Authors Note: Woot! New story! Just randomly thought of this... =)

Disclaimer: Sadly, I was not awesome enough to come up with IZ. I am not Jhonen Vasquez.

Criticism accepted with lots of love! Eventual ZaDr. Enjoy! Haha :D

The Tallest's laughter roared through the air, green, thick, tears melting from their eyes in pure amusement. After a long while, their mirth died down, chuckles barely escaping their lips. Sighing, Red looked at the screen hovering in front of him and Purple. Zim stood there, his lekku lowered in embarrassment; his shoulders slumped forward in a useless action to hide himself from the other two Irkens. It stung him. Everything was hurting. The water that had once before gorged over him, burned the green skin. It was no longer flawless; red bumps and blisters sprouted, tender, dark jade flesh showing. His uniform was ragged, almost torn to shreds. The Dib had pulled his antennae, and at the moment, it was twitching uncontrollably. He was unsure how it all happened; he just knew it started with the gash that flew across his back. Purple blood was oozing out, leaving Zim to look a total mess. He didn't even have time to heal; his Tallests had called him, almost immediately after he returned to the safety of his base. They stared at him, laughing, unstopping. The Irkens that were surveying the scene snickered as well, trying to hide their hilarity in his appearance.

"And to think we were going to tell him, too! Oh Irk, this is the funniest yet!" Tallest Red said, ignoring the fact that the Irken he was gossiping about what standing right there.

Attempting to hide his smirk, Purple declared with much effort, "Zim. Even though today was especially despicable of you, we can no longer play this charade. The Control Brain has tired of our games. If it were me, I would've kept this up much longer, seeing as you were much entertainment, from the routine schedules we have."

Zim tensed, he was wondering where this was going. He had a hunch; he had been suspicious the entire time he was on Earth. Shifting his weight, Zim squinted his eyes ever so slightly at the screen, swallowing the lump that had collected in his throat.

"As we are Tallests, our authority grants us the power to follow the Control Brains' higher wishes, as well as our own." They said in unison. "We have been given orders, and will proceed to do as we were commanded. Elite Irken Soldier Zim, you have been stripped of your title. You will no longer be involving yourself in Operation Impending Doom II. As you are on the planet Earth, you are to no longer return to Irk, nor are you to leave the galaxy in which surrounds the planet. If you are found so, you will be diminished quickly, quietly, and without thought. You are an exile now, and have received the identification, as Banished. Do not return contact with us, as you are no longer in the hive. This is your punishment as being a defect. In our knowledge, a poison known as water is surrounding around 90 percent of the planet. To deal with the poison, is your penalty for destroying our development in Operation Impending Doom I."

Zim's head was swirling, everything around him was foggy. What he had just heard, he had expected, but did not want. It did not help that his pak was going into overdrive, repairing Zim's body was exerting. The screen in front of him went black, as did his vision. He collapsed on the ground, and would lay there until he was strong enough to stand up.

The day disappeared, letting the night sky shroud humanity. The moon shined brightly, glinting off the odd, green house. Inside, the television blurred, quietly screening the Angry Monkey Show. Strangely, the little dog that watched TV was giggling, delighted at the hypnotism of the monkey in front of him. Underneath the house above, Zim laid on the floor of his labs, his breathing shallow as he healed in considerable amounts. The pak had finally allowed Zim to wake, his ruby eyes opening into small slits. His eyes widened, his house hummed gently as he regained his senses. Zim jolted up, remembering what happened. He knew it wasn't a dream, or was it?

"Computer," his voice was hoarse, as he continued speaking, "Pull up the last conversation with the Tallests."

He sat comfortably on the floor, asking the Computer to heat up the tile below him. The computer obliged, his personality feeling sympathy for the Irken. After knowing Zim all these years, it knew he was fully loyal to the Armada. He stayed silent, not complaining as he pulled up the conversation. Zim watched the whole thing through once more, his heart shattering into a million pieces. What now? He thought, pulling himself off of the floor. He had nothing left, whatever he had once did one Earth, was all for the sake of destroying the pitiful humans. He was bored, and devising a plan to destroy and conquer the dirt-ball would not help the pain in his chest. He stood there silently, waiting several minutes for his pak to decide what to do.

"Computer!" he yelled, "Bring me to the safe room!"

Wires exited the ceiling, coming down, lifting Zim up gently. Another mechanical hand came out, wrapping Zim tightly in the blanket. The wires lifted Zim higher, pulling him into the ceiling. He was placed in a shaft that ascended, bringing him into the roof of his house. He was not where his ship was, though. He had placed another room in there, a place that only he and the computer knew about. He would hide in there for hours, comforted by cushions surrounding him. This was the place he let his guard down, where he would cry until his body shook. He only needed this room to comfort him, and, it became evident to him that this area was proof that he was a defect. He wouldn't need to cry of he really wasn't, right? The computer held Zim there, the space below him closing into the floor. The room was small, but Zim was scrawny enough to allow another person to fit in there. Cushions sprouted below him, giving him the feeling he was one a squishy cloud that did not burn him. Walls enclosed around Zim, the light dim in the hollow walls. He lay on the floor, curling into a small shape as he was comforted by the warmth around him. Soft, classical music began, the music clashing with Zim's antennae's. He curled up closer to himself, silent tears falling slowly. Normally, he only needed to spend half an hour in here, the beginning, to ponder on his thoughts. The rest of the time spent to shower himself in green, staining tears. He did not begin to think, the tears already flowing smoothly from his eyes. He squinted the closed, his body quivering as the tears racked his body. He shivered, cold, as hiccups overcame him. The rest of the night, Zim lay there, drowsing himself to sleep. Little did Zim know, Dib had tried once again to infiltrate his base, this time going through a weakness he found in the attic. He heard sniffling, and low, heartbreaking music. He realized it was Zim, as muffled noises escaped his mouth.

"Why?" he would hear Zim cry out, speaking to no one but himself.

He did not know what happened, or where Zim was right now. Dib was certain, though, that Zim did not know he had entered, or heard him sob. Dib sat silently, listening to Zim blubber, his snuffles of pain. Assembled in his spot, leaning against the wall for hours, Dib heard hiccups, then the crying died down. Deep, even breaths came to his ears as Zim slumbered. Dib got up, exiting the house quietly. He did not understand, but he would never mention this to anyone. He was too soft-hearted to let anyone know of this, and would be too embarrassed if Zim found out. Deciding that he would not try to annoy the alien for awhile, Dib walked slowly down the street, heading back to his house as the sun began to rise, coloring the sky shades of orange and yellow.

First chapter! What'dya think? Comments? Maybe? Lol