Whoops...6 days...I'm sorry guys. I meant to have this posted after three days but I am still in the process of moving in with my dad from another state. We just brought my dog Zack and some other stuff and Zack just went to the vet two days ago. He's an inside dog but my mom made him stay outside until I brought him here with me so the vets are saying he may have diabetes, and I've just been worried about him...sorry.

On top of all this, I've been trying to recover my email password but the people that run it say that it will take 24 hours X( I didn't want you guys to wait anymore so I'm copying the story over from my ipod touch... -_-

I've got more important stuff to say at the bottom but I know you're probably skimming to get to the story at this point so make sure to read the bottom!

14 reviews! FOURTEEN! I REALLY did not expect this story to catch that much attention! Especially when it's just a prologue O-O

So here's my replies to all of you. You guys are awesome! BD

FrostBitten13 - Dib is going to be completely dead and gone for a while...but yeah you're getting somewhere with your third guess. And ya know ZADR I like better than ZADF but personally I believe it's impossible...especially since it makes Jhonen queasy... ;D

rejectsuperstar - Remember I said you can vote ZADF or ZADR...and ZADR is my personal favoroite too!

ATreeFriend14 - I knooow! It hurt me a lot to make Dib die the way he did. Trust me though, it's all for a good cause ;)

Invader Ang - I'm glad you think I made a good start :D I was actually worried I rushed it too much.. Anyway yeah this story is not at all intended to be sad, just deep. Sad IZ stories ruin my day :l

Tallest Halo -I saw notifications you were reviewing on my note about discontinuing Good Enough and now you're here! You know it means a lot that you're still supporting my work even after I might have disappointed you. I'm glad you love this story just as much and I hope it makes up for things :)

Invader Mizi - I was thinking about Zim just finding him dead but I think it started a good relationship plot (friendship or romance. whichever one wins) to make Dib try to say something non-hateful to Zim. It makes ya wonder...what he would've said... lolz )

Darkdagers - Hey you were reviewing for Good Enough too, weren't you? Lol don't worry, this story is not intended sadness all the way through, just real deep. You've already read the saddest of the story...or I mean I don't know what's sadder than Dibbeh dying... :( Anyway it means a lot that you're reading this after I canceled Good Enough. I hope you like this story just as much =J

LadyofaLake - I'm glad you like this :) I just hope you don't mind ZADR if that turns up as the winning vote. I used to be afraid of ZADR but I read it and tried to skim through the homosexual parts =/ But I love both now so I hope you'll be ok with either one ^-^

MoonToy - ROFL! I saw this review on my email on my phone and told my friend and we both laughed XDD haha again you all really impressed me with all those reviews!

InvaderRue31777 - I got the idea the day after Christmas when I had this dream about Zim capturing Dib after he got suspicious about an Irken friend Zim recruted for help. For some reason there was this fat old Irken in Zim's house telling babies it's good to die young in one of those cute moment sort of ways and it made Dib smile and be ok with everything until Zim said "MERRY CHRISTMAS DIB!" and it turned out to be a trick. Point being...me and my cousin woke up to one of those ghost movies where someone can see the person that died and tells someone they love how they feel before they go to Heaven or whatever. So yeah...I mixed it all together. Lol ZADR kinda makes me warm and fuzzy too XD

AllThatGoodStuff - The update was intended to be faster, sorry. Either way I'm not sure IZ is good for sanity anyway...haha but I don't give a crap myself ^w^

InvaderOpak - Yeah the truce I had thought would make a few sparks..I'm glad you agree ^-^

Jeesh, I think these responses are as long as the chapter.. O_O

Disclaimer: Nothing on me!

Zim never gave any thought to what he did or what he was doing as he abandoned Dib and ran back around the block. He crossed the road back to his house without checking for cars. The lawn gnomes were only semi-alert at the sudden form until they realized it was their Irken master. Zim flew through the door, making the waiting robots look even more idiotic as he managed to bolt right past their grabbing arms, and straight to the toilet/elevator in the kitchen. As he sunk down the over-sized bowl, he didn't spare a glance to the now furious roboparents, or the fact that Gir had returned holding some sort of purple taco and a bewildered look on his face. Well, it would be counted as bewildered for Gir.

The buzzing of the small elevator was barely heard over Zim's screaming brain-ache. Voices were talking at him, both angry and...and something else he couldn't place. So he chose to feel confused. He felt confused at his reaction to the death of an enemy; confused at why something like this happened so sudden. Maybe it was a malfunction with his PAK?

The elevator hissed open and Zim stepped out. Maybe he could try to distract himself with human research? Yes, that human 'YouTube' sight looked suspicious enough, and Gir favors it a lot. But then again, Gir favors almost everything on this worthless planet.

But...it was just Dib, right? He would get over this, right? This confusion...could it really just be a mechanism Gir may have screwed up and it was making him crazy? If it was, he could have his Computer find the malfunction and he could fix it and find the real emotion he was supposed to be feeling here, because this sure wasn't right.

He would get over this...

"PAK scan in progress."

Yeah, that's right; Zim has finally decided to scan his PAK. He knew even as he detached the shell-like device that his emotions wouldn't change. PAKs were pretty much the entire brain and the source of life for an Irken. The body was just the puppet for the PAK, so Zim would just go off the last settings the PAK had set for him.

The Computer sent back results and Zim's PAK a few minutes later, and Zim was shocked to see that it found no problem. In fact, his PAK was in the best shspe it's ever been since Gir came in Zim's life.

Zim lay in that same spot for hours, turning positions and switching hands to stay comfortable. Mini Moose or Gir would drop in a few times, but he would never pay attention. Instead, he would just grunt or snort at whatever silly thing they had to say to him. Eventually Zim was left alone, and he would stay where he was until he stopped feeling confused, no matter what the Computer said.

But then that never happened, so he finally had to move. He decided to go ahead and order the computer to shut off the roboparents (who are still a mystery to how they gained back power) so he could go back upstairs.

"Roboparents deacctivated," the Computer stated in a low tone, giving Zim permission to go upstairs.

Zim stomped out of the toilet and over to the couch, again not bothering to acknoledge Gir. He laid right on the couch, at first with silence, then he raised a claw and snapped his fingers.

"Gir, get me some snacks," he ordered, but the authority in his voice was lost.

Gir saluted with a quick "yes, sir!" and fetched Zim a Jumbo Bag of Taquitos.

As Zim stretched open the plastic, it was like reopening memories. The last time he had a snack obsession was when Dib quit hunting him. Zim completely forgot about his mission and nearly became a couch hobo.

But he didn't want think about Dib. Not now. When you're dead, you're gone. And that's how Dib has to be now...

...gone.

_April_

_May_

_June...

...

...

...

"Master?"

"..."

"MastER?"

"Ehm...what?" Zim blinked open his sticky eyes. Zim was all but panic as he scanned the whole room with his tired eyes, and for another moment like every other day, he couldn't understand. It was what, May or July? Or something in between? His excellent memory of Earth customs were beginning to slip from importance.

"Giir?"

Gir smiled warmly at the voice and jumped on the green boy's lap.

Zim squealed. "Ahh! Gir! The snacks! What have you done to the snacks?" Zim panicked now like the house was shattering all around him as he scrambled to grab a few bags of beef jerkey and cups of mashed potatoes that were beginning to look expired.

Gir looked down and poked his tongue out innocently as he realized that he had also crushed a bag of chips and a few unfinished chocolate bars. But being the naive little android he was, Gir picked up a chocolate bar and started nibbling on it.

Zim nearly gave him a death glare, but softened, as he was just beginning to wake up now.

Why did it matter what he did remember anyway? Today he was probably going to procrastinate on his mission again. He was going to tell himself to work on something or atleast call The Tallests, but he would just end up on the couch with a bowl of Cheetos watching The Scary Monkey show that he had always hated. He couldn't exactly hate anymore. Sure, he hated the fact that Gir and Mini Moose stay up till 3 AM whistling the tune to that Barbie Girl song, but he couldn't bring himself to hate a certain thing. It wasn't worth it. Not anymore.

"Giiirr...?"

"Yeeesss?"

"What ever happened to that crazy mutant mouse you were supposed to recapture?" Zim's crusty, black-lidded eyes narrowed as he scanned around the room for a vermon that escaped from his lab just hours ago. He was starting to remember now that he had forced himself to do something of research last night...or early this morning. He couldn't remember since he hardly kept track of the time anymore. Anyway, the nasty specimen had already wreaked havoc on any random thing in the house, and Gir was supposed to be on the hunt for it hours ago.

Gir licked melted chocolate out of its torn wrapper and looked up at Zim with it covering his whole mouth. "What you say, mastah? You haven't said much for fiiive hours."

Zim wanted to bark something about him being asleep until, suddenly, a muffled squeak erupted Zim's view of the house. Now he could see the chewed wires, pipes, and parts of the rug he hadn't noticed before. His eyesight doubled and, like other times, he had to shove his head into the cushions to straighten it out.

"GiiiiIIIRRRR!"

"...Master?"

Zim lifted his head that now had a purple-swirled lollipop stuck to the top and yelled, "Get the MUTANT!" He pointed animatedly at a spot in the wall.

Gir gave an enthusiastic squeal and hurried over. He tried to casually lay his ear (or where his ear should be) against the wall. Zim remembered upgrading some of his awareness chips a few weeks before...well, you know. Zim had also made to include upgrading whatever senses dogs had most of, like smell and hearing. It was back when the mission was everything.

Gir was too late, though.

"AAAHH! Noooo! It's come for my snacks!" Zim screamed dryly when he saw the black wad of fur break a giant hole in the wall and glare at Zim with glowing purple eyes. The rat was covered in drool everywhere under its chin and it was atleast as tall as the couch. Zim searched frantically for something, anything, that might protect him, and he found a mop.

The rat snarled its challenge when it saw Zim grab the cleaning utility, and its razor sharp teeth sparkled with its pointiness.

"Be gone you...smelly, waddy thing of...rat things! Get away!" Zim jumped off the couch and started swatting at the oversized rodent to no success. The rat dodged the sloppy attacks and grunted before charging teeth-ready at Zim. Zim's chest heaved and his ruby eyes pulsed restlessly.

Now, from Gir's perspective you can hardly see this as irregular. There was a scream, a flash, and a good wind in the background as Gir did a wobbly head-stand on the other side of the room. He barely noticed Zim getting clawed and pounced on a few feet off. It was when the Irken threatened the rat that Gir looked their way with wide eyes. He gasped but would've surprised someone watching when he turned to the couch and squealed lovingly.

"Couch! You're back!" the robot exclaimed, throwing himself on the cushions to reunion with the messy seat. Here he watched the rest of Mutant Rat vs. Irken Master, sharing a picked-at bag of popcorn with Mini Moose, because even they knew this was going to be another three-hour battle.

"I...need a drink." Zim panted, exhausted, and breathed in deeply.

Gir, the one expected to take the hint, just stared at his master stupidly. A drop of drool leaked from his hanging tongue, and Zim face-palmed.

"I'm going to have to go all the way to the kitchen again...aren't I?" His voice was a little flat, the events of the rat still sponging its way out of his mind. Zim tiredly limped his way from the arm of the couch to the refrigerator door. But who could blame him? When a drooling alien-rat hybrid claws through your mop and your chest when you already don't feel good, some sort of headache should be expected.

Zim took out a can of Irken soda and sat in one of the hard chairs at the table. There he slopped down and continuously sipped at his soda for all of about six minutes.

I am Zim!, he would try to yell at himself, but then he frowned deep. I...am growing lazy.

Suddenly he forced himself out of his seat. He heard Gir drop the ice cream sandwich he had dug out some time in between as he got himself to march down to his lab once more.

Zim didn't ask the computer to go get his writing pad and pencil as he retrieved them from a selected closet. He started up the device and sat back in one of his favorite rubber lab chairs.

"Now, let's see...," he began to mumble to himself, tapping the butt of the pen to his chin. He was determined to atleast write a short note to his Tallests, assuring that everything would be fine...he was just having a minor set back.

Finally it took ten whole minutes, but here's what he came up with:

My Tallests,

I apologize for my lack of reports but I wanted to let you know everything is going fine. In fact, I now have the greatest opening since the only defense of this planet has been removed. I would suggest you go ahead and send the Armada along to finish the job...but I would like to request me, ZIM, to do so. Fear not, I AM ZIM! And no one will stop me now!

Zim knew that this was all a lie, and he was probably just trying to convince himself he should go after the opening he's had for a while. On one hand he could make all these humans pay, for they have just been begging to be destroyed!

Part of Zim wanted to go along with this, but he couldn't. It was just like a piece of him was missing. He didn't know why something as low as a human truce could be so effective, but there was no denying that Zim just wasn't Zim right now. He growled low at himself.

How much longer until he was as crazy as Dib himself?

Dun...dun dunnnnn. Yeah, I always attempt to keep the mood...

This chapter is just to show how much Zim has lost it..and thar's what's going to be in 75% of chapter 2 most likely. But chapter 3 should be good!

So you may have noticed that the depressed Zim in the story is pretty much the same as the one in Mopiness of Doom. The idea with the rat was also much related to the events of Zim Eats Waffles. So I'm trying to keep all these guys as 'in character' as possible! Dib, however, will be like my own kind of Dib. So if he seems OOC in the future hopefully that's ok with everyone =^)

Ok I want everyone to know now that if you're looking for a story that updates fast, then you're looking at the wrong one! I can tell you all now that I will need a week atleast to write a chapter. It gives me time to think about what all I want to happen in the chapter and let it sink in. This might sound weird but that's how it's going to be. I can assure you all I will not keep you waiting for more than two weeks unless I'm having writer's block or something serious like that.

But enough of that! {}_{} For this chapter I am going to pull for 19 reviews. That's not even half of what you all sent for the prologue so hopefully I'm not asking too much! ^_^

RxR (19)