Hello everyone, the Wolf has returned, bringing with her a new chapter of her fanfiction! Thank you all for waiting so patiently. I appreciate the fact that none of you have held me in your basement at gunpoint, threatening me as I frantically write another chapter. It really makes my day. A notice, the name of Zim's disease, Lupitis, is not derived from Lupin, instead, both are derived from the Latin word Lupus, meaning wolf. Anyway, I hope you have been happy with the story thus far, enjoying the action and such, I will try to keep it heated up, but I'm a little spacey currently, so this may be a slow chapter. Any guesses about the second werewolf's identity? Anyone wondering what's going to happen to Gir? Are you confused as to why Zim would save Dib? All your questions will be answered in due time, I promise. And about that disclaimer, I unfortunately do not own Invader Zim, all characters, rights, and aspects of the show belong to Jhonen Vasquez. So then, please enjoy Chapter Six!
Dib's P.O.V.
Sometimes it's funny the way the human mind works. When I woke up, despite how traumaticevents of last night, at first, I remembered nothing. That was because I woke up in my room. But after the few seconds of confusion, mere seconds stretched into an eternity in the almost eerie calm, it all came back. And it came back with the impact of a train, and it gave me such a headache almost instantly.
Maybe the headache was because of all the unanswered questions I had, hammering away at the forefront of my mind.
Maybe it was because of the injuries I had received last night, my broken arm, my side torn open, my ankle sprained, now clumsily bandaged, and the fact that I knew there was only one guy who could have done it, but I just couldn't comprehend why.
Or maybe it was because of the calm. Complete calm. Utter silence. The sun coming in through the window, everything peaceful, nothing moving. So contradictory to the way I felt. It made me want to lose my mind. Tear something apart. Light something on fire. Destroy something. Destroy everything. Make the whole world reflect the storm going on in my mind.
But I think there was one thing that kept me from doing that, that one thing that was breaking the calm, even though I didn't even realize it was there at first.
And that was the sound of labored breathing coming from the corner.
As soon as I snapped out of my thoughts, realizing the presence of the foreign sound, I looked up to try to find the source.
And it didn't take long.
There, in the corner, unconscious and covered in wounds, was Zim. He had shrunk back down to the size of a regular wolf, and his fur had turned back to a more normal-looking medium green, but the injuries he had received last night hadn't shrunk with him. He wasn't doing well, to say the least. Unless of course bleeding to death in a corner has suddenly become a good thing. And I sincerely doubt it has.
Acting on instinct, I awkwardly get out of bed, and I was halfway to the door before I stopped. Why was I even going to help him?
Well, he saved your life, for one thing… piped up the voice at the back of my head.
Yes, but we're enemies! argued a second voice.
This takes arguing with yourself to an extreme… a third voice chimed in, sounding sarcastic.
Shut up, the other two snapped in unison.
Okay, okay, jeez…
…What a weirdo…
I know, right? Well, anyway… Are you really just going to let him die?
Well, he hasn't been exactly nice to me lately, not to mention he's bleeding all over the carpet…
That's completely beside the point.
No, it isn't.
Whatever. He got those injuries fighting to save your life, and you're going to watch him die? Do you really want that on your conscience?
…Maybe…
No, you don't. And you know it.
Lalalalala, I'm not listening to yoouuu…
...Just do the right thing, will you?
Ugh, fine. You can be so pushy sometimes…
I started down the hall, toward the bathroom where we keep the medical supplies. Grabbing them, I headed back to my room.
Happy?
Yes.
Bending down over the unconscious wolf, I looked him over, analyzing his injuries. There was a lot to cover. He had a set of three, long gashes, clawmarks, running down his left side and down his left back leg. There was an extremely deep cut on the bottom of his stomach, just a little to the right. It looked liable to get infected if it wasn't treated quickly, but at least it didn't seem to have damaged any internal organs. He had two large bite marks, one on his right front leg and the other on his shoulder, right where it meets the neck. The only other injury was a scratch over his left eye. Thankfully, the eye itself wasn't damaged, but I doubt the scratch will ever fully heal.
I opened the medical kit, and leaned over on him to try to bandage the injuries, when he suddenly moved, the contact must have woken him up. I moved backwards, startled.
"Gerrafugawf…" grumbled a slurred, groggy voice, sounding more like a growl than actual words.
I wasn't exactly sure how to reply to this, so I just sat back and watched as he slowly woke up, his ruby eyes sliding open and drifting over to rest on me. I didn't know what I expected him to say then, but it certainly wasn't what he did.
"Hey," he mumbled, almost nonchalantly.
"Uhhh, hey…"
"So you're okay."
"Yeah…"
"Good. Frankly, I was worried that you weren't going to live. Your heart stopped."
"What?"
"I said your heart stopped. Twice. I had to use my PAK on you to jumpstart it."
"Why would you do that?"
"Hmm?"
"Why would you do any of this? You almost killed me, more than once, and then you almost get killed yourself, trying to save me! And then, to top it off, you only tend to my injuries, and you leave yourself bleeding to death in a corner. Something's going on and I want to know what. I want answers. Now."
He stared at me for a few moments, looking almost… sad?
"Well, about tending to your injuries, yours were more severe than mine, and needed immediate attention. And well, as for why I saved you, I don't want to talk about it…" he trailed off.
I just stared at him for a few seconds, and even though he was looking away, I knew he could feel my glare.
"Fine, I'll tell you. Bring up the database, look up Lupitis again," he finally gave in, still not looking at me.
"I already saw that-"
"Just do it."
I limped over to the computer, bringing up the database, and quickly recovering the article on Lupitis, reading it aloud.
"Lupitis- A rare virus, the deadliest known disease among Irkens. There is no known cure. Not very much is known about the disease, as all subjects who contract it are banished-"
I stopped reading there. I didn't need to go any farther. How could I have forgotten?
"Oh god…"
"Yeah. Do you get it now? And that's not even the worst of it."
"How could it get any worse?"
"Well, pretty easily, actually. Soon after your last visit, I finally got a link through to the Massive. To the Tallest. I asked them for research facilities to study and try to find a cure for the disease. The request was denied. They told me that if they wanted to find a cure for the disease, they didn't need me to do it, they said they had more competent Irkens to do so. They told me that my mission was a fake, that it's always been a fake, and called me a defect. They told me I was banished, and never to call them again. I can no longer make contact with any other member of my species outside of this solar system, and my ship has been rewired, I can't leave this galaxy. It didn't come as a surprise really, I guess some little part of me has always known, but it was still crushing. I saved you because I wanted you to know I was sorry. I've hurt so many people over a lie. Especially you. And so I wanted you to know I was sorry."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't."
"What?"
"You don't. And I wasn't expecting you to. I can't give you a good reason to trust me, because there isn't one. I was hoping you could forgive me, but I didn't think you would."
This was so weird… I've never seen him act anything like this before… I think he's telling the truth…
"Alright, I believe you."
He didn't reply to this, but he turned around to face me, and I think he almost smiled.
"Okay, well, we have to do something about your injuries…"
Almost an hour later, all of his injuries were cleaned and bandaged, and most of the blood on the floor had been cleared away. I was holding a two-inch fang I had pulled out of the wound on his shoulder. I'd decided to keep it, but Zim really couldn't understand why I would want to. I didn't expect him to, he isn't a paranormal investigator. I mean, really, it's not every day you come across a real werewolf fang…
"So, now what?" I asked, without thinking.
"Hmm?"
"Now what? Where do we go from here?"
"Mm. Well, one thing is certain. That wolf was the one that has been killing people. We need to find a way to get rid of them. Maybe if we find a cure for my Lupitis, it could be used to get rid of this werewolf."
"Yeah, that might work, we could use my dad's labs, but then there's the problem of getting you around… Maybe we could try to pass you off as a rare dog breed?"
"Only with your dad. I refuse to walk around on a leash in public. I still have my dignity."
"Well, what other options do we have?"
"Most humans are pretty stupid, we shouldn't have too much of a problem. If I wear a large black hoodie and black sweatpants, or something, we'll be just fine."
"Are you sure?"
He gave me a look.
"Uh, yeah. Trust me, I can pass off just about anything as 'normal.'"
"Okay, do you think we should tell Gaz about this?"
"I don't see why not. The Gaz-Human doesn't care about much of anything, what harm is there in her knowing? Why are you even asking all these questions? What is this, an interview?"
"Well, I just think we should have some sort of a plan…"
"Huh. Well, I need to go back to the base, there's some equipment over there that will help with the research. After all, Irken technology is much more advanced than anything we could find in your parental unit's labs, so it would b an asset to have at least some superior technology on hand. Also maybe Gir will be there. He's been acting strangely, and I'm just a bit worried…"
"Fine. So we're going back to the base, then."
We quickly found a hoodie and sweatpants for Zim to wear, and the trip to the base was a bit awkward, due to the fact that we were both injured, but otherwise uneventful. But when we got to the base, that was when things started happening. As soon as we opened the door, it was quite apparent that someone had been here before us. And that is because the base was decimated.
Alright, so, that's it, thanks so much for putting up with a really, really, really crappy chapter. Sorry, I've just been really spacey, and I had a bit of writers block. I will try to put up a better chapter soon, I promise. So, anyway, I'm back to writing in the past tense, even though the flashback is over. Sorry if it's a little confusing, I just write more fluidly in the past tense. So, please review, and please, please, please no flames, I already know it was crap. You don't have to rub it in. So, just in case I don't get the next chapter up before the holidays, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, have a nice Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, whatever you may celebrate, I hope you have a brilliant time, get together with your family and loved ones, and just have a Happy Holidays everyone! Invader ShadowWolf, OUT!