Take A Stand

by SLRisme

During a little game Purple is asked questions that make him think about how Red and him have been doing as Tallests- And he's not pleased with the outcome. The Empire is in distress and no one else seems to notice other than him. Things need to change for the better and that starts with the short Irkens. How does Dib come into play? And how will this impact the entire galaxy?

8. The Best It's Gonna Get

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Yay! Reviews, favorites, and love being given all around! :D

Another yay! Another filler chapter! I know I keep saying I'm getting to the main point, I REALLY am, it's just taking longer than I thought it would is all. I'm so tired of these filler chapters, but nothing else is coming out. D;

All of your questions WILL be answered in this story, I promise. Maybe not as soon as you would like, but every single one of them will/should be answered within later chapters. Thanks again for all of the reviews and such, you guys, I'm in love with them! Thanks for everything; I'm happy that people are enjoying this story! :D

If you ever have any questions/comments that you don't want others to read you can always send me a private message by the way. :)

So, without further adieu, let me start.

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The Best It's Gonna Get

…

(Tallest Purple, Inside Zim's Base, Lowest Level)

…

"Uhh…"

"I really don't care, but I know I should ask anyway since Zim is sleeping… Are you okay?"

Eyelids fluttered opened, the Tallest letting his head fall to the side to see who had spoken to him. He winced when the pain finally processed through his mind, wishing to just fall right back into the slumber he had once been in. A growl escaped from his throat when his vision was blurry, only seeing one green blob and something purple floating in the air. There were sounds of beeping and buzzing, gray shades scattered all over the room, and by the dim lighting it took no time for Purple to realize that he was still in Zim's base.

That meant he was still with Zim.

Ugh.

"No, I'm still here. I could be dead though, or would that be better than being here in Zim's base?"

"You're a big baby, you know that?"

"Am not!"

He argued back, pout crossing his lips as he lifted up a two fingered hand to rub his eyes. His finger tips trailed along his face, feeling no dried blood on his cheek anymore After a few moments he re-opened his purple eyes to check out the scene around him. The first that caught his attention was the needle through the middle of his arm, not even realizing that his breath had caught in his throat. Eyes trailed along the tube that was connected to the needle, following the object till he caught the source of a large, metal pole. It was holding a clear bag, the dark purple liquid that was inside the back traveling through the tube into the veins in his body. Irken blood. That was Irken blood, no doubt about it.

Whose blood though?

"Feeling any pain?"

"Huh? Oh- Uhh- Yeah, a bit, but not as bad as earlier. That constant beeping is driving me crazy though! And I'm hungry!"

"Stop whining. That beeping is to make sure that you're still breathing. It's what's helping us to keep track that you're alive and to have you stay alive. And Gir is making donuts upstairs. Or that's what they're supposed to be. You can't even really be sure with Gir."

"DONUTS!"

When a loud snort was heard Purple tilted his head upwards to see where it came from, mouth falling a few inches open.

A very tall Irken was curled up on a rolling computer chair, one long leg dangling off the edge while his forehead was propped up against the knee of the other one. When the Tallest had cried out he had snorted in his sleep, arms wrapping around his leg to pull it closer to his face. Dread marked all over Purple's face when he took in the sight of how tall the Irken actually was even when he was curled up. He may have only been about six inches shorter than him. Or maybe even five. And maybe if it wasn't this particular sleeping in that chair he would have found the sight cute.

Nothing was EVER going to be cute about Zim though.

He no longer was wearing the invader uniform that was way too small for him. Now he was clad in a long, dark red shirt and black slacks, fingers twitching within his black gloves every few moments. Other than his height, the big thing that caught his attention was that Zim had one of his sleeves rolled all the way up to his shoulder. Noticing the wrappings around the defect's mid-arm had Purple confused until terror began to form in a little, sickening ball within his squeedily spooch.

Oh, no.

No, no, no…

"Zim's computer said earlier that I needed some blood. Guess I was beat up pretty badly or whatever, but… Did Zim…?"

"Yeah. Zim gave you some of his blood earlier. Actually, a lot of it. You were in desperate need of blood and pain killers. His blood type matched yours, or that's what the computer said, something about Irkens having six different types of blood or whatever. I wasn't listening, I really didn't care enough."

Huh.

So, it was true.

Crazy does run through the veins.

Purple closed his eyes tightly together, trying to ignore the sickness that refused to go away. Not only was he stuck in Zim's base, but he now was stuck with Zim's defective blood running through his veins. Eyes snapped open when he felt hands brushing against his forehead, a snarl crossing over his lips. The snarl fell instantly when he realized that the voice he had chatting with the entire time was the same person that was wrapping him up. Pale fingers were moving swiftly across his head, one hand skillfully wrapping his forehead while the other hand was bandaging up his right cheek. This person was really good at wrapping, but since they were behind the metal bed Purple was on he still couldn't see them.

"Hurting you?"

"A bit."

"Good."

The Tallest dared to not let a smile cross his face, though he couldn't help with the corners of his mouth lifting. Hey, a sarcastic comment was always funny, no matter who it was from.

"Jerk."

"I know."

"Who are you anyway? You know, as Tallest, I should at least see the face of the person that's touching me!"

His head was tilted back a bit roughly, purple eyes gazing in the beautiful, pale face of a teenage human. Dark purple hair went all the way down her shoulders, the ends of her hair pointing directly outwards like blades. A necklace with a skull pendant on it dangled before his face, never stopping the process of wrapping him. She wore a gray, stripped, long sleeve shirt under a black, short sleeve top, the black collar popped upwards. She was counted as beautiful in human standards, no doubt, but she also looked kinda scary. Really scary. Man, she really did scare him. She had a look on her face like she wanted to choke someone.

"Hey, who are-"

"Gaz. Now, shut up. Your voice is annoying."

A smirk crossed her lips at the pout the Tallest gave, leaning backwards once again in order for her to finish the task of wrapping him. Purple tilted his head to the side once more, catching the sight of the sleeping Zim that was still in the chair. His face was now resting sideways on his knee, making it easier for the Tallest to catch his face. His face even looked a bit broader now, which only made the Tallest try to hold back a sneer that was forming. Bah! Of all the Irkens to get a bit tall it had to be Zim! Of course!

"So, are you friends with Zim or something?"

Gaz cracked an eye open, the one gold eye staring at the Tallest before she acted like nothing happened.

"I guess."

"Known him for a while?"

"Since my stupid brother started chasing him around when we were little, screaming about him being an alien and all that."

"Yeah, uh-huh, that's great. So, that means you saw Zim when he was short, like- Enormously short, yeah?"

"Yeah. What's this about?"

"When did he get so…"

The Tallest paused; his eyes trailing over Zim's sleeping form, frowning deeply.

"Tall? It's kinda creepy to just suddenly see him like this."

"It was a while back, probably at least two years ago. My loser brother actually found a way to get Zim's Pak from him and tried taking it to my father to show him it. Zim was screaming about dying in ten minutes or whatever, but Dib just ignored him. To keep a dumb story short, Zim got his Pak back, dad told Dib to stop stealing from his 'foreign' friend, and I got to kick his butt that day. That had been a good day.

After that day Zim just started growing rapidly. The next in class he was at least six inches taller than what he had been. The day after that he was another inch taller, and then another, till he grew to the height he is now. It was weird; none of us ever understood how he grew that quickly in such a short amount of time. The school just said something about puberty finally hitting him or whatever. He just started growing tall though after his Pak was removed, it was kinda weird. I always thought that Zim was a freak though."

"Yeah, me too."

Was all Purple responded back to her, never taking his gaze away from the other Irken in the room. How could that calm, tall Irken lying in that chair still but the same defective Zim that screwed up everything for the Irken Empire? Why would he suddenly get tall after having his Pak forcefully removed from his body? Was there some sort of chemical within the air here on this planet that helped growth? He had been this tall for years! How had he never noticed that in all of their transmissions?!

Thinking over it now, Purple did realize that in many transmissions he hadn't been able to see anything other than Zim's face and chest… Had he tried to hide his height from his Tallests? What kind of idiot would want to hide the fact that they had gotten taller? This was breaking at least two different laws!

Oh, when Zim woke, he was gonna hurt him. Gonna make him hurt real good.

Zim stirred in his sleep, facial muscles flexing while his hands knotted into fists, growling incoherent words.

"Why is he here anyway? Shouldn't he be doing, I don't know, crazy things like trying to take over your pitiful planet or whatever?"

"He's here to make sure that you didn't die. Your body went into shock only hours ago. You were bleeding to death. You would have died days ago if Zim hadn't wrapped your wounds up with his ugly invader uniform and my brother's shirt. Without him giving you a lot of his own blood you would have died from that also. Don't you get it, moron? You would have died days ago without Zim being there to help you. There has been multiple times where he could have just left you to die."

"What kind of idiot would leave his Tallest to die?!"

"What kind of leader would toss one of his soldiers to this planet when it's so far from the galaxy you're trying to take over?"

Purple gaped at her, eyes wide as he actually turned his neck to look at her.

"How in Irk's name do you-"

"I'm not stupid. Zim might be, but I'm not. I know things about your 'empire' that your own advisors don't even know about. I know more than you think I do."

And surprisingly enough, Purple believed that. Maybe it was because she was the scariest hyu-man he had ever meet, not that he had meet many, or maybe it was the way she opened her eyes to glare at him. Maybe, just maybe, it was the way she had glanced at Zim when she had told him that statement. He believed her though, which only infuriated him even more. Was she trying to make him feel bad for sending off that defect?!

"How dare you-"

"Because you're an idiot, that's why. I may not be Irken, but I know a good soldier when I see one. I'm done here, you're all wrapped up and not dying for this day. Shame. Would have been nice to see someone die today. Lay there till you feel better or when Zim wakes up, I don't care. Food is upstairs whenever you're ready."

"I… But- You can't just…!"

His confused words went unheard as the human passed by the chair Zim was sleeping in, not even sparing him a glance as she kept on her journey towards the elevator. Her hand pressed against the button of the elevator, the glass door sliding open for she could get inside. Gaz kept her stiff back towards the Tallest, slightly moving her head over the side so she could look at him over her shoulder. He caught the corner of her mouth twitched downwards into the frown, but other than that her face remained emotionless.

"You know… He's one of the best soldiers that you'll ever have, even if he is an idiot."

And before Purple could even open his mouth she was gone.

Rage took over in a matter of seconds. Purple gripped his antennas and roughly pulled them downwards, not caring that he was putting himself in pain. It wasn't his fault that Zim was a defect! Red and him had no other choice but to send Zim off the planet! He was a danger to every Irken! Zim did one thing right and this pathetic human thought she knew everything?! Zim was nothing more than a defect! He had done his job as Tallest to protect his citizens and to make sure the Empire would keep expanding! He was innocent!

'Innocent, Mr. Airlock?'

'Not you. I just got up; shouldn't you still be sleeping or something?'

'Whoa. Why so angry, Mr. Innocent-Even-Though-I-Used-My-People? I'm just your thoughts is all, I mean, you are the one that told me- Ahem… I mean yourself a while back that you're tried of feeling like you have a split personality. So, why not have a friendly discussion with yourself, my dear Tallest?'

'Talking to myself is also crazy, you know? And are you trying to give me a hint or something?'

'A hint, Mr. Never-Does-Nothing-Wrong? By Irken Coding, no! Never! It's not like you should thank Zim or anything like that. It's not like he saved you or anything! Because he didn't go to Irk to save your life, you know? Just a couple things to remind you is all.'

'Why would I ever thank that defect? He destroyed more than half of Irk! He never followed anything that we ever told him! He broke so many regulations that his Pak should have been pulled off! Why is everyone suddenly standing up for that defect?!'

Purple blinked in surprise when no response was given for a few moments, thinking that maybe the other side of himself had finally shut up for once.

'You have ignored the height requirements and hired a Personal Service Drone that was too short to fill in the position. You refused to let the Control Brains get access into your pak even though they told you to. You deliberately refused to listen to any of their words and ignored their commands. You shot a laser at the Control Brains and destroyed one of the brains. You blew up the Control Brain Headquarters along with the Irkens inside the building. You got into a Voot Cruiser with both an exiled Irken and some Earthling, destroying one of the first Advanced Infiltrator Units in the process. You have officially run away from the planet you are ruling over and are inside the banished defect's base.'

The silence rang out both in the real world and in his mind, eyes unblinking.

'Tell me this, Tallest Purple, who is the defect here?'

No response was given.

'You know, that 'Gaz' was right, he is one of the best soldiers that we… You have.'

Tallest Purple gazed at Zim's sleeping form, body over whelmed and exhausted from his thoughts and the emotional pressure he was now feeling.

'No, he would have been if he was still part of the Irken Empire.'

'So, what now?'

'Donuts. I need food. You go away, you've said enough already. I get the hint. Really, I get it. I get it.'

'I will come back later and we discuss a few things later.'

'I'm so tired of talking to you. What do you even want to talk about? Weather here on earth?'

'Funny.We need to figure out what is being hidden from the Irken Empire. We need to find a way to help our people. In order to do that we need to actually figure out what the true problem is. There is something more than the height issue, I just know it.'

'Yeah, fine, whatever. Donuts first.'

'Fine.'

The obnoxious ringing in his head was gone, a sigh escaping his lips that the Tallest didn't even realize that he had been holding. He pushed himself upwards to get off the metallic bed, purple eyes slanting into a glare at the sight of the other Irken in the room. One look at the wrappings on Zim's arm made Purple sick, turning his head sideways so he didn't have to look at him anymore. He ignored the guilt filling up in his squeedily spooch, weak arms finally pushing himself off the bed. Long legs wobbled under him, remembering that he no longer had his hover belt, teeth beginning to grit.

He should have never contacted Zim. If he had kept his mouth shut none of this would have happened.

He had acted out of character when he had no facts if something really was wrong with the Empire.

"I really do hate you."

The Tallest bitterly whispered at the resting Irken that had once been his soldier, body becoming stiff and mouth forming into a straight line. Even if Red wasn't by his side he needed to keep his composure, even if he was stuck with his most hated enemy. He took one step, then another, and another, till finally he was strolling towards the elevator that led towards the upper level. Purple stumbled into the elevator and slammed his hand against the button, the glass door sliding shut before him. Zim's tall body was still resting peacefully like nothing would wake him up, curled up in his own happy dreams.

Seeing him peaceful only made the rage Purple felt increase by ten fold.

"You're the defect, not me!"

Zim didn't even stir in his sleep, the elevator taking the Tallest away after his cry.

…

(Zim's Base, Upstairs)

…

"-And that's all I know. Tak, Irk is in a pretty bad state right now and so is your Tallest. It seems that he's going to be staying here for a while; it's the safest place right now. Someone is trying to kill him on Irk and Zim is the only one that can help him right now. So, do me a favor and don't kill Zim- Yet. I know Zim wouldn't have told you any of this, so I just thought that I…"

Tak and Dib whipped their heads around when they saw the door to the fridge being pushed open, the female Irken's muscles automatically tensing. Her finger tips slipped behind her back towards her Pak, fingers tracing over the button that would retract the laser. It may have been another enemy that got into the base that was here to attack Zim. Or maybe it was Zim. She really did hope it was Zim; accidentally shooting him would be worth all the punishment she would receive. Yes, Zim, come out, come out… Let Tak shoot you in the squeedily spooch or maybe your heard.

It was be better to take aim at the squeedily spooch; there wasn't anything in Zim's head that was worth losing.

"Who makes machines this small?! Jeez- Someone could have given me a warning that I was going to hit my head!"

Her face paled at the voice she knew from all the transmissions she had given him years ago, hand shifting from her Pak to her forehead in a salute. Tallest Purple peaked his head around the corner of the fridge, catching sight of the big-headed human Dib and some female Irken at the table. He waved his hand carelessly at her salute, letting her hand slip back to her side. Tallest Purple opened his mouth to ask a question, but what came out was a squeal of excitement. Dib almost fell out of his chair in fear when the Tallest had lunged right at him, hands reaching outwards like he was going to choke him.

So, this is how he was going to die, by the hands of the Irken leader…

Huh. That was a kinda cool death.

"Donuts! Gimme, gimme!"

"Wha-? Oh… Oh! Yeah, sorry! Zim made this right before he went back downstairs to check up on you. Said you'll need food when you wake up and the Tallest would prefer donuts over anything else."

"He was right... For once."

The Tallest did a grabbing motion and the human passed over the bowl filled with donuts that had been resting on his lap, a happy grin going over the Tallest's face. He just kept his place on the top of the table, resting the bowl between his legs when he sat down criss-crossed. Dib's mouth fell open at the way this Irken leader was devouring the donuts, having never seen anyone eating in such a horrible manner. Dib almost felt sorry for the donuts! He turned his head slightly to look at Tak, who kept her composure well, eyebrow only tugging upwards slightly on her face.

Was she used to her leader eating like this? Did he always eat like this?

"So, I know you, big-headed human-"

"My head isn't big!"

"Uh-huh, whatever, Big-head. You though, I know you, but I can't put a name on it. Just who exactly are you?"

Tak bowed her head in respect at her Tallest, the corners of her mouth turning up into a smile.

"I am Tak, my Tallest Purple; I was the one who came up with the idea to take Zim's 'mission' away from him."

"Oh yeah, you were the Snack-planet invader! I remember you! I loved that idea!"

"I thought you would, my Tallest, but of course Zim had to ruin my plans."

"Doesn't he ruin everyone's plans?"

The two shared a mocking laugh together; the two Irkens finally letting themselves relax around one another. The human tried to hold back the excited grin that was spreading over his face. Come on, a leader from another planet was sitting before him with another alien solider, chatting away. And they were making fun of Zim! This was both a large step for Paranormal Investigator and a small winning point for Zim's Tallest making fun of him.

"So, Snack-invader, why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be back on Irk or something?"

"I had come back to try and get revenge on Zim again since I built a new ship on my own. I would have gone back to Irk, but… But I never was contacted back from Tallest Red or you, so I just assumed that since I had failed my mission…"

'That I was no longer apart of the Irken Empire.'

The words never left her mouth, eyes narrowing in shame as her antennas slightly went back. Dib didn't miss it when Purple had actually twitched his neck, fingers ripping a donut apart from the force of their hold. Greedy motions and smiles were now gone, a frown on the Tallest's face as he kept his eyes locked on Tak. His attention was no longer focused on the donuts, giving the female Irken everything that he could. But why? Why was it after that twitch that he completely changed? From the way he had been eating those donuts it seemed that if they had been under attack he would still eat those donuts…

Why did that twitch have to do with anything?

"Tak, why did you never contact the Massive?"

"I did, my Tallest, but the transmission never went through or I was told that you were busy. I understand that you must always be busy, Tallest Purple. I don't expect you to remember one little Irken out of millions of them. Nothing is your fault, my tallest, it is mine. I should have conquered this planet and succeeded with the mission! Really, I understand."

"No, you don't. No one in the Irken Empire does, not even Red. And some days, not even I. It is our job to remember every Irken, from food drone to advisor, little or not. We should have answered your transmission, Tak, it's… It's been years since that mission you tried to do. Have you been on your own for years?"

"I- In a way, but not totally. I still have my SIR Unit Mimi, my tallest, and I found random jobs here and there around Irk to get the monies to pay for ship parts. I… I was fine, my Tallest. I am fine."

Tak tried to keep her expression serious, almost flinching under the worried gaze her Tallest sent her, feeling a blush heat up her cheeks. Why was he acting like this? He was never this compassionate before, in all of her years she had never seen him like this once. Not even to Tallest Red. She had not idea how to handle someone being so worried and nice towards her; the academy training never taught her how to keep her composure against compassion.

"Your Pak! When you told us about the mission you wanted to do we said we would reset your Pak to invader if you succeeded! You never succeeded and we completely forgot, have you been without a job for years?"

She couldn't keep this façade up any longer if he kept looking at her in sorrow.

"Yes, my Tallest. It all worked out just fine though."

"Yeah, but it would have been better if we actually contacted you back years ago. How long you have suffered because of our mistake. You had to work a lot more than any other Irken because of your Tallests own laziness and forgetfulness. As soon as Zim wakes up I'll have him hack connect the computer to your Pak so we can change your job. It's not like he hasn't hacked into both the Massive and Irken systems enough times already. I still have scars from him taking over the Massive years ago. But really though, Tak, if there is anything I can do, I will."

"You… You are already doing it right now, my Tallest."

She felt her bottom lip twitch, hands trembling under the table. Her Tallest didn't truly understand what he was saying. He was actually apologizing to her for his own mistake and was the first person to realize that she had to actually work for a living. She hadn't been apart of the Irk Empire for years. Years! But now… Now, her own leader was trying to make everything right. This was… Oh no, those went tears forming in her-?

Tak almost threw her chair when she stood up abruptly, saluting her Tallest for a split second before she turned her back away from them.

"I need to go and check up on something. I will check Zim's base to make sure that you will have everything you need and sleeping chambers prepared. I shall be staying as long as you need me, my Tallest, I will not leave you in the hands of Zim. Now, if you excuse me, I have matters to attend to."

She was more than hallway through the kitchen when she had stated what she was going to do. She needed to get out of here. Now. Right now. She couldn't handle anything else at the moment, if her Tallest said one more thing…

"Yes, of course. And Tak? I'm… I'm sorry. Really. I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you, but I'm going to fix it. I will."

The last thing Dib and Purple saw of Tak was when she lifted up her hand towards her face, looking like she had put a hand over her face. The tallest turned his attention back towards the donuts, poking at one with the tip of his finger, though refusing to eat it.

"Umm… Tallest Purple, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yes, I'm alright, Dib. I just-"

His entire body twitched to the left, the finger that had been gently touching the donut poking a hole through it.

"I just wish I had some fresh donuts! Why are you making a Tallest eat old and icky donuts? Fresh donuts! Oh, and puppets, too! Yeah, donuts and puppets!"

"What? But- Umm… Yeah, okay. Okay! Donuts and puppets! Jeez- Hold on to your antennas, no need to push! I'm getting there! I'm getting there!"

What in Bigfoot's name just happened?!

…

(Hours Later, Zim's Base, Lowest Level)

…

"Not crazy. Missing part. The Irken Symbol. Her thoughts."

"Those are the only words that the Tallest had highlighted on the saved file?"

"Yeah, that's why I said them. Those are the main words that Tallest Purple had highlighted on the saved file."

"Hmm- Interesting."

"Ehh- Not trying to be rude, but shouldn't you not be going through Tallest Purple's saved files?"

"Shouldn't you not be questioning your master?"

Zim hissed back to his computer, leaning his back farther into the rolling chair that was under him, eyeing something within his hands. Dib was leaning over the back of Zim's chair, also looking downwards at the object within the Irken's grasp. It was a screen covered with the Irken language, some which Dib could read on his own and some that he didn't know the terms to. It had been the same screen that tallest Purple had asked to type on earlier that day and in the dimness of Zim's lab it was now safe to read.

"Zim, do you have any idea what any of this could mean?"

"Not a clue, Dib-stink, not even the amazing Zim could decipher this."

"So, Zim, why exactly did you ask me to stay over your house tonight? It's not like we're friends or anything."

"Ha! Thinking that Zim would even want you as a friend! That's cute."

The Irken let the mocking laugh leave from his throat, spinning around in his chair so he could come face to face with Dib. When the alien made a hand gesture towards another rolling chair, the human took that chair and pulled it towards Zim. As soon as he took a seat they both made eye contact, one pair of brown eyes were burning with skeptic while the other pair of magenta were almost as cold as ice. It was fire against ice. Human against alien. Good against bad.

For some reason though Dib didn't feel like he would actually be fighting Zim anytime soon.

"You saw the Tallest twitch."

It was not a question, but a statement.

"Umm- Yeah?"

"And you mentioned that you noticed his mood swings earlier this day, filthy monkey. You said that he seemed to have been in pain and it had been like he was two different Irkens when he twitched. This means you have been paying attention to my Tallest."

"Whoa, Zim, I'm not trying to be creepy or anything! I just thought you would like to know!"

"Are you worried about Tallest Purple?"

The question caught Dib off guard.

Did he care about Tallest Purple? This was Zim's leader after all, an alien that was trying to take over Earth, and enslave his people! Why would he even care about this guy? Why had Dib even mentioned to Zim earlier about how his Tallest has been acting? It just seemed… Wrong to not report about Purple's well-being, it looked like he was hurting real bad. He was the one who had been piloting the Voot Cruiser; he still got tingles when thinking about, and he remembered the blood the Tallest had shed that day. He had almost died during the trip back to Earth and he didn't even know it. He had given up his favorite shirt in order to stop the Tallest from bleeding to death.

"I guess, I mean… He seems kinda nice for being an evil alien that wants to conquer my world. I gave you my shirt to help stop him from bleeding to death. He… He needs help, Zim, and I guess that makes me want to care about him."

"If the time ever came down to it, would I… If I could…"

Zim shifted uncomfortably in his seat, eyes narrowed, and teeth grit. Dib tugged his eyebrows upwards at his frienemy, wondering what was coming over him. This was the first time in absolute years that Zim had been nervous around Dib. He was never like this! This wasn't the cocky and sadistic alien that he knew!

"If it came down to you, which in all of Irk's name I hope it never does, but would you being to… To… Uhh-?"

"Are- Are you trying to ask me if I'll help you?!"

"You- Help? Hahaha! Pathetic, stoopid Dib-child! Zim is not asking if you'll help him! I am simply asking if little Dib-meat would… Come as assistance if it was ever needed."

"Oh, God, you are asking for my help! You, the big, bad, evil alien! Why do you think I would ever help you?"

If Dib had been caught off guard by this question also he didn't show it.

He began laughing uncontrollably, one arm wrapped around his stomach while the other hand slipped over his mouth. The human tried to calm himself, but he did it with no success. Shoulders trembled with his useless efforts, eyes almost burning with tears from his own laughter. This was just too much! Zim! This was Zim, the real Zim, actually coming to him for help! To have his own alien enemy needing his help! This… This was so beautiful.

"Computer, play track 46."

"Fine."

Laughter stopped when brown eyes caught the cruel smile crossing over Zim's face.

"Hey, Zim?"

"What, meatbag?"

"I know we aren't friends and we try to kill each other here and there, and you're a jerk- But, you know, if you need anything, you can always come and talk to me."

Dib instantly paled when he heard the words, remembering that he had said that to Zim weeks ago in their class. He had recorded their conversation? That sneaky little-! It was now Zim that was rolling with laughter, pointing an index finger directly at Dib.

"That is why I think you'll help me, Dib-stink!"

"Because I said you could come to me for help? Please, Zim, like I'll ever-"

"Oh, so you're a liar then, meatbag? You always speak of the good and right that you do, but you won't help a person in need? You dare say that you're good when you're lying directly to Zim's face?"

"We both know that's not-"

"-True, Dib? Is that what you were going to say? True? How can you speak of truth when you're nothing more than an L-I-A-R?!"

"Zim!"

"Eh. But whatever, liar, it's not any of my business what you preach to your fellow hyu-mans. It's not like Zim isn't offering you to help out with his 'alien' planet or anything like that. Look at stupid Dibling over in that chair, passing up an offer to look into Irk's coding systems and history. Ah, well, it's not like that's important to you, is it? It's not like you're a Paranormal Investigator or anything. This is only the chance of a lifetime."

Dib was the fish and Zim was the hook.

And Zim had just caught his fish where he wanted him.

"I… Well, it's… God, Zim, fine! I'll help! What exactly do you want?!"

"Not yet, Dib, not yet. I'm just making sure I'll have your help when the time comes. And it will come. Very soon."

"You know, you really are a jerk."

"Yes, isn't Zim amazing?"

"I hate you."

"And I hate you, Dib. I hate you, too."

…To Be Continued…

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