"How would you feel about exploring a haunted mansion?" Zim asked out of the blue, about two days after Dibs' birthday.

Dib's first reaction would have been to say that he would love to, especially if Zim was certain there were actual ghosts or some other supernatural being. But this was Zim, so he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "…what's the catch?"

"None!" Zim said. "Well, other than that your older self and GIR will be accompanying you. But there's plenty of equipment to go around, and it's a big mansion."

"And why are you offering it?" Dib asked.

"I need to check in on a town in the Midwest, since the agricultural output there has been a bit low," Zim said. "There's a haunted mansion at the outskirts of that town. If there's anything like an old forest or mansion or graveyard that Future Dib would like to explore, I make it a point to take my Dib out there to explore while I'm busy. The fresh air is healthy, and so on."

Dib narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him. "…what are you going to do in that town?"

"Nothing major today," Zim said. "Probably just have more humans working in the fields, or see if I need to put some robots there. I'm not going to raze them if they aren't involved in rebel activity."

Dib scrutinized him more, but it didn't look like he was lying, per say. He still didn't trust that he had good intentions. "…will I be left here alone if I say 'no'?"

"Technically, yes, but Minimoose is keeping an eye on things here for me while I'm gone," Zim said.

Dib scowled. Just great. He had no idea how easy it would be to sneak past that moose, and if he couldn't do it, he'd just be left to wander the palace in a bored, fruitless haze. On the other hand…he could sneak out of a mansion, far from the palace, making it hard for Zim to catch him. Even if he couldn't get out, at least he'd be able to do something interesting by hunting ghosts.

"Fine, I'll go," he decided.

"Great!" Zim said. "Talk to your older self, and he'll give you all the equipment you could need. We'll head out when you're both ready!"

"Yeah, great," Dib mumbled, getting up and heading to his older self's lab.

In just a few minutes, his older self had given him a briefcase filled with his own equipment for ghost hunting. He even gave him a video camera that he admitted was used, but was still in good condition. Dib was honestly impressed with the amount and quality of equipment he'd been given, and both he and his future self had briefcases stuffed with various materials as they headed to the hanger.

Zim's Voot was there, of course, as was Dib's ship. They climbed into the Voot, Future Dib sharing the seat with Zim, while Dib pressed himself into the back of the ship, as far as he could get from them. GIR sat beside him, kicking his feet and humming as they took off, sailing at the upper edge of the atmosphere.

Dib couldn't help but sit up a little, watching the stars that were now closer, but still so far away.

It took them less than an hour, at the Voot's speed and height, until Zim announced they were coming closer to their destination and began to descend. Dib sat up a little further, looking around until he spotted the town below, and the mansion they were headed towards.

The mansion was an old, abandoned one, set alone at the top of a hill. It practically screamed that it was haunted, and Dib would normally have been eager to explore it…

Except his gaze quickly caught on the two rings of Zim's large guard robots—one around the base of the hill, and another around the mansion itself. He turned to Zim, glaring at him. "Really? Seriously?"

"Their purpose is to keep rebels out, not hold you in," Zim told him. "There won't be another kidnapping like that again."

"Mhmm." Maybe that was their main goal, but Dib had no doubt they would also keep him from trying to sneak out.

Zim carefully maneuvered the Voot to land behind the second line of robots, dropping the two of them off right at the front doors. Dib was quick to jump out, though his older self was slower, letting Zim take his hand and help him step down. "Have fun, both of you," Zim said, leaning down to kiss Future Dib on the forehead.

Dib stuck his tongue out, disgusted. Zim looked over to him, but all he did was ruffle his hair affectionately. Dib snorted, glaring at him and quickly smoothing his hair back down.

"I'll be back in an hour, maybe two," Zim told them as he stepped back into the Voot. "Tell GIR if you need anything, he can call me. And stay safe!"

"We will!" the older Dib assured him.

With that, Zim closed the Voot's windshield and took off again. Future Dib stood and watched, but Dib was already turned around and headed for the front doors. His older self turned around once he heard them creak open.

"Are you planning on going in alone?" he asked.

"Yes, because I can handle myself, and you know it," Dib told him, firing up his video camera.

"Well, at least take this." Future Dib handed him a walkie talkie. "We can let each other know if we find something. And maybe the ghosts will prefer to communicate through these!"

"…good point." Dib accepted it and attached it to the belt loop of his pants. "…good luck, I guess?"

"You, too!" his older self said. "I have a good feeling about this place."

Dib did, as well…the hairs at the back of his neck were standing up, his skin tingling, trying to warn him of something otherworldly being nearby. He turned and headed down one of the hallways, while his older self and GIR made their way upstairs.

Dib walked through the halls, calling out for ghosts as he swept his camera over the walls. So far, he hadn't seen much of interest yet…just old walls with peeling wallpaper and some dusty pieces of furniture. He poked his head into each room on the left side of the hallway, figuring he would check the right side when he came back.

He paused briefly, though, to look at one particular door to his right. He swore he saw a shadow move under the door. "Is there a spirit in this room?" he asked aloud, focusing his camera on the door. The shadow froze in place. "You are free to come out and speak, because I will listen to your words!"

There was no response. "I'm going to enter your room!" Dib announced, reaching for the doorknob. To his delight, it turned slightly just before he could touch it, the door opening just a crack. He quickly zoomed in on the opened part, trying to get a glimpse of the specter—

Something shot out and grabbed Dib's arm, yanking him into the room, the door closing behind him.

A hand slapped over his mouth before he could scream. "Be quiet," a familiar voice hissed. "For once in your life, I need you to be quiet so this plan can work!"

Dib twisted around until he caught a glimpse of green skin, confirming what he already knew. "Zmm!?"

"Hush!" Zim snapped at him. His antennae were twitching, and he watched the door warily before relaxing and turning around, dragging Dib along with him.

This room must have been a small study. Right now, there was an open toolkit on the desk, with a laptop beside it and tools and materials scattered over the entire desk's surface. Zim sat in the old wooden chair, shoving Dib into sitting on the floor.

"What are you doing here!?" Dib hissed.

"I'm the Zim from your time!" Zim responded. "And I'm here as part of my plan to fight back against that un-Zim emperor! …unfortunately, I need you for it."

Dib scowled at him, unimpressed. Still, just to be on the safe side…he slid the walkie talkie under the desk, and stopped his camera from recording. "Alright, I'll believe you about being my Zim. How'd you even get in here?"

"Oh, like it's hard," Zim scoffed. "Those guards are meant to scan for any human intruders. They didn't even notice or react when someone identical to their creator snuck in!"

"Okay, that makes sense," Dib admitted. "…wait. Why do you want to stop your future self?" He remembered the two Zims had a 'disagreement', but he couldn't believe it was quite this bad.

Zim grimaced, face puckering as though he had swallowed a lemon. "It's because he refused to let me lead with him," he hissed. "But even worse, he…he! Ooh! He's an utter failure of a Zim, and of an Irken in general!"

Dib blinked. "Um…why, exactly?"

"Because he's grown attached to a lower, weaker lifeform that should be his enemy!" Zim said. "It's sickening…and utterly un-Irken for him to be so attached."

"…is this about what he does with my future self?" Dib guessed.

Zim nodded. "You…he's been keeping you in the same place as the older Dib, hasn't he? You've seen what he does to what should be his nemesis."

"Yes, and it's horrible," Dib said with a shudder. "They keep giving each other these looks, I swear they're trying to flirt with each other, and Zim can't keep his hands off of my future self…!"

"AUGH!" Zim cried, covering his antennae. "Stop, stop! I can't stand it!"

"Oh, you think hearing about it is bad!? Try being around it all day, every day!" Dib snapped.

Zim shuddered violently, slowly uncovering his antennae only when he saw that Dib had stopped talking. "Ugh! He must be destroyed as soon as possible."

"…yes," Dib said, slightly suspicious that he and Zim shared an opinion.

"But you're around him a good portion of the time, and you have little restriction is his palace?" Zim said.

"It's like a gilded cage, but yeah, I suppose."

"Good, good…that should work well." Zim used forceps to pick up a tiny black speck. "This little device will help us gather information about him and his stronghold. You're the best person for it to be planted on…but we'll need to make sure that it's perfectly hidden."

He scanned Dib up and down…and his eyes landed on the wristband. "That. Let me see that."

Dib scowled, covering it with his free hand. "And why should I? Just because you demanded it?"

"Fine. Please let me see that, you filthy sack of meat."

Dib glared, sorely tempted to refuse altogether because of that insult. But he rolled his eyes and lifted his wrist for Zim to see, if only because it could be useful, somehow, in stopping Zim.

Zim held his wrist, lifting it up to get a better look. He huffed in amusement, a smile ghosting across his lips. "He's claimed you, hasn't he?"

"No!" Dib said, bristling up. "I mean, I guess he's trying, but I'm not letting him! The old me is worse, anyway—he wears a collar."

"But you still wear this band." Zim chuckled, tapping his claw against the symbol. "He's made you wear the symbol of an Invader—OUR symbol—over your pulse. The Empire rests just above where your life flows, a constant reminder."

He grinned wickedly at Dib. "Collar or wristband, it doesn't matter. He's claimed your life for the Empire…no. For himself."

Dib stared down at the wristband, then glared at it, angrier than before. He moved to rip it off, but Zim smacked his hand away.

"Just wait," he said, looking over the symbol. "Yes…yes, I can work with this. This can be used against him, the fool!"

He grabbed a pair of pliers, using them to carefully pluck out the metal dot in the middle of the symbol. He placed it on the desk, compared its size to that of the spy device, and nodded in satisfaction. He grabbed something sharp, jabbing it onto the bit of metal to form a hole.

Dib watched as he used various tools to hollow out the piece just enough to hide the spy device inside. Once it was safely nestled in, Zim glanced at the laptop, tapping on top of the piece and nodding when something appeared on the screen in response. He used bits of metal he had taken out to seal the piece back up, effectively hiding it. He looked at his screen again before seeming satisfied and turning back to Dib.

Zim slid the new device into the gaping hole in the Invader symbol, where it of course fit perfectly. He then turned his attention to the laptop again, tapping a few buttons before nodding in satisfaction.

"There," he said. "Now, we'll be able to track this," He lifted up Dib's wrist, "And map out where that un-Zim Emperor keeps you. We even have audio recording to listen to any secrets he may mention around you!"

"What about a camera?" Dib asked.

Zim fiddled with it, turning it to the side to reveal a tiny pinhole camera on the very side. "Yes, though the image we'll get will be very, very poor. Still better than nothing, of course."

"Okay. And…what else is there?"

"Nothing." Zim frowned. "It was hard getting as much as I did into that tiny little thing, you know!"

"So, there's no weapons?" Dib said. "…is there at least a way for you to talk to me? Or anyone but you to talk to me?"

"Too risky," Zim said. "It would be useful to relay orders to you, but for this to work, you'll be too close to the emperor for direct communication anyway."

"So, you're just…pulling me out, tagging me, and tossing me right back into danger?" Dib asked, wrapping his arms around himself.

"I doubt you're in any danger," Zim said. "Not based on what I've seen and heard about how the…other Dib is treated."

Dib shuddered. "I…I can't go back there."

"Yes, yes, I know being around such a disgusting, weak 'Zim' must be horrible." Zim waved his concerns off. "But unfortunately for us all, this is the best, the only, way for us to gather inside information. It will be for the good of the human rebellion!"

"And for you," Dib muttered. "…does anyone else even know about this? I bet Dad would want me to get out of there, and stay with the rebels, probably!"

"He would…and that would only lead to their inevitable doom when the emperor hunts you down," Zim said. "You're going to go back there, soon or later. Either by yourself without him noticing anything amiss, or getting dragged all the way back."

He crossed his arms. "And that runs the risk of him searching you, finding this—" He lifted Dib's wrist into the air. "And ruining this whole plan. All because you couldn't play along."

Dib wrenched his wrist out of Zim's grip. "Just…shut up!" he said. "You're asking me to go back to where I don't want to, to be around HIM and try and pretend things are normal, just so you can fight back, all because you don't like him? And you think you can act like I'M being unreasonable! You've got some nerve!"

Zim scowled, antennae flattening against his skull. "Some protector you are," he huffed. "Throwing a tantrum because your mission is a little bit unpleasant."

Dib growled, fist shaking…and he swung a punch into Zim's jaw. "Ow!" Zim said, then glared at him. "You'll pay for that."

He lunged forward. Dib fought back, punching and kicking and all too ready to take his rage out on Zim. They only tussled for a minute, though, before metal tendrils popped out of Zim's PAK to tie around his wrists. Zim then pinned him to the ground, perched on top of him.

"I won't hurt you…because that would make it obvious that something happened to you," Zim said. "So, just make it easy for everyone, go back in there, and be a good little spy!"

"No way," Dib said. "I bet you're the only one who likes this stupid plan, anyway!" He kicked at Zim.

Zim grunted. "If someone else says it's a good plan, will you go through with it!?"

"…maybe if it was somebody I trusted," Dib conceded.

"Heh. I can do that." Zim stood up and started typing away on his laptop, waiting another minute before letting go of Dib's wrists and retracting the metal tendrils. Dib was quick to climb to his feet, shoving himself in Zim's personal space to look over his shoulder. Zim gave him a dirty look, shoving his hand in Dib's face and pushing him back.

In moments, Zim had a video call pulled up, waiting for whoever he was calling to pick up. It only took a few seconds for the connection to be made, with Professor Membrane's face appearing on the screen. He looked furious.

"ZIM!" he yelled. "Your reputation is bad enough already, and you think you can run off with equipment and disappear, then call like nothing is wrong? For your own sake, you'd better have a good, plausible reason for this!"

"Is this a good enough reason for you?" Zim said, grabbing Dib's shoulders and pulling him into frame.

Membrane's eyes widened. "Son…?" His brow then furrowed, and he snapped at Zim, "Don't touch my son!"

Zim scoffed, lifting his hands up but still sticking close to Dib. Membrane turned all of his attention to Dib. "Dib…you came from the past, too, didn't you?" Dib nodded. "Where have you been? Are…you alright?"

"I'm…fine, sort of," Dib said. "Zim, the future Zim, found me and has been keeping me with my future self. We're both safe physically, we have our needs met, but…"

"You can't leave?" his dad guessed.

Dib nodded. "I tried once, it didn't work. …my future self hasn't tried it all since I arrived."

His dad sighed wearily. "That's…unfortunate, but expected, based on what we learned…"

He lifted his head to eye Zim critically. "Just what are you doing with him?"

"Oh, simple," Zim said. "We need more information about your 'emperor' and his palace to figure out a plan of attack. Since this particular human can get around the base without problems, he's the best candidate to carry a spying device back with him so he can gather information."

He shot Dib a look. "But someone is being petty and refusing to do it, making his absence look more suspicious by the second! I need you to get some sense into his skull, since he might actually listen to you." He huffed and took a step back, leaving the two Membranes to talk.

Membrane scowled. "…I want to get you out of there," he said. "But the last time, when we retrieved your older self…Zim hunted him down and destroyed our base. And it seems we even lost the trust of some of our rebels that day."

"I know," Dib muttered. "I heard about that. I still…it's hard, having to be around Zim without having a weapon. Or anything useful."

"I understand," his dad said. "But, unfortunately…our Zim's plan is a sound one. It could be helpful for the rebellion."

"Okay, dad…" Dib sighed, hanging his head.

Zim looked smug and reached forward to end the call, but froze when Membrane snapped at him to wait. "I have more I need to say to Dib," he said, making Zim back away again. Dib lifted his head, causing an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Son, I just want to tell you how proud I am of you," Membrane said quickly. "I wish I could be there with you right now, but I need you to know how much I love you."

"Dad…" Dib whined, sniffing and reaching out to press his hand against the screen.

Membrane raised his hand, pressing his fingers against Dib's palm. "I know this won't be easy. If I could, I wouldn't let you within a hundred yards of that alien ever again," he said. "…But, his plan could work. You're the only one who can do this, Dib."

Dib sniffed. "I…do you think I can…do a good job?"

"I know you will," Membrane said. "And I promise, we will get you out of there as soon as we can."

"…thank you." Dib closed his eyes, hanging his head. "If…this is what I need to do to protect Earth, then…I'll do it."

"Finally!" Zim groaned, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Shut it!" Dib snapped at him, his dad yelling "Silence!" in the exact same moment. The two Membranes turned to look each other in the eyes again.

"Be careful, son. Don't take any unnecessary risks. Remember that I love you, and I'm proud of you," Membrane said.

Dib sniffed again, reaching up to wipe a tear out of his eye. "I love you, too, Dad."

Zim coughed. "We'd probably better finish soon, as in, within the next five minutes soon. Dib's already been in this one spot for a suspicious amount of time, and this will only work if the emperor trusts Dib."

"...he's right," Dib sighed. "Goodbye, Dad."

"Goodbye. I know that you'll do well."

"Oh, tell Gaz that I love her, too!" Dib said. "She's okay, right!?"

"Yes, she's fine, and she loves you, too!" Dad said. "Stay safe, Dib. Please."

Dib nodded, pressing his hand against the screen one last time. His dad again returned the gesture…and the screen went dark.

He lowered his head, taking a deep breath to face Zim. "Let's just get this over with," he said.

"I couldn't agree more, stinky," Zim said, opening the door and glancing around, then ushering Dib out. "Now remember—act normally. Get as much information as you can."

"Fine, I get it," Dib said, rolling his eyes. He carefully picked up his walkie talkie from where he had hidden it, while Zim threw all his tools and materials into the toolbox, snapping it and the laptop closed. Both were sucked into his PAK, and he hurried over to the window, which he glanced out of before slipping out.

Dib turned to the door, looking around before stepping out and closing it behind him. He exhaled, leaning back against the door, lifting his wrist to stare down at it. To think that he could help defeat Zim with this, without him having a clue.

Speaking of him not having a clue…Dib opened up his video camera. Filled with several minutes of boring footage, then one moment where he was pulled through a doorway, someone whispering to him before he stopped the footage. He could even catch a small flash of green in some frames.

He sighed and deleted the recording, hiding everything involved with that door and room. If the others saw it, they would want more details. And sure, Dib could make up a story of a ghost behind it all, but he wasn't interested in lying about things like this.

At least he had something to bring back with him, he mused as he glanced down at his wrist again.

There was a bit of a skip in his step as he headed further down the hallway, starting his camera running again. He still wasn't eager to go back to the palace at the end of this, but he was looking forward to it more than he had before…enough that he wasn't going to try to escape and ruin this new mission he had.

He'd search for weaknesses, give the rebellion whatever they needed to defeat Zim. And now, with a goal fixed firmly in his mind…the idea of being around Zim just became a bit more bearable.

Gaz was waiting for Zim when he parked his Voot in the space the rebellion called a 'hangar'. Waiting…and furious. "I don't even know where to start with you," she growled.

"How about with some praise?" Zim suggested.

She ground her teeth. "First: it would have been nice to know that a Dib from your time traveled with you."

"Not with me, right behind me. And you never asked."

Her eyelid twitched. "Second: You left here, with our equipment, without telling anyone."

"I only had so much time. I couldn't afford to ask permission." He never would have gotten it for this plan, anyway. Better to execute it now and have them thank him for the results later.

She glared at him until he started to sweat a little. "Lastly…what were you THINKING!?" she yelled. "You had Dib there with you, you could have gotten him out!"

"And, as I told him and the professor, my future self would have then hunted him down and probably killed all of us," Zim said, sighing. He was a little tired of having to re-explain it.

She grit her teeth. "But you sent him back without my way to defend himself, or for us to contact him!"

"Of course not! His mission is stealth-based," Zim argued. "All he needs to do is keep the Emperor's trust, and we'll get plenty of information. He's in little to no danger."

"…and if he gets caught with your spy device?"

Zim just shrugged. "The emperor will destroy the device, probably. Maybe increase security."

"And what will happen to my brother?"

Zim wanted to shrug again, but based on her glare, that didn't feel like a safe answer to give. "…the emperor is soft, and weak for him," he said. "I doubt the Dib will be in any real danger even if he is caught."

"You'd better hope you're right," Gaz said. "Because guess what? This plan—the plan you put him in—is now your one chance to prove yourself, since you were so confident in it.

"If he gets caught—worse, if he gets hurt because of your stupid scheme—" She cracked her knuckles. "I won't care how useful you might be to us. He gets hurt, that's going to be the end of you. Plain and simple."

She leaned close to him, bearing her teeth. Zim had seen all sorts of horrible monsters, and with that look in her eyes, Gaz was just as scary as any of them.

"You'd better pray Dib does well," she hissed. "Because you just put your life in his hands."

Zim slowly nodded, and she slowly walked away from him. He debated getting back in his ship and flying off, but quickly discarded that idea. He was a soldier, not a coward. He would stand by his plan.

And, as much as he hated to admit it…he did think Dib was just competent enough to pull this off.