Invader Zim: Living With The Enemy

Second chance

As Dib led the way to the guest room, Zim followed silently, while Gir was bouncing happily behind him.

Phase one was a success: he managed to get into the house and convince the stupid scientist to let him stay over with a lame excuse. It was easier than he thought it would be.

But phase two wouldn't be so easy, since Zim hated Dib just as much as Dib hated Zim.

Either way, he needed to earn his trust, and to do that, he would have to follow the techniques he saw on human television shows. The first step was to start a conversation.

“Sooo… Nice weather, huh?" He commented.

Dib didn't answer.

"It think it's going to rain tomorrow" he tried a second time.

Again, there was no answer.

"Did you see the baseball game yesterday? The Pigs beat the Otters by 3x0-"

Suddenly Dib stopped walking, causing Zim to bump into his back. Then he turned to face him, clearly annoyed.

"Look, I don't know what you're up to, but it won't work. My dad may have fallen for your dirty tricks, but I won't. I'll find out what you want, and I'll stop you. So don't even try to-

"I brought a gift" Zim interrupted, earning a suspicious look from the boy.

"A gift?.."

"GIR" Zim signaled to the robot, who promptly stood beside him and launched a rock from his mouth, wich hit Dib in the stomach.

The human groaned in pain and held the object, analyzing it.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked, recovering his breath.

"It doesn't have a meaning, it's a rock" the alien answered simply.

"I know it's a rock! But why did you give it to me?"

"It's not a simple rock. It's a space rock" Zim corrected.

"How will I know if this isn't a bomb or some kind of crazy alien weapon?"

"I can confirm that it isn't."

"And why?"

"Because it's a rock."

Dib took a deep breath, counting to ten mentally.

"Why should I accept this?"

"It's a peace offering. I gave up on trying to conquer Earth, I just want to live a peaceful life, and I will start by redeeming myself with you. I'm sorry.

The Earth boy's expression was hilarious. He turned pale as if he'd seen a ghost and his eyes were wide open. Zim would be laughing if he wasn't so determined to fool the human.

"What did you just say?"

"I said I'm sorry" Zim repeated "Gee, you earthlings have terrible audition."

"Are you just going to… Give up? That easy?"

"Yeah. It's not like it's worth it anyway. I mean, why would I want to earn the recognition of my beloved leaders and be worshipped by all the people of Irk. Pfft, lame, am I right?"

Dib returned to his previous serious expression, and didn't seem to believing a word.

“Haha…” Zim laughed nervously and cleared his throat. “Well, I guess that leaves us in good terms now, right?"

"You wish."

With that, Dib pushed him into the bedroom and closed the door. A few seconds later, he opened it again and threw Gir at him.

"What a grump" Gir commented. "Someone needs a hug."

"Seems like it will be harder than I thought…"

"Nya!" Said the purple moose.

"You're right, Minimoose. He will give in. It's only a matter of time. Soon I will have the whole planet in my hands…"

Zim prepared for his evil laugh, but remembered that Dib was around, so he limited himself to a wicked smile.

-

As he walked away from the room, Dib's head filled itself with questions. Was it all true? Did he really regret everything and wanted to prove it?

No. Zim is evil, and he always will be.

But… what if...

People can change, right? There was that possibility. But so suddenly? Couldn't be true.

Aaargh! Dib screamed mentally. 

It was so much easier dealing with Zim trying to kill him than being nice.

He then decided to sit down. It was too much information for his head (even considering how big it was). 

Okay, apparently Zim was sorry for nearly destroying the earth and wanted to change. But was it possible for someone so despicable to become a good person?

To someone else maybe… But Zim?..

Dib looked down at the rock in his hands.

It really was neat, and didn't look like a deadly weapon. It looked like a small solid piece of the universe, with tiny bright dots that resembled stars.

Dib sighed and put the rock in his pocket.

Maybe... Maybe Zim did deserve a chance.

But if it was an evil plan, he would be the first to give him a slap on the neck.