A/N: Sorry for the obscenely late update. But I was very busy with a lot of things and I just couldn't make enough time. Thank you all for the reviews.
However, I find it sort of degrading that stories that look like they've been typed on an iphone have more reviews, favs and follows than most of the really good ones. *Cough* *Cough* Mine included... heheh...
I can name a few other stories that are quite good and do not have a lot of attention.
Anyway, enough about me... LETS GET ON WITH THIS STORY!
As the war continues to be waged on Foodcourtia, reinforcements are sent to silence any resistance and Zim and his crew and their Charghan allies will find themselves inside a very tight situation.
Chapter 6: War of Foodcourtia Act 2
As the three aircrafts came closer inside of the hangar, Zim suddenly felt his ship move on its own accord. He looked about and found that his ship was consumed in a white vapor. He watched as his ship was placed on a landing pad by the enigmatic force. The two Charghan aircraft that were escorting him zoomed back outside and immediately engaged an Irken Spittle Runner carrying a megadoomer that thought it could get lucky by entering the ship. When his ship was placed on the landing pad he opened the back of his ship and the rest walked out sans Zim and Computer who stayed back.
Zim walked towards her; stopping when he was just two paces away. "Computer... thanks for saving my life..." He looked at her gratefully. She nodded at him but remained silent with an intense stare and a tiny frown. "I... I did not want to go back to him... for that, I'm really thankful." Zim took on a distant look as his eyes turned gray, all those customers who ridiculed him... the foul stenches... cleaning the toilets filled with various unidentified materials, sludges and even tentacles... Computer's expression turned into an understanding and sympathetic expression as she recalled what the Irken Empire had set in place for Zim. Continuous work without pay or leave as punishment? She would say that that was worse than what she endured on Earth. Zim stuck out one of his hands as his eyes returned to the grayish-red that they usually seemed to be. Computer slowly looked down at it. "I know that back on Earth we've had our differences. I should've treated you better and with more respect."
"Let's take this opportunity to, put aside our differences and let - as humans say - bygones be bygones. That is, if you're willing?" Zim asked delicately. Computer closed the distance and urged him along softly to a chair. When Zim sat down, she sat on a chair across from him.
"I am willing, but first you have to promise me this: That you will listen to my ideas more often and that you will actually consider them." She pointed at him with a stern glance.
"Okay." Zim nodded. Computer stuck her hand out and Zim took it and they shook their hands together firmly. They joined the others outside the ship. The others gave them curious glances as they no longer saw tension between the two. In fact, they walked together closely as one would with an ally. A Charghan wielding a fair-sized assault rifle called them while walking over to them.
"Hey! You the group Hakhaj sent up?" He asked.
"Yes." Zim replied.
"Well, things aren't looking too good. They're sending us everything they got and we've lost a battalion to airstrikes from one of their ships. We're gonna have to stay here a bit longer to evacuate everyone." The armor on the Charghan's torso shifted and he pulled out a small gray stone. The stone suddenly brightened and an image showed up of the intense firefight below. The image was moving around as if it from someone's perspective. The screen showed gray and strong hands gripping a cannon and aiming at a balcony of Irkens firing down at rebelling civilians. The cannon made a loud sound and pushed the person operating it back a few steps. A white projectile exited it and hit a section of a building causing Irken bodies to fall out or get blown to bits. "Hakhaj, I have Zim with me." The person identified as the female Charghan turned to look up at the large behemoth. She ducked down when a plasma shot hit her shields by her shoulder armor.
'Zim, I'm sorry that we cannot get you out of here in time.' Hakhajka's voice rang out. She popped out of cover and mowed down several Irkens with her large blasts of her heavy-looking pistol. She pressed a button on it and fired a heavy round into an Irken's kneecap; completely shattering it. The irken doubled over in pain whilst gripping the stump where his leg used to be. She silenced him with a second shot to his head, causing it to turn into mush.
Hakhajka moved up her pistol to cover the Jetpacking Charghan from surrounding hostiles. She switched her pistol to its automatic setting and blitzed a group Irkens aiming to shoot the Charghan out of the sky. She was paused as she heard heavy footsteps and loud discharges of plasma being flung. Red beams zoomed across her vision, nearly taking her head off. She looked to her right to find a charging Megadoomer. 'Augmentations, make this work...' She mumbled to herself as she ran towards the giant machine and slid under it. It attempted to stomp her but her back armor suddenly opened up and twin plumes of white vapor came out as she zoomed away from where she was about to stomped.
She climbed up its legs and reached its top. One of the Irkens mounting the side turrets noticed her presence as his antennae curled. He quickly looked up at her and pulled out a Plasma SMG. As the Irken tried to fire the weapon, she grabbed the weapon and turned it upwards causing the plasma to discharge towards the sky. As the Irken continuously fired the weapon, she wrestled it out of his grip and smacked the weapon across his face. The Irken gunner grew dazed as his head was knocked back. Hakhajka took the opportunity to punch the Irken's jugular; crushing it and making the Irken vomit his own blood violently. He slumped to the side; lifeless.
She turned to take out the other gunner and the operator but was met with a foot to her stomach. She was knocked backwards and fell off the Megadoomer. The jetpacking Charghan from before dashed straight on top of the Megadoomer and slammed down on it. The Hammer clobbered the whole cockpit as a mini explosion occurred. The Megadoomer teetered onto its side with the last gunner flailing and screaming in terror as he fell off the war machine. The Charghan dashed backwards as the Megadoomer fell on the Irken gunner and exploded violently.
The Charghan landed and nodder at her. Suddenly, a swarm of Irkens ambushed and rushed him together. He swung his hammer around, causing the hammer to repeatedly make mini explosions of white vapor as it struck and broke through flesh and bone. An Irken managed to climbed onto his back and was carving into the Charghan's back; piercing the Charghan's poorly protected back. The Charghan screamed in bloody murder as he tried to shake and grab the Irken off. The Irken pulled out a grenade and slammed it into the Charghan's open wound. The Charghan roared and grabbed the Irken and tore the Irken apart.
The Charghan's back exploded violently; causing the Charghan's jetpack to explode as well causing the Charghan's body to fly apart in many directions. The Irkens were getting more physical and were using unconventional warfare. 'Casualties are extremely high... We'll have to get outside help from a Main Assault Force to speed up planetary evacuation of civilians. That will take a lot of time. ' The anguish in her voice was great as she watched another of her brethren get torn apart.
The stone was turned off.
Gaz came forward. "Well I don't want to stay here the whole time being bored... I want to help." She offered. Dib's eyes widened in surprise.
"Gaz, you shouldn't! Down there is chaos!"
"I know. But I'm the one who works as the military contractor back on Earth with her own company." Gaz retorted and looked back at the Charghan. "Give me a weapon." She commanded and the Charghan nodded and gestured for them to follow. Dib sighed and followed as well... worried if they will get out of this alive with their bodies and their minds fully intact. When they reached the armory which was a whole building inside the ship, they got a good look at the weapons on display. A lot of the people milling about in the armory building were civilians who volunteered to fight the Irkens.
The Charghan stopped by the doorway and gestured all over. "Here, have a look at all the weapons. Speak to the Armory Master if you have any concerns or if you want to be fitted with some basic armor; power armor is reserved for those who want to join our Egalitarium." The Charghan left the building. Gaz walked around to examine the weapons. A solemn yet familiar glint was in her eyes. Scrutinizing each weapon for what use they could serve. Dib was looking at her with a worried stare.
Zim came up beside Gaz. "What do you see?" Zim asked. Gaz looked at him and gestured at a small looking pistol.
"That one looks compact, yet it might be small for a reason. Maybe its an automatic? High velocity rounds? Stealth purposes for soft targets?" She picked it up but found that it was sort of... heavy... "Judging by its weight, it must be something else entirely." She placed it back down and moved over to a pretty normal sized Short-Rifle.
"This will do." She picked up the Short-Rifle. Zim picked up an Assault Rifle. Gaz looked at her brother expectantly.
"If you want me to pick up one then I won't." Dib said to Gaz.
"Well, if you don't wish to be useful down there then you could always wait up here while I'm down there." Gaz retorted. They stared at eachother silently for a moment before Dib sighed and picked up a random weapon but didn't pay attention to its size as it slid across and fell down heavily to the floor. He yelped at the noise causing Gaz to laugh at his antics.
A Charghan came over and regarded Dib silently for a moment. He bent down and picked up the Cannon and placed the large weapon back on the table, all the while staring at him. "Treat my babies with respect. If you can barely move them, don't try to carry them." The Charghan warned him in a deep guttural voice. This one was standing at about ten feet and was pretty lean compared to other Charghan males.
"Are you the Armory Master?" Gaz asked him.
"Yeah, what do you need?" The Armory Master looked down at her.
"I need armor and ammo." She replied.
"Okay. We'll do ammo first." The Charghan pulled out a... piece of paper..? Specifically, it was a notepad. He turned his head to stairs. "JAAAAAAHHHLLLK!" The Charghan bellowed, his voice shook the whole building and he gained a lot of attention.
A short and slim female Charghan standing at six feet rushed downstairs and stood at attention in front of the larger Charghan that dwarfed her. The Charghan was carrying two large gray cans across their back and had on a bandolier with ammo on it. It didn't seem to be a bother for her at all. "Yes, father?"
"We got volunteers." The Armory Master ripped out a note and took out a long black stony stick. He looked at Gaz. "What ammo type do you want? Kinetic or Char."
Gaz was too distracted by the ringing in her ears and the antics that just went on in front of her. She ignored it and refocused her eyes on the waiting Charghan. "What does Char do?"
The Charghan snorted softly and folded his arms. "It kill things." Gaz rolled her eyes and gave an impatient grunt.
"I mean, what separates it from Kinetic or energy-based munitions?" Gaz asked with a reserved tone; angered by the Charghan's attitude.
"Right. Its good enough as ammunition, it acts like plasma as it melts and burns armor and flesh well enough. Though, it can do what a normal projectile does - basically, they can bleed. It boils body fluids where it strikes and pierces; not a good way to go out. More potent than both projectiles combined." The Charghan snorted softly. "Though only Charghans can operate it as its vapor form. I'll make yours a solid form and set you up with some canisters." The Charghan walked away and was soon lost in sight to the various milling aliens.
"That was... interesting." Computer regarded the conversation with an amused expression. Heavy hoofsteps were rapidly becoming louder as Jahlk bounded towards them with ammunition in her palms. She rested them on a nearby table full of weapons and turned fully towards Gaz.
"Come. We're gonna get you fitted into some wrappings and bandoliers." She jerked her head upstairs. Gaz nodded and followed her. Dib looked after them with a worried frown.
Zim was looking at Dib as he felt bad for the Human's predicament. He take a calm breath and let it out and put a hand on Dib's shoulder calmly. "What's wrong Dib?" Zim asked Dib with a neutral expression. Dib grunted and tried to shrug his hand off but he held a stubborn grip.
"Get off, I'm fine." Dib glanced at Zim with an annoyed expression. Zim shook his head and let go.
"As you humans say, it is better to talk to other people about your feelings than letting those feelings spread." Zim lectured him with a calm tone.
"Y'know, that only applies with friends, family and psychiatrists right?" Dib fired back at him. Zim sighed and took his hand off.
"Fine. Be that way, but we're gonna be staying together from here on out right? So we might as well get used to eachother." Zim shook his head and walked off.
"Wait." Dib stopped him with a firm grip on Zim's shoulder. Zim turned to face him with an amused expression. "Fine. I'll talk..."
Gaz looked at herself at a mirror. She had a large pauldron that stretched around her collar bones and neck all the way to her wrists. She had metal plates that adorned her hands, knuckles, shins and knees. Her stomach and breasts had plates that shifted around with a mental command and these were used to store various things. It wasn't the power armor that the Charghans normally wore but it was an exoskeleton that the Charghans offered to other alien species to work under them as Mercenaries or Couriers. That is if they accepted the power armor.
Gaz looked down at herself and felt... better. As in... Stronger... Faster... Smarter... More Connected..? The last one was punctuated as she felt the presences of every person wearing the armor or Charghans wearing their own power armors. Each had a varying presence that shifted the world of her mind marking them as a powerful user or an inadequate one. She kept on looking down at herself, admiring how the armor hugged her form well yet felt so sturdy.
Suddenly, a mediocre presence walked behind her and she turned around to find Jahlk looking at her with a calm smile. "The armor suits you. I just hope you can perform as well as your features." Jahlk winked at her and walked off. Gaz's cheeks flushed as she stared after the Charghan. Did she just..? Gaz thought as her mind went completely blank. She didn't want anyone to see her like this and she needed to cover her face! Suddenly, a cool and soft feeling spread across her face. She breathed softly as her heart rate climbed at the sudden feeling.
She turned to look at the mirror and blanched as a grey substance that was the same color as her armor crawled up her neck. She watched as it reached her chin and started stretching outwards to form a covering around her face. It left room for her face like an astronaut's helmet. She saw that the helmet did not have a visible opening and that it was just a metal helmet attached to her armor. It was a one-sided view thingy.
She was dissatisfied with the results. Suddenly, she watched as the helmet took a different shape that had orange glowing eye ports and large horns that stretched backwards like a demon. She nodded, smiling. However...
A small part of the helmet opened up, revealing her mouth, chin and nose. Another part opened up and her hair fell out from behind. I wonder if i could make my hair move around ethereally... Gaz thought excitedly to herself. With a desire, white glowing vapor started to course through her hair in waves as it started moving around in an invisible smooth breeze. Awesome. Gaz smiled to herself in the mirror. She manipulated the armor more, turning it black and some parts a dark purple. A skull lay in the center of her breast armor with its eye sockets glowing a vibrant orange.
She walked down the stairs, calmly approaching the group. Dib looked at her then turned back. He did a double take and backed away. "Uhh..."
Gaz smiled. "It's me you idiot." Dib looked at her as her helmet deformed suddenly deformed into metal and went down to her neck armor.
"Gaz!?" Dib bellowed out in astonishment.
"What did you expect a demon? I wanted armor, they escorted me for armor and I got armor." She rolled her eyes. Dib sighed in apparent embarrassment and kept silent. The Armory Master walked over immediately towards Gaz. His eyes were wide open.
"I see that your mind has already shaped the armor... Only beings with a high mental capacity could possibly hope of ever doing this..." The Charghan spoke with great admiration and awe.
"Guess I'm just that special..." She chuckled to herself.
Dib rolled his eyes. "Yeah... or the armor is scared that you might do something horrible to it..." He muttered. Gaz glared at him with a playful pout.
"Right well now that this is done, is there anything else you people nee-" The Armory Master was paused as the whole ship shook. He held his balance despite his very high center of gravity. Others were not so lucky...
A Vortian tripped over Dib's fallen body and fell forward. He knocked his head on a table and made a rifle fall over. The rifle hit the ground and discharged a shot of Char in its vapor form. The vicious projectile glanced the Charghan's face and hit the ceiling. The Armory Master only flinched slightly as the Char didn't effect his body but the kinetic force gashed his cheek slightly. The glowing white blood of the Charghan was leaking across the side of his face.
The Vortian stood up and apologized frantically to the Armory Master. "Argh. It's fine, just a little scratch. We have bigger things to worry about." The Charghan took out one of those increasingly familiar stones except this one was small. It glowed a soft white as it was activated. "Does anyone know what the hell's going on out there? We shouldn't be feeling anything unless the shields are down!" The Charghan bellowed into the device.
"That is because the shields ARE down!" A sharp response came back from a light-voice male Charghan. "We have new signatures that are coming in! From orbit!" Every activity stopped as all eyes were facing the Armory Master and the Stone. "We have ship analogues as Corvettes, Cruisers, Destroyers, five Dreadnoughts and one... Upper-Dreadnought! Numbering in... SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND VESSELS!" The voice grew frantic. "Hold on! We have a message coming in from the Upper-Dreadnought. Should I-"
"Do it!" The Armory Master barked in impatience. A soft confirmation was the response and some audio distortion sounded through.
The various screens on the walls sparked to life as a female Irken was on screen.
Zim looked at the screen and backed away. His breathing quickened and his eyes were shifting between red, gray and black constantly. He was sweating profusely and his hands were balled in fists...
Her eyes were purple; holding an intense stare, her mouth was in a calm and reserved frown; dark and threatening in its own way.
"N-No..." Zim mumbled out, catching the attention of a few patrons and all of his companions. Dib stood at his side and placed a placating hand on his back. His own expression troubled.
Adorned across her face were various scars and her body looked junoesque with lean yet powerful muscles everywhere... She wore a dark-purple vest with smooth gray armor plating. Her arms were exposed; sturdy and toned, scarred all the same.
"I killed you..!" He whispered out.
She looked towards a lesser Irken off-screen and jerked her head at the screen. The dull whirring of white-noise was replaced by the crisp sounds of voices of Irkens milling about and tending to the Irken ship. There was a light cough - coming from the female Irken - that silenced all noise on the ship. She stood from her seat in a calm manner.
"Charghans." Her voice sounded out in a cool voice that sent shivers through their spines. "I am Commander Tak of the Outer Disciplinary Fleet. Your actions warrant a swift and painful punishment." There was silence as she let the words sink in. "However, I am giving you a chance to leave Foodcourtia immediately. If you do not cease and desist this pointless rebellion then my fleet will make sure that your ship and all of you meet an abrupt end."
Her face suddenly contorted into an evil grin with a crazed and far-away look. "And I know that you're out there Zim. Wherever you are, I will find you. And I will deal a most long awaited punishment for that pathetic excuse of a death you've inflicted on me." Zim stormed out of the armory in a blind panic towards his ship; Computer following after him to try her best to console him. His emotions gone haywire.
I cannot believe it. After all that... you live!? Zim thought in a frantic frenzy. Dammit... Fuck... Zim punched the hull of his ship in anger. He swung on Computer and grabbed her by the shoulders. "She's fucking back! I cannot believe it! What the fuck!" He yelled in Computer's face; to her minor annoyance.
Computer wiped the spittle that had fallen on her face. She calmly grabbed Zim's hand and led him into the ship. She rested on a floor-mounted chair and calmly grabbed Zim and made him sit along her body. She was softly caressing his face as she gave soft words. She had no idea what she was doing but it felt... right... Zim's antennae lowered submissively as he relaxed visibly. He sighed softly and soon fell asleep; the day exhausting him beyond measure.
Darkness. A cold and eerie darkness. Pain was felt all over Zim's body as he could do nothing. Bolted in one unknown place. Through the darkness twin pairs of ominous purple orbs bore through his sole as they crept closer and closer.
The orbs looked over to twin red ones and bobbed up and down curtly. The red ones responded in kind and some dim purple lighting sprung forth. It made everything barely visible except for making out dark shapes better. Suddenly, pain exploded across Zim's face as he was hit with a heavy blow across the face. The aggressor was tall and imposing. Lean but muscular and toned as well. They were glaring down at Zim in a cold fury. The eyes lifeless as they bore into Zim's soul.
"Hello, Zim. I'm so glad to finally meet you again after our last reunion... y'know... when you shot me into space aimlessly to let me wander about?" A female British accent came from the ominous figure. She finished her sentence with a heavy blow to Zim's stomach, making him double over and dry heave. "Yes, yes, sing for me... Do the song of pain... the song I've gotten used to singing when you left me to rot..." The silhouette walked off to somewhere in the dark and came back holding a long tube-like protrusion with electricity sparking all around it.
"You've fucked me over Zim... real hard. Now as any good-natured person would do I have to return the favor... tenfold. MiMi. Turn him over..." The voice commanded coldly as the many large mechanical arms holding him in place turned him over onto his stomach. His struggles not causing any disturbance.
A/N: Well... that happened. Looks like Zim has found himself in quite the pickle! How will he get out of this one (mostly) unscathed?