Chapter Four- The Candy Shoppe

Dib stood in front of the Sweet Tooth Candy Shoppe, contemplating his next move. The store was teeming with parents and children, pointing at various candies or asking for their favorite flavor of milkshake. It seemed like such a happy setting, certainly not a place for discussions of earth's security.

Dib breathed in and out slowly. And with a newfound determination, he walked through the door, sounding the charming little bell as he entered. The sound caught him off guard and he looked around suspiciously as if his cover had been blown. But no one really paid much attention to him.

Dib looked around the store for a familiar head of blue hair. And when he spotted her over by the counter looking up at all the delicious candies on the shelves, he couldn't help but smile a little. Her arms were crossed over her chest, scanning the shelves with her eyes as if her selection in candy was as important as picking a weapon for a battle.

It must be an alien thing, Dib thought to himself, stilling smiling at her uptightness.

He casually sauntered over, standing just behind her. He opened his mouth to say something clever and suave, trying to catch her off guard.

"Nice of you to show up," Tak stated before Dib could even speak.

Dib closed his mouth, stunned by her innate awareness of her surroundings. "I don't understand how you do that, but I'll figure it out sooner or later," Dib said, cracking a sly grin.

"Well good luck with that," she said sarcastically, still gazing at the candy shelves.

"What were you thinking about getting," Dib asked, curious to see if she was actually going to attempt to eat human food or if she was just fascinated by the concept.

"Those giant lollipops look pretty good," she said, nodding her head in their direction.

Dib glanced over at the big spiraling lollipops. They came in many different colors and sizes, their surfaces gleaming with sugary goodness. "Really," he asked.

"Yeah, I bet they're pretty tasty," she said completely serious.

She raised her hand to get the candyman's attention, but Dib put a hand on hers and lowered her arm. "No, I got this," he said, trying to be the man in the situation, "Sir! Two giant lollipops, please!"

Tak raised an eyebrow at him, but also smiled in somewhat surprise. What did he think this was? A date?

The candyman grabbed two lollipops off the shelf and brought them over to the cash register. "That will be seven ninety-five, kid," he said holding out his hand for the cash.

Dib dug around in his pockets nervously only to produce a wad of cash and change amounting to five bucks and thirty-one cents. He blushed deep red, putting the money on the counter. "I guess only one lollipop then," he said timidly.

Tak chuckled silently at Dib's attempt. Even though he was making a complete idiot out of himself, it was strangely cute.

Dib paid for the lollipop and turned towards Tak. "For you," he said, presenting it to her.

Tak just looked at it for a second, her strong Irken arms still crossed over her chest. She gave him an unimpressed smile and took it. "How kind of you Dib-Human," she said, leading him over to a small table for two.

Once they sat down, Tak immediately handed the lollipop back to Dib. He looked a little surprised at her return of the gift and almost felt embarrassed, like he should know better than giving gifts to old enemies.

"Could you open it for me," she asked suddenly.

In that moment, a wave of relief came over Dib. So naturally he began doing everything within his power to get the stubborn wrapper off. And after quite a few attempts, he succeeded. And so, he held it out to her once more, satisfied in his ability to get wrappers off of things.

Tak smiled and put her clawed hand on his, holding the lollipop with him.

"You paid for it, so you at least get to share it with me," she said, her eyes sly and piercing.

Dib blushed a little. "No, it's okay. It's for you," he said uneasily.

"But I insist," she said, her intense voice ringing in his ears.

It seemed Dib had no choice. So, very cautiously, he bent down a little closer to the large candy delicacy and licked it gingerly. At the same time, Tak leaned in as well. Her long, Irken tongue slithered out of her mouth and began licking the sugary treat. Their eyes were locked on each other, intense and unmoving.

After a few moments, Dib pulled back. "So, I suppose the whole reason we came out here was to talk," he said, taking another lick.

"I guess so," Tak answered. "Where should we start?"

"Well… at the beginning I suppose," Dib stated simply, "Why have you come back to earth," he asked, beginning to remember why he had brought along a ray gun and a bullet proof vest in the first place.

Tak looked away uneasily. "I might as well tell you."

Dib settled into his seat, feeling a long story coming on.

"After you and Zim defeated me, I tried going back to my home planet to build another ship. But I soon learned that a bounty had been put on my head. Somehow, my last seven years on Planet Dirt were erased from my records, so they thought I went AWOL. I was on wanted posters, bounty hunters were after me, and I couldn't walk down the street in broad daylight without someone recognizing me," she explained.

"So what did you do," Dib asked, completely enthralled with her story.

"I commandeered a ship, deactivated the universal positioning device, and flew here to earth," she said, her eyes sad and lonely, "I don't know if I can ever return."

"But couldn't you have explained to them that the records were wrong," Dib asked.

Tak gave him a yeah right look. "Dib-Human, my home planet's legal system is about ten times more complex and merciless than yours. If the authorities had caught me, I might have seen a court in about fifty years."

"Oh…," Dib said. "So… you are hiding here?"

"No, I'm living here," she said, propping her head up with her hand. "I figured I'd assume a human identity and just disappear. My leaders don't even want Earth. That's why they sent Zim here. So I have no purpose anymore."

Dib looked on sympathetically. It must be hard not having a real home to go to or real friends to be with.

Wait a second! What if this was all a big trick? She was good at manipulating people and therefore she could just be playing his emotions. Just look at her, with her claw like hands, her long, slithering tongue, those deep, intense eyes… those calm and inviting lips…

Dib started to remember why he had a crush on her way back when. "I'm sorry to hear that. But maybe it won't be all bad. Earth is not such a terrible place to live. Who knows, you might even like it," he said, moving the lollipop a little closer to her.

She noticed his gesture and licked it again, savoring its sweetness. She looked up at him, and for the first time, gave him a real, genuine smile. Her face lit up like a thousand stars, pulling at Dib's heart strings. She looked so radiant when she was happy.

Dib caught himself staring and quickly cleared his throat so he could look away. "So… where are you living?"

"Not far from your neighborhood," she said, still enjoying the sugary treat in front of her.

"Care to give me a tour of your new home," he asked. If she accepted, this would give him a chance to get a good look at her base and see if she really was trying to take over the world.

"Sure," she said without a second thought, "But let's wear down this lollipop a little more."

Dib smiled in delighted surprise. "Alright then," he said, returning to the candy. It seemed this was going to be a lot easier than he thought.

If you were to go romping around on deviantART. com, you might find a couple pictures that have inspired certain scenes in this fic. I find a lot of good stuff on that website! Go check it out!