The fear in his eyes was almost overwhelming, it pained her to know how her son must think of her now, a monster. What if he didn't even see her as his other anymore? What if he was afraid of her now? What if he wouldn't even come anywhere near her anymore?

Aneera shook her head as if to chase away the bad thoughts, though she knew it wouldn't make any difference. This was why she had vowed to herself to never let him see this side of her, he may be scared of her, she didn't want that. She could see the same thoughts running through Zim's eyes as well, though her biggest fear was that Noah wouldn't want to have anything to do with her ever again.

Noah stared at her with fear as she hesitantly took a step forward, making him cringe away into Zim even more, he was afraid and he may not get over it. She lowered her head and looked him in the eye, desperately trying to make him understand that she meant no harm to him. It was obvious that it wasn't working, in fact, it may be making things worse. She turned to look at Zim, maybe Noah would listen to him.

Zim understood what she was asking of him so he looked down at Noah and began whispering things that she wasn't able to understand, she was too preoccupied at the moment. Noah had looked up and a horrified look crossed his face, then he looked at Aneera, as if debating obeying Zim. Unfortunately their little moment was disrupted by the sound of guards rushing through nearby halls.

Aneera quickly changed back in a burst of flames, then ran towards the door to the docking station with Zim and Noah right on her heels. The big double doors opened with a loud hissing noise and let them pass. Zim immediately spotted his cruiser in one of the corners and ran to it, soon he would be home again, he just needed to get into space and they had a chance! A chance at freedom, a chance at survival, a chance at fighting back.

He set Noah down so he could get under the cruiser, that's where he kept his spare keys, smart huh? Noah slowly turned his head to look at his "mother" and stayed close to Zim, just in case. She smiled sweetly, but Noah gasped and took a step away from her, causing Aneera to do the same as not to frighten him.

Zim re-emerged a moment later with a pair of keys in his hand along with a huge smile on his face. He stood up and pressed a series of button to open the bubble, obviously a combination. The buttons flashed green and the glass slid up, letting them all into the voot, Zim was becoming eager to fly his cruiser again.

Aneera self-consciously got in first so she could take the seat in the back, that way Noah wouldn't have to be near her if he didn't want to be. Zim then helped Noah up inside the ship and he quickly followed. Then he took his seat in the front and picked up Noah, setting him securely in his lap so he would have some place to sit, the back with mom wouldn't exactly be a good idea.

Zim leaned over Noah as best he could and began typing in comands for his ship to take off. He pushed buttons, switched settings, turned knobs and so on. Finally he pulled up a giant menu screen and adjusted some ther settings before they could take off.

Noah snuggled into his father and closed his eyes, trying to get as much sleep as possible for the long trip. It took a while before they were able to leave, Zim had to hack into the main computer and tell the docking door to open itself. Once that was completed he shut off the menu screen and pressed one small button to start the engine. There was faint whirring noise and they were slowly rising above the other ships.

"Are we going home?" Noah asked as he looked up at Zim, his big teal eyes full of hope and excitement. Zim smiled and looked out as the door parted, giving them a clear path from the Massive to space, and Earth.

"Yes my son, we're going home." Zim's face instantly lit up at the sound of arriving home after so long, even if it was only a couple of days that they were caged on the Massive. Noah yawned quietly and began slipping into a familiar and comforting darkness. He was asleep before the voot cruiser even left the docking station, he really didn't get much sleep did he?

Zim chuckled lightly and kept his eyes on the blackness that would lead them home, he hadn't really been this happy since... well he didn't really remember when. Once the cruiser had finally risen above the other ships it flew forward and out of the docking station without being noticed.

Aneera lifted her head up, she had been laying down for the last five minutes, and noticed that the scenery had changed, they were in space now. It took a few seconds before she felt the happiness overflow and completely obliterate any other negative emotion she had had. To her it felt like already being home, as long as she was in space she could feel happy.

She then slowly stood up and stretched her arms, making her way over to where Zim sat. She was silent enough that he didn't notice her right next to him after a minute or so. He looked up smiled, though Aneera wasn't paying attention to him, she was focusing on Noah who was fast asleep in Zim's lap.

It hurt her to know that her own son was afraid of her, she was his mother! But this was exactly why she never showed him her "special ability", she knew it would scare him to death. Though now he knew and there was nothing that could change that, either he got over it or he didn't.

"Do you think he'll ever love me again?" Her voice was barely a whisper but Zim was able to hear clearly, though he wish he hadn't. He knew very well that Noah was afraid of Aneera but he didn't realize just how much it hurt her, though he probably had a reason.

"What do you mean? He loves you right now." Maybe he didn't see the pain in her crimson eyes or maybe she just didn't understand what Noah was really feeling. Although, he wouldn't go anywhere near her earlier, he was asleep now so it was easy to say that he stilled loved her because he looked so innocent then.

"How can you be so sure?" Aneera's voice broke at the last word as she came to the edge of crying, how could he not get what she was feeling? How could he be so sure? Was there something she was missing that he knew?

"Two reasons. One; he's your son, how could he not love you? Two; I've noticed that he's more like me than you." He was smiling as he said the last reason, he must know something she didn't.

"What do you mean?" Zim knew how to explain this but he had a feeling that Noah wasn't asleep anymore so he silently stood up and walked to the back of the voot. He gently set him down on the small cushioned seat where Aneera had slept earlier, covered him with a blanket and walked back to where he was sitting a moment ago.

Aneera watched him the whole time until he stood in front of her with a sweet and understanding yet regretful expression. Zim wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he spoke his explanation.

"Do you remember when you left me two and a half years ago?" He looked down and waited until she gave a faint nod, obviously not wanting to remember. "And when you came back?" This time she choked out a small 'Yes' and began to softly cry to herself, clinging to him as if to apologize for doing that to him.

They stood there for a moment, Zim was waiting for to calm and stop crying before he continued. This had always been a touchy subject, they rarely ever talked about it because she would rather not remember that time, it broke her heart when she thought about what she had done to him. After about two minutes she was quiet and Zim continued.

"When you... preferred to not be around me and when Tiz and Zink came to visit do remember what they said?" Aneera once again nodded her head but remained quiet. "They said that I still loved you. And I did, do you know why?" Aneera looked up and slowly shook her head. "It's because I knew you still loved me. I knew you'd come back."

"You shouldn't have put so much faith in me." She hid her face in his uniform, she felt awful and talking about this subject only made it worse.

"I didn't put faith in you, I didn't need to, you knew you'd come back and I knew that." She looked up at him now to say something but was cut short by the slight kiss he gave her. As much as she wanted to protest she decided that it would be pointless, he was right, she had always knew she couldn't live without him.

When she had stayed on the Massive her entire mindset had changed. Sure, for the first few months she was upset but as time moved on she began to think that he didn't want her, he never talked to her. So she started to dislike him, then she hated him, then she completely loathed him. But she knew she would go back to him some day, the only reason she could stand to be mad at him was because she knew he wouldn't leave, she would always have him no matter how she felt about him.

"What was your point?" Aneera was now eyeing Noah, what if he had heard all of this? What if it upset him even more? What if... That's just it, what if? If's never counted in the real world anymore, there was no 'if', it was that simple.

"My point was that because he's more like me than you he'll most likely be the same way. He'll come around, don't worry." His words did make sense but she just couldn't be so sure herself. It's not like she didn't believe him, it was just that the look in Noah's eyes the first time he saw her like that made it hard to believe that he'd come back so soon.

Of course Noah was going to have to live with her, he was her son, but how would he act around her? No doubt that it might be while before he became comfortable around her again. And that might be tough for Aneera, she didn't know what to think right now and she was worried.

"I hope you're right." Zim looked back down, not having realized that he was staring at Noah himself, and sighed with a smile.

"Don't worry, I know he will. And I have a pretty good feeling it'll be soon." Zim himself wasn't even that sure but whatever made her less upset worked for him, he hated to see her like this, it was painful.

Aneera made no comment, she really wanted to drop this conversation and just go to sleep herself, her eyes were heavy and the amount of sleep she had gotten in the last few days was not very much.

So instead she thought about what was coming next, soon somebody will realize that they've disappeared. What was Red going to do? Her greatest fear was that they'll notice before they return to Earth and it'll be in ruins by the time they got back.

That's where she ended that thought, something else that hurt to think about. But there really wasn't anything else to think about, except for that fact that she's a very messed up person. She often wondered why the gods or the spirits or whoever ruled was so mean to her. She had never known her parents, she was hated by a very powerful being, she had been tortured in more ways than one, who could possibly be so cruel?

Then again, she'd a very good life also. She had a loving and wonderful husband, a son who honestly did love her whether he knew it or not, and some place to call home. So it couldn't be all bad right? There was some love in her life, at least. Though she didn't know just how long that would last. Sure they had won this battle, but they had not won the war.

In fact, the war had just begun.


Aneera: I FINISHED THE FIRST BOOK!! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! I'M A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD AUTHOR!! HOW COOL IS THAT!? Well I would LOVE reviews about what you thought about book numero uno!! ... Marry... THAT MEANS YOU!!

Zim: You mean the 'zink' Marry who gave you like, one review in the very beginning. The one that lives in China Marry?

Aneera: YES!! I'm gonna have to give her another e-mail because she wont talk to me no more... Oh well, I'll just scream at her again.

Zim: Well at least book one in finished... THANK IRK!!

Aneera: So yeah, I wont post the first chapter of book two (yeah you heard me!!) for about two weeks, you guys read faster than I can type!

Zim: So when are you gonna do that whole crossover with me and twilight?

Aneera: Either after I finish this trilogy or some time during it, depending on when I get a good idea.

Zim: Well see you all in two weeks.

Aneera: By the way, the next one is called Book Two: Victory For Loss, read it! Bye bye until then! Hope you enjoyed!