Tak's base was located on the outskirts of the city. Traveling by car proved to be a much longer task than originally intended. The streets were crowded with traffic, which unfortunately caused frequent stops. She had downloaded the location of her base into the GPS of Dib's car which estimated they were still 2 hours away. Tak was lost in thought looking out of the window while Dib sighed frustrated with all the delays.
"I'm sorry this is taking so long Tak, are you alright? You want the heater on or something?" He asked.
Tak was pulled away from her thoughts startled by Dib's questions. "Huh? What did you say?" She asked.
"I asked if you were alright and if the temperature in the car was to your liking." he answered.
"The temperature is sufficient and yes I'm alright, just thinking about alot," she replied.
"Me too!" Dib exclaimed and laughed lightly.
He reached into his visor to look for a CD, found one, and put it in the car. Tak looked at the strange devices with mild irritation before the weird noises started to flow from the speakers. She found the frequencies oddly pleasant, at the very least it drowned out all the horn honking and shouting from the road raging humans on the outside.
"Sometimes music can help me relax and think, maybe it will help you too Tak," Dib said.
"It's certainly better than the noisy humans outside of this contraption," she remarked.
"Yeah I admit it, my people can be very annoying, but they're not all bad," Dib replied.
"I know," she thought to herself while staring at him, but turned away casually when he turned to look at her.
"Dib I have to ask, what do YOU think about Zim's relationship with your sister? This can't be easy for you to process," she asked
Dib laughed. "Tak I went fucking crazy when Gaz first told me! I thought she was JOKING! Gaz doesn't like anyone so for her to not only BEFRIEND my enemy but be in love with him too? To be honest I still haven't had a chance to really process it!" He rambled.
"Ever since Gaz asked me to help him everything has been non stop crazy and stressful! I still can't believe I actually went through all this trouble just to save HIS ass," he continued.
Tak looked at him perplexed. "I couldn't believe it myself when I found you on Irk! I thought Zim's deactivation would be your dream come true! You could finally show your blind people the truth and prove your worthiness to them," she said
Dib sighed. "IT COULD have been a dream come true but… you don't know Gaz, she NEVER asks for anything."
Tak's antennae narrowed and she growled while looking out of the window. "You do a lot more for her than she deserves."
"You're wrong, Tak. I know Gaz has her faults, but so do I! I've thrown her under the bus more than a couple times to further my own agenda growing up," Dib explained. "Besides Gaz and my dad… they're all I have! Dad is always busy and our mom died, so it's MY responsibility as the older sibling to be there for her!" He continued.
Dib continued driving, finally losing the crowd of cars as he turned onto a backroad. The two of them didn't speak anymore for a while. Dib concentrated on driving while Tak started to relax and take in the sights around her. She was usually mission oriented so she never allowed herself the luxury of admiring the planet she was on. She soon found herself fascinated with everything she saw, from the red and orange leaves blowing in the wind, to the furry animals that ran quickly across the road narrowly missing their vehicle.
"Hey Tak, can I ask you a question now?" Dib asked.
"W-What?" She asked once again, snapped back to reality.
"Well you saw them together… what do you think? Irkens don't love right? What kind of game do you think Zim is trying to play here? I know he's up to SOMETHING but his leaders coming here is derailing his current plan," Dib rambled.
Tak coughed loudly and cleared her throat.
"Well…I… It's true that we are… programmed to believe that we cannot love but now that I am free from the control brains, I find myself second guessing everything I once believed," she answered.
Dib gave her a side glance and almost ran over a squirrel before he turned his attention to the road again. Tak was grateful he couldn't keep staring at her because she could feel the heat from her face and was certain she was blushing again.
"My original theory of Zim's intentions was as follows: he clearly has no place in the Irken Empire anymore, so this planet is all he has. Therefore it would make sense for him to ensure his survival by getting close to someone you wouldn't be able to oppose," she continued.
"Ha! That's what he thinks! Gaz can't protect him forever!" Dib scoffed.
"Now I'm not so sure though Dib, I could be wrong but I was watching them earlier… As an Irken soldier I was trained to detect when someone has deceitful actions in their body language and speech patterns. I studied both of them closely and didn't find any trace of insincerity in either one of them," she continued.
"Zim's just laying it on thick! He wants us to drop our guards! Watch, when this whole mess is over with, he'll make his move!" Dib sneered. He unknowingly picked up speed the more furious he became.
"I'm so disappointed in Gaz to be honest. I expected her to be smarter than this! She fell right into his trap! Now she's stuck with him, and Dad has no choice but to accept him! We're all going to be too busy making sure the babies are ok to stop him! THAT'S IT! THAT'S HIS PLAN!" Dib yelled. He sped throughout the deserted road running over a rather large rock that made the car jolt violently.
"Dib calm down! You're getting yourself worked up for nothing!" Tak shouted.
"Nothing?! Nothing?! I know you ALIENS know nothing of family! But to us HUMANS family is EVERYTHING!" He shouted back.
Dib looked at the GPS and saw they were approaching their destination and slowed down. He turned off the road and parked the car on a cliff that overlooked the desert and took some deep breaths. Tak shook her head and quickly left the car. She threw Dib's trenchcoat at his face and slammed the door and leaned against it. Dib rubbed his head and groaned, annoyed with himself for snapping at Tak. He took a look at himself in his visor, fixed his hair, put on his coat and stepped out of the car.
"Tak, I'm sorry, I'm just so frazzled I-"
"It's always about you isn't it Dib?! Leave me alone!" She snapped, refusing to look at him.
He approached her and hesitantly moved to touch her face. She slapped his hand away and turned her back to him. Dib noticed she was trembling and making labored breaths.
"Tak! Are you okay? Is your PAK running out of power?" He gasped.
"My PAK is fine Dib! Just go away!" She shouted with a strained voice.
He turned her around and she still refused to look at him, but she was unable to hide the tear stains under her eyes.
"Tak, you're crying," Dib gasped again.
"Don't flatter yourself! This is… this is JUST because I'm not used to having emotions! It has absolutely NOTHING to do with YOU! Or your stupid family! Or your stupid feelings! It's all stupid! And I'm… I'm just adjusting to these changes, that's all!" She shrieked no longer caring about the streams of tears she could no longer hold back.
"Tak…" Dib said quietly.
"Shut up! I don't care! I don't! Who cares if I'm alone! This is nothing to an Irken soldier! We have no need for companionship or primitive feelings!" She yelled again.
Tak found herself flinching as Dib approached her slowly. He went to hug her but she tried pushing him away, he stood his ground and hugged her tightly.
"I'm sorry Tak, you didn't deserve that," he whispered.
She growled and pushed him off, making him tumble backwards off the cliff; they were on a considerable distance.
"Ssshit!!" He yiped.
"Oh no!" She shouted and ran after him.
Dib kept falling at a furious pace, his screams echoed throughout the desert air as his body twisted and hit every rock and cactus within his path until he finally clashed against something hard enough to stop his violent fall. He groaned in pain, too weak afterwards to even lift his enormous head out of the dirt.
"Muahahahaha! What's the matter Diiiib? Can't even manage to walk in your own filthy desert sands without falling?" Zim cackled.
Apparently, Zim had arrived first.
"Fuck… you alien scum," Dib mumbled while he struggled to get up.
"Dib! Are you alright?" Tak shouted as she ran up to him.
Zim continued his laughter while Tak helped Dib dust himself off. They both gave him a dirty look and Zim slowly stopped laughing.
"What took you fools so long anyway? I've been here over an hour!" he complained.
"What are you talking about? Where are we anyway?" Dib asked.
A valid question as they were seemingly standing around in the middle of an empty desert. Dib groaned in pain and rubbed his back.
"What the hell broke my fall? It destroyed my back!" He whined.
"My base," Tak answered.
She pulled out a remote from her PAK and soon the dome-like base became visible.
"Oh! That's cool! How come YOUR base doesn't do that Zim? Huh? Huh?" Dib asked, poking Zim in the chest.
Zim grabbed his finger and twisted it making an audible crunch sound. "Foolish Dib-Monkey! I have no need to waste power on something so frivolous!" He yelled.
"STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU! Get inside now!" Tak shouted.
Zim flicked Dib's finger away with disgust making Dib hiss in pain. Tak and Dib entered first and Zim turned around and eyed the area, "GIR! Where are you?" he shouted.
Gir flew out from beneath the desert sands with a bunch of scorpions in his mouth. "Master! Look at these lobsters! Imma make lobster for dinner! TRY ONE!" he screamed and threw a scorpion at Zim's face. The spiky demonic earth creature wasted no time stabbing the Irken multiple times before Zim could manage to throw him off. Zim growled trying to contain his fury.
"Gir…get inside..the base…" he huffed.
"YES MY LORD!" Gir saluted and ran inside.
Soon Zim felt the effects of the wretched earth creature's venom making his head swell up a considerable size. His skin burned and his eyes watered. "DAMN IT! CURSED EARTH BEAST!" he shrieked.
He entered the base and slammed the door shut. Dib was about to yell at him but instantly cheered up at the sight of Zim's humongous sized head. "Hahahaha! Who has the big head now scumbag?" Dib laughed.
"HA HA! Laugh now Dib-Loser but at least MY GLORIOUS CRANIUM will return to normal size! You, on the other hand, are stuck with a planet-sized head permanently!" Zim snarled.
Tak growled and tried ignoring the both of them while inputting controls into her computer. MiMi entered the room through an overhead vent and spotted Dib. In a flash, she ran to him and rubbed against his leg. Dib jumped back slightly but then picked up the robotic cat, "Oh hi MiMi! You know, I always wanted a cat," he said.
"Okay, since you two imbeciles are injured already, I have to set up the med bay before we do anything else!" Tak snapped.
She pressed a button and the ground began to shake. The current room they were in started to descend, taking them all underground. Tak stopped them just two levels below the surface into the med bay. Tak looked back at Zim with disgust. "What happened to you anyway?" she asked, annoyed.
"Master didn't like my lobsters! He hurt their feelings!" Gir squealed.
"Nevermind that! I will be fine without your stupid medical attentions! Show me to your training room! I want to see how it measures up!" Zim barked.
Tak growled. "Ffffine! Let me and Dib get inside here and I'll give you access."
Tak shoved Dib through a door and followed while Zim stood in place holding back Gir.
"Why doesn't anyone like my lobsters?!" He cried.
The floor descended again with just Zim and Gir until they reached the training room. Tak's voice could be heard through an intercom.
"Zim! Try to keep your SIR unit in check! Don't let him break anything while you're down there!" Tak yelled.
"Yeah yeah whatever! Come Gir! Let's see what toys Tak has to play with!" Zim spat.
"YAAAAAAAY!" Gir cheered.
Tak groaned and turned to Dib. She shoved him unto what looked like a gurney and grumbled under her breath while picking cactus needles out of his arm.
"For someone with metal boots on, you sure are easy to throw around," she said.
Dib hissed with each needle she ripped from him. "It's not that I'm LIGHT-" Dib yiped mid-sentence as Tak yanked another needle from his arm. "It's because you're really strong! OWW! Come on!" Dib screamed.
"You're such a smeet! You have to toughen up if you're serious about facing the Tallests!" Tak snarled.
"Hey I'm tough! This normally wouldn't hurt me to this extent, but I burned my arms with Zim's shitty arm gauntlets!" Dib whined.
Tak's eyes widened and she gulped. "Oh my! You're right! Let me see the extent of the damage." She gently pushed off his trenchcoat and traced her fingers across his left arm. The tender flesh was mostly healed, but scars and blisters remained on his biceps. "Does… this hurt?" She asked, stroking his arm softly.
Dib felt his body temperature rise and looked away from her "Nnnnot too bad… just a little," he answered nervously. Tak continued tracing her claws up and down Dib's arms, giving light squeezes on certain pressure points.
"How about that?" She asked, squeezing a particularly sore part of his arm, making him jump up instantly.
"Yikes… that hurt but it's manageable!" He answered.
"Hold on, I have something that should help," she said.
She turned around and grabbed what looked like the equivalent of a first aid kit but with Irken writing on the case. She faced him again before her eyes dropped to the ground. "Take your shirt off," she ordered.
Dib's cheeks flushed and he felt his temperature rise. "What? Why?" He asked.
"Dib, do you want your wounds treated properly or not? That fall could have killed you! Now do as I say!" She snarled.
"Oooo...kay,'' he replied. He tugged at the bottom of his shirt, he groaned in pain while lifting the fabric as it snagged at the remaining cactus thorns stuck in his chest and back. Tak looked up from the floor to examine the state of his body, eyes roaming from his neck to his shoulders to his scratched up and bleeding chest. She found she was biting her lip and shook it off before putting on a pair of disposable gloves and grabbing some gauze.
"Hold still," she said softly. She poured a substance from the medical kit onto the gauze and pressed it against the left side of his chest. Dib hissed in pain while Tak held him firmly still with her right hand. Tak focused hard on the task at hand, noticing the goosebumps her touch had caused with fascination. She blinked hard and grunted.
"You are such a reckless human. Look how easily you get injured, how effortless it is to cause you pain! I would think someone as smart as you are would take better precautions!" She lectured.
"Yeah yeah…" Dib rolled his eyes. Tak continued cleaning his wounds and Dib breathed deeply, trying to ignore both the stinging pain and the tingly sensations from her administrations. She was really concentrating on her work, she would rub his chest gently after treating each cut and look at him with an unfamiliar glow in her purple eyes before treating the next cut.
"Tak…do your eyes always glow this brightly? Or am I just noticing it now?" Dib asked.
Tak's antennae perked up, she stopped what she was doing to look up and unwillingly locked eyes with him. "My eyes? Are glowing? That's strange," she gulped.
Dib blinked as the bright violet lights of her eyes caused him to see flashes. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah I don't think I've ever seen them do that before," he laughed.
Tak moved around his body to pluck the thorns from his back now. "It's new to me as well, perhaps another feature the Control Brains would prefer us not to know about," she replied. She found herself stroking the back of his neck, making Dib hum in satisfaction, feeling his muscles relax for the first time in what felt like years. Tak's eyes glowed so bright they clearly illuminated his skin as she continued treating him.
"Hey Tak… Seriously, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier," Dib said softly.
Tak stopped what she was doing and turned her head to look into a mirror, blinking harder to try and stop her glowing eye problem. "Whatever Dib," she sighed.
"Please listen Tak! I know that I get… irrational when I rant about Zim and I need to change that! I need to stop lumping all Irkens into his category! You are so much more than just another Irken! You are so much more intelligent, more advanced," he ranted.
Tak grumbled and grabbed an ointment out of the medical kit. She squeezed out the substance and rubbed it in her hands before placing them on Dib's shoulders, making him shudder. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back while she rubbed the ointment into his skin, massaging him.
"I'm not certain how well this will work on your...human body, but it should heal your scars and muscles sufficiently," she explained.
Dib breathed deep. "I'm not complaining," he said. Tak concentrated intensely, paying close attention to his reactions as she tenderly rubbed his shoulders, gradually shifting her attention to his right arm. She enjoyed the feeling of his lean yet defined muscles between her claws, as well as the pleasant sounds he made. "This feels amazing Tak, whatever you're doing is working wonders," he moaned.
Tak's antennae started to twitch, she looked at his relaxed smiling face and sighed, then she growled frustrated with herself for letting this human affect her so deeply. She moved to his chest and began the same process, her movements slowed and her breathing became heavy. Dib started to sweat, his heart began to pound hard. "Umm I'm okay Tak, you don't have to do that," he said with a strained voice.
"I insist! I want you to be perfectly healed!" She hissed. She growled and continued massaging the gel into every ridged muscle, making him hold back another moan. She looked at his belt and became curious. "Dib, did you get injured in your pelvic region at all?" She asked.
Dib coughed, the heat from his body changing his normally tan skin tone to tomato red. "NOPE! NOT AT ALL! I'm perfectly fine down there," he panicked and laughed awkwardly.
Tak sighed. "You're lying aren't you? Dib, this would be so much easier if you were honest with me."
"Don't worry about it anyway Tak, I'm just going to get injured all over again! I'm fine really!" He yelled.
Tak's antennae dropped. "You're right I suppose, besides I know how defensive you men are about your lower regions," she pouted.
"It's not that I don't trust you! Please don't misunderstand… it's just a sensitive area," he giggled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his hair.
Tak smiled at him. "Just try to take better care of yourself! I'm not always going to be around to patch you up!" She explained and started to put away her medical supplies. MiMi made a whirring sound and snuggled up to Dib. Dib started petting her absent mindedly but saw Tak's cheeks flush a dark green at whatever the robot cat must've said. "Now we should head down to the training room where Zim is! If we are to survive the oncoming horde we have GOT to improve your fighting skills!" She ranted, cleaning her hands of what was left of the ointment in the sink. She looked into the mirror, annoyed that her eyes were still glowing.
"You think we can fix my arm gauntlets? Yeah, they burned me but they DEEP FRIED the control brains back on Irk," Dib asked.
Tak started to laugh maniacally. "OH PLEASE! OF COURSE I CAN! Zim's weapons are garbage compared to mine! I'll even improve their efficiency ten fold!" She answered.
"I should've known, come on show me!" He beamed.
They both stepped out and headed down into the training room narrowly missing an energy blast from Gir as they stepped inside.
"WATCH OUT! I GOTS NEW TOYS!" he shrieked.
"ZIM! I TOLD YOU TO CONTROL YOUR ROBOT!" Tak screamed and stomped ahead.
Dib stood back in awe, drinking in the sights of the seemingly hundreds of computer monitors scattering the walls, and what looked like futuristic battle cages and shooting ranges in the distance, before Zim's cackling laughter broke his thoughts.
"I can see why the Tallests wanted to keep such technology from me! These power sources! These impenetrable metals! The infinite POSSIBILITIES! MUHAHAHAHA!" He laughed madly.
He shot an enormous energy blast ahead of him into a portal that seemed to teleport the blast elsewhere. "OH YES! I've only been down here a couple hours and I've already created numerous weapons!" He hissed ecstatic stroking his gun.
"Damn Zim, don't have a fucking orgasm over all the weapons," Dib rolled his eyes.
Zim chuckled. "Hahaha No promises!" He proceeded to get in Dib's face "The only thing I enjoy more than relations with your ssssister…" he hissed and pointed at Dib's forehead, "is a new arsenal of advanced weaponry!" He shouted and grabbed another gun.
"HEY! Do you mind calming down? How did you make all these weapons in such a short amount of time? Did you really put your all into them or just throw them together?" Tak asked.
"What does mat-" Zim began to protest but noticed Tak's eyes and began to laugh. "Holy shit! What did you two do up there? Hahahaha," he laughed.
"What are you talking about moron?! I treated his wounds! That's all," Tak snapped.
"Surrre, then explain why Dib-Shit is shirtless and your eyes are glowing so bright still!" Zim laughed again, joined by Gir.
"What's going on? What's so funny?" Dib asked.
"What do my eyes have to do with anything?!" Tak asked and shook Zim violently but slowly stopped his laughter.
"Oh.. Oh.. Ok! I… HAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed again, dropping the gun and holding his sides.
"BIG HEAD MAKES GREEN LADY FEEL SPICY! HAHAHA!" Gir screamed joining his master in laughter.
"What?" Dib and Tak asked in unison.
"Gir… haha… Be quiet! I'll… Tell you later," Zim explained, trying to stop laughing.
Tak growled and grabbed Zim by the collar. "You will tell me now!" She snarled.
"Trust me, you don't want me to do that!" Zim snickered.
Zim's eyes locked onto hers and flicked towards Dib then back to her. She looked confused and Zim cleared his throat harshly and pointed his antennae towards Dib and back to her. Tak's eyes widened, she gasped and released her hold on him. "Wwwwell I guess you're right! That talk can wait! What else have you been up to down here?" She asked abruptly.
"For starters! I have fixed and upgraded the majority of my weapons in what would've taken me months back at my base! The power sources in this base are indeed more advanced than mine! I'll be taking 10 of your energy cores back to my base!" Zim declared.
"10? Why 10? And why bother taking them back to your base? Just use mine!" Tak asked with her hands on her hips.
"So I can have easier access! Duh! I don't want to waste time and resources coming here every time inspiration hits! I want to roll out of bed and get to work!" He answered. "Besides… Gaz is working on something pretty fantastic and she needed a power source," he grinned.
Dib shuddered. "Whatever it is can't be good," he said under his breath.
"For the enemy no, it's not haha!" He gloated.
"Well no matter! You can take the energy cores!" Tak spat and turned to Dib. "Dib, can you stretch your arms out for me?" She asked, looking away.
"Yeah sure," he answered and stretched his arms out like asked. Tak got out a remote from her PAK and pressed commands into it, then a flurry of tiny robotic pods ran a scan on Dib's arms.
"Okay measurements taken… now to find a more suitable metal to use against human skin," she muttered to herself.
Zim was loading up his Pak with the energy cores and looked back at the two with a bored expression. "Hey, you're done with him now right, dirt drone?" He asked.
Dib whined. "Stop calling her that Zim! She-" Tak put her hand to Dib's mouth shutting him up.
"Don't rough him up too badly! I'd feel better if you waited until I finished making him suitable battle armor," Tak answered.
Zim's antennae furrowed and he groaned in frustration. "If he gets hurt, just use your computer to heal him!"
Dib grunted and walked towards Zim and he looked back at Tak with a look of disappointment "You think I need ARMOR to keep up with this bastard!? He may be tall but he's still an idiot! One I'll have no problem defeating!" He declared.
Zim started to laugh and threw something at Dib that stuck to his leg. "What the- NYAHHH!" he screamed, getting an electrical shock from the device. Dib growled and rubbed his leg and Tak shook her head.
"Come along Dib-Shit! Test this gun out! Your feeble human hands SHOULD be able to handle it," Zim ordered and tossed Dib a tiny gun.
Dib looked at the gun, annoyed. "What the fuck kind of little kid gun is this?!" He complained.
"One you can manage...hopefully!" Zim answered.
"I've seen squirt guns bigger than this!" Dib shouted.
"Silence! You ignorant meat bag!" Zim yelled.
"Quit your bickering! You're both so irritating!" Tak snarled.
"What training simulation do you want and what level, Zim?" Tak huffed.
"I need to know EXACTLY how I measure up against the Tallest! Does your simulator have their stats?" Zim asked.
"The last known stats, yes, but they could have improved since then," Tak answered.
"I wonder what they're doing right now," she thought to herself.
The Massive
Things have been bleaker than ever now that the Irkens no longer had Foodcourtia. Purple was a simple Tallest, he enjoyed three things: Red, humiliating lower life forms, and snacks. As long as he had these three things, he could function positively and pleasantly. Now, his snacks have been compromised and not just any snack… his ultimate favorite snack.
He laid in bed and scratched at the walls, the sheets, ripped apart the pillows while wallowing in self despair. He wailed endlessly laying in a puddle of pure sorrow. It had been like this for the past few days now, he had become a shell of his former self, and had even contemplated pushing his self-destruct button on occasion before Red stopped him.
"Purple… please get out of bed," Red asked.
Red started to rub his leg in an attempt to comfort his lover, but Purple was unresponsive. He just continued sobbing and ripping at anything his claws could grab. Red took a deep breath "Purple, you HAVE to snap out of this!"
"I haven't had my precious donuts in FOUR DAYS!!!" Purple wailed. "I've never gone so long without them! Six months is too long to wait!" He shouted with a hoarse voice.
"Purple please, I need you. If not for yourself, will you at least get yourself together for me?" Red asked.
Purple's sobbing slowed and he grabbed Red's hand. He picked himself up and fell into Red's arms. Red grumbled but stroked his antennae. "It's okay babe, we'll get through this."
"I...I just can't believe… we sent Zim on what was supposed to be a death mission… and and...and it turned out to be DONUT FILLED PARADISE!!!" he wailed.
"Yes, but think! Soon you'll have so many donuts you won't even know where to begin babe! Not just regular donuts either! They have jelly filled donuts! Chocolate covered donuts! Donuts covered in sprinkles!" Red beamed.
"I don't know what half of that stuff is...but it sounds amazing!" Purple sniffled.
"It is and it will be! Now stop being such a downer! Come train with me like the old days!" Red suggested.
Purple scoffed. "The WHOLE reason I wanted to be a Tallest is so I DON'T have to train like the old days!" He whined.
"Oh come on! You don't miss it at all? The sounds of a skull cracking beneath your boots? The burst of heat that hits your face from a blast you just dodged? The cowering faces of a species about to be wiped out?!" Red asked excitedly.
Purple's antennae dropped. "Yeah, that was always YOUR thing! MY thing was using the smaller soldiers as shields and taking the enemies snacks!" Purple laughed.
Red laughed along with him and hugged him tightly, making Purple gasp for air. "Such good times! But my love, you have to fight with me again! We're about to invade Earth! Humans are about as tall as we are!" He explained.
Purple gasped, "YOU'RE KIDDING! ALL OF THEM?"
"No, not all of them, but a vast majority! And you can bet that they will defend their donuts to the death!" Red warned.
Purple's eyes narrowed, he balled his fist and slammed it into the wall of their bed chambers, causing a massive dent in the cold steel wall. Red smirked. "That's more like it! I've missed seeing your fighting spirit!"
He looked at the TV monitor, and red blinking lights were flashing. "Seems we have a report from Invader Grupa!" Red exclaimed.
The two leaders cleaned themselves off and put on their best poker faces before answering the call. "My Tallest! Invader Grupa reporting in!" He saluted.
"Yes?" They asked.
"While I was trying to find the planet Earth, I discovered strange energy readings in my ship! I believe these to be coming from an Irken's base!" He explained.
"Interesting! And how close are you to these energy readings?" Red asked.
"It's very faint, but I can track it down and start investigating within 3 weeks with your orders!" Grupa answered.
"Is it just you? Or is there a fleet nearby?" Red asked.
"I am with a fleet my Tallest!" Grupa answered.
"Excellent! Take them with you. Investigate the energy readings! Infiltrate the base and kill anyone who gets in your way!" Red ordered.
"As you wish my Tallest! Invader Grupa signing of-"
"WAIT!!!" Purple screeched
"Yes my Tallest?" Grupa asked.
"Donuts! Send any donuts you find immediately!" Purple spat. Grupa frowned and his antennae furrowed.
"Don't you judge me! I've gone without my beloved treats for days! You have no idea how this FEELS!" Purple growled.
Grupa growled. "You're right my Tallest… Considering the fact that I have never had the pleasure of enjoying royal snacks, I suppose I would have no idea how much you must be...suffering," he said through gritted teeth.
Purple gasped and Red growled. "I don't like your tone, Invader! It would be wise for you to lose the attitude!"
Grupa snarled. "Whatever!" he ended the transmission, leaving both leaders in a state of shock.
"D-Did he REALLY just do that?!" Purple asked.
"He knows we're short on valuable soldiers...his attitude can become contiguous if left unchecked," Red muttered.
"COMPUTER! Which Invader is within closest proximity to Invader Grupa?" Red asked.
"Invader Tenn my Tallest" the computer answered.
"Contact her immediately!" Red commanded.
Grupa's Ship
"Master… Why did you not inform the Tallest of your other discovery?" his SIR unit asked.
"I was going to...but they annoyed me! It doesn't matter, we will still accomplish our mission!" Grupa answered. He grabbed a transmitter from his dashboard "Attention fleet alpha! This is your commanding Invader Grupa! Do you read me?" He asked.
"Affirmative Invader Grupa!" a unified response from the speakers was heard.
"We have permission to investigate the energy readings and what I believe to be Zim's base! I will send the coordinates to your ships! 10 of you will infiltrate Zim's base and the rest of us will investigate the other Irken base! If you find Zim alive DO NOT ENGAGE! He's too dangerous to take alone! You will signal me immediately! Understood?" He ordered. Grupa heard a mixture of uncertainty and laughter grouped together through the intercom making him sigh.
"Listen guys, I don't want to be THAT GUY buttt I am in charge of all you! So you have to do as I say! So I'll ask again," he cleared his throat. "Do you UNDERSTAND!!!???" he shrieked.
"Yes Invader Grupa!" They responded.
"That's better! We recharge tonight and head out in 12 hours! Recharge your weapons and perform maintenance on your ships! Grupa out."
Tak's Base
"NOOOOOOO!" Dib screamed, running away from a simulated image of Purple. Purple was chasing him with Pak legs and swiftly impaled Dib through the back.
"You are dead!!!! Try again?" A robotic voice echoed. Dib picked himself off the ground before Zim's body was violently thrown on him by a simulated Red.
"We… keep… dying!" Dib screamed.
"Ssspeak for yourself...I haven't died yet," Zim slurred.
"Ack!" Zim got stabbed in the chest with a blade from Red.
"You are dead!!! Try again?" the computer asked.
"Zim! Let's take a break! Whatever we're doing isn't working!" Dib suggested.
Zim growled. "THERE IS NO WAY THEY ARE THIS POWERFUL! They must have exaggerated their battle statistics! All they do is eat snacks!" Zim ranted.
"Regardless, you two are beaten! And Dib, try shooting them next time instead of just running away," Tak sighed.
"Hey! These guys are really intimidating up close!" Dib yelled.
"They're even more intimidating in person!" Tak snapped.
Dib swallowed hard and sat down feeling the weight defeat upon him. Tak looked at him sorrowfully before shaking it off and turning to yell at Zim. "And YOU have the opposite problem! You attack too much too soon! You need to dodge and be more patient! With better planning, you could've taken at least one of them down," Tak snarled.
Zim grumbled and muttered under his breath, but otherwise did not respond. Gir was rolling on the ground happily and made his way over to Zim. "Don't worry master! You have plenty of time! This was only one battle! You'll get better!!!" He squeaked before rolling away again.
Zim took a deep breath. "I guess he's right…" he grumbled.
"It's weird when he makes sense, but yeah, he is right!" Dib smiled.
Zim grabbed two guns from his PAK. "Start it again Tak! This time I'll try these babies!" He growled.
"Hold on… while you two were flailing around I made something for Dib," Tak said.
"Really? Is it my arm things???" He asked, giddy.
"Sorry, that will take a while but I did make you make you this!" She answered and held up what looked to be a circular button. She held it on his chest and pressed it, making a shiny skin tight suit of armor materialize around his body. "It's made from a mixture of molten metals from a lava planet not far from the Irken solar system, you should be able to withstand plasma rays, energy beams and a considerable amount of physical damage as well!" She explained.
"Holy shit! Thanks Tak! You're amazing!" Dib exclaimed and held her hand.
Tak turned away. "It's only because you looked so pathetic out there! Don't get the wrong idea!" She scoffed.
Zim yawned obnoxiously loud. "You two are so boring! Geez, just mate already and get it over with!"
"What?" Dib asked.
Tak stormed over to Zim and kicked him in the shin, then turned around to look at Dib "Dibby? Do you mind giving us a moment?" She asked with a glare.
"Ummm yeah sure, I"ll go…clean Gir or something," Dib answered and walked over to Gir.
Tak once again pulled Zim down to her level. "Okay, start explaining! First you talk about my eyes glowing and now mating?!" She harshly whispered.
"Backup, you're getting your breath germs all over me! Anyways, is it not obvious? You have caught the attraction to the Dib-Worm! Of all creatures! Hahaha!" Zim answered and couldn't hold back his laughter before getting punched in the gut.
"You're just messing with me! I do NOT find Dib attractive in the slightest," Tak hissed.
Zim rolled his eyes. "Zim could care less honestly! It's just funny to me! You can deny it all you want, but here you are making him armor and patching up his wounds! And since you're dense I'll just flat out tell you."
"Tell me what!?" Tak asked.
"Irkens eyes glow when they feel...aroused! The more aroused you are, the brighter your eyes get!" He answered with a smirk.
Tak let Zim go and covered her mouth with her hands, fighting back the urge to scream in embarrassment. Zim knelt down to whisper in her antennae. "Take it from Zim, just act on it! You'll do yourself no favors trying to deny the inevitable," he advised "Besides, if he's busy with you, he'll stop bothering me!" He finished. Zim's antennae perked up hearing a particular ringtone from his PAK, making his cheeks flush in response. He reached for the cellphone within his PAK but didn't grab it in time and missed the call.
"We can continue these battle simulations later Dib-Stink! It appears I am missed!" He said smugly.
"GIR! We're leaving! Come here!" He ordered.
"Yes my master! Weeee!" Gir squealed.
"But I wanted to try out this new armor!" Dib whined.
"You don't need me for that! You can try fighting by yourself for once!" Zim yelled.
Zim stepped out of the training room onto the moving floor. He grabbed Gir and pulled out one of two huge containers from his head. "Tak, think fast!" Zim shouted. He tossed one container in her direction.
Tak turned around. "What is it no-OW!?" She shrieked as the container flattened her whole body.
"Seriously Zim! What the fuck? Can't you EVER be nice?!" Dib yelled.
Zim threw the second container just barely missing Dib, making Dib flinch in response.
"That WAS nice! I told her to think fast! Not my fault she didn't listen!" He replied before heading out.
Dib grumbled and helped Tak by getting the container off of her. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry," he asked and helped her up. She groaned in pain and coughed a bit before weakly pushing him back.
"I don't… need your pity!" She snarled.
"Do you need help hooking your PAK up to this thing?" Dib asked.
Tak continued to groan in pain feeling the aches of her crushed bones and reluctantly nodded her head. MiMi whooshed over to the two and seemed to guide Dib on what he needed to do. Tak breathed heavily and gripped her arms. "He's not going to hurt you Tak, you're being ridiculous! He's messed with your PAK before and it freed you! There is no reason to feel so uneasy about this," she tried reasoning with herself.
Dib touched her shoulder. "It's gonna be alright Tak, MiMi is showing me how to do this without hurting you," he smiled.
"Please just get it over with… this pain is unbearable," Tak sighed.
Dib successfully hooked Tak's PAK to the container and followed MiMi's instructions and soon Tak's bones healed, she became a healthier shade of green and grew 3 feet. She also became more developed in certain areas that made her uniform stretch and tear. Dib switched off the container for fear of her turning into a giant.
"That felt incredible! And I'm taller now? I wonder how tall I can get?" Tak rambled excitedly. "And what are...these?" She asked, her voice trailing off. "Why do these things keep happening to me?" She asked inwardly. She covered her new breasts and looked for something to cover them with. Lucky for her Dib was already turned around respectfully.
"Tak I can leave if you want you just have to teach me how to use your base's elevator," Dib said hoarsely.
"No no, it's fine, stay here! Just let me find something!" She hastily replied.
"It-it's getting late anyway, I'll see you tomorrow ok?" He shakily asked.
Tak stopped her frantic search for clothing and stood still. "Oh I see… too disgusted by my alien body to want to stick around, is that it!?" She growled.
"What? No that's not it!" He yelled.
"Then why are you so eager to leave now?" She asked.
"I'm just trying to respect your privacy! And it really is getting late you know?" He answered.
"You can't even look at me, you're so repulsed!" She spat.
"It's… the opposite actually," he muttered, his body sweating bullets.
Tak turned him around, forcing him to look in her direction. He forced his eyes shut. "Tak please! You don't know what you're doing!" He pleaded.
"I know you were just fine being in my company until parts of my body were exposed! I saw your chest. I didn't act like I was disgusted! I deserve the same respect!" She hissed.
"This is a lose-lose situation! If I look I'll wind up staring and looking like a pervert! But if I don't she'll think I hate her! What do I do?" He fought with himself.
Against his better judgement, he decided to open his eyes. Ironically instead of her exposed body, he found himself lost in her eyes. They were glistening, searching his for something he didn't know. She seemed satisfied and turned away. "Go on home Dib, I'll see you tomorrow," she sighed.
"You don't think I'm still disgusted do you?" He asked.
"No, I know you're not, as I've said before I'm not used to having all these different emotions and some space between us would be beneficial," she explained.
"What… emotions are you having exactly?" He asked hesitantly.
"You can leave now! Bye!" She replied and shoved him out.
Membrane House
Gaz wakes up hazily and hears a distant cry from another room. She walks towards it and finds a crib. She gasps and picks up the human/Irken hybrid baby and it stops crying to look at her. "Holy shit! Are you one of my babies? Look how cute you are?" She cooed, surprising even herself at her tone of voice. She couldn't help it, the beet was just that cute. He had his mother's skin tone, hair color and squinty expression but when he giggled and opened his eyes, they were red like his dad's. He also had antennae buried in all those locks of purple hair and Irken like claws. She held him close to her in pure bliss, never knowing she could possess such love. She kissed him on the forehead.
"But where are the rest of them?" She wondered. The beet in her arms stopped it's adorable cooing and started to snarl and claw at her. "WHAT THE-!" she shouted and held it away from her. The once cute beet had morphed into a hideous skeletal smeet. Gaz felt an unbearable pain in her stomach and dropped the smeet to collapse to the ground in pain. She started coughing up blood and felt her flesh ripping apart, six claws tore through her stomach, leaving her to bleed out…
"Holy FUCK!" she shouted punching the air as she awoke, accidentally hitting Mini Moose. The moose squeaked as it bounced off the wall from the ferocity of the blow. Gaz breathed hard and held her stomach, which was in pain. "Another stupid fuckin dream!" She complained. "Hey Mini moose! Do me a favor and call Zim… I gotta go puke," she grumbled, holding her head.
She left to go to the bathroom and puke feeling sick again. Whether it be from the dream or pregnancy nausea in general, she wasn't sure. The only thing she knew for sure was… she was sick of these dreams and she was sick of the uncertainty of their futures. When she was finished, she washed her mouth out and brushed her teeth. "The only way I'm ever going to get peace of mind is take matters into my own hands," she thought.
Zim rang the doorbell. Gaz groaned at the sound, as it made her head throb with pain. She left to answer the door, finding Mini Moose had beaten her to it. Zim walked up to her and hugged her. He backed up and lifted her chin up to look at him. "What's wrong Gaz-Love? I know when something is bothering you," he asked.
"Nothing, I'm just sicker than usual today, take me home?" She asked weakly.
"But you are home Gaz," he answered, confused.
"OUR home… dumbass!" She muttered.
Zim laughed. "Of course, my mistake! But still Gaz-Love-" he knelt down and held her hands. "Tell Zim what is troubling you, really," he said, staring at her.
Gaz sighed. "It's so stupid! That's why I don't want to say it," she answered.
"Don't care, tell me!" He responded, rubbed her back and began leaving kisses on her belly. "Are you guys giving mommy a hard time again?" He asked with a baby voice against her skin.
Gaz laughed lightly and took a deep breath. "I've been having really stupid dreams, ok? They're probably caused by my pregnancy pains and nausea, nothing to worry about," she answered.
"And yet you are…" Zim responded. He got up and held her tighter. "I will take you home Gazlene and make you a DELICIOUS FEAST! It should make you feel better and you can tell me about these 'dreams' of yours and Zim will assure you of your safety," he declared.
"Sounds amazing," she said, muffled. She sighed into his arms, all her troubles melting away in his arms for the time being.