Look at me! I'm doin' it! ^o^

Ya I know this is hardly making up for things, so I'm still working hard for that. Whhoooo nothing impressive! :\

Also I have a lil announcement about the ZaDr vs. ZaDf thing at the bottom so make sure to check that out!

Disclaimer: I'm..I'm being for real. It was him *shakes finger at Jhonen*

Gir returned later that evening. Zim asked why he took three hours to drop off the device but Gir just said, "I made a monkey!" Zim just brushed it off and he and Gir sat back down at the couch. But Zim had to finish things up with the Skool first.

Zim got out an Irken remote and starting pressing buttons. The idea was to create a 'distraction' in the attendance computers. The device Gir had snuck into Skool could best be described as a wireless hacker that would hack into the system and mark Zim sick with swine flu or mono, or something. It took a few tries at trying to remember certain codes, but an Irken's PAK brain is more advanced than any human brain, so he was able to recall it all quickly. This was probably the best thing he could do for now. Zim just hoped that none of the students or Ms. Bitters would get suspicious…

—~—

The next day brought hardly any change, so far proving that Zim's plan must be working out pretty well. But it didn't seem to matter after the first three seconds. Zim was still just lounging around, trying not to care about anything.

...Until there was a knock at the door.

Zim flinched at the sound and rubbed his eyes. "What? Another one! Gir, go answer it..." he mumbled the last part, annoyed, and quickly curled into a ball to try to relax again.

Gir shot up from his spot on the floor and jumped into his dog suit. He went to the door, and, stupidly enough, knocked back saying, "Who is it?"

The person now banged furiously, causing Zim to jump up again, this time very irritated.

"Door's open!" he called out to whoever wanted in, and shoved his head under a pillow. When the door opened, Zim decided to peak out and see who it was, and his eyes grew wide.

"Zim, I know you have my brother here. Now where is he?" the voice belonging to Gaz said, and she didn't sound too happy. Zim also thought—but maybe he was still just woozy—that she sounded a bit restless too. It had been weeks, and only now she's decided to come here?

"W-What?" Zim's voice cracked. He looked away, trying to avoid her tone. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Gaz growled at him and stomped toward the couch. Zim scooted back with his pillow as a shield just in case. "Where. Is. Dib?" she asked again.

"I do not know Gaz-monster." Zim lied. His voice was flat but quiet, and his eyes were lost at the wall. The last thing he wanted to do was explain what happened to Gaz. Just a memory flash of all the blood on the cold concrete floor made Zim want to throw up in disgust. He tried to glare back at Gaz. "I suggest you leave. The Dib is not welcome here and neither are you. So go away before—"

Gaz growled furiously, interrupting him. She shifted to one side and Zim lifted his pillow again in case a table would be thrown, but instead, the Goth surprised him by falling to her knees. She still looked irritated, and refused to look up at Zim as she muttered darkly, "You know where he is. I know you do. You idiots always get into some kind of trouble."

"N-no, NO! I don't!" Zim denied, and threw his pillow down. He didn't know why she was acting this way, but he wasn't about to give in. "Now get out of my base!"

What was going on here, anyway? How could Gaz be so worried? How could she have dark circles under her eyes as if she were really looking for Dib, and just now come to the place most obvious for him to be held captive since he came here with his stupid plans almost every day?

But Gaz ignored his threat, and composed her own,"If you don't tell me where he is, I will rot your insides out and burn them in my garage. Then I will bring terror to your dead soul and—"

"Ok!" Zim interrupted her. "Stupid...human. I don't know where he is now, I just know what happened to him..." he trailed off. Maybe he could pull off getting Gaz to leave with a trail of hints, but he didn't want to reveal enough that it would be obvious, that way she may not come back too soon.

"What happened to him?" Gaz looked up now, interested, but still glaring.

Zim hesitated. "Well, I...don't know if you would be—"

"Just tell me what happened."

Zim swallowed a lump in his throat, and continued to match Gaz's glare. "What are you going to do if I don't, you filthy, stinking—wait, what are you..ah ahhh AAAAHH!" Zim screamed when Gaz grabbed him by the arm and started to beat on him like she would Dib (think of the scene from Gaz: Taster Of Pork). There would be punches, kicks, and flings of the body, but Zim continued to stupidly scream as Gaz tried to get him to give in.

Finally she pinned him under her and scowled. Her golden brown eyes were wide open and glowing with anger, and it reminded Zim of Dib's same eyes when they were pleading with him. He remembered the boy was trying to say something. It was the last thing he saw of Dib before he ran off. The unknown ache in his squeadily-spooch swelled up again, and he tried to squeeze it back, until at last the added nausea had been too much.

Zim gave in. "O...Ok. OK! Stop," he rolled over and quickly pinned Gaz down. "I will tell you."

Gaz raised her eyebrows at him, but it was hardly confusion.

Zim ignored Gaz's flare of disapprovement and got off to face her more clearly. He took a deep breath. "The Dib-human is dead."

Gaz responded with a cold stare. "Zim, I swear, if you're playing jokes..."

"I'm not playing jokes!" Zim yelled, his anger finally exploding. "Dib and his giant head have been sucked into doom, do you hear me? DOOM." Zim didn't know why he was yelling. But it didn't feel wrong. In fact, it felt good to yell this at someone.

"You're serious?" Gaz asked, still not convinced.

"Yes, worm, I am serious. You think you can just ignore it, too, don't you? Pitiful." Zim's voice was still loud.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Zim raised an invisible eyebrow at her. He stared intently at his foot, deep in thought, before returning his gaze to Gaz. "Human-beast? If I were to tell you where to find the Dib, would you leave?" The question was careful, yet persistent.

"Yeah," Gaz answered. "I'm not exactly here for a visit."

Zim nodded and started back into the kitchen. "Come."

Gaz didn't ask why Zim wouldn't just take her there himself. Instead she just shook her head as she followed.

"You really must have done something wrong."

—~—

Zim lead Gaz down to his Information Lab without any warnings not to touch anything. He couldn't help but ponder again if what he was doing was ok. It just wasn't right to help a human, but was it so bad to reveal the truth to someone who deserved to know? Zim slugged his way across the dark tiles, the thought remaining unresolved as he started up a computer.

Gaz didn't seem to mind Zim's distracted pace. She just wanted to know what happened to Dib, and breaking the alien's neck may not get much of an answer.

"Now, this may come as a shock to you." Zim looked at Gaz with a strange look in his eyes. Fear? Pity? Maybe a cross.

"Whatever it is, just show it to me." Gaz shrugged, still not getting the warning.

Zim nodded and glanced back at his keyboard as he started typing faster. "I am going to show you one of the cameras that watch parts of the city," Zim announced. He lifted a finger to emphasize that he was about to show her.

Gaz nodded.

Zim frowned a little but dropped his finger to the button. He pointed one of the small screens in front of them that was fuzzing. It cleared to reveal a picture of what an angled camera was seeing in an alley. Zim zoomed in to the ground and showed Gaz the blood stains he knew would still remain. He really never checked these cameras anymore, or kept up with what happened to his past enemy. He wondered if the humans, worthless as they are, decided to put Dib's body under a grave.

Gaz stifled a gasp. Zim watched her expression as she took in the image. When she noticed her mouth was hanging open, she quickly composed herself. She glared at Zim and pointed at the screen, not taking her drilling eyes off his.

"This is a lie, Zim," she accused. "This can't be—"

"No more stupidness, Gaz-monster," Zim snapped and clicked another button. "Watch the monitor. Watch it closely."

Gaz raised an eyebrow as Zim zoomed in on the blood stains. He kept zooming until the contents in one of the fragments were visible.

Suddenly Zim turned to Gaz and held out his hand. "Give me a small sample of your hair."

"Why?"

Zim gave a low growl. "I can prove this is Dib-thing's blood with a DNA match. Now just do as I say or I will order you out." He seemed hyprocritical on the last sentence.

Gaz tugged off a piece of her unusual purple hair and extended it to Zim.

"So tell me," Zim tried to be casual as he placed the sample in a mechanical box. "Why are you suddenly interested in your brother's pathetic life? Um..." Zim looked awkwardly at his fingers resting on the keyboard.

Gaz scrolled over his expression, trying to figure him out. He was acting so unfamiliar, so timid. "You're not exactly the type to be interested in anyone else's life. I could ask you the same thing."

Zim's mouth curved into a frown, but then his expression lit up again and he chuckled, mostly to himself. "I suppose you are right, human-thing."

Another image popped up on the screen by the zoomed in blood fragment. The blood contents were on the left and Gaz's DNA sample was on the right. A yellow line divided the images. Suddenly it was Zim's eyes that widened in shock. He stared dry-mouthed at the screen.

"I...I don't believe it."

Oops...I'm sorry! Didn't really mean to leave u guys on a cliffy ;D But look, I really think this next chapter can be done quicker. On top of my issues, I just seriously had a problem writing these chapters. I kept redoing them and redoing them. Oh, but they're perfect now =^ Ya I really think I'm getting a grip on this now! Anyway, ANNOUNCEMENT! Yes, the ZaDr/ZaDf contest is still rolling but I want to warn some of u guys who haven't read coments that ZaDr votes are really outnumbering the two ZaDf votes. So I'm just saying I hope ZaDf people will be ok if this ends up a ZaDr. And I've finally decided...voting ends at chapter 7! Idk if some of u are going to fade from my reviews since I've been away so long so...the amount of reviews I require now will only be 25. RxR (25)