Finally! Another update! Much thanks to those who have reviewed! It is much appreciated.
This chapter got rewritten and thus caused a delay. This chapter introduces another character of mine and mentions the existence of some others. There is implied RAPR here. Just so you know.
The days slowly went by. Zim spent his time with building a new pak, not for himself, but for the soon-to-hatch smeet. He used schematics and scans of his own pak to ensure the new one would properly function. He was not one of the soulless machines that manufactured Irken paks and though he was highly-skilled in repairing and upgrading his own, he went over every little detail with tremendous scrutiny. Even just the smallest imperfection could turn the smeet into a defect.
Each day, in between building the pak and dealing with Dib, Zim would visit the egg down in the nesting lab. He still refrained from telling Gir. He believed it was simply too much of a risk and he would take no chances in losing this most valuable of assets. The daily visits allowed him to check the computer's readouts as it monitored the egg, but often Zim would find himself coming and going without even giving the computer a glance. In those instances, he would feel something compel him to go and stand next to the nest silently for a few moments. Sometimes, he wondered if the smeet could detect his presence there.
At times, he would place his palm softly against the shell and feel for movement. He often felt light pulses and vibrations as the smeet squirmed and kicked around. It was a tight space inside the egg and now that it was almost ready to hatch, Zim imagined the smeet was becoming more and more cramped. It wouldn't be long before its kicks become more intensified and it would try to break out of the shell.
After nearly a week and a half of work, Zim finished the new pak, according to the computer, two days before the smeet would hatch. He moved the pak from his working station down to the nesting lab immediately, placing right next to the bundle of blankets and assigning the monitoring computer orders to attach it when the time came. Once attached, the pak would increase the smeet's chances of survival nearly tenfold. Natural-borns, as rare as they might be, are almost never born off-world. But even on Irk, the time from when a natural-born hatches to the time it receives a pak, is the most dangerous. It is unlikely that such a smeet is born in a fully sterilized environment like the underground hatcheries, and it is therefore more susceptible to all manner of contagions. Zim had convinced himself that his base was completely safe and secure, and his smeet had nothing to worry about. Though the recent attempts the Dib-human was making to infiltrate slightly unnerved him. The quicker he could get the pak attached, the better.
Zim stood next to the egg and stared at it. Once the smeet had the pak, it would next need an information download. This was the part that Zim, for all his careful planning and preparations, had overlooked. His smeet needed the knowledge of Irk, of his race and of his homeworld, and Zim knew that was something he could not provide that for him. At least not in the same way Zim had received it. Zim wasn't exactly a super-computer or a control brain. His mind, in his body and in his pak, wouldn't be able to handle the process of downloading so much data at such a fast rate from his own memory banks. The only place for his smeet to get an adequate download was on Irk. And there arose another problem.
Zim had had his suspicions for a while now. He had suspected the Tallest were lying to him but he didn't want to believe it just yet. If he went and requested a temporary return to Irk, he feared what he might actually hear. In addition to that, if he returned to Irk with a smeet, it may just deteriorate his crumpling Invader status even more.
Invaders were the solitary, master scouts of the military. They were coveted as the elite lone rangers of the Irken race. They could survive anything and were entirely self sufficient. They needed no one. They never mated. The DNA of Invaders was only passed on when they had retired or had died. What would be said of him now that he had a child implanted with his DNA that was not a hatchery smeet?
Zim felt two pangs of fear: One for his status in society and the other for his smeet. What happens to an unintentional smeet of an Invader? The matter never had to be dealt with before.
But the smeet needed that download if it was to be of any use to him. The cost was just a little too much.
Slowly, Zim was coming to realize the justification for Tak's original intentions. She had foreseen the trouble she'd have to go through to get the child fully functioning as a standard Irken. She hadn't received Invader status and this smeet was just about a guarantee that she would never get the title. Maybe she was right. He had ruined her life again.
Maybe she was right.
Maybe he should get rid of it too.
The thought didn't sit right with him, but he considered its benefits. He wouldn't have to go to Irk and risk losing all that he had left in his life. The Tallest would never have to know that he had spawned a smeet and wouldn't think any less of him than they already did. On the other hand, he had spent so much time on building a pak and keeping it safe, plus it still had potential to be a valuable minion. Should he give it the chance to prove itself, just as he himself had tried so hard to do? Perhaps it would only fail continuously like he did.
Would it be mercy to end its life before it even began and spare it the ridicule and humiliation that was sure to come or would it be murder to kill one of his own kind at such a young and defenseless state?
Zim placed his palm gently on the egg's surface, just as he so often did. All it would take is a quick contraction in the muscles of his arm and the shell would crush within his hand. The death would be almost instantaneous.
His thoughts were racing. He knew it could be better if he ended it there and now, but a small shred of hope was still clinging to him. He held his arm still, taking in the teal sheen of the protective shell. It would be so much easier for him and his smeet if he destroyed it and moved on.
Easy. It would be easy.
It would be cowardly.
Just another challenge, as he used to say. In all of his life, Zim couldn't ever remember backing down from a challenge. And he sure as hell was no coward.
He relaxed his arm. He didn't feel it become so tense. With both hands, he gently turned the egg to circulate the warmth and then recovered it with the blankets. He was partly responsible for this smeet's existence. It was his creation, and the overly egotistical part of him still knew that it would amount to something great.
He would figure it out when the time came. He would plan a way to get what his smeet needed.
But right now, he needed something to do, if just to take his mind off things.
He made for another lab one level up and sat at a communication console. Out of everyone that ever lived or was living in the known universe, there was only one person he actually, genuinely enjoyed talking to just for the sake of conversation. He opened a private, secured channel to Irk. If he was lucky, his contact would currently be sitting around with nothing to do. Though Zim wondered if he would even answer, especially since it had been so long since he last contacted him. Zim hoped the young prince would be able to lighten his mood, which he usually did.
He waited patiently for his transmission to be accepted, but was considering hanging up. Maybe the prince was away at his studies or training and wasn't in his chamber in the palace. Just a moment before Zim made up his mind about ending the call, the computer beeped, indicating someone had received the signal. He waited for the channel to connect, and then smiled when he saw a pair of bright red eyes akin to Tallest Red's looking back at him. "Hello, Ruus."
The young Irken on the screen grinned wide, showing all his teeth, and just about squealed into the monitor. "Zim! It's you! Hi!"
To his relief, Zim could detect no visible anger at him for not calling. "I take it you're happy to see me."
"I was wondering when you'd call! I haven't heard from you in so long." His expression fell slightly. "I thought something might have happened to you."
"No, I'm fine," Zim said with a sad smile, which didn't escape Ruus. The boy frowned at the Invader, a bit of worry showing on his face. Zim continued. "I just wanted to call and talk to you for a bit. I've been rather stressed lately."
Ruus looked uneasy. "Were Daru and Sa-me…"
"No, it's nothing to do with your parents," Zim answered, knowing where Ruus was going. "No, things are just complicated right now out here on this mud ball of a planet. You know, usual Invader stuff." Zim shrugged his shoulders casually. He didn't want to get the boy too worried.
Ruus smiled onscreen. "Well, I hope you feel better soon. Especially so you can conquer that planet and come home. I still want to meet you in person."
Zim smiled. From the day they first met, they had only ever conversed over a computer monitor. He longed for the day he returned to Irk and could see the prince in person, though somehow he doubted the Tallest would even let him go near one of their precious heirs. But he wouldn't spoil it for Ruus now. The boy was lightening his mood, just as he had expected.
Most people believed there was not one person in the entire universe who would ever give a damn about his well being, but the prince had proved that wrong. Ruus was one person who cared whether Zim succeeded or failed. Though no one knew about it. He and Ruus kept it to themselves. There was a strange understanding between them that no one else could comprehend.
So when Ruus twitched his antenna nervously and glanced offscreen, Zim knew their conversation time was up. "Do you have to go?"
Ruus audibly sighed. "Yes. I have to get back to my lessons before my instructor has a fit and runs off to whine to my parents again."
Zim smirked. He heard Ruus was the most quiet out of the Tallest's three offspring, but the Invader knew he could clearly voice his mind when he wanted to. It was something that Zim admired in the little Irken.
"I better go," Ruus said sadly.
Zim nodded. "I'll try to contact you again some time." With that he lowered his head and antennae forward in a respectful bow. Ruus smiled and waved before cutting the transmission.
Zim stared at the black screen for a few moments. That had actually felt quite pleasant, talking to someone of his own kind who did not have it on their agenda to eventually rip his head off. It made him feel there was still hope for him. But he tried not to let thoughts like that pester his mind. He stood up and scowled, though there was nothing to really scowl at. He just wanted to make sure he always had that tough front with him. It was what saved his skin countless times.
If you want to see Ruus and the other princes, go to my profile page. There's a couple links there.
For those of you who are waiting patiently - I swear that egg will hatch in the next chapter!
Review please. :)