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Being Human	By : RotSeele Category: +G through L > Invader Zim > AU/AR-Alternate Universe-Alternate Reality Views: 2485 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Being Human
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 17-Seventeen
- 18-Eighteen
- 19-Nineteen
- 20-Twenty
- 21-Twenty One
- 22-Twenty-Two
- 23-Twenty-Three
- 24-Twenty-Four
- 25-Twenty-Five
- 26-Twenty-Six
- 27-Twenty-Seven
- 28-Twenty-Eight
- 29-Twenty-Nine (Epilogue)
- 22
- 23
- 24
Twenty-three - Zim POV
I crouched low as I came around the corner of my building. Gaz crouched beside me, her hands resting on her knees as she watched the building in front of us. I was glad she was with me, if only because she would keep me from doing something stupid. She'd already stopped me once, on our way out Dib's building, and told me that if I so much as tried to ambush a soldier, she was going to plant her boot so far up my ass, I'd be able to taste the leather. Okay, so I was paraphrasing, but you get the idea. She was determined to keep me alive from as long as possible.
I looked around, but I didn't see any of Aevinr's men. Either they hadn't gotten here yet, or they'd already checked the building. If it was the latter, then I was screwed, because they were probably waiting for me. They probably would have my PAK, and would be waiting for me to come get it. On the other hand, being optimistic, they probably hadn't found it and probably weren't even here. I took off at a flat run, keeping low just in case there were snipers waiting. Gaz was right behind me, backing me up as we reached the front door. I slipped in, held the door for her, and then led the way down the hall to my dorm room. When we reached it, Gaz slipped to the left of the door, and I stood on the right. I reached to grab the knob and turn. I bared my teeth as I found the door was unlocked. Shit. I signaled to Gaz, and she nodded. I turned the knob all the way and pushed. Gaz went in, fast and low, and I heard her punch someone in the gut, because he let out a choked gasp in the darkness.
"It's okay, Zim." Gaz called. "He's human."
Human? Shit. I walked into the room and looked down at the human Gaz had pinned under her boot. "Hey, Desmond."
"Hey, Zeke. Uh, Zim. I thought that was your hamster's name?"
"Yeah. Well. I lied. You can let him up, Gaz."
"You sure?" She asked, staring down at Desmond. "He kind of looks like a douchebag."
I snorted. "Yeah, well, he's kind of my friend."
Gaz gave me an arch look. I shrugged and headed to my bed. My PAK was there, safe and sound, no traps or alarms or anything to tell the Puuraki hunting party I was here. I lifted it up and put it on, giving a soft sigh at the weight of it. It felt good to have it on again, and at this point I didn't care who saw me with it.
"You're not human, are you?" Desmond asked quietly. He got to his feet and looked at Gaz. "And you?"
"Do I look like a fucking alien to you?" Gaz snapped, hands on her hips.
Desmond threw up his hands in surrender. "Just asking, cause it seems to be the night for E.T. and all his freaky pals."
I looked at him. "You saw them?"
"Dude, I nearly got shot. I looked out the window and saw some dick wandering around the bushes, so I asked him what the fuck he was doing. He pointed a gun at me and I ducked. I thought they were coming in here, but they just surrounded the building."
I frowned. Why just surround the building? Why not come in and try to find me? Gaz whistled lowly. "Because they're not focused on you right now, Zim. They're focused on getting those two out before they start murdering everyone here."
"Then they know where we're hiding." I said.
"Woah, time out." Desmond said. He looked at Gaz, then at me. "Who's this Amazon chick, and what the hell do you mean, they're focused on getting 'them' out? What the hell is going on?"
"You're taking the fact I'm an alien rather well," I commented, earning a glower from him.
"I knew you weren't normal, so finding out you're an alien doesn't really phase me. I'm pretty sure I've got a cousin who's from some other planet, anyway. What gets me is that you guys are awfully calm about what's going on out there, and you aren't screaming out that there are people trying to kill you."
"People have been trying to kill me my entire life, so it's pretty much a non-issue at this point. Panicking solves nothing. Bullets do." I smiled and reached behind me, pressing a small button on my PAK. It gave a little hiss and popped up, allowing me to grip the handle of a small knife about the size of a pencil. I offered it to Gaz. "You remember this toy?"
She grinned. "I remember."
"It's modified a bit, so don't cut your fingers off." I said.
Gaz smiled and pressed the small switch on the side of the knife. Electricity hummed as the knife came to life, fully charged with the overflow of my kinetic energy. She turned it to the left, and the blade telescoped out, widening at the base and heading up until she held a full sword. "I missed this." She said with a smile. "You don't have the gun?"
"The gun is mine." I said, reaching behind me again to pull out my small blast pistol. I heard a soft whistle from Desmond, and turned to look at him. "You'd better stay low for a while. You don't want to get caught up in this."
"Dude, I'm already caught up in this." Desmond said with a smile. "But unless you've got another weapon in that thing, I guess the only thing I can do for you is stay out of your way. You watch your back, though. These guys, they're dangerous. And," he paused, looking back and forth between Gaz and me, "don't be a hero, Zeke. Just stay in the background, okay?"
I stared at him, unable to really understand what he was saying. "Me?" I said with a laugh. "I don't plan on being a hero."
"Still," Desmond shrugged. "Good luck."
"Thanks." I looked at Gaz, and saw she was staring at Desmond with that calculating look in her eyes.
Suddenly, the building shook, and I heard people crying out, trying to figure out what was going on. Desmond moved to the door of the dorm, easing it open and peering out. He raised his hand and beckoned us over. He sank low, and we followed suit, with Gaz killing the electricity of her knife. I lifted my gun, thumbing off the safety so the battery could start to charge. Over Desmond's shoulder, I could see the hallway. It was dark, not even the emergency lights were on. The fire escape door was open, ajar and letting in a cold breeze. I could see scorch marks where the door had been forced open. They were here. They were inside. I looked at Gaz. "They're expecting us to run." I said.
"When we do, they'll shoot us." Gaz replied.
"Not if you've got a decoy." Desmond said. He ducked back into our room and I followed, staring at Desmond like he was insane. Even Gaz looked perturbed at what Desmond had said.
I watched him grab his backpack and swing it on. He adjusted it until it looked exactly like mine. While it wasn't the true PAK, in the dark, it looked similar enough. Desmond turned and gave me a quick smile. "We're about the same height, if I crouch some. In the dark we'll look similar enough. I'll draw their fire, and you guys get the hell out of here."
"Desmond, this is stupid." I hissed. I was starting to wonder where this fear for him was coming from. It wasn't like we were exactly friends. I mean, we weren't enemies either, but I didn't know him well enough that he should decide to act as a decoy for me. "They'll kill you."
"Yeah, maybe." Desmond gave me a smirk. "But I think I can handle it."
Gaz stared at him. "You don't even know what you're up against."
"I've got a good idea." Desmond replied. "There's a great many things visitors to our planet don't know about humans. What kind of specialties we can have. I've got a greater chance than you of making out alive, anyway. You guys just worry about stopping them for good."
I just stared at him. "You're insane."
"Maybe. But, I mean, this is kinda my fight too. You're my friend, right? So I think I have a right to kick some alien ass in your defense. Besides, She-Ra over there needs to watch your back."
Gaz hissed out a breath between her teeth. "You're lucky you're cute, otherwise I'd have to kill you."
Desmond smiled. "Well, if you were a guy, I'd totally do you."
Gaz made a face of disgust. "No thanks. Just go out there and be our meat shield."
I caught Desmond's arm. "Just keep running, alright? I don't need you dying. I've already got enough shit to worry about without you haunting me from beyond the grave."
Desmond's face turned solemn. He offered me a small smile, saluted me, then slipped out of the room and into the hallway. Gaz and I looked at each other, preparing ourselves for battle. I looked out, and saw Desmond at the end of the hall. He was low to the floor, crouched, and looking toward the ceiling as he breathed. I could see that every line of his body was tense, and I had to grin. He was scared. Being brave as hell to help someone he didn't even really know and someone who had lied to him for the past few weeks. He still claimed I was his friend. I laughed quietly to myself, bitterly. Here I was, pretending to be something I wasn't, and when the truth was revealed, the only one who stood by me (besides Gaz, who'd been in on this in the first place) was the kid I'd only met a few weeks ago and had no idea who I really was. I stared at Desmond, watching him gather himself for that suicide run. He looked at me and Gaz, grinned, then took off down the hallway, away from the open emergency door. Gaz pushed me out into the hall and took off for the door. I was right behind her. I saw Desmond duck against the wall as a hissing noise filled the air, and a second later a plasma bolt crashed into the cinder block where his head had been. Desmond was on his feet in an instant and the last I saw of him was him ducking out the main door and into the front quad. Gaz and I bolted out the emergency door into the darkness, and started for the physics building.
I heard the plasma hiss before it reached us. I tackled Gaz to the ground and raised my own gun, firing back at the enemy I couldn't see. The plasma lit up the night as it sped across the open ground. I saw it hit something, someone, and a second later, I saw a Puuraki soldier collapse on the ground in front of us, his entire body smoking. I was up almost immediately, pulling Gaz after me. I ran as fast as I could, holding tight to Gaz's hand. She was clutching back, holding her knife tight as we ran. Suddenly, she was pulling me, swinging me around as she brought the knife across the open air in front of us. The smell of electricity and burning flesh filled the air, and Gaz let out a hiss as she continued pushing the electrically charged knife through the soldier's neck. As she pushed past him, pulling me with her, I could see the wound she'd opened up on the Puuraki's throat. My knife had cauterized the wound, but had done enough damage that there was no way the man was going to survive to fight. As we passed him I stopped and grabbed his gun.
"Really, Zim?" Gaz asked in a rush as we ran for safety.
"Might as well." I replied, running after her. The Puuraki weapon was heavy and cumbersome, but I figured Dib could wield it well enough.
We kept running, not knowing how many were behind us or ahead of us. It bothered me that we hadn't seen Aevinr yet, and supposedly he was the leader, the one who was such a badass that everyone was scared of him. We hadn't seen him yet, so I was starting to wonder if he was even here.
Have you ever heard the saying ask and ye shall receive? Yeah. Me and my big mouth.
Gaz stepped out into the street and nearly had her head blown off. I had managed to pull her backwards with enough force to send her down to the sidewalk, but even I could see the plasma bullet had singed her hair. She cursed and got to her feet, glaring into the darkness. I stood in front of her, a meager shield, but I couldn't let her get hurt. She was involved because of me. Dib would kill me if I let her get hurt.
Then he stepped out, as if in response to me stepping in front of Gaz. He was tall, with long black hair pulled back from his face. Crimson eyes peered at me, cold and calculating, and I knew, somehow, that he'd just calculated the distance between us and how fast he would have to move in order to catch me. Because it was me he was staring at, not Gaz. He held a shotgun in his hand, and was dressed in black armor that looked like it was fitted to his body. At his hip was a sheathed sword, and by the look of it it was kin to the knife I'd given Gaz. His lips cracked, and I could see his teeth as he smiled.
"So," he said, his voice barely more than a hoarse whisper, "you must be the heretic that thought he could force himself on our princess."
"And you must be Aevinr," I replied with an equal tone of distaste. "Since you got your information wrong. I didn't force myself of your princess. She forced herself on me."
Aevinr's eyes sparked, and I swore they were starting to glow like hot coals. It lasted only for a second; Aevinr shrugged and looked at me in a way that told me he'd already figured out how he was going to kill me. "All the same, you defiled her, Irken. I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart."
"He can't be serious," Gaz whispered.
"Of course he is. He's a zealot." I replied on a low tone. "He's gonna make sure there's nothing left of me to find."
"So what do we do?" Gaz asked. Her voice was tense; even I could hear the fear in it. And I knew she had every right to be scared. Hell, I was scared, not that I'd admit it to anyone's face. But Aevinr was starting to level that shotgun at us, and I knew as soon as he got a bead on us, he'd fire. I lifted my gun, milliseconds faster than Aevinr, and pulled the trigger. The plasma bullet sped across the ground between us, engulfing the buck shot that burst out of the shotgun, and nearly hit Aevinr. He managed to dodge my shot, and as he did, I grabbed Gaz's hand and ran. I wasn't stupid enough to stand and fight a psychotic homicidal maniac who wouldn't think twice about killing someone I was trying to protect.
We turned down the street that ran alongside an embankment and a small stream. On the other side was a stretch of trees and the physics building. We didn't have time to find the little bridge that spanned the stream, so we slid down our side of the embankment. Just in time, too, because there was a roar and the night lit up as Aevinr's shotgun spat at us. I hit the stream first and shivered as the water seeped into my shoes. I could feel the pins and needles starting, the sign that told me the water wasn't taking too kindly to my skin, and started quickly slogging through the shin-high water as fast as I could. Gaz was behind me the whole time, her hand clutching to mine. We climbed as fast as we could, knowing Aevinr had a pretty good view of us, and he wouldn't give up the opportunity to shoot me.
And I'm pretty sure he knew he could shoot Gaz as well and cause me some kind of emotional damage. Or have Dib do his work for him, since the stupid human would kill me. Because he already blamed me for this situation, he'd blame me for letting Gaz get hurt, or killed, or whatever.
We clambered up the embankment and rolled into the pavement. There was another roar and bright flash and a tree beside me burst as the buck shot slammed into the bark. Gaz cursed and ducked, covering her head as another roar sounded, and more bark exploded. I grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet and pushing her ahead of me. If someone was going to get shot, it might as well be me. It would stop this stupid battle and do me a favor by getting Dib off my case about Gaz.
Only ten feet of wide open pavement separated us from the physics building. I saw the doorway, and Lyse and Dib standing just to the side of the door, both of them armed. I was out of breath already and Gaz wasn't doing much better. She was wheezing pretty badly, despite having a bit of a break when Aevnir had showed up.
"Go." I said. "Last sprint and we're safe."
Gaz laughed, a wobbly sound that betrayed the fact she really was terrified. "I'm never... ever... running ever again."
I grinned at her - and that's when I felt the cold shock of bloodlust right behind me. I stumbled as I turned to face Aevinr, his lips pulled back from his teeth in a grin. I lifted my gun, even though I knew shooting such a close target would damage me as well. I thought I'd caught him off guard, but Aevinr didn't make it to where he was by being a pussy who got scared each time a gun was shoved point blank on his face. Instead, I was taken off guard when he suddenly grabbed my gun with his hand and twisted. I was already off balance, half twisted to face him as I was running forward, so his sharp twist threw me to the ground. He wrenched my gun from my hand, nearly breaking my fingers in the process, and threw it somewhere behind him.
"I give you credit, Irken." Aevinr said as he loomed over me, the barrel of the shotgun precariously close to my head. "Not many last as long as you did. It's a pity. If you'd been born a Puuraki, I might've found a use for you."
"Yeah, well, I wasn't." I replied, staring at him. I heard the door open, so I knew Gaz was safe. "So go fuck yourself."
Aevinr grinned at me. "Maybe I will. Killing heretics like you always gets me bothered." He started to pull the trigger.
I didn't close my eyes. That was a human instinct, to close the eyes in the face of death because you didn't want to see it coming. I was an Irken Invader, even though I was defective, so I didn't fear death. So I told myself. But I was scared. And I was regretting just laying here like an animal waiting for my slaughter. I didn't want to die. I wanted to live. I wanted to tell Dib... Well. I wanted to tell him a lot of things, not that any of them really mattered. I wanted to tell him I was sorry, most of all. Sorry for getting Gaz involved, and him too. I wanted to ask him to take care of GIR, because Dib would be the only one who'd know how to handle him. I wanted to tell him he'd been a good opponent, and that when I was gone to make sure he kept chasing Big Foot and Nessie and whatever else that stupid organization of his chased. I wanted to tell him that I'd had fun, being his enemy and his friend.
Shit.
I wanted to tell him that I loved him.
And it hurt so much because I knew meant it. I wanted to live because I wanted to spend what was the rest of my life with Dib, doing whatever it was humans did. I didn't have the first idea, anyway, and Dib would probably kill me himself but that might be okay. At least then I wouldn't go with regrets, like now.
"Zim! Down!"
Gaz's voice snapped me out of whatever dream I'd been in and flung me into pure survival mode. I rolled to the left, out from under the shotgun's barrel, and sprang to my feet at the same time Gaz threw the electrically charged knife I gave her. Aevinr cursed and brought the shotgun up to block the knife, only to have it explode in his face.
"Gaz, I could kiss you." I said as I passed her. She gave me a wide grin and turned to follow me, both of us running hard for Dib and Lyse, who held the door open so we could run through. If she replied, I didn't hear it; all I could hear was my own heartbeat and the thrumming of blood in my ears.
Then I was through the door, and I collapsed on the staircase, panting harshly. I thought I heard a bestial cry from somewhere behind me, and I really hoped it had come from Aevinr, because it would serve the bastard right. Then my brain recognized the voice, and I slowly turned to look at Dib. His eyes were wide, his face completely white. He looked somewhere between terrified and Pissed Off. I turned a little further, and I felt a cold fist settle low on my squeedlyspooch.
Aevinr stood behind Gaz, his arm locked around her throat, while his knife dug into her side, threatening to rip through cloth and flesh and pierce her lung. She stared at me, then stared at Dib, and I knew exactly what was going to happen.
Dib was going to trade me for his sister.
So much for admitting anything.
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Being Human