Chapter 10

The ship finally slowed down, allowing everyone to situate themselves. Danny had been flung against the back wall and sunk down to the floor. She rubbed her head and cursed under her breath as she pushed herself back to her feet. Flik had been flung onto the ceiling and had fallen with a loud THUD to the floor. He sat himself up, slightly dizzy. Jaz had fallen back on Dib, who was still seated in the pilot's chair, and was now lying across his lap. She blinked as she looked up at him. They both blushed vibrantly as their eyes met.

Jaz leapt to her feet, standing like a soldier, arms flat against her sides. She cleared her throat and went back over to the controls, careful not to look back at Dib, still blushing.

Dib looked down, heavily embarrassed and still blushing madly. He didn't look up as Danny approached the front of the ship.

"So what now?" She asked skeptically. "How are we supposed to find Zim before he reaches the Massive? For all we know, he could be there already."

"Not likely." Jaz replied calmly. "The Massive is still a long ways off, even for where Zim might be right now." She turned to face Danny. "Besides, I placed a tracking device in his PAK, one he isn't able to detect. I used one on Flik once, and he didn't even know it was there until I pointed it out, and we know how smart and observant Flik is."

Flik walked up to them, looking at Danny. "It's one of the best tracking devices in Irken technology. We'll be able to track Zim down easily."

"Okay..." Danny replied, still not convinced. "But how are we supposed to CATCH him? Even at hyper speed we won't get to him before he reaches the Massive. We've lost too much time."

Jaz glared at her. "You and your pessimism are NOT helping, Danny."

Danny glared right back at her. "I'm being REALISTIC!"

Jaz turned around in a huff. "Why can't you be more optimistic like Dib!?"

Danny whirled around to face the human boy. "SURELY you can see that catching up to Zim is a lost cause at this point, RIGHT!?"

Dib looked back and forth between the two of them nervously. "Uhhh..." Was all he could manage to choke out.

Jaz turned to face Danny again. "Hey, we don't even know how far ahead Zim is! Let me just check the damn location before you get all down and pissy about it!" She turned back to the control panel and fiddled with the holographic screen. "AHAH!" She exclaimed suddenly, turning back to the others and pointing to the display. "You see? Zim isn't too far ahead of us! We KNOW we can catch him now."

Danny stared at the screen in disbelief.

Jaz turned back to the controls, smiling triumphantly. Her smile fades as she realizes something is wrong. "Hold on..." She fiddles with the controls some more. "Something's not right here. Zim isn't moving." She immediately pushes a lever on the control panel, making the ship speed up.

After what seems like an eternity, they finally spot Zim's ship. As they approach it, they notice that the ship is still intact, but there is no pilot.

Jaz and Flik leaned toward the glass of the ship to get a better look.

"OH MY GOD!" Flik shouted suddenly. "He's DEAD!"

"WHAT!?" Danny immediately leaned over the control panel, practically smashing her face against the glass.

Lying on the floor of the other ship, was a small, lifeless Irken body.

Jaz went to work on the controls, her hands a blur as she works as fast as she can. A few dozen robotic tentacles shoot out of the ship and pull it closer. Jaz pulls a collar out of one of the compartments and puts it on. A helmet immediately forms and takes the shape of her head. She exits through the airlock on the side of the ship and returns a moment later, holding the lifeless, wide-eyed, Irken boy.

"NO!" Danny screamed, running over to them. "Nonononononono!" Tears formed in her eyes as she took the body from Jaz. "ZIM! PLEASE! SPEAK TO ME!"

Dib and Flik watched them, stunned and speechless. Jaz stared at Zim in Danny's arms thoughtfully.

"Hold on." She said. "I think I know the problem." She looks at Danny and holds out her arms. "Danny, if I may?"

Danny looked at her with large, tearful eyes and nodded.

Jaz took the body from her and knelt down, carefully laying him on the ground. She flips his PAK open and examines it. "Flik! My spectacles!"

Flik dug through a compartment near the control panel and retrieved the glasses. He ran over to his master and handed them to her.

Jaz placed them on and continued to inspect the PAK. "Oh my..." She finally muttered. "His PAK's been fried."

"WHAT!?" Danny cried. "HOW!?"

"I don't know, I'm trying to figure that out." As she continued looking through the PAK, her eyes slowly widen. "OHHHHHH..." She breathed. "His emotions-chip overheated and melted. I guess taking the truth was more than he could handle." She looked at Danny. "He's not really dead. His body isn't decaying, so that means he's still alive. He just needs a new emotions-chip...and probably a couple other things, since it melted some wires."

Danny, reduced to a sobbing mess, tried to calm down. "D-do you have those things?" She stammered, breathing deeply"

"No...unfortunately not." Jaz carefully closed the PAK and rolled Zim over, looking at his face. His mouth was closed and his eyes were wide open and dim. There was no hint of a sparkle. They had been reduced to solid, dull rubies. The skin under his eyes was also discolored and dark.

Danny had failed to calm down and was still hysterical. "Well how do we get them!?"

Jaz continued to look at Zim for several seconds before looking up at her. "You can only get them at the Massive."

Flik's eyes grew wide. Dib watched in silence as he took everything in. Danny, on the other hand, seemed to finally calm down as a look of determination crossed her face.

"Then that's where we're going!" She said.

"Hold on!" Jaz stood up. "It's important that we go, but remember, the Tallests want him dead! When he's in this state, it's easy for him to be killed! Plus, we're out numbered and we STILL don't have a plan yet! We need to think this over first."

Danny growled under her breath in annoyance.

Jaz looked down, thoughtfully, hand on chin. She then turned to Dib. "Dib!"

Dib jumped and looked at her.

"I know you don't like Zim, but he's a lot less bothersome in this state. Do you think you and Danny can take turns watching him?" She asked. "I would also ask Flik to do it, but he's too abusive."

Flik nodded in agreement.

"I'll also take turns watching over Zim." Jaz added.

Dib hesitated. "Um, sure." He answered.

Danny had finally calmed down completely. "I'll take the first watch." She picked him up off the floor and held him close.

Jaz looked at them both sadly. "Alright." She leaned in a little and whispered so that only Danny could hear. "Do you want to be left alone?"

Danny nodded.

"Okay, Danny...Take as long as you need. Alright?"

Danny turned and left the control-room, Zim still in her arms, and disappeared behind a door.

Jaz watched her leave then turned to the others sadly.

Flik looked up at her. "Uhh, do you mind if I just go do my own thing?"

"No, go ahead." Jaz replied, her tone soft and quiet.

Flik walked over to the far corner of the room and sits down. A helmet pops out of his PAK and he puts it on, flipping the visor down to watch a movie.

Jaz stood there, staring at the floor silently.

Dib watched her. "You ok?" He asked.

Jaz said nothing as she walked over and sat down next to him on the huge pilot's seat. She stared out at the stars in sorrow.

Dib watched her, unsure of what to say or do.

Jaz sat in silence for several minutes before finally bursting. "See, THIS is why I can't kill Zim! Because Danny..." Her face dropped into her hands.

Dib leaned away from her, anticipating another outburst. When she doesn't lash out again, he sits back up and just watches her.

Jaz peeked up at the window. "I personally think Danny needs Zim more than she needs me." She brings her feet up onto the seat and hugs her legs. "I know she's my friend...but, it's like the only thing she ever cares about is Zim." She hung her head and shook it ever so slightly. "And I know that sounds selfish of me, but, all Zim ever does is hurt people in the end, especially Danny."

"Don't say that. Danny needs you just as much. If not more." Dib said sympathetically.

Jaz turned her gaze to him.

"I'm sure of it." He added with a smile.

Jaz wasn't convinced. "But when or IF we survive this whole ordeal, Danny will go back to her new home planet, and I'll go back to Irk, and Flik will have moved on." She looked away. "I'll be completely alone again." She closed her eyes sadly.

Dib's smile faded. "You...don't HAVE to go back to Irk...do you?"

Jaz opened her eyes, still looking away. "I can't just leave my home planet. Even though I HATE it."

"Then why would you go back?"

"It's the only home I've ever known."

"You could make Earth your home..." Dib suggested.

Jaz lifted her head and looked at him.

Dib smiled. "You know...so you won't be alone."

Jaz didn't know quite how to take that. "B-b-bu-bu—" She stammered, unable to form proper sentences.

"Are you ok?" Dib asked.

"Dib, I..." Jaz's face was turning a vibrant shade of green again. She shook her head violently. "N-no! No, I-I-I can't! All of the water and the meat and the sewage and—"

"You've learned to live with it this long." Dib pointed out.

"Well, yes, but..." She looked away, fiddling with her fingers.

"So...what's the problem?"

Shy and embarrassed, she glanced back at him, looking at him for a moment, then looked back at her fingers, sinking into the seat and blushing.

"Jaz?" Dib said. "What do you say?"

Jaz was now incredibly nervous. "I...w-well, I..."

Dib watched her, eagerly anticipating her answer.

Jaz looked at him nervously and blushed even harder, moaning lightly. Finally, when she couldn't take it anymore, she turned her back to him, hiding her face in her hands. "GAHH!" She cried. "Why do I find you so attractive!?"

Dib's face turned a brilliant shade of red.

Jaz moaned in embarrassment, still blushing harder than ever. "I'm sorry." She croaked.

"N-no. It's okay...You just caught me by surprise is all..." Dib stammered.

Jaz, feeling like she could drop dead right then and there, hunched over, hiding her face even further, unable to face him.

Dib smirked. "Actually, I find you attractive too. Especially in your human disguise." Almost immediately after he said it, he wished he hadn't. "N-not that I don't think you're attractive WITHOUT your disguise! It's just, well, you're an Irken and...um..." He groaned and hid his own face in his hands. "Just forget it."

Jaz looked at him, still blushing with huge eyes. "You think...I'm attractive, too?"

Dib brought his head up and looked at her. "Yeah."

Jaz sat in astonishment, unable to feel anything besides pure joy. She squealed loudly and tackled him, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

Dib sat frozen, not believing what had just happened.

Jaz laughed. "OMGDIBYOUHAVENOIDEAHOWHAPPYTHATMAKESMEYOUAREJUSTSOSWEETANDCUTEANDNICEANDWONDERFULICAN'TBELIEVEWHATIJUSTHEARDYOUSAYIT'SUNBELIEVABLEICOULDJUST—"

From the other side of the room, Flik, still wearing the movie-helmet, shouted at them. "Could you keep it DOWN over there? I'm TRYING to watch a movie! I shouldn't even be ABLE to hear you!"

Dib and Jaz stared at each other, blushing. Jaz's eyes shifted to the side.

"Uh...so! The Massive!" Dib said. "Don't we need a plan? Or something?"

"Not really, no." Jaz replied. "We need Danny with us to figure it out. But she's busy. So..." She looked down at her arms then back at him. "Umm...am I hurting you?"

"No. Not at all."

"Oh, okay." Jaz smiled and pressed the side of her face against his. They sat in content silence for a while before Jaz looked at him once more. "Dib, I just realized something."

Dib looked back at her. "What?"

"If I come back to live on Earth once this is all over, my base will deactivate itself because I no longer have a mission. I'm not gonna have a place to live." She replied, a worried expression crossing her face.

"Isn't there a way you could reactivate it?" Dib asked.

Jaz thought this over. "Well...there might be a way, but I don't know..." She shrugged it off, smiling. "We'll just try it." She sat up, allowing Dib to sit up as well.

Dib smiled at her, but his smile soon faded and his expression became serious. "We really need to make a plan. How are we going to make one if one of us has to keep an eye on Zim the entire time?"

Jaz looked out the window thoughtfully. "You're right. I'll be right back." She slid off the seat and walked to one of the two doors on the other side of the room and knocked lightly. "Danny?"

Danny's hoarse voice sounds from the other side of the door. "What?"

"Danny, I'm sorry to bother you, but we need to make a plan to save Zim and the Empire." Jaz said softly.

There's a short pause before the door opens and Danny stands in the doorway, head bowed.

Jaz looked at her. "He's going to be okay...I promise." She said reassuringly.

Danny glanced up at her. She suddenly embraced her, burying her face in her shoulder.

Jaz hugged her tightly. "I promise Zim is going to be alright. I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen."

Danny let go of her, still looking down. "Well, we're not doing him any good by just standing around. Let's make a plan!" She walked past Jaz and over to the control panel.

Jaz watched her go then looked in the room to see Zim lying on one of the floating platforms. She walked in and picked him up. As she walks back out, she notices Flik still sitting in the corner. "Flik!" When he doesn't respond, she walks over to him and gently kicks him.

Flik jolted and took off the helmet, looking up at her.

"Come on, we gotta make plans now." Jaz informed him before walking over to the others.

Flik tossed the helmet aside and hurried after her.

Danny leaned against the back of the pilot's chair. "So...Anyone got any ideas?"

Jaz looked down at Zim thoughtfully. "What if I tell the Tallests that I finally killed Zim? He sure LOOKS dead."

Danny looked at her and blinked.

"Would that work?" Dib asked.

"If I do it properly." Jaz replied. "If I can do just that, then there won't be any war!"

"But wait a minute!" Flik piped up. "What about the Control Brains? They can still tell if he's really dead or not."

Jaz's heart sunk. "Oh yeah."

"And we still need to get the stuff to fix his PAK. It's not like The Tallests are just gonna hand it over." Danny added.

Jaz looked down again, thinking. Suddenly, her eyes grow wide and she lifts her head up, looking out the window. "The Control Brains." She turned to the others. "We need to get to the Control Brains!"

Danny stared at her calmly before bursting out. "THOSE ARE ON IRK! IT'LL TAKE US TEN TIMES LONGER TO GET THERE THAN TO THE MASSIVE!"

Jaz looked at her. "It's the only way we can save Zim!"

Danny groaned and dropped her head onto the back of the chair.

"What can we do once we get to the Brain?" Dib asked curiously.

Jaz's expression and tone turned serious. "The same thing I did to take over Zim's base. But doing something that extreme will KILL you."

Dib stared at her. "Wh—then how—"

"I'll do it." Said Jaz.

"What!?" Dib cried. "NO!"

Danny's head shot up as she turned her gaze to Jaz.

Jaz looked down at the lifeless Irken in her arms. "I'm the only one who can."

"But—" Dib began

"No." Danny interrupted, staring at Jaz.

"Someone has to repair Zim's PAK and keep him safe. And someone needs to take control of the Brains, or this plan will never work." Jaz argued.

"I'LL take over the Brains." Danny informed her.

"NO!" Jaz shouted. "If you do that and Zim gets fixed, what do you think will happen when he finds out you're dead!? His PAK will go crazy and the same thing will happen all over again! /I/ HAVE to do it."

"But I—" Danny began to protest.

"I'll take over the Brains." Flik suddenly announced.

The ship went quiet and everyone turned to him.

"Hey, you know I'm tougher than any of you guys!" Flik continued. "I can handle a little death."

"But Flik, you're just a smeet!" Jaz said, scared for her young companion's life.

"Hell with it! I'm gonna do it, and nothing's gonna stop me!" Flike said with a smirk.

Jaz stared at him. "Alright." She sighed sadly.

Flik crossed his arms and cocked his head up proudly.

"Okay, it's settled. Flik will take care of the Control Brains." Jaz announced to the rest of the group.

"O-okay..." Danny choked.

Dib looked at Jaz.

Jaz hung her head, glancing up at Flik, who was still standing proudly. "I don't have much control over him..."

Dib stood up and walked over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Jaz looked at him sadly.

Flik walked up to them. "Hey...If it's going to keep you guys alive, I'm more than willing to do it."

Jaz looked down at him with big, sad eyes.

Flik smiled. "Besides, my PAK is stronger in more ways than one compared to yours, Jaz. But you already knew that."

Jaz tried to smile. "I'm proud of you, Flik."

"Thank you." Flik said with a smile.

Danny watched all of this thoughtfully then looked down, arms crossed.

Jaz turned her attention back to the group as a whole. "We still need a plan to make it past the Tallests. They can easily take us down..."

Danny looked up. "Then we're going to need help."

Jaz looked at her. "But from who?"

"I have some friends back on my home planet, Zeikran, who might be able to help." Danny replied.

Jaz's eyes grew wide and her face split into a wide smile. "Danny, that's brilliant!" She cried ecstatically. "H-how many friends?"

"Two." Danny replied. "But they're strong. They'd be a HUGE advantage."

"Great! We need all the help we can get!" Jaz said.

"Then we better get going" Danny pushed herself up and walked around to the control panel to set the coordinates for the planet Zeikran.