A/N: This is a one-shot requested from Invader Pinn. It is in fact my first post here in the wonderful world of . Before I posted this, I just sort of lurked about the sight reading and reviewing.

Disclaimer: I could only dream of owning Invader Zim, but sadly, I do not.

With that being said, enjoy!

~X~

"N-no." He murmured, tears welling up in his wide, ruby eyes. "You're joking. Please tell me you're joking. Please."

"No Zim," The tall alien said, purple eyes narrowed. "Your banished. We never liked you and we never will. Your nothing but a worthless defect."

Zim shook his head in wordless denial. Warm tears fell down his pale, green cheeks and his broken heart pounded in his chest.

"You see? This is what we're talking about." Red said, smirking evilly. He gestured a two fingered hand at the defective Irken. "Only defects cry."

His partner laughed. "You're such a failure!" He exclaimed. The other Irkens looked at the once proud invader with pity clear on their faces. They struggled to keep their minds occupied, not wanting to look at Zim's face. Not wanting to witness what was transpiring before there eyes. "You're a disgrace to the entire Irken race!"

"I'll do better, I promise!" The small alien begged, struggling to get the words from his throat and not dig his grave any farther by letting a sob escape. No matter how hard he tried to contain them, however, the tears dripped from his chin onto the cold, metal floor. His antennae trembled and his legs shook. "Just give me another chance! I just want to make you happy."

"Then never contact us again." Red commanded, jabbing a long, slender finger towards the defective Irken. "You are not to leave Earth's solar system or we will kill you, understand?"

Zim nodded, his gaze lowering to the ground in shame. Some of the Irkens on the screen looked on with pity. Most kept their focus on anything else.

"Don't screw this up, like you do with everything else." Purple added and cut the transmission.

Zim watched in anguish as the screen went black and his leaders disappeared, gone forever, yet always there like a wound that becomes a scar, a permanent reminder of the pain of the past and the empty hopes of a future.

The alien collapsed onto his knees and screamed. He wanted just to scream until his heart no longer beat, until he could scream no more. Tears clouded his vision as the cold realization set in. Everything he ever loved was gone. He could never go home. He was a defect, nothing but a mistake. He was never meant to exist. He was better off dead.

~X~

"I swear," The teen exclaimed, "it was an actual ghost!"

His father frowned and his brows furrowed. "Not now, Dib." The scientist grumbled, narrowing his goggle clad eyes in frustration. He tried to remain focused on the simple experiment on the kitchen table, but his son was making it a more difficult task than it had to be.

"You never listen to me!" Dib bellowed. He tugged in his dad's coat, but the older male just pushed him away.

"I'm busy." The scientist mumbled poring a strange, blue liquid into an empty beaker.

"You're always busy!" Dib exclaimed. "It's like you don't care!"

Suddenly, the Professor spun around, rage apparent on what was visible on his mostly counseled face. "You know what? I don't care! All you talk about is crap that isn't even real! I don't know why I cloned you. It was obviously a mistake. You're nothing but a failed experiment. A defect."

Tears gathered in Dib's eyes and spilled out onto his cheeks. He opened his mouth, but quickly shut it, for it seemed as if he couldn't find the right words to say. Instead he spun around wordlessly and raced upstairs. The young boy burst into his dark room and promptly slammed the door shut.

Dib ran to his bed and buried his face into his pillows. He screamed, his thin frame trembling from the sobs that escaped his throat.

Why was his life so difficult? His classmates laughed at him, strangers whispered as he passed, his mother left him, and his father hated him.

With a cry of both rage and sadness, he swung his fist at his window. It smashed, sending small shards of glass in every direction. He could barely register the pain as blood dripped down his hand. He just screamed louder.

No one understood him, no one loved him. He was tired of being left out and pushed away. He wanted to be somebody, anybody besides himself. Anyone else besides the defect everybody hated. Besides the person that was better off dead.

~X~

Hours had passed. Zim still sat in front of the massive computer that his leaders had used to tell him how useless he was. He stared at the black screen hoping that they'd call back and tell him it was a joke and that they had made the entire thing up. They didn't. He knew they were serious. He was an exile. A defect. He could never go home. He was stuck on Earth for the rest of his life, leaderless and completely alone.

Slowly, the alien stood to his feet. His legs trembled as he walked to the elevator. The tears still streamed down his face, albeit at a steadier pace that a few hours earlier. Once inside the dimly lit lift, he collapsed onto his knees and began crying once again, though quieter than when he was first told of his banishment. The ground jerked slightly as the elevator began its assent towards the house level of the base. He didn't bother to wipe the tears away from his face, for he knew they would be replaced the second he removed his hands.

After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator came to a stop. With a low hiss the doors slid open. He walked silently and shakily across the kitchen until he reached the threshold to his living room. He reached behind him, but kept his eyes focused on something far away. Fresh tears rolled down his face. He knew what he had to do.

He pulled an Irken gun from his PAK. It was much like a human firearm. It was similar in appearance and had bullets instead of lasers. He gazed down at it before walking out the door and into the city undisguised.

People who saw the alien walk past them gasped. Some ran while others stared at the small creature. Zim knew they saw him for what he was, but he didn't retreat. He kept walking. He heard several people phone the police.

He only stopped when the authorities arrived. Two police cars squealed to a stop, sirens blaring and lights flashing. He could hear more along the way. An officer immerged from his vehicle, gun drawn aimed at Zim's head.

"What do I do!" The gun wielding officer called to the others behind him.

"I don't know!" Another bellowed. "Don't shoot yet!"

The defect sighed. If they weren't going to shoot him then he would do it himself.

He raised the gun. People screamed, scared for their lives. What they weren't expecting was the alien to point the weapon at his own head. He squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself. He tightened his trembling finger on the trigger slowly enough to here someone cried a hasty, "stop!" But it was too late. The gun fired with a deafening bang, sending the bullet into his scull. A brief flash of something that could have been pain registered in his mind, but the darkness came too quickly to be sure. He was dead even before his legs gave, sending his limp body plummeting to the ground.

The people gasped in shock as the alien body hit the floor, teal blood pooling beneath his head. The police put their guns away in a state of shock and quickly called the local NASA institute to take away the lifeless creature away for study.

~X~

He didn't know where he was going until he got there. The walk was nothing but a blur of street lights, muffled noises, and faceless strangers. Nobody noticed him. Nobody ever did. Even though his hand was coated in drying blood and tears streamed down his pale cheeks, no one gave him a second glance.

After a fifteen minute walk, the distraught teen found himself standing at the edge of a cliff that overlooked to busy city. The stars sparkled above him and the dying grass rustled below. He looked at the city, the sky around it glowing brown and almost starless due to pollution. Why did he even bother trying to save them? They wouldn't care.

He looked down at the sudden drop before him. It would be so easy just to end it all. No one would notice. No one would care. He glared down at the ground. The Earth and every pathetic human on it could go rot in hell for all he cared. Especially his dad, who was never there even when he was home.

A sudden flash of red and blue caught his attention. He looked up at the city. Not far away from Zim's base, a few police cars crowded in a tight bunch. Over a dozen more were on their way. He briefly wondered what was happening as the sound of sirens finally reached his ears.

But that didn't matter anymore. Nothing did. He would never know what was happening down their. He would never try to save them again. He would never be able to see the light of another day or the stars of another night. So why would it matter?

"I'm sorry," he whispered, not knowing who he was whispering to. Maybe it was his mom, who died soon after he turned five. Maybe it was to dad for not doing this sooner. And maybe, just maybe, it was to Zim for giving up too easily.

He stepped forward, his right foot leaving the safety of the ledge and was soon followed by the left. He closed his eyes as he plummeted to the ground. The wind caressed his cheeks and whispered goodbyes in his ears only moments before his feet hit the cruel earth. They snapped under pressure, followed immediately by his legs and back. A instant of white hot agony, and then nothing.

It would be days before anyone noticed he was missing. The only reason anyone did was because the Swollen Eyeball Network hadn't gotten the usually predictable updates from him, and even after his body was found, nobody shed a tear.

Nobody shed a tear for either boy. Their deaths went all but unnoticed by the people they loved. Zim's body was taken away and torn apart by scientists, which sadly was the most attention he had received in his life. The Tallests celebrated with a short party, before forgetting the defect ever even existed.

Dib was given a short funeral, but not even his father could make the time to come. The only ones who did were his sister, Gaz, and a small few of his fellow SEN members. But they too would soon forget about the misunderstood teen. And even though they didn't know it during life, the two enemies had more in common than they could ever realized. They were both unloved and alone, but they were alone together and in their hatred for one another, came an equally unnoticed similarly.

~X~

A/N: Finally! That took me a staggering FIVE months to finish! Oh well. You can't rush creativity, as they say. I like how it came out though. I really hope you liked it too, and that you cried at least a little.