Skeeto silently watched his spider make her way around the office, listening to her tip-tap-pit-pat as she gathered materials. He zoned out for a moment, thinking and planning.
He was drawn suddenly out of his thoughts by Wendy tapping his hand with one of her adorable, stumpy legs.
"Hm?" he looked at her. She tapped the list, directing his attention to one specific item. "Oh Wasp-shit! Of course we have to be missing the hardest to find!"
Wendy patted his hand affectionately.
Tak looked at the list. "I've never heard of this 'Apis-Metallum.' It sounds made up."
"Ha! Nope! It's very rare and very hard to come by..."
"-... . . / -- . - .- .-.. ..--.. / .-- .... -.-- ..--.." Mimi narrowed her eyes.
"Well, it's a very sought after metal for its controlled disruption. It only disrupts certain frequencies, all we have to do is adjust the most important parts of the PAK to a different frequency, and it only blocks out the Control Brains!"
".. / -- . .- -. - / .-- .... -.-- / .. ... / .. - / -.-. .- .-.. .-.. . -.. / .----. -... . . / -- . - .- .-.. .-.-.- .----." Mimi corrected.
"Oh, because it comes from the planet Estapis and-"
He was interrupted by G.I.R. screeching "YOU SAID PISS!" He laughed wildly. Skeeto paused to stare at him.
"okay..." Skeeto said with a sigh. "Any way, the Estapistians are not exactly friendly creatures." He added something else underneath his breath. "In the mean time, I'll work on the rest of the chips with what I have... I'm sure you two will want to help?"
"I still haven't agreed to have my PAK modified." Tak folded her arms.
"-... ..- - --..-- / -- .- ... - . .-. --..-- / .. ..-. / -.-- --- ..- / .-- --- .-. -.- / .-- .. - .... / .... .. -- --..-- / -.-- --- ..- / -.-. .- -. / -- .- -.- . / ... ..- .-. . / .-- .... .- - / .... . / -.-. .-. . .- - . ... / .. ... / ... .- ..-. . -.-.--" clicked Mimi.
Skeeto nodded. "I'm not keeping any secrets here, you can see how it works on the prints. Plus, if you wanted I'd be happy to let you make it yourself. I know you're capable."
Tak's good antenna pricked up slightly as she considered the challenge of building the complicated chip. She nodded. "That's a fair assessment."
"In the mean-time," Skeeto stood and stretched a bit. "I need to make preparations for Estapis. You two are going to have to come with me, I'm a behind the scenes kind of Irken, not a soldier." He pulled a small leather-bound book from his desk drawer and opened it to show his new companions. "I mean just look at these things!"
On the page was a terrifying sketch of what looked to be a rat, labeled as 6-7 feet tall. It appeared to be wearing a somewhat triangular mask with thick black antenna attached and empty, staring eyes. The hunched creature had transparent thin wings jutting from its slightly extruding shoulders. Patches of fur were missing from its back, leaving a stripped pattern of skin and there was sharp, metal tip on its tail.
Zim looked, eyes wide "Oh-" he paused. "I hate that."
"They won't hesitate to kill you." Skeeto said darkly. He pointed to the shiny metal tail tip. "This is the easiest place to get the Apis Metallum."
"You want us to get that close!?" Zim said incredulously.
"Yes, unfortunately. However, we only need to get one tail-sting, so, if we all work together it will be quick..."
Tak glared. "You want us to endanger ourselves for your stupid little project!?"
"First off," replied Skeeto, "it's not stupid, it's the beginning of a new era! Secondly, you could probably take on an Estapistian by yourself."
"Flattery does not work on me, Bee Boy."
Skeeto could not help but smile at the term Bee Boy. "It's not a compliment, it's a fact. I asked you to work with me because of your military prowess and leadership skills."
Tak took a second to ruminate on on this. What he said was true, and she had agreed to come here along with Zim. Regardless, she felt as if the compliments were some form of manipulation. "If I agree to this, I will be in charge and you have to do what I say."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Tak."
Zim interrupted, "But what about my amazing leadership skills!?"
"Let's save your skills for later, I don't think this is for you Zim."
"But-"
"Can you trust me?" Skeeto carefully met his eyes.
"I guess so..." he replied sorrowfully.
YOU ARE READING
Return (Invader Zim Fanfic)
FanfictionAs Zim is attempting to destroy Dib for probably the hundred and twenty-sixth time, they are interrupted by Tak, whose motives are unclear. Meanwhile, Tak struggles with her identity, and a new mysterious stranger has disrupted the lives of both her...
