Author's Note: Ooooo! I wrote something with Zim in it. o_O Ok, this is my first attempt at a song fic. They lyrics are from "Devil Went Back to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band. *twirls* Oh yeah, baby! That song rocks!

Devils

Been 10 long years since the Devil laid his fiddle at Johnny's feet,
And it burned inside his mind the way he suffered that defeat.
In the darkest pits of Hell, the Devil hatched an evil plan
To tempt the fiddle player for he's just a mortal man.

Zim stared below at the spinning blue and white orb from the confines of his space station. His teeth bared in a silent snarl. For ten long years he'd hidden away in the confines of space, his base on the planet discovered. The Dib-human! The fool boy had at last managed to find someone to believe. Since he'd gone into hiding, Zim had begun monitoring the Dib-human even more closely, trying to discover the boy's secret. "Agent Mothman is online," the computer chimed.

Zim brought up the chat screen, glaring at the Swollen Eyeball emblem. These were the earth monkeys, Zim learned, that had been the instruments of his failure. Now, though, the little alien was determined to bring them down as they'd crushed him. When asked for his login name and password, Zim promptly typed, "Fallen Angel" and "vengeance." "Good evening, Mothman," Zim purred, running his voice through a scrambler program so that the fool stinkbeast wouldn't recognize it.

Triple-fingered hands flew across the keyboard as Zim distracted his prey with customary inane greetings. The skills of Irken hacking were put to the test as the little alien worked. The end of the Eyeballs was near, and they were all oblivious to their doom! Memories thrummed through Zim's head as he worked: his home encircled by government officials, GIR being taken away only to eject his AI chip at the last possible moment, the Dib-human's laughter, and, worst of all, knowing that he'd failed his Tallest.

Taking out the last remnant he had of GIR, the AI chip, Zim allowed himself a smile. He could have rebuilt the hyperactive little robot, but he'd decided against it. "Oh, Mothman...." Zim flicked on the overhead lights so that his green visage showed clearly on the screen. "The time has come for me to unleash doom upon your planet. Have a nice day." Without another word, Zim plugged in GIR's AI chip, uploading pure random data and crashing the Eyeballs server.

"Self pride," the Devil cried, "Is what will do you in!"
I thought we had this settled, I'm the best that's ever been.

*~*~*~*~*

Johnny did you know that time keeps marching on.
The coldest hour is the one comes just before the dawn.
The Devil's back in Georgia, will you stand up to the test,
Or will you let the Devil be the best!

Dib stared in horror at the blank computer screen. His enemy... Alive? How? He would have thought that by now Zim would be laid out under the harsh lights of a government autopsy table. He rose shakily, grabbing his dark trenchcoat. In the ten long years since Dib had at last won, Zim never was far from his mind.

Truth is I haven't played much since the baby came in June
But give me half a minute and I'll get this fiddle back in tune

Much had changed in those years. Dib had found love, married, and recently became a father. The little one gave him one more reason not to allow Zim to win. Dib couldn't allow Zim to win. The fate of the world rested on his thin shoulders!

To defeat Zim, Dib knew he'd have to get into the alien's head, would have to think like Zim. Behind thick, dark-rimmed lenses, Dib shut his eyes. He'd known his enemy so well once years ago, could predict Zim's moves almost before Zim acted. What would Zim do now? Simply destroying the earth was out of the question. Zim's sense of style was better than that. He'd get rid of his enemies first.

In Dib's mind, Zim's crimson eyes flashed malevolently, promising doom, but doom in what form? Dib reached for the file drawer in his desk, the cool metal handle bringing him back to earth. As he stared into the drawer nearly overstuffed with papers and disks, Dib felt the stirrings of his childhood obsession rising anew. The alien scum had returned and he, Dib Membrane, was once again earth's only hope.

Flipping through his research, Dib figured that he would probably be Zim's next target. That reasoning made sense since Zim had just cut Dib off from his greatest source of aid. Well, if that was the case, then so be it. Dib rose up from his chair and made his way out of the darkened office and into the dusky evening.

Streetlamps blinked wildly on and off. Occasionally a bulb popped during a sudden powerful surge. Dib shuddered, knowing in his gut that this electrical madness could be traced back to Zim. Dib continued onward, staring at shadows and waiting for his own personal devil to appear.

The grim facade of the skool rose up before Dib, as intimidating now as it had been when he was younger. A lone figure lounged in one of the playground's swings. Without hesitation, Dib climbed the fence. "I've been waiting for you, Dib," the figure said, breaking the eerie silence of the empty playground.

Though much smaller and more fragile-looking than Dib remembered, the young paranormal investigator again faced his arch enemy. "Zim." The single word crawled out from between Dib's teeth, a reviled sound.

*~*~*~*~*

The Devil grabbed the golden fiddle out of Johnny's hand and said,
"Boy I'm the fiddle player underground and I walk upon the land."

As Zim stared up at the Dib-human, he felt his antennae instinctively start to fall backward submissively. He'd not counted on the earth monkey becoming so tall! Admittedly, Dib was of an average height for his age, but to Zim, who'd not grown any in the past ten years, Dib was a veritable giant.

Zim rose easily, gracefully, from the swing, mechanical spider legs emerging from his back pod to hoist him upward. He'd foregone his disguise for this encounter, preferring to battle as himself than pretend to be one of this planet's foul stink beasts. Ten long years had Zim been planning for the moment, wondering what he would say when at last he came face-to-face with Dib. Words now failed the Invader as the burning cold fires of hatred flared up. Slashing out with a spidery leg, Zim let his actions be his words.

A thin line of crimson appeared across the Dib-human's cheek. First blood! Zim bit back a cheer. Exulting now would show weakness on his part.

Y'all better just be turning back if you want this boy to win
Cause practice is the only cure for the predicament he's in.

*~*~*~*~*

Now Devil it would be a sin for you to get my bow,
So you go on back to Hell and to the woodshed I'll go.

Dib's hand brushed against his cheek, smearing the blood. Staring at red-stained fingers, Dib shook his head as if rousing from a dream. Zim was seriously trying to kill him! As a kid, there had been a slight feel of a game to his past exploits, but now that feeling was gone. Zim lashed out again, but anticipating this time, Dib ducked.

Adjusting quickly, Zim whirled, stabbing out. The dagger-like legs caught in the folds of Dib's coat. He could feel them scrape against skin, warm blood trickling down his side and suddenly going chill as it was exposed to the night air. Just a scratch, though, Dib knew. The coat had taken the brunt of the attack, messing up Zim's aim. But damn it! This was Dib's favorite coat!

Johnny are you practicing or will your hands grow cold.
The Devil walks the land and plays a fiddle made of gold.

Slash and dodge, slash and dodge - through the playground the battle ran it's course. Without a weapon, Dib was at a severe disadvantage. He couldn't continue long; already his wounded side made moving difficult. As a last resort, he snatched a large rock from off the ground, feeling like a neanderthal facing down a ravenous beast.

Can you hear the babe a-crying? Will he ever know?
The Devil wants his Daddy's very soul.

Hefting the rock with all his might, Dib prayed that his aim was true. Zim easily dodged the stony missile, however. "Alien scum!" Dib shrieked impotently. He couldn't lose like this! Not when he had so much to live for. He had a loving family, close friends, had earned respect. Imagining his son a slave to Zim's species filled Dib with a horror greater than any he'd ever known before. Zim lashed out once more and all went black.

*~*~*~*~*

Before we play, I want to thank you for letting God's own word ring true.
He said you can't be trusted. "Yeah," I said, "What you gonna do?"
Well, you get your fiddle, Devil, if you think that you can win,
Cause I beat you once, you old dog, and I can whip your butt again.

Zim stared down at the Dib-human's unconscious form, hatred slowly giving way to a grudging respect. For a dim-witted earth monkey, Dib had put up a valiant fight. Zim retracted the spider legs with a sign. Somehow victory did not feel as glorious as he expected. As Zim knelt beside Dib to assess his injuries, the pungent smell of blood tickled his nostrils.

Deciding that the Dib-human would live, Zim made his way to a pay phone, managing to recall the number to dial in case of emergencies. "There is a man in the Skoolyard. He appears to have been stabbed," Zim told the befuddled operator and then hung up. There would be other chances for defeating Dib.

John Brown's green, the Devil is red,
My little baby loves shortenin' bread.
The Devil's dream is that he can win,
But Johnny's the best that's ever been!