Chapter 1

"Something's Wrong.."

The day was going by like any others did. Just relaxing at home, watching T.V. Gir shifted a bit where he laid, upside down on the couch. It was always funny to watch T.V. like that, the characters would run around with the ground on the sky.

The day was just as uneventful as any other. Gir was finding himself growing bored. Everything was the same every day... Just sitting around, watching T.V... Eating, and that's really it.. Zim had been growing lazy... Well... Gir never saw him anymore. He never came up from the lab, never gave him orders... Heck, he hadn't even come up with a plan in a month!

Gir had noticed the lack in Zim's behavior for about three months now... Zim had slowly become more slow, didn't eat much, never talked anymore, he'd just sit at his desk with his head down. It worried Gir, Worried him more than he ever thought possible. Every time Gir would try to get him to talk, Zim would only shrug, sometimes not even understanding him... It was weird, and Gir didn't like it.

Minimoose would always stay upstairs with Gir. He wasn't too sure what was up with Zim either. All he knew, is that when Gir began to worry, it was definitely something worth being concerned about. Gir just sighed, watching the weird cartoon. He found himself almost falling asleep, so he shifted his position, laying right side up instead.

He stared listlessly, realizing he really didn't care about what was on T.V. He just shut it off, then sighed, shaking his head. He always found himself feeling tired now a days... Who knew... They'd been on Earth for quite a while now. Gir found it getting more and more dull as the days went by. Almost like he had already been through everything.

He began falling asleep again, this time, succeeding in it, Zim never seemed to notice his depression. He didn't notice anything anymore. Gir began to wonder if Zim even cared about him anymore. Did Zim care about anything? It really didn't seem that way...

A sharp scream of pain roused Gir from his light sleep. He flinched, quickly sitting up. He knew that scream all too well. It was his master, crying out in pain down in the lab. Gir jumped off the couch, rushing for the elevator. Finding that it was taking too long, Gir flung himself down the stairs, that were there just in case the power went out, and the elevator was not available.

Gir found the room, Zim was laying on the floor, moaning in agony. He was just sprawled out, moaning. Gir rushed to his side, confused, the lab chair was on the ground, giving the impression that Zim fell backwards in it. Gir frowned, "Master?! Master! What happened!?" Zim shivered, never really hearing Gir too well, but finally slurred out the words he wanted, "M- my PAK... s-something... wrong... with...my PAK...It... hurts..."

Gir stared, blue eyes wide with fear. Zim's PAK was sparking, smoke coming out of one of the three ports in it. Gir looked up at the ceiling, "George!? George!? No... not George... Who... COMPUTER! Scan Master for problems.

"No." Gir glared, "What!? Why not!?" "Because... I don't have to listen to you..." Gir just stared, in absolute disbelief, "What? You'd better listen to me... or I'll...I'll..." "You'll what?" Gir shifted uncomfortably... "Well... I... I don't know... but I'll do something! Please... Just scan him...Please... Computer... please..." "No. I told you, Gir... I don't have to listen to you." Zim moaned from the floor, "C- Computer... help..." Gir looked down at Zim, who was now unconscious, "Computer... Don't you care about master?" "No, I don't like you... I don't like Zim either." Gir glared hard, "I swear... if you don't help me... I-I... I'll destroy you... I will make you're life a living hell... I promise... JUST HELP ME, YOU USELESS SCRAP OF... Ummm... COMPUTER!" "Ugh... Fine... Calm down... I'll see what I can find out..." Gir waited patiently, shaking his head. Whatever was wrong with Zim, Gir would help him, No matter what... He'd do whatever he could...

"Scan complete... The problem is obvious... He's a defective. Gir..." Gir frowned, "Defective? What's that got to do with anything? What does that even mean?" "It means his PAK is broken... It's been going bad his whole life... I guess it's just starting to catch up to him now." Gir blinked, "Well, how do I fix it?" "You don't, Gir. You can't fix a defective PAK. Especially a PAK as broken and bad as Zim's... Haven't you noticed how slow and more paranoid he's gotten over the years? Remember when we first started, and Zim was determined, and would come up with a plan every day? Well, his PAK has slowly been becoming less and less functional. He's sick, Gir. Very sick. Pretty soon, It'll die out completely.."

Gir frowned, "W- Well, why don't we get him a new one? If it's broke..." "You can't get him a new one. It isn't that simple. Giving and Irken a new PAK, it would be like brain surgery. There's no guarantee that Zim would even live through that. It's too big of a change in his body chemistry. Even if he did survive and recover, he'd never be the same. His personality, the way he treats us, everything would change..."

Gir shivered at the thought of Zim dying, or changing. "W-Well, can't we try... we can try to fix it... Right?" "I don't know... Gir... I really don't know. Perhaps if you could find a very skilled Irken engineer, who'd be kind enough to help Zim...That's rare... Very rare..."

Gir sighed, "I'll find one... I promise, Master... Everything will be okay... Computer? What can I do... You know... in the mean time?" "Well... Just make it easier for him. He won't be able to function well... You might need to help him eat, and things like that... Just help him relax."

Gir nodded, "Okay... Don't worry Master, Me and Minimoose will help you... We love you... I'm gonna get you upstairs..." Zim did not respond, he heard the entire conversation, and he didn't like where it was going. Being a useless, sick defective, was a horrible fate. He knew for the passed few months, that it was inevitable, the slow downfall of his PAK. Zim knew it would come down to this eventually.

He felt like a useless, sick elder, who needed help with everything. He knew he would eventually completely lose his dignity. In the future, he knew he'd have constant accidents all over himself. Because he couldn't preform and daily normal functions, he'd eventually have to be tube fed, because of his failing digestive tract... It made him shiver.

Elsewhere, was a young human boy. With black, scythe like hair, glasses, and a black trench coat. He was suspicious. Zim hadn't been in school for a month, and that was alarming. That meant he was planning something big. Dib frowned as he typed on his computer. His recent tracking of Bigfoot had not gone as well as he thought it would.

He had not gained any evidence. Except for stupid teenagers dressed like the Sasquatch to scare people. Dib hated it when people would make a mockery of paranormal studies like that. But right now, his mind was not on Bigfoot. It was on Zim. Dib just sighed, Zim being absent was never a good sign. But then again, Zim had not made any moves for a month either. But that could easily be because Zim was planning this for that long.

But, Zim hadn't even been acting himself for the passed few months. He had been less interested, not bothering Dib at all, not even acknowledging his presence. He didn't even seem to try to act normal anymore. He had even slipped out of Dib's attention for a few weeks.

He had to check it out. The suspicion was getting fierce, and gnawing at him with each passing day. Dib finally gathered a few things. A camera, and a notepad, and walked out the door, headed for Zim's base. He had to know what was going on, and why Zim was acting weird.