Title: Your Worst Enemy

Author: Growly

Fandom: Invader Zim

Pairing: None really...

Series/Sequel: None yet

Rating: PG13

Warnings: None

Disclaimer: Invader Zim and its characters don't belong to me. They belong to Jhonen!

Archive: Sure!

Comments and Criticism: Yes, please.

Notes: Anything in ~ ~ is thoughts

Your Worst Enemy…
By Growly

It was far from the first time Dib had been harassed on the way home from school. The treatment was actually a fairly common occurrence. Other students got their kicks by putting the "crazy UFO boy" in his place, face down in the dirt. At any point in time, his body was littered with assorted bruises and scrapes in various states of healing. The long trenchcoat he wore did a good job at hiding most of them, but occasionally someone would get a lucky blow in on his face or neck, and leave him with black eye or a split lip.

Not that it really mattered in the grand scheme of things. Dib eyed his stalkers warily over his shoulder, wondering if he should just stop and get the inevitable over with, or if he should try running. His track record said that he would be less likely to garner any serious injuries if he just stayed put, but his pride balked at the notion. He had never run from Zim, his worst enemy, but he would run from a bunch of pathetic thugs who couldn't even see that he was working to save their miserable lives?

One fist clenched tightly, and he just KNEW he was about to do something stupid as he came to a halt and turned to face the three boys who were advancing on him menacingly. His amber eyes were narrowed and fixed on them in an expression that could almost be considered feral. They drew to a halt, shifting uncertainly.

Of course… they were cowards who would beat a helpless or fleeing boy, but were intimidated when the same boy was standing his ground and looking at them with challenge in his posture. Dib felt a wash of self confidence, as irrational as it might be when he was still outnumbered and all of the others were larger than he was. It felt GOOD though. Very good. He could almost have laughed in their faces.

They hadn't missed the change of expression though, and they were starting to glance at each other, their own faces growing more grim as they silently argued over what to do with him. Finally the largest of the three stepped forward, the other two falling back to flank him. The teen was lean, with a look Dib would have classified as "mangy". And he was reaching into his pocket for something.

Light glinted on metal, and Dib's amused expression vanished instantly. A knife… The youth looked around for an escape route. Getting beaten up was one thing… going up against an angry thug with a knife was something else entirely. It wasn't something he would be able to handle. Movement drew his attention to the other two. They had weapons too, although Dib would have been hard pressed to say where they'd been hiding them. The stocky boy in the torn red shirt
had a metal chain and was swinging it in a lazy circular motion, while the shortest one was carrying some kind of club… no wait… it was a sign post. Where the heck had THAT come from?

Dib felt panic rising in him, and it tasted like bile in his mouth. Whirling around in a motion that was far more awkward in practice than in theory, he started a mad dash down the street, his trenchcoat flapping behind him like the wings of a bat.

It was his undoing… that trenchcoat. One of the thugs had managed to snag hold of the trailing end of it, causing it to snap taut and draw Dib to a sprawling halt on the pavement. A soft hiss passed his lips as he felt blood running down the side of his face from a shallow scrape on his cheeks. His hands were throbbing too, but he had no time to look at them, his wide-eyed gaze was fixed on the advancing trio.

"You think you're cute don't you?" The tallest one jeered, looked down at him with an expression so smug it made Dib feel sick to his stomach. "Don't you?!" When no answer was forthcoming, the teen grunted angrily and drove his foot into Dib's side, causing the boy to gasp. "Answer me when I speak to you, UFO boy!"

"No…" Dib mumbled into the concrete, his eyes squeezed shut as he clutched at his throbbing side.

"What was that?! Speak up!"

"I said NO!" The vehemence of his shouted reply startled even him, and he knew instantly that it had been a mistake. The entire day had been filled with mistakes and this had been the one to end them all if the look on his attacker's face was any hint. Damn… and he hadn't wanted to die like this. If he had to die, he'd rather do it facing down Zim to save mankind, not at the hands of some pissed off punk with some grudge against kids like himself.

~All I've ever done is try to save these people. And they treat me like shit… Zim is right to call me stupid.~ Gritting his teeth, Dib pushed himself to his hands and knees. ~Only an idiot would want to save fools like these.~

~So I'm an idiot…~

A punch made contact with his cheek, sending him flying backwards where he skidded across the concrete. He could feel blood oozing up beneath his clothing and winced. It felt like he had scraped all the skin off his legs and palms – and not just a little off of his side too…

"Why are you trying to play the hero, you little brat?" He could hear one of the thugs snarling, even through the incessant ringing in his ears. "You think anyone would care if we gutted you like a fish and left you here screaming?!"

~Maybe not.~ Dib admitted to himself. ~Maybe they don't care. Maybe I AM stupid to try to play the hero for a bunch of people who don't care. But damn it, *I* care! I can't pretend that I don't.~

He felt a hand closing over the back of his coat, dragging him to his feet. Numbly he saw the knife clutched in the teen's hand. No… If he was killed then Zim would win…

"You won't win Zim! I won't let you!" He barely noticed that he had shouted this aloud as he made a wild grab for the knife. The blade scraped across his palm, drawing blood, burning pain welling up from the cut. His injured hand closed over the hilt, and he felt the teen's tight grip on it. But his blood was making it slippery, and the flow of it was making his head swim terribly.

None of which really mattered at the moment…

~I won't lose this. I'll save you stupid bastards even if it's against your will!~ Dib tugged at the knife, trying to wrest it from his attacker's grip, his other hand clawing at the teen's hair and
eyes. Somewhere, distantly, he could hear the other two yelling encouragement to their friend.

The world was starting to spin, and Dib closed his eyes trying to make it stop. He couldn't pass out… if he did it would probably cost him everything. But his knees were buckling beneath him, and the pavement rushed up to welcome him.

It was probably more of a blessing than he knew… and more of a curse. His falling form was a dead weight, dragging his startled attacker down with him. Crushing weight was pressing down atop him, and he tried to draw in a breath, almost panicking when he couldn't. Thrashing and flailing, only semi-aware of the world around him, Dib managed to push the limp body of the teen off of him.

Only to find himself staring at the other two, who regarded him with… what was that expression? Anger? Disgust? …Fear…? ~What…~

Wet sticky warmth was splattered across the front of his shirt, and across his hands as well. Blood. On the pavement… on his coat. And although some of it had to be his own, his injuries could not have accounted for the extent of it.

Swallowing, Dib let his gaze wander towards the one who had been attacking him. The one who wasn't moving to get up. Cold fear licked along his nerves. "N…no… wait…"

Dear god… This couldn't be happening… Not to him. Not like this.

Somehow he was on his feet, ignoring the fact that standing was enough to make him dizzy and nauseous. His legs were taking him away from the bloody scene at a pace that was barely short of a mad dash. His body seemed to know what was good for it, even as his mind was stuck on that scene, on the blood.

~You're not so different from Zim now, are you Dib?~ A little voice mocked. ~You're a murderer too.~

~Zim!~ Somehow the name stuck in his mind, and he found his feet wandering towards familiar paths. He had to find Zim. It was all he could think. And although he wasn't sure what would happen when he found the alien, he didn't think it mattered much anymore. Let Zim kill him…. Let him kill Zim. Somehow the world had become a lot more cold.

~You can't run forever, Dib…~ The voice chided softly. He ignored it… There it was! Zim's house. Drawing up what energy he had left in his sore and bleeding form, Dib made his slow, unsteady way to the front door, the adrenaline from earlier wearing off to leave him weak and
wobbly.

His finger brushed the doorbell.

~Be home, Zim… You'd better be home…~

A long silence followed, and Dib sank to the ground, leaning against the door, bloodstained fingers grasping at it, as if to keep him up. ~No…~

The door slowly opened. A ruby eye stared out...

~Yes!~