So, uh...guys? It seems that I only have one pre-written chapter left...AHHH! I need to get writing again!

Chapter Fourteen: Gaz

As I walked down the stairs and towards the kitchen for breakfast, I heard a shout that was both enraged and afraid. "No! It's gone!"

I changed directions towards the source of the yell and found that it came from Dad's lab. He was bent over an observation table with drawers open and papers strewn everywhere. "What's gone, Dad?" I asked to satisfy my curiosity.

"The research on the approaching mass seen in space is gone, Gaz," he explained, rapidly turning around. "Who could have taken it?!"

I thought back to last night. I thought I heard someone walking around, but I dismissed it as just Dib tossing and turning upstairs-and that was only confirmed when he screamed in his sleep again. "Maybe you just misplaced it," I suggested, wanting him to calm down so that he wouldn't embarrass me at Parent-Teacher Night tonight.

"I have looked everywhere, Gaz! Someone had to have taken it! I'll have to get another copy of the files at the lab, but there's no replacing that flash drive." Dad straightened his posture and ran passed me. "I'll be back in time for Parent-Teacher Night tonight, Gaz. Make sure that your brother takes his medicine!"

He was gone before I knew it, but that was normal. I was more surprised that he's stuck around this long than his sudden departure. He would surprise me even more if he actually showed up tonight in the skool yard.

I walked back up the stairs to the kitchen to find Dib's pill bottles resting on the kitchen table where Dad must have placed them. I went to the cupboard and got myself a bowl of cereal when a sudden voice nearly made me jump. "Hey, Gaz."

"Hey, Dib," I muttered as I put the milk away.

"I don't have to take those today, do I?" Dib questioned as I sat down at the table with my breakfast.

"You have to, Dib," I said, taking a bite of my cereal.

I know that he hates taking those pills, and I didn't like how he acts when he does. His old self was annoying, but this new self was annoying, too. He was lethargic and couldn't focus. He prevents Dad and I from sleeping because he screams in the middle of the night sometimes, and I practically have to shout his name three times or more just to get his attention.

But I still sided with Dad and had him take those pills. Dad was actually around, now. We were a family. Maybe if Dib went back to Dad's lab every now and then, his mood would pick up again.

My anticipation for tonight made the school day fly by, much to my disappointment. I like Miss Bitters and look forward to the way she teaches each day. Dib and I met up in the skool yard where the elementary and middle schools were holding their Parent-Teacher Nights. "Have you seen Dad?" I wondered, figuring that he would meet up with Dib before finding me.

Dib shook his head.

I contained a sigh. He probably wasn't coming. Sooner or later, one of his flying screens will show up and it'll go right back to how it was before.

"Long time, no see, little Gaz," an annoyingly familiar voice interjected.

Dib tensed as he saw who was behind me, and I turned to face him. "What do you want, Zim?" I demanded.

Zim glanced around for a second. "Just wondering where your male guardian is."

The three of us stood in silence, staring at each other with a palpable tension.

"Hello, Gaz, Dib and their little foreign friend," Dad's voice greeted behind me.

I suppressed a disappointed sigh as I turned around, preparing myself to interact with nothing by a flying screen. I almost jumped in surprise when the source of the voice turned out to be our actual father. He was here.

"You made it," Dib voiced.

"I did, Son," Dad responded. "I managed to get another copy of the footage that was stolen last night, and there are investigators at our house looking into the lab to figure out who stole it."

Zim snickered beside me. I glanced at him and found his hand over his mouth as he tried to contain his laughter. I rolled my eyes and refocused on Dad as Miss Bitters approached us. She stared at Dib with a contempt expression, and Dib looked blankly back at her. "I must say that it's nice not having you in class, constantly accusing everyone of being aliens, Dib," she said.

Dib tensed at her words and glanced at the ground, saying nothing.

"And you must be Miss Bitters: my daughter's teacher," Dad greeted, extending one of his gloved hands.

"Yes," Bitters responded, shaking his hand. "And she is much better behaved than Dib."

Dad chuckled. "Yes, that hospital worked wonders on him. He no longer believes that anything supernatural is real at all. He doesn't even watch Mysterious Mysteries anymore."

"That is an improvement," Bitters agreed.

I looked over to Dib and found that his eyes were wide and his breath was racing. His arms were wrapped around himself, and he looked like he wanted nothing more than to disappear. Dib has had enough panic attacks since he got home that it became really easy for me to recognize them. They were usually triggered when anything involving aliens or the supernatural was mentioned. Dad had left me Dib's panic attack pills in case he needed them, and I grabbed them before we left for tonight. I reached into my pocket and took the pill bottle out, offering it to Dib.

He glanced at my hand, slowly taking the bottle from me. He stared at it, as if debating whether or not he should take one of the capsules inside.

A siren suddenly sounded, causing everyone to jump and glance around. Even Zim seemed slightly confused.

A moment later, there was a faint boom overhead. Everyone looked up to see a bright, orange spot racing towards us, getting bigger by the second. Dad grabbed my hand and dragged Dib and I back, taking us out of the school yard as people started to scream and scatter in their panic.

"What's going on?" Dib wondered quietly, as Dad pulled us behind a car.

"Something is crash landing on Earth," Dad explained, glaring at the ball of fire that was falling from the sky.

"What is it?" I questioned.

Dad finally looked at both Dib and I. "We never knew for sure, but it seemed to be mechanical." He paused and focused on Dib. "The only conceivable theory was alien life."

If Dib reacted to what Dad said, he didn't show it.

A deafening explosion came from somewhere near the school. I instantly covered my ears as the ground started to shake. Dad wrapped his arms around us, and a wave of dust and dirt blasted over us.

When the dirt settled back down, we were still for a moment. If I was being honest, I was afraid. Zim was incompetent, but surely he's not the only alien species that's out there. Was this species going to be like Zim, or would they actually be smart?

Dad slowly let us go, and he and I cautiously looked over the hood of the car. People were starting to come out of their hiding places, though it didn't look like Miss Bitters had ever moved.

"Stay here, kids," Dad ordered. "I'm going to go check it out." Dad got up and ran back towards the school yard.

I scoffed. "Since when do I ever stay put? Come on, Dib," I got up and made my way around the car, but when I didn't hear any footsteps behind me, I paused and turned around, finding Dib still on the ground. "I said 'come on'," I growled.

Dib squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, holding the bottle of panic attack pills close to his chest.

My fists tightened in irritation. I have had enough of Dib's reclusive and nervous behavior. This is aliens. This is his area of expertise. For once, the city actually needed him. I grabbed him by the collar of his blue shirt and dragged him out from behind the car.

Dib made a choking sound as he grabbed at my wrist, trying to pry me off. "Gaz!" he gasped. "Let me go."

"Oh, shut up," I ordered. "You need to snap out of it, Dib. If an actually intelligent alien is invading Earth, you would know how to stop it."

"I-I can't," he muttered as I slowed down, gradually releasing my grip on his collar. Dib slowly got to his feet and rubbed the sore skin on his neck. "I can't," he repeated.

Yep! Crap has officially hit the fan! Enjoy...