Notes:

Thanks everyone for all your support and lovely comments! I have a few chapters all set up. Now, I don't promise updating every week or anything since, when I've tried to do that in the past I never followed through. But, I promise to update much more often. Happy Halloween, btw!


Earth. Zim held a tiny orb in his hands. A model of the planet he currently resided on. He cupped it between his palms, lips turned down hard. The planet filled with giant oceans of acid, in which millions of strange creatures lived. Oceans that could be blue and green, purple and black. The land with its varied environments; ice wastelands, dense forests, golden plains, mountains that went up and up for hundreds of miles…and the cities that the humans had created. Giant and glowing, smog filled and packed with people. Earth was so raw, so new and yet ancient.

Dib's words echoed in his head, resonated inside him, hollowly. And that was how he had felt for days. Hollow. It seemed unreal and he was constantly fighting inside himself to believe it. And yet, a part of him knew without a doubt that it was true. Had known all along. It was the other side that he'd always listened to. That shoved away anything he didn't like, lied to himself over and over again, to protect him from a very sickening truth.

That he wasn't all he had wanted to be. That in the vast machine he'd been hatched into, he was meaningless and try as hard as he might…he had remained that way. Small and broken and worthless. Irkens were fine with that, were supposed to be okay with that. With being replaceable. With being nothing more but a small cog in a well-oiled machine. And he had dared to think he was more, had always wanted to reach further than they had let him. He wanted to be taller, to be smarter and better than those around him. He'd never settled and that made him…

Zim clutched the tiny ball harder, a strange pain in his chest. Being an Invader had been his only chance. And Earth had been his last resort. And now…he cradled it in his palms, blinking back a strange blurriness. Earth was his home, this base was his home. Earth with all its faults, its ugliness, its filthy inhabitants, its bloody history. And Earth with all its beauty, its flowers and sunsets and strange creatures and its music.

Earth was his. Maybe not in the irken history data banks. But, in everything else. It was his. And Zim would do anything to protect what was his. Even if that meant working with the Dib. No longer enemies. But, allies.

Zim knew what allies were. Irk had had many. He'd made a few in the past. And they had all ended badly. In betrayal. Distantly, he could hear Gir singing. It was a backdrop to his own thoughts.

Dib had seemed sincere. The human was easy to read, especially after Zim had known him for years. He knew when he was lying. It was in his eyes, in the tilt to his head, in the way he clenched his right hand into a tight fist. None of that had been present in their little meeting. The idea of Dib gone from his life was…well, it was deeply unpleasant. And Zim had no idea why. If he dug deep down he would've realized that it was why he became so bereft when Dib decided to do other things than chase ZIm for a while, why he was so miserable when Dib had left him for real science or to try and get away from the 'lie' their battle was, why Zim had never hesitated to save the earth boy's life. But, that was just one of those things that he had pressed deep down into his mind, and there was only so much he could handle confronting right now.

Allies. It tasted strange on his tongue. But, being allies with the Dib wasn't the worst thought in the whole world. It meant Dib was still in his life. The idea tore him in two directions, disappointment and relief. It meant that he had something…real. That had been a word that Dib had repeated several times when they'd last met. He ran a thumb across the surface of the tiny earth.

'Someone is at the door. It is the Dib-human.' The computer announced with its booming voice.

An immediate feeling of suspicion and panic arose automatically as he stepped on the elevator up to the living room. And he had to force himself to shove that down. There was no need for that anymore. No need to spend hours and hours trying to come up with ways to destroy the earth even though each new plan was somehow too hard or too ridiculous or too easy. Earth had deserved something better, a better more elaborate death. It had to be perfect. The same had been true for Dib. No easy assassination plan would suffice.

Now though…Zim realized he was still holding the tiny planet and placed it carefully on the counter as he stepped from the elevator. Now, he didn't need to worry about that. It actually felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Now, he was doing the opposite.

The alien grabbed his contacts and wig from a nearby drawer. Earth would be protected. Earth and by extension everyone on it. Not just by its determined human savior either. He opened the door, straightening his wig. Dib stood on the other side, looking cautious. Zim lifted his chin.

Now earth had him too. And yes, they were very lucky. He was amazing after all.