Chapter Two: Lurvely

(Word, shut up, lurvely is totally a word)

Drops of blood littered the floor in a messy line to the door. If one hadn't been terrified of what lied behind the door, he might have thought the blood looked like a gory rendition of rose petals. He wasn't afraid, the blood excited him. He carefully sidestepped the glorious offering of blood and made way to the door. The door with blood on the handle and a single, red, hand-print on the front. He pushed it open and nearly died at what was inside.

Jack raised both wrists dripping with blood almost as though in offering. The circular bed was covered and dotted with bloodstains. It must have taken forever for Jack to spill blood and wait for his body to make more and spill it again. Jack was naked on the bed, also dripping with blood. It pleased Mau deeply as a malicious grin spread on his face.

Needless to say, Mau pounced on Jack and made him his all over again. But this time, they both enjoyed it.

Destruction. Desolation. Their destination. They decided to land on a planet, and Zim and Tak reasoned to them that a planet that was already conquered was safer. Everyone agreed on it, but Dib didn't know how horrible the planet actually looked. It seemed gray and placid from out in space, so he thought it might be okay on the surface. But it was mayhem everywhere. Burned buildings, overturned vehicles. Mysterious lumps on the ground that Dib didn't let his eyes concentrate on. He was just glad he'd made the girls stay in the ship while they scouted. He, Zim and Skoodge were picking around the blackened ground, looking for anything useful in the rubble.

Skoodge turned off their road, looking at a house down the road. Zim and Dib stayed back, examining something that looked like a wagon. "Zim…is this what Earth looks like now?" Dib asked, emotion piercing his voice.

"Maybe," Zim answered without putting any thought into it.

"I'm serious, is this what it's like?" Dib asked, starting to get pissed at Zim again.

"I'm serious too, I don't know what Earth looks like…I haven't been there," Zim said, overturning a clay pot with a stick.

Dib stared at that clay pot. "But you know what your kind does…you know how they destroy planets. Zim…are all my people dead?" Dib glanced up from the pot and at Zim's face. There was a hint of pain in Zim's eyes, but mostly he looked far away, distant with memory.

"Probably not…" Zim whispered, looking down at nothing in particular.

"Then…what? What's going on there?" Dib asked, staring at Zim until he answered.

"None of your planet's resources are compatible with our machines. So Earth is probably a prison planet now…with human laborers," Zim muttered.

"Shouldn't we go there then? We should save them!" Dib exclaimed.

"It's the whole planet, Dib, I don't think there's anything we can do for them…" Zim said, poking some ashes around with the stick.

"Don't say that! There's got to be something we can do! They're my people, Zim, we have to help them!" Dib said. Zim sighed and crouched on the ground, setting down the stick.

Zim ran his fingers through the ashy, gray dirt, picking up some of it in his hand. "Look at this planet, Dib. Is there anything we can do for the indigenous people? For the land?" Zim asked.

For as far as Dib could see the air was clouded, smoke still hung in the air above them, and the ground was black and chalky. "No…I guess not…"

"Then what can we do for Earth? This is what your planet is like now…it's dead. There's nothing left," Zim said, eyes fixated on the dirt. Dib's heart pulled at him with pain. He wouldn't hear Zim's words, Zim had to be wrong like he usually was. There wasn't any way that Earth could be so dead like this planet.

"You just don't want to try," Dib said coldly, "You're giving up before giving it a chance." Zim didn't way anything back. For a while they just stood there in silence. Dib put his hands in his pockets and looked away. Soon they heard the crunch of boots on ash and rubble.

"Hey guys," Skoodge called, "All clear."

"There's obviously nothing left on this planet," Zim muttered. Dib wanted to smack Zim upside the head but didn't.

"Don't say that," Dib scolded, "Who knows what's out here." Dib looked over the vast land. Underneath the disgust at what was done to this place, Dib was excited to explore a new planet again.

They kept walking and searching ruins. Neither Zim nor Skoodge told Dib that they knew for a fact that nothing was left, they knew personally.

Dark grungy walls that gave off a sense of hopelessness. Every once in a while a bilge would run across the floor and into the corner. She feared to know why the bilges ran through her room so often. Everything was dirty and smelled like burning flesh. Maybe somewhere in the prison they did burn bodies…she tried not to linger on that thought. A rough shiver coursed her spine, how long had it been since she was warm? Back when she was teaching, yes, that always made her heart alive.

She taught the soldiers on Devastis. Her subject was chemical warfare. But that wasn't what got her in this place…was it. No, it was her special job that only a few people knew of. She was there to spread word of something huge. Something that would shake the very foundation of Irken society. Everyone thought that the Tallest was the only leader there was. Kita knew there was a leader more powerful than any Tallest. That was the word she spread, that the unseen overlord was much more powerful than the Tallest. She also told them that the unseen overlord taught love. Kita was surprised and confused when first confronted with this concept of love, but it soon became habit. Love was an emotion deemed hazardous by the control brains, thus they flushed it out of the paks.

There was one face that Kita always remembered in these times. A confused little face that didn't understand what she said at all. She could tell he had mental scars from all that Irkens went through, like most did, but he was different. It was like he was cracked inside. He would rant and rave and make ridiculous demands that didn't make sense. This was a special case in her mind, she thought it would be hard to teach him. But when she talked to him, he quieted. She thought something was wrong, but he was just listening. He was actually trying to understand what she was explaining. If only she'd had more time…maybe. No, she couldn't think like that. But…if she could get out and find him.

A distant yelling sounded. It seemed like someone new was here. Maybe Red was getting bored with her. She desperately hoped so. She hugged her knees to her chest and began rocking softly. Someday…someday she would be out of there. Someday he would save her. Someday…she'd be free…. Someday.

Gaz sat at the control console flipping through television stations, looking for something familiar. Her feet were precariously propped on the edge, nearly pressing several buttons. She reclined back in the chair Zim usually took, making sure to put her weight directly on the back to change its shape a little.

"Hi~!" Tak chirped by Gaz's ear. Gaz jumped and nearly smacked Tak with the remote. Tak giggled and sat on the bench by the wall, just a couple feet away from Gaz. "So what ya doing?" Tak asked. She was seriously reminding Gaz of several high school girls she used to know.

"TV," Gaz grunted.

"That's great!" Tak cheered. Gaz didn't bother to reply, staring at the TV set above the console as she flipped channels. Out here in space there were thousands, and Gaz was intent on seeing each one for exactly two seconds. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Tak staring at her.

"What?" Gaz barked, tilting her head slightly Tak's way. She noticed that Tak was staring at her middle. Tak blushed and looked down at her hands.

"Um…what does…Oh gosh," Tak fidgeted for a minute. "What does…it feel like…?"

Gaz stopped pushing the up button and the TV stopped on some romantic looking alien show. She thought seriously about what Tak was asking. She set the remote down and gently touched her belly where a creature was growing steadily beneath the surface. "It's painful," Gaz said bluntly. Tak's smile faltered a bit, but she waited. "And it's…wonderful." Gaz thought about how every night now she stayed up just to feel her child moving around. To feel it's heart beat against hers. Sometimes it was in sync, sometimes not. "It's like a little person…and it's part me too. It feels like it shouldn't be there, it's foreign. But then again, it belongs there, I feel it. I…I want it there…I…." Gaz faltered as her throat stopped working. She noticed her eyes felt warm and liquidy, but she went on. "I just want it safe…I want it inside of me…where it's safe and warm…"

Tak stared at Gaz with wide, wondrous eyes. "G-Gaz…I think you're talking about…love," Tak whispered. Gaz let out a sharp laugh.

"Love?" Gaz asked, "You seriously think that's something I'm capable of?"

"I think your more than capable of it," Tak defended.

"Tak, I shot you in the head with the intent of killing you…because I was bored with you…" Gaz said strongly, but then in a much softer voice added, "I felt nothing…I'm a monster…I don't deserve a child to love…"

"Yes you do!" Tak said, standing up, "You shot me without feeling because of your surroundings. What do you think Skoodge and Zim and I have been bred to do? We were taught not to feel. And that place…it made you into that…it made you into us."

Gaz stared coldly at the TV, her mind not even registering its movement. "I nearly killed both Zim and Dib…what kind of sister is that? …I'm a bitch, Tak. Stop defending me already."

"No," Tak said, standing her ground. "You're nothing compared to us, Gaz. You have no idea what we've done. I dream of killing people every night, and they're all memories. I remember pulling couples apart as they cowered before us, and sending them opposite ways, usually killing the males." Hot tears began budding in Tak's eyes. "And I felt nothing. I destroyed them…on the inside and I felt nothing."

"And you know what?" Tak went on, "Zim dreams too, of doing these things; probably worse things than me. Everyone has demons, Gaz. As an Earth saying I thought you would know that." Tak took a moment to collect her thoughts. "And you know what? We three Irkens did all those bad things…but we're happy now…we all have someone to love. And now…after all the shit you've been through…the shit you've done…you have someone to love too."

Tak waited and watched Gaz. She was staring at her belly with her hands cupped around her stomach. Her hands were shaking and her face was wet. Tak stepped closer and saw the pained, yet curious expression Gaz had. "Well…if that's the case…what the hell am I gonna call this thing?" Gaz asked shakily, laughing a little. Tak smiled and brought the bench closer to Gaz.

"I like the name Miz."

- - - - - MEANWHILE back at the Batcave (coughs for an insanely long time) we mean, the Massive- - - - - - -

"Hey Red…" Purple called leisurely.

Red sighed deeply. "Yeah Pur…"

"Where did Gaz go? I was gunna show her these chips, they're awesome," Purple said, munching on said chips.

"She's not here anymore, Pur, she left, remember," Red explained, tired of saying the same thing over and over. Purple had worse attention span problems than he did, so he kept forgetting that Gaz was gone now.

"Oh…" Purple said dejectedly. "We need a new Gaz…"

"Yeah," Red agreed. They sat in silence and watched the stars for a moment.

"Wanna use one of the prisoners as a new Gaz?" Purple suggested, getting excited at the idea.

"Well…okay. But it has to be a broken in one…I don't want the new Gaz to run around trying to escape or anything," Red said, getting up.

"How about that Kita from Miyuki's section, she always obeys," Purple said, gulping down a slushy.

"Sure, that'll work," Red said, happy at getting to see Kita again.

"I don't know, Zim…this seems like a bad idea. Like…a really bad idea," Dib mumbled.

"Oh come on, Dib, it's just a cave," Zim teased.

"A cave filled with potentially harmful things," Skoodge pointed out, staring into the gaping hole of the cave. It seemed really dark and confusing down there. It didn't seem wise to travel into a cave on an unfamiliar planet. But Zim did unwise things all the time and he was okay, maybe he was just extremely lucky.

"We're trained elite soldiers, Skoodge," Zim mumbled, "And…a human added is…well less, but still."

"Hey!" Dib said, offended.

"What?" Zim asked, shrugging. All three looked back at the cave.

"You can't be serious about this," Dib said nervously.

"Oh but I am," Zim said, almost boasting, "There could be all kind of wonderful things in there and your irrational fear is hindering us."

"Irrational?" Dib asked, "My fear is completely rational. Do you even know what could be down there?"

"Yeah," Zim said puffing up, "Awesome things! That's what!"

Dib let out a growl of frustration and stalked through the entrance of the cave. Zim smirked at Skoodge then walked in after Dib. Skoodge sighed and followed suit, no point in turning away now.

"No," Gaz said, turning her head away.

"But its such a cute name," Tak whined.

"I don't care if it's cute…because it is cute. I don't want it," Gaz said stubbornly.

Tak sighed. "Fine…it's your baby I guess." Gaz smiled and raised her chin proudly. "But Tamara is so cute…. What will you name it if it's a girl?"

Gaz felt around for the baby kicking and held it. "I think…Elizabeth." Tak gasped loudly making Gaz laugh. "I like how many nicknames there are for it."

Tak nodded. "I like it, it's cute. My name is just Tak…no nicknames."

"Yeah," Gaz agreed, "Gazelle can either be Gaz or Elle, not much of a choice."

"I like your name, it's pretty," Tak said in her air headed manner.

Gaz smiled. "Thanks. Yours is cool, too." Tak smiled proudly. They were getting along quite nicely. Gaz had never talked about something so mundane like names and enjoyed it this much. Maybe this whole 'friend' thing wasn't just for whiners. Hell, even if it made her a whiner, Gaz wouldn't give this up.

"Tak, I-" Gaz stopped short with a sharp intake of breath, clenching her hands into fists.

"What, what's wrong?" Tak asked, starting to panic.

"N-nothing, it just…it's passing…" Gaz managed. She let out a breath and relaxed. "I…I don't know what that was…"

Tak's eyes wandered over Gaz's belly and she noticed something Gaz might not have. "Um…Gaz. Did you wet yourself?" Tak asked, pointing to Gaz's crotch. Gaz rose slightly to look.

"Aw crap…" Gaz mumbled. Tak got that panicky look again. "Tak…my water just broke…"

It was really dark, Dib could hardly see. He let Zim go ahead of him, staying between the two Irkens who could actually see where they were going. With nothing else for Dib's eyes to concentrate on, he started to think of other things. Eventually he thought of Gaz. How long did Zim say until the baby came? A month and a half, and she was already a month in at the time. Dib did the math in his head and figured Gaz was dangerously close to giving birth.

Dib pulled out his radio and tried to call back to the ship to see how Gaz was. It bleeped then shut off. Dib panicked. Crap, they were in a cave, the radio probably couldn't get the reception to call back. "Zim…Zim we need to go back to the ship now," Dib called ahead of him.

"Oh really? What happened to 'There could be anything out here?'" Zim asked with a laugh. Dib frowned.

"Gaz is pregnant and she could go into labor at any time," Din said grimly, trying to get the point across, "So lets go and see how she is. The radio won't work down here, we need to go back up."

"I think he's right, let's just go, Zim," Skoodge called from the back. Zim sighed loudly.

"Fine…but you owe me a cool cave trip thingy," Zim whined, letting Skoodge take the lead in backtracking. Dib turned around and followed Skoodge, making sure he heard Zim walking behind him. Zim was just the type of person to sneak off and explore on his own.

All of a sudden Dib walked straight into Skoodge, almost tripping over him. "Hey," Dib grunted.

"Uh…Dib…there's a…" Skoodge stammered. Zim stopped short of Dib without running into him.

"What, Skoodge, just say it," Dib grumbled, angry at having slammed into Skoodge.

"Hello, little tasty morsels," A dark and deceptive voice hissed at them.

"W-What the fuck?" Dib asked, breathless, eyes wide in trying to see the thing in front of them. Dib felt Zim's hands on his back and could only assume Zim was looking over him to see what was in their path.

"It's a…bilge spider…" Zim whispered, almost in awe.

"What's it doing here, Zim?" Skoodge asked.

"I dunno…" Zim said unhelpfully.

"Do not speak of the Great Marok like he isn't here," Marok said angrily.

"Hey look, Zim's not the only who speaks in third person," Dib said with a nervous laugh. Zim lightly smacked Dib's head and Dib wished he could see Zim's face right then.

"You all know what Marok wants, one of you has it," Marok whispered.

"M-My robot bee?" Zim asked in a small voice.

"What? No," Marok said, a bit confused.

"Don't take my robot bee!" Zim yelled, the weight of Zim clutching something to his chest pressed into Dib's back as Zim tried to hide behind him.

"I didn't even know you brought that out here, Zim," Dib mumbled.

"What's a robot bee?" Skoodge asked.

"Enough about the damn bee!" Marok yelled.

"MY BEE!" Zim yelled back.

"GAHHH!" Marok screamed in frustration. A scratching could be heard on the ceiling and dust fell on Dib.

"He left…" Skoodge whispered in amazement.

"Nice job on annoying him so he'd leave, Zim," Dib congratulated.

"Yeah, it would've eaten us. How'd you know to do that?" Skoodge asked. Zim remained pressed against Dib.

"Um…yeah, haha. I so did that on purpose," Zim said shakily, "I knew because…because I am ZIM! And I just know these things!" Dib and Skoodge laughed and kept walking. Zim reached up and took Dib's hand, and for the moment, Dib let go of all the frustrating thoughts about Earth and Zim not cooperating and just enjoyed the feeling of Zim's sweaty hand in his.

"It's a boy," Tak had announced. Gaz didn't know what her feelings were about that. She knew she was happy about one thing, Zim's favorite chair being ruined, it was his fault since he wasn't here. That's what Gaz thought anyway. Now Tak and the child were in the back, she was making the computer check on him to see that he was okay.

Gaz felt something…this longing. Like the child that was with her for so long was gone now. He wasn't save out in the world, he needed to be back with Gaz. The TV was still on some weird alien channel, but she didn't bother to change it, the noise and the light were nice. She stared at it with glazed eyes. It had been more tiring than she thought, getting that thing out of her. Stupid little kid…how dare it make Gaz hurt so much and take so much energy from her.

Pessimistic feelings were building up rapidly inside Gaz. She sat up weakly and looked over at Tak. She was just bundling up the kid. She turned and grinned at Gaz, picking him up in her arms. "Here," Tak said warmly, handing him off to Gaz. The bundle in her arms was so soft and warm. She glared down at him, still angry, but he opened his eyes and looked into hers…and smiled. Gaz found herself smiling too. He had green…green eyes. They were like little emeralds staring at her. He had pale skin, like all babies, but Gaz could see a small hint of green, making him kind of olive.

She shifted the bundle and looked at his little hands. Four fingers. Gaz opened the cloth a little, four toes…and a tail. Not just a tail…a cute little…baby tail. It made Gaz smiled and laugh softly at her child. So that was what kept hitting her at night, his overactive tail. Gaz looked up to make sure Tak knew about the tail. Tak was smiling and watching Gaz warmly. Remembering her previous thoughts, Gaz though about Tak, she'd taken care of him perfectly. Gaz wrapped him back up and cuddled him gently to her chest and reclined in Zim's chair. Maybe he was safe out here in the world. Gaz could protect him, and Tak as well. And the boys would definitely take care of him, or she'd beat the hell out of them.

"Hello," Gaz cooed, getting the baby's attention again, "Welcome to the world, little Miz."

:D so lovey dovey. I love this chapter, it's so cute and was so much fun to write. I love Miz…I think he's my favorite now.

If you're wondering why the androids didn't help Gaz out with the kid being born and shit well…um…they went on vacation. Yes, that's exactly what happened (cough cough)

Sorry this took so long again. I've been playing world of Warcraft a lot lately cause school's been cancelled for practically two weeks, only went to school for three days I think the last two weeks. XD it's been awesome. I meant to post this on Lurv day, thus why Mau/Jack was there, but I couldn't wait to share this. Enjoy :) R&R