A/N: here is chapter four. I don't have much to say, so read on :)
...
An ominous planet loomed ahead as the Voot finally arrived at its destination.
Planet Judgementia: a world where Irken criminals, and less occasionally space clowns, are sentenced to determine their defectiveness... These types of trials were often a private affair, with only the Control Brains and the accused present.
Zim's had been a rare exception. It seemed that the entire population of Irk was present at his trial. Even the Tallest themselves made a special appearance.
Zim watched the other Irken ships approaching the planet. He shook his head. Tak was a well-known convict, and all of Irk anticipated her final punishment. But once she was determined defective, her entire history will be erased and forgotten from the Irken collective. That was if she were defective. If not, would she be set free?
"Wow, it's even bigger than it is in its picture..." Dib said in awe of the planet.
Zim and Skoodge regarded him as if he was an idiot, then shared a brief look.
"Yes, who would have thought..." Zim said. "I'm assuming you've learned some of the Irken language by now?"
"You bet I have!"
"All twenty characters?"
"Yes!"
"Written or spoken?"
Dib's red eyes widened. "Darn it!" he snapped. "I can only recite Irken as a written language. I've never heard it as a spoken language before. Most of Irk's broadcasts were in English, anyway."
"That's because Irk's spoken language is English, Dib. I was just messing with your head."
"Huh? W-why?!"
"You mean why our languages sound the same, or why I lied to you just now?"
"Both!"
"I think your disgruntled reaction speaks for itself. I could see it in your eyes; you felt scared and unprepared. Body language is the most powerful language of them all."
Dib folded his arms. "Fine. I guess I'm all right speaking English then."
"That you are." Zim glanced over at Skoodge next. He was frozen. "Skoodge? What's wrong now? You haven't uttered a single word since we entered hyperspace."
"I'm just nervous, that's all..." he said.
"Well, have you even thought of a plan yet?"
"No."
"Ugh, you fool! Don't come crying to me when you find yourself imprisoned at the command of the Tallest because you were too lazy to think up a convincing sob story! Not that it would work, anyhow."
Skoodge pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around himself. His eyes widened at the looming planet ahead.
"You're unbelievable..." Zim spat.
"Hey, leave him alone," Dib said. "Can't you see how nervous he is? I'm sure you'll think something up, Skoodge. Many studies on Earth have proven that a little behavioral therapy and counseling can clear away a mental illness. Though, if it's on a more permanent basis, there's always medication..."
"She's not permanent. She can be fixed..." Skoodge told him.
"Well, you have to prove that she can be."
"How?"
"I really don't know... I'm better with real demons, not personal ones."
Skoodge pressed his legs in tighter.
"Good advice, Dib," Zim said next. "At least mine was more productive."
"Well you were more supportive before, giving him the 'noogie of doom.' Man, if only I had my recorder for that."
"I said never to speak of that again!"
"Not to me you didn't. You could give your friend a little more support. I know you're only acting harsh towards him for my benefit, but just think of Skoodge's for once."
"I never knew you and Skoodge were so close..."
"We're not so bad, are we, Skoodge?" Dib placed his hand on Skoodge's shoulder. Skoodge yelped.
"Geez, sorry," Dib said.
"No, I should be the one to apologize. There was no need for my outburst."
Dib looked a little uncomfortable now. "Well everyone gets nervous from time to time."
They finally entered the planet's orbit, and soon the Pike of Judgement became visible upon the planet's surface. It was an imposing structure, creating a harrowing shadow across the landscape. Already, Irken spacecraft was loading into a docking bay nearby, so Zim flew the ship towards there.
Once the Voot was loaded into the docking bay, Zim, Dib and Skoodge walked to the Pike of Judgement. Zim had an idea to leave Dib behind in the Voot, but thought better of it in case he went missing and tried any 'funny business'. Besides, don't humans die in hot spacecraft?
A crowd of Irkens gathered near the entrance, and once inside the three were ushered into a balcony. It all happened so fast; Dib hardly had time to take it all in. Irkens were so much more organised than humans. No pushing and shoving, which was why it didn't take long for everyone to get inside.
He was just lucky no guards were performing x-rays of all the Irken citizens. They would have noticed his strange, alien skeletal structure.
Once seated, the boy gawped at the crowd of Irkens. So many glowing eyes floated in the darkness around him. Dib wondered if his disguise's Irken eyes glowed too.
However, the Irken masses were nothing in comparison to the three large Control Brains hovering above a high platform in the middle of the room, silent and waiting... They made the boy think of giant, menacing crabs.
"Hey, Zim," Dib whispered next.
"What?" Zim replied, looking around at the Irken crowd too. He seemed uncomfortable to be around his own species again. They seemed so hollow now.
"These Existence Evaluations... they're used to determine whether the Irken is defective or not, right?"
"Yes."
"And you were once put on trial? What was the ruling?"
"That I was the most incredible Irken to have ever lived," Zim told him, flat and emotionless.
"Come on, be serious now."
"No, seriously. The Control Brains confirmed it!"
"Sshh!" an Irken shushed in the balcony above. He must like things quiet.
"They even let me pilot the Massive for ten minutes..." Zim continued, smiling giddily.
"Neat. So, Tak... she could be defective too?"
"Yep."
"And?"
"And what?"
"How does it make you feel?" Dib asked.
"It doesn't make me feel anything, like a hollow, empty space of... hollowness!"
"Don't get me wrong, Tak was bad; she did try to destroy my home planet and nearly succeeded. Although I don't remember, Tak and I somehow teamed up and... yeah, I know, not here," Dib added after Zim's warning glare. "Just maybe there's..."
"There's what?"
"Forget it. Let's just watch a life slip away before our eyes, like it's nothing."
Zim knew what he was getting at, but he never said anything more about it. Dib was a human after all. For him not to feel anything about the end of a life would be inhuman. Irkens were too casual about it.
"What I don't understand..." Skoodge started to say, "is why they're holding Tenn's Evaluation here in the Pike. She's not a criminal, or defective. She was a revered soldier, a victim of war. Existence Evaluations should be for criminals only!"
"And don't forget those space clowns..." Zim said. "The Evaluation is just a formality in the end, Skoodge. It serves as a purpose to rid an Irken of their PAK for good. I'm sure they'll preserve her memories. Though I doubt hers will be a public execution. Something more respectable, like in a private sector. You're right. Irk shouldn't treat a dedicated soldier, no matter how insane she has become, with disrespect. She should go with honor."
"But the Pike of Judgement... It's just too harsh. Tenn is a good soldier; she shouldn't have to be judged at all."
"Well that's what the Evaluation is for, to observe her memories. With all her high scores and accomplishments, I'm sure the Brains will be very impressed."
"She has to be in this building somewhere..."
"Well what are you waiting here for, Skoodge? If I were you, I would be looking for this 'private sector' right now."
"I... I should!" Skoodge said, defiant.
"Then go, quickly, before the trial begins! Once they start in here, they won't let anyone back out!"
Skoodge stood up frantically, and vanished down the stairs to the right of the balcony.
"You go, Skoodge! Not another moment to lose!" Zim yelled.
"Sshh!" shushed the same Irken as before.
"Oh shush yourself!" he barked back.
Suddenly, floating monitors across the room lit up to reveal Tak's face. This was it.
A bound, blindfolded figure descended the platform next, flanked by guards. The crowd began to jeer. It was Tak.
Zim felt a sinking sensation in his spooch as he watched the small, silent figure.
The booing soon turned to cheering as two more figures teleported down from above and onto the platform. And there appeared the Almighty Tallest in front of the bound Irken. The Massive was exactly on schedule.
Another strange feeling lingered inside of Zim's gut as he observed his Almighty Tallest on stage. It was a while since he had been in the same room with them. He could not tell, but it almost seemed that they regarded the figure before them with disgust. He never knew an Irken could look so menacing.
To the balcony above him and to his left and right, he could hear more sounds of derision.
The Tallest were fashionably late for his trial, but here they were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to introduce this event. They must want this formality over and done with.
"Wow, is... is that the Tallest?" Dib asked next. "I can't believe I'm finally in the same room with both of Irk's rulers."
"Yes, they're quite the sight, aren't they?" Zim replied, and there was that hint of sarcasm to his tone. He didn't bother telling Dib he had been in a room with them before though.
"They're okay, I guess. Being tall isn't such a big deal on my... yeah, I know, I'm Irken. Tallness is a big deal..." Dib uttered after that pointed look from Zim. There were many eavesdroppers around; the boy should be more careful about what he says.
The crowd stopped as Tallest Red raised a two-fingered hand. "People of Irk! We have before us today a very special case."
"A special case indeed!" Purple chimed in. "Standing right here is one of the most despicable, unbelievable, and atrocious Irkens to have ever spawned in the history of Irk. Even worse than Zim!"
The crowd laughed and cheered. Dib looked at Zim with his brows raised. Zim didn't look too pleased, as it was meant to be a joke. At least Zim, in his twisted kind of way, was still loyal to the Empire. He was just so insane; he didn't realise he was causing so much havoc.
Tak was more careful and calculating. She knew very well what she was doing when she turned against her race and joined their enemies in battle.
"That's right. Tak, betrayer of Irk's, day of judgement has finally arrived. Now, let the trial begin!" Red shouted long and loud for all to hear.
All the cameras in the room converged on Tak as her blinders separated, a strange metal plating that covered her whole face. Once her face became visible, the crowd hissed in anger, but Tak's expression remained cold and stoic.
Zim watched her on the monitor, searching for any sign of fear, but he found none. The Irken was as cold as the unfeeling robot arm that gave him life, and it disturbed him. He saw nothing in her misty purple eyes, just a hollow emptiness. Her skin, however, was remarkably paler. The Irken looked tired but strong.
"Well, she's certainly looked better in the past..." Dib remarked.
"As a young skool girl with a horrible bob cut, steel-toed boots and tailed shirt?" Zim asked in that mocking tone. "When you come to think about it, Tak's human disguise bears an eerie resemblance to Johnny C. How did I not notice before?"
"No, I... Aw, forget it!" Dib sat back in his seat, folding his arms. Tak's old look was kind of cute, so what.
The lighting focused on Tak, making her the focal point of the room. Now the Control Brain's eyes shone a deep, crimson red as they hovered before the Irken.
Her arms remained bound as the guards stayed by her side. That was odd too. It wasn't until Zim made an escape during his trial with his 'inflatable Spork' that the guards stayed by his side.
Maybe they had taken extra precaution since Zim's trial to ensure it never happened again (it wasn't like Tak was going to use an inflatable Miyuki — Spork had already been done). Or maybe Tak was a special case, never to be trusted. Zim wondered if she had been allowed any kind of freedom since her capture.
The central Brain began to speak. "Irken Tak: prepare for replay. All your memories will be made known for all to see."
An array of monitors appeared above the Irken. Next, cables slithered from the monitors and locked onto Tak's PAK, lifting her off the ground. The screens turned to life to show images of Tak's past. Now all will know about the mystery Irken who appeared from nowhere to defy her race.
Zim almost noticed the anxious expression on her face, but it lasted only a moment. He had been rather proud during his trial to have all of his personal memories played before a crowd (but that was because he was also an idiot).
Ever since Tak came into his life, Zim had been rather curious about her. Apart from her fifty years on planet Dirt, he never knew that much about her.
As the images flashed by, it turned out that Tak the Betrayer had a pretty standard Irken upbringing. Smeet Tak was adorable, as they all were, but there was a certain charm about her at that time that no one in the room could deny, even the Tallest, who have imprisoned smeets in the past (they mustn't have been as cute as Tak was). Zim even heard a few "awws" and tuts in the balcony above and to the right. How could such a cutie turn out so evil?
Did Irkens even find their babies cute? Zim always thought that was solely a human trait (he mustn't have paid much attention when the whole crowd buttered up over little Timmy at his trial, before Timmy was sent to the dungeons that is).
She made no faults in her smeethood. Caused no blackouts, unlike Zim.
Images of her training on Devastis appeared on the screen next. More standard stuff; she always followed the rules, stuck to protocol as everything was going great for her. Until the day of the tests arrived to become one of the Irken Elite. That's where it all went wrong.
An image of Zim soon appeared eating a fun-dip amidst a pile of wreckage, while Tak yelled for help behind a porthole. No one came to her aid. Not even Zim.
Chatter started amongst the crowd. Not surprising that she would have some connection to Irk's other most hated Irken. Zim shrunk low in his seat. Let's hope they all don't throw the blame on him too, like Tak surely did.
"Wow, Zim, you were a real jerk. Didn't you hear her crying for help?" Dib asked.
"Quiet!" Zim snapped.
"Whatever... jerk."
Now images emerged of Planet Dirt, and the screen paused and replayed the scene of Tak leaving her janitorial position.
"You violated a direct order from a Control Brain and left your assigned post on Planet Dirt?" asked the central Brain.
"Very questionable," said the Brain on the right.
"What do you have to say in defence of this crime?" asked the first Brain again.
Tak looked up at the Brain that spoke, and pointed a steady hand at the Tallest.
"Why don't you ask them..." she hissed.
The crowd gasped. The Tallest looked very uncomfortable at that moment.
"Ask them why they didn't punish me then for leaving my post on Dirt, all in favour of delicious snacks?"
"The traitor lies. We know nothing of these delicious snacks..." Red confirmed.
"No, it is you who lies, my Tallest. I proposed to them my mission to pump out the magma of that disgusting rock, Earth, and refill it with snacks as an offering of gratitude. Instead of punishing me for my obvious lack of obedience, they pardoned me and gave me my freedom. As long as I succeeded on my mission."
"Yes, but you failed. Nice try, Tak! We didn't get your snacks in the end all because of Zim!" Purple yelled.
Red put a hand to his face, as his long, fine fingers spread out evenly. Purple covered his mouth. "Oops," he said.
Tak was smiling now. "As you see, I only speak the truth."
"This is an interesting revelation," the central Brain said. "Two leaders of Irk pardoned your disloyalty to your post in favor of these delicious snacks. What does this tell us?"
"That they are as guilty as me. So I ask to be pardoned for my crime."
Red sneered. "And which crime is that, Tak? Let's not forget all of the things you did after..."
"Like sabotaging our annual SIR competition, joining forces with the Resisty, and fighting against us in battle!" Purple counted with his fingers, using an extra finger from his other arm when he ran out. "Let's take a look at all of that then, shall we? Play the scenes!"
"As you command."
The central Brain obeyed, and more images flashed across the screen of Tak laughing insanely as she sabotaged the competition, joining forces with the Resisty and fighting alongside the Meekrob.
Dib's face appeared briefly on screen, and Zim heard the boy holding his breath. Zim assured him all would be all right if he kept his disguise on.
Zim fixed his gaze on Tak again, who was defiant as ever, and then he saw it on her left, a figure of an Irken like a shadow... It definitely wasn't cast from the room's lighting.
The figure moved its hands inside her I.D. PAK, as Tak trembled and clutched her side. Neither of the Brains nor the Tallest noticed.
"There, you see. I was right," Purple said proud. "Now, do we have a ruling?"
"Fighting alongside enemies in battle, sabotaging an annual event, and abandonment of post are serious offences against the Empire—"
"No..." Tak said.
"We beg your pardon?" the Brains asked all at once.
"I won't hear any of it, of how wrong I was."
"Well you have no choice in the matter, Irken Tak. It is up to us if—"
"I DON'T CARE WHO MAKES THE RULES! I planned to end all of that the day I fought against you all!"
"Really, you only have yourself to blame, Tak," Red said.
"Or maybe Zim?" Purple mocked, and they both laughed.
"Don't. Utter. His. Name..." she growled.
Purple gave her a furious look then. "You're not the only one here with a grudge against that sorry excuse of an Irken, Tak. Though you don't see us rebelling against the whole of the Empire, do you?"
"It's all just a part of her disruptive programming. Control Brains, determine her ruling," Red ordered.
"I'm not defective..."
"That's not for you to decide," Red replied, venomously.
"I demand another trial."
Red rolled his eyes now. "And to what avail? You can't wipe away your entire history, Tak. That's the Brains' job."
Tak glared at him hatefully, and then a green flash shot across her eyes. "You... you think you're so smart, just because you're tall. PATHETIC! I'm ashamed to even be considered a part of this race. You value something as irrelevant as height to determine your rulers. You're all doomed! Destined for misery, I can assure you, just as you have bestowed upon me! I won't rest, not even from BEYOND the grave until every single one of you are DEAD!"
"She's going insane!" Purple screamed.
Tak smirked at him. "I'm sure you would love that, my TALLEST! Rwahahaha!"
"Get this formality over with!" Red roared.
"By the blazing star of Sirus Minor..." Zim muttered next, turning pale as he watched the apparition seize control of Tak's PAK. "It's not Tak."
Dib was silent as his eyes were glued on Tak. He turned to Zim. "Wh-what? What do you mean?"
"Tak isn't saying all those things! It's something else."
"Who?"
Zim gave him a long, careful look, and he seemed to understand.
"Whoa, she's possessed... What does it look like?!"
"Irken."
Dib's face paled. "An Irken ghost..." he echoed.
"I have to stop this. I can't let this opportunity slip by. I... I never would have thought. A spirit, an Irken spirit..."
"What are you going to do?"
The guards grabbed a hold of Tak as she cackled insanely. The Control Brains hovered close.
"We have our ruling. Irken Tak—"
"Wait!" a voice yelled from the crowd.
A/N: sorry to end it on that little cliffhanger.
The Control Brains ruled out that Zim was the most incredible Irken to have ever lived, because the data from his PAK messed up their programming. And then he rode the Massive for ten minutes. He was still decreed defective. But will Tak be?
Irkens only have twenty characters in their alphabet, leaving out the last six, U, V, W, X, Y, Z! So what is Zim's name? 'IM!?"
Let's just assume that Irkens' spoken language sounds like English. I know people have postulated that the gibberish spoken between Zim and GIR in Mysterious Mysteries is the Irken tongue, but I think it's just supposed to be random gibberish. Human characters have used a similar gibberish too in the show. It's a theme throughout IZ.
I'm sorry if you or someone you know suffers a mental illness. Life is hard, just be there for them :)
Zim says in the episode for the trial "Existence Evaluation? But they're for criminals, and space clowns..." That's why there's two references to 'space clowns'. Of course, you can read a transcript for The Trial online, or find the Youtube video of the cast at InvaderCon II reading it out. Very funny.
The Trial served as inspiration for this chapter, and it's written very similar. The Control Brains' first bit of dialogue here is the same from the script, I've just changed Zim's name for Tak's.
You can look up concept art for The Trial on Zim wiki, or just type "Invader Zim concept art — The Trial" in Google images. I'm sure something will come up. You'll see what the Control Brains look like, and the metal plates covering Zim's face (I think they just hover before his face). Tak had on a pair here too. Hopefully a different pair.
When you think about it, The Tallest are giving everyone rude gestures when they hold up their hands, since they only have two fingers (and lack the thumb). I guess that goes for all Irkens. Let's all pretend it's for Nick for canceling the show (how naughty!)