against the floor hitting his head.
“..ow..Gir don't scare me like that!”

Silence

“Gir don't ignore me!!”

Nothing.

“...Gir?”

ZiM looks over to see Gir’s eyes cracked, lying limp on the floor. ZiM walks over to Gir.

“Gir that's not funny. Get up.” ZiM crosses his arms looking down at Gir.

ZiM sits up and Gir doesn't move.

“I'll try your biscuits, now come on.” ZiM starts getting worried.

ZiM stands up and walks over to Gir, speaking more hushed this time. “Gir? Please wake up.” He crouches over to see the damage and notices the broken antenna. “I-I didn't mean to Gir just say something, anything” ZiM picks Gir up from where he is, walking over to the elevator. “I-I’ll fix you! Y-you’re going to be fine.”

ZiM sets Gir down, still crying. His voice is now shaky. “It's going to be fine I promise. I’ll get you back. I’ll fix you.”

Suddenly the doorbell alert goes off.

“sniff C-COMPUTER! WHOS THERE!”

“It's the big-headed boy.”

“Dib? Why would he be here…HOW DID SECURITY NOT SEE HIM!”

“There was an error”

“Stupid gnomes..”

He walks towards the door, tripping over the broken TV. That's a…problem for later. He reaches for the door with his right hand and sees that he's bleeding. There's glass in his hand. Oh. He ignores the pain and opens the door with his other hand.

“What.”

“Um yeah um hi…are you ok ZiM?”

“Why do you care about it, Dib-stink? This has nothing to do with you!” ZiM practically hisses.

“You've just been missing for a few days and…what if you're planning something!!! Or not feeling well…or whatever.”

“The ZiM is always WELL!!! I’M BUSY RIGHT NOW!”

“Oh ok..wait are you bleeding?” Dib sees the skin on ZiM’s head is torn and bleeding.

“BUSY!”

He slams the door in Dib's face. He sighs and slumps down against the door hugging his knees.

“COMPUTER! How’s the damage on Gir.”

“His sensors are nonfunctional and he needs an antenna replacement.”

ZiM stands up and walks down to the basement where Gir is. He sits next to Gir who is on the upgrades table. His eyes are shattered and the antenna is bent. ZiM's heart twists when he sees Gir, he never wanted to hurt him.

“I'm sorry.”

….

As the door slams closed, almost hitting Dib's face, he's just left there confused on the lawn. Before he can process what just happened, the gnomes start shooting lasers at him.

“OK OK, I'M GOING!!!”

He dashes home before Gaz gets mad at him for missing dinner. He slams the door on his way in and sees Gaz waiting.

“Finally. You were going to be so dead.”

“Sorry gaz!! Just..”

“Stupid space stuff yeah whatever.”

They eat in awkward silence. Dib can't stop thinking about what just happened with ZiM. What just happened?? Why was he bleeding?? Is he planning something or… Just sad.

“Stop making that face.”

Dib jumps at his sister's voice. She's already done eating and is already playing video games.

“What face?”

“The stupid thinking one.”

“What- it's not stupid!! Just a lot of stuff is happening.”

“Sigh, what is it?”

Gaz was giving him a shot to speak? Wow. Rare.

“Really? Well, when I checked on the cameras yesterday ZiM wasn't planning anything or doing evil... Alien... Stuff. He was just sad! And, well for some reason, I went to go check on him after school and he was bleeding?! He said he was busy! Then slammed the door on me! Ugh. He looked really bad Gaz. I'm worried.”

Gaz is looking at him wide-eyed and even… A little concerned? She goes back to her game.

“That's crazy. My advice? Give him space. Let him work it out.”

Dib fidgets with his fork but pauses at the advice.

“Yeah. That sounds good. Thanks, Gaz.”

Dib puts his dish in the sink for Foodie-o and heads up the stairs.

“Goodnight Gaz! Thank you!”

“G’night”

Chapter Text

After school, Dib decides he has to do something about ZiM. He runs home to grab his suitcase and his invisibility suit. He doesn't put it on yet, last time he tried spying ZiM's weird robot dog just let him in, so he might as well try that. He grabs his coat and runs downstairs.
“I'll be back for dinner Gaz!”

“K.” Gaz grumbles, not even bothering to look up from her game.

Dib walks out the door noticing it's reasonably dark. Winter is approaching, with the chilly air and earlier sunsets. He walks feeling generally calm. He shivers a bit and pulls his coat up to himself a bit. While approaching ZiM’s house he tries to stay as quiet as possible but when he starts getting close to the door it suddenly flies open. Dib rushes to the side of the house for cover and he sees ZiM walking out of the house with his disguise on. He locks the door looking suspiciously nervous and struggles for a second before getting the key in.

Dib whispers to himself, “What is he doing…” before peaking around the corner.

ZiM closes the door behind him and sighs before starting to walk towards the forest. Dib follows quietly behind him and he notices ZiM’s eyebags and how his wig is sloppily put on. Dib hurrys after ZiM.

After a while Dib notices he's been following ZiM for around 10 minutes now, And ZiM is getting more anxious by the second. What is he up to? Why is he doing this? Dib feels his anxiety rising. Soon they reach a clearing where Dib can see the sky clearly. The sun had set and the stars were out. He almost got lost in how pretty the sky was before remembering what he was doing there. He will find out what ZiM is planning and he WILL stop him from destroying urth.

…

After a few minutes, he's actually there. ZiM knows why he chose to come here, but..it still terrifies him. ZiM walks close to the edge of the cliff. He remembers how. When he just got to earth, he lost his self-destruct device. If a plan is canceled or you fail the tallest, a irken is required to- or more wants to- self-destruct. The tallest may have no control over him, but getting rid of himself is the only thing he can do for his leaders now. Maybe he can finally do something good for his empire. For the tallest.

The moon is bright and the stars are shimmering. ZiM reaches out to space, his home; remembering all of the people he met. He sighs and puts his arm back to the side. He mentally checks off everything he needed to do, Gir was…powered off, and so was Mini Moose and Computer. The Voot was locked and the house was on maximum security. For Dib… ZiM hopes he's happy that Urth is finally safe. Not that ZiM ever had a real chance.

He turns off his Pak’s safety precautions and adjusts his wig. He looks down at the cliff and takes a deep breath. He sways back and forth a bit before lifting his foot to take his step. Soon this will all be over.

“WAIT!”

Before ZiM can process the voice he feels his arm being tugged backwards. He gets pulled to the ground, away from the drop in one sudden, swift, pull. He rubs his head before looking up and seeing... Dib?!?

…

Dib watches as ZiM approaches the end of the cliff and reaches out to the stars for a second. Dib notices how ZiM is trembling slightly. His heart stops when he sees ZiM starting to pick up his foot. ZiM is uncomfortably close to the edge and before Dib can process what he's doing he screams after ZiM.

“WAIT!”

Dib runs up to ZiM and grabs his wrist, throwing him to the ground. He does this a bit harder than he originally meant to. He looks down on the ground seeing ZiM rubbing his head and fixing his wig before making eye contact with Dib.

“...Di-” before ZiM can even say anything Dib interrupts him.

“What the…FUCK was that.” Dib Narrows his eyes at ZiM. ZiM is too shocked to even say anything and before he knows it he's being dragged by the collar away from the cliffs.

The next few moments are full of kicking and struggling while Dib pulls him across the floor before Dib finally stops and says something that makes ZiM stop moving.

“What's wrong with you?”

Chapter Text

Dib looks at ZiM, his ruby eyes doing anything but make eye contact with Dib. After there whole pull and struggle match they chose to sit on a log deep in the forest. I would have been creepy for Dib if he hadn't already spent countless hours in the dark forest while hunting for paranormal. ZiM picks at his skin mindlessly before he starts bleeding. He wipes the blood off. Its extremely quiet. ZiM watches a worm by his foot before squishing it.

“So… What's been happening.”

ZiM jumps slightly at the sudden break in silence. He brings his knees up to his chest, something Dib has noticed he does frequently, and looks the other way from Dib.

“My tallest have… ZiM failed my tallest. I wasn't enough. I never was.”

Dib is shocked at the honesty and is at a loss for words. He puts his hand on ZiMs hand trying to comfort him. ZiM is shocked but doesn't protest.

“ZiM is.. Defective. It's hard for me even to get close to being liked by the tallest yet somehow I messed up even more than any irken has before. I knew they weren't the biggest fan of me, especially after the trial, but they really hate me…” Dib has so many questions but pushes them back for ZiM.

“Your..tallest, were like your sole reason for existing right? So that's why you…yeah..”

“Yeah…”

They sit in awkward silence, sitting on other sides of the log. A cold breeze drafts through and ZiM shivers. Dib takes his coat off and hands it to ZiM.

“ZiM is not wearing your filthy-”
“Just put it on.”

ZiM grumbles but compiles, wrapping the coat around his arms.

"There is that better?" Dib looks at ZiM for a response and only gets an annoyed nod and grumble. They sit there, looking at the sky, the chilly air being tuned out by each other's company. After a while Dib stands up, making ZiM jump again, and reaches an arm out to help ZiM stand.

"I need to get home before Gaz gets pissed, I can take you to your base-"

"NO!" Both ZiM and Dib are startled by ZiMs response. "ZiM means.. The computer is being wonky.. Can I just.. Come with you?" ZiM is nervous that Dib will see through his obvious lie, but somehow Dib is too oblivious to it.

"Yeah. Sure. Just... We might have to make sure Gaz doesn't kick you out." ZiM is relieved that Dib said yes, he won't admit it but he can't be alone right now. With his thoughts. The rabbit hole of dread. He clenches his hand.

"What about GIR though? Do you want him to come to?"

ZiM feels the guilt come back to him.

"No, he is.. powered down. ZiM turned him off before ZiM left." Lying this much didn't make him feel better, but it helped that Dib was his enemy. Or... He thinks? What are he and Dib? Dib is being so nice…

“That's good, I don't think me and Gaz could handle GIR. Dad won't be at the house like usual. I think he said he was in… North Carolina. For a meeting. So he won't be home for a while.”

“Yes, that is… Convenient. Take ZiM to your base now.” DIb stands up offering a hand to ZiM. ZiM slaps the hand away, standing up by himself stubbornly. They walk out of the forest together, in a now comfortable silence.

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Im... Really sorry. I cant write this anymore. Im not hyperfixating over invader zim anymore so its just basically impossible 😞 IF IF SOMEONE WANTS TO TAKE OVER AND JUST KEEP WRITING FOR ME thats totally ok just like copy an paste it to your own fic and give me cred (also comment on this telling me you are) BYEEE