Oooooh my God! TWO CHAPTER IN ONE DAY!
Yes, well, Invader Hope is just amazingly awesome enough to update twice in one day! (Also, i did say it would happen if I was bored...which I am)
This chapter also has a better cliffhanger sort of thing than the last one (you thought that was bad! Hahahahahaahahahaha...wait till you see what I still have planned next!)
ONWARD...!
Oh! Before I forget. For those who are grossed out by puking (like my dear friend Tunica is X_X) you might want to skip through the puking scenes...just saying.
Okay, now...ONWARD!
Gaz opened the door after pausing before it for a few minutes. Her brother had left hours ago, but it was taking Gaz a while to convince herself to check on Zim. She looked around, searching for the former invader. Her eyes caught him in the right hand corner of the room, his legs across the floor. His body rested against the wall, his eyes closed. He opened them, looking at Gaz before he closed them again. She walked over to him, still dressed in her purple and back nightdress. "Hey."
"Hey," he said in a strained voice.
She sat next to him, bringing her knees closer to her body. He opened his eyes barely and looked forward. "Is Hope okay?"
Gaz nodded, "She's out with her dad and Tak today. It's Saturday and his only time with his daughter. They usually go out and do something fun on the weekends because he's so busy during the week. She didn't seem to be in the mood for it, though."
There was silence for a moment.
"She came to see you last night, didn't she?" Gaz said, still looking forward.
"Gaz, please…" Zim shook his head weakly.
"She wanted to talk about Dib and you."
"Gaz…!" he whined, his voice sounding serious.
"She wanted to sleep with you because she was frightened of Tak."
Zim covered his mouth, but couldn't hold back. He jolted upright, vomiting all over the floor in front of them. Gaz sat upright and held onto his back, rubbing it as he took a breath, mumbling apologises under his breath as he spat the remaining bile from his mouth. She helped him up as he stayed hunched over, a hand on his stomach, the other on his mouth.
She slid the cold cola towards Zim. His head rose from his arms. She sat on the dining room table's edge, Zim taking the drink from the table, opening the can. He stared at it for a moment, before taking a small sip. Gaz kept an eye on him, the bucket nearby this time. "How's that?"
He took a breath, and nodded, "Fine. But I d-don't think I can keep down any more of it."
She nodded. "Sorry about that, Zim."
He shook his head, putting the can back on the table, "Don't' know why you're apologizing. I'm the one who threw up all over your carpet and you had to clean it up!"
She grinned, "I always hated that carpet anyway. Dib picked it up at a flea market. You've given me an excuse as to why I got rid of it."
Zim gave a small laugh at that. Gaz's grin disappeared. "I didn't mean to push you like that. That's why I said sorry."
Zim looked up at her, his turn to grin, "Its fine. I was probably going to puke either way today."
"Morning sickness?"
He sighed, looking back down, "Stress plus morning sickness, I guess. This smeet does a lot of strange things to me when it wants me to stop something. Like, for example, I couldn't eat my favourite brand of chips back on the Massive, because someone didn't like them. So, anytime I had them, I was sick. So annoying," he grumbled.
Gaz smiled at him. She then got a thoughtful look, "I'm surprised at you, Zim."
"Why do you say that?"
"You're just…I don't know," she turned, going to get her car keys off the counter.
"Amazing beyond words? Yes, I know that part," he grinned. ""What are you doing?"
"I am doing you a favour," she twirled the keys in her hands, "We're going for a drive. Come on."
"And why are we doing that?" he inquired.
"I read somewhere that walking can help take your mind off morning sickness. Besides, I need to get some groceries for the house. We need to get some food in you. I'm getting tired of dragging your ass all over the place because you pass out every 20 minutes."
He gave her a look.
"So," Zim said, looking out the window, "What are we doing again?"
"We're going shopping for food for your daughter," Gaz said, making a turn for the mall.
Zim sighed, "I hate the mall. All the humans in such a small place annoy me."
"Deal with it."
She parked off the car and off they went. Zim still looked rather ill, but he managed to keep the cola down since he drank it, so this was a good sign. "Okay, Hope needs some more soya milk and a few fruits for lunch next week. Dib needs me to pick up his tux for the conference at the end of the week and I need to pick up some shoe polish for my boots. We also need to get food for you, Zim."
He looked at her sceptically, "I don't think I can actually eat human foods."
"Well, we're gonna give it a shot. You have two people to feed, remember that."
He rolled his eyes and looked at her, "Our society eats mainly junk food, so that would be my best guess."
She shrugged and pulled out a trolley, going into the store with the sulking invader.
She got what she needed for Hope and her shoe polish. She got a few other household items and got a few snacks for Zim to try like chips, chocolate, doughnuts and pancakes. They continued browsing before hitting the checkout line and heading to the cleaners to pick up Dib's tux. Zim grunted, getting annoyed. "What's wrong?" Gaz asked, glancing over at him while they continued walking.
"This walking isn't really making me feel any better. It's just making my feet hurt," he moaned.
She gave a slight laugh, Zim giving her an even more annoyed look, "It's because you're pregnant. The extra weight from the baby…"
"Yeah, yeah," Zim moaned. "The medics explained this to me. That's why they didn't want me walking around too much."
"What did they do with you, then?" she asked, curious.
"They kept me in a cell. It wasn't too crappy, I suppose. I was unconscious most of the time, so it didn't need to be comfortable."
She looked away. Zim moaned again, "Please can we sit down."
"Sure," she said, moving the trolley over to a bench.
Zim sat down and sighed, rubbing the sides of his feet through his boots. Gaz sat next to him, "Maybe if you wore more comfortable shoes…"
"Hey, this is the Irken uniform," he protested, sitting straight, "We wear it in pride and suffer the consequences with no complaint."
"But you are complaining…"
"Shut up!" he said, going back to rubbing the sides of his feet.
Gaz looked up and say a men's store across from them. She stood and walked off. "Hey," Zim said, looking up, "Where're you going?"
"I'll be back. You relax a bit. Try having one of the sodas we just bought. I'll be back in a few."
Zim sat there in confusion, but shrugged, reaching into one of the plastic packets to get a soda.
He sat there for a good half an hour, playing with the can's tag in his fingers, bored. After ten minutes he considered going home…but Gaz had the keys…and well, he didn't actually know how to drive one of those things.
He had managed to finish about a quarter of the can, but started feeling sick again and decided to leave the rest. The tag was proving to give some entertainment, though.
Gaz finally came up to him, carrying two bags of clothing and stuff she got from the store. He looked at her, "And now? What took you so long? What the hell are those?"
"A surprise for later. Come, let's get Dib's suit and go home," she grinned, putting the packets into the trolley and heading off. Zim stood and followed.
Gaz parked the car off in the garage and got the groceries out of the boot. Zim helped take in a few packets for her, with ranting from her that he should be relaxing in his condition. He left them in the kitchen and went to the lounge, kicking off his boot and relaxing on the couch. Gaz packed away the foods and left the tux hanging on the door. She then took the two packets she went to get while Zim relaxed and brought them to the lounge. Zim looked over at her as she put in on the couch he was sitting on. He looked at the packets and then looked into one of them. He gave a look, "Clothes?"
"Take them out and take a look," she smiled softly.
He looked at her and reached into the packet. He stood, looking at the black shirt with a strange blue star logo on it. It was huge, about three times the size of Zim. He looked at it, "What am I supposed to do with this? Use it for a blanket when I get cold? Seriously, how do human's reach this size?"
She stood taking a few more out from the bag. She had about three shirts, mostly black. She held up one that resembled the black shirt with pink stripped long sleeves he wore currently, "This is my favourite."
She also took out a pair of short boots and a pair of black jeans that were a bit baggy. "Why buy these things?" he asked, putting the shirt down on the couch with the others.
Gaz sat in her normal seat and looked at him, her face resting on her hands, her elbows on her knees. "They're for you."
He looked at her as though she had just insulted him, "Are you calling me fat?"
She gave him a look, "Since you arrived, you have yet to take off any of your clothes besides your jacket and boots, which in all fairness, I had to take off of you."
"Your point?"
"You haven't proven to me that you're pregnant yet, Zimmy," she said, sitting straight.
"Well, I don't think one of my alien powers includes throwing up on demand, human," he said with a sceptical look on his face.
"Why don't you want to show off your stomach?"
"Why do you want to see it?"
"What are you afraid of?"
"What are you insinuating?"
They stared one another down.
"Take it off," Gaz said, smirking at the alien.
"No," he said firmly.
"Take-it-off," she demanded, standing as a slyness washed over her body.
"No!" Zim protested, standing as well.
She darted for a shirt and jumped on him, knocking him into the chair. They struggle for a moment, before she stood, dusting her hands. Zim looked at her, the shirt hanging off his skinny frame awkwardly. "This looks stupid."
"Well, I didn't know how big you were so I got different sizes. That's the biggest one. This is a smaller one. Maybe if you finally took off that shirt that covers up the bump…"
Zim gave an annoyed groan and threw the shirt off of himself. "Fine!"
He snatched the smaller shirt from Gaz and threw it on the couch in front of him, taking his jacket off. Gaz sat back down, blowing a piece of her purple hair out of the way, smirking in victory.
Zim got his sleeved shirt off, showing that he had another black sleeveless shirt underneath that one! "God, how many shirts do you have on?"
"Just these two plus the jacket. The first two layers are my standard uniform. This shirt is a device that can manipulate images, making my stomach seem as flat as ever," he grinned, "Irken technology."
"Makes sense your species would build something to cover things up," she said, a raised eyebrow. Zim gave her a look. He looked at the shirt, looking a bit nervous. Gaz looked at him, "What's up? Can't you take it off?"
"No, I can…" he came in, but stopped, looking unsure still. "It's just…I haven't taken it off in a long time."
"How long is a long time?"
"About two months," he mumbled.
"Wow, that is a long time," she said in shock. "Why so long?"
Even he wasn't sure of that one. He looked at her, shrugging sadly. She gave him a nod, I'll turn around, if you want me to."
He nodded. She closed her eyes and turned in her seat awkwardly, away from him.
Zim took a breath and reached down, pulling the leather like cloth off of himself. He closed his eyes through it all. He threw the shirt on the floor and reached across to the couch, looking for the shirt he left there. He found it and pulled it over himself. He opened his eyes and looked down in utter shock. He was a lot bigger than he expected.
"Oh my Irk!" he cried.
Gaz span around, worried. She then saw him and finally, it hit her. There stood Zim, the same alien she had met years before, only taller…and pregnant. Heavily pregnant. "Oh my God," she mumbled to herself. She went over to Zim. He looked at her and gave a little laugh of embarrassment. "I didn't think I'd be this big."
She laughed, "Neither did I." She looked down at his stomach and then at him, "This…is way too weird, you know that, right?"
He gave her a grin, "You have no idea."
After packing the new clothes away in the cupboard in his room, Zim put on an old pair of Dib's jeans that were dark navy and his black sleeveless shirt. He walked downstairs to see Gaz was making lunch. She was making pancakes. She turned and gave Zim a look of approval, "Not bad."
He gave her a smirk and sat down, "What else did you expect from someone as Almighty as me?"
She rolled her eyes and put another pancake on the plate that had a stack of about ten already. "So, when is Dib and them arriving back home so I can go and hide?" Zim mumbled to himself, looking at the newspaper on the table.
Gaz looked back at him, "They'll be back in a few minutes. Dib called while you were getting changed. Hope wasn't really enjoying herself and wanted to come home. Hiding might be a good idea, actually."
Zim sighed. "Poor Hope."
"Why do you say that?"
He looked away and then back at Gaz, "She knows, Gaz. She…remembers who I am."
Her eyes went wide, "H-how do you…?"
"She mumbled something in her sleep. That she was glad I came back for her. That's why she was so upset when Dib took her away from me this morning. When he finds out…"
"My God, you are so screwed," she said sadly.
"Thanks for that," he glares at her.
She leant against the counter next to the stove, thinking. "We're gonna have to tell him."
"Tell him what?" Zim muttered loudly, looking worried.
"About the new child," she glanced at him.
He bolted out of his seat, and looked at her, "That would be stupid."
"Yes, it would be," she admitted, "However, it would also insure your child's safety."
He looked at her in confusion. "Dib is a jerk, and a moron and a lot of other things. But he's not a monster. He won't hurt you if he knows you're carrying his child."
Zim gave her a thoughtful look, "I don't want him to take pity on me, Gaz."
"Stop thinking about your arrogance for once and think about your child, Zim," she sternly stated.
Zim stuck his tongue out at her and pouted, "My smeet is a lot stronger than you think, human. All that fighting last night caused no harm to it, now did it?"
"That's not what's I'm worried about," Gaz said as a side thought, moving the pan with a now burning pancake on it off the ring.
Zim looked up at her and sighed. "Blah, blah, blah."
Gaz sat down with a plate of pancakes for herself and Zim. She put the plate in the middle of the table with chocolate sauce and maple syrup next to them. "Dig in."
"I don't know about this, Gaz. I've barely been able to keep less than half a can of coke down," he mentioned, shaking his head at the plate as she poured some chocolate over it.
She cut off a small piece and handed it to him, "Give it a shot, at least. I don't care about whether or not you have eaten in the past two days. I'm worried about the baby. It needs food too."
Zim wanted to argue with her, but he couldn't. He took the fork from Gaz and stuck the piece of chocolate laced pancake in his mouth, chewing on it with a horrid look on his face.
"Oh, it's not that bad, you big baby!" Gaz muttered, cutting off a piece for herself.
But Zim couldn't take it. It was that bad. Human food was awful. He swallowed it, knowing the smeet would keep some of it down. That's all he needed to do. Feed the child, at least.
He reached over and slowly ate pieces from the pancake. Gaz could see he was forcing each bite down. She was quite surprised at the sacrifices he was making for his child. She would have never believed this was the same Zim her brother always complained about. He managed to finish a pancake and a half before starting to feel ill. He dropped his fork and shook his head. "No more," he moaned, gagging slightly.
Gaz took back the plate, "You did a good job there. Next time we'll try for two, eh?"
He sat back, his hand on his mouth, the other on his stomach as he tried keeping down his food. Gaz gave him a look, "Please try not to be sick at the table. I'm at least enjoying the food. Don't ruin it for me too."
"I'm trying," he mumbled. But he couldn't do it and bolted for the bathroom upstairs. Gaz sighed, finishing off her second pancake. "Better get used to this, I suppose."
She looked up as she heard the front door open. "We're home," Dib mumbled as he walked into the house. Hope was gone, running upstairs to her room. Tak and Dib strolled over to the kitchen, Dib looking defeated. "I take it she didn't enjoy her day out then," Gaz said, putting her plate in the sink as Dib sat at the table, Tak standing by the door, leaning against the frame.
"She was miserable. She was so upset about what happened this morning," Dib said, anger rising, "Zim must have told her something. Did you find a hotel for him yet? I want him gone."
"No," Gaz said, sitting back down, "I've been busy doing house work and shopping. Zim spent the day in his room, not bothering anyone. And don't blame him for your daughter's attitude. How would you feel if you saw our dad acting the way you did yesterday to anyone? She's scared of you."
"If I didn't know any better, I would say you were defending him, Gaz," Tak said from the door.
Gaz shot her a nasty look, warning her to shut up. Dib looked around, "Where is Zim anyway? Still in his room?"
They heard a flush from upstairs. Gaz sighed. "No, he's been throwing up for most of the day. I'll go see how he is." She brushed past Tak, nearly knocking her into the wall. Tak growled at her.
Zim walked out of the bathroom, wiping his mouth, feeling miserable. He managed to keep some of his food down, but not a lot. He sighed and looked up, seeing a small figure on Hope's bed. She was looking up at her father in concern. "Hope…" he muttered to himself.
She bolted up and tackled his legs, grabbing a hold of them in a hug. She was almost crying again. Zim bent down and gave her a proper hug, not really sure why when he thought about it, "Are you okay?" Zim asked.
"I just…missed you," she said, hugging him tightly. He closed his eyes, "I missed you too, Hope."
"Promise you won't leave me again," she whispered to him in a breaking voice.
He looked her in her golden eyes, "I promise." She gave him a smile and broke away. "What about daddy?"
Zim stood, rubbing his neck nervously, "Eh, I don't know about that, Hope."
She frowned. Gaz reached the final step and looked at the two of them, "Are you guys okay?" she said, her words failing her as confusion took over.
Zim gave Hope a smile, "We're okay." She smiled at him.
"Do you want some lunch, Hope? I made pancakes for us," she smiled at her niece. She gave a delighted laugh and went downstairs. Gaz looked at Zim. She could see the strain in his eyes, and the paleness of his face. "You okay?"
He looked at her, his eyes relaxing, "I don't know anymore."
"I think you need a nap," she tried.
"I think I need a gun," he mumbled.
Gaz sat with Hope in the lounge, playing with her blocks and building a castle for her princess. Tak was in her room, busy plotting and scheming away, unbeknownst to the others. Dib was sitting in his office, playing with a pen, deep in thought. Zim had gone back to his room after lunch. He didn't eat a thing, just being there because Hope wanted him there.
His pen tapped the table as his thoughts left him. He sighed, rubbing his eyes, tired. He couldn't believe after four years, Zim had finally returned. Dib couldn't make sense of it. And what had Zim been telling Hope when he was at work? Why was Gaz supporting Zim? Was he maybe telling them the truth? Was he really held hostage by his own leaders?
He sat back, his hands behind his head. He couldn't deal with this right now. He was so happy with his life. He had even gotten over the fact that Hope was Zim's daughter. It had taken him months of frustration before he got over it and began truly loving Hope for who she was, for what she was. He looked down, realizing why Hope became so close to Zim so quickly. He stood from his chair. He couldn't postpone this any longer.
He carefully opened the door to Zim's room, being sure that Zim wasn't ready and waiting to attack him. But he wasn't. Dib opened the door fully and saw the alien on the bed, lying on his back, asleep. His eyebrows raised in utter horror and confusion.
Zim had taken off his shirt and was wearing a much looser human shirt that Gaz probably bought him. He couldn't believe it. That's why Zim had disappeared for so long. That's why he didn't come back.
Dib stood frozen, something within him going cold. He wanted to go over to Zim and shake him senseless. How dare he go off and get pregnant again…but what if? What if that was Dib's…?
He collapsed into the door, holding onto it so he wouldn't fall over. Gaz grabbed hold of him before he collapsed over. He turned, nearly screaming, but Gaz covered his mouth. "Shh," she whispered.
She dragged his body outside and closed the door. She moved her hand away and looked at her brother, "So…now you know."
"He told you? When?" he muttered, his breath too quick for Gaz's liking.
"The first day he arrived. I swung a few punches for his stomach and he dodged each one. It didn't take long to realize…"
"Who? Who's is it?"
She went quiet. Dib turned away, biting his lips, "No, no, no, please God, no. Not again."
"That's why I've been trying to help him, Dib. He has nowhere else…no one else…" She looked up at her frantic brother, "He needs help, Dib."
Her brother turned to her. He shook his head, about to lose it completely. She grabbed hold of him and gave him a slap over the face. He looked back at her and gave a small nod, "Thanks."
"Any time," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"W-what are we going to do? I just…" he looked at her, hoping she would give him the answers…but she couldn't. She simply frowned, giving her brother a look of pity, "I don't know."
Cliff HANGER! DX What will Dib do next! What will happen to Zim? Why am I asking you these questions! Surely, I, the writer would know! Well, I do, and I will be updating real soon...so stay tuned...:o
Oh, and thank you for all the awesome reviews! Keep 'em coming :)
See you soon