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Hello again, dear audience! I apologize for the wait, I've been juggling on what I actually wanted to do with this chapter. I'm also VERY happy to announce that my good friend FistApology on DeviantART has uploaded more concept work from the last chapter! I love it and if you would like to see it, please visit either their profile on DA or the AO3 story for the link.
It was morning. She could feel it. Too early to consider actually getting up, yet too late to reinstate herself into the subconscious depths she'd had previous. A twinge of irritation fluttered in her stomach and she felt around the dark for her phone, glad that she had the brain capacity to turn down the brightness beforehand as she looked at the time. She waited for her eyes to adjust, just barely able to make out the forms of Dib splayed out haphazardly over the far side of the couch and Gir snoring loudly on the other arm. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear he was a cat through how little she could make out. His lone form, however, made her notice one particular absence.
Sighing, she pushed herself out of the recliner- covered in a blanket because she knew exactly what went on in this house- and stretched out her stiff limbs. The house was silent save for the chirping of a masterfully hidden cricket somewhere within the walls. It wasn't really all that surprising to her that the alien was already up; his body didn't technically need sleep, though she was a little put off when she didn't find him in the kitchen either. She assumed he'd be fiddling around with planting the new flowers, but both the pot and packet sat just where'd he'd left them.
She hummed, walking heel-to-toe down the hall and eventually coming to a halt in front of the house's elevator. She didn't know why Zim felt it was necessary to have so many lab entrances, or at least so many inconvenient ones, but there was no way she was going to willingly flush herself down a toilet. At least the elevator had some dignity to it...leave it to him to put the most logical choice in the back. The overhead lights flickered to life with her movement and she lifted a hand, only to drop it again when she realized there wasn't even a button.
"Um," she whispered, "Elevator...open?"
She was startled by a *ding* and cringed at the hissing of the doors sliding open to reveal the platform waiting for her. The sounds echoed through the house and she felt an uncharacteristic sense urgency, as if everyone and their dog had just heard her. After a moment, the stillness didn't waver and for once she was thankful that her brother slept like a rock.
"Are you serious?" she said, seeing that the inside was severely lacking in button options as well, "Elevator...direct me to your master's location."
A beep, then silence.
She grumbled, "Please?"
She barely had the time to get out the last syllable before the platform dropped, sending her flat against the wall to keep her footing. A loud, metallic hum reverberated through the cabin as it descended, adding to the tension of the nearly dark cabin. No doubt from disuse, the teen gathered and she began to wonder if perhaps she should have just taken the trash can. Just as Gaz was running though the possibilities of surviving an elevator free fall, the pressure changed and another *ding* was heard. Pink assaulted her vision as she stepped out into another hallway, large curving cables running long the walls. A faint trumpeting sound could be heard rippling around her as she trekked down the corridor, the overhead ceiling lights seeming to guide her way. Gaz had only bothered to come down into the actual base a handful of times, none of them really making an impact on her. Two instances were because she'd been dragged along by her brother or provoked by his incompetence, then by the time she was old enough to somewhat appreciate the technological intricacies and advancements, Zim's presence in her life had become a norm. It didn't exactly stop her from being silently awed by it all, she just couldn't get on the same level of nerd as Dib...couldn't get as excited about literal alien tech sitting in front of her. Maybe it was because of the negative results they often played a part in during her childhood...plenty of Zim's earlier plots to take over earth had come to be personal inconveniences to her. That, or he'd target Dib and Dib would make it her problem too.
"Ow!" a familiar voice shouted.
Zim was far too busy to notice the extra presence in the room, his full attention turned to his open Pak and the screen in front of him. He glanced here and there at the death clock sat in his peripheral, gouging the time he had left before he had to take another break. He was beginning to get frustrated with himself...why couldn't he remember how to do this? Given, he'd never actually done this before, but all he had to do was reverse his process! He had to figure it out before he lef-
"Hey."
"Ahh!"
A cool panic raced up his spine and he was out of his seat in a millisecond. He didn't have anything useful to defend himself with, but he refused to go down without some sort of fight! He raised his fists in front of his face as he spun to face the intruder, eyes catching on a flash of purple.
"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Gaz exclaimed, putting up her own fists.
Realizing who it was, Zim relaxed just as quickly as he'd riled. He slouched in dramatic relief, a groan leaving his lips as the rush of adrenaline dipped just a tad too fast.
"Gaz...!" he scolded, falling back into his seat, "do not sneak up on me like that- I could have killed you!"
The girl rolled her eyes, "Well, sorry. Just thought it was weird that you left your guests hanging without you."
He paused, almost fearfully, "They're awake?"
"No, it's just me- for now. Thought I'd tell you for future reference, though."
Grumbling, Zim instinctually glanced up at his death clock. His mouth pursed as he swiveled away from her and began closing up what he was doing on the Pak.
"I also thought it was weird that Gir was still up there. You two have practically been conjoined at the hip since you turned back up."
He sighed, "I thought it would be best...This is one thing I can't afford any distractions with, I'm afraid."
She watched silently as his Pak pressed flush against his spine, cementing itself with a sickeningly audible sound. She made a face, but decided against actually voicing her discomfort.
"...And Gir's full of distractions," she muttered absently, "So, what's with the pod? I thought you were supposed to keep it on at all times."
"We are," he stated, "however, sometimes it's necessary to disconnect for maintenance and repairs."
"And your's needs...?"
He looked at her, "Mine needs to be re-activated."
She didn't reply, but her critical gaze told him to continue.
"Before my...wedding...I was required to disable its defensive protocols. For my partner's safety." he spat out the last part, "But now I can't remember how to undo it and it doesn't help that I can only work for a few minutes at a time. I don't have open access to anything unless I can figure out how to unlock it."
"Don't you guys come with instruction manuals or something?"
"We aren't toaster ovens, Gaz..."
"Oh, shut up," she waved, "you know what I mean. Something for the newbies to get them on their feet. Even humans have diagrams, for Pete's sake!"
He shrugged, looking away, "Not Irkens. We're already coded with that knowledge by the time we hatch...it would be easy if I had other accounts to look at, but no one in their right mind would willingly disable their own Pak's weapon system and...technically, I was never supposed to get out of my marriage."
Gaz stood silently before him. Of all the things she'd wanted, a deep conversation about yet another problem rooting from this marriage wasn't at the top of her list. She looked around the room, spotting a stray chair her brother had brought down here some feet away. If she was going to endure this, she might as well have a place to sit. She made a point of dragging it as obnoxiously as possible, letting its back legs grind against he metal floor with a shrill screech. Zim's antennae immediately plastered themselves to the back of his head and he leaned away in a futile attempt against the sound. The girl in front of him eventually stopped, plopping herself down in her new seat and folding her arms against the backrest.
"Tell me about it."
He perked up, astonishment plain on his features, "What?"
"Your marriage. Tell me about it."
"Why on Irk would I do that?"
"To get rid of that huge chip on your shoulder, for one."
His suspicion turned to perplexity and she caught herself before she could slap a hand over her face as his eyes darted between his shoulders.
"Look, I know you're famous for avoiding your problems, and maybe you do just need time to get your deals in order, but I think this is a little different. This isn't just some failed invention or new emotion you just discovered and every single person in this house- and the house- has noticed."
"So what, you want me to vent just because I make you all uncomfortable?" he hissed.
"Don't put words in my mouth," she replied, unperturbed, "I want you to vent so you can start moving on. Sorry to say, but it isn't enough to just leave. Things don't magically fix themselves just because you take yourself out of the equation...it helps, for sure, but all it is is a start."
"I don't need help 'moving on'," he spat, standing, "in fact, there's nothing to move on from! So you can drop this fake heart-to-heart you're attempting. What's with that anyway? You don't have talks- you demand and threaten and condescend until everyone submits to your perspective because you know it works. Why waste the time trying to get to my soft innards when you can just use all those tactics?!"
She stared at him, but decided not to offer a reply right away. The lab was silent, save for the Irken's heavy breathing from the outburst. She wasn't at all bothered by his words- words formulated on the spot by his panicked brain to put her off. He knew she hated being yelled at, not out of repressed feelings, but out of control. She had molded her reputation carefully around a control only she was allowed to possess and she asserted herself clearly as the judge, jury, and executioner to anyone who dared cross her. By all means, she could take what she dealt, but it had to be for the right reasons. He wanted to rile her up, rouse her anger and use it as an easy out. He hid his deflection behind such intense emotion, chose a personal attack to divert her attention. To know that this was only a fraction of what he could dish out, the tip of the psychologically manipulative iceberg, she wondered how many more of these would come further down the road. To anyone else, it might have worked, but to her...it only reflected the depth of this trauma. It was clear now that she had only one chance to soothe the situation, and while she'd truly hoped she wouldn't have to revisit this...
She sighed, "It was while you were away. Toward the end my sophomore year, I met someone. Well, I mean we'd had chem class together, but aside from a few group labs we didn't talk all that much. It wasn't until our last big project that we really got to know each other; he'd moved in from south with his dad after his folks split and he told me that his biggest dream was to become a world-renowned author. Of course, Dib loved that- the jerk- said they'd even make good business partners when he got his big start. We ended up keeping in contact even after we got the A. Our relationship stretched out into summer and we eventually hit off this flimsy course of 'dating'. Things went well, for a while. It was so...unreal to have that kind of attention, to have someone show actual interest in me. One con that comes with being a school hard-ass is that no one really cares about what's underneath. Suddenly having that, all and only for you...it's almost intoxicating. You never want to loose it, you'd do anything to keep it and before you know it...you lose yourself. As more time went on and as the new school year was coming back around, it seemed like he was losing interest in me. Whether he was gawking at other girls while he was out with me or excusing himself to the bathroom and flirting all the way there, it didn't matter. Though, that kind of privilege was exclusive to him, I learned. Looking back, I should have seen the first warning, but all I did was make excuses for it. Our conversations turned into check-ups and our time out became a superficial parade. It wasn't until I initiated our break-up that things got out of hand..."
She slouched lower in her seat, nuzzling her cheek on her shoulder as though scratching an itch. The white, hot sting where his hand had struck her that night buzzed at the memory. She cleared her throat before continuing.
"Of course," she began, "that marked the end of our little romance. He ended up with a broken nose and and a dislocated arm, I'll tell you that for certain! Though...I never did see him again once school started. I never told Dib how it happened, but I know he was heartbroken that his future publisher had suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. You better not tell him any of this, by the way, or you'll be the next person to disappear!"
She eyed him playfully, but Zim didn't seem to be in any mood to take it. He'd since sunk back into his own seat, looking at the girl before him in both pity and an odd sort of amazement. He was amazed, if he was being honest, but he was also...jealous.
"I...I'm sorry." he said in a low voice.
She scoffed, "I don't want an apology from you. I'm not trying to compare tragedies either because I'll admit it hands down that you've gotten it a lot worse than me, but that doesn't change that we can still relate to each other. Just..."
She snaked out one of her arms, letting it hang in the open space between them with her palm open to him. He looked at it like he was waiting for some trick to appear, glancing back at her eyes only once before reaching up for it, grasping almost feather-light at her fingers.
"Take a break from being an idiot every once in a while," she spoke, gold eyes flashing, "I- we're- here for you. Disgusting as it sounds. You'll fix your Pak and we'll figure this mess out just like we've always done."
He didn't feel entirely confident, but he nodded anyway.
Can someone say slacker because that's what I am! I can't believe I've taken so long to update, I'm so sorry! As an official apology, have some unrestricted sap! I was on the fence for the longest time on giving Gaz a tragic relationship backstory because...well, I've never seen it done before. Hopefully it worked out alright, though. Thank you for reading!
