Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

Hope	By : LadyNephero Category: +G through L > Invader Zim > AU/AR-Alternate Universe-Alternate Reality Views: 1600 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim, nor do I make any money from this work.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
                Dib opened his mouth to scream, but only a pathetic gargle managed to escape him. He coughed and choked, his lungs denied precious air despite his best efforts to take a breath. He felt panic rising in his gut, adding a nice garnish to the already cataclysmic levels of fear he was feeling. He was going to die, he knew it, he just knew it. But just as soon as he was sure it was the end for him, Gaz turned the hose off of him and onto Zim.
                He was too busy sucking in air to really appreciate what was happening to the alien that had started this whole mess. As soon as the stream of harsh water struck Zim, he started to shriek and convulse on the ground. Pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, Dib could see faint plumes of smoke rising from Zim’s skin. Gaz turned the hose off of him far quicker than she had her brother, but considering Dib wasn’t viciously allergic to water, Dib figured their punishment was about even.
                Dib wanted to laugh, but his teeth were chattering too hard, every inch of him soaked to the bone and then some. He pushed sopping wet hair out of his eyes, noting that if nothing else, at least all the cake and icing were gone. He was pretty sure that had been Gaz’s intent, though she opted for the most uncomfortable means possible in achieving that end. He rose to his feet, only to freeze in place when his sister pointed the trigger of the hose at him, one eyebrow arched as if daring him to move.
                “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” she said, her voice so low and deadly calm that Dib almost didn’t hear a word of what she said.
                “Uh… I-inside?”
                “Not like that, you’re not. You’ll get water everywhere.”
                “Oh, c’mon!” Dib chanced a glance to his right, to find that Zim had managed to get to his feet, and was huddled up and staring at Gaz incredulously. His hair looked bizarre, and it was only then that Dib realized it was because the hair was a wig, and the water had knocked it askew. Zim was still smoking lightly, and patches of his skin seemed darker, shinier than usual. The water had actually seemed to burn him pretty bad, though he didn’t seem to be in too much pain. He was still standing, after all, and since when did Dib care? It was his stupid green fault that they were in this mess.
                Dib’s anger rose up like a bile, and it was only another quick squirt to the head that stopped him from acting on it. He looked over at Gaz, only to be cowed by her glare.
                “Don’t even think about starting shit up again. You two idiots can sit out here, and when you’re dry, both of you assholes are cleaning up the kitchen. And so help me, if I hear another damn word out of either of you, I’ll rip your tongues out and feed them to the crows. And make you watch.” She narrowed her eyes to dark, dangerous slits, her gaze jumping between Dib and Zim, before she finally threw the hose down and stormed back inside.
                For a long moment, there was only the silence of complete disbelief. And then, slowly but surely, both Zim and Dib turned their heads to glance at one another. For a minute, they both shared the same sentiment; they couldn’t believe they were actually banished from the house, but were both too intensely terrified of invoking further wrath that they didn’t dare go against Gaz’ decree. But then, the minute of solidarity passed, and their eyes narrowed simultaneously as they glared hateful daggers at one another.
                “Well, I hope you’re happy.” Zim snarled, turning away to go sit on the back stairs, spreading out his short legs as if to take up as much room as physically possible.
                “Me? You’re the one that started this whole mess.”
                “And you should have accepted defeat like a good little worm.” Zim hissed when Dib made to sit down on the steps beside him, and Dib scoffed.
                “Move your scrawny ass over, I’m not sitting in the dirt.”
                “That’s too bad!” Zim tried to spread out more, but Dib was entirely not in the mood to put up with more of the alien’s bullshit. He bent down, picked Zim clean up off the ground, and then deposited him on the topmost step before taking the bottom one as his own. Zim, for his part, was far too busy being intensely, dramatically offended to really fight back.
                It was an unbearable silence that fell over them, Dib constantly glancing over his shoulder to make sure Zim wasn’t plotting anything. Each time he did, however, he only saw the alien sulking, his chin resting in the palm of one burnt hand and eyes fixed on some distant point in the horizon. After about the fourth time of this, however, Zim leveled a hateful gaze to Dib and hissed, causing Dib to turn right around again.
                How the hell did he get himself into this? All he had wanted was to take a day or two for Gaz’ birthday, and here he was sitting on a stoop with the scientific find of the century and could do nothing about it. He couldn’t even convince his sister that the alien was dangerous, or at least potentially dangerous, which was more than enough danger in his mind. Zim’s apparent sense of decency nonwithstanding, of course.
                Even if he had gotten Gaz out of a bad situation, Dib didn’t trust Zim in the slightest.
                “As well you shouldn’t. Believe me when I say that I want nothing more than your utter annihilation, and until such a time as ‘Line grows out of her insipid familial loyalty, I will destroy you.”
                “What?” Dib turned around, more confused by the sudden spew of threats than anything.
                “Fool! Do you even hear yourself talk?” Zim scoffed, his lip curled in abject disgust. “I hardly blame you for ignoring your own hideous voice, but I want to get something quite clear. You may not trust me, and I don’t want you to. I’d much sooner see you out of my house and preferably out of this plane of existence. But ‘Line wants you to remain, so I’ll allow it. But if you push me again, human, you can trust—“ he paused for dramatic effect, one sharp finger raised to emphasize the word, “that I may just lose my temper.”
                Dib had to laugh, “Lose your temper? What was that temper tantrum in the kitchen then? You being zen?”
                “Just keep poking the hedgehog, boy, and maybe you’ll find out.” Zim looked over his shoulder at the door, seemingly focused on the worn wood for a long moment. “She’s in her studio. Quickly, while we won’t be noticed.” The alien stood up then, and gingerly opened the back door, creeping over the threshold like a very tiny cat burglar.
                “What the hell are you doing? Gaz said we had to stay out here.” Dib hissed, even though he could hear the throbbing music from where he sat, and knew there was no point in trying to stay quiet. Still, even he had to admit he had a deep-seated fear of angering his sister.
                “And what a delightfully obedient beast you are. Stay out and catch some variety of brain rot if you like, I will be doing no such thing.” Zim attempted a dismissive tone, but the way his eyes darted to the archway in between each word belied his own terror. “Now would you hurry the hell up? I am not doing the cleaning on my own.”
                Dib somehow managed to swallow back a slew of verbal abuse, instead rolling his eyes and following the alien back into the house. Well aware that the more they stood in one place, the more of a mess they made, the pair crept across the kitchen as quickly as they dared—while avoiding the mangled remains of furniture and cake alike.
                They spent no time in crossing into the living room to access the stairs to the basement, Zim taking the steps two at a time with a surprising level of quiet. Being a much larger animal, Dib was forced to creep along at a slower pace. After what felt like hours of agonizing apprehension, however, he made it to the bottom, and to the door of his own borrowed room. Zim was already well out of sight, though Dib counted this fact as a blessing.
                Any further ruminations on the alien, however, was interrupted by the quiet beeping sound coming from his computer. He tapped a key to wake the machine up, and another to answer the video call that was pending. Nazca’s face filled the screen, and Dib was unable to help a smile for it. The tension in his shoulders evaporated, only to be replaced by immediate embarrassment at the bewildered look on Nazca’s face.
                “Mothman? Wow, you look like a drowned capybara.”
                “What?” Dib’s embarrassment was replaced by confusion, even more so when Nazca’s mouth twisted to the side of her mouth the way it always did when she was trying not to laugh.
                “Well, I’d say rat, but you’re a bit moose-sized for that.”
                “Nice, thanks. And no, I know, my sister sprayed me with the garden hose.”
                “See, you say that like it explains everything...”
                “It’s a long story involving cake and a—really horrific roommate, but I’ll explain later. Any updates on the case?”
                “Damn, now I’m wishing I’d gone with you. You’re having all the fun.” She shook her head, and let out a sigh. “No. They’re still trying to sort through the… the family. Get everything in order so they can be buried. Nothing else has been recovered, and we’re still waiting to hear back from other jurisdictions on the MO.”
                “At least I’m not bailing on you with much going on. Really, I appreciate this, Nazca, I—“
                Nazca waved her hand, a smile emerging despite the previous grim topic. “Hey, no problem, man. How many times have you covered my ass?”
                “Well, I mean, that’s besides the point—“
                Nazca shifted, and her face became larger the further she leaned into the camera, “Listen, you deserve a break. It’s your sister’s birthday, so enjoy yourself and I’ll see you when you get back, okay? Bring me back some of that cake.”
                “Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Dib smiled, and Nazca’s own smile grew. “I’ll see you in a couple days.”
                “I’ll call you if something comes up. Night, Moth.”
                “Later.” Dib stood there for a moment, even after the window that previously held Nazca’s face went dark, and a little icon blipped red to show the call had ended after four minutes and twenty seven seconds. It was as if the days events hadn’t even happened—somehow, even Zim didn’t matter. Dib allowed himself a warm sort of chuckle and finally moved to get out of his wet (and rapidly becoming itchy) clothes.
                Just as he pulled the sweatpants over his hips, however, he became acutely aware that he was being watched. Turning around, he found Zim leaning against the doorframe, bundled up in his own multitude of layers. Even his hair was dry; the only sign that Zim had been affected by the water at all was a residual burn patch right along his jawline.
                Dib felt himself flush deep red, the heat seeping into his ears the more he questioned just how long the alien had been standing there. “Don’t you know how to knock!”
                Zim snorted, apparently completely unfazed. “Don’t you know how to shut your door?”
                Dib sputtered, caught somewhere between trying to refute the point the alien had clearly won and feeling incredibly violated. Zim didn’t seem to notice or care, however, his gaze pointedly fixed on the computer screen and the still-dark window of where Nazca once was.
                “She’s very pretty.”
                “What the hell did you just say?”
                “The female you were just so admirably making a fool of yourself in front of. She looks of decent genetic stock. That is how your species does it, if I’m not mistaken?”
                “Wha—you—sh--! Shut the hell up and get out of my room, would you?!” Dib grabbed a shirt from his suitcase, an old and ratty thing intended for pajamas, and yanked it over his head, wanting to be as not-naked as possible at that moment.
                “Considering this is, in fact, my abode, I’d say it’s more my room than yours. Also, I am not actually inside of it. Merely on the border of being inside of it.” Zim drawled, as if he were attempting to explain basic maths to a monkey. “Now, if you’re done being a complete moron, let’s go. You need to clean up the mess you started.”
                “Me? You made that mess too! I’m not cleaning all that by myself!”
                Zim slashed a grin in his direction. “Very well. If you are so incapable of such a minor task, I suppose I could be persuaded to lend my mighty assistance.” Without waiting for a response, Zim left Dib’s doorway, leaving him all too aware that he had just been walked into insulting himself.
                Gritting his teeth, and feeling all that tension rise back up to sit on his shoulders once more, Dib stomped up the stairs after him.
- 7
- 8
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Hope