Doom Witch

Author's Note: Hey people of the insane stupid world in which our world leaders are puppets and we're all gonna die woo! So lets just enjoy this all, okay peoples? WOO enjoy this chapter. You will enjoy this chapter . . . or else . . . *evil glares* MWHAHAHAHAHHAHAA! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Umm . . .

Okay.

Thanks to Supersaiyanking Tommy, CyborgSmeet, Lillith and Ri2 for reviewing the last chapter and all those who did other chapters you rock my friends! You keep them rocking and I'll keep the story rolling . . . okay that was SOOOO CHEESY! Oh well. As long as it's not *peers around* . . . GORGONZOLA! AAAARGGHHH! Eeek!

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- Chapter Twenty-Two - Feeling Sorry For Gaz -

Zim was angry with Jed . . . he was furious with her, but still he wanted her to be there when he got back. Damn emotions, why had they decided to bother the great Zim the Conqueror of Nothing-Quite-Yet-But-Conqueror-of- Everything-Very-Soon-In-Fact at this moment? Zim reckoned that these "Emotionoids" targeted innocent beings when it was most inconvenient, and in Zim's case, the emotions were extremely accurate, as he was just about to begin his serious plotting for world domination. But then "she" had turned up.

She. She. Jed. Her. A girl, a female, an assassin. Assassins kill people. That one assassin was sent by Tak to finish what she couldn't tackle, and that was the one assassin that Zim had fallen for. Of course. He had fallen for an Irken perhaps just as bloodthirsty as himself, and it was coincidentally his blood she was supposed to be thirsty for. But was she?

He was just thinking on how incredibly evil the whole matter was, when he saw a solitary figure heading straight for him, a black trenchcoat trailing out behind it. The figure was running, Zim saw. Zim himself had a long coat on with a large hood covering his wig and skin, which was allergic to the rain that was falling in torrents around the two figures, the space filling between them. Was it Jed? Was it . . . Tak? Had that been Jed's plan all along . . . to wait until he trusted her enough and then send Tak over to help her defeat him? Was Jed simply the messenger? Did she actually have any intention of killing him that first night they met? . . . everything was so strange now . . .

The figure was only a few metres away, and Zim could recognise him now. Dib. The fifteen year old human had seemed so insignificant and only a tiny little glitch in his plans since he had another Irken to contend with. But now Dib was back again, and things were only getting worse. Oh, happy day. Zim glowered at Dib to let him know exactly how glad he was to see him, but the young human didn't appear to be looking for a fight. In fact, he looked extremely worried. Zim stopped and leaned back on his right leg, folding his arms with his brow raised. He didn't really have time for Dib at the moment, but Dib looked like he had plenty of time for Zim, as he began to babble a lot of nonsense.

"Zim . . . look . . . I don't like this either . . . but you have to help me . . . " were the words Zim caught, and he laughed out loud.

"Me? Help you? Stupid little Earth monkey. I have no intention of helping you in your antics of treachery. I have my own thoughts I wish to expand on in privacy! Do you know what that is, Dib-creature? PRIVACY!" Zim gave Dib some more manic laughter, more for himself really than his enemy, to let out the stress inside his small green body. Dib still didn't seem intimidated, which disappointed Zim a little. Amongst his dismay and confusion and uncontrollable rage towards Invader Jed, Zim still felt as manically insane as he ever did, which was good as it meant the Emotionoids hadn't taken over him completely. Zim gave Dib enough silence to let him tell his arch enemy to help him, because Dib hoped that somewhere, deep within his rotten soul that Zim would still have some kind of soft spot for Gaz.

"Zim . . . " he began, but when the Irken turned his back on him and started to walk away Dib panicked and ran after him, "Zim, listen, come on . . . Gaz is missing and I'm worried what she'll do! . . . Zim, please help me find her!" Zim stopped his march and turned his head, only his head, his fake light purple eyes burning into Dib's searching for a lie. Zim narrowed his eyes, squinting.

"Gaz is missing?" he hissed, voice low for Zim's, his eyes focused, "And what do you mean, "worried what she will do?". Hurry and tell me, Dib- Stink, before I get bored and go away. Do not think you can take advantage of me because of my bad mood."

"I caught her in her room trying to commit suicide," Dib exhaled, shoulders slumped, sure Zim wouldn't care, or know what suicide meant, "and she ran away, I don't know where she is. She disappeared . . . "

They were outside a farm that Zim knew well. This was the one that GIR had run away to, and there was that strange encounter with the sheep-man and his wife. Those were strange humans indeed, and Zim would prefer not to go in there. But he knew what suicide meant . . .

"Suicide," he repeated slowly, rolling his pointy tongue around the syllables, "that's what Kurt Cobain did, wasn't it?" Dib bit his lip and nodded, shivering at the thought of his younger sister sticking a shotgun in her mouth and . . . he shuddered.

"Zim . . . I'm not asking you to do this for me. Do it for Gaz, please? I can't find her on my own, and everyone else is too scared of her to want to go and help her. Please, Zim. It's just a temporary arrangement, and I'll let you use my telescope whenever you want if you do . . . " Dib trailed off when Zim wove his enemy's words off with a gloved hand. Dib watched the eyes within the big hood covering Zim's large head, they were thinking, but there may not be a lot of time to do that.

"Keep your telescope, Dib-creature. I have no use for your tinker-toys when my MIGHTY EQUIPMENT is working well . . . unless Jed has destroyed it in my absence," Zim said before he thought, although something inside him knew that Jed wouldn't destroy his machinery, but she had every chance to. This was what was confusing him further . . . but that would have to be thought about later, because Dib was heading for the field, hopping over a wooden fence. Zim chased him, jumping over the gate and dashing out in front of Dib, spreading his arms out, "Very well, Dib, I will help you in your pursuit. Take this communication device . . . I WANT IT BACK! Make a mental note of that, Dib. If you find her then push that button and speak into it. I'll do the same if I find her first."

Dib nodded his thanks, then said, in lieu of not knowing what else to say, "Just like a walkie-talkie, then?" Zim looked at Dib strangely.

"A WHAT?!" he roared, not appreciating being confused further, but Dib shook his head and walked off in the opposite direction, the communication device in his coat pocket. Zim put his back in the pak, and continued in another direction which had high corn plants towering above him, the rain falling and falling from the blue/black sky. It was a dark night, and he had no source of light with him other than his incredible Irken eyesight.

Further into the corn fields he searched, calling Gaz's name and getting progressively bored and depressed, because he wanted to be with Jed but she had betrayed him to Tak. But she hadn't betrayed him, she hadn't sworn allegiance to him, but she had kissed him so passionately . . . she had made him believe that she was on his side, that she liked him, that she was enjoying kissing him. But had it been a ploy all along? . . . so why had she screamed after him so desperately, in a way he had heard no other Irken scream unless they were dying? Did she . . . could she possibly have fallen for him without meaning to, that happened in stories, didn't it? When he got back he would ask her . . . if she was still there.

"GAZ!" he yelled, and in the distance he could hear Dib's frantic calls of his sister's name, "GAZ!"

Zim had just about given up and covered entire field, but there was a bit in the shadows of an old oak tree randomly sprouted in the middle that beckoned Zim to have a look, maybe partly because it offered shelter from the rain that burned Zim's skin. He approached the tree cautiously, the dark corn plants surrounding him, and underneath the tree, leaning against the trunk, was a girl shivering in the cold night rubbing her arms to try and warm herself up, her purple hair dripping wet and her black make-up running over her cheeks.

Zim took a step back, because he knew he would have to go and give her his jacket or she would freeze, and also because it would be the first time he had a one-on-one conversation with Gaz without a crazy-but-oh-so-goddam- desireable Irken assassin threatening her with a gun for three years, and Zim wasn't sure if he needed it right at the moment considering the mood he was in. Still, he took a deep breath and made his presence known to the girl he had once gone to another galaxy to save.

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Dib wasn't having so much luck, in fact he was having worse. He had strayed off the corn field and somehow ended up in the sheep fold. He was surrounded by them, black-headed sheep, white sheep, all black sheep, skinny sheep, fat sheep, tall sheep, small sheep, big sheep, baby sheep, even a couple of goats! They were very intimidating, these animals of the farm. They scared him, so of course, being Dib, he began screaming for help.

After about fifteen minutes, he saw two people running across to him with torches, a large dog running along side them. When they got near, he saw they were a man and a woman, and the dog, but Dib had known it was a dog before it got there. Anyway . . . the two farmers each with a piece of dried grass in their mouths chewing on them introduced themselves as Sim and Kel.

"Zim?" Dib asked, "I know someone called Zim . . . my arch enemy he is . . . interesting story, actually."

"No, no, it's Sim." The man said, but Dib still didn't get it.

"Zim. Yeah, I heard ya. I know someone with that name."

"NO!" Sim was getting annoyed, "It's SIM!"

Kel elbowed him, "I think he's a foreigner, hunny. Try using the alphabet." Sim gave his wife a loving look, then remembered he didn't know the phonetic alphabet and began to look from Dib, to Kel, to Sheep the dog, to each of the other sheep, big sheep, little sheep, fat sheep, thin sheep and the occasional goat . . .

Kel took over from there while her stereotypical farmer began confusing himself by attempting to count the sheep in the dark, "S-I-M. Not Z-I-M. I would use that phonetic alphabet thingy," she paused to spit out a bit of grass, "but I don't deal with any of that crap. Too much to learn. Too many sheep to round up," more spitting, puh-twang, "ya see my dilemma, town- boy?"

Dib raised an eyebrow. Town-boy? Yeah, whatever. Dib nodded and turned to leave and keep searching for his sister. Kel and Sheep ran ahead of him, breaking a way in the sheep fold, kinda like Moses and the Red Sea . . . but with sheep.

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"Zim!" Gaz started, leaping to her feet, her arms still wrapped around her. Zim made sure he was directly under the tree before he took his jacket off, so as little rain would get to him as possible through the thick leaves. Gaz looked at the dripping coat for a second, then wrapped it around her shoulders greedily, slipping her arms into the sleeves and huddling up inside it. Zim tilted his head to look at her. Gaz sat back down against the stump and sighed heavily. "What are you doing here?" she asked, "How did you know where I was?"

Zim sat down beside her. "I was walking," were the first words he said to her for the first time in three years, "I bumped into Dib, who was looking for you. He'd seen you going into the field. We split up, and it looks like I found you face. I'll just let Dib know that I've . . . " he got cut off by Gaz, who grabbed his arm and shook her head.

"No . . . we should talk . . . " she hissed, and Zim narrowed his eyes at her but nodded, and left the device where it was, in his pak. She jumped to her feet again, and turned to face him. Zim looked up at her, his eyes giving her an idea of confusion. She pulled him to his feet and he stepped away, "I've wanted to speak to you for so long."

Zim didn't say anything. He just looked at her, his eyes narrow looking at her dirty wet face looking so small in his coat. She was still shivering, he could see, and she was crying. Not so he would notice unless he made an observation, because the tears were running down her cheeks silently and seamlessly, making wet lines across the smeared make-up. She was a mess, he realised, but not so much that she should kill herself.

"Dib said you tried to kill yourself," he said, swallowing. Gaz nodded, and wiped her tears and dirty make-up with the back of the sleeve on the jacket. Dirtying his jacket annoyed Zim a bit, but he wouldn't get angry at her just now. He was too tired and she was too upset. So he would just look at her.

Suddenly she pushed forward and wrapped her arms around his torso, squeezing him tightly, which shocked Zim, but he didn't want to embarrass Gaz because he knew she was not normally like this. He never thought Gaz could cry, he never thought Gaz could be upset, he always thought she was naturally miserable, he never dreamed that Gaz would grab him so desperately and embrace him like her entire world was falling on her head and he was the only one that could save her. He didn't want to save her . . . but he didn't want to embarrass her, so he wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her back.

They stood like that for some time, Zim just staring at the leaves slowly getting weighed down by the increasing rain, while Gaz furrowed her head into his shoulder. After a while her quiet sobs stopped and she lifted her head. Zim lowered his to look at her. Gaz's eyes were tear-stained, but the attitude was back.

"Jed . . . " she murmured, "who is she?"

"She's . . . " Zim started, but shook his head, "it doesn't matter. Not now. I don't want to talk about it."

"Are you two . . . ?" Gaz asked at a whisper. When Zim nodded in response, she merely shrugged and pushed her head up to meet his, their lips connecting and their tongues entering each other's mouths. Zim immediately, instinctively dropped his arms and tried to pull away, his eyes wide and horrified. Gaz looked completely humiliated and stared at the ground, pulsating with anger and embarrassment. She threw Zim's coat on the muddy ground, which he swung around himself and lifted the hood.

He took the communication device out of his pak (which there was a hole for in Zim's jacket) and spoke bluntly to Dib, Gaz's taste still on his tongue, cast one last look at Gaz and stalked off.

After about five steps he turned back, ran up to Gaz and kissed her, returning for more of her taste. Once again he pulled away, shocked at himself this time, looked her in the eye, then ran off into the night bumping into Dib on the way, who nodded briefly to Zim, but he didn't take any notice, he wanted things to be back to normal.

He wanted Dib to be his enemy, and for Gaz to be his enemy's little sister that wasn't a separate person with a separate life . . . and Jed. What he wanted Jed's part to be in this novel his life was quickly becoming he didn't know, but he had returned for Gaz's taste because it was different from the first time they had kissed, which was strange. But Jed was very much his main interest at the moment, because she was untouchable and forbidden by every rule in the book, and just because she was Irken. But then . . . Gaz . . . Gaz . . . Jed . . . Gaz . . . Jed . . . Gaz . . . Jed . . . Gaz . . . where would it all end? Zim didn't want to know, but decided to go home anyway, and maybe, just maybe, his mind could be put at ease about a certain few things. If Jed was still there, that was.

Maybe it would be better if she wasn't.

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"Gaz, I - I'm sorry about earlier," Dib said, feeling much older than he always was. Gaz's hair was dry and in that square around her head, a towel round her shoulders keeping her warm, and her eyes narrow slits again.

"It's okay," she said unenthusiastically, thinking about the kiss. The TWO kisses! What did this mean?

"No, I mean, I just freaked when I saw all that stuff . . . " Dib tried.

"I said it was okay. I guess I should thank you," Gaz said dryly. Zim, Zim, Zim, ZIM! Oh wow, wow! Maybe she should attempt suicide more often. He had come to look for her, and had found her! It was so strange . . .

"Please don't do it again. Promise me?" Dib asked. Gaz looked at Dib and nodded firmly. No, no she wouldn't. Because she might succeed next time, and then how could she be with Zim?

"Are you sure you're okay, Gaz? Can I get you - "

"No."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Dib."

Dib left her room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Gaz curled up in bed thinking of Zim, but not in a bad way, because he had come back to kiss her. What did this mean, oh what did it mean? She was sure she would find out, but for now she could live in her dreamworld where her demons could not reach her.

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"WOOOOOEEEEHHHOOOO! PIZZA'S HERE!" GIR screamed, and jumped off of the sofa that Jed and MAX were sitting on looking very depressed, running to the door in excitement. "Awww . . . it's only Zimmy. Zimmy Zim Zoom! I love you! Ziiiiimmmmyyy zziiiiim!"

GIR pranced across the room, dragging MAX off the sofa and down the toilet to the base, where they would no doubt charge up for the night. Zim closed the door behind him and walked into the living room. Jed jumped to her feet and stood by the sofa watching him. Zim looked at her and swallowed.

"You're still here," he said. Jed nodded.

"I know," she said.

"Look . . . " they both said at the same time, and cut off simultaneously. Jed looked at Zim.

"You start," he said.

"No, you can say what you . . . " she tried.

"You owe me an explanation." Zim reminded her, and Jed nodded, although technically she didn't need to give him an explanation as she was only doing her job, but she wanted to give him an explanation. She felt that she owed him something and wanted to get things straight in her head.

"When I got here . . . " she started, and watched Zim walk up to her, standing a couple of feet away, regarding her. She carried on, "I had intentions to kill you. To avenge Tak, and because I was ordered to as an assignment."

"Who were you working for?" Zim asked.

Jed shook her head sadly, a grim smile on her face, "That is the one thing I cannot tell you. That is the one thing I won't tell you. But it doesn't matter. I'm glad . . . " she reached out to touch his arm, but he pulled it back so she dropped her hand and nodded, "I'm glad you're clever and compromised. And . . . not because I'd be stranded otherwise. The plan was to set up base not far from yours, so I had the co-ordinates set for your house. My Voot malfunctioned just as we entered the Earth's Atmosphere, so we crashed right into your house. The idea from there was to destroy you on the spot. You know how that plan was foiled. Then I had all sorts of ideas to catch you offguard, but I was finding myself going somewhere I didn't really I want to go. And when your robot attacked me and my arm . . . that's when I thought "Oh damn." And when we were fighting was the last time I ever thought of trying to kill you because when you kissed me and I knew you felt the same, that was it, Zim."

Zim simply looked at her, his mouth dry. He took a small step towards her, not sure whether humans were supposed to be with only one or two companions or not, but he wasn't sure what he had with Gaz exactly, and he wasn't sure if any kind of relationship with Invader Jed was safe.

"And today . . . when you left, I didn't know, Zim, I swear. I haven't seen my sister for so long, Zim. I didn't know exactly where she was, only that she was somewhere on Planet Moriara in hiding, but she was saying that she's coming here now and I didn't know . . . I'll do everything I can to get her away, Zim, she's my sister . . . I didn't know, you have to believe me! Tak . . . " Jed began to babble and broke off in a choke, breaking into a cough, ". . . I'm sorry, Zim. I'll - I'll fight against her with you when she arrives."

Zim nodded, and took her in his arms, rocking her back and forth like a child, while Jed shook in his grip. How emotional females were! But Jed and Gaz were the most surprising females of all, because they were so strong on the outside, in different ways. Gaz was scary and intimidating by appearance which was an appropriate shell to keep unwanted acquaintances at bay, but Jed seemed to be small and easy to step over, when she was in fact very defiant and dangerous. Both seemed to be after Zim's affection, and he was unable to choose which one he preferred, but at the moment Jed's aroma was taking him to other places and he wanted her then.

"It's okay," he whispered to her quietly, "it doesn't matter right now."

He kissed her and she kissed him, knowing that they would get through it together, they both knew it, but they didn't know that Gaz wouldn't give Zim up without a fight, Dib was beginning to plot against the two Irkens now, and Tak was on her way with a very special prisoner to cut even deeper into Invader Zim's soul.

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Tak was very much aware of Jed's fondness for Zim, as she knew her sister and could see why Jed wasn't keen on her coming to visit, because the young Invader knew very well what that would mean for Zim. But Tak was also looking forward to having revenge on the two humans that had assisted in her downfall. Ah, revenge was sweet and best served cold. Where Tak's revenge was concerned, it was below freezing.

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A/N: AAAARRRGH! What will happen in the end? Who will Zim chose? Dun dun dun it's just getting so exciting folksies! But there's gonna be a lot of yo-yoing where Zim's concerned between Gaz and Jed. Who do you like better, or who do you think is better for Zim, cos I mean obviously one of the mighty Jhonen V's characters will always be ahead of my self-inputted one . . . sniff . . . oh well it's great fun writing about it! DUDE! Totally . . . Okay. Away to put this up on the site now . . . this is fresh from my mind but better give you a synopsis thingy for the next chapter . . . mmyep.

Okay, it's called "Face-Off" which is pretty obviously a face-off between Jed and Gaz. Who will win? Who will Zim stick up for (this time) ??? Who knows, well whoever reads it! MWAHA well I do before I read it cos I write it . . . umm . . . okay. Anyway don't think this fic is predictable and Zim's gonna go off with Jed cos it looks like it at the moment . . . I'm not saying he won't or he will but grrrr don't judge me! I know what's going on and it'll confuse all your little minds!

MWAHA! Anyway next chapter is a Zim-Jed thing with a little bit of Dib and his date with Zita that goes so very wrong . . . oh dear . . . he really should find himself a nice little mosher *sticks up hand volunteering to be Dib's little mosher* . . . awwww . . .

O.o

Hee hee! Review people it's only gonna get better!

"You could be my unintended, choice to live my life extended, you should be the one I'll always love." - Unintended, Muse