By animeninjaNIPPON

"Yes! I've done it!" Dib cried out as he finished attaching the time warp to the spaceship. "Now, to write it all down in my 'Zim Files'…" He pulled out his notebook and pen and documented everything that happened since the last time he wrote in it. He put the date and time at the top of the first page of the entry, capped the pen, and put both objects into his trench coat pocket.

"Step one," he read on the time warp directions. "Turn the blue hand to the number of years you desire to travel back (up to 12 years). If you wish to travel forward, pull down the 'future lock' on the lower right after setting the time." That's where the "Zim Files" came in handy once again – Dib turned to the very first page and looked at the date and time. "One year…"

"Step two: Turn the green hand to the number of days you desire to travel back (up to 60 days). If you wish to travel forward…" He didn't need to finish, since he was only traveling backwards one year and three days. (Had he continued to read, he would have noticed that the red hand turned back hours, which would have made his journey easier.) He scanned the bottom of the direction sheet, which instructed him to shift to go back into time and regular to go forward. "Then what's the future lock for? Oh well…" He put away his notebook and did what the directions told him to do.

The spaceship made a loud whiiiir noise, then gained a green glow.

"Time to destroy the enemy I'll one day never meet," Dib exclaimed, shifting into reverse and dropping the time warp directions to the spaceship floor. With a maniacal laugh to rival that of his rival, he jerked the ship backwards and…

…Crashed into the garage.

"Aw MAN!" Dib pseudo-swore, stepping out of the ship to inspect the damage. "That's odd – it's morning already. I guess I was in there longer than I thought…"

In the distance, he heard his alarm clock go off. "But I don't set my alarm until I go to bed…" Then he heard Gaz's voice accompanied by his own. "Oh my gosh… I actually went back in time!" He impulsively looked down at his wristwatch. "Skool starts in about an hour… I'd better hurry up and stop Zim!" He climbed back into the ship, turned the time warp off, and drove it all the way to the skool. By the time he got there, Zim was just arriving.

The Irken Invader-in-disguise cruised up the steps in an "I'm going to take over the world and get an education in one fell swoop" manner. Dib carefully concealed Tak's spaceship in some bushes and ran into the skool through the back exit.

Zim hummed as he opened the door and strode down the hall. He stopped short in wide-eyed wonder as future Dib loomed over him.

"Keep your filthy alien claws off my planet, space boy!" Dib growled.

"ZIM does not have 'FILTHY ALIEN CLAWS'!" the green boy fired back. "Stand aside, worm baby – I am a NORMAL BOY on his way to SKOOL!"

He tried to walk around the human, but Dib stepped in his way. Zim tried again but was blocked that time as well. "I do not find AMUSEMENT in your little game!" He tried once more to get around the boy in the black trench coat then recoiled in terror. "GAAAH! There are MORE of you!" He turned around and bolted out the door.

"Get back here!" Dib yelled, racing after the alien and dropping his "Zim Files" in the process.

Present Dib, on his way to the bathroom, looked up. "Huh?" He caught a glimpse of the older Dib's trench coat hem as the skool doors slammed shut, then redirected his gaze to the floor. "Somebody dropped their notebook…" He leaned over to pick it up, then read the first page. "The Zim Files. Property of Vira Mindez…"

End of part three