Chapter 2

Reaching the earth Skool, I had arrived very early. The doors to enter the place were not open, nor had the sun fully risen either. I sat down on the concrete steps, as Cypher curled around my feet. The silence and calm of the morning was making me paranoid, as it was not something I was used to. On Ceberos, it was never this quiet. There was always some kind of painful scream, or grinding sound, and you never slept because of it. Even when the place did fall silent, the sound from the torrential electric storms on the eternally dark outside would be so jarring that sleep was impossible. I had been trapped there for 10 years, a short sounding sentence here...but then humans never have created a place like that.

It was a prison ; one where no law ruled. If you were not well liked, you could be killed on a whim. Your life didn't matter if you didn't have a reputation in blood to back you up. And since I had been the only female there, I got the brunt of everyones anger. Id been beaten and cut so many times that I couldn't feel pain anymore. I was numb to any emotions other than Anger, Fear, and Revenge. If I had gone into that place with a spirit and soul that still felt compassion and love, and believed in the greater good, it sure as hell hadn't lasted long. Blood spilt there was as common as rain, and if you stepped into the main complex, you had to be ready to fight. And win, because if you didn't...well, there usually wasn't a next time. Id been lucky, if you could call it that.

I shook my head, remembering the Irken who had betrayed me. I remembered how I had felt when I had been about to complete my last mission, so close to killing the Tallest painlessly and being on with my new life. Then I saw his face in front of them, the barrel of his laser gun pointed at my heart. I had no suspicions, had trusted him completely, and all that time he had set me up. He had been their assistant, and I hadn't seen it. I froze in shock. My most trusted friend had shot me, paralyzing me so I couldn't fight, and sent me to a place worse than Hell. I learned my lesson then. Trust was a weapon to only be manipulated and avoided. Cypher whimpered as I curled my fists so hard that my claw like nails dug into my palms.

"Kai...your dwelling on the past again. Stop it."

"How could he?" The look in his midnight blue eyes had been so cold...Did he even care?

"Kai, stop it. Doing this almost killed you once. Leave the past in the past. You will be able to have your revenge sometime."

"That's the thing." I sighed, looking at the blood I had drawn from my hands. "I don't want my entire life to be revenge. I want things to be the way they were..."

Wiping my palms off on the grass beside me, I stood up and stared across the schoolyard. No others had arrived yet, but I had heard the doors unlock. Opening them, I stepped out of the morning sun and into the building, with Cypher close behind. I already knew where my locker was, and where my classroom was. Swinging open the door, I began to decorate it to my liking. The inside was already black, and since I could always fix it later, I decided to carve the my version of the lyrics of a song I had heard into the door. It had been the reason I noticed Earth, when I intercepted the signal. Letting a sharp, small yet lethal looking blade slide out of my hand, I began scratching in the words. No-one could see the blade, as the hologram cloaking me hid it.

It's not like you killed someone.

It's not like you drove a hateful spear into his side

Kill the one who left you broken down and paralyzed

He did it all to you.

Larx

Cypher shook her head dissaprovingly, as I scratched in a bloody rose beside it. Satisfied, I closed the door, electrifying it so that only I could open it, and walked towards the door of the classroom. As I expected, while I had been decorating, others had arrived. I got more than a few strange looks, and a blonde girl strode up to me.

"Well, look. Weve got another freak." She stood around my height, save about 11 inches, and had a selfish air about her. She looked down at Cypher.

"No pets allowed." She aimed her foot to kick her, and I quickly wrapped my hand around her throat.

"Touch her, or me, and die a painfull death. Clear?"

She nodded weakly, and I dropped her, walking through the now eeirie silence into my classroom with a black look on my face. Cypher stood for a while, then snarled at the girl before following me. My teacher looked up from her desk at me. My expression didnt even flicker.

"You must be Kai." She pointed with a clawlike hand to the second seat in the row of desks by the windows. "You can sit there. Its owner hasnt been showing up...what is that?" She turned her claw to Cypher, who was sitting obediently at my side.

"Cypher."

"No pets are a-" I caught her eyes, glaring intently with my own emerald and lime gaze, and she stopped. She nodded, giving me a wary look, and I sat down, Cypher curling up beside me. The class soon began filing in, two people standing out. One was a greenskinned boy in what appeared to be Irken uniform. This troubled me, but I tried not to pay much attention. The boy from earlier in the morning was also there, now standing at the door and pointing at me. The green kid also pointed, hopping up on the chair he was supposed to be sitting in.

"Who are you!"

"Dib, Zim, sit down. Class, this is our new student." She walked, or rather hovered over to me, grabbed my broken wrist, and dragged me to the front of the class. I winced slightly, but was determined not to show any kind of weakness.

"Ello there..." I smiled, speaking through my slightly pointed teeth. "Ill try to be nice, but-"

The green kid walked up to me, pointing. I stood much taller than him, but he didnt seem to care. He stuck his finger in my face.

"You will bow to Zim, earth-worm-girl!"

My smile instantateously turned predatory, showing my pointed teeth completely. He took a step back.

"My name is Kai. And I bow to no-one." I recognised that name from somewhere...ah, probably not important. I went to walk away, when Dib ran up to be and grabbed my broken wrist. Did all these creatures wish to die? As I began to hiss, he looked at his classmates.

"Whats this?" He jabbed his finger dangerously close to my interface, and wrenched my arm sideways. I hissed louder and hit him in the shoulder, knocking him sideways into the teachers desk, and wrenched my arm away.

"Its a watch. Just...a watch.' I looked around. "Any other questions?" Not surprisingly, no voice was heard. I walked back to my seat, smiling innocently, and looked around again. The whole room had fallen deathly quiet.

"Thats better..."