Chapter 2: Jail and Punishment

I was thrown in a temporary holding cell on Conventia as I awaited my transfer to the jail on the Massive, where the Tallest would convict me of my "crimes" and give me my punishment.

As soon as the Great Assigning was over, the Tallest boarded the Massive, and so did I.

I waited for three whole Earth months until the Tallest finally decided on a punishment. In jail, I was threatened and shoved, but never seriously injured. The biggest fight I got in was with a male Irken in the cell next to me over the best apple in the cafeteria, and I won by my incredible strategic mind.

When the Tallest finally came to a decision, I was handcuffed and literally carried by my arms and thrown on the ground in front of the Tallest.

I stood up and asked the guards who did such, "Is that any way to treat an almighty Irken Invader?"

They just laughed and said, "You're not an Invader anymore, honey," as they walked away.

I scoffed at their insolence and looked up at the Tallest. Tallest Red had a swollen eye from where I hit him, and Tallest Purple had a slightly swollen eye from where the lasers hit him. Red glared and Purple stared sadly.

Red started. "Tessa—,"

I cut him off saying, "Invader Tessa, if you don't mind, sir. I didn't go through a hundred-fifty-nine years of hard Irken training to not be called by my title. I've earned it, and nothing you or Ido can change that, sir."

He glared at me and was about to continue, but was cut off again, this time by Purple.

"Invader Tess," he began. "You hit Red in the eye with a wankton shoon," he said slowly.

"It was an accident," I repeated for about the hundredth time, moving towards him with my hands still cuffed behind my back. "I was aiming for Zim!"

"Whether it was an accident or not, it still happened, sweetie," Purple said kindly.

"Well, can't I just say 'I'm sorry', be forgiven, and we all move on with our lives? I've got a planet to conquer!" I said furiously.

"Tess, honey, relax," Purple said calmly.

"How can I possibly relax when I, an all powerful Irken Invader, was thrown in jail for three months awaiting punishment for something that wasn't even meant to happen?" I looked away as I blinked back tears. "Why won't anyone believe me?" I asked quietly.

"I believe you, Tess," Tallest Purple said softly as he floated over to where I stood.

"If you did, you wouldn't have let me get thrown in jail!" I shouted at him.

"I'm sorry, Tess," he said, still calm.

"Don't apologize to her!" Tallest Red cut in. "She shot me in the eye with a wankton shoon, remember?"

"Yeah, well, you shot me in the eye with lasers! Twice!" Purple angrily shouted at Red.

"I didn't." Red crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"You made it happen, though," I irritably pointed out.

"This isn't of your concern," Red impatiently spat at me.

"Of course this is of her concern!" Purple said, standing up for me. That was the Purple I knew.

Tallest Red and Purple got in a heated shouting match and eventually noticed me, watching them, enjoying every second only because they each had their own lame comebacks.

Tallest Purple stopped in the middle of a sentence to irritably say, "Get her out of here," as he pointed to me. He paused for a moment, and then said, "Feed her something."

One of the guards turned to him and said, "But sir, lunch isn't until—,"

"Feed her something!" Purple shouted at the guards.

"Yes, sir," they groaned as they lifted me up by my arms and shoved me into the door in the direction of the cafeteria.

I screamed as I tried to stop from slamming into the door. When I did, I passed out for a few moments and heard Purple call, "Gently!" as soon as I came to.

The guards sighed and let me walk there without getting pushed forward or shoved into anything.

When I finished eating my early lunch, the guards brought me back to the Tallest, who had reached their decision on what to do with me.

Red looked triumphant, standing tall looking out at the stars, while Purple looked like he was crying, sitting in a chair by the controls, his eyes slightly pink around the edges.

Purple saw me walk in, still handcuffed, and smiled miserably. "Tessa," he started slowly as he wiped tears from his eyes.

I knew immediately that it was going to be bad. Not only does Purple never cry, but whenever he calls me 'Tessa' he always has bad news. I swallowed, waiting to hear I was going back to prison. I closed my eyes and waited.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We've decided to send you to Earth to help Zim."

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter's so short. I... well, I really have no excuse for that. I just made it short. So... doo dee doo dee doo... I'M NORMAL! *runs away quicky*