Hi everyone. Sorry for the late updating. It's going to be one of those weeks unfortunately, so sorry for the lack of updates ^^'
The NEW chapter ladies and gentle-ladies (I don't think we have any male reviewers...unless we do :o Hard to tell XD I don't pay much attention, really)
Tunica knew quite a bit about engines from what she and Skoodge had been working with in terms of repairing the ship. She knew various gears that she was sure wasn't in normal cars or aeroplanes on Earth. She knew what type of fuels worked best for different ships.
Of course, none of this mattered when it came to cleaning out the engines. Cleaning these babies out was much worse.
Black sludge lined the rusted out metal walls. Tunica used a grappling hook thing she was given from one of the soldiers and managed to hook it onto the wall. She began pulling herself up, groaning as she went. When she was near a big enough splodge, she took out the piece of alien cloth and began wiping it.
The noise in here was deafening. The turbines that helped power the engines were what were right underneath her, covered by thin barbed wiring. It was obvious that not many people came down here.
She began scrubbing as hard as she could, the black sludge crawling down her arm. She shut her eyes and moved her face away, grunting in utter agony at the horrid slime. Suddenly, the ship jolted, dislodging her hook. She tried grabbing hold of anything she could, but the walls were as smooth as she knew this metal would be.
She went crashing down, hitting the barbed mesh below with a horrid thud. They thankfully were strong enough to hold the sudden impact and didn't break. She took a breath, thankful that she didn't end up minced. But that turbulence didn't only knock her hook clean off. The sludge hit her entire body, splattering black gunk all over her.
She half opened her eyes, her silver eyes burning in anger.
Tunica dragged herself over to one of the dodgy unstable looking tables in the cafeteria after three or so hours of work in the engines, believing it was clean enough.
She was covered with so much sludge, it was hard to tell if it was Tunica or a very slimy looking alien. Everything from head to toe was covered in black gunk, a small trail of black slime following behind her as she walked. It was hard to even make out her legs anymore.
She plopped herself onto one of the cold plastic seats and gave a sigh, resting on her arms on the table.
Her gaze shifted to a steaming plate of food that was placed onto her table. She cringed, covering her unseen nose with her blobby hands, "Oh Christ, what the hell is that? GET IT AWAY FROM ME! I think it's moving!"
She looked up at the waiter who would dare put that thing near her. She gave a look, "Zim?"
"Tunica?" he gave her a look. He pushed his little cart carrying these various plates aside for a moment and sat across from the Spellcaster, "What the hell happened to you?"
"Engine issues," she groaned, "I thought you were working in the kitchen."
"Yeah, he booted me out of there for throwing up everywhere. He says the kitchen is unsanitary as is. He told me I shoulder rather serve food out here."
"Hmmm," Tunica shrugged, looking back at the food, "Um, Zim? What exactly is that?"
"I'd try and explain it to you, but I think I've managed to finally get my stomach back in check and I don't want to ruin it," he groaned.
Tunica pushed it away from the two of them, "Lovely. Sounds very appetizing."
Tunica rested her head back down. Zim gave a look of annoyance, "Tunica, I hate this place! Why the hell are we even here?"
"Because if we left you in the household, you'd have either killed yourself or Dib," she mumbled from beneath her arms.
Zim looked away, sighing, "Do you think Dib is…okay?"
Tunica's head bolted up, Zim giving a slight jolt himself, "Did you just ask if Dib was…okay?"
"Yes," he said very slowly his hands up to shield himself from some unknown attack. Tunica gave him a strange look, "Oh my God."
"What?"
"You actually care genuinely about someone other than yourself or your kids. Wow, those hormones are really starting to take effect."
"Now cut that out!" he stood. He took a moment, then sat back down, "Is it that bad? What did Lee Narr give me?"
"Calm down, Zim. I'd rather have you sentimental and loving – as creepy as it is – than suicidal and depressed," she grinned.
But Zim looked really worried, placing a finger near his mouth, "This is bad, Tunica."
"No, it's not. It's…something that'll keep you going," she sighed, looking down, "I guess Lee Narr might have been right." Her head perked back up, "Where's Hope?"
"She's serving food as well. Which reminds me, I better get back to work before I get yelled at again for no reason."
He stood and went back to his cart, "Is there anything I can help you with, Zimmy?"
"No, he'll think I'm being lazy and start whipping me or something vile like that," he gritted, looking around as more soldiers entered.
"I'd like to see him try," Tunica huffed, lying back down on the table.
Tunica began drifting in and out of sleep for a few moments. She hadn't slept since she had returned home and was starting to feel it. Fortunately, she was not a sound sleeper, due to her antennae and years of being rudely awakened, so she was still alert, even in this half asleep state.
Zim continued walking around, placing plates on the various tables, trying not to gag. Every alien gave the Irken a cold or dirty stare, Zim simply ignoring it. He kept his gaze up most of the time, making sure he had his daughter in his line of sight. Hope was quite tall and so she wasn't too hard to spot as she did her rounds as well, trying to look as brave as she could. Zim was smiling on the inside.
He came up to the last, meanest looking table. He gave an annoyed sigh, placing the five plates on the table, the hearty laughter that was being spread between the men dying down. They all glared at him. He remained calm and gave no one any form of eye contact, "Your dinner."
"I don't think I want it, Irken," the horned alien spat at the Irken, Zim taking a step back to fetch the last plate.
"Yeah, he might have gotten his horrible Irken germs on it," one of the other thinner creatures noted. They began to snicker at Zim. He placed the last plate down and began to walk away.
A huge claw grabbed a hold of his arm, spinning him around quickly. Zim gave the creature a look, trying not to show his fear, "Hey! We were talking to you, smeet!"
Tunica's antennae wavered as her head began to rise slowly, her eyes trying to blink. Hope turned, watching over at her dad.
Zim felt the grip tighten unbearably onto his arm. The alien stood, "We told ya we don't want your food!"
Zim gave him a hard stare, "Then starve!"
The alien gave an angered grin, "You got guts, Irken. Thinking you can just waltz onto this ship and think you're some kind of amazing. You are nothing here, boy!"
Tunica stood, her hands on the table. Her eyes quickly dashed over to the head table off to the side where Lee Narr and Lard Narr were seated, watching. The magician began to wonder if they were willing to intervene. Lard Narr seemed to be enjoying this a little too much, though.
"I have other tables to serve and you need to get back to your girlfriends and your gossip session," Zim threatened.
Everyone in the hall 'oooo'ed and 'aahhh'ed at this alien's foolish remark. Zim regretted it now that he thought about it, but remained strong. He needed to show his daughter that she mustn't be afraid for him any longer.
The alien gave him a look, licking his lips, "I was wrong, Invader. You don't have guts; you're just an idiot!"
The alien spun Zim around and grabbed hold of him from behind, his strong steroid looking arms wrapped around his chest. Zim was lifted up, struggling as he kicked his legs into the air, the breath being crushed out of him, "And now, you piece of Irken shit, I'm gonna squeeze that arrogance outta ya!"
Tunica jolted up, but was held back down by three other men who wanted to see this. Hope tried as well, but a soldier grabbed her by her antennae and yanked her up, laughing in her face.
"DADDY!" she screamed.
Zim looked over at his daughter, "HOPE!"
Zim gave a look of anger, all fear before dissolving into rage now, "Now you've made me angry!"
He brought up his hand and managed to grab a hold of one of the alien's clawed fingers. Zim yanked it up, shattering the skeletal bones within. With the horned alien's grip loosened, Zim brought up his leg high enough now and brought it down on the alien's leg. The alien howled and dropped Zim.
The Irken was up, swinging a kick towards the not so tough now alien. The alien slammed into the table, nearly turning the whole thing over. Zim grabbed a hold of one of the plates, dumping all food on it onto the floor, and tossing it at a speed towards the alien holding up Hope. It hit him square in the neck. The alien cried out in agony, dropping the tiny child.
Hope recovered quickly, activating her spider legs. The alien that managed to grab her gave a frightened yell and made a dash in the opposite direction.
Tunica yanked her arms together, knocking the two men out in one blow as they hit one another's heads. The man holding onto her hips got a sharp and awkward kick to the knee. He howled as Tunica brought up her hands, clapping the side of his head where his temples were. He went down.
The aliens at the nasty table Zim was near got up, pissed beyond words. Other alien soldiers by the nearby tables stood, the three family members becoming suddenly tense. This was turning into a brawl very quickly.
"ENOUGH!" a loud voice yelled from behind them all.
They all turned, watching as Lard Narr stood on his table, "Don't waste your bloody time fighting with that waste of space Irken. Save your energy for the real battle against the Armada! So all of you just cut it out…NOW! Or else," he warned.
The soldiers gave their captain a look and sighed, going back to their tables. Zim quickly made his way over to Hope, placing a hand on her cheek, "You okay?"
Hope gave him a soft smile, "I'll be alright. That was pretty awesome, dad."
"Just wanted to show you I'm still there for you and NO ONE!" he stood, looking at the soldiers, "Will ever get near you like that EVER again!"
The soldiers gave the alien a dirty stare. Tunica gave a look, muttering to herself, "Damn, I almost forget how powerful that Irken really can be…given the right motivation."
….
Zim sat at the edge of his bed, his hands on his knees as his eyes half closed. Hope slept soundly under the covers as her father kept watch, hoping no soldiers were planning to pick a fight with him right now. He really wasn't in the mood in all honesty.
He was exhausted. His body was really aching tonight and his stomach still felt as though waves were dancing themselves around inside him. He figured it was him just getting used to the motions of the ship. He really hated it up here. He didn't want Hope getting hurt.
But he had to admit, she really could look after herself, couldn't she? He turned slightly, looking over at her with a small smile, "Guess that proves she's my daughter, huh?"
He looked back up as the door parted. He was up on his feet, ready to attack. A hand stuck itself in, waving its slimy black hands in defence, "I come in pieces…" Tunica joked from behind the door.
Zim relaxed as she walked in, carrying a few candy bars in her still rather messed up hands…but at least her fingers were now visible.
"I managed to, um… 'find' a few snacks for you guys," she handed the five or so sweets to the alien. "These should keep you going till I find more."
"What about you?" he asked.
Tunica waved at him, "I can survive quite a while without food. A benefit to being a half-fairy madwoman who has learnt not to eat over the years. Get some rest, Zim. We've got another long day tomorrow."
Zim took a moment as Tunica made for the door, "Tunica…"
She turned. He looked at her, "Was this the right choice?"
She looked down, hoping to make this convincing, "It'll get better soon Zim. Just…give it some time."
He gave her a sceptical look. She sighed, "Fine, just give me some time. I think I can get old Lard Narr on our side."
"Good luck with that," Zim said, sitting back down.
Tunica gave him a grin, "I don't need luck. I've got magic on my side, Zimmy."
Yeah, Zim's like a boss B)I agree with Tunica. Give him the motivation and he will surprise you
The real Tunica said she wanted a chapter where poor Zim wasn't a victim. Here you are, Tunica! Xp
I shall hopefully see you guys soon :) REVIEW! XD