Seems I have been gone for a while…sorry.

"WHERE IS THE DIB!" Zim screamed out into the class, who had in an act of fear, moved their desks as close to the walls as they could, just so they could be as far away from the green psycho. They would make a run for it if it wasn't because any sudden movement or noise would earn a predatory glare from Zim, who was impatiently waiting for an answer.

"HE IS LATE! THE DIB-THING IS NEVER LATE!" He continued to scream, neglecting the fact that Dib had of course been late before. Many times, in fact, considering Zim had the bad habit of unknowingly disturbing the human's sleep cycle, with his plans that were executed in the dead of night. Not that Dib had ever admitted that to Zim, scared that the alien might just use it to make his life more difficult than it already is.

After still not receiving an answer, or at least one that could satisfy him, he looked at the unfortunate substitute with a manic stare, leaning forward on his chair. He then pointed intensely at Dib's empty chair and desk, which stood by itself, as everyone had the correct assumption that it was best to move as far away from there as possible. Then while still pointing, Zim stood up on his chair, staring down at the young substitute.

"That…is Dib's chair. Dib is SUPPOSED to sit there. Why…IS IT EMPTY! TELL ME, OR ENDURE THE WRATH OF ZIM!" Zim continued with a fiery passion, with his classmates looking up at him with both terror and a slight sense of feeling proud. This feeling probably came from them being happy that Zim was at least doing something vaguely normal, asking where his friend was.

But the teacher wasn't able to enjoy the finer details of this situation, as he frantically booted up his computer, and as if someone was pointing a gun against his head, searched through anything that could explain the disappearance of Dib, someone he had never heard of before. But at moment, he was willing to set up a fan club for this random kid, if it meant that the insane green kid would stop looking at him like he was about to jump him any minute. As if an answer to his desperate prayers, he finally found an email from the teacher that was supposed to have had this class.

"U-uh he's…SICK! Yeah, that's why he isn't here…would you please sit down now?"

Zim gave him a long and frustrated glare, but eventually, he did sit down with a little *Hmpf*, crossing his arms. The students and teacher alike let out a sigh of relief, and everything continued as normal. But an unnerving sense of unease followed the invader all through the loathsome skool day. It was during that time that he came to know a most gut-wrenching feeling. Dependence. No matter how hard he tried to blend in with the other human pigs, he couldn't escape the need for Dib. He tried denying it as much as his will would allow it, but in the end, he had to accept that the Dib-beast was what made his time in the skool passable.

He was at first enraged and confused by the discovery, but as he made his way back to his base, he slowly twisted the situation into something he could comprehend, and therefore deal with accordingly.

"GIR!" Zim yelled as he kicked his door open. The skool day wasn't technically over yet, but he had greater things to fulfill, so he had walked out of a lecture where the teacher was spewing out about some truly unimportant matters, such as 'ethics', and 'war crimes'. Those things were simply beneath the superiority of Irken culture.

Back to current events, Gir was watching a channel completely dedicated to the advertisements of cardboard boxes, just as Zim had made his entrance. He looked over at Zim, and for a moment his blue color was changed to red, as he saluted.

"YES, MASTER!"

"Gir, I find myself in a truly disappointing situation, unworthy for one such as I," Zim started explaining, in a most pompous tone, fitting for one with such beliefs of self-grandeur.

"It seems that the Dib-worm has decided to let his pathetic immune system get in the way of my enjoyment, and has decided to stay back at his filthy base for the day.

Gir's blue color appeared, and a shocked and distraught expression spread on his robotic face, dramatically taking his hands up to his cheeks.

"OH NO, is the big-headed boy sick?"'

"Yes, it seems so. This is unacceptable, so I must do something, as the human seems incapable of helping himself."

"OH, ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE HIM A WARM BLANKET AND TEA!" Gir excitedly asked, his sadness having almost instantly disappeared, and he leaned forward on the couch in excitement, awaiting an answer. Zim looked at him, almost cringing from the suggestion.

"...No, Gir. I'm going to infect him with some of the strongest diseases in the galaxy. A human immune system improves after being infected…I think?" He stroked his chin, wondering if he was remembering correctly. In the end, he decided if he had misremembered, then it was simply just not important enough for him to remember in the first place.

"So in that case, if I gave him some of the most dangerous diseases, and he survives, his immune system will most definitely become so impenetrable, that he will never be sick again, and he will never leave Zim all alone at the accursed skool…Or he will die. Either way, I will have succeeded."

"OOOOHhh…OKAY!" Gir replied as cheerful as ever.

Contrary to Zim's apathetic tone, he wasn't planning on letting The Dib die for such a trivial matter. Well, he could keep him dead for a little while, before bringing him back to his pitiful existence. A little bit of death had never hurt anyone. And who knows, it might help him with his current condition. For he still wasn't capable of killing the Dib-thing outright. He could hurt him sure, but the plans revolving around disposing of Dib had been diminishing rapidly, and so had his plans of world domination in general. All thanks to the extra time he had spent with the human. If he wasn't THE amazing Zim, he might have been worried that this would become a permanent obstacle in his mission. Besides, he was Irken after all. Such things weren't possible. No, all those squishy feelings were just another one of the Dib-beast's plans to hinder his progress. But soon enough, the foolish Earth boy would be proven wrong. Zim was sure of it.

"COMPUTER!" Zim yelled into the roof.

"YES?" A robotic voice called out from seemingly nowhere, possible from the walls. Without even hearing the request, it already sounded exasperated with Zim's shenanigans.

"I need you to prepare injections of only the most DANGEROUS diseases in the galaxy! Be quick about, for I may not have enough time. The Dib is most likely already near death's door, with that inferior immune system of his."

"...YES, MASTER." The computer had been listening in on Zim's plan and had already decided that it was too stupid for him to even start arguing against it. Zim smirked and started walking over to one of the entrances to the underground levels when he was stopped in his tracks, as the computer's voice called out again.

"UM…MINOR PROBLEM DETECTED."

"WHAT! What kind of problem dare stand in the way of Zim's plan!?"

"WE DON'T HAVE ANY OF THE MOST DANGEROUS DISEASES." The computer casually explained, though his voice betrayed a hint of surprise.

"...Well, what kind of diseases do we have?" Zim asked, not too worried, as he was sure as long as they had something close enough, his plan would still work.

"WE HAVE SOME MINOR VIRUSES, A FEW PARASITES, AND A SINGLE FLU FROM HELLGAN XI."

"Can any of those kill someone? You know, someone like a weak human for example?" Zim continued, raising a single eyebrow. He still wasn't completely deterred from his plan. He wasn't going to let something like a missing the core component of his plan ruin such a good idea.

"...IF THEY WERE BEING CRUSHED UNDER A BOULDER, OR HAD ALL OF THEIR INTERNAL ORGANS PUNCTURED, THEN YES."

"...Eh, it's good enough." He finished, waving a hand dismissively.

"Now, prepare those diseases!"

"YES SIR…DONE."

"Huh, that was quick. GIR! Go and collect the injections." Zim said, looking over at the over-excited Gir, who was nearly shaking from being allowed to do something.

"I GET TO DO STUFF! Gir screamed, before jumping down from the couch and waddling towards one of the entrances to the levels below.

"Just make sure you don't drop any of them, Gir." Zim seriously commanded, already regretting letting Gir handle such delicate materials. Which he had every right to.

"I WILL!" The small robot proudly proclaimed before being lifted down by an elevator, disappearing underground.

Zim later found himself walking down the streets of the filthy neighborhood he had been so unfortunate to place his base. The only thing that he was pleased about when it came to that place, was that everyone was too stupid to notice his presence. Not that he blamed them, it was after all Zim they were dealing with. The only one who had seen through his genius disguise had been the ever loathsome Dib.

'Out of every MISERABLE human being on this MISERABLE planet, why do I have to deal with the ONE competent individual among them? Not that it is such a large feat when compared to every other creature on this planet.' Zim thought to himself, as he got ever closer to Dib's base.

He quickly inspected the square case he was carrying, which housed the diseases he planned to inject into Dib. The computer had prepared ten samples, and Gir had managed to drop or break five of them. Which was a far smaller number than Zim had expected, so he wasn't completely unhappy with the result. Though several sections of his base had to be quarantined, which was less great. But Zim was too occupied with his plan to think about that, so he continued without much worry. It didn't take him long before he reached the house, and before ringing the doorbell, he checked the case one more time. Once he was certain everything was as he had planned, he pressed the button next to the door, and a ringing sound could be heard from inside the house.

He stood with a satisfied smile and rocked back and forth while he waited. But the ringing sound disappeared, and no one came to the door. Zim looked at the door confused wondering if he probably remembered the humans' etiquette when it came to doors. Once he was certain he couldn't possibly be in the wrong, he pressed the button again, and his smile was replaced with an irritated expression. The ringing came back, but still, no one came to the door. Immediately when the ringing ceased, Zim pushed the button with a frustrated movement, and impatiently tabbed his foot on the ground, as he waited once again.

Finally, he could hear movement within the building, and something that sounded like angry grunts and moans. Before he had time to speculate what it was, the door suddenly swung open. Zim, who had taken a rather casual stance, fumbled around before retaking a proud posture that fitted one as great as he. He had dramatically closed his eyes, but once he opened them and took a better look at who had received him, he found himself disappointed to see the Dib-sister.

"Oh, it's you…I was kinda hoping that Dib would be here to receive me." Zim blurted out, unwillingly revealing his disappointment to Gaz. She wished to tell him that he had been lucky to catch her interest just now, or else she would have closed the door in his face. But upon seeing Zim's peculiar container, she was willing to play along with him for now.

"Why is that?" She asked in a tone that made it hard to tell whether she was faking her interest or not.

"Don't worry about that. I'm just here to stick these syringes filled with diseases into Dib's sickly body." Zim nonchalantly explained, opening up the case in front of Gaz, displaying to her the five samples inside, which varied in color from dark purple to light blue. She looked at them, slightly raising one of her eyebrows, before looking back up at Zim's blank face.

"...And why is it you're doing that?" '

Zim looked at her puzzled, having expected her to at least have known about The Dib's sickly state. But he soon shook the confusion off and continued in his normal tone.

"Well you see, it has come to my attention that dear little Dib is sick, so I have come to-"

"Dib isn't sick," Gaz interjected, making Zim stop in the middle of his sentence. A slight panic formed in him, as the worry that it had all been a ploy by the dastardly Dib started growing.

"O-oh, really? I…I thought he was…heh." Small drops of sweat started forming on Zim's forehead, and he couldn't understand why he suddenly felt so shaken. It was as if someone had lied to him or betrayed him, which might be possible considering the situation he was finding himself in. Though the idea that Dib had somehow betrayed him, seemed to disturb him the most.

"B-but then why wasn't he at skool?!" He continued, his panic more apparent now. Even Gaz felt like she might want to take it a bit easy with Zim, as she wasn't used to seeing him like that.

"Oh, is that what it is about? You should just have said so." She said, before letting out a small sigh as if she had been carrying something on her shoulder all day. Zim was too busy waiting for an answer to notice it. She finally regained her composure and explained.

"...It's because it's his birthday."

There was a moment of silence between them before Zim squinted his eyes while looking at her with a confused expression.

"A…Birth-day? But, Dib couldn't have been birthed today! He was walking around on his filthy feet yesterday" He exclaimed loudly, thinking that the Dib-sister might just be mocking and misleading him. She just rolled her eyes at him.

"No, that's not what I meant. It's his BIRTHDAY. You know, the day when you celebrate when you were born?" She stared at him with an annoyed expression. She could see the cogs in his head turn, as he tried putting together what she had said. He had heard about birthdays before, but no one had taken the time to explain the specifics of it. Or he had actively evaded an explanation, having considered it a waste of time. Both were equally likely. But he did like the idea of celebrating the day of someone's birth. Specifically, his own.

"Yes, I should look into that later." He quietly said to himself while nodding and stroking his chin, before realizing that Gaz was still in front of him, and still staring. He nervously coughed, before answering her question he had forgotten all about.

"Ah yes, a Birth-day, Zim knows all about this human custom. But uh…why is it keeping The Dib away from skool?" Zim asked, still not entirely sure how this 'Birth-day' explained Dib's absence. Gaz sighed again before answering.

"Well, you see, normally on someone's birthday you invite people over to celebrate you-"

"I knew that."

"-but the thing about Dib's birthday is…no one has ever come. Never." Her words were cold, but it was hard to tell if it was because of bitterness, or her uncaring attitude.

Zim had always known that Dib didn't have anyone else to be with. That was one of the things he commended about the human. Just like him, he had realized long ago that he didn't need anyone. But he still wasn't sure what was different this time.

"Well, no one comes to mine either, but Dib usually takes it…a little harder." Her last words are surprisingly soft, which surprised Zim.

"He didn't care at first, but as the years went by, with one lonely birthday after the other, he just gets more and more depressed about it each year." Her soft tone continues, and for a moment, it does seem she cares for her brother. She might actively torment him, but she's never liked seeing him all sad and miserable. But angry, distressed, and in pain? Sure, she has no problem seeing that. She's only slightly sadistic, not heartless.

"These last few years have been particularly hard for him, apparently. So now he just spends the whole day inside of his room. I have no idea what he's doing in there. I'm not sure he actually doing anything." She would never admit it, but she didn't find it too unbearable to talk with someone about the situation. Even if it was Zim. Though sometimes, he might just be better than some of the other idiots running around. At least he's more entertaining than annoying most of the time.

Zim was starting to put all of the information together and was coming to the exhausting conclusion that this was once again about human 'feelings'. How can Zim have a worthy adversary, if the one he has keeps getting distracted by 'emotions' and 'sadness'?

"But…why aren't you or your dad-unit celebrating him then?" He asked slightly confused, hopeful that he might be able to find a quick solution to the whole situation.

"Well, our dad has some kind of party bot to set up decorations, but he usually is already gone before Dib wakes up, and as for me…" There was a short awkward silence, as Gaz tried finding the right words that wouldn't make her sound like an ass.

"I care, but…I don't care THAT much…"

She looked at Zim with an investigating look, as she tried to determine whether she had successfully convinced Zim she wasn't an ass. His emotionless expression didn't reveal anything, so she decided to explain further, just to be sure.

"Before you judge, I have sat through some of his parties. Sometimes. And every time he's either been whining or just crying the entire day. And to be honest, I have better things to do than listen to that for an entire day. Okay?"

"...I think I get it," Zim answered, puzzled at why she felt the need to explain her actions. They seemed perfectly reasonable to him.

He peeked behind Gaz and looked into the quiet house. He was wondering what it was he should do. The most sensible choice would of course be to leave Dib to wallow in his well-deserved misery. It wasn't like he hadn't deserved it, for all he had done to halter Zim's mission. It seemed like what he should do. But there was something inside him that kept calling him to act. To do something. Most worryingly, it didn't want him to extend Dib's suffering but instead help relieve it. It didn't make sense, why should he do that? Then it became clear. The Dib had so many better things to do with his time than sit alone in his misery. After all, why let him do that when he could deal with Zim! Why should he let Dib hideaway when he should by every right put his full focus and dedication on trying to stop him! And if he doesn't do anything, the human surely won't either, and then Zim just has to deal with the situation year after year. No, it's clear now. He has to do something. But what?

Zim stood silently while pondering to himself, his face twisted into a deep thinking expression. He continued to stand and think, even as Gaz looked at him as if he had just shut down like a robot.

"Uhm…So, tell me, why do you even care about all of this?"

It had been a genuine question, but Zim continued to ignore her very existence, as he continued thinking of what he should do next. Then it struck him, and he lit up in realization.

"Explain human, isn't it right that this Birth-day ritual requires some kind of party?" He asked, pointing urgently at her with a claw. Gaz wondered whether she should be angry that he had ignored her question, but since he had intrigued her, she decided to let it go.

"Yeah, it's called a birthday party. It's where you decorate a bunch and-"

"Good, then I should have no problem pulling this off." He said to himself, interrupting her. She was starting to get seriously pissed but by now she was too invested to just ignore Zim. And besides that, she was starting to figure out what he might be planning.

"I have no idea what exactly is going on in that stupid head of yours, but if you're planning to take Dib somewhere, you're gonna have to drag him there."

Her words had made Zim stop in his tracks, as he started pondering again. But it didn't take too long before he came to a decision.

"Hm…yes that might still work."

"What, the dragging part?" Gaz asked him puzzled, as she had clearly been exaggerating. But before she had the chance to explain, Zim had already started running off.

"WAIT FOR ZIM! I WILL BE BACK!" He ominously declared before hurrying back to his base. Gaz looked on with the same puzzled look, as he ran off. She kept staring his way, before shifting her gaze to the inside of the house and the stairs leading up to the first floor, where Dib's room was. She looked for a little while, before saying anything.

"I'm not sure what exactly I have set in motion, but I'm pretty sure you're not gonna like it." She muttered to herself and part-wise to Dib. She then closed the door and made her way back to the living room.

After a little over an hour, the doorbell rang once again. Gaz moaned as she paused the game, and then slowly made her way back to the front door. Meanwhile, the doorbell kept ringing, nearly giving her a headache. Even as she opened the door, Zim was still furiously smashing the button. He continued for a few seconds, before finally realizing Gaz had opened the door.

"What took you so long?!" He asked, spreading his arms in disbelief. "I told you to wait for Zim!"

"...You've been gone for an hour." She replied, with an exhausted tone. Zim looked at her for a bit, not understanding where the problem was.

"SO!" He asked, irritated. She didn't even want to answer him, she just looked at him with silent contempt. When he received no reply, he started gesturing for her to move.

"Out of the way, Zim has stuff to do!" He didn't dare to push her aside, but luckily for him she eventually complied, and Zim quickly made his way past her.

"You know, you could at least tell me what you're planning before barging into my house!" She shouted at him, as he had already reached the stairs. He made his way up a few steps, before quickly turning around to face her while she still stood at the door.

"STUFF! IMPORTANT STUFF! Don't worry, once I'm done your worm-brother will be as good as new!" He optimistically shouted, before continuing up the steps.

"Yeah, I'm just worried about what you consider 'Good as new'." She said back, not actually that concerned, but with Zim, you never could be sure. He soon disappeared from her sight and she could hear him through the ceiling, as he walked over to Dib's room.

Dib had from the morning been staying in his room. And for nearly all of that time, he had been laying in his bed, face down on the pillow. It wasn't the first time, and he didn't believe it would be the last. It had become a bit of tradition each year, to the point he might as well rename his birthday to 'Stay-home-and-cry' day. He had even prepared a few provisions the day before so he had something to eat and drink without having to leave his room. He had even managed to get his hands on a prerecorded message from his dad, telling his skool that he was sick and had to stay home. He felt a bit bad about using it, but it wasn't enough to stop.

He didn't even feel that sad. Not anymore. He had accepted many years ago that no one would care that it was his birthday. But it wasn't that which kept him home. It was the idea that the others at the skool KNEW it was his birthday, but just acted like they didn't know. He knew it was childish to think that, but he wasn't motivated enough to prove himself wrong. No, all he needed was to stay home. And just sulk alone. It wasn't like anyone cared.

Then suddenly his door sprung open. He had decided he wasn't going to move his head for anything. Not even if a robber had broken into their house.

"Is that you Gaz?" His muffled voice asked out, his face completely sunken into the pillow. The intruder stood for a moment in the door frame, before moving towards the bed.

"Go away, I want to be alone." He said again, the words barely recognizable. The person in the room still didn't stop but continued without pause.

"I told you to leave me alone!" He continued, louder than before. The walking then stopped. He wondered if it might really be Gaz, and not some murderer or robber. Then he realized that the person most likely stopped because they had already reached the bed. Before he had any time to react, hands wrapped around his ankles, and he was pulled out of the bed. Dib had tried to grab anything to keep him on the bed, but the whole thing had taken him by surprise, and everything just slipped out of his hands when he tried to hold on to it. Then in a single short second, he was levitating over the floor, before plummeting down with a loud bang.

He didn't even have time to squeal in pain before the person started pulling him again, still holding on to his ankles. Dib in a moment of panic started thrashing and kicking his legs. At first, it seemed hopeless, but then one hand let go of his leg. He took the opportunity to turn around and face the intruder. But he very quickly realized he had put his glasses away, and all he could see was a blurry outline of a person in front of him.

"COULD YOU STOP WIGGLING AROUND HUMAN?! YOU'VE NEARLY KICKED ME!" An odd voice yelled out, most likely belonging to the person trying to kidnap him. He sounded angry as if Dib was ruining his perfectly reasonable kidnapping.

"JUST WHO THE HELL-" Dib suddenly stopped, as he finally processed whose voice it was he heard. And he didn't know whether to be confused or just furious.

"ZIM?! What are you doing?!"

Since this chapter ended up being a bit long, I decided to split it up into two parts, so it would be easier to read through. Just go directly to the next part.