A/N: Sorry for the late update (again), but I had finals to take, so between the studying and the actual tests, I didn't have a lot of time to write.

Anyway, here we go, the last chapter of "Evolution", excluding the epilogue. Now we get to see just how bad I am at romance – as we reach a new stage of the Zim/Jana fluff – and see if I can avoid a Dues Ex Machina with ending the GESS threat. Let's see what I can do, shall we?

Read on!

Disclaimer: Jana and the GESS belong to me. Everything else belongs to Jhonen Vasquez.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Membrane Yard, Same Time

Dib and the SEN agent – whose codename was Agent Yeti, apparently – stood over the charred corpse of the alpha-GESS, examining it the best they could with only their bare eyes and hands. Meanwhile, reinforcements had arrived in the form of more army soldiers, who were gathering up their dead comrades and giving the Swollen Eyeball members a wide berth.

"You really should get that looked at," Agent Yeti commented, gesturing to Dib's bleeding shoulder.

"I've had worse," Dib said without taking his eyes off the GESS, thinking of the burn wound on his chest, "Besides, we need to see if the GESS have some kind of flaw we can use to beat them. No offense, but those energy weapons of yours are pretty useless."

"None taken," Yeti replied with a shrug, "I'm not the one who made them… though you might want to be careful what you say about them around Agent Nessie. That guy's got an ego the size of Texas when it comes to his inventions."

Dib considered making a comment about how Zim's ego was even bigger, but decided that now wasn't the time for idle chat. Continuing to examine the dead alpha, he frowned as he noticed the odd shape of its ears. Rummaging around in a coat pocket, he pulled out a pen and used it to stretch out one ear, which had shriveled up when it had burnt. With the ear back in more-or-less its usual position, Dib now saw why it was shaped so oddly – it was the ear of a bat.

"Echolocation," Dib muttered, remembering what Zim had said earlier.

"What?" Yeti asked.

"Zim said that when he created these things he gave them some bat DNA so that they could use echolocation," Dib explained, "It looks like that particular trait manifested itself through giving them the ears of a bat. Actually, it probably altered their vocal cords too, but the ears are the important part."

Yeti looked at the ear Dib had been examining, then turned to the younger SEN agent and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay… you've lost me on this, Mothman," he said.

Dib sighed, before gesturing at the ear and explaining.

"Look, in order to actually pick up on the high-pitched sound waves that they use for echolocation and interpret them, they must have a heightened sense of hearing. Meaning, if we can find the right decibel range, we can overwhelm the GESS audibly."

"Wait. You're saying that we have to fight these things with sound?"

"Not fight, exactly," Dib said with a shrug, being careful not to aggravate his wounded shoulder, "But we might be able to disorient them enough that we stand a fighting chance against them."

Agent Yeti was silent for a few moments as he considered, before finally sighing.

"I guess we don't really have too many other viable options, do we?"

"No, not really," Dib said grimly, before another thought came to him.

"Uh... I don't suppose the Network's got any super-advanced sonic equipment lying around we can use, does it?"

"No," Yeti admitted, before grinning, "But I think I know how we can improvise."

XXXXXXX

Zim's Base, A While Later

As Jana slowly regained consciousness, she became aware of the fact that she was lying on something soft and comfortable. This was slightly confusing, as the last thing she remembered was being in front of Dib's house, fighting him and several human soldiers, and then jumping in front of one soldier who had been about to shoot Zim from behind…

She winced as the phantom pain of being shot coursed through her body. She also began coughing a bit harshly, as her fully repaired squeedly-spooch registered that its respiratory section was filled with blood and began ejecting it. Jana was left with the taste of nickel in her mouth as she instinctively leaned over and spat out her own body fluids, before collapsing back into what she now realized was a couch.

"So I take it you're awake now?"

Jana blinked the last fuzziness of unconsciousness out of her eyes, and found that she was back in the base, and that Zim was standing over her – and he was wiping away some of the blood she had just spat out onto his shirt. Jana flinched slightly as she noticed that, and quickly began crawling into a sitting position.

"Master, I-" she began, but Zim cut her off with a raised hand. He then placed that hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back down.

"Lie down," he ordered softly, "Your PAK may have mostly repaired your wounds, but it is still working on the minor damage, not to mention replacing the blood you lost. So just relax for a few minutes and let it do its work."

Jana merely nodded and lay down. There was an uncomfortable silence for several minutes as Jana merely lay there, and Zim sat down in a chair he'd pulled over next to the couch, shifting uncomfortably as both Irkens intentionally avoided eye contact.

Finally unable to bare the silence anymore, Zim jumped back to his feet.

"Why?" he asked.

Jana blinked in surprise and turned to look at him.

"Why what?" she asked.

"Why did you jump in front of that human's weapon? Why did you almost get yourself killed?"

The assassin frowned and looked away.

"He was targeting your PAK, master. And you were so distracted by the other soldiers that you wouldn't have seen him until too late. It's my duty to protect you, so I did."

"By using yourself as a meat shield?" Zim asked with an eye narrowed in confusion.

Jana's face flushed.

"It was an instinct," she muttered, "And besides… I've already failed you once this day. I couldn't live with myself if another failure cost you your life."

Zim frowned at that, which only grew when he noticed fresh tears sliding down her cheeks. Reaching out, he gently wiped the tears away, noticing that Jana shivered at his touch.

"If you're talking about the recording Dib used to expose my plans to Gor…"

Zim paused for several seconds, then swallowed his pride with a sigh and continued.

"It wasn't your fault."

Jana looked like she wanted to argue with that, but Zim continued before she could.

"I know Dib better than anyone; I should have known that he would have a backup of anything he could use against me. But I let my ego get the best of me, and I assumed that nothing could stop us – and while I still believe that to be true in the long run, I was wrong this time. So, it was my fault, not yours. So don't blame yourself; and don't you ever do something that stupid again. Understood?"

"Yes, milord," Jana said with a nod.

Another silence – a more comfortable one than before – fell over the two of them. For several minutes, they simply stared at each other, his red orbs into her green ones, both of them content to simply enjoy the moment and let their minds wander.

'I love you…'

Zim jumped back as if a live power cable had just shocked him, and judging by the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look Jana was sporting, she also realized what she had just been caught thinking.

"Wh-what was that?" Zim asked, unable to stop himself from stammering.

"Oh, uh, um, t-that, uh, that was, um…" Jana seemed to have lost her ability to form coherent sentences as her face turned a much darker shade of green, and she began looking anywhere but at Zim.

"Jana," Zim said slowly, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, "Look at me."

Jana hesitantly obeyed, turning to look at Zim face, but avoiding looking him in the eyes.

"Tell me… tell me exactly how you feel about me," Zim ordered, resisting the urge to telekinetically force Jana to make eye contact.

She was silent for what felt like a lifetime, before finally answering.

"I love you, master… and I think I always have."

Jana's voice was barely above a whisper, but it was carrying more emotion than Zim had ever heard her use before. And the odd thing was, it was causing Zim's own emotions to start bubbling up as well; at least, if that's what the heat rising in his face and the knotting feeling in the digestive section of his squeedly-spooch meant.

"I think it started when I first entered the military," Jana continued, oblivious to how Zim's emotions were wrecking havoc on him, "One day, you – the future you, anyway – came to inspect all the new trainees. You didn't even notice me, of course; after all, I was just one soldier among hundreds in my training batch, why would you have noticed me? But I, on the other hand, was struck by your sheer majesty, by the power your form seemed to generate… I think that's when I fell in love with you."

Jana gave a mirthless laugh before continuing, "You know, that was the day I dedicated myself to becoming a Shadow – I figured that if I became one of the few to reach that rank, you'd actually notice me. And hopefully, one day, you'd eventually see that my loyalty was born of love, not duty… as you can probably figure out, that never happened, since if it had you wouldn't have sent me back in time and away from you.

"And do you want to know what the most pathetic thing is? For a little while, I actually deluded myself into thinking that I could win your love in this time period, before you had the pressures of running the Empire holding all of your attention. But I understand now; I am just your servant, and that's all I'll ever be. I suppose I'll just have to accept that, and-"

"Jana," Zim suddenly spoke up, his voice carrying a slightly harsh tone.

"Y-Yes, milord?" Jana asked, somehow just knowing that she wouldn't like what came next.

"Stop talking," Zim said, in a much softer tone, before suddenly leaning forward and pressing his lips against hers.

Jana's eyes went wider than what was normal for a Irken, and then they practically rolled up into her head as she returned the kiss and went into a state of what she could only describe as pure bliss.

Neither Irken knew how long the moment lasted, but they would later agree that it wasn't nearly long enough. Finally, they parted for breath, both of them flushed and bearing small grins.

"Master," Jana breathed out, "D-Does this mean…?"

"I think so," Zim muttered, surprising himself with how bashful he suddenly sounded, "I admit… despite the fact that Zim is superior in most things… I don't have any experience in love. But I know that I've felt a connection of some kind with you ever since we met, and I know that you're the only person who has ever been truly loyal to me, not because of programming, but because you choose to be. And I also know that when that soldier wounded you – when I thought you were going to die – that it felt like my heart was ripped out. I don't ever want to loose you, Jana; I want you to be with me forever, and I would really like it if… if you would be by my side when I take my rightful place as ruler of the Empire."

Jana smiled, even as tears of happiness formed in her eyes.

"I'd like that too, master."

Zim grinned as he reached over and caressed her cheek.

"Please, just call me 'Zim'," he said, leaning in for another kiss, which was eagerly returned.

A sudden kazoo-like musical note from the ceiling interrupted this tender moment, however. Startled, the new couple jumped, and looked up at the ceiling as confetti and streamers exploded from hidden panels, and a banner that read "CONGRAGULATIONS!" unfurled from nowhere. This resulted in narrowed eyes and raised antennae from the Irken audience.

"Computer," Zim said as he pulled a streamer off of his shoulder, "Was that supposed to be funny?"

"Yes," the computer said bluntly, "Partially because it's nice to see you two finally admit your feelings for each other-"

Both Irkens blushed at that comment.

"-But mostly because I figured it might soften the blow of the news I have."

"What news?" Jana asked.

In response, the computer turned on the TV and switched it over to one of the news channels covering the GESS invasion.

"This footage was aired several minutes ago," the computer explained.

The entire neighborhood was a warzone; most of the buildings had been broken into by the creatures themselves, or been damaged by wild weapons fire – some were even burning, their flames spreading to their surroundings and adding to the almost apocalyptic view of the scene. Not to mention the GESS themselves, who were feeding on the dead (or mostly dead) bodies of enemy soldiers and civilians who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

However, the gore feast was soon interrupted when several vehicles – some military, and some civilian ones marked with the SEN logo – arrived on the scene. The GESS out in the open immediately began charging towards the new targets; the soldiers opened fire on them, distracting them long enough for the SEN scientists to pull out what appeared to several sorts of stereo equipment crudely attached to stadium speakers. Just as the GESS were about to reach the soldiers, the equipment suddenly activated with a high-pitched screech that soon changed into a barely-audible tone; however, while it may have been almost inaudible to humans, it broke several nearby windows by vibrating the building frames.

And the GESS, with their sensitive hearing, were vulnerable as well. As the sound continued, the GESS all screamed in pain. Most fell to their knees and clutched their ears, while some collapsed altogether and went into spasms on the ground, their ears beginning to bleed, as the sensitive audio organs within were ripped apart.

The soldiers took full advantage of the situation, firing everything they had at the prone forms of the genetically engineered monsters. Some might point out that this was an unfair move on the humans' part, but considering how many advantages the GESS had over their opponents already, no one was likely to start a debate over it.

The image on the screen froze as the computer commented, "You don't really need to see the rest… it just goes downhill for us from there."

Zim's eye twitched as his hands clenched, as he most likely pretended they were wrapped around Dib's throat. The air around the TV began shimmering, and Jana quickly jumped behind the couch just before the set exploded. When she got back up, she found Zim angrily pacing the floor, his healing ability already dealing with the burns and cuts he'd gotten from the exploding television.

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

Zim glanced up from his pacing to look at her, then grumbled under his breath for a few moments before answering.

"I can only assume that that accursed kisgaree Dib had something to do with this. Which means he's probably also convinced the human military to come deal with us. So, as much I hate to say this, we only have one choice… we have to initiate Omega Protocol."

Jana gaped. "You're ordering the evacuation of the base? A retreat?"

"Zim does not retreat!" the Invader snarled, but calmed down when he saw Jana flinch at his tone.

"I am not retreating," he restated calmly, "This is merely a tactical fallback. This miserable mud ball of a planet is no longer safe to use as a base for my plans, so we will find someplace safer and more suitable to rebuild and start again. Then, after we have taken the Empire for ourselves, we will come back and turn this world into a cinder. Understand?"

Jana clasped a fist to her shoulder in salute. "Yes, my Tallest."

"Good," Zim said with a grin, "Now, start teleporting everything up to the space station. I'll join you once I've pulled GIR and Minimoose away from whatever idiotic activity they're up to."

Jana nodded and headed towards the elevator, while Zim turned his attention to the ceiling.

"And computer," he added, "Begin transferring all files to the station as well; I don't want to risk leaving anything behind for the humans to find. And prioritize the research on the GESS."

"Why?" the computer asked, "In case you didn't notice, sir, they failed in the end."

"True," Zim admitted, "But only because of one tiny flaw. With some modifications, they will be perfect; besides, we'll need soldiers in order to conquer the Empire. Now do it."

With that said, Zim headed for the elevator himself. It was time to end this chapter of his life, and move on to a much more pleasant one.

XXXXXXX

Cul-De-Sac Outside Zim's Base, Half An Hour Later

As the sun began to set, Army jeeps and troop transports screeched into the cul-de-sac, soldiers quickly unloading and getting into squad formation. They then began charging towards the deformed green house that – according to the information they'd been given – was the base of the people responsible for the slaughter that had occurred that day.

Each and every soldier had the sole intention of personally killing the masterminds of the greatest disaster this city had ever seen. Unfortunately for those in the front ranks, however, they never got the chance, as the security gnomes on Zim's front lawn opened fired with the laser cannons in their eyes at full strength. The front lines were vaporized instantly, and before the other soldiers had a chance to even register this, the gnomes switched into their insectoid forms and launched at them.

The cul-de-sac was soon filled with shouts, screams and explosions as the soldiers began fighting for their lives against the alien drones.

XXXXXXX

Zim's Base, Zim's Bedroom, Same Time

Zim slowly shifted through the contents of the trunk holding his mementos. In addition to the now-undersized ceremonial battle armor he'd received upon graduating from Invader training on Devastis, he also had the battle gauntlets from his special training on Hobo 13 (plus the drill sergeant's discarded dog tags, which he'd kept as a souvenir), his old scientist's garb from his time at Research Station Nine, and a few pictures of Irk he'd taken during the rare occasions he'd been on the surface.

After making sure that he still had each object, Zim securely locked the chest and heaved it up, his enhanced strength making it child's play to carry the heavy object. He then walked out of the bedroom with it towards the main control room, where Jana and Minimoose were looking at one of the monitors. Placing the trunk on the floor, Zim then walked over to his… servant? Girlfriend? Mate? What was she now exactly?

'We'll work that out later,' he thought to himself, before asking, "How is the evacuation proceeding?"

"We're almost done sir," the assassin replied, "In fact, we'll be completely finished just as soon as that idiot is done."

Zim followed Jana's pointing finger to the screen, which was showing GIR using a plunger to try and push the Voot Runner – which had apparently been stuffed full of rubber pigs and tacos – into one of the teleportation pods. Zim blinked in surprise, then narrowed one eye in confusion.

"Why is he using a plunger?"

"I'm still trying to figure out how he got the Voot down there," Jana said, cocking her head to one side.

Zim sighed, and then turned to Minimoose.

"Minimoose, go help him, then head up to the station. And take my trunk with you."

"Squeak!" Minimoose responded, launching several cables from his antlers, which wrapped around the trunk and lifted it into the air. The purple super weapon then floated out of the room, heading down the hall to help his moronic counterpart.

The two Irkens then turned their attention to another monitor, which showed the battle raging outside the base. A rocket-propelled grenade slammed into one of the security drones, blowing it apart and sending debris flying into several other drones and damaging them.

"The drones won't hold against the humans much longer, master," the computer said, "Since the evacuation is nearly complete and all files have been uploaded, I would advise to enact the final stage of Omega Protocol."

"Point taken, computer," Zim said, walking over to the main console. He typed in a long sequence, and then connected a PAK cable to the console to confirm his identity. He then turned away from the console and walked back to Jana.

"Shall we take our leave then, my dear?" he asked, extending a hand.

Jana blushed, though whether it was from being called "my dear" or from being offered his hand was hard to tell. She reached out and took Zim's hand, enjoying the warm feeling that accompanied the physical contact. The two then quickly walked out of the room, hand-in-hand, down the hall towards the teleporters. Meanwhile, on the main computer screen, a large yellow circle appeared. At the top of the circle a thin triangular strip – which extended down to the center of the circle – suddenly began flashing red, and after a few seconds stayed that color, only for the section next to it to begin flashing red as well.

Anyone viewing this would have been able to identify it immediately – it was a countdown.

XXXXXXX

Cul-De-Sac Outside Zim's Base, A Few Minutes Later

An SEN car pulled up alongside the army vehicles, and Dib hopped out the second it stopped moving, being careful not to upset the sling his shoulder was now being held in. Agent Yeti hopped out after him, putting away a communicator as he did so.

"Agent Darkbooty wants you to come back in to headquarters and let the soldiers handle this," he said.

"They don't know what they're getting into," Dib said, watching the soldiers clear away the remains of the drones and start using a blowtorch on the steel panel in the doorway, "So I'll let them 'handle it', but I'm going to be close by in case anything happens."

"If you say so," Yeti said with a shrug, deciding not to point out that Dib wouldn't be of much use with only one good arm.

At that moment, the soldiers managed to open a hole in the door panel and quickly swarmed into the base. Dib gave them a few minutes head start, then began heading towards the house himself – only to nearly fall over as the ground suddenly shook.

"What the-" Yeti began to say, before Zim's house suddenly exploded.

The force of the initial explosion blew the metal panels out of the door and the windows, and ripped open a hole in the roof before secondary shockwaves vaporized the walls of the house and sent debris flying. The fireball expanded outwards, consuming the surrounding houses and their unfortunate occupants and knocking Dib and Yeti on their backs. Both agents tried to crawl towards the cover of one of the cars, just when the ground heaved, cracked, and caved in, caused by the underground labs exploding as well.

For several long minutes after the explosion, the only sounds were those of the flames and the debris falling from the sky… including pieces of the unfortunate soldiers that had entered the base just prior to its destruction. Finally, Dib and Yeti pulled themselves to their feet and stared in horror at the sight before them.

"My God," Yeti gasped, "He blew himself up."

Dib didn't say anything. He didn't have any proof beyond a gut feeling, but he knew that Zim wasn't in the base when it blew up. Zim didn't give up that easily.

Turning his gaze upwards, Dib gazed at the appearing stars; and somewhere up there, beyond the view of his bare eyes, there was a sudden flash of light as Zim's space station entered hyperspace, carrying him and his minions to some distant corner of the galaxy to start their plans anew.

Zim's reign of terror wasn't over… it was just beginning.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

A/N: And there's the last chapter, which once again shows why I shouldn't write romance fics. I also think the way I came up with to beat the GESS is pretty lame, but it's all I could think of short of nuking the city.

Anyway, all that's left now is the epilogue, which I swear will be up by Christmas. You have my word on that.

Read and review!