"You can't stay here," Dib told Zim when he emerged from the panic room.
"Why?"
"They know you were here. I told them you spent the night and left early this morning. They will probably come back when they can't pick up your trail." Dib began hurrying around the lab, collecting things on a table next to the stairs.
"Where can I go?"
"I have a plan."
Zim started to follow him as he ascended the stairs, but the human stopped at the top and looked back at him.
"Grab three boxes of food and five gallons of water from that room." He then disappeared.
Zim collected the things and set them on table. Dib returned with a large box as he was setting down the last gallon.
"What are we doing?" Zim asked.
"Leaving. Go to the cabinet in the far right corner of my dad's lab. Inside the third drawer is a black plastic box. Bring it."
Zim left to find the cabinet as Dib was quickly organizing different things in the box. The human placed his backpack, with his computer, camera, and a bundle of knives within it, into the box carefully.
Zim brought him the black case several moments later.
The human opened it to be sure its contents were in place.
Within, a handgun, polished and unused, was tucked within the velvety lining of the box along with three small cases of bullets. He closed the case and placed it into the box.
"Grab as much as you can of the food and water and follow me."
Dib picked up the box and ascended the stairs. Zim followed, carrying two boxes of food.
Dib led him to the garage. When he turned on the light, Zim gasped.
"That's Tak's ship, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
Dib opened the ship and tucked the box behind the passenger seat.
"Put those boxes wherever you can," he instructed, then went back inside the house to get the rest of the food.
Zim set them behind the driver's seat and looked over the ship, curious as to how Dib managed to get it in working condition. He noticed that all the Irken was changed to English, and the controls were different.
Dib returned with two more boxes, which he tucked into the ship.
"How did you do all this?" Zim asked, circling the ship.
"A lot of work. It landed in my yard about five years ago and I have been working on it since."
Zim nodded and followed him into the basement once more to collect the last box and the water.
When they had loaded up the ship, Dib climbed into the driver's seat and turned the ship on.
Zim slid into the passenger seat and watched as Dib closed the window. When the ship was fully running, he lifted it off the ground and slid slowly towards the garage door. He then returned to its original place near the back and nodded.
"Now all we have to do is wait for nightfall."
"Nightfall? That's a whole day away.." Zim frowned.
"Well we can't very well leave when people can see us," Dib replied, opening the ship and starting to climb out.
"Does it really matter now?" The alien remained where he was. He watched the human frown as he considered this.
"No.. I guess it doesn't." Dib returned to the ship and pressed a button to open the garage door. He swung the ship out of the garage and pushed it into flight, leaving the house behind as he ascended quickly into the sky.
"Where are we going?" Zim asked nervously.
"To your planet."
"What? Why?" Zim's eyes widened in alarm.
"It's the only safe place to go." Dib clutched the steering wheel intently, hiding his fear.
"Why are you going?"
"Because they will find out that you never left my house and I will be in more trouble than I care to deal with." Dib set the ship into a hover. "Switch places with me."
Zim stared at him, disbelieving that this human was going to his home planet.
"Do it!" Dib growled. Zim shifted and the two maneuvered around each other until they had successfully switched seats.
"You can't come to my planet.. You can't breathe there," Zim protested.
Dib pulled a PAK from under the seat. Zim eyed it curiously.
"I found this spare in the back of the ship," Dib explained as he took his coat off and slipped his arms into straps that had been attached to it.
"I reversed its effect. If all goes as planned, it will filter whatever substance there into oxygen for me." He fixed it on his back like a bookbag and slipped his coat on over it.
"Well…" Zim didn't really know what to think. He finally said, "You have been busy."
Dib smiled.
"Let's go."
When they breached the first clouds, Zim noticed a shimmer as the invisible bubble slid around Dib's head, providing him with air to breathe. The human inhaled deeply and smiled, pleased that it worked.
Zim sped the ship up so as to be able to penetrate the protective covering around the Earth. When they reached the other side, Dib's eyes widened as he took in the incredible sights of space.
The alien simple drove, turning away from the sun's burning rays. Even though the ship was protected from them, it was still incredibly hot.
Dib removed his coat once he got over his amazement.
"Damn, it's hot.."
"It will get better in a little while," Zim replied.
Dib nodded and sat back, knowing it would be awhile before they got there.
"How long does it take to get to your planet?" He asked curiously.
"Six months."
Dib's eyes widened again.
"I.. I didn't pack food to last that long!"
Zim couldn't help but smile. "I know a shortcut. At the most, it will be a day or two."
Dib relaxed, his heart still clenched tightly from the terror. He watched as they started to pass Mars, but suddenly Zim turned the ship away from it.
The human stared into a void in the stars. Narrowing his eyes in an attempt to see better, he asked,
"What's that?"
"Black hole."
"Right next to Earth?"
"More like several million miles from Earth."
"I think someone would have noticed this.."
"They did, centuries ago. Deemed it inactive."
Dib frowned. "I don't remember reading about that. How do you know this?"
"I wanted to find a better route to my planet. There are about thirty black holes in our galaxy. I figure this one should be one of them."
Dib stared into the blackness, thinking it was darker than anything he had ever before seen.
"I hope you're right.." he said softly.
Zim smiled.