Chapter 9: Thursday

Zim led Dib to the teleporters at the far end of the lab. Once they were both inside, Dib felt an odd tingling sensation as his body was disintegrated, shipped to the next teleporter, and put back together again.

He stepped out to discover they'd ended up in Zim's space base. Memories of his last visit there, trapped in a specimen tube until Gaz had saved him, made him wonder if he'd encounter a similar fate tonight.

Zim tugged him along to the main control room, the breathtaking view of the universe just beyond the glass partially obscured by a giant computer screen.

There was only one chair in the room, since Zim was the only one who usually came up here. She insisted Dib use it, meanwhile she fiddled with the controls on the panel.

Suddenly, everything disappeared. The screen was gone, the teleporters had vanished, and even the walls surrounding them were no longer there.

Dib instinctively held his breath, the common knowledge that there's no air in space triggering a useless, yet basic survival tactic.

Zim he could still see, however. The alien turned to face him, a broad grin on her face, "Well? What do you think?"

The fact that air is required in order to carry sound was a bit slower to register in the human's mind. But when it did, he began to breathe again, cautiously, as if he inhaled too deeply, he'd use up whatever remaining oxygen there was.

Zim swept her arm to gesture grandly at the space around them, "I've activated the stealth mode! It works by the same principles as the ones used by the Megadoomer! I remembered how much you seemed to enjoy that little 'star show' at the primitive human observatory we were once forced to go to, and thought I'd share the real thing with you."

Dib's frozen terror melted away and was replaced by one of child-like awe. He swiveled his neck this way and that to take it all in.

"Woah..." he breathed.

Zim smiled.

See what Zim can offer you, human? She thought smugly at him, I can give you the stars, Dib! They can all be yours!

She walked across the solid nothingness beneath her feet to his invisible chair, sitting herself down on his lap.

And more...

Dib tore his gaze away from the stars to Zim.

"Do you like it?" she asked, caressing his cheek with her thumb.

He nodded dumbly, "Yeah...Zim, this is...Wow, I just...it's so..." He shook his head, his vocabulary seemingly having been sucked out of his head and into the vacuum of space along with everything else.

"Yeah," he repeated finally, looking sheepishly down at his lap. Upon finding Zim's waist there, he let his eyes travel slowly back up to her face.

"Good," she said, scooting a little closer to him, "I hope you don't plan on star gazing the entire night, though..."

The plan! Dib thought, swallowing thickly, remember the plan!

"Zim-" But then Dib could say no more, as the invader chose that moment to put his lips to better use.

That was the end of star gazing for that night.

(Page break)

Zim was the first one to wake up the next morning. Her head rested against Dib's chest and her arms around his neck.

She recalled the night's previous activities and smiled, although she thought things could've gone better were it not for the human's damnable modesty, she still considered it a very productive step towards persuading the Dib into joining forces with her permanently.

Zim looked up into the human's face. It was her second time waking up in his arms. The first time during lunch at the school, Dib had lightly shaken her shoulder, "Hey, wake up, Zim." he'd whispered to her, "The bell rang. Let's go back to class." Upon opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was Dib's smiling face, the first thing she'd felt after that were his lips on hers. Zim decided it was a very pleasurable way to awaken, and that one day she'd return the favor.

Looking at the Dib now, the corner of his mouth had a bit of drool escaping from it, his glasses were askew and his hair was a tousled mess.

She gave his shoulder a gentle shake, "Wake up, nekri."

It was in Irken endearment, a word she'd never uttered before in all her life, few Irkens had, yet it rolled off her tongue with surprising ease.

Startled at how right it seemed to call Dib her 'cherished one' she leaned forward and shook him again, "Dib, wake up."

The boy lazily opened an eye at her, smiling upon recognition, "Hey-"

When the kiss was over, he opened both eyes and grinned broadly, "Well!" he chuckled, "Good morning to you too!" he looked about the dark expanse of space around them, "It is morning, right?"

Zim closed her eyes and checked her PAK's internal clock, "Hmm...yes. Yes, it is. 7:58am to be exact."

"Really? I better get going then..."

Dib tried to get up, but the invader on his lap was making the task difficult.

"What's your rush?" she teased.

"Uh..." a drop of sweat started rolling down the side of his face, "Well, this gives me only about an hour before school starts to go home, shower, change, eat breakfast and-"

"Or," Zim ran her claw along his lips suggestively, "We could not go to school today..."

Before Dib could react to the stimulation, guilt of his other agenda drowned the reactions out.

It's for the good of the planet! a part of his mind screamed at him, but the scream was wavery and muffled, as if it too, was drowning.

He held onto Zim with one hand, and used the other to find and push off the arm of the chair so that they came up together, "Maybe next time..."

Zim sighed, "It's always next time with you! When's next time, Dib? Tomorrow? Next week? A year from now?" She pouted at him, "You know, sometimes I think you only pretend to like me..."

Dib could practically feel the word 'Heel' being stamped to his forehead like they do in cartoons. It hurt.

"How about Friday?" he blurted out, and then, before he could stop himself, "Prom night is usually when couples...um, that is, I think Friday would be...er-"

"Friday night's fine!" Zim said happily, preventing the boy from further embarrassing himself.

Dib smiled awkwardly, privately thinking, Oh gawd, what did I get myself into?

Zim patted some of the seemingly empty air around them, bringing the space base, and the transportation pod, back into view.

Back on ground level, Zim walked with Dib to the door. Her hand had just barely touched the doorknob when a loud explosion from outside caused her to snatch it back.

Looking at each other worriedly, Zim squeaked and jumped backwards into Dib's arms as the door was then blasted off its hinges, revealing a very satisfied looking GIR in 'kid' disguise standing at the entrance.

"I ran out of dust bunnies!" The deranged robot cried happily, "So I gave the neighbors weapons of mass destruction!" Machine gun fire followed by frantic screams and police sirens could be heard in the distance, "Making things go BOOM is so much fun!"

Another explosion sounded, closer this time. Consequently, a large, uprooted tree crash-landed near the steps of the house, charred and smoking, a few of the flames still burning the wood.

Zim looked up at Dib, "You could still change your mind about not going to school, you know..."

"I'll be fine." Dib smiled at her, "I remember your lawn gnomes doing more damage than this, and I always managed to get past them, didn't I?"

Zim smiled back and nuzzled his neck, "I'd still rather you stayed here with me, though."

"Hey! You're going to school, too!" the human squinted a taunting eye at her, "Unless you're afraid, of course!"

That got her, "AFRAID?" Zim pulled back and glared at him defiantly, "I am Zim! Zim fears NOTHING!"

"Alright then," Dib set her back down, "Wish me luck, and I'll see you at school!"

Zim's expression softened as she proceeded to kiss him once more.

"Good luck, Dib," she whispered, before glaring again, "And I'll see you at school!"

Dib smiled and ran out the door, "See ya, Zim!"

"Hey!" said a voice belonging to someone Zim couldn't see, "50 points if you can hit the weird kid in the trench coat!"

"You're on!"

Zim watched mutely as a truckload of hillbillies with grenade launchers attempted to run Dib over, the boy barely managing to leap out of the way before an ambulance coming from the opposite direction hit and sent him flying out of view.

She slowly closed the door to the sound of more explosions followed by Dib cursing, and then turned to lean her back against it.

"...He'll be fine." She said at last.

Then she noticed her dysfunctional robot slave, rolling around on the floor and making gurgling noises.

"This is all your fault, GIR." Zim told him blandly, "You're bad."

The android stopped rolling and looked innocently up at its master, "GIR bad?"

"Yes."

"...Hooray!"

He went back to rolling.

Zim shook her head and got as far as the couch before a sharp pain in her arm drew her attention.

She pulled out the dart and spun towards the direction it had come from.

A flash of something yellow darted back into the shadows from behind the kitchen doorway.

Cursing herself silently for her carelessness, Zim ran towards the elevator under the TV to her lab.

"Computer! Intruder Al-" Was all the invader could get out, as her tongue seemed to have swollen and become numb, the rest of her body quickly following suit.

The dart dropped from her grip and she fell, caught before hitting the floor by a pair of unseen hands.

A lock of black braids swinging over her face was the last thing Zim saw before everything went dark.

(End Chapter 9!)

AOYR: I didn't know you read this one too. Then again, you did mention it once, so I should've known...YAY FOR NEW PLUSHIES! ONE CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH :D

All Apologies: Well thanks for not being lazy this time around :D

Queenstheif Draconess Herselve: Haven't there been other ZADRs where Zim's a she? I thought I'd seen one or two...oh well. :D

Chibi-Inu-Youkai: Glad you likes! Thanks for the review :D

Sade: Yes, you may have more! I think I'm making this an estimated 20 or so chappies long. :D

inverseinsanity: Traitor Dib. Sounds kind of like Invader Dib don't' it? Oo; Maybe it's just me. I like your dance story too! It's in my faves, see?

chickens: My song chappie has been approved! YAY! Thank ya:D

IaretehSarah: Thanks for the feedback on the characters being IC! ZADR's tend to be OOC and I keep trying to curve that. :D

sissorstopaper: Welcome to my fanfic! I usually update every 2 weeks, cause that's how long it usually takes to get my proof-read story back from my beta-readers, so that gives you an estimated time for when to check in for new chappies:D