Invader Zim 1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

She was such a small Irken. Small enough to be mistaken for a smeet, easily ignored, kicked around, and underestimated. Being underestimated had its advantages, but it made it hard to be taken seriously. Which is why, instead of being a teknician, teknical advisor, or inventor, she worked behind the scenes. She took pride in the fact that she did almost all of the major technical and electrical repairs behind the walls of the massive. She wouldn't have gotten nearly that far if it wasn't for a few nicer tallers not as concerned with her small height, her hard work, and the fact that no one else was small enough to fit. Even with her tiny, skinny frame, it was a tight squeeze. The walls were made to allow some airflow to the circuits, not for Irkens to fit between. There was a high advantage to making repairs without having to rip out a whole wall.

So here she was, running brand new, top speed cable to the Tallests own private quarters. Despite the fact that the transmitter that sent the data couldn't send it any faster, and the new cable wouldn't improve speed at all. But of course, how could a little tech who looked barely older than a smeet know anything? The cable was claimed as the best. It was also shiny and rainbow colored. Not that anybody but her would see it, as it was hidden behind a wall. She wasn't in any position to complain. It gave her a job, made her important.

The knowledge of how important her job was did nothing to help her claustrophobia. The small, tight tunnel, lit by a few pinpricks of light and a small light from her PAK, was suffocating. She had horrible nightmares about being stuck behind those walls forever.

Swallowing back her fear, she concentrated on attaching the cable securely to the wall, occasionally stopping to check other electrical components, looking for any burned out parts or problems. Luckily, she wasn't expected to drag the new cable with her, it was replaced by attaching the new cable to the end of the old one and reeling the old one out. However, someone still had to unsecure the old cable and attach the new one. She worked quickly, yet made sure that she did it right.

Finally, she saw the bright light that signaled that there was an open panel. She hooked up the cable and used several instruments from her PAK to test the cable. She got the same speed as the old cable. Rolling her eyes, she finished up, put the wall panel back, and re-soldered the panel back into the wall.

Now that that big job was done, Ehvy was free for the other half of the cycle. She was thankful that she didn't have to work 2/3 of every cycle like most smallers and drones, but was still bitter about the fact that almost all tallers and other high teks only worked for a third a cycle. She took advantage of her time off to go visit one of her few friends.

Her best friend, Haz, worked in weapons development. Despite his hyper nature and threats of giant explosions, he was actually very good at his job, and had very few accidents. He wouldn't tell anyone why his bright orange eyes glowed in the dark, however….

She hung out with him for several hours, talking some and playing several video games. Laughing and joking with her hyperactive friend helped her unwind, calm down. After trading wins and losses at the game for awhile, they decided to get something to eat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Heading to the cafeteria, Ehvy and Haz got into the longer line for the smaller Irkens. Ehvy bought about twice as many snacks as she needed and stored the rest in her PAK for later. Depending on her manager for the next day, she might not get a break to eat. She usually didn't. Supposedly, the smaller the Irken, the less often they needed to eat, but she wouldn't feel that way halfway through her shift.

Halfway through eating her meal, a shadow fell across her and she felt a rough tug at her antenna. She leaned her head back to see Kyz looming over her, one eyebrow raised, dark red eyes glaring slightly.

Kyz was one of the Taller Irkens. He had an important job as one of the heads of Communications and Teknical stuffs. Ehvy wasn't sure why the Taller bothered her, tried to hang out with her, and was generally possessive of her free time, but Haz thought he knew. Haz just glared at the unwelcome intrusion on his time with his small friend.

"Why didn't you come over to my room after you were done with work?" Kyz said loudly.

Ehvy turned slightly to face him, staring down at her feet. "Haz asked me to come over…" she murmured.

Haz, meanwhile, found something interesting to stare at in the other direction. HE knew better than to pick a fight with the taller Irken.

Kyz grabbed her antennae and twisted sharply until she cried out in pain. "You have 5 minutes to finish eating, and then you will go to my room. Understand?"

"Y-yes," she quickly agreed, nodding a little.

As he stormed off, everyone in the lunch room finally looked away and the buzz of conversation slowly started back up again. Ehvy slumped down in her seat and stared miserably at her tray.

Sighing a little, Haz leaned over and gave her a small hug. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah…" she replied. "I should go though…" She hurriedly ate the rest of her food, storing anything still wrapped in her PAK. Glancing at a clock, she hugged Haz goodbye and ran from the room, heading towards the quarters of the tallers.

As she was walking down the hallway, a green-eyed pilot that towered over her small form roughly kicked her over. "What's the matter, little bug? In a hurry to be somewhere?" He laughed cruelly as she struggled to her feet. "Better hurry, before your "boooyfriend" gets mad!" He then stormed past, laughing his head off and kicking Ehvy off her feet again.

She huddled up close to the wall until the sound of his mocking laughter and the laughter of the gang of groupies that followed him faded down the hall. As she wiped away the tears streaming down her face, she wondered why she wasn't used to this treatment yet. She was a drone, after all, and was treated, and would be treated, as such.

She struggled to her feet again and started down the hall, trying to wipe away any remaining tears and compose herself. She stopped at one of the higher doors, knocked softly, and let herself in, locking the door behind her. She slumped down with her back against the door, staring down at her feet.

Kyz glanced up from his place on the couch. "Go get me a drink."

Scampering off to the kitchen to find a soda, she tried to guess what kind he would want. She finally just grabbed a random soda and brought it back. Handing the soda to him, she shrunk back and continued staring at her feet.

After taking the soda, Kyz opened the top, took a swig, and set it aside. He reached out and grabbed Ehvy by the collar and dragged her up onto the couch. Ehvy let herself be pulled onto the couch and continued to stare downwards. Kyz pulled the smaller Irken into his lap, nuzzled her head and lightly nibbled on her antennae. "I'm not mad at you anymore, so you can stop acting so timid." He smiled down at her.

She just flinched.

He sighed, pulling her closer, and wrapping her in a warm blanket.

"I've explained it to you before, the tallers would be suspicious if I treated you too nice in public. Stop taking it so personal!" he snapped at her.

Whimpering slightly, she burrowed deeper into the blanket. Timidly she said softly, barely loud enough for him to hear, "You would never really like me, I'm to small."

Kyz sighed again. "You are sooo brainwashed sometimes, you know that?" he kissed her lightly on the forehead, dimmed the lights, turned down the television, and held her in his arms. "Just go to sleep, okay? You must be tired."

She hesitantly snuggled closer to him, and closed her eyes, trying to relax, but her thoughts raced. He was so mean in public, and hung out with the cruel tallers. Why was he so nice when they were alone? And, no one as tall as he was, with such an important job, would ever like someone as small and unimportant as her. So why was he so nice? Why didn't he just take whatever he wanted, do whatever he wanted with her? It was more than socially acceptable in their society, it was often encouraged. It was so confusing to her.

Kyz sadly watched Ehvy in his arms, noticing her unrest. For the millionth time, he wished she was taller, bigger, less timid around him. He even wished sometimes that he was shorter, anything to make her relax around him. She didn't trust him, might never completely. It didn't help when he lost his temper with her. He wondered again what the chances were of her growing taller. If she did, he could claim her, make her his without too much trouble or mockery. He couldn't now, at best they would be separated and at worst she would be deleted. He could, however, make her his personal drone. He laughed quietly to himself. THAT would really make her like him. So, until she maybe hit a growth spurt, he'd wait. If he ever got transferred, though, he would take her with him. He cringed at the thought. He hoped that it wouldn't come to that.


End file.

Invader Zim