Behind The Tube Glass

By alien freak And Xmimi89eR

story may contain gore/blood/violence/strong language

rating: T

ZaDr/ZaDf

I need to stop starting chapters with one of the characters waking up, it got old--

Annnnyhow, hope you enjoy! And please review!

English is my second language, my apologies if there are any mistakes.

disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim.

ACTIVATING...

SPECIES: HUMAN.

ACTIVATE LOCATION: PAK.

ERROR: UNREADABLE INFORMATION.

MISSIN999G INPUT M999AY LEAD TO CORRUP999TIO999 IN DISG999UISE.

999999

Zim woke up around 8 in the morning, there was no sign of Dib and the lights were dim. the voices were unbearable that he decided to ignore the fact he didn't sleep well and work on his ship.

After a minute of walking, he got to his Voot, the irken looked inside, seeing the good progress he had done within the last weeks including the fact the ship was fixing itself as well, most things were fixed, the computer was almost functioning like before, though, sadly and, oh, so frustrating, the ship is still unable to fly.

an irken elite Voot Runner was having a hard time flying, how embarrassing. after many angry bursts of screams and even banging his head on the ship's surface, he found it was no use for his frustration and tried to look on the 'good' side, the ship flies a few feet of the ground then falls back, at less it made some progress, he still remembers how hopeless the ship looked a few weeks ago. Gir tried to clean it one time, ending up breaking something as usual, though Zim have to admit the ship looked cleaner.

sighing, Zim opened the side of the ship, working in the last thing he left, seeing the melted wires that were stuck at the sides of the surface, red, blue, and green wires were now a mess of melted colors together. At less the human had the replacement for these things. the irken stood up, walking to get more tools and wires to work with, he left the storage room, and went to the exa-room, not realizing that Gir was gazing at him with stupidity and curiosity.

after about ten minutes of searching and gathering his tools, ready to scream at his robot for moving them everywhere to play 'hide and seek' with them. he got to the computer room, walking as he hugged the heavy tools against his sweater, "Gir! how many times did I have to tell you not to touch my tools??"

not reserving an answer, the elite peaked at the chair, when he found nothing, he searched the room, expecting Gir to be sleeping somewhere on the floor, but no, he wasn't there too. "Gir?"

there was a loud laughing noise that came from the storage room, when he focused his antenna, he could also hear his ship, that can never be good.

Zim hurried back, the tools making a metal on metal noises, he hissed as they pressed heavily on his wound, "Gir!" he called, hopeful that his angry voice would stop the crazy SIR unit from whatever it was doing. he can't lose his ship now, not after all his work!

stepping inside, he saw no Gir insight, his stare stopped at his Voot Runner, glancing at the awkward angle it was in, "GIR! w- w- where are you?!" a sudden light came out of the egg-shaped device, the ship started humming while shaking, another giggle was heard and Zim could tell Gir was INSIDE of it, inside of the disguise machine.

he didn't know this was working. huh.

after a second, Gir came out, some smoke rose behind him, a tip-tap annoying noise came with him.

"what on irk?-"

Gir was in a weird-shaped suit, a dog if Zim was right, a GREEN dog; which Zim knew there wasn't green dogs- or was there?? the 'dog' was green with black slaves, ears, and tail, a lovely soft-looking fur covered him.

"look at meeee!" Gir screamed happily, "I'm a mongoose!" he started running around Zim, yelling 'wohoo' at the top of his 'lungs'.

"GIR! I order you to stop s- screaming!" Zim held his antennae, dropping his tools on the floor with a loud noise, the voice was too loud he was sure someone will hear them.

then suddenly, Gir gasped, and ran away from Zim; he heard someone say: 'who the hell is yelling??'

"big-head boy!! look!" Gir cheered, jumping on the confused boy's chest. at the name, Zim turned around, he studied the human's face for a moment, then checked his PAK clock: 8;29 AM.

"You're late," Zim walked over him, seeing the look at the human that screamed: what the hell?! "oh yeah, Gir played with the ship, by the way, do you h- h- humans have green dogs?"

Dib glanced at the fluffy dog, then back at Zim, "no," he said a little flatly, "wait, your ship can make suits?"

"hm, not exactly," Zim started thinking that was enough for an answer, but a thought came to him and he decided to continue, "it is supposed to disguise the invader- r- r and their SIR unit to match the planet they're conquering. it CAN make s- suits and also clothes."

he walked back to the ship, talking more to himself than Dib, "it makes the disguise based on the information the SIR unit gathers, it can be changed though by the invader."

"well, that's Gir, no wonder his disguise is green and- not looking like a disguise," Dib said, shrugging, he walked beside the irken, ignoring the still screaming Gir, "it can make anything look different? even you?"

"yes, I can look like any species I want."

Dib admired the ship, seeing how it was standing on its front now, some egg-shaped machine with a hologram screen on it stood in the front, Zim seemed thoughtful for a moment before Dib had an idea,

"can it make you look human too?"

Zim looked back at him, he studied his face then looked back at his ship, "of course it can." he said, "but my PAK is-... not w- w- working pretty well, it can turn off the disguise all of the sudden. I won't have control o- o- over it, like my PAK legs- and everything else..." he drifted off slightly, angry at how pathetic he sounded.

"can you do it?" Dib asked, excitement written all over his face.

Zim gave a 'hm' not meeting the human's face, "I can," replying, he felt a little curious as well, "yeah, let's see," Zim checked the information Gir importuned from his stupid head, nevertheless Zim still has to make a lot of changes, he really didn't want to look like a green dog as well.

he typed what he knew about humans, at less how they usually looked like and because the lack of his knowledge (not that he cared) he decided to make the computer choose whatsoever because Zim didn't even know what their eyes colors were; he saw amber, blue, and brown. maybe a hint of green? or was it purple? he didn't know and didn't care enough to know. "the computer is still broken e- especially since I didn't fix- x- x this part of the ship," Zim said, he murmured something like 'i don't care' or was it 'I couldn't care'? after this he got in, hoping this won't hurt because he didn't fix the disguise device- why was he doing this again?

"there's also a huge chance I'll look like a hybrid." he then again murmured to himself, half forgetting the human was in front of him.

Dib didn't say a thing, just listening to what the irken was murmuring. he watched him step inside the machine looking slightly anxious, in a blink, the sides closed, some light came out the edges, he saw the ship shake for a second before it stopped, the computer hummed, the door opened.

Zim stepped out of the smoke holding his head, he coughed a few times before blinking, looking down at himself. well, he DID look human but...

"I'm sure humans have five fingers, yes?" Zim asked, he looked at his hands, they looked exactly like his claws, still sharp, and only three fingers in each hand. Though his skin was human, it was a pale skin with a sick hint of green as if he was about to puke. no hair like what he thought humans had all over them, at less not males.

Dib stared at him, he fixed his glasses and looked in awe, that WAS amazing, this technology was fascinating! the irken looked human- well since he did say his ship was broken there must be some flaws but they weren't obvious, not like anybody cared.

Zim was with black hair, pale greenish skin, his eyes were still red, however, looking more human but still red/ruby colored. when he heard Zim talk, he saw that his teeth were also the same zipper-like teeth he had, therefore he knew the tongue was also the same.

"I made the computer try to make me look like who I am but human," Zim said while examining the weird skin color of his hands. the human then noticed his eyebrows, noting how one was split apart, Zim's right eyebrow- like his antenna, damaged. He knew those antennae worked like eyebrows! amusing.

Zim lifted his sweater upwards, looking down at his chest, "no human parts here either," he whispered, staring at his flat torso, thank tallest! his blood was still pink and the bandages were in place. He turned around on heels, looking at his PAK, it was still there, his machine could have easily made it invisible or disguised it as well, hmm, a lot of flaws, indeed. his body was still the same now that he gave it second thoughts, apparently humans' anatomy wasn't THAT different, at less the shape and all, most changes were on his face.

Dib's curiosity made him walk closer, he put a flat hand on the irken's face out of the blue making Zim jump, he did feel a nose in there, the hologram didn't only look but also feel real; the boy's hand shifted to Zim's hair, his eyes widened at the normal feel of it, well, that's more than just amazing, it even made him doubt he'll know an alien if he saw them with this technology.

Zim smacked his hand away, raising an eyebrow, his other hand on hip, before he could say anything though, Dib cut him off, "where are your antennae anyway?" he asked, playing with his smacked hand.

Zim looked up as if he could see them, then touched the air, stroking them down his head, "they're still here b- b- but invisible."

Dib let out a 'huh' before another thought crossed his mind, "hey,"

Zim looked back at him, "what?"

"didn't you say it can make clothing?"

"yes?" Zim was confused for a second before it hit him, clothes! he looked down at his sweater, but he did like the feeling of Dib's sweater... it was soft, irken's clothes were silky and thick so it would protect the irken not to comfort him, it wasn't even warm; his PAK heaters were broken so he'd freeze if he wore them, something like if he wasn't wearing anything at all, maybe just the tight feeling of them which didn't help.

yet, he liked his uniform...

"I can wear the sweater above..." he murmured, liking the idea, he ran to the hologram screen, typing what was on his mind, eager for new bottoms than the one he wore, new boots and gloves. his hands ran fast on the keyboard; searching for the data he needs, he took a second to stare at his moving fingers, he couldn't help but stop to feel his bandages, only wearing them as make-shift gloves, though he now seemed to like feeling things on his hands, feeling the surface of things, he even likes to hold onto his sweater because of how soft it was.

maybe he can toss them aside...

the computer showed the irken uniform he wanted, the same ruby color and size, then stepped away, his hands taking the hem of his sweater to take it off and threw it at the floor before getting in the machine. closing his eyes, he felt a little sting over his body, flashing white could be seen even through his closed eyelids. then the door opened again, Zim couldn't help the smile that danced on his face, he was clothed, clothed with every irken would be clothed like, his new leggings, boots, gloves, and of course his red/ruby top uniform. his smile twitched as he felt the cold sneaks down his spine, Zim shivered but kept it to himself, it was cold.

Admiring his fresh normal clothes that he hadn't worn in almost a year, it made him feel more like an irken, more like if he was still home.

a laughter broke his thoughts, he glared at the human who was pointing at him, laughing with his hand over his torso, "that looks like a dress!" he said between laughter, "it's even pink!" well, that sounded mean, but he couldn't help it, the alien's body was thin- too thin even for a skinny female, it was all just too amusing.

"that's NOT a dress, it's the irkens uniform." Zim snapped but it was calmer since he's still happy with a new piece of clothes. oh and the feeling of his long thick collar to protect the neck, they all knew this was a sensitive area.

He studied his new gloves, how silky and shiny they were, they were thick to prevent damage to the irken's hands whether it was from harmful liquid or sharp objects, therefore all his senses to be able to touch were taking away from him, no irken complained, and he should do so too but the elite grew to like feeling the texture under his claws; besides, now he thought about it more, his place wasn't dirty, the human had his little robots that cleaned everything in a creepy way, the air smelled like fade cleaning liquids, the floor was metallic, shiny, proving they're clean, and the cold made no possible harmful germs to stick around. in other words, the place was safe, there was no need for silky, cold, unfeeling gloves.

but he'll keep his boots, they made him slightly taller after all, and they're new, which means he can wear them with no fear of germs and dirt sticking under them.

another wave of the freezing air made the alien shiver, he leaned down immediately and snatched the yellow sweater, taking it between his claws, it felt like what humans called 'heaven.' it was warm enough for him, and he WILL keep it. the irken slid his head throw the clothing, making it fall down till it reached his thighs, his uniform appeared slightly taller than it, the PAK hummed before it transformed itself above the sweater like before. Zim sighed, oh, of course he'll keep it, it's his now and no one takes HIS stuff.

Dib watched from behind, admiring the red color of the clothes, ruby, it was ruby not pink or red, he has to keep that in mind. last time he touched the other ruined one, he could till it was more like an armor not just any dress-looking uniform, "so, all irkens wear the same uniform?" he asked, staring from the clothes to the almost-human-looking face of the invader.

"yes, but the color change depending on the irken's eye color."

"you told me the tallest wears a full armor," Dib already made a section of his mind to remember all the story Zim told him.

"eh, yes the tallest wears a different type of clothes, much stronger and taller," he reached his ankle with a hand, "till here, it's a full-body armor made of the strongest metal," he smirked, seeing how the human gave him his full attention.

"what about young ones, smeets?"

"the same, we only wear different ones during our training, though the ones that works with piloting the ship wears different ones for some reason..." he murmured the last part to himself; well, that was information everyone in the universe knew, so he had no problem telling the heir.

speaking of that...

"Why are you late?" Zim asked, leaning to set on a near chair, still admiring his gloves and if he should take them off.

"o- oh, I'm not sure, I didn't hear my alarm when it went off," Dib rubbed his head, "there was that old lady that kept banging on the door that woke me up," he laughed at the memory, maybe he should thank her. "Though it's kinda weird, I always wake up when my alarm goes off..." He murmured the last part, letting out a dry laugh before looking back at Zim's human face, "How do you take it off?" Dib pointed at the irken's face.

"A switch in my PAK, just thinking about it then it will go off," Zim shrugged, finally made his mind and took the gloves off and placing them on the ship's seat. He got back to stand in front of the human, the hologram disguise started to glitch, switching from a human to an irken face, therefore Zim's voice came glitchy more than usual, "Th- That's h- h- hard to control- ol- l," then with a click, it disappeared and Zim sighed, "Yeah, just pathetic..." he whispered, pouting.

Dib stared at him, his head became blank for a second, he wanted to sit down when he felt a wave of dizziness invade his body, a ink-looking black darkness splashed on his sight, white dots appeared with it making it hard and blurry to see, he could see the irken's body from the corner of his eyes, his stomach turned, legs becoming weaker in a second, he squeezed his eyes shut, no longer useful as his sight was too blurry, hands weakly searching for something to hold.

in a matter of a second, his brain shut down, he felt like darkness was swallowing him at an insane speed, his body almost falling to the ground before his mind starts working again, it gave him almost a shot back to life, restarting. He shot his head up, catching himself at the edge, it was getting suffocating here, he opened his eyes again to find his sight was back, his head was still hurting that much, legs holding him in place even though they felt like noddles.

Dib blinked, feeling like he had been sitting for days and suddenly stood up, blood rushed in his head, he looked over at the alien whose eyes were wide, now was standing beside him, not sure how to help.

The boy decided to sit, he leaned down, putting his knees first to sit before he crumpled and fell over, laying on his back on the floor, staring dizzily at the ceiling.

"Dib? y- you okay?" Zim sat beside him, poking his cheek slightly, he leaned to stare at the human's face, "You look paler than usual," he stated, frowning.

"I FEEL paler than usual..." Dib murmured, he felt his voice as it echoed in his head somehow, it gave him a headache just moving his jaw and mouth to talk, "ow..."

"Let's go to the main room," Zim said as he stood up, staring at the human, seeing if he'd be able to move.

Dib sighed, closed his eyes for a moment then opened them, "Yeah..." he chuckled as he looked at the alien, "Guess it's my turn to be sick not you this time," sitting up carefully, Zim offered him a hand which he took gratefully, a little surprised at how strong the alien's handgrip was.

His arm around the irken's shoulder as the other one on his head, pressing in an attempt to make the headache go away. They walked back to the main room with Gir still happy in his doggo suit, screaming how mongoose were such beautiful fishes.

Zim let go of the human, making him sit on the seat with a heavy sigh before he climbed in his lap, and stared hard at him, searching his face for something.

"You're not dying right now, are you?" He asked in a low almost flat tone, narrowing his ruby eyes to study the human carefully.

"No, I mean- I don't really know, maybe..." Dib replied, he leaned back on the chair to rest his heavy head on it, his arm on his face, covering his eyes.

Zim looked at him for a moment before gazing around, not liking the silence, he found almost nothing to do, so he looked back at the boy before his hand sneaked to Dib's forehead, already learned that a human's normal temperature is around 36 or something. His cold hand made contact with the human's pale face making Dib tense slightly, he opened his eyes again to see what the irken was doing, "You're kinda hot," Zim started, pouting, "I guess your temperature is around 37, almost 38, I don't think human bodies are superior enough to handle such change, yes?"

Dib blinked and almost laughed at the alien's choice of words, he took in a deep breath, liking the cold touch against his overheating forehead, "hm, yeah, we can't," he sank in his spot taking the alien with him, "could you turn off the TV?"

Zim frown deepened, he stayed quiet for a second before shocking his head, "The TV is off..."

Dib opened his eyes, almost wide at the realization, right, the TV's off, hell, the place is quiet since Gir was too 'tired' and decided to take a 'nap'. "It- it is?..." this can't be right, he was hearing people talk just a second ago, loudly and without stop.

"Yes." Zim answered, making himself comfortable in the boy's lap, "are you SURE you're not dying?" He asked in a serious tone.

Dib frowned, he almost looked sad at the irken, some memories of his father sickness flashed in his head, he truly didn't want to end up like him, not only because he didn't want to die, but also because he didn't want to leave his sister alone, he's her only family member, her only friend actually.

And speaking of friends, he also didn't want to leave Zim here, he wanted to help, and he really enjoyed his time around the irken.

Dib sighed, he leaned to take the alien in a hug, resting him atop his chest, "No, I'm not dying," he assured him, feeling his head become heavy again, demanding sleep.

Zim didn't hesitate to lay atop him, already used to it by now, "You better not." He hissed, almost with a hint of worry.

The human chuckled, "You sound like my sister," the words came out as a whisper, his hand found its way to Zim's upper back, drawing circles on there as sleep dragged him away. Zim started to melt, already feeling tired himself, he reached one hand to grab the electricity wire to plug his PAK, hearing a click, he sighed as power began to rush in his body, the boy's hand became slower and slower till they stopped, his heavy breathing turned even, already drifted off.

Zim stayed like this for a while, feeling Dib's hand twitch every now and then, he sometimes murmur nonsense under his breath, title his head, or squeeze Zim's body closer. The irken kept gazing at him every now and then, he couldn't help as he drew his hand to touch the human's forehead again, seeing it didn't get better; he sighed before closing his eyes, glad that Dib didn't turn on the lights when he came in.

The human was dying...

And he didn't know what to do about it...

END OF CHAPTER EIGHTEEN!

AF: finally with Zim's human disguise, I had fun thinking of it, and YAY plot will come soon!

Mary: *already drawing Zim's human disguise* he's a hot boy...

PLEASE REVIEW! I'll give you a cookie!

This was alien freak, signing off.