A/N: Here's another chapter of "Shadows of the Future". Sorry it took so long to get up, but I've been really busy with school.

Oh, and in response to those of you who are wondering why Zim (and all villains, really) feels the need to gloat instead of eliminating the one threat to his plans, I have another theory. The same psychological makeup that makes him so ingeniously (and insanely) evil also makes him feel as if it is necessary to explain his plans, so that Dib will appreciate and respect his genius.

But enough of my ramblings, read on!

Disclaimer: I own Jana and the EMP Cannon. Everything else belongs to Jhonen Vasquez.

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Zim's Space Station, Holding Cell, The Next Day

Dib was physically and mentally exhausted as he watched the Sun rise on what could quite possibly be the last day he would ever see. He had spent hours trying to free himself from the energy field, but the energy particles flowing from the edge of the field towards the center were moving so quickly that Dib couldn't move more than an inch before he was pushed back into place.

So now he just floated there, staring out the viewport at Earth, trying to find a way out of this situation. "Come on, think," he muttered to himself, "This is Zim I'm dealing with, for crying out loud! There has to be a way to get out of here and stop him."

Dib's musings were cut short when the door slid open and Jana walked into the room, a smug look on her face. "Good morning, Earth-Slime," she said, "Ready to watch history unfold… the right way, that is?"

"Not particularly," Dib said, his brown eyes glaring into Jana's green orbs, "Especially since you and I seem to have different ideas of what 'right' is."

Jana merely frowned at Dib and reached into her cloak. Dib tensed, but then blinked in surprise as the assassin pulled out a sandwich. He looked from the article of food to Jana, back to the sandwich, then back to Jana, at which point he raised an eyebrow. "Believe me, I'd much rather let you starve," the Irken said, "But Lord Zim doesn't want you to pass out from hunger during his conquest and ascension."

With that, Jana tossed the sandwich into the energy field, where it floated in front of the captive human. Jana then spun on her heel and started heading out the door, but Dib's voice made her stop short.

"Why are you so loyal to him?"

Jana turned around and gave Dib an inquisitive look. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Dib shrugged as much as he could in the field. "Well," he said, "I always just assumed that an Irken's first loyalty was to the Tallest. Not to a washed up soldier with a God-complex."

As he finished saying that, Dib smirked a little as he watched Jana's antennae flatten against her head in anger. She clenched her fists tight, but then took a deep breath and unclenched them. "Nice try," she said, as her antennae started to return to normal, "Get me angry enough to try and kill you myself, so that I'll let the energy field down and you can make an attempt to escape. Too bad for you that I'm not a fool."

"Well, it was worth a shot," Dib mumbled with a frown, before saying, "But my previous statement still stands- Zim might be the Tallest in your future, but right now he's just a deranged Invader."

Jana sneered at Dib, before replying, "So you're saying I should be loyal to Red and Purple? Oh, please. Those idiots have been Tallest for over a century now, and they've conquered only a handful of planets. But when Zim becomes Tallest, the Empire experiences a phase of expansion rivaled only by the reign of Tallest Rankor himself!"

By this point, a maniacal look had appeared in Jana's eyes, and Dib half-expected to see her start foaming at the mouth. "You say Zim is deranged," she continued, "but with the full forces of the Armada at his disposal, his destructive genius finally has a creative outlet. Within the first few decades of his reign, we control half the galaxy, and by the end of his first century, all inhabited worlds in the Milky Way are where they belong- under the heel of the Irken Empire!"

The cloaked assassin threw her head back and released an insane cackle. 'Of course,' Dib thought to himself, 'the only Irken who wants to actually work for Zim, and she's a psychotic zealot. It figures.' He turned his attention away from his thoughts and back to Jana as she suddenly stopped and looked him in the eye, her eyes filled with a determined fire.

"And this time, things will be perfect," she hissed, "There will be no misguided human to ferment a rebellion against the Empire. My master's glorious reign shall continue forever, and all shall praise him!" The crazy look on Jana's face dissolved, and a more distant look appeared, and Dib realized that she wasn't even talking to him anymore.

"And the best part," she muttered, so low that Dib could barely hear her, "Is that this time, I can be by his side as his magnificent rule spreads out amongst the stars. And he will finally know that there in none more loyal to him than me. He will see that I would truly do anything for him, even change the very fabric of Time itself."

Dib raised an eyebrow as he watched the fantasizing female Irken- who had apparently forgotten he was even there- walk out of the room, humming slightly to herself. As the door closed behind her, Dib said the one thing that came to mind.

"Okay, that was just weird."

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Station Bridge, A Few Minutes Later

Jana, still on a bit of a high, strolled onto the bridge. The nearly complete EMP Cannon currently dominated the main viewport; illuminated by the glow of the planet beneath them, it was really a sight to be seen. At the moment, there were still several holes in its outer structure, but that was just to allow the construction drones easy access in and out of the inner workings.

She continued to look out the viewport at the marvelous scene taking place before her- she still found it hard to believe she was actually here, watching history as it unfolded. After a few moments, she turned her attention away from the view and towards the center of the bridge, where Zim sat in his command chair. He was currently engrossed with the schematics for the Cannon, occasionally sending instructions to the drones.

While waiting for him to acknowledge her presence, Jana took a moment to admire the being seated before her. Despite the age difference, she really didn't see any difference between Zim and his future self. His tall, slim figure radiated power and respect; even without the ceremonial armor of the Almighty Tallest, one could still see that he was a force to be reckoned with. And of course, there were his eyes- red orbs that burned with a lust for power. She was always captivated by those eyes, always drawn in by them.

Actually, there was one difference between the two Zims that she could see. Without the effects of age and the burdens of leadership, his face was free of wrinkles and stress lines. Without those marks, Jana had to admit that Zim was actually kind of… cute.

Jana's face heated up as she instantly squashed that thought. 'Do not be a fool,' she thought to herself, 'He is your master, nothing more. Besides, he could have any female he wants. Why would he want you?'

Zim finally looked up from the computer monitors and noticed her standing there. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, master," Jana said, bowing her head to hide her darkened cheeks, "I just thought I'd let you know that I've done what you asked and given the human his nourishment… though I still say that it's pointless, since we're going to kill him anyway."

Zim frowned. "I want him to live long enough to watch his world end and all his hard work at defeating me end up being for naught. You wouldn't be questioning me, would you?"

"Never!" Jana said, practically screaming the word, and making Zim flinch slightly. After a few moments, Jana calmed down a little and muttered, "I'm just looking out for your interests."

Seeing the ashamed look on Jana's face, Zim surprisingly found himself feeling guilty. Wanting to alleviate the foreign emotion, Zim quickly said, "I know you are… look, if you're that worried that the Dib-Stink will be problematic, keep an eye on him."

Jana bowed. "As you wish, milord," she said. She then turned and walked out of the room, heading back towards the holding cell. Zim watched her go, cloak fluttering in the air behind her, and found he suddenly felt better for snapping at her. With a sigh, the Invader leaned back in his chair.

"Computer," he said, "Is it just me, or have things gotten much more complicated since Jana joined us?"

"I'd have to agree with you on that, sir," the computer, "But I would also have to agree with Jana- if you're planning to kill Dib, why not do it now? You know, before he has a chance to ruin your plan, like he always does?"

Zim glared at the computer. "This plan can not be ruined, Computer. It is my destiny to succeed this day. You heard the message from my future self- but history will now be altered in such a way that Dib will only be able to watch as I destroy his world. Only then, when he sees that he's completely lost and his spirit is broken, will I kill him."

The computer was silent for a few moments, before saying, "Master, while I do not pretend to have a strong understanding of time-travel and all its ramifications, is it not conceivably possible that by attempting to alter history in your favor, you've set in motion events that will not be to your liking?"

The Irken opened his mouth to reply to that… but found that the computer had made a logical point. Could he be making his own future worse instead of better? Was trying to break Dib before killing him too much of a risk?

Zim sat there for some time, contemplating this problem. Then, the solution presented itself.

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Holding Cell, A Few Minutes Earlier

Dib's stomach growled as he looked at the sandwich floating in front of him. He didn't want to accept anything from Zim or Jana- he still had his pride, after all. But he was hungry. So, he grabbed the sandwich, and was about to take a bite when the door to the room opened.

"HI, BIG-HEAD!"

Dib would have jumped if he weren't suspended in midair. He turned to look at the door, and found GIR standing there, smiling and waving at him. "Master said I shouldn't bother him and the pretty lady," the deranged robot said happily, "But he didn't say I couldn't visit you! Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee- leprechauns!"

Dib could think of a lot of things he would rather do than be stuck in a room with a robotic maniac… when inspiration hit him like a ton of bricks. A smile appeared on his face as he said, "Hey, GIR. Want a sandwich?"

GIR's eyes seemingly widened as he looked at the food Dib was now holding in front of him. "Is that tuunnaa?" he asked, stretching the word out to impossible lengths.

"Yes, it is," Dib said, his smile widening, "And if you want it-"

"Tuna! Tuna! Tuna! Tuna, tuna, tuna, tuna, tuna! I LOVE tuna! Tuna's my FRIEND!"

Dib's smile turned into an annoyed frown as he watched the insane SIR unit dance around the energy field, singing about how much he loved tuna. 'How does Zim deal with this guy 24/7?' Dib thought.

"GIR?" he asked. However, GIR ignored the human and kept dancing. "GIR? GIR?! GIR!!!"

At the last shout, GIR finally stopped dancing and turned back to Dib. Pinching the sides of his nose, he took a deep breath and said, "If you want the sandwich, GIR, you have to let me out of here first. Understand?"

"I do," GIR said, nodding like a Bobble Head doll. He walked forward and entered a code into a small keypad set into the side of the pylon beneath the energy field. A few seconds later, the energy field dissipated, and Dib dropped to the floor with a crash. A long stream of curses flew out of his mouth, but was interrupted when GIR grabbed him by the shoulders and started shaking him frantically.

"Where's my tuna?! I wants the tuna! Tuna, tuna, tuna!"

Dib held out the sandwich, and GIR immediately grabbed it. He then proceeded to eat it like a chipmunk eating a nut. Dib raised an eyebrow at that, but decided to ignore it, and made his way to the door, which had closed after GIR had entered the room. Just as Dib was about to re-open it, he paused as he heard something coming down the hall outside.

He quickly pressed himself against the wall next to the door and waited. He didn't have to wait long, as at almost the exact same moment, the door slid open and Jana walked in.

She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw that Dib was missing and GIR was sitting in the deactivated energy field, eating what looked like the sandwich she had delivered to Dib earlier.

"What the Hell?" she asked.

She got her answer as Dib let out a battle cry and threw himself at Jana, knocking her to the ground. He began raining blows down on her, but she responded by grabbing his wrists and flinging him off of her. Dib hit the ground hard, and then was kicked hard the ribs. He slid across the room, stopping next to GIR, who had just finished the sandwich. Dib grunted as he pulled himself up, then turned to the SIR unit.

"Mind if I borrow a weapon?" he asked.

"Okey-dokey!" GIR said, a small handheld blaster popping out of his head and into Dib's hand. Jana, seeing this, slapped herself in the head.

"Don't help the enemy, you malfunctioning moron!" she snapped.

That was all she had a chance to say, as Dib quickly leveled the blaster at her and fired. Jana leapt into the air back towards the wall, then kicked off and shot towards Dib, igniting her energy sword as she did so.

Dib rolled out of the way just in time, and the energy sword buried itself in the floor. He started shuffling backwards across the floor, firing the blaster as he did so. Jana pulled the energy sword loose, and batted the blaster bolts away. Grinning demonically, the Irken assassin slowly started walking towards Dib, knocking every shot fired towards the walls, floor, and ceiling. Seeing the distance between them shrinking, Dib suddenly got another idea.

"Hey GIR!" he shouted, "Jana's got more tuna in her cloak!"

Jana blinked in surprise… right before she was tackled by GIR. "Tuna! Tuna! Tuna! Tuna! Tuna! Tuna! Tuna!" he shouted, tugging at Jana's cloak to try and find the tasty edible fish.

Taking advantage of the situation, Dib got up, bolted out the door, and ran down the hallway. Screaming in frustration, Jana grabbed GIR and threw him into the energy field, which she then reactivated. Seething, she ran out the door and down the hallway in the same direction Dib had gone.

As she ran down the hallway, Jana activated her PAK communicator. "Lord Zim!" she said, "The human's escaped!"

"What?!" Zim shouted over the communicator, "How did this happen?!"

"You can thank GIR for that," she said, bracing herself for the reaction she knew was coming.

"Etchuta!!" Zim cursed, "Can't that stupid robot do ANYTHING right?"

Instead of answering that, Jana simply said, "I am in pursuit. He won't get far."

"Good," Zim muttered, before going silent for a moment. Just as Jana was about to close the communication line, he spoke up again, "Jana, I've made a decision."

"Yes, sir?"

"You and the computer are right," Zim said, his voice implying he wasn't happy about admitting he was wrong, "Keeping Dib alive this along has been a mistake. When you find him, have fun if you want- but show no mercy. Am I clear?"

"Perfectly, milord," Jana grinned as she replied, "Jana out."

She then deactivated the communicator, and gave an extra burst of speed. She was a Shadow, the ultimate predator. And her prey was about to find it out the hard way.

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A/N: Okay, I'm going to end this chapter right here- if I were to go on, I'd be detracting from the next chapter. Speaking of which, I'm afraid it'll be a while before I get that up. My college's Spring Break is next week (and only one week) and I'm going to spend it out of town, without access to my computer or the Internet in general. So, I'm sorry to say you'll have to wait.

On a different note, I know Jana was kinda Sue-ish in this chapter, but I've got a good reason for it: I wanted to plant a plot point that I intend to follow up on in Part 2 of this trilogy, and this was the only way I could think to do it. So if you want to flame me for it, I won't be mad, but I just wanted to explain myself.

Other than that, all I have to say is: Read and Review!