This is an RP between me and my good friend LiteShocker over on deviantART where she will also be posting this story, once it's up there I'll post a link to it.

Fair Warning: This piece does contain ZaDr, but it's not necessarily as romantic as the pairing name implies, there is also no Mpreg or lemons.

Disclaimer: Invader Zim belongs to it's creator Jhonen Vasquez; we make no profit from this work of fiction.

A Modification of the Mind

It's not our bodies that make us who we are, it's our minds. When you really think of it, our bodies are nothing more than empty shells to carry our minds and protect them. If you want to change anything, you have to change your mind, and a modification of the mind is easy. You just have to break the wall separating Pathos from Logos.

Chapter One

"I know you're in there, Zim!" Dib exclaimed, rapping his knuckles against the door. There were a few shuffles coming from inside the base, and the raven-haired boy simply huffed. The gnomes were not yet reacting- there was still time. The noises became clearer and clearer, and only then did he realize that GIR had left the window open. Again.

He peeked in to see the robot sipping through a cup harshly- banging his head and humming a dastardly tune. There was something adorable about the little thing, but he worked for Zim so unfortunately the defective SIR unit too, was the enemy.

"GIR!" Dib whispered. The noises continued. He was oblivious to his presence.

"Taquitos...My...my taquitos!"

GIR had rushed off into another room, screaming and wailing about burnt food.

Perfect.

With still no Zim in sight, as he was surprised to find out, he cautiously lifted his lanky body over the open windowpane, it was a bit more difficult than he remembered it being years ago and was careful not to get his trench coat stuck on anything in particular.

He soon became focused on moving through the Irken's base, just waiting to set off some type of security protocol that he didn't notice the fluctuating sounds and movement coming from the lab below where Zim was nearly growling in frustration.

The invader continued to mumble half curses in his native tongue, vowing to rewire the computer when he got a chance. He needed to be prepared for anything in the coming months. Gloved hands flew across keyboards and magenta eyes poured over rows and rows of numbers and code.

According to the last data scan of his PAK, the high levels of exposure to the extremely toxic substances of Earth had begun to affect his body chemistry. The second scan would take longer for it was still unclear what the possible outcomes could be, at the worst his body would begin to break down and deteriorate, at best it would mutant his cells to the point of near invincibility.

"The Dib-stink would be most pleased to know that the mighty Zim has fallen to an ill situation." As the words left Zim's mouth, another thought came to mind. If his cells were to deteriorate then his game of cat and mouse would be over and he would never taste victory. Even if the best outcome occurred, as the great Zim he would have to end his game with the worm-child sooner than he wanted as well. A thin snake-like tongue swept against thin pale emerald lips in thought; no matter the result, he would have to plan carefully.

It wasn't until Dib heard his enemy's maniacal laughter bellowing from bellow that he knew what his exact destination was. Dib had managed to find his way to the lab, using the help of tubes and various other equipment to journey downwards into the alien's 'secured' base.

It was strangely warm in here, although he had never considered much about the temperature. Honey colored eyes gazed among the Irken technology from afar and, to be honest, it amazed him. How much more advanced his rival was. What he was capable of. It was a shame he was too incompetent to think, to put any of it to good use. Nevertheless, it scared him slightly, to think of a real fight emerging.

"You have a lot to learn, Zim," Dib thought aloud devilishly, and as he realized he had been spotted his body tensed up immensely, and his feet were frozen to the floor. Too loud. One day he would learn to stop talking to himself.

"It seems a filthy Earth-maggot has found its way into my base." Zim spoke sounding far to calm as turned away from the computer and extended his PAK legs. "What are you doing here? Have you come to collect evidence of my existence?"

A heavy silence followed as Zim circled his nemesis; this was his favorite part the ever so slight shadow of fear in those honey eyes, covered by a roaring defiance. It was strange how different Dib was from the other worms on this planet, he was far more superior compared to the others, but not so superior as to be a threat to the Irken race.

Dib couldn't help but do more than grin, narrowing his eyes as he stared down his nemesis above him. "Why else would I be here?" He dropped down to the Irken's level and gradually picked himself up from his knees, the fear diverted from his eyes, now standing to his full height of 6'2". You could congratulate his father for blessing him with such. Still, threatening vibes and tension could be cut with a knife. Ruby eyes looked over him, albeit menacingly. "What are you up to, Zim?"

"Just world domination, same as always."

"There's something wrong... Something... you're not telling me..." Dib's voice drifted off in slight concern. Despite the power-hungry face of his rival, if you knew him as well as he did and studied his pupil less eyes close enough you could spot increasing weakness. See the way his thin, sharp body frame didn't hold up the way it usually did. Even the usual smirk on the Irken's face seemed forced to a degree.

"How dare you insinuate that something is wrong with the all-powerful Zim!" The Irken's face twisted in rage, eyes narrowing sharply. For a moment, he wondered if Dib had overheard him, after all he wasn't entirely certain just how long he had been there. One day he would scrap that useless SIR unit or at rewrite it along with the computer.

Dib swallowed trying to regain his composure; he shouldn't be showing any worry for the green-skinned alien. Zim was his enemy; he should be exploiting any weakness he could find. "You can't hide anything from me Zim, you're far too incompetent. You're just lucky everyone else on this planet is a moron or else your guts would be all over an autopsy—"

"Silence!" Dib was cut off, a hand suddenly around his throat squeezing tightly enough for him to feel the Irken's claws digging into his skin even through the black gloves. Only unlike other times he felt no real danger, the same strength wasn't there. Zim was considerably weaker than normal, he could still probably give a good fight, but not without receiving some serious injury. Emerald hands moved down to grip bony shoulders, and the alien growled. Sinking glares shared between the two, seconds passed before either spoke.

"...Normally, I would be more than willing to pull my strength in battle," Dib said slowly as he lifted his head, "But not this time. This time, I believe, is a waste of time." He fixed his trench coat, brushing against the floor as he slid from Zim's grasp, rubbing his neck certain that bruises would be starting to form. "You're a fool for thinking I can't see it." His voice was unnaturally calm, no hint of raging emotion. His gaze simply rested in the corner of a room, staring at nothing in particular. Pulling at the side of his glasses, he took them off, revealing striking amber eyes. They glowed even more so in the dark. Little black hairs flowed gently in front of his face.

Looking at the computer to the left, his eyes moving quickly as if scanning the codes and a language he hardly knew. Dib smirked, emitting more annoyance from his enemy as his grimace told him, 'guess-who-has-the-upper-hand?' He turned his attention back to Zim, a little surprised that the alien hadn't said anything yet.

"You can fight me but we all know you'll be on the ground, begging for your arms not to turn to dust," he snarked suddenly, but he was taken aback when tall, heavy platform boots took a few too many stomps towards him. Zim wore these simply because of his forever lack of height. He didn't use to, but once they both reach the end of middle-skool and the Dib-stink grew more than he ever had throughout their years together he realized this 'whole, height-thing' simply wouldn't do. They made him almost about a foot taller, but Dib still towered over him unless the help of his PAK legs.

Zim paused taking in what the Dib-human had said, it wasn't like him to back down and for the Irken it left him with a sense of relief. There wasn't any way that he could take Dib on in his current state and he would be stupid to try. What was more irritating was the sudden concern his enemy was showing for him.

"What makes you so sure of that?" He finally spat extending one PAK leg so it was poised above Dib's jugular vein. "I could kill you even now."

"Then why don't you?" Dib asked feeling confident, Zim had said the same thing many times before, but the alien never took the opportunity or really had an open opportunity. His question must have thrown Zim off judging by the brief look of surprise that crossed ruby eyes, he had never asked him that, he had always been too busy fighting to actually do so no matter how many times he had thought it. "I know that you could, I've always known. It would be so easy to get rid of me, yet you don't."

A sudden flash of red on the computer caught Zim's attention; the data scan had reached a conclusion. He glanced at Dib quickly, retracting the PAK leg and moving over to the screen. Trying not to react to the way he could feel the human's eyes on him.

As he rushed over to the computer Dib wished that he had spent more time trying to decode the Irken alphabet as he watched Zim's shoulders tense from the corner of his eye and heard a string harsh of clicks leave the other's mouth.

'Maybe I don't kill you because there's more going on in my thoughts than you will ever understand,' Zim thought to himself silently, eyes widening in curiosity and fear. Before he even finished the long, processed code, his body was becoming weaker by the second and all his weight began to shift on the taller boy next to him, vision blurring and mumbling broken sentences in his native tongue.

"...Zim? Zim! If this is some sort of joke it's not funny!" He caught the fallen invader in his arms, "Dammit, Space-boy..."

They both hated physical contact to say the least, but Zim was obviously too distraught at the moment to care and Dib felt like if he didn't help in some way he would regret it in the end.

"T-Take me...to..." Zim was desperately trying to pull the gloves off his hands growing too hot, energy draining.

"Your leader?" Dib joked, grinning as if to lighten the mood. The alien growled slightly, pointing a claw towards another direction. Whipping his head around Dib saw what was labeled, "exit." A door he hadn't seen before but obviously carried much importance. It was tall and black and the only thing that didn't keep it from blending it with its surroundings was the slight pink glow emitting from a tiny, square window.

Dib ran, limping as he carried his rival in his lanky arms. For a fragile, small alien he sure was heavier than he looked...

Kicking the door down Dib took a second to look around the room. In the middle, a bed, it was dark pink, and glowing much as the rest of the room was. The ceiling was covered in painted stars, illuminating the black as if to imitate space itself. Did Zim come in here when he was homesick?

A blue mist secreted the floor, but something told him it was harmless and he placed Zim on the small bed, almost simply dropping him. He relaxed his shoulders in relief from the weight, stepping away some to study what became of a vulnerable alien. Saw the way his chest up and fell in rhythm with each careful breath he took and the only noise were of the little movement he made that assured Dib that he was at least alive. Zim's face suddenly turned to look at him, eyes half-closed and almost pleading.

"Don't take this as a way that you've somehow won," he began softly, "because you haven't. Zim is fine. Zim is...always...fine..."Fine for over 150 years...he thought as his world soon turned black.

Dib was scared, he didn't want to admit it but he was pretty much terrified. He had never seen Zim look so bad before, not even after their worst fights and to watch the green-skinned boy unravel so quickly had his stomach in knots.

A dark flush colored Zim's hollow cheeks and small tremors ran through the small Irken's thin body. Without realizing it Dib had placed his hand over one of Zim's, his skin was warm and clammy feeling, nothing like the sharp coldness that Zim normally put off. It took a few minutes for him to pull away. He had never noticed how long and bony the Irken's fingers were or that there was an extra knuckle in what could be considered the thumb or that his claws were actually a very dark pinkish-red that turned to black at the tip and not curved as he had once thought.

"What the hell is going on with me?" Dib asked himself moving for the door, but found himself reluctant to leave. Zim could be dying for all he knew, but then again Zim was the enemy, he wanted to destroy Earth. Dib knew he should just walk away or take the opportunity to either kill Zim or call the other Swollen Eyeball members. Yet, a part of him knew he was better than that and he found his way down to the living room where Gir was still screaming about taquitos; looking between the couch and the door for a moment Dib weighed his options before finally taking the couch. After a few hours of sleep, he'd go and check on Zim, it's not as if anyone would actually miss him.