Time for chapter two! Sorry for some of these chapters being a bit short, but I have my plan and I'm sticking to it, no matter the length of the chapter.

…I just hope I don't forget my ideas for this story each time I go to write a new chapter. Let's hope—because it's pretty neat!

--

Past: Earth, 2002

"Oh, please, Zim. Nobody would buy that that little robot of yours is an actual dog," Dib argued with the alien.

Zim glared back at him from the doormat of his oddly-shaped home. "Of course they would! Anyone in their right hyuman mind would!"

"He can talk."

"…So?" Zim frowned, hand lingering on the doorknob. It was obvious he had lost this argument—for it was, unfortunately, true that Earthling dogs could not speak, unlike his costume-clad assistant—but there was no way he would let the human win. Especially if that human was Dib.

The Skool pet show was coming up soon. Zim figured this would be a good chance at not only obtaining more knowledge on the human Earthlings, but also a perfect chance to exploit his plans to destroy the Earth. He'd been stuck on this planet for over three years now, and had barely accomplished anything besides a load of information leading to no major accomplishments. Yet he continued trying—and failing, thanks to Dib—to do anything worthwhile. He mostly lost his vigor for it anyway. Zim wanted more than anything to follow the Tallests' orders, however, and be allowed back to his planet, with friends, with praise, with recognition. This mission was all he had. He would do anything for it.

"Exactly. Just admit it, Zim. It won't take long for the people to figure you out, and when they do, you're a goner," Dib smirked.

Zim hesitated a moment before sticking his tongue out, slipping quickly inside, and slamming the door behind him with Dib on the outside.

Dib, from the other side of the door, sighed contently to himself. He shot one final look in the window of the green-boy's house before walking away towards his own. He smiled slightly to himself as he entered his home. This had been a good day. Sure, Zim was working on another plot for world domination and destruction, but what else was he good for other than to stop him? Yes, this is what he lived for.

After all, where would the world be without its little background savoir from alien invasions?

Gaz chucked a frozen dinner at her brother as he walked past towards his room. It hit him upside the head and he fell to the ground with a yell of surprise and pain, causing Gaz to look down at him from the other side of the couch to make sure he, at least, wasn't dying. He wasn't.

"What's this?" Dib groaned out, rubbing his sore head and standing up.

Gaz turned back around, staring at the paused television screen with her newest video game on it. "It's dinner. Dad's out again," Dib realized that over the few years, his sister had matured little and the most that really changed about her were her styles of video games. She was still the cruel, goth-like, video game-obsessed little sister he loved and feared.

"Oh. At the Institution again?"

"Yup."

Their father had yet to change by much either, except for a few minor—or possibly major—factors. When they were younger, their father used to come home at least some of the time, he made sure of it. But, for the last two years or so, he hadn't been home at all, always stuck up at some new Institution of Science or whatever it was and also never came in on that levitating screen thing anymore. Dib wasn't really sure and he didn't care too much—his father basically abandoned him and his sister. The funny thing was, Dib hardly noticed the difference.

At least their father was considerate enough to send them about two hundred dollars every week for food or supplies, and kept the bills paid. Dib, now about fourteen, was almost ready to get a job. He was neutral about it.

Dib tossed the platter of frozen food aside for later and hopped over the couch to join his sister.

"Anything happen today?" Gaz asked, half-interested. She always knew asking this was a risky subject, for her brother would always go off on some tirade about what Zim was planning now.

"Oh, yeah!" Dib nodded enthusiastically. "So there's this dog show thing going on at Skool next week and Zim decided he's going to enter his dog; which isn't really a dog, as you know, more like his little alien robotic servant thing. What was its name? Gir? What kind of dog name is that anyway?" Gaz stared at him for him to stop his rambling and get back on topic. "Oh, right. Anyway, Zim has some sort of plot to take over the Earth through the dog show, I just know it. I think he even said so…"

"So?" Gaz spoke up once her brother went silent.

"So maybe, I was thinking, if I made my own robotic dog in the lab, I could enter it and somehow expose Zim's fake dog to the world—showing everyone that he's an alien and that I'm not crazy!" He finished, hands in the air, eyes wide behind his large round glasses.

"How would you do it?"

"Uh…you know…" Dib coughed in his fist. "I don't know! But I will—somehow!"

"Right. Just like all the other times you've exposed him,"

"Well, this will be different, Gaz. Trust me."

"Whatever. Just shut up and leave me alone so I can continue playing Game Slave 9."

Dib frowned, then shrugged. He got up and ran to the downstairs lab to begin his wonderful invention of the robotic dog.

Man, won't Zim be surprised once he finds out he has a robot dog, too! The judges would have to see he's an alien after seeing that fake dog of his.

Wait, what?

--

"Gir! Get in here!" Zim called through a speaker in his lab. Seconds later, more to the impatient mind, the short robotic minion shot past the machinery, latching onto its mater's leg. "Gah! Gir, get off of me and try this one!" Zim shook the poor, crazed thing off and handed him a computer chip.

"Ooh, it's pretty, mastah!" Gir squealed, examining it.

"Yeah, yeah. Now, insert it," he stood silently by as Gir dropped the computer chip into his mouth. He started chewing it and Zim yelped, reaching out and stopping him. "Don't chew it—you'll destroy it. Then my chances at winning that dog show, and the world, would be gone!" Gir gulped down the slightly damaged chip obligingly. He twitched and sparked once before opening his mouth. Zim leaned forward anxiously.

Gir smiled widely up at Zim, throwing his arms into the air. "Woof!" He blinked. That wasn't what he meant to say at all. "Woof, woof!" He frowned at this new vocabulary restriction, but his master broke into a grin.

"Perfect! I'm a genius!" Zim laughed. "Now go get on your dog disguise so we can get started on these demeaning 'tricks'." Fir nodded slightly and ran off.

He twitched and sparked once more.