Birthday timeline:

Zim and Gir talked before wandering into the workshop after Stell left for Skool

Mary gets her cupcake

Zim and Gir make the coat before Stell storms back in during last period and rushes to finish the Mecha

Tak and Skooge call when Skool lets out

Surprise party and Mecha fight

Blue radios Zim interrupting his call (Skooge takes initiative and calls Mala, Dune and Mood)

Intruders

Stell and Mary wake up in the destroyed Mecha

The Raid, infiltration

Taken to Resisty (The three Gaz's arrive)

Purples experiments stable/unwraps coat

Purple rushes to put the PAK on Mary/Clone Mary

Mary wakes from her coma to Stell and Red's standoff

Raid continues, Teacher escapes below to Base

Stell panics at Mary's life sign stopping and trio race to the roof

Others are on the roof with a dead Mary.

As Mary raced behind Purple (curse his long legs! She barely makes it to his knees!) Mary's mind was reeling over the last twenty four hours.

Everything changed when she ran into Gir yesterday morning. Was it really just yesterday?

She was so excited for a lead on the Dib Ranking. Any scrap of information, she soaked up.

She knew it was important. Knowing its history. And she was right.

And here she is now, behind the former Almighty Tallest that Zim himself succeeded.

About to be cloned.

Cloned to save the original Dib.

Granted the rest of the plan is unknown, but still.

Both rulers both agree they need to fix things.

And as she planned with them earlier, it really sank in… If they didn't think of this clone idea, she really would've…

Gir led them to a familiar medical ward for Human use that she was in before. Grabbing the hospital gown, she left the room to change and to fold her clothes for the clone to wear later.

When she came back in, Gir was explaining the differences between Human and Irks and used a bunch of medical jargon that went in one ear and out the other.

She sat on the table.

Nova came in with the other set of clothes she wore this morning with Stell.

"Thank you Nova."

Nova saluted and left.

Putting on the Jacket because she was starting to get chilly, she got comfy until they were ready.

By the time they got started, Zim came back in and took Charge.

Purple could only stare. Clearly still trying to compute older Zim with Chaotic smaller Zim. Mary snickered at his expression. Zim looked up confused.

"What?"

"Nothing." Mary giggled. Zim started hooking her up to the usual machines as he looked at her.

"Are you ready? In the vision, when Purple put the PAK on you, you started to seizure." He looked at her with concern.

"I remember. Can you knock me out for that? I was out of it there too." Purple nodded, remembering that too.

"Very well." He trailed before pausing. "Mary?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you helping Zim?" He asked softly.

"What do you mean?"

As if gathering his thoughts, he hesitated before continuing. "I have taken over this planet for 3,000 Earth years. Enslaved or destroyed other worlds as well. Left your world in ruins. You were 9 Earth years old when we attacked your home and killed your family before I made you a Dib. You fought us for two years until just yesterday when Gir brought you to me." He faced her.

"WHY!? What has changed to make you want to help Zim?!"

Looks like she wasn't the only one trying to process recent events.

I simply smiled. It looked like I slapped him, not expecting it.

"First, let's get this started. After, while we wait for Skool to get out, I'll tell you then. It's a long story."

Zim fiddled with the pad thinking it over. Purple continued to stare amazed at Zim thinking things through.

"Okay… I'll hold you to that."

My smile softened before I nodded.

We got started.

~/~

Meanwhile, with Stell and Blue

With Stell clearly distracted, Blue easily picked up the slack with no complaints. Even going as far as telling her to sit somewhere to sort her thoughts.

Sitting in her swivel chair that Teal dragged in, Stell hugged her legs, gripping them tightly.

Mary smiling at the cupcake (Mary in that colorful outfit smiling at the cupcake).

Mary at the surprise party out in the ruins.

Laughing as they shot at each other.

Vision after vision flooded her mind.

Everything Zim said this morning echoed in her ears. Their first briefing!

She gripped her legs enough to bleed.

Irks were brought here to live! On Irk they continuously became literally mindless!

Stell is the last Irken made with the very last scraps of Irk DNA.

The Invader vs Dib was taught to be a training ground for exceptional Irks, to find the very best and Rank them Gaz. THE highest rank one can achieve besides Almighty!

But instead…

Those brought here are actually those with any form of independent thought left. Any form of self identity.

Does… does that mean that all her training was pointless!? Did none of that matter just so long as she could have her own thoughts?!

Being abandoned at the academy for getting Nova instead of a SIR? Did Blue notice as well? Is that why he didn't mind me hanging around him and Teal?

Wait… his smile when I asked to keep Nova's personality!

I looked up at Blue laughing at something Teal is showing him on that lanyard of his.

Don't recall anyone in the academy laughing like that. Yeah, you get the usual maniacal laughter. But this? Blue seems so… free? Like there's no weight or tenseness about him.

I smiled before looking down again.

Does he see me like that? Do I seem weightless to him? Thinking about it… No. I still feel something holding me back.

But what?

Hmmm…

Mary must be waiting there for Purple to figure out Human anatomy. She's probably in that hospital gown. We need her normal clothes for the clone after all.

"Nova!" Nova startled from where she was somewhere on the Mecha and flew down to salute before Stell.

"Can you get the clothes Mary changed into this morning please? When you do, send them to her so she has something to change into after the procedure."

Nova grinned before taking off.

I smiled.

"You know…" Blue startled me. I looked up to him leaning on his arms, hands holding up his head as he smiled at me. "Zim was onto something with all this."

"Oh?"

"At our first briefing, he explained how our actual 'mission' (He used finger quotes at that) contradicts what he tells us at the academy. Frankly, after everything we learned today, I don't blame the duplicity."

"Yeah… It does make sense."

"All of this is because of his own experiences with Dib. The first Dib. And then what Purple practically screamed at Zim earlier? Dib had very positive experiences with him. And then he was gone. Whatever happened in that last battle… sparked ALL of this!" He gestured everywhere.

"It appears we have two mysteries left on our hands then." Stell sat up and lowered her legs.

"Oh?"

"The first: What happened that day with that last Battle with Dib. The second: Why is Mary even helping us at all!" She screeched in confusion. Blue leaned back at the scream.

"Just yesterday we were enemies! NOW She's getting along with us like old friends? Look at ME! When have we ever gotten along so well!?" She gripped her head in frustration.

Blue blinked rapidly at that.

"Huh… Good question…"

~/~

Zim and Gir

"And now we wait." Zim set down the pad and stared at a dozing Mary with a PAK on her back. Clone already starting to grow in a glass chamber in the next room.

Zim crossed his arms.

"Zim." Purple smiled, reaching for him. Zim looked back a little.

"I really am proud of how far you came. And, I really am sorry for how I treated you before."

Zim gave a small smile.

"That was all Zim really wanted." His voice cracked. "You were my leaders back then. I tried so hard to be noticed, to be told I did a good job…"

"And you did Zim. You did very good."

Zim smiled a little bigger at that.

After a moment, Zim walked away to compose himself. Purple let him.

"Anyway. We have a little while. What are we going to do with all these PAKs you made?" Zim asked curiously.

"Admittedly, my plan was rushed. The reason the raid even happened was because I asked them to even confirm the device even still existed!" He threw up his arms in exasperation. "It's been milenia, I had no way of knowing if you even scrapped it. It didn't take much to convince them, those there were genuinely curious about your mysterious base." He grinned. Zim chuckled darkly.

"I'm sure they were!" He laughed. Purple shook his head.

"Basically, I made several because I wasn't sure how many were actually going to work due to lack of proper resources found easily on Irk."

Zim nodded in acknowledgement at that.

"So, IF it existed, which it does. Then I was going to test the PAK on the current Dib. I was unsure of your process for picking them apart from the other Humans. So I went on the assumption if it works on Mary, here, it'll work on the others."

Zim nodded at his reasoning.

"Other than that, I simply had to figure out the logistics of time travel. What I can and can't do. What I said to Mary earlier IS true, I had no knowledge of Red's clones. So I had to settle with the PAKs."

"That makes sense. And now that we are aware, how do the clones come into play?" Zim has an idea, several, but he wants to know what Purple is thinking."

"Zim. If the clones can indeed time travel, then we can use that."

"Oh? What are you thinking My T-" He blinked. Shaking his head. "Purple?"

Purple let that slip slide for Zim's sake.

"Think about it. You told me it now takes an hour to clone someone? That Mary clone in the vision was very convincing. What if we tricked past you with a clone?"

Zim glared, but thought about it. "I'm listening."

"That last battle, what if we made you THINK Dib died?"

Zim dropped the pad he was holding. Purple faced him head on.

"IF the clone Mary works for time travel, we have her go earlier that day to get his DNA to make a fake. When that battle happens, and Dib is about to die, we distract your counterpart just before he confirms his death. We save the real Dib and switch with the fake. We put the PAK on the real Dib to copy everything. We let those events play out. Then we take his PAK and yours even farther into the past. That way, you two can save your younger selves when you first arrived on Earth all those years ago."

Zim just gapes at him.

"With older you-" Purple gestures to Zim. "And Older Dib, you get the Dib you wanted back and you can save your younger selves in the process. It'll be YOUR turn to live Zim."

Zim stumbled and had to lean against the wall for support.

"And… and if it doesn't?" Purple's gaze softened at how Small Zim sounded asking that.

"We still have the PAKs. Like Mary said, we can switch them out for ones at the Smeeteries back then. I can leave instructions to my younger self to follow to make sure nothing happens to you. These data pads are objects after all."

"Mastah? Purple?" Gir spoke up, startling the two.

"Gir?"

The little bot simply walked over to Zim. He reached into Zim's pocket to pull out the container. The two Irks watched curiously at what he was up to.

Gir opened it to reveal its contents. Reaching in, Gir pulled out the very old piece of cloth. Holding it out to them, he waited for them to notice.

"Gir?" Zim wavered, unsure how much more he can handle today. "What is-" He stopped himself as his eyes widened.

"Zim? I'm confused, what is-"

Zim snatched the cloth and stood before racing to the computer. "Blood!"

"Blood?"

"Blood!" Zim confirmed, far more cheerful. "Human blood! Dibs blood! His DNA!" He was giddy now.

"Computer! Scan the blood on this cloth!"

Scanning… Scanning… Trace DNA found, Confirmed: Dib Membrane.

"YES!" Zim scooped up Gir and twirled them around. He rapidly thanked Gir for his forethought and held him close.

"Purple!" Zim whipped around to face him. Purple stood at attention. "Get the next chamber ready! We have another clone to make, make it two for Dib just in case! I have a new plan to add to yours! Gir get the rest of the chambers ready. How many PAKs do you have?"

They got to work.