Angry scribbles
Invader Tenn yawned as she made her way down the hall, rubbing her eye, eager to retreat to her room for some sleep. It was common for Invaders to receive temporary housing on the Massive in between assignments, and lately, there'd been more Invaders off duty than usual.
Operation Impending Doom two had gotten a little slow lately.
A number of her fellow Invaders were still out there, keeping the mission alive, but they were taking noticeably longer. Nobodies head was really in it. Tenn herself didn't have a whole lot of faith in her field skills right now, and not just because of the Sir incident, which they'd already declared wasn't her fault.
Tenn gave her head a shake as she waited for the elevator, tapping her foot anxiously. She'd rather not think about all of that right now. She sighed in relief as the elevator arrived, saving her from those thoughts. That salvation was sadly short lived as the door slid opened to reveal Invader Skoodge.
For a moment, the two just stood there, silently staring at each other. Their faces were blank, but their eyes were filled with emotions.
Tenn's with apprehension and guilt.
Skoodge's with exhaustion and anger.
She was about to leave and find another elevator when Skoodge, without saying a word, stepped aside and motioned for her to enter. Tenn slowly walked in with her head down, standing on the opposite side and refusing to look at him. The two rode the elevator in awkward silence. Every so often, Tenn would glance at Skoodge from the corner of her eye, debating if she should say anything.
"I thought you got a new assignment" Skoodge said suddenly, catching her off guard. His tone was casual as ever, but Tenn picked up on the subtle hint of resentment. Skoodge was always, weirdly, trying to be nice even when he was the one pissed off, and he was defiantly pissed off.
Tenn shook her head, still not looking at him. "No" she said softly, tightening her grip on the data pads in her arms "still working around here." Tenn chewed her lip, she was an Invader damn it, yet she was acting as timid as a slug.
"…How's Zim?" she finally asked, deciding to just go for it. Its not like she could make things worse, right?
Well, maybe she could, but it was too late now.
Anyone else would have missed Skoodge flinching it was so subtle, but they were soldiers, Invaders, trained to pick up on even the smallest of details. He was quiet for a bit before sighing, closing his tired eyes "same" he said softly.
Zim had been comatose for about two months.
One would think the empire would be rejoicing, but…
…Given the circumstances, it was something of a hollow "victory."
Tenn nodded in understanding. "I mean, at least he's not getting worse, right?" She said, trying to offer some sort of reassurance.
Skoodge shrugged "I guess" he said reluctantly. Skoodge, not surprisingly, had volunteered to watch over Zim. He spent most of his time just sitting by that bed, watching the small Irkens seemingly endless slumber. He did other jobs now and then to, although it was more to give him a break than anything else.
"I guess you're heading back there now?" Tenn asked awkwardly. She knew it was a stupid question, but the atmosphere was so tense she wasn't sure what else to say.
Fortunately, Skoodge just gave her an odd look. "Yeah…just finished dropping off some files" he said just as the door opened and he stepped out.
He started walking, but stopped when he noticed Tenn getting off as well. He frowned as she held up a hand in defense. "I'm bringing these to someone on this floor" she said, motioning to the data pads. It wasn't a total lie, but she still hoped he didn't ask any questions. Thankfully, he just rolled his eyes with a sigh of frustration and continued walking.
Tenn jogged behind him, trying to keep up. She really did have to deliver these, but continued to follow her fellow Invader anyway. "I thought you had to deliver those?" he asked as they got closer to Zims room.
"I do" she said, hoping he didn't catch her tightening her grip on the pads.
He did. "Do you have to go this way specifically?" He asked suspiciously as his eyes narrowed.
Tenn was about to come up with an explanation, maybe claim it was a short cut, when she became aware of a sound coming from Zims room up ahead. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she tried to work out what it was. It was definitely coming from the monitors…
Tenn's eyes widened in dread.
"Skoodge" she said quietly, coming to a stop. Skoodge stared at her, about to say something when heard it too, his blood running cold.
The machines where all flatlining.
"ZIM!" Skoodge made a mad dashed towards the room, Tenn following close behind. This couldn't be happening, Zim had been stable for so long! Why now?! The two stumbled over each other trying to get through the door at the same time, limbs becoming tangled up in the process.
As they struggled, Tenn happened to glance up and froze. "Uh, Skoodge?" She muttered, tapping his head. Skoodge stopped trying to get loose and followed her line of sight, going still as well.
Tenn didn't known what she expected to find, but it definitely hadn't been an empty room.
The bed was bare, minus a small pile of wires.
The machines each giving off a long, steady tone with no vitals to track.
The room's one occupant for the last two months just…gone.
Both Irkens were so stunned, they barely reacted when they tumbled to the ground, coming free. Tenn stood up with a hand over her mouth in shock while Skoodge stumbled to his feet in a state of panic. "W-what?! But…where...?" he came to a stop by the bed, clutching the blankets as if Zim would just manifest out of thin air.
Tenn activated the lights as she looked around the room. There weren't many places to search, but she wasn't sure what else to do. "Do…do you think he was moved to another room? Or-or maybe the medics brought him somewhere for examination?" She asked, trying to come up with something as she checked the bathroom.
Skoodge shook his head, his attention still on the empty bed. "No, I'm supposed to be informed before they do anything, that was the deal. I made myself clear to Red and Purple!" He snapped, punching the mattress. Tenn couldn't help but flinch at hearing him address the Tallest by name. Such a thing without proper clearance was taboo, a potentially punishable offence, but she didn't have the heart to call him out on it. None of them did.
Not even the Tallest themselves.
"Besides, why would they leave all the machinery here, let alone active?" He said with a sigh, now sounding more distressed.
"Well…" she scratched her head, her grip on the data pads tightening like a lifeline as she sighed "okay, there has to be an explanation." She said, anxiously tapping her chin "I mean, he couldn't have gotten up and walked away, right?"
At that moment, a different beeping began coming from both their Pak's. Someone was trying to contact them. Skoodge appeared to be ignoring it, so Tenn accepted the call, and was greeted by the face of Invader Larb. "Tenn, we need your help" he spoke franticly, it looked like her was running.
"Uh Larb, now's not the best time" Tenn said, eyeing Skoodge nervously as she tried to figure out how to explain when she still didn't really understand what was happening herself. "See, I'm with Skoodge-"
"You're with Skoodge?!" He interrupted "tell him to answer!"
"No, you don't understand" Tenn shook her head, trying to get him to listen. "We're in Zim's room right now, but its empty! He it's here!"
"I know! I just saw him run down the hall!"
For the second time in the last few minutes, Tenn went still in shock. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Skoodge finally look up, the stunned expression on his face no doubt mirroring her own. "What…what do you mean?" She choked out as she placed the pads on a nearby table. They had to have misheard.
"I mean, Flobee, Grapa and I saw Zim, wide awake."
Tenn slowly turned to face Skoodge. The two held each other's gaze for what felt like an eternity before he came rushing over. "You saw Zim?! And he was awake?!" He cried in disbelief.
"Larb, what exactly happened?" Tenn asked as patiently and calmly as she could.
"Okay, so, we were heading to the cafeteria to get a snack before calling it a night, and Grapa saw someone try to hide in one of the hall entrances. We thought it was an overwhelmed newbie at first, but it was Zim! So, I called out to him-"
"No you didn't" Invader Grapa's voice suddenly came from off screen, taking over the conversation as he leaned in. "He freaked and scared him off" he corrected, before being shoved away by an embarrassed Larb.
"Not the point! The point is, as soon as Zim saw us, he ran away!" He finished as Invader Flobee now shoved his way into the transmission.
"He looked terrified." Flobee said quietly.
Training kicking in, the two Invaders exchange a determined nod before bolting out of the room and down the hall. "Have you contacted anyone else?" Tenn asked as she slipped back into solider mode with ease.
"We contacted everyone, they're on high alert."
Tenn was about to question him further when they rounded a corner and bumped into one of the ships navigators, sending all thee tumbling to the ground. The navigator groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head, but quickly came to stand at attention upon seeing the two Invaders. "Invader Skoodge! I was just coming to find you! I just saw Zim!"
Both Invaders head shot up. "You saw Zim too?!" They cried in unison.
The navigator nodded "as I was coming off the elevator. He was just standing there, but as soon as I tried to come near him, he ran from me." He managed to explain in one breath.
"Where was this?" Came Larbs voice from the transmission.
Before the navigator could answer, a second transmission began to come though, getting their attention. Tenn quickly responded and they were greeted by Invader Tim "Larb, did get ahold of…" he trailed off when he saw who'd answered him, and who was with her. "Oh Tenn, Skoodge! Did Larb-"
"We know" Skoodge cut him off "Zim's awake and running around somewhere."
"That's what I'm calling about, we found him!"
All their attention was immediately on him. "Where?!"
"Storage area" he said not missing a beat "same floor."
Skoodge's eyes bulged in shock "how did he get that far?!"
"Worry about that later, come on!" Tenn said as she ended both transmissions. The two Invaders didn't waste another second and took off in the direction that would get them to storage the fastest, the navigator following behind.
On the way, they were joined by Larb and his group. They also managed to grab Invaders Slacks and El from their search. All their minds were raising as they got closer to their destination. After two months, Zim was just suddenly, finally awake. They were beginning to think this would never happen, there was talk among the medics of possibly convincing Skoodge to consider pulling the plug, but now…
Zim was awake. They didn't think it was possible, but it was really happening. This should've been better news, as strange as that may sound, but…
…Now they had a new problem.
It was concerning that Zim was running away from them, but sadly, not unexpected. If anything, they all kind of anticipate something like this might happen. They'd spent the last two months wondering, if Zim ever awoke, how were they going to fix this? Now here they were, and they had nothing. The best they could do right now was convince Zim he was safe and try to go from there.
They just hoped he would listen to them.
…Oh, they were screwed.
It wasn't long before they finally made it to storage and found Tim along with Invaders Zee and Sneakyonfoota waiting in the hall. Zee was anxiously pacing back and forth, wringing her hands while Sneakyonfoota tapped his foot and chewed on his finger. Tim was staring directly at the door they were all standing in front of when he noticed the arrival of his fellow Invaders and the navigator.
"You found Zim?!" Skoodge asked quickly, not wanting to waste any more time.
Tim nodded "after we got Larbs transmission, we went looking like everyone else. Zee thought she saw him head down this way. Since storage is a dead end, we started checking the rooms just in case. That's when Sof found him hiding in room D-9" he explained quickly, pointing to the door in question.
"Well, technically" Sneakyonfoota cut in "I saw his IV poll sticking out from behind a bunch of boxes, but you know, who else would that be?"
"So he's in there" Tenn asked, pointing to the same door Tim had to make sure they were on the same page. The three nodded and the rest of the group visibly relaxed, that was one problem down at least.
"Wait" El suddenly spoke up "…how'd you get him to stay in there?" She asked slowly, dreading the answer.
Skoodges eyes widened as El's words sunk in, they had looked fairly apprehensive when they'd arrived. He turned to the three Irkens, eyes narrowed. "How did you get him to stay in there?" He repeated the question, making it sound more like a threat. The three became visibly more uncomfortable, trying to avoid looking directly at Skoodge as they fidgeted.
It was easy to write off Skoodge with how short and easygoing he was. Just about everyone did, but there was a reason he made it to Invader status and successfully conquered Blorch of all planets. Before the rest of them conquered their planets to boot.
Invader Skoodge was a lot of things, but incompetent wasn't one of them. He could be downright dangerous when he wanted to be.
It was honestly kind of scary to be reminded.
Especially lately.
"Okay, so, don't be mad" Zee eventually said cautiously "but we kind of…sort of….well we…" She trailed off, making gestures with her hands.
"We locked him in there" Sneakyonfoota finally confessed.
The others gasped while Skoodge looked ready to pop a blood vessel. "You WHAT?!" He cried in anger.
"We were worried he'd run off again!" Tim cried, desperately trying to salvage the situation. Judging from the growing look of rage on Skoodge's face, it wasn't working.
"Ahh, as if this wasn't going to be hard enough!" Larb moaned, pacing in a small circle. By this point, they were all starting to give into the rising stress "you realize what little chance we had of fixing this is probably dead now, right?!"
"I know! We panicked!" Tim cried. He began to shrink away as Skoodge's fury became more intense with each second. All of them had started to back up seeing the short Invader ready to explode.
"Hey wait a minute" Slacks suddenly spoke up. "If Zim's locked in there, why is it so quiet?" That one, simple question brought everyone to a complete standstill.
Zim was locked in a room against his will…and he wasn't screaming?
"Slacks is right" Tenn said slowly. She looked at the three Irkens in front of her "are you sure he's still in there?"
"He has to be. There's no other way to leave the storage rooms" the navigator pointed out.
"What about the vents?" Grapa asked "he's small enough to fit in them."
El shook her head "no, he's got that IV poll, remember? How would he get that in?"
Flobee grabbed his antenna with a look of panic. "Oh Irk he's unconscious in there, isn't he? Aw, this just keeps getting better!"
Before they could fall back into a panic, Sneakyonfoota placed his head against the door, listing closely. "No, I can hear him" he assured the others, earning a collective sigh of relief.
"Then how did you get him be quite?" Tenn asked in confusion. Now that she thought about it, they should've been able to hear him from at least two halls down.
"Yeah, see…that's where it gets weird" Zee said hesitantly, sharing a look with Tim and Sneakyonfoota. "We didn't. He, uh…he actually hasn't said a single word this whole time."
"…Say what now?" Larb asked, vocalizing everyone's thoughts as they stared at the three Irkens like they'd each grown a third eye.
Zim, not yelling? Heck, not talking? Had that ever happened, ever?
"I mean, he was hitting the door for a bit, but that's about it" Sneakyonfoota shrugged, glancing back at the door with an uneasy look. "Actually…I think he's crying."
They all looked at each other in confusion and mild concern. Skoodge was especially worried hearing this, none of it made sense. He'd never known Zim to willing cry in front of anyone. Maybe if he didn't know anyone was out here, but even then, he'd try to hold back.
Skoodge looked up at his fellow Invaders, his face hard and fist tightly clenched in determination. "Unlock the door" he told them sternly.
No one argued as Tim reluctantly opened the door. Honestly, if anyone stood a chance against Zim, especially right now, it was Skoodge. The door slid open with a woosh and Skoodge, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, made his way over. As soon as he came to the threshold, he froze.
There he was.
There was Zim, sitting in the middle of the room, awake for the first time in months.
He was curled up, knees to his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around himself. His face buried in his legs, quietly sobbing.
Skoodge felt his own eyes begin to sting, overwhelmed with emotions. On the one hand, he was overjoyed to see his friend alive and, mostly, well. On the other, his heart was breaking seeing that same friend, usually so proud and confident, in such a vulnerable state. The realist in him knew Zim wouldn't be back to his old self just like that, not after everything that had happened, but the idealist in him had dared to hope.
He could feel the others eyes on them as they started to gather around the door, just as lost and confused as he was.
Well, just standing there wasn't accomplishing anything.
Skoodge slowly, cautiously made his way over to Zim. Once he was just in front of him, he crouched down and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Zim?" He spoke softly, not wanting to startle him.
It didn't work.
Zim instantly bolted away from him, crying out in fear. He backed away with a surprising amount of speed for someone who'd just woken up from a coma, until he hit a pile of boxes. A couple on top jostled a bit and, for a moment, Skoodge feared they'd put him right back into that coma. Thankfully, they stayed in place.
"No, no, no! It's okay Zim!" Skoodge said quickly, concerned for his friend's safety. He walked closer to Zim, only for the smaller Irken to shield himself with his arms, staying curled up in a little ball.
"Pl-" Zim attempted to speak, only to give a harsh cough that shook his entire frame. He took a breath before finding his voice "please" he spoke softly, too softly for Zim "I...I just w-wanted…s-something to d-drink." He pleaded. His voice raspy from a lack of use.
Skoodge felt his heart break all over again, seeing Zim like this. Even the others couldn't help flinching at just how weak his voice was and how off he was acting.
Skoodge slowly got down on his knees, keeping a safe distance from Zim to avoid scaring him further. "Its okay" he said softly, doing his best to reassure him. "No ones going to hurt you Zim" he said, trying to convince Zim he was safe abord the Massive, that the other Irkens wouldn't cause him any harm.
Not anymore.
Zim didn't make any attempt to move, he didn't even try to look at him.
"Who…who is Zim?" He asked quietly.
Skoodge felt his heart stop. His eyes widened as the color drain from his face, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of him. Behind him, he heard the others gasp in shock. Whatever reaction they expected Zim to have, it definitely hadn't been that.
"You…you're Zim" Skoodge managed to choke out "don't you remember?"
Zim hesitantly glanced up at him, before imminently looking away, slowly shaking his head. Hesitantly, Tenn walked over, coming to stand next to Skoodge. "Zim…" she began cautiously "…what's the last thing youremember?"
Zim briefly glanced at the two, quickly looking away again. Well, so far they hadn't tried to do anything bad. Zim cleared his throat, trying to speak a bit louder. "I…I woke up…in a r-room…there were w-wires on m-me…" he trailed off. Both Skoodge and Tenn looked at each other in stunned silence.
Zim honestly didn't remember anything.
The others were just as confused, looking between each other for any answers. "How can he not remember anything?!" Larb asked, barley keeping his voice down. "The technicians cleaned and repaired his Pak thoroughly! They combed through every nook and cranny!"
"Maybe they missed something? His Pak is de…ifferent. Different…its-it's different than…than most" Slacks suggested, cringing at his almost use of the "D" word.
As they all tried to find some kind of plausible explanation, Tenn was studying Zim closely. Maybe she was overthinking it, but she'd noticed something elsestrange about his current his behavior.
Zim wasn't making eye contact with any of them.
He wasn't just refusing to look at them, no, no, he was desperately avoiding looking at them. The few times he did, he would look away as fast as he could. It was like their appearance alone terrified him. Given the information that he couldn't remember anything for whatever reason, she began to worry he might not remember being Irken.
"Zim" she said softly, hoping her theory was wrong. "Can you please look at us?" Zim whimpered. He began to look at them, but almost instantly, tore his gaze away, eyes filled with fear.
Tenn frowned, maybe he really didn't remember he was Irken. "Zim, you don't have to be scared of us…you're one of us" she said, meaning every word of it. "You're Irken like the rest of us, we all look the same" she told him as reassuring as she could, not wanting to overwhelm him further.
Zim's eyes widened in alarm. "W-what?!" He cried weakly in panic. His hands flew to his head and he began franticly feeling around his face, like he was looking for something.
Okay, that reaction was especially weird.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Grapa asked, sharing a confused look with the others still watching from behind.
"Why…w-why can't I f-feel them?" Zim asked uneasily, gripping his face.
"Feel what?" Tim asked hesitantly. Zim curled up tighter, holding his face as his panic grew.
"T-the…the scribbles."
The what now?
Tenn kneeled next to Skoodge, her own apprehension rising. "What scribbles?" She asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.
"The…the s-scribbles all…all over your h-heads" Zim said, pointing a shaky hand at them. specifically at their faces.
"Are you talking about our faces?" Skoodge asked, his voice filled with confusion and anxiety as he brought a hand up to his own cheek. Zim squeezed his eyes shut tightly.
"…W-what faces?"
Every Irken in the room felt a chill go through them. Tenn pulled out a pad and pen from her Pak, and drew a quick sketch of a standard Irken, leaving out the eyes and mouth, before handing them to Zim.
Zim cracked an eye open and tried to shrink away further, making Tenn move back a bit in an effort to make him feel less caged in. "Zim, can you draw what you see when you look at us?" She asked gently.
Hesitantly, Zim took both, staring at the drawing for a few seconds before turning away slightly as the pen began to move. The others came closer and tried to get a look at whatever he was drawing, but Zim was doing a pretty good job of preventing that. It actually didn't take too long before he handed the utensils back to Tenn, still avoiding looking at her.
Again, Tenn wasn't sure what she expected to find, but it definitely hadn't been this.
The little doodles face was completely scratched out.
There were no eyes, no mouth, just a mass circle of scribbles feverishly swirling around the head where they should have been, like some kind of hellish Television static. It looked like something illustrated out of an abstract nightmare.
She couldn't even compare it to a smeets clumsy, innocent attempt at art. Just looking at it filled her with an overwhelming sense of hostility, despair, and dread.
Tenn pulled her eyes away from the drawing, vaguely aware of Skoodge taking the pad from her hands, his jaw dropping. The others gathered around and gasped. Tenn stared at Zim, still curled up in a little ball. "Is this really what you see when you look at us?" she asked in a strained voice.
Zim hesitantly glanced at them. at one point he would've seen each of their frightened expressions, at the very least he would've seen some kind of expressions.
Instead, all he saw were those angry scribbles, littering where logic told him their faces should be. Like someone had taken a pencil or pen to all of their faces and completely scratched them out of existence. Leaving only the scribbles behind.
Tearing his gaze away as fast as he could, Zim squeezed his eyes shut with a nod.
The group looked at the drawing, completely shaken and at a loss for words. "Okay…" Larb said slowly "…anyone want to take a stab at this?"
"I don't think a Pak issue could cause this" Flobee said, scratching his head. "Not even Zims."
"It can't" Zee mumbled, Sneakyonfoota nodding numbly in agreement. They were right of course, all of them knew it, but how else do you explain something like this?
Skoodge looked back at Zim. He never could have predicted any of this happening when he finally awoke. He wasn't even sure where to start helping him, but like hell that was going to stop him from trying.
Skoodge slowly crawled closer to the trembling Irken. "Zim" he said gently "I know you're really confused and scared right now, and I don't blame you, but…you don't need to be."
Zim slowly cracked an eye open, still refusing to meet Skoodges eyes but at least looking at him. He shifted his body around so he was less hidden. Skoodge smiled in relief, seeing that Zim was willing to listen "I swear, I'm going to do whatever I can to help."
He held his hand out with a reassuring smile. "You said you were thirsty right? I can get you something to drink."
Zim stared at his hand in silent debate. He had no idea what to think of these strangers, they insisted the scribbles weren't real, but he could see them so clearly. What if they were just trying to get his trust so they do who knew what to or with him?
Although, they hadn't done anything so far. Even though they had a great opportunity right now, and this one didn't seem too bad…
Maybe they could be trusted?
"Y-you'll…" Zim spoke softly, his voice still strained from thirst and eyes beginning to mist again. "…You'll m-make the s-scribbles go away?"
"If there's a way Zim, I promise I'll try" Skoodge said with as much confidence as he could muster.
Zim looked back at his hand. Both Skoodge and the others waited with bated breath for whatever was about to happen next. They hoped for the best, but they were prepared for the worst.
Finally, Zim slowly uncurled from his ball. He whipped the remaining tears from his face and, agents his better judgment, placed a trembling hand into Skoodges waiting one.
Now the story has really begun.
I want to take a moment to thank those who commented on the first chapter. I'm glad you liked it and I hope this one didn't disappoint.
I've already started on chapter three, as I'm trying to get into the habit of beginning one chapters while re-reading and editing the other.
To quote several A03 tags, "no beta, we die like men."
…Before you ask, no, I don't have an AO3 account. Maybe one day, but not today.
Anyway, till next time.