Dib woke up to find that Zim had fallen asleep beside him, curled up in a fetal position, his thumb in his mouth. His gloves and boots had been cast aside into what was now a small pile of clothing. Gaz had taken off her boots, as well, and she had been courteous enough to remove Dib's for him while he slept. The boots were all aligned neatly, though the rest of the clothes were unfolded and messy.

Gaz was still awake, though the sky was dark. In her lap was settled a small green dog, its pink tongue hanging out of its mouth, its eyes shut happily and its tail wagging. Dib smiled.

"Is that Girgant?" he asked, crawling forward on his hands and knees. Gaz nodded, smiling up at him.

"Yeah. Zim hates him, but I think he's cool," she murmured. Dib stopped, suddenly noticing something…odd.

"What's on his chest?" he asked, pointing at a silver tag. But it wasn't a tag; it was a zipper. For that matter, there were stitches up the front of his head…and since when were dogs green?

Gaz snorted. "Oh. Well, you see…Girgant and Mimus aren't real animals. They're actually SIRs; little robots that disguise themselves as animals. They're all over the place here. Sometimes it's hard to see the difference between the real animals and the SIRs. Since Mimus and Girgant are domestic SIRs, Takkit and Zim had to make their costumes for them…and Zim didn't do a very good job. So, Girgant is stuck with the zipper."

Dib snickered. "That's kind of funny."

"Oh, yes," Gaz agreed. "It's very funny. But don't say anything to Zim about it. He'll freak out."

Dib nodded, smiling at the green puppy. From what he could remember about dogs from rooting through his faded memories (the Veil workers seemed to have missed a couple and slacked on a few, fortunately for him), Girgant seemed cuter than most other dogs. He wondered how the SIR looked without his costume, but set the thought aside for later.

He stretched his muscles and leaned back on his palms, glancing at Zim. "He sleeps in a funny way," he murmured. Zim's antenna twitched. "I wouldn't expect such a fierce warrior to suck his thumb."

Gaz giggled. "Fierce warrior. Right, Dib."

Dib smiled and looked up at the sky, trying to see if he could find any constellations. He found a few that looked familiar, but he couldn't remember their names. He still smiled, though. The stars were still beautiful to him. Gaz looked up, too, blinking. There was no moon, so the only light came from the faintly glowing stars.

"Where are we, Gaz?" Dib asked, looking down at her. "I mean…what's the name of this land that we're in? I know that the human world is Simartia, but here…what is it?"

"This land is called Nus'ehtfo'Sreat. This is Crimson's land. Across the sea, where Violet lives…that's called Noom'ehtfo'Sreat. You can call them Nus and Noom for short," Gaz explained, stroking Girgant's green doggy head. "This world, though…this world is called Zeuq'Sav. You can't shorten that."

"Zeuq'Sav," Dib repeated. It was a strange word, but all the same, it sounded okay. He cocked his eyebrows. "Is it a part of Earth?"

"Well, yes, I would think so," Gaz said, giving him a puzzled look. "I mean, we are connected to Simartia, aren't we?"

"I don't know," Dib mumbled. "I haven't lived here all my life."

"But you lived in Simartia, and you came here."

"But I don't know how that happened. It could just have been a flaw in the Veil or something."

Gaz grunted and looked away, not in the mood to argue. Girgant stirred on her lap. Zim's antenna twitched again.

"The sun should be rising soon," she murmured, glancing at Zim. She smiled weakly. "He's such an idiot. I can't believe that he left me alone for four days. I could have died. What's his problem?"

"Maybe he's just a little…slow," Dib suggested, joining her in staring at the Irken. Zim kicked in his sleep. "You know. Maybe it takes him a little longer than normal to understand things."

"Possibly. But it's irritating, nonetheless. And he's suspicious of everyone that I meet, especially males," Gaz said, smiling broadly now. "I think he might have a crush on me."

"I wouldn't blame him," Dib replied, looking up at the violet-haired girl. She looked to him, a little startled. "I mean, you are pretty amazing. You stood up to Takkit, and you were willing to fight her off while I ran. I don't think there are many people who would do that."

Gaz's face flushed. "Well, it's not like I haven't done it before," she murmured. "Anyway, other people have stood up to Takkit. It's just…most of them have died."

"Hmm," Dib said, glancing up at the sky again. Gaz hadn't been lying; he could see the sky to his left starting to brighten. His female companion rose, and Girgant immediately woke up, flying over and attaching himself to Dib's leg.

"You're awake!" the SIR screeched, squeezing his new friend. "And you smell funny!"

"He's a human, Girgant, remember?" Gaz whispered. "I told you that earlier. Now be quiet, dear…Zim is still sleeping."

Girgant nodded, his tongue flapping around in the air in time with his movements. Dib smiled and rose, as well, joining Gaz in looking around. "Where are we?" Gaz murmured to herself. "I don't remember…I just left Egrid, so…we should be near Ikuyim…" Dib blinked. None of the names were familiar to him. She turned to him and stuck out her bottom lip, prodding Zim with her foot. "We need to head southwest. That's in that direction," she said, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder. "If we keep walking all day, we should reach Ikuyim by sunset. After that, it's only an hour's walk to Mount Atnegam…that's Crimson's castle. The people in Ikuyim won't be too suspicious of you, because they aren't able to smell things very well…but Crimson will know what you are the minute that he meets you."

"Why do we need to go and see Crimson?" Dib asked as Zim rose sleepily from the grass. The Irken rubbed his eyes. "I mean…can't we go exploring for a while first?"

"Exploring?" Gaz laughed. "Dib, I've lived here all my life and I still am surprised by the things that I see every day. If we went exploring, we wouldn't ever finish!"

"Oh," Dib said, a bit awestruck by that idea. Just how vast was this world…this ZeuqSav? Was it larger than Simartia?

Zim prodded Dib in the side with a sharp finger, making the human boy jerk away in startled pain. "Hmm," Zim said, as if in deep thought. "Good reflexes."

"Cut it out, Zimbrit," Gaz growled. Girgant flew over and perched upon Zim's shoulder while his master collected his clothes from the pile, haughtily jamming his witch's hat on his head. Dib pulled his trench coat and boots on while Gaz replaced her own, and she explained to Zim her calculations.

"Oh, not Crimson," Zim moaned. "That crotchety old fool?"

"He's your boss, Zim," Gaz said, a hint of laughter in the tone of her voice. "And besides, I need to give him Violet's gift."

Zim blinked. Girgant squealed happily for no visible reason. "You mean Takkit wasn't lying? You really stole the Black Solvent?"

Gaz smiled mischievously, reaching into her pants pocket. Dib and Zim watched in awe as she pulled out a small, crystal vial; within it was a dark liquid, emanating shadow. "The Black Solvent," Gaz said quietly, "More commonly known as 'The Dead Man's Night'. Has the power to engulf the world in darkness. It's been said that the person who drinks it will live forever…but that their life will be filled with darkness and horrible misery."

"Why does Crimson want it, then?" Dib asked, confused. "I mean…who would want to live a life of eternal misery and darkness?"

"There are some people that are so desperate," Zim murmured shadily. Girgant nodded, a wise expression on his puppy dog face. Dib and Gaz exchanged an uncertain look as Gaz put the vial back into her pocket. She turned around, looking to the southwest.

"Well, let's get going, then," she said. "We've got a long walk ahead of us."

The day had proved to be warm, but it was rather windy out. Gaz shivered every time the wind blew, Dib had noticed, so he gave her his trench coat out of concern. "Thanks," she had murmured. Zim had given Dib a sour look, but the human just shrugged, as if to say, "I have no interest in her." Zim had left him alone after that.

The three of them walked in a line; Gaz in front, her machete at the ready; Dib next, serving as a lookout; and Zim in the back, prepared to cast a spell at any second. Girgant hopped and flew through the grass happily, swooping and screeching as he chased butterflies and small birds. Dib wondered, watching, if any of the other animals were SIRs.

The sun beat down upon their heads, but the wind was cooling and relaxing. Dib found his mind wandering, and he tried once again to find the memories that he had lost. Who was in my family? Let's see…I remember that I had a father, but…did I have any siblings? A pet? Any cousins? What about a mother? And…school…I can't remember having any friends…but there was someone, wasn't there? There was someone who hated me above everyone else…what was his name?

"Why can't I remember anything?" Dib whispered, frustrated with himself. Gaz looked back, blinking.

"What was that?" she asked. Dib shook his head.

"Nothing…I was just…thinking."

"You can't remember anything, can you?" Zim asked, amused. Dib shook his head. "Nothing about Simartia…I suppose that means that the Veil workers are doing their jobs. Crimson will be happy to hear that, I'm sure. Even though it is quite unfortunate for you, Dib. I'm sorry that you can't remember your home. But…why are you here, anyway? How did he get here, Gaz?"

"We don't know, Zim," Gaz mumbled, hacking grass out of the way. "He can't remember."

"But you must be here for a reason," Zim said, running ahead and walking alongside Dib. The human looked to the Irken, a little happier that he wasn't picking on him anymore. "I mean…no pure-bred human has set foot in Zeuq'Sav in…over seventy years! The gods must have sent you, I'll bet…was there something wrong in Simartia that you can remember about?"

"The only thing I remember about the way that Simartia looked was that there was rain everywhere, all the time," Dib murmured, staring into Zim's bright red eyes. "I think that I was the only one who could see it. I liked it because of that."

"Rain all the time?" Zim asked, blinking. "That's the first sign that the Veil is taking you. You see rain that no one else can see."

"But then there was blood," Dib said, his eyes saddening. "A whole lot of it. The rain turned to blood."

"The sea of blood?" Gaz asked, stopping for a moment and looking over her shoulder. Dib nodded, and she turned around again, continuing on her way. "That's perfectly normal, as well. The books say that first the rain comes…then, when the Veil workers are doing their job, there's the sea of blood. Then the Angel guides you down through the sea and the sky, and down to Zeuq'Sav."

"No, no," Dib said, shaking his head. "There was the sea of blood, yes, but…before that, the rain itself became blood. It was raining blood."

"Raining blood?" Zim grunted, his eyes widening slightly. "That's not normal. Maybe that has something to do with why you're here."

"I remember that…when I saw the bloody rain…I got a feeling that the Earth was dying. Like it was bleeding from its eyes. The rain itself had been tears, but the blood…was its wound," Dib murmured, looking at his toes as he walked. Zim murmured something under his breath.

"That's the strangest thing I've ever heard," the Irken said. "And I've heard a lot of strange things."

"Me, too," Gaz said. "It's not normal for the Earth's wounds to bleed."

The trio walked in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds coming from Girgant, who was still flitting through the grass. The dog screeched, then flew into Zim's head, clinging to it and rubbing his face against his master's skull. "Master! I love you!" Girgant sang, his little pink tongue still dangling from his mouth. Dib couldn't help but smile. Zim, however, just rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Gods, this beast is annoying," he mumbled, though Dib could tell that he didn't really mean it. "Out of all the SIRs, I had to be blessed with the stupidest one."

"Oh, come on, Zim, you know that's not true," Gaz laughed, still hacking away at the grass before them. "He has his smart flashes…and so do you."

"…That's not funny!" Zim spat, narrowing his crimson eyes at his friend. Dib snickered at their fighting. The Irken turned his angry gaze upon the human boy. "What are you laughing at?"

"I just—"

"Hey! What's that up ahead?"

Dib and Zim looked to where Gaz was gesturing with her knife. Instantly, Dib's eyes widened, and so did Zim's…for before them lie a great glass ball, strangely similar to a snow globe. Dark clouds danced in the top half of the ball, ironically dropping snow upon the small stone building settled upon the grassy hill. The grass in the sphere was much greener than the grass that the trio was currently standing in, or at least what was visible of it. There was a good foot of snow already settled down upon the grass, although the path leading to what Dib guessed was the door into the snow globe was neatly shoveled. Zim blinked, dumbfounded, and let out a throaty noise of disbelief.

"That…it's a glass ball!" he said, utterly surprised. Gaz cocked her head to the side, pushing her hair behind her ear again.

"But…how did it get there? I've never seen anything like it before, and I've lived here for…gods…over a century!" she exclaimed, puzzled.

Dib blinked. "It's…it's snowing in there. How is it doing that? It feels like summer out here!"

"Oh…I think it's a Weatherball!" Zim said, moving toward the strange structure. Not wanting to be left behind, Gaz and Dib followed closely.

"What's a Weatherball?" Dib asked, stumbling over uncut grass.

"What do you think it is?" Zim laughed, giving the human a look that plainly stated, "I think you're stupid". "It's a ball, and inside of it, you can manipulate the weather to suit your mood at any time! I've read about them in Crimson's library."

"Who do you think it belongs to?" Dib queried, trying to see the top of the great, glass ball. Zim snorted.

"Always with the questions, eh, Dib?" Zim teased, smirking. "Gods, I'm never going through the Veil to Simartia. It makes you stupid."

"The gods know that we wouldn't be able to handle you if you were any more stupid than you already are, Zimbrit," Gaz snickered. She sheathed her machete as they neared the sphere, looking over her shoulder once before running on to catch up with her friends.