I AM NOT DEAD. Just saying. Sorry this update took forever, I know, I know, I promised a chapter every 2 weeks but, as I said, the holidays got here and well... things got real. REALLY REAL. Basically an awful lot of stuff suddenly took up my time and I found myself being WHISKED away to merry old America where I am free to eat burgers and stuff.

Anyway, I finally sat down and hammered out this chapter, which has at least 500 words more than a usual chapter, just cos I wanted to make it up to you guys.

Have fun reading! Sorry it took so long!


Zim was brooding. He sat deep in the bowels of his lab, a terrible frown on his face and his eyes looking forward. He had never hated Dib so much in all his life, ever. He hated Dib more than he could possibly speak in words. He had spent the last two hours sitting there, one hand clenched into a tight fist, the other propping up his head as he rested on a great throne-like chair in front of his massive computer screen.

Thousands of ideas were going through his mind, an awful lot of them involving knives and Dib's big stupid head flying from his shoulders.

How... COULD he. How could he get him FIRED from his job? Dib had been the cause of every major disappointment and loss in his life and now he had taken the very thing that had defined him as a person.

And for what? Because he had become friends with Gaz? Because he was jealous of Zim's mighty fighting powers? Because he was a big headed JERK who liked doing nothing but tormenting him?

Probably all of those actually.

He huffed and continued growling to himself, even as Gir came tumbling down into the room, laughing as he randomly bumped into things. He wasn't sad about being fired, just angry about it. And more angry at Dib for finding him out than for actually being punished. He could get his job back, that wasn't the problem, the problem was that Dib had dealt a giant blow to him which would take him ages to recover from.

Justice had to be served.

Gir went stumbling past his vision like some drunk little robot and Zim growled. "GIR! Get out of here! I am BROODING."

"Bawww, Mastah! Why you so upset?" Gir replied like a child and wandered over to sit in front of him, tongue hanging out of mouth.

"Did you not SEE the mighty ZIM get fired from his mighty mission because of Dib being a MIGHTY PAIN IN THE BUTT?"

Gir gasped. "Master got fired? OH NO! NOOO! NOOOOOOO!"

Zim was about to thank the robot for his concern, but paused. "... do you even know what that means?"

"Not a clue!" Gir giggled before rocking back and forth. "But this means it's okay to have Gazzy 'round, right?"

"No Gir, it doesn't." Zim growled, feeling a slight pain at the mention of Gaz's name. This was all because of her, yet, he felt no anger towards her. It was her idiot sibling who couldn't stand the idea of them being friends.

What did he think he was going to do anyway? Turn her to the irken side? Make her betray earth? He was pretty sure that Gaz had no interest in doing either, she could barely summon the interest to listen to most of his rantings, never mind actively take part in the wanton destruction of humanity.

"I have to think of a way to get back at the Dib-stink, I cannot let this injustice go unpunished!" He switched hands to lean on, trying to see if leaning to the left produced more diabolical ideas for him to punish Dib with.

It didn't. In fact, if anything, it only made him think about how whenever Gaz was tired, she always seemed to let her head fall to the left, rather than the right. He felt his rage lesson at the very thought of Gaz, whatever that meant he didn't know. He just wished she was here to help him plot horrible revenge on her brother.

Maybe that was it, maybe he should call her and tell her his troubles, but would she even listen? Probably not, after all, it wasn't like she had any real vested interest in him. She had wanted him to change, to become something he couldn't be.

"Call Gazzy." Gir suddenly announced as if he had spooky mind reading powers. "She'll help kung fu kick Dibby through a window HI-YA!"

"No, Gir, I'm not calling Gaz on this. I am an irken soldier, I must deal with this like all good irken soldiers." Zim commanded back with a frown. "And that means no outside help."

"But you're not a soldier anymores." Gir pointed out as he jumped to sit on Zim's lap. "You got fiiired, remember?"

Zim paused for a moment, blinking before he suddenly jumped up in surprise. So shocked was he by this lightning bolt of inspiration that he was almost made breathless. It was brilliant, it was astounding, it was... GENIUS. "GIR! You little obi-wan!" He grabbed the robot from the floor, as he had been sent flying off Zim's lap when he'd jumped up. "You've got it!"

Gir just cheered in joy, happy to see that his master was no longer brooding like some angst ridden sparkly vampire. "I got it, I got it! Waddi get?"

"I don't have to fight Dib like an irken soldier," He grinned viciously, "Because the rules of an irken soldier no longer apply to me." He dropped Gir onto the floor with an unceremonious clang.

Zim now seemed to be pacing up and down in a manner befitting a Bond villain, cackling and tapping his fingers together, a dark look stretching across his green skin. "Oh this is perfect, now I can show Gaz how much changing I can do AND kick Dib's pasty butt across town."

As Gir wandered off to make more mischief, Zim rushed to his computer and began hammering away on equations, designs, blueprints and perhaps most worryingly, genetic coding.

The rain was coming, or rather, a storm. According to the weather it was going to be a bad one too, a full lightning and thunder kind of storm. It made you want to stay inside and find a nice blanket to wrap around you as you watched the rain pelt the windows and the wind rattle the house.

Gaz however, was worried. She had heard nothing from Zim all day, which was odd as by now he should have been bugging her about coming over and training with him. Or at least playing the new game releases of the summer, which weren't many to be honest.

Her laptop sat on her lap and she looked again at her IM friend list for the twentieth time, which only had about six people on it anyway, frowning again. Why wasn't Zim on? Why wasn't he sending her constant links to 'pathetic hamburger wanting cats' that weren't even that funny?

She had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with how snarky and smug Dib was acting. He'd come home grinning and refused to answer why, even after she'd threatened to beat him with a bat if he didn't stop acting like he'd won the lottery.

Gaz had a horrible feeling that it had something to do with Zim... but what? Surely whatever he'd done to the green alien this time couldn't be that bad... could it?

The heavy pattering of rain at her window drew the girl's attention. She imagined for a second what that must sound like to Zim, to know that rain, possibly even death was coming from the sky's and battering his home.

He probably wasn't that poetic about it.

"It's just rain, Gaz." Dib's voice suddenly cut through over the pitter-patter. "It's not going to break through the window and get you."

The smugness in his voice was almost insufferable. "Shut up." She turned her head to look at her brother, who was leaning on the bannister at the top of the stairs with a grin that would make the Cheshire Cat sue for copyright. "I was thinking, that's all."

"What about?" Dib pressed, as if he'd forgotten the 'leave Gaz alone' rule that she'd established years ago.

"Nothing, never you mind." She waved a hand at him, as if dismissing him. "Just go away."

"Was it about Zim?" The words instantly made her blood run cold.

"What have you done to him?" She spoke too fast and she knew it. She had instantly betrayed the fact that she was not only thinking about him but worrying about him too. Dammit, why was she acting this way? Zim could take care of himself, she knew that... and yet Dib's smile said different.

Her brother chuckled, looking up and out the window himself. "Oh, nothing much. Nothing he didn't deserve."

She shut her laptop and put it to one side, slowly getting up from the couch like a lion that had been rudely awakened. Even Dib moved back from the bannister a little at this action. It seemed even when he was being cocky, he knew not to push his little sister too far.

"Dib, tell me what you did to him before I come up there and brake your nose." Gaz demanded, her eyes not even landing on him. Rather, her fists clenched slowly, in silent warning.

"I had him fired." Dib replied quickly, a frown finally wiping the grin from his face. "I was not going to let him try to corrupt you and get away with it!"

"... corrupt me?" Her amber eyes, now filled with an inner flame, shot up to him. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you've been hanging out with him, buying him clothes, going to his house!" The boy accused suddenly, "I never should have taken that week off! He's corrupting you and turning you to his evil cause! Well I made sure he no longer has a cause to be evil for!"

"WHAT?" Her voice shook the home more than the howling wind. "You had him fired from being an invader because he was HANGING OUT WITH ME?" Gaz was so angry that she didn't know what to do with herself. She wanted to run up there and beat the snot out of her brother for his complete, interfering idiocy, and yet she was also anxious. She was anxious about how Zim was taking this.

That mission meant everything to him and now it was gone, not to mention being taken by his worst enemy, the blow... it must have been devastating to him.

Suddenly within her, she felt something... pull, like there was a string attached from her to the tiny alien and she obeyed it instantly, as if she had no choice but to obey. She stormed over to the coat rack, grabbing her coat from the wall and pulling it on.

"Wait, Gaz, aren't you going to kick my ass?" Dib replied, as if sensing that the natural order of things had been changed.

"Later." Gaz responded in a voice dripping with rage. "I'm going to see if Zim is okay."

Dib seemed absolutely flabbergasted. "You can't go back to him! He's the ENEMY!" He came running down the stairs, his arms out in an attempt to stop her. "You're supposed to thank me for saving-OW!"

Gaz had held out a fist and Dib had gone running right into it. As he fell back to the couch, clutching his mouth Gaz shot him a death-glare that would make most small animals go fleeing. "Follow me and I'll make you wish you'd never got over that cold." And with that, Dib watched helplessly as Gaz walked out of the house and into the thunderstorm.


BLAGHLA. So here it is, the epic chapter that followed the last! I kind of liked writing Zim in this one, it was nice to write something about Zim being fired where he doesn't go into emo mope mode and instead is just focused on getting his sweet revenge on Dib. Tis nice.

References!

'little obi-wan' - this is something the lovely blueflower1594 said in a review for chapter 7, I liked it so much I promised I'd put it in somewhere.

Anyways, that's all for now folks, read and tell me what you liked and didn't like and hopefully I'll update faster next time! Bye for now kids!