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Escaping Tak's bedchambers was the easy part. It'd taken Gaz mere seconds to crack the code to the door (Her favorite video game spelled backwards— Really?), and while she'd expected the Empress' floating Venusian palace to have a better security system, she was grateful for her good fortune just the same.
The farther she got from the room, however, the more her confidence waned. She skidded to a halt, heart pounding against her ribs as her sheer violet gown billowed around her. What lay ahead wasn't the anticipated path to freedom, but a somber corridor that branched off into a seemingly countless series of exits.
Steeling herself with a deep sigh, Gaz picked one of the hallways at random to explore— Dead end. She tried her luck with the one right beside it, but soon wound up in the exact same situation.
A couple dozen more tries, with no success. She leaned against a wall, panting softly. Her feet, bare against the chilly floor, were killing her by this point. She had half a mind to just give up and lie there until she was recaptured by Tak, but as soon as she caught her breath she made her way once again back to the main corridor.
Finally, she found herself in a hallway with a pale light flickering at the very end of it— It took her a solid minute to make her way out until suddenly she was at the top of a winding staircase. She then flew down the steps, running like she'd never run in her life.
She was almost at the bottom when a pair of cold metal arms grabbed her from behind, lifting her high into the air.
"Let me GO!" she yelled, flailing and kicking uselessly about. She banged her fist against MiMi-tron's solid chest but regretted it immediately, a sharp pain now radiating throughout her hand.
In the distance, the faint clacking of heels echoed against the marble tiles. Gaz's mouth went dry, her senses now on high alert. Closer and closer the steps came, each one dancing around her rapid pulse.
Then, silence. Gaz looked down— In the low light of the foyer stood her captor, Empress Tak. The petite alien shifted in place, her long, night-colored robes billowing about her grandly. Just below her antennae hung a thin silver tiara, a bright indigo gem gleaming in the middle like a third eye.
"Where are you running off to, my little pet?" she crooned. Her voice, low and raspy, inspired more fear than Gaz cared to admit.
"Oh, nowhere," said Gaz, feigning nonchalance. "Just looking for some explosives so I can blow this place to high hell. Any idea where I might find them?"
Gaz knew she was playing with fire here. She and Tak weren't young students exchanging schoolyard taunts anymore— Now she was face to face with the woman who had conquered her world just days ago, completely wiping out her opposition in the process. Zim's laser hole-riddled body hadn't even been cold when Tak had decided to exile Gaz's family somewhere beyond the Milky Way.
And as for Gaz? Well, it was hard to save the galaxy while trapped inside a gilded cage.
For a few spine-freezing moments Tak looked like she was going to strike Gaz for her remarks. But then she threw back her head and laughed, a sound as mad as it was amicable.
"What a sharp tongue you have," she purred, reaching up to cup Gaz's chin. Her dark gaze trailed down the ample bosom before her. "And the rest of you is just as intriguing." She waved her hand at the robot. "Take her back to my chambers, where she belongs."
Raw anger surged through Gaz. She thrashed against her restraints as MiMi-tron dragged her back up the stairs.
"You can keep me locked away," she hissed, her golden eyes flashing dangerously. "Try to win me over with your stupid little gifts. But I'll never belong to you."
It wasn't often that Gaz regretted her actions. But just after she spoke there was a flash in Tak's eyes, followed by a flicker through the gem in her tiara, and then a wave of drowsiness overcame her, body slumping forward like a ragdoll.
At the bottom of the steps Tak crossed her arms, a smile of tentative triumph spreading across her face.
"We shall see."