Chapter Summary: Zim attempts to interrogate the Tallest, but unfortunately for him it doesn't come without consequences. Meanwhile Dib puts his plan to rescue Atra into motion, and Atra begins to learn what Zevven and the Meekrob Grand Council have in store for her.
A/N: oof sorry for the wait
aNYWAY I have an important announcement to make: this fic will be going on hiatus until after the holidays are over. I always get extremely busy around this time so I figured it'd be best to just go ahead and put this fic on the backburner until I really have time to sit down and work on it. but fear not, the next chapter will be out sometime in early january 2019!
I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
The Institute was a place for the Defectives, as Atra had come to learn. It baffled her that Meekrob had promised to protect the defectives on Irk, those broken Irkens who had been considered "wrong". For years many of her kind had fought and argued for their rights, their freedom as individuals, teaching them that it was okay to embrace their differences. Yet here they were, adopting those same policies and applying them to the Meekrob people.
It wasn't fair. It negated everything that they had believed in for centuries.
The Insitute also doubled as a research lab, as she had also come to find out. As she was escorted to her holding cell she noticed the other Meekrob soldiers in labcoats not too unlike her own, running tests on their own kind, expressionless as always.
"Why are they doing that?" she asked aloud.
Neither Zevven nor the other soldiers answered her. She struggled against her cuffs, wriggling in the grasp of her captors. "Answer me! I'm at least owed that much!"
With a snarl, Zevven abruptly turned around and fisted his hand in the fabric of her uniform, yanking her upwards so she was face to face with him. Upon being so close she couldn't help but notice that he was almost growling, almost like an animal. "You are owed nothing!" he bellowed. "You are a traitor!"
"I know that," she said defiantly, refusing to break eye contact, "but locking people up like animals… by doing this we're no better than the Irkens."
Zevven huffed and abruptly released her, shoving her back into the hold of the other soldiers. Resigned, Atra fell silent; bowing her head as they finally reached their destination.
Using a keycard, Zevven opened the door before quickly pushing her inside, tossing her onto the floor as if she weighed nothing. "I'll be back later," he said gruffly before promptly shutting and locking the door, leaving her alone with the darkness.
Atra had never been afraid of the dark- it was a silly concept really, and she had laughed when Dib had told her that it was a common fear among human children. He had then went on to clarify that it wasn't necessarily the darkness itself they were afraid of- it was what lurked within. But now that she sat alone within its chilling embrace, she began to think that perhaps that fear wasn't so ludicrous after all.
"Are you sure about this? If you're not comfortable, I can do it."
"No no, this is fine. Zim will handle it. Besides, I'm sure you have captain things to do."
Lard Nar nodded once, adjusting his goggles so they sat tighter on his face. "Very well. I'll leave you to it then. Feel free to stop whenever you'd like. I have to go meet with Commander Zevven and the Grand Council, but Vythani and the others will still be here if you need something."
Zim's eyes narrowed as he abruptly turned around to face him. "Do not treat Zim like a child. I already said I could handle it. Now begone with you!"
Lard Nar's eyes widened, his jaw dropping slightly as if he were preparing to chastise him for talking back to his commanding officer, but he didn't. He merely nodded again and left the room, the door shutting softly behind him.
"That was awfully rude, Zim," a voice he knew all too well taunted. "You've got some nerve speaking to your captain like that."
Zim didn't answer him. He took a few steps forward, away from the door, before pulling up a spare chair and seating himself across from his two former leaders.
"He's gonna try the strong silent type thing now," Red teased, elbowing his co-leader with a chuckle. He cleared his throat, speaking like he would while he was Tallest. "Alright Zim, you have us right where you want us. What do you want to know?"
Even looking at them now, Zim fought the burning urge to free them. It was not something he wanted, nor something he would do, but his old instincts that he'd carried with him all his life were screaming at him, repeating like a mantra in his head. Perhaps he might stand a chance at escaping execution if he helped rescue his Tallest.
He shook his head. He was beyond that now- and he could never return to it, no matter how badly a part of him might want to.
Zim's eye twitched. "Zim knows that you would not willingly hand yourselves over unless you have something planned. Will you tell me or do I have to drag it out of you?"
The Tallest had never been very good at plans- typically they left that part up to their subordinates- the elites. Zim knew not to expect much from them, and he sincerely doubted that they had some master plan up their sleeves. If they did, he would've seen through it already. But he wanted to wring every drop of information out of them, get as much as he could. They were cowards, and no coward was fit to be Tallest. Amused, Zim couldn't help but think that they might have done the Irken people a favor, handing their power over to Min.
Red leaned forward, grinning. "I'll let you in on a little secret Zim- there is no other plan- not really. Tallest Min is already on her way back to Irk, and once she gets there, this charade of yours is over."
Zim mirrored his grin, resting his cheek against his gloved hand. "You know, by Irken law, if a Tallest willingly hands their power over to another Irken, that power automatically becomes theirs until another, taller Irken comes along and claims the throne. Do you really think Tallest Min is going to hand her power back to you two?"
"Those rules mean nothing," Red argued, a hint of defensiveness dripping into his tone. "They're just another way for the Control Brains to keep you all in line!"
"Yes, and 'you all' includes the two of you now, as well. Because now that you've handed your powers over, the Control Brains will not recognize you as worthy of their protection anymore. Right now, you are no more powerful than I am."
Red struggled against his binds. "And you really think there aren't still factions loyal to us? When are you gonna realize, Zim? The politics don't matter- they've never mattered! Once we take back control of Irk, all the other Irkens will naturally fall into line, and the Control Brains will be none the wiser."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Word has spread, and things aren't quite the same since you two were captured. Like you said, factions are forming. Zim doesn't think he needs to explain what that means."
Purple scoffed. "You're underestimating them, Zim. If you think the entire Irken race is going to take the rebel side, then you're more screwed up than we thought. Which, was like, a lot."
Zim ignored his remark, his smile only widening as he stood up, circling around the two prisoners with an almost predatory glimmer in his eyes. "Zim thinks it is the opposite. I think you are underestimating them."
"You really seem to have a lot of faith in them. Ironic, considering how many of your own kind you killed just so you could be an invader."
Zim laughed dryly. That's what they thought this was about? His people? He wasn't some sort of- what was it they called it on Earth? Hero. He was no hero. In fact, for years he considered himself quite the opposite. He couldn't care less about saving the Irken race. They could burn for all he cared. "Zim's "people" mean nothing. Not anymore. Frankly, Zim doesn't care whether they choose to follow the rebellion or not. It makes little difference. But it's as you said, it's much easier if they… 'fall into line'."
"Good to see you haven't changed much then," Red quipped. "You're still just as much of a menace to the Irken race as you've always been. Looks like being on Earth didn't affect you as much as we thought it would."
"Speaking of Earth, what happened to your human pet?" Purple asked, eyes filled with curiosity, though even Zim could tell it was hardly a sincere question.
He finally paused his pacing to stand at attention, heaving a sigh. "The human is not of import. Zim is growing impatient. Are you two going to tell me where exactly the Control Brains are located?"
"You should know it quite well, you've been before," Red insisted, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Unless… it's really that bad already, huh?"
"…I don't know what you're talking about," Zim lied.
"You're a bad liar Zim. You know exactly what I'm talking about. You're a Defective- actually, you're a bit further beyond just defective… how about you tell us how your PAK's been treating you lately?"
Zim bit down on his bottom lip, antennae twitching ever so slightly. "That's none of your business."
"Let me guess- you're feeling like you need to eat and sleep, things you never had to worry about before. In fact, it's amazing that you're not sick or dead- most Irkens with PAK's as broken as yours don't live very long."
Zim visibly flinched at the word "sick"- and he was hoping they weren't keen enough to notice. No such luck, unfortunately.
"You are getting sick!" Purple practically beamed, as if he were overjoyed. "You must not have told your new friends yet…"
"Silence!" Zim yelled, fists clenching so tightly at his sides that he feared his claws would break through the gloves and puncture his skin. "Zim will not stand for this- mmph!"
No. No no no no. Not here.
Not now.
Not in front of them-
It couldn't be helped.
Zim placed a hand over his mouth as he doubled over in agony, coughing violently into his hand. Pink blood seeped out from between his fingers and trailed down his arms, staining his gloves and uniform. His body roughly jerked forward with every cough, and he could feel the scalding heat of the Tallests' critical and scrutinizing stare.
How humiliating.
When he finally recovered, he staggered a bit, chest heaving, but managed to keep from falling to his knees. His antennae rung for a moment, his vision blurred, and when his hearing and eyesight were finally restored he noticed his former leaders snickering between themselves, whispering to each other like the schoolchildren used to do in the hallways.
"That's a nasty cough," Purple noted. "How long do you think he has?"
"Mm… maybe… a couple months? That's being generous, honestly."
"Silence!" Zim ordered again. "A couple months is more than enough time. The Empire will fall, and Zim will make sure you will be there to witness its end. Now then…" he reached for the weapon he'd brought with him- a long metal shock device with two prongs at the end- and clicked the on button. The machine came to life, sparking almost threateningly. "You will tell Zim everything you know about the Control Brains."
"And if we refuse?"
"Well…" Zim slowly stalked forward until the weapon was pressed directly against Red's chest. "Zim is not sure that that would be very wise. It would be in both of your best interests to cooperate. So I will ask you again, one more time." His finger hovered over the button, daring to press down. "Tell me everything you know about the Control Brains."
"And you're sure about this?"
Dib nodded. "Yes. I'm sure. I'll cover for you if Lard Nar asks about you, just- get back here with Atra as quickly as you can."
"Frankly, Lard Nar is the least of my worries," Fruo muttered with a huff, folding his arms across his chest.
"Yeah, we'll just break into a maximum security institution and be quick about it." Zena rolled her eyes. "Dib, this is insane, even for you. Are you sure you don't want Zim to come along, or maybe we could spend some more time coming up with a plan that's slightly less likely to get us all killed? You do understand that if we get caught it could ruin everything, right? Meekrob could refuse to help us, then we get stuck here, and then Tallest Min beats us to Irk!"
"Look, it's not like I don't want to help, alright?" Dib snapped. "I would if I could, you all know that. But if I'm gone then it raises suspicion and then we're definitely in trouble. I don't mean to dump all of this on you guys, but… Atra is a comrade. We can't just leave her behind."
Darli put a gentle hand on Dib's shoulder. "Dib, I understand how you're feeling, but from my understanding this was Atra's choice, and this is her home. Should we not at least consider respecting her wishes?"
Dib felt a sudden rush of anger sweep over him at those words. "No way. Atra may have thought she was helping us when she did that, but she's felt guilty about what happened in her past for years. I won't let her punish herself like that. It's not fair to her and it's not fair to the people around her." He drew in a long breath to calm himself. "Look, you guys don't have to do this if you don't think you can. I can't force you to do anything. But I'm asking you to at least consider it. For her sake."
Fruo and Dei exchanged concerned looks before nodding at each other, cheery smiles spreading across their faces.
"Hey, no one ever said we were bailing on you," Fruo said reassuringly.
"We just want to be sure before we do this," Dei added. "You're right. Atra is our comrade, and as soldiers it's our responsibility to help. No one gets left behind."
"Understood," Zena acquiesced with a sigh. "I suppose we might as well. Besides, Infera will kill me if I don't do this."
"Infera can't find out about this- at least, not until Atra's been rescued," Dib warned. "She'll go fucking ballistic if she knows I planned a rescue mission without her."
"'Ballistic' is a good word for her," Darli said teasingly. "Very well. We'll be in touch, Dib. Give us progress updates on the chip as well. Hopefully everything goes well with the Meekrob Grand Council."
"Lard Nar is in a meeting with them now to discuss the details. Everything seems to be going smoothly so far- and at this rate we can hopefully get the chip done quickly."
Darli nodded and placed both hands on Dib's shoulders, looking up at him with an uncharacteristically soft smile. "Dib, I wish you the best of luck. You are a very capable soldier. Although, if I can offer you a bit of advice…" he trailed off, silently asking for permission with his eyes.
"Oh, uh, sure. Go ahead."
"Your argument with Zim. It's stupid. You should speak to him and sort out this matter. I can sense your tension whenever you're both in the room and it's distracting."
Dib blinked slowly as he processed his words. He never thought he'd be getting love advice from Darli of all people. But upon registering the word "tension" his cheeks immediately went about five different shades of red. "W-Wait- tension? N-Not like that kind of tension, right? I mean, we're not that obvious-"
Darli tilted his head and smiled teasingly, eyes glittering with something that Dib couldn't quite pinpoint. "Just a bit- although my kind is highly empathetic and sensitive to emotions like longing and pining. You two are practically walking beacons to each other, yet the only ones who can't see that are the two of you, oddly enough."
Dib had always thought of Darli as one of the most unemotional beings he'd ever met, so to hear him say that he was actually quite the opposite was a surprise. Nonetheless, the more he thought about it, the more he began to wonder if maybe he should finally buck up and talk to the object of his reluctant affections- that is, if Zim would let him anywhere near without threatening him.
"Thanks. I'll think about it."
Atra wasn't quite sure what "reconditioning" entailed- but she knew it wasn't as easy as, say, reconditioning an Irken. All it took to fix a broken Irken was a few adjustments to the PAK. Her people were not quite like that. They were not part computer, nor were they all flesh and blood- they couldn't be subjected to any kind of reconditioning via physical torture or reprogramming. If torture was really what was going on here, then just how..?
She supposed she'd be finding out soon enough.
As if on cue, the door was unlocked and pulled open, the light from the hallway spilling into the room. Zevven stood, tall and at attention as usual in the doorway. "Hello captain."
"Tell me what's going on here Zevven," Atra demanded, refusing to allow herself to be intimidated. "This- this isn't right. Last I checked, we were not animals. We don't believe in imprisonment of our own kind."
Zevven stepped inside the holding cell, the door closing behind him. "I'm afraid things have changed since your disappearance, Miss Astralle. The Meekrob you left behind was weak, and the one you've so graciously returned to is now ready to finally defeat the Irken Empire once and for all."
"And will it stop there?" Atra inquired. "With the Irken Empire? Don't you see? We're becoming just like them! How long before we decide that other species are inferior and deserve to be conquered? How long before rebellions form against us?"
Zevven's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, his jaw clenching. He tangled his hand into her hair and pulled, dragging her closer to his darkened face. "And what do you think this institute is for?!" he snapped. "Our actions did not start a rebellion Atra. Yours did."
Time stopped, and with it stopped her struggling.
The hands that were trying so desperately free herself from his grasp dropped to her sides, her body seemingly going limp in his hold.
"Why do you think we created this institute? After what you did, people started seeing you as an inspiration. What you see around you is a result of your insubordination. These people are here because of you! If you had just followed orders like you were supposed to, all of this could've been avoided! But instead you decided you wanted to be something you're not, and now look at how many people tried to follow in your footsteps." Zevven sidestepped, gesturing to the room around them. "Look at where it's gotten them. Imprisoned like war criminals."
He roughly pulled his hand out of her wispy, tousled hair. "Now do you see? You've done nothing to stop the Irken Empire. Just like how factions are forming on Irk, they're forming here as well. A civil war is brewing."
Atra was quick to increase the distance between them. "Civil war?! That's not possible; we haven't had a civil war in thousands of years!"
"And who do we have to thank for that?" Zevven replied shortly. His annoyed expression quickly morphed into something far more sinister as he approached her slowly, prompting her to take a few cautionary steps backwards. With a smirk she was then slammed against the wall, Zevven's now clawed hands curling around her throat. If she'd needed to breathe, she'd certainly be dead by now.
"But that's alright, Captain Astralle. Because you're going to make up for it by finishing what you started. You're going to end the civil war before it even begins."
A/N: thank you all so much for reading so far, and I wish you all happy holidays! see you in 2019!