Summary: With someone unknown pulling the strings, the Almighty Tallest Red and Purple find themselves stranded on a backwater planet. Now the Empire has declared them dead, its new Tallest blaming the Resisty for their murder- They've no choice but to ask for help from the one Irken they'd hoped to never hear from again.

Tags/Warnings as Taken from AO3: Almighty Tallest Purple/Almighty Tallest Red, Invader Skoodge, Original Characters, The Resisty, Rarl Kove,

Alien Culture, Alien Biology, Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Consensual Violence, Explicit Language, Gender Issues, Alien Gender/Sexuality, Mental Health Issues, Mind Control, Hypnotism, Psychic Violence

Notes: This is a project that started on a lark, then bit like a shark and simply refused to ever let go. As such it is my first fandom-related project in a number of years. Started as a loose concept for an Ask-Blog, expanded into a comic and then finally converted into a fanfic, I'm always happy to listen to comments, suggestions, or take questions.
Although I've poked around the Zim fandom in years past I can only hope to provide some small amount of entertainment for the 'new' crowd, as well as any of those who've been hanging on all this time. Thanks for your time, ya'll.
~Zam

Through the silent darkness of space comes a menace: a nearly incalculable number of ships, slowly swarming about the great flagship known only as The Massive, like bees to their Queen - the great hive comprised of the unsurpassed power of the Irken Armada.

The rumbling sounds of explosions echoing slowly down the halls was never anything to be concerned over; everyone aboard theMassive had long since become used to the vibrations that trembled through her hull as she coasted forward, as if swaying with the lullaby of explosives, while her Armada made their way across the span of the universe, pressing ever onward in their desire to expand the Great Irken Empire.

Tonight, of course, was nothing new. Both Tallest knew very well that outside the great windows of their suite would be brilliant fireballs of color and light, flashes of power to herald either the arrival of the great leaders or the fall of yet another unfortunate vessel that just happened to be in the the way.

However, the persistent buzzing of the intercom proved it would no doubt be a busy night for the Irken leaders. Red did his best to ignore the minor irritation and turned another page of the book in his hands. He might not be of the opinion that Zim would be able to discover something of value, were it to crush him, but even the Tallest had to admit that some of his translated versions of this "hyooman litrature" weren't all that bad. While he had hoped to finish his copy of War and Peace in relative silence, he knew as soon as Purple began to shift beside him, this wouldn't be the case.

Indeed, it was only a moment later when his co-ruler broke the silence, his voice muddled from sleep-cycle, "I don't care who is at the door or what they want- Red, go answer that and toss whoever it is out the nearest airlock."

Twitching his antennae and huffing softly, the only move Red bothered to make at this request was the turn of another page, "Why not go do it yourself?"

Purple's response was a low whine and, once again, Red was reminded of just how very grateful he was for his partner's unusual fondness for sleep. It may not have exactly been proper Irken behavior, but at least when he first woke in the morning, Purple's tone was softer, less grating. Hell, Red could almost say it was pleasant, when compared to his usually piercing tone. He'd long ago come to the conclusion that, at least to a certain extent, his Co-Tallest made himself sound loud and obnoxious on purpose - only forgetting to bother when he'd become increasingly tired or distracted.

"Can't," was his obstinate reply, "I'm asleep."

Red rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to thump Purple across the head with his book. Pur had taken to wearing a mask to bed that let him sleep, while his Co-Tallest stayed up all hours of the night reading or going over battle plans. Even annoyed as he was, he could never justify attacking his partner while he was blinded.

It was true that violence may have been a large part of their culture, and displays of dominance for one Irken over the next were commonplace, Red would never give anyone (including Purple himself) cause to think he was actually mistreating his partner.

Besides, Pur just wouldn't like it.

Not that he currently liked their intrusive guest either, it seemed, as he growled at the continued buzz of the intercom. Red couldn't help but chuckle, "You shouldn't try the growling thing, Pur. It's always just sad when you do it…" and then finally tapped the flashing green light of the intercom at its place on his nightstand. He tried to mask the amusement in his voice as he addressed whatever member of their crew was so bent on suicide. "For your sake, this'd better be good."

The equally frantic and static-ridden voice of the Advisor to the Tallest, Rarl Kove, came through the line. "Thank goodness I got through! My Tallest, are you all right? Please- It's an emergency; I must speak with you at once!"

Red frowned at the little box for a moment, his antennae going flat. Rarl had always been a bit of a Doomsayer (literally, every plan he and Purple had ever come up with was predicted to cause a great disaster, the likes of which the Empire had never SEEN. And maybe they'd made a few mistakes, but they had been made Tallest when they were rather young. Everyone makes mistakes… very…big…explosive…costly…mistakes…. But something, perhaps his old warrior's instinct, told him to take not. "It's Rarl," he offered as Purple grumbled irritably and tried to bury himself beneath expensive sheets. "He sounds pretty worried."

"Well he should be," Purple sniped, "You're going to throw him out an airlock and let me go back to sleep. You'd have to be a complete moron not to be worried about that."

After allowing himself another chuckle at his partner's discomfort, Red keyed in the code for their shared suite, "No, I'm not going to throw him out an airlock, I'm going to let him in."

Any amusement he may have had however died a swift death the moment Rarl's shadow had crossed their door. His muddy eyes, a yellow-green, darted nervously back and forth as if he expected to be attacked at any moment, while Red's antennae perked, suddenly able to catch the sharp-sweet scent of blood from further down the corridor.

"My Tallest! We're under attack!"

The Advisor's own reedy voice was cut off as he lunged sideways, only just narrowly avoiding a pillow to the face. Red glanced back at Purple, now sitting upright in bed, still blindfolded. (Pur always did have great aim… It was a shame Rarl had become so adept at dodging.) "So let the GUARDS handle it, you idiot! That's what they're THERE for."

With his piece said, he gave one last snarl before collapsing back into bed, snatching one of Red's own pillows to pull over his head and muttering something which the ruby-eyed Tallest was fairly sure had to be, 'Kill him now, kill him dead.'

Knowing the situation would go nowhere until Purple had decided to stop sulking, Red resigned himself to dealing with the situation, swinging his legs off the bed and gathering his abandoned shirt off the floor. He didn't bother stopping to actually pull it on, modesty had never been something he worried about (that was Pur's nonsense) and far more concerned with the growing unease he could feel coming off the shorter Irken in waves. "How bad is it? Are we needed on the Bridge?" he asked, lowering his voice so his partner wouldn't be able to complain about the noise.

Rarl's eyes had widened, his own reply a far harsher whisper, "The Bridge? No, Sir! My Tallest, we've enacted the Miyuki-Protocol; We must get you both to safety immediately!"

Even Red's gaze widened a little before glancing back over his shoulder at the bed. "…Miyuki? Really?"

Almighty Tallest Miyuki had been a venerated, beloved figure in her time, one of the most well-respected Tallest in known history in fact, before her premature demise. She had paved the way for large-scale space travel and fostered missions of exploration across the universe, even commissioning the Massive from Irk's then ally, Vort.

Although she had never lived to see her flagship completed, the protocols and failsafes set in place during her reign were still active. As a traditionalist, the protocol which bore her name was meant to be one of preservation.

If the Massive had become compromised, the reigning Tallest were to be escorted to an unmarked vessel programmed with a course set to a safe-house on a pre-determined planet. Once the threat had ceased, the Massive could send out a signal to be picked up by the Tallest's ship, and they would be able to once more return to the mobile seat of the Empire.

The severity of the plan required there to be no other alternatives; for it to have been enacted now certainly didn't bode well for their evening. Red exhaled quietly before giving his Advisor a nod. "Just… give us a moment, will you, Rarl?"

The shorter Irken nodded, wringing his hands as he bowed his head, antennae wiggling while he retreated backward quickly. "Of course, my Tallest. I'll be right outside the door; please do hurry- Time is of the essence."

With a deep sigh, Red turned and regarded the lump of covers now taking up the center of the bed. "Come on, Pur… I know you were listening. We've gotta go. I promise you can sleep in the cruiser, all right?"

To his credit, Tallest Purple didn't attempt to feign ignorance, instead sitting upright and fixing Red with a dirty look. "You just had to answer the door, didn't you?"

His partner only shrugged.

"Well, fine," he huffed again. "But as soon as we get back, I want a new law. No coupes, mutinies, hostile takeovers, emergencies or snack shortages during night hours."

"We're in space, Pur; the hours don't matter. Though, I'm certain the Resisty would be happy to comply with your new law." Red grinned while Purple groaned and continued his complaints with a dramatic wave of his hands.

"You know I HATE that name! It's so stupid! It's just like this one- Who'd want to name a Tallest-Saving plan after one who was mysteriously murdered?"

Red paused a moment, head cocked slightly to the side, one eye slightly raised, "…Yeah, okay… I can see how that's a little weird, but I'm …sure they named it before the incident."

"Murder," his partner corrected, finally pulling himself out of bed. "Almighty Miyuki was murdered. Almighty Spork was murdered. The Massive's under attack- You know- I don't like this track record; we need better guards. These must be defective; I mean, what good is a guard who can't kill a few intruders?"

Unable to come up with a suitable argument, more that he really didn't want to think about just how ineffective their current guards must have been, Red just waved Purple off and busied himself with getting dressed. "Come on, let's get out of here before Rarl has some kind of fit or something."

Purple huffed, still pulling on his own boots, "You know I really hate that guy…"

Red laughed, brushing past him, well aware he'd follow behind, "Yeah, I know you do. Hate him all you want, but do it when he isn't trying to save our lives, all right?"

Huffing lightly and sticking his tongue out at his Co-Tallest was really the best he could do, though Purple did do his best to keep any further complaints to himself. Instead trying to ignore the hushed conversation Red was currently having with their Advisor as the three of them moved carefully down the hall. To tell the truth, for such an "urgent" situation, they were certainly moving quite a bit slower than he might have liked, but it was a fact he quickly became grateful for when his boot found something slick against the floor and he went tumbling forward with a less than dignified squeak.

Red caught him, of course, without so much as a second thought, pulling him upright once more and flashing him a grin with too many teeth. "Careful there, Pur, it's a bit of a mess out here."

Purple blinked in confusion, antennae perking curiously, baffled by the fact that his Co-Tallest still had a careful grip on his arm, as if he expected him to fall again. He frowned back at Red, who's expression smoothed into something else, the sort of severity he hadn't seen in years. Pulling back a little he shifted to look over Red's shoulder and sucked in a breath as quickly, as if he'd been punched.

Rarl stood a little ways in front of them, shifting uneasily at the pause in their journey, his eyes fixed solidly at his own feet. Beyond him lay the slumped figures of individuals the Tallest had seen only hours before, wishing them a pleasant evening as they retired to their suite.

He could feel Red hesitate before he let him go, ruby eyes steady on his back as he crossed the hall to kneel beside one of the fallen guards. His antennae twitched nervously, eyes roving over the other Irken. "There's nothing," he called back after a moment, "No burns, no blasts, no cuts." Carefully, Purple rolled the guard forward, grimacing as the action only prompted a fresh wave of blood from his mouth. "It's as if his pak shorted and he bled out from the inside."

Pushing himself to a stand, he let the guard fall, trying to ignore the sludge of what he was sure had once been grey matter steadily creeping towards his boots. "What the hell is this, Kove? Are all of them like this? What sort of weapon – Red, I've never seen anything look like this, what kind of weapon functions that way? It's like something triggered an Invader's self-destruct, but there's no sign of any external damage."

"…My Tallest? What exactly are you doing?"

Purple quickly became aware their Advisor was staring at him as though he'd grown a second head, while his Co-Tallest was sporting a grin thatreally didn't suit their situation. "What did you expect me to do?" he snapped, irritably, making his way back to the pair and fixing the shorter of the two with a glare. "Poke him with a stick to check if he's dead?"

Laughter echoed through the corridor, cut off by Purple's abrupt snarl of, "Really not the time, Red," and Rarl just looked between his Tallest with confusion. "It… I meant no disrespect my Tallest- I simply did not expect those sorts of questions. I- I'm not certain what is happening, my Tallest- You were of course my primary concern- We… We really shouldn't waste any more time; it's best if we keep moving."

"Then you'd best start moving, hadn't you? You're the one who knows where we're going."

"Of course, my Tallest!"

Though he usually moved with a shuffling gait, no one could deny that Rarl Kove could certainly make time when he needed to. Even Purple had to admit the increase of pace was admirable, though the further they went, the tighter the sense of dread that pulled at his chest became. Red continued to chatter at the two of them, his conversation kept purposefully light, a method he'd been fond of using in the past; he was trying to keep up morale, keep them distracted. It only made Purple more aware of the problem, the body count climbing as they went.

He waited for the right moment to break, for Rarl to slip into the conversation with Red, providing an easy distraction for Purple to slip away and retrace their steps, moving swiftly and silently down the hallways accessing the damage as he went. The walls were coated in splatter, sudden burst patterns that made no sense, the damage sudden and irreversible. Whatever was here- whatever it was must have come sudden and silent, without warning.

They hadn't gotten all that far from the Tallest's suite in their initial progress, for that at least he could be thankful as he waved a claw across the entry-pad and ducked quickly into the room, making his way to one of the two immense closets. It was only now that Purple began to hear the start of the ship's alarms, the sound of far-off voices and flash of the emergency lights, too little too late for some perhaps. But if he and Red were going to be up against, well… up against whatever it was, he would make damn sure the two of them were prepared.

"Come on, come on- Now where did I put that thing?"

He muttered to himself, antennae flat as he tossed one useless article after the next from his closet until finally coming across a large metal case in a brilliant violet color. It was coated in dust, half-buried under that ridiculous make-shift stage he and Red had made a few years ago, but still, it was there.

Flipping open the locks and giving a quick once over of the contents he moved on to the other half of the room, making sure to grab a few extra things that, should the event come that they be stranded for any length of time, he thought Red might appreciate having on hand. It was a tight fit to be sure after he'd packed everything he could and forced it closed. The case may not have been as full as he would have liked but had never been designed for its new, now extra contents…

He felt more than a little bit foolish then, racing back down the hallway. Here he was, Almighty Tallest Purple, tearing through the Massive in his pajamas with an outdated standard issue kit and a puppet of himself in hand. If he was lucky, Red would never have noticed he was gone.

Unfortunately, it seemed, today was not to be his day to be lucky. He could hear them, a little ways down the hall, in a corridor further down; if he was able to hurry then perhaps-

"Ugh," Red grimaced a little. His antennae hung at the sides of his head, pressed close as though it could block out the overwhelming scent. "You know, I don't think I've seen quite this much Irken blood since Impending Doom One... You're right, Pur, we need better guards. Why don't you get on that and hire some new ones, Rarl?"

The Advisor didn't even bother to hide his expression of distaste, "Of course sir, I'll take care of it as soon as we've finished cleaning the decks, shall I?"

"Don't we have people for that? I could've sworn we had people for that, don't we, Pur?" Red turned back to the empty hallway and froze his steps, expression going dark. "Hang on- Where is he?"

Rarl paused, turning around himself and trying, praying to any sense of logic that he would be able to keep his temper in check- These two, ever since they had come aboard, he would swear they were little better than –meets, always causing trouble, always upsetting the proper order of things, always making something explode. He exhaled carefully, trying to keep himself steady, to not fidget, "I'm not certain, sir. My Tallest was right behind us before. Perhaps he's forgotten something?"

He cringed at the sound of Red's snarl, backing away as the Tallest swung his fist into the side of a wall. "Of all the idiotic- What on Irk could possibly be so damn important that he'd try and risk his neck like that!? When I find him I'm gonna-"

"Red!" Purple gasped as he rounded the corner, bringing himself to a halt. "Hold on, I'm here- I'm here, Red, I just had to-" Red was on him in a moment, antennae pressed forward aggressively, hands at his shoulders. "Red, please, really, we can do this later, I just had to grab some things in case we needed them, that's all. Let's just get to the ship and we can argue then-" He offered a nervous smile, antennae laid flat, submissive. "All right?"

"All right?" Red growled, "No, it isn't alright, what the hell were you thinking, Purple? What the hell was so important? You could have gotten yourself killed! Are you hurt?" Glancing over him quickly, he may not have found any sort of injury but he certainly did find the little hand-puppet hanging against the handle of the case in Purple's claws. He snatched it up, shaking it as violently as he could. Purple leaned backward, fairly certain that Red wanted to shake him just as hard. "… You… You went back for... In case we needed… PUPPETS?"

"Are you DEFECTIVE, as well as stupid now? No-," he spat, shaking his head. "No, you know what? Don't answer that. Just, come on. Let's get out of here, before you manage to get us both killed." He tossed the likeness aside, where it fell with a sick sound as it hit. Leaning forward into Purple's space and taking him by the arm, Red squeezed. "No more puppets; if I have to see another damn puppet this entire trip, I'm going to put YOU on strings."

"Now let's go." Yanking the other Tallest along behind him, Red turned to snap at Rarl, who had stood by in silence. "Lead the way."

"Yes, my Tallest! Of course, my Tallest. This way my Tallest…" He scurried onward down the corridor, followed closely by his leaders and perhaps more than a little thankful for the silence that seemed to have been commanded out of Red's ire.

Descending the stairway level by level into the Hanger was just as quiet, Red pulling ahead of the two briefly enough for Rarl to glance back, haltingly at Tallest Purple, who still hadn't raised his eyes from the ground. The Advisor cleared his throat, speaking softly, almost as if giving a peace offering, "I am… sorry about your doll, my Tallest. That was rather unfortunate."

"It wasn't a doll, Rarl. It's a puppet."

The shorter irken only smiled back at his Tallest, almost as if he found the correction amusing, "Aren't we all, my Tallest?"

Purple looked up sharply, fixing him with a strange look, but Rarl had already moved on to join Red, waving his hand in the direction of a smart looking cruiser. "This is it, my Tallest. As you know, according to the Miyuki-Protocol, the ship's course is set to take you directly to the pre-determined planet where a safe house with a secure communications channel has been established. This model is nearly impossible to track, so you shouldn't worry."

"No one will ever be able to find you in space, my Tallest."

Purple paused his steps to join the two of them, his expression mirroring Red's own, something between bewilderment and concern. Well awake by now with his mood anything but positive, the high grate of his voice (and the irritation therein) was unmistakable. "You know, Rarl, I never thought it was possible, but I think the more time we have to spend with you, the creepier you get. No wonder you don't have any friends."

Their Advisor turned back to them, expression neutral. "…Thank you, sir. I'll certainly keep that in mind. Please understand, my Tallest… everything I've ever done is solely for the good of the Empire…"

He bowed low, antennae wiggling in his salute, "Stars guide you to journey's end, my Almighties."