Abducted
Zim's eyes strained against the blinding white glare as a sense of corporeal numbness began to envelop him. It was like floating in an endless void, devoid of touch, sight, or sound. His awareness could only focus on the echoes of his increasingly frantic thoughts, which reverberated within the vast emptiness. Soon, the lack of stimulus led to feverish hallucinations, with monstrous apparitions and animate shadows dancing at the edges of his mind's eye. Zim was powerless to the manifestations, and he seemed to lose grasp of himself and the world around him. Though time itself had lost meaning, this tortured state would not go on forever. As his physical awareness began to return, so too did his sanity, and his mind eventually freed itself from the hellish internal landscape.
Zim heaved his chest and blinked a few times to ensure he had indeed regained his sight. Curling his claws and sensing pins and needles along his fingertips, he still felt as though couldn't fully move his extremities. His head throbbed in slurried discomfort, and his vocal chords ached as if they had been screaming for hours. He clicked his tongue and let out a feeble groan, taking a moment to recover his breathing and allowing his mind to settle. Now being aware that he was vulnerable and in an unfamiliar location, Zim focused his newly restored vision on the void surrounding him.
Above him sat rows and rows of tangled wires, and from them hung a fixture which shone a ray of light in the center of a dark room. He looked towards his left and found his arm restrained to a table, the same with the right. He was strapped down on all sides and fully immobile; even his neck had a belt fastened around it to keep his head down.
He briefly tried jerking his restraints free, hoping the primordial growl he was releasing would give him the strength to liberate himself, but it was no use. He was simply too fatigued from the ordeal, and his amazing muscles had been all but depleted.
"Egh...Hello?" he called out to the darkness, his voice creaking with every syllable. "Hey!... Hey I'm stuck! Somebody come and free Zim!"
There was no response. A vague metallic hum seemed to emanate from all sides, indicating an environmental compression system was keeping the room in stasis. Certainly, he was on a ship: a derelict ship by the looks of its dilapidated walls and haphazardly strewn wires. There was no architectural signature to indicate what species this might belong to, and it hadn't even dawned on him why he would be transported to such a place anyway.
Zim stared into the dim light above him, having nowhere else to look. He clenched his teeth and swallowed to ease his worsening tensions.
Please let this be a dream.
Suddenly, a small black mass fell from the ceiling and landed squarely on his chest. Zim jerked suddenly, having the air expelled from his lungs. He squeaked and squealed, turning his eyes upward to see what had hit him. A silhouette of pure blackness with glowing red crescents for eyes stared back.
He let out a horrid scream and thrashed against the thing perched on his chest, which only served to choke him against his neck restraint. Yet the disturbed Irken continued to struggle, terrified of the dark entity that stared at him intently with sanguine orbs of light.
With grace and ease, the entity eventually leapt from his chest to the edge of the table, and Zim followed it with his eyes, catching his breath for a moment to prepare for whatever came next. Under the sway of the lamplight above them, he noticed it was some sort of small, dark animal, not unlike some filthy dirt creature he might find on earth. Its coat was groomed and resembled a sort of dark velvet that gleamed under the light. He watched as the creature turned its head almost completely around to look at him, glaring for one final moment before descending onto the blackened floor below and scurrying off into the shadows.
"You're awake," a distorted metallic voice echoed from above, its pitch deepened to an unrecognizable timbre. Zim snapped his eyes to the ceiling.
"Egh! Wh-what?" What do you want?!" he asked, stuttering. "Free Zim! Or risk the wrath of an Irken Elite!"
A low cackle began to reverberate around the room, followed by a deep inhale that screeched sharply from the intercom's degrading circuits. "Zim…a food service drone…an elite?" The voice drew air through its teeth, stifling another outburst of laughter. "You are nothing but a disgrace. A worthless defective that should've been culled the moment you slithered from your shattered tube…and still you make demands. How dare you call yourself an elite, let alone an Irken. How horrible you are…Zim…"
The voice grew darker with every word, and landed with an indescribable viciousness that drew out every letter of his name in disgust. Zim scowled, hardly registering the meaning at all.
"You have no idea who you're talking to, filthy scum of filth," he replied with equaled vitriol. "I am Irk's best soldier! The second in command to the Almighty Tallest and head of the empire's most valued doom mission. I am ZIM! You dare talk to Zim like this? Save yourself a fate worse than a thousand fweezgar ants, and return Zim to his home immediately! Do as I command! NOW!"
With his rant ended, a prolonged silence hung about the room. Zim grit his teeth, staring unblinking at the ceiling above. He waited impatiently, heart racing from the adrenaline that still flowed through his veins.
"…this is your final chance, Zim" the voice uttered, its tone barely holding back its contempt. "Admit your crimes. Admit you are a worthless defective who has brought nothing but destruction to your people, and this will all go away. No more pain. No more suffering. Just admit what you have done, and I will release you."
Zim squinted and bared his teeth. "Zim admits nothing!" he shouted back irately.
After another pause, a tremulous inhale could be heard from the other side.
"I knew you would say that."
The intercom clicked off and silence followed. Just then, Zim heard what he thought sounded like a door opening in the corner of the room. He cocked his head as best he could to glance toward the void. A dark figure could be faintly seen looming in the shadows, standing completely still and idly facing him.
Zim narrowed his eyes, unsure of whether there really was someone else in the room, or if it was merely another apparition of his wearied mind. He held his breath, intuitively hoping that if he remained motionless he would be unseen by the potential threat.
The figure moved, practically gliding to the nearest corner of the room and outside Zim's line of sight. Zim shifted his head to the other side, but could still see nothing. His antennae then perked up at the sound of something metallic being wheeled towards the center of the room. He turned his head towards the sound, but the figure had already turned its back on him. From the outline, he could tell they were lithe, tall, and had a glint of metal along the top of their head.
Zim's mind began to race as he could hear more things being wheeled around him. This indeed was not a hallucination; he was at the mercy of someone in this very room. He swallowed hard, racking his brain as to who could possibly have the means to kidnap him, and to what ends they would be looking to achieve. Sadly, he could not come up with any reason for why someone would want to hurt him; he was Zim after all. This was all clearly a mistake, and it was time to set the record straight.
"Hey…HEY! Shadow thing!" he shouted, hoping to get their attention. "Zim knows you are there. Cease your activities at once! My mission grows more critical by the minute, and you waste precious time by bringing me to this den of filth! The Tallest could be attempting to reach me as we speak, and they grow worried whenever I am not there to counsel them. So relieve yourself of the wrath of the Irken armada, and release me!"
Having yelled his speech in one go, Zim caught his breath and darted his eyes around the room to see if it made an impact. Out of nowhere, the figure's shadow eclipsed his line of sight, causing him to flinch. Squeezing his eyes shut, he prepared for the worst as he heard the rattling of wires above him, but after a moment, there was silence once again. Eventually, he opened his eyes and discovered a long-armed claw hanging above him, the same kind found in medbays and Irken torture chambers.
Wait a minute, torture chambers?
For Zim?!
Instinctively, he ratcheted the restraints against his wrists, feebly trying to free himself. His neck burned from the friction of the belt, and the inside of his cheek bled from how tightly he bit into it. His breathing became ragged, and eventually he collapsed back onto the table after enough struggle. Within the darkness, he could still hear the figure continue about their business as if he weren't even there.
"DO YOU REALIZE?" Zim burst out, before swallowing the blood at the back of his throat. "Do YOU realize that you have taken Irk's best soldier from the empire's most important mission? Do you have any idea what you've done? You've doomed yourself! DOOMED! The entire Ikren armada will be scouring the galaxies for Zim, and once they see what you have done, you will WISH you took my offer of mercy. Not even Zim could talk them out of retribution for your crimes against an Irken Invader, so why bother?! Why bother with this stupid plan of, of…stupid revenge for something that doesn't matter! Your problems don't matter. You don't matter. But Zim does! Zim matters more than anything! You can't do this! Zim is an Irken elite, Zim is an invader! I AM ZIM! I AM-"
A fist violently slammed itself next to Zim's head, cutting him off with the loud ring of metal reverberating throughout the room. He froze, not even blinking as he felt the heat radiate off the hand clenched in rage.
"Shut. Up. Zim." the figure hissed.
Zim's antennae twitched. That voice…It was undoubtedly female despite the thick accent laying overtop it, and it even sounded familiar.
After a moment's pause, the figure retracted her fist, leaving an indentation in the metal surface right next to his head. Zim remained still and slowly traced the figure's path around him, watching intently as she methodically prowled and eventually stopped to pull a rolling tray table from the shadows. He swallowed the growing lump in his throat and took a moment to exhale before speaking his next carefully chosen words.
"Listen, female creature…you are upset. I can see that. It's just as your kind is known to do." His voice was measured, and he did the best he could manage. "I understand it is merely your way, but that is no reason to take it out on Zim. I have done nothing to earn your wrath. And even if I did, there had to be a good reason for it. You must have done something to-"
He paused, seeing the figure hover just near him. A gloved claw pulled the cloth from the tray table, revealing a large set of sharp instruments and blades that glinted harshly against the light. His eyes grew in mortal terror, and his captor slipped into the darkness once more, rummaging for who knows what other objects of gruesome intent. In a bout of panic, Zim glanced towards his restraints and attempted to twist his wrists once more. He nearly tore his arms from their sockets, but it was useless. He was left quivering and helpless against the table as more and more equipment began to surround him.
No, he thought, No No No No No No No No!
Swallowing hard, he watched as the figure emerged from the shadows, trailing some sort of monitor behind her. He decided to make yet another attempt at locution and diplomacy.
"Okay! Okay, sweet female of beauty and nice smells!" he cajoled. "You have Zim all to yourself now! We don't have to spend the whole night bound up like one of us is going to run off or something. I accept your offer! Say, have you done something with your face recently? Because it's not looking entirely hideous right now!"
The figure said nothing and continued disappearing and reappearing to enclose Zim on all sides with large machines. They powered on one by one, and as he tried to prevent his heart from beating out of his chest, Zim realized that the surface he was strapped to closely resembled an operating table.
"OKAY! OKAY NOW! What is it?! What do you want?" He felt the terror rising as he stared at the claw hanging over him. "Zim can get anything you desire. Anything! Monies, snacks, fame, somebody else's organs! Your wish is Zim's command, so just name it! Talk to Zim! Say something! PLEASE!"
The machines emitted a faint red glow, and from the bottom of the table, he heard a claw slowly being dragged along its entire length. It would eventually settle at the indent near his head, and Zim shuddered, slowly turning his gaze towards the figure standing quietly next to him. From below, the light illuminated her face, revealing pale green skin, long curly antennae, a psionic implant, and deep purple eyes that seemed to look right through him.
"Zim…" She began, her voice laced with utmost hatred.
His jaw fell agape, and he stared in realization of who was standing before him. "Wait…you're…you're…"
She smiled darkly. "Yes Zim, it is I..Ta-"
"YOU'RE IRKEN!" he shouted, cutting her off. "What the-? What is going on here?!"
She blinked in confusion. "…what?"
"Fool! Have you forgotten your own kind? You're Irken!" He repeated, shaking his head. "Sheesh, you had Zim worried for nothing! You have the worst timing ever, y'know that?"
She was silent, stone faced.
"Quick, grab that scalpel over there and cut these restraints," he barked, motioning with his foot. "Hurry, before you waste any more precious mission time!"
"..."
"Listen," he adjusted himself, ignoring her, "whoever you're working for, Zim doesn't care. The Vortians, the Meekrob, it doesn't matter. Whatever they're paying you is nothing compared to what Zim can get you. I mean, I was just lying before with all the other stuff, but you're Irken! Do you have any idea the kind of deal I can get you with the Tallest? You could be on the Massive! Of course, I can't promise anything higher than snack stool, but still! Just imagine what your life could be."
His eyes beamed as he looked back at her expectantly.
Dead silence.
Slowly, she stepped forward, blocking out the lamplight from above and casting a shadow over his face.
"...what?" he queried.
She took a deep breath with her eyes shut. "You have no idea who I am, do you?" she asked.
"Egh?" He glanced side to side for a moment. "Of course I do! Yes, um, Invader…" His eyes drew up sheepishly "…Poot?"
Suddenly, she reached her two claws into the eyes of the trapped Irken and clamped down with fierce aggression. Zim let out a horrified scream, and attempted to jerk his head away only to find that he was choking himself on the restraint once again. He retched and whimpered as she dug her fingers into the deep recesses of his corneas, twisting back and forth before finally yanking and removing the false human contacts. They clattered aimlessly to the floor and tears streamed down Zim's face as he coughed and gagged on the secretions building in his throat. Then, she stepped towards the head of the table and gripped the hem of his wig before swiftly tearing it off as well. His antennae twitched in pain and curled back to avoid more punishment.
"Agh!...Wha-" Zim coughed, barely keeping one eye open to see what was happening around him. "W-What is this? My eyes!..." He squeezed yet another tear from his now visible red orb. Moaning in pain and frustration, he then yelled out as best he could despite his searing throat. "You! You dare lay your filthy hand meats on Zim?! Explain yourself, or prepare to suffer the horrible wrath of-!"
Two fists were violently slammed on either side of his head, sending a shockwave of silence through the room. He sniffled and glanced through aching eyes at the Irken above him, biting his lip in anticipation of what was going to happen next.
"Look. At. Me." she hissed, sounding out every word. "Look at my face, Zim. See the Irken whose life you ruined, whose mission you stole. The one who came to destroy your pathetic planet years ago, and nearly ended your miserable life as you knew it." She clasped her hands around Zim's head, dragging her thumbs along his orbitals and barely resisting the urge to crush his skull. "Fire rained from the sky and the Earth hollowed beneath my feet as I stood on the edge of a megaton magma pump. We flew our ships into the sky and I beat you within an inch of your life in the asteroid belt...that is, until your worthless robot saved you and left me hurtling through space. The one whose last words revealed the pathetic lie that is your 'mission' and swore to return one day to make you pay for all you've done to me. That Irken."
Zim remained silent, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead as he stared blankly at his captor. For once in his life, he held his tongue. It felt more prudent to stay quiet rather than further incur the wrath of this dangerous creature. He could feel her claws making divots in his face, and he reflexively squinted his eyes in case they made their way back into his sockets. The female grit her teeth in seething frustration, with her brow beginning to twitch involuntarily.
"I hit you with slabs of meat!" She screamed.
"TAK!" he immediately recalled, jerking up in realization. "Wait! What is this?! Why have you taken Zim from his mission?! Are you working with the voice I heard earlier?"
Tak closed her eyes and pressed a hand over her face, drawing in a deep breath to calm herself before she did something that even she would regret. With a thud, she forced Zim's head back to the table, making the decision to pace around him once more. He groaned for a moment, feeling his vision shift from the sudden impact.
"Zim," she paced back and forth with hands clasped behind her, "do you have the slightest idea as to why I have brought you here?"
He picked up his head and glanced towards her. "Uh...rev-"
"NO!" She screamed, cutting him off. "It's NOT about that. Don't ever say that petty word again, or I'll eviscerate you and make you watch as I pull out pieces of your own spooch!"
Tak clenched her claws in furious rage, losing her composure a moment before taking a calming breath. She straightened out her uniform and turned her back toward him. Zim just stared back at her silently, unsure of whether he should test her patience any further.
"Guess again," she said, glaring at him over her shoulder. "Guess as if your life depended on it."
Zim drew his gaze to the floor, reluctantly searching his mind for the answer she sought. Eventually, he glared back at her. "Because I ruined your life," he replied sarcastically. "Is that what you wanted to hear? Big deal! Get in line, Tak" he spat her name in disgust. "Your life is just another casualty of Zim's amazing conquest. Nothing more!"
"Not just my life, Zim" she snapped back, "but the lives of everyone you've ever met! You worthless, putrid, disgusting little-" She shook her head in frustration. "You are the most despicable little worm in all the galaxy! You're horrible! You deserve to be trampled until all your organs squeeze from your sockets! Trampled until nothing recognizable as Zim remains!"
"I AM NOT A WORM!" Zim screeched in protest.
"YES YOU ARE." She screamed back, gripping the edge of the table. "You are not even fit to be a food drone, which is what you are, Zim! You're not an invader! You never were, and never will be!"
"BUT YOU'RE A JANITOR!"
Tak gripped his throat, choking him single handedly while slamming his head repeatedly against the table. Her eyes were fixed in a venomous glare, and her lips drew into a snarl as she wrung his neck. The only sounds coming from him were guttural gasps and horrid wheezes with his chest flailing in panic. Tak stared intently as he shifted from green to blue, recognizing the long-awaited opportunity after decades of suffering. Just a little longer and…
Abruptly, she dropped him against the table, turning her back toward him and marching to the other end of the room. Zim gasped in desperation, his throat rattling as he struggled to catch his breath again. He had barely made it back to the world of the living, certain that he had nearly met his end when she had her claws around him. The room fell strangely quiet, and the only sounds that could be heard were those coming from Zim's quivering chest.
"I…" his voice came out as almost a whisper. "I'll kill you…I'll kill you, Tak…Zim will…I'll kill…"
He seemed barely conscious, using what little breath he had to ramble out a threat to his captor. It was surprising that he even remembered her coded assignment, and after such a thrashing to continue to spew defiance...it was almost too much to believe.
A chuckle managed to escape Tak's lips, and within seconds it morphed into a cackle. Soon enough, it turned into full blown maniacal laughter that echoed throughout the small space. Clutching her sides, she nearly doubled over, barely containing her cacophonous laughter from making its way out.
Zim stirred, brought back to reality by the wicked cackling burned into his mind from their first encounter. He stared at her apprehensively, unsure if he had really come to, or if this was some sort of insane nightmare.
Tak arched her back and slapped her hand against her forehead, gripping the edge of her implant. Eventually, her laughter slowly died away, and she took her gloved hand to wipe the few tears that managed to escape her violet orbs. She stared off into space, calming her breathing just as Zim had done moments earlier.
"Oh, Zim…" she let out one final chuckle. "I'm going to have such fun with you…"
He glared at her curiously, unsure of what she meant. "You're insane." he grumbled, his voice still hoarse from before. "Let Zim go. The Tallest will hear about this, and you will regret it!"
"The Tallest don't care," she retorted. "They never cared about you, Zim. Have you forgotten all the damage you've done?"
He narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about, Tak-beast?"
She turned to face him, a look of triumph glimmering in her eyes. "Impending Doom One. It was over 50 years ago. You see, I was supposed to be there but I was…preoccupied." She glowered at the floor a moment before returning her gaze to him. "But you were there, Zim," she said, stepping toward him. "The fires, the battle mechs, the laying waste to the capitol...that was all you. You destroyed the whole plan from the ground up."
Tak sat on the edge of the table, crossing her legs. "You ruined thousands of Irken lives, and for what? You brought shame to our empire, and have done so your whole life. You are a parasite on your own kind. You've done nothing but destroy everything you touch, and that includes Irk."
She glanced down at her sharpened claws before turning back to him. Strangely enough, he was quiet, and he even refused to meet her glare as she stared into him.
Interesting. Had what she said actually struck a nerve? And if it had, was he trying to hide it?
After biting his lip for a moment, Zim responded in an uncharacteristically grave voice. "They were in my way…" he said darkly, still not looking up at her. "And they deserved it, those fools..." He eventually met her glare, holding onto whatever defiance he had left.
"I'm not sorry."
Silence followed as she stared at him. So there it was: he was aware of his actions all along. Beneath the blustering ego and ceaseless insults, Zim knew what he had done and what he was capable of. Though in his mind, it had only made him a more capable soldier for the empire. Others would not understand these things. How could they? He was Zim after all.
"Don't worry," she said, her tone almost consoling. "You will be."
Out of nowhere Mimi jumped onto the table, startling Zim. The robot was still clad in her feline disguise, apparently having taken a liking to the form. Her tail flicked playfully as she stared at the helpless defective, and her holographic fur bristled slightly as they locked eyes. Zim turned his head in disgust.
"Eugh! I hate that creepy thing!" he shouted. "Keep it away from me."
He then looked to Tak. "And the same goes for you! Stay far away from Zim!"
Tak gave Mimi a pat on the head, appreciating her disconcerting effect on the enemy, and waited until her SIR unit leapt from the table before circling around him. "I'm afraid that won't be possible," she said menacingly. "With what I'm about to do, we will be much closer than we are now."
She pulled a set of retractors from the tray table, clanging them in front of her. "Very close."
Suddenly the reality of the situation came crashing back, and Zim's eyes grew wide in fear. He dug his heels in as best he could and tried to push himself away from her, but it was no use.
Tak twisted around, revealing a wicked grin that glinted in the light. She snapped her fingers spritely to shut off the overhead lamp, leaving the two of them enveloped in a glowing red haze. With astoundingly quick movement, she slid behind Zim and slammed his head back against the table, forcing the retractors into his mouth. Zim gagged as his jaw was forced open, desperately struggling against the restraints.
Tak stood over him, bathed in sanguine light from the machines whirring around them. From below, she seemed truly terrifying. He had never seen anyone display such menace before him, at least outside of his nightmares. He helplessly screamed against the retractors, trying to twist his head as far away from her as he could. Tak snapped her fingers once more and held her hand aloft.
"Mimi! Bring me the silence jelly!" she commanded.
Mimi disappeared into the shadows, and in the blink of an eye, placed a thick translucent slime in Tak's hand. It slowly dripped from her fingers. Zim stared at the slime in horror, thrashing against the table before Tak grabbed his jaw and forced the thick substance down his throat. He tried screaming and retching to expel the material, but it was no use. No sound could escape him now, and along with it, his breathing ceased.
His eyes grew wide with panic as he felt the viscous liquid suffocating him. His ability to struggle waned, and Tak further clasped a mask over his mouth, emanating a gas that enveloped his senses. His movements became weaker and more sporadic, leaving him docile and helpless beneath her grasp. As darkness began to cloud the edges of his vision, Zim realized with fleeting clarity that he was powerless to resist any further.
With the last of his sight fading away, he glanced up weakly at Tak. She was still staring down at him with the same wicked grin as before, his face firmly cusped between her claws. The world around her seemed to blacken as he began to fade out, and the last thing he remembered seeing were her gleaming eyes piercing through the darkness.