Truthseeking

Into the PAK

Zim sighed as the human vanished from his sight, his back beginning to burn from his PAK once more. 

He didn't want Dib around while he was doing this. 

Taking it off with a huff, he stretched. 

His vision flashed with his life clock, but Zim ignored it, it was time to get to fixing the thing. 

Now, by all means, he was not a PAK technician. 

But he'd been a scientist before he became an invader, so he was familiar with the subject of engineering and such. 

So he'd have to hope he knew enough from the pre-installed knowledge about PAKs, and his previous engineering knowledge. 

What else could he do anyway? He couldn't just call in to get the device looked at, not anymore. 

Zim grimaced at his thoughts, trying to brush off the thoughts. He needed to focus. 

He reached for a pair of goggles that he often wore when working on machinery. 

Grabbing the screw driver from beside him, he undid the 'lid' of the PAK, sliding it off. 

The wires in the device were messy and looked undone, making Zim frown. 

This was normal, right? PAKs were just normally messy, he wasn't defective. 

But, he couldn't help the creeping feeling in his gut. 

"Computer, show me a diagram of an average Irken PAK. " He commanded, his voice not a yell, nor a whisper, just a normally said sentence. 

"Do I havee tooo? " The program complained, ignoring how uncommon it was to hear Zim speak in a normal tone. 

"Yes, do it now! " He clarified, in his very-Zimly tone of yelling. 

The computer grumbled, but complied, presenting the Irken with the diagram. 

Zims gut churned, it was not normal. 

The PAK on screen was clean and well done, its wires smartly straightened in neat formation with the other parts of the device. 

His was not. 

His PAK was undone, the wires randomly thrown, parts in the wrong place, anything but neat. 

Wires were cut where they should be long, and others were long when they should be cut.

It was so different. 

He was so different. 

Zim frowned, grimaced even. 

He hadn't even noticed how he'd been biting down on his tongue until he tasted the sweet, sugaryness of Irken blood swirling in his mouth. 

He hadn't noticed the way his Life clock had reached three minutes, the way his body started to weaken. 

Until his eyelids started to droop, and his hands started to shake, only then, only then did he notice the alarmingly low time. 

Hastily, he redid the PAKs lid, popping the device back into his spine. 

The sensation was anything but pleasant, but he wasn't going to die such an undeserving death. 

Letting his body recharge for a few minutes before he restarted the process, he looked at the room. 

The room that he'd done in three hours, knowing it would've been quicker if he hadn't had to take off his PAK every thirty minutes because the device would start to heat up.