Okay, I know it's been another long time since I've updated, but life keeps you pretty busy, you know? Soon it'll be four years of working on this, and I have to say, four years of my life have changed me, rocked me, shaped me, and have made me what I am this very moment. From halfway discovering to who I am to learning who the most important people in my life and what the most important things are, the most important thing I have learned is how to love. I only have that somewhat figured out, and I think that's as close as I can get at this moment in my life. I know this probably has nothing to do with the story, but as the writer, I think you all deserve an explanation to why I take such a long time to update. I'm growing up, and life is this wild ride that no one can stop, and unfortunately, it's taking up every moment I have…I'm sure you have all been there, and some of you probably are still there. I thank you all for the encouragement for me to keep writing, and if it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't still be writing. I've stuck with this thing for a long time…and I intend to finish it.
So, having said that and getting it out of the way, I present to you the twelfth chapter of Maybe He Knows What It's Like—The Shack. Please, enjoy.

Zim landed somewhere on the cratered, abandoned moon, lucky to have missed the security ships that flew closely overhead and all around the moon. The massive rock he had landed behind was a great place for hiding, he thought, and hopefully they would have enough hiding time before they were spotted on the Irken moon. He propped Gaz up carefully with his arm and put a pill down her throat, and rubbed it accordingly so her body would automatically swallow; this would allow her to breathe outside of the ship.

Pressing a button, the clear shield popped open and slid up slowly, whilst GIR zoomed out and began to bounce on the gritty surface of the moon happily, looking unaware of the situation at hand. Zim slid an arm under Gaz's knees and supported her neck with his other as he stepped out of the ship again, glancing around cautiously for some kind of shelter. He had heard somewhere a long time ago that this moon had a crazed outcast living here, and something about him having abandoned shacks that he made himself.

"Probably a bunch of bull shit the Tallests put out to scare people so they wouldn't come here-" he started to say, then stopped. What his eyes had caught was the sight of a metal shack, battered up from what seemed like dents. "Okay, maybe it's not bullshit…" he said to himself again and started for the old shack.

"Where are we…?" a meek voice said and floated into his ears.

Zim stopped and looked down at Gaz who was barely awake. He smiled a little and said "On the moon."

"Oh…ok…always wanted to see the moon…"

"Not as great as everyone says it is…" he said softly and looked around, then back at her.

She smiled a little bit, obviously not in full consciousness. "Tell me when we get there…"

"You got it." And with that, she snuggled her head against his chest and slipped out of consciousness again.

He smiled at her once more before he continued on, making his way to the dented up shack to see if anyone was making it un-vacant for the time being.

Dib heard the sound of the ship door sliding open before he made a mad dash for the supposed "hidden closet" even though he wasn't sure if it was there or not. He searched all around and found it just in time before he heard the stomping of thick steel-toed boots carry throughout the ship. He felt around in the dark of the closet for a wall he could sit against and found one with what felt like a thick heavy, long piece of cloth. Perfect, he thought to himself as he put it on, seeing if it had sleeves and a hood to go along with it.

"Of course it does…" he said to himself happily as he smirked and slipped it on quietly.

He heard the whirring of the ship engine as he felt it float off to wherever the Irken soldiers were taking it to, and then bumped from side to side of the closet as turbulence washed over the ship, finally throwing him into the corner. He clung to either side of the wall with all his might as the ship started to move faster, gravity pulling all his insides backwards to the back wall of his outer shell. Clenching his teeth together with his eyes squinting shut, he gripped his fingers onto the wall as best as he could, the moment oddly reminding him of Spiderman in his early, awkward days.

He shook his head of the silly thought and calmed himself, hoping that the flight would end soon as the feeling of turbulence waved in and out of the ship as it became closer to its mystery destination. He was jerked around by the obvious horrible piloting skills of the Irken soldiers, and Dib thought that they must have been the kind of soldiers that didn't have the lights all on upstairs. He snickered to himself in the dark, careful not to be too loud, but was laughing at his own dumb joke all the same. With a sudden jerk, the ship came to a stop, and the sound of the door opening and closing could be heard as steel toed boots marched out of the ship again.

Dib opened the closet and peeked out, making sure that no soldiers had stuck around to watch the ship inside. Once the coast was clear, he pulled his hood down so his face was shadowed and then he straightened his cloth-like robe. Satisfied with the feel of his disguise, even though he was sure something would go horribly amiss, he opened the door of the ship, ready to accept whatever came his way.

Zim walked up to the door of the shack cautiously, the myth of a crazy outcast living alone on the Irken moon leaving his imagination to many things. He shifted Gaz over his shoulder and peered into the dark window that was to the left of the door.

Nothing.

Letting go of his breath that he had carefully held in his lungs (A/N: whatever Irkens have…) slowly, he reached to the handle of the door and pushed it open. To his surprise, the door glided open smoothly and he stepped into the dark, moon-inhabiting shack cautiously. He breathed in the musty air of the shack and found nothing but the smell of the musty stink of a stale shack and the darkness it withheld; which he could see just fine in, of course. Looking around, he saw an old chair in the corner of the shack, and it seemed to be the only type of home-ish furniture in the place. He sat down Gaz gently in the chair and whirled around to look behind him at the sound the tiniest sound that had just occurred in his ears.

He spotted something in another corner of the shack, his eyes locking on it creeping closer and closer to him in the dark…