A/N: Woot! 8D You guys are the best. So many reviews this past week, makes us feel lurved. =3 Anyways, as mentioned last week, today's chapter be dedicated to whoever sent in our 100th review, and that person was...(Drum roll) angel-winged wolfess! =3 So congratulations on catching that, angel-winged wolfess. I be working on your request for the first kiss scene in the story slowly but surely. And much love to the rest of you who reviewed also. You guys rock. 8D Anyways, as I do every week, I must thank those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert list and remind you guys that feedback is much appreciated. With that said, let me keep you waiting no longer. Here be Chapter 21 of ZADR Orange! 8D Hope you all enjoy!
Warnings: Extreme OOCness
Rating: M for later chapters
Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Zim/Computer: Notgonnadie
Dib: Me
Gaz: Both of us.
Beta: Notgonnadie
Helping to steady Zim, Dib reached for the blanket he had wrapped Zim in earlier and his trench coat to pull back on. Then, draping the blanket around Zim, he merely scooped him up into his arms. "You shouldn't be walking yet. I'll carry you to the base. Besides, you'll be needing what little energy you do have right now for when we get back to your base. I'm not so sure your computer is going to let me in again." he sighed, dropping his gaze to the ground.
Nodding his head, Zim nuzzled himself into Dib's chest. "Mmm...He'll let us in...You just gotta know how to talk to him. He doesn't take you as an authority figure is all. I bet Gaz could get to him, what with all her gaming knowledge." he said, doing his best to stay awake as he was carried up the stairs to where he saw Gaz waiting for them.
Holding a few suitcases, Gaz's gaze seemed to be locked on the floor as she stared down at it both sadly and angrily. "Can we leave now?" she asked, just wanting to get out of there.
Dib merely nodded his head. "Yeah..." he said, shifting Zim in his arms a bit before opening the door for them to leave.
Too weak to bother doing any more, Zim held limply to Dib's body as the other carried him outside.
Walking silently next to Dib, Gaz could hear their old front door slam shut behind them and the vast array of locks set. Then, as soon as they were off the yard, the electric fence was up and running, as expected.
Merely holding Zim tighter to himself, Dib glared down at the ground in front of them as they headed for the base.
Upon arriving, however, the lawn gnomes turned to glare at the three trespassers, just daring them to try and step foot on their yard.
Feeling just a little bit intimidated by them, Dib stopped in his tracks. "U-Uhm...Zim?" he looked at the other for help.
Signaling for the other to put him down, Zim shakily stood up with the help of Dib before reaching back behind himself to press the top panel on his PAK, the gnomes instantly deactivating. "Now...We just gotta get computer...to open the door." he panted out before wrapping his arms around Dib, wanting to be picked back up before he fell over or passed out again.
Scooping Zim back up into his arms, Dib could sense that the other was fading again. "Then let's hurry." he said before making his way up to the door with Zim in his arms and Gaz right behind him.
"Now what? You brought MORE of you?" the computer complained as they approached the door.
Glaring at the door, Zim bared his teeth. "Open the door!" he demanded but his voice was weak and strained, causing his computer to scoff.
"Nice actor. Master doesn't sound like that." the computer said, ignoring Zim's order.
Growing annoyed now, Gaz growled and punched the door hard, getting the computer's attention. "HEY, YOU! OPEN THIS DOOR, OR I'LL SMASH IT IN AND THEN DELETE ALL YOUR DOWNLOADED SOFTWARE AND CUT YOUR NET CABLES!" she threatened the uncooperative computer menacingly.
Seeming to shrink back at her threat, the computer was quick to open the door for them, falling silent at her fury.
Having also shrunk back a bit at Gaz's threat, Dib was a little surprised she was able to make the computer open the door for them so quickly. Hesitating a moment, he slowly took a few cautious steps inside behind Gaz before making his way over to the couch to lay Zim down with the blanket still wrapped tightly around him. Then, kneeling down on the ground next to Zim, Dib went ahead and removed his wig and contacts for him before bringing up a hand to pet his antennae back gently a few times, trying to make things as comfortable as possible for the other. "How are you feeling?" he asked, knowing that he had put Zim through a lot by moving him.
Too stressed out and in moderate pain to purr, Zim merely sighed out softly at the small touch. "Room's down the hall..." he addressed Gaz, looking up at her and pointing weakly, nodding his head slightly in the direction of her new room.
Looking back at Gaz himself, Dib shifted his eyes over to where Zim was pointing before looking back at her. "Are you going to be okay finding it on your own?" he asked, unsure whether she needed any help with her luggage.
"Yeah, yeah...It's not brain surgery, Dib." Gaz said before turning to head in the direction Zim had pointed.
"W-Well, if you need any help, just call." Dib called after her, watching as she left the room before turning back to face Zim and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Thanks for letting Gaz stay here with us..." he thanked the other in a soft voice.
Zim merely nodded before reaching up to tug at Dib. "You made a fine Irken today, Dib..." he said, reaching to the PAK on Dib's back and pressing one of the panels, making the entire disguise vanish. "But now...Zim is tired...W-Will you sleep with me?" he asked, just wanting to curl up on the couch with Dib.
Blushing at Zim's request, Dib, after a moment, nodded his head slowly. "S-Sure..." he carefully moved the Irken over a bit so he would have room to get on the couch, resting the other comfortably against his chest and pulling the blanket tightly over the both of them. "W-Well, goodnight..." he said softly to the other before letting the need for sleep start to take hold of him.
"Gooo night, Dib..." Zim mumbled, closing his eyes and falling into a much needed sleep.
Resting a cheek against the Irken's head, Dib slowly let his own eyes close after a few moments as his mind easily drifted off into its own heavy sleep.
Meanwhile, Gaz had found her way to the spare room quite easily and was surprised to see how clean and functional it was. There was even a small, private bathroom and a decent sized closet in it. Nodding to herself, somewhat satisfied with her new living arrangements, Gaz went ahead and began unpacking her things so she could set up the room to be more fitting to herself.
Back out in the living room, Dib had meanwhile taken to gripping at Zim's clothes, shivering and hiding his face away in part of the blanket.
Sleeping peacefully nonetheless, Zim himself had by now fallen into too deep of a sleep to even be bothered by any of Dib's shifting about.
Several hours passed, the two of them sleeping for the most part peacefully until Dib finally blinked his eyes partly open to find the room still fairly dark despite the sun just beginning to rise outside.
Zim, however, didn't budge, seeming to be in a somewhat hibernative sleep for the time being as his body healed itself.
So sitting up carefully, trying not to disturb Zim too much, Dib shifted his gaze to have a look about the dark room. That's when he heard a small clinking noise coming from the kitchen followed by a thump. Jumping at hearing somebody rummaging through the kitchen, Dib shifted Zim off of himself before standing up to see who was in there. "G-Gaz?" her name slipped past his lips as he went to go check.
Looking up from the table at the mention of her name, Gaz stared at the half awake Dib in the doorway. "Yeah?" she asked, holding a gallon of milk and bowl, which she was busy filling with cereal. Smiling at Dib's confused look, she held the milk and cereal box up for him to see. "Who knew Zim had human food." she said, having been pleasantly surprised by finding it in the fridge herself.
Relieved to see that it was just Gaz, Dib sighed before smiling back at her. "It must be left over from the breakfast Zim made me yesterday. Speaking of which..." his sentence trailed off before he peeked back out into the living room where Zim was sleeping. "I don't think Zim will be waking up anytime soon, but just in case, maybe I should make him something to eat for when he does." he said, making his way over to the fridge to look through for anything he was pretty sure Zim would be able to eat.
Munching on her cereal, Gaz merely shrugged. "Well, whatever..." she said before sighing. Despite trying to act like things were normal, it was obvious she was hurting.
Smile falling away, Dib could tell just by looking at her that she had had just as rough a night as he had, not that she would ever admit to it.
Finishing off her cereal, Gaz then stood up to leave. "I'm going to see about a job at the game shop...I spend enough time there...They've already asked me several times if I would work for them..." she informed him before heading on out.
"R-Really? Y-You really don't have to. I'm sure Zim has enough provisions to take care of all three of us. U-Unless you really want to..." he wasn't sure what Gaz's reason was for all of a sudden wanting to take this job.
Nodding her head slowly, Gaz merely took on one of her old scowls again. "Like I'd want to be stuck here all day with you two fairies." she said before turning away from Dib, a smirk clearly coming to her face now.
Blushing at her comment about them, Dib sighed before smiling again and returning to his previous task of making breakfast for Zim. Pulling out some leftover waffles from the morning before, he went ahead and placed them into what he assumed was the microwave to warm them back up.
Meanwhile, Gaz quickly got herself dressed back in her room and left the house shortly after finishing her meal without so much as saying a word, leaving Dib and the sleeping Zim alone in the base.
A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Next chapter may include a little of what some of you have been waiting for. So keep your eyes open for Chapter 22 next week. =3 Now, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.
To angel-winged-wolfess: Well, hello and congratulations on catching our 100th review. 8D I believe this be the first time we've talked (if you don't count the PM exchange we had last week XD). So let me welcome you to the group of other people who review our story. XD We're glad to hear you're enjoying our story so much and hope you continue to read it. =3 Compared with other ZADR stories, I think we actually DO rush the beginning a little bit. XD And it's definitely OOC. But in the way of plot, we have much to offer you. =3 I DID notice that you added the story to your story alert list about a week before you commented, so I thank you for that. =3 The story is updated weekly, so the best time to check back for updates will probably be Tuesdays as I try to update the same day of the week depending on which of those days is my least busy. It used to be Mondays during the summer, but since school started, Tuesdays became more reliable to me. So they'll more than likely be your best bet until winter break comes. =3 Then I may switch back to Mondays for a while. We'll see. Thanks again for commenting and we hope to hear back from you again soon. =3 (Noms on cookie).
To Cat Human: Well, hello. I believe you're new as well. =3 So nice of you to join us. Honestly, looking back at the reviews we received, you missed the 100th by less than a minute. So, if you'd like as a consolation, you can consider the chapter dedicated to you as well. =3 But angel-winged-wolfess' review was the first one to show up in my message box, so I had to give it to her. Anyways, we're so glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much and thank you for reviewing. =3 Here be the next chapter for your viewing pleasure and we hope to hear back from you again soon. =3
To Watermelondrea: Lol. XD Well, the drama is what keeps you people reading it. So we're glad to hear you enjoyed it so much. XD As for Membrane, we definitely have future plans for hum. But until then, he's going bye bye for a while now. We'll run back into him in later chapters. X3
To Invader Ang: Sorry, but you missed it by at least three reviews. And, no. Angel-winged-wolfess claimed her prize in a PM to me. I don't have plans to give out anymore than what I offered. If she HADN'T claimed it though, it definitely would have went to Cat Human, who missed it by mere seconds. So better luck to you next time. I'll probably do this again when we get around to the 200th review. Whether I'll mention it before hand or not however depends on my certainty of which chapter we'll receive it in. Last weeks was just lucky because nobody claimed it before I posted the next chapter and I was certain we wouldn't receive zero reviews. This one may come faster though seeing as how we pick up more and more reviewers each and every week. But anyways, getting back to the story, Gaz would definitely have to be with somebody who enjoys video games as much as she does and isn't afraid of her in the least. I'm fairly certain we've got the perfect character picked out for her. But that won't come for a while still. We're glad to hear you enjoyed last weeks Membrane VS Membrane confrontation and hope you enjoy today's chapter just as much even though there's less drama in it than last week's chapter. XD But that doesn't mean it's any less interesting! XD So here be Chapter 21 for you and we hope you look forward to Chapter 22 as well. =3
To Vithian: Yeah. Sorry about that. You missed by at least four reviews. And, yes. Angel-winged-wolfess got it followed by Cat Human mere seconds after she sent it in. And, yes. Membrane was bound to kick them out of the house eventually. But don't worry. They've got Zim to house them for a while now. Membrane will play of bigger role later on. Right now we're in the process of working out HOW though. Dib still has a few issues to work through before facing him. I'm sure we'll get to it eventually though. We always do. And I agree with you. Membrane is pretty awesome. =3 I just wish more people would stop portraying him in such a bad light. He needs more good roles. Because he's not a bad character in the show. Just ignorant. Like most of humanity. Lol. Hmmm...I suppose you could continue to read as a zombie. Perhaps Chapter 39 will just kill you and then bring you back to life because you're already the living dead. If you say you'll get through Chapter 39 though, then I'll believe you. =3 But no lemon-ade before Chapter 34! You have to live with lime-ade. Thanks again for the review. =3 Hope to hear from you again soon (as a person who's not a zombie yet though XD).
To Meta-Knight-1-fan: Yes. Poor Dibbles and Gaz be very saddened now by Membrane's disowning them. D8 But Zim would never do that. At least, he'd never do that to Dib. I'll have to get back to you on how he handles having Gaz around the house. Or perhaps I'll just let the next few chapters speak for themselves. To say the very least, I don't think Gaz really trusts Zim, which makes for interesting plot lines! 8D Anyways, it's not so much that Membrane doesn't care for them as it is he's just gone into a bit of shock. He'll come back into their lives as a more understanding father later in the story. Because we don't TOTALLY hate him. And, yes. XD Dib has picked up many skills in the way of arguing from his past arguments with Zim. XD We're glad to hear you enjoyed that aspect of the story, so here be more awesomeness for you. Though there's not really any arguing in today's chapter. ^^;
To SuperSaiyanKiri: Membrane's explosion was bound to happen eventually. He seems to keep his cool throughout the majority of the show, so given this takes place 5 years later, you have to assume he's just about reached his limit. Anyways, yes. Tak be awesome. But you'll see who Gaz ends up with later in the story. XD I'm not giving it away until we get there, even if you guess it. Not that it's that hard to figure out given I say what the pairings are in the summary of this story. XD Lol. I wouldn't call 6 just a few reviews off. Compared to Cat Human who missed it by only a few seconds, you didn't even come close to it. XD But if you'd like another try at it, I'll probably do it again when we reach our 200th review. So try to catch that one if you can. X3 And yayz for super special bars of chocolate! 8D (dance) We shall certainly enjoy them. =3 And we hope you enjoy Chapter 21. owo
To Casykirby: Lol. XD So far at least. I think you'll like some of the future chapters to come more though. X3 We'll see. Thanks for commenting. =3
To Sapcoat: Well, hello, new reviewer. =3 So nice of you to join us. Thank you for taking the time to send us a review. We really appreciate it. =3 It is quite easy to get lost in this story. XD Happens to our readers all the time. But I'm glad you were able to pull yourself out of it long enough to comment. Anyways, we're glad to hear you enjoy the fic so much and are quite flattered you would consider this story to rank amongst your top 10/5 (Whichever one it is. XD) And no need to thank us. We really do enjoy writing this story. It originally started as just something fun we were working on. We never imagined it would come this far or receive as much admiration by people as it has. So thank you for the kind words. =3 Hope this chapter brightens your day some more. 8D
To Illisandria Carthain: You're one of them, at least. =3 And we always look forward to receiving your reviews. 8D So thank you for taking the time each week to write us. =3 And we're flattered that you'd say it's our story that inspires you. ^/^ Anyways, as we've told other people, Membrane's just in shock at the moment. How he reacted was a little immature, yes, but had been coming for a while if you really think about it. He's usually always so calm with Dib and Gaz in the show. So 5 years later, you gotta suspect that everything he's bottled up those past years is just about to boil over. I think he's allowed at least one explosion in his lifetime when it comes to Dib and Gaz. He'll come back around though eventually. As for your weekly question, we don't really get into what happens to their mom in this story. All we really mention at some point is that she's dead. I don't recall giving a reason. But it is pretty obvious throughout that Dib seems to take it the hardest. It's kind of the root of his future psychological problems in this story. He has adverse reactions to it every time somebody mentions anything about his mother or motherhood in general. But that will make more sense a little later in the story. And Membrane wasn't necessarily a bad husband. He did love her, and it was her death that caused him to bury himself in his work and become somewhat neglectful of Dib and Gaz. I imagine it hurts him somewhat to look at them when they both remind him of her. Thanks again for reviewing. And yayz! 8D Milk to go with our cookies! ^w^
To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Lulz. X3 Well, thank you . We're glad to hear it.
To heartofstone15: Hello, new reviewer. So nice of you to join us today. =3 Indeed Membrane will be regretting kicking both Gaz and Dib out of the house. But not for the reason you may think. XD We'll get to that later in the story though. =3 For now, here's an update. Hope you enjoy. =3
To kaoru1174: Well, hello there. You kind of disappeared for a while there on us. XD Glad to hear back from you though. Zim shall be feeling better next chapter. Much, MUCH better. X3 And I also enjoyed writing that part between Dib and Gaz with Notgonnadie. It's always fun writing something your readers wouldn't expect to see happen between two characters. I figure, like it or not, they both ARE siblings and therefore important people in each others lives. So they must care for each other on SOME level. I don't think they're completely heartless. The fight does hold a bit of sadness to it, but don't worry. Membrane WILL come around eventually. Just might take a while in the story. But until then, there's much more to enjoy about this story. Like the fanarts. =3 I'm glad you were able to get around to them all. Admittedly, they're a little scrambled at the moment over on DA. But hopefully we'll have that fixed soon. As for the fanart you tried to create, we'd love to see anything you submit. 8D So if you ever make any, please do let us know. We'll add you to our fanart contest we're holding for this story. 8D Who knows. You might place in it. You never know. But anyways, here be an update for you. =3 We hope you enjoy. 8D
To maliceofhumansacrifice: Oh, so many new reviewers we're getting this week. 8D Hello and welcome. Thank you for taking the time to write us a review. We're glad to hear you find our story so enjoyable and cute. ^.^ The suspense and drama in this story is really what keeps you people reading it. Besides, we've both got WAY too many ideas running through our heads all at once. So this story is riddled with plot bunnies that jump all around. Thank you for taking the time to read our randomness. =3 We really appreciate it and hope you'll continue to read as we add more and more updates. =3