It's . . . 12:15am.

It's summer.

I CAN STAY UP AS LATE AS I WANNA! :D

Enjoy.


Chapter 7
"Interviews"

Zim smiled at the president, who was standing before him.

At least, figuratively.

Never would Zim leave his fortress. Not until the world was under his control, at the very least. Also, he wasn't dumb enough to let them in the building either. So they were having a video conference, courtesy of Zim, since he was calling the shots here.

"We won't allow this!" He was shouting, angrily. "The United States of America will never bow down to you!"

Some people behind him clapped.

Zim rolled his eyes.

"Save the speeches for your press conferences, filthy human. You obviously don't understand the seriousness of your situation." Zim smirked. "You see, you don't have the army to try and attack me."

"We can assure you, Invader Zim," The President sneered. "We have more then a sufficient enough army to take on your building."

"You misunderstand me," Zim laughed, with Skoodge, who was behind him. "I've taken over your army, every soldier, deployed or otherwise. Even if they aren't aware of it. In light of this new information," Zim added, seeing the shocked expression on all of their faces. "I'll give you another day to decide your next move. We will meet again tomorrow at exactly midnight, sharp. And please don't disappoint me with more threats. No matter how determined you are to cross me, you've got nothing on me. Goodbye."

He ended the transmission, chuckling.

Skoodge, too, seemed amused. "Wait till they find out about the mind control."

"Soon enough, Skoodge. One step at a time. We can't get ahead of ourselves here," Zim warned good-naturedly.


Gaz woke up on the bed.

It took her a minute to realize where she was. The headquarters they'd arrived at in the morning, around 2. Glancing at the clock she saw that it was now 7:30 and scowled. Well, at least she knew her stress-induced sleep schedule was back.

Gaz realized she had fallen asleep in her clothes and went to the small bathroom attached to her room. The room was filled with necessities only, a couple of closets, a Queen bed. She shivered at what might've happened on a guest double bed but tried not to think about it, since she would be sleeping on it for who knew how long.

When she had made herself decent and change out of her wrinkled, slept in clothes, exchanging them for fresh ones. She glanced at herself in the mirror, adjusting her hair so she looked presentable, someone the Swollen Eyeball could rely on for accurate information.

"Good enough," Gaz decided, leaving the room.

She turned away, heading towards the door. Upon opening it she was met surprise in the form of a man standing in front of it, his back towards the door. He turned around and nodded his head to her.

"Are you my escort or something?" Gaz questioned, eying him.

"I'm guarding you, to ensure your safety." The man explained.

Gaz smiled a pitying smile. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm more then capable of taking care of myself. You aren't needed."

"With all do respect, Little Sister, you are only a young girl. You don't have the same experience or training as someone like me or even your brother, who we've trained to work in the field since a young age." The man said, smiling back politely.

Dib opened his door then, unnoticed. Upon seeing the odd encounter with her and the guard (though he, too, had a guard of his own), both he and his new shadow watched with curiosity.

"Oh, you think so?" Gaz walked around him, shutting the door to her room with a glint in her eye that Dib recognized.

"Gaz," Dib warned, "Don't."

"What?" She demanded in a mischievous and deceptive tone, shooting Dib a look through narrowed eyes. "It's not my fault he doesn't believe me. I don't see the harm in a little friendly combat."

"I don't fight unarmed young ladies," The guard replied, standing straight with his arms folded in his lap. "I will not fight you, Little Sister."

"Fair enough," Gaz said with a shrug, standing so they were shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions. She lowered her voice and suddenly it was bitter, and filled with masked pain, a dark tone. "But think about this; if I wasn't strong enough to protect myself, why would Zim hang around me?"

She then proceeded to walk past Dib, to explore. He caught up to her.

"What did you say to him?" Dib demanded, in a sharp whisper. He glanced over his shoulder to see the two guards discussing quickly and quietly with one another. He became alarmed as one of them pulled out a phone and began speaking seriously into it.

"Nothing that wasn't true," She replied, that dark and possibly depressed tone still in her voice. Then she lightened up a bit. "But at least I got rid of them so we can explore the place on our own."

Dib shot another glanced behind them as they turned the corner. "Be careful, Gaz. These people trust me, but they aren't used to you yet. If you're not careful you're going to end up in an interrogation room instead of a guest room."

"Clever," Gaz retorted sarcastically. "Don't worry so much, Dib. I'm just being honest. Isn't that what they want from me anyways?"

"Just don't antagonize these people. I know you never thought much of the Swollen Eyeball, but they really are a serious organization. In fact they're working with the government right now about the alien."

Gaz stopped dead in her tracks. When Dib realized she had he too came to an abrupt halt, looking back at her.

She glared at the floor. "Zim, Dib. We don't get to call him 'the alien' like everyone else. We were his friends."

Friends? He snorted in his mind. Me and Zim? Hardly.

But Dib noticed she was avoiding saying she was more than that, even though it was plainly obvious. Dib just found it really hard to believe that Zim would leave Gaz here, especially since Dib knew for a fact he cared about her, at least a little.

"Yeah. Right," Dib agreed, placing his arm around her. "Are you okay, Gaz?"

"Probably not," She admitted, folding her arms behind her head and shrugging him off of her. "But what can I do?"

"I guess . . . But don't be afraid to ask me for help, okay?" Dib replied, not moving to touch her again.

Gaz smiled at him. "Alright, I will. But right now I'm fine, seriously."

"Okay, good." Dib smiled at her and then looked around the room. "So, where you want to go?"

"I don't know. Hey wait, did they say they're working with the government?" Gaz realized, with wide eyes. "Didn't you say Dad is working with them?"

Dib jumped to the same conclusion as her. "Oh, hey, yeah! So that means we might get to see him."

"Ugh, if we're shipped to the capital, I swear." Gaz said, scowling. "Isn't it enough that we live in the same general area of DC, but we might actually have to physically go the White House?"

"At least we'd be together and don't have to suffer by ourselves," Dib pointed out, grinning at her. "And we'd get to meet the president!"

"An idiot politician with more power than most but less power than you'd think," Gaz insisted, bluntly. "But if we get to work with Dad then . . . I guess it wouldn't be so bad."

Dib seemed pleased at her slight optimism.

All in all, the building was larger and much more advanced and pristine then either of them would've thought. The technology in the rooms was almost unbelievable, frighteningly so. There were so many Top Secret signs that required access that Gaz and Dib were kept in a rather straight path. They guessed this was to help in tours of the place, to ensure no one would get lost.

Peeking into some of the windows in the Testing Area, the siblings were surprised to see astronaut-looking technology. They seemed to be playing with bone marrow, probably trying to find a way to prevent the weakening of bones in space.

"Weird." Gaz muttered, pulling Dib onward.

However all she could think about the whole time was how unimpressive this place was to her, because she was used to better. Zim's lab was much smaller then this large building, or, it used to be, and he could make almost anything he want within a few days' time.

As they wondered through the testing lab, a spark of fire made him remember something he'd forgotten. "Oh, Gaz!"

She eyed him at his sudden outburst. "What?"

Dib glanced around at passing scientist before lowering his voice, whispering in her ear. "You might not want to mention that . . . power of yours here. I have a feeling they wouldn't take it to well."

Gaz frowned at him. "You don't even know what it is!"

Dib grimaced. "And I still don't want to know. But I don't want you getting all these tests done just because you're careless."

Gaz snickered and patted him on the head. "Don't worry, so long as no one takes this little thing off," she tapped her necklace with a fingernail. "I can't even do it anyways. It's a modification that . . . Zim made."

Dib sighed. Gaz's mood changes were just something he couldn't keep up with. So he changed the subject. "Just don't use that skill unless it's absolutely necessary, okay?"

"Okay, Dib. Okay." She rolled her eyes as they kept walking.

Eventually, though, their guards did catch up with them. Actually, the two had wandered into the telecommunication room, so technically they caught up with their guards.

"Hey, look!" Dib said, pointing. "It's Dad!"

Gaz looked to see that Dr. Membrane was, in fact, one of about a dozen people on the screen. The two continued up to the screen, startling all of the people in the room at their sudden and unexpected appearance.

"Hello, children!" Dr. Membrane replied, enthusiastic and superior as always. "These people tell me you're working with them now. Glad to know you two are doing your part in stopping your little foreign friend's takeover."

"He's an alien, Dad." Dib said, dryly, a brow rising in disbelief at his father's consistent refusal to believe in the paranormal. "An alien."

"Yes, yes, of course, son." Dr. Membrane said, with a wave of his hand and a tone of amusement.

Gaz snickered and Dib shot her a look.

"Yes, well," an agent whose voice sounded familiar to Gaz said, turning back to the large screen. "We'll be bringing Agent Moth-Man and Little Sister up once we've finished consulting them about the alien. Once we're up there, we'll debrief you on the information we collect and they can answer any questions you have."

"We need one answered now." The President insisted, eying the two siblings. "It's of vital importance that you answer this question with thought and consideration, children."

Gaz made a face. She was really getting tired of being called a 'child' and a 'young girl' when she was almost 18. That was legally an adult! And Dib was already 19 (his birthday being about 6 month ago), so he'd been an adult for a year now. They were no children.

"We need to know," The president continued, leaning towards the screen. "Is he dangerous?"

Both stared in surprise. Dib contemplated while Gaz already knew the answer.

"Only when threatened." She answered, plainly. "Whatever move you plan to make, you better be sure it works, otherwise you can rest assured you'll be making a larger problem then you anticipated. Zim doesn't start things. He retaliates to them."

The room was hanging on her every word, as well as the people on the other end of the transmission, including Dib and Dr. Membrane. She hardly noticed though. Gaz was going to be as honest as possible as an informant, to avoid getting caught in a lie.

"What do you mean?" A man dressed in military garb demanded. Gaz guessed he was in charge of the army then and narrowed her eyes at him. He'd be the one mainly in charge of weaponry, she guessed, and it was vital he knew what he was up against.

Gaz made elaborations with her hand. "Zim is partially insane. He's also attracted to power and magic. Once he's interested in something, though it really depends on what it is, he won't harm it. He doesn't like people touching his property, either, so if you're going after anything he considers him property then you can guarantee he's going to react."

"What do you think he cares about?" Another man shot out, immediately.

Gaz bared her teeth, on the defensive. "Why would you need to know?"

"Gaz!" Dib said quickly, intervening at what could be a nasty little mess if he didn't blow out the fuse here. "Um, why don't you go collect yourself outside for a second, okay? I can handle it from here."

Gaz swallowed hard. When she twitched Dib flinched, thinking she was about hit him. But instead, to his surprised (and relief) she just turned around and left the room. Everyone watched her go in silence until the door shut.

Dib sighed, standing at attention to the very important men on the screen. "Sorry about her. Gaz-, I mean, Little Sister, knows the most about Zim because she was really close to him. I think she's really upset about this, even if she won't tell me. If you want answers from her, you're going to have to ask me the questions about his emotions."

"Of course," Agent Dark Booty agreed. "We'll apologize for our insensitivity when this meeting is over."

"Actually, you probably shouldn't." Dib said, making a weak face and rubbing his neck uncomfortable. "She'll probably just get madder. Gaz doesn't like to show emotion in front of other people."

"Understood." The men said, in unison.

Dib cleared his throat, tugging at his collar as he continued. "To answer your question, he doesn't become interested in much of Earth technology. In comparison, Zim's Irken technology- his people are called Irken, by the way- is a thousand times more advanced then most of ours. However, as much as I hate to admit it, he was rather . . . attached to Little Sister."

Yeah, Dib thought, begrudgingly. And now she's heartbroken and confused.

"Is it possible for anyone else to make friends with the alien?" The President asked, a new angle working in his mind.

"No, not possible." Dib said at once, absolutely sure. "Gaz is . . . well, unique to the human race, or at least of the humans Zim came into contact with on his time spent on Earth. With the exception of Little Sister and maybe myself, Zim doesn't respect any humans enough to want to befriend them."

"So you were friends with him as well?"

"No," Dib shook his head. "We were enemies up until he befriended and helped Little Sister out. Since she started hanging out with him, we've obtained a tolerance of one another, but only when she's around, even still. He's probably expecting me to be his number one enemy, since I've always promised him I would be the one to bring him down, since I was a kid."

"Mm," the Intelligence Director said, touching his chin. "We'll consider this information and have the Swollen Eyeball tell us more when they interview you and Little Sister."

"We'll bring them over as soon as we're done." Agent Dark Booty agreed, saluting them. The rest of the agency followed his lead and awkwardly, Dib did the same. "Over and out, sir!"

The call ended.

Dib sighed, relaxing. "I'll go talk to Gaz and calm her down. You can interview us then."

"If you wouldn't mind, we'd like to do so separately, to ensure we get both of your opinions."

"We'll also make sure we're careful about the questions we ask Little Sister," Another agent assured him. "We wouldn't want to upset one of our informants and make her uncooperative."

Dib gave a sigh of relief, smiling gratefully at them. "Thanks. I'll go tell her. If you don't mind, I'd like to do it alone."

"Of course."

They nodded their heads at him and Dib smiled, walking out the door. He shut it behind him to find Gaz, down the hallway, arms crossed as she looked out the giant window that was more glass then wall. She had a stern gaze, eyes narrowed, lips tight as she examined the still morning sky. Dib didn't know how he knew, but he just got the feeling Gaz wished it was night more then anything right now.

Dib approached her, standing next to her without saying a word. They stood like that for a while, Dib waiting patiently for once. He found he was being awfully mature in this situation. It was surprising even him but it was a trait he was grateful for.

Finally, Gaz sighed, breaking the silence. "I didn't mean to snap at them."

"I know," Dib assured her, smiling warmly at her. "You don't need to explain yourself to me."

Gaz smirked. "Are they going to interview me now?"

"Both of us."

"Separately?"

"Yeah."

"Figures," Gaz took a deep breath, cracking her knuckles for no reason besides that she could. "Well, let's get this over with then."

"Try to be cooperative," Dib begged, giving her a pleading look. "I know some of this is uncomfortable, but-."

"I got it, no more snapping at them." Gaz insisted with a half-hearted laugh. "Whatever you say, Agent Moth-Man."

Dib huffed, defensively. "Hey! There's nothing wrong with my code-name!"

"Mm," Gaz said with a smirk, purposefully mocking him.


Zim's latest hobby was people-watching.

Except, the only one he watched was Gaz.

No, he didn't watch her change or anything like that. Zim had far too much respect for her to invade her privacy. Even if he'd be more than happy to see her undressed (he actually was curious as to what that would look like as well, since it was one of the few things he wasn't willing to look up) but even if he did, it would just be painful for him. Whatever attraction he obtained (because there would be one) he wouldn't be able to satisfy, as she was miles away from his station. No, Zim would be good. It would be for his own benefit in the end.

Gaz, after her and her brother had been properly nourished, had been led into an interrogation room. But it was just an interview. However, Zim's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the settings. After seeing her so desolate at the window, before her annoying brother came to comfort her, Zim had vowed that so long as she was under his watchful eye, no harm would come to her through these Swollen Eyeball people who seemed to almost enjoy pushing her buttons in ways that upset her.

"Stupid little dooky-head humans," he growled, crossing his arms. Beside him there was the sound of crunching and he glanced down, a brow rising. Gir was beside him, on the arm of the chair he sat in, eating popcorn like this was a movie.

Gir turned to him and smiled. "Gaz on da TV!"

Zim snorted. "Do you miss her as well?" Gir nodded rapidly. He continued to nod until Zim stopped it with a finger to Gir's forehead. "Very well. Then you may stay."

"Yippee!" Gir cried out a moment before going back to his popcorn.

The two extraterrestrial beings then continued to watch with growing curiosity.

Gaz was obviously guarded, but trying not to be. She was really making an effort to give information, it seemed. But they both knew that it didn't matter how prepared they were against Zim, it would never be enough to win.

"Little Sister," the investigator began. "Are you prepared to be honest and truthful in your analysis and background with the alien known as Invader Zim?"

She nodded, "Yes."

"Good. Then let's begin."

Cameras were trained on her face, as well as a recorder. This would obviously be documented for later review.

"Starting off with what you said previously of Invader Zim's character analysis." The man began, looking over some notes. "You said Zim was insane, very protective of what he owns, and attracted to power in any form that interests him."

Gaz nodded, on the defensive. Zim growled at her discomfort. "Yes. And that he's only dangerous when threatened."

"Yes, that too." The agent agreed. "What else about Zim do you think we should know about? Does he have any weaknesses?"

Gaz nodded. "When we were kids, I remembered he was afraid of water. I remember Dib used to throw it on him, and I'm pretty sure it burns him. But he bathes in glue so it doesn't affect him anymore."

Zim shivered at the mentioned of water. "Ugh, that horrible substance."

The agent took the time to write down the information before continuing with the interview. "And what of his character? Is he kind, cruel-?"

"Arrogant." Gaz interrupted with a scowl. "He's unbelievably arrogant."

Zim grinned and snickered.

Once again the information was written down before proceeding. "Anything else?"

Gaz considered it. She had her hands folded in her lap and Zim wished more then anything he could be with her during the interview, though that was obviously out of the question. Gaz's eyes were focused on her hands as she answered. "Once he sets his mind to something, he doesn't quit until he's absolutely positive that there's no hope whatsoever. Even if it's a chance in a million, he's determined and reckless enough to try it anyways, so long as it doesn't endanger anything he owns."

"You make many points about his possessions." The agent noted. Zim's hand curled into a fist. He really didn't like this human. "Is he really that particular about them?"

Gaz relaxed ever so slightly. "Absolutely."

Zim smirked. She was referring to their relationship and to know it calmed her brought him great joy and slight relief.

More notes. "Would you consider Zim in any of the following of these categories; Sociopath. Homicidal. Suicidal. Narcissistic."

"Computer, define the words upon their mention." Zim ordered, confused.

"He's definitely narcissistic." Gaz said with a snort.

"Narcissistic: being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige, and vanity. Placing oneself above others in the population and considering few others to be above or at the same level."

The notes the agent took had allowed the Computer to define the diagnosis without missing anything.

"Anything else?"

"He's got the potential to be a sociopath but he doesn't quite reach all the standards. Zim does have feelings of remorse, he just has very few things he cares about on Earth."

"Sociopath: a person, a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience. Those of this class cannot feel empathy or love and treat those around them only as victims, often abusing them."

"And that's it?"

"Zim wouldn't kill himself. And like I've been trying to tell you, Zim's a person who only retaliates. So long as you leave him alone, he'll leave you alone, so it's not like he's going around with a hunger for blood. He's an opportunity person when it comes to harming others. If you're going to make yourself a target, he'll gladly treat you like one."

"If he only retaliates, why do you think he started this invasion?"

Gaz took some time to think about this. Zim listened, curious as to what her answer would be. Eventually she started up again. "In my opinion, he probably felt threatened by something that tipped him over the edge. Something that made him feel like he had to take over Earth now or something bad would happen."

"Cryptic, Gaz. Well played," Zim commented, smirking at her unreadable figure.

"Would you think a threat to something he wanted could be that reason?"

"It's possible," she admitted.

The agent wrote some things down before continuing. "What makes Zim strongest?"

"His determination." Gaz replied. "The fact he won't give up on something till long after it's lost."

"How did you two become friends?"

Zim snarled at the screen. "How dare he trick her with such quick questioning!"

Gaz's eyes narrowed, but she answered. "We grew on each other when we were forced to be on the same side. I found a crash site of one of his people, a female Irken. Her ship was in smithereens, but she wasn't in it, according to Zim, who came after I did. While I was looking around, I found a device called a LEECHY. It was malfunctioning, which I didn't know and ended up getting it stuck on my wrist."

"What does a LEECHY look like?"

"A black bracelet, with little crystals all around it." Gaz replied. "It's meant to enhance and control the Irken form of adrenaline. However, I'm human, so it wouldn't respond to me. Also, it wasn't working right. Twice it malfunctioned severely and nearly killed me."

"And I'm assuming Zim saved your life, then?"

"Yes. But that's not why we became friends." Gaz insisted. "Zim and I had a mutual respect for one another. I accepted he was an idiot with potential to be great and he accepted I was a human more advanced then the idiots he'd dealt with. We weren't on speaking terms but once he got stuck with me until he could get the LEECHY off my wrist, we grew a tolerance for each other. And at first we pretended to be friends so we wouldn't have to tell Dib the real reason we were hanging out. Dib, while I love my brother, would've tried to keep me away from the only person who could've helped me."

"But he found out eventually?"

"Yes. When my Dad tried to take us with him on a business trip, I was still being monitored to ensure the LEECHY wouldn't kill me. And he was going to take us to Australia, a ways away even for Zim's ship, called a Voot Runner. So Zim created a realistic robot that he controlled and I temporarily lived with him at his base. But after a few days Dib figured it out and came back. Zim and I were friends by then, since we'd been forced to spend so much time together."

"How did you get the LEECHY off?"

"The people who had attacked the Irken ship, a probably now destroyed race called Valkians, were looking for the LEECHY. I don't know how, but they found me. I eventually surrendered myself, to prevent further trouble for Zim and Dib, because Dib nearly got killed in the first fight to protect me, and that was just dealing with one of them. If it hadn't been for Zim, Dib would be dead. Twice now."

"And the same goes for you." The agent noted. "Hm. What an intriguing coincidence."

Gaz shrugged. "Not really. But anyways, the Queen of the Valkians had me brought to her. She was able to remove the LEECHY herself, with a rather surprising amount of strength and power, and I was thrown into the prisoner cell. Eventually I was rescued by Zim and Dib, who reluctantly worked together to save me."

"And that's your only adventure with Invader Zim."

"No, last year, if you were aware Dib was shot-."

"We are. He was ordered to stand down in his investigations until he recovered."

"Right. Well, a crazy kid seeking revenge from me retrieving a video game he stole when we were kids did that. His name is Iggins. He tried to kill me, Dib, and Zim. Zim because he was pretty sure there was something going on between us and he was jealous."

"I believe a boy named Iggins was in the news last year, for being tortured."

Gaz just smiled.

The guard let out a low whistle and continued writing.


Eh . . . that's enough.

I'm tired.

You can pretty much see where that line of questioning goes.

Not very exciting after that.

Yes, I know Zim is kind of creepy for spying but still.

Till the next chapter!