Zara sat in the hall. There was no one to be seen. She pulled a framed picture out of her Pak. It was of two Irkens. Her parents.

"What's that?" Zara was surprised to see Gir, especially at this time of night. The picture slipped from her hands, but she quickly caught it.

"It's a picture, Gir. What are you doing up?" He had a sad look in his eyes. "A nightmare?" She guessed. Gir nodded. "I think Zim is upstairs, on the main level." Gir walked past, and entered the elevator. Zara looked back at the picture. She saw something. Carefully, she pulled out a piece of paper. A note from her parents. She read it. Some of what was written greatly surprised her. She had uncles?


Dear Smeet,

The likeliness of your father and I living much longer than your birth is minimal. We give you what we think you may need in your Pak, including a picture of when we first met. I was a student for a medical class; your father was a young engineer. I have confidence your birth will be successful. I recently had the experience of helping my own mother give birth to a pair of twin boys. Not that recently, but I still believe your birth will be a successful one. We love you, remember that. Even though we may never know you, we still love you.

From,

Your loving mother,

Medic Lexan


Victoria sat in a clearing. Her father sat behind her, brushing his fingers through her hair. It seemed to have a soothing affect on her, but he didn't know why. She explained.

"W-when you brush through my hair, your h-hands rub against my antennae in a s-soothing way." The explanation didn't help, but that didn't matter. What mattered was their time together. Two fighting figures rolled out of the bushes. "Zim? Dib?" They looked up, frozen in mid-combat. They seemed to be trying to understand what they had stumbled into. Dib stood up. A mixture of anger and concern mixed in his eyes.

"Get away from her." There was silence. No one moved. There was a rustle in the bushes behind Victoria. "Get away from her!" Dib repeated. Suddenly, Zara sprung from the bushes, Pak legs giving her an extra boost5, as she leapt over Victoria and her father, and landed between them and Dib. Zim was still on the ground, not knowing what to do.

"Go home, Dib." She had a defensive look about her. He was confused, but decided not to go against her. She helped Zim to his feet. The three of them left.


Sometimes, Victoria would visit her father's dreams. He usually dreamed about her mother. That night was no exception. She watched as the dream unfolded. He was dancing with her mother, who wore a white spring dress. It seemed to remind her of something. The woman. But it couldn't be. Her mother was died.