To Which Our Future Holds (A ZaDr Story)

Chapter 33

Zim chopped up some of the various leafy plants and poured them into a large bowl and mixed them together. When he began cutting up one of the Thorn fruits the door slid open as Ash walked it. "Got all your chores finished Ash smeet?" Zim asked. With a nod Ash sat at the table "All the creatures are fed and watered and the fences are still sturdy." Zim smiled and added the fruit into the bowl along with some star berries. "Perfect, Zim was just preparing some multi berry salad." Ash grinned "Oh yum it's one of my favorites!" Zim purred as he mixed the dish "Zim knows" he said grinning.
After setting the table and getting their food the two sat at the table and ate. "So does the Ash smeet want to talk about Earth now?" Zim asked, taking a bite of food.
Ash fiddled with his fork, rolling it in his hands and tapping his food "I don't know, it's not really all that important." Zim raised his brow in concern, "Ash smeet, if something is bothering you than Zim wants to help." Ash took another nervous bite of salad. "Well, it's just I had a dream about when I was on Earth." Zim twitched his anteni as the two ate. Zim didn't want to admit it, but mention of Earth made him slightly nervous. "Would the Ash like to tell Zim about it?" He said, trying to sound reassuring. Ash nibbled on a piece of star berry, "Well, in my dream I was playing a game of hide and seek with my parents, at first it was fun but then they got really worried. Eventually they found me but when I looked up at them I couldn't remember what their faces looked like, and they didn't seem to recognize me either." Ash chewed on his food as Zim let the story sink in. "It has been a long time Ash smeet, is there anything Zim can do to help?" Ash set down his fork fiddling with it on the table "I don't know, I guess the dream just scared me." Zim hopped off his chair and walked over to Ash opening his arms "Come here Ash smeet." Zim offered, pulling Ash into a hug. "Listen my Ash Smeet, Zim does not want you to be afraid, Zim will always be here for you." Ash looked away "Do you think they forgot about me?" He questioned. Zim shook his head. "No Ash I don't think they have."
"Do you think they miss me?"
Zim gripped onto Ash, "Zim cannot know for seartin but Zim knows if it was Zim, I would miss Ash every day for a thousand years." Zim paused thinking for a while "If the Ash smeet really wants we could always go check on Earth. Only if it would help the Ash smeet of course." Ash smiled softly "Thanks Zim, I'll think about it." With a wide grin Zim purred "Of course, now finish your food we still have work to do after all."
After eating Zim washed the dishes while Ash sliced up some Thorn Fruit to be freeze-dried for storage. "After we finish, would you prefer to work on Math, Language, or Science today?" Zim asked. Ash hummed over the question for a while "Can we work on Language?" Zim nodded, "Of course, we shall work on your English then."

Ash sat at a desk as he went over different phrases saying them in irken then repeating them in English. Zim nodded as they went along, correcting him wherever necessary. After a while Zim smiled, "Very good Ash, your English is wonderful." Happily hugging Ash Zim chirped "Zim Is So Proud Of You!" With a chuckle Ash nuzzled Zim back when a loud alarm rang through the base. "WARNING METEOR SHOWER INCOMING!" the computer alerted.
Looking at Ash with a serious tone he pulled away "Ash go down to the lab and make sure all the shields are up and functional." With a confident nod Ash ran off, having been through this routine several times before. Zim barked an order to the computer as the two parted ways each going to their respective places.
Ash pulled up the base map and checked the towers that surrounded the farm "computer connect com link to the weapons station." Ash ordered. Zim's voice buzzed over the com as he permitted the com link connection. "Okay Zim I've gone over the satellite imagery And it looks like the meteors are coming in from the west." Zim grinned "Got it, Zim can see them, and how are we doing on the shield integrity?" Ash swiped over a screen on his left. "We are at 65% in total from the last shower, we should only be able to safely take a hit from anything less than four meters across. But with how everything is looking there appears to only be about fifteen meteors that we will have to worry about, it will only be a small shower."
Zim nodded "That's good, we should be able to increase the range to try and keep the surrounding area safe then." With a nod Ash typed on the keyboard "Okay then I'll increase the range by a five mile radius." Zim purred on the other end of the com as his claws gripped onto the weapons system "Perfect, well done Ash, just keep the com link connected and let Zim know if anything changes.

After the meteor shower ended Zim grinned, leaning back in his seat. "All right that's all of them, how did the shield hold up?" Ash looked over everything, "Well the north tower took a direct hit which lowered the north east side down to 32% but overall the shield system stands at 64% integrity." Zim growled "Zim will have to go and repair that immediately." With an idea Zim perked up "In the meantime Ash smeet you should have the computer help you research Earth, it might make you feel better." Ash nodded solemnly "Okay then I'll see you for dinner?" He asked just as the com link was disconnected. With a sigh Ash commanded the computer "Computer, find Earth."

A large pink screen to the left of him flickered the black invader logo over a static screen before a bright picture of the blue planet over a starry background popped up on screen,  'Planet Earth' it read in bright white irken letters. '856,000 light years away.'

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