Woo. ok. here's the next chapter. Its quite long. About twice my decent sized chapters. Hope you enjoy!

Oh, i finally uploaded the pictures. The links will be at the end of the chapter. :)

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Chapter 10

They sat in absolute silence for the better part of half an hour, exchanging looks of seething hatred at one another. Zim was getting fed up with the silent treatment, however.

"WHAT exactly is the matter, human?!"

"Oh, does that make you feel superior, Zim?! Calling me by my species rather than my name?"

"What?" He paused. "Is that what this is about?"

Dib looked slightly put out. "No..." he cast his eyes downward. He raised them, blazing with fury. "You KNOW what this is about! Don't play dumb, you jerk!"

"I have NO idea what you are talking about, foolish worm baby!"

Dib lost it. "MY SISTER! DON'T EVER GO NEAR HER AGAIN!"

Zim slid backwards slightly at the vocal onslaught.

"..."

"Do you understand?" Dib asked, still angry, but forcing himself to calm down.

"...OK..." Zim was looking absolutely mystified.

Dib's mouth fell open in shock. "Ok?" He eyed the alien intently. "You're ok with that? Not being allowed around my sister?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Zim looked genuinely puzzled.

"You don't like her?"

"She's the most commendable dirt-child I've met, I guess." He didn't see where the boy was going with this.

"I mean you don't...like like her?"

"I'm not following you."

"I MEAN, you're not IN LOVE with my sister?"

"'In love'? What does that mean?"

Dib just stared, gaping at Zim. Slowly, he pulled his thought process back together. "It's...uh...well, its..."

"Does it have no strict definition? Or is the dirt-monkey not really as smart as he claims to be?"

"Shut up, Zim. Its hard to explain." He thought for a while. "Well, I guess you could say it's a feeling, you get deep down inside."

Zim looked up, raptly. He narrowed his eyes. "What kind of feeling?"

"Well, I guess it depends on the person. It could be jolty, or...or embarrassing..." He looked up. Zim was sporting a worried expression now. "What?"

"And what is the outcome of these feelings?" He fixed Dib with a penetrating look of curiosity. "TELL ME!"

"Uh, that you want to spend time with the person who induces them, I think."

Zim leaned back, pondering . Dib sighed with relief, he didn't love her.

"Dib?"

Dib jumped at the sound of his name escaping the alien's lips. "What?" he asked uncertainly.

"I think I AM in love with your sister..." He scratched his chin.

Dib looked like he was on the brink of tears or committing mass-murder.

"And I hate it!! Those weird jittery feelings, wanting to comfort her. A HUMAN! The ENEMY!!!!" He stopped suddenly, a dubious look shadowing his face. He continued, almost inaudibly "An invader has no need for such feelings...and invader doesn't...love..."

He looked so pitiful suddenly, even remotely frightened. Dib felt his anger fade away, despite efforts to prevent it from doing so. He scooted over to Zim. Unconsciously, he put a hand on his enemy's shoulder.

Zim looked up. "I don't...want...to be..."

Dib thought quietly for a bit before replying. "I don't think it's really something that you can control. Or choose."

Zim's expression turned furious now. "Says WHO? I will beat this thing called LOVE. Yes, I will teach it not to mess with an INVADER! It will cower before ZIM!!!" He looked over at Dib, eyes widening. "Don't touch me with your wormy hands!!"

"You're the one asking for advice! Ungrateful jerk..." he noticed the pile of flowers on the ground. They were the ones from the plant he examined earlier. He eyed Zim slyly. "And just what were you planning to do with those?" he pointed to the flowers.

Zim glanced at the flowers. "I don't know, meat-child, what were YOU going to do with them?" he pointed to the leaves protruding from Dib's pocket, looking pleased with himself for having caught his foe red-handed.

Dib pulled out one of the leaves and ate it. He gave Zim an insufferable look.

Zim actually looked ashamed. "I thought you were planning something..." he mumbled.

"With LEAVES? Really Zim, that's dumb, even for you."

"WHAT? I wasn't aware they were edible to you filthy creatures! Just how do YOU tell, anyways?"

Dib was silent for a moment. "My mom showed me..." he said no more.

Zim eyed him curiously, recognizing that expression. He sat down beside the human.

"What was she like?"

"What?" Dib snapped to, turning to Zim.

"Your mother. What was she like?"

"Why do you want to know" Dib asked suspiciously. Knowing Zim, he'd use it for blackmail later.

Zim shrugged. "I just don't understand the connection you humans insist upon forming between 'mothers' and their offspring." He looked Dib squarely in the face. "Why does she mean so much to you?"

Dib returned the alien's stare, thinking hard. No one had asked that before. He didn't think it was something that had to be explained to another living being...

"Because of who she was." He said finally.

"You mean she was famous?" Zim understood respect. The connection he felt with personal heroes.

"No. I mean, who she was to me." Zim looked puzzled still. "You know, the one who brought me into the world, looked after me, taught me what I know. Let me believe anything was possible. Supported me no matter what."

"She did all that?" Zim inquired, surprised. "Irkens are taught survival and fighting skills, but by many different tutors, and/or training sessions."

"I guess you could think of her as a private tutor. A personal guardian."

"And she's assigned to you?"

Dib laughed. "Not assigned! She chooses you, when she decides to become a mother. Then your hers forever..." His face faltered. "Or until she's gone..."

Zim watched Dib's face become blank once again, although his lower lip was now beginning to tremble slightly. He pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them, his eyes fixed on the floor. "How did she die?"

"I don't know."

"......How can you not know?"

"She disappeared."

Zim looked up, shocked. "She was abducted?"

Dib shook his head. "No. No, she volunteered for something. An expedition. She never came back."

"An expedition for what?" he wondered aloud.

"A space expedition. My dad's company funded it. She loved the stars...." He drifted off, looking at the ceiling.

"And you're sure she's...dead?" he said the last word as gently as possible.

"No. I just TOLD you, she never came back."

"Then how do you know she's dead?" Zim asked again.

Dib looked at him strangely. "I guess I ...don't. Why? What are you getting at?"

It was Zim's turn to look sly. "I'll make you a deal, earth-monkey."

Dib just stared as Zim incredulously. The haughty alien wanted to BARGAIN for something?

"OK?" the alien inquired.

Dib narrowed his eyes. "It depends on what it IS, alien..."

Zim smirked. "You help me beat this 'love' thingy, and I'll help you look for your mother."

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Gaz couldn't sleep. She couldn't push thoughts of Zim out of her mind. Or the look on her brother's face. Poor Dib. He really DID care about her. But she loved who she loved.

WHAT?! She did not just think that! Gaz got up and pulled on a jacket. She unzipped the entry to her tent and sneaked out into the night. She heard raised voices from her brother's tent.

"With LEAVES, Zim? Really, that's dumb, even for you..."

"WHAT?!...."

Gaz snickered. They argued about the dumbest things. At least they weren't arguing about her. She walked into the shrubbery, letting the leaves brush across the backs of her hands as she passed. A slight sprinkle of rain dripped through the canopy. She paused to let the water trails caress her face. Smiling, eyes gleaming, she continued to walk.

She paused when she came to a clearing. Even the trees seemed to be standing back in admiration. The grass like turquoise waves in the breeze. Rain droplets glistening on each blade. The stars far above, glistening and blinking like a dew-drop spider web against the black sheet of the sky. A few small stones here and there. Pools of mercury in the sea of grass.

Gaz stepped to the middle, a moonlight silhouette, trailing sparkles. She closed her eyes and began to dance.

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Lifting Gaz up, she spun around on her heel, skirt flaring. Bending her leg gracefully, she curtsied. Gaz clung to her mother's feather soft curls, pressing her forehead to the warmth of her shoulders. She could have sworn her mother was floating. She grinned at the pleasant pull of motion as her mother stooped and stood, twirling and swaying with the breeze.

Her mother paused for breath, smiling at her little girl. She lowered her gently to the silk grass. Gaz remained in her embrace, kissing her shirt and looking at the sky. Her mother held her close, resting a delicate chin on the small purple-haired head.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Teach me to dance. I wanna float like you."

Her mother chuckled lightly. It sounded like wind chimes. "Of, course!" She stood up, offering a slender hand to her daughter. Gaz was pulled gently to her tiny feet.

"How do I start?" she asked.

"Well, first, you do...this!" Her mother clasped Gaz's hands in her own, pulling her into a swirl. Gaz shrieked in delight as she spun. "Then you do this." Her mother raised one hand into the air, rotating her wrist beautifully. Gaz imitated the gesture as best she could.

"What's that for?"

"The stars, of course." Her mother smiled. She dazzled. "To let them know we're about to begin."

Gaz looked up, a finger on her small, cute mouth. "Are they watching us?"

"Yes. Don't you see them blinking? That means they're paying attention." She grinned.

Gaz looked troubled. "I don't want to be watched, mommy."

"Why not, sweety?" her mother looked genuinely concerned.

"They'll laugh at me. Like the kids at school laugh at Dib. I never want anyone to pay attention to me."

Her mother frowned, Sapphire eyes brimming with shimmering liquid. She pulled Gaz into a hug, kissing the troubled temple. She cupped her hands around the chubby cheeks.

"Don't ever worry about the stars laughing at you, honey. Ever. They are as kind as anyone could possibly be."

"How do you know that?"

"Look at them, my baby. If they had turned their backs on us, would their faces be shining down on us?"

Gaz thought for a moment. "No, I guess not."

Her mother lifted Gaz's chin up, looking deeply into the chocolate eyes. "And look how many of them there are. Aren't there a lot?" Gaz nodded. Her mother smiled. "So many friends..." She pulled her daughter to her feet once more. "They'll never leave you. They'll always shine on you. Do you want to know what makes them happy?"

Gaz nodded, eyes wide.

"When you dance for them. They'll always remember you if you do."

Gaz twirled. "I'm ready to dance mommy! What's next?"

A grin alighted her mother's face. "Do you feel that breeze?" She closed her eyes.

"Yes." Gaz closed her eyes too.

"That's your dance partner. He's shy. But he'll guide you along. Sometimes, he'll let you take the lead..." She lifted her arms, moving slightly to the left. With a weightless passion, she waltzed with the breeze. Gaz did the same.

The stars shimmered. They were smiling down at their earthly friends. Mortality sublimely beautiful in their fluorescent eyes.

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Zim had never been so captivated in his life.

He watched Gaz intently, not wanting to miss a single step, or an elegant flick of the wrist, or a single strand of purple as it was lifted in the breeze. She moved like the wind itself, swirling and swaying. Faintly smiling, she was a glitter-moon figure, trailing sparkles. She was one with the black liquid night.

Gaz sensed a familiar presence, spinning to a stop beside her long-since discarded jacket. She looked at it until her eyes ceased rolling and her hair no longer floated around her shoulders. Focusing, she searched for her observer. She froze when she saw the shadowy figure standing just inside the clearing. She caught his ruby eyes, daring him to laugh.

Without a word, he walked up to her. His antennae swaying faintly in the breeze, which seemed almost accusing, tugging. He had removed his disguise to lesson the obscurity of his senses, eyes well adjusted to the dim light. He saw her perfectly.

She was looking at him uncertainly. But she did not move, instead raising her eyes to look into his as he approached. He could see stars in them. Her face was porcelain. He paused in front of her. He had stopped thinking about what he was doing long ago. He reached out and stroked her cheek gently. A hint of rose crept across the bridge of her nose.

He smiled.

Pulling back the damp cascade of violet tresses, he tucked the vivid red flower behind her ear.

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yep. That one's my favorite. Probably just because it has the most mommy sweetness and romance...so far.

hmmm. This whole chapter poured out, some of it quite unexpected. It might have spurred a sequel :)

=To reviewers= Whaddaya guys think? Would it be interesting to read about the quest to find Dib's and Gaz's mom? To let Zim find out what a mother's like, in person? please let me know! :)

=notices the trash being hurled at her= heh heh. oh yeah, the pictures...for some reason (i'm not sure why) it won't let me paste the adresses here, so i'll submit a review with the adresses as soon as i post this. hope you like them!