I figured this would be a new and unique kind of story. Please read on and enjoy.

*I don't own Invader Zim, nor do I own Marchen Awakens Romance.*

Dialogue Key

"Version 1: Hammer Arm!" = Regular Speech

'Version 2: Bubble Launcher!' = Someone's Thoughts

"Version 3: Gargoyle!" = Someone Yelling

Dreams and Arguments

In a world parallel from our own, a lone young man stands in the middle of a forest. On his finger is a silver ring that has the appearance of a great door held shut by chains. Guarding this door is a spirit with the face of a clown with plus symbols for eyes and its tongue sticking out.

"It's a gamble… but…"

The man steeled his resolve and began to gather a strange energy that's not native to our own world.

"Arm - Do my bidding!"

An aura of power formed around the man as he thrust his arm into the air, sending a pillar of energy rocketing into the sky.

"Bring forth…"

A creeking noise could be heard coming from the ring on the man's finger.

"...The denizen…"

The gates slowly opened just a crack...

"...OF THE OTHER WORLD!"

...And then burst open with a mighty slam! The true power of the artifact has been unleashed by the young man who invoked its power in the first place!

Into the night sky, all anyone would be able to see that's the most noticeable, besides the lovely crescent moon that's currently shining in the sky, is a pillar of magical energy being used to invoke an artifact of great power.

...Elsewhere, In Our World...

"You must draw the holy sword, Heaven's Retribution, from the enchanted stone! It's the only weapon powerful enough to destroy the Demon Lord, Graffen!" exclaimed a female fairy.

Standing before a giant demon wearing tattered black robes was a teenage boy who looks about fourteen years old. We can't clearly see what he looks like just yet, but he appears to be covered in battle scars from previous fights with tough opponents. And the one he's staring down happens to be his toughest opponent yet. A demon that stands at twenty five stories tall and is covered by a tattered white robe. He wears a skull mask and has a pair of ram horns sticking out of his head. Behind him lay the burning remains of what was once a great kingdom.

"Foolish human boy! It's too late to save this kingdom! Just like you failed to save the princess!" gloated the great demon lord.

Held in his skeletal hand is the princess of her kingdom. The very same kingdom that the demon just finished destroying. We can only see a shadow due to the massive flames in the background giving off an ominous light in the darkness of the night time hours. But the lad wasn't scared.

He just stepped up, grabbed the hilt of the sword, and grinned at the demon showing in the shadows faint traces of tanned skin and a bloody slash over his left eye.

"I may die like many heroes before me. But if I should die today, at least I will have died…"

He gripped the hilt of the blade tighter as he prepared to yank it out of the stone.

"...With honor…"

Just as the warrior was about to draw the sword…

*BRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGG!*

"HAH? WHA? WHO?"

The sound of a school bell ringing snapped a certain high school freshman out of his little daydream. And now that the apparent dream is over, we can see what he looks like quite clearly.

He has tan skin and blue eyes, and is a little on the short side for a boy his age, standing at only "4'7 instead of five feet or higher. He has black hair that naturally has a slicked back appearance, and like in his dream, his skin has a mild tan. He's wearing a white button up shirt and black pants as per the uniform at this Japanese high school, and he seems to have trouble with his vision as he's wearing a pair of eyeglasses with thick, brown rims.

The boy looked down at his hand and saw that he had gripped a ruler in a fashion similar to how one holds a sword while he was daydreaming. The boy sighed as he realized he was dreaming again. But at least he didn't make a fool of himself in class like Dib always does with his talk of aliens, ghosts, bigfoot and the like. He even once accused this young lad of being an alien once, just because he's shorter than everyone else! I mean, come on man! How stupid can you get?

"Have a safe walk home, Zim." said a red haired woman who is obviously the teacher.

The now named Zim acknowledged his sensei with a nod before bowing in farewell. He quickly packed up his homework and any other objects he might need before walking out of the classroom and leaving the school.

'My name is Zim Irk. Strange name, I know. But it's not the worst. The pathetic thing is that as far as kids my age go, I'm actually below average in everything except book work. I have abysmal stamina, so I can't run laps to save my life. And every time I've tried to push myself past my limits, I end up falling to my knees and puking on the track field whenever I try to go beyond six laps. ...Still, it's enough for my gym teacher, since I'm showing that I want to overcome my own shortcomings. Which is more than I can say for the rest of my class.'

"Yo, Zim! Come on, I've been waiting forever!"

Looking towards the curb just a block away from the bus stop is a fourteen year old girl who stands about a head taller than Zim. She has purple hair that looks almost like an open mouth with four fangs that are actualy her bangs framing her face. Her hazel eyes are sharp and make her look like she wants to kill someone. And with how often her paranormality obsessed brother annoys her with his obsession, she might as well do so. She's dressed in the standard girl's uniform for the school she and Zim attend which consists of a white shirt with a red neckerchief, a dark blue skirt that stops above her knees, and a pair of brown slip-on shoes.

'Oh, that's Gaz. She's Dib-Stink's sister and my best friend. She and I actually became friends after she asked me about a prior dream I had, and we became friends right away after that. Having a scientist for a father isn't easy for her, especially with her stupid brother. So maybe she reached out to me out of a subconscious need to socialize with someone who actually understands what she's going through. And to a degree, I do. My mom is busy a lot of the time writing fantasy novels, and my dad went missing when I was just eight years old.'

"So let me guess," said Gaz as she and Zim walked down to their homes. "You had another dream. What was this one about?"

"Oh, the usual." Zim said, smiling as he remembered his dream. "The fairy land of Marchen. A demon kidnaps a princess. He destroys a kingdom, and I fight him!"

Zim pouted as he remembered how his dream was so rudely interrupted right as it was getting to the good part. The part where he actually fights.

"If I had stayed dreaming a little longer, I would have won…"

"Knowing how you're self taught in karate and judo, I believe you." Gaz commented.

"But you know…" Zim looked at the sky as he reminisced about his past dreams. "...I've been keeping track, and so far I've had that same dream exactly 102 times! I can see the mountains, the rivers, the candy houses and the laughing trees. There's a bird with three heads, and dwarves… and fairies!"

"And do the butterflies talk?" Gaz asked.

"YOU LIE!" Zim said dramatically. "The butterflies don't talk! It's the flowers that talk!"

Zim grinned as he thought more about this fantasy world. A world that he can feel is real. He can feel it in his heart and soul.

"If there really is a world like the one in my dreams, I'd love to go! Just once!" Zim said passionately.

Gaz couldn't help but smile at her good friend. His beliefs in his dreams are pure, innocent, and so full of life. She admitted that it would be hard for someone not to want to be his friend. Well, unless you're Dib, but he's crazy and everyone knows that. And he's got a really big head.

Back at the Membrane household, Dib sneezed and felt like someone was saying he has a big head. He scowled as he mentally denied having a big head.

"Don't worry! I believe you will!"

"Really? You're the only one I've ever trusted when speaking about these dreams, as the others never really want to hear it…" Zim said.

"Well, forget those guys then! After all, I believe in dragons and trolls too!" Gaz said. "But before that…"

Gaz placed a large chocolate bar into Zim's hand and started running off for home as she knows that Zim can get home on his own just fine.

"You need to eat well and get stronger! Otherwise, you'll get clobbered in that world!"

Zim watched as his friend ran off with a silly grin on his face. He doesn't know why, but whenever he thinks about Gaz, his tummy feels all wiggly and crawly inside. Oh well, he'll ask his mom about it later.

...Later That Night…

"The fairy land of Marchen? There's no such place."

The one who just said this is a woman with the same blue eyes as Zim, long auburn hair, and the same tan skin as Zim. This is Miyuki Irk, Zim's mother and an accomplished fantasy writer. Although, she doesn't really believe in any of the fantasy stories she writes. Which is odd, because one would think that one needs to be young at heart if they're to become a fantasy writer. Ah, but I digress.

"BUT 102 TIMES!? THAT'S JUST WEIRD!" shouted Zim at his mother's proclaimation.

"Yeah, yeah. Like your head." Miyuki said as she served dinner. "Got a call from Principal Red earlier. 'Your son is always dreaming!' he said. Which wouldn't bother me so much if you didn't also dream while you're awake."

Having had enough of her mother's attitude, which seems to have gotten worse after Zim's father went missing, the boy slammed his fist on the table as he glared fiercely at the woman who birthed him.

"WHAT KIND OF MOTHER MAKES IT HER MISSION TO CRUSH HER CHILD'S DREAMS LIKE YOU'RE DOING!? AIN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE A FANTASY WRITER!?" screeched Zim.

"I'M A WRITER, NOT A SLACK-JAWED MORON! I WRITE TO PAY FOR YOUR SCHOOLING AND GLASSES!" Miyuki yelled back, slamming her own fist on the table with just as much force.

Hey, Zim may be strong in karate and judo, but Miyuki teaches those martial arts. Both as a passion, and as a means of supplumental income.

"THEN I'LL JUST DROP OUT OF SCHOOL! BESIDES, YOU ONLY USE THE MONEY TO PAY FOR THOSE DEATH STICKS YOU'RE ALWAYS SMOKING!" Zim accused.

"HEY! I DON'T BUY THEM THAT OFTEN! AND I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW IT'S HARD TO QUIT ONCE YOU START SMOKING, YA BRAT!" she yelled back.

"LIIIEEEEESSSS!" screamed Zim.

The two continued their contest of vocal strength for a good twenty minutes before their throats got too sore to continue. Their meal together was very tense as Zim refused to even look in his mother's direction and sat away from the table so as to not become a victim of the second-hand smoke. His distancing, however, had hurt Miyuki deeply. She loves her son very, very much and didn't mean to sound like she doesn't want him to dream and have a normal childhood. But she feels it was those fantasies about Marchen that stole away her husband six years ago.

After dinner, Zim retired to his room where he just stayed awake until five minutes past midnight.

'When I first dreamed of that land, I didn't even count how many times I saw it. But the dreams I had once a day in elementary school (Thank Kami Miss Bitters is no longer in my life! She's scary, and I don't think she's human!) come several times a day now. I've dreamed of stealing medicine from an old witch. Of turning into a bird and flying towards a castle on a cliff. Every night I ask 'What adventures will I have tonight?'. Going to bed is the most exciting part of my life!'

Zim sat up on his bed and stared at a poster of one of his childhood heroes on his wall. MegaMan. When he was little, he always pretended to be a hero just like MegaMan. He'd be the hero while his dad played the villain. Even his mother would sometimes join in on the fun.

'...Of course, someday I'll be an adult. I'll go to college, get a job, get married… I'll become a different me. Maybe… I'll have the dreams less and less. Until I've forgotten.'

Zim grew sad and slightly depressed at that notion.

'I don't like that! I don't want to grow up! ...Now I'm sounding like Peter Pan…'

"Could he take me to Neverland just like Wendy?" Zim asked himself.

He scoffed and grinned at that idea, as silly as it was.

"Yeah, sure. There's no such place. Even I know that." Zim said.

He looked over to the corner of his room where his pet Mongoose Dog, Gir, lay asleep as he regained his energy for the next day. And with how hyper he usually is, one would think the genetically engineered hybrid would never run out. Kind of like the Energizer Bunny.

Zim reached over to his nightstand and grabbed the chocolate bar Gaz had given him earlier today and lay back on his bed. He smiled as he remembered how she had encouraged him to get stronger and to continue following his dreams.

'But it is nice to know that there's at least one person out there in the world who believes in me.'

Suddenly, everything in Zim's room became pitch black! No! The room itself turned into a black void!

"What trickery is this?" Zim asked out loud.

"Very soon… THE CONNECTION." said a distorted voice.

As quickly as it arrived, the voice disappeared and Zim's room returned to normal. The boy sat on his bed utterly flummoxed at what just happened.

"What just happened? Who's voice was that!?" he asked.

But it's a question no one could answer.

*To Be Continued…*

Alright, that ends this chapter of the story! I hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought in your reviews, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!