Gaz walked down the street, fuming. As in smoke was literally rolling off her body. She didn't care where she went or how long it took to get there, Gaz just wanted to be away from Zim and think right now. She just couldn't understand how Zim would keep that from her. She wanted to bring him so much despair that he couldn't sleep without nightmares of what she could do to him.

But for some reason she felt awful for wanting that. It was a horribly unfamiliar feeling that she couldn't quite place. She hated the unpleasant emotion immediately and tried to place it. The more she thought about it the more she realized it was hurt. Betrayal and sadness seemed to choke out all her aggression and rage. Gaz realized that she had let herself become too emotionally attached to Zim. She had fallen in love with his quirks and his flaws, his crooked smile, everything about him. He listened to her and comforted her when even Dib couldn't tell she was upset. She loved him and trusted him, and he had lied and hurt her in return. Just like her father had.

But Zim had always been there for her right? He loved her just as much as she loved him, he cared about her in every way she could think of. Zim had probably thought she would leave him if she knew. She smiled slightly as she thought of how much Zim secretly worried about her leaving him. She couldn't live without her Zim. He was even more important than any Game Slave or Bloaty's pizza. He listened, respected, and loved her. Her father never seemed to do any of those things.

Gaz didn't know for sure why she was blaming her father for everything bad in her life right now, she just was. And he deserved it after all, didn't he? He was the most neglectful parent in the history of neglectful parents. Gaz grimaced as the strong smell of smoke brought her from her thoughts. Somehow she had found her way subconsciously to her old house. She scoffed at the realization that she had only been living with Zim now for three days and she was already calling this her "old home." She was kinda surprised by how quickly she seemed to have gotten there. Looking at her watch revealed she had been walking for nearly half an hour. It seemed like she had only been walking for ten minutes.

The ash and ruined framework of the house had cooled enough for her to look around a bit. The only thing still standing were the thick beams of the houses frame, so she had no hope of salvaging anything from the second floor or the attic. As she moved through the thick ash, Gaz noticed a distinct path through the ashen debris. She followed it to the staircase leading down into her father's lab. The door seemed smeared and darkened with soot but the handle was perfectly clean. As she descended the stairs she heard her father inside working on something.

Gaz pulled open the door without knocking and stormed in. She strode angrily up to her father, "Dad, what the fuck?! How long have you been down here?" Professor Membrane turned to face his daughter, "Now Gazelene, you shouldn't use that kind of language. No eleven year old girl should speak to her father that way. Such profanity is for adults. Also I have been in and out of this lab for approximately one and a half days."

Gaz shook her head fiercely, "I'm seventeen dad, I'm a junior in Hi Skool. And did you notice the house burned down, and your kids were missing? Do you even care about the house?" Membrane thought for a moment, "Are you sure you're seventeen?"

He looked off at nothing and pressed a button on his sleeve, "Simmons, how old is my daughter?" His eyes lit up as an electronic voice replied, "I believe she's eleven sir, wait scratch that. The records indicate that she is seventeen years old."

Membrane turned back to Gaz, "Well I suppose you were right about your age. This has been a lovely conversation daughter, now I really must return to my experiment." As he turned back to his work table Gaz grabbed his sleeve and spun him around, "That's it? That's all you have to say? You never even bothered to call and check if we were alive, Dib even called your office. You wouldn't answer. You really don't give two shits about us, huh? I always thought you would at least notice something like this. You are honestly the worst possible excuse for a parent in the whole fucking universe. If your kids dropped off the face of the earth you probably wouldn't even notice. The only things you care about are yourself, your image, and your god damned work."

It felt good to finally release all her pent up anger. She had been thinking these same thoughts about her father for years, only now she had enough going on in her head she was willing to let it out. She might have felt bad letting all her emotion out on her father, if he didn't deserve all of this and more. She only felt herself get angrier as Membranes face did nothing to reveal whether or not he cared, "I don't know why Dib looks up to you so much, your seriously the biggest asshole I've ever met. If you need something from us talk to Dib, I don't ever want to hear your voice again. Stay here and do you fucking science, Dib and I aren't your problem anymore." She waited a moment and when he finally shrugged and mumbled something about "teen angst", she let go of his sleeve and headed for the stairs. At the door she turned back, "I hate you."

Dib raised an eyebrow at Computer's statement, "You know, now that I think of it Zim hasn't even mentioned the Empire directly in months. Maybe you should wait until he's done." Bob nodded and jumped nervously as the door burst open.

Gir walked in with an armload of grocery bags, "Hi there errybody!" then he skipped past everyone into the kitchen, humming an upbeat tune. Bob blinked a few times and turned to Tak, "Was that a sir unit? I've never seen one in person before. It seemed… odd." Tak smirked, "That's a pitiful excuse one, but yes it was a sir unit. Gir is even more defective and malfunctioning than his master. If you wanted a prime example of a sir unit, you should have seen Mimi," Tak turned a sharp glare at Dib, "before they ruined her. I built her myself."

Tak smiled proudly at the memory of building her former companion. Dib looked at the ground in shame as a horrible guilty feeling settled into the pit of his stomach. Bob smiled at Tak, "If you built her I'm sure she was incredible." Tak turned away, and blushed.

Dib stared daggers into the tiny Irken who was flirting with the girl he had been in love with for years. He cleared his throat, "Hey Tak, can we go for a walk real quick, I wanted to talk to you about something." Tak rolled her eyes and sighed, "I've got a better idea Dib, you go on a walk by yourself and I don't kill you and everyone you love. How's that sound, hmm?" Dib nervously ran a hand through his raven hair, "Look, it's kind of important okay?" Tak sighed again and looked at Bob, "I'll be back."

He smiled and went to sit on the couch as they walked out the door. Once they were on the sidewalk walking away from Zim's house Dib started talking, "Okay, I'm not sure if you realized this when you were on Earth before, but I liked you a lot back then. And if you don't understand, that means I wanted to be in a relationship with you. Even back then I had only really had one girlfriend, and that was Gretchen. I didn't honestly give two shits about her, but when I met you it was different. You actually listened to me and I really needed that back then. You never even called me crazy. You paid attention and you believed me about Zim. You have no idea how much all of that meant to me. When I first found out that you were Irken, I didn't really know what to think. I've had a few years to really think about it. Tak, I still really care about you, and I was hoping that maybe you'd go out-"

He stopped when he noticed that Tak had come to a standstill and was doubled over with her hand over her mouth. At first Dib was worried by the shaking in her shoulders but his mind went blank as she bent back and burst out laughing. Dib felt his heart drop into his boots as she seemed to try and calm herself down.

After a few solid minutes of unrestrained laughter Tak started to get a hold of herself, "Heh, heh, oh that is rich. Thanks Dib that's the most I've laughed since I was banished. Damn that's funny. You actually think I was listening to a word you were saying. I was just gleaning important information and nodding at the unimportant stuff. Whenever you asked a question I would just access my Pak memory files to answer. And you still like me too. That just makes it even sweeter for me to say this."

Tak's jovial smile turned to a hateful sneer accompanied with a dark glare, "I despise you Dib. And Zim and your sister. Your whole wretched species is made up of nothing but revolting, horrendous, things. Of all the races known to Irk humans are the most vile. Xenophilia is always bad but what Zim is doing and what you suggest is utterly disgusting. How could you possibly expect me to reciprocate your repulsive feelings? Even if it weren't highly illegal, your still a member of the most repugnant race in the universe. More importantly though, you had a large hand in bringing about the very worst chapter of my whole life. Every waking moment since that day has been a hellish nightmare that I can't be free of. The one and only reason that you three are still alive is because I need you. Zim can help me set up my own base, on the opposite side of the planet! Every word that escapes your mouth makes me want to rip off my antennae and shove my claws though your eyes so I can silence your pitiful excuse for a brain. You would do very well to never speak to me again."

Tak turned away from Dib as the shock of everything she just said sunk in. she walked off in the direction of the city but stopped long enough to turn back and hiss, "I hate you."

After Tak had gone up the elevator Zim collapsed into his chair. It was times like this that made him hate his strong feelings for Gaz. He had never told her about the stupid law because he knew she never would have gone out with him. The way his insides flipped at the thought of never having been in a relationship with Gaz told him just how little of an option that was. He couldn't live without his Gaz. She was more important than any mission, even more than the Tallest themselves. Zim never wanted her to find out about all this. He had kept her hidden and safe, never mentioning her in any way to any Irken.

If it weren't for Tak she never would have left. He just hoped Gaz came back. Tak. Just the mention of her name put a foul taste in Zim's mouth. He hated her more than anything else. Zim was thinking to himself, maybe I should just go upstairs and tell her to get the fuck off my planet.

A high pitched voice suddenly brought him from his thoughts, "Zim? Red I think he might be dead. Score!" Zim turned and stood as straight as possible. He saluted firmly, "My Tallest. Zim was not expecting a call. What can I help you with sirs?" Purple was standing in front of a big couch with a drink in his hand. Red was slouching on the couch with his head resting back, seeming bored with everything.

Purple continued, "Well Zim, you haven't called for a few months and we wanted to know if you were dead yet- er your mission was a success yet." Zim sighed, "No my Tallest, I'm afraid not. Some… complications have come up and slowed me down." Red piped up from the couch without looking up, "Don't tell us it's that big-headed human. Even you can't be that pathetic."

Zim hadn't even tried to take over the Earth in a few months. He was actually really enjoying the planet, especially with his Gaz at his side. Zim kicked himself again for angering his love before replying, "No sir, the Dib-filth isn't a problem," he tried to think of a reasonable excuse quickly, "You see my Tallest, Tak has returned. Yes, she has made things very difficult for Zim."

Red looked up at Zim and eyed him suspiciously, "And?" Zim looked confused, "And what, my Tallest?" Purple cocked an eyebrow at Red as he stood up and moved closer to the screen, "And there's something else isn't there?" Internally Zim began to panic as worry about Gaz filled his thoughts. However on the outside Zim projected the perfect image of calm.

He innocently asked, "What do you mean my Tallest? Zim does not know of any other hindrances to his mission." Red turned to Purple and started whispering. At first Purple looked utterly confused but after Red gestured towards Zim he seemed to realize what Red was talking about. Purple turned to Zim and closely scrutinized his face. When he finally spotted what he was apparently looking for he gasped and turned back to Red. As the hushed conversation continued for several minutes Zim started to sweat. It was only a little bit, not enough to notice through the transmission.

Finally Red and Purple turned back to Zim, both wearing huge evil grins. Purple reached out of the screens view and pulled back a bag of popcorn, "You do the talking Red, I want to watch this." Red smiled all the wider, "Zim in all the time you've served us, you were the biggest fuck up in all of Irk's history. Even as a smeet you couldn't get anything right. You've caused several massive blackouts, the death of two separate Tallest, and nearly wiped out our whole race."

Zim could feel himself sinking down into his chair. The Tallest had never spoken so blatantly about his failures before. At least not to his face. His antennas pulled back in shame, Zim knew this had to be the worst feeling he had ever been subjected to.

Unfortunately Red didn't stop there, "You disobeyed a direct command from the Control Brains and fled banishment. When you were legally recaptured and brought back to Foodcourtia to serve out your banishment, you escaped again and fled back to Earth. You fail at absolutely everything you do. However, through all of that you were still the most loyal Irken in the armada. You never lied or kept information from us. At least that's what we had believed. You've been keeping something from us Zim, and I think we know what it is. You've got teeth marks on your lips and a hickey on your neck."

Zim swallowed and prepared to deny Gaz' existence when Red surprised him, "You and Tak are mating aren't you?" Zim choked and coughed as Red quickly continued, "You both know it's illegal for Irkens to be in a relationship, and that attempting to reproduce through any means other than cloning is punishable by death. You're even more defective than we thought Zim."Zim cringed; the thought of mating with Tak was horrible and made him sick to his stomach. And being called defective was even worse.

Zim focused on Red, "No! Zim is not defective. The Tak-beast is revolting and Zim wants to see her dead even more than he wants to conquer this ball of filth. Zim would never want her to even touch him, let alone…" Zim visibly shuddered at the thought of being with Tak.

Purple chimed in with a mouth full of popcorn, "Hey why does that sound so sincere? I mean come on; Tak's the only Irken in that part of the universe. If it wasn't Tak then who could it have been?" Zim felt he chest tighten up. Red looked back at Purple, "come on he has to be lying. There's no way he…" Red looked back at Zim with a disgusted look on his face, "Zim you're not actually doing it are you? You can't be mating with a filthy Earth native. It's just disgusting."

Zim felt his whole body go cold. He had never said a word about her. Never mentioned her in any way. He had been so careful about them finding her. How did he let this slip? Purple saw the horrified look on Zim's face, "Oh man he really is too. Red look at him he totally is." Red shook his head, "That's even worse Zim. Not to mention it's like twice as bad as just mating with another Irken." Zim's deep red eyes went glassy and blank as he tried to think of a way out of this.

He blinked and quickly said, "No my Tallest. You don't understand, the bite is from myself. You see I was nervous earlier today and I was chewing on my lip. Yes, and the mark on my neck is… um, a rug burn! Gir tackled me and the carpet left a mark on Zim's beautiful skin. So you see? Perfectly explainable my Tallest. Zim is just as disgusted by the filthy humans as you are."

Red and Purple stood still and stared at him with doubt written all over their faces. After a few moments of continued silence Zim snapped, "Zim swears my Tallest! There is no one, not on Earth or any other planet!" Red scoffed as Zim started panicking and began yelling any excuse that came to his mind.

Red turned to Purple, "Should we tell him the truth, I mean it's not like it matters. If he stays on Earth then he's out of our way and he can't fuck anything up." Purple nodded, "Yea but how do we know he won't come back like the last time he was banished?" Red thought for a moment, "If we can break his loyalty then he should stay where he is. Maybe if we're lucky he'll kill himself too."

Purple turned to Zim just as he seemed like he was about to start sobbing, "Zim, we decided that we won't kill you, or your human. But don't think that means you won't catch hell for this. We have some stuff that you really should have realized by now but eh, whatever. Everything that Red just said was true, but he left out some key stuff. You really are the worst Irken, ever. We hate you so much we broadcast all your failed attempts at your mission across the Empire, just for laughs. At the Academy on Devastis, we use your for an example of a defect."

Red sat back down on the couch as both of them tried to contain their cruel laughter. Purple continued mocking Zim, "They show your plans to smeets and have them point out why it'll fail. You're the laughing stock of the Irken Empire. We have poster of you with catchy phrases like, 'Zim can't even succeed at being banished' and 'study hard so you aren't the next Zim.' That last one is super popular with the trainers on Devastis. There all over the Massive." Red spoke up from back on the couch, "When you showed up at The Great Assigning we had no clue what to do with you. We tried to give you a sandwich and send you on your way, but you wouldn't take no for an answer. Man you were just so annoying. We even sent you off to an unknown quadrant of deep space. You weren't supposed to live. You were supposed to just drift off into space and die of starvation. We never gave a shit about Earth. You just kept calling and calling about your stupid mission. It was a fake mission and you still didn't make any progress. It was amusing at first, but it got old really fast. The only reason we stayed in touch was to make sure you never came back. We tried to kill you for Irks sake. How did you not realize it."

Purple cut in, "Hey did you ever get that 'new A.I. brain' for your house? Yea it was programmed to kill you at all costs." Zim shook his head as tears rolled down his cheeks. His voice was shaky and uncontrolled as he said, "Zim… I… I-I don't… understand, my Tallest." Red smirked and said, "It's simple Zim, we hate you."

Authors Note: Please don't be mad if you like DATR, i enjoy it too. Unfortunately this story worked much better this way. I was afraid that I might have made Tak a bit too bitchy in this chapter. Also I'm not crazy about the call from the Tallest. Eh what evs though. Don't forget to review!