A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, I got indecisive and ended up moving a chunk of it into the next chapter instead, but at least that means I'm already well into writing the next one. I hope you enjoy it :3

Chapter 8

Dib gasped at the sensations ravaging his body, his mind lost in a world of pleasure. He couldn't think… was thinking important? Something niggled at him, but every time his mind reached for it it was drowned in another wave of desire. He couldn't believe this was happening to him. How long had he waited for this? It seemed like forever.

The hand that caressed him suddenly squeezed tighter, urging him to make a move. He whimpered as the touch sent fresh surges of ecstasy through his body. He knew he had to do something in response. Instinctively he moved his hand upwards, reaching for an antenna to stroke. Instead he found his fingers entangled with… hair. Wait, was that right? Dib pulled back from the creature that was latched onto his mouth, opening his eyes in confusion. The fog of pleasure parted as he looked down into not red eyes like he had expected, but brown human eyes.

"What's the matter?" Kat said breathlessly, her voice so close on his lips.

"What am I doing…" Dib muttered to himself, ignoring her. He couldn't explain it, but he suddenly felt repulsed at being so close to her. He had been kidding himself – he couldn't do this. He pulled away from the girl hastily, covering himself with his duvet.

"Excuse me?" Kat sat up, looking at him testily. "What just happened?"

"I… I'm sorry I just… can't do this right now." Dib muttered distractedly as he located his clothes and began to dress himself. Kat huffed impatiently at his words.

"Don't tell me this is about Zim." She complained. This got Dib's attention at last.

"So what if it is?" His eyes burned into hers challengingly, but she didn't even flinch. "What do you even know about me anyway? We only met a couple of days ago!"

"I didn't hear you complaining a few minutes ago." She said pointedly.

"Well... I had a moment of weakness." Dib blushed, looking away in embarrassment from how easily he had succumbed to his urges.

"Talk about mixed signals." Kat grumbled beginning to search for her own clothes now, realising whatever this had been it was now over.

"Look I'm no good at these things okay? I've never done this before."

"That much was obvious." Kat mocked as she pulled on her top. Dib's cheeks burned furiously.

"Look I was with Zim before I was with you okay. You have no idea how complicated it is." Try, 'I'm in love with an alien' for complicated Dib thought to himself. He should be sectioned.

"Exactly! I was gonna help you get over him. I thought you said you 'needed' this." She air quoted the word and gestured to herself. Dib slumped, some of his fire leaving him.

"Maybe you are what I need, but I can't help it if it's not what I want." Dib couldn't look her in the eye as he said it, but he heard her sigh in defeat.

"Well I hope Zim enjoys complicated too. I'm out of here." And with that she was gone. His only chance he'd ever had at a normal relationship. Was he crazy? Definitely. But that wasn't going to stop him.

He had to see Zim, and now. Before he could think of all the reasons he shouldn't and managed to talk himself out of it again. He pulled on his boots and trench coat as fast as he could before bounding out of the house and practically running down the street towards Zim's house.

Dib couldn't help but feel that if he didn't fix this now he'd regret it for the rest of his life. Zim was an alien after all, how often did that happen? Maybe it would only be for a little while, but that just meant he shouldn't waste a single second more of the precious time they had left together. He knew that now, he just wished it hadn't taken him so long to figure out. Even if he had to beg Zim to stay on Earth he would try, or maybe he could leave with him. He'd be willing to leave everything behind, what had this world ever done for him anyway? His heart pounded as he thought about what that might be like, travelling through the stars with Zim. Whatever happened, they could work it out right? As long as they were together, that was what mattered.

He worried over all the awful things he'd said to Zim over the last couple of days in his attempts to push him away. God he hoped Zim could forgive him. He thought about how persistent the Irken had been, even to the point of sneaking around and following him. Suddenly that didn't anger him at all anymore, instead he found it strangely endearing. Surely if Zim had been that desperate for his attention he would welcome him back?

His head was a whirlwind of emotions as his anxious excitement spurred his legs on faster, his heart skipping a beat as the green house loomed into view.

Zim's claw hovered over the key that would complete the process. His head hung miserably over the console, his antennae drooped and his eyes half closed. He knew once he pressed the confirmation he would be saying goodbye to the Dib forever, but he also knew now it was the only way. These emotions were a sickness and they were killing him, there was no escaping it. His body trembled from stress.

He didn't want to give in, he really didn't. He'd loved the positive side of these emotions, it had been the happiest time of his life. But he just couldn't handle the flipside. When he'd seen Dib in bed with that human girl he was surprised he hadn't died right there on the spot from the agony that it sent ripping through him. He'd vomited several times, and now he felt dizzy and breathless.

He just couldn't see any way past this. There was no one else to care for him, so if he didn't have Dib what was the point of leaving the inhibitor off? Even if he did get killed by the Tallest, he'd rather that than continue living a lonely, pointless existence feeling this way.

He calmed himself and let his thoughts drift once last time to Dib. He imagined his beautiful amber eyes, his sleek, tall figure, that messy mop of black hair. Zim felt a brief moment of peace before the pain returned once more. Dib didn't want him anymore, he'd told him that to his face. He had a human companion now just like he'd dreamt of all his life, so of course he didn't need Zim. Dib probably wouldn't even notice that he was gone.

Zim looked up in bewilderment. His mind felt beautifully numb, and it took a moment for him to come to his senses. He stared at his own claw which was still pressing down on a key on the console. The cable that was latched into his pak withdrew and tucked away back into the ceiling. He stood and swayed a little before finding his footing. He no longer felt sick or dizzy at all, what bliss.

His memories felt strange, like they didn't belong to him. Had all of that really happened? Good Tallest he was a disgrace. He felt disgust at himself for how long it had taken him to turn the inhibitor back on. That feeling quickly turned to anger as he remembered how he'd been moping around that stupid human like a lost puppy, how humiliating. He'd been acting like such a… human.

Zim's anger at Dib burned furiously. All the other feelings he'd had for him had been stripped away, and now rage was all that was left behind. How dare he treat Zim in such a way! And Zim had been pathetic enough to keep pawing at him for his attention? How nauseating. It was beyond time he redeemed himself. He was an Irken, and Irkens got even.

Zim instantly set to work. He had his plan all set up and ready to go, all he needed to do was to get in contact with his Almighty Tallest. They'd never need to know that the human had helped him with his mission, or any of what had gone on in the last week for that matter. By Irk he'd make sure they never knew. All they needed to see was that he was fixed and capable, and still loyal to his race. Why had he doubted it so much? His invention was ingenious, of course it would be enough to win their trust back. It just made sense.

He marvelled at himself as he worked – how good it felt to be fully functional at last. All he had to do to reach the Tallest was to locate the Massive, home in on their coordinates and boost the signal. He grinned as his call connected, and before long an image of his great leaders appeared on his screen.

He quickly stood to attention and puffed out his chest, showing the utmost respect at the same time as showing off his full height. The two faces peered closer to the screen, their expressions dumbfounded.

"Z… Zim? Is that you?" Red spluttered, blinking hard as if his eyes were deceiving him.

"No. That can't be… he's too tall," Purple dismissed, not wanting to believe it.

"It is sirs. Greetings." Zim stood proudly, enjoying their surprise at him and recognition of his stature.

"But… how? It's been years Zim…" Red trailed off, speechless.

"Yes, I apologise for my absence. Before I say anything else I want you to know that I became aware of my defective pak, and after several years of hard work I finally fixed all of the faults." There was no way he was going to admit that a human fixed it for him. "And as you can see my height is no longer impaired." He stuck his chin in the air smugly.

"Wow… yes. We can see that." Red and Purple exchanged a worried glance.

"I wanted to formally apologise for all of my actions previous to the fixing of my pak. I acted disgracefully, and I intend to make it up to you and prove that I truly can be an invader for the Irken race."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Purple asked suspiciously, still not quite sure if he believed Zim was no longer defective, half expecting something to blow up in the background at any moment.

"I have invented a new device sirs, one I think you will be quite impressed by. By combining the finest Earth technology had to offer with superior Irken mechanics, I have created a device capable of altering a planets orbit." Zim proceeded to explain the workings of his invention in great scientific detail, pleased as the Tallest hung on his every word. He'd dreamt of a moment like this for years. After he'd finished the Tallest simply gawked at him, hardly able to believe this was the same Irken they had come to know and despise.

"And you built this? All by yourself? And it works?" Purple asked in incredulously, still waiting to hear the catch.

"I have done everything save for a physical test run of the device, but I have triple checked all the calculations. It will work. My plan was to first invite you here to witness its trial run on the humans. The fools won't know what hit them. And then you can do what you will with this useless planet, leave it as ash for all I care. I have long awaited this day my Tallest." Zim stood proudly awaiting their response. There was a moment of silence as the Tallest thought about this. Red gave a small nod to Purple, who shrugged back.

"Okay Zim, we will come and see this machine of yours. Make sure that everything is ready – what is that?" A shrill alarm suddenly sounded in Zim's base, and Zim growled in aggravation as he realised it meant an intruder.

"It's nothing sirs. Everything will be ready, please excuse me." He cut the transmission quickly before anything else could go wrong. He'd been so close to making that call perfect, of course that stupid human had to mess it up somehow. He quickly brought up a screen showing the living room of the upper house and sure enough there was the Dib. Zim gritted his teeth and headed to the lift.

"Zim! Zim are you in here?" Zim could hear the human calling out as he shot up and out of the pedal bin lift. He scowled as the Dib came in to view, stopping a few metres away from the boy. He was shocked as Dib actually smiled at him – why was he grinning like a fool? Didn't he realise he was about to get destroyed? Zim's eyes burned fiercely back, and the boys smile soon faded.

"What do you think you are doing here human? Do you think you can just waltz into my base any time you like?" Zim growled dangerously, and Dib gulped. He hadn't expected Zim to be this mad.

"I wanted to see you. Needed to see you." Dib stumbled over his words. This was hard enough to say without the way Zim was looking at him.

"Why would you want to see me?" Zim snarled.

"Why do you think?" Dib matched him tetchily snapping back. Zim always had known how to press his buttons. He took a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. "Zim… I'm sorry for pushing you away these last few days. I'm sorry for everything."

"Your apologies mean nothing to Zim!" Zim remained completely unmoved by the human's words.

"Zim I'm trying really hard! I miss you okay! I regret everything I said!" Dib could feel his eyes beginning to water. Why was Zim being so difficult?

"Regret all you want Earth-stink, at least you won't have to suffer for long!" Zim smirked evilly.

"Wait… what?" Dib was confused now, and that glint in Zim's eye was so very unnerving.

"My creation is complete and fully functional. Soon it will be implemented on this spinning ball of filth and the humans will finally taste my wrath. My Tallest are on their way here right now to witness it." Zim grinned, loving the look of horror on Dib's face as it dawned on him.

"You… you promised… you swore if I helped you you wouldn't use it on the Earth!" Dib's anger was building now, rivalling Zim's. "It was a lie all along wasn't it? Were you just leading me on this whole time so that you could get what you wanted from me? You TRAITOR!" Tears began to escape Dib's eyes as he screamed at Zim.

"YOU were the one that betrayed ME you WORM!" With this Zim's fury overflowed, and he lunged at the boy madly.

Dib barely had time to process this before he was knocked viciously to the ground, Zim's claws raking at his arms and body. He managed to punch out and caught Zim in the chin. They rolled over on the ground, Zim clawing and hissing as Dib flailed back.

"I SAW you! I saw you with HER!" Zim screamed, his face so close to Dibs. Dib's stomach dropped like a stone, horror-struck. Zim had seen them together? But did that mean… he finally understood what was going on.

"No… tell me you didn't…" His head spun from shock and pain as they wrestled against each other. "Tell me you didn't turn it back on Zim!" Dib was taller than Zim, but the Irken was stronger and eventually managed to pin Dib to the ground, his claws wrapped around the boy's soft throat. Dib struggled against Zim but soon gave up, unable to move beneath the aliens hold. Silence fell save for the sound of them both panting for air. Dib looked mournfully up into blazing red eyes, shuddering as Zim's hot breath fell against his face.

"Everything good I felt for you is gone." Zim said, his voice low now.

"No…" Dib gasped, clutching at the claws around his neck.

"But I can still feel anger. And anger is all I feel for you now!" With that Zim hit the boy hard across the face, and Dib fell back lifeless. Zim let go of the boy's neck, his unconscious body sprawled beneath him. He sat for a moment over the body as he caught his breath, staring at what he'd done.

After a few minutes he felt an inexplicable need and reached to press a claw against the boy's neck, checking for a pulse. It was faint, but there. He wasn't sure why it mattered, but it did. He should finish the job. He should kill this treacherous nuisance now and be done with their petty feud forever.

So why couldn't he do it?

He shook his head at himself in exasperation and got to his feet. The boy could rot in one of his cells, he didn't care. He would suffer more that way. Why should he give him the mercy of a quick death? All the humans would be dead soon anyway.

He grabbed the boy's arms and slung the body over his shoulder, carrying him over to the lift that would take them down into his lab. It was strange he mused, to sense the Dib's warmth against him and not feel anything anymore. He knew he used to feel something, but his pak just couldn't quite decode the memories to make any sense out of them, as if there was some vital piece of data missing.

Once he reached the containment chambers he threw Dib's body unceremoniously into one of the tall tube-like cells and locked it down. He stood for a moment, gazing perplexed at the pitiful creature through the purple tinted glass. Nothing. He felt nothing.

He turned and walked away, to begin setting up his device.

Dib groaned. God his head was killing him. Come to think of it most of him hurt. He straightened his glasses on his face and tried to make his eyes focus. Where the heck was he? It was dimly lit, and at first all he could make out was his own body illuminated by a dull purple glow. As he came to his senses he soon realised he was in one of Zim's containers. Well that was nothing new to him. Sure it had been a while but he was well used to these things. Still he felt a swell of anxiety at being enclosed in such a small space.

He pressed his face against the cool glass and peered into the surrounding darkness. He could make out parts of the lab, the Irken technology looking much like any room within Zim's base. The only light came from the glow of various screens and buttons on the consoles. Dib sighed and sat back once more. Zim wasn't here.

He winced at the pain in his head – just how hard had Zim hit him anyway? They'd fought a fair bit in their time but it had never been as real as that. Dib was actually surprised Zim hadn't just killed him, was that a positive sign? No. Dib shook the thought from his head. It was impossible for Zim to care now, caring was hardwired out of his system. He felt his heart splinter at that thought. This was so much more than them just falling out, this was final.

He knew he should be worrying more over the fate of his planet, but somehow all of that seemed so unimportant in comparison. Perhaps he was too used to Zim's plans being insane and he'd gotten complacent. He needed to not forget how lethal Zim truly was now. He only needed to move to be reminded of that fact as the pain lanced through his body again.

He shrugged off his coat and rolled up his top to inspect himself for damage. Just as the old bruises were starting to fade they were being replaced by new ones, accompanied by angry red scratch marks from Zim's claws. None of them were too bad though, he was just going to be sore for a couple of days. Just for a change. It was nothing compared to his splitting headache. His stomach rumbled queasily, but he couldn't tell if it was from concussion or despair.

Despite all that Zim had done though, he still wanted nothing more than to be close to him again. Was there nothing that idiot could do to deter him? Zim had slashed him, speared him and knocked him senseless, and yet still Dib yearned for his company. He was so mad at himself for still wanting him even now. Perhaps it was the cold, lonely environment that just made him wish he had someone to wrap his arms around. He shivered miserably in the bare space, and pulled his coat up around him like a blanket in an attempt to comfort himself.

Why was he letting himself think about Zim this way? It was never going to happen again, not ever, and it was all his fault. He cringed at the thought of Zim seeing him with Kat. He must have been at the window, but how much had he seen? Enough clearly to hate him, but maybe not enough to see Dib break it off. Not that that mattered now, the damage was done. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have hurt Zim so badly as to drive him to this? He'd hurt him so much that Zim would rather be numb than have any feelings at all. And all because he'd been so selfish as to try and spare himself the pain. He'd only made everything ten times worse. Perhaps even gone and got the whole Earth destroyed. Way to go Dib. You just killed the world with your cock. He grimaced to himself.

And what would happen to Zim? He'd told Dib that if he went back to his leaders they would almost certainly kill him. Did he not care anymore? Did that mean he'd got Zim killed as well? This thought was the first one to actually motivate him, and he felt a flicker of purpose relight in him. But what was he supposed to do from inside this damned thing? He wondered if Zim would even come back at all, or if he'd just been left here to waste away. He had to get out of here.

Shakily he tried to get to his feet. His head swam sickeningly and he vomited, leaning heavily against the glass wall of his enclosure. Luckily there was next to nothing in his stomach. Not that that was going to help him survive any length of time in here without food, he just hoped Zim wouldn't be that cruel. Once his head had ceased spinning he began a quick inspection of his container. Of course there was nothing of any use, just perfectly smooth sealed sides. He began to bang his fists on the glass.

"Zim! Hey ZIM!" Dib yelled as hard as he could, not sure how much his prison insulated his voice. "I know you're here somewhere. You can't just leave me here! ZIM!"

Dib yelled until his voice gave out. He didn't even know if anyone had heard him at all. He eventually sank miserably to his knees, and wept.

"Zim? Tall?" Purple yelled frantically, arms flailing.

"Calm down a minute, just let me think." Red hushed him, brows furrowed in concern.

"Zim? TALL?!" Purples voice only increased in volume and panic. "This can't be happening! It's like our worst nightmare is coming true!"

"Just relax alright? Nothing bad is going to happen." Red reasoned with him, grabbing his arms to stop them flying about.

"What do you mean relax? What if he gets taller than us? Did you see how much he's grown in just a few years? That's enough that we'll have to give him a proper status of importance already! Imagine all that insanity in a tall body!" Purple ranted madly. "Why did you tell him we were coming? We should be flying in the opposite direction and leaving him there to rot!"

"You're forgetting one important fact. We are the Tallest. And what we say goes." Red leered at him menacingly, and Purple looked back curiously. "If he really isn't defective any more then that means we can't just ignore him. What we need to do is eliminate him."

"Go on." Purple prompted him, intrigued.

"We have to do it quickly before any one sees how tall he is, before they start to respect him. He's still a disgrace remember, no one back on Irk is going to forget everything he's done. We just have to execute him quickly before he can prove that he's not defective anymore." Red said mischievously.

"How are we going to do that?"

"We fly for Earth, act to Zim like we're bringing the armada to take the planet so he won't suspect there'll be anything amiss. Then easy - we just arrest him, throw him in a cell before anyone else can see, and have a brief private trial. We'll say he committed some treason or something. It's not like we really have to explain ourselves is it?" Red chuckled.

"I dunno. There are different laws that apply to tall ones. Laws I like." Purple looked very nervous.

"They don't apply to defectives." Red dismissed.

"But there's never been a tall defective before!"

"Ugh look, we'll just kill everyone else who saw him then and say that he killed them and that's why we had to execute him so fast, for being so dangerous. No one will ever know, trust me." He smiled at Purple deviously. "It's not like it's the first time we've dealt with a threat to our reign." Purple smirked back wickedly.

"You're right. Of course, it's still just Zim right?" Purple laughed, beginning to relax.

"Exactly. He's no match for us. Plus I'd quite like to get a hold of that thing he's created, if it really does work. Don't you worry, before long he'll be dead and we'll never have to worry about him again. We should have done this years ago." Grinning Red turned to leave the room they were in, leading Purple back onto the main deck.

"Pilot! Set our course for Earth."

A/N: Thanks for reading! :D