Gaz held unto Zim's hand as they laid in bed in a spooning position "Hey Zim… What do you think we should name them? I wanna name one after Dib" she smirked mischievously knowing that would "irk" him so to speak.
"Dib? MY smeet named DIIIB? Gaz you've lost your mind!" Zim dramatically ranted
Gaz laughed "I'm kidding Zim I just love getting you all worked up!"
Still slightly irritated he rubbed her belly and grumbled "Very funny Gaz…but seriously whatever names you choose will be satisfactory as long as Dib isn't one of them"
Gaz sighed "You're gonna name them too dumbass… I'm not doing it myself! Besides I'm sure you'd probably want Irken names because"
"No!" he interrupted
She turned and looked at him wide eyed, he'd always been so proud to be Irken and hated everything about humans so this was surprising.
"No Irken names… I mean most of your Earth names are horrible but considering the fact we'll be raising them on Earth, they should have…ugh…human names!" Zim cringed
"Yeah but humans name their kids weird names all the time! You kept your name the same and no one blinked an eye! So if you wanted to.." Gaz explained
"No Gaz just… no…it's complicated" Zim answered he could tell he was making her uncomfortable which was the last thing he wanted so he needed to lighten the mood "Whatever we name them I want their names to be POWERFUL! Maybe name one Death! the next Fear! Another one Overlord! Annnnd finally Zaz!" he rambled happily
"Zaz?"
"Yes our names combined! Do you like it?" he smiled
"Actually I do! I really like that one! Okay so that's one name down.."
"What about Death, Overlord and Fear!?" Zim chuckled
"Shut up" she whispered before kissing him and embracing him. This continued for a while but she felt the need to ask him something.
"Zim what exactly is your plan? What have you been working on?"
"WHY are you doing this NOW Gaz? I'm TRYING to focus on YOU right now! Zim does not want to spoil his Gaz time!" he complained
"Because I HATE being left in the dark…" she glared
Zim sighed deeply knowing she was not going to be happy with him…but also knew she deserved to know. He brushed her purple hair out of her face and took a deep breath "I'm going back to Irk…"
Gaz's glare softened into a more worried look "I figured as much… you would never give Dib a weapon unless you really needed him for a fight…"
"You're not mad?"
"No… I am upset though but I know you must have your reasons" she said sorrowfully and turned her back to him.
"Hey…hey Gaz! Come on don't be upset… I'll be right back before you know it… Zim promises!" he responded by lightly rubbing her back. He sighed again "This is why I didn't want to tell you right now… I didn't want to ruin anymore of our time"
"I know…I'm stubborn though it would've bugged me all night but deep down I should've known you'd leave…how typical" she muttered
"Gaz! I'm coming back!"
"Unless you get killed then what? What happens to me? what happens to the kids?" she snapped with watery but furious eyes.
Zim tried to be comforting and wiped the tear marks from her face "Yeah I could die… it's a possibility but if I don't go, it is a CERTAINTY" he stressed as he gazed at her lost in the glow of her amber eyes "It's a necessary risk but one Zim will not take lightly!"
Gaz softened again and she hugged him "I just…. Have issues with people leaving me… and I hate how much I've come to care about you! You damn string bean!"
"Zim has that effect on you people! It's a curse really!" he smirked earning him a light elbow to the stomach.
"Shut up and feel how crazy these bastards are!" she yelled as she moved his claw to her belly again… the little lives within fluttering about. "It's the craziest feeling! I guess they're going to be as hyper as you are!" she beamed
Zim was silent as he felt them moving about. He never thought about being a father, he never thought about even having a significant other… it wasn't the Irken way of doing things… it was supposed to conditioned out of them. You live only to serve the empire. Zim shuddered at the thought of HIS smeets having to live the brainwashed life that the empire decided Irkens are supposed to have.
"All the more reason to destroy it…" he thought to himself with more resolve.
Five Days Left
"Ahhhhh! Oh it was just a dream…" Dib screamed to himself as he awoke on Zim's couch "Wait why am I sleeping on Zim's couch? Oh no it wasn't a dream!" he looked on his arms "Well I least I got these babies!"
He perked up and went to the kitchen to grab one of the energy drinks Gaz left before going to down to the lab.
He sipped his drink on the way down lost in thought "It's crazy to think Zim actually let me stay in his base all night without him… maybe him being with Gaz is a good thing after all… besides I'm actually looking forward to going to Irk and kicking Irken ass… I mean I kinda failed the simulations but"
"Good Morning Son!" The Professor interrupted his thoughts
"Morning Dad! How's it goin?"
"GREAT! Despite my weariness of course but I believe I have perfected Skoodge's PAK! Now I can work on Zim's with certainty that I won't accidently kill him in the process! He is completely immune now to the orders of the control brains, unable to be re encoded, or deactivated!" he proudly proclaimed.
"That's Great! I guess… I mean should I be happy?" Dib confused himself
Skoodge was happy and hugged the tall professor as tears welled in his eyes "I know I was just an experiment but you… you have no idea how much this means to me…" he blubbered "This is so strange… these emotions… they're disgusting and yet I'M SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE THEM!!!" He wailed and cried as Gir joined in the crying fest!
"I don't know why I'm sad but I am!!!!! Wahhhh!" the robot cried
Dib awkwardly backed away "Ooookay well I'm gonna call Gaz and see if Zim can come back now"
"Don't leave me here…"Membrane thought to himself as the robot and former invader cried in circles around him.
Dib called Gaz while making a poptart "HELLO DIB!"
"Zim! Don't answer my sister's phone calls! That's creepy!"
"Well you should know better Dib Worm! My Gaz is sleeping! I won't have you disturbing her"
"You know what? She isn't "your" Gaz She isn't a possession! She"
Zim yawned loudly interrupting him "Dib if you're going to nit pick everything I do, it's going to be a very long day! So just stop! I'm on my way so make sure Gir doesn't destroy anything until I get there!"
"I don't have to" click! Zim hung up on him. Dib groaned and ate his poptarts in frustration. Ten minutes later Zim did arrive and wasted no time going into the labs to converse with Membrane and Skoodge … while Dib was stuck babysitting Gir.
"Alright Zim! I know what I'm doing now and I'm confident that we can do this!" The Professor beamed and proceeded to fill the computer monitors with the data and programs he was using on Skoodge's PAK, he wanted to make sure Zim knew exactly what was going on, to gain his trust. Zim stared at the monitors as Skoodge sheepishly walked up to him
"Hey Zim! I just feel like I should express a concern I have before you go through with this… somethings bothering me"
"What is it Skoodge? Make it quick!" Zim asked
"It's just that … my PAK is fixed sure but it was never… you see your PAK is…" he struggled to find the words
Zim growled "Just say it Skoodge!"
Skoodge took a deep breath and blurted out "ImSorryZimButYourPAKIsDefectiveAndIDontThinkThisWillWork!"" he huffed.
"Yeah yeah I KNOW I'm defective! It's because of my "defects" that I'm still alive! Zim knows the risks involved but I must take them" he patted Skoodge on the shoulder making him flinch.
"Let's get on with this Membrane…" Zim sighed and plugged himself into the computer.
"I hope I'm wrong Zim…" Skoodge mumbled before leaving the lab.
Membrane looked to the computer monitors with worry
"This….may be more difficult than I expected…" he confessed
Skoodge went up to the living room where Dib and Gir were fighting over the toaster and decided to help the human out.
"Give. Me. The. TOASTER!!!" Dib screamed
"I wanna eat it!!!" Gir screamed back
"Well I wanna eat POPTARTS!!!"
"Um guys?" Skoodge interfered
They both looked at him and let go of the toaster but it made them both crash to the ground.
"Hi MINI MASTER! You look like a pig with MUSCLES!" Gir screeched
"Hey SIR unit! Can this um pig check out your weapons system really quick?" Skoodge asked
Dib raised an eyebrow "Weapons system? This thing has a weapons system?"
"Yes… I want to upgrade him if I'm able"
Gir looked at Skoodge with narrowing red eyes
"I'm not going to mess with your personality! Just give you some more… toys to play with" Skoodge panicked and shook his hands nervously.
Gir's eyes turned cyan again "WHYYYY didn't you say SOOOO I LOVE TOYS!" he giggled
"Phew!" Skoodge sighed and wiped the sweat from his forehead before picking up the robot and opening his head
"Hahahahaha! This feels funny!" Gir cackled
Dib watched them and wondered what Skoodge was up to but decided not to question it. He was happy to be relived of his baby sitting duties.
"Hey Dib Human…What changed between you and Zim if you don't mind me asking?" Skoodge asked while checking out Gir's mechanics.
Dib looked at him with a confused look "To be honest I'm not exactly sure where Zim and I stand… I don't completely trust him… or you for that matter!"
"It's understandable I suppose.. . He was hell bent on destroying this world at one point" Skoodge replied
"At one point? You think he's really given up? Because I'm not so sure…" Dib questioned
Skoodge scoffed "An Irken's PAK is the most vulnerable part of us! For him to allow your father of all creatures to tamper with it tells me that you are no longer considered an enemy in his eyes"
Dib scratched his head, a part of him knew it was true but another part of him didn't want to let go of the idea of Zim being a threat. Perhaps it was a strange defense mechanism he had.
"I guess you're right… but I'm still not dropping my guard! For all I know that's what you two want!" Dib defended
"Believe you what you want human, just know that if you plan to betray him…I will NOT hesitate to take your huge head as a trophy" Skoodge warned with a glare
"Why do you care about what happens to Zim? He just used you as a disposable experiment! MY DAD is the one who freed you!" Dib complained while crossing his arms
"I've known Zim since we were smeets, he's changed more than you think… he's just not going to admit it. The fact that I'm still alive after calling him a defect is proof of that!" Skoodge replied while screwing the top of Gir's head back together.
"I guess you're right about that! In the past he's been in absolute denial about ANY of his flaws! Even minor ones! Well in any case Skoodge as long as he doesn't stab my back I wont stab his… that's where we stand" Dib rambled
"How do you feel little Sir unit?" Skoodge asked
"I FEEEEEL like eating tacos!" Gir screeched
"Well guess that didn't work.." Dib shrugged
"No it did! He just doesn't have the motivation to use his weapons right now but when one of us is in danger.. He'll be ready!" Skoodge explained
"What'd you even do? It looked like you just twisted some knobs in his head" Dib questioned
"That's all he needed… Gir is a different SIR unit to say the least! The only one of his kind but I remember Zim told me he loaded him full of weapons some years ago but couldn't program them correctly, I've been working with all kinds of different robots in my travels and decided to see if I could help" Skoodge explained
"Huh weird! But cool I guess" Dib remarked. There was an odd silence between the two now both not knowing if they should be doing something else.
"So uh Skoodge… I noticed you're a lot more muscular than you used to be and you have all kinds if battle scars…. Any cool stories about how you got those?" Dib asked
"I wouldn't say cool… actually most of these scars are from my own people" Skoodge growled
Dib gulped seeing Skoodge's face turn into a look of anger not unlike Zim's when he snapped on him during the battle simulation
"What about you? Do you humans usually get hairier? Or is that just you?" Skoodge asked breaking Dib's train of thought
"Hey! I'm not that hairy! I just have a cool goatee now!" he said smugly now twirling said goatee with his finger. "But yeah we do get hairier but most of us chose to shave" he informed
Back In The Lab
Membrane was looking at he data from Zim's PAK and found that indeed it was full of more corrupted data than Skoodge's. It was going to be more challenging.
"Hmm what's this? You appear to have some unused function?" Membrane asked
"Eeh?"
"Look Zim it's underneath all your normal functionalities… there's something untouched…curious isn't it?" Membrane informed while pointing at said function
Zim stared puzzled "This is unheard of… COMPUTER is any information about unused functions in any other Irkens?"
"Affirmative Almighty Tallest Miyuki created this function in a select batch of Irken smeets unfortunately as YOU KNOW she died before she could successfully test it out"
"What is it though? What does it do?" Zim asked
"Insufficient data"
"Damnit! It's bugging me! I wanna know what it does!!! What if it makes me ALL POWERFUL" Zim ranted
"Well best not to mess with it until we know more for all we know it could be a delete button" Membrane replied
Zim calmed down his antennae drooped on disappointment. The tall Professor continued his work and took a deep breath "Alright Zim this is it! You'll feel a sliiiight discomfort but when it's over you'll no longer have to worry about being deactivated….Son!" Membrane smiled at the anxious alien. Zim looked at Membrane surprised
"Son? Did he really just say that?" He thought.
"Ready Zim?" Membrane asked ready to pull the switch.
Zim ground his teeth together and made fists with his claws bracing himself for whatever pain was sure to follow "Yes! Do it!"
As so he did! Membrane flipped the switch as Zim and his PAK were being shocked and engulfed by electricity. The room was blue and white from all the blinding energy flowing from the computer to the Pak and Zim. Membrane himself stared in awe and slight discomfort watching him convulse and squirm and yet he barely made a sound, he grunted yes but he didn't have the ear piercing shrieks that Skoodge did.
"Fascinating… he must have an extremely high pain tolerance… poor guy but at least it's almost over" membrane thought as he then looked at the screen.
" Conversation is at 98%...99%...100%
Conversion completed"
The machines powered down and Zim still twitched but relaxed considerably. He was breathing hard but grabbed Membrane's lab coat "It's done?… it's successful?" he asked breathlessly
"Yes Zim it's over" he said placing his hand on his shoulder.
Zim was still breathing hard but mumbled under his breath
"What did you say? Do you need something?" Membrane asked
"….u"
"come…again?"
"I said THANK YOU! WHAT IS WITH YOU STUPID HUMANS AND YOUR STUPID HEARING!!!" Zim yelled
Apparently Dib and Skoodge were back to the lab
"HEY ZIM! Don't be mean to my dad you asshole! I'll kick your ass" Dib shouted
"Oh really?" Skoodge threatened with his PAK legs out
"I said I'd KICK his ass not kill it!" Dib whined
Zim held his head in pain "ENOUGH OF THE SCREAMING ughhhh"
"…and he wonders why I'm hard of hearing… all of you are so loud!" Membrane chuckled.
"Zim why don't you rest up for a while" Membrane suggested
"No! No more resting… time is short I'm going to IRK now!" he struggled
Dib gasped "Look at yourself Zim you're a mess! You can't go into battle like THIS?"
"I agree with the human sir! You should be refreshed for battle!" Skoodge shouted
"Shut up! Both of you! I can rest on the way there!" Zim snapped as he unhooked himself from the computer and started to warm up the Voot Crusier.
Dib and Skoodge looked at each other with worry but ultimately relented and joined him.
"Membrane! I know I've already asked much of you human… but could you just… stay with Gaz now? Make sure she's alright?" Zim asked loudly over the sound of the engine
"Of course I won't leave her side even she beats me up!" Membrane laughed heartily
"Alright Minions make sure you have everything you need I'm giving you ten minutes!" Zim ordered
Dib searched his trenchcoat and hoped he remembered to bring more than one gun from home. He did but again it wasn't the gun he thought it was
"Just an ordinary handgun? I hate myself sometimes! Why do I even have this?" he complained but kept it anyway.
"Wait son! I made something for you!" Membrane shouted and ran to Dib holding what looked like boots.
"I seen you liked my robot arms so I thought you should have the rocket boots to match" he smiled as Dib looked at the boots wide eyed.
"Consider this my apology son! I only wish I could do more"
"Thanks Dad…" Dib weeped "Aw man I hate crying"
"Hurry up Dib Worm!" Zim shouted
"Shut up!!!"
"Come on Gir!" Zim commanded
"Weeee hooo time to play finally!"
Zim, Gir and Skoodge were in the voot just waiting on Dib now.
"I can't believe it…I'm going to leave my own planet, risk my own life just to save the alien bastard that's ruined my life for the past decade!!! But then again… if Zim never came here would I even know of other life on other planets? Would I have even experienced the paranormal or just pondered it's existence? Would I have gone through all of these adventures or just lived a life of mediocrity? Yes I guess all things happen for a"
"GET YOUR FUCKING ASS IN THE VOOT DIB!!!! OR WE'RE LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!!!"
A/N: Guys I feel bad for this! You wait all this time for THIS? I confess I struggle with writing technology…and I've been dealing with a horrific toothache I have to see a specialist for! So I'm sorry this isn't better but I'm already working on the next chapter! Hopefully it's more exciting than this! Thanks for reading and putting up with me