A/N: Once again, thanks to my reviewers! Zerg170, MojaveRuler151, Kazehana23, InfiniteReader, Already-Lost-It, crazyanimefreak15, and Catgirlfireflare. Thank you all for your encouragement.
Kazehana23: Thanks for the suggestion about the Professor. Most of it would be really complicated for me to fit in with how I envision the path of the rest of this story. But I am going to use your suggestion about an unannounced visit. Hope you like it! Thanks!
Also: In this chapter, and the next, will be many many references that those of us raised on cattle and dairy farms know too well. You city slickers? You have been warned.
Dib pulled the last memory chip from the instrument panel and powered down Tak's ship. He hadn't seen all of the footage. Most of it, yes, but not all of it. There was no need. Dib had seen enough. Really.
He had seen Zim's initial collapse and his sister responding with a survival instinct to focus on what needed to be done to keep going until she too could collapse in his hammock. He had seen Zim and Gaz's movements, their efforts to comfort the other. He had heard their recorded conversations. Zim's confessions that even when she was a filthy mess, Zim didn't find her to be disgusting. That he didn't, couldn't, hold her being human against her. That she could even be beautiful to Zim.
He had heard the recording of Gaz's confession, that she couldn't abandon Zim, cared for him. Dib had seen Zim's instinctive protective response for Gaz when she discovered that there was a PAK in the package the Tallest sent her. How Gaz kept trying to look after Zim that first day when he was having so much difficulty coping. The tormented look on Zim's face at the sick joke the Tallest had played on them when they sent the smeet chamber as a gift along with that PAK. The tears, and not just of emotional stress, that she had shed as well. Her long forgotten tender side coming visible once again for someone she discovered she cared for deeply.
Dib simply couldn't bear to keep watching. It wasn't like spying on Zim in the past. There was no plot, no scheme, no deviousness. There was no threat to mankind here. Just two people trying to find their way out of shock and to cope with the unexpected. One of them was his sister. It was too personal. To private. Something that felt like he had no right to see.
He left the garage, turning off the light and headed up to his room. If he was fortunate, he could get three hours of sleep, and get some more during his first period study hall at skool. Once at the top of the stairs, he saw the door to Gaz's bedroom was open.
Dib paused in the hallway, then knocked quietly on the doorjamb. There was a rustling heard from inside the room, and as Dib's eyes began to adjust to the lack of light, Zim appeared in the doorway. The alien was still in his disguise as he entered the hallway and pulled the bedroom door closed behind him.
"What do you want, Dib-monkey?" Zim tried to whisper. He had a hostile expression on his face. "You are not going to disturb Gaz-blossom's sleep!"
Gaz-blossom? Dib thought. But he didn't pause. He could recognize a protective stance when he saw one. Dib felt protective of Gaz too. "I won't, Zim. I, uh, wanted to talk with you." Dib scratched his head trying to think of how to proceed as they tried to whisper back and forth. Yelling was normal for them. "We've been enemies for a long time. Can we be honest with each other for a minute? For Gaz? I reviewed what she gave me."
Zim nodded impatiently for Dib to continue. "Look, Zim. I practically had to raise my sister as my own kid. I know she can look after herself, but-" Dib paused and licked his dry lips. "Zim, Gaz is important to you, isn't she? Do you love her? My sister?"
Zim's expression softened and the alien looked briefly at the floor, then back at Dib. "It is true. Zim loves his Gaz-blossom very much. Perhaps not like a human can, but Zim does."
"She's important to me too," replied Dib. "If something were to happen to her-" He looked straight at Zim. "Do you understand?"
Zim didn't say anything, but Dib saw. Zim understood.
The alien finally spoke. "Dib-monkey. Zim would even protect his Gaz-blossom from his Tallest. Zim would destroy any who would dare harm her. Anyone. That includes other Irkens."
Dib took a deep breath. He really hated this part, but he had messed up very badly at skool. "Zim. You and Gaz didn't have a ceremony, did you? The human customary one? Listen, if you two decide you want it, I'll perform the ceremony myself. I owe her that and more."
The human took a few steps toward his own room then stopped and turned back. There was tears of anguish in his eyes. "Gaz is your wife now. Just… take care of my sister." Dib paused again. "If this is a trick-" He couldn't go on.
Zim looked at Dib. The human was handing over to his worst and inhuman enemy his most precious relation. Zim may be Irken, but now he understood enough to begin to imagine what his human enemy was going through in this matter. They had a common importance between them.
"Dib." Dib's eared perked up. There wasn't the usual insults or put-down titles attached to the address. "Gaz-blossom has repeatedly told Zim that we are now family. Brothers. This sickens me. But much has also changed. Zim has a human wife now," his mouth twisted around the human word "who is important to him, and has been charged with the defense of his bondmate's world. Zim was not trained nor educated for this. Zim… may need, um, need advice at times."
Dib heard this. He also heard what Zim didn't say, but meant with his fumbling gesture. It is not a trick. Dib took another breath. "Perhaps another day. I'm going to bed."
Zim nodded and turned away to the door leading to Gaz's room, but stopped and looked back when Dib once more said his name. "Zim? When you go back in there. Uh. You can close the door behind you. A couple ought to have their privacy."
Dib went to his own room, secretly entered the code on the security pad by the door and quickly escaped inside. He hoped he could get to sleep after that horrible discussion.
Zim went into Gaz's room and closed the door behind him. The alien made his way back to his hammock. As he settled in, he heard Gaz speak up. "I heard all that, you know." She sat up in her own bed.
The alien looked at her puzzled. She answered the unasked question. "I'm not used to footsteps in my room at night trying to sneak around. When you closed the door, I got up to listen in."
"Zim is sorry for disturbing your sleep, Gaz-blossom. Zim will punish the Dib in the morning."
"Zim, don't. I'm glad I got to hear that. It made me very happy. Do you understand what that was all about?"
He thought he did. The words seemed simple enough to understand.
"That was probably the most difficult thing my brother has or ever will do in his whole life. Zim, he was giving us his blessing. Accepted you into our family."
Zim got up at 6:00am as quietly as he could so he wouldn't disturb his Gaz-blossom's peaceful slumber. He silently opened and then closed the bedroom door with a bar of his cleansing chalk in his hand and entered the bathroom, closing that door as well.
Professor Membrane hurried into his house. He couldn't believe he had forgotten his Peruvian Flu Snails again! He trotted up the stairs and opened the unlocked bathroom door in a rush.
He stood tall in the doorway. Inside was Zim, shirtless and holding a bar of cleansing chalk in between his antennae. His wig was resting on the ledge of the bathroom sink. The alien stared back at the Professor, his eyes so wide in horror that his contacts popped out and fell to the floor, showing Zim in all his shirtless alien glory.
"Oh. Hi there, Bill," the Professor calmly said as he opened the medicine cabinet and removed the jar of Peruvian Flu Snails. "You look better than last time we met. When did you get in town?"
Both Dib and Gaz awoke to very loud screaming. "DON'T DISSECT MEEE! I'M HUMAN!" echoed through the hallways as they rushed out in their pajamas and saw their father standing in the bathroom opposite their rooms.
Gaz stopped in the hallway in terror. Her Zim had been discovered! "Dib!" she cried for help, not knowing what to do. The only solution she knew was to start dooming people, but this was her family! Trying for amnesia via blunt force trauma was too risky, but Zim could be taken away! Did her father already call the lab? A tsunami of what if's raced through her mind. She was too unaccustomed to the impact of this side of caring for someone when they were in trouble.
Dib rushed into the now crowded bathroom. A horrified Zim was backed into a corner, yelling that he was human, normal, just had a skin condition and pink eye. That he liked rain, had one stomach, was wearing pants and any other random excuse that could escape his runaway mouth as he babbled. The Professor was just saying something about a bill.
"Dad! Dad! Don't hurt him!" Dib yelled. He couldn't believe he was doing this. Dib grabbed his father's arm. "Don't send him to the lab or the basement! It's true he's an alien, but he's on our side! He can help protect Earth! His name is Zim! DAD! You can't do it! He's Gaz's husband!"
Professor Membrane just looked at Zim for a moment. "Oh, my mistake. You reminded me of my college roommate Bill. Don't mind my poor insane son." He turned and put a condescending hand on Dib's shoulder. "Now, son. There are no such thing as aliens. It's clear that this young man was just a victim of some insect getting into another teleporter experiment and splicing them together. It happened to my old roommate Bill. They even made a poorly researched movie about it called 'The Moth.' " He raised both fists in the air in righteous indignation. "WHEN will these young people listen to my lectures and start putting screen doors on their teleportation experiments!"
He just as quickly dropped back down to calm and guided Dib out of the bathroom, holding his jar of Flu Snails, and down the stairs. "Daughter, why don't you bring your young man downstairs for a moment? I can spare a whole five minutes to meet him properly."
Gaz rushed into the bathroom and slammed into Zim, giving him a bear hug. "Zim! It's okay. It's okay. It's okay," she kept repeating. She wasn't sure who she was trying to reassure more. Zim or herself.
"Gaz. Gaz, you're hurting Zim," the alien gurgled. Gaz quickly let go and helped put Zim's shirt on and the wig back over his antennae while he put the contacts back in. Then they went downstairs, still trying to recover from the shock they just experienced.
The two sat down together on the couch with Professor Membrane sitting nearby. "So, your name is Zim, is it? How did you two meet?"
"We met at skool," was Zim's understandably short response.
"I see. And how do you feel about human test trials?" the Professor asked.
"Experimenting on humans is one of my favorite subjects."
"Hey!" protested Dib, who had been some of those experiments.
"And Federal Regulators controlling when an experiment is ready for human testing?"
"Fed-er-ul Reg-olaters?" Zim asked. "Never heard of them."
The Professor reached over with his long arm and slapped Zim across the shoulder laughing. "Ha! I like his style, Daughter. Stupid Federal Laws, telling me when an experiment is safe enough. How DARE they impede SCIENCE! When he's ready for a job bring him down to the lab. I could use more like him!"
"Are you kidding me?" Dib yelled out.
"If only my poor insane son would turn to REAL SCIENCE!" The Professor lamented. "He too could help me cure diseases! Mutate faster growing crops! Give people organs that secretes its own coffee! Now, Daughter, Sane Son, when can I expect some grandchildren?"
"What?" "DAD!" "MY EARS!" Zim, Gaz and Dib all cried out in unison. Gaz was turning lobster red and Zim a very dark green. Dib ran over to the kitchen sink and began pumping soap into his ears.
"You should really hurry on that. I have thirty-two assistants I would like to replace as soon as possible. Always nagging about laws and protocols when SCIENCE awaits!" the Professor proclaimed, pointing a finger in the air.
"Uh, Dad." Gaz stumbled. "Zim's DNA is, uh, mutated. Remember? I don't know if we're compatible for… that." The girl was almost turning purple now. They all really wanted this conversation to stop.
"Nonsense. If I can combine a cow with a pineapple I can fix you two up in no time! How does this afternoon sound? You two stop by the lab and- oops. Times up. Got to go! See you at our next Family Fun Night in four months! Good-bye Daughter, Sane Son, Insane Son!"
And just like that Professor Membrane leapt up the rushed out the door with his jar of Peruvian Flu Snails.
No one said anything for a while. Gaz spoke first. "It's alright, Zim. Could you go back upstairs and finish cleaning up? Dib and I will need the bathroom also before we leave for skool," Gaz requested. "You don't want steam to burn your skin."
The green alien returned upstairs in a daze. A minute later the water in the kitchen stopped running and Dib stepped into the living room rubbing a washcloth around his ears. Gaz motioned him to come over.
Dib sat down next to her. "Wow," he said. "That was beyond embarrassing. And so disturbing."
Gaz just sat there with a blank look for a second before responding. "Huh? Oh yeah. That."
Dib looked at his sister. "Gaz?"
"Dib, I almost lost him just now. We came a hairbreadth away from Zim ending up on a slab somewhere." She looked back at her brother. "A few minutes ago I almost became a widow, Dib. I almost became a widow before Zim and I could even get started for real. I couldn't do anything. The only thing I could do was start assaulting people. Assault Dad. But what good would that have done? Dad could have called the lab. He could have… have-"
Dib pulled Gaz close and draped an arm around her. He hadn't realized this aspect of Zim's close call. That Gaz had almost been made a widow. A few weeks ago when all this first started Zim had told him that Gaz was like a fortress with a fragile center that was defended at all cost to prevent collapse. Dib, her own brother, had never really known of its existence but Zim had picked up on it. And now Dib was seeing it first hand.
Gaz kept going. "And then he talked about kids. Dib, it was beyond embarrassing but I was almost seeing my future flash before my eyes. I could almost see their faces, ones that came so close to never having a chance to exist."
She pulled back to look at her brother. "But you jumped right in. You tried to reason, persuade. Dad's never believing in you may have saved Zim's life today. I feel so weak. I used to be strong, but now…"
"Gaz, I hate to say it, but you've never understood what it means to be strong," Dib told her. "Tough and strong are not always the same thing."
She almost glared at him, but didn't really have it in her. Dib elaborated. "Gaz, you always thought that being strong meant not having any soft spots at all. No vulnerabilities. But that only makes you impervious to what is around you. Cold. Empty. A rock. But rocks shatter or explode because they can't bend or be squeezed under pressure. Being strong doesn't mean not being affected or knocked for a loop when something happens. It means being able to get back up on your feet and to keep going. It means being able to bend and be shaken when you take a hit. It means letting yourself lean on others when it gets to be too much. To have the courage to let yourself be vulnerable enough to care about someone. That's what you've been doing, even carrying Zim on your back while you do so. You're not weak. Not at all. You're just not used to this kind of strength because right now it feels like vulnerability."
"Dib? I, um. I can't lose him."
"I know. I see that now for myself. It's okay to say it, Gaz. It's okay to admit things."
"But you hate him. I've had to put up with your stupid anti-Zim rants over and over. Every time I've started to mention something involving Zim-"
Dib patted his sister's shoulder. He hadn't realized the extra pressure he had added to her situation. "I know I can be obsessive. I'll try to do better. Zim isn't the Invader he used to be. I know that too. He loves you Gaz, in his own alien way. He really does. He loves a human. If he can do that, then perhaps there is hope. Maybe he needs you to be that better person, just as much as you need him."
Dib thought about his own words. He knew what he had to do. It would be difficult. But this was for his sister.
"Gaz? Stop with this 'real' hooey." Dib touched her bonding necklace. "What you have is real. What you are going through is real. Just because you and he aren't living that life yet doesn't mean it isn't real. It's weird and all, but real. Gaz. I'll do better about Zim. I promise. Go on, now. Admit it. What it is I don't want to hear."
"Dib. I love Zim. Very much so. I got married and it turns out I love him. I want that future with Zim."
"Keep going, Gaz," Dib coached. "Open up to what Zim is now. You're much more than friends, and it's too late to start off with being his girlfriend. Don't worry about not being ready for the future. Just accept what you are now. It's okay to say it, Gaz."
"Dib. I, um. Zim is my husband, and I want to be in love with him too."
Dib gave his sister a final squeeze and got up. "You will. Or maybe you already are. But you'll figure it out."
"Listen, I heard you and Zim talking last night," Gaz said. "Could you really do it? A ceremony for Zim and I? How?"
"Yeah. It's a little something that was included in my 'Lil Paranormal Investigator Exorcism Kit I got a few years ago. Don't worry about it."
Dib walked away and to the stairs. Zim was standing at the top. When Dib approached, Zim whispered, being out of earshot of Gaz for a moment. "You defended Zim. You… Zim heard you speaking to Gaz-blossom. Even though you hate Zim you support us."
"Yeah, Zim. We do things for family we wouldn't do for anyone else," Dib informed the alien. "And as much as it makes me nauseous, you are part of this crazy family now."
Zim looked like he was trying to concentrate. Or pass gas. "Zim has difficulty comprehending, but is beginning to see."
"I'm glad to hear that, Zim. Why don't you go downstairs. Gaz could use some time with you right now," Dib suggested.
Zim left and Dib went into his room to gather fresh clothes. As he went to the bathroom, an idea occurred to him. Normally something like this would be a sign that he had a death wish, but now? Things were different today. Dib snuck into Gaz's room and grabbed one of her customary black dresses from her dirty laundry. Then he tiptoed over and tossed it into the washer with a lot of bleach.
Dib took his shower quickly, letting the running water help cover up the sound of the washer. He completed his normal bathroom routine by the time the washer was done, and Dib reached in and threw the dress in their Dad's insta-dryer. It wasn't quite instant, but it was fast.
By the time Gaz finished getting ready for the day and left the bathroom, Dib was standing at the bottom of the stairs with his hands behind him. Zim was standing off to one side watching. "Listen, Gaz. I wanted to offer you something to show that I'm serious. That I'll support you even if I don't like it. Please don't kill me."
"Dib-" Gaz started to say crossly, walking down toward him. Then she stopped.
Her brother held out one of her dresses in front of him, as a gift. Perhaps also as a shield.
It was pure white.
"I thought that like your old life, this could be transformed to help you into your new one," Dib told his sister. "If you want a ceremony, you'll need a wedding dress. You can hang it up in your closet until you're ready."
Gaz slowly walked down and took the dress from her brother. It was just one of her ordinary dresses that had undergone a deliberate laundry accident, but to her it was beautiful.
"Thank you, Dib. I don't know what to say," she said breathlessly.
"You could give me a lift to skool. I'm too tired to drive myself."
Their Jeep pulled up into the hi-skool parking lot. Gaz slapped Dib's knee, who was almost asleep in the back. He yawned and grabbed his books.
"Dib? I need to talk with Zim alone for a minute. See you at lunch?" Gaz asked.
Dib just mumbled something and hopped out of the back of the Jeep. Or more accurately, fell out in a controlled fashion. He wandered in to the building to his first period study hall where he could get some more sleep. It had been a long night and a difficult morning as well.
After Dib disappeared into the skool, Gaz opened up to Zim. "Listen, Zim. Do you understand all of what people were saying about me yesterday? The rumors going around?"
Zim looked at Gaz. "Much of what has been said has been out of Zim's hearing and fragmentary. There were many incomplete murmurs. But Zim understands that there was much mindless chatter about us becoming bondmates. Many were rightly punished."
"It's more than that. Zim, in this culture, humans don't become bondmates while still in hi-skool. No one is ready for that sort of thing yet. The only reason two might do that before they're ready is if they, um, did something stupid. Careless."
"Were we not careless as well?" Zim asked.
"Zim, please be careful of what you say from now on. Not that kind of careless. Zim, they think I'm carrying a smeet."
"They must be blind, because there is nothing in your arms," Zim retorted.
Gaz had to let out a ghost of a smile at that. "No, Zim. Not in my arms. Inside me. Like a smeet chamber."
Zim's eyes grew wide at that. Gaz took his hand. "Zim, even though it's not true, many people will always believe that's what happened to us. That that is why we're together. From now on there is going to be a lot of whispers and looks in our direction. Questions about what happened. Just remember that they aren't staring at you because they see you're Irken. It's at both of us because they think there is a mini Zim or Gaz inside me. We're going to have to just shrug it off unless they get too obvious about it. Not even I could get away with dooming every single classmate every day."
Gaz took a breath before continuing. "I decided to go into the office today and change my classes for next semester. I realize I am a bondmate now and I want to start preparing for what my new role will be. I'll drop Metal Shop and Art for Advanced Personal Finance and Home Ec. They may make it mandatory for me to take some child development class. It's going to reinforce what everyone thinks."
"Gaz-blossom. Zim does not care what the stupid humans think. It is their fault for being stupid. Zim will laugh at their foolishness."
"A lot of people may start asking really personal questions. Just tell them that you and I are none of their business. Okay, Zim? Just try not to respond to their provocations. Eventually they should get bored and find something else to gossip about. All right?"
Zim nodded, and the two left the vehicle and entered the skool building arm in arm as a couple.
After they had stopped by the school office for Gaz to request a new class schedule for next semester, they found themselves running a bit late. So Zim had walked Gaz to her locker and then rushed off to his own. As Gaz picked out the needed books for her first class, Zita opened up her own locker just a few feet away.
"Gaz?"
"Hey, Zita," Gaz mumbled.
"I just wanted to ask if you are all right," Zita said.
Gaz looked at the girl next to her. Zita was a mild-mannered and caring person with a soft yet humorous personality. Gaz would allow this since she was inquiring out of honest concern, unlike most of the students. Nothing had been said outright, but even the staff she had spoken to in the office wore expressions that showed what they were thinking.
"We're trying to be. I don't think I've gotten a good night's sleep this past week, trying to cope with one crazy thing after another. It's been difficult for all of us."
"Gaz? I don't know how much of what I've heard is true, but if you want to talk-"
"Look, Zita." Gaz said. "You can't imagine what Zim and I have been through. If we had been paying attention we would have realized what it was we were signing and avoided this whole thing. So the part that I'm now Zim's ball and chain is correct. Plus Zim's people back home are real big on the 'till death do you part' thing so we're not backing out of this. But now thanks to my brother, everyone in skool thinks I'm just a stupid girl that got knocked up." She slammed her locker door.
"So, you're not-"
"No, I'm not." She paused for a moment to reflect. "But strangely, for the most part I'm glad things have worked out the way they have," Gaz remarked.
"Really?" Zita asked completely surprised.
"Yeah," Gaz said with a small smile. "Otherwise I never would have known how much he means to me, and what I mean to him. That we want to be together."
As Gaz hurried off to her class, Zita kept pace for a moment more. "You know, even if it was true that you had a bun in the oven, everyone will always know you as Gaz the Dark Fury. You could never be just another stupid girl."
Somehow what Zita said made the rumors more bearable without dooming everyone in town.
Near the end of the day, the skool intercom system came to life. "Zim, Gaz and Dib Membrane. Report to the Vice-Principal's office immediately."
The three left their respective classes and gathered on a bench outside the VP's office. After awhile the Vice-Principal called them inside. The three stood before his desk.
"Gaz, your request to change your class schedule for next semester was approved. The guidance councilor was pleased that you are finally stepping up to accept some responsibility. Of course in your condition you probably don't have much choice. Do you?"
The girl just put her hand to her face and shook her head.
The Vice-Principle went on. "However, you three delinquents have made a real mess for me. The cafeteria won't be in any condition to reopen until Monday. And then there is all those students stuck to the walls! You've thrown my attendance charts all out of whack! How do I count those students? They are present here in skool, but absent from their classes. They are present and absent at the same time! Can you imagine what that is doing to my charts?"
Dib, Zim and Gaz just looked at each other. The Vice-Principal had two married hi-skool students before him, one rumored to be expecting, and the brother screeching her spouse was an alien for years and in the past threatening to dissect the green student standing next to him, and the Vice-Principals was concerned about this? Those attendance charts weren't the only thing out of whack in this office.
"Now, Gaz. It is understandable that in your condition you are influenced by mood swings, but you must learn to deal with your changing hormones other than by taking it out on other students! Zim, it is natural to want stand up for her in her state, but you should help her deal with such imbalances constructively. Under the circumstances I am willing to show leniency this one time, and am sending you both to detention for a week."
The three students were too busy giving the Vice-Principal their best 'What the-' expressions to respond.
"Dib, you however should know better than to instigate a riot on the skool premises. That sort of behavior belongs in the streets! You are suspended for a week."
"Are you KIDDING me?" Dib shrieked.
The Vice-Principal shooed them out of his office and slammed the door behind them.
"Zim," Dib said coldly, "you are living proof that there is no such thing as Karma."
After being released from detention and being dropped off by Gaz so he could get his next PAK maintenance cycle, Zim entered his base alone to find everything in place. Nothing had been destroyed, damaged or scattered. There was no mud coating the flooring or footprints on the walls or ceiling. No scorch marks in the kitchen. Gir was just sitting quietly in the middle of the room watching The Angry Monkey Show on the TV.
"Computer! How did you manage to get Gir to behave himself?" Zim asked loudly.
"Master, I bet Gir a taco that he couldn't do nothing but watch an Angry Monkey marathon for forty-eight hours straight. There is eighteen hours remaining," Computer informed him.
"Why! Why did Zim not think of this before? It is so obvious!" Zim hollered. But deep down he knew the answer. Zim wasn't the perfect and awe inspiring being he thought he had been in the past. Far from it. But his Gaz-blossom loved him anyway, and knew the difference between being a Defect and having a flawed PAK. That went a long way, for Gaz was not one to tolerate substandard well.
Computer of course did not offer his own comment to what Zim said. "Master, the expansion for your new room is complete and some basic furnishings arrived while you were away. They have been moved in along with the PAK maintenance system. I also would suggest building a small workstation for Mistress with a secure data uplink. As Lady, she has responsibilities too, and needs to be able to communicate off world in a timely fashion when called upon. Waiting for her next random visit here to be informed of decisions she must make is insufficient. The modifications to her GameSlave 4 is too limited for these applications."
Zim stood on one of the hidden elevators in the living room. He wanted to and looked forward to building something new and helpful for Gaz, but it would have to wait. This past skool week had been indescribably difficult, and neither his life nor outlook would ever be the same. But Zim now knew that this would be a good thing, for his Gaz-blossom was worth whole worlds. Worth all that he was experiencing. He would and could adjust. Even with a flawed PAK, Zim was still Irken after all.
"Very well, Computer. After my maintenance cycle is complete. Zim has been under much strain again."
The platform descended into the base to Zim's new room. The alien entered and made a brief examination. Everything was red and black of course. The furnishings were basic, a large bed with a foam mattress with fairly typical coverings and pillows. Overhead was a reproduced picture of some supernova remnant. Two small end tables with lamps were positioned at the head of the bed with a set of dressers at the foot. A large wardrobe sat along one wall. One door led to a bathroom that included human plumbing and an excellent ventilation system for water vapor. Another led to another empty room that was nearly as large as the first.
"Computer, why is there such a large closet attached to this sleep room? We have plenty of space already. And there is no need for such a large nap platform," Zim nitpicked as he climbed onto the bed and laid down on his side.
The picture of the supernova remnant slid upward to reveal the PAK support interface and two cables snaked down and plugged into Zim's PAK. While working for Zim, Computer had learned to plan ahead to the best of his abilities and what Zim would let him get away with. So Computer hadn't answered Zim's remarks. He figured he would let Lady Gaz explain when the time was right. In another year or two Mistress would no doubt be moving in, so it made sense to set things up now when Computer had the opportunity to do so. The two bondmates could eventually figure out a need for an attached nursery on their own, when they were ready. Until then they could use it for whatever they thought it was.
After an early dinner, Dib sat on the roof of their house looking into the sky with his small satellite dish, recording device and headphones just like he did every Thursday. The sun had just set and the stars were coming out. But everything was different now. There was no invasion to single-handedly prevent. He still listened for alien transmissions and strange phenomena, but there would be no secret orders waiting to be intercepted. Not that Dib trusted Zim implicitly, not even close. But the mountain of evidence he had gone over last night could not be refuted. With that context Dib had gone through the database on Tak's ship for records on Zim. There were very few remaining after the AI deletions, but it was enough. Earth was worth everything to the Armada as Zim's prison and worth nothing as anything else.
And knowing there was no escape pod floating out there was a relief, yet at the same time the silence of that particular frequency was a bit of a distressing reminder in itself now.
Gaz walked out onto the roof with her GameSlave 4 in her hands. She hadn't touched her games since the CWZ convention. She sat down next to Dib, her game beeping. They didn't say anything for awhile.
Her brother took off his headphones and roughly set them down on the roof's surface. Gaz's game continued to beep, but she noted the expression on her brother's face.
"Can't concentrate?" she asked.
"Not really," came the answer.
"I know what you mean," Gaz replied. "My games aren't the same right now."
"You miss him, don't you?" Dib asked.
"Yeah," his sister said. "We haven't been separated like this since Sunday morning and have been through a lot in that short time. We've depended on each other to get through it. But Zim looked better this afternoon than he had, and he needs to sleep a few hours tonight. We know we have to do this at some point. He's safer at his base, and I need my room to get a good nights sleep. But if he starts having trouble, at least Computer can text me over my GameSlave. What about you?"
Dib thought for a moment. "I don't know. It's crazy how things can change in a single day." Gaz nodded. She indeed knew that feeling well. "I guess I feel kind of lost. Zim isn't trying to take over the planet. The Armada isn't planning to invade because we're worth less than isolating Zim. I don't really know what I'm supposed to be listening for."
"And getting suspended for nothing didn't help any, did it?" she asked.
"It upset me for awhile, but I guess I'm just used to getting crap tossed at me," Dib commented. Then winced as the phrase reminded him of someone far away.
Gaz caught on to the response to his own wording on her brother's face. "Is it distracting? Knowing what happened to her? Knowing there is no escape pod floating up there. It's like listening to a hole within the silence, isn't it?"
Dib just nodded. Gaz paused her game. Her brother was a very compassionate person. He usually did his best to look for the good in people and the things around him regardless of what was flung at him in return. When Dib cared about some subject, project, or person, he really cared with all he had. Whether it deserved it or not made no difference. Well, except for Zim's case. While Dib may be a bit obsessive, willing to go to even disturbing extremes and had a bit of a mania problem, he was a romantic to the core. Idealistic to a fault, passionate about what he believed in and cared about, and willing to go to enormous lengths. Needing to do what he felt was the right thing even if it cost him. Gaz had always thought Dib to be a weak fool to not be as impervious as she had been, but she was learning there were different types of strengths.
"You know you need to put your mind at ease."
"Yeah, I know. But it's not like I could trust anything she says."
Gaz pulled her brother up and guided him down into the garage. The two of them stood next to Tak's ship. "You can just send a message, Dib," she told him. "You don't have to talk face to face."
Dib nodded an acknowledgement and climbed into the cockpit. Gaz reached inside and pressed a few buttons on the instrument panel.
"Computer?" she asked.
"Yes, Mistress?" he answered.
"Please send us the communications frequency and routing information for a message to Planet Dirt. Addressed to Tak."
"Yes, Mistress. The firewall protecting the memory core of the ship in Dib's possession requires an authorization before I can upload the necessary communications protocols." Computer informed her over the speakers.
Dib hesitated for a long minute, then input the necessary codes. A series of numbers, ciphers and relay station addresses loaded into the communications system's memory. "Upload complete. Will there be anything else, Mistress?" Computer asked.
"No, I believe that will be all for tonight."
Computer signed off. Gaz stepped to the back of the garage to give her brother a moment of privacy and returned to her GameSlave.
Tak hobbled up the mound. Her knee joint was stiff and was inflamed as usual. Three of her toes had been broken and never healed properly, giving her a slight limp. She made her way up the mound to her escape pod that had been her home for the last seven years. It was roughly three miles from the dookie snare machine. The cursed captains of the sewage ships missed on occasion, and their orbital drops could be suspiciously accurate for direct impacts on her escape pod. Each time it happened it took a week to dig it out of the growing mound.
She sighed, and coughed some more. Even with her respirator, the stench was impossible to evade. It didn't cover her antennae after all. She was surrounded by a thousand miles of nothing but muck. Her pod had been stripped of its propulsion and most of its systems. Escape was impossible. The first time it had taken decades to build a ship from the scraps dumped on Dirt. It was made sure that there would not be a second time. She could not walk out. It was too far and she could not carry enough vital nutrients for the journey that would last a few months at least. Plus she had to actually catch much of her 'food.' What ever those things were that crawled around out there, these couldn't sustain her. A ship dropping a supply crate of missing nutrients from the sky did not come around very often.
Her job was a hoax. Supposedly she was there to maintain the machine and ensure it worked properly, but it was designed to never break down or malfunction for it's entire service life. It was a dookie snare after all. No one would ever design such a device to need people to function under any circumstances. This particular device still had three hundred years left on its service life. The rest of her 'assignment' consisted of driving a primitive tractor pushing around muck to keep the area somewhat level, not that is was actually necessary.
Not to mention that a bar of mere cleansing chalk was no use here. She hadn't been given a protective suit to wear.
Tak slowly climbed into her pod and pulled the canopy closed. After all this time the grime slowly clogging crevices and collecting in wiring and circuits had taken it's toll. The pod was barely functional. Off to one side was Mimi. She was forced to tear apart the robot after it went berserk during her dogfight with Zim in her attempt to hijack his mission. Attempts to put the custom built SIR unit into working order had failed. Parts were damaged during the disassembly, and all the crud that got everywhere shorted circuit pathways. The robot was whole, but not functioning.
Tak pulled off her respirator, shut her eyes and sat back in the single seat that took up most of the space in the escape pod. After a long while she opened them again and saw a blinking message on one of the few side displays still functional. Recorded message: Dirt- Dookie Manager Tak it blinked.
She pressed a button. The first message she had received in seven years began to play. The first face that had spoken to her in all that time appeared. A human face. One she recognized from long ago. It was different, and yet the same.
"Hey, Tak. It's Dib. I don't know if you remember me, but you were in my class when you tried to hollow out my homeworld. I'm not exactly sure what to say here. You probably hate us for wrecking your plans and may be burning this recording by now. I just learned what happened to you last night, Tak. I hope it's not as bad as it sounds. I hope you are all right. Look, I'm relieved your not going around invading planets and destroying innocent people, but I'm so sorry to hear about where you ended up. You deserved much better than that. I just had to say something, Tak. I didn't hear your escape beacon for a long time and didn't know if you made it or not. You're probably full of hate and rage at us, but we had to stop you. You planned to have my homeworld invaded. I wish things could have been different. Maybe if you hadn't been after my planet… well I suppose there is no point in thinking like that. Good-bye, Tak. I'd like to think that things will get better for you eventually."
The message ended. She replayed it a full ten more times. It was the only face she had seen since Earth that had not looked down upon her with contempt. The first face looking at her in seven years.
Tak was the best of her peer group, the brightest and most resourceful. She should have been one of the Irken elite, an Invader. The Tallest had promised, but she now knew that they had lied to her just as they had to Zim.
The first time the escaped from Dirt, she had not realized that she was also abandoning her post. Her assignment. She had been a deserter. They would never have let her be a real Invader after that. But the Tallest had strung her along and let her have a shot at taking over a disguised exile. That would have been her reward had she succeeded. A fake title with a fake mission and a planet no one wanted. She had seen this after the years of watching broadcasts of Zim on Irkens Funniest Blunders. And then there was that last broadcast, which was not only of Zim being overpowered by a human and bonded, but his call to the Tallest for help.
Irk wanted to be rid of Zim, and had gotten rid of her.
Tak looked out of the canopy and took in the muckscape. She had always been taught that Invaders needed no one, and an Invader was what everyone aspired to be. But Tak was never going to become an Invader. And she could not flee on her own.
The pod was slowly deteriorating. Eventually it would no longer be a shelter. Tak looked at the rolling mounds outside. As she often did, she thought of how she wasn't going to leave this place. She would eventually die here, and a mound of sewage would be her unmarked grave. Tears appeared in her solid purple eyes.
There was one place that didn't hold anything against her, at least until the end when her plan went into effect. It was a lousy planet, but compared to here, it was paradise. When she had attended the skool, her classmates had respect for her. Thought she was just fine. Even a little popular. Some even laughed with her. She had just gone along with it for the sake of her assignment against Zim, but the humans had been sincere. Like the now young man speaking on the replaying message. The one that had sent her the only message she had received in all this time out of concern for what had happened to her.
Tak reached back and pulled Mimi into her lap. The pod's communications system had been partially gutted. It could receive broadcasts still, but not transmit. No one wanted her to be able to constantly call out in protest or demand another chance. Tak opened up a panel in Mimi's chest and began pulling out circuit modules and trying to rub them clean with her dirty shirt. She should be able to rig up something that could work long enough before these circuits burned out.
Dib was on his bed reading one of his paranormal magazines when his wristwatch signaled an alert being generated from Tak's ship. He rushed downstairs and into the garage. As he came around the hull and saw into the cockpit, a display was flashing a message. Recorded Message: Earth- Dib.
"Gaz!" he yelled for his sister to come at once.
She entered the garage, not happy that her attempts to find some calm and get her mind off of things with her game had been interrupted. Then she too saw the flashing display. Gaz turned off her GameSlave.
"Go on," Gaz prodded her brother.
Her brother reached into the cockpit and pressed a button. An image appeared as the message began to play.
They both gasped. Tak looked beyond terrible. Her eyes were sunk in, and she was filthy, like a person who hadn't bathed in years. She looked positively emaciated. And for an Irken, that was something. When she began to speak her voice was raspy, her lips cracked and slightly blistered.
"Dib. I remember you well. Yours was the first message I've gotten since they dropped me here. I can receive, but I don't know how long this jury-rigged fix will last, so I won't be able to transmit again. They don't even assign slaves or prisoners to this place. I want to come back, but I know it won't happen. There is no way out of this place for me. But I'm sending my coordinates anyway. I can only hope that maybe someday after I'm gone that someone will bury me in a star rather in the sewage that surrounds me. The past, it wasn't about revenge. Well, maybe a little. But they promised me a chance to be among the Elite and Zim was in the way. They lied. They set me up only to take out Zim."
The image of Tak began to tell of what her life had been like. It went on for only another minute until static steadily replaced the image until the signal was lost completely.
Dib turned his head and looked at his sister. She looked back and knew.
Earth was no longer under threat from invasion. Zim was no longer a direct threat. And Dib always did have a definite savior complex going on in his mental framework.
She put a hand on his shoulder. "You know that just because she's had it bad doesn't mean she's changed for the better. Just because she wants out doesn't mean that she won't want to strike back. It may have made her worse."
"I know, Gaz. Don't forget who your talking to. Protecting Earth has been a long standing project of mine," Dib retorted. "But what can I do? Sure, I've got her ship and it's the fastest craft they have, but it could still take months to get there. Plus I can't navigate to another star system manually."
"I'll let Zim know I'm coming. We can figure something out and make a few calls," Gaz said in return. "You start packing what you'll need. Pack light because you will have to take enough water to last. I'll see about cleansing gel." She gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Dib, you just happen to have a week off from skool and no need to keep guard here. Maybe Karma exists after all."
Dib left and drove to the store. Much of what he would need they didn't have on hand. He'd need a lot of water, something eatable that did not require refrigeration or cooking. Also high energy stuff with large doses of carbohydrates. Moist toilettes for himself. He also picked out a thick white sweater and sweatpants. He figured someone who lived like that would find some comfort in a color that represented clean. Dib just hoped white didn't represent something like 'I have gas' or worse to an Irken.
Zim was waiting outside when Gaz arrived. "Zim does not like this," he said as they walked into the base and took the elevator down. "Tak is very good, resourceful, does not forget, and held Zim responsible for her misfortunes before. She could still be a threat."
"I know. I reminded Dib to be careful. But do you really think Dib of all people would allow Tak anywhere near Earth if she was a threat? Remember, we all had a hand in her being sent back to Dirt. But this is something Dib needs to do. We can trust him in this."
They entered the computer lab. Gaz placed a memory chip in the control panel.
"Computer," Zim commanded. "Analyze this recording and begin estimating needed medical supplies."
"Also put me in touch with Beed on the Doomwind. Urgent," Gaz added.
After about two minutes Beed appeared on the main display. "Governor Zim, Lady Gaz."
"Beed," Gaz began, "we've had something come up last minute. Yesterday I talked to Lim about a hypothetical operation. It's going into effect now. We need to come up with a travel plan quickly. Our biggest problem we face at the moment is speed. I need to get a single pilot craft from Earth to Dirt to you quickly with a navigational system missing an AI. I figure you're the person to go to for this problem."
"Understood," Beed responded. "The second leg is not a problem. Dirt is close by. Send me the coordinates and I will make arrangements. I will transmit the details when they are made."
"Beed, my brother is going on this mission. I need him escorted through Irk system space and help him dock with you. He is to be treated as my guest. His passenger will be needing medical attention but keep her under guard. She might be dangerous. Also, I need you to be ready to respond if he gets in trouble along the way."
"Yes, Lady Gaz. A flight of Spittle Runners can meet with him enroute from Dirt and escort him the rest of the way. The rest can be standing by here to send through the hypergate if needed."
Zim broke into the conversation. "Sentinel Beed. I am sending you a list of equipment and supplies, plus a quartermaster to contact. It is an equipment package for a Governor's security unit that you are entitled to. It is extremely unlikely, but if my Bondmate's brother gets into trouble you may need it. Do not hesitate to be forceful in speaking to them if required."
"Lim will get to work on that right away," Beed informed them. "We have a list of temporary additional personnel for your attention. As there are only thirty of us right now and with an operation underway, this must be addressed. However this normally requires your review and approval."
Gaz took a breath. "Beed, you are the man on the scene right now. You guys know the people, their skills, their temperament and what they can do. Filter down what is needed, and who fits in best. They will have to get used to dealing with humans, so double check how well and willing they can handle xenophobia. Send the list to us and we'll see it gets approved."
Beed was making notes on a Pad. "Understood. We will have the short list to you in a couple hours. Also, the first delivery of the cargo containers arrived this morning. But we shall have the entire landing deck clear by the time your brother arrives."
Quartermaster Toob sat at his desk with his feet up. It was almost the end of his day when the call came in. A very large and unhappy Irken appeared on his display panel. "Supply and Requisition. What do you want?" he asked.
"This is Sentinel Lim, second commander of Lady Gaz's Black Sheep guard. Where have you hidden my gear? I should have had a full equipment bay right now, yet I have an empty deck. We should have received it immediately when my unit was first activated! So I am looking for someone to blame. And I have found you."
Quartermaster Toob sat up straighter and looked through his records. Getting on the bad side of a Governor's Own unit was not a bright nor healthy move. "I am sorry. I have no records of-"
Lim cut him off. "I am sending you a revised list now. My unit has just been given a priority mission direct from my Governor, and she will be most displeased to find that we do not even have spare changes of uniforms do to your section's incompetence."
Toob reviewed the list. It was a big list. "Sentinel Lim, I only have some of this on hand, and it is on reserve for-"
"Excuse me?" Lim cut in once more. "Let me put this another way. I do not care how you do it. You will get all these items, ready for lift at the spaceport in six hours. Or do I have to notify the Tallest that the Governors that they hand-picked for this assignment have no protection due a Governor because you are lazy and stupid? Is that what you want me to do?"
"N-No! Of course not! It will be taken care of right away!"
Lim smiled and leaned back as she cut the connection. She had been unnaturally close to the video pickup while sitting on a container placed in her chair. As a smallest, she found she rather enjoyed putting these larger supervisors and managers in a small place. Anyway, it was all for a good cause.
Six hours later four light assault shuttles would lift off for the Doomwind. On board were the other smallests the original thirty had contacted about a new 'career opportunity.' The Doomwind, being an old ship, required a much larger crew than any Irken vessel of the same size. Six hundred total for full combat ability, damage control, environmental control, but mostly for strike craft support. For a shuttle cruise, this group of one hundred would be sufficient for the ship and the new base once they arrived.
Following them would be the three cargo shuttles loaded with powered and standard body armor, light and heavy infantry weapons, power cells, ordinance, scanners and everything else needed for a pair of Governors to give someone who annoyed them a very bad day.
Dib sat in Tak's gift wrapped ship looking at his sister's image in his wristwatch. It was almost 11pm. "Gaz, this can't possibly work. This won't fool anyone."
Gaz's image spoke back. The background was of her own room back at the Membrane house. "It doesn't have to. It's called plausible deniability. Beed has everything set up on his end. You have all you need? The notebook with the code phrases?"
He patted his pockets. "Yes, I have it. I checked everything twice before loading it all in the hatch. Clothes, food, water, the sedative patch. Basic items plus the inflatable pool. The navigation support program checks out. All systems are green and standing by." He didn't mention the video camera he had in his carryon under his feet.
"Okay we're finished on the outside. Dib, you can be back in two days if you decide. It will be a bit cramped in there."
"I know, Gaz. I can also stretch what supplies I brought for quite awhile if it proves necessary. I'll check in regularly. So what are you going to do while I'm away?" he asked.
"I'd like to just take time out to settle." Gaz replied. "Maybe go see a movie with Zim. Just kind of have some quiet time to learn how to really be together. You know, without the whole universe intruding every five minutes?"
"I understand," Dib answered. "Go get some sleep. I know you haven't been able to get much lately."
"I will." Gaz said. "Dib. You know you've always wanted to do something like this."
She smiled at him. "Now go save the girl."
Dib cut the connection and strapped into the pilot's chair.