Chapter Notes

Disclaimers: I Do Not Own Invader Zim

Author's Note's: Chapter 24 is up! Enjoy!

[Back with Dib]

(Dib's house)

He had taken the long way home, too tiered, and to frustrated to really want to be anywhere at the time.

Unfortunately for Dib however sooner or later he would have to face reality. And that reality was simple: His life officially sucked! "Gaz, I'm home!" Dib groaned as he walked through the door. No Answer. "MMM" Dib closed the door. "Maybe she's still at the dance." He thought to himself, walking towards the kitchen. He stops at the entry way, his father, and sister are sitting at the table with two very well dressed men. "Dad, Gaz?" Dib asked. "What's going on?"

"Son these men are from the university" Professor Membrane said, standing up.

"Hi I am Charles." One of the well-dressed men stood up, and offered Dib his hand.

Dib didn't take it! "Dad I thought we talked about this!" He snapped.

"Son I just thought you'd like to hear them out before you made your final decision." Professor Membrane reasoned.

"I ALREADY MADE MY FINAL DECISION!" Dib yelled. "Get it through your head dad I am not you, I am my own person, and I want to do my own thing!"

"Of course you do my boy!" Charles stepped in. "We offer all kinds of science at the academy, just tell us what you want to do, and we'll provide you with the best education, and resources to get it!"

"I want to be a paranormal investigator!" Dib told him.

"Oh we don't have classes for that!" The other well-dressed men said.

"I know, that's why I didn't want to waste your time!" Dib told him. "But my dad here can't accept the facts that I'm not him!" Dib ranted. "He wants me to do "real science"

"Well that's clones for you." Charles said. "You create them, expecting them to be just like you and then WHAM! They're their own person."

Dib's eyes widen. "Wait…did…did you say clone?"

Charles blushed, as if he realized he had just made a mistake. "Did I say clone?" He asked. "What I meant to say was child, I-"

"No you said clone!" Dib shouted, He looked to his dad wanting him to laugh it off, to say the guy was talking about a different scientist, with a similar looking son; that he just got them mixed up with another family.

He didn't, Professor Membrane gave his son a guilty look. "Dad please tell me this is a lie…" Dib begged.

"Son I…" Professor Membrane began.

"Is this why you're so hung up on me being just like you!?" Dib shouted, pointing his finger accusingly at his father.

No answer.

"It is isn't it?" Dib screamed. "It all makes since now! This whole time I was a clone, and you never bothered to tell me!"

Still nothing, but silence!

"So that's it then?" Dib snapped. "You've got nothing to say?" "

Son I…" Professor Membrane sighed. "I never wanted you to find out this way."

"No save it dad!" Dib snapped. "I'm 17, I graduate this year when were you going to tell me Hu? On your death bed! When I'm like 50?"

"Son…" Professor Membrane tried to calm him down, but Dib was having none of it.

"No, I'm not your son, I'm your clone!" Dib shouted. "I don't even know who I am anymore!"

"Dib please." Gaz stood up, speaking for the first time that night. "Sit down we can work this out."

"Did you know?" Dib shouted at her accusingly. "Did you know I was a clone?"

Gaz sighed. "I wanted to tell you, but I felt dad should be the one to do it."

"Unbelievable!" Dib shouted. "Unbelievable! My whole life has been a lie, my mom isn't even my mom she's yours!" he said pointing at Gaz again. "Heck if dad didn't clone himself I wouldn't even exist!"

"Dib it doesn't matter you're still my brother, you're still Dib." Gaz said.

"No I'm not!" Dib shouted. "I'm sorry Gaz I just can't do this anymore!" he said, running up the stairs, and slamming his door.

"Well that went well." Charles' partner said.

"Well I guess it's safe to say he won't be coming in the fall." Charles said. "Well good bye now." He said, before they made a bee line for the door.

Gaz watched them go in disbelief. "Homewreckers!" She screamed after them! She than looked to her father. "You could have handled that better." She snapped.

"How long have you known?" Professor Membrane asked.

"I found your cloning research when I was cleaning the lab one day." Gaz said. "I saw the file labeled D.I.B, and I read it. You know you really should have told him sooner." She said, before making her way up stairs.

Professor Membrane just watched her go, speechless, he never really was good with emotions, or parenting and now he had lost his legacy. "I should have told him." He whispered. "But I knew how he'd react. Just like this…"

Gaz sighed, and knocked on her brother's door. "Dib please let me in."

"…It's open…" Came a small, and defeated voice from within.

Gaz opened the door to an unwelcoming sight, Dib packing! "You're leaving?" Gaz asked quietly.

"I'm sorry Gaz, but I can't stay here." Dib said, still packing. "My whole life has been a lie!"

"I never lied to you." Gaz said softly.

Dib froze.

"Listen I know I pick on you, and threaten you a lot, but that's because I'm your sister we're supposed to be at each other's throats." Gaz reasoned.

"Gaz it's not you." Dib said. "It's Dad, it's always been Dad, and to him I'm just a failed experiment. He wanted me to be just like him, but I'm not Gaz."

"I know." Gaz told him. "And just between you and me."

"Yeah?" Dib asked.

"I like the real you better." Gaz admitted. "I mean sure you're annoying, and crazy, but at least you come home every day."

Dib smiled. "And I still will, I just need my own space right now, to think. Besides I was going to move out a week after graduation anyways."

"Okay I get it, just promise you'll come see me for dinner." Gaz said.

"Every day, for the rest of our natural lives." Dib swore.

Gaz smiled, and throws her arms around him, Dib hugs her back too stunned to speak. It's a rare moment of peace between them. Finally Gaz pulls away. "Where will you go?" She asked.

"I have a few bucks, maybe a hotel." Dib assured her.

"Be careful." She told him.

Dib nodded, throwing his packed bag over his shoulder. "I will." He said, and walked out of the door, down the stairs, and out of the house. Out into the real world alone, with nothing, but a bag of clothes, and a name.

Gaz sighed, the house never felt emptier then what it did now!

[Following Dib]

It didn't take him long to find a hotel he could afford.

"One room please." Dib said as he walked up to the reception desk.

"Okay sir." A nice blond women said, from behind the desk. "I am Amy Sir, and if you could show me some sort of ID I can get a room set up for you." Dib pulled out his ID, and handed to her.

"Oh yes Mr. Dib...oh." Amy stopped.

"What?" Dib asked. "Is there a problem?"

"Well your ID says you're only 17, which means you're still a minor." Amy explained. "I'm sorry but your parent/legal guardian must sign you in."

"Oh come on!" Dib exclaimed. "I graduate this year!"

"Sorry, that's the rules." Amy said. "We do this so run always will have no choice but to go back home where they belong." her eyes suddenly widen. "You're not a runaway are you?"

"Uh no." Dib said, though technically he was. "Look please make an exception for me. I really have no other place to go."

"I'm sorry, you seem nice, but I could lose my job!" Amy said.

"Okay, thanks anyways." Dib said taking back his ID, and dragging his feet out the door. "Great now what?" he asked himself out loud. "I can't go home, not with dad there!" he wondered the streets sighing, until he noticed that he was on a familiar road. He looked up to see the last house he wanted to see at that very moment.

Zim's house!

"No I'm not that desperate!" Dib said, turning to walk away, but a cold wind cut through him, and he turned back around shivering. "I bet its warm in there." he said out loud. Oh god he had to be crazy to even consider it, and yet Dib found himself walking up his enemy's door step, he sighed, and rang the doorbell. "Well here goes nothing."

The door opens. "What do you want worm?" Zim asked, he was in his old disguise, and for some reason that made Dib smile. "Hello Earth to Dirt child!" Zim screamed.

"My Dad and I had a fight, the hotels won't let me in cause I'm a minor." Dib explained.

"So what's your point?" Zim asked.

"Can I crash here for a while?" Dib asked hopefully.

"You want to live here? With Zim?" Zim asked.

Dib nodded.

"This is some kind of strategy isn't it?" Zim asked. "You think you could live here and stop me from within my own walls."

"Please Zim It's really cold out here." Dib said shivering. "Besides what happened to: I take good care of my things?"

A Wicked smile slips onto Zim's face. "I thought you said you weren't mine?" he teased.

"If I say I am will you let me stay?" Dib asked hopefully.

"Mmmm" Zim pondered thoughtfully. "Well I guess so, but it would make our battles all the more stranger. I mean how would that work?"

"How about a truths?" Dib asked. "A temporary one."

"And why would we do that?" Zim asked.

"Zim I just found out something bomb shelling about myself, and now I really don't know who I am anymore." Dib admitted.

"You are Dib." Zim said. "The annoying paranormal crazed idiot dirt child that won't stop getting in my way."

"Yeah but now I don't really know if I want to do that anymore." Dib admitted. "My dad, isn't even my dad, he cloned his DNA and made me in some lab. I'm not even a real person." He said tears forming in his eyes.

Zim's brow rose, the boy looked like a lost puppy, sad, alone, and confused; longing for something more than the cards life had dealt him. He reminded Zim of himself in his younger years. Zim rolled his eyes. "Fine I will stop trying to destroy the Earth for now." he decided.

"Really?" Dib asked, wiping his tears away. "But why?"

"It's not really fun in less someone is trying to stop you." Zim admitted.

"Thanks Zim." Dib said moving to walk into the house.

"Forgetting something?" Zim asked.

Dib, froze not sure what he was talking about, than his eyes widen as he seemed to remember. "Oh and I'll stop trying to expose you."

"And?" Zim pressed.

"And what?" Dib asked.

Zim shook his head, 'stupid human'. "Who do you belong to?"

And that's when it hit him, 'Oh right I did promise to admit that.'

"I'm waiting Dib." Zim mused.

Dib rolled his eyes, but gave in. "I'm yours." He admitted.

Zim's smile widen. "Good boy, now come in before I change my mind you worthless filthy human!"

Dib laughed, and stepped into the warm home, his home until further notice, and strange as it sound he felt safe, welcomed even. He watched as Zim pulled off his disguise, and turned on the TV, only for Gir to steal the remote and change the channel to some annoying monkey show.

"Hope you didn't have your pathetic organ set on anything specific." Zim said rolling his eyes. For a moment Dib thought about suggesting Mysterious Mysteries. There was supposed to be a rerun today, but he shook his head, and sat down on the couch beside Zim. He wasn't going to go there, not now anyway. He needed some time to rediscover himself outside of his father's influence. And as Gir began to dance to the crazy monkey show, and Zim started shouting for his silence Dib found another smile slipping easily on his face, he was happy.

Sure he still had some issues to sort out, but at the moment he was safe and so was the Earth, and at that very moment he couldn't ask for more.

Chapter End Notes

Thanks for reading as always I ask you to leave a comment.

The next chapter will be up soon. So until then...

This is Emily signing off :)