Disclaimer: I only own Merit and Zaid. All others belong to Mr. Vasquez.

Note: I actually wasn't planning on updating this any time soon, but I re-read through it, and I came up with some new inspiration for it. The previous chapters were formatted for DeviantArt (which I will no longer be updating, with all the changes they've made.) Even I had trouble following it. So I'll be better formatting it from now own, chu!

Glass Dominos

By

Lisa-Chu

Chapter 4

Airplanes

Zaid had been at this hellish training for months, Tak running his small body ragged. Despite his hatred of the elite invader, he had to give credit where due: Tak certainly earned her title. No matter what move he made, how many punches he threw, she dodged and countered with what seemed like two of her own.

"Come on, smeet! Do you really think you'd last a minute with hostile life forms with shoddy fighting like that? They'd eat you alive!" As if to punctuate her point, she clipped him with a left hook, sending his head reeling and his weary body crashing to the floor.

"It's all for Merit…"Zaid muttered under his breath as he wiped the sweat from his brow, trying to steady his breathing. Unfortunately, his superior was right. Despite all of his training, he was still nowhere near ready to play the hero and rescue his friend, and he did have time to waste. In fact, Tak was planning on shipping him off in two days time on a course for Earth with strict instructions to find his friend, as well as locate any other PAK signals that may be nearby. Why she needed that information, she refused to say.

Tak moved to the far side of the sparring room, where the wall was lined with faux-weaponry and pulled two wooden rods from the racks. Out of all the trainees, this rambunctious young Irken had been mediocre at best. Not terrible, but he would do well enough in battle. What he did offer that the others did not, however, was a reson d'être that lied outside of Irk's orbit. Something she could take and mold and use to her benefit, to crush that disgusting worm of an invader that humiliated her so long ago, while at the same time gaining a new planet for the Tallests' already vast collection. Who knew, maybe they would be so filled with gratitude that they would give it to her. She could turn it into a delightful intergalactic zoo and make millions. "On your feet, boy." She commanded, throwing one of the rods down at his feet. "We're moving on to primitive weapons combat." Without waiting for a response, Tak took aim at the smeet and mercilessly swung.

In the few months since Merit had fallen to Earth, Dib had tried to be the best surrogate father he could be, showing her all of the good things about his home planet before Zim could poison her brain into thinking it was just a waste of orbit like he did. A small part of him even hopped that Zim would open up a bit to the idea that Earth wasn't COMPLETELY horrible.

"I never noticed them before…and you say they ALL have names?" Merit asked in wonder from her place on Dib's left. The three sat in a semi-circle around a rusty old fire pit in the human's back yard, basking in its warmth, as well as the comfort of the rising night climate.

"Yep. Like that one there, it's called the Big Dipper, and next to it is the Little Dipper. And those three there? That's Orion's Belt." Dib was elated when the young Irken pointed up at the night sky and exclaimed that she saw pictures in the stars, asking what Earthlings called them and if they were always there. Maybe it was his fascination with space, or maybe it was the memories it brought back of time when his mother was still alive, cuddling up with him and Gaz and telling them the stories of all the constellations and how they earned their place in the stars.

"Fascinating…Wait, what's that? It's moving! Is it a shooting star?" Merit cried out, eyes wide as she rose from her seat in child-like excitement. Sure enough, a speck of light was slowly gliding across the night sky. "Aren't you supposed to make a wish on those?"

"Foolish smeet, that's simply an Earth airplane. It certainly cannot grant wishes." Zim scoffed, pushing the bangs of his wig out of his eyes. Stars were certainly not something he hadn't seen before, and he was wasting precious planning time sitting here waxing idiotic with the two. After all, they were only stars.

"Why do you have to be a dick, Zim? She didn't know." Dib snapped at the hostile invader, but Merit simply shook her head.

"It's alright, Dib. It was my mistake. I shouldn't have said something so foolish…but asking is how you learn, right?" She smiled, brushing her blonde hair away from her synthetic eyes before turning away. She knew why Zim scoffed the way he had. After all, she had spent six months flying through stars. Maybe it was the rich history Dib said these pictured held behind them, maybe it was that she was looking at through a whole new perspective, the perspective of being in a new home with this beauty right in her back yard. Whatever it was, these constellations had her entranced. "Zaid would love this…He would always get in trouble in the Academy for staring out at the stars. The even had to move his seat." She laughed, though she was more reminiscing to herself.

"Was Zaid your boyfriend or something?" Dib asked, generally curious. His heart nearly broke, however, when Merit turned her attention to him, tears welling in her big blue eyes.

"I don't know what a boyfriend is, but he was very close to me. A very dear friend…"

"An invader needs no friends." It didn't have a bite to it, which was so unlike Zim, Dib noticed. It was stated as though it were a fact, like it was written in Irken law somewhere. And who knew, maybe it was. "It's getting late, smeet. It's getting close to bedtime. Dib-human, you may walk us home."

"What, the Almighty Zim can't handle a twenty minute walk?" Dib chuckled, although he was taken aback. Zim never asked anything of the human, even if it was for Merit. As far as the Irken was concerned, part of her growing up was being able to ask for herself when she needed something.

"Don't be ridiculous, Dib-stink! I just assumed you would like to have a little more time with her before she's put to bed, and you can do that on the way."

"Just admit you're not ready to leave me, Zim. It's okay, I won't tell." Dib smirked and Zim could feel he cheeks burning an embarrassing violet, and a violent retort died in his throat. Eyes narrowed, the invader simply turned tail and walked away, leaving the disgusting human laughing behind him. "Jesus, Zim, lighten up. It was just a joke." Dib tried to rationalize with the alien, but Zim simply shrugged and marched on toward his little green shanty. He was frankly tired of jokes and kids games.

"And he was an amazing fighter, maybe even one of the best in our class!" By the time they had reached Zim's base, Merit had told countless stories about her friend back home, most of which the invader could tell were at least slightly embellished.

"Alright, smeet, I think Uncle Dibby has heard enough for today. It's time for bed. Give Dibbles a kiss goodnight." Zim said in a sickeningly sweet voice, and Merit complied, giving Dib a quick peck on the cheek, and even sneaking one for Zim, before scurrying off to bed.

"She's a sweet kid. I almost wouldn't believe you two came from the same planet." Dib chuckled as Zim shot him a glare.

"Shove it, human filth. I'm afraid she's becoming to…familiar with this planet. Too content, too domesticated."

"Well, why shouldn't she? This is her home now, she should become familiar with it. It's not like she can go anywhere else."

"But that doesn't make her any less an Irken. She should be helping me conquer this ball of dirt, not becoming friends with everything living on it." Dib suddenly saw the root of Zim's hostility to the girl, why he was so harsh one second then seemingly caring the next. In his own sick, manic way, he was concerned. Concerned that she was losing the only tie she really had left to her home planet: he so-called superior up-bringing. And though Dib was elated to see Zim showing some kind of interest in their new charge, it just didn't seem to make sense.

"Zim…think of it this way. If you do destroy Earth, what will you do?" The invader laughed as though the answer were obvious.

"Stupid human, I'll return to Irk a hero." The human sighed and plopped down on Zim's awkward purple couch.

"And you plan to take Merit with you? After she's been banished?" That seemed to burst the alien's bubble. Of course, he had assumed he would have enough pull to revoke her banishment, or maybe she'd grow the courage to do as he did.

"She'll simply have to quit being banished." Zim crossed him arms and shot Dib his signature look: one eye narrowed, one wide. Dib, however, looked dumbfounded.

"Are…are you fucking serious? Did you really just say that?"

"What now, Dib-stink? Was that too much for your pathetic human brain to wrap around?" Zim glared, daring the human to find a flaw in his plan.

"Zim, you can't just-"

"INCOMING TRANSMISSION!" The giant supercomputer shouted, nearly shaking the whole house. "FROM THE MASSIVE!"

"Computer! Patch the transmission through to the living area." Zim commanded, and the giant TV sparked to life, displaying a demented looking smiley face. The invader grabbed Dib by his jacket and shoved him off screen, out of eyeshot. "It must be the Tallest. Just stay out of the way and shut up, I don't need them thinking I'm fraternizing with one of you putrid creatures."

"Hello, Zim. Remember me?" Zim's jaw dropped as he took in those demented violet orbs, glaring back at him from the monitor.

"Tak! What do you want? I thought you would have perished by now…"

"You wish. I won't be long, I'm just calling to tell you to watch your back. In a few weeks time, I'll be paying a visit to that pathetic ball of floating filth to destroy you, the little fugitive bitch you're hiding, and taking that planet for the Tallest."

"Like hell you will!" Zim screamed, throwing his fist into the monitor with surprising force, Dib was shocked his hand didn't go through the glass. "You won't touch a single lekku on her head, and if anyone is conquering this planet, it will be ZIM!" With that, he cut the connection before turning on his heel and storming to the kitchen, toward his lab. Dib was in hot pursuit, but the invader's blood was boiling too much for him to care. In fact, the human might even be able to help.

Merit couldn't breathe. She stood stock still, until Zim and Dib descended into the lower regions of the base. Someone was coming all the way out here to kill her? And Zim? And what could she possibly do to help protect them? The whole reason she had been banished was because she refused to fight. For once, the whole situation tore at her, ate her alive, and for once, she thought her Tallest were right. For once, she felt useless.

A/N: This chapter feels like it just drug on. But I guess that's what happens when you type it up in one night with nothing to go off of. Oh, and there's a reason why the time Zaid is leaving and the time Tak gave Zim don't match up. Shit's going down. Read and review, please!