(A/N: HEY, GAIS! Hope that last chapter was enough to hold you over whilst I was busy with...life. Also that recent one-shot. Really didn't mean for this to take this long, but y'know. Thanks as always for stickin' around and prepare for plenty of italics.)

Ch. 58: Some Time Apart

Summary: Feeling pressured by Dib, Zim aims to execute his latest plan without Tak's help.

"...after that day, I never wore contacts again. Now, children, as we wrap up for the week, I have yet another exciting announcement," Ms. Bitters said with her usual enthusiasm. "The principal has finally convinced Professor Membrane to visit us."

"H—"

"YES, Dib, we know he's your dad, zip it. On Monday, we'll assemble in the auditorium for the live filming of the professor's show. He'll be picking volunteers, so come with your heads screwed on tight. It'll be a big day for everyone involved and if anything, ANYTHING goes awry, it could spell the end of his career, and thus the downfall of mankind."

A mischievous grin spread across Zim's face; no way would he pass up such an opportunity. He turned to Dib, hoping to bask in his misery, but he looked...so chill. His posture was relaxed and he was almost smiling...
Something was wrong. DEEPLY wrong.

The Irken's dissatisfied glare followed Dib as the bell rang and the students began leaving for the weekend.

"Oh, almost forgot. Tak, it's your day to clean the erasers," Ms. Bitters added before faceplanting onto her desk.

"Again?" Tak reluctantly carried the erasers outside. "When are we gonna get some whiteboards in this madhouse...?"

Meanwhile, Zim sped out of the classroom in a huff. "Hey, Dib!"

"Zim?" The human faced him. "What do you want?"

That just angered Zim more; Dib didn't even sound confrontational. "Whatcha smiling about?! Did you win an award for, uh, for..."

"..."

"...win an award for world's most annoying face?! HA, that was good."

"No, Zim, I'm just in a pleasant mood."

"Oh, really?! Sure you're not feeling worried? Worried that your rich, famous, powerful daddy is practically going to be gift-wrapped for me to use against you?!"

"Not at all," Suppressing a chuckle, Dib folded his hands behind his head like some sorta anime boy. "I get the feeling Monday'll be smooth sailing."

"RRRGH, how come?!"

"Well, to put it bluntly, it's because you've been more concerned with Tak than any of your evil activity. Because every time I check in on your base, what do I find? Just more of you two fighting. And kissing. And kissing while fightin—"

"FIRST of all, Dib, I don't know what authority YOU have on the matter; at least I have someone to kiss/fight with!" Zim scoffed. "Secondly, I still do evil things all the time! With Tak!"

"Then the last time either of you tried to conquer mankind, or even destroy me was...what?" came Dib's smug inquiry. "Nine days ago?"

"Ten, actually."

"OH, you keep track?"

"I do, yes. What's your point?!"

"My point is I'm pretty sure that's a new record."

"So?!" Zim fiddled with the edge of his tunic. "I was just tired last week."

"You've sure been slacking. I bet you don't even have an evil scheme prepared for my dad!"

"I DO!" the Irken insisted. "I do, it's fully formulated in my brain right now! And come Monday, you will shed scalding tears of failure...!"

"Yeah," chortled Dib. "You can put that on clearance, 'cause I'm not buying it."

Squinting, Zim watched his rival turn and leave, then smacked himself in the face.

"'World's biggest head award', that's what I should've said!"

The longer he stood there amidst the lockers and endlessly chatty students, the more terrible, worrisome thoughts clouded Zim's mind...

Tak sat contentedly on a picnic blanket in the living room. "Zim dear, hasn't it been great just staying here at home, waltzing and feeding each other this fancy chocolate pie? Why, I'm about to go defrost another!"

*audience laughter*

"Of course, darling. There's nothing I'd rather be doing. But I can't help but feel like we've forgotten something...important," Zim mulled this over before hearing a bell chime. "HARK! There is someone at the door! Don't go anywhere, sugarlumps~!"

*excited audience sounds of investment*

Whistling, Zim strolled over and opened the door. "Oh, Dib! What an unpleasant surprise! And, my, how you've grown!"

*audience booing*

"Zim, I'm 27 years old! While you were here with Tak, I became immortal, cured all diseases plaguing humanity, and proved the existence of aliens!" Dib rattled off. "Now the cops are on their way to blow you up, and they're taking ALL the pie!"

*audience gasping*

"NOOOOOOO!"

Zim shuddered, and gave himself a few knocks to the forehead. He was overcome by this trapped feeling...he couldn't let those cops get their filthy hands on his pie, but he was unsure how to avoid the eventuality.
All he could think to do was keep Tak out of the loop with Membrane, THEN, once he was sure the planet's demise was in the bag, they'd proceed together. It'd just be a brief intermission in their saga. No big deal, right? RIGHT?

"Hey, Zim!" Tak called from behind him.

"Here she comes. Just look her in the eye and say...wait, what do I say? I can't tell her the truth! Ah, I'll soften the blow using some human excuse! It's for the greater evil; be strong, Zim!" He took a deep breath, and turned to face her.

"Sorry for the wait—whoops," Tak went to pet him, but shook off the chalk dust first. "Blegh. Listen, you won't believe what happened outside. This wa of wa was wawa, wawawa, and wawa wawa wawawa..."

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together
Brighter than a lucky penny, when you're near the rain goes, disappears, dear, and I feel so fine
Just to know that you are mine
My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, that's how this refrain goes, so come on, join in, everybody
Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, everything that's wonderful is sure to come your way
When you're in love to stay~

"...Zim? You listening?" Tak snapped her fingers. "Zim!"

"WHAT, WHAT?!" he blurted, regaining his senses. "Where...was I just now?"

"Wherever you were, you were singing Lesley Gore to yourself, with that far-off, glassy-eyed look."

"Again?!"

"Yeah. But anyway, back to my story with the erasers, and the zombies, and..."

"Actually, there's something I must tell you!" Zim began, trying to stand as tall as he could. "Whilst looking you in the eye!"

Tak crossed her arms. "What is it?"

"It's just..." Pain built up in Zim's spine. "It's not you, it's me!"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you deserve the chance to see other people! Y'know?"

"No."

"PLEASE," Zim averted his eyes. "Don't make this any harder for me!"

"What?"

"Tak. I have the crab."

"..."

"I just think we should take a short break from each other...!" Zim strained out; he had to lean against the lockers to keep standing stretched like that. "Short like 3 days, what do you say?"

Tak blinked. "Okay."

"'OKAY'?" Zim nearly collapsed.

"Okay. That sounds reasonable. Know of any good hotels?"

"NO, NO! You can stay in the house, I shall forge a temporary base in the backyard!" he insisted.

"Seems fair..."

His backbone crumpled, Zim turned to leave. "So while you take our usual route home, I'll take the long way! By myself! Alone...!"

"Zim, wait." Tak spun him back around, and he looked like he might faint beneath her gaze. After a tense pause, she put on a despaired voice. "Don't I get a parting kiss?"

"W-WELL, Tak, uhhh, I mean, the crab and whatnot..."

"Oh, I understand," she prodded the side of her face. "Just on the cheek?"

"..." Zim hastily kissed it and fled, before he could deviate from his plan. "THANKYOUFAREWELL."

"Buh-bye, see you in 72 hours," Tak waved after him, watching him scurry out of the Skool. "He's gone absolutely bonkers."

Beginning her own trip home, she remained curious about Zim's sudden lone wolf act, but since he refused to come clean about it, she opted to play along and see how it went; he had a habit of making up for these things, after all.
But it was a shame he didn't have better timing, because she'd just been thinking of taking GIR and Mimi up on that "double date/delicatessen robbery" offer of theirs. Oh, well.

XXXXXXXLATERXXXXXXX

That weekend, it started raining. Hard. But Zim adamantly remained under his tent in the backyard. Tak, GIR and MiMi stared at it through a window as the wind picked up.

"Why won't Master come in?" whined GIR. "I forget what he looks like!"

"I dunno," Tak shrugged. "Outside is just where he wants to be right now."

"Nuh-uh, he hates outside! Why'd you DO THIS to him?!" GIR hung onto MiMi for support.

"Don't give me those scrunched up faces! You really think I'm that cruel, eh?"

"Yes!" said GIR.
MiMi seemed ready to object, but then nodded in agreement.

Tak heaved a sigh. "Look, Zim's great. Light of my life and yadda yadda, but he's also loony. We all know this, and I can assure you, he was very insistent about this little separation...I'll see if I can get him to change his mind. Ahem! Minimoo—AIYEEEE!"

"Nyah!" squeaked Minimoose, who was right beside her the whole time.

"Don't DO that...!" Tak scolded him. "I want you to take Zim some snacks and try to find out what he's up to. Discreetly...wait, are you waterproof? Never mind, just go. And don't mention it was my idea."

The robot moose floated over to the freezer and grabbed a random box for Zim.
He flew out the backdoor, into the wind and rain, and through the tent flaps. Within, he found Zim in a miserable state, curled up with some papers and lab materials surrounding him. Upon Minimoose's arrival, he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Minimoose! You're waterproof? Never mind, why are you here?" Zim took the box from his nubs. "Ohh, you brought snacks. How thoughtful of you..."

"Ny—"

"SO! What's going on with Tak? Has she said anything about me? Is she still devastated? Actually, don't tell me!...but IS she...?! NO! I don't want to know! All I want to know right now is how to defame Dib's dad! I'll show that human! I'll show his entire pestiferous race! Now GET OUT, I need to conserve my energy," gritting his teeth, Zim wrapped his arms around his torso. "AAGH, MY CRINKLED SPINE! LEAVE ME BEEE!"

"Nyah!" Minimoose turned and floated away. Once back inside, he relayed everything to Tak.

"Dib's dad? What's he got to do with this?" she queried. "Hmm...Dib..."

Back outside, the guilt-riddled Zim kept trying to concentrate on his plan. "Maybe these snacks from Minimoose will help...'Grillsbury-brand piggies in a blanket'?! Well...I could eat the bread off them..."

BAKOOM!

At the flash of lightning and bang of thunder, the gusts outside rattled his tent and the rain sprayed its way in, soaking everything.

"NOOO! MY FORTRESS!" Zim sprang up and held the tent together in desperation. "RRGH...! Perhaps, if I went inside, I could g—"
He slapped himself.
"YOU FOOL! If you go in, Tak will get involved and distract you from the plan, just as the Dib foretold...! But what does he know?! It's not like stepping in for a brief visit would hur—"
SLAP!
"No, no, NO! I won't even consider it!"
SLAP!
"Starting now!"

He stubbornly pulled up his stockings, applied a fresh coat of paste, and got back to "work".

XXXXXXXBACKINSKOOLXXXXXXX

By Monday, it was STILL raining, so the Skool had one of those lame indoor recesses, in the cafeteria. The students were all lazing around playing board games and hangman, with the big assembly nearly upon them.
In a rare turn of events, things were actually going well for Dib, who was totally undefeated at chess for his past 30 rounds and feeling rather smug about it.

"Come on, people! I've gotta lose eventually!" The scythe-haired boy tossed a stick of gum in his mouth. "Here, I'll bet 50 bucks on it!"

Doing his best to look intimidating, Zim approached and sat across from. But his best wasn't very good at all considering he was still all frazzled and hunched over. "Keep your monies, human! Zim has only come to see if your mortal terror is finally setting in!"

"At least play if you're gonna sit here, man," Dib said nonchalantly.

"Urgh, fine!" Zim flicked one of the pawns at random. "Now! I have my plan figured out, it's almost time for the broadcast, humanity's well-being hangs by a thread, and I am wielding the safety scissors. Whatcha gon' do 'bout it, HMM?"

"Nothing. I'm going to do nothing, Zim. Even if you do have this great, planet-dooming idea, you're clearly in no condition to pull it off."

"Why's that?!"

"Seriously? You're so out of it, you've had your wig on backwards all day," Dib slid Zim's piece back to its original position. "Also, you can't move pawns like that."

"FFFFFF!" Zim adjusted his wig in frustration. "You just mark my words, I am coming for your dad! I'll secure my triumph before this day is out...then we'll see who's the prawn!"

"Pawn."

"SAME DIFFERENCE!" With that, Zim hobbled away from his rival, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Smirking after him, Dib looked back at the gameboard to find Tak seated across from him. "AGH! Almost swallowed my gum...! I-I mean, what do you want, Tak?"

"What do you think?" she asked sourly.

"Um..." Dib pushed all violent thoughts out of his mind, lest he give her any ideas. "A chess match?"

"Fine, then." Tak stiffly moved one of the pawns; unlike Zim, she seemed to know what she was doing.

As the two played on, and Dib struggled more and more to think of counters for her moves.
He took longer and longer.
He got sweatier and sweatier.

"Uh, I think we're at a stalemate," he eventually said.

"Maybe. But I think we both know I didn't come to play games anyway," Tak replied in a cold tone. "You saw Zim. That's the result of him spending his weekend outside in a flimsy tent with only nervous breakdowns to keep him company."

"Really?" Dib scratched at his hair. "H-How'd that happen?"

"You're an even worse liar than he is. I know he's been avoiding me because of you. You put it in his head that he had to, for his plan with your father to succeed...BUT Zim is paranoid enough without you slandering me, and I don't appreciate you 'jacking it up', so to speak. I don't appreciate it at all."

The board clattered slightly as Tak strode off, leaving Dib with a twinge of disquiet. Suddenly, his gum had lost all its flavor. He sank in his chair as his sister sat across from him.

"Hola, variola."

"What do you want, Gaz?"

"Chess happens to be one of the few non-electronic games I'm good at," she cracked her knuckles. "So, what's all the sweat for today?"

"I don't know what to do! Zim's targeting Dad and I can't get let him get away with it! But if I stop him, he might go completely off the deep end, which Tak'll blame on me! And I do NOT need that kind of heat on me!" he explained, perturbed. "All that, plus I want my 5 minutes of fame, y'know!"

"Of course," Gaz murmured, studying the board. "If I were you—bluh—I'd focus on keeping Tak's rage at bay. In this sorry state, Zim's sure to fail all on his own, and since he's no threat to Dad, all you have to do is make him feel like one."

"Hmm," Dib sat up. "You might be onto something..."

"'Might', he says." In a single move, Gaz had claimed Dib's king. "Checkmate. Cough up the 50 bucks."

Grumbling, Dib dug into his pocket. "Dang hubris."

XXXXXXXSHOWTIMEXXXXXXX

"Welcome to a very special episode of Probing the Membrane of Science, broadcasting live from the local Skool! Now, welcome your host: the inventor of Super Toast, the hover chair, the internet, holo-soup, virtual pets, hypno-rings, anti-bacterial..."

As the announcer went on listing accomplishments, Tak scanned the crowd for Zim.
"Where is that nimrod? I've gotta at least try to stop him from embarrassing himself...or worse...hey, you, with the punchable face!"

Keef walked up, snacking on some popcorn. "Me?"

"Who else? Have you seen Zim?"

"Hmm, nah," Keef shut his eyes in concentration. "But my Zim Sense says he's...over thataway."

"Well, I'll be darned." Once Tak spotted him, she glanced at the bag in Keef's hand. "Where'd you get popcorn?"

"Oh, I brought this from home."

"...gimme that," Tak snatched the popcorn and made a beeline for Zim through the auditorium. She slunk beside him, doing her best to look charming. "Hey, guy. How're you getting along?"

"HUH?" Zim wasn't aware his voice could get that high. "Uh, uh..."

"Great, good to hear it. So! I'll bet you've got an amazing plan to bring down the professor, eh?"

"I do," Zim cleared his throat and tried to straighten up. "I'm...glad you'll be here to witness it."

"Me too," Tak dug into her bag. "I'd ask how I could help you out, but then again, the 72 hours aren't up quite yet, so your personal world domination schemes are none of my business."

Zim frowned. "Well, I'll at least tell you what it is, if you really want to know. You're my partner!"

"Am I now?" Tak fake-gasped. "Zim, I had no idea you felt that way about me. Suddenly it all makes sense!"

"RRRGH, very cute! This is hard enough without you being snark—OW!" he winced as Tak pinched his cheek.

"Come on, it's only fair I get MY turn to be ridiculous," she reasoned. "I know this weekend wasn't fun for you...it was pretty cruddy for me, too. This 'break' hasn't done either of us any good, so why not end it?"

"BECAUSE...!" Zim glanced over at Dib, who was losing another 50 bucks to Torque Smackey in exchange for a seat atop his shoulders, then back at Tak, who wore an unreadable expression. "Uhh, because you know how strict I am about schedules! I-I can't say 72 hours and then only do it for 71, that'd throw the entire rest of my life off!"

"You're really strapped for excuses, aren't you? Seriously, Zim, you smell like outside."

"I think it gives me character!" Zim focused back on the stage. "Now if you'll excuse me!"

Tak merely rolled her eyes. Nobody could say she didn't try.

"...anti-AT fields, coonskin caps, snowballs, and the spy cameras in all our laptops!" the announcer finally finished. "The illustrious Professor Membrane!"

The auditorium filled with applause as the professor appeared onstage and took the microphone from its stand.

"Good afternoon, students! Today, I'll gracing your young, undeveloped minds with 3, count 'em, 3 mind-boggling feats of experimentation! That means I'll need 3 volunteers, so who wants to scratch that scientific itch?"

"ME! DAD, PICK ME!" called Dib. "ME! DAD! I'M RIGHT HEEERE!"

"Come now, do it for your Skool!" Prof. Membrane encouraged everyone.

Aside from Dib's screeching (which fell on deaf ears), the audience was still unresponsive.

"You'll get to be on TV," the professor reminded them. "...alright, if no one's going to volunteer, I'll just decide the old-fashioned way. Ahem. FLY, MY PRETTIES, FLY!"

Three of the camera drones hovering around the auditorium sprouted claws and swooped down into the crowd.
First, one grabbed Keef by his collar, which he of course didn't mind.

"Volunteer acquired," it said.

"YES!" Dib rejoiced as the next drone plucked him up...only to toss him aside and take Torque instead. "NO!"

"Volunteer acquired," it said.

"...oh yeah, I'm supposed to do the thing," Zim quit staring into space, and leapt up just in time to yank the third drone from overhead. "ME, ME, ME! CARRY ME UP THERE!"

"Okay, okay, just don't hurt me!" it pled.

"AHA, I'm about to be on TV!" Zim gasped. "How do I look?"

Tak quickly fixed his wig, which he had on sideways. "Very dapper."

"Thank you!"
Zim rode the drone to the stage, where Prof. Membrane shook each student's hand. He had a REALLY firm handshake.
"Oh. Greetings...Mister...Dib's dad."

"That's Professor Mr. Dib's dad to you!" he chortled. "Now! Are you three ready for some SCIENCE?!"

"YEAUH!" exclaimed Keef.

"Meh," went Torque.

"Yes," uttered Zim.

"Nice variety of enthusiasm, children!"

As the curtain behind them opened up, Zim felt the pressure set in. He didn't expect it to be this bad, but all eyes really were on him. Not just Dib's, Tak's, or the Skool's, but the eyes of practically the whole world. He tried his best to keep it together.

Prof. Membrane led Keef to his first table, which hosted a paper mache volcano. "See this volcano my intern made?"

"Golly! Does it spew real lava?!"

"HAHAHAHAHA! Nooo, this volcano is lined with baking soda, and here I have a cup of distilled vinegar. Now, what do you think will happen when you empty it into the volcano?"

"...um—"

"A chemical reaction will occur! Go on, show us!"

"..." Even Keef couldn't muster any excitement as he poured the vinegar in. He stared blankly as it fizzed over.

"APPLAUD!" barked the announcer, and the audience complied.

"Fascinating, wasn't that? And over here, my intern has created some oobleck (trademarked), the properties of which my next volunteer will demonstrate!" Prof. Membrane held the microphone towards Torque, who stood at the middle table. "Any questions before we begin, little boy?"

"Yeah, I'm wondering what kind of sick blackmail this school has on you to not only convince you to film here, but do this 2nd grade science fair-style show in front of the entire world. Because everything from the rushed nature of this production to your clear reluctance to participate screams to me that the principal must have a metaphorical gun held to your head and this is all for the sake of appeasing him in some twisted cover-up scheme."

"..."

"Also, the Wicked Witch never said 'fly, my pretties, fly'."

"Just touch the goop, kid."

"Okay, sure." Torque dug into the bowl before him and played with the magic mud; it hardened with friction, but liquified when idle.

"BE IMPRESSED!" commanded the announcer.

"BRRRILLIANT!" someone screamed through the applause.

"Yes, I know, I know," the professor strolled over Zim's way. "And lastly, guess what we're going to make for the finale, familiar-looking green child."

"Mustard gas?"

"Ohhh, nooo," Prof. Membrane shook his head rapidly, then gestured to a pair of half-full jars on the table. "We're going to make the one thing my intern couldn't: a mixture of water and oil! Also known as 'woil'."

"HAHAHAHA! What, water and oil?!" cackled Zim. "What kind of hack scientist are you? Don't you know that oil is a hydrophobe?"

"Yes! But I can fix that, with a little something called an emulsifier!"

"Wwwhich is?"

"Not sure. But I created this pellet that should create the same effect!" The professor picked something resembling a pearl from his pocket and dropped it into the water jar. "Go ahead and mix them together while I share a message with the people."

Grimacingly, Zim emptied the oil jar into the other and began shaking it.

"See, I decided to do this experiment so I could show you all that no matter the arbitrary struggles they face, no 2 substances should be kept apart. You know, all relationships come with trials and tribulations, but 2 liquids that care about each other shouldn't let a little thing like hydrophobia stand in their way. Most of you may be too young to understa—"

"ALRIGHT, I GET IT! I mean, it's done, I think," Zim said, out of breath.

"Ah. Behold!" Prof. Membrane held up the perfectly blended jar. "Woil! Perfect for removing pet stains!"

"'OOH' AND 'AHH' IN AMAZEMENT!" yelled the announcer.

"Oooh! Ahhh!" went the audience.

"Thank you, my verdurous friend; here, keep this woil as a souvenir," the professor gave Zim the jar, then strode past him. "Thus ends our special show! I hope it satisfied your desires and..."

The Irken glared intensely at him as he continued his outro. He couldn't miss his chance to end this man's whole career! So it was time for his master plan...
Prior to the assembly, Zim had suspended a bucket of rainwater high above the stage, as his research had uncovered that Membrane only ever wore "dry clean only" outfits! All he had to do was activate the mechanism to dump it, and the professor's lab coat would squeeze him like a sausage right there on live TV! HUMILIATION SUPREME.

Reaching around behind him, Zim found the pulley to drop the water. He tugged it, and hoped for the best.

CLA-ANK!

"That didn't sound right..." he thought. Zim looked up to see the bucket itself plummeting towards the professor. The empty bucket. "Dangit, knew I forgot something."

The tin bucket picked up speed as it fell, until it finally struck Membrane in his...hair.
That zig-zag he called a hairdo was rather solid, so the bucket just bounced off it and awkwardly rolled away. He was so caught up in his speech that he didn't even notice, so everyone watching ignored it.

Well, besides Dib, whose jaw dropped, Tak, who tried to bury herself in her popcorn, and of course Zim, who was the only one of them experiencing firsthand embarrassment instead of secondhand.

"Let's close out the show with a little karaoke! HIT IT!" At the professor's cue, music erupted from the stage. "WE'RE NO STRANGERS TO LOOOVE..."

"YOU KNOW THE RULES AND SO DO I," the rest of the auditorium joined in. "A FULL COMMITMENT'S WHAT I'M THINKING OF, YOU WOULDN'T GET THIS FROM ANY OTHER GUY..."

Disheartened, Zim dragged his feet off the stage, only for Dib to confront him.
"Hmph. What do YOU want...?"

"Uhh, uh, Zim! I-I can't believe you did it!"

"Did what?"

"Ruined my dad's reputation!" Dib said like it was obvious. "A bucket to the head is the supreme humiliation among humans! Now that he's been 'bucketed', as we say, the intellectuals of the world will never take him seriously again!"

"Heh, really?" Zim perked up. "So...I've brought about the fall of mankind?"

"Yeah, in a domino effect sort of way!" Dib fake-sobbed and dropped to his knees. "It's all OVER...!"

"HHHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! That's RIGHT! I told you it'd be a success!" Zim opened his jar of woil and manically doused the human with it. "I TOLD YOUUU! HA, IN YOUR FACE! HAHAHAHAAA!"

"OUGH!" Dib groaned as Zim kicked him in the side and scampered off. "And I live to suffer another day..."

Having witnessed the exchange from a distance, Tak was somewhat bewildered. She couldn't exactly pin down Dib's intent...but so what! She didn't care so long as Zim was back to his old self.

"Tak, Tak, Tak!" he came racing towards her.

"Hey!" she greeted fondly. "Congrats on th—oh!"

"FORGET THAT!" Zim threw his arms around her, lifting her up momentarily. "Forget about Dib, forget my ingenious plan, forget everything else! I-It was all for YOU, anyway! To make everything up to you and return to your dear, precious arms a better Zim than when I left them! So I could show what I'm willing to put myself THROUGH FOR YOU AND—"

"OKAY!" Pink in the face, Tak nudged him off. "Haha, ease up, Zim. I'm real proud of you and whatever, but people are starting to stare...!"

"As they should!" Zim clung to her arm. "Now let's get the hades out of here and do something together!"

"Sure, sure! Just settle down..." Tak exchanged a grin with him, then kissed his cheek. "And let's stop at home to get GIR and MiMi first, because I saw this nice delicatessen the other day..."

"NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP, NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN, NEVER GONNA RUN AROUND AND DESERT YOU," everyone was still singing. "NEVER GONNA MAKE YOU CRY, NEVER GONNA SAY GOODBYE, NEVER GONNA TELL A LIE AND HURT YOUUU!"

"The nerve of this song, mocking me," Zim remarked, leaving hand in hand with Tak. "Good thing it'll be destroyed along with humanity! In other good news, my back's straightened out!"

XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX

The Skool principal sat in his office, monitoring Membrane's festivities with immense satisfaction. He turned to his associates. "He's done it. Burn the page."

"But sir, this page holds the secret to Membrane's impervious hair! If released to the public, it could change everything!"

"BURN IT."

(A/N: Phew...this chapter was weird. But as an info nugget, I'll tell ya it could've been even weirder. Instead of the hair secret, the principal was gonna burn Membrane's receipts from a furry market. Sooo now you know what kinda things run through my mind.
Thanks for reading, hope you liked it, y'all know the drill, please review, fave, follow, check for mistakes, blah-de-blah, and I shall see you next time. Buh-bye!)