Unlikely Romance

By Invader Aqua

Author's Notes: You've watched, you've waited, you may have even cried yourself to sleep on some nights, but now your suffering has ended, because INVADER AQUA HAS RETURNED!! (Bows to audience. Is greeted by crickets chirping.) Thank you. Thank you. I know it's been an agonizing wait, but I'm finally back. Just so you know, it took me so long because of finals, and I've kinda been stuck in the middle of an ice storm, but apart form that I've been a little lazy… BUT NOT ANY MORE! Thanks to all of my loyal readers who made Unlikely Hero a 313th review success! Now, without further to do (accept for the disclaimer and random quote of the week) I give you CHAPTER 1!

Disclaimer: (Sobs) Why do you all have to keep reminding me that I don't own Invader Zim!?!?

The intelligence of Earth is a constant, however, the population continues to grow.

Chapter 1: Gathering Our Bearings

Tak glared straight forward into space while she mindlessly picked at her nails. Her mind slowly began to drift to memories that she would much rather forget.

MIMI! Help! I can't get up.

AHHHHHH! M-my HAND! AGGGGGHHHH!!

Tak winced when she accidentally ripped off the nail on her right hand. Even after four years, she still wasn't used to her mechanical arm. She glared down at the robotic prosthetic limb. She hated it, but her alternatives were severely limited.

"Are we closing the gap, MIMI?"

The robot made no reply.

"MIMI! YOU USELESS EXCUSE FOR MACHINERY, ANSWER ME!"

MIMI turned to face her mistress and her mechanical face twisted into a large grin. Tak scoffed and quickly turned away in disgust. Her servant had been damaged beyond repair that day on Earth when Zim had ruined her life for the second time. She had done her best to reassemble MIMI, but now the robot gets sudden, uncontrollable personality glitches. It got so bad at times that it almost reminded her of Zim's SIR Unit.

Tak almost hated MIMI at times, but she didn't have the nerve to permanently deactivated the minion. Even though she was annoying at times, they had been through everything together. They had somewhat of a bond forged between them, not to mention that space was very lonely when you faced it by yourself.

Sirens went off in Tak's ship. She nearly fell out of her chair and ran over to see what was going on. She found MIMI asleep at the control panel, a puddle of drool rapidly forming around her mouth. Tak growled and checked the screens.

"Proximity warning? What? There's not a planet anywhere. What are we about to hit?"

(Page Break)

Dib flipped some switches, hoping to give his escape pod the boost it needed to catch up with the Massive. All was in vain. He hung his head in shame at his inability to rescue his little sister.

It was at that moment that he noticed a lever labeled 'Accelerator'.

"How did I not see this before?" He asked himself as he gleefully through the lever forward as far as it would go. The ship lurched forward and Dib laughed at his rapid progress.

Suddenly, his ship jerked to a halt and the lights blew out all at the same time her heard the terrible crunch of metal hitting metal. He lurched forward in his seat and smashed his head into the control consul, knocking himself unconscious.

(Page Break)

Gaz lay on the red couch of Zim's new base. She was comfortable where she lay, with the blanket pulled up to her neck and a pillow being held to her stomach. She stayed there, staring at the wall, waiting for sleep to come and relieve her of the reality that she was now forced to face.

Sleep didn't come, and a few minutes later she heard the doorknob being fumbled from the outside. After a few attempts, the door finally slid open, revealing a very bruised and disoriented Zim. He nearly fell to the floor, but managed to catch himself as he staggered inside. He swayed to the right and left with each step as he made his way over to the chair. Zim eased his bruised and battered body into the chair and leaned all the way back. Gaz watched him the entire time without blinking.

Zim glanced over at her. "Feel better now that you got that out of your system?"

Gaz said nothing.

"I'll admit that to some extent I probably deserved it, maybe even an hour of it, but did you honestly need to keep going after TWO AND A HALF HOURS!?"

Gaz still said nothing, but she had the faintest hint of a smirk on her face. She knew he was angry. She had been angry herself earlier, but the best way to get rid of a bad mood is to spread it to someone else, and she had done just that.

Zim swallowed thickly, even though it hurt him to do so. His gaze returned to the human. "So… Are you okay?"

"You care?"

"You broke your silence," Zim snidely pointed out.

"Screw you, Zim, I can do what ever the Hell I want. So what makes you so suddenly interested in me, huh? You knocked me up, blew up my home, threw me into jail, threatened to kill me twice, and now you want to know if I'm okay?!"

Zim turned away so he wouldn't be struck dead by her glare. "I'll admit that I've wronged you today-"

"Psh, ya think?"

"-But… Despite everything that's happened to you today, you are still alive."

"Lucky me."

"Don't speak to me in that manner! I could have killed you, but I chose not to!"

"Why, Zim? Why didn't you kill me, HUH?! Is there a reason??"

The Irken glanced at the floor, but then quickly returned to her.

Gaz nodded, "It's the baby, isn't it?"

Now it was Zim's turn to say nothing.

Gaz shook her head. "You don't know anything about humans or having family or… being a father! You have no part in this child! The baby is mine, and you better stay the Hell away from it!"

"You said the smeet was mine!" Zim countered.

"Yeah, earlier! When I thought you still cared about me as a person! But now, I almost wish you'd 've killed me. At least then my child would never have to deal with you! You're terrible, Zim. I HATE YOU!"

"But the smeet is mine," Zim insisted. "So therefore I have a right to-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop right there and let's get one thing straight. You are only a parent when you create a baby out of love. I did that. I loved you when this baby was made. You, on the other hand was using me as part of some sick, twisted plot. You never loved me, not even when the baby was made, so you are not its father," Gaz concluded wiping her eyes.

Zim looked down on the floor. He had been defeated. He had used Gaz, and he knew it, so there was nothing left to counter her stinging logic. He hung his head and mourned the loss of his only child.

"Perhaps," he began a while later, "it is possible for me to be the baby's father if I love it before it is born?"

Gaz shook her head, "Forget it, Zim." She rose to her feet and soundlessly walked past him. "All you know is how to lie, manipulate, and kill. You'll never love anybody… And nobody will ever love you."

(End Chapter)

Author's Notes: Another very dark opening chapter. Sorry for its shortness, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. Thank you again to all of the readers of Unlikely Hero. And thanks especially to Invader Johnny, who's stayed with me through both of my previous stories. I'll hopefully be posting sometime around two weeks from now. See you all then! I EXPECT REVIEWS!!