YAAAAY, THREE WHOLE PAGES OF HAPPINESS! Well.. Sort of. Hooray for the longest chapter so far! I think the next chapter will be the last, by the way. I hope you guys enjoyed it so far, and that you stick around for the ending. ANYWAY,

Chipolas of Doom:

1. ngrey651 (Dun worry about it, the story isn't finished yet! It's called a plot twist. I think. Well, there's probably another, more educated term for that, but that's what I know.)

2. Doom Dragonness (Ugh, I know. They're all ZaDr.. To scar the mind..)

3. RaNdOmGiR101 (Oh, yes. Your feelings are right, something is about to happen next.. *cough* Finally..)

4. DeathlyFlames (I just realized how fun it is. I want to write more with him being dark and all, but I MUST.. FINISH.. THE STORY.. And, you're right. However, I think this time he'll figure out Irk doesn't want him [imbeciles].)

5. Taruya-chan (EXACTLY! That's what I was thinking when I was writing it. I was afraid no one would get that, but I'm glad at least one person did. And, YES, OF COURSE IT IS! Purple is so awesome, I think there should be more fangirls for him. Remember, though, he's only happy if you feed him snacks.)

6. Hanzo of the Salamander (Thanks! I'm glad I have another reader. ^-^)

7. Invader Lye (NOOO RED, NOOO! Lasers are not the answer.. It's the smoke machines that people really want.. *Gets shot in the eye by laser* OW!)

OKAY, HERE WE GO!

The Massive's arrival was very silent. You'd think that, for having such a huge ship, it would be loud. Then again, this is alien technology we're talking about here. The whole ship took up Zim's entire cul de sac, and then some. The edge of it, the tail if you will, led off into the street leading away from his house. The whole pink ship cast an eerie purple glow all around it, kind of like the luminous pink from Zim's house. The Irken symbol was huge and right on the front and sides for everyone to see. If you looked through the window of the ship, you would see two smiling, snickering red and purple aliens who wore malevolent smiles.

Zim literally jumped in joy at the sight of this. "They're here," he yelped, "They're finally here!" He yanked open the door and stepped out to the street, completely forgetting about Dib, who was currently staring with his mouth open. He knew he had to stop whatever was going on, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do. What could he do when he didn't know what was happening or what was going to happen? Even if he knew, the Massive was here, and he was sure there were tons more Irkens on the ship.

With wide eyes, Dib stepped out into the crisp night air. Zim was saluting his leaders by bowing his head and wiggling his antennae. What a weird way to salute. Dib pulled out a camera- His favorite camera- From his pocket and made sure he took off the lens cap this time. He didn't know whether or not the world would be alive by the time the Armada left, but right now, his camera was the only thing he had as a defense. He took a few pictures, but just as he was about to snap a shot of the large Irken symbol, Zim's Tallests emerged from the ship.

"No pictures, please!" The red one said. He looked like he'd been smiling for a reason, but for what reason, Dib couldn't place. How could you be smiling when the human race was about to be wiped out?

Oh, right. They were the enemy.

Dib wanted to reply, wanted to threaten these ugly aliens, but something was out of place about them. I mean, destroying a planet couldn't be that enjoyable, could it? What were they so happy about? Dib decided he could only do one thing, the thing he'd been doing for most of his life- Observe. He ducked behind a bush without trying to be stealthy. They already knew he was here, but maybe they weren't necessarily here to hurt him.

The purple one grinned in his direction then turned to Zim. "Zim! How've you been, eh? Oh wait, I don't care!" He and Red started laughing like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard.

Zim cocked his head at this but quickly retained his posture. "My Tallests! It is quite a pleasure to see you here, on Earth! I've been waiting for this moment the day I got here," he said dreamily, "and it's finally happened." He turned around and started to briskly walk back inside his house. "I'll go get the bomb, my Tallests, you'll be simply amazed by it-"

"No, that won't be necessary, Zim." Red cut in. Zim turned around in question. "You see, Zim, we've come here for a separate reason. Purp, you wanna take over?"

Well, now this was getting suspicious. Dib couldn't tell at the moment what was going to happen, but it didn't seem like it was going to be good news for Zim.

"Well, don't mind if I do!" Purple said, smirking somehow even more. It seemed the only part of his face was the smile itself. "Zim." He let the unpleasant name settle in his mouth before he started again. "I had to wait until we were face-to-face to say this. I'm actually surprised you didn't get the message earlier, but I guess that's what happens with defects."

Defect. Dib had heard Zim use that term before, but when he was saying it, he described himself as everything but a defect. Now his leaders were calling him one. Dib's mouth got dry as he realized Zim's Tallests had come only to taunt him, and to do who knows what else. Sure, he hated Zim's guts, but this was just.. Cruel. Zim gave his never-ending allegiance to these guys?

Purple spoke up again, and Dib separated some of the branches of the bushes for a better look.

"That's right, Zim. You're a defect. You were born that way, but the empire considered you an exception. You were determined to be an Invader, after all, but after you screwed that up- Like you screw everything up- We all just wanted to get rid of you."

He paused, seemingly relishing the horror etched on Zim's face, then continued. "So, because you're a defect and a disgrace to the empire, and we can't seem to be stripped of you any other way.." He giggled. "You're banished from Irk! Yaaay! If you even come near the planet, your bioscan will be recognized, and soldiers will come immediately to deliver to you a slow and painful death"

Red and Purple then pulled out confetti and started running around, tossing it everywhere, taking pictures of themselves with Zim's shocked frozen form.

Dib started to cramp up in his legs; he was sure he'd been crouched down this way for at least 45 minutes. Finally they seemed to have enough. They wiped their eyes and had one last, good laugh, then boarded the ship.

"Have a terrible life on this disgusting excuse for a planet, Zim!" Red bid farewell. The Massive silently and effortlessly lifted itself up and fled away back to wherever it is it belongs.

It was quiet. Dib was surprised the whole neighborhood hadn't woken up by now. Purple and Red were acting more like monkeys than humans did. Now the silence rang in Dib's ears.

After getting over the shock of this whole ordeal, Dib stood up and stretched, then realized he wasn't alone. He snuck a look at Zim.

Dib never thought he'd ever feel bad for Zim, but this was obviously an exception. He had just been taunted and rejected harshly by his leaders, his idols, whom he'd always looked up to. He walked over to him. Zim looked like he'd just seen a flying Irken-human hybrid mating with Manbearpig, except more scared. His eyes were wet and huge. They consumed more than half of his face, and were unblinking. His mouth hung open and his antennae were flat against his head. He was a much paler shade of green, getting close to gray.

"Zim?" Dib whispered. He didn't know what else to say. Dib sincerely felt bad for Zim. He had to say something.

"Zim, I.. I'm sorry. I mean, I know we're mortal enemies and all, but.." He faltered.

Dib didn't want to talk about this. He wanted to run away and never look back. He knew that would make him weak, though.

"Not too long ago.. A month, I think.. I.. I was kicked out of the Swollen Eyeball." His voice cracked. "I don't know if you remember what that is or that I was a member of it, but.. It meant a lot to me. I don't think it was as much to me as your leaders were to you, but.. It hurt. A lot. I was humiliated. I never wanted to see the sun again." What was he doing? Why was he telling Zim, of all people in the world, this terrible secret he'd swore he'd never speak of? "My point is, you're not alone. I.. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm really sorry, Zim."

Zim's head dropped down to his chest, and a tear slipped from his eye. He was truly speechless. He turned around and walked back inside his now meaningless base, leaving Dib alone in the dark. Dib didn't blame him for acting this way. This is almost exactly how he'd acted when the Swollen Eyeball forbid him from ever speaking or acknowledging them ever again, then proceeded to make fun of him for everything he'd ever done or believed in that he wasn't capable of proving.

Dib walked home, knowing things were going to be different from now on.

Hee hee. They probably seem a bit OOC (Zim and Dib, anyway).. Sorry 'bout that. It was bound to happen sometime. Think about it, though, Zim's heart has been thrown and raped by Manbearpig (WOO! SOUTH PARK REFERENCE- SUCCESS), and Dib knows what he's going through and has a compassionate human heart, so yeah. I really like this chapter. It (finally) has something going on.. Please review!

~Invader Janie