So, I meant to get chapters 4 and 5 up at the same time.

But it looks like that's not going to happen.

I just wanted to get this one up because it's been finished for a while. This chapter is a little bit shorter than usual though :P

But I'm trying to make chapter 5 really long, so that's why it's taking me so long to update.

Just enjoy this for now xD

Oh, and I might start a another Invader Zim story soon :D (It will have nothing to do with this one.)

Time to reply to reviews! (Even though it's only one review... still counts xD)

The Zoster: I'm giving you more! Haha xD Thanks for being my first reviewer, really glad that you like my story! :D You're awesome! And yes, yes you do sound like Gir xD

Chapter 4: Nick

He needed me to WHAT?!

Immediately questions started forming in my head. Who do we need to rescue? When would we rescue them? How would we rescue them? And most importantly, why did this person need rescuing?!

There was a heavy silence in the room. The only sound was the soft humming of Dib's computer on the opposite side of the room. I stood there, confused, trying to put the correct words together to form a response. But before I could, Dib broke the silence.

"So… Will you?" He asked expectantly, his amber eyes wide.

I stood there, shocked. "Wait… Wait a minute!" I stammered. "I think I should at least know a little more about this first! Like, first of all, who do we need to rescue?!"

Dib didn't look surprised by my reaction. Instead, he walked over to his computer. "Come here." He said. I followed, not quite sure what I was expecting to hear. Dib started opening some programs on his computer. "OK, I don't know much about him, but here's what I do know." He started pulling up…. Was that a live video feed on his computer?

Dib continued talking. "His name is Nick, and just a few months ago, I discovered that he is Zim's human test subject, being held prisoner in his base." Zim has… A human test subject?! "About three weeks ago, I was able to sneak into Zim's base and place spy cameras everywhere. But then he caught me, and there was chaos, screaming, and rubber piggies… So many rubber piggies!" He muttered the last part more to himself than to me.

"Anyway, when I got back here, I noticed that Zim hadn't discovered one of the cameras I had placed in one of his labs. Look right there!" He pointed at his screen, which was now a live video feed from what I assumed was one of Zim's labs. The walls were lined with what looked like small containment chambers. Dib was pointing at one of the first containment chambers on the left wall. I looked closely and saw a boy. "Is that...?" "Yup."

The boy called Nick was floating inside the chamber. What scared me was the large... thing that was screwed into the top of his head. But despite all of this, he was grinning. It was as if he was happy to be where he was.

"Um, Dib? What's that thing in his head?" I asked, kind of afraid to hear the answer. "Oh, that. That's a brain probe. I think it's supposed to make him happy." My mouth hung open in shock. "That poor kid..." I mumbled. Dib nodded. "That's what I thought too."

"So, will you help me rescue him?" Dib asked again. There was no way I couldn't now! "Yes!" I exclaimed without a second thought. "There is no way we are letting Nick be Zim's human test subject any longer!" Dib's eyes lit up. "Right! And we can finally expose Zim for what he really is!"

So many questions were floating around in my head. "So," I started. "When are we going to rescue Nick?" Dib's excited expression was replaced by a serious one. "That's the problem. I don't know. I was actually going to rescue Nick when I was down in Zim's base, but he caught me before I could." "Is it easy getting inside Zim's base?" Dib thought for a second. "Well, kind of. It was easier before he made upgrades to his security system. Knowing Zim, he probably upgraded it again to keep me out. Which means, we should rescue Nick when Zim isn't in his base. But I don't know when that will be."

New questions kept popping up in my head all at once. My curiosity level was at an all-time high. What does the inside of Zim's base look like? What would happen if Zim caught us? How advanced is Zim's security system?

"Tell me more about Zim." I said. If there was anybody who knew a lot about Zim, it was the short kid with glasses sitting right next to me. Finally, all of my questions were about to be answered. Dib's face instantly lit up. "Alright! What do you want to know?"

EVERYTHING! A voice screamed in my head. Instead, I said "You know, like, where he's from and stuff."

"OK!" Dib said. He started pulling up a bunch of pictures and documents on his computer. "I've been able to learn a lot about Zim's race by using the onboard computer on Tak's crashed spaceship. So far, I've learned that-"

"Who is Tak?" I cut him off. "Long story, tell you in a bit." He sounded anxious to keep telling me about Zim. "I've been able to figure out that Zim is an Irken, from a planet called Irk. He was sent here by his leaders to destroy the Earth, and…."

Dib talked for what seemed like hours and hours. I was hanging off of his every word, taking in everything he was saying about the Irken, letting all of this new, fascinating information sink in.

Tak held up the newly repaired memory disk. She had been working on it for countless hours now. It looked nothing like it did the day before when she found it. She had been searching through the remains of a crashed spaceship, trying to find parts that would suit her own ship, when she found the remains of a broken SIR Unit. It was missing a few limbs, but the head was still there. Tak opened the head and, much to her relief, she found what she was looking for; the memory disk.

She marched over to her own almost fully repaired SIR Unit, opened up its head, and carefully placed the disk inside. After closing the head, she set it carefully on the ground, and slowly took a few steps backwards. "Mimi! Respond!" She said in a stern voice.

She held her breath, anticipation building up inside of her. Now was the moment to see if all of her hard work would finally pay off. The seconds dragged by, feeling more like hours. Come on, come on, come on…

Suddenly, Mimi shot straight up, eyes flashing bright red, and saluted. Yes!

But she wasn't done yet. "Okay, Mimi, use your jets and fly from here to that ship over there." Tak pointed to a crashed ship off in the distance. "And then come straight back." Mimi did as Tak said, and landed perfectly in front of her master.

Jets working? Check.

"Now, use your lasers and shoot that same ship." Mimi obeyed, and, without moving from her spot, blasted the ship to pieces.

Weapons working, perfect aim. Wonderful.

"Now, Mimi," Tak commanded. "You will assist me in finishing my ship. The sooner we get this thing working, the better." Mimi saluted once again. "Yes master, I obey!" Tak grinned at the sight of her own SIR Unit. "Follow me!" Tak said. She and Mimi made their way to Tak's ship.

With no one to help her, it could have taken weeks before the ship was finished. But now that Mimi was fixed and fully functional again, that could all change. Tak glanced at her SIR Unit, who was hard at work. Just looking at Mimi caused a feeling of hope to swell up inside of her. Things were getting better. She would be leaving Dirt soon. Tak lifted her eyes up to the night sky.

"I said I would come back, Zim, and I meant it!"

Dib slipped out of the front door and into the cold February night air. He started making his way down to the familiar, eerie green house at the end of the street.

Or what most people thought was a house. If the world would just listen to him, they would know that it is not a house, but it is actually an alien base inhabited by a criminally insane alien who is trying to destroy all human life!

…..But that's the problem. They didn't listen to Dib, did they?

Dib brushed that thought away when he reached Zim's glowing base. He cautiously extracted a small spy camera from his pocket, no bigger than the size of a cell phone.

Instead of putting the spy camera inside the house, Dib decided to try a new, less dangerous strategy.

"With this placed on the fence," Dib muttered to himself. "I will be able to spy on Zim's base from the outside and know when he leaves, making it easier for us to know when to rescue Nick. Also, it will be harder for him to find this camera if it's on the outside. Yes! Hey, I'm talking to myself again… Oh well."

It took Dib less than five minutes to set up the little spy camera. When he finished, he turned to walk back to his house. But before he even took one step, he heard a door creak open. Then suddenly, a shout.

"MASTAH! The big-head boy is here!"

"No I'm not!" He shouted stupidly, hoping that Zim had not heard him. He turned and sprinted into the darkness. "WHERE IS HE?!" He heard Zim's voice shout. Dib froze in his tracks, hidden behind one of the neighbor's houses. He looked and saw Zim, wearing his disguise, standing in his doorway. "GIR, I see no Dib!"

Dib could barely make out GIR's tiny frame, but he could tell one thing; he was pointing straight in his direction. "He went that way, master!" Zim's eyes darted in Dib's direction. Dib had no other option but to make a run for it. He bolted down the sidewalk, into the direction of his own house. "That's right, sad little Dib-worm, you better stay away from my base, you pathetic human!" Zim shouted after Dib. Dib turned the corner, out of Zim's sight.

Dib burst through his front door and ran up the stairs. When he reached his room, he collapsed onto his bed, exhausted. "Well," he panted. "That was close."