Disclaimer: IZ does not belong to me.

"Screwdriver,"

The ever faithful (and stupid) SIR unit complied, handing the green alien he calls master, otherwise known as Zim, the requested tool. Normally, Zim would use an Irken tool for something so delicate, but Gir had managed to break all of them. How, nobody may ever know. And Zim, as impatient as he is, would rather buy an Earthen tool than wait for a new Irken one. The screwdriver seemed to be a good replacement for one of the more critical pieces of his Irken tool set.

"NOW!" Zim announced dramatically to Gir, the SIR unit. "Behold, GIR! The downfall of humanity!" He proudly displayed his machine to the SIR unit, who observed it with it's (his?) wide, cyan eyes. A wide smile spread across his features as he looked down upon it.

"IT LOOKS LIKE A COOKIE!" was the idiotic and typical response of Gir. Zim scowled at him, "I WANNA EAT IT!" it (he?) leapt forward after the declaration, intent on consuming the device. Only to fall flat on his face.

Zim stared down, the scowl still on his face as he lectured, "No, Gir, it's not a cookie. And you CAN'T eat it," Gir frowned, "THIS is a Mentality Altering Device, or M.A.D. It will take over the thoughts of EVERY human on this pathetic planet, and force them to do MY bidding!" an evil laugh echoed throughout the base. Gir, unable to resist, also joined in his master's insane cackling.

When they calmed down, Zim turned back to the M.A.D, "NOW to place the metal covering... where's the plating?" He frowned as he remembered that he never grabbed it in the first place. But he didn't really want to leave to get it... Gir might break (or eat) the M.A.D while he was gone. "I can't believe I'm about to say this..." Zim mumbled to himself, then, in his normal tone, commanded Gir to retrieve the metal plating.

The SIR unit saluted, and then took off. Zim sat down, hoping to clear his thoughts about the M.A.D. Which only served to make him think about it more. Which only made him want to finish it more. Which made the naturally impatient alien being even more impatient...

"GIR! WHERE ARE YOU, ALREADY?"

The SIR unit flew back in, carrying a bundle in his arms. Wasting no time, Zim took it himself, and began attaching it to the machine, careful to leave no spaces. When he finished, however, he noticed his hands were covered in something sticky...

"GIR!"

The little robot cackled insanely, before responding, "Ye~s?"

Zim was not amused, "WHY are my hands sticky?"

A large grin spread across Gir's face, "That's cause there was SYRUP on the waffles!"

"WAFFLES?" Zim's unamused, annoyed expression turned to one of horror.

Gir nodded, "Yea, I thought it looked nicer-er," Though he knew the screw-up was merely Gir's innocent intentions, Zim was seething with rage. Didn't he think anything through? Apparently not.

But Zim didn't have time to be mad. The electrical current flowing through the syrup could cause the machine to short-circuit, which could blow up half the city! Anxiety, fear, and rage, three of the most irrational emotions known to man (or Irken) kind, flowed through him as he grabbed at the machine, trying to peel the waffles off of the machine.

How could I have been so STUPID? Zim thought, angry with himself for actually trusting Gir's judgment. He should have known Gir would do something like this. At the very least, he probably should have checked out the plating Gir had chosen.

Zim wasn't known for thinking things through, which is probably why he was surprised when the current of electricity drained out of the syrup and into his system. A pained shriek followed, the Irken doubled over, falling onto the floor. The last thing he heard was Gir shouting something unintelligible, though it did sound an awful lot like his name...

Zim opened his eyes, blinking. He wasn't on his Earth base anymore. No, he recognized the ship he was on; any Irken would. The Massive. Only thing was, this section was off-line. Strange, as the sections only go off-line once every fourteen years for scheduled maintenance. What could be so horrible that they have to shut it down early?

Zim turned around to the sound of running feet. An Irken guard was running through the area. No, this definitely wasn't scheduled maintenance. The Irken seemed more like he was hunting something... and doing so very cowardly. He kept looking around, calling out for, 'The Shadow-Thingy'. Zim sneered, and followed him. There was nothing better to do... and the instinct to follow that guard was nagging him so.

A sudden shadow eclipsed both Zim and the guard. They turned around to find a strange figure, completely shadowed to Zim, hovering ominously over them. The Irken guard let out a scream, but Zim remained frozen.

"..." The creature remained silent, but something about it put Zim on edge. He watched, closely, as it snaked around the Irken guard, who looked on the point of screaming again. Then, suddenly, it attacked. Unexpectedly, the creature opened it's mouth and rushed at high speeds towards the guard. Ivory fangs glistened as it swept the guard up. And poor Zim watched as it mangled, devoured, and twisted the guard, until he was nothing more than a pile of pulp. Then, as if this couldn't get much worse, it began to lap up the liquids coming from the pile, much like a cat would lap up water. It disgusted and intrigued Zim at the same time. Was this why the off-line section wasn't functional? This creature ate Irkens; no, that's not accurate. It liquified them, and drank whatever was left. The creature then turned towards Zim, showing off it's large, blood-drenched fangs...

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Zim woke up with the memory of his dream fresh on his mind. Gir hugged his master, crying about how he was afraid he, 'would never see yas again!'. Zim, almost afraid to, glanced back at the lab table where the M.A.D was. And it was toast. Looking down, he noticed his clothes were in the same state. But, at least the town wasn't blown up. That's a slight consolation. Or at least, that's what Zim told himself as he pushed Gir off, and threw the toasted machine in the garbage can. He could work on a new one after school, anyways.

The dream left a bad taste in his mouth. He hadn't ever dreamed before, so why start now? Sure, Irkens slept, but only once in a while. It didn't mean anything, did it? Oh well, he'd ponder on that later. Maybe get his PAK checked out. But now, he had to prepare for skool. And another eight hours being stared at by the Dib.

Zim groaned. Today was NOT going as planned...

NOTE: I tried to keep Zim and Gir in character this chapter, but there will be points where both are OOC, along with Dib and maybe Gaz.