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Just another chapter, but this chapter will have a flashback- I keep getting E-mails about 'You haven't explained anything to us about Gold, Blue, or Commander Brown', 'How can Tak be Red's blood-related kid and then not', and my most favorite- "What happened on the day the Tallests told Zim that he wasn't an invader?"
I thought- "Well heck, sense this will be my last story I've doing for fanfiction for a very long time, why not put a few flashbacks in here?" So I'm going too, I'll be doing a flashback on the most asked question I've been getting, maybe this chapter or the next, but I will do one. If you don't like it, sorry, if you do, that's great!
Either way, let me start this chapter!
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Title: Mah Tallests, MAH TALLESTS!
"So, you know it's me, huh?"
Before Purple could comment back his own face felt rather awful pain, body falling backwards when the Irken's fist had collided with his face. Red's body flickered for a moment, reviling brown eyes to Purple's own purple eyes, snarling at the sight of those brown eyes. A second later those eyes went back to red, the other Irken snarling as he felt his own black blood rushing down his cheek.
"You'll pay for that attack, my Tallest."
Commander Brown pulled out a laser gun from his robes and pointed the head of the gun directly at Purple, ready to strike. As soon as he had pulled the trigger the gun had been punched out of his hands, dropping the object in excruciating pain. The holographic Red didn't have enough time to tend too his wound though for the fact that he had to block the punches Purple was throwing at him, each punch that hit felt like a truck running into him.
Never say Purple was a weakling during a fight.
"You may have tricked Red and I into believing that you were our friend, you may have fooled me into believing that the past Tallests death had been my fault, and you may have even tricked me all these weeks that you weren't Red. But never again will we blame Zim for something he did not do."
"You're right, never again will you hear me blame Zim for something he didn't do- You'll be dead by that time! Rike, issue off plan O.T.T!"
All eyes looked towards an Irken dressed in a red jumpsuit and matching goggles, an evil grin crossing his green features. With a push of his palm the ship was sent through the force-field, trembling under the pressure of the field. The walls seemed to be slowly caving in and though the ship was plugged into with the FOR device, it wasn't handling the field well at all.
"…O.T.T? Why do I feel like that's something bad?"
"Oh, it is, it's bad for you and everyone on this ship that doesn't have these bands. I would explain it all too you, but why should I waste my time? You're just going to die anyway."
Before Purple could send a sarcastic remark back towards him he felt the prick of a sharp, metal item, hissing in pain at the contact. His mad eyes turned towards the source that had got him, hand flung upwards to his neck when he saw a worker holding a needle. He quickly noticed the blue bands around the worker's wrists and neck, noting to himself that this worker must have been on Brown's side.
He would have thrown a punch if it wasn't for the fact his squeedily spooch was clinching in pain, purple eyes blurring to the world around him. He saw through unclear vision some of the workers falling to the ground, the workers falling and fainting to the ground didn't have bands, they must have been on Purple and Red's side. Some of the Irken workers were adjusting their bands, making sure they were on tight and study. Purple didn't realize he was being lifted upwards by the throat until he was looking into the pair of red eyes of his ex commander.
"How about I be nice and explain to you what's happening… I have men right now taking out your followers, my men are wearing bands, and your men are not. Right now they are heading into the dock room to get into Voot Cruisers that have been hidden from under your antennas for the past few weeks we've been on here. You see, I did request that the ships would be built with the FOR devices and they did put the devices in, just not this ship.
It'll take about ten minutes to get through the force field and make it too Malian, enough time to get too the ships and leave you to die here. Your men, Red, and you will all die on this wretched ship before you can even get to Malian. When I get to the meeting I'll tell them we took separate ships for safety reasons and tell them the ah-so horrible news of your death. And then when I become the next Tallest, I will take over Earth and any other planet that stands in my way. And you, well; you and your little friends will all be dead."
"Zim has the device and will get you before the meeting."
"That pathetic smeet? Don't make me laugh, one attack and he was sent flying backwards, my men could have killed him by now."
The sickness didn't become any better after Brown's words, the fake Red simply letting Purple's throat slip from his grasp for the man could fall too the ground. The Tallest laid there, weak and tired, unable to move as the liquid that had been placed in his body was slowly knocking him out. He felt weaker than ever before, but he did have enough strength to glare up at Brown and spit at his hovering feet that was before him.
"You'll die before anyone will let you be Tallest."
"Poor Purple, you're just sad because you're so pathetic right now. Hmm… You must know how your son feels know, huh? Plan O.T.T, or 'Over Throw Tallests', is working better than I planned."
The sadistic and mocking laughter filled his mind as Brown's blurry vision strolled away from where Purple laid, no paying mind to the fact that that all of these Irken workers were going to die. Brown didn't even seem to mind as he headed off to another section of the ship that he was letting his own people suffer and die in such a hellish way.
He needed to be killed.
Through blurry eyes he saw Voot Cruisers leaving the ship he was on and through the force field, but he could have sworn that all the ships except for one were dinting and breaking in pieces. His mind was slipping away though along with his vision, he could have just been playing games on himself. Lying there though he felt himself wishing that someone would be there to save him that he didn't want to end this way.
Things weren't supposed to be this way- Not this way, not like this. It was like the day Purple and Red had announced to Zim that his mission on Earth had been fake. He was supposed to call the next day and forgive them, but he never did call then the next day or for that entire year. Zim was practically his only hope; it wouldn't surprise him if he would just simply leave him here to die.
"I deserve it."
He bitterly replied to himself sense clearly all of his other men were knocked out, closing his eyes from the blurry visions. Though the sounds of the ship breaking and pulling apart filled his hearing range, all he could think about was the past. The day Red and him had started their Elite schooling, the day he had met Gold, the day his first smeet had died, the day Zim had lived and they had tricked everyone into believing that he had been created by machines…
What really stood out in his mind was the day they had told Zim he wasn't an invader, that day had practically made any ounce of hope leave him. It had been just recently that he had started smiling again and joking around, it had taken over a year to get over that day.
"I'm sorry…"
Tallest Purple mumbled numbly as the sounds faded away, letting the strength leave his body and mind close away to the world around him.
…
(One year ago, Zim's laboratory)
…
"Mah Tallests! Hey, my Tallests! MAH TALLESTS!"
"Nuhh… It's ZIM…I hate his calls!"
"Don't lie, you love his calls."
It took all Purple held inside himself to pass Red a snarl and roll his purple eyes at his muttered words, though knowing full well that his calls was what he looked forward too. It was a joy in Purple's day to hear one of Zim's stupid plans or to see him do something entirely stupid. Sure, he usually called at bad times when he was hungry or something- That was life though, who could get picky?
On the screen the face of a certain invader came before them, but he was much older than the first time he had appeared on the screen- His face had become a bit more board, with little, light scars crossing over his cheeks from all his battles on Earth. He was pulling out the fake eyelids he wore for his human disguise, human hair that was once upwards now brushed downwards nicely and over his left eye. He was grinning like a mad man, he probably had another plan.
"My Tallests!"
He gave a salute, grinning at the two while Purple held back his own grin. Another Irken male glanced over at the screen, rolling his pinkish and reddish eyes at the invader, silently working on his paperwork behind the Tallests. The worker was Commander Capulet, the highest ranking military personal of the Irken military and the Tallests right hand man. It was unknown to him that Zim's calls were actually loved by Purple and that the fake invader was his son, so whenever Zim called he took only great notice in Purple's depressed looks and Red's angered expressions.
"Oh Zim, it's you, I thought it would be someone important."
"Oh no, it is I, Invader Zim!"
"We know."
A few snickered at Purple's comments towards Zim, silently grateful that most thought he hated Zim- If any of them knew that Zim was actually his child by natural birth there were be many problems and issues that neither Red nor Purple would know how to deal with. Instead he went for the cold route- He acted like he hated Zim and wanted him to die on Earth; it was the only way he could act.
"I have something to show you two!"
"If it deals with you testing out an experiment that deals with lasers, then I insist on you showing us!"
Red snickered and Purple giggled, both standing before the screen with grins and amused glances at one another. Before Purple could make another comment after Red's the screen shifted before their eyes, going backwards for they could not only see Zim's face, but his entire body. The bag of donuts that was in Purple's grasp slipped from his hand as his purple eyes made contact with the entire screen, unable to hide the fact that his mouth had fallen open.
Zim had his arms raised out at his sides, head tilted to the side as he used a single hand to pull the black wig off his head. He was tall, much taller than he had been before- It was like looking at a prince of some sort, he was no longer a smeet, but a tall and mighty prince. None would ever know how wonderful Purple had felt at the sight of his son before him, standing tall and mightier than ever, he was fit to be a Tallest.
Wait… Isn't that why he sent Zim off to Earth? Too not be a Tallest?
"Zim… You're really…"
'Tall, Purple; call him tall, you know he is! He's perfectly tall, admire that for him!'
"…Broader than usual, been working out on that filthy planet?"
"Ah, you know how it goes; invading sure does take a lot of work. But that's not what Zim wanted to show you, look at him! He's taller!"
"Yeah, you are taller, Zim. If you don't have anything else of ah-so grand importance to tell us, then let us go for I can go and get a snack."
"You… Do not care for Zim's new height?"
"Zim, your height is great, but what Purple and I want to know is about how you're doing on Earth. If you haven't made any progress then we don't want to chit-chat, you have much to take over."
Red replied for Purple, knowing that his companion wouldn't have come up with a good comment to Zim's question. He knew when his best friend was at a certain point and Zim's question was one of those points. How could a father tell his own smeet that he didn't care for his new height when his father is the Tallest?
"Ah, thank you for your consideration, my Tallests! I have a new plan to tell you two about how to take over Earth! Alright, this is how my plan will begin- First, Zim will use Dib-stink to tell him the secrets of the beavers and then with the power of the beavers on my side he'll-"
"Enough!"
Capulet slammed one of his hands against the desk he had been working on, the other hand reaching upwards to rub one of his temples. The three Irkens who had been talking to each other all looked over at him, clearly confused by his raged cry. Capulet, who stood in his silver robes with muscles flexing through the material, passed a deadly glare at all three of them.
"My Tallests, forgive me, but when will you two finally let this go?"
"Let what go?"
Purple questioned, clearly confused by Capulet's question, tilting his head to the side in his own confusion at his words. Red, on the other hand, silently glare daggers over at Capulet, waving a hand before himself so Zim would no see his motions. Their commander completely ignored the gesture though, making his own hand gesture at the screen while he bared his teeth.
"When will you just tell the poor smeet that his mission is a fake?"
"Commander, what are you saying?"
"…What?"
Every single bone and muscle tensed at the sound of the soft voice on the other side of the screen, both Tallests too fearful to look over at Zim. Commander Capulet, on the other hand, glared over at the screen while an exasperated sigh left his lips. The look of great pity was on the commander's face now, shaking his head in misery at the poor Irken on Earth.
"Zim, I don't know why the Tallests have played this game with you for so long, but I believe it's time for you to know the truth. I had not been commander at that time, but from what I've gathered the Tallests sent you to Earth for not you to take over it, but for you to di-"
"Enough, Commander Capulet, unless you want to lose your position and be sent to the bottom of the ranks!"
It was unlike Purple to give off such a cruel demand, it would usually be Red who would say something like that, but he hadn't said a single word. At the look of pure hate on Tallest Purple's face the commander quickly closed his mouth, not daring to say anything else. His gaze shifted downwards, quickly going back to paperwork, wishing his anger hadn't taken over him- He had just thought that his Tallests wanted Zim to stop calling for good.
"Get everyone out of here, leave only Red and I…"
"My Tallest…"
"Now!"
At his command the commander quickly nodding, each personal that had been in the room quickly left without a word. Red made sure each and every single worker was out of the room, knowing full well that Purple was about to tell Zim the truth. What he was about to say was already going to kill him; he didn't need others to watch this unfold.
The Tallest turned his head slowly around, his own face frowning deeply and squeedily spooch dropping at the sight of the invader. Er… Well; fake invader, that is. Zim stood before the screen with his own facial features downwards, shoulders slumped, and if you looked closely his arms were slightly trembling. From the once mighty prince to a now weakly slave, it was one of the worst things any parent could see.
"What is this about, my Tallests?"
"Invader Zim-"
"For some reason Zim does not feel like that's the correct title for him now."
His tone was bitter, venom dripping from his voice, and Purple wincing at his words. Red was about to make a comment but Purple lifted up his hand, silencing his best friend before he said anything. The other Tallest respected his wishes, watching as Purple took a few steps closer to the screen.
"Zim, we need to tell you the truth."
"T-Truth? About what?"
"You and Earth."
"Zim fears that this isn't… Please don't tell him this is about… I'm almost there at taking over Earth!"
"Zim, it's not really about taking over… It's been many years sense I… We've sent you to Earth, it's time to stop playing games and tell you the truth. We had only sent you to Earth because we believed that you would… Die on that planet and… Never return to Irk again, we believed that you would only cause problems for everyone. We never expected you to make it to make it too Earth, we never expected you to contact us back, and we defiantly didn't believe you would live through all of this."
"…You, my Tallest, can't be saying…"
"Zim, you weren't meant to live or ever contact us again, you were meant to stay away from us. You… You aren't an invader; you're a defective that had been sent away in fear of destruction of Irk."
"…Zim is an invader, he-"
"If you were an invader, Earth would have been taken over by now!"
His cry left his throat before he could stop himself, quickly regretting his words at the look of horror and sorrow on the green face. The younger Irken had his arms wrapped around his chest, his trembling now much easier too see. His Sir unit was not around at the time, so Zim was completely alone in his base, no one was there to place a comforting hand on his shoulder about this situation.
The Tallest wished he could go though the screen and hug Zim, to tell him that he would one day be the Tallest, to not worry about being an invader- But he couldn't. Instead he stood there with broad, wide shoulders and stern face just staring back at Zim. He couldn't be fatherly towards him at all, Zim was just another… DEFECT that had been sent away, it wasn't like it hadn't happened before.
Remembering the day the main Control Brain had told him his son was a defective still made him want to vomit and throw any sort of junk food away.
"But this plan-"
"No, Zim, no more plans. Please Zim, every single plan you've done has failed not only you, but also has failed us. You're intelligent Zim, but… But we can't do this anymore…"
"My Tallest, this plan though-"
"Zim, you've failed your Tallests! When will you give up and look at the truth?"
The long moments of silence filled both areas, from Zim's base to the Tallests' ship the Massive, neither saying a word. The Tallest who had cried out stared at the screen in fear and sorrow, not able to see Zim's expression with his head bent downwards. Finally, after long moments of silence, the fake invader lifted up his face towards the screen.
It took both Red and Purple by surprise at the black tears filling his eyes, rushing down his cheeks in a swift motion, his tears marking his cheeks. The fake invader stood before them though, tears marking his cheeks, a snarl only a man of war would hold on his face. He looked clearly betrayed, as though someone had taken a dagger and just stabbed him in the back.
"All Zim wanted to do…"
His rage started building up, baring his teeth like a tiger while he opened his mouth to cry out…
"All I wanted to do was make you two proud! Everything thing I did, every single plan I came up with, every attempt I've made was to please you two, my Tallests! All my attempts were to just make you smile and laugh, that's all! Zim… If I am defective for trying my best, then…"
His watery eyes looked straight into the pair of purple eyes that had called him 'defective'.
"Then I wish you would have pulled off my Pak and let me die then send me here."
"You don't mean that!"
"Zim does, he does mean that! These Earthlings are disgusting, filthy worms that do not like Zim and do not accept him! Only a few Earthlings on this planet are worth their lives! If the Earthlings do not accept Zim and Zim's own race doesn't accept him, then where does he belong? He is left here alone to die and be tortured by thoughts of loneliness! He… I thought you two cared for me and respected me as an invader, that maybe my tallness would gain me more respect. But how can Zim gain more respect when he never had any?"
Without even understanding what he was doing, the Tallests watched as the fake invader pulled his red top off his body. Purple understood immediately when he took off the shirt what he was doing, watching in mild shock when Zim had flung his shirt to the floor then spat on top of it. Now shirtless, he glared up at the screen with those flowing tears still leaving his reddish and pinkish eyes.
He just spat on an invader shirt in disrespect.
"Zim will not play these games anymore- If you don't want him too call anymore he won't, if you don't want him to contact you he won't, and if don't want too ever see him again he won't show his face to either of you. Good-bye, my…"
His words halted, a few more tears filling his eyes, marking his cheeks once more as he calmly opened his mouth to weakly say…
"Good-bye, Red and Purple, I hope you two have happy lives and may Irk live in peace."
And for the first time in all the years Zim had been on Earth, he had ended the transmission on his Tallests on purpose; they didn't end it on him.
"He… He ended the transmission on us…"
"Well, I would do the same after what you said…"
"B-But this is Zim, he doesn't do things like that… He's supposed to love us and forgive us for what we did too him…"
"I really wouldn't forgive us…"
"But YOU'RE not ZIM, ZIM should have FORGIVEN us!"
Before he knew what was happening a chair that had been before the screen was flung past him, hitting against the far wall behind him. Red could only stand there in utter shock as his best companion threw items around, yelling out at each throw while he flung papers in the air. For many minutes this went on, items zipping past Red's head, materials breaking, and papers flying throwing the air like snowflakes. It took Red as a shock that Purple was acting like a smeet who wasn't getting what he wanted.
He let his friend throw his angered rages until he realized that things were getting dangerous when his wild eyes fell towards the laser guns at the other side of the room. Before Purple could even think about it a hand was against his shoulder, shaking him lightly. His wild, raging purple eyes looked back into the pair of sorrow filled red eyes, Red's mouth in a weak smile.
"Let's go get some food; it'll make you feel better. You know, a happy snack…"
"Red, I'm not in the mood for food. Just let me…"
"No, I won't and you need to act straight, you can't do this. We are the Tallests, I know Zim is your smeet by birth, but you can't do this. You have to get your act straight and get over this soon, our citizens cannot handle seeing you act like a manic. Handle yourself, Purple, as Tallests we shouldn't show so much negative emotion like this. You wouldn't let me act like this with Tak; I won't let you act like this for Zim."
"…I understand, I'll hide it, Red."
"Just… Just remember, Zim will get over this by tomorrow and call back, this will all be fine. Come on, let's go and get that snack you want."
Zim didn't call the next day though, or the day after that, or the week after that, not even the month after that week and those days… It would be an entire year later till Purple would make contact with his smeet.
And he never did get that happy snack he wanted, he promised himself he wouldn't have any type of 'happy' snack or meal for that matter until he knew Zim cared for them again.
…
(In present time)
…
"This wasn't part of Zim's plan!"
Purple stirred at the voice, forehead twitching in automatic pain from both the numbing liquid fading and falling to the floor. Though he couldn't open his eyes he clearly knew that it was Zim who had flung his body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. It was a good thing Zim would always talk to himself in third person, just like his mother had sometimes done.
His body was shaking, moving wildly… Zim was running with him on his back, uttering Irken curse words to himself about this situation. He could hear the sound of breaking, like glass falling against the floor, obnoxious dinting noises filling the entire room, the ship was being destroyed by the field. The Tallest wanted to ask if everything was alright with Zim after they had shot his ship backwards, but no words came out, body to numb and weak to even speak. Couldn't even open his eyes to see if his own smeet was alright.
All he could do was lay there like a lifeless puppet in a world of darkness.
He could smell the faint stench of Voot Cruiser gas, it must have been Zim's ship that was built with the FOR device. The softness that was once his son's back was now gone, replaced by a leather seating that was now holding his body upwards. The familiar sound of the roof shutting of the ship could be heard, Purple oddly confused when he felt a warm body pushing up against the side of his body. The Voot Cruiser started, the engine roaring and getting ready to soar off.
"It was pure luck that you came by the ship, Zim; the three of us would have died without you."
'…Red? The three of us?'
"Zim saw that the ship was breaking in pieces, so he had to make sure his Tallests were okay. We have to catch up to Commander Brown, if that is who is pretending to be you."
"Yes, he's the one causing all these problems, not me. Zim, I know we're already crammed together, but is there not any other way we can save the others?"
'The others aren't saved? Why are we leaving then?'
"My Tallest, there is no way to save everyone. Besides, they have done their purpose in life; they have worked for their Tallests and kept them alive. Maybe it's been such a long time sense you've been just a worker or an invader, but the main mission in life for us little workers is to keep the almighty Tallests alive and from harm. They did their job- You two are safe."
After his words Purple knew they were now going through the force-field, heading straight towards Malian to get to the meeting. The touch of a hand on his shoulder was comforting, though the very thought of his men dying on the ship sickened him to his squeedily spooch. The rapid beating headache and aching muscles did not help his body out either, but to know Zim and Red were there was enough to keep him hanging on to coconsciousness.
'Wait… Didn't Red say that there were three of us…?'
"If you want me to, my Tallest, I can go back to the ship and try to save a few."
"No, we can't lose an advanced unit like you, Air. Besides… They're doomed anyway, by the time you got there the ship and their bodies will already have disintegrated by now."
"You are a very impressive unit, Air. I am-"
"You are Zim- Born on the planet Irk, son of current Tallest Purple and uncommissioned Tallest Gold. You are currently in a relationship with an Earthling named Gaz Membrane, whose brother is Dib Membrane who is dating Invader Tak, deceased father Professor Membrane. You have a S.I.R unit name Gir, unknown to everyone and even himself what the 'G' stands for. His primary function is to protect his master, though he has a strange fascination with the Scary Monkey show and piggies. He is made up of two pennies, a screw, a paper clip, and a rubber ball. You…"
"Okay, okay, Zim understands, you know him! Just how do you know all this though? I've never met you before and neither has Gir."
"I can take any information a Sir unit has and take it as my own information with just a simple hacking into their system. I had passed over a ship that held two Sir Units and I had processed their information as my own. I know all about your past plans, I know about your love-life, I know all that Gir knows. And coming from a unit as myself, I can tell you that Gir knows a lot more than you even know, Invader Zim."
"If you knew so much, disgustingly intelligent unit, you would know-"
"Indeed, you are no invader, but my creator is not an advisor yet we call her Advisor Blue. We have no time for this, future Tallest; I have personally been created to help you and the current Tallests."
"Well, we have…"
The unamused fake invader looked towards his left side, eyeing the screen as a look of dread crossed over his green features. With a loud sigh, Zim turned his head back towards the advanced unit to pass him a dull expression.
"About ten minutes to make it to the meeting and make sure Commander Brown won't be the next Tallest, any ideas, hmm?"
"One, future Tallest."
The Tallest finally pulled his eyes open to see what the unit was going to do, too curious to see what his plan was. In amazement he gazed on as Air's claws dug into the front dash-board in front of the group, wires edging through the claws and into the ship's wiring. Before anyone realized it the ship moved at a quicker pace, swiftly heading through space like a dragon fly would through the air. None of the Irkens realizing that the ship was only going faster and faster.
Weakly, Tallest Purple opened his mouth to quietly mumble…
"Zim…? Red?"
"Purple? Oh thank the past Tallests, you're okay!"
Red looked downwards at Purple, wishing this ship wasn't so crowded and that he could give his best companion some space for air. He didn't seem bothered by it though; instead he smiled rather stupidly and passed his friend a full hearted laugh. Zim also looked over at Purple, wearing an expression of relief and eyes twinkling with joy that they hadn't seen in a while.
"I'm ready for that happy snack now, Red."
The youngest Irken stayed silent when he saw the mad grin crossing over the other Tallests' features.
"And you say Zim is defective, you two are the ones who smile for no reason."
…
(Gold's ship)
…
"You sure this is going to work?"
"Gold knows that this will work."
Her amber eyes looked out through the closed window as Irkens from the Resisty ship had departed from where they once were. The same bands she wore on her pale skin was on the skin of the Irkens, each of them pressing a single button on their back when they left the ship. In a matter of moments their backs flared a rich golden color, light illuminating from their bodies as they hovered away so quickly that it was almost impossible to see them leave.
"You can do this, when Gold presses the green button the roof of the ship will open- Listen to Gold closely, you'll do fine, nothing bad with happen. The Pak will send you off at a jet speed and the bands will keep you breathing through space. Earthling, they need you down there, who knows what else is up their sleeves."
The scary girl actually seemed hesitant, something that Gold had never dealt with this scary girl before, it seemed so unlike herself.
"Unless… You're too stupid to work the Pak, then you can drive the ship and I'll just take those bands and go down there myself."
The snarl of disgust on her face made Gold want to laugh hysterically, she looked just like Red or Tak, but much more scary. Gaz flipped her off, much to Gold's confusion sense she did not know human customs, glaring over at the woman.
"I can work your stupid Pak; I don't need you to do this. I did not push this through my body just to sit on this ship and drive it around. You're face is stupid, so just open the roof and let me out, Zim needs me."
Without a single word the roof flung open, the Irken's arm going over her face to cover her entire face from the rushing air getting into the ship. With more confidence than the other invaders had when they left the ship Gaz pressed a button on her back and swiftly flew away, never looking back. When her feet left the ship was when Gold closed the hatchet, letting her arm drop to her side so she could breathe in and out.
She silently wished to herself that everything would be okay in the end and no one would die on their side.
The human, on the other hand, was having a blast. She felt like a feather in the wind, swiftly passing by enemy ships in a flash before they could even place their targets on her. Meteors passed by like rocks being thrown by school kids, it was amazing to be out in the galaxy. The best was the fact that she felt like she was breathing air with these bands on her, she wasn't going to die from the lack of oxygen.
"Earthling, watch out!"
After someone cried out those words she felt a pair of hands push up against her back, both herself and whoever was behind her missing the laser shot at them by a few inches. The person behind her kept pushing her forward though, never stopping until their bodies passed through the beginning force field that belonged to Malian. With a look of annoyance she turned her head around to look at a rather short and fat Irken, he looked like he actually cared for her safety.
"I am Invader Skoodge, I guess you're a friend of Zim's and are on our side."
"I'm on no one's side, I work alone."
He passed her a look of pity at her comment, pulling her along to head towards the other invaders that were before them, swiftly going through the field.
"In this kind of situation you need to be on a side or you'll just be crushed in the end."
"Invader Skoodge, I think you need to check this out!"
There was a cry from a female invader, both Gaz and Skoodge zipping towards them as their eyes caught the sight of what they had seen. There were pieces of metal all over the force field like it was a snowing back on Earth, each glistening and shimmering. Slacks' fingers reached upwards to touch a black object that was floating before him, a cry of terror escaping his lips as his hand automatically pulled away from the object like it had been caught on fire.
"It's the end of an antenna!"
The other four invaders cried out at his words, looking at each other in up-most fear. Gaz didn't seem to mind, she wasn't the kind of girl to really care about body parts. People come and go, some die in their sleep and some die while being chopped in half, who cares?
"It seems we have a betrayer on our hands. Advisor Blue said that someone was portraying as Red, I believe it was reported to be Commander Brown pretending to be him. Whoever is pretending to be him isn't just against the Tallests; he's against everyone, even his own men."
"How can you tell that, Grapa?"
"I've never taken over a planet like you did, but I do know my ships- Our side has been using Voot Cruisers .1, their side had been using Voot Cruisers .5, less advanced than ours. I can tell by the metal that this wasn't any of our ships, this was one of their ships."
"We need to head off before the bands were off; the field will pull us to shreds if we stay here much longer."
Invader Koot spoke-up, all nodding in agreement as they followed after him. They stopped a few feet away when they quickly noticed that there were only five of them, the human not following. El turned her gaze backwards towards the human, the Earthling staring intensely at the item. Her pale fingers reached upwards, pulling to piece of purple fabric towards her eyes to get a better look.
"The only one I've seen wear anything purple is your Tallest- Do you think he's alright?"
Each face held the expression of grim, like they had just learned that their parents had just died in a raging fire- Gaz knew that look well from experience. Dib had informed her that their father had died the night Zim was given his scar, deep inside it tore her to pieces. She didn't show it though; she was too busy saving the Earth to pay mind into the fact that her father was gone. El tugged her along with them, all hurrying along to get out of the force-field before the time ended on their bands.
"The Tallests have a way of making it through situations, Earthling."
"Yeah, I heard once in their Elite years that during war they had just barley slipped out of enemy range by tricking the enemy ships!"
"How'd they do that?"
"Well, you didn't hear this from me… I heard from Secretary Talia that she had been there during war time and this is what happened…"
Koot explained the story as the others dodged the metallic objects and pieces of skin floating through the field, slowly disappearing all the way. She listened closely to the story, slightly amazed to herself that these Irkens would share stories with an 'Earthling'. Gaz kept the piece of cloth tucked away in her closed palm, making sure it wouldn't be taken away by the force field. If it was true that they had lost Purple, then they had probably lost Red, and maybe even…
No, Zim was fine, he was fine.
As soon as she thought over Zim a Voot Cruiser flew past them at a rapid speed, hearing the familiar screams of three different Irkens. The group pulled each other in a huge hug as they screamed in fear at the ship's rapid speed, much to Gaz's annoyment. They pulled away from each other as soon as they caught the familiar sight of three screaming figures in the ship hovering past them. Bitterly, Slacks opened his mouth to comment while pulling the others along with him…
"Well; there goes Zim, seems like nothing has changed with him."
"You couldn't expect less from him."
"Don't talk too bad about Zim; he could be the next Tallest from what Advisor Blue had said."
All of the invaders except Skoodge frowned deeply by the thought.
…
(Zim's ship)
…
"We're gonna die, we're gonna die!"
"You should have left me on the ship; I was at least knocked out then!"
Red and Purple cried out, the Tallests' arms wrapped around Zim as the fake invader kept his hands on the wheel. He would have commented back if it wasn't for the fact that he was screaming too much from the rapid speed they were going. Air paid no mind to their screaming though or the fact the Tallests were holding onto Zim, he only paid mind to the speed they were going.
In a matter of moments the sight of the planet came in view and the golden field that had once been around them was now gone. What looked to be royal purple clouds was now around their ship, it was sort of comforting to Zim to see purple clouds, they reminded him of Earth. It didn't comfort him enough though as the clouds suddenly disappeared and what seemed to be golden water and silver grass land came into view before them.
His cry couldn't be hold back as he pulled the wheel upwards to slow down the ship just as soon as Air had pulled his claps out of the front dash board. The ship slowed down to a normal speed as their cries stopped in a matter of moments, all of them relaxing that their world wasn't going to end. From below Zim caught the sight of a single Voot Cruiser in the entire crowd of many ships, snarling in disgust.
"Weren't there others with him? What happened to them?"
That familiar sickness Purple had felt earlier had returned, leaning all the way against Red as the dread and weakness took over.
"He said he had placed FOR devices into the ships, but he lied, he must have only placed one in his and in the others fake ones. They were wearing some blue bands; they should have been safe but… I guess they were fake or something… He not only killed his own race and our own men, but he even killed his own followers. He's crazy and has gone totally mad; he'll destroy us all in the end."
"We'll stop him."
Zim replied, pulling the ship downwards to park the Voot Cruiser in-between an enormous, golden ship and another large, lavender ship. The roof flipped open for the group could get out of the cruiser, moaning and groaning as they stretched their bones- Well; all of them expect Air, who was glancing upwards at the sky and analyzing something. Purple pouted at the sight of both of the ships they were in-between, turning his head towards Red to whimper…
"Nuhh- I feel like a smeet! We should have brought the Massive, these ships would be nothing compared to our ship! Instead we brought… That."
He pointed at the Voot Cruiser in disgust, the other Tallest snickering at the puny ship while Zim passed his a bitter look after looking at the time on his wrist.
"It might not be the best, but we did make excellent time with my ship- We have nine minutes to go before they'll call Irk up to see who'll be the next rulers. Come on, we don't have time to stand around and stare at ships!"
"So snippy."
"I know, I don't want someone so snippy as the next Tallest."
"Ugh- Come on!"
The two snickered while heading through the ships towards the front of the parking lot, Zim's pinkish and reddish eyes the first pair of eyes to fall on the building where the meeting was being held. The once running pace fell into a slow, walking dazed pace, eyeing the enormous building. It was so long, it was as long as seven Massives placed long wise against each other. The black marble walls shimmered on the outside; it was like this building was a master piece made by some godly creature.
"The doors, there they are by the west wing."
Air spoke-up, pulling Zim by the arm, though he was incredibly embarrassed and annoyed by what the unit was doing. Red and Purple hurried behind them, Purple slightly annoyed by the fact the unit was pulling Zim around like a puppet. He had been created by Blue though, so it was no surprise that it was a rather pushy unit. Turquoise doors loomed over them, the thick doors over ten feet high, silently staring down at them like they were little bugs.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes, Zim's ready, let's-"
"Are you sure? If we do stop Commander Brown and you are taller than us, you'll be the next Tallest, Zim."
"Zim understands and this talk is great and all, but we really can't-"
"You won't be able to be an invader anymore if you become Tallest."
"Not like Zim was one anyway, now let's go inside and-"
"You aren't thinking about this, Zim! If you become Tallest you will lose you entire life on Earth, including Gaz."
Hands that were once pulling large doors open suddenly halted, body as stiff and cold as a pole in December. His pinkish and reddish eyes glanced backwards at the pair of purple eyes, the Tallest looking as stern and as cold as the day he had told Zim the truth about his mission. Hands drifted away from the thick doors, turning all the way around to look at him, face to face, short no longer.
"…Are you saying the Zim cannot be with his scary, though strangely beautiful in her own freaky way, Earthling lover if he becomes Tallest?"
"Lover? She is your… Lover?"
The words did not leave his lips in disgust or rage like Zim thought they would- His words were filled with pure confusion though tingling with a twitch of joy. Before Zim could even control himself his cheeks flared a dark shade of green, clearly embarrassed by the fact he had just called her his 'lover'. Purple and Red passed each other knowing glances, lips lifting upwards at the sides.
They guessed Earth had been useful after all.
Their smiles quickly faded though.
"Zim…"
Before Purple could keep going if Red hadn't slightly nudged him, glaring over at him with a face that had some how mixed with amusement and seriousness. The youngest Irken didn't understand the motion as purple eyes lifted upwards, bewilderment crossing his own eyes by the action.
"Idiot, you're giving him the wrong title."
"I'm what? Wrong title? His name is Zim, you… Yeah, you're right, I am… Invader Zim…"
"…Er? You're calling the mighty Zim what?"
"Yes, Invader Zim… Life on Earth has not only made you taller and stronger, but wiser, braver, loving, and all that other stuff that they say in movies. You have proven yourself to us, your loyalty and trust in us has been greater than any other Tallests could ever want. You have saved all your Earthling friends, Gold, Tak, and even Red- That's more important than taking over any planet. You have proven yourself to us, Invader Zim, and have shown both of us that Earth is a planet that is as mighty as Irk…"
He paused from his speech, frowning deeply as his eyes narrowed, sighing in defeat. It was one of the first times that Zim had ever seen the Tallest so serious and in his eyes was not only pain and sorrow, but something the young invader had never seen in his eyes-
Defeat and fatherly love.
"And a planet that needs you to stay on it. Invader, you will stand guard outside and make sure no Irken leaves this building."
"…Are you telling Zim that he came all this way, saved all of your lives, just so he could stare and watch a door? Zim is supposed to go inside with you, he needs to be there incase of Commander Brown!"
"Look- Earth needs you and you have a life there… You have friends, schooling to do, Gir to teach, more human customs to learn, and a lover… I'm not fond of you being with an Earthling, but whatever makes you happy… I guess makes me happy."
"My Tallest, I am supposed to become Tallest though…"
"A lover is not worth the title, I would rather be a slave than to have ever lost Gold."
He bitterly replied back before he could stop himself, a comforting hand on his shoulder as both father and son glanced over at the faraway look in those red eyes.
"It's not… Being Tallests isn't worth losing your lover, missing years of not being with your smeet, and never worth it to trick someone that was truly loyal to you…"
"But, Tallest Red, I must…"
"Stay out here and guard the doors, no matter what you hear you will stay out here. If we become Tallests again or not you must go back to Earth, they need you."
"He's right, Zim, Earth needs you right now, not Irk. Well, we do need you- But we can't take you away from your life."
Red pushed the doors open after Purple's comment, glancing over his shoulder for a second to see Purple's expression. He stood before Zim in sorrow, staring at him like the day he had told him his mission had be fake- Like he was going to lose him forever and never have his son back. As the other Tallest opened the doors all the way a two-fingered hand suddenly reached upwards, softly latching Zim's cheek with a gentle smile.
"Who would have thought we would be here right now? From you being a little smeet that had acted wild and insane to becoming a mighty, tall Irken that shines above all other invaders… You have my craziness, but you sure do have your mother's love. Guess you got all my bad traits, huh?"
"Zim doesn't think courage, determination, and humor are bad traits."
A chuckle left the other's lips at his comment, trying his best to hold back the black tears that were blurring his eyes.
"Good-bye, Invader Zim, I hope you have a happy life and may Earth live in peace."
The words struck Zim straight to his heart, his father's words almost the same words that Zim had said to him on the one faithful, awful day. Why did he still remember those words? A smile weakly tugged on the Tallests' green lips and almost in shock the invader watched as a black tear slowly drifted down his face, the Tallest for the first time in years finally showing his sorrow, pain, and even love.
"I'm proud of you, good-bye, Invader Zim... My smeet."
That's all he whispered as his hand faded away from Zim's cheek, quickly turning around and following Red through the open doors. Before the doors had closed Tallest Purple had turned his head around to see if Zim had stayed in his spot, only to see the invader stare straight ahead at the two of them, a single tear and the look of devastation on his own face. As the doors were slowly closing behind the Tallests, Purple caught the sight of the invader's eyes twinkling through hurt as he mouthed-
'This isn't good-bye, my Tallest.'
Then the doors closed him from the only sight that kept him going on.
…To Be Continued…
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This was REALLY out of character, but all of this is. Whatever, that's life.
So, please review, tell me what was liked/disliked, all that jazz!
Have a fantastic day!
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