"Why can't I decide, why my feelings I hide?
Always screwing with my mind"
Lost (Korn)
Clandestine Minds
"Talking"
'Thinking'
StressedZim was underneath his control panel rearranging the wires. He stopped attaching wires and narrowed his eyes. She was doing it again. Her deep even breaths were distracting him from the work at hand. He gritted his teeth and decided that the next thing he would fix would be his Pak. This was the last night he needed in order to fix the lab. They had already come up with names for his parents and a response from the surprise visit. He still didn't understand why human's depended so much on parents. In his mind, a human child could stand the world if forced to.
She inhaled and he glared at the control panel through his black goggles. He bit his lower lip as he connected the red wire to the purple wire. A spark erupted and he snatched back his burnt fingers. Another breath and he began to work on something else. Zim's teeth dug deeper into his lip as he listened to her clothes rustle.
'What the hell is wrong with me?' Zim questioned. 'I've been off all week because of this stupid Pak.'
"Zim I asked a question and expect an answer," Gaz roughly said.
"What!" Zim shouted as he sat up and smacked his head against the control panel. "OW!"
"I asked if you have parents." Gaz repeated as she watched him wince.
"I already told you I don't," Zim snapped as her eyebrows furrowed in anger.
Zim went back underneath the panel and began to work furiously. He could still hear her breathing. Her breathing slowed even more and he wondered if she was holding her breath. The pattern was to even for her to be holding her breath. He wondered why he was noticing this. Zim closed his eyes and punched the air in aggravation. He heard her humming and knew that she working on the project.
"Gaz-human!" Zim called out. He figured if she talked then he would ignore her breathing patterns.
"It's Gaz," Gaz growled.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever…but what are your parents like?" Zim questioned.
An awkward silence erupted within the room. Zim stopped working and his fingers lightly tapped against the floor while waiting for her response. He began to panic thinking that he might have insulted her. He frowned and decided that he didn't care; yet, something spoke against that. Zim grimaced and made a face that made him appear as if he was choking. There was too much emotion in that thought for him to stomach.
"I don't have parents," Gaz softly, furiously replied as she gripped the pen.
"What about that Membrane-human?" Zim questioned.
"He's…more like a guardian," Gaz responded she looked down at the ground.
"He appears to be a parental unit," Zim mused as his concentration returned.
"No…he's not a parent and never will be," Gaz coldly replied.
"Explain." Zim encouraged not aware that he didn't sound demanding.
"Tell me about your childhood," Gaz suddenly said.
"There was no stage in my life compared to that part of you humans," Zim replied as he grinned triumphantly at his work.
"Then what did you do when you were younger?" Gaz questioned.
"I was programmed to be a scientist on Research Plant 9," Zim answered.
"Then why are you an invader?" Gaz questioned as she watched him work.
"I created an infinite energy absorbing blob and it ate two of the Tallest," Zim answered with a sheepish look.
"You killed two of your planet's leaders?" Gaz questioned in disbelief.
"It was an accident!" Zim shouted.
"That's sort of cool. It must have been pretty powerful to kill off two Irken leaders," Gaz spoke as Zim stopped his rant.
"Well it was made by me," Zim replied as if it answered everything.
"What happened after that?" Gaz questioned.
"I plunged Devastsis into darkness after trying to blow up a snack machine," Zim answered as he laughed at the memory.
"You seemed proud," Gaz commented.
"I am proud…I took out half of the most powerful military planet in one blow," Zim boasted.
"I don't think you deserve bragging rights," Gaz remarked.
"Oh! I then stole the Frontline Battlemech and destroyed half of Irk," Zim replied as he smiled at the memories.
"Isn't that your planet?" Gaz questioned with a look of confusion.
"Why do you make it sound so bad?" Zim questioned.
"No wonder you can't destroy earth…you're to busy blowing up your own planet," Gaz mused with a soft laugh.
"Yeah, the Tallest didn't like my methods so they reprogrammed me and sent me to Foodcourtia to fry things," Zim informed with a sigh.
"Then how did you get sent to earth," Gaz pried with an amused smile.
"I quit being banished," Zim replied.
'Quite being banished…is that even possible?' Gaz mused. She then looked at him and thought, 'It is if you're Zim.'
"The Tallest sent me to earth as a form of exile…I've finally realized that," Zim softly said with his own anger.
"My dad," Gaz began as she thought of ways to say this. Zim removed the goggles and blinked as he gazed at her. "Dib and I aren't his real kids…we're not really kids at all."
Gaz sighed as she placed the project on the side. She lay down on the floor and crossed her arms. Her chin rested on her forearms as she thought about this. Zim tilted his head in order to peer at her more closely. Gaz sighed and he saw more emotion on her then he had the time he known her.
"I'm a clone," Gaz stated still in thought.
"Yeah…so am I," Zim responded. He saw no big deal about being a clone. All Irkens were clones.
"Yeah, but you weren't someone before. I'm a picture of someone else," Gaz spoke with a shiver.
"My people are clones. We are random strands of DNA that are grown in tubes. The genetic codes are random, but we still were someone else," Zim explained with a shrug.
"I was grown in a damn tube! That's not normal for a human!" Gaz shouted at him.
"That explains why you're smarter then most humans," Zim mused as Gaz sighed.
"When I was younger I wandered into my dad's closed off lab. It was unlocked and I went inside," Gaz explained as she watched the memory. "I saw different versions of Dib and I in those tubes. Some of them were missing parts, some of them were disfigured, but it scared me."
"Be happy you aren't one of those defective," Zim replied as he fully pulled the goggles off.
"I was young when I realized that I was someone else. I didn't have my own life, my own face, and my own voice. Nothing, I have nothing because I am a copy," Gaz hatefully explained. Zim nodded in slight understanding.
"When I was a bit older I wandered back into the lab…it was a year before you came. I read his files and found out that I was a clone of my mother and Dib was a mixture of the dad's DNA, and mother's DNA. Mother was never able to have children; she was a scientist too. A chemical explosion in one of her experiments destroyed most of her reproductive organs," Gaz explained.
"So he created you and Dib," Zim thoughtful said.
"He originally created Dib in order to give her a child. She died in the hospital from the explosion. Dad then took her DNA samples and began on ways to recreate her. He created me," Gaz whispered as she bent her pen in anger.
"He seems to care," Zim offered.
"I read that he felt guilty for creating us, that's why he spends all his time in the lab. I saw a picture of my mom," Gaz whispered. Zim scooted over to her and listened.
"I look exactly like her," Gaz growled. "The same face, the same eyes, the same violet hair!"
"It shouldn't be that bad," Zim replied.
"When I found her picture I cut my hair to my chin and began to dress in black. She liked jeans and I wore skirts. She liked blue and I liked black. Her eyes were always bright and full of life, I kept my closed so I wouldn't have to see her in the mirror," Gaz explained as Zim winced at her anger.
"Does Dib know?" Zim questioned.
"I never told him because it would just seem weird," Gaz awkwardly answered.
"I can understand that," Zim replied.
"Ever since I found that out…I've hated everything," Gaz mumbled.
"Gaz …you may be a clone, but you are your own person," Zim firmly reminded.
"How am I my own person when I look exactly like someone else?" Gaz spat as she opened her eyes and glared at him.
"Do you know who you look like?" Zim questioned Gaz.
"My mom," Gaz spat.
"You look like Gaz," Zim answered. "I see your amber eyes, your violet hair, and your face."
"But if you saw the picture—"
"I would say that she looked like you," Zim wisely said.
"It hurts knowing that I have no parents," Gaz mumbled.
"As an Invader, Zim needs no one…and I feel that you need no one," Zim proudly declared.
"I'm not normal," Gaz stated.
"Zim believes that you need not this normal!" Zim spat as he stood up.
"You're right…I'm my own person," Gaz agreed as she smirked.
"Finally! You have recognized your misguided views and have come to realize that Zim is right! Bow down before my almighty rightness!" Zim declared as he jumped on top of the chair and began to laugh.
"Your voice is stupid," Gaz replied with a halfhearted scowl. "Shut up!"
"Never!"
"System is Operational."
"Victory for ZIM!" Zim shouted as Gaz smacked him in the face with their project.
Dib glared at the lawn gnomes as he cautiously approached the house. He raised his hand to the door and knocked. This time he was trying to be normal and just get his sister home. He didn't want to fight or cause trouble, just get Gaz out safely. Dib knocked again and bit his lower lip. He heard a crash and jumped up in shock. Panic seized him and he wondered if she was all right.
'What if he's running tests on her?'
The handle turned and he caught sight of Gir. Dib frowned; he had really hoped that Zim would have answered. Gir gazed up at him and blinked.
"Where's my sister?" Dib asked.
"She's with my master," Gir answered as he walked over to the couch and sat back down.
"Where?" Dib almost growled.
"In the lab," Gir replied as he stuffed a taco in his mouth.
"The lab," Dib repeated with fear.
"Want a taco?" Gir questioned as Dib's left eye twitched.
"No, it's time for dinner and Gaz has to come home," Dib explained.
"Relax," Gaz spoke as she came out of the floor in the corner.
"Where's Zim?" Dib questioned.
"He's gloating over his genius," Gaz responded as the corner of her lips lifted up a bit.
"Dinner's ready," Dib stated.
"What's for dinner?" Gaz questioned.
"Hamburgers," Dib answered as Gaz smirked.
"Finally…some real food," Gaz mumbled as they left the house.
Dib nodded in agreement and sighed. He wondered what his sister had learned about the Irken. So many secrets he wished to know. Gaz noticed his spacing and smacked him in the back of his head.
"Ow!" Dib whined as he glared at her. "What was that for?"
"You were being stupid," Gaz replied.
"Have you learned anything about Zim?" Dib questioned as he rubbed his swore head.
"Yeah," Gaz replied.
"Really…what?" Dib asked excitedly.
"I'm not telling," Gaz replied as she began to walk faster.
"But GAZ!" Dib shouted as he chased after her.
Author's Note:
I'm trying to make it into a Zim and Gaz pairing without throwing them out of character. I find this to be the hardest thing to do! I already have plans and have a solid idea at where I want to take this(Laughs at idea)
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