Chapter 25: " Gain "

When Zim opened his eyes, he couldn't tell the difference between what the outside was and the inside layer of his eyelids. For a moment the event itself confused him before he realized that there must've been a darkness spent about his surroundings. He blinked, to ensure he wasn't indeed closing his eyes and nothing changed visually. Naturally after he noted he'd lost a sense involuntarily, he began a list of his other ones that could still be utilized. Though the more he breathed the more he noticed that the air here felt...purer. Earth's air wasn't exactly the cleanest of all chemical makeups and Irk was only marginally better, but...this place was different. It felt as if when it entered his lungs, it entered with a cleansing sensation, almost...

There was also wind. The currents of it lashed at the land and pushed across the expanse. It coursed around his body and his skin tingled from it's icy presence. He could hear it whistle and whirl around his antennae and noted that he was probably outside. Along whatever outskirts he may be located, he had no idea at the moment where he was. The longer he thought about it, the more he realized the was an echo to everything resonating all around him. The sounds ricocheted and signaled to the Irken that he was inside an immensely large room.

Despite his feeling of placidity, Zim's prior conclusions resolved themselves into nothingness and left him clueless about his surroundings. There was water, wind, but it resonated as if it all were contained into one large area. An area with an expanding shell. What sense did that make? If perhaps he was contained in a simulation, of course.

With that in mind he blinked to flex his eyelids, testing again to see if he was really seeing nothingness and not just keeping his eyes closed once more. He stepped forward. The ground he touched was the same sensation, but he received further instincts that he might be treading on something smooth, and cold. Glass, maybe. Or something of the like. He lifted his foot again, and tapped the ground with the tip of his boot, for a sound.

A light, thin, thud echoed across. With nothing else, he began walking forward. The act was mentally confusing, as with his disability of vision he couldn't tell where he was going. Neither could he sense if he was going to run into something. But the echoes he heard stretched across forever, and so it helped him to know there wasn't anything nearby. He could use echolocation in this situation, as he remembered he trained to be prepared for any situation and outcome, but at the same time he felt it unnecessary. He had a bit of...confidence in him that he knew what he was doing. Not any brandished ego or self-proclaimed nonsense of the sort, but just simply...knowing.

As he continued walking, he noticed things became visually clearer. Gradually, after minutes each time, his settings would lighten a degree. After walking for what he counted to be 20 minutes, things had a very dark shade of blue, but were visible. He was on a translucent layer which revealed water underneath him. Zim later concluded that maybe this wasn't real, for he didn't fear the water anymore. He could see the rippling water, gently colliding with other wavelets and create a froth against the translucent surface when he looked down. He didn't know what was happening...

• • •

After the events of Red venturing to a station that wasn't his designated location, Purple called down a drone to pick him up and escort him. When it arrived, Red refused to remove himself from the position. He told the pilot to tell Almighty Tallest Purple to screw himself and to tell him that he was going to work at Station #1 with or without his comrade's consent. Much to the dismay of the pilot, he did as he was told and left the location, most likely abiding with him a heavy bout of annoyance and hesitation.

Since then, Tallest Red continued to occupy this station as his job, and the other Control Brain that was to be removed from the previous station was reinstated. However, he canceled the process of removing the one with him and allowed the Control Brain to remain here with him as he temporarily removed him of his occupation. He wouldn't have said that it was beneficial to have done so, however over the time span that he'd been working there he learned a lot more than he originally thought he would, in regards to business operations and many other conditions.

Red's mind was weighted down with a heft of his own disinterest and mental stagnation. It was almost as if it was prying against his conscious for trying to focus, berating it if it ever tried to remain in concentration again. With it his mind effortlessly maundered to places adrift. Despite his efforts of trying to pay attention, even if efforts included lazy and invalidated motivation, He fell back in and out of bleak reveries and dull imaginings.

Red blinked lazily and sharpened his vision, surfacing from the depths of his mind. He stretched out his arms and tightened his breath in the process. When he released the contraction of his muscles, he let out a relieved sigh.

"...How are you liking the job so far, My Tallest?" A voice asked, making him jump. Red leaned forward against the counter he sat at, placing his elbows down.

" Dammit, Wesley..." He uttered under his breath, a few chills passing down his spine. The sound of mechanical whirring could be heard, and Red knew it was Wesley's emotional procession.

" I-I'm sorry, My Tallest. I didn't mean to—"

" Ugh, don't apologize." Red groaned, shooting a glare behind him at the Control Brain. He looked down and the machine moved back a few paces.

" I...I..." Wesley stuttered, trying to justify himself in a way that still showed he was apologetic. A sigh silently escaped The Tallest's mouth and he paused for a few moments to live in the silence before he would try and reassure the remorseful machinery. One thing that he'd noticed was that the people outside of the palace were distinctively different in comparison to what Red was mostly used to. They seemed to be very...conciliatory. Their mentality to atone for trivial doings was, in itself, very unusual. And the severity of their apologetic feelings only increased when the apparent misdoings were directed to him. Red would just have to sigh from his boredom or drowsiness, and they would bow their heads and ask for forgiveness. He wasn't even able to be remotely sarcastic or tenderly taunting with them, as he was always with his comrade, without them feeling they did something wrong.

Red massaged his bald cranium and another sigh left his nostrils.

" You startled me. There's no wrongdoing in that." He remarked. However, he could still feel the terse that the Control Brain was still unresolved in the issue. "...I understand you feel like you need to show your remorse." Red began. "...But realize that there's never a need to apologize when you've done nothing wrong...That's one thing that annoys me; You're always trying to show you're sorry. That in itself isn't all that bad, but...gods, does it get annoying to hear it over and over." He explained, turning to look at who he was speaking to.

The Control Brain looked up slowly, as he was being addressed. Red wasn't sure if he managed to reassure him as much as he wanted, but he wasn't too keen on saying anything more if it was unnecessary. Despite it, he was able to allow a flat smile to form on his face.

" I think the job is fine, by the way." He answered. Wesley nodded.

" Yes." He affirmed, more happily than before. " I personally like talking to the people. It gives me something to do over the days, and I like the company. But mostly, I really appreciate the feeling when I actually help them with their problems. I feel accomplished...And just helping people is something I really love to do." He spoke eagerly. Red quietly began to tap his fingers at the counter, not entirely out of disinterest nor wholeheartedness. He stayed a few moments out of the conversation, to allow it a bit of longevity.

" Is that why you were concerned that you were being fired?" The Tallest asked, after a while. " Were you afraid you weren't going to be able to help anyone anymore?"

The Control Brain thought about what he said for a few moments. The bright blue circle, which Red learned that it was his eye, blinked.

" Yes." He remarked, pensively. " I...I don't work for income, as I was created to help others...and so I don't concern myself around things like that. I live for the occupation, and so I felt like I was doing something wrong when you arrived...No offense, My Tallest." He added. " And I live here, so you could imagine my bewilderment." Wesley chuckled. A few seconds later he made a sound that indicated he was clearing his throat. Red momentarily questioned if he even had such a function to breathe. " Of course, you're always welcome, My Tallest. I meant no disrespect by my prior statement."

" I understand." Red sighed.

After that, the conversation died down and churned into a bout of silence. It stretched across the room with it's infamous duo: awkwardness. The Tallest continued to amuse himself in very small doses by tapping his fingers and falling back into his inattentive mind, molding away in the ennui of time. When nothing occurred for the passing time, Wesley remained deathly silent and inactive. Red momentarily thought if the I.C.B., or any of the Control Brains for that matter, were capable of shutting themselves off. He remembered that his personal Computer, Roxie, was capable of doing so. Perhaps for them it wasn't as a required factor to rest as it was applied for everyone and everything else, but Red wasn't too certain.

" Do you like helping people, My Tallest?" Wesley asked suddenly. Red looked behind him, to see the eager machinery await a response. The Tallest allowed his vision to rear down, as he took a moment to actively ponder about the subject himself, to see if he actually did enjoy helping others. He thought about the emotions he received whenever another person entered the station, and he remembered that most of the time he only felt...dread. Red also noticed that now he felt bad for feeling that way, now that he was being put on the spot.

He blinked and swiveled on the chair, facing the counter and placed his elbows upon the metallic surface.

" I don't know." He confided. The answer would be the same when he thought about if it was a dishonest or honest conclusion. "...It's not really something I've thought about before." Red remarked. He knew his answers were only so irresolute only to maintain the image that Wesley had established about him, and in that fashion Red felt that his ways of self-benefiting kept his answers completely dishonest.

" Oh." The Control Brain returned simply. The sound of his engine accelerating, and the usual whirring came back. Red wasn't able to discern whether it was thought or emotional process, however he knew that he was contemplating about Red in a manner. And for a reason, that unsettled him. But he quickly drew his mind away, and he turned in his seat to face the front of the station. It was at the time that Wesley's brace folded up, and he retreated up into a compartment in the ceiling. The Tallest's first thoughts were of confusion, however he realized it was him shutting down. He thought upon it a little while before he removed it from mind.

Upon the subject of the Control Brains, alongside with his wandering conscious, he thought about if there was anyone alive to have any knowledge about their temperaments and functions. They seemed to be so popular and necessary in the modern day culture. It was nearly surprising that no one heard about at least one person who partook in the events of their creation. It seemed plausible at first as the lifespan of an Irken was enduring, rendering the idea that whatever person involved with the creation of the I.C.B had died off by old age impractical. In all reality, it would be more probable for them to still be alive, even if the creation and concept stages of the Control Brains were centuries old. However, when he crossed off the factor of dying off by age, he couldn't help but receive chilling ideas while his mind tarried upon the idea of death.

What if they didn't die by age? Red thought to himself. At first exposure, he shivered slightly, and his mind trod upon the details with ginger and apprehension. After his pensiveness, he shook his head and convinced himself that the idea of murder wasn't logical. But once he allowed himself witness to such conclusions, there was no returning back unseen. His mind, morbidly curious and uneasy with suspicion, veered slowly back into the conceptions of dark and disturbing theories.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized. It began to make him feel paranoid, almost. Red noticed that he'd never once met anybody with any knowledge about the I.C.B. and their creation. Not even a person who might've had any sort of information about another individual who had knowledge—much less a person who actually participated—in the development of the I.C.B.. It seemed as though any persons with pertinence regarding to the events of the upbringing of Control Brains had...vanished. And it occurred without question; it wasn't until now that Red began pondering about it.

It wasn't as if it was imperative that the Tallest meet and know everyone, however it was seldom that a person, who'd constituted so much to the course of changing governmental views and the practiced methods within the society, wasn't known of in the general populace—even more so by the government authorities themselves. It seemed...strange that somebody who had such a great influence managed to slip through the government they themselves created without even so much as being noticed.

Though as rapturous as the daydreams were, the door panels that were sectioned at the front of the room lit up, and parted ways to allow passage to a civilian.

Red managed a quick smile as a makeshift greeting for the visitor. In return, the man promptly bowed quickly, and addressed his superior.

" My Tallest." Slipped from his lips, before he rose and approached him subtlety. " It is...the greatest honor in the universe to be able to abide in your presence. My happiness is indescribable. It is such a pleasure that I am not worthy, not ever and not even now, of ever experiencing." He remarked, having a trembling smile.

Red nodded. He wasn't sure on how to react, as his mind was still trying to retain all of it's attention to the events at hand, and not his prior looming thoughts. But he sat straighter and forced his focus upon the man in his presence, evading from the recurrent ideals.

" The gratitude is all mine. I thank you now, and forever more." The man said again, and bowed once more.

" Please. Your courtesy is...surfeiting. State your business, good sir." Red remarked airily. It was at that moment that Red realized his own physical languidness. The act of having to notice his state of consciousness was clue to his own weariness. His muscles felt thin and weak, and sitting down for the majority of his time caused them to feel numb. He didn't know how much longer his shift was for today and he had no knowledge of what the current time was, however he was silently wishing that after this man his shift would be over.

The man rose once more, and his face was flushed from the amount of excitement rushing through his veins. His smile stabilized slightly, and his eyes fell to the ground with slight embarrassment. Red blinked, and realized the man's construction. He was remarkably spindly, with slender looking limbs with close enclosing clothing to the match. Unlike the regulated and tended uniforms that the military received, he wore an iris colored shirt that had an elongated collar. It folded down to the base of his clavicle, and his sleeves reached passed his elbows. He did, however, have a fitting of black gloves which appeared a lot like the fashion of an Invader's standard glove fabrication.

The man's eyes flitted back up to the Tallests' face. They were brown; A color that Red didn't much appreciate for it's dull complex, but they flashed with an emotion that also began to form on his face. He appeared almost confused, as if the Almighty Tallest had done something out of his knowledge that was of slight offense. Red blinked and came to realize that the man was awaiting a response, as the Irken looked down a little bashfully once more.

The Tallest blinked again, allowed a sigh to pass through his nostrils and managed a flat, indeterminate smile to crease on his face. He didn't notice until now that he'd allowed all outside hearings, including the voice of the man himself, to become nothing but a low hum of barely audible susurration when he was too busy trying to occupy his mind.

" Sorry...I...I was." He tried to explain, motioning to his head with the one of his fingers. For whatever reason, he believed it good to tell him and illustrate with gesturing that he was practically ignoring him. He thought better of it.

"...Never mind. What was it you were having problems with again?" He asked, setting his hands back down and placing his elbows at the counter he sat at. The man twiddled his fingers. He was unbelievably short, however not as short as what would be considered him inferior beyond existence...Like Zim.

" With all due respect, My Tallest...You would never need to apologize for anything. I'm sure I speak for the entirety of the people when I say that we are below the honor of you ever needing our forgiveness." He confided. Red had an inside groan to this as another brief bow was taken before he resumed his former posture. Red could see the green in his face intensify.

" I apologize for delaying—My crops are dying...It's the dry season, My Tallest." He began. " I wasn't able to meet quotas and so now I'm losing income. I haven't the means to...pay for my own water bills and so I've let my well dry up. With all of the expenses being forwarded towards the planets that the Invaders have conquered, I've also lost a sum of my dividends...I-I'm a shareholder in the—"

" IAA inc. I understand. Most farmers are. " Red interrupted. Another sigh left his nostrils and he rested his chin against his palm. The man's brown eyes reached the floor again in a nervous manner. " What is it you want?"

"...I-I want to issue for a Redeemer's Card, My Tallest."

Red's eyes unintentionally widened to an extent.

Another one? He thought to himself. He wasn't sure if his expression was displaying a fraud emotion that was of no intent, but the man seemed to want to cower away every time the Tallest's brow flattened against his eyes with insouciance and impatience.

However it was neither in this case. He was remembering all of the other times, which occurred over a few days span, an agriculturalist had approached the station with the similar conditions and ailments, telling him of the outcomes of what had happened because of this drought that had allegedly been expanding over the course of a year. Red heard stories of how it withered away nearly all of the lands, and how very few farmers were able to keep their crops healthy. Red was also informed, coming from a number of people which he pieced together their statements, that the prices of maintaining water had only risen over the courses of the occurrence. And so they all came here, short of having other alternatives. All with one selfsame desire.

A Redeemer's Card.

The ticket that they believed would be their wholesome redemption, as so it was entitled to be.

Red blinked, and massaged his brow.

" You do realize in order to purchase one, you'll need to apply for the accounts issued in the documents you'll be given when you issue your request to your local bank. "

" I understand."

" As well as the funds that you'll have to compensate according to how much you withdraw from the card."

" Yes...I...I know...My Tallest." He added, as if to ensure he meant no offense. Red kept his eyes on him and watched his expression. The man watched back at first, nervously, until he looked back down. Red blinked and rubbed the back of his head. He thought about how much worse his situation was going to be if he did issue for a Redeemer's Card. Most people who issued for one almost always found themselves in an abyss of unpaid loans and never ending debt. It acted as a savior disguised discreetly in a celluloid plastic check that seemingly suppurated money whenever it was needed.

However as soon as any amount of credit was withdrawn, A timeless void was placed upon the individual too naive to notice and cast the poor soul to their demise. Whenever they did realize their impending destruction, it was already too late for action.

It was...immorally brilliant, really. Duplicity always managed to rear it's ugly head in business, to the point that the two were now just mere synonyms of the same definition; Two sides of one coin. And with it generated the outcome of greed and death.

It was how companies inconspicuously generated money for themselves, Red learned. They promised them aid and in return they expected to be payed back ten fold worth. The design work of the idea itself wasn't extravagantly intricate as Red would've thought it to be, however what was so ingenious about it was that it didn't need to be. They merely weighed against the trust of their consumers, and in turn were able to machinate the unthinkable. It was the perfect organized complex of simplistic thievery at it's finest.

Red pondered more about it. He'd lingered upon this knowledge for a little more than a month now. At first, The Almighty Tallest tried to deny all reaction from it. He even imposed upon himself that he appreciated that minds who'd created such a system so devious. After a while though, as more and more farmers came to this station, with no hope for the future and nothing but dolefulness in their eyes, the more Red realized just how many of them were being tagged and marked down when they sent to purchase a Redeemer's Card. It was almost as if they were preparing for a death that they gloomily awaited, while their nooses were being strung, and braided.

And Red was the one who'd given it to them all...

" Almighty Tallest?" The man spoke.

Red looked up. He realized he was daydreaming again. He blinked a few times and remembered his situation in place. An awkward smile came upon the Tallests' face, and he finally looked up at the man speaking to him.

"...Oh..." He sounded. "...Pardon. I seem to keep forgetting I have a client." He said, enlarging his smile as means to alleviate the quality of his words. When he realized that the entire sentence he'd just uttered contained the information he stopped himself from conveying the first, he wanted to smack himself. He was intending to preserve the integrity of the man's emotions in regards to refrain from belittling his expectations. It was the entire reason he'd stopped himself in the first place, however it seemed that he'd forgotten that whole ordeal.

I guess it isn't just clients I'm forgetting about. Red thought cynically of himself.

The man's disposition seemingly dropped. The energetic aura about him ebbed away and sank into lower magnitudes. His eyes lost the light to them, and his expression remained stiff. The Irken shook his head.

" No need to apologize..." He said simply. A moment later, his eyes widened quickly, and his vision retreated downwards. Sweat covered his brow. "—M-My Tallest." He added, realizing his discourtesy.

Red mentally lived inside a realm of dread. No matter how many times he tried to tell the people of how meaningless it was to apologize over trivial matters, they all particularly seemed to own an identical syndrome of severe selective hearing, which only seemed to spontaneously rear it's ugly head whenever Red tried to explain about how unnecessary the concept was, especially in due places where it was considerably absurd. It didn't matter whether or not the words sorry or apologize actually arrived within their speech, it was the included emotions of expressing their remorse within the circumstances in question.

The Tallest furrowed his eyes, in an amalgam of both frustration on his and the man's part of doings.

" I am in no...possible worthiness for you to apologize to me, My Tallest." The man remarked, looking back up. Red wove his fingers together, closed his eyes and rested his brow against his hands. He contemplated how meaningless it was to repeatedly try and practically teach the people about the concept of sorry, if it meant that his attempts would be ignored. " But I humbly say that I'm gracious you present the concept." The man stated.

Red opened his eyes again, and lifted his head. The man's reaction to the transition was displayed on his face, and his face turned green from nervousness. He probably owned the thoughts that he was, in some stupendous fashion, in the position of disfavor from the superior he accompanied. He was now probably thinking he'd have to atone for whatever stupid actions he'd done. Red loathed how many times this occurred within the expanse of one day. It was ridiculous, and there was nearly nothing he could do to prevent it.

The Tallest sighed. The man was holding his hands now, timidly.

" Did I...anger you my—"

" No." Red chided impatiently. To his realization, a liquid tension of anger indeed lingered within him, and passed through his veins with the effect of simmering his blood. The man stiffened and it seemed almost as though he shrunk within his already meager frame. His widened eyes flashed with surges of actual fear, and Red remembered that he was a revered image, entitled Almighty Tallest. One that they honored too much for their own good and for him to be angry, especially for it to be all directed upon one recipient, was probably scarier than anything else they feared in life.

Red sighed, and the animosity left him with caprice. A few lingering seconds later, he took notice to the man's slight shaking. At this moment, The Tallest felt another bout of frustration and confusion, mainly directed to himself. He wasn't accustomed to people to emotionally shatter upon mere words. He never experienced canonical reception and actual reverence in forms that the general populace expressed. The most recognition Red was used to receiving was a salute and probably even a shout of his name if he'd given another soldier, or other military personnel an order. The most was if he'd make a public announcement, and there was cheering. Much to his surprise, they also dealt with a surplus amount of emotions, and Red wasn't too situated upon the concept of that either. The only thing being that Red ever connected with was his comrade, and that was Purple. Having to try and cope with the common folk and all of their erupting emotions was like trying to accustom yourself with the mentally unstable. It wasn't impossible, but it sure liked to make itself appear that way.

Red massaged his brow in a slow, concise manner. The man stood there, with a trembling lower lip, twiddling his fingers in attempt to occupy his mind. Nevertheless, it was prominent that the man was still shaking. In all honesty, Red hated people that were so submissive and cowardly. Their expressive attitudes pestered him, and it was dishonorable. But in this case, Red couldn't help but feed bad. He never made someone feel so unworthy in his presence, and he never caused someone to feel so bad about themselves.

Though apologizing wouldn't be logical, as it would turn out to be the only alternative to be ineffective in this situation; It would be promptly ignored.

"...What's your name?" Red inquired. It took a few moments for the man to recognize what had just been uttered. He glanced up from his daze, and swallowed the knot in his throat.

"...My Tallest?" He implored, utterly confused. The man was probably thinking the only reason why he desired to know about his name was for further reference to punish him. However, he was receiving these thoughts out from the constant of his emotions, and they were defiling the use of his judgment.

" What's your name? I'd like to address you formally." He explained. The man's eyes were filled with worry, and they searched the Tallest's face for any sense of ruth. The man looked down again, and he didn't respond for a duration of a time.

"...Mord...My name is Mord." He admitted. He stood there in this trembling frame for a few seconds longer. His eyes quickly leapt back up and he knelt on his knees, with his hands woven together in his stance to plead.

Oh gods. Red thought with frustration.

" Please, My Tallest! If I have done something of offense—"

" Silence, Mord!" The Tallest commanded, firmly. And without any further disturbance, the man consented and his face immediately fell to the ground. Red, baffled, blinked and was considerably thrown off by the act. This was a bow of worship. He knew that he was a respected image, but never once in his life would he consider he was worshiped by the people. He cleared his throat, and he was about to ask the Irken to stand up, but then he'd heard his stifled sobbing.

It was then Red felt short of breath, and his brain withered from a headache.

What's wrong Red? Isn't this what you wanted? For the people to fear you, and worship you? Maybe even erect statues in your honor?

Red closed his eyes and placed his hands on his antennae, trying to block out the surrounding voice. But it felt as if it resonated inside his head. His heart began racing. Who was speaking?

Mord's bowing in your honor, Red. He's within your authority, and you have all the power to punish him for his insolence. If you so desire to be powerful, and to be revered, then do it.

No...Not like this...

Oh? So what did you have in mind for them? Was it your wish for them to be flogged if they didn't revere you to your liking? Was it your wish to crush them and their sense of individuality? Did you want to see their cities burn?

No, Dammit.

So It's secrecy, then. You enjoy their praise. You relish it. But you say to yourself that you don't so you can selfishly preserve your repulsive outward appearance. There's no harm in deception if nobody knows it.

Stop it...

Do I offend you, Red? Is the truth I speak offensive to your innocuous pair of antennae? That's just like you. Forging out all and everything that doesn't proclaim to your adoration and agree to your every bid and whim.

Shut up...Get out of my head!

Oh, but I bet you can hear them now. Chanting your name in your glory. All you have to do is say the words, and you'll be closer to your pathetic schemes to get your well deserved reputation. Punish him, Red.

" Leave me alone dammit!" Red yelled. It wasn't until he stopped that he realized he was digging his claws into his antennae.

Then everything went blank.

For the longest time, his mind didn't function. It didn't register anything and his comprehension slowed down his trace of thinking. Discoloration shrouded his vision, and soon he saw nothing but a blackness ebbing away at his eyes, starting at his peripherals and molding into the center of his perception. Another expanse of time passed without his thoughts or awareness, and Red remained in his hollowed mind.

Soon, he could hear muffled sounds trying to reach a peak of audible sensitivity. The subdued nature of the voices he heard carried no reverberation and definite sound quality, and so they remained muddy and slightly unintelligible. But as moments fled, he was slowly being ascended through the abyss of his own disorientation. Thoughts slowly trailed back to his head, and his perception was being restored from the nothingness that darkened his senses. He could feel again, and he could recognize his place as he was regaining his sight and conscious.

He was leaning against the counter, more so plastered against it with his entire weight upon the surface. The voices he heard was the panicking of the Control Brain that owned the small station, and he was currently trying to wake up his superior with his nudges.

" My Tallest? Tallest Red! Are you okay! Can you hear me?" He fretted.

" Wesley..." He groaned. He willed his arm to move for the worrying robot to stop shifting him about, but the metal gauntlets on his wrists prevented any movement. More than that, he felt a numbness spread about his entire body with petrification. His metallic attire weighed him down, and he felt pinned. Soon a feverish headache ingressed into his brow, and even further into his brain. Despite him finally being aware of his surroundings now, he wished for the moment that he wasn't from the pain of his migraine.

Wesley saw that he was breathing again, and felt a tremendous amount of relief. He backed away a few paces in his exertion, and repeated over about how relieved he was over his safety.

" Wesley...Call a Navigator. Send a drone down here." Red groaned, interrupting the Control Brain's excited chatter.

" My Tallest—Y-You need a doctor. We don't know if—"

" Wesley, that's an order." He asserted. Wesley stammered for a few seconds before he stopped himself from quarreling any longer.

" Yes sir." He said quickly, before he withdrew and accessed his internal drives.

Red writhed in his pain. Trying to think felt as if there were hooks pulling at the grooves of his brain. Red remembered Mord, and immediately opened his eyes to see if he was still here, despite if it burned the roof of his eyelids.

He looked around, and saw he was gone. Along side the looming presence of the voice he heard.

" Dammit, Mord." Red muttered.

Rnote: Funny thing, I actually didn't plan this to be entirely about Red, but I saw it was too late when I had already written 5,000 words for this section. Guess I got too carried away with details, and so this sort of prolongs the story a bit...I still can't believe this is chapter 25. This is WAY longer than intended, but eh. More for you guys, huh? Hopefully you don't mind that there's no Gir or Zim, though. Cuz I get the feeling everybody hates everyone in the story BUT them, so... yeah.

I do hope that isn't the case though...Is it? Just out of curiosity, let me know about your stand upon the other characters, and how you feel about them.