Chapter Eight- Human Kindness

Tak looked at her eggs inside the incubator. They had a healthy glow, unlike their mother at the present moment. She had bags underneath her eyes and her skin had grown pale. Her eyes lacked their usual luster and spark, but her smile still stayed on. For some reason, she had grown attached to her eggs since the birth, despite the fact that normal Irkens have their parental instincts severed from the moment they are born.

She placed a gentle hand on the plastic dome that protected the eggs, keeping her robe closed with the other. Regardless of Purple's command to stay in bed, she was up and about. Most new mothers would stay in bed for days, but Tak, of course, was stubborn. The birth had only taken place the day before and all she had under her belt was one night's rest.

She gave one last weary glance at her children and exited the medical ward. She smelled her robe and thought it was a good idea to bathe. Besides, her protective coating against Earth's moistures had pretty much worn off, and she needed to spray herself down as soon as possible.

On her way to her room, she neared the door to her prisoners' chamber. She hadn't seen them ever since the rape and she almost felt like taking a peek to see if they were still alive after all that drama. She stood in front of the door, asking herself what was the better choice. But her curiosity egged her on, and she reached up to the scanner and placed her hand on it.

The door whooshed open and she stepped inside.

Zim was unconscious, dangling from his wrists like a dead body in a dungeon. Tak looked at him worriedly and quickly reached up to the controls on the wall. She pressed a button on the panel which roughly dropped Zim to the floor. He landed with a loud thud, but still did not awaken. He now had enough slack to rest his arms, but not enough for him to try and escape. He was looking malnourished, though. His skin was paler than hers and his eyelids twitched slightly as he lay unconscious.

Tak looked at him with a furrowed brow, starting to feel even worse for what she did to the both of them. She knew she could just claim it all as a dangerous side effect of her pregnancy, but that seemed like a copout to her. Tak always took responsibility for her own actions, which meant sooner or later, she would have to tell Purple what happened. But she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

Tak thought for a moment, wondering if saving Zim at this point really mattered. She was going to kill him anyways, along with the Dib human. Or at least, they could be her slaves after she had control over the planet. She sighed heavily and pushed another button on the control panel. A robotic arm came down from the ceiling and handed her a syringe filled with a clear liquid. She walked over to Zim's limp body, tapping the needle to get the air bubbles out. She bent down, lifted up his invader shirt, and injected him in the hip. Almost instantly, his skin went from a light jade to a healthy green. He stirred a little in his unconscious state as Tak returned the now empty needle to the robotic arm that brought it to her.

"Who knew you actually had some compassion somewhere in there," said a weak voice.

Tak turned towards the voice. Dib had seen the whole ordeal. He looked worse than Zim, his naked body shivering from hunger and thirst. Not to mention, it was cold, and he had no covering.

Tak just looked at him.

"You look as bad as we do. I suppose giving birth can do that to a person," Dib said, breaking the momentary silence.

Tak said nothing, but she pushed another button on the control panel, and once again, a needle was given to her.

Dib watched her walk closer with the syringe. At this point, he wasn't afraid of anything more she planned on doing to him. He knew that by the end of this, he would die or live the rest of his days in slavery. So a needle did not seem so bad. Although, he did wince when she stuck it into his hip.

"I don't suppose you are going to apologize for the other day," he said, watching her squeeze the liquid into him.

Tak did not answer. She just continued her task of injecting him with some nutrients.

"We all have flaws. And we all surrender to them now and then, because sometimes… it's just easier. Not always having to hold ourselves to a certain standard… cutting loose and letting our emotions take the steering wheel. I can tell you're not a bad person… or alien, Tak. You just have your own problems. I understand," he said, as she took the needle out of him.

Tak looked up at him, gazing into his eyes. What he was saying tore at her inside, but she refused to let it show. After a moment, her gaze turned to a small glare, showing her apparent disapproval of his unmerited compassion for her. She walked behind him so he couldn't see her.

Dib sighed. He noticed he was no longer hungry and his thirst was quenched. But he was still tired, and he could feel his eyes grow heavy. Suddenly, he felt a blanket being tossed over him, and he felt the warmth fill his heart with a small amount of hope. He watched Tak head for the door. Her stride was not as confident or heavy. Maybe what he said really had affected her.

"I forgive you, Tak," he said sincerely.

Tak stopped at the doorframe and turned back to look at him. "You perplex me, Dib human. Your whole race does."

And with that, she left, once again leaving her prisoners alone. Dib watched the door sadly, hoping that what he said had registered. After hearing her heartbreaking cries of pain and distress in the night, he began to realize that she was not just some monster. Before the rape, barely anything got her temper going. In fact, a half hour before the attack, she had tolerated Zim calling her fat and pregnant, letting it roll off her shoulder as if it was nothing. So he knew something was amiss when her disposition suddenly changed so drastically.

"It was her pregnancy," Dib said to himself. And what she just did for him and Zim was proof that she was not heartless.

He shook his head exasperatedly. "And we thought our pregnancies were bad…"

Tak stood at the edge of her bed, staring at the mess that had been made during the birth. The sheets were still stained with afterbirth and the mattress looked like someone had slashed it with a sword over and over again. She looked at her claws, amazed at her own destructive capabilities. But that only made her think of what she did to Dib and she scowled at herself.

"TAK!!! INTRUDER ALERT," screamed the computer, sirens going off all over the place.

"What?! Nothing could get past the gnomes," Tak shouted up at the computer.

Suddenly, she felt the floor shake beneath her. The tremors were so violent that she lost her balance and fell to one knee, keeping her center by putting one hand on the floor. She extended her microphone from her pak and grabbed it roughly.

"MIMI! Protect the eggs!! Go to the medical ward and protect the eggs!!"

"Yes ma'am," Mimi said.

Tak retracted the microphone and extended her vicious spider arms, heading for the door. Just as it was about to open, something slammed against it from the other side, sending Tak flying across the room. She hit the wall roughly, knocking over the case to her new battle suit, the Bounty Hunter 6000. It opened as it hit the floor, throwing the suit out.

Tak saw it and grabbed it frantically. Whatever this intruder was, it was a force to be reckoned with. She could still feel the tremors of it walking around in her base, as well as hear the destruction it was causing. She zipped up her battle suit quickly and once again walked towards the door on her spider legs. She pushed its remains aside and carefully glanced down the hallway. There was no sign of the intruder, but its wave of demolition was evident. With giant holes blown in the steel walls, mechanical arms detached from the ceiling, and debris everywhere, Tak needed to be extremely careful. She just hoped that she could take on whatever it was, especially in her current state. She wasn't exactly ready to run a marathon, much less fight a monster.

Tak made her way down the hallway quietly, listening for the trespasser and scanning the darkness with her wicked violet eyes. She pressed a button on her suit, activating a gun on her wrist. She pointed it out in front of her, prepared for anything. The trail of debris was starting to worry her, for it was leading her closer and closer to the medical ward. She just prayed that Mimi was still there, protecting the eggs with her life.

She neared the medical ward's door. It had been pulled open roughly and thrown across the hall. The sight made her sick. She pressed her back up against the wall, her squeedilyspooch turning in anxiety.

"Not the eggs… not the eggs… anything but the eggs," she said to herself, her breath shuddering as it left her. She bit her bottom lip nervously and prepared her gun. With one swift motion, she turned herself and entered the room, pointing the gun in the direction of the incubator. And what she saw made her want to kill herself.

"You…"

Do me a favor. Please don't send me reviews trying to guess what/who you think the intruder is. It's kind of annoying when you have to tell everyone "No, it's not that," even if they guess it right. I'm sure you understand. Thanks in advance!