You blinked in disbelief. "Wait. You want to take over the Armada? Are you insane?"

"Yes." He said plainly. You clearly didn't like his response, so he continued. "Don't worry, y/n, Zim will think long and hard about the best way to defeat the Irken army. I think if I managed to destroy half of the planet of Irk on accident, Zim can destroy the Armada on purpose."

You sat up on the bed, staring out of the window. "How do you accidentally-"

"Don't worry about that!" He screeched. He quickly searched for something to change the topic to save face. His contact lenses landed on the egg project. "Ah, I see the human worm baby still hasn't hatched. Is that good?"

You facepalm to hide the smile that etched its way onto your face. "I told you, Zim. That's not how human reproduction works." He looked at you, waiting for you to continue. You blushed deeply. "When two people love each other very much-"

Zim gasped. "Zim loves y/n! Does that mean we are to hatch an Earthling? Zim is not ready for that kind of commitment!" He aimed a gun that he pulled from his Pak and pointed it at the egg.

"Wait!" You grabbed his hand and lowered the gun before he could destroy your room. "There's more to it than that Zim. I... honestly I think you should just research it yourself to save me from this embarrassing conversation."

He returned his alien weapon to his Pak. "Zim has already been doing research on human relationships. It's why Zim knows to do this before departure." He pulled you into what was probably the most awkward hug you have ever been in. You knew he was trying, so you hugged him back to the best of your ability.

Zim eyed the egg one last time before releasing you from the hug. He nodded his head once before jumping back out of the window with his Pak legs. You shut your window and finally gave yourself time to think about what he had just admitted to you. The ex-Irken invader had just told you that he loved you... in his own unique way. 

~~~~~

The next morning, you fished the bottle with the egg from your backpack and placed it on your desk. Dib greeted you, taking notice that you had managed to keep the project safe. You tiredly reciprocated his greeting before returning to your daydream. The rest of the class filed in, with Zim entering just before the tardy bell rang. You can tell he looked up human reproduction. His eyes were wide and terrified as he sat stiffly. 

Ah, yes. You remember when you had to take health class.

Ms. Bitters slithered-literally- through the door and scanned the classroom. A growl escaped her thin lips. "Egg projects out now!"

The skoolchildren shared glances amongst themselves. A hushed discussion broke out around the room. They all talked of how they either broke or had eaten their eggs once they had gotten home. Ms. Bitters angrily slashed her talon like finger nails down the chalkboard to gain everyone's attention.

"Since you are all poor excuses of human beings, I will end the project today! You all failed horribly, except for Zim, Y/n, and Dib. You all receive an A." Her voice managed to echo across the room.

You and Dib excitedly shouted in glee, knowing that would mean you would easily pass the class since she never actually taught or handed out work. Zim seemed unfazed by the success of the group work. Ms. Bitters held out her hand. You placed the egg in her grip. She disturbingly cracked the egg with one of her fingernails and slurped down the yolk. You shuddered and turned away from the scene, trying to block out the slurping noises she made.

When she finished, she made her way back to the front of the room. "Now, we shall return to our usual lesson of Doomology. Today we will discuss how our economic system will likely be destroyed by a pandemic."

You groaned and dropped your head onto your desk. What are the chances a virus will spread around the Earth again?

~~~~~

You opened your lunch, excited to finally be doing something than listening to your monstrous teacher's monotonous voice. You took out a piece of (favorite candy) and lifted it to your mouth. Zim plopped down next to you and took the sweet out of your hand. You glared at him for taking your food.

"This is a sugary treat, is it not?" He inquired.

You sighed, deciding to just eat the other piece you had. "Yes, Zim. You should be able to eat it without almost dying."

He nodded, popping the treat into his mouth. "You are correct. I don't seem to be throwing up or melting from the inside out."

You began to eat the remainder of your lunch. "I suggest you never take my food again if you want to live."

He looked fearful for a second. He fixed his expression just as quickly. "That reminds the great Zim! My plan to take down the Tallests."

Dib's head perked up from a few tables over. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was eavesdropping on your conversation. He rushed over. "Wait, you are turning against your leaders? Is this some kind of trick?"

"I assure you, Dib-stink, that this is not trickery." Zim waved his hand. "Zim has been wronged by the leaders too many times. I must get revenge on them and take over the empire!" He balled his hand into a fist and shook it to add emphasis.

Dib looked over to you, clearly not buying what the alien was saying. "You actually believe this? What makes you think that even if he were to take down his leaders that he's going to stop trying to take over Earth?"

You shrug. "I guess I can only hope he's going to stop the intergalactic conquest that the Irkens have started and be peaceful." You looked over to Zim with hopeful eyes.

"And why would Zim do that?" He crossed his arms. His eyes locked with yours as you did your best impression of puppy eyes. He tried to break eye contact and remain stoic, but the new emotions he was now able to feel got the better of him. "Argh, fine! For you, I will change the Irken Empire into a peaceful one and not destroy this ball of rock."

You and Dib shared a look. He decided to be the one to say what was on both of your minds. "And what about the planets already enslaved by the armada?"

"Zim cannot do much about that. Those planets are almost barren and used for other operations, like parking." He grinned evilly, thinking about all the planets they had converted over the Irken centuries.

Dib picked around at his lunch, smart enough to not actually eat the slop. "Anyway, if you're serious about this, you're going to need a team. Y/n is the muscle of the group because of the whole godly powers and abilities. I'm clearly the paranormal brains of this-"

"Who said Zim was inviting the Dib to join his mission?" Zim yelled and stood.

You grabbed your kinda, sorta boyfriend by the arm and brought him back down into a seated position before more attention could land on your table. "Dib is right, Zim." You paused. "Huh, I never thought I would say that."

Dib protested your latter statement, but you talked over him. "We need the manpower if we're going to get this done. That's including Gaz and Gir. You can be our inside man. Disguise yourself as another Irken and sneak your way around in there. Granted, that might be a little hard since apparently all the rest of the Irkens are significantly shorter than you now."

Zim nodded along with what you were saying. "Zim could always dress as one of the Tallests. It would take some time to replicate their royal outfits, but it can be done. We just have to figure out how to hide the fact that three Tallests are walking around at the same time."

You all simmered on that thought for a second. How could you separate the two leaders from each other so that Zim could sneak in as one of them. You sighed to yourself, realizing this may be where you would come in during the plan.

"We're going to have to distract them. Unfortunately, they've shown an interest in my... abilities in the past, so-"

"Yes, yes! Zim shall have Y/n beamed into the mothership and keep the Tallest busy while I destroy them from the inside! Another ingenious plan created by Zim!" He boasted.

You and Dib deadpanned. "Y/n, how can you possibly have a crush on that?" You shook your head with a smile. "Gaz can man your ship. With her knowledge of video games the rest of the fleet won't stand a chance. I can take Tak's ship and attack the ship's weakness!"

"Ahh, yes, the snack compartment." Zim said in agreement.

There was no way you heard him right. "I'm sorry? Did you say snacks?"

"Everyone in the galaxy knows that the Tallests' weakness is losing their snacks. Once the snacks are gone, they won't be able to focus. We snatch their life support while they're distracted and during all the chaos I can pretend to be Almighty Purple and break things!"

"Does he break things often?" You question.

"Yes, yes he does."

You sighed again, still not believing that two idiots are the leaders of an entire alien race just because of their height. "Don't get your antennae in a bunch, Zim. We still have a lot of work to do if we're gonna make this happen. We need to track their ship so we can get to them when they are within reach. We don't have time to be flying for months!"

Zim smiled with his eyes closed. "Not to worry, Zim tracks the Tallest daily. Because they move in a straight line, they will be within an Earth day's travel in a few months."

Dib put his fork down. "I'm not even going to comment on how creepy that is."

The bell rang, signaling time for your next class to start. Without thinking, you kissed Zim's cheek and sped off with a, "See you at the end of the day!"

He blushed deeply and was, for once, at a lost for words. Dib snickered at the sight of his now frenemy. Maybe Zim really is changing.