Vash had never been so terrified in her life. Even her childhood memory of the Irken invasion of her village was
nothing compared to this! Stomping angrily through the vicinity of her base was an enormous Irken Battle Mech
similar to the ones the Irken Armada had used during the conquest of Planet Lucasta.
"But how?" the Death Tide leader wondered aloud. "There's no way any ship could have escaped from my tractor
beam!"
The Tallests, of course, immediately guessed what might have happened. Either Tark or Sheen, or both of them,
had gone soft and helped Zim escape from his transport back to Foodcourtia.
"As soon as this is over," Red whispered to Purple, "we are going to have a nice, long talk with those two!"
"Yeah," Purple whispered back. "I'm gonna make them sorry!"
The battle mech opened fire upon the Death Tide stronghold and all the defense structures surrounding it. The
rebels gathered in a circle around their prisoners and captain, keeping their hands on their weapons. Vash took
several deep breaths to calm herself before doing anything rash. Half of her men kept an eye on the mech, while
the other half watched their leader, awaiting further orders.
"Your orders, ma'am?" asked Sloor.
Several tense minutes passed without a response. Finally, Vash switched on her comlink and contacted her base.
"Kerda, I want you to lock all weapons on that battle mech and prepare to fire on my command."
"Yes, ma'am," Kerda replied, and immediately got to work. Within seconds, several cannons popped out of the hatches
on the stronghold's roof and aimed themselves at the battle mech.
Selina tapped Vash on the shoulder. "The Massive is now two minutes from the planet's atmosphere, Captain," she said.
"Excellent!" Vash replied, nodding her approval. She turned her attention back to her base and the battle mech attacking it.
"All weapons are online and ready to fire, Captain," Kerda announced over the comlink.
Vash narrowed her eyes and smirked, keeping her gaze on the battle mech. She took one last calming breath before she
gave her order.
"Fire!"
Zim gasped as he felt his battle mech shake beneath his feet. Trying not to seem frightened, he grabbed hold of the
steering wheel and forced the battle mech toward the volcano. But he'd barely taken two steps when a missile launched
from Death Tide's base hit the ground at the mech's feet, almost knocking it over.
"They's goin' 'splodies!" Gir announced excitedly. "I like 'splodies!"
"Gir, be quiet!" Zim shouted. "Prince Tarquin, how are our shields holding out?"
Tark checked the monitor displaying the shield strength.
"They're down to sixty-one percent," he replied. "If we avoid using the big cannons for now and direct as much energy
as possible to regenerating the shields, I think we can make it to the volcano without blowing up."
Zim nodded in agreement and turned back to the main control panel. The Death Tide stronghold continued firing upon
the battle mech, but instead of returning fire, Zim just kept moving toward the volcano. He had to save as much energy
as possible to keep the shields at a steady level.
Just keep going, the tiny Irken reminded himself. Don't return fire, just keep the shields up...
Another missile struck the ground with intimidating force, almost knocking the mech off balance. As Zim struggled to keep his
mech from falling over, Tark noticed several large, heaving clouds pulling away from each other - the way they did when a
ship was about to break through them!
"Zim!" he cried. "Something's coming through those clouds!"
Zim's gazed shifted toward the sky just in time to see the Massive break through the clouds and zoom toward the volcanic
crater as the tractor beam pulled it in.
"They're pulling the big spaceship into the 'splody-pit!" Gir cried.
Zim typed a command into the mech's command console, then climbed out of the pilot's seat and gestured for Tark and
Gir to follow him.
"What are you doing?" Tark demanded.
"I've just set the mech on a crash course into the tower controlling the tractor beam," Zim explained. "The three of us
will climb out on to the roof and await the collision. When it happens, we'll ride the resulting explosion to the top of the
volcano."
"But won't you 'asplode, too?" Gir asked.
Zim shook his head. "Not if we're wearing these!" He held out two red bracelets, one of which he handed to Tark.
"Put this on, Prince Tarquin. It will protect us from the intensity of the blast."
Tark slid the bracelet on to his wrist. Within seconds, his body was clad in a mechanical suit of armor with an invisible
helmet over his head, thick pads on his shoulders, and rocket boots on his feet.
That defect just might know what he's doing after all! he thought, clearly impressed with his new suit.
Zim, wearing an identical suit of armor, began to climb up the ladder that would take him to the roof of the mech.
"Quickly, you two!" he said as Tark and Gir began to follow him up the ladder. "We're almost to the control tower!"
"Captain, the Massive has just entered the atmosphere!" Kerda announced over the comlink. "I'm switching to
turbo mode and preparing to pull it in right now."
"Very good, Kerda," Vash replied. She shut off her comlink and turned to face the Tallests, a triumphant grin on
her face.
"I'm afraid your little friend in the battle mech has come too late, your Tallests," she said rather diplomatically.
"In just a matter of minutes, your precious flagship will crash into the volcano, where it and everyone on board
will meet a most unfortunate demise. With its almighty Armada and not-so-almighty leaders destroyed, your pathetic
Empire will only be a shadow of its former self, making it so much easier for your enemies to finally bring you down!"
Red tried to stay calm, but Vash's brazen attitude was really getting to him. He wanted nothing more than to kill
this twisted female who kidnapped his children and threatened their lives, but he knew he couldn't due to the shackles
on his hands and feet and the guns aimed at his PAK. All he could do was watch Vash pace back and forth in front of him
and Purple as she rubbed her victory in their faces. His indignation grew with every haughty toss of the Centauri mare's
mane and malicious flick of her tail.
Just to Red's right, Purple held a whimpering Mariah against his chest and watched the approaching Massive with dark,
solemn eyes. In less than a minute the Irken flagship would crash into the enormous lava-filled crater before him, killing
everyone on board. He felt tears forming in his eyes, but he blinked them back. Vash may have won this battle, but she
would never get the pleasure of seeing him and Red beg for mercy. If they must die, he vowed, they would die as leaders
and not as whimpering cowards.
"Now then," Vash continued, eyeing the Tallests with a triumphant smirk. "Before I continue from where I was so
rudely interrupted by that failed rescue attempt, do either of you have any last words? Any last minute pleas for mercy,
perhaps?" She tilted her head to one side as she eagerly awaited her expected reply.
Red put his arms around Aiko's and Ven's shoulders as his son and daughter buried their faces in his robe, sobbing
softly. At his feet, Sakura curled herself up into a ball and emitted a thin, feeble squeak. The sight of his frightened
children made Red numb for a minute, then he was suddenly filled with anger. Eyes burning with hate, he turned his
attention back to Vash.
"You are really something, Captain Vash," he snarled ominously. "Never in all my life have I seen someone sink so
low as you have! I mean sure, I've met several people who want revenge against my Empire, but at least they have
never gone as far as kidnapping innocent smeets and forcing them to pay for the sins of their fathers!"
Vash began to turn pale, but she managed to stay calm.
Then Purple stepped forward and put in his two cents. "And what makes you think everyone will be singing your praises
for this? Will avenging your family be worth the thousands of lives you're about to destroy just to carry out your goals?
And, most importantly, will you be able to go on living with the blood of innocent Irkens, as well as guilty ones, on your
hands?"
Vash just stared at the Tallests, unsure of what to say next. Her henchmen exchanged puzzled glances and shook their
heads in bewilderment, as if they couldn't believe that for once their captain was lost for words. Meanwhile, the Massive
zoomed closer and closer to the volcano as the tractor beam pulled it in.
Finally, the stunned expression on Vash's face vanished and was replaced by a cold grin.
"I could live with that," she sneered, "considering the fact that Irkens are hardly an innocent race at all!"
She reached forward and snatched Sakura away from Red. But just as she was about to toss the smeet into the crater,
an explosion shook the ground, almost knocking everyone off their feet.
"What in Zorlok's name?" Vash whipped her head around just in time to be tackled to the ground by two Irkens and a
malfunctioning SIR unit.
"Release my Tallests at once, Vash-Beast, or suffer the wrath of the Almighty Invader Zim!"
Alright! Zim to the rescue!
Sorry this chapter was so short, but I ran out of ideas for it.