A/N: All right, so it's a bit late but oh well. Merry Christmas! Here's your late Christmas present. An update! Finally! And you know what would be a really nice Christmas and birthday present for me? Not killing me for taking so long on this chapter. That and plenty of reviews. Lol. Just kidding. But seriously, don't blame me for taking so long. Skool was killing me with finals and to tell you all the truth, this chapter was a hell of a lot longer than I thought it would be. It took me forever to write, let alone type. So no complaints. Feel lucky that I'm finally on Winter Break. I don't have to go back to skool until January 24th, I think. So I should have plenty of time for updates now. Anyways, let's get started now, shall we? Disclaimer: I own nobody in this chapter but there is a mention of one of my girlfriend's characters, Ghost, at the end of this chapter. But in reality, we won't meet him until the third story of the trilogy. I just mention him in this story a few times. So enjoy Chapter 7: Month 4- Space.
Warmth. There was so much warmth and comfort. He didn't know why, but he never wanted it to end. The pain had lessened dramatically, and his headache was nearly gone now. It made him want to remain in this unconscious state longer than he knew would be safe. He wanted to stay asleep and never have to wake up again, but he knew he couldn't.
The Tallest were coming, and he couldn't afford to waste any more time. Every second he spent recovering would bring them all just that much closer to their impending doom. If they were going to have any chance of surviving any of this, then he had to wake up. He had to tell Dib. He had to prepare. The sooner they managed to get everything they'd need together, the better. There was no chance they could face the entire Irken Empire alone, so they'd have to do the next best thing. Run. They had to leave the planet completely and seek out extra help. Zim already knew where to look for help. Now it was just a matter of actually waking up and getting things ready for their long journey.
He felt consciousness slowly returning as he struggled to open his eyes. All his senses told him he was no longer lying on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, but he needed to see it for himself to truly believe it. His antennae twitched, a few small beeps coming to them every once in a while, like a video game. Crimson eyes finally managed to just barely open as vision slowly returned. At first, all he saw was a blinding white light, but other colors were soon to follow as he blinked them open more to get a better idea of his surroundings. One of the first things to meet his eyes when his vision had finally cleared enough to make anything out was Gaz sitting in a chair next to the bed he was laying in, playing one of her handheld games. It had him nearly jumping back out of bed and screaming. "DON'T KILL ME!"
He tried to shrink farther away from the demon girl when she looked up from her game to give him a rather unimpressed look. "Just shut up and relax. Your voice is more annoying than Dib's." she paused her game and put it down on a small table nearby to get up and gather a few things.
Zim just watched her with wide eyes, practically hiding behind the covers. "Aren't you going to exact your revenge on me by ripping my throat out or something?"
Gaz shrugged. "I was going to, but I told Dib if he could bring me proof you hadn't done it, I would believe him. And he did. At about 2 in the morning, he dragged in your sorry ass out of the rain. You were covered in blood. You may be stoopid, but even you wouldn't hurt yourself that bad. Hell, even Dib wouldn't go that far, and he's been known for doing stoopid shit like that. That's enough proof for me."
Zim just blinked his eyes confusedly at that information. "Dib? He brought me in? But then what happened to-? Where's Gir?"
"He's fine. He's probably just sleeping somewhere in Dib's room." she gestured loosely with her back turned to him. "Here. Open your mouth." she ordered as she shoved a thermometer into his mouth, practically gagging him. She turned back to face him before taking a seat to wait.
Zim made an attempt to speak through the thermometer. "Bhut what happhened to Dhib?" his words were a little hard to make out. "Where ihs he?"
Gaz had gone back to playing her game. "If you must know, he went to bed about two hours ago. He's exhausted. He waited up all night for you to return just to have to go searching for you around 11:00 at night with Gir. Then he had to carry you home on his back in the rain. You're just lucky he found you. He even spent an extra two hours cleaning you up afterwards. You were hurt pretty badly when he got you in. I practically had to threaten him to go to bed. Now quit talking with the thermometer in your mouth."
Zim obeyed and kept silent until the thermometer beeped once. Putting down her game again, Gaz took the device out of Zim's mouth to look it over. "Eh. Your temperature is close to normal. Closer than Dib's anyways." she shrugged and got up to get something else.
Zim watched her closely as she moved about the room. "What do you mean?"
Gaz returned to the bedside with what looked to be a bottle of some liquid medicine and a spoon. "What I mean is that you guys should learn to stop running around in the rain so much." she poured some into the spoon. "Open up."
Zim looked at the liquid skeptically. "What is it?"
Gaz sighed harshly. "It's just something to keep you from getting sick. Now, quit being such a baby and take it already."
Zim spoke up quickly before she could force it into her mouth like she had done with the thermometer. "Why are you doing all this for me? I thought you hated me."
Gaz lowered the spoon slightly. "I do. But I doubt you want my dad anywhere near you, and trust me, you definitely don't want Dib anywhere near you right now. You have no idea how pissed he is."
Zim's eyes went wide. "Really?"
"Yes, really. Now take your medicine already." She shoved the spoon into Zim's mouth when he was distracted.
Zim instantly made a sour face and stuck his tongue out. "Bleh! That tastes awful!"
Gaz just rolled her eyes. "Suck it up. It's not nearly as bad as what Dib's going to do to you when he wakes up again."
Zim groaned. "I don't have time to argue with him. I have to get my ship running again." As if just remembering his whole reason for this entire situation, he sat up more in bed to get up. He instantly regretted it, however. A sharp pain ran straight through his body at all the movement. Dropping the blanket down to his waist, he wrapped his arms around himself. "Damn. I was hoping most of the pain would be gone when I woke up. But I have to get moving. I can't stay in bed all day." Zim's fingers gingerly passed over his bruised skin and some bandages. That's when the realization hit him and his eyes went wide. "Where the hell are my clothes?!" he pulled the covers back up around himself.
Gaz just shook her head. "Like I said before, you were covered in blood. They're in the wash."
Zim ran his fingers over the bandages once again. There was one wrapping around his head, another crossing around his chest, a third one around his thigh, and one last one a little lower on his leg. "Then who?...who?..."
"Dib. Dib bandaged you up. I wouldn't touch your naked body with a 12 foot pole." Gaz said in a matter of fact kind of way.
Zim glared slightly at her, though a bit relieved. "Well can I have another pair of clothes then so I can get back to work?"
Gaz faked thinking about that. "Let me thing...hmmm...No. You can barely move let alone work. Now, here." she held up another spoonful of medicine.
Zim instantly backed away from her. "What?! You never said anything about having to take more! There's no way I'm swallowing another spoonful of that stuff!"
Gaz crossed her arms momentarily. "The bottle says to take two doses for the best results. If you really want to get better then you need to take it."
She uncrossed her arms to try and force the spoon into his mouth again, but he struggled this time, turning his head away every time it got too close to his mouth. "I'm not taking anymore of that stuff! Zim is just fine! I need none of your human medicine to get better! My PAK has all the medication I need!"
He tried to push her hand away stubbornly, but she wasn't going to give up so easily. "Your PAK doesn't work very well then. If it did, then you'd be able to actually move without any pain, but it's obvious you can't. So quit resisting me or I'll hold you down and make you take it!"
They continued to struggle like that for several minutes before another voice was raised in the room. "Here, Gaz. I'll do it."
Both Zim and Gaz stopped their fighting to look to where the voice had come from. Dib stood in the doorway of the room, a tired, emotionless expression on his face. Dib's sudden presence had Zim staring intently at him. He watched as Dib walked slowly into the room and grabbed the spoon from his sister. For some unknown reason, Zim suddenly couldn't speak, just watch as Dib came closer.
He wasn't expecting such rough treatment from Dib, but the human boy shoved the spoon much harder into his mouth than Gaz had before yanking it out. The liquid left a nasty taste in Zim's mouth, and he wanted to spit it out. That's when Dib came down to eye level with him to give him a long, hard stare. "Don't you dare spit it out."
Dib's gaze was so intense; it had Zim tensing up some before finally swallowing it down. He made another face and stuck his tongue out, looking sicker than he already looked before. But it wasn't the medicine that was making him feel sick in that moment. It was the look Dib was giving him. It wasn't a glare or even that much of a scowl, but those amber eyes seemed to hold a silent fury in them that Dib could let out at any moment. It made Zim feel extremely uneasy as his antennae same to rest at the sides of his head.
He didn't think it was possible, but Dib actually looked scarier than Gaz in that moment. Normally, one would have never guessed they were related in any way, but that look was so eerily like Gaz's that for once, it was easy to see they were related. Dib spoke again. "Gaz, I'd like to have a word alone with Zim. Please leave the room." he said in such a calm voice, it had Zim shivering.
Gaz simply snatched up her game to leave. "Whatever. He's your problem now." she turned and left the room.
Zim thought having one of the siblings out of the room would help but it actually just made things ten times worse. It was obvious he had been left to deal with the worst of the two at the moment.
A few moments passed in complete silence, and he hated every second of it. Despite his nervousness, the last thing he wanted to show in front of Dib was fear. So he gave Dib one of the best glares he could manage in that moment. He didn't want Dib to know how intimidated he felt at his stare.
Dib opened his mouth to speak as he brought a finger up to point at him as though he was about to scold a young child, but nothing came out. Letting out a frustrated sound, he dropped his hand and made it into a fist. He wasn't sure exactly what to say to the Irken. He wanted to scream and yell at the other until he got his point across. He wanted to slap or punch him at least once to prove his frustration but knew that wouldn't help matters. Zim was already hurt enough as it were. He wanted to grab Zim by the front of the shirt and shake him until he understood how Dib felt but there was nothing for him to grab. All he could do was stand there feeling defeated.
He let his head drop with the rest of his body so the other couldn't see his face. Closing his eyes, he cursed. "Damnit, Zim..."
Zim watched Dib curiously, his face softening when he saw Dib slumping forward. He saw Dib's form shaking a bit with emotion and heard the boy let out a choked sob. "Damnit, Zim! Don't ever do that again! Do you have any idea how worried I was?! Do you even care?!" he brought his head back up so Zim could see his face. It was no longer angry but hurt with tears rolling down his cheeks.
Zim suddenly wanted to pull Dib close, to tell him everything would be okay, but he knew he couldn't. He'd be lying if he did that, and he didn't want to lie to the boy, especially when he was already upset enough as it was. "I...can't make any promises..." he said as he looked away to the ground. "...but I do." He looked back up at Dib before making an effort to crawl forward on the bed so he could grab his shirt and pull the boy to his chest. "I really do." he tried to soothe the boy, running his fingers through the dark strands of hair.
Dib let Zim pull him onto the bed as he clung to Zim's body, burying his face in the other's chest to cry. How had their roles reversed so suddenly? One minute he was the one in there trying to take care of Zim and the next, he was pressed tightly to the Irken's body, receiving all the comfort he had given to the other a day ago. But he didn't want to move quite yet. He just wanted to stay there until Zim reassured him that everything would be alright. When nothing along those lines came from Zim's mouth, he tightened his hold on Zim more as though at any moment the alien would just disappear from his life forever. In a more desperate tone than he meant to use, he said those three words he had last said to Zim before falling asleep, as though it may be his last chance to tell the other how he felt. "I love you."
Zim's hand slowed before stopping completely. "Don't." he whispered.
That one simple word had Dib's eyes widening before looking up from Zim's chest. Had he heard right? "What?"
Zim's hands had stopped but they continued to hold tightly to Dib, one hand fisting in Dib's hair, the other in Dib's shirt near his back. Zim's eyes remained anywhere but on Dib. He had really hoped it would never come to this, but he couldn't handle going through with it. He didn't want to look at Dib when he told the boy the truth. He couldn't. It all hurt too much. "Lust, passion, intimacy. Do it for any of those reasons, but don't do it for that reason. I don't want it to turn into that." The words were just as painful for Zim as they were for Dib, but they were true. He didn't want to ever feel the pain of ever losing Dib were something to happen to either of them or worse; If Dib left him for any other reason. He knew it would still hurt, but he didn't think he'd be able to handle it if he let their relationship develop that far. He only hoped for Dib's sake, it wasn't too late.
Dib was speechless a moment. "B...but, Zim! Don't you care-?"
"Yes, I care! Don't you get it?! I care too goddamn much to put you through any of that!" Zim screamed at the boy, feeling himself breaking down.
Zim's words had Dib falling silent. "So all this time...you were just using me for pleasure?"
Zim couldn't hold the tears back any longer. "Of course not! It just can't turn into...love..." he choked down a sob. "So just please, stop already."
Dib's voice grew softer as he listened to Zim. "Why can't it be more?" he nestled his face back in Zim's chest.
Zim held Dib closer, hiding his face in Dib's hair. "Because, it just hurts too much."
They stayed embracing each other for what felt like forever until sleep finally began to slowly win over them.
Zim awoke again for the second time that day, his eyes sore from crying. He didn't want to move, but he knew he had to. It took him a moment to realize Dib was still clinging to him as he attempted to sit up. The boy's face was pressed up against one of Zim's sides like a pillow. Dib's skin was so warm. It seemed the boy really had worried himself sick.
Zim shifted a bit, knowing he couldn't leave the room until Dib woke up. His clothes were probably still in the wash, and he really didn't want to risk making his way naked to Dib's room to borrow another pair. And he doubted Dib would be happy to wake up with him gone again. But he had to get up. He couldn't waste any more time resting.
Gently, he shook Dib in an attempt to wake him up. "Dib...Dib...Wake up..." He continued to shake the boy until he finally opened his honey-colored eyes.
The first sight to greet Dib's eyes was Zim looking down on him. It took him a moment to remember everything that had happened right before he had fallen asleep, but when he did, he could feel everything in him crumbling. But he refused to cry again. He had already looked weak in front of Zim once today, and he didn't want Zim seeing him like that again. Instead, he just averted his eyes as he sat up. "I'm sorry...Did you need something?"
Dib looked miserable and Zim hated seeing him like that. Zim shifted his gaze to anywhere that wasn't Dib. "Um...Yeah...Can I get another pair of clothes? I have some work I should get to." Their conversation felt so empty, and Zim hated how it made him feel, knowing he had caused it.
Dib shifted to get out of bed. "Yeah...sure...I'll get you a pair of mine." It took him a few minutes to return, carrying a pair of black pants and a black T-shirt with the words "Mysterious Mysteries" in lime green on the back. Taking a seat on the bed, he handed Zim the clothes, not bothering to get up and leave. He had already closed the door.
Zim accepted the clothes thankfully before moving to get out of bed. His body was still sore, but he'd live. Taking care not to brush too roughly over new wounds, he pulled on the pants and shirt as quickly as he could before grabbing a communicator out of his PAK to call Gir. "Gir. Meet me in front of the house and be in disguise."
Dib, who had been eyeing the Irken the entire time he got dressed, sat up straighter at the command he had just given Gir. "You're going?! But, Zim! You're hurt! Don't you think you should be getting some more rest before-"
"I'm fine. I can't waste any more time recovering. I need to get a few things from my base to help fix up my base faster." Zim interrupted.
Dib didn't like where this idea was going, however. "But, why? Why can't it wait a few days? You really should be in bed res-"
"Dib!" Zim interjected forcefully before dropping his voice to a lighter tone. "They're coming. They know. I'm sorry but if I don't have my ship running in a week then we're all doomed. I shouldn't be long though. In the meantime, you should think about packing up everything important you'll need. We need to leave as soon as physically possible."
All the new information had Dib's head reeling as he fell back to sit on the bed again. "What?! Your leaders, right? They know that you're... and Gaz...and Oh my God! In a week?! There's no way we can be ready in that amount of time! And what about everyone else?! What's going to happen to-"
Zim suddenly stepped forward to grab a hold of Dib's upper arms. "DIB! Calm down! I have a plan, but we need to hurry. And don't worry about the rest of the planet. They're here for reproduction purposes. They should be safe for a while at least. There's nothing we can do about it now though. We'll need to get some help if we're going to save your planet."
Dib felt sick but just nodded his head in response, their relationship problems becoming one of the last things on his mind now.
Zim simply nodded his head once. "Good. Now, tell me. Is Tak's ship functional?"
Dib looked away a moment as he thought about it. "It works but it could still use some fixing up if you intend to use it."
Zim nodded some more. "Good...good... We'll pick it up tomorrow and bring it here. If I pull an all niter, I should have my ship running by morning. But I have to get going and get the parts I'll need." he said, pulling away from Dib.
Dib just nodded and got up to follow Zim outside.
Almost the second he stepped outside, Zim was assaulted by the green and black puppy. "Master! I was so worried!" Gir squealed as he latched onto Zim's head.
The sudden impact had Zim falling back against Dib, who caught him as he stumbled. Zim gently plucked the little robot off his head to hold in his arms. In a gentler voice than Dib expected, Zim responded to the disguised android. "I know, and I'm sorry, Gir. I didn't mean to scare you." he turned to face Dib. "or you..."
Gir let out a happy sound, but Dib didn't know how to respond to that. He was speechless as he stood there watching Zim. He wanted to pull Zim close and never let go, but his body wasn't responding to his brain.
Zim sighed gently as he turned back around to set Gir down. "Guess we should get going." he turned back to Dib. "I'll be back soon." With that said, he leaned forward to place a kiss on Dib's lips, but Dib turned his head so Zim could only get his cheek.
"It's getting late." he said as he pointed out the setting sun.
Zim knew he shouldn't have expected Dib to respond too nicely to a kiss, but it still hurt, more than he cared to admit. Taking a step back, he brought one fisted hand to his chest as he gave Dib a slightly hurt face. "Yeah...I guess you're right...I'll just leave now..."
He turned to leave but felt a hand grab his arm. "Wait...it's getting cold out...you might want to take a coat with you...you know...in case it rains." Dib said, refusing to make eye contact. It only took him a minute to return with his trench coat. Being careful of Zim's injuries, he helped the Irken slip into the slightly oversized trench coat. "There. That's better."
Zim tugged slightly at one of the sleeves before looking back at Dib. "Thanks...See you later..."
Dib just shrugged. "I'll be waiting." he smiled gently.
Zim smiled at that before jumping on Gir's back to head back toward his base.
Dib waved once before pulling his hand back, still feeling fairly upset at the moment. He wanted to sit there and wait for Zim to return again but knew he couldn't. If the threat Zim was proposing were really as close as he said they were, then they'd have to start preparing now.
It didn't take much to convince Gaz, but Membrane was a completely different matter. Membrane didn't want to believe what Dib was trying to tell him. It was hard enough believing something he didn't understand, let alone Zim's word. Dib didn't blame him for being at least a little skeptical. It had taken him 16 years to finally believe Dib about there being aliens, and even then he had only believed after seeing Zim with his own two eyes. But this time they couldn't just wait for him to see an alien invasion to believe it. By then it would be too late and they couldn't take that risk. He had to think of a different strategy.
After about an hour of brainstorming, he came up with a solution that would hopefully be irresistible to his dad. As Membrane sat in his lab, working on a new invention, Dib came up behind him. "Hey, dad. When was the last time you actually took a vacation?"
Membrane put down his work a moment to think about that. "Hmmm...about three years, maybe four. Who do you ask, son?"
Dib just leaned a bit against the table Membrane was working at. "Oh, no reason. I was just wondering if maybe you'd actually like to take one anytime soon...like say...maybe sometime next week?"
Membrane immediately brought up a finger to wag at him, however. "No. No. I've got far too much work to do to be taking a vacation any time soon. There are so many cures to be found and inventions to be made. Perhaps in a month or two, we can all take a cruise or something." he said continuing his work.
Dib simply pushed himself up from where he was sitting. "Actually, dad. I was thinking maybe you'd like to take a space trip instead. You know, get a new change of scenery to work in, and maybe even study some of the things out in space close up."
Membrane's movements stopped suddenly. "Well, I have been wanting a change of scenery and there are a few phenomena I've always wanted to look further into. Alright, Dib. I'll give it some thought and get back to you on that." he resumed his work as Dib left the room.
He knew pushing his father too far all in one night would screw things up completely so in the meantime, Gaz would have to help him with the packing, which shouldn't take too long. There weren't many very important things they'd need for the trip. Basically just the same stuff Dib had packed before leaving for the asylum. Until Zim got back, he'd just pack what he could. Zim could always go through it later and decide what they had room for in his and Tak's ship. He only hoped they would hold more than they looked like they would hold. He doubted there'd be much room in the front of the ship, even with only two people in each.
As Dib continued his packing late into the night, he completely lost track of time. He didn't even hear Zim as he came back into the house around 11:00. The Irken was sneaking in as quietly as he could in an attempt not to wake anyone up. He was carrying a box of different Irken tools and pieces he needed to complete the repairs on his ship. Setting the box aside a moment, he made his way back upstairs to look in on Dib.
Slowly opening the door to Dib's room just enough to peak in, he noticed Dib's room was filled with boxes. Opening it more, he stepped in to find Dib fast asleep on the ground with his head in his arms on a half packed box. The boy had gotten much more done in the time he was gone than he thought possible. Perhaps they'd actually be able to pull this off.
Zim didn't want to wake the human boy, nor did he want to just leave Dib asleep on the ground. So as gently as he possibly could, Zim gathered Dib up into his arms to place him back into his bed. He had to push aside a few empty boxes, but he managed to get Dib back into bed without waking him. Dib certainly was a heavy sleeper, considering the bit of difficulty he had lifting Dib with his injuries.
Once in bed, Zim worked to untangle the mess of covers Dib had kicked to the end of his bed the night before. Finally getting them straightened out, Zim pulled them up around Dib so the human wouldn't get cold. He wanted to climb into the bed with the warm human and fall asleep but he had a schedule to keep up with. Leaning forward, he placed one simple kiss to the top of Dib's head before leaving the room. "Goodnight, Dib." he whispered gently. With that, he returned back to his work on the ship for the rest of the night.
Dib awoke early the next morning to what sounded like an engine running. Making his way down to his father's lab, Dib found Zim practically bouncing up and down in excitement. Clapping his hands together and turning toward Dib, he squeed. "It works! It took me all night, but it actually works again!"
Dib couldn't help but smile a little. "That's great, Zim. Maybe now you can help me with some of the packing. Gaz is a bit slow, and I'm still trying to convince dad to go with us."
Zim was all smiles as he began packing a few of his Irken tools back into the box he had brought them in. "Maybe if we're lucky, he'll decide to stay on Earth."
Dib's smile fell away at those words, not at all amused by them. "ZIM! That's not funny! Now, are you going to help me today or not?"
Zim's smile never faltered as he thought about it. "Oh, lighten up, Dib-thing. Eh...I think today I'll be heading over to grab Tak's ship from your garage instead so I can work on that a little."
"Oh." Dib said in a slightly disappointed voice. "Well, maybe I should go with you to grab a few things from home."
Zim waved that idea off with one hand as soon as it was proposed. "That can wait. I'd rather go alone. Things will just move faster that way."
Dib's face fell more with that answer. "Oh...Okay..." he turned around and wrapped his arms around himself. "I guess I'll just get back to packing then."
Zim's smile suddenly fell away when Dib began walking away. "What's wrong?"
Dib looked back slightly. "Nothing. Really, I'm fine."
He didn't want to admit how much he had missed Zim last night. Even after everything Zim had said, he knew he couldn't do what the Irken asked of him. He couldn't stop loving Zim no matter what he did. He was too far in and there was no way out. Even if Zim didn't love him back, he never wanted to lose what little happiness the Irken brought him.
Zim didn't buy any of what Dib was saying for a second. Before Dib could even reach the door, Zim grabbed a hold of Dib's arm to pull him into a tight hug and just hold him tightly. He didn't need to say a word as Dib turned to bury his face in Zim's chest. It was obvious Dib was still upset about yesterday.
As Dib brought his arms up to wrap around Zim, he let a few stray tears fall down his face every once in a while. "Just promise me...promise me this will never stop...this feeling...this contact...please..."
Zim gently nuzzled a few kisses to the top of Dib's head. "Of course not...It won't...ever...Everything I've given you...it will never stop...I promise..."
Dib wanted to believe him. He really did. Just as long as the Irken cared for him even a little and his actions meant something, Dib felt as though he'd survive this.
Zim pulled away slightly after a moment, his hands still firmly set on Dib's shoulders. "Hey, you know what? I think I can spare some time to take a small break. How about some breakfast? Zim is starving." he smiled lightly at Dib.
Dib brought up a hand to wipe away a few remaining tears before smiling also. "Alright. Anything you want in particular?"
"Pancakes! With lots of syrup!" Zim's smile beamed at him as he began rocking back and forth from heel to toe. The action had him looking like an excited 5 year old who had just been offered a truckload of candy.
It had Dib letting out a small, amused laugh. "Alright, then. Pancakes it is."
Escorting Zim into the kitchen, Dib set to work making their breakfasts while Zim took a seat at the table. The entire time Dib was busy making pancakes, they began planning more of exactly what they would need to pack. Dib was surprised by some of the things Zim added to his list of things to bring.
"Wait. Wait. Wait. Exactly how long are we going to be gone?" he set a plate of pancakes in from of Zim right as Gaz was entering.
"Five or six months, maybe a year if you count the return trip here. And that's only if we can even find the help I'm looking for." Zim shrugged and began to dig into his food as Dib started making his own breakfast.
"A YEAR?! There's no way I'll be able to convince dad to take a year long vacation!" Dib exclaimed.
As Zim finished his first pancake and began on his second, he merely waved a hand at Dib. "Then don't. Just get him on board. It will be too late to turn back after we've already set out."
Dib seemed to give that some thought. "And how about food and stuff? How much will we need for this trip? What if we run out along the way and starve to death, especially with you and Gaz...Oh my God! What about the babies?! You can't be traveling if you're..."
"Calm down, Dib. Just make as many trips to the store as you can before we leave and we'll pack as much food as we can. It's not like we're going to starve. I've also got plenty of food onboard and there are always plenty of other planets we can stop at along the way if we need more supplies. Trust me. And I've got a medical bay onboard just in case." he winked at Dib.
As Gaz popped a waffle into the toaster for herself, she also joined the conversation. "Care to tell us exactly what we're going to be traveling in along the way? I'd rather not be cramped into a small ship with three other people for 6 months."
Zim smirked. "Well, you didn't think we'd be traveling the whole way there in my ship and Tak's, did you? Those ships are just being used to transport supplies and take us back and forth between planets. The ship we'll be using is ten times bigger than both my ship and Tak's ship put together. Call it a present from a Vortian friend of mine. I've been keeping it in the space station I have orbiting about Earth. It comes fully equipped with a storage system, 7 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchen, a lab, which also serves as the medical bay, a control room, and a cloaking device. Unfortunately the cloaking device uses a lot of energy so we can only use that in an emergency. But otherwise, it's nearly fully stocked." he smiled widely at the siblings.
Gaz just shrugged. "Eh...just as long as I have my own room, everything will be good."
Dib, on the other hand, was practically speechless. "W...Wow! I had no idea! I can't wait to actually see it!"
"Well, you won't have to wait long. I want to start packing it up by tomorrow. The sooner we're ready to go, the better." Zim began his final pancake as Dib took a seat across from him.
It was at that precise moment that Membrane walked in. "Ah, there you are, Dib." Zim shrunk back in his seat a bit, his antennae lowering in a bit of annoyance at the older man's presence. As if just noticing him, Membrane turned his attention to Zim. His face was very serious as he addressed the Irken. "Zim...I take it you're feeling better today..."
Zim narrowed his eyes a bit. "Professor...well enough..."
Their gazes stayed locked a few moments longer before Membrane finally looked back at Dib and smiled. "Dib, I've given it some thought and have agreed to your proposal. A short space trip sounds like a great opportunity to get some research done."
Dib had to smile in relief at that bit of information. "Great, dad! You won't regret it! In fact, we're going to begin packing up the ship we're taking tomorrow if you want to help. That way you can get a good idea of what things will be like up there. But it may take a few trips."
Membrane nodded. "That's fine by me. A little manual labor is never a bad thing." With that said, he left to begin packing a few of his own things.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Zim sat up a bit. "I don't like him..."
Dib just rolled his eyes at that. "Well just get used to it. I'm not letting you leave him behind on Earth."
Zim just crossed his arms and "hmph'd" as he began to pout a bit.
Several disagreements later and Zim was finally ready to head out to get Tak's ship, thankfully in his own ship. It was much faster than taking Gir and more comfortable. The little bot needed a break after so many trips anyways.
Upon arriving at Dib's house, he had some difficulty getting by the security system but managed in a little under an hour. He was back at the house by around 3:00 to begin adjusting a few parts of the ship to help it run better. It didn't take long at all. It seemed Dib had taken fairly good care of it since he had first gotten it. It required very little work, and that fact just raised Zim's spirits even more. Things were running much smoother than he had expected they would. Dib had even made a few trips to the store already and packed up some food for the trip. And Gaz even packed a few things she figured they'd need a little later in the future.
With so much getting done in one day, Zim felt confident they'd be able to finish far ahead of schedule. It helped him to relax a bit more, and he even allowed himself some more time to rest and gain his strength back, though he knew there was still much to be done before they could leave. He still had to make sure all his ships had fuel and were running properly.
After many test flights, he finally pulled Dib aside to test his flight skills. He figured it would be safer having at least two pilots who could maneuver a ship in the case that one of them was unable to for any reason. They couldn't just depend on autopilot the entire time in case they needed to get out of any sticky situations.
Dib's ship flying skills were a bit dusty and he nearly crashed them into a few trees his first couple of tries. After about 2 hours of practice, he hadn't improved all that much in Zim's ship. The controls were different from the ones he had practiced on in Tak's ship. By around 9:00 at night, Zim gave up teaching Dib to fly his ship. The human would just have to work with Tak's ship and even then, his skills were a bit shaky.
Though flying Tak's ship alone made him a bit nervous, Dib knew he couldn't let that stop him from helping prepare. It would take too long using only Zim's ship to transport supplies to his space station. Zim figured dropping the supplies off first would be easier than trying to load it all in one trip. Getting everything up there and off of Earth was most important.
Getting an early start the next morning, Zim helped Dib memorize the route he should take to reach the space station. After a few trips back and forth between the station and Earth, Zim was able to let Dib continue work on storing supplies on the space station while he made one final trip to his base to gather any last second gadgets they may need.
In Zim's absence, Dib managed to convince his dad to begin helping him with some of the packing. Membrane was a bit skeptical at first of how safe Tak's ship was, claiming it looked very "unstable", but after giving it a thorough examination, he concluded that it may be able to support their weight so long as they packed lightly. Taking only two boxes with them this time, Dib allowed his father some time to get used to being in Tak's ship. It did little to help however after Dib had taken off. Membrane nearly had a heart attack at how fast and high they were traveling. Dib had already gotten used to the speeds and heights he had to go to fly the ship long ago. To him, it was just like taking a car ride. Membrane, on the other hand, kept requesting they go lower or slower every few minutes, but they were going into space and slowing down would make it nearly impossible to break through the Earth's atmosphere.
Once in space, however, Dib was able to slow things down just a bit for his father's sake. But Membrane wouldn't be satisfied until after they had landed on the space station. There was a huge docking bay that Dib was able to set the ship down in. As soon as Dib opened the front of the ship, Membrane scrambled out of the ship and practically kissed the ground, feeling much safer not having to deal with Dib's piloting abilities. Dib was soon to follow, pulling out a box with him.
Regaining his composure, Membrane helped Dib by also taking a box and following him. Leading his father to the room they were keeping all the boxes in until they could load them on the ship, Dib set his down next to the pile he had already gotten earlier that morning. The room was huge, bigger than any other room Membrane had ever set foot in. He looked around in complete awe at all the alien technology. It took all the self-control in him not to reach out and start tinkering with things. He wanted to so bad but kept his mind on task.
Looking over all the boxes already there, he turned to face Dib. "Don't you think this is a bit much for only a few weeks?"
Dib laughed weakly at that question. "Heh heh...yeah, well, you see...Oh! Look! We have such a nice view from up here, don't we?" he pointed to one end of the ship that was just like a huge window, trying to change the subject.
Membrane looked to where Dib was pointing just to have his eyes land on one of the most beautiful images of Earth he had ever seen. The blue planet seemed to glow with wonder as Membrane was captivated by it. Forgetting everything else for the time being, he made his way over to get a closer look. "I can't believe I'm actually up here in space looking down on Earth. This is the most amazing experience of my life."
Knowing his dad probably wasn't up for another trip in Tak's ship quite yet, Dib spoke up from behind him. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't I go ahead and get the rest of those boxes while you stay here and look around? You can just help me when I get back. Just don't touch anything or Zim will have a cow."
Membrane was perfectly fine with that idea, not wanting to risk Dib's flying abilities twice in one day. It actually helped things go faster as Dib was able to pack more boxes into Tak's ship. By the end of the day, they had managed to get all the boxes onto the space station. It pleased Zim how close they were to finishing and it still left them with at least 3 days before the Tallest were even supposed to reach the planet. All they had to do now was load his ship and they could get going. It was perfect.
After spending one last day loading everything into his huge ship, he allowed them one last day to say goodbye to everything they couldn't take with them and grab any last things they may have forgotten. He didn't know how long they'd be gone but he knew it would probably be longer than they expected.
The day passed much too quickly for everyone save Membrane who was too excited to get back up into space and begin his research. As the day progressed, each individual performed their own separate rituals of coping with the fact they were leaving the planet for at least a year.
Gaz probably took it the hardest out of everyone. For her final day, she took Tak's ship to meet up with friends from home. She had no idea why Dib seemed to find flying it so difficult at first. To her it was second nature.
Leaving the ship at home, she planned to meet 2 of her friends at the movies. Though she would never admit it, it was hard telling them she was going on a year long vacation. Even harder not telling them what she knew was coming, what she knew was going to happen to both of them. She wished she could take them with her, but it would raise too many questions in the end, from them and her father. She didn't want to deal with that, didn't want to tell them she was pregnant. It would already be painfully obvious when she came back. The most she could do was tell them to be careful, and watch their backs. She needn't give any reason. They would listen. She never joked about such things. They would understand soon enough.
Despite his lack of friends, Dib had a fairly hard time dealing with the fact he hoped he'd never have to deal with. Even with everything that had happened between Zim and him, he had never wanted to admit he had lost to the Irken Empire. His whole life had revolved around protecting the planet from aliens, no matter how much they had shunned him. Accepting failure was something he never thought he'd ever have to face. The only comfort he could give himself at this point was the hope that they'd be back within a year with help to defeat the Irken Empire. But until that happened, he would continue to feel the guilt that he hadn't been able to do anything to help sooner.
He didn't feel motivated to go out anywhere in particular before their departure. Most of the day he just spent in his nearly empty room, wondering if it would even still be here when he got back. He knew Zim had said they were only coming for reproduction purposes but that didn't mean there wouldn't be any fighting involved. As he sat there imagining what the future would hold for Earth, he nearly forgot one place he meant to visit before they left: His mother's grave. It may be his last chance and he didn't want to miss it.
Even Zim had a few things he felt a need to attend to before they left. He had wanted this, hadn't he? He had wanted to leave this putrid planet for so many years now. So why did he feel so reluctant to leave now? He wanted to feel happy about it but for some unknown reason couldn't even bring himself to enjoy it a little bit. It felt just like that time he had gone back to his base and every time after it.
Remembering what had made him feel better that day, he decided to spend most of the day with Gir, spoiling him just this once. As he expected, the little S.I.R. unit was delighted and dragged Zim back and forth between different fast food restaurants, buying everything Zim would agree to buy him. It was worth it to see Gir so happy.
By the time the day was over, Zim had one last thing on his list of things to do. He wanted one last chance to watch the sky above change colors as the sun set in the horizon. Taking Gir with him, he returned to the place he thought they'd have the best sight of the setting sun.
As Dib reached the site of his mother's grave, he was greeted by the sight of Zim and Gir sitting nearby on the hill, watching the sunset in peace. Facing a completely different direction, they didn't seem to notice Dib's presence as he came closer. Both were in their disguises, though Zim's antennae were poking out from his wig as he relaxed. Gir, in his little green and black dog suit, was cuddled up close to Zim's lap, nearly fast asleep.
Being as quiet as he possibly could, Dib snuck up behind the two, plucking Zim's wig off as soon as he was close enough to do so. Zim's antennae shot up straight as he turned quickly to see Dib standing behind him, smiling. Though a little embarrassed for being caught off guard, Zim let out a relieved sigh. "Dib...don't sneak up on me like that..." he breathed out as he turned back around. "What are you doing out here anyways?" he asked as he closed his eyes to enjoy a gentle breeze that swept by.
Taking a seat next to Zim on the ground, he handed Zim his wig. "Just came up to see my mom's grave one last time before we leave."
Zim looked at the wig once before setting it aside a moment to continue petting Gir. It wasn't like anybody else would see him without it up there. "Are you scared we may never come back?"
Dib shook his head before looking back to watch the orange and red of the sky mix and blend together. "Not really...I mean, a year isn't too long when you think about it. I'm sure it will pass quicker than we think." he looked back at Zim with a lazy smile before letting his eyes drop a little lower. "It's beautiful."
Zim, who wasn't paying much attention to Dib at the moment, just nodded his head. "Yeah, I mean, just look at all the different colors blending and..."
Dib had to laugh at that. "I wasn't talking about the sunset. I was talking about...oh, never mind." he said, blushing a bit. Zim just gave Dib a curious look before shaking it off and returning his gaze to the sky. "Anyways, do you remember the first time we came up here together?" Dib began.
Zim smiled at the memory. "Yeah, you were having one of your little baby Dib-fits again and went crying to your mommy about it." Zim snickered.
It was cruel but the pout he received from Dib was worth it. "Well, it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been such a jerk! But do you remember what happened after?"
Zim couldn't help but laugh at least a little before answering. "How could I not? It was amazing, mainly because Zim amazing, but still. That's one night I'll never forget."
Dib smiled a little at that answer. "Yeah, will I think it happened here."
Zim's face went confused again. "You think what happened here? The sex? Of course, it happened here! You were practically begging for it by the time we got around to it."
Dib sighed once. "I'm not talking about that! I'm talking about this!" he reached out to place a hand on Zim's stomach gently.
Zim blushed as the realization dawned on him. "Oh! You mean that! I think so too...that it happened here...and not somewhere else..." Zim was a bit flustered.
Dib pulled his hand back. "Do you think we'll ever come back here again?"
Zim didn't know for sure, but the boy hadn't been this happy in days. He didn't want Dib getting upset again. "Yeah...in fact, it can be the first place we go when we get back if you want." he pulled Dib against him.
Dib simply nodded his head as he leaned more up against the Irken. "I'd like that..." he closed his eyes to relax.
They stayed watching the sky until the last rays of light had left the sky completely and the first stars began to dance across the night sky.
The next morning brought about an early start. Zim demanded everybody be dressed and ready to go by 5:00 a.m. The Tallest could arrive at any point now, and Zim wanted to be out of there before that happened. Risking an encounter with them could be deadly, and he wasn't in any mood to die today. Rushing everybody around seemed nearly impossible.
Dib was tired from last night, Membrane kept running around making sure they hadn't forgotten anything, and Gaz nearly killed Zim when he kicked open her door to scream that she had to get ready. Getting up to the space station was going to be even worse, unfortunately. With only two pilots that knew the way, Zim and Dib were going to have to take separate ships. This, unfortunately, caused more problems between Zim and Membrane.
Zim didn't want to have to fly up there with Membrane, but Membrane didn't want Gaz going alone with Zim. Even Gaz had a hard time convincing her dad that she should just go up with Zim. Membrane only agreed after she promised to bring a baseball bat for protection. Zim just rolled his eyes at that. It was going to be a long trip. With how much both Zim and Gaz had grown over the years, it was a tight fit. Zim didn't mind being cramped into a ship with Dib but Gaz was a completely different story. Thankfully, the ship they would be taking for the rest of the trip would provide enough room for them to not have to spend much time together.
Both Zim and Dib brought their ships in at about the same time to land in a slightly smaller docking bay that his larger ship had. Dib had only seen it once before but the ship was even more amazing on the inside. It was bigger than his house by a lot. Dib wanted to explore almost the second he set foot on it but knew Zim wanted to first get a safe distance away from Earth. Membrane didn't know what the big rush was about but followed the two into the control room as soon as he was onboard. Zim didn't want to waste any more time getting ready. The ship was fully loaded and ready to go.
Making his way over to one of the consoles in the room, he began typing in a few commands. The ship jerked a bit as they could hear the engines powering up. He knew it would take some time to completely charge so in the meantime he began typing in a few other commands that would be useful in case something came up. The ship jerked again as it began to hover slightly above the ground of the space station and make its way out into space. He wished the powering up would go a little faster but bigger ships required more time to start up.
Maneuvering it out a good distance and setting the coordinates they wanted, the ship began to turn in the right direction. Zim's stress began to melt away as every second brought them closer and closer to actually taking off and with no sign of the Irken armada anywhere in sight. He nearly let his guard down when the ship reached its last 30 seconds of charging up. Then it happened. The ship shook violently almost the second the ship reached 20 seconds. The vibration nearly sent everybody to the ground.
"What the hell was that?!" Dib asked frantically as he moved over to one of the windows. But he didn't see anything. A moment passed before another violent vibration passed through the ship.
"SHIT!" Zim cursed as he brought up what looked to be a radar. Almost instantly it picked up the presence of three other smaller ships flying around the exterior of his ship, firing multiple lasers at their engines. "Damn that Bixxle! He must have told the Tallest we may try to escape considering he told me in advance that they were coming. Should have expected them to send out a few ships ahead of them to stop up if we tried to escape."
Another hit sent Dib to the ground as Membrane tried to scramble forward to catch him. Sitting up and rubbing his head, Dib felt his father wrap one arm around him and another around Gaz to keep them safe. Staying kneeled to the ground, he yelled out. "I don't know what's going on here, but you need to get us out of here!"
Zim was fighting to stay standing as he continued to type in commands. "I know! I know! We just need to last 10 more seconds!"
The next shake sent Zim flying forward a bit against the console before falling back with a painful yelp. Bringing one arm around his abdomen and another hand up to grip the console tightly, he managed to hoist himself up to his feel though he was a bit shaky. Dib yelled out when Zim hit the ground. "Zim!" he pushed away from his father to help Zim. Another hit. Zim was sent falling back again but this time against Dib who would have hit the ground again if Membrane hadn't reached him in time to help hold him up.
As the last second ticked away, Zim brought a fist down to hit a big red button before yelling out. "Hang on tight to something! This is going to get a little bumpy!"
The command must have gotten lost in the eruption of sound and motion as the ship took off at an incredibly high speed, escaping the attacks of the three Irken ships. The three pilots of the ships seemed shocked that the ship had managed to get away and at such a high velocity. Then the leader spoke up. "Damn! Come on. We need to return to the massive and report this to the Tallest."
Their speedy escape only lasted a few minutes at the most but it got them a good safe distance away from Earth before finally slowing down. The command to hold onto something tightly truly had been lost, as everybody seemed to have been scattered about by the sudden takeoff. Who knows how long it may have been before any of them began to come around again. Membrane was the first to speak up as he sat up from his position on the ground. "Is everybody alright?" he asked in a concerned voice.
Gaz was the first to respond. "Well, I'm not dead at least."
Dib sat up much slower, holding his head and letting out a small groan. "I think so. How about you, Zim?" he asked but there was no answer. "Zim?" Still no answer. Dib instantly began looking around frantically for Zim. But Zim didn't seem to be anywhere in the room. "Hey! I can't find Zim!" he said in a panicked voice as he got up to search the rest of the ship for the Irken.
Making his way down one hallway, he checked every room along the way until he reached the last room at the very end. Opening up the door, he came to stand in a big dark bedroom with a huge circular bed in the middle. It seemed empty as he turned to leave but stopped when he noticed a light on in a room connected to the bedroom. The door was just barely opened a crack as he made his way over to it. As he approached, he heard a few curses and some heavy breathing. "Zim?" he pushed open the door and sure enough found the Irken standing over a sink, panting. Zim seemed to be having a difficult time breathing as he gripped the sink tightly.
"Zim?" Dib asked again as he came up behind the alien to rub his back gently up and down, thinking he had just got sick again. But what he saw in the sink was far worse and had Dib letting out a gasp. Blood. It wasn't a lot but just enough to have Dib worried. "Zim, you're bleeding! Come on. I want to get a better look at your wounds." he tried to pull Zim away to the bedroom but couldn't get the alien to budge.
The only response he got from Zim was a wet cough before he spit out some more blood. "Oh, God. It's internal." he said as he went back to rubbing Zim's back. "Come on, Zim. Let's get my dad to look you over."
He tried to pull the Irken with him again but Zim just placed a hand on Dib's arm. "There's no need. I'll be fine. I can fix it up in the medical bay like I did at my base."
That had Dib's eyes widening. "Your base?! You mean, you knew about this and didn't tell me?!"
Zim just smirked a bit as he straightened and wiped some blood away from his mouth. "It's nothing serious. I just noticed it when I had my computer perform another body scan. The procedure to fix it is really quite easy. The rough treatment was just a little too much. Undid some of my computer's work. But it shouldn't take long to fix. So, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to do just that and then see how much damage those bastards did to my ship." he pushed past Dib to head down to his medical bay but nearly collapsed as he tried to walk.
Dib caught him in his arms before he fell too far. "Like hell you will! You can barely walk." he snapped before sighing gently. "Listen, Zim. You've been up for several days now. Why don't you try to get some sleep? I don't think we have to worry about anyone else attacking us any time soon."
Zim simply nodded his head slightly, feeling his eyes drooping. With that, Dib easily scooped Zim up into his arms so he could carry the alien into the bedroom and lay him down on the soft covers. "Think you can survive until after you wake up?"
Zim just closed his eyes once before opening them again. "Yeah...I haven't actually lost that much blood. Promise to be here when I wake up?"
Dib let the smallest of smiles grace his face. "Sure."
It helped Zim to sleep hearing that answer. Shortly after the Irken had drifted off, Dib returned to find his father, whom he owed an explanation. Membrane wasn't happy about their current situation, but decided getting mad about it wouldn't help anything. It wasn't like it was Dib's fault any of this was happening, and he doubted he would be any happier had he stayed on Earth. Instead, he'd do his best to make the most of it. The least he could do was do what he had originally set out to do. Study. And now he'd have even more time to spend with Dib and Gaz. Perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as he thought.
After speaking with his father, Dib returned to the room he had left Zim in to wait for him to wake up. Seeing him finally getting some much needed rest helped calm Dib's nerves at least a little. The Irken really had been overworking himself the past week. Even after Zim woke up, Dib tried to keep him from working too hard. Thankfully, his injuries weren't as bad as Dib had feared and the damage to the ship was minimal. Both could be easily fixed. In the meantime, the ship could slowly store up more energy while they drifted through space.
The first couple of days took quite a bit of adjusting to get used to traveling on a ship in space. Gaz spent most of her time in her room while Membrane took to exploring about a fraction of the ship. It was far bigger than it had looked on the outside. Dib hadn't been feeling quite up to exploring any of it yet. He spent as much time in the room he was sharing with Zim as Gaz spent in hers.
As the hours passed, he occupied himself with unpacking a few boxes. Zim, on the other hand, had a whole list of things to do, but it was hard to get anything done with Dib constantly nagging him to slow down and rest more often. It was driving him crazy.
One day while Dib was gone making breakfast, Zim decided to snoop around since Dib barely let him do anything else. Finding a box that was only half unpacked, Zim began searching through it to see exactly what the Dib thought was so important that he had to pack. A lot of it was clothes but as he dug deeper, he found a few things of interest near the bottom. It looked as though Dib had brought a few photo albums with him.
The first one he looked through had him closing it almost the second he had opened it. It was filled with tons of photos Dib had taken of him. It was creepy and had him shuddering as he shook his head and mumbled to himself. "Crazy human..."
He found a second one with more of the same before finally coming across one that seemed much older than 5 years. Inside were several family photos from what looked to be at least 12 years old. Dib looked to be about 4 in most of them and even younger in a few others. There were plenty of baby pictures taken of Gaz. But what really caught his eye was the fact that in nearly all of them, that purple haired woman from the take he had watched was there. If it weren't for the gentle smile and longer hair, Zim would have sworn she was Gaz.
Taking one of the pictures out to get a better look, he made his way out of the room to head toward the kitchen he had onboard. Zim entered the room just as Dib was finishing up a piece of toast and talking with Membrane.
Dib looked up the instant he realized Zim had walked in and smiled. "Hey, Zim. Want me to make you something to eat?" he asked before noticing the photo Zim was looking at. "Hey, what are you looking at?" He got up to take a look for himself. "Oh..." his voice fell to a whisper. "It's mom..."
Zim looked up at Dib. "Dib?" he was hesitant to ask his next questions. "What was your mother like and what happened to her?"
The question caught Dib completely off guard as he fell completely silent. Rather than answering right away, he glanced over at his father who just smiled sadly and nodded. Looking back at Zim, he smiled a little. "Well, she was really great, the nicest person you could have met. She loved space almost as much as she loved our family. When I was little, she'd hold me every night until I fell asleep. I really loved having her around and I bet she would have loved to meet you. I used to idolize her and she's the one that got me interested in space and aliens. But she was always sick. Always going to the doctors until one night...One night she...I was four when she died. I...I don't remember much of it." he lied. The details of that night were ones he'd rather not go into. "I wish I could remember more about her but...but I..." The memories hurt so badly. Dib didn't know if he could continue any farther.
"It's alright, Dib." Membrane spoke up. "I'll finish up. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever met. We met in college and it was love at first sight. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, but she was scared. She knew she was sick. She had a really rare blood disease. It had started affecting her during her last year of hi-skool. But I didn't care. I wanted to be with her no matter what. That's why after we were married, we had such a hard time deciding whether to have children or not. There was a 50 chance either Dib or Gaz would have it passed on to them by their mother. But we were young and reckless. Before we even knew it, we had two wonderful, healthy children. She was so happy and loved them both so much. But...the disease doesn't develop at birth. If one of them had it, it could begin at any time now. That's why I'm so thankful for every day that passes without them being affected. And I'm so glad we weren't as careful as we had planned to be. The hardest part of it all though, was trying to explain all this to Dib and Gaz when they were so young. We knew it was coming...her death, I mean...but I don't think Dib and Gaz had grasped the full meaning until it finally happened."
Dib, who had been staring at the ground the entire time his father talked, finally looked up. "The day she died, I felt as though something inside of me had died with her. It hurt more than anything I had ever experienced. I almost thought I'd never recover from the shock. But after a few months, I was actually able to smile again."
Zim suddenly felt bad for bringing up such painful memories as his eyes dropped back down to the photo he held. "Oh...She was very pretty...you know...for a human."
Dib smiled a little before wrapping arms lightly around Zim to pull him close and whisper against the top of Zim's head. "I just wish you could have met her."
Zim just kept still in Dib's arms, his eyes staying glued to the photo as he thought. The Dib had already been through so much. What was he doing then? How could he just stand here and let this happen? He suddenly felt a need to leave the room, to get away from the boy before... "I have to go...I've got some work to do. I'm not very hungry. Sorry." he said as he pushed away from Dib to leave the room in a hurry.
The action had Dib turning to look at his father who seemed just as confused as he was.
Zim had run most of the way until he was almost to his room. He didn't know why, but he just felt a need to run. It wasn't until he was about halfway down the hall to the room that he slowed down then stopped to catch his breath. Leaning against a wall, he closed his eyes to recollect himself. What was this so hard?! Why did it hurt so much telling himself he didn't love the boy?! Couldn't love him?! Why?! It shouldn't have been! Each day the risks just continued to pile up. That should have been enough to make him stop but...
A hand rested on his shoulder from behind. His eyes snapped open as he turned to slap the hand away.
Dib instantly brought back his hand to hold. "Ouch! What was that for, Zim?" he said as he tried to read the alien's face. Zim's facial expression was a mixture of emotions ranging from anger to fear to hurt. Zim took a step back as though he would run. "What's wrong with you, Zim? Just tell me, please." he tried to take a step forward.
Zim felt cornered. He wanted to run but then Dib would know there was something wrong and keep chasing him. Instead, he just let his head drop as his shoulders slumped. "Do you hate me?"
The question was the last thing Dib expected to hear from Zim as he blinked his eyes in shock. "What?! No! Of course not!"
"Then you know why..." he looked back up, his eyes glassy. "You know why I said what I said. You know why it can't be more. Can't be love. Right?"
Dib didn't know how to respond as he just remained silent.
"There's too much pain involved. You know the feeling. You've experienced it before. I don't want to put you through any more pain." he looked close to breaking down now.
As he turned to walk away, Dib finally spoke up. "And what about you? You've felt it too?"
Zim stopped in his tracks. "Yes...I'd rather not talk about it."
Before Zim could take another step, Dib was pulling Zim back into his arms to hold tightly. "Please...you don't need to tell me what happened, but please...Just give me a name. Who hurt you?"
Zim didn't feel he had the strength to break free again as he gave in. "His name was Ghost..."
It was all Zim said and all Dib wanted to know for now. He didn't want to push the subject any further. All he wanted to do in that moment was hold Zim tightly and never let go. He held the Irken until Zim couldn't stand any longer. As soon as Zim had fallen asleep in his arms, he carried the Irken back to their room to get some sleep.
A/N: And there's the end of Chapter 7 for you all. Hope you enjoyed and I promise to try and have chapter 8 up faster but knowing me, it will probably come out to be about 3 times longer than I originally had planned. In that case, it will be worth the wait. And before I forget, I could still really use some more names for characters, females in particular. And if you want to give me a name for some random planets, that would also be really helpful. I know some people sent in names and I may use some of them for planets unless some of you can come up with good ones. I'd really appreciate it cause remember, I suck at making up names. XD Well, it's about midnight now. I might head to bed soon…or not…I don't know…I'm not really tired. I slept most of the day. I've been a bit sick lately and sleeping has become one of my new hobbies during the day.
And now to thank everybody that reviewed on that last chapter.
To Sora4president: Oh no's! Not the cream cheese! We're all gonna die!!!! DX But don't worry. The baby will be fine. You'll see what Dib does in this chapter. And as for Bixxle, he disappears until later in the story…I think…I don't think I need him for a while. I could be wrong though. I'm just writing this story as I go along. My outline is still a bit sketchy and leaves room for expansion throughout. And yes, I know that leaving you at that cliff hanger, especially for that long, was evil but it was the perfect spot to cut off that chapter. I'm sorry. But I wouldn't be me if I weren't at least a little evil. XD Hope this update makes up for it though.
To ZADR-Mistress: Don't worry. Zim's not dying yet. It would ruin the Mpreg if I killed him off now and we don't want that. Dib's just confused and caught in the middle. Poor insane boy…Er…Yeah, well, sorry for the long wait on this update but I had so much going on and it really was a long chapter to write. Hope you enjoy this one. I'll try to have the next update up faster.
To scarlet pikachu: In response to both of your reviews, yes, I know it was a bit cruel to do that to Gaz but don't worry. She shall have her revenge soon enough. And I also love sunsets! Your review actually inspired that sunset scene in this chapter. So I dedicate that to you. I may even draw a picture sometime soon. Thanks for reviewing. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
To Apple Pornography: Yes, I also know that feeling of wanting to get something done so badly that you end up staying up a few extra hours finishing it. It happens to me almost every night. Yes, I tend to make sad chapters. This chapter is even sadder. I put too much angst in my writing. Oh well. I think we all have an unconscious fetish too. At least I do. Or maybe I'm just weird. I don't know. Unfortunately, things get a little screwy in this chapter again. Poor Zim and Dib with their unresolved sexual tension….I'm horrible. XD And this should kinda answer what happens what happens when the Tallest get there…except their not really in this chapter…They're in the next one a little. I know what you mean when you say Rilzit is long. I fell behind a few times and it took me forever to catch up. But I am now and am still waiting for an update. In fact I just caught up with Monsters and Ladybugs and want to go back and read it again until they update that too. It is such an awesome DADR story. Thanks for the review and sorry for the long wait.
And to anybody else that reviews- Thank you all. Much love to all my reviewers!