Invader Zim - Lost Chronicles of Doom! - Continuous Novel

Chapter Twenty-Two - The ReturnENing

"First, we'll wait until Zim is fully hypnotized, which may take a while, since his past was more traumatic, but then we'll get moving quickly, forming a new plan since those two found out about stealth plan Alpha Wolf," the Galaxianite informed, pointing to an unconscious Zim. "For now, try to blend in with the Irkens. Double cross them; we're the invaders now. Gather information that'll help us succeed. If we fail again, there may be no second chances." All of the people under her spell nodded and began to disguise themselves, Bloody Gir stopping his blood, Tak turning off her hologram, etc. They spread out into the large city of Irk.

"Have you heard?" an Irken asked Tak vigorously. "Heard what?" she replied with a monotonous voice. "Test specimens Five Thousand Twenty something and the other big head one escaped, but one of them was captured by two creatures--" the alien stopped for a deep breath, "and then the other one disappeared!" The janitor didn't react because this was old news, of course, instead she acted natural and picked at the metal tube in the side of her head indifferently. "But you don't care, do you? You're just a janitor!" She gritted her teeth angrily. How did he know what she was?! It wasn't like she was the only Irken with purple eyes! She grabbed his neck and held him up angrily. "How do you know me?" The Irken struggled in her hand as he frantically said, "The injury on your head from Fatherbot 12!" Tak narrowed her eyes and gently set him down, running her fingers delicately down the wire that lead behind her head, down the back of her neck, and into her Pak. "I see. Move along, jerk," she said as she walked away from him.

She remembered how the wound came to be. A malfunctioning Fatherbot Droid, number twelve, smashed into the wall as her tube was taken out of the incubator. The glass dug deep into her skull, and her brain meats were severely damaged, so when she was old enough to attend the Irken Academy of Careers (IAC), they found out how deep the scar really was. They rushed her to the nearest hospital and she was said to be lucky to be alive. The glass shard fortunately avoided the main part of her brain meats, but it would need serious care. "Gimme a reviving tube," the doctor ordered, staring intensely at her. "But, sir, then she'll be the first Irken cyborg...! The effects will be--" his assistant insisted, but his mentor held up a hand. "Yes, sir." She was sedated for hours as the doctor inserted the tube into her head from her Pak. Her brain meats naturally had an "I" on it, standing for Ilis (the ending of a Latin/Old French word for "horrible"), but the glass deformed it and made it a "T". "Since your Pak is your only functional life source, you'll be Tak, the newest addition to the Irken Empire!" the doctor announced proudly. Her eyes turned purple, her antennae thickened, and her life was changed forever. What she didn't know was that Zim was also a survivor from Fatherbot 12. He was so small because of a flaw in the systems: There was a leak in a wire that stored the growth goo. Both of them were misfits, making them perfect for each other.

Zim wouldn't want it, though. Tak wouldn't want it either. She'd betray him, she knows it. Nothing would make the hatred for him in her squeegly spooch wither down to nothing, no matter how hard anyone tries. "...so I said, you know what I said? Well, I said, 'Just because I don't wear my official pilot uniform at home doesn't mean I don't like my job!" she heard an Irken rant to Silverfox. The Tyrant was struggling to keep short since his natural height was nine feet tall, while Irkens are usually four and a half feet tall. "I know! I mean, I didn't wear my elite guard uniform to the Irken Academy because I didn't want to scare the chil--smeets, but then I got nagged about it," he replied, struggling to obtain the Irken language. "What a shame. Hey, what's your name, anyways?" Silverfox jolted, surprised. "Uh, my name is..." he started, looking for Tak for some help. She mouthed the word "Skooge" since that invader wasn't anyone anymore. The Tallest tried to kill him multiple times. "My name is Scott! Elite Guard Scott!" Silverfox stammered.

The pilot gave him a suspicious look. "Scott, huh? My name's Gris, Pilot Gris. So...how does your name relate to Irk?" Silverfox straightened nervously. "Well, uh, you know... it, um..." he prattled. Tak stepped up in front of them. "Excuse me, but Scott is needed for a cleaning duty. Bye, bye," she said, grabbing the Tyrant's hand and rushing him out of there. She didn't notice the fact that Gris was still giving them suspicious looks. The two aliens went around a corner and she immediately started yelling at him. "Imbecile!" Tak spat. "What'd I do?!" he protested.

"You almost blew our cover, SCOTT!"

"You told me to say Scott!"

"I said Skooge, idiot! He's not around anymore."

"Well sor-RY I couldn't read your mind!"

Tak rolled her eyes. "Your. Name. Is. Skooge." She walked away without looking back, clenching her fists. Semetia wasn't going to be very happy if their cover was blown by that stupid, smelly Tyrant. They would both be punished, and that would be worse than death. Much worse.

Suddenly, a foot tripped her and she was sent tumbling down to the hard-packed adobe. The Irken jumped up, positioning to a defensive stance. There stood Gris, her body crouched over in a secondary offense stance, her arms wide apart, her knees bent. "Come with me," she ordered. The only thing that ran through her was adrenaline, and, not pausing to think, she leapt forward and sent a foot flying to Gris's face. The pilot quickly ducked and caught her foot, sending Tak onto the ground again. "Please, I'm trying to help you!" she said. Again, Tak jumped up and punched her stomach. "Oof!" she cried, holding her squeegly spooch as she bent over. Another kick from Tak was sent to her forehead and the impact snapped back Gris's head. "Macabre, I need backup!" she shouted, her head starting to trickle with stinky, yellow blood.

An elite sprinted around the corner with a gun in his hand as he aimed it at her. "If you do not cooperate, I will be forced to--" the male, probably Macabre, tried to say, but Tak tripped him, stealing the laser gun and aiming at his head. "Please! Stop!" Gris pleaded, getting in front of her. "Janitor--Invader Ilis!" Tak's eyes widened and she pointed the gun to her head now, pinning her against the wall. "How do you know my name?!" she demanded, pressing on the trigger lightly, but not enough to shoot. "I'll explain everything, but if, and only if, you come with me." Tak paused to think. She might blow their cover if she comes, but she'll gain very valuable information on how much they know about her. She slowly set down the gun, handing it back to Macabre, as she backed up from them. "Alright. Just... don't take me anywhere like solitary confinement," she agreed. The two took this as a joke since Irkens made gruesome inside jokes sometimes and they laughed. "C'mon, then."

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The purple-eyed janitor was lead down a midnight blue hallway with crystals protruding from the walls. "The reason we know you is because we've been on the hunt for a missing Irken name for years," Gris explained as Macabre followed, the gun ready just in case. "We found that the name Ilis was missing from someone from Fatherbot 12, and the only survivors are you, someone named Odi, and...another person. Odi had an x-ray picture done on her while she was in the tube since she is younger than both you and him, but her brain meats naturally had an "O" on it, rendering you the only other choice. So...we need your help." "My help?" "Your help," Macabre reiterated for Gris. "Why me? I'm only--AAAH!" she cried and she was tied down. "Now, Odi," Gris said, pointing to her. A disfigured Irken came out of the shadows and roared at Tak, dark magic spilling out of her mouth. Her mind cleared, her eyes becoming clearer. "Zim!!" she screeched.

She was back. She had returned.