Unlikely Romance

Author's Notes: My sincerest apologies to all of those who have been waiting for me to update. I've had bronchitis for the past week or so, and I've been struggling to keep up with my schoolwork. As you can probably guess, I didn't have any time to write a chapter. BUT FEAR NOT! FOR I HAVE RETURNED! (Bows to invisible audience) So please be generous with your reviews, 'cause they make me feel better.

"Logic is dead, and its corpse is being beaten!"

-random girl from my debate class

Chapter 4: Everything's Going to be Okay

Dib sat in the sand, knees pressed against his chest, shivering. The sun was low on the horizon and the temperature had plummeted some fifty degrees. Also, he had a new reason to hate the wind. Not only did it blow sand in his eyes and up his nose, but now it seemed to drop the temperature even quicker. It was already below the comfortably cool point and Dib was trying to keep warm however he could in his T-shirt and jeans.

His long sleeve shirt was stabilizing Tak's leg and his trench coat was keeping her warm. There was no shelter for him, because Tak was occupying his ship and her own was too dangerous to spend the night in. Starting a fire was out of the question, due to the wind and lack of flammable materials.

'Looks like I'm just royally screwed all the way around,' Dib thought bitterly, but at the same time, slightly amused at his predicament. 'I've got to admit, though, this is a pretty exotic way to die. What train of events led up to this point anyways.'

Then, he was overcome by sadness. Sadness for Gaz; the reason he had left the safety of his father's space station in the first place. The reason he had crashed into Tak's ship and was now stranded in the middle of an alien desert, slowly freezing to death. This sadness was for himself as well as Gaz, because he was starting to fear that he would die for nothing.

All day, an ugly thought had threatened to rear its face in Dib's mind, but he had always managed to push it away before it could fully materialize. He didn't want to think that way; he wanted to have hope. But now, with the sun going down and his life flashing before his eyes, the thought entered his head, fully formed in all his horror.

'I'm going to die in vain, because Gaz is already dead.'

He hadn't wanted to consider it. He had wanted to accept any other explanation for why she hadn't answered her communicator. No matter how bizarre. But it made sense. The communicator had a range the spanned through the entire galaxy and it would beep if there was some interference. But there was no interference. It hadn't been taken from her either. He knew that for sure. That left only one other explanation. One that left him feeling both horribly guilty and empty at the same time.

'I let you down. You called me for help, and I couldn't save you… We may not have had the best relationship, but we were still family. We cared about each other, though neither of us ever admitted it. I regret that now… I really really regret never telling you that I loved you. That I loved my little sister now matter how many times she broke my nose or kicked me hard enough to ensure that I never had children. I still loved her… And I know that she loved me too.'

Dib watched his vision blur, but he didn't care. Three drops feel on his jeans: two tears and one drop of blood. In his misery, he hadn't even noticed that he bit though his lip. In fact, he bit harder to try and hold in his sobs. He had failed as a brother. In his alien hype, he had ignored Gaz during a very important time in her life. A time that allowed Zim to get his slimy, alien claws on her and plant his seed in her womb. Dib felt that he should have been there for her, instead of Zim. If only he had paid more attention to her. She was what mattered. Not the code. Not proving the kids from Skool wrong. Not fame. Not fortune. Family was what mattered, and family was what he really wished he had right now on some alien world at dusk, with the day's last light painting the sky. He wanted his family to comfort him. To let him now that everything would be okay, even when it obviously wouldn't.

Dib craned his head back and looked at the stars. There were thousands already, even though it wasn't completely dark yet. Shivering against the wind, which whipped sand and his own hair down into his eyes, he searched the sky. For what, he wasn't quite sure. Perhaps a passing alien craft to hitch a ride on, or maybe just a falling star to make a desperate wish on. He didn't know. The only coherent thought that he allowed to enter his mind was: 'I wonder which of those stars is Earth's sun.'

"Hey, Dib!"

The human jumped and was violently jarred from his thoughts. His head whipped around for the voice's source. He saw Tak sitting up, looking out of the ship's entrance.

"Get in here, human, before you freeze to death," she called to him before lying back down.

Not needing to be called again, Dib jumped up and ran over to the ship. Tak watched from where she lay as Dib's form filled the space where the ship's door used to be. For a moment, he hesitated. Tak didn't understand, and she motioned him in. He nodded and carefully stepped into the ship.

The NASA Place Escape Pod was really only built to hold one person at a time, but since it currently rested on its side in the sand, it was able to hold two. Dib sat down beside Tak and ran his hands up and down his arms trying to warm up.

"Lay down," Tak ordered, with the faintest hint of a smirk.

Near hypothermia forcing him into obedience, Dib did as he was told. Tak handed him half of his jacket to keep warm. He accepted it thankfully and shifted around until he was slightly comfortable.

"Uh… Tak?"

"Yes, Dib?"

"How come you're being so nice to me?" he asked, slightly turning his head to look at her. In the light of the stars he could slightly make out her profile. The night sky was perfectly mirrored in her glassy eyes. The reflection moved slightly, along with her eyes. He watched her eyes move as she searched for an answer.

"Because," she finally said. "My leg's broken… and someone is going to have to fix my ship while it heals."

"Couldn't your robot do it?"

Tak sighed. "Ever since my visit to Earth, MIMI hasn't been the same. She has trouble staying on task. I'd rather have someone I know would get the job done… Sheesh, you're freezing! Come closer or you'll never get warm."

Dib nodded in his obedient state and inched closer to her. In the back of his mind he realized that this was the closest he had ever physically been to a girl, human or otherwise. However, in the grand scheme of things, that didn't seem very important at the moment, so he pushed the thought from his head and let the warmth from Tak's body lull him to sleep.

(Page Break)

Zim leaned his elbows on the control consul and rubbed the spot between his eyes. So far, he had failed to find a planet that had water for Gaz. The situation was made worse by Gaz's deteriorating condition. She had become very weak in the past few hours, she could hardly open her eyes, and she didn't seem right when she talked to Zim. She seemed out of it and even delirious at some points. If he couldn't locate the fluids she required soon, things could go from bad to worse.

If things kept at the pace they were, it wouldn't be long before her vitals began to fail. He could lose her, and for some reason, that worried him.

'For crying out loud!' the part of him that was still a soldier scolded. 'You betrayed your leaders, left your friends, you're a fugitive from the Empire and all you can worry about is the life of a stupid Earth monkey. How far have you fallen?'

'Your baby will die with me.' Gaz's frenzied voice echoed in his head.

'That's why,' the non-soldier that had developed over the past few days countered. 'I know that the Tallests were planning to sacrifice me to obtain power. I know that they never planned to reinstate me as an Invader. I know that my whole life has been a lie. Iknow that all I am is a big joke that the entire Irken Empire is in on. IKNOW that the Tallests have tried to deactivate me. I KNOW that in my entire life, no one has ever cared about what happened to me…

'Except her… Gaz cared. She really does… Did… She cared for me, like she cared for no other; the way I used to care about being an Invader. But all I did was use her, the same way I was used by the Tallests. It was all a big joke. The only difference is that the Tallests didn't lose anything, but I lost everything. Gaz was my everything. She still is my everything! I have to save her! I have to save my smeet!'

Deciding that he had stood by long enough, Zim pushed back from the computer and ran out of the research room. He bolted down to the medical bay where Gaz slept and the machines monitored her vitals. He was concerned to see that the vitals had dropped since he last checked on her.

He ordered the computer to ready his ship and to continue the search for a planet with a large body of drinkable water. After the computer gave a long groan, Zim turned his attention back to Gaz. Pale and weak, she rested on the examination table. Her breathing was labored, and Zim got the sense that he didn't have as much time as he originally thought.

"Don't worry," he softly whispered as he lifted her up. "You'll be fine. I'll take care of you." Her head lulled into his chest and stayed there as he carried her up to the docking bay. She gave a soft moan as he lay her down in the back seat of the ship. His antennas went limp and he gave a soft whine. He didn't want to think about what would happen if she died, but that seemed to be a growing possibility, given the circumstances.

'No!' he ordered himself. 'Don't think that way! As long as you get moving and find her some water, she'll be fine! You got that, soldier!?'

Zim resisted the urge to yell 'sir, yes sir' as he climbed into the pilot's seat. The roof opened and he was launched into space. He watched the scanner on the dashboard that said whether or not a planet had any body of water on it. Many did have great oceans of salt water, as Earth had, but Zim's tests showed that this would have a negative effect on Gaz's condition, so he kept looking.

While Zim's computer scanned the surrounding planets, it did not pick up any ships in the nearby area. Usually, this would not be a problem, because this side of the Universe was fairly uninhabited. Unfortunately for Zim, there happened to be a ship in the nearby area that had picked up on the Irken signal that his ship gave off. This same ship was now pursuing him and rapidly closing in. By the time he did notice a large, ominous object behind him, it was too late.

The Irken vessel jerked violently as it was caught in a tractor-beam coming from the ship. The controls were now useless, as Zim soon found out. All that he could do was sit and wait as the mysterious ship slowly reeled him in like a fish.

(End Chapter)

Author's Notes: I know; I'm a horrible person. I'm gone for a month, and then I leave off on a cliff hanger. Well, sucks to be you (but you know that I still love you… Just not like that). Wow, this chapter seemed kind of serious… No more Stephen King books for me! (Even though he is, like, the best writer ev-ver!) If all goes according to plan, the next chapter should be hilarious… I think… I donno… I kinda lost the outline I had for this fic. BUT WHO NEEDS IT?! TIME FOR THE THANKYOUS…

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Sorry I can't do individual thankyous like I usually do, but I forgot the charger for my laptop, so I'm very pressed for time. I promise to thank all of you specifically next time. THANK YOU!!!