Million Tears

"Thank you Zim, even if you didn't mean it," Dib held his shoulder for a second before heading after Gaz. Zim stood there for a few seconds, not sure what to do. Gaz acting strange was one thing, but Dib being... not... not nice to him was... he didn't know what to think about it. He scowled for his lack of professionalism in this situation. Death was normally never a complicated thing for Zim to understand. Why was this different? He started to head back to his base.

Was it because he shouldn't have anything to do with this? He didn't kill him, he was not related to him. If Gaz hadn't asked him, if Dib wasn't his enemy, he would never have batted an eye at Membrane's death, despite the fact that he meant what he said about Membrane being one of the few intelligent beings on this filthy planet. If only he wasn't so set on his scientific ways he would have been able to see through Zim's wonderful disguise. But that was a good thing, that he hadn't.

Zim found himself in town, heading towards the grocery store. He blanked out on why he had come this far, but then he remembered the taste of chocolate in his mouth as he went in the store to buy the stuff to see if he could make it at home. He came out with the ingredients and another Styrofoam cup of the sweet drink. It would be a shame, he thought sipping at it, that this would be gone if he completely annihilated the planet.

"Hey Gir," he shut the door behind him.

"Masta'! You's home!" Gir ran up and hugged him. Zim allowed him that (since it would be difficult with his hands full) and looked at the mess Gir had made of the base. The only consolation about that was that meant most likely Gir had stayed in the house the entire time.

"Get off Gir!" he commanded, walking forward with Gir hanging off of one leg. He put his groceries down on the table, wiping the condensation off of his non-absorption gloves on Gir's head and looking over the milk. At first he had balked at the idea of such a disgusting drink, but he noticed that there was a substitute for normal milk. This was also called milk, but it couldn't have been the same thing, not being the lumpy drink that they had in skool. And this carton had to be refrigerated, unlike what he coughed up at skool. He went over to the fridge (which no longer had a toilet in front of it, he had finally discovered that it was supposed to go in a different room) put it in and plugged the refrigerator in so it would get cold.

By this time Gir had gone off towards the television, saying that he and Minimoose just had to watch the Scary Monkey show, the last episode had been a cliffhanger. Zim put his head in his hands and rubbed his forehead. He lost a half-days worth of work and now he couldn't even think of something to work on. He stared at the kitchen sink for a while, trying to see if that would give him any great ideas.

-

Minimoose squeaked louder in his antennae, causing Zim to come out from under the sink.

"I decided to come early," Gaz said, back in her normal outfit. "Since Irkens don't sleep. I don't ever want to have to come here again, so let's get started."

She didn't ask what he was doing, which made Zim wonder if she was back to normal. Most likely, she was not, but was just trying to act like it. Zim decided to think that way instead of believing that they would have gotten better by now. Humans just seemed to hold on to things that they couldn't do anything about.

"I'm fixing the sink!" he told her, closing the doors beneath it and grabbing a mug out of a Gir-proof door. Zim did have a Gir proof door, but he could never find out how exactly he Gir-proofed it, so it was only random things throughout the base that Gir couldn't get into. Gaz just looked at him.

"When you turn this faucet, hot chocolate comes out of the tap!" he turned the right tap and hot chocolate came out of the faucet and into the mug.

"I think your a bit obsessed over this," Gaz had her arms folded, watching as Zim filled the mug up to the brim. "I'm glad I didn't tell you about whip cream."

"What's whip cream?" Zim's antennae came up as he sipped at his chocolate heaven.

"Never mind," she shook her head. "Didn't you have something you wanted me to help you with?"

"Yes, you owe Zim four hours," Zim nodded, face half hidden by the yellow mug.

"Four?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Remember? We agreed on an extra hour, just in case I had to get you in some equipment to start." He checked out her current outfit. "Is that what your wearing? I liked what you wore yesterday much better."

"I don't dress up for you Zim," she growled.

Zim narrowed his eyes. "Zim wasn't asking you too!" he hissed back. "Now, are you going to help me or not?"

"Yeah," Gaz continued to look at the faucet as Zim went to fill up another mug. "What does this tap do?" she asked while turning the left one.

"IT BURNS!" Zim screamed, pulling back from the water that came out, "Gir! I thought I told you not to connect the water pipe!" He writhed on the floor, trying to get the burning feeling to subside. Something dark covered his vision.

"Just wipe it off," came Gaz's annoyed tone. Zim quickly grabbed it and rubbed his hand fiercely. It surprisingly worked, the water all gone. He looked to see a tear in Gaz's coat that he had made while in his pained form. He set the coat behind him on the table.

"You won't need that in my lab," he told her, making a mental note to tell the computer to mend it when she couldn't hear him.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"A plan that involves the mind control of small, cute woodland creatures! Ingenious! None other then Zim could have thought of it!"

Gaz's face stayed blank, but her eyes seemed a rage of emotions. "And how are you going to plan to do that?"

"A substance replaced into their food source that will allow me control over their feelings. But you don't need to know that."

"Right," Gaz replied, albeit with sarcasm in her voice. Zim didn't understand exactly why, but he never did with Gaz, "I don't need to know."

"Yes, just as Zim told you," he nodded in approval. "Now, to my base." He walked over to the cupboard, just a few years ago growing out of the trash can. Not that it being small was a problem in the first place, when Zim could still fit, for Dib had a difficult time chasing him down there with his tall lanky body. Gaz followed him. It was just barely big enough to fit both of them, but Gaz wasn't that big herself, only at 5' 3'' and Zim was used to shifting himself to work in his personal elevator. He was stuck somewhat pressing himself against her side and hip, which he muttered in irritation at, but all she did was glare at him. No threats, so Zim considered himself lucky. They headed down and reached Zim's experimental section.

"This way!" Zim started towards the small woodland creatures which were his test subjects.

"Wait, where's the protection suit things?" Gaz asked.

"Zim has no need of such things," Zim pulled out some of the chemicals that he would start with.

Gaz snorted. "Stupid one hour extra..." she grumbled, stepping beside him.

"You will start with this," Zim began to explain what he wanted done. She commented on some of his methods, but overall did what he said. She was a very good worker, despite her occasional comments. He had a feeling he was going to get a lot done today.

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"This isn't going to work," she told Zim as he handed her what he wanted her to do next.

"Yes it will! I know it will!" he shouted, as he seemed to do a lot when he was experimenting. Gaz rolled her eyes. He had said the exact thing last time. She felt like it was becoming a routine of failure. Not that mind controlling woodland creatures was a weird goal to start with, though it was humorous to hear him suggest such a thing, she couldn't understand where Zim got his strange ideas.

And strangely, this reminded her of him.

"Ah-ha! A Genius!" Zim appeared to make some progress.

Dad.

He would do things that no one believed could be done. He proved them wrong every time. He would never give up, not until he found the answer. But he never found the cure that she wanted him to.

He never found the cure for death.

It was Dib who had tried to find it. He was only five and yet he got everything he thought he needed to be able to bring her back from the dead.

"No!" Zim shouted as the mixture blew up in his face, making him cough.

Mom.

She could barely remember her, her face, her smell, her voice, but what she could she clung on to. Dib asked her to help with the summoning and she had agreed. She was only three, but she had understood the amount of risk with toying with the dead, what it could cause. She didn't care though, neither of them did. They wanted their mother back, they wanted to see their father home, not retreated into his corner of science. They had tried and Dib had failed. Dad had to save them both from the monsters that Dib had brought up. He called them sick dogs and disposed of them himself, not mentioning until later they were zombies. She turned farther from Dib after that, burying herself in her games. She was devastated that it had failed. That Mom was never coming back.

Gaz never thought about it until now, but Dib was even more devastated then she was. It might have been because he had more memories of her, or because it was his plans and his ideas that had failed, but he was never the same after that. Before, she remembered that he somewhat listened to reason, especially from their father. But after that he would not take no as an answer, he would not give up unless he was physically forced to leave the path he had chosen. It had changed them all.

Dad's death would change them both again. Could she grow up enough to not be so selfish?

"Gaz?" Zim's voice broke into her reverie, wet tears stinging her cheeks. She sat down on the ground where she had dropped the empty beaker, resting her chin on her left arm and knees while picking up the pieces with her right.

"What Zim?" she asked.

Zim stood there awkwardly. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm NOT!" she shouted at him. "It's... difficult, okay Zim? Not like you would know, like it matters to you."

"It... matters..." Zim said softly, haltingly. "Do you need to go home?"

"I don't want to see Dib! He's just trying to make a stupid family out of us," she calmed down, wiping the tears off her face, thinking it over. Dib was not home. There was no one there.

"This has been fun, little Gaz," she felt herself being lifted up by the arm, "But you seem to be slowing my process," a complete contrast of what he said ten minutes ago. They were back in the elevator, pressed against each other. When they hit the top, he pushed her out. He was about to go back down, but then he hesitated.

"Call me, if you want to do it again," he said, before heading below. She stood there for a moment, trying to understand what just happened. Then, she left.

Only when she got home did Gaz remember Zim's actual concern for her when she was crying.

And she had left her coat behind.

Oh, decisions, decisions.

Not that I want to torture anyone, but I am running out of chapters to upload. Only four more that I have to edit and check for spelling! I really need to type more so I do not have to worry about it. Hopefully, it will be updated at it's usual pace, so do not worry.