Steve stood from the table and carried his dishes to the sink, then reached to turn the radio on to kill the silence. Zim nibbled the flattered orange flesh and Dib just stared at his plate, lost in thought. The Irken's antennae twitched and he looked up suddenly, cocking his head. He rose and stepped over to Steve, pushing him aside and reaching to touch the radio's dial. He turned it a few degrees back the way Steve had been flipping and then increased the volume. Dib turned in his seat to watch.

"What is that?" Dib asked. It sounded like just white noise to him. Zim didn't reply, tilting his head. After a few moments he straightened and turned to them.

"They are here," he said.

"Who?" Dib rose slowly, a hand on the table for support. Zim started to leave the room but Dib grabbed his arm as he passed. He turned on him, eyes narrowed.

"Zim, who is here?" Dib asked again, louder. Zim pulled his arm away, glaring.

"My kind," he almost spat the last word. He continued into the living room.

"What, why? Already? Why are they here? You have to do something," Dib demanded as he followed after him but stopped. The alien stood silently by the TV with his back to him, unmoving. His antennae were slack against his skull, quivering slightly.

Dib approached him slowly. "Zim?"

"They're here," he repeated quietly.

"You said that." Dib stepped around him slowly to look into his face. His gaze was distant, skin pale. He blinked and focused on the human before him.

"My.. My leaders are coming."

"What does that mean?" Dib asked quickly, the alien's words stabbing fear into his chest. "What are they going to do?"

"I.." he turned his face away, head tilted towards the TV.

"Zim!"

"They are going to claim this planet," he looked at him again, straightening. "They're bringing an army this time."

"An ar.. an army, a fucking army, how do we deal with that? What are we supposed to do about that?" his voice grew louder with each word.

"Dib," Steven said quietly, leaning against the wall by the kitchen entrance.

"What makes you think you need to do something?" Zim snapped back. "What even gives you the right to think you can do anything about it, human?"

Dib shook his head and turned away, folding his hands on the back of his head as he paced across the room. "We have to call someone. I'll call the office. The army, our army."

"You won't stand a chance."

Dib turned to look at him again, dropping his arms. "What do I do?" he asked helplessly.

"Nothing." Zim looked down at the TV.

"How do you know all of this?" Steven asked.

"I can hear the transmissions."

"But I turned the radio off."

Zim shook his head. "This.. Your technology gives off emissions that you humans can't pick up."

"The TV? Like infrasound?"

"Somewhat. Our technology is more powerful than your's so our signals bleed into everything. My PAK is wired to it even though I'm disconnected, so I pick it up."

"So you can hear your leader's transmissions through my TV that's turned off?"

Zim turned to look at him. "You can believe or not human, it makes no difference to me."

"Okay," Dib lifted his hands, "Okay, so what are they saying? They're coming here to kill us all and take our planet?"

"No," Zim glanced over his shoulder. "Many of you will be enslaved to assist with the tear down of this planet's structures and the rebuild of their desires. Then you will all be terminated."

"That's.. That's just.." Dib stammered, shaking his head. "You can't let them do this."

"Why are you under the impression that I wouldn't allow this?" Zim asked. "I can't stop this. I will be found and killed along with you."

"But you're one of them, surely you can do something!"

"You are one of your kind. You are one of the murderers, the rapists, the molesters, the war mongers. Why don't you stop them?"

"Because my species isn't a hive mind," Dib replied angrily. "I do my job to stop the horrible people but I can't control them!"

"You don't stop anything. You hunt them down and punish them after the fact. Hive mind or not, I am not a part of them anymore, and even when I was I had no control over them. I am but a vessel of their will, I will not stand in the way of that. Do not think that because you extended your human concepts of compassion to me that I owe you or your planet anything."

Dib stared at him and nodded slowly. "Of course."

"I think you should leave," Steven spoke up. Zim glanced at him and nodded.

"Alright." He stepped towards the door but paused to look down at Steven's phone on the coffee table. He leaned and picked it up, looking it over.

"Hey," Steve moved towards him but stopped when he drew a wire from his PAK and held it to the phone. It split at the end and a dozen tiny offsprings snaked into the phone's charger and headphone ports. The phone lit up and flashed a few different screens briefly before going dark again. Zim's gaze fixed on it, eyes dulling as his antennae quivered. He began speaking an alien tongue, punctuated by clicks and rolls. Dib and Steve watched him silently. He cocked his head listening, then spoke again quickly. The Irken barked a laugh and turned to look at the humans, the wire sliding away. His PAK clicked and beeped twice. He tossed the phone down and smiled.

"Goodbye, humans. Good luck."

"Where are you going to go?" Dib asked.

"To prepare for my leaders' arrival." He grinned as he turned and flung the door open, stepping out.

"What happened," Steve asked, staring after him.

"I think he reconnected," Dib replied slowly.