[A/N] Sorry for the late chapter, I've been focussing on other stories. Rest assured, this story will be finished. I've already got the outline for the rest of it done. That is all, please enjoy.
"That's fine though." He spoke to himself, ignoring the looks he received from the filthy humans walking on the street. "It will just give me more time to think of a plan to deal with Tak. That evil monster will rue the day she ever decided to mess with ZIM!" He cackled to the empty air.
"Mama that green kid is talking to himself again."
"Just ignore him honey."
Iiek's plan was split into three sections, Infiltration, Retrieval, and Escape. They would infiltrate the base, retrieve the data, and escape before Tak was any the wiser. Iiek already had programs in place to disable Tak's security system, they just needed to be inside for her to do it.
It was laughably simple to sneak into the weenie stand. The only worker there was as dimwitted as the rest of humanity outside of Gaz's family, and so he didn't suspect a thing when Iiek distracted him with a holographic image of a customer.
They had simply snuck past him while he was distracted and made their way inside the building through the door at his back. Easy.
If only her big headed brother would stop annoying her for five minutes.
"Come on Gaz, can I please see it? It might give us insight into how Zim's technology works!" He pleaded for the fifth time in as many minutes. He had been begging to take a look at the laser bracelet Iiek had given her ever since the Irken had split off on her own.
According to her, the upper floor that they were on wasn't actually connected to the lower levels in a way that would allow the Irken's scanning devices to create a blueprint of the base. She had split off to go lower and told the two of them to see what they could find up here.
Leaving Gaz stuck with her annoying brother.
"Come on!" Dib whined, "Please? Please? Please? Please? Pleas-?"
"I swear Dib, if you don't shut up right this moment, I am going to defenestrate you." She threatened.
"But we're on the fortieth floor…" He said quietly and Gaz simply glared at him.
He held up his hands, "Ok ok! Message received! I'll stop talking. Silent as a mouse, that's me!"
Gaz glared at him for another moment before turning around and continuing her search. Iiek had said that they were unlikely to find anything especially important this high in the base and Gaz was beginning to think her crush was right.
The purple haired girl stumbled slightly as the building shook, before regaining her footing and growling in annoyance. Every five minutes or so for the past half hour, the building had been rocked by something periodically, distant crashes being heard at seemingly random intervals. Gaz was sure it wasn't Iiek as the girl had told her so herself. So that begged the question, what the hell was making all that noise?
"Sooo…" Dib interrupted her thoughts, and Gaz should have guessed that he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut for more than five minutes, "What's the deal with you and that alien scum huh?"
Gaz stopped in her tracks, Dib continuing to walk forward and accidentally bouncing off her still body. She turned around slowly, "Care to repeat that?" She asked with unnerving calmness, staring down at his fallen form.
"I-I just don't get it!" He stuttered out, "You hate everyone. What makes her so special? Did she hypnotize you or something? I can take you back to my lab and check if you want!" He offered, shaking in fear.
Despite his quivering appearance, Gaz could tell he wasn't going to let it go. He had the same look in his eyes that he got whenever he caught wind of one of Zim's plans to take over the world. That same undercurrent of steel that reminded Gaz that he was related to her after all.
She sighed, "If I tell you, will you just leave it alone? Please?" she added on, hoping that would convince him.
Dib nodded frantically, looking slightly surprised that she was willing to tell him, much less something from him so nicely, "I promise."
Gaz took a deep breath, "It-I…" She hesitated, something she had never done before and she growled lightly, trying to put her thoughts in order. Dib was staring at her in concern, unused to this kind of behavior from her.
Eventually she just decided to come out and say it, "I like her Dib. I really like her." she said and Dib's jaw fell slack, "And it's not just because she's the first person I've met that doesn't make me angry with every word they say, it's…everything about her. She's intelligent, funny, beautiful in and out of her disguise…" Gaz was pretty sure she had already made her point if the look on Dib's face was any indication, but the words had started spilling out of her and she couldn't stop them now.
"And she Flirts with me Dib. Flirts with. Me." She shook her head, "Do you know how many people have had the balls to do that?"
"Well there was that one guy in the year below us…" Dib commented, "But I think you took care of the whole 'balls' situation." he grimaced.
Gaz smirked as she remembered that. That boy, Mack or something, had attempted to get her to go on a date with her and when she had refused to give him the time of day, he had attempted to get handsy with her. She quickly rectified that issue with a swift but powerful kick to his family jewels, sending him sprawling to the ground where she then proceeded to continue her assault. In the end, he was left a blubbering, sobbing mess by the time the teachers pulled her off of him.
From what she had heard, he still had a panic attack any time he saw the color purple. Served him right.
She shook her head, she was getting off topic, "No, Iiek isn't anything like that guy. She's usually surprised when she flirts with me, like she didn't mean to do it." Gaz smiled lightly as she thought of the Irken, "Honestly it's kind of cute when she does it. She gets really flushed and her antenna do this thing where they-"
"Ok ok ok!" Dib waved his hands in front of him as he stood back to his feet, "I get the picture, you can put down the camera!" He shivered, clenching his eyes shut for a moment before reopening them and looking at her seriously.
"Is she really that important to you?" He asked.
"She is." Gaz nodded.
He stared at her for another long moment before sighing and running his hand through the lock of hair on his head, "Ok then. I'll leave her alone." He said simply, leaving Gaz slightly surprised.
"Really?" She asked in astonishment.
Dib just nodded, "Yeah really. I know how hard it is to get past that tough shell you've got. If she's really managed to become that important to you, then I'll leave her alone."
She surged forward and wrapped her brother in a hug, shocking him if his surprised yelp was any indication, "Thank you Dib."
He stayed frozen for a moment before his arms came down to wrap around her as well, "Sure thing sis. Sure thing." He hesitated, "You know if she tries to exterminate humanity I'll have to stop her right?" He asked softly.
Gaz snorted, "It'll be fine. She's not planning to exterminate us, just rule over the planet from the shadows. Not too different from your big eyeball club or whatever it's called."
"It's not-" He went to argue before sighing, "Whatever." He said, deciding to just enjoy the hug. They stayed like that for several seconds before something interrupted the moment.
"Not to interrupt this…whatever is going on here," a voice called out, startling the siblings and forcing them to separate, "but you two interlopers are intruding where they shouldn't be. I'm going to have to ask you to leave, before I am forced to take…drastic measures."
From the shadows of the boxes to her brother's left came Tak, walking slowly toward them as purple eyes glared menacingly, "I should have known that you would catch onto my ruse Dib, you always did seem smarter than the rest of your filthy race. Your sister is more of a surprise but I suppose she must be just as intelligent given the two of you grew up together."
Tak's eyes roved over them, mouth opened to continue speaking before she froze as her gaze caught on Gaz's wrist. Or more specifically, the device wrapped around said wrist.
"That bracelet…" she began, and Gaz instinctively covered Iiek's gift from the disguised Irken's sharp gaze, "The design is Irken isn't it? No, don't bother covering it up, I can see it clear as day."
She stepped closer and Gaz brought a hand to the button on the bracelet in preparation, "Where did you acquire that thing? Even if Zim had the brains required to make a device such as that, he wouldn't have given it to you of all people. So where did you get it!?" Tak demanded.
Gaz scowled, pressing down on the button and bringing the glowing palm of her now gloved hand toward the approaching Irken, "Wouldn't you like to know?" She taunted as the air was filled with the hum of gathering energy particles, stopping Tak in her tracks.
They stared at each other in tense silence, which was quickly broken as the wall to Gaz's right suddenly exploded inward.
Gaz coughed at the sudden explosion of dust, before her ears perked up at the sound of a familiar voice, "It's over Tak!"
"Zim!?" Her brother exclaimed, pointing at his rival, "how did you find us?"
Zim posed, hand held in the air like a proclamation of victory, "It was simple for one as genius as ZIM! I simply programmed my scanners to find the biggest head in the city and that led me to you." He grinned smugly.
"My head's not big!" The big headed boy shouted at his rival.
Gaz thought back to the crashes she heard earlier and turned to Zim as he opened his mouth to taunt Dib some more, "You just kept crashing into the tower hoping you would find us didn't you?" She asked and watched as Zim's green cheeks darkened in embarrassment.
"SILENCE! DO NOT QUESTION MY BRILLIANCE!" Zim screeched at her.
He brought a hand up to his mouth and coughed, "Now, where was I? Oh yeah." He posed again, this time pointing directly at Tak who had been watching the exchange in angered confusion, "It's over Tak! The earth is mine to devastate! And I already promised the moon to GIR."
The aforementioned robot peeked his head in through the hole his master had left and waved happily, "Hi!"
As Tak turned away to face the new intruders, Gaz's back pocket buzzed lightly. She discreetly reached inside and retrieved the phone that Iiek had gifted her, reading the message on its screen.
Iiek: What was all that noise?
Are you okay?
Gaz felt a small smile appear on her face at the other girl's concern. Behind her, Zim and his robot were being attacked by Tak's own robot, Mimi if she had heard correctly. She ignored the commotion and typed out a message to Iiek.
Gaz: I'm fine. Zim crashed through a wall and now he's fighting Tak's robot. Get the plans, we'll meet you outside.
She waited a moment for the response.
Iiek: Ok, I've got the plans so I'll start making my way out.
Be safe.
Gaz: You too
Gaz put the phone away, and looked around for an exit. She spotted one in the form of a large trash shoot that looked to lead to the ground floor, 'That will do.' She nodded to herself.
She reached over to her brother who was distracted with the sight of Zim getting his butt kicked and grabbed him by the arm, "Huh? Wha-Ahhhhhhh!" She flung him toward the trash shoot, firmly pushing him inside as he caught himself on the edge with his hands.
She listened to his screams taper off for a moment before shrugging lightly and jumping inside herself. As she slid down, she could distantly hear the sound of Zim being defeated by Tak's robot but she put it out of her mind. It wasn't important right now.
Iiek would meet them outside and they could discuss the plans and decide what to do then.
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