A/N: hoo boy... this chapter is a bit... intense. sorry in advance.

enjoy...?

REVIEW RESPONSES

dib07: I usually respond to user reviews with a PM but you brought up a really great point that I want to mention to all of my readers! Regarding Zim randomly falling asleep earlier, don't worry, none of you guys missed anything. That will be addressed in the sequel. ;)

ANYWAY no more spoilers. On to chapter 10!

The Massive was just like he remembered. Not much had changed at all, save for a few cosmetic upgrades here and there. Zim stepped out of the battle cruiser, taking in the familiar surroundings of the docking station. He stretched languidly, releasing the built up tension of his muscles from being stuck in such a small ship. "It's been years since I've seen this place. It looks a little different."

"Of course. We've made a few changes here and there," Atra replied idly as she stepped out behind him.

"You?" Zim asked incredulously. "You do direct work on the Massive?"

She grinned. "But of course. I am the head of the science and engineering department now."

Zim seemed to consider this, almost as if he were impressed. "I see… perhaps you are not a drone as I had first thought…"

"Wow, thanks for the compliment," she muttered sarcastically, though her tone held no real malice.

Zim narrowed his eyes at her. "You should feel honored," he said haughtily. "Zim does not give out compliments often."

Obviously, she thought. Deciding not to prod further, Atra turned her attention to the giggling SIR unit standing beside him. "No offense, but you may want to leave your SIR unit here."

Zim shook his head, stone-faced, as if the very idea was out of the question. "No, Gir stays with me. He's too unstable to be left alone for too long."

"Yes, but are you sure you want… that with you when you present yourself to the Tallest? It's a bit disrespectful, no?"

Zim shot an icy glare at her. "Shut your mouth-hole! Gir is coming with me, end of discussion. Besides, the Tallest have met Gir before. They know he's… kind of not good."

She merely shrugged. "Suit yourself." After gaining clearance from the guards working the docking station, Atra led Zim and Gir to the council room. "This room is for those seeking council with the Tallest," she explained. "It's brand new, we just put it in a few years ago. They should be right in here."

Zim looked up at her, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Eh? What about my celebration?"

"Just go."

Zim looked over at Gir, uncertainty present in his eyes. Gir only smiled cheerily, as if urging him on. "Very well. Gir, with me. You… wait out here for Zim."

Atra glared daggers at the male as he proceeded into the room. Yeah, I'll do that.

Once she was sure he was out of hearing range, she slammed the door shut and turned on the communicator on her wrist. "Main Laboratory? Yes, it's Atra, I've returned with Irken Zim. Is the chip ready?"

"Yes, Miss Atra. It's been tested and is now ready for your final evaluations."

"Excellent! I'll be in momentarily."

She smiled to herself as she quickly made her way to the lab. Now that Zim was finally on the Massive, she could put the plan into action.

Just a little bit longer.

"Dib-human, what is it that you're hoping to accomplish by doing this?"

Dib awoke with a startle. Where were they? "This place is..."

"One of your filthy Earth parks," Zim replied with a snort. Funny. Did he even have a nose?

But he was right. They were standing in what appeared to be a field of some sort. There were park benches and a playground nearby, but oddly enough, it was just the two of them. Strange. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and, if he had to guess, around 72 degrees.

"You didn't answer my question," Zim pointed out, rather impatiently at that. "What are you hoping to gain?"

"Gain? Nothing. I just... I want… I want to find you, you idiot. Want to bring you back to Earth. Bring you home."

Zim waved a dismissive hand, as if the very idea were ludicrous. "Earth is not my home. Besides, you know better than anyone. Actually, you're the only one that knows."

"...Knows what?" he asked.

"You know that there is no saving me."

"Shut up," Dib snapped. "I'm gonna save you, alright? I'll be damned if I let your stupid leaders kill you. Seriously, that's a stupid way to die."

Zim turned his back to him, idly placing his hands behind his back. "You'll be too late, you know. Surely by now I've already arrived on the Massive."

"Stop talking."

"There was never any hope for me, Dib. Never. There is never any hope for my kind."

A realization came to him then, one that he should've seen coming a mile away. "…You're not Zim."

The alien turned around again to face him, tilting his head in confusion. So much like Zim, yet not him at all. The same bloody eyes, the same jade skin and mocking grin. "I'm not?"

"No. The Zim I know doesn't talk like that. The Zim I know… would lick the dust and survive. The Zim I know… never gives up, ever! So quit it with that!"

"…You simply don't understand, Dib-beast." He shook his head, a soft, uncharacteristic, almost defeated smile spreading across his lips. "Even if you could save me… a defect has no possible future. We aren't destined to live long lives. We are destined for failure. We're destined for death."

"Quit whining, we're all destined for death," he fired back. "Look, you know what, maybe this is pointless. Maybe I'm being stupid, trying to save someone that's been doomed from the start. But I will be damned if I let you die up there. You hear me? Whether we're friends or enemies, I can't stand the idea of a life that doesn't have you in it. When we were enemies, I got a rush out of the excitement, the danger. Even though it was serious stuff, there was something about fighting you that was almost… fun. But I came to realize later that hurting you wasn't what made me happy. It was… being with you, having someone that took me seriously. Do you… remember when I quit chasing you to do 'real science'?"

The pseudo-Zim nodded shakily. "Yes, Zim remembers. It was... one of the worst times of Zim's life."

"Mine too. It wasn't just the excitement I missed, it was you. I missed you, and your stupid face and your stupid laugh. And when we finally became enemies again, and I saw you laughing… you looked so happy. I was happy too."

His eyes widened, a soft purple-ish flush spreading across his face. "Zim… Zim was not-"

"You were too! And it was after that day when things first started to change… when the game… really began."

Dib had thought that the game was just a title that his brain had come up with to refer to he and Zim's relationship, but could it be that Zim understood?

"The game… our sad little game... has it really become like that?"

He grinned, shrugging. "Afraid so. You know... I used to think I was some kind of hero. You were the bad guy and I had to stop you, but... it's not really like that anymore. Maybe I just cared about my reward after all. Play the game and I get my prize, right?"

"The Dib is not selfish. Incredibly annoying? Yes. But not selfish. Even Zim can see the honor in wanting to defend one's own planet. I would do the same for Irk."

"You would?"

Zim blinked, as if realizing an error. "Er- perhaps not now, but not too long ago I would have. But Zim... never thought of it as a game, at least, not until recently," he admitted. "Did you… not take Zim seriously?"

"Of course I did. For years I took you seriously. I still do. But... your threats to invade Earth kinda lost their vigor, you know."

"Mm…" Zim mumbled, his eyes downcast.

Dib almost felt bad for the Irken, looking so small and defeated. Zim may be small physically, but his larger-than-life personality more than made up for his size. He was fully aware, at this point, that this was not Zim, that this was just his subconscious trying to keep him grounded. But he would go with it. He would go with it long enough to find him, anyway. "…Hey, um... I'm sorry if I made you feel like a joke. If I ever get to see you again, I'll tell you that."

"…Zim is used to being the joke."

Dib opened his mouth to chastise him for throwing himself a pity party, but realized that he really didn't have any room to talk. Not to mention that this was probably how Zim genuinely felt, even if the real one would never admit it.

He sighed rather melodramatically, turning to look towards the cloudless sky. "Great, now I'm dreaming of you too… when are you gonna leave me alone, you stupid alien?"

The dream-Zim smirked. "Never."

"…I hate you."

"And Zim feels the same, you revolting human pig."

Dib laughed, and it wasn't a sarcastic or dry chuckle as usual. He was laughing, genuinely laughing, for the first time in a while. "Finally, the first Zim-like thing I've heard from you."

"What are you talking about? Zim… will always be Zim."

"Good. I wouldn't have it any other way, space boy."

Dib awakened rather peacefully, as opposed to his usual nightmares involving Zim. Although… he couldn't exactly call that a nightmare, could he?

God, when had he fallen asleep?

Groaning, he sat up, careful not to bump his head against the low ceiling of Tak's ship. "Hey, how far away are we?"

"You woke up just in time. We're approximately thirty minutes away from the Massive."

"Good, so we're right on time then."

"I certainly hope that you have a plan for when we reach the Massive."

Dib's cheeks heated slightly. He hadn't really thought of that before he went off into outer space to save his former enemy. Which is strange. Usually he was a planner, especially when it came to Zim. "Oh, uh… of course I do!"

"You don't, do you?"

"It's… a work in progress."

He could hear the ship actually make a noise akin to a sigh. "As soon as the Massive detects us, we'll be blown to smithereens. Meaning that we need to be careful."

"But this is an Irken ship. It should blend in alongside the other Voot Cruisers, right?"

"Theoretically, but we'll need to be fast. If they pick up a signal from me, then they'll recognize it as a blocked ship and therefore see me as a threat."

"Roger that. When we reach the Massive, we'll dock alongside the other Voot Cruisers. Be quick, okay?"

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Okay, sorry. Jeez…"

The room was everything he'd expect from a council room. It featured the finest of Irken luxuries, luxuries that only the Tallest and certain elites got to enjoy. They were the kind of luxuries that Zim could only dream of at his size, though he found himself hoping that his celebration would be held here, in this very room.

Just like Atra had said, the Tallest were waiting for him inside, snickering among themselves.

"Hello my Tallest!" Zim bowed as a show of respect, Gir doing the same after a hard nudge from him. "Invader Zim, reporting in!"

Red jumped and dropped a bag of what appeared to be popcorn, clearly startled. "Zim! What are you- oh. Yeah. That's right. We called you here."

Zim nodded proudly. "Yes, and I must say, your science drone was rather unexpected. I was hoping you would come in person."

"Yes, well, Atra is… one of the finest soldiers we have. Yeah. Sure," Purple said dismissively. "Anyhow, we're glad you made it, Zim."

"Yes, we're… overjoyed," Red mumbled through clenched teeth.

"I see! I must admit, you had me worried at first my Tallest, but Zim has always had faith in you! I am honored that you have once again placed your trust in me. I swear I won't let you down!"

"That's great Zim, now-"

"Oh, I was thinking, before the celebration begins, I could share my final plan for the destruction of all human life on Earth! You see, there's this one human, Dib- you've met him- he's the worst. And I sort of promised him that I would bring the Armada with me to lay waste to planet Earth, so… any chance we could make that happen, so I can shove it in Dib's face?"

Red waved a dismissive hand, like a parent dismissing a hyperactive child. "Sure Zim, sure. Whatever you want."

The smaller Irken's eyes lit up as a wide grin spread across his face. "Yes! Thank you my Tallest!"

The two Irken leaders exchanged glances before rising to their feet. "It's time for your celebration, Zim," Purple said, an icy, almost intimidating tone to his voice. It sounded a bit off to Zim, but he ultimately paid no mind to it. They were his leaders, after all.

Giddily, Zim grabbed Gir's wrist and dragged him along as he followed closely behind his leaders. The Massive hadn't changed much since Zim had last been on it, but there were a few things that looked different. It seemed that there had been more rooms and features added, which only meant that it was growing. Which was a good sign. However, there was something… off. His Tallest were not acting like themselves. Zim has known them for many years, ever since they were mere smeets in the academy together. He liked to think that he knew everything about them, at least more than most Irkens did.

"My Tallest," Zim started, a bit awkwardly at first. "Zim may have no place to say this, but if something is wrong, you may tell me. We do have a long history together."

Neither of his leaders responded, which only made Zim more nervous. That was strange enough in and of itself, Irkens didn't get nervous. And rather than walk into a large, open room full of cheering Irkens, he was instead lead into a compact, dark room that appeared to be... empty.

"Uh, my Tallest? Where are we?"

"Irken Zim," a deep, baritone voice boomed throughout the room, so loud that it nearly hurt Zim's antennae. "Welcome back."

Zim recognized it almost immediately. "That voice… the Control Brains? My Tallest, why are we-"

"This, Irken Zim, is your execution."

"E-Execution?!" His squeedlyspooch started to pound as panic overtook him, his body tensing before suddenly, a new thought came to him. He relaxed almost instantly, a cheeky grin spreading across his face. "O-Oh, I see what's going on here! This is a joke, right? You always were very funny, my Tallest. And you even got the Control Brains in on it too!"

"This is not a joke, Irken Zim. The Tallest have been ordered to bring you here for your execution."

"Ordered? But no one orders the Tallest!" Zim turned towards his leaders, his tone panicked. "My Tallest, what's going on?! Tell them! Tell them that they can't do this to a-"

"We can, and we will. Your 'Tallest' leaders are no more than the image of a perfect Irken, an image that we chose ourselves."

"Hey! We hold some power!" Purple protested weakly.

"An image... you mean..."

"Look, there is no celebration, Zim," Red stated flatly. "It was a trick, to lure you here. And you fell for it. Again."

"But… but… you said…"

Purple chortled to himself. "You really are gullible, aren't you Zim?"

Red's usual easygoing demeanor had completely diminished, replaced with something far more serious, almost sinister. "I will admit, not having you around is gonna be strange at first. But for the sake of the Empire… for the sake of the universe… this must be done."

Suddenly, in that moment, everything seemed to fall into place like puzzle pieces. These puzzle pieces weren't made to fit together but they just did, and Zim couldn't understand why they would at all. But the constant laughter, the blatant insults, the tricks, it had been this way all along. He was just too blinded by loyalty to see it. The Tallest had always wanted him dead. His banishment to Foodcourtia, his exile to planet Earth, and again when they told him the truth… they really had every intention of never seeing him again.

And Zim, the ever loyal Irken invader, never thought twice about it. All those wasted years, perfecting plans and calling the Tallest… and for what? Even if he had been successful… it never would've mattered anyway.

As if a switch was flipped, his fight-or-flight instincts kicked in. Suddenly, everything became so simple. If he didn't get out, he was going to die. "GIR! Defensive mode, protect your master! We're getting out of this place, now!"

Gir's eyes flashed red, prepared to obey, but before he could so much as move to defend Zim, a large metal arm with two sharp prongs at the end shot out of an open socket in the floor. The prongs drove into his back, bright orange and blue sparks flying through the air. Before he could even make a sound, his eyes went black as he limply fell to the floor. The sound of metal clanging against metal echoed ominously throughout the room. The sound rang repeatedly in Zim's head, on and on like a broken record.

Zim's eyes went impossibly wide as he watched his beloved SIR unit fall to the floor, laying uncharacteristically still. Time seemed to stand still. The world around him started rotating in a slow spin. The Tallest's strident laughter became less clear as he became hyper-focused on his companion, lying still on the floor like a discarded piece of garbage. Sure, Gir had been broken before, but Zim had never been worried, as it was always something he could fix. But this... how could he fix this?

He couldn't help it, couldn't control it. The robot's name came forth from his throat in the form of a horrified scream, raw and unadulterated as Zim fell to his knees. He gripped his antennae tightly, violently pulling on them in hopes that it would wake him from this nightmare that he seemed to have fallen into.

"You… killed him," he choked out, his voice raw. "You killed Gir… you killed my-"

The first Control Brain's impassive voice interrupted him before he could get the words out. "You will not escape this, Irken Zim. You may have managed to evade your trial, but this time, you will be eliminated."

"I don't understand!" Zim retorted. "Why am I being executed? What have I done wrong?!"

"What have you done wrong?!" both Red and Purple exclaimed simultaneously.

"As per Irken law, we shall inform you of your crimes and your punishment."

Zim quickly glanced over at his SIR unit. There were two perfectly-shaped circular holes on his back from where the daggers had drilled into him. His eyes were black and lifeless; almost like they were the day he had first received Gir. Damn it… how could he have let this happen?

"Irken Zim is responsible for the following: the deaths of two almighty Tallests, Tallest Miyuki and Tallest Spork."

"The deaths of several Irken invaders during Operation Impending Doom One."

"Destruction of Irken property."

"Ignoring banishment protocols."

"Taking control of the Massive and injuring several elite Irken soldiers and the current almighty Tallest."

"Multiple blackouts."

"And for singlehandedly ruining Operation Impending Doom One with your careless and destructive tendencies."

"For those crimes, your punishment is death."

"However, seeing as how your PAK cannot be terminated via data deletion, an alternative method shall be used."

"B-But Zim thought… that you pardoned all of this…" Zim weakly insisted, his squeedlyspooch pounding a mile a minute. His Tallest appeared… different, as he had come to notice. Intimidating, even. They were looming over Zim, wearing flat, emotionless expressions.

"We did," replied Red. "But the Control Brains have decided that you're a threat to the universe. And quite frankly… I think they might be right."

"B-But I… this is… this is-"

Purple glowered down at him, a deep-set frown pulling at his lips. "What? Wrong? That's hilarious coming from the defective responsible for the deaths of several of his own kind. You slaughtered your own people out of a desire to prove yourself… so really… who's the one in the wrong here? If you want to save some of your dignity, you should accept your fate and die like a proper Irken, no?"

Zim's bottom lip quivered slightly. He was shaking, his face burning with the shame of being seen on his knees like a weakling by his leaders. "But Zim can't die… I still-"

"Still what? What were you doing on Earth that was so important? Playing with your trash unit? Making friends with the natives? You seem awfully close to that big-headed kid…"

Their faces immediately came to his mind, and he found that, upon looking at Dib, he wasn't filled with burning rage or annoyance like usual. "Gir… and the Dib…"

"Aww, look! He even knows his name!" Red jeered, snickering to himself.

Upon hearing their taunts and chuckles, Zim felt some of the strength he'd been losing returning, an inexplicable rage bubbling up inside him. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, his claws digging into the meat of his hand through the protective gloves. "Gir… may be a trash unit as you say… but he is my trash unit. And the Dib… the Dib is…"

What was Dib? He thought of Dib and what the name meant to him, what it made him think of. He used to associate that name with blind hatred, rage, absolute dislike. Perhaps a part of him still did. But now? Now, it reminded him of that stupid TV show that he was obsessed with, 'Mysterious Mysteries' or whatever. It reminded him of computers and spaceships and that 'bigfoot' creature he always went on about. He thought of 'haunted houses', he thought of Dib's old, beat up silver car that he drove to school every day during their last year. He thought of those rare nights they'd spend together when they weren't trying to kill each other.

He remembered the night Dib introduced him to frozen yogurt (which he could stomach in small amounts) and those french fries from the diner down the street from where Dib lived. He remembered the night he showed Dib a planet that was only visible on Earth once every 50 years. He remembered seeing the look of wonder on his face. Those amber eyes that seemed to sparkle with excitement, the bright grin that reminded Zim of a younger Dib. He was practically glowing and Zim could remember being in absolute awe of him. That was the first time that a human had ever captivated him in such a way.

Dib's name was now synonymous with everything. It was like he couldn't look at anything anymore without thinking of him.

"I… don't know what the Dib-thing is anymore. But he was my enemy for many years. And despite our fights, he at least… looked at me with respect… which is more than I can say for either of you..!"

The two leaders looked up at each other blankly before once again erupting into raucous laughter.

"Respect?" Red inquired after wiping a tear from his eye. "A defect like you? A defect that is responsible for the deaths of not only several Irken elites, but two Tallests?"

Purple smirked languidly. "We've given you a free pass for a long time Zim, but that time's up now."

"Irken Zim, your time has come."

"No!" Zim made a move to dart for the door, but four metal arms shot out from the floor and constricted around Zim's wrists and ankles, successfully binding him. A fifth metal arm snaked up behind him and jabbed a needle into the back of his neck.

"You cannot use your PAK to escape. This serum temporarily blocks all incoming brain signals to the PAK."

A heavy fog settled over his mind. If Zim weren't being held up by the metal arms, he would've collapsed onto his hands and knees yet again. He was struggling to keep his eyes open as the serum worked itself into his system. His entire body felt like it was on fire and he wanted nothing more than to drift off into a tempting slumber. But he forced himself to keep his eyes open. If he was going to die… then he was going to do it properly, right? If he could do nothing else right, then at least he should die like a proper Irken.

"Now then. Bring forth the chip."