I’m trying to work out all the ways this show could end. They all end with DOOM. For a longer version where everybody is happy, see Nightmare Ends.
End 1
Dib lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He absently counted the glow stars stuck to the white expanse. He didn't notice when he skipped from 29 to 34. He was thinking about Zim.
He had arranged the stars in a position he had found in a map from Tak's ship. The ship was totaled and in pieces, now, somewhere in Nevada. But he still had this one map. He thought he could find the Orion galaxy. The star in the middle was Irk. Or so he guessed.
Slowly, he sat up, and put on his coat. He was going out. Gaz saw him, but didn't acknowledge him. She knew where he was going. The same haunt he had occupied for the last four months. Zim's house.
He walked down the road with the air of a hit puppy. He looked at the ground as he made his way across town. His feet made the journey alone, they knew the way. His mind was elsewhere.
He remembered the last Swollen eyeball meeting he had gone to. Where he had finally proven his case against Zim. He remembered Darkbootie patting him on the back. They were all so proud of him, the youngest member finding the first real alien on Earth. He had been happy then. He had been so naively happy.
He stopped in front of the dark house. Once it had been green, but now the paint had been peeled off, revealing the internal workings of the house. It no longer worked, most of the parts having been taken off. The roof was missing; the Voot cruiser was long gone. Along with almost everything else.
He walked up the path, almost instinctively dodging the gnomes. The gnomes were long gone now, violently torn from their posts. He opened the door, and stepped into the house.
The walls were now covered with graffiti, the local teenagers having reacted strongly to the idea of an alien living there. Ghostly laughter echoed in the room, more memory than actual sound. Dib remembered the little robot as he had last seen him, disabled and in pieces, the green puppy costume torn to shreds in the background. Scientists pored over the twisted pieces of junk that had once been the insane brain of the android.
Dib walked into the kitchen, and looked at the black hole that had once been an elevator. He remembered how Zim, panicked, had tried to hide in has labs. He should have gone for the Voot. But he made a mistake.
He remembered with a shudder the scene of the little Irken, minus his disguise, being pulled out of the house. He screamed curses upon Dib and the rest of the scientist there. When it happened, Dib had laughed. Everything he had worked for for years was now coming true. It was the greatest day of his life. He'd had to give up Tak's ship, but it was worth it. At least it had seemed it then.
The interviewers were fun for the first week. Then they were repetitive, and then just annoying. They had died out after the first month. They had followed the alien to Nevada. Area 51 now really did have aliens, now.
Dib recalled the first day he had woken up, and realized that it was over. The Earth no longer needed to be protected. He had tried to go back to chasing Bigfoot, but it wasn't interesting anymore. Nothing was.
Dib looked once around the old house. He had seen it all before, hundreds of times. He didn't find what he was searching for here. He never had before.
He began to walk home, leaving the disheveled wreck behind him. The houses passed slowly, putting more and more space between him and the shell of the old house. He soon found himself at home.
He slowly trudged up to his room to finish out the ritual he had perfected over the months. He reached under his bed, and pulled out the box of newspaper articles he had kept. Headlines screamed at him from the pages.
Alien Found in Small Town!
Big Headed Boy Says He Knew ALL Along!
Aliens in Area 51!
President says 'we are protecting against the coming armada.'
Testing on alien menace begins.
Testing continues, Rioters say 'Aliens are people too.'
'Rioters give up after a month of no response.'
'Our alien dead!' Dib read on, as he always did.
Scientist discovered by a freak accident that the Aliens are allergic to water. Experts say-'
"NO!" Dib screamed at the paper. "I TOLD YOU! That was the basis of the proof! I TOLD YOU!" The article smirked back at him, unscathed, unchanged.
Below him, Gaz sighed.

End 2

Zim stared at the view screen. The words 'Transmission Terminated' glowed harshly down at him. He stared blankly back.
You were NEVER an invader, Zim!

Upstairs, Gir danced around in circles, swinging a stuffed moose around. Zim could hear the robot's metal feet banging on the ceiling above him.
We just wanted to get RID of you!

Slowly, Zim stood up, walking toward the elevator. He rode it to the surface, and then stepped out. Without bothering to put on his disguise, he walked into the night.
You RUINED EVERYTHING, Zim!

Dib awoke, not seeing the little alien in his room. He stared at his ceiling for a moment, wondering what had awoken him. He pondered for a moment, then heard a small sound. He sat straight up, looking toward the source. Light reflected off two rubies.
You were supposed to have DIED!

Zim reached behind him into his pak as Dib fumbled for his glasses. The boy's eyes focused on the barrel of a gun, pointed straight at him. He gasped. Zim didn't smile at the sound. He kept the same agonized look on his face.
"You get your wish, Dib. What you've been working for all these months. You finally get it." Zim turned the gun around. Dib saw that it wasn't of human origin.
You were supposed to be DEAD!

Zim pressed the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. The gun didn't make a sound, but Zim slumped to the floor.

Dib stared at the lifeless form on his bedroom floor. With mixed fascination and horror, he wondered what could have happened to the little Irken to make him do such a thing.
But he would never know. No one would ever know the story of a little Irken who just wanted his leaders to respect him.

END 3
Dib flew higher into the atmosphere, almost laughing at the freedom. Tak's ship finally worked. He wondered what it would be like on the moon. Almost instantly, he decided to find out. He flew toward the white circle on the sky's black expanse. It grew bigger and bigger as he raced towards it at speeds he would have previously thought impossible. He flew up at it, and around it, literally going over the moon. He didn't think he had to be home soon, so he landed.

He stared out at the white, dusty landscape. Off in the distance, he could see an american flag, frozen on the low gravity. He knew it was really supported by wires, but the effect was still pretty nice. He wondered what would happen if the next astronauts found the landing marks of the ships. They wouldn't know what to think. A flying star flew across the sky, seemingly dissapearing behind the Earth. It was a few minutes before Dib realized it was probably just Zim.

His watch said 9:45, so he lifted off, and flew back towards North America. THe landscape got bigger and bigger. The oceans dissappeared. Soon, he was hovering just above Ohio, trying to find his house. Suddenly, the comm screen crackled to life. It didn't work well, it had been something Dib didn't really see any sense in fixing.
"Hello, Dib. I see you finally got Tak's old ship working."
"Yeah, I did, Zim. Why do you care? Leave me alone, I have to meet my curfew."
"Oh, I can' t do that. I don't know enough about Tak's ship. I just know it's faster than mine. I'm afraid I'll have to break it again. Goodbye, Dib."
Dib looked out of his window, and saw Zim's ship hovering a few miles away. Too late, he saw the glowing ball flying toward him. He tried to duck, avoid the fireball, but is still hit the back of his ship. A second shot hit the main engine, and Dib's ship started to fall.

Zim watched the burning ship drop out of the sky. He wondered how quickly he could conquer the Earth with no resistance. He thought maybe he'd try the 'santa' thing again. Maybe not. Tak's ship was out of veiw, now, below his line of sight. He dropped the engines power, and fell toward the Earth. Expertly, he navigated down to his Town, his road,and finally his roof.
The windsheild opened, and he climbed out. Gir ran into the room, and leapt up onto his head, and for once, Zim let him stay there. He was in a good mood.

Dumb, I know, but one of my freinds, (anon.) who doesn't like Dib much told me that I killed Zim too much. So I did this one for her. SEE? WHO SAYS I NEVER LISTEN TO ANYONE OTHER THAN THE INFOMERCIAL GUY?
Ahem. Sorry.


End 4
I had to do it.

I’d always kidded myself that I could do my job, in spite of his incessant plans to foil it. But I was wrong.

I told him I was sorry. Some things have to be done.

Dib was fun while it lasted. He provided an… outlet, for my more creative energies. He got in the way, but that was just part of the fun.

Too bad he never knew how easy it would have been to dispose of him. He never figured out what a tiny problem he posed. He insisted on believing I was an idiot, a bumbler. I don’t blame him.

That’s what I led him to believe. Had he known the full extent of my training, he would have never thought of the idea to cross me. But he did. And, oh, what HORRIBLE frequency he did it with!

And I let him.
I ignored good sense. I should have destroyed him the first time he told the class I was an alien. But when I began to think of him more and more, the problems started. The humans have a term for the problem I faced.
Affection.
They are deluded into believing it is positive, a thing to be achieved. They even work toward it. We Irkens harbor no such deceptions. And I cannot do my job if I was weighted down with it.
So when I began feeling the symptoms, I had to destroy the source. I had to destroy the…Dib.
I believe, when I explained it to him, he understood. In a way. He didn’t show it, no. He begged me not to do it.
He even admitted to having symptoms of the same disease. I believe, that in a way, I helped him.

I never thought that when the time came, Zim would actually kill me. I know I couldn’t, if our places were reversed.
Now, he’s here in my room. And I see nothing in his eyes but a cruel efficiency.
He had appeared behind me, in my room. I turned to fight him, but before I could even land a single punch, he threw me to the floor, between the bed and the wall. I’m sitting there now, he’s talking to me.
I don’t hear the words, but I know what he means. He’s here to finally end it. The game. That’s all it’s ever been to him. A game. That’s how little he ever felt for my struggles. All I ever did, he could have stopped easily. My stomach is made of ice.
“You can’t do this, Zim. Because for all the fighting, I… I like you, Zim. I don’t know why but I do.” Zim pales. His green skin turns almost white. The tiny gun he has in his hand raises a bit.
“You understand, then, why I have to do this. Because I feel it too. The disease of… affection. It must be stopped, Dib. Stopped at all costs.” The gun clicks as Zim cocks it.
“Zim,” I plead “You don’t have to kill me! Affection is not a disease!”
“You know so much, and somehow so little.” Zim says hoarsely.

The gun is silent. But I’m not. Blood streams onto my carpet, and I know I’m as good as dead. I scream, and scream. But he’s already gone.

End 5
I’ve already contacted the Tallest. They’ll be here, soon. I look out of the Voot’s window, and see the Earth, the conquered Earth, spinning miles below me. I can’t quite perish the thought that Dib is down there, somewhere, still trying to fight, most likely. But there’s nothing he can do. Nothing anyone can do.
I’ve developed a virus. Almost instantly fatal, and transmits even faster. It carries through the air. And I’ve released cubic tons of it all over the Earth. The Earth-monkeys will be dead before they even figure out they’re sick.
The Massive is still not in sight, but it should be arriving soon. Who knows, maybe they have another planet to stop at, before coming here. Irk knows there’s enough Invaders out there. I fight the urge to contact them again. I know they’re coming, soon.
I imagine the look on their faces when they see the destruction I have ravaged on the Earth peoples. They never really believed, I think, that I could do it. They never imagined that this short little Irken could accomplish anything. But they were wrong. Oh, so wrong.
I can see myself in my mind’s eye. I stand strong and proud, loading the first cannon load to start the organic sweep. I hit the button, twenty pounds of explosives drops to Earth. The crew cheers, and the Tallest smile. They see me in a new light. They see me for the Invader I so truly am. The armada commences the organic sweep, within a day, there is no trace of the stink-monkeys that populate the spinning dirt ball. The dirt ball that has been my home for over two of their years. I hate it. And I hate everything on it. Every single thing.
I’m going to love destroying it.
If only the Tallest would get here.

Billions of miles away, the Tallest laughed. Not that anything was very funny. The Massive was floating through space, without a current direction. Most of the crew was starting to develop cabin fever.
But the Tallest kept imagining Zim. Zim, banished to Earth. Zim, waiting above a dead planet, waiting for them. Waiting and waiting.
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