Grave Misunderstandings. [ZaDr/TaGr] (Invader ZiM AU) (wip)

"I Do"

The only place Dib thought of to go was the forest. He couldn't go back to Tak's house; that's where everyone would be after. He didn't want immediate doom so soon, so he decided to try to do the one thing he loved the most: search for monsters.
Though, as Dib walked, he began to notice his thoughts were shifting back to the wedding. Gaz was younger than him, and yet, she's getting married first. That just meant Dib really won't find someone! Dib Membrane is going to die alone and as a disgrace, a Membrane that could never accomplish anything.
"Don't worry, I can find something. I can prove my theories one day! I'll show them! I'll show them all!" Dib tried to build up his confidence, but it plummeted the second after. "...and I'm talking to myself." Dib stopped and took the time to look around.
He was standing in the middle of a small clearing--it had tall, dark, twisted trees and stumps and withered grass, a small clearing in the canopy to show the full moon, nice, cool air, and he could hear a small stream nearby. It certainly was more pleasing to look at than the dusty town.
The main thing that caught Dib's attention, however, was a round, close to egg-shaped stone. It was attached to one of the trees, almost as if it was growing out of it. He approached it, trying to get a better look at it. It was shattered in the upper right side; probably from age. It looked like there once was three indents in a pattern almost like a lady bug's back. Dib thought it looked pretty and continued to stare at it for a while. He looked around the edges, and it really seemed as if it was a larger being trapped in the trunk.
"You know," Dib began. "I feel stuck in a tree myself. I've always been expected to do great things, but instead, I've ended up sick in the head. There really is no place for me, I guess." Dib waited for a response he knew he was never going to get. "I guess I proved that once and for all tonight. I shouldn't go back--I might ruin my sister's wedding. It would be nice to see, I'll admit, since it would probably be the closest thing I'll ever get to my own. Besides, I love my sister, and I'd like to be there for her." He sighed. "But, I would just make things worse."
Dib turned his head, spotting the tree stump right behind him. He took the opportunity to sit and stare at the stone some more. "...maybe if I found a suitable suitor for myself they'd take me more seriously, eh?" He softly smiled at the thought. Dib went to rest his chin in his hand, when he felt the familiar feeling of metal touch his head. He looked into his hand to discover he never gave back the rings. "Oh... damnit! Can't even do that right!" He was about to throw them, but quickly decided that that was a bad idea. Instead, he put it on himself so he wouldn't lose it.
This sparked an idea in Dib. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the matching band, holding it up in his hand. "You see, if I were married," he started, raising his head up. "I'd care for them. I'd always make sure they're noticed, and that I'm proud of them." He looked a little closely at the stone, and noted that the shattered place had all the pieces--just barely holding together. "I'd let them know that nothing they did was a waste." He stood up pressed the pieces into their respectful areas, making the stone whole again. Though, somehow, that just made the whole thing crumble. He shrugged it off. "I'd lift their sorrows." Dib examined the place where the stone once was, seeing an oddly-shaped branch sticking out of the small hole. Why, it almost looked like it could be a hand! Though, there were only three fingers! "I'd carry them through darkness!" Dib looked at the ring, adding onto his idea. "I'd make sure we were each other's! I take you as mine..." He placed the ring on the thin, twisted branch. "...do you take me as yours..?"
There was a moment when the Earth seemed to stand still. All wind had come to a halt, all bugs ceased their noises, and even the sound of the trickling water discontinued its streaming. It all felt a little...off. Dib sighed, moving forward to take the ring back. It was a silly little play he put on, he should be done with it now.
All of a sudden, the wind started back up again before he could take it. Only, it was much too fast. Much too fast. Dib looked around, watching every bird in the forest flee from this very spot. Dib felt like he should too, but he needed to get his sister's ring back. He turned back towards the tree... only to see the branch move.
Once again, Dib was frozen. He could only watch as the branch with the ring broke away, moving back in. The tree began to break, bend, and fall. Dib was petrified, unsure what to do. Dib felt the ground move and he looked down. The dirt beneath him began to open, an arm clawing at the floor. Then a second arm clawing at the floor. One hand was green, the other... had the ring. Dib yelped and fell back against the tree stump.
The creature from the ground began to pull itself up, slowing rising to reveal a green decaying boy in a slided suit. He rubbed his drooping eyes and stared at Dib, holding the torn cobweb over its head out of its face.
"...I do."
Dib stared at the terror before him, a moment of shock suddenly passing. He scrambled up, pulling at breaking tree branches, and throwing himself across the leaf-covered ground; he ran the fastest he's ever ran.
The wind was blowing through his scythe-y hair, the speed and irresponsible running allowing pieces of plants and bugs to get stuck in it. Dib didn't care—he just wanted to get out. Although, that was pretty cool...he saw something actually rise from the dead..! He was right!
...he was right.
He stopped for a second just to take this in, but also thinking he was safe from the monster. His legs felt like fish guts and his stomach churned like butter—he took a shaking breath and took a small step back...right into the small decaying one.
Dib screamed, his legs starting up again. He managed to run to a particular spot where he could find the way back to town, but he had to go fast. A bit too fast, in fact, since he ended up slipping and sliding along a frozen pond. From the corner of his eye he could see the suited one's leg snapping from the lack of friction, but he just reattached it. Dib somehow went even more pale.
Eventually, Dib clawed his way through a snow pile, and threw himself forward once more. The freezing air around him wasn't doing kindly to his speed, as if it was trying to push him towards his demise rather than safety. Nevertheless, Dib made it through.
And saw the bridge.
So close, he was so close to the bridge.
The bridge to town.
The bridge to safety...
...and he made it.
He paused in the middle of the bridge, huffing and curling over. The air mixed with the energy had taken plenty of oxygen away, and he was trying to regain it. He straightened himself up to get back to church...
...when his back made contact with the front of the undead. And just like that, Dib felt his own heart stop.
He turned to run again, but the shorter creature grabbed to Dib's arms as he was backed against the bridge handle. It was leaning in closer to Dib with each tick, but before it could do anything clearly, Dib's vision collapsed on itself, going dark.