Chapter 11

Jaz placed Zim down on the pilot's chair and looked him over.

"Yeah, he's definitely alive." She said after a minute. She placed a hand on his tiny chest. "He's still breathing." She removed her hand and placed it on her chin, thinking. "He can hear everything that's going on, but he just can't respond. He's lost almost all sense. He can't even feel anything. At least not emotionally or mentally."

Danny looked at her. "Will he remember anything when he wakes up?"

Jaz shook her head. "It's not possible to know the answer to that. But he might not. I don't know."

Danny turned her attention back to the tiny, lifeless Irken, a look of worry coming over her face.

"His eyes are too dry." Jaz announced rather suddenly. "We need to fix them." She looked at her friend as she bent down to pick Zim up off the chair. "Danny, you wanna help?"

"Okay..." Danny replied, still lost in her own thoughts.

Jaz turned to Dib and Flik. "We'll be right back. You just man the stations." She turned and walked into the same room Danny had locked herself in just moments before.

Once inside, Jaz lay Zim down on the hovering platform. She walked to the other side of the room and begun to rummage through the compartments. Once she found what she was looking for, she headed back over to the platform, pulling on some surgical gloves over her black ones. She gently poked Zim's open eye. "Hmm..." She said thoughtfully. "They're getting to the point where they can crisp. Gross. We might have to replace his eyes entirely." She turned to Danny and quickly added, "It's no problem. We can just keep them moist for now."

Jaz took one of the tubes she got from the compartment and squeezed a bit of the water-like substance into Zim's eyes. Once dull and dry, they quickly regained their sheen. Jaz gently closed them. "He needs them to stay closed until he's fixed again." She said. After a short pause, she turned to Danny.

Danny looked back at her. "What did you need me for?" She asked.

Jaz hesitated. "Just to see if you wanted to talk." She said finally.

Danny looked back at Zim, her expression hardening slightly. "No. I don't. I just want to get this over with."

Jaz looked at her friend sadly. "Danny...I need to know everything that happened. I need to understand everything that caused him to turn out like this. It'll help me understand him more...Could you at least tell me what happened on the date?"

Danny's expression softened. "The date was perfect..."

"It was?" Jaz inquired, rather surprised. "W-what happened?" She stammered.

Danny remained silent.

"Danny, please tell me." Said Jaz. "What did Zim do?" She turned her gaze to the small alien. "He hardly even has a thing for sweet, fun stuff." She looked back at Danny. "What did you do?"

Danny stood in silence for a moment before answering. "I kissed him."

Jaz's antennae perked up and her eyes widened in shock. "You KISSED him!?" She exclaimed. "W-w-what was his reaction?"

Danny smirked. "He freaked out."

Jaz stared at her before a smirk crept across her face as well. "Well, I would expect that from him."

"Yeah...well, once the date was over, he got the hang of it." Danny added.

Jaz's expression turned back to one of shock and surprise. "He..." She looked back at the small Irken on the platform and stared at him. "You mean he LIKED it?" She asked, bewildered.

Danny turned to her with an amused look on her face. "Uh-huh."

Jaz stared down at Zim thoughtfully. "Well...it's no wonder he went crazy. He experienced love for the first time." She turned and walked away with a hand on her forehead. "Oh my god..."

Danny looked over at her. "What?" She asked.

Jaz looked back at her then away again. "I just..."

Danny walked over to her. "What?" She repeated.

Jaz removed her hand from her forehead and stared blankly at the ground. "I've been trying to kill him this whole time..." She looked at Danny. "And I always thought he was another lost cause!" She looked away, suddenly feeling guilty.

After a while, she looked back at her companion. "Danny, I don't understand something. How come YOU were the only one to get through to him and nobody else?" She asked, puzzled. "I've tried to be kind to him just like you before, but he didn't even care...But he's always had some sort of liking towards you...and I REALLY don't get why! He hates everybody!"

Danny looked back at Zim. "I guess I just caught his interest."

Jaz stared at Zim in silence for what seemed like an eternity. "He's impossible to figure out." She finally admitted.

Danny smirked.

"Why did he not want you to leave?" Jaz asked, keeping her eyes on Zim.

"He said he liked me too much to want me to leave..." Danny answered.

"Even though you tried to kill him?"

Danny nodded. "But...I didn't really try to. I just threatened him. I couldn't actually kill him. And I told him that."

"But then when he found out that he really wasn't an Invader, he threatened to kill YOU."

"I don't hold that against him. He was blinded by rage."

Jaz stared at Zim for several minutes before speaking again. "You know what I think? I think he's so used to being whatever he wants to be, that when he discovered the truth about his mission, he may have begun to think it was YOUR fault, because you were honest with him. He doesn't know how to handle people...or anything, for that matter..." She turned to the green-eyed female beside her. "Danny, why do you like Zim so much if he only hurt everyone? It doesn't make any sense."

Danny shrugged. "I can't really explain it."

"There's GOT to be a reason." Jaz insisted as she turned her gaze back at Zim. "There's nothing likable about him!"

"You've just never seen his soft side."

"Hell if I ever had!" Jaz retorted. "The only thing he's really good at is ruining everything!" She crossed her arms and sighed. "But, I guess I don't have your eyes...so I can't really speak, can I?" She looked at Danny once more. "He better be good to you or I really WILL kill him." She then turned and walked out of the room without another word.

Danny watched her leave, hesitating for a moment before following after her.

Flik looked up at Jaz as she approached the control panel. "What happened to YOU?" He asked, noticing her grumpy expression.

"Nothing." Jaz answered shortly. "How is our course?"

Flik looked back at the controls. "We're getting closer to Zeikran. No obstacles lie ahead."

"Good. Thank you, Flik. I'll take over from here."

Flik proudly saluted his master then walked off to work elsewhere. Jaz sat down at the controls and began to work at them.

Dib watched her apprehensively. "Jaz? What happened?" He asked.

"Nothing." Jaz sighed. "I just still hate Zim."

"Understandable." Dib answered empathetically before turning to look at the holographic screens.

"You doing okay, Dib?" Jaz asked, still working the controls.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Dib answered.

Jaz nodded with a smile. "Okay, cool." She continued to work at the controls, bringing up maps of their course. She looked at Dib as she worked. "Have you ever been to another planet before?"

"None outside my own solar system."

Jaz bit her lip. "Hmmm...Come with me." She stood up and walked to the other side of the room.

Dib stood and followed after her. "What's up?"

Jaz rummaged through a large container containing several medical items Dib recognized from Earth. She pulled out a syringe and filled it with some fluid. "I'm going to need you to take off your coat for a minute."

Dib eyed the syringe as he obeyed.

"You won't be immune to the diseases on that planet, and the people there won't be immune to anything you have. I just need to make sure you and no one else get sick." She said as she gently takes his arm and sticks it with the needle, causing Dib to flinch slightly. "Sorry." She said as she pushes down on the plunger, injecting the liquid. When she removes the needle, she notices his arm is bleeding and takes a cloth out of the container and presses it down on the injection site. "I'm sorry." She said again.

Dib smiled reassuringly. "It's okay. A little needle doesn't bother me."

Jaz, still holding the cloth in place, rummaged through the container again and pulled out a bottle of pills."

"What are those?" Dib asked, having never seen them before.

"While I was on Earth, Danny and I invented these pills in our study of humans." Jaz answered. "They're supposed to prevent any kind of sickness. Kind of like antibiotics." She looked at the bottle in her hand. "I've had one human try it before, but Flik scared him off before I got the results. So, I'm not really sure if I should try it again on you."

Dib eyed the pills suspiciously for a moment before deciding to trust her. "I'll take them." He said.

Jaz looked at him hesitantly. "Okay...but if you feel ANYTHING different, you have to tell me right away." She opened the bottle and tipped one pill out into her hand and holding it out to Dib.

Dib took it from her and looked it over. Deciding it was worth a shot, he popped it in his mouth and swallowed it.

Jaz watched him. "Well?"

Dib was silent for a moment, giving the pills time to work. "I feel fine so far." He stated.

"The reactions are supposed to be immediate. You feel NOTHING at ALL?" Jaz asked incredulously.

Dib hesitated again, analyzing his physical state. "No. I don't think so."

Jaz looked at the bottle in disbelief. "This isn't right! The pills are supposed to act right away! Why isn't it doing its job!?"

"What are they supposed to do?" Dib asked curiously.

Jaz looked at him. "I don't KNOW! I never got the results, remember!?"

"Then how do you know they're supposed to produce visible results?"

"I've studied chemicals and medicines as a scientist for more than half of my life, I know which certain chemicals react immediately and which ones don't!"

"Hm..." Dib said thoughtfully. "Maybe I've just built up an immunity to Irken technology from all the stuff Zim's exposed me too over the years."

"But still, these pills are supposed to—"

Her sentence was cut off by Dib raising a finger. "Wait, hang on, I don't feel so—" He collapsed to the ground before he could finish.

"OH GOD!" Jaz exclaimed, kneeling down to him and lifting him up off the floor. "DIB! ARE YOU OKAY!?"

Dib looked at her with a rather confused expression on his face. "Huh?"

"You just collapsed!" Jaz explained. "Are you alright!?"

Dib's face broke into a goofy smile. "You have pretty eyesssss."

Jaz stared at him. "Dib? Are you okay?"

Dib looked around at their surroundings, quickly becoming fascinated. "WHOA! Are we in a SPACESHIP?"

Jaz raised an "eyebrow" at him. "Uhhhh..."

Dib looked at her. "Are you an ALIEN!?" He asked, genuinely intrigued.

"I think you need to lie down." Jaz suggested. At that moment, Danny walked over.

"What's going on over here?" She asked curiously.

Dib looked at her. "ANOTHER ONE!" He shouted.

"Uhh...hey, Dib? Why don't you come with me? I'm gonna help you out..." Jaz stated, helping him to his feet.

"Okay..." Dib responded, still looking around at the ship's interior.

"Can you walk on your own?" Jaz asked, cautiously releasing him.

"Of course I..." Dib began, right before his legs gave out underneath him.

Danny looked at Jaz, pointing at Dib. "What...?"

Jaz bent down to help Dib up again. "Don't ask. Take the controls for a second, I might be a while." With that, she hoisted Dib over her shoulder and headed back to the medical room.

Danny watched them go. "Okay..." She shrugged it off and turned to the front of the ship.

Once inside the medical room, Jaz placed Dib on the remaining platform. "Maybe I shouldn't have given you that pill." She said, a hint of concern in her voice.

Dib grinned at her. "Nonsense! I feel GREAT!" He then collapsed backwards onto the platform, unconscious.

Jaz immediately took his face in her hands, slapping his cheek. "Dib, wake up! I need you awake right now!"

Dib snorted as he awoke. "Wha-huh?" He stuttered groggily.

"Dib, how many fingers do I have?" Jaz held up her hand, exposing both fingers and her thumb.

Dib squinted, and after about half a minute, he finally blurted out "6!"

Jaz lowered her hand. "Okaaaay...J-just stay there. I'm going over here to get you something." She slowly backed away, still keeping an eye on him as she retrieved something from the supply compartments. Dib sat on his platform, watching her curiously as she rummaged through one compartment filled with special masks.

After finding the one she was looking for, she walked back over to him and held it up. "Hold still while I put this on you." She moved the mask closer to his face.

Dib jerked his head away. "No!"

"Dib, I'm trying to help you. Please let me put it on...It's nothing bad. It's an oxygen mask. You'll be fine." Attempts to put the mask on his face again*

Dib looked away, crossing his arms. "No!" He pouted.

"I'm doing it whether you like it or not." Jaz said, now exasperated. "Now hold still!" She finally wrestled him into the mask, but not before he fell to the floor in an attempt to get away from her. She picked him up the now dazed human and placed him back on the platform.

She looked him over, seeing that he was starting to calm down. "Dib? How do you feel?"

"Okay..." Dib answered groggily. "What just happened?"

"You just went crazy for a minute. Like you were drunk or something." A goofy smile broke across her face as she added "You said my eyes were pretty." She turned away and laughed, looking back on the last few moments. She looked back at him, seeing that he had gone a deep shade of red. "Don't feel bad, that was really nice, actually."

"I don't even remember saying that..." Dib replied. "It's true though..." He added after a moment's pause.

Jaz gently patted him on the head. "I think you just need to rest for a while. And keep that mask on, okay?"

"K..."

"How do you feel?"

"Better."

"Anything different from before?"

"Yeah. I'm not high anymore."

Jaz laughed. "You were so goofy!"

Dib groaned. "I don't wanna know..."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing." Jaz replied, still giggling. "You totally forgot we were on a spaceship and that I was an alien."

Dib looked at her then looked straight ahead. "Wow..."

Jaz started laughing harder. "It was amusing!" She paused, her smile fading. "But you couldn't stand or walk, either. That was kind of sad." Her smile disappeared completely. "I'm sorry. I think giving you that pill was a really bad idea...You only got sick."

"Well, I seem to be fine now." Dib said, trying to reassure her.

Jaz smiled again. "Just keep that mask on and you will be."

Dib smiled back at her through the mask.

"...Hey, do you think you can walk?" Jaz asked.

Dib thought for a moment. "I don't know..."

"Let's try it." Jaz suggested, taking his hands.

Dib slid off the platform with Jaz's help, stumbling at first, but quickly regained his footing.

"Try to walk." Jaz urged.

Dib took one step and his legs buckled underneath him."I don't think I'm quite ready yet." He said after regaining his stability.

Without hesitation, Jaz picked him up and lifted him back up onto the platform. Dib didn't object and just lay back down, breathing in the oxygen from the mask slowly and deeply.

Jaz looked him over and lay a hand on his forehead. "You feel hot. I'm just gonna stick around and take care of you. Are you hungry or anything?"

"No, I'm fine." Dib replied. "But don't be offended if I fall asleep on you."

"That's fine. We've had a long day anyway." Jaz stomped on the metallic floor twice, and a robotic chair popped out of a compartment in the floor. She sat down on it, watching Dib and smiling.

Dib smiled back at her, until his eyes wandered over to Zim on the other platform. His smile faded. "Do you really think we can pull this off?"

Jaz turned to look at Zim. After a long pause, she shook her head and turned back to Dib. "I'm not sure of anything right now. I guess the best we can do is hope...Hope that when Zim's fixed, he doesn't ruin everything."

"What exactly are we trying to DO?" Dib asked, realizing he knew next to nothing about their plan.

Jaz sighed and looked down, a bit worn out from her long day. "Pretty much we're going to be changing the entire Empire."

"Can we DO that?" Dib asked.

Jaz looked at him. "If we take over the Control Brains, we can do anything we want. But it's going to be anything BUT easy."

Dib looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking?" Jaz asked.

"I'm just thinking this whole thing over." Dib replied.

Jaz reached over and gently rubbed his head. "You're sick. You need to stay as stress-free as possible. Just think about good stuff."

Dib turned to her.

Jaz continued on. "I know that for humans, stress is a killer. I want you to stay healthy and as happy as possible."

Dib remained looking at her, still smiling. "I know. I'm doing what you told me to do."

Jaz smiled back at him then looked to the side. "It's odd how I find you so attractive. I mean..." She looked back at him. "we don't have any of the same features..." She looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I'm kind of surprised YOU actually find an ALIEN attractive."

Dib thought on this. "So am I..." He said after a moment.

Jaz looked at him. "So...why DO you?"

"I...I don't know..."

Jaz leaned in, tilting her head slightly. "I think as far as features go, I like your eyes the most."

Dib felt his face grow hot.

"And I also like how your face changes color." She added, causing Dib to blush even more.

Jaz went on. "I think the next feature I like is your hair." She turned her attention to the black scythe on his head. "It's SO interesting! How does it even GROW like that?"

"Beats me." Dib replied. "My dad's hair does the same thing. I guess it's just hereditary."

"I also like your voice." Jaz continued. "Most voices I hear from anyone are super annoying, like Zim when he screams and stuff. But your voice is nice."

Dib grinned at her. "So is yours."

Jaz shrugged, her face turning a deeper shade of green. She leaned forward, crossing her arms and leaning against the platform. "Aside from features, I really like your personality the most."

Dib watched her. "You know...I could say the same about you."

After a long pause of the two of them staring at each other and smiling, Jaz reached a hand up to Dib's forehead again. "You still feel a little warm." She said, becoming a little concerned.

Dib shrugged. "I guess I just need some rest."

Jaz looked at him sadly. "Irkens never get sick. I wish it was the same for you."

"I'll be fine."

"I still don't know what that pill is doing to you, though."

"I feel fine. Maybe the loopiness was the only side effect."

"We'll see." Jaz patted him on the head and looked at him thoughtfully. "Hey, Dib?"

"Yeah?"

Jaz drew her hand back, looking off to the side. "If..." She looked back at him. "If we're both attracted to each other...and we both know it...and we're okay with it...does that mean we're going out?"

Dib blinked. "I...guess so..." He said, as if this sudden realization had just blown him away.

Jaz lifted herself up and planted a kiss on his head, causing him to blush again.

At that moment, the ship suddenly jerked slightly.

Jaz lifted her head. "Dib, we've landed!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Really?" Dib tore off the oxygen mask and hopped off the platform.

Jaz stood up, holding up a hand to stop him. "Uhh, you should keep this on hand in case you get all loopy again." She said as she picked up the mask.

Dib waved it away. I don't need it, I'm fine now."

"Fine, I'll keep it." Jaz stuck the mask inside her PAK and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's go!"

They both bolted toward the door, eager to catch a glimpse of the planet they landed on. Zeikran.