Hey guys! Just a few words before starting my story.

This is my first fanfic. So it might be really bad and I apologize for that.

I just wanted to say… PLEASE post a review. I write my stories for my own pleasure but also to improve my writing skills and my English (I'm still learning it).

Thanks for reading my little message and enjoy the story. ^^

"Urg! It's the strange kid! Don't come near us!"

Skool… He hated skool. (I know it's spelled school but it's written this way in the cartoon so I kept it)

Well, at least there was his sister, Gaz. Even if she wasn't nice AT ALL, she'd never run away from him. Just like him, she didn't have any friend. It wasn't that she couldn't make some. She was just too absorbed in her video games to care about the rest of the world.

And here they were, alone together, at a table for lunch. Around them, others kids were playing, laughing, running or doing their… things (some really had weird behaviors). But the boy was staring at a particular kid, one with green skin, blue eyes and a pink backpack, and who was inspecting his food, hoping it was edible.

'So Zim, what are you up to today?' thought Dib.

Unlike the others, he was well aware of this green boy true nature. He was an alien, an Irken Invader. And as the –self-proclaimed– Sole Defender of Earth, he had the duty to stop Zim, at all coast. Well, that was what he thought but for some times now, he's been wondering if the humans deserved to be saved. After all, nobody ever believed him. They were all calling him crazy, not only at skool but also at home. His father, the great professor Membrane, was ashamed of his son. He didn't even acknowledge his talent for sciences and inventions. It was really depressing.

He sighed. What was the point in investigating Zim if it was to be called crazy again and laughed at. He reported his attention on the "food" in his plate (man, is that even from earth?). He looked at his sister, still playing her game.

"Gaz, can I talk to you about something?" He tried to put away the console.

"BACK OFF, FREAK! Touch my Game Slave II and I will KILL you so quickly than you won't have time for regrets!"

"Ok! Ok! I'll let you play but could you listen at least?"

"Speak. But don't give me one of your monologues. Be short."

"Well, I was wondering… If your Vampire Piggy Hunter wasn't a game but real life, would you still play the hero who turns these nosferapigs into bacon?"

"No way."

"Huh? But why?"

" 'Cause it wouldn't be a game anymore."

"But it would be exactly like in your game!"

Dib shivered. Gaz just set her game on pause and put it away.

'Oh no… she's MAD! I'm so, SO dead'

But Gaz didn't jump at her brother's throat but sighed instead.

"Dib. Do you know why I love games so much?"

" 'Cause it's fun? 'Cause our dad is never home and mom is… is… well you know, and it was a way to fulfill the void they left, like my obsession with paranormal…"

"You're wrong. I don't love games because "it's fun" or for some psychological reasons. I love them because it's not real. Have you ever looked around you? This world is trashed. Humans are a bunch of idiots. Everybody is so self-centered they can't even take care of their planet. Look at our city! It's polluted, dirty and unhealthy. It's a living hell. I decided that if I have to live in a world, it will be in the game world. So if it becomes reality, I won't be the hero because it won't be my world anymore."

"I think I understand."

"By the way, didn't you just say your paranormal obsession was to fulfill mom and dad's absence?"

"Well… y'know… dad never took care of me, like he does with you. I wanted him to notice me so I tried to impress him with scientific facts. But dad is the best in all "serious" sciences. So I chose one he never studied, the paranormal sciences."

"I see." She grinned and started playing again." You're really a freak…"

"You're mean." He laughed. "But thanks for listening to your crazy big brother. It was… nice of you."

"Don't get used to it. You're part of the bunch of idiots."

-Line break-

"Today, we will discuss about dreams. What is your dream Keef?"

"My dream is to raise squirrels!"

"What a lovely dream you have. Unfortunately, one characteristic of the dreams is that they are easily smashed, crushed, torn apart and destroyed. You kids go around speaking of your silly dreams, hoping luck to each other but you forget that dreams NEVER come true. They are illusions, chimeras driving you to a future where nobody knows your existence. Follow your dreams and you'll become no one. So Keef, you'll never raise squirrels!"

Mrs. Bitters' classes were awful. Each day, she tormented pupils, annihilating their hopes and belief in everything.

Dib was only half-listening. He was still thinking about his talk with his sister. The world he belonged… Was Earth the wrong one?

Mrs. Bitters was still questioning her poor students. She then stopped on Zim.

"And you, Zim. What is your dream?"

"Dream?" The green boy seemed confused. "What is the thing you earthlings call "dream"? Is it some kind of weapon or illness?"

"No Zim. A dream is a goal. It's what you want to accomplish."

"What I want to accomplish? Like the mission that was given to me?"

"If you want… But hurry up! I don't have all day."

'I can't reveal the Tallests' orders' thought Zim. 'This question comes really bad. If I tell a lie, the dumb Dib will argue and expose me. But if I tell the truth, I will expose myself. Was this trap Dib's work? Unless Mrs. Bitters is also against me?'

"Come on Zim! Answer me!"

"Hem… My dream is… my goal is… to crush others' hope!"

"To crush… others' hope…? You want to become a teacher?" Mrs. Bitters was smiling, thing that any kid had ever seen before.

"Huh… Yeah! Of course! Teacher! That's my dream!"

'Well done Zim. You've preserved your cover.' He grinned of satisfaction. 'But it's strange. The Dib boy didn't say anything.'

He turned around to observe the black-haired boy. Dib was staring outside and didn't paid attention to him at all.

"Well. All left is Dib… So Mr. Membrane, what is your dream?"

"Oh… No need to ask him. His dream is surely to find some monsters freakier than himself." said a blonde girl.

His dream. He never really thought about it. Was it to reveal Zim's whereabouts? Or was it to impress his father and be acknowledged? He didn't know.

"Silence children. Let's hear what Dib has to say."

"Actually… I don't know what my dream is yet, Mrs. Bitters."

All the class gasped at the same time. This was the most unexpected event of the day, more surprising that the teacher's smile. The crazy Dib who always claimed he wanted to become a paranormal investigator actually didn't know what was his dream.

Dib, him, was staring outside again, lost in his thoughts. To Zim, his behaviors were very suspicious. This needed an investigation.

Well, here's the beginning. Hope you liked it. I'll wait for feedback before continuing the story so please post a review. ^^