Invader Zim, Aliens -- Chap3

Chapter 3 – The Easy Choices

Gaz opened the door to Dib’s apartment, knowing it would not be locked. Dib never locked the door, yet always had a backup plan if the visitor was hostile. Once inside, she walked into his living room to find him sitting on the couch, a copy of Aliens among Us in his lap, with Tobin’s Spirit Guide on the couch.

“Gaz,” Dib muttered in enthusiasm, “Thank God you’ve arrived so quickly.”

“This better be good Dib,” Gaz said “You’re making me miss a TKK concert when I’m uber stressed out and the band members are getting past their prime.”

“It is,” he bluntly stated, “There’s a large Irken spacecraft heading straight for San Jose. If it hits the earth, who knows what damage it would do or what weapons might be aboard it?”

“That’s a relief,” Gaz said, heaving a breath out, plopping down in a chair, “I seriously thought something happened to dad. You made me worry.”

“I’m sorry,” Dib said sheepishly after a pause. Just then, H.I.M.’s cover of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” came on Dib’s mp3 playlist on his computer. The thought of the lyrics did not thrill him at the moment. “It’s just if I said what it was in the message, you may not have come.”

“Fair enough,” Gaz said sarcastically, leaning over with an accusatory stare. “You know our main priority is to worry about dad right now.”

“I know.”

“And if you cared at all…”

“Gaz, please, not again.”

“Can’t you just get another job in addition to this, one that would actually pay you decently?”

“Paranormal studies take a lot of my time. It would be hard for me to get another.”

“You couldn’t at least try,” Gaz said indignantly, “You could do something…” She cut herself off. There was a dead silence in the room, save for the music playing in the background, its slow, dark tone adding to the melancholia. Dib was standing up, head facing the floor, tears welling up in his eyes. Gaz was facing the floor.

“Dammit,” Gaz said with a whimper and with frustration, “I just want him back the way he was. He’s too young and so are we to be taking care of him. He’s the last thing we have left; mom is dead, and I don’t even remember what she looks like…” She was obviously crying, something she never showed anyone. Dib had rarely seen her cry and it was only on occasions of which he was as well. There was another long pause before Dib finally broke the silence.

“You know,” He said softly, slowly, “I was willing to do something else. They offered me a job over at Arkham House Publishing, which would have given me a lot more money. I nearly did take it too.”

“Why didn’t you?” Gaz asked, calmer than she was. She felt she was showing too much weakness and tried to dry herself up.

“When I told dad about it, he said, ‘Son, I’m proud of you. I don’t care if you’re a paranormal investigator. I want you to be happy.’ I tried to tell him I was willing to give up my dream for him, but he wouldn’t hear it any other way. He wanted me to be what I had always wanted to be. And that was the last sane thing he said to me. Even after that damn stroke…” his speech started to get slower, and there was a whimper in his voice, “He asked where mom was. He didn’t know she had died. He was hysterical!”

Gaz got up from the chair and walked over to her brother, holding him until he calmed down, yet another uncharacteristic thing for her to do. She did not, however, enjoy seeing her brother suffer from inner pain (although outer pain did kind of amuse her).

“Stop cryin’, man,” Gaz said, “A brother of mine’s got to be tougher than that.” She let him go.

“Thanks, Gaz,” Dib said sheepishly. The song ended and Blue Oyster Cult’s “Flaming Telepaths” began to play.

“So, you said this ship was Irken?” Gaz asked rhetorically. She immediately thought of the same person she thought of whenever she looked at those stars. Maybe Zim was on there; maybe he was in trouble and needed her rescue. Maybe the creatures from her visions were on that ship, threatening his life, the life that perhaps they could share together. Dib nodded slowly without thinking about it. “Alright; I’m in.”

“Really?” Dib said, stammering, “And here I was thinking I would have to bribe you with the GS4 I won from the McPoop scratch off game…” He had said too much.

“Oh, really!?” Gaz answered back to his momentary pause, “Well, you did take me away from what might be the last TKK concert before those guys croak; I think you still owe me one.”

Dib bowed his head, walked to the other room, and came back with the GS4. She pulled the GS3 out of her purse and took the GS4 from her brother in the other hand. Immediately, ghosts that only she could see flew out of the GS3 and into the GS4.

“Thank you, Gaz, for the upgrade,” one of the ghosts said.

“Your brother is really dumb for giving this up, isn’t he?” asked the other sarcastically.

“Yes…yes he is.” Gaz said bluntly.

“Who are you talking to?” Dib asked.

“To myself,” Gaz replied.

“My house isn’t haunted is it?” Dib asked nervously, thinking she was talking to the ghost of that guy on Mysterious Mysteries haunting the dinner forks in his kitchen.

“You didn’t go to Miskatonic University,” Gaz stated, “Stop acting so paranoid like everyone from there. So how are we going to get to the ship?”

“By using Tak’s ship,” Dib replied, “It’ll fit us both. I have it covered up on the roof.” There was another awkward pause.

“You miss her, don’t you?” Gaz asked with a smirk.

“Who?”

“Tak; you miss Tak, don’t you?”

“No, of course not. She tried to destroy the Earth, and…It’s that obvious, isn’t it?” Dib said, giving in to Gaz being right. Gaz nodded, her smirk not leaving her face.

“Uh, huh. Now come on. Maybe she’s up there and needs your help. It’s about time you got yourself a damn girlfriend.” She began dragging him by the arm out of the apartment, with him grabbing his backpack full of tools and the C3 he used when fighting that shoggoth lord in Boston last summer, and up the stairs to the roof.

“Why should I have a girlfriend? You don’t have a boyfriend,” Dib stated, still being dragged by a now irritated Gaz. That was a bad thing to say.

“You need one to keep track of you and your immaturities,” she said with spite, “Besides, I had a boyfriend, sort of…for a little while…”

“Todd, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, until he started chasing an already taken girl.”

“Weren’t Lenore and Gosh taking a break, after she ran his head over with a lawnmower a second time, and that’s how it started?” Dib was saying all the wrong things tonight, and he caught himself after saying it. Before he could apologize, his head hit a stair where Gaz was dragging him.

“Just don’t remind me of that, okay,” Gaz said accusatorily, “If Tak’s up there, you two are getting together. I’m sick of you moping around all the time.” Upon making it to the roof, Gaz pressed the button, opening the cockpit, and threw her brother inside head first. “Well, I guess I’m going dressed like this. Now pilot us up and out.” She hopped in as well. He didn’t argue. After flipping a few switches, the ship was ready to go. Dib took the steering and flew the ship out into the stars, Blue Oyster Cult’s original “Don’t Fear the Reaper” playing on the satellite radio as they left orbit.