Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Zim was getting nervous. Skoodge still wasn’t back, and he was supposed to be back a week ago. 
But there had been no communication, no messages, nothing. It was as though Skoodge had simply ceased to exist.

And that was terrifying.

Zim himself wasn’t feeling his best either, there was a deep exhaustion creeping throughout his body when at first it had just been a dull pull, his breathing had started to grow more ragged and desperate over the last few days, and he was certain that the increasing heat being created by his pak was starting to burn the flesh around it horribly.

He’d be fine once Skoodge got back.

Zim just had to wait for Skoodge to get back! The Irken would come back! He - he wouldn’t let Zim die... right? This wasn’t purposeful!

Was it? Was he that much of an annoyance?

Zim shuddered and blinked until his vision cleared some, stumbling to his feet as he headed deeper into the base. He’d already tried to do some repairs on his pak today, but his claws wouldn’t stop shaking. 

That wasn’t good.

The Computer was speaking and he knew Mini-moose was hanging around him, but the defect just ignored them. He’d be fine. 

He was dying. Wasn’t he? Why didn’t he care?

Zim found the med-bay, closing his eyes with the throb of another headache.

It was fine. He’d be fine. He nodded softly to himself, sharply barking an order for the Computer to disconnect itself from the main system (this was stupid, what was he thinking?) and for Mini-moose to shut down (couldn’t have them tell Dib or Gaz, he was fine, he’d be fine!)

And they argued with him about it, but they had to obey. Zim could always try to do it manually, like he’d done with GIR a couple days prior.

He’d managed (why was he doing this again?)

Zim sunk onto the med bay table and laid there, he was just a little bit tired. 

That was all. He wouldn’t be a bother. He just needed some sleep. His vision was blurred and his head felt like it filled with cotton or something. Zim was going to be fine.

Of course he was! He was the Almighty... Almighty Zim... no he wasn’t.

Chapter Text

Zim wasn’t in school that Monday. But Dib didn't think much of it, sometimes the alien would admittedly skip class or Skool in general on occasion. And honestly? It wasn’t like the Irken was really planning to destroy humanity anymore, so Dib agreed with Gaz that it wasn’t that big of an issue.

The weird thing was that Zim didn’t answer the door when Gaz went over to ask him about a new video game later that afternoon.
It was okay though, odd, but Gaz didn’t mind it much. Sometimes Zim was a weirdo that zoned out and shit. So thinking not much of it, she didn’t really mention it to her brother, who had stayed home to watch a movie marathon with Professor Membrane and Clembrane.

However, Zim wasn’t there the next day either. And that was bordering strange. So after Skool let out, they decided to visit his base. 

Dib hummed mildly as he stalked up to Zim’s base, glancing about before knocking on the door. He was lightly bouncing on the heels of his feet as he began to whistle a melody that had been stuck in his head since lunch.

There was no answer.

The boy glanced at his sister and Gaz knocked on the door with a sharp yell, “Hey! Idiot!”

There was still no answer.

With a mild frown, but the melody still on his mind, Dib shrugged and rung the doorbell.

Minutes went by with the siblings waiting, but again, no answer. 

Gaz finally glanced up at the base with narrowed eyes and a puzzled huff, “Okay. That’s... what the hell? Is he literally ignoring us?”

The girl was tapping her foot with what most would think was impatience, but was a nervous gesture.
Her brother merely shrugged, pausing his whistling, “I don’t know why he’d do that. But yeah. I’ll admit that’s weird, you came here yesterday though, right?”

Gaz just frowned, “Well, duh, but... well it’s not like he answered the door yesterday. I haven’t seen GIR either.”

The two glanced up at the house again, before Dib sighed, “He probably started doing genetic experiments again. He got really into that last time, remember?”

The girl merely huffed, “But still, now that I’m really thinking about it, why hasn’t the door just... you know, opened for us? His computer controls his base doesn't it?”

Dib nodded slowly, tapping his hand mildly against his hip, “Oh. Yeah.”

Gaz merely crossed her arms, “Think something is up?”

The boy began to hum the melody softly, “We should check it out.” He walked along to kick at one of the lawn gnomes, and once seeing no reaction, he shrugged and merely moved to open one of the windows. 

Promptly ignoring Gaz’s raised eyebrow, Dib wormed his way in. After briefly calling out the alien’s name and glancing about, he pushed open the door for Gaz, the girl taking to immediately stalking in with sharp eyes glancing around quickly.

“So where do you think he is?”

Dib started along towards the kitchen, “I’d say down in his ‘lair.’”

Gaz snorted softly, “That is such a cheesy thing to call it.”

The boy just shrugged, “It’s kinda cool.”

“Sure.” 

So they headed downwards, into the depths of the base with a sense of building unease and uncertainty.

Espically due to how oddly dark it was down there. Usually, lights and gadgets would be blinking on and creating sound, but save for a few lights that flickered on above them and the mild hum of the base itself, it didn’t sit right.

Something was off.

Dib couldn’t help but creep closer to Gaz as they walked, anxious thoughts pouring from his brain to his lips. “Why is it s-so dark down here? Are- are we going to get ambushed? It’s... it’s too quiet! Gaz why is it so quiet? I-“

The boy contuined to whisper harshly to his sibling, but Gaz wouldn’t be lying if some of the same thoughts he rambled off weren’t drifting about her own mind as well.

It was too quiet.

It was too dark.

It was too dead.

Gaz felt a shudder down her spine, inhaling sharply, “It’s probably just because Zim did something stupid... a-and, and now things are like this. He’s probably just sitting around too absorbed into another horror movie or something.”

Dib nodded softly though neither believed her statement, something was wrong. They knew it, and they feared to find out what it was.

Yet they contuined onwards. 

Until they saw something emerge from the darkness with a sharp ‘neh!’
Dib jumped at Mini-moose’s sudden appearance from the darkness, and Gaz wouldn’t be lying if she said that her heart had skipped a beat as well, but it seemed the robot had no time for them to regain their bearings.

The purple moose merely squeaked at them harshly, zipping sharply infront of them and then back into the darkness he’d come from. This process repeated itself only three time before Gaz got the message and grabbed her brother’s hand. “He’s leading us. Come on, Dib!”

Dib blinked with a nervous swallow. “Okay!” He was dragged along as Mini-moose’s eyes began to glow sharply as he lead them down an almost completely dark hallway.

The robot slowed only as they approached a contrastingly brightly lit room, easing to an almost stand still as he gave another, softer squeak. Gaz paused as well and glanced into the room, letting go of Dib’s hand with a nervous huff.
Dib merely followed after starting to ask a question, before cutting himself off at the sight before them. 

The room was one of the few that had all its lights on, the odd glow illuminating an army of robotic arms that emerged from the ceiling as they seemed to busily work on something in the center of the room. 

Gaz opened her mouth to speak before a familiar voice spoke up, “Finally! I was hoping you two would show up sooner! But it’s whatever, I guess. I could use some help about now, I can only do so much when I AM DISCONNECTED FROM MY OWN SERVER.”

Dib glanced up, “Computer?”

The voice merely snapped in response, “No. I’m the fucking Queen of England. Ugh! I don’t have time for this, I need one of you to manually reboot my system right now or Zim dies.”

Dib blinked as he tried to process the last part of that statement, “What?”

Mini-moose gave a sharper squeak and Gaz quickly sputtered out a response, “Wh-where do we go to do this?”

“Follow Mini-moose. And I can not stress this enough, but for the love of Irk, do it quickly.”

Gaz straightened and as Mini-moose zipped out of the room, the girl followed closely behind.

Leaving Dib still reeling, “Zim’s going to die? What?!”

The Computer sighed, before softening its voice, “Maybe. The idiot tried to make sure no one would find out, but his condition has been getting worse due to the whole... pak incident.” The arms seemed to slow for a moment before jerking back to their work, Dib trying to peer at the arm’s focal point, connecting what must be at their center with a growing dread. “He acted stupidly and now... I don’t know.”

Dib shifted his footing and cautiously began to move towards the center.

“Are you sure you want to see that?”

The boy froze before he understood. Dib shakily nodded his head and some of the arms made room for him as they contuined to work a number of machines and devices far beyond Dib’s understanding.

And at the center was Zim. Lying on a table, settled on his side as a few arms seemed to be tending to him. It was, wrong.

That was the only way Dib could describe it. Wrong.

Zim shouldn’t be still. Zim shouldn’t look like that. Zim shouldn’t be dying.

Zim looked terrible. 

******

The alien was sickly pale, face gleaming with moisture and body trembling with fever. Overall he looked nearly dead. There was barely any breath that moved Zim’s chest, a rattling hiss that Dib thought was one of the medical machines actually easing from Zim’s agape mouth. 

Dib shuddered and made his way to slowly walk around the table, careful to not get in the way of the Computer’s work. He inhaled sharply when he saw Zim’s back, the white gown that the computer had fitted on the Irken split open from his neck to lower back to allow easy access to the pak. 
Dib was horrified to see the condition of the pak though. It was split apart, peeled open by several arms while others worked tirelessly on the inside of it. It was a mess of wires and odd gadgets that seemed to never end, an impossible array of machinery and technology.

The flesh around the pak itself was oozing and a yellowish-gray in color, burnt and swollen. There were two arms that seemed to specifically work on draining it and trying to clean it. But there was an immense heat that Dib could feel despite his distance from the machine, and despite the efforts to cool the pak, Dib could practically hear the flesh being burnt. He could practically smell it with how close he was. He felt sick.

******

Dib eased away from the table Zim was lying on with bile rising in his throat. He felt a shudder go through him and wandered back to where the robotic arms covered Zim from his sight.

“What happened?” Dib’s voice was practically a whimper.

The Computer sighed, and Dib could swear its voice trembled as well, “The pak is essentially... uh destroying itself... as it is simultaneously trying to fix itself. It’s overheated, burning into Zim’s o-organic body, causing his fever and body’s instability. Added with the features in the machine that should work to maintain prime health, these features shut down, allowing for Zim’s health to further dwindle dangerously.”

Dib opened his mouth to ask another question but found his mouth dry and his brain too busy to speak. The boy winced and slowly sank to the ground with his knees hugged to his chest.

He didn’t know what to do, but this... this was his fault wasn’t it? Dib had been the one to mess with Zim’s pak, even if it wasn’t intended. What... Dib sniffled. “Is he going to... going to be okay?”

The Computer didn’t speak for a moment, then cautiously, ever so gently, it replied. “I. I don’t know.”

Dib felt his breath hitch when suddenly a rumble went through the base.

The busy arms froze.
Then everything went dark.

Everything was dark and quiet save for Dib’s breath, Zim’s rattling hiss, and the whirl of the overheating pak. 

Dib jumped to his feet before stumbling blindly into the near wall. He gazed fearfully at the ceiling when suddenly the lights were flaring back to life.
He could see the robotic arms suspended, as though frozen in time, before the arms began working quicker than before.

Dib barely trusted himself to breath as he waited to see what had happened, until the Computer sighed in seeming relief.

“Are-are you back in the system?” Dib glanced briefly at the arms before looking up at the ceiling, pointedly not focusing anywhere else or his mind would wander. 

The Computer responded with a laugh, “Yes! Hopefully that means I can focus on easing my manual efforts and start to reconnect some of the life support functions to an unassisted stance.”

Dib nodded softly and leaned heavily against the wall with a weak laugh, “Oh. Okay.”

~

Gaz was curious as to why Mini-moose or the Computer hadn’t rebooted the system already. Espically if the situation was so dire. But she didn’t have time for answers and it wasn’t that difficult to do as she read over the instructions given to her by the purple robot.

Though she admittedly jumped out of her skin when the whole house rumbled before the power went out.
Gaz’s breath hitched for a moment, fearing she’d done something wrong, before everything seemed to resume what it had been doing and the base seemed to fully come back to prime working function.

She just hoped it was enough. Gaz didn’t like be unsure about a situation. She didn’t like being scared.

But fear still trembled through her as she followed Mini-moose back to her brother and Zim.

She didn’t want to lose her friend.

Chapter Text

Dib was still pressed against the wall when Gaz and Mini-Moose returned.

Gaz looked on edge but she didn’t met Dib’s gaze, glancing over towards where Zim was now in open view. The numerous arms that had been present had slimmed down to a select few, most of the other arms suspended near the ceiling for the time being. The girl winced at the condition of the alien, barely able to tear her eyes away before demanding harshly, "What the fuck happened?"

Dib didn't know if the question was directed towards him, but his mouth felt much too dry and he felt like his mind was too numb to even get an answer past his lips. A brief silence and then the Computer answered quietly instead, "A lot."

Gaz stiffened before she suddenly snarled, "WHAT HAPPENED TO ZIM?" 

Her brother glanced over at the emotion threatening to break her voice, but it was the tremble in her hands that really caught his attention. The Computer was quiet for a second (a second that stretched much too long) so Dib tried to speak up, "He- his, that PAK, it's-"

The Computer cut him off with a hiss, "-Zim was a fucking idiot."

The siblings glanced up as the voice contuined with a tremor that just sounded wrong in the Computer’s voice which should be sarcastic and uncaring. Instead it trembled. “He knew this would happen! HE KNEW. And, and, FUCK.”

The voice softened, “...He was supposed to get new supplies from a friend, maybe, to help adjust the PAK.”

Dib cleared his throat but his voice was still hoarse as he spoke, “...A friend?”

There was a thoughtful hum, “I hope so.” Gaz raised an eyebrow sharply. “Skoodge was supposed to be back sooner.”

Dib tilted his head, “Skoodge?” Gaz glanced at him before drifting over to observe Zim’s condition. “I think I’ve heard that name before?”

The Computer was quiet before softly stating, “Probably the only Irken that actually cared. For Zim, for the empire, for improvement for the Irken race. But I don’t know where he is. He was supposed to come back soon.”

Gaz spoke up, voice wavering slightly, “Do you think… something happened?”

There was a sigh then a soft, “I don’t know. I really don’t fucking know.”

Dib shifted on his feet, Mini-Moose drifting over to gently bump the boy’s arm, “Do you… can we help?”

Gaz glanced over before quietly looking back at Zim’s form, the painful wheezing sounds easing from his agape mouth picking up for a moment before he settled back down, one of the only signs the Irken was still alive. 

There was a beat of silence at the sound and movement from Zim before the Computer’s voice spoke up quietly, “What do you mean?”

Dib had picked up Mini-Moose and was pressing the robot against his chest with a nervous glance at Zim and Gaz, his eyes then drifted up to the ceiling. “Zim has used my dad’s technology before, right? It’s like the most advanced stuff we got on Earth, do… do you think it could help?”

“How would we even move him though?” Gaz gestures sharply at Zim. “He looks like he’s going to fucking die at the slightest change in anything.”

Dib swallowed, “We need to tell dad.”

A sharp tension rose in the room and Gaz spun to fix him with a look, “What.”

The Computer sputtered, “I have to agree, what? Last I checked, that man, while he seems like a lovely and brillant one at that, is very much the one to jump at a new scientific discovery. If that shark incident is anything to go by.”

There were twin winces from the Membrane siblings but Dib shook his head sharply, “Just listen. Okay?” He took a deep breath when he was met with no resistance or objection, “Dad would help us, he’s changed, he’s trying to be a better parent and Zim’s our friend! He wouldn’t hurt him, and we’ll make sure of it!” 

Gaz shifted and gave him a look, “It’s our only option right now, isn’t it? Its not like we can hide Zim from him forever… and he’s bound to notice if we take tech from him now.” Because of course Professor Membrane had started noticing things now. The siblings glanced at the ceiling and there was only a deep sigh in response. Gaz dragged a hand down her face, “Fuck. This is really our only option?”

The boy wandered over to Zim, Mini-Moose still held firmly in his arms, “It’ll be okay. He has to help us.”

They ignored Dib’s quietly whispered, “He’ll help, right?”

The Computer grumbled, “But he still thinks Zim is human and his ‘parents’ are always out working. I think if we tried we could keep him out of this. He’s oblivious enough about some things.”

Gaz snorted, “Ever since the whole shark disaster and the Florpus thing, dad’s been a lot more aware of things going on in the house. He was even asking us to help him get in contact with Zim’s ‘parents’ the other day.”

The Computer groaned loudly, quieting when Zim whimpered softly, “This is going to be so annoying to explain.”

Dib chuckled lightly, “Oh… you have no idea.”

Defeated, the Computer said tiredly, “I’ll call him.”

~

The phone ringing, honestly caught him off guard, Professor Membrane blinking awake as he glanced over. He wasn’t supposed to have any meetings today, he was certain he’d informed everyone that he wasn’t supposed to be contacted unless it was a dire emergency.

With a painful movement, his back popping, he rolled over to check the contact, tilting his head curiously when he saw an unknown number blinking back at him. Strange.

But the Professor merely yawned softly, his metal jaw clinking at the gesture, he was admittedly curious.

He cleared his throat, his prophestic arms having been removed at the movement, “Accept call.”

~

Fuck. 
FuckFuckFUCK. FUCK FUCK FUCK.

The Computer was going to lose it, his wires were going to short circuit, he was going to blow up or something! Professor Membrane was coming to the base.

This was going to be so annoying when Zim finally woke up. But you know what? That’s what Zim gets for being a fucking idiot with no care for himself!

Goddamn it. For the name of Irk, he was going to kill Skoodge for this. He’d strange the life out of Zim.

FUCK! This better work. This better!

Chapter Text

Something flickered. It was nothing.

It flickered. It stirred in nothing for a moment before too much

It didn’t know what was happening, but it hurt.

HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME MAKE IT STOP PLEASE

Everything was numb and burning.

I DONT WANT THIS MAKE IT STOP STOP STOP STOP

Hot and cold blended as nothing but darkness nearly consumed all rational thought and desire. But it (they? he? Who?) was aware… of something?

NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING 

Nothing. Nothing nothing nothing

Something flickered again and it was bright. Bright. Bright. Gone. Dark. TOO MUCH TOO MUCH TOO LITTLE STOP

He(?) felt something twitch and it was Loud.LOUDLOUDLOUDLOUDHELPMELOUD

PAIN PAINHURTPLEASEPAIN NONOTGOINGBACK HURT PLEASE NO.

Nothing. You are nothing. Nothing NOTHING NOTHING

It faded and something twisted. It hurt. Pain. Numb. Hot. Cold. Where was he? Who was he? Something fluttered, gone. He was nothing. He was no one.

Defective.

Nothing.

~

Dib stiffened as Zim stopped moving as they waited for Membrane to arrive, heart skipping a beat before the wires connected to him tensed and then jolted, lights flaring up around them. The boy winced, eyes forced shut until the sudden light faded in intensity.

Zim stiffened before moaning loudly in pain, limbs twitching as he seemed to seize for a moment, before going limp once more. But at least he was breathing again, raspy gasps sounding in the deathly silence that followed.

This had started to happen more frequently, according to the Computer, as his limited resources were used and time went on, the odds for Zim’s survival were dropping dangerously low.

Gaz had headed upstairs to get their dad, who, after a quick but as detailed as it could be explanation, was making his way there. He had seemed confused and baffled, but at the seriousness and concern clear in his children’s voices, the Professor had said he’d be there as quickly as possible.

Dib just hoped this would be more beneficial than harmful, nervous thoughts of what-ifs twisting through his mind like a violent, tearing blade.

Zim dying.
Zim becoming a scientific curiosity. 
Zim being cut open by curious minds.

Loosing the one person that had taken him seriously, loosing the one person that made Dib feel like he had someone to relate to, loosing his first actual friend.

Dib clutched at his shirt and he tried to swallow down his fear. He wasn’t doing anyone any favors by spiraling.

~

Membrane knew a lot of things about the world around him, he’d made discovery after discovery, dragged humanity forward with newfound knowledge and understanding, but this?

Seeing his kid look so terrified? It made the man feel like no one. 

“Gaz?” The girl had practically torn open the door before he could even knock, eyes wide and face crumbling with a nervousness he couldn’t believe she was letting be expressed.

“He’s downstairs” was the only answer he got, his daughter hurriedly moving back into the dark house, leaving his only option to follow after.

Stepping into the house, he knew that it was much too quiet. He quickened his pace.

~

Motion. Blurred but painful.

Who? Why?

Somethingsomethingsomeone? It (he) felt flaring fire burn through all. WhywhywhywhywhywhywhywHELPMEMAKEITSTOP

WHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHYWHY

The everything faded, he could see for a moment. Blurredblurredblurred. Faces? WhereamIwhatishappeningwhoamI?

Then dark again. Nothing, rasps. Him? 
Motion, shifting, a twitch of sound. Fabric? Footsteps?

Blinding white static. Staticstaticstaticstopstart.

Start.

Start.

Start.

Breath. Where? Motion.

NOTHINGNOTHINGNOTHINGPAIN

It all danced along and then it was gone. Gone gonegonegonegoneGONEGONE

silence

~

So Dib hadn’t been making stuff up. Huh.

Membrane… didn’t know how to feel. But as his kids looked to him from beside the unconscious alien’s— their friend’s— side, he moved into action.

He may not be an expert on this supernatural stuff, but he could tell when a situation was dire.

~

Get in. Get out. Get in. Get out.

Breath, keep hand clutched to side. Make it. Keep going.

Breath. In. Out. Ignore the blood. Make it. The ship, there, before him. Get in.

Ignore the shouts. Get in.

Keep hand steady. Ignore the shaking. Get in. Get out.

Hurry. Got to go. Hurry up. Make it.

Almost, don’t fall. Don’t stumble. Get in, there! In, hurry, don’t pass out! Don’t!

In. The buttons, twisted blurring, just the right one.

Ignore the pain. Make it. There. Done, he slipped and fell. The ground felt cool, the ship rumbling softly as it worked on auto pilot.

He did it. A gloved hand shakily removed itself and dull eyes trailed over the pink that coated the material. That… wasn’t good.

What happened again? He couldn’t remember, eyes fluttering. He jolted, he couldn’t fall asleep. Couldn’t rest.

Not now. Get up, ignore the pain, don’t die. Not now. Can’t fail. Someone needed him. 

Skoodge stumbled to his feet once more with a painful inhale, barely catching himself against the wall.

Zim needed him.

Chapter Text

He ran, Professor Membrane, after stabilizing Zim with a makeshift device of his own (it was designed for short-term use in dire emergencies regarding trauma patients or those experiencing sudden organ failure), he fucking ran.

Because his kids were scared, and their friend was dying. And there was no time to waste, so he ran.

Thank god there weren’t many people out, and those that were walking along the streets, well they didn’t get the time to process what was happening before he was gone.

He’d told Gaz and Dib he’d met them back at the house (they said something about connecting Zim’s super computer to a mobile device or something odd like that?) so Membrane didn’t have to slow down.

He practically slammed inside the house, ignoring Clembrane as the odd clone-thing called out a greeting, giving a curt nod before he was making his way down into the basement-based labatory of his.

The man didn’t dare take a breather, merely settling the alien (an actual alien, what else had Dib been right about?) on a nearby table after shoving off his latest project. The parts crashed to the floor but he didn’t care.

He merely moved to re-establish a stable environment for Zim, there was no time to waste.

~

Breath in. Breath out. Ignore the dark spots, breath in. Breath out.

Ignore the pain, a hiss of breath as he sat with fluttering eyelids. Keep pressure on the wound as your body heals.

In. Out. Keep teeth clenched, don’t show weakness. In. Out.

Check the alert system, ignore the tremble, ignore the blood.

In. Out. In. Out. No one was following. He was okay, he’d heal. He allowed a flickering smile to cross his face, antenna twitching as he slumped back into the pilot’s seat.

Fuck, he thought he’d be healed faster than this. Skoodge wondered briefly how badly he’d actually been injured, glancing down at the pink-soaked mess of his uniform.

In. Out.

Just focus, he shook his head, forced his eyes open, and gazed outside the windshield (hm… technically wouldn’t it be spaceshield? Did Irk even really have ‘wind’ anymore?).

In. Out. 

It was going to be just fine.

~

Zim woke up with a choking gasp, hands grasping wildly around as he tried to sit up, just for him to hear someone calling to him.

He gave a sputtering whine, tongue rapidly clicking as he gave a distressed cry, eyes blinking rapidly as they tried to focus on his surroundings (HE COULDN’T SEE HE COULDN’T SEE HE COULDN’T FUCKING SEE) his antenna twitching rapidly as they tried to take in everything they could.

Because this wasn’t his base.

—Where was he where was he where was he what happened who was there what happened—

Because this wasn’t his home.

—Where was he where was he why did it smell of sterile why did it smell like a lab what happened where was he—

Because he was fucking terrified and confused and unsteady.

—He felt like he was dying he felt like he was dying what happened something felt wrong and he didn’t know what to do what could he fucking do—

His mouth flapped open as tears pricked his eyes, the Irken beginning to tremble before feeling a hand enclose in his. Zim clutched to it like a lifeline, uncaring as his claws pierced flesh (where were his gloves where were his gloves where were his gloves Why was he cold Why was it cold who was there help him) a whine pulling from his dry, dry throat.

“It’s okay— just breath, it’s alright!”

His eyes darted around desperately, his antenna twitching around for something when they came in contact with a figure. He took in the scent and Zim gave a shuddering breath of relief.

It was familiar it was familiar it was familiar.

He knew them he knew them he knew them it was okay he was okay he knew who it was.

“You’re okay.”

His body shuddered, his brain taking in that simple phrase. He was safe he was safe he was safe—

Zim’s eyes fluttered shut, and it was still dark and unfocused. But he was okay. He was safe. He fell back asleep, hand clutching to the other.

~

Dib didn’t care if Zim’s claws were burying into his flesh, tears pricking his eyes as his blood dripped down lazily onto the tile floor, because holy fuck.

Zim woke up, he actually woke up!

And-and he was going to be okay. His best fucking friend was going to be okay.

Dib gave a shaky smile, and merely stood there as his father bustled back in, distantly hearing The Computer’s voice echo from the phone they’d manage to download him on (thank fuck for that extended storage plan!)

The boy felt so emotionally drained, but for now at least, Zim was going to be okay.

~

Gaz felt numb. Like that slow unsteadiness you feel when something happens and your brain hasn’t caught up. That cold chill that starts in the very center of your chest, drying your throat, making your limbs feel like they aren’t yours.

She shivered.

At the moment, Gaz was sat outside. And honestly, it was because she couldn’t stand to see Zim, even though Dib had come out (hand oddly bandaged for some reason) to inform her that Zim had actually woken up for a little bit, she was emotionally and mentally unable to go see Zim because holy fuck.

This situation? This was fucked up, and her friend could die. And— shit. It sucked, it fucking sucked.

Because she couldn’t do much, even with all the capability and skill she had, Gaz had never been in this kind of a situation.

And admittedly? She was scared. 

She wasn’t used to being scared, the girl staring blankly ahead, shuddering.

Chapter Text

It was dark when he crash-landed. But he didn’t even have time to care, and if his head spun and he almost collapsed right there and then, he had to keep going.

He said he would help, his friend needed his help.

He felt exhausted, breathing ragged, but he got up. Got out the ship, gazed around tiredly before moving to go inside find Zim’s base. It shouldn’t be that far, right?

He really hoped so. But well, between the blurry vision, the dizziness, and the way he could hear his own pak screaming at him with differing alerts and warnings… Skoodge wasn’t looking too good, was he?

He certainly didn’t feel good. He did, however, have the materials.

Skoodge could bare a few more minutes for his friend, couldn’t he?

~

Gaz jolted awake when she heard a sharp screeching explosion. The girl was disorientated by the fact that she appeared to be on the couch now but still she went to investigate.

Rubbing at an eye, she stumbled to check out the nearest window. Had some idiot crashed into a light pole or some other car? Nothing was immediately notable, no lights, no smoking car, no drunk stumbling againist the side of wrecked metal.

Gaz frowned, leaning back with an annoyed groan. With shuffling steps and narrowed gaze, she went to step outside, glaring down the street and sidewalks. Then, without really thinking, she glanced in the direction of Zim’s base.

Her heart skipped a beat, she could see what looked to be a trail of smoke trailing barely notable againist the dark sky. A hand went to run through her hair as she stepped into the yard.

“What… the… fuck…?”

~

Membrane pinched his brow, rubbing at his eyelids. He didn’t know how long this could go on for, this system wasn’t made to last for this long without true medical attention.

It was temporary and it was defintely not equipped for a situation like this.

He didn’t even know where to go about this, the Computer was beneficial to have talking him through things sure (certainly brought up a fresh series of questions about this whole situation with how familiar the voice was, he wasn’t that daft afterall), but still.

This was a series of unknowns for him. 

~

Gaz hurried along, adjusting the coat she’d thrown on as she stumbled across the empty road. Something told her that this had something to do with Zim, and maybe it was stupid to be hopeful, but perhaps, just perhaps this could be a good thing?

She remembered, while brief and quickly swept away by the urgency and concern felt, how the Computer had mentioned Zim had someone coming to deliver parts to help with his pak.

What if this was it? What if finally whatever-that-guy’s-name was here now?

She could see the base in all its stupid glory ahead, odd lights flashing and glowing in the backyard as a haze of smoke seemed to cling around the area.

Of course, because his neighbors were some of the most insanely dense people she’d had the misfortune of acknowledging, no one else seemed to be all that concerned about any of this.

Which left her to investigate in peace and quiet. She just hoped this wasn’t a waste of her time. A childish mistake.

Opening the gate, Gaz barely took a few steps forward before she was met with a mess of broken machinery.

Shards of metal were buried into the ground from impact, some smoldering with smoke or dull sparks. A faint few flickering lights casted it with a ghastly pale glow, like some pathetic attempt seen in a cheap haunted house, trying to be chilling and eerie but looking more sickly then anything else. 

She turned and froze as she met gazes with a figure crumbled againist the back door. They looked, in short, like complete shit.

They wore a torn uniform of a most familiar design, stained and ruined. A face with only one eye managing to peer at her, the other swollen shut as what she recongnized to be Irken blood dripped down towards it from a mangled nub of an antenna. The other antenna lay crumbled againist dull green skin as a ungloved, clawed hand came to weakly wipe at their face.

Gaz was too stunned to speak, just, observing as the Irken moved to clutch at their side before stumbling into a swaying, yet standing, position.

Then he smiled, pained and trembling. “I… I-I t-take it… y-you’re, you’re Gaz…?” His eyelid drooped, a claw pointing towards the ruined ship. “Can… c-can you t-tell Zim… I… g-got… the…”

Skoodge fell and slumped back againist the door with a pained wheeze. Gaz stood, a moment, then another. Stunned, then it clicked.

The girl scrambled to pull out her phone and call her brother.

Chapter Text

Dib couldn’t really decide if this was a good thing or not.

One, the parts Zim apparently needed to recover were possibly in that ship (if they hadn’t been damaged or just overall destroyed by the crash). 

Two, they had another Irken here that didn’t want to kill Zim and who would possibly know how to help (they could only do so much with their limited knowledge and information).

Three, Skoodge was barley conscious and covered in blood while the ship looked beyond repair.

It was… something that’s for certain. 

“Uh…” Dib could feel the gears turning in his brain, “Do… you think it’d be okay to move him?” 

Dib and Gaz stood awkwardly side by side, both exhausted mentally and emotionally. Skoodge wasn’t quite responsive anymore, and well, neither could blame him now that they could see him better illuminated by Dib’s phone flashlight as the sky grew darker above.

If he had been human, Skoodge almost certainly would have been dead by now.

*****

Skoodge had either been clawed or shot by something, or maybe even both, a large, almost burnt looking gash nearly carving through the entirety of his lower torso, just below the irken’s ribcage area.
His uniform was tattered, frayed, and throughly soaked with what could only be the invader’s own blood.

His internal organs, or well, organ (Dib thought Zim had spoken about his supposed super-organ once… the squeedlyspooch or something weird like that?) was visible, limp folds almost hanging out. If that wasn’t bad enough… they moved. Seizing, twisting like living, fleshy serpents.

It looked like the only reason they had stayed inside was because either Skoodge had been shoving them back in, or by some strange alien biological measure, the organs knew to stay inside. But fuck. That was still a pretty bad injury, even if, slowly, they could visibly observe Skoodge’s body stitching itself back together.

Tendrils of flesh grew before their eyes, muscle twining to reconnect, new layers of healthy green skin slowly covering more and more of the fleshy interior.

*****

Skoodge’s previously swollen shut eye was beginning to lessen in its intensity, some more minute cuts having sealed into wicked scabs of tight skin, the one nub of an antenna that had been bleeding profusely prior now a simple drip.

Dib was curious how he’d looked before… if the Irken had looked this bad now, and they could see him healing currently, how had he looked after the initial injury? There were several other tears within that uniform, patches of bruised skin, of dried blood, and deep (but not as grimly significant enough as the main injury across his stomach area) cuts.

More so… what had done this?

And was it going to be a further problem?

Gaz’s voice startled him back to himself, eyes forcibly tearing from the injured alien, “I’m going to look in the ship.” Her voice was flat, neutral, emotionless. She was doing a better job at seeming okay than he was. “Try to talk to him, see if you can get him standing.”

Dib swallowed, wanting to reach out and assure her as a big brother should, but he just mutely nodded. They couldn’t waste any more time, this could be the critical break they needed.

They had to act now.

~

Hurthurthurthurtshurts—

Think. Think… reflect, observe… couldn’t observe, vision blurred. Antenna… damaged? Damaged.

Shuddershiver—coldtoohottoomuchtoolittleneededactivemedicalattentionnotgooddangerouslevelsofbloodloss—

Think. Review, breathing ragged, air filter still functioning. Contact recognized, couldn’t figure out who… PAK didn’t have necessary energy to spare.

Vulnerable. Exposed. Yet… alive. Ally? Possibly. FIREFIREFIREFIREIREMOVEDPAINPAINSETtlingsettlingcalmcalmcalm…

Calm down.

Calculate. 

Check.

What were the facts?

Location: Unknown.

Time: Unknown.

Condition: Critical.

Think. Think over it.

Location: Not Irk. Would have been located prior. Not Irk. Where? Not stationary, moving, limbs shaking…? Moving? Being moved— location unknown.

Time: Since injury? Unknown. Since departure? Unknown. Since entry…entry? Entry entry where had… entry, gone somewhere, went somewhere, purpose…?

Purpose?

Goal: ???

Was sent… sent… sent somewhere… for?

He gasped sharply, eyes shooting open as Skoodge’s thoughts clicked together. The irken was gravely injured, but he was now aware. He was not stationary, he was being moved, his legs stumbling on autopilot. So that meant he was being moved, Irkens were vulnerable with the chaos of the empire’s current ruined state. Vulnerable, no allies to protect them, but he was being moved rather than killed…

So. Safe then? His eyes fluttered, eased. Okay. Okay, he was awake again. That was good, he couldn’t recall how long he’d passed out, but he was hopeful.

Skoodge felt his head loll a bit, breathing labored. Keep hoping. Stay strong. Don’t die.

Condition: Healing. Severe laceration across stomach region. Exterior damage to PAK shell cover. Antenna damaged, senses damaged, one eye unresponsive, extreme blood loss.

Location: Unknown. With… ally?

Time: Unknown.

A mumbling nearby, a voice perhaps. He fought to keep his eyes open, he had to keep himself in the moment. It’d… be okay. He’d be okay.

~

Professor Membrane stared, eyes going from one figure to the next.

There was pink blood on his floor now. His kids were in an emotionally numb state now. The other figure was another alien, severely injured but alive. 

He looked at the box that Gaz had been dragging with a odd shard of metal she’d used as a makeshift sled.

Several odd mechanical devices, several which shared some semblance to the oddities he’d observed inside that ‘pak’ thing, several other things being beyond anything he could have imagined.

“Cor!” The ‘Computer’ was highly knowledgeable on this technology and he had no worry that he’d know what to do with all this. “We have the parts!”

It was still rather peculiar that his phone pal had turned out to be a highly complex ai system.

He nodded his kids towards the nearest place they could set the injured alien on, uncaring if his furniture would be ruined. He grabbed the box and hurried down to the basement now.

Membrane nearly tripped in his hurry, already getting his surgical tools readied the moment he’d rushed off the last step.

Had to work now. Had to do things as quickly as possible. Had to do this NOW.

He turned towards that table, staring down at his patient. Time to see if this would work. He took a calming breath.

“Okay… steady your arms. Steady your mind… science help me now.”

~

Gaz watched as her father worked to stitch Skoodge’s stomach back together, the alien looking a lot more aware than he had yesterday. Seeing as the professor had been working hours on end to the Computer’s instructions, the night had essentially passed by into the early morning.

No one had exactly been able to sleep.

Dib was sat nearby Zim’s now sleeping form, Mini-moose hovering nearby, GIR’s limp form sat on the ground by her brother’s feet. They hadn’t the chance to even really acknowledge the turned off robot in all the time between their initial discovery of Zim and now.

Gaz figured Zim would fix the annoying robot the moment when he woke up, not if now, but when. Because… thankfully, it seemed, that Membrane had been successful. If Zim’s current condition was anything to go off of.

His pak seemed to have cooled down, allowing for his body to begin functioning on its own to repair the damage that had been done. The irken had stopped trembling, breathing still shaky but no longer a mere wheeze of breath, face not that pale, sickly color anymore.

He looked like he was just… sleeping after a long day, if not for the machines he was still attached to. Propped on his side, she could see the stitching along his back where her father had decided to simply cut out the infected tissue that had been present around where the pak would sit. 

An IV allowed for his body to regain moisture (for while Zim had bad reactions to most water, it seemed that was because of how polluted their world was compared to what Zim’s skin could deal with. The water was highly filtered of containments and had a sedative in it to keep Zim from waking up and possibly harming himself in his weakened state), several cables attached to observe the activity of his pak, a heart monitor allowing for her to see the curiously slow heart rate that was normal for Irkens, etc.

They were now just, well, waiting. 

From what they observed from Skoodge’s condition (her and Dib had wrapped his injuries as best they could while the Professor was working), once an irken’s brain seemed to acknowledge they were safe, critical injuries would heal as rapidly as the body could manage.

It was, according to the Computer, an ancient survival mechanism that had carried from when the Irken empire cared more for its subjects.

Irkens were, by nature, social. And, due to their defensive and offensive mannerisms, they weren’t strangers to violence.
They healed quicker than most beings, but their pak merely allowed for this to be significantly accelerated. They trained from ‘smeethood’ until what was considered adulthood (which curiously, was more like when they were the equivalent of a teenage human) when they were then sent out to whatever duties it was seen that they’d do for the rest of their lives.

The irkens particularly put emphasis on their people being warriors, and with the combination of quick healing, in-depth training, and having a literal Swiss Army knife of a computer on their backs that could act as a secondary brain system, well. They seemed practically indestructible. 

That was where she’d been proven wrong. Because, when injured to the point of being otherwise incapacitated, their pak would be overwhelmed and the organic brain would take control over the management of hormone production, immune system reactions, etc. It would cause the irken body to pause in accelerated healing, trying to reduce shock, and would try to put as much resources could be redirected to the irken senses.

This allowed an irken in cases like Skoodge to get somewhere safer, but in other cases where an irken was already dealing with bodily and mental strains and then put into a critical health situation, it caused a positive feedback loop. 
That’s what had apparently been the cause for Zim’s condition. His pak had been overwhelmed, and due to it having difficulties functioning (because Zim HAD BEEN A FUCKING IDIOT AND HADN’T SAID ANYTHING TO THEM), when it started to overheat, this both caused damage to the organic body and a triggering of the failsafe healing mechanism.

So the pak simply heated up to the extremes, Zim’s mind was too drained, it strained his body to the point where it thought it was under severe attack, the increased heat allowed for illness to set in, then infection and increasing fevers, probably causing delusion and increased mental strain, his organic brain had to deal with a new threat along with active burns, etc. 

The idiot would probably still be feeling the after effects of this for weeks to come, possibly even needing to regularly do check ins and adjustments until Skoodge could offer even better input.

While the Computer knew his shit, he also had more knowledge on general irken functions and pak maintenance. While Zim allowed the Computer to do check’s over his pak, the irken did most of the actual interior work.

No one probably knew it as best as the defect did, well, save for Skoodge. Because Skoodge? He’d known Zim for ages, and, as he was talking now, the other mentioned how him and Zim had helped one another out with their pak’s sometimes.

Which meant Skoodge knew how Zim’s pak functioned prior, and with this comparative viewpoint, hopefully while Zim’s organic body recovered, Skoodge could give them insight regarding further work on the pak.

It was… turning out okay, all things considered. Hell, how long had it been since Gaz and Dib had gone over there, like, only a day now? Or… had a few days passed? A week? Time was odd, muddled.

Probably didn’t help that neither of the Membrane siblings, or Professor Membrane himself, had had true sleep over this havoc time. It was simply a blessing to have Clembrane for once not try to interfere.

Now that she thought about it, the clone had been content to leave them be, save for giving them bowls of pudding after they’d initially brought Skoodge and the supplies from Zim’s destroyed backyard.

Gaz rubbed at an eye, realizing she’d been zoned out quite a good deal. Her father was back over to talk with the Computer as he observed Zim’s pak interior again. Dib had seemingly passed out in that time with Mini-moose tightly held to his chest while Skoodge was peering over his ruined uniform with an absent frown.

The irken certainly looked better, the girl gazing away again with a yawn. She was going to go check on Clem, no one really minding her departure as she trailed upstairs.

She could use the clone’s bubbly energy as a distraction… but… well. Hopefully things were going to keep getting better now, she was certainly glad she’d gone out to investigate.

Who knows what would have happened otherwise.