(A/N) And so ends my first IZ fic. :') Thank you so much to everyone who's read and reviewed, or subbed, or faved. Truly. I'm glad I could write this for you all.

Shout out to those who reviewed the last chapter: TwoCute, DemonGann, and Lileipad! Words fail me. *bows deeply*

Happy (late) Halloween by the way, everyone. You can blame this most splendid of holidays for the one-day lateness of this installment.

I think... I'm getting better with GIR. x3

If you enjoyed "Crossing the Line," there's a preview of my next fic (titled "Defective") at the very end of this chapter, so read all the way down! I hope to see some of you there. :3

I do not own Invader Zim. I just borrowed it from the great Jhonen *bows*.

Zim woke slowly as his PAK rebooted, as if returning to the world of the living from some place far beyond. For an instant, he swore it had been a dream; that he was still on his ship, fleeing from Dib and all the rest like the defective he was. Or perhaps that had been a dream, too, and he was on that cold metal table, waiting for the pain, determined not to give the humans any satisfaction and plotting Dib's torturous death... though all the while he knew that he would be the one to die. But perhaps that had been a part of the dream as well, and Dib would be waiting outside to heckle on their way to Skool, where Mrs. Bitters would make the day a dim, dreary hell that only Dib's presence could brighten.

Or maybe it was all a dream, and he had never come to Earth at all.

"Good morning, Zim."

Though the voice was certainly devilish, there was a distinct note of fondness there. It was so close to his ear that the Irken bolted up in something like terror, his eyes flying wide. He blinked, vision swimming with sudden dizziness as he made out the shadowy walls of Dib's room; his hands clutched unconsciously at the blankets before he noticed them, and he looked down to find himself in Dib's bed.

"Comfy, you freeloader?"

The Irken curled his lip. "It is... satisfactory. Better than a metal table, Dib-worm."

Dib actually winced, and an unexpected pang of guilt hit Zim. The human looked down, seeming less than willing to meet the other's gaze.

"I'm not going to apologize, if that's what you're waiting for," the boy muttered, his glasses gleaming so as to hide his eyes. "We've spent so long trying to catch each other, I won't apologize for finally winning."

"You did not win," the Irken scoffed, raising his chin. "In fact, this whole thing was part of my ingenious plan to win your trust!"

Dib laughed, softly. "You still don't have it, you jerk."

"Pity," the alien sighed. "B-But it's still my victory; I didn't actually want your trust, I just wanted to... infiltrate your base! Which I have! Ha!"

The human rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well I think this is quite the victory for earth."

"How so, human?" Zim sneered, seeming quite self-assured.

Dib grinned evilly. "Now I know your weakness."

The Irken flushed a deep shade of blue, his eyes narrowed. "Z-Zim has no weaknesses, Dib-thing!"

"'Has no weaknesses,' hmm?" Dib's smile stretched unnaturally as he leaned forward. "Sorry, I didn't realize you had no weaknesses, Zim. My mistake." The Irken boy drew back in a sudden panic, but soon found himself backed against the headboard, and the human was still getting closer... and closer... and...

"I made biscuits!"

The shriek made both human and alien jump, spinning to see the little robot standing in the doorway with a tray of... cookies. Dib sighed tiredly, and Zim starred in blatant confusion.

"He... was broken...!"

"I fixed him," Dib replied simply, shrugging. Instantly GIR was clinging to his head as if magnetized. "I'm starting to regret it."

"Your head stiiiiill smells like a puppy!" the SIR unit announced happily, nuzzling into the human's hair.

Zim chuckled, then burst out into maniacal laughter; Dib's eyes narrowed, though he was still trying in vain to twist his head around to see the robot plastered to the back of his skull. Giving his head a furious shake, he sent the defective unit sailing across the room to slam into Zim, where the robot promptly attaching himself to the alien's face.

"Eh...?" For an instant, Zim was confused. Then, "GIR! Release meeee!"

Then it was Dib who was laughing as the Irken pulled at the robot, succeeding only in stretching his own face in a truly comical way. When at last GIR was flung across the room with a gleeful "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!" they were both breathless with laughter, the human still grinning helplessly.

"Evil minions these days...!" Zim spat.

"The state of world conquest these days, hmm?" Dib asked indulgently, then pulled an innocent face when the alien glared at him. "What?"

"You'll pay for that, earthanoid."

"Oh?"

"The world will fall to Zim!" the Irken declared, leaping up and striking a pose on the bed. A combination of lingering weakness and the unstable mattress unbalanced him, however, and he went crashing back down in an undignified heap of pillows and blankets and alien invader.

"Not if I..." Dib began, but stalled to suppress his laughter,"have anything... t-to say about it!"

Zim glared furiously, still tangled in the blankets, but a smile was tugging at his mouth. It vanished, however, when the human came forward and seized the blankets, tying an artful knot around the alien's thin wrists.

"Ha! Victory for Earth!" Dib cried between giggles, leaning over and holding down the struggling Irken invader easily, their faces no more than two inches apart. Zim narrowed his eyes.

"You play dirty, earth-stink."

"Perhaps," the human said with a smirk, but was startled when his mortal enemy leaned up and planted a soft kiss on his lips. In the wake of his shock, the Irken unbalanced the two of them, flipping the human onto his back and twisting free of his improvised shackles.

"Ha! Victory! Victory for Zim!" he cried, though there was a powder-blue tint to his cheeks that mirrored the dusting of pink on the human's. "GIR!"

"Sir!" The robot landed in front of him, covered from head to metallic toe in... flour? Disregarding that, the Irken struck a pose.

"To the base, GIR!"

"Yes, sir!"

"You won't get away!" Dib cried, pouncing on the alien's back and sending them both skidding over the carpet, knocking poor GIR over on the way down. But Zim squirmed away, managing to wriggle out from beneath the human and jump onto GIR's back.

"If you dare, come after me, Dib-thing!" he called, sticking out his segmented tongue. "You know where I'll be!"

Dib's heart soared, the last weight on it lifting suddenly. "You're not...?"

"I'll take over this filthy stink-planet!" the alien declared. "For I am Zim! And you, the Dib-thing, must try to stop me if you so dare!"

The human laughed, his eyes narrowing. "Oh, I'll stop you, alright! I'll be there at every turn! You won't ever get rid of me!"

"Likewise," the Irken smirked, and then he was gone, taking off down the hallway. Suddenly a memory surfaced, and Dib lurched after him.

"Zim! Hey, Zim! What were you going to say, before? In the lab?"

"'I'll be waiting!'" the alien boy called, his voice drifting back down the hall. "I'm taking over this filthy world, and so the Dib had better be there to make it worthwhile!"

And Dib felt himself smile- an honest smile, without a scrap of sadism or even sarcasm.

"Count on it, Zim! You... alien menace!"

THE END

(A/N) I hope you enjoyed Crossing the Line; I hope the ending lived up to expectations; thanks you all again, and Please leave a review on your way out! It would make my day. :)

Also, as promised, here's a sneak peek at my next multi-chapter fic, "Defective."

Defective

Summary:Begging for the human's life may have been a mistake; an Irken PAK is a strange gift, the personality stored in it parasitic. So while Zim's human might be alive, he isn't defective; he isn't Dib. Meanwhile, a leaderless rebellion within the great Irken Empire is brewing; a rising up of those forgotten outcasts, the only beings in the galaxy the Brains truly fear. ZaDr

Lots of action, some romance, etc., etc. The Tallest are featured as well as some other rather under-appreciated characters... and of course some obligatory yet unpredictable plot twists. Interested? Curious? Go on, leave a review for CtL's epilogue (please?) and then click the "Follow Author" button below. EDIT- "DEFECTIVE" IS OUT NOW! :D