ZADR Orange Chapter 157

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: Me

Enjoy. =3

Nodding his head at Rose's words to him, Purple climbed into the front seat of the car before turning his attention back on Jack. "Yeah, we should get him. We don't have time for him to get a paste bath." he said, not wanting to waste what little time he had left on Earth waiting for the medical drone to arrive at Jack's and Rose's house.

Rose raised an eyebrow at that comment. "A paste bath?" she said before shaking her head. "Oh, never mind. I'm guessing it's an Irken thing." she said as she returned her own attention back to Dib.

"Zim used to take them according to what Dib used to tell me in the past. I was wondering why the rain wasn't burning you." Gaz glanced to the front at Purple.

"Well, either way, I think we can fit four of you into the back seat."

Remembering his time limit, Purple bit his bottom lip as they began heading back in the direction of Zim's base. "Oh yeah, sure. We can strap him to the roof if we can't. Now go! We have to hurry!" he said all too frantically, every second that went by feeling as though he were losing a lifetime's worth of time.

Rose flashed Purple another strange look at that remark. "No...We're not going to strap anybody to the roof. We can fit another person back here. But are you feeling alright, Purple? You seem a bit...distracted. D-Did something happen before you came here?" she asked, not understanding why he was in such a hurry now that they had found Dib.

"I'm fine…I just don't have much time. I have to talk to Dib and get back to the Massive."

Cowering in the seat they had put him in, his entire body still trembling, Rose looked back over at Dib. "I don't know if Dib will be all that up for talking any time soon...A-Are you going to be able to come back after you leave?" she asked, thinking it'd be better he talk to Dib at a later point in time.

Purple bit his lip at that question. "I don't think so..." he said, antennae drooping at the thought.

"Purple...We can take care of Dib without you here...B-But other than Dib, you're the only other one that was there when Zim...When he..." Rose couldn't finish her sentence, looking away and blinking some tears out of her eyes. "Purple...If you have it, we want his body...He at least deserves a proper burial here on Earth..." she then said, thinking that was the least they could do for Zim after everything that had happened.

Sighing, Purple shook his head at that request. "Red had it disposed of...But that's one of the reasons I need to talk to Dib." he hesitantly pulled Zim's PAK out of his own and held it close. "I found his PAK..." he said in a whisper he hoped only Rose would be able to hear in that moment.

Staring at the PAK wide-eyed, Rose then looked away again and took in a shaky breath. "H-He didn't want you to come here, did he?" she said, finally catching on to why it was so important Purple speak with Dib before he went.

Purple shook his head sadly. "It's all my fault." he said in a broken voice as he hugged the other's PAK close to himself.

"N-No...No, Purple...It's not your fault...Why would you say that? You haven't done anything wrong."

"I didn't let go...I…I knew Zim had moved on…But I never could…And now he's gone..."

"You still love him...But you can't blame yourself for any of this. You can't help the way you feel about him, even if his feelings were different..." Rose sent him a sad look.

Purple sighed. "It is my fault though…I shouldn't have come here to get away from Red..." he said, certain that if he'd just stayed away from Zim, none of this would have even happened.

"That's not true, Purple! How could you have seen this coming? You can't blame yourself for this. It's not like you planned for this to happen."

"That doesn't make me feel any better…And it won't bring Zim back."

Really wishing she could just hug him in that moment, Rose merely continued to stare sadly at Purple as the other broke down again and pulled his knees in to his chest in the car. "I'm so sorry, Purple...I can't even begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now...But I want you to know that we're all here for you too..." she reached forward a hand to place on his shoulder comfortingly from her spot in the back seat and squeezed it gently.

Sniffling a little, Purple nodded sadly. "We still have to hurry... I have to give this to Dib..." he clung to the PAK, not wanting to let go of it.

"Well, let's get him examined first. A-And then you can give it to him if you want." Rose ran her hand soothingly up and down Purple's back as Jack drove them up to Zim's base, stopping when they had pulled up right in front of the fence in the front yard.

"Alright, we're here."

Rummaging through some of the junk in the back seat, Rose then pulled out an umbrella from under the seat. "Would you rather I went and got him, Purple?" she asked, not wanting to make him go out into the rain again.

Purple nodded.

Nodding back, Rose got up out of the car with the umbrella and headed for the door. Without even knocking, she then just tried the door and pushed it open slowly to peek inside, instantly seeing the medical drone Purple had been telling them about sitting on the couch. "E-Excuse me? Y-You are the doctor here for Dib, right? I...I was sent by Purple to get you." she said, breaking the Irken out of his current thoughts and drawing his attention to her.

The medical drone looked up when she addressed him from the door. "Yes, I am..." he stood up to approach her. "Where are we going?" he asked, a little confused now as he assumed Dib was just going to be brought back there once found.

"W-Well, we're taking Dib to my house. Purple said you would be able to examine him there and treat him for any injuries he might have. W-We just stopped by to pick you up on our way back. Both Purple and Dib are waiting back in the car." Rose pointed behind herself to where Jack had parked the car.

The medical drone nodded and stepped outside when he noticed Purple waiting in the front seat.

Luckily holding the umbrella over his head, Rose kept it that way as they went back to the car.

Walking to the car in silence, the medical drone then glanced up at Rose. "Is Zim's mate okay? I mean, I know what happened to Zim, but..." his sentence trailed off as he wasn't quite certain how to approach the situation.

"Well, we're hoping you can tell us that once you get a good look at him."

The medical drone nodded. "I'll do what I can." he said, deciding to wait until he had a proper look at Dib himself.

Getting the door for him, Rose allowed him to climb in first before squeezing in herself and closing the door behind her. "Let's get back to the house, Jack." she then said once she had gotten herself strapped in again.

Nodding at those words, Jack drove the car at the fastest legal speed he could back to their house before everyone unloaded themselves from it and entered into their living room, carrying Dib along all the while.

Rose turned back to Jack, who had Dib cradled in his arms now. "Should we get him cleaned up first before examining him? He's been in these clothes all night long, and we definitely have to get them off of him." she said, reaching out a hand to grab at one of Dib's sleeves, which was sopping wet, and dropping it, causing it to make a wet, squishing noise, water dripping from it.

Making an odd face, Jack nodded. "Definitely. Here." he set Dib down onto the couch and started peeling off his clothes. "Can you get him a blanket?" he asked as he carefully began working the shirt off the hybrid's frame, certain he wouldn't like what he was about to see underneath it.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 157. =3 Until next time~