Gir whistled a happy tune as he finished putting away groceries. Smiling to himself, he was about to walk back into the living room when he heard a crash emanate up the toilet elevator. There was no one else around to investigate, so Gir strode over to the elevator and went down to the labs. As he descended the crashing and shattering glass grew louder and louder. Gir was completely at home with these kinds of sounds, but usually he was the one causing them. The noises were almost always bad when he didn't do it.

He was starting to get scared when the elevator chirped, announcing his arrival. As the door opened Gir gasped in surprise. The lab was in utter ruins. A chair was lodged in the main computer screen. All of the control boards were sparking and hissing. The buttons and switches on them having been almost all shattered and ripped off. The vials, beakers, and science equipment were smashed and thrown about the room. The most frightening thing that Gir saw however, was his master.

Zim remained, panting, on his knees in the middle of the floor. He was surrounded by the debris of his lab. His hands were dripping with dark emerald blood, his gloves torn apart by shattered glass. There were several small cuts across his face and arms. A large shard of broken metal protruded from his left calf.

He looked up at Gir and his face briefly hardened. He spoke in an eerily calm voice as he called out, "Gir, come here. You're master needs a hug."

Gir hesitantly walked towards his master. Zim had never asked for a hug before. He even got mad when Gir offered him one. Gir was getting very nervous and skeptical about what his master wanted.

As Gir slowly embraced him, Zim asked calmly, "Do you know why the Tallest made you Gir?"

Gir thought for a moment, "Is it to be with master forever and ever?" as he said this he wrapped his small metal arms tighter around Zim.

Zim grimaced from both the pain of the embrace as well as the stupidity of the statement, "No Gir. It was to humiliate me, and to hold me back even further than my own incompetence would. They made you as an annoyance for me. They made you so everyone would know I'm a useless, pathetic excuse for an Irken. But most of all they made you as a detriment to my mission, which was a lie any way."

Gir was about to contradict his master and tell him that he loved him when Zim reached up and pulled Gir's head open. Gir knew immediately what his master was doing, he screamed and struggled to get away as Zim reached up and angrily pulled out a fistful of wires. He shoved his claw back in and repeatedly yanked out bundles of circuitry until Gir went silent and stopped moving.

When his minion finally quit thrashing he could feel a small thread inside himself. It was very thin and already quit frayed. As he sat in the lie that was his base, dismantling the lie that was his first true companion, Zim felt the worn string of his sanity snap. The last precarious piece holding his entire being together finally shattered. Zim looked down to the floor as his eyes lost all their sparkle. All of his energy and enthusiasm seemed to flow out of his body. When he looked back up his eyes were glossy and dark, he didn't even seem to focus his gaze on anything as he picked up his hollow robot and limped over to the elevator.

Bob watched Tak walk past the house scowling. He ran out the door and down the sidewalk to catch up with her. When he finally caught her, he grabbed her arm and stopped her, "Tak, what's up? You just walked right past the house."

Tak looked back at him and blinked, "Did I? Sorry I didn't even realize how far I'd made it."

Bob nodded, "Yeah, and you looked pissed off. What happened? What did the human need?"

Tak sighed, "He was just being a normal human, so stupid."

He shrugged, "Eh. So far the humans I've run into weren't that bad. They helped me get to Zim's pretty quick too."

She nodded, "Yeah, many of them are tolerable. Unfortunately there are also ones like Dib. The get an idea in their head and can't think of the situation in any way that doesn't have to do with what they're stuck on. They think that just because they feel a certain way, when they tell people their feelings, regardless of the circumstances, you have to agree with them. They don't think about other people's opinions. It's just unpleasant and awkward. If you don't tell them exactly how you feel and why, they'll never leave it alone. Even if you come off harsh you have to set them straight."

Bob nodded again, "Do you need to talk about it? There is a nice path in the park that I found after I landed."

As he ascended in the elevator Zim heard a faint whispering. He couldn't exactly tell what it was saying but it was there none the less. He looked down at Gir and saw his eyes still black and devoid of life. He looked up, "Computer, speak up I can't hear you."

Computer replied cautiously, "I… didn't say anything."

Zim focused on the voice and tried to discern what it was saying and where it was coming from. He had no idea who was talking; he had never heard this voice before. It was harsh and quiet. It almost sounded as if Zim himself had simply lost his voice from yelling too much.

He couldn't tell where it was coming from either. It seemed to whisper directly into his mind, bypassing his antennas entirely. The voice breathed, "You're alone now Zim. You have no one left. They all hate us now."

Zim immediately recoiled from the cruel sounding voice, "No! I'm not alone! I have Gaz, and Dib, and Gir too!" as he mentioned Gir, Zim waved the lifeless robot around in the air as proof.

The voice let out a hoarse scoff, "Every one of them despises us. Just like the Tallest did. Dib has hated us from the beginning. He would give us to the human authorities any time we gave him the slightest chance. Gir may have loved us at one point, but you just destroyed him. Even if we can fix him, why would he ever trust us again? He surely hates us now too. And Gaz is the worst of them all.

She did the same thing that everyone has done to us since we were a smeet. She used us Zim. She needed an outlet to relieve her emotions, just like all the other humans do. If not us, she would have found another to play with. She put up with us so that she could complain to someone. She needed a toy to vent all her frustrations on. If she could have gotten away with it, she probably would have beaten us. And now you went and gave her a reason to leave us. She hates us just like everyone else now. But that's okay, now I'm free. Now you can hear me when I cry out for you. You never belonged with these humans, you belong with me. Alone, in complete solitude. We can finally have our sweet loneliness together. The only one you've ever needed was me Zim."

Tears had begun to run down his face as Zim stepped out into the dark floor level of the base. The usual whirring of the computer was so quiet you could barely hear it. The main power must have failed when he was below, ruining circuitry and equipment.

Zim bowed his head and tried to block out the voice. As he tried harder the voice seemed to grow louder, "Zim don't fight me. I can help you end all your suffering."

Zim opened his eyes, "How? How can you make all of this end?"

The voice chuckled, "All of your problems come from the people around you. You were fine with staying on Earth until the Tallest told you why. You never felt lonely until Gaz came into your life only to leave. You never felt like an outsider until Dib and the humans ridiculed us. The solution is so simple. Zim all we have to do is leave these people behind. All of the sadness will go away when you remove the source of the pain. If we leave I can help you forget your problems."

Zim tried to think of a way to deny what the voice was saying. As he wandered the house and found it empty, he knew the voice was right. They had all left. They hated him. If he had never known them to begin with then he wouldn't feel this horrible emptiness inside when they left.

He walked out the front door and kicked a lawn gnome on his way out. As it hit the ground its head fell off and rolled away. Zim kept walking, not caring anymore. He looked up at the skyscrapers in the distance. With a few words from the new voice he headed off.

Gaz walked around the corner and continued down the sidewalk towards Zim's house. She looked up as it came into view and instantly knew something was off about the sight. The usual greenish yellow glow was absent from the house.

She didn't really start to fret until she came upon the headless gnome that was knocked over on the lawn. She looked at it for a moment before rushing inside. All of the lights were off and the walls were completely silent. The mechanical sounds were inaudible and Gir could not be heard running around the house.

She looked up and shouted, "Computer, status report."

Computer droned without its usual lazy tone, "Base damage critical, Computer functions ninety-six percent offline."

At this point Gaz was very worried about Zim. She knew that he had a bad temper and was fairly accident prone. She really hoped that she hadn't caused all this by walking out. Zim had to know she still loved him. They had fought several times before, never really about something that big but still. He wouldn't react like this, would he?

She decided to focus on the task at hand, "Computer take me to Zim."

A negative beep informed her that it couldn't, "Command not recognized. Guest protocols offline."

Gaz released an annoyed sigh, "Then tell me what happened."

Another beep, "Command not recognized. Guest-"

"What is the status of the security systems?!"

Computer paused before replying, "Ninety-four percent offline. Repairs under way."

She nodded, "Can you show me the security feed on Zim when the base was damaged."

A video screen came down from the ceiling and settled in front of her. The static on the screen gave way to show Zim sitting with his head bowed and the Tallest on the computer screen behind him.

Gaz felt her heart clench as she watched the entire transmission. When they finally seemed to stop mocking Zim, the two tall Irkens burst out laughing. Her eyes watched Zim's face as tears stopped flowing and his eye twitched. He suddenly picked up the chair he had been sitting on and hurled it at the screen in front of him. Her chest was aching fiercely and tears ran down her cheeks as Gaz watched her lover ransack everything he could get his claws on. When he finally came to rest in the middle of the room she saw tears starting to come to him again. He wiped his eyes as the elevator chimed and Gir stepped out. Gaz breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the little robot try to comfort its master.

She was wondering why they were still below if everything was over when Zim spoke in a creepy voice and started to pull his minion apart. Gaz let out a small, horrified yelp as Gir screamed and fought. Her hand went to her mouth and tears came even harder as she watched him pick up the motionless robot and coldly limp over to the elevator.

Gaz desperately wished she could have been here to help him as she watched Zim start talking to himself. Her shoulders started shaking as she watched him walk out the door and never come back.

Authors Note: This update is coming with a big overhaul on all the previous chapters. The format for all of them is going to be changed. However none of the content is really going to change. The only difference is minor spelling corrections. Also I have a bad habit of leaving a word or two out when I type each chapter, I'll try to fix that. Also I got somebody to read over my chapters before I post them so those mistakes shouldn't come up any more. Thanks for all the previous reviews! Don't forget to post more!

InvaderZora: I know and I'm sorry but the hits won't stop coming for Zim. This chapter kinda points out that he is turning into damaged goods. And the Tallest have always been assholes any way.