"You know, you were pretty bad ass back there. That look in your eyes when he threw me was amazing."
"You know, weren't too bad yourself, Dib. You managed to take on two of them, and you still won. Even if you were stupid enough to nearly get me killed while you fought."
"Two? I took down all three of them. I broke the first one's jaw, and then I took down the one you were fighting when the one I tripped crashed into him."
"Fine, Dib. If it will make you feel better, you took on three Juoloq single-handedly, and walked out with hardly a bruise."
"Damn right. And when we get back home, we'll show those Yulom you don't mess with Earth."
"No, Earth is very easy to mess with. It's the one human who's suborn enough to keep fighting that's something to worry about."
"Yeah..."
"You know, we should do this again sometime."
"Starting bar fights?"
"It was fun."
"It was."
Word of the fight must have traveled fast. Every alien they passed by was looking and talking. Zim seemed to have a bit of extra march in his step as everyone was staring. Dib didn't quite like that they were probably talking about how they won a bar fight. But those lizards started it, even if Zim was the one who pissed them off.
He hoped no one really held it against them. A part of him still wanted
"Hey Zim... before I went looking for you. I saw one of the Yulza."
"You mean it spoke to you without Zim present?"
"Not just spoke, but it was visible. I actually saw it. And it talked to me about how I should save Earth, that I was their only hope and all that stuff. It also said I changed you. Yeah right. I've tried changing people's minds for years, trying to get them to see the truth, and not one of them looked another way. And they say I changed you?"
"But you did. Zim would probably still be destroying things if it wasn't for you. I bet I would have already destroyed Earth if it wasn't for you. But you were different, something about you made me stop. All the humans were stupid cattle waiting to be slaughtered, but you were something else."
Dib laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. You're something else too. The only Irken to feel love. That's definitely something else."
Zim gave three forced laughs. "It is. Come on, we should hurry up. Earth's in trouble from alien forces, as usual."
Dib's smile dropped to a fake half smile. "Yeah, I can't wait."
Zim started to pick up the pace while Dib started to slow down. A part of him still wanted to see Earth again. No matter what, it was his home, were he was born, where he grew up, the only place in the universe he knows, but he also knows that his father was down there somewhere. That the planet was inhabited with billions of people who either hate him, don't care, or want him for their own gain. No one really wanted him, not even his family. Out in space, he's met an alien who cares. Creatures who don't think he's just crazy, but someone who can make a difference without having to be changed. They still just wanted him for their own gain, but...
Dib noticed a poster stuck to the wall of one of the buildings. He didn't know the writing, but strangely, there was something that he could recognize on it. It was one of those square QR codes that were on every advertisement and item in the world. They were used so phones and scanners could read them, but why would one be here? This one had a red X through it, but he couldn't figure out what it meant. Those things were created for human technology, he couldn't see a reason why they would be here, on this alien station, light years away from Earth.
"Zim? What's with this poster?"
Zim was almost too far ahead to hear Dib. Dib waited as Zim had to push his way back through the crowd to look at the poster Dib was talking about. Dib stared at it. It felt like some sort of dark omen, something to warn him about something. Zim looked over the poster quickly.
"It's just a propaganda poster against Irkens."
"Then what's with the QR code being crossed out like that?"
"There's no code in there! It's the symbol of the Big Brains. It represents Irken society."
"Zim, I think we need to hurry back quickly."
"Why? It's just a poster."
"Those aren't just the symbols for the Irken Big Brains. It's all over Earth as well."
Dib was ready to leave, but Zim just stared at the symbol closer, trying to see if there was anything different about it.
"I don't see anything human about it."
"The Yulza said that the Yulom had infiltrated Earth. If what I'm suspecting is right, then this is the sign of the Yulom, and the Yulom already have full control of Earth."
"But that's stupid. If that's true, then that would mean Irk has been taken over as well."
Dib grabbed Zim's hand and began to try and pull him along, but Zim stood still. "That's exactly what I'm saying. We can help the Irkens later, but for now we have to get home."
"But... Why would I be banished to a place that the Big Brains already had control over?"
"Maybe no one but the Yulom and Yulza knew. Now come on. Who knows what they have planned for Earth."
"But, I'm not a bad guy. Am I? I know I wanted to make my tallest proud. Prove that my memories deserved to join the ranks of the elite."
"You're not anymore. You're not a pawn of the Yulom anymore, no matter what the Yulza said. I changed you and now we're going to change the world, maybe the universe and become heroes and loved forever and ever. But we have to get moving."
"Do you mean it?"
"Of course I do. You're awesome Zim. I've seen you do amazing things that I probably couldn't have even thought of. Together, we might stand a chance at making things right, on Earth, and if you want, Irk as well."
"Zim is awesome."
The enthusiasm wasn't fully there as he said it. He smiled a little, but beyond that, it looked a little sad. He looked like all the energy has been sucked out of him. Dib stopped trying to pull Zim back to the ship, and instead he wrapped his arms around him. Zim gasped as Dib squeezed him close.
"You are. You are the most awesome person I've ever met, and I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't come into my life. I don't care who's invading what, I just care that you're here."
Zim returned the hug. "I know. Come on, I don't want to be on this moon anymore. Let's find someplace better."
"Sounds like a plan."
With hands held, they started running through the crowds, from time to time clothes lining some smaller aliens who didn't get out of the way. Even though they were probably taking down about a dozen aliens who didn't even see them coming, Dib didn't want to let go of Zim's hand. The thought of letting go of Zim's hand barely could barely even occur to him.
Zim's hand felt hard underneath his glove. It was like a tree branch covered in silk. Zim's fingers fit through Dib's like a puzzle piece that had found its partner. Partner, his whole life he would have almost killed to hear that word. It seemed to fit now. Partner. The word made Dib smile as they ran through the crowd. Not even the cute, fuzzy little aliens they hurt could remove the grin that had formed on Dib's face.
As they ran, Dib kept seeing Zim out of the corner of his eye, looking just as excited as Dib was. Every now and then, Dib could see Zim looking back at him, and in those moments, it felt as if time slowed down. As fast as they were going, it felt like it was taking too long. Quick glaces lasted for hours, and the time in between those glaces was days long.
Dib was now running, only staring at Zim, taking in the electric shivers that ran down his spine as he stared at his alien partner. They were the same feelings he had when he first confronted Zim, and every confrontation after for years. Now as they ran, it was all he could feel, like a pulse went through Zim's hand and into Dib.
Their ship appeared from behind all the buildings. The small alien gas attendants, or whatever they were called out here, were working on cleaning up the outside of the ship. It was now sparkling. It looked more new than when Dib had first seen it. Dib and Zim hurried up, probably knocking over a few more of those small, fuzzy aliens they seemed to be taking out every time they moved, and reached the ship.
The aliens working on the ship jabbered at them, but Dib couldn't figure out what they were getting so upset about. They were probably worried that Dib and Zim were going to mess things up. It looked like they had even cleaned inside the ship as well. It seemed as if the very thin layer of dust that coated the floor to the storage room was gone. Even the carpets in the upper part of the ship looked like they had been cleaned.
Dib and Zim went to the control room and sat down in their seats. Zim started up the ship, and it roared to life. The aliens were scrambling off, nearly jumping to the ground to get off of it. Zim seemed to be searching through something, as the ship began to charge up in preparation for lift off.
"Good, the ship's properly charged. I was worried they wouldn't give us enough power to get anywhere good."
He closed off those menus and went back to launching the ship. The small aliens were waving as the ship's engines created more power. The ship jumped up, and then slowly rose above the station. Dib could still see those small gas station aliens waving as they left. They were even beginning to jump up.
As Dib watched them a little more, it didn't look so much like they were waving goodbye. Some shaking their fists. He could see their mouths moving, as if they were saying anything, but in the ship they couldn't hear them.
"They kind of look angry," Dib said.
"Of course they are."
"What were they saying back there?"
"Well, Zim's ability to understand their language is limited, but I believe it went somewhere along the lines of 'You've got to pay for that fuel!'"
"Wait, we're stealing gas?"
"If you want to call it stealing. I like to think of it as an advanced payment for saving the universe."
The ship turns around as Zim sets their course for Earth. Dib leaned back before the force of the ship's take off pressed him against his seat. Zim was laughing like a maniac. The force died down to weightlessness and Dib floated in his seat as Zim started to set the ship to run in autopilot.
He spun around in his chair to face Dib. Dib looked at Zim, whose face had gone completely serious. "You realize what we just agreed to, right?"
"You mean saving the Earth? Of course. I've done it a thousand times when I was a kid."
"Against me. If we're right about the Yulom, then this might be even more dangerous than anything we have ever faced. I don't know about you, but I want to go in with a plan."
"You want a plan?"
"Zim always has a plan. Everything Zim does is planned."
"So, what's our plan?"