《Sorry about the repost, but I saw a mistake in one of the scenes with Tak and I panicked. It probably won't happen again ahh.》

"Did you see that?" Dib asked, looking around the block in unease.

"No."

Dib and Gaz were walking to school on a Friday morning. It was cold outside, and Gaz was already irritable. Dib knew that if he pushed it far enough she would go off, but he had a feeling that there would be worse consequences if he ignored his instincts.

"I--I thought something was following us." Dib stated, taking another look over his shoulder in case it decided to reveal itself. Instead of retaliating, Gaz just sighed.

"Maybe bigfoot wants to give you your phone back." She gibed.

"Don't joke about that," Dib responded, "and I'm serious about this." He sounded more offended than he should have been, so Gaz remained silent.

Dib was always "serious" about something. Gaz was probably immune to it by now. He had led her on so many pointless adventures that he wasn't too surprised to see her take his worry with a grain of salt. Though, he wished there was a way to get across to her that something was actually happening.

He assumed that she had lost all faith in his observations a few years ago when he was somehow able to convince her that aliens were going to take him in his sleep. It was the first and last time he got her on board with something. He was really into it too, and he wrote detailed letters to all two of his family members in preparation for his absence. Needless to say, Dib was still on Earth the next morning and had taken the letters back before any harm could be done. He had written some nasty things to his dad, but the Professor might not have read them anyway. Dib figured that he was supposed to be abducted, but the aliens had a bigger plan for him on Earth. That didn't stop him from doing it a few more times.

But today his convictions had to be real. Though, that didn't mean much, because in his eyes they were always real. Everything was a sign to Dib. He had a hunch that he was overly paranoid with these sorts of things, but most of the time he couldn't tell the difference between his paranoia and something tangible.

Dib knew that he did this to himself. Years of absorbing every horror movie and conspiracy blog out there have made him a mess. It made everything paranormal to him. Even when the lights go off at night, Dib finds a way to pick apart the black and persuade himself into fearing it. It was a habit at this point to make everything in life revolve around his misguided views of reality. It kept him on edge, and he was always on edge.

Gaz, being human, unconsciously picked up on some of his nerves. So much so that she almost jumped when someone called her name.

"Gaz!" Someone screamed, running up to her and promptly taking his spot to her left. He lived on the other side of school, but sometimes he would leave earlier, go a few blocks past the Membrane house, and just wait until the kids left so he could walk with them without the two suspecting a thing. They knew he was doing all this for Gaz, though; Zim wasn't one to be subtle.

When Zim looked to his right and met Dib's glare, his face scrunched up in disgust.

"Gaz-sibling." He muttered, causing the boy's blood to boil. Zim had been calling him that ever since the space cretin took a liking to his sister. And he didn't just like her, the two were dating. Dib obviously didn't approve, but he couldn't say anything without suffering the wrath of Gaz.

"Zim." Dib hissed in the same tone. He knew that Zim was only hanging around them to fraternize with Gaz. If she turned the corner one day, Zim would probably slice him open. Dib didn't realize that by Gaz dating Zim he was gaining some protection from the alien, so he was just intent on breaking them up.

"Hey." Gaz greeted. Gaz never said hey. That was stupid. But she was uncharacteristically sweet around Zim and Dib couldn't help but notice that she smiled more when he was around. She used to only smile when Zim got hurt, but things were different now and Dib hated it.

"You're looking not-repulsive and you don't smell bad." Zim commented. His flattery usually went like this, but Gaz didn't seem to mind. She thought it was unique. This came from the girl that once gagged when Dib told her about his crush on Gretchen. Before Gaz could reply with something equally horrifying, Dib jumped in and interrupted her.

"Don't you have some small children to cut open?" Dib jeered, causing Gaz to scowl. Zim didn't quite understand the question so he paused to let it sink in.

"Yes." He responded. Gaz's face softened and she let out a small snicker. Zim, understanding that he did something to initiate a positive reaction, began to laugh very loudly. He was still working on his people skills.

Now that Zim was busy with his laughing spasm, Dib had a moment to think things over. More often than not, Zim would distract him from the perils of his own mind and Dib would have something else to focus on for the rest of the day. But Dib again turned around to make sure that something wasn't really following him. It gave him a bad feeling for what was to come.

Later in class, Dib still couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. It was a different apprehension than the fears he had already accepted. The dread made him feel sick, but there was a terrible part of himself that was thrilled by it. Whatever was coming out of today would change something. He liked the idea of having something else to focus on other than Zim. Maybe the aliens came back and were actually going to leave with him this time. If there was something supernatural going on, then he could probably get the press involved. He liked to think that there would be some good out of this situation. It seemed hopeful, but he was really just desperate for change.

Zim noticed that Dib was a little distracted during class, but he didn't care enough to mention it. Despite Dib's constant staring, the two haven't had a real fight in a while, and Dib just wasn't Zim's priority anymore. If the Gaz-sibling was preoccupied, then so was he. Though, Zim picked up on Dib becoming increasingly scatterbrained throughout the day, and it made him wonder if that idiot was actually serious. It was highly unlikely.

So, after a long eight hours of nothing, Dib found himself looking out the window in blind anticipation. He had been hyping Gaz up for something all afternoon, but she was pretty sure that his feelings had no merit. Right now she was sitting on the couch eating pizza. She had ignored his delusions for most of the day, but now they were home and she was getting the full force of his persecution complex.

"I saw something behind the tree at break this morning. I look, and woah, there's--there's nothing. It was crazy because I knew I saw it and-"

Gaz looked straight at him and put a finger over her mouth. The doctors on TV were digging a spider out of someone's ear and she needed to focus. Dib's shoulders dropped and he walked behind the sofa, also curious about the patient's situation. He propped his elbows on the back of the couch and watched with a blank stare.

"You believe me, don't you?" He asked after a while. Gaz looked up at him and narrowed an eye. Truth is, she didn't feel too comfortable with today's energy either, but to admit that to herself would give Dib a lot of credit.

"I don't not believe you." She said back.

"Yeah but do you really believe me?" He asked once again.

"I don't not believe you." She said a little louder, implying that she wasn't about to give him a serious answer. Dib huffed and took another long look out the window. Now he felt stupid. With a sudden loss of energy, he approached the window and closed the curtains.

Dib looked over to Gaz and frowned. She had seen this many times before, so she showed no sympathy.

"I'm going to bed." Dib decided, looking away from her and heading upstairs. Gaz grunted something in response and continued eating.

But Dib didn't sleep. He sometimes got like this when things didn't work out the way he thought they should. Granted, he wasn't the fanatic he used to be, but it always seemed unfair that crazy things didn't happen to him anymore. Out of boredom and impulse, he pulled out his laptop from under the bed but didn't bother to open it. What would he even do? Tell the Swollen Eyeballs about his recent adventures? He hasn't had anything to report in weeks. They never expected much from him, considering he was the youngest member, but that only fed his need for their validation. He used to have a steady supply of action coming from Zim, but Zim had been under the radar for months. He just stopped doing things. No wild plans, no evil agendas, not even any organ harvesting in the past ever.

Dib felt abandoned. It always seemed like he would be the one to outgrow Zim, but it somehow went the other way around. What else did Dib have going for him if Zim decided that Earth wasn't worth it? That had been a nagging question ever since the alien showed his face. It would probably be a good thing if Zim moved on, but that would leave Dib alone again.

"Dib!" Gaz yelled from downstairs. Dib pretended not to hear her and went to sit on the edge of his bed. Gaz was the kind of person that would call someone from another room to get the remote on the other side of the couch. Dib didn't feel like inconveniencing himself for her.

"Dib! Come get the door." She shouted, showing no intent to do anything herself. At this, his curiosity peaked. They never got visitors this late at night, unless Dib ordered something illegal, which he didn't. He left his room with a bit of reluctance but then picked up the pace once he realized that maybe this had something to do with how weird today has been. He stood by the couch for a moment to look at Gaz in hopes to get some explanation.

"Get the door." She repeated.

Dib went for the door and stood on his toes to look out the peephole. Nothing. Dismayed but not discouraged, Dib opened the door and what he saw made him audibly gasp.

It was Tak.

"Tak? You're alive?" Was all he could say. Dib stepped back a bit and to his surprise Tak stepped forward.

"Dib," she began, but she was interrupted when Gaz appeared behind him and gazed down at the alien below. Gaz didn't have a particularly strong reaction, but Dib was still pretty fazed.

"You look awful." Gaz commented, causing Tak to throw her an icy stare.

Dib hadn't noticed before, but Tak looked pretty battered. She had bags under her eyes that he had never seen on an Irken, and he could barely spot the tremble in her knees. She was also clutching a metal mass of parts in her arms that she had pressed against her chest. It made her look weak. Despite this, she still stood tall and stopped herself from shivering in the cold. Tak brought her gaze back to Dib and narrowed her eyes.

"Dib, Dib-sister," she only said it to bother Gaz, causing the human girl to clench her jaw and say nothing, "my disguise is malfunctioning and I have already been sighted by your human authorities. Let me in." Her voice slightly wavered throughout the entire speech, and Dib could tell that she did not want to be asking a couple of humans for help. Whatever she was here for, it had to be genuine. Dib considered it for a moment and looked to Gaz for confirmation. Gaz seemed surprised that he needed help deciding at all. She narrowed her eyes and curled her lips, as if Dib was insisting on letting her move in.

"No. Go away." Gaz said as she reached out to shut the door, but Dib made a noise of disapproval and blocked her from doing so. Gaz scowled, but he was too far into his own ideas to care what she wanted. He cleared his throat, gazed nervously at his sister, and then motioned to Tak.

"How can we trust you?" He asked. Tak didn't dawdle on her reply; she had been preparing for their retaliation ever since she realized they were her only way out.

"Earth is no longer of any use to me and I'm not here for another plot. In fact, Irk has let me go, and by no means am I going to support the empire after what those fools have put me through." Tak scowled at nothing in particular when she finished while Dib basically gawked at her confession. Tak saying something outright against the Irken empire was inconceivable. Thinking about her initial plan for Earth and how she worshipped those taller than her made him blink. Was this really happening? Was Tak on their side? She noticed the gears turning in his head and scoffed.

"Oh, you think I might join your military now? Just because I'm not loyal to the Tallests anymore doesn't mean I'm loyal to this miserable planet. If you want an explanation, you're going to have to let me in." Tak jeered. Dib was a little embarrassed, but he wasn't one to let it affect him very long. He moved out of the way to let her in while Gaz looked at him in cold disbelief. With another glare at Tak, she moved over too. Gaz wanted it to be known that she wasn't as quick to trust her as Dib.

Tak moved in between them and closed the door herself. The lights were dim, but Dib could easily tell by her blemishes that she had been through something. Tak gave her attention to both of them, yet kept the nonchalant, disdainful air he was accustomed to.

"So, Dib, you have something of mine that I need back." Dib immediately understood that she meant the ship. He awkwardly nodded, but a question came to his mind that he couldn't let wait.

"Wait, how did you get here?" He asked.

Tak tensed. She held the parts in her arms a little bit tighter and looked to the side. Dib got scared that he had hit a button, but Tak's head shot back towards him and he saw the hate flash across her face. "I was exiled, and unrightfully so!" She yelled. Dib lifted his hands and backed away a little bit. He wasn't expecting an outburst, especially considering how tired she looked. After that, he figured he shouldn't ask why. She regained her original composure and took a breath to support her next words.

"I am offering a trade. If you help me get off of this disgusting rock, I'll dispose of Zim for you." She sounded casual, as if she was offering a normal, reasonable bargain. Dib's eyes widened, because of course they would, and his lips formed into a tiny grin. He looked to Gaz and could tell she was holding back a reaction. She seemed like she would respond, but instead she pressed her lips together and crossed her arms. Tak noticed that the attention wasn't on herself anymore so she raised her nonexistent eyebrows at Gaz.

"Unless your sister has something to say about it, of course." Tak taunted, causing Gaz to take a step closer and slightly raise her fists. Tak got into a fighting stance, but Dib wasn't about to have the two most dangerous girls he knew get into a scuffle in his own home.

"No, she doesn't." Dib affirmed, stepping between the two in case they decided to throw down anyway. He was up for the plan. If he had Tak on his side, then he would truly be formidable. Gaz's feelings would have to wait.

Tak relaxed. Gaz still seemed on the edge of attacking her. Now that the threat was neutralized, Tak looked back to the door.

"Take me to my ship." She demanded without addressing either of them. Dib obliged first, as he opened the door for her and waited for her to pass him by. She didn't for a moment, as she waited for him to leave first, but eventually she left because she didn't care enough to question human customs. Dib looked to Gaz and expected her to follow, but she scowled and sat back down on the couch. Whatever. He shut the door and made his way to the shed.

"So, I guess I have to let you know that it's kinda broken." He mentioned before sliding open the garage door.

"I figured." She replied.

"And, uh…" Dib wanted to bring up something important on the way, but right when her eyes met the vessel's exterior it was self-explanatory.

"You PAINTED IT?" She asked angrily, nearing the big white letters on the side with vexation plain on her face. It read "Dibship."

"Well, I mean, I wasn't planning on returning it." Dib defended as she continued to stare daggers into the wording. She looked back at him and would have thrown her arms up if she wasn't carrying parts.

"What does that even mean?"

Dib put his hand on the back of his neck and hesitated to reply. "Zim came up with it. I thought it was funny."

Tak let out a long, annoyed groan and finally set the parts down beside the ship. "Yes, because anything Zim says is worthy of consideration." Now that her hands were free, she put two fingers above her eyes in exasperation. Since she put the metal down, Dib could finally tell that the mass was Mimi.

"Okay, so uh, you need a blanket or something? I know you don't need sleep but-"

"No," she said bluntly, "get out. I have things to do."

Dib let the interruption load in his brain for a moment before backing away. Despite her being shorter than him, he was still pretty intimidated by her, and she probably wouldn't hesitate to shut him up manually. "Just let me know if you need anything."

She glanced at him for a moment, and he could basically feel the hate in her expression. Dib took this as his que to leave. He walked backwards to the shed door and half-heartedly waved, before he turned around and left her alone.

《Thanks for reading! Reviews are mega appreciated and I would like to thank Katra21 and c00kiemonster2000 for helping me out! They're both amazing people with fics of their own so please give them a look!!》