Vythani kind of reminded Dib of an old soul- he was calm with his words, his demeanor, everything about him was reserved and relaxed. He looked as though he had complete control over himself at all times. Dib yearned for that kind of confidence. He only wondered if anything ever troubled him enough to ruffle his feathers a bit, make him question himself.

"There's no one way to teach someone how to fight," he said, his voice rich and smooth. "There's all kinds of fighting styles from all around the universe. We'd be here for years if I tried to teach you every single one. In my opinion, there's no right or wrong way to fight. However, as we all know, an Irken is going to fight like an Irken- with practice, swiftness, and intent to kill." His eyes seemed to lock with Zim's from across the room, but he paid no mind to it, as per usual. Zim wasn't the observant type- not unless he had to be.

"Likewise, a Vortian is going to fight like a Vortian, and a human will fight like a human. Therefore, it's my job to teach you how to take down an Irken using your own respective and unique styles. In order to do this, I first need to assess your skills, your strengths and weaknesses."

Zim abruptly stood up from his seat, stretching. "Then it seems that Zim has no business here. I already know every possible trick an Irken can throw at me."

Dib couldn't help but smile a bit thinking of the reaction Meosori would've had to Zim trying to walk out on his class. But Vythani merely smiled, taking it all in stride. "Not so fast, Zim. You may be an Irken, and you may know how most of them fight, but as an Irken yourself, then surely you know that most of them play dirty. Besides, you've never had to fight one of your own kind before. So whether you like it or not, Zim, you're on the same playing field as everyone else."

Dib was surprised that the little green menace didn't push the issue further. He merely grumbled something under his breath and sat back down, now embarrassed for having made a fool of himself in front of everyone.

"Here's how things are going to work: for the first week I'll see each of you individually every day and we'll work on your problem areas directly. For the second week, I'll pair you up with a sparring partner that I think suits you best and I'll have you practice what you've learned on each other. Remember that this course is only two weeks long, so it's going to be rather intense. Please be prepared."

Vythani's class operated much like Meosori's, minus the drill sergeant-like screaming. He allowed students to come and go intermittently throughout the day as long as they showed up when they were supposed to. Dib was assigned to go see him at 05:00 hours. Thank God there were clocks on this ship.

"This whole 'night and day' simulator confuses the hell out of me," Dib said, taking a large bite out of his sandwich- the first semi-normal thing he's had to eat since he joined the Resisty.

"You mean you've never had a night and day simulator? What kind of ships have you been living on?" Fruo asked incredulously, as if it were the simplest thing in the universe.

"I'm from Earth, remember? Our exploration of space has been… limited." Every time Dib looked around and noticed all of the fancy technology aboard the ship, he was reminded of how far behind humanity really was. What was holding humankind back from… from all of this?

"I see. I'm sorry you've had to live that way all this time. Must've sucked, not being able to go out and see the stars whenever you want." A smirk crossed Fruo's pale pink lips. "I remember the first time I ever saw space. It was crazy. I was out exploring space for… well, I don't think I've ever stopped, really." He turned to look at his Vortian companion, who seemed to be content just listening. "What about you, Dei? When did you first go out into space?"

"Oh, uh… actually, this is my first time too," she admitted shyly, looking down to avoid Dib and Fruo's curious stares. "Vort was invaded by the Empire not too long ago, and I never got to go out before the invasion started…"

Fruo's expression darkened suddenly. He abruptly dropped the sandwich he was holding onto his tray, sighing loudly. "They're fucking maniacs" he muttered darkly, "All of them. You know… once the universe is rid of the stench of the Irken Empire… I'll take you out to see the galaxy for real, Dei."

Dei's eyes widened- they were a blue-ish color- odd for a Vortian. She seemed rather pleased with his offer, smiling brightly at the invitation. "O-Of course! I'd love to go with you!"

"Good, then it's a date." He winked at her before returning his attention to Dib. "So, what about you? Why are you here?"

Dib swallowed the last bite of his sandwich as he contemplated on, yet again, how to answer this question. On the one hand he could tell the truth, to clear his name and give some back-story about himself, but on the other hand, telling the truth could get Zim in trouble. He wasn't very well-liked on this ship- it couldn't be helped, seeing as how he was the same race as the enemy.

"Atra told me that the Empire had plans to expand," he began, "and she was expressing concerns that, although it was a smaller chance, Earth could be a potential target. It had a lot of resources that, if utilized properly, could be useful for Irkens, such as our sugar supply, or our salt. I was worried. And I knew that no one else on Earth was going to step up to defend it, at least, not if I was the only one who knew about it, so… I decided to help. Besides, even if they never come for Earth, it won't be a waste… because I'm helping to save other planets too."

His two companions stared back at him, eyes wide as a tense silence loomed over their table. Dib swallowed the final bite of his sandwich, looking away awkwardly, fearing that he had, yet again, said something wrong.

"...Wow. How heartfelt," Fruo teased, breaking the silence. "I think I'm starting to like you Dib. You seem… honest. And that's… refreshing."

Dib stifled a laugh. "Uh… thanks, I guess?"

"Hey, didn't you come with that one Irken, the defective?" Dei asked.

The question was innocent enough but Dib couldn't help being a bit annoyed at the term 'defective'. It was starting to become overused. "Yeah, his name is Zim. Come to think of it, where is he..?" His eyes scanned the cafeteria, but there was no sign of the little Irken anywhere. "Huh. Guess he's at training or something," he said with a shrug.

"What's he like?" she asked. "I know he's a defective, so he's different, but… is he like other Irkens?"

"Zim is…" he trailed off, and for the first time in a long time, he didn't have an answer for that. Not too long ago he would've said something along the lines of 'Zim is a moronic green alien from outer space that I hate a lot', but now things weren't quite as simple. The lines had been blurred yet again, though Dib feared that it wasn't the lines between enemy and friend that had been blurred this time around.

"Zim is… a lot of things. He's… loud. Obnoxious. He never listens. He doesn't know when to shut up and can't take orders very well. He's… probably one of the worst people ever, but… I'd be lying if I said… he wasn't my best friend. My only friend, really."

Dei shook her head, a bubbly smile crossing her lips. "That's not true anymore. You have us now."

Fruo nodded his agreement, taking a large bite out of his sandwich. "Damn straight," he said through a large mouthful. "I'll have your back if you'll have mine."

Friendship, camaraderie… was this what it was like to be on a team? As a kid Dib had always been the last one picked, any friendships he had growing up were quick and fleeting. It made him wonder why he tried so hard for people who didn't even know he existed. Right now, millions of miles away, the people of Earth were living blissful lives, completely unaware of the war and destruction going on in their universe. Dib was the only human being who knew about Irkens, who knew about Vortians, who knew all these different things about space and planets and ships-

And maybe, just maybe, if he was lucky, he would live to tell about it.

"Alright Zim," Vythani started, "I want you to come at me with everything you have. Don't hold back. Feel free to use your PAK legs if you'd like."

Zim's eyes widened as a smug grin crept across his face. "Oh, are you sure you could handle that? Something tells me that, although you don't look it, you're getting quite old."

Vythani mirrored his grin. "My people live for a very long time, believe me. How about you? You're getting close to 200 aren't you?"

Zim snorted, folding his arms across his chest. "Shut up. 200 is a perfectly healthy age." He positioned himself across from Vythani, his grin growing almost malicious. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Come on, give me your best shot."

Without anymore hesitation, Zim charged forward, rearing his fist back. Despite his larger size, Vythani was quick, and managed to swiftly dodge Zim's advance.

Zim nearly stumbled forward and onto the floor, but managed to gain his bearings just in time to dodge Vythani's low kick. He grabbed his ankle, and with a surprising display of strength, tossed Vythani onto the floor. He hit the ground with a loud thud, the sound echoing throughout the large room.

Zim puffed out his chest, smirking victoriously. He stomped his foot on Vythani's chest, as if he were crushing a bug beneath his boot. "Victory for Zim! That was way too easy- you really should've asked me to have mercy on you."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Ye- GAHHH!"

Vythani grabbed the foot that was pressing down onto his chest and sent Zim flying across the room. Before he could hit the wall, Zim managed to deploy his PAK legs just in time and skid to a stop. The sound of the metal skidding across the walls and the floor made his antennae ring painfully. Zim resumed his earlier position, his eyes narrowed fiercely at his target. "Oh, now you've done it!" His PAK legs launched him forward, sending him flying at an impressive speed towards Vythani. With the extra limbs keeping him balanced, Zim was able to fight face to face with the ex-soldier.

Without so much as a word, Vythani managed to effortlessly block all of Zim's blows. Where Zim was fast, Vythani was faster, and it seemed to be taking less of a toll on him physically than it was on Zim.

Vythani glared sharply at the Irken before delivering a final hit to his midsection. His PAK legs slid and stumbled as he let out a silent scream, before finally falling to the ground in a heap, clutching his torso.

Vythani stood over Zim victoriously, his face impassive. "Your first lesson, Zim: don't ever get too cocky."

"C-Curse you…" Zim sputtered, not even bothering to open his eyes to look at his instructor.

But said instructor merely smiled, the ferocity from earlier dissipating, and offered a hand. "Here, let me help you up."

Zim cracked an eye open at half mast before batting the extended hand away. "Z-Zim is fine. I-I don't n-need your help…"

Vythani watched with curious eyes as Zim slowly staggered to his feet, still clutching his midsection. "Alright Zim, seeing as how you managed to get me on the ground in less than a minute, you're a very skilled fighter. You're much stronger than you look, and you have a knack for using your opponent's size against them. However, your attacks are very forceful, and you seem to use brute strength more than anything. You're going to be taking on other Irkens, so you need to fight in ways that they've never seen before, otherwise they'll pinpoint your weaknesses and take you down without breaking a sweat."

"What do you know?!" Zim abruptly snapped. "I know my own people better than anyone… this is all pointless! What else does Zim have to learn?! Why is it that ever since I've got here all I've done is train?! Are you aware that Zim had years and years of training back on Irk?! I don't need this!" He looked away, fists clenching tightly at his sides. "I knew it… this was a mistake… I never should've come here. I bet your beloved 'captain' doesn't even have a plan, does he? No plan to take down the Empire, no plan to free all the other defective Irkens! This is still the same rag-tag group of rebels that it was all those years ago! Nothing's changed! You're all useless! And I… I'm still… I too am just as useless as I've ever been…" He sank to his knees, defeated, burying his head in his hands. "Nothing's changed… nothing's changed…"

"…I don't think that's true," Vythani said after a moment of silence. He sat down across from Zim, sitting pretzel style. "I think you've changed."

"…Impossible. I can't… I can't change… we're not supposed to change."

"You're not supposed to, but you did. Don't you think that makes you one of us? A 'rebel', if you will?"

"I could never be anything like you."

"Why not?"

Zim paused, as if debating on how to answer. "Because… you all… you save people, or at least, that's your goal. Irkens aren't built to save. We're built to destroy. Invade. Conquer. Defective or not… that doesn't change. Don't you get it?"

Vythani nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I do. I know how it feels… to be built for one thing, but to want to do something else. And I believe… that even the most corrupt of people… can change."

Zim laughed dryly. "What a stupid belief."

"Perhaps it's a bit naïve," Vythani admitted with a shy chuckle, "but it's a nice thing to hold onto, you know? In such a vast, mysterious universe… you have to believe in something."

"…What do you believe then? Do you believe in this pathetic group?"

"Yes. I have faith in them, not only because I have to, but because I see potential. Rebellion is a powerful thing. With so many passionate hearts, combining their strength… there's no way we can lose."

Zim ducked his head yet again, the bitter smile not having left his lips. "…Ha. How optimistic."

Vythani abruptly rose to his feet once more. "Change is possible, you know. You've changed significantly. You went from an invader hell-bent on conquering a planet to a total rebel. I'd say that's a pretty drastic change." He offered a hand once more. "You're one of us now."

Zim stared up at him, crimson eyes wide and unblinking. Vythani was practically glowing, his kind smile and bright eyes illuminated by the bright lights of the training room. As if he were under a trance, Zim tentatively reached out and grabbed his hand, allowing him to pull him to his feet.

"Come back at this time tomorrow, and we'll work on your problem areas directly, okay?"

Zim just continued to stare as if he were in awe. How could he just say that so casually, as if their previous conversation had never happened?

"R-Right…"

Dib sighed, flopping back onto his bed. Thankfully his first training session was still a couple hours away, so he had some time to kill. He tried not to think too much, as he worried that thinking about the reality of the situation would make him go mad. But he couldn't pretend to turn a blind eye forever- this was his reality now. He was in space. Millions and millions of miles away from home.

Home. According to the ship it had only been almost a month since he'd left, but God, it felt much longer than that. Maybe it had been.

God, he missed Earth. He missed his room, he missed his car, he missed blue skies and green grass. He missed the feeling of a natural ground beneath his feet. He missed pancakes, milkshakes, cheese fries-

Stop it. If he kept that up he'd be starving again, and he'd only had lunch an hour ago.

Hell, he missed Gaz. He missed his father. He missed their occasional nights out together. Recently his dad had been making more time for them, and of course, he had chosen then to leave. Right when his father finally decided to start parenting again, he had decided to go out into outer space to fight aliens. He wondered if his father would ever forgive him for this, for leaving out of the blue to go into space.

Maybe I could-

A knock on the door brought him out of his reverie. He jumped to his feet and hurried over to the door to open it. "Atra?"

She waved shyly. "Hello Dib, I'm terribly sorry to disturb you, but… there's something I need to talk to you about. May I come in?"

Dib nodded and sidestepped to allow her entry, the door closing behind her. Atra wasn't the kind of person to come uninvited, especially not for a talk. She wasn't the type for socializing or friendly visits- perhaps that explained why she was never at the lunch periods anymore.

"So what's up?"

Atra fiddled with the hem of her coat. She seemed... scared, hesitant. The impassive, stone-faced Meekrob soldier he had come to know looked downright terrified just to be in his room. "..Why did you lie about it, Dib?" she finally blurted.

Dib froze, a cold sweat breaking out across his forehead. "W-What?"

"Please don't act innocent. I know you know what I mean." She stepped closer to him, her eyes narrowing. "The chip. Why did you lie about the chip?"

Dib swallowed thickly, his heart pounding against his ribcage. "H-How did you find out about that? I haven't even told anyone yet."

"Meekrobs have the ability to see possible future paths if we so choose," she explained, her tone cross. "It's not something I like to do, but Lard Nar asked me to take a look. And… in all of those paths, I noticed that one thing was the same: the chip had not been destroyed."

Dib shot a brief look over at the silver box on his nightstand. "...And how did you know that it was me that kept it?"

"In some of the paths, you proposed the chip as a means of taking down the Empire. And while I don't know for sure if that's really your intention, I'm here to tell you that the chip is no good. It's better off destroyed- why did you keep that destructive thing?"

"Because I thought it would be useful for the future," Dib replied casually. "Don't you get it? The chip… it's not a bad idea at all, it was just bad timing. I thought it would've been a waste to get rid of it, so I thought I'd keep it. In case we needed it for-"

"We won't need it!" Atra interrupted with a shout. "That… that thing is what got my comrades killed. If it hadn't been for the chip then some of them would still be…" She tightly shut her eyes, as if recalling a bad memory. "I won't make the same mistake twice. I will not endanger the lives of anyone on-board this ship."

Dib stepped forward, placing his hands on her shoulders to calm her. "Atra, listen to me. This chip… with a little bit of tweaking, we can turn it into a real weapon. With the right plan, we can take down the Empire with this!"

Atra looked as if she was considering Dib's words before she shook her head in denial. "...Forget the chip, we already have a new plan!"

"Do you?" Dib challenged. "Because so far, all I'm seeing is a bunch of empty promises. All we do is wake up, train, eat, and go to sleep. That's it. When are we actually going to do something? The more time we waste here, the more people we lose to the Irken Empire. So let's stop wasting time, and let's start saving lives!"

"I don't think you understand the gravity of your situation, Dib," Atra mumbled lowly. "You are an untrained human that wants to take on millions of Irken soldiers."

"...I've taken on the Empire once before. I can do it again."

But Atra shook her head yet again, unfazed by Dib's confidence. "That was pure luck. The point is, we're training you for a reason. Do you know how irresponsible it would be to throw you out onto the battlefield without any sort of prior training?! The training you're receiving now is hardly enough, but… we're pressed for time, and it's the best we can do. And now you're telling me you're ready to take down the Control Brains?!"

"Look, I get it, okay? And I appreciate all you're doing to make sure we're ready. And I'm not saying we have to go in guns blazing- I'm just saying that we have a pretty good weapon right here- and you want to waste this opportunity because you're afraid."

Atra's eyes snapped open wide, her mouth hanging open slightly, before she abruptly shut it, her eyes glaring daggers at Dib. She batted his hands away from her shoulders, freeing herself from his gentle grip. "You have no right to lecture me about fear- you can't even tell Zim the truth!"

Immediately a wave of heat splayed across Dib's cheeks. "Wh-What do you mean..?"

"I saw. When I looked at the future paths… your feelings towards Zim. I don't understand the concept of romance, but I understand enough to know that hiding your feelings will only cause you both agony in the end. Did you think about him? How do you think he will feel once he learns that you hid the truth about the chip because you didn't trust him?"

Dib ducked his head, feeling the waves of shame crash over him. "Can you blame me?! This is the same alien that tried to invade my planet for almost ten years straight! Forgive me if I was a bit hesitant to trust him right away! Besides, I trust him now, so what does it matter?!"

"I understand, believe me, I do. But let this be a warning to you, Dib. You should tell the truth." She briskly walked over to the nightstand where the chip sat and swiped it, dropping it into the pocket of her labcoat. "In the meantime, I'll take this."

"Atra, please, don't-"

"I'm sorry, Dib. I truly am. But I already lost people I care for once. I can't experience that kind of agony again... or I won't be able to go on as a soldier anymore. This chip… this chip is a risk. Even if it could take down the Control Brains… it's too risky."

"It's not!" Dib begged. "Come on, Atra, please-"

With am uncharacteristic look of twisted rage contorting her face, Atra pulled the box out of her pocket, removed the chip from it, and proceeded to throw it onto the ground.

"Atra! Wait, don't-!"

Crack!

Her booted foot came down with all of her weight onto the chip, shattering it into what looked like a million tiny pieces. He watched hopelessly as the metal fragments were ground into dust by the heel of her boot.

"Atra… why did you-"

"Because I knew that if I kept it intact you would've tried to steal it from me. I couldn't let that happen."

"Y-You... idiot!" Dib yelled. "You could've just destroyed the only hope we had against the Empire!"

She closed her eyes, attempting to block out the hostile tone to his voice. "…There is always another choice, you'd be naïve to think otherwise. You call me that now, but you'll be thanking me for this later on. Please, don't think badly of me. You weren't there to see what I saw. That chip was killing people-"

"The chip didn't do the killing, Atra," Dib began, his voice a low murmur, "you did."

She froze, the words reverberating around in her head, repeating like a mantra. You did. You did. You killed them. You got them all killed.

It was a realization she'd come to a long time ago, but had buried it beneath both collective calm and fiery passion. She didn't have the luxury of grieving. Besides, the Meekrob did not mourn their fallen. They briefly lamented the loss, listing the successes of the fallen soldier, before moving on with the mission. Why couldn't she just be like the others?

"…You're right," she finally replied, her voice soft and low. "I killed them." She cradled her head in her hands, her fingers tangling themselves into her silvery, airy locks. "The chip… the chip didn't do any of it… I allowed them to die… I let them die… all for my failures… you're right… you're right…"

Dib's fierce expression finally softened, the weight of the words he's said in a fit of anger finally coming down on him. "Ah… Atra, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I got caught up in the heat of the moment-"

"No, you were right to say it," she interrupted curtly. "You're right. I let them die."

"Atra… tell me what happened on that day. Tell me… why did you come to Irk in the first place?"

She nodded, wiping at her teary eyes, before seating herself on Dib's bed. "It all started a few years ago."