Corrupted Memory
By: 99Alien-Freak99 & Xmimi89eR
Rate: T
Story will contain: blood/ violence/ anorexic/ depression/ strong language.
(ZaDr!FLUFF)
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 was freezing outside, to say the least.
The short alien was clinging against Dib's coat for some heat. They had to walk for a bit because the parking lot was far away, the wind blew at him and the Irken could only hide behind the human.
As the store came close, Dib stopped at the door. "Alright, you remember what I told you, right?" He asked, leaning to be almost face to face with the other.
The Irken nodded. "It's a Halloweeny disguise thingy." His hands tugged his hoodie to hide his face further.
"Yeah, close enough." Dib smiled and took the alien by his hand. The boy noted how stone-cold it was. They both walked into the store and a warm wash of its insides made IZ sigh. The door closed behind them with a ting making the cashier look up.
The woman seemed tired with a cigarette in her hand, it reminded Dib when the last time did he smoke. Maybe he wasn't addicted to it, but it still bugged him sometimes.
The alien looked around at all the different stuff either hung or on shelves, some even on the floor.
"We'll get the important things first," The boy said, dragging the other with him. IZ followed suit. "We probably don't have anything in the fridge by now." He walked to get some bread, eggs, bacon. Whatever he and his sister like. He let go of the alien hand to examine what he needed letting the other hold into his coat instead.
IZ on the other hand was still examining the place, there weren't a lot of humans around, just the catchier lady, an old man, a teen, and another woman wandering around with her kid. He heard the door open and assumed either someone got in or got out.
Every time the teen passes by them he'd shoot the alien an odd glare, IZ would hiss like an angry cat and cling closer to his human. He didn't like this look.
Dib already had a basket in his other hand that he filled with some breakfast meals, he remembered to get cereal so his lovely sister won't kill him. "Come on," He called at the other who was staring into nothing.
"The place smells funny." The alien noted.
Dib laughed. "I never liked its smell either," He walked to get their favorite cereal, thank god he found some. "I believe they never cleaned the floor since they opened."
"Ew." The alien gaged. He tried ignoring this fact and looked around at the new hallway they entered, the place wasn't that big, but for the alien, he felt if he let go of the human, he will get lost.
His antenna twitched and accidentally poked from the front when he heard someone gasp so near to him. The alien looked back to see a small girl with blond pigtails.
IZ held tighter to the human.
"Oooh! Hi!" She extended her hand, a big smile on her face. When the alien only glared, she took his hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you too!"
"Uh-..." The alien looked around then up at the human, Dib was busy talking to someone through his phone. Great, what should he do now? "It- it's a Halloween disguise...?"
"I know, and it looks so good!" She poked at his chest. "But don't you think it's a bit late for Halloween?"
The Irken shrugged slowly, afraid of the screaming girl in front of him.
"It doesn't matter, last Halloween I decided to become a princess! I wore a pink dress but mom accidentally dropped the soda on it, so it became brown! I liked it better! Oh, and I also got to wear makeup, my big sister made it for me." She laughed and resumed her mumbling. "She wasn't happy of course but mom made her do it. I like your makeup! It looks so real!"
He could only stare at the annoying talking beast and didn't dare say anything back because he had no idea how to respond to that.
"How old are you by the way? I'm nine but a bit shorter than other kids in school."
This caught the alien's attention by a bit. "You don't mind bein' short?" He asked in almost a whisper.
"No, not at all! People will think you're cute and actually give you candies and talk to you nicely!" She said, tugging at her skirt. "Like this!" She walked to her mom's basket and got out a bag of candies. "Awwww, how cute are you little kid, here!" She mocked in an adult tone and gave the candies to the Irken who was still confused.
Her mom walked away almost as if she didn't have a kid at all. "Oh no, I have to leave!" She ran away and waved. "It was nice to meet you alien-kid!" Her voice was too loud that it caught Dib's attention with the word 'alien'.
"Huh?" He looked up. God these stores have the weirdest people ever. "Weirdos." He mumbled. "Alright, alright, I got what you want." He said to the other line with Gaz. There was a pause and a slight sneer from the girl. "Sure, bye." With this he hanged up and walked to get the sodas, making sure the Irken was still behind him.
Said Irken was examining the bag in his hands, he opened them and took one out. It was a squishy pink candy that reminded him of something. The antenna hanging on his face twitched at the sugary scent and he took a bite.
He immediately got addicted to the familiar taste of it, almost as good as Irkens meals, he was glad that Earth actually had something like that. Now at least he won't starve to death.
Dib glanced at him when he felt the other slow down. "You okay?" He asked.
"We have somethin' like that on Irk, I don't remember, but the taste is familiar." The alien replied, showing the taller human his treat.
Dib took it in hand and examined it for a bit. "Is it like, just candies for you or... like a full meal?" He handed the bag back to IZ.
It took longer for the alien to understand. "It's what we eat?" He answered but sounded more like a question.
"So your diet is on sugars, huh? Well, that kinda explains your blood smell."
"My... blood smell...?"
"Eh, never mind that. I'll get you more if that's the case, I also need to buy Gaz some candies or she'll kill us both." He laughed anxiously.
They both walked to another hallway.
The other hallway was full of candies, chips, and chocolates. Most of them the alien didn't exactly recognize but he decided to look for the same candy he's eating.
"This is it, right?" Dib asked, handing the short alien the same pink bag.
"Yeah!"
"It should be easy then, try getting the same kind." He recommended. "How much do you usually eat, anyway?" Dib remembers the tiny alien staying with no food for what? Weeks if he was right.
IZ shrugged.
"That shouldn't be a problem." Dib grabbed a punch from it and tossed it in his basket. "Now, what does Gaz likes?..." He looked around and spotted the salty chips his sister always eats. He got some of it and got the bittersweet candy he loves. "Okay, now I'll just get some soda and we'll head back home." He said to the alien. The other nodded and followed him, still enjoying his first meal in what felt like forever.
"Alien-kid!"
The Irken tensed and looked back.
The small blond girl went jumping towards him with a cheerful smile, her eyes were almost shining with excitement. "It's good to see you again! Even though it's only been a few minutes..."
"Who in the world?..." Dib murmured under his breath.
The girl seemed to now notice him, taking a step back to look at him. "Oh, hi sir!" She extended her hand. Dib took it slowly. "Your kid is cool."
Dib chocked on his own saliva. "He's not my kid." He replied embarrassed with a serious tone.
"You're brother?"
"No." Dib pouted at the annoying, nosy girl.
"...you're friend?" She seemed to like this little guessing game as her smile and determined look never left.
"Close enough..." Dib sighed.
"What did I tell you about talking to strangers?" Came the angry voice of a woman. Dib assumed it was the mother. She came out of nowhere, giving Dib a deadly glare as if it was his problem.
"Not to...?" The girl seemed to fake sadness.
"Exactly, now come along!" The mom grabbed her daughter's hand and dragged her away.
"We'll meet again! See ya alien-kid!" She waved her skinny hand till she was out of view.
"That was... annoying." Dib said under his breath.
I don't blame Gaz for hating children now.
"She gave me the candies." The alien said, following behind. "And also said that bein' short isn't bad... am I supposed to believe her?"
Dib walked towards where he thought the soda is in. "I told you this, being tall or short doesn't matter." He gave a reassuring smile.
"You sure?"
"Absolutely."
If it wasn't for the odd feeling in his chest, then he'd have noticed how heavy his head was, the alien didn't say anything about it, however.
After this, both walked back to the cashier lady, who was still holding a cigarette. Dib started to put his stuff on the table, one by one till his basket was empty and the lady with black hair started to put them on bags.
Dib inhaled the toxic, yet calming smell of cigarettes and couldn't help but ask: "Get me a pack." He pointed at her cigarette.
"Smoking as well, kid?" She asked, exhaling all the smoke out. The alien antenna twitched at the odd smell.
"Not always." He shrugged.
"Just don't get addicted." With that being said, she scanned the package of cigarettes and put it in with the other groceries. Dib got his credit card out, paid for his things, and held the bags in his hand.
"I'll try." He said to her and looked down at the alien, who was spacing out on nothing. "Come on."
IZ was about to reply when suddenly, he sneezed.
Dib jumped out of surprise. "Sheesh!" He took the alien out of the store a bit in a hurry so no one would hear their talk. When they were finally out, Dib took his time to find words. "H- how can you sneeze without a nose??"
"Sneeze?" He rubbed his arms in an attempt to warm himself up. It was colder outside.
"Oh..." The realization hit him. "I forgot you're cold-blooded!" He facepalmed his forehead. "Since when have you been cold?"
"...here?"
"Oh dear, I just hope you didn't catch a cold..."
I have no idea how to take care of him if that happened.
He leaned down to carry the alien against his chest, being careful with the hanging wires from the Irken's sleeve, and walked towards his car. Now that he thought of it, it is cold. And the alien was stone cold and shivering against him. Besides, he was wearing nothing under the hoodie. Real smart Dib.
Finding his black car wasn't hard since no one was up this late. The bag was tossed on the passenger seat as Dib got in with the alien clinging at his neck.
The Irken's eyes stared at the seat for a moment before his antenna twitched. "Is that blood?" He asked quietly, voice almost audible even in the silence.
"What?" Dib looked back while turning the car on. "Oh-" His glare softened as memories flushed in. "Um, yeah it's blood."
"..." The alien's lip twitched in a frown. "Who does it belong to?" His ruby eyes caught the human's.
Dib hesitated. "You..." He looked at the dried pink blood that lost the shine in them and the smell. "It belongs to you."
"W-When? How?" There was a deep frown on his face. "I d-don't remember..." That phrase seemed to trigger a wounded part in him, claws held tight to the boy's clothes. Everything was too quiet for a moment, the smell of what Dib could only assume is puddles of rainwater still not dry on the ground. Atom was somewhat of a beautiful season, not too hot, not too cold. But maybe not this great, after all.
Amber eyes looked away. "When you got here, you passed out when I got there." His gaze looked at the small alien again. "You were bleeding and I only have my car. Besides, I didn't have time to wash it." He explained.
The Irken looked down as he leaned to rest his head heavily on the human's chest. It was almost peaceful before he remembered something. "My Voot!" He gasped.
"You're-?"
"What happened to my Voot?" His head snapped up with worry. "You said if humans saw me then they'll do somethin' awful, what if they saw my ship??" He exclaimed with a pleading look on his face.
"It-It's still there, I don't think anyone saw it." This answer didn't seem to satisfy the other as he stared like a kid about to cry.
"But what if they saw it?!"
The boy took a deep breath. "Alright, we'll check it out, how about this? And then we'll get home."
It took a moment but at last, the alien nodded. Dib smiled at him. By this, he turned off the lights, adjusted himself, and drove to the park.
-XXX-
It didn't take much to get there, around seven minutes of heavy silence. That till Dib decided to cut it. "We're here." He said. Parking the car and taking his keys out. The boy didn't want to admit it, but his legs were becoming sleepy.
IZ was laying his face on the human's chest with half-open eyes, he looked at the edge of dozing off, but he wasn't sleepy, just... tired, and the human was warm in this cold weather. When the boy spoke, he rose his head to look at the pale face of his savior. Then he looked around.
The big park seemed scary at this hour, all with its trees and almost abandoned streets. The crushing sound of levees under the boy's feet as he walked them inside, his phone was out and the flashlight is on, holding the alien with one arm. His glasses seemed too shiny with the reflection of light as they headed near. Birds would wake up at the sound of Dib's red boots cracking anything and everything. It was colder there, so much colder and the wind didn't help.
IZ can't lie when he said the smell of this 'park' was quite nice, but Irk he didn't like how it looked. His vision in the dark was better than the human he guessed because IZ could definitely see without a flashlight. But who is he to complain? At least he was being carried around which the alien was grateful for, feeling all tall and almost, just almost, happy.
The Irken shrugged the idea off.
The flashlight seemed to have a reflection from elsewhere and Dib immediately knew it was the lake. He turned his phone off, tossed it in his pocket, and held the tiny alien tighter. "Here." He pointed out, taking careful steps. "You passed out just here."
And as the alien turned around, he could tell from the trace of his feet on the muddy ground, the flash of memories as he ran thinking the human is some sort of a shadow monster, they were all drawn on the ground perfectly, reflecting the scene like a show. A traumatizing painting.
"And there," Dib turned around towards the dirty water. "There where you're ship drowned."
IZ looked down slowly, clinging tightly to the human in the fear of dropping him in the water. He stared at the almost invisible excuse of a ship, the same one he was stuck in not so long ago. The moon was reflected on the muddy water, making the ship's surface shine purple with its broken glass.
A tiny clawed hand sneaked to touch his bandaged neck, feeling the white wraps the raven-haired boy put. Right under there was a damned neck with deep scars. He knew by now that his kind heals fast, but he was sure those cuts will probably never leave.
Dib saw as the shine in the alien's eyes was lost, they went from wide to half-lidded slowly in almost disappointment. The wind blew freezing air between them making the boy shiver, the Irken didn't even move, however. His eyes were dark and staring at the drowned ship. He knew it still worked, he knew he still can fly with it. But Irk he will not.
Maybe he can't remember everything, but by now all he could remember is telling him he's an outcast. What home did he have?
His hands were grabbing his neck tighter unconsciously, squeezing it and almost digging his sharp claws in there as the image of damn X's seemed to fill the image of black space and empty stars.
Even if his ship still works, he has nowhere to go.
The alien's skin was itchy with the cold, his breath was visible in front of him. The sound of the wind blowing through the trees and before his antenna.
Dib was quietly studying the Irken's moves, feeling uneasy by the sensation around them. He shifted a hand to remove the alien's claws from his neck. "How about we go home now?" He asked softly, breaking the silence.
The Irken tensed. He took his time to remove his gaze from the lake, blinking the thoughts away as his ruby eyes were met with amber. He didn't give an answer but instead hugged the other again, seeking warmth and comfort.
The boy took the hint, he slowly walked back to his car.
END OF CHAPTER NINE!
Mary: A new chapter is up! This one was fun to write, to be honest, all mixed emotions to feel.
AF: Technically, I agree. Next chapter should contain more emotions as well, how fun!
See you next time, oh, and reviews are appreciated!
This was Alien Freak, signing off.