Invader Tak (DATR)

Chapter 5 

Tak was sitting in a chair right next to her human friend's bed. She had a lot on her mind. She remembered that she had a mission, but at some point in the future, she would have to fulfill her role as an invader. She thought about the possibility of not being an invader, but that would be the most difficult decision she would ever have to make—telling her leaders that she didn't want to invade this planet and instead wanted to live there. Her whole life had been dedicated to being an invader, but something in her Squiddly Spooge stopped her. She didn't want to lose Dib by invading his planet. She was going to have to think long and hard about this. After all, she had just saved his life from someone who was about to murder him.

"Tak, what have you done? You totally let your guard down for this human who would soon be your enemy. Why is this so hard for me to decide? My Squiddly Spooge would shatter if he found out the real truth about me. He'd probably dissect me on an autopsy table," she thought, as the sun began to set outside the hospital room window. She then climbed onto Dib's bed, hugged him gently, and closed her eyes as she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Dib stirred in his sleep. He felt something wrapped around him, as if someone was protecting him. He blinked his eyes to clear his vision and remembered the events that had transpired—the bully who had beaten him to a pulp and how Tak had saved him from near death.

"Tak," he said, his eyes widening as he tried to move. He winced in pain and groaned. Tak woke up, hearing him stir from his recovery, and was filled with relief and joy that he was alright.

"Dib, you're awake!" she exclaimed, tears of joy in her eyes as she threw her arms around his neck. Dib finally realized who was hugging him—it was Tak.

"Tak?" he said, rubbing his eyes. "What happened? Why am I here?"

Tak took a deep breath and replied, "You were beaten by a bully named Torque. I even saw him stab you. I reacted immediately, beat him up, knocked him out cold, and called your Earth medics. The authorities took him into custody, but it's still undecided what his punishment will be."

Dib felt terrible, seeing his first friend in a state like this. He frowned and hugged her, and she returned the embrace. They held each other for a moment until they let go. Just as one of them was about to speak, a doctor entered the hospital room. Tak immediately got off the bed and went back to her chair, thankful the doctor didn't notice.

The doctor turned his attention to Dib. "Oh good, it seems you are awake. You've only been asleep for one day. Let me fill you in on what happened. You were stabbed twice, but we managed to treat the wounds in time. You lost a lot of blood, but that's an easy fix. However, you'll need to stay here until you fully recover. I'll notify your father that you're awake." The doctor then turned to Tak. "We are very thankful you saved this boy. He may be a bit obsessed with conspiracy theories, but being almost murdered by his bully is downright wrong. We are extremely grateful to you." With that, he left the room, leaving Tak and Dib alone again.

"We've got to figure out a way for you to defend yourself," Tak said. "I'll teach you some self-defense skills. Some of them will be easy to learn, while others will be difficult, so be prepared, Dib. I'm going to help you, even while you're recovering."

Dib nodded. "I understand. I could use some self-defense training. I really suck at fighting. The only thing I'm good at is being smart, but I've never been good at self-defense," he said, smiling as he adjusted his glasses.

After a few moments of chatting, Professor Membrane and Gaz entered the room, thrilled to see Dib awake.

"Son, thank goodness you're awake!" Membrane said, approaching his son's bed and giving him a gentle hug.

"Thanks, Dad. I was really scared about dying after he beat me up so badly. I hope he never comes back to Skool," Dib replied, feeling a bit of rage that his self-defense skills were lacking.

"Oh good, the idiot is awake. I'm just so glad you haven't left the face of the Earth," Gaz said with sarcasm, though she was still glad her brother was okay.

"Thank you for looking after my son. You're truly a good friend to him, and I appreciate that," Membrane said. Tak was flattered.

"It was no problem, really," she said.

After one to two weeks in the hospital, Tak never left Dib's side. When he was finally discharged, she wheeled him out of the hospital and asked for directions to his house. They chatted for a long time until they finally arrived at his house.

"Is it true that you once accused a kid's father of being a yeti?" she laughed.

"Well, yes, but he looked like a yeti at first glance. I guess I was wrong," Dib said, getting out of the wheelchair and walking into his house. Tak threw the wheelchair into the garbage can and followed him.

"So, what are we going to do today?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips.

Tak smirked. "We're going to teach you how to use proper self-defense."

Dib gulped. "Okay, just go a little easy on me," he said, blushing slightly.

She waved her hand at him reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll take it easy. We'll do it step-by-step, starting with the easy steps," she said.

Dib smiled. "Alright, that sounds like a plan. Let's do these self-defense lessons!" he said eagerly. Tak loved his enthusiasm for learning self-defense. He led her to the backyard, where she was going to teach him the proper self-defense skills to improve his fighting abilities, so that a bully like Torque would never beat him up so badly again.