Invader Zim 1. Prologue

We begin our story aboard the leading ship of the Irken armada, the Massive, at such a time when the Almighty Tallest had decided it wise to send out some of their reserve soldiers to each planet currently housing an Invader, so that they could evaluate their progress (basically it was a way to determine who was lying on their status reports and who wasn't). Plus they were wondering of what had become Invader Tenn, who they had last heard from after the planet she had been assigned to, planet Meekrob, became mistakenly swamped with dysfunctional SIR's, and the last transmission anyone could remember had ended in a blood-curdling scream. Which, Red noted to himself as he thought on the matter, was not the most convenient thing she could have done.  
Red was now lurking at the point where the Evaluators had been instructed to gather, and watching (with fast deteriorating interest) two of the maintenance soldiers struggle to put up a banner at least ten times bigger than the two of them combined. At a short yelp from one of them as he fell backward off the hoverboard he was perched on, dragging both the banner and his friend down with him, Red had turned away bored and headed off in search of Purple.  
"He should be here by now - he knows the Sending's in an hour," Red consulted with himself, slightly confused by his partner's lack of attendance as he turned the corner and headed for his quarters. "Maybe he's sick. Or maybe. Maybe he's faking!" He thought the latter was more likely, especially as he'd been tempted to do the same that morning, but he knew that during the invasion it was crucial they kept a high profile. "Well he's not getting out of this one. Ooh! I know - I'll take him by surprise!" Red sniggered as he considered this and came to a stop outside the doors of Purple's sleeping quarters. He keyed the access code into the digital display and poised himself ready to leap into the room and make as much noise as possible. The interlocking door panels whisked apart almost instantaneously and he sprung in with the first noise that came to mind - a loud howl.  
Purple leapt up simultaneously with a short yelp before blinking sleepily at Red's fuzzy figure framed in the doorway. A second Irken had also jumped up at the disruption, and peered worriedly round at Red with two bright blue eyes. "Have you ever heard of knocking?!" Purple demanded irritably as Red paused in mid-howl, surprised by the other Irken.  
Purple frowned at Red uncertainly when he didn't reply yet remained in his strange mid-howl stance, before following his gaze to the smaller Irken beside him. "Ah. Well now, you see-" Purple began awkwardly before Red cut him off.  
"Who is that?" Red whipped from his mid-howl stance to a suspicious one, squinting at the other Irken in a slowly debating manner.  
"I'm Viy!" she piped up cheerily, and as Red's expression remained suspicious she continued, "I'm the uh. Bed inspector! Yep." She gave the mattress a few prods here and there and then bounced once before nodding as if satisfied - "Good and soft, perfect for an Irken leader to relax on! .Okay, well I'm done. Uhm, bye!"  
Red blinked in surprise as she leapt out of bed hugging a pillow around her and dashed out of the room as fast she could, only pausing to snatch up a small pile of clothes as she did. "Viy," Purple nodded sagely, "Bed inspector."  
Red squinted thoughtfully now, "I never knew we had one of those. Do you think she'll check mine too? There's a nasty lump in the bottom corner-"  
"I'll let her know," Purple cut in, eager to change the topic. "So what was with the whole jumping and the howling and all?"  
"Oh yeah!" Red smirked, "I thought I'd surprise you in case you were trying to get out of the Sending."  
Purple arched one eyebrow sceptically before sighing, "Oh goodie - that's today?"  
"Well of course it's today, and maybe if you weren't having your bed inspected you'd remember," Red responded in a slightly haughty tone, failing to observe the brief amused grin that flitted over Purple's face.  
"How long till it begins?" he asked instead, stretching and rubbing one eye sleepily.  
"Eh, about an hour or so," Red replied dismissively. "So are you coming or what?"  
"I'm coming," Purple consented, "Just give me five minutes to get ready."  
  
"All Irken soldiers involved in the Sending, please make your way to the designated area now. I repeat, all Irken soldiers involved in the Sending - you know. That thing where you get to go and spy on the Invaders and. such." the voice on the intercom paused for a moment before resuming matter of factly, "Please make your way to the designated area for the beginning which was due five minutes ago." Viy pushed away the microphone on the control panel and settled back in her chair with a contented sigh.  
For an Irken she was small, which is quite an achievement as generally speaking all Irkens are small. But she was among the smaller of the small. However, while shorter Irkens were usually teased about their height, she found this rarely happened to her. Whether it was that she would undoubtedly not have been nearly as cute had she been taller, or that she generally had such a likeable personality that no one would have dreamed to insult her is something yet to be determined.  
Alternatively it could have been that with strangers they assumed she must be a lot younger than she was if she was that height, and so they let her be. Either way, Viy's height had never troubled her. She had even attracted Purple's attentions - true that it had been when he had tripped over her, not spotting her before hand on account of her height. She had instantly rushed to apologise, fearing she would find herself in a lot of trouble and probably banished to some far off planet as a result, but as the first thing he had seen were a pair of radiantly blue eyes peering down at him he had instantly been smitten. True when he had got to his feet and it was apparent that he was around four times taller than her the idea had seemed comical, but in the debate of her height or her eyes, the eyes were what had ultimately triumphed.  
Viy had always attracted attention for her eyes; unlike the vast majority of Irkens who had red, purple or green tinted eyes, she was one of the few whose eyes had crossed that fine definition of a bluey-green to a pure radiant blue, which matched the panels on her PAK quite nicely. They were certainly her crowning feature, sparkling electrically whenever she was happy, and glistening softly when she was sad. If other Irkens didn't notice her for her height, they noticed her for her eyes. She had also found they were very useful for getting what she wanted, but she rarely resorted to that unless she was desperate.  
And now she was far from that as she sat dwarfed in her large squishy pilots chair, twiddling absentmindedly with one of her curly antennae. It was only an hour later, but she was now dressed in her purple pilots uniform which involved a long robe that hugged her waist and neck before stemming up into a high collar that hid the lower half of her face, the traditional black boots and gloves, and a radio band that clipped round the back of her head which was constantly reeling off status reports on the Massive's progress.  
The other pilots were dressed similarly, although their robes varied in colours, and were also relaxing. The ship was temporarily at a standstill for those selected for the Sending to depart in their own ships - the small Voot Cruisers which had become very popular among the Irkens, although they did seem to have a weakness for small things landing on their windscreens in mid-flight. Taking that into consideration, an upgraded version had been built especially to suit the Evaluators, although it still had a few test runs left on it so it was going to remain snugly parked in the docking bay for this mission.  
Viy's neighbour, Dorm, now leaned over to her with a partially amused expression on his face. "'Thing where you get to go spy on the Invaders'? Nice touch," he grinned. He was probably about half as many times taller than Viy, and like the majority of Irkens had dark red-tinted eyes and backswept antenna. "So, we now have about an hour and a half (or so) to sit around idly making sure no rabid killer space bunnies decide to approach the armada - What're your plans?"  
Viy shrugged, "I dunno. Spy on the Sending maybe? Or see what others are up to." She indicated to the video screen on the dashboard that was flitting through various security cameras in the engine levels.  
Dorm frowned uncertainly, "You know. When you're spending your break seeing what others are doing on their break, it's. well, maybe hinting that you need a new hobby." He cupped his chin in one hand thoughtfully before brightening, "Hey, why don't you join our Pain Piggy tournament?"  
"How are you having a tournament?" Viy shot him a questioning look. "We don't have the consoles on board."  
"Nah, but Merf uploaded it to the Massive's database the other day. We can use our piloting controls like a console!"  
"Uh." Viy paused as she considered this. "You mean to say you turned the Massive. into a giant games console.?" she squinted at him questioningly.  
"Pretty much," Dorm shrugged.  
"Wouldn't that be kind of bad if something were to go wrong?" she suggested sceptically. "You know. Just suppose."  
He considered this for a few seconds before waving one hand disregardingly, "Nah. So, you wanna play?"  
"I think I'll pass," she twiddled her antennae once more thoughtfully. "I know!" She whipped out a videodisc from behind her and beamed, "I'll catch up with my soaps!"  
"Uh huh," Dorm nodded with a sceptic gaze, "I'm sure that will be very stimulating for your mind."  
  
"But Lib just proposed to Tang, but Tang's secretly dating his twin brother Lub!! And Squit just crashed his ship into a moon," she replied earnestly, her eyes widening at the thought. "Can you just imagine??"  
Norm blinked blankly before narrowing his eyes slightly in confusion. ".Yeah."  
"Well at least mine won't doom us all if rabid killer space bunnies do attack us," she shot back grudgingly, although Norm knew her well enough to detect the teasing tone in her voice, so he simply shrugged and watched with mild interest as Viy clambered up onto the console in front of her and flicked off the camera feedback before inserting the videodisc into the slot below the screen.  
"Let's just hope our security guys aren't doing the same thing," Dorm sighed with an amused shake of his head, turning back to his own screen to join in the tournament as Viy hopped back down into her chair cheerfully and propped her head up on the balls of her fists with her elbows planted firmly on the dashboard below her in preparation for an hour and a half (or so) of the popular Irken soap.  
  
About an hour and a half (or so) later, Red and Purple had slunk back to the cockpit looking decidedly bored. So bored in fact they'd failed to note the mass panic as the other pilots scrabbled to switch back to the Massive's operating systems, or Tey's scream of "No!!! I was three points off the all time high score in all Irken history!!" which had then been concluded by a fit of violent sobbing.  
"Well. At least it's over with," Purple had commented benignly, disregarding the chaos around them as they collapsed back into their chairs. "Now we get to stare at space again. for hours." He frowned thoughtfully, trying to detect where the good part of this was.  
"At least there's one highlight to the day," Red responded. "And that is that Zim hasn't bothered us once yet."  
"Mmm, maybe some horrible accident befell him," Purple commented absentmindedly, and the two paused to exchange hopeful glances.  
The cockpit set back down into a relative calm now and there was a faint blast of the ships boosters firing up as the pilots now resumed diligently typing commands into the restored Massive's control system. The silence was only broken in fact by the bleeping of commands being send, and Tey still sobbing quietly somewhere in the background - that was until a loud siren blared throughout the cockpit.  
".What's that?" Red asked uncertainly, opening one eye as all the pilots involved in the tournament exchanged panicked glances.  
"I hope it's pizza." Purple responded absentmindedly, failing to note Red's sceptical look, "I could do with some pizza."  
A small light on Viy's dashboard was also flashing insistently and she scrambled up now to investigate. Having quickly whipped the videodisc out as the Tallest had come in (and regretting it as it now meant she had to wait till her break to find out if Squit was going to wake from his coma or not) she had been in the process of wrestling it back into its case, and was still attempting to do so as she blinked down at the small light curiously. Pressing the button next to it with one foot, she regarded the coding that instantly flashed up on her video screen before turning to where the Tallest were reclined and called "Incoming message from Earth."  
Two groans greeted this announcement followed by Red's call of "Tell him we're out!"  
Viy glanced back at them uncertainly before Purple sighed in resignation, "Okay, put him on." A large screen flickered up in midair with a steadily clearing image before Zim became recognisable amidst the fuzz.  
"Ah, greetings my Tallest!" Zim began, his antennae perking slightly at seeing them. "I figured today was a good day to drop in a report as you're due to send out the Evaluators today-" The two instantly jumped to attention.  
"How did he know?" Red groaned to Purple who simply shook his head and shrugged.  
"I am sure when whoever you've sent me arrives they will find everything in running smoothly and ahead of schedule!" Zim continued confidently.  
"Uh. Yeah. Zim? We haven't exactly sent you an Evaluator." Purple began, gazing up at the screen in front of him in a disinterested manner.  
"What?" Zim blinked in surprise.  
"Well. You see," Red intercepted, rubbing the back of his head briefly before coming up with a suitable lie that he could guarantee Zim would believe. "-We figured you're obviously doing such a good job on Earth that you don't need an Evaluator!" He shot a grin at Purple who was busy sniggering faintly.  
"But. But." Zim began, "You must send me an Evaluator! Who's going to bring me all the latest Irken technology if you don't?!"  
"Truth be told Zim you've already got all the latest technology," Red continued, easily spinning the lie out with supporting nods from Purple. "The new technology the other Invaders will be getting will be what you already have. What with you being so competent and all. We'll be sure to let you know though if there's anything new due to be sent you. Okay? Bye bye-"  
"But my Tallest!" Zim protested, "Even if that's so, I still would like an Evaluator sent here. There's nothing I can say to prove to you the levels of filth that are this planet - and therefore how superior I am for countering it - I must have an Evaluator to prove how amazing I am!!!"  
"Zim, most Irkens hate Evaluators." Purple responded in a slightly confused manner, squinting up at the flickering image of Zim's determined face.  
"Most Irkens aren't like me," Zim concluded swiftly, not hearing Red's grumble of "Yeah, no kidding."  
Purple gave a defeated sigh, realising they weren't going to get any peace until they agreed. "Fine Zim, we'll send an Evaluator over as soon as we can," he conceded in an impatient tone. "Okay?"  
Zim made a silent 'Score!' motion before nodding triumphantly, "Thank you my Tallest, I can assure you this Evaluator will not be disappointed." And with that the window flickered and died.  
"Aw now what'd you go and do that for?" Red demanded unhappily, turning to Purple. "You know we don't have any other Evaluators."  
"We'll have to find someone, but he wouldn't have shut up otherwise," Purple responded with a shrug.  
"Maybe we should change the ships radio contact wave," Red considered, drumming his fingers absentmindedly, "That'd keep him from bothering us. But where are we going to find another Evaluator?"  
Purple shrugged. "It doesn't need to be a real Evaluator, just someone to pretend for a bit. Maybe they could sabotage Zim's radio transmitter while they're there too." The two brightened at this thought, and the thoughts of all the other horrible things this fake Evaluator could do, before a voice distracted them.  
"You know you two really are too harsh on Zim." Viy was looking up at them sceptically, her pilots mask now drawn down around her neck to reveal her whole face.  
"Well he's very very annoying," Purple smiled down at her, attracting Red's attention to the correct place as he had been glancing about uncertain as to the origin of the voice, having never thought to have looked that far down.  
"Hey!" Red grinned, recognising her, "What're you doing up in the cockpit?"  
  
"I pilot the ship," Viy responded uncertainly, wondering whether it was a trick question.  
"You pilot the ship too? As well as inspecting the beds? Wow! Now that's impressive." Red nodded approvingly as Viy shot Purple a look as if to say 'Is he for real?' before shaking her head. "I still don't think it's fair - if neither of you have the courage to stand up to him that's not his fault."  
"Are you forgetting the time he took remote piloting of the Massive?" Purple stressed. "It was horrible! .I wonder how he did get away from that brain parasite?" he added, turning to Red who'd been glowering darkly as he'd remembered it all, but now allowed a faint smirk to flit over his face.  
"Yeah." he tapped his fingertips together in consideration. "The brain parasite was good."  
Viy paused to consider this also, the recollection of that day obviously making her feel that much less favourable to Zim, but she was unwilling to back down now so she simply folded her arms in front of her and stated, "Remote piloting or no remote piloting, it's still mean."  
Purple regarded her stubborn expression with amusement before brightening. "Ooh hey! I have an idea!" he announced suddenly, sitting up. "Why don't you go?"  
"Come again?" Viy arched one eyebrow questioningly.  
"Well you can pilot a ship right?"  
"One assumes so as I'm a pilot," Viy replied with a trace of sarcasm, but she masked it beneath a falsely cheerful smile. "But I'm still not going."  
"Oh come on - You'd be perfect! And you're due a holiday," Purple encouraged.  
"Yes. holiday. Which will be spent watching soaps, getting a tan, maybe checking out the guys." Viy listed them and trawled off, ignoring Purple's hurt expression at the last item. "I'll certainly be doing the latter when I returned if you send me to Earth to follow round an egotistical power-mad Irken."  
"Aww come on, you'll probably have a positive influence on him! He may actually become bearable." Purple noted the last bit in a mutter before looking as appealing as he could. "Please? Pretty please? Please with sugary goo on top?"  
Viy glared at him wordlessly in impatience as he smiled in his most charming manner. "I'll get you all those tapes you're missing from your soap?"  
"Ooh really?" her eyes lit up in an instant before she frowned again. "I dunno."  
"Please please please please please pleeeeease?"  
"Oh alright!" she growled irritably, "Now I know how you guys feel when Zim nags you-"  
"Which is why you should go, to spare us from that horror," Purple noted, his eyes widening slightly as he nodded.  
"I said I'd go," Viy arched one eyebrow before asking, "But what about my job? What about my 'bed inspecting'?" She fixed him with a quizzical look and felt a sense of satisfaction as a slow look of realisation dawned on him as if he hadn't thought of that before.  
"We can get someone else to take over until you've come back," Red suggested cheerfully.  
"What?" Viy blinked in surprise before remembering that Red still actually thought of a bed inspector as an actual job.  
"I'm sure someone round here won't mind," Red shrugged before glancing round. "Hey - it's Dorm isn't it? Yeah, Dorm! How'd you like to be an honorary bed inspector?"  
"Bed. inspector.?" Dorm blinked uncertainly as Viy gave a groan and sunk her head into her hands.  
"What?" Red blinked in surprise as he registered Purple's cringe.  
Viy shook her head with a sigh. "On second thoughts, maybe a holiday would be good."  
  
"I got a present for you," Purple smiled suavely as he found Viy busy inspecting the new model Voot Cruiser, docked, waiting for the launch.  
As all the standard Voot Cruisers had already departed (with hastily painted capitol 'E's on their sides just in front of the Irken logo), the only one remaining on board for instant departure was the one that had been intended for the Evaluators initially. Viy had been dubious about this at first, despite the appeal of having an entirely unique ship which was (supposedly) faster, more powerful and with greater agility than the usual model. And so after the last tests had deemed it space-worthy she had decided to give it some final checks ...At Purple's entrance however she forgot all this, looking up from tapping uncertainly at the plexiglas dome shielding the cockpit.  
"Ooh, a present?" Viy leapt down weightlessly and beamed up at him cheerfully. "Whatcha got me?"  
"Well. I figured if we were sending you off to Earth and all with only Zim for company, you might need a little something to keep you sane, and help guide you around too of course," Purple nodded.  
"Ooh!" Viy exclaimed gleefully, her eyes lighting up, "You got me a puppy?!"  
"A puppy?" Purple frowned uncertainly.  
"I've been doing some Earth research," Viy nodded, "Apparently puppies are very popular companions for humans."  
"Really?" Purple blinked in surprise before shrugging, "Well, it's not a puppy but hopefully it will be a good companion."  
"Ooh, neat-o," Viy beamed cheerfully. "Let's see!"  
"You say 'Ooh' too much," Purple pointed out with a sly smile, before bringing out a large parcel donned with a large bow and placed it in front of her.  
"Aww, you wrapped it yourself," Viy smiled up at him, her eyes sparkling as she recognised Purple's slightly unorthodox method of wrapping - any flat sheets of any material he could find tied round it with an unusually large amount of string. Purple watched contentedly as Viy proceeded to peel back the layers of paper and plastic and fabric (and string) before she got to a metal box, from which two robotic arms unfolded from the boxes sides and lifted the two top flaps to open it. A second later a small shape sprung out with a cheery 'Eeeeeiii!' and two seconds later Viy found a small robot clinging to her tightly and gazing up at her with two bright blue eyes that mirrored her own.  
"Are you my new master?" the robot asked cheerfully.  
"I think so." Viy blinked in surprise.  
"Yay!" she let go of Viy and hopped back with a delighted smile.  
Purple nodded, "This is Viy - she'll be your master while you're on Earth. And after that too I guess." He scratched his head thoughtfully and turned to Viy, "This is our upgraded version of the SIR. She's a General Evaluation. Machine. thingy." he frowned as he grasped for words, "Well we call her 'GEM' anyway."  
"Gem? How cute!" Viy beamed.  
"We've installed her with all the data transferred back to us from the Invaders so far, so she should be pretty well prepared. And they're programmed to automatically retrieve new data the SIR's retrieve, so she should be constantly getting smarter."  
"Yep! I'm smart," GEM gave a small giggle, "Don't you think Boro's a funny name? Invader Spleen is busy running away from him."  
Viy blinked in surprise and squinted uncertainly. "Boro.?"  
"Focus on Earth knowledge Gem," Purple explained, at which the small robot frowned thoughtfully.  
"There's not very much of that. I'm seeing some sort of. scary monkey?" she gave a shrug and beamed. "Hey, it's quite good!"  
"Okay maybe that wasn't the best plan," Purple frowned thoughtfully, before turning to Red as he came in to check up on them.  
"The ship's all ready for your launch!" Red announced before lowering himself slightly to address the smaller Irken in a friendly manner, "Have you got everything Viy?"  
"I think so," she nodded.  
"Hey, you got Gem!" he smiled, "Well you'll never get bored with her around, she's quite a talker."  
"I like talking," GEM cooed.  
"We know," Purple raised one eyebrow with an amused smile. "Oh how we know. Anyway Viy! You take care - If Zim annoys you or anything I suggest using Earth water."  
"Yes, our sources say he dislikes that." Red sniggered slightly.  
"Okay." Viy frowned uncertainly before brightening, "I'm sure I'll be fine. Come along Gem!"  
"Coming!"  
Purple gave a slight sigh as he watched them hop into the Voot Cruiser, "She doesn't know what she's let herself in for."  
"Yeah. Hey!" Red exclaimed, turning to him with the hint of a grin, "Wanna take bets on how long it takes Zim to drive her insane, and how long it takes her to destroy him?"  
"Sure!"  
And with that the Voot Cruiser raced from the Irken fleet at full speed, fast vanishing into the inky black of the surrounding space so only its rear boosters were visible glowing amidst the stars briefly as it sped towards its predetermined coordinates on that far off planet we call 'Earth'. 


	2. Black Holes and Marshmallow Squares

Okie, think I'm more familiar with how to do this now. *taps fingers together musingly* Anyway, what I needed to state at the start of the prologue, but didn't cause I wasn't sure how everything worked then, was that I (obviously) have no ownership what so ever of Zim. None. Nada. Zip. Much as I would wish otherwise. So yes. Viy & GEM (& Dorm) however, are MINE!!! *overly exaggerated tone* So nyah =P With that said, please continue =)  
  
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Chapter 1  
  
Viy stretched and smothered a yawn before turning to gaze up at the newly erected house nestled where a small park had once stood. "Hmmm." she scratched her head thoughtfully and turned to GEM who was busy running around the lawn in pursuit of a couple of squirrels. "Gem - something's missing from this."  
GEM paused and regarded the house before the two blue tips of her antennae sparked, "How about some flowers in the window boxes?"  
Viy shook her head, "No there's something it needs." She frowned in contemplation before shrugging, "Oh well, I guess we'll figure it out later - let's go choose some disguises for now." She trotted over to one of the windows and extended two robotic spider legs from the shell on her back to lift herself through and into the seclusion of the house, GEM following soon after with a short rush of flame from the jet on her back.  
"Let's see. This says Zim's currently in the disguise of one of these Earth kids, and Gir's a dog. We should probably base our disguises on something similar."  
GEM nodded, "I'll be a rabbit! My records say Earth females like rabbits."  
"Okay," Viy smiled in agreement as the two headed down to the lab buried deep beneath the ground. "Now. If the majority of Zim's studying is done at this. school thing. That's probably where I need to go, so I guess I'd best disguise myself as one of these humans too."  
"Makes sense," GEM beamed as they came to the required machine and Viy began typing their requirements in as a small screen materialised. "Ooh, I like that one!"  
"Really?" Viy peered up uncertainly at the image now showing of a human with waist length brown hair (which would conveniently cover both her PAK and her lack of ears), a purple vest top and black skirt and boots. "Well the clothes are good -" she glanced down at her own purple top before nodding. "And it has a proper Earth skin colour - this record says Zim's been walking round with green skin, which would be fine back on Irk, but here." she winced at GEM before nodding. "Well who knows, maybe there are other green people. And as he hasn't been discovered yet," she shrugged, "Okay, I guess it'll work."  
GEM clapped cheerfully as Viy stepped into the machine which promptly closed around her, emitted a bright burst of light and a faint rumble, before opening again to reveal Viy in her new disguise. GEM promptly flashed a thumbs-up, "Very human!"  
Viy glanced over herself before nodding in agreement. "I'll probably have to take a portable applicator if I'm not at the base but need to be in disguise, otherwise there'll be two of us walking round with green skin." She typed a request into the computer and it promptly ejected a small floating device which Viy slipped safely into her PAK. "Okay - your go!"  
GEM hopped forward gleefully, selected her disguise, and the machine closed around her briefly, before opening to reveal her in a freshly made rabbit suit, made from pink fabric of various shades with two overly large ears that flopped forward slightly, but conveniently covered her two antennae.  
"So that's an Earth rabbit." Viy blinked. "I can see why they like them; they are rather cute. Much better than the rabid killer space bunnies that's for sure." She smiled as GEM danced about cheerfully, enjoying her new disguise. "I like my tail," GEM giggled, turning to examine the small fluffy tail sewn to the back of the outfit.  
"Now." Viy watched as the machines limbs folded back into the depths of the mechanical walls, and turned to a large video screen on the other wall. "I'd better sign up for this school thing. After that we can make a primary sweep of the surrounding area and then I guess we should go see Zim. We are supposed to be pretending to be evaluating him and all." Viy rolled her eyes as her fingers worked quickly over the keyboard in front of her all the while, typing in the hoards of required data. "Hmmm." she frowned thoughtfully as she regarded a password demand that had flashed up on screen. "Let's see." she typed steadily into the keyboard. "l-e-t-m-e-i-n. Hey, what do you know, it worked!" she blinked in surprise as an 'Access Granted' message flicked up on screen.  
"Okay I'm in the school's mainframe computer now. If outsmarting the humans is as easy as that I'm surprised that even Zim hasn't decimated this planet by now," she shot GEM an 'Oh well' kind of look and began typing again.  
"What you doing now?" GEM asked cheerfully, watching as a load of images began flicking over the screen.  
"These are the records of all the children and teachers at the school," Viy responded, before hitting 'Pause' and pointing. "Hey look! There's Zim. Wow, he really isn't any less green is he.?" she squinted uncertainly before bringing up another window. "Hmmm, it appears the school has a three month enrolment waiting list at the moment," she frowned anxiously before shrugging. "Well I guess I'll just have to enter myself in the computer here ahead of everyone else."  
"Can I come too?" GEM had slid her hood back and now gazed hopefully at Viy. "Please? I wanna see what the school's like too."  
"Mmm," Viy considered uncertainly, "Maybe later on once I know it's safe. But only if it's really safe or really necessary. And you really should be defending the base."  
"Yeah, but that'll be dull," GEM sighed, "And who would I talk to?"  
"You know, I can be quite the conversationalist if given the chance." a robotic voice grumbled sarcastically over the intercom system.  
"Oh, you're active already? I thought the Cruiser was still transferring data," Viy blinked in surprise as the computer continued grumbling quietly to itself.  
"Nope. I'm here. But no one said hello to me." it responded, sounding fairly hurt at having been ignored.  
"Well I'm glad you are here - I'm very sorry we ignored you," Viy added quickly, hoping it didn't sound too forced, before continuing, "Would you do me a favour?"  
  
"It's what I'm here for... I guess."  
"Could you run a satellite sweep and locate Zim's base for me?" Viy asked sweetly, thinking that possibly getting off to a bad start with your computer was not a good idea, as it had control over the whole base and could shrink it down to a size equalling a cola can in mere seconds if it wanted, whether or not you were inside.  
There was a debating sigh before it grudgingly conceded. "Oh. Okay. I'll let you know when I come up with any thing."  
"Aww," GEM glanced up at the intercom sympathetically. "Hmm, maybe I'll make him some marshmallow squares to cheer him up."  
Viy considered questioning this but fast reconsidered and resumed typing. "Okay, but don't make a mess. I doubt it'd appreciate if you got all the machinery all sticky and stuff."  
"Of course. And I'm programmed to be very tidy anyway," GEM chirped, before skipping off cheerfully, leaving Viy to complete her alterations.  
  
Several hours later Viy and GEM were wondering down the pavement in their Earth disguises following the directions the computer had given them. "Now, we need to go five lampposts down then turn left 48 degrees. Not 49 degrees, not 47 degrees, but 48 degrees." Viy squinted at the directions uncertainly before concluding, "That computer's crazy."  
"Aww, I'm sure he's just settling in." GEM replied cheerfully, a large platter of particularly gooey looking marshmallow squares balanced on her head. The computer had seemed rather confused by such an offering, and after GEM's attempt to feed it one through an outlet socket, the three of them had come to the conclusion that computer bases were not meant to eat marshmallow squares, and that they would take them to Zim instead.  
"48 degrees leads us directly into wall." Viy stated flatly. "The fifth lamppost won't take us anywhere different from the fourth or the sixth." She scratched her head uncertainly as she puzzled over the computers directions. "Maybe it printed them in the wrong order."  
"Oh, hey! Lookie! There's a human, we can ask him!" GEM suggested, pointing to a kid who was heading down the street, albeit in a very strange and peculiar manner.  
"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Viy glanced at him, then back at the hopeless instructions, before balling them up in her palm and chucking them over her shoulder. "Can't be much worse." she conceded. "Let me do the talking Gem." GEM gave a nod and a small salute before diving into some nearby bushes.  
The kid was busy sneaking from bush to bush, to lamppost, to parked car, to bush, to fire hydrant, and there he paused, not having taken any notice of them as he passed, and not taking any notice now either. Nonetheless Viy took this pause in his irrational movements as an opportunity to wander up to him. "Uhm. Hi!" she announced, tapping him lightly on the shoulder and causing him to give a startled yelp of surprise as he turned to face her. "Sorry. I was just wondering if you maybe knew anyone called Zim? We're trying to find his house and we're a bit lost."  
"We're?" he frowned uncertainly and glanced around.  
"Uhm - I," Viy quickly corrected herself.  
"How do you know Zim anyway? Why do you want to know where he lives?" he demanded, deciding to drop that topic and discuss the one at hand. As he straightened, his glasses flashed slightly, and his brown eyes squinted suspiciously from behind them.  
"Uhm well you see. I'm due to start school on Monday and. he's supposed to show me round.?" Viy winced at the excuse before continuing. "You see - I'm new here. And the teachers organised some sort of buddy system? I dunno. But anyway, I'm supposed to go to his house on Monday morning so we can walk to school together but I figured I'd better make sure I know where it is now rather than get lost on Monday and. stuff." she squinted uncertainly, aware she was babbling horribly, and the lack of change in the Earth boy's expression was somewhat disconcerting.  
"Why would Zim agree to that?" the boy frowned suspiciously, although he was addressing the question more to himself than Viy. "He hates humans, why would he want to help one?"  
"Uhm. I kinda think they forced him into it.?" Viy shrugged, knowing either way she should be able to persuade Zim to back up her story.  
"Why would they chose Zim anyway, he's not exactly got a shining school record," he continued to himself, frowning still. "They'd have been much better choosing someone like. like. Well, me. Maybe they're punishing him for something. Heh, yeah, that's much more likely."  
Viy blinked. Did humans always take this long to answer a simple question? She shrugged to GEM before tapping him on the shoulder again, distracting him from his quiet ranting mutters. "Huh? Oh yeah, you wanted to know where Zim's house was!" Viy nodded, praying this time he would just answer her. "Well, you know I should warn you first. See, now you'll probably think I'm crazy, but Zim's. Well, he's not human."  
Viy squinted at him uncertainly. "Okay." she replied, disconcerted by this response. "Well if he's not human, then what is he?"  
The kid paused now, looking extremely fidgety and glancing around him before leaning in and speaking hurriedly, "He's an alien. Well, an Irken to be exact, and he wants to destroy us all! And he has this lil evil robot- doggy who helps him out. But he's kind of insane. And his race is watched over by these leaders, who I haven't seen, but I know they lead the race because they're tall. How silly is that? Anyway, there's an armada on the way to Earth, and so it's up to me to stop them or all mankind is doomed!"  
Viy simply stared back at him, not sure whether to be horrified at the extent of his knowledge, which she was guessing extended beyond these basic facts, or be really creeped out, the majority of that owing to the way he was regarding her now, as if trying to analyse her reaction.  
"Uhm." she began uncertainly, trying to keep her tone steady.  
"Hey! You didn't call me crazy!" he exclaimed, cutting her off.  
"Huh?" Viy blinked in surprise, noting that if all humans were this insane the instant she got back to the base she'd be packing and making a beeline for the Voot Cruiser.  
"This is great." he was telling himself, "Finally! An ally in the fight - the fight to save mankind! Here!" he thrust a camera into Viy's hands before she could object. "This is the last thing he'll be expecting! Try to get some pictures on that, and then we can prove to everyone what Zim really is! His house is just down there, at the end of the second cul-de- sac down. You can't miss it; it's green and purple and glows funny. I'm going to go see if the spy-bot I put in the stuffed peacock on his windowsill has picked up anything. I'll see you at school on Monday though! We can go over stuff then! Okay - ! Uhm. What's your name?"  
He frowned uncertainly, while Viy who was feeling somewhat overwhelmed simply replied meekly, "I'm. uh. Viy. New here."  
"Viy." he nodded approvingly. "I'm Dib by the way. Viy and Dib - Dib and Viy. Has a nice ring to it doesn't it? Wow, I can tell we're going to be unstoppable! Anyway, I'll see you Monday!" And with that he rushed off, ducking behind various objects as he went, leaving Viy standing on the pavement blankly.  
"Aww." GEM said, emerging from the bushes and tilting a beaming face to Viy. "He seemed friendly! If a lil crazy."  
Viy simply blinked before turning and walking on with a sigh, "I should have used the computer's directions."  
  
Five or so minutes later, Viy and GEM were sauntering up the path to Zim's house. Or what they hoped was Zim's house. It was green and purple, and it did glow. It also had a stuffed peacock in the window, along with various lawn gnomes, plastic flamingos and puffer fish.  
Viy gave a sceptical look as the lawn gnomes turned as she passed, following her with eyes that she could have sworn glowed a faint menacing red. Coming to a halt on the doorstep she paused while GEM unzipped the top of her rabbit costume and extended a robot arm from her head to ring the doorbell, before quickly withdrawing it again.  
Viy looked thoughtful now. "Hey! That's what our house is missing! A doorbell," she drew herself up proudly for remembering, and made a mental note to herself to remember to add one later.  
The door was answered a few seconds later by a kid Viy recognised from the school records, and who frowned with extreme suspicion at his two visitors. "Who are you?!" he demanded fiercely.  
"I'm Viy and this is GEM -" Viy began.  
"I don't care who you are!"  
"But you -"  
"Silence! Do not question the mighty Zim!!"  
Viy frowned, but at least they knew they were in the right place. But maybe that wasn't such a good thing.  
"Now human stink hog, tell me what you are doing interrupting my peaceful, perfectly normal human evening with my perfectly normal human dog -" At this point GIR waved energetically from within the room and issued a loud 'Hi!'  
"- with your stinky human ways! Well? WHY??" Zim frowned determinedly at Viy and GEM, while Viy was finding the appeal of her Voot Cruiser more tempting than ever now.  
"I'm Viy, I'm your Evaluator," she stated bluntly before he had a chance to say anything else. "This is GEM, she will be assisting me. And there's a camera sitting inside that stuffed peacock on your window sill." With that she swept into the room, GEM skipping after her still carrying the marshmallow squares on her head.  
"Hmm. I wondered what that peacock was doing there." Zim considered, before running outside looking rather panicky. By the explosions and screams that followed, Viy assumed the peacock would not be a threat for much longer.  
Tossing the camera lightly onto the couch, she found herself distracted by a light tug on her robe. "Would you like some tequitoooo's.?" GIR beamed cheerfully.  
"Would you like some marshmallow squares??" GEM exclaimed delightedly, holding the platter out before her. GIR gave a squeak of approval and instantly wolfed down at least half a dozen, before standing there for ages chewing contentedly, the marshmallow proving quite resilient it would seem.  
Zim soon re-entered carrying the rather charred remnants of the peacock over one shoulder while muttering, "I bet that miserable Dib-human is the one responsible for this. He will regret it. Oh how he will regret it." He closed the door behind him and chucked the remainder of the peacock into a nearby cupboard, ignoring Robomum's irritated exclamation of "What have we told you about bringing stray animals into the house, young man?!" that followed.  
"Now! Down to business." he paused uncertainly. "Firstly, how do I know you're an Evaluator? You may be some filthy human trick sent by the humans." His eyes fell upon the camera. "What is that?"  
"It's a camera," Viy responded with a shrug, glancing over at it.  
"Yes yes yes, but what is it doing inside my base?"  
"This kid gave it to me. He told me to try and get photos of you," Viy made a face. "Are all humans that insane?"  
"Kid?" Zim narrowed his eyes in realisation, "Dib."  
"Yeah, that's the one. He had pointy hair -" Viy made a gesture before shrugging again before turning slightly and brushing back her hair so she could open her PAK. Taking out the applicator she typed a few commands into it before letting it hover it midair by her. It beeped a few times before sweeping around her, emitting a wide spanning red laser which switched her skin back to its original colour on contact. Viy removed her wig and contacts, blinking a few times to clear her eyes before turning triumphantly to Zim. "See? Irken." She nodded and slipped the pieces of her disguise back within her PAK.  
"Hmm? Oh yes, yes," Zim waved one hand to show he had registered the fact, although his concentration was very much at that point still focused on plotting horrible revenge on Dib. "Gir," he order finally, and taking the camera from the sofa he held it out in front of him, "Here. Chew on this until all the film is used up."  
"Yes sir!" GIR managed to bark back through the mass of marshmallow, taking the camera in his paws and regarding it curiously.  
"And keep your disguise on Gir, we wouldn't want the human ending up with any pictures of your mighty robot self by mistake, now would we?" GIR simply blinked up at him, dribbling a lump of marshmallow goo onto the lens. Zim gave a slight shudder before turning back to Viy, "Come! I shall show you around my amazing base. You are impressed with my base, yes?" He regarded her eagerly. "Well, it does have a doorbell," Viy admitted approvingly.  
"Yes. So it does." Zim nodded, looking extremely pleased with himself, before wandering over to a nearby table. "Computer! Take us to the lab!" he ordered.  
A heavy sigh followed, "Do I have to?"  
"Yes. Do not question Zim!" he snapped back and tapped one foot impatiently as there was another sigh before the table flipped upwards to reveal a small lift. Viy and Zim stepped onto this, and Zim turned back to where GEM and GIR were sitting, now building some sort of gooey construction with the marshmallow squares. "Remember Gir - use up every picture!" he ordered, before the lift whisked downwards and the table slipped neatly back into place.  
"So!" Zim announced, "How long will you be staying for?"  
"Uhm. As long as it takes to complete my report I guess." Viy shrugged, not recalling been given an actual timescale by the Tallest, which she realised could be a very bad thing.  
"Mmmhmm," Zim nodded, removing his own disguise now to reveal the Irken Viy had become familiar with through so many of his (frequently insane) calls to the Massive. "And do you wish to stay here so you can observe me be all masterful or do you have your own base?"  
"I have my own base," Viy replied, perhaps a little quickly, but Zim didn't seem to notice.  
"I guess that's for the best - we wouldn't want the Dib growing suspicious."  
"Yeah, what's with him anyway?" Viy asked, frowning uncertainly. "I just asked him if he knew where your house was and he just kind of flipped out and announced we were allies or something because I didn't call him crazy..."  
"Yes, who knows what goes on in that giant head of his," Zim conceded with a shrug.  
"You know, he also seemed to know an awful lot about you and the Irkens in general." Viy pointed out, a hint of suspicion in her voice.  
Zim's eyes widened a fraction before he waved off the suggestion. "He thinks he knows a lot," he corrected. "But he only knows what I allow him too."  
"Then you must have sat him down and given him a pretty thorough talking through the ways of Irken life," Viy muttered sceptically, but Zim, once more, ignored her.  
"Enough of the human - there are more important things to be discussed," he announced as the elevator came to a stop, and marched out proudly into the control centre of his underground lab. "First! We shall contact the Tallest and let them know of your safe arrival."  
"But I already -"  
"Then we shall discuss how this Evaluation is going to be carried out, when and how you shall observe my ingenious. ness. And how you intend to keep your presence unknown from the Earth people," Zim flicked his antennae smartly. "After all, while the majority of them are relatively stupid, we don't want to take any chances."  
"No. but -"  
"I assume Dib had something to say about your disguise?"  
"No," Viy replied, feeling vaguely confused.  
"But he realised you were Irken," Zim continued, as if it were more a fact than a question.  
"No, he didn't," Viy began, "He warned me that you were an Irken but -"  
"Enough of the human! We shall call the Tallest now," Zim interrupted swiftly, before turning to his control panel and quickly keying in various commands. Viy frowned, thinking she would have quite a few things to say to Purple when she got back. When. That was something she needed to clarify. She wondered briefly if she could trick Zim into believing a thorough Evaluators report could be composed in a day or so.  
Zim's video screen flicking to life distracted her however, as it cleared to reveal the Tallest in their command chairs busy discussing something before looking up, none to thrilled at Zim distracting them with a cheerful wave, "Greetings my Tallest! Everything is going well I trust?"  
"Well. It was," Purple replied, putting the emphasis on 'was' and casting his eyes downwards before Red broke in.  
"Can we make this quick Zim? We're kind of busy."  
"Of course my Tallest," Zim agreed with a nod. "Now, as I was saying."  
  
"And soon, none shall question the name of Zim!!!"  
"Wha -?" Purple jumped awake at Zim's yell, and sat blinking in that state of dazed confusion that followed a deep sleep. "Uhm." he glanced uncertainly over at Red, who was still fast asleep and murmuring something incoherent about doughnuts and Death Wave cannons. "How long have you been talking Zim.?" Purple asked in a slightly pained way as he rubbed his eyes.  
"Going on six hours now," Zim replied brightly.  
"Six hours?" Purple replied weakly. "But. you haven't even told us why you called in the first place? Or did you.?" he added thoughtfully, trying to recall just how long he had been awake for, and realising he only remembered around ten minutes of Zim's rants.  
"Of course!" Zim exclaimed, "How forgetful and completely unlike me of me. I was merely calling to let you know that the Evaluator arrived safely."  
"Viy? Viy's there? .And she hasn't killed you already?"  
"Yes, she - Hey!!!" Zim frowned as he turned round.  
"What?" Purple asked uncertainly, wondering if Zim had actually registered his comment. He didn't usually. He soon realised the cause for Zim's complaint as he followed his gaze to where Viy was slumped slightly against a nearby machine and looking rather contented as she dozed peacefully. Purple smiled with a mixture of sympathy and fondness at this, before Zim distracted him once more.  
"My Tallest. I was under the impression that all the Evaluators were properly trained," Zim hinted, frowning in mild irritation.  
"Huh?" Purple glanced briefly at Red once more as he gave a sudden yelp of, 'No! You can't mix jellybeans with mayo!!', and rubbed his head thoughtfully. "Oh. Right. Well ya know Zim; maybe she's just a lil tired? She has been travelling for several months you know."  
"Irkens don't get tired," Zim replied flatly.  
"In this case I think they do," Purple replied back, equally toneless. "Anyway Zim, could you do me a favour and just nudge her awake? I. We," he added pointedly, shooting a frown at Red, "Would like just a quick word with her."  
"Without Zim?" Zim frowned sceptically.  
"Geez Zim, you've talked to us for six hours already." Purple flattened his brow, still wondering how it had escaped Zim's notice that they'd been asleep all that time.  
"Very well," Zim conceded, although he didn't look too thrilled about it. "I should probably go and see if GIR has completed that task I set him anyway." Folding his arms behind his back he marched neatly over to Viy and poked her once in the arm. "Hey. Heeeeey." he poked her a few more times. "Hey!! You dare defy Zim?!"  
Viy blinked sleepily as she raised her head slightly. "Zim.?" she murmured in confusion. "Oh. uhm. Incoming transmission from Earth! I think." she sunk back down with a yawn. "Wasn't I supposed to be going there...?"  
"You are here," Zim frowned, irritated. "Now wake up, the Tallest want to talk to you."  
"But I talk to them every day," Viy complained, very reluctant to wake up. "Ya know." she paused to yawn, "What with me being a p -"  
"Evaluator!!" Purple intercepted quickly, cutting her off. "An Evaluator! Cause. That's what you are!"  
"Huh.? Oh yeah," Viy frowned dazedly up at the screen. Zim cast an uncertain glance between Viy and Purple before shrugging. "Oh well. I'll see you back up in the house Viy. We still have a lot to discuss," he added the last bit pointedly before strolling neatly out of the room. "Farewell my Tallest!"  
"What? Oh yeah. Bye Zim," Purple responded automatically, watching with relief as the elevator whisked out of sight.  
"How long was I asleep for.?" Viy mumbled, stretching and rubbing the side of her face thoughtfully.  
"He says six hours, but I think he was lying," Purple replied, frowning slightly as he did.  
"At least I wasn't the only one," Viy remarked, an amused look flitting across her face as another of Red's mumblings drew her attention to him.  
"Uhm. I think it's fairly safe to say you weren't," Purple replied, looking rather embarrassed. "In fact." he glanced around him. "Aww geez, he put everyone in the cockpit to sleep! And I think that may be a black hole up ahead. Although I can't really tell, what with it being black and all."  
Viy's eyes widened briefly before she shook her head. "Honestly, I'm gone for a few months and the Massive's already flying into black holes."  
"Yeah. It sucks," Purple replied nonchalantly. "Anyway, enough about us! How are you getting on on Earth?"  
"Remember how you thought those inside-outside people of planet Inny- Outty were weird?" Viy began innocently.  
"What - the ones who turned themselves inside out whenever they sneezed? Or coughed."  
"Or hiccupped," Viy nodded before putting on a stern face. "Earth is weirder. Although in a less organ related way. 'part from that I'm doing good."  
"Aww well that's good to hear. And remember, sabotage will be rewarded. Rewarded. Maybe if you - Eeeeiiiyah!! It really is a black hole!!"  
"Lasers!" Red exclaimed, jumping awake before frowning at Purple who was busy running screaming around the cockpit. "Hey. What got into - Sweet Irk, we're doomed!!"  
Viy watched uncertainly as the cockpit erupted into chaos, with pilots rushing everywhere in desperate attempts to save the ship.  
"Uhm Viy? We're gonna have to call you back." Purple stated as he paused, realising she was still on screen.  
"I figured as much," she replied lightly. "Zim'll be getting impatient anyway."  
"Suddenly black holes don't look so bad," Red commented, coming to a stop beside Purple and considering the thought of tolerating Zim further.  
"I'll give you a call tomorrow," Viy concurred before giving them a tired wave, "Viy out." And with that she wandered over to the elevator and stumbled in, still trying to rub the sleep from her eyes.  
  
"Viy!!" GEM squealed delightedly as the Irken appeared from beneath the table; now back in her human disguise just in case GIR was still in the process of his photo taking. Instead she found him perched on top of a rather large, rather daunting, and rather gooey construction peaked with a dangerously swaying tower; and giggling insanely.  
"Gir! Get down here now!!" Zim was yelling. "Look at this place!"  
"How did you.?" Viy began dazedly, glancing from GEM to the construction to the empty platter, noting that the number of marshmallow squares seemed to have increased tenfold. She scratched her head in confusion before sighing in defeat and deciding that for as long as she was stuck here, it was probably easier not to question those little oddities that appeared.  
Instead she wondered over to the sofa and picked up the discarded camera, regretting it rather quickly as it attached itself to her hand with a mass of pink marshmallow and refused to let go. After a few vain attempts to remove it, Viy gave up and glanced over at GEM appealingly. "How long is it till school starts.?"  
  
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School, yay ^^ Now this may actually progress slightly *debates* Oh and yeah, Viy's computer's has mood swings. It's a lot like me actually. One second it can be all 'Ugh' and the next it's humming happily to itself and annoying everyone nearby. Computers are fun. Anyway - *forgets what she was going to say* Oh yeah, next chapter will take a lil longer as I haven't written much on it yet, and I'm ill, so it's slowing it down. Apart from that, thanks for reading! 


	3. First Day at Skool

Took a while didn't it? This was actually finished like three weeks ago, but I wanted to finish Chapter 3 too before I posted this. This was longer but I shunted the end of this chapter to the start of the next one. It was either that or have a pretty long chapter followed by a horribly short one. But I'd probably like to rewrite bits of this chapter at some point - it's a little sketchy in parts. The next chapter is better in my opinion. Philosophical stuff ^^ I like writing that.  
  
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Chapter 2  
  
"Hey. What's that?" Zim asked sceptically, trying to peer over the cover of the book Viy was reading as they headed to school.  
"It's called a 'book', Zim," Viy replied with a hint of sarcasm, glancing up at patiently. "Surely you know about books."  
"Of course I do!" he snapped back disregardingly, "But why are you reading one? It's filled with nothing but filthy human knowledge."  
"You're supposed to be obtaining that anyway," Viy reminded him, rolling her eyes slightly before closing the book so she could show him the cover. "But this one tells a story. It's about these two Earth countries, France and England .You'd probably like it actually, there's a lot of destruction." she added, frowning slightly as she recalled his favourite past time. "Anyway, it's really quite good."  
"How could anything human be good," Zim scoffed.  
"Human knowledge isn't all bad Zim, I did quite a bit of research into it last night," Viy responded, ignoring his mockery. "It's really quite interesting learning how their culture has evolved - it's so different from our own after all."  
"Why would you research that?" he replied, frowning in confusion. "That would just be. not. good or anything. Yeah." he let his voice trail out and frowned determinedly as if he'd made his point, fixing his attention on the walk ahead of him.  
"Well I wanted some preparation for this school thing so I looked up the syllabus you're supposed to be studying and memorised a few facts. It would look highly suspicious after all if I turned up and knew nothing about Earth history, don't you think?"  
"Yeah." Zim frowned uneasily, not wanting to let on that he still knew very little, or that he wanted to keep it that way.  
"Anyway, I really think you should be more open-minded," she concluded, flipping the book back open and ignoring the look of disdain Zim shot her.  
What with Irken's not usually requiring any sleep (and after her six hour nap earlier she certainly didn't), Viy had stayed up during the remainder of the night with the help of her the computer, and GEM on occasions, to research the planet better. The computer certainly seemed to perk up with all the attention it had been bestowed, and even forgave GEM for it's still blocked plug socket, which now sporadically oozed the mutated goo whenever anything electrical was activated.  
In fact it was so cheerful it had been humming a variety of songs by an Earth female called 'Britney Spears' that morning, after Viy had had it shortlist the 100 cultural things every human was assumed to know, and that had emerged fairly high up. She had been rather relieved when she'd left, as the humming had been grating on her nerves a little, but it hadn't been as bad as when it had actually attempted singing, encouraged on by GEM who seemed only too happy to duet on the choruses. When she had left the house, GEM and the computer had been busy engaged in searching for other Earth music they liked, and Viy was now actually fairly dreading returning that evening.  
That aside though, the result of her research was that she felt quite prepared for whatever school could throw at her. Although if she'd known in advance what that day was going to be like, she'd have realised she was not nearly ready for it -  
  
When they arrived at the classroom, Viy watched uncertainly as all the other kids filtered in to take their desks, most looking pretty fed up about it already. One kid that passed glanced at her sceptically, "Hey. You've got a book. You like reading?? What a weirdo."  
"See? I told you," Zim remarked, looking instantly smug. Viy glowered at him, before she was distracted by someone waving at her from the other side of the class. "Oh great." she sighed, recognising Dib.  
She had remembered the camera that morning luckily, however she wasn't sure if it was working too well. After at least an hour spent chiselling it free from her hand she'd asked GEM to clean it for her, and the computer had instantly brightly suggested using a 'washing machine', which humans used to wash stuff in. It couldn't remember what humans washed in it, but it figured it was all the same. Viy had a sneaking suspicion afterwards that it wasn't, and now somewhat dreaded returning the camera to Dib.  
She didn't have much time to worry on this however, as everyone instantly fell silent and still in their seats as the class teacher, Ms. Bitters, suddenly snaked up from behind the desk. "Alright class," she began, glowering round the class before taking her seat, "Open your textbooks on the construction of our horrible society at page ninety one."  
Viy glanced round uncertainly at the teacher, who didn't seem to have even noticed her, before glancing back at the class. Zim gave a small shrug before returning to a doodle he'd been working on; probably some sort of apocalyptic weapon Viy assumed with a sigh before she cast her attention over to Dib, who was now sitting with one hand raised.  
"Uhm, Miss Bitters?" he began.  
"What is it Dib?" she replied resignedly, although her eyes narrowed slightly behind her glasses.  
"Well it's just that. Don't you think you should introduce our new student?" he suggested, lowering his hand now in order to gesture over at Viy.  
"Hmm," Zim frowned uncertainly, pausing to glance up at his rival now. Why should he be taking an interest? All the other kids were quite happy to leave Viy standing at the front of the class, so why not Dib? Zim toyed with his pencil thoughtfully for a few seconds, remembering what Viy had said the previous night about Dib's snap decision that they were allies while awaiting to see the outcome of the situation. After all the time around his human enemy, although it had been far from his own choice, he had learnt quite a lot about him; and yet he found his actions now as intriguing.  
"Another one?!" Miss Bitters was snapping impatiently, as she whipped round to face Viy who instantly froze, somewhat intimidated. "Hmmm." Miss Bitters frowned as she considered the situation. "Very well. Go ahead and introduce yourself. But make it quick."  
Noting a hint of a threat in the last part, Viy decided it would be best to co-operate and now turned to face the rest of the class. "Uhm. hi? I'm Viy, I just moved here. Far from my own choice I assure you." she frowned, quickly running off a list in her head of all those she felt she owed revenge of some sort, "And. I like history and reading." She ignored the shout of 'weirdo' that rang out over the class and finished quickly, "And I have a ro- rabbit. A rabbit called Gem."  
"How nice," Miss Bitters commented. "The class next door used to have a rabbit too. Then our hamster ate it. Now." She scanned the class for an empty seat, and upon finding none she flipped open a panel on her desk and pressed a highlighted button.  
A strange robot arm not unfamiliar to those at a bowling alley descended from the ceiling, and shunted all the desks up a row, leaving many students thrown from their seats or partially crushed between the rows, and groaning in pain either way. The arm vanished back into the ceiling and a fresh row of empty desks emerged from the floor where the row nearest the window had been previously, in a neat, gleaming line that appeared in stark contrast with the disarray of the rest of the desks.  
"Go take your seat Viy," Miss Bitters commanded, indicating the front desk of the new row. Viy obliged quickly, eager to escape the limelight; although once she was seated she cast an uncertain glance over the rest of the room as the rest of the class recovered themselves. Zim appeared rather amused by it all, although as his row of desks had been the furthest away it had remained pretty much unbothered.  
Dib however was struggling to set his desk back upright next to Viy, and as he finally succeeded he paused to give a disapproving frown and flatten his hair. Although while he appeared annoyed, Viy noted that he, like the rest of the class, didn't seem particularly surprised, and she guessed such things were probably perfectly normal around here.  
"Alright class," Miss Bitters continued, ignoring the last few kids as they tried to compose themselves, "I want you to read the next three chapters, in SILENCE!! Viy -!"  
Viy instantly flinched as Miss Bitters attention snapped back to her, although her tone relaxed slightly now as she indicated to a bookcase at the back of the classroom. "You may get a book from the back."  
Zim watched as Viy headed over to the bookcase and the rest of the class settled down, before giving a light shrug and returning to his doodling.  
Viy retook her seat with the selected book, and flipped quickly to page ninety-one before beginning to read, eager to learn more of the humans past. In fact, she became so wrapped up in the book that when Dib leant over to talk to her, she didn't notice at first, and felt rather irritated when she did, but masked it quickly.  
"Hey!" Dib smiled at her cheerfully as she looked up reluctantly from the book. "How'd it go last night? Did you manage to find Zim's place all right?"  
"Yeah, it wasn't too hard," Viy replied back quietly, not really wanting to annoy Miss Bitters all that much, and casting a nervous look in her direction now. "Although I don't think the camera worked - I didn't really see anything odd, but Zim's dog kind of stole it from me the instant I got in the door so." she glanced up to the ceiling in an innocent shrug, "Who knows what pictures are on there." At least that, for the most part, was true.  
"Hmm, he must have increased his security." Dib frowned thoughtfully as Viy took opportunity of his distraction to pull the camera out from one of the lower compartments of her PAK before offering it to him. "Hmm? Oh, thanks," Dib smiled as he took the camera back before turning it over in his hands with an uncertain frown. "Is that marshmallow?"  
"Couldn't say," Viy replied quickly, trying to appear as if she'd resumed reading.  
Dib tried activating the camera a few times, before sliding open a panel at the end to check the battery was still charged. Viy cringed as a mass of soapy water slopped out and splashed over the floor noisily, and tried to bury herself further into the book, although she heard Dib's complaint of "That robot always wrecks my cameras!" as she did.  
When the bell for lunch rang she gathered up her books and dashed out of the room after Zim before Dib could say anything else.  
  
"I think it was broken," Viy confirmed as Zim poked at a rather unsavoury looking grey blob on his tray in front of him. "There was a lot of water in it."  
Zim twitched slightly at the mention of water, and Viy felt maybe she'd gained a fraction of her payback for the incident with the Massive.  
"Why was there water in it anyway?" Zim frowned uncertainly.  
"Gem tried to wash it," Viy replied simply, not really seeing it necessary to go into any detail beyond that. "Anyway. What's with our teacher? Seriously." she leant in, lowering her voice slightly as if fearing Miss Bitters would materialise behind her.  
"Eh. She's creepy," Zim shrugged before adding brightly, "But she hates Dib."  
"Uh huh. So she's good in your books then," Viy replied flatly before turning her attention to her unequally unappetising meal. She found herself wondering whether the Irken snacks she had left over from her trip to Earth were still in her PAK before she realised Zim was talking again and had spread out several rather elaborate blue prints on the table in front of him.  
"Now, this is where I'll be stationed," he was saying, indicating an area on one of them, when Dib came up to the table carrying his own tray.  
"Hey Viy," he said brightly, before casting a sceptical eye at Zim and continuing. "You know, you could come and join us for lunch. After all, it can't be much fun having lunch with an alien out to destroy the human race."  
Zim glowered wordlessly before snapping at Dib, "Viy - I mean - the human pig smelly has to have lunch with me. I am her assigned school guidey. thingy."  
"But you're not exactly showing her round anything right now anyway!" Dib countered, "Besides, we all know you don't want to anyway - the only reason you are is probably connected to some twisted plan of yours. Well you know what Zim? I'm going to find out what it is. And I'm going to stop it. Or should I say - we're going to stop it! Me and Viy, we're partners now." He shot a confident look up at Viy who simply gave a quiet groan and sank down in her seat - not that Dib noticed as he had already started talking again. In any other situation, Viy might have been quite flattered to have two guys fight over her, although in this case it was simply resulting in causing her a rather painful headache.  
"Hah! You're even more deluded than I thought, Dib!" Zim was mocking now, "As if anyone would want to join you and follow in your giant-headed ways. The very concept is laughable. See? Look at me laugh."  
Viy rolled her eyes as Zim set about a long series of chuckles interspersed with the occasional cackle. 'Honestly, it's like dealing with a couple of smeets,' she found herself thinking as she shot an impatient frown at Zim.  
Dib was watching Zim with an expression of clear irritation, before he turned to Viy and said shortly, "I'll be on that table over there when you get fed up of him."  
As she watched him leave, Viy thought painfully that she was fed up already, although it was somewhere much further than another table that she wanted to go. After a couple of minutes Zim finally registered Viy's glower, and Dib's absence and with an, "Oh. Right," fell silent once more, now looking decidedly thoughtful.  
Viy sighed before resignedly pulling one of the blue prints towards her. "So what were you saying about these?"  
"What? Oh. Yes! This is my 'shrinky-make-things-go-smaller' device," Zim explained proudly, pointing to the one Viy was examining.  
"And what do you plan to do with that?" Viy asked dubiously. "Make Dib's head smaller or something?"  
"What? No! Don't be stupid. When the time comes for making Dib's head smaller I shall simply explode it," Zim responded calmly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and continued, completely oblivious to Viy's wary look. "The 'shrinky-make-things-go-smaller' device will be fired on the Earth from space until the Earth is around the size of one of those horrible green peas," he explained, indicating the peas on Viy's tray. "Then I can crush it literally."  
Viy frowned thoughtfully while Zim sat, looking positively elated at the idea. "But. if you did that then we couldn't really use the planet, could we?" Viy ventured. "And that is kind of the point of the mission isn't it? To capture the planet, and enslave the humans if possible? If it's just a pea-sized pile of dust then it's not really been conquered, has it." she concluded, leaving it as more of a fact than a question, before holding up one of the peas and trying to imagine the Earth that small. "I mean. Maybe if you didn't crush it it could make a nice earring or something."  
Zim was looking mildly annoyed now so Viy fell silent, figuring it was the suggestion of Earth as an earring where she'd crossed the line. "You just don't understand the complexed mechanisms of my plan," Zim concluded eventually, re-establishing his superior air. "It's ingenious! But then I suppose you are only an Evaluator after all."  
"I'm an Evaluator who's considering going and sitting with that Dib kid you hate so much," Viy warned as she flipped through the rest of the blue prints, each one becoming steadily more bizarre until one in particular (a machine with a giant foot on the front designed to go around stomping out all life) caused her to push the blue prints back towards Zim and quickly start trying to erase the past half hour from her memory.  
"Heh. As if you'd go and sit with the Dib," Zim mocked, before pausing suddenly and narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. "Say. This gives me an idea." A slow smile spread over his face before he uttered a low chuckle, paused, chuckled again and finally unleashed a triumphant laugh of a magnitude that made Viy wince, and most of the other kids in the cafeteria turn round and eye him oddly.  
When he'd stopped, Viy watched him patiently as he sat smirking contentedly, before he turned to her suddenly. "You! This is our chance to gain the upper hand."  
Viy arched one eyebrow at being addressed as 'you' but decided to humour him, "Uh huh.?"  
"Dib seems to like you for some reason I can't imagine," Zim began, failing to notice her glare are the latter part of the statement, "And I reckon we can use this to our advantage." He tented his fingers in front of him, "If you can befriend him then maybe you can get close enough to him to discover his weakness. Then, I can use that to destroy him! And then nothing will stand in my way!" He let out another gloating laugh at the genius of his idea, but Viy was still regarding him sceptically.  
"No," she stated simply.  
"Eh? You dare disobey me?!" Zim exclaimed fiercely. Viy raised one eyebrow and frowned. "Zim, may I remind you that I am due to report back to our leaders on your progress. And unless you want that report to state that you have a problem with authority and should perhaps be replaced in your assigning then I suggest you don't order me around."  
"But. This is my one chance to discover his weakness-! The fate of the mission depends on it! You must go - you must! Go. Goooooo. GO!!!"  
"Oh fine, I'm going," Viy snapped irritably, at which Zim's strained expression instantly changed to one of glee. "But I'm not happy about it."  
Frowning slightly she collected up her tray, hopped down from the seat and stalked away from the table, muttering under her breath about learning to say a definite no in future.  
She paused to glance around in search of Dib and spotted him at a table with a girl with purple hair who appeared completely engrossed in a video game. On noticing her, Dib waved her over and Viy let out a sigh. "I don't know why I let myself in for these things." she muttered as she wandered over, rolling her eyes.  
"Hey!" Dib greeted cheerfully.  
"Hi," Viy forced a smile as she climbed up onto the seat opposite him.  
"This is my sister Gaz," Dib continued, indicating to her sat to his right.  
"Dib, you're talking again." Gaz muttered, not looking up from her screen, "Oh, and hi." This time she did glance up from her screen, although it was very brief before she returned to her gaming.  
"So! Why'd you decide to come over? Did you finally realise Zim's an alien?!" Dib fixed hopeful eyes on Viy who blinked before shuffling a few peas around her tray with a fork.  
"Nah. He was. uhm," she glanced back at Zim, who gave her a hasty thumbs up. Viy turned back with a decisive frown, "-annoying me."  
"Yeah. He does that a lot," Dib replied, almost wistfully, causing Gaz to shoot him an impatient look.  
"What did I just say about the talking?!" she stressed before frowning. "Why does it never happen?"  
"I know Gaz," Dib agreed, not seeming to have actually taken in what she just said. "And Zim must be stopped. But we'll figure out a way! Together!!"  
On this last, overly enthusiastic note, Gaz gritted her teeth in rage and shot a warning glare at her brother, who had leapt on top of the table triumphantly, and was only just coming to his senses. "Shut up, Dib," she warned, in a tone which stated this was his last warning, before she turned back to her Gameslave 2, her hands clenched a little tighter than before around the console now.  
Viy had buried her head in her hands as Dib now climbed back down from the table, looking a little unsettled at the odd looks people were throwing at him, before he turned to her cheerfully as if nothing had happened. "So! What sort of things do you like Viy?"  
'Well not hanging out with crazy people for a start,' her mind instantly replied, but she quickly checked her answer. "I like history," she replied instead. "Like, when America was colonised and the growth of the British Empire and such?"  
"Hmph, I'm surprised Zim doesn't like those things," Gaz snorted, "What him being an invader and all." She shot a look at Dib which was both begging him to challenge her and at the same time warning him there'd be hell to pay if he did.  
"I also like the French Revolution," Viy intercepted quickly, before Dib could contemplate on Gaz's observation. "Well you know, not like it, but I'm reading a good story about it."  
"Really? Oh, you'll have to lend me it sometime," Dib remarked casually as he took a mouthful of his lunch. "How about the future though? Do you ever wonder about that?"  
"Well naturally," Viy responded, shrugging with mild impatience.  
"What about paranormal studies?" he looked up at her eagerly now.  
Viy let out an inner sigh, mentally cursing Zim for this, but if she didn't go along with it then her cover could be blown, which in turn could damage Zim's mission, and then. She winced - if Zim left Earth the first place he'd be heading was Irk. Or the Massive. Either way it would be bad. "You could say I've done a little research in the field." she replied carefully before adding as an afterthought, "Although I've never been lucky enough to meet a real alien before."  
"Yeah you have," Gaz replied calmly, looking up from the Gameslave 2 now and fixing Viy with a serious gaze, "You met Dib after all."  
Viy resisted an amused smile as Dib gave a small frown, before continuing. "Well technically Gaz is right - you have met an alien. If only there was some way I could make you see what Zim really is." he fell quiet as he looked thoughtful for a moment. "It shouldn't be too hard; it's pretty easy to catch him out. Or maybe you could come round to our house after school? I've got some photos and film - all sorts of evidence!"  
"I'd. have to ask my parents first. Maybe another night? They probably wouldn't be too pleased if I was late back on my first day," Viy lied quickly, although at the same time she was greatly intrigued to see just what sort of evidence Dib had.  
"Okay, that's fair enough," Dib accepted with a nod before smiling cheerfully. "What do your parents do anyway?"  
"Uhm." Viy's eyes widened slightly as her mind raced for a response. "Well. They normally work for a. uhm. travel agency," she replied with the first thing that came to mind, and feeling instantly relieved when she noted Dib had accepted this explanation without question. "You know, organising holidays and stuff."  
"Mmmhmm," Dib acknowledged with a few nods. "That must be pretty cool - They get to travel I guess?"  
"Yes?" Viy agreed uncertainly.  
"My dad's a famous international scientist," Dib continued now with clear pride, "You've probably heard of him. Professor Membrane?"  
  
"It. rings a bell," Viy agreed, not wanting to admit her lack of recognition and therefore perhaps damage her chances of acceptance. Maybe it was less vital to appear perfectly normal to the other children; she had gathered from Zim's accounts that they weren't too shrewd. Or perhaps they just didn't want to accept what was clearly there. But Dib was clearly different. If he realised she was an Irken then there was a possibility she'd find herself in danger. It was hard to believe looking at him now - he was just a kid. And Zim wasn't all that bright. She wanted to believe Dib was simply a regular kid and it was fault on Zim's part that lead to his knowledge of the Irkens, but something at the back of her mind told her this wasn't entirely the case. She made a note that she should probably accept his invitation to see the evidence he'd gathered, less to discover any weaknesses but more to ascertain whether she was actually endangering herself by befriending him.  
Up till now though he had no reason to suspect her. Or so she thought. And so she hoped. She shot a nervous glance back at Zim once more, although he seemed involved in his blueprints once more. It was the realisation that Dib was chatting away quite cheerfully still that drew her attention back to the table in front of her, and the depressing scenario that she seemed to have snared herself in.  
"-After all, you could just say you're a fast learner. And then you wouldn't need to be stuck with Zim. If you still needed a guide of course then I'd be only too happy to show you around, but it's pretty easy to get used to if you stick to the main parts of the building. Although it helps to have a knowledge of the off access areas in case something should happen."  
"Something?" Viy replied, trying her best to look interested still, and giving her food a half hearted prod with her fork before deciding it was best to abandon it completely. She wasn't really that hungry anyway.  
Dib nodded, "Maybe it would be best to classify 'something' as 'Zim'." He frowned thoughtfully now, and remained completely oblivious to the rather audible gnashing of Gaz's teeth. The next second however, the bell rang, probably saving him from a very painful encounter with her wrath, and everyone started to file out from the lunch hall.  
  
"Okay you lot, to prepare you for the harsh realities of life we will be running a gruelling obstacle course. And when I say we, I mean you," the PE coach snapped as all the students gazed up at him attentively. He turned and made an impressive gesture at the horrific course spanning out behind him. "I give you. the Annihilator!!"  
Viy and a lot of the others winced upon seeing it, although Zim appeared supremely confident. "Not too much different from what we had to go through with Invader trading," he remarked to Viy, "It'll be a piece of cake."  
Viy glanced over at him uncertainly, not being able to point out that while Evaluator's went through Invader training, pilots as it happened, did not. A lot of their work was simulation to begin with, and either way they were still sat in a nice comfy cockpit regardless of the horrors the ship may be racing past outside.  
Zim paused now and gave an uncertain frown accompanied by an even more uncertain sniff. "What is that smell.?" he glanced at Viy who gave a small gesture to the PE kit she'd been forced into, not having one of her own. It looked like it hadn't seen water in the past decade, and its main construction seemed to be not of fabric, but of filth. Viy had a sneaking suspicion that if it was washed, very little would be left of it at the end.  
Zim gave a silent grimace and edged away a few paces, but the blow of the starting whistle distracted him now as the first few hopefuls ran forward, and were instantly snared on the barbed wire. While Zim was distracted chuckling contentedly to himself at the suffering of the other children, Dib took the opportunity to wander over to Viy. "Hey," he greeted, giving a slight wave before casting a worried look at one of the kids still twitching on the barbed wire.  
"Oh hi," Viy responded, smiling slightly before turning an anxious expression back to the course as the line ahead of them steadily shortened. ".Do you always do stuff like this in PE lessons?"  
"Sometimes it's not so bad," Dib shrugged, although something about his expression caused Viy to doubt he was telling the truth.  
"And I thought PE was about this. basketball and hockey and stuff," Viy sighed, wondering how much else of the computers data had been incorrect, and not realising that for most other schools it would have been correct.  
"Hmmm," Dib was now watching Zim intently as the Irken set off over the course confidently, beginning by striding over one of the kids snared on the wire as if they were a bridge, and acting as if it was more of a stroll in the park than a gruelling challenge, despite all the groaning casualties that littered the playground.  
Zim noticed Dib's frustration at this and sniggered quietly to himself. "Stupid Dib. It will be interesting to see how he handles the course -" He paused at the bottom of a towering wall now and frowned uncertainly; Dib was talking to Viy again now, completely unaware he was in fact talking to an Irken Evaluator.  
However. As Dib was falling for his plan he would have to be very careful now to ensure he didn't make any mistakes to endanger its success. A good place to start would be to ensure no suspected any link between him and Viy. He was debating how best to do this when he heard the whistle blow again and he turned his attention back to the wall. That's when the idea hit him.  
Of course! It was so simple. He narrowed his eyes gloatingly before springing nimbly on top of the wall with that graceful agility Irken's had been bred to have. None of the other children had made it this far, so as he hopped lightly down on the other side he was completely out of viewpoint.  
All he had to do, he reasoned, was convince the others that he had a general dislike for Viy. But to do this subtly would take time, and he didn't have the patience for that. It would be far better to launch an upfront attack, and then deny it. No doubt the rest of the humans would dismiss it, but Dib naturally would see the reality of the situation and be convinced of a rivalry of some sorts. Delighted by his idea, Zim extended his robotic spider legs and climbed halfway back up the wall, pausing here to reach into his PAK and remove a small device which he now planted on the bricks in front of him and activated with a few key types.  
Confident it would work, Zim hopped back down from the wall and sauntered along towards the finish line where he could get a good view of the full course, a small control device concealed in his palm.  
Some of the last students in the group, Dib and Viy had set off with two others. Viy wasn't too used to having to use her Irken agility in her line of work, but she found it wasn't really that straining once she got going, although she would have felt more confident if she'd known she could rely on her PAK also. As she cleared a series of raised platforms suspended over a rather dubious and acidic looking pool, she glanced ahead to the next obstacle which Dib was clearing easily with an assortment of nimble movements. Viy couldn't help but be rather impressed - she'd seen many Irken's with less ability; herself included she noted as she set about tackling it.  
The obstacle consisted of a raised net, with easily child-sized holes, but very thin rope, over an assortment of worrying instruments. She was trying her best not to look down as she crossed, but she glimpsed mines, suspicious electrical sparks, and the occasional bursts of flame. If she survived this she decided she should probably apply for Invader training - surely even that couldn't be this bad.  
At the other end Dib paused to regard the wall before him: the last obstacle in the course. His contentment at having cleared the rest of the course faltered now as he debated how best to clear it. Besides going round it and risking a rather nasty assortment of barbed wire that was. He decided to wait for Viy in the end, and turned to watch her struggling her way across towards him.  
When she was only a few feet away however, one of her feet slipped, and she thought for a horrible moment she was going to fall or have to use her PAK when Dib caught her hand, and she found herself steady again. Viy glanced up at him gratefully, before quickly bowing her head, embarrassed at having admitted her relief, and pretending instead to be concentrating on keeping her balance, although beneath the curtain of her fringe her cheeks flushed slightly.  
She edged along the final few steps before hopping relieved onto the platform, only vaguely noticing that it was only when her feet reached the platform that Dib had let go of her hand. She sunk down into a sitting position and gave a sigh before glancing up at the wall looming ahead of them and mumbling in a defeated tone, "Now how're we going to get over that?"  
Zim meanwhile watched impatiently as the two debated how best to tackle the wall. Well. Dib hadn't fallen to a horrible explodey fate. Zim pouted; he had been rather hoping that when Viy was holding his hand she would have thought to knock him somehow into the minefield below. But now that opportunity had passed, he guessed he'd have to revert back to his original plan. If only they'd go a little closer to that wall. Zim shifted the small control device from one hand to the other, his thumb resting patiently on a small red switch as he watched and waited.  
"This is stupid," Dib frowned at the wall, totalling around ten feet of bricks of mortar. "We're kids - how're we supposed to get over that? And what does this have to do with preparing us anyway."  
Viy hopped down and wandered over to the wall, ignoring a horrible scream from the course behind them as the final group set off. "Maybe." she glanced at the barbed wire at either side. "We could tunnel under it?" She gave a shrug, before frowning uncertainly as a high-pitched bleep emitted from the other side of the wall.  
The next second there was a violent explosion, and the wall crumbled in a shower of bricks. Viy found herself frozen to the spot, her pupils dilating in horror as she watched a large chunk of the wall falling towards her. 'Oh that's going to hurt.' she thought absently before Dib collided with her, knocking her out of the way just in time.  
"Ow!" Dib exclaimed as he sat up, only to have a chunk of falling mortar collide with his head and knock him back down. Viy glanced him in a mixture of concern and shock before they both turned to watch the rest of the wall crumble away.  
"What just happened.?" Dib climbed to his feet, still staring at the wall, while Viy quickly checked her disguise was still in place. "Walls just don't explode," Dib exclaimed, before turning a frown of realisation towards the finish line where Zim was whistling innocently.  
Viy arched one eyebrow uncertainly - surely Zim wouldn't have. Okay if it had been Dib under the wall, but as it had been her, what reason would he have had? She barely had time to feel paranoid though as Zim had wandered over now, an expression of fake shock plastered on his face.  
"Oh my, this is simply horrible! I guess they just don't build walls the way they used to." he began, before dropping his pretence and smirking at Dib with obvious glee.  
"This is your doing isn't it?" Dib demanded, glowering back at him and brandishing the remnants of the device Zim had planted on the wall.  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Zim exclaimed, turning an innocent expression to him.  
"Your aim's obviously gotten messed up Zim," Dib muttered in retort, "I wasn't even under that wall when you blew it up."  
"Who says I was aiming for you?" Zim responded, narrowing his eyes menacingly and smirking once more before turning with a cheerful wave. "Well I guess I'll see you both at school tomorrow. You should be more careful until then. Otherwise who knows what may happen."  
Dib glowered after him furiously as he left, his hand clenched into a fist around the decimated remains of the Irken device, "You just made a big mistake Zim! You're not going to get away with this!"  
Zim merely waved off the threats and continued on his way, leaving Dib and Viy amidst the ruins of the wall. Viy had not taken her eyes off Zim the whole time, but as he departed they narrowed decisively and her hands tightened into fists at either side. One thing she was sure of - she was going to love putting together this report for the Tallest. But before she did that she felt she owed someone a visit.  
  
________________________________ 


	4. Points of Conflict

_Chapter 3: Points of Conflict  
  
"ZIM!!!" Viy bellowed, slamming the bases' door shut behind her as she stormed in. "Ugh, when I get my hands on that little –!!"  
"Hey, what's all the yelling about?" Zim frowned as he emerged from the kitchen, having been in his lab a few minutes previous when the computer had let off all sorts of warning alarms. Spotting Viy he relaxed and greeted her, seemingly oblivious to the fierce glare she shot at him. "Oh hey, it's you, I wondered if you might – AGH!! Get off! Get off!!"  
Viy had sprung, and the two now rolled around the floor locked in combat. "Computer! Computer! Help Zim!!! Help your master!!" Zim yelled frantically, trying to free one of his antennae from Viy's grasp, and succeeding in pushing her off before she leapt back at him a second later.  
"Oh but... I kinda want to see who wins this..." the computer admitted, dropping its tone slightly at the last bit.  
"GIR!" Zim exclaimed hopefully as GIR sauntered past contentedly and now turned to look at them, Zim just succeeding at this point to keep Viy's hands from advancing on his throat, although both were tiring.  
"Aww..." GIR responded, beaming at them. "You two look so cute playing together! Just like goooood friends."  
"Wait –! Gir!!" Zim yelled as GIR continued on his way, cheerful that his master and the new girl were getting on so well. "Oh that does it! Computer!! If you don't obey me there will be dire consequences!!!"  
"Pfft. Fine..." it conceded, and a second later several robotic arms snaked their way down from the ceiling and pulled the two apart, holding them at a safe distance from each other.  
"Ugh... Hey! Let me go!" Viy protested, shooting a frown at the robotic arm that held her now.  
"Are you insane?!" Zim yelled back, "You tried to kill me!! Just think what the Tallest will say when they hear about this!"  
"Oh, they'd be happy," Viy shot back with a defiant pout.  
"This is treason!" Zim exclaimed, a trace of panic still audible in his voice, although he masked it well under his anger. "You dare attack Zim in his own base!! Now you must suffer the consequences!"  
"You attacked me first!" Viy shouted angrily, her cheeks flushing slightly.  
"What?! No I didn't! You leapt on me! Computer!!!"  
"...What?"  
"She leapt on me first, didn't she?"  
"Technically yes Zim... But..."  
"But nothing," Zim frowned stubbornly, before weakening after a few moments. "But what?"  
"Well she obviously wouldn't be this mad for nothing."  
"Yes she would. She's crazy!" Zim exclaimed, pointing at Viy accusingly.  
"Hey!!" Viy glared at him heatedly. "You're the crazy one! You're the one who almost killed me in P.E!!"  
"And there you have your motive," the computer stated simply, although neither Zim or Viy was listening to it.  
"Killed you?" Zim frowned defiantly. "I was helping you."  
"By collapsing a wall on me?!"  
"...That does seem pretty dumb Zim," the computer noted.  
"No... You've got it all wrong," he replied, shaking his head and now looking rather amused instead. "You see, I figured the Dib-human was more likely to trust you if he thought that you and I were enemies of sorts. I had to pretend like I wanted to hurt you to make it believable!"  
"Several tons of bricks is pretty believable when you're standing beneath it," Viy growled, her cheeks still flushed with pent up anger. "I was on the verge of using my PAK to escape – How would that have encouraged Dib to trust me more?!"  
"Well that would have just been stupid," Zim exclaimed mockingly.  
Viy's eye twitched before she glanced up at the ceiling and asked sweetly, "Computer? Would you please let me go so I can hurt him?!"  
Zim instantly flinched away fearfully, but the computer droned back. "Aww now I'd like to but I think it would be best if we all just calmed down. Zim's nearly killed many things before – you should be privileged yours was in good intentions."  
"I don't care if it was with good intentions!!" Viy screamed hysterically before shooting a hate-filled glare at Zim. "When the Tallest hear about this your dead!! Purple will kill you for this! If he thought you'd done anything to deliberately hurt his betr –" she cut herself off just in time, and took a deep breath. "Let's just say he wouldn't be happy..."  
"The Tallest will understand perfectly once I explain to them the full situation," Zim responded calmly with a disregarding wave of his hand. "Honestly, you females can get so overemotional. It's just like Tenn, she gets a few malfunctioning SIR's and she cracks. Oh well. I guess you just can't handle the pressure like the rest of us..."  
Viy was busy tightening her fingers slowly into the coils of the robotic arm now, trying her best not to lose her temper any further. Luckily the computer interceded, "Zim, I think it may be best if we put all this behind us. Which begins with you not talking about it. At all. EVER."  
"Huh? Oh yeah. Well only if she promises not to attack me again without a proper reason," Zim responded, frowning at Viy disapprovingly.  
"Without a proper reason?! I–!" Viy began, but a slight tightening of the computers coil brought her back to her senses. "Fine," she conceded grouchily.  
"Well if that's all settled then I do have one or two rather important calls to make," Zim announced. "Maybe you should go to your base and think on your next plans for the Dib-worm. You'll have him eating out of your hand in no time. And he doesn't suspect a thing..." he paused to give a superior, gloating smile at the thought of his plan unfurling. "Then I'll know all his weaknesses! And nothing will stand in my way. I expect a full report on Friday by the way." And with the last cheery addition he hopped free from the robotic arm and marched triumphantly into the kitchen, leaving Viy still glowering somewhat.  
"Uhm... Hmmm... He means well..." the computer began uncertainly, trying to appease Viy's still threatening temper. "I doubt he meant to hurt you, he just often gets ahead of himself without thinking of the consequences. Like this one time he was playing about with a time stasis field and it accidentally exploded. Well, he ended up with an explosion, but because of the time stasis it was exploding, just really... slow... You know?"  
Viy gave a sigh and slumped forward slightly on the coils, the computers tones somehow soothing her temper now, even if it was making her feel more depressed about her situation instead.  
"Anyway, Zim ended up running all over town with this thing, dressed as a really fat floating woman with an afro," the computer continued, this line causing Viy to sit bolt upright and shoot a sceptical look upwards.  
"A... fat floating woman with an afro...?" she repeated, wanting to make sure she'd heard it correctly.  
"A really fat floating woman with an afro," the computer confirmed cheerfully. "But at the end of it all Zim couldn't get rid of the explosion, so he figured if he just sped it up it would explode and be gone. No problem. We all tried telling him it would explode and take out everything in a several mile radius, but he wouldn't listen..."  
"What happened?" Viy asked.  
"He exploded it and took out everything in a several mile radius," the computer responded flatly, "Including himself and the whole of the base."  
"Figures," Viy muttered, rolling her eyes.  
"Yeah, the human construction people actually work really quickly. I was impressed how quickly they'd restored everything again," the computer continued contentedly. "But the point is, often Zim gets an idea and thinks it's a good one. It's often a very very bad one, but he thinks it's good, so at least the thought's there."  
"You think I shouldn't be mad at him?" Viy asked uncertainly, frowning as she debated whether she had been a bit harsh on him.  
"No, I think you should be mad at him. Very mad. But I think that if you expect him to think his plan was anything other than a good one, no matter how it's turned out, then you're wasting you time," the computer explained, uncoiling its robotic arm from around Viy and setting her down on the floor.  
"I guess you're right," she sighed, dusting off her top, straightening her wig and checking herself over to ensure she was presentable. "I just wish he was less... frustrating... You know? That he'd actually listen."  
"Mmmhmm," the computer responded half-heartedly, clearly never believing such a thing could be possible. "But what was that you were saying before?"  
"Saying before? When?" Viy asked, glancing up curiously.  
"When you were yelling at Zim," the computer continued. "You said Purple would kill him, and if he thought Zim had done anything to deliberately hurt his – and then you cut off."  
"Oh that before..." Viy replied uneasily.  
"Mmmhmm," the computer replied sceptically, not believing her innocent response for a moment. "Were you going to say, what I think you were going to say?"  
"That would depend," Viy continued, clearly unsettled, and distractedly tapping her two index fingers together, "On what you thought I was going to say..."  
  
When Zim next entered the upper levels of the house, he found Viy and the computer in an energetic discussion, interspersed with the occasional delighted giggle which quickly grated on his nerves. "What are you still doing here?" he demanded as he wandered up to where Viy was sat at the kitchen table, before turning and glancing up at the ceiling, "And why is my computer giggling?! What have you done to it...?"  
He shot an accusing look at Viy who was innocently slurping on an Irken slush now. "I didn't do anything," she replied calmly, "We just got to talking is all. Anyway – I'm going now."  
Zim narrowed one eye sceptically as Viy hopped down from the chair and strode cheerfully into the main room.  
"I can't remember the last time we had one of those," the computer was saying now, a distinctly cheerful note in its normally flat tones. "I expect an invite by the way."  
"Invite to what?" Zim demanded irritably as he followed Viy.  
"Uhm – Cinema," Viy replied quickly before sipping on the slush again and continuing somewhat muffled, "Whe're going t' shee tis film aboht this raice horse... I think iht's cauled 'Shea Biscutt' or somethin'..."  
Zim suppressed a shudder at both the thought of the film and at having to tolerate Viy's obscured speech. "My computer is not going to any... sin-e- maa's..." he stated irritably as Viy strode cheerfully through the door. "And neither are you until you've helped me defeat Dib!"  
"Okhay, okhay. Sheesh..." Viy muttered through the straw as she regarded the face of the determined Irken and rolled her eyes. Knowing there was no point arguing she turned and wandered down the path, still muttering as she did. "Honestly, you almost kill me by collapsing a wall on me and then I'm not even allowed to go to the cinema when I want. You need to work on your interaction skills somewhat I'm thinking..."  
Zim ignored this and slammed the door shut before frowning up at the ceiling where the coils shifted slightly and there was the sound of a cheerful electronic humming being stifled.  
"Computer! I'm going back down to the lab. But there will be no cinema's, and no giggling. Do you understand?!" Zim demanded fiercely, squinting decidedly.  
"Yes..." the computer replied, sounding rather regretful as it did. Zim glowered irritably before turning and striding back towards his lab. "Honestly, I'm amazed I manage to do such a wonderful job on this planet when I'm backed up with what I am," he remarked haughtily, and vanished down below, pretending he didn't hear the computers last random sounds of glee emanating from the front room as he did, and setting his mind instead on how gratifying it would be to finally have Dib out of the way, once and for all...  
  
While Zim was plotting, and Viy was strolling home muttering absentmindedly to herself about Zim, Dib was busy flicking through just some of the evidence he had stored on his computers database. He paused now and ejected the disk from the CD drive and slipped it back into its case before giving an absentminded sigh and turning towards the window. The evidence was right there, clear as day. Anyone could see it. But that was the problem – no one did.  
Dib hung his head thoughtfully as he considered this. He had tried so many times to convince people of Zim's true identity, and of the danger Earth was in, but no one had listened. The one ally he thought he'd found, Mr Dwicky, the school counsellor, had turned out to be humouring him – until, that was, he saw Zim and a couple of other aliens, and then left to travel outer space, leaving Dib alone once more. Despite his best efforts no one at school had noticed; how he didn't understand. But whenever he tried to convince them he just ended up being the brunt of the joke, yet again. He had thought Tak was interested in his studies, and she had hated Zim, so she had certainly seemed a potential ally – until it turned out she was also an Irken bent on destroying the planet... The Swollen Eyeball, who should have believed him, were getting impatient at his constant claims, and whenever he tried to back them up, so they'd take him seriously for once, something invariably went wrong. He was a standing joke at the FBI...  
Even his own dad thought he was crazy, or misguided, depending on the situation. In fact, the only other person who knew Zim was an alien was Gaz, and she didn't even care.  
Dib shot an unhappy look at the piles of evidence. Why would no one believe him? Or if they did, why did they never do anything? This was a fact that was constantly bothering him, but it was all the more poignant tonight because he was worrying about one person in particular believing him.  
"What if she just thinks I'm a joke too?" Dib slumped on the windowsill and gazed out at the starry sky, somewhere beyond where it melded into the twinkling lights of the city. "Everyone else does..."  
He remained silent as he thought on this, his face half buried in his arms so only his eyes peered out over the folds of his jacket sleeves. "Someone has to believe me eventually," he mumbled, lowering his eyes slightly. "And... Viy doesn't seem like the others. Somehow..."  
'But what if that's not enough?' a small voice in the back of his mind queried. 'You've only known her what – two days? Not even that. How do you know she's any different?'  
Dib shook off the voice but had to glumly admit it was right. The chances were he was just going to end up being let down again. Maybe he should wait a little longer before he tried to gain Viy as an ally. Perhaps it would be better to just have her as a friend first? A friend would be nice after all...  
He sat up and propped his head up with one hand, gazing once more at the stars with a heavy sigh. After today though surely Viy wouldn't be feeling too favourable towards Zim? That had to work in his favour. He figured Zim must have been fed up with having to help a human, although it was a pretty drastic way to ditch someone... Although, this was Zim they were talking about. But at lunchtime he had been quite defensive about being Viy's guide – if he had had a plan then, maybe he'd abandoned it for something else.  
Dib's mind focused on this for a bit, and he considered going to Zim's house to see if he could learn anything new, but it was late, and somehow he just didn't feel up to it. He'd have to keep a close eye on him at school tomorrow though.  
He pushed the chair away from the window now and rubbed one eye sleepily before removing his glasses and wandering over to his bed. He would wait, he decided. A couple of days at least anyway... He curled up beneath the covers determined to go to sleep and not think on it any more. He'd made his decision, now he was going to stick to it. Besides, he really rather liked Viy, and didn't want to scare her away.  
'But if she liked you back she'd like you for who you really are,' the voice nagged again.  
Once again he dismissed it. 'She does. She will ...In a couple of days...' he thought back determinedly, although his last thought before he drifted off to sleep was, 'I hope...'  
  
Viy meanwhile was considering the implications this 'friendship' was going to have on her, although it was somewhat half-heartedly as she and GEM shared a bowl of popcorn and watched some movie on the television called 'Virus', which was giving Viy all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas for robotic scout bugs and the likes. She doubted whether she'd ever have need to use them, but they were intriguing none the less.  
She knew however that it should be this mission of Zim's that was commanding her thoughts, even though she was still mad at him, and more against the idea than she had been at the start. She used those reasons to justify her robot plans now, although every so often niggling other thoughts surfaced and distracted her from the latest design.  
'Dib saved you, you know,' her mind taunted. Viy frowned, very much aware of the fact and wanting to forget it, and wondering equally therefore why she kept recalling it. 'Twice' her mind continued. But it wasn't twice, she corrected herself. The one on the net wasn't really a save; if anything it was half a safe. 'He saved me one and a half times,' she thought contentedly, but somehow it didn't make her feel any better, so she returned to the popcorn and blanked her mind for the duration of the film.  
  
When the film did end, and she retreated down to the lab wanting to doodle up some of the designs, she found her thoughts returned to haunt her once more.  
'Admit it... He's not so bad...'  
"He's irritating," she snapped, to no one in particular.  
'But sweet.'  
"He's crazy!"  
'But right.'  
Viy sighed and slumped down – she hated it when her thoughts contradicted. It was as if there were two versions of her squabbling it out. It didn't happen very often, and generally only when she was having to consider a really important decision. It had happened not too long ago as it had happened – Viy frowned. Not that she'd really had a choice in that one either...  
"Stupid control brain," she muttered, kicking a loose bolt over the floor and sending it clinking into the shadows.  
"Sorry - were you talking to me?" the computer's voice queried now over the speakers.  
"No, just myself," Viy replied, glancing upwards. "Say – are you any good at solving problems?"  
"Like mathematical stuff?"  
"Not exactly –"  
"Like Zim stuff? The Tallest called for you earlier today by the way."  
"They did?" Viy hopped into her chair and swung round on it thoughtfully. "What did they want? And yeah I guess it could kind of be classified as Zim stuff..."  
"Nothing much," the computer recollected, "I think they just wanted to check how you were. They mentioned something about a black hole though."  
"Oh yeah," Viy winced as she remembered that – she should really have called Purple to check they were alright. But Purple had said they'd ring back, and besides, she didn't want to ring up because she may end up doing so at that crucial moment and end up inadvertently making the whole situation ten times worse. "They were okay though?"  
"Seemed it. As for the Zim problem though, I probably wouldn't be much help there... What's he done this time?"  
Viy shrugged and opened up a few windows on screen before beginning to type in design ratios. "He got some crazy idea earlier today that I could befriend his enemy – this kid named Dib? Anyway, he figured if I made friends with him I could find out his weakness, making him easier to defeat. And Dib seems blissfully unaware of this and only too happy to be my friend. But that doesn't really make this easier. Computer – would you believe I have this little bit of guilt at the fact I'm betraying him? I mean, he's a human, and he's annoying, so why should I care?! But the fact is earlier today we were doing this stupid thing in class – it was like invader training just for humans. Anyway – twice I got in trouble, well... one and a half times, and both... one and a half times... Dib saved me. If it hadn't been for him I could be in a great deal of pain right now. If not carted off to some human hospital where they'd have discovered I wasn't human after all," she made a random dismissive gesture with one hand and sighed. "See before I didn't want to do this thing because it was going to be annoying. And it is annoying. But now I actually feel bad about doing it. I shouldn't feel bad about doing it though, should I? I mean, this kid would probably betray me in an instant if he knew what I really was."  
The computer had retained a thoughtful silence though Viy's explanation and only now responded. "...Uhm. Well it's certainly not normal for an Irken to show feelings of guilt – if they do it's usually in relation to a life partner, but very rarely otherwise. Would you like me to run a scan on your PAK for any defaults?"  
"No, it'll be fine," Viy replied dismissively as she considered the situation.  
"But if you're experiencing these emotions there may be an error developing. Surely it's best to repair that error now before it develops into something worse?" the computer persisted.  
"Mmmhmm," Viy nodded, "And in any other circumstance I'd agree with you. But there is no error – I should know, I ran a scan on my PAK earlier this evening..."  
"...Oh," the computer replied before falling into a thoughtful silence once more. Viy had pushed the chair away from the desk slightly and headed over to another computer console where she inserted a disk and began typing in various codes.  
"I don't know what it is," she admitted.  
"It could just be you. I mean while it's unusual it isn't unknown for some Irken's to develop emotions beyond those they're programmed with. It wouldn't necessarily mean you're defective or anything."  
"I wasn't thinking I was," Viy replied, glancing up with a slight frown at the suggestion, "And I have very good grounds to believe that I'm not, but that's not really important now... What is important is that these emotions, for whatever reason they've decided to develop, need to be controlled somehow. They'll be okay for now as they seem balanced with my other emotions, but if they were to increase they could override the emotion drive in my PAK and then I may just be on suitable grounds to be classed as defective." She ejected the disk and headed over to a small platform surrounded by various tools. "This disk however should prevent that from happening, but I'll need to plug it into the emotion drive in my PAK first. Computer? Start a countdown for five minutes would you?"  
"Five? But you can last ten without your PAK."  
"Yes, but after five my mental capabilities will be beginning to deteriorate and while I'd probably still be able to complete the transaction it's better not to take any risks."  
"But reattaching your PAK with it half inserted –" the computer began.  
Viy nodded in agreement as he spoke before cutting in, "If you inform me after five minutes then I can make a decision whether I can safely complete the transaction in time or whether I need to abort it. Either way it gives me a little leeway before I'll have to reattach the PAK."  
"That's... good thinking," the computer admitted after considering it briefly. "When do you want the countdown to begin?"  
Viy placed the disk on the table and drew out a few of the tools she would be requiring before reaching back and resting either hand on the two lower compartments of her PAK and pressing them inwards. "Now."  
  
Six minutes, forty-three seconds later Viy checked her PAK was secure once more. She'd inserted the disk without too much difficulty, although now she needed to ascertain whether it was working. She still felt guilt, but the disk hadn't been put there to block it completely, just keep it at a safe level. Either way, without a fluctuation in her guilt levels she'd be unable to monitor whether or not the disk was working as it should.  
"Computer? Take a reading off my PAK and check the disk is active would you?" she wandered into the middle of the room and straightened slightly as a cable snaked its way down from the ceiling before inserting itself into the main panel on her PAK.  
There was a quick flicker of information on the main video screen before the computer confirmed, "The disk is active and functioning normally as far as I can ascertain. Although a field test will probably be the only way you can test it properly. Initialising scan..."  
Viy watched as more data flitted quickly over the computer screens with occasional blips, before a diagram came up on screen of her PAK, and a quick zoom took the focus to the emotion drive. "Hmm... Well I can confirm your earlier scan – there don't seem to be any errors present, or any recorded before the drive was inserted. However, this 'guilt' seems to only activate with certain individuals. It may be that you can develop it for someone a bit like human affection can develop. The positive note with that is that it can be lost also. However, currently it seems to only activate on noticeable levels with two individuals. My suggestion is that if you find it activating with anyone else then we may need to examine it more seriously."  
Viy nodded in agreement, "Sounds like a plan. I doubt it will though. Or rather I hope it doesn't..." She frowned thoughtfully, "Maybe Earth just affects you like that? I was scanning Gem's readings from Gir's observations and there are possible signs that Zim feels guilt too. Although it was only once or twice and barely noticeable..."  
"I'd be more tempted to say it's because Zim's a defective," the computer responded, "But we can't rule it out. Should I run a scan to see if your PAK readings altered at all since your arrival?"  
Viy considered it for a moment before shaking her head, "No don't bother. It'll probably be gone in a couple of days anyway."  
"Okay. Oh – hang on..."  
"What?" Viy glanced upwards anxiously.  
"I'm detecting some other unauthorised emotions in your emotion drive. I'll bring them up on screen –"  
Viy turned to the screen as a list of around seven or eight emotions scrolled into view, including the recent addition of 'Guilt'. She sensed a hint of concern in the computers thoughts through its link and quickly cut off the monitor. "The others are authorised," she stated flatly as the computer detached the cable.  
"Are... you sure? They could be where this 'guilt' stemmed from. I don't think it's a good idea to leave them active –" the computer protested.  
Viy felt her cheeks flush slightly, wondering just how much else the computer had read through the link. "I have authorisation for them, let's leave it at that. I didn't really want them but I was required too. You can check with Irk's main control brain if you don't believe me," she added sulkily, although a hint of defiance was audible in her tone.  
"I've been programmed to accept whatever you claim to be true," the computer replied, almost apologetically. "I was simply concerned for your sake."  
"If you want to be concerned about me, be concerned about how I'm going to survive the rest of this week with Zim thinking that Dib will like me more if he shows we're enemies by trying to annihilate me," Viy responded miserably, before glancing back up at the blank monitor. Even though it was off it was as if she could still see the words burnt into the screen, and in particular the third one down.  
She shook her head defiantly. The computer was misreading the signals from her emotion drive; true some of them did apply but that one, she thought stubbornly, did not. She strode out of the room looking as dignified as she could muster, with the decision she would leave her robotic designs until later. 


End file.

Invader Zim, Adventure, Humor