A.N. Has anyone else noticed that these schapters are getting progressively longer? Maybe it's because I'm so excited to get this thing on the move! This is probably the chapter where things get going the most, so I'm hoping for some extra feedback on this one, let me know what you think. Thanks to my most regular reviewers Donnistar and Missbliss8527. I love you guys; you're both awesome!

Maybe this was a mistake. A bad idea. A really bad idea. She was so stupid! What had she been thinking? Accepting the mission? She couldn't handle this! She was little more than a smeet!

Quin was having a panic attack, walking through Zim's backyard all by herself in her human disguise. Fuz was counting on her to win Zim's trust, but the fight they had had with the tiny outlaw the previous day was still raging around in her mind. He was a vicious monster, and she had never fought in her life. Zim could tear her apart any moment without warning, and she wouldn't stand a chance. What was she doing going onto his territory all by herself?

The gnomes in the front laws turned to watch her with glowing red eyes as she walked around the side of the house and made her way to the porch. She watched them back warily, trembling. She wanted someone with her to hide behind. But there was no one there.

Slowly she brought her claw up to the doorbell, hesitating as she gently set her finger on it. There was no going back; she had promised to do this. This was how she would serve her nation, even if she died doing it. Steeling herself, she pressed the button, and held her breath as the ringing sound resonated within the house. She held as still as a statue, every muscle tensed watching as the door knob turned.

Quin braced herself for Zim's bloody crimson eyes, grimacing as the door swung open.

There was no one there.

She looked down.

There in the doorway stood the same SIR unit from yesterday, except instead of the lion costume it had been wearing the last time she had seen it, it was zipped up in a little green doggie suit. Quin released her breath, but didn't allow herself to relax. She was still on Zim's turf, and he could be anywhere.

"Hey there, little guy," she cooed him, bending to her knees. She wasn't really that much taller than the robot, but she wasn't used to looking down at people. "Is Zim home?"

"Yeah," said Gir. "He's downstairs. Do you like turkeys?

Quin blinked at him. She didn't know what a turkey was, but she decided to humor him nonetheless. "Sure," she said, smiling gently. "I'm sure they're just wonderful."

"Well you can have mine!" In one quick movement, Gir put down his doggie hood and opened his head, yanking out a large colorful bird and shoving it at her. "He loves you!"

"Oh!" Quin caught the bird and held it firmly in her arms, more out of instinct than anything else. It just looked at her, gobbling loudly. She forced a smile. "Well, I'm sure he does. That's very nice of you, Gir. Thank you."

"Yer s'posed to eat 'im!" said Gir, yanking the turkey away from her again. "Just like this!" And he shoved the poor creature into his mouth, ignoring its panicked struggling and squawking. Quin's eyes widened, and she looked away until she heard Gir say, "See? Just like that."

"Oh. Well that's... wonderful, Gir. Thank you for showing me that. Now, um, could you get Zim to come here?"

"Okay!" The little green puppy leaped up and hurried away, feet squeaking softly with every step. Quin sighed, and forced herself to breath normally. Thoughts and ideas were buzzing around her head like panicked bees. What would she say when Zim saw her? What if he got mad? What if he recognized her too soon? The plan could come crumbling apart so easily, and it was all depending on what she said and how Zim reacted to it.

Suddenly Zim was scrambling toward her from inside, claws scraping across the floor at a frantic pace. Quin cried out with wild alarm, and jumped backwards, gasping with terror. He flung the door open wider, standing in the door way where Gir had been only moments before. He was taller than her, but not by much. Quin was suddenly struck by how short he actually was. He had looked much bigger on his Pak legs.

"I'm normal!" He shouted immediately, getting right into her face. "What do you want?"

Quin reared back, looking at him with wide, wary eyes. Zim looked different then he had before. He must be in disguise. Well it certainly didn't look like a disguise, but she didn't have the nerve to say it aloud.

"Well? What do you want, cowardly human?"

Quin panicked as Zim seemed to lose patience, and hurried to straighten herself. She couldn't fumble now. Fuz's entire plan was hinging on this moment, and it was all on her tiny shoulders. She only hoped she didn't mess up.

"Z-zim, my name is-"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME!" Screamed the outlaw.

Quin hissed beneath her breath, face pinching with anxiety. She hadn't even uttered a sentence, and Zim was already shouting.

"Sir, I have something very important to tell you," she tried again. "May I please come inside?"

Zim blinked at her, as if trying to comprehend what she was saying. Quin bit her lip. Had she been too forward? He would surely be suspicious of her now. Oh, why did she have to be so stupid? Why couldn't she be cunning like Fuz?

"... Do you know Dib?" Zim asked, narrowing his eyes. Quin blinked meekly at him. She did not know any Dib, but she didn't know what Zim would think of her if she said so. If she said yes, would he trust her? Or no? In this case, she figured her only logical choice was to tell the truth.

"No, sir," she said quietly. Zim narrowed his eyes even further, studying her, but then he stepped inside, making room for her. "Fine, but make it quick. And don't try anything funny."

Yes! She had done it! She only hoped she didn't mess up. Quin stepped carefully into the house. Repairs to the room had been made thanks to the computer, so there was no sign that Fuz and Zim's fight had taken place. It was still unnerving to be here, though.

"Well?" demanded Zim. "Out with it!"

After making sure the door was locked, Quin turned to face him. Smiling apologetically, she reached for her wrist and twisted a knob, deactivating her disguise.

"You!" Zim's eyes went wide when her saw her true appearance. "You're that smeet with the Fuz-monster! What are you doing here?"

Zim's antennae shot up into the air, and Quin let hers drop in submission, walking slowly toward him. She didn't know how he would react to what, so she had to be very careful what she did and said. "Sir, my name is Invader Quin. The tallests sent me here to assist you in your mission."

Zim's eyes widened, and Quin took a quick step back. "You are the invader that tallests sent?" He demanded almost angrily. "I don't need help conquering this planet! Let alone from a smeet! How did you become an invader anyway? You're way too young."

Quin's antennae pressed against her skull with annoyance, but she was careful not to raise them. "I'm not a smeet," she said as humbly as she could manage. "I grew out of it very recently. And, um, I guess I'm sort of a prodigy?"

Zim narrowed his eyes dangerously at her, and Quin whimpered, shrinking in on herself. It didn't matter what the rumors said about Zim being stupid and tiny; he was intimidating, and she wished she was anywhere but in his house. "Really?" Zim asked suspiciously. "Well how come you were with that rogue, eh? How come you were helping her when she tried to kill me?"

"She sabotaged my ship while I was coming, sir." She explained, thankful that Fuz had given her a story to use. "I was taken prisoner and forced to help her. I'm sorry."

Zim glared at her, eyes calculating, and Quin gulped. He was judging her now, looking over what she said. She only hoped he didn't find a flaw. Briefly Quin wondered what Fuz would do if she didn't come back. She would probably assume that Zim had killed her. It would be the most logical explanation.

"I don't need help," said Zim finally. "And I don't want it. You can go back to Irk and tell them that your trip here was just a waste of time. I can conquer this ball of dirt on my own! I AM ZIM!"

Quin sighed with relief. Thank goodness Zim hadn't seen through her lies. But she still needed to get on his good side. It was all part of Fuz's grand scheme.

"I understand, sir," she said, gaining confidence. "I know you can. I've always admired your knack for destruction."

Zim's antennae perked, and his eyes suddenly looked rounder, less aggressive. "You have?"

Quin smiled at him kindly. If lies had brought her this far, flattery would get her anywhere. "Oh, yes. Like your performance back in Operation Impending Doom I. You must be a very talented invader."

The rumors of Zim's ego proved true when his little chest puffed up, and he stood up a tall as he could, raising his antennae with pride. Quin ducked her head and lowered her antennae in response, demonstrating submission. Apparently this mission wasn't as hopeless as she had thought. Maybe she really could win Zim's trust. She seemed to be doing a pretty good job so far.

"Oh, yes, that. You liked that?" asked Zim lightly. "No one else seems to. Just because I got carried away and started my destroying before we left the home planet, everyone looks at me weird now. Sad, isn't it?"

"Tragic, sir," Man, this spying stuff was easier than she thought. "It's a pity others are so closed-minded. I would be honored to work under such a powerful invader."

Zim seemed to like that. His entire face lit up. "Hmm... well, I suppose another side kick wouldn't be a bad thing," he said, grinning. "Gir is a little horrible. And the computer doesn't have legs. I suppose I'll let you help me... but you'll have to do everything I say! AND NO WEIRDNESS!"

That much she figured she could manage. "Yes, sir!" she saluted. "Thank you, sir!"

Zim waved a claw at her in a shooing motion, and let his antennae drop into a more natural position. "Yes, yes, it's wonderful that the mighty Zim is allowing you to bask in his presence. NOW GO AWAY! I have to go to skool." He began walking away from her toward the kitchen, and sat himself at a table, collecting papers.

"Skool, sir?" Quin repeated, staying where she was, Zim looked back at her with a raised eyebrow and nodded.

"Yes," he said. "That is where you go when you want to get smart. Or torture yourself. Speaking of that, you should register too. If we're going to learn as much about Earth as we can, we have to use the learning facility to our advantage."

Zim went through the papers, sorting them neatly, and then tucked them into a folder, which he shoved into his Pak. "Put your disguise on. We're leaving now."

"Yes, sir." Replied Quin, turning the knob on her wrist. The hologram was activated again, and she sighed, tucking her long brown hair behind her ear. Of course it would fall back into her face a few seconds later, but it was worth a shot.

Zim stood and started walking to the door. "Gir! You're in charge while I'm gone! No parties! And I want dinner to be ready by the time we get home!"

"Okay!" Gir's squeaky little voice sounded from somewhere below. Quin opened the door, and let Zim walk through first, before closing it briskly behind them.

"I'm posing as a twelve-year-old human in the sixth grade." he told her quietly as the walked down the side walk. "But you're not big enough. You'll have to be younger. You can pose as a ten-year-old, alright?"

Quin wasn't sure what he was talking about, as she knew very little about Earthern culture, but she nodded anyway. She could figure it out. "Yes sir." She said.

"Excellent."

They didn't have to walk long before a barbed wire fence came into view, and the skool building towered over them. Zim hurried up the steps and led her inside, while Quin followed, doing her utmost best to look like she knew what she was doing. Humans swarmed the place, but most ignored them as they past through.

"There's the principal's office," said Zim, gesturing vaguely toward a door. "Just go in there, and tell them you're new. And what grade you're in."

Zim was about to walk away, when Quin put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "And... what grade am I in?"

"I dunno," shrugged Zim. "Probably third or fourth grade if you're ten years old. Tell them that. Now leave me alone! I didn't come to skool yesterday, and if I'm late today, the Dib will make life miserable for me again! I've got to go!"

"Wait!" Despite Zim's orders, Quin still didn't remove her hand from his shoulder until he turned around to glare at her. "I still don't understand. What's this Dib you keep talking about?"

"Oh," Zim smirked, showing needle-like teeth. "That. It's the manifestation of all evil, that's what it is." He grinned, raising his claws up in the air as if he were telling a scary story. "It sneaks into your fortress and gets evidence that you're an invader, and then it sneaks back out, and makes a scary science guy come to cut you open!"

"No!" Said Quin, eyes wide. She hadn't realized invading was so dangerous.

"Yep! Look out for the Dib-monster! If he finds out you're an alien, he'll take your picture and show it to everybody so they know you're an alien too! And then the whole planet will be after you!"

Quin gaped at him, and Zim shrugged, turning to walk away. "See you later then." He said cheerfully. "And if anyone looks at you weird, just tell them I'm your cousin or something. They'll understand."

"...Understand what?"

Zim didn't answer. He had disappeared into a crowd of noisy humans. Quin sighed and straightened her shirt, turning to the principal's office. The door loomed over her like the grim reaper. Why were there bars in the window?

Quin walked stiffly and wide-eyed down the hall. That had been, like, the third scariest thing that had ever happened to her. She was never going to the principal's office again if she could help it.

Mr. Elliot's third grade class, room 276. That's where they had told her to go. She scanned the little numbers next to the doors as she walked. Apparently all the even numbers were on one side, and all the odds were on the other, so she knew what side to stick by. She soon found the right room, and peaked nervously through the window in the door.

From her vantage, point, she could see a male human adult, sitting behind a desk and speaking into some kind of communicator. Her eyes widened. What was he talking about? Did he know she was coming? Maybe the Dib-monster had already taken he picture and shown it to everyone! They knew what she was! Maybe he was planning her dissection right now!

No. Quin forced herself to smile. She was in a good disguise; if Zim could pass for a human with a wig and contacts, she had nothing to fear. She still peeked over her shoulder, though, looking for a big hairy monster with giant teeth holding a camera. Would the Dib-monster eat Irken flesh? She'd forgotten to ask.

Turning her eyes back to the window, she could see the man behind the desk put his communicator down and smile at her. It was a sunny, happy type of smile that was hard to find on Devastis, and Quin instantly returned it, nervousness flushed out of her. Maybe going to skool wouldn't be so bad. The teacher seemed nice.

She turned the door knob and stepped slowly, apprehensively forward. The room was a lot bigger than it had looked through the window. She could see lots of human smeets crammed into tiny plastic chairs behind their tiny wooden desks. They watched her cross toward the teacher's desk with disinterested eyes.

"Well hello there!" Mr. Elliot beamed at her. Quin let herself smile.

"Hi," she said.

Mr. Elliot smiled at her again and then turned to the rows of smeets, gesturing to her with his hand to come closer to the center of the room. She moved so slowly, she was practically inching her way towards him. "Class, this is our new friend Quin," Mr. Elliot introduced her. Apparently it was the principal he had just been talking to. "Aren't you happy to have another classmate? I bet so! I bet you're all just full of joy!" He turned to her. "Is there anything you want to say before you take your seat, Quin?"

Quin looked from him, to the class, and then back at him. She shook her head no.

But apparently Mr, Elliot wouldn't take no for an option. "Oh C'mon, Quin!" He said. "Aren't you excited to start learning with all these new friends? Why don't you tell them something about yourself!"

"Well," Quin looked down at her hands, blushing. She hated to be put on the spot. "I like super hero comics."

"Oh?" Mr. Elliot perked with interest. "I do too! Do you like Spiderman?"

Quin couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye; she just looked at the floor as she mumbled a reply.

"What was that?"

"Yeah," she said, louder. "But mostly Batman and Superman."

Mr. Elliot smiled at her approvingly. "Those are good too. Why don't you take that seat behind Gaz? I'm sure she feels isolated sitting alone like that." He stretched his neck, looking over some of the smeets' heads toward the back of the room, where Quin assumed Gaz sat. "Gaz, would you raise your hand please?"

No one responded, but several heads turned to look at a girl toward the back of the room, who was focused on something under the desk. Mr. Elliot raised an eyebrow and repeated himself, "Gaz, would you raise your hand, please?"

Gaz still didn't raise her hand, but Quin could guess who she was. She walked briskly between the desks, and sat down in her new spot. Gaz didn't turn to acknowledge her.

"Now class," said Mr. Elliot, smiling. "Our lesson today will be about how bees make honey! I love bees. They're all fuzzy and yellow, and they make such a totally adorable buzzing sound!"

Quin sighed and twiddled her thumbs under her desk. The other human smeets didn't seem too much like a threat, and it became apparent that she would be there for quite a while. She found herself glancing around the room at all the motivational posters around the room. Most of them she didn't understand, but she was smart enough to get the gist.

"Don't forget to smile!"

"Got milk?"

"The best things in life aren't things!"

"Cover your mouth when you sneeze!"

"Just think of your favorite things!"

Earth was weird.

Mr. Elliot had drawn an overly cartoonish picture of a honey bee on the board, and was talking endlessly about how irresistibly cute it was. Quin could agree; it was pretty cute, but it wasn't worth making her sit there all day to listen to him say so.

She turned her attention to the other smeets. Some were whispering among themselves, while others were doodling at their desks. None of them were smiling. Quin assumed it was a normal thing to be bored here. She slumped, letting her head fall on her arms. She'd be here a while.

Beep.

Every muscle in Quin's body immediately tensed. She'd heard a beep. Was it a bomb? If there was anything she had learned on Devastis, it was never to let your guard down. Quick as a startled rabbit, she whirled her head around in search of whatever made the sound.

Beep.

Her antennae swiveled, and she leaned forward. The sound was coming from under the Gaz-human's desk.

"Hey," she whispered, tapping the human on the shoulder. "What are you doing?"

She felt the girl tense. "Leave me alone," Gaz snapped. Quin immediately pulled back, frowning. Gaz wasn't very friendly, but having an ally on Earth couldn't hurt. Maybe she could learn a little about Earth culture from her.

"Oh come on," Quin whined. "I just wanna know what you're doing."

Gaz growled wordlessly and bent over whatever she had under her desk. "It's none of your business! Leave me alone!"

"Girls?" Mr. Elliot had paused and was looking over at them with a raised eyebrow. "Is there something you want to say?"

Quin couldn't see it, but she could hear the sound as Gaz gritted her teeth and growled. Apparently she had been doing something private and didn't want it to be known. Quin bit her lip, and tapped her claws against the table anxiously. She didn't mean to make Gaz feel uncomfortable. Maybe she should help detract attention.

"Oh, nothing, Mr. Elliot," Quin tried in hopes of pacifying him. "I was just... asking if I could barrow Gaz's wonderful notes later today!"

Gaz turned around and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yep!" Quin went on, pumping her arm in an obviously faked attempt at looking enthusiastic. "They sure are wonderful notes! And I am really fascinated about bees! They're so cute!"

Mr Elliot gasped. Suddenly it was so quiet in the room, Quin could hear the piece of chalk break as he dropped it, and the two different pieces rolled across the floor. All eyes were on her, wide and mystified.

"You mean..." Mr. Elliot barely seemed able to speak. "You're actually... paying attention to the lesson?"

Quin blinked at him. Didn't he expect her to be paying attention? He was a teacher, right? "Yeah," she said blankly.

Suddenly Mr. Elliot was in tears, tearing tissues out of a box on his desk and blowing his nose pathetically. "My students!" he cried. "Paying attention to the lesson! I'm so proud! I could... I could shed tears of joy!"

His students watched, blinking cluelessly, as Mr. Elliot flopped onto his desk, sobbing. "Oh, I'm the luckiest teacher in the world! If only all students could be as wonderful as mine!" He brought a tissue up to his nose and honked into it loudly. "You all get A's! All of you! You wonderful children!"

The students cheered, flinging their hands up in the air. Quin ignored them; her attention was on Gaz.

"Why'd you do that?" The dark human asked. She was still shielding her device under her desk. Quin shrugged at her, and did her best to keep her expression light and friendly.

"Cause I wanna be your friend," she said simply. "And I'm curious about what you're doing."

Gaz rolled her eyes and held her device up just high enough for Quin to see it. It wasn't a bomb. It was a video game. A video game with lots of blood and violence, but it was harmless nonetheless. "Just gaming," she said offhandedly.

"Oh," Quin said, grinning and sinking into her seat. "I just heard the beepy noise, and I thought you had a bomb."

Gaz smirked at that. "I wish," Then she clicked a button on her game, and creased her eyebrows, frowning. "That's weird. The volume is almost all the way down. I can barely hear it, and I'm holding it right up to my face. How come you can hear it?"

Oh crud. Quin panicked. She couldn't give away that she was Irken! Not now! "I dunno," she said, trying to sound calm, but almost cringed when her voice was more high-pitched than usual. "Maybe I just have good hearing."

Gaz shrugged and turned back to her, resuming her game. "Whatever," she grumbled, ending the conversation. But Quin wasn't done talking yet.

"Sooo... can I sit with you at lunch?" She asked nervously. Gaz turned around to raise and eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"I want to sit with you at lunch."

Stare down.

"...What did you say your name was again?" asked Gaz. Quin blinked at her.

"Quin," she said, barely keeping herself from adding 'ma'am.' She was used to respecting authority, and this human was clearly asserting hers. "My friends at home called me Quin the Quivering, but I'd rather you didn't."

Gaz grunted and turned from her, playing her game. "Whatever. It's a free country. Sit wherever you want."

"Thanks."

Mr. Elliot, who had recovered from his fit and continued his lesson, finally stopped talking when the bell rang. "Oh look at that!" He exclaimed. "Time sure does fly when you're talking about adorable insects! It's time for lunch everyone! When you get back we'll talk more about bees!"

Well apparently that was it. Everyone was standing up, and Gaz didn't acknowledge her as she stood up and walked away. Quin frowned and followed, though trying to walk to lunch with Gaz was no longer an option; she had disappeared into the crowd .

Quin quickly found that she didn't like walking through the school hallway. It was so narrow and so full of stinky human smeets, none of whom had any manners. It was nothing at all like Devastis, where they used hundreds of tiny one-person tunnels. At least there she didn't get shoved around.

Finally the herd of students burst into what she assumed was the cafeteria. Quin sighed with relief, and shuffled to the back of the line that the students were forming. She just hoped it went by fast.

After grabbing lunch (a long and aggravating process,) Quin carried it out to the tables and glanced around. She could see Gaz sitting pretty closed by, playing her video game and occasionally shoving something into her mouth. Quin sighed and plopped down next to her, letting her tray hit the table with a clack.

"Hey," she said halfheartedly.

"Hey," replied Gaz.

An awkward silence loomed over their heads. Or at least Quin's head. Gaz was too focused on her video game to care. She mashed the buttons with vengeance, eyes narrowed in concentration. Quin tried to strike a conversation. "So..."

"Darn it!" Gaz suddenly shouted, and slammed her game onto the table. "Stupid pig! He beat me again! I really hate that guy..."

"Pig?" Quin raised and eyebrow and peaked over Gaz's shoulder at the blinking screen. "You're fighting a pig?"

"Well actually I think his name is Hogularr or something, but essentially, yeah. And I looked up a review online, and it said he was easy to beat, but he's not. I keep trying to-"

"Hey, Gaz!" Someone suddenly walked to the table and dropped their tray across from the girls, plopping into the seat as if he didn't realize Quin was there. Quin's eyes widened when she saw his face. Scabbed-over claw marks were jutting vertically from his eye to his chin. She'd been trained to recognize things like that. The cuts were three and a half inches long, one millimeter thick, going up, probably only scratched away the surface of his skin. Undoubtedly Irken claws, but they were too small to be Fuz's. They had to have been Zim's. "You should have seen Zim in class! He was so nervous! I bet he's planning something, and he knows it's doomed to fail."

'Or maybe he's just worried about me giving us away,' Quin thought to herself. Was this kid in Zim's class? That would make sense. "Who's Zim?" She asked calmly. She needed to find out how much he knew, but she couldn't reveal her own intentions.

The boy looked at her, eyebrows rising. "Oh, sorry," he said. "Um, Gaz? Who's this?"

Gaz paused her game just long enough to look at him, and then continued mashing buttons and making virtual pigs squeal. "Dib, Quin. Quin, Dib." She said uncaringly. "Now both of you be quiet. I'm trying to play a game."

Dib chuckled nervously. "That's Gaz for ya," he said, nodding vaguely toward the dark girl.

Quin forced her face into a smile, but her eyes were wide. Dib? Was this the Dib-monster Zim had been talking about? She hoped he didn't eat flesh. Suddenly the conversation had become a lot more awkward. "Yeah," she agreed strenuously. "So, um, who's this kid you were talking about?"

"Oh!" Dib's face brightened up considerably, and he pointed to the back of the room. "See that kid over there?"

Quin looked.

She didn't like what she saw.

Oh Zim...

"I'M NORMAL!" Zim cried from atop his lonely table, where he was flinging food everywhere. "Lookit this!" He stood up on the bench, holding a piece of Earth-food over his head. "Broccoli! I'M EATING IT! LOOKIT ME GO!" Then, as if just to entertain everyone else, he turned his head to the side, and pretended to shove the broccoli into his mouth, but it only fell to the floor like everything else. "I AM ZIM!"

"Oh," Quin said blankly. "I... didn't notice that guy."

Dib turned to face her and raised both eyebrows. "You're new, then?"

"What?"

"Trust me, if you had been here, you would have noticed that guy by now." Dib fiddled with his fork, spearing his salad and munching it. "He's an alien."

Quin nearly choked, hugging herself in surprise. She could infer that things wouldn't be going too well for Zim, but she had expecting his true identity to be common knowledge enough to just say it.

"Oh," she replied, her voice high-pitched with anxiety. "What makes you think that?"

Dib looked at her with such a disbelieving expression, Quin had to look away. "What makes me think he's an alien? Look at him! Look at him! Can't you see he has no nose? No ears? And he's green! How can you think he's not an alien?"

Quin shrugged nervously, trembling. "M-maybe it's just a birth def-defect?" But that explanation seemed unsatisfactory for Dib, who ate another bite of lettuce. He drummed his fingers agitatedly on the table.

"Nuh huh, I know for sure it's not. Sometimes I try to sneak into his base and take pictures, but so far I haven't been able to show anyone else." Suddenly he leaned in, eyes wide. "You've gotta believe me! I know how it sounds, but it's true! I've seen him without his disguise! He's got glowing red eyes and barbed antennae- and he wants to take over the world!"

Quin leaned away from him, eyes wide. Her heart was a humming bird in her chest, beating frantically against its cage. Oh this was not good. This was bad. This was really bad. Why hadn't Zim given her a better warning? This boy knew everything that Zim was trying to keep secret. And now she had been dragged into it.

What would Fuz do? Fuz was cool and calculating. She would have a plan. But Quin was not cool and calculating, and she was clueless. The most she figured she should do was to humor Dib, and see what to do afterwords. Who knows, maybe if she made friends with Dib, she could get some more information.

"Does anyone else know?" She asked, leaning in too. Dib's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah," said Dib, and Quin could tell he was suddenly guarded. "A few... friends I have who don't go to school. They know."

Quin blinked at him. "What are you gonna do?" She asked.

Dib took a bite of his food in a failed effort to look at ease. "Well, my friends and I are... paranormal enthusiasts."

"Paranormal?" Quin cocked her head to the side. "You mean like ghosts and stuff?"

"Yeah," said Dib through a mouth of food. "Whenever something weird happens, or somebody sees something they can't explain, they come to us, and we check it out."

"I thought I told you two to be quiet!" Snapped Gaz. Quin jumped, scrambling further along on the bench from the dark girl. "If you guys make me lose this boss fight, so help me, I will smack you both into next week!"

Dib glared at his sister. "C'mon, Gaz! Some things are more important than video games, don't you think?"

"Yeah," said Gaz, pounding on the buttons, Her eyebrows were knotted with concentration. "But not your stupid paranormal mumbo jumbo. Just shut up. I've been trying to beat this guy all day, and I think I've finally got it, so if you guys mess me up there will be some serious suffering."

Well that didn't sound like a fun prospect. Quin stood nervously from the table and picked up her tray. "Alright," She said. "Well if it's okay with Dib, we can take this conversation somewhere else. Right, Dib?" Before the boy could object, Quin began to walk to another vacant table. Dib glanced between her and his sister.

"Go ahead," snapped Gaz. "Go give your little girlfriend a headache with your annoying voice. It's better than what will happen to you if you stay here."

Dib raised an eyebrow at his sister. "She's not my girlfriend! And she's your friend too," he said. "Don't you want her to sit with us? You're not going to keep your friends very long if you treat them like that."

Gaz paused her game and looked Dib in the eye, something that immediately made him nervous. "Let's get one thing straight," she said dangerously. "She's not my friend. She got me out of trouble once and sat with us for, like, five minutes. That does not make us friends."

Dib rolled his eyes. "Well yeah, but-" and then he cut himself off as something dawned upon him. "Wait, she got you out of trouble?"

"Yeah."

"What'd you do?"

Gas rolled her eyes as she resumed her game and continued mashing buttons. "That's for me to know and you not to, Dip-stick," she griped.

Her older brother's eyes bulged. "What did you call me?"

"Dip-stick," Gaz calmly replied.

"Oh yeah? Well you're-"

"Dib?" Quins voice lightly floated over to the Membrane's table. "You coming?"

Dib made a quick 'I'm watching you' gesture at Gaz, and then picked up his tray, hurrying off to sit with Quin. He noted with satisfaction that she was looking at Zim with concern. For Planet Earth probably. Grinning, he settled down across from her.

"Anyway," he happily resumed. "Tonight I'm gonna try to sneak into Zim's lab and find proof about his... alieness. If people don't believe me, at least they'll recognize that he's not normal. Maybe they'll get used to the idea. It will be progress." He chomped roughly on a piece of lettuce. "And also I wanna steal back my computer. Zim stole it the other day. I'm still mad about that."

Beneath her holographic disguise, Quin's antennae perked. Apparently this Dib human wasn't suspicious of her at all. He was telling her his plans so openly. She found his trust reassuring. It was a sign of honesty, and you didn't see very many honest Irkens where she came from.

"How will you do that?" Asked Quin, poking at something gunky on her plate. It seemed to be reaching toward her knife... She carefully slid the utensil out of its reach. Dib didn't notice.

"His lawn gnomes are, like, laser zombies or something," he said, chewing. "But I know a blind spot in their camera field. I can just sneak through that, go through a window, and from there, I'm just gonna wing it. I don't know what he's got inside the house, but I think most of his security system is outside. I've gotten through once."

"You did?" Quin asked, raising her eyebrows "What did you find?"

Dib waved his fork, and stabbed some food on his plate. "Oh, you know. Alien stuff. I dunno what any of it did, but I think one of them might have been a torture machine. Like a rice cooker or something, except, you know, you put a person in it. And it would get really hot in there..."

Quin gave a slow "Uh huh," and stabbed a bit of salad on her plate. From Zim's ongoing little show she could tell most of the Earth food was probably poisonous, but watching Dib eat, the salad seemed harmless enough. Chewing, she listened with interest as Dib droned on.

"And he has a crazy dog. But it's not a dog! It's like, a robot in disguise. It actually has, like, machine guns in its head!"

"Wow," Quin pretended to be amazed. "Sounds scary."

"Yeah!" Said Dib. "So you believe me, right? About Zim being an alien, I mean? You could help me!"

Quin's eyes lit up. Maybe she was going to far with the whole "spying for Dib, who she was spying on for Zim, who she was spying on for Fuz" thing, but it was fun. The more people who trusted her, the more information she would have, and the more she could report to Fuz at the end of the day.

"Totally cool!" she exclaimed. "But not tonight. I have to be at my, uh... cousin's house."

Dib slumped, but she could see his resolve was unfazed. "Okay. I'll let you know if the mission is successful. Wanna exchange phone numbers?"

Quin's eyes suddenly widened nervously. Phone number? What was that? "Um, I don't have a phone."

"Oh." Dib chomped some more salad between his teeth. "Well, I'll just tell you tomorrow than."

"Yeah,"

They ate in silence, watching, amused, as Zim pretended to drink milk. They could easily tell he was just dumping it on the table, but it seemed enough to convince the other children. "I AM ZIM!" He shouted as he flung the empty milk carton at a blond girl, knocking her out of her seat. "AND I AM NORMAL AND MILK-DRINKING!"

Dib sighed and downed the last of his own milk. Months ago he would have leaped to his feet and demanded of the other children whether they thought throwing an empty paper carton at one hundred thirty miles an hour was normal, but since then, he had trained himself to resist such urges. They never worked, and they only made him look crazier than people already though he was. Why bother?

"One o'clock," Dib noted out loud. "lunch is over."

The bell rang.

"I'll see you later than," Quin said picking her tray up.

"Yeah," replied Dib. "See you."

"And that, children, is why bees are so great!" Exclaimed Mr. Elliot, closing his lesson.

Quin raised her hand, wishing silently that she was closer to the front of the room. "Mr. Elliot?" she chimed. "I thought you were gonna teach us about how bees make honey, not how great they are."

"Oh," Mr. Elliot waved his hand dismissively. "You heard wrong. The lesson was about why bees are great. I hope you all remember what you learned today, class, because there will be a quiz tomorrow!"

The class groaned collectively, and put their papers sluggishly into their folders. Quin mimicked them, making sure to be neat as she sorted through her work. She did not want to lose anything. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gaz," she said pleasantly, flashing a bright smile.

"Meh," grunted the dark girl, shutting her game off under her desk and shoving it quickly into her pocket. Quin nodded, pretending it had been a polite reply. Being bitter wasn't her thing.

She followed the flow of noisy students, keeping shyly by the wall. She sighing with relief as she finally made it out the door. The inside of the skool had grown hot and stuffy with all the bodies squeezed in there, and the coolness of the outside air was was a welcome touch.

"Hey, Quin!" Quin heard a voice behind her. She turned her head around; large, doe-like eyes blinking meekly. Dib was walking toward her, a backpack hanging casually on his shoulder. An open smile was fitted across his face. "Can I walk you home?"

Quin smiled, but she knew she'd have to refuse. If he saw how close her house was to Zim's he would freak. "No thanks, Dib," she said, letting her smile droop a little. "See you tomorrow?"

"M'kay. See ya!"

They parted ways just as quickly as they had spoken, but Quin found herself sighing as she turned around. She would have liked to walk with Dib, just to talk with him a little more. Or listen to him talk. She would never be able to think of what to say.

She could hear footsteps behind her. Big, loud footsteps that commanded attention. She turned around, just in time to see Zim smirk before he passed in front of her.

"So," he drawled, turning toward her and walking backwards. "What did you learn?"

Quin snapped into Irken soldier mode, immediately standing straighter. "Bees are cute, cuddly creatures that God made so people could have yummy sticky stuff to eat called 'honey.'"

""Really?" Zim raised his eyebrows. "Who taught you that? I learned about how bees were used to torture humans hundreds of years ago."

Quin's antennae perked curiously. "What?"

"Yeah," Zim turned around and walked at her side. "They would put the prisoner in a wooden stock, and they would, like, throw a beehive at them, and the bees would attack him until he died."

"Attack? How?"

Zim scoffed. "Sting him. Duh."

Quin cocked her head to the side. "They sting?"

Zim raised an eyebrow, and Quin automatically shrunk from him, wincing. Great, she had made a fool of herself in front of the scariest Irken she had ever met. On Devastis, weakness like ignorance was not taken kindly. Was Zim going to hit her?

"Huh," grunted Zim, and turned forward again, walking on as if she had never said anything.

Quin sighed in relief, but couldn't make herself relax. She tried to walk as far from Zim as she could without looking like she was trying.

"Um," she began cautiously, twiddling her fingers. "I also, um, met... someone."

Zim raised his antennae beneath his wig, and Quin dropped hers, even if he couldn't see them through her disguise. He looked only mildly surprised. "Who's that?"

"Oh, just," Quin tucked a stray strand of brown hair behind her ear and forced herself to breathe. "Uh... well in class there was this one girl, and I made friends with her, and we sat together at lunch..."

Zim made a small nod as if to ask her to continue. Quin gulped.

"And, uh, she had a brother, and his name was..." She was panicking now, her breath fast and hot. Suddenly she had serious doubt about what she was doing. Should Zim know she had met Dib? Would he let her follow through with her plans? Again, everything was hanging on her, this very moment, and she barely knew what was going on."Dib." She finally choked out.

Zim's face darkened, And Quin's breath caught. She should run. Oh man, she wanted to run, but her legs were moving automatically, walking side by side with the most infamous villain in Irken history.

"...What happened?" asked Zim. Quin shrunk away from him again, wringing her hands.

"He just sat down with us, and started talking... he said he knew you were an alien."

Zim huffed, folding his arms. "I guess that saves me the trouble," he griped, and Quin sighed with relief. "Anything else?"

Quin held back a moan and bit her lip. Should she really tell Zim about Dib's plan? As it was, she liked Dib a whole lot better than Zim. Secretly she would like to see the human sneak out of the little underground base with some pictures, but her first loyalties were with Fuz. And she knew what Fuz would say.

"Yes. He, um, he said he was going to break into your base. Tonight. And he wants his computer back."

The outlaw's face broke into a sinister smirk, and she could see the glint of red through his contacts. "Heh. Well if he wants his precious little laptop back, he can come and get it," he said mockingly. "He's got it coming to him."

"Yeah," said Quin, though her stomach felt heavy. What did they call that feeling? Right. Guilt. She'd just betrayed Dib's open trust, and probably put him in danger. "And, uh, I... I kinda agreed to help him expose you."

Zim's eyes widened, and he whirled round to face her, talons flexing. Quin cried out with alarm and stumbled backwards, falling ungracefully on her back end. Zim loomed over her like the grim reaper.

"You dare betray Zim?" He demanded dangerously.

"No!" Quin scrambled away, trying to get back to her feet, but she fell again, pushing away. "It's not like that! It's not! Listen! This is a good thing. He thinks I'm on his side. That's why he told me his plans."

Zim's narrow eyes widened only slightly. "Eh?"

"He thinks I'm human. He trusts me. He wants my help. As long as he doesn't know I have anything to do with you, we can use it to our advantage. I can 'accidentally' mess up his plans. I can give him false information. I can help you win."

Zim's eyes burned into her, calculating. Quin brought herself to her feet, panting as she wrapped her arms slowly around herself. She had just made herself Dib's enemy, even if he didn't know it. Now she knew what it felt like to be a poisonous snake.

"Hmm..." hummed Zim. "You are suggesting that I use you as a double agent?"

Where had she heard that before?

"Yeah," sighed Quin. "Look, Zim, I, uh... I already built my own base just a little further from yours, and I think... I think I should go home."

"Yes," Zim waved at her dismissively, detracted with formulating plans. "Go. Meet me at my base five o'clock before sunrise."

Quin nodded and scurried ahead, wondering miserably what sort of tangled mess she had gotten herself into in only one day of her previously simple life.

"Fuz!" Quin cried the moment she pushed the door open. She closed it breathlessly and ran further into the base, flicking her disguise off. Her stomach was heavy with dread, and her long antennae dragged on the ground with every step. All she wanted to do was hide her face and scream.

"In the kitchen, smeet!" Fuz's familiar voice floated from out of sight. Quin whimpered and began quickly down the hall.

"Fuz!" She cried again when she ran into the kitchen. The taller Irken was humming to herself calmly, thinly chopping a carrot into slices on the counter, but she put her knife down and looked up just in time to receive a forceful hug from Quin. "Zim's so scary!" The Quin sobbed, burying her face in Fuz's shirt.

Her face softened, and she put her massive claw gently on Quin's tiny little shoulder. "But you were successful in your mission, yes?" She asked calmly, leaning down. "I knew you would be."

"Yeah," Quin sniffed, stepping away. Fuz may be her friend, but Quin still needed to keep her composure. "I've got so much to tell you!"

Fuz grinned kindly at her, but her indigo eyes glinted sharp and cold like needles. Quin blinked at her. As unreadable as Fuz's face could be, Quin had accepted it was simply the way she was. "Good!" beamed the older invader. "I'd love to hear it, but I'm making dinner."

Quin nodded, wiping her eye with the back of her hand. "Have you been making dinner all day?"

Fuz rolled her eyes and picked up her knife again, bringing it down on the carrot. "Of course not, smeet. I've been around. I had some..." Fuz flashed a grin of dagger-like teeth, and her eyes gained a sinister gleam. "Important business to attend to."

Quin would have asked what business Fuz could possibly mean, but she didn't dare. She knew Fuz could get touchy about that sort of thing. "Alright," she said quietly. "Ugh, do I really have to go meet up with Zim again tomorrow?"

"Yesssss," Fuz brought the knife down with terrifying force that shook the counter. "It's all part of the plan. When we go back home, we'll both be heroes." Fuz turned to face her, eyes gleaming sharply. "And you'll get to be a real invader for sure."

"Yeah..." Quin sighed, looking down at her tiny claws. "I'll go again tomorrow. I won't like it, though."

Fuz gave another chilling grin and patted Quin gently on the head. "That's good. You're half an invader already. Go wash up. Dinner will be ready soon."

Quin promptly obeyed, peeling her gloves off as she walked. She didn't like where this mission was going. Tomorrow would be even harder than today.

There was a storm coming. She could feel it.

A.N. So, like it? Don't like it? Wish I wasn't asking you to review so you can get back to your lives? Well I have a life too, you know, and if I can take hours out of everyday to write for your entertainment, the least you can do is take a minute and say something nice.