The Forth OF DOOM!

Zim was a grumpy Irken.

Gaz had pulled him away from his diabolical plans and had dragged him to the park to celebrate a human holiday with her. The last thing he wanted to do was trudge around at night, surrounded by other humans, in human-dirt-filth.

"I still see no reason for me to accompany you on this human holiday." Zim said, trailing behind her as she dragged him through the park. Other large groups of humans sat in the dirt, or walked to other areas in the park, to sit in the dirt. Oddily, they were all facing the same direction.

"Come on. You made me celebrate one of yours." Gaz grumbled, not turning toward him, still walking on.

"Probing day is not a holiday. Is it an annual judgement passed by my Almighty Tallest." He snapped proudly.

"They pummeled you with hammers within the first few minutes."

"And I know now to try harder next year."

Gaz continued on, still pulling Zim along by his hand. She started walking up a hill in the back area of the park, it was a quiet hill with a maple tree sitting on top. Nobody else sat up on the hill but her. Every year she snuck away from her father and Dib to watch the fireworks alone. She fought with herself whether or not she would share her spot with Zim on the fourth this year. But considering this was his first real Fourth of July, she would be lenient. This time.

"I thought you hated humans. Why join them in celebrating another useless human holiday?" Zim said.

"I like the fireworks."

"Fire-works?" Zim cocked his head to the side, confused.

"You'll see." Gaz said laying out her vampire piggies blanket on the grass and sitting down. Zim stood over her and she glared at him expectantly.

"Well come on."

"I'm not sitting in the dirt!" Zim crossed his arms and scowled.

"I laid out a blanket."

"But. Geeerrmmmss." Zim hissed, disgusted. Gaz took his hand again and yanked him down so he would fall next to her. He squirmed around the blanket, avoiding the edges while sitting as close to Gaz as he could. Finally he relaxed and Gaz leaned her head on his shoulder.

"These… 'fireworks'. What is it?" Zim glanced down at Gaz who pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"I said: 'you'll see'."

"Do we get to burn anything?" Zim questioned, raising a brow.

"You'll see." Gaz repeated. Zim grumbled to himself, looking away. Gaz yawned and looked at her watch, it was 9 o'clock. They should be starting soon. She sighed and looked up at the sky, the night was clear and you could see the stars and the endless black of space.

I wonder where Zim's planet is. She thought.

"Which one's yours?" She asked. Zim looked back at her.

"Eh?"

"Where's your home planet?" Gaz asked again.

"Irk?" He looked up at the sky, searching. "You can't see it from here, we're too far away." He sat up and turned around.

"But it's that way." Zim said pointing through the tree branches. Suddenly, Zim heard a whistling sound from behind him and he turned around. There was nothing there, then a massive red explosion erupted in the sky. He gasped, and shot up off the blanket. There was another one, and another one.

Were the stars were going supernova? He thought, his breath quickened and his heart raced. Another star blew up, this time green. They were unnaturally close and fear welled up in his chest. His thoughts turned to Gaz who sat watching the stars blow up. She didn't move from the blanket.

Probably too scared to move.

"GAZ RUN!" He said tackling her and grabbing for her hand to run away. The only place she would be safe was down underground in his base labs, far from the exploding stars, but they would have to hurry.

"Zim! What-"

"COME ON! I'LL SAVE YOU! WE HAVE TO GET UNDERGROUND!" He tried pulling her off the blanket but she resisted.

"Zim stop-"

Another explosion boomed and Zim jumped again, he let go of Gaz's hand and covered his antennae from under his wig.

"DANGER! RUN GAZ! DON'T PANIC!" He screamed, panicking and running around the blanket. Gaz got up and grabbed his shoulders, trying to keep him still.

"Zim calm down!" She whipped him around to face her, another star blew up and Zim struggled.

"I have to get you out of here!" He yelled still trying to break free.

"Look at me." She said, trying to calm him down. Zim looked into her mostly closed eyes.

"It's okay. Just look at it." She turned him toward the stars, he winced with every explosion.

They were in different designs, colors, and shapes. Some were blue, some were purple, or red, or green. Stars don't normally explode like that...

His body started relaxing as Gaz held him close. He stopped flinching and just watched as the explosions filled the sky in bursts of beautiful colors. He had never seen anything like this. Not even an enemy ship was so satisfying to watch explode.

"What… what is this?"

"Fireworks." Gaz said, letting him go. He stood motionless in awe, staring into the heavens.

"It's… beautiful."

Gaz smiled and sat down on the blanket again. She tugged on his shirt and he unconsciously sat beside her, not taking his eyes from the sky.

"Take off your contacts. Nobody's watching. You should see them with your own eyes." Gaz suggested. Without a word Zim reached up, removed his contacts, and set them down beside him. He blinked before looking back up at the sky. Gaz sat back, enjoying Zim's reaction more than the fireworks themselves. His mouth hung open slightly as he stared, unblinking, into the sky as they boomed above them. His big, round, ruby eyes filled with wonder and amazement.

The fireworks stopped for a few seconds as they prepared for the finale. Zim snapped out of his trance and blinked.

"You okay?" Gaz asked. Zim nodded. Then tens of fireworks whistled into the sky before booming at the same time, filling the sky with bigger, brighter colors. They kept sending more and more out into the night. Gaz could hear groups of people down in the park start cheering as the finale began. The park lit up like it was day, thunderous explosions clapped without pause and bright reds, blues, greens, white and gold filled the night. Zim sat back and Gaz laid her head down on his lap.

The booming stopped and the last three shot up one at a time.

Red.

White.

Blue.

Then it was over.

The whole park started cheering and moving to leave. Gaz stood up and stretched.

"Wait. It's over?" Zim stammered, confused.

"Yep. That's it."

"But… but it can't be! That can't be it!" Zim stood up and looked at Gaz who started rolling up the blanket.

"That's it." Gaz chuckled and walked down the hill.

"But I want to see more! When will there be more?" Zim ran down the hill.

"Next year." Zim stopped.

"Next YEAR?" He shouted. Gaz laughed and kept walking. Zim scrambled after her, putting his contacts in as they got closer to the other humans.

Zim had returned home and immediately contacted his Tallest to tell them about the amazing fireworks.

"And they were HUGE! And they were all like… BOOM! BANG! And POW!" Zim flailed his arms in the air simulating the spectacle as Tallest Red and Purple exchanged a worried look.

"Um… that's…. Very interesting… Zim." Red said.

"You should have seen them my Tallest. It was amazing! And at the end? It was so BIG! And LOUD! Like: BangBangBangBangBangBang!" Zim waved him arms in the air spastically and ran around in little circles.

"Okay! Okay. Well we gotta go Zim." Red interrupted.

"Yep! You're crazy!" Purple waved and smiled.

"What?" Zim stopped flailing, not hearing his leaders.

"Goodbye!" Red and Purple both waved, then the transmission ended.