Corrupted Memory

By: 99Alien-Freak99 & Xmimi89eR

Rate: T

Story will contain: blood/ violence/ anorexic/ depression/ strong language.

(FLUFF/ZaDr!)

Disclaimer: We do not own invader Zim, but we own the story and idea.

English is our second language, my apologies if there are any mistakes.

Our stories do not contain lemon.

-XXX-

It's been hours since Dib started bandaging the alien, he finished everything and sighed, exhausted that he had to stay all night. Now it was around six in the morning.

Dib stared at the Irken on his bed, unsure of his next move, thankfully he was still unconscious. Dib couldn't resist sleep and leaned his hands and head on the bed edge, tossing his glasses aside. He drifted off quickly, forgetting to bandage his own wound.

Time passed by, it was about to be three afternoon when the small alien began to open his eyes, he gasped when he saw the fake stars on the ceiling and walls, the slightly dim room made them glow and with his blurry sight, the Irken couldn't help but start breathing heavily, thinking that he was still in space, somehow out of his ship in the dark void.

It was odd that he can breathe though, he put this fact in his head and actually looked around once again, his sight became better and he saw that he was not in space nor in his ship. He was surprised to find himself in a soft place, to find that his legs, hands, and torso bandaged up and in new clothes. Ruby eyes went wide when his gaze settled on the sleeping human on the edge, he pushed himself to the far corner of the bed, hugging himself tightly as he waited for a reaction; but got none.

It clicked in his mind that the human is sleeping, the human called Dib.

The Irken murmured the name under his breath, remembering last night's events. He saved me... was the first thought that came to his mind, he would have been happy if his fear wasn't there, instead he tried not to have any hope; not at all. The Irken clearly didn't want any more accidents just because of a stupid feeling, the feeling that actually made him feel alive, but he'd sell that for his safety.

His eyes landed on the human's cheek, regretting attacking him. But he didn't mean it! He thought the human was a shadow monster, he thought he'd harm him, kill him! He had to act!... What if this Dib-thing decides that he was worthless and throws him out? Outside where the monsters can have an upper hand on him, they'd play with him like a rag doll and no one will ever care nor notice.

There was a fainting sound coming from the bed end, on the far darker part of the room, around the closet, and even another sound from under the bed itself... the alien's eyes went wide and he looked around once more, hoping from whatever heart he have that this was not what he thought, because if it was then, he is all alone, even the raven-haired boy is asleep.

"SeE? YoU'lL aLwAyS hUrT pEoPlE aRoUnD yOu~"

"How interesting that you think this thing even cares."

"DO YOU THINK HE CAN SAVE YOU?! PROTECT YOU? DON'T BE PATHETIC!"

The Irken swallowed thickly then shook his head, "N- no... he said he will!... he said he'll help!" he defeated, pressing himself on the wall none too gently. Breathing heavily, his ruby eyes spotted one monster coming from behind the chair, their purple eyes glowed and locked with him.

"LIKE HE'LL HELP SOMETHING AS DISGUSTING AS YOU!"

"He won't be around all the time."

"YoU'lL bE aLoNe oNe tImE... tHiS wIlL bE yOuR eNd~"

Unblinking eyes spotted another one, a little taller than the other's having green eyes, both getting closer to him, his bandaged feet twisted on the bedsheets as he tried to get away, but he was met of course by the wall. He didn't know how to respond but to shake his head much faster, lips shaking with pure fear. The room began to be dark again, something he seemed almost used to, something that happens exactly before he lose consciousness and fall into their trap, there they could tear him apart, eat his flesh and drink his blood.

"S- s- stay away!..." he half snapped half pleaded, his eyes landed on the sleeping human who seemed to have shifted slightly by the Irken's voice, maybe Dib could help... he thought, but couldn't move to wake the human, too scared to get closer to the bed edge. His tongue seemed heavy to speak in Dib's language, almost impossible to word it right.

"Aww, what are you thinking?"

The small alien's eyes looked up on the ceiling to freeze when he saw another one in there with blue eyes, hanging upside down, their saliva fell slowly from their sharp teeth to the bedsheets, right between the alien's legs which made him hug himself tightly and away from it.

"HAH! YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE US? AFTER EVERYTHING YOU HAD DONE?!"

"I didn't do anything!" He exclaimed, though regretting acting all tough when he heard an angry hiss coming from the bedside. He looked there to have his eyes met with the human, the boy seemed slightly shocked, maybe from the loud yell or because he just woke up. The Irken was sure the hiss wasn't from him so he looked beside the amber-eyed boy, his claws began to dig deep in his knees when he felt something so horribly wrong, so... close.

Just beside the human, something from under the bed jumped with red angry eyes, it launched itself towards the poor Irken.

"ITS ALL YOUR FAULT!!"

The tiny alien screamed in horror, his heart sank down to his legs and broke there, almost stopping here and now at the sudden jump scare. Sweaty hands held tights as claws digging deeper, his eyes teared up while his lungs burned with scratches of his scream.

Dib's eyes snapped open, he got in the bed and held the Irken's hands away from his knees, holding them on the side as he grabbed the alien closer to him, seeing the panic that was painted on his green face. "Holy shit... hey, what's wrong??" He tried to shush him from screaming, though, eventually, the alien ran out of oxygen and started panting, he examined the room again, ruby fearful eyes looked everywhere even at the ceiling, his claws moved to hold into the warmth close to him but then he realized where he was and jumped out of the human's grasp.

He would look at the room, to the boy, then again at the room.

"It's fine..." Dib sighed softly, holding his hands in the air. He frowned at the crying alien. "No one is here, you're safe." He said slowly.

Where are the monsters...? The Irken wondered, he finally looked at the human eye to eye. The look was full of... mercy...

"I'm going to get bandages for the new cuts, okay? Stay here I won't take long," Dib said as he looked at the new bleeding cuts on the green alien's knees, he gave a reassuring look before he stood up.

The Irken watched him go, he wanted to open his mouth and tell him: no. But couldn't, so he hugged himself again and examined the room, now feeling more alone.

"YeS... aLl aLoNe~"

The air was knocked out of his chest as he heard the monsters speak again, he saw them gathering around the bed, finally having no 'human' to keep their prey away. His eyes looked at the door, wanting to scream for his imaginary savior to save him from the imaginary monsters, but his throat was scratched, he couldn't even talk to the monsters themselves.

"Where were we?... oh yes."

Sharp and long claws got closer as the alien felt dizzy, there was a sore taste in the back of his throat, whether it's blood or the urge to vomit out of fear.

I-... I can't... I don't-...

Before the claws could touch him, he moved down and out of the bed, trembling on his legs in the process. He looked around to see the shadows chasing him, he gasped in terror and jumped back on his legs to run out of the door only to bump into something soft. He was about to scream only to see it was the human himself who was confused and also slightly surprised. Without hesitation, the Irken hid behind him and held tightly at his arm, he was shaking out of his skin, his face hiding in the clothes fabric.

Dib almost dropped the kit when the alien launched into him, for a second he thought he was being attacked until he saw the alien hiding behind him from... something. The green boy didn't look like he'd let go anytime soon, if anything, he seemed like he'd lose consciousness if he let go. Dib shifted slightly, he moved his other hand to put it on the scared alien's shoulder who flinched immediately but never let go.

"Are you okay?" He asked, staring at the shaking Irken.

The other didn't reply, he looked around only to find there was no one, the monsters disappeared, they left because the human was here, right? They can't harm him... he needs to stay close to the tall human, even if he's still afraid of him too, he is here to keep the monsters away so he won't harm him, right? It has to be.

The green-skinned boy couldn't help but relax slightly, feeling safe. He looked up and flinched a bit when he found the other was looking at him with... worry? He wasn't sure. When his body knew he was safe now he felt how exhausted and weak he is, he leaned against the human, eyes half-lidded but still stubbornly open, his hands wrapped around Dib's arm as he made himself comfortable, legs feeling like noodles as they started to give up on him. He fell halfway on the floor still holding to the boy's arm.

Dib leaned to hold him from falling by under his shoulders, noting how strong his grip was to his arm. The boy could only think what made the alien this scared is his hallucinations, whatever he can see of those 'shadow monsters' don't seem too friendly...

He held the alien slowly and carried him against his chest, making sure not to move him by surprise, and walked to his bed, he sat there with the kit and the Irken. "You can let go, I need to bandage your knees and also my face." He said, leaning to look better at the alien, not sure if he's supposed to be this green or if he's pale from...

"Hey," Dib called again, now remembering something, something that may explain why the Irken was tired, besides the wounds. "You said you didn't have supplies, you mean food, right?"

The green boy's antennae rose at the mention but quickly lowered, can he trust him? Maybe he'd put poison in the food...? The alien looked at the human, his antenna twitching as he tried to pick up the boy's emotions; it was something he seemed to know, maybe all his kind can do this, he didn't know. They rose again when he picked only admiration, worry, and confusion.

Why admiration? That was beyond him to know.

He relaxed a bit, feeling no bad emotions coming from the boy. He wanted to say something but Dib talked first. "I'll bandage your knees then we'll see what you can eat, okay?" He asked, waiting for permission to start bandaging which got the alien by slight surprise, being this nice to him; at some point, he felt like no one has ever been nice to him before. The human even keeps the monsters away! Whether in purpose or not.

He nodded slowly, but never let go.

Dib gave him a small smile, he opened the kit to get some bandages. "I wanted to put some medicine on your wounds but I didn't know what may harm you and what may not," he started a small talk, not really liking the silence.

The other didn't answer, he slowly just shrugged because he didn't want to leave the other like this. Ruby eyes would look at the human's hands as they worked on his cuts, then at the boy's face, not knowing why he was wearing those glassy things, and lastly would wander around the room for any signs of shadows.

"Are your kind this... cold? Like cold-blooded?" Dib asked, remembering how stone cold the other was yesterday and also this morning. "Are you cold? I can give you a jacket," the boy tapped the bandaged knee as he put everything back in the kit, yet again forgetting about his own wound. Though the alien did seem to notice, when his eyes met with the human, he patted his green cheek, telling the human wordlessly about the cuts. He frowned slightly just at the thought that he was the one who did so. "What?..." Dib was confused, he moved his hand slowly to touch his cheek only to be greeted with some dried blood. "Oh!" He blinked then chuckling slightly. "I need to remember myself sometimes,"

That might leave a scar... he thought but not too angry, he was already full of scars anyway, and he might also find something useful in his Dad's lab to heal it.

"Thanks for the reminder," he smiled as he opened the kit again, "I'll need to wash the blood though, can you wait here-"

The Irken shook his head immediately at the thought of being alone again, he pleaded with his eyes for the human not to go.

Dib frowned, "You can come with me," he suggested as he stood up while the Irken held at his arm and start standing again too. They both walked to the bathroom with the Irken trembling behind slightly, he watched as the human used water to wash his face from his odd colored blood, the small alien hid behind him from the water and waited patiently for him to finish. It didn't take time before he started bandaging his face then washed his hands and dried them.

They walked back to the room where Dib pulled out a black hoodie. "This is Gaz's hoodie, the girl with purple hair if you remember her, I'm sure it will keep you warm," he said smiling and offering the jacket. The alien took it in his hands, staring at it for a while as he frowned.

Dib was confused. "What's wrong?" He asked.

The alien looked at his tangled arm, it was stuck in wires that hurt when he pulled them. He refused to talk, the cold air seemed to finally hit him but he couldn't talk, he did not want to, feeling overly tired, and talking only seemed to strike him more.

"Do they hurt?"

He looked in surprise towards the human, not sure if he can read minds, he feared the boy might do something evil if he knew his weakness, so he kept quiet and lowered his gaze.

"You can trust me, you know? Maybe I can help you free your arm?"

The other frowned and shook his head, not liking the idea of anyone getting close to his PAK, so to prove it and keep the human away, he started to put the hoodie on, which was a bad idea since his PAK began to hurt and he felt like losing consciousness again. Squeezing his eyes shut, he finally put it all the way to his thighs, his PAK transformed itself above the clothes as if the clothes were made for it; Irken technology had thought of everything.

"I wouldn't have cut your dress if I knew your pack could do this!" Dib said with excitement as he saw what the PAK did, it was so amazing to see such technology.

The warmth washed over the freezing body of the small alien, he held the edge of the hoodie to feel the texture with his hands, it was warm and soft; he liked the feeling of it. The human's voice got him out of his little fantasy as he looked at the boy in front of him, he quickly got closer -but never close enough- and held Dib's arm out of fear of the monsters. His heart was happy but his brain kept repeating that happiness was just a curse and he should never feel it or else something bad will happen.

Dib ran his other hand on his hair, remembering that he really needed a shower right now but was stuck with the scared alien. He got an idea and hoped it would work. "I'm gonna take a shower, how about you stay with Gaz till I finish?"

The Irken's eyes widened and he frowned.

"It's fine I won't take long, besides, Gaz is strong I'm sure the monsters will fear even entering the house." He laughed slightly, trying to reassure the alien. "The bathroom has a lot of water and you don't want to get burned, right?" He asked still smiling.

The other kept frowning and hanged his head, thinking a bit about it, then he decided not to anger the only one that helped him and slowly nodded his head.

"Great! Come on," Dib said as he stood up, he felt that the alien is heavy and looked at him, seeing that 'IZ' was still sitting, obviously not into the idea, the raven-haired boy thought for a moment before he leaned again. His hands slid under the alien's shoulders and picker him up, not bothered since he was so light.

The other flinched and held tightly to him, fearing he might be attacked at some sort.

As if reading his mind, Dib spoke quietly. "I won't let go," he said close to the other's face. With a shift in his pose, he walked downstairs to find his sister as usual on the couch. "Don't try to cling to her, she doesn't like touching," he whispered with a chuckle, trying his hardest to lighten the sad alien's mood.

Gaz didn't pay them attention as Dib came and put IZ on the couch, he smiled at him then went to his room to get some clean clothes to take a shower. The alien glanced at the said 'Gaz' human. She was too focused on the game that she seemed like she didn't even know he was there, however she did wave a hand at him without looking then went back to her game. The Irken didn't bother to wave back since she wasn't looking, he held to the couch armrest tightly and looked around, last time he was too scared to actually take a good examen of the room.

"Jee, you remind me of Dib," Gaz all of the sudden spoke.

The Irken looked at her with confusion.

"He used to have nightmares and hallucinations about Halloween," she explained. "He would act all clingy to me which was annoying," she finally glanced at him. "My point is: you'll beat those nightmare-shit, don't worry."

He had monsters? The alien wondered. He seems okay, not scared at all...

"Bleh, easy!" She cheered up, having a good mood after all. She stood up, heading for the kitchen for breakfast since she woke up just two hours ago. She tossed her game on the table in front of the couch then crossed her arms; looking at the alien as if he was some sort of a child. "What do you eat?" She asked.

The other didn't respond.

Gaz rose an eyebrow, she sighed and held his hand all of the sudden which made him jump and squeak. "Come you stupid, why did I have to be stuck with two morons?" She murmured under her breath, dragging the small alien by his wrist.

She got to the kitchen and forced him to sit on the table then she went to the fridge to get some of the leftover pizza to reheat it, she however didn't find the pizza and only got two bottles of chocolate milk. "Can you drink this?" She threw it in his lap as she walked to the living room, remembering that she left the pizza there last night.

The Irken stared at the bottle confused then at the girl, he saw her walk out of the room.

Why do they all have to leave...? He thought as he started to shake, feeling unsafe and watched. His head began to spin and he could only hang it, staring down at his lap and legs. His hand held the hoodie edge tightly, pretending to be... busy? He didn't know busy with what but he had to pretend; maybe the monsters will leave him. His antenna picked movement as he saw a shadow creep closer to him. He jumped off the seat and backed away against the sink.

"Don't get close to the water!" Dib's voice came as he walked a bit closer, worried the alien might try and run away.

The Irken blinked and relaxed a bit when he saw who it was and immediately rushed to hold his arm, he hissed a bit at the still wet skin but didn't care, his head rested on the boy's arm.

Dib's heart fluttered as the Irken pressed against him, he saw how deep the other was frowning; making a poker face, it would have been funny if it wasn't sad. He was slightly worried but smiled anyway, "Since we're in the kitchen, how about we find something you might like?" He asked, seeing his sister putting the pizza in the microwave. "Do you think you can eat pizza?"

His sister put the pizza on the table as she sat, already having a slice in her hands, her game slave on the table as well.

I wonder how she can drink chocolate milk with pizza... the boy wondered. If it was for him then he'd surely puke. He was about to sit but the alien kept clinging into his arm, Dib sighed and ran a hand on his still wet hair to keep away from his face then took the alien in his lap, his face heated a bit with a smile. "Do you know what you're allergic to?" he asked, afraid that pizza might have the same effect as water.

The tiny Irken seemed to like his seat, he turned around to his 'imaginary savior' when he asked. He thought a bit about the question but shrugged in the end, not knowing what will suit him, a thought of his insides melting made him lean away from the said 'pizza' and frown in doubt.

"You're not gonna try it? You need to since you haven't eaten anything..." Dib tried to talk the paranoid alien out of it, but even he wasn't sure about what Earthlings' food might do to the alien. After all, even water was harmful to him so there should be a lot of things that he can't eat.

Dib's mind wandered a bit. He remembered that he was talking to an alien, somehow feeling a bit familiar with, but as he said before, he had never met an alien in his life- sadly. Now that the 'Irken' was not trying to run away -hopefully he won't later- Dib had the chance the study him more carefully. He glanced at the antennae he had, pointing out that they detect sound or maybe vibrations like bugs do, they would twitch every two minutes even when there aren't loud noises around; probably having better hearing than humans? Dib wasn't sure but he was still fascinated by what they might be able to do. He also noted that they move with emotions, for example, the antennae would press against his head like cat's ears when he's angry or scared, and when they're natural they'd stay upward slightly; however, he did see them rise a bit when he and the Irken were on the roof when he introduced himself; maybe it's surprise? he didn't know.

Amber eyes were suddenly locked with magenta ones, he didn't notice the alien was also staring at him with... confusion? However he looked away immediately and leaned against the human, making himself comfortable in the warmth, his cheek nuzzled against the soft fabric, holding tight to his arm.

Dib felt his heart do a double beat, he shifted a bit to wrap his arm around the small waist of the Irken and used his other hand to grab a pizza; both he and Gaz ate in silence. The boy could feel the other move around every five minutes, checking the room before he'd lay back down; this continued for a while before Dib felt his body go limp, when he looked down he saw the alien sleeping, though his hand grip was strong compared to his body.

The raven-haired boy finished eating and stood up, carrying the sleeping alien in his arms as he walked up to his room. He put the alien on the bed and was about to leave him there if he didn't feel something grab his t-shirt, turning around, he saw the Irken awake, almost looking... betrayed...?

The other said something in his native language which made Dib confused.

"Ko'tsi jek..."

"Huh?..." Dib leaned again as he felt the Irken drag him closer, after a moment of the other just trying to spell the word, he finally spoke again, this time in English.

"Don't go," The Irken said, frowning as he did so, he tried dragging the boy again by his shirt.

"I wasn't going to leave," He assured him. "I'll just get my pack, it's right there," he pointed under his desk. The alien seemed to understand, he hesitated before letting go. Dib walked to his pack and got it with him in the bed, he zipped it open and got the laptop out, then an idea crossed his mind as he saw his notebook. "Hey, do you like to draw?" He asked, wanting anything that might cheer the moody alien.

The Irken rose an antenna -which made Dib note that this was a questioning pose for them- and titled his head, not exactly knowing what 'drawing' is.

Dib got some pencils out and his sketchbook then put them in the alien's lap; who of course flinched and jumped in place before freezing at what was in his lap. After a second he calmed down and took the pencil in his hand and the book in the other one, opening the book, he saw some sketches of some sort and weird-looking math questions. He got to an empty page as he leaned against the human, he laid cross so his stomach was on the boy's lap and his arms on the bed, one hand holding the pencil.

The amber-eyed boy allowed this and leaned so he's comfortable and turned on the laptop. A few moments passed with the alien sketching random things he saw in the house, this made Dib remember something.

"By the way, how... how old are you?" He asked with curiosity.

The Irken's antenna twitched and he moved around to look at the human, he thought about it for a moment before going back to the book and opened a new page. Dib leaned to look at what he was doing and saw... math? It looked like math but in some odd language. Probably Irken.

"H- how long?" The Irken whispered, he paused his writings but didn't look away.

"How long what?"

"One Earth circle."

It took a second for Dib to understand the question. "Oh! 24 hours for the day and 356 days in a year," he answered, now more interested in what the alien was doing. The alien nodded and went back to his 'math'. Dib was fascinated at how fast the other was solving it; he even wrote some numbers in English. After a moment, he flipped himself and sat up, still in the boy's lap. He put the book in front of his face so he'd read. Dib leaned away from the close book before taking it in his hand, he scanned the 'math' problem from top to bottom to see the end results.

Urth: 10 years.

Irk: 1 year.

174 = 17

Dib rose an eyebrow.

"One Irk year circle equals ten Earth years circle." The Irken said in a low tone, some letters such as 'th' seemed a bit hard for him to spell.

"You mean you're originally 17 on your planet?" He asked, slightly shocked and surprised,

The other nodded.

A slow smirk danced on Dib's lips before he could help himself. "Gaz is 18 ya know. You literally look younger than 17, at less in humans eyes; is all your race this small?" He asked, not meaning it to sound like an insult.

The said small alien pouted, he looked at the bedsheets, hand playing with the pencil. "W- well... I'm not sure but I do remember them b- bein' tall... I- I think short Irkens are considered 'worthless'..." He answered, remembering his nightmares and how the monsters kept saying he's a 'short worthless defect'.

"How tall are they?"

"Almost as tall as you," he now looked at him, seeming... embarrassed...? His expressions were always hard to read, but his antennae were against his head, so that means he's sad or maybe even ashamed which made Dib lean closer to his face, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"You're not worthless." He started in a serious tone. "You're not on your home planet now, so your height doesn't matter, especially to me,"

"B- but it has to be-! See?" He pointed at the red X on his forehead. "It means I'm a defect! It's worst than bein' short- that's what the shadows said!" He began to shake as his hands went to his forehead, a useless attempt in erasing the X. "I don't like it..." big ruby eyes teared up as his hand shifted to rub them instead.

"Hey, don't say that, those monsters are lying!" He said as his hands went to cup the alien's face, making him look at his eyes. "They are bad liars and they can't hurt you anymore, got that?" He said as he stroked the line under the alien's eyes. "Look at me," He demanded when the Irken kept looking down. The other leaned towards the soft touch and forced his gaze again at the human; ruby eyes met with amber ones. "I'll protect you. I promise."

The Irken's face brightened, "R- Really?" He asked slowly with a low tone, searching the human's eyes.

"Of course!"

His antennae rose up from surprise, he took the advantage and scanned the boy's emotions while they were still in the air. Determination, empathetic, and adoration. Why always adoration? He asked himself but couldn't help the small smile that danced on his dry lips.

Dib smiled as well, happy to finally see the alien smile, his face had a hint of red as he looked at the Irken's magenta-colored eyes; however, he shook the thought away. The small alien laid back on his stomach and opened a new page then started drawing, he was happy for a moment before depression washed over him.

He can't be happy! Happiness will only make things worse, he needs to stop-

His body tensed slightly when bad thoughts began to invade him, that small glimmer of happiness he just had was washed, dried, then got destroyed as fast as it came; dread replaced it leaving him feeling heavy and more tired. He started doodling again but this time he drew his nightmares in a very messy line art, small hand held tightly at the pencil as he frowned at the drawing.

Dib didn't seem to notice the change, however...

END OF CHAPTER SIX!

AF: I'm not sure how to feel about this chapter, maybe we're rushing things a bit, but I just didn't want a whole 100k words long fanfic, just under 70k or so.

Hope you enjoyed and sorry for the late update!

Mary: Reviews are highly appreciated!

This was Alien Freak, signing off.