When Dib Membrane was 12 years old, he saw Zim bleed. Red blood, just like his. It was then he first wondered how different they really were, but he forced the thought away.
When Dib Membrane was 13 years old, he witnessed via spy camera Zim's leaders reveal the truth of his mission and force his magenta eyes, now so wide with pain, to open. Again, Dib wondered how different they were. Both males had families that hated or ignored them, and their respective races shunned them. They were outcasts. One and the same…? This time, the thoughts stayed.
When Dib Membrane was 14 years old, he decided to befriend Zim. He started by convincing Zim to call a truce with him, which took a couple weeks. After that, Dib and Zim would eat lunch together in comfortable silence. The notes they passed in class to each other were no longer gruesome images and scathing insults. Instead, they inquired about notes and homework.
When Dib Membrane was 15 years old, he became better friends with Zim. At lunch, they would talk about their problems, whether they be about family, GIR, bullies, or bad grades. Notes passed in class were comforting words and questions of how the other was doing. Every few weeks, they would visit each other, sometimes staying over for the night on the couch.
When Dib Membrane was 16 years old, he became very best friends with Zim. They went to each other's house every day and stayed the night just as often. Dib taught Zim about affection and hugs, which they now did daily. When students bullied one, the other would be right there to back him up. They never seemed to be apart. They helped each other in the labs and spoke fluent English and Irken. Dib fixed GIR, who kept his personality but was not nearly as destructive. Dib started to realize that he had stopped caring for humanity. What was the point? No matter what he did, he was made fun of and shunned. He felt a burning in his chest mixed with disgust just thinking about the humans he'd met in his whole life. Zim helped him identify the feeling as hatred.
When Dib Membrane was 17 years old, he snapped for the second and final time. His family had been murdered. His sister's Game Slave 3 had been shoved down her throat. His father's coffee had been mixed with poison. Zim had been in his own lab. Dib had stood beside him, staring at his PDA and smirking wickedly. He watched his father die as he had planned-slowly, painfully, no one to hear his gargled and panicked cries for help. Good thing he took those drama classes since he was in sixth grade. Not even Zim had suspected him to be a murderer. Well, not until a couple days later. Every single one of his classmates (other than Zim) died that day. Blood and gore coated the classroom. Zim could only watch in horror, wondering if this could have been prevented. He decided no, this was fate. It couldn't have happened any other way. Dib collapsed from mental exhaustion and Zim brought him back to his base. He promised the unconscious human he would stay by his side until he awoke.
5 years later, and the 22-year old awoke from his coma. Hazel eyes were darkened to onyx, hair now short and messy, glasses gone, mind and memory blank. His clothes were replaced with long sleeves, stripes, and steel-toed combat boots. Upon seeing the new Dib Membrane, Zim made a new silent promise. He would continue living on as if his best friend had never snapped, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He helped Dib create a new life. A new Robot Dib was created, and Johnny C.'s life began.