Chapter 11: Conflicting Feelings

                                    

                                          
A thought passed by Zim's mind ever so briefly once he had seen Tak's announcement. He considered, just for a second, about asking Xan for help. He quickly scolded himself, furious over the mere thought of that. "I can handle this alone! I beat her once, didn't I?" he said to himself, completely forgetting the fact Dib helped him. His faux confidence soon waned however, as he recalled how difficult of a task it was. He couldn't ask Dib for help- he'd rather die first than do that. Plus, Dib was on Tak's team. He couldn't call the Tallest and call for backup, "that's just not something Irkens do!" he thought, mentally scoffing at such an idea. "We're supposed to be strong by ourselves!... So why can't I figure out a way around this  alone?" he asked himself disdainfully out loud. He sat down and sighed, weighing his few options. He decided on the option he liked the least, but at least it would mean he has a shot at stopping Tak.
The day started out as any other, with Zim having to endure yet another lecture that dragged on impossibly long. Much to his relief, and soon dismay, the bell finally rung for lunch. Now was the time to propose the offer. His walk to the cafeteria seemed to drag on, more dread building up in his chest witj each step he took. Finally, he reached the cafeteria. Grabbing his "food", if it could even be called that, he turned around and scanned the room for two girls. His eyes finally found them at a table way in the back, and he sighed, beginning his walk there.
Xan and Kat were talking about drama when their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a tray making contact with their table. Going quiet, the two of them looked at the end of the table to see who dared interrupt them. At the end of the table stood Zim, a strange yet determined look on his face. Xan spoke first, "What are you doing here Zim?" Zim sat down before answering. "I have... an... OFFER!" he said slowly, the words seemingly painful for him to say, "for you..." he said the last part quietly, seemingly ashamed of having said anything at all. Xan cocked an eyebrow up this, giving a silent que for him to continue. 
"There's this old ENEMY I had, another Irken just like you two. I beat her, of course, due to my INCREDIBLE SKILLS!" he yelled the last part confidently, and then met Xan's eyes, and this confidence faded almost as quickly as it had appeared. "But, uh, I did have SOME very minor help from the Dib-beast" he said quickly, looking away. "What's the offer, Zim?" Xan demanded. "I'M GETTING TO THAT!" Zim yelled, irritated. "She... may or may not be coming back for revenge on me. And may or may not be teamed up with Dib" he said slowly, wincing at the words "teamed up" and "Dib". Xan thought for a moment, and looked at Kat. Looking back at Zim, "So another Irken is coming here and you want us to team up to stop her. Is that what you're getting at?" she asked. 
Zim grunted in approval, annoyed and ashamed of having to ask for a team up. "I'm in" Xan said. Zim did a double take, not expecting that answer. "What?" he said at last, recovering from his shock. "I said, I'm IN" she repeated, emphasizing the last word and rolling her eyes. "This planet is my mission, so I need to defend it. Plus," she looked at Kat, "I need some more interesting things in my life right now" she finished. "Yeah I'm totally in too!" Kat said excitedly.  Zim blinked, surprised at how easily they had been swayed, but his confident aura soon returned twofold. "That's the smart decision! With you two by my side, she stands no chance against us!" he said, smiling evilly. 
"Who even is this enemy?" Xan asked, curious. "Oh, some irken named Tak" Zim responded. Xan immediately felt bad. She knew Tak. Xan shook her head slightly, pushing these thoughts from her mind. 'No, I can't feel bad. We're trained to be ready to fight anyone, even those we thought were close' she thought, recalling basic training back on some military base planet. Deciding she needed a distraction, she spoke to Zim again. "So what's your plan here? How are we gonna stop her?" she questioned. Zim stalled, "Uhhhh..." Xan sighed, "You don't have a plan, don't you?" she said. Zim made an angry face but remained silent, telling Xan she was right. "Is she here at least? Or?" she questioned further.
Zim shook his head. "No, we have one Earth month until her arrival. Not ideal but nothing the MIGHTY ZIM cannot handle" he said, emphasizing his name. Xan gave the smallest hint of a smile at this goofy display of confidence, catching Kat's attention. Nothing that mentally, Kat decided to stay quiet on the matter and simply smile. "We'll figure something out" Kat reasssured the two of them. "Plus, maybe can convince her to join our side. Why would an irken be siding with a human anyways?" She inquired. Zim's aura of confidence quickly dissipated, and he began fidgeting with hid hands. 
"Er... Zim might have had a bad run in with her previously. She wanted to be my love-pig! But that stupid, stinky, idiotic monkey-DIB" he spat the name as if it poisoned his tongue to say, "messed everything up! Those horrid creatures tormented Zim together, before she revealed she was here to steal my mission. Yada yada, something about revenge for me trapping her 50 years ago? I did not listen too much to her stupid speech" Zim finished. Xan knew what had happened to poor Tak, and felt for the poor irken. 
"Great, so we have a pissed off Irken female hell-bent on revenge in you for not only disgracing her by trapping her and stealing what would have been her mission, but also shattering her ego by defeating her I assume?" Xan observed sarcastically, clearly unenthused by the situation. Zim nodded slowly, surprisingly not saying some idiotic quip, much to Xan's surprise. He seemed to very much understand the severity of the matter at hand. His face also looked... deepy conflicted. Xan decided not to press. 
She had her own feelings to sort out in her free time.