A/N: OK so the last chapter (#6) was supposed to be called Explosions, and Fire, and Love, Oh My! But the thingy wouldn't let it be that long, sorry. Just FYI in case you wondered. And as always, please R&R and enjoy! And anything you feel is more appropriate as a private message to me than as a comment/review then please private message me!
Gaz didn't beat Zim too badly; he did let her and her brother go, and made sure she was okay today after all. But he deserved what she gave him. Now they were even; she was satisfied. Zim sat on the floor where she had left him; clutching his squeedily-spooch and glaring at her. Zim supposed he deserved it; the Gaz-human obviously cared for her brother, and did not like being imprisoned in her own mind. Zim would never make that mistake again. But for now he wondered how they were going to get out of there, and where Kat had gone. Couldn't she have helped him? Weren't friends supposed to keep friends from hurting each other?
Kat wandered around the lab, searching for any kind of opening whatsoever. She had managed to locate GIR long enough to tell him to find a way out, and then he had zoomed off again. Whether he was actually looking she had no idea, but it kept him busy; she hadn't seen him since.
"Kat," Gaz called; "where are you?"
"I'm over here, looking for a way out of this place," she answered. Suddenly she spotted a small hole, and went for it. "I found a space! I'm going to see if I can fit, and see where it goes." Gaz identified Kat climbing through the debris that had piled up below the opening.
"Be careful Kat! Don't get crushed or anything," Gaz yelled in her general direction.
Kat giggled to herself; "I won't!"
Zim walked up cautiously behind Gaz and surveyed the wreckage; combing the room for Kat. He found her; climbing through a hole in what used to be the wall. They watched her disappear, and waited anxiously. Kat crawled through the tiny passageway feeling slightly claustrophobic. She was wary of the instability of the situation, and the tunnel. She tried to concentrate on finding the end, and hopefully a way out. Suddenly she heard something rumbling, and turned her head to try to look back, but the passage was too tight for her to even do that. If she ended up having to go back, she would have to crawl backwards. She then heard what sounded like the roof caving in. Oh great, she thought, just my luck. Kat scuttled as fast as she could down the shaft until she came to a point just wide enough to turn her head. Her suspicions were confirmed; the tunnel was collapsing. Kat scrambled to find an opening, an exit. She tried her best not to panic; and eventually reached the outlet in Zim's front yard. Kat lay on her back in the grass; breathing heavily as she watched the last of the dirt and rubble close up the escape route; knowing it could have been her. She recovered her head, and remembered that GIR, Gaz, and Zim were still stuck in there, with no way out. They also had no idea if she had made it out. She couldn't even be sure they knew it had collapsed. Then she remembered that she and Gaz had cell phones. Kat felt stupid; she had crept through a claustrophobic hole in order to escape the lab when she could have just called- wait, Zim would have been revealed if she had called the police. Well, she supposed she should at least call Gaz to let her know she was out, and see what they could do.
Gaz and Zim stood silently as they waited for some sign that there was a way out. Then they heard the rumbling, and saw the roof of the tiny shaft begin to cave in. Gaz tensed and without thinking grabbed Zim's arm and held it tightly. Zim was startled, and decided to ignore the strange gesture, even though she was beginning to cut off his circulation. "Kat?" Gaz inquired of the empty room. "Kat; are you there? Are you all right?" she yelled. No answer. Zim could see the unease creeping across her face.
"Kat, if you live, answer Zim!" he shouted; mostly to try to comfort Gaz. Seeing the strong, resilient, durable, violent, lovely human so distressed bothered Zim. There was still no reply; and Gaz grew increasingly troubled. They stood in silence for a while until suddenly Gaz crumpled to the floor holding her head. She was conscious and sitting up; Zim kneeled beside her, "What was that? Are you in pain?" Gaz took her hand from her throbbing head and did the best she could to shake it off.
"I'm fine, I'm not a whiner." But she gasped in pain.
"No, I never said you were, but if you're in pain I can make it go away," Zim coaxed. Gaz glared at him, and tried to stand, but her knees buckled, and she fell again. Zim caught her before she reached the floor however, and helped her back to the table. Gaz went grudgingly; she was strong, but not stupid; she knew when she needed help: when it was dangerous to her health to go without it. Zim began to once again run tests on her with the computer to see what the problem was. Just then Gaz's phone rang, causing her to once again growl in pain. She answered it quickly in order to escape the added agony the shrill sound caused. "What?" she snarled into the phone.
"Gaz? You sound angry, what happened?"
She recognized her friend's voice; "Kat, you made it! You're not buried in the tunnel?"
"No," she laughed; "I'm fine; I made it out just before it collapsed completely. I'm on the outside of the house in Zim's front yard. Are you two all right?"
"Yes, we're fine, nothing else but the passage caved in thankfully." Gaz put Kat on speaker so Zim could hear her as well.
"Well, that's not entirely true. I'm fine, but Gaz here seems to be suffering the effects of what is possibly a concussion," Zim corrected; earning him an unsavory glance from the patient.
"What? Gaz are you okay? Zim, you take care of her, you hear me? Or I'll have Kris, Sam, Zen, and Meg over here and it won't be a pleasant visit."
"I will, I promise. I thought you said you trusted Zim, geez," he grumbled.
"I do, I know you'll take care of her. But I wanted to make sure you knew what would happen if we got you out and Gaz wasn't OK," Kat chirped. Zim and Gaz shook their heads; sighing. It could never be said of Kat, Kris, Sam, Meg, or Zen that they weren't fiercely loyal to those they cared for. "So how are you two going to get out?"
"Well, the computer can repair the lab enough for us to get out, but it may take a day or so," Zim reported.
"A day or so," Gaz questioned in disbelief; "that long?"
"Let's face it," Zim admitted; "there is substantial damage…" Gaz was still scowling at him. "It's not like I don't have food or anything! We can live just fine down here for a day or two," he defended.
"Well, if you two will be OK there for a while, I'm gonna go round up Kris, Zen, Meg, Sam, and Dib to see if we can figure out a way to get you out sooner, OK?" Kat suggested.
"All right; if you think you can get us out sooner; then by all means try," Gaz agreed; staring pointedly at Zim. He just shrugged and began to command the computer to initiate repairs in places where it would be most beneficial.
"OK; I know you guys will make it. Just hang in there, and don't kill each other please. We'll do what we can to get you out. Good thing it's a weekend. I'll call you back as soon as we get anything, all right?"
"OK Kat; thanks. We'll talk to you then," Gaz answered.
"All right, talk to you then. Bye."
"Bye," Gaz replied, and hung up. She then turned to Zim. "Why did you tell her about my head?" she accused. "She doesn't need to be worried about me."
"Kat is your friend and I thought she would like to know. She is concerned for your safety and would have been upset with me had I not told her," Zim replied tersely.
"Since when have you cared if you upset someone?" Gaz retorted sharply. Zim was slightly offended at this remark; especially from Gaz.
"She said I was her friend," he nearly whispered; not looking at her. Gaz was surprised; she hadn't expected that kind of response from Zim. Perhaps he was succumbing further to human emotion the longer he lived here. Gaz decided to leave it alone for now, and remained silent. Zim changed the subject for her.
"It seems that you will be weak and in pain from the impact for a while, but there is no permanent damage. I have a painkiller here that may work for you, but I haven't tested it on a human yet. It may make you drowsy or a little hazy…"
"Can't be any worse than the throbbing; just give it to me," Gaz instructed.
"OK, here you are," Zim brought over a syringe filled with an odd-colored liquid. Gaz wasn't fazed; she rolled up her sleeve and presented her arm. Zim carefully injected the painkiller, disposed of the syringe, and cleaned his hands. Gaz began to feel the effects within minutes. Zim observed her vigilantly. She began to feel sleepy, and lay down on the table. She was dead to the world five minutes later. Zim went back and forth between computer screens keeping tabs on the repairs and looking for his snacks; all the while keeping a watchful eye on his patient. He eventually found a stash of food that had been untouched by the flames. He brought it to the medical section of the lab where he deposited it and set to work constructing a bed for himself and a more comfortable one for Gaz; as the cold, metal table was probably not too relaxing. Once he had completed this task Zim warily moved Gaz to the softer bed because he had no idea how long she would sleep. He succeeded in transferring her without waking her or getting injured and was satisfied. He then went to find something interesting to do while wondering what GIR was up to. It worried him when the spastic little robot was gone or quiet for so long, especially considering that in this case there was nowhere for him to go. Zim was watching the progress of the repairs and playing around on the internet when Gaz came up behind him, and sat in his lap. Zim was extremely startled by this. He looked at her eyes and found that they were still tinted that light blue-ish color. He had noticed from observing Gaz that it seemed to be an odd side effect of the drug on humans; it had not completely worn off yet. But it would very soon. He looked up into the human's strangely enchanting face and could think of nothing better to say than: "Hi." Gaz's soft, velvet laughter trickled into her answer; "Hey." Zim didn't know what to do, so he did what he could to resume his previous activities. Gaz turned to face the screens; "What are you up to?" the smooth words glided gracefully from her tongue.
"Um, just keeping track of the repairs and finding ways to entertain myself; since you were asleep," Zim answered somewhat awkwardly. He wasn't sure how to react to Gaz being this way. "Well, I'm awake now," she purred; "maybe I can help you entertain yourself…" She took his arms from they're places; he had to reach around her to get to the computer; and put them around her waist. He could perhaps get used to Gaz's behavior; he thought. Then he caught himself; this was not right. Zim should not feel this way toward a human; humans were filthy, stupid creatures that were begging to be conquered. Zim moved to get up and Gaz moved so that he could. He strode over to the beds and pretended to be occupied with something. "I think I'm going to look for GIR; he has been absent and quiet for a suspiciously long time now…" Zim made up an excuse to get away and clear his head. But it didn't work. "I'll help you," Gaz offered; "we can make it a game." She sauntered closer; "After all, GIR likes games," her voice was like honey. She ventured closer, touched his chest, whispered in his ear (or close enough); "Tag, you're it…" the playful words like black silk gliding smoothly across his face. Gaz slid her hand up to his chin; gently grasping his jawbone; Zim closed his eyes. She moved her face back so that it was in front of his, their foreheads touching; then she was gone. Zim opened his eyes; she was peeking out from behind a tall shelf that had remained standing. She laughed and disappeared behind it. Zim couldn't help it; he went after her; chased her around the lab. But then he lost her; he looked everywhere, but she had vanished. Then a gentle breeze hit his back; he turned to find Gaz hovering in the air several feet above him; vast bat-like wings unfurled and sustaining her flight. He was astounded. She landed in front of him; smiling; "I win." Gaz circled Zim, he watched her with wonder, his eyes wandering her body and wings.
"When did that happen?" Zim asked when he regained the use of his voice. Gaz smiled; "When I was conceived. I assume you know what that means?" Zim nodded as a slight blush crossed his face. Gaz stopped and looked Zim square in the face, demanding his concentration. "Can you keep a secret, Zim?" she commanded his honesty with her tone and her eyes. He nodded. "Promise me," she insisted. "I promise," Zim said; he meant it. He knew better than to betray her trust, and had not even known he had gained it. Gaz knew he would not break his promise; he feared her, though he would never admit it. She had begun to trust him on a personal level as well; he had spared her and cared for her in the past few hours and two days ago. Recently the thought had snuck into her mind that perhaps he fancied her. Then Gaz began to notice things; small details that she recalled over the years that suggested the same thing. She would never admit it, but she had long ago begun to care for him as well, and hoped that he felt the same. Gaz admired him for his determination despite his frequent failure. She also found his destructive, violent, and spontaneous nature alluring. He had very little regard for anything but himself and his plans, and took no interest in what he destroyed along the way. He was ridiculous; spoke in an odd but entertaining manner, and was sometimes stupid. But Gaz had discovered in Zim a match for her dark soul that she could find nowhere else. She had never felt this way about anyone, and had to know if the alien could feel the same. So she would see if Zim could care for her after this; she would tell him something she had never told anyone. Meg, Zen, Kris, Sam; none of them knew, not even Kat was aware of Gaz's mutation. Dib, Dr. Membrane, and the doctors who delivered her were the only people alive who were privy to the information that she was about to bestow on Zim. She decided to trust him with it, and knew he would keep her secret. But did he, or could he still; feel affection for her when he knew her real self? Gaz had been planning this for a while and finally had an opportunity and an excuse; he had played beautifully into her hands just now. She would test her theory tonight. "Let me tell you a story," she began; "it all starts before I was born…"