Author: Sorry for the long wait. Yes. Sorry, that is all I can say. My excuses for such a long delay are ridiculous but please be happy that I have posted finally. But for those who wish to know, I have fully recuperated from my tragic endeavors. My laptop was never found, but I still managed to post with my mobile phone (so please excuse the excessive incorrect spelling, run-ons, and etc.); Got some pet fish(thieves are less likely to steal); My toilet cleaned; fridge restocked; marijuana in supply; home security installed, etc. Enough about me... here's the story. You may need to reread the story in order to remember, plus some previous chapters have changed. Check it out.

Chapter Updated: September 14, 2014

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Death

Located on a massive field of freshly bloomed wildflowers, varying in different hues, textures, shapes, and sizes, the lush grass was long and in dire need of a trimming from the farmer that owned the land. The sky was clear and the crested mood illuminated without so much as a blur of a cloud in its wake. The air still smelt of rain and the only other sign of it ever falling in that area, was the damp, soggy ground from the storm that just passed the pasture. Thunder and lightning could still be seen and heard on one far end of the sky, giving hint that the storm was still alive and strong, but moving at a rapid pace. If it were daytime, there would no doubt be an epic rainbow in the clearing, but alas, it was high-moon time on Earth and many things were happening that would alter the course of human history.

On the farmers land, a small metal android fiddled with a plywood latch located on a wooden livestock fence. The sounds of squeals and oinks could be heard in the air and the minion locked the fence with a thud and a click. With a loud farewell to his pink and muddy playmates, Gir made his way back toward the city, unaware of what was going on with his master, but stopped short out of seeing one of the swine that did not make it into the holding stable.

"HEY GET BACK HERE!" Gir yelled with his all-to-familiar high-pitched screech.

The pig startled and ran into the deep darkness of the nearby forest, courting Gir with a sprint for a chase. The creature ran, squealing his little lungs out, believing the robot would still play with him as he did just moments ago.

The robot hot on its heals, "NO PIGGY! I HAVE THINGS TO DO, I CAN'T PLAY NO MORES!"

"OINK OINK SQUEEEEEEAL!" the pig said with glee, as be bobbed and weaved through trees and bushed.

The storm was raining hard upon the large ship named The Massive, and the occupants within the vessel all had their colorful eyes on two individuals on center stage. The fight between the two was well in five minutes since it begun, yet the Irken in the fight had yet to land a single blow on his opponent, however the Human was another story. She was fierce in her high kicks and fisted punches, but the Irken allowed his PAK's metal appendages to block any onslaught that may affect his well being. He did not want to hurt her, but even in his defensive mode, she was still inflicting pain to herself.

He could smell the metallic substance that plagued her knuckles, from the constant barrage of broken skin verses sharp metal. It was becoming more and more unbearable for him to keep his armor up if it meant hurting her to this extent. All that his mind was processing was how could he stop this.

"Gaz," the alien murmured to his opponent, "please, stop."

She didn't.

His worried eyes were fixated on her dull, lifeless one, but he believed she was still in there, somewhere. If only he could reach out to that Gaz, maybe there would be some hope.

"I know you can fight this, Gaz. Please listen to me," he pleaded.

Fists continued to collide with metal, and as soon as a drop of her red-liquidated life-force dropped to the ground beneath her, he could not take it anymore. She has to feel the pain, she just has to. That thought rang in his mind and pity struck him as he withdrew his appendages in an attempt for her to stop hurting herself, however, that did not persuade the hypnotized being from halting her actions as she landed a solid back kick to the side of his head.

The impact was so strong, it made the alien airborne and thrown five feet from where he was previously standing. His eyes became watery, not from the pain the human inflicted, but from the loss of knowledge on how he could make her aware. The only pain the alien truly felt was from the feeling of failure to protect.

"WHOAH, that's gotta hurt," the purple leader gasped.

"He's gonna feel that in the morning," the red co-leader commented.

"I bet he's feeling it now..." Xen snide.

"You don't have to do this," he slowly began to stand, but her hold on his antennas made the process quicker. She pulled him up to bring him up to eye level, and with narrowed eyes and a punch to his midsection, he fell to the ground yet again, clenching his abdomen.

"COMEON! Your not even trying Zim!" One of the leaders protested as the other continued on his quest of becoming the first Tallest to fit the most mini burgers in his mouth.

The pain on his being made himself realize his opponents condition. Gaz was ill. He would not lay a claw on her until he could deduce what was her ailment.

He stood up once again, in hopes of trying to figure out how to coax his opponent be becoming more aware. His mouth rang an awkward taste with excessive moisture, and decided to spit the ample amount of liquid to the ground, only to find that it was not saliva as he assumed, but instead his own blood. With a flick of his thumb to a corner of his mouth, he saw more.

The only thought that coursed through his mind was to find a way to end this before things get worse.

He looked up from the small puddle of blood that laid next to his feet, up into the dark violet eyes of his beloved opponent. Without realizing it, he was in a defensive posture, which only would tease his opponent as a challenge to try and break through.

Sure enough, she charged with full force in her fist, readying, aiming right for Zims chest, but he seen it coming and right before contact was made, he swung his arm to deflect. Without a flinch, Gaz aimed her other fist, only to have that deflected as well. A right kick to his left. Deflect.

Every aim, was quick, but Zim's hand-eye coordination was even quicker.

Right forward punch, left forward punch, right uppercut, left forward punch, right side swipe.

Deflected. Deflected. Deflected. Deflected. HIT!

Zim momentarily lost balance, but just before he could regain his footing, his feet were knocked sideways from under him. As soon as he could look up, he saw a heel come down, aiming for his head. He rolled out from its tridirectory as quickly as he could, only to miss by a mere centimeter, and a crack on the floor only awakened him to what could have been his skull.

A sweat drop beaded down his flushed cheeks, as he viewed the mini-crater his beloved created with her own heel. With a release of his breath, he had no idea he was holding, he looked up to the equally-looking exhausted opponent with begging eyes.

They were both tired, but only one had a pair of hypnotized eyes that showed fierce determination and no mercy.

As Gaz glowered her vision to the alien beneath her, she leaned her weight down on top of him. With her knees quickly pinning his hands down, she callously begun to squeeze at his neck with both her hands and nails digging into his flesh.

"Gaz..." he choked, gasping for air for every syllable uttered. "Please... your... sick." In his mind, he believed she was lighter than him, but in this very instance, he felt more was on him than ever.

With feeble attempts to squirm out of his bondage, his vision was beginning to get hazy, and his motions were slowing. Every passing second without oxygen was making it harder and harder to fight, but soon enough, he would eventually see nothing and shutdown once and for all.

He knew it was coming as he begun to feel weaker and weaker by the second, and he wanted only one thing.

The only thing that would bring him peace before he shutdown would be 'her'. To see her in his last moments, even if she were the one to put an end to him, as long as she was the last thing he ever saw, he would die in peace.

Without a breath, he looked up into her dull eyes with acceptance, and yet, sorrow. She was going to kill him. And he was at peace with it. He was not going to fight it anymore. He failed at protecting her, and just should be his punishment from her own hands.

His systems were beginning to shut, and a flashback crossed through the fog of his eyes. It was a vision of the past from when he was treating her wounds from the crash.

The monitor.

He didn't look at first, but when he stole a peak from his PAK's computer network, he seen it.

He was beginning to play on the edge of death and before he could fall, one last vision came, before his last breath escaped his lungs.

The silhouette on the monitor.

With and bloody smirk, he understood it all too late.

There was no more breath to give, but with the last of his energy, he was able to mouth his final words before all went blank.

He wanted his last vision to be of her, but instead it was from the last moment of his own vision.

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Author: "THE END. Zim is dead. Gaz killed Him. No sequel. No more writing for me... Ever. So-long readers." *Leaves computer room*

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...10 minutes later

Author: *Arrives with two black eyes, one hanging out, missing teeth, bitten off ear, and a patch of hair gone* "So, I've decided to continue writing by my own FREE WILL *Cough cough help cough meee* My broken filangee bones will not persuade me to stop. I owe it to my readers to finish what I've started, even if it means I may never see out of my left eye again. As long as I have a working imagination, science will help me live in a robot body with with pens as fingers. Thank-you to my readers as you encourage me to keep going (and to order bodyguards and restraining orders against all of you)and so without further adieu..

He wanted his last vision to be of her, but instead it was from the last moment of his own vision.

"Zim..." a soft whisper escaped soft cherry lips as sore hands trembled weakly away from their previous grasp. She got no response.

"Zim..." she uttered again, a bit more hoarse. Her eyes began to water as she came to realize her situation. The last thing she remembered was being in a room filled with monitors, and now...

Now she sat upon Zims chest with hands squeezing tight against his throat as he uttered something inaudible in his last moment. The peaceful gaze that froze on his features only made things feel more surreal of what had just occurred.

"Zim, please, wake up." she pleaded as tears fogged her vision.

Sirens were going off in the background and lights were flashing red all around, but her only focus was what lied in front of her and she sobbed into his chest.

A moment ago...

Gir was still chasing the pink pig from earlier, as they eventually found their way into the Massive. Through corridors, as they passed, soldiers were trying to grab a hold of the intrusion, but with each one failing, the pair soon made it to the invention room.

As the pig skid multiple time around every turn, the animal hit shelves and metal containers. Some inventions were knocked off their pedestal, and upon hitting the ground they quickly activated. One invention came close to hitting Gir as he continued his chase, but instead blasted a wall, and turned it into sticky gel and melting the offending barrier to a pool of molten metal. The pigs next victim was in its path

"SQUEEELLL!" ~CrAsH~

In another hallway, a soldier was making his way towards the Tallest with up-most haste. Upon arrival, the solder leaned down to Reds antennae and whispered.

"Sir, there is a problem..."

She was grief stricken and for that, and what made it worse was the fact that she blamed herself. She believed this whole situation was all her fault. If only she would have let it be when he decided to take over those damn airways. The broadcast commercial of the ultimate game was not worth this. Nothing... Nothing in the world was worth this.

After moments passed, her sobbing begun to quiet down, she could hear the yelling and sirens that waked her from her stupor and she begun to grow anger.

The red-clad leader yelled out orders, "I want soldiers on the main deck, secure the parameter, get the civilians inline and marked, and will someone GET THAT DAMN SWINE!"

The co-leader gave out continuous orders as well, as Xen chased down Zims GIR unit and his pig-companion. "Capture the indigenous for marking, if they become hostile, eliminate them! We want this planet on total lock-down!"

In the corner of her vision, she witnessed Xen who was in hot pursuit of a pig. "Xen..." she seethed through gritted teeth.

Xen stopped in his tracks at the moment a familiar tone reverberated through his antennae. With wide eyes, he slowly faced the source. "Oh, shit..." he uttered as he viewed the human stand with a menacing glare directed towards him.

A moment of pause passed between the starers before, with a huff like a bull, Gaz charged with bloodshot eyes.

A jolt of a sprint startled the alien, and he ran as fast as Irkenly possible, but she was gaining on to him to fast for him to process. "I was just doing by job, have mercy!" Xen yelled for dear life as he ran around in circles around the stadium, and once he passed in-between the Tallests, he took a chance to take a quick glance back, only to find them trampled by the demon herself.

From the ground the Tallests were knocked down to, Red commanded to the soldiers around, "GET HER!" while Purple was already unconscious. Upon the order, all the available soldiers started chase on the purple-haired hostile who was in hot pursuit, herself, on their top spy-service agent. Some were a bit taken aback from the mere scene of an indigenous creature actually keeping up with one of their kind, even when that agent is using their metal PAK appendages to get away from said demon.

A view of a black boot menu was all he saw. Irken letters and words begun to roll down his vision one line right after another. Loosely translated:

|| Reboot System Recovery

|| .

|| Begin Diagnostic

|| Fragment Error Check... Complete

|| Verifying File Status... Complete

|| Boot System Analysis... Complete

|| Internal Components Stats...Complete

|| External Components Stats...Complete

|| Health Check...Complete

|| Allocate Memory...Complete

|| Newmem Available

|| EDL Module

|| Processor: 04 Available

|| End Diagnostic

|| . Warning: CPU 04 Overheat

|| . Cannot Set Lock

|| . Agent Objective: Reset Nil

|| Function Override... Good Job

|| Reboot

|| .Start up Commencing

|| .

Zim's Vision was a bit static but within a few seconds it was clear as high definition, as it use to be before he blacked out. Once in a position facing up, he slowly turned his head to ever so slightly in an attempt to take in the visual surroundings. His system was still in the process of rebooting so within his given state, his memory was also restoring as was all other senses.

Vision was clear and he could see the panic within the area. One chasing, while being chased.

Sound... The yells of agony, pain, and sadness enveloped his entire being. Its was as though sound was a pressure in itself.

Scent... The aroma filled just as the sounds, and was the musked scent of blood mixed with sweat and tears. It saddened him to a low degree but yet... at the same time, angered him. Why and what was the cause of this smell.

The taste that swirled around his long thin tongue was metallic and disgusting, much like the smells, as he could actually feel that same metallic substance run along his pained jaw. Muscles ached and his head pounded with a promise of a migraine.

That was another sensation. The ability to feel. The long digits of his claws begun to involuntarily twitch in response to his system doing a reflex test. So far, all was good, until the pain started more around his form. His face, back, legs, abdomen, and worse was his neck, was throbbing and swollen, but all the more, was waking him up to the current reality.

Then awareness seeped in and his eye grew wide and in search of a target.

"Gaz..." the Irken choked with an overwhelming clot of blood though his esophagus. The small commotion stopped the indigenous woman in her track, which halted the chasers in her abrupt action with query running through their minds. Xen, now aware that his hunter had paused in track upon a single signal given by, the once breathless, Zim.

All eyes, with the exception of the unconscious leader in purple uniform, were on Zim, who was in a slowly winning war against gravity. Eyes were locked on between Zim and Gaz and for a moment, not a word was uttered to break the deadness of silence in the air.

"Zim," her eyes begun to water with disbelievement and overwhelment. "Are you really..." Gaz took a cautious step forward, away from the chaotic chase, over to where Zim stood now upright with a smile of reassurance directed only to his Gaz-human.

It was a smile that was all Gaz needed for confirmation, and she ran with all her heart toward him with a trail of happy tears.

Just before she could make contact with him: !BANG! and she stopped in her tracks

The ground between them laid a blackened spot of ash and smoke and all eyes went to the Tallest in Red. The leader held out a weapon pointed between the pair and sneered at the affectionate scene. "I don't know how you managed to live, Zim, but rest assured that victory will be short lived". With a signal of a nod to Xen, the Tallest gave an ultimatum for Zim. "You have two options Zim... Either look the other way and obey your commanding officers..."

The sound of weapons being drawn was echoed all around and Zim could see that the whole armada was aiming at, not only him, but Gaz as well. Within the corner of his eye, he could also make out Xen was stepping closer and closer with a specific weapon in hand, directed at him.

"...or be branded a traitor who, if you live, will be permanently exiled... and the key word is 'IF'."

"Is there a third option?" Zim retorted. The Tallest fell silent with a stern gaze. "I guess not." Zim looked over to his companion and whispered low enough for only her ears to hear. "Ready to run?"

With a crooked smirk, she replied, "What's wrong? Not up to fight a million soldiers?"

"Maybe another day..." smiles vanished between the two and replaced with serious features. Gaz responded with a quick nod and at once they were off.

"Don't just stand there, you idiots. CAPTURE THEM!" Red hollered to his wards and they soon followed pursuit.

Once out of the Massive, the rain and wind hit hard against their bodies, Zim glad he put his protective layer on, but knew it was only a matter of time before that washed away. They knew the armada was hot on their heels and knew the only thing saving them from getting shot, is the obscure vision. The rain was thick and heavy and with wind was strong enough that could knock trees over, thus was the reality that though it may help creating a wall between the soldiers, it is also a back-draw for them to see whats in-front of them. For a moment, Gaz lost sight of Zim and so she called out, "ZIM!" and again, "ZIM!"

She was startled at first from the contact grasp and pull of her wrist, but her intuition told her it was Zim and she felt assured when he responded, "We have to find cover!" She allowed him to pull her, but at the same time, she tried to see through the thick down-pour of rain.

The only thing that coursed though Zims mind was try to get Gaz in a safe place. She is carrying a smeet-child and he must protect her and her precious cargo at all cost. Gaz... with a smeet... His... His smeet. A small smiled came and went from him. Now was not the time to envision their future. If they did not get to a safe place soon, they will not have a chance at the future. Damn this cursed Earth-rain! He could hear yelling from soldiers, and could tell they were getting closer and closer. They had to hurry.

Gaz could start to hear the soldiers as well, but something wasn't clicking in the direction Zim was going. They had continued straight once they escaped from the ships front entrance, but if her memory was correct, the ship landed atop a cliff near the mountain side. If Zim continues forward then...

Zim felt a sudden tug back from his grasp on her wrist, "Gaz?"

"If we continue this direction, we'll walk right over the cliff ahead!" she yelled over a boom of lightning. It was too late to turn back or change direction, as the sound of soldiers we fast approaching, and soon, they could see through the rain, they were in sight with weapons drawn.

One stepped closer and yelled, "Stand down soldier and come quietly!" the others closing in tight.

The ground was slanted, rocky and muddy, signs the edge of the cliff was indeed close. Her assumption was right, and she hated that fact for just this one case. If only she could have been wrong, but not this time.

She saw Zim stand in-front of her, blocking any aims of weapons that were directed at her, and Zim spoke, "I will go without resisting, but only if you allow the human freedom from persecution. She is innocent of that."

The soldier responded, "Our orders are to detain both of you, dead of alive."

"Zim.. she stepped forward with an outstretched arm to hold Zims hand, but with the ground soo murky, her step forward failed, and she lost her footing, allowing her to slip.

Zim turned almost too late to catch her hand, and noticed she was further down than anticipated for a slip. When in fact, she was over the edge of the muddy cliff.

She tried desperately to get footing on the side of the wall, but the rocks were too soft and slippery.

The sudden downfall of Zims grasp made his legs quake and slip under the mud and he was soon belly down in the offending Earth substance. His grip was firm on her hand as she tried to pull herself up. Zim burst out his PAK's metal appendages in an attempt to pull both of them up, but the ground was too soft, and the pointed legs only sunk into the cursed ground.

"I.." he attempted to pull her up, "I can't get up!"

She could begin to feel his glove loosen and their eyes met at that briefest of a moment. "No..." he uttered under his breath.

"Zim..." she whispered. It was only a matter of time before the glove completely slipped off.

His grip got as tight as possible, "Hold on, Gaz, I got you." He tried again to pull up, but found that was only making him sink more into the ground which made the situation worse. "Don't let go!"

"Zim..."

He looked into her eyes and he could see what he did not expect to see at that moment.

Apology. Understanding. Forgiveness... Acceptance. Emotions he gave to her in his final moments earlier.

The glove was slipping fast as his last hand-to-glove contact was ended, his eyes widened at the last words she uttered as she fell to her demise some 200 feet down.

"I Love You Too."

Fin

Author: So yeah... I'm in a hideout. Can't find me even if you tried. I am not changing this ending so I say with adu...

na-nana-na-bo-bo. You can't kill me. That's right. Kootyitis is officially over! Finally! Its been years, I think like 2, but I finally finished it! What? My readers are not satisfied, even after all this wait for the final chapter? Ya don't say? Hm... well I can't leave my readers unsatisfied now can I?

I suppose there's only one way to satisfy them... Boom-chicka-waw-waw.

What? No quero Bang-Bang?

Fine... I guess that means a sequel is in the works. Yeah, so I've been planning the sequel even before I finished this chapter. I know, I know. I am both awesome and equally hated for leaving you this way, but as a wise Zim once said... "Leave them wanting more."

Any-who, look out for in by Mid October. I'm setting the deadline for the continued story. It's all in my noggin, I just have to type it up. So remember... The Ides of October. Save the date, write it down, create a calendar reminder, whatever. Not sure if 'following an author' would help, but hey, who knows.

As for all my readers. I could day thank-you a zillion times, but instead, I will keep you all posted on the reminder/sneak-peaks of the next part, so remeber to leave a review, leave a review, leave a review. like, follow, e-ver-ry-thing so I can message you'all on updates.

##### GREAT NEWS! ####

Story posted as continuation for Kootyitis in now our for public viewing!

Check it out in 'My Stories' on my profile. Just click my name, scroll down (hit follow), and BAM! Story is called 'Humanity', so enjoy, and stay updated my readers!