Author's Notes: Even though this update came quickly, I still had to write the ending part twice. The same thing happened with "Their Poor Insane Sons". I don't know why, but with Invader Zim fics I find I have to rewrite them more often than I do when I write Transformers. I don't know why. Anyway, a huge thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. You guys gave me some great ideas for this chapter :)

Chapter 2

Companion

Dib was sitting at his desk waiting for the skool day to end. The previous night he had tried to get into Zim's house, but the lawn gnomes stopped him with some sort of sticky orange substance that spouted out of their mouths. Dib didn't even want to think about what kind of evil alien sludge that was.

He was going to be ready this time though. Dib had ran some tests on the sticky orange goo and determined it melted when it came into contact with Poop Cola. Figures. At any rate, Dib was going to load a water gun with Poop Cola and take it with him when he infiltrated Zim's house and planted the spy camera.

New Zim hadn't really made a nuisance of himself that day. He had listened attentively to the teacher, stayed out of everyone else's way, and ate his lunch like it was the last meal he would ever have. He was perfectly well behaved, and it creeped Dib out.

At lunch Dib had tried to tell the kids that Zim had been replaced by an evil alien duplicate, but of course he got the usual responses...

"You're crazy!"

"It's just puberty, dude."

"Go away! I'm on level 65!"

That last one of course had been Gaz. All Dib could do was sigh at the apathy and stupidity of his classmates. He had expected New Zim to grin evilly at Dib's ranting or scowl menacingly, but when Dib turned to see his new foe's reaction New Zim quickly turned away and ducked his head as if expecting to be attacked. Nothing about this guy seemed right.

The skool bell finally rang, and Dib was so eager to get out of there that he raced past all the other kids; dropping some papers from his backpack. This time he would expose Zim, or whoever this was, for the alien monster they really were!

"Hey Dib, you dropped your homework!" The teacher hollered, but Dib was long gone.

The teacher looked around to see who was left, and saw the tall green kid loading his stuff into that high tech backpack of his. Mr. Howkins noted bemusedly that the silver metal apparatus seemed nearly bottomless.

"You, uh, Zip!" The teacher had trouble recalling the kid's name, "Dib Membrane dropped his homework. I want you to take it to his house."

"Do I have to?" New Zim whined, "That big headed kid creeps me out."

"Yes, you have to," Mr. Howkins sighed, "Now get going!"

"Sir, yes sir!" New Zim barked as he stiffly took the papers and marched out of the room.

Great, I'm stuck on earth, everybody calls me Zim, and now I have to go to some smelly human house! New Zim grumbled in his own mind. I hate Zim! I mean, he was bad before, but now...I really hate him! I hope he dies after getting stuck up a Hogulus Beast's- Wait, what was I doing again? Oh yeah, I need to look up where the Dib kid lives. Yeesh! I hope he's in a good mood this time. I do not feel like getting vivisected by some backwater butchers on the galaxy's festering butt boil!

New Zim went to the information humans to locate the address of the Membrane household. As it turned out Dib wasn't just some random nut job, but rather the son of earth's most important scientific mind. That meant the kid had access to technology not available on the rest of the planet. Well, that at least explained why Zim never was able to destroy the guy.

New Zim randomly smirked when he thought about it though. Despite everything that had happened to him, he still found it perversely amusing that a so-called mighty Irken invader couldn't even defeat a human smeet. New Zim chuckled the rest of the way to the Membrane house.

Dib got past security this time, but he knew he had to stay hidden. He was wearing his invisibility hoodie so he could sneak around unnoticed, but he knew Zim wouldn't let his guard down for a second.

Well, the old Zim wouldn't... Dib reminded himself. What we're dealing with isn't really Zim. Maybe the new guy is stupider than Zim. Or maybe he's smarter. What if the New Zim actually captures me? Unlike Zim, he probably wouldn't stop to gloat. He might just kill me. Okay Dib, stop thinking about that. Just focus on where you want the camera...

Dib decided to go for below the big screen where Zim and Gir watched TV and where Zim could also contact his home planet. When Dib turned around to look at it though, he was shocked by what he saw.

It was completely destroyed.

There were pieces of broken glass all over the floor, and a big gaping hole as if someone had thrown something heavy into the screen. Dib looked inside the hole, and he saw the remains of Minimoose; broken beyond repair. Dib backed away from those lifeless robotic eyes and finally took in the rest of the house for the first time.

There were claw marks all over the walls, ripping away ugly green and yellow wallpaper and leaving gashes in the wood. The kitchen table and chairs were thrown against the wall and broken into splintery heaps. The robot parents had been torn apart. There was a path in the floor that was pristine, as if someone had attempted to clean up a little.

Dib gathered two things from the damage. One, someone or something had gone on a rampage in this house. Two, someone had been living here since then because they tried to clean up (poorly).

"Wait, where's Gir?" Dib suddenly asked himself, and then heard how loud his voice sounded in the completely silent house.

There was still the sound of a few ambient engines powering the base below, but other than that it was completely still. If New Zim lived here, then he wasn't home. That meant Dib might have time to explore the labs.

"What could've happened?" Dib spoke to himself so he could hear something in the eerily quiet house, "Did the new Zim kill the old Zim? Was Zim captured and replaced with this taller knockoff? Why would someone do this? Was Zim's mission to conquer the earth given to a better invader? I have to know more!"

With those words Dib flushed himself down the kitchen toilet and took the lift to the labs. He hoped he could find some answers there.

New Zim didn't even bother knocking. He just opened the door and was going to drop the papers off to the Dib-thing. He didn't see the Dib though, but he saw another human sitting with a laptop and paying attention to no one and nothing around her. She looked completely distracted, and for a moment New Zim was envious of her ability to turn off the outside world with primitive digital entertainment. New Zim was curious about the device, so he looked over her shoulder to see what she was doing. It looked like some sort of simulation.

"You're in my light, Dib," Gaz snapped without looking up.

"What are you doing?" New Zim inquired with genuine interest, "What is that thing you're holding with the anti-gravity gun on screen?"

"I'm playing Portal, stupid," Gaz replied rudely, "It's a retro computer game about surviving a laboratory/prison/torture chamber. Who are you anyway?"

"My name is...Zim," New Zim cringed when he said it out loud, "So, what's with the pretty box?"

"In the game it's my best friend," Gaz explained, "I have to burn it if I want to live. It's called a companion cube."

"Why is a box your best friend?" New Zim asked skeptically.

"The level is based on a psychological phenomenon involving prolonged periods of isolation," Gaz explained, not nearly as vindictive since she got to talk about the game instead of Dib's stupid alien hunting or whatever, "People that are alone for a long time start to believe lifeless objects have personalities. Portal 2 actually did this concept better since the lifeless object they pair you with is a British robot and his AI goes all haywire and he betrays you. Of course before that he actually impedes your progress and if you listen to him you'll fail."

"Huh...interesting," New Zim muttered noncommittally.

That description reminded New Zim of something, but what? Oh yeah, Zim's defective SIR unit, GIR. Zim still had that broken robot even all these years later, and it for the most part actually did impede his progress. Zim had said something about that GIR though, something that stuck with New Zim...

No one cared about me, no one except GIR! Zim had shouted furiously as he loomed over his adversary. He might not be all that useful, but he kept me alive and kept me sane. And now, my best friend will kill your best friend...

"Hey, moron!" Gaz shouted New Zim out of his horrible flashback, "I said, do you want to try co op mode?"

"Wha? Um, sure, I guess," New Zim mumbled, not having a clue what Gaz was talking about, "By the way, who are you?"

"I'm Gaz, remember?" Gaz replied irritably, "You know Zim, you seem even stupider than usual. Okay, I'm blue and your orange. Rule number one if you want to play co op mode with me is that I am ALWAYS blue. Got it?"

"Got it," New Zim nodded obediently; a little nervous about how hostile this creature looked.

"Good. Now, do what I say, and we'll get through these levels faster," Gaz instructed.

Dib walked home after planting his spy cams. He had spent so much time in the house that he planted two extra cameras; one in the lab and one in the kitchen. He still planted one under the TV since he figured the living room was a good place to see if Gir or Zim would return.

As he walked up to his house Dib noticed that the front door was slightly open. When he got inside he could hear shouting, and when he saw the reason why his jaw dropped.

"Drop the orb in the portal now!" Gaz screamed at New Zim.

"I'm trying!" New Zim shouted back, "I can't time this jump just right!"

"You have ten seconds or I'm doing it!" Gaz snapped.

"Okay. Can I work the gel dispenser again?" New Zim asked hopefully.

"We don't need anymore gel!" Gaz hurriedly snapped, "Just get that ball in the- there. Now we can complete the level."

"Gaz, what is he doing here!?" Dib asked incredulously.

"Go away, Dib. We're busy," Gaz growled.

"Oh, Dib beast! Good, I came here to bring you the homework you dropped," New Zim greeted him amiably as he handed Dib a few pages of algebra homework, "So, what took you so long?"

"None of your business, space boy!" Dib retorted, "Now what are you doing with my sister, you alien monster?"

"Uh...I think she's my new box," New Zim replied; confusing the teenager, "So Gaz, you got any other strategy games in your collection? I'd love to learn more about them."

"I've got one called Mid-Afternoon of Unpleasantness. It's a survival horror game. I also have every installment of Conquest of The Suburbs games and Braid. That doesn't even scratch the surface, but those are probably the ones you'd be the most interested in."

"Do you have a game that teaches you how to find food?" New Zim asked Gaz, "Other than skool I don't know where to find anything to eat."

"Just go to the store, whiner," Gaz scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Oh, and if you want to play with me ever again, you'd better practice. You're the worst Portal 2 co op player I've ever seen, and I've seen some real noobs."

Dib just stood there gaping as this new alien and Gaz exchanged pleasantries. Gaz hardly ever spoke to anyone willingly, yet here she was talking with New Zim! Whoever this guy was, he was a master at manipulation. Dib wasn't falling for that dopey act anymore though. After seeing what he saw at Zim's house Dib knew the truth. This alien was dangerous.

Dib sat at his computer that night checking the camera feeds in Zim's house. It took a long time, but New Zim finally returned home. He was carrying plastic bags that seemed to be full of food and sodas. He plopped them on the couch and then sat down. He took out a package of muffins and started eating, coughing every few seconds because earth food was bad for him.

Dib watched the monitor carefully to see if New Zim would incriminate himself. The alien didn't even bother to take off his disguise, and he frankly didn't seem to want to do anything other than eat and sigh. It was the waffle incident all over again!

Dib sat there for a half hour before the alien finally got off the couch and did something. He was reaching for a tablet that had been stuffed under the couch. He then muttered numbers to himself, making Dib wonder if they were some sort of secret evil alien code. Finally after rattling off numbers and words Dib couldn't hear, the alien slicked back his black wig and muttered "I guess I could call."

Call! Yes! The alien was going to contact someone! Dib was going to hear all about this vile fiend's mission, or at least what planet he was working for. He hoped.

New Zim dialed a number and waited by the video screen for someone to pick up. Dib couldn't see the video feed New Zim was seeing, but the voice that answered was unmistakable.

"Zim? Why are you calling me?" Gaz's voice sounded tinny on Dib's computer feed, but it was definitely her, "You were just here!"

"I know, but I've been doing some thinking," New Zim replied calmly.

"Oh, did you hurt yourself?" Gaz asked sarcastically.

"Listen, Gaz human," New Zim replied without acknowledging her contempt, "I was wondering if you would tutor me on how to play video games better."

"Seriously? Why? Some stupid plan for world domination?" Gaz asked snidely.

"Nah, power isn't everything it's cracked up to be," New Zim shrugged, "I just need a way to kill time on this awful dirt ball, and you seem to have it all figured out. Besides, I don't wanna start talking to boxes and defective robots. Can we have the lessons at your house? I'd invite you to my lair, but it's kind of...what's a nice word for everything's broken?"

"Heh heh," Gaz chuckled lowly, startling Dib, "Sure, you can come to my house, but I expect you to pay me for the lessons."

"Fine," New Zim shrugged, "I'll bring snacks. What do you recommend?"

"Bloaty's Pizza Hog," Gaz said insistently, "Bring pizza, extra cheese, extra pepperoni, thin crust. Got it?"

"I'm writing it down now..." New Zim replied, the marker clutched in his fist like before, "How many of these pizza things can you eat? I'm thinking I'll just get two or three for myself. I only want a sample."

"Three pizzas by yourself? You're turning into a real pig, Zim," Gaz snorted; the amusement clear in her tone, "I gotta go. I just found a player two online for my Piggies of Wrathworld online game. Be here on Saturday at 2:00 PM, and don't be late."

Gaz hung up, and Dib tried to wrap his head around what was happening. New Zim wanted to hang out with Gaz? That was insane! Nobody wanted to hang out with Gaz! Was this part of his evil plan, to brainwash his sister? Maybe he wanted to invent a video game that would make the human race do his evil bidding. Dib was concerned now, but he didn't yet have evidence against this imposter, so he continued to watch the screen.

New Zim sighed wearily after hanging up with Gaz and started eating more snacks. It was clear half of the food burned him or hurt him in some way, but that still didn't stop this guy from eating. Dib was kind of impressed and kind of disgusted by this behavior.

Then New Zim pulled out his tablet again, and while Dib couldn't see the tablet he could see New Zim get that faraway look in his contacts covered eyes again.

"I wish you were here," New Zim said to the tablet, so Dib assumed he was looking at a picture, "This place is spooky, and there's a human here that keeps trying to expose me. I don't know what I'm gonna do. The humans will figure out I'm an alien soon enough, and then they'll cut me open and put me on display. I'm sorry I wasn't brave like you. I'm sorry I didn't stand up to him. I couldn't. I was too scared. I'm so sorry!"

New Zim then began to sob as he threw the tablet on the ground and hugged his knees. He buried his face in his legs, and suddenly Dib felt like an intruder for watching this private moment. In all the years he had spied on Zim the little Irken had never cried, but this guy, whoever he was, was bawling.

When New Zim lifted his head up his wig fell off, and one of his contacts came loose. Dib then saw it, irrefutable proof that this wasn't Zim. Zim had vermillion colored eyes, but this Irken's eye was purple!