By animeninjaNIPPON

Dib slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He seemed to be in some sort of alien base, strapped to an autopsy table. "GAAH!"

"Be quiet, Earth-scum," snapped the red-eyed alien.

"Tak? What are you doing?"

"TAK?" The alien's eyes narrowed. "How DARE you confuse me with that psycho SHE-IRKEN! I am ZIM!"

"ZIM? THE ZIM?" Dib exclaimed.

"Yes, worm baby, the Almighty ZIM! The one that YOU chased off this planet a long time ago!"

"What? I never met you."

"LIAR!" Zim shook his fist in Dib's face. "I was on my way to SKOOL, like a normal Earth-monkey. Then YOU came after me in your SPACESHIP and attacked me with a SNACK-ROCKET! I somehow wound up on Hobo 13, where a short, ugly Irken named Skoodge informed me that I was in fact EXILED to Earth on a PHONY MISSION! I didn't believe him, of course, but then the Tallest found me and gave me back to Sizz-Lorr, who made me work on Food Courtia, where I was stuck for TWENTY YEARS!"

"I haven't even been ALIVE for twenty years," Dib stated.

"It's a time-space thingy…I dunno." Zim walked away. "I'll deal with YOU later. Come, GIR! We have to stop TAK!"

"WAIT!" Dib called. "Let me help you."

Zim turned around slowly. "Why should I trust a HUMAN like you?"

"Well, as it turns out, I might not be a human…"

"Huh?"

"Long story. Anyway, I want to stop Tak, too – hey, wait a minute. She's your kind…why do YOU want to stop her?"

"That's NONE of your BUSINESS!"

Well, I guess I can't help you, then…"

"I don't NEED your help." Zim turned to leave. "Let's go, Gir!"

Gir jumped onto Zim's head. "Yaaay!"

Dib smiled. "If you let me help you, I promise I won't do that…"

In the blink of an eye, Dib was un-strapped from the table. He got up. "So, does this mean 'yes'?"

"I could USE some assistance," Zim mumbled.

"SILENCE! As soon as I'm done with Tak, I'll destroy YOU and take over Earth MYSELF!"

Dib cringed. "But if you're of the same race, why don't you just let her present Earth to your leaders?"

Zim narrowed one eye. "Are you QUESTIONING my methods?"

"Uh…yeah."

"FINE!" Zim paced back and forth on the floor. "It was twenty years ago. The Tallest summoned me from Hobo 13 and – HEY!" He spun around sharply and grabbed Dib by the shirt collar. "How do I know you won't use this AGAINST me?"

"I know nothing about you, alien!" Dib yelled, breaking free from Zim's grasp. "All I know about you is what Vira Mindez wrote!"

"WHO?"

"Haven't you heard of her?" Dib took out the notebook. "She kept this diary of her encounters with you. Well, up until now I was starting to think it was made up…"

"NEVER heard of her!" Zim announced. "Anyway, it all started twenty years ago…"

End of part nine