A/N: Well, well, well. Will you look at that? We've reached Chapter 39 of ZADR Orange here on Fanfiction. This chapter be quite a milestone in our story. Why? Well, you'll all see soon enough why. But before we start, I actually have quite a few announcements to make this week so please READ THIS CAREFULLY. First of all, for those of you attending the upcoming InvaderCon, I thought it might be nice to let you all know that my Co-writer, Notgonnadie, WILL BE ATTENDING. So if you'd like to meet her in person, please do keep your eyes open for her. You might have to do a bit of asking around to find her, but just think about how awesome that would be if you DID meet her there. If any of you would like to contact her about what she'll be wearing while there so you might have an easier time finding her, you can message her on her fanfiction account: Chaos of the asylum. Unfortunately, I will NOT be attending as I do not currently have the time, money, or health to do so. So perhaps come the weekend, I'll hold a little something special here on FF for those of us who CAN"T attend. =3 Perhaps set up a random forum for us to have fun on and chat about IZ in. We'll see. So keep your eyes open for that. =3 Also, for reasons beyond my control, I would like to announce I'll be switching gears when it comes to reviews on this story. I am disabling the anonymous reviews due to trolling I've gotten on this story. None of my regular reviewers of course. But this is mainly to prevent an ex-friend of mine from continuing to troll my FF account. Therefore, if you do not already have an account here, you may want to make one in order to review. The person trolling me currently is a jealous DA friend who began an entire flaming war over on DA a few weeks ago. Because she will not just drop the situation, I am having to resort to any means possible to block her from having contact with me. Because honestly, I'm sick of putting up with her shit. So nobody blame yourselves for this. It's just a situation that arose as a result. Please forgive me for any inconvenience this may bring, but like I said, I don't put up with anyone's shit. Now, as for the matter concerning today's chapter. Like I mentioned last chapter, NGD and I both expect to lose a portion of our readers after reading through today's chapter. Why? You'll see soon enough. As such, please keep your reviews clean. I don't want a bunch of "WTF! I hate this!" reviews from any of you. If you don't like where we're taking the story from this point on, please kindly just press the back button and never return to our story again. We do not need a bunch of negative reviews centering around where we're taking this story from here on out. Should anybody leave such a negative review, they shall be blocked immediately and reported for abuse. And last but certainly not least, since we've finally reached this point in the story, I'd like to announce to all our FF readers that both NGD and I are currently in the process of hosting a fanart contest for this story. Should any of you like to enter, please do say so in your reviews and I'll PM you back with details on the contest and its prizes. In short, the challenge is to just make fanart from any past, present, or future scene in the story. No deadline has been set yet but that will be explained in the details later. And also, you are free to submit as many entries as you'd like should you decide to enter. =3 So we hope we pick up at least a few new contestants. As always, we extend much love to those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert lists and we hope you enjoy today's chapter. So remember, feedback be much appreciated.
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: Notgonnadie
Dib/Computer: Me
Beta: Notgonnadie
More time passed as Zim tried to keep Dib from getting himself killed by Tak on several occasion, but after a few more tries, Dib stopped, being too occupied with sudden sick feelings he would get.
Zim assumed he was just having trouble adjusting to digesting his old favorite foods with his new digestive track, so he was only mildly surprised the first few times he ended up throwing it up. He was always there to hold Dib tight afterwords though. So for the first few times, he thought nothing much of it, but as time went on and it continued, they both began to become worried. It had only been a bit over two months since the 'incident' when Zim started to notice that Dib was a little pudgier then usual.
"Dib?" Zim asked one morning, stroking his hair lightly. "You feeling any better today?" he asked, taking a seat on the bed and leaning over him.
Blinking his eyes open to peer up at Zim groggily, Dib could only groan. "Ugh...No..." he replied, still in bed after having had another rough night. "I'm starting to think I may not have digestive problems at all...Feels more like the stomach flu to me..." he groaned again, curling in on himself and squeezing his eyes tightly shut as another wave of nausea overcame him again.
Rubbing his back, Zim nuzzled into him. "Want me to carry you to the bathroom again?" he offered, having gotten used to this routine by now.
Nodding his head slowly in response, Dib reached up his arms to Zim. "I think you better hurry. I..." his eyes grew wide suddenly just as Zim was about to lift him. "Too late!" he shoved Zim aside and made a mad dash for the bathroom, his hands covering his mouth as he made it just in time to bring everything up that he had eaten the day before.
Rushing after him, Zim knelt down beside him and stroked his hair and lower back soothingly once he had pulled away. "I think we have a problem..." he nuzzled Dib sadly, not knowing what could possibly be making him so sick all of a sudden.
Antennae drooping, Dib merely sat there, panting for a few moments as he tried to recover. "I...I'm fine, Zim...J-Just give me a few hours, and then I'll head on down to the drug store and see what medications they have for nausea..." he sounded congested.
Looking a bit unsure about that, Zim's own antennae fell back at the suggestion. "Well...If that's what you want...I'll go with you though." he said, not wanting Dib to go alone.
Nodding his head slowly, Dib agreed to let Zim come with him. "Don't worry...I'll be fine. I'm sure it's just a bad case of the flu or something. It will pass in a few days. Besides, what else could it be?" he reassured the other that it was nothing to worry about.
Pulling Dib into a loose hug, Zim could only sigh. "I hope you're right..." he was terrified that something far worse might be wrong with Dib.
Smiling back up at him weakly, Dib leaned up slowly to press a gentle kiss to Zim's lips. "I'll be fine...And while I'm down there, why don't I go ahead and shop for a few other foods? You know, some things that won't upset my stomach so much." he suggested, thinking that perhaps a change in diet would help.
"Okay..." Zim sighed out, not quite so sure that would help Dib as he helped the other to stand up slowly.
Smirking at the Irken, Dib slowly got back to his feet with Zim's help. "Unless you'd rather I didn't. Maybe the next time I run into Tak, I could get back at her for brainwashing my sister by puking all over her uniform." he laughed jokingly, trying to lighten Zim's mood a bit.
But Zim could only glare at Dib for that remark, not finding it very funny. "Don't even joke about that. Just avoid her." he said, pulling Dib closer in a more protective fashion.
Antennae falling back at the glare he received from Zim, Dib dropped his gaze back down to the ground below. "S-Sorry..." he apologized before sighing, his eyelids falling half-lidded as things suddenly seemed to grow very awkward between them.
Noticing the change in Dib, Zim sighed also and looked away. "...I'm sorry...I shouldn't have reacted like that...but I don't want you getting hurt..." he worried constantly about Dib's safety.
Continuing to stare down at the ground for a few moments longer, Dib didn't look back up until he went to speak again. "I know...But if you understood how I felt about my sister staying with her, you'd know why I want to get back at her so badly. I mean, Gaz is my last living relative present in my life. And it just feels like Tak is taking her away from me..." he explained, hugging himself a bit.
Sighing yet again, Zim didn't want to look back at Dib. "Well...It's not like she's hurting Gaz..." he said half under his breath.
Sighing also, Dib dropped his gaze back down to the ground. "That's not what I'm afraid of though...I'm not afraid of her hurting Gaz. I know full well that Gaz can take care of herself in that respect. It's "other things" I'm worried about. Like what the fuck Tak's doing with my sister at night when she's not in school." he shuddered, not wanting to think about it. "For all I know, they could be having sex every night, Zim! I know Gaz is mature and all, but that doesn't change the fact that she's only 15 years old!" he looked back up at Zim with a more serious look on his face now.
Blushing deeply at the word 'sex', Zim refused to meet Dib's gaze. "S-Sex? Umm...Ehem...Uhh...I-I think she's fine. I doubt they would be doing THAT." he stuttered out nervously, just wanting to steer away from that topic now.
Antennae drooping even lower at Zim's words, Dib dropped his voice down to a whisper. "Well, you're the one who said she probably wanted Gaz as a mate...What else am I supposed to assume their doing if not that...?" he reminded Zim of who had even brought it up.
"Uhh..." Zim tried to think of something he could say but shut his mouth quickly, not knowing what else he could say as he kept his eyes averted.
Entire body seeming to slump at Zim's lack of a response, Dib merely hugged himself tighter. "See? I knew I wasn't just being paranoid." he then closed his eyes and sighed again.
Sighing at Dib's sudden downtrodden demeanor, Zim could only shake his head a bit. "Dib...I...should tell you something..." he said, his conscience beginning to eat away at him again.
His antennae still drooping, Dib looked back up at Zim and sniffed. "Yeah? What is i-" he cut himself short suddenly and wrapped his arms around his abdomen. "Hold that thought!" he said before quickly returning back to his knees in front of the toilet as another wave of nausea overcame him for the second time that morning.
Worried again, Zim could only watch as Dib brought up his dinner from the night before. "A-Are you sure you can go on your own to the store?" now he really didn't want to let Dib leave on his own.
His face a pale white now, Dib pulled away again after a moment. "Nooo..." he groaned, curling in on himself a bit, not wanting to move from that spot.
Looking sadly at Dib, Zim knelt down to wrap an arm around him, rubbing his lower back gently. "Are you sure you don't want the computer to scan you?" he then asked, having offered that option to Dib a few days earlier, which the hybrid swiftly turned down.
His antennae shivering, Dib shuddered at the thought. "I don't know what good it would do, but if it would make you feel better to do so, I guess it couldn't hurt...B-But I don't think I can walk right now..." he informed the other, not feeling up to trying at the moment.
Sliding an arm under his legs, Zim held behind his back as he hoisted the boy into his arms. "Then I will carry you." he said, picking him up bridal style with fair ease.
Wrapping his arms around Zim's neck, Dib merely smiled up at him. "Alright...I'll try not to puke on you either then..." he smiled teasingly at him, his smile weak however.
Nuzzling Dib affectionately, Zim began carrying Dib in the direction of his medical bay. "I'll make this as quick and painless as possible, okay, Dib...?" he said softly to the other.
Nodding his head as Zim carried him into another room and placed him down onto a table in the room, Dib slowly brought up his legs to lay himself out on it. "Okay..." he trusted Zim as he closed his eyes once he had been set down, as though to sleep.
Smiling sadly at Dib, Zim reached out a hand to stroke his hair gently. "I do hope nothing is wrong with you...COMPUTER!" he then raised his voice to the ceiling.
"WHAAAT?" the computer groaned out in an annoyed voice.
Blinking his eyes open once at all the yelling, Dib then closed them again, starting to fall asleep on the other.
Zim glared at the ceiling. "Do a full body scan on Dib, and let me know what's wrong with him." he figured that if his computer couldn't tell him, then nobody else would be able to.
"FIIINE!" the computer groaned again before beginning a scan on Dib, who was trying not to fall asleep there on the table. It wasn't until about 30 seconds or so later that it announced it had finished its scan and should be done analyzing the data in about 3 minutes.
Lifting his head slightly when he heard that the scan was finished, Dib then sat himself up slowly, rubbing one of his eyes. "Can I go lay down while you're waiting for the results? I'm fading fast..." he asked Zim, thinking that in another 3 minutes he'd be out cold asleep again.
Nodding his head, Zim went ahead and picked Dib up from the table. "Here. I'll carry you to bed." he said, nuzzling him as he left the room to go lay Dib down and cover him up so he could sleep. Then, returning to the room to retrieve the results, Zim directed his attention back up to the ceiling again. "So, what's wrong with my Dib?" he asked, arms crossed about his chest.
"Scans indicate no viral or bacterial diseases present in the subject's body. However, there does seem to be a growth of some sort, three actually, forming in the area right below his lower stomach." the computer informed him of the information it had gathered from the scan on Dib's body.
A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. That enough info for you guys to base your conclusions on? XD Anyways, remember that NGD and I do NOT want to receive any negative reviews should you decide you hate where we're taking said, let me now respond to those of you reviewed last chapter. =3
To lilybean queen of the i ocean: Lol. XD Back to that again, are we? Well, we're glad to hear it. As always. =3
To Dlbn: Indeed. =3 And here's another one. Anyways, yes, we do torment poor Dibbles oh so much in this story. And personally, I couldn't resist throwing in the dodgeball to do the job in that last chapter. XD Here's your next update though. We hope you enjoy. 8D
To Mrs Inuyasha Kagome: Oh, yes. It was quite horrible what happened in Japan. D8 I hope that your home island wasn't too horribly damaged as well and will keep that in my prayers. Before I leave you with this new chapter, however, can I please request you do something? I can see you're using an icon here on FF that was made for this story by my friend Sassafrass002. Can you please give her credit for the artwork in your profile? ^^ I'm not saying you stole it or anything, but we have dealt with LOTS of art thieves when if comes to that particular picture. I'd just like to get the word out there of who the ACTUAL artist is so people will stop stealing it and claiming it as their own. We've not only had people steal it but alter the work on top of that. So please. Can you mention that in your profile? She took the picture down for a reason and I'm just trying to protect it anywhere else that is still remains. After all, it was intended as gift art for myself and NGD for this story. So I'm kind of protective of the art Sassafrass002 does for our story. Thank you.
To GRT33H33: Well, welcome back then. XD We're glad to hear from you again. =3 I think this last chapter speaks for itself why we expect to lose people. XD So hopefully we don't lose you as a reader over this. But if we do, at least it was nice while it lasted. =3 Anyways, if you'd like to continue reading and posting reviews after reading this chapter, please keep in mind that I'm about to block anonymous reviews to cut back on trolling. So please make an account if you'd like to continue talking with us. =3
To heartofstone15: Lol. XD Well, I don't have to memorize it. Just about every site with minors on it includes that statement in their Terms of Service. I WISH FF would just offer the option of putting up a filter for such material, but alas, they do not. As for the 39th chapter, I believe it speaks for itself, don't you? XD
To ZahvayTheFallen: Well, hello there, new reviewer. So nice of you to join us. =3 I'm sorry for the suspense, but this story is only updated weekly for a reason. The fanart is kind of a giveaway, but still, that is only up to a certain point. There's still much about this story that fanart hasn't been made for. Perhaps you'll be the first to create fanart for some of those scenes, if I'm correct in assuming you were going to make us some. =3 For the record, we DO have a fanart contest in progess. So do feel free to enter if you'd like. ^^ We're glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much so far. Though don't read through it too quickly. It's a lot to take in. Trust me, there's plenty of time to take things slowly and just enjoy it. =3 After all, we don't want you forgetting the beginning by the time you catch up. XD
To xxBrokenHeartxx: Fuck off, Lilac. I know that's you under a different username. I've already told you I want nothing more to do with you so just fuck off, get a life, and quit trolling me on EVERY FUCKING SITE!
To thegreatandmightySANDRIA: Lol. XD Well, I'm glad you sent this in before I posted today's chapter because I'm disabling anonymous reviews from being sent after this point. I'm sorry for the inconvenience of that, but it's to prevent trolls on here. (Really only one who hates both myself and NGD, but still. _) Anyways, yesh! Teh TAGR be sexy indeed! XD And in my eyes, if there had to be a seme, I'd also agree that Tak would be the seme. But in general, I tend to think of neither being seme or uke. They just take turns, which is kind of what I do with a LOT of other pairings too. Despite thinking this way, however, surprisingly enough, I actually think Gaz comes off as more a seme in this particular story. You'll see why later on. But for now, you can think of it as either seme Tak or equal ground. NGD and I never actually specifiy in this story. XD As for poor Dibble's tummy, I know you've already read ahead. So I don't have to worry about losing you over this chapter. XD We appreciate your love for us and express equal love back towards you for being such an awesome reviewer. *Huggle* As for your story, I'll have to wait until after I'm on break to actually read it. But I'll give it a look when I get the chance. Tell me, is it an original, ORIGINAL story? (ie. not associated with some fandom?) If so, I'd be happy to also give you feedback on it and how you may improve it. =3 I love analyzing original stories. Fanfiction kind of falls into a different category though. As always, we look forward to hearing back from you again soon. And hopefully I'll even find the time to speak with you over the weekend. =3 You know, if you're not attending InvaderCon already. XD