"Attention all tributes! It's time to wake up! You have precisely one and a half hours or less to be ready so you may be escorted to the dining hall! This is the only warning you will get. Have a nice morning!"

Dib groaned, rolling over and slapping at where an alarm clock would be instinctively. Unfortunately, the audio was being projected from small speakers/microphones placed strategically in the room to get the best acoustics. As it was, they were paying off, because it felt to Dib as if they were screaming in his ear.

Unwillingly he opened his eyes, blinking a few times before immediately closing them tightly, hissing in pain. He sat up, rubbing at the crust that had fallen in his now watering eyes. Once he'd successfully retrieved the offensive piece he realized he hadn't heard another groan with his. Dib glanced left, alarmed to find that his sister was now missing from her place next to him.

"Gaz?" He shouted, grabbing his glasses and looking around the room. Despite his now perfect vision, there was still no sign of his sister.

Dib slowly got out of bed, making sure he was at least semi-decent before opening his door. Nothing. He paused, glancing left and right, irritated.

Where the hell was his sister?

"Gaz!" He shouted again, considerably louder. "Where'd you-?"

He jumped at the loud bang behind him and he spun around, automatically on the defensive. True, pajamas were hardly the proper combat clothes, but he'd do with what he had. Dib had instantly got himself hyped until his sister stepped out of her room, the door having been slammed open. Her eyes were narrowed and Dib was surprised to see her already dressed and ready to go to . . . where were they supposed to go again?

Thus is the effect of sleepiness on teenage boys.

"What do you want, Dib?" She demanded, leaning against her door frame.

His brows furrowed in confusion. "How long have you been up? What time is it?"

"I'm not your alarm clock, Dib. But it's almost seven. I've been up for a couple hours." Gaz informed him, crossly. At Dib's face of awe she rolled her eyes. "Not everyone's as lazy as you are, Dib."

"Hey!" He shouted, placing his hands on his hips in an offended manner. "I'm not lazy!"

Her brow rose and one side of her mouth twitched upwards; the picture of evil in a simple smirk. It had a minimal effect on Dib, having grown up with that look, but it was this expression that had Gaz's enemy's cowering in their socks the most. But to Dib, it now only meant one thing. His sister had come up with something especially clever, rude, or all around cruel. Possibly all of the above.

"Oh?" Her voice was monotonous, the perfect tone for a delivery. "So then you weren't too damn lazy to put a shirt on, you're just particularly fond of the feeling of being half-naked?"

Dib scowled, his face turning a deep scarlet. He then grinned smugly, flexing one toned but not particularly buffed arm next to his head. "Well, if you've got it, flaunt it."

Her lips curled in disgust, both brows furrowing. "Just go get ready, Dib."

"Jealousy isn't a good color on you Gaz."

"Put a damned shirt on!" She ordered, slamming the door shut on him. Dib howled with laughter in the center-room, holding his stomach as he laughed. Gaz shouted at him for quiet and for once, it did nothing.

Zim, on the other hand, was having a much smoother 'morning' then the Membranes were. Without the laughter or the amusement. He was currently doing what he considered warm ups with nothing but his uniform exercise pants on. The kind he'd used to where when they were in vigorous training, preparing for these Games. He planned on using their hour to the fullest of his extent, intending to make every other species their appear inferior to his mighty Irken roots. After doing several different short exercises he sat up, glaring at the mirror angled directly at him. He wasn't sweating. In fact, Irkens rarely sweat. It just wasn't in them to do so unless they were dying or otherwise under extreme physical strain. And being Zim, he never really considered anything besides that a real workout.

Ah well, he thought with slight defeat. I'll just have to try harder at the actual training grounds.

He got up and went into his closet, where his clothes had been neatly placed by an Irken drone sometime yesterday. He decided to dress entirely, including a shirt this time. It was a black one with a red Irken Elite symbol on the front. Over this he threw a coat on, red, that trailed to the floor, with spiked shoulder blades and the Elite Symbol printed with his name on the back. Really, there was nothing in his uniform that wasn't a constant reminder of his 'Eliteness'. To the public here, it was meant to be a symbol of superiority. On Irk, it was a constant reminder of their inadequacy.

His doorknob jiggled and he became glad that he'd remembered to lock it before going to bed last night. "What is it you want?"

"Come out, Zim!" Skoodge called. "We've got orders from the Tallest."

Immediately Zim darted towards the door, opening it expectantly. Immediately he was nailed in the face by a piece of cloth, sending him stumbling back a few steps. He tore it off his face, eyes blazing with a fury directed at Skoodge. The smallest Elite's antennae were flat on his head, eyes wide with fear.

"I-I didn't-!" He squeaked, cut off by Tak's snide laughter.

Zim growled at her, knowing immediately it was not Skoodge but she who had pelted him in the face. "Very funny, Tak. Now what is this?"

"Look at it yourself," she retorted, leaning back against the couch casually. "The Tallest want us to appear as a united front while still identifying ourselves as individuals representing a soul idea."

"We're creating ourselves as Icons, so to speak, to make ourselves entertaining or popular." Skoodge added cheerfully. "Guess what I am?"

"Short." Zim stated monotonously, lids half closed with boredom.

Skoodge pouted crossing his arms. "No. That wasn't funny."

"It seems we all need to work on our jokes," Zim retorted, smirking. "Alright than, Skoodge. What are you supposed to be?"

"Cute," he said at once, gesturing to his ensemble.

It was the same color as Zim was holding, except reversed. Instead of red and black, it was black and red. And it accentuated his shortness, surprisingly, when that was actually a rather touchy subject with the Elite and the Tallest alike, one of the few things that wasn't often joked about between the three of them. But eying Skoodge from an outside perspective, with his abnormally wide eyes and naturally chubby, smeetish build Zim supposed that it could vaguely be considered 'cute'. Although this choice was surprising in itself, as anything even remotely adorable was considered sickening to the Empire.

"So what are Tak and I?" He asked, holding the new coat before him to examine.

It was far more stylish then what he was wearing, despite the lack of spiked shoulders, which he was rather fond of. As previously noted it was red, darting in at his thin waist and flaring out to his knees. He shrugged out of his current coat, throwing this new one on and admiring the way the fabric felt. Invader uniforms were designed and known for the amount of movement their clothes allowed, being a race specifically purposed for war. But this was something else. This was comfortable.

He grinned, examining himself from various angles. "I like it."

"Don't get too cocky," Tak ordered, a warning tone in her voice. Then she made a face. "Well, I suppose it's acceptable, considering your role."

"Which is . . .?" He called, going back into his room to hang his other coat back up.

"The dashing leader." Tak replied sarcastically. "Good luck with that one!"

"I'm plenty attractive!" Zim snapped, irritated. "And I'm a fine leader thank you very much. What's yours then, Tak, if you're so keen on scolding me."

She smirked as he walked out, crossing her legs slowly as she sat up, chest coming before the rest of her. She batted her lashes slowly, a seductive smirk on her face.

"Sex appeal, obviously." She said, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world, immediately reverting to her snide self. "As the only female here, the Tallest knew that was probably the best choice for someone of my appearance."

"Oh well now whose being arrogant?" Zim shot back, eying her coat and smirking snidely. "So how much padding is in the front of your jacket for those kinds of curves?"

She glared at him, a growl beginning in her throat. "They're natural, but how kind of you for noticing."

Zim's eyes narrowed suspiciously, darting to Skoodge for answers. "Are we supposed to be acting civil to one another or something?"

"In public." Skoodge affirmed, adjusting his jacket. "Come on. We should get ready to go to the Nourishment Station or whatever they call it here."

"I believe that Gregoriath fellow called it a 'dining hall'." Tak noted, getting to her feet and adjusting her own coat, which was closer in design to Zim's then Skoodge's. A knock on their door made them all turn.

Zim smirked, making an unnecessarily grand gesture with his PAK appendages towards the door. "Shall we my faithful sidekicks?"

Skoodge laughed. Tak growled, stalking past him with only one order.

"Stow it!"

Once again Gaz found herself watched particularly carefully as her and her brother wereever-so-kindly escorted from their room to the Dining Hall or whatever the thing had called it. Two guards were in front of them, a matching set behind them, creating a box around them as they walked. Dib's eyes shifted nervously to the unwelcome party, occasionally glancing towards his little sister. Gaz seemed wholly unaffected, if not slightly bored with their current situation. Dib couldn't help but sigh in relief as they turned into a large room, revealing what they correctly assumed to be their destination.

"Welcome, welcome my friends!" Gregoriath was saying, smiling warmly at everyone as they entered in groups of various shapes and sizes. "Please, make yourself comfortable while we wait for the rest of our guests to arrive!"

Gaz's eyes darted around, locating the cameras, several of them filming the crowd from an aerial view, shooting the masses as the entered. The rest were on the ground floor, getting close-up shots of the victi- contestants. They were contestants, nothing more, she reminded herself.

Because Gaz Membrane was nobody's victim.

"Sit where you'd like," the guard encouraged, pointedly eying a table towards the left of the room.

Gaz was tempted to sit in the center of the room, simply to irritate them. However her brother gently placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her towards the designated table. She looked behind her with a smirk, waving at the guards to attempt to at least fluster them with her arrogant actions. They simply nodded back politely, dispersing to place themselves, probably to go collect more people.

"Can you at least try not to antagonize everyone?" Dib pleaded as they sat down.

Gaz simply smirked and said nothing. Their seats were made of some type of onyx-colored stone. Clearly, if carved for the purpose, it had the utmost potential to be a weapon. And a good one. She continuously ran her fingers along the edge, noting this in her brain for later. The tables seemed to be made of the same mineral. It was cool to the touch and Gaz liked the feel of it, though she wasn't entirely positive why she was investing so much thought into alien furniture.

"Hey, guys!"

The siblings glanced up, seeing their comrades quickly making their way towards them. They seemed to be in considerably better spirits than they had been yesterday, which wasn't all too surprising since they were no longer watching their newest of comrades get into a fight with an Irken. Really, Gaz was surprised at how quickly her brother had made friends and in turn, considered her a friend. Gaz wasn't used to being around people and she certainly hadn't planned on making any here. She'd figured Dib would've been sensible enough to realize that the more friendly they became with others, the harder it was going to be when they lost them. But apparently, she'd overestimated his ability to think ahead. Regardless, their area was soon filled with the dozen or so people from yesterday, all of the looking particularly excited. Dylit seemed especially pleased to see her, which made Gaz resist a brow raise. The girl beamed as she sat on the bench beside her.

"You're alright!" She cried cheerfully, throwing her arms around the girls shoulders. "We were worried about you!"

Gaz was beyond shocked. Audacity wasn't the right word for what Dylit had, hugging her like she was. Nerve wasn't quite the phrase either. Obliviousness probably; she was too stupid to realize what was dangerous, and too naive to really be in any danger. Truly, this was a fascinating defensive mechanism. Regardless, Gaz did not like being touched. Especially when the hugging was being done by a girl who felt like a rock. It was like being hugged by a mountain and it was not comfortable in the least.

"Eh, thanks," She said, unsure of how to react in these types of situations.

Dylit nodded, releasing her. "In all my years, I've never seen someone challenge an Irken like that, Gaz. It was kind of impressive, really."

"You two do realize you could've been killed?" Tyler questioned, on Dib's left, looking between both of them.

Dib shot Gaz a dark look. "One of us is aware."

Gaz shrugged. "It was going to happen eventually."

"Confrontations are my sister's specialty," Dib muttered crossly. Gaz simply smirked, saying nothing. "Anyways, what have you guys been up to?"

"Exploring our rooms," Mooshy replied. "Being near the same planet, a couple of us are rooming together."

"I'm the farthest," Tup complained sourly.

Gaz smirked. "I'm afraid we'd have to disagree on that one. We've got absolutely no idea where anyone else is according to us."

"That's probably their version of discipline here." Smootsy replied with a grin.

The table laughed, for some inexplicable reason. Or at least, that's what it seemed like to Gaz. She never understood humor much, save hers, and she often didn't express it in the event that it offended someone. Dib had trained her well, at least when it came to being civilized in public, with others . . . for the most part.

When Moop became silent, Gaz was the first to notice as he shifted slightly closer to Dylit, as if hiding. She glanced up and noticed the guards that had escorted them, now leading the three others into the room. When she grit her teeth and her pale hands gripped the table as she fought the urge to stand up, the rest of the party noticed and also grew silent, shifting uncomfortably as they tried to ignore the immediate tension in the room. As one of them laughed, she began to slowly rise from her chair.

"Gaz," Dib snapped, quietly. Though it was highly unlikely they would hear him, Dib still remembered how Zim had heard his sister earlier and he wasn't about to take any chances. "Sit.Down."

She did not.

"Now!"

Immediately, despite the minimal rise of volume, Zim's head whipped around, slowly followed by his comrades as they attempted to peer over his shoulder.

Gaz was not looking at him. She was having a glaring match with her brother as she stood, their friends pointedly ignoring anyone else in the room as they waited to see what the temperamental human child would do. His eyes narrowed at the boy who had threatened him yesterday, ignoring the girl for the moment. He watched as she slowly sat back down, folding her hands in her lap as her brother leaned slightly over the table and spoke quick, cross words to her that he couldn't quite hear, although he could've sworn he heard 'behave' in there somewhere.

A guard shifted into his view, cutting off any further sight of them, gesturing to his right. "If you will, sir."

Zim noted they were being herded, despite the subtlety of their actions. Away from the humans and their table of misfits.

"We wouldn't want to cause trouble over a bunch of weaklings anyways." Tak insisted politely, gesturing for her companions to move to where they were being suggested to go.

Zim stiffened, turning away from the guards as he walked off. "Come on."

Skoodge nodded and followed, watching the scene with wide-eyes. Tak snorted, saying nothing as she did as she was told. They followed behind Zim briskly to try and keep up with his irritated pace.

As the last of the seats, or at least most of them, were filled in the large room, Gregoriath got a signal and he smiled, opening his arms wide as he turned his mic on.

"Men, women, children!" He cried, grinning wide. "Get use to this room; this is where you shall dine!"

"Really?" Smootsy muttered. "That hadn't even crossed my mind when they said Dining Hall."

This time, Gaz understood the joke, snickering along with the rest of their table before they fell silent again as a guard nearby cleared his throat.

"Food will be brought to you on trays every morning, noon, and lunch that you are here. Items we encourage you not to share with different species, as not all of your diets will be compatible to others and in some cases, may be harmful."

Gaz rolled her eyes as Gregoriath droned on about food etiquette, what could be considered offensive and the habits of others. She placed her forehead against the table as he began going over each species propriety, obviously more for the audience's curiosity than the contestant's. No one really cared that much about why Dylit's people actually just played with a device similar to a flashlight in their hands to absorb the sun, or why the human children used utensils instead of their appendages. It really didn't matter to them at all, but they said it anyways.

Finally, after what Gregoriath called abrief review of some of the history of their fellow species, he bowed an unnecessary, exaggerated bow and took his leave to mingle amongst the contestants. It made Gaz thankful that they were sitting in the back, closest to the door, farthest away from Gregoriath and his harassment.

Trays exited from panels in the upper half of the wall that previously had seemed purposeless. Dib looked up in curiosity and awe as they floated, seemingly by their own natural accord, down directly in front of them. Her's and Dib's tray consisted of a glass of water, a rather shiny apple, orange juice, eggs, toast, and bacon. There was also a small bowl of fruit. It all looked delicious.

"This is excessive," Gaz insisted crossly, eying the contents. "We're never going to eat all of this, and the rest is going to go to waste."

Even Dib looked a bit uneasy. "It is a lot."

Dylit peered curiously at their plate, her hands holding a glowing orb calmly between her crystal hands. She was faintly glowing a pale yellow, like she'd stained her glass. Freeing one hand she pointed to Gaz's tray. "What's that?"

"Whath wha?" Dib asked, his eggs muffling the words he spoke. Gaz shot him a look of disgust, but Dylit didn't seem to mind.

"That red thing." She said, pointing a little more accurately. "Right there."

"This?" Gaz asked, picking up her fruit. Dylit nodded. "It's an apple."

"Apple," Dylit smiled. "It's a very pleasant word."

"It's a sweet fruit," Gaz said, deciding that she might as well eat it while she had it in her hand. She took a bit of it, showing the insides to Dylit after she swallowed. "It's not red all the way through though. And it starts to get brown and gross if you leave it out for too long."

"Your food has a time limit?" Tyler asked, pausing from his own eating. His food looked like slimy slop, which he was eating with his hands. Gaz didn't look at it too long; she wanted to keep her appetite for today.

"Only some of it," Dib affirmed. "And some of it has a longer time limit than others."

"Fascinating," Moop said, sipping from a strangely shaped bowl.

Dib noticed. "Do you only consume fluids, Moop?"

Moop nodded. "We have to use it to keep us hydrated, otherwise we don't have enough excess to keep us slimy."

"Really?" Dib said, fascinated. "What kind of liquid hydrates you? Or, is there any specific one?"

Gaz sighed, tuning out her brother as she ate her apple, surprised at how juicy it was, but making no move to appreciate it. She decided to amuse herself with watching Gregoriath interact with the various species, all of them looking slightly uncomfortably to being interviewed by the host of a game that would more than likely be their death. She was pointedly aware that he kept glancing towards their table, full of animated talk and occasional laughter, but he was hesitating. She smirked. He didn't want to go anywhere near the troublesome violent species that no one knew much about.

She had to remind herself this was just breakfast; the next step was going to be the hard part.

And for once, Gaz wasn't particularly looking forward to the violence.