OKAY SO GUYS HI.

Lots of positive interest since the last chapter which is awesome, it makes me smile knowing people are still following and reading and reviewing this thing. Peeps be rockin' yo.

Anyways this is the first full chapter for this fic I've written since my hiatus so... yeah it was an experience. Hopefully the characters are still on track and everything reads well.

Anyways I won't continue to bore you so HAVE FUN GUYZ AND GALLIES.

The events of the last couple of weeks had been pretty crazy. Gaz was now firmly on his trail about who and what Zim really was but even so Dib had decided that he couldn't just let her know about him. Honor was a bond that Zim respected, bizarrely enough, and Dib would keep up their deal for as long as he could.

However he knew eventually Gaz would find out, most likely on her own. He would have to think of a way to deal with that fallout when it happened and hopefully it wouldn't result in the tiny alien blowing apart half the city in anger.

But that was a problem for future Dib. Present Dib was readying himself for what would no doubt be a long lecture about disgusting it was he had a sibling-spawn and how no matter what Zim was going to blow up the earth or something similar. No doubt the irken had also upped his security and added more of those creepy gnomes to his front lawn. He realized, as he watched the clock inch forward to the time that Zim usually showed up, that he hadn't asked Gaz how she had managed to avoid the gnome security in the first place. But then again, it was Gaz.

As usual Zim walked in exactly on the dot. In fact it was so to the point that Dib even pointed to the door the very exact moment the door opened.

However he quickly lowered the finger the moment he saw Zim's face. It wasn't the stern, annoyed expression Dib had been expecting. It wasn't even Zim's usual 'resting irritation' face.

The irken was upset. Really upset.

Zim of course didn't look sad. He wasn't crying or sobbing or even looking down at the floor. Instead he had the kind of expression one would have if they were doing everything they could to avoid looking at anything or anyone. His gaze was focused forward and at a glance would look normal, maybe even a little irritated, but Dib had been talking to the alien for long enough to know when he was hiding his emotions under a thin veil of fury.

And he had never seen Zim quite like this before.

"Hello Zim." Dib knew that this wasn't just skating on thin ice. This was tip toeing over a thin wooden plank suspended over lava. "How are you feeling today?"

There was no answer. Which was... very unusual for Zim considering how much he enjoyed hearing himself talk.

"... that bad huh?"

Still no answer. Dib was actually starting to get a little scared. Despite being tiny to the point of being barely eighty pounds soaking wet Zim had a gaze so evil it could strip the paint of a car.

"You know if you want to talk about-"

"No."

The answer was so curt that Dib almost didn't hear it.

"No? Just no?" Dib frowned at him. "Is that all you're going to say today?"

Again silence. That very, very worrying silence.

"Okay, well, I'm going to take a stab in the dark here and say that something has really upset you. Zim I know we talked about this, you can tell me anything and-"

"No. You can't help." Zim snapped at Dib loudly and sharply. But there was something in his voice. Something was cracking, shaking. "All you do is talk, talk, talk. And I waste my precious time here and gain NOTHING from it. So SHUT. UP. Zim is WEAKENED by you your... TALK!" The irken stood up on the chair, pointing a finger a Dib.

A finger that he couldn't help but notice was shaking.

For a moment Dib considered doing what he usually did when Zim snapped off at him like this. Play it cool, allow the alien to cool off and speak to him carefully and calmly. And yet something in Zim's tone told him that perhaps, just this once, he could win this fight. All his training told him that he had to speak calmly, assertively to the child. Make sure they knew that they were talking to an adult, someone they should respect. However, just this once, he decided to buck that trend just a little.

"No." Dib snapped at the alien so suddenly that Zim actually fell back in his chair out of shock. "I am not making you weak, Zim! Discussing your feelings isn't a weakness, asking for help isn't a weakness and talking to someone isn't a weakness!" He actually stood up he was so frustrated at the tiny alien, his voice rising as he spoke to the point where it was barely under a shout. "You need to stop assuming I'm trying to hurt you in some way because I've told you over and over I am here to help you."

"ZIM DOES NOT NEED HELP." Zim screeched back at the far taller man. "ZIM IS PERFECT! ZIM IS-"

"ZIM IS DEFENDING HIMSELF WAY TOO MUCH." Dib shouted back at the alien, again shocking the irken into silence. He fixed the alien with a hard, uncompromising look. He was done playing games, this time he was getting answers. "Why are you so upset?"

"ZIM IS NOT UPSET!"

"Why are you so upset."

"SHUT UP!" Zim's voice cracked. Actually cracked. The irken looked like he had paled slightly as Dib leaned forward onto the desk. "SHUT UP NOW OR-"

"Why. Are you. So. Upset."

"BECAUSE I'M LOSING!"

The air went still as a silence locked the room into stasis. The only sound was water slowly dripping from the exposed pipe and falling to the little cup Dib had placed below it. Zim was shaking. His eyes wide and his mouth open just enough to breathe. Dib however kept it together a little better. His harsh gaze was still fixed on the irken but inside his stomach had twisted into a knot.

Zim would never admit something like this. Never. Not unless this time it was different. This time something had happened that he couldn't just deny and shrug off.

Dib had to know what. Thankfully he didn't have to ask. All he had to do was sit back down while Zim gripped the seat of his own chair tightly.

"I'm... I'm losing." The alien almost sobbed, though it was caught in his throat and instead he almost choked on his own words. "Everyone is doing better than me." And his head fell into his hands.

"Who is everyone, Zim. Tell me." Dib's voice was calm again, though it didn't loose that edge of assertiveness eve though inside he was doing somersaults. This was it. This was what he had been looking for! A chip in the armor, a weak link in the chain, something that could finally get him some headway with Zim.

"EVERYONE." Zim screeched without looking up. "I'm an invader and I've not conquered anything." His fingers seemed to dig tightly into his skin, so much so that Dib was worried they might draw blood. "Every other invader has taken their planet! EVERY. OTHER. INVADER. Even Scoodge! I HATE THEM! I HATE SCOODGE!" He smashed his fists down suddenly and leapt off his chair. "I HATE THEM SO MUCH!" However even as he screeched he was shaking and his eyes were wider than Dib had ever seen them.

He kicked over his chair but Dib didn't react. He had to let Zim work this out of his system and here was the space he could do it.

"And the Tallest just LOOOVE telling me ALL about them." He ranted as he paced back and forth, "Oh Invader Tenn has already built her imperial fortress! And Stink has already moved off planet to retire to R'LYEH. And today..." he gripped the sides of his head like he was having a migraine. "TODAY they call me just to tell me that SKOODGE. SKOODGE! Has conquered the Planet Blorch!" There was a horrible little pause where a sort of sob-like sound seemed to escape his throat and he fell onto his knees. "And they laughed at me. They laughed because I haven't done anything on this rotten ball of dirt."

Dib couldn't believe this. For months he had been wishing and praying for this moment when finally the great emotional wall of Zim came crumbling down and what did he find behind it? A broken child who's only parental figures shoved the successes of everyone else in his face and laughed at his perceived failures. How could he have wanted to see this?

For the first time in a long time Dib was actually lost. He had read the books and done the work but to see something this sad first hand was almost heartbreaking. However he steeled his inner child psychologist and pressed forward.

"I don't think you're a loser, Zim."

And yet the moment he spoke the irken leapt up onto his desk, pointing an accusing finger at him. "DON'T. Don't you dare join in with them or I WILL DECIMATE YOU!"

Dib kept completely cool. "I'm not joining in with them, Zim. I'm on your side. You're not a loser."

Zim's hand was shaking again. His eyes grew wide. "Don't... don't you..."

"I told you when you first came in here. I'm here to help you." He sighed softly. "And you're not a loser. You've fooled everyone on this planet into believing you're a human, right? And you captured me, didn't you? And your lab was huge! There was so much stuff there my dad would have a heart attack out of jealousy."

Zim seemed to relax slowly. His hand fell and his crushed look faded into something that was at least neutral.

Dib continued. "Zim you're more than what your leaders keep telling you, you are. No matter what they think."

"But they are my Tallest." His voice was still small but no longer shaking. "They-"

"They are a million billion light years away." Dib continued quickly. "They're not here, are they? They don't see you working hard every day to complete your mission. They don't see you show up every day to skool to learn more about humanity and earth."

Zim went quiet and he turned, sitting down onto the front of the table and looked over to the door in a gaze.

"... you shouldn't want me to succeed." Zim mumbled. "You'd be enslaved and your world strip mined for resources before being leveled to become... I don't know." He leaned forward, putting his chin into his hands. "You've got a lot of water here. Maybe a giant swimming pool."

"I thought your people couldn't handle our water?"

"The water is fine." Zim continued to mumbled as he gazed into space. "It's all the pollution you pathetic humans pump into the environment. It's amazing you're all still breathing on your own."

"I'd be lying if I said I wanted your people to conquer earth." Dib said after a small moment. "But that doesn't mean your leaders should belittle you for not doing so already. That's cruel, Zim."

"My Tallest are not cruel." Zim spoke with a hint of a growl.

"Alright, alright." Dib didn't want to push his luck, he'd already made one breakthrough today. "We'll talk about them another time. Look, Zim, I think we made a big step today. I mean it. I'm proud of you."

"You're proud of me? Dib-stink you cannot be proud of your enemy."

"You're not my enemy. And I am proud of you." Dib allowed a smile on his face. "Listen Zim, I want you to think on something for me for next week." The alien was silent and Dib took it as a go-ahead to continue. "I want you to think about what else you'd like to do if you weren't an invader."

At this, the irken suddenly looked up, his eyes narrowing at Dib in an almost suspicious manner. However he relaxed and jumped off the desk, walking towards the door. "I will consider it. Even though you still have yet to reward Zim for the last time."

Dib froze. He'd completely forgotten about the reward. "Right! Well, I'm working on it! Just, you know, next week!"

Zim paused as his hand reached the door. Their time was up and usually he left almost immediately, however for the first time the tiny alien paused, then turned and fixed Dib with a curious look. "You are weird, Dib-beast. You confuse me." Another pause. "... I..." He paused again and as his hand gripped the door knob. "Thank you... for, you know, listening to me, I guess."

And with that the alien was gone in something faster than a flash.

Dib took the deepest breath he'd ever taken and leaned back into his chair. He felt as though he had finally opened the door into Zim's chaotic head and yet he also felt as though perhaps his work load had just doubled.

Still. He had made headway with Zim. For the first time since he had discovered the irken's true identity he had found something new about him. Something that mattered. And it didn't come through spying and planning and camping out in front of the irken's home. It'd come through talking and listening and understanding.

With a weary smile he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Time to prepare for next week... and find a suitable reward. What could he possibly get for someone who came from outer space?

WHEEHOO. So that was a funtimes chapter filled with funtimes, right?

In all honesty I felt like maybe the arguing bit was a little rushed, but I wanted to keep this chapter around the 2000-ish word mark, not to mention start pushing the plot along a tad faster.

Anyways so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and finally we're getting somewhere with Zim! I plan to use events in the show as bits in this fic, but perhaps not in the way most people think of them so that's another thing for ya'll to look forward to.

References:
R'lyeh - Only the one this week! And this is a cheeky one because R'lyeh is actually located on Earth. It is the city plunged under the oceans in which the great Cthulhu resides, dead but dreaming! But that's okay kids because SOON HE WILL RISE IA IA CTHULHU FHTAGN.

So yes, make sure to fave, follow, leave some feeback telling me what you thought was cool and what wasn't and if you wanna follow my tumblr account where you can ask me questions and I'll give probably silly answers send me a message and I'll send ya'll a link. Next chapter will hopefully be the same Sid-time, same Sid-channel next week! PEACE!