The visor that was confidently slipped over his eyes left the lower half of his face exposed, and reaching out with his left hand, he almost caressed the buttons on the levitating touch screen before choosing one and sliding it up. An alarm beeped chipperly once, twice and then again before going silent. The hand paused, almost in thought, before it fell slowly back down onto the armrest of the command chair. The well-shaped lips that remained visible below the magenta shield slowly pulled back from a row of fangs and into a very devious smile.

"Now, Dib, let's see what goes on in those dreams of yours."

The implant had been easy to install. Dib, now a freshman in college, had felt the need to push himself to his limits and then beyond as soon as his feet had landed on campus. To say that his father was proud of his son's efforts would have been stating that rain fell from the sky and was wet, but Dib wasn't doing it for the accolades of Professor Membrane. He needed to do this for himself, and yes, he had informed his dad, he was going into the paranormal field. Membrane hadn't taken the news well, but he finally talked himself into the fact that Dib would be around more students who were more like-minded like the Professor. After all, he got good grades, didn't seem to like to party and was easy to find on a Saturday doing his own research in the library. Surely the more science leaning students (the ones his father accredited to having more common sense than the others) would eventually wear off on his wayward son, wouldn't they? So, with so much to prove to his father, and perhaps to himself as well, Dib put his shoulder to the wheel as hard as he could.

It didn't leave him a lot of room for a social life, and by the days end, he would often fall into bed in the wee hours of the morning so exhausted that it was more unconsciousness that pulled him down rather than natural sleep. Zim had been patient and soon enough it had paid off for him at a very opportune time; midterms. Next for the spring lineup: Dream studies. So, the Invader had come up with a plan, one that sent chills of monstrous delight along his spine when he found out what Dib was going to study after Christmas break was over.

"Dream studies, indeed," Zim had murmured as he mulled about in his lair. He was bitter because this so-called institution of higher learning had taken Dib's time away from him. No longer were they face to face most days, often trading insults or veiled threats. There would be times where weeks would pass before the dirty human tried to infiltrate his base and he couldn't remember the last time he had found a listening device buried deep within the walls far below the earth's surface. "I will not have him cheating on me!"

"Poor Dib," he had breathed as he sat on the bed next to the unconscious, yet heavily sedated body. The probe was as small as a grain of rice, but it was the perfect receptor for Zim. And Zim knew it was safe… relatively. They used them to control Vortians if the need came to keep the feisty little aliens in line when electric prods weren't proven useful. The one Zim had procured he had modified for his little experiment only, as he didn't really want to tamper with the human's free will. The procedure only took a few moments and Zim had silently gloated in the knowledge that Dib wouldn't even awake the next day with a tender scalp where the device had been implanted.

Now if they could only be programmed to read the thoughts of their host. Sadly that was an area that Irken technology had yet to advance. "Ah well," Zim sighed as he pressed another button. "Maybe one day."

"Remote uplink established," the computer's voice informed Zim.

"What is the ETA until REM sleep?"

"Subject entering REM sleep in thirty five minutes and forty two seconds if there are no disturbances."

"Excellent," Zim purred. He pressed a button next to his left wrist and the chair that more resembled a motorcycle than an actual chair reclined back slowly until he was satisfied. The illusion was slightly fractured by the control panel that surrounded him in a semi-circle. "Dib-monster's stats."

"Resting heart rate 67. Pulse Ox 99.2. Core temperature 96.5."

"Excellent," Zim murmured again. He leaned his head back against the cushioned headrest after adjusting the band of the visor for comfort; right now he was too eager to see if his experiment would work and he wanted no distractions. Satisfied, he then closed his eyes while he grew comfortable. "Initiate sequence."

"Initiating."

"I want to be there, waiting for him," Zim sighed as he began to grow drowsy. "Oh yes, even in your dreams, Dib-filth, you cannot escape Zim…"

It was rather spooky where Zim materialized, and though his surroundings didn't desire to be familiar, his sensibilities screamed that he was having deja vu. He realized that he was standing on a sidewalk next to a street with asphalt as black as ink. Mist was curling about him, everything was an eerie quiet within a darkness that actually luminesced, and yet there was no sign of Dib. Far off in the distance the sounds of traffic slowly began to manifest, but it seemed to him that it was there because it was supposed to be. Narrowing his eyes, he looked down and at his feet was a large jar of pennies. The metal lid had rusted away and so had the top layer of coins within. He shrugged his shoulders and began to walk.

At first, he felt as though he were completely alone. "Why is his dream so void?" Zim wondered aloud as he continued along his way. His voice echoed along walls that he knew were there, but could not see. He could sense the trickle of water that slipped along the mortar of bricks and could smell their decayed dampness. He continued walking, looking about himself at the nothingness of their city with wide-eyed curiosity. As time slipped by, he realized that he knew exactly where he was going even if the landscape was alien and devoid of any recognizable landmark.

A car horn honked suddenly and it caused him to start. He drew his left leg up involuntarily as he cast his eyes to the source of the sound. Moments later headlights sprang into life and he was bathed in a brilliant and angry light. The engine revved menacingly and he felt his gorge rise out of fear. This wasn't so much different than his holo-chamber save for the fact that he had no control over the images that Dib himself dreamed. He could only control himself. The engine revved again and Zim found himself standing vulnerable in the middle of the road. A car passed him by; the driver within oblivious to the peril of the Invader, and then the enemy vehicle revved once more.

Zim turned to face it fully as it leapt at him like a ravenous Jaguar. He was frozen in his spot, however, and no matter how much he tried, how much he mentally screamed at his superior Irken legs to move it, just move it! he wasn't able get out of the way "What is this!?" he cried out as the grill of the car grew larger as it bore down with a hellish intention when suddenly his PAK legs abruptly extended and he had never felt more grateful to be vaulted high into the air, where he twisted nimbly as the car escaped below him to disappear into the weird glowing darkness.

"Strange," he murmured as the delicate tips of the PAK legs found steady purchase on the cracked sidewalk and then heslowly lowered himself to his feet. With a frown, he turned to continue heading in the direction he had been so rudely distracted from, but he found that he was now standing before the entrance to the park. "But isn't that two blocks away?" his mind people were coming and going, so numerous now that he had to hop up onto the seat of a bench to keep from being knocked down. There were so many; old and young, large and small, male and female, yet the horrible thing about them was the fact that they were Professor Membrane; all of them.

"No," Zim murmured. They weren't exactly Professor Membrane; it was as if these people were built. Where their fronts should be was the Professor's back, their faces, the back of his head and they kept walking away. Zim cast his eyes about to see where they were coming from and in doing so he found Dib. These strange creatures were walking around him as he called out to his father in a pleading tone, each and every one of them ignoring him except to split up to walk around him. Every so-called face he so desperately sought reassurance from nothing butthe blank back of his father's head.

They were manifesting around Dib for the sole purpose of ignoring the young man.

"This is sad," Zim said with a shake of his head as he hopped down from the bench and began to walk against the tide of the strange Professors. Having the advantage of knowing that this was a dream, he began to rudely shove the people out of his way. There was no way that they would ever know to respondto his jabs and thrusts as he jostled through them anyway.

"Are you kidding me?" Zim bellowed in disbelief as he finally topped the small hill. Dib didn't acknowledge him as he kept pleading with his father not to walk away and leave him.

"Dib!" Zim called again, but the human continued to plead. Hopeless tears were streaming down his face and now he began to cry out about how he knew he wasn't good enough. That he was a failure. That he was a disappointment. That he would try again, again and again if only his father would love him. Only if his father wouldn't abandon him. If only his father would try to understand him. Zim just shook his head.

"That's a pathetic thing to do, Dib," he scolded. "Seriously?"

Dib turned his face to the familiar voice and he reached out his arms to him in a beseeching manner. "Tell him, Zim! Tell him you're an alien!"

"Eh? He wouldn't believe me, Dib," Zim said with a light shake to his head. "He never believed you, what makes you think my word, my superior word, would hold any sway over your father?"

The forms began to move away from them now as they murmured nonsensical words with nonexistent mouths.

"No!" Dib cried as he made a move to chase after them, but it was futile. As soon as he reached one, they would disappear into smoke and no matter how he tried to claw at their arms, or their sleeves, no purchase could be made with desperate fingers. Zim watched the pathetic show until he could take it no longer. This was no way to gain Intel on Dib if the human insisted on having unresolved abandonment father issues.

"Dib-stink," Zim said as he marched towards him. "This is ridiculous…"

"What do you know?" Dib bellowed as he turned around to face Zim, who in turn found himself cringing back and away from the sudden outburst. "Huh?" Dib advanced, but Zim held his ground foolishly and seconds later, the palms of strong human hands slammed into his chest, sending the Irken to stagger back comically. He even pinwheeled his arms to keep his balance for effect.

"What do you know!?" Dib repeated as he continued to stalk towards the smaller form. "You're one of them! This is partly your fault, anyway! Everyone is against me, people hate me even when I try to protect them, but they don't care! My father has had me institutionalized because I'm a burden to him! His CRAZY son!" Reaching out, he shoved both palms into Zim's chest once again, staggering him backwards a few steps. "So don't you dare speak to me in such a condescending manner, Zim! The last person… thing I want to hear rag on me is you!"

Zim sharply raised a brow ridge as he lifted one hand, his index finger extended in thought. He opened and closed his mouth as many opinions tried to escape his lips at once. "Where is this?" he finally asked as his antenna pricked forward to zone in on the human who was so angry, he was nearly panting.

"Where is what?" Dib snapped.

"You're standing up for yourself, Dib-stink. I… didn't know you had the capacity to do that. Passionate, yes, I've seen you so, but… this is something new." This is something feral and alpha… his mind whispered in appreciation.

"No, it's not," Dib answered as he pushed his hand through his hair before letting out a mighty sigh. "I'm just ignored when I do stand up for myself."

"Nonsense," Zim spat. "You shout and accuse, you never defend yourself."

"Well… what do you know?" the human asked blearily. "Huh? I'm tired, Zim. Just… I'm just so…" Shaking his head he walked over to a bench and sat down heavily. He rested his forearms over his knees and slouched his upper body forward where he dropped his head. Apparently the toes of his boots were more interesting to him right now than anything else in this world.

"So you're tired," Zim said coldly as he followed Dib. His shadow fell over the dejected body. "Do you think that I've never been tired in all my glorious years? Huh? And now that you're tired that's it? You want to crawl in your hole, lick your wounds and simper yourself to sleep?"

"Shut up…"

"Oh, you want me to shut up? How about no."

"Enough, Zim," Dib whispered, though his words were ended in a soft growl. "I don't need you to continue to remind me of what an abject failure I am."

A tingle of something snaked up the Irken's spine. "This human mewling of self-pity is starting to grate on my nerves!"

"I don't care!" Dib fired back. He lifted his face and pinned Zim with such an intense piercing stare that for a moment, the alien forgot that he was simply visiting Dib's dreams. Oh how if only this pathetic meatbag would put such an effort into his waking world, why, he himself could take over the Earth before Zim truly had a chance to conquer it. He actually felt it as he gazed back into those intense soft brown eyes.

"If you didn't care," Zim said, softening his own voice to a reasoning pitch as he began to pace slowly before Dib. "Then you would have given up long ago. No, you haven't quit. Not yet." When there was no answer, he paused, fearing that the human had faded into smoke, though he braved that disappointment to look over his shoulder. Dib remained seated where he was, and he continued to pin Zim, who stood before him with his hands clasped behind his back, with a sharpness Zim had never seen in him before. He didn't want to admit it; but it did make Dib look rather respectable.

No, not respectable, handsome. Almost… worthy.

Zim fought a shudder of disgust at that thought, and the look must have crossed his face, because before he could react, Dib was once more on his feet. He did more than just stalk towards the alien; this time, he grabbed him tightly by the neck in his strong right hand. Zim felt the hard bite of old bark as he collided with a tree, but he refused to struggle. Figments of imagination didn't frighten him. But this Dib… this Dib did.

And he liked it.

This thrill, this excitement he hadn't felt in a long time. So used to being predator was he that when he realized he was prey… he trembled again as he cast a smirking glance up to Dib. Dib was breathing hard now; to the point of panting he was so angry. Zim's smile grew meaner even though he found that he couldn't breathe. That was fine, in the waking world the computer would be monitoring his stats, and if there were any signs of trouble or distress, it would pull him out quickly. He wasn't afraid, but he was energized.

Their faces were so close now, the hard hot puffs of air on Zim's cheek as Dib leaned even closer.

"Are you going to bite my face off?" Zim managed to whisper through the tight grip still strangling him.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you, Zim," Dib growled in a voice so low the alien swore he could feel it more than hear it. The fact that it was nearly spoken against his lips only intensified the sensation. Zim swallowed, or tried to, and still, he continued to grin up to Dib who continued to pant like an angry bull. Then, their lips joined. The human was forceful as he took Zim's mouth in a heated kiss fueled more by distress and frustration rather than emotion. Zim's eyes shot open wide and he began to struggle until Dib's left hand grabbed his shoulder and pressed him hard against the tree. The air around the Irken tried to dissipate, all he knew was the filthy human's mouth on his, and he didn't understand what was happening. Was he trying to suck the very soul out of him through his mouth? Was he trying to gain the courage to eat his face and this was him building up the nerve to sink his teeth in and finally draw blood?

Bringing his hands up, he pressed them to Dib's chest. A chest that was now broader than it was back when they were kids. He began to push as Dib tilted his head, deepening the kiss in some sort of desperation. Zim opened his mouth to protest and felt a tongue slide in past his lips. His eyes, already impossibly wide, seemed to grow even larger and he froze as he felt the human's tongue move in and out of his mouth in a suggestive manner. It almost felt like a promise but Zim didn't understand what. His instincts overrode his infuriated and disgusted emotions and he held still. Finally, his eyes began to grow soft as the lids lowered.

Dib wasn't trying to eat his face, but he dearly wished he could understand what was going on. The hand around his neck moved away to grip his waist and Zim narrowed one brow in confusion as he felt Dib's hips press against his. The kiss was broken only to be started once again and now the human was slowly rubbing his crotch against Zim's. A strange sensation began to bloom within his inner core and Zim felt his eyes slip shut as he began to melt against the human. For a moment, for one beautiful stolen ounce of time, he let himself go and enjoyed the contact. It was brutish, animalistic, and raw and he liked it.

He came to his senses with a newfound fiery rage. Taking every iota of self-control that he could muster, Zim shoved Dib away from him as hard as he could and then he pinned his antenna to his head as he hissed at the human as menacingly as he could. The hiss was followed by a hard slap to Dib's cheek.

"You… you filthy disgusting… vile… meatbeast!" Zim bellowed as he balled his fists at his side. "How dare you take such liberties with me!?"

"What's wrong, Zim? Afraid of a little kiss?" Dib taunted as he pressed two fingers to his stinging cheek.

"Afraid!? Zim is afraid of nothing!"

"Oh, I don't think that's the truth," Dib said as he pressed his body to Zim's shoulder. In the waking world, as in the dream, the human was now at least a foot taller than the alien. Earth had been kind to the Irken and he had grown, but his precious new height was nowhere near as imposing as Dib's.

"YOU LIE!" Zim bellowed as he reached up to point an accusing finger into Dib's face. "Zim fears nothing but germs! And your wet squalid human maw is full of them!"

"You liked it," Dib answered, his voice dropping into a sultry purr as he pushed past Zim to stand behind him. Not liking the position Dib was taking, he quickly turned to keep his vulnerable back safe.

"I said you lie!"

Dib simply smiled, a mean twinkle in his eye.

Canting his head to the side, Zim began to back away slowly. Now that the kiss was over, he was aware of a humming sensation emanating from between his legs. Being an hermaphrodite, as all Irkens were, he could feel his body reacting to the alpha that was stalking towards him once more. He felt the wetness between his legs grow as his knees desired to become weak. Irkens no longer needed to mate, that's what the smeeteries were for, but ancient instincts were still there and his body was aching to turn its back to the human and start a presenting ritual to initiate mating. Zim shook his head slowly and began to fight the urge.

"Go away!" he barked. He began to move faster as Dib approached him. He was cast in shadow now and his breathing was once again hard. Zim could smell the pheromones oozing from the human and his urge to drop to his hands and knees, with his hips wantonly up in the air in presentation grew stronger. The throbbing grew more intense within his inner walls as did his wetness.

With every ounce of strength he had left, he fought to wake up and when he ripped the visor from his head, he threw it as far as he could.

"Computer! How long was I under?"

"Twenty two minutes, five seconds."

Zim rubbed his face slowly before pressing a button. The chair righted itself and he began to tap buttons on the holoscreen. His hands were shaking, his nerves buzzing with adrenaline. "I had no idea the Dib could be so… feral," he mused to himself as he began to log his experience into his journal. "But I think… I'd like to find out… more."

The thrumming between his legs had faded, but it was there along with the delicious needy wetness.