To Minty: I have always had a soft spot for ZaDr xD;; it's always been one of my fav ships. I have another fic coming up that is basically all Red and Zim because that's also another weakness of mine. Thank you for the review!

To Invader Johnny: Not very well at first, as you can see in this chapter ;D and no, the past never really does escape, does it? It will always come back around to bite you in your arse in some way. Thank you for the review!

To Guest: The concept is horribly overused, I am aware of that. Though I hope to at least somewhat set this fic apart from others in the coming chapters. Zim does have his motives, one he will not say right off the bat, but they are going to be revealed as the fic goes on. I do like to think that Zim had matured a small bit, which would be one reason for him to help him, though some bitterness towards them never faded. I am going to change his height, actually, and was planning to after I posted this chapter. It does seem more right to be shorter, but not absolutely puny like his natural height would be. Instead I'm putting him at about a foot and a half above his natural height and therefore at the Tallests' waists, give or take a couple inches. As for an explanation for the growth, I like to think that Earth has lighter gravity than Irk and allowed him to grow a bit, though not much. He's still short for human standards and likely Irken standards. Earth food may have also had a small effect on him and helped him to gain a couple inches. I'm going to try and stick to canon as much as possible but there is always going to be times where ooc will happen. Thank you for your kind criticism and I hope that I can improve based on it!


Zim backed the truck into the driveway, trying to guide the trailer into the garage. Thankfully, the garage was a bit larger than most, mainly to be able to fit all of the junk he and Dib had collected over a couple years. Both of the Tallests stayed quiet and craned their heads around to watch as Zim managed to get the trailer into the garage.

"Stay here." Zim commanded and undid his safety belt so he could jump out of the truck, activating his disguise as he landed.

The pair watched him go around the back of the truck and then disappear out of view, the tailgate blocking their view. They could hear the sounds of chains being rattled and then a heavy thunk before Zim came back into view, wiping his hands on his pants. Without a word he climbed back into the truck and shut the door, pulling away away from the garage. The trailer remained where it was and disappeared out of view when the garage door was shut. Zim parked the truck on a section of driveway that jutted out from the straight that led to the garage and shut the truck off.

"Get out and to the house as fast as you can." He said before jumping out and practically sprinting to the front door of the house. The Tallests fumbled with their belts and then piled out of Red's door to follow him.

The smaller Irken held the door for them and then shut it softly behind them, locking it before going around the room to pull all the blinds shut. He then flopped down into a large, comfy-looking leather armchair with a heavy sigh. The Tallests stared at him and then looked around the room curiously.

There was a large monitor mounted to the wall off to the side and a sleek-looking black stand underneath it which held a couple electronic boxes. Zim was lounging in one of the two matching armchairs. A matching couch and loveseat were settled against the tan left and right walls. The floor was covered with a thick dark-brown carpet and the ceiling was made of many cream colored panels that looked like they could slide back to let something drop down. Overall, it was quite cozy looking.

The two Tallests made their way to the loveseat and awkwardly sat down, wondering who was going to break the awkward silence. They didn't have to wait long because after a few minutes a light clicked on on some sort of hall that branched off of the kitchen and shared the left wall of the living room.

"Zim? You back?" A voice, deep and male, called down it. Someone came down a set of steps - meaning that the hall in question was actually a stairwell - and a pale human poked his head around the corner. Both Tallests immediately stood, thinking he was a threat.

"Yes, Dib-human, Zim is home." Zim sighed as he slowly sat up in the chair, rubbing the dark circles under his eyes. His disguise had been deactivated when nobody was paying attention.

Dib stared at him, concerned, before he looked up and immediately froze upon seeing the Tallests. His mouth opened and closed, as if he wanted to say anything but couldn't find the words.

"Do not ask, for not even Zim has any answers." Zim mumbled and looked at the Tallests, who had sat down but still looked tense.

"I'll get the coffee." Dib sighed and turned to go back into the kitchen, the black lock of hair that perpetually stood up bouncing atop his head.

Several more minutes passed tensely and just as Red opened his mouth to say something the human came back in, holding two steaming mugs, one of which he set on a side table so he could lift the small alien up as if he weighed nothing, which he probably did. He sat in the chair and spread his legs wide to settle Zim in the space between them. Zim took the mug the human had in his hands and held it in his much smaller ones, relishing the heat coming from it. After taking one long drink from it he looked directly at the Tallests.

"Explain." He demanded, an edge in his voice. Red puffed up indignantly and was ready to retort with an equally biting tone but Purple cut him off.

"Several rebellion groups all attacked at once, both Irk and the Massive." The violet leader blurted. "We couldn't go to any planet we have already taken over since those would be too obvious of a hiding place." Red shot his counterpart a glare before deciding to elaborate a bit.

"We were overrun with rebels and there was no way we could have made it out alive, so we decided on an emergency evacuation. And sadly, the only planet we know of that they hopefully don't is this miserable dirt ball." He said and leaned back, crossing his arms and legs. "And since we are here we require your assistance to get by until it is deemed safe for us to return." Zim took a moment to take it all in and stare down at his mug, the expression on his face conflicted.

"Fine." He hissed, lifting the mug to his lips to take another long drink. Even Dib seemed shocked by his response.

"That's it? You're not going to grovel at out feet or blabber on about how honored you are?" Purple questioned, one antenna lifted curiously.

"Why would I do any of that after the way the two of you treated me?" Zim spat, both antennas slicked back and his eyes glaring knives into the pair. "I will show mercy by assisting you two but do not expect much in the way of treating you like I used to. The two of you are hardly anything to me. I also expect you two to carry your weight around here. You are not Tallests here, you will not be catered to nor will you receive special treatment." Both of them stared at him, taken aback by his tone and response. Red was the first one to react by standing up, fury in his eyes.

"We are Tallests no matter where we are and I expect you to be treated as such. No defective little exile has any right to tell either of us to 'carry our own weight!" He shouted, his fists clenched and antennas drawn back as well. Purple and Dib both shrank down at his tone but Zim simply set his mug aside and stood up as well.

"I have every right to say what I do to either of you!" He hissed, his voice dripping with malice. "The two of you exiled me from my own people, but not after making me the laughing stock of my race, and now dare to ask me to take care of you two as if I am some lowly service drone! Zim will not allow himself to be treated in such ways! The two of you will pull your own-" A sharp crack and a sudden flash of white-hot pain stopped him and even forced him back a few steps.

He lifted a shaking hand to his cheek and when he pulled it away he saw sapphire blood dripping down his fingers. The crimson Tallest had just struck him hard enough to leave a pair of shallow gashes with his claws. Dib, who had been listening quietly the whole time, set him mug down and bolted up to check Zims face before running off to grab something to clean the wounds. Purple sat where he was, mouth agape in shock. Dib came running back in with a couple things in his arms, which he all set on the floor before gently easing Zim down into the chair. The young Irken seemed to be in some sort of shock, his eyes wide and staring off into space and overall unresponsive when his wound was cleaned and covered with a gauze pad and some tape. He seemed to recover from his shock when Dib picked him up, intending to take up upstairs to bed. With a feral growl he attempted to leap from Dibs pale arms and launch himself at the Tallest, hissing and spitting with his claws ready to slice into Red's skin. Startled by this sudden outbreak of rage he took a step back while the human barely managed to contain the scrawny Irken, who spat curses in every language he could come up with.

After several minutes of wrestling with him Dib finally managed to get him calm enough to sit on the chair without him lunging at Red again, though the small male still crosses his arms and seethed. Purple had stood and was looking over Reds shoulder, trying not to look like he was cowering behind him from the furious Zim.

"Alright…" Dib sighed, looking between Zim and the Tallests. "It's late….er..rather it's very early for us. For now, lets give these two a bedroom to use and tomorrow we can sort this out calmly." Before Zim could argue his decision he lifted the Irken up and over his shoulder, heading towards the steps. Red hesitantly followed, Purple not far behind.

The human showed them to the largest guest room, which had a fairly large bed with plush bedding and pillows. Like the rest of the house it had a brown color scheme with splashes of eggshell and cream and looked cozy. A second monitor was mounted to the wall across from the bed, beside the door.

The twin rulers looked at eachother and then went in, Purple testing the bed and Red just standing at the foot and looking around.

"It will suffice." He grumbled.

"This bed is almost as soft as our old one! Red, some feel!" Purple said excitedly, seeming to forget about how his co-tallest was nearly maimed just minutes earlier. Red rolled his eyes in response and went to shut the door in Dib's face, a clear sign to leave them be.

Dib also rolled his eyes, not sure if he will be able to tolerate the Tallests' rudeness for long. He took Zim to the bedroom, which was just down the hall, and set Zim on the bed. The little one just huffed and crossed his arms, glaring up at Dib.

"You shouldn't have stopped me." He grumbled.

"But I did. Why did you go and get them?" Dib asked in response.

"I...don't know." The Irken admitted as he crawled under the covers, but not without kicking off his filthy pajama pants. "Besides, I didn't know who it was until I saw the ship."

"They will owe you one after this, you know." His partner stated as he also crawled in bed and took his glasses off, clicking out the lamp before turning on his side to face Zim. "That could be useful."

"Mmhmm...it very well could be. But for now Zim will sleep for he is tired. Good night, Dib-smell, don't let the bedding spiders bite you." Zim mumbled and curled up close to his human, purring softly from the heat despite his foul mood.

"It's bed bugs, Zim. They're insects, not arachnids." Dib corrected and wrapped his arms around the little alien. He got no response, since Zim had already fallen asleep.