A.N. Gee, has it really been that long since I updated? Sorry about that. I guess by now your guys have figured out I'm less of a once-a-week author, and more of a once-a-month author. I probably would have taken even longer if it weren't for AshSparks' INCREDIBLY nice review. Do you really feel that way? Dude, I wanna hug you. This chapter is fo you! Yeah, anyway, please enjoy, and don't forget to review!

The room was dark and hot; about seventy degrees actually, but that didn't matter to Quin, who had curled herself up on the couch and was absorbed completely in her Saturday morning cartoons. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched Batman fall off the edge of a building, grappling desperately with his hands for something to hold in order not to become a splat on the pavement. He was falling fast, and it was such a long drop...

"No!" gasped Quin, hugging a throw pillow to her chest. "Use your grappling hook, Batman!"

Almost as if he had heard her, the dark super hero patted his pockets hurriedly, and tugged his grappling hook from his belt, shooting it up at the ledge of a window. Quin sighed with relief as she watched him pull himself up and begin climbing again up the side of the building. Squeezing the pillow to her chest again with anticipation, she flopped on her side, curling her little legs up. Batman was pulling himself over the edge of the roof now, where Robin was waiting for him.

"Where's Penguin?" asked Batman quickly.

"I think he ran off when you fell," replied the young side-kick. Quin whined with disappointment. She really wanted to see the look on Penguin's face when Batman escaped another seemingly inevitable death.

Guess she'd have to watch next week to see what happened next, she supposed, turning the TV off with the push of the remote. The episode was done anyway, and since it was Saturday, and there was no skool, Zim had no use for her. She had the whole day all to herself to do whatever she wanted, and she already had a pretty good idea of what that was.

She threw the throw pillow to the floor, and jumped to her feet, running out of the TV room. The brisk run to her bed room seemed shorter than it actually was, and Quin sighed with pleasure as she sunk to her knees, pulling a little plastic box from beneath her bed.

"Hello, Barbies!" she said with delight. "Wanna play?"

She never gave the dolls a chance to answer, pulling them out of their place and laying them out on the floor. There was a good collection of them, all well loved and well kept. Actually, most of them were super hero action figures, but they were Barbie like enough to be called as such.

She began shifting through them, picking out which ones she wanted to play with right now and which ones could go back in the box. On Devastis, keeping toys was not advised. She always got picked on and teased for locking herself away in her tiny excuse for a dorm and knocking plastic fists against plastic heads as Superman punched Brainiac. Still, no one had ever directly told her to get rid of them, so she never did. They'd always been tucked safely under her bed, and that's where they always would be as long as she wanted them.

Finally she decided just to use Batman, Robin, and two nameless Barbies, tucking the rest of the little toys away.

"Okay," she said to the plastic girls in her hands. "You can be the victim; that means Joker is gonna do something bad to you, so Batman can save you."

She put the first Barbie down, and then turned to the other one. "And I don't have a Joker doll, so you'll have to be him."

The Barbie smiled.

"Good!"

And so the fun began. Quin moved the dolls with practiced realism, swiveling the arms and heads just like she was sure the actual characters would move. It came so naturally, she eventually forgot it was she who was building the story, and it seemed to be happening in front of her, as if on its own. The substitute Joker was actually working very well, if only she looked less girly. She laughed and threw funny one-liners, and weaved around Batman's punches just like the real deal. Eventually she became her own character, and the story line changed from one way to another in ways that would only make sense to Quin.

She sighed as the adventure finally came to a victorious end, and placed the toys back in the box, not before braiding the Barbies' long hair to make sure it wasn't tangled as the box shifted. Slowly she pushed it back under the bed and stood.

"Computer?" she asked, rubbing her eye. "What time is it?"

"Eleven forty, Quin," replied the curt female voice of Fuz's computer. Quin sighed, creaking open the door of her room and walking into the hall. She didn't like Fuz's computer at all. When the older invader had told her she would be programming an AI into the base, Quin had been very excited, but was disappointed to find that it lacked the personality of Zim's computer. She'd only talked to it once, and already she preferred it over the clipped professional tones of the one the had here.

"Thanks," she said, even if she knew this AI did not have the capacity to register gratitude. It only gave its programmed reply.

"You're welcome."

Quietly Quin stepped into the large elevator and asked politely to be let up. The computer replied wordlessly and efficiently, and Quin thanked it again, getting the same reply. She stepped out of the walk-in cabinet, and looked around blankly.

"Fuz?" She called, antennae raised to pick up scent and sound. Fuz's scent was everywhere, after all it was her house, but it wasn't any more recent than an hour. "Computer," said Quin again. "Where is Fuz?"

"The mistress is in the labs, preforming updates on the Standard Information Retrieval unit," it replied. "She has told me not to let you down there, as she does not wish to be disturbed."

Quin blinked owlishly at the computer's bluntness, and both of her antennae leaned to the side as she tilted her head. "Oh. Well can you tell her I'm going outside to play?"

"Yes, Quin."

That settled, the tiny Irken nodded happily and opened the metal-enforced door, pushing against it laboriously with all her weight. Instantly the cool breeze and smell of the forest touched her antennae and stroked her face. Her mouth broke into a smile and she ran outside, laughing, closing the door behind her.

The sun dappled through the leaves, casting brilliant beams of golden light onto the purples and yellows of little wild flowers that bloomed all around their little base. Quin pranced away from the building, deeper into the woods as she laughed. She moved as gracefully as a doe, every footstep as quiet as a snowflake hitting the ground...

And then she flopped ungracefully on her face, moaning with pleasure as she clawed at the grass. Her antennae buried themselves in the little green blades, absorbing the scent. It was a scent she never wanted to forget as long as she lived. It was so... Earthy. It was a good smell, she decided. A good smell for a good place. And this was a very good place. If she could, maybe she would live here. And she'd frolic in the grass and play in the mud everyday. And then she'd climb up into the tallest tree she could find and nap until dinnertime. Yes, Earth was a very good place. She liked it here.

Something bright orange flickered in the corner of her eye, and Quin sat up quickly, antennae perked with interest. It was a tiny little creature, barely the size of her hand, that fluttered lightly on it's gorgeous wings, silently floating away. Quin's sparkling pink eyes widened, and she leaped to her feet, a big grin on her face.

"Wait!" she shouted to it playfully. "Come back!"

The creature ignored her, and Quin chased after it quickly, laughing as she jumped up and tried to bring it down with a sweep of her claws. It dodged gracefully and changed direction, and Quin had to stop for a moment to find it again before she dashed after it once more.

"Hey!" She shouted. "Come back! I just wanna play!"

It was like a blur of black and orange, its wings disappearing and reappearing every time they opened and closed. With a sudden burst of speed and a powerful push of her legs, Quin launched herself at it, and finally captured it, making a cage out of her fingers.

"Wow, you're pretty fast," she told it, sitting down an a mossy log. She opened her hands just wide enough to peek inside. "But I'm an Irken, so I'm even faster. Want another round?"

She opened her hands wider, and raised them up so the creature could fly away.

It didn't.

"little fella?" Quin asked. "Go on now. I can' hold you forever. Don't you want to fly away?"

She could feel it walking along the length of her claw, perching on the edge, but still it didn't fly. Slowly, carefully, she brought her finger down in front of her face to investigate the problem.

She gasped.

One of the creature's wings was bend awkwardly, flopping uselessly at its side. Quin's face creased with worry, and she brought it closer to her chest.

"I'm so sorry!" she told it. "I promise I didn't mean to! I'm- I'm sorry." Carefully she took the wing between her fingers and straightened it, biting her lip, and sighed with relief when the creature straightened itself out and flew away. She watched it go, but didn't chase it this time as she relaxed on her mossy log. Soon it was gone, and Quin stood, wiping some dirt from the moss off her pants. She was glad the creature had healed. If it hadn't, she wasn't sure how she would forgive herself.

Moving through the woods again, she payed close attention to the sounds she could hear, and the scents she could pick up. There were many avian creatures that were making warbling sounds in their throats and long, whooping cries every so often. She gave them little thought as another more familiar sound met her antennae- running water.

Quickly she ran towards it, laughing again. She could remember those days on Devastis when she and her friends would sneak away from camp and play in the cool streams of water. They would splash and sing and see how many fish they could catch with their hooked claws. Those had been some of the most fun times in her life.

Quin's eyes brightened as the shining surface of the water caught her eye, and she picked up speed, leaping gracefully over the stream and landing in a crouch on the other side. She leaned over the water, smiling at her foggy reflection. It smiled back lopsidedly.

"I wonder if Earth has fish?" Quin said quietly to herself. Her reflection, of course, had no answer for her, so she leaned closed to the water, straining her eyes to see deeper beneath the surface. It was not as easy as it had been on Devastis, and it didn't take Quin long to figure out why. "Ew! It's all dirty!"

But as foggy as it was, she could see the slick, dark shapes of fish moving leisurely in the water. Her face brightened, and she braced herself for the pounce, raising her claws so she could scoop up the fish. She had done it all the time back at home, so she knew she could do it here.

Just swim here, little fish. A little closer...

When the fish was within striking distance, Quin slipped her claws quickly but carefully in the water, grabbing the slippery fish firmly in her hand. She yanked it out and took several quick hops away from the water. If she dropped it, she didn't want it to escape back into the stream.

Without hesitation she snapped it in her teeth, killing quickly. It stopped flailing, and she set it on the ground in the grass, tilting her head at it quizzically. There were a few minor differences, but this little creature was almost exactly like the fish they had on Devastis. It was uncanny.

A sudden pain in her hands made Quin gasp, and she took another hop away from the fish, nearly losing her balance as she raised her hands up to look at them. There were little burn marks on her skin that hadn't been there before she touched the water. Whimpering, she stuck her finger in her mouth, hoping to ease the burn. It helped, but only a little.

What happened? Why did her fingers hurt? Was the fish's skin poisonous? She cast it a quick glance and slowly, nervously reached toward it, putting her hand on it's broad side.

Nothing happened.

What had burned her, then? Was it the water? Quin hopped again to the streams edge, leaning over it again. Her reflection looked nervously up at her.

Carefully she reached forward, touching the surface of the water again. Nothing happened.

Okay, so it wasn't the water. Maybe it was-

Wait a minute...

Quin yelped, scrambling hastily away from the stream. Her finger was burning again, and Quin found herself with her finger in her mouth before she knew what she was doing.

Why had the water burned her? She always played in the water back home, and it had never hurt her. It must just be the planet. But what kind of species could survive with acidic water? And why hadn't Zim given her a warning about it?

She stood up, still sucking pitifully on her finger, and picked up her fish with her other hand to put it in her Pak. She didn't know what she would do with it, but it would be wasteful just to leave it there. Still nursing her little burn, she trudged up the hill again, into the trees. There were still other things to do, she guessed, even if fishing was her favorite.

She wandered a little ways away, looking at all the pretty trees and flowers. There wasn't much else to do. Of course she could play pretend, but that was always more fun with someone else, and-

"COWABUNGA!"

Quin cried out in alarm at the loud exclamation, and her antennae stood on end with fright, but they quickly lowered when she recognized the voice. "Gir?" she called as she carefully approached. "Is that you?"

"Hiya, pinkie!" the little doggie-clad android shoved his head out from a shrub, causing Quin to jump and bring a tiny hand to her chest. "Watcha doin'?"

The little Irken blinked at him, surprised, but quickly composed herself. "Nothing," she said timidly. "What are you doing?"

"Imma slug hunting!" shouted Gir excitedly. "Imma get big ones and little ones and gooey ones and fat ones, skinny ones, and ones with spots." Suddenly Gir grabbed her arm and began tugging her towards him. "You can help me! Cmon! Piiiiiinkiiieeeeee..."

"Alright! Alright, fine!" Quin pulled her arm out of Gir's grip and lowered herself to her hands and knees, crawling into the bushes with him. "What are slugs, anyway?"

"It's a surprise!" giggled Gir. "Cmon! The sled's over here!"

"Sled?"

When they both emerged on the other side of the bushes, Quin stood up and looked around confusedly. Gir had led her into Zim's back yard, where a wooden platform she suspected was a sled sat on the top of the hill. It was a little closer to Zim's base than she would have liked, but she supposed it was still a pretty safe distance.

"Yer sp'osed t' have snow," said Gir, walking past her toward the sled. Quin quickly followed him. "But it all go meltie meltie, so we gotta use fake stuff."

"Meltie... what?"

Ignoring her, Gir marched up to the top of the hill and beat her to the sled. That was when Quin noticed that there was a tub of cream cheese sitting next to it. Gir picked it up with a somewhat creepy grin, holding it up for her to see. "Cheeeeeeese," he said.

"Cheese," repeated Quin, struggling to understand.

"Yep," said Gir, sitting on the sled with the tub of cream cheese on his lap. "Cheese."

Quin frowned. She'd never seen real snow before, but she had heard of it from other well-traveled Irkens, and she was pretty sure it wasn't cheese. Nonetheless, she decided to humor Gir, studying the sled. "I don't think there's enough room for both of us, Gir," she told him, shrugging. "You'll have to sit on my lap."

"I don't wanna!" the robot-doggie shouted, latching on to the sides of the sled with his little black paws. "I wanna drive!"

"Oh fine!" Quin rolled her eyes exasperatedly. Then sarcastically she added, "I'll just sit on your lap."

"Okay!'

Quin blinked at him. "W-wait! That's not what I meant!"

"But you said that!" shouted Gir, pointing at her.

"Yeah, but I didn't mean it! I've got an idea. How about you sit in my lap and drive?"

Gir considered that for a moment, and then nodded, getting off of the sled. Quin sighed with relief as she sat down on it, and Gir giggled and flopped onto her legs, righting himself so he could take the reigns,

"Gimme the cheese!" said Gir, holding his hand out behind him expectantly. Quin hesitated for a moment, and then picked up the tub of cream cheese, handing it meekly to him.

"What's it for?" she asked. Gir didn't reply, though, too busy dumping the cheese on the ground in front of the sled. Quin watched curiously, antennae perked in confusion.

"It's the snow," said Gir when all of the cream cheese had formed a vague path down he hill for the sled to follow. "So the sled can slide down good." Then he handed her back the empty tub. "We's only gots one so you's gotta pick it up behind us so we don't run out."

"Um, okay," agreed Quin, taking it. This wasn't what she had been expecting to do all day, but she guessed she was okay with it. Slug-hunting sounded fun. At least it was better than having to spy for Zim.

"Okay..." said Gir. "Ready... push!"

Nothing happened.

Gir turned to look at her. "Push!" he said again childishly.

Startled, Quin pushed against the ground, and the sled lurched forward, speeding down the hill. She cried out and barely kept herself from falling backwards. After a moment of panic, she righted herself and turned around, putting the edge of the tub against the ground to scoop up the squished cream cheese. It wasn't a very effective method; the sled had crushed it into the grass, so only a tiny bit got back into the bucket, but before she could come up with another one, the sled had come to a stop a few feet away from the bottom of the hill.

"Yay!" Gir threw his arms up in the air when they had come to a complete stop. He turned back to her and grinned. "The cheese make the sled go fast. See?"

"Yeah," mumbled Quin. "But I don't think we picked it all back up..." She showed him the inside of the bucket, and Gir seemed surprised by how empty it was.

"Oh," he said sadly. "Now how will we find slugs?"

Quin lowered her antennae sympathetically. "Aw, we can walk. Actually, I think we'll find more if we're going slower."

"Okay!" The puppy-bot jumped off her lap and began to waddle squeakily away. Quin followed after him quickly. She didn't really know why she wasn't trying to take control from Gir; he obviously had no idea what they were doing, but then again, neither did she. Shrugging her questions away, she followed Gir in the direction of the stream. She could hear the trickling of water all the way from over here.

"They like mud," explained Gir after a moment of walking. "Cause they can play in the mud and stay all wet."

"Oh," she said, raising her antennae. "So... what do they look like?"

Gir didn't turn around to look at her; his giant eyes were fixed on the ground ahead of him, scanning carelessly for slugs. "They all gooey and lumpy. Master said to go findz them so I can be quiet."

Quin couldn't help an amused smirk. "I see," she said.

They walked on a little farther, peeking through bushes and digging through leaves in search of these mysterious creatures. Every once in a while Gir would cry out with joy for finding a slug, and by the time Quin peeked over his shoulder to see what he was looking at, he would whine, "false alarm," and keep looking. It was starting to get on Quin's nerves when he kept doing it every three seconds or so, but she didn't have the guts to complain, not even to an adorable little green puppy.

By the time they reached the stream, it was quite a relief to see the water again, even if Quin watched it warily as she followed Gir along the bank. They both crouched down, digging around in the mud.

"Are you sure they're gonna be under the mud?" asked Quin.

"I dunno," replied Gir. "I just know they likes mud and they's all slimy."

They both dug on for a little longer, getting their hands dirty. Sooner or later, their interest in slug-hunting dwindled, and they found themselves leaning against the trunks of trees, kicking their feet absently.

"Maybe there just aren't any here," sighed Quin, closing her eyes. The sun had begun to sink from its highest point, indicating that the afternoon had begun. The light was shining onto her face and burning through her eyelids so she lifted her arm to rest it comfortably over her eyes.

"Aw, but I wanted a slug,"whined Gir.

"Why?"

It was a question without an answer, and Quin knew it before she even asked. It was just fun to watch Gir's face go from upset, to confused that fast. Slowly she stood up, and stretched her back. "Well, what do you wanna do?"

Gir jumped to his feet excitedly. "Let's go to my house!" He suggested "We can make jello and muffins! You know how to make jello? You gotta get some powdery stuff and some pineapples and raisins and then-"

Quin cut him off by waving her claw disinterestedly. She didn't want to go to Gir's house, because she knew who's house it really was. "I don't think so, Gir," she said. "I wanna play outside. Do you like to fly kites?"

Gir perked up and nodded eagerly.

"Cool! I didn't bring any to Earth though, so we might-"

Gir shook his head. "Naw, I got some," he said. "Wait right here!" and then he ran off up the hill and disappeared into the woods. Quin did as she was told, but after a minute she grew tired of waiting, and she began to wander along the edge of the stream, peering into its depths. She could see the dark shapes of fish sliding through the water, and her claws scratched at air as she resisted scooping them with her claws.

Her attention being on the fish, she was quite startled when she stepped on something crumbly and spongy. Hopping back with a cry of alarm, she bent down to observe the crushed object. It was a little familiar; she was pretty sure she had seen it on other planets before. Some kind of fungus, a mushroom, she guessed. She took the largest piece of it that as left intact, and shoved it carelessly into her Pak. Fuz's SIR unit would like to have a peek at it later, if it wanted.

Something else caught her eye as she was crouching down, and she fell to her hands and knees, crawling toward it. What she saw amazed her.

It was a little green animal, big as the shape her hands made wen she cupped them together, and just as round too. It pulled it's stumpy arms and legs into it's hard shell and it's long neck seemed to shorten as it tried to hide its head too. Quin gasped with delight and moved carefully closer. The closer she became, the more the animal shrunk into its shell.

"Hi there, little guy," She cooed it and rubbed her hand gently along it's hard back. It cowered in its shell fearfully, shrinking on itself. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Geez, you're a shy little one, aren't you?"

Slowly, she moved her hands around the creature, and lifted it up, being careful not to hurt it. It still did not emerge from its shell, but Quin moved it so its head was facing her. "Hello!" She said happily, peeking in. She could just barely see its shiny black eyes looking back at her.. "Peek-a-boo!"

The animal remained in its shell, and Quin rolled her eyes, bringing it closer to her chest and holding it like a baby. "Aw, you're just a scaredy-cat," she told it. "But I like you. Wanna come home with me?"

The animal didn't do anything, and she assumed that meant yes.

"Good!" She began to walk back toward the trees, and sunk down to sit back against one of the trunks, holding her new friend on her lap. "You'll need a name, though. How about Mushroom? Since I found you by the mushroom?"

As if gaining courage, Mushroom poked his head out of his shell and began to look around. Quin smiled and moved her finger to pet him on the head, but when he saw what she was about to do, he withdrew again, cowering. Quin sighed. "You'll get used to me eventually," she guessed aloud. "And then we'll be friends."

The distant squeak of little feet from in the woods gave Quin a heads-up that Gir would be here soon. She stood, holding Mushroom to her chest with one arm. He was starting to peek out of his shell again, and his arms and legs wiggled against her as she walked toward where she knew Gir was.

"Gir, I'm over here!" she called and watched as Gir changed direction towards her. He waved a kite over his head excitedly.

"I got the kite!" he shouted as he was running. "But I only got one so we gotta take turns. I wanna go first, okay?"

Quin quickly moved Mushroom behind her back. If Gir saw him, there was no doubt he would want to hold him, or worse, eat him. "Actually, um, Gir," she scratched the back of her head nervously. "I have to go home."

The puppy-bot slowed to a walked and tilted its head sadly, lowering the kite until it trailed along on the ground. "Why?" he asked.

"Just... because," Quin began to walk away, careful to keep Mushroom out of Gir's view. "Thanks for playing with me, Gir. See ya!"

Gir stared at her for a few seconds as if trying to comprehend what was going on, but then he waved a little black paw and smiled. "Okay! Bye bye, pinkie!"

Quin turned and smiled at him, and then, holding Mushroom to her chest, she ran the rest of the way home.

It was all set. Everything was in place. The lab was cool and quiet, clean of everything. Fuz narrowed her midnight eyes as she took a deep breath.

Her two SIR units, the one the empire had supplied her with, and the one she had built herself were both lying side by side on her work table, both their eyes dim and gray. She'd spent all morning getting them ready for the transplant, cleaning them, sorting out their hardware. There was just one thing to do now. It had all been leading up to this.

Holding her breath, she opened the head of her own SIR, and shifted around in the hardware for what she was looking for. She only hoped it was scavengable. If it wasn't, all chances of reviving her old friend were lost.

Her eyes lit up as she found it, and she slowly pulled it out, being careful not to disturb any of the other wires. In her hand she was holding the brain on her SIR. Its memories, its programming. everything that made it it she she held in her hand, and she took a moment to marvel at it.

It would work. It would still work. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, to hold the SIR to her chest and dance around the room, but her face remained hard as stone, as it always did.

She opened the other SIR unit and grabbed its brain chip as well, but this one she did not care for. She threw it hard across the room and watched with glee at it shattered against the wall, and its pieces scattered. There was only one SIR that she ever wanted to use, and that was the one she held in her hand. Not some default-programmed zombie.

Fuz slid the old brain ship into the slot of in the new SIR's body and bit her lip as she closed the head again, locking it. Slowly she backed away, watching.

"Activation code 84398346," she recited firmly. "Report for duty."

The bloody crimson eyes lit up. It was a miracle.

"Kain," it said. "Reporting for duty."

Before she realized what she was doing, Fuz had scooped the long-lost SIR into her arms and hugged it as if her life depended on it. "Kain!" she sobbed. "You have no idea how much I missed you!"

"I do not understand," said Kain blankly,

"The wastelands," Fuz explained. "On Evastan. The sand got in your circuits. I tried so many times to fix you, but none of them worked." She set him back down on the table. "Then the tallests sent me on a mission to assassinate some stupid rogue, and I got a new SIR unit. I put you in its body to repair you."

Kain seemed to notice for the first time that he was, indeed, quite beside himself. "So I'm just a SIR unit again?" he asked looking from his old body to his new one.

"Yes," said Fuz. "I can add upgrades later, but right now this is all I can do. You're lucky I could bring you back." She put up a cold front, shifting her weight as she crossed her arms.. "But there's something I need you to do for me."

Kain looked up at her.

"I stole a dead soul, Kain. I've proven to myself that I can do it." A wicked grin ripped across her face. "I'm ready to become the warden of the Soul Prison, and you are going to help me do it."

A.N. Hey, hey hey, no flaming! I know this seems like a bit of a filler now, but later on, it will be important. I've just introduced TWO very important charactors. Yes, that's right, the turtle will be a major thing in the plot too. Don't laugh... Okay, laugh if you want to. Laughing is optional, but not reviewing! REVIEW RIGHT NOW!