Chapter 8

Zim sat in front of his giant computer, working on his plans to bring Earth to its destruction. He pauses occasionally to research dating.

"Hmmm...So this is what humans do in Dating stage 5..." He said to himself thoughtfully.

Somewhere up above, Danny flung the front door open, her human disguise disappearing immediately. "ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!" She shouted as loud as she possibly could.

Zim's antennae perked up and he looked around toward the elevator. "Danny?" He jumped to his feet and ran to the elevator, which shoots him up to the ground level.

Zim shot out of the toilet and landed face-first on the kitchen floor. "OOF!" His body flops to the ground and he lets out a moan before looking up and rubbing his head. "Danny, what are you doing here?"

Danny walked into the kitchen and stands over him, her expression angry.

Zim stood up, confused. "Is something wrong?"

"YES SOMETHING'S WRONG!" She shouted. "YOU!"

Zim was shocked. "WHA? What did I do!?"

"YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO THE EMPIRE, YOU KNOW THAT!?" She grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and picked him up, screaming in his face. "AND BECAUSE OF YOU, JAZ IS ON DEATH ROW!"

"I-I don't understand!" Zim stammered, still confused and now a little scared. "What are you talking about!? What did I do wrong!? D-did I ruin the date or something? If I did, I'm sorry!"

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT OUR DATE!" Danny released him, causing him to fall to the floor.

Zim landed with a thud and a grunt of pain. He looked up at her, still confused and scared, and starting to get angry himself. "Hey! Why are you treating me like this!? We just had a wonderful time, didn't we? Why aren't you happy?"

Danny glared at him, tears slowly forming in her eyes. "I...I..." A laser gun pops out of her PAK and jams itself against the smaller alien's head. "I'm sorry, Zim, but this just isn't going to work..." The tears flow freely down her face.

Zim let out a gasp and jumped back in shock, staring at her with huge, confused and sad eyes. "Wha-wha-what is this? Danny, why are you acting this way?" He asked, backing away slowly. "You're not acting like yourself..."

Danny advanced on him, still crying. "HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW!? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME!"

"I know you well enough to know that you would never do this to me because you like me so much!" Zim said desperately. "You're not telling me anything! What did I DO!?"

Danny stared at him for a moment before speaking again. "You're too blind for your own good. You can't even see that the Tallests have been lying to you since you got here!"

"Wha...What do the Tallests have to do with this!?" Zim demanded, his anger starting to get the better of him.

"The Tallests sent Jaz here to destroy you! And now she can't because of me!" The laser gun retreated back into Danny's PAK and she dropped to her knees. Her head drops into her hands and she began to weep. "I don't want you to die...But I don't want Jaz to either..." She wrapped her arms around herself as if she had experienced a sudden chill. "I don't know what to do..."

Zim could only stand and stare. After several minutes, he finally speaks. "So you're trying to kill me?...Even after what we've been through?"

Danny looked up at him, angry again. "THAT'S what you took from that!?"

" I know the Tallests would never lie to me! They never have! They know that I am worthy enough to keep alive and serve them! I've been kept alive all these years! Why should I believe that they want me gone NOW!?" Zim shouted. "Unless..." He approached her, glaring into her face. "Unless you still believe in those lies Jaz told you! They're not true, Danny! Everything Jaz tells you about the Tallests is NOT true! I'm too GOOD to be dead! People need me, and I need to help my own kind! You're going to kill me over a couple of filthy lies!?"

"THEY'RE NOT LIES!" Danny shouted angrily.

"You've been BRAINWASHED to think that!" Zim's expression softened. " Danny, I can help you. I'll make it so you never heard those lies. You'll be back to normal and we can still go out!"

Danny only glared at him, saying nothing.

Zim held out a hand to her. "Danny, please let me help you. We can make this work. I WANT to make this work."

Danny stared at him for a moment before standing up.

Zim watched her, still holding out his hand to her.

Danny looked down at him with an unreadable expression, contemplating. She then turned around and started toward the door.

Zim ran up to her, blocking her path. "Danny...please stay. I want to help. I care about you."

Tears came to the female's eyes once again. "I'm sorry, Zim." She pushed him aside and opened the door. "But I'm siding with Jaz." Her human disguise appeared just as she stepped outside.

"NO!" Zim shouted, running up to her and grabbing her hand. "Danny, give me a chance! I don't even know what I did wrong! I'm just trying to follow what the Tallests told me to do!"

Danny yanked her hand away violently. "You didn't do anything wrong. Please don't make this any harder than it already is." She marched off the property and started walking down the street.

Zim ran after her. "Danny, don't make me force you!" Tears form in his angry little eyes as he pursues her. "I want to KEEP this relationship!"

"WELL I DON'T!" Danny shouted desperate to get away.

Zim froze in shock at her words. Tears formed in his eyes again as he started to tremble in rage. "NO! I'M GOING TO HELP YOU! AND I AM NOT LEAVING! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO'S EVER LOVED ME! DOESN'T THAT MEAN ANYTHING!? WHY DO YOU ENJOYING TORTURING ZIM!?" A single tear escapes his eyes as he shouts.

Danny whirled around. "YOU THINK THIS IS EASY FOR ME!? I HATE THIS JUST AS MUCH AS YOU DO!" She shouted through her own tears.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS IF YOU HATE IT SO MUCH!?"

"BECAUSE...Because...I..." Danny's voice trailed off.

"BECAUSE YOU, WHAT!?"

Danny turned away. "I don't need to explain myself to you. You won't get it anyway. You never have." She started walking again.

Several robotic tentacles shoot out of Zim's PAK and wrap around her, pulling her back toward him. "STOP WALKING AWAY FROM ME! I'M NOT THAT BAD! I'm not! I'm not..." The tears start to flow down his face. "I'm not that bad..." He looked down, tears falling to the ground.

Danny stopped struggling against the tentacles and looked at him sadly.

Zim remained looking down, crying silently. After what seems like an eternity, he brings his hands up to his face and closes his eyes. "I can be good...I'm a good Irken..."

"Yes you are...In fact, you're great..." Danny hung her head sadly.

Zim remained looking down. "Then why are you doing this to me if I'm great?...I only try to do the best thing for everyone...for my people...I'm a good Irken, not a bad one..."

"I know..." Said Danny.

Zim looked up at her once the tears stopped flowing. "I'm taking you back inside with me." He leads her inside, the tentacles still wrapped around her. Once they get inside he gently releases her and closes the door.

Danny just stood there, sad and a little scared.

Zim looked down, thinking. "I want you to stay with me...Don't leave...Ever."

Danny said nothing.

"I like you too much to want you to leave..." He looked up at her. "Even if you are grumpy and irritable sometimes..." He hung his head once more. "I still like you..."

Danny wished more than anything she could stay there with him. But she also knew she had to get back to Jaz's base. "Zim...If you really feel that way, then let me leave. It's too painful for me to stay here."

Zim's head shot up and he looked at her, sad and scared. "No! I want you to stay!"

"Zim...please...let me go..." Danny pleaded hoarsely.

"You don't tell Zim why it is painful!"

"I can't stay here...I...I need to get back home."

"Why?! Stay here with me!"

"No." Danny replied. Forcing herself to be curt.

Zim ran up to her and hugged her. "Please don't go..."

Danny froze and looked down at him, surprised by the sudden display of affection.

Zim continued to hug her. "I don't want to be left like this...I'm so confused...You tell Zim all these things, and...I don't know what to believe...Please, don't leave me."

Danny, unable to take anymore, knelt down and held him close. "Okay...I'll stay..."

Zim's grasp tightened. "Thank you..."

After several minutes of silence, Zim opened his tightly shut eyes just a crack. "Explain to Zim again why this has happened..."

Danny sighed sadly. "Zim, please. It's behind us now. Let it go."

"No. You said you were doing this because of the Tallests. And they were planning to get rid of Jaz."

"Yeah...they're going to kill her if she doesn't destroy you..."

"But why? The Tallests never said..."

Danny looked down at him. "Said what?"

Zim looked back at her. "They never said anything about someone trying to kill me...or..."

"Do you really think if someone was trying to kill you, they'd tell you about it?"

"Yes, I do! The Tallests inform me on everything."

"Zim, if they told you about it, it would ruin everything."

"Ruin what?"

"Jaz's mission!"

"So? She shouldn't be trying to kill me in the first place! This is MY planet and MY mission. She has no right to take any of that-or my life away! I don't care what anyone says or believes." He let go of her and looked her in the eyes. "I AM an Invader! I have PROOF!"

Danny sighed in exasperation. "Okay...and that would be..."

Zim turned to the monkey picture on the wall. "Computer! Send a transmission through to the Tallests."

The picture immediately turned into a screen, fuzzy with static.

Zim looked back at Danny. "Words of honesty. THAT is my proof." He then turned his gaze back to the screen.

"What!? I don't think—" Before she could finish, the screen becomes clear and the Tallests now glare down at them.

Tallest Red is the first to speak. "What is it NOW, Zim!?" He demanded exasperatedly.

Purple glared down at them before noticing Danny. "Hey. Who is that?"

"Just a human dummy I made to mess with the Dib-Human." Zim replied curtly. "My Tallests, it has come to my attention that there are RUMORS about my mission being a FAKE. That you LIED to me."

Red and Purple froze in horror. How could he have possibly caught on?

Red recovered almost immediately, though the terror in his voice was hard to miss. "What!? Who told you that!?"

"Nobody you know. I want to know if it's true." Zim replied.

Red glanced at Purple, who was still frozen, before turning back to the screen. "Uh...we can assure you, Zim. Those rumors are not true."

Purple snapped back to his senses. "Yeah! Whoever told you that is crazy."

"I want proof." Zim said, still glaring up at the screen.

The Tallests' nerves were starting to get the better of them.

Tallest Red was once again the first to recover. "Zim, stop wasting our time. We sent you to Earth to prepare it for the Invasion. NOW GET BACK TO WORK AND STOP CALLING US WITH THESE RIDICULOUS ACCUSATIONS!" He shouted angrily.

"If I don't get proof at this very moment, I will come to the Massive myself and get the proof out of you there!" Zim said coldly.

"Are you THREATENING your Almighty Tallests!?" Red demanded.

"I've killed both previous Tallests. Don't think I can't do the same to you."

There was a moment of silence as Red and Zim stared each other down while Purple and Danny watched nervously.

Danny muttered under her breath. "Zim, this isn't a good idea..."

Zim whispered back to her without taking his eyes off the Irken Rulers. "Be quiet." His voice rose as he addressed the Tallests once more. "Am I a real Invader, or NOT?! You WILL tell me!"

"Yes! You ARE!" Red turned to his comrade. "Isn't that right?"

"Yeah!" Purple agreed. "We didn't send you to that planet just so we could get rid of you or anything! Stop listening to—"

"I want PROOF!" Zim interjected. "Give it to me, or ELSE!"

"We gave you a planet to take over! What more do you want!?" Red's patience was wearing thin.

"Show me my records!" Zim demanded.

Purple's eyes grew wide in anxiety.

Red glared back at Zim. "Fine. We'll call you back as soon as we have them."

" NO!" Zim shouted. "I want to see them NOW! Do it or I'll come to the Massive IMMEDIATELY!"

"Zim. We have MILLIONS of records. It's going to take a while to find yours."

"Then I'll WATCH you look for them..." Zim's voice grew icy. "Unless you need help FINDING them."

Red's eye twitched nervously. "Very well." He pointed to an Irken drone. "You! Bring up the records of all the Invaders!"

The drone began working at the controls, bringing up the files of all the Irken Invaders show up on the computer screen. The drone scrolled down the list, searching for a file that no longer exists.

Purple watched the screen nervously as Red continues to glare at Zim.

Zim stood in his base, arms crossed and scowling. Danny stands next to him, trying to look as expressionless as she can despite her growing anxiety.

After what seems like ages, Purple breaks the silence. "Uhh, I'm gonna go get some snacks." He starts to hover away.

"Get back here." Red ordered, not breaking his gaze from the screen.

"But I..." Purple began.

"Get. Back. Here." Red's voice was cold. Colder than Purple had ever heard it before.

The tall, purple-eyed Irken hesitated before slowly hovering back to his partner, trembling slightly.

"Hurry it up!" Zim said impatiently.

"The drones are going as fast as they can, Zim." Red replied.

"If you ARE lying to me, I WILL KILL YOU BOTH. WITHOUT HESITATION." Zim stated.

Red's eye twitched again in anger. Purple began to tremble even more, beads of sweat starting to form on his skin.

Suddenly, the computer beeped.

"Uhhh, Sirs?" The drone said anxiously.

Red finally tore his gaze away from the screen. "What?" He demanded icily.

"W-we went through the entire list..."

"AND!?" Zim shouted from the other end of the Transmission.

The drone began to tremble. "H-h-he's not...here..."

Zim's eyes widened n shock and realization. Danny glanced at him nervously. Purple's jaw dropped in horror. Red's eyes narrowed.

"He MUST be! Look again!" Red demanded.

The Drone scrolled through the list, terrified.

Zim's eyes twitched and flickered in anger as he watched the screen.

Purple twiddled his fingers, trying to keep his cool. Red watched the drone, now avoiding eye contact with the little Irken on the screen.

"THIS IS TAKING TOO LONG!" Zim shouted furiously.

Red whipped his gaze back to him. "If you don't like it, get back to work and we'll call you when we have your file!"

The drone turned around to face his rulers. "Sir, I still can't find it!"

Zim glared coldly at both Tallests. "So it was all true."

"NO! THE RUMORS ARE NOT TRUE! YOU'RE AN INVADER, REALLY!" Purple shouted, now panicking.

Red could only stare blankly as the realization that Zim had finally figured it out sunk in.

Purple rushed over to the drone and whacked him on the head. "LOOK HARDER! IT'S GOT TO BE THERE!"

The drone began to scroll through the files again, tears streaming down his face in fear.

"You have messed with the wrong Irken." Zim said darkly before the screen goes black.

Purple stared at the dark screen in horror and cursed.

Red didn't seem to notice any of this as he continued to stare straight ahead.

Purple turned his gaze to Red, at first horrified, but quickly becoming angry. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! IF YOU HADN'T COME UP WITH THAT STUPID, FAKE MISSION AT THE INVADER CONVENTION, THIS WOULDN'T BE HAPPENING!" He screamed.

Red didn't even seem to notice that and continued to stare blankly.

Purple grabbed him and shook him violently. "WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO DO!? YOU GOT US INTO THIS MESS, YOU GET US OUT OF IT!"

Red finally snapped out of his trance and looked at Purple. "Wha-HUH!? Oh." His expression hardens. "I'll tell you what we're going to do. Zim thinks he can just march up to us and take us down? Well, guess what? We've got an entire army on our side. When Zim gets here, we'll be ready. And he will be annihilated."

Purple stared at him for a moment. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!" He blurted out before throwing his arms in the air and shooting out of the room, screaming the entire way.

Red, completely unfazed by his comrade's sudden outburst, grabs a microphone and speaks into it. "Everyone report to the convention room at once! I repeat; All Irkens report to the Convention room immediately!"

His voice echoed throughout the Massive and the smaller ships hovering alongside it.

Every Irken immediately dropped what they were doing and listened intently to Tallest Red's broadcast. When it ended, they all made their way to the Convention Room without hesitation.