(A/N: WHOO! Hey, guys, I'm back! You know, maybe I should stop calling it hiatus when really, I just keep taking longer with each chapter. But, whatever floats your boat...
Which is the real expression, by the way, not "whatever tickles your peach". I just got that from a bad sitcom I was watching.
But onto it, anyway!)
It didn't take long for Dib to try and escape, but as you probably guessed, he was unsuccessful. Computer simply deployed a power bubble, which formed around the boy, which didn't give him much elbow room. He struggled against the glowing pink surface.
"Zim! You can't just keep me in here! I'll suffocate!"
The alien he spoke of stepped over to the bubble, still smirking.
"Oh, suffocation isn't the worst of what's going to happen to you."
XXXXXXXSOONXXXXXXX
"Get in there!" Zim kicked the sphere into a dark closet. (A/N: See? I told you he kicks stuff a lot.) It was similar to the room where he found Pustulio's outfit.
"Pain!" Dib cried as the bubble forcefully hit the wall.
Zim followed him in, holding a remote in his hands. Tak appeared in the doorway to watch intently.
"Wh-What are you going to do to me?"
"Hmm..." Zim hummed, not paying attention. He turned a dial on the remote."I'll give you twenty-four full hours. Torture is most effective done slowly, after all."
"Wha? Ah!" Dib recoiled from the surface of the bubble when he felt it shift."Are you...closing this thing in on me?!"
"That's right, Dib! This is the last time you cross me! Now, your enormous head will be crushed little by little! A fitting death for you, don't you think?"
"No! No, I don't!" Dib protested as he attempted to push the bubble back out."And my head is NOT BIG!"
"Doesn't matter! You've lived long enough!"
"I'm, like, eleven!"
"Look, I have more pressing matters to attend to now," Zim told him."Besides, being dead can't be THAT bad, can it? It'll be like caressing a giant teddy bear made entirely of bones."
"Do you just...live in your own little world?!"
"Yes," Zim's smile faded."But, unfortunately, I'm forced to share it with YOU. Not for much longer, though!"
Dib became desperate when Zim turned around and started to close the door.
"Tak!" he called out."Come on, you've gotta help me!"
But Tak ignored him and Dib was left there in the dark; the only light came from the dim glow on the weakening bubble surrounding him. He began to hyperventilate.
HOWEVER! Dib had been smart enough to bring his laptop with him! Huzzah! So, he immediately pulled it out and called anybody in the Swollen Eyeball Network for help, praying for a signal.
"Mothman?"
"Agent Tunaghost! Save me! Zim trapped me in a bubble and left me in a closet to die, and in twenty-four hours I'm gonna be crushed, and Tak wouldn't let me out, and I really want a ham sandwiiich! Come help me!"
"Uh, alright. I'll hail the infiltration team at once. Just sit tight."
"Thank you, Agent Tunaghost! Please hurry!" Dib began to close the laptop.
She nodded and then looked offscreen.
"HEY! One of you, start making a ham sandwich! NOW!"
Yeahhh, Dib would be alright.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tak was trailing behind Zim through the lab. They were making sure to arm the base as much as was possible and prepare for the worst. They didn't know anything about the Swollen Eyeballs, but that was no reason to underestimate them.
They were nearly finished...
"You aren't really going to kill Dib off, are you?"
Zim froze momentarily."What do you care?"
"Just answer the question," Tak pressed on. Even if she didn't particularly "like" Dib, he was the most sane and intelligent person she had ever met, which was saying something. Plus, she still had plans for him later.
"Maybe, maybe not," Zim shrugged and quickened his pace."It doesn't really matter. Like I said, it's most important that I fend off these 'Swollen Eyeballs' first. From what I know, the Dib-rat will live one way or another. He always does," he sighed."Luckily, I've detained him now."
Tak thought that over. So, Dib would probably be okay? Alright, then...
"What time is it?"
Of course, there just so happened to be a clock on the wall nearby, which Zim checked.
"Hm. 11:59 PM. But we have nothing to worry about!" He waved his arm in nonchalance."The attack won't start until, at earliest, midnight!"
TICK!
"It's midnight," said Tak.
Suddenly, the roof above them began to shake and quake, like a...like a...sumo wrestler on a treadmill.
And then...it caved in.
"...BALLS!" Zim exclaimed before he narrowly avoided getting crushed with debris.
"AHHH!" Tak screamed, looking up at the humongous pipe heading for her. She tried to avoid it, but Zim did that for her by tackling her out of harm's way. (A/N: Yay!)
Unfortunately, all the random falling stuff was forcing them back up the hall in the direction they came.
"What's happening?!" shouted Zim, still on top of Tak."Why is everything falling?! MY BASE!"
"SHHHUT!" Tak covered his mouth to silence him. It didn't work.
"Hey! Be grateful, I saved your life!"
"Okay! I'm saved! Thanks a ton! You can get off me now!"
The two finally got off of the floor and looked up above at the broken roof. There didn't appear to anyone up there, but someone had to have caused that sudden destruction...
"This doesn't make any sense, they couldn't be here already! I put all the main defenses up!" Tak said in disbelief.
"Oh, about that..." Zim's eyes darted about nervously.
Tak facepalmed."...WHAT?"
"The only main defenses...are the gnomes and the roboparents," Zim struggled to say.
"Are you serious?! YOU- -"
"Now is not the time to point fingers! We have to get to the control room! All of the emergency doom defenses can be activated from there!" Just like he used to do, Zim grabbed Tak by the wrist and started running. At least this time she could keep up with him.
As they ran, the rumbling from the house only got worse, and even the lights began flickering. Eventually, though, they reached the elevator.
"Where are the buttons?!" Tak felt at the bare wall.
"There aren't any," said Zim, facing the ceiling."Computer! Take us to the base's control room!"
"Certainl- -" Computer suddenly cried out in pain."ARGH! My body! BEING! VIOLATED!"
Zim and Tak screamed when the elevator suddenly plummeted down the shaft. As they fell, it only got darker and colder. Hitting the ground was NOT pleasant, but thankfully, that was where the control room was.
"Oh, good..." Zim cracked his spine back into place."We made it!"
He and Tak made their way over to the control panel, where Zim began mashing all the buttons.
"All defenses on! This is not a drill! GYAHHHHH!"
"There's a virus in the system!" Tak pointed out. One of the screens was flashing with a large blue Swollen Eyeball insignia.
"Rrr! They've hacked into the mainframe!" Zim could hear the sound of lasers blasting and Computer coughing from above. The only light was coming from the open elevator. He reached into his PAK.
"Now! To consult the plans I drew up!"
"Good idea! What does it say we should do?"
Zim looked at the plans he'd been working on for the past couple of hours...but it was only a drawing of himself. Quite artistic, might I add. He crumpled up the sheet and tossed it aside.
"No! That's not going to work! AH!"
The two Irkens squeaked when sparks flew from the elevator. They scampered across the room and hid behind the control panels.
Tak knelt down."Oh no! Our SIR units! What if they've gotten them?!"
"I don't know!"
Another explosion rattled the base.
"What do we do now?!"
"I don't know! I DON'T KNOW!" Zim held his head in frustration. Were there...tears in his eyes? He fell to his knees and hung his head. The noise from the elevator shaft was getting louder...
Was Zim...giving up? Well, what else could he do?
But the sight of Zim just kneeling in front of her in defeat...it hurt Tak. She didn't want him to feel like this...
Before she knew it, she had him in a hug. She tightly shut her eyes and tried not to let Zim go. Though, after she'd hugged him long enough, her hands remained on his shoulders.
"I...It'll be okay," Tak tried to cheer him up. She wasn't used to this stuff."Whatever happens, we'll have each other, right, Zim?"
Zim wiped the tears from his eyes."Uh, right. Yeah. Tak? May I ask a favor before we get captured?"
Tak couldn't help but smile at his acceptance."Sure. What is it?"
"Can I put my mouth on your mouth?"
"Uh, what?!" Tak flinched."You mean, like...a kiss?!"
"Yes."
"You...want to kiss me?!"
"Can I, or NOT?" Zim asked impatiently.
"Um..." Tak looked around in thought and a blush formed across her face. Well, it was now or never...
"Uh...go ahead."
And Zim kissed her. It was such a strange feeling, a first kiss for both of them. (A/N: Not that I would know. *FOREVER SINGLE*)
Then a second sweet kiss. And before Tak could say anything, a third one. It was so overwhelming...!
"...ZIM! I have to BREATHE!" the female Irken exclaimed, keeping Zim at distance with her arms.
"What? Too abrasive?"
Tak didn't get to answer, because the Swollen Eyeball agents had found the control room. She and Zim gasped, watching them come pouring out of elevator shaft. In an instant, they were surrounded.
Agent Tunaghost stepped up, holding a sandwich in her fist.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't just the invaders we were looking for. Agent Crow's Feet, detain the aliens!"
(A/N: Oh, holy cow! Zim and Tak kissed! But now they're in trouble! How will they get out of this one? Will Dib be rescued in time? Yes. What happened to GIR, MiMi, Minimoose and Skoodge? Who is up against the Swollen Eyeballs? When will Chapter 28 be?!
Find out next time!
Hey, it would have been nice to update yesterday, but my mother had me shoveling snow all day, and I didn't feel well. So, happy belated Valentine's Day!
Thanks for all the views and such on the story, so glad you all like it, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Please review, fave and follow, inform me of any mistakes, and I shall see you next time! Au revoir!)