Dib died in that fight. It was gruesome. It was violent. The image would haunt him for the rest of his life.
That wasn't the scariest part of the dream. The scariest part was the inky dark void that came next. It's a disassociated feeling. Dib knew he was asleep and dreaming, but he couldn't wake up. He was trapped in a dreamless dark void. He couldn't feel anything. All his senses were cut off from him. No sound. No sense of self.
The only thing that assured him he was alive was the emotions he felt and his thoughts. He tried so hard to just image waking up, but it felt like something was keeping him there.
He screamed and panicked as any normal person would do. The fear was far too much for him to bare. He struggled for what seemed hours. Desperately not wanting to die. To just continue existing.
He never said goodbye to Gaz or his father! He has to say goodbye to them at least! He couldn't accept this if he didn't say goodbye to them.
A strange noise caught his full attention. His panic slowly disappeared as he sees a light. It looks warm and friendly and yet he's terrified of it all the same. It's making a strange noise. His brain tried to try and place the words to describe it.
Airy? Sparkly? Can something sound sparkly? Feathery? Is that a sound. Like sprinkles if they had their own sound effects? What an odd sound. Sounds very magical and unique. Almost reassuring in a way.
The light approached him with a white glow that looked weirdly eerie and creepy. He's not sure why, but it was very off-putting. He saw his hands reach of it and was glad he still had hands or body at all, because he honestly couldn't tell anymore.
He grabbed the strange light and brought it to his chest. He could see his clothes and felt like he's the one looking at this light. (Well technically he was, but in a more personal first person perspective.) Opening his hands revealed a black beating heart with tiny wings. It's as if he could feel his whole body pulsing and vibrating through his whole body. He could feel his breathing, his chest moving, his body aching in pain and felt so weirdly aware of his body now.
This is not his heart... This belongs to another creature.... If he takes this....
It didn't give him the choice to deny it's gift as it flew into his chest piercing through his body. It hurt for a second, but than all the pain simply vanished. He felt the return of dissociation with his own body.
"You are alive." A voice called out.
"Am I? I don't feel alive..." Dib answered and the ringing of his alarm finally thrusted him back wake and to his reality.
He grasped for air and went to claw at his chest, but felt calm? He dropped his hand. Of course it's just a dream... He felt disturbed by it or rather he knew he should feel that way, but he was experiencing indifference and detachment. He didn't think to much about it as he got ready for school and did his normal routine.
Recess was weird. He felt so detached from his surroundings. He stood by his tree as normal. Arms crossed, and eyes scanning the area until they hyper focused on Zim. Zim was watching people play jump rope in confusion. They offered him the rope and than he tied them up with it pushing them to the ground and laughed at them for their stupidity.
Normally Dib would probably be yelling at Zim maybe even trying to stop him, but it felt weirdly pointless. Everything felt so stupidly pointless and exhausting. Breathing felt more trouble than it was worth. Dib decided that he didn't want to breath... To much effort, but even harder to stop breathing. He needs to stop this whole breathing thing it's annoying.
His mind wracked for solutions for this weird issue he's having. If he was unconscious than.... Yeah that'll work. He searched around for something to achieve this goal. He saw some people playing baseball. That'll work. One good hit to the head and he'll be unconscious.
Seemed logical at the time. He carefully timed his movements to step between batter and pitcher. He didn't get unconscious, but he felt reality reconnect to him with pain. If only for a moment the ball slamming into his back made Dib gasp in air that he didn't realize he still was struggling to force into his lungs. The bat slapped him across his arms and chest sending a flare of pain through his body that made him shiver.
The pain made him feel like he wasn't dead. Reassuring him that he's alive. So very alive and he welcomed it. Looking at the batter with probably the most twisted expression of joy a human being can muster he watched them go pale in horror as he spoke to them.
"Hit me... again! Harder!" He couldn't hardly believe he said that and yet he knows he meant it too.
The batter throws the bat to the ground and screams in terror crying. The pitcher seems unnerved as Dib slowly picked up the bat and threw him the ball.
"Batter up!" Dib pointed his newly acquired bat at the pitcher flashing a dangerously unhinged smile at the pitcher.
The pitcher gave Dib his best throw probably not caring if he actually hit the crazy guy. Though he was deeply horrified, when Dib let himself move into the ball's path and pick up to toss it back at him.
"Again!" Dib begged smiling at the satisfaction that he can feel his shoulder a little better now from the bruise the ball made.
It's not hard enough though. Not for what he wants. What he needs. What he thinks he needs.
"Hit me as hard as you can! Right here! Knock some sense in me!" Dib pointed at his head and the others student were starting to notice.
To the pitcher's credit he did his best to hit Dib in the face. It slammed into his forehead and Dib was happy to let it happen as he picked up the ball.
"NOT HARD ENOUGH! SMASH MY SKULL! Come on do it! Do it you coward!" Dib laughed throwing the ball back to the pitcher, who had enough of that shit and runs away crying.
"Cowards!!! All of you! Cowards!" Dib laughed as he hugged himself.
Gaz was going to knock some sense into her brother, but Zim picked up the ball and smirked at it. The look on Dib's face was pure joy and delight as he gripped the bat. He wouldn't mind hurting Zim just as badly as Zim is going to hurt him with that ball.
"Allow me than." Zim smirked and throws the ball that Dib slammed hard with his bat out of pure instinctive reflex and it slammed into Zim's gut making Dib laughed as he felt alive just from this to.
Yeah. He liked this better. Hurting Zim was probably more efficient anyways. Dib charged at Zim swinging at him wildly with the bat. Normally they keep their fights away from school. Not this time. Zim was startled and confused by that as he dodged and ducked only snarl at him.
"Come on Zim! Hit me!" Dib laughed.
"Fine! Zim will!" Zim grabbed a spare bat and they start trying to club each other to death.

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ZaDR Oneshots (Invader Zim)
Fanfiction-on hiatus- A bunch of one shots involving your lovable Zim and Dib as they go from enemies to friends to lovers or straight from enemies to lovers. Summary for oneshot is in each of their begin chapters. Angst, violence, death, blood, gore, and yea...