Yes, the last day.

If you think it's moving quickly, you've got the wrong idea for the main plot. Sometimes it's not about getting power.

I'm chewing gum!

Irrelevant?

That's okay!

Enjoy!


Chapter 6
"The Takeover Begins"

Zim was stunned. They sent Skoodge, of all people?

Guess the Tallest weren't being too generous with him, then.

Skoodge looked smaller then ever, but maybe that was just because of Zim's new height change. Skoodge looked completely confident after descending from his own ship. However, upon locating Zim from his surprised outburst, he positively wilted.

"Skoodge, reporting for duty si- . . . ! Wow, Zim!" He shouted, in disbelieving awe, his formerly saluting hand lowering to his side. "You're almost as tall as the Tallest."

"Yes, yes, never mind that!" Zim insisted, analyzing Skoodge. "Well . . . You'll only make me look better, I suppose. Come now, Skoodge, we've got a station to set up."

"Oh, which reminds me!" Skoodge reached into his PAK and removed a metallic box, obviously hiding something within it. "The Tallest sent me with a present for you. Something to start you off with setting up a new base."

"Really?" Zim replied, intrigued, peering at the device that seemed very new to him. He'd been out of the loop for too long when it came to technology and he hoped he could get back in soon. "Ooh, it's shiny! What is it?"

"I'll show you." Skoodge offered cheerfully.

He set it down on the floor and Zim found it sad he didn't have to squat to do so. In fact, just standing there was more then low enough to the ground for him to play with it. Zim remembered when he had been about Skoodge's height and wondered how he that had been as he watched him work.

"There," Skoodge said, seeming to be satisfied. Zim was vaguely "You might want to take a few steps back though. And make sure that you're on steady ground because when this thing starts, the ground is going to be rocking. We are starting now, right?"

Zim checked his watch. It was 11:59 and counting.

"Wait a few seconds. I want this to start at exactly the time the new day begins on Earth. A nice touch, don't you think?"

Skoodge nodded his agreement, taking the military stance once again. "Yes, sir!"

Zim eyed his new help, wondering what to make of him. Perhaps it was a good thing Gaz wasn't here. Until Skoodge got used to Earth, it was probably best his first encounter with a human wasn't one as terrifying as her.

He waited until the time was on the ten second countdown.

5

4

3

2

"Hit the button."

Skoodge did it right as the clock turned midnight.

And all across the state and seeping into a few others, and earthquake was felt. Not a large one, but one big enough to get everyone's attention. If you thought Zim's base created a big bang, you should see what happens when you make a whole fortress.


Gaz was sleeping when she woke to the ground shaking. She felt her heart jump in its just upon seeing that it was midnight, not morning, like she had expected. She had memorized each character, reviewed countless times. She'd thought she had another day.

Guess Zim wasn't willing to wait that long to get this over with.

"Gaz!" She heard Dib call from his room. "Gaz! Where are you?"

The ground was shaking hard. Zim's Phase 1 was mainly lone but she did know some of the of the details and she was pretty sure a natural disaster wasn't part of the plan. Maybe this was just coincidence, sure.

But she really doubted it.

Gaz got out calmly from the bed. The ground was still shaking. Things were falling on the ground but she didn't have a lot to be worried about. She wouldn't be here soon enough anyways.

"Relax, Dib," She ordered, leaning against the doorway of her room. "It's just an earthquake."

Dib scrambled around in the hallway, continuously falling down. At Gaz's order though he stopped, sitting up slowly, planting himself on the floor as he stared in wonder at the shivering house. Gaz eyed it all with disinterest and the two of them stayed put, waiting it out.

It took about ten minutes. It felt like hours.

When it stopped Dib got to his feet warily, as if unsure of the stabilization of the ground. Gaz snorted at his attitude as the two headed downstairs. Dr. Membrane was not at home at the moment, he was off at work and they doubted he would come home when nothing bad had happened.

Dib turned on the News at once.

A very bored reporter was talking about the earthquake, of course. It had marked a 4.9 on the Richter Scale, seriously nothing to worry about. Not many had been hurt and so far only minor damage had been reported.

"Yes, nothing really of interest." They were saying, tiredly. "We'll update in a minute with- What?" They suddenly seemed to have life in them, eyes wide as someone whispered to them off camera. "Breaking news: there seems to be a source for the earthquake might not be just a natural occurrence. We've got cameras there now, on the scene."

Gaz's brow rose. "What causes an earthquake?"

She felt Dib shift uncomfortably beside her, extremely tense. It was even making her uncomfortable. What the hell was Zim thinking, starting in the middle of the night, when she should be resting for the coming days? But she couldn't do anything about it now. All his decisions would be separate from her until this continent was enslaved and she was the face of a rebellion. Who knew how long that could take?

The news shifted to a new reporter, standing in front of a building of unbelievable proportions. Gaz's eyes widened. That had definitely not been a part of the plan. What other changes had Zim made while she wasn't there?

"What the hell?" She hissed, unable to hold it in.

The color, too, was far too familiar. A magenta-ish red, Zim's signature color, covered the structure. His giant insignia was plastered on the center and smaller versions on the surrounding towers. It was all interconnected, an impenetrable fortress.

Dib's eyes were wide with disbelief, mouth flapping. "Z-Z-Z- . . . Z-Zi-."

"Zim," Gaz finished for him, her teeth gritting tightly. She had to admit, not all of it was acting. She really was pissed he hadn't told her about this part of the plan. "What he hell is he doing?"

The camera showed some officers trying to approach the fortress, however, they were continuously stopped quite some ways away by a force-field that only appeared when touched. It was like a bubble, wiggling a bit when touched, like jello. It couldn't be broken or penetrated, that much was immediately obvious. It was technology Gaz didn't even know Zim had. Apparently, his back-up had brought tools.

She tuned back in to what the male reporter was saying, blocking out her irritation. She had to see what was going on. "We're not sure what it is yet, Martha, or even how it appeared. Authorities, however-."

Suddenly the whole flat, front plane of the structure changed, as if it was a hologram. A static screen appeared and at once the reporter was silent, all surrounding curious citizens and officials alike.

Then Zim's face appeared, an uninterested expression on his face.

Dib's heart was pounding in his chest. All he could think about was that he was glad he'd warned the Swollen Eyeball when he had.

Gaz thought Zim's tactic was flashy but necessary. He had to get the world's attention somehow and this seemed to be an effective enough method. She noticed in the background a small, green alien. Probably the back-up, though he didn't look very impressive. But he stood at attention, like a soldier who knew more then anything. Hopefully he'd be able to keep Zim in line while she couldn't.

The biggest thing, though? Zim wasn't wearing his disguise.

"Hello, insignificant dirt-citizens!" He said, eying them. The camera zoomed in on the broadcast and Gaz had to give it to them for keeping their hands steady in a situation like this. "This is your superior speaking to you!"

"What is he doing?" She demanded, under her breath, shaking her head for Dib's benefit. "This . . ."

Dib gave her a sympathetic, pained look. He reached out to touch her shoulder, "Gaz-."

But Zim continued talking, interrupting them.

"My name is Invader Zim, and I have been sent here to take over your planet. My assistant behind me is Invader Skoodge," Zim's broadcast went off of him and towards Skoodge a moment before going back to the original view. "I've been doing information gathering for a few years now and after sending my data back to my leaders, we've decided it's time for Earth to be put under new management. Meaning me."

The crowd murmured in surprise and alarm.

"Yes, yes, I know this is hard for your small brains to comprehend, but yes. An alien is now going to be in charge here." Zim smirked at them, almost in a kind manner. But it was far too mocking to be kind. "I'll soon be contacting your president about this new reign and I trust that you know, should any of you try to disobey me." His face darkened as he chuckled. "Well, we'll just have to make an example of someone then. Oh, and if you're thinking about breaking through my force field, don't. That technology is centuries beyond anything you could even hope you come up with. Until then!"

The transmission ended and the projection of the Irken Empire appeared.

Gaz held her head. "This is impossible . . . No, he would've told me about this, Dib! He would've told me about this!"

Dib jumped to his feet as Gaz began pacing, her hands running through her hair as she built her frustration up. He gripped her shoulders to stop her, to make her look at him.

"Gaz, calm down, okay?" Dib ordered, nervous, but in charge. What would make her feel better? "Just . . . Just try calling him or something!"

Gaz gave him a look of disbelief before the idea dawned on her. She lifted her wrist to the watch, having already destroyed the CD with the language translator tutor, and dialed. It rang.

"Attention User," the watch said in a voice Gaz had never heard, let alone was aware it had. "The signal you are trying to reach has blocked you. Do not try calling again."

Gaz was shaking when Dib looked up at her. Her face was a mask of fury.

"Stupid asshole!" She shrieked, ripping off the watch and slamming it on the floor. Her foot soon connected with it in a crunch, shattering and destroying any way to try to track Zim or get any Irken information. A convenient little plot she'd come up with on her own.

Dib jumped at the sudden movement. However when Gaz pulled her foot away from the shards, his eyes widened even more. Her foot had some cuts on it, as her skin wasn't indestructible.

"Shit!" She hissed. It was scary seeing Gaz this pissed. Dib knew she only swore when she was seriously mad at to hear her swearing so much within such a short time frame was unnerving.

"Gaz!" Dib shouted, kneeling to examine her foot. He sighed, "Come on, I'll carry you upstairs to my room and we can get that cleaned."

The last thing Dib wanted to do was handle Gaz when she was like this, but he had no choice. He scooped her up and carried her as promised. Since the door was already open to his room he didn't have to ruin a perfectly good door by kicking it down, and set her on his bed. He dragged out his first-aid kit under his bed, popping it open. He pulled out tweezers and gauze, the tweezers in case she still had some pieces in the skin. Upon more thorough examination though, she somehow had escaped getting anything inside her foot, and so Dib just wrapped the gauze and patched her up.

"Gaz, I've . . . I've got to make a call." Dib said, knowing this was going to come up eventually, nervously.

Gaz didn't look at him. Just at her bandaged foot. "You're calling your Swollen Eyeball people, aren't you?"

Dib just nodded.

She sighed and gripped the bed frame. "Just do it, Dib. I don't care anymore."

Dib could've killed Zim. Gaz had broke and she wasn't going to be fixing herself without some type of motivation.

And Dib had every intention of giving her one.

He nodded and logged onto his computer, glad his systems hadn't been knocked over in the initial earthquake. Dib continued to grant himself access until he was inside the Swollen Eyeball network,

And everything was on Red Alert.

Immediately he was granted access into an ongoing chat. It seemed almost all of the networks were connected. What Zim was doing seemed like just a really confused mess on the news but inside the Swollen Eyeball, it was immediately apparent what was going on.

"Agent Moth-Man," Dark Booty greeted him, on the main screen. "We've been waiting for you."

"You say you have intel on the alien?" Agent Tunaghost pressed. "Is this the same one you studied when you were a child?"

If by 'studied' they meant 'obsessed over-'.

"Yes," Dib said at once. "Zim. I suspected he was up to something but I never guessed . . .!" He took a deep breath to compose himself. "I'm sorry I didn't catch this earlier."

How could you? Gaz wondered, inspecting her stinging foot. We only just came up with it a couple of days ago.

"It's perfectly alright, Agent Moth-Man. We admire that you noticed at all." An agent replied. Gaz wasn't sure who he was talking to. She didn't care so long as Dib had their attention.

"Well, it wasn't just my observations. Actually, my sister was the first to notice."

Gaz could've grinned. Instead though she looked up, surprised. Dib was giving her a supportive look.

"She knows the alien better then anyone, really." Dib continued, still smiling warmly at her. "What do you say, Gaz? You willing to help?"

She almost lost it at being forced to refer to Zim, the most important person in her life, as 'the alien', but she didn't. Instead she nodded, but clearly reluctant. If Gaz just jumped right in, it would be suspicious. This all had to be played by the hair.

"I . . . Sure," She said, rubbing her neck uncomfortably.

Dark Booty cleared his throat. "Then from this moment on you'll be known by an informant, codename 'Little Sister'. Is that alright with you?"

Gaz nodded, "Yeah, fine. Just . . . I'll help." But she looked at the floor again, dejected.

Dib made a face of pity before looking back. "What do you propose we do for now, Agent Dark Booty?"

He deliberated a moment. Everyone waited in anticipation for their first move.

"Dib, call your father and inform him you're going to be moved into a safe-keeping home. We can't risk you two, are only and most valuable information suppliers, getting hurt or worse."

"He probably won't hurt Gaz," Dib said before he could stop himself. Gaz shot him an unreadable look so he quickly changed the subject. "But we'll start packing now. Where should we go?"

"We'll send a car to your house in an hour. Is that enough time?"

"Yeah," Dib nodded, swallowing hard. Never had he expected things to get this bad because of Zim. He'd honestly figured that Zim would rather turn against his kind then be away from his sister.

Guess you can't trust aliens, he though, bitterly. He glanced at Gaz, who was paying attention to the screen with a hard face. He'll probably come after her. I know he will. I'd like to get her somewhere safe before that happens.

"Good." Dark Booty ammended. "We'll continue this conversation then, in person."

"Agent Moth-Man and Little Sister out, then." Dib replied. He ended the transmission with a shaking hand, breathing out a sigh.

Gaz was looking around his room. Her face was hard as she stood.

"Gaz, I'm sorry!" Dib said, thinking she was mad about being forced to move within an hours time. "I know it's not a lot of time, but-!"

She gave him a look of confusion. "Dib, we don't have a choice. That guy was right, we've got to get out of here."

"You . . . You're okay with this?" He questioned, surprised. "Oh. Well, good!"

Gaz looked back at his room. "Do you want me to call Dad or do you want to?"

"I will." Dib said at once. He eyed her foot. "You think you can walk on that?"

She snorted in disbelief. "Duh."

Gaz walked out of the room like it was nothing, reassuring him. In truth it stung like no other but Gaz didn't have time for pain. She was leaving in an hour to go who knows where, with Zim doing who knew what, in a plan so thick with betrayal she was going to have to open a window.

When she did open the window to her room, sirens filled the night air. People were packing up their cars like it was the end of the world, which technically, it was. Or at least, the end of the world as they knew it. But it would change for the better, really. Humans couldn't run themselves properly. They needed a force not to be reckoned with, to keep them under control, and she and Zim would be it.

Gaz pulled out suitcases from under her bed, repacking them. They were the same ones she'd used when she'd temporarily moved into Zim's house during the incident with the LEECHY and the memories made her smirk a little in amusement. She wondered if Zim's help had brought some of those as well, working ones, but then realized there wasn't really a point to it. If Zim's plan went according to plan, he wouldn't need to actually fight.

The own U.S. army would do that for them.

She glanced at the clock. Exactly twenty minutes since the invasion had started.

So then the army should be under his control in exactly four hours and forty minutes.

Gaz sighed and continued to pack her things. Vaguely she wondered if she should clean up, hide the evidence of her hand in the invasion, before she realized she could always just burn the house later. It wasn't like here was anything really important in it anyways. Although with her all fathers chemicals in the basement, it would make one hell of a bomb to the neighborhood.

When she was done she had about ten minutes left. Gaz had taken the time to change out of her pajamas, now wearing jeans and a long-sleeved purple shirt and black vest. She had only packed clothes, her game, batteries, a few blank notebooks and pens (God only knew for what reason, Gaz just had a feeling she'd use them), and her security bugs. Of course she wouldn't need them if the Swollen Eyeball did their job at protecting them, but Gaz trusted few people she knew and definitely didn't trust anyone she didn't know. Not that Zim would come anywhere near her or Dib but Gaz did have to keep up appearances.

She pulled out her three suitcases, dragging them down the stairs one at a time. When she was done she went back upstairs, into Dib's room, seeing Dib had finished packing, but was attempting to clean up the room.

Gaz leaned against the door frame. "Don't bother cleaning up or trying to hide anything."

Dib jumped in surprise, having not noticed her, spinning around to stare at her. "W-What do you mean?"

"This place is just going to burn anyways." She said darkly.

His eyes widened. "What?"

"You don't think this would be the first place Zim targets, to try to eliminate any trace of his former life?" Gaz informed him bluntly. "Anything you think is valuable, I recommend you take with you. Otherwise this place is probably going to go down in flames and all that will be left is ashes."

Dib stared at her, mouth agape. Then he quickly removed a suitcase of paper he'd been trying to hide and stacked it on top of his other suitcases. Gaz began helping him move things out of his room, moving them downstairs while he got his evidence together. By the time they were done, a black, sleek car pulled up to their curb and two rather authoritative looking people got out.

The men loaded their bags into the car while Dib and Gaz got in, Dib staring at the men in awe and Gaz taking the situation rather well. But that wasn't unnatural, she always seemed to keep her head at the most panic-worthy times, and this was just another example of that.

Gaz sighed, looking out the tinted windows. The neighbors were paying them no attention, too wrapped up themselves to notice the suspicious activity of the Membrane household. Nobody noticed the men in suits and sunglasses packing up a car.

"They act like the Secret Service or something." Gaz muttered, crossing her arms.

Dib smiled reassuringly at her. "Well we are technically in Witness Protection."

"I am. You're one of the field agents protecting his 'Little Sister'." She retorted smugly, crossing her legs.

The agents got in the car then, securing it. The locks activated.

"Little Sister and Moth-Man," The passenger said, turning around in the car with a reassuring smile. "We're taking you to the Swollen Eyeball headquarters for your safe keeping. Have you called your father?"

"Yes," Dib replied. "He said to remain safe and update him as often as possible, but, he's currently working with the president on the given situation so he'll probably be too busy."

"Please tell me we're not sharing a room," Gaz said, immediately. "As much time as I spend with my brother, I don't think I can handle sharing a room with him right now. I'm stressed enough as it is."

The agents shared a look. She certainly didn't look stressed. But they warily just decided to answer her question, "Um, no. We've got two separate rooms for you, however, they are located next to one another."

"So long as they aren't the same room." Gaz said with finality. "Now where is this headquarters of yours located?"


Zim was bored.

The president wasn't supposed to meet with him for a few hours.

Nobody was attacking his fortress yet.

Even Gir wasn't bothering him, he was off running around exploring their new house!

So what better way to pass the time then to stalk the only human on the planet he cared about?

He found her tracking device. It was not with her father's but it was with Dib's. He used his satellite to track them, and activated the microphone on the tracker Gaz didn't known about. Sure, it was unethical not to tell his partner he would be listening to her, but Zim couldn't go that long without at least hearing her voice. But now he could see and hear her, like he was with her, just a film of glass separated them.

Zim was surprised to see her in a car, with a couple of agents. Dib was obviously antsy, excited, but he was obviously in charge. Which explain why Gaz was the one who looked bitter and uncomfortable.

"Think of it, Gaz!" Dib said, awe filling his voice. "You and I as a team, saving the world again. Like when we were kids, remember?"

Gaz gave him a look. "Yeah . . . right."

"Little Sister," The man in the passenger seat said, turning to look at her with a raised brow. "You are a willing informant, aren't you?"

Informant? Zim chuckled. Oh how clever his little Gaz was. The invasion had only started a little more then an hour ago and Gaz had already begun setting herself up as a higher power, probably for Dib's Swollen Eyeball. That would definitely explain why Dib looked so excited.

"Look, Zim and I were close, okay?" She hissed, glaring at the man, who leaned back, along with Dib. The driver even tensed. "It's not easy for me to be dealing with this mess he's created, especially since he didn't even tell me about it."

Zim wished he could be with her, wipe that scowl from her face and replace it with a pout, at the very least. He reached a three-fingered hand up, to touch the screen where her face was.

"Soon, Gaz," he breathed, quietly, "As soon as I can, I will come for you."

There was quiet, even from the car he was spying on.

"Do you love her?"

Zim jumped, terrified. He'd forgotten about the Computer.

"Love?" Zim demanded, swallowing, composing himself. He was aware of what love was, but he hadn't thought about it in a while. He placed a hand on his chin, intrigued. "You know . . . I've got no idea. Computer, update me on what humans define love as."

"Downloading . . . . Love: the ultimate sign of affection from humans. It's entire devotion to a single person, someone you wish to spend the rest of your life with. Humans can sometimes confuse love for obsession and often kill for it. When two people are in love they often become officially joined by marriage and create a family Love is a binding emotion where one cannot be happy when the other is not, and is happy because the other is."

"Devotion to a person you want to spend the rest of your life with," Zim repeated to himself, eying Gaz's image on the screen.

He wasn't paying attention to what Dib was saying but whatever it was, Gaz smiled at it and laughed at his elaboration of it. The image and sound of her laughter made him smile.

"Only happy when she is . . . Probably because she makes you miserable if she isn't," He amended, seeming satisfied. "Very well."

"Have you come to a conclusion, sir?" The Computer asked. It was much more respectful and precise, now that it had gotten updates and tweks from Skoodge and himself. They'd tried to do the same on Gir but it was soon evident that was a hopeless case.

"Yes," Zim's eyes bore into the screen of his precious item, looking out the window now and ignoring her brother. "Yes, I have."

"And?" The Computer pressed. "What conclusion would that be?"

Zim smirked at its impatience. "I've deduced that I love Gaz."


Now if he could just say it to her you'd all be happy, wouldn't you?

He'll do it eventually! But they're busy now!

Work to be done, right?

Gaz is busy!

Zim is busy!

Dib is busy!

Everyone is so busy!

But things will work out for the smexier. You won't have to wait until Phase 2 for it, at their official reunion.

I've already got some plans for a rather hot scene during Phase 1. Gaz and Zim aren't the only who know how to set up the proper plan/bait!

Till the next chapter!