Chapter 9 – The Egg Grows…A Lot…
The rest of the weekend went by peacefully, but on Monday morning, Zim was awakened suddenly by Zia screaming. He bolted upright in bed, and glanced around for her. They'd turned the nest chamber into a sleep chamber for the two of them. Zia was standing in front of a full length mirror on the wall, holding up her tunic above her stomach. It was already starting to grow.
Zim's eyes widened as he walked over to her. Both of them had seemingly forgotten what the end result of mating was – an egg!
"Look at this!" Zia cried, "Just look at it!"
"It's not…that bad…" Zim said, trying to think of something nice to say, "I'm sure no one at Skool will notice."
"You think?" Zia said, putting a hand on her stomach.
As hi mate turned back to her reflection, Zim puzzled over what to do. 'We could always request a leave of absence for her…' he thought to himself.
"I guess you're right," Zia said, smoothing out her tunic again, "It's not that noticeable yet."
"Right," Zim nodded.
Zia stared at her reflection for a moment longer before saying, "You know what would taste really good right now?"
"What?" Zim asked.
"Cucumbers," was Zia's reply.
* * *
GIR was watching TV as Zim and Zia came up from the floor. "Good Morning, Master! G'morning, Mistress!"
"Yes, yes, whatever, GIR," Zim said.
GIR eyed Zia curiously, "Mistress looks different…"
"Is it that obvious?" Zia asked nervously.
"Of course not," zim said quickly, "GIR, Zia has an egg growing inside of her now." GIR just stared blankly, not understanding. Zim sighed, "She's going to have a baby."
"Oh…" GIR said, then hugged Zia around the middle, "I like babies!!"
Zim rolled his eyes. Zia patted GIR on the head awkwardly.
APU strode up and pried GIR off of his Mistress, scolding, "You'll damage the egg!"
"Oh, it's all right," Zia said, "Come on, Zim. We've got to get to Skool."
Zim headed for the door, but Zia ran back to the kitchen. She returned seconds later, munching on a cucumber that was dipped in what looked like chocolate syrup. Zim gave her a funny look, but said nothing and only followed her out the door. APU trailed after them at a distance, and GIR went back to his TV shows.
* * *
At Skool, the only one who noticed any change was Dib. He stared at Zia until she couldn't take it and turned to face him. "What??" she demanded.
Dib's eyes narrowed. "There's something different about you, Zia," he said, "I can't put my finger on it, but something is definitely different."
Zia's eyes grew wide with worry, but Sara came to her rescue. "Leave her alone, Dib," she said, "She's already got a boyfriend, right?"
Zia nodded and winked at Zim, who was grinning triumphantly.
"What?!" cried Dib, "You think that I – you're crazy!!"
"No…you are," Zita said.
"QUIET!!!" Ms. Bitters yelled, causing them all to snap to attention. "That's better. In light of the events of Friday night, the Skool Board has issued an educational video about all the horrible effects of alcohol to each class that attended the dance. So sit down and watch the horror."
"But we're already sitting!" said the kid who had replaced Brian.
"SILENCE!!!" Ms. Bitters growled. Then the room when dark and the film started.
* * *
As lunch time came around, more of the kids had started to notice Zia's…um…change… As she was eating the cafeteria food (no small feat for any normal person), Torque Smackey yelled from across the room, "Heh, Heh! Tubbo!!"
Zia looked up, hurt. Zim spun around angrily, "Hey!" he yelled, but was then hit in the head with food, and flung backwards off of the table, "AUGH! GRRRR!"
And no one seemed to notice the large and ominous CRASH in the background, but a few kids right near Torque began backing away from him as a dark shadow approached him (No, it's not Ms. Bitters – she's probably sleeping or something).
Torque glanced behind him. There was APU, looking furious, "Heh, it's a little worm thing!" he said pointing at APU.
APU raised his hands above his head, clasped them together and bashed Torque over the head. He flew backwards and was embedded into the wall at the opposite side of the room.
As everyone in the cafeteria watched, shocked, APU marched back outside and stood by the hole he had blown in the wall, once again, out of the building – technically obeying Ms. Bitters.
Zim climbed back up on his table. "Anyone else wanna say something?? Huh?? Huh??"
No one did. And no one said anything for the rest of the day.
* * *
"Maybe it would be a good idea for me to stay home for a while," Zia said, as she and Zim walked down the sidewalk after Skool.
"Exactly what I was thinking!" Zim said, relieved, "At least, until the egg is laid." He placed a hand on her growing belly affectionately, "How long will it be, anyway?"
"About 15 days, I think," she answered.
"15 days…" Zim echoed, "I think we can avoid suspicion for that long." He sighed, "And when the egg hatches, I will teach my son to join me in world conquest!! And together, we will rule this filthy planet!!"
"What makes you think it'll be a boy?" Zia asked.
"Zim could bear nothing but sons!!!" Zim proclaimed dramatically.
Zia cocked a would-be eye-brow incredulously, "Well, you're not the one bearing anything, mister," she said.
From his hiding place up in a tree, Dib had been listening in on their conversation. He looked revolted and shocked and triumphant all at the same time (try drawing that!!). 'I was right,' he thought to himself, 'Zim and Zia are gonna have a baby…oh God, that's gross… I think I'm gonna hurl…" With one hand over his mouth, he placed a hand on the tree trunk for support, but in seconds he was too woozy to support himself, and tumbled out of the tree again.
Above the treetops, the probe droid (from chapter 4) beeped and clicked and began to slowly follow them home, remaining unnoticed by all.
* * *
"Master! Mistress! You're home!" GIR cried as Zim and Zia walked in the front door, "Wanna watch the Scary Monkey Show with me??"
"No, GIR," Zim said, "We have more important things to do!!"
"We do?" Zia asked.
APU stepped up beside her, as he had been following them home, "Zim is right, Mistress. For example –"
"Monkey!!!" GIR cut him off loudly.
APU growled and began chasing GIR around the room again.
Zim turned back to his mate, "I was going to say, maybe we should head down to the labs and check the stability of that egg of yours. It seems to be growing at an abnormal rate."
As they sunk through the floor once again, Zia said, "Mine? It's not just mine, you know…"
* * *
Down in the labs, Zia was seated on the operating table, tunic lifted up again. Her stomach had grown a noticeable amount just during the short time they were at Skool. Zim was fiddling with the main console while APU and GIR watched.
After a moment, Zim pounded his fists on the console, frustrated. "There's no ultrasound mechanism in the computers programming," he said, turning to face the others.
APU snorted, "That's because an Invader isn't supposed to mate during a mission."
Zia turned to her bodyguard, "APU, don't you have an ultrasound devise?"
"Why…?" APU asked uneasily.
"I know you do," Zia said, "So come on…let's get this over with."
Reluctantly, APU pulled a large stethoscope-looking thing out on his right arm. He pressed it to Zia's belly. "Hmmm…um…ok…ok." He beeped softly and sucked the devise back into his arm. "Mistress," he said, "You have an egg –"
"Well, I knew that," Zia said.
"– With a double yolk," APU finished.
Zim's jaw dropped to the floor. Zia just blinked disbelievingly.
GIR clapped his hands and cheered, "YAY!!! More babies!!"
After a moment, Zia found her voice again, "W-what…?" she asked, "Double yolk…? You mean…twice as big…?"
APU nodded, "Double-yolked eggs are a rare occurrence in Irkens, and the hatchlings are usually much more intelligent and cunning than hatchlings born from a single-yolked egg." He rattled off the data as if he had textbooks in his head.
Zim clenched his fists and grinned, crying out, "Intelligent… cunning… boys!!!"
Zia just rolled her eyes, then put a hand on her stomach nervously.
Zim put a hand over hers and she looked up. "There's nothing to worry about," he said, "You'll be fine. And I'll be right here with you."
Zia smiled at him, eyes brimming with tears.
Then APU announced, "This is your predicted size two hours before laying the egg." He held a hand up and out from it came a small hologram. And the Zia in the hologram was…well…to put it nicely…enormous.
Zim gulped, and glanced over at Zia. She was biting her bottom lip, and looking like she might faint.
The rest of the weekend went by peacefully, but on Monday morning, Zim was awakened suddenly by Zia screaming. He bolted upright in bed, and glanced around for her. They'd turned the nest chamber into a sleep chamber for the two of them. Zia was standing in front of a full length mirror on the wall, holding up her tunic above her stomach. It was already starting to grow.
Zim's eyes widened as he walked over to her. Both of them had seemingly forgotten what the end result of mating was – an egg!
"Look at this!" Zia cried, "Just look at it!"
"It's not…that bad…" Zim said, trying to think of something nice to say, "I'm sure no one at Skool will notice."
"You think?" Zia said, putting a hand on her stomach.
As hi mate turned back to her reflection, Zim puzzled over what to do. 'We could always request a leave of absence for her…' he thought to himself.
"I guess you're right," Zia said, smoothing out her tunic again, "It's not that noticeable yet."
"Right," Zim nodded.
Zia stared at her reflection for a moment longer before saying, "You know what would taste really good right now?"
"What?" Zim asked.
"Cucumbers," was Zia's reply.
* * *
GIR was watching TV as Zim and Zia came up from the floor. "Good Morning, Master! G'morning, Mistress!"
"Yes, yes, whatever, GIR," Zim said.
GIR eyed Zia curiously, "Mistress looks different…"
"Is it that obvious?" Zia asked nervously.
"Of course not," zim said quickly, "GIR, Zia has an egg growing inside of her now." GIR just stared blankly, not understanding. Zim sighed, "She's going to have a baby."
"Oh…" GIR said, then hugged Zia around the middle, "I like babies!!"
Zim rolled his eyes. Zia patted GIR on the head awkwardly.
APU strode up and pried GIR off of his Mistress, scolding, "You'll damage the egg!"
"Oh, it's all right," Zia said, "Come on, Zim. We've got to get to Skool."
Zim headed for the door, but Zia ran back to the kitchen. She returned seconds later, munching on a cucumber that was dipped in what looked like chocolate syrup. Zim gave her a funny look, but said nothing and only followed her out the door. APU trailed after them at a distance, and GIR went back to his TV shows.
* * *
At Skool, the only one who noticed any change was Dib. He stared at Zia until she couldn't take it and turned to face him. "What??" she demanded.
Dib's eyes narrowed. "There's something different about you, Zia," he said, "I can't put my finger on it, but something is definitely different."
Zia's eyes grew wide with worry, but Sara came to her rescue. "Leave her alone, Dib," she said, "She's already got a boyfriend, right?"
Zia nodded and winked at Zim, who was grinning triumphantly.
"What?!" cried Dib, "You think that I – you're crazy!!"
"No…you are," Zita said.
"QUIET!!!" Ms. Bitters yelled, causing them all to snap to attention. "That's better. In light of the events of Friday night, the Skool Board has issued an educational video about all the horrible effects of alcohol to each class that attended the dance. So sit down and watch the horror."
"But we're already sitting!" said the kid who had replaced Brian.
"SILENCE!!!" Ms. Bitters growled. Then the room when dark and the film started.
* * *
As lunch time came around, more of the kids had started to notice Zia's…um…change… As she was eating the cafeteria food (no small feat for any normal person), Torque Smackey yelled from across the room, "Heh, Heh! Tubbo!!"
Zia looked up, hurt. Zim spun around angrily, "Hey!" he yelled, but was then hit in the head with food, and flung backwards off of the table, "AUGH! GRRRR!"
And no one seemed to notice the large and ominous CRASH in the background, but a few kids right near Torque began backing away from him as a dark shadow approached him (No, it's not Ms. Bitters – she's probably sleeping or something).
Torque glanced behind him. There was APU, looking furious, "Heh, it's a little worm thing!" he said pointing at APU.
APU raised his hands above his head, clasped them together and bashed Torque over the head. He flew backwards and was embedded into the wall at the opposite side of the room.
As everyone in the cafeteria watched, shocked, APU marched back outside and stood by the hole he had blown in the wall, once again, out of the building – technically obeying Ms. Bitters.
Zim climbed back up on his table. "Anyone else wanna say something?? Huh?? Huh??"
No one did. And no one said anything for the rest of the day.
* * *
"Maybe it would be a good idea for me to stay home for a while," Zia said, as she and Zim walked down the sidewalk after Skool.
"Exactly what I was thinking!" Zim said, relieved, "At least, until the egg is laid." He placed a hand on her growing belly affectionately, "How long will it be, anyway?"
"About 15 days, I think," she answered.
"15 days…" Zim echoed, "I think we can avoid suspicion for that long." He sighed, "And when the egg hatches, I will teach my son to join me in world conquest!! And together, we will rule this filthy planet!!"
"What makes you think it'll be a boy?" Zia asked.
"Zim could bear nothing but sons!!!" Zim proclaimed dramatically.
Zia cocked a would-be eye-brow incredulously, "Well, you're not the one bearing anything, mister," she said.
From his hiding place up in a tree, Dib had been listening in on their conversation. He looked revolted and shocked and triumphant all at the same time (try drawing that!!). 'I was right,' he thought to himself, 'Zim and Zia are gonna have a baby…oh God, that's gross… I think I'm gonna hurl…" With one hand over his mouth, he placed a hand on the tree trunk for support, but in seconds he was too woozy to support himself, and tumbled out of the tree again.
Above the treetops, the probe droid (from chapter 4) beeped and clicked and began to slowly follow them home, remaining unnoticed by all.
* * *
"Master! Mistress! You're home!" GIR cried as Zim and Zia walked in the front door, "Wanna watch the Scary Monkey Show with me??"
"No, GIR," Zim said, "We have more important things to do!!"
"We do?" Zia asked.
APU stepped up beside her, as he had been following them home, "Zim is right, Mistress. For example –"
"Monkey!!!" GIR cut him off loudly.
APU growled and began chasing GIR around the room again.
Zim turned back to his mate, "I was going to say, maybe we should head down to the labs and check the stability of that egg of yours. It seems to be growing at an abnormal rate."
As they sunk through the floor once again, Zia said, "Mine? It's not just mine, you know…"
* * *
Down in the labs, Zia was seated on the operating table, tunic lifted up again. Her stomach had grown a noticeable amount just during the short time they were at Skool. Zim was fiddling with the main console while APU and GIR watched.
After a moment, Zim pounded his fists on the console, frustrated. "There's no ultrasound mechanism in the computers programming," he said, turning to face the others.
APU snorted, "That's because an Invader isn't supposed to mate during a mission."
Zia turned to her bodyguard, "APU, don't you have an ultrasound devise?"
"Why…?" APU asked uneasily.
"I know you do," Zia said, "So come on…let's get this over with."
Reluctantly, APU pulled a large stethoscope-looking thing out on his right arm. He pressed it to Zia's belly. "Hmmm…um…ok…ok." He beeped softly and sucked the devise back into his arm. "Mistress," he said, "You have an egg –"
"Well, I knew that," Zia said.
"– With a double yolk," APU finished.
Zim's jaw dropped to the floor. Zia just blinked disbelievingly.
GIR clapped his hands and cheered, "YAY!!! More babies!!"
After a moment, Zia found her voice again, "W-what…?" she asked, "Double yolk…? You mean…twice as big…?"
APU nodded, "Double-yolked eggs are a rare occurrence in Irkens, and the hatchlings are usually much more intelligent and cunning than hatchlings born from a single-yolked egg." He rattled off the data as if he had textbooks in his head.
Zim clenched his fists and grinned, crying out, "Intelligent… cunning… boys!!!"
Zia just rolled her eyes, then put a hand on her stomach nervously.
Zim put a hand over hers and she looked up. "There's nothing to worry about," he said, "You'll be fine. And I'll be right here with you."
Zia smiled at him, eyes brimming with tears.
Then APU announced, "This is your predicted size two hours before laying the egg." He held a hand up and out from it came a small hologram. And the Zia in the hologram was…well…to put it nicely…enormous.
Zim gulped, and glanced over at Zia. She was biting her bottom lip, and looking like she might faint.