A/N: This is going So well! I've never written so many chapters in such a short amount of time! YAY! I've also realized something. The name "Byron" appears quite a lot in the text. So, I got an idea. Get a shot glass and a nice bottle of J&B and have a shot every time you read his name. When you're done, you'll probably leave a VERY interesting review. lol

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Chapter 4

LATE NIGHT CALLS

Byron tossed and turned in a fitful and listless sleep. Even in his sleep, the marvelous plan he was formulating bubbled and rolled in his mind much like an unattended teakettle on a stove that is far too hot. He started awake with a light gasp and sat straight up in his bed. His chest heaved and his hands shook with an almost uncontainable excitement.

His quivering lips pursed and he spoke in a hushed tone to himself, "I must call Tak! She'll be so please with how things are going!" He clapped his hands together in a childish glee and laughed to himself.

Ever since Tak had arrived at skool, Byron had been a close friend of hers. Even though it seemed she had her eyes on Dib, that was just an act. For some reason or another, the two had taken to one another like it was destiny. But I don't believe in destiny, so it was just chance. Even though Byron had known her secret all along, and Tak had known that he'd known, they were still hung out. And to your shock I'm sure, he had a hand in her attempt to conquer the Earth. But we know how that turned out. The day Tak "disappeared" Byron was almost heart-broken. She had been the only friend he'd ever really had and then suddenly, she was gone. But now Byron had access to the technology that could not only find Tak, but to talk to her!

He almost skipped over to the computer in his room. "Computer?" He whispered. "I need to speak with you, but please keep your voice down. I don't want to wake up Zim."

"What?"

"Can you locate the female Irken life form known as Tak?" He openly shook as he stood there and spoke with the computer.

"Scanning." Byron waited with bated breath in the silence of the room while the computer searched the universe for Tak's presence. "Life form found."

"Is she alive?" Byron asked.

"Yes. Would you like to communicate with Tak?"

Had he been Gir at that precise moment, Byron would have exploded into a smoldering, but ecstatic, pile of twisted robot scrap metal. "YES!" He yelled, loosing the control over his voice. He quickly slapped his hand across his mouth. "That would be great. Thank you."

"Your welcome. Connecting." The room was filled with a thick tension, almost like a fog, as he waited for the connection to come through. It felt like forever as the few moments it took were stretched out into eternity.

Suddenly, Tak appeared on the screen. She looked dirty and very disheveled. "What do you want, Zim? Come to gloat. I knew you'd … BYRON?" She gasped.

"Tak! Oh it's so good to see you again! I missed you SO much! … What happened to you?"

And so Tak told Byron of the battle that insured after their failed coup d'état and how she was now stranded in the Vetranda system and there was nothing, at the moment, that Byron could do at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Tak. I thought your plan would work."

"It's not your fault, By," She said. After they became close friends, Tak had taken to calling Byron "By" for short. He didn't necessarily like it, but he didn't hate it either.

"I don't want you to worry about anything else. I'm going to come get you as soon as I can."

"How are you going to pull that one off?" She laughed somewhat bitterly.

"I have a plan. But you're not going to like it."

"Why?"

"Because it involves me helping Zim take over the world," he said and then tensed for the almost guaranteed ass chewing that he'd receive from Tak. But it wasn't meant to be.

"I guess I can live with that. I trust your judgment, By. You'll do what you have to," Tak spoke with a clear sincerity. It would appear that Byron's newfound alliance with Zim didn't bother her quite as much as he'd anticipated.

He could here someone stirring outside his door and he knew if Zim caught him talking to Tak his plan would be ruined. He quickly turned back to the screen and said, "I have to go Tak. I will come for you. And when I do, the first thing I'll say is 'be very quiet, I'm hunting rabbits!' Just trust me. You'll understand when I see you. Bye."

She looked confusedly at him and quickly said, "Bye. I love…" But before she could finish, she was cut off.

Byron sat there shocked and just before the door opened, he said to the computer, "Please, not a word of this to Zim. Okay?"

"Fine!"

"Thanks," Byron said and walked over to the door. He looked out the door to see Gir running up and down the hallway. "Gir, what are you doing up?" He paused for a moment and said, "Right, stupid question. Robots don't have to sleep."

Before Gir could say anything, Byron closed the door and walked over to his duffel bag. He'd forgotten to unpack before he went to sleep. Since insomnia was gripping his mind, he figured now was as good a time as any to "set up shop" as they say. He hanged his clothes on a long wire that seemed to just appear out of nowhere. Probably the computer's doing. He put his shoebox of CD's and his stereo on the desk next to the computer port. And he attached the flag to the wall over his bed.

After all this was done, there was only one thing left; the cigar box. Byron sat down on his bed with the box in his lap and opened it. Inside was a small photo of his father and him spending the day at the beach. He'd been very little when this photo was taken and it was obvious that his father had dressed him. The little boy, no older than three, was dressed up like a little soldier. Looking at this filled Byron with so much hate. It just reminded him of how his father only loved him as long as he did just what HE wanted to do and how his entire childhood and adolescence had just been the time for his father to try to groom him into proverbial meat for the grinder.

He whipped the tears from his eyes and pulled a lighter out of his pocket. He set the picture on fire and tossed it to the floor. "Burn in hell, old man," Byron hissed to himself. After it had finally burned away to a twisted piece of melted plastic, he returned his attention to the box. All that was left inside was an old pocket watch and a few medals that all belonged to his late grandfather and two bags of the finest weed you could possibly get in that particular area of the city.

Byron was a firm supporter of herbal medicine and practiced it with much gusto. He quickly rolled a joint with the graceful expertise of nimble fingers that only comes from years of practice. Then, Byron pulled his lighter out again and set out on a quick journey to expand his mind and calm his nerves.

Meanwhile, in Zim's room, he'd just awakened from his nightly four hours of sustained rest and he decided to go on and update his Tallests on his progress. "COMPUTER! Connect me with the Massive!"

"INCOMING TRANSITION FROM EARTH!"

"Great," sighed Red.

"Tell him I'm not here, I'm sick or something," said Purple.

"Not again! Last time I had to sit here for twenty minutes assuring him that you weren't going to die and that I'd give you his 'get well' wishes. NEVER AGAIN!" Hollered Red. He grabbed Purple by the neck and slammed Purple down on the couch. Just then, Zim came into focus on the main viewing monitor.

"Greetings, my Tallests!" Zim saluted.

"Heeey there, Zim! What are you, uh, doing?" Red said unctuously.

"Yeah, how goes the invasion?" Purple chuckled.

"It goes well my Tallests. And may I say it fills my hearts with UNBEARABLE joy to see you well again my Tallest Purple!" Zim yelled.

"Uh, thank you, Zim. That's very nice," Purple said.

"So, why have you contacted us?" Asked Red.

"I have wonderful news, my Tallests. I have enlisted a new servant to the Empire!" Zim declared happily.

"Oh, that's great Zim. You… YOU DID WHAT?" Red yelled.

"A human has pledged the oath of undying loyalty to you, my Tallests!"

Purple quickly pulled Red out of Zim's hearing range and whispered, "This is great! If he keeps this up, he'll end up getting dissected. We should encourage him!" Red nodded his head in agreement.

They both looked up at Zim and said at the same time, "Excellent. Keep up the good work! Bye!" Red hastily pushed the button and the transmission was ended.

Zim stood there for a moment wonder what had just happened, when an odd smell reached his antennae. He opened his door and walked out into the hallway to investigate. It was a thick smell that reminded him of the time he'd gotten lost in a forest full of pine trees. He opened the door to Byron's quarters to find the smell was coming from there. There was a light haze in the room, but Zim just figured it was something that happens when humans sleep. He quietly walked into the room to find Byron sound asleep in his bed with a large smile on his face.

Then, something caught Zim's attention. There on the desk, lay a stack of notebooks. He picked one up and turned to the page that had been most recently written on. There at the bottom glared the words 'DESTROY DIB!'. Zim smiled at this and sat the book back down. He looked over the desk and saw a small notepad labeled 'Slow and Painful List'. This Byron-human showed great promise and usefulness. It was now that Zim finalized his decision to trust the human.

He walked over next to Byron's bed and watched him sleep for a few minutes. Zim carefully pulled the sheets up around Byron's neck and tucked him in. Zim smiled and walked to the door. He looked back and whispered, "We're going to achieve great things, you and I. Great things," he then turned and closed the door and headed upstairs.

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A/N: I'd like to make it clear right now, there is going to be ABSOLUTELY NO romance between Byron and Dib. More than likely, ther'll be romance between Byron and Tak. But no promises. That last part was like where Fagin takes a shine to Oliver in Charles Dickens's 'Oliver Twist'; nothing more, nothing less. If you don't know who Dickens is, then your just plain stupid! Just kidding! Anyway, I hope you liked this and please leave a review and tell me what you think! Thank you! Again, I'd like to thank DarkShadow1818 for her support. And I'd also like to thank Ri2, Chickens, and Muh Says The Cow! Thank you all! On another subject, for a friend of mine, the Irken language from a few chapters back consists of Dutch and Portuguese. lol