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Against the Odds	By : SaveTheDonuts Category: +G through L > Invader Zim > AU/AR-Alternate Universe-Alternate Reality Views: 1354 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: IZ universe and canon characters belong to Jhonen Vasquez and Nickelodeon. I make no money from this or I would have more than a penny in my pocket.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
Warning: This is a ZADR fanfic = Zim and Dib romance. If you don’t like, just don’t read. I mean it.

Everything related to Invader Zim does not belong to me ;w;

Rated: T, because of some minor violent scenes xp

Genre: Alternative universe. Some angst but things will get better… somehow owo;;

Summary: Zim promised he wouldn't run away anymore. He would fight for everything important to him and he would return, even if things could never be the same. But, at his return, he will know time had passed too fast, not even to say Good Bye. Now, he will have to survive in an unrecognizable world in an uncertain universe, until he meet a person who will help him to keep his word.

Chapter II. Fighting Bravely

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Get out of my way!" It didn’t matter if he got to the region outskirts, by then he could find out how and when to move in Capital City. But he had to get away!

Juna run in, loudly, into the subway just in time and, leaning against the handrail, he excitedly tried to catch his breath.

"Perfect" He thought "Now everybody knew he was there!" And now, what else he needed to complete the panorama?! - To get assaulted? The subway to crash and be left quadriplegic? Them, waiting for me at the exit?! - Juna noticed how subtly and without sudden movements, the other passengers near him warily distanced themselves from him and more than one retreated to the next wagon. Embarrassed, the boy sat on a seat just left and kept silent. Everything was that damned, wretched, lunatic alien’s fault!

- I hope he falls from the highest building - he whispered angrily, crossing his arms.

Several hours passed by and the subway was filled in the busiest stations and emptied as it neared the city outskirts. Meanwhile, the boy remained alert, without moving from his place with his face down, without thinking much about his predicament and, for a moment, was alone in the wagon.

First of all, he had to remain calm; he knew every one of the schedules and routes and knew where to go. But in any moment they would begin to register the service. In the next station he should leave and find a way to get back.

He sighed tired and frustrated ran his hands over his face.

- Everything will be fine - He said. Nothing could change what had happened - In any case, the alarms are going to turn on sooner or later - and he would have to run off. Sure, he could not have imagined the bizarre and dangerous circumstances he would have to face. – Fuck. – He didn’t believe his luck.

Relaxing on the rigid seat, he looked at the tinkling lamps with no real attention, looking for a heavenly sign that could illuminate his life. He just found a moth circling around the artificial light.
And he still had to get to work that night.

……………………………………………………

It smelled good. After all, he couldn’t complain. When leaving Irk in that humiliating condition, all his supplies were more than counted. Maybe that's why every snack he had eaten since that moment tasted better than the last, but that was about to end.

Between Zim’s hands was a blue stick, no longer than a teaspoon, in a red wrap torned from one end and a smiling face printed on. That was the last snack Zim had from his home planet. That one may not had been his favorite flavor the day he left the Irken Empire, but he knew he would particularly enjoy it, today.

He took a first bite. The outer layer had hardened by the time but the center had a grainy and soft texture. In human terms, we could describe the taste as sweet, blackberry-like and a touch of cinnamon and cloves flavors. The room he called his was silent and a low sound came to him. He had left Dib in front of the TV at the living room (though the human was more focused on the screen of his computer) before he sneaked into his room to eat in peace the snack, sitting on the bed, his back against the wall and legs folded against his chest.

Another bite. Dib kept trying to find a process to get some kind of food compatible with his system and the two of them seemed to have found something promising. If a substitute was not found as a source of nutrients, he would last no more than one Earth year with low physical and mental activity. Though it was degrading, Zim preferred to eat processed earthling food than remain inert, waiting for his body to stop working. It was humiliating enough to hide in that ball of mud, lost in the middle of nowhere to add that shameful end.

Next bite. Speaking of Dib, in the three years he had lived with him, he had never seen the human behave in that strange way. Lately, each time they meet in the halls, rooms or at the entrance of the house, his cheeks became red, he would look away from him and began to babble. Whatever it was, after a few seconds, the human seemed to regain his composure and tried to keep going or start a conversation, as if he had not gone through such lapsus brutus. Was he sick? He had never seen him sick or, was this an exception to the rule? He had also the impression that Dib made up any excuse just to be at his side, but the later could be just his imagination.

A new bite. Although, come to think of it, far from feeling uncomfortably stalked by the human pig, he had come to enjoy his company. Strange. At the beginning, he couldn’t stand being in the same room with him, he had considered him a complete idiot, obsessed with bizarre creatures in the deepest corners of that planet covered with acid. But something had changed at some vague point. Zim was convinced that being with humans for so long was affecting him or, with luck, his pak could be damaged.

Bite. He would have time enough to think about it.

He looked at the window and saw the heavy and constant snowfall in a dark cloudy sky. He didn’t know what he hated the most, if rain or snow. If he wasn’t careful enough, even after the rain he could get painfully soaked if walking around puddles on the sidewalk. But the snow could be compacted rapidly in lethal projectiles that monkey-spawn brats enjoy to throw against any clueless bystander. How was it possible for that horrible acid to be in every part of that putrid planet?!

And when he tried to bite again, he only saw in his hand the empty package and, for an instant, nothing disturbed the silence of his room. That was the last skitte®, he thought still looking at the envelope. Now everything depended on how the latest test would be the next day.

Strangely enough, Zim was not alarmed and that was the problem in the past few days. Dib told him the latest test would work and for the first time, he truly believed him.

An irken, before being the perfect war machine, they were loyalty and blind obedience to the Empire. If you trust your peers, it was only because they all shared the same goal and desire; you fought and died with and for them to bring honor and glory to the empire. But, outside the battle field, the misfortunes of your comrades were cause of fun, especially if they were taller than you. That kind of thrust he was experiencing was not part of the irken nature. What could be the explanation? He was more convinced his pak must have a deep problem somewhere.

And trust ... What for? What had the Dib done to deserve his trust? It could not be just because he had left him alive, right? What else he had done? Many things that had pleased him, he couldn’t hide that fact, but which one was the one?

All those thoughts made him feel uncomfortable. He closed his eyes and tried to push that mental tangle deep into his mind.

A few minutes of silence later, he heard the shrill voice of his SIR coming into the house like a whirlwind. A couple of hours ago, the wreched little robot had dissapeared, which was not unusual and for the cries of Dib, it seemed to have brought in a rabid possum into the house again, the human could handle the problem for sure. As for him, Zim preferred to stay there a while longer, in the company of the empty envelope.

Then he felt something poking his forehead repeatedly, GIR's voice was heard very close, perhaps too close and Zim opened his eyes. Sitting on the floor, he looked around, recognizing his surounding and remembered where and when he was. He had taken refuge all those days in a dark abandoned building near the city outskirt, near the interstate train route. To the irken’s surprise, the traffic was quieter than he had expected of the archaic human technology.

Before him, the small SIR stood, dressed the same way as thirty years ago ... no, a hundred fifty years ago: An absurd green dog costume with a disproportionately large zipper throughout the chest. He had remade the old green dog costume, which had been reduced to a pitiful handful of yellow debris.

Humans were no longer deceived by the strange disguise; they had already developed commercial robots in a wide range of designs, so GIR and had no problems to move around the city with or without costume. While GIR stay quiet and stick to the primitive earthling robots role, no one would pay attention.

- Master? - Asked the SIR poking his forehead again with his small metal index – Master? The baby squirrel had huddled up. - It said sweetly and proudly spread his little arms at him, showing him a transparent bottle of purified water. Zim took it immediately and heavily stood up, snarling.

He couldn’t believe it, after all that had happened he had fallen asleep on the ground without any precautions ahead; he was not even in his room!

He stretched and looked at the portfolio-capsule that had taken him to Earth, leaning on some medium-sized dark boxes, with different logos stamped on and loose metal pieces around him. There was still much to do but he had no particular hurry. Not anymore.

Through a dirty broken window he saw the sky begining to glow in a particular range of pink and orange hues. Dawn was breaking. Then, he should move on.

- Come Gir. We have another part to get. – Zim said, slightly limping toward the exit while he got covered by his holographic disguise, he opened the bottle and took a big gulp. The SIR yelp cheerily and, closely, followed his master.

……………………………………………………

She peaked carefully, looking for life signs in the hall but it was completely deserted, except for a paper ball on the floor and what looked like a dead cockroach. Sneaking, she advance to an access, cautiously looked inside and saw her target. Sitting a few feet away from her, there was a perfect specimen of homosapiens sitting on a plastic chair, staring down and, probably, examining the strange stains of dubious origin on the ground.

Looking a little further down, her gaze focused on the trophy. On the young hominid’s lap, there was an orange bag of fried potatoes waiting to be opened. As a signal, her stomach growled, and quietly, she walked toward her prey, with a mischievous and sly smile on her face.

With extraordinary agility she stood next to the goal without making the slightest of noises and reached out subtly. Just as her fingers brushed the metal surface of the envelope and feeling sure of her victory, a slender but strong hand seized hers. Just then Juna's face turned to see her, pounting.

- Hi, Juna. – The predator said, with no traces of shame, stretching her fingertips as humanly possible. Okay, he had caught her, but that didn’t mean she was going to give up.

- Not today, Freed. - Juna said. Releasing her hand, he took his bag of chips and proceeded to open it possessive.

- Aaaww... Juna, I’m hungry. - Begged the young girl - You know I always replace it the next day and, also, you know that I would have given the bag back to you if you really wanted it.

- No way. If you want food, get it on your own. – And so, he filled his mouth with a handful of potatoes, looking at her cautiously.

They were in the employees’ room. There was a small table, on it there was a half full and half cold coffee maker next to a nearly empty snack dispenser. There was also an old television set on the wall.

- Come on, don’t be like that. – Freed replied, folding her arms -You've been very serious in recent days, is something wrong? - A thin eyebrow arched at him, waiting for an answer.

Juna shook his head and looked down at the bag of potatoes.

- I haven’t been sleeping well, that’s all. Lately, there has been an underground construction near my place overnight.

Actually, Juna had taken refuge in one of the noisiest areas of the city and, in his current situation where his family’s surveillance was closer, instinctively his body was on edge, any strange noise startled him in the middle of the night, waking him an average of five times a night.

Damn alien.

- Too bad - Freed answered honestly, scratching her head - Maybe you should look elsewhere for now. They will take weeks doing whatever they are building.

- It’s okay. Besides, I don’t have anywhere ... - But an announcement on television turned his attention on the TV screen.

"Breaking News" It began "The Cootes Commercial Corporation has reported a burglary at its facilities less than an hour ago." Juna and Freed observed a false blond haired and piercing red suited reporter on the TV. Beside her, a window was displayed broadcasting a security video. "The images captured by the security system shows two blurry shapes enter the central warehouses and take a prototype hadronic energy mini-generator.

The authorities have begun the investigations but so far they have failed to determine the way that these individuals have enter the Cootes Corporation without been detected on time. Also, they have failed to specify the method on which the thieves have managed to distort the image of the security cameras so that their identification has proved impossible. It is suspected that someone from the inside has provided access to them.

Following the disclosure of this event, the Company Smacks, CE, and Pucks Satelly have made public robberies in their facilities. Apparently the same subjects are responsible for the abductions ... "

- I though you didn’t care about the news, ray-boy. – Freed said, noticing the strange interest that Juna had towards the screen.

Snapping out of trance, Juna looked up, his brain clicked on the words and his mouth drew a shy smile.

- No, it's just that I find it strange that someone - 'that’s not me' he added mentally - can break through the systems and facilities of those companies just like that. – He looked closely at the video and, although the figures were blurred, he noticed the fast and fluid movements of the higher thief. He had seen them before, he was sure. Without much effort, one thought hooked up with another. Was that alien to blame?

- Yeah, very strange. – The girl commented, interrupting his train of thought - Makes you wonder how safe are our homes if people like that can get into those places - and for a moment, they stood in silence – I’m leaving. - Freed said suddenly, surprising him and she walked backwards toward the door. - I have a couple of things to do before getting back home and I don’t want to miss dinner with my boyfriend. – She waved and walked away. – You already finished your work for today, you better go home or wherever, you have raccoon eye circles. Goodbye. – And she disappeared from sight.

Juna looked at the space his friend was and sighed.

The boy leaned on the old hard chair and let his mind wander briefly into the past.

A hadronic mini-generator. He hadn’t heared of that thing in years. As far as he knew, a normal-sized generator could produce enough electricity for an apartment building for a month just from a handful of super-compressed carbon. At that time, the miniature version was only one of many projects being undertaken in collaboration with the Membrane Company, under the watchful supervision of his father. Just a year earlier, those generators had been installed in the most densely populated cities where magnetic field generators by themselves couldn’t supply enough power. He couldn’t imagine the use of that pocket generator since its applications were limitless.

He wondered what else all those mentioned companies may have in common but after a moment of unsuccessful meditation, he preferred to login directly into the police databases and find out exactly what had been taken.

……………………………………………………

The sliding door shrilled opened, letting Juna into a small room. The place was not bigger than seven square meters; it was crowded with cardboard boxes, disassembled circuits and power wires here and there. At the back, in a more orderly small area was a smooth horizontal surface built-in the wall (which turned out to be the bed), a thin dark blue cylinder on a small folding table and over the bed was a shelf where his clothes and some other personal beloggings were on.

On one hand, Juna had a couple of bags of food while the other closed, by pressing a button, the entry once he was inside.

Such places like that were known as "boxes", small area room that had become popular recently; small, inexpensive and, while not exactly comfortable, it was just what a solitary young man like him needed. Although it hurt him to spend some of his savings, he had promise to make those sacrifices only in times of emergency like the one happened last month, when the alien crash on the weak house he was hiding in. Since then he had heard nothing unusual, nothing that would particularly disturb the society.

Sitting on the bed, he took the cylinder and pressed a button on the side. One half got deployed and stretched, taking the shape of a thin screen and the other half as a keyboard. He put on the table beside him some sandwiches, a couple of apples and a bottle of water from the shopping bag and began to investigate.

The reporter had said Smacks, CE, Satelly and Pucks, right?

It wasn’t the first time he had logged into the police system, by now he knew the structure of the database and, within seconds, he found the reports of the robberies and all the details. Looking further he found that there were other companies that had been victims of thieves and many of them not just once but repeatedly. He downloaded the reports and, without leaving evidence of his presence, left the system.

The list was much longer than he expected. Whoever was behind this, they had been surprisingly active. He, not even with all the knowledge he had, could do everything within such a short time. He woud need at least half a year just to prepare. And it had all started three weeks ago, about the same time he was hiding there. As he had noticed, the alien didn’t even know what year they were. If he was guilty, he would have started almost from scratch. It was, frankly, surprising.

Automatic central stabilizer, titanium oxide welding base, multiple sensors, a handful of Nanocontrollers, a pair of six planes slides, super coolers composite plates, polinfraneo, a multiprotocol network communicator, an industrial rack, sheets of various plastics and metals compounds and the list went on to end with the hadronic mini-generator.

- Why does he need all that? – Recalling, that type of generator was designed for vehicle applications. What had happened to the capsule that had brought him there? - What he said his name was? Zam, Dim, Mik? - It was difficult to remember details when you were thrown against a wall. – Never mind. – He would know later.

After reading carefully the police reports, something caught his attention. It was true that the person behind these thefts had done a good job to enter, steal and escape, but not perfect. In several times, they were about to catch him, they even hurt him the last time but something that involved a curious and improbable hit of pure luck got on the way.

- Neurotic and, above that, lucky - The boy concluded - Not only that. He always has problems with the internal systems of the buildings. Ha! That’s the easiest to do, I do that since eight. – He added vanity – But ... - there was something strange. The easiest but not precisely the safest way to enter those technology fortresses was breaking into the Principal Register, with infinite identities that would apply to each access. Juna couldn’t do that, that’s why he had to hide. By breaking into the Principal Registry he could create as new identities as he wanted, it would be impossible to find him and officially he wouldn’t be a Membrane. He wouldn’t have to live under the shadow of that name, anymore.

If the alien was really behind all the thefts, then even there was a way of solving his problem. The hard part would be convincing him and he felt a chill go down his spine. When they met, the alien almost ripped his guts right there, asking for his most famous ancestor who had died almost a century ago. And the kiss ... What the fuck was that?! No, he really didn’t have to think about it.

- I don’t need more traumas in my life. – He whispered, distracted with the brightness of the keyboard.

In the city there were four other major technology companies that have not yet been attacked and, intentionally, left the Membrane off the list. Juna had not the courage or the audacity to get too close and he did not know if he would have the courage to enter there with such intentions.

Now, it was just a matter of time before those places were visited by the strange alien.

He still had a chance and he would not throw it away, not again and now he had something the alien might be interested in. But first, he needed to do something to find him. He got up and picked from the floor a small broken circuitry board. He could try with that, he would have to make some adjustments but otherwise it would be a piece of cake.

……………………………………………………

In the middle of the main river that acrossed Capital City from north to south, there was a solid building in communication with the city through a big iron bridge. A person lost in the crowd who was walking on the east side of the river, leaned over and took a stone from the ground. He tossed it at the river but his gaze didn’t follow the downward course of the stone.

Later, he visited two other places, threw a paper airplane at a warehouse and a rubber ball against the wall of another building. Several streets away he took off his cap he had hid with his face. Now, Juna only had to wait. He hoped that, this time, he had some luck.

He crouched, took out his computer, placed it on his lap and quickly began to work.

……………………………………………………

One night, several days later, a signal turned on on the cylindrical computer screen which was waiting just for that moment. Juna woke up quickly with a fast breaking rush of adrenaline. When he looked at the screen, he clearly could see the alien’s face disguised as human, seen from a low angle with the odd little robot to the side, on top of a tall gray building, the first place where he had placed one of the trackers. The shot changed of position, moving at ground level to the foot of the irken and with one swift movement, the shot pointed at the ground, moving rapidly with each step the irken gave.

Quickyly, Juna took a small backpack with everything he might need, including his computer and ran off.

Stoping at times, Juna checked on the computer screen the city map, a yellow dot was moving rapidly and steadily between the streets and sometimes over the buildings.

Running through the streets, going from subway line to another, the human could rapidly get near the dot, which had stopped in a street that Juna remember having previously visited one of his deliveries. A few minutes later he was there, in front of a building.

It has been years since the place was abandoned, the windows were broken, doors were precariously in place, it was completely dark inside and there was an old yellow tape with large black warning letters saying "CAUTION - BUILDING IN BAD STATE.” It was, indeed, a good place to hide everything that had been stolen.

Juna took a minute to catch your breath and relax, leaning on a dirty wall covered by a thick layer of ads. Using a shirt sleeve, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and face and waited. For the first time, he thanked his work as a messenger had kept him in good shape or he would have fainted in the race.

- Something tells me this is not a good idea. – He whispered to himself.

In the distance he could hear the occasional noise of the city, the talk of the neighbors, the barking of a lonely dog and the sound of the train tracks nearby. But nothing seemed to indicate that something or someone was in the building. Breathing deeply, he stored his computer in the bag and looked timidly at the interior through a nearby window, but the darkness was impenetrable.

- I just want to be safe and sound at the end. - He begged, hoping that someone would hear his plea.

Looking around, he found a crack in a high point of the wall, big enough where he could go in. He took out from his backpack a small lamp and without much effort he went into the building and , cautiously, landed inside.

The place was in better shape than the front. The building was huge inside and any noise would cause an unwanted echo. There was garbage on the floor and on walls could be seen layers of urban illegible graffiti. Parts of the wall had collapsed over time letting in thin artificial light beams from the outside. Juna carefully observed the soil dust, there were several recent footprints.

Juna advanced stealthily, guided by the dim light of the lamp. He sneaked at the stairs, passing near a pile of garbage with his heart in his throat, waiting for something to attack him from above. Setting a foot on the first step, something suddenly pulled his ankle, giving him time just enough to say "Shit."

His body hit the hard steps and his backpack flew to one side, then he was slammed against the opposite wall where several metal bands wrapped around him, immobilizing him completely.

Juna felt lightheaded and dizzy, not to mention painful and, to worsen the situation, his contact lenses had fallen from his eyes and the world was plunged into a dense fog.

Something cyan bright came down the stairs quickly and, when it stood before him, he heard a loud voice that recognized immediately.

- Hello, mummy! – And his ears rang - Ready to surf the dunes?

Perfect, the little manic on stage.

- GIR! Stay away from the earthling pig! I hate when those sickling hobos get in! – Shouted a familiar deafening and intimidating voice at the time aggressive steps came down from the stairs.

Oh, shit! Shit! Shit!

- Let's see what dirty cockroach dared to come. - The shadowy figure approached him to a safe distance and snapping his fingers, a light blinded him. – Hey! it’s you, earth worm! How did you get here?! – Zim shouted, standing in front of him, snarling. Clearly Juna sense the killer gaze on him and if he had a tail, it surely would be between his legs.

"Stay calm, be calmed, if you screw this up, this psyco is gonna kill you for sure" And the boy swallowed.

- I ... Look, I didn’t come to make problems. I just want you to hear me, okay?

- There is nothing you can say, stinky maggot!

- Or you can sing, I like to sing - interrupted the SIR, happily and began to sing – Chocolate sea sun, artichokes clouds shriek and the dog rolls…

Ignoring it, Juna saw something rising behind the irken and an ancient instinct told him that that he was going to die with slowly and painfully and the bloody irken was not giving him the chance!

- The security network! - He shouted Juna desperated – I can take away any obstacle of any of the companies you need to go. Do not kill me! - He shut up, curled on the floor, as well as the tapes allowed him.

Zim would not openly admit it but he was concerned, every incursion was more difficult than the last. Humans were not completely idiots; they were setting on and improving their defenses against him. He was in no condition to make mistakes and unconsciously he placed gently his hand on his right thigh. The wound on his leg was almost healed but it had left him stalled for several days. He should not underestimate the Earth artificial intelligence technology.

Juna was quiet, waiting for the dreading figure to descende upon him to destroy him. Surprisingly, whatever it was that was over the irken, it returned to its place, out of sight.

- You're really stupid. You lie to this irken, chase him and come into his territory only to lie him again?

- No, really. I can prove it. Take my computer, inside my backpack. There are several opened files you can see. They are the control charts from some companies you have been in before. I can manipulate them and do whatever I want with them.

Mistrusting, the irken eyes stared at the boy then turned and his gaze fell on the pack a few feet away.

- GIR, watch over the pig-monkey. If it moves, you can play with its eyeballs. – The SIR shrieked in joy, startling Juna and making him stay as still as possible.

Zim sized the bag and took out the computer. A few seconds later he was analyzing the information displayed on the screen. Sensors, cameras, locks, combinations, everything was there.

- This human ... - was what Zim needed. But it was very strange. No ordinary human should have that information.

- He moved! – GIR yelled.

- That’s not true, you piece of garbage! – Juna shouted, twisting in his place, trying to get rid of the maniacal robot.

- GIR, you'll play with him later. We need him complete. – Zim said, removing the robot off Juna. –Well, earth beast. But what you win with this? - ZIm dropped GIR aside and it ran toward to the upper store, babbling in excitement.

- I want you to show me how to enter and modify data from the Principal Record. – He answered quickly. And an expectative silent remained for a moment.

- Is that all? - Juna nodded decisively - Pathetic, I thought you'd want something more important than that.

- You think it’s nothing?

- What do you plan to take from the Record? Money, extorting people, sell information?

- Why did you come looking for Dib? - And the situation became tense between them.

Definitely that was not the question the irken was prepared to listen, now or ever. The words touched a very sensitive issue, he should be in control of himself and could not start if he allowed to be crushed by the fact that Dib was gone. He had paid a price when leaving and could not do anything about it, even now he didn’t regret it. But getting back was a mistake. Period.

On second thought, there would be no problem if Zim released some frustration with the human before him. But looking at Juna’s determined expression, Zim understood what the human really wanted to say. This human faces reading stuff had become much easier over the time. Neither he nor Juna had given explanations to each other. Zim just need him to build a rustic spacecraft, whatever the human would do with the record was not of his business, he wouldn’t get in troubles for it. Without warning, Zim kicked the side of the human to show him a little respect.

- From now you’ll be my slave drone, from now on. – The irken looked at the sored human. - But you see, you can’t leave just like that.

Juna saw the shadowy irken figure close to him and felt a strong, sharp but brief pain in the nape. Then the irken moved away from him.

- If you try to do any trick, your head will explode like a duck in a laundry.

The metal tapes released the human, allowing him to breathe normally.

- What you did? What is in my nape? – The boy said nervously, rubbing the area.

- Nothing but the most practical and well-known leash. A small device that will make your brain become mush if I give the order. I'll take it off when we finish. – The irken laughed, looking at the human on the ground. - I want you here tomorrow, night.

“This bastard” Juna thought bitterly, getting up painfully.

- Now answer, how did you find me? – Zim could not understand how Juna had located him when dozens of irken soldiers were looking for him with the best technology available in the universe.

- In your ankle is a little robot crawler. It only had to wait until you showed up and caught you.

Looking down, Zim found a small lizard-like robot clinging to his boot. He ripped it from its place and looked at it with hatred. That? What a shame!

He tossed the robot onto Juna’s face.

- Now, get out! – Ordered Zim, he had had enough of humans and his silliness for the day.

Juna nodded vigorously. Tentative, he picked his beloggings from the floor and walked toward the exit as fast as his blurred vision allowed him. Without the lenses, getting back home would be a hell, but could not help feeling lucky to be alive, beaten but alive.

Before leaving, a doubt stopped him.

- Hey, just... what's your name? – He said, rubbing his face. Usually a fairly astute person would have left the site with the opportunity at hand but Juna felt that the question was compelling enough.

- Name? - Zim smiled and set his fists on his hips, standing proudly. - I am Zim!

……………………………………………………

Even at three in the morning, the city lived in a continuous pulse of activity, light and noise and, both, Juna and Zim, knew perfectly well there was no better time like this to act.

- Remind me why I'm not up there. - Zim asked indignantly. That human and his stupid plans. The metal legs of his pak held him fifteen feet above the ground, hiding in the shadows opposite the soon-to-be crime scene. "Because over here it’s the builing network core and you have to go into the vault, in the basement level. You got nothing to do here." He heard from the transmitter.

Why on earth humans had built the basement access in the forth floor? Zim just could guess it was for a very stupid and ridiculous security reasons and even then, he was about to enter. – Good. Ready, earth pig?

- Ready. – Juna answered from the top of the south tower where they would attack. GIR had brought him there in a sickly zigzaging path and he expected to feel better when he returned to the ground. - Now – He said, writing a torrent of programming code lines, breaking into the building security system.

Zim’s legs prompted him fast and agile at the smallest of the pair of tall, slightly irregular gray buildings. A section of the high fence around it retread, letting him come in. He immediately found the access Juna pointed out.

Meanwhile, the human noticed the irken’s progress in the maze of corridors and rooms on the computer screen without losing his concentration on the task. Clear and precisely, he began to give indications to Zim about the route and dangers ahead.

- The next access is for materials transport; you will need the guard number 45 identification. – Zim, who hours earlier had obtained all the building personel information through the Principal Registry, let the memory of his pak give him the necessary data. A moment later, he was in.

Thereafter, Zim did not overlook his virtually uninterrupted progress on each store. He had a strange feeling of being surrounded by a bubble, making him invisible to all sensors, systems and surveillance cameras, just as elusive as a ghost. To collaborate with the human was not so bad after all. But until he didn’t get the part on his hands, he would not call it a victory.

- Zim – Juna called from the irken’s communicator - There are three guards at the end of the next hall. Turn right and go into the first room you find. - The irken followed the instructions without hesitation, finding the door a few steps ahead.

- Now, go to the window and look outside. – A few feet away, he heard a click and the window opened by itself. When he looked, Zim saw the gap that got narrower there between the two buildings and a wind waved his holographic hair.

- And what you plan me to do, human? To jump? – The irken asked, cynically.

- Almost - Juna answered, setting a tone of obviousness to your response - A few feet away is an edge. Over it is an entrance to a narrow passageway; you will find an access that goes down directly to the basement level 1. Think you can do that?

'Think you can do that?’ Zim groaned, to whom the human thought he was talking to? For an irken, that was nothing. He swore that idiot would know that at the end of the day. Zim extended his pak legs again, jumped, reached the edge and entered the passageway. Later, he found himself at the entrance that would lead him to the basement.

- Use the guard 10 information. - Zim entered the data and the door opened. He walked down a short hallway, on the other end there was an opened elevator that waited for him. Zim walked in. The door opened again in a long corridor from side to side. - Go right until you see the access TR. Enter the guard 021 code - And the door opened. – The anti gravity generator is on set TR1009.B2. Just follow the path I'm going to show you. Do not step outside the white line.

The vault was completely dark. In the shadows, Zim distinguished countless shelves lined next to each other. On the roof, one at a time, a series of lamps turned on, illuminating a white line on the floor that lengthened to the left and it turned in a distant shelf.

Zim followed the white line where the last lamp was lit. Looking up he saw what he was looking for.

- I see it. – Zim informed, activating his own pak anti gravity generator to reach it.

- Perfect, Zim. – Juna could not contain his enthusiasm; they had got it without problems.

GIR surprisely jumped on the human’s shoulders with a bag of popcorn between its hands. Where had it got them?!

- Wow! Colored spaghetti! – The SIR said, emptying the popcorn bag on Juna’s computer.

- Wait, GIR! Get off!!

- Stupid SIR - Zim ignored the SIR and human’s cries and took the piece.

- Zim, wait! – Too late. Several alarms were triggered. – Zim! What the fuck did you do?! You shouldn’t have taken it, yet!

- Why you didn’t tell me before?! - The cry almost break Juna’s eardrum.

- I was about to tell you! Your robot distracted me! –The map began to turn red, from the point where Zim was to the rest of the building, like a tide. The system went out of control.

- Zim does not have your time!

- Not anymore! Get out of there, you big idiot! – Desperated, Juna tried to confuse the network settings, giving them some time to escape.

- Shut up, circus monkey! Do not give orders to Zim!

- Shut up, disoriented moth! Shit ... - He had made it but not in time. Now the guards were alerted and that can only mean one thing. And behind him he heard something that clenched his hair.

Zim was about to answer when a cry came from the transmitter. In no time, he understood what had happened. Three robots entered the hall where he was and jumped on him. The human would have to deal with his share while he was busy.

Holding the container under the arm, Zim quickly jumped out of the way of the nearest robot. Taking position, he focused a kick at the robot vision lenses, breaking them on impact. At the instant the other two robots approached him and being only six feet way, they were pierced by the sharp tips of the pak mechanical legs. Straightening proudly, Zim went quietly to the exit with a pedantic grin on his face. He just couldn’t help to enjoy destroying things.

- I feel insulted by the security level of this place – He said at no one in particular. But when he left the cellar, his arrogance deflated in the same way his antennae fell submissively on his skull when he got surrounded by a dozen robots directly targeting at him.

Above, Juna barely had time to take his backpack without tossing his computer to run away and hide between the aeration outputs, but with the service door closed and three robots wandering around he barely had time to catch his breath. When he couldn’t listen to the robots near him, he took the chance and opened the computer.

- Shit. Shit. Shit. – With the adrenalin running in his veins, his fingers typed desperately, breaking into the control system of robots. But before he could take control of them, one of them appeared, pointing a stun gun at him. Clumsy but fast enough he dodged the shot and ran as fast as he could but there was no exit. Now two robots were following him and, turning around a corner, he stopped abruptly and the sight made his heart jump.

He was cornered, in front of him there was the edge of the tower and back and right of him there were the two robots. Like a miracle, an idea suddenly appeared.

- GIR! The robots want to play! – He could just expect the SIR had heared him and its absence made him think otherwise. Just when he was getting ready to feel 500 volts going through his body, out of no where GIR jump on the nearest robot’s face.

- Who am I? – The little robot shouted, holding thighly the guard robot vision cameras. The robot shot and the tips fully electrified hitted the other robot that had come near them. Juna was several feet away when he heard an explosion and he wouldn’t turn around just to see.

The remaining robot appeared in front of him. Skidding, Juna turned away. He heard something hitting the wall behind his head but he kept running. The robot had failed but it was only a matter of seconds before it had the next shot ready.

A few yards ahead, he found a dark gap where he got in. He opened his computer and, quickly enough he took the remaining robots control and he gave one single order. Stay still!

Silence.

Cautiously, he left his hiding place and close there was the robot, still in its position, as a metal statue.

At the other side, Juna found the SIR playing with the broken pieces of the first two robots. GIR could behave like a small hyperactive child, but properly used, it could be really useful. And dangerous.

- GIR, let's go! - Juna ordered.

- Is the game over? Betty said she can wait for the mice. – The SIR said innocently.

- Yes, GIR. It’s over. Now we gonna to play “Where is Zim?” - The SIR cried of joy and its twisted mind happily accepted the new proposal.

Number disadvantage could not cope with Zim’s battle experience and innate destructive abilities. These robots might be a mortal danger to a normal human: They were strong, heavy and fast for their size, but an elite irken such as him had no problems in destroying them individually. Even without a pak, the work alone would just take more time. The problem was that as soon as he finished with a group of robots, another one appeared to replace it.

Dodge. Jump. Bringing down. Break. The irken’s concentration was focused only on the fight and didn’t drop the package under his arm. It took him a minute to realize that the robots had ceased to attack and now they were static in their places.

Taking a second to catch his breath, he growled.

- Dirty disgraceful human! - The transmitter got activated. – You damned imbecil despicable human swine! Where the fuck are you?! Once I get my hands on ...!

Juna, from his spot, hesitated to answer but it would not be the smartest or convenient. Relatively.

- Yes, Zim?

- Give Zim the way out, NOW! And no more surprises!

Juna swallowed hard and obeyed the order quickly. For the first time, he wished with all his heart to see the dawn again.

……………………………………………………

Juna and Zim came crashing into a damp and dark alley and stay silent. Several sirens approached and departed from there, getting lost in the city’s chaos. In the distance, some flames could still be seen at the top of the building. A few moments later GIR disguised came in, hopping happily from the entrance at them, with a popsicle in its hand.

Turning his face, Juna saw the irken holding the reward of that mad day. The simple and small size of the box didn’t seem to justify the mess they had left behind but it contained one of the most important parts for the irken ship.

Juna bitterly sighed. Everything was screwed, he had spoiled it all. The irken was going to throw him away like garbage if he didn’t kill him first.

In silence, Zim opened the box and pulled out a semi-spherical piece, carelessly throwing the box away. From his pak, a cable came out, which put on his free hand a small square and he inserted it in a dark hole in the piece. A hologram was displayed, showing a series of binary data the irken easily understood. The information seemed to have satisfied him, he removed the square and the pak stored it again.

- GIR, open your head. – The irken ordered.

The SIR, who sniffed something in a corner of the alley, answered at his master’s call attentively.

- Yes, master! –Answered the little robot, with the same joyful out bust as ever. The costume retreated, leaving his head uncovered and it opened up.

- For Irk’s sake, GIR! What the fuck is that?! – Zim said disgusted watching the mysterious content, protectively holding the piece with his arms. From his position, Juna could not see it but he was convinced that he could live without knowing. - Forget it, I better carry it myself. - The irken said.

Juna got up slowly. Without adrenaline, his body gave him the blows bill he had received. His legs ached, especially his right thigh and back, and a stronge migraine was coming right ahead.

Zim looked at the fire and then at Juna. It was the first time he had faced Earth robot guards, they were far from those used in the irken military but they were not easy, neither. Much less in packs. If it wasn’t for the human, he wouldn’t have survived without a scratch. Some way he knew that the day he had to break into the Membrane Company, the Principal Data Registry by itself wouldn’t be enough. For the moment, he had to keep the human.

- See you in four days, human pig. Zim wants you at his place before noon.

- How? – Juna asked, smiling like a fool. Zim had said what he said? No, he just could not believe it.

Zim rolled his eyes in exasperation, but repeated.

- Zim said “in four days, before noon”. Now, go away, you idiot. Zim wants to see you no more. - Without further explanation, Zim walked toward the exit of the alley.

There was still hope! Juna’s mind shouted. Everything was going perfectly. But ...

- Emm… Zim? - What the hell was he doing? That was the moment to run out from there, retreat in his box and thank to be there. – I think we should hurry; someone will relate the stolen parts and start protecting the remaining ones.

- Ha! Do not be silly - The irken answered, amused by the absurd idea - If you are experts at something is to deny the obvious.

- I'm sure my ... - He was about to say 'father' but managed to change the word in time - intuition is correct. Someone smart enough will notice.

- Nobody will - He said, looking contemptuously at the human.

- Hey, I did realize - Juna pointed out.

- You give yourself too much credit. And it was because I fell on your primitive excuse of a burrow. –Zim replied, crossing his arms around the piece. - Before noon. Zim does not accept delays.

Juna smiled to himself, perhaps what awaited for him was chaos and disaster but he had succeeded. Even with all the previous mess, he was closer to fulfilling his goal. The deal was still on.

- Ah! One last thing, human slug.

Surprisingly, Juna felt a pain like never before in the stomach that took his breath away, forcing him to bend and fall to the ground.

- Zim is going to explain the situation for you, human pig. – The irken said, looking disapprovingly from above, rubbing his left fist. – You, humans, are an inferior and silly species, but I know your pathetic capacities and your great limitations. The deal is that Zim will help you in exchange of information about how and where to get what he wants and to follow each one of his orders and today they were to inform him everything that he was going to face in there from the beginning. The next time something like this happens, Zim will be your biggest problem. So learn your place, on the ground. GIR! Let’s go! - He ordered at the SIR and it cheerfully said goodbye to Juna.

Turning around, Zim and GIR left, getting lost in the perpetual darkness created by the tall buildings and poor lighting.

“Charming. Fucking bastard." Juna bitterly thought, still with his arms around his stomach, curled up on the floor.

But he was still alive. So much painfully alive.
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Against the Odds