Chapter Nine- A Deal with the Devil
Tak's arm shook wildly as she pointed the gun towards the intruder. Any wrong move would cost the lives of her children.
The intruder had a pair of large scissors, the incubator's main power cord sitting in between the blades.
Tak quickly glanced to her right, seeing three empty soda cans and their contents spilled all over the floor. And smashed up against the wall, damaged and emitting sparks, was Mimi. Obviously, she had fought till the end, remaining loyal to her mistress. Tak made a quick note of Mimi's condition but turned her attention back to the intruder.
"Put down the scissors," Tak said, still holding up the gun.
The intruder squinted its eyes and squeezed the handle slightly, almost breaking the rubber coating of the cord.
"No," Tak interjected, watching the blades carefully. "What do you want," she asked forcefully.
The intruder stood up straight, its eyes evil and unforgiving. "I want my brother back," it hissed, "And you have to leave."
Tak growled a little. "In your dreams, Gaz-human," she said, steadying the gun.
"Have it your way," she said, getting ready to cut the cord.
"Wait," Tak said, holding out her hand and taking a step forward. "Maybe we can come to an agreement."
Gaz glared at her for a moment, eerily standing in silence. She almost did not seem human but more like a monster. Her face was half in shadow except for when the damaged lights would flicker like lightning in the background.
"I'm listening," she finally said.
Tak thought for a moment about what she could say to appease the insane human female. "Alright," she said, still thinking, "How about… you drop the scissors, and I'll let your brother go."
"No," Gaz hissed irately, "You let my brother and Zim go. And maybe I'll consider not cutting this cord."
Tak growled softly. "You are making this a lot harder than it has to be, human," she spat.
"Fine. New stakes," Gaz stated in annoyance, "You now have to let my brother and Zim go and leave earth forever."
"No," Tak growled, still pointing her gun at Gaz, "I've come too far to let you ruin everything."
"But is it really worth the lives of you sicky eggs," Gaz hissed.
Tak winced inwardly at the statement. She paused, thinking back and forth between her two options. Despite the fact that she was to have no connection with her eggs, for some reason they seemed like the most important item in the bargain. And the queasy thought of telling Purple their children were lost to a sick human was something she couldn't even begin to imagine.
"I'm waiting," Gaz stated impatiently.
Tak glared at her angrily. "If I leave, they will wonder why I didn't finish the mission. They will send more to replace me."
Gaz squinted. "Then tell them you blew up the planet," she snarled.
"If that's the case, I'll need spoils of war," Tak stated.
Gaz's lip curled up in a growl. She found herself caught in an uncomfortable circumstance. "What do you want?"
"The planet's water and nuclear supplies," Tak bargained, her arm growing pained from holding up the gun on her wrist.
"No," Gaz immediately snapped, "We need the water. I could live with you taking our troublesome nuclear weapons, but how do I know you won't use them against us when you leave?"
"You'll have my word," Tak said with a slight, evil smile.
"The word of an alien is worthless," Gaz retorted, "I want the Irken Skin Graft Contract."
Tak gasped. "How do you know about that," she growled infuriated.
"Contrary to popular belief, I actually listen when my brother babbles on about Zim," Gaz stated.
Tak's upper lip quivered in anger and hate. The Irken Skin Graft Contract was the most final and binding contract in all of Irk. Basically, the two people fuse the skin on their right palms together for a moment and receive a bit of the other's life force. Should one of them break the contract, both will die. There was no way out of it.
"Take it… or leave it," Gaz hissed, taunting Tak with the scissors.
Tak let out a frustrated growl. "Fine," she hissed loudly, scowling inwardly at herself. The burning feeling of defeat sizzled in her brain, hating herself for giving in. But there was a silver lining to this dark cloud. At least she could get off this God forsaken planet and finally go back to sort out whatever kind of a relationship she had with the Tallest Purple.
"Say the chant," Gaz commanded, "I'm not Irken so I can't."
"I know how this works," Tak growled indignantly.
Tak stepped closer to the Gaz-human, enough to reach out and join hands with her. She lowered her gun and closed her eyes.
"Lend me your hand," Tak said softly.
Gaz reached out her right hand, still holding the scissors against the incubator cord with the other.
Tak breathed in and out slowly, her eyes still clenched shut. "Ahmus dey coutalk esh lampt if qual tolow," Tak chanted. Her voice began to sound metallic and echoing, the kind of alien voice one would hear in a horror movie. Suddenly, a black haze began growing around her and she raised her eyes to the heavens.
"Wif ampt tuog kfish dutp ta," she cried, suddenly grasping Gaz's hand in her own.
Both girls screamed loudly as their skin fused together. The pain was so intense, Gaz let go of the scissors and dropped to her knees, quickly followed by Tak. The girls held on for a long as they could, the burn of the graft becoming unbearable. But soon the pain was over and they let go of the other's hand. The black haze disappeared, leaving the two girls panting on the floor, holding their sore hands against their bodies.
Gaz looked down at her palm. There was now a patch of skin that was lightly tinted green. The same had happened to Tak, only her scar was whitish. Gaz stared at her hand and then glared over at Tak.
"Is this permanent," she asked, holding up her hand.
Without looking, Tak knew what she was asking about. "Yes… it is a constant reminder of your side of the bargain," she said, standing up wearily.
Gaz stood up as well, brushing herself off and straightening her shirt. She saw the scissors on the floor but lightly kicked them away.
Tak snuffed a bit, defeated and unhappy, but relieved that it was all over. Her eggs were safe and she could finally return home to Purple. But this whole matter would be a secret between her and the Gaz-human. The Tallest would be told that the planet's leaders would not cooperate, and therefore the only option left was to annihilate them all, harvesting what was most useful to the Irken Armada and leaving the planet for good. It was not an uncommon practice amongst the Invaders, but it was only meant to be a last resort. But Tak was a clever girl and could find her way out of any unpleasant situation. This would be a piece of cake with her vastly superior intellect. So all in all, everyone got what they wanted.
Well… maybe except for Zim.
Begin rant here... You know what I hate more than anything about the Invader Zim fandom? People have these mindsets that their interpretation of the show is law and no one else can have their own opinions. So therefore, I have to take a huge amount of page space just to explain my side of the story, only to have someone say "Well that's not right..." and continue on to tell me that I'm full of (insert ugly language here). Just so you know, I'm not listening to those of you who only write reviews to tell me my interpretation sucks. End rant here...