Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim. This story was purely written out of my depression, so bare with me for a while if something really bad happens in this story. However I'm sure it won't be that big of a surprise. Please read and review, this first chapter's a little short but I felt it's a good way to get things moving.
- Mass

Diamond Layers – A ZATR, Chapter 1 (The Defectives)

"Let me ask you something…it won't hurt I promise." The girl looks up at her lover, tears streaming down his face as his arms incase her wounded torso. Her breathing stutters as a minor bit of blood runs down and into her lungs. She gulps heavily.

"What was I to you?" She barely gets out before coughing again. Her lover's red eyes glisten with tears as he tries to gain strength, to gain integrity in his words that could mean anything to the girl he's holding at the moment.

"What do you mean Tak?" He asks with a stutter in his voice. He felt sad that Tak was confused at the moment, and probably throughout their entire relationship about how they saw one another. It made Zim cry even harder.

"You're my….my girlfriend. My life!" Zim stuttered.

"I thought you might say that, babe." She coughed once again. And then she was met with a cough that wouldn't stop a pain in her chest.

"I love you Zim…" She used the last of her strength to kiss him, and then she fell lifeless.

'AAAAHH!' Zim woke up screaming horribly loud. He frantically looked to the right of him to ensure that Tak was still sleeping next to him. And there she was, throwing Z's into the air. He could hear the faint sound of her breathing which made him calm down. He grabbed her waist and lay behind her, snuggling with her warm body that was slightly taller than his.

He pet her antennae with his hand and put both arms around her torso, bringing her even closer to him. Zim's arms had density to them, at last! He'd grown taller than his previous stature but not as fast or as tall as Tak who was at least 2 inches taller than him. It had been only 2 years since the two Irken's reunited on Earth; since their troubles had ended with the Tallest's message to Zim about being a defective, Tallest Purple declared Tak's exile for not killing the Irken defective when she blatantly had the chance to. She became depressed and wouldn't speak for a week which drove her insane. She no longer hunted Zim, and he didn't send her any mean or degrading messages that year either.

What happened to us that made us so….Gah, what's the word I'm looking for?

Zim got caught in his thoughts about the past, but it was mainly because of Tak that he was still here and able to think so well. He never really thought of this as being a moment of love and fortune, but then again, who can predict that without knowledge of the two?

Tak's muscles relaxed and she moaned quietly as Zim's arm encased her flexible yet strong, beautiful Irken frame. He smiled at the thought of her being happy with him, although her attitude would be complete crap sometimes. She was still Tak; no one could/can change that. But the other side of her soon broke out of its bubble and showed to be Tak's extremely soft side. Her depression really brought it out of her though, what with all the conflict arising with the Tallest's declaration of Exiles and things to come just like that.

Tak began to turn in the bed and Zim relaxed his arms so that she could have room to move. Soon after she was facing him, her dark purple eyes lifted themselves awake and stared deeply into Zim's.

"Goodmorning Zim." She says with a smile. "Goodmorning Hun." He kissed her lips softly. The two lay in bed, gazing towards one another at point blank range.

I'll never give her up, He thought to himself. That morning, things went pretty smooth, and the two Irkens continued through their day as Tak and Zim, no regrets spoken of.
_

Thanks for reading this short but detailed chapter. I'm hoping you all have an idea of when this is taking place and I also hope that you all enjoy the story. Next chapter will be a long one, and I'm hopping on a plane to California in about 5 days. So! If you don't hear back from me, I'm probably not getting access to a computer. Please remember to read more and review, and also, constructive criticism helps a bunch. Thanks and be sure to check back for updates ever so often!
- Mass