Gingerly, Dib prodded his shoulder. Aside from a light scar, little evidence was left that Zim had buried his teeth there.

"Thanks Ratchet. Looks okay now."

"Good."

Dib twisted his neck to glance behind him. Zim sat several yards away on a rock, brooding, his tail curled around him and his wings sprawled out.

"Hey Ratchet, what's gonna happen to him?"

"I don't know. The decision is his."

"So, the SIRs cooperated?"

Optimus prime answered, "It was still difficult to obtain information from them, but at least they aren't exploding themselves. We know the main locations of the Control Brains, and they don't know we're looking for them. We have the element of surprise, and that's all we'll need."

Ironhide sulked. "I wanted to blow 'em all to kingdom come."

Prime allowed a small smile. "I think reprogramming them to mimic GIR serves our purposes better. They'll scatter among the Irkens and replicate what GIR did, returning the Irken body to its original form."

Dib ran a hand through his hair. "So… I helped save the world?"

"Not just the world. You helped preserve an entire species." Ratchet fairly glowed with excitement.

Dib turned to watch Zim. "It's gonna be hard for him to adjust, huh?" he mused. "Hey, Spaceboy."

Zim's antennae twitched, but he didn't move.

"What are you gonna do now?"

Zim's antennae lowered, and he laid himself down, chin resting on his crossed forearms.

"I'll take that as an I-don't-know. Ever thought about going back? If you were a defective before this, you'll be a hero now. You were one of the ones resisting the Control Brains, even if you didn't know it. And you can explain to the Irkens what's going on."

Zim turned his head slightly, his eyes focused on a patch of sand. His eyes shifted to Dib's, a hopeful gleam in them. He hadn't spoken since the completion of his transformation, but Ratchet assured Dib it was only because that was the original state of Irkens. Mute.

Dib smiled encouragingly. "They'll be thrilled to have you, Zim. You know what's going on. You've got a new mission now."

Prime added, "We can take you to the nearest Irken-occupied planet. We need to dismantle the Control Brian there, and you can explain to your kind. We'll take you with us as we go."

"AND ME???"

"And you, GIR."

"WHEEEEEEE!"

Prime stood, shaking the sand from his joints. Nearby, a host of SIR units readied their jets. "Autobots?"

The others stood as well. Bumblebee transformed into a small spacecraft and opened a door for Zim. GIR hopped in, giggling. Zim moved hesitantly toward Dib. Dib stepped back, worried Zim would bite him again, but the alien took the edge of Dib's shirt in his teeth and tugged. Dib froze.

"…. Me? Come?"

The Irken nodded.

"But… Gaz… Dad…"

Zim's eyes narrowed in scorn.

"…Earth…"

Zim's mouth pulled into a disgusted sneer.

"Yeah… they never really cared anyway." Dib grinned widely. "Okay Spaceboy. Somebody needs to translate for you anyway."

Zim butted Dib's stomach with his snout, then turned and clambered into Bumblebee. Rubbing the already-forming bruise, Dib followed. The door whirred shut, and Prime ordered, "Move out."

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Note: Okay, so not the best chapter, but I wanted to end a story I've left hanging for way, way too long. Especially since I haven't seen the second Transformers movie. So I end it here. Thanks for your patience.