There was no panicking and no need for it either, just quiet understanding of what needed to happen, what was going to happen, and what is happening. All of it meticulously planned out but of course even the best plans are still able to fall apart due to missight and mystery. This did not seem certain to the group that consisted of Zim, Gaz, Krit, and Pixi (MiniMoose and Gir too yes.) The night that Gaz and Zim had heard what Dib was planning they packed everything up and put it in the ship. They explained everything to the rest of the party of which the majority nodded, understanding the situation. Gir was not happy leaving so soon but they made him understand the urgency of the situation. The last person they had to talk to was Aunt Cazzma of whom was actually panicking, being frantic, weeping, fanning herself, and continuously hugging them crushingly.
"Oh, I'm going to miss you both so much! Please don't forget to write this time, Zim! Keep me updated on all your adventures. I don't want to listen in and hear that something terrible happened."
"Zim will write when Zim has time to," he answered through squeezes of his organs from her hugs.
She took something from her pocket and put it in Zim's hand. He looked at it, it was a picture of a Gallkin, a young one who looked similar to Aunt Cazzma, his red eyes shone with determination, dignity, and valor. Without asking Zim knew who this was, it was Rift. He thumbed the picture of the brave looking youngling only thinking of how such a light was snuffed out too soon.
"When you dethrone that menace I want you to frame this and put it somewhere where everyone can see. Put it next to all your other heroes and warriors and knights and invaders who had died. We are not Irken but we are still part of eachother. Do not let his loss go unnoticed."
Zim touched her shoulder. "I won't," He promised and then gingerly handed over the picture to Gaz so she might see it too. She looked at it for a long time it seemed, imagining what he was like and what he would have become. She swore to honor him an any way she could think of. Krit had seen the photo as well and it wounded him as any other thing he had seen. The pair felt for him, having been birthed into a warzone, waking up from the pod to bloodshed and tyranny and living with only the bad things life could offer.
It was no wonder he cherished any small praise or sign of love he got. They boarded their ship stealthily, just in case, and waved goodbye to Aunt Cazzma as she sniffled and wiped her tears. As Zim exited the atmosphere he looked back upon this planet he had thought very little of in all this time with some fondness. It now held a lot of memories for him and he felt it was his duty to make sure he returned often even just to breathe the air and remember everything. Gaz looked upon it too, feeling a bit bittersweet about the whole ordeal but leaving right away was the only thing that made sense if they waited longer Dib would get them for sure.
"I don't know who is worse, Dib or Matthew," Gaz stated, chewing on a toothpick as she looked out into the still lovely view of space.
"Matthew for sure," Zim responded.
The group was heading back to Earth to go and find that clone, if he was a clone and there was a good chance he was and see if he would join them. He really was the biggest ace up the sleeve they had and not what anyone would be expecting. If he did side with them the plan was to dress him up as close to Dib as possible and use him to gain access to The Massive. No one would really be able to tell the difference since they were clones and he would be able to sneak around without actually looking sneaky.
They'd have to find their army and any other prisoners willing to retaliate and then from there they'd have to actually reach out to Dib so that he would come running back to the Massive to get them and then- showdown time. Sounds easy, right? Of course, it really wasn't and there were a lot of what ifs that they had to face but being the calculative people they were Zim and Gaz had been able to come up with counter plans just in case. Pixi had been helpful in making the plan too, as she was logical, knew about probability, could actually fight properly unlike Gir, and since she was an unknown Sir unit, she could sneak in too unnoticed. In case of the likelihood that clone Dib did not go with them they had plan B.
Plan B was still a part of Plan A it just cut the clone out of the equation. Since Krit was not a suspect nor seen or heard or known about other than by Gaz's group and they wouldn't tell anything, he could also very easily board The Massive with no one looking at him strangely. He would regroup with Skoodge and the others and from there the plan was pretty much the same except Krit was not allowed to go where he pleased unlike someone who looked an awful lot like Dib. Zim could disguise himself easily enough as any old invader the issues came up with Gaz, Gir, and MiniMoose joining in. Gir especially. He was just too loud and would blurt out their plan to anyone who asked. Even if they asked him to play the quiet game, he would break his silence at some point. Keeping him in the ship seemed like a no go either he might just destroy it. Leaving him on Earth seemed the best option but there was no one there who would watch over him and Gaz didn't enjoy that.
They also had wanted to release the human prisoners which included her own group and one other thing was they needed a ship no one would recognize. Tak's ship was the ship they would have to use but it only answered to her and Dib and she'd be in it. They had another option but it would raise some eyebrows because who they thought was Dib was not commonly seen in a different ship. There was no time to build another so one of their invader group would have to lend them their ship but said invader had to be someone they wouldn't really notice was missing but at the same time was someone whose ship Dib would want to ride in. It was a pickle, a real pickle. Dib only trusted Tak and scant others. Their best course of action was the old bait and switch. Gaz would be able to go in without a disguise, she would be Gaz, and she would be captured by the person who looked like Dib. They would use Zim's ship and explain it away that yada yada it didn't matter the fine details because Dib was a Tallest and they could do anything. There was still a lot of bumps in the plan that needed to be smoothed out but they would take it one step at a time. First step was finding this Louie.
"Why do you say Matthew? Dib's been your sworn nemesis since childhood."
"Because he dared to touch you then and he's going to dare to do much worse now. We weren't exactly too friendly to him when last we met and he's itching for revenge on both of us. Either he's going to try to get at you again or... kill you...and either one will be the death of him, the latter being the death of me."
"Oh Zim..." Gaz sighed, leaning on him, rubbing her face into his arm. She was ready for this to be over. If Zim could just dethrone Dib it would honestly be enough though dethroning meant a lot of things. There was kicking his keister which was going to happen anyways and he'd have to surrender, there was imprisonment, there was fighting to the death which only worked in their favor if it wasn't Zim dying of course, there was the populist choosing Zim which seemed unlikely, tallness meter worked still but Dib was taller than Zim, much to his chagrin, and there was right of throne by birth.
The only living members still related to the Queen were a complete failure so he was not worthy of the throne even if he was the last Irken alive (it was literally a law written in stone) and there was the other one who was missing or more likely deceased. So, no. Not an option there. If only he was an inch taller this might be all over. Gaz started to wish the clone was obscenely tall and could just boot Dib off of his throne that way and then give it over to them. He wasn't though, the record showed he was actually a bit shorter than Dib. There was nothing for it but to battle and even with their group expanding it would still not be enough.
Zim wasn't thinking that, he didn't allow himself to think that any more. Having thought it once was already too much. An Irken invader does not think of such a thing as losing or of failure only of winning. He could not let his mind wander into bad endings or would be's or what ifs or all the problems. He just knew in the end it would come out alright, with him on top of the world with Gaz by his side. That's just how it had to be and he didn't let his confidence waver so that the fantasy seemed tangible. It would be a reality, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
He had failed too much already and he needed to prove himself. More so than that he wanted Dib shipped and carted out of his planet asap so he could find some way to put Gaz on the throne. Even if there was no way he'd still treat her like the royalty he saw fit for her. His Queen of the Underworld, Queen of his dreams and his nightmares, Queen of his heart, his soul, his body, Queen of his world. He put his arm around her and drove with the other. She snuggled into him and began to drift into sleep. She was so damn tired- Which was HIS fault, and it was a long ride, a nap was much warranted.
Krit sat back a little with nothing to do except play more games with Gir and Pixi, quiet games. Gir had been threatened to stay silent or else. No one asked what or else meant, Gaz had said it and that was enough. That went on for a while until Gaz woke up to see a familiar sight in front of her, stretching and yawning, she was visited with the planets she knew lead up to her own. Earth. It didn't feel like her planet anymore- really it never did. It felt so foreign and unusual now after being on Gall for a couple days. She wondered what it would feel like for her on Irk.
Somehow, even in the heat of the battle, she knew she would love his planet. She squinted her eyes and looked back at the rest of them then saw just how bored they were. She popped in film for them to keep them entertained which Krit was most appreciative of. He was starting to become addicted to films, especially if they had art in it. Zim pulled her in for a kiss, it was deep and full of all the words he couldn't say at the moment, all the I love yous, I need yous, we will do this, we CAN do this, I'll never leave yous, and other such romantic dribble. She skootched a little closer to him, crossing one leg over his.
"You know you snore but it sounds like a waterfall."
"That's a nice way of putting my clogged sinuses," Gaz remarked, trying to nuzzle even closer to him. He wanted her on his lap, that's where a Gaz belonged, on him or near him, or him on her, mostly in her.
He really had a hard time keeping his hands to himself, that's what they told him in invader training school, but when it came to her it was more than that. He really really really loved the feel of her on his bare anything. He was always given standard issue gloves because an Irken should never have to sully their hands also hands were more forbidden to look upon than necks, so shamefully tiny too, and he was glad of the gloves. Helped a lot when germs were around. He never thought about touching a person, assumed they would singe his flesh if he ever did come in contact, but when they operated on him in front of a mortified Gaz (a day he would never forget because of her horror and the other reason about to be said) she had touched his hand afterwards.
He had held onto her before that but always always with the gloves. Until his outfit redesign he had no gloves and when her skin touched his he had wanted it again. The whole day after she left all he could think about was how soft she felt how warm she felt. He wanted to hold her hand forever and never let go. As things progressed, he found the gloves annoying when around her. He now thought the gloves had a secret purpose in Irken culture, a layer between them and others so they would never have contact, never feel each other's warmth, never start to feel those fuzzy tinglies you get when you touch skin. She liked his gloves though, he did too for fashion reasons (Zim was secretly more a diva than any girl though he'd never admit it) but no matter how they made him look he still wanted them off all the time. Such a bother.
"You're so stoic when you drive," Gaz admitted, rather sleepily still trying to wake up from her long nap. Apparently 10 hours was still not enough for her.
"Stow rick? What does it mean?"
"You're cool and badass like um...like I dunno. You've got your eyes always straight ahead and you don't say much. I never thought I'd find driving sexy."
He smirked. "You find my impeccable driving skills stimulating? Sometimes, my Gazling, you are curious."
"Gazling?"
"Like your smelly Earth word darling. A Dar means something very different on our planet so when Zim hears it he wants to rip out people's tongues. Gazling sounds much better."
"I once heard the word darling used to mean 'favorite minion' so if it still was the case you would use it for one of the robos."
"Humans are so strange...calling their supposed mates minions."
"Also, it sounds like you're calling me gosling...which is a baby goose..."
Gir was now laughing in the background at that, rolling all over every centimeter of the floor, his tears bursting out of his eyes. "Honk Honk!"
Gaz sucked her teeth at him and laid her head on Zim's shoulder. "It was unintentional. Gaz is not a goose you are a bird of prey if anything."
"I want to be a vulture and eat dead things," Gir claimed, raising his hand.
"You be whatever you wanna be Gir as long as you be quiet."
It didn't take long for Earth to come into view. Home. No, this wasn't her home, saying it was felt wrong and nasty and awful and did she mention wrong? It was wrong. It looked like a new place to her, a place she wanted to crumple in her hands like a bad idea on a piece of paper. Nothing was waiting for her there, everything she wanted and needed was right here next to her. This Earth, gosh even its name felt wrong-o-rama to say, it looked so ugly to her, uglier than it ever looked before.
After being in the glory of outer space nothing could compare but it was still so hum drum. Blue water, a pale blue that only reflected the sky, and white clouds filled with toxins and pollutants, and green grass withering to brown because no one knew how to take care of the land any more. On Gall they shared, they worked together, they bartered in a semi-friendly manner, and their plants thrived in healthy happy environments. The cave where she had her first time, it had been so viscerally beautiful and that perfect moment with Zim made it more so.
"It's awful..."
"What's awful, Gaz?" Zim asked looking at her face with curiosity.
"All of it. This place the whole damn planet. It needs another great biblical disaster. Wipe it all off and start over again with new humans who might actually be smart for once. I feel so...ugghh here... it's almost chilling how out of place I feel."
"You don't belong here. You are a true Irken at heart. Fuck what anyone else says."
She stared wide eyed at him. Did he just say that? She had heard him say that word before but not so blunt and sharp (oxymoron?). Why did it turn her on so much? Why did he have to be the god of knowing Gaz's weaknesses. When he cursed or spoke any Irken, any at all, it made her blood rush and made her want to speak it back or at least understand it. When they were in bed and in the throes of fiery passion, he spoke it often. That and her name, almost like it was inscribed in his Irken dictionary.
"Oooh master you saids a baaad word. Put your money in the swear jar."
Zim just ignored him, swatting him and his mysteriously appearing out of nowhere jar away. Gaz smiled and looked at the jar, it had a couple of cents in there.
"Do you really use a swear jar, Zim?"
"Does Dib have a small head? Gir is just making stuff up as usual."
Gir shook the jar loudly in Zim's face so he grabbed him and stuffed him the equivalent of the glove box which he surprisingly fit in. Gir giggled about it being cozy like a warm hamster belly. Gaz leaned her head back and sort of laughed thinking that between the two of them they'd need a swear pot. Earth came even more into view, then the city and its people. She sneered at them. Did she really look like that; all weirdly sick colored and ugly as sin? No Zim always called her beautiful, the most beautiful human he'd seen.
If Zim called her so it was so. She looked at herself in the little mirror. Yeah, she was alright looking. In comparison to these creatures she was Aphrodite. They graced just above the tops of the towers, the sky scrapers looked like metal pipes to her now, the cars looked like boxes of color moving jerkily on a black tarry road, the houses had too many windows looking at nothing. Zim stopped off at the side of a building, it looked monochromatic like the others and far too shiny with way too many windows to stare at all the monotony. According to the sign it was some sort of tech place where you buy laptops and tablets.
"This is where he works. Gaz your lovely lovely looooveeelyyy face is far too recognizable. Even in a large crowd you are easy to pick out. You'll have to put on something to cover up that mmmf absolutely gorgeous face."
"Did you really need to compliment the heck out of me? Could have just said put on a hoodie."
"Zim cannot help it. The beauty compeeeellls Zim to praise it."
She snickered a little at him. 'Such a goofball always has been always will be'. Gaz picked out something inconspicuous but also not recognizable, it was an old thing of hers but it still fit just barely. No one would be expecting her to wear pink of all the ghastly colors. Why was it pink? Because someone (it was her father) had washed it with other colors and turned her white skeleton sweater pink. Zim gasped dramatically. He had a secret love for pink of all shades and he thought it looked good on her of course anything looked good on her or on his floor, hanging off the lamps, draped over the chair. Just anywhere off her body. She hated it and it clashed with her hair but it covered her up enough to where you couldn't see her face especially if she tilted it down. Zim wasn't sure if everyone was informed that he was Z but for safety measures he didn't go with that. He picked a preloaded disguise, an average semi weighty Joe with a beard. Krit had to stay in the ship to watch Gir although Pixi was there for that. Besides They assumed Krit was not a good liar, as young children tend to be.
"You should really have some type of mode that makes your ship look like a car."
Zim put up one finger, opened his mouth, and then curled it. "Oof. Why didn't I think of that!? It's ingenious!"
"You never even thought of it...? You know I shouldn't even be surprised..."
Zim and Gaz hopped out of the ship which was always risky business even if it was invisible and made their way inside the store. Her hands fidgeted in the pockets of her jackets, desperate for her GameSlave right about now but that was a dead giveaway at who she was. Zim in his disguise nodded at the people saying hi when he walked in and asked one of them where he could find Mr. Neuron. The man helpfully pointed them in the right direction in the computer section there was a guy at a desk talking on the phone. Gaz couldn't believe it. He was the spitting image of an alternate Dib, short hair and no glasses but so very similar if not almost identical. He looked a little more like the Professor than Dib did and his voice too was a few notches deeper than Dib's but still had a cheery chirp to it.
"Well have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?" The Dib look alike asked the person on the phone. He looked up at his two imploring customers and mouthed one minute. "Uh huh...see that's all it was. Okay. Have a great day Missus Hess. Buh bye now." He ended the call and wheeled his chair a little closer to them. He smiled with his hands on the desk, he seemed so friendly and approachable, the perfect kind of person you'd like to talk to for hours when troubleshooting your P.C. "Hey there! Sorry about that. What can I do you for?"
"Could we speak to you in private possibly?" Zim in his altered state asked.
"Uh oh. Must be a hefty sized problem-o if you need a one on one consultation. I'm available for it Wednesday and I could book you in at one."
"It really needs to be today."
"I'd love to help, friend, but I'm a bit busy here. Tell you what though, I'm juuust about to clock out. Wait a little and we can talk then, m'kay? Free of charge."
Gaz liked him so far, he wasn't a complete kickable football head like her brother but his demeanor could be the prim and polish of a seasoned sales associate. He did have a golden pin that said employee of the month tagged onto his shirt. Zim and Gaz nodded and walked around, looking at stuff, pointing at it, talking about it and moving on. Really, they were trying not to look like two really suspicious characters. It didn't take too long for the man to find them again. He had a broad chest but long narrow legs, dressed up well in a button up white shirt with black tie and black pants.
He asked them to walk with him to his car and they could chat on the way. He was very trusting which would be his undoing. Gaz nodded at Zim when they got to the car and he nodded back. They were always one step ahead so after Gaz sprayed something in the air that would knock him out, her holding her breath, they both acted the concerned citizen role, and took the man away to get "help". When he came to, he immediately saw Krit blinking at him curiously, seeing someone who looked like the Tallest Dib but then again not like him either. Louie screamed at the top of his lungs in panic.
"Please calm down sir, it's okay it's okay," Pixi soothingly said but to her he only screamed again.
MiniMoose gave it a shot and more screams. Gir thought it was hilarious and kept screaming with him. Zim, back to his mean green self, turned around and barked,
"Stop your screaming already! I'm trying to drive without crashing here!"
He turned and screamed even louder this time which made Zim want to smack him hard across the face. Gaz got out of her seat and pulled down her hood to reveal herself to him. She almost expected another scream and prepared for it but he did not scream at her. His voice, so broken from yelling so much, called out her name softly.
"Gazlene..."
"You know me?"
"Know you? Heh. I've been watching you for my whole life...oh that sounds creepy oh god I don't mean it like a stalker way more like a guardian angel way. That might not make sense to you at all but hear me out, and this is going to sound crazy because it is crazy-"
"Skip it. I know already you are a clone of Professor Membrane, my 'dad'." She used air quotes around dad. He was no father to her.
"How could you have...how did you...?"
"You can thank me for that, human computer repair man," Zim replied, turning to him again, "I'm sure I need no introduction."
"Zim...! Oh, I was so busy screaming I didn't even notice! Wait...Holy Toledo! This is so much to gather...aren't you supposed to be kidnapped? And isn't he evil or something... ? I mean I never thought so..."
"Look, Louie, sit down. We can talk when we get to your house. It's a long story... for both of us."
Gaz sat herself back down and buckled herself in which made Zim release his breath. He did not want to have some abrupt event happen and her to be standing with nothing to stop her from getting mortally wounded or worse. Louie sat down slowly, eyes darting to one side seeing Pixi who was still blinking her pink orbs at him, to the other side was Gir who was inching closer and closer. There was also the other alien, much smaller, and innocent looking, with freckles. And a floating moose. He had just known when he got up today was going to be a weird day.
His horoscope had said so. He just soaked it all in, this crazy bizarre situation he was stuck in the middle of, keeping quiet the whole way there. Not that it was too long a ride especially by space ship. They landed by his house and all got out, of course Zim had to don his disguise and Gaz had to pull up her hoodie. Gir went inside a backpack and Pixi with him, to his delight. MiniMoose fit securely in her pocket. Krit wore a baseball cap and a hoodie too, he felt so strange. The man named Louie searched in his pockets for his keys, fumbling with them a little. It was obvious he was shaken up by it all which was understandable. He opened the door and immediately there came the sound of pitter-pattering feet and happy cries.
"Daddy daddy!"
Two kids came out to meet him, one little girl with black hair in thick shirey temple curls and one little boy with green hair that had a strangely almost sickle shaped cowlick. He bent down and scooped them up receiving kisses and hugs.
"Hey kiddos!"
Gaz could not help her smile, darn it all even she was susceptible to cliché cuteness. It was heartwarming in a way to see that this botched clone had found happiness after all. True happiness. He walked inside and everyone followed him. His wife was in the kitchen finishing pulling cookies out of the oven. It was literally picture perfect.
"Welcome home honey...and guests! Good thing I made a lot of cookies!"
Something about her seemed oddly familiar, her green hair and oddly pinkish colored eyes and oddly green lipstick. Gaz couldn't put her finger on it but she didn't really have time to ask or to sit down and carefully explain everything slowly. No, the metal boy wonder had to unzip himself out of the bookbag and come whirring fast towards her screaming happily about cookies. Gaz, Zim, and Pixi collectively facepalmed. What a nightmare. The wife screamed and her cookies went up in the air, all caught in the mouth or head space of Gir. She clambered on top of the counter, holding onto her watermelon print apron like a 1950's woman seeing a mouse. The children, however, were ecstatic about the robot, they thought it was cool.
"Honey buns get down from there. It's alright, he's friendly...I think..."
"You think?!"
"Well I... it's a lot to handle...I think we should all just sit down and have some refreshments and talk at last. Kids, why don't you take the robot and play with him in your room?"
Pixi heard this and flipped out of the bag, following the happy kids. Gir and kids do not mix! She had to be there to supervise lest things go awry. MiniMoose just slept in Gaz's pocket. The woman recoiled then jumped of the counter and approached the table with shaking hands, pulling out the chair and sitting down. Her pink eyes were wide but she smiled anyways, trying to remain congenial. Louie poured lemonade for everyone though he seemed to not know that two of his guests were not the liquid drinking type. The lady sipped her lemonade then calmed down a bit.
"Well Louie...two robots just ran wildly through our home. I really don't think whatever you are going to tell me can be any crazier than that."
"Oh, sugar swirl... it's a lot crazier... it's insane. Now, I think you two should start but love bun, promise me you won't scream or panic or run away."
"Dear you act like they are aliens or something," she replied, laughing a bit nervously then it died down when no one else was laughing with her. Zim was the first to confirm her fear, taking off his human disguise and revealing what exactly he was. He sighed in relief then sat down again. It was obvious the woman was now forcing her smile, her pupils getting smaller.
"Do not be afraid, we mean you and your family unit no harm. We have come to exchange words with your um...husband... right that's the word."
"Louie...do you realize who this is...do you realize how much trouble we could be in just for having him sit in that chair?! He's a wanted felon, the enemy of the whole state if not the whole world! And you thought it wise to bring him here?! Here of all places?!"
Gaz flipped off her hood and Krit followed her example, not that it mattered no one knew who he was here. He tried waving at her but her eyes were focused only on Gaz at the moment. Her mouth was open and she blinked. She pointed at Gaz then at Zim then at her husband then at Gaz again. She sucked in a large breath.
"Yeah...this is insanity...I never thought I'd see the day where I had two aliens, two robots, and a blast from the past all sitting down drinking lemonade."
"Do you know me too...?"
"We went to school together...I'm Peyoopi most accidently called me Poppy, I was about 2 years ahead of you. Never ever though Dib would amount to anything... look where we are now. God I'm going to need a huge pain reliever after this...just...talk...I'll listen..." She moved her hand back and forth, urging them to speak as she leaned back, looking so out of it.
Gaz and Zim told their story, starting at the start when their friendship begun so long ago, each sort of smiling as they reminisced then frowning deeply at the following events. They told of Gaz's plot to save him, of his daring rescue, of Matthew, of the group and the base, of their budding romance, of her capture by Dib, of him finding the documents. Just about everything- in cliff notes. At the end of it all the one who looked the most surprised was Louie while Peyoopi just had this long-distance stare.
"That was...quite the story..." was his final comment.
"Indeed. Now is the time to tell us yours, I believe," Zim said, hand on Gaz's back the entire time.
Peeyopi and Louie looked at one another then she put her hand on his in a comforting way, his other hand went on top of hers. He looked at them with an earnest sort of appearance, the kind that told everyone there that he had quite the story to tell too.
"It was a long time ago, I was a happy child back then with who I had thought all my life was my father. I never went outside though but that didn't seem to matter to me. I was happy with my toys and my coloring books and my dad at my side. He taught me how to read, write, basic math, and science of course. I never questioned why he always checked my vitals everyday or why he would make me do physical tests while he wrote stuff down. He would scan my brain and check my vision, hearing, blood work, bone density, and so many other things. I guess as a boy you are naïve to what is right in front of you. Then one day out of curiosity I found his lab and he was not in it. It was sheer luck, nothing else, that I found proof of what I was. I confronted him about it, I was still a small child at the time so it's not like I could use complicated words or anything. My fear and anger and not being able to understand why he would do this and never tell me all mounted and when it was night time I escaped.
I was a little boy with no family, no idea who I was, only barely grasped what I was, and was frightened. I had nowhere to go. It didn't take long for someone to find me and throw me in an orphanage. I told them I had no parents, I always felt that was true. I stayed there and tried to make friends but nobody wanted to be my friend. Alone again. I watched the television to keep myself occupied and then that's when the news hit. Professor Membrane announced he had a son. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand it at all. I broke the television that day in my anger, made the caretakers furious and they made me sweep up the not as dangerous parts. I could only sulk with that image in my head of him curling close to the baby, the baby who looked like me. The better version of me...that's what I thought of him then. I was just another test and I was alone, no one would understand me.
I decided I hated my father and hated that boy and told myself I would keep hating the entire family if I could. Then you came, a year after. I could not hate you. You were born naturally of a wife I had never seen and the man I hated, not crafted cell by cell to be perfect. It wasn't long after the day you were born that I got adopted and renamed by a new family, one who loved me and treated me like their very own. I was the only child so I was given everything but I didn't ask for much. Their love was enough. I could go outside and play with the other kids. I had friends but I could still tell no one of my past. I wished I could but I knew even my new parents would reject me and any friend would be scared of me. I was a monster, a Frankenstein. No matter what even when my friends came over, I felt alone in my being misunderstood. I longed for companionship, a sibling who I felt I could confide to. I thought of you, Gaz. I thought you could have been MY sister, I could have been your brother. Something in me told me that I was still your brother and as such I began to follow the Professor's path again, finding out whatever I could about him that lead to you. It took some detective work but I found where you went to Skool and from then on, I was always there.
There to protect you silently from the Professor should he ever do anything to you and from your other brother or anything else. I saw how they treated you, so wrapped up in their own little lives that it left you all alone. You hated the world. The world had wronged you. I don't know when or how but you lost your mother just as I had technically lost my father. We are extremely different but I couldn't help but wonder how you might have been with me instead of...well you know. I would have loved you enough to ask what was wrong, to hold you when you were down, to celebrate your successes and help you when you failed. I would not have ignored you. It didn't do to think about the past and what could have been. You were a ball of anger with purple fire for hair and your new brother, the better than me brother, was obnoxious in my regard. When you started Middle Skool, that's when things heated up because that's when Zim appeared.
I knew he was not human, it must be some sixth sense that me and Dib could see through it when no one else could, and I knew of his plans to try and take over but like you I was certain he was not going to at least not yet. So I waited, laughed, and learned from what I was seeing and through my time I also started developing a liking to computers. So much happened so fast... I knew Zim was captured by Dib and the rest just came and hit me in the face like a truck. Suddenly he was a super star, suddenly he was a boy genius, suddenly he was the idol, the sweetheart of every family, the noble prince of our city and suddenly I was just that guy who looked like him. That's when I changed my hair and got contacts. I did not want to be a literal clone, a literal mirror image, I did not want any association with him.
I vastly disapproved of his methods and was insulted by how chummy the Professor was with him when I knew he was not beforehand. I suppose I should have felt bad for him, since we both lacked our father's love, but after what he did and is still doing to so many races... how can I feel that sympathetic anymore? My kindness for him in any regard has run out and after hearing your story it might as well not even be there. Peyoopi and I met, she was so much younger than me...it really should have sent me to jail, but I told her my story and she did not run away. Her parents liked me, my parents liked her, and she had already gotten pregnant with our first child by then. We only just got married last year after we already had two kids. Our story is bizarre...strange...even abnormal...but...I think if anyone would understand it would be you two."
The three sat there and stayed very quietly listening to his tale the only other sounds being light sipping, children giggling, Gir making noises, and Pixi sounding frustrated. Krit was the one who should have been affected the least but it did affect him actually. He had met few humans if you think about just how many there are in the city alone but from what he saw they were a tenacious species. Through trial and tribulations abound they pushed through it all until they got what they called happiness. In a way they were not so very different from an Irken.
They looked different internally and externally but their ways of never giving up or giving in to deal with the harshest of things even death and loss and sadness- that was similar to them. After being around Gaz for so long he did not think that all humans were funny looking though after seeing a few more he agreed with Zim, she was by far the prettiest. Her hair and eyes and attitude, it just was something very attractive. Zim was affected the least, not to say his heart was stone, but he did often have a short attention span if it wasn't capturing him entirely. If Gaz was telling the story you bet your fern he'd be listening like it was God's word. The thing he felt the most was thankful in a way for him being her guardian in case Dib or whoever the heck might have harmed her.
He did not love her then but thinking back to it now the thought of her being hurt upset him. He never realized how much danger he put her in when they were (well she was) children. No one else had been looking out for her and Zim had not realized his own feelings yet so he was grateful that someone had watched over her. He also thought this non-Dib was smarter than the real Dib-filth to change and grow up. This man overcame adversary to become the anti-Dib. He was everything Dib should be and could be if he wasn't lost within himself.
Gaz was the most affected. She had spent so long down a dark path leading to hell, the only place willing to take someone like her in, she hated the world, hated the people, hated everything and everyone for hating her, abandoning her, and never caring. Her GameSlave was her friend, her family, her everything. She had thought she was alone, always felt alone, with only the stars in the sky as her only source of light in the world. From those stars came her Zim to love her mind, body, and soul as no man could ever ever ever love a woman because he was no simple human man.
Now to hear that before Zim, before she had even opened her eyes, there had always been someone watching over her in the distance, just out of reach. The brother she could never have, had never known, the bastard son, the genetic mesh of her father. He did what Dib never seemed to do, truly care. Dib said he cared but how could he really? Do people that care forget your birthday? Do they run away from you even when you so clearly need them? Do they bother you when you don't want anyone near? Do they ignore your hurt and suffering? Do they take away your only source of joy and snuff it out? No. No. No. She had always felt Dib was not her brother, even before he stabbed her in the gut by taking away someone she gave the remotest shit about, someone who made her laugh, had made her smile, had cheered her up, had pulled the clouds away on that stormy shitty awful rainy day. Dib was not her brother. This guy, he was. Even though he had not been in the picture he contributed to her life so he was a part of it. Plus, he literally was as much as her brother as Dib actually was. They all shared the same father...in a sense.
"I wish you had told me...it was a hard time for me... I could have used someone... anyone..."
Zim put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. He nuzzled into her hair, giving it light pecks. His dear emotional Gaz. How he too wished he could have told her about his own truths sooner but he had not known it yet. He would have confessed it one day, probably blurt it out like an idiot, and she would smack him away refusing to believe anyone could actually like her. Worse he might have demanded her to be his and done anything in his power to have her. Zim had always been an aggressor and hated being denied what he wanted. If he had been just a bit smarter, he would have been there all the time but the world might still be taken over by "Dennis the menace". Louie looked at Zim, his eyes darted to her hand as he outstretched his own. The man was seeking his approval to touch her. He liked him more for that. Zim nodded. Louis held her hand and patted it gently.
"I just...I don't know...I couldn't. It just never felt right to spill all that onto you at such a young age. It wasn't the right time. Forgive me, Gazlene, forgive me for not being a better brother."
"No... you are a better brother. Don't apologize for something that isn't even your fault. Look, we obviously didn't come here to exchange too many pleasantries. We need you for our plan to overthrow Dib. You have a family though... I'd understand if you didn't want to."
"It's a lot to think about you know...a lot to consider. I need to mull it over...need to talk to my wife about it too...and you guys need some place to stay. Right now, Dib is still here and who knows when he's going to go to look for you? You are welcome here if...if it's alright with you, honey."
Peeyopi looked at him with a raised eyebrow then at the people sitting at her table. "A wanted criminal and the sister of the world's leader... I thought my own relationship was convoluted. I'm already in over my head as it is and you are related to him so...sure...your little friend can stay with the children and you two can have the spare room."
Krit bowed his head to her in thanks. She didn't have to do this at all and by right she shouldn't. She should have kicked them out or turned them in. They were putting a lot on the line already telling Louie about all of this but now his wife knew and his kids would have to know at least a little bit too. It was a lot of trouble to go through, a lot to believe, and a lot of stress put on her shoulders she didn't need. Krit appreciated that and he told her so, still bowing his head, his antenna flat but with a slight curl inwards almost utterly submissive.
"It's okay um...?"
"Krit, Miss."
"Krit. Yeah, it's fine. Being married to someone who is related to, in some way, Dib has brought a lot of issues popping up about how he runs this place. The way he's been treating Zim is not right. He could have just banished or banned you or jailed you... he didn't have to do what he did. If your story is true, and it feels like it is, then he's done a lot more wrongs and evils than we knew. I can't say if Zim here would make a better or worse person to rule but Dib needs to go."
"Oh well yeah, that's for sure," Zim commented then turned his head as he heard small metal legs running his way. It was Pixi and she looked exasperated.
"Master...I beg of you...come please...help me with Gir...he keeps trying to fly off with the children."
Zim sighed in frustration and excused himself, Krit following after just in case he should be needed. Also, he had better introduce himself to the little humans he'd be staying with. As soon as Zim entered their room they screamed but not in panic in apparent excitement, shouting in the hallway that he was so cool and awesome. Gaz had to roll her eyes a bit as she could just feel Zim's pride oozing all over the place from being recognized as such. She drank the lemonade and looked over at the couple because she felt their eyes all over her, specifically Peyoopi and the face she had it could be described as a knows something you don't face. She pat her husband on the back.
"Sweetie bun why don't you go prepare the guest room and could you also get the laundry too?"
"Sure, thing my cinnamon roll."
Gaz was happy for him, she was, but god all the sweets related nicknames were honestly making her feel sick. At this point Gazling and Love-pig sounded beautiful. Louie departed for parts unknown leaving the two ladies sitting there in awkward silence. The sounds of Zim's loud voice could be heard along with the children's giggles. Peyoopi smiled at the sound, a soft demure smile.
"You two...are you ever going to get married?"
"Hmm...I don't know...it never really felt like we needed to. It's almost like we already are but I guess I wouldn't mind it."
"You go together and I can tell you love each other but Gaz... I have something to tell you and I needed to tell you alone..." She scooted in closer to her and brought her voice down to a soft whisper, "I believe you might be pregnant."
Gaz sat up straight her eyeballs round, her pupils smaller than a marble. She knew how badly Zim wanted to have his own little legion of half Irken smeets with her, yet she wasn't so certain of it. She was Gaz, all doom and nightmares and grumpiness. She- a mother? It didn't sound right. Her hand went to her stomach. She thought of her own mother and how perfect she was to be one. Caring, kind, considerate, patient, and of course motherly. Gaz was pretty much none of those things. She had a nasty temper, cold, mean, brutal, and must have been the missing member of the four horsemen of the apocalypse at one point.
Yet when she held Gir and sung to him, it was not because she assumed her voice would magically awaken him. He felt like her child and she treated him like that. Krit too, like a much older child, a bit firmer and understanding with. Something in her stirred when they were around and she could see it in Zim too around his young Irken charge. Her fingers pressed more into her stomach. What if it was true? What if they came out all disfigured because who in the hell even knew what Irken Earth babies would look like? What if they didn't come at all...? Gaz's heart wrenched and she knew as it did, she might be more inclined to want them.
She imagined the life inside of her, humming happily inside of her stomach, and she imagined their heart beats along with hers. Her stomach was always on the plush side so she could not tell if she was already showing. She had no idea if Irken pregnancies were fast or slow. It had only been a few days ago that they had sex and to her it all felt so sudden. They had just started being intimate and already they would become parents so soon. She was only 17... was she even mature enough for this...was she mentally ready for this?
Zim would be devastated if she gave up his smeets for adoption if that was even possible and she could not fathom taking their lives early with a procedure. 17, unwedded, life just beginning, possibly with child, in the middle of a massive take down of her own brother's reign, and in love with the alien who was his arch enemy. She had always known her future was going to be abnormal but she never could have imagined just how abnormal it was. She had let him take her multiple times without a condom, never once thinking about it or bringing it up or worrying about it at all. She knew this would happen and now that it was, she was not sure how to feel.
"How do you even know...?"
"As a mother myself I can just tell. You have that glow. I was younger than you when I had them but I wouldn't change it for anything. It's difficult but fulfilling."
Her thoughts drifted towards Zim. What should she do? Should she tell him when she wasn't even sure? No. She needed to know if she really was before she said anything. Right now was not the time to think about it. She could hear him now still wrangling Gir most likely. Between Pixi, Krit, and him it didn't make sense why they hadn't already. Gaz got up and said she was going to check and make sure it was alright and that her boyfriend didn't blow his head off accidently.
However, when she opened the door to the kids' room, she was greeted with a sight that surprised her. The children were sitting on the floor, Indian style, so was Gir and Krit, Pixi was too and Zim was sitting in a chair one leg crossed over the other. He was reading to them. The kids listened to him raptly as he told them a tale of a Prince who lived on a moon with a flower who was in love with him. Even as Zim read it he seemed engrossed in the story which made it all the more exciting to the listeners. Something about his voice as he talked rising and falling easily with the lines, it stilled her in her tracks and she too found herself listening.
"The fact is that I did not know how to understand anything!" His voice rose with passion. "I ought to have judged by deeds not by words. She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me. I ought never to have run away from her- I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little stratagems. Flowers are so inconsistent but I was too young to know how to love her..."
Zim's voice trailed off, delicately with a note of empathy for the childlike Prince in his flowing scarf. The line echoed himself in all those little moments before he had let himself realize Gaz cared for him and he cared for her. The golden-haired boy drawn on the pages he felt a kinship with as he never had in any story he read and because of this it made his reading all the more rich. He was itching to know if the boy would ever return from his fools' journey back to the flower who stood there sad and alone in the dark waiting to be loved- so like his Gaz. He read and he read only concerned about the flower not of strange planets with only one person on them who was only there for one purpose or stars or snakes or foxes who wished to be tamed. Though the line about the flower having tamed the boy felt just about how Zim felt about Gaz. He had been wild and reckless and bold but she could with just a look unfurl him in an instance. Gaz still stood there in the door way, she was sure Zim didn't even notice her there and it was possible no one did because how could they?
He read with such sophisticated skill like this was some sacred tome to him and the words eclectic as they were seemed a rare dusty language that only he could speak properly. He had always liked stories. Stories of conquest and victory mostly, but he enjoyed them none the less. The books Irkens were privy to were mostly war related even the ones meant for smeets were just about bloody battles and invading. It wasn't until Earth that he had come across fairytales and it wasn't until Gaz that he had learned to like them through film. Humans were certainly creative, he'd give them that. He could not come up with such environments and characters that seemed real and none seemed more real to him than this flaxen haired little boy and the rose with her few thorns. Then he came to the end and was sorely disappointed. There was no conclusive answer on whether or not he found the rose again, apologized for his nativity due to his youth and loved her forever or if tragedy of tragedies she had perished. It was silly to think a rose could perish like a person could but she was personified like a person so she was a person. He closed the book and the children clapped but he didn't look too pleased. Krit spoke his concerns first.
"What happened then...to the flower...?"
"Well I guess you decide that," The boy answered brightly.
"Then I'd like to decide that he found her for sure and she was alive," Krit remarked, feeling more satisfied with the conclusion now.
"If she died, I guess it would be his fault...he did leave her there by herself," the girl answered, also brightly, her oddly pink eyes she inherited from her mother looking down at her shoes.
Gaz looked at Zim's face because he made a muffled grunt in response to that. He looked upset but reflective. His hand absentmindedly stroked the cover of the book. He couldn't help but imagine what he would have felt if Dib captured him and brought him back to a Gazless Earth. If she had died of heart ache somehow because of it. He knew that was not possible, she was resilient and brave. Little did he actually know how close to the truth he was, though he could tell he was in the ballpark. When he saw that video, he saw her masked pain, her clothing was all black no purples no blues and certainly not a speck of white, covering all of her body, she wanted to hide in the only thing that had truly been there for her- the darkness.
Suddenly he felt he desperately needed to go to Gaz's side. Right now. Zim got up, placed the book carefully on the chair, and turned to leave but stopped. She was right there and she had heard it all. Not just the story but the silent feelings in his head. He walked right up to her and crushed her against him in a tight hug. His rose had suffered so long and so mutely and that pained him to think of what might have been if Gaz was not so strong willed. She felt safe here, in his arms, she always did. Gaz pulled him away just a bit and placed her forehead on his. Zim's eyes opened slowly to look into hers.
"Are you going to kiss?" The little girl asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Master and Gazzy sitting in a tree. Ki...um...s...s...ing!"
Zim looked back and shot his Sir unit an unamused and angry look but that was easily quelled by Gaz kissing him. The little boy thought it was gross but the little girl thought it was romantic.
"Girls and their sissy stuff."
"Well I like it. What about you, Krit?"
"Oh! I don't mind it... I just don't understand it all yet..."
He wasn't sure what it all meant but he knew that Zim was happy with her and she was happy with him so that meant it was a good thing. Everyone's solid opinion on the matter was that they made quite the couple but no one questioned it- they were meant to be. No one suited Gaz more than Zim, after seeing worlds upon worlds he could attest to that, and no one suited Zim more than Gaz because really the best she could hope for here was some asshole of a guy who would see her as nothing but an easy lay. Love?
That was almost unheard of. Divorce rates were through the roof, single parents were the norm, and domestic altercations happened often. Of all the people in the universe they seemed the least likely to love but here they were, looking into eachother's eyes as if there was nothing else in the room but the other. Gaz had let herself imagine that those two kids were her own listening to Zim's story and all the sudden it felt so real. It felt so right. Ready or not the baby was going to be born and she would not let anything happen to her or him or them...she wasn't sure how many she had inside of her. In the end it didn't matter really.
They were going to come out of her and she was going to raise them no matter what. She wouldn't be perfect but she'd be a hell of a lot better than her so called father. Plus, she'd have all the help she'd ever need not just from Zim but from everyone else too. It was fine right... yeah it was fine. When it came to night the group all ate dinner together with Zim and Pixi being the only ones who didn't eat. Krit poked at the food a little but tried it. After dinner the Sir units and Krit went to the children's room. None of them needed to sleep though Gir did anyways but just in case Krit did have a small futon on the floor made up nicely for him. The room Gaz and Zim were in was simple and cozy.
They thanked their guests and bid them goodnight. It's was prudent to say that they had at some point gathered Gaz's stuff and brought it in and thankfully so. She was not going to keep sleeping in the same clothes. She took a nice long hot bath and soaked, soaked in all the things that were happening all at once. Matthew was back from nightmare land with vengeance set on her and Zim, Dib and Tak were slowly but surely sniffing out where they were, she wanted to free her group from prison, and had to contact the Irkens to make a plan. All this while she bathed in the house of the second alive clone of her father. Life was crazy but she knew that going in. She knew it was going to be a madhouse. While Gaz bathed Zim was getting things together for their plan on his end. This meant calling Skoodge which he promptly did and the call was answered promptly after.
"Zim! I was just about to call you actually. Haven't heard from you in a bit- is everything okay...?"
"Grab your popcorn, Skoodge. It's going to take a while to cover everything with you."
After all was said to Skoodge they went over their options in the way of solid plans. Regardless of whatever they came up with Skoodge informed him he was going to stay loyal to the end and fight to the end as well. In total he had gathered ten Irkens on his team. Perhaps not the best of the best but it was all he could do. There were so many shady kinds who would happily backstab him just so Tallest Dib would reward them so he had to be cautious. As far as gathering anyone who was more trusted or seemed to be on the side Dib stood for Zim was given the identity of a couple if he was going with the whole "disguise self" plan. They'd have to take said Irken down of course so that was another thing to think about.
Skoodge told him about the jail cells and how only Dib, Tak, and the jailors were allowed in there so if Louie agreed they could find prisoners who were no doubt willing to join their side. A lot of options were more open with Louie but without him there would be a lot more of if ands buts and maybes. They would just have to wait and see. Skoodge was ready no matter what was to come. He saluted to Zim showing in his determination that though he was so very short he had a lot of bravery. After the transmission Gaz got out of the shower and dressed herself in an oversized band T only to find Zim on the bed patting it with a saucy smirk.
"You do know we are in someone's house right and that they have children? Are you really that horny?"
"Zim doesn't have horns. They are antenna."
"Oh lordy...," Gaz sighed, her eye rolling having been so much lately her eyeballs were sore. She made her way over to the bed and laid upon it, his arms going around her more towards the bottom. She poked his forehead. "Don't even think about it, Mister."
Zim pouted. "What about kissing...is that okay?"
"Yeah that's quiet enough."
'Besides', she thought, 'if I'm not pregnant then I will be if he keeps going like this'. Damn Irken libido. Why was he always so ready and willing to bang her? Was she that hot? Was it animalistic urges? Was it just love and lust? She wasn't always this jazzed to jump his bones. He pulled apart from her lips and smirked at her, whispering against them that they were delicious. His hand was cupping her bottom which she was now allowing. She shouldn't have really but his touches were okay as long as they didn't go too far. The way he spoke to her and how he looked. Okay. Damn female hormones too. She had to turn away from him.
"Gaz... Did Zim say something wrong?"
"No... I'm tired. Can we just sleep...?"
He placed the covers over her and kissed her cheek, whispering goodnight into her ear. She had to still her shudder at him being so close. She didn't sleep too well and she blamed it all on him. When Gaz was up and ready Zim told her all about what he spoke about with Skoodge. She nodded and stretched. This gave Zim a wonderful view of her panties and stomach. 'No no touching her...don't do it...don't do it... don't even think about her under you screaming your name for all Irk to hear... nope...' She was too sexy for her own good. Zim gave up trying to breed her...for now, when this was all over though that was a different matter. He held her hand as they walked to the kitchen and that was enough for him right now. They joined the family for breakfast and discussed at length what they were going to do as soon as Dib was off into space searching for them. They told him about how much they really did need him it would make things go a lot smoother. They also talked about freeing the prisoners here but there was no way to bring them to The Massive all at once they just wanted them free for the justice of it.
"Perhaps that part should wait...it's not a waste of effort nor is it an unkind gesture but it eats up a lot of time," Louis elucidated between bites of breakfast, "As for me joining you...it kept me up at night thinking about what I should do. I could get killed if we're caught, in the best case scenario I'm at least looking toward jail time. I have sat here and watched for so long, watch the Professor get away with his lies to his children, watch Dib replace me, watch him rise to glory that was tainted with mistakes and blood, watched you grow up alone and furious at everything. I want my children to live in a better future than this, there's not much freedom of choice anymore. I can't even say if an alien, no offense," Zim waved this comment away biding him to continue. "who has the sole purpose of taking over our world is the person I should put trust in. What if he's exactly like Dib or what if he's worse...it kept tossing and turning in my mind at night. It seemed I was pretty much caught in between a rock and a hard place. Each side had something about it that was wrong. If both sides are wrong and I have to choose one, against my better judgement, I will choose yours. You are my family, Gaz. If I'm going to regret this either way, I'd rather regret it knowing I helped you live the life you deserved."
Gaz smiled at him, it was one of her kinder smiles. She had thought just on first impressions he was one of those all-around nice guys you hear about but never find but now she could see he truly was far too nice. She did feel bad for dragging such a nice guy into her world of chaos but it had to be done. However, she would make sure nothing happened to him. Unlike her "brother" she did not like separating families via death.
"A wise decision, really," Zim recountered, leaning forward with his hands folded on the table. He was smiling too, but more devious. He had just gained a very powerful ally so he was very pleased. He was also pleased to have someone on his team who would do pretty much anything for Gaz. Already he was a much better brother-unit than the dirt boy who had taken over his planet- a sentiment which was equally shared by Gaz. "We should act as soon as possible making you look more like...him. It shouldn't be too difficult."
"Then what?"
"Then...we must execute the plan with perfect precision. Not a moment could be lost. No doubt The Massive will be on red alert already have been notified of us being gone and him trying to capture us. With impeccable timing, luck, and ingenious skill we will infiltrate The Massive under the guise of you having caught us already. Not to down my own people but we don't ask many questions when it comes to the Tallest's decisions. Once we are in, we have to locate our band, find the prisoners, and from there things get messy. There will be a lot of crossing our fingers and hoping for the best throughout but I have confidence we will succeed. We have to, with no uncertainty we MUST succeed. There is no other way."
It was game. It was set. It was match. That match struck and would burn down everything but who would rise out of the flames?