A/N: I can't really think of an introduction, so . . . hope you like it!
"How does the DNA sample from Rin match up with mine?" Dib asked his computer in a stage whisper.
It had only been a few minutes since he'd brought Rin into his room, and he already seemed to be making progress. He was able to snag a DNA sample from Rin without her flinching even the slightest bit—all he had to do was pluck a strand of hair. Gaz was still out in the living room slaying vampire piggies, and Professor Membrane was still working away on something in his lab downstairs, seemingly oblivious to everything that was going on in Dib's room. However, Dib liked it that way; he didn't need any distractions, especially anything that could wake Rin.
"You aren't related," the computer answered casually in its smooth, airy female voice.
Dib snapped back into the present. "Huh?"
"Dib subject and Rin subject are unrelated," the computer restated.
"Oh." He sighed. "Well, I didn't think we would be. I didn't expect her to be my long lost sister or something."
"You aren't related, meaning you're not of the same kingdom. There are zero similarities between Rin DNA and Dib DNA."
Dib was shocked. "We're not even from the same kingdom?"
"No. Rin subject does not fit requirements of Kingdom Animalia. In fact, subject doesn't fit requirements for anything. Subject is of unknown origin, in a class all its own."
"Zim was right. Rin's an . . . alien," Dib muttered to himself, hardly believing the words as they left his lips. He looked back to her, sleeping soundly on his bed, an innocent expression painted across her face. She looked so harmless, so normal . . . definitely not like an alien.
Then, he noticed how the moonlight filtered in through the open window above his bed, and how her skin flickered with tiny sparkles as the light hit her—almost as it had in the sunlight, but not nearly as dramatic. It was a softer twinkling, as fascinating and captivating as her scent—which was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. It made him want to crawl up next to her in bed and wrap her in his arms, just so he could revel in the aroma. It was such a weird craving, and the more time he seemed to spend around Rin, the stronger the urge seemed to become. It was a bit frightening, especially since he didn't really care that much about girls—well, at least he hadn't, the last time he'd checked.
"It's probably just some form of defense," Dib told himself as he turned back to the computer. "She's just afraid of me, so she's trying to make me less of a threat by . . . making me feel really awkward."
He looked over his shoulder at her for a second, feeling the urge again, and shivered. "At least, I hope that's all it is."
A while later, and Dib still really hadn't gotten anywhere, as far as where figuring out Rin's race was concerned. He'd tried accessing the onboard computer in Tak's ship, but he didn't really know what to look up; the last time he'd used the ship, he'd known for what word he wanted a definition or the name of the planet that piqued his curiosity. His own computer wasn't able to uncover what planet Rin hailed from, and without any sufficient evidence to go on, it probably never would. If only Rin didn't look so human—everything about her was so normal! Granted, the glittery skin was new, but that was it!
"At this rate, I'd be better off asking her ship where it came from," he sighed, then suddenly perked up. "Hey, that's actually not that bad of an idea. It looked like the ship lost battery power, but maybe I can at least get the central computer back up."
He just about made it to the door before his dad stopped him. He was examining a lamp in the living room, which just so happened to greatly resemble the professor himself. "Where are you going this late at night?"
"I'm just going outside," Dib explained calmly. "An alien crashed her ship on the lawn, and I'm going to check it out, try to find out what planet she's from."
"Oh, more of your insane alien talk," Professor Membrane said with a sigh as he shook his head.
"No, really! Look outside, the ship's right there! The alien's in my room," Dib tried desperately to convince him, pointing to both the window and his room as he spoke.
"Of course she is, son," the professor said dismissively, pulling the chain on the lamp, watching the light flick off and on.
Dib just shrugged and stepped outside, wondering if anyone would ever believe him. Then, he reached the ship and answered the question himself—why, of course they would believe him, after he let everyone know about Rin and her people! All he had to do was access the ship's computer, find out the name of Rin's race, and then blackmail her with that information in order to get her to tell him why she was on Earth. He'd then turn around and expose her, anyway . . . yes, this was all going to be very simple.
"Or maybe not," he mumbled as he began inspecting the condition of the ship's cockpit. The wire from before was still sparking, but that didn't seem to be the only problem; after sweeping the seat clear of glass shards, he noticed many of the controls were scratched, and many other wires underneath were shredded and letting off sparks. It would probably take days to repair all of the damage.
"But maybe the computer's still okay," he hoped, randomly clicking a few buttons on the main control panel.
A faint picture popped up on the shattered glass of the windshield, projecting from a small hole in the ship's dashboard. A whole bunch of characters in some unknown language scrolled past on the screen, then the same symbol that was on the back of the ship, followed by more characters. Dib was starting to grow bored when the ship began speaking to him.
"State your name," it commanded, and Dib contemplated whether he should tell the truth.
He didn't see why not. "Um, I'm Dib."
"Greetings, Dib. Would you like access to this ship's automated voice control system?"
He sat there dumbly, momentarily struck speechless by how easy this was. "Sure," he answered with a smile once he recovered.
"Too bad!"
Suddenly, the ship jerked violently, and Dib felt another wave of electricity circulate through his body. He found himself being thrown out of the ship and felt the familiar taste of dirt in his mouth as he landed on his face.
"I thought you were damaged," he muttered angrily as he got to his feet again, brushing the dirt off his jacket.
"I am, but only superficially," the ship explained in a voice that sounded exactly like Rin's. "It takes more than a silly little crash to total something of Anadolian design. My windshield wouldn't even be shattered if it hadn't needed to be replaced with glass from your inferior planet."
"Wait, did you just say 'Anadolian'?"
"Hmm? Oh, I do suppose I did," the ship responded indifferently.
"Thank you!" Dib called as he ran back into the house, rushing into his computer chair in order to begin enabling the remote link in Tak's ship.
"Finally, the lead I've been waiting for," he murmured with a villainous smirk. "Time to find out what you really are, Rin."
Just as Dib had hoped, Tak's ship held more than enough information about Anadolians and the like. Apparently, Anadolians hailed from a planet named Anadolia, which was located in the galaxy Andromeda. Anadolia was one of Irk's allies, supplying the bulk of ingredients needed to make many snacks, which seemed to be the Irkens' primary food source. It also housed Irk's headquarters for research on the universe, although most of the attention was devoted to analyzing other planets and their defenses.
However, despite Anadolia's vast knowledge on other planets' militaries and such, Anadolia did not have one of its own, and fell prey to Irken invasion decades ago. Now, it was basically just an extension of the Irken Empire, where Anadolians, who used to be treated almost as equals, were bound in slavery.
"Wow," Dib breathed when he reached the end of the definition. "Well, at least that explains the Irken symbol on the back of Rin's ship. Still, it doesn't explain her being here . . . maybe she's a refugee? But if that's the case, then why was she flying her ship? Wouldn't she want to stay here? Unless the Irkens are on her trail . . . yeah, that makes sense. Zim did notice something weird about her. Maybe he notified the Tallest and they're sending someone to get her."
He gasped in excitement. "I could be housing an intergalactic criminal!"
However, as soon as he looked back at Rin, with her girly hair cut and angelic face, his rush of adrenaline vanished. How could someone that looked so harmless be considered a criminal? The way she nestled her head into his pillow and curled herself up under the blanket made her seem too sweet, too naïve to live the life of a delinquent. Actually, she reminded him of a helpless little kitten.
"No. I don't think that's the reason she's here," he admitted as he turned back around to his computer.
Suddenly, a shrill scream entered into the air and reverberated down his backbone, making Dib nearly fall out of his chair. He whipped around to see Rin, who was currently hugging her legs as she sat in fetal position, wedged in the corner between his bed and the wall. Her eyes stared at him with great fear.
Dib sighed. Well, it was fun while it lasted.