Chapter 11 – The Egg Grows…Until It's Time

Around noon on Tuesday, the Tallest actually called Zim's house, but it wasn't Zim they wanted to talk to. The screen on the living room wall flickered on and Red and Purple found Zia doing dance-aerobics with GIR, watching the instruction video-disk GIR had found.

She glanced over at them when she heard the screen activate. "Oh, hi!" she said, slowing to a stop. GIR kept going, oblivious that they had visitors.

"Um…hi…" Red said, "Well…I see you're um…coming along."

"Oh yes," Zia said, sitting down on the floor.

"Do you really think you should be…um…exercising in your condition?" Purple asked.

Zia grinned, "It feels good, my Tallest. I've been sitting around for too long. I need to move sometimes."

It was about this time that GIR turned around. "HI!!! Me and Mistress were dancin'!!" He hit stop on the remote and the TV screen turned black.

"Um…we could see that," Red said.

"Actually," Zia said, "I'm glad you called. We've had several probe droid sightings this week."

"Yeah," said Purple, "About that…you still have the data from…?"

"Yes," Zia said, "It's safely hidden in my jetpack."

"At least we thought it was safe," Red said, "But…we think someone knows."

"What???" Zia cried, "How???"

"We don't know," Purple said, "But we don't think it's safe for you to be carrying the information anymore, so we're sending a team of SIR units to retrieve it."

"Good idea," Zia said, "I've got enough on my mind without having my life put in danger." She put a hand on her stomach, to make sure her point got across.

"Right," Red said, "By the way…you look a lot…bigger than most the pregnant Irkens I've ever seen…"

"That's not surprising," Zia said, "After all, it's a double-yolked egg."

Red and Purple's eyes widened. "Really?" Purple asked.

"Yup," Zia said.

GIR laughed and hugged her belly, "Babies!!"

"Well…um…we'll get that team out to you as soon as we can," Red said, "Just hang in there until they arrive."

"Don't worry," Zia said, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Ok then," Purple said, "We'll check in soon."

Then Red ended the transmission.

Zia looked over at GIR and stood up. He hit 'PLAY' on the remote and they continued their aerobics.

* * *

At Skool, Zim had been having trouble staying awake during class. Zia's late night cravings were really starting to take their toll.

As the bell rang and the class headed off to lunch, Ms. Bitters told Zim to stay behind. He stood in front of her desk as the classroom emptied. Once they were gone, Ms. Bitters turned to him. "Zim, this is the fifth time this week that you've fallen asleep in class, and according to the Skool board, I have to show concern. What's going on?"

Zim yawned. "Nothing's going on," he said unconvincingly, "I've just…uh…been having nightmares about…um…horrible potatoes of doom!"

"I used to have nightmares like that," Ms. Bitters said.

And as she began her story, Zim hurried to the cafeteria. Once there, he sat in his usual spot, let his head hit the table, and fell asleep once again.

From across the room, Dib watched him quietly.

* * *

When Zim got home that day, he found Zia talking with the Tallest, while GIR was still doing the dance-aerobics.

"The SIR units are on their way," Red was saying.

"Good," Zia said, "I'll be waiting for them."

The Transmission ended as Zim walked in the door. "What was that?" he asked.

"The Tallest are sending some SIR units to take some…information out of my hands," Zia said hesitantly.

"What information?" Zim asked, coming up next to her.

"Well…it's confidential…" Zia started.

Zim reached out and took her hand, and their gazes locked. "You can tell me," he said, "I think I deserve to know why you're in danger."

Zia sighed, "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just not used to having people worry about me…" she took a deep breath, and then began, "The Tallest have made a few deals with some gangsters from the Hutt system, and they're not exactly legal…they didn't think anyone would find out, but apparently, the other planets in our solar system did…and they aren't too happy. They're the ones who've hired the bounty hunter. They want the files I have. If they don't make it too the Tallest, then the deals won't happen."

"So that's what this is all about?" Zim said, "Illegal Hutt dealings?"

"Yup," Zia said, "And the sooner I get rid of the data, the better it'll be for all of us." Instinctively, she put a hand on her stomach.

Zim nodded, "So…who's up for take-out?"

* * *

On Wednesday, the probe droid showed up again, but this time it went unnoticed. Its programmer had gotten smart and told it to keep off the perimeter. So the Irkens slept peacefully that night…sort of.

Around midnight, Zia's eyes snapped open. Her stomach growled and she nudged Zim. "Honey…wake up," she murmured.

"Wha…?" Zim asked groggily, "What is it?"

"Could you get me something to eat?"

Zim groaned and pressed his face against his pillow for a few seconds before glancing up at the ceiling, "Computer…?"

"Oh no," Computer said, "I'm not getting' involved in this."

Zim clenched his teeth in frustration, and crawled out of bed. "Is there anything specific you'd like?" he asked Zia wearily.

She was now sitting up in bed, tapping a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Um…something simple…a watermelon, maybe," she said.

"Coming right up," he said and disappeared through the ceiling. He returned a moment later with just what she'd asked for, and more. He set the pile of food in front of her and flopped down on the bed, falling sleep instantly.

Zia looked at the food and then over at her mate and smiled. She put a hand on his head and fingered his antennae gently. "Thank you," she said, knowing he couldn't hear her. Then she turned back to her snack.

* * *

On the moon, the probe droid was returning to a small maroon spaceship which was parked on the rocky surface. It flew inside and hovered before a female figure sitting in the pilot's seat. She wore an outfit the same hue as her ship and her eyes were hidden by the dark blast shield of her helmet. Long, braided, black hair fell down her back.

She smiled, "Back so soon, ZS-567? What have you brought me this time?"

The probe droid hooked itself up to her dash board and a long string of data in an alien language scrolled across the windshield, which doubled as a computer screen. The female's face lit up as she read the words. "Perfect," she said, "Yes…things are going perfectly. The time to strike is almost here."

The probe droid just hovered there, making a few random beeps and clicks.

"I'm glad you asked," she said, understanding it completely, "If you watch the progress of our target, you can see she's nearly due to lay her egg. If my calculations are correct, she will be nearly immobile by the week's end. This will be the most opportune moment to strike."

The droid clicked in agreement. Then it whirred and a map of the houses defenses appeared on the screen. The bounty huntress watched as the screen flashed images and statistics of the gnomes. "Irken technology," she said, "never ceases to amuse me."

APU appeared on the screen next. The probe droid made a few angry sounding beeps.

The bounty huntress laughed. "Temper, temper, ZS-567," she said, "We will destroy the pest in due time…don't get your circuits in a knot."

The next image on the screen was Zim. The probe droid whirred softly.

"An exiled Invader, eh?" the bounty huntress asked, "He shouldn't give us too much trouble."

GIR's image was the last to appear. She leaned in closer to the screen. "Hmm…looks like a SIR unit…sort of…but its markings are different. What do you make of it, ZS?"

The droid blipped and whirred in an almost snide manner. She grinned, "A few screws loose, you say?" She sat back in her chair, "Then this should be one of the simplest missions I've ever taken on. I'll be glad once I've collected my reward."

The droid attached itself to the wall of the cockpit, and shut down, beginning its recharging process. The bounty huntress drummed her fingers on her armrest. She was growing tired of waiting, but she knew impulsive action would be disastrous. So she would bide her time. And when she struck, the Irkens wouldn't know what had hit them. She chuckled softly to herself as she watched the blue-green orb that was the Earth, rotating slowly in front of her window.

* * *

As Thursday came and went, the egg was hurrying to get as much growing done as it could, much to Zia's dismay. "I'm going to pop, I swear!" she moaned to Zim that afternoon.

"Don't be silly," he said, "Irken skin is extremely flexible – you know that."

"I don't think it was meant to stretch this much," she said, and then winced.

"What?" Zim asked worriedly. Surely she wasn't early!

"It's rotating again," she said, "It had better be getting in the right position."

"Maybe we should make sure," Zim said, and they headed down to the lab for another ultrasound.

* * *

"Mistress," APU said, as he pressed the stethoscope-thing to her stomach, "I don't know how else to put it, but the egg is rotating in the wrong direction."

"What?!" Zia cried.

"Please try to stay calm, Mistress," APU said, "We can change its direction with a sharp electrical current…"

"Do it," she told him hurriedly.

Zim spoke up, "Are you sure that's safe for the egg?"

"Safer than having come out the wrong way," APU said simply, "If we let that happen, the egg could crack, and both babies would be killed."

GIR sniffled, "Aw…poor babies…"

Zia swallowed hard, "Come on APU, get it over with."

"Right away," APU said, and the stethoscope-thing transformed into a mini- elecro-spear. He poked her in the stomach and she stifled a cry of pain as the egg's rotation changed direction with the shock.

"I'll be so glad when this is over," she said, smoothing out her tunic and sliding off the table a little less than gracefully.

GIR hugged her sympathetically. "I know what'll make you feel better – dinner!!"

"You know what? It would," she nodded.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Zim said, taking her arm, "GIR – head up to the kitchen and get started cooking."

Zia grinned as GIR hurried off, "You boys sure spoil me."

"You're worth it," Zim told her, and they headed back upstairs, with APU following after.

* * *

By Friday afternoon, Zia's hormones were acting up a bit, adding to her already low patience level. When Zim got home, she was shouting at her stomach, "Get out of me right now!!"

She raised a hand to strike herself in irrational anger, but Zim rushed over and stopped her, "Zia! What are you doing?"

She looked at him and her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm just so sick of this! I want this egg out of me!"

"I know you do," Zim said, patting her hand, "I know. But there's only one more day left…you can stick it out until then, right?"

She nodded, "I think so." Then her hormone-level jumped up again and her eyes welled with tears, "Oh Zim, I don't think I would've made it this far without you here," she said.

"Hey, I'm here for you," he said, sitting down beside her, "And I always will be. You know that, don't you?"

"I do," she said.

Just then, the screen on the wall behind them flashed to life. They both looked up. Red and Purple were on screen, looking very worried.

"My Tallest!" Zim said, jumping to his feet and saluting, "What's wrong?" he asked, noting their expressions.

"Zia," Red said, "We've got some bad news. The Cruiser the SIR units were in was shot down by the planet at the edge of our solar system."

Zim and Zia exchanged nervous glances.

"They've also started sending us death threats," Purple said.

Red quickly elbowed him in the ribs. "Shh! Don't tell them that!" he hissed. Then he forced a smile and continued, "Anyway, we've decided…maybe it would be better if we came and got the data personally."

"You mean, you're coming here??" Zim gasped.

"Yup!" Purple said, "Red figures it's a good excuse to save our skins without looking like a couple of – ow!" Red had elbowed him again, and harder this time.

"Yeah, so we'll be there soon," Red said, shoving Purple off screen before he let anything else slip, "Keep an eye out for us!"

"Of course, my Tallest!" Zim said excitedly.

"Ok, good," Red said, and shut off the transmission just as Purple was picking himself up off the floor.

"Those must have been some death threats," Zia said, "To get the Tallest scared enough to leave Irk."

"Nonsense!" Zim said, "They simply don't want to endanger us any longer!"

"Right," Zia said, then winced and put a hand on her stomach as the egg shifted position again.

"Are you ok?" Zim asked worriedly.

"I'll live," she said, her hormone-level noticeably back to normal, "What's for dinner?"

"It's only quarter of four," Zim said.

Zia thought for a moment. "So?"

Zim shrugged, "All right."

* * *

That night everyone slept soundly. Zia was much too exhausted to wake up hungry. She was sprawled across the bed, the blankets shoved aside unconsciously. Zim was enjoying his first full night of sleep, dreaming happily beside her. GIR was curled up in a fetal position at the foot of the bed, and APU was ever-vigilant, whooshing in and out of the room, patrolling the whole base. But even he grew weary after a while, and fell asleep leaning against the wall of the room at two in the morning.