Author Notes: Hey, heads up! This chapter is a little over 10k and a lot of stuff goes down! Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Everything from this morning was a great blurry haze. She was vaguely aware of convincing her mom to let her go to skool. She sorta remembered talking with Dib about...something? Then Zim showed up and said the 'P' word.

Kailah blacked out for a bit after that..

She sorta remembered meeting an adorable puppy...or maybe that was a dream? She could have sworn it was green and...able to...talk? Yeah, that must have been a dream.

A spaceship? Maybe…

Dib and Zim talking; muffled and unclear what about.

Chomp's constant worry, anxiety, guilt. Kailah trying to reassure them that she was fine.

Then, slowly, things became clearer. Her mind began to focus. She didn't feel as exhausted. An overwhelming sense of hunger had begun to replace her exhaustion. A pounding headache joining in as the numbness lifted away.

She wasn't fine.

"Hey." Dib had said in a casual tone next to her as she stirred.

Kailah regained consciousness and focus and realized the spaceship wasn't a dream! She exchanged large, childish grins-and excitedly geeked out about being in a real alien spaceship-with Dib.

She directed Zim towards Chomp.

She devoured her lunch in record time, but that only made a tiny dent in her strange ravenous hunger. The heachache persisted as a dull throb. She must have knocked it somehow at some point? Most of the morning was still a huge blur.

She gave a heartfelt apology to Zim, which she hoped he accepted-though she couldn't be certain, he looked more angry than anything else.

She also thanked him for his help, but that didn't seem to soften his mood at all.

Chomp made the connection of the frog and the pot. Kailah explained it to Zim and Dib.

Then they were there. Where Chomp was. And the ship was landing. And Kailah was falling over herself to get out and reunite with her Bondmate.

And then they were hugging.

"I am so sorry." Kailah whispered as she hugged them tightly. Finally starting to feel like herself again.

Don't you dare! They hugged her fiercely, careful not to poke her with their claws, but not willing to let her go anytime soon. So many emotions mixed together, building and fighting each other confusingly. Anger at themselves for leaving. Guilt. Worry. Anxiety. Sorrow. Despair at the thought of 'What if…'. Love. The need to protect. Guilt. The need to protect. Forgiveness. No, it's not ok. Yes it is. No, it's not. Yes it is.

Repeating, spiraling, swelling, arguing. Like an angry snowstorm, everything blowing in every which way, blinding, buffering, and all consuming.

Kailah felt like her chest was going to implode with all the conflicting emotions as her stomach demanded more food, and her head continued it's consistent pounding. When was the last time she drank? Chocolate milk just a few minutes ago, chocolate milk for lunch yesterday, milk with cereal for breakfast before that...soda with dinner the day before...she was probably pretty dehydrated on top of everything else.

Oops.

She was also vaguely aware of a wetness on her cheeks as she tried so hard to convince Chomp that she was okay, she was safe now, she was unharmed, everything was okay now, they were together again. They were okay.

And they fought back with each thought; you almost died, I almost killed you, you almost died, I would have been the reason for your death, my fault. My fault. My fault. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

"It's okay," She whispered, rubbing a hand soothingly down their feathered back as they shook with shaky breaths, their tears spilling from her eyes. "You didn't know. We didn't know. I was a frog in a pot. It happened too slowly for either of us to recognize the danger. But it's okay now, it's okay now. I'm safe. You're safe. We're together. We're okay, we're okay, we're okay." She whispered soothingly.

After several moments, Chomp finally allowed Kailah's calming attempts to reach them. She was okay, they were okay, the two of them were okay and together again. Chomp lifted their head slightly and turned their gaze towards Zim and Dib. Zim was still in the ship, arms crossed and face impatient. Dib was standing just outside the ship, mouth open and eyes sparkling with excitement and shock as he watched Kailah.

"He can?" Kailah asked as the two of them finally broke the hug. She stood to her feet (only swaying the smallest bit in her semi concussed state) then turned to face the ship and the two boys.

Pretty sure he can. Just look at his face. Chomp thought, slight amusement sneaking in past all their anxiety and guilt as they stood to their full height behind her.

"Hey," Kailah called, a ghost of a smile lightly touching her lips as she wiped her face dry with her hoodie sleeve. "Chomp just wants to say thank you." She started walking back towards the ship, her Bondmate a half step behind her. "We really cannot express how grateful we are, to both of you. For everything."

Zim huffed and looked away, arms folding tighter against his chest.

Dib shuffled his feet awkwardly and mumbled under his breath, "Of course…that's what friends are supposed to do...right?" Though his eyes never seemed to leave Chomp, watching their every movement with fascination.

Kailah gave him a grateful-albeit tired-smile.

Chomp lightly brushed their muzzle against her shoulder, a question softly passing into her mind. She turned and looked up at Zim and cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Zim?" She tried after he refused to look her way with the throat clearing. "I know it's a lot to ask, but-" His head suddenly whipped around towards her and he glared icily. Chomp nudged her gently again, to encourage her, and she cleared her dry throat and tried again in a small voice. "Again, we truly are grateful for your help. And really really sorry for attacking you yesterday. We were uh...just wondering if, maybe…" Zim narrowed his eyes further, causing her voice to grow quieter. "Maybe you could-"

"WHAT?!" Zim suddenly shouted, making her jump and tense.

Kailah stuttered for a moment, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"WHAT?!" Zim shouted again, leaning forward. "WHAT?!"

I...Chomp blinked. don't think he can hear you...The thought came through after a second, with a startled hint of amusement.

Kailah blinked and honestly would have laughed, if she hadn't been having such a stressful day. She tried again, louder. "Could you take us the rest of the way to the Loughran's pod?"

"And why should I?" Zim challenged, his voice a normal volume again as he stood up straight and tall above them in the ship, he placed both claws on the console in front of him and looked down at the three of them with an air of superiority.

Kailah glanced at Chomp, they met her gaze then glanced at Dib (who had been slowly inching closer to them and froze when his eyes met theirs). Kailah returned her attention back up to Zim.

Thoughts? She asked, slighting tilting her head to the left as she watched Zim.

Hard to say...I mean, we're not exactly his favorite people. They tilted their head to the left-curiously as they watched Dib, who seemed content to just stare back.

Then why'd he agree to help in the first place?

Chomp shrugged, their wings fluffing slightly, as they turned their head back towards Zim. He came into the classroom, demanding my location. He probably agreed to bring you out here because he has...some reason to find me?

Kailah straightened her head and looked at Chomp with furrowed eyebrows and a small frown. Chomp mentally replayed that morning's interactions in fast forward, helping her remember what she was too exhausted to actually pay attention to: Zim storming in and demanding the Loughran's location, Dib offering a pinkie promise as a way to tag along, and helped save her life by reuniting the two Bondmates.

What do you think he wants with you? She thought. Do you think-

"STOP THAT!" Zim launched out of the ship in a single bound and landed heavily in front of Kailah, leaning uncomfortably close to her face (and seemingly trying to take advantage of the whole three inches he had on her, judging by the way he was trying to tower over her by standing on his tip toes) while snarling. "Stop that infernal mental talk! Tell Zim what that parasite is saying!"

Kailah's face hardened into an unreadable mask before she held up a calming hand towards Chomp. She leaned away from Zim slightly but refused to take a step back.

Don't. She mentally warned. She glanced over at her Bondmate, they had their teeth bared and feathers all standing on end as they flexed their wingclaws and took a threatening step towards Zim, the large claw on each foot held high and sharp. They paused but didn't relax their stance.

Kailah turned her gaze back to Zim, forcing her face to stay blank and calm as anger bubbled beneath the surface.

Dib stood awkwardly in the background, the Loughran in between him and the other two. He noticed Kailah's warning hand and oddly calm face as she held Zim's stare, and how Chomp seemed to pause and watch; which was the main reason he wasn't interfering himself.

"Zim," Kailah said calmly, in contrast to Zim's angry glare. "Our conversation is between us. I am under no obligation to tell you anything that my Bondmate says."

"Did you not just admit that Zim saved your useless and pitiful life! You owe Zim!" His lips curled back to reveal his oddly wavy teeth. Kailah glanced at them curiously, for a split second her mind scanned through several animal species-trying and failing to find a match to those weird teeth in the animal kingdom. She forced herself to focus back on Zim's odd fake purple contacted eyes.

"I already thanked you for that." Kailah pointed out while she loosely crossed her arms as a way to create a bit of a barrier between them. Still refusing to take a step back, even though she could feel his breath on her face. She was a little surprised that it felt slightly warm and dry, like a desert breeze, and didn't seem to have a scent.

"Zim flew you all the way out here! In the MIDDLE of NOWHERE!" His arms flew up to emphasize the trees all around them and he took a half step closer.

"Yes. Thank you for that." She continued in her calm matter-of-fact voice, still refusing to take a step back. "But that doesn't give you a right to a private conversation." She could feel Chomp relax a little behind her, as they began to understand her plan. They were still poised to jump though, if Zim dared try anything.

Zim let out a menacing growl, then made several strange clicking and gurgling noises as he threw his hands over his head. He took a few steps back and bent over, gripping at his wig in frustration. He looked like he was mentally screaming as he let out a long, low, soft hiss. He suddenly stood up straight, his face a smug mask as he held up his littlest finger.

Kailah glanced at it then met his eyes again, raising an eyebrow. A little startled by the sudden change in mood.

"Zim will bring you to the pod. If you translate everything that the Loughran says." His eyes narrowed with a smug smirk. "Deal?"

Years of keeping a blank face while having a mental conversation with an invisible alien had prepared Kailah for this very moment. Instead of a triumphant grin, or a smug smirk of her own, or even a small laugh, her face was perfectly free of all emotion, not even a twitch.

Maybe she should learn how to play poker?

"Hmm," She hummed thoughtfully, as if she was really having to think about it. Kailah glanced over at Chomp, who had picked up on her plan several moments ago and already had their own face looking bored with half lidded eyes as they pretended not to look at Zim. Dib stood just behind them, an eyebrow raised as he tried to determine where exactly this conversation was going.

Kailah looked back at Zim, folding her arms just a little tighter as she held his gaze. "How about, you take all of us"-She swept one hand in a sideways arch to include Dib before crossing it again-"to the pod-safely-then, when Chomp is finished with what they need to do. You take all of us back home...safely. And, in return, I'll translate some of the stuff Chomp says." She held up a finger as Zim opened his mouth to interrupt her, "I say some, because if I were to relay everything, you'd literally hear every single thought, like:"-She took on a mocking tone, about two octaves lower than her normal speaking voice, and spoke rapidly-"I can't believe it! Two and a half days is way too long to go without drinking water! That was so irresponsible of you! I can't believe I didn't catch that soon. First chance we get I'm going to force you to drink a glass. That's why your head's pounding so much! Though, I'm pretty sure you hit it when you fainted earlier...I really hope you didn't get a concussion. This is all my fault. And why are you so hungry right now? It's only been a day since your last meal, but it feels like it's been almost a week! I hope that isn't because of what I did; leaving you like that...Oh, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault! I almost killed you...I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened. I-..." She squeaked in surprise and jumped slightly as she felt something poke her lower back.

Chomp and Kailah's heads both snapped around in erie unison to stare at Dib in bewilderment. Zim squinted one eye at the sudden shift (though really, he was about two words of that monologue away from screaming SILENCE).

Dib froze, his hand touching the feathers on Chomp's back. He withdrew his hand quickly-as if it suddenly caught fire-his ears and cheeks started glowing red.

Kailah blinked at him, startled for a moment, then burst out laughing. The look on his face! He looked so horrified and embarrassed at the same time! And his face was suddenly so red! She almost doubled over laughing.

Her laughter seemed to make his face change from a horrified/embarrassed look to a horrified/enraged/offended/sad look, and that quickly made her reign in the laughter as she realized he didn't find it funny at all, and she'd just hurt his feelings.

"Sorry," She gave him what she hoped was a friendly and apologetic grin, trying her best to suppress the giggles. She glanced at Chomp for a moment-who nodded-then she nodded at Dib. "It's okay, you just caught us off guard. But Chomp says you can touch them if you want, just ask next time, dude." She let out an amused chuckle and grinned at him.

Dib muttered something under his breath and looked down at his feet, his face somehow even more red as he stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. Kailah didn't quite catch what he said, but she turned back to Zim and cleared her throat, trying to put on a serious face again.

"Yeah, So," She said, trying to get back on track. "I'll translate some of Chomp's thoughts, if you take us all to the pod safely, then back home safely before nightfall." She casually held up her pinkie. "Dea-?"

Zim roughly gripped her pinkie with his gloved digit and grinned with all his teeth. "Deal."

He let go, and Kailah couldn't help the feel of goosebumps running all along her body as her arm fell limply to her side. Why did that grin make her think she just made a deal with the devil?

Zim turned a sharp about-face then marched back towards his ship, climbing into the cockpit in one smooth practiced motion.

Kailah rubbed at one arm through her hoodie sleeve absentmindedly, trying to smooth her skin as she turned towards Dib. The boy still looked fully embarrassed and refused to look up from his shoes, his hands buried deep in his trench coat pockets as he seemed to be sulking in his own thoughts. I think I may have hurt his feelings...laughing at him like that. She thought guiltily.

Honestly, he shouldn't have tried to touch me without asking some sort of permission. It's rude, especially when you were in the middle of negotiations.

Yeah...but still. Kailah walked around Chomp and tilted her head slightly at Dib. When he didn't give any indication that he knew she was there, she lightly kicked the toe of his shoe with her own.

Keeping his head down and shoulders hunched, Dib looked up, peering at Kailah over top of his glasses, he didn't look like he wanted to talk to her. She gave him a half smile.

"Come on, Zim's gonna take us the rest of the way to the pod. Plenty of exciting alien drama; mysteries to be solved. We'll get to ride in a spaceship again." She turned so she was standing shoulder to shoulder with him, then nudged his playfully with her own. He turned his whole head to look away from her. "I promise we're not mad at you or anything…" She said in a soft voice, his shoulders tensed more and he scowled at the trees to the left of the clearing. "I'm sorry I laughed...your face was just-...super hilarious." She said in an apologetic voice, then sighed softly when his scowl deepened. That definitely wasn't the right thing to say.

"Well!?" Zim shouted from the ship. "Let's get this over with! Zim has things I need to do today!"

Kailah glanced over at the ship and gave Zim a casual shrug before turning back to Dib, tilting her head apologetically at him.

Ask him to sulk in the ship, please. I really want to get going. Chomp thought, shifting their weight from foot to foot.

He's not used to...She searched for the right words. He's not used to having friends. He's used to being ignored, bullied, or worse. He probably doesn't understand friendly teasing. I think he might be just as mad at himself for putting himself in that position, as he is at me for laughing at him. I don't think he actually knows how to come back from this, so he's put up a wall and froze. She met Chomp's eyes. We just have to show him that it was a simple misunderstanding, and no hard feelings.

Yes, great, but can we do that from inside Zim's ship? Now that you're safe, there is the more urgent matter of finding out about the rest of my kind...we can deal with Dib's feelings on the way. A small sense of urgency passed through the Bond and tugged at her, urging her to keep moving, to deal with this later.

"Zim demands to know WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG!"

Kailah opened her mouth to tell Zim to have some patience, when Dib suddenly turned and walked towards the ship, cutting in front of her to do so. He silently climbed in and sat with his arms crossed, eyes burning into a random spot on the console.

Chomp walked up beside Kailah, a sense of impatience wafting from them as they placed their head on her shoulder. She sighed, feeling bad for Dib but agreeing they should get moving. She reached one arm up and gently cupped the side of her Bondmate's muzzle. She waited as Chomp changed their form into something smaller, something that would easily fit in the cramped ship. Their form darkened and blurred as they shifted, their body shrinking and coiling loosely around her neck as they took the shape of a large Ball Python-draped like a scarf over her shoulders-looping twice.

Kailah then made her way back to the ship, once Chomp was settled around her neck, and climbed in.

Before she was even seated, Zim was tapping away at the console. The windshield swooshed closed with a loud snick and the ship quickly started to rise. Kailah was forced into the seat thanks to the unexpected upwards motion, and Chomp rubbed their little snake head against her chin soothingly to keep her from yelling at Zim.

"Well," Zim snapped impatiently once the ship was well above the woods and hovering for several seconds. "Which way is this pod."

"East," Kailah said, unsure exactly which direction that was now, seeing that she no longer had Chomp as a homing beacon. "Uh...we should start to recognize the area as we get closer. Once we have an idea of where we are, Chomp is pretty confident that they can find their way back to where they left the pod."

Zim tapped away at the console then grabbed the yoke and started flying east.

Dib was such an idiot!

Why did he think it would be okay to just reach out and touch the invisible shapeshifting telepathic space alien!?

Of course it was a stupid thing to do!

Of course Chomp and Kailah would notice.

...of course Kailah would laugh at him…

She laughed at him. She didn't laugh with him. Or at the situation. She laughed at him.

She immediately stopped and apologized when she saw I didn't find it funny. No. That didn't matter. She had still laughed. She had still mocked. She even admitted to him, after the fact, that she was laughing at the look on his face. The horrified, embarrassed, terrified look of regret that was all over his face as he realized exactly what he'd just done.

The stupid, idiotic, moronic thing he'd just done.

She laughed at him. Just like all the other kids always laughed at him. She laughed in his mortified face.

She seemed genuinely sorry though...when she was standing next to me; nudging and speaking in that soft apologetic voice. Just an act. Dib was certain. Just cause she's been friendly towards him and shown in the past that she was capable of sudden mood swings, didn't mean that apology was real. She probably was just trying to lower his guard again so she could laugh more later.

Dib glanced to his right, Kailah was sitting there, looking out the window casually; watching the landscape pass by underneath. The snake shaped Loughran was watching him with unblinking and unreadable cold eyes.

Dib narrowed his eyes at them, feeling his frown deepen and his chest tighten. His eyes were starting to feel dry and irritated with the strain of his glasses. He turned his head away with a soft 'humph' and reached up to turn them off. How long was he supposed to leave them off after the thirty minute time limit?

He pushed the thought away, he'll deal with that later. He looked to his left to watch Zim drive, his earlier enthusiasm and excitement about being in a real alien spaceship was completely soured now. The alien had both gloved claws on the yoke and seemed to be watching a display on the console-where alien writing was scrolling by quickly. He reached over and tapped a few buttons, the words disappearing, then returned his grip to the yoke and looked out the windshield.

Dib was too deep in his sulk funk to even find the energy needed to spare to try to work out what that could have been about.

Why had he been so stupid? He looked down at his hands in his lap, flexing his fingers. Chomp had felt really soft...the feathers were so fluffy, and a little warm, they felt so real under his touch. And they were visible with his new glasses, which means they really were just invisible and not some alien ghost thing. Dib let out a breath and tried to subtly steal another sideways glance at Kailah.

...She had stopped laughing pretty quickly when she realized the sound was crushing his soul...then she'd come over and apologized, sounding like she really meant it. Maybe…

Maybe Dib was being extra stupid? Not just for touching Chomp without permission, but, also, for being this upset over being laughed at?

He looked back down at his hands and took a slow breath in. Maybe he should-

"Oh! Hello little friend!" it was said in the same tone of voice as someone who found an unexpected cat while walking down the street.

Dib looked over confused, Kailah was bent down, picking something up off the floor.

No.

She had this honest-to-goodness affectionate look on her face as panic rose up in Dib's chest.

"Look who I found!" She turned her smile to him as her hand moved in an arch towards his face.

NO!

Dib panicked and freaked out, completely forgetting where he was, he tried to jump to his feet and away from the dull gray spider in her open hand.

He slammed his full weight into Zim.

And then, the whole world seemed to spiral out of control.

The alien ship must have done fifteen barrel rolls in the span of two seconds.

Dib heard several loud screams...he was pretty certain he was one of them. He felt like he was going to throw up then pass out with the sudden G-force spinning them around.

THWACK!

The ship was now rapidly spinning head over tail.

THWACK!

They were spinning in a very disorienting diagonal. Still screaming.

thwick-thwick-thwick-thwick-thwickthwickthwickthwick-THWACK!

Dib was thrown into the windshield with Kailah and Zim as the ship suddenly came to a jarring halt.

Dib groaned in pain, hearing the sentiment mimicked by the other two on either side of him. He slowly opened his eyes and realized he'd lost his glasses at some point during all of that. Dib squinted, his face was pressed against the windshield and he could see ground below them, taking up his whole vision. He moved his head to check on the others.

Zim was hissing and clicking angrily, half pinned under Dib. Kailah looked dazed, her hands cupped protectively together against her chest as she seemed to be sitting upside down next to him. Or was he the one upside down? He honestly couldn't tell, he was pretty certain he'd hit his head several times during the crash.

Oh...Oops.

Dib winced as he realized he just caused them to crash the ship in the middle of who knows where.

STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!

Movement caught his attention, he looked back over at Zim, squinting to focus on what the alien was doing.

It looked like he was reaching towards the dashboard?

The four of them were unceremoniously dumped out of the ship as Zim pressed a button and the windshield flew open.

Thankfully, the ground was less than five feet below them.

Still, it was not a soft landing.

"Ow..." Dib muttered as he landed painfully on his side. He could hear Kailah let out a soft whimper next to him as she laid on her back.

"WHAT ON IRK WAS THAT!" Zim was on his feet, standing over the two pre-teens, seemingly uninjured as his face flushed a lovely darker green, with what Dib could only assume was pure rage.

"Uh…" Dib squinted up at him, wait...was Zim bald? No, wait, he seemed to have two black strips of hair running parallel on his head?! What? Dib blinked, feeling dazed.

"I am so sorry!" Kailah was struggling to sit up, her hands still cupped in front of her. "I...yes, Chomp, this was totally my fault!" She was looking at her shoulder sternly, then winced. "I am, I am." She muttered, lowering her hands to the ground and opening them. The blurry blob of a spider scurried out of her hands and started running in erratic zigzags away from her.

Dib quickly pushed himself into a sitting position and crawled backwards in panic, trying to keep his distance from it at it scurried into the underbrush. Dib backed up right into Zim's legs.

Zim very roughly, rudely, and painfully kicked Dib away from him.

"Ow! Hey!" Dib struggled to his feet, hugging his ribs with one arm. "What was that for?!" He glared at the blurry alien.

"YOU ARE THE REASON WE CRASHED!" Zim screeched in a very painful high pitched voice. "YOU STUPID SMELLY HYUMAN! WITH YOUR GINORMOUS OVERGROWN HEAD! YOU SLAMMED INTO THE MIGHTY ZIM(!) AND MADE US CRASH"

Dib grimaced and covered his ears at the shouting. He opened his mouth and shouted back: "IT WASN'T MY FAULT! AND MY HEAD'S NOT THAT BIG!" he was also very tempted to just punch the screaming alien in the face to make him shut up.

"Your head is the BIGGEST Zim has ever seen! Zim is amazed it was even able to fit inside the Voot!" Zim was suddenly standing close enough that Dib didn't have to squint to see him without his glasses. Oh! Neat! The part of Dib's brain that had no self preservation suddenly shouted; Zim wasn't mostly bald with weird parallel strips of hair, those were antennae!

And the way they were pinned to Zims head, and that darker shade of green on his face...oh...oh boy, he was really mad.

A hand gently, yet firmly, gripped Dib's shoulder. A second hand found its way onto Zim's.

"Alright. Hey! Enough of that." Kailah said, pulling the two apart and standing between them, her hands hovering in front of their chests. Dib glanced down at her hand and noticed three angry looking red welts developing on her palm.

How'd that…? Oh right...ouch. He remembered her releasing the spider after the crash. Dib shivered as his skin started to feel like dozens of insects were crawling all over him, had that spider been in the ship the whole time?! How many more were there? He hopped back a few steps and started whacking his hands over his arms and his back to try and get rid of the phantom bugs crawling all over him.

"What are you doing hyuman." Zim snarled in disgust.

"Never mind that." Kailah turned her full attention to Zim, "How quickly do you think you can get your ship running again?"

Dib took his trench coat off and started to violently shake it out.

"Eh?!" Zim glared at her then his gaze slowly slid towards his Voot. His anger seemed to momentarily dissipate as he surveyed the damage with a calculating eye. The ship was wedged very tightly between two large oaks and it didn't look like it would be easy to unstick. Zim marched around to the other side.

Flirk! Engine Number Two was almost completely disconnected! The only thing holding it on to the rest of the ship were two thick cables, everything else was severed! Zim gritted his teeth, flirking hyuman!

The other three engines still seemed mostly intact-albeit Engine Number Four was dented a little too much for comfort, it would still carry the ship. Number Two was the main problem. And Zim didn't have any of his tools or spare parts! And they were too far from the base for him to radio GIR with his PAK...and yeah, he could call the little robot using the ship's computer, but it would take GIR way too long to come get him...actually, GIR's own fuel reserves would probably run out before it could fly all the way out here. Flirk.

"Well?" the host-girl asked, her tone more worried curiosity than impatient. Zim looked down and saw her looking at him from underneath the other side of the Voot, the Loughran still wrapped around her neck.

Zim sighed and ran his claws over his antennae...wait...FLIRK! WHERE WAS HIS WIG?!

"Don't look at Zim!" His PAK legs exploded out and quickly carried him up into the Voot as he started digging around the mess inside for his wig.

The host-girl let out a soft hum in agreement then snorted in amusement, giving the Loughran a smug smirk.

"What!" Zim demanded, glaring down at the two of them, his claws slamming down on the edge of the Voot's opening, antennae still pinned back in anger. "Zim demands you translate that parasite's words! Or Zim gets your pinky!"

The host-girl had the audacity to roll her eyes! At Zim!

"Okay," She said, looking up at him and holding up her pointer finger. "One: They are not a parasite. Two," She held up a second finger, "Technically you crashed, thus the whole "take us to the Pod, then home, safely" part of the deal has been broken...so uh, I should be taking your pinkie-"

"LIES! The crash was the Dib-stink's fault! Not Zim's!"

"THIRD!" the host-girl said, trying to talk over him. "Chomp said 'took him long enough to realize'."

Zim glared daggers at the black and brown meaty rope coiled around the host-girl's neck. He could have sworn he saw smug mockingness in its little beady eyes. If he hadn't gotten a direct order from his Tallest not to kill it, only to observe, Zim would definitely do...something violent...to get his revenge for that parasite mocking him!

The host-girl and her pest seemed unconcerned with Zim's glares. She turned away from Zim and started talking to the Dib-stink, though Zim noticed that the Loughran kept its beady, unblinking eyes on Zim as he went back to looking for his wig.

"Dib?" Kailah asked. "How are you doing?"

"...fine." He mumbled, squinting at the woods around them.

"I'm sorry." She took a few steps towards him, her head tilting slightly in sympathy and apology. "I didn't realize you were scared of spiders, I never would have held it towards you if I'd known."

"I-I'm not afraid of spiders!" Dib protested, his voice going an octave too high to be believable. "You...you just caught me off guard! That's all!"

Heh, yeah right. He was more afraid of that tiny thing than the girls at our old skool were of yellow jackets.

Shh, be nice. Kailah thought back, playfully scolding.

Why should I? Chomp replied, not nearly as friendly. Thanks to his overreaction we're stranded in the middle of the woods with no food, no shelter, and no way to the pod or home. Plus it's a miracle none of us were seriously injured in that crash! We could have died!

But we didn't. Kailah pointed out as she reached up to stroke the snake's scales-they were smooth and warm to the touch-she sent calming thoughts through the Bond with each gentle pat.

Dib turned his squinting gaze towards her. "What are they saying?" He asked in a softer voice.

"They're just grumpy about this whole situation." She responded, then started gently uncoiling the salty snake from her shoulders. "Are you okay?" She asked him again.

"Yeah?" Dib answered, a small shrug. "Nothing's broken, just a lot of bruises I'm sure."

Kailah nodded and knelt to place the Loughran onto the ground. "Same." She stood back up slowly and frowned at her palm. "Mostly." She lowered her hand back to her side, her fingers already starting to feel a little too stiff to bend. "Though, I think I hit my head about three times more than I would have prefered, which just adds to this killer headache I have." She said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Sorry," Dib sighed, the same repeating cycle of Dib you're such an idiot! picking back up in the back of his head. If he hadn't been so angry at himself for getting so angry and embarrassed over Kailah laughing at him, then he probably wouldn't have freaked out so much as that spider moved towards his face (he shivered at the memory of the arachnide moving in way too close way too fast). If he hadn't panicked, then they wouldn't have crashed.

"It's my fault." Dib looked up as Kailah spoke. "I wasn't thinking straight," She explained, "I momentarily forgot that most people either hate-or are afraid of spiders...and such." She paused, and Dib wasn't sure if she was thinking or listening. "I think I may have a slight concussion." She confided as she gave a small sad, awkward sounding laugh.

"Ouch." It was all he could think to say. What could he say?

"Get out of Zim's ship!" The green skinned alien was shaking his fist in the air, still wigless.

Dib looked over and squinted harder, he saw something small floating in the air. It was moving right towards him?

Dib watched in confusion as the small blurry thing moved closer at a quick walking speed.

His glasses paused and hovered midair in front of him.

"Oh!" Dib reached up and took them. "Thanks!" He smiled awkwardly at the air before looking down at his glasses and frowned. How was he supposed to explain this to his dad!? The left lense had a huge jagged Y crack, Dib put the glasses on and let out a disappointed groan. Of course the frames were bent too!

"Sorry." Kailah said in sympathy.

"It's not your fault." Dib muttered, he tried turning on HD mode and instantly regretted it. With the left lense cracked, only the right one changed settings and the disorientation of seeing normally out of one eye and super high ultra definition with the other made him extremely nauseous. He quickly turned the setting off. At least they still worked as normal glasses...

Even if he had to push them up his nose every three seconds. It was still better than constantly squinting.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Kailah was giving him a curious look.

Dib waved his hand vaguely as he waited for the feeling of nausea to pass. Though, even with his stomach roiling, he couldn't help but notice her concern. "I'm fine. Glasses are just busted, I'll have to fix them later."

"I'm so-"

"It's not your fa-"

"Still…"

There was an awkward silence. Dib pushed his glasses up his nose.

Kailah looked to a spot beside her and shrugged, sighed, then looked towards Zim.

Their pilot had found his helmet-of-a-wig and was straightening it on his head. He double checked that it was on correctly in the reflection of the ship's console then started smoothing out his tunic until he felt presentable again.

"E.T.A?" Kailah called out casually.

"EH?" Zim leaned forward, one eye glaring.

"Estimated Time for how long it will take to get the ship flying again." Kailah offered in a rather friendly tone considering the situation.

"Eh…" Four long and thin metal legs suddenly sprouted from Zim's PAK. The alien used them to climb around the outside of the ship towards the busted engine. (Dib shivered as he noticed how much it resembled a spider checking on it's web). "Give Zim...four Urth hours."

"Four?!" Kailah quickly approached the wreckage, circling around it to look up at Zim. "You can't be serious!"

"What do you expect stoooopid hyuman! Zim only has the tools in my PAK! We are in the middle of a...fffffilthy! Disgusting! Ugh, revolting! Primitive Urth forest!" Zim waved his arms around to emphasize the lack of technology around them.

"Yeah, but still! Four hours?!" She looked towards Dib, desperation, anxiety, and a hint of panic in everything from her body language to her breathing.

"He," Dib hesitated, pushing up his glasses as he tried to find the right words. "He has a point...we're in the middle of nowhere." He glanced around the woods then back at the ship. "Four hours seems pretty reasonable considering how bad that engine looks."

Kailah ran her hands through her hair, pulling at it, her eyes darting around the woods nervously. She paused, nodded, then closed her eyes. Her hand loosened as she took a deep breath in. Then her hands moved forward to her face and she did that stress-relief-rubbing-thing that Dib was really starting to think was a strong habit of hers. She slowly let the breath out and lowered her hands. She nodded again and opened her eyes, looking down at her spider bitten hand with a hint of a sour expression.

One of Zim's PAK legs changed into a welder's flame, the noise catching Dib's attention as it started poking at the engine.

Kailah walked back towards Dib, eyes on the ground. Dib turned his attention back to her with a half frown, pushing his hands into his pockets.

She paused a few feet from him and kicked at a loose branch, then pushed a few leaves around with her foot before she sat down with a huff. After a moment, Dib took his hands out of his pockets and sat where he stood, watching as she methodically started to tear up a leaf.

"You can try," She mumbled with a shrug, her eyes still on the leaf as she worked on it. "I doubt you'll spot anything close though."

Based on the volume and lack of eye contact, he figured she was talking to Chomp. So, Dib started drumming on his knees, unsure what else to do with his hands as he listened and watched her.

"Stiff, but I'll be fine. It was only a house spider, I'm pretty sure they're not venomous." She paused. "Yeah I'll ask." She lowered the leaf and looked up at Dib, raising her voice slightly. "Do you think you have any water?"

"Water?" Dib paused in his drumming and looked toward the ship thoughtfully, pushing his glasses up. "Technically, I do...yeah."

"Technically?" Kailah gave him a very confused look.

Dib shrugged awkwardly and rocked slightly. "It's uh...holy water." Why did he feel embarrassed to admit that?

Kailah glanced to her right then back at him. "Like...from the basin in a church?" Did she look like she wanted to laugh again? It definitely looked like the corner of her lip was twitching a little as her eyebrows came together in confusion. Like she was amused and confused at the same time.

Dib forced himself to look away and started drumming softly again. "No." he hesitated. "I uh...bought a 36 pack from the store and...had the local priest bless them all." He cringed inwardly and used his glasses as an excuse to cover his face for a moment. Why was he finding it so hard to admit this? He had been so proud of the idea when he thought of it! He had even bragged about it on all the cryptid forums he followed. He never would have hesitated admitting this to anyone else...was it cause he actually cared what she thought? He definitely didn't want her laughing at him again.

She didn't say anything. Dib didn't want to see whatever emotion may have been on her face.

"Oh!" Kailah said triumphantly. Dib jumped in surprise at the sudden noise and looked at her. She was grinning in a friendly way. "For vampires and stuff, right?" She laughed a little, "Took me a moment, but that's clever!"

"You-you think so?" Dib rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling modest.

"Yeah!" She looked to her right, "Hm?" She paused. "Oh, right." she scratched her nose and gave the air a small, awkward and apologetic smile before looking back at Dib. "Do you uh...think it's safe to drink?"

Dib shrugged, feeling himself relax a bit, "Should be. It's still sealed from when I bought it, and as long as you're not possessed by a demon or something, then it's safe to drink."

"Cool!" She hesitated, "Is it okay...if I…"

"Of course!" Dib quickly got to his feet, ignoring the slight feeling of lightheadedness as he did. "Yeah, of course, I'll go get it."

"Oh! You uh, don't have to…" She said awkwardly, looking like she was struggling to her own feet. "I can-" Her face paled slightly and she sat back down muttering "I'm okay, just light headed." She half heartedly waved a dismissive hand to the empty space on her right.

"I'll get it." Dib said again, a bit more serious as he gave her one more look to make sure she was okay before moving towards the ship.

Zim was perched on the edge of the Voot, messing with the wires of the engine with both gloved claws and PAK leg tools. He was muttering to himself in another language-that sounded surprisingly similar to the space message Dib had recorded the other night now that he thought about it.

Dib paused and watched Zim work. The boy tried to discern individual words, but the alien was muttering too softly for him to really pick anything out past the irritated tone, just soft clicks, hisses, and harsh syllables. Dib pushed up his glasses and turned his gaze towards the cockpit of the ship and paused, it was still about five feet above the ground...how was he supposed to get his bag?

He raised his arm and stood on his tippy toes, just barely touching the lip of the ship. He could jump and grab hold? Is he strong enough to pull himself up though? It didn't look like there was much to grip either, all smooth edges and a flat console.

"Get away from Zim's ship!" Zim was suddenly hovering above Dib, PAK legs suspending him down from the ship like a spider hanging from its web. "Haven't you done enough damage today!"

"I just need my backpack." Dib shot back, fists and jaw clenching as he refused to back away.

One metal leg reached into the ship, Zim's purple contact eyes never leaving Dib's.

Something smacked into Dib's chest with enough force to make him stumble back a few steps, he started coughing as the wind was knocked out of him.

"There." Zim snapped. "Now away from the Voot, hyuman!"

"Yeah, whatever, space jerk." Dib muttered as he bent to snatch up his bag. He stomped back over to where Kailah was sitting, rubbing his chest with irritation.

"You okay?" She asked as Dib sat down and opened his bag.

"Yeah." He muttered. He adjusted his glasses with one hand as he started digging through his bag. He pulled various things out and set them aside as he looked; text books, notes, homework, his homemade EMF machine, pencil case, ziplock bag of garlic, silver spoon, ah-there it was-the unopened bottle of holy water! Dib held it out and Kailah took it with a small smile and a silent nod of thanks.

She opened the cap and started chugging it. After a few large gulps she waved her spider bitten hand off to her right with an irritated look, after a few more gulps she lowered the bottle begrudgingly.

"Fine." She growled. "Yes, I know. But I'm thir- Yes, I know. But-ugh fine." She rolled her eyes, took a small sip, then lowered the bottle. "Happy." She looked to her right. "Alright, now, there's no reason to be so smug." She said, trying to hide a smirk of her own face, her voice suddenly more lighthearted as she took another small sip.

"Uh?" Dib gave her a confused look. He suddenly wondered if he could try the Thermal setting on his glasses without getting that nauseous feeling. Or maybe he should just try being a pirate and close his left eye while using the HD mode? That would probably damage his eyesight faster though...wouldn't it? Or at least it would damage his eyes unevenly? The Thermal setting was most probably the safer option...though it'd still probably strain his eyesight, right?

"Hm?" She looked at him and Dib startled out of his thoughts. "Oh! Right, sorry" She gave an awkward laugh and took a small sip of water. "Yeah," she sighed in agreement to something Chomp must have said. "This is definitely a concussion." she muttered before taking another sip. She turned her attention back to Dib and he raised an eyebrow. "So, if you're dehydrated, it's best to take small sips." She started to explain, though Dib still felt like he might be missing a lot of information leading up to that sentence. "Chomp's scolding me for gulping it, cause it'll make me sick. And right now, I can't really afford to vomit, cause, ya know." She waved her free hand vaguely at the woods around them as she took another sip. "Plus, you know, this is the only bottle of water we have. And Chomp doesn't really," She hesitated and lowered her voice to a whisper. "They don't really trust Zim can get the ship up and running before nightfall." She took a sip then spoke at a normal volume. "But they've always been a worrier, I'm sure we'll be fine." She said dismissively with an optimistic smile.

Dib glanced towards the ship, "Zim's pack seems pretty versatile." He admitted, seeing that the welder's torch had been replaced with a cutting saw. "But the damage is pretty extensive...four hours may be more optimistic than realistic...but as long as he doesn't need any major replacement parts; I'm sure he'll have it fixed before it gets dark." Dib pushed back his sleeve and looked at his watch; a little after ten. "Though, we'll definitely most likely be late for dinner." He sighed. Doubt my dad would notice though, and I know Gaz won't care.

As if on queue, Kailah's stomach let out a loud rumble and she seemed to wince at the pain.

"I'm fine." She sighed in response to either Dib's worried look or Chomp's silent mental question. She took another small sip. "Just, really hungry." She looked at the bottle thoughtfully and swirled it's contents, already down to the last third. She shrugged and took another sip. "You can try, but like I said; I doubt there's anything nearby."

"Try what?" Dib readjusted his glasses then switched them to Thermal mode. He was right, it wasn't nearly as nauseating or disorienting. It was a little odd seeing half normal and half Thermal Imaging, but at the same time; it did make it easier to tell what exactly he was looking at on the Thermal side, when he had his normal vision to compare it to. Next to Kailah sat the Loughran-in what Dib assumed was in it's dromaeosaur form based on its size. Though the angle they were sitting at-and the lack of depth perception-made them look like a large orange and yellow blobby...blob. He noted with some interest that it seemed about two to three shades cooler than Kailah-though it would probably still be considered warm blooded, especially compared to Zim's obvious cool body temp.

"They're offering to go up and circle around," Kailah said while making an over head hand motion. "look for a town...or anything edible. But I don't remember seeing anything before the crash, and we were much higher up than what Chomp can fly. So I don't think there is anything nearby, but they still want to have a look to be safe."

Dib hummed thoughtfully. He had been in too deep of a sulk to have looked out the window before the whole spider thing, but he agreed, there probably weren't any towns nearby. He looked at his backpack's strewn contacts around him.

"Do you like garlic?" He asked lamely. He picked up the bag and gave the contents a closer look. "Actually...these may be past their expiration date." By three and a half months...He made a face then sighed and lowered the bag. Does garlic still repel vampires if it's rotten? Or does it have to be fresh? He looked at Kailah nervously as she started laughing.

"Let me see those." She leaned forward and took the bag, a teasing look in her eyes that made Dib feel weird in an almost good way. It was a very different teasing look from what he usually received from the other kids at skool; a lot less melicious.

Kailah held the bag up to eye level and squinted at the slightly mushy garlic. She pulled the bag closer and gave it a tentative sniff, almost gagged, then started laughing as she tossed it back on the ground near the rest of Dib's stuff. The orange and yellow blob next to her almost looked like it was covering its nose.

"W-what?" Dib felt his chest tighten, why was she laughing now?

"Chomp says that's probably why Zim calls you Dib-stink!" She said through her giggles with a large toothy grin. When Dib just gave her a confused look, she snorted then winced and gripped her head with her spider bitten hand before taking a small sip of water. "Ow, laughing hurts." She mumbled.

"Wait," Dib asked, "are you suggesting that Zim could smell half rotten garlic inside a sealed bag inside my backpack?" He wasn't sure if he should be horrified or fascinated.

Kailah shrugged. "He's an alien. Who knows how good his sense of smell is." She looked at the water, down to the last quarter. She held it out for Dib, "Here, you have the rest."

Dib looked at the bottle, unsure. He glanced at Kailah, her face was back to a healthy enough color, so she seemed to be doing better. She also seemed genuinely sincere in letting him finish it off, rather than just trying to be polite by offering. Still, he found himself hesitating and pushing his glasses up his nose.

"What's wrong?" She wiggled the bottle at him-making the water swish around-her arm still outstretched. "Afraid of cooties?" She said playfully. "Or are you really possessed by a demon and afraid to touch holy water? Or maybe you're a vampire!? And that's why you're always wearing that oversized black coat? Oh! Or perhaps-"

"Shut up." Dib muttered, his ears burning as he snatched the water from her and downed the remainder in one big gulp, as if to prove he wasn't afraid of it. "I'm not a vampire. As if." He scoffed, tossing the bottle onto his pile of things.

Kailah grinned and elbowed the orange and yellow blob next to her. "Told you he wasn't a vampire." She laughed at something Chomp said and Dib's ears burned hotter. Why did she keep laughing at him! Was she mocking him? He crossed his arms and glared off into the trees, his cheeks were starting to feel uncomfortably warm now, too.

After a few moments of silence Kailah let out a soft sigh.

"Dib," Her voice was low, apologetic. He didn't look at her. "Dib, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" She stopped herself then let out an even softer sigh and a whisper that he couldn't quite make out.

Dib looked at her side long, she had picked the leaf back up and was slowly tearing it up again, though her head was turned ever so slightly towards the right. Towards Chomp. Her shoulders slumped and she let the leaf fall. Her hands rose up slowly and she pressed her face into them. Dib turned his whole attention to her. Chomp's heat signature was leaning close to her, seemingly for comfort...or-

"I'm sorry..." She whispered through her hands. "I know you just want to find out the truth. I do too. And I know this whole situation is...frustrating. I understand that this is not ideal. I didn't mean for this to happen. I-my-you…" She let out a low groan and dragged her hands away from her face, looking up at the trees and sky above. Chomp shifted away slightly, to give her space. "My head is killing me, I haven't been able to think straight since you ran off yesterday." She looked at Chomp. "I know you know. I know you're sorry, I'm not blaming you. I'm just-" She sighed and listened. Chomp's head tilting in what Dib could only assume was sympathy?

Dib sat there, watching the two awkwardly, slowly forgetting that he had just been upset with her.

"Exactly," She said softly and gave a sad smile. "Yeah, you can go look. I know just sitting here doing nothing is killing you. Just...please, don't go more than a half mile, okay? With everything that's happened, I don't know if I'm strong enough to be further apart than that." She closed her eyes and leaned over, her forehead pressed against Chomp's. "You stay safe, too." She leaned back again and tucked some hair behind her ear as the heat signature beside her shrank into the shape of a bird then took flight.

Kailah and Dib watched as Chomp flew off.

Dib waited a moment longer before switching his glasses back to Normal mode and cutting in with: "So, how long-exactly-were you going to wait to tell me that the Loughran looked like a dinosaur?"

Kailah gave him a confused look, like she was trying to make sense of his words and what they had to do with the conversation from before.

"Oh! So they were right, you can see them now!"

Dib couldn't help the grin that slipped onto his face as he proudly said. "Yeah, I can! Stayed up all night with my dad working on these!" He adjusted his glasses. "They have four different settings I can switch between; I call the first one HD, it's modeled after the Mantis Shrimp you told me about. My dad and I did loads of research of them last night while making these! The second is Thermal Imaging, the third is Night Vision, and of course the last is simply Normal. Chomp shows up with the first two."

"That's so cool!" She looked genuinely impressed as she leaned forward to examine the glasses still on his face (Dib felt himself freeze up as she did). She also looked like she was half tempted to ask to try them on herself. "Now I feel even worse that they're busted." She said apologetically, sitting back again.

Dib just shrugged, feeling himself relax again as she leaned away. "Only the left lense doesn't work." He explained. "And the frames being bent is pretty annoying...but I can fix all that myself when we get home...now that I know how to make them I could probably do the repairs myself."

Kailah hummed enthusiastically in response.

Dib cleared his throat, "So...Chomp is a dinosaur?"

"Oh, yeah, so…" She tried to find the right words as she rubbed the side of her nose, embarrassed. "Uh, Loughran can shapeshift? Did I tell you that already? I...I can't remember." She massaged her forehead for a moment with her good hand. "Well, anyway. I guess they take the form that their Bondmate would find...most preferable? So that way they're not attacked when a Bond is first made? But, uh, that was years ago. So, Chomp used to be a uh, tiger for a bit? A few other things too. A Large dog, house cat, snake, crow. But then I saw a movie...and got really into dinosaurs? And it turns out that they liked that shape too, a lot of different uses? And it's comfortable or something? I don't know, but they've had this shape for a long while now, we're both so used to it being their main form that I guess I didn't think to mention it? You know, with all the other questions you were asking? And, you never asked what they looked like...soooo~…"

Dib frowned a little at her rambling, Chomp hadn't been gone for that long, surely they couldn't have gotten so far away as to cause this much of a downward swing in her mental health so fast, right? And it couldn't have been the concussion, cause she seemed perfectly fine just a moment ago when he was explaining his glasses.

"Hey," Dib said carefully, "maybe you should tell Chomp to come back." He leaned forward a bit and adjusted his glasses, her face didn't seem any paler...did it? Though, her eyes did seem unfocused...

Kailah nodded sleepily. "Yeah...I feel it now, they're already coming back." She paused and her eyes seemed to come back into focus. "Man, I hate this!" She pounded a fist on her leg and Dib sat back again. "We've never had trouble with distances before. We've never been this out of sync. I just want to go back to Tuesday!"

Dib's eyebrows twitched together in confusion. Why Tuesday? Why not last week, or last month? Last month would mean she'd still be at her old skool. Last week would mean...wait, Tuesday was the day Dib confronted her about Bigfoot. She couldn't...surely that's not what she meant, right? No, of course not. She probably just said Tuesday cause Zim showed up yesterday and that's when everything really started to turn upside down for her. Yes, that must be why.

"WHERE IS THE LOUGHRIN!" Zim shouted from the ship, jumping down to the ground and quickly running towards them on his PAK legs.

The two pre-teens jumped at the sudden and violent reminder that they weren't alone in the woods. Zim-still on his metal legs-lowered himself just above Kailah, leaning threateningly close as he gave her a hard glare.

Kailah winced and tried to backpedal in a crab walk, her face showing a bit of fear and a lot of confusion.

"Answer Zi-!" Something invisible slammed into Zim from the left and knocked him off balance, sending him skittering sideways on the thin metal legs as he tried to right himself before hitting the ground. Zim let out an angry hiss and Dib quickly closed his left eye as he switched on HD mode.

Author Notes: *Gasp*! Cliffhanger! Fight next chapter!

:3 Told you there was foreshadowing last chapter, did you notice how GIR put spiders in the Voot? And don't worry, Dib's not terrified of spiders, he just really doesn't like them and was simply caught off guard (at least, that's what he'd say if you ask him lol)

"Flirk" is from Hecallsmehischild's fics, go check out all of their work!

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