Chapter 9

Zim landed roughly on a transparent surface. He opened one eye slowly, pulling his face away from the glass. He looked down in surprise.

Dib was looking up at him, one eyebrow raised. "Looks like I'm not the only one you're good at infuriating..."

Zim said nothing, just glared at his ex-rival. Gaz gave him a faint wave.

"If Gaz wasn't so good at piloting this thing, you'd have met a rather squishy fate." Dib stated matter-of-factly. Gaz opened the glass hatch, causing Zim to fall on the floor in the cockpit. He stood up, brushing himself off.

"What took you so long?" Zim asked disdainfully.

"You didn't exactly leave us with a manual on how to work this thing." Gaz said, swiveling in the pilot chair to look at him. She narrowed her eyes. "You're welcome."

He grinned at her, looking slightly abashed. She snorted, but returned the smile. Dib rolled his eyes, hoping they'd skip the lovey-dovey routine. A tint of violet caught his eye and he looked up, his face all eyes. He tapped Gaz on the shoulder. She turned to him, annoyed, but followed his gaze. She sat in stricken silence.

"Well, are we just going to sit here, or are you two going to see your mom in person?" Zim scoffed.

Gaz pulled her eyes back to the guidance console, pushing a lever up slowly. The ship ascended to the top of the gorge.

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Medea ran over to the edge of the gorge, almost unwillingly, frantically hoping that there was a branch Zim could have clung to, or another ledge not too far down. She lay on her stomach and leaned over the edge, preparing herself for the worst.

She wasn't prepared for what she saw, however.

She could see Zim not too far below, kneeling on the clear surface of a small craft. It opened slowly, and he fell inside. He stood up to face the pilot.

Medea's eyes filled with tears, and she felt herself smiling, as she looked down at her children. She waved to Dib, returning his stare. She then caught Gaz's gaze. Eyes identical in all but color locked together. Gaz broke it off after a few moments, however, guiding the ship upwards.

It landed softly on the red soil, a light wave of dust blowing out from beneath it. The sheer encasement lifted slowly, still moving as Dib and Gaz streaked out, and into their mother's waiting arms.

She pulled them close, kissing both faces and wrapping her arms around them. An embrace untouched by time. Many minutes passed. They were a silent statue of happiness and endearment, glowing in the warm, calm night.

Zim watched them for some time, eventually feeling a faint tinge of jealousy. Nobody cared about him like that. Not enough to completely forget about everything around them, lost in a mere embrace. Why did the Dib human have such a thing when he did not? He turned around, no longer able to watch, afraid of spitting out something snide. He crossed his arms, kicking up some dust. He looked up at the sound of someone approaching.

Barry stopped a few feet away from Zim, frowning down at him. Zim glared up at him. Barry sighed, closing his eyes, then opening them slowly. He looked down at the alien before him, then away. "Hey..." he said, and for the first time, he spoke without conviction. "I guess I'm sorry for overreacting like that." He looked Zim in the face. "I didn't mean for you to fall off that cliff or anything..."

Zim didn't relinquish his contemptuous stare, although he knew somehow that the human was being truthful. He stepped back as Barry moved.

But he was merely holding out a hand. "Friends?" he asked. He waited for an answer, one eyebrow raised. "Or...at least...not foes?" he added, semi- amusedly.

Zim considered. It might be a trick. But there was no longer any malice in the human's expression. He shook the human's hand with an air of indifference, then turned around. It wasn't like he suddenly enjoyed the human's company.

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They attached the last panel to Zim's voot runner/Tak's ship compartment, stepping back as Zim sealed it together with a small torch-like object from his pak. Barry watched, amazed at the conductive ness of the Irken's pak. Jack and the others observed silently, a few steps away. They all reveled at the speed with which the ship was had become bigger. It was now large enough to support them all comfortably.

Zim motioned for Dib to come over and help with some of the circuitry, since he was semi-familiar with the composition of Irken space crafts. They twisted and bended the wires into place, making sure that the new panels were electronically compatible with the rest of the ship.

Medea traced Gaz's attention to Zim, noting her daughter's attentiveness to the alien's every movement.

She leaned down, an arm around the small shoulders. She nestled her temple against Gaz's cheek. Gaz smiled, twisting some of her mother's hair around her fingers. "You really like him, don't you Gazzy?"

Gaz jerked away. "What? No!"

Medea laughed. "Yes you do! I'm a girl too, you know, and I can tell." She looked over, pointing a finger at Gaz. "Do you dare deny it again?" she said, mock-dangerously. She smiled at the sight of her baby suddenly blushing. "Ha! I knew it!"

Gaz smiled sheepishly. "Its not that obvious, is it, Mom?"

"No. Actually you two have been hiding it pretty well. The indifference towards each other has been performed with such...passion!"

"Well, I've got quite the demeanor to uphold, and as you've probably discovered, so does he."

"Yes, I'd say that's a big 'ten-four', darling."

They both laughed.

Zim turned around to see why Gaz and her mother were laughing. Medea grinned goofily and looked up at the sky.

"Jolly good, ol' chap. Jolly good." She said, pretending to twirl a cane.

Gaz gave Zim another rather impressionable mock-grimace before winking and turning back to her mother. Curiously, he returned to his work on the ship, smiling once his face was hidden from Jack and Barry's eyes.

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Almost to the end!