Dib and Tak were on their way to Planet Gall, having no idea or concept that at that very moment Gaz and Zim were already back on Earth and ushering forth their master plan. As they flew onward Dib had some time to himself to think about everything as it was. It was mostly about his sister. How every step he had tried his best to protect her and when he apprehended someone that was going to take over and possibly destroy their world or enslave them all, she struck out at him like a pissed off snake. What because she and him had a half a second of game time together?

Was that really enough to set her on a path of total Dibstruction? So he spent his whole preteen and childhood life trying to prove himself not only to the world but to her, and this freakazoid spends a couple minutes with her and wins her over? What?! Was this even real life anymore? Sure, Gaz was not an angel and even Dib could kind of grasp her and Zim's whole "I hate the world" thing that would make them friends but they only talked for not even a day! If any person gave her a lick of attention -what she just up and leaves her whole family behind?!

It was madness. He was her brother, damnit. Why he practically raised her himself, didn't he? Walked her to school and whatever. He was the leader of the free world, his name was everywhere, he could give her anything- anything in the whole universe but no. None of it mattered. Just a dumb alien who said hi to her. And what was worse they had become a lot more than friends that much was for sure. Gaz never ever let anyone dictate what she would wear- sure but she wouldn't dare be in a towel in front of anyone especially a man. It was a room and given what he was told a hotel room. Ugh! He just couldn't believe her. Okay yeah, he was sleeping with an alien too but Tak was different than Zim. A whole 'nother class literally. It was like comparing a sleek cheetah to a slow, dim witted, loud, ugly, green warthog. She was just- he wasn't sure. She was brilliant in every sense of the word. She gave him hope and joy and she was completely honest.

Their relationship had blossomed and matured slowly not just one day and tumble into some dingy hotel bed. He had thought so much better of her than to give herself away to whatever guy lied to her or promised her things or curled her hair with his finger and told her she was pretty. She was worth a lot more too. She could do far far far far far far faaaar better than Zim. None of that mattered really. What was done was done there was nothing he could do about the past all he could do is try and fix the present and work toward a better future. Tak pat his leg as she drove, turning to him with a loving smile. He could not imagine Zim being that way with Gaz. More than likely, though it was ever so foolish of him to think so, Zim just had a smooth way with words.

That sounded idiotic too. Gaz was smarter than that. Poor Dib, he really wanted to hold onto the belief that even through it all his sister was still somewhat innocent. He wanted to believe that Zim had duped her, conned her, played her like a fiddle, and used her once in a lifetime moment of weakness to his advantage. It just had to be some type of abusive stockholmy syndrome relationship. Yeah. Zim was not a romantic lover, he was more likely even less emotional than Tak was. Gods in heaven, his sister deserved better than to be taken by a monstrosity in a random bed on a random planet.

She must have been so scared being somewhere she didn't know about. On top of that Dib's gut rumbled with that feeling like he wanted to purge the contents again. What if Zim had gotten Gaz with smeet? He probably did just to further use her, just to keep her there, and to gain his own army eventually. Of course, even Dib thought that last part didn't suit Zim. He had way way too much pride to sire halflings. Unlike Tak who was more than happy to have children so long as they were his.

If Gaz did happen to be pregnant, he'd take care of her, it didn't matter what she did he would take care of her and maybe his commitment would show her he always loved her and was only doing this to keep her from harm. The planet was coming into view now and already Dib had an uneasy feeling about it. He never did feel right here, I mean it interested him, but earth was his home and that's where he liked to stay if he could. He let Tak run Irk and The Massive most of the time for which she was all too pleased to do. It never felt like home to him. This planet was just as inordinate as all the rest and full of aliens for which most looked like Irkens just not green. They were every color but green.

"So, this Aunt Cazzma, is she your actual aunt?"

"Dib, come come now, my lil crumpet, you know we don't reproduce that way anymore- outside of us anyway. So it's impossible for me to have an aunt and plus she's Gallkin, not Irken at all. That would make me at least half Irken and you know that isn't true. Silly dove." Her purple eyes twinkled in a mischievous playful way so he didn't feel like whatever she said was meant to be mean.

"Then why do you call her that?"

"She's always persuaded us to call her that. Even the Tallest called her that so as you can imagine she holds at least some regard. I suppose it is because how awfully mother like she is to everyone especially to Zim though I've never known why him of all the Irkens."

"I've been asking myself why ANYONE would even like him...especially her..."

"You're thinking about Gaz, luv? Best to not let it cloud your heart, dearie. We can get to that when she is in our grasp ask her face to face. Hopefully we can get some help for her since she's obviously got mental issues if she's with him."

"... I guess so..." Dib replied unenthusiastically, looking out the window with a somewhat forlorn sigh. He never thought of his sister having mental health problems. He never thought he would have any either. They were all messed up in the head and he wondered if it all started with their father and trickled down to them; staining their blood cells. In any case at least he recognized he had something going off inside of him and got medication, maybe he could do the same for Gaz.

They could start all over, forget this ever happened, sweep it under the rug like a dirty family secret and move on with their lives. Mimi was in Tak's lap looking at Dib who was looking over at her now. She still didn't like him all the way but had no choice but to be "nice" to him because of who he was to her mistress. So, when he smiled at her she tried her best to smile back but she did not have a human face she had a cat face at the moment so smiling looked menacing because of the teeth.

Their destination was in view and as they landed Dib felt a strange creeping icy feeling near his shoulder. He had nearly forgotten Matthew was there with his fingers that were too long and his eyes that were too black and his fanged mouth. Dib didn't let himself be phased by the creepiest of creepers because he had seen far worse in his life. Living with Gaz would do that to you. His appearance alone was enough reason to not fully trust him but Dib knew it had been Gaz that had gotten him looking this way. He claimed to only want revenge on Zim but Gaz had done all the damage so Dib had to be on alert that he would turn his coat. They exited the vehicle with Dib in the front of the group, back straight and a deadpan serious face.

The air about him exuded a commanding authority which made Tak sideways smirk. He was changing lately and for her it seemed for the better. Firm, forceful, imposing, and confident- he was tired of never being taken seriously or being stepped on and he was tired of his own mind stopping him from being the best he could be. The door opened dramatically and he stepped in. Almost immediately everyone stood still as they saw who it was that was there. Glasses dropped to the floor, people shuddered, no words other than murmuring in fear, and all of them watched his every move cautiously but with dread. Dib narrowed his eyes and grinned at his power over all the races here even ones he might not have seen yet. If no one was going to love him then he would take their fear and respect. One of the aliens serving the tables placed the tankard of most likely alcoholic drink on the table then rushed over to him, bowing deeply.

"Honorable Tallest Dib, it's a surprise to see you here in our lowly hovel. What can we do for you?"

Dib heard Tak's unamused scoff and he placated her with a gentle rub on her back. Tak was so sick of no one ever noticing her or welcoming her unless she was the first one there. Always and almost only it was him they spoke to and exalted. Did she not command the same kind of respect and decency? Had she not been as equally masterful and mighty? She was no Tallest, not yet, but she might as well be at this point. "Firstly, you should learn to address Tak. She is my second in command and deserves the same honor so next time don't ignore her she is just as important as I am."

Tak bristled with pride and affection, as much as she could feel, for him. Obviously dating him had major perks such as the poor simpering alien bowing before her and addressing her properly. Tak listened to her pitiful apology while looking at her nails, barely giving her the time of day. She could get used to this.

"That's better I suppose," Tak mused, not even flicking her eyes in her general direction.

"Now with that out of the way where is the Gallkin that goes by Aunt Cazzma?"

The alien gulped and pointed towards the storage room only letting go of her or his (it was hard to tell) breath when the trio moved past. Dib moved into the storage room and upon going into it found a pudgy Gallkin with a blue wig. It had to be a wig Gallkins and Irkins alike didn't grow hair at all. She turned to them, looked back at her check list and boxes then her eyes rounded and she looked back again. Aunt Cazzma knew this day would come where he would be in her domain, on her planet, in front of her yet again. She knew yet she wasn't prepared for it.

She also knew that he wasn't here to check on how the trade market was doing but because Zim had been there and judging by his determined stride he already knew that was for certain so no lying here. She wasn't going to lie but she wasn't going to tell them the whole truth either. They could all go to heck the whole bunch of them for what they did to her and her family. She didn't recognize this new comer, he looked more human like than any other creature she'd seen come through her tavern/hotel and yet not human at all. His eyes were black and cold and yet burned at the same time, eyes that were like two coals on his face. She did not like him and if possible, she feared him worse than Dib who strode up to her.

"Well hello Tak, dear. A pleasure to see you again and my how you've grown up to be such a pretty little thing." It was such a falsely sweet statement because though any person could say Tak was quite the fetching Irken the things she let go on made her seem less attractive to Aunt Cazzma.

"Spare me the pleasantries, Auntie. You know exactly why we are here," Tak sharply replied, shortening the familial term down to a surprisingly more familial one.

"And Tallest Dib, sir," Aunt Cazzma went on, staying pleasant and cordial, "It has been far too long since you've come to Gall. Are you here for business or," She looked at Tak with a sly sort of gaze, "Pleasure?"

Tak hissed at her. This woman always had to bury her nose in everyone's business and loved gossip too much. Dib couldn't stand that, not that he wouldn't you know, be doing that with Tak, but that the woman was so balsy as to say that and AFTER Tak had confronted her. Dib, with his hands in his pockets to still them from shaking with anger, leaned forward his face as close to her face as he could stand. This forced her to look into his eyes and she did, she looked deeply into the eyes of the man who had taken something dear from her away. She pushed that thought onto him, all her hurt, all her sadness, all her many nights just wishing she had a body to bury at least he could have given her that. There was nothing left of Rift, not even a piece of his uniform. Nothing.

"Listen to me very carefully, lady, because I'm not the type of man who likes repeating himself. We know for a fact that you've been harboring a fugitive and my sister. Do you dare deny it?"

"I do not," She answered simply, not showing him the fear he demanded or the respect he deserved, just being honest and straight to the point. "Zim and Gaz were here in my most exclusive suite."

"Why?" It was all he could think to ask as he glowered into those burgundy eyes.

"Why what, your most tallness? Why would I hide them or why did I give them the nicest room? It's really the same answer either way. My domain is closed to no one and I've always been fond of Zim, so when he showed up out of nowhere with his cute little purplette mate I couldn't say no."

Dib's eyes rounded so much his already round glasses didn't fit them anymore. It wasn't the fact that she was obviously not being entirely respectful to him that made his eyes go to saucer size. It wasn't the fact that anyone would dare hide a villainous piece of green scum from him, their own leader. It wasn't the fact that she had been fond of Zim. It was what she referred to Gaz as. The cute and little didn't fit her even if Dib saw her as a child still in some regard but neither were the words that had him full-moon-eyed. It was mate.

"Wha... what did you call her?"

"His mate, at least that's what he said to me and it certainly seemed so with the way he acted."

Hadn't Tak guessed this too? Hadn't she supposed Zim had staked his claim on earth's most aggressive female? He wanted to believe that for him this was nothing more than a disgusting power trip fueled along with raging sex as both revenge and subtle cruelty but if he was calling her that it meant more. You don't just throw around that term willy nilly, Tak knew that better than Dib did. A mate on Irk isn't correlated with how mates are in the animal kingdom. They chose one and chose no other for their whole lives if they were to ever even chose one.

They had vague concepts such as loose women or men who have relations and then leave. It was unheard of and downright unIrken. It was betrayal of your own kind. Tak had sought out a different mates but never wanted more than one. It was okay to search for an acceptable person to breed with, had to get the best of the bunch. Dib breathed in. 'Let's be rational, Dibbert, he could have just said that to her to explain away anything and it would keep up the rouse with Gaz. Zim was capable of lying and deceit and he had already was an outcast from Irken society he no longer had to play by their rules.' Dib paused. 'Wait did I just call myself Dibbert'?

"She's not his m...she's not his anything. She's being manipulated, couldn't you have seen that?"

Aunt Cazzma started out with a soft giggle in her throat then it slowly erupted from her mouth, a mocking jestful laugh but not a loud one. "Oho, manipulated? Her? She is your sister you should know her better than that. Of all the females I've ever met she is the last one to ever be manipulated."

"You just can't tell that's all. She doesn't even know it so she's buying all the lies and twisting it so it feels true."

"That is your truth, my Tallest, and I have mine but rest assured I will not speak anything more about her. Besides she's not here anymore, neither of them are here."

"What!? You've known that the whole time and didn't tell us until now?!" Tak growled out, losing her patience with the woman.

"I did tell you, at the start. Gaz and Zim WERE here."

Tak pressed her hand on Dib's chest and moved him back. He had his turn to interrogate her but really that was her specialty. A jet of silver crossed her eyes which made Aunt Cazzma, against her own wishes and will, adhere only to Tak and tell her the truth no matter what.

"Now, auntie," She drolled out the word with that same sickeningly sweet way the woman talked, "you will tell me all I need to know now, won't you?"

"Of course, Tak," The woman answered with her far off stare not even blinking once.

"Good. Where exactly did Zim and Gaz go?" She kept perfect eye contact with the hypnotized Gallkin, smiling the whole time.

"They went back to earth because you and Dib were coming here but that was at least two of your days ago. For what purpose they went there they never told me just that they had to find someone who would help them."

"Drat Zim! He must have guessed I would use this method and told her nothing," Tak cursed then turned her attention back to Aunt Cazzma, "Did they tell you their plan? What are they up to?"

"All I know is they are going to overthrow Tallest Dib with a small army."

"This is getting us nowhere," Matthew stated, lurking in the background, smoke swirling around his feet, "We know where they are now so let's just go and not waste any time."

"Earth isn't exactly tiny you know, Zim and Gaz really could be anywhere. I doubt they would have gone back to the scene of the crime unless they were going to free the group we caught but no. Humans, especially those ones, would be pointless against me. Then why earth...just to throw me off? What are they doing just zipping around space in the hopes of distracting us?"

Tak was watching Dib cross back and forth in the storage space with one arm behind his back and the other in front, hand gripping his chin. He looked very studious and deep in thought, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes steadily set on one point at the floor.

"I've got it!" He shouted out loud in enthusiasm. "Tak you said that his antenna was fixed and we just learned he was gaining a small army. Obviously, he has contacted some of our...less trustworthy Irkens. Why he's going to earth with her I have no idea. It could be as simple as a diversion or picking up something they forgot. The point is they mean to head to The Massive at some point and that's where we need to go. Maybe, just maybe, we can cut them off."

"Brilliant my commander!" Tak complimented, gushing with ardor for him and beaming with delight. Matthew could honestly care less so long as he got what he wanted so he vanished. If that's where they were going then he would get there first, before Tak, before Gaz, before anyone and he would sit there in the shadows and wait. Dib didn't seem to notice Matthew was missing at the moment since he was caught up in Tak's approval of him. It felt good to be truly appreciated by someone for once. He felt like he could do anything because she believed in him. Tak was not kissing his ass, she was being honest. It was a brilliant idea although it would take a lot of sitting and waiting. Truly either way they would be sitting and waiting but if they meant to have battle with Dib then they would come to The Massive first for assistance. Just how they planned on getting in was really anyone's guess at this point, possibly using someone on the inside, but none of that mattered all that mattered was getting there.

"You think so uh...umm...is baby okay to call you?"

"Call me whatever you like so long as it's not darling. I cannot stand that word!"

"Okay then...it feels weird to call you anything but Tak though... sorry I've just never had a girlfriend so all of this is sorta new to me..."

"We'll figure it out along the way. Until then just say whatever comes to mind. We should go though, time's ticking," Tak affirmed, calling Mimi to her side but Mimi was not there. She, unlike her usually very attentive companions, actually noticed the dark figure that was Matthew slink away into the shadows. She had already been suspicious of him, I mean just look at him, he looked like the plague, but now that he was moving away she would move to follow him. They were similar, both black, and both very quick and both could sneak around in the dark but unlike him she was a robot and that gave her an advantage even over someone like him. He had to stick to the dark, she did not, and she could fly too so there was that. Another talent, telekinesis with her mistress and she was using it now.

Mistress, I cannot come to your side as you request. I am following the Matthew being, he had gotten away from us but I will make sure to keep on his trail and see what he is up to.

Tak suddenly was on alert and looked around. He had indeed gone. If he wasn't literal darkness personified then they might have noticed his lack of presence but if he came and left nobody could see. Good work Mimi! Keep us updated.

"Commander, it appears our informant has given us the slip. Mimi is tracking him down as we speak and I can track down Mimi. I knew he was up to no good. Let's be off before he gets any further into his plan, whatever that may be."

Dib only nodded firmly and followed behind her. There wasn't time to be shocked or surprised or question anything. It was just go and do. Mimi kept herself at a considerable enough distance so that she wouldn't be spotted by him. He was hopping from doorways to hallways to those little corners of your room you swear you see a monster in every night until he got to Tak's ship. Mimi squinted her eyes at him. What was he doing? It only responded to Tak and Dib. The best he could do was get inside it but drive it? No way.

Still she got herself inside it, just in case. He didn't notice her there, she was small and kept her eyes from glowing in the dark as they often did. Matthew raised up his hand and there was a negative dark energy surging around it that even put a chill in Mimi then he struck his hand hard into the vehicles dash board causing sparks to fly about. Mimi's red eyes widened as she saw him break into the motherboard and instead of it just malfunctioning or warning him of self-implosion or having Tak's voice come out and tell him he was unauthorized, it instead started to become infused with his dark energy. It spread and spread consuming the whole ship.

Mistress! Come quickly he's I'm not sure it seems he is taking over the ship somehow!

Tak winced a little as she heard about her precious ship being touched by anyone like that. She grabbed Dib's hand, laced it in her own, and went faster than he could on his own. She didn't know how he was doing this to her ship at all but she would stop him and break off his arm in several places before he could tamper with it any further. She screeched to a halt with Dib almost falling to the ground because of how fast she had started. Her beautiful ship, it was corrupted, turning black from inside out. The various shades of blue she loved were gone. She was too late, he was already flying off, waving at them as he did so with a big evil smile, leaving a trail of black smoke in his wake. Tak was devastated, more so she was infuriated at him and herself.

She turned for one millisecond and boom he was gone. How could she have let that happen?! Mimi's connection with her was getting weaker but her last words, spoken between static were; I am on the ship. I will not fail you. Now her Sir unit and her ship, two things she had worked so hard to build to her own design and loved in the only way an Irken could love pieces of metal, were off into the far reaches of space. In Dib's mind the worst part of all this was, besides the obviously bad guy turning his back on them, was that they had no way to get to him and stop him. As if reading his mind Tak spoke,

"We'll have to take a Gallkin ship. They aren't graceful and they don't go very fast but it's the best option we have."

"Then let's go get that ship, General."

She couldn't help it she had to kiss him. He was being so valiant and steadfast right now just like he was when she first realized she had to have him as her own. It was a quick but hard kiss because there was little time to spare for the pleasantness of a longer kiss but she still wanted him to know how proud of him she was. He knew, he could feel it. Procuring a ship was all too easy given how much prestige Dib had, he did own this entire planet basically. It was small it was clunky and it sort of rattled a bit but there wasn't even time to consider another option. Meanwhile, back on the farm, well not the farm it was actually just outside of earth's atmosphere, Gaz and Zim were in their ship heading to Irk too.

They had spent all their collective time giving Louis "Dib tips". How he spoke, how he walked, his quirks, his simple little mannerisms, and especially how he carried himself around those smaller than he. None of them realized they were now caught in a three-way race to Irk with Matthew in a nightmarish version of an Irken ship, and Tak with Dib in a tin can of a ship. Creating the outfit was easy enough for them and now one could not tell the difference between the two. He viewed himself in the glass, a reflection looked back at him that wasn't his own. He had torn apart any semblance of the membranes until he looked different enough to where no one could mistake him for them. Now he was identical in every which way to Dib and as he looked at himself, he started to wonder how Dib was going to react to him.

Dib still had no clue he was a clone and not even the first one or that he had an older clone brother. There was one other thing that he didn't know either, something Louie did not tell anyone at all not even his wife. It was the real reason he had run away. The shock alone would have caused it but there was something else too. He vaguely thought about if Zim knew, since he read the files, and if he was keeping it a secret as well. No, Zim would have been honest with Gaz no matter what he found, it was possible that he just didn't find that specific entry. It wouldn't change much since those two already shared a strong dislike if not hatred for the Professor but it would shift and he knew that so he kept his mouth sealed until the right time, perhaps when it was all over or maybe he would never tell a soul and take it to his grave. No, he couldn't do that anymore. Krit was disguised as Zim, Zim was disguised as Tak and Gaz was laughing at their performances as their false counterparts with Zim mostly joking around with Tak's accent.

It was a strange time for Gaz because her boyfriend now looked like her enemy her cohort looked like her brother and her childlike companion now looked like her boyfriend. Gir still stood as their only issue. He could easily be disguised as a standard Sir unit, no doubt, even disguised as Mimi or Dib's sir unit Otto but he could not act like one to save his life. They were already playing with fire using so many disguises and tactics, hoping and praying this would go smoothly, so even Gir being Gir was not going to fly. If only Gir had an off switch or a silent mode this would be so much easier. He was just too talkative and too eager to spill out their secrets to anyone who would listen. Gaz had to get through to him so she picked him up and pressed him against her chest as mother-like as she could and spoke very softly to him.

"Gir, you have to really listen to me, you don't want me to get hurt now do you?"

"Uhh...no I don't think soo..."

"Then you have to promise me you will keep as quiet as possible. Okay? I mean it, Gir this is extremely important. Promise me you'll behave yourself or we will all get hurt or die and that's not a good thing."

His eyes flashed red and he escaped her grasp to salute at her. "Understood, mistress!"

His eyes stayed red the whole time and he barely spoke a word to anyone even Pixi. She was impressed to say the least. She had never seen him so stern and serious before. She kept tilting her head at him and waving her hand in front of his face. He smacked her hand out of the way every time. For some reason this upset her. She kind of...oh...curses she kind of missed the old Gir. Zim had placed standard issue shackles on Gaz and Krit, sighing in a way that showed he did not enjoy doing this at all especially in Tak's body. It felt all different layers of icky. As they got closer to their destination everyone felt uneasy, feeling like at any second their cover would be blown and they'd all be in jail or worse. This had to work it just had to. This was Gaz's first time seeing The Massive and it was well massive and impressive too. She gawked at the majesty of it all and other than flying the Dib flag it was entirely unchanged.

Each second felt like an eternity, their hearts all racing. Could they really do it? Could they fool everyone? Closer still and closer and closer. What if one of them messed up their parts? What if Zim accidently referred to himself as Zim for some reason? What if Krit should forget how Zim was supposed to act and speak- he was a child after all and was the opposite of Zim. Very much mild mannered. What if Gir should break his promise? What if Louie froze up or said something Dib would never say? What if they asked for identification or something? Louie breathed in deeply. He could not shake, could not tremble, could not let even a single bead of sweat drop. Dib would not do that. They were just in front of The Massive when a voice fizzled through the speakers in Zim's ship.

"Halt. This ship is identified as number 26913, belonging to the Food Service Drone Zim."

Zim could have yelled about how he was not a food service drone, he was an Irken invader no matter what but that was not something Tak would do. He heard Krit make a growling noise and reply harshly,

"Zim is an Invader, do you hear me!?"

Ah, they had taught him well. Unfortunatly because of it though Zim had to react like Tak would and though it pained him to do so he elbowed into Krit and sharply told him to shut his howling yapper.

"General Tak! What are you doing aboard this ship?!" The voice asked. Zim did recognize the voice as one of the gaurds which worked in his favor because it would seem unlikely Tak wouldn't know everyone.

"I highly doubt any of that matters, Yik, but if you must know the Tallest Dib and I have captured the targets Zim and his little," Zim chose his words carefully it had to be insulting but he did not want to insult her too much, "girlfriend." That seemed safe enough but when said in a certain way it sounded slimy and condescending.

"Excellent news! I'll open the ship bay doors right away! Hail Tallest Dib!"

All of them could have choked on their spit at hearing that salute but they were in. The ship was driven carefully in, guided slowly along to where all the ships were docked. The guard that had talked to them was standing there awaiting them with eager eyes as Zim, Gaz, Louie, and the others piled out of the car in the respective ways they were supposed to. Gaz was thrashing the entire time, cursing and struggling against Louie, claiming he will rue this day and the day he was born. Normal Gaz things to say. The guard didn't even question the two Sir units that followed in a dutiful way. The door opened leading to the internal hull where most of the Irkens were and Zim braced himself for what was to come. They all started cheering, throwing praises, bowing, saluting, and general kissing up to who they thought was Dib. They all wanted to hear about how they caught them and what will they do now and all manner of questions but Louie raised up his hand to stop them. Silence washed over the crowd.

"It's been a long journey and I'd love to tell you all about it but right now we have to take care of these two conspirators. Justice will be done at last."

The crowd cheered again as Zim as Tak dragged Krit away with Pixi following while Louie as Dib dragged Gaz away with Gir following in a different direction. It was all a part of the plan because they were going to end up in the same area anyways, they just made it seem like they were separating the two in different cells. So, with an audience before them, Krit and Gaz had to put on their best show but mostly Krit, they were all worried he would not act accordingly.

There was a delicate balance to keep for Zim in this situation could not act romantic because Dib would have most likely fed them lies. Gaz kept calling out Zim's name in a panicked scream occasionally thrashing hard in the grasp of this person identical to her brother. It took everything in Zim's power not to break character and turn towards her even slightly, to not look affected by her pleading voice, to not react to his name being called in that way. Krit looked back and smirked, exactly like Zim did but even Gaz could say it felt nothing like Zim's it was like the most perfect Halloween costume but a costume none the less.

"You think you may have caught me, Dib-filth, but Zim will get free and when I do, I'll take your sister again."

Krit had not missed a beat, not a single mark. He was exactly on point right down to the way he punctuated his lines. Zim wished he could commend him but now was not the time for that, he had to shove him hard and tell him to keep moving. Louie turned and just like Dib he glared hard at the alien, baring his teeth as he growled out,

"You won't even get a chance! This time, I'll make sure to kill you. You won't ever touch my sister again!"

As Gaz was dragged away, she heard the manic laughter she had come to love but she knew it was Krit, selling his role hard. That boy deserved some type of reward or award for his acting skills. They had initially thought he would not be a good liar at all but it seemed when push came to shove, he would do anything, even act out of character, to save his people. She had to hand it to them, all of them, they had really gone all out in their little play even Gir still was red eyed and following them with an army-like walk. All was going deliciously perfectly to plan.

Gaz had memorized the map of The Massive, it was easy for a gamer like her to remember maps, so she knew exactly where the jails were but one minor problem was Louie was Dib and Dib would have to lead. So, Gaz had to mutter under her breath the directions for him to go while he led her. No one was looking but they had to be cautious about everything. At the same time Zim was taking himself away, it was sort of like an out of body experience to be holding onto someone who looked like him while he did not look like himself. He leaned forward and whispered something to Krit, keeping his face in an angered sort of way,

"You did exceedingly well."

Krit sighed internally. Thank Irk. He had thought he had gone too far or not far enough. He wasn't sure exactly what to do or say but chose his words based off of what he saw and was taught. Being around Zim for this long had shown him all of his odd mannerisms but especially his way of speaking. It felt so wrong to talk like that. Nothing about it was natural or very Irken it must just be the way Zim talked and literally no one else. Zim wanted to scrub his tongue as soon as possible, having Tak's voice roll out of his mouth was disgusting almost like with every word he was frenching her. Ugh. Yuck. It was his first, and hopefully last, time wearing a female body over his own and he hated it, hated every minute he had to sit in it. The sooner he could get out of it the better. He thought of Gaz, as he often did, and it alleviated the putrid feelings he had. He wanted to be by her side already even though it was all a façade her act had made his heart hurt.

He had not feared for his own life but for hers, even knowing if this was the real Dib would never hurt her, but his mind wandered into that territory anyways. He told the jailor to stand aside as he came to face the jail door way. Usually there was at least 3 maybe 4 depending jailors one on both doorways and one in each hallway so Zim had to come up with some clever way to get them to all vacate the area. It didn't even take much persuasion especially because their "Tallest" was now also in there commanding them to go.

Zim wanted to rush over to Gaz and hold her again but A. she was still in cuffs and B. he was still Tak. All the cell occupants scooted far away from the front of the cages all because Louie, or in their eyes, Dib was there. Gaz turned to one of the cages seeing the cowering aliens, mostly Irkens, all crammed in there. She frowned. That was unsanitary. Were there not enough cells to keep them in? She inspected the lock pad. Oh boy. They had no clue what the passcode was for the cells and it could be that they were all different.

"Maybe it doesn't need a passcode...maybe..." Louie pondered, putting his hand over the lock pad then pressing it upon it. It scanned his hand and the door unlocked. He noticed the screen had said Dib Membrane on it when it scanned his hand and that had made his heart want to plummet like a haywire elevator. It was bad enough to look like him, act like him, sound like him but for a scanner to literally register as him- it meant they were no different what so ever down to thumbprints and blood. That meant his children were genetically also Dib's children. He shuddered at the thought and tried not to think it anymore. Anymore thoughts like that would lead him down the dangerous rabbit hole of genetics and cloning. The cell occupants stared wildly at him, scared and most likely unsure of what was going on.

"Don't worry I'm not who you think I am," Louie explained, looking at each of them. He didn't want to say out loud he was an exact replica or anything. "Just know we are all here to help you."

They all looked at one another and then saw the prisoners behind him of which they were now no longer prisoners because Zim had taken off their cuffs. Gaz rubbed her wrists with a bit of a pout. Zim held her hands in his, looking them over. He ached to kiss them better, to kiss her, but he was still Tak and neither of them really wanted to do anything to the other when they were in this situation. Slowly but surely, they released the prisoners, explaining to each of them what was going on and giving them the choice to fight with them or fly away.

Those who wished to fight were given directions to go through the ducts into the secret meeting quarters where Skoodge and others were waiting. The rest would have to find an escape pod or stay in that room till further notice. All was settled until Louie leaned upon one of the walls and felt it shaking. They all turned to the noise, hearing a cracking breaking sound. The walls were breaking apart but not like they were unstable- it was a secret door and it had unlocked when it recognized the handprint of "Dib".

"Let's go in," Gaz said with finality, starting her walk towards the opening but Zim stopped her.

"We don't have time to dilly dally, luv..." He stopped himself. Oh god. He still sounded like Tak and spoke in her patterns. Gaz giggled a little.

"Oh, come on there could be more prisoners down there, maybe that's where he keeps the really strong ones. We will sit here and regret not going, not taking the chance to see what there was."

Gaz turned back around and put her hands in her pocket, comforting MiniMoose who was trembling the whole time but now her hands were free to pet him. Zim just sighed and followed her anyways. Who knows? Maybe it was worth their time to venture here? Maybe he had secret weapons or something? Zim kept looking at his Sir unit waiting for him to speak up at some point but not a word. Zim had never ever seen him like this, except maybe that one time that he had altered his programming. Could Gaz do that by just talking to him? He ought to get her to talk to Gir more often if it shut him up so well. The group continued down the long hallway finding almost nothing of interest along the way.

There just seemed to be more cells down here but no one was in them these cells did seem older than the other ones except one, it seemed new, very new even and it was at the very end. Curiosity compelled Gaz to go over to it and if nothing was in it, she'd leave and just say it was just another cell block that maybe Dib was expanding upon. She heard faint whispers as she got closer but they stopped suddenly, hearing her approach. She peered in and jumped back with a gasp-shout that no one had ever heard Gaz ever make not even during jump scares in her games.

"GAH!"

The voices on the other side screamed at her back. Zim pricked his antenna up. A cold chill ran over his skin. He knew those voices. He rushed over to Gaz's side and saw what she saw. His eyes got unspeakably round and his jaw dropped unspeakably low. Inside huddled against each other were Tallest Red and Tallest Purple.