Well, with "Cheating the Hellhounds" completed…I might as well update this story.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim or any of its characters. I am not claiming that I do!

Chapter two: A Bit of Bad News

"You wanted to see me?"

Zim's eyes had to adjust to the dim light in Jhonen's office. The door creaked as he closed it some, taking a few more steps into the room. He could see Jhonen's dark outline as he sat in a chair, turned away from the door and the outside world.

"What?" Jhonen turned away from whatever he was watching on the computer screen, away from whatever was making horrifying pig squeals, which was obviously not a pig. "Oh, Zim…How nice of you to finally show up."

"Yeah, well Dib kept screwing up his last line," Zim said with a shrug. "Honestly, how hard could 'you jerk' be to memorize and say correctly?"

"You're not so perfect when it comes to memorizing lines yourself, Zim." Jhonen sighed and leaned back in his chair, turning off his computer as he did so. He looked over at Zim, seeing a pout on his face. "Well, that's something to discuss for another day. For now, there's something much more important to focus on."

"What?" Zim crossed his arms. He never liked being in this room, or even near Jhonen.

"The Network…again," Jhonen sighed again as he ran a hand through his orange-highlighted hair. "They're causing problems, again."

"What's the problem now?" Zim rolled his eyes. The people who ran Nickelodeon always had a problem with his show. And yes…His show.

"They're threatening to pull the plug…permantly."

"What?!" Zim uncrossed his arms and stood in a dramatic pose with his eyes wide. "When? How?!"

"Soon…That's all I know. The ratings are low and, apparently, they don't find the show's humor appropriate for preteens."

"Ratings? Those ratings would be fine if they would just keep the show in a real timeslot! Do they really expect countless kids to stay up till four in the morning to watch Invader Zim?!"

Jhonen shrugged. "I guess so."

"We're not even done with the second season! We've barely started on it! They can't just cancel it in mid-season…That's breaking the contract!"

"Look, the Network seems to have their own rules. If we fall through the cracks…Well, then I guess there's nothing we can do." Jhonen looked down to a pencil on his desk. It was chewed up, and the eraser was missing.

"How could you be so calm about this?!"

"I'm doing the best I can!" Jhonen's eyes snapped away from the pencil and to Zim. "I've already got them thinking about letting us at least finish the Christmas episode."

"But that's cutting another episode out of the way! Won't people be confused?"

"Let the writers handle that, Zim. For now, that's the best I can do. I'm still trying to get them from dropping the show altogether, but I'll need time," Jhonen's voice was low, as he was trying to keep himself calm. He leaned in his chair, yet again, and spun it around, facing his computer.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You're the star, remember? At least, that's what you always say...Why wouldn't you be the first to know?" Jhonen had glanced back, then looked away.

"…But…"

"That will be all, Zim." Jhonen's hand could be seen waving in the air, dismissing Zim.

Zim stood there for a moment, watching as Jhonen turned his computer back on, letting the creepy sounds erupt from the speakers, again. He sighed, irritated, then turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Zim looked on to the various people. He saw how Dib was now on another set, a scene that didn't include Zim in "Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars". It was later in the episode, towards the end, and he knew he was going to be called to do a part himself soon.

Tak was standing nearby, watching how Dib reacted to her voice recording. It wasn't often that she was on the set, or even in the building, so having her there was a real treat.

Hey, just because Zim and Tak were mortal enemies in the show, doesn't mean they couldn't be nice to each other when the cameras were turned the other way. Did that mean they were friends? No. Zim wasn't friends with co-workers; he had no friends.

Gir was sitting in his own chair off to Zim's right. He sucked happily on a Suck Monkey, the tail on his doggie suit wagging. His sucking noises were irritating, but at least he wasn't bouncing around, ruining everyone's hard work like usual. Unlike the other characters, who were only acting with their personalities in the show, mostly that it, Gir didn't change when he stepped off the set.

Minimoose was the same. Though, no one besides Jhonen even knew what his "personality" even was. Minimoose had only been around a couple weeks, in preparation for the Christmas episode, and all he ever did was float around and squeek.

Zim sighed, seeing that the studio was quiet; he could hear as Dib shouted his lines, trying his best not to mess up. It was moments like this that allowed Zim to think, to concentrate on what he was doing. He should have been using this time to read over his lines, like Gaz and the Tallests were currently doing.

"Zim!"

He looked up at the sound of his name.

"You and Gir still need to finish the last few scenes!" Roman Dirge shouted, turning away from Dib as he drank some water.

Zim rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said, walking towards the set. Gir ran past him, screaming with excitement as he pulled off his dog suit. The little robot didn't notice that it had landed on Zim's head when he flung it back.

Zim pulled the green costume off, growling as he dropped it to the floor.

"This job sucks."

And that's the end of the second chapter.

Sorry if any of you were hoping for Jhonen to be some insane guy…I wanted him to act like an adult…a creepy adult…

Wondering where the characters came from? You'll learn in the next chapter (I don't even know yet, lol)