Disclaimers: I do not own Invader Zim
Author's Notes: And we are moving right along, and for those of you wondering about my other stories I plan to update those as well in the coming days.
As always I thank you for reading, please enjoy!
(Back with Annabel…)
She couldn't help but feel fear as her children and friends entered the enemy's base. Annabel wanted nothing more than to race forward and stop them from moving any further into danger, but to her surprise Dibson stopped her.
"Relax." He assured her from their cover behind the tree line.
"How can I relax knowing my babies are in there?" She hissed lowly as Dibson pulled out his tablet from his arsenal. "Dibson what are you doing?" She asked.
"I'm going to plugin to Dib's glasses and see what's going on." He said casually.
"What?" His comrades say in unison, and it is in that moment he realizes he forgot something.
"Oh, I added a micro camera into Dib's glasses after he lost them in the chase through town. Once I sign in we will be able to see everything he sees." He explained as he signed into the program on his tablet. "Did I forget to mention that?" He asked.
"I want to hug you and slap you right now." Annabel admitting mirroring Gaz's persona perfectly.
The adults surrounded him, as the feed from Dib's glasses began to come in.
Currently, Dib, Gaz, Zim, Gir and Luna are in the elevator lowering down to the purple-painted transmissions room. The door open as they reach the desired floor, and a two-eyed Irken symbol displayed on the transmissions screen greets them as they look around.
"Huh... This is your base!?" Gaz asked in an unimpressed tone.
Zim, frowned. "Don't touch anything... or I'll melt your face off or something!"
They walked along a mechanical walkway to the control platform, which retracted once they'd reached the said platform. Zim moves to address his unwanted companions when suddenly a call comes through on the screen.
"Master it's the Tallest!" The Computer brain spoke gravely.
"They're calling?" Zim exclaimed. "Wait how are they calling?" He asked. "I blocked all transmissions while the AI's were in ranged."
"They must have retreated far enough away." The brain answered. "Would you like me to answer?"
"Answer? Are you nuts?" Dib exclaimed. "We are right here!"
Zim looks around frantically, he knows he cannot ignore this call, his leaders were no doubt furious enough. Yes, it was best not to add fuel to the flames. However, Dib had a point, it would be hard to explain the presence of his enemies if they were seen. He suddenly notices his stack of unpacked boxes and decides that will have to do. He pushes them away, herding them, urging them to hide behind them; out of sight. "Stay here and don't make a sound!" He yelled.
Dib and the others reluctantly obey, and the boy manages to peak out over the boxes and stay out of sight. The girls follow his example, and they watch as Zim nervously tries to fix his appearance.
"My lord the Tallest are waiting." The brain urged.
"Very well, answer." Zim ordered gravely. "Gir please sit and behave."
For once Gir obeys, sitting in obvious fear of what is to come, Dib notices the distress and he can't help the anxiety that builds up. He is scared for Zim, no doubt his leaders will be angry to see the state he is in and worse the state of the mission.
The brain answers the call and a very frustrated Irken soldier appears on the screen. "My Tallest I finally got through." He exclaimed.
"Finally!" Red pushes the soldier aside, as he and Purple fill the screen. "Zim is that you!"
"Yes my Tallest." Zim saluted, he is obviously shaking before his leaders. "I am sorry for my silent, things have gotten a bit out of hand since my last call."
"A BIT!" Purple screamed; rage filled his face. "Oh no Mr. you don't get to pretend everything is alright!"
"Tak has told us some troubling things Zim." Red said, taking a calmer approach.
"Uh…troubling?" Zim winced dropping his salute as Purple flips over a nearby chair.
"Don't play dumb Zim!" He yelled. "It is beneath you."
Zim sighed. "I admit things are a bit of a mess…"
"Is it true the AIs are on Earth?" Red cut in, deciding that he was not going to allow Zim to give the run around.
"Yes my Tallest." Zim answered honestly.
"And the rebel alliance? Are they there with them?" Red continued to question him.
Zim deflated further. "Yes my Tallest."
"And are they conspiring with the human resistance?" Red went on.
"Sirs the humans while formidable are hardly-" Zim began.
"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" Purple screamed.
"Yes my Tallest." Zim's voice was barely a whisper now.
"Leave us." Red says looking obviously to the soldiers with them on the bridge of the Massive. The soldiers all filed out. Red waited until they were all gone to continue, "Do you know the mess you have made?"
"Yes my Tallest." Zim said.
"What was your orders soldier?" Red snapped.
Soldier, oh Red addressing him like that was not a good sign.
"Quietly gather resources, to aid the current war efforts." Zim answered, he is obviously confused, the Tallest were not accusing him of being defective, they were scowling him, but this was to be expected. What he didn't understand was why they were acting as if… "My Tallest may I ask something?" His voice is quiet and respectful, and to his relief his tone seems to be calming down the distressed Purple.
"Go on." Red said.
"How much did she tell you?" He asked honestly.
"Everything." Red answered.
"Everything?" Zim asked.
"Why?" Purple asked suddenly looking more intrigued then angry. "Is there more?"
"Zim why don't you tell us what you think she told us." Red suggested, taking a seat. He gestured for Purple to do so as well; and he did.
Zim bit his lip, he knew this was a test. If he said something Tak left out, or missed something she didn't; he would be in more trouble than before. "I sabotaged her." He admitted. "She had the nerve to call me defective." He gagged at the thought.
"Defective? You?" Now it was Purple's turn to look disgust. "Surely she's not serious."
"Oh, she was." Zim said, relieved Tak had obviously kept such claims to herself. So she planned to beat him the honorable way, he had to admit he was grateful of that. Now he knew that at least his reputation was salvageable. "Of course, it was obvious that she was just jealous that I passed the trial with ease on my first go." He went on. "Even still, I couldn't have her spreading lies about me without punishment. So, I decided to teach her a lesson."
"By trying to kill her?" Red looks more amused than outraged.
"It was meant to scare her." Zim reasoned. "I knew she'd live." He lied.
"And when the rumors of her being defective surfaced?" Purple questioned.
"It was her own stupid fault for running." Zim argued. "If she had just came forward and come clean I would have been reprimanded. She would still be a member of the collective. All be it she would be given an unsightly sentence to Dirt for her absence. She would have eventually gotten the chance to test again. She could have come back from this if she hadn't been too impulsively."
"Zim we don't care that you've wronged her." Purple revealed.
"Yes, all we care about is you didn't do the job right the first time." Red agreed.
Dib was floored, were they ridiculing Zim for not sabotaging Tak…better?
"Now she is making trouble for all of us." Purple complained.
"What would you have me do my Tallest?" Zim asked.
"Clean up the mess she's made!" Purple insisted. "The mess you have allowed her to make under your watch!"
The mess she's made…Zim couldn't help the smile that fell on her face, of course they'd place the blame all on her.
"Don't you smile Mr." Purple growled. "You allowed her to thrive under your watch, what's worse she has brought the rebels and the AIs to our jewel of a planet. Honestly, I am starting to lose faith in your skills."
Gaz was beyond baffled, and she wasn't the only one. They were going to blame it all on Tak, and Zim would get away scott clean. Well, he would if he could manage to do just one thing.
"Make her go away for good this time." Purple ordered.
"Yes my Tallest." Zim bowed slightly, mostly to hide his still growing sneer.
"And Zim…" Red hissed.
"Yes my Tallest." Zim looked up to meet his gaze.
"You will fix this mess and we will hear nothing of that TAK or those worthless native scum." Red spoke gravely. "Most importantly you will find this one!" Suddenly Annabel's face appeared on the screen. "And you will force her to tell you who her leader is! Use this one against her if you have to."
Zim goes noticeably pale as Dib's own image appears on the screen.
"Oh, you know this one too hu?" Purple sneered, obviously enjoying the fact that he caught him withholding information.
"Forgive me for not seeing a child as anything but a nuisance." Zim's words were dripping venom, and it was not lost on his leaders' part.
"We have talked about this. Children do not stay children forever." Red lectured. "It's time to clean up your act. Must I remind you what is at stake?"
"With all due respect my Tallest." Zim didn't even bother to hold back his malice. "I could care less about the choosing of your successor. I am where I want to be, as for my mess I will clean it up as I have been doing since Tak and her antics began. I do not tell you how to do your job and you will cease to tell me how to do mine!" his voice is low and even, but it doesn't take away the sting.
And to the children's surprise Zim's leaders actually look fearful.
'They're afraid of him.' Dib realized. His reputation was so powerful, that even the Tallest, his very leaders feared him.
Purple looks to Red hopefully, as if to say, "Get him under control."
Red stands, his eyes narrowed in a silent command for obedience.
Zim gives it to him, but only just barely, his leaders have hit a nerve, but not in the way they think. They have unknowingly told him to threaten a being he held higher than anyone. Someone he loved, more than anything.
The point, however, is not lost on Dib. He feels his heart flutter at the realization. There was feelings there, he felt something for Dib. So much so that Zim was willing to risk face with his leaders.
"Get it done." Red hissed. "The next time you call it will be to tell us that everything is as it should be." He instructed. "There will be no mention of that worthless female, and you will have us a name for the leader of the Resistance. Your outburst never happened, you never lost control of the mission." Red stated simply. "Are we clear?"
Zim is not in the least bit surprised by the order. It wouldn't be the first time the three of them have argued, and it would most certainly not be the last. They were fuming now, but that was to be expected. Come the next time they spoke the three would go back to their usual routine. The Tallest would pretend nothing had transpire, they'd laugh and joke as if nothing was wrong. Zim would be expected to play along and that would be the end of it.
Part of him wants to tell them both to go to hell, but he manages to get his temper under control. They have not told him to kill Dib or his mother, just use them to get information. He realizes he will most likely have to give them a name. Still if he gave up Lard Nar it would make his life even more difficult, and put him under more scrutiny. Still, that was a problem for another day, for now Zim had bigger fish to fry.
He takes a big breath and lets it out, making a show of visibly calming down. "My deepest apologies Red." He made a point to forget his title, to make it personal. He was not a soldier talking, but a friend.
It works, Red visibly calms down as well, and Purple breathes an obvious sigh of relief.
"Just make it go away." Red urged. "And all will be forgiven."
"Consider it done." Zim assured him.
"Wonderful." Purple makes an effort to lighten the mood. "See, I told you we had nothing to worry about."
Zim salutes them both. "Of course, you don't." He agreed. "Leave it to me Sirs, Invader Zim has everything under control."
"Glad to hear it Zim." Red's mood was visibly better already, he even cracked a smile. "Oh, and do make her suffer for my sake." He requested.
"Yes, having to hear her go on and on about how she was so wronged was torture." Purple agreed, obviously talking about Tak. "Make her pay!"
"Oh, I will." Zim vowed. "And it shall be slow." His murderous tone made everyone in the room shake despite themselves.
"There's our Zim." Red mused. "See you in a week soldier." He offered a smile that looked so genuine it made Dib cringe. "Good work as always soldier." He said more loudly, no doubt for any one of the other soldiers who might be ease dropping.
"We can always count on you to make the problems go away." Purple agreed.
There was an unspoken threat there, one Zim did not miss. 'Don't be one of those problems, least we need to remind you just how worthless you are without us.' Oh yes, Zim could see the underlining threat and with it he gave one last bow.
"I look forward to speaking with you soon." Zim added.
Red gives a curt nod, and the transmission ends.
Silence follows filling the room with a thick cloud of tension and suspense.
Finally, Zim turns to the boxes, the children have not come out from behind them. No doubt talk of hurting loved ones had scared them; causing them to perhaps rethink this alliance of theirs.
Zim knows exactly how to calm those fears. "Do you really know where she is?" He asked.
For a second there is nothing, then Dib peaks out just enough to meet his gaze.
"She told them about mom…" Pain is evident on his face. "About me…I just got my family back and now…she's ruined everything."
"I won't let her get away with it." Zim vowed. "What about you?"
Dib's face grew serious. "She's at a hot dog stand in town, it's outrageously big." He informed him as he and the others emerged from their hiding place completely.
"Computer!" Zim yelled, pointing upward. "Ready the Voot! I must stop Tak! Her antics have gone far enough!" Zim said. The walkway extended back to the control panel and Zim headed off.
"You have to take us with you!" Dib demanded. "We can help you…" He began to argue, but it was not needed.
"Fine, but get in my way and I will not hesitate to consider you as collateral damage." Zim threatened.
"Are there any video games around here?" Gaz asked almost hopefully. Things were getting a bit too serious for her liking, and she was craving a way to escape it all.
"NO, NOT REALLY." The computer told her.
Gaz kicked the air angrily. "I guess I'll help save the Earth then!"
Peg grabbed her hand in silent reassurance and gave it a small squeeze.
Gaz returned it. "We're coming too!" She declared then racing after Dib and the enemy.
Luna, however, stay where she stood before the computer brain.
"You stay." Gir said. "Why?"
"A computer brain can't lie." She said addressing the brain before her rather than the robot addressing her. "You see no need in it."
"This is true." The brain stated simply. "What do you wish to know?"
"What happened the night my planet was invaded, what happened to my parents, why did Zim do what he did!" Luna screamed.
"Why should I tell you any of that?" The brain asked.
A tear streamed down her face, she moves to answer, but someone speaks first.
"Because she deserve to know!" Annabel snapped as she steps out of the elevator. She had slipped in when Zim and the kids were existing the base. Richard had wanted to go with her, but she convinced him that his help would be needed else were.
At that moment he and her husband and Lard Nar were following the kids, ready to give them their aid once the moment arises.
The Brain considered the answer and then came to a verdict. "I cannot tell you." He told them.
Luna's face fell as more tears began to fall freely.
"But I can show you." The Brain added and then the transmission screen flickered back to life. "Every memory is recorded in an Irken's PAK. You can view the night in question and the days to follow as they unfold. See what happened, and then decide the answers for yourself."
Luna watched as the story began to unfold before her from start to finish, beginning with Zim arguing with his leader's about purging her planet.
Annabel took the girl's hand in hers, she offered no words, just comfort. Luna gave her hand an appreciative squeeze. She was glad someone was here to help her through this, she jumps as the S.I.R unit takes her other hand.
Gir gives her a smile, and she finds herself returning it before she looks back at the screen, ready to embrace the truth.
Meanwhile the others leave the base and head to the Voot. It is only when they all get in that they notice Luna is not with them.
"Where is she?!" Peg glared at Zim accusingly.
"Learning the truth." Zim said bluntly as he started the Voot up and took off into the sky towards their destination. Yes, he knew what the brain was doing, his PAK was connected to it remotely after all, and it was he who told the brain to give her what she wanted.
"Why can't you tell her?" Gaz asked suspiciously.
Zim doesn't answer and it is in that moment Dib realizes the truth, he had been right all along. "You didn't do it did you?" He asked.
"No…" Zim answered quietly. "My only crime against her was that I had come too late." He spoke gravely. "If we had just been a little faster…" His voice trailed off.
No one forced him to continue, after all the Irken seemed lost in thought, with no intention of elaborating anyway. Besides, they had bigger fish to fry.
Dib's only hope was that Luna got the answers she wanted, and that they were not too much for her to bare.
-To Be Continued