Chapter 21: A semi-lucky break

Gaz's POV:

I woke up, staring up a metal ceiling, and a faint smell of iron. I can't remember how I got here, the first things I notice are that my chest is in agony, and my head throbbing. I sit up weakly, immediately dizzied, and I hold my head, my hand connecting with wet hair. I pull back my hand, confused, blood, both wet and dried, coats my palm. "I hit my head… how?" I try to move, only to be reminded of the pain in my chest, I look down, a gapping, blood stained hole in my clothing. "Hmmm" Unsure of how I got injured, I turn, only to fall off the platform I had been on, hitting tile. "Owww…" I weakly use the metal table I fell off of to stand, and steady myself. "I'd be dead by now if this hit my heart, or lung, just a flesh wound?..." I couldn't help but worry about my head.

I found some nearby cabinets, and weakly approached them. Looking at the metallic cabinet door, I was shocked at my pale reflection, I looked almost like a ghost. I found gauze and some weird pink fluid, from what I remember of that Irken dictionary this was a weird herbal something antibiotic. "This will have to do.."

~34 minutes later~

Bandaged up, mind a bit foggy, I hear the sounds of footsteps… I quickly make my way back to the table, painfully getting back into the laying position I woke up in. My heart was beating irregularly, what the heck was wrong with me now, I don't fear these soldiers. The door opened, I did the best to relax myself, footsteps making their way over to me, I figured it was a doctor.

"You look so beautiful, my little Gaz, yet so fierce" It was Zim! "Strange, I wonder who bandaged you up.. Anyway, My little Gaz, I know I wasn't the King I wanted you to see me as… when you were here, my Queen.. The truth is, I have never felt this way for anyone, much less a human.. I- I mean you no disrespect my Gaz. You showed me how alike a human and Irken could be, something I though unfathomable. Me, ZIM, at a loss at how to act around you." It was apparent he began to cry. "I know not if you hear me now" It was so hard to keep from breathing hard, he leaned closer and I could feel his breath on my cheek "but, I love you, my perfect Gaz" His warm lips pressed softly, but passionately against mine, my eyes, shot open. To my relief, his were closed, I quickly closed mine. He moaned into the kiss, I was not only struggling to not breathe, but to resist my own desire to moan. After all those horrendous nightmares, I still felt so safe.

Thank my lucky stars he pulled away, I had to use so much willpower to take in oxygen slowly through my nose, noiselessly. His large hand caressed my cheek, before pulling away. "I have made preparations for a human funeral, as we Irken's have a much less.. ehh festive form of dead ceremony. I will adorn my precious Queen in an Earth flower she reminds me of, the bleeding heart. Perhaps Zim feels this is appropriate because he is bleeding from his… well, love for you, dear Gaz" His voice broke, and he proceeded to walk briskly from the room, the large door closed behind him.

I waited a moment, then sat up. "Zim.." I couldn't believe what he said, was it that fluid running through my veins, or.. something more his words spoke to?... I broke myself from my thoughts, my hand gently placed over my heart.. Have we both found something unexpected where we never thought possible? "This isn't the time Gaz!" I angrily whispered to myself. "I need to find Dib!"

On my way to the large doors Zim left from, the only ones the room even had, I noticed a clipboard next to the slab I woke up on. Curiosity ruling over pain, I went back to read it.

"Queen Gaz, deceased via ray gun wound through the vital human 'Heart' organ. She is to be left as she is for the Earthling funeral procession"

His Royal Tallest, Zim.

I couldn't believe this, how fortunate she was that not only was she not dead, Zim was only so accurate in his understanding of her organ placement. "Weird, considering" She recalled the whole 'organ snatching' incident, but realized that, despite it not being so long ago for her, it was much longer a time for Zim.

She gently proceeded out the doors, an empty, long corridor met her. She had to imagine she was below the throne room, the experimentation rooms had to be close. She shuddered, and proceeded straight, not having a clue where to go.