What's this? Two story updates in a month?! Why, yes! Hooray for the bare minimum!
**UPDATE** There were, in fact, not two updates in a month lol.
With Gaz departed for the night and Zim all but dead to the world, Tak and Dib had begun their work on the ship. Irk, that thing was nasty...covered end to end in various dents and scratches, not to mention the mess going on under the hood! Clearly, she had no choice but to take it apart and redo it. Zim hadn't been lying when he said he was a bad mechanic, though she was surprised at how freely he had given up that information. The human had thrown in the towel soon enough, eventually making his way back into the main house. As relieved as she was to finally be left alone, she cursed his weakness for leaving her with everything that was left.
However, she had to admit the repairs he'd done on his own were remarkably sturdy.
It was long after dawn when the Irken finally reemerged from the garage. She'd been toiling away for hours before she eventually felt satisfied with the state of the voot. There was more to be done, but it was far enough to warrant a little break. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting when she entered, but the house was just as still as when they'd left it. Sunlight poured in through the front windows, the amber rays setting the room alight with warmth and there was a strange sort of peacefulness that she was unaccustomed to. Her antennae picked up the annoying tweeting and chirping of birds outside...how humans managed to cohabitate with such constant chattering was beyond her. Walking further into the kitchen area, she quickly caught sight of Dib dozing away on the sofa, his face smushed into one of the throw pillows while his glasses were pushed into his unkempt hair. There was no sign of the other SIR unit, or the other Irken for that matter. She moved in the direction of the fridge, stowing away the twinge of compunction from rummaging around for the more objective rationale that her energy reserves were running quite low. The only good thing about Zim's current presence was that he ultimately functioned the same as she, which meant there was a surplus of quick access sugars.
Her searching eyes scanned her surroundings once again, but this time her attention was snagged by a sliver of sunlight peeking through the kitchen window. With the way the house had been sardined between its neighbors, natural light was a scarcity...except for a few minutes in the early morning. The summer sun kissed the sky just perfectly enough to squeeze passed those cold concrete walls, illuminating the window sill and, subsequently, the bundle of flowers sitting on it. They were small, unassuming things...not a thorn or carnivorous tendril in sight! Dull and plain and smothered by a set of dark, muddy leaves in a little yellow pot that did them no favors. What she hadn't anticipated, however, was the fierce explosion of color that had stolen her attention. Among the dullness, a manifold of vibrant indigo cut through the shadows. The luminescence so bright, it practically set the air ablaze in cerulean flames. The angle shot straight through one of the dainty petals, allowing her to observe the array of intricate veins throughout.
It was disgusting...and interesting, in a way not so dissimilar to that of watching bones break or becoming hyper aware of your own organs. She wondered briefly if it had any defensive capabilities.
"They're violets."
Tak nearly jumped out of her own skin at the voice, spinning around to see Zim leaning against the doorway. The half dead look he'd been sporting earlier was gone and he'd since traded his filthy dress shirt for a burgundy sweater.
"What?" she spoke.
"The flowers," he gestured with a nod, "they're called violets. Well, African violets to be more precise, but you get the idea."
Pushing himself away from the wall, he strode briskly passed the bounty hunter over to the window. He inspected the small blooms closely before sticking a finger into the soil and making a face.
"These are one of the few plants that actually survived Dib's care. Good thing too, they're my favorite. S'bad enough he let my poor orchid perish," the alien tittered, holding the plant under the tap as a small stream trickled into the dirt.
"And what purpose do they serve?" Tak asked, eyes flitting to the other occupied pots placed around the house.
"Well, biologically, they produce O2," Zim turned to catch her unamused expression, smiling at his own joke before continuing, "They're mainly for...pleasure, I guess. I had to make up credits in school, so they put me in horticulture. Turns out I kind of ruled at it? Then once I found out people just kept plants because- phew, it was over."
The air stagnated when he didn't receive a reply the room quiet all except the soft snores from the human just feet away. Zim took note of her awkward posture, thinking back to earlier before she got distracted, and made for the fridge. As expected, Tak backed away from him as he slid in front of her, as though he was some kind of diseased animal. He pulled out a can, kicking the door closed and moving to take a seat at the table.
"So..." Zim started, hoping to cut through some of the tension, "our assistants seem to be getting along nicely...Gir's trying to teach Mimi proper tea party etiquette down in the lab as we speak."
"What spectacular utilization of our designated help, I'm sure it'll turn out to be quite useful."
"You are aware it's okay to not be a total bummer sometimes, right?" he said, frowning, "they're just having fun."
"That's not what they're for." Tak spat out, "Besides, Mimi doesn't have the capacity to understand 'fun'. She doesn't have the capacity to truly experience much of anything these days."
Zim lowered his gaze, guilt settling in his stomach. He knew, technically, he wasn't to blame to Mimi's fragmented mainframe...he also knew that Tak attributed that, as well as every other hardship in her life, to his mere existence. It didn't matter who else's hands were in the pot.
"You know..." he bit his lip, "if you wanted, I could take a look at her hardware."
Tak didn't blow up like he thought she would, but she did send him a harsh glare, "You and your 'friends' are the reason she's like this to begin with, what on Irk makes you think I'd give you the opportunity to finish the job?"
"There's nothing to gain!" he said without thinking. Zim winced at them, bringing up a yielding hand before trying again, "What I mean is...we're on the same team now. I've fixed up Gir more times than I can count and if there's a chance it can be reversed..."
"I wouldn't exactly consider your SIR unit the peak of innovation. If you're using him as an example of your prowess, I'm even less willing. I find it insulting that you seem to think I don't know how memory discs work- his data corrupted hers!"
"We didn't know that's what was going to happen."
"Would you have done anything else even if you had? Truly?"
No. He supposed not. If anything, the person he'd been back then might have fought even harder to hack Mimi's memory disc just to inflict more harm. He wouldn't have cared about the ramifications of it, he would sacrifice whatever he needed to so long as he saved his mission.
"You were killing the planet," he replied, voice sharp, "I'm sorry for how things turned out, but I don't regret stopping you and I never will."
They stared one another down from across the table. Despite being the one standing, Tak felt her insides squirm under his gaze. A look well-practiced to be both poised and intimidating, displaying no aggression while leaving no room for arguments. Co-ruling a war planet didn't come without its benefits, she supposed. Their petty battle didn't last long, however, Zim breaking contact first and pushing himself back up onto his feet.
"Well, the offer stands. I'm going to go check on the voot," he said, rinsing his now empty can and tossing it in a nearby bin. Strolling back over to the fridge, he opened it and pulled out another can, meeting her eyes one more time as he placed it firmly on the table in front of her. He felt confident in how their interaction had gone so far, enough so that he was comfortable going on with his own business. He was a little surprised she hadn't outright attacked him with how much he'd mouthed off...that was something.
"Oh!" Zim exclaimed suddenly, popping back into the kitchen, "Before I forget, I just got off a call with Lard Nar and we're meeting the Resisty ship by Jupiter in 2 days. No pressure."
With a tight smile, he scurried off again, leaving her to her solitude. She ran over his words again in her head as she cracked open her can and took a blissfully long drink...
"What the hell is a 'Jupiter'?"
Okay, so I didn't meet the make-believe deadline I set for myself, but a month and some change ain't bad considering my track record lol. This and the next chapter will be a bit more laid back to focus on some group bonding before we start the next arc. I also added just a tiiiiny bit of foreshadowing with Zim's favorite flower being violets, but that's for much later stuff. Hope everyone is having a great week, see you in the next one!
