Truthseeking

Pretend until it's Real

Zim sighed as he heard the heavy steps of boots, followed by the click of the door closing.

It hadn't taken long for the bulky man to leave, less than half an hour after Dib left, actually.

He slowly stood from his spot behind the couch, antennae perked and alert.

Fortunately, he only sensed one other presence in the base, the Dib-sister, Gaz.

Zim wasn't completely comfortable with the other human, but he knew she wouldn't tell anyone or pick fights, so she was safe enough.

His antennae fell back, and he was met with the same unsure feeling he'd tried to avoid.

He… wasn't really happy about The Tallest calling him back.

He didn't know why, he should be the happiest Irken invader! They were taking him back.

He needed to be more grateful. Being with the stupid humans has made him soft and unloyal, this is the kind of behaviour he'd get deactivated for.

It was the kind of behaviour that was found in defectives.

And he wasn't defective. He wasn't.

Zim shook his head, debating matters like this was useless… He just needed to be more loyal.

He only had… how long until they were coming.

They didn't mention how long until they were arriving, only that they'd set the course.

Should he call them..? They wouldn't be annoyed right?

He intertwined his claws, tapping on the back of his hands.

An invader would need to know when their leaders would be there, so it should be fine..

Yeah, this is normal. They won't mind.

He took in a shallow breath, and tried to will his body to stop trembling.

"Computer, call the Tallest. " Zim commanded, though his voice lacked the fire and confidence it used to shine with.

There were no complaints as the screen in front of the small irken blared to life.

He stood straight, respectfully saluting as the Tallest appeared on the TV.

"My Tallest! " He greeted just a little too loudly, antennae stiffly perked.

They didn't reply verbally, just a slight nod. He hoped they weren't bothered.

"I couldn't help but notice you never listed a specific date for when you'd be arriving on Earth. " Zim half questioned, sheepishly smiling.

"Oh, yeah. " Tallest Purple admitted boredly, looking at his partner.

"We should be there in… '' Red paused, looking off to the side, presumably at one of the navigators.

"One of the planets' days. "

Zim froze.

A day.

Only a day?

"O-oh- Ok. Thank you my Tallest! " He saluted again, not quite knowing what to do or say. Wasn't one day a bit quick?

But… His Tallest were never wrong. This was for the best.

The call ended, the buzz of the TV fading into the background.

His squeedlyspooch churned with a sense of dread.

Why, why wasn't he happy? Why did this feel so wrong?