Dlbn: I'm ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack! *Grins* Sorry about the long wait. We only have a couple weeks of classes left, so papers and things are due. ^^" But now that it's all done for now, I am able to get to writing more. This chapter is one of my favorites in this story, to be honest. I had a great time writing it ^^

Nbld: Glad you enjoy yourself, sis.

Dlbn: You know you do, too. Now, just so people know, next week, we'll be sure to get the chapter out early and on time, because I am leaving on Thursday for ANIMEBOSTON 2012! Yes, it's an anime/manga/video game convention. I wouldn't feel right leaving without posting a new chapter. I'm late enough on chapters already, after all XD

Nbld: Now, time for the Review Corner! Thank you to invadermakayla, Princess-of-Your-Doom95, Servant of Time, sailingspace14, Codelulu-chan, Invader Ang, kitty Tokyo uzumaki, and Zayn noob for reviewing! Here's some glowing beaker light decorations for you all!

Invadermakayla: Thank you! And thank you for reading!

Princess-of-Your-Doom95: Perverted Keef is always fun ;) You don't sound like a pedophile XD They're all close to the age of consent (17 in NY), so it's okay ^^ I think Keyvine just needs a break from Caiuk and the Slerks is all. They just won't go away. I'm sorry you week was so bad -hugs- glad I could make you smile :) It is definitely slightly longer then the last one ^^ GIR has taken the gift and wants to glomp you. I'll make sure to bring him back as soon as I can!

Servant of Time: Welcome back to your account, then ^^ I wouldn't be in the mood to deal with him either in the morning. I hate mornings. Hm…define "soon"? ;) He'll act as normal as he can for the guards, but everyone knows the truth. They won't let him go so easily.

Sailingspace14: I love little excited Keef. His family is in for a real treat XD Yeah, everyone seems to want to make Zim feel bad about his parents. Poor Zim.

Codelulu-chan: Um…define "soon"? ^/^

Invader Ang: I know what you mean. Some of my friends happen to talk about it like crazy XD Then again, I have strange-ass friends ;) The other day my friend flat out said that his mind is half made up of candy, and the other half is, point-blank, penis. -_- He also once described his boyfriend's package in complete detail and told me about them having sex. Most awkward conversation of my life XD Haha nice. That's true, none of them are. One's a runaway who makes illegal weapons, two are humans that are in love with aliens, one's addicted to video games, one has an ego the size of Asia, etc, etc. XD Squishy shall return in the next chapter. Unfortunately, I didn't get to fit him into this one beyond a simple mentioning or two. ^^"

Kitty Tokyo uzumaki: That he does. They shall be reunited one day… ^^

Zayn noob: Hehe thankies :) Keyvine has to have a bit of an attitude, too, after all XD He;s been a little too sweet and charming recently, I think, personally. Keyvine thanks you for calling him cute and wishes to hug you.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Invader Zim or any related characters, logos, places, species, etc. Keyvine/Krill, his computer, SIR, the Slerks, Caiuk, Ekoa, the Universal Council, Squishy, and the Galactic Senate all belong to me. I make NO money off of this work of fiction.

Dlbn: Hey there, everyone, it's me again! Anyone who can guess the real-life identity of the psychiatrist gets an honorable mention in the next chapter. I know a few people will probably figure it out, and they will ALL get mentions. Good luck, everyone!

000

Keyvine waited with Keef and the other humans that were waiting the return of their families around 2 pm. They were in one of the unused labs, which had been cleared out and decorated with beakers full of glowing chemicals for the occasion. It was mostly teenagers in the room, though there were a few adults scattered here and there. Guards for the Lab were standing watch over everyone to make sure nothing remaining inside got broken. Dib's group of friends was anxiously awaiting the return of their parents as well. Keyvine sat with them, but Keef was busy bouncing around in front of him. The elder Irken found it cute, though he was too tired to really pay attention to anything around him. He only knew that he and Keef wouldn't have any time alone for a while, but he understood why. He could always hang out with Zim and Dib, anyway. He was sure they did things together for fun that would interest him. Zim was Irken, after all, so maybe he got Dib involved in some Irken things? The only thing Keyvine wouldn't want to do is be there if Zim ever taught the boy Irken. It would be boring, since he was fluent in both already. He vaguely wondered how Zim was so fluent in Irken, but he figured most of it came from the months of living on Earth before Keyvine arrived. Other then that, he didn't know. Tallest Miyuki wouldn't have taught him…would she? It made sense to, since a lot of transactions with other planets were done in English to make things easier, but it also didn't make sense because she wanted to keep him at home and safe under her wing. Zim may not have known it, but the Tallest did care for him more then anything. What Zim saw as unfair punishment, she saw as teaching him how to be a man.

"Oh, I don't know how much longer I can wait!" Keef exclaimed. "I want to see them so bad. It's been forever!"

"It's only been a few months, Keef." Keyvine commented softly.

"I know." Keef nodded. "But a few months is a long time to be away from your family, when they're all you've known."

"I miss my family like crazy, too." Jessica commented. "Keef's not the only one, Keyvine. It's hard."

Keyvine shrugged. Since he didn't have parents like Zim and the humans did, it didn't seem like a big deal to him.

"Don't you miss yours?" Torque asked. "We haven't seen them once since you moved here. Are they out of town or something?"

"My father's on a business trip." Keyvine picked at his nails, hoping the others would just think he was uncomfortable talking about his family situation, and not lying. "No mom, no siblings."

"Oh, Keyvine…" Keef spoke sympathetically, though he knew his boyfriend was lying.

Keyvine shrugged. "It's fine." He said. "I'm not alone." He winked at the redhead.

Keef flushed and giggled. "No, you're not." He said, plopping onto Keyvine's lap. "And I'm not either."

"Because you have me?"

"Exactly." Keyvine pecked his boyfriend on the lips.

"Aw, you two are so cute!" Zita swooned.

"Sickening." Torque muttered.

"Sickeningly cute." Keef put the words together, winking at the bald teen.

Torque rolled his eyes, but he was smiling at the couple.

A guard walked into the room from outside. "Attention everyone!" He addressed those in the room. "The out-of-town visitors will be arriving over the next ten minutes. There is a second lab room open down the hall. If your last name begins with the letter M through Z, please follow em to the next room. Otherwise, stay here. Your family members will greet you in ten minutes time, in the designated rooms. That's M through Z, follow me. Thank you!"

About half of the room, if not a little more, left after the guard. Out of Keef's group, it was only Keef, Keyvine, Morla, Rob, and Jessica left.

"It was a good idea to separate people." Keyvine commented, looking around. "We can actually accommodate more people. It's not as crowded now."

There were about ten or twenty teens and one adult left in the room. The room was big enough to fit probably four family members each, though that might be stretching it a bit.

"I was wondering how they planned on fitting everyone…" Morla picked at the mole on her forehead.

"By removing half of the people, apparently." Keef giggled.

Keyvine sighed and droned out their meaningless chatter. He'd pay more attention once the relatives came into the room. That was when it mattered. He had to put on his 'good boyfriend that isn't sleeping with your son' act, and hope they didn't see through it. They most likely wouldn't, being too excited to be reunited again to really care. When Keyvine tuned back into what was occurring around him, the guard that had taken half of the people out had returned. He was blowing on a whistle to quiet down the excited humans in the lab. The sound echoed off the walls, making some of the humans cover their ears with their hands. Though, to be honest, the fire alarm at the school was louder.

"Sorry, everyone, but it had to be done." The guard informed. "To get down with business, family members will be coming in now. We will let them come in five minutes apart, to avoid a rush and anyone being hurt. I know it might be hard to, but refrain from hugging them or jumping onto them, or however you plan on greeting your family, until they are near you. If you don't, we'll have people colliding as their relatives filter in. Alright?"

Once the guard received a chorus of positive responses, he smiled. "Relatives will come in with no particular order in mind. It's just how they managed to get here."

"That's a particular order, though!" Poonchy, a kid from Dib and Zim's class, called out from the back of the lab.

The guard gave him a look. He stepped to the side and leaned out the door. "You may come in!" He told the first family.

000

Keef's family was last to enter. Meef ran over and jumped onto his brother, but their parents took a much calmer approach to greeting him after so long apart. His mother hugged him, as did his father afterword. His father regarded Keyvine with an extended hand.

"I trust you've been keeping an eye on my boy?" He asked.

Keyvine smiled widely. "Yes, sir." He said, shaking the offered hand. "Keef was worried about you all."

"We were worried over him, too." Keef's mother hugged the boy tightly again. "We didn't know what to think once we heard about the space debris."

"Space debris…yes…" Keyvine muttered, remembering that the whole Caiuk incident in the basements hadn't been revealed to even the most trusted scientists at the lab yet.

He wondered if Membrane would ever release the truth to anyone. Most likely, it would stay between the scientist, his kids, Keef, and the two Irkens. Maybe Simmons knew something too. Maybe that was what pushed him off the deep end? It was no secret that Simmons had been dragged through the labs, kicking and screaming and biting at guards, after Zim had sent them after him. That much was revealed. Squishy had been revealed as well, and now had his own little room. Zim still promised to bring Squishy back to the Membrane's house once the city was reconstructed. Damage reports had come back from outside cities, and it appeared that their city and only one other was affected. Though the other one was only affected by shockwaves and shrapnel, it was still damaged enough that extensive repairs would be needed there as well.

"It's amazing to think that meteors could have done so much damage." Keef's mother spoke. "I mean, I know they're dangerous and everything, but to take out almost the entire city?"

"Almost?" Keyvine wondered.

"If it was all of it," Keef's dad explained, "then buildings would be completely razed down, and the city would be a wasteland until you hit the next closest city."

"True." Keyvine nodded.

He'd seen what 'all' did to a planet numerous times before. Most planets taken by the Empire were razed to the ground, then reconstructed to be whatever the empire needed…or whatever the Tallest decided to make it into. Keyvine knew that a couple planets were designed by Red and Purple when they were younger. Such as Foodcourtia. What Tallest in their right mind would make an entire planet devoted to food service? Then again, it made for great revenue for the Empire, and saved the empire money by paying a couple hundred Irkens based on what the restaurant made in a month. Sure, the Empire paid some of the paycheck, but most money came from the individual restaurants' daily earnings.

"I wonder how long it will take to rebuild." Meef stated, sitting on a lab table with his brother.

"A long time." Keyvine informed. "I mean, there's a lot that has to be made from scratch."

"Yeah." Keef nodded. "And I don't think president Man is going to refund building everything, so we're on our own for some things."

His parents nodded.

"But enough of that!" Keef exclaimed, grinning like a madman. "It's so good to see everyone again! What have you guys been up to?"

"Forget about us, hon." His mother ordered him. "What have you two been up to? Why aren't Zim and Dib here too?"

"They don't have anyone to wait for." Keyvine responded. "Gaz and Membrane are here, and Zim's on his own."

"By choice." Keef added quickly. "But Dib's family took him in, so he lives with them anyway."

"So Zim's own family doesn't know what happened?" Keef's mother looked shocked.

That was putting it mildly.

"So what's been going on around here?" Keef's father asked. "We know about Mr. Simmons, but that's it. What did you two do this whole time we were gone?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." Keef said.

"Just taking our minds off of things and spending time with our friends." Keyvine added.

The lovers shared a knowing glance. They wouldn't believe them, even if they were told.

000

While Keef and Keyvine were greeting Keef's family and lying about their activities, Dib and Zim went to check up on Professor Membrane. Gaz had stayed with the Professor the entire time they'd been back, but that was mostly to poke fun at him and mess with his already damaged psyche. Dib opened the door to the medical bay his father was being held in for testing. The Professor was sitting on a bed, hugging his knees to his chest. His normally hidden mouth and eyes were visible; his goggles removed and his lab coat exchanged for a hospital gown. He was covered in white blankets, but that was mostly for decency issues. Membrane's eyes were a dull amber color. It looked like all the life had been sucked out of them. His face seemed a little thinner and longer, adding to the lackluster look of the man. His arms were wrapped around his knees, but they appeared to be shaking a little every so often. The spiked scythe that had made up his hair was drooping down to the side. He had a darkened aura around him. Gaz sat in a chair next to the bed, playing her game as usual. Every so often, she would glance up at her father, shake her head, and then go back to her game. Though it was a hospital wing, her game system's volume was on. The sound of squealing pigs was the only noise in the room; outside of the medical equipment keeping an eye on the Professor's heart, pulse, and blood pressure.

"Hey, dad." Dib greeted slowly. "How you feeling?"

Membrane didn't look up from where his eyes were trained; on his knees.

"He hasn't changed." Gaz said. "At least he stopped muttering to himself."

"Sorry to correct you, Gaz," Zim said, knowing he was going into dangerous territory, "but technically that is a change, since he stopped doing it."

Gaz rolled her eyes, not looking up from her game as she mashed buttons.

"Shouldn't you have the volume off in here?" Dib scolded.

"The nurse told me to turn it down." Gaz said. "She's pretty much in the same state as dad now. I think she may have quit."

Dib wiped his hand down his face, smudging his glasses. He took them off and cleaned them as Zim started laughing.

"Hey, Professor?" Zim greeted, taking a couple steps closer to the hospital bed the Professor was sitting on. "How are you feeling, buddy…?"

Stopping his cleaning of his glasses, Dib cocked an eyebrow at the term 'buddy'. "Buddy?" He asked.

Membrane acknowledged Zim with his eyes. They flicked to the boy for a second, before going back to his knees. The madness and sorrow in his eyes made Zim shudder inwardly. The flicker of his eyes and the beeping machines were the only things that proved that Membrane was alive. He was breathing, which was fairly obvious, but otherwise he looked like a doll of some sort.

"Have the Doctors said anything, Gaz?" Dib wondered.

Gaz shrugged. "They think he's having some sort of mental breakdown." She snorted. "I could have told them that, and I don't have a medical degree."

Dib rolled his eyes. "What else did they say? Is there anything they can do?"

"They're bringing in a psychologist later." Gaz informed. "One of our classmates' uncles is one, so he's coming in."

"They're taking him away from his family? Can't they give them time?" Zim wondered. Everyone had just gotten their families back, or they were about to, so it didn't seem right to yank them apart again just to work on the Professor's issues.

"They said it won't take long to do an evaluation and come up with something to do." Gaz replied. "I think it's just them flaunting their power."

Dib sighed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever Professor Membrane needs, Professor Membrane gets at the snap of fingers, hm?"

That made the Professor's eyes flicker to his son. They trained on him for a good five minutes, which the others spent in complete silence outside of Gaz's game. When Dib didn't say anything more, Membrane returned to glaring at his knees and muttered something about being a burden. Zim's antennae twitched, picking up the words. "You're not a burden." He said. "Your staff's just demanding."

Membrane's head picked up a bit and a small smile was plastered on his lips. No sooner then it was discovered, the smile faded away and he put his head down on his arms again. The door to the room slid open and a man walked in.

"Hello, everyone." He greeted. "I'm Mr. Scolex, and I am the Psychiatrist you have all been awaiting.

"Hi." Dib greeted. "I'm Dib. That's my sister Gaz, and my boyfriend Zim." He pointed to Membrane with his thumb. "I'm sure you recognize him."

"That I do!" Mr. Scolex ran his fingers through bright, dyed red hair. "Professor Membrane himself…uh…what's wrong with him…?"

"Mental breakdown."

"He should see a therapist about that."

"Aren't you the therapist?" Zim asked.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I am." Mr. Scolex grinned. "Bright boy."

There was something off about the bespectacled man. Zim didn't trust him.

"Well, let's see what we have here." Mr. Scolex walked over and tapped Membrane on the head with his index finger. "Are you alright, Professor?" He asked. "Why don't you tell good old Dr. Scolex a-a-a-all about it?" He sat on the edge of his bed and folded his legs, clasping his hands together on top of his knee.

Membrane didn't even acknowledge the man with a glare.

"Ignoring me, Hm?" Mr. Scolex leaned in close and looked at the Professor with one big eye and one little eye. "That's rude you know. So what happened to make him all vegetable-like?" he sat up and looked expectantly at Dib.

"We're not sure." Dib lied. "I guess the shock of everything has finally gotten to him. Simmons did attack him, after all."

"Ah, yes, I did hear that." Mr. Scolex tapped his bottom lip with one index finger. "Perhaps the idea that someone so close to him would dare to attack him set him off the edge? It sure would frighten me if my assistant attacked me…"

"Where is your assistant?"

"Nonexistent." The man gave a creepy, half-twisted smile. "This is just a hypothetical. My word, you're bad at this game."

Dib glared at the man.

"I don't think it's a game…" Zim informed. "The man obviously needs some sort of psychological assistance…"

"Well, aren't you just the trained medical professional?" Mr. Scolex laughed before quickly composing himself and clearing his throat. "But you are right. This is no game. This is life or death!" He stood and pointed to the ceiling.

"Isn't that a bit…" Zim paused.

"Dramatic?" Gaz offered.

Zim nodded in agreement.

Mr. Scolex rolled his eyes. "You kids are no fun." He pulled a prescription pad out from his pocket and scribbled furiously on it. "Anyway, I think Membrane here is depressed. I can tell by looking. I'm a trained medical professional, you know." Zim doubted that. "Just get this prescription filled here in the hospital wing, and give him one pill every morning." He ripped the sheet off and handed it to Dib. "Any questions?"

"No."

"Then that is all I am needed for. I'm going to go and eat food." Mr. Scolex said. "Ciao!" He practically leapt out of the room in two bounds.

"I want a second opinion." Gaz said.

Dib crumpled up the prescription. "Dad's not depressed, I don't think." He shook his head. "He's just suffering from shock. PTSD, maybe. I mean, everything he knows was challenged by Caiuk in the basement."

"Wait a minute." Zim slapped his forehead. "Why didn't we think of this before?"

"What?" Gaz asked, pausing her game and looking at the other male.

"If him seeing a real live alien made him go into shock, then maybe…"

Both Membrane siblings looked confused.

Zim rolled his eyes. "That was something that happened in the basements, huh, Professor?" He asked.

Membrane looked up at him, but he didn't say anything.

"I mean, aliens? Really? Someone must really want to mess with our heads." He went on, hoping the siblings would catch on. "Must have been Simmons."

Membrane's eyebrow lifted.

"Who would think of making robot aliens and having them cause terror around the Labs?" Zim asked. "Simmons must have done it in case his attack didn't work. Or someone really wanted to mess with your head."

"Robots?" Membrane asked.

Gaz looked surprised. "That's the first he's spoken since we got him here…"

"Yeah robots." Zim asked. "No one told you?"

Membrane shook his head.

"When Squishy ate the so-called alien, some type of synthetic skin peeled off. There was a robot skeleton underneath. I guess you didn't see it."

The siblings couldn't believe their ears. Was he really going to listen?

"So…they weren't aliens?"

"Aliens?" Zim laughed. "Of course not. How silly."

"I thought you believed in them…"

"I was just kidding with you, Membrane." Zim said, offering a false reassuring smile. "I guess it wasn't that funny. And I really only said "UFOs". never aliens." He shook his head. "And I only called the space stuff UFOs in the beginning because they were, quite frankly, unidentified flying objects at the time."

"They were really robots?" Membrane looked between his children.

"What else would they be?" Dib wondered. "Aliens? Come on, dad, even I don't believe in that anymore."

Membrane looked to Gaz.

"Yeah, robots." Gaz agreed. "It was creepy, watching that skin peel off. The skeleton underneath was just so…" She faked a shudder.

Membrane lay his legs down and leaned back against the wall. "Someone was messing with my head…so…does that mean…Simmons didn't try to attack me?"

"Oh, no, it doesn't mean that at all." Zim responded. "The guy's nuts. Crazy, batty, out of his mind, insane, psycho, cuckoo!"

Dib suppressed laughter. Membrane laughed once. "Robots." He said, seemingly breathless. "Of course! How could I not think of that in the first place? Besides, they flew. Jet packs or propulsion systems in their feet. Ingenious!" He broke into a smile. "Thinking they were real aliens. What was I thinking?" He got off of the bed and walked towards the door. "Thank you, kids, I owe you one." He opened the door and left.

"You might want to put on pants, dad!" Gaz commented. "I can see your ass!"

Zim and Dib broke into laughter. "I can't believe that worked!" Dib said.

"We just had to appeal to his sense of reason that aliens aren't real." Zim shrugged. "Reverse psychology."

"Can you teach Mr. Scolex about that?" Gaz asked.

"There's no hope for him." Zim shook his head. "The man needs counseling of his own. He shouldn't be helping people."

"Helping?" Gaz asked.

"Attempting to."

"That's better." Gaz nodded.

A female voice screamed from down the hall. "Professor Membrane! Where are your pants?"

The teens laughed.