A.N. Happy Easter everyone. Thanks to those who review, and those who read, and those who read and review.

Chapter 8- Stowaways

"We're almost there."

I nod to the screen, and say, exasperated,

"Thanks Joon,"

and shut it off.

He's been transmitting the same message from his ship to mine for an hour.

I sigh, but decide even so, it's a pretty quick trip from Earth to Slaytia.

I've been traveling in my ship since this morning, and suddenly it seems strange to me that hours ago, I was explaining to Zim why he couldn't come along.

"It's a personal matter," I had said, "I don't want you to get involved."

For some reason, Joon was smirking from behind him.

Zim looked ready to protest, when suddenly the doorbell rand, and it was Dib saying something about how Gir had stolen his shoe, and how he wanted it back or whatever.

I left those two to their arguing, and I went to prepare for my trip.

But I didn't see Zim after that, so no proper good-bye.

Which meant no more protesting. . . which meant no giving in to protests. . . which means no Zim coming along.

And yeah, I'm dissapointed.

It's really. . . boring now.

Not that this trip was meant for entertainment, but. . .well, is it so bad to want your friend to keep you company?

But, I mean. . .if he were here. . .well, I wouldn't want him to be.

I'm just going to find Ginna, kill her, pay my respects to Steg, then leave.

Zim would stall things.

Yeah. . .keep thinking that, Tak. . .

Heh. It's funny.

Now that I'm completelt alone, now that I don't feel like he can come up at any moment,

I feel okay with just thinking about Zim. Nice things too.

I even start to smile.

I mean, we agreed to be friends, right?

It's not bad if I admit to myself that he can be. . .relatively considerate at times, right? That he can be good company when you need it? That he, when he smiles, can even be. . .

Geez, I'll just stop right there. What the hell am I thinking?

And now I think I'm going crazy, Because I'm begining to hear Zim's voice in my mind...

Only for some reason, it's muffled. And it's saying, "You horrible human meat," in an angry voice.

And a muffled Dib voice is saying in reply,

"Dirty alien."

Wait. . . what?

Why the hell would I think of them saying that?

Unless. . .

I turn my head to the back of my ship, stare intently at the inside door, listen for any more muffled voices. . .

I swear, if I find those two stowed away, I'll kill them. . .

"Get ready to land, Tak!" Joon says.

I turn back to my screen as he says,

"Home sweet home,"

although I'm pretty positive that's sarcasm.

Then I look up.

And see the one place I never wanted to see again.

Slaytia.

Heh. Home sweet home.

Sure.

I might just have a breakdown, right now. God, I really don't want to be here.

Suddenly it's like I'm a kid again. Before I ever fought back.

Back when I would cry all the time, run in fear of everything.

But that never lasted long., It didn't suit me.

I won't run now.

I won't.

"Tak, are you okay?" Joon asks.

I nod, distracted.

I clutch my pistol tightly at my side and take a deep breath. . .

And then I hear a random shout of,

"Meet your doom, Dib-head!"

coming from a few yards away. From my ship.

God, if I find Zim in there, I'll tear him apart. . .

I rush to the back of my ship and open it up. . .

And, as suspected, I find Zim and Dib in the cramped compartment.

Zim's on top of Dib, looking ready to strangle him, and if it weren't for the fact that the sight of guy-on-guy is turning me on, I SWEAR, I would blow out their brains.

They both stare at me in shock, Zim in fear as well, and then, my rage overruling my horomones, I seize them both by the collars and throw them to the ground.

"What the HELL," I shout, "ARE YOU DOING HERE!"

Dib looks freaked out, but then Zim screams,

"It's his fault!"

and then he just looks pissed.

"My fault?" he says,"You're the one who pushed me into the ship!"

"I DID NOT! You followed me, you rotten little worm!"

"LIAR!"

"FILTH!"

"GREEN!"

"STINK!"

I set off my pistol, right between them.

They both jump at the sound of the gunshot, but then they shut up and stare at me fearfully.

"I do not give a damn," I growl darkly, "on who led who here, whatever stupid argument you two idiots had that somehow ended in you stowing away in my ship." I pause, then turn to Zim alone and shout, "I specifically told you not to come! I told you to just stay away, and I don't want to hear whatever pathetic excuse you have as to why you came, you deliberately disobeyed me, Zim!"

"I didn't-"

"Shut up!" I shout, and then I turn to Dib and continue, "And I know Zim didn't invite you along, and right now, I have half a mind to strand you both here!"

I stop to take a breath, and neither of them say a word.

After a tense silence, I say, regaining my composure,

"Go wait in the ship."

They look a bit surprised, so I add,

"If I hear you two so much as exchange ONE insult, if you two even look at each other when you're in there, I will strangle you both with my bare hands."

"Couldn't you just shoot us?" Dib asks.

So I hold my pistol to his big head and say coolly,

"Which would you prefer, Dib?"

And I guess he realizes that had been a stupid thing to say, because he shuts up.

After a moment of staring the morons down, I order them,

"Get in the ship."

Dib obeys instantly, but Zim just stands there for a moment, with that unreadable expression again.

"What?" I demand.

"Sorry," he says.

I freeze.

My insides flip.

In a much softer tone, I say,

"Get in the ship, Zim."

The little weirdo just salutes and obeys.

"After that whole scene," says Joon from beside me, "and you're smiling?"

God. Why even bother to protest anymore? Maybe I've been smiling this whole time, maybe ever since the other day when Ms. Bitters pointed out I was smiling in class, maybe I've been doing it nonstop since.

Not like I'd ever know, unless someone told me.

"You did that with Steg too," Joon says.

I look to him, confused.

"Smiled?" I ask.

"Yeah. You'd randomly smile when he was around, no matter what you had just been doing. . ."

I don't really want to hear what he's getting at, so I say quickly,

"Can we visit him? It's not that far."

Joon glances at me, then nods.

His grave has remained untouched, after so long.

My knees are numb after pressing them against the ground for nearly an hour.

I haven't said a word, I've just been sitting here, thinking, but then not really.

Finally, staring at the headstone, I whisper,

"Hi Steg. . . I miss you. . ."

I'm choking on my throat all of a sudden, but I still manage to continue,

"I really. . .miss you. . ."

I lean foward and hug the headstone.

"Why'd you leave. . .? I told you not to die. . .that was the only thing I ever asked of you. . .why didn't you listen. . .?"

A hand on my shoulder.

I know it's Joon, even before I see him sit beside me.

"You drove him crazy," Joon says softly.

I look to him, and he has that smile, real but not happy. Well, not entirely. He continues,

"You drove everyone crazy. . . but. . . that's why we loved you. . ."

"Joon. . ." I say slowly, "I'm tired of being weak."

He doesn't say anything, and I lightly trace over Steg's name on the headstone.

I stand up suddenly.

I won't distract myself anymore, I decide. I won't run away.

And then. . .

"My God," says a voice from behind me. "You're alive. . ."

Turning around, seeing her, the one I'd always thought to be dead, suddenly facing me.

It's Ginna.

End of Chapter 8. . .

Well, next chappy's dah climax, then things wind down in Chapter 10. . .then it's over.

I had so much fun writing the whole Tak-spazzing-on-Dib-and-Zim thing. I got into that, like after typing it, I got that relieved feeling I get when I yell at someone (which is not often, cuz I'm not a screamy person, so when I do yell, I'm really letting something out).

kk, first sentence of Chapter 9. . .

I expect a memory to come back to me now.

And that's it.

Please review, my darlings. And I will give you all . . . a virtual kiss. Now, who wouldn't want that?