My apologies for not putting reviews in the last chapter again! I was half-awake while doing that, dead tired, but determined to get you your updates on time!

Also, I am now moving them to every other day again, due to the fact . . . well, I am almost finished with the story.

Yes. I am that far ahead of you guys.

So be happy while I sob in the corner!

xoAmaxi

Chapter 24

Ffff, Zim and Gaz's conversations are so amusing. The shirt-to-the-face and the how-long-it-takes-to-undo-the-dress-thingy both made me laugh.
I really like the idea of the pill; the life span difference between Zim and Gaz has always been something that slightly bothers me, knowing that Gaz would die loooong before Zim is one facts that made me a bit more of a ZaTr supporter. However, I'm honestly glad you've solved that problem. (:
Same with the DaTr, now that Tak is human..
This just works so well - Can't wait for the next chapter!

Okay, I REALLY wanted to address this comment.

Actually, Tak was only changed on the outside. She still has the same life-span.

Meaning, another twist for later! :D Don't worry though, I have happy endings planned all around.

KotaWingz

Chapter 24

Yay, Dib got a promotion! ^^ *cough cough* I must learn to better control my fangirliness.
I like MiMi, she's pretty BA. It's a good thing she didn't let that guy take an x-ray! Great chapter, as always. :3

Ikr? Woo! Phew! Dodged a bullet there!

And I love MiMi with a passion. If I was going to be any human-version of any IZ character, it would be MiMi.

Invader Johnny

Chapter 24

Hi Raven!
JSYK Jhonen Vasquez stated that while Zim is sixteen in Irken years he IS considered an adult and to prove that he said that Zim AND the Tallest ARE the same age.
Which in Earth years would be 159.
Anyways, as always great chapter, it was certanly quite the call Zim had from his leaders, it was probably the first time in a long, LONG while that he spoke to them without any real hatred on the Tallest part.
So things did went well.
Zim really gets more bafeled with each thing Gaz has to explain to him huh?
Sooner or later he HAS to learn more sensity topics od
f Earth if he IS going to rule it!
Invader Johnny Signing Off.

OMG, THANK YOU! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I thought Zim was a totally different age (okay I made it up -_-) but thank you for making my story just a little bit more accurate!

I, sir, am in much appreciation to you forever.

*bows eccentrically and respectfully*

Torrasque666

Very nice. I do love your work, frankly one of the best I've seen. I know this might not make it into the comments section of the next one but even so.
TALLY-HO AGAINST THE IDIOTS OF THE WORLD!

LOL.

I prove you wrong. Now you can be happy. ^_^

R1NGmasterJ5

Chapter 23

I just read this entire series in a day. And, I have to say, I am shocked.
Shocked that in-character IZ romance actually EXISTS. Forgive me for going into rant mode here, but the IZ shipping fics I have read so far have greatly disturbed me. If the characters aren't falling over each other in love by the halfway point of the fic, there's OCs. My god, the OC fics. Fics where Zim wants the OC to literally teach him sex ed, or ones that have Dib and the OC making out by the third chapter. And don't even get me started on the grammar...
You kept them in-character, took almost fifteen chapters of development to actually have them be a couple, and almost another THIRTY for actual sex, so thank you. Seriously, thank you. And thanks to TVTropes(and UpsidePickle) for reccommending this great fic series to me.
(Also, you(r fic does) have a TVTropes page. It spoils the Iggins reveal, though. I'll fix it in the morning.)

GAH! All you people reading my stories in one day; HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?

The romance thing: I know, right? I never thought of it, EVER, until my sister found it. Which was ZADR, actually (BLECH) and with some youtube surfing, we discovered ZAGR and after a little consideration, decided that would actually make a LOT of sense, world-ruling-wise, so I started looking up fics about it. The romance thing would be hard to get to but it was possible, under the right circumstances. Actually, the reason I started this story is because not many out there really portrayed their relationship as I thought it would develop.

Speaking of which . . .

Ahem, I HATE THOSE STORIES WHERE THEY DO THAT LOVEY-DOVEY SHIT! ZIM AND GAZ ARE TOO BADASS FOR THAT STUMBLING, AWKWARD, UNCOMFORTABLE TEENAGE LOVE! ZIM IS A RUTHLESS, PSYCHOTIC ALIEN! HE DOESN'T GIVE A FUCK! HE COULD HAVE ALL THE FUCKS IN THE WORLD, AND YOU ONLY NEEDED ONE FUCK TO SAVE YOUR LIFE, AND HE WOULD NOT GIVE YOU ONE AND LAUGH AS YOU PLUMMETTED TO YOUR DOOM! AND GAZ? Really? Are you KIDDING ME? You think ZIM didn't give a fuck, psh, Gaz will take your fucks from you!

. . . .

. . . .

:D

Sorry bout that. That is just one of my pet peeves, the whole sex-ed things and the awkwardness. It's not only over-used, it's just the lazy, easy way to go into plot development. DIB is awkward. Zim and Gaz are the graceful, silent, deadly menisses of the world and deserve to be portrayed as such.

Also, the TVTropes page. Would you mind sending that to me in the reviews (since I am special, and have yet to figure out PMing -_-)? I would really appreciate it, as I am impaired when it comes to searching for things and could not find it.

I am also squealing at the fact my fic is being mentioned in so many places.

ngrey651

Chapter 23

Heh, you ask why do I read if I dislike things Zim and Gaz do? Well...it's like Looney Tunes. Daffy Duck and Bugs and Elmer and Sylvester and the like tend to be preeeetty bad role models, but hey! They're HILARIOUS to watch. I can really enjoy the hilarity that results from watching Bugs outsmart somebody, just like I can enjoy the way Zim and Dib bounce off each other. Don't get me wrong, the motivations of a character mean quite a lot, but I won't totally disregard all potential a character can have just because they're, well, kinda jerks. (Shrugs)
I don't really mind ZAGR or ZADR or any other type of romance. What I care about, well and truly...is a good story. And characters that, in the end...make me care about them. If they can do that...then I'll be truly happy with the work an author's made, because when you care about a character, they become, well, more "real" than the people you pass in the street every day. You know more about them than the guy down the lane, you worry over what will happen to them next. Does that make any sense or am I just rambling?

No, no, I get you. I gotcha.

Well, I apologize if my story isn't like that. I have a strange brain that interprets things in strange, normally unsympathetic ways. It just never made sense to me to put a bunch of heart-felt moment in my fic because they never really fit anywhere or were appropriate at any times. Like Zim comforting Gaz and Dib and Gaz parting at the wedding, THAT is my kind of 'compassionate moments'. Mainly this story is drama, coupling, twists and (rarely, because I hate writing it -_-) action.

I sincerely hope you never pass someone like Zim or Gaz in the street though.

If you happened to run into them by accident or glance at them casually and get caught doing so, I would never recieve another review for you, or at least, would not get one for a while. :(

Because you would most likely be dead, in a hopsital, or permanently hiding under your bed after the reaction you would recieve from their one of them, or both, at the same time.

But like I said; hopes you don't ever really encounter them! :D

mangamichelle12

Chapter 23

Awesome next chapter but why did they believe dib so easy after all he had done?

Because they're stupid and desperate and Dib is all they've got left.

Yay for no other choices!

ForceWalker

Chapter 23

Poor Dib! He's found out that Gaz planned the whole takeover! That has to be a big shot to the heart!
And now the Swollen Eyeball hsa returned! And Dib and Tak are forced to go with them! Now this is going to be interesting!
Now I know that the Group is over, but is there any chance we'll see Tip, Tine, and Gretchen in the story again? I love the twins, and see Gretchen's reactions to Dib and Tak's relationships were great, and I was kinda hoping to see her go psycho on Tak just to make sure Dib is hers.

Probably not. :( Sorry.

I might put what ends up happening to those guys, but, I'm not sure.

So we'll see, kay? :)

ninjacookie101

Chapter 23

I was laughing so hard at the reviews that my mom came in to check I wasn't having a coughing spree. XD Update on! *salutes back*

YES! I WAS HOPING SOMEONE WOULD SALUTE BACK!

I am now a happy girl. ^_^

And I'm always glad to know I'm making someone laugh with my absurd little sense of humor.

Captor of the Crazies

Chapter 23

Damn! Wish Dibbers implanted some sort of spy bug on Gaz, I'd love to pick up on where they left off before they were, to my dismay, RUDELY interuppted! The pervy pupils command my looking holes to read ZAGR smut! Especially since I've slurped up every word of the last steaming chapter I've licked the ladle/whisk/stirring spoon of every drop! In other words, I have re-read it numerous times and I still. Find. It. Hot! :D an entire room of flying college graduate's hats to you Echo,(heehee, my mistake in typing flower!) great chapter as ALWAYS, glad I kept ya laUghing

Yeah, I'll just be over here . . . crying from laughing so hard . . .

XD

Try not to get your computer screen all saliva-y. (thumbs up)

KotaWingz

Chapter 23

Heh, I pulled a Mini-Moose in my story as well. Someone asked why Mini-Moose wasn't in the story and I was like...
Oh yeah... him...
Then Zim wound up pulling Mini-Moose out of his PAK, thus explaining where the little purple moose had been. :3
Another great chapter! I like reading about Dib and Tak. Poor Dibbers... That would suck to find out your sibling was trying to take over the world and had lied to you about it.

I actually had a legit conversation with my sisters about if they found out I was like a witch hell-bent on taking over the world, for whatever reason, would they be mad and they were like, "Eh . . . I guess it depends WHY."

As was the inspiration for Dib; he may be sad and confused, but he is a person who needs answers before he draws conclusions.

It's morning again.

Please note I do not care much for accuracy in my geography! So long as the point gets across, I don't care! And this is Invader Zim world, where the president is called Presidentman and what not.

You really think it matters if I say Europe has a queen, whether it does or not?

Also, the poll. Only 12 people voted.

It's going offline soon, guys, so if you haven't voted and give a damn about my next story, now is the time to have your say in it!

Enjoy.


Chapter 25
"Moving Again"

"We're . . . moving?" Her brow rose. "Why?"

"I'm stationing us in Europe." Zim replied, not facing her as he typed. He'd offered for her to go off and explore the area a bit more, but she had declined, as that would mean walking around with Gir as her escort. "This country is too fascinated by us to be a threat. However, if I am correct, Europe hates America for some reason, and so we need to ensure the demographic in multiple areas. And if popularity fails, then there's always the fear factor."

"So, when do we leave then? How do we leave actually is the better question." She said, correcting herself as she sat up on the desk next to him, shifting her legs to make herself more comfortable and using them to prop up her elbow, leaning her head on her hand and watching him work. "Are you leaving your little fortress here and making a new one or are we taking it with us?"

"We're leaving it here. You never know if we'll be needing to move back, and it gives us something stationary for the humans to remind them whose in charge of them." Zim replied, smirking. "Actually, we're moving in with some humans, ones that, if we treat them properly, will help the humans adjust."

"Let me guess." Gaz said, rolling her eyes. "We're moving to a castle?"

Zim just smirked, refusing to look at her.

"And we're letting the royalty stay?"

"Only the most important." Zim informed her. "But they'll be moving into different quarters, the lesser ones. And the servants will be staying as well. We'll use their courtyard for their army, since they were just converted yesterday. A bit messier then this country's and Japans, but it worked smoothly."

"What about the defense system?"

"I'm sending Skoodge to make the adjustments on the grounds in about an hour. I'm just fixing some of the security codes, to ensure they're fool-proof." He assured her, pulling up a new file, scrolling through it quickly before going back to the start and typing on his keyboard. "What do you think of that, though? You're going to be meeting former royalty, outrank them even."

Her brow rose. "Former?"

"Well, they can have all the titles they like, but it gives them no power whatsoever. However, if it makes everyone feel better, so be it." Zim said with a shrug.

Gaz smirked, wondering how exactly they would be delivered. Then, her smile disappeared, and her face became quiet.

". . . How much time do you have left?"

He froze.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

"It's . . . easy to forget that I should be dying." Zim said, laughing weakly. "We've got 2 months. And all that's left is for Europe to submit fully and a few smaller countries."

"You're positive about that?" Gaz pressed, crossing her legs. It was a nervous habit, one not even she was aware of.

"Zim will be fine, Gaz." He insisted, using one hand to finish what he was working on. Then he turned to her fully, mock-glaring at her as he placed his hands firmly on her hips, standing up. Zim trailed a hand up the inside of her thigh, uncrossing her legs forcibly.

She smirked at him.

He sighed in slight aggravation. "Zim can never get any work done with you around."

"That depends on the kind of work your talking about."

He groaned. Even through his gloves he could feel how warm her skin was around her thighs, like always. He removed it, placing that hand safely on her hip instead, resting his forehead against hers.

"I will be with you in a moment." He told her, glancing up from her lap to lock eyes with her. "Go to our room, so I can finish this."

Gaz shrugged, smirking at him. "I don't know. I kind of like it up here. It's pretty comfortable."

She demonstrated by readjusting her position, inadvertently spreading her legs a bit more while doing so. Zim hissed at her, the grip on her hips tightening a noticeable amount. Gaz had every intention of leaving, but this was pretty hilarious to her. Being unable to be around and intimidate people daily, making Zim squirm constantly was every bit as satisfying (if not more when he caved) to her.

"You insufferable little vixen," He growled, bringing her closer to him, making her straddle him. She could see his arms shaking a little, resisting. "As much as I would love to take you at this moment, I'd rather not soil this room in that way. I wouldn't be able to enter it again without smelling the pheromones and then I would REALLY never get any work done because every time I came in, I'd just have to leave to go find you again."

Gaz snickered. It was funny to her how sensitive he was to this whole 'sex' (or 'mating' thing, depending on who you asked). He was babbling, distracting himself, and she doubted he knew it.

"Alright, fine," She said with a light-hearted
sigh, smiling at him as she got off the counter. "When do we leave?"

"Mm," he glanced at the clock in the corner of his lab. "A few hours. So we probably will have to continue when we're on the ship because I definitely won't be done with you by then."

He received a slap on the back of the head for that, but he just laughed, and she stalked out of the room. Zim turned back to his work, finishing the last of it quickly (and accurately) before closing the program, snickering to himself all the way towards the bedroom*.


"Gah!" Dib shouted, immediately holding a hand up to cover his eyes. "Geez, Tak! You said come in!"

Tak looked at him over her shoulder, the back portion of her body completely exposed as she sat on the table and watched television. "Yes. And?"

"Ugh, MiMi? A little help?" Dib asked, peeking through his fingers and only at the cat.

Curious to see her reaction, Tak glanced to her companion, who glared at Dib. But a moment later, MiMi had picked up the second blanket and draped it over Tak's shoulders before going back to her original position.

Dib sighed in relief. "Alright, Tak, I know you don't identify with your body, but if you let people keep walking in on you like that, eventually, someone is going to start taking advantage of that."

Tak shrugged. "MiMi will kill anyone before they are able to form ill-intentioned thoughts of me. Now what do you want?"

"The Swollen Eyeball wanted me to tell you that you're welcome to stay as long as you like." Dib replied, begrudgingly, irritated by her nonchalant attitude about her nudity. "I think they're trying to make you feel comfortable here before they start asking you questions."

"Why would they need to ask me questions?" Tak questioned, a brow rising. "Aren't you giving them information?"

Dib glanced away. "I-."

"Let me guess," Tak interrupted, boredly. "You're too wrapped up in your sister to make a decision?"

He didn't reply.

Tak rolled her eyes. "You humans are so emotional when it comes to your choices."

"Excuse me for being myself," Dib shot back. "And what do you mean 'you humans'? Last I checked, you're human too!"

She huffed, glaring at him. "Shut up."

Dib smirked his triumph, but didn't press the subject further. "There's someone that wants to meet you soon, by the way."

"Oh?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. Feeling her tense, MiMi was on her feet at once, glaring at Dib. "And who would that be?"

"My dad. Maybe you've heard of him. His name is Dr. Membrane, sometimes called Professor Membrane."

They both froze.

Subconsciously, Tak's hand went to her shoulder, touching the tip of one of the black scars that ran across her back. With her back to Dib, he didn't see how wide her eyes got then. But he did see how unnerved MiMi looked and from what Dib had deduced, MiMi was unnaturally in tune with Tak and her feelings. So if MiMi was freaked, it was likely Tak was.

"Tak?" He stepped towards her cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"Stop asking me that!" She shrieked, her eyes shutting tightly before she let out an unheard breath, turning around and glaring at him. "Fine. When does he want to meet me?"

"Uh," Dib blinked away his surprise at her shout, shaking his head before replying. "Whenever you're ready to have more then me and some nurses around."

Tak looked up at the ceiling. "If I'm going to meet a professor, then I would prefer to be clothed."

"Oh so now you have shame!"

"Shut up." She ordered, rolling her eyes at his teasing tone. "Just go make yourself useful for once and get me some clothes."

Dib laughed, but he was still wary. Why would Tak be so freaked out about meeting his dad? He shrugged, realizing it was probably because not only was his father known world-wide for his smarts, but she probably figured he wouldn't be as easy to trick as the Swollen Eyeball. Little did she know that Dib knew from experience how ignorant his dad could be but he'd just have to slip that bit of information to her later.

MiMi waited to speak until Dib's footsteps had faded down the hallway, looking up seriously at her Master. "Do you think he noticed?"

"I . . . don't know." Tak admitted. "If he didn't say anything, he's either using it as a subject to talk about later, in private, or he's dumber then we suspected."

"What do you want to do?"

Tak bit her lip, pausing as she thought. MiMi waited anxiously, her master's hands running over her holographic ears as she pondered.

"I guess . . . I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."


Gaz ignored Zim's hand running up and down her thigh, having pushed her dress up to do so as they sat in the ship, heading towards Europe.

Gir and Minnie-Moose had gone ahead with Skoodge. Zim had ordered Gir to be on his absolute best behavior, or he was going to take his pig away. But if he was good, he'd get him a pen of pigs to play with. Gir's eyes had flashed red after he'd let out a squeal of joy and had saluted, stalking obediently off after where Skoodge had gone off to. Minnie-Moose had just bobbed obediently after both of them.

Zim smirked at her, the other hand driving. "I told you I wouldn't be done with you when we had to leave."

"I have a feeling you'll never be done with me," she informed him sarcastically.

He laughed, removing his hand and pushing the fabric back down. "Fair enough."

Zim settled with holding her hand instead, periodically bringing her slender pale hand to his mouth and kissing it before placing it back between them. Gaz fixed her dress back down, smoothing out the creases with her free hand. This one was a deep magenta color, strapless, cinching at the waist and draping to the floor in a silky material from there. Around her shoulder was a dark red, almost black cloak, since it was supposed to be cold. It was made of heavy material and attached at the neck with a silver pendant of the Irken Empire insignia, obviously a custom piece Zim had made.

"Nervous?" He asked, noticing her finger twitch for the second time now.

Gaz snorted at the absurdity of the idea. "I've never been out of the country. I'm just curious is all."

"Anxious," Zim corrected, grinning. "You're excited, aren't you?"

"No." She said at once, her voice as monotonous as ever.

He turned towards her a bit more in his chair, smirking at her now, eyes alight with mirth. "You are, aren't you?"

She glared at him. "No, I'm not. Traveling is just boring as hell."

"Well, unfortunately we don't have enough room to make this an interesting travel." Zim said, suggestively, receiving a more severe glare from Gaz. He laughed it off and continued to elaborate. "And we'll be there in a few minutes time anyways. Not much to be done in that amount of time except make me anxious."

"Well then that would make one of us."

He smirked at her. "Well played."

The rest of the few minutes were spent in silence, one of Zim's fingers rubbing her palm gently, subconsciously. She glanced down at his gloved hand and then back to his face, wondering how the hell her life had lead her here.

He removed his hand from hers to land, in the middle of a field. Gaz saw another ship, one that he parked next to. It was smaller then Zim's so it was probably Skoodge's. The serious height difference between the two made it easier for her to see how Zim's culture placed people with any height so high up on the food chain.

They hood popped up, releasing fog from underneath the ship, quickly engulfing their vision in it. Gaz waved her hand in front of her face, feeling Zim grip her around the waist and lift her out from his vehicle. She tried to see anything through the foggy mist his stupid machine had expelled, but no such luck. The only thing keeping her moving was Zim, who was leading her away (or so she assumed; for all she knew, they were walking in a circle) from the Voot Runner. She heard the hydraulics as it shut automatically behind them, even emitting a beep to let them know it was locked, something she had to snort at.

Zim led her, arm placed casually around her waist, out of the fog. Eventually it began to thin and she could see a group of people ahead. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to see them but even with her excellent eye-sight, she could not. However, as Zim used a PAK appendage (he was close enough to where she could at least see what he was doing) to pull her hood over her head and hide her in complete shadow, she became curious. Wasn't the public already aware of what she looked like? If so, why was he hiding her from them?

As they approached, Gaz's hands clutched the openings of the cloak together to hide herself (even though she still didn't know why) further. She could feel the arm Zim had around her tighten, every so slightly, in a protective manner. It was putting Gaz on edge.

The shadows were becoming infinitely clearer now, forming into actual shapes of separate people instead of a blob of darker gray then the misty haze. Gaz added that to the list of things she had to ask Zim about for later; Why the hell was there so much of this damned stuff?

Finally the last of it cleared away, just as they became within a reasonable distance. About seven feet separated them and Zim stopped, arm still protectively around Gaz.

The people before them all had stoic, nervous faces, but were clearly trying to hide their slight apprehension and fear. They were trying to be diplomatic and brave, a rather ridiculous notion since their government didn't exist anymore. It was dissolved the minute they signed over their allegiance. What was the point of this facade of power they were still trying to dawn?

Skoodge marched forward until he was only a few feet away, bowing low to Zim, who was garbed in slightly more than his standard Invader uniform. He wore a red, vibrant and sharp-looking coat with pointed shoulders, trailing to his knees and curling out at the ends in a dramatic fashion. Gaz eyed him, completely hidden beneath the hood. She resisted a hiss of irritation when the two began conversing in Irken again.

"Have the proper adjustments been made?"

"These people are completely isolated from the civilians, and vice versa. Only if they decide to leave the grounds forever can they exit the force-field."

"Has that been explained to them?"

At that moment, a figure cried out in joy, darting from behind the crowd and rushing them. It darted up in front of Gaz, beaming at her, making Zim almost smile at the display, but he resisted. It was clear Gir had a favorite among them, but he hardly minded. The only affection he took seriously was Gaz's. If she had a favorite besides him, then he would get upset, but as that was not the case, he hardly minded. Gaz reached down gracefully and picked up Gir in a fluid motion, placing him on her shoulder. He slid down, onto her back, happily grinning at her. Zim was the only one close enough to see it, but a small smile appeared on her face.

"I was going to leave that to you." Skoodge replied respectfully, averting his eyes from the SIR unit and back to Zim. "The force-field is on, it's just invisible. I also left it to you to make it visible."

"Very good," Zim appraised, glancing up at the group of about a dozen people before looking down again. "And how are they reacting to all of this?"

"They seem to detest you. Or, at least, the idea of being overthrown so easily."

"And what of Gaz? What do they think of her?"

"I recommend you continue to leave her as an enigma, sir." Skoodge said, eyes darting behind him before looking back at his superior. "I think they dislike her on the principal that you are her 'husband' and she your 'wife'. If I were you, I would keep her hidden, or at least with a cloak on, like she is now. Even if they have already seen her on the news, they haven't seen her in person. Having her around more openly could potentially threaten her safety by making her less of a background character and more of your partner in the eyes of these people. They might attempt to harm her. Even if she can take care of herself, sir-!"

"No, I understand." Zim interrupted, nodding thoughtfully. "I will examine this for myself, to confirm your deduction. But until then, I will take your advice. Thank you, Invader Skoodge."

"Sir!" Skoodge shouted, saluting and stepping to the side.

Gaz made a relieved noise, only audible to Zim, that they were speaking in a language she could understand now. Zim placed his hand on her waist again and after a few muted orders from Gaz, Gir slid off of her back, standing obediently next to Skoodge.

Shy, Gaz reminded herself, head inclining towards the ground as they walked. Innocent and shy.

She figured if she just didn't talk and kept her head down, then that would work.

Zim smirked at the people as they approached, covering about half of the distance between them before stopping again.

"Greetings, humanoids." He said, nodding his head at them. "What a, eh, pleasure to be meeting you."

The title-stripped people bowed/curtsied in return.

"The pleasure is ours, Emperor." The eldest woman replied, seeming to represent them.

Gaz glanced up, eyes disguised under the hood, to really examine the people she would be living with, but probably not seeing for a while. She had a feeling that, from the way Zim was acting, he'd be confining her to a segmented part of their new home for a while. There were not quite a dozen people, but eleven was close enough. A young girl, maybe ten years old; three men, varying for thirty to forty; three women, about the same age as the men; an elderly couple (the old woman being the one to have spoken to Zim), one woman probably just in her twenties and a teenage boy, probably 17. The youngest little girl looked a bit frightened and one of the women, probably her mother, kept her hands on her shoulders, keeping her fairly close.

"I hope you don't feel trapped here," Zim continued, ignoring her bitter tone. "If you wish to leave at any point, I can arrange for you to be moved. However, I accept that this is where you are most comfortable at. Feel free to stay as long as you'd like, maybe even live out the rest of your lifespan, but I will warn you, should you prove to be particularly troublesome, you will be removed. I'm not here to execute any of you, though, and would hope to avoid that. You humans are so used to pointless killing, but I intend to only take lives when it is most necessary. Is this clear to all of you?"

They all nodded, even the little girl, who, for some reason, Gaz was very curious about. She eyed the three youngest, the little girl, the young woman, and the boy carefully. The older girl was holding one of the little girls hands, probably her sister or cousin. The boy looked about as angsty as the average boy, and Gaz nearly smirked at the thought. Apparently manners couldn't solve everything. He gave Zim an unmasked look of loathing, one Zim seemed to notice, but chose to ignore. She made note to break him later, not physically, but mentally. Now that she had people to terrify again, she could already feel her nerves relaxing, but only slightly, as she still wasn't sure why Zim was so wary here.

"Good. I will brief you now about the changes to your home that will be made," Zim said, holding up a remote Skoodge handed to him. "For example; I have already modified your security system, since your guards have been, well, altered and are no longer guarding your home."

He hit the button.

At once Gaz saw the familiar bubble surround the house, making the family give gasps and shouts of surprise. The little girl looked awed, too innocent to have formed an opinion on whether is was evil or not.

"That," Zim continued. "Is the new defense system. Which is why I said I'd make arrangements for you to leave. That is impenetrable, as far as you are concerned, both ways, leaving or entering. So, as I stated before, if any of you wish to leave, please notify me beforehand. Also, this field, for example, will be used as training grounds. The more delicate of your courtyards will remain for your leisure, but the rougher terrain is now off-limits, something I'm sure you won't be disagreeable about. Also, as I'm aware you have already moved to the second highest level of the house on the opposite side, I will recommend you stay on that side. As we speak those rooms are being converted, rooms you will no longer have access to. A whole segment of the house is going to be inaccessible to you, so I recommend you do not waste your time trying to get in. Even if, by some miracle, you do get in, you won't be able to understand any of what you find, you will be caught, and then you will be forced to leave the area effective immediately. Is this also understood?"

Once again they nodded.

"You are free to roam about, then." Zim replied, looking down. "Invader Skoodge; Gir."

"Sir?"

"Mastah?"

He gestured to Gaz. "Please take her to my quarters while I address the public. She's been feeling ill since this morning."

"Aw," Gir said sympathetically, moving in front of Gaz again (who by now was fairly confused; she knew perfectly well she was not ill, which meant he was trying to keep her from the public; another thing he was keeping from her she noted with irritation) to look up at her with wide, sad eyes. "Is Gazzy not feeling well?"

"We'll take her at once, Sir." Skoodge said, bowing to Zim and glancing nervously at Gaz before looking at the floor. "Eh, this way, Your Highness."

Zim turned her to him a moment, cupping her face gingerly in one hand. Her brow rose, eyes narrowing since only he could see them. But he just smiled at her apologetically, a silent promise that he would tell her later. Her harsher glare replied, in turn, 'you'd better' and he resisted a laugh, though it tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he released her. Gaz turned away from him, Gir having reached up and taking her hand in his, pulling her away. Gaz smirked at the little robot, following at his pace (that thankfully was just a leisurely walk) as Skoodge walked ahead of both of them.

Zim shook his head, amused, as he watched her leave. He turned back to the family before him.

"You'll have to excuse me, as well." He gestured to the lot. "You may go do whatever it is you normally do at this time of day. Your servants are still of free mind and will listen to what you ask of them. You might even make friends with them, now that you are almost on the same terms."

He couldn't help but add that last remark and turned away, resisting the urge to laugh to himself.


Gaz eyed the numbers Skoodge was pressing in on the keypad.

"This is just locking it," He informed her. "You, Gir, Minnie-Moose, myself and Zim can come and go from here and back as much as we'd like, but everyone else cannot, once I turn this on."

He hit a button, and another bubble-shield appeared, very visible, and pink, like the bigger one surrounding the whole estate.

Skoodge gestured for her to go ahead of him.

Gaz stepped through with Gir, expecting some type of minimal resistance, but there was none. Skoodge followed and Gaz wondered where Minnie-Moose was, exactly. She guessed he was probably bobbing around somewhere. Gaz was surprised to find herself hoping he didn't run into those three children (although one of them could very well be a few years older then her) and frightening them. She made a face, wondering why she was so curious about them.

Maybe being away from people around her age and younger for so long was getting to her.

She shook it off as Gir spoke.

"Guess what, Mistress?" Gir asked, excitedly. "I gots a room with Minnie-Moose now! It's got toys and stuff in it!"

Well, that explained where the absent little minion was.

"Oh?" Gaz asked, a brow rising and she pretended to be interested, to humor Gir. "Sounds fun."

"It is! It is!" Gir shouted with excitement.

"So, what were you and Zim talking about?" Gaz asked, looking at Skoodge as non-threatening as she could. She wasn't sure why, but Skoodge clearly got spooked by her easily, probably because she was so imposing, but he didn't give answers when he was scared and that would do her no good right now.

Skoodge glanced up, relaxing a bit at her expression. "Zim was discussing what would be safest for you. He wants you to stay on this side of the castle, since he doesn't trust the people here yet."

"That explains the extra force-field." She noted, glancing back to see it disappear out of their line of vision as they turned the corner.

He nodded. "A precaution he told me to take before I left, in case my findings on the population proved untrustworthy."

Gaz couldn't help but think about the little girl again, and wonder what exactly was threatening about this family. Then she remembered the son (or so she assumed) and decided Zim was probably just covering his tracks, just in case. No doubt he knew she could handle herself but this probably just made him a bit more comfortable.

"Oh," She replied.

He led her down a few more turns before coming to a large, oval-shaped room that centered around large, double doors.

"It's been modified to look like your old one, for the most part." Skoodge informed her, making no move to enter even the room before the bedroom and taking Gir's hand, in a subtle gesture meant for her to have private time. "I trust you can handle things from here?"

Gaz rather liked Skoodge, or, at least, as much as she could like someone who wasn't family or Zim. He was very sure of her abilities, even if he had probably never seen them before. Even as the member of an advanced race, an Invader (even if he was working under another Invader), who knew perfectly well she was not stupid and let her have as much freedom as Zim's orders allowed.

She nodded, taking her leave, letting the door scan her hand before entering.

It did look relatively the same, except it was a bit bigger, at a different angle and the balcony view was obviously different. Gaz decided not to drop her hood as she shut the door behind her, heading directly for that balcony. She went to the very railings, looking out at the backyard to get a view of her new home. She could see a maze, a garden, a courtyard, multiple patios and a forest. She could also see a few of those 'off-limits' terrain spots.

"Alright," she muttered to herself, running her fingers across the soft material of the cloak. "Might as well get used to this while we're here, I guess."

"Hey-!"

Gaz's head snapped in the direction of the faint shout, a brow rising, glad she had decided to leave her hood on.

She saw those three kids again, staring up at her. The boy was the one to have spoken, and the older girl was covering his mouth, in an attempt to silence him probably. They each already noticed her head in their direction though. Gaz wasn't quite sure what to do. They all looked so damned terrified, save for the boy, who looked determined and angry. Typical reaction. Geez, did this kid ever smile? Probably, just not at intruders to his home.

With lack of anything else to do, Gaz lifted one of her hands and waved, once, just to see how they'd react.

The two older looked at each other, not quite sure what to do, apparently. She smiled, only because she was well aware they had no chance of seeing it. What a well thought out plan it seemed they had after getting her attention.

However, the little girl stepped forward, raising her hand to wave hesitantly, and then beaming and laughing as only children could, waving enthusiastically at her back. Gaz's eyes widened with surprise. Definitely not the reaction she had been expecting.

The older girl went and grabbed her shoulder, kneeling and saying quick words to her. The little girl's face fell, looking at the girl who was probably her older sister or cousin (Gaz was going to ask Zim about who these people were, whenever he returned to their room) with an expression that was saddened and clearly did not understand. The small child's head turned back towards Gaz, who was still watching them, able to guess along the lines of what they were saying. She was probably getting told to 'stay away from the Emperor's wife'. Which really didn't make any sense, since they were the ones to have shouted at her in the first place.

The girl looked back up at Gaz, wide blue eyes hurt but with undeniable curiosity. Gaz smirked underneath her hood and just waved again.

At once the boy was scowling at her. She didn't really know why, her head tilting to the side in curiosity as she watched his face contort into a clear mask of hatred. For the sole purpose of being obnoxious, she gave him a thumbs up. He seemed embarrassed at the sudden attention and her notice of his anger, only making him all the more pissed off. The eldest girl shot him a look, probably saying something along the lines of 'that's what you get!' and he scowled angrily at the floor. The little girl laughed.

Gaz felt quite accomplished. She'd been here, what, twenty minutes, and she was already playing some of these people like a game? Well, now that she thought about it, that was nice, since her hand-held had disappeared in their constant moving quite some time ago. Thinking back, she figured it had probably blown up with the plane.

Bringing her attention back to the children still eying her warily, she decided to leave them alone, for now. Gaz was a bit out of practice at the moment and needed some time to figure out what she was going to do with these new playthings.

She turned around upon hearing the door open, completely ignoring the children below, to see Zim closing the door behind him. She smiled at him and he smirked seductively at her, approaching her slowly.

"What are you doing out on the balcony?" He asked her, walking across the room, arms folded behind his back.

Gaz glanced down at the three again, unable to resist a smirk. "Playing."

As soon as Zim appeared on the banister next to her, a brow rising in curiosity and slight confusion, the three of them backed off at once, heading towards the maze. This time the small girl showed genuine fear, the boy seethed, and the eldest shot worried glances over her shoulder. Zim chuckled at their reactions to him, shaking his head as the couple watched them hurry away.

"Already scaring the locals," Zim laughed, turning to look at her. "I see you haven't wasted any time making yourself comfortable."

Gaz batted her lashes at him from under the hood. "Of course." Then she looked back at their retreating figures. "And they weren't scared until you showed up. I was simply antagonizing the boy."

"Ah, yes, my research shows he can have quite the temper." Zim said, nodding.

She looked at him. "Who are they?"

"Eh, let's see." His eyes raised to the overhang of roofing that covered the balcony. "The boy's name is Tyler, I believe. He just turned 17 I think. The girl, who is 19, is named Penelope. The little girl is about 9 and her name is Estelle, or something like that. Maybe Stella, I don't quite know for sure."

"I thought you were supposed to have excellent memory," Gaz retorted challengingly, a brow rising as the three finally disappeared in the maze.

"It's rather hard to think with you standing so close to me," he explained, with a smirk, leading her back into the room. "Tell me; why are you so curious about them?"

Gaz glanced over shoulder. "They're the youngest. The easiest to play with."

Zim laughed again, shutting the doors and closing the curtains. Gaz removed her cloak, tossing it aside, on one of the chairs in the room. That was one of the changes she had noticed; they was a couch, two chairs, and a coffee table off near the balcony doors. For the most part everything else was relatively the same, which she hardly minded.

Gaz was never one for a whole lot of change when it came to renovations of a room.

Zim wrapped his arms around her from behind, inhaling her scent through his mouth and kissing along her shoulders. "What do you think of this place?"

"Infinitely more entertaining then the other," Gaz said to him, smirking.

"If you were bored, you could've just told me," Zim informed her bluntly. "I would've brought in servants or something for you to play with."

"Well I could hardly be bored with you jumping me every ten minutes," Gaz retorted.

He chuckled, tightening his grip around her. "True."


*Geez, they have sex in like, every chapter. Even if I'm not describing it, seriously. Newlyweds. What're you going to do?

I'm curious:
How do you all like Tyler, Penelope, and Estelle/Stella? Would you care if Gaz playing with them ends up being a small part of the story? I've already got a few scenes planned out but, if not, they'll go into my folder of deleted scenes. (Like this is a movie or something -_-)

And they moved again. To Europe. Which may or may not have a queen.

BUT TOO DAMN BAD!

This isn't a historical event. Who cares if it's accurate or not? I don't want to put real people in ths story, that's just weird.

Till the next chapter!