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Soldier of Fortune	By : Florville Category: +G through L > Invader Zim > Het- Male/Female Views: 5451 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Chapter 5: Cruelty

***Just an added disclaimer for this one, mentions of non-con.

Tak fiddled with the voice-altering stick and dialed the number on her phone.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Mr. Dib Membrane?”

“Yes, that would be me.” A smug voice came from the other end.

“Ah, excellent. I’m from the National News, and I’m just doing a follow-up story on your alien discovery. Would you mind terribly if I were to ask you a few extra questions?”

Dib’s voice sounded even more smug, if that were possible. “Why of course! What would you like to know?”

“Well, let’s see…we have some notes about that base that’s being demolished. And something about an…android? Is that what it’s called?”

“Well actually, the alien would have called it a SIR, which is short for Standard Information Retrieval Unit. But yes, essentially it is an android.”

“I see…that’s fascinating…you’re certainly very intelligent, Mr. Membrane…” Tak purred in her most seductive female-human voice.

Dib’s voice sounded a little off this time. “Thank you…what’s your name?”

Tak looked absently over at a pile of junk mail, catching a name off of the cover of one of the magazines. “My name is Demi.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

“Thank you…yours is certainly unique…but…before I go off-topic, I need to get the story information down, or my boss will…well, you know.”

Dib chuckled. “Sorry, go ahead.”

Tak stretched, plopping down on her sofa. “So this…alien…he had a SIR unit, as you call it?”

“Yes, he did, although it wasn’t really a genuine SIR. It was basically a malfunctioning piece of junk that was given to him by his leaders.”

“I see. And are you doing experiments on it as well?”

There was riotous laughter on the other end before Dib finally spoke again. “That piece of junk?? Hell no. We’d never waste time on that useless little robot.”

Tak scowled, wishing she could get this human in her hands and strangle him. “I see…so what did you end up doing with it, then?”

Dib snorted. “Dismantled him and recycled the parts.”

“Oh. So you had no intention of keeping him and perhaps improving him? You seem to be enough of a charming young genius to accomplish that.”

There was a warm laugh from the other end. “Thank you, Demi…hey listen, do you think maybe…I dunno…we could go for dinner some time? You could ask me some questions in person…”

Tak made a disgusted face, but tried to keep it from showing in her voice. “That sounds lovely.”

*******************

The next morning Tak walked down into the room where Zim was being held, dressed in her full Irken uniform.

Zim stood, looking at her anxiously. “Were you able to find out what happened to GIR?”

“Your SIR unit was dismantled and disposed of.”

Zim’s face fell and he sighed heavily, his antennae drooping sadly against his head. “Poor GIR…I knew he wouldn’t stand a chance.” Zim lifted his head and met Tak’s eyes, smiling gratefully, although there was a profound emptiness in his eyes. “Thank you…I feel better for knowing.” Zim stood shakily. “So where are you going to execute me?”

Tak blinked at him, surprised that Zim had not only thanked her, but had expressed genuine gratitude. And despite the fact that Zim’s mourning for the little robot’s destruction puzzled her, she couldn’t help but notice his sincerity. Not only that, the grief Zim expressed was…touching. She had no idea that Zim possessed a sensitive side beneath his loud arrogance and lack of intellect…although his lack of intellect was not as pronounced as it had been ten years before. In fact, Zim could almost be called intelligent now.

“You will be executed on the communications deck.”

Zim’s eyes widened, then clenched closed as he covered them with his hand, shaking his head. “I knew they’d want to watch…” he groaned.

Tak shrugged. “The Tallests have the right to do as they wish, and if they want to watch you die, then they are entitled.”

Zim lifted his head wearily. “I wasn’t sure. At first I thought that they would consider you competent enough to execute me without supervision…but then I remembered how much they hate me.”

Tak blinked at him, once again surprised by Zim’s newfound maturity, but bothered by something he had said. Supervision? Of course she was competent enough! But that wasn’t why the Tallest wanted her to show them the execution, was it? True, she had failed in her previous attempt to conquer Earth, but…

Zim ran his fingertips lightly over his fractured antenna, which had nearly finished mending. “So it’s now, then?”

Tak shook herself out of her musings, nodding curtly. “Yes.” Pulling the cuffs out, she stepped forward. “Put your hands out, Zim.”

The male Irken blinked at her. “Will you need those? I don’t intend to put up a fight.” He sighed weakly. “Besides, I have nowhere to go. My base has been annihilated, my SIR unit destroyed, and my Voot Runner is probably in pieces in a lab somewhere.”

Tak considered what Zim had said, then narrowed one eye. “But what would stop you from trying to hurt me out of retaliation?”

Zim’s eyes widened and he blinked at her. “The thought never occurred to me. And I wouldn’t...it would change nothing.”

Tak watched Zim warily as he spoke, trying to detect any indication that he was lying, finding none. Putting the cuffs away, she gestured towards the corridor. “All right. The communications deck is that way.” She pointed.

Zim nodded and walked forward, looking over at Tak, who was walking slightly back and to one side of him. “Did the Tallests give you a new mission other than to kill me?”

Tak scowled. “Why should I tell you?”

He shrugged. “Is there harm in my knowing? You’re going to destroy me in a few minutes.”

Tak considered the male Irken for a long time, thoughts running through her head. Zim was indeed far more intelligent now than he had been on her last visit to Earth. Indeed, his perceptiveness, sincerity and hidden sensitivity were…attractive. So much so that it was almost a shame that she had to destroy him. Ah well, there were millions more where he came from… “Not yet, but I am assuming that once you have been disposed of they will assign me to this planet as part of Operation Impending Doom 2.”

The words made Zim flinch. She would take over where he had failed. He sighed softly, his eyes drifting closed for a moment. “This horrible planet has taught me a great deal, but that does not make up for the first few years that I wasted.” He stopped suddenly and gave Tak a serious look. “Be wary of the Dib-human, Tak…I promise you, he is FAR more dangerous than when you saw him last.”

Tak was about to pull out her handheld weapon when Zim stopped, not knowing what her prisoner intended to do, thinking perhaps he was going to try to attack her. But when all he did was warn her about the Dib-human, she relaxed a little, then frowned. “Why would you care?”

Zim shuddered, clenching his teeth. “Tak…if you had seen the hideous pain I went through in that place…” he shook his head, then met her eyes again.

Tak’s expression was puzzled. “You didn’t answer my question. Why would you bother to warn me of such things?”

Zim blinked. Why was he warning her? For some strange reason, he couldn’t stomach the thought of Tak being on an autopsy table at Dib’s hands, but it was more than that. Perhaps he wanted her to succeed where he had failed? No, that didn’t make sense, because he wouldn’t live to know whether she succeeded or not. And it had NOTHING to do with the fact that she was a female Irken…an attractive one... No, nothing to do with that. Perhaps it was because she had saved him from Dib. Yes, that must be it…he was grateful. That was why he wanted to help her.

“I just…wanted to help. Since you saved me from the Dib.” He said softly.

She blinked at him, then contemplated him carefully. “And what makes you think you will not suffer a worse fate at my hands? I have a lot to pay you back for, you know.”

Zim looked at the floor between his feet. “I don’t know.” He sighed, feeling awkward in light of his own presumptuousness. “I just didn’t see you as the type.”

Tak scowled. “Why not?” she snapped. If he said anything in regards to her being female, she was going to shoot him in the head.

Zim lifted his head and looked at her for a long moment. “You’re too intelligent. I realized that about a year ago when I was thinking of how you didn’t destroy me when you came to Earth to take my mission. I realized it would have been too simple; you had a complicated plan that you put into action, which showed that you had the brain-meats that I lacked at that time.”

Tak blinked at him in shock. That was an answer she hadn’t expected. “And you have those brain-meats now?” Her tone was sarcastic as she scrutinized him.

Zim smirked. “Well, I have more than I had ten years ago, although I know you’ll tell me that isn’t saying much.” He smiled at her, wishing he could forget about his impending death sentence and just have a decent conversation with a fellow Irken after so many years alone… “I’d like to consider myself less stupid and a little more careful...” he narrowed one eye slightly, although the grin remained, “although that’s probably my arrogance speaking again.”

Yet again, Tak was surprised. Shocked, even. Zim actually had some degree of wit and humour in his possession now. “Maybe…” she murmured distractedly.

Zim turned and began to walk again, looking down at the floor.

Tak shook herself out of her distracted state and walked after him.

“So what will you do once you become part of the fleet? Are you planning on going into Elite Infantry or will you climb the ranks as a Commander?”

The casual question spoke volumes; Zim was taking it as a given that she would succeed in her mission to destroy him and conquer Earth, and by doing so he was issuing her the most generous compliment she’d ever received. She hoped she wasn’t blushing…Tak didn’t have to study him now to know that he was being serious. “I have no interest in infantry.” She stated flatly, pointing to the left at a fork in the corridor. “That way.”

Zim nodded, slowing to a stop when he reached the arch leading to the communication platform, anxiety showing in his face. He looked over at Tak for a moment. “I don’t want to die.”

She blinked at him, then shrugged, trying to sound indifferent. “No-one does.” Why wasn’t she able to meet his eyes when she said that? She clenched her teeth, then growled. “Go to the centre of the platform.”

He couldn’t stop the quivering in his body and he couldn’t push the fear to the back of his mind any more. But he knew he had nowhere to go. Walking up the ramp to the platform, he knelt in the centre, flinching as he put pressure on his injured knee, although it had almost healed. He watched as Tak approached, pulling a blindfold out of her pak. Zim shook his head. “I don’t need it.”

Tak’s antennae twitched in surprise. Perhaps Zim was stronger than she gave him credit for. But no matter, it wouldn’t change his fate. She shrugged and put the blindfold back into her pak.

“Computer, open a line of communication with The Massive.” Tak began to ready the equipment for the execution, frowning when the computer did not acknowledge the request. “Computer, I said open a line of communication with The Massive!”

Zim tensed. “Have you ever had a problem with your base’s computer before?”

Tak snorted. “Of course not, I—”

“What about the Artificial Intelligence Brain?” Zim rose to his feet, his expression grave. He knew this pattern…

Tak scowled at him. “The Brain in this base is brand new, not that you need to know that. Get back down on—”

Zim looked around warily, then looked at Nara, and back at Tak. “I think it may be a good idea to send your SIR up to check—”

“I said GET BACK DOWN!” She snarled, stepping forward and pointing her handheld weapon at him.

Zim lowered himself to his knees again, his expression serious. “Tak, listen to me…I’m not trying to stall, there’s no—”

Before Zim could even finish the sentence there was a loud shot and the weapon flew out of Tak’s hand. Zim leapt to his feet as Dib and the four scientists sauntered through the arch, two holding long-range tazers and Dib and the other two holding guns.

“Well, I guess we should be grateful for him escaping, looks like we’re going to have a female Irken as well! What a great research opportunity!” Dib snickered, then shot one of Nara’s eyes, the glass-like material shattering. There was a loud crackling sound as the SIR unit began to short circuit, and Dib took out the other eye with the second shot.

All logic and reason took a back seat to Zim’s survival instincts now as he stepped between Tak and the group of humans.

One of the scientists grinned. “Well, it looks like there’s some sort of camaraderie between these two…perhaps they’re mates?”

Dib snorted, walking towards the Irkens with the two tazer-armed scientists in tow. “Not likely. I don’t think any female of the Irken race is dumb enough to fall for a reject like him.”

“You will not touch her.” Zim growled, his attention focused on the two scientists with the tazers. He wouldn’t be caught a second time, and he would die before allowing them to take a female of his race…Irk only knew what vile things they would do to her... “And those words are no insult coming from a pathetic human who has yet to find someone outside of the paranormal field who will willingly associate with him.”

Dib scowled. “I think it’s time we brought these two back to the lab.”

Zim’s eyes narrowed and he hissed through his teeth. “Bastard worm-baby, if you know what’s good for you, you will LEAVE.” When Dib rolled his eyes and waved the two tazer-wielding scientists on, Zim snarled.

The tazers fired, but before they could make contact Zim grabbed Tak around the waist and shielded her body with his own, diving forward beneath the shots, his spider-legs lashing out and plunging through the two scientists’ chests. He flung the human bodies aside and slashed the gun out of Dib’s hand as Dib and the other two scientists started firing, one shot hitting him in the shoulder and another in the left hip.

Not waiting another second, Tak leapt forward and extended her spider-legs, using her lasers to destroy the other two armed scientists as Zim fought with Dib.

As dark blood oozed from his wounded shoulder and his side, Zim slammed Dib against the wall, his red eyes narrowed in absolute hatred as all four of his spider-legs plunged into Dib’s body, one through his groin, two through his shoulders, and another through his stomach. Zim’s voice was a low, rasping growl. “I hope this hurts you.” He hissed, about to tear the human to pieces when one of the scientists who had been speared through the heart managed to pick up Dib’s fallen gun and squeezed off a dying shot.

Zim jerked as there was a sound of crunching metal and he was propelled forward against Dib’s body, then hit the floor. There was a burning sensation in the middle of his back and he gasped, trying frantically to remove his pak. Just as he reached back to remove it manually, violent shocks from the malfunctioning pak jolted through his system and his body went rigid for a few seconds before he went into full-body convulsions. Uttering an ear-rending scream of pain, Zim clung to consciousness for a few more seconds before everything went black.

*********************

Zim eventually stirred, groaning weakly. When he opened his eyes, his entire body went rigid. “I can’t see—”

“Shh…” a voice came from nearby, and Zim frowned slightly, turning his head towards the sound.

“Tak?”

“Yes.” She removed the gel-soaked cloth from where it had been resting on Zim’s forehead, dipping it into a nearby basin of cool gel and wringing it out before placing it back on Zim’s forehead.

He tensed again, reaching out and grabbing her wrist gently. “Did they hurt you?”

Tak blinked at him. Why was he so concerned? “I’m fine.”

Zim relaxed a little, although he was still frowning. “What’s wrong with my eyes?”

Tak sighed. “It must have something to do with your pak malfunctioning. I’m repairing it right now.”

Zim’s expression turned to one of bewilderment. “Why? I’m completely at your mercy now. Why not just kill me?”

She sat beside him on the bed. “Because I have questions that you’re going to answer before I do that, and besides, I want the Tallests to watch when I destroy you.”

“Oh. But…the Dib…”

“He escaped.” She snapped. “Now, first question: why were you protecting me?”

Zim sighed. “I…wasn’t.” He didn’t need his sight to know that his face was flushing.

Tak snorted. “Don’t lie to me or I’ll yank on your antennae.”

Zim gasped and tensed, covering them anxiously with his hands. “Don’t!”

Tak snickered. “Then answer the question.”

The male Irken cringed, still keeping his hands where they were. “I didn’t want them to capture you. It made me sick to think what they would do to you, because—” he lifted his hands a little, although cautiously, “because of what they did to me. You have no idea wh—”

“I already know what they did to you, Zim.” Tak rolled her eyes. “I stole and destroyed all of the evidence.”

Zim’s fists clenched and he hissed at her. “You can’t destroy what happens when the filthy human cameras are off, Tak.” He snapped his mouth shut, instantly regretting what he’d said.

She blinked at him, her antennae lowering slightly and her eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”

His expression was pained and he turned his head away. “I don’t want to speak of it.”

Tak scowled. “That’s too bad, Zim, because you’re going to tell me everything I want to know before I destroy you.” She pulled the blanket off of him and punched his left hip where the bullet had shattered the bone, gratified by Zim’s startled wail of agony. Tak grinned sadistically. “Now, tell me what happened after the human cameras were turned off.”

Zim clenched his teeth, holding his injured hip as the pain spiked through his entire body. “No…” he shook his head, his expression determined.

Tak growled, climbing onto the bed and kicking him hard where he was covering the injury with his hands. “TELL ME!! YOU HAVE NO CHOICE!!” She kicked him in the hip again, watching him writhe and scream.

When he could finally think over the pain that had begun to threaten his awareness, he lifted blind eyes to his assailant. “Why?” he moaned brokenly, his cheeks flushing in mortification. “Why must you know?”

Tak hissed and kicked him again. “Do not question me!! I have ordered you to—”

“THINGS!!!” Zim howled, clutching his shattered hip as he fought the need to retch, both from the pain and the disgusting memories. “He put THINGS in me!! His things!”

She looked at him curiously, crossing her arms over her chest, still standing on the bed beside him. “What things?”

Zim moaned and shuddered, a drop of moisture trailing down one cheek, his antennae lowered submissively. “His…human-things…his parts…”

Tak’s eyes narrowed slightly. “He didn’t look like he was missing any parts when I saw him in the lab.”

Zim shook his head desperately. “No…it wasn’t that kind of…of…”

Tak snarled in frustration and reached down, twisting one of his antennae hard.

Zim shrieked, tears stinging his eyes. “His breeding parts! He put them in and took them out of me, it hurt so badly and it made me sick, just in and out and in and out, and he kept laughing and laughing, vile stink-creature!!” Zim clutched at his broken hip, his whole body trembling. “He wouldn’t stop, he said he wouldn’t stop until he’d cut apart every inch of me, and he made me watch!!! He forced me to watch him putting his disgusting human breeding-thing inside of me, and I…I…I couldn’t stop him…” Zim turned away from Tak onto his good side, curling up into a ball and shuddering in revulsion. “I couldn’t move…his seed-stuff burned my insides, and I couldn’t move because I was strapped down to that table!!! F-filthy h-h-human!”

Tak blinked at him in shock. This form of torture was something completely unheard of in her experience. And with that realization came the most intense feeling of guilt she had ever known.

She pulled him up into her arms, stroking the back of his head gently. So this was what he had tried to save her from. The knowledge made the guilt-feeling worse, but at the same time it showed her that as stupid and foolish as Zim was, he had a sense of valor. She frowned. Why was she trying to note his merits? It was her mission to kill him. All she had to do was execute him, and her dreams would come true…

Zim moaned softly, shuddering against her. Blind and in sheer agony from his injuries and the abuse he’d just taken, Zim could do nothing but curl into the embrace of his executioner. His awareness of her was the only thing he had now other than the pain.

As Zim curled against her body, Tak sighed and lowered her head slightly, resting it against the top of Zim’s head. She didn’t know what to say. As she took a deep breath, she caught a faint scent from Zim’s antennae reminding her of an age-old trait that all Irkens possessed, although it was highly suppressed. It made her shiver…it was a scent produced in male Irkens who had reached breeding age, although in these days it was only a faint odour that was barely detectable unless in extremely close contact, as she was now. She ran her smell-spot gently across the top of Zim’s head, inhaling that scent again.

Zim was still clutching at his hip, in too much pain to notice Tak’s sensual exploration. “Tak…” he groaned.

Lifting her head, her cheeks flushing guiltily, she cleared her throat, forgetting that Zim couldn’t see what she had been doing. “Yes?”

“Do you have any…anesthetic? Would you be willing to give me any?” He swallowed hard, his legs going numb as the pain from his shattered hip continued to spread through his body. “Please…”

Tak considered him for a moment, then reached back into her pak and pulled the anesthetic out. After what she’d just done to him, perhaps he deserved some relief. She administered it, putting the tool away as Zim went limp in her arms, his antennae dropping lifelessly against his head. She lay him down on the bed, pulling the blanket up over his injured body and straightening out her uniform, soaking the small cloth in cool gel and placing it on his forehead again before leaving the room. She would have to repair Nara and see about getting the base’s computer back online. And once again, she would have to delay Zim’s execution.

****************

Tak returned to Zim’s cell a few hours later, seeing that he was still unconscious. Approaching the bed, she reached out and pulled the blanket back, removing the bandage on his shoulder, seeing that the entry and exit wounds from the bullet that had hit him in the shoulder were healing at a severely slowed rate. Applying a clean bandage, she ran her fingertips over his face. Tak wondered if Zim could be persuaded to help her repair the base…although it was unlikely, since it would mean that his death would come sooner. She clenched her teeth. Curses, she was going to be on this planet far longer than she had anticipated, and she hated it. Oh, how she hated this filthy ball of dirt!

Pulling her view-tool out of her pak, she inspected the damage to Zim’s hip, cringing a little. It was far worse now than it had been initially because of her cruelty, and the chances of it mending properly on its own were highly unlikely now, especially without Zim having his pak on. She sighed, putting the view-tool away and rubbing her temples. If she wanted Zim to help repair the base, then she would need him to be mobile, which was impossible in his current state. Which would mean that she’d either need to repair his pak and put it on him, or she would need to anesthetize him again and perform the surgery herself. She stood, pacing on her spider-legs. Damn. Damn, damn, damn. What was she going to do?

********
Well, thank you to those who reviewed...

To GothycCoalChambr: Well, I mentioned in regards to your review of Vindication that only the Control Brains can make you a Tallest, but for your reviewing of this story I shall make you my Tallest. *salutes*
To littleshipper: Well, I hope that I have enough skill to convert you, my reviewy-peep! And no, I didn't get him to sign my tattoo because at that point it was starting to heal and was really crusty and gross looking. If it hadn't been, I totally would've gotten him to sign it. Thank you so much for reviewing this story...it doesn't seem to be getting very many reviews, but I'm glad people are reading it. *lurve*
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Soldier of Fortune