ZADR Orange Chapter 123

Glancing back at Zim, Rose considered how she should go about explaining Zim's memory lapses to Purple. "Well...For starters, he apparently had a run-in with one of my nieces this morning. Dib and my older niece, Stella, tell me he shoved my younger niece, Kira, off a bed. And Kira confirmed that it happened also. But Zim says he can't remember the encounter. And just now, we were in the kitchen talking with my two nieces. He didn't say anything but just backed out of the kitchen angrily. When I walked back out into the living room to find him again however, he said he didn't even remember going into the kitchen to begin with." she explained the encounters as best she could despite having not been there during the first of the two.

"Ohhh..." Purple sighed. "Was he growling or anything, and blocking anyone from getting close to Dib?" he then asked, already having an idea in mind of what the problem may be from Rose's recounting of said events.

Rose blinked wide eyes up at Purple. "Well, I'm not so sure about the first time since I wasn't there myself, but yes. He did seem to be doing that when we ran into my nieces back in the kitchen. Does this mean you know what's wrong with him then? And possibly a way to fix it?" she asked, hopeful now that they could get to the bottom of this and take some measures to prevent it from happening again in the future.

Smiling slightly, Purple shook his head slowly. "I never would have thought Zim to be the type...Yes, I know what the problem is. The part of his mind that's in connection with his PAK recognizes Stella and Kira as a threat. He'll go directly into defensive mode whenever he sees them and do whatever it takes to keep them away from Dib and his smeets. Kind of a...preservation response to ensure nothing bad happens." he tried to explain to them so they'd better understand why Zim couldn't recall the incidents in question.

"He sees them as a threat? Well, is there anything we can do to make him not see them as a threat? I mean...I can understand him maybe seeing Stella as a threat because of how she was acting last night when she thought Dib was single, but Kira's only six. There's really no reason for him to see her as a threat. She's not after Dib or anything like that."

"Antennas..." Zim's eyes widened. "I remember...something...I think she grabbed my antennas..." he then said, holding his head as he tried to remember more of what had happened despite how foggy his memory still was.

"Your antennas? Does touching them make you go into a defensive mode with whoever it is that touched them?"

"No...But they are sensitive..."

"Okay...So, I guess I can understand you just trying to shove her away when she touched them...But do you still see her as a threat? Because I think she's afraid of you now."

"I don't know...I don't know what happens when they're around. I know she's not a threat though..."

"Well, when I asked her to come over to me back in the kitchen, you seemed pretty tense. You were mainly just glaring at her, but when she got really close, you started growling and that's around the time you left the kitchen with Dib. So unless something was triggering it, you probably shouldn't have been reacting that way."

Sighing, Zim shook his head. "I have no idea...Maybe I should just go home...Uh, P-Pur and I need to call for a med drone anyway, to help Dib." he reminded the other of their plans to get in contact with one.

"But what about the shopping trip? I thought you wanted to finish shopping for the smeets today. That was the whole reason you even agreed to stay over last night."

"Take Dib. He can pick some things out for them himself." Zim smiled. "Then we'll meet up for lunch." he said, thinking some time away from everybody would do him some good and help him to clear his head.

Looking up at Zim with red, puffy eyes, Dib spoke up for the first time in a long while. "B-But..." he began to say before getting cut short by Rose.

"Are you sure about that, Zim? I'm sure Dib would prefer to do the shopping for this with you. Unless you're planning on meeting us at the mall for lunch and then getting some shopping done afterwards with Dib."

Zim nodded. "Yeah, we just need to contact this guy and maybe a little time alone will help to clear my head. Then, after lunch, we can finish shopping." he smiled wide, thinking it a brilliant plan.

Rose smiled back at him. "Alright then, we'll do that. I guess we wouldn't want to put you through another car ride anyways." she said before turning to Dib. "Dib, why don't you come with me to the bathroom where you can get washed up before leaving." she said, offering him her hand.

Hesitating to take her hand, Dib glanced back at Zim unsure before finally taking it, his antennae drooping as he dropped his gaze to the floor.

Waving as Dib left with Rose, Zim then turned to Purple. "Alright, you sure you can get him here?" he switched his attention over to the task at hand, not wanting to think of everything that had occurred prior to it.

"I should be able to. We have monitors in most every room on the Massive. Sending a transmission through to the medical bay should be simple enough. And this guy is always looking for the more challenging medical cases. I'm sure this will catch his interest."

Zim grinned wide. "Good. Then let's go." he said, gesturing for the other to follow him back into the house so they could head out the front door to the sidewalk.

Purple grinned back at him. "Alright." he headed back inside with Zim, retrieving the hat Zim had given him to wear as a disguise before heading out with him to make their way back to the base. "This shouldn't take me long at all." he then assured the other, certain he could convince the medical drone in question to drop what he was doing and head for Earth.

Following close behind the other, Zim, after they were quite a bit away from Jack’s and Rose's house, turned to quietly ask Purple a question. "Is Zim too overbearing?" he asked, figuring Purple would be the most likely candidate to give him an honest answer.

Purple practically choked on a pancake he had swiped from the kitchen before leaving. "What?! I mean...What makes you say that? You're not too overbearing...Err...At least, not towards most people..." his voice fell to a sort of quiet whisper.

"I don't know...With all that's happened...I feel like I'm getting in the way a lot..."

Shaking his head slowly, Purple could only sigh at those words. "Zim, you're not getting in the way. You're looking out for your mate and your smeets. Anybody could understand that." he said in as reassuring a manner as possible.

Zim scuffed at the ground as they walked. "I don't think so..." he said, not as convinced as Purple seemed to be that his behavior lately was normal.

Purple sighed again. "Listen, Zim. You just want what's best for your mate. And you want what's best for your smeets. Any father would want the same. And you're really working hard to provide them with only the best. That's not getting in the way. It's just protecting your family." he said, a part of him wishing his own mate acted in such a way.

Zim's antennas drooped. "...Let's just go..." he said, not wanting to discuss it any further at this point.

Looking back in front of himself, Purple fell silent at Zim's words, not saying anything more until they had almost reached Zim's base. "Do you...regret it...?" he finally asked, glancing back at Zim.

"Regret what?"

"Being so protective of your family..."

"...I don't know...I don't think Dib likes it..."

"Are you sure he's just not used to it? From what I gathered this morning, his family life wasn't that good."

"...Maybe...It makes him feel uncomfortable though...I wish it didn't..."

"Well, maybe you should tell him that. And then ask him what WOULD make him comfortable. Try to be there when he needs you and not so much when he doesn't."

"Yeah..." Zim sighed. "Well, here we are..." he then said once they had reached the walkway leading up to his base.

Purple looked back up as they approached the front door. "Would you prefer I made this call alone? Or would you like to talk to the medic drone we're planning on asking to come?" he then asked, deciding then might be a good time to change the subject.

"I should be there...Make sure I can trust him..." Zim said with an affirmative nod, not wanting to take any chances when it came to Dib's safety despite how he knew the other disliked it.