Chapter Text
He waited anxiously for Zim to be ready before running in the same direction. Luckily the snow left well visible and easy to follow footprints, although the beast was faster than them and had already gone far ahead.
They started running at first, but soon realized it was useless. By following the tracks they would necessarily fall on it, moreover it was not easy to run with snow up to the knee.
In just a few minutes Dib was already breathless and sweaty. On the one hand it suited him... He didn’t feel like talking to Zim at all at the moment. First because he was too upset about him and then because he didn’t want the discussion to lead to what he almost happened. It was better if it stayed in both of their heads. Because yes, he was sure Zim was thinking about it too.
Although he could not see his face because he was walking in front of him, the alien was very silent, his hands placed in his back and his fingers moving nervously.
Dib knew he was going to have to explain. And he was not prepared at all! Seriously... What reasons could he give?! "Well, look, I wanted it at the time so I thought, let’s be crazy!" , or "I don’t know why, but then really not why! But it seems that I have a crush on a stupid lizard! An egocentric and selfish alien. Full of himself and with a shitty character! But... With a catching physique and bewitching eyes that keep drawing me every time I look at them." IM-PO-SSI-BLE!
He wasn’t even sure Zim understood human feelings. After all, the Irkiens have no relationship with each other. They don’t know what physical attraction is. Surely that’s why they’re so full of themselves.
Dib was so lost in his thoughts that he did not see that Zim had stopped, staring at an opening in the mountain. Dib stopped just in time before, again, rushing into him. The footprints stopped here to sink into the darkness.
"Great. Another cave..." said Dib ironically.
Zim simply shrugged and remained silent, which further angered Dib. All right, he was upset, but at least he would have liked to have a little more reaction from him. But no! He didn’t even show that he was upset or anything. He just stood there and it was absolutely frustrating.
Zim started walking again and entered the cave, followed closely by Dib. The darkness quickly engulfed them and Dib could not even distinguish his feet. He quickly took out his flashlight and lit it, illuminating the walls all around him. His flashlight was not very powerful but it provided him enough light not to bump against the walls. In addition, Zim’s PAK also provided them with light. It was dewy and subdued.
Dib followed him from behind, trying to keep a proper distance from him, without getting too close. The tunnel they were in was high and wide and the ground was littered with stones and branches that cracked under the feet. Branches that cracked strangely...
Dib lowered his flashlight and lit the ground. He had cold sweats when he saw what he was walking on and his flashlight almost fell from his hands. Bones. There were lots of them all over the ground. They weren’t human bones; they were way too small. But the sensation of walking on corpses tied his stomach. He understood where his putrid smells came from. It was none other than rotting flesh and mold.
He pinched his nose with one hand, looking at Zim’s back. He was even tighter and clenched his fists. How could he not run from this place? He knew that the Irkiens had a more developed sense of smell than humans. It must have been horrible for him. Moreover Zim hated microbes. And yet, even in the dark Dib could have imagined them everywhere around them. He felt sorry for him and wanted to come closer, try an approach and ask how he was doing. But he pulled himself together, shaking his head. No. If at the slightest difficulty he lowered himself against Zim, the alien would end up playing with him and making a puppet without conviction. Dib wasn’t going to stop being so easily pissed at him! And for once, only once, he wanted Zim to face the first step and apologize. It was probably a waste of time knowing the character of this Irkien soldier.
They walked for several minutes, they seemed to him to last for hours and he began to feel claustrophobic to remain locked up and to sink even further into the mountain.
He began to despair when, finally, an opening appeared before them. Light appeared at the end of the tunnel. A bright white light. The cave had led them to a huge open clearing. It took him a while before his eyes got used to the blinding light and he rubbed them for a moment, taking large puffs of fresh air at the same time.
When his eyes became accustomed, he noticed it directly. The Sasquatch was there, at the other end of the clearing. He didn’t seem to have noticed them, too busy snacking what looked, from a distance, like a rabbit.
Zim wanted to keep moving, but Dib grabbed his arm quickly. He brought his face closer and lowered his voice as much as possible, speaking to him practically in the neck.
"You better stay behind."
Zim turned to him, frowning. " And let you go alone? Why?"
"You scared him, and you hurt him. And I don’t think he forgot it."
"Zim is not going to let you go alone and be fooled."
Dib holds back from rolling his eyes. "He will not devour me. He is a kind and peaceful creature who never attacks anyone."
"I was attacked, and he didn’t seem nice at the time." Zim said crossing his arms on his chest.
"I don’t know... maybe it’s because you’re not a human. Or maybe he doesn’t like green." Dib joke.
For a second he saw a faint smile on Zim’s lips before disappearing again. Now he was looking anxious. Dib placed a hand on his shoulder and looked seriously into his eyes.
"Trust me, Zim. Please. For once."
Zim seemed to think for a moment before letting go of a sigh. "Well, stupid suicidal human. But if I ever see this beast make the slightest aggressive move, I would not hesitate to shoot it right away."
Dib felt his heart miss a beat and he moved his hand from his shoulder shaking his head. He pulled out of his backpack the kind of syringe and his camera and began to advance in the direction of the Sasquatch, turning one last time to observe Zim, leaning against the wall of the cave, his gaze focused on him.
He understood now... he understood why he had fallen for him. It wasn’t just his eyes or his physique, it was his personality. Although difficult at times, he loved him like that. He liked that he was overprotective, impulsive and did what went through his head without question. He even liked the fact that he was a jerk and an asshole sometimes.
Dib hid the "syringe" in his pocket and put his camera in front of his face, he zoomed a little and pressed the button. The flash lit up the clearing and the Sasquatch jumped up his head. Well, the picture was clean and sharp and he now had the beast’s attention.
Dib let his camera hang around his neck and he raised his hands on each side of his face.
"It’s all right, my boy. I don’t want to hurt you."
While taking as sweet a voice as possible he slowly approached the beast. She retreated slightly and Dib stopped, observing each of her reactions. When she seemed to relax a little, Dib took a step. When she felt scared and was about to retreat, Dib stopped and told her that she had nothing to fear. To make this little game like that, Dib ends up in front of her.
He stopped right in front of her and reached out to her. He did not touch her. He just stayed with his hand outstretched and motionless. Motionless as he could because he contained his tremors. She looked at the hand for a moment before coming to sniff it. Dib swallowed. If what the newspapers said about the Sasquatch was wrong, he would lose his hand, and surely his arm also seen the size of his jaw. He had not once turned to Zim, but strangely he could feel the tension he was releasing. He knew he was on the lookout and that in a split second he would be ready to shoot the beast.
And yet he did not need it. She drew her mouth closer to his hand and placed her forehead on it. Suddenly Dib relaxed and all the pressure in his body flew away. He stroked the head of the Sasquatch who seemed to lean a little closer to him under his caresses. Dib smiled and stroked her behind her ears, the beast seemed to like it and closed her eyes. She had an extremely soft fur. He continued to caress her and speak to her while dipping his other hand in the pocket of his coat.
"That’s good. You’re a nice Sasquatch. That’s amazing. Stay calm and nice, it’s not going to hurt you."
He took the syringe out of his pocket and placed it against the Sasquatch’s arm while continuing to scratch behind his ears. He did not dare to stop, the Sasquatch had his eyes closed and it was ideal for him.
He pressed the button.
Instantly he felt an electric shock in his hand and his fingers numbed, causing him to let go of the empty syringe.
His arms were sore and tingling. But it was nothing compared to the pain the beast felt. She was screaming and her whole body was spasming.
Dib did not understand! The syringe did not fill, but instead it sent shocks into his body. Darkbooti didn’t tell him it had to be like this!
Without thinking Dib wanted to help him. He grabbed the syringe with full hand but he did not expect a huge discharge to pass through his body. All his limbs were covered with electricity. It hurt like hell! And yet he did not let go of the needle.
He clenched his teeth and pulled all his strength on it, pulling it out of the skin of the Sasquatch.
He threw it a little further and watched as his whole body continued to shake frantically. The button on which he had pressed, instead of sucking up the blood, had brought out claws that had clung to the skin of the beast. They were tinged with blood and some white hairs hung on them.
He had no time to wonder why when he heard a fierce grunt beside him. The Sasquatch, who once looked like a good dog in need of affection, now looked like a rabid dog, fangs visible and drool flowing from his lips.
He was very angry and was about to jump on him to get revenge.
"Hoho..." Dib backed down slightly. "It’s not me... I didn’t mean to hurt you!"
As if the beast could understand it...
"Dib! Step back!" He heard Zim screaming.
He turned his head to see him running in his direction, but he was far too far from them.
Dib had no time to retreat and distance himself from the beast, she jumped in her direction. He closed his eyes and instinctively protected his face with his arms.
Instead of being caught by a jaw or claws, he heard an explosion in front of him. Zim had just used his PAK and had shot the Sasquatch.
The shooter had not touched him and had landed at their feet. The force of the explosion pushed Dib a few meters further and he rolled in the snow which, by chance, had cushioned the blows.
The beast was apparently as stunned as he was and that gave Zim time to come closer. He placed himself in front of Dib and deployed all the metal legs of his PAK, putting himself on the defensive.
"You won’t touch him, you monster."
"Don’t kill him, Zim! It’s a protected species here!"
"Are you not serious?" Zim growled, looking up at the sky. "I’ll do what I can!"
The beast growls more when it recognizes Zim and it changes target.
She jumps on him, swinging her claws forward in the hope of touching him. But Zim pushed them away one by one using the legs of his PAK.
At this rate he was just going to get tired for nothing.
How could he get rid of that beast without killing it? A blast at point-blank range would kill it, for sure. He retracts it again in his PAK, keeping only the metal legs to defend himself.
Seriously Dib! It would be much easier if he could kill him! Zim was only deflecting the paws tirelessly, slashing them at times with metal arms, but nothing that discouraged the Sasquatch. He did not flee, just getting more angry and rushing towards Zim growling.
Their little game had no end. Zim was getting tired of all this and was just thinking about shoving his metal legs into the beast, and too bad for Dib’s request! It couldn’t go on like this for hours! The beast seemed to get tired too. Her movements became faster and her growls were jerky and loud. She lost patience.
Zim turned his face to Dib for a second before shifting his attention to the Sasquatch. Dib had retreated a little further and looked at them in a troubled manner. Deep down he would have liked to be able to help Zim, but what could he do? He knew that he would simply have bothered the alien and that the latter would have yelled at him to back off. And then... He’s just a human with no combat skills. He didn’t even have a gun on him that could have helped Zim!
There was nothing he could do except watch them both let off steam. With worried eyes, though fascinated. Seeing Zim fight like this impressed him greatly. He knew he was agile, but growing up Zim became even more so.
He saw him turn around again and scream his name.
"Dib! I’m really getting bored! I’m going to kill him to get rid of him!"
"What? No!" Dib took a few steps forward. "Hurt him if you want but don’t kill him!"
The Sasquatch’s ears moved to the sound of Dib’s voice and he turned his head toward the human. He knew that he would get nowhere with Zim. He was way too strong for him. He knew it. And that’s why he turned and changed his target.
In an instant he rushed to Dib. Ha can't do anything. He had nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. And he didn’t have time to think about an option, the beast was way too fast.
He felt his heart accelerate and mentally prepared to receive the blow.
In a split second she was in front of him.
And so is Zim.
He blocked off his body. He took the claw right in the chest and he was thrown several meters away, his body rolling in the snow before stopping sharp.
"ZIM!"
He was standing still. Smoke rose from his PAK in contact with the snow and a few crackles were heard in this unbearable silence.
Dib felt his heart stop when he saw him thus and a feeling of dread rose in him when he noticed the trail of pink blood that the blow had left.
It wasn’t possible! The Irkiens can’t die from that kind of injury, can they? Their PAK heals them almost instantly, right?!
So why didn’t Zim get up? Why didn’t his PAK do his duty and heal him?!
No... His PAK did not seem in good condition either...
The beast groaned at Dib for a moment, looking down at him, scrutinizing him and judging him with disdain. She did not seem to want to attack him, no. He was not a threat to her.
She turned her heels again and looked at the alien lying on the ground. He moved his fingers slightly and his torso rose suddenly, while he took a breath of oxygen. The blow had struck him and cut off his breath for a few moments.
Dib exhaled with relief as he saw his chest move to the rhythm of his breath, and yet when he saw the beast turning and moving towards him he again held his breath.
"Zim! Get up! Move! Do something stupid alien!"
He did not move, not as Dib would have hoped. Zim coughed and a spatter of blood from his mouth. He was not in a state to get up right now. But he had to move from there! The Sasquatch approached him again to finish what he had started.
The sizzle of his PAK confirmed that he could not rely on the metal legs. They were useless for now.
"No no no no no no... Think Dib, think!"
He bent down and grabbed snow in his hands, forming a compact ball that he threw into the back of the Sasquatch.
"Hey! Dirty monster! Come get me instead!"
The Sasquatch stopped walking for a moment and turned his head towards Dib. For a moment he thought it had worked, though he was putting himself in danger. At least he would leave Zim alone.
But no...
The beast gave him a most condescending look before shifting his attention to Zim and walking again. Dib clenched his fists, feeling the nervousness mixed with the fear of losing Zim going up in him.
"You... motherfucker... I’m not good enough for you to take care of me, am I? I’m not to your liking? Or do you think I couldn’t hurt you?" Dib clenched his teeth and grabbed the syringe in the snow. "You’ll regret it."
He ran to the beast. He had to hurry. She came in front of Zim and he saw her standing above him, mouth open and fangs ready to grab him.
"Oh no, you won’t touch him!"
Dib jumped on her back. She had no time to move and he pushed the syringe in the middle of her back and pressed the button. His whole arm began to tremble under the onslaught of electricity that crossed his body.
The beast screamed while struggling, trying to move the intruder on it. But Dib did not move. He clung with all his strength to his hair with one hand without loosening his grip on the syringe. She struggled so much that she forgot Zim, it worked!
But not for long. She dropped on her back and Dib was crushed by her weight. He felt his breath cut as a terrible throbbing pain passed through his ribs. The beast retreated from him, regaining its spirits a little while he spit a few splashes of blood.
He realized that he still had the needle in his hand and that the body of the beast had stopped his spasms. She looked even more upset than before. Drool was dripping down her chin and her eyes were bulging.
And yet Dib was not afraid. He resurfaced the blood on his mouth with the back of his hand while smiling.
"Hmpf... I finally got your attention now?"
The beast jumped at him again, growling, she threw her paws at him like a bear. Dib tried to avoid them as best he could, but he was neither fast nor nimble. He took a blow in his arm. Fortunately his thick coat prevented him from getting hurt. He could not help but moan when he noticed the sleeve all torn... He liked it a lot.
With each stroke of claw Dib protected his face with his arms. The beast knew very well where to touch him and she insisted on giving him a fatal blow.
She threw her paws again on the same arm. The already torn coat could not protect him from his claws. They sank into the skin of his arm and cut it deeply.
Dib could not restrain himself from screaming in pain by holding his arm firmly. Blood flowed along it to his fingers before coming to stain the snow. The pain had made the rise of confidence that he had in him go away and no longer made him want to be clever in the face of this beast. Even if he had no choice but to face it, even if it means staying there.
"Dib..."
He heard his name faintly. So faintly that he almost did not hear it. Zim repeated his name again. His voice was feverish, too feverish. It only heightened Dib’s anxiety.
Dib wanted to get closer to him, but he was quickly cut off by the Sasquatch who blocked his way. He had to take several steps back not to take another blow from him.
"Go away... Dib..."
Upon hearing Zim’s request he clenched his fists, or rather his fist. His other arm made him suffer too much and he tried as little as possible to move him.
"Stupid alien! Like I could do that!"
He said this not only because he could not abandon him, but especially because even if he ran away, he would not go very far. With every breath his chest was hurting, and he knew he probably had some broken ribs. So running with broken ribs and a cut arm seemed impossible.
No...
Even though his body would have been in good shape, he could never have left Zim here.
He saw him getting up while calling him a suicidal idiot. And he was not wrong. It took an immeasurable effort to sit down. And when, finally, he succeeded, he spit out a new spat of blood while holding his chest.
Dib felt himself turn pale at this vision. "Zim! Don’t try to help me! I’m doing very well on my own!"
"Yes, of course..." He did not see them correctly, but Dib was certain that Zim had just rolled his eyes.
He heard the sound of the PAK opening and saw the blaster coming out. However something was wrong. It seemed more rigid and its movements were drier, less fluid. As if Zim had trouble controlling it.
He fired a shot without even taking the time to aim. Obviously, the blow missed the Sasquatch several meters above him and disappeared in the sky.
Dib was going to protest and tell him not to shoot unnecessarily when the Sasquatch jumped and turned in the direction of the noise. Of course, no matter where he aimed, he was just trying to get his attention.
He gave Dib a chance to leave.
He felt his heart clinging painfully to this thought and he panicked when he saw the beast moving again towards Zim. No no no! He did not do all this for nothing! Not for Zim to be foolishly killed!
He started running back in his direction. It was only a few steps, but damn it! How bad it was! Even breathing was difficult in such conditions.
He arrived at the same time as the beast on Zim. He blocked it with his body, protecting the alien.
She was above them, her mouth wide open, ready to grab anything in front of her.
Dib squeezed the syringe in his hand and stuck his arm in his mouth. His fangs closed firmly on his arm and he let out a scream of pain as he felt the bite. However, it was too late for her too. He pressed the button and the discharge spread through his mouth. It was double what they had felt before.
The mouth of the beast was full of drool, only accentuating the electricity. Even Dib could not hold the syringe any longer and his whole body was going through uncontrollable spasms.
The beast howled back, letting Dib’s arm out of his mouth. Smoke began to come out of his lips and his eyes rolled back. She finally fell on her back, inert and unconscious, although her body continued to twitch weakly.
Dib dropped on his butt next to Zim, picking up his breath as best he could.
He was in shock and it took him a while before turning to him.
Dib was in bad shape. His two arms were bleeding, he had some broken ribs and he smelled slightly burn but it was nothing compared to the severity of Zim’s wound. He had three long cuts on either sides of his chest, these were deep and the blood continued to flow.
"Are you... are you okay?" Dib asked, trying to hide his worry.
"Wonderfully, as you can see."
"I’m serious Zim! Why doesn’t your PAK heal you?"
"... Snow came in."
"What should I do?! Can... can I do something?"
"No..." Zim smiled weakly. "You’ve done enough... just wait for the water to evaporate."
"You’re bleeding out, Zim! In the meantime you... you’re going to..." Dib couldn’t finish his sentence. He could feel the tears in his eyes.
Zim’s hand on his cheek startled him and he felt his throat tie even more.
"You’d finally be rid of me, aren’t you happy?"
"No! No idiot..." Dib sniffed loudly and raised his eyes. "I don’t want..." He thought about how to continue his sentence and looked at his backpack. He jumped up, turning his head.
"I know!"
He wasn’t going to leave him here! And he wasn’t going to wait with him, either for the reaper to take him away, or for the Sasquatch to wake up. He approached his bag and pulled out the skis before returning to Zim.
"Can you get up?"
Zim sighed in exasperation at so much tenacity and tried to rise. But his whole body was heavy and he collapsed again in the snow.
Dib passed behind him and put his hands under his arms. He clenched his teeth and lifted him up, putting him in a standing position as he held back so as not to groan in pain because of his arms.
He got on the skis and put Zim in front of him, placing his feet correctly on both boards and holding him firmly against him.
"You’re an idiot, Dib..."
"I know that. And you’re one too."
"You should have left when you had the chance... You look like shit."
Dib smiles slightly. "Pfff... you’re even worse than me."
He tried to joke a little, to relax the tension that was in him, but he couldn’t. Zim seemed so weak, he could barely stand on his legs and it only made Dib worry even more.
The way back was going to be long...
And he was.
Despite the fact that they were going faster on skis, they were not fast enough. Dib wanted to warm Zim up and get his PAK working properly again. He pressed him as close as he could, trying to get him enough heat. But it was futile, his own body was frozen.
Going down on skis together was not easy. On several occasions they almost lost their balance and fell. Dib had to be very careful and attentive. The slightest bump in the snow would make them fall.
In the end he did not know by what miracle or good star above their heads but they manage to descend. Dib could see the cottage from afar and sighed with relief.
"We're almost there Zim!"
He had no answer, the alien leaned a little more against his chest.
"Zim?"
Still no answer from him. Zim’s body became heavier suddenly. Dib hardened his grip around him, but too late. Zim let himself go completely and his whole body became too heavy to bear.
Dib lost his balance and they both fell. He squeezed the alien against him and arranged for him to fall on him not to be in contact with the snow again.
"Zim? Zim?" He shook him slightly while calling him.
But there was nothing to do, he had lost consciousness.
"Ho come on! You could have waited a little before fainting! We were almost there!"
Dib stood up and put one arm under his legs and the other in his back, just below his PAK. He raised it and held it against his torso, judging approximately the distance they had to travel. There were about 50 metres.... It was okay.
"Seriously Zim... how you can be so heavy with such a puny body!"
He advanced to the cottage carrying it, trying to forget the pain in his arms and the anguish he had in him.
"I swear to God, if you die, I will kill you again!"
There was no reaction from the alien, not even an eyelash movement, nothing. Dib’s heart accelerated and he tried not to think of the worst. He focused on his own physical condition. His arms were pulling him, he had trouble breathing and the body of the alien against his chest was hurting, but he preferred that rather than loosening it, and now his fingers were sore, despite the thick gloves he wore. He was pretty sure they were freezing and changing color.
It took an immeasurable effort to finally reach the threshold of the cottage. Not once had Zim moved, or even tilted under Dib’s remarks and monologue.
Dib did not take the time to put him on the ground and he kicked the door, opening it at once and drawing attention to them.
The maid and two other mountaineers were present.
"Please help me! He... he’s hurt!"
The maid dropped her rags and approached them. She wanted to help Dib carry him, but he stepped back and held him closer.
"No!"
He asked for help, but in the end didn’t want us to touch Zim...
"Okay... it’s okay, sir, don’t worry. He’s gonna be okay."
Dib wanted to tell him that she knew nothing about it, that she knew nothing about Irkienne technology, and that he either...
He continued to carry it up the stairs with trembling legs and arms. The woman opened the door to their room and he installed it on the bed carefully.
She wanted to get closer to see the severity of the wounds but Dib stood in front of him turning towards her.
"Leave us... if you can just bring bandages..."
"Good. Call me if you need anything else."
"Thank you." he murmured weakly as he turned to Zim.
She left the room, taking care to close the door behind her.
Dib looked silently at Zim’s face. He looked so pale. He had lost much blood and seemed exhausted. At least his PAK wasn’t sizzling, that was a good sign, right? So why didn’t he wake up?!
"Zim..."
Dib grabbed his hand and felt his heart shake. It was so cold. He laid it on his lips, murmuring against it.
"I don’t know if you can hear me... But please open your eyes. Give me a sign, anything. Insult me, hit me or laugh at me, whatever! Just... wake up."
Dib felt the tears rise to his eyes and he swallowed them with difficulty.
"I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know how to cure you... If you’re not there I’m lost, so come back..."
He was not sure if he could hear it or if he would wake up. But emotions poured into him and he could no longer hold back his words.
"I... I need you Zim." He looked at him for a while. "I lo-"
The door of the room suddenly opened and the woman arrived with bandages and a basin of water. Dib thanked her and asked her again to leave, telling her that he wanted to take care of it alone.
He waited for her to leave and closed the door to treat him as best he could. He raised his tunic, trying not to linger on his body and focus on his wound. He did not dare to clean it for fear of aggravating it and simply wrapped the bandage around his torso.
He sat at his bedside, trying to stay awake as long as possible, but exhaustion caught up with him and he fell asleep, his head on the bed and Zim’s hand in his.
Several hours passed before the alien opened his eyes weakly. He blinked eyelids several times as he looked into the room, realizing that he was back at the cottage. He put a hand on his chest feeling the bandages around him. They were useless now, he had no more wounds. Not even a single scar.
His gaze fell on Dib. On his pitiful state. The human had taken the time to treat him and had not even taken care of his own wounds. Dried blood stained the sheets and he could notice the tip of his slightly blue fingers. He smiled sadly at this vision and slipped a hand in his hair delicately without waking him.
"Silly humain... I'm the one who needs you."