"Wow," Dib breathed.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Zim said smugly. "It's so far beyond what your pitiful human brain could have ever imagined."
"Shut up, Zim," he replied absently, too awestruck to trade insults. He pressed his hands against the Voot's windshield, earning an irritated comment from Zim about 'disgusting sticky human fingerprints' and leaned in until his nose was nearly pressed against the glass-like material.
Irk lay below them. Massive structures enveloped the planet, stretching not only far and wide but high into the sky. It was impossible to see if there was even any ground below; it looked as if every surface was covered by a structure in different hues of pink and purple. Clusters of bright lights were attached to any open spot, bathing the planet in glowing incandescence.
Dib squinted, movement below catching his eye. On platforms and beyond rosy glass, figures moved. They looked like ants milling around. The human felt a grin lighting up his features. Irk was truly a sight to behold, and he was the first (and likely last) human to ever set eyes upon it.
"Enough gawking, human!" Zim screeched. "You are not here to sight-see! Do you remember your instructions or do you need Zim to refresh your puny primitive brain?"
"Actually, sight-seeing is like 40% of the reason I agreed to come. And no, you don't need to remind me. I think I can remember 'be quiet and look tall so other Irkens are impressed by you having a tall acquaintance.'"
"A tall slave!" Zim corrected enthusiastically.
Dib raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh? And what are you expecting me to do as your slave?"
"Well!" Zim started. "You are to, um, erm, follow Zim wherever he goes... yes... and... carry my stuff?"
Dib crossed his arms. "You don't have any stuff."
"Don't be stupid, Dib-slave," Zim reached under his seat and pulled out a small crinkly bag, shoving into the human's hands. "There! Guard it well!"
The human examined it for a moment. "A snack? Seriously? You know I'm just going to eat this when your back is turned."
"Don't you dare!" Zim screeched, swiping the bag back into his grasp. "Horrible disobedient creature," he grumbled.
Dib rolled his eyes. "Can we get going? I'm beyond cramped in here."
"Not so fast, Dib-beast, there's one last thing to take care of."
Zim jumped out of his seat and abruptly smacked the side of Dib's head.
"Argh, what the hell?" He raised a hand to the side of his head, feeling a small pinprick of pain stinging his skull.
"No need to thank me, human," Zim replied smugly. "On second thought, there is; grovel in gratitude for ZIM'S generous gift!"
Dib traced the tiny metallic edge of the thing lodged into the side of his temple. "What did you do?" He glared at the small creature looking smugly at him.
Zim gave a theatrical sigh. "Silly foolish dumb human. Haven't you realized? It's a translator. I'm speaking Irken now. I can't be bothered to translate everything to your big head when we land."
"A translator..." Dib rubbed his temple, his anger ebbing a little. "I'm sure there was a less painful way to do that."
Zim shrugged. "Maybe? Irkens add new data and modules to our packs when we need to. This seemed like the simplest idea to improve your puny brain."
"You just wanted an excuse to hit me, didn't you?"
"Nonsense!" Zim exclaimed cheerfully. "Now buckle up, human, it's time to land!"
"I'm going to get you back for this," Dib grumbled, activating the seatbelt.
"Psh, so ungrateful," Zim grinned, taking the ship lower into Irk.
Dib rolled his eyes, but his attention was soon focused on the landscape before him. Zim was clearly trying to show off, but the human wasn't complaining. They zoomed past the imposing metallic buildings, past lights and a cacophony of noises. Up close, Dib could see Irkens everywhere; groups marching with purpose, clusters huddled together, individuals navigating the sea of green aliens. He tried to commit it all to memory. Zim had broken his camera on the journey (he'd only tried to take a few short videos of the undisguised Irken...).
He jolted when the indistinct sounds were abruptly drowned out by a shrill siren.
"What's that?" Dib craned his head around his shoulder to see a larger ship gaining ground on them.
"Oh, those most be some Enforcers. Flying this low on Irk is strictly forbidden," Zim answered casually.
"Then why are you flying so low?!" Dib asked, exasperated.
The Irken shot him an annoyed glance, like he couldn't believe the human was so dense. "Obviously those kinds of rules don't imply to ZIM! I'm the greatest invader Irk has ever had! Those foolish drones following us just don't know it's me!"
Dib sank back into his seat with a sigh. "Great. We're not even here five minutes and we've already got Irken police trying to arrest us."
After several nail-biting minutes of near misses, swooping between bridges and jerky turns between enormous structures, they arrived at a docking area. Zim set the ship down a bit roughly ("I meant to do that, of course. I was, uh, trying to scare you!").
The windshield slid back and Dib stretched out his cramped muscles. He stepped out of the ship, the first human to ever stand on Irken land. His heart was thudding with excitement at finally arriving on the planet and worry about the pursuing Irken ship that was now landing beside them.
This was it. No matter what happened next, he'd made history.
Zim jumped out and stood by his side, puffing his chest out and standing as tall as he possibly could.
The Enforcer's ship opened…