Double Crossed (Invader Zim)

Chapter 20

The sound of a beam shoots through the room, and I brace myself for the pain, but when I hear a thud in front of me and open my eyes, I see that Membrane is lying on the floor, rather than me.There's no one behind him, but a quick glance up shows Zim, clinging to one of the walls, some sort of Irken weapon in his hand. He's staring at me intently, as if waiting for some sign that I'm okay.

Physically, I'm fine. It's my mental state that I'm worried about. I don't care that Membrane died. It's more that I just saw someone- just in general- die in front of me. It was the scenario itself, not the specifics.

I stand up, looking around Membrane to see where he was shot. There doesn't seem to be a blood stain. He's laying on his stomach, and on the left side of his back is a gaping hole, and on the inside, I can see his organs, cauterized to the wall of the opening. The sight makes me sick, and suddenly, the floor is rushing up to meet me.

---

I come to when I hear voices and footsteps. I try to turn my head, but a hand pushes it back, and clamps over my mouth. I take this as a sign to keep quiet, and stay still. The voices below seem to be panicking, and I can't make out one specific string of words, because everyone is shouting and doesn't seem to be listening to anyone else in the room.

I push myself up, but my hand slips on an edge and my head hits the surface below me as I fall back down.

"Careful," I hear a voice- that obviously belongs to Zim- say. "We're on top of one of the walls."

Being cautious this time, I place my hands firmly below me and push myself up. My stomach still feels a bit gross, and it's a little sore when I finally manage to sit up. Zim is sitting next to me, in some sort of pouncing position, with his hands in front of him, clutching the edge of the wall.

"I'm going to do a bit of memory transferring," Zim says. "We need to wipe everyone's memory of Professor Membrane, not just the scientists. Everyone who's ever seen or heard of him. It's going to be difficult, though, since his work has been used all around the world. So, I've decided we should send a memory erasure wave across the entire Earth from space."

"Sounds good," I agree. "but I think we should get Gaz. She's too smart to be brainwashed, but even if she weren't, she wouldn't want to forget about this." I have a feeling she'd want to remember Membrane, and everything that he did to us.

Zim nods, clicking a button on a device, and after a few moments we appear on a ship in space, with Gaz right next to us, on her GameSlave, seemingly oblivious to the change of scenery.

"This won't erase memories of anything except for Membrane and his associated experiments," Zim explains. "So there won't be anyone walking around braindead. Probably," he says under his breath.

The realization sinks in as Zim says it. "So... no one will remember me, either," I say, breathless. "I can start over." A smile spread across my face. "I won't be the weird kid anymore! I don't even care about any of that paranormal shit anymore, I... I can actually have people like me!" I jump around like a little kid, not caring how stupid I might look. I don't have to be an outcast anymore!

Gaz looks up from her GameSlave, actually smiling a little bit. Whether she's making fun of me or feels happy for me, I can't be sure, but after a moment she goes back to her game anyways, so I have no time to judge.

---

(Zim's P.O.V)

Seeing Dib dancing around was really cute, and that thing he does with his tongue when he's happy is adorable. I never thought when I came to Earth that I'd become so attached to a human, but being around Dib is just so easy, and he makes me actually happy.