Defective Magic of Spooky Doom
Chapter 17- Night of the Were-Snarl Beast
"...Better known as metarthropes, werebeasts are people who, upon the rising of the full moon, become fearsome and deadly creatures. The form may be a wolf, crock, or any cursed animal." Ilk scribbled the information down on her piece of parchment, along with some of the sketches on the blackboard.
She had to say, she didn't imagine Headmaster Vermeillo imparting classes, figuring he must be too busy doing other more important stuff. Then again, he is a Professor, so it's not that really surprising either. The subject he taught was Defense Against the Dark Arts, or DADA for short. It consists of studying and learning how to defend one-self against all aspects of the Dark Arts; this includes dark creatures, curses, hexes, jinxes and duelling. Lard Nar once mentioned that almost all magic schools have this subject as a core class.
Despite his… reputation, Ilk had heard students say that Professor Vermeillo is an effective teacher. He applies practical aspects during lectures, and older grades even told stories of the dark creatures he sometimes brought as visual aids while leaving theoretical aspects for homework. So far, though, he was yet to bring a live creature for first-years. Guess he thought they weren't ready for that just yet…
Ilk glanced at Zim, who wasn't paying attention in the least. He seemed to be lost in one of his daydreaming trances instead. Or maybe he doesn't want to put dangerous creatures in the same room as Zim.
"To become a werebeast, it is necessary to be bitten by a werebeast in their beastly form at the time of the full moon. Once the werebeast's saliva mingles with the victim's blood, contamination will occur." Red continued. "However, any bite or scratch obtained from a werebeast will leave permanent scars. Additionally, when it's fresh, it won't heal without a particular healing paste. Who can tell me its three main ingredients? Proceed, miss Phynxak."
As always, Tak got to her feet. "The three main ingredients are powdered stardust, dittany, and phexan tears."
"Excellent, miss Phynxak!" Red praised. "But this paste will only seal the wound and stop the bleeding. It doesn't cure metarthrophy. There's no known cure for it so far. Once you're bitten, you have to live with it for the rest of your life. Now, who can tell me the difference between a werebeast and an animagi?" Red noticed Tak about to raise her hand, but someone else got ahead of her. "Miss Nar?"
"Animagi chose to transform into animals, but werebeasts cannot choose in the matter. Additionally, werebeasts lose all sentience and turn dangerously feral. Since they forget who they are, a transformed werebeast would kill their best friend or even his family."
Red nodded approvingly, smiling a bit. "I see you're well-informed, Miss Nar. I'm impressed."
Ilk rubbed the back of her head. "Thanks, Professor."
Tak frowned, but said nothing.
Skoodge raised his hand. "Professor, is there any way to recognize a werebeast when it's not transformed?"
"Are they dangerous in their normal shapes?" Poot added.
"If what you're asking is if werebeasts have a furry tail or a patch of scaly skin hidden under their clothing, the answer is no." Red said curtly, "Other than the transformations on the full moon, werebeasts are like any other person. They're not dangerous when untransformed…" he thought for a moment. "Unless we're dealing with a psychopath, but that's a very different story."
"Do we kill were-things with silver stuff?" Zim inquired.
"That's a no-maj misconception, Zim. Silver has no effect on werebeasts whatsoever. The best you can do if you encounter one is to flee and pray it doesn't chase after you."
"Professor, have you ever met a werebeast?" Ilk inquired. The corners of the Headmaster's mouth twitched, and for a brief moment she thought she saw a shadow pass over his expression.
"I do know a few."
"Cool!" Zim said.
"But can you actually be friends with one?" Zee asked. "I mean, aren't you afraid that they'll transform and shred you to pieces? I'd be terrified of the idea."
"That tends to be the case, but in these past years, more and more people are actually standing up for the rights of werebeasts. Even the Magic Congresses approved new laws to give infected people more treatment for their state and better life conditions." Red glanced at the window, "But there are still people who fear werecreatures, and certain jobs are still off-limits to them."
"Such as?" Skoodge asked.
"Well, teaching in a magical institution, for example. The Magical Congresses don't want to risk young students getting hurt, or worse, infected."
"But from what you said, infection only happens if the werebeast bites the victim while transformed and they are still themselves while in their normal form. They don't need to be treated like they're monsters!" Ilk protested.
Red sighed.
"I couldn't agree more, Miss Nar, but unfortunately, not everyone thinks like that."
-DMoSD-
"Man, that was awesome!" Stink laughed.
"Awesome? I think I'll have nightmares for weeks." Skoodge whispered, pecking at the food with his fork. Bob rolled his eyes.
"Skoodge, you have nightmares about everything."
Stink and his roommates started sharing the table with Zim's group every now and then ever since the incident with Larb. Zim and Stink weren't exactly 'friends' in the common sense. After all, both are still stubborn and headstrong. Rather, they grew to respect each other in their own unique way. Stink found Zim's ability to get into trouble without even trying (consciously, at least) impressive. Zim, on the other hand, figured that Stink's remarkable (but still inferior) crafting and tactical skills might come in handy one of these days.
GIR returned from wherever he had gone, carrying a sort of bottle in his jaws. Jumping onto the table, he waved it in his master's face happily.
"Master, look what I found!"
Zim ignored him, instead laughing at Skoodge. "Ha! Scaredy Skoodge, Zim fears nothing!"
"What about Sizzi?" GIR pointed out, pointing a paw at Professor Sizz-Lorr in the teacher's table. Bob and Stink snickered at the silly nickname.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I wouldn't be so sure. Even Professor Vermeillo looked a bit nervous when he was explaining the whole thing."
"It would have been even cooler if he had brought a live were-creature to class," Stink said in-between snickers.
"I think that's illegal." Skooge said.
"Besides, werebeasts don't change in broad daylight. The transformation can only be triggered by a full moon." Grapa reminded.
"I found a pretty bottle!" GIR cried out, holding up his vial in his paws. He took a gulp, then spat it out only to drink it again.
"GIR, you're spreading your germs all over the table!"
Spleen narrowed his eyes at the bottle in GIR's possession. "That vial looks familiar…"
"Guys, it's almost time for the curfew. We should get going. We have to save energy for Astronomy class."
Just then, Ilk approached their table. Having partly overheard, she told them. "Actually, Professor Vah'sok asked me to inform you that we're not having class tonight. We're to make an essay on the most important astronomers due for next class instead. It must be at least fifty inches long."
"Wait, Professor Vah'sok?" Bob inquired, raising his lekku. "She never cancels class at the last minute."
"I think that it was on the Headmasters' orders." Ilk explained.
"Now that's odd. Why would they cancel tonight's class?" Grapa inquired.
"Frankly, I don't care as long as I get more sleeping hours!" Bob retorted.
"Wait!" Zim looked through the mess hall's window. The sun had hidden not long ago and he could already see some stars. "Ilk-smeet, tonight's a full moon, isn't it?"
"Yes." Ilk said. She recognized the look on Zim's eyes. Oh, no.
"So, the Headmasters cancel the Astronomy class right on a full moon…"
Stink raised his lekku, blinking. "Are you implying what I think?"
Zim jumped to the table, knocking the others' drinks, but he didn't care. Spreading out his arms, he yelled. "Professor Vermeillo is a were-something!" Ilk, Bob and Skoodge quickly pulled him back and glanced around warily. No one seemed to care about what Zim just said. Guess they were already used to his constant outbursts and didn't take him seriously anymore.
"Zim, be quiet!" Ilk scolded sternly. "You can't accuse someone of being a were-beast without any proof! You might damage their reputations for nothing!"
"Oh, come on, Ilk-smeet!" Zim protested. "Why else would he know so much about were-things?"
"Headmaster Vermeillo is a Professor, Zim! He's supposed to know that stuff."
"Actually it is quite suspicious that the Headmasters would cancel Astronomy class just when it happens to be a full moon." Spleen pointed out. "I think that's too much of a coincidence."
"But Ilk has a point; the Magical Education Committee wouldn't allow a were-beast to have a teaching position." Skoodge added.
"Nor any respectable job." Ilk murmured bitterly, mostly to herself.
"Perhaps it's one of the students."
"It doesn't have to be someone from school. Remember the enchanted forest nearby? Maybe there's werebeasts living out there and wandering into the school grounds looking for victims." Stink snickered.
"Wild animals don't go into heavily populated places. Not even werebeasts would." Grapa pointed out.
"I got an idea! How about we stay awake and see for ourselves?" Spleen shot Stink a frown.
"Are you suggesting that we violate the curfew and who knows how many rules just so you can satisfy your reckless curiosity?"
Stink thought for a moment. "Yup."
"Am I the only one who thinks this is a very stupid idea?"
"I'm with you, Ilk."
Stink hurriedly sushed Skoodge and Ilk. "It's going to hear us!"
"It'll hear us even if we don't make a peep. Werebeasts have keener senses than normal people."
Ilk sighed. She still didn't know why she had joined the boys in this crazy adventure.
"Zim, any birds on the railing?"
Zim blinked. "Huh, what railing?" Spleen rolled his eyes. Zim insisted on standing guard, but so far he's been doing an awful job.
"No one's coming." Bob clarified.
Just then, Stink's fox and Grapa's bird returned through the kitchen door, making signs that there was something inside.
"Who's the brave fella who'll go in there first?"
"I'll go!"
"Zim, no!" Ilk snapped. "If that thing bites you, you're done for! Lots of opportunities will be closed off to you and…" She hadn't even finished when Zim crossed the doors into the neatly clean kitchen.
GIR shouted happily as he jumped into a table and started devouring a whole tray of chocolate muffins.
"GIR, you dumb cat! You'll alert the were-thing that we're here!" Zim snapped.
"But they're muffins, master! Muffins!" GIR spoke in-between munching.
Zim twitched his lekku. Was it just him, or someone was munching and growling loudly.
"GIR, I told you to stop eating!" But GIR was not eating. Instead, he was holding a small piece of paper with his paw.
"I miss my muffin…" He whimpered with tears in his eyes.
"Hey, if it's not you, then who is…?"
Zim twitched his lekku. It was coming from the pantry, whose door was open. Someone was in there, eating. Zim marched up to the open door, puffing out his chest and raising his lekku in a feeble attempt to look more intimidating.
The pantry was filled to the brim with lots of ingredients, foods and spices. Both sides of the room were lined up with shelves holding foods like meats, vegetables and spices, both from Earth and brought from other planets. At the bottom of the room was the pastry section. The munching and growling was coming from there. Zim gulped the lump in his throat as he tip-toed to the pastries.
"Look, master!" GIR pointed to the shelf with the donuts. Something was moving in there.
"Zim? Are you still alive?" Stink called out.
"Are were-things small and cute?"
"What?" The rest of the group burst into the room and joined Zim in the dessert pantry.
"Hey, why do the Professors get to eat all of this tasty stuff while we have to live off potatoes?!" Bob said, glancing around at the cakes, puddings and snacks all around them.
"More importantly, where is the were-beast?" Skoodge asked.
Zim pointed to a small critter on top of one of the shelves. It looked like a lavender earth kitten of sorts, and was currently devouring the chocolate donuts.
"That's… it?" Stink stared at the cat, his eye twitching. "I can't believe it, we came looking for a werebeast and we got this?"
"It's cute!" Skoodge said, somewhat relieved.
"How did a cat get in here, anyway?"
As they argued, Ilk took a closer look at the kitten. It was noticeably small and its eyes were a sharp yellow. It hissed and arched its back when she stepped closer.
"Wait a minute…" Ilk narrowed her eyes. This cat has six limbs. Impossible, Earth felines only have four limbs. Unless… "Guys, step back."
"Should we call the Professors?"
"Are you nuts?! If they find us out of our dormitories this late and inside the pantry, we'll spend the rest of the school year in detention!"
"But if we leave that thing here, it'll eat all of the food!"
"Guys!" Ilk cried out, pointing at the cat-creature as it began to morph into a larger shape. Four of its limbs turned into sharp-toothed mouths and its tiny mouth became a wide open maw with pointy teeth.
The Irkens froze as they stared at the creature, who returned their curious gaze.
"It's a snarl beast. They hail form Sylvestra and are classified as XXXX, very dangerous." Ilk explained. "Step back slowly and don't make any loud-"
"Hi, scary cat thing!" GIR yelled.
"Anything yet, Kheron?"
"Nothing, master."
Red sighed, muttering under his breath as he turned around the corner, wand at hand. Damn it, of all the times for Purple to forget drinking his potion. Okay, Reddok, keep it cool. Everyone's asleep, so no one will notice there's a were-snarl beast roaming around the school-
A sudden crash and screaming from the kitchen nearly made him jump. Kheron hissed loudly. Of course. Purple was ruled by his appetite even in that state. But wait, someone had screamed. It couldn't be, everyone's supposed to be in bed by now.
"Look out!" That voice! His heart skipped a beat.
Ilk!
Red sped down the empty mess hall and cast the knockback jinx on the door, bursting it open. The kitchen was a big mess. There were broken plates, pots and pieces of glass everywhere. The counters had claw and burn marks all over. Red's suspicions were confirmed as he saw some students inside, and over the counter was Purple in his beastly form, hissing through five sharp-toothed mouths. Red recognized Stink Mag'ok, Skoodge Kritten, Bob Streeza, Grapa Kahara, Spleen Iga'ko, and none other than Zim. Of course, he should have known!
"Professor!" Skoodge yelled, instinctively hiding from view.
"Ilk-smeet, look out!" Red saw Ilk on the ground, her wand out of reach, just as Purple lunged at her.
Reacting quickly, Red pointed his wand at the snarl beast and shouted Bombarda; the small explosion created by the spell sent Purple flying against the wall.
"Sorry, Pur," Red thought. Thankfully, he won't remember it tomorrow. Before he could cast the paralysis jynx, however, Purple scurried down the corridor and out of the kitchen.
"Damn it, that was close!" Stink released the breath he didn't know he had been holding, sliding against the wall to sit down.
Red knelt down next to Ilk. "Are you alright?! Did it bite you?!"
"N-No, Professor." Ilk stuttered. Red sighed, relieved.
"Professor Vermeillo? What are you doing here?"
"I could be asking all of you the same thing." Red retorted sternly. Grapa flinched.
"No offense, sir, but we kind of thought that you were the were-beast." Skoodge admitted sheepishly.
"Do you know who that was, anyway?"
Red sighed, closing his eyes. "That...That was Purpurous."
"Professor Lavrendek is a werebeast?"
Red shushed Skoodge sternly. "Yes, that's him." he confessed.
"B-But how… How come nobody ever noticed?" Bob asked. "I mean, anyone would have seen a murderous were-snarl beast on the prowl, don't you think?"
"He's not registered in the IRKMAC's Werebeast Records. If he were, he wouldn't be here to begin with." Red said dryly.
"That doesn't answer my question, sir."
"Wolfsbane potion." Ilk deduced.
"But I thought metanthrophy couldn't be cured."
"It's not a cure perse, Mr. Mag'ok. It's a way for werebeasts to… control themselves while transformed. It must be drunk for a week before the full moon so that the afflicted will keep their consciousness and sense of themselves when they change. Failure to do so, even by a single day, annuls the effect."
"Looks like Professor Lavrendek forgot to drink it," Spleen pointed out.
"Oh, really, captain obvious?" Bob snapped.
Red rolled his eyes. He had no time for this, he had to find Purple before anyone else did. As he was about to send them to their dorms, he noticed a silvery empty vial in the paws of Zim's cat. Wait, that bottle!
"Zim, where did your familiar find this?" Red asked, snatching the bottle from GIR.
"GIR, where did you get that thing?"
"What thing?"
"That bottle!" Zim pointed at the vial impatiently.
"Oh, that! I found it on the purple tall one's desk!" GIR said obliviously. Kheron translated it for his master.
"Wait." Red frowned at the black cat, the volume of his voice turning into a shout as he spoke. "You were sniffing around our office?!"
"No, I was looking for candy, but I found that pretty bottle!"
No wonder Purple couldn't find it, it had been taken away! And to think he believed his friend had just forgotten about it. Red glared down at Zim and GIR, clenching his fists, lekku raised. He had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
"I'll deal with you two later," he hissed. "For now, go back to your dorms."
"Professor, wait, let us help!" Ilk cried out.
"Absolutely not, miss Nar! A were-beast is far out of your league!"
"But you can't face off against one on your own! You might get hurt!"
"That's precisely my point, Ilk! All of you are my responsibility, it is my job to keep all of you safe. If any of you get hurt, or worse, if you get bitten, I'll have to answer for it." Red placed a hand on Ilk's shoulder. "So, please, Miss Nar, stay safe. I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you."
I wouldn't.
Ilk wanted to keep arguing. She couldn't just stand by while Professor Vermeillo faced off against a were-snarlbeast all on his own. But deep down she knew he was right. What would happen if any of them were bit and turned into were-beasts themselves? The Headmasters would lose more than just their jobs.
And the way he was looking down at her, his gaze stern but pleading at the same time...
"Yes, sir." Nodding, Red rushed out of the kitchen, Kheron following after him.
A tense silence ruled over the seven young irkens.
"So… What now?" Grapa asked.
"We do as the Headmaster said and go back to our dorms." Skoodge said.
"Are you kidding? We'll never get another chance like this!" Stink cried out. "Just imagine if we catch a werebeast! We'd be famous!"
"Are you-? Did you hear what Professor Vermeillo just said? If we are bit we're done for! We'll never get a decent job, we'll never get married, we'll turn into monsters every month for the rest of our lives! We'd be like pariahs of society!" Bob retorted.
"I agree with him." Spleen said. "This is far too dangerous for first-years like us, we should let the Headmaster handle it. He didn't become an Almighty Tallest Mage for nothing."
"Hey, where did Zim go?"
Crunch.
The Irkens looked towards the pantry, where Zim was munching loudly on some cheesy puffs. GIR sat by his side, devouring a chocolate muffin. It took Zim a few seconds to notice the looks he was getting.
"What? I'm hungry?"
"I'm pretty sure that theft is against school rules and magical law."
"And the last time we grabbed something from the kitchen illegally didn't end well." Skoodge shivered, recalling the incident with the tart that got them into lots of trouble.
Zim, Bob and the others ignored Ilk and Skoodge, instead focusing on balancing all the chips, puffs, biscuits and snacks in their arms on their way back to the dormitories. After all, it's not every day that they can grab as much food as possible from the teachers' stash.
"I don't know about you, but I'm sick of potatoes!" Bob said.
"Ha, I'm a genius! I had the brightest idea ever!" Zim laughed.
"It was my idea, you know."
"You're making it up!"
"I'd like to know where you're going to hide all of that. The SIRs are sure to find such a big amount of snacks when they clean up the rooms." Ilk said matter-of-factly.
"We'll figure something out, I've hidden worse things from my mom." Stink said.
"Who would have thought? Professor Lavrendek is a were-beast! It's almost like a horror movie, except nobody's been killed yet." Grapa chirped.
"I still don't understand how on Irk he got the position of Headmaster or how come he's even five feet near a school at all." Spleen commented.
"Professor Vermeillo said that he's not in the Werebeast Records. People sometimes keep their condition a secret to avoid the social stigma and laboral limitations."
"But for how long? I mean, wolfsbane potions are hard to brew and expensive in the market. You can't afford to drink one every day of every month for the rest of your life unless you have a lot of monies in the bank." Bob said.
"What do we do now?" Grapa asked. "I mean, we just discovered that there's a were-snarlbeast teaching in this school. Should we tell someone?"
Ilk froze. T-They couldn't do that! The Headmasters would get in lots of trouble if word of this got out. Professor Lavrendek for not registering himself, and Professor Vermeillo for helping him hide his condition.
"I say we keep the secret." She said quickly. The boys looked at her.
"Why?" Stink asked.
"We have no right to ruin Professor Lavrendek's life when he's never hurt anyone."
"That we know of." Spleen pointed out. "We have no idea of when he was turned or if he had access to wolfsbane potion before becoming Headmaster."
"I'm with Ilk-smeet! If we keep the secret, the Headmasters will surely change their opinion about me!" Zim said loudly.
Stink rolled his eyes. "I doubt that, considering that this whole mess happened because of your familiar."
Kuna straightened up on Ilk's shoulder, eyes wide and on full alert. "Something's approaching, mistress!"
Similarly, GIR climbed up Zim's body to hide under his clothes. "Master, there's a scary monster!"
"Get off me, GIR!"
"Err… Guys…" Skoodge's trembling finger was pointing to a dark shape on the walls. The creature's glowing purple eyes were focused on the group, its five mouths watery.
"Don't move a muscle!" Spleen said hurriedly. "Snarl beast vision is based on movement and smell. If we stay still, it won't be able to see us." The Irkens stood there, frozen and tense, staring back at the creature, careful not to look directly in its eyes.
"What do we do now?" Skoodge whispered.
"He's staring at us!" Bob said, panicking. "What if he's waiting for a chance to strike?"
"W-We could stay here until sunrise…" Grapa suggested.
"Why don't we run for it?" Zim glanced at Skoodge. "Skoodge's plump body will surely distract were-Headmaster Purple."
"Zim!"
Ilk looked up at the snarl beast, briefly glancing into its eyes. There was no trace of intelligence nor any sign that Professor Lavrendek could be reached. He was only an animal right now, driven by instinct, staring hungrily at Zim and Bob. Spleen said that snarl beasts can't see things that don't move. Then how does he know Zim and Bob are there? Wait a minute, he had also mentioned smell. Both Zim and Bob are carrying lots of snacks, including a box of triple chocolate whipped cream donuts, which happened to be Professor Lavrendek's favorite treat.
Despite his current state, deep down he's still the same sweet-toothed person.
"Ilk, what are you-?"
"Shh!" Ilk shushed as she slowly reached out to grab the box.
"Get your own snacks, Ilk-smeet!" Zim growled.
"Shush, Zim!" Grapa gulped when the snarl beast licked the lips on one of its mouths.
Ilk glanced at Chocolate, who was perched on Skoodge's shoulder. "I have a theory. Skoodge, think your familiar could go fetch Professor Vermeillo?" The question brought the plump Irken out of his frozen state.
"Y-Yeah, I think so."
Chocolate hooted.
Ilk opened the box, grabbed a donut, and lifted it in the air. Professor Lavrendek's attention instantly shifted to it. His gaze followed the donut as she slowly moved it around.
"Skoodge, I'm going to throw the donut to distract the snarl beast. Send Chocolate off while he's distracted." Skoodge nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Everyone else take out your wands."
"But what about the snacks?"
"Zim, it's either the snacks or getting to live to see another day in one piece." Bob said, slowly placing the snacks on the ground and sliding his wand out of his pocket. With an unhappy pout, Zim reluctantly followed suit, muttering under his breath.
"Everyone, keep your wands up, but do not cast any spells. If my hunch is correct, the snarl beast is only after the food." Ilk took a deep breath and pointed her wand at the donut. "Wingardium leviosa." The pastry hovered off her hand and slowly moved forward. Ilk glanced up at the snarl beast; its gaze was intently focused on the donut.
"Skoodge, on count three."
Skoodge nodded.
"One, two-"
"DONUT!"
"GIR!" Zim tried to grab his cat's tail as he leaped off his chest and towards the hovering donut, but it slipped out of his grasp. At the same time, Professor Lavrendek jumped off the wall, aiming his five mouths at GIR.
"GIR, no!" Before he could do anything, Zim was grabbed by the arms from behind. "Let go of Zim!"
"Zim, don't do anything stupid for a change!" Stink snapped as he and Grapa held the Irken back while Chocolate took advantage of the distraction to fly off as told.
GIR and Professor Lavrendek landed on the donut at the same time. The two animals seemed to fight. Or rather Purple was trying to fight while GIR seemed to think it was a sort of game; he was laughing loudly as he ran around the snarl beast in circles, dodging its mouths. Purple spun around so many times that he became dizzy.
"Aww, are you ill? Here, have my snack!" GIR held out the donut.
"GIR-!"
"Wait," Spleen interrupted. "Look."
Purple was sniffing the donut warily. Then he snatched it with a mouth and devoured it. He looked down at GIR curiously as the black cat wrapped his paws around his larger body.
"I love you, scary five-mouthed cat!"
To everyone's astonishment, the snarl beast purred and rubbed his head against GIR as he shrunk back to the kitten-like form they had first encountered him in.
"What on Irk just happened?" Bob asked.
"Snarl Beasts are very territorial, but usually non-aggressive if not provoked." The group looked towards the corridor. Professor Vermeillo was coming, visibly relieved, with Kheron curled up around his neck like a scarf. Red looked down at the discarded snack backs. "They're especially picky when feeding. In the wild, they attack anything that approaches their food. However, experienced magizoologists can render them harmless and docile by offering them food."
Chocolate flew back to Skoodge's shoulder.
"It makes sense. Headmaster Lavrendek was eating when we found him in the pantry. He must have thought we were going to steal his food." Grapa deduced.
"Well, he wasn't completely wrong about that…" Skoodge whispered timidly, glancing at the stolen snacks.
"Exactly, and he followed us when he smelled his favorite snack amongst the things we were carrying." Ilk finished, looking down at the chocolate donuts. "He was merely acting on instinct to defend his food, but deep down he's still the same even if he can't remember it right now. He associates donuts with good stuff, so when GIR have him one to eat, he relaxed and thought GIR was a good thing."
"Precisely, Miss Nar. Purple might not be himself, but he is in there." Red confirmed, kneeling down and holding out an arm. As he clicked his tongue, Purple slid out of GIR's hold and climbed unto Red's shoulder.
"Okay, now I've seen everything…" Stink murmured. It's hard to believe that this adorable-looking kitten was the same monster from a few minutes ago.
"What will happen now, Professor?" Ilk inquired. "Will Headmaster Lavrendek be alright?"
"Purple will be alright, miss Nar. He'll go back to normal at dawn and won't remember tonight's events. As for you, however," Red frowned at the male Irkens. "You not only broke school rules by sneaking out of your rooms after the curfew, you additionally took lots of food from the pantry without permission."
"Hey, but we stopped the were-beast!" Stink protested.
Zim smiled proudly. "Indeed, sir, thanks to my familiar, the situation is now under control! You're welcome!"
Red exchanged an annoyed glance with Kheron. A few seconds later, he sighed.
"Look, children. It's been a long night and I just want to go to bed, so let's do this: If you go back to your dorms and act as if none of this happened, you may keep those snacks and I won't inform your parents about all the rules you broke. Deal?"
The group didn't need to think twice. "Deal!" Zim, Stink and Bob cried simultaneously as they scrambled to pick the snacks up.
Red sighed in dismay while Purple snuggled against his chest, purring. The things I do for you, Pur.
Indeed, the things he does for Purple! But at least no one got hurt and the gang will get proper food for some time.
In this AU, lycanthropy doesn't only limit to werewoles, but other variations, both alien and earth-creatures alike. In Purple's case, he's a were-Snarl Beast. I got some information regarding this topic mostly from the Harry Potter universe, but added some IZ twists.