Okay, before I say anything, I have to say I accidently stole a quote in my last chapter, and I don't wanna be sued! I didn't learn I'd quoted it until about 10 hours later. But if you guess the quote, and where I got it, I'll give you a free oneshot of your choice!

Disclaimer: I own no one.

Zim blinked in astonishment, staring at the wall of the v00t. "Go back…" he whispered quietly. "We've got to…"

Dib set the v00t on autopilot and turned, not hearing the Irken's desperate whispers. "It's gonna be okay, Zim. We're all gonna meet up at the Massive."

Zim shook his head. "You don't…"

"What's wrong? We're all safe, all going to a safe place. May and me and Scar and everybody's gonna be there." He knelt beside Zim, his hand on his friend's shoulder.

Zim couldn't stop turning his head from side to side. "May…"

"She's with Izetta." Dib read something off Zim's face. "She is with Izetta, right?"

Zim gulped. "She… they…"

"Zim!" Dib shook him. "What did they do?"

"They…" Zim's speech suddenly returned to him. "They shot her! They shot May!"

Dib froze for what seemed like the longest time. Then he rose and returned to the controller, trying to turn the v00t around.

Zim rose to his feet. "What're you doing?" He pushed Dib away from the wheel, and Dib shoved him back. "We have to go back!" the human yelled. "We have to get her back!"

Zim shoved the boy, hard. He fell to the floor. "Turn back! We have to-"

"There's nothing we can do!" Zim pulled the human up by the collar, furious. Looking into Dib's desperate eyes, he felt the anger draining out of him to make room for something else: hopelessness.

"She's gone."

At his words, Dib felt his whole body weaken. "No, no…" She couldn't be! May was too strong! "You're lying! She's alive, she'll come back!"

Zim dropped his collar, turning to the v00t window. He placed his palms against the edge of the keyboard, sighing deeply. "There's nothing we can do, Dib."

"She's not coming back."

"Ever."

"Prepare to be boarded." Zim spoke quietly into his transmitter as each v00t pulled into the Massive docking bay.

He turned to Dib as the capsule opened. The human hadn't said one word on the entire trip to the Massive. "We must go," Zim muttered quietly, poking Dib in the head.

Dib said nothing, but stood and followed the alien weakly, carrying the sleeping GIR and followed by Minimoose.

They shortly heard raised voices as they wove their way through the ship. Entering a tall room, Zim and Dib took in their surroundings.

Scarlet and Izetta were shouting at each other, faces close together. The anger mirrored on each other's faces was enough to halt anyone in their tracks.

"We should've gone back! We can't have left her there! She set us free!"

"There was nothing we could do, and she deserved it anyway! Her race was horrible to us; she would've betrayed us eventually!"

"You didn't think that before!"

"Well no one expected Tommy of all people to turn us in!"

"And that gives you the right to hate the first human on the planet that didn't hate us?"

"She did hate us, she was lying! Her whole race is made of liars and backstabbers!"

Mercury and Kit stood huddled behind the two, and Mercury finally spoke.

"But May was an exception."

Scarlet turned onto Mercury, her expression making the hairy defect cringe. "How do you know? How!"

"Enough!" Zim stepped forward angrily. "Fighting gets us nowhere!" He snapped his fingers at Scarlet to get her attention; she sullenly moved her glare to him.

"Now is not the time to discuss this. We have all been through much; we must heal. I'll call a meeting in the morning. In the meantime, get some rest."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Scarlet pushed past him to find a private room. Izetta trailed after her silently, looking to Zim for guidance. He shook his head, and Izetta sighed. Kit wandered off, looking for the medic chambers, frowning unhappily.

Mercury remained behind, looking at Zim tearfully. "What are we going to do?"

Zim shook his head. "I… don't know." Mercury walked past him, brushing his shoulder.

Dib and Zim stood alone. Zim sighed. "A drone will lead you to your quarters. Please go."

Silently, the boy turned to leave. He paused. "She was really torn up about this, you know." He walked out, leaving Zim to a robot, a moose, and his own thoughts.

Dib looked up at the dark ceiling, frowning. Try as he might, he couldn't sleep.

Sleep, Dib. You need your rest. Her voice whispered to him, and Dib sighed weakly.

I can't sleep, May. You know I can't sleep when it comes to you being hurt, or worse.

But you must. You need your energy for later. Dib shook his head, pushing himself off the cot into a sitting position, his feet on the ground. He rubbed his bare arms, his coat discarded on the edge of the bed.

Dib, go to sleep.

No.

Why not?

Because then I won't be able to hear you.

Well, you're just going to ignore me anyway. Dib smirked; this was just like her.

I wasn't ignoring you. I was disagreeing with you. Dib stood and pulled on his boots, leaving the room.

He could see her shaking her head in his mind's eye. Dib…

What?

You're an idiot. You know that, right?

I know. He wandered down the hall, quietly arguing with his subconscious. It was not long before he was lost. But how can you be lost if you never have a destination to begin with? May chided him, and he smiled. Silly him.

A quiet panting suddenly caught his attention, and he turned, moving towards it. He entered a room with a large view, partially covered with computer screens and keyboards. But that wasn't what caught his attention.

What caught his attention was the small Irken panting heavily, supporting himself with the keyboard edge. What also caught his attention were the broken screens surrounding the Irken, and the blue blood dripping off his knuckles.

Zim panted heavily, gulping. All my fault. Always my fault. The shot had been meant for him, he had been the one Tommy mistrusted, he was the reason they were caught, he was the reason May and Suki and Black were dead, everything he'd ever done had caused destruction and pain-

"Zim?"

Zim turned suddenly. "Dib? Why are you not in your resting chambers?"

"I couldn't sleep. I guess I wasn't the only one." Dib studied him, and Zim looked away nervously.

"Your depth of perception is astounding." Zim's tone of sarcasm was half-hearted. He turned away. "Go back to bed."

"I keep hearing her, Zim." Dib's tone of desperation caught his attention. "In my head. She's talking to me."

Zim swallowed, turning to the human. "You are imagining things. You're exhausted. Sleep, and your imagination will not be so strong tomorrow."

"But I don't want it to go away. It's the only thing I have left of her." He looked to his feet. "I don't even have a piece of her to remember her by."

"I miss her."

Zim shook, stepping towards the human. He placed a hand on Dib's shoulder. "I miss her too."

Dib sighed. "Have you lost someone you missed so much, it hurt? It felt like a body part was missing?"

"Yes." Zim's response was so quick, it surprised Dib, and he looked up. "I have. And I never wanted to feel that again."

Something warm seeped through Dib's shirt, and he looked at the hand on his shoulder. Blood trickled down the knuckles, darkening the fabric. Zim followed his gaze, and removed his hand. "Ah…"

"What happened, Zim?" Dib asked worriedly, but his tone reminded the alien of May's constant worry for him. He swallowed, holding his hand.

"It… was my fault. The bullet was for me. Tommy wanted me dead. Everything… leads back to me." He looked away, expecting Dib to agree, to hurt him, as he deserved.

Dib placed his hand on Zim's shoulder instead. "Come on. May wouldn't want you thinking like that."

No I most certainly would not.

Dib grinned, much to Zim's surprise. "Come on. I'm gonna get Kit up to fix your fingers." He pulled the Irken out of the room. "And stop thinking like that. Or I'll hit you. Just 'cuz the voices in my head would tell me to."

Dib!

Zim was extremely confused, but allowed the human to lead him to the hall. Then Dib paused. "Wait. Where are we?"

Zim smirked. "Come on, Dib-human." He pulled free of the boy's grasp and began to lead the way.

"You think we'll go back for her?" Dib asked.

Zim frowned. "I want to. But it would be a suicide mission. What would be the point? Going back will not…" he trailed off, not wanting to say it.

"What will they do to her? They think we've been brainwashed."

Zim froze. "What? Brain…" His mind whirled, wheels turning, making connections he hoped were just ideas of paranoia.

"Zim? What's up?" Dib blinked at Zim in confusion. Zim ignored him. "Zim?"

"Brainwashed. They think she's brainwashed. They think we messed with her mind. They'll want to know how. They'll…"

Dib understood suddenly where the alien was going with this. "They'll cut her open. Dead or alive. They'll cut her open for information."