"Dib?" Zim asked, poking his head into the room. "May I speak with you?"

"Sure, I could use a break," Dib said, looking at Zim over his shoulder, still facing the screens in front of him. They'd been on Earth for a little over a week at this point, not much in particular happening. Gaz stopped by to hang out with her alien girlfriends frequently, glaring at Dub when he decided to 'chaperone' them.

Whenever that wasn't happening, he hung out with Zim…or, especially when Zim was busy, tried uploading his findings and records of his space travels to the Swollen Eyeballs network and other cryptid forums. Batflaps was as annoying as ever, currently calling him out on his 'fake' photos of the University of Vort.

Seeing more negative comments flood in, Dib snorted and closed the program. "They just wish they could have seen it," he grumbled, turning away to fully face Zim. "What's up?"

Zim tapped his claws together. "Erm…well…do you…." He hesitated, then said quickly, "Do you want revenge on those naysayers?"

Dib rose an eyebrow. "I don't care that much right now," he said. "…is that actually what you wanted to ask me?"

Zim sighed, shoulders sagging. "No." He reached up, tugging at his antennae. "Irk, I keep trying to say…IT, and it won't come out."

"Is it about your past?" Dib guessed.

Zim nodded, scowling. "If I don't tell you, Tak will, and she'll get it all wrong!" He scuffed a boot against the ground. "But even if she doesn't, I know you'll hunt for answers somewhere…"

Dib rubbed his head, but nodded. Zim's frown deepened a little, and though Dib wished to reassure him…He couldn't lie. He was curious, and eventually, he'd get curious enough to look for his own answers. He couldn't promise that he wouldn't, and Zim knew him too well to believe it if he said that, anyway.

"Maybe there's an easier method?" Dib suggested. "Like…have you tried writing it down instead of saying it?"

Zim frowned and nodded. "Couldn't force it out that way, either. And I tore up what I did manage to write." He looked at Dib hopefully. "…can your tarot cards tell you what happened?"

Dib sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "They can give me…sort of a general idea about things, but they can't exactly give any specifics. Maybe Tak can talk and you can correct her as she go—"

"NO."

"Okay, okay, bad plan," Dib said, holding his hands up in a conceding gesture. "What about Skoodge?"

Zim's mouth wobbled into a wavy line. "I…not as bad as Tak, but I don't like it."

Dib hummed in thought, leaning back in his chair. "Maybe we should…take a break until we think of some other idea?" he said…with reluctance, since he was still itching for answers.

Zim seemed to like that idea best, though, quickly nodding. "Yes, of course!"

"And…maybe GIR or Minimoose would have ideas. Or the Computer," Dib continued.

"I do have a recording that could be useful," the Computer interjected. One of the smaller screen right next to Zim came to life, and he gasped when he saw it, covering it with his hands.

"WHY do you HAVE THAT!?"

"It was broadcast to all Irken devices, and you told me to record anything that came through if you weren't—"

"DELETE IT!"

"Wait, no, cancel that!" Dib quickly interjected.

Zim shot him a hurt look, mouth falling open as the Computer stopped deleting the video. "Zim, whatever that recording is, maybe you could use it," Dib pointed out.

"But…" Zim nervously fidgeted with his hands.

"Wouldn't it be easier than you telling me yourself?" Dib said, placing a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Not much easier," Zim grumbled. He glanced back and forth between Dib and the offending video before sighing.

"Computer…move the recording to the big screen for Dib," he reluctantly ordered. The Computer obliged, a video appearing on Dib's screen. "But! Don't play it until I've left the room."

"You're not staying?" Dib asked, to which Zim quickly shook his head.

Zim paused, then wrapped his arms around Dib, giving him a tight squeeze. "I love you. So much."

"I…love you, too," Dib said, hugging him back, even though confused about the sudden declaration. Zim just squeezed him more tightly in response, burying his face into Dib's torso.

He managed to reluctantly pull himself away, seeming to force his claws to let go instead of clinging to Dib's coat. He crept out of the room, gaze nervously flicking to the video a few times, but always returning back to Dib. Once he'd stepped out, Dib heard the telltale clicking of his boots as he scurried away.

The Computer coughed, getting Dib's attention. "Are you still going to watch this, or…?"

"Yes!" Dib quickly said, taking a seat and leaning forward slightly. The video began to play, loading for a second before an Irken appeared on screen—a tall one with the upper half of their face covered in metal, a single glowing eye-light thing in the center. They were called the Announcer, or something, he was pretty sure.

"Again, this is a very special broadcast to all Irken channels!" they said. "A once-in-a-lifetime historical event: the Existence Evaluation of Irken Zim!"

A shiver traveled down Dib's spine, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The Announcer continued. "Now, we'll cut to a live footage of Judgementia. So even those unlucky enough to not get in-person seats won't have to miss out!"

The buzz of static, and the video shifted to show a planet Dib had never seen before. There were stands packed full of watching Irkens, all watching a figure on a tiny platform in the center of a giant pit. Three Control Brains were looming over the figure, who was cuffed and blindfolded.

The screens above them flashed with the name 'ZIM'. Dib bit his lip, shifting uncomfortably as the blindfold and restraints fell off of Zim. Who…looked completely unbothered, seeming to think it was all a big party for him. Looking excited as the Tallest showed up, even when they sent him nasty glares.

The purple one told them to 'start already', and the Brains' eyes glowed red, focusing their glares (and cameras) on Zim. The crowd roared, and Zim still seemed oblivious and cheerful.

"Irken ZIM, prepare for REPLAY," the Brains rumbled ominously. "All your memories will be made known. Your entire life for all to see and know."

"Oooh…" Zim said, eyes shining. "My incredible Zim-life? NEAT!"

Cables snaked from a monitor array hanging above Zim, quickly surging forward and latching onto his PAK. There was a quick snap of electricity that made Dib wince, and he bit his lip as those cables lifted Zim up and into the air. Zim seemed to go limp, staring up at the screen above that now flashed with images.

"Now, see your past, Zim…your past…"

"My future!?"

"NO! Your PAST! Pay attention!" they snapped at him.

Then, the footage cut to a dark screen. Before Dib could wonder if that was it, an electronic voice spoke. "Welcome to life, Irken Child. Report for duty."

A slight pause…and then, Zim's tiny, squeaky voice. "I love you, cold, unfeeling robot arm!" Dib felt his heart squeeze in his chest.

Then, suddenly, there was an image again, thus time of a small room with just a chair and a chute above it. A tiny smeet was dropped from the chute and into the chair, looking around the room with wide-eyed curiosity.

"You are two minutes old, little smeet. Prepared to be filled with the whole of Irken Knowledge!" an electronic voice declared.

"Okie-dokie!" the smeet said cheerfully.

A machine suddenly latched onto his PAK, his body going limp and eyes falling blank. There was a small spark of electricity as information poured into him, his body twitching and jerking. Dib anxiously bit his lip.

But, just as he was about to skip ahead and past that, it all stopped. The machine pulled away from the smeet, who quickly blinked awake, shaking everything off.

"Upload complete! You have been given a name. Identity yourself."

The smeet blinked, then held his arms in the air. "I AM ZIM!" he declared. Dib wasn't surprised…but he did think the smeet-Zim looked cute. Adorable, even. Would it be weird to tell Zim that?

He quickly shook off the thought to pay attention to the footage. Zim was shoved out of the chair while complaining about '40 schmillion mistakes'…and as soon as he'd left the chair, the chute dropped another smeet into it.

Smeet-Zim whirled around, looking annoyed. "I wasn't done yet!" He pointed at the smeet now in the chair. "Hey! Who are you!?"

The new smeet looked around in confusion. The electronic voice started to repeat the same lines as when Zim had been in the chair.

"This is my room. Get your own!" Zim snapped. He quickly stomped to the chair, grabbing the other (still very confused) smeet and pushing them back up into the chute. They got stuck, and another smeet fell, clogging the tube further.

Zim didn't seem to care, smugly taking the chair back even as the chute kept clogging with smeets, and the chamber began to spark and smoke. Zim didn't seem to care, and the view slowly panned up through the crust before showing the surface of Irk.

A giant city covered all that Dib could see, each building stretching as tall as it could, everything lit up brightly. Then, huge arcs of energy sparked between all the buildings like Jacob's ladders, and suddenly…everything went dark. The only sounds were those of sirens in the distance.

With a click, the video cut back to Judgementia, where the crowd was all glaring at Zim. He didn't seem to notice, looking proud, even.

"That day came to be known as Horrible Painful Overload Day. Irk was plunged into darkness for five years," the Brains explained.

"Wait…the whole planet had a blackout?" Dib said, raising an eyebrow. "And they couldn't fix it for five years?"

As Zim boasted about how long the blackout he'd caused had been, the Computer spoke up. "It's true. According to my records, at least."

"But…Zim caused it on accident, doing something unrelated. Surely…they'd account for that?" Dib asked. His voice was unsure, though…from what he knew of the Empire, they weren't ones to even consider mercy.

The Computer let out a dry laugh. "Oh, this is just the tip of damage caused by Master Zim's…accidents."

Dib wasn't sure he liked the sound of that, but he was too curious to pull his eyes away from the screen. The next replay started, showing a slightly older (but still pretty small) smeet Zim discarding a holovisor in boredom. The young Zim all but grabbed a younger Skoodge to drag him away, declaring they were going to the planet's surface.

They ran into a security robot, which Zim left Skoodge to deal with as he bolted for a ladder. He climbed up it, totally ignoring the explosions (and Skoodge's screams) behind him. Once he'd reached the top, he stared out at the bright and noisy city on the surface…for a few moments.

A couple moments later, after a few more explosions, that city fell into darkness and silence again. The footage ended, switching back to Judgementia.

"That day became known as Horrible Painful Overload Day: Part Two! Four more terrible years of darkness for Irk," the Control Brains explained.

"That one was barely Zim's fault," Dib protested while the recording of Zim insisted how much people loved darkness, and how he should get a little trophy.

"He still refused to follow directions to stay in the education plug," the Computer said. "The trail of destruction just led them to that fatal flaw."

Frowning, Dib drew his attention back to the footage as the Tallest were revealed from their makeshift hiding spot…for whatever reason they were doing that. Zim crossed his arms, frowning at him. "Hey, pay attention!" he snapped. "You're missing my party!"

"It's not a party, Zim!" Purple shouted at him. "It's an Irken Existence Evaluation! And you—!" His eyes widened, and he quickly snapped a hand over his mouth to cut himself off. Red shot him a look that managed to be both annoyed and worried.

Too late, though: for the first time in the video, Zim started to look nervous. "Existence Evaluation? But…those are for criminals…and space clowns."

Suddenly, a tiny smeet appeared next to the Tallest, who explained to him (and the crowd) what an Existence Evaluation meant. How if an Irken got a damaged PAK, they would be labeled 'defective' and would be subsequently deactivated, erased…forgotten.

Dib swallowed nervously. Zim looked aghast. "It'll be fine, right?" Dib said to himself. "I mean, clearly Zim wasn't deactivated. So…"

Even knowing things would be (should be) okay, it still wasn't pleasant seeing Zim standing on that spire, looking so nervous. "I…think there's been a mistake," he said as the smeet was dragged away by guards for 'knowing too much'. "This is good stuff you're watching. Why am I on trial?"

"Good stuff?" one Brain hummed.

"It thinks there is good stuff," another buzzed.

"It is doomed," they all said in unison.

Zim gulped, turning and looking at the hateful eyes watching him. The Tallest began cackling, and ripples of laughter flowed through the crowd. Zim seemed to shrink into himself as he was pulled into the air by the cable, sparking again with electricity as more images flashed across the screen.

A few scenes flicked by, before the brains finally settled on one of Zim, slightly older than a smeet but still young, standing in a lab. He was surrounded mostly by Vortians, wearing the same scientists' robes as the others. They were all lined up, and Dib spotted a few familiar faces—Enor and Lard Nar.

Dib did recall Zim mentioning he used to be a scientist. Based on previous memories…maybe one of his experiments went wrong and he blew up the lab. Dib had come close to doing that himself a few times, when he briefly did work in his dad's labs…sometimes succeeding in blowing up smaller sections.

A very tall Irken with blue eyes and robes and curled antennae entered, led by one of the Vortian scientists. "Tallest Miyuki, welcome to Vort Research Station 9. You honor us with your visit!"

A small smile crossed Miyuki's face. "Tell me what my finest minds are dreaming up for the Empire."

The scientist proudly showed off a few of their designs, such as a infinite-energy producer, and Lard Nar's designs for a ship Dib recognized as the Massive. Zim, who had been vibrating with energy, suddenly stepped out of line to point at the hologram. "Dookie! That thing'll never fly!"

Miyuki quirked an antennae in curiosity, looking amused. "Well, who is this little creature?"

The scientist looked abashed. "Um…Zim, my Tallest, a transfer from Irk. He destroys everything he touches, so...they figured he'd excel in military research."

Zim waved him off. "Enough praise. Look!" He whipped out a blob-like creature, using both hands to hold it up and show it off. "I made an infinite energy absorbing thingy! He's chubby!"

While Miyuki curiously stepped forward, nearly prodding the thing with a claw, the head scientist looked horrified. "No! Keep it away from the infinite energy producing thingy!"

But it was too late…nearly as soon as he'd said that, the creature turned to the energy producer right next to it, swallowing it whole. It twitched and bubbled, suddenly growing until it was as big as the Tallest in front of it, its collar snapping off in its growth spurt.

And then, it surged forward and bit down on Miyuki, sucking her into its mouth and swallowing her whole. No one had any time to react.

It continued rampaging onward, smashing through the wall and out the building, explosions happening in the distance. Zim was left standing, arms still outstretched, a blank expression on his face. He slowly raised his arms up into the air, in a position of victory, still with that totally blank expression.

The scene ended, and Zim was harshly dropped back onto the platform. The entire crowd had gone dead silent, staring at the screen in utter shock. Red was the one to find his voice first, quivering more with rage at each word. "Almighty Miyuki...was eaten by a giant blob because of YOU!?"

He whirled away from the screen, glaring at Zim. Zim twitched uncomfortably. "Eh…no! She called me just last week." He grinned and tried waving off their concern. "Yeah, she's doin' fine."

Everyone glared at him. Dib could see beads of sweat on Zim's forehead, and even he couldn't help but stare in shock. Even as an accident, that was pretty serious. Even if Miyuki had been the leader of an extremely evil empire…

And that extremely evil empire was holding Zim in their clutches right after learning about the cause of her death.

"This is a horrible discovery, not to be taken lightly," the Brains rumbled. "…now, let's break for lunch!"

The crowd murmured amongst each other as they slowly filed out of the stands. Even Zim was dragged off by his guards. "I thought Irkens didn't need that much food?" Dib questioned.

"Eh. It's more about the socializing and letting the Brains handle the data processed so far," the Computer said. "And snacking is still important, even if they don't need it."

The footage cut away from Judgementia's court, to…a cafeteria decorated in pinks and purples. Irkens were slowly filing in, lining up for trays of food and claiming cafeteria tables. Most swarmed around a table the two Tallest had claimed…this must be where everyone present at the trial was eating lunch.

The Announcer appeared as a recording in the bottom corner of the screen, and a microphone appeared at the bottom of the camera's field of view. Whoever was holding it approached a group of Irkens who had just gotten their trays of food.

"Any comments on the trial so far?" the Announcer asked.

The tallest one in the group spoke. "Well, obviously he's dangerous and defective," they said. "It's only a question of how many more memories they'll look through before they finally declare it." The rest of the group nodded in agreement.

Whoever held the microphone and camera moved again to another group. As they did, Dib caught a brief glimpse of Zim at a table in the far back…shackled down, poking listlessly at a tray of food while two guards stood behind him. There was no one else at his table, and he kept staring over to wherever the Tallest were sitting.

But he was only in frame for a few seconds. Still, Dib couldn't help but continue to watch the very edges of the screen, trying to catch another glimpse of his partner. He still listened to the interviews, though almost everyone had the same thing to say: that he was defective, and to them the trial was just a formality.

A few mentioned other events that hadn't come up yet: a blackout, though brief, on Devastis, the 'incident' of Operation Impending Doom, complaints about Zim 'quitting banishment' and crashing the assignments during the second Operation Impending Doom…the more everyone spoke, the more irritated they appeared. When they weren't ignoring Zim, a few seemed to shoot pointed glares in his direction.

And so it continued for a few more minutes…until the Tallest stood up and pushed their empty trays away. "Okay, break's over!" Red announced. "Let's get this formality over with!"

The crowd started to flood back out of the room, several abandoning full or half-full trays of food they hadn't yet finished. Dib strained to see if he could catch a glimpse of Zim, but the camera had quickly cut back to the spire.

It wasn't long before Zim was dragged back onto it by his guards, plopping him in place. Zim wobbled on his feet, looking pale and sweaty, nearly sick with fright. He stared up at the Brains looming overhead with dread in his eyes.

"Evaluation has resumed," they declared in unison. "Prepare for more of Zim's terrible replay."

One Brain, on the right, flashed and made a muttering complaint, one the cameras couldn't quite pick up. But if Zim had heard it, he seemed to ignore it, finding his voice despite his very visible fear.

"Excuse me!" he shouted up at them as the tendril-like cord snaked down to his PAK again. "How about for a change we show some of my…my glorious acts of obedience! Like during Invader Training!"

The cord connected, and Zim was yanked into the air as the screens came to life. He was waving to Red and Purple below, pointing at the screens with a desperate energy for them to check it out. The screen changed, showing a large crowd of Irkens wearing the same uniform as Zim. On a stage in front of all of them was a taller Irken with a green uniform, slightly hunched over.

"And as your new Tallest," they were saying, "I am proud to say that you Invaders (in training) are the future of the Empire.

"…I'm still taller than you, though. Salute me!"

The crowd did so, the view focusing especially on Zim, standing close to the front. He completed the gestured with great enthusiasm, complete with a little cheer. The image froze, and with a click, the screen switched back to Judgementia, Zim still dangling in the air.

"See?" he said, gesturing to the still image, a grin on his face. "You like obedience."

Red frowned. "Wait a minute…" he said. "I think I remember more happening that day." He made a circling motion with one finger, a gesture to continue.

Dib saw Zim's eyes widening for a moment before the view switched back to the memory, fast-forwarding a bit before resuming. The crowd was a bit thinner, the largest crowd of Irkens gathered around the green Tallest, trying to get his attention and shake hands with him.

The recording panned to Zim and two Irkens much taller than him, seeming to wait their turns to meet the Tallest. Neither of the two looked happy to see him.

"Zim, you've done nothing but rain horror down onto the Empire since you were born," the purple-eyed one—a younger Purple—said with disgust, "And now they're training you to become an Invader? Why!? I mean, that's just sick!"

That just made Zim stand taller, chuckling to himself. "Flattery aside…once I am Tallest, I will make the Empire regret having made me wait so long to rule them!"

Red sneered down at him. "Yeah, well, if I were Tallest, I'd probably put you on trial to defend your life." He and Purple exchanged glances and snickered. Dib shifted uncomfortably.

Zim just scoffed, waving off his comment and their laughter. Something metal gleamed on the inside of his wrist, catching Purple's attention. "Hey, that's that thingy?" he asked, pointing at it.

"Oh, this?" Zim said, pulling out a small metal disk, resembling the tag of a collar. "My lucky charm! It used to belong to my energy absorbing thingy before it grew all big and monstrous." He sighed fondly. "That little guy used to love this thing. I'm surprised he hasn't come back for it after all this—"

He was cut off with a loud crash as a large portion of the ceiling caved in. Zim's old energy experiment, now even larger than last time and with flailing tentacles, flopped onto the stage. It let out a loud roar, terrifying everyone and blowing back several of the Irkens closest to it.

But not the Tallest. He wobbled a bit on his hovering belt, but managed to stay upright, and was now staring at the blob monster in plain shock.

Before he could do or say anything, though, the monster snatched him up in its tentacles and popped him into its gaping mouth, the Tallest quickly vanishing within the crushing, pulsing goo inside. Screams of horror rang through the room, Red and Purple clinging to each other, Zim staring at his flailing creation and dropping the piece of metal in shock.

"HEY!" Zim's voice shouted over the recording. The cameras cut back to Judgementia, where Zim was wildly waving his arms and shaking his head. "No using two blob flashbacks in a row! That's a rule, right!?"

Red managed to recover from shock and pull his eyes from the screen. Purple was still standing with his mouth agape. "It's even more horrible than I remember," Red groaned. "Tallest Spork, eaten by Zim's blob, too…like he was a chew-shmoop!"

'Spork'? Dib huffed, pressing a hand against his mouth. He would not laugh at a serious moment. He wouldnot. Seeing Zim's worry was quick to dampen any amusement, anyway.

The Brains' eyes flared red, glaring down at Zim. "You are responsible for the deaths of two Almighty Tallest!?"

Zim crossed his arms defensively over his chest. "No, Spork's fine! C'monnn!" he insisted. No one bought it, and after being glared at by everyone, he gulped nervously, sweating a bit more. "Well...look, what about the glory of my performance during Operation Impending Doom One?"

Dib perked up and leaned forward as electricity snapped from Zim's PAK, a new recording showing up. Now Zim was standing in a pink-and-purple building, in the center of a chalk circle. The current Tallest were looking down at him.

"Okay, Zim, this is the Empire's finest hour. And you're in charge of watching everything from this circle!" Purple said, pointing at the circle in question.

Zim frowned down at the circle, then looked back up at his leaders. He moved as though to take a step out. "But…"

"No, no!" Red said. "Don't leave the circle. Stay right there. Do us proud, Zim!"

Zim saluted them, clicking his feet together. The Tallest walked (well, floated) off, chuckling to themselves. Even with them gone, Zim stood in his same position, a look of determination on his face.

But he kept glancing over at the nearest window, more and more frequently. His expression wavered into a frown, and he started to sweat. His arm started to droop…

And then, he snapped. "MY EMPIRE NEEDS MEEEE!" he yelled, leaping dramatically over the chalk line…and splatting on the ground. Even that didn't stop him, as he rolled forward more until he stumbled onto his feet and scurried out of the room. Not long after, there was the sound of…something humming and whirring, coming to live. Something big.

"Hey, has anyone seen Frontline Battle Mech #4?" said a voice in another room. "I'm supposed tooaaAAAAAGH!"

There was a loud explosion. One of the building's walls crumpled. Through the windows (and new hole), Dib saw a gigantic robot stomping out, crushing ships and buildings underfoot, weapons firing and causing even more destruction, giant fires bursting and spreading in its wake.

And if there was ever any doubt who was to blame…Zim was cackling madly over all of it, ignoring barely-audible protests of them still being on Irk.

Well…that explained why Operation Impending Doom hadn't gotten very far.

Just as Dib thought that, the scene cut to another location, somewhere within the ruins of the city. A Control Brain, though smaller, loomed over a platform, while the Tallest stood beside it to oversee what Dib presumed might have been a trial.

Tak had mentioned something about a banishment, how Operation Impending Doom had been the 'final tipping point'. That's what this moment must have been, then.

"Invader Zim," the Control Brain announced. "For single-handedly ruining Operation Impending Doom—"

"Hey, where'd Zim go!?" Purple asked, looking around nervously upon noticing the Irken in question had vanished.

Almost right after, a spider-like tank lumbered through, ridiculously huge. It avoided stomping on the Tallest (and Control Brain) by only a few inches. Out of the very top, Zim's head poked out, looking cluelessly smug.

"Look at ME! I'M AN INVADER!" he shouted. As he cheered, the robot continued lumbering on, back out into the ruins of the city to cause more destruction.

Dib laughed, burying his face in his hands. Oh, it was terrible, but he couldn't feel that much sympathy for an evil Empire. And Zim finding that other robot so soon was actually kind of funny.

It was sobering, though, when the replay ended, cutting back to an uncomfortable and nervously sweating Zim. "Boy…those days sure were great, huh?" he said, grinning nervously at his Tallest.

They just glared at him in response. "You're a monster, Zim," Red growled. "Everything you touch gets destroyed!"

"Hey!" Zim protested. "Not everything I do ends in horrible explosions!"

A small spark of electricity as the Control Brains pulled even more memories from his PAK…a montage of explosions. Satellites exploded, small moons exploded, large buildings exploded…a couple of rampaging monsters also thrown into the mix. Once the feed cut back to Zim, he was looking around and fidgeting, pausing only to give the Tallest a double thumbs-up.

They weren't moved, continuing to glare at him.

The footage suddenly stopped on a video of Zim sitting an relaxing in a peaceful field. Zim looked hopeful…until the planet he was on suddenly exploded.

"Hey!" both he and Dib said. "He didn't even do anything that time!" Dib argued.

The Computer groaned. "Are you going to say that every time? You're about to miss the final judgement."

Dib was curious enough that his jaw snapped shut. "Zim, you've been nothing bit a curse to the Empire," Red was saying with a look of disgust. "If Tallest Miyuki or Spork were here, they'd say so, too!"

Zim crossed his arms, looking…smug? "Well, as a matter of fact, I call a surprise witness—Tallest Spork!" He pointed at a section of the audience, where Tallest Spork suddenly rose up. The crowd gasped, the nearest Irkens quickly bowing their heads and wiggling their antennae in reverence.

"Yes, I have returned from my vacation to reclaim my rightful position as leader of the Irken Empire," Spork said. Dib raised an eyebrow…his voice sounded a little 'off'. And he was pretty sure this guy was dead. "My first act shall be to pardon the mighty and beneficial Invader Zim!"

Zim cheered like he had won the lottery. He leaped off the podium, using the cable in his PAK to swing over to the stands before pulling it out. As soon as he landed, he scampered out of the room.

"That's…that's it, right? He got away!" Dib said. But the timeline of the video appeared, showing that there were still a few minutes left.

Meanwhile, a confused Red and Purple tentatively approached Spork, who was still rambling about their acts as leader, mainly for commemorating Zim. Red looked suspicious and poked Spork with one of his claws.

With a pop, a hole appeared, and Spork—an inflatable model of Spork—deflated. His voice continued, and Red pawed through the remains to pull out and reveal a tape recorder…a familiar-looking one. Dib squinted at it...it kind of looked like one of his old ones. Had Zim taken that from him…?

He didn't have long to think about it, though, because Red and Purple suddenly looked furious, quickly barking orders at the Irkens around them. The crowd scattered, all rushing off with one goal: catch Zim before he got away.

Dib bit his lip. Barely minutes later, the crowd settled back into the stands. Two large, burly guards appeared, dragging Zim behind them in giant chains as though he weighed nothing. He was dragged all the way back to the podium, a bridge appearing for the guards and disappearing once they were there.

As Zim wobbled to his feet, weighed down by the chains, the guards pointed their shock spears at him. "Nice try, Zim," Red sneered.

"Why'd he even have an inflatable Spork?" Purple muttered, his voice still broadcast for everyone.

"We have our ruling," the Brains overhead announced, cutting off that line of conversation. Zim looked up at them in fear, biting his lip, while the Tallest looked thrilled.

"Irken Zim's PAK is damaged, and dangerous, leading to a corrupt data path," they declared. "He is…a defective."

Zim shrank as the crowd cheered, biting his lip further, enough drops of pink blood appeared under his teeth. The Tallest appeared ecstatic.

"Irken Defective Zim's data is not allowed to be in the collective," the Brains continued. "His PAK will be removed and erased."

"But…But I can't LIVE without my PAK!" a horrified Zim protested.

"Aww, too bad. That's a tough one, Zim," Purple said, mocking and insincere.

One guard grabbed Zim's shoulders, while the other grabbed onto his PAK and ripped it off. There was a horrible tearing sound that made Dib's stomach twist, and Zim cried out. He was dumped to the ground, while the cables from before latched onto the PAK and lifted it up.

Zim weakly raised an arm to grab it, but it was far out of his reach. The monitor showed a loading bar…one of data moving from a PAK to an icon of a trash can. Zim watched in horror, his body already seeming to weaken and wilt.

"No…this is a mistake!" he cried. "H-Have I mentioned that I am Zim!?"

The Brains ignored him, eyes pulsing in a steady rhythm as they processed the data. At least…that was how it appeared at first. The more data that was processed, the more the pattern seemed to vanish…and then, sparks started shooting from the Brains, gibberish coming from their speakers.

Then, with a click, the giant chains holding Zim unlatched and fell to the ground, surprising everyone. The cables lowered, putting Zim's PAK back on him. Zim gasped, leaping to his feet as life surged back into him.

"IiinvaDER ZIM," the Brains said, speech now glitched and stuttery. "For youuuur HEInous crimes, we declare YOu…the MOST INcrediBLE Irken EVERR!"

Zim beamed up at them. "Hey, thanks, I really am."

The crowd was muttering, most out of confusion or even anger. Red and Purple managed to look both horrified and angry at this announcement.

"No! You can't do that!" Purple protested. "He's a defective, you already ruled that!"

The Brains' eyes glitched into a red color, almost glaring at him. "Ohhh, lighten up lITTle bumble BEEEE…argh…the MADNESS…"

The point of view shifted to one of the cameras buzzing around Zim. Zim was beaming widely at them all, waving to each of them. The feed was suddenly cut, switching back to the Announcer, smiling awkwardly now in front of his green screen.

"Well…what an unexpected outcome!" he chuckled. "But the judgement of the Control Brains is absolute, after all.

"Be sure to tune in later for the Almighty Tallests' official statement of the trial…and for any future news about Judgementia, Defec—Irken Zim, and the Irken Empire!" With that, he saluted the camera, and the video was over.

"…Their 'official statement' was just the two sobbing, by the way," the Computer told Dib, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Dib hummed just to let them know he heard, slumping back in his chair and staring at the screen in front of him. Seeing that…suddenly, a lot of things made sense. Both in what Tak referenced about Zim's past, and why Zim didn't want to discuss it.

He closed his eyes, taking a few minutes to process all the information. Then, he stood up and stretched, heading for the door. "Where's Zim at right now?"

"Bedroom."

Dib nodded in thanks, heading down the halls in that direction. It didn't take him long to reach it…where he found a suspiciously Zim-shaped lump lying on the mattress, buried under the blankets. He saw him shift as he approached, kneeling down and peeling back enough layers that he could peer inside.

His eyes met gleaming pink ones. "…it is finished already, then?" Zim asked.

"Mhmm." Dib nodded. "Can I come in?"

Zim shuffled and nodded, sitting up and tossing part of the blankets over Dib. Dib moved forward to sit fully on the mattress, the two of them forming a pseudo-blanket fort. With the faint glow of Zim's PAK and eyes, there was enough dim light they could see each other.

The two of them sat there for a few moments. Zim nervously tapped his claws, glancing at Dub only to glance away. Seeming to wait for him to make the first move. Dib wet his lips with his tongue, trying to think of something good to say. Something reassuring.

"So...sounds like you caused quite an impression on the Empire," Dib said, giving him a grin. "All that damage sounded pretty good to me."

Zim shot him a death glare. "You mock my actions?"

"No!" Dib said, holding his hands up in defense. "I mean that! They're evil, and don't you want to fight them now, anyway?"

"I do now, but not back then," Zim said bitterly. "I still don't want to...directly fight them. It would be...impossible. All of that was..." He grunted, and he shook his head. "I don't want to think about it."

Dib scooted closer, placing an arm around Zim's shoulders. Zim sighed, turning to look at him. "You don't see Zim differently now, do you?" he asked. "Do you still…?" His voice trailed off, and he averted his gaze.

Wrapping his arms around him, Dib leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "I love you," he confirmed. "I…even learning all of that, it doesn't make me think less of you. Most of those seemed like accidents, anyway." If anything, it made him think more of Zim, but he didn't think Zim would appreciate that.

Zim chittered, burying his face against Dib's shoulder. "They were," he mumbled. "They were, they were…"

Dib rubbed comforting circles on Zim's back, both above and below Zim's PAK, while Zim clung to him tightly. He only let out a few more chitters, and those stopped after only a minute. After a bit of time, he also loosened his grip on Dib, though he still left his hands resting against his back.

"Hey. Thank you for showing me," Dib said quietly. Zim looked up at him. "I know it was hard, but you still did it. Thank you."

Zim beamed at him, though his smile was a bit wobbly. "Anything for you," he declared, before curling close again, pressing his face against Dib. Dib wrapped his arms around him, giving him a small squeeze and continuing to rub comforting circles on his back.

They sat like that for a while longer, attached to each other. Dib trying to assure Zim through touch alone (and a few whispered words) that he was here, and that he wasn't going anywhere.

Zim seemed to believe him, slowly relaxing…though still remaining latched onto Dib.