Author's Note: Heh, I liked writing this chapter more than I thought I would. I thought I would hate it, so I procrastinated, and finally dragged myself to the computer and suprised myself with how fun it was to type it up. Keef and Jimmy are both creepers, agreed? Did that seem random? It won't once you read the chapter. So start reading it, you readers out there! Yes, even the ones out that never comment or favorite this and yet still follow the storyline every time it is put up. Come on, the review button won't bite...that hard.

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this chapter.

"Remind me why you do not wish to do the mission yourself?" Zim asked Johnny as the finishing touches were put on to the now-repaired object displacement device. "And why you do not trust Zim to complete it for you?"

"Simple," Johnny replied with a suppressed yawn. Dib wasn't used to Johnny's sleepless habits. "I can't do it myself, partly because I have what doctors call a little bit of an anger problem. I would probably just end up killing my body in a fit of rage, and I sure as hell don't trust you to get him. You would probably capture him and then refuse to give him up unless there was an exchange of some kind in the form of an idiotic lesson about killing human beings or something. And if I were to comply, you would still probably try to kill both of us anyway."

"Wise decision, for that is exactly what Zim would do," the Irken admitted. "You are most lucky, Nny-human, that I have not destroyed you for taking my Pak and using it to force me to work on this device. Speaking of which, it is finished."

"Are you sure?" Johnny asked skeptically, drawing upon a few memories of failed experiments Zim had shown to at least Tallest Purple. It had normally resulted in the death or almost-death of the test subject. And he didn't want to die as Dib. If he did, he wasn't sure quite what would happen to the two of them in the afterlife. And besides, Agent Pandora's Box (who is within the Swollen Eyeball and the only one who believes in Dib every time) would probably go insane with grief if she found out Dib had died. He didn't want to be responsible for creating another mass murderer.

The Irken nodded. "Zim is certain. The teleportation option is fully functional and ready to be used. But before that, fully explain your plan. All that you've communicated was that two people should go try and find a way to get the unnamed human here, and that it would be inappropriate for it to be us. Expand on that idea."

"We need to find two loyal people to do the job, two who would never betray us," Johnny announced, temporarily allowing Dib to take over his actions so that he may inspect the machine to be absolutely certain there were no flaws. "Though they are the most irritating people in the universe, they will help us willingly."

Zim gasped as he caught on to Johnny's though process. "Zim knows of one, and how DARE you think he could do a better job! I REFUSE to allow that human stink-child inside my lab! Keef deserves to rot in a pit of neverending doom!"

"With poisonous snakes thrown into it," Johnny added with a grim chuckle, in control again after Dib determined that the machine would work. "You haven't met my version of Keef, but I believe he is more annoying."

"LIAR!" the Irken hissed. "There is none more annoying than my stalker of an ex-best friend!"

The maniac ignored this and typed in the names of the duo he needed into the teleportation option. With a flash of light, two disoriented people stood in the room. The orange-haired one quickly squeed with glee when he saw Zim.

"Hi bestest friend!" Keef exclaimed, waving happily. "How ya doin'? I missed you so much! Do you wanna go to the park? OH! Or we could go to the carnival! Do you want to go to the carnival, Zim?"

"Silence, squealy fool!" Zim shrieked at the child. The grown man of the pair got up from the ground with a groan of pain. Nny noticed with interest that his own irritating stalker had deep scratches on his face and blossoming, dark purple bruises.

"Where am I?" Jimmy wondered, holding his throbbing head. He glanced down at the three. "And who are you kids supposed to be?"

The maniac immediately wanted to strangle Mmy for the condescending glance he was given, but Dib's mind quickly quelled his anger for fear of repercussions. "Hello, Jimmy. How horrible it is to see you again."

"Do I know you?" Jimmy growled, looking down at what he perceived to be a stuck-up, snobby little boy. "And if I have, was it because I did your mom or something because she resisted before I killed her?"

"No," Nny hissed, still furious that Jimmy would even consider doing such a thing. "It's Johnny, you vile waste of bones and blood. Or do you not remember me ripping you open with metal and smashing you with a hammer for trying to 'learn from me'?"

"No fucking way!" Mmy gasped. "I'm seeing things! I'm dreaming or still knocked out from that one freaky chick! You can't be Nny, I just tried to seduce him last night!"

"You WHAT?" Johnny yelled, overcoming Dib's restraint with how powerful his rage was. The homicidal maniac grabbed the screwdriver nearby and knocked Jimmy to the ground, prepared to drive the tool through the brain of his fan.

Zim noticed the scene and rushed over, snatching the device from the maniac. "Cease this, Nny-human! I believe that this…filth…here will not easily help if he were destroyed! Explain things to him. Quickly, before Zim enters the same rage with Keef here!"

"What's going on, buddy?" Keef asked with a grin. He pointed to Jimmy. "Is that another friend for us to play with? YAY!" The boy skipped over and hugged Mmy, then helped him up with an innocent smile.

Jimmy shuddered and shifted away from the child. "Dude, stop it! You're freaking me out!"

Nny calmed down and smirked at the fact that his enemy was so easily scared by Keef. "I think I like this plan more now that I know Keef might possibly scar him for life with all that natural happiness."

"And Jimmy may kill Keef if he is disturbed enough!" Zim celebrated. "Everyone would win! Well, heh, except for them obviously."

Jimmy scowls at Zim and Johnny's conversation. "We can HEAR you, you know!" Jimmy turns to Johnny and smiles flirtatiously. "But of course, I forgive you. And what do you plan to use us for, you stud, you?"

"One: Don't EVER call me that EVER again, or Senor Diablo will be expecting a visit from you very shortly with a nail shoved through your skull. Second: From what you said before, I believe you've already met my body wandering around. I need you to bring him back to me. Unharmed."

"Aww, you lost your body?" Keef cooed obliviously. "That's so sad! I lost my eyeballs once, I know how you feel. We'll bring him back! Right new buddy?" He hugged Jimmy's legs, and the wannabe maniac quickly disentangled himself from the hug.

"We don't have much of a choice," Jimmy grumbled. He turned to Nny again with a grin. "Did you at least lose it in a sexy way?"

Johnny ignored the question, knowing to do so would only provoke a hideous response. "My body is most likely still at a concert at wherever MTV likes to film shit. You know what to do, so leave."

Mmy looked slightly offended. "What? No kiss good-bye? At least give me a weapon to defend myself with if your body goes psycho!"

Zim sighed and smoothed back his antennae. "Yes, very well. You may have…erm…a faulty prototype Pak I originally planned to stick onto Dib's back to torture him." Johnny allowed Dib to glare at the invader, who shrugged in response. "What? Zim doesn't lie…much."

Nny sighed and threw the nearby Pak to Jimmy, who grinned deviously when he discovered how many weapons it held. Keef exclaimed over how pretty it looked, Jimmy put it on himself, and both used the machine to be teleported to the concert.

"Thank God they're gone," Johnny sighed and leaned back in a chair. "I was starting to believe that they would prefer to stay and drive both of us to suicide."

Zim shuddered and nodded in agreement. But he gave Johnny an odd look. "You let the Dib take control for more moments than you have in the past. Why is this?"

"I honestly don't know. I think it has something to do with not having as much strength when I'm not in my own body, and allowing him to take over for a few moments help me save my willpower for the important things."

"What would happen if you were to stay as Dib for too long?"

"Honestly? Why do you care?" Johnny asked suspiciously.

"Zim is merely curious as to the effects of body switching, and the effects of it are vital knowledge if I need to attempt it for the future. Tell Zim what he wants to know! I command you!"

"I think I would fade into the recesses of his mind, giving him the possibility of turning into me when he grows up and eventually snaps at the world that gives him no credit for stopping your plans for world conquest," Nny answered honestly. "Which would not bode well for your future. Think about it. Dib turning into me? That would be insane, even for my taste! I'm already afraid it may happen to my next door neighbor, Squee, due to my visits. Or he may turn into a version of Dib, either one seems unfortunately plausible."

"So, no matter what happens, you and Dib will both exist in some form?"

"Precisely."

Zim grumbled to himself. "And here I was starting to think that I could be rid of both of you for good if one of you perished! Ah, well, we will see what occurs over time, yes?"

Johnny took a deep breath and allowed Dib to completely (albeit temporarily) take over so that he could rest without sleeping. Dib could sleep, but this way, Johnny wouldn't have to do it himself. Also so Johnny wouldn't have to deal with Zim directly any more. Dib blinked slowly and glared at Zim.

"So you are back again," the Invader noticed. "Zim could tell, for your eye color lightened considerably. It turned from the color of wood to a putrid yellow."

"Oh, shut up, Zim. I'm not awake enough to deal with you right now," Dib said with a yawn. "I just hope this whole thing is over with soon. Gaz and my dad are probably worried about me not being at home for a while now. Actually, I take that back. Gaz is too obssessed with her video games to care, and Dad is at work to much to even notice when I'm hurt or gone."

"Yes, yes, your depressing life story is fascinating and pitiable," Zim said, disinterested. "I believe you overheard what the maniac and I discussed?"

Dib rolled his eyes. "Duh, he used my vocal chords to talk to you, of course I would know what you two talked about! Yeah, I hope that Johnny's wrong. I don't want to turn into him."

"Why not? You could kill Zim and be more powerful! Isn't that what you want, Dib-stink?"

The boy shook his head. "No, that's not what I want. I don't want to kill anyone, not even you. At least, not directly with no benefit to mankind. The scary thing is, I could see that happening," Dib admitted with a shudder, pulling his knees close to his chest. "Please God, if you're there, don't let that happen. I want to protect mankind, not destroy it. Watch over my soul."

Zim did a double take. "Are you…praying to a higher power, Dib-worm?"

"Hey, I might as well try, right?" Dib defended himself with. His face fell a little as his eyes started to close in weariness. "But why would he listen to me? No one else does. He's probably more focused on solving world hunger and instigating world peace, things more important than the hopes of a disheartened paranormal investigator. Geez, I think Nny is starting to make me more angsty than normal. Just another sign that I may unfortunately become him, no matter what I do." The boy closed his eyes completely in both resignation and tiredness.

"Dib?" Zim asked. He poked the boy with one claw, only to find that the child had fallen asleep entirely. Zim seemed unsure of what to do next.

"Computer?" he whispered to the house.

"What?" Computer asked indignantly. "What do I have to do now?"

"Make the Dib comfortable without awakening him," Zim commanded quietly. "I refuse to do so myself! He's too sickening for Zim to bother himself with doing it!"

"Why do you care at all in the first place whether or not he's comfortable?"

Zim paused and considered this. "Hmm…I'm not sure. I still hate him, certainly, as my superior skin crawls at the sight of that big head. But he spoke the hideous truth," Zim admitted. "That deserves a bit of a reward. So do as Zim says and make the child comfortable."

"Fine, whatever," Computer growled. A bed rose up from the floor and two robotic arms carefully picked the boy up and placed him on the bed. The arms pulled the blanket gently over the human and retracted back into the ceiling. "There. Happy now?"

"I'll never be happy as long as he's in my base, Computer," Zim said with a chuckle. "You should be aware of that by now. But it's necessary, so for now, I'll leave him to his pitiful need for sleep." With that, Zim marched out of the room and rose up in the elevator, darkening the room so that his enemy could sleep peacefully.

But he also pressed a button that locked down the entire room so he couldn't escape. After all, that was his enemy in there. He couldn't be trusted.