WARNING: THERE'S A GIANT NEEDLE AND IT GOES INTO BRAINS SO UH YEAH AND LOTS OF BLOOD BECAUSE TATTOO/SCAR THING.

It wasn't hard to see the apprehension in Dib's eyes. The honey color seemed to swim around in their sockets with all the fluctuating lights and the way they danced back and forth over Zim's own orbs. But he nodded, and there was an air of determination that came with it that put Zim at ease. He relaxed for the first time since the guard had come to get him.

Tearing his attention away, he brought it back to the Control Brain, which was still waiting for an answer. "Yes." He put as much of his confidence into the single word answer as he could muster.

"VERY WELL." The machine boomed. "PREPARE FOR DATA SWAP." A few cables dropped down from above, which Zim grabbed at. He looked them over in his hands before speaking again.

"Human Dib is not Irken. He has an organic brain." Zim's voice wavered a bit, worried that this may jeopardize everything. He was unsure of how this was going to work. He had thought that it would become clear when they got to this moment, but now that they were here, he was drawing a blank.

"ACKNOWLEDGED." The machine whirred as it processed the new information. "ULTERIOR METHOD HAS BEEN DETERMINED." Another cable presented itself, and Zim took it in his hands, gently. He turned it around, its smooth black surface tapering to a point, where a long, dangerous looking needle attached. He looked over at Dib to gauge his reaction.

Said reaction was some serious eye-widening and a small moment of near panic before he forced himself to take a deep breath. "So uh…where does that go exactly?" Dib wondered, feeling kind of frozen in place. "And how? I actually Yanno have a skull and stuff. It kind of protects my brain from giant, deadly needles." Hesitantly, he reached out and touched the tip of it, feeling a small jolt of electricity run through him. Whoa.

Zim grinned a bit, sheepishly. "No worries. You won't even feel this."

"BEGIN DATA DOWNLOAD FROM HUMAN PARTY." The Control Brain demanded, simply.

Zim bit his lip and motioned for Dib to sit down on the floor as he got down, human sat down, ignoring how shaky he felt. Zim's hands trailed over Dib's shoulders, letting the cord suspend from the ceiling as he did so.

"It will be slightly unpleasant, Zim won't lie." He whispered as he worked the zipper to Dib's top, revealing the light skin of his chest. "But it won't take long." He pulled the article of clothing down off of his shoulders before grabbing the cord, its needle glimmering in the dim light of the room. He brought his hand up around the base of the human's neck, peeking over his shoulder as he did so. He massaged his neck with the pads of his fingers, prodding for the sweet spot where his head connected to his neck; that soft spot where it would be easiest for him to take the needle.

Once he found it, he took in a deep breath before positioning it. He looked up and peppered Dib's cheek with soft kisses, hoping that it would take the human's mind off of what was about to gripped the other side of Dib's face with his free hand, pushing the cold needle into his skin. It went in easily, at first. But just as Dib had said; his skull was there to protect his spongy little brain. With some muscle, however, Zim was able to push in the needle to its continued to kiss Dib's cheek, bringing his lips to his ear and whispering softly.

"You're doing so well. Just a moment longer, it's almost over." Blue volts of electricity ran up the cord as it extracted what it needed. Zim watched anxiously, ready to pull out if anything happened.

"DATA RECEIVED." The CB finally declared, and Zim eased the probe out of Dib's head.

"There. That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Dib sat frozen while the minuscule operation happened. There was almost a sense of detachedness that helped make this seem as though it wasn't happening. And the tiny kisses that were being pressed to his cheek helped a bit. It was almost ridiculous because he was a big boy, he could take care of himself but Zim just kept going and before Dib could even like laugh about it or comment, he felt it pressing against his skin, a jolt of electricity running over his skin just before it went into his neck. It hurt but, the electricity must've helped either numb him or mess with his nerves enough so that it didn't hurt like he expected a giant fucking needle through his skull would.

"Aah." Dib hissed, feeling it touch, feeling the sudden flash of old memories and old emotions. They flashed before his eyes a few seconds before they were gone. Everything felt very hot, then cold as Zim pulled the needle out carefully in response to the C.B.'s orders which were distant currently.

Numbly, Dib glanced back over at Zim and offered a lame smile. "It was…interesting." With a shaky breath, he clasped his hands in front of him. "Now it's your turn right? Oh no…wait. I still have to get a chip in my head or something don't I?"

"It's…a bit easier for Zim." He admitted as a cable snaked down to them, angular metal claws opening up to release a small, square device. Zim held it up for Dib to see. It was black and glossy, with the familiar Irken insignia printed on one side. It was the size of the pad of his thumb, but would hold all the information that Zim could give it in its inner workings. A truly remarkable device.

"Soon, this will hold all that is Zim on it," Zim explained as he reached behind him and extracted a small cord from his PAK. The chip attached with a small CLICK, and it hummed softly as Zim was downloaded onto it.

"DATA DOWNLOAD COMPLETE." The C.B cut in, suddenly. "INITIATE DATA TRANSFER."

Zim bit his lip again, bringing himself around Dib's shoulders as he had done before.
"This might pinch." He whispered as the sides of the chip gave way to tiny wires, reaching out and latching onto the back of Dib's neck. The writhed and burrowed under his skin, attaching onto his nerves and sending the stored data through them.

It more than pinched. It felt like a chip burrowing into his neck but, Dib clenched his teeth and took it, fighting not to make pathetic noises and—a sudden flash of white and red and purple light. There was a flood, a vibration of information that spread from his neck and then exploded into his mind.

All at once he knew.

There was when you opened your eyes for the first time and then the first sip of soda. Everything was so sweet. Life felt sweet. Your mind is filled with information. All of the knowledge swarms you, overwhelms you. The empire, your home, the planets, languages, you are proud, so proud to be part of these people and then they bring up the Invaders and their accomplishments and that's when you know that's what you want to do.

The first person Zim killed fell without a sound, the pain of training nonstop until your muscles gave out, till your feet bled, the smell of grease and blood, working together with the Vortians and knowing you would betray them.

And he's all alone.

There was the feeling of flying, of seeing a billion lights and a trillion stars, the planets he visited. There was the knowledge on combat, the languages he spoke. You are good at destroying things. Irkens are supposed to do that. But, you're different and the way you do it is bad. They tell you so. But, how can you help that? You are all alone. Working and fighting, growing and changing and most of all serving the Irken Empire, the Tallest, the Control Brains, his people. Pride and arrogance. LONG LIVE THE IRKEN EMPIRE.

But, you're still alone. Being made an Invader. So overjoyed that it shook him. There were his years on Earth, the dirt and disgust, the people, the sky, the grass and the grease. There's terror of these beings all around you. What if they know who you are? What if they dissect you? Destroy you? Who would miss you? No one. There was the lab and their first meeting, fight, kiss…the hours in space, Foodcourtia; the laughter, the pain of being shot and his face. Dib's eyes. Zim liked his eyes and Dib could see how he felt, how he was glowing and made him feel like he'd never felt before, all broken and fixed, confusion and understanding, anger and happiness, fear and safety…it stirred the still water.

Blank.

The human's body shook, eyes wide and unseeing as he saw everything. Then with a large gasp he felt to the floor, panting heavily. Zim put a gentle hand on the boy's back, rubbing it a bit before helping Dib back up to a sitting position.

"Are you alright?" He asked, running his hands along the sides of Dib's head. He peeked over the human's should to look at the chip. It was burrowed securely against his skin, pools of red formed where the tiny wires connected. But it wasn't going anywhere, and it was doing its job, so Zim nodded in approval before withdrawing.

With the inner guts of Zim's PAK on display, a cord connected easily and Zim was nearly sent backwards with a surge of electricity. His muscles went stiff and the information poured into him and he almost tried to fight it on instinct. But he gave in and it pooled into his mind all at once.

His wide eyes scanned the distance, seeing through those small hazel orbs as they opened for the first time.

A cold lab and crying because you are just so cold and don't know what to do because what can you do. Then those large hands hold you and you know you are safe and you hear that voice that will be booming over you for the rest of your life for the first time. And as a child you love that voice because you know it means safety.

You are safe in your room and you love to play with your toys but your sister is so awfully mean that you hardly get a moment of peace. But then she's nice and sharing stuff with you and you remember how much you love her and siblings always fight, don't they?

You hold her hand to the first day of school because you are both so nervous, but then she leaves you and you're scared because you try to make friends but those kids are just so utterly relentless. And you cry because you don't understand, but that's OK because you go home and your dad is there to help you. And over the years you get so much more excited because you are sure you just saw a ghost and think of the possibilities if there are ghosts and aliens and monsters.

It's a whole other world and you can't get enough of it, but everybody is looking at you with such disdain and your father is shaking his head and you can feel your heart breaking in your chest. So you put everything that you love aside so you never have to see that look of disappointment again and it's your first day of working at the labs and you hate it but you smile anyway.

All that blood. So much blood and your dad is acting like it doesn't even matter and you wonder where the man that made you feel safe went because you really need him right now. But he's covered in blood and he gives you a thumbs-up from where you are watching in the observation deck.

High school still sucks but it's getting better. The kids are leaving you alone which is better than being picked on. You don't go to the dances anymore because you know no one will ask you and you'd rather be at home. You go to work and there's something new, and it's him and he looks so scared but determined in that glass box. He looks like a mystery and you have to solve him. Then you speak to him for the first time and help him escape and you are so scared and so excited, but you trust this stupid alien that you've just met. And foodcourtia and you can't just leave him behind even though he's a moron because you actually sort of like the guy.

Then there's a nebula but his eyes are so much better and they're drawing you in. And now you're getting married to the guy but that's ok because you actually sorta like him more than just a little bit. And…and….

Zim gasped, blinking wildly and collapsing to the floor, just as Dib had before.

And there is the human, scooping Zim up and just holding them together; thighs, chests, pressing his forehead against his, they're panting in sync. Truly connected in almost every way possible. Dib holds nearly a hundred years of someone else's memories in his mind and they are still coming but slower, so as not to overload their host. But, he can still manage to whisper a few words.

"Are you okay?" And those might be really common words but, up until a few weeks ago there really hadn't been anyone he'd had to ask it to and no one to ask it back. Real honest concern that ran bone deep came from those words, rolling out as naturally as air. Everything was becoming natural now. It was like he'd known Zim forever.

The Control Brains are pulling back the rarely used chords. "DATA SWAP COMPLETE. PHYSICAL SYMBOL: UNKNOWN. IRKEN ZIM, YOU ARE MARKED IN BASIC FORMS INSIDE YOUR PAK AS HUMAN DIB'S BUT, HUMAN DIB HAS NO PHYSICAL INDICATOR OF YOUR UNION ASIDE FROM THE CHIP. HOW DO YOU PLAN TO REMEDY THIS?"

Zim's head lolled around on his neck as he struggled to regain some shred of coherency. "Yes," He answered, only to realize that it wasn't a yes or no question. He cleared his throat and shook his head and tried again.

"The human and I are going to mark each other," He explained, unzipping his own uniform and letting it slide over his shoulders. "Matching marks." He nodded to Dib, giving him a reassuring smile. His head still reeled with incoming memories and knowledge, and it was overwhelming but at the same time Zim was loving every minute of it.

Dib returned the smile, his lips quirking up in one corner and with shaking fingers, he unzipped his uniform and pulled his arms out of it, the fabric bunching around his waist. Zim had seen his chest before so, he didn't know why he had goosebumps. Licking his lips to make them less chapped, the human let himself take in Zim's body; skinny but bright green and full of life.

Almost unconsciously, he raised a hand to the alien's collar bone and slid his knuckles across the skin. "How are we…?" He murmured, shaking as he saw flashes of wars and foreign planet horizons between naked Irken skin.

Zim mimicked Dib and slid his arms free of the fabric, letting it fall to his waist. He brought his arms over Dib's shoulders. Wow, he was so warm, as always. A flash of being picked last for soft-ball, and the C.B had presented them with a blank canister. When Zim popped it open, it revealed its dark magenta colored liquid.

"Oh," Zim breathed in realization. "It's for the markings." He dipped his fingers in the liquid, holding his hand up to show Dib.

Dib's brows furrowed, his skin tingling everywhere. "Okay um…how do we make the markings?" The liquid ink looked like blood in the dim room, it seemed much more dense and deeper than two inches in its container.

"How do you think?" Zim asked, slightly annoyed that Dib hadn't figured it out. He held out his fingers and made a slight scratching motion. "Everything about this is as intimate as possible, so we will be doing it ourselves."

"O-oh…" Dib breathed, before biting down on his bottom lip. "Okay…" Hesitantly, he dipped his own finger tips into the ink, bringing them out and staring at the glistening liquid before glancing back over at Zim. "Is there uh, a certain pattern or…symbol…? And where are you going to…do it?" His mind wasn't even able to come up with any suggestions, too busy as it was imagining how it would feel to be marked by the alien, blood mixed with that ink.

Zim hummed a bit as he reached out and trailed his ink covered fingers over the skin of the human's shoulder. Right below his collar bone on the left side. "Here. We carve our names, and the Irken symbol for unity." He explained as he painted the design on the boy's warm skin. "If anybody sees it, it will deter them from laying a finger on you, lest I get my hands on them." He grinned wickedly at the thought before turning his attention to his own shoulder. Painting his name, along with the boorish looking symbol around it.

"That's your name, see? In Irken. Just follow what I mapped out for you. Don't mess up and ruin my beautiful skin."

Dib cleared his throat and nodded, leaning forward a little bit and brushing their lips together for a few seconds. "Okay. Um. You go first." He encouraged, pulling away from the not-really-there-kiss and hiding his face against the Irken's neck, breathing in and out, readying himself. Dib wanted to know how it was done before attempting it himself.

Zim smiled softly, bringing a hand up to the back of Dib's head, petting the short hair there. His claws made quick work of Dib's flesh, cutting easily and swiftly along the pattern he had painted. He stopped every now and then to coo at him and give him a moment to breathe. He shivered softly at the feel of Dib's warm breath against the crook of his neck, which encouraged him to work faster. It didn't take long, and by the time he was done, the blood/ink mixture had dripped to the human's mid-torso.

"There, that wasn't so bad." Zim said, finally, admiring his handiwork.

Dib shivered, shaking unconsciously as he sat up. As he moved it hurt but, the pain felt incredible. It was yawning and it created this undeniable sensation that accompanied the flashbacks of Zim's past. Tingles unlike any he'd ever felt before rushed down into his stomach, spreading all over his skin. He tried to breathe normally. "No…it wasn't," Dib swallowed to try and moisten his throat. "I um…my nails aren't really all that sharp."

They were jagged, growing though because he hadn't had much of a chance to bite them what with the whole trying to save his planet thing. He dipped his fingers in the ink, retracing his name in Irken where Zim had laid it out for him.

"Yes, I've noticed." Zim worried his bottom lip a bit. After a moment of thinking, his PAK opened up again, a metallic leg snaking out. "Here," He grabbed it, letting it go limp in his hand before holding it out for the human. The pointed end would prove to be sharp enough to break the skin, at least.

Dib took the end of it and dipped it in the ink, swallowing a bit nervously before shakily digging the pointed end into Zim's green skin. The jade skin split easily enough, and the magenta liquid stood out sharply, before mixing with the light pink blood that dripped slowly at first then quicker as the design and his name grew larger until the alien's blood was pooling in his stomach and the more that Dib leaned in, they pressed together and their blood mixed too.

Once he was done, Dib let the pak end drop and let out the bated breath he was holding. "T-there." His vision was blurring at the corners and whether it was because of blood loss or because it was all so insane and incredible. "Done…now what?"

Zim's breath came out in a hiss, but it was over and he felt like he could breathe again. Dib was much less skillful at this, but at least he didn't mar up his skin, too bad. The marks were distinguished enough, and that's what mattered. He took in a deep breath and grabbed Dib's face in his hands, gently. "That's it."

"UNION HAS BEEN FINALIZED. RECORDS NOW RECOGNIZE HUMAN DIB AND IRKEN ZIM TO BE JOINED. THIS BOND IS FINAL."

"We're married." Zim whispered as his PAK leg retracted.