Welcome, children. Welcome…to the KARMA CIRCLE.

It is important to note that the unknown is not always to be feared. And it's rather cliché to say that people fear what they don't understand. But there is a grain of truth to it. Just a grain, but a grain nonetheless. People are more…apprehensive…than afraid. They're cautiously guarded. As they should be. It's pragmatic.

But sometimes people just don't understand the danger they're putting themselves in. They have an embrace of the unknown that is downright foolish. Even worse so when they KNOW the unknown is dangerous…and don't care, for they believe that they can make use of such things for their own foolish goals. They dine at the Devil's banquet, eagerly drinking from the cup he fills up, lulled in by his sweet words.

One family is going to learn the consequences of dining with the devil.

The HARD WAY...

"You're doomed. DOOMED! DOOOOOOMED." Ms. Bitters muttered, pointing a gnarly finger at Dib as he rolled his eyes behind his glasses, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he made his way out of the classroom. "Everyone knows you're doomed."

"I make ONE comment about my trash getting knocked over a bunch of times and suddenly everyone thinks I've got a bear or something in my backyard." Dib muttered, walking down the halls of the school as he slightly kicked at the ground before bumping into Gaz, who wheeled around, glaring darkly at him…even more darkly than usual. "Eep!"

"WATCH IT. I've got my Game Slave 3000 in here and it's worth more than the mortgage on the house." She told him, Dib flinching a bit as Gaz hurried down the hall, Dib cringing as he kept walking along, sighing slightly as he passed by the guidance counselor's office before sticking his head in, Mr. Thildari nonchalantly looking over a book in Braille but hearing Dib when he knocked, the milky-eyed, white-haired man glancing up from his desk in Dib's direction.

"Can I speak to you for a little while?" Dib asked.

"If it's about that coyote or something that I heard is in your backyard, I recommend calling Animal Control. That's what Torque's parents did when he went missing two months ago." Mr. Thildari informed him in his dark but soft voice, waving a hand in the air. "But I have a feeling that's not what you want to know."

"Did you TRY to ask Gaz to sit down and talk? Ever since Mom died she's TOTALLY cut me off from her. She hasn't even said my name. I've been "Hey, Stupid" for a year now." Dib asked nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as Mr. Thildari sympathetically smiled at Dibbun Membrane.

"I understand what it feels like to lose a mother, Dib. And not everyone grieves in the same way and for the same amount of time. That said, I think you should try to focus less on connecting with her and more on connecting with the other family you have. Your father in particular, I think he really needs you." Mr. Thildari suggested, gesturing at Dib with a hand as Dib sighed a bit and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Thanks, Mr. Thildari." Dib said as he left the room, heading out of the school and down the sidewalk, grateful Zim was still away on that "Big Important Mission". Maybe he'd never even come back! One less thing to worry about, he thought to himself as he kept walking down the sidewalk, approaching the large forest that ran from Main Street to the back of his house. It had been exciting at one point to go from your backyard to something so big it was practically a national park, but he didn't usually go trekking there often anymore, he had serious, save-the-world-

Wait. WAAAAIT. Something was sitting on a rock by a large lake far off in the forest, glimmering, glittering…what was it? Dib focused intently on the far-off woods before he heard an annoyed yell, turning his head, Gaz down the sidewalk and jabbing her thumb backwards at their house. "Hey! C'mon! You're cooking dinner tonight!"

"No I'm not, the chore list said-" Dib began before Gaz launched a crumpled up wad of paper through the air, bouncing off his head, the chore list flopping to the ground as Dib sighed. There went another chore list, he sighed inwardly as Gaz headed off to the house, Dib turning to the forest and racing towards the lake, leaping over roots and rocks, racing past bluebells that were finally beginning to flower in the heart of the season. Dib took note of everything, he was almost obsessive that way to mentally record everything he saw, and this thing he was looking at something that was SO far removed from his ordinary (as ordinary as his life got) experience that it made him grind to a halt.

There on the shelf of a smooth stone overhanging a deep lake by the hollow of an old oak coppice was an alien. An IRKEN like Zim, but decidedly different. Wearing what appeared to be armor of some kind, similar to that of…yes, the "Tallest" he had seen before in Zim's house and in that odd dream Zim had made him go through. A spindly spine, no thumbs, just two long slender claws, as tall as his DAD even, and with curled up antennae and pale, light blue eyes to match the armor she wore.

Oh yes…it was definitely a female. No man could have the pose she had atop that stone as she calmly turned to look Dib over, tilting her head slightly and regarding him with a certain lazy watchfulness. It was…unexpected to see an tall Irken so out in the OPEN and not…well…trying to hide from humans. If they saw her out like this, they would NOT think it was a "skin condition", her spine thinned out so much at the bottom connection to the "skirt" she had it was practically nonexistent! What was she doing?

"What are you DOING?" Dib managed to ask as the Tallest sat up and calmly wrapped her arms around her "skirt", tilting her head to the right a bit, looking him over.

"Obviously, taking a light nap and sunning myself. I get tired very easily these days. I need to eat and sleep far more than normal ever since I managed to free myself from my…unique imprisonment within a gigantic blob's gut. I think some of it SEEPED into me. I'm always so hungry."

"Are you kidding me?!" Dib found himself saying, gesturing at the forest around her. "I mean…come on!"

"What?" The female Irken asked, her voice almost melodic, entrancing as she smiled a small little Mona Lisa grin.

"You just can't…you can't just live in these WOODS!"

"These are very nice woods." The female Irken said with a touch of patronage in her voice.

"But where do you SLEEP?" Dib asked. "Just…out in the open? In a tree branch?"

"I don't really "sleep" at night. That's when I'm busiest." The Irken nonchalantly remarked as she stretched out a bit on the rock, calmly picking at her zipper-toothed teeth with a single claw, Dib frowning some more, slapping his face and tugging down on it.

"What, you do hunting at night?"

"Yes. I feel a need for flesh. It was rather surprising at first." The female Irken admitted with a bit of a thoughtful look on her face, blinking her bright blue eyes and pursing her lips a bit, her tone almost…relishing the very word "flesh" as she spoke it, as if she was tasting this delicious treat. "Rabbits, fowl, rabbits, poultry, squirrels, chipmunks, anything I can sneak from the farms, and…well, it's been almost two months since I tasted child flesh."

Dib gaped. No way. No WAY. Was…was she suggesting…

…hadn't Torque Smacky gone missing two months ago?

Dib realized he couldn't in good conscience, just keep this alien out here. Certainly not where it could be found…and certainly not when she could actually keep EATING people if that was really what she was doing.

"I'm taking you with me." Dib proclaimed, holding up his alien sleep cuffs as the female Irken smirked a bit, raising a nonexistent eyebrow up.

"Oh? With THOSE?" She asked, looking amused, hopping off the rock and landing in front of him, looking him over, kneeling down over him. "You really think, my little one-"

Dib slammed the cuffs on her, snapping them shut making them buzz as the tallest stiffened, electrical stimuli coursing through her before she flopped to the ground with a THWUMPA-THWUD, unconscious. Smirking in pride, Dib lifted one arm up, grinning broadly. "At last! VINDICATION! Wait until Gaz sees this!"

…

…

…

… "…seriously?" Gaz asked, frowning a bit as she looked the female Irken over, the Irken now tied down with half-power sleep cuffs on her arms, a special disruption patch attached to her PAK that Dib had developed to take care of Zim and knock him out in case they ever got into a close-combat situation. It took away Zim's abilities to do anything with his PAK, save for, of course, the life support. He wasn't heartless after all. "She's actually…y'know."

"…come a little closer, CHILD. Miyuki of the planet Irk will show you." The female Irken whispered darkly.

"Stop it." Dib said, folding his arms over his chest, his amber eyes narrowing. "Look. I can't just let you go. But I'll make sure you're well fed and kept safe in exchange for information about your race. Information I could use against one of your own kind."

"I would never, ever sell out my own kind. I am no filthy MELKREMAR, I love my people as dearly as my own son, Darith-"

"It's ZIM?" Dib asked calmly, raising an eyebrow in the air.

Miyuki immediately glowered in fury. "HIM?! The fool that got me eaten by that blob to begin with?! The infinite energy absorbing blob he developed?!" She hissed out, claws digging into the floor. "Quite selfishly I find myself hungering for more than flesh, but for revenge. I will help you, Mr. Dibbun Membrane…if it will mean Zim suffers and dies. I find that acceptable."

"Then I'll get all his stuff. Nice." Dib remarked, rubbing his hands together. "Let me start with the basics. Do Irkens have specific weak spots on their bodies?"

Gaz, meanwhile, had already left the room and was playing an internet game on her Game Slave 3000 in an internet "room" against one particularly annoying pest of hers. IGGINS. She didn't know how he'd managed to somehow survive falling down that elevator shaft, but…somehow…

She'd creamed Keef easily. In fact, she was sure he'd lost on purpose because he was cheerily freakish like that. She'd beaten the Letter M into mincemeat. She'd turned PigBoy into BACON in "Karnal Fighter". But now…Iggins was actually beating her! HER! As Thun-Li, the asskicking heroine who's kicks had the force of a lighting bolt! Her avatar was getting her face turned into hamburger meat, and her thumbs were getting blisters from constantly slamming down onto the-

KA-SPLORCH!

"You Lose! FATALITY. "

"Ha-ha! Ha-ha! Ha-ha!" Iggin's smug laughter echoed up from the Game Slave 3000's speakers as Gaz's glare turned dark. Somehow, she'd find a way to get even. Somehow. SOME WAY…

…wait.

…waaaait.

An idea was coming to her. Her dad was getting the GS4 home console for her birthday in three weeks. And "Karnal Fighter Fury" too, the sequel to Karnal Fighter. All she'd have to do was invite Iggins over for a personal rematch and he'd leap at the chance. After all, she was getting the console before any other kids in the neighborhood. Why not? Her dad OWNED the company now. Iggins would be hesitant to swallow his pride and go to her house to play with her…unless it meant a chance at KFF on the GS4.

And then…

Gaz's cold scowl turned to a calculating smile, a faint chuckle rising from her pale lips.

Yes. He would pay.

…

…

…

… "She isn't what I would call a…easy person to shop for, Dad." Dib admitted as he sat in the living room, his cell phone held to his ear, his other hand scribbling down battle plans against Zim, having drawn a DISTURBINGLY accurate anatomical picture of the Irken invader on a notepad as "Mysterious Mysteries" played on the television. "So I decided to just get her a book of spells. She reeeeaaally loves the stuff."

"Oh COME now, Dib, my poor insane son. You and I both know there's no such thing as-" Prof. Membrane began on the other end of the line before stopping himself. "Wait. Was this "spell book" thing how you somehow raised the dead three years ago?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"…then she might actually enjoy it."

It was true, Gaz was something of a witch to a great deal of the children at their school. And if anyone bothered her, they'd get their teeth punched in or she'd find some way to hex them and they'd spend the next three days in their bed, aching all over. Mostly because Gaz would sneak in gummy bear into the children's room to nibble on their tosies at night. But who was gonna complain? I mean, what were you gonna do? Tell her FATHER your pinky was eaten off by a psychotic gummy bear she snuck into your room?

"Why are there GUMMY BEARS staring at me?!" Miyuki yelled out from upstairs, Dib cringing slightly.

"Ah, gotta go, dad." He said, quickly turning the phone off and racing upstairs, finding the gummy bear army his sister had made had surrounded Miyuki. He quickly pulled out strings of beef jerky, tossing them into his sister's room as the bears all raced after the tasty treats, Dib slamming the door shut and breathing a sigh of relief. "Phew. That was close. You alright?"

"I suppose, yes. Your sister left her room and is now picking up some child named…Iggins, I believe. For a "playdate"." Miyuki murmured, rolling her eyes. "I'm simply starving. You could not have saved any of that beef jerky for me, human?"

"I've got frosting." Dib said, holding up a small carton of icing he had used to make Gaz's cake as he put it before Miyuki's tied up form so she could grab it, but not grab HIM if he got too close. "It's fruit and sugar. Good for you." He remarked with a calm shrug, exiting the hallway as Miyuki opened up the carton and began slurping up the icing within with her long, worm-like tongue, savoring the taste.

It wasn't long before she heard Gaz arrive, the child named Iggin's annoying voice lilting up from the stairway below as Miyuki flattened her antennae against the top of her head and moaned, shaking her head back and forth as Gaz headed up the stairs, leaving him behind. "I'll be right down, I gotta set the game up. Could you check my insectoid robot security drone? I think the batteries got put in wrong." Gaz remarked out loud, giving Miyuki a calm, knowing wink at him as she walked into her room and closed the door.

"Your dad got you a robot security drone?" Iggins wanted to know, eyes bugging out wide, holding his hands up to his mouth, going "Ooooh" as he bounded up the stairs. "Uh, um…where's the batteries on this thing?" He wanted to know, Miyuki's head held back, looking "turned off" as Gaz struggled not to burst out laughing.

"The chest region." Gaz announced from inside her door, Iggins heading over to Miyuki's form, kneeling down by her, putting a hand on what he assumed was the battery slot of her chest…getting in close.

Too close.

Without further ado, Miyuki hefted the child up, mouth splitting open, her jaws stretching wide as she crammed the stunned Iggins into her maw up to his shoulders. She might have been chained to the wall by long cuffs, but she had enough reach for THIS. The horrified child struggled franticly, kicking and squirming but doing nothing but make Miyuki's cheeks quiver. The Tallest couldn't believe how DELCIOUS the child was. The rich taste of juicy meat, the feel of movement on her tongue, all sent tremors of pleasure through the Irken female. Her worm-esque tongue lashed out, smothering the face of her meal as poor Iggins struggled, Gaz exiting her room and smirking a bit.

"Like him?" Gaz asked as Miyuki swallowed, pulling Iggin's head into her tight throat. Her tiny neck bulged out as she swallowed, pulling more of Iggins in with every gulp, moving past her armored chest, the Tallest kept gulping, moving her clawed digits down to Iggin's waist to move him further up into her hungry maw, sliding the child's stomach into her hot, wet mouth.

"Sooo…ooooood." Miyuki murmured out, continuing her meal. "So…so 'ery 'oooood…" She admitted, a tight ring of muscle around poor Iggins's neck, his head hanging in the stale air of the slightly bigger stomach.

"No! No, you can't!" Iggins screamed out from inside the stomach.

"Yeah, I kinda CAN." Gaz said, snorting a bit as Miyuki continued her meal, Iggins's flabby legs hanging out of her distended mouth. She started sucking them in, her body rumbling as it expanded, holding a child inside it's stretched bulk. With a wet, slurp, the Tallest gobbled down Iggins's feet, slurping his toes in with a pop. The whole bulk of the child now filled the Tallest's stomach, stretching her belly out several feet and Miyuki calmly rubbed her distended gut with a single claw, licking her lips free of flavor. "Hope he tasted nice, though from the looks of it you were LOVING it."

"Oh, it was positively divine." Miyuki sighed wistfully. "If you don't mind I…ooh…need to digest him now. Could you leave me be?" She asked, Gaz calmly heading to her room to play some "Karnal Fighter Fury" alone as Iggins struggled uselessly in the Tallest's gut, the blue-eyed female patting her stomach, resting her claws on where his head was.

"Lemme OUT!" He screamed, sticky fluids and mucus within the belly walls pulsating around him, the juices of her belly bringing him closer to said walls as he began to sink into it. He futilely tried to pull free as he began to feel his body tingling, an odd numbness coming over him mixed with an almost comforting warmth that began to swell through his body like an orchestra beginning to start up.

"It won't do you any good, believe me." She sighed. "This is what I endured when the Infinite Energy Absorbing Blob swallowed me. I became one with it. My thoughts were its, my flesh was its. I ceased to be myself for years until just recently. And now…you'll experience the same." She told him, speaking as gently and as tenderly as she could to calm him, stroking his head from her belly as she felt him begin to cry. "Oh, there, there, please don't cry, little one. This is not the end. It's a new beginning. See with my eyes… feel with my skin…think my thoughts." She cooed as Iggins began to sense everything around him as he was absorbed and digested. His memories and thoughts were joining with Miyuki, his skin was as hers, he could see out through her eyes and feel her caressing her own stomach, caressing him…

With this, she took him, everything about him becoming a part of herself. She'd done this hundreds of times now, but enjoyed every one of them. It was a very sensual, almost spiritual act, and one which she tried very hard to make as merciful and kind to her prey. Her belly now bulged just a little and she sighed, leaning back against the wall, letting sleep take her.

…

…

…

…Dib was understandably…terrified of his sister.

He'd always been frightened to an extent. Now he was genuinely terrified.

Iggins Polanski had gone missing. He'd been out of school for three days. Gaz, HIS sister, had been quietly smirking to herself whenever someone brought up Iggins and had nonchalantly mentioned that perhaps "People should be careful". When Dib had flat out ASKED her if she knew where Iggins was, Gaz had calmly remarked that yes. She DID know exactly what had happened to Iggins Polanski. And HE'D better watch out too.

"Gaz, he could be HURT, if you actually did something to him that's wrong" He'd manage to get out before she PUNCHED him across the face, knocking him to the floor, other kids surprised at this sudden display of anger from Gaz as she pointed down at him.

"Don't you preach at ME!" She snarled, storming down the hall. Some kids laughed. But a few were actually staring at him and at Gaz, concerned and disturbed looks on their faces, CLEARLY worried over what was going on and wondering perhaps if it was GAZ who was the insane one.

An unfortunate idea was forming in Dib's mind as he met once again with the guidance counselor, Mr. Thildari handing him a box of Peppermint Patty chocolates, Dib choosing one and munching on it, mumbling nervously to himself as Thildari clasped his hands together, his blind eyes filled with concern for the child.

"I'm afraid my sister did something awful to him." Dib murmured through mouthfuls of Peppermint Patties, chewing in small bites as he sat in the soft, warm room of Mr. Thildari as the blind guidance counselor cringed.

"I can understand your…concern about that. You might actually be correct, even. I would advise you to keep a close eye on her and if you see any suspicious behavior, please do not hesitate to tell me, and I will make a call to the police." He told Dib. "I'd ask you to phone them yourself but after the whole "raising the dead" thing, they probably wouldn't put much faith in what you have to say." Thildari sighed.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Dib admitted, looking out the door, seeing Gaz chatting it up with Keef. Or rather, KEEF was talking and Gaz was just "ah-humming" and nodding in agreement before she put an arm around his shoulder, the hairs on the back of Dib's neck rocketing up as a cold shiver filled his frame. Oh no.

"Tell you what, Keef…why don't I show you the new toys I got?" She asked, leading Keef away as Dib paled, mouth slightly hanging open as Keef eagerly cheered.

"Oh BOY, I'd LOVE that! My parents are always working. All I got was a sweater."

"…damn. That does suck." Gaz admitted.

"Did your family ever give you sweaters?" Dib asked Mr. Thildari as he leaned back slightly in his chair, steepling his fingers and shaking his head.

"My mother gave me the gift of life as a test tube baby made from her DNA…and a bitching necklace. But never sweaters. Though I did get a beautifully soft robe. It's like an angel is kissing my skin."

…

…

…

…Dib didn't manage to make it home in time. He, unfortunately, had gotten into a fight with Zim. He'd manage to actually make Zim's entire body freeze up with a carefully placed strike below the left ventricle of the squeeglyspooch, but that hadn't kept Ms. Bitters from giving him AND Zim's still-frozen-body detention. Zim was now stuck in a janitor's closet, listening to the creepy ol' floorsweeper "Nny" talk about how he liked to paint the walls of his closet with pig's blood, unable to move, and Dib was struggling to open the securely-locked front door to his house, banging on it as hard as he could. "OPEN THE DOOR, GAZ! OPEN THE DOOR!"

"Oh calm down." Gaz remarked from inside, the door finally swinging open as Dib raced inside, gaping in horror at what he could see up the stairs…a shadow of a horrific sight, one which became all too clear when he bounded up it past his sister.

"Oh my GOD!" Dib screamed out, tugging at his hair, Keef's face making an imprint on Miyuki's stomach as she looked sadly down at her bulging belly.

"Such a good child. He even let himself be covered in chocolate sauce and sprinkles for me. Thought he was playing a game…" She sighed mournfully, rubbing it slowly. "He's sleeping comfortably whilst I digest and absorb his body as painlessly, I promise."

"You ATE him?! Like you did Torque?! And…and IGGINS?!" Dib screeched, mouth gaping open as he glared down at Gaz. "Gaz, what the HELL, man?! What the actual HELL!?"

"And what are YOU gonna do about it?" Gaz snorted as Dib realized Miyuki was no longer chained to the wall…the cuffs were off her. "See, I've made a deal with her. She gets to stay here, safely away from anybody else who might notice her and try to snatch her up…and I bring her all the food she wants. Plus I get rid of some whining little nothings." She added with a shrug. "Win-win."

"She EATS PEOPLE!" Dib yelled out. "You've MURDERED them, Gaz! How do you not get that?!"

"So?" She asked, raising a single eyebrow up, obviously not caring about the horrific moral implications of what she'd done.

"You're even colder about this than I am. And I'm the one actually eating people." Miyuki muttered. "My SON wasn't as cold as you are and he crushed the skull of a superior officer with his bare hands for making fun of his eyes."

"People say "bitch" like it's a bad thing…" Gaz mused slightly before Dib finally decided to just get practical on her.

"I'll tell DAD about what you did." He snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at her as she smiled evilly at him.

"And I'LL just say YOU did it." Gaz said, holding a hand up to her forehead, fake-swooning as her tone became mocking with satanic delight. "After all, you love alien stuff. I'll say YOU built Miyuki to take care of those you think wronged you, and all I gotta do is cwwwyyy and tawk wike diiiiis. Oh DADDY, he was soooo meaaaan!" She cackled.

"Y-you…YOU…" Dib stammered, scarcely able to believe what he was hearing as Gaz nonchalantly headed for the kitchen, Dib slowly turning his head to look back at Miyuki. "…oh GEEZ…" He moaned, holding his hands over his glasses, shaking his head back and forth as the Tallest's gut gurgled a bit, digestion setting in.

"You wanna hug?" She offered.

"NOOO!"

…

…

…

…Dib had no idea what to do. He was, to put it simply, terrified. And more kids were…disappearing. Especially if they had, in some way, pissed Gaz off somehow. Dib was sure she wasn't even bothering with subtlety anymore and was just sneaking into their homes at night, beating them unconscious, and dragging them to their house for her…new PET to eat. A rumor was spreading that she had sacrificed kids in some demonic ritual. The truth wasn't TOO far off…

He couldn't tell his father. The cops wouldn't believe him. The children couldn't stand up to Gaz. The TEACHERS wouldn't-

Thildari. Where was he? Why had he not been in class for the past week, Dib nervously thought to himself, sitting on the couch, twitching nervously as sweat trickled down the side of his face to plop onto his jiggling leg. How long did a man have to go on vacation?! Why hadn't he answered his calls and-

"Oh DIIIIIB." Gaz sweetly called out from the kitchen, Dib immediately jumping several feet in the air as Gaz slowly entered the living room, holding up a bag of chocolate chips and a paintbrush covered in frosting. "I think you should take a look at this. It's an old friend of yours."

Dib cringed, a foreboding feeling of dread seeping into his body like a wet sweatshirt seeping its contents into your skin. He gulped as he entered the kitchen, blinking in surprise as he saw Zim tied down to a platter like a roast, a candied apple in his mouth, stripped bare of clothing and about to be given proper sweets as a garnish. Miyuki was hungrily licking her lips, Zim's eyes the only thing the paralytic scorpion venom that Gaz had poisoned him with able to move, pleading for Dib to help him as Miyuki pinched at his cheeks.

"Mmmmmmm. I've not eaten Irken before but…is there not a phrase on your planet that revenge is a dish best served cold? I think a tasty chilled Zim cake will be divine to my taste buds." The Tallest mused, antennae cheerily bobbing up and down.

"I'm doing you a favor. Now you'll never have to worry about him again. All YOU have to worry about is helping me find big M here more delicious munchies." Gaz remarked with a big grin as she began painting Zim's body with the frosting, Miyuki taking the bag of chocolate chips and sprinkling them over Zim.

"No. No, I'm stopping this. This is wrong." Dib said furiously. "Just plain wrong. I stayed quiet for too long, but no more."

"Dib. Either you HELP me…or I tell dad you had a TRAGIC accident and I can't find the body…" Gaz hissed out, eyes glittering darkly as Miyuki gave Dib a sad, sympathetic look before the doorbell to the kitchen door, Dib gaping as Mr. Thildari stepped inside.

"I got your messages at last, Dibbun, and I tried the front door, it was locked but…MANEEM?!" he proclaimed, gaping at Miyuki, the green orb necklace he wore glittering as his form shimmered and shifted…becoming a white-robed Irken with balled antennae that now stood tall before Gaz, gazing with unseeing eyes at his mother as Miyuki dropped the bag of chocolate chips. "I'd…I'd know that scent anywhere, that…that mental pattern anywhere…maneem…oh, mother. What has HAPPENED to you…" He whispered, holding her cheeks as he felt her face. "What happened to your body?!"

"Darithil…my darling Darth." Miyuki cooed, Dib suddenly realizing what was going on as he stared at who HAD been Mr. Thildari, then at Miyuki, scratching his head, Gaz gaping in astonishment. They DID have similar eye and head structures after all. "You're alive. HERE. How?...why?"

"I took up residence here to hide from an empire that would have killed me for my physical defectiveness with you gone. I've been a school guidance counselor for years now, and I'm just so glad you're…" He then gazed over in ZIM'S direction, feeling Zim's paralyzed form, then glaring at Gaz. "…you were going to turn him into a frosted and slightly frozen COOKIE…and feed him to my mother…" He murmured darkly. "After all the children you fed to her...no more. I would not even wish this on Zim."

"And what're you gonna do about it?" Gaz began to growl, rising into the air, dropping the paintbrush and holding her hands up as demonic energy swirled around her and her eyes began to glow red. "I decide who lives and dies in this PATHETIC town! I have danced with the devil in the pale moonlight and dined with him in the fires of Hell itself! I-"

"You're about to meet the REAL devil." Darth hissed out, clawed hands grabbing her shoulders as a harsh psychic bolt of pure force BARRELED into her skull, immediately stunning her. The second he'd put his hands on her she'd been amazed, her focus halted, scarcely able to believe he'd actually attack her, but now…

Now she was doomed.

…

…

…

…What happened to Dib? Well…the good news was that Zim never, EVER troubled Dib again. He was positively too terrified of reliving the experience he'd had at Dib's home to bother taking over the world again and incurring the wrath of what would become Dib's new friends, the school's guidance counselor…and a brand new teacher to replace Ms. Bitters who STRANGELY disappeared a few days after the "incident".

And as for Gaz, well…

She of all people should have known better. She'd made a deal with the devil to get her way. And despite how smart she was…she didn't know that you can never dine with the devil…

Without becoming the meal.