Hey there peoples! It's 6:12 AM here, and boy, I woke up at 4:40! YAY!

Okay, sorry about that, I'm a bit hyper. Okay, more than a bit, and skool starts in like an hour. Here I am at my dad's house, wishing I could be sick, because I have to present something today. Would you believe that at my skool, we get projects in PE? I think they're all crazy, but I can do nothing about it.

Anyways, I am going to respond to Apoctawazzit DOOM's review.

To Apoctawazzit DOOM,

I completely agree with you, and I really don't know what got into to write that chapter like that. I myself am rather sickened, 'cause I didn't like that either. I don't think that Zim would react that way, or care really, but...*shrugs*. I'll start off with a completely different plot, but then it will change, for my mind wanders often. I don't know why, but once again, I am sorry.

Also, thank you for the critique. I really will try to keep Zim as IC as possible, but this is a girl Zim, who isn't an adult yet. Personalities do change, you know, and I promise that her's will, just wait a bit. I'm not going to delve into the past too much, although I do know of it, but basically I don't want this to be that long. However, I might just do that anyways. Frankly, I have no clue.

Okay, everyone, I really enjoy well-rounded critiques, and will take them with open arms. But no flames.

*gives reviewers cheeses and flu viruses* YAY! Now, this chapter's presents are... *drum roll*

*more drumming*

*more drumming...damn, I love drumming*

*just a bit more*

OKAY! The presents for today are humiliated sausages (makes no sense, I know...well, you'll know what it is if you've ever read 'Never Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head.) and chicken statues with red, glowing eyes! o_O... Umm, okay... Yeah, I am really hyper...maybe by eating something I will calm down? I don't know. But I'm going to go eat some breakfast now.

~Elyzabeth (my friend likes finding different ways to spell names. I will now spell my name, Elizabeth, like that. Because I can.)

WOW! This author's note took up a WHOLE PAGE! And now I'm wasting even more space! Go me!

* * *

A C+ was written on top of the finished test paper. Her best grade ever.

Zim sighed in satisfaction and exhaustion. She had awoken that day when the wake-up bell had tolled at dawn. She had stayed up quite late the night before, and had lain in her hospital bed half-awake for a good forty minutes before Nyanai had come with breakfast, which was an assortment of fresh fruits. Quite a treat, considering how hard it was to grow crops on a desert planet where the farmers are too afraid to get near water.

She had eaten it slowly despite her hunger. Hey, eating through a needle in one's wrist certainly did leave you with an appetite! But she had eaten it slowly, savoring the rich taste, loving to lick the remaining juices from her fingers. When she was done, Nyanai and her and chatted aimlessly about this and that, nothing note-worthy, just to pass the time.

Then, without a word, Nyanai went to the stack of papers on the table and brought them to the bed, ordering her daughter to get her work done. Zim, being the dedicated student she was, did this without complaint. After a while, Nyanai noticed just how effortlessly Zim was completing her work, so then she decided that they could talk a bit more. They began a heated discussion about the rumors surrounding the Tallest. There were many, courtesy of tabloid newspapers. Most said that the reason why one of the Tallests hadn't killed the other for the sake of power was because they were a couple. Others argued that they were brothers and that would be sick. Some just said that they were good friends. No one was sure, and the Tallests wouldn't speak on the matter. After only a small amount of time, Zim had finished her work and promptly collapsed. Laughing softly, Nyanai had turned in the work to Pelle, who graded the test immediately and put off the rest for later. Nyanai had smiled when she saw the 'C+' on the test, for she knew that this was Zim's best grade yet. She went back to her ward to wait for Zim to awake, occupying herself by attempting to make a castle out of eating utensils. After it collapsed and they all clattered to the ground for the umpteenth time, she gave up and began to sift through school records, just for the hell of it. Well, actually just to get some dirt on the fellow staff members.

Zim finally awoke, an hour later, to be greeted by her mother glowing with pride and profusely congratulating her. Zim smiled happily and accepted the congratulations rather shyly. To this, Nyanai had said that Zim needed her self-esteem raised.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Zim inquired, rather incredulously.

Nyanai simply said, "By getting you a friend." And with that, she had left -there was work to be done-, leaving Zim quite confused as to how /that/ could happen in her wake.

Zim just shrugged and lay back down. She stared at the ceiling, absent- mindedly twirling her antennae in her fingers. After a while, despite the fact she had napped only a little earlier, she became tired. After a few minutes of struggling to stay awake, her eyes fluttered shut, and she fell into a peaceful slumber dreaming of becoming the Almighty Tallest someday.

* * *

"Hi. I'm Tak. Umm, yeah. That's it." The proud-looking, violet-eyed girl said.

Pelle just pointed to a spare seat, and Zim realized that it was right next to hers. Zim hoped beyond hope that her and Tak would get along. She didn't need any other enemies at the time being, especially since it would be hard to defend herself with her stronger arm broken.

Tak nodded and strode quickly to the seat, her head held high, not even glancing at Zim. Zim decided to take the initiative. Ignoring the teacher, she leaned towards Tak, who narrowed her eyes and glared at her.

"Hi, Tak," Greeted Zim, "I'm Zim." She was being as friendly as possible, considering she'd never even /had/ a friend.

Tak growled softly, looking suspicious. "Hello." She said slowly, carefully, not sounding friendly in the least. Zim was taken aback, sighed miserably, and began to take notes. It didn't seem like she'd ever get a friend. Oh well, once a loner, always a loner. Whatever. It's a life, at the least.

Tak, however, was currently suffering with an old inner conflict. 'There were so many times when Irkens would become my friend, make me trust them...but then they would tell all my secrets!...How can I trust any one any more? But this girl seemed so nice! What if I'm turning down a once- in-a-lifetime-chance? What if she meant it... But what if she was like all my other /friends/? What would I do...?' She sighed, which turned into a groan. Zim looked at her, concern written on her face. Tak ignored her, still deep within her own mind, still in her inner conversation. She placed her head in her hands, suddenly thinking of the irony of this gesture. She had vowed long ago to always hold her head high, to look confident when she couldn't be it. Pathetic, she knew. But she at least didn't want to /look/ pathetic. Yes, she was a bit of a loser. But she was certainly ambitious, and was a high-achiever. And she was smart. Definitely a plus. However, at the moment, she was the shortest person in the class, shorter than Zim even! And, not only did Irkens make fun of her for that, but they called her a 'geek'. Eh, life was cruel. But whatever, Tak was strong, smart, and determined, destined, or at least hoping to become, an Invader. She smiled, day dreaming about taking over Meekrob and destroying the sworn-arch-enemies of the Irken Empire. A day dream she often revisited.

Zim was staring at Tak, stifling her snickers as the line of drool reached to the filthy red --now almost brown due to the build-up of dirt-- desk. Somehow, she liked this girl already, in spite of her suspiciousness and unfriendliness. Finally she laughed out loud, getting a silencing glare from the teacher and shocking Tak out of her fantasizing. Startled, Tak pivoted her head back and forth quickly, looking for the source. This merely made Zim laugh again; Tak was just /too/ amusing. Tak turned towards the cackling Zim and became flustered.

"WHAT?!" She shrieked, "What's so-"

"TAK! ZIM!" Pelle roared, and in her anger smashing her electronic holo- board pen in her fist. "You two have detention."

Tak and Zim groaned and glared at each other, Tak flustered because she was in trouble, Zim because she had been laughing so much. Zim regarded Tak almost bemusedly for a moment before taking turning back to the screen on her notebook, taking up her electronic pen, and beginning to listen to the teacher and write down what she was saying. However, she had missed most of it, for she was in her own reverie, she was day dreaming now. Tak could have sworn she heard her say, 'Mmm... World domination...,' but she couldn't be sure, for she herself was lost within her mind at the moment, once again.

* * *

In unison, Tak and Zim reached the door to Pelle's room. When Tak did nothing, Zim begrudgingly opened the door and walked in. Pelle was at the board, looking expectant. When they entered, she wasted no time.

"Now, there are two separate data bases on this board." She began, motioning to the two metal boxes that were the board's hard drives. "I want you girls to each take one, and begin deleting things that are over a year old. These boards are from two separate classes, yours and the Training classes, and they both have over fifteen years of data, each from every school day. There should be thousands of files to delete. You begin...NOW!" And with that, she retreated to her desk, and opened a magazine, immediately immersed in the articles.

They groaned simultaneously, and each went to a separate box, beginning to sift through the files. After about twenty minutes of this, they heard soft snoring, and when they turned around, they saw Pelle slumped over, drooling and twitching as she slept.

"Finally!" Exclaimed Zim, her look turning mischievous. Tak looked at her and cocked her antennae in puzzlement forgetting her suspicions. "Do you want to cause a bit of trouble?" The glint in her eyes was eager. Tak's eyes got that same glint as well, though not as bright, for it was mixed with puzzlement as well. Zim set to explaining her plans.

"You know that whatever you write on the board --which is really more like a computer screen, in a way-- gets saved onto the hard drives, which are these boxes?" Zim asked, looking more excited by the moment. Tak nodded. "Well, I know how to make a computer virus! And I can make one so that it'll jumble up all the words when she writes them on the board!" She was now more excited than ever, nearly jumping at the prospect of mischief, of annoying the hell out of their teacher.

Tak bit her lip worriedly. "But-but-but she'll know it was us! We're the last ones touching it! I don't want to risk it..."

"Don't worry." Zim said reassuringly. "There are lots of other Irkens who are serving this in detention, and since these computers are connected by a network..." She let the words hang, knowing she needn't explain it anymore. Tak's look matched Zim's, and she immediately agreed. Zim began the careful procedure mumbling bits and pieces to herself.

"Let's see...Network...security patch...uninstall...rip...sneak in...find more weaknesses...programs...Ooooh, what's this?...Open......DONE!" Zim smiled and sighed in self-satisfaction. She was proud of herself, but she knew she would have to cover her tracks thoroughly. So she did, erasing this saved moment from the computer's data base, swelling with pride with each passing second. Suddenly, the boxes and the board, along with all of them in the Academy, set off an alarm that seemed like it could wake the dead. With a startled yelp, Pelle awoke, Zim and Tak yelped in surprise as well. Screaming, the two young Irken girls ran to the door, trying to open it, but finding it locked. Zim recovered from the shock of the alarm, and used her not-so-great acting skills.

"Ohhh! Ohhh! What's HAPPENING?!" She exclaimed, actually quite good at looking panic-stricken. Indeed, she was quite surprised.

"There's a virus!" Pelle screamed back. She walked over to the computer, and shut it off to stop it's terrible screeching. "Who did this? Do you know?" Asked Pelle, advancing towards the two girls.

"How are we supposed to know?!" Exclaimed Tak, her right antenna waving forward in incredulity. "It just started SCREECHING!" She shrieked.

Pelle sighed. "I know... You're right, I shouldn't be asking you. You'd have no idea..." She shook her head slowly, looking at the girls, who were making themselves shake in fear and shock, their eyes wide. Actually, they were shocked; they hadn't anticipated the alarm, after all. "Well, I'm sure this has effected the rest of the Academy, considering that particular alarm only goes off if the entire Network has been tainted. I'm off to consult Eyen to ask him if he has any idea what type of virus this is, and if we can get rid of it..." With that, she left the room, leaving the two shell-shocked girls in her room.

They did nothing but stare at each other as they heard her footsteps and those of other frightened Irkens in the hallway. Once they died down, the two females broke down laughing, rolling on the ground and cackling. As they laughed, they howled out bits of what had just happened ("Did you see her FACE?! TO THE GODS!"). Tears were rolling down their deeply flushed cheeks as they remembered what had happened that day. After a while, they sat back-to-back, leaning on each other for support. This didn't last long, as in a matter of minutes, Zim had fallen forward, flat on her face. Laughing as Tak fell on her without the support. Her loud cackling made Tak cackle as well, and they broke into another fit of laughter. Finally, chests heaving as they gulped in the air, they got up and brushed themselves off, regarding each other bemusedly. Tak had lost all her suspicions about Zim. She believed this to be the beginning of a friendship, never to be torn apart. But what she didn't account for was that future circumstances could raise contempt...

For now, they smiled at each other, happy for a companion at last.

"Let's go get some lunch."

* * *

Lunch that day hadn't gone well. Taking advantage of the chaos that all the teachers were in, the students themselves caused a bit of their own. They ran rampant, some streaking just for the joyful, crazy hell of it. They threw food at each other, having no mercy. Some children were pelted with rotten fruit and other scrumptious items from the dumpster. In fact, there were many games of Truth or Dare, the no rules version, and many were told to eat things out of the dumpster, or other...things. These were teenagers; they would do anything.

Zim and Tak had ran all the way to the mess hall, but stopped in the doorway at the sight of the chaos ensuing. Bad idea. They were immediately pelted with an assortment of food. Zim was rather deflated, until she saw everyone else covered in food as well, laughing. It was just a game. Nothing personal. At this, Zim grabbed Tak's wrist and began to run, pulling a protesting Tak along behind her. Zim began to pelt things at others, and soon even Tak joined in the food fights.

"Hey, Zim! Tak! Come and play a game of Truth or Dare: No Limits with us!" Came a feminine voice. Zim and Tak turned towards the voice, Tak wiping a fruit off her face that was obscuring her vision. They saw one of their classmates, Reni, her dark evergreen eyes bright with happiness rarely seen in her. Among the group were: Eled, a witty, purple-eyed male who was always joking; Teala, a rather tall female with turquoise eyes and a sharp mind; Caden, a very strange, crimson-eyed male; Skoodge; and Aloius, a very tall --for that age, at least-- female with one lilac eye and one scarlet eye. Zim just now noticed that these --along with her and Tak-- were the freaks of class. The ones everyone made fun of. But now, maybe they wouldn't have to be so lonely. Looks like today was a good day, after all. Looks like this chaos and equality, that at least lasted for the moment, was just what some Irkens needed to gain the courage it took to take some risks.

"Okay, we'll play." Tak said, sitting down beside Caden. Zim sat down across from her. "Okay, who asks first?"

"I will!" Volunteered Caden. Now, who to be his victim? "Yo, girls! Uh, catch this!" With that, he searched the ground for something; he did, and it felt like a popsicle, and without looking at it, flung the lime-green object at Tak. it landed on her lap and she screamed.

"EEEEEW!" Zim shrieked, paling slightly, but then breaking into a fit of snickers. Tak wouldn't touch it; it certainly /wasn't/ a popsicle. Caden looked ill at the sight of what he touched, and immediately started screaming like a little girl, running around the circle of freaks and wiping his hands on their uniforms. Laughing, for the first any of them had heard, Aloius grabbed him by the shirt and lay him on the ground, placing his head in her lap. With a gentle, almost chaste smile on her face, she petted his antennae until he calmed down. It at first seemed like merely a stunt to calm his hyper-activity, and everyone was shocked when he stayed in her lap, even her. Zim looked ill. "Eeeeew!" Soon, Caden realized that Aloius had stopped petting him. He opened an eye, and when he did, Aloius pushed him off of her, growling.

"I did that to make you calm down, not to make you cozy!"

"Well, you coulda just pushed to the ground or something, 'cause that did make me cozy! Jeez... Well, let's resume our game, shall we?"

At that moment, however, a group of teachers came in. Before they had been walking to their rooms, but then they realized how late it was and had decided to go to check on the kids. All classes ended when lunch began, so lunch was a bit more like dinner, in a way. Lunch basically marked the end of a day, and the teachers remembered that no one had been there to ring the bell that told the students to go to their quarters. This is why the teachers had decided to check on them.

When the teachers came in, they were shocked, wide-eyed, and silent, just gazing at the chaos all around them. After a moment, the students noticed them, and they were silent as well, staring back. They recovered from shock, and all hell broke loose. Naked students were running around, searching frantically for their clothes. Teachers were screaming at the students, telling them to clean up, although nobody could be heard, for all the teachers were saying different things at once. Some nasty children took advantage of the chaos, and decided to throw food at other students, who in turn threw it back at them. The teachers were too busy to notice, instructing the girls and boys, more calmly now, to clean up, and to look for the missing uniforms. Punishment would come later.

Most students obeyed the teachers' command, trying not to get on their bad side. However, this did nothing for them; everyone already was on their bad side, and it would take a while for them to get off it. But, frankly, they had never partied before, and they liked it too much to just give it up. They would get in trouble if it meant that much fun. And, oh, it had been fun. However, they knew punishment wouldn't be.

* * *

Umm, okay. That was the longest chapter I've ever written.

IMPORTANT: I know, Tak is Zim's friend. But only for now. Things will happen, and Tak will try to take Zim's mission for revenge and stuff anyways, like in the show. Don't worry. I've got it under control. I think.