FYI: This Story is A ZADR AU of The original Invader Zim TV Series that aired on nickelodeon where Zim is actually a well-respected and successful invader, who is loved by his leaders, and his people. He has a good disguise and fits in perfectly with the humans, and befriends Dib, and lives a double life while trying to keep his secret under wraps.

Zim is not short in this AU he is average human height. Also All characters are aged up for obvious reasons. So just think of invader Zim happening in high school instead of grade school. I wanted to write a story with a smart respected Zim, and give my readers a feel for what the series would have been like if Zim wasn't defective, and was actually appreciated for his loyalty, and tireless efforts. I also added a little ZADR twist because who doesn't like ZADR? Also, this is different from my Prince AU series. Zim is just a regular Irken in this story with no royal heritage.

Disclaimers: I do not own Invader Zim

Author's Notes: So I know it's been a while, but the wait is over! Here is Chapter 11 and all it's glory!

Please enjoy!

Chapter 11: Searching for You

(Back in the Amazon...)

He knew that he was obsessed…

But how could he not be?

Professor Dibson Membrane treaded through the thick undergrowth of the Amazon jungle with a strict look of determination across his face. He didn't bother hiring a guide this time around, he didn't see the need; besides after coming here off and on for nearly 15 years Professor Membrane knew this jungle like the back of his hand.

And that fact alone was why everyone kept telling him that he was wasting his time.

Part of him knew that they were right, that she was most likely gone forever. Some argued that she was abducted, others said she could have been easily attacked by some of the local predators in the area. Professor Membrane knew that the later was most likely, yes it was possible that none of this was alien related at all. However, Professor Membrane could not stop searching and it wasn't because of aliens.

No, all Professor Membrane wanted was to find his wife; safe and sound. How many times had he fantasied that this would all be just one big misunderstanding? How many scenarios had ran through his head that explained away everything?

Far too many to keep count.

'Maybe she fell and hit her head, lost her memory and is sipping tea in a little hut.' He thought as he slashed through some shrubs with his machete.

It wasn't the first time he had this thought, but he couldn't help it.

There had to be a reason, Annabel would not just leave them; she loved them.

Besides his wife had text him that day, the day she had disappeared he had gotten a text from her saying:

I love you, please find me.

Now if that wasn't a call for help then he didn't know what was.

Of course, he had tried to track the location of her phone, but by the time he managed to pull himself away from his work the text had been a week old, and her phone battery had been long since dead.

It was moments like this that caused him to curse his workaholic nature.

If he had looked at his phone right away then maybe he would have found her years ago, but instead he obsessed over the next big thing.

What kind of husband did that make him?

Not a very good one that was for sure.

Professor Membrane pointed his metal detector at the new patch of ground before him, hoping to pick up something of his wife's from within the clutter of leaves and fallen sticks. He knew anything she left behind like her phone or camera might have been picked up by some curious animal by now, but he had to try.

He had to find her.

It was the only thing he could think about.

Professor Membrane forced back tears as the device picked up nothing within the undergrowth. Every time he came out here he tortured himself, with the; what ifs, and this is all your fault.

Of course, it was his fault; Annabel had begged him to go with her, so that she could show him the importance of her work; and what he told her still burned in the back of his mind.

"I'm not going to waste my time chasing some fantasy…I have better things to do…more important things to do!"

How could he say that?

Fantasy or not, how could anything be more importance than his wife, and spending time with her?

It didn't matter if they had found something or not, they could have turned it into a romantic getaway for the two of them. But instead her blew her off, and made her come here alone.

He had to be the worse husband in the history of husbands!

A man like him did not deserve a woman as caring, and as kind as she.

Professor Membrane forced himself to press on, though his vision is hindered by the tears that are still slowly building in his eyes. It was easier to block his emotions when he was at work. Back at his lab, he could drown himself in equations, and formulas. He could forget about the pain; if only for the moment.

But at home he was constantly reminded of her.

Their son's passion for the supernatural, mirrored his mother's perfectly. And Gaz was almost a perfect copy of her when it came to their appearances. And seeing their children…it was just too painful, he couldn't look at them without feeling guilty.

Professor Membrane sniffled, at least he and Gazoline got along when he was home, Dib however, well he, and Dib never saw eye to eye. Of course that was his fault too! Professor Membrane shook his head scanning the ground some more; lost in thought. He didn't understand why Dib had to be so stubborn. He was only trying to protect his son, but the more he pushed his son towards real science, the more Dib fought towards the supernatural.

Of course, Annabel was the one who got him started, telling him bed time stories about space adventures, and aliens, and ghost. Gaz had been too young to remember, but Dib was especially smart, and at age two he could already spell his own name.

Of course, this had to do with the fact that Dib was not a normal child.

After they had wed Professor Membrane and Annabel had visited the family doctor in hopes of starting the road towards parenthood. It had been both of their dream to have children, sure they wanted one for different reasons. Annabel wanted children to love and nurture, and Dibson wanted a son to carry on his work someday, but their reasons did not matter. What did mater was the two of them being one big family, together with their children.

However, those dreams were crushed when the doctor informed them that their chances of having a child together was less than 1%.

Annabel was devastated, all she ever wanted was kids, so much so that their names had already been predetermined. So much so that sometimes she could hear the pitter patter of their little feet, and their playful laughter as they ran around their beloved home.

It was because of this that Professor Membrane was determined to make their dream a reality. It took a whole year, of constant research, and late night experimenting, but finally Dibson had managed to clone a newborn baby version of himself.

And on June 29, 2000 Dib breathed his first breath of life.

Finally the couple had their dream, and one year and three months later they got an unexpected surprise.

Annabel gave birth to a baby girl.

It turned out less than 1% was more than enough after all.

Of course this did create a problem of sorts…

How would Dib feel about being a clone?

Should they even tell him?

After much consideration, the couple decided to tell him when he turned 18.

Which was now nine months away...less than a year from now.

In less than a year his son would graduate High school, and turn 18, and if Professor Membrane didn't do something about it then his Senior graduation day may be the last time he ever saw his son at all! Professor Membrane had always hoped that he would have miraculously found his wife way before now, so that they could explain to Dib together as planned, but perhaps it was time to accept the facts.

Maybe Dark Booty was right, maybe it was time for him to let her go, and focus on Dib; after all the truth of his existence was bound to be a shocker for him. And he might get the wrong idea, about why his father was always so distant.

'He's right, I need to tell the kids the truth.' He realized. He stops and looks at the jungle around him, throwing the metal detector over his shoulder. "I'm sorry Annie." He whispered, as he finally let the tears flow. "But they need me more."

He swung around then, and began his journey back; knowing that she would understand.

However, he hadn't gone far before the metal detector went crazy, buzzing loudly.

Professor Membrane stopped, and turned to his left, holding the device straight in front of him, instead of at the ground. Odd, at this angle it would mean something metal was in the trunk of a tree. 'It's probably a bullet left behind from some illegal poaching.' He thought, and yet Dibson followed the device's signal, until it homed in on one tree.

He searched it's sides, looking for the tale tell sign of a bullet whole, but all he sees is a large hole in the trunk. He knows it's probably an abandon squirrel hole, however he reaches inside curiously, and to his surprise the familiar feeling of plastic welcomes him.

Professor Membrane pulls out a plastic bag and his heart stops as a familiar camera covered in valentine stickers caught his eyes. He opens the bag, and pulls out the silver cell phone with the cherry red phone cover, her cherry red phone cover!

"Annabel…" He choked through tears, allowing the salty beads of water to finally stream from his eyes.

He had found her.

After all these years he had finally found her.

Along with her camera and phone was a notebook, he knew this book well; this was Annabel's field journal, the one she used to document her supernatural findings.

Professor Membrane pulls it out, and flips through it, it's her hand writing, and Dibson can't help but whisper his praises to a god he had long since lost faith in. She was here, and now maybe with the help of this journal he could find out where she had gone.

Professor Membrane keeps looking, and finally he sees it, on the last page, dated 15 years ago; was a letter addressed to him.

My dearest Husband,

By the time you read this I will be long gone.

I know you will be angry when you find out why I had to leave, but I had to do this; not just for myself, but for the Earth as a whole. Today I met an Alien by the name of Sari, and the information that she has shared with me is most troubling.

Dibson, Sari comes from a race of robotic squids from a home she calls Zoran. They are on a mission to save the galaxy from an enemy known only to me as Irk. 50 years ago they hidden a weapon on our planet for safe keeping, since Earth was unknown to this Irk, but somehow the pieces had been moved on them, leaving them franticly snatching up whoever has seen them in hopes of assembling it.

That's what happened to my father Dibson, he knew where a piece was so they took him to help find it. However, once he was finished he chose to go back to Zoran to fight this Irk. And I know you might hate me for this, but I have chosen to do the same.

I have offered to help Sari find her piece of the weapon, then I will return with her to see my father. I know that this must sound like a selfish journey, but I must see him again, I need to see for myself why he left. I need to understand why this was so important to him.

I do this knowing that I may never return, but I must do this; If Irk really is as bad as Sari says then the lives of our children, and our planet are also at stake. I know you never believe any of this stuff, but I have proof, my camera has pictures of the robotic squids, please get them to my superiors at the Swollen Eye Ball along with this journal as soon as possible. I've left a number to get ahold of them in the margin below.

Please Dibson, it is very important that they get this information.

I'm sorry I wish I had more time, but Sari is in a hurry it find her piece of the weapon.

Please tell the kids I love them, and that I am doing this for them, so that they can look forward to a bright future, and not enslavement by an alien race.

I love you with all my heart.

Love,

Annabel.

Tears covered the page, smearing the phone number in the lower margin, but he didn't need it. Professor Membrane stuffed everything back into the plastic bag before pulling out his own phone. He dials a number, and three rings later there is an answer.

"Dibson?" Dark Booty's voice is laced with concern, it should be. "Dibson, is everything alright? You never call me when you're out there."

Professor Membrane is breathing heavily, trying to find his words.

"Dibson!" Dark Booty yelled.

"I found her…" Professor Membrane finally managed to say. He can literally hear Dark Booty's breath catch in surprise.

"Is she…" Dark Booty doesn't finished.

He doesn't need too.

"She's alive…" Professor Membrane gasped in relief. "She's alive!"

"Oh thank goodness." Dark Booty sounds equally relieved. "Can I speak to her?"

"No, she's not here, not anymore." Professor Membrane explained. "But I have her research, and it's urgent."

"She found something?" Dark Booty asked.

"She says so, and if she's right then things just got a whole lot more complicated." Professor Membrane rasped.

"Okay, I'm booking you on the next flight, it's leaving tonight." Dark Booty informed him. "How quickly can you get to the airport?"

"I'm already on my way." Professor Membrane stated, and with a tap of his rocket boots, he flies up into the sky, and back towards civilization. He's deep in thought, emotions running through his mind.

If he was still the old him, the one that didn't believe in aliens he would have indeed been angry, however, a trip to area 51 had silenced his doubts a long time ago. The secret base was full of alien space ships, and the dead remains of their pilots.

No, he wasn't angry, how could he be angry at her for leaving to find her father when he had been doing the same thing for her all this time? For 15 years he had put everything aside to find her, only making appearances at work when absolutely necessary. He even put their own children's needs on a back burner in the hopes of finding her.

Well no more!

No, Dibson had finished his mission, he had found his wife, and now that he knew she was safe it was time to tell their children the truth.

But would they want to hear it?

How would Dib feel when he found out that his father worked for the same secret organization?

That his father had been lying to him for 15 years, telling him Aliens weren't real when he knew they were?

That his mother was dead, when really she was alive and had worked for the Swollen Eye Ball as well.

That she was now on some distant world fighting an evil alien Race?

Would he even be able to look at him?

"Dibson you still there?" Dark Booty asked.

It was only then that Professor Membrane remembered he was still holding the phone to his ear. "I think it's time." He said.

"Time?" Dark Booty asked.

"Yes." Professor Membrane said. "It's time that we introduced Dib to the rest his brothers and sisters of the Swollen Eye Ball."

"All of them?" Dark Booty asked, obviously stunned.

"Yes." Professor Membrane confirmed. "It's time that I told him the truth."

"I'm proud of you." Dark Booty said, he could hear the man's smile in his voice. "It takes a real man to admit he was wrong."

Professor Membrane can only nod as he forces his rocket boots to send him even faster towards his destination. "I have to go." He told him. "I'll be there tomorrow night, make sure my son is waiting for me at HQ."

"Will do." Dark Booty answered.

Professor Membrane hung up the phone, this was it; he was going to tell Dib everything.

"Oh Annie, give me the strength to see this through." He whispered. "Please, help me do this right…for once let me get this right."

With those final words he continued on his way, hoping to whoever was listening that this upcoming conversation with his son wouldn't be their last.

Notes:

Well that's all for now guys, I really hope it was worth the wait.

Thanks for reading as always I ask you to leave a comment.

The next chapter will be up soon

So until then...

This is Emily signing off :)